Fancy meeting You Here

It is so exciting to be working in an place where God is working and people are finding the abundant life found in Jesus Christ. Philip was working in Samaria where many people were being healed. Lives were being transformed and there was great joy in the whole city. Then God sent a messenger to Philip to go to a dry and dusty road that went through the hills and desert area. I am sure that Philip was quite surprised. Why does God move us on when things are going well? I think that God wants us to share the joy of our experience with many more people so that we do not get into rut. By being obedient Philip was able allow the message of Jesus to go as far as Africa. When God's people are faithful the gospel can be spread throughout the world.

What would happen if a special messenger came to you from God. Philip did not wait to obey. If he had not gone from Samaria immediately he would have missed his chance to meet the Ethiopian eunuch. The road between Jerusalem and Gaza was the main road which traders used as they went from the Mediterranean Sea to many places inland in Judea and even Arabia. Along this road Philip met the treasurer (finance minister) of Ethiopia. He was returning home after worshipping in Jerusalem. People in Philip's day were searching for truth.

They were tried of the immorality and multitude of gods which they saw around them. They found the worship of one God refreshing after seeking to please a multitude of gods. They also appreciated the clear moral teachings of the Bible.

This man was a very influential person just like Joseph had been. In his country the queen ruled the country because the king was a child of the sun and regarded as too sacred to have to look after the affairs of running a country.

He was either a God-fearer or perhaps just a seeker but he was reading a scroll which he had purchased in Jerusalem. When he passed by where Philip was the Holy Spirit spoke to him and told him to go and walk along side the chariot. When Philip heard he was reading from the book of Isaiah he asked him whether he understood what he was reading.

When you go on a trip what kind of reading material do you read? Many today only read shallow novels or comic books. We need to study and memorize the Bible. The Ethiopian was studying the Bible. He did not understand what he was reading. Here was a wise and important man reading and not understanding. If someone asked you to explain Isaiah 53 could you tell them what it meant?

God had prepared the heart of the Ethiopian and brought him into contact with Philip who had studied and understood this passage. Could you imagine such a situation occurring. God has a way of speaking to us when we have needs though those who have studied the Bible. Perhaps you have questions about the Bible. Do you need parts of the Bible explained? Anytime question write it down and let's find answers from the Bible. Often the Bible explains itself so if we look at other verses we can often understand the meaning from the Bible. However, We need to be careful that we do not just take parts of verses and do not study the context when we are trying to understand the Bible.

In Isaiah there are four passages called the servant songs. For those who want to study the Bible more it would be good to go through these Servant Songs. The talk about the servant of the Lord. These are considered to refer to the Messiah and Isaiah 53 refers to the suffering Servant. This passage tells us about the trial and death of Jesus. It shows that Jesus was willing to go to the cross to obtain forgiveness for us. Isaiah 53:6 tells us that we are all like sheep who have gone our own way. We are selfish. We think only of our own pleasure and live for ourselves. We do not live for God. Jesus was afflicted, tortured and died for us. God demands a payment for disobedience and selfishness. These are to receive the death penalty. This is very strong punishment but this same God who demands such a strong punishment has also shown us his love by sending his own Son to receive this punishment in our place.

When we believe that Jesus died for our selfishness, our stubbornness and sin then we need to ask God to forgive us through Jesus. The symbol that we have been made clean in our hearts is that we receive baptism.

As the Eunuch understood the way of Jesus, He obeyed what he understood. He was ready to follow the Lord completely. The Ethiopian saw some water and asked Philip if there was anything to keep him from becoming a follower of Jesus by being baptised. There is nothing complicated in becoming a Christian. Probably the greatest difficulty in the way of people becoming Christians is they are proud. They do not want to say that they have done something wrong. They do not like to think that perhaps their ancestors were wrong so we are proud and do not accept God's love and forgiveness.

Philip explained the ministry of the suffering servant, Jesus and how to become a part of God's Kingdom. This official, when he saw some water beside the road, asked if there was anything which might keep him from becoming a child of God. Baptism was a symbolic washing, that the soul had been cleansed by God. That the person believed that Jesus had paid the penalty for sin and because of what Jesus did we can be forgiven and clensed.

Romans 6:1-14 tells us that Baptism is an identification with Jesus. As a person is immersed in the water it is like Jesus who was put into the grave for three days. Jesus rose from the dead and had a new body and new life. When we come up from the waters of baptism we are cleansed. We are given power to do what God commands.

After the eunuch was baptized the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch did not go looking for Philip but went on his way rejoicing. God gave the eunuch spiritual power and so stories tell us that he went back home and evangelized Ethiopia. I pray that our lives are so changed and we will have so much joy that others will find the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

Philip continued to evangelize in the cities along the coast of the Mediterranean. He settled down in Caesarea where he raised his family. Because he was faithful God used him in a mighty way to bring joy to not just one person but to a whole nation. As foreigners we might not be able to transform a city like Philip did in Samaria, but our prayer is that the people we help will be faithful and like the eunuch go on rejoicing and be able to bring many others into the Kingdom of God.

What are the lessons we can learn from this passage today?
1. We need to listen to God and be ready to follow when God speaks to us either through the Bible or through a heavenly messanger.
2. We should be able to explain the Bible to people so that they can understand and believe it.
3. When Philip completed his ministry with the eunuch God moved him on to new areas. God will move us to new areas and we need to be faithful where ever God takes us.
4. From the eunuch we can learn that we should obey what the Bible teaches and we will experience the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah says the joy of the Lord is our strength. This joy comes when we are obedient. I trust that everyone here can enjoy the joy of the Lord so that the world around us will be changed.

Let's seek to put these four points into practice in this coming week.

CFC 9/12/82 WHC 11/13/88