Let me check first. Can you all
hear me back there well? OK. I want to express my appreciation
to this church, this congregation, this pastor, for your faithful
support to us. I thank God for you, for the
work he's given us, and for your faithfulness, prayers, and concern
for us there in the Yucatan Peninsula. And it's a privilege to be here. It's a privilege to be here among
you today. And it's a privilege to go forth
and preach the gospel there in Yucatan. I'm thankful to the
Lord for the ministry he's given us, the preaching of his word. He's put in clay lips the mysteries
of the gospel, the riches of his mercy and grace. And I'm
thankful. that he is pleased to use man,
sinners, saved by the grace of God, to proclaim the gospel. I won't take the time right now.
I won't take the time. I know we're not having service,
so if y'all want to ask any questions afterwards, I will say that the
Lord is blessing. I believe the Lord has given
us opportunities, open doors. I said I wasn't going to say
anything, and I'm saying it. Open doors to preach the gospel
there. I'm thankful for the different
places where he's allowing us to have a hearing. God has his sheep. He has his
people. And he sends a preacher of the
gospel to preach. the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, because it is in the gospel that his sheep see the
wisdom and the power of God. They see how God can be just
and justify sinners. It's the glory of God. Ephesians 1. God who from the
foundation of the world, before the foundation of the world,
chose a people in Christ, chose a people, set his love on them
in Christ. We rejoice in the election of
God. But you know, election is not salvation. Election is unto
salvation. God who chose a people in Christ
also set the means to their salvation in time. He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He chose us. He chose us in Christ. He predestinated us to the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will, not because he saw something good. and the objects
of his mercy, not because he saw faith, but because he would. He has mercy on whom he will
have mercy. In time, God sent his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law. The law had a claim on us. Sinners by nature, by choice, and by
practice. And the holy law of God had a
claim on us. God sent his Son into the world
to redeem us from under the law, his people, those whom he chose. And he has made known this mystery
to us by the gospel. Having made known unto us the
mystery of his will according to the good pleasure of him that
worketh which he hath purposed in himself,
that in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
or which are in earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ." in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard." After that
you heard. But you didn't hear just anything.
You heard the gospel of God. You see what I'm saying here?
God chose a people, Christ redeemed a people, and in time God sends
his word to these people. We don't know who they are, but
God sends his word. We're talking about Mephibosheth,
fetching grace. God sends his word, a preacher
to cross the path of one of those of God's elect to hear the gospel. To hear in whom you trusted after
that you heard, you believed, you trusted. the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that you
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which
is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory." I want us to see
this morning. I want you to turn to the text
I want to preach from this morning, Acts 8. I want us to see, in
time, God sent in his gospel to one of his allay. God sent
in a preacher of the gospel to preach the gospel to one of God's
allay. And the angel of the Lord spake
unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go towards the south, unto the
way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert." Philip
had just spent some time in Samaria, if you'll read before this, you'll
find that he was sent to Samaria, and he had been preaching the
gospel there, and the Lord had blessed the Word, had blessed
his preaching of the gospel, and many were coming to the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ in this time that Philip had gone to
preach to them. And the apostles came down from
Jerusalem to visit this place. And in the middle of this awakening,
in the middle of this calling out of his people, the Spirit
of the Lord sent Philip to another place so that we wouldn't have
gone. We would have wanted to stay
right there. The Lord's blessing is word. The Lord is blessing
his word right here. There's a preacher sent, and
he's blessing his word, but God has sheep out there in the desert. God has sheep out there in the
desert. And he sends his preacher out to no man's land, out to
no man's land, a desert. He sends him out to a desert,
because God has his people of all kindreds. all nations, all
times. He sends him out to a no man's
land to preach the gospel to a man, to one man. Why did he send him out there?
Because God has a sheep. He has a sheep, and he's going
to cross the path of this sheep with the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So God sends this preacher I
understand there were two roads going down from Jerusalem to
Gaza. One was a well-traveled road, and if you were going to
run into anybody, you were going to go down that road. But this other road was through
the desert, a treacherous road. But God sends his preacher on
purpose down this road. Why? Because behold, there is
a man. Now I want you to look here in
verse 27. Philip obeyed. Philip obeyed
this voice of the Lord that sent him and says, Behold, he rose
and he went. He went to preach the gospel.
