I please the Lord to bless us
as we continue our meditation this evening in the 8th chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles and we'll consider from verse 32
to the end of the chapter. This of course is the occasion
when Philip met with the eunuch and we can imagine the scene
that there's these two strangers and the eunuch, the Ethiopian,
has asked Philip to come and sit alongside him in the chariot. And Philip, as a complete stranger,
he'd run towards the chariot and he heard what was being read,
the 53rd of Isaiah, and so he came and there they are in the
desert, sitting side by side in the chariot. And we read then
what he was reading. this unit was reading, the place
of the scriptures which he read was this, he was led as a sheep
to the slaughter and like a lamb done before his shearer so opened
he not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment
was taken away and who shall declare his generation for his
life is taken from the earth. And we can perhaps understand
the eunuch's position, not knowing what he was really reading. They
were no doubt strange words to him, and that's why he desired
that Philip should come and speak to him about the truths which
he had read, because Philip had asked him a question if he understood
what he read, and he said, how can I except some man should
guide me? And so Philip was able to come
up and to speak to him of these truths. And it was very remarkable
really. We understand of course it was
God's sovereignty that this man should be travelling and should
be reading this particular part of the Word of God which is so
descriptive of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he
endured and what he went through. This eunuch had been up to Jerusalem
and he must have heard, when he was there, of those things
which had recently taken place with regard to the Lord Jesus. And there could not have been,
really, a more suitable part. Remember, of course, that there
was no New Testament when this occurred. There was just the
Old Testament. We don't know how much he had.
We do know, of course, that he had the prophecy of Isaiah, which
he was reading. So Philip came and what did he
do? Well, he spoke to him and he
began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And it is evident from this account
that he would have gone through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, he would have especially
pointed out the time when Jesus was revealed as the Lamb of God. when he came to John the Baptist
to be baptised. And we might think, well, why
was that relevant? Why did Philip go back to that
account? Well, it was God's purpose and
we know it was the ordained way that Christians should follow
and therefore Philip went right back to that occasion and no
doubt went in through his life and especially he would have
opened the scriptures to him which spoke about his death upon
that cross at Calvary. And who he was, he was as a sheep,
led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer,
so opening not his mouth. He would have been able to have
described what occurred and how passive the Lord Jesus Christ
was under that extreme position that he found himself in. suffering
upon that cross at Calvary, and how he was humiliated. So, all these things Philip would
have been able to have spoken to this Ethiopian about. And it is clear that it was not
spoken in vain. And it's wonderful to think that
God ordained and commanded Philip to leave the place where he was,
to go right across and come into this place, this desert place,
for this appointed time to meet the eunuch travelling at this
place. There were no doubt many people
that Philip would have passed, and no doubt many people the
eunuch would have passed, but we see in God's providence this
was the ordained time when the Lord would speak to the eunuch
through Philip, and we should be thankful to believe that in
our lives there are those appointed times, ordained by Almighty God,
when He causes the voice of one another to be directed specifically
at our situation. The word comes into our heart,
like it did here with Philip, and it had a real and a greatest
effect. You see, this man wanted to understand
He wasn't just wasting his time. He was travelling along on his
chariot. He was reading the Bible, reading Isaiah. He wanted to
understand it. What a good thing it is for us
today, if we're found in that situation. We want to understand
the Word of God. We don't just want to read it
and just, as it were, pass the test and the amount that we read. each day and do some duty and
so doing. But here was a man, blessed by
God, hungering and thirsting after the truth of God. And so,
Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached
unto him Jesus. This is what we all need. This
is what we all need to hear. The gospel with regard to the
Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is if the
word comes and is directed right to our heart, and so we read,
and as they went on their way, they were journeying on this
chariot, it appears it wasn't standing still, they were jogging
along, and they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, see,
here is water, what hinder me to be baptised? Well, why should
he say that? Why should he ask that question?
