Acts 8:26-40

Introduction

Acts 8:25-26 “And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 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.”

Even though these 15 verses involve two men, I want us to see 3 points about God.

One sermon can never cover all there is to know about God. If we give ourselves completely and wholly to studying God all of our lives, we fall short of having a full understanding of God.

God’s boundless existence should not dampen but energize our desire to know Him.

Psalms 118:14 “The Lord is my strength and song, And is become my salvation.” The more we study God, the more we understand and appreciate God to the praise of His glory and increase of joy.

Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

God sends Philip to a desert

Acts 8:26 “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.”

Philip’s ministry path - Philip’s ministry path is opposite of most people today. We will see this in 2 ways:

He starts in Acts 6 with thousands and concluded in Acts 8 with 1.

Direction

He starts in Jerusalem and finishes in a desert

With the success that Philip had in Jerusalem and Samaria does this make any rational sense?

He had been chosen by the church to be one of seven deacons. One of the seven deacons had already died. With the persecution the church at Jerusalem was experiencing, his presence wold have been very helpful in coordinating a relief effort for the hurting Christians.

Moreover, he had just completed a most successful mission in Samaria, where the multitude had given heed with one accord to the things he had spoken; Would it make more sense to send him to a densely populated area?

but God sends him to a desert road, where only chance travellers could be encountered.

We might have thought that Philip would object to leaving the great success of the work in Samaria to go out to the desolate desert, but God had a plan in it all. Philip submitted to God’s plan.

Genesis 17:18 “And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!”

Exodus 4:10 “And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.”

“Philip was the front-line man. He seemed to be utterly indispensable. Yet it was at precisely this moment when God called him to leave the area.” (Boice)]

G. Campbell Morgan” “From a ministry among multitudes, with all its thrill and fascination, to a conversation with one man.”

The strangeness of this plan was there were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza

The Kings Highway had a coastal approach - more cities more people and more traveled

The other road is the desert road that was used infrequently.

God’s plans do not always make sense to us.

Who He chooses does not make sense

God chose a murderer to lead Israel out of Egypt.

He chose a shepherd boy to be His king over Israel.

He chose fishermen, a tax collector and zealot - country folks to begin a work in Jerusalem that would extend to the uttermost parts of the world.

Think how irrational that was

The sanhedrin understood the irrationality of it.

How He directs does not make sense

God led Israel to be boxed in at the Red Sea

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”

3 reasons God’s plan does not always make sense to us

We do not have all the information

Psalms 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.”

1 John 3:20 “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”

His plans run counter to earthly philosophy

To be strong, we must be weak

To live, we must die

To lead, we must serve.

Salvation is grace, not works

Everything God does is for His glory, which is our utmost good. Whether it is the destruction of Pharoah or the rescue of Israel - God gets the glory.

Isaiah 48:9-11 “For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, And for my praise will I refrain for thee, That I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: For how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another.”

For my sake

For my praise

For my own sake

For my own sake

My name will not be profaned

I will not give my glory to another

Everything He does is for His glory

God chose his people for his glory:

God created us for his glory:

God called Israel for his glory:

God rescued Israel from Egypt for his glory:

God raised Pharaoh up to show his power and glorify his name:

God defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea to show his glory:

God spared Israel in the wilderness for the glory of his name:

God gave Israel victory in Canaan for the glory of his name:

God did not cast away his people for the glory of his name:

God saved Jerusalem from attack for the glory of his name:

God restored Israel from exile for the glory of his name:

Jesus sought the glory of his Father in all he did:

Jesus told us to do good works so that God gets glory:

Jesus warned that not seeking God’s glory makes faith impossible:

Jesus said that he answers prayer that God would be glorified:

Jesus endured his final hours of suffering for God’s glory:

God gave his Son to vindicate the glory of his righteousness:

God forgives our sins for his own sake:

Jesus receives us into his fellowship for the glory of God:

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son of God:

God instructs us to do everything for his glory:

God tells us to serve in a way that will glorify him:

Jesus will fill us with fruits of righteousness for God’s glory:

All are under judgment for dishonoring God’s glory:

Jesus is coming again for the glory of God:

Jesus’ ultimate aim for us is that we see and enjoy his glory:

Even in wrath God’s aim is to make known the wealth of his glory:

God’s plan is to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory:

Everything that happens will redound to God’s glory:

In the New Jerusalem the glory of God replaces the sun:

And God sends Philip to a desert road for His glory, His purposes and He has more information than we.

