Okay, Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter
8. I'm entitling the message from
Acts chapter 8, verse 26 down through verse 40 of Acts chapter
8. I'm entitling the message from
this portion of scripture, the salvation story of a sinner. That's what we read, the salvation
story of a sinner. If the Lord has saved you by
his mighty grace, this is your story too. You can identify with
this man from Ethiopia. This is a pattern of how the
Lord calls out his sheep. He said, My sheep hear my voice,
I know them, and they follow me. Now, while a religious experience
is not salvation, salvation by the grace of God is certainly
something that we experience in our heart, our soul, our mind. We experience the agony of conviction. We experience the guilt of sin. We experience being lost before
God. And then we experience the joy
of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is something that we really
experience. THE GUILT OF SIN, THE CONVICTION
OF SIN, AND THEN THE COMFORT THAT COMES WITH BELIEVING THE
GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND IT CAUSES US ALWAYS TO REJOICE
AS THIS MAN DID. HE WENT ON HIS WAY REJOICING
IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. GOD WHO HAD BEGUN A GOOD WORK
IN US, HE WILL FINISH IT. HE WILL PERFECT IT. and it causes
us great joy. Now last week we saw the false
conversion of a man by the name of Simon Magus. Peter said to him, your heart
is not right in the sight of God. God had not done a work
of grace in his heart, but this man did believe the gospel in
his heart. truly was converted by the grace
of God. We don't even have his name.
His name is not given to us, but the Lord has always known
this man intimately, personally, by name, from all eternity, and
had chosen this man to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is true of every sinner whom God saves. God never saves by
accident. He always saves by His purpose,
and His purpose is an eternal purpose in the Lord Jesus Christ. He saves every sinner wisely
by His purpose and grace that's given us in Christ Jesus, think
of it, before the foundation of the world, before we were
even born. BEFORE OUR PARENTS WERE BORN.
FROM ALL ETERNITY GOD HAS CHOSEN HIS PEOPLE UNTO SALVATION AND
WILL CROSS THEIR PATH WITH THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD. THEY WILL HEAR IT AND THEY WILL
BELIEVE IT AND THEY WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. PHILIP THE EVANGELIST, AS HE'S
CALLED, HAD BEEN PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN THE CITIES OF SAMARIA.
THE LORD HAD ABUNDANTLY BLESSED THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL.
IT SAYS IN VERSE 8 OF ACTS CHAPTER 8, THERE WAS GREAT JOY IN THAT
CITY. HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE CONVERTED?
I DON'T KNOW. BUT THEY ALL HAD THE SAME HOPE.
THEY HAD THE HOPE OF SALVATION IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND
NOTHING ELSE AND NO ONE ELSE. Peter and John also traveled
from Jerusalem to these cities in Samaria and preached the same
gospel to those many villages. Look at verse 25. And they, when
they had testified and preached the word, the word of the Lord,
they returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages
in Samaria. What a blessing that had been.
