A Divine Appointment

Acts 8:4-15, 26-39 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

INTRODUCTION

V. 5 – 7, 12 Philip…preached Christ to the Samaritans. Not Judaism, but Christ! Not religion, but Christ!.... The preaching of Christ to needy hearts cannot help but win a response. And so it was. That would not have happened if he had attempted to preach a form of reformed Judaism or some other religious system. They already had religion. What they needed was Christ. (John Phillips: Exploring Acts)This is what the world needs today. They have religion shoved down their throat everywhere they turn. Movies, and television shows tell them of false religion, there are radio stations, ran by religious organizations, telling them to give money, or pray to false gods to gain favor, they are told to pray to a man, they are told that they can be their own God, that they can work their way to Heaven, pay their way, or that their loved ones can get them there after they die! The world has had enough of religion and its empty promises what it needs, and what it WANTS, without even being able to express it,is the peace, security, and joy that comes only from Christ!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe Philip told of THE WOMAN AT THE WELL in John 4.

VS. 14 – 15 Consider these verses in light of the traditional hatred of the Samaritans by the Jews. The Samaritans were half-breed Jews, who had tried to blend Judaism and pagan religions. They were regarded as religious and racial mongrels by the Jews.

Now they had heard and received the preaching of the Gospel and where they had once received hatred, and hard feelings, they were now accepted. Not just by any ‘ole Jew, but by Peter and John, two of Christ’s choice servants. They saw they were not to be second class members of the Body.

AND SO IT SHOULD BE WITH ANY NEW CONVERT!!!!!!! It does not matter where someone has been, what they have done, or who they are, there is no such thing as a “second class washing in the blood of Christ!” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

I. The Appointment is Set V. 26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

For Philip this is about a 94-mile journey @ (20 miles/day = 5-day journey).

Behind this abrupt command was the foreknowledge of God, Who knew all about the Ethiopian, knew the position he held…, knew why he had come to Jerusalem, knew the deep unsatisfied hunger of his heart…, knew exactly where he was on the road, knew what book he was reading, knew his perplexity and his dogged persistence. (John Phillips: Exploring Acts)

II. The Stage is Set Vs. 27-28 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

The eunuch leaves for Jerusalem with high expectations of what he will find. He is obviously a devout, and sincere man. He has somehow heard of Judaism and has been converted to it. He now sets out on a journey of 1,500 – 2,600 miles ONE WAY. A total of 3,000 – 5,200 miles. With an average of 20 miles/day it would take him 5 – 8 months to complete the round trip. This is not including any time spent in Jerusalem or any stops along the way.

He arrives in Jerusalem to find that Judaism is filled with materialism, hypocrisy, intolerance, exclusivism, squabbles, sectarianism, and more than anything that it is a dead religion.

He then leaves on the long trip back to Ethiopia knowing there is something missing. He knows it must involve the Messiah that he has heard and read about, so he begins to read about Him. Perhaps, while in Jerusalem he has read the Psalms, Jeremiah, Daniel, he has studied what Moses had to say about Him in the Pentateuch/Torah. Certainly, he has read all the passages of Isaiah, and is now come to that great passage of Isaiah 53. Understand that for him to have just the book of Isaiah with him was no small task. Just for the purpose of understanding the task at hand when reading scrolls such as they used in that time, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found one of those scrolls was the book of Isaiah. This is the description of the scroll.

“The scroll is written on 17 sheets of parchment. It is particularly large, being about 24 feet long and ranges from 10 to 10.6 inches high with 54 columns of text.”

He knows there is something here! There is a longing in his heart to understand what he is reading. For him however the meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:14 is all too real, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The Eunuch is just coming to Isaiah 53:7, 8. He is reading about the “Lamb of God” that John spoke of and is trying to understand what he is reading. And so, the stage is set for the sinner and the soul winner to meet!