Well, it's clear, as I mentioned, Philip would have preached unto
him Jesus, and he would explain what Jesus had done, the example
he set, and that example was to be followed by all those who
were true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he comes
and says in his 37th verse, now it's important to note this 37th
verse because we're blessed with it in our Bible, in my view it's
a very important verse, but in the NIV it doesn't exist. If you look for the verse in
NIV, you won't find it. So we recognise how relevant
it is as we think of what occurs. Because in answer to that question,
what hindered him to be baptised? This is what Philip said. If
thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered
and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Well, there are vital things
here. First of all, Philip spoke to him in this way, if thou believest. And how was he to believe? It
wasn't just a theory. He was asked if he believed in
his heart. What that really meant was that
if the Holy Spirit of God had convinced him of the truth of
those things which Philip had opened up to him, and those things
which had gone into his head had gone into his heart and they
made a difference to him so that it wasn't just something which
he glibly accepted as the truth. Philip wanted to know that this
man had believed in his heart and it's very different, as we
mentioned in the earlier part of this chapter, when Simon the
sorcerer was criticised by the Apostle Peter when he said that
he wasn't right in his heart, he just believed in his head.
And the great blessing for us tonight is to know that the Spirit
of God, the Holy Spirit of God has applied his word to our heart
so that we do truly believe the great truth of God and the truth
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore he was able to
say with honesty, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, it would be a great blessing
for each of us tonight if we can come and say with living
faith these same words, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. We do need to be able to declare
that. We do need to be able to say
that. Not something which just passes us by. But as Philip came
and said, if thou believest with all thy heart thou mayest, he
could then be baptised. If he did believe with his heart,
and the eunuch had said what did hinder him, he recognised
the importance and the relevance of being baptised as a true follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ, he's been asked the question and he
gives this very true and adequate answer. I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Now, may we be able, likewise,
to answer. It was a simple testimony, wasn't
it? There wasn't a great length of it, but my friends, it was
all that was necessary, and it's all that's necessary for you
and me to come very simply and in answer to that great question,
if we believe with our heart and we're able to come and truly
say and humbly say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God and we say that through the revelation of the Holy Spirit
unto our souls and it's a great blessing and it's a wonderful
evidence of life within, that life which God has put there
which has brought that truth home to our heart so that we
have that trust and that belief, that belief in what the Lord
Jesus Christ has done. So he commanded the chariot to
stand still. It only heard these truths just
minutes or at the most only an hour or so ago. There wasn't
a great long evidence of testimony but he possessed the true work
of God in his soul. It wasn't the quantity, but it
was the quality. And you and I need to be assured
of that, that it's not a great long testimony that each of us
need. What we need is that very personal
knowledge in a very simple way to be able to come with living
faith and say, like this man did, I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. And there was no reason then
to delay, no reason to stop. No, this man wanted to be obedient. This man desired to follow the
gracious example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip had said
it before him. He didn't start making excuses.
He didn't kind of say, well I'll think about it and I'll wait
perhaps and perhaps I need a bit more encouragement. He'd been
told very clearly by Philip, his faith had stretched out.
And here he was then, there here was the water, and he commanded
the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into
the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him. What a wonderful occasion it
was. What a blessed work of the Spirit
was evidenced there. What a glorious position we see
of God's sovereignty in calling this eunuch, in bringing Philip
to this very place, at this very time, and Eunuch's heart opened
to receive the word. There was no rebellion, there
was no argument. He was indeed willing in the
day of his power, the power of the Spirit of God, and may we
each know what it is to be willing in the day of his power. And
so, and when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the
Lord caught away Philip, The eunuchs saw him no more and he
went on his way rejoicing. And I'm sure this is true, that
everyone who is a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
walks this way and is baptised in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, they go on their way rejoicing.
They're thankful to be numbered with the people of God. They're
thankful to have been given that grace to walk this way, to do
and follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this ordinance of believers'
baptism. And so we say, went on his way
rejoicing. I believe it's true that all
the true Church of God, as they walk this way, they go on their
way rejoicing. I'm sure of this. It's something
that true Church of God never regret. People do regret not
doing this way. They do regret not following
the Lord Jesus Christ, but no one who does regrets walking
in this way. It's a place of obedience, it's
the answer of a good conscience, and it's a time of rejoicing. And so the eunuch, he went on
his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus,
and passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came
to Caesarea. Not to forget, Philip's great
work he was called to to preach wherever he was found. In all
the cities he didn't pass through, wherever he was found, wherever
each city he came to, he preached the gospel. What a great blessing
it is to be able to preach the gospel. What a great blessing
it is to hear the gospel preached. Amen.