Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 3 Lesson 10
This week in Sunday school, we look at how the persecution launched after Stephen’s death resulted in the spread of the saving gospel of Christ to Judea, Samaria, and even Ethiopia. How did this happen? What do we learn about God’s sovereignty? And what can we learn from Philip’s example of evangelism?
Our main text for Sunday school is Acts 8:1-40.
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we’ll get started welcome to Sunday school good to see you all again of course it was very good to see you in person those you who are able to but I’m glad we can still continue to do the live-streaming last week we looked at the Apostles being persecuted at the birth of the church there was wonderful growth there was many people or there were many people coming to the Lord coming to salvation but the evil one was not idle and persecution soon followed we looked last week of what the Apostles suffered it was a very kind of persecution there was imprisonment there was beatings there were threats and then for Stephen there was even the loss of his life but we saw also how the disciples reacted these early disciples reacted to persecution among other things there was prayer there was continued boldness there was continued obedience to God there was rejoicing even at being worthy to suffer persecution and there was prayer even for those who were doing the persecuting that they might be saved and they might be forgiven we saw that with Stephens death really a wave of persecution began and it was about to develop the small growing church in Jerusalem but today’s lesson we’re gonna see actually how the gospel spread in spite of and even because of the persecution far from limiting or halting the spread of the gospel this terrible persecution that arose actually spread it further we’re going to see in today’s lesson how the Samaritans first received the gospel from me from the new the new church and how they even receive the Holy Spirit I’m also see how the gospel to Ethiopia got its first start and my prayer is that from today’s lesson we will learn much about God’s sovereignty and his will for us as evangelists as those who share the gospel of Jesus today lesson might be a little bit short we might end maybe 15 minutes early so just be aware that there’s not as much material to go through but often times I’ll say that and then we’re still gonna end up using the whole hour so who knows let’s pray My Lord God thank you for this word this very encouraging word about how you are always sovereign even over persecution and the spread of the gospel what I pray that we’d be encouraged I pray that we would be emboldened I pray Lord that we would be committed to faithfully following us disciples and the matter the cost trusting that you will do good in each situation in Jesus name Amen please open your Bibles to Acts chapter we’re to jump right back in where we left off last week at the end of Acts chapter 7 Stephen had just finished his spirit-filled defense against accusations of his blasphemy and he died to the glory of God stoned to death by the very man that he sought to witness Christ to but now let’s read Acts chapter 8 verses 1 to 8 and this shows us what immediately followed Acts 8 verses 1:8 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him that is Stephen to death and on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him but Saul began ravaging the church entering a house after house and dragging off men and women he would put them in prison therefore those who had been scattered went about preaching the word Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them the crowds with one Accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing for the case of many who had unclean spirits they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed there was much rejoicing in that city all right we stop right there let’s look at her let’s continue our study of this section of Scripture with observations first back in Chapter 7 what was Saul’s role in the stoning of Stephen that’s right he was watching or guarding the cloaks of those who were spending or they were physically exerting themselves in stoning Stephen but now we see in this chapter he’s an active participant in persecuting the church he’s really leading it it says he’s ravaging the church this is a pretty intense term devastating creating havoc he’s entering the houses of Jewish Christians house after house and he’s dragging them away both men and women and putting them in prison now what is it that happened to these imprisoned Christians we got a little bit of insight into that when we consider Paul’s later testimony in acts 26 have you just turned over their acts 26 verses 9 to 11 Paul is giving testimony about his earlier way of life and he gives further description as to what he was doing to Christians acts 26 verses 9 to 11 Paul testifies so then I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth and this is just what I did in Jerusalem not only did I lock up many of the Saints in prisons having received authority from the chief priests but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them and as I punished them oft it in all the synagogue’s I tried to force them to blaspheme and being furiously it raged at them I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities so what is it that’s happening to many of these apprehended Christians some of them are being put on trial and a verdict of the trials is that they’re guilty and worthy of death Paul says Paul at that time saw it this time when they were being tried I cast my vote against them that they would be killed others it’s Paul testifies he punished in an effort to try to get these Christians to blast me probably meaning he’s trying to get them to recant trying to get them to fall away from their faith in Christ and declare I don’t follow or