Latest / Admonition Podcast / Acts 8:26ff - Jacob Kennedy - 07-09-2025
Transcript
- 0:00is it time for us to begin and as is our custom here we will begin with a word of prayer so let's Almighty God, most holy, most righteous heavenly father, Lord you are so amazing,
- 0:12you are so wonderful.
- 0:14You are so far beyond our ability to comprehend, but we are so thankful that we have your word, that we can understand better who you are, that we can understand better of how we
- 0:23are to live.
- 0:25Lord, we are thankful for the book of Acts, for all that we can learn about the early church, about how we are to be as your church.
- 0:32Lord, we are so thankful for the time that we have to study your word.
- 0:36We pray that in all things we will seek to glorify you and grow closer to you and to be your servants always.
- 0:43And so your sons, and then we pray.
- 0:44Amen.
- 0:47If you would open to Acts chapter 8.
- 0:49Acts chapter 8 will be the text of our study tonight.
- 0:56Last time I taught class, which would have been two Sundays ago, we went through the beginning part of chapter 8 and made it down all the way to verse 25.
- 1:06So we'll be picking up on verse 26 tonight.
- 1:11But as we begin, I want to notice James chapter four.
- 1:17James chapter four kind of sets the stage for a thought that runs through the last half of Acts chapter, or the last section of Acts chapter eight.
- 1:28James chapter four.
- 1:31I can flip there.
- 1:33Sometimes these pages stick together.
- 1:37Verse 13 starting, go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there year and buy and sell and get gain.
- 1:47Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life?
- 1:51It is even a vapor that appeared for a little time and then vanisheth away.
- 1:55For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." And you might say, well, what does this have to do with Acts chapter eight?
- 2:06In Acts chapter eight, we have just seen Philip, the evangelist, doing a great work in Samaria.
- 2:12He has been preaching the gospel so faithfully and been converting these souls to Christ.
- 2:18And it has been an amazing, amazing thing.
- 2:22Am I not on?
- 2:25supposed to be on.
- 2:26There we go.
- 2:28It's been an amazing revival, if you will, a time in which many Samaritans have been converted.
- 2:36And while this good work's been going on, Philip gets a call.
- 2:43And we'll see this as we read verse 26 starting.
- 2:46And the angel 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.
- 2:58Philip has been doing this great work, but the Lord calls him to do something else.
- 3:04The Lord calls him to do another work, to go teach someone else.
- 3:11Now, looking at James chapter four, we understand that
- 3:17we as humans don't know the future.
- 3:20Yes, we can guess about what we think might happen.
- 3:23Yes, we can predict things, but only God knows the future.
- 3:29And it is God's will that we need to be following.
- 3:33And here, Philip shows us an example of how to follow God's will, even when things are going great.
- 3:42Just because everything is running smoothly, everything is going great,
- 3:46doesn't mean that a change does not need to happen.
- 3:53Sometimes we hear the saying, all good things must come to an end.
- 3:59Well, I wouldn't say that Philip was going to a bad thing, but the good work he was doing in Samaria for him was coming to an end.
- 4:09And so here we find him being called by the Angel of the Lord.
- 4:14Now this term, Angel of the Lord, refers to a messenger of the Lord.
- 4:19In times in the scripture, this term can be used to refer to Christ.
- 4:24It can be used to refer to an actual angel.
- 4:28the point behind it, the word itself, simply means a messenger of God.
- 4:33So whether it was an angel or some other spiritual being that comes to Philip, the point remains that the message that he is given is from God.
- 4:42The message that he is given is God telling him to go.
- 4:48Now this place, Gaza, if you've been watching the news in recent years, you know a lot about where Gaza is located, as unfortunately it has been the subject of much news
- 5:01recently.
- 5:03But this road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza, it was about anywhere from about 50 to 60 miles in length.
- 5:13So it was about 50 or 60 mile travel from Jerusalem to Gaza.
- 5:19And what's interesting to note is that in order for Philip to intercept, if you will, the Ethiopian eunuch, he would have had to have left about a day before the eunuch leaves.
- 5:32Therefore, when God gives him this message, he plans it out to the point where Philip has enough time to get to where he needs to be.
- 5:41And it just goes to show you the amazing understanding that God has.
- 5:45the foreknowledge that God has, way that God views time to know just when things need to happen.
- 5:53Truly it is amazing the God that we serve.
