All right, Acts chapter 8. Behold, a man of Ethiopia. I begin this message by pointing
out several things about this man that I do not know. Several things
we do not know. First of all, we do not know
when. He became interested in the living God. We know that
he was. He'd gone up to Jerusalem to worship, etc. He was from
Ethiopia. He was an officer in the king's
court in Ethiopia, and he'd gone to Jerusalem to find out something
about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I don't know when,
nor does anyone else, when this interest began. I don't know
where, I know how. God created an interest in his
heart. God gave him an interest. The
second thing I do not know. I do not know where he secured
a copy of the writings of Isaiah the prophet. He was journeying back to Ethiopia
from Jerusalem and he was reading Isaiah chapter 53 and where he
got the copy of this book written by Isaiah. I don't know, perhaps
he got it from someone in Jerusalem, from the temple. I do not know.
He was an important man and he could have somehow got someone to give him or sell
him a copy of Isaiah the prophet, but he had this book. I can't account for the fact
that he was able to read Hebrew. I do know that the prophecy of
Isaiah was written in Hebrew, and this man was reading it.
Philip came by and heard him read the prophet Isaiah. God moves in mysterious ways. He might have brought this man
at some time in his life into the company of Hebrew people,
and he learned their language just for this day. when he would
be reading the scripture. God moves in mysterious ways. He has wonders to perform or
accomplish. But there are some things about
this man that I do know, that I find very important. First
of all, this man was seeking the Lord. He had a real desire
to know the living God and how sins are forgiven. Our Lord said,
you'll seek me and find me when you search for me with all your
heart. This man was seeking the Lord. I believe he was like Cornelius
of old, who was seeking the Lord. And when Peter came down to preach
to him, in Acts chapter 10, it said he gathered all of his household
together and told Philip, told Peter, He said, I sent to thee,
I sent for thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come.
Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all
things that are commanded thee of God. We're seeking the Lord. Now preach to us the things of
God. We're here waiting to hear what you've got to say. This
man was a seeker like Cornelius, and God sent him a preacher.
And then secondly, this man was willing to do what he had to
do to hear the gospel. He was willing to take a long,
perilous journey. He didn't just sit at home and
hope someday the gospel would come his way, cross his path.
God created an interest, a desire to know the living God. And he
took a long, perilous journey all the way to Jerusalem to see
if he could find out something about this God. He determined
to know the truth. I'm going to know the truth,
he said. Wherever I have to go to hear
it, I'm going to hear it. I was preaching down in Chiapas
years ago. Brother Milton Howard had got
the word out all over this area down near Guatemala. San Rafael, I believe was the
name of the place, where the ranch was located. They got the
word out, we was going to have special service. Going to have
a distant preacher from America. Going to preach Friday and Saturday
and Sunday. And people came, they rented
trucks and came from villages. There'd be 15 to 20 people in
the back of a truck riding over a dirt road. But the people that
impressed me most, were two or three families that walked to
the service through the jungles. They left home sometime in the
morning, I guess, and walked for miles through the jungles
to where the services were being held. And there's a river down
below the ranch. And they had stopped at the river
and washed their feet and their hands and faces, got some cool
water, and changed into their good clothes. and then came up
the hill to hear the gospel. And they brought along, they
couldn't go back that night, couldn't walk through the jungle
at night, so they brought their little bedrolls and they slept
on a concrete patio all night long. They wanted to hear the
gospel. You reckon God would send the
gospel to somebody that desperate? Do you reckon we could find anybody
in America that's that interested in hearing the gospel? We would if they needed it. If we could find a sinner, we'd
find a subject for the gospel. If we could find a lost man,
they're hard to find. But if we could find a lost man
or a lost woman, you'll find somebody seeking the gospel.
That's what this man was. He was determined to hear it.
And I'll tell you this, he went up there to Jerusalem. And he
knew he didn't hear anything. He'd been up there three or four
days at the feast in Jerusalem, the capital of religion, where
all the Sadducees and Pharisees and Sanhedrins and scribes and
recognized theologians were there assembled for the feast days.
