"Help for Hungry Hearts"
Acts 8:26-40
Acts 8:26 "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.
I. The hunger of the Eunuch
a. He had position, power, and possessions -- He was the chamberlain of the female ruler of the old kingdom of Nubia. The title Candace is the same as pharaoh to the Egyptians or Caesar to the Romans.
John Piper summed up our problem well with his statement, 'The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we "keep ourselves stuffed with other things"'
b. He was a pilgrim who made great sacrifices -- journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem, that is from modern day Sudan (Nubia) this would have been a trip of 1131 miles one way by land. (Khartoum to Jerusalem)
There are two kinds of proselyte:
1. Ger tzedek (righteous proselytes, proselytes of righteousness, religious proselyte, devout proselyte)
2. Ger toshav (resident proselyte, proselytes of the gate, limited proselyte, half-proselyte)
A righteous proselyte[5] was a Gentile who had converted to Judaism, was bound to all the doctrines and precepts of the Jewish economy, and was considered a full member of the Jewish people. They were to be circumcised and immersed in a mikvah (ceremonial bath) should they wish to eat of the Passover sacrifice.
A gate proselyte[6] was a "resident alien" who lived in the Land of Israel and followed some of the customs. They were not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the Torah. They were bound only to conform to the seven precepts of Noah, the Noahide Laws: do not worship idols, do not blaspheme God's name, do not murder, do not commit immoral sexual acts, do not steal, do not tear the limb from a living animal, and do not fail to establish courts of justice.
c. He was pining for something that would satisfy the hunger he had in his soul.
Much, if not most, of the social turmoil of our culture is due to a hunger for peace, which is sought for in all the wrong places. According to Ronald Hutchcraft, the Director of Youth for Christ in New York and New Jersey, in the next thirty minutes-
57 kids will run away from home.
29 children will attempt suicide.
22 girls under 19 years of age will receive an abortion.
14 teenage girls will give birth to an illegitimate baby.
685 teens will use some form of narcotic.
These tragic statistics reveal that we are a nation in perpetual war.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
II. The help for the Eunuch
a. The scene
Acts 8:26 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.
Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
b. The seeker
This man was most likely reading aloud in Greek from the Septuagint in Isaiah 53:7 The eunuch had followed what light he had and had made this long pilgrimage to Jerusalem but even in the midst of all the symbols of the old faith he found no answers, only more questions. Little did he know that God had seen the hunger in his heart and had prepared a man to bring a life giving message to him.
As one commentary points out, "Jesus sees every man, no matter where he is: in the dark places of his sin and shame, in his home and work and play, in his seeking to know the truth. Jesus sees everything about a man, but there is one person in particular whom he sees. He sees the man who is seeking Him" (POSB-WS).
c. The Savior
What is it that fills this void in all of us; that satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts?
Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
INDESCRIBABLE CHRIST
Dr. S.M. Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA from 1953 - 1993. He entered heaven in 2000. He is well-known for a passage out of his sermon titled "He's My King":
"He's enduringly strong, He's entirely sincere, He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. He's God's Son. He's a sinner's savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's preeminent. He's the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest idea in philosophy. He's the fundamental truth in theology. He's the miracle of the age. He's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?
Well, my king is the king of knowledge, He's the well-spring of wisdom, He's the doorway of deliverance, He's the pathway of peace, He's the roadway of righteousness, He's the highway of holiness He's the gateway of glory, He's the master of the mighty, He's the captain of the conquerors, He's the head of the heroes, He's the leader of the legislators, He's the overseer of the overcomers, He's the governor of governors, He's the prince of princes, He's the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you. But He's indescribable. Yes. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible, He's irresistible. I'm trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands. You can't outlive Him, and you can't live without Him. Well. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my king!
He always has been, and He always will be. I'm talking about He [who] had no predecessor and He [who] has no successor. There was nobody before Him and there will be nobody after Him. You can't impeach Him, and He's not going to resign. We try to get prestige and honor and glory to ourselves, but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and when you get through with all of the forever's, then 'Amen'."
"Oh I wish I could describe him to you."
III. The happiness of the Eunuch
Acts 8:39 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.
BURY IT RIGHT!
The story is told of a teenage son who wanted to be Scripturally baptized. His father told him that the sprinkling he got as a baby was sufficient. The son tried to explain that you can only picture the idea of burial by completely being submerged. Angry, the father told him to forget it and not bring the matter up again.
The next day their dog died, and the father told the son to go out behind the barn and bury it. So the boy went out--and suddenly an idea formed in his mind. He took a handful of dirt and sprinkled it on the dog and left it.
When his dad saw what his son had done, he was angry and said, "I told you to bury the dog. Now go back and bury it right." So the boy went out, and this time he took a cup outside and poured a cupful of dirt on it.
When the father saw it, he said, "Boy, are ye daft?! I said BURY the animal! Put it UNDER THE GROUND, for crying out loud."
Suddenly the old man stopped in his tracks. He looked sheepishly at his son and then said, "Get your coat on, lad. Let's go see the pastor to see about gettin' you baptized proper to show death AND burial AND resurrection."
a. The enlightenment the scriptures
Psalms 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalms 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Ezekiel 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
b. The empowerment by the Spirit
Throughout this entire sequence of events there is the constant working and ministry of the Holy Spirit, guiding, directing, leading. It was the Holy Spirit that directed Philip to the desert and it was the Spirit of God that removed him once the work of salvation was completed in the eunuch's heart.
c. The enjoyment of salvation
Acts 8:39 "...and he went on his way rejoicing."
O happy day, that fixed my choice,
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.
Refrain
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every
day
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
HE WAS HEALED
Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man's healing.
That next week he got a telephone call from the man's wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Campolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don't feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn't take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Campolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We've sung. We've laughed. We've read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they've been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound.
She said, "He wasn't cured, but he was healed."