And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under
Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of her treasure,
and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, and was returning,
and sitting in his chariot, read Isaiah the prophet." I want us
to pause there for a minute. I want to make some comments
about this man. Behold a man of Ethiopia, and beholden this
man of Ethiopia. I want us to behold the grace
of God that would go after this man of Ethiopia. Behold this
man of Ethiopia. Behold the grace of God that
would send his Son into the world after a sinner such as I. Behold the grace of God. This
man of Ethiopia didn't deserve the gospel sent to him. No man
deserves the mercy and grace of God. Behold, the grace of
God that would send, it's the grace of God. It's the grace
of God, the mercy of God that we have his word. A preacher
here, preaching the gospel. Behold, the grace of God. Behold,
the wisdom of God. Behold, the wisdom of God and
behold, the providence of God. Behold, the wisdom of God. Think
about this for a moment. This man was an Ethiopian who
had been to Jerusalem, it says, to worship. What does that make
him? He was a proselyte. He was a
proselyte. You know what our Lord said about
proselytes that the Jews made? He said, you can look at it there
in Matthew, but he said, Want ye scribes and Pharisees, You
compass sea and land to make a proselyte, and when you found
him, you make him two times the child of hell." Two times. That's who this man was, a religious
man. A religious man. A sinner. A religious man. I see the grace
of God that would go after this man. The grace of God that would
go after sinners such as we are. Sinners such as we are. Behold
the wisdom of God. behold the wisdom of God and
taken this man aside to preach the gospel to him. He had been
in Jerusalem. The apostles were there. The
apostles were there in Jerusalem. Could they not have preached
the gospel to him? Could they not have preached
the gospel to him? Yes, they could have. But I see
the wisdom in God in separating this man who no doubt was eager
to please these Jewish religious leaders. No doubt he heard perhaps the
message that Peter preached. The message that Peter preached.
And he was perhaps one of those that were taking Peter and the
apostles to the jail. He was zealous. He had a zeal
for God, but not according to knowledge. Behold, the wisdom
of God that would take this man aside. Take this man aside of
the religious surroundings. Behold, he had gone there to
worship. I see the grace of God. I see
the wisdom of God. I see something else here. This
man had a thirst. This man had a thirst. He had
gone there to worship. He had gone there to worship.
But I don't see a lot of other people going to worship. This
man had a thirst created in him. This man had a thirst. He had
gone there to worship, and he was coming back. He had gone
there thirsty, and he was coming back thirsty. But there was an
interest. He was reading the book of Isaiah.
He was reading the prophet Isaiah. He was interested. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave a
parable of a sower. Do you remember the parable of
a sower? He went out to sow the seed,
the Word of God, and it fell that there were four types of
There was that stony, there was a stony ground here, that one
that is hard because of the thoughts of his own imagination, his own
thoughts about God, his own thoughts about how he may approach God.
That's stony, stony ground. And then there's other heres
that are stony, fallow ground. I'm sorry, that's fallow ground
here. Then there's stony ground here. And then there's thorn,
thorn here. The tears of this world choke
out the word. but amazing grace. There was
one that was a good ground here. A good ground here. This is the
grace of God going before the grace of God revealed to this
man. Grace before grace. Provenient
grace. Grace before grace that would
go and prepare the heart of this man to receive the Word. God
the Holy Spirit goes before and prepares the heart of man, breaks
up that hard ground, removes the rocks, takes those weeds
away. So when the gospel is planted,
it brings forth fruit. It brings forth fruit. I see
the grace of God going before the grace of God. He had a thirst. He had an interest. We would love to see this building
full. that everyone would come and
have an interest. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
but he was coming back thirsty. He did not know the true living
God. He had gone there, he had gone to religion, the ceremonies,
and they cannot satisfy him. Religion without Christ as Dave
cannot satisfy him. He still had a thirst. He still
had a hunger. Well, let's read on. I see the grace of God. I see
the wisdom of God. I see the providence of God.
that would work all things to bring this man and Philip together,
the providence of God. I like to use this when I preach
this message in Mexico. I use the word probability, then
I have to explain what probability was. What is the likelihood of an American coming to this
village in San Pedro. How many Americans do you see?
