When we come to where we are in the book of Acts, we find that Saul of Tarus was making havoc of the Church, but even in the midst of all the persecution God still had a man that was determined to be faithful to him, a man named Phillip. One that was willing to stand in the gap, willing to go where ever the Lord wanted him to go to tell someone about the Lord Jesus Christ. Lets read our text in Acts 8: 26-40
I want you to notice in verse 27 that the Bible says A MAN had come to Jerusalem for to Worship. Why?
because somewhere along the way he had heard about the TRUE AND LIVING GOD, he had seen how that even though those that were called Christians were persecuted still held on to what they believed, and were even willing to die for what they believed in, and how it made them even more determained to spread the Good News and he went their to worship that True and Living God, you see what he had heard over a period of time only created within him a greater hunger to know more about what was the driving force behind these so call Christians. My friend it is that kind of faith and trust in God that is needed in our Churches today. One that will cause a hunger in those that we come in contact with to seek out that True and Living God.
But I want you to notice something and that is he didn’t find what he was looking for, you see my friend if religion is all that you got it will leave a void an emptyness, and it will never satisfy that inward desire to have a personal relationship with the true and living God. It will never satisfy that longing in your soