Arise and Go
Acts 8:26-39
A man walks along a lonely desert road
Dangers lie all around him
The obvious danger of the extreme heat easily takes its toll on even the strongest of men
But being in the desert brings other hazards
Wild beasts, starving, not having eaten in weeks
Ready to pounce on their next victim
Thieves, hiding in crevices or behind rocks
Waiting for that unsuspecting soul to wander into their trap
Peril is all around this man
Why would he ever put himself in such jeopardy?
Why take this barren desert road?
Surely he has a valid reason to put his life on the line
Of course he does
This man is Philip
He has a command directly from the throne room of the God Himself
Sent by His angel that said
Go take the desert road south towards Gaza
So he got up and went
About a 50 mile journey
Jesus’ last words to His followers were a command to take the Gospel everywhere
But they seemed reluctant to leave Jerusalem
It took intense persecution to scatter the believers from Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria
Where Jesus had instructed them to go
Philip, one of the deacons in charge of food distribution that we first read about in Acts 6
Left Jerusalem and, like most Jewish Christians, spread the Gospel wherever he went
But unlike most of them, he did not limit his audience to other Jews
He preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people other Jews wouldn’t even imagine speaking to
A great example of this is found in Acts 8 with the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch
READ ACTS 8:26-39
We can learn several things about soul winning from this passage
First we see
Anxiety of the soul (27-28)
It was not frivolous curiosity that brought this Ethiopian nobleman up to Jerusalem to worship
Ethiopia was located in Africa south of Egypt
The eunuch was obviously very dedicated to God because he had traveled such a long distance to worship
The Jews had contact with Ethiopia, known as Cush, in ancient days
So this man may have been a Gentile convert to Judaism
Doubtless he was an earnest seeker after the satisfying truth of God
He was an honest anxious inquirer
Proven by the fact that he had stopped what he was doing
Laying everything else aside
That he might seek this one thing needful
The truth of the Gospel
He was a very important government official in Ethiopia
One who held a position of authority in the queen’s court
That of treasurer, much like a minister of finance or secretary of the treasury
So he held a lot of responsibility, which he set aside to make this trip to Jerusalem to worship
And then on his return trip, took time to literally stop and study the Old Testament scriptures
He came to Jerusalem that he might hear
He searched the scriptures that he might see
Those who seek with all their heart will find God
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
The anxiety of the soul
Anxiety can be defined a few different ways
It can be a feeling of worry
The soul worries about its fate
As it should, we should be worried about spending eternity in a literal Hell
Eternally dying, eternally burning without burning up, eternally falling, never to meet the bottom and eternally separated from the love of God
But anxiety can also be defined as a strong wish to do something
Our soul has a strong wish to be filled with that love
Man has a desire for God, even though often times not even realizing it is God he desires
Our soul is anxious to fill that void within
To do something
And there is only one way for that void to be filled
To be drawn to God
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
We are very familiar with this verse
But we should never separate verses 44 and 45
(45) It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
The significance of verse 45 is that it shows how the Father is seeking to draw men to His Son
By the teaching of the prophetical books and the other books of the Bible
So it is our job as Christians to be teaching so that others can come to Him
That is where our next point comes in
Obedience to God (26-27)
When Philip received the call to “Arise and go…he arose and went”
His desire was to do the will of God
Philip was in the middle of a great revival in Samaria
He was blessed with the opportunity to lead many to Christ
So much that word reached the Apostles in Jerusalem
Who sent Peter and John to see if these new converts were truly becoming believers
So Philip would have loved to stay in Samaria, leading so many to Christ
But he received the call
And he wanted to obey the will of God
Whether it was in the quiet of the desert
Or in the excitement of a mighty spiritual revival
He went out, like Abraham, by faith, not knowing where he went
This was God’s way of meeting those overpowering longings that were in the heart of that anxious Ethiopian eunuch
In one way or another the earnest prayers of the needy will be answered
God could have blessed the eunuch without Philip’s aid
But it pleases the Lord to make those who are filled with the Spirit co-workers together with Him
Anxious souls need someone willing to be obedient to God
There are anxious souls all around us
Maybe even some here today
It is so important that we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring the Gospel message to them