III. The Appointment is Fulfilled Vs. 29-35 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Here we find Philip, the preacher that is no doubt wondering what God has in store for him after the great revival in Samaria. We also have the eunuch, who is thoroughly confused about religion, this Lamb that he is reading about, the things he has just experienced in Jerusalem, and life in general. As they travel, they just so happen to cross paths with each other. The Eunuch is still oblivious to the fact that he and Philip were set on a “collision course” and that there is an appointment taking place that, though neither one of them had it on their calendar, or “to do list”, God had DIVINELY penciled in to the calendar of eternity. Philip on the other hand is just coming to realize that this is THE appointment that he left Samaria for. Because, HERE, on this road to Gaza, the Lord said, “Philip!!!! I pulled you out of preaching a great revival because I want you to do a little one on one preaching.”

“Philip!!! I’ve moved you from the many to the one, because through you, I want to reach the one who can carry My Word back to a whole race of people that you can’t reach right now!”

“Philip!!! I want you to understand that the multitudes of sinners are important, but so is the ONE that is seeking with everything in him for the truth!”

“PHILIP!!! THIS IS A DIVINE APOINTMENT THAT I HAVE SET UP JUST FOR YOU TO KEEP!!!!!!!”

Philip found his obedience was not misplaced. God never misfits. (A. B. Simpson: The Christ in the Bible Commentary)

Philip now draws near the chariot and hears the Eunuch reading Isaiah. He has only one question for him. “Sir, I couldn’t help but overhear what you are reading. And sir, I just have to know. DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT?”

The Eunuch of course doesn’t have a clue what he is reading about. It sounds intriguing. It’s one of the best stories that he’s ever read. He looks at Philip and says, “It tells how we all sin, or “go astray”, it talks about everyone doing what they want, but then God doesn’t even hold them responsible. Instead, He lays their sin on this Man that is taken like a lamb to the slaughter and doesn’t even open His mouth in protest. He is humiliated and His life is taken from the earth. Sir, I just have to know this. ‘IS THIS PROPHET TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF OR ANOTHER MAN?’”

Philip would have been like a pit bull lunging at a T-Bone when that question was asked. “OOOOOHHHHH LET ME TELL YOU JUST WHO HE IS LAKING ABOUT!!!!!! He’s not talking about himself!!!! Oh no! He is talking about Another!!!!!!! Why he speaks of the Messiah! He speaks of the LAMB OF GOD!!!!!!! He speaks of One Who is like no other!!!!! Do you remember reading a little bit ago about ‘unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, the government being upon his shoulder, and being called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace”? Do you remember reading that???? Well that’s Who he is talking about here!!!!! Oh!!!! By the way, when He came to earth, when He was born and given like that passage talks about…. I knew Him personally. Just let me tell you about Him……”

And Philip surely related to this man life and ministry of Christ, retraced the tragedy of Calvary, told of the resurrection and ascension, of the Great Commandment to preach the Gospel, and ended with perhaps one more question.

SIR, WHAT WILL YOU NOW DO WITH THIS LAMB THAT I HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

IV. Faith is Exercised Vs. 36-39 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

As they traveled the come to some stream, or lake, and the Eunuch says, “hey Philip, how about baptizing me?” Philip says, “Well, if you want to be baptized then I need to know one thing. All this that I’ve just been preaching to you, do you believe it? Do you accept Jesus as your Savior?” The Eunuch says, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

In that moment of faith, in turning from all the formalities and traditions of the dead religion he had come to trust in, he KNEW the peace that he had longed for, he HADthe security that had eluded him even in the majestic wall of the palace he called home, and he FELT the joy that comes from Christ alone!!!!

CLOSING

We all have appointments that we never made. DIVINE APPOINTMENTS! For some here we have already kept at least one, the day we were saved. For others you may have walked that appointment before it was completed by saying no to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you are here, and this is the first time you have ever walked into that Divine Appointment of an opportunity to be saved. For others, and in fact all of us after we are saved there will countless Divine Appointments that God places in or lives for us to be a blessing or a witness to someone. The appointment is already set in Heave, the only question that is left is what you will do with your appointment.