What is the likelihood that our paths should cross? It's the
providence of God. Are you here this morning and
you don't know why you're here? It's the providence of God you're
here. Have you heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? And
you really don't—God's providence led a preacher to cross your
path with the gospel. It's the providence of God. He
works all things after the counsel of his own will. All things work
together for good to them that love the Lord, to them that are
called according to his purpose even before. even before. He causes all things, all things. Well, this man was returning,
sitting in his chariot, and he read Isaiah the prophet, verse
29. Then the Spirit said unto him,
Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran
thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and
said, Understandeth that thou readest. Do you understand? Do you understand? This man was
not a dummy. Not a dummy. But man who is wise
in the things of this world does not have understanding when it
comes to the things of God. Does not have understanding.
Do you understand? Faith is the gift of God. Without
faith it is impossible to please God. But faith does not come
to a man apart from the understanding, bypassing the understanding.
Paul said, I know whom I believe. I know. I know. Look at 1 John 5.20. Do you understand? Well, there's a lot of things I don't
understand. There's a lot of things I don't understand. A
lot of things I'm still learning. But this I know. I understand
this. I understand. Look at this, verse
20, 1 John 5, 20. And we know that the Son of God
has come. I understand that the Son of
God has come and has given us an understanding that we may
know Him, that we may know who He is, what He came to do, why
He did it. Was He successful? Where is he
right now? We know him that it's true, and
that we're in him that it's true, even in his son, Jesus Christ.
We know that when he died, we know, we know, we understand
that what he did, he did for us as our substitute. We understand. This is the true God and life
eternal. Our Lord Jesus Christ said this
is life eternal, that they may know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, and thou hast sent. Do you understand what
you're reading? A person could pick up this book
and read, and without the Spirit of God revealing the Lord Jesus
Christ, this person, his work, all he'd get is how to dress,
recipes on what to eat and what not to eat. Rules, rules, rules. It's, you said it earlier, it's
a hymn book. It's hymn book. Do you understand
that thou readest? Now, this man answered and said,
How can I except some man should guide me? How can I except some
man should guide me? When a man, if a man is going
to call upon God, he's going to know who he's calling upon.
If a man is going to call How shall—whose servants shall call
upon the name of the Lord, and shall he say? How are they going
to call on the name of the Lord, Jehovah my righteousness, except
they know he is Jehovah my righteousness? How are they going to trust him
as my substitute, unless you know—how are you going to trust
him as your shepherd, unless you know that he is the shepherd
of his sheep? They're going to call upon him
and his person and his character, his work. How can I know? How can I? Except some man should guide
me. When you hear. When you come to hear the word
of God, you hear it through clay lips. Is that not right? Clay
lips. But Apostle Paul said this, I
thank God for you, brethren. That when you heard the Word
of Truth, as it is the Word of Truth, you heard it not as the
Word of man. You heard it as it is in truth,
the Word of God. That Word of God that works in
you. The Word of God. How can I accept
some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he
should come up and sit with him. And the place of the Scripture
which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter, and like a lamb done before his shearer, so he opened
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?
Of whom speaketh the prophet this? or of some other man, of whom
speaketh." Now, I want to pause here for a second. It is the
job of a preacher called of God to take the Scriptures, and no
matter where we are in the Scriptures, to preach Christ. To preach Christ. And so this is what Philip did.
He's a preacher, son of God, and he takes from that very scripture.