That may mean He wants us to go into the desert to bring that message to those who are seeking
Your desert may be the barren wasteland of work
Your desert may be the uncharted territory of your school
Your desert may be the hazardous streets of your community
Whatever desert we may face, God is calling us to Arise and go
As we arise and go we must have
Enthusiasm for Souls (29-30)
So we have Philip, walking along this desert road
And he comes across a caravan of Ethiopians
This eunuch, being such an important government official probably traveled with a large entourage
I picture this caravan stopped on the side of the road
Taking a break from their journey
Philip, following the bidding of the Spirit
Who said go over and join his chariot
Does exactly what he is asked to do
But he does it with enthusiasm
Verse 30 says Philip ran to him
One version says the Spirit told Philip to catch up with the chariot
This makes you think that the chariot was moving
And Philip, being on foot, would have to run to join up with the chariot
Either way, whether stopped on the road, or still riding along
Philip ran to his side
Only those whose hearts are filled and enlarged with love by the Spirit will run in the way of His commandments
Men filled with the Holy Spirit will always be at home in dealing with an anxious soul
Real enthusiasm in the work of God is a rare thing now a days
Far too often Christians come across as cold, critical, judgmental and holier than thou
Those who are enthusiastic to win souls must be willing to run and join themselves to their chariots
To get alongside those anxious souls
And not see them as dirty filthy foreigners not worthy of coming to salvation
The world often thinks they have to clean their act up before they come to Christ
And we as Christians help them think that way
Who are we to judge who can and can’t hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ
We must be enthusiastic to tell everyone about His Love, His Salvation, His Grace and His Mercy
We must run and join ourselves to their chariot
Not as pious saints, or un-fallen angels
But as fellow-pilgrims to eternity
Seeking, by the help of the Holy Spirit
To lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ
Are you willing to do whatever it takes?
Remember the story of the Fantastic Four in Mark 2
The four friends that did whatever it took to get their paralyzed friend in to see Jesus
They took him up on the roof and dug a hole through it with their bare hands
A typical Palestinian house had a flat roof often made of a thick layer of clay packed with a stone roller
Can you imagine digging through this with your fingers?
When they finally broke through I can see them covered with sweat and dirt, their fingers scratched and bleeding
When you recognize someone’s need do you act?
Many people have physical and spiritual needs you and I can meet
We need be enthusiastic for souls, and do whatever it takes to bring them to Christ
And an important factor in doing this is
Faithfulness to the Bible (32-35)
We must remain faithful to the Bible
To preach His Word
The anxious Ethiopian was reading the prophet Isaiah at chapter 53
A tremendous passage of Scripture about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
READ Isaiah 53:1-8
Philip, filled and guided by the Holy Spirit, began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus
Some think that the Old Testament is not relevant today
Some even avoid the use of the O.T. completely
And rebuke modern Philips for such misuse of the Bible
But Philip led this man to faith in Jesus Christ by using the O.T.
Jesus is found in the pages of both the Old and New Testaments
God’s entire Word is applicable to all people in all ages
We should not avoid or neglect the use the O.T.
It too is God’s Word
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine
Jesus said
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
The scripture here is the O.T.
They didn’t have the N.T. yet
Another popular trend today is to not really use the Scriptures at all
Some preach a prosperity Gospel
Name it and claim it
As John Macarthur wrote in his book The Truth War
The larger evangelical movement today is obsessed with opinion polls, brand identity, market research, merchandising schemes, innovative strategies and numerical growth
Evangelicals are also preoccupied with matter such as their image before the general public and before the academic world
Their clout in the political arena, their portrayal by the media
And similar self-centered matters
It is the PR-driven church
One very well-known evangelical said this
“If you want to advertise your church to the un-churched, you must learn to think and speak like they do”
Again Macarthur says
Many church leaders have radically changed the way they look at the Gospel
Rather than seeing it as a message from God that Christians are called to proclaim as Christ’s ambassadors
Without tampering with it or changing it in any way
They now treat it like a commodity to be sold at market
Rather than plainly preaching God’s Word in a way that unleashes the power and truth of it
They desperately try to package the message
To make it subtler and more appealing to the world
Are we called to preach the Word, or package the Word?
