Month: March 2014

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
Acts 8:26-29

This account of the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch is nothing short of miraculous. There are three key characters in our text–Philip, the eunuch, and the Spirit, with the angel merely serving in a supporting role. We must examine this event from the perspective of all three parties to fully see the wonder of it all!

Philip was in Samaria when the word of the Lord by the mouth of the angel came. He had preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, sparking a great revival in that area. Hundreds or perhaps thousands were saved, and so we’re shocked to find the location of his next appointment. Of the place he would preach next, we simply read, “This is desert.” No multitudes here!  In fact, if God hadn’t been the one working behind the scenes, he might have encountered no one. But Philip knew Who was in control, as all who minister must know. The desert made no sense to human reasoning, but Philip didn’t hesitate when the instruction came. We likewise must not question but simply obey God if we will have fruit from our labor.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Pro 3:5-6)

So, here in the desert of all places, Philip encounters our next character–a eunuch of prominence from Ethiopia. What a predicament this man was in! He had ridden all the way to Jerusalem, the center of religion, to worship and find answers to his many questions, and yet here he is in his chariot reading Isaiah, just as confused as when he left home. We see here the shortcoming of religion. It cannot save for, “Salvation is of the Lord”! (Jon 2:9) This truth highlights the fact that in all our religious plans and efforts, we MUST be often in prayer regarding the Lord’s work among us. ” Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” (Psa 127:1) This man was no better by religion.  He was still seeking, and God was about to show Himself true to His word: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Mat 7:7)

Now, we come to the Mastermind, the grand Architect behind what must have seemed like a chance encounter to the Ethiopian. V. 29 pulls back the curtain and shows us the Spirit of God’s directing hand!  Rom 10:13 is a verse of great comfort to us.  It reveals that there are no barriers that would hinder a soul from salvation.  The fact that this eunuch was Ethiopian instead of Jewish was not a problem for, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”!  But, the text in Romans doesn’t stop there.  It begins to step backwards in time to show us how the call of the believer originates.  “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom 10:14-15) The meeting of Philip and the Ethiopian that day was no random chance.  Philip, though previously used of God to save hundreds, was the preacher sent by the Spirit that day to purposefully save one soul!  There may be 99 sheep in the fold already, but our good Shepherd will still go after that one straying lamb!!  This man had a place in the heart of God before time began.  Concerning the children of God, Eph 1:4-5 reveals that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will“.

Dear saint, I pray your heart would be encouraged today to know that your salvation was no random event of chance.  God pursued you!  “All we like sheep have gone astray…” (Isa 53:6) We didn’t find Christ.  He wasn’t the One who was lost! 🙂 We had gone astray, and yet Jesus Christ came into the world specifically “to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luk 19:10) In other words, He entered the world on purpose to find YOU!  In Luk 19, Jesus passed by all the multitudes and stopped under the tree of one diminutive man to tell him to come down because He was going to his house.  Why?  Because it was a day determined by the Lord to be different than any other day in Zacchaeus’ life for, “Today salvation has come to this house”! (v. 19)

Jamie

Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Acts 8:13

Simon the sorcerer is one of the most troubling characters in the scriptures.  He is an example of what we find in many churches across our nation today.  In the last days, 2Ti 3:1-5 states that, among other things, men will be “lovers of themselves” and “lovers of money”, a stark contrast with a true Christian who is marked by a preeminent love of God. (Mar 12:30) Though full of self-love, these latter-day people are described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power”!  They profess Christ outwardly, but deny His power over them in their daily life.  Sadly, many churches accept a salvation that is founded on a brief excitement over spiritual things, a superficial prayer (often given to a person to repeat), and an outward act of baptism.  When these same souls later doubt their salvation, the preacher advises them to ignore what he calls “an attack of Satan” when he ought to encourage them to submit to this conviction of sin and approach God in true repentance unto salvation!

Jesus warns that, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Mat 7:21-23) Notice that true salvation is accompanied  by a separation from sin and a walk of obedience before God.  Simon had become rich by deceiving the people with his magic spells (Act 8:9-11), but when Philip came along preaching the gospel and performing real miracles, Simon was caught up in the excitement.  He saw a new sorcery that he hoped would profit him even more than his old one.  He had swapped his black magic for religion while his heart remained unchanged, and his belief doesn’t hold up any better under careful examination than the belief of the people in Joh 2:23-25: “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.”  Even as Jesus didn’t accept their belief, Peter saw right through Simon’s weak testimony.

So, how did Peter know Simon’s faith to be false?  Because Simon revealed his heart to be just like those false professors that we saw in 2Ti 3.  “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'”  This sinful act revealed that he trusted in riches and was interested in religion only for what he could gain materially from it.  He desired his own glory rather than the Lord’s.  Peter didn’t sugarcoat his response to Simon, stating, “Your money perish with you”! (Act 8:20) Simon’s problem was the same as all who have only a “form of godliness”.  They have never repented of their sins!  I can’t stress the importance of this message enough because, in our day, it is the missing note from too many pulpits.  The message of the gospel is a message to sinners, and sinners must begin their journey toward Christ by repenting of their sins and turning from them to serve the living God! (1Th 1:9)

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1Ti 1:15) We are not offering the world relief from debt and disease.  We are proclaiming something far better, namely that there is eternal healing for their souls!  Jesus never promised us comfort for these natural bodies.  The faithful saints in the word of God didn’t have all of their natural problems eliminated.  Timothy was in constant physical affliction, prompting Paul to instruct him to “use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.” (1Ti 5:23) Paul himself described his life as being “in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness”. (2Co 11:27) Doesn’t sound like the life of ease that so many professing Christians have their hearts set upon, does it? But, what Paul and Timothy did have was rest to their souls, and that’s exactly what Jesus invites us to find in Him! (Mat 11:28-30) May we return to the message of repentance which Jesus preached at the outset of His ministry (Mat 4:17), the same message that Peter preached to a lost sinner named Simon who had previously professed Christ: “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” (Act 8:22)

Jamie