- 5:58Notice also the fact that this says, which is desert.
- 6:01When we think of a desert, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
- 6:07What's that?
- 6:09Lack of water.
- 6:10We think of a barren wasteland.
- 6:12We think about places out on the west coast, not on the west coast, but out west where there is nothing.
- 6:19There is no water.
- 6:20There is very little vegetation.
- 6:22There's very little animal life.
- 6:25But that's not the term used here.
- 6:28If you look at a topographical map of this area, of Palestine,
- 6:36you'll find that this region is not barren.
- 6:41is in fact actually has a good amount of water and of uh foliage.
- 6:48And so the term being used here is referring to people.
- 6:54It's saying that it is deserted and that there's not a large populace anywhere near there.
- 7:02And this place was going through a land that did not have
- 7:05any cities or large settlements.
- 7:11but do not miss the fact that there was water.
- 7:14And this will come into play later on as we read.
- 7:20But it's interesting to think about how far Philip went.
- 7:25Philip was willing to 60 miles, around 60 miles to go save a soul.
- 7:34How far are you willing to travel?
- 7:38As we look at our lives, we look at this world around us.
- 7:42We see those who are lost.
- 7:44We see those who are living in sin, those who are outside of Christ, and too often we say, someone else will teach them.
- 7:53Too often we say, well, I'll get around to it.
- 8:00But if Philip was willing to travel 60 miles, can't we travel to the person next door?
- 8:07Can't we share the gospel to the person that we come in contact with every day?
- 8:14sobering thought, sobering reminder of the immense responsibility that we have.
- 8:20And remember, the book of Acts is showing us the early church.
- 8:23The book of Acts is showing us the church that we're supposed to be.
- 8:30And what we see here are members who are willing to evangelize, members who are willing to spread God's word because they realize how important it is and that it's worth traveling
- 8:4160 miles.
- 8:49One thing that also strikes me in this passage is that God does not tell Philip that there is going to be an Ethiopian eunuch to convert.
- 9:01He doesn't tell Philip, hey, I need you to go here to talk to this person who's lost.
- 9:07He just says to go.
- 9:09Philip doesn't know why.
- 9:11He's not told by this messenger of God.
- 9:14He's not told why he's to go.
- 9:17He is simply told to go.
- 9:20And what do we read in verse 27?
- 9:21And he arose and went, and behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come to
- 9:34Jerusalem for to worship.
- 9:37He arose and went.
- 9:40This shows an immediacy, a realization of the importance of this matter.
- 9:47And I dare say that if God sent an angel down to tell us, you need to go over here to teach the gospel, or simply to say you need to go over to this place, I dare say we would
- 9:59go.
- 10:02But what about in his word when we read, go into all the world and teach the gospel?
- 10:09Same weight, as the same bearing on our souls is the same authority behind it.
- 10:18Phil was commanded to go and he went.
- 10:23Now this term, as we read in verse 27 of Candice, some have considered that to be, well that was the name of the queen.
- 10:30But if you look at this word, it actually is more of a title.
- 10:35We think about how titles were used and how names even became titles.
- 10:40We think about the pharaohs of Egypt.
- 10:43Well, Pharaoh Niko wasn't first name Pharaoh, last name Niko.
- 10:48His title was Pharaoh.
- 10:50His name was Niko.
- 10:52We think about the Caesars of Rome.
- 10:55Well, Julius Caesar, of course, being the first dictator, the first person in that kind of level of authority, and so after him, they began to take the name of Caesar to represent
- 11:06emperor.
- 11:08But it wasn't their name.
- 11:10It was their title.
- 11:13And so the same thing is true here with Candace.
- 11:15That was the title of the queen of Ethiopia.
- 11:20That was not her name.
- 11:25Now notice this in the end of verse 27 when he says that he had come to Jerusalem for to worship.
- 11:36Jerusalem is about 1,500 miles from Ethiopia.
- 11:421500 miles.
- 11:43Now today we think about hopping on a plane and oh that's just a short flight.
- 11:5275 days.
- 11:56It would have taken this man 75 days to reach Jerusalem.
- 12:04He was willing to ride in a chariot for 75 days to worship his God.
- 12:14You know, that makes that 15 minute drive not seem too bad, does it?
- 12:19even if you have to drive farther.
- 12:21I dare say none of us took 75 days to get here today.
- 12:27That's just one way.
