Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I'd like for us to look this
morning at the account of the Ethiopian eunuch. This is a story
that many people know of. And it's an amazing story of
how God opens blind eyes. Every soul who has seen Christ
knows there was a time when I was blind. And now I see. And I know that
I see, and I know that I was blind. Our Lord healed a blind man in
John chapter 9, and the Pharisees were asking Him questions. They
were grilling Him for details. And He finally told them, I don't
know all the ins and outs, but one thing I know, whereas I was
blind, now I see. Now I see the truth. Now I see Christ. You know that's
what seeing really is? That's what true sight really
is. When a sinner gets to that place
where the Lord has revealed to him, I don't just see doctrine
anymore. That's what most people see.
And when that's all they see, they're blind. But when a sinner can say, I
don't just see religion anymore. The place where I attend worship,
it's not just a social event, just a religious event, just
a moral event. I don't just see morality anymore.
Now I see Christ. Now I see Christ. Seeing the
Lord Jesus Christ is true sight. Well, God opened the eyes of
this Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter eight, and beginning
in verse 26, we're gonna see how he did it. Acts chapter eight,
verse 26 says, and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip
saying, arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth
down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. This salvation,
this conversion, it begins with God's Holy Spirit. That's where it begins. God's
Spirit was moving and working long before this unit came into
the picture. God spoke. That's how this whole
thing started. That's how it was for this eunuch.
That's how it was for me. That's how it is for every single
sinner that God has mercy on. God speaks. Verse 26 says, the
angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. Now why didn't he just speak
to the eunuch? Philip already knew the Lord.
Philip had to go way out of his way to meet up with this man.
Why wouldn't the Lord just speak directly with this eunuch? The answer is, it's because that
is not how our God has purposed to call out his own. A person
could say, well, he spoke to Saul in the next chapter, Acts
chapter 9. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? He blinded Saul in the next chapter. That's what he did. But he sent
him to a man named Ananias. And he said, he is going to tell
you what you must do. So right here in our text in
verse 26, the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying, arise
and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from
Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went,
and behold, a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority,
under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her
treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship. God sent Philip,
God sent his messenger, to a man who was from Ethiopia and he
was a eunuch. Now it says this man was of great
authority, not just authority, great authority. It says he was
directly under the queen. This was a man of politics. This
was a man of government. It says he had charge of all
her treasure. This man was wise in the ways
of business. He was wise in the ways of accounting. He was a great man in the things
of this world, but he was a eunuch. Now this man reminds me so much
of another man named Naaman. Turn with me if you're following
along in your Bibles. Go with me to 2 Kings chapter
5. 2 Kings 5 verse 1 says, Now Naaman,
captain of the host of the king of Syria, this was the captain
of the king's host, he was a great man with his master and honorable. because by him the Lord had given
deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor,
but he was a leper. He was a leper. That nullifies every good thing
that was said about him. You know that? I don't care how great he is,
Nobody wants to touch him. Nobody wants to pat him on the
back. He's a leper. He's a leper. I don't care how
valiant he is, his flesh is gonna rot off. It's gonna rot right
off of his bones. And he's gonna die. And the reason
is because he's a leper. The same thing can be said about
every single one of us. Well, he's done this, he's done
that, he's tried to live right, he's given to charity, but he's
a sinner. He's a sinner. Well, over in our text, it says
this man was a eunuch. A eunuch was a servant that was
used very closely to his master and specifically he was one that
was allowed to help in the bedchamber. And just so there wouldn't be
any problems, eunuchs were castrated. This man could not reproduce
life. You see the spiritual significance
of this. There was no life in him. And it's the same for you and
me. We are all born into this world dead. Dead in our trespasses
and sins. And it takes God's spirit to
send life. This man appeared to be alive,
he appeared to be well on the outside, but he was dead on the
inside. And that's you and me. According
to God's Word, that's you and me. Well, verse 27 tells us that
this man of the world, he was a religious man. Look at the
end of verse 27. It says, he had come to Jerusalem
for to worship. Now I want to ask the question
again. I asked it just a moment ago and I want to ask the same
question again. Why did God send Philip to him? Why did God send Philip all the
way out to Gaza? This eunuch had come to Jerusalem. He had come to the Mecca of religion. And he did that to obey the ordinance
of the Passover in the temple with all of the
priests and all of the Pharisees. Why didn't God speak to him there? Why didn't God speak to him right
in the heart of religion where all the ceremony was? all the doctrine was, all the
Pharisees were. Here's the reason. He didn't
speak to him there because God wasn't there. God was not in their laws. He
was not in their religion. He was not in their rituals and
their ceremonies. He wasn't in all that. Those priests and those Pharisees,
Those were not God's men. They were not. This man went
down into religion. He went a blind and dead and
ignorant sinner. And he came out no better off
than when he went in. Not one bit better off. Religion does nothing for sinners. Religion cannot save a sinner. Rituals and ceremonies cannot
save a sinner. And I wish people could understand
this. Laws cannot save a sinner. They just cannot save a sinner.
