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is it time for us to begin and as is our custom here we will begin with a word of prayer
so let's Almighty God, most holy, most righteous heavenly father, Lord you are so amazing,

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you are so wonderful.

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You are so far beyond our ability to comprehend, but we are so thankful that we have your
word, that we can understand better who you are, that we can understand better of how we

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are to live.

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Lord, we are thankful for the book of Acts, for all that we can learn about the early
church, about how we are to be as your church.

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Lord, we are so thankful for the time that we have to study your word.

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We pray that in all things we will seek to glorify you and grow closer to you and to be
your servants always.

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And so your sons, and then we pray.

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Amen.

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If you would open to Acts chapter 8.

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Acts chapter 8 will be the text of our study tonight.

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Last time I taught class, which would have been two Sundays ago, we went through the
beginning part of chapter 8 and made it down all the way to verse 25.

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So we'll be picking up on verse 26 tonight.

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But as we begin, I want to notice James chapter four.

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James chapter four kind of sets the stage for a thought that runs through the last half of
Acts chapter, or the last section of Acts chapter eight.

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James chapter four.

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I can flip there.

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Sometimes these pages stick together.

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Verse 13 starting, go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and
continue there year and buy and sell and get gain.

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Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow for what is your life?

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It is even a vapor that appeared for a little time and then vanisheth away.

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For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." And you
might say, well, what does this have to do with Acts chapter eight?

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In Acts chapter eight, we have just seen Philip, the evangelist, doing a great work in
Samaria.

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He has been preaching the gospel so faithfully and been converting these souls to Christ.

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And it has been an amazing, amazing thing.

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Am I not on?

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supposed to be on.

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There we go.

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It's been an amazing revival, if you will, a time in which many Samaritans have been
converted.

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And while this good work's been going on, Philip gets a call.

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And we'll see this as we read verse 26 starting.

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And the angel 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.

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Philip has been doing this great work, but the Lord calls him to do something else.

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The Lord calls him to do another work, to go teach someone else.

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Now, looking at James chapter four, we understand that

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we as humans don't know the future.

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Yes, we can guess about what we think might happen.

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Yes, we can predict things, but only God knows the future.

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And it is God's will that we need to be following.

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And here, Philip shows us an example of how to follow God's will, even when things are
going great.

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Just because everything is running smoothly, everything is going great,

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doesn't mean that a change does not need to happen.

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Sometimes we hear the saying, all good things must come to an end.

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Well, I wouldn't say that Philip was going to a bad thing, but the good work he was doing
in Samaria for him was coming to an end.

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And so here we find him being called by the Angel of the Lord.

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Now this term, Angel of the Lord, refers to a messenger of the Lord.

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In times in the scripture, this term can be used to refer to Christ.

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It can be used to refer to an actual angel.

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the point behind it, the word itself, simply means a messenger of God.

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So whether it was an angel or some other spiritual being that comes to Philip, the point
remains that the message that he is given is from God.

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The message that he is given is God telling him to go.

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Now this place, Gaza, if you've been watching the news in recent years, you know a lot
about where Gaza is located, as unfortunately it has been the subject of much news

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recently.

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But this road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza, it was about anywhere from about 50 to 60
miles in length.

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So it was about 50 or 60 mile travel from Jerusalem to Gaza.

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And what's interesting to note is that in order for Philip to intercept, if you will, the
Ethiopian eunuch, he would have had to have left about a day before the eunuch leaves.

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Therefore, when God gives him this message, he plans it out to the point where Philip has
enough time to get to where he needs to be.

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And it just goes to show you the amazing understanding that God has.

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the foreknowledge that God has, way that God views time to know just when things need to
happen.

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Truly it is amazing the God that we serve.

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Notice also the fact that this says, which is desert.

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When we think of a desert, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

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What's that?

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Lack of water.

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We think of a barren wasteland.

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We think about places out on the west coast, not on the west coast, but out west where
there is nothing.

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There is no water.

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There is very little vegetation.

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There's very little animal life.

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But that's not the term used here.

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If you look at a topographical map of this area, of Palestine,

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you'll find that this region is not barren.

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is in fact actually has a good amount of water and of uh foliage.

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And so the term being used here is referring to people.

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It's saying that it is deserted and that there's not a large populace anywhere near there.

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And this place was going through a land that did not have

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any cities or large settlements.

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but do not miss the fact that there was water.

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And this will come into play later on as we read.

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But it's interesting to think about how far Philip went.

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Philip was willing to 60 miles, around 60 miles to go save a soul.

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How far are you willing to travel?

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As we look at our lives, we look at this world around us.

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We see those who are lost.