- 12:28Exactly.
- 12:29You had to plan out a whole half a month.
- 12:31A whole month.
- 12:33A couple months actually.
- 12:35I'll get it right eventually.
- 12:40But this just shows the zeal and the dedication that this man had for God.
- 12:45It gives us a peek into his heart that he was willing to go out completely out of his way to worship the Lord God of heaven.
- 12:56Now at this time, the Jewish system of faith, the worship that he was offering was no longer acceptable because as we read, the old law had been fulfilled.
- 13:10that had been done away with, and the new law was the law by which God's followers worshiped and lived.
- 13:21there was an interesting or I guess you could say theory raised by J.W.
- 13:27McGarvey in his commentary on Acts he points to this man and let me read to you what he says
- 13:37He says that he thought he was a Jew living in Ethiopia and the reason being that
- 13:48Well, sometimes I can't read my notes.
- 13:51He thought he was a Jew living in Ethiopia, because of what we read later.
- 13:59We read later when he is baptized, Luke, the author of Acts, does not make a big deal concerning the fact that this man was uncircumcised.
- 14:09Now in other passages in Acts, the exact passage is escaping me at the moment, but in other passages in Acts, Luke does emphasize this.
- 14:18When those who were uncircumcised were baptized, he makes a point to mention this.
- 14:23But here he makes no such mention.
- 14:25And that led J.W.
- 14:26McGarvey to believe that this man was a Jew.
- 14:29Now whether or not he was a Jew, I don't know.
- 14:31The scripture does not tell us plainly.
- 14:34But it is an interesting thought and does make sense.
- 14:36When you think about the Jews, often we think about them as being good with money.
- 14:42We think about them as being bankers, as being
- 14:45well versed in how to deal with finance.
- 14:48And so that with that thought it makes sense why he would be the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia.
- 14:56But needless to say what is most important here is the dedication that he that he shows to God and also the responsible nature that he had in that he was given this position of
- 15:10being the treasurer of having
- 15:13care of all the riches of this queen.
- 15:16And we think about the wealth of a queen.
- 15:21Was it comparable to the wealth of Caesar?
- 15:24No.
- 15:25But was it comparable to the wealth of most people?
- 15:28It was exceeding most people's wealth.
- 15:31And after all, she was a queen.
- 15:34How much?
- 15:35We don't know.
- 15:37But the point is, this man was found trustworthy.
- 15:40This man was found faithful enough to where he was given this position and this trust.
- 15:50Verse 28.
- 15:53was returning and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.
- 16:02A quick mention here concerning the fact that he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
- 16:09Some rabbis in this time bound it as law that if you were traveling without accompaniment, if you were traveling by yourself, you had to spend that time studying the law, studying
- 16:24the scriptures.
- 16:26Now, is this a bad idea?
- 16:28No.
- 16:29What better use of your time?
- 16:31than studying the Word of God.
- 16:34But the fact that they were binding it goes back to what Jesus was warning his disciples about and about how the Pharisees were binding where God had not bound.
- 16:45Over and over again we see the departure that the Jews had from the Scriptures, from the Word of God, from the law of Moses that they had been given, and whether that be adding to
- 16:55or taking away from the law that was given to them.
- 17:02In verse 29, then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to hit this chariot.
- 17:09And Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah's and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
- 17:16And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
- 17:20And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
- 17:26Now we think about this command by the Spirit to go near and join thyself into this chariot.
- 17:35Remember we had said earlier, he just been told to go to this road, to go to the place in between Jerusalem and Gaza.
- 17:44That's all he knew.
- 17:46But upon reaching this point, he receives further instruction.
- 17:51It's kind of the idea of maybe a superior saying,
- 17:55go over to this this area and I'll tell you what to do when you get there.
- 18:01Or we think about
- 18:04We think about the idea of, let's say a parent says, hey, meet me in the living room.
- 18:11I want you to meet me in the living room and I'll tell you what you need to do.
- 18:15I'll give you a chore to do.
- 18:19Philip had been told to go and when he goes he receives the further instruction.
- 18:26He then sees, ah this is the reason why I was sent here.
- 18:31This is the reason why God had me leave Samaria because this man needs to be taught.
- 18:36This man needs the gospel.
- 18:39And it's amazing to see how even when we look at God and we say, Lord, why is this happening?