TO HAVE BEEN PART OF HEARING PETER OR JOHN PREACH THE GOSPEL. NOW WE SEE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
IS GOING TO SEND THE GOSPEL PREACHER PHILIP TO PREACH THE UNSEARCHABLE
RICHES OF CHRIST TO ONE MAN. WOULD GOD SEND THIS ONE MAN ALL
THE WAY FROM SAMARIA WAY DOWN SOUTH TO GAZA TO HEAR ONE GOSPEL
SERMON? THAT'S THE WAY HE WORKS. GOD
SENT PHILIP OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE TO CALL THE NOBODY
OUT OF DARKNESS INTO GOD'S MARVELOUS LIGHT BY HIS GRACE. WE CALL THAT,
WE HAVE A NAME FOR THAT, WE CALL THAT THE GOOD PROVIDENCE OF GOD. VERSE 26 DOWN TO VERSE 29, 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 a desert country. And it still
is. Look on your map. And he arose
and he went, because the Lord sent him. And behold, this man
of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candacy Queen
of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure. He had come
to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting
in his chariot, and he read. What a great thing to do. He
read Isaiah the prophet. He was reading the
word of the Lord, and yet God sent him a gospel preacher. Philip
said, do you understand what you're reading? I need help. Would you help me? Would you
give me understanding?" Philip was directed to go to a lonely
desert road and preach the gospel. The story begins with God, the
Spirit of the Lord sent him. THE STORY BEGINS WITH GOD, AS
ALL SALVATION DOES, FROM ELECTION TO GLORIFICATION, SALVATION IS
OF THE LORD. IT'S HIS DOING. SALVATION IS
OF THE LORD AND IT'S PLANNING, IT'S EXECUTION, IT'S APPLICATION,
IT'S SUSTAINING POWER, AND IT'S ULTIMATE PERFECTION. WE SEE THE
WORKING OF THE SOVEREIGN PROVIDENCE OF GOD, ARRANGING ALL THESE THINGS,
THE LORD FROM ETERNITY arranged all things before the world began,
and in time he brings it to pass. We call that the good and sovereign
providence of God. I was sitting a week or so ago
in a dental chair, stretched out, and my dentist was doing
some work fixing a crown to put on one of my implants. And he tried to stick it on there,
and he said, this ain't gonna work. And I wanted that tooth
so bad. He said, this ain't gonna work.
We gotta send it back to the lab. And he said, well, that's
just the way it is. And I said, we have a name for
that. He knows I'm a preacher. He said, what do you call that? And I said, the theologians call
that the good and sovereign providence of God. He said, well, that sounds
pretty good. And I quoted him this scripture.
I actually got my phone out and read it to him. I quoted it to
him first. Then he asked me to repeat it. He said, what kind
of philosophy is that? I said, it's what God says in
his word. I couldn't quote it the second
time. So I got out my phone and read it to him. GOD HAS DECLARED
FROM ANCIENT TIMES THAT THINGS ARE NOT YET DONE, SAYING, MY
COUNSEL SHALL STAND. I'LL DO ALL MY PLEASURE. I'VE
SPOKEN IT. I'VE PURPOSED IT. I WILL DO IT,
SAITH THE LORD. AND HE SAID, THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS
IN GOD'S WORD. I SAID, THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS.
KNOWN UNTO GOD ARE ALL HIS WORKS FROM THE BEGINNING. DOESN'T THAT
COMFORT YOUR HEART? I WASN'T UPSET. I MEAN, I WANTED
THAT TOOTH. IT JUST WASN'T TIME. Now they're
fixing it right. Stick it back on there. Next
year I'll have a new tooth. The Lord does all things according
to his good, sovereign will and purpose. This arrangement and
this meeting between Philip and this black man from Ethiopia
wasn't an accident. It happened by purpose. The Lord
does not change. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. The Lord Jesus Christ is same
yesterday, today, and forever. He works all things. THE COUNCIL
OF HIS OWN SOVEREIGN PURPOSE AND WILL. RICHARD, DO YOU UNDERSTAND
EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID? NO, BUT I BELIEVE IT. I BELIEVE
IT TO BE SO. HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERIES
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD? THEY'RE BEYOND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. BUT WE BELIEVE WHAT GOD SAYS
IN HIS WORDS. THE SECOND THING I SEE IS THIS,
THE LORD TELLS US ABOUT THIS MAN FROM ETHIOPIA. He has great
authority. He has a great amount of wealth. This man traveled hundreds of
miles to Jerusalem to worship the Lord that he had been exposed
to. He was walking in the light that
the Lord had given him. He was a Jewish convert, most
think, apostolate, and the Lord created in him, created in him
an interest. to seek the Lord and to seek
salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord created a spiritual
interest in him. I read this scripture this morning
in Psalm 34. It says, those that seek the
Lord shall not want any good thing. And those who seek the
Lord will find him when you search for him with all your heart.