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We see those who are living in sin, those who are outside of Christ, and too often we say,
someone else will teach them.

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Too often we say, well, I'll get around to it.

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But if Philip was willing to travel 60 miles, can't we travel to the person next door?

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Can't we share the gospel to the person that we come in contact with every day?

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sobering thought, sobering reminder of the immense responsibility that we have.

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And remember, the book of Acts is showing us the early church.

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The book of Acts is showing us the church that we're supposed to be.

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And what we see here are members who are willing to evangelize, members who are willing to
spread God's word because they realize how important it is and that it's worth traveling

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60 miles.

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One thing that also strikes me in this passage is that God does not tell Philip that there
is going to be an Ethiopian eunuch to convert.

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He doesn't tell Philip, hey, I need you to go here to talk to this person who's lost.

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He just says to go.

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Philip doesn't know why.

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He's not told by this messenger of God.

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He's not told why he's to go.

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He is simply told to go.

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And what do we read in verse 27?

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And he arose and went, and behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under
Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come to

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Jerusalem for to worship.

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He arose and went.

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This shows an immediacy, a realization of the importance of this matter.

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And I dare say that if God sent an angel down to tell us, you need to go over here to
teach the gospel, or simply to say you need to go over to this place, I dare say we would

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go.

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But what about in his word when we read, go into all the world and teach the gospel?

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Same weight, as the same bearing on our souls is the same authority behind it.

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Phil was commanded to go and he went.

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Now this term, as we read in verse 27 of Candice, some have considered that to be, well
that was the name of the queen.

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But if you look at this word, it actually is more of a title.

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We think about how titles were used and how names even became titles.

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We think about the pharaohs of Egypt.

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Well, Pharaoh Niko wasn't first name Pharaoh, last name Niko.

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His title was Pharaoh.

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His name was Niko.

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We think about the Caesars of Rome.

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Well, Julius Caesar, of course, being the first dictator, the first person in that kind of
level of authority, and so after him, they began to take the name of Caesar to represent

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emperor.

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But it wasn't their name.

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It was their title.

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And so the same thing is true here with Candace.

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That was the title of the queen of Ethiopia.

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That was not her name.

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Now notice this in the end of verse 27 when he says that he had come to Jerusalem for to
worship.

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Jerusalem is about 1,500 miles from Ethiopia.

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1500 miles.

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Now today we think about hopping on a plane and oh that's just a short flight.

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75 days.

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It would have taken this man 75 days to reach Jerusalem.

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He was willing to ride in a chariot for 75 days to worship his God.

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You know, that makes that 15 minute drive not seem too bad, does it?

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even if you have to drive farther.

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I dare say none of us took 75 days to get here today.

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That's just one way.

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Exactly.

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You had to plan out a whole half a month.

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A whole month.

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A couple months actually.

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I'll get it right eventually.

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But this just shows the zeal and the dedication that this man had for God.

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It gives us a peek into his heart that he was willing to go out completely out of his way
to worship the Lord God of heaven.

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Now at this time, the Jewish system of faith, the worship that he was offering was no
longer acceptable because as we read, the old law had been fulfilled.

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that had been done away with, and the new law was the law by which God's followers
worshiped and lived.

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there was an interesting or I guess you could say theory raised by J.W.

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McGarvey in his commentary on Acts he points to this man and let me read to you what he
says

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He says that he thought he was a Jew living in Ethiopia and the reason being that

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Well, sometimes I can't read my notes.

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He thought he was a Jew living in Ethiopia, because of what we read later.

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We read later when he is baptized, Luke, the author of Acts, does not make a big deal
concerning the fact that this man was uncircumcised.

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Now in other passages in Acts, the exact passage is escaping me at the moment, but in
other passages in Acts, Luke does emphasize this.

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When those who were uncircumcised were baptized, he makes a point to mention this.

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But here he makes no such mention.

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And that led J.W.

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McGarvey to believe that this man was a Jew.

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Now whether or not he was a Jew, I don't know.

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The scripture does not tell us plainly.

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But it is an interesting thought and does make sense.

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When you think about the Jews, often we think about them as being good with money.

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We think about them as being bankers, as being

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well versed in how to deal with finance.

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And so that with that thought it makes sense why he would be the treasurer of the queen of
Ethiopia.

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But needless to say what is most important here is the dedication that he that he shows to
God and also the responsible nature that he had in that he was given this position of

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being the treasurer of having

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care of all the riches of this queen.

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And we think about the wealth of a queen.

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Was it comparable to the wealth of Caesar?

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No.

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But was it comparable to the wealth of most people?

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It was exceeding most people's wealth.

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And after all, she was a queen.