- 18:48Lord, why am I having to leave the home that I've, the only home I've ever known?
- 18:56Be careful not to blame God or to speak to Him too harshly in those moments because He might be opening a door that you just needed.
- 19:05Or better still, He might be opening a door for you to teach the gospel, for you to spread the Word of God, the joy of salvation to a soul that is in need.
- 19:18That's what happened here with Philip.
- 19:23And notice that Philip ran thither.
- 19:28You have to admire the zeal of Philip.
- 19:32When he is given a task, he is all gas, no breaks.
- 19:36He does not stop until his Lord's work is done.
- 19:41When he has to leave Jerusalem, he says, okay, I'll go preach to Samaria.
- 19:46When he is told to leave Samaria, says, okay, Lord's will be done.
- 19:50When he's told to go teach this Ethiopian eunuch, he says, okay, I'll go do it.
- 19:57He is one of God's yes men.
- 20:02Now we think about the term yes men and we say well that's more of a derogatory term.
- 20:07It's someone who doesn't think for himself.
- 20:11But Philip, he shows us that it is great.
- 20:16In fact, it is the best thing in the world to be a yes man of God.
- 20:23because souls are saved.
- 20:25When we stop saying no to God and start saying yes and let me do it as best as I can, as quickly as I can, as efficiently as I can, souls will be saved and God will be glorified.
- 20:40That's what we see here.
- 20:42That's what the example of Philip teaches us.
- 20:48but also notice that he heard him read the prophet.
- 20:54Many times when we're trying to focus on a passage, whether it be a passage of scripture or it be a newspaper article, when we're trying to really focus and grasp what is being
- 21:06said, often we will read it aloud.
- 21:09It has been found that that helps a lot of times when we not only see it with our eyes, but we also hear it with our ears.
- 21:19This Ethiopian eunuch has a desire to learn.
- 21:24He has a desire to know what God's will is.
- 21:28And so as he's reading, he's reading it aloud so that he understands.
- 21:34He understands what God's Word has to say.
- 21:38It's amazing to see the response or the question and the response that is given.
- 21:45Philip says, understandest thou what thou readest.
- 21:53too often.
- 21:56When we look at a passage of scripture and we don't understand what it means, we just say, well, I don't understand and skim over.
- 22:07But when we read a passage of scripture and we don't understand what it means, we need to dig deeper.
- 22:13I know sometimes we have these daily Bible reading plans and that is great.
- 22:17It is amazing to have a daily Bible reading plan.
- 22:20But if while you're going through that plan, you find something that you don't quite understand, take the time to stop and study it.
- 22:28Whether it be to go ahead and finish that reading and come back to that question or whether it be to write it down and ask someone else.
- 22:35Take the time to Take the time to truly understand God's Word because that's the best way to know God.
- 22:44That is the best way to please God is to take the time to read His Word, to study His Word.
- 22:55and the humility that this Ethiopian eunuch shows and saying, how can I accept some man should guide me?
- 23:05Would it be easy for this man, this follower of God to be puffed up?
- 23:14I mean think about it, he is riding 70, taking 75 days one way to go worship God.
- 23:23He's the Queen's treasurer.
- 23:26Would it not be easy for a man in that position to say, well I know everything.
- 23:32I don't even know who you are.
- 23:35Why would I lower myself to ask you what this means?
- 23:44But that's not the attitude that this man takes.
- 23:47That's not the attitude that this Ethiopian takes.
- 23:50Rather, he takes the attitude of, want to know the truth.
- 23:54And if this man can teach me the truth, then by all means give him the floor.
- 24:03We need to have hearts like that.
- 24:06We need to have hearts that say when we're studying God's word I want to know the truth.
- 24:13If it comes from someone that is a new Christian maybe.
- 24:17We think, I've been a Christian for 20 years.
- 24:21Surely this new convert can't teach me anything.
- 24:26be surprised.
- 24:28Sometimes they can't.
- 24:30Nor should we say, I'm a new convert so I know everything now.
- 24:34And look at a Christian that's been a Christian for 20 years trying to teach us something and say, you don't know what you're talking about.
- 24:43The Lord has no use for a proud man, but he has great use for a humble man.
- 24:49He has great use for someone who is humble enough to look at God's word and to say, want to know the truth.
- 24:58I don't want to know man's opinion.
- 25:00I don't want to know my own opinion.
- 25:03I want to know what God is saying.
