Carried Along by the Spirit

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 8, verses 26 to 40.

Acts 8:26–40

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In the coming weeks.

We're in Acts chapter 8, verses 26 to 40.

Acts 8:26–40

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father,

Heavenly Father,

because you so loved the world,

you sent your only Son.

And the Son you sent

died

for our sins, was raised,

ascended,

and he sent his Holy Spirit.

That we too might be sent ones

on mission

that you have given us.

But Lord, we confess that we often lose sight and forget

the mission given to us by our Lord Jesus.

We need to remember

and we seek

to be filled

more and more

and again and again

with your Holy Spirit.

So we ask that you do that this evening.

speak to us now.

Speak to us now.

Glorify your name.

Conform us to your will.

Lord,

pray that those of us who are dry

in the wilderness

will bubble up again

with springs of life

as your Word washes over them.

in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Acts chapter 8,

Acts 8:26–40

verse 26 to 40.

Now an angel of the Lord

said to Philip,

rise and go toward the south

to the road

that goes down

from Jerusalem

to Gaza.

This is a desert place.

And he rose and went.

And there was an Ethiopian,

a eunuch,

a court official of Candace,

queen of the Ethiopians,

who was in charge

of all her treasure.

He had come to Jerusalem

to worship

and was returning

seated in his chariot

and he was reading

the prophet Isaiah.

And the Spirit said to Philip,

go over

and join this chariot.

So Philip ran

to him

and heard him

reading Isaiah the prophet

and asked,

do you understand

what you are reading?

And he said,

how can I

unless someone

guides me?

And he invited Philip

to come up

and sit with him.

Now the passage

of the scripture

that he was reading

was this,

like a sheep

he was led

to the slaughter

and like a lamb

before a shearer

is silent

so he opens not

his mouth.

in his humiliation

justice

was denied him.

Who can describe

his generation

for his life

is taken away

from the earth?

And the eunuch

said to Philip,

about whom I ask you

does the prophet

say this,

about himself

or about someone else?

Then Philip

opened his mouth

and beginning

with this scripture

he told him

the good news

about Jesus.

And as they were

going along the road

they came to some water

and the eunuch said

see here is water

what prevents me

from being baptized?

And he commanded

the chariot to stop

and they both went

down into the water

Philip and the eunuch

and he baptized him

and when they came up

out of the water

the spirit of the Lord

carried Philip away

and the eunuch

saw him no more

and went on his way

rejoicing.

But Philip found himself

at Azotus

and as he passed through

he preached the gospel

to all the towns

until he came

to Caesarea.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

The word mission

is a buzzword nowadays

in the church

everything from

in the world as well

everything from cafes

to schools

have a mission

mission statement now.

And if we were to ask

Christians what they think

is the mission

of the church

we're likely to get

various answers.

Some will take

the wording from

the Westminster Confession

and say that the mission

of the church

is to glorify God

and enjoy him forever.

Others will say

that it's to love God

with our whole heart

and love our neighbors

as ourselves.

And still others

might use the words

of the famous hymn

to say that our mission

simply is to trust

and obey.

Of course these are all

true and biblical statements

but they're so expansive

and encompassing

that they include

all of Christian life.

Not just the church

but what every Christian

should do

in every aspect

every second of their life.

And precisely because

they're so inclusive

they don't help us

to narrow down

and focus.

Should Christians care

about alleviating poverty?

Of course.

Should Christians care

about abolishing

human trafficking?

Of course.

Should Christians care

about improving

public education?

Of course.

Should Christians care

about being good husbands

and wives

and fathers

and mothers?

Of course.

But are all of those things

the mission

of the church?

And if so

considering

that everything

including our

energy,

money,

and time

are finite

how do we

prioritize?

How do we decide

what to allocate

our resources to?