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How much?

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We don't know.

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But the point is, this man was found trustworthy.

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This man was found faithful enough to where he was given this position and this trust.

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Verse 28.

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was returning and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.

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A quick mention here concerning the fact that he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

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Some rabbis in this time bound it as law that if you were traveling without accompaniment,
if you were traveling by yourself, you had to spend that time studying the law, studying

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the scriptures.

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Now, is this a bad idea?

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No.

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What better use of your time?

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than studying the Word of God.

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But the fact that they were binding it goes back to what Jesus was warning his disciples
about and about how the Pharisees were binding where God had not bound.

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Over and over again we see the departure that the Jews had from the Scriptures, from the
Word of God, from the law of Moses that they had been given, and whether that be adding to

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or taking away from the law that was given to them.

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In verse 29, then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to hit this
chariot.

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And Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah's and said,
Understandest thou what thou readest?

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And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?

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And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

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Now we think about this command by the Spirit to go near and join thyself into this
chariot.

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Remember we had said earlier, he just been told to go to this road, to go to the place in
between Jerusalem and Gaza.

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That's all he knew.

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But upon reaching this point, he receives further instruction.

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It's kind of the idea of maybe a superior saying,

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go over to this this area and I'll tell you what to do when you get there.

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Or we think about

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We think about the idea of, let's say a parent says, hey, meet me in the living room.

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I want you to meet me in the living room and I'll tell you what you need to do.

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I'll give you a chore to do.

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Philip had been told to go and when he goes he receives the further instruction.

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He then sees, ah this is the reason why I was sent here.

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This is the reason why God had me leave Samaria because this man needs to be taught.

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This man needs the gospel.

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And it's amazing to see how even when we look at God and we say, Lord, why is this
happening?

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Lord, why am I having to leave the home that I've, the only home I've ever known?

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Be careful not to blame God or to speak to Him too harshly in those moments because He
might be opening a door that you just needed.

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Or better still, He might be opening a door for you to teach the gospel, for you to spread
the Word of God, the joy of salvation to a soul that is in need.

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That's what happened here with Philip.

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And notice that Philip ran thither.

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You have to admire the zeal of Philip.

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When he is given a task, he is all gas, no breaks.

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He does not stop until his Lord's work is done.

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When he has to leave Jerusalem, he says, okay, I'll go preach to Samaria.

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When he is told to leave Samaria, says, okay, Lord's will be done.

218
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When he's told to go teach this Ethiopian eunuch, he says, okay, I'll go do it.

219
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He is one of God's yes men.

220
00:20:02,318 --> 00:20:06,922
Now we think about the term yes men and we say well that's more of a derogatory term.

221
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It's someone who doesn't think for himself.

222
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But Philip, he shows us that it is great.

223
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In fact, it is the best thing in the world to be a yes man of God.

224
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because souls are saved.

225
00:20:25,372 --> 00:20:40,590
When we stop saying no to God and start saying yes and let me do it as best as I can, as
quickly as I can, as efficiently as I can, souls will be saved and God will be glorified.

226
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That's what we see here.

227
00:20:42,308 --> 00:20:45,210
That's what the example of Philip teaches us.

228
00:20:48,358 --> 00:20:52,556
but also notice that he heard him read the prophet.

229
00:20:54,500 --> 00:21:06,294
Many times when we're trying to focus on a passage, whether it be a passage of scripture
or it be a newspaper article, when we're trying to really focus and grasp what is being

230
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said, often we will read it aloud.

231
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It has been found that that helps a lot of times when we not only see it with our eyes,
but we also hear it with our ears.

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This Ethiopian eunuch has a desire to learn.

233
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He has a desire to know what God's will is.

234
00:21:28,019 --> 00:21:32,848
And so as he's reading, he's reading it aloud so that he understands.

235
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He understands what God's Word has to say.

236
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It's amazing to see the response or the question and the response that is given.

237
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Philip says, understandest thou what thou readest.

238
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too often.

239
00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:05,120
When we look at a passage of scripture and we don't understand what it means, we just say,
well, I don't understand and skim over.

240
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But when we read a passage of scripture and we don't understand what it means, we need to
dig deeper.

241
00:22:13,018 --> 00:22:17,482
I know sometimes we have these daily Bible reading plans and that is great.

242
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It is amazing to have a daily Bible reading plan.

243
00:22:20,223 --> 00:22:27,828
But if while you're going through that plan, you find something that you don't quite
understand, take the time to stop and study it.

244
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Whether it be to go ahead and finish that reading and come back to that question or
whether it be to write it down and ask someone else.