- 25:06I want to know the truth that will set me free.
- 25:15This is also seen in the fact that he desired Philip.
- 25:20This idea of having a longing of
- 25:26No, a desire.
- 25:28Sometimes a word is best described by itself.
- 25:33But the point is this man that so many people would have overlooked, so many people would have glossed over, he was a man who wanted to know the truth of God's Word.
- 25:48He had an honest and good heart.
- 25:52Notice verse 32, and 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 sheers so opened he not his mouth.
- 26:06And his humiliation, his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation?
- 26:12For his life is taken from the earth.
- 26:15And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this?
- 26:21Of himself?
- 26:22of some other man.
- 26:26Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus.
- 26:35This passage of Scripture that this Ethiopian eunuch was reading is labeled in our modern text as Isaiah chapter 53.
- 26:45I say in our modern text because they didn't have chapter and verse divisions at that point.
- 26:52He would have just been reading Isaiah.
- 26:57By Isaiah 53, what do we know about Isaiah 53?
- 27:03What's being discussed in that chapter?
- 27:07Jesus is one of the most.
- 27:15I dare say emotional prophecy of Christ.
- 27:21because it describes his suffering.
- 27:24It shows for us the great pain and anguish that our Lord endured.
- 27:32And for the Jew, reading that text before Christ came, it would show to them what was going to happen to the Messiah.
- 27:41What was going to happen to the one who would be their Savior?
- 27:48But what's interesting is the question that he asks.
- 27:52He asks, who is being discussed here?
- 27:56Does the prophet speak of himself or some other man?
- 28:00Who is this?
- 28:03Now for us today, we say, well, it's very clearly Jesus.
- 28:07It makes perfect sense.
- 28:09And for most Christians, if not all Christians, that is true.
- 28:14It makes perfect sense.
- 28:16We don't need someone to explain it to us.
- 28:19But you have to understand that to the Jew, how did they view the Messiah?
- 28:25What was the Jewish idea of what the Messiah would be?
- 28:31a military leader.
- 28:32A great king like David who would bring them out of the shackles of captivity under Rome and deliver them back to a place of military power and political might.
- 28:46Does Isaiah 53 match that description?
- 28:50No, not in a physical sense.
- 28:53And so the Jew reading this, they say, this can't be the Messiah.
- 28:58The Messiah, the King that's going to come in and be so powerful and so military, as such military might, surely he's not being led to the slaughter.
- 29:10Surely he's not standing before his shearers.
- 29:14the ones who are dealing out this punishment as though he were unable to speak.
- 29:21They missed the point because they read the scripture with their own preconceived notion.
- 29:26They didn't look at the Bible to say what is truth.
- 29:31They looked at it to say let me prove my point.
- 29:35And it is a dangerous, a dangerous slope that we fall on when we look at the Bible to say hey, prove my point instead of to say hey, what's God's point?
- 29:51And so this question makes so much more sense when we understand the thought of the Jews at this time.
- 29:58Keep in mind there was a reason why many Jews rejected Jesus.
- 30:03We understand that for the Pharisees and for those in power, Jesus was a threat to them.
- 30:08He was a threat to the religious power and authority and influence that they held.
- 30:14But to most of the common Jews, the ones that did not believe in Christ, he didn't fit the description.
- 30:24He didn't appear to be what they wanted.
- 30:28what they thought the Messiah would be.
- 30:34but little did they understand, many of them sadly, that what Christ came to offer was so much better than a physical kingdom, was so much better than physical military might.
- 30:49He offered them freedom not from Rome, but from sin.
- 30:54And that's the same freedom that He offers us today.
- 30:59A freedom that cannot be matched.
- 31:05In verse 35, then Philip opened his mouth and began the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus.
- 31:13Now this term, preached, is the same word in the Greek that is also translated as evangelize.
- 31:19It's the same word from which we get the word evangelize.
- 31:23To evangelize is to preach the gospel.
- 31:27To reach out and tell someone of Christ is to preach the gospel.
- 31:32That's why someone who stands in a pulpit like this
- 31:35He's not the only preacher in the congregation, least he better not be.
- 31:39Every single one of you can be preachers in that you can teach the gospel to lost souls.
- 31:46You can share the love of God, the knowledge of God, His Word to those who are around you.
- 31:56The term of preaching at someone has been used in a very negative sense in modern day.
