Saturday, May 14, 2016

Acts 9:1




Having only gotten through one verse in the last post, we will pick up in Acts 8: 27, with Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip had been sent into the desert for this man.  God will not send us on useless missions.  We, like Philip, just have to go where He sends us and be ready to act when He reveals the reason.  The Ethiopian was in charge of the treasure of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians.  He was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship.  Even though he was in charge of an earthly treasure, he was looking for knowledge of God.  Sometimes, people start out simply looking for knowledge about God, but in their search God draws them to know not just about Him, but to know Him personally.  I believe this is where the Ethiopian eunuch was.  He was reading Isaiah when Philip caught up with him.  Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading.  We may see or hear people reading the Bible today, but we need to be attuned to God's leadership to see if we need to ask if they understand what they are reading.  The eunuch replied by asking how could he understand except some man should guide him, and he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Philip now knew the reason God had led him to the desert.  He was reading in Isaiah 53 about the coming of Christ, but he didn't understand Who the passage was about.  Philip started where the Ethiopian was at in his understanding and preached to him Jesus.  When they came to a body of water, the Ethiopian asked what prevented him from being baptized.  Philip neither said let's do it nor began to set down a bunch of requirements.  Philip said if the Ethiopian believed with all his heart, he could be.  The Ethiopian answered with the only requirement there can ever be for baptism, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."  They stopped the chariot, and the Ethiopian was baptized.  Philip was caught up by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.  Philip was led to the desert for one purpose, then was sent on his way, which next was Azotus, where he preached passing through on his way to Caesarea. We need to follow God's leadership, even if it leads us into the desert for only one person, but we must not stay in the desert after we have accomplished God's goal for us.  We, like Philip, must always be on the way God sends us, preaching the Gospel as we go.





Friday, May 13, 2016

Acts 9:1

Acts 9:1 says, And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,  Verse two adds, And  desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  Saul was on his way to Damascus with letters from the high priest authorizing him to persecute Christians there.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will always be working against those who have.  Verse three continues, And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:  As Saul was on the road to Damascus, something was about to change in his life.  He was surrounded by a great light from heaven.  If we are a Christian, at some point in life we have encountered the light of Jesus Christ.  Verse four concludes, And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  Saul fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutist thou me?"   As followers of Christ, we have all been on our own road to Damascus.  We may not have been actively seeking to persecute Christians, but before we encountered Christ, we stood against Him and His people.  I was never surrounded by a bright light from heaven and never heard an audible voice, but a still, small voice whispered to me one night, "James, James, why persecutest thou me?"  No, I didn't hear those exact words, but the meaning was the same.  Until I believed in and accepted Christ as my Savior, I stood against Him.  We might say that is not the same as what Saul was doing, but in some respects, it might be even more damaging. My Damascus Road was Shiloh Baptist church, where I was every time the doors opened, as the saying goes.  So, everyone knew where Saul stood in relationship to Christ, but no one knew where I did.  I was identified by the world as one of God's people, but He knew better.  People who identify themselves as Christians and have never encountered Christ in a personal relationship are much more of a threat to God's kingdom than are those who openly oppose Him.  When we profess to represent Christ in the world, but don't really know Him or are not following His leadership, but our own desires, people are watching.  When people point to us and say, "See, that is what God is like," and it is said with a negative connotation, then we need to fall to our knees and ask God's forgiveness and direction.  We must never be hiding in the church while all the time we are on our personal road to Damascus. 









Acts 8:37

Acts 8:37 states, And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Philip said if the Ethiopian believed with all his heart that Jesus Christ died for his sins, he could be bsaptized.  The Ethiopian answered with the only requirement there can ever be for baptism, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."  This is still the only requirement today.  Verse thirty-eight adds, 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.  They stopped the chariot, and the Ethiopian was baptized.  Though baptism is not a requirement for salvation, we should want to follow Jesus’s example and be baptized as soon as possible.  It is symbolic of His death, burial, and resurrection and our acceptance of His gift of salvation.  Verse thirty-nine continues, And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.  Philip was caught up by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. Verse forty concludes, But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.  Philip was led to the desert for one purpose, then was sent on his way, which next was Azotus, where he preached passing through on his way to Caesarea. We need to follow God's leadership, even if it leads us into the desert for only one person, but we must not stay in the desert after we have accomplished God's goal for us.  We, like Philip, must always be on the way God sends us, preaching the Gospel as we go. 