And he preaches Jesus. He preaches Jesus, who he is,
what he came to do, where he is right now, he take that same
passage. That's the that's the that's
our job, isn't that right? That's our job. Preach the Lord
Jesus Christ. No matter where we are in the
scriptures, find the road to the Lord Jesus Christ, Him crucified,
His glory, and get on it. Get on it right away. But I want
you to look at something this man said. He said, Of whom speaketh
the prophet this? Of himself or some other man. He knew that the prophet was
speaking of a man, didn't he? He knew that the prophet was
speaking of a man. Let's look over here in Isaiah. That's what
he was reading. He had the book of Isaiah. He had the book of
Isaiah and he was reading. It was Isaiah, he was in that
portion of the scripture that's Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. The Scripture there in Acts says,
Philip opened his mouth and preached from that same text, Jesus. The eunuch knew he was talking
about a man and takes this Scripture and
reveals, shows to him that this man is Jehovah manifest in the
flesh. The very first thing, the very
first thing you want to see, the very first thing starts out,
who has believed our report? This is the cry of all the preachers
of God who have believed our report. Our report is the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's his gospel. It's his testimony. It's his testimony of Christ. Look at Romans chapter 1. Keep
your place there. Look at Romans chapter 1. This
is the gospel of God concerning his son. It's the gospel of God. One of the things that we must
continue to press upon man, to press upon man, is if you do
not believe this gospel, my gospel, my report, this report, you're
not believing God. You're not believing God, because
this is the gospel of God. This is God's report. Paul, the
servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated unto
the gospel of God. This is God's Word. This is God's
testimony concerning his Son, which he had promised afore by
his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. That's what we're reading in
Isaiah 53. We're going to see how he was foretold, he was promised
in the Scriptures of the Old Testament concerning his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. which was made of the seed of
David, according to the flesh. And this is what Philip is telling
this man. This is the first point. This
man, you see that he's a man. The first thing I want you to
know, who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed. He is Jehovah, manifest in the
flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. He is God, manifest in the flesh.
And this is a revelation. This is a revelation. This is
a revelation. Our Lord said to His disciples,
Whom do you say that I, the Son of man am? Peter said, to Christ,
the Son of the living God. And he said, Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood didn't reveal this
to you. It wasn't because you were smarter, you had more aptitude. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
it to you, but my Father. My Father revealed it. It's a
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. But look at this. He is the arm of Jehovah. He
is the arm of Jehovah. He is God's arm, by whom God
would redeem His people. It is the power of Christ, the
power of God, and the wisdom of God. Christ is the power of
God and the wisdom of God. But I want you to know something
else. He is Jehovah manifested in the flesh, and that's why
we see here in verse 2, He shall grow up. He shall grow up before
him as a tender plant." He is the eternal God, the everlasting
God. See him there as an infinite
day, growing up. He shall grow up before him as
a tender plant, very fragile, very slow in beginning. See him there at Mary's breast. I don't know of anything more
helpless than a baby. But he's Jehovah. He's the arm
of the Lord, and he's going to grow up. He's going to grow up
before God the Father. He's going to grow up before
God the Father, and God the Father is going to say, I'm well pleased. He's going to grow up. In his
growing up, you see, the Father gave him a work to do. I must
be about my father's business when he was just twelve years
old. He was about his father's business from the cradle. To
establish that righteousness that his people must have to
be in the presence of God. He shall grow up before him as
a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. A root out
of a dry ground. He is of the seed of David. But
David, when he was on the earth, His house was like a big oak
tree, strong, King David. But see him now, the seed of
the woman, Mary, a virgin, who spoke of that earth, the first
promise of the Messiah, the seed of the woman. See him now, come
through, the seed of the woman, direct descendant of David. But
what has happened to David's house? It's a root out of a diagram. It's a root out of a diagram. He hath no form nor commonness,
and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. He wasn't born in a palace with all the fine things, fine
clothes. No one looked at him, and when
they looked at him, they said, He's just a man. He's just a
man. It's not his mother with us and
his brothers and his sisters. They saw no beauty in him. There's
no beauty that they should desire, and there's no comeliness. He
is despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not." Look at verse 4. Surely he hath
borne our grief. Surely he hath borne our grief.
We forfeited all privileges, all rights, and our father Adam.
When Adam disobeyed God, we lost everything. And so as our representative,
he is a man of sorrow and a quaint of grief. He was bearing our
sorrow, bearing our grief. We did esteem him stricken and
smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions."
