Philip heals the eunich

 

A.D. The Bible continues, #11

"Tell them the good news about Jesus." Acts 8:26-40

Intro… Running into “JK”, giving his card to “Mike Hess…”

Big Picture: (Common starting point)  We need to lead “Holy Spirit flexible lives” and then be willing to take action when he calls.

Text:  Acts 8:26-40 (10:9-16)

 v.26 & 29  Listen to the voice of God.

·       This entire story emphasizes the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and especially when we are “witnessing.”

·       Remember, Philip was having a great, successful ministry in Samaria, but he was obedient to God and went to the desert.

·       Sometimes as we listen to the voice of God, he will send us to the desert before we come to the wilderness.

·       “Go over and join this chariot.”

·       Philip ran…

·       Because of Philip’s obedience to God, Ethiopia was now open to the Gospel.

v. 30-31  Sometimes people just need an explanation.

·       Philip hears the Eunuch reading out loud from Isaiah 53… reading aloud to oneself was the universal practice in the ancient world.

·       He at least knew the importance of seeking God through the scriptures.

·       Luke 24:25-27, Romans 10:12-15

·       Remember, he had gone to Jerusalem to worship so he had some knowledge of God.

·       At this point, he was a Gentile who worshipped Israel’s God, but was not yet a full convert.

·       And what a great passage to choose!

·       Isaiah 53 talks about the injustice done to Jesus that was eventually played out in the cross and later witnessed in the stoning of Stephen.

·       Philip: “Do you understand?”

·       Eunuch, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

Good questions to ask when someone starts to investigate the Bible and Christianity.

·       So what do you think of all this?

·       What is your opinion on the supreme court’s ruling this week? (Then be willing to actually listen…)

·       Do you have a Bible?

·       Can I give you one?

·       Let me know if you want to discuss anything from it.

v. 31b  And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

·       What a privilege when we are invited into people lives!

·       Montesorrie School grad. Yesterday…you bet I was going!

·       Boys and Girls club

·       Food distribution

·       ESL

·       When was the last time you were invited to a non-Christian event/house etc.?

v. 35b  “He told him the good news about Jesus.”

·       Keep it simple.

·       Always talk about Jesus.

·       As the church is birthed, the gospel is now being made available to all people, Jews and Gentiles.

·       Acts 10:9-16

·       This is Peter’s vision of how the gospel will spread to all mankind.

·       When you read all of chapter 10, you’ll notices that it is all about the conversion of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, the first Gentile baptized into God's church.

·       To those assembled in Cornelius' house, he says, (10:28) "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

·       The vision of unclean animals was an illustration God used to help Peter understand that salvation was open to those previously held at arm's length (Acts 11:18). 

·       The story of Philip and the Eunuch is a perfect example of that.

v. 36b What prevents me from being baptized?

·       “Look, there’s some water!”

·       Again, a sign of the HS being in this, water in the desert.

·       As a eunuch, he would have been denied access to the temple. (Mosaic law, Duet. 23:1)

·       That also denied him the opportunity to become a full convert to Judaism.

·       Yet God is on the move in his life and he is listening.

·       Yet we see in today’s story, when someone is ready, do it!

River baptism at Seminary

·       For the eunuch in today’s story, baptism was the appropriate expression for his commitment to Jesus, whom he had come to accept as the fulfillment of Israel's hope and promised Messiah.

·       (and it’s still the same for us today.)

·       He identified with Christ whether there is one witness (Philip) or hundreds.

·       The fact that he was reading from Isaiah is significant because Isaiah holds the promise that God grants devout eunuchs a heritage, “better than sons and daughters.”

·       Isaiah 56:3-5

For some people, there are other things that prevent them from being baptized.

·       We can help them see what it is that is actually preventing them from coming to Christ and being baptized.

v. 39  “and when they came up out of the water…”

·       That’s one of my favorite parts of baptism

·       Smiles, arms raised, whooping, tears, etc.  here’s an example…

·       VIDEO   CC baptisms

·       God is moving, present and powerful at a baptism

·       It’s a public profession of the power of God!

·       Salvation/baptism is an act of God, and the angel of the Lord who directed Philip towards the Eunuch coincide with that. 

·       v.39  the Spirit of the Lord "suddenly took" Philip away.

·       The verb “harpazo” connotes both a forceful and sudden action by the Spirit and a lack of resistance from Philip.

Oh…I want that!  We should pray for that kind of HS power in our lives!

·       “forceful and sudden action by the Spirit” paired with “a lack of resistance”

·       This was a powerful confirmation that Philip was God’s representative.

·       v. 40  Philip “found himself” at Azotus.

The Eunuch went from serving Candace the Queen, to serving God.

·       He had made a big commitment to the Queen.

·       Now he was making an even bigger commitment to God.

·       Because of this Eunuch’s position of power in Ethiopia, his conversion brought the Gospel into the power structures of another government.

·       Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

·       The spread to Ethiopia, located in Africa, south of Egypt, is the beginning of the gospel going to the ends of the earth.

·       The eunuch’s conversion was a significant episode in the advance of the gospel and that he "went on his way rejoicing."

·       The account of the Ethiopian's conversion ends as it began—with a stress on the special presence of God and his direct intervention.

Conclusion

What can we learn from Philip?

·       Listen to/for God.

·       Follow his leading.

·       Don’t hesitate.

·       Start the conversation from where they are.

·       Take an interest in their life, their situation, their background.

·       Do your best to explain the scriptures.

·       Accept the invitation into other people’s lives.

·       Talk about Jesus.

·       Pray for their conversion/baptism.

·       Philip's ministry to the Ethiopian eunuch was arranged by God and providentially worked out in all its details.

·       God still works that way today…don’t ever doubt his sovereignty.

Why this is important in the birth of the church…

·       The gospel is for every human.

·       It will continue to spread throughout the world.

Have you been baptized?