The Gospel goes out even more.

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Church and happy father’s day. If you would all please go ahead and turn in your Bible’s to Acts 8, Acts 8:26-40. will be our sermon text today. For the sake of time today, we are going to do just like we did last week, and hop right into the scripture today. So,

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.[d]) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.[e]34 The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” 35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.

36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” [f] 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in[g] Azotus,[h] and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Context

This week, we round out chapter 8 in our walk through the book of Acts. As you will remember, so far we have entered a new phase in this book, and a new phase in The Church and one that we remain in today, that The Gospel of Jesus Christ is to go out be shared with everyone everywhere we go, whereas before it was kept to small group of the people (the Jews, the Israelites) and in more contained places. Last week and the week before, we saw it go out into the surrounding areas, now we see the beginnings of The Gospel of Jesus going out into far and distant lands.

We continue this week, still following the evangelistic path of Philip, who was one of the seven men that was chosen to serve the church in chapter 6. Remember that Philip had began what has by observation been a very fruitful evangelistic campaign to the Samaritans, and The Bible makes it clear that many people came to in Jesus through God’s providence and the faithfulness towards the mission and calling that Philip (and all believers have) to go and make disciples of all nations.

So, in today’s text, we see that God pulled him out of that ministry, and into a new assignment, if only for a short time, which if you are like me you wonder why you would be drawn away from this apparent success (at least in our eyes, to somewhere different, particularly a deserted desert road). Non the less, God often calls us to new and different and unexpected things as He trains, equips, and puts us on mission as The Gospel goes out even more, even more in ways we might not even have thought were possible or doable before. We know that this is true for every believer, as the call to share The Gospel isn’t just for particular people or people with particular gifts, but Christ makes it clear that sharing your faith is an expectation for all believers. So, From the text, I want you to see and understand these truths as The Gospel goes out even more.

Message

The first truth to see and understand is: The Gospel must be shared.

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.[d]) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

So, Philip is called from Samaria to go do something new and different, and honestly something that would have seen quite odd. This would have been obvious to the readers and audience of the time, but for us it isn’t. This road would have been a deserted and not often traveled road, as the road led from the thriving city of Jerusalem to the destroyed old city of Gaza. So, there was no reason to go on this road unless you were like this man, heading back to Egypt or Ethiopia. So, Philip probably traveled for a long time, not seeing anyone or anything worth seeing. Non-the-less, Philip heard God’s word for himself, and went and did it. Along the way, he would have been very surprised to come across a man, but not just any man, a very wealthy, well off, and influential man of a distant land who must have himself been a converted Jew, because the text says he came to worship in Jerusalem (which only jews were aloud to do, and he had a copy of the prophet Isaiah that he was reading (which would have been impossible for anyone other than a Jew to obtain). God the Holy Spirit then tells Phillip, go and join the chariot, which we would think of more as a cart. So, Philip did just that, and heard him reading the prophet’s words. This man, though, would have been very confused. Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading, and clearly, he didn’t and asked for instruction, asking Philip to come and join him.

There once was a man, and his name will remain anonymous. He had built what he would call a fairly good life for himself. He had a wonderful family, and adoring wife, 2 kids, a beautiful house that they all fit into comfortably and he had a comfortable job with a comfortable salary. He had spent years building this up, and creating an image about himself that others would respect. With all of this, he had one hidden skeleton in his closet, that he never shared with anyone, a time from a past life that he would prefer he could forget and all the people involved would just disappear. This man was formerly a drug addict, on the worst of stuff and doing the worst of things. He had been given a gift, from loving people who cared about him very much, who paved the way and made it possible for him to become clean and he was thankful for that, but embarrassed at who he was. He was so embarrassed, that one day he learned that his best friend at work was going down the same slippery slope that he once did. He knew that his story and his tips, and pointers and resources that he knew about, could have helped his friend, instead though, he was to scared to share, to scared to show others his past, so he didn’t. This truth remained for quite some time, and every day it was eating at the man, as he saw his friend missing work more, eventually get fired, and then one day, he heard the bad news about his death. Guilt filled his heart, because he knew that he could have and should have helped, but chose not to because he was to scared of the consequences and the idea of losing everything he had gained.

Brothers and sisters, do not be like that man. Be bold, be brave, the bible tells us that everything we have on earth is useless in the eyes of eternity. It’s nothing. One million dollars is just paper when we are talking about our eternal souls, others souls, and the kingdom of God. Be like Philip, who responded to God’s call to go and share, and even in an unlikely and impossible place, he found a man who’s heart was ready to receive Jesus, but he had to have The Gospel of Jesus, the truth about Jesus shared with him. Philip was available for God, are you available to God? What do you need to do or put aside to be? Because it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is, The Gospel needs to be shared.

Another truth to see and understand is that: The Gospel must be understood.

32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.[e]34 The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” 35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.