He had just heard in Jerusalem that this man, Jesus, was an
impostor. But I want you to know he died
as a substitute. If you get nothing else from
this message, get this. He died as a substitute for his
people. He was wounded for our transgressions. The word there, our, is speaking
of the sheep, the sheep, those for whom Christ died, those whom
the Father gave him. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. It is through
his blood, his precious blood, that we have forgiveness of sins." He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears is done, so he opened
not his mouth." We spoke of this earlier in the Bible class. He
was guilty. He was guilty. God made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin. And so when he was charged, that's
why he didn't open his mouth. That's why he didn't open his
mouth. If someone accuses you of something you didn't do, the
very first thing you're going to do is say, I didn't do it.
You want to defend yourself. It comes out, isn't it so? Someone
accuses you of something you didn't do. The first thing you
want to say is, I didn't do it. But he did not open his mouth.
Because the sins of his people were laid on him. Imputation. He was charged with the sins
of his people. So he opened not his mouth. He
was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
shears is done, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from
prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation?
for he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken." This mock trial that you just
got through hearing about in Jerusalem, that's what it was.
It was a mock trial. They took him out, and they violated
their own law. They brought up false accusers
of him. They hated him. They hated him,
and they took him by wicked hand and nailed and crucified him. But he was done this for the
transgression of his people. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut
off of the land of the living." You see, what Philip is doing
here, I want to take a little break here. We're going to get
back to this. Let's talk full. What Philip is doing here, you
know, preaching the gospel is not the death, burial, and resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that? It's preaching
how that he died. Look at 1 Corinthians 15. A man can preach Jesus died,
and it's all over this world, all over this world. Jesus died,
Jesus was buried, Jesus was raised again. But that is not the gospel. That is not the gospel. A man
has got to know who Christ is. He's got to know. If he's going
to call upon the name of the Lord, he's got to know that he
has power to save. He's not going to call on somebody
that is trying to do something, and he's going to wait for you
to give him the opportunity. You're not going to call on someone
that's trying to do something. You see what I'm saying? Verse 3, the
Apostle Paul says, I delivered unto you first of all that which
also I received. I'm looking for verse 1. I started
too late down there. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. That's what I want to I declare
unto you the gospel, the good news, the testimony of God, the gospel, which I preached
unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory that which
I preach unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you the gospel first of all, unto you first
of all, that which I also received how that Christ died for our
sins." Do you see that? How? Who he was. How that Christ died. He is God
manifest in the flesh. The law was put upon man. Man
must obey that law. And God cannot die, but the God
damned both can die and satisfy God's law. But this is so important. How
did Christ die for our sins? That's the substitution. That's
the gospel, for our sins, according to the Scripture. Now, Philip
did not take when he started preaching. I'm having a little
bit of difficulty. My tongue is getting tired. Bear
with me. Philip did not start speaking
off the top of his head. Do you know what I'm saying?
He did not start speaking of Jesus of Nazareth. He used Scripture
to point out how Christ is the fulfillment, Jesus of Nazareth
is the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. God uses His Word. God uses His Word. He doesn't
use what we say about it. He doesn't use what we say about
it. He uses His Word. And so when we preach the gospel,
We want to be sure that you understand that what I'm saying is not my
word, it's His word. That's the power of God Himself.
It's His word. How did He die for our sins? According to the Scriptures.
And how did He was buried and He rose again the third day?
According to the Scriptures. This is what Philip is doing.