believe Jesus the Messiah I mean this is evil this is horrifying what a son of Satan he’s like a demon this Saul Saul of Tarsus trying to kill Christians trying to get them to blaspheme God abandon Christ it sounds like an agent of the KGB or the Spanish Inquisition he’s rounding up believers torturing them and having them put to death and all in whose name in the name of God this is his zeal for God how dared these blasphemers do what they do they must die it’s the same thing that the Pharisees had said a very evil man makes acts 9 verse 1 described Saul as breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord a terror to the early church but isn’t it amazing that in God’s sovereign purposes it’s this very man who would become saved and become a great witness of Christ’s gospel to the world that is the amazing transcendent ways of God and His mercy it’s still what a trial for the early church yeah Danny that’s a good point he does say that what he had done Paul does later say that what he had done was done in ignorance and when Peter on one of his sermons speaks their crowds and he says you crucified the Lord though you did it in ignorance so there is that you could argue that all unbelief is ignorance of a certain kind but you are right to point out the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees they have been convicted multiple times of what they did and their reaction to it was actually to kill those who is convicting them rather than to repent so yes perhaps we could say there’s a difference with with salt certainly there is the saving difference in God’s elect purposes Roy looks like you want to say something as a Pharisee not so much with an evil heart intent on murder but using the Old Testament law seeing Stephen let’s say as a blasphemer running there’s a good question I probably have to think through this a little bit more just because somebody in one view has good intentions does not mean that what they’re doing is not evil right right and even even if he thinks he’s honoring God in a way if the Pharisees did – yes we can talk about how ignorant did they feel how much did they know that they were doing evil all people who do evil justify themselves and even people who on a level of Hitler in terms of their blatant evil they think they’re actually doing good if they thought he was doing good for his people and for the world and his his aggressive expansion for Germany and is his destruction of the Jews so I do recognize what Paul says in Timothy but because there’s no good thing that one can do outside of Christ even what he sees as righteous action even as zealous action for God the God of the Bible it was actually evil it was drawing on the evilness of his heart his heart was not yet changed and the only thing that can come forth from an evil heart is evil now there’s a sense that he was ignorant I think perhaps you could say that that that’s true all people who do evil but I recognize that Paul he does make a distinction he says the lord have mercy on me because of what I did I was ignorant so kind of all that to say not really not really quite sure right now what to do with all that I know that what he was doing was evil I know that even if he felt justified at the time he was not but I also know that as he says he acted in ignorance so I don’t know if that really answers your question yeah but God had to save this man which is incredible yeah it was still a great trial for the church and he was just a tip of the spear of this wave just the beginning of this wave of persecution what happened to the believers as a result of this new terrible great persecution they were scattered they were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria I remember Judea would be other Palestine Samaria the northern area where old Samaria used to be no not all the believers were scattered it says that the apostles remain in Jerusalem and acts 9 26 to 30 makes clear that there are other disciples beyond the Apostles in Jerusalem so everybody literally everybody scattered but many of them did and it’s most of the Apostles who stayed behind the Jerusalem to continue to witness and to minister to those who did stay behind there were some who managed to bury and lament over Stephen but most were scattered and they’re all Stephen but they took Christ and took him to Pilate to pronounce because the Romans were the only ones that were permitted to put good question I’m not really sure you’re right you’re right to point that out that the actual right of capital punishment was reserved for the Romans they would have to get Roman permission it may be that they actually got Roman permission remember the Romans want to give the Sanhedrin autonomy and they they want the Jews to manage their own affairs and it’s for this reason that Paul later gets permission from the high priests prayer suit Jews and foreign cities that it seems to be that this was part of the Romans giving the Jews their autonomy to deal with their own people so did they get the Roman permission to put these people to death or did they just assume that that rule and decide to lynch these people I don’t know it does seem that they are putting putting juice to death one way or the other yeah that’s true so Roy brings up that we do see later in a different area of the world but still decide to have you Jews you judge this religious issue yourself and maybe that the Sanhedrin said look we have some normal rules week we follow but this this heresy is so great that we need to we need to act more quickly we don’t know but certainly it it appears that Christians are being put to death you’re welcome now in spite of all this because of all this we see a result of this scattering in verse 4 it says therefore so as a result or consequence what were the scattered ones doing this is of course that connects 8 they were going about preaching the word and that is they were declaring the gospel the good news of salvation and Jesus and verses 5 to 8 give us an example of this gospel declaration involving a certain man named Philip assisant truly the first time we meet Philip in Acts is actually mentioned in Acts chapter 6 he’s one of the seven men chosen to serve and meet a particular practical need for the church Stephen was one Philip was one he’s later called Philip the Evangelist in acts 21 but notice where Philip goes he ends up in Samaria now what do we know about Samaria mixed race for one that’s right okay yeah so you said number things that are true we’re talking about the city of Samaria but that would be representative of the whole land of Samaria and it was made up of Samaritans who all you rightly point out they are mixed-race they would be a mixture of Jew and Gentile this goes back to when the northern kingdom was destroyed and pagan peoples were brought into the land so there was a mixture of blood but more importantly there’s a mixture of religion they are not Jews in the sense of those who lived in the south and that went to Jerusalem for worship no they were a little more synchronistic they didn’t worship in Jerusalem they took some took some differences from the Jews in the south and it was mixed with paganism we should remember that the Samaritans were actually conquered by the Jews in the intertestamental period when the Jewish Kingdom broke away from I believe it’s the Seleucid Empire and they began to reestablish themselves and bathe the surrounding areas they conquered Edom in the south but they also conquered Samaria in the north and in Edom they forced the to convert to judaism but when they tried to do the same thing with the Samaritans the Samaritans refused they would not convert to Judaism and they resented the Jews in the south very much and as you point out Paul there’s much hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans not only because of the blood differences and the religious differences but also because the Jews had actually conquered the Samaritans and the Samaritans would not submit to Jewish religious authority so tons of hatred between these peoples they would try to avoid one another and certainly the Jews looked down very much on some now you might think with all this background would the people of Samaria be already audience to the message of a Jewish evangelists but till it goes anyways he proclaims Christ to them and notice the reaction there is rapt attention from the people with one Accord they were giving attention or giving heed to what he said and the signs that he was performing by the power of God these signs included the casting out of demons and healings what was the result there’s a seven and eight they rejoiced they rejoiced and what a contrast to what we see at the beginning of the passage the gospel is presented in Jerusalem and there’s a murderous persecution that arises there but the gospel is presented and hated half pagan Samaria and the people given utmost attention and response to it with joy that’s a good question did was there a see already planted have the book prepared these people even through Jesus ministry to the woman at the well that apparently was a different town in the region of Samaria not necessarily this city though Samaritans from that town or people who knew Samaritans in that town might have interacted with them but we’ll come back to that question of why does Samaria turn so readily let’s to move to the interpretation step just two questions I want to focus on here first how is it that these new believers from Jerusalem under threat for their lives probably less than a year old in the faith they went proclaiming the gospel freely and boldly throughout Judea and Samaria how’s that possible it can only be Duane yeah so they’ve definitely received good teaching but if this does come down to this is the power of God’s new creation in a person this is the Holy Spirit this is not what men would do naturally this is God at work and this might surprise us we might think that new believers they’re they’re just gonna cower in fear they’re just gonna they’re not gonna be a witness for cries they’re just gonna wait for the storm persecution to blow over maybe some of the seasoned state Saints will stand maybe the Apostle but these other believers I mean we can’t expect anything from that but what did the apostles say when they were being persecuted we must obey God rather than man and we cannot stop speaking of what we’ve seen in her these new believers have taken these truths that they’ve heard from the Apostles to heart they’ve given up their lives to follow Christ so why back down now should they stop shy away from the essence of what it means to belong to Jesus I know they too are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the boldness that comes with it so this is a I think a reproof against the notion that only seasoned believers can stand for Christ faced persecution or be effective witnesses for God let’s not sell the power of the Holy Spirit short yes they even in the short time but they are with the Apostles in Jerusalem they receive good teaching but let us also remember that even the faith even faith the size of a mustard seed jesus said can move the mountain if someone has understood the gospel well enough to be saved I mean truly saved then by God’s Spirit they are equipped stand and share that message with others you don’t need to know a ton about the Bible to be a steadfast follower of Christ and a great witness for him a new recruit can stand just like a seasoned soldier camp and sometimes sadly they can stand even better because it’s the old guard that sometimes takes its gaze away from Christ into the things of the world but there’s new believers they they have a real clear perspective and we want to recapture that if we’ve moved away from it that’s the first question when you look at the second one is as we were alluding to already why was Samaria so receptive to Philips gospel witness what’s the answer ultimately it’s it’s got sovereignty in the work of the Holy Spirit we can weaken it when it comes to receiving the gospel we can analyze people or groups of people as to how receptive they they are or might be but in the end it’s God who decides when and where revival is going to take place he’s the one that arranges and prepares the soil we might think of the best place for the gospel to go would be Jerusalem after all that’s one that’s one of the most spiritual Jews would be and truth be told there was a great harvest in Jerusalem but Jerusalem so far in the book of Acts and we’re gonna see this continuing in the book of Acts it’s actually the site of the greatest opposition to the gospel not just for the Apostles we did in Jesus life to you Jerusalem was a great site of resistance to the gospel meanwhile Samaria may have seemed like a poor place for gospel seed I mean these people hate the Jews but you know what God shows us that he was a field ready for harvest just waiting to be gathered in we can misjudge even in our own day their readiness of a person or people for the gospel now the key here is God’s sovereignty because we can look at different factors and say to ourselves oh you know what this is probably gonna make the person more receptive but let’s remember the deceitfulness of sin sin is able to take anything that might be an advantage to the gospel and turn it to a disadvantage maybe Christian upbringing we say oh they were raised in a Christian home certainly build me more receptive actually experience shows us that many people use their Christian upbringing as a weight as an excuse not to receive the gospel they say they’re already saved or they they become disenchanted with the Christian message or maybe we look at education or affluence as advantages sin can turn those to and we might look at the opposite hard times oh you know things are going so poorly in their lives surely that will make them receptive to the gospel oh maybe but sometimes sin will take that as a reason for the person not to receive the gospel they resent God they say I don’t wanna have anything to do with God he’s not helping me so sin can turn anything into an excuse to reject the gospel but God on the other hand who is greater than sin he can take anything that looks like a disadvantage and he can make it into a blessed Avenue for the gospel to pierce the heart God is the one who ultimately is in control so what should we do if we don’t know I can’t tell very easily who’s gonna be receptive to the gospel and who’s not how should we respond say it again yeah share with everyone scatter the seat widely you never know what kind of slow Simon land on and where it’s gonna grow God does he’s the one who prepared the soil but we go out with a wide sowing arm how many times have you heard or have you seen somebody who seemed like just totally far from God is the one who counts and a person who seems so close just never seems to never seems to make that leap of faith the Lord knows but we just go out and scatter and so Philip did I don’t know what he was expecting when he went to Samaria but he was shown that the Lord was going to work mightily yeah Danny okay exactly just as he was named a needy he’s just looking to be obedient to the Great Commission and that’s the same for us we are to be going out to all the world all the world not just the places that we think are gonna be most receptive and share the gospel and we’ll see we’ll see what God does he’s got his people he’s got his people marked out the flock that he will gather in now these Samaritan believers were later formally affirmed as a true part of Christ Church the middle of Acts 8 we’re not going to read it it describes Peter and John visiting Samaria from Jerusalem and laying their hands on the newly baptized believers and the Holy Spirit then came down upon these believers visibly thus the dividing wall between Jew and Samaritan these two groups that could stand each other previously for centuries that dividing wall comes crashing down just as Paul says it always does between Jew and Gentile and Ephesians 2:14 no this mansions are not quite Gentiles but the concept still applies fusion 214 Paul says for he himself is our peace and made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall we’re also seeing quite literally what jesus promised in acts 1 verse 8 jesus one of the last things he says to his disciples is acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest parts of the earth some have said but this is an outline for the book of Acts because have we seen a witness of Christ in Jerusalem yes witness in Judea and Samaria we’re seeing that now so what about the remotest parts of the earth well not quite yet but it’s coming in fact we see it starting in the end of Acts chapter 8 let’s now go to the latter portion verses 26 to 40 and see what happens there acts 8 verses 26 to 40 but an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza this is a desert road so we got up and went and there was an Ethiopian eunuch a court official Candace queen of the Ethiopians who was in charge of all her treasure and he had gone to Jerusalem or he had come to Jerusalem to worship and he was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah then the spirit said to Philip go up and join this chariot Philip ran up and heard him reading isaiah the prophet and said do you understand what you’re reading and he said well how could i unless someone guides me he invited Philip to come up and sit with him now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this he was led as a sheep to slaughter and as a lamb before Shearer is silent so he does not open his mouth in humiliation his judgment was taken who will relate his generation for his life is removed from the earth the eunuch answered Philippine said please