Joseph? Good morning. It's good to be
with you all again in Rock Valley. I would ask if you'd open your
Bibles with me to the Book of Acts, the Book of Acts,
we'll be looking at one portion at the beginning of chapter eight,
and then we'll be resuming again in verse 26 through to verse
39. But the portion I'd like to read
at the beginning of Acts chapter eight begins in verse three. Acts chapter eight. And verse 3 to verse 8, and then
I'll resume from verse 26 through to verse 39. The Word of God, God's only holy
book, declares in Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 3, that
Saul, he made havoc of the church. entering into every house and
hailing men and women, committed them to prison. Therefore, they
that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the
city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people
with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For the unclean
spirits crying with loud voice came out of many that were possessed
with them, and many taken with palsies that were lame were healed. In verse 8, and there was great
joy in that city. Verse 26. 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. 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. was returning and
sitting in his chariot, reading 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? 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. 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 open 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. 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?
And 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. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water,
both Philip and Eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were
come out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,
that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. This morning, the Lord enabling,
I'd like us to look at this portion and spend some time looking at
two things. First of all, God's servant,
and second of all, God's sheep. Before we spend some time looking
at these two men, one we know the name of, Philip, and the
eunuch, the Ethiopian man, we don't learn his name in this
portion. But first of all, I'd like to share with you my motive
behind this pulpit. Thankfully, I don't have to make
one up. I found one very suitable through
what the evangelist John wrote in his gospel. If you turn there
to John chapter 20 and verse 31, this is the motive of every
servant of the Lord. It was true of the evangelist
John, and so true it is of every servant that the Lord sends to
his people. It says there in John chapter
20 verse 31, These are written We could say these words are
written, these words are preached. Everything a man sent of the
Lord to declare, to preach, to write can be summed up in this
one verse, and it's quite wonderful. It's an encouragement. These
are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ. the Son of God, and that believing
he might have life through his name. Now to help us get through
this portion, we're gonna be looking at Philip first of all,
how that he is a man. This man has a message, not just
any message, God's message. And we see here that he's using
God's means, the only means of God's grace to save his people.
And then we'll also look at another man, this Ethiopian man, who
is there in that portion of scripture. We see that he is not just a
man, but that he is a mercy beggar. And then we'll also see the miracle
that happened. It's quite wonderful. But first of all, this man, Philip,
We see something remarkable about him that everywhere he went,
it wasn't just one place he went, but everywhere he went, he would
open his mouth and start with the scripture and preach unto
the people, Jesus. Look what it says with me. in chapter 8, and the portion there,
it says in verse 5, how the Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and preached Christ unto them. And wouldn't it be wonderful,
and what occurred in that city then and there would happen afresh
this morning, that there would be great joy amongst us. Why great joy? Because, beloved,
we have such a great Savior. He is such a great Savior. All
of the people that the Father gave him to save will finally
be found and saved to the uttermost. There's so many blessed portions
of God's Word we could read, but very simply this, many of
you are familiar with this verse, no doubt. And it is something
we never tire of for it is these words that God will bless his
people with to open up their heart and trust and look to the
Lord Jesus Christ for not some of their salvation, but ever
so blessedly all of their salvation. How that God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth
on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I'm so
glad that it says there, he so loved the world, and he didn't
say he so loved Israel. He so loves his people, his chosen
people out from the nations, and we'll look at that in a moment,
but that's my motive that through these Words that we read this morning
that God will bless his word powerfully, mightily with his
spirit, and give you ears to hear what previously you've not
heard before. And for those of you who've heard
it before, that it would be fresh this morning. Now, in this portion,
we see in Acts chapter eight, beginning in verse 26, we see
that Philip, this man, was sent. It says there in verse 26, and
the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, arise and go
toward the south under the way that goeth down from Jerusalem
unto Gaza, which is desert. So we see that this man was sent.
Well, how might we know that a man is sent? The other portion
of scripture that comes to mind is found in John's gospel chapter
one. And we see that John was a man
sent from God. It says there, there was a man
sent from God, John the Baptist, whose name was John. How can
we know that John the Baptist was sent from the Lord? Listen
to what it says in verse seven. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light. Capital L-I-G-H-T. Who's that speaking about, beloved?
