For All the Right Reasons

Introduction

Opener

Last week, I asked you an important question, why was it that you became a Christian?

I want you to continue to stew on that question today.

If last weeks narrative was about someone who “got saved” for all the wrong reasons, that being any reason that isn’t Christ, then let those who have ears to hear today listen to a story of one who got saved for all the right reasons, so that after we might reflect on our own experience, being able to confidently answer the question of why it was that you became a Christian.

Main Point of the Text (MPT)

Let us look back quickly back at last weeks narrative:

Beginning in Acts 8 we were told that after great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem that they, being the church, were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria and as verse 4 tells us, those who were scatted went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:1-4).

Following this is when we meet Philip, one of the seven chosen to be the deacons of the church (Acts 6:5), who had went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them (Acts 8:5).

Through the power of the Holy Spirit he preformed miracles, the casting out of demons and the healing of those who were paralyzed and lame, which caused great joy in the city (Acts 8:6-8).

That’s when we met Simon, a sorcerer who had astonished the people of Samaria with his sorcery.

Through his depiction, he was able accomplish the following:

He had astonished the people of Samaria (Acts 8:9).

He was able to claim to be someone great (Acts 8:9).

He had caused the Samaritans to give heed, from the least to the greatest (Acts 8:10).

He caused those who gave heed to believe and proclaim saying, “This man is the great power of God” (Acts 8:10).

He caused them to heed him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time (Acts 8:11).

After describing Simon to us, Luke informs us that both men and women were baptized after believing in Philips words as he preached Christ to them, even Simon himself being one of them, as he was amazed, seeing the miracles and sign which were done (Acts 8:12-13).

Following this mass conversion, Peter and John would come up to Samaria from Jerusalem to pray over the newly converted Samaritans that they might receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17) and that is when Simon offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:18-19).

After his response, Peter would say to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity” (Acts 8:20-23).

Through this account we saw a man who was only concerned with himself, he was selfish, seeking power for himself, so that he might use that power to continue to astonish and amaze the people of Samaria, so that they would continue to heed him.

His conversion was for all the wrong reasons and that is why Peter called him to repentance, so that he could be truly forgiven for his wickedness.

I remind you of Simon’s story so that you can contrast his story with the mans that we will meet today, the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27).

And so, if you are able, please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Scripture Reading: Acts 8:26-40

Prayer

Body

Point 1: Led by the Spirit

Scripture: Acts 8:26–29

Explanation:

Beginning in verse 26, Luke tell us that now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.

Let’s take a look at the map to get an idea of the journey Philip took, only pay attention to the yellow and green lines:

The yellow line shows Philips journey from Jerusalem to Samaria after being scattered with the rest of the church (Acts 8:1).

The distance between these two points is somewhere close to ~30 miles.

The green line shows the road that Philip would have taken from Jerusalem to Gaza.

So, for him to leave Samaria, from Sychar, a city with food, water and comfort, he would need to travel south toward the city, Jerusalem, that he had just been exiled from for his faith, so travel ~30 miles south, then go along a road in the desert towards Gaza, that was ~60 miles long not knowing what you were going for.

That’s what you call obedience, going from the comfort of a city full of newly converted Christians to a road in the desert, not knowing why the angel had sent you there.

What is even more interesting, is that this would not have been a road much traveled as after Gaza had been granted to the Herod the Great ~30 BC, yes, the father of the king would killed Jesus, by the Roman Emperor Augustus, he would die ~4 BC causing Emperor Augustus to annex it to the Province of Syria, upsetting many Jews.

So, not only was Philip leaving the comforts of Samaria to go to a road in the desert, but it was also a mostly deserted road in the desert.

It would be like this, how many of yal have been out to the roads between Dekoven and the Shawneetown bridge?

Here, let me pull up a map…

Let’s say, God said, hey, Garrett, need you to go down towards Shawneetown, but instead of taking 56, take the road between Dekoven and the Shaneetown bridge…no reason given, but just go.

Even better, let’s look at a picture of this road about where the star is…sorry to my Dekoven friends, but this road is creepy at night and just like the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, there would be no reason to travel it, because there was a better route…you’d most like be asking God why He had sent you out there.

But Philip, being the evangelist that he was, didn’t ask any questions, he would obey the call of God that the angel had brought forth, Luke telling us, that he arose and went.

It doesn’t tell us that he moaned and groaned, that he cried or questioned God’s reasoning for he being sent there, no, he just arose and went.

Through his obedience, Philip would get to be apart of a grand experience, a transformative experience, as the narrative continues...

Luke tells us, “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, was returning.”