tell me of whom does the prophet say this of himself or someone else then Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture he preached Jesus to him as they went along the road that came to some water and the eunuch said look water what prevents me from being baptized I’m skip over verse 37 and he ordered the chariot to stop and they both went down into the water Philip as well as the eunuch and he baptized him when they came up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away and the eunuch no longer saw him but went on his way rejoicing that Philip found himself and as it is and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until they came to Caesarea alright let’s observe this section of Scripture Philip receives special command of the Spirit to get up and go down a certain road from Jerusalem to Gaza now Philip has apparently traveled back to Jerusalem since his mission in Samaria the tech specifically tells us that this is a desert road by the way this would be the same Gaza that we would think of as Gaza today same area and we know where Jerusalem is but he’s going down a desert road what is a desert road entail it’s going to be hot and uncomfortable probably and maybe not that well-traveled because who wants to go out into a desert if you can take another way but Spirit has commanded him to do it Phil doesn’t ask questions at least not that we know of a new base what do you know he encounters a very specific somebody on the road a high official of Candace queen of the Ethiopians now where’s Ethiopia well roughly where it is today though Ethiopia at the kingdom of Ethiopia was bigger back then it’s basically right below Egypt towards the Eastern Horn of Africa so this man is from Ethiopia which makes him a foreigner and Gentile we got some more details about this man though first he’s a eunuch meaning he’s probably been castrated so that did not have children often in those days government servants who frequently interacted with females of a royal family were castrated so that those servants could be trusted around the royal women and would not present a threat to the reigning male dynasty so this man is a eunuch but we learn his specific function he’s in charge of all the Queen’s royal treasure this is clearly a high position of great trust he’s basically the equivalent of today’s secretary of the Treasury or the Minister of Finance for Ethiopia more pointedly though we learned that this man has just been in Jerusalem for worship and is on his way back so what does that tell us about this man he’s moving towards Judaism we can’t necessarily say he’s a Jew first of all because he’s a eunuch and also because he’s identified as a pointer but he is certainly a god-fearing with some aspects of Judaism even taken into his life we’re gonna meet more of these kinds of people as the roots of the book of Acts these what are often termed as Gentile god-fearers they’ve embraced some aspects of Judaism though they haven’t actually become Jews which would entail the right of circumcision and wholesale adherence to the law of Moses but we can see that this man’s in recent embrace at least part of Judaism because he’s caught up to Jerusalem to worship probably for one of the religious feasts that’s prescribed in the law of Moses but according to the law how far can a foreigner and eunuch go and worshipping God Danny no he would not first of all foreigners can only approach as far as the court of the Gentiles so the ad or outer portion of the temple but Deuteronomy 23 says Deuteronomy 23 says than a man with defect to his genitals may not even enter the Assembly of the Lord so here’s a man who is seeking Yahweh but according to Yahweh’s law he must be kept at arm’s length but Isaiah once prophesied something interesting about such a god-fearing man not about this man specifically but this kind of man Isaiah 56 I say it 56 verses 1 to 8 says this Isaiah 56 1 to 8 thus says Yahweh preserve justice and do righteousness from my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed how blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who takes hold of it who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing evil let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say Yahweh will surely separate me from his people no we let the eunuch say behold I am a dry tree for thus says Yahweh to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath’s and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant to them I will give in my house and within my walls the memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to minister to him to love the name of Yahweh to be his servants everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath holds fast my covenant even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples the Lord Yahweh who gathers the dispersed of Israel declares yet others I will gather to them to those already gathered now that’s really interesting I say it was saying even for those in his own day foreigners and eunuchs who were seeking to join the Lord there is coming a time where God is going to gather those people even more intimately to himself for his temple will be called a house of prayer for all the nations and that’s in the background of this meeting with a CPA in eunuch so this man is returning from worship in Jerusalem and he’s sitting in his chariot and he’s reading something now we might get me impression that this man is alone indeed the passage doesn’t mention anybody else besides Philip and Philip and the eunuch directly but one would not think that a man of such important station would be setting out alone not even with an accompanying sermon or two after all chariots could hold more than one person and you could travel with an entourage moreover verse 38 says the man ordered the chariot to stop and that is a very curious phrase if a man is all look after all he’s not commanding Philip