That's speaking about the Son of God. That he might bear witness
of the light that all men through him might believe. And we see
that very same thing about Philip in our portion. It says in Acts
chapter eight, and now in verse 35, and I'm so thankful for this
testimony, that the Holy Spirit has preserved of who a faithful
servant of the Lord is. Three times we read the expression,
faithful minister. Every faithful minister, every
man sent of the Lord wants to be faithful. Not that we're looking
at man as being faithful, but what is it to be faithful? The
Holy Spirit's preserved it for us right here. The eunuch asked Philip, I pray
thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or some other
man? And at this moment, this eunuch
was very much like many of us before we heard the gospel. We
thought, surely a man must straighten out my doctrine and put it in
order. Certainly I'm going to learn from this man or that man.
Well, Philip knew it was the Lord who makes his disciples.
We don't make disciples. And listen to how it is that
it is recorded, this faithfulness about Philip, that this is a
God-sent man. This was we read about John the
Baptist, he bear witness of the light. It says here, Philip opened
his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him
Jesus. That was his message wherever
he went. he would begin at the scripture and open his mouth
and preach Jesus. Is it really so that the gospel
of God is concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord and God? Absolutely,
beloved, that is the gospel. It is not something we tack on
in the end or somewhere in the middle. The message that we preach
is who is the Lord Jesus Christ? Who is he? He is God's well-pleasing
son. He is the God-man. He is God
manifest in the flesh. And how I would love everyone
in this auditorium to be able to say with God's people what
we read in Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. Isn't it wonderful?
All of the things we call him. It says there, unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given. And the
government shall be upon his shoulders, and we shall call
his name Wonderful. Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Look with me in Romans chapter
one, if you would. So we see that this man, Philip,
is sent of God. And he has God's message. And who is God's message? It
is Jesus Christ. Who he is, what has he done? What has the Lord Jesus Christ
done? He came into the world to save sinners. You either believe that or you
don't. If you do believe that, you believe that by God's grace.
By God's grace you believe that. In Romans chapter one, if you'll
turn there with me, now in verse one, in the latter part, it tells
us there, in Romans chapter one, this glorious definition of the
gospel. And we see here, Paul, he too
was a man sent of the Lord. Indeed, he was a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of
God, which he had promised beforehand by his prophets in the holy scriptures,
concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, let's read that
again, but let's leave off the parenthesis. The gospel of God,
verse three, concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That is the gospel, beloved,
who he is, what he's done, where he is now, and what he continues
to do for us. Earlier for our study, we looked at 1 Peter 1,
verse five. What a comfort it is to know
that the God of all creation the true and living God, our
Lord and God, Jesus Christ. It says there how that beloved
Word kept by the power of God through faith, not owing to our
faith or our faithfulness, but all owing to the faithfulness
of God's well-pleasing Son, how that he sent his Son into the
world to save his people, how he sent his Son into the world
to establish on the earth a perfect righteousness on behalf of his
people. We read In 2nd Corinthians 5,
verse 21, how that our heavenly father made his dear, darling,
sinless son to be made sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Christ. It's a great mystery. I don't
presume to attempt to explain it away, but it's so beloved.
It's what the old writers used to call the great exchange. How
that in the covenant of God's grace, God has imputed all of
our filth, all of our ruin to his son, and in the gospel we
learn that all of his son's righteousness has been imputed to us and made
our very own. It's not merely that we have
been cleansed throughly of all our sins and iniquities, it's
much more. His righteousness has been made ours. It's what
the prophet Isaiah says the Lord has told us to comfort his people
with. It's so wonderful, so wonderful
to hear. The prophet Isaiah, he records
for us in Isaiah chapter 40 in verses 1 and 2. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem."