This is what Philip is doing. He's taking that same passage
that this man, he didn't have understanding. The light of the
glory of God, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ had not shined in his heart. Well, how is it
going to shine? Preach the gospel. Preach the
Word. Preach the Word. Let's go back to Isaiah 53. This
is what Philip is doing. How this Jesus of Nazareth, that
man, is none other than the fulfillment of all the scriptures. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. I want you to know
it was for our sins. It was for us. There was no sin
in Him. He is the Holy One of Israel,
separate from sin. He knew no sin. He was made sin
for us. Who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him? He was made sin,
but He did no violence. He knew no sin, no thought, no
imagination, the Holy One of Israel, the Holy One. Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise him. The Lord, it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. This is so important. This is
so important. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. There is no salvation apart from
the death, the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. To put away sin, see, God must
be just when he declares a sinner justified. And the only way God
can be pleased is in the death of his son. It pleased the Lord
to bruise him. If he's going to have anybody
up there in glory with him, it's going to be through the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He has put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. The death of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the cross was the most awful sin, an awful
death that anybody could ever dream up, death on the cross. But that was not the agony, the
greatest agony of the Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest agony was
the soul agony. That's what your sins and my
sins deserve. Eternal hell separated from God. That's what we deserve by our
actions, by our own sins, by our own sins. The soul of his suffering was
his soul's suffering. You read earlier, you spoke earlier,
Paul, about when he was in Gethsemane praying, and his soul recoiled
at the very thought of being made sin, for his body was...an
angel came and ministered to him. have died. You could only have gotten so
much blood, and you start bleeding out through your pores. It wasn't
his eye. He was upheld by God. We can't
imagine that. As pleased the Lord to bruise
him, he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall
see Christ. He shall see it. He shall see,
he shall provide his seed. He is Jehovah, he is Jehovah
Zarah, the Lord that provides. He shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his day, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in
his hand. He does abide forever. He does abide forever. He shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper." The pleasure of the Lord is that
one day, one day, he's going to have all his children just
like him, dressed in his rites. He's going to say, Hear my and
the children which thou hast given, the pleasure of the Lord.
It pleased the Lord, right? It pleased the Lord. He's going
to have all his children And it's going to prosper in his
hands. Not one of them, for whom he died, shall be lost. I'll
draw all men. I'll draw all to me." That's
what he's saying. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper. He's not a failure, not a failure. Those people who
preach Another gospel, another Jesus who says that he died for
some who are in hell. Blasphemous. Blasphemous. Blasphemous doctrine. This Word knows nothing of a
Jesus who's trying to do something. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hands. shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied." A woman, when she is given birth,
cannot be satisfied, will not be satisfied if after all that
labor the baby is stillborn. Can anyone imagine that God would
get glory forever and ever if one for whom he died should not
be there? No. He shall see of the fruit of
the travail of his soul, that for which he died, and he's going
to say, Here am I, and all the children which thou hast given
me, not one for whom he died, shall be lost." He's going to
be satisfied. He is satisfied, and he shall
be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."
By his knowledge, by the knowledge he had, his perfect knowledge
of the will of the law of God, he came into this world to fulfill
that law. Think not that I've come to destroy
the law and the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, I came
to fulfill. God's law must be honored. God's law, when he receives a
sinner, it's got to be in accordance with strict justice. It's got
to be in honor of his holy law. His justice has got to be satisfied. I want you to think back here when
he says, He shall see the travail of his soul and be He shall see the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. It pleased the Lord to
bruise him." God's justice is satisfying. God's justice cried
out, enough. I have enough. The reason hell is forever, separated
from God forever. is because God's justice never
cries enough. I have enough for the sin. One
sin against God, the infinite holy God, is enough to damn us
forever in hell, forever. What of all the sin? Our sins
were drowned. When all the sins of all His
people from all time were laid on Him, He was made sin. And he went to the cross. God's
justice cried, Enough! I have enough. Go preach the gospel, sir. To every creature. Comfort my people. received double
for all their sins. I have enough. He's pleased. He's pleased. His justice is satisfied. His holy law is magnified. By his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."
The basis of his intercession is his doing and dying on the
cross. Therefore will I divide with
him a portion with the grave, and he shall divide the spoil
with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death.
Wherefore, God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
and every tongue confess that he is Christ, that he is the
Lord, to the praise of God the Father." I want you to know that
when he went to the cross, he died as a substitute. He died
a shameful death. But be this known to all the
house of Israel, that same Jesus who you Christ crucified, God
raised him from the dead. God has seated him on the right
hand of the Father, and he's made him Lord and Christ." He's
made him Lord and Christ. Oh, preach the gospel. It's him. Preach him. You know,
as they went along, Philip was preaching Christ through Isaiah. Look back over here in Acts again,
Acts chapter 8. Philip opened his mouth and began
at the same scripture and preached from him Jesus. It says he preached unto him
Jesus, that same Jesus of Nazareth. You'll look back in the first
chapters of Acts, you'll see that was the message of the apostles.