If you thought the journey that Philip had taken was a long one, imagine going from Jerusalem to Ethiopia…let’s pull up the map, call me Dora the explorer…I’m the map, I’m the map (haha)…this man was traveling continents and what for?

To worship, as verse 27 tells us.

Sometime in his life, this man of Ethiopia had converted to Judaism.

This shouldn’t be of surprise to us, as multiple places in the OT, Ethiopia is mentioned, such as in Psalms (Psalms 68:31), where David would write, “Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.”

The Word of God once again coming to reality as a man from Ethiopia had made the journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship the one true God!

Who was this man?

He was a eunuch, meaning he was a man who had part of his lower extremities removed.

Detail will stop there, but there were many reasons why people were to become eunuchs and during this time, two of those most likely were the reason for this man:

First, he was of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, in Ethiopia at the time, because the kings were revered as gods, the wife of the king, the queen, were responsible for performing the daily duties of a ruler, such as overseeing the expenses.

Candace was not the name of the women who ruled at the time, but was a royal title that any women who ruled Ethiopia.

Many times the king would appoint a eunuch to keep watch over his queen, knowing that because of them being a eunuch no funny business would happen which would probably explain why this man was under the queen.

Sometimes, that eunuch would raise to a great position under the queen, of which had happened to our man here as he was in charge of all her treasury.

And so, now we know who he was and why he was coming, but what was he doing when Philip came upon him?

Luke tells us that he was sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

This wasn’t a chariot like that of the ones raced around the Circus Maximus in Rome, but more of like a covered wagon and he most likely wasn’t alone, but with others as his status as the treasurer would have most likely meant he had some sort of protective detail.

Not only was he sitting in a chariot minding his own business, but he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

We will get back to the significance of that here in a minute, but it is in this moment that the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

Application:

When was the last time you allowed the Holy Spirit to lead you into an uncomfortable situation so that the gospel might be spread? When was the last time you let the Holy Spirit lead you at all? Was it at the moment of salvation? Was it that one time 15 years ago when you were on fire for God and decided that day that you would share the gospel and someone responded? Did you say that was enough, you had aided in one salvation, why continue surrendering to the Holy Spirit when I can live my own life knowing that I had helped lead at least one soul to Christ?

In Galatians 5 Paul speaks to walking in the Spirit, verses 16-26, allow me to share it with you, READ Galatians 5:16-26.

As Christians, we must not waste our freedom from sin on our own selfish desires, but our time must instead be spent walking in the Spirit.

You have been liberated from the works of the flesh, those things that kept you from faith in Christ, such as adultery, idolatry, and selfishness which as one point kept you from your inheritance, it is through the work of the Spirit in your life that you have felt feelings such as love, joy, and peace.

As the Holy Spirit brings you to repentance and points you to Christ you come to know what love is, what joy is, what peace is (John 6:44).

Christ is love, Christ incites joy, and Christ brings peace to the unbeliever as they transform into a new creature.

It is the initial work of the Holy Spirit that made you into the Child of God that you are today, being made aware of salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is what would occur as the Ethiopian would learn from the Prophet Isaiah and Philip who Jesus was.

We can learn from Philip as he was one who was full of the Spirit, walked in the Spirit, and was led by the Spirit, which would lead him to this Ethiopian man so that through the knowledge of the Word of God, he might be saved.

Point 2: Led by the Word

Scripture: Acts 8:30–35

Explanation:

After the Holy Spirit spoke, no matter how awkward or consequential it was for Philip to go to the Ethiopian man, Scripture says, he ran to him.

This shows some excitement, some urgency, he had responded promptly to the call of the Spirit telling him to go!

As he ran up to him, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah.

I mentioned I would come back to this, but this is something to take notice of.

More than likely, when the Ethiopian man was in Jerusalem to worship, he purchased himself a copy of the Prophet Isaiah’s words.

This not speaks to the longing he had to know God, but also to the extent at which he would go to know Him better.

It is through the reading of God’s Word that one comes to know God better and at that time scrolls were not cheap, so he had most likely spent a pretty penny to obtain the scroll.

Not only that, but like a child learning to read for the first time, sounding our the words of a sentence trying to understand its contents better, it says that Philip heard him, so he was reading the Scripture aloud.

This man had an earnest desire not only to read Scripture, but to understand what it was that God was trying to say to him through it.