245
00:22:35,942 --> 00:22:43,889
Take the time to Take the time to truly understand God's Word because that's the best way
to know God.

246
00:22:44,631 --> 00:22:52,748
That is the best way to please God is to take the time to read His Word, to study His
Word.

247
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and the humility that this Ethiopian eunuch shows and saying, how can I accept some man
should guide me?

248
00:23:05,574 --> 00:23:12,598
Would it be easy for this man, this follower of God to be puffed up?

249
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I mean think about it, he is riding 70, taking 75 days one way to go worship God.

250
00:23:23,662 --> 00:23:25,702
He's the Queen's treasurer.

251
00:23:26,362 --> 00:23:32,462
Would it not be easy for a man in that position to say, well I know everything.

252
00:23:32,742 --> 00:23:35,302
I don't even know who you are.

253
00:23:35,302 --> 00:23:42,962
Why would I lower myself to ask you what this means?

254
00:23:44,370 --> 00:23:47,892
But that's not the attitude that this man takes.

255
00:23:47,892 --> 00:23:50,134
That's not the attitude that this Ethiopian takes.

256
00:23:50,134 --> 00:23:53,795
Rather, he takes the attitude of, want to know the truth.

257
00:23:54,136 --> 00:23:57,718
And if this man can teach me the truth, then by all means give him the floor.

258
00:24:03,248 --> 00:24:05,227
We need to have hearts like that.

259
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:12,576
We need to have hearts that say when we're studying God's word I want to know the truth.

260
00:24:13,438 --> 00:24:17,702
If it comes from someone that is a new Christian maybe.

261
00:24:17,702 --> 00:24:21,145
We think, I've been a Christian for 20 years.

262
00:24:21,907 --> 00:24:25,070
Surely this new convert can't teach me anything.

263
00:24:26,832 --> 00:24:28,123
be surprised.

264
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Sometimes they can't.

265
00:24:30,747 --> 00:24:34,210
Nor should we say, I'm a new convert so I know everything now.

266
00:24:34,431 --> 00:24:41,068
And look at a Christian that's been a Christian for 20 years trying to teach us something
and say, you don't know what you're talking about.

267
00:24:43,942 --> 00:24:49,164
The Lord has no use for a proud man, but he has great use for a humble man.

268
00:24:49,565 --> 00:24:57,588
He has great use for someone who is humble enough to look at God's word and to say, want
to know the truth.

269
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I don't want to know man's opinion.

270
00:25:00,249 --> 00:25:03,150
I don't want to know my own opinion.

271
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I want to know what God is saying.

272
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I want to know the truth that will set me free.

273
00:25:15,590 --> 00:25:19,277
This is also seen in the fact that he desired Philip.

274
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This idea of having a longing of

275
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No, a desire.

276
00:25:28,919 --> 00:25:31,616
Sometimes a word is best described by itself.

277
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But the point is this man that so many people would have overlooked, so many people would
have glossed over, he was a man who wanted to know the truth of God's Word.

278
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He had an honest and good heart.

279
00:25:52,914 --> 00:26:06,634
Notice verse 32, and 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 sheers so opened he not his mouth.

280
00:26:06,714 --> 00:26:12,434
And his humiliation, his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation?

281
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For his life is taken from the earth.

282
00:26:15,874 --> 00:26:21,274
And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this?

283
00:26:21,274 --> 00:26:22,674
Of himself?

284
00:26:22,745 --> 00:26:24,129
of some other man.

285
00:26:26,362 --> 00:26:33,424
Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus.

286
00:26:35,292 --> 00:26:45,993
This passage of Scripture that this Ethiopian eunuch was reading is labeled in our modern
text as Isaiah chapter 53.

287
00:26:45,993 --> 00:26:52,600
I say in our modern text because they didn't have chapter and verse divisions at that
point.

288
00:26:52,601 --> 00:26:54,432
He would have just been reading Isaiah.

289
00:26:57,094 --> 00:27:02,554
By Isaiah 53, what do we know about Isaiah 53?

290
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,922
What's being discussed in that chapter?

291
00:27:07,964 --> 00:27:11,581
Jesus is one of the most.

292
00:27:15,410 --> 00:27:19,562
I dare say emotional prophecy of Christ.

293
00:27:21,232 --> 00:27:23,445
because it describes his suffering.

294
00:27:24,808 --> 00:27:30,998
It shows for us the great pain and anguish that our Lord endured.

295
00:27:32,506 --> 00:27:40,795
And for the Jew, reading that text before Christ came, it would show to them what was
going to happen to the Messiah.

296
00:27:41,978 --> 00:27:46,252
What was going to happen to the one who would be their Savior?