Don't speak to her head. Speak to her heart. And who's
the Jerusalem we're speaking about? We're speaking about God's
elect, God's chosen people, his precious bride, his precious
church. Cry out unto her that her warfare is accomplished. What happens when warfare is
accomplished? Peace, perfect peace, beloved. Cry unto her
that her warfare is accomplished, that she has received double
of the Lord's hands for all her sins and iniquities. So this is what we see in Philip. He's a man sent of the Lord. He's a man with God's message. And God's message, the gospel,
beloved, is a person. His name is Jesus Christ, our
Lord and God. And it's so wonderful to hear
whether we're hearing the gospel declared from the pulpit or whether
we sing it. It moves our heart upward in
worship and adoration of our great King and our Savior, our
never failing Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. I was thinking
about all of the reverent ways that some of the older hymns
address our Lord and God. That word, let, can it be? I think the last time I was here
we were singing, maybe we'll sing it again, Philip Bliss,
I believe, full atonement. Can it be? Oh, yes it be, beloved. He didn't make, as one dear brother
would use this expression, he didn't make an attemptment. He
did not make an attemptment. He didn't try and save people. No, he came into the world to
save his people from their sins. He came into this world to accomplish
our warfare, to not only have us have a complete pardon of
all our sins, but to stand in His perfection, to be vitally
joined and united to His true holiness, so that when the Lord
looks at you and looks at me, united to Christ, being found
in Him, as astounding as it is to me to repeat it to you, He
says, if a sinner like you and a sinner like me join to his
son, this is my son, this is my daughter, in whom I am well
pleased. This is the gospel, beloved.
Isn't that what happened when John the Baptist, in the very
first chapter of John 1, he says, behold the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world. And in that very chapter, the
Lamb of God beholds one of his precious sheep, washed, cleansed,
made the very righteousness of God through his doing and dying.
And he says of this dear brother, Nathaniel, Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile. If you know yourself in the light
of Christ, you know that all you are is guile, that in your
flesh no good thing dwells. Yet in Christ, our Lord and God,
he can say of every one of his precious sheep, including Nathanael,
including you who believe, behold, an Israelite indeed in whom is
no guile. How can that be? Through the
blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we've looked at Philip a little
bit. We see that he's a man truly
sent of God. How do we know that? He has God's
message. But I would add that he's got something more than
just a message. He's using and employing God's
means of saving his people. What is that means that I'm speaking
about? It is the means that God uses
to save his people. What boldness, what encouragement,
What liberty we have to preach the gospel, to know that although
in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, it says, the preaching of the
cross, the preaching of Christ's blood and his righteousness is
foolishness to them that perish. Nevertheless, it is the power
of God unto salvation to us who believe. And then later on in
that first chapter of 1 Corinthians, in verse 21, it says there, Now,
it's not foolishness to us. I have been taught like Paul and all God's people
have been taught. He's given me wisdom to say nothing
more and nothing less than what the Apostle Paul said. I don't
want to be found in a righteousness of my own making. I want to be
found in the spotless, righteous, perfect righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's wisdom. That's not foolishness. But for the world, the preaching
of that great exchange where God
made his dear son to be made sin for us, and us to be made
the very righteousness of God in Christ. Well, it's foolishness
to those who are perishing, but when God opens our heart, it's
no longer foolish, is it? It says here in 1 Corinthians,
if you'll turn there with me, 1 Corinthians chapter one, Look what it says in verse 18.
Verse 17. For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God. It's the power
of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where
is the disputer of this world? Had not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now back to our portion, and
in the time remaining we have together, I'd like to now change
our focus and give our attention to this eunuch from Ethiopia. We've already looked at how The
Holy Spirit has preserved for us this faithful minister named
Philip, that he was sent of the Lord And this servant of the Lord
was sent with God's message, which is none other than Jesus,
and he employed God's means, preaching. He opened his mouth
and began at the Scripture and preached unto this eunuch, Jesus. And now, just a few remarks about
this eunuch. In Acts chapter 8 now, returning
here, we see he is described as a man from the nation of Ethiopia. One of the things we learn about
this portion is that Philip wasn't there by happenstance. Philip
wasn't there by chance. Philip was sent there according
to God's purpose and grace given to this man before the foundation
of the world. And it is a reminder that the Lord has a people that
have been set apart. All his people will hear the
gospel. Now, somebody complains, and
they say, well, what about somebody in the middle of the Pacific?
You know, some island in the Pacific, and there's no Bible
there, there's no missionary there, there's no gospel there.