This leads to Philip asking a very important question that would change this man’s life forever, he said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And since this man earnestly desire to understand what God was saying through His Word, the man responds, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

He then invites Philip up into his chariot, to sit with him and Luke provides us with the Scripture he was reading, from Isaiah 53, beginning in verse 7, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”

These verses spoke of Christ, but this man had most likely never heard of Christ, coming from a different continent, coming from a country so far away, visiting a city filled with Jews, he would have most likely never encountered a Christian as they had been scattered (Acts 8:1) before he was able to visit there, but it was through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, through Philip’s obedience to the Holy Spirit, that he would not get the opportunity to help this man understand that what he read was about what His future Savior had done for him.

The man asks Philip, “...of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

In response Luke tells us that Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

Application:

I won’t lie, when I read this tears filled my eyes as I know the feeling of Philip must have had when the words that the Ethiopian man was reading was that of a prophecy concerning Christ.

As a pastor I have many hard days, especially as a bi-vocational pastor, working 40 hours a week, being a husband, and a father of 4, life is sometimes challenging, but when the Holy Spirit works through you as you bring forth the Word of God to unbelievers to see their life forever changed as they come to faith in Jesus Christ for the first time, it’s worth every challenging minute.

Just in my last year and a half here, I have gotten to see many come to Christ and every time that I do I am reminded of the reason I have not given up yet when it seemed that I should.

It goes further past that as well, as these people who come to faith choose to stay here and then I get to continue working with the Holy Spirit to aid in them becoming mature believers of Christ through the study of God’s Word.

Each and every time I come to church and sometimes outside of these walls, I get to spend time with, hang out with, each of one of you...point some out in feel led...

I get to watch you grow in Christ, I get to see you mature, I get to see your life change before my eyes, the literally transformation of someone who at one point was chained down by their sin, now set free in Christ!

Each time, I get to be reminded of what it was that Christ did for me:

READ Isaiah 53:3-12.

It is through God’s Word that we are led to Christ.

Point 3: Led to Christ

Scripture:

Acts 8:36–40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.”

Explanation:

As we look to the conclusion of our narrative for today, after Philip had preached Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch Scripture tells us that as they went down the road, they came to some water.

As verse 35 that alluded to, Isaiah 53 was just the beginning of where he began to peach Jesus to him from.

More than likely he had seized this opportunity to preach everything concerning Christ to him in this moment, even the significance of baptism.

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

Philip’s answer, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

The eunuch’s answer, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

This is an important reminder how just how important baptism is.

Not only are we commanded to be baptized by the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), but through baptism we publicly show our new faith in Christ by being obedient to Christ and what He commanded us to do.

It’s symbolic of what Christ did for us through his death, burial, and resurrection.

Through baptism, this Ethiopian man was putting on display what had just happened as he went from death to life, dying to his old self, burying that sin once and for all, and rising up from the waters demonstrating that he was new man in Christ.

And so, he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

What happens next is something that he and his convoy of protective detail, like I mentioned he would most likely have, would get to experience the power of the Holy Spirit as 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.

Just like with Stephen, the first christian martyr, being 1 of only 5 to see a glimpse of Heaven while on earth (Acts 7:55), here, Philip, the first christian evangelist, would be 1 of 3 to ever be miraculously called away by the Spirit of the Lord (Elijah in 1 Kings 18:12; 2 Kings 2:16 and Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:12, 14; 8:3).

Where would the Spirit of the Lord take Philip?

It tells us that Philip was found at Azotus, nearly ~25 miles north of Gaza, where he would then preach in all the cities till he came to Caesarea, another ~60 miles north of Azotus. This mans calf muscles would put all of us in here to shame!

And as for the eunuch, he went on his way rejoicing for not only had he got see the power of the Holy Spirit on display, but he had been transformed by the gospel, a transformation led to rejoicing.

Altar Call

As the worship team comes…close your eyes…think back to our story for today:

The eunuch’s eagerness to learn more about God.

When was the moment you decided to seek out God?

Philip’s obedience to God by answering his call to go.

Who was the one who first introduced you to God? Who was there the moment you came to faith in Christ?

The eunuch seeking to understand God’s Word in his chariot, leading to Philip preaching Christ to him.

Where were you when you sought to understand the message of Christ? Who was it that preached Christ to you? How did you respond? Remember that moment.

The eunuch’s eagerness to get baptized, publicly proclaiming that he had come to faith in Christ.

Do you remember the feeling of the chains of sin be broken? Do you remember entering the water as you publicly proclaimed Christ? Do you remember how it felt coming out of the water?

Everything I hope your feeling right now, the eunuch had just felt as he had surrendered his life to Christ, and that led to rejoicing.

Keep your eyes closed, meditate for just a moment longer on what Christ did for you, and as the music starts here in just a moment, lift your eyes to heaven and rejoice in worship as we praise the Lord for what He has done through His Son Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.