297
00:27:48,732 --> 00:27:51,463
But what's interesting is the question that he asks.

298
00:27:52,664 --> 00:27:56,025
He asks, who is being discussed here?

299
00:27:56,785 --> 00:27:59,946
Does the prophet speak of himself or some other man?

300
00:28:00,807 --> 00:28:02,227
Who is this?

301
00:28:03,548 --> 00:28:06,909
Now for us today, we say, well, it's very clearly Jesus.

302
00:28:07,110 --> 00:28:08,750
It makes perfect sense.

303
00:28:09,330 --> 00:28:14,492
And for most Christians, if not all Christians, that is true.

304
00:28:14,873 --> 00:28:16,313
It makes perfect sense.

305
00:28:16,313 --> 00:28:18,704
We don't need someone to explain it to us.

306
00:28:19,270 --> 00:28:24,498
But you have to understand that to the Jew, how did they view the Messiah?

307
00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:29,336
What was the Jewish idea of what the Messiah would be?

308
00:28:31,046 --> 00:28:32,508
a military leader.

309
00:28:32,710 --> 00:28:43,680
A great king like David who would bring them out of the shackles of captivity under Rome
and deliver them back to a place of military power and political might.

310
00:28:46,748 --> 00:28:48,948
Does Isaiah 53 match that description?

311
00:28:50,348 --> 00:28:53,088
No, not in a physical sense.

312
00:28:53,748 --> 00:28:57,888
And so the Jew reading this, they say, this can't be the Messiah.

313
00:28:58,628 --> 00:29:09,688
The Messiah, the King that's going to come in and be so powerful and so military, as such
military might, surely he's not being led to the slaughter.

314
00:29:10,368 --> 00:29:14,563
Surely he's not standing before his shearers.

315
00:29:14,563 --> 00:29:19,481
the ones who are dealing out this punishment as though he were unable to speak.

316
00:29:21,465 --> 00:29:26,116
They missed the point because they read the scripture with their own preconceived notion.

317
00:29:26,737 --> 00:29:30,558
They didn't look at the Bible to say what is truth.

318
00:29:31,218 --> 00:29:34,039
They looked at it to say let me prove my point.

319
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:46,313
And it is a dangerous, a dangerous slope that we fall on when we look at the Bible to say
hey, prove my point instead of to say hey, what's God's point?

320
00:29:51,343 --> 00:29:56,233
And so this question makes so much more sense when we understand the thought of the Jews
at this time.

321
00:29:58,693 --> 00:30:03,305
Keep in mind there was a reason why many Jews rejected Jesus.

322
00:30:03,366 --> 00:30:08,408
We understand that for the Pharisees and for those in power, Jesus was a threat to them.

323
00:30:08,589 --> 00:30:13,931
He was a threat to the religious power and authority and influence that they held.

324
00:30:14,312 --> 00:30:23,597
But to most of the common Jews, the ones that did not believe in Christ, he didn't fit the
description.

325
00:30:24,298 --> 00:30:27,469
He didn't appear to be what they wanted.

326
00:30:28,633 --> 00:30:31,372
what they thought the Messiah would be.

327
00:30:34,597 --> 00:30:48,677
but little did they understand, many of them sadly, that what Christ came to offer was so
much better than a physical kingdom, was so much better than physical military might.

328
00:30:49,859 --> 00:30:54,232
He offered them freedom not from Rome, but from sin.

329
00:30:54,232 --> 00:30:58,625
And that's the same freedom that He offers us today.

330
00:30:59,126 --> 00:31:01,247
A freedom that cannot be matched.

331
00:31:05,763 --> 00:31:13,129
In verse 35, then Philip opened his mouth and began the same scripture and preached unto
him Jesus.

332
00:31:13,409 --> 00:31:19,314
Now this term, preached, is the same word in the Greek that is also translated as
evangelize.

333
00:31:19,314 --> 00:31:22,957
It's the same word from which we get the word evangelize.

334
00:31:23,418 --> 00:31:26,660
To evangelize is to preach the gospel.

335
00:31:27,101 --> 00:31:31,464
To reach out and tell someone of Christ is to preach the gospel.

336
00:31:32,105 --> 00:31:35,347
That's why someone who stands in a pulpit like this

337
00:31:35,543 --> 00:31:39,105
He's not the only preacher in the congregation, least he better not be.

338
00:31:39,786 --> 00:31:45,890
Every single one of you can be preachers in that you can teach the gospel to lost souls.

339
00:31:46,911 --> 00:31:53,855
You can share the love of God, the knowledge of God, His Word to those who are around you.

340
00:31:56,943 --> 00:32:04,275
The term of preaching at someone has been used in a very negative sense in modern day.

