Acts chapter 8. We'll be starting
verse 26. Acts chapter 8. We all are sinners. We all have sinned. We've all
come short of the glory of God. We fell in our first representative
Adam. He was our representative head.
And when he sinned against God, we sinned in him. And we're all born, every one
of us are born with Adam's nature, his fallen nature. That means that we do not know
God, we do not seek the things of God, not in our natural state. We are flesh and we can't understand
spirit. Flesh knows flesh, not spirit,
and God is spirit. But those God chose in Christ
before the foundation of the world. The elect of God. Sinners. There's hope. There's hope. There's hope in
Jesus Christ who was sent. God manifest in the flesh. And
he came. Call his name Jesus, for he shall
come to save his people. What a hope. What a hope we have. He came to save his people from
their sins, and he did. It's done. He did it. Christ Jesus, our representative
head, the representative head of all of his elect, the sinner's
substitute, And if you see yourself as a
sinner, this message just might be for
you. Here in Acts chapter eight, we
see God sending Philip to an Ethiopian yoke. You've heard
this story so many times. And he preached Jesus to him. There's four things I'd like
to show you, Lord willing. in this scripture tonight. First,
let's read Acts chapter eight, starting
in 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 rose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia
and Munich of great authority under Caducee, 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, and he read Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit
of God, 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 he said, you understand
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 he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his
judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation?
For his life was taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered
Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom? 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. The first thing I'd like to see, it's Christ that sends his preachers.
They must be sent of God. All through the Old Testament,
the Lord sent his messengers to declare his word. He sent
prophets, he sent judges, and these men prophesied of the Messiah
to come, that Christ would come in the flesh. And Jonah, Jonah
was sent to Nineveh. And God told him to tell that
remnant that God had in Nineveh, that they were to repent. They were warned of his judgment
to come. And he sent John the Baptist
there in the New Testament to prepare the way of the Lord,
prophesied in Malachi. Repent and be baptized in the
name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
All these men were chosen to declare his word. And in Jeremiah
chapter three, verse 15, he says, and I will give you pastors according
to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. These are God's men chosen and
sent by him, his spirit in them. John chapter 14 verse 6 tells
us, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life,
and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. When Christ came in the flesh,
and he came to save his people from their sins, after Christ
finished the work, that God the Father gave him to do. He gave
up the ghost. And he arose on the third day
according to scripture. And he arose victorious. And
God highly exalted him. God put him, put all things under
Christ Jesus at God man's feet. all the fullness of the Godhead
in him bodily. And in Ephesians chapter one,
verse 19, Ephesians chapter one, verse 19, the Lord tells us,
and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought
in Christ when he raised him from the dead. And he set him
at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality
and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. and
hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church. And the church is his body, the
fullness of him that filleth all things. All power is given
to Christ. That salvation might be of the
Lord. And that's the purpose of God,
that he get his glory, and he get his glory saving his elect.
And here we see Philip, an apostle of God's choosing, sent to one
of God's elect. In chapter eight, 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 what did he do? He arose
and he went. He didn't ask any questions.
He arose and he went. God sent him. God spoke and Philip
went. Now, Philip didn't know this
man. And this man didn't know Philip.
And we read here, this man did not know who Christ was. You
speak of this prophet or you speak of another man? Who's this
scripture speaking about? But God knew him. God knew this
man. Read verse 29. Then the spirit
said unto Philip, go near and join thyself unto this chariot. And what did Philip do? He ran
thither to him. God spoke, Philip ran. And Philip opened his mouth,
it says. and he preached unto him Jesus. It is God who sends
his preachers, but he doesn't send them without a message. Gotta have a message to preach. That's the second thing. God
gives his preachers what to preach. Philip preached Jesus. Philip
preached Christ crucified. Philip preached Christ is the
word of God. He is the word. It is the gospel
of God's free grace in his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. The
power of God unto salvation. He is the dynamite of God. That's what that word translates
into. He's the dynamite of God. He is the truth. And it's Christ speaking through
the man. For a false prophet will profit
you nothing. Nothing. God must speak. Only he can speak to a man's
heart. Because God knows the heart. God looks at the heart. Not outward. He looks at the heart. Only he
can make his word effectual. It's his word. He is that word. And God does
not need anybody. He does not need anyone. He does
not need a preacher. To stand up there. But. The Lord uses. His chosen. Those men that he chooses. To
declare his word. That's the means he uses as the
means he chose to use. If you look in 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 21. 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 belief. For the Jews
require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach
Christ crucified. Unto the Jews it's a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks it's foolish. But unto them which
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power and dynamite
of God, and he's the wisdom. But this man didn't know who
he was. This man did not know who he was. Let's look in Romans
chapter 10 and in verse 13. Romans chapter 10 verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call
on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
of good things. But they have not obeyed the
gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath
believed thy report? So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing comes by the word of God. Faith. That faith, that
faith, is a faith that is a gift of God and it's only God who
can give it to who he chooses. Only God can give spiritual life. We can't raise somebody from
the dead. You're spiritually dead. God
has to raise you and give you spiritual life. Only he can give that gift of
faith to receive the word of God. To believe on Christ, to
understand spiritual things, you have to have spiritual life. You have to have spirit and truth. And that is in Christ Jesus.