- 32:04If someone is saying things we don't like, we say, don't preach at me.
- 32:09Don't get on your soapbox.
- 32:14put this news, the news that we have to share, the message of Christ.
- 32:22It's not getting on a soapbox.
- 32:25It's not preaching at someone.
- 32:27Rather, it's loving them enough to show them the truth.
- 32:32It's loving them enough to show them how to escape the eternal torment that awaits them and how to live with Christ, with God, for all of eternity.
- 32:45For those of you who were here two Sundays ago, you might recall what we discussed when it comes to preaching Christ.
- 32:53Does anyone remember what verse we looked at earlier in chapter eight to show us what it means to preach Christ?
- 33:07Yes, man, we did look at 1 Corinthians 15, but in chapter 8, we noticed another verse.
- 33:26Absolutely.
- 33:27Verse specifically kind of sums it up to what it means to preach Christ.
- 33:32To preach Christ, verse 12, means to preach things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and it also means to preach baptism.
- 33:44We know that because they were baptized.
- 33:46Well, why would they be baptized if preaching Christ had nothing to do with baptism?
- 33:51As we'll read later, why did the Ethiopian eunuch, why was he baptized?
- 33:55if preaching Christ has nothing to do with baptism.
- 33:59seems to be brought out in the text that preaching Christ does have to do with baptism.
- 34:05It is impossible to preach Christ without preaching baptism, just as it is impossible to preach Christ without preaching belief, without preaching repentance.
- 34:22also was mentioned was 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
- 34:26In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 we are shown that preaching the gospel, that the good news of Christ is His death, burial, resurrection, and witness.
- 34:39We also notice the witness because not only of confirmation of His resurrection, but also of sharing the gospel with others.
- 34:53We are not personal witnesses of Christ's None of us in here saw Christ on earth, but we see Him through the Word.
- 35:05We see Him through what we have been given, and as such we are witnesses.
- 35:13We are witnessing to people what Christ has said, what God has said in His Word.
- 35:19We are preaching and teaching the lost.
- 35:24But the gospel that we are preaching, the gospel that we are teaching is the good news that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, but that He rose again that third day.
- 35:39And Paul points out that if we are to say there is no resurrection, if we are to say that Christ is not raised, then we have no hope.
- 35:48We are of all men most miserable.
- 35:53But praise be to God.
- 35:55Praise be to God that Christ did raise, that Christ did arise, that He did not stay in that tomb, but that tomb was found empty.
- 36:08what a beautiful sight that is and what hope that gives to us because if Christ is risen, then we too can rise again.
- 36:17We too have hope of eternity in heaven with Christ and with God.
- 36:24verse 36, and as they went on their way they came into a certain water and the eunuch said see here is water what doth hinder me to be that bet to be baptized
- 36:38Notice the fact that he says, see here is water.
- 36:44There are some that suggest that what we read continuing here is that Philip and the eunuch go down to the water and Philip takes his hands and cups them together and he pours
- 36:56some water over the eunuch and he's baptized.
- 37:04others will suggest well no he didn't pour it he sprinkled it
- 37:13Did they not have canteens or some kind of water jug?
- 37:18Do you think that he traveled 75 days one way without having water?
- 37:24No, of course he had water.
- 37:26And so if all he had to do to be baptized was to be sprinkled, then why didn't they just pull over and use that water?
- 37:36Why were they looking for a place that had enough water?
- 37:40Because remember it says a certain water
- 37:43A water that had enough pool together that fit their need.
- 37:50Why would they do that if all it was was just being sprinkled?
- 37:55Doesn't make sense.
- 38:00There was one, uh our instructor, Brother Clark, as he was teaching the book of Acts, he mentioned about this fact that there were, that he no doubt had water pitchers.
- 38:11And so in verse 38, when it says that they both went down into the water, he said, do you think that they opened that water jug and went down into that water jug and then came out
- 38:23of that water jug?
- 38:25Does that make sense to anyone?
- 38:27No.
- 38:29But what does make sense is that there were wadis or seasonal rivers, there were creeks, there were an abundance of bodies of water that would suit their needs.
- 38:44Remember we said as we began that this was not a desert as in a barren land, as in a place without water, but it was a place with water, a fertile place even.
- 39:01Notice in verse 37, and Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
- 39:08And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
- 39:13And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
- 39:21And when they were, excuse me, when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, the eunuch saw him no more.