And he listened to them. He said, how do you know he didn't
hear anything? Because he didn't know anything. He was reading
Isaiah, and he didn't know who the Messiah was. And I tell you
another reason I know he wasn't rejoicing. When he heard Philip,
he rejoiced. When he heard those fellows,
he was sad. This man knew he hadn't heard
anything. He didn't know what he hadn't
heard. He didn't know what he hadn't heard, but he knew he
hadn't heard anything. He knew what they were saying wouldn't meet
his need. And the next thing I found out
about him, it says here, you remember I read it, he was reading
the scriptures. The great ignorance in the pulpit
today and the great ignorance in the pew can be laid to two
things. You know what they are? Turn
to Mark, Mark chapter 12. the book of Mark, chapter 12,
verse 24, and our Lord tells us what the problem is in this
day, because it was the same problem then. In Mark 12, verse
24, he said, verse 24, Mark 12, And Jesus answering said to them,
Do ye not therefore err because, number one, you do not know the
scriptures, number two, you do not know the power of God. That's the two reasons. Men do
not know the scriptures. They're not reading the scriptures.
They're not studying the scriptures. They're not searching the scriptures.
They're not preaching the scriptures. They do not know the scriptures.
Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God. The word
of God is the foundation of faith. David and Paul both said, I believe,
therefore have I spoken. Abraham's very foundation of
faith is that God was able to do what he said, what he's written. Charles Spurgeon encountered
a man one time who said, Mr. Spurgeon, the salvation of God is to be
found in this book and nowhere else. And I am determined to
study this book till I find it. salvation of God. Men do not
know the scriptures, and they do not know the power of God.
God is able to do what He purposed to do, what He wills to do. He
has all power. He's the creator. He's the sovereign
God. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will. He doeth according to His will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of this earth.
We know something of his power. His power is Christ. The power
of God unto salvation. Notice another thing about this
man. He was reading the essentials. Now, all scripture is given by
inspiration of God. And all scripture is profitable.
But this man was trying to find out how God could be just and
justify a sinner. That's what he was trying to
find out. He wasn't trying to find out when Armageddon was going
to be fought. He wasn't trying to find out
where certain things are mentioned in the Bible that have occurred
in our day, like so forth and so on. He was trying to find
out how he could be clean as born of a woman. He was trying to find out how
a sinner from Ethiopia could know the living God. What is
man that thou art mindful of him? What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Who is Christ? Who is the Redeemer? Whence cometh
he? He was reading the essentials.
He was reading about the Messiah. Who's this talking about? Is
this the prophet talking about himself or is he talking about
someone else? I've got to know who this is that was wounded
for my transgressions and bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement
of my peace was upon me. I've got to know who he is. Whence
he came, what he did, why he did it, where he is, where is
he now? Where is my Redeemer now? Is he still in the grave? And he can't do me much good.
If he can't get out, he can't get me out. And Philip asked him, he said,
do you understand? My friends, don't be offended
if we ask you, do you understand? what you're reading. This man
was intelligent. He could have taught Philip some
things about finance. He was a man of great authority. He was a man who had charge of
all the treasures of Ethiopia. But he was a man who was ignorant
of the things of God. So my friend, if you're sitting
here this morning and We cross your paths and you're intelligent,
successful, you've got ability and talents. Don't be offended if we ask,
do you understand? Because by nature, no man understands
the Word of God. The things of God to a natural
man are foolishness. Neither can he know them. They're
spiritually discerned. This man could have taught Philip
a whole lot of things, but he couldn't teach him a thing about
Christ. Not a word. He didn't know him.
How to be saved, he didn't know. He didn't know anything about
God, salvation, sin, eternal life, heaven, forgiveness, grace,
mercy, sanctification, nothing. And Philip asked him, do you
understand? So don't be offended. No man can come to me, my Lord
said, except my Father which sent me draw him. And I raise
him up at the last day. It's written in the prophets,
they shall be taught of God. Now how do you think God's going
to teach a man? Through his word and the voice
of another man. That's what the man answered
him. This was a smart man. When Philip said, do you understand
what you're reading? He said, how can I? Except someone show
me. I know finance, but I had to
be taught. I know how to read, but I had to be taught. I know
how to count, but I still had to be taught. How can I except
some man teach me? You know, Spurgeon wrote this
one time. He said, I don't understand all the Bible. No man does. I wouldn't believe the Bible
to be God's Word if I understood all of it. If I understood all of this book,
it couldn't be the word of God. It must be the work of man if
a man can understand it. Right? But I tell you this, he went
on to say, but those things which are essential and necessary to
a man's salvation, I do understand. I do understand. The Son of God hath come and
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and that we're in him that is true. And this is the true God,
and this is eternal life. And this man was willing to listen.