God sends and Philip complies -

Acts 8:27 “And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,”

Based upon how Luke unfolds this text, it does not appear that Philip knew why he was being sent to a desert road.

Years ago before the days of GPS and radar, the old Norwegian sea captains devised a way of navigating through the sometimes treacherous fjords (a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes) at night.  They set up a system of light houses at certain key points in the fjords.  All the captain needed to do was to point his ship towards the lighthouse until he could see around the corner and get a glimpse of the next lighthouse.  Then he’d turn his ship towards the second lighthouse until he could see the third lighthouse. We may want to see the whole map of what is up ahead for our lives, but often I find that God just shows us the next lighthouse.

God’s timing is impeccable

Behind this abrupt command was the foreknowledge of God, who knew all about the Ethiopian, knew the position he held in his native land, knew why he had come to Jerusalem, knew the deep, unsatisfied hunger of his heart, knew he was on the way home, knew all about his chariot, knew exactly where he was on the road, knew what book he was reading, knew his perplexity and his dogged persistence. We are now about to witness one of those amazing meetings that take place from time to time on earth, the details of which are all determined in heaven and directed by the Spirit of God.

The reason God knew was He ordained this meeting to happen.

He moved the Ethiopian Eunuch to take the least traveled road

Think about it, if Philip was an hour late or early, he possibly misses the Ethiopian Eunuch.

God sends Philip to an Ethiopian Eunuch

Acts 8:27-30 “And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace 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 read Esaias the prophet. Then 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 Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?”

Philips obedience

The Ethiopian Eunuch would have been Gentile

Preached in Samaria

Preached to a Gentile

There was not thousands or hundreds but one person

The Holy Spirit said go and Philip ran!

He could hardly wait to see what God was going to do in this situation.

Bishop John Taylor Smith used to say, “If he had not run, he would have been out of Isaiah 53 into Isaiah 54.”

Philip pursued God’s glory, not his own.

A door was opened

Philips obedience led to an open door.

It was common in this time to read the Scriptures out loud. Why? Presumably because the ancient manuscripts had no punctuation and the words run together which led to the custom of reading slowly and out loud. As an aside, presumably his driver (and possibly others in the caravan heard the words of Isaiah).

Philip asked a question that changed the Ethiopian Eunuch’s life forever.

Understand what you read - Is there any use in your reading.

Speaks of Philip having doubt

The text the Ethiopian Eunuch read from - Isaiah 53:7-8 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth 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.”

The Ethiopian’s answer - Acts 8:31 “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.”

Romans 10:13-17 “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 all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Within the open door, there are two optical things to discuss - Part of an open door is to do something you may be uncomfortable with doing

Peter unwilling to visit Cornelius - Philip hopped into the chariot.

The Ethiopian was a rich man, a man of power, and at least in some way a celebrity. Yet Philip knew he needed Jesus just as much as anyone else. We should never fear speaking to those who are considered to be important people about Jesus.

The Ethiopian’s question

Acts 8:34 “And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?”

Acts 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

Philip started with Isaiah 53:7-8 but finished with other scriptures.

The only scriptures that Philip had was Old Testament

Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Two highlights in what Luke said

Preached - good news

Who is the good news? Jesus

A couple weeks back, I preached how we are to be gospelers of the Gospel. We have the best of the good news. Sadly, we allow competition for the best of the good news.

Too many preachers today focus on what we must do for God, but the gospel begins with and is founded upon what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

God saves the Ethiopian

Acts 8:36-37 “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

We have focused much of our attention on Philip but God was not just working on Philip, He was moving on the Ethiopian’s heart as well.

“Maybe Philip even ended his explanation of the gospel with an appeal for baptism like Peter did at Pentecost.” (Hughes)

Acts 8:37 “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

All is an adjective describing the heart

All - speaks of whole and complete

We should never simplify salvation

The Ethiopian’s response is I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

two truths that the Ethiopian Eunuch believed with all of his heart

Jesus is Savior

He is God.

Conclusion

Do we pray for open doors?

Are we in tune with God’s word

Are we in tune with God’s Spirit

Do you believe that Jesus is the Savior and Son of God

Faith without works is dead.

What do your works proclaim about Jesus?