The Gospel of Redemption

Introduction

Two fundamental truths underlying this entire passage:

Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Jonah 2:9

[9] But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

God, through his Spirit, is on mission

(Putman)

2. God uses people to save people.

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip. . .”

The Spirit is specifically stated and is the guiding Agent in the entire event; however, we do not see him directly interacting with the Ethiopian but with Philip

Since salvation is God’s work from beginning to end, we have no:

Pride - WE don’t get anyone saved

Fears - Success in evangelism (from our perspective) is faithfulness.

Excuses

When we last saw Philip he was in the middle of a huge revival in Samaria. The gospel is spreading beyond Jerusalem just as Jesus had said it would and is now spreading to Samaria in large part because of the persecution that began after the stoning of Stephen.

And this comes on the heels of the story of a false convert - Simon

(35-8)

Acts 8:26-40

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.

We would expect Philip to continue north into Galilee, but the angel tells him to go south, back through Jerusalem and into Gaza

Gaza - desert town - Philistine town - more than 150 miles

angel said Rise and Go and look at what Philip did. . .

27 And he rose and went.

Spirit-filled people are Spirit-led people

And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

Ethiopia - not the country of Ethiopia today. . . South of the Nile - huge area

eunuch - (How would you like that on a job description?) Pastor Tom will have a study on that in his Bible class next Sunday

‘Court official,’ ‘in charge of her treasure’ - important guy

‘come to Jerusalem to worship’ - not sure how he came to know about God of the Jews -

Ethiopians worshipped all sorts of gods - must have been serious as trip was more than 1200 miles

75 days one way!

Could not have been a full Jewish convert because he was a eunuch and couldn’t be circumcised- no matter how much he wanted to be a part of the Jews he would only be allowed into the outer court

28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

When I think of chariot I think of Ben Hur, but chariot was not military vehicle - luxurious vehicle with driver

five month voyage

reading Isaiah - perhaps a scroll he bought while in Jerusalem

Put all this together and you see. . .

The Spirit prepares people for His mission. (26-28)

The Spirit prepares people to hear the gospel:

God had obviously been at work in the eunuch’s life for some time

The Spirit is the only one who could have orchestrated all that would have been necessary to prepare:

The events that led to the eunuch knowing about the Jewish God

his ‘boss’ giving significant time off to go to Jerusalem

he is reading Isaiah

at Isaiah 53 when Philip meets him

even the water in the desert at the time that the eunuch wanted to be baptized.

It would be harder to believe in coincidence in this situation than to believe that a personal and loving God orchestrated it.

Not only did God prepare the Ethiopian to hear the gospel, he also prepared Philip to deliver it.

God prepares people to share the gospel

must have been confusing for Philip

big revival happening in Samaria and now God said go in opposite direction to desert

There doesn’t seem to be any hesitation betwen the command to rise and go and his rising and going. Philip had gotten to know how the Spirit works and is willing to trust him

God had prepared Philip to evangelize a dark-skinned eunuch from a pagan nation while he was travelling through a Philistine city

Henry Blackaby makes this point when he says, “Right now, God is working all around you.” then says, "Watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work."

None of the rest of this scenario works if Philip hadn’t been living a prepared life. Not perfect or having all the answers but ready and willing.

Nothing happens by accident or coincidence. God is sovereign and all history is moving and shifting toward its intended end where all the world will have heard the gospel and Jesus will return.

(27-8)

29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

Don’t you wish you knew HOW the Spirit ‘said’?

Acts 10:19

19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.

Acts 13:2

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The Spirit prompts believers to join His mission. (29-31)

also (26-27a)

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go - and he rose and went!

29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” - and he did

Every believer is always on mission.

2 Corinthians 5:20

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

ARE an ambassador

Sometimes the Spirit prompts to specific people and places .

We should always be prepared to give an answer. . .

We should always be looking for ways to intentionally make disciples. . .

In this situation, if the Holy Spirit had not prompted and directed Philip, the Ethiopian would never (as far as we know) have heard the gospel.

Philip could know all the Bible verses

could be completely willing

could be looking intently around him

No amount of of planning or preparation on Philip’s part would have led the Ethiopian to Jesus

Since it is true that God prepares both, the work of the Lord relies more on our response to his promptings then it does on our care for planning evangelism.

(This by NO means we do not plan)

I don’t think we have ANY reason to believe the Spirit cannot or does not operate the same way today.

The Holy Spirit prompted Philip (verbally or not) to go - and he responded.

Since the work of the Spirit prepares and prompts, then it is more important that we learn how to listen to the Spirit then it is that we practice what to say for evangelism. That is not to say that we should not prepare, that we should not know what to say.