So, let's turn over here where he was reading, Isaiah 53, and
see what Philip taught him. As he was reading Isaiah 53,
Philip began at the same scripture and preached Christ to him. Verse
1, Isaiah 53. Who hath believed our report?
What is our report? It's our message. It's our gospel. It's the message of the Messiah.
It's the gospel of God's grace and mercy and love to sinners.
Who believes it? Our report is the person and
work of Christ. Who believes it? There hasn't
been a prophet who ever lived that didn't mourn over this fact
that men do not believe. We preach, but they do not believe. Who hath believed our message,
our gospel? To whom is the arm? What is the
arm of the Lord? It's the power of God. The gospel
is the power of God unto salvation. That's what Romans 1.16 says,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation. The arm of the Lord. To whom
is this arm, this power of God revealed? To whom is Christ revealed? To whom is Christ the wisdom
and the power of God revealed? Now here he is, listen, verse
2. He shall grow up before him as a tender plant. A tender plant,
we're watching them now, this is the spring, we sowed corn
and beans and other things, and we're watching that little tender
plant break the ground. Just a tender little plant, subject
to be crushed by the foot. You have to watch while you're
holding your corn, you don't step on the other row and kill it.
Just a tender plant. Coming out of the earth, low
in beginning, slow in growth, liable to all the dangers around
it. And this is a picture of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at that babe in the manger.
Talking about the Messiah. Just a baby, just born. Came
forth from the womb. Washed him, and swaddled him,
and cleaned him up, and laid him in a manger. So frail, laid
him in a manger. So tiny, so frail, so weak, so
human. Is this the Messiah? Lo and behold,
this is the Messiah. He has been made flesh. Bone of our bone, bone flesh
of our flesh, began his life just like we do, like we did. Born of a woman, made of a woman,
made under the law, subject to all the dangers and difficulties
and trials and temptation to which we're subject. That's the
Messiah. Tender plan. Look at it root
out of dry ground. Bethlehem, city of David, nothing
now. Nobody paid any attention to
Bethlehem. House of David, unknown. Did you know that Mary and Joseph
were of direct lineage of the house of David? Did you know
that Joseph traced his bloodline right back to David through Solomon,
to Jesse, Judah? Did you know that Mary traced
her birth and her lineage and house right back to David through
Nathan, his son? They were both of the house of
David, and they didn't even have a place for them to sleep. When
they came to town, to the city of David, now you talk about
dry ground, you talk about a kingdom perished. Israel, Jews, the nation,
you talk about nothing, it was nothing. These two direct descendants
of David who had come to the city of David to be taxed, and
one of them expecting her first baby, they sent them to a cow
stall. That's what we think of the house
of David. But this, that old dry ground's
got a root that's got some life. And God, I tell you, that thread
of blood and witness and kingdom of David, It got awful narrow
sometimes, awful thin, awful limited, but still there. And here is the root out of the
dry ground. Here is the promised Messiah.
Here is the one who will sit on the throne of David. Here
he is. Here he is. A root out of the dry ground.
He hath no form, no comeliness, just a man. Behold the man, carpenter. Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? His nationality, Jew. His hometown, Nazareth. His birthplace,
Bethlehem. His vocation, carpenter. His
disciples, fishermen. His followers, sinners. His death
on a cross. Tell me about him. Is this the
Messiah? Who's he talking about? No form, no comeliness, no honor,
no majesty. Born of poor parents, no beauty
that we should desire him. He didn't come here on a white
steed. Verse 3, he's despised. Is it any wonder? Rejected of
men. Even his brothers didn't believe
on him. Mary had other children. I can't name them all, but after
the Lord Jesus was born, she had other children. But they
didn't believe on him. Even his brothers, the scripture
said, didn't believe on him. Everybody who was anybody turned
thumbs down on him. He's despised. Despised, rejected
of men. I want to read you a passage
over here in Lamentation. This is the words of our Lord.
