A WITNESS FOR JESUS
ACTS 8:26-39
DIVINE DIRECTIONS
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 Gaza
A. When we are done
with one mission, God has another mission to keep us busy.
1. Philip had
completed his work in Samaria
2. In obedience to
the Lord, he followed the directions of an angel.
3. There are times
when the Lord will send us to a desert area.
4. The desert may
be a place without a church or the start of a new church without a
teacher.
a. Anyone
without God as the center of their lives is in the desert.
b. Anyone
without Jesus as their personal Savior is in the desert.
5. The Word, once
preached moves out from it's origin.
B. The Lord did not
tell Philip what his mission was, only that he was needed in a
different area.
1. We should never
get to comfortable in our position during God's work.
a. God may move us to do another task at any
time.
b. He may move
us out of the city into the desert to accomplish his mission.
2. We should
always be willing and available to the Lord to take on new
responsibilities.
SERVANTS OBEDIENCE
V:27. "And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia Jerusalem
A. When we become
obedient to the commands of God, He will
reveal His purpose
to us.
1. Those who work
for the Lord can accomplish great things in the presence of
great
men and
women.
2. Philip was
placed by God in the presence of the Chief Financial Officer of the
Nation of Ethiopia
3. Philip, a Jew
and deacon of the Church had teaching business with a highly placed
African
Official.
4. This African
Official worshipped the Lord long before many of the modern
religions of
the area developed.
B. The young and the
old, the small and the great need to be taught the Word of God.
1. This African
Official had power, authority and connections, but he saw a need to
worship the
Lord.
V:28. "Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read
Esaias the prophet."
A. This African
Official was riding in a chauffer driven limousine, studying the Word
of God.
1. He was a smart
man. He handled the finances of his country.
2. He was a wise
man.
a. He was
returning from vacation where he worshipped the Lord.
b. He used
his free time studying the Word of God.
OJECTIVE OF THE MISSION
V:29. "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and
join thyself to this chariot."
A. Once we get
started on a mission for the Lord, God reveals more of His plan to
us.
1. We should
always be open to directions from the Lord.
2. The spirit of
believers receives inspiration from the Holy Spirit.
3. To do God's
work, we have to go where the work is.
4. To help
someone, you need to get close to them.
5. To help
someone, you have to join in with them to know their needs.
B. To be effective in the ministry, you have to be obedient
to the Holy Spirit.
1. You have to
listen to the Lord.
2. You have to be
willing to work.
3. You have to go
when called.
C. God can open doors
that we don't know exist.
1. God will place
us in the mist of people who need a Word from Him.
2. Our testimony
and knowledge of Jesus are effective in the spread of the Gospel.
A WITNESS FOR JESUS
V:30. "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him
read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?"
A. Philip
"ran".
1. When God says
go, you ought to run in obedience.
2. The opportunity that is here today, may not
exist tomorrow.
3. The African
Official was on the move.
a. Philip had
to catch him while he was in his sight.
B. Notice what happen
when Philip got close to the official.
1. He observed. He
heard the man reading the Bible
2. He investigated.
He asked the man if he understood what he was reading.
3. He applied his
knowledge.
4. There are three
basic steps in Bible Study.
a.
Observation: Observe the text.
b. Investigation:
Interpret the text.
c.
Application: Apply the text to your
life.
C. Asking questions is the quickest way to
engage a person in conversation.
1. Asking
questions about their interest is a sure way to determine their knowledge
of the subject.
2. If you allow
the Holy Spirit to guide your conversation, you will ask the right
questions
that are particular to the needs of the listener.
V: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."
A. God placed Philip
in the mist of a man reading the scripture to have Bible Study.
1. God places His
ministers in the right place at the right time to spread the
Gospel.
2. God ensures
that those He call, will get the understanding they need.
B. Philip was asked
to join the African Official in His chariot
for Bible Study.
1. When we join
with others in Bible Study our understanding is increased.
C. This official had the
right attitude for learning.
1. He was humble.
He knew what he did not know.
2. He was willing
to learn.
3. He had a desire to understand the Word of
God.
4. He took advantage of the teacher that God
placed in front of Him.
C. A good student of God makes time for Bible
Study.
1. A good student
makes a place for a teacher.
2. A good student
gets close to his teacher.
BIBLE STUDY IS BASED ON SCRIPTURE
V:32.-33 "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.
V:33. "In his
humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation?
for his life is taken from the earth."
A. The African
Official was reading in the book of Isaiah the prophecy of the coming
of Jesus Christ,
His rejection, His obedience to the Father in death and His
resurrection.