It must be God who speaks, revealing himself in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ. by his spirit, it's all of grace. It's either all of grace or it's
not. First Peter chapter four. First Peter chapter four and
verse 10. As every man hath received a
gift, even so minister the same one to another. as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him
do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things
may be glorified. Through Jesus Christ, To whom
be praise and dominion forever and ever, amen. All things are
put under his feet. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. He's the son of God. He God. And God gets all the glory. And
he prepares his preachers. And he speaks truth through them.
So the third thing. Only God makes His elect to understand. Not the preacher. Christ is the wisdom of God. Christ is our wisdom. Only wisdom
we have. He must give you a new heart. He must, and only He can, quicken
you, make you alive, Only he can create a new creation in
you. God created the world. God creates something that wasn't
there before. Only God can do that. This is the opening unit. Was
reading from Isaiah 53 and he couldn't understand. He did not
know. that the scripture spoke of Jesus
Christ. And God sent this man, Philip,
at his appointed time of love. It was this man's appointed time
of love of God. This is one of his elect. Christ
knows who his sheep are. At his appointed time, he reveals
himself. And only he can save them. God
sent Philip. God revealed himself in the face
of his son, Lord Jesus Christ, because Christ is the only way
to the Father. The only way to the Father. And
Philip opened his mouth and he began at the same scripture and
preached unto him Jesus. He preached the gospel, he preached
Christ crucified. Let's turn to Isaiah 53. We're
going to start in verse six. Isaiah 53 verse six, let's read. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth.
He is brought as a lamb to slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is dumb, 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 out of the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken, 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. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put on him, or put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoiled with the strong, Because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he
bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. He fulfilled the prophecies.
He fulfilled the scripture that speaks of him. Who's this prophet
talking about? Is he talking about himself?
No. No, he's not. He's talking about
our Lord Jesus Christ. Look what God, look what Christ
has done for his people. In Christ Jesus' obedience unto
death, to do and finish his Father's
will, he came, God manifest in the
flesh, and he humbled himself as a servant. As a sheep led
to slaughter, he suffered and he died on that cursed tree. It was made a curse for you,
his elect. It was his precious blood that
was shed to redeem us. our substitute, our surety, the
elect's representative head, our only hope of glory. And he
allowed, he allowed these wicked men to lead him as a lamb to
a bloody, violent death. All for the glory of God the
Father, and to save you, to save his people. It had to be done
and only he could do it. His great love for his elect,
and he opened not his mouth, This is God. He opened not his mouth. He opened not his mouth against
his father's will. He never murmured about what
he came to do. He opened not his mouth to declare
his innocence, though he was. He had no violence, nothing to
these people. He came to save sinners. There was no guile, no pride,
only a complete and total submission to God, his Father. only meekness and humility. Because he came not to do his
own will, but he came to do the Father's will that sent him.
All his judgment was taken away from him. He who is holy, he who is just,
he who had no sin in him was dealt with so treacherously,
unjustly, by these wicked men, by their hand. And the Jews cried, crucify,
crucify. And he was mocked. The Lord of
glory now, we're talking about God. He was spat upon, the Son of God, and he was beaten. He was forsaken. He was reproached. It all fell on him. Rolled their eyes at him. You've saved others, why don't
you save yourself? Mocking him. They had their way with him.
And you know what man did when they had God in their hands?