Only the blood of Jesus Christ can save a sinner. That's it. And this eunuch, he went down
into religion And he came out no better off than he was. And
the reason that I know that and the reason we can see that clearly
is because we are about to see in this story that he had no
idea who Christ was. They didn't tell him who Christ
was. And without Christ, men are dead. They're just dead. This eunuch
was so wise in the ways of this world, but the scripture says,
hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? Men and
women, they pride themselves on everything they know. And one by one, they go meet
God and then they realize none of this stuff matters. Pharisees
pride themselves on all the theology they know, all the religion they
know. But I'm going to tell you this
morning that none of that stuff matters. There is only one thing
that matters. And this eunuch right here, he
does not yet know what that is. Now my question is, do I, do
you, But do we know what is the one thing that matters, the one
thing that saves? Verse 27 right here in Acts chapter
8 says, He arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a
eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,
who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem
for to worship, was returning And sitting in his chariot, he
read Isaiah the prophet. Now let me ask the question one
more time. Why did God send Philip to this
man? Philip didn't have to drag him
out of a bar. He was sitting there with his
Bible in his lap. Philip didn't have to convince
him of the word of God. The man was already reading it. Why didn't the man just see the
truth and see Christ right there on his own? I'll show you why. Go with me over to 1 Corinthians
2. This is the reason why. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14 says,
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Do we understand what that's
saying? The natural man, this natural flesh right here, this
worldly man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.
They're foolishness to him. But even if they weren't foolishness
to him, he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.
What that means is God's Holy Spirit has to move first. God's
Holy Spirit has to speak first. And God has chosen to speak through
a messenger. And this eunuch, just like so
many men and women, he was sitting there with his Bible open to
Isaiah 53. We're about to see that. And
this poor man had no idea what it was talking about. No idea. How many people have read the
Bible, read this book cover to cover, and they pride themselves
on that, reading it all the way through multiple times? Cover
to cover. But they have not been given
eyes of faith to see and believe Christ. Do you know on every
page, every verse, it points us to Christ? Did you know that?
Every single one. Every single page, Old Testament,
New Testament, gives us faith to see Christ. And how did our Lord say faith
comes? Faith cometh by hearing. That's why Philip had to go,
he had to go. God sent his own, God sent that
eunuch, a preacher. God crossed his path with the
preaching of the gospel. He sent him a preacher. And God
sent me a preacher. And God had mercy on me through
hearing the gospel of Christ declared. It was great mercy.
Well, back over in Acts chapter 8, verse 28 says, this eunuch
was returning and sitting in his chariot, he read Isaiah the
prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip,
Go near and join thyself to this chariot.' And Philip ran thither
to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest?" Do you understand what you're reading?