341
00:32:04,916 --> 00:32:08,602
If someone is saying things we don't like, we say, don't preach at me.

342
00:32:09,305 --> 00:32:11,146
Don't get on your soapbox.

343
00:32:14,277 --> 00:32:19,865
put this news, the news that we have to share, the message of Christ.

344
00:32:22,723 --> 00:32:24,624
It's not getting on a soapbox.

345
00:32:25,506 --> 00:32:27,668
It's not preaching at someone.

346
00:32:27,668 --> 00:32:30,721
Rather, it's loving them enough to show them the truth.

347
00:32:32,461 --> 00:32:43,531
It's loving them enough to show them how to escape the eternal torment that awaits them
and how to live with Christ, with God, for all of eternity.

348
00:32:45,733 --> 00:32:53,455
For those of you who were here two Sundays ago, you might recall what we discussed when it
comes to preaching Christ.

349
00:32:53,757 --> 00:32:59,917
Does anyone remember what verse we looked at earlier in chapter eight to show us what it
means to preach Christ?

350
00:33:07,707 --> 00:33:15,967
Yes, man, we did look at 1 Corinthians 15, but in chapter 8, we noticed another verse.

351
00:33:26,811 --> 00:33:27,811
Absolutely.

352
00:33:27,811 --> 00:33:32,973
Verse specifically kind of sums it up to what it means to preach Christ.

353
00:33:32,973 --> 00:33:44,176
To preach Christ, verse 12, means to preach things concerning the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, and it also means to preach baptism.

354
00:33:44,256 --> 00:33:46,611
We know that because they were baptized.

355
00:33:46,611 --> 00:33:51,098
Well, why would they be baptized if preaching Christ had nothing to do with baptism?

356
00:33:51,498 --> 00:33:55,479
As we'll read later, why did the Ethiopian eunuch, why was he baptized?

357
00:33:55,479 --> 00:33:57,931
if preaching Christ has nothing to do with baptism.

358
00:33:59,523 --> 00:34:04,949
seems to be brought out in the text that preaching Christ does have to do with baptism.

359
00:34:05,750 --> 00:34:17,443
It is impossible to preach Christ without preaching baptism, just as it is impossible to
preach Christ without preaching belief, without preaching repentance.

360
00:34:22,747 --> 00:34:26,387
also was mentioned was 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

361
00:34:26,387 --> 00:34:38,307
In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 we are shown that preaching the gospel, that the good news of
Christ is His death, burial, resurrection, and witness.

362
00:34:39,187 --> 00:34:49,487
We also notice the witness because not only of confirmation of His resurrection, but also
of sharing the gospel with others.

363
00:34:53,455 --> 00:35:05,185
We are not personal witnesses of Christ's None of us in here saw Christ on earth, but we
see Him through the Word.

364
00:35:05,746 --> 00:35:12,091
We see Him through what we have been given, and as such we are witnesses.

365
00:35:13,817 --> 00:35:19,601
We are witnessing to people what Christ has said, what God has said in His Word.

366
00:35:19,601 --> 00:35:23,353
We are preaching and teaching the lost.

367
00:35:24,234 --> 00:35:37,633
But the gospel that we are preaching, the gospel that we are teaching is the good news
that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, but that He rose again that third day.

368
00:35:39,459 --> 00:35:47,926
And Paul points out that if we are to say there is no resurrection, if we are to say that
Christ is not raised, then we have no hope.

369
00:35:48,867 --> 00:35:52,930
We are of all men most miserable.

370
00:35:53,712 --> 00:35:55,773
But praise be to God.

371
00:35:55,914 --> 00:36:07,233
Praise be to God that Christ did raise, that Christ did arise, that He did not stay in
that tomb, but that tomb was found empty.

372
00:36:08,303 --> 00:36:17,250
what a beautiful sight that is and what hope that gives to us because if Christ is risen,
then we too can rise again.

373
00:36:17,571 --> 00:36:22,965
We too have hope of eternity in heaven with Christ and with God.

374
00:36:24,537 --> 00:36:35,853
verse 36, and as they went on their way they came into a certain water and the eunuch said
see here is water what doth hinder me to be that bet to be baptized

375
00:36:38,199 --> 00:36:41,001
Notice the fact that he says, see here is water.

376
00:36:44,741 --> 00:36:56,591
There are some that suggest that what we read continuing here is that Philip and the
eunuch go down to the water and Philip takes his hands and cups them together and he pours

377
00:36:56,591 --> 00:36:59,923
some water over the eunuch and he's baptized.