Missiologist

just a fancy name

for someone

who studies missions

Stephen Neal

makes an important point

he says

quote

if everything

is mission

nothing

is mission

if what I'm

doing at home

providing for my family

trying to be a good dad

and good husband

is mission

then I don't have to

do anything else

I'm doing mission

the word mission

by definition

implies someone

who sends us

to fulfill

a specific

task

and there is

a specific

task

that the Lord

Jesus

has sent

his church

out to do

and that's what

we find

in Matthew

28

18-20

Mark

13-10

14-9

Luke 24-44-49

Acts 1-8

John 20-21

all at the

end of the gospel

accounts

at the climactic moment

Jesus gives

this great commission

the most famous one

being the one we know

from Matthew 28

go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit

teaching them

to observe all

that I have

commanded you

that's

the great commission

and that's

precisely what

we see

the early church

doing

over and over

again

throughout the

book of Acts

Pastor Kevin

DeYoung

and Greg Gilbert

put it helpfully

in their book

what is the mission

of the church

they say

the early church

in Acts

show us

that there is

something worse

than death

and something

better

than human

flourishing

the early church

understood

that their mission

was something

higher

than preventing

human death

and promoting

human flourishing

it's something

more than that

in Acts 8

26 to 40

we see

Philip fulfilling

the great commission

that God

and his Lord

Jesus Christ

gave him

and it really

follows the outline

of Matthew 28

Matthew 28:19

verse 19

so we can use

that as an outline

of our passage

first

teaches us to go

as directed

by the spirit

teaches us to make

disciples of Jesus

Christ

teaches us to baptize

into the church

and

and this passage

main point

is that we too

must go

wherever the spirit

of God sends us

to open the scriptures

to speak of Jesus

and to baptize

those who repent

and believe

so let's talk about

this in turn

first we are to go

as the spirit

of God

directs us

it says in verse 26

now an angel

of the Lord

said to Philip

rise and go

toward the south

to the road

that goes down

from Jerusalem

to Gaza

this is a desert

place

we don't know

exactly how

the angel

of the Lord

spoke to Philip

whether he appeared

physically to him

or in a vision

as in Acts chapter 10

Acts 10:3

verse 3

but either way

Philip receives

a directive

from the angel

of the Lord

notice in verse 29

it's the spirit

who speaks to Philip

since an angel

is simply a messenger

of the Lord

and represents

and serves

the spirit

of the Lord

there isn't really

a substantive difference

it's the Lord

who is giving him

this directive

and so the agency

of the spirit

in directing

the mission

is prominent

throughout this passage

later again

in verse 39

it's the spirit

of the Lord

that carries Philip

away to another location

to preach the gospel

and Luke

tells us

that Philip's

obedience

was prompt

the angel

of the Lord

says in verse 26

rise and go

and it says

in verse 27

he rose and went

again it says

in verse 29

go over

and join this chariot

and it says

in verse 30

that Philip

ran to him

it's kind of

a funny scene

to imagine

if you think about it

he probably

had to run

in order to

catch up to the chariot

and he's kind of

running along the chariot

trying to listen in

to see what

how the spirit

leads him

to witness

to this Ethiopian eunuch

this pattern

of command

and obedience

emphasizes

God's authority

and our need

to obey

to submit to him

to promptly

follow him

and Philip's

obedience

I don't think

was necessarily

easy

if you look

at verse 25

which immediately

precedes this passage

it says

now when they

that's Peter and John

had testified

and spoken

the word of the Lord

they returned

to Jerusalem

preaching the gospel

to many villages

of the Samaritans

and then verse 26

says

now an angel

of the Lord

said to Philip

rise and go

toward the south

to the road

that goes down

from Jerusalem

to Gaza

the conjunction

there in verse 26

translated now

is also frequently

translated

but

it notes

a contrast

Peter and John

verse 25

return to Jerusalem

but

the angel

of the Lord

directs Philip

to go elsewhere

Jerusalem

is a midpoint

between the city

of Samaria

where Philip

Peter and John

were just

ministering

and