What then? Well, I'll tell you, beloved,
if the Lord has one of his precious lost sheep there on that island,
he'll move the island to where they can hear the gospel. It's
a gospel of power. It's a gospel of purpose that
will not fail. We read in 1 Timothy 1, verse
9, how that God saved us. When did he save us? before the foundation of the
world in that covenant of God's grace where the father and the
son in covenant agreement agreed to save his people. And in glorious
covenant engagement, the Lord will send his ministers to exactly
where they need to be at that appointed time of love. And this
is what we have in Acts chapter eight. Now this eunuch asked
a question in one moment saying, how can I understand this book
unless a man teach me? And what happened? That faithful
minister, he opened his mouth and began in that portion in
Isaiah chapter 53, and he preached to him Jesus. In an instant,
that man was taught of the Lord. That sounds like a lot of boldness,
but I can back it up. Our Lord and God says in John
chapter six, verse 45, it's something we looked at this morning, I'll
repeat it again. It does not bother me or grieve me or As
the Apostle Paul said in Philippians, I believe chapter three, it's
not grievous for me to repeat the same things to you. And for
you, it is safe. This is what our Lord and God
said in John chapter six, verse 45. He said, as it is written
in the prophets, they shall all be taught of God, and all who
hear the Father and learn of him. What happens when you learn?
You become a disciple. These disciples were not made
by religion. This disciple here was not made
by religion. This disciple was made by the
Lord himself, as we'll see in a moment. But how wonderful it
is to know that the Lord has a set of people he set apart
for himself. Brings to mind Revelation chapter
five, verse nine. It says there in verse nine,
and they sung a new song. song of the redeemed, saying,
thou art worthy to take the book, O Lord, and to open the seals
thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy
blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation."
So we see that this man, this eunuch, that he was set apart. And we see that not only was
he set apart, he's a mercy beggar. He has God's word in his hands. He's trying to understand what
it says. And Philip's there to ask him, do you understand what
you're reading? He said, how can I unless a man show me? And then
what happens? A miracle of God's grace. This
sinner becomes a sheep like that. He went from looking to a man
named Philip, teach me. And the Lord himself taught him.
How do I know that? What a remarkable contrast from the religion we
see in the world In the religion of the world, they'll have a
baptismal weekend. A minister will tell you, we're going to
have a baptism on such and such a day. But what do we read in
this portion? It was the eunuch who beheld
the water. And he said to Philip, wasn't
Philip saying, there's water over there, why not get baptized?
It was the eunuch. And he said, there's water. What
hindereth me to be baptized? And Philip said, if you believe
with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you
may. You see, beloved, we don't enter into that ordinance of
baptism to be saved, but rather we confess the Lord Jesus Christ
in God-given faith because we already are saved. It's a big
difference between the religion of the world, the religion of
works, and the religion of God's grace, is there not? The religion
of this world will say, open your heart. Well, none of us
can open our heart, but the Lord can open our heart just like
he did to Lydia. What does it say there in Acts chapter 16? I believe it's verse 14. Paul's
preaching the gospel and there's those precious words. It says,
and the Lord opened her heart. that she might give attendance
to what Paul was preaching. What was Paul preaching? The
same thing that Philip was preaching, the same thing that John the
Baptist was preaching. Who is that? It wasn't a what, that's
for sure. Who is that? Preaching Jesus,
our sovereign, successful Savior. How that in the gospel we hear
that All that the Father gave him in covenant agreement, he
shall gloriously save in covenant engagement. I was thinking about
this portion this morning. I thought we could look at it
together and we'll conclude our time here in Acts chapter eight.
There's so many more verses to look at, but we'll have to just
limit our time to what we looked at already. But know this. that Philip was sent of the Lord. He was a man sent to the Lord.
He was a man sent with God's message. a man who employed God's
means, and then we see this sheep, this sheep, this man, this mercy
beggar, this miracle of God's grace. It's wonderful to know that the
Lord Jesus Christ over and over again teaches us how he saves
his people. In another portion of John he
says, I'll send the spirit of truth, and he'll proceed from
the Father and he'll testify of me. And what a glorious thing
it is when the Lord gives life to a dead, damned sinner like
you and me. In one moment, we couldn't see or hear or anything.
It's just like the testimony of Lazarus, is it not? We're
all in our own tomb of unbelief, and that appointed time of love
we hear the Lord himself calling forth, Lazarus, come forth. And if you spoke to Lazarus and
you asked him what happened to Lazarus, exactly what happened,
all he could tell you is, I really can't say a whole lot except
this, I heard the voice of my Lord and God, Jesus Christ. In
Jude chapter one, the latter part, let's conclude with this
portion. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise
God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both
now and ever. Amen.