That same Jesus whom you crucified, God has made him Lord and Christ.
God vindicated him. God justified him. Everything
he said, God said, is true. That's true. Raise him. Raise him from the dead. And
as they went on their way, they came to a certain water, and
the eunuch said, See, here is water, for it doth hinder me
to be baptized." Now, Philip wasn't beating him over the head.
Philip wasn't being... Philip was preaching, was proclaiming
the Lord Jesus Christ. He used this text and showed
how this is Christ. This is Christ. And he wasn't
beating him over the head. And he said, no doubt, he told
him, I saw him when he was ascended, and he said, All authority is
given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and preach this
gospel. Tell them, tell them they have
received double for all their sins. Comfort my people. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. And they were going along, and a miracle happened. Every
time someone believes this word, a miracle. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. He is also believed on in the
world. The Spirit of God quickened this
man, and he believed. And he wanted to confess. That's
what he was saying. What does hinder me to be baptized?
That's what he was saying. I want to confess. But I want you to look at this. Here is
water. What does hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest.
If you believe with all your heart. Earlier, Philip had said,
Do you understand? Earlier, Philip said, Do you
understand? But now he's not saying, Do you understand? You
see, faith is not a head thing. Faith is not a head thing. Faith
is a heart, a heart matter. It's a heart issue. With a heart,
man believes in righteousness. With a mouth, confession is made
of salvation. Do you believe with all your
heart? Do you believe? If you believe, You're born. It's because you've been born
of God. As many as received him, to them gave you the power. You
weren't born of flesh and blood, the will of man. But if you believe,
it's because you've been born of God. A new heart, a heart to believe
God. If you believe with all your
heart, thou mayest. He didn't give you much. A meeting
with the deacons? We've got to have a meeting with
the Apostles and see what happens. No, this is the requirement,
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe? You know, the
eunuch, he didn't answer, I believe Jesus. No. You know, earlier
he said, do you understand? Do you understand what you're
reading? We see here in his response,
he understands. We see in his response, he understands. I believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus Christ is not his name,
that's his office, who he is. I believe that Jesus is the Christ.
I believe he is the prophet sent of God to reveal God. No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten of the Father, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he is the Holy Man. I believe he is the one that
Moses said that God would send, a prophet, that his word would
be in his mouth. to him that doesn't hear him.
I believe he is the prophet. I don't know anything apart from
God except Jesus Christ. I don't know anything of God. It's
impossible to know God apart from knowing him in the personal
work of Jesus Christ. I believe that he is the priest
ordained of God to offer acceptable sacrifice for my sin, he is the
priest that offered that sin sacrifice, his own body on the
tree. I believe that he is the priest
of God, and I believe God made him king. I believe he is the
king. He is my Lord. He is my Lord. I believe this. I believe he
is Jehovah manifest in the flesh. He had some understanding, didn't
he? But he didn't say, I understand this. He said, I believe it.
He didn't say, I understand this. I believe it. And he commanded the chariot
to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both
Philip and the eunuch, and he was baptized. We see here the
modal baptism. It pictures a death, a burial,
and a resurrection. It's not just a little bit of
dirt. It's not just a little bit of dirt we see somebody sprinkle
on the casket. They put him under. So a person
that is baptized is confessing that when Christ died, I died.
When Christ was buried, I was buried. And when Christ rose
again, I was raised again. I am seated in him. I am waiting. I believe." And
they both went down, and he baptized him. And when he had come up
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. Philip was also found at Azotus,
passing through and preaching. all the cities till he came to
Caesarea. I want you to notice this. This man, this eunuch,
had come to the feast hungry and had not seen Christ. He was going away hungry. He
was looking in the Scriptures, but now he had a reason to rejoice.
He went on his way rejoicing, rejoicing the Lord always. Let's sing number sixty-seven,
I believe, is the number. Let's stand and sing. Get the last verse from Cody
if you'll go back to the back door and greet people as they
leave.