Gaza

and so

it would have

been very tempting

for Philip

on the way

to stop in Jerusalem

to stay

with the rest

of the apostles

stay with the

apostles

but the angel

of the Lord

directs him

to go somewhere else

and notice

where he tells

him to go

he says

at the end

of verse 26

this is a desert

place

recall that

Philip was enjoying

an amazing

reception

in Samaria

there was

successful

mass evangelism

happening in Samaria

the crowds

with one accord

paid attention

to what was being

said by Philip

he said in chapter 8

verse 6

many men and women

were coming to faith

in the gospel

and getting baptized

and here

that Philip

is told by the

Holy Spirit

to go to the

middle of a desert

to minister

to one person

it would have

been so easy

for Philip

to rationalize

away this

command from

the Holy Spirit

well

that can't

possibly be

from the Lord

why would I

go to a desert

place

where there is

hardly a soul

when the

Samaritans

are so responsive

to the gospel

complacency

makes us

resistant

to change

and when

the circumstances

that God

calls us

to seem

unfavorable

to us

it is very

easy to

rationalize

it away

even when

it is a

clear direction

from the

Lord

when have

you been

tempted

to do

the same

maybe you're

on a plane

and you feel

the spirit

leading

to start

up a

conversation

with the

person

sitting next

to you

and to

share the

gospel

with him

and then

you rationalize

well God

doesn't want

me to do

that

I don't

know him

and the

conversation

won't go

anywhere

anyway

or maybe

I have so

much work

to do

before I

arrive at

my next

destination

or I've

had a long

week

and I've

been looking

forward to

relaxing

and just

reading a

book on

this plan

all week

or maybe

God places

a foreign

nation

and a

people group

on your

heart

and calls

you to

pack up

and move

there to

proclaim the

gospel

but then you

rationalize

well that

wouldn't be

good for my

children

that wouldn't

get a good

education

and surely

that's not

what God

wants

I studied

and worked

hard for the

last decade

to earn

this PhD

it would

be such a

waste

for me

to give

this up

in my

promising

career

to become

a missionary

surely

God wouldn't

want me

to waste

the talents

he has

given me

I'm sure

you can

think of

a hundred

more scenarios

where we

can be

tempted to

rationalize

away clear

directions

from the

Holy Spirit

of course

we need

to reckon

with the

possibility

that some

of us

do not

hear

the

directions

of the

Holy Spirit

maybe not

because he's

not speaking

but because

we're not

listening

because we're

reluctant to

obey

and because

we're reluctant

to obey

we're not

attentive

to listen

instead our

posture should

be the same

as that of

Samuel and

1st Samuel

3 10

speak

speak Lord

for your

servant

is listening

yes we

are commanded

to test

prophecies

in 1st

Thessalonians

5 21

but we

are also

commanded

not to

quench

the spirit

or despise

prophecies

in 1st

Thessalonians

5 19

to 20

whether it's

a prophecy

or a vision

or a dream

if after

weighing them

and considering

their merit

by checking

them against

scripture

and getting

counsel from

mature believers

in the church

and if we

determine that

the spirit

of God

is indeed

speaking to

us

and leading

us

our response

should not

be but

and what

if

but here

I am

send me

not every

Christian is

sent out as

foreign missionaries

if that were

the case

there would

be no church

left at home

to send them

but God

gives to the

church

apostles

prophets

evangelists

shepherds

and teachers

even if you

are not

sent out

that's

what an

apostle is

when it's

sent out

you ought

to be

prophesying

or evangelizing

or shepherding

or teaching

whether that's

formally or

informally

if you are

a Christian

the great

commission

is a

command

for you

go

therefore

make

disciples

of all

nations

baptizing

in the name

of the

father and

the son

and the

holy

spirit

and teaching

them

to be

everything

I have

commanded

you

so in

what

ways

are you

contributing

to making

disciples

of all

nations

we have

a few

members

who are

considering

going into

long term

for missions

that you'll

be called

upon to

pray for

and to

support

financially

we have

two missionaries

visiting us

we were here

last week

as well

Mr. and Mrs.