- 39:30and he went on his way rejoicing.
- 39:32But Philip was found at Azatose and passing through he preached in all cities till he came to Caesarea.
- 39:43What we have here is an example of a personal Bible study.
- 39:49But not just any personal Bible study.
- 39:53A personal Bible study that ended in conversion.
- 39:56That ended in joy.
- 40:02Sometimes we in the church can be accused of only preaching baptism.
- 40:09Well, that's all you Church of Christers care about is being dunked in water.
- 40:14No, it's not because there's more to it than that.
- 40:20but we can't miss part of God's plan of salvation.
- 40:25Just as it is important to hear the word as the Ethiopian eunuch did, just as it is important to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is Lord, that He is
- 40:37Messiah, that He is our Savior, just as the Ethiopian eunuch did, and it is important to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
- 40:50Once again, as the Ethiopian eunuch did, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
- 40:59I don't know about you, but I don't think it gets any plainer than that.
- 41:04And what do we know about repentance?
- 41:07We know that we must repent, we cannot continue in sin.
- 41:10Romans 6 tells us how can we continue in sin or shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
- 41:16God forbid.
- 41:17How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?
- 41:24We can't leave any part of God's plan out.
- 41:28For when we add to or when we take away from God's plan, we're saying, God, your word's not good enough.
- 41:35God, I know better than you how I ought to be saved.
- 41:42We ought not do so.
- 41:46when we look at verse 38 and verse 39, we have these two words here, down and up.
- 41:57When we think about immersion, we think about going down into the water, being completely buried by water, and then being raised up, coming up as a new creature, a new creation in
- 42:11Christ.
- 42:14What does this symbolize?
- 42:19What does immersion, what does baptism symbolize?
- 42:23Being born again.
- 42:25It symbolizes the death that Christ died, the burial of which he was buried, and the resurrection.
- 42:33It symbolizes for us dying to sin and burying that old man and rising as a new creature, a new creation, a Christian.
- 42:45A child of God that can as this
- 42:49Eunuch did go on his way rejoicing.
- 42:55You know, from this we understand that salvation is not a dreary or somber thing.
- 43:05We should not hang our heads and say, well, a soul was baptized today.
- 43:10A soul was added to the kingdom this morning and that was good.
- 43:15Is that joy?
- 43:17No.
- 43:18When a soul is added, we rejoice.
- 43:22When a soul is added to the kingdom by God, because remember it is only God who adds, we don't do the adding and we don't join, but rather God adds us to his kingdom.
- 43:33When God adds us to the kingdom, there is joy.
- 43:37There is rejoicing.
- 43:39There is definitely joy in heaven as we read in Luke chapter 15.
- 43:44And so if we are truly God's people, we should also be finding joy.
- 43:49We should also be rejoicing in the salvation of the lost.
- 43:57We notice very quickly, Asatos, when you look at this, at this city, might scratch your head and say, what on earth is this place?
- 44:08I've never heard of this.
- 44:11But when you look at the background of it, at least the commentaries that I researched, they attributed Asatos to being the same thing as Ashdod.
- 44:21Now we read about Ashdod in the Old Testament.
- 44:25and reference to the cities of the Philistines.
- 44:28And so this was a chief city of the Philistines on the Mediterranean coast or rather near the Mediterranean coast.
- 44:36And so the same with Caesarea Philippi which is Caesarea Philippi, or rather Caesarea Maritima.
- 44:43See that's where I got, this is why I wanted to mention this.
- 44:46There are two Caesareans in scripture.
- 44:48There's Caesarea Philippi and Caesarea Maritima.
- 44:52Maritima,
- 44:53Caesarea Maritima is the one that's on the coast.
- 44:57We think about marine having to do with the ocean.
- 45:01Maritima is, well, having to do with the ocean.
- 45:06is an easy way to remember which is which because Caesarea Philippi is over in Galilee.
- 45:11That was a place that Jesus visited often.
- 45:14But here we see, once again, Philip going some 60 miles out of his way to preach the gospel.
- 45:23Brothers and sisters, in Acts chapter 8, we are shown what it means to evangelize.
- 45:30We are shown that there is joy when a sinner repents.
- 45:35And we are shown that every one of us can be evangelistic.
- 45:39Every one of us can be a preacher of the Word of God to the lost soul who's in need.
- 45:46Thank you for your attention.