Now think of this. THIS MAN FROM ETHIOPIA WAS IN
JERUSALEM. HOW LONG HE WAS THERE? HE WAS
PROBABLY OBSERVING CERTAIN FEAST DAYS. HE WAS IN THE TEMPLE. ALL
THOSE APOSTLES WERE IN JERUSALEM STILL. NO DOUBT HE HEARD MANY
RUMORS ABOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ALL THE APOSTLES WERE STILL IN
JERUSALEM MINISTERING THE GOSPEL. WHY DIDN'T THE LORD SEND PETER
AND JOHN OR ONE OF THE OTHER APOSTLES TO PREACH TO HIM WHILE
HE WAS IN JERUSALEM? I mean, that would be a good
plan, wouldn't it? Wasn't the Lord's time. It was
not the time of love. The time of love was for Philip
to go preach to that one man in that desert country. That
was the time of love when God revealed himself unto him. Again,
the providence of God, by the providence of God, He attains
a copy of some portion of scripture from Isaiah and was seeking the
Lord through the word of the Lord, reading the book of God.
What a great thing for us to do. God speaks to his people
through his word. Get the book of God, get by yourself
and read the word of the Lord. You deprive yourself of a great
blessing when you neglect personal devotion and study. The Word
of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word or the command of
God. His Word is a nourishment for our soul. We desire the sincere
milk of the Word that we might grow thereby. That's why I take
the Word. LOOK FOR THE PHILOSOPHIES OF
MEN. I TAKE THE WORD OF GOD AND PREACH TO YOU EVERY WEEK FROM
THIS BOOK. HERE'S THE THIRD THING WE SEE.
WE SEE HOW THE LORD WORKS IN THE SALVATION OF HIS ELECT AND
HOW HE USES THE WRITTEN WORD THROUGH A PREACHER PREACHING
THE WORD TO CALL OUT HIS SHEEP. THE LORD SENDS A GOSPEL PREACHER
TO THIS MAN. PHILIP PREACHED UNTO HIM THE
WORD OF THE LORD AS IT SAYS DOWN THERE IN VERSE 35 THEN PHILIP
OPENED HIS MOUTH AND BEGAN AT THE SAME SCRIPTURE AND PREACHED
UNTO HIM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. YOU REMEMBER BACK OVER HERE IN
VERSE 4 OF ACTS CHAPTER 8 WHEN HE WENT DOWN TO SAMARIA THEY
WENT, HE SAID, THE PHILIPPE WENT DOWN, VERSE 5, TO THE CITY OF
SAMARIA AND PREACHED CHRIST UNTO THEM, DOWN IN VERSE 12 OF BACCHUS
CHAPTER 8, WHEN THEY BELIEVED PHILIPPE PREACHING A THING CONCERNING
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. FOR THIS MAN
HAD JUST ONE MESSAGE. DID YOU NOTICE THAT? One message,
Jesus Christ in him crucified. It is by the word of the Lord
called the seed of life that the Lord begets life and faith
in us. We're born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of an incorruptible seed. What? The word of the Lord. Of his own will beget he us with
the word of the Lord. Whether we preach to one person,
or the 500 people the Lord has chosen by the preaching of the
word of the Lord, the gospel of God's grace, to call out his
people. God sent you a gospel preacher,
just as God some 35, 40 years ago sent me a gospel preacher
named Mahan. And God gave me ears to hear
that man preach Christ. The second thing we see here,
a sinner was prepared by God to hear the word of the Lord.
He was made willing in the day of his power. The old theologians
had a term for that, they called that the prevenient grace of
God. I've used that term before, the
prevenient grace of God. What does that mean? That's grace
before grace. NOW THIS MAN WAS EXPERIENCED
THE GRACE OF GOD EVEN BEFORE HE REALIZED THAT IT WAS THE GRACE
OF GOD. AND WE CAN LOOK BACK IN OUR LIVES
NOW, BACK TO OUR CHILDHOOD, OUR EARLY ADULT LIFE, AND WE CAN
SEE NOW HOW THE GRACE OF GOD KEPT US, PRESERVED US TO THE
TIME WHEN GOD SENT US A GOSPEL PREACHER. HE PREPARED OUR HEARTS. by his grace, pervenient grace. The Lord had already prepared
the heart of this man at Ethiopia before Philip ever met him. God
was working in his heart. And when the preacher came with
the message, he heard it and he believed it. The grace of
God had chosen this man in eternity. THE GRACE OF GOD BROUGHT THIS
MAN TO HEAR THE GOSPEL MESSAGE ARRANGED BY THE PROVIDENCE OF
GOD. THE GRACE OF GOD HAD GIVEN THIS MAN A REAL INTEREST IN THE
SALVATION OF HIS SOUL AND THE FORGIVENESS OF HIS SIN. AND THE
GRACE OF GOD BROUGHT THIS MAN TO CHRIST IN SAVING FAITH. DO YOU BELIEVE WITH YOUR HEARTS
YOU CAN BE BAPTIZED? WHAT DID HE SAY? I BELIEVE THAT
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD. THIS IS HOW THE LORD STILL WORKS
TODAY. He crosses the path of his elect
with the gospel of his grace. He uses earthen vessels to declare
the gospel to other earthen vessels, preaching as one beggar, telling
another beggar where he found food. We preach not ourselves,
but the Lord Jesus Christ and ourselves, your servant for Christ's
sake, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
TO GIVE US THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE
OF JESUS CHRIST. AND WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN
EARTHEN VESSELS THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD AND
NOT OF US. DON'T GLORY IN THE PREACHER.
JOHN, WHO ARE YOU? I'M A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS. BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD. I'M JUST
A VOICE. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ. The gospel is the power of God and the salvation. It's
not my oratory. We preach Christ and him crucified. Now here's the fourth thing I
see. Verse 32 down through there, verse 35. By the good providence
of God, the place of scripture which you read was this. God
chose the text for Philip to preach the gospel from. Isn't
that amazing? AND HE SHOWS A VERY SPECIFIC
TEXT SHOWING SUBSTITUTIONAL SATISFACTION. THE LAMB, HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO THE
SLAUGHTER, CRUCIFIED FOR US. LIKE A LAMB, DUMB, HE IS THE
LAMB OF GOD, HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH. IN THE JUDGEMENT HALL,
THE PILOT SAID, WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER ME? GUILTY, BECAUSE OF
OUR SIN. In his humiliation, oh, how he
was humiliated. Judgment, judgment fell on him. Who shall declare his generation?
For his life is taken, he's cut off out of the land of the living. I love the text the Lord had
chosen Philip to preach from. No clearer picture at all, Old
Testament scripture declaring unto us the gospel message of
salvation by Jesus Christ crucified. Substitution. It pleased the
Lord to bruise him, wounded for our transgression, bruised for
our iniquity. The charitizing of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes, with his shedding of his blood,
satisfaction were healed. It pleased God to bruise him.
The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He is the
Lamb of God. ORDAINED FROM ALL ETERNITY, THE
LAMB SLAYING BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, OR FROM THE FOUNDATION
OF THE WORLD. BEFORE ADAM EVER SINNED, THE
REMEDY STOOD. THE SAVIOR STOOD. BEFORE THERE
WAS RUIN, THERE WAS A REMEDY. YOU SEE, GOD KNOWS ALL THINGS
FROM THE BEGINNING AND HAS DECREED ALL THINGS. HE WAS MADE TO BE
SIN FOR US WHO KNEW NO SIN, THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS
OF GOD IN HIM. Verse 34, one question the eunuch
said, I pray thee, of whom does this prophet Isaiah speak about? Is he talking about Isaiah or
is he talking about some other man? Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same place where he was reading, Isaiah 53, and
he preached to him the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip preached Christ from the
book of Isaiah. He preached his person as the
God-man mediator. He preached the Lord Jesus Christ,
his person, as Almighty God, yet a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. HE PREACHED UNDER PHILIP THE
PRIESTLY WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, HOW HE WAS WOUNDED FOR
OUR TRANSGRESSION. ISAIAH AND ALL THE PROPHETS GIVE
WITNESS TO THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND HIS REDEEMING WORK. TO HIM GIVE ALL THE PROPHETS
WITNESS. OUR LORD SAID TO THOSE PHARISEES,
YOU DO SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE, AND IN THEM YOU THINK YOU HAVE
ETERNAL LIFE. THEY ARE THEY WHICH TESTIFY OF
ME, AND YOU WILL NOT COME TO ME, THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE.
The risen Lord preached the gospel to those people. Remember, beginning
at the Psalms and all the scriptures and all the prophets, he spake
unto them the things concerning himself, himself, himself. Verse 36 and verse 37, Philip
preached the gospel to the Lord, of the Lord Jesus Christ, unto
this eunuch. And as they went on their way, They came unto certain water.
Now, water in a desert country, that's a pretty popular place. They came to an oasis, a watering
hole, and no doubt this place was, everybody that went on this
road was at this watering hole. And the eunuch said to him, well,
I see water right here. And I need to confess Christ
in believers' baptism. I need to be baptized. What does
hinder me? And Philip said unto him, If
thou believest with all thine heart, you may. And he answered, and he said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, no doubt
Philip had told him how believers confess the Lord Jesus Christ
in baptism. Philip was down in Samaria and
he baptized how many hundreds of people in that great revival
that was going on in that city. And no doubt Philip had told
the eunuch about how believers confess Christ in baptism, showing
their faith in him as all their salvation. And he said, what
does hinder me from being baptized, from confessing Christ as God
my Savior? My sin. MY SIN DOESN'T HINDER
ME FROM BEING BAPTIZED BECAUSE CHRIST DIED TO PUT AWAY MY SIN. WHAT DOES HINDER ME FROM BEING
BAPTIZED? MY CORRUPTION? THE CORRUPTION
OF MY NATURE? NO, SIR. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
CAME TO SAVE SINNERS. HE DIED FOR THE UNGODLY. WHAT
DOES HINDER ME FROM BEING BAPTIZED? MY PAST? THIS IS A FAITHFUL SAYING AND
WORTHY OF ALL ACCEPTATION. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CAME TO
SAVE SINNERS. YOU SEE, MY FRIEND, THE POINT
I'M MAKING IS THIS. GRACE IS FOR THE GUILTY. OUR
LORD SAID, I DIDN'T COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS. I CAME TO CALL
SINNERS TO REPENTANCE. GO LEARN WHAT THAT MEANS. I WILL
HAVE MERCY. I DON'T NEED YOUR SACRIFICE.
I'M GOING TO HAVE MERCY UPON WHOM I WILL. GRACE IS FOR THE
GUILTY. MERCY IS FOR THE MISERABLE. SALVATION
IS FOR SINNERS. Philip said, by the authority
of God, if thou believeth with all thy heart. Remember we read
last week, Romans 10.10, for with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. Get a hold of that. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Abraham believed
God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. And with the
mouth, confession is made unto salvation. You see, salvation
is a heart work. It's a heart work of God working
in your will to make you willing in a day of God's power, in your
mind to give you right thoughts of God, in your affection to
cause you to set your heart on things above. right knowledge
and a heart persuasion I know whom I have believed and I'm
persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him
against that day heart faith his heart commitment his heart
surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ now I love what
this eunuch said I believe verse 37 the last part I believe now
that's a miracle Faith is a gift of God. We only believe according
to the working of His mighty power. I believe Jesus. I believe He's the Savior who
put away my sin. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sin. And I believe He's the Christ
of God. He's the Son of God. SHORT YET
COMPREHENSIVE STATEMENT OF FAITH. I BELIEVE, AND I DO, I BELIEVE,
I TRUST THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO PUT AWAY ALL MY SIN. I BELIEVE
HE IS THE MESSIAH, THE ONE SIN OF GOD, THAT THERE IS NO OTHER.