Bishop

who are also

raising funds

right now

for Kosovo

that you can

support

you can pray

for

how is the

spirit of God

directing you

and as we

are going

we are to

make disciples

of Jesus

Christ

it's what

verses 30

to 35

show us

and central

to this

effort of

making

disciples

is the

opening up

of God's

word

scriptures

and that

scriptures

are mentioned

repeatedly

throughout

this passage

in verses

32 to

35

this is

why

Bible

translation

has been

so central

to Christian

missionary

efforts

and in

certain

cases

Christian

missionaries

have

introduced

writing

a language

a writing

a written

language

to cultures

that they

were in

to illiterate

cultures

in order

that they

might be

furnished

with their

own

Bibles

to read

scripture

does not

merely contain

God's

revelation

to humanity

it is

God's

revelation

and it's

the normative

and authoritative

means by which

God speaks

to us

and is

therefore

essential

for

Christian

discipleship

so

Philip

obeys

the spirit

runs

along

by the

chariot

and it

says in

verse 30

that he

heard

the Ethiopian

eunuch

reading Isaiah

the prophet

and asked

do you

understand

what you

are reading

and the

eunuch

responds

honestly

and humbly

in verse 31

how can I

unless someone

guides me

and he

invited

Philip

to come up

and sit

with him

if your

knowledge of

scripture

is not

where you

want it

to be

this kind

of humble

and humble

admission

is healthy

humility

is the

posture of

learning

in their

book

how to

read the

bible

for all

it's

worth

Gordon

Fee

and

Douglas

Stewart

say

this

quote

the single

most

serious

problem

people

have

with

the

bible

is

not

with

the

lack

of

understanding

but

with

the

fact

that

they

understand

most

things

too

well

it's

because

we

already

think

we

understand

it

all

it's

because

we

already

assume

there's

nothing

new

to

learn

that

we

don't

learn

as

we

open

up

God's

word

and

so

this

question

is

actually

a

very

good

question

that

this

eunuch

asks

how

can

I

unless

someone

guides

me

he

wants

to

learn

he

wants

to

grow

he

acknowledged

the

incompleteness

of his

knowledge

and he

asks

for a

teacher

if you

read the

bible

regularly

you

have

likely

had

the

same

thought

as

the

eunuch

at

times

how

can

I

understand

unless

someone

guides

me

this

is

not

to

say

that

the

bible

is

impossible

to

understand

the

bible

is

sufficiently

clear

to be

able

to make

everyone

wise

to anyone

wise

for salvation

through faith

in christ

jesus

it's

profitable

for

everyone

this is

the

doctrine

of

scripture

called

the

clarity

of

scripture

or the

perspicuity

of

scripture

scripture

everywhere

assumes

that

people

can

understand

god's

word

through

ordinary

means

which

is

why

later

in

chapter

17

the

bereans

are

commended

after

hearing

paul's

sermon

to go

because

they

go

and

check

the

scriptures

examine

the

scriptures

daily

to see

if

these

things

were

so

it

would

have

if

they

were

not

able

to

understand

it

to

see

if

what

paul

said

was

true

the

scriptures

are

clear

however

that

doesn't

mean

that

every

part

of

scripture

is

equally

or

completely

transparent

even

the

apostle

peter

himself

admits

in

2

2 Peter 3:16

peter

chapter

3

verse

16

that

some

of

the

scriptures

written

by

the

apostle

paul

are

hard

to

understand

and

this

is

why

there

is

still

need

for

teachers

in

the

church

and

the

ethiopian

eunuch

puts it

very

pointedly

how

can

I

understand

unless

someone

guides

me

this

is

an

invitation

for

teachers

in

the

church

to

rise

up

there

are

