The Sovereignty of God in Salvation

If you want to make a name for yourself, make good money, have influence, get power,

you don't move to Flesherton, Ontario, or Dawson, B.C.

You don't move to Chibougamou, Quebec.

You move to Vancouver, or to Toronto, or to Ottawa, or to Montreal.

If you're really ambitious, you move to New York City.

That is the strategy to get big and powerful, and to get money, to get influence, to make a name for yourself.

And it would seem that the early church, in wanting to see the gospel spread, would employ such a strategy.

And in some cases, they certainly do.

But, we come upon a section in Acts chapter 8, where conventional wisdom and best practices kind of go out the window.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

And we see that God, in His sovereignty, will save who He wants to save, how He wants to save them,

and He will grow His church any which way He wants.

God, in Christ, and in Him alone, will build His church.

We look this morning at Philip, the second part of chapter 8, where Philip leaves Samaria.

He meets this Ethiopian eunuch, this official in the court of Candace.

And we gather some very important principles and truths about the gospel, but more importantly, about Christ.

Next, we'll look at three points.

I was talking to Christine.

This is not about this sermon.

But I talked to Christine.

I'm like, listen, I do a lot of three-point sermons.

And, I mean, I wasn't trying to convince her.

She wasn't complaining to me at all about it.

But it's a simple way to break up the text in a way that is digestible.

95% of us think in categories in this kind of way.

So if you're just like another three-pointer, yeah, another three-pointer.

But listen up.

Here are the three points.

The first point.

Christ will rescue using the obedience of His people.

This is how Christ grows His church.

Christ will save through His Spirit and by His Word.

So He builds His church.

And Christ will restore and redeem, not in part, but in whole.

So let's look right off the bat.

Christ will rescue who He wants using the obedience of His people.

Philip, if you remember from chapter 8, the first part of it, is enjoying great success in Samaria.

The crowds that were gathered around this character named Simon the Magician,

who deceived the people, so much so that they elevated Him to divine status.

They called Him the Great One.

Now, through the proclamation of the Gospel, are embracing Christ as the Great One.

Many were baptized.

If you remember last year, I talked about a thousand-year rift between the Jewish people

and the Samaritan people were repaired and restored.

And that the words of Christ in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

that the church would spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria,

was being fulfilled.

It was a remarkable, remarkable time.

And just like that,

Philip is commanded to go to a desert road in the middle of the day,

the hot of the day,

without explanation.

That bit about going there in the hot of the day,

we read in verse 26,

Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

Saying go down to the south is definitely to go down to the literal south,

but in the original language,

it is a turn of phrase that also means at the height of the day,

the hottest it would be.

So,

Philip leaves Samaria,

where there is a boom and revival happening.

People are coming to faith.

Words of Christ are being fulfilled.

Centuries,

millennia-long issues

and animosity are being restored.

It seems like that would be the place to stay

and then strategically leverage for whatever was going to happen next.

But to leave Samaria to go to a desert road in the heat of the day

seems unbelievably non-strategic

and defies conventional wisdom.

But it was an act of obedience.

And Philip obeyed.

Sometimes we are told the reason along with the command that God gives us.

We read in scripture things to flee from

or we feel the Holy Spirit leading us to give or to stand tall

or to make very clear decisions for his glory.

And we know the reason why.

We're given the command.

We're explained in a sense either through scripture

or just the Holy Spirit acting upon our intuition.

If we do this,

this is what will happen.

This is why I'm doing it.

We're given answers.

That makes obedience quite easy in some ways.

I mean, obedience is not easy,

but it makes it easier.

However,

sometimes,

and I'd say more often than not,

we are called to obey God

and he doesn't necessarily give us the reason

or does he explain what will happen to us,

what the consequences will be.

He just calls us to obey.

We are simply assured that as we seek to obey Christ,

by his spirit,

we will be provided for in the areas of our need.

But how that will happen,

when that will happen,

is not necessarily explained to us.

It makes obedience very difficult.

I got permission from Christine

to share this story.

Before we were married,

Christine was on a bit of a fast track

in a political job.

She worked for the Minister of International Trade

and she was being considered

to be the Director of Policy.