378
00:37:04,087 --> 00:37:09,023
others will suggest well no he didn't pour it he sprinkled it

379
00:37:13,381 --> 00:37:17,573
Did they not have canteens or some kind of water jug?

380
00:37:18,014 --> 00:37:23,596
Do you think that he traveled 75 days one way without having water?

381
00:37:24,637 --> 00:37:26,758
No, of course he had water.

382
00:37:26,898 --> 00:37:36,103
And so if all he had to do to be baptized was to be sprinkled, then why didn't they just
pull over and use that water?

383
00:37:36,483 --> 00:37:40,245
Why were they looking for a place that had enough water?

384
00:37:40,326 --> 00:37:43,587
Because remember it says a certain water

385
00:37:43,983 --> 00:37:49,229
A water that had enough pool together that fit their need.

386
00:37:50,211 --> 00:37:54,576
Why would they do that if all it was was just being sprinkled?

387
00:37:55,718 --> 00:37:57,049
Doesn't make sense.

388
00:38:00,015 --> 00:38:11,658
There was one, uh our instructor, Brother Clark, as he was teaching the book of Acts, he
mentioned about this fact that there were, that he no doubt had water pitchers.

389
00:38:11,698 --> 00:38:23,492
And so in verse 38, when it says that they both went down into the water, he said, do you
think that they opened that water jug and went down into that water jug and then came out

390
00:38:23,492 --> 00:38:24,982
of that water jug?

391
00:38:25,242 --> 00:38:27,243
Does that make sense to anyone?

392
00:38:27,383 --> 00:38:28,263
No.

393
00:38:29,243 --> 00:38:44,247
But what does make sense is that there were wadis or seasonal rivers, there were creeks,
there were an abundance of bodies of water that would suit their needs.

394
00:38:44,508 --> 00:38:56,031
Remember we said as we began that this was not a desert as in a barren land, as in a place
without water, but it was a place with water, a fertile place even.

395
00:39:01,453 --> 00:39:08,707
Notice in verse 37, and Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.

396
00:39:08,747 --> 00:39:13,610
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

397
00:39:13,610 --> 00:39:21,254
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.

398
00:39:21,835 --> 00:39:30,379
And when they were, excuse me, when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of the
Lord caught away Philip, the eunuch saw him no more.

399
00:39:30,381 --> 00:39:32,634
and he went on his way rejoicing.

400
00:39:32,656 --> 00:39:41,451
But Philip was found at Azatose and passing through he preached in all cities till he came
to Caesarea.

401
00:39:43,653 --> 00:39:48,670
What we have here is an example of a personal Bible study.

402
00:39:49,833 --> 00:39:52,256
But not just any personal Bible study.

403
00:39:53,018 --> 00:39:56,202
A personal Bible study that ended in conversion.

404
00:39:56,885 --> 00:39:58,997
That ended in joy.

405
00:40:02,105 --> 00:40:09,525
Sometimes we in the church can be accused of only preaching baptism.

406
00:40:09,586 --> 00:40:14,212
Well, that's all you Church of Christers care about is being dunked in water.

407
00:40:14,554 --> 00:40:18,718
No, it's not because there's more to it than that.

408
00:40:20,645 --> 00:40:24,756
but we can't miss part of God's plan of salvation.

409
00:40:25,797 --> 00:40:37,642
Just as it is important to hear the word as the Ethiopian eunuch did, just as it is
important to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is Lord, that He is

410
00:40:37,642 --> 00:40:50,207
Messiah, that He is our Savior, just as the Ethiopian eunuch did, and it is important to
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

411
00:40:50,573 --> 00:40:58,331
Once again, as the Ethiopian eunuch did, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

412
00:40:59,132 --> 00:41:02,315
I don't know about you, but I don't think it gets any plainer than that.

413
00:41:04,591 --> 00:41:06,572
And what do we know about repentance?

414
00:41:07,273 --> 00:41:10,395
We know that we must repent, we cannot continue in sin.

415
00:41:10,395 --> 00:41:16,139
Romans 6 tells us how can we continue in sin or shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound?

416
00:41:16,139 --> 00:41:17,760
God forbid.

417
00:41:17,941 --> 00:41:21,953
How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?

418
00:41:24,655 --> 00:41:27,716
We can't leave any part of God's plan out.

419
00:41:28,597 --> 00:41:35,120
For when we add to or when we take away from God's plan, we're saying, God, your word's
not good enough.

420
00:41:35,761 --> 00:41:40,053
God, I know better than you how I ought to be saved.

421
00:41:42,009 --> 00:41:43,404
We ought not do so.

422
00:41:46,555 --> 00:41:57,375
when we look at verse 38 and verse 39, we have these two words here, down and up.

