SERIES: Adventures in Acts 009
TITLE: The Gospel Finds a New Audience
TEXT: Acts 8:26-40
INTRO: Jesus had commanded the Disciples to take the Gospel to the world.
(Act 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."But the world couldn't hear the Good News as long as the church remained remained in Jerusalem. God allowed persecution to come in order to drive the believers into the world. (Act 8:4) Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
I. PHILIP IS INTERRUPTED BY AN ANGEL (v.26)
A. A Great Revival Was Going On in Samaria
1. Philip was having great success preaching there
2. God spoke to him through an angel
-Isaiah experienced God's call in a vision of angels
-And angels spoke to Mary, Jacob and the Shepherds
3. Philip...instructed to leave Samaria and go south to
Gaza in the desert
B. God's Ways Are Not Our Ways
1. Philip must have been puzzled by his instructions
2. He had to leave the crowds of people & go where
people were scarce
3. Several roads led south, but he Philip is instructed take
the one that was least traveled
4. He obeyed God...though it didn't make sense to him.
# Adrian Rogers said, "Just because it doesn't make sense to you, it doesn't mean it doesn't make sense."
C. Do We Hear When God Speaks to Us?
1. Sometimes we don't hear ... too distracted
2. Consider the experience of Elijah:
(1Ki 19:11-12) And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
3. We can have great experiences when we follow God's
leading
# When I go on a trip...take some of my books...wait until I sense that "this is the person you need to give a book to."
II. PHILIP MEETS ONE PERSON ON A DESERTED HIGHWAY
(27-31)
A. A Man of Ethiopia
1. Ethiopia was an ancient African nation south of Egypt
on the Nile river
2. Also known as Cush, which means "burnt face." In NT
times..was ruled by a woman with the title of Candace.
3. It was on the frontier of the known world.
(Jer 13:23) Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
B. The Ethiopian Eunuch
1. He was the treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia
2. Was probably a convert to Judaism
3. He had traveled 750 miles to worship at Jerusalem
(Psa 68:31) Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
III. PHILIP PREACHES CHRIST TO THE ETHIOPIAN (31-40)
A. The Right Place, The Right Time, The Right Person
(v. 29) Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
1. The Ethiopian was reading in Isaiah:
(Isa 53:7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
2. Philip began at that scripture & preached Christ to him
-How Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, died on the
cross for our sins
-How Jesus arose from the dead
-How Jesus saves those who believe on and trust Him
3. The Eunuch was baptised in a desert pool
B. Then Philip disappeared
(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.
1. There are millions of Christians in Ethiopia, today
2. Philip went up the coast, from the south, preaching in
every city until he arrived at Caesarea, in the north.
CONCL:
Great things happen when God's people allow Him to lead
Sometimes He leads in unusual ways. It isn't up to us to question but to follow where He leads
# One day a missionary in Ecuador was going to visit a mission church. He was riding on a mule & when he came to a fork in the road the stubborn mule refused to turn the way he wanted to go, and took the other fork instead. So, the missionary began praying, "Lord, I don't have a place to stay in that town, lead me to the right people." When he arrived in a town he saw a man sitting on his front porch. When he introduced himself, the man on the porch said, "I am believer. I listen to H.C.J.B, the Voice of the Andes and one day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Come, you are welcome to stay here in my home. I have been praying for years that God would send someone to our town to share the Gospel." By the end of the week, thirty people made decisions for Christ.
Amen