Now, she never gave me permission

to tell you about that part,

but I'm happy to sing my wife's praises.

She was doing pretty well

and a few months in,

she felt the call to ministry

and potentially lifelong ministry

and had no idea

if this was legit from the Lord

or if this was just something

that she was potentially feeling at the time.

and in an act of obedience

through lots of prayer,

made the very career-altering decision

to quit

before the decision was made

about elevating her to Director of Policy.

And she worked some jobs

for about six months

and then she decided to go to France

for a year

to work with a missionary couple

in a small, dinky town

that didn't even have a bakery,

a French town without a bakery.

An hour north of Paris

called Le Deluge,

literally the flood.

Lovely couple

and she was going to stay there for a year

to see if she was called to ministry.

Now, I kind of ruined that in one way

and didn't ruin it in the other

because we started dating

and she never stayed in France,

but that's a part of our story

and that's another story.

But Christine made a decision

to follow the Lord,

to obey the Lord,

had no idea what would result

and at the time,

it cost her very much.

Obedience isn't easy.

It can be very scary.

It can be something that

causes us to have sleepless nights,

but it is

Christ's will for us to obey him.

And this is what we see here.

Philip obeys Christ

and he does not know

what will come of it.

Again,

I mean,

put yourself in his shoes.

You are seeing

some serious success

in what you're called to

and then you're called away from it,

but not to another city center

where you could,

again,

leverage the successes here,

over there.

Instead,

you're called to a desert road

in the heat of the day.

The heat of the day here

is very hot in the summer.

In the desert,

in the Middle East,

it is unbearable.

And that is what Philip is called to.

It doesn't make sense.

Meanwhile,

unbeknownst to Philip,

Christ is at work

in this man's heart,

this Ethiopian eunuch,

this official,

this high-ranking official

in the court of Canis,

who's essentially

the effectual leader

of all of Ethiopia

and the kingdom

that stretches from,

can't think of maybe

modern-day Ethiopia,

but it's stretching

from the south of Egypt,

from Aswan,

which is on the Nile,

all the way,

even past Khartoum

in what is today Sudan.

It's a huge area.

And God is already at work

in this man's life.

The narrative continues.

If you follow with me,

verse 27.

And Philip arose and went.

You see that obedience right there.

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?

I'll just pause there.

This is no peasant farmer.

This is this high-ranking official.

Like I mentioned,

the whole stretch of land

from essentially southern Egypt

to past Khartoum in Sudan.

He's an incredibly influential

and trustworthy person

in Candace's kingdom.

He has the ear of the queen.

It's a bit of a big deal.

He also seems to be a God-fear

with a high regard for scripture.

He is coming back from Jerusalem.

I measured out

how long it would take

to drive,

I mean to drive,

how long the journey would be

rather from Khartoum

all the way to Jerusalem.

It would be over 3,000 kilometers

this guy traveled

to worship the Lord in Jerusalem.

As it turns out,

he is a very strategic person

after all

for the spread of the gospel.

His heart is ready

to hear God's word.

He has influence in Ethiopia

and he is reading

the scriptures

as Philip shows up.

And really we see here

not chance,

but God's sovereignty at work.

The omniscience of the triune God

who knows the beginning

from the end.

Only he knows

how all of these decisions

will reverberate.

He knows that Philip's obedience

will result in him

meeting this Ethiopian eunuch

on a road

that nobody should really be on

at that time of day.

Only God is sovereign over all.

We would do well, friends,

with not telling God

what will work

and what won't work.

That doesn't mean

we can't voice our fears

and our apprehensions

when we are praying to him

if he is leading us.

But let us not be people

to underestimate

the Almighty God,

how he sets things up,

how he works history,

how he orchestrates

men and women.

Let us not tell God

what is and what is not strategic.

What we see here

is a very, very strategic move.

Not in human standards,

but in God's standards.

So if we return back to the text,

we see the official

in his chariot,

which would almost certainly be

some kind of caravan,

some covered wagon,

either pulled by horses

or an ox.

It would be quite the group

of people traveling together.

He would have quite the entourage.