The Eunuch was reading from The Book of Isaiah, especially about the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, then he asks Philip a very good question. Who is the prophet talking about!? Is it himself or is it someone else? Because I really don’t know. This was the perfect opening for Philip, who himself knew exactly what the answer was, as a believer and faithful servant of Jesus Christ who had spent time underneath the apostles teachings. Philip saw and took the opportunity to share the truth about Jesus. The truth that he was and is God. That He came to earth to suffer for mankind so that all who turn to Him for forgiveness of sin would be redeemed and restored before God. Philip told him all of this, and how that very scripture he was reading about was all about Jesus. Philip shared with the Eunuch all the information he needed so that he could understand and accept The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have any of you ever thought you understood something, but you didn’t really, but either way you went along like you did understand it, and eventually, it caught up with you? I know I have. This happened to me once earlier this week, when I was supposed to meet Emily at her school. Well, this is a new school and I had never been their before and there is a sort of “secret hidden” way to get to the back area where the teachers park. Now granted, it isn’t really secret, but it isn’t exactly obvious. When on the phone, Emily asked me if I knew the way around to the back, to which (thinking I did) I said yes. So, I went the way I thought would work, and found out I was wrong. Then, to cover myself up, I went to another area I thought might get me there, only to find my self super far away. Then, I did the thing I should have done. I called and asked Emily for help to help me understand where I needed to go, well, it turns out if I would have asked from the start, where I was when I first called her, all I had to do was go straight and I would be there. What could have been a 1 minute situation, turned easily into a 10 because I did not really understand where I was going.

Brothers and sisters, let me be clear here. For believers everywhere and through all of time, to be a Christian to be a member of the Universal Church, you MUST understand the Gospel. If you don’t understand and accept that Jesus died for you to save you from the curse of sin, then sorry, you aren’t saved yet. The Gospel Must be understood. But this isn’t just a one time on conversion kind of thing. Yes, it must be understood on conversion, but we must endeavor our lives to understand what it means as we continue on this earth until the ends of our lives. We have to understand what it means when the money is too tight. We have to understand what it means when our health is going downhill. We have to understand what it means when death of ourselves or loved ones is staring us in the face. We have to understand what it means when our children and grandchildren are not doing that well. We have to understand what it means when we don’t know what to do or know that we have done is wrong. What does it mean? It means this, that Jesus Christ died for you and in the grand scheme of things, nothing else matters; it’s all secondary it’s all unimportant when compared to the truth of God’s love and sacrifice for you. The Gospel must be understood, not just once and your good. It must be understood and reminded to yourself continually, a lifetime endeavor.

The next truth to see and understand is that: The Gospel must be responded to.

36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” [f] 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in[g] Azotus,[h] and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Continuing through the text, it’s clear that this converted Jew was then a converted Christian, because the first chance he had to respond in the outward showing of his faith and trust in Jesus, he took it without hesitation! He stops his chariot, and submits to Jesus and his command to believers to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, one thing I’m sure you have already noticed, is the absence of verse 37. No, that wasn’t an accident. If you have a NKJV or a KJV bible, odds are that verse 37 is included. If you have any other modern and widely used English version, it is probably not included, or has a note about it in the footnotes or it is in brackets. The reason it is not included is because that verse is not found in the earliest and most accurate manuscripts of the biblical text from the original languages. From my study this week, I found that the verse was added around the 5th century, and I searched my copies of the original languages that I have and did not find it included as well. So, it is not likely that Philip actually said those words. Now granted, the words in that verse are both doctrinally and theologically accurate, but they are not belonging to The Bible Canon. Back to the text though, after the baptism, Philip himself was instantly taken away (to the eunuch it would have looked like he disappeared) by The Holy Spirit to the city of Azotus (which was to the north and near the sea) and Philip continued his evangelist journey till reaching the town of Caesarea.

So before we saw that The Gospel must be understood, but you understand something, then the appropriate thing to do is respond to it. So, with the example of me not doing what to do and then knowing. I had two options, 1 (the right way) I follow Emily’s directions to school and go the way that she told me. Or 2 (the wrong way) even though I know the right way, I keep going the way I know is wrong or go on discovering more wrong ways to go. The only correct thing to do, is to go the way that know and understand. If I respond wrongly to the directions, then it doesn’t do me any good.

What I mean here by that, is that when we come to Jesus, we have to have faith as well. Anyone can have the intellectual knowledge, just like we talked about with Simon last week, but until we accept and apply and believe the truth, that knowledge does little to no good. Further more, in order to respond correctly to the information, or in our case to The Gospel of Jesus, you must have The Gospel shared with you and you must understand it. Then, when these things are done and with God’s calling you can correctly respond to it. The Eunuch here, responded correctly, he had faith and was wanted to immediately respond in the beginning faith step of submission to Jesus, by being Baptized. My friends, once again, responding to the gospel, as I was talking about earlier, isn’t just a once in your life thing. It is an ever day all the time thing, so how will you respond knowing that Christ, that God died for you. That He loved and loves you to a perfect completion? Will you continue in your old ways? I hope not. Or will you put aside the old news and be renewed in The Spirit as Paul writes about. Because The Gospel must be responded to as The Gospel goes out even more, to new people and in new places in your life.

Conclusion

There is a hymn that we sometimes times sing, called “Send the light.” And it touches many of the topics that we have touched today. Particularly that The Gospel must be shared. From here though, it implies two other things, that it must be understood both at a salvation and during and life long pursuit of sanctification (become more Christ-like). It also implies that The Gospel must be responded (again both for and at salvation and during sanctification). As we go and do just as that song declares, then we play our part and The Gospel goes out even more.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.