people

in

our

church

and

in

our

neighborhoods

and

among

the

nations

who

are

asking

this

very

same

question

how

can

I

understand

unless

someone

guides

me

Paul

exhorts

Timothy

in

2nd

Timothy

2

15

to

be

a

worker

who

rightly

handles

the

word

of

the

truth

it's

possible

to

handle

the

scriptures

wrongly

so

it's

important

that we

are

trained

to

handle

them

rightly

this

is

why

we

have

been

offering

bible

interpretation

help

to our

men's

and women's

ministries

this

is

why

we

are

starting

up

the

preaching

cohort

that can

be

used

to

train

up

and

assess

men

with

pastoral

aspirations

that can

be

called

potentially

to

formal

teaching

ministry

some

of you

are

very

clearly

gifted

to

church

sorry

gifted

to

teach

hopefully

you're

all gifted

to

church

as well

huh

even

if

you

do

not

have

a

pronounced

teaching

gift

there

will

be

times

you

will

be

called

upon

to

teach

and

this

could

be

formal

or

informal

when

you're

unbelieving

family

or

friend

asks

you

a

question

about

the

Bible

can

you

guide

them

to

Jesus

if

you're

not

able

to

do

so

presently

it's

okay

to

say

I

don't

know

but

then

that

should

make

you

press

into

the

local

church

even

more

so

you

can

learn

how

to

guide

your

unbelieving

friend

so

that

you

might

connect

him

or

her

with

others

who

can

help

and

so

that

you

question

next

time

it's

asked

to

you

in

the

future

some

of

you

are

relatively

new

believers

and

you

might

feel

ill

equipped

in

your

knowledge

of

scriptures

hopefully

this

is

a

great

incentive

for

you

to

delve

more

into

your

study

of

God's

word

with

others

in

the

church

the

passage

that

the

Ethiopian

eunuch

was

struggling

to

understand

was

a

passage

about

the

suffering

servant

in

Isaiah

52

to

53

it's

one

of

the

most

famous

Old

Testament

passages

which

describes

the

Messiah

a

servant

of

the

Lord

who

suffers

unjust

humiliation

and oppression

and

nevertheless

he dies

willingly

for the

sins

of God's

people

so that

they might

be

healed

by his

wounds

and

though

this

servant

was

cut off

from the

earth

as it

says in

that

passage

without

any

descendants

to continue

his

line

he's

eventually

vindicated

and honored

by God

himself

and the

two

specific

verses

that

that

the

eunuch

was

reading

that are

cited

here

in

verses

32

and

33

are

Isaiah

Isaiah 53:7–8

53

verses

7

to

8

please

read

along

with me

verse

32

and

33

it

says

like a

sheep

he was

led

to

the

slaughter

and

like a

lamb

before

his

shearer

is

silent

so

he

opens

not

his

mouth

in

his

humiliation

justice

for his

life

is

taken

away

from

the

earth

the

eunuch

was

evidently

reading

this

out

loud

which

was

the

custom

back

in

those

days

and

it's

no

coincidence

that

he's

reading

this

this

particular

passage

as

Philip

is

running

alongside

his

chariot

he

didn't

understand

whether

what he

was

reading

was

about

prophet

Isaiah

or

about

someone

else

as

he

asks

in

verse

34

and

it

says

in

verse

35

that

Philip

tells

this

eunuch

that

this

prophecy

of

Isaiah

does

not

refer

to

Isaiah

but

to

Jesus

and

there

are

two

important

things

that

these

two

verses

from

Isaiah

53

tell

us

about

Jesus

first

is

his

willing

sacrifice

like

a

sheep

he

was

led

to

the

slaughter

and

like

a

lamb

before

a

shearer

is

silent

so

he

opens

not

his

mouth

a

sheep

is

innocent

and

submissive

and

if

positioned

correctly

it

will

not

resist

or

try

to

escape

even

when

it's

being

sheared