They murdered him. Murdered him. But know this. Our God is sovereign. He volunteered to do what he
did too. He did it with joy. It was God who purposed this.
from eternity. Christ Jesus volunteered to be
your substitute, to be your surety, before the world was ever paid.
It's already done. For the glory of God, he came in the flesh, born of
a virgin, to suffer and die, because spirit cannot suffer
and spirit can't die. Spirit cannot die. And it was off of God's glory
and the saving of his elect. To manifest his righteousness,
to save his elect to the othermost, it pleased God to bruise him. He's the glory of God. He put
away our sins. How he delights in mercy. But
he put away our sins. He bore that fiery wrath of God's
justice for us. In our room instead on that cross,
Jesus Christ declared to all that the righteous holy judge
of glory always does what's right. Christ Jesus, by his death on
that cross, he declared that God is just and he's righteous
and he only does what's right. He didn't spare his son, his
only begotten precious son. He did not spare him when he
made him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, he slew him. The wages of sin is death. No sin shall go unpunished, it
can't, or God would not be a just and holy. So a substitute, before the world
was made by him, Before we were ever made, we were chosen in
Him unto salvation. God chose His sacrifice to appease
and please His holy justice. He was delivered for our offenses. He plunged that sword of justice
into His Son until he was satisfied. Satisfied for the sins of us
being paid for that we can never, in eternity, in hell, that we
deserve can never pay. Judgment accomplished, salvation
finished. This is how God can be just and
be just to save sinners like you and me. Only Christ with that one time
sacrifice of himself is the only sacrifice God chose to appease
his holy justice and he's satisfied. Sins were atoned for, he paid
the ransom with his blood. He died for us, all of his elect. Only he could make us, only he
could make us the righteousness of God. In him and by himself. And he saw the travail of his
soul. And he was satisfied. He says, it's like a woman. I
have no, but I, you know, I have no idea what that's like. But
that's what that is in relation to, that he was like a woman
being in travail to have her children. And the pain and the
sorrow that goes with it, once it is done, And they see that
child for the glory that awaited him. He saw his seed. He prolonged
his days. And he's satisfied. He's satisfied
not only with his son, but he's satisfied for everyone that he
chose in him that he died for, that he justified with his own
blood. We're redeemed by his blood. Can't you see the grace of God?
The free, sovereign grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this eunuch, God called this man by his gospel preached by
Philip that he sent the preacher. And he birthed him again. He
breathed life into him. By his power, by his grace, he
made a new creation in this man. Formed. Formed in Christ by the working
of his Holy Spirit. He quickened him, gave him spiritual
life, everlasting spiritual life and faith. That faith that looks
to the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. A faith that works by
love. He brought him to faith and repentance. And only God can do all this.
Only God can do all this. Now fourthly, the ordinance of
baptism. In verses 36, 38, let's read. Back in Acts chapter eight. Verse 36 and 38. as it is written. No, I'm in
the wrong spot. Bear with me. All right, Acts chapter eight,
verse 36. And as they went on their way,
they came up to a certain water. And the eunuch said, see, here's
water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, if thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and he said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Only spirit can reveal that to
you. Only God can reveal it. And he
commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both
into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Baptized him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. It is God's work. God saved this
man, one of his lost sheep, by the foolishness of preaching.
God spoke to this man's heart. And now he wanted to be baptized.
God gave us the ordinance of baptism. to publicly identify
his union to God and Christ Jesus. He had been brought to repentance
to see that he is sin and that only God is holy and just and
righteous. He confessed with his mouth from
that new heart, that new man that God formed in him, Jesus
revealed, Christ revealed in you the hope of glory. And in
and only then could he truly say that I do believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, the Lord, my righteousness, my salvation,
my only acceptance to God the Father. He is my only wisdom. He's my only righteousness. He's
my only sanctification. He is my only redemption. When Christ obeyed God's law
perfectly, when he walked upon this earth, we were in him. And
so did we. When he suffered, we were in
him. When he died, we died with him. When he was buried, we were buried
with him. Praise God, when he arose the
third day according to scripture, we arose justified in him. The symbol of baptism. Ordinance of baptism. My life
is hid in Christ Jesus. I am totally immersed in him. In his blood, robed in
his righteousness alone. Christ is all and he is my all. And Philip opened his mouth and
preached Jesus from the same scripture he had read. Pray God bless his word to your
hearts. Let's go to prayer.