And Philip, in a sense,

by obeying God,

also risks much

because the people,

if you remember the story

of the Good Samaritan,

such roads are littered

with thieves and killers.

And what's to say

that Philip wouldn't be mistaken

as one?

He's just by himself

and he just shows up.

Could he be mistaken

for a killer?

But instead, he obeys

and he runs up

to this official

obeying the Lord.

And what does he see?

He sees him reading

the scriptures.

And he asks a very simple

yet very profound question

in verse 30.

Do you understand

what you are reading?

And this leads us

to our second point,

that Christ will save

through his spirit,

by his word.

So look with me,

verses 30 to 35.

Actually,

verse 30 to 33 here.

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 the official

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 its 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.

The scripture passage

is found in Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:7

verses 7 and 8.

And it's the fourth

and final servant song

in Isaiah.

I mentioned this

over Christmas.

I forget which sermon

but Isaiah has these

four servant songs

they're called.

And in each song

there's this mysterious

figure who

on one hand

seems to represent

Israel,

God's people

but on the other hand

seems to

have the description

more of God.

He does some

wonderful things

and it comes to a climax

in Isaiah 53

where this servant

suffers by

he suffers on behalf

of other people

so that other people

would enjoy

the riches

and blessings

of covenant relationship

with God.

And this is what

this Ethiopian

official,

this Ethiopian eunuch

is reading.

Specifically

he's reading

verses 7 and 8

like I mentioned

and in verse

33 which is

verse 8

of Isaiah

53

it reads this,

in his humiliation

justice was denied him

who can describe

his generation

for his life

is taken away

from the earth.

And it describes

this suffering servant

who

before

in a sense

he can

produce offspring

and have a legacy

he is cut off.

And we see

a similarity

with this suffering servant

being identified

with somebody

that would have

in a sense

no legacy

of his own.

Somebody who might

be a eunuch.

Somebody who

cannot have

his own natural

children.

You see

the Ethiopian

official

is searching

the scriptures

for Christ

but Christ

is searching

him out.

Is pursuing

him.

Is looking

for him

so to speak.

So he reads

the scriptures

but he doesn't

understand them.

He needs them

expounded

and explained.

The explanation

of God's word

is an explanation

of God's will

and helping us

to understand

God's character

and this is

accomplished

by God's

Holy Spirit

and also

teachers in the church

and this is why

we are committed

as a church

to going through

scripture

to not have

me come up

and spout off

whatever I've read

this week

or whatever

hobby horse

I'm currently on

but rather

proclaiming

heralding

sharing God's

word

and doing

my best

to explain it

and trusting

that God

is going to

bless that.

God reveals

himself through

his word.

Notice that

the Ethiopian

isn't just

merely reading

the word of

God though

he is humble

and he is

submissive in

heart

and what does

he say?

How can I

understand

unless somebody

guides me?

and then he

invites Philip

to explain

to him

what the

scriptures say.

Listen,

you meet

somebody who

has a lot

of prestige,

a very important

person.

They don't invite

random people

to explain

to them

truth.

You don't

see that

kind of

person invite

somebody in

to explain

anything.

There's a

gap, so to

speak,

between Philip

and the

Ethiopian

official.

But this

Ethiopian

official,

he is hungry

to hear

God's word,

to know

God's touch

and he is

humble enough

to invite

Philip in

to submit

to his

teaching.

We see here

also that

humility is the

true currency

of the church.

God opposes

the proud

but gives

grace to

the humble.

Humility allows

us to have

the right

posture before

Almighty God

so that we

may hear,

mark, learn,

and inwardly

digest God's

word.

That's from

the collect

of the second

Sunday in

Advent.

It's a

beautiful,

very concise

way that we

ought to

approach the

scriptures.

But we can

approach the

scriptures if

we're not

humble.

We're not

asking God

to humble

us, help

us, give

us ears to

hear.

We must ask

questions of the

text and of

God and not be

afraid to voice

our lack of

understanding and

objections.

It helps not

for us to

read through

scripture day

in and day

out or Sunday

in and Sunday

out and close

the Bible and

not seek to

understand.

Children can

understand God's

word.

It is simple in

that way but it

requires for us to

use our gray

matter, to ask

questions, to

wrestle through

God's word.