or commanding himself he’s at least with one other person but there could have been many more it could have been a care of it the eunuch is very likely almost surely not now it just so happens that this man is reading the prophet Isaiah and a very particular passage of Isaiah a Philip doesn’t know this at first the Spirit gives still up more supernatural direction by telling Philip go up and join the cherry Philip runs up and you realize is that the man is reading from Isaiah now how could you know that well it’s because the man is reading out loud remember in ancient times almost everybody read out loud and prayed out loud it’s very it’s a very modern notion to do this silent prayer and silent reading they didn’t do that back then I’m not very often so he hears him reading isaiah and philip figures will strike up a conversation with him perhaps the constable conversation so he asks do you understand what you’re reading and that’s a very good question that asked it’s a way to get into a kind of spiritual conversation no question is perfect though and we could imagine how the eunuch might have resisted Philips invitation to spiritual conversation in private eunuch might have answered of course I understand don’t you know who I am and you wouldn’t want to look bad in front of Philip or in front of his other servants or even pride you might have answered get lost I don’t know you but his answer is quite revealing the eunuchs answer is quite revealing in the man’s humbled attitude before God he instead says when asked do you understand he says how can i unless someone guides me i I need help you’re a Jew come up here and help me make sense of this now Philip could not have known this would be the man who spawns you knew that the spirit had directed Matthew here for a reason but you didn’t know what happened yeah we see again God paved the way now what passage is it that this eunuch just happens to be reading this is Isaiah 53 we’ve looked at this passage together Isaiah 53 is very explicit and prophesying about Christ and they Philip asked the question I’m not Philip the eunuch asked the question of whom is this writer speaking himself or someone else well Philip could hope for a better question than that Philip began it says beginning at this scripture he preached Jesus now what’s the phrase beginning at this scripture indicate he didn’t say in Isaiah 53 of course he explained that passage but there shortly went to other portions of Isaiah perhaps even isaiah 50:6 that we read and even outside of isaiah as this god fear would have been familiar with other Old Testament Scriptures Philip explains how Jesus is the Christ according to the Old Testament he is the one prophesied he fulfills what the Old Testament declares number 36 says they came to someone that’s interesting water in the middle of a desert though it’s true desert do feature owaisi’s apparently this wasn’t just a little bit of water it was quite a lot as well see now verse 37 is in brackets in your Bibles and I didn’t read it because the verse is not in the earliest and best manuscripts of the book of Acts that means it is likely a later edition this is not something that Luke wrote originally by the Holy Spirit it was most likely an Edition from a copyist who wanted to make more explicit what made the eunuch ready for baptism because verse 36 goes right to verse 38 and there’s no mention of this eunuch actually saying I believe and so this copyist wanted to make it more explicit because Jesus has made clear what kind of people are baptized believers namely those who have become disciples he said make disciples and baptize them so for this man to be baptized or to even ask for baptism what must have already taken place he must have believed he must have believed Philips message and that’s not stated explicitly so this copyist wanted to add that in but it’s a we can infer it even without verse 37 so they go down into the water together Philip baptized it’s him and nurses says they came up out of the waters that’s why I say there must have been a fair amount of water for them to go into both of them go into it both of them come up out of it but then what happens to Philip the Spirit of the Lord snatches him away Philip disappears but the eunuch doesn’t seem to taken aback he goes on his way rejoicing in fact that sudden miraculous disappearance what would it have confirmed to the eunuch this was clearly a man of God and this encounter was from God a little put his seal on this whole exchange and that was a great cause for rejoicing this man who was seeking the Lord and yet fell arm’s length from God he receives clear affirmation in the Lord that this is the truth about God so Phil disappears and then I like what verse 40 says he found himself in as it is that’s a very unique experience I’m sure where am i oh okay he’s an as Attis which is another another name for Ashdod a city in the Old Testament in still a city today actually it’s about 20 miles north of Gaza on the coast of Palestine the coast of Israel it’s between Gaza and Tel Aviv’s so Philip finds himself Aaron what does he do well he continues to travel and preach the gospel and he eventually ends up in Caesarea this is probably Caesarea maritima the provincial capital of Roman Judea it was another coastal city actually north of a situs past Tel Aviv so it probably makes his way up the coast continuing to preach the different people that he means right we’ve made these observations let’s go to interpretation once again three questions I want to consider this time first what did the Ethiopian eunuch do next oh we don’t know that text does but what is it that disciples of Christ do even new disciples of Christ they follow the Lord and that means they share him with others to be a disciple is to be a maker of disciples so it is very likely that this man became the first gospel witness of Christ to Ethiopia I mean he’s already been a