1. Even though the
man was in the desert, he did not have a desert mentality.
a. A desert
mentality is devoid of the Word of God.
b. A desert
mentality is stuck on this world and the things in this world.
c. A desert
mentality is blind to the promises of God.
d. A desert
mentality has no concept of eternity.
2. This man had a
kingdom mentality.
a. This man was on
the move.
b. He was just
passing through. The desert was not his home.
c. This man was
seeking God through the study of His Word.
d. You have to
pass through the desert to reach the kingdom.
B. God knows where
you are.
1. You can't get
lost in the desert from God.
2. God prepares us
to accept the Gospel.
a. He came to Jerusalem
b. He was
studying the Word that proclaimed the coming of the Gospel.
3. Once his heart
was ripe for the Gospel, God sent Him a teacher.
a. Once his
heart was right, his mind was open to the Gospel
C. God was quick to
tell His nationality, his worldly position, his authority,
but He did not
tell us his name.
1. This man
represents us all.
2. No matter how
much or how little we got, if we don't have Jesus we don't
have anything
of lasting value.
D. The Gospel moves
in high places by ordinary people like us.
V:34. "And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray
thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other
man?"
A. This man was wise.
1. He studied the
Word for himself.
2. He asked
questions to gain an understanding.
3. He knew who to ask
to get answers.
a. He was
reading aloud to his driver, but his driver didn't know.
b. He asked a
teacher who had an understanding.
B. If you don't know,
don't be afraid to ask questions to get answers.
PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
V:35. "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the
same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
A. A good teacher
listens to the questions of his students.
1. In the
questions are the students' interest and lack of knowledge.
B. A good teacher uses
the questions as a start to his teaching.
1. No matter
where you start in the Bible, you can teach Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus is the
author of the Word.
a. Jesus is
the Word.
b. Jesus is
the Word that became flesh.
3. The Word is
personal.
a. The Word
teaches the salvation of man through faith in Jesus.
C. There is no way to
preach the Word without preaching Jesus Christ.
1. Our interest
in the Word is God's directions to us out of the world.
CONFESSION OF FAITH
V: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?"
A. A good teacher
teaches Jesus and redemption in the baptism of His blood.
1. Water baptism
is an outward sign of an inward change in the heart.
2. The water
baptism represents the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
B. The desire to be
baptized represents the conviction in the heart to accept Jesus as
savior.
1. The African
official had a personal desire to know the Word of God.
2. His knowledge
of the Word resulted in his desire to be baptized.
C. This official
concluded that time was not on his side.
1. He took the
opportunity to be baptized immediately.
2. Time is not on
our side.
V: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."
A. The first step in
redemption is a confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
1. Confession
must be from the heart.
2. Confession
without belief in Jesus is worthless.
B. There is no real
baptism without faith in Jesus.
C. We must believe
that Jesus is the Son of God.
1. We must
believe that Jesus had a divine nature and a human nature.
2. We must
believe that Jesus came down from heaven and took on human flesh.
3. We must
believe that the blood that Jesus shed on the cross covers our sins.
V: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."
A. There is nothing
more important than your spiritual baptism in Jesus Christ.
1. Your work is
not that important.
2. Your time is
not that important.
3. Your position
is not that important.
B. You have a choice
to accept or reject Jesus.
1. The African
Official chose Jesus.
2. You have to
stand still and accept Jesus where you are.
C. Notice the correct
water baptism commanded by Christ.
1. Baptism is by
emersion.
2. They went down
into the water.
3. This water
baptism represents our going down into the blood of Jesus.
4. This baptism
represents our covering in the blood of Jesus.
WORK COMPLETE; A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST
V: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."
A. Water baptism
represents complete emersion by the Holy Spirit.
1. This passage
gives us the existence of the Holy Trinity.
a. We have God
the Father.
b. We have God
the Son.
c. We have God
the Holy Spirit.
B. The power of the
Holy Spirit is shown.
1. The man was
baptized by the Holy Spirit.
a. Philip did
the water baptism.
b. The Holy
Spirit did the spiritual baptism.
2. Philip was
carried away by the Spirit.
a. The Man rode
in a horse drawn chariot.
b. Philip rode
in the Spirit of God.
c. The spirit
carries us into an understanding of God's Word.
d. The Spirit
gives us guidance and directions.
e. When the
work was completed with the African official, the Spirit moved Philip
to
his next
assignment.
3. The work of
the Lord is never complete.
a. We must
continue in our efforts to bring others to Christ.
b. Jesus said,
"The poor will always be with you."
A NEW WAY TO LIVE
C. The man went away rejoicing.
1. Salvation is our
reason for rejoicing.
2. We rejoice
because of the work of Jesus was completed on the cross for us.
3. We rejoice
because heaven is our hope.
4. Like the African
Official, this is not our home, we are just passing through.
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