It's what we're

seeing here with

Ethiopian eunuch.

Verse 34, the

eunuch asks

questions of the

text after we

read Isaiah 53,

7 and 8.

The eunuch says

to Philip in

verse 34,

About whom, I

ask you, does

the prophet say

this?

About himself or

about someone

else?

Then Philip

opened his

mouth and

beginning with

the scripture, he

told him the

good news about

Jesus.

The careful

reading of

scripture makes

way for

salvation.

Here we see

something very

similar to what

Christ did on

the road to

Emmaus, the

risen Christ.

He is disguised,

he meets the

two disciples as

they are walking

and he begins,

it says, with

Moses and the

prophets to

explain about how

all the scriptures

concern him.

And this is what

we are seeing

here, the

explanation of

the scriptures.

And we see

also that Christ

here is the

key to

understanding

everything.

The gospel of

Christ, it

helps us to

understand the

true purpose of

creation, the

patriarchs, the

exodus, the

deliverance, the

conquering of

Canaan, the

judges, the

kings, the

exile, everything

in the Old

Testament.

The key to

truly understanding

it is Christ.

Tim Keller, who

has gone to be

with the Lord, he

is the pastor of a

Presbyterian church in

New York City, he

talked about how

Christ, reading the

New Testament and

seeing Christ in

the New Testament

and then re-reading

the Old Testament

is like watching the

sixth sense for the

second time.

If you know the

movie, there's a

ton of Easter eggs

in the movie the

first time you watch

it, the second time

you watch it, ah,

that's what this

means.

And anyways, it

opens your eyes to

this whole other

story that is being

played out.

God's word contains

life because it

testifies to the

life giver, which

is Christ Jesus.

And friends, this

Jesus, he saves by

his spirit through his

word, but he also

restores us not in

part, but in whole.

And this leads to the

third and final point.

Look with me, verses

36 to the end.

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 Philip 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 in Azotus,

this modern day

Ashdod in the

Israel.

And as he passed

through, he preached

the gospel to all

the towns as he went

north until he came

to Caesarea.

This official has been

searching for God.

And he's been making a

long and expensive

pilgrimage to

Jerusalem.

And maybe it's his

first time.

Maybe he's been making

it for years.

It's arduous.

It's very expensive.

And because he is a

eunuch, the best he can

do when he goes to the

temple is he can go to

the court of the

Gentiles.

If I had a picture of

the second temple,

there are various courts

or malls that people can

go in but go no further.

So if you are a non-Jew,

you can go to the court of

the Gentiles, but you can't

go in any farther.

If you're a Jewish woman,

you can go even farther

than that, but you can't go

as far as Jewish men.

And then if you're a

priest, you can go into

the holy place.

If you're a high priest,

you go to the holy of

holies.

There's degrees here.

At most, at most, even if

he was allowed to go into

the court of Gentiles, that

would be it for him.

He didn't have full

communion, in a sense, with

God, worshipping with

God's people.

Deuteronomy chapter 23,

Deuteronomy 23:1

verse 1 says,

It's speaking of eunuchs,

and there is more to say

about that, and maybe it'll

hit the Sunday follow-up on

Wednesday when I send it

out.

But in short, eunuchs were

barred from fellowship among

God's people.

He traveled over 3,000

kilometers to worship at the

outer gate.

But he did it because he was

desperate for God.

There is a hunger in this

man where he wants to touch

God, to know God.

With Philip on that desert

road in the hot of the day,

God comes to him.

The man that could only go to

the gate or the court of the

Gentiles, who couldn't ever

even hope in his wildest

imaginations to go to the

holy of holies, where

symbolically, but also in a

very real way, the presence

of God resided, comes to

faith, and the Holy Spirit

makes his dwelling within him

so that he himself becomes the

holy of holies, the very place

where the presence of God

dwells.

It's a remarkable thing to

consider that this man, who

has no business, in a sense,

being in God's presence,

becomes the very temple of God

himself.

He wanted to touch God.

He wanted to know God.

Well, God wanted to touch him

and know him.

And he is baptized.

And he comes into this covenant

relationship with God.