Lamentation 1, I believe it's verse 12. Listen. Talk about
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Lamentation 112,
is it nothing to you, O ye that pass by, is it nothing to you?
Behold and see, if there is any sorrow, any sorrow like my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
From the cradle to the cross was a walk of agony and sorrow
and tears and suffering. The Lord, it pleased God to bruise
him. Philip is telling this man about
the man, Christ Jesus. Like I'm telling you this morning. And I'll tell you this, right
beside, turn back to Isaiah 53. You write the number 43 there. And that's how many times in
this chapter Isaiah uses the word he. Him and His, in reference
to Christ, 43 times. He. He. He. Verse 3, He is despised. He is
rejected of men. He is a man of sours, acquainted
with griefs. We hid, as it were, our faces
from Him. He is despised, and we esteemed
Him not. But here is the reason, and I
can see Philip just telling this fellow this. In Adam we die, in Christ we
are made alive. The first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. By one man
sin entered this world. By one man righteousness entered
this world. It came down from heaven. By one man death passed
upon all men. By one man righteousness, life,
passed upon his people. Because verse 4, he is born of
our grace. He's carried our sorrows. We
did esteem Him stricken, Him stricken, smitten of God, God
smote Him, and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgressions. He's a substitute. That's the word that defines
the gospel, it's a substitute. He took my place. gave me his
place. He took my sin and gave me holiness. He took my death and gave me
life. He took my hell and gave me heaven. He took my separation. Your sins have separated you
and your God, divided, and he was separated from God. My God,
why hast thou forsaken me? That he might bring me to God.
He died just for the unjust to bring us to God. He was bruised
for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him. Who laid it upon him? The Father
did. When Jesus Christ hung on that
cross by imputation, he was the world's greatest sinner. He bore
all the sins and all the iniquities and all the transgressions of
all the elect, of all ages, of all generations. He was smudged
and smeared. His soul was made an offering
for our sins. But thank God, with his stripes
and suffering, we're healed. It's finished. The battle's over. The victory's won. There'll be
no more war. The war came down upon him, and
there'll be no more war. I don't have any war, because
I don't have any sins. With his spotless garments on,
I'm as holy as his son. Near, so near to God, nearer
we cannot be in the person of his Son, we're as near as he.
He presents us holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight.
That's what Philip told this man. Oh, we like sheep. There's not a one that hasn't
gone astray. We went astray in Adam, by birth, by nature, by
choice, by practice. We've turned everyone to his
own way. I'll do it my way. That's our
theme song. I'll do it my way. We always
have. You won't do this your way, his way. And the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Past, present, and future. He
washed it white as snow. Nothing good have I whereby thy
grace to claim. I wash my garments white in the
blood of the Lamb." He was oppressed. He was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth. He said, no man takes my life.
I lay it down. I have the power to take it and
lay it down. He was like a sheep. He brought as a lamb to the slaughter.
Why didn't he cry out and say, these witnesses are liars? This
trial is a farce. These charges are wrong. Wait
a minute. These charges were true. Because he was numbered
with the transgressors. He bore our sins. He was our
substitute. And he was guilty. That's right. I can't define that or describe
that. I just know that God will not clear the guilty. And Christ
was guilty. by imputation. As a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, he opened not his mouth. He was taken from
prison, from judgment. Who's going to call his generation,
his pedigree, his ancestry, his heritage? Anybody want to call
it? I am. He was cut off out of the land
we're living, for the transgression of my people was his stricken.
He made his grave with the wicked. He died between two thieves.
With the rich in his death, he was buried in a rich man's tomb,
Joseph of Arimathea, a tomb in which no man had ever laid. Though
he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth,
yet, listen, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. They said, David,
where is your God? He said, Our God is in the heavens.
What's he like? Our God is sovereign. What so
the Lord pleased? That did he in heaven, earth,
and the seas, and all deep places. God does what he pleases. And
it pleased God to make us his people. It pleased God that in
Jesus Christ should all fullness dwell, and it pleased God to
bruise him. It was in God's purpose and good
pleasure and will to bruise him in our place. And listen, and
his death and sacrifice pleased God. He said, this is my son
in whom I am well pleased. The Son of Man, the Son of God,
I'm pleased with everything he said, everything he's done, and
in his death. You see, those sacrifices of
Old Testament days never pleased God. In them thou hast no pleasure. They were types in pictures.
Who can have pleasure in a picture? You mean God Almighty was, are
you saying God Almighty was pleased, was satisfied, was found pleasure
in the death of his Son? That's what I'm saying. Because
he redeemed his people. Pleasure in his sacrifice. He put him to grief, but now
shall make his soul an offering for sin. My friends, fear him
that's able to cast thee body and soul. Hell, separation from
God is not just physical pain, it's soul suffering. And our Lord, you can describe
the agony of Christ physically on the cross and not touch the
true meaning of the cross. His agony was a soul agony. That's
right. A soul. The soul that sinneth,
it'll die. The soul that sinneth. You can
afflict my body, but the inward man is renewed every day. He
shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, the pleasure
of the Lord, that's what I said, will prosper. He turned it over
to Christ, he turned the covenant and the kingdom and the elect
and Zion and the church and the new heavens and the new earth.
And heaven and hell dwelleth righteousness, all these things
were given into his hands. He turned it over to Christ and
it'll all prosper. He will not fail. He cannot fail. One day he'll
present the kingdom to the Father. I finished the work. He gave me to do. He'll see the travail, birth
pains, agony of his soul. and be satisfied. He shall see
of the travail of his soul, be satisfied. Our Lord's a sovereign
Savior, he's a suffering Savior, he's a successful Savior, and
he's a satisfied Savior. He's not walking the floors of
heaven, he's seated. He's seated. It's finished. By his knowledge, he knows the
Father, he knows his people, they know him. The knowledge
of him, his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify
many. Not everybody, many. He'll bear
their iniquities. Everybody whose iniquities he
has borne are justified. That's the way they're justified.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, he shall divide
the small with the strong, because he's poured out his soul unto
death. He was numbered with the transgressors. He'll bear the
sin of many. And he ever lived it to make
intercession for them. I look back at my text, Acts
chapter 8. And Philip came to the end of
that message. How long that message was, I
don't know. How long they rode and talked,
I do not know. But they came to the end of it.
And the eunuch, having heard the gospel of Christ and believing
it, he said here in verse 36, And they went their way, he came
to a certain water, and the eunuch said to Philip, here's water.
What doth keep me from being baptized? What keeps me from
confessing Christ as my Lord and my Savior, my Redeemer? I'd
like to be baptized. I'd like to declare that Christ
Jesus is my Lord and my Savior, my Redeemer. And Philip said,
now listen. Well, we'll have to bring you
before the elders. We're going to have to question you for several
weeks. We're going to have to wait and see if you tell the
truth." No. He hedged about baptism with
one question. If you believe what you say,
then you're hired. You're to believe Christ is the
Son of God. You believe he's the Savior, the Redeemer. You
believe him, then you may. And he answered and said, that
Jesus Christ, Jesus, Jesus, you're talking about right here, he,
him, and his, wounded for my transgressions, I believe he
is the Son of God. Philip said, whoa, whoa, to the
horses, and they both went down into the water and confessed
Christ. How do you confess Christ? You
confess Christ first in your heart. You believe. Secondly,
you confess Christ with your mouth. I believe. I believe the gospel. You confess
Christ by being baptized, showing his death, burial, and resurrection,
and your death to the old way, and your burial and resurrection
to welcome newness of life. You confess Christ by being identified
with his people, gathering when they gather, worshiping when
they worship, praying when they pray. Forsake not the assembling
of yourselves together, being identified with the things of
Christ here on this earth." You confess Christ by continuing
in the faith every day, walking with him. Our Father, thank you for your
word. Thank you for the unchangeable word of the living God. that
was preached back there to the eunuch and preached to us today.
Same Christ, same gospel, same need, same Redeemer, same redemption. It has not changed. Our need
has not changed, and our Redeemer has not changed. Thank Thee for
Your unspeakable, unchangeable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reveal Him to our hearts, everybody here, by Your grace and by Your
power. In his name we pray, amen.