witness before his entourage who every big it was by being baptized before them all and so likely he brought the gospel back with him and and shared it there there the others would go to you Theo PA but he would be the first now should we follow Felix Philips example of evangelism of course but with some qualifications we are empowered by the same spirit Philip we also have the same boldness and love that Philip did and that caused him to speak to others notice both in Samaria and with a eunuch Philip did not have any relationship with the people before he shared ice with them that’s not to say that it’s not wrong to develop a relationship before you share Jesus but understand that it is possible to share Christ with people that you don’t know very well even people you’ve just met if God so provides the opportunity we see Philip doing it here moreover we see Philip explains Christ from the Scriptures according to the scriptures which is what we ought to do as well so Philip is an example for us to follow but we have to recognize that Philip is also unique different from us in some respects he was given supernatural gifting that we don’t receive today he has the ability to cast out demons and heal instantaneously moreover the Spirit tells Philip literally what to do in certain situations and despite the claims of some today the spirit does not do that anymore or rather the spirit does that in a different way he speaks to us through the word that has been revealed the word that the spirit actually wrote not with new commands and revelations if you want to know what the spirit wants you to do in a certain situation just read the word consider the word that’s how the spirit will guide you now what about that phrase that sometimes using New Testament being led by the spirit aren’t Christians to be led by the spirit Phillip clearly is led by the spirit shouldn’t we be led by the spirit too well yes but understand that that phrase has used the New Testament letters doesn’t mean the same thing that it means here every time we see the phrase or the command of excitation to be led by the spirit does anyone know what the context is I’ll show to you turn to Romans chapter 8 to places where this phrase is used specifically in Romans chapter 8 verses 12 to 14 Romans 8:12 to 14 Paul writes so then brethren we are under obligation not to the flesh to live according to the flesh so if you’re living according to the flesh you must die but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body you will live for all who are being led by the Spirit of God these are sons of God so what’s the context of this phrase led by the spirit it’s sanctification it’s putting to death evil deeds and walking in holiness we see the same thing in the in the other passage that uses the phrase led by the spirit turn to Galatians Galatians chapter 5 Galatians 5 verses lations 5:16 18 notice how similar this is but I say walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law so same thing being led by the Spirit means being led into righteous behavior there’s a conflict between the old man and the new man the dying flesh and the new life that is in the spirit he says you’re no longer being led by the flesh to do evil you’re now being led by the spirit to do righteousness yield to the spirit don’t continue in the deeds of the flesh but manifest the fruits of the spirit the spirits leading is leading you towards holiness so if you want to be led by the Spirit you you follow the spirits desires which is to obey God that’s why I say again the spirits guidance to us today comes through his word because that’s how we know what God desires we read his word that’s what the Spirit wills for us that’s the spirits desire for us it is our sanctification so the leading of the Spirit that we sometimes see in the gospel with Jesus and that we see in the book of Acts that’s a little bit different this is part of the unique ministry of the Spirit at that time there confirmed these special witnesses of Christ as being from God even though the New Testament Scriptures are not yet so does that mean that we should ignore any compulsions that we feel the regarding praying for people or witnessing to them about Christ oh no I’m not saying you should ignore those things because that’s what the scripture says you should do by the spirit or that your desire to do those things is in a court of the scriptures so I’m not saying you shouldn’t shouldn’t embrace when you feel compelled to do those certain things but recognize that the spirits will for us it’s a little more complicated than just declare the word to everyone in every single situation we’re also committed do not put your pearls before swine we’re commanded to be Jesus commanded his disciples to be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves so you’re gonna have to exercise discernment it is the will of the Spirit that you exercise discernment in different situations yes should be bold yes be loving but you also exercise discernment as to you am I putting pearls before swine we should feel a compulsion a drive to share Christ with people but according to the guidance of the Spirit in the scriptures so yes we do imitate Philip we should imitate Philip even though recognizing he yes some unique aspects to his ministry that we do not have the church does not have one more question let’s consider again God’s sovereignty clearly God’s hand is was all over the spread of the gospel in response to the people of Samaria the arrangement of this meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch so was the wave of persecution then an accident even just a sad tragedy no of course not it was no accident yes they were trying to gas decks to it but no this was actually good it’s Joseph’s joke it is just as Joseph said regarding his adverse circumstances in Genesis 50 Genesis 50 verse 20 Joseph says to his brothers