God answers his prayers, and it

is an unbelievably beautiful

picture of how God redeems and

restores those that are far away

and broken.

Not only that, but this man, as I

mentioned before, he could have no

children.

That's why eunuchs were, in a

sense, valued in the ancient

world, because there was no chance

that they could impregnate anybody,

that they had no, in a sense, a

legacy of their own so that they

could be trusted, I guess, to a

higher degree than other people who

weren't eunuchs.

He had no legacy of his own.

And yet, he becomes the very vessel

by which the gospel would then

travel to Ethiopia.

Irenaeus, in the second century,

says that this Ethiopian eunuch,

apparently his name was Simon Bacchus,

he would go back to Ethiopia and

spread the gospel, and that's how it

took root.

He becomes, this man who cannot have

any children himself, becomes the

spiritual father of an entire

segment of the church.

One that still exists to this day.

We also see that it's a fulfillment

of Isaiah chapter 56, and this is

Isaiah 56 · chapter mention

what it says in verse 3, continuing

on to verse 8.

Let not the foreigner, clearly Simon

Bacchus, the Ethiopian eunuch, he's a

foreigner.

Let not the foreigner who has joined

himself to the Lord say, the Lord

will surely separate me from his

people.

And not let the eunuch say, behold, I

am a dry tree.

For thus says the Lord, to the eunuch

who keeps my Sabbaths, who choose the

things that please me and hold fast my

covenant, I will give him my house, and

within my walls a monument and a name,

better than sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off.

That's legacy right there.

And the foreigner who joins themselves

to the Lord, to minister to him, to

love the name of the Lord and to be his

servants.

Everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does

not profane it and holds fast my

covenant, these I will bring to my

holy mountain and make them joyful in

my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their

sacrifices will be accepted on my

altar.

For my house shall be called the house

of prayer for all peoples.

The Lord God who gathers the outcasts

of Israel declares, I will gather yet

others to him besides those already

gathered.

Beautiful picture of how very far God's

arm of redemption can reach.

The Lord saves and restores not in part

but in whole.

In ways far greater than we could ever

hope or ever imagine.

An outcast man with a disfigured body,

whether it was by his own hand or by

someone else's, it's not told to us.

However, he's no longer forever outcast.

He is not forever somebody without a

legacy, but instead finds hope and meaning

and purpose in the gospel of Christ.

His life is not just restored, but it is

a living testimony to the life-giving

spirit of Christ Jesus himself.

It's not just that this damaged man,

this broken man, this in a sense

mutilated man is just given a few

scraps, but he is restored and is used

in ways that he could never hope that

he could be used for.

He is given such a wonderful gift.

Earlier this week, I watched a series

and it's a longer story to it,

a longer explanation, but I'll try to

sum it up here.

It had a remarkable scene in it.

In it, a Japanese father, he returns

home and after he returns home,

it's very clear that his relationship

with his son is severed, it's broken,

it's destroyed.

In this whole severed, broken relationship,

a mug is destroyed and this mug,

in a sense, represents their relationship

and it's in pieces, it's shattered.

So we aren't given much in the way

of background, but this is very clear

what the mug represents.

And the father, in a moment of clarity,

he begins repairing the item, this mug,

and presents it to his son as a picture

of contrition and restoration.

And it turns out, what he is doing

is not just a nice prop that the writers

threw in the narrative,

but it's a Japanese practice called kintsugi.

And this practice is where you take a broken item,

a broken vessel, a pot, something ceramic

or made of, not necessarily a costly item,

but what you do is you repair it with plaster

and powdered silver or gold or platinum

so that the cracks aren't hidden

but are accentuated with precious metal.

And you can look it up if you go home this afternoon.

Kintsugi dishes are stunning.

They're gorgeous.

And what is remarkable is that the item is repaired

with the cracks not hidden

but accentuated with something both beautiful and costly.

The piece ceases to be an object of failure

but of restoration and beauty.

And it's not common anymore,

but it is used for holding something beautiful

or you bring it out when there's a special time or occasion.

So the healing of Christ is similar to this kintsugi

for it doesn't discard the broken vessel

nor does it pretend that there wasn't real pain or brokenness.