SALVATION AND NO OTHER. I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS
GOD MY SAVIOR. HE IS THE DIVINE PERSON, TRULY
AND PROPERLY GOD, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE
AND TRUTH, OF THE SAME NATURE WITH HIM, EQUAL TO HIM, THAT
HE EXISTED FROM ALL ETERNITY, THAT HE IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN
SON OF GOD. HE IS GOD THE SON. AND I BELIEVE
HE'S THE MESSIAH. HE'S THE CHRIST OF GOD, THE ANOINTED
AS PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING. Prophet to reveal, priest to
redeem, and a king to rule and reign over us. That was his confession. I love
to read the confession of others. Mary, the virgin, whom God the
Holy Spirit used her body to conceive the body, the humanity
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you know what her confession was?
She said, my soul does rejoice in God my Savior. I love what
Simeon, the old man, whom the Lord said he wouldn't die, he
wouldn't depart until he'd seen the Lord's Christ. And when they
brought the child in to do for him according to the custom of
the law, he took up that baby in his arm, the Lord Jesus Christ. that tender plant, that rhubarb
dry ground. They looked him dead in the eye
and said, Lord, let me die. I'm ready to die. I've seen thy
salvation. That's Christ. That's a good
confession. Mary, Simeon, how about Thomas? The other apostles said, Thomas,
we've seen the Lord. He's risen from the dead. I won't
believe until I see him. And when the Lord appeared to
him, remember what he said, my Lord and my God. And then Peter's
confession. When many walked away from the
Lord Jesus Christ, some think that 5,000 that he fed, they
all walked away. And the Lord turned to the 12
and said, would you also go away? Remember what Simon Peter said?
We believe and we're sure you are that Christ of God. Is that your confession? I trust
it is. Now, this salvation story has
a happy ending. Verse 38-39, and he commanded
the chariot to stand still. When Philip heard this confession
of faith, I believe and I'm trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as God
my Savior. He commanded the chariot to stand
still. And they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they would come up out
of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and
the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way. Philip went
on his way rejoicing, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
Now, Philip baptized this sinner because he believed the gospel
and was trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is an ordinance
the Lord has given to his church, baptism in the Lord's table.
Baptism, we know, water baptism, does not PUT AWAY SIN. WATER BAPTISM DOES NOT PUT US
INTO CHRIST. BY THE ONE SPIRIT ARE WE ALL
BAPTIZED INTO THE ONE BODY. BAPTISM DOES SHOW HOW SIN WAS
PUT AWAY. DEATH, THERE'S A DEATH AND BURIAL
AND A RESURRECTION IN BAPTISM. BAPTISM, WATER BAPTISM IS NOT
ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION. IT'S ESSENTIAL TO OBEDIENCE. CHRIST IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION.
BUT THAT'S HOW THE LORD HAS ORDAINED FOR US TO PUBLICLY CONFESS OUR
HOPE OF SALVATION BY BELIEVER'S BAPTISM. HIS DEATH, HIS BURIAL,
AND HIS RESURRECTION IS ALL OUR SALVATION. HE THAT BELIEVETH
AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED. HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL NOT
SEE LIFE. The eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
Philip went on his way rejoicing and preaching the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. You see the last part of that
in verse 39. He went on his way rejoicing. And Philip was found
at Azotus passing through. He preached in all the cities
till he came and settled in Caesarea. Now, may the Lord be pleased
TO MAKE THIS OUR SALVATION STORY. IF GOD HAS SAVED YOU BY HIS GRACE,
YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH THIS MAN. OUR TESTIMONY WILL BE CHRIST
DID IT ALL. THAT WAS THIS MAN'S HOPE. I BELIEVE
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD. THAT HE LOVED ME WITH
AN EVERLASTING LOVE, THAT HE DIED FOR ME the just for the
unjust to bring us unto God, that He saved me by His grace,
God who saved us and called us with a holy calling, that God
had made us a new creature in Christ, and we sing unto Him
now and forever. unto him who loved us and washed
us from our sin in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests
unto our God and to his Father. To him be glory and dominion
forever and ever." And then it says, you know what it says next? Amen. You know what it says next? Period. End of story. Salvation of the Lord, period.