Go With The Flow

Introduction

Acts 8:26–40 NKJV

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

Pray

The Holy Spirit showed me that there were two spouts of obedience here: Philip who went and the Ethiopian who listened in fact, when you begin to look at the two paths of these men and what occurred, something amazing becomes apparent.

Point 1: Two Paths

John 1:43–46 NKJV

43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

The apostle Philip was an interesting case. We can see that when Jesus called him, he had faith that what was foretold had come, but Philip was an interesting case. His faith waivered.

Have you ever had your faith waiver? Let’s take a look.

John 14:8–11 NKJV

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

The John-Acts Commentary explains this verse like this:

John–Acts 14:7–11. Jesus Represents the Father

Philip asks him to show them the Father, saying that it would be enough for them. Is Philip asking for Jesus to show them something like what Moses experienced at the burning bush or at Mount Sinai?

God has been pleased to reveal himself in his Son, Jesus Christ. Those who do not find God’s revelation of himself in Christ sufficient to prompt their faith are not likely to be satisfied by the Father’s revelation of himself in some other manner. Jesus explains this in verse 9, and the wording of his statement communicates some disappointment that Philip is not satisfied with what he has seen of Jesus. Jesus indicates that Philip has been with him long enough to understand this, again asserting that those who have seen him have seen the Father (cf. 12:45). Having asked Philip how he can make such a request (14:9), Jesus asks him if he does not believe what he has been taught

Many of us in this room have been taught about Jesus and the Father our whole lives, but our faith waivers. Did you know if you search it out that most times when Jesus performed a miracle, the apostle’s faith decreased?

Point 2: How to Get God’s Attention

Discuss Queen Candace and the position of the eunuch. Explain what a eunuch is Acts 8:27-28

Acts 8:27–28 NKJV

27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

Do you remember when I preached Midnight and we looked at how the Bible was so adamant on making sure that you understood that all of the things spoken took place the same hour? The same thing is happening here. Notice, the Bible makes sure we know that the Ethiopian was returning from worshiping in Jerusalem as he read Isaiah. What is interesting is that if you study it out, you will find something astounding about the whole thing that the readers of that day would’ve clearly understood:

Deuteronomy 23:1 NKJV

1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the Lord.

The guards would’ve been suspicious of anyone coming from a nation who made eunuchs. They would’ve been on heightened alert.

According to this Scripture and what we know about practices of the day, we know that this eunuch had traveled for 1,500 miles only to be turned away.

Yet here he was reading the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

What is so interesting about this is his attitude and the fact that for him to obtain this scroll would’ve cost quite a bit of money.

Do you see where I am going with this? The Eunuch did not lose his hunger, he did not get offended. He remained obedient and what happened?

God intervened.

Acts 8:26–35 NKJV

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

You better write this down, “When God has something for you, it don’t matter who has something against you!”

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The eunuch had faith, persistence, and obedience. If you want to get God’s attention, practice these three things consistently without waivering.

I can even show you on my next point:

Point 3: The Power of Now

Pay close attention to verse 36:

Acts 8:36 NKJV

36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

The Eunuch did not say, “perhaps we can do this when I get back. or in a few days.”

He had faith on the word that was preached to him and said WHY NOT NOW???

WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE IN THIS HOUSE WHO SAY LORD, WHY NOT HERE?? WHY NOT NOW?? !!!

WHY NOT HERE? WHY NOT NOW??

Where is your obedience, your persistence, and your faith?

PUT YOUR FAITH TO WORK....

THE BIBLE SAYS EVERY STEP WE TAKE IS CLAIMED TERRITORY FOR THE GOSPEL AND IT’S PUT DOWN SOME FOOTPRINTS!!!!! HALLELUJAH TO THE LAMB OF GOD! LET GOD ARISE!!

This man had every reason to give up and to be offended, but it wasn’t in him. He allowed God’s word to take hold of him and it transformed him to someone WHO WOULD NOT QUIT. TO SOMEONE WHO SAYS LORD WHY NOT HERE AND WHY NOT NOW???

CAN I GET A WITNESS?

Acts 8:37–40 NKJV

37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

The Ethiopian got saved and by merit of being saved and transformed by the Gospel, he was under the great commission and went on to preach the word in Ethiopia, and as for Philip..

Conclusion

The very next and last time you see Philip is in:

Acts 21:8–12 NKJV

8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” 12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Philip is now known as “Philip the evangelist.” In his obedience to God, he had found his purpose.

When you are obedient to the Father, nothing is ever wasted.

You must simply learn to “Go with the flow.”