as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive isn’t this exactly what we see in Acts chapter 8 and it’s like what Paul writes in Romans 8:28 Paul says and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose now God had always intended that this persecution would come and in his transcendence a good way he even intended he purposed that some believers would glorify God by suffering persecution suffering imprisonment and even some suffering death and yet he also purposed that others would scatter and declare the gospel to yet unreached people the evil one may felt that he was scoring mega points in this chapter against God look at all these people that I’m hurting and discouraging imprisoning and even killing these Christians but no this was all going according to God’s plan even Satan’s schemes I’m not outside the plan of God he’s purposing it for his glory and his people’s good so there was a principle for us here what may appear like the greatest tragedy an insurmountable obstacle a titanic hindrance to God’s purposes especially in salvation it’s actually purposed by God to bring about his good plan so for you whether personal familial or national crisis realize that whatever God has provided in your life is so that you can better glorify Him and be a witness to the world so don’t waste the circumstances that God has given you we often think that God answering our prayers for relief from certain difficulty or his blessing us with prosperity that’s what’s going to make us a great witness but actually most the time it’s your faith under fire you’re joining the midst of sorrow your steadfastness in the face of tribulation that will be the greatest witness of Christ so embrace that let God have his way trust him all will turn out to your good and His glory in the end now we’re already talking a little bit about application but let me put you more formally some application questions as we wind down here now what do you know we didn’t end early that’s the way it goes okay first do you trust in appearances or trust in the sovereignty of God I mean this passages highlights these concepts for us when it comes to provision in your life do you look to me your parents’ is what it looks like it’s gonna happen or do you embrace that your God is sovereign and will provide no matter what the situation looks like or when it comes to the fitness of others to receive the gospel do you look at appearances or do you look at the sovereignty of God or even the fitness of yourself to declare to the gospel oh I’m nobody in the church I’m just a new believer I don’t know that much about the Bible I clearly can’t share the gospel are you looking at appearances or do you remember the power and sovereignty of God yes you should grow in the faith that will make you more effective but remember that he’s the one with the pallet second question do you desire to be Christ’s disciple and witness no matter the costs I put this question to you before but remember the words of Jesus any man wants to come after me he must first take his cross deny himself or deny himself take this cross daily and follow me there’s a cost to serving Jesus do you see that it’s worth it do you embrace them he also says he seeks to save his life that is hold on to it in this world he who seeks to save his life will lose it but he who loses it for my sake and the gospel’s he will find it he’ll save it do you believe that Jesus also said do not lay it for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven Martin rust do not destroy these do not break in and steal where is your treasure you know that famous quote from Jim Elliot he is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose do you desire to be Christ’s witness in a matter the cost that’s what it means to be its disciple and then one more question are you a witness for Christ in spite of your trials through your trials and even because of your trials remember as we see here God means these trials for your good and he means them for his glory this grace is sufficient for you just as it was for Paul he had a thorn in the flesh we don’t know what that was but whatever it was is extremely painful the asteroid to be taken away and God said I’m not taking it away my grace is sufficient for you and my power is perfected in weakness but you would like the Lord’s power to be perfected in your life then allow him to make you weak make you dependent put you in a situation where you say god this is so hard it’s so difficult how will I ever make it through God I need you that’s where God says you’re right where I want you to be this is where I can put my glory on this play you will go through some hard times you might be going through them right now but here for the glory of God and your good glorify God through that trial whatever type it may be that’s God’s will for you well we’re out of time for today your other questions or comments you can email me but next week we’ll look at the salvation of the Christian killing salt that’s closing prayer what God we thank you for this encouraging word you are sovereign Lord even through trials of persecution and you intend to glorify yourself through them often God it’s for the spread of the gospel ironically the Lord even where you allow you allow your church or your gospel to be diminished even removed you were glorifying yourself we thank you God that your church will never be fully removed until you come you promised that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it you establish your church yourself so god help us to be faithful until you come help us to be those slaves that will be commended when you come god we can only do this by your spirit Lord sometimes you have put us in very difficult trials but you were good through that Lord I pray God will not miss the opportunity to glorify you through those things by faith God embracing you as a true disciple in Jesus name you’re welcome I see you next week