Simple Faithfulness

I heard a story some time ago of a missionary in Africa who gave a Bible to one of the African men. When it was given to him, the man hugged it close & expressed great appreciation for the precious gift of God’s Word that the missionary had given him.

But when the missionary saw him a few days later he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, & that many of its pages were missing. The missionary asked him, "What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession."

The man replied. "Indeed, it is a very precious possession. It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is so precious that when I returned to my village I very carefully chose a page & tore it out & gave it to my mother. Then I tore out another page & gave it to my father. And I tore out another page & gave it to my wife. Finally, I gave a page of God’s Word to everybody who lives in my village."

describes the way the Gospel progressively moved from Jews to Gentiles

This story is followed by Saul’s conversion in ch 9 and Cornelius in ch 10

This man is certainly peculiar in terms of converts

There are 2 main characters in the story: Philip and a Eunuch

Philip

This is NOT the Apostle Philip

This Philip is one of the seven Deacons called in

Found his home ministry in Samaria

Eventually resided in Philippi with his four daughters

The Eunuch

Luke uses the phrases “an angel of the Lord” and “the Spirit” interchangeably

He is from Ethiopia

He was a gentile and a proselyte- so not allowed in the inner courts of temple

He

Luke is trying to communicate to us that it is God’s idea for Philip to do these things.

He had great power

We are not told how these voices spoke to Philip, just that they did and Philip responded in proper fashion

A court official of Candace the Queen

Philip is told to approach an Ethiopian man; an official of the Queen; who was riding in a chariot

He was in charge of her treasure

Most likely an Ox-drawn chariot; so not moving that fast

He was in a chariot (Ox drawn cart)

The Ethiopian eunuch is reading the prophet Isaiah from a scroll

He was a seeker of Christ

There is a common thread that brings these two men together on a road between Jerusalem and Gaza- FAITHFULNESS

Philip was faithful

To the Spirit

v26- An angel of the Lord said to Philip...

v29- And the Spirit said...

v39- The Spirit of the Lord carried him away...

Remember what we said last week? When the H/S speaks we need to listen- PHILIP DID

To the Scriptures

v35- 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus

Many people want to hear or talk about God, but they do not start from the Bible

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

S.D. Gaede- Having pretty much decided that truth is not attainable, we have made tolerance of a plurality of truths a virtue. Having no truths worth defending, we have made non-defensiveness a mark of distinction.

To his new friend

v38

The Eunuch was faithful

To the words of the Bible

He did not know the truth, so he asked for help

Ruth E. Van Reken: Our human reasoning alone isn’t enough to discern truth from error. The best protection against deception is to know God’s revealed truth, the Bible.

He was baptized on the spot

To the council of a friend

One day one of Mahatma Gandhi's disillusioned followers came up to him and said, "You have no integrity. Last week I heard you say one thing, and today you are saying something different. How do you justify such vacillation?" Gandhi quietly replied, "It is simple, really, my son. I have learned something since last week."

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

Gandhi quietly replied, "It is simple, really, my son. I have learned something since last week."

but with many advisers they succeed.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

Are you spiritually stubborn? \

We can each identify with one of these 2 men in the story

Where do you need more faithfulness, in giving or receiving the Word of God?