Now this man, we've already said, he was directly under the queen
of Ethiopia. This was a powerful man. He was
in charge of all her treasure. This was a rich man. Walk up
to a man like that and ask him if he understands what he's doing
and just see what kind of response you get. This flesh says, excuse me? Now I'm sorry, who are you? Who do you think you are asking
me that question? Don't you know who I am? That's
what the flesh does. But look at what response Philip
got. Verse 30 says, Philip ran thither to him and heard him
read the prophet Isaiah and said, understandest thou what thou
readest? And he said, how can I except
some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he
would come up and sit with him. It takes God's Holy Spirit to
make a man or a woman say, I don't know, I just don't know, teach
me, would you teach me? When God's Spirit comes to a
sinner, the number one evidence is humility. Christ is all, I'm
nothing. Just tell me more about Him.
Just tell me about Him. Go with me over to Matthew 18. Look at verse 1. It says, At
the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child
unto Him, and set Him in the midst of them. and said, Verily
I say unto you, except you be converted and become as little
children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever,
therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same
is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive
one such little child in my name receiveth me. God's people, they
don't like to show their knowledge. They just like to hear about
Christ. That's it. Well, back over in Acts chapter
8, verse 31 says, He said, How can I except some
man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he
would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which
he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter, and like a lamb dumb 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 the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee,
of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other
man? Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus."
Philip preached Christ to him out of the Old Testament. There
is only one subject in the scripture and it's Christ. All of the Old
Testament was written to point us to Christ. That eunuch asked
Philip, is this thing by works or grace? Did the prophet accomplish
this on his own or did someone else do the work? And Philip
preached Christ to him. That eunuch said, he, who is
he? Philip said, he is. He is I am, that's who he is. He is the one in the beginning,
that's who he is. He is the same one who said Moses
wrote of me. He is the same one who said Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. He is God, manifest in the flesh. That's who he is. That eunuch
said, what did he do? Philip said, he was led as a
sheep to the slaughter. And he willingly made himself
punishable for us. He willingly became guilty for
every soul that God gave to him, every single one. They set His
charges before Him and they accused Him of every single thing that
I have done and He opened not His mouth. They accused Him of
every single thing that I have done and He opened not His mouth. He took all of my blame. That
eunuch said, what happened to him? Philip said, in his humiliation,
his judgment was taken away. And the judge of the earth was
judged. He was humiliated for you and
for me. He was judged for you and for
me. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the
earth. Philip said, dear brother, he
died. He died. But in his death, we
live. We died in him. We were buried
with him. We have risen with him, never
to die again. God is satisfied. Our price is
paid. Verse 36, and as they went on
their way, they came unto a certain water and the eunuch said, see,
here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? That eunuch said, I want to confess
this. I want to be identified with this. That gospel right
there is my gospel. I had religion before. I went
down into religion. But it wasn't this. It wasn't
Him. I was blind before. Now I see
Him. I see Him. May I confess Him. Not religion. Not even salvation. I want to confess Him, Him. Verse 37, and Philip said, if
thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Believe what? Everything the scripture says
about Jesus Christ. He said, if you believe on Him,
if you look to Him alone with all your heart, what that means
is if you love Him, Love comes from the heart, it doesn't come
from the mind. If you love God, the God who owns and controls
you, if you love His right to choose whomever He will, His
sovereignty, if you love His work, if you love the fact that
it's totally finished, He did it all, if you believe with all
your heart You may. Verse 37 says, and he answered
and said, I believe that this is the final requirement of my
salvation. No, that's not what he said.
If you have your Bible open right now, you see that with me. That's
not what he said. He didn't say, I believe that God will be more
pleased with me after this baptism than before this baptism. No,
he didn't say that. He did not say, I believe, I'll
never be a member of the congregation without this. No, he didn't say
that. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the son of God. I believe he is the union of
God and man. I believe he's the Christ. I
believe he is, not he was, he is. I believe he is thee. the one and only way, the truth
and the life. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, the express image of God Himself. Philip said,
pull over. Verse 38, he commanded the chariot
to stand still and they went down both into the water both
Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. A confession was
made. A conscience was cleared. True
love and thankfulness was acknowledged. And in doing so, that eunuch
said, I did nothing and Christ did it all. Verse 39 says, And
when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the
Lord called away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more, and
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. Our Lord removed every hindrance from that eunuch
that might cause him to take his eyes off Christ. Don't look
to the preacher, look to Christ. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.