 








When Simon saw what Peter and John were doing, and he perceived that they were in control of the giving of the Holy Spirit, he wanted to buy this gift from them.  We are told that he believed and was baptized.  He was he was continuing to travel with Phillip, but he still had some spiritual growing to do.  We do a great injustice to new believers today when we don't ground them in the Gospel.  This is especially true, I believe, if they have come to Christ because of some miracle or great work that they have seen.  It may lead them to the belief that the gifts of God are for material blessings or self glorification.  Simon evidently thought the gifts of God could be bought, but Peter quickly corrected him.  In the second half of Acts 8: 21, he was told his heart was not right.  He was told to pray for forgiveness, for his heart was in the bond of iniquity.  Even though we are saved once and for all time by Christ's death on the cross, we can and to often do let iniquity into our heart.  Simon asked for their prayers that he might be forgiven, and they prayed for Him.  Simon could have found forgiveness through his own prayers, but sometimes it is good to know that others are praying for you, especially for a new believer.  There is no evidence that Simon was saved again and baptized again.  He repented and was restored.  When we allow iniquity into our heart as a follower of Christ, we do not need to be resaved.  We simply need to repent and be restored, as was Simon.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Acts 8:28

Acts 8:28 says, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. The eunuch was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship.  Even though he was in charge of an earthly treasure, he was looking for knowledge of God. Sometimes, people start out simply looking for knowledge about God, but in their search, God draws them to know not just about Him, but to know Him personally.  I believe this is where the Ethiopian eunuch was.  He was reading Isaiah when Philip caught up with him.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.  Philip was moved by the Holy Spirit to go and join the chariot.  We need to be open to the leadership of the Holy Spirit even if we don’t fully understand what we are being led to do.  Verse thirty continues, And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?  Philip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading.  We may see or hear people reading the Bible today, but we need to be attuned to God's leadership to see if we need to ask if they understand what they are reading.  Verse thirty-one states, And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The eunuch replied by asking how could he understand except some man should guide him, and he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Philip now knew the reason God had led him to the desert.  Verse thirty-two adds, The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:  Verse thirty-three continues, In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.  He was reading in Isaiah 53 about the coming of Christ, but he didn't understand Who the passage was about.  Verse thirty-four says, And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?  The Ethiopian asked Philip if this passage referred to the speaker or someone else, and we know it referred to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Verse thirty-five adds, Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.  Philip started where the Ethiopian was at in his understanding and preached to him Jesus.  We have to start where people’s understanding is and then preach to them Jesus if we are going to reach them.  Verse thirty-six continues, And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  When they came to a body of water, the Ethiopian asked what prevented him from being baptized.  Philip neither said let's do it nor began to set down a bunch of requirements.  If people want to know what they must do to be baptized, we must tell them what Philip told the eunuch. 

One of the people Philip encountered was a sorcerer named Simon. He had bewitched the Samaritans into believing he was a great one.  The Samaritans were treated as if they were beneath contempt by the people of Israel, so it was probably easy to bewitch them if someone came along promising them hope.  Simon thought very highly of himself, but he thought very lowly of God.  Then, when Philip preached the Gospel to those bewitched Samaritans, they believed, both men and women, and were baptized.  Then, Simon also believed and was baptized, following Philip and beholding the signs and wonders.  We must be careful that we don't allow ourselves to be bewitched by those claiming to be the way to redemption, no matter the problem we need redeeming from, if they put all the emphasis on themselves and not God.  We also must be careful that we are not following Christ simply because we are looking for signs and wonders.  We need to be careful that we are not following Christ to attempt to gain from it materially.  When we become a follower of Christ, all we are promised is a cross to take up daily.  A gospel that states that God will never ask us to do anything that makes us unhappy or that promises only prosperity is not the gospel of the Bible.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Acts 8:25

Acts 8:25 says, And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.  Peter and John were then on their way back to Jerusalem. They had been sent to find out what was happening in Samaria, and having gotten their answer, they were on their way to report.  They had accepted the Gospel being preached to the Samaritans, as they themselves had preached to them there and on the way back to Jerusalem. Even if we are on a particular mission for the church, we still need to be actively proclaiming the Gospel. This will always be the primary task of the followers of Christ. Verse twenty-six adds, And the angel of 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.  Philip was given another task.  He was having a very successful ministry in Samaria.  He was reaching many people with the Gospel and having them become believers in Christ. We might ask why God would lead him somewhere else.  Today, a preacher, deacon, or simply a church member may be having a great success in reaching people where they are, but that doesn't mean that God is not calling them to some other place. We see no evidence that Philip questioned why he was to go.  He simply went. Now we might say that if an angel told us to do something, we would do it. First, though, we would have to recognize the angel without question.  Even greater than an angel, we have the Holy Spirit to direct us, but first we must recognize His voice and then follow without question.  He was instructed by an angel to go south to Gaza, which is desert.  Earlier when speaking of Stephen, I stated that we didn't know much about the other deacons.  I guess I had been thinking of the apostle Philip when I was first reading about Philip, but my Matthew Henry commentary pointed out my error.  This was Philip who had been appointed as a deacon.  So, we know a lot about two deacons, Stephen and Philip.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,  Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch.  Philip had been sent into the desert for this man.  God will not send us on useless missions.  We, like Philip, just have to go where He sends us and be ready to act when He reveals the reason.  The Ethiopian was in charge of the treasure of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians.