We understand the importance, as Christians, of not following the many bad examples that many lost people display in their lives, but NEW CONVERTS do not hear much, or see much, about following the good examples the Bible tells about and the stories of great Christians through the years have set for them to follow.
Instead they are left to follow the of professing Christians. Sad to say, many of these set bad examples for them to follow.
Illus: The story is told of the church service where some new converts were listening to some Christians who had been saved for many years.
• One jumped up and said, “I have been smoking three packs of cigarettes a day and I am going to quit!"
• Another one jumped up and said, “Well, I have been telling some things that are not exactly the truth, and I am going to quit!”
• Another one jumped up and said, “Well, I haven't been doing a thing, and I am going to quit!”
It is amazing how little effort some make to obey the Lord, but their bad examples rub off on new converts who do not know that God would have them to be soul winners.
Illus: Someone said, “Most church members are” 100% willing. They are willing workers. And the other 50 % are willing to let them work.
When we are not willing to obey the command to go into the harvest field and win souls as God has commanded us, we are setting a terrible example for young converts who do not know what God requires of them.
Illus: A little boy and his parents always sat near a family who did not love to give their tithes and offerings. The little boy noticed that when the plate was passed every week the man would just thump the bottom of the plate to make it sound like he had dropped some money in. After the little boy had seen him do this several weeks, one Sunday morning, while the offertory prayer was being prayed, the little boy tapped this man on the shoulder and said, “Here mister, I will give you my dime to put in the plate, I can hide under the seat!'
Many are influenced in a negative way by older Christians in many ways.
For example, they see people who profess to be saved not witness week after week and they conclude that soul winning must be optional. That is not so!
Soul winning is not a CHOICE, it is a COMMAND!
One of the last things Christ said to the church was, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teachinng them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, Lo, I am with you always. even unto the end of the world."
Notice that the promise that God will be with us, "... unto the end of the world," was given to those who would carry out His Great commission.
God is omnipresent (every where), and He has promised to be with the soul winner in a very special way because soul winners are carrying out His command to evangelize the world.
Every Christian who has ever been saved any length of time should be an example to younger Christians that God wants them to also be soul winners.
You see, it is going to be rough on a lot of Christians when they stand before the Lord and not only give account of the fact they have wasted their own lives, but they have used their influence to cause young Christians to waste their lives! Our influence can be used for good or bad. But once we use it for good or bad, only God knows to what degree it will affect so many around us.
Illus: For example, a Christian man had the chance to visit the high school he had graduated from. He was absolutely shocked to discover the change that had transpired in the twenty years since he had graduated. The students were using foul language, which one might expect because they hear it at home so much, but what redly OVERVWHELMINGLY SHOCKED him was that the boys were openly touching the girls where they had no business touching them. He left thinking that when he had been there if a young man would have done that he would have been in big-time trouble. Why? For at least three reasons:
1. Because the girls back then had the decency to wring a fellow's jaw and he would think twice before he ever layed his paws on her again!
2. Secondly, because when she went home and told her dad what he did, the dad would then find him and exert strong, repeated, pressure to his jaw, or his posterior extremity.
3. Thirdly because the school would throw that rascal out and never allow him to come back to class again.
All those actions would have been taken, and rightfully so. But today we see:
• Girls are allowing it (even encouraging it).
• Parents are allowing it, and
• The school officials turn their heads, allowing it to become accepted behavior for young people.
HOW DID SCHOOLS GET INTO THIS DEPLORABLE CONDITION?
Gradually the bad examples of a few who went beyond the boundaries of decency were followed by more and more. It did not begin everywhere at the same time.
• It started when someone took the first step, and got away with it.
• It started when the parents neglected teaching decency at home.
• It started when the school system ceased teaching personal characteristics such as decency, virtue, and respect for one's sell
• It started one day when a young girl decided she would rather he popular with the opposite sex than to hold on to her virtue.
It became accepted behavior when other young people saw the BAD EXAMPLE and chose to become just like those who were setting the BAD example.
You see, all of us have followed either good or bad examples.
Illus: Christians often forget that new converts are "new-born babes in Christ.” Just as parents have to be careful about the examples they display in front of their children, we also have to be very careful about THE EXAMPLES WE DISPLAY IN FRONT OF THESE NEW SPIRITUAL BA]BIES.
New converts should hear older Christians talking about who they have witnessed to and who they plan to witness to, and who they are praying for and are burdened for.
God gives us good examples of SOUL WINNERS who have given their lives for that purpose because Soul winning is so important.
Illus: I would like you to picture yourself as a soul-winning evangelist. I mean that the thing that thrill your soul is for another soul to be saved and imagine yourself in the midst of a soul-winning revival where many are responding and accepting Christ. Wow! Can you imagine how difficult it would be to obey God if He told you to leave and go down into the desert just to witness to one foreigner? This is what God had Philip do. Philip left where there was a mighty revival going on to go out into the desert to witness to an eunuch who did not know Christ.
But Philip was a soul winner who was DETERMINED TO OBEY THE LORD. Philip was not like some who are:
• Determined to see how rich they can get in this lifetime.
• Determined to see how popular they m be in this lifetime.
• He was DETERMING TO DO ONE THING - TO OBEY THE LORD.
Let's examine this soul winner who was DETERMINED TO PLEASE THE LORD.
What do we see?
I. WE SEE HIS CALLING.
Notice the angel of the Lord "... spake unto Phililp....” Philip was not going to the desert because he thought of the idea himself. He did not know there were any sinners out there.
So, God, knowing he would obey, said in verse 26, "...Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.”
Now we can assume from this verse that Philip was probably relaxing at this time because it says, “Arise and go”. Now had Philip been like many Christians today he would have had excuses as to why he could not get up out of his easy chair and go.
You see, God tells us the same thing in Matthew 28:12, We read, “Go ye therefore, and teall all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Now suppose we read in Acts 9:26 that God told Philip to go but Philip refused. Would that be the end of the matter? No! If he had refused and given God all kind of excuses as to why he could not go, he still would have to stand before the Lord one day and give account to God for disobeying him. Perhaps the eunch never would have been saved and the eunch’s blood would have been on his hand as he stood before the Lord. Well, one day we will stand before the Lord. god has told us to go and we can refuse, but if we do not go, souls will be eternally lost and we will have to stand before Christ and give account to God for them because their blood will be on our hands.
Illus: Several years ago a bus driver was on drugs and no one knew it. He was driving down the road and misjudged some side rails along the side of the road. He hit them and snatched the bus back and lost control and several of his passengers were killed in the accident. He was checked for drugs and he was held accountable for the lives that had been snuffed out because of his neglect.
Philip heard God's orders and he obeyed them. He had a DETERMINATION TO OBEY THE LORD. He was in Samaria where a wonderful revival was taking place, but God was going to show him that one soul is important as well as a church full in Samaria.
Sometimes we see some terrible things happen because parents show partiality among their children, but God does not love one of us more than He loves any others. When God asked Philip to leave that great soul-winning revival, He was showing us that He loved that eunuch alone in the desert as much as He loved the church full of saints where Philip had been ministering.
In this text, WE SEE HIS CALLING, and. WE SEE HIS COMPLIANCE.
Look at verses 27-31, "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, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join th myself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?"
The eunuch evidently had gone to the temple because he was curious and wanted to know more about the God of Israel, but notice, he came, and went the same way he came - lost!
Illus: It is a tragedy that many lost people come to the house of God and leave the way they came. They come empty and they leave empty. All too often sinners come to church and not one Christian is interested enough to call them aside and tell them, “I would like to show you what God's Word says you must do to be saved, would that be alright?”
Instead they talk to the sinners about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING except how to be saved.
Illus: One lost couple went to a church seeking something they did not have. After church a group of professing Christians invited them to go to a restaurant with them. The couple never came back to church. The pastor went to invite them to come again, but they brushed aside his invitation. He made several more efforts to get some kind of response from them, but every time he would mention church, or invite them to come again, they would brush it aside as if they did not want to hear him. The pastor could tell that something was wrong. He said, "Look, I feel that something is wrong. Is there anything you would like to talk to me about?' They looked at each other and then she said, “Honey, I think you need to tell him.” The lost man said, “Preacher, about a month ago we came to your church because we thought we were missing something and we were hoping to find it in your church.” He continued, We enjoyed the service and afterward we were invited to go out with some of the church members to a local restaurant. We agreed to go, but after sitting and talking a little while, we began to hear those Professing Christians say things that we thought only sinners would say behind someone's back. We concluded that what we were looking for cannot be found in church. We feel we are better off than any of those at that table.”
We do not know why the eunuch had not been converted at the temple. Maybe it was because everyone was so busy doing his own thing that no one had time to do the Lord's work of reaching souls.
Maybe it was because they were so cliquish that before and after the service they did not reach out to a lost man to try to win him to Christ.
Anyway, for some reason, the eunuch left the same way he had come, lost? But, because of his hunger, he was reading the scriptures, trying to find salvation for himself. He was not getting very far until God sent Philip, “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 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.?
This is the invitation every soul winner looks forward to. Immediately Philip was beside him, showing him what he must do to be saved.
What a fantastic soul winner he was! We see Philip's CALLING, his COMPLIANCE, thirdly -
III. WE SEE HIS CLASS.
Look at Acts 8:32-35, We read, 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.
Notice, his wagon became his classroom.
• Today Christians do not believe they can do something unless they have all the modern-day conveniences.
• Some believe they cannot preach unless they have a beautiful sanctuary with stained-glass windows in it.
• Some believe they cannot teach unless they have a nice, carpeted, air, conditioned classroom with chalk boards, visual aids, etc.,
• Some believe they cannot witness unless they have graduated from Bible college.
This is exactly what the devil wants Christians to think. This will give them all the excuses they need not to witness.
But notice, if you would, where this great soul winner was teaching the Word of God - on a hot, dusty road in the desert.
Anywhere is the right place to win souls, and if you are in a place where you cannot win souls, you probably should not be there.
Philip, “...opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
• God can turn a lunch hour into a Bible class.
• God can turn a car into a class area.
God can turn your home into a class.
Conclusion/Summary:
Philip, we have seen:
I. WE HAVE SEEN HIS CALLING.
II. WE HAVE SEEN HIS COMPLIANCE.
III. WE HAVE SEEN HIS CLASS.