Instead, it is put back together by Christ

infused with his very spirit,

his very costly self on the cross.

This eunuch is going to remain a eunuch his whole life

but now he is a vessel used by God

to accomplish God's will.

His legacy is forever.

It is a wonderful, beautiful picture of God's redemption.

Some of us have gone through a lot of brokenness

and some here that I've had the privilege

to counsel or talk with,

I have sometimes said,

and this is a confession, a true confession,

that's the Lord brings healing

but you know what?

Likely we'll have to limp into eternity.

And on one hand, that's true.

But on the other hand,

it surely downplays the power and healing of Christ.

Christ heals to wholeness, not in part.

And ultimately, yes,

we will not be made completely whole in this life

but in the life to come.

But in this life,

he offers healing and restoration.

And he doesn't throw a scrap.

So for some of us who have gone through stuff,

it is almost impossible to think how God can restore it

and yet he can.

And he'll infuse you with his very self

so you become a vessel of great glory,

not of your own but of his.

This is great hope for us, of course,

but it is especially hope for some of our family

or friends or people we know

who struggle through deep pain of gender confusion

who, God forbid, might have

or will go through some kind of medical procedure

that will be irreversible.

And almost certainly,

there will be regret that follows

in the months and years to come.

But what this story tells us

and what the gospel tells us

that in Christ,

he will not just repair a little bit

but he can use that life

to glorify him in ways

that you just would never have

if you hadn't gone through the brokenness

to where he then puts you together

and then you shine for him.

Great, great, great redemption

and glory that God will do

through people that have gone through

some terrible, terrible medical procedures.

Christ is in the business, friends,

of restoration and redemption.

No situation is so damaged

that it cannot be repaired.

No person is so far gone

that he cannot be redeemed.

No damage so severe

that Christ cannot recover

and make beautiful.

I'll close with this.

Christ is cut off

so that we can be grafted in.

He is crushed

so that we can be raised up again.

He is shamed and punished

so that we can go free.

And friends, the freedom that he brings,

again, it's not in part

but it's in whole.

And it is a freedom

that you will not be able to achieve

in this life apart from him

but only through him.

I'll close with this.

What immediately follows

the servant song of Isaiah 53

is God's eternal covenant of peace

that he makes to all those

that are called

and saved

and respond to him.

Hear these words of hope

in Isaiah 54

Isaiah 54:1–5

verses 1 to 5.

Sing, O barren one

who did not bear.

Break forth into singing

and cry aloud,

you who have not been in labor.

For the children of the desolate one

will be more than the children of her

who is married,

says the Lord.

Lord,

enlarge the place of your tent

and let the curtains of your habitations

be stretched out.

Do not hold back.

Lengthen your cords.

Strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread abroad

to the right and to the left

and your offspring

will possess the nations

and will hope

and will people

and will people

and desolate cities.

Fear not

for you will not be ashamed.

Be not confounded

for you will not be disgraced.

For you will forget

the shame of your youth

and the reproach

of your widowhood.

You will remember no more

for your maker

is your husband.

The Lord of hosts

is his name

and the Holy One of Israel

is your Redeemer.

The God of the whole world

he is called.

Let us pray.

Father in heaven,

we thank you

that no matter what

we could possibly go through

the deepest depths

of hell on earth

that we could go through

is not too far gone

for your redemption.

Not just to bring us up

to a mediocrity

but to repair us.

Infusing us

with your very spirit

so that we shine

and we are vessels

to be used for you

given opportunity

to shine

for your glory.

Lord,

thank you for this

Ethiopian eunuch

and for his legacy.

Thank you so much

that there is a church

in Ethiopia

to this day.

Lord,

we thank you

that

even when we

struggle

to trust

in your word

and we might be

cynical towards

your promise

of healing

that doesn't change

who you are

as the great healer.

Lord,

we thank you.

help us to know you

in greater measures

but more importantly

to know

that you know us

in greater measure.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

If you have children,

now is the time

to sign them out

of Messiah Kids

and we'll quiet our hearts

just for a brief moment

as we enter

into a time

of intercession.

and we'll continue

toρίás

for a long time