We as Christians need to stay faithful to the Bible
Philip preached unto him Jesus
He didn’t try and put Him into a nice convenient package that can be easily swallowed
Without offense
The truth of the Gospel can be hard to swallow
A person must face the fact that they are a sinner
They have to give up their pride and give in to the authority of God
They have to admit they need a Savior, that they can’t do it on their own
Pride is a hard thing to overcome
We are all guilty under the Law
We all need a Savior
And once we face that fact we then see
Readiness to Confess (32-35)
Faith cometh by hearing
The eunuch heard the Gospel from the lips of Philip
And believed and was saved
Now he was ready and willing to be cut off from his own religious beliefs and habits
And to confess Christ and show others through Baptism
Baptism was an outward sign of his inward qualification to join the family of the redeemed
And to be numbered with the joint-heirs of Christ
Faith always must be accompanied with confession
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Notice what the prerequisite to baptism was
The eunuch asks what prevents me from being baptized
And Philip plainly answers him with the truth of the Gospel
If you believe with all your heart you may
And his answer was I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
Once you come to know Jesus as your Savior
Once you believe that He is the Son of God
That came to this earth
Lived a sinless life
Died a horrible death on the cross in your place
To pay the ultimate price for your sin and the sin of all time
And was dead and buried
And after three days rose again
Defeating death
Showing who is boss
Showing who is the Alpha and Omega
The Lord and King
The Almighty
The Resurrection and the Life
If you believe He is the I AM
Then you are ready and eager to confess it to the world
You are ready and willing to turn from your wicked ways
Turn from your old life
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
This anxious soul, searching for salvation, found it among the O.T. scriptures
With the help and guidance of Philip
And was eagerly ready to confess
Baptism was a sign of identification with Christ and with the Christian community
Although Philip was the only Christian there to witness
It was still important for the eunuch to take this step
The first step of obedience
Because once we are saved
Once we take that first step of obedience then we have
Happiness in Christ (39)
He went on his way rejoicing
Being justified by faith, he had peace with God
Now he goes on his way rejoicing in hope
Romans 5:2 rejoice in hope of the glory of God
The darkness has passed
The true light now shines in his heart
What a change Jesus brings into the life when He is received and trusted
The great majority of men go on their way plotting and scheming
Instead of rejoicing
Because they are strangers to the blessedness of the man whose sins are forgiven
Psalms 32:10-11 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. (11) Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
This verse in Philippians is really a strange one when you think about it
Remember from last week Paul wrote this while in prison
It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice
But ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling within us
Remember what the next verse says in Philippians?
Philippians 4:5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
Christ is near
And at His return we will fully realize this ultimate joy
He who lives within us will fulfill His final purpose for us
And we are to not be anxious about anything
Anxiety of soul is how we first found this Ethiopian eunuch
He was full of worry
He had a strong wish to do something
And now he is filled with joy
Going on his way rejoicing
Being anxious for nothing
No more worries
This verse in Philippians is telling us
We can turn our worries into prayer
Do you want to worry less?
Then pray more
Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray
Can you now see the eunuch continuing his journey back to Ethiopia?
Smiling all the way
Singing that song he heard while worshiping in Jerusalem
But now the song has so much more meaning
Because he knows the One of whom he is singing
There is always rejoicing when one comes to know Jesus
There is a three-fold area of rejoicing
There is joy in the heart of the sinner that repents
And the one who did the witnessing
And there is joy in heaven
Luke 15:7 joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
One of the greatest parts of this story is one that is not presented here in the Bible
It is believed that this eunuch was the first African convert
He would have been the first missionary to Africa
This man’s conversion brought Christianity into the power structures of another government
This is the beginning of the witness “to the ends of the earth” that we read in Acts 1:8
Matthew Henry says
We have reason to think, the knowledge of Christ was sent into that country where he lived
And that scripture fulfilled in Psalm 68:31
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God
This first African Christian returned to his home country
And history states that he founded a Christian church there that thrived there for many centuries
Ethiopia is known as one of the world’s oldest Christian countries
All because Philip Arose and went
Are you willing to arise and go?
Are you ready to take the Gospel to anxious souls?
There are people all around us with feelings of worry for their eternity
They know they need to do something
Are you willing to obey the will of God?
He is saying arise and go
Do you have enthusiasm for souls?
Willing to do whatever it takes to bring people to Jesus?
Are you faithful to the Bible?
Sticking to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Or following the crowd and trying to package Jesus up into a convenient easy to swallow message
Are we leading people to have a readiness to confess Jesus to the world?
And helping them to experience happiness in Christ?
It is our job as Christians to do this
If we don’t who will?
Are you hear this morning and you are like the Ethiopian eunuch
Do you feel that anxiety within your soul?
Knowing you need to do something
God is drawing you to Him with the reading and studying of His Word
Come to Him, ready to confess that He is Lord
Believe that Jesus is the Son of God
He was born so that He could die
To pay the price for your sins
Believe that He was raised from the dead
And sits now at the right hand of the Father
Confess your sins to Him
And He is faithful and just to forgive you of those sins
He wants you to come to Him
Won’t you come today
Christians, God is saying Arise and go…
Will you?