I truly believe that followers of Jesus today need to spend more time learning how to listen and respond to the Spirit than they do learning and planning what to say in evangelism

ILLUST - Joe and I praying for the Lord to send us someone to share the gospel with while a homeless transexual kept interrupting us by dragging his suitcase along the floor. We then realized THIS was the person the Lord was sending us.

How do you learn to listen to the Spirit?

ILLUST - training your ear. The more you train, the faster and better you hear it. Musicians will train their ears - aural senses - to hear variances in pitches or learn to pick out certain notes from a song that they listened to in order to play it back. Me? I trained my ears to know cars by their exhaust notes.

*The longer you wait to respond to the Spirit’s prompting, the more likely it is that you will never respond.

ILLUST - Kids today don’t know the struggle of the car radio.

Need to adjust periodically to stay tuned in

Traveling down certain roads will cause you to lose reception

Here’s the point:

*The more often you respond to the Spirit’s prompting, the more sensitive you become to his voice.

Have you ever heard the Spirit’s voice in your life?

In October 1857, J. Hudson Taylor began to minister in Ningpo, China, and he led a Mr. Nyi to Christ. The man was overjoyed and wanted to share his faith with others. “How long have you had the good tidings in England?” Mr. Nyi asked Hudson Taylor one day. Taylor acknowledged that England had known the gospel for many centuries. “My father died seeking the truth,” said Mr. Nyi. “Why didn’t you come sooner?” Taylor had no answer to that penetrating question.

Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Dynamic (Acts 1-12) (The BE Series Commentary) (p. 127). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opens not his mouth.

33  In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

The Ethiopian was reading Isaiah 53 - perhaps the greatest OT prophecy concerning Jesus!

vv. 1-2: birth, v.3: life and ministry, vv. 4-9: substitutionary death, vv. 10-12:resurrection.

This section is from Is 53:7-8 which talks about the Suffering Servant’s willing sacrifice for sinners.

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

The Spirit provides the message of the gospel. (32-35)

(19-8)

Notice the four questions in the passage:

“Do you understand what you are reading?”

“How can I, unless someone guides me?”

“How can I, unless someone guides me?”

What prevents me from being baptized

Since we were all made to be in relationship with God, everyone is searching for answers to their Jesus questions.

When you share the gospel - Get to Jesus!

Romans 10:17

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The Ethiopian had a copy of the Scriptures

Give them a Bible!

The power is in God’s Word not yours anyway.

ILLUST - father-in-law came to Christ simply by reading the Bible

The degree to which evangelism is about your words it will fail. The degree that evangelism is about faithfully giving God’s Words will determine its effectiveness.

You don’t need to “sell Jesus.”

You just need to share the gospel.

Who can you give a Bible to? Do you know someone who needs a Bible? Take the one in the pew. Not kidding!

God used Philip to explain the Scriptures.

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

Do you know what to say if you’re asked?

doesn’t mean you know all the answers

you can say, “That’s a really good question, let me check on that and get back to you” - and get back to them!

ILLUST - when Roz told me about her panentheistic theology I needed to go back and look some things up and get back to her the next time we met.

Grandpop’s Bible

Grab a discussion guide and look up the link to simple way to present the gospel

If Philip had responded but not known the Scriptures, it would have been an awkward chariot ride!

36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

The Spirit’s power redeems. (36-40)

(11-8)

1 Cor 12:3

3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

Eunuch was baptized (symbol of circumcision) - couldn’t be physically circumcised but because of Jesus through baptism, he could be part of the family of God and enter the New Covenant.

The baptism didn’t save the Ethiopian, it was the outward symbol of the work the Spirit was doing in him.

The gospel brings the outsider in.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Philip was carried (stolen) away 20 miles to Azotus

Ancient historian Eusebius says this eunuch and his servants went on to plant the first church in Africa.

Beautiful - before there was a white, European convert there was already a thriving African church.

Christianity is not a Western idea - it is a global reality.

The result of salvation is joy.

Isaiah 56:3–5

[3] Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

[4] For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,

[5] I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Maybe you feel like the Eunuch did before his encounter with Philip:

You don’t fit in - you don’t belong

Decisions you’ve made in your past have broken relationships - keep you from having relationships

There’s no way to be whole again

Like the Ethiopian, you fear that once you’re gone you’ll be forgotten.

For you, THIS is the Spirit’s prompting.

Conclusion (3min - 2)

If sharing the gospel is a divine appointment with divine preparation and carried out through divine power then the only thing that could stop the salvation of souls is that we choose NOT to show up!

Who is your “Ethiopian?”

How will you decrease your response time?

How will you respond now?

*Pray* (1min-1)

Spirit-filled people are Spirit-led people.

Jesus questions have gospel answers

note the four questions found in the passage