423
00:41:57,955 --> 00:42:11,955
When we think about immersion, we think about going down into the water, being completely
buried by water, and then being raised up, coming up as a new creature, a new creation in

424
00:42:11,955 --> 00:42:12,627
Christ.

425
00:42:14,543 --> 00:42:16,184
What does this symbolize?

426
00:42:19,215 --> 00:42:22,517
What does immersion, what does baptism symbolize?

427
00:42:23,358 --> 00:42:24,798
Being born again.

428
00:42:25,619 --> 00:42:32,624
It symbolizes the death that Christ died, the burial of which he was buried, and the
resurrection.

429
00:42:33,485 --> 00:42:45,232
It symbolizes for us dying to sin and burying that old man and rising as a new creature, a
new creation, a Christian.

430
00:42:45,833 --> 00:42:48,995
A child of God that can as this

431
00:42:49,195 --> 00:42:52,799
Eunuch did go on his way rejoicing.

432
00:42:55,695 --> 00:43:03,343
You know, from this we understand that salvation is not a dreary or somber thing.

433
00:43:05,113 --> 00:43:10,084
We should not hang our heads and say, well, a soul was baptized today.

434
00:43:10,144 --> 00:43:14,646
A soul was added to the kingdom this morning and that was good.

435
00:43:15,766 --> 00:43:17,206
Is that joy?

436
00:43:17,807 --> 00:43:18,647
No.

437
00:43:18,647 --> 00:43:21,728
When a soul is added, we rejoice.

438
00:43:22,548 --> 00:43:33,305
When a soul is added to the kingdom by God, because remember it is only God who adds, we
don't do the adding and we don't join, but rather God adds us to his kingdom.

439
00:43:33,305 --> 00:43:37,598
When God adds us to the kingdom, there is joy.

440
00:43:37,759 --> 00:43:39,440
There is rejoicing.

441
00:43:39,900 --> 00:43:44,435
There is definitely joy in heaven as we read in Luke chapter 15.

442
00:43:44,724 --> 00:43:49,548
And so if we are truly God's people, we should also be finding joy.

443
00:43:49,548 --> 00:43:53,401
We should also be rejoicing in the salvation of the lost.

444
00:43:57,187 --> 00:44:08,356
We notice very quickly, Asatos, when you look at this, at this city, might scratch your
head and say, what on earth is this place?

445
00:44:08,557 --> 00:44:10,118
I've never heard of this.

446
00:44:11,439 --> 00:44:21,568
But when you look at the background of it, at least the commentaries that I researched,
they attributed Asatos to being the same thing as Ashdod.

447
00:44:21,568 --> 00:44:25,211
Now we read about Ashdod in the Old Testament.

448
00:44:25,211 --> 00:44:27,711
and reference to the cities of the Philistines.

449
00:44:28,251 --> 00:44:34,851
And so this was a chief city of the Philistines on the Mediterranean coast or rather near
the Mediterranean coast.

450
00:44:36,091 --> 00:44:43,191
And so the same with Caesarea Philippi which is Caesarea Philippi, or rather Caesarea
Maritima.

451
00:44:43,311 --> 00:44:46,891
See that's where I got, this is why I wanted to mention this.

452
00:44:46,891 --> 00:44:48,991
There are two Caesareans in scripture.

453
00:44:48,991 --> 00:44:51,891
There's Caesarea Philippi and Caesarea Maritima.

454
00:44:52,811 --> 00:44:53,679
Maritima,

455
00:44:53,679 --> 00:44:57,041
Caesarea Maritima is the one that's on the coast.

456
00:44:57,101 --> 00:45:01,584
We think about marine having to do with the ocean.

457
00:45:01,585 --> 00:45:04,866
Maritima is, well, having to do with the ocean.

458
00:45:06,888 --> 00:45:11,599
is an easy way to remember which is which because Caesarea Philippi is over in Galilee.

459
00:45:11,599 --> 00:45:14,153
That was a place that Jesus visited often.

460
00:45:14,774 --> 00:45:22,689
But here we see, once again, Philip going some 60 miles out of his way to preach the
gospel.

461
00:45:23,877 --> 00:45:30,432
Brothers and sisters, in Acts chapter 8, we are shown what it means to evangelize.

462
00:45:30,732 --> 00:45:34,795
We are shown that there is joy when a sinner repents.

463
00:45:35,276 --> 00:45:39,569
And we are shown that every one of us can be evangelistic.

464
00:45:39,569 --> 00:45:45,924
Every one of us can be a preacher of the Word of God to the lost soul who's in need.

465
00:45:46,525 --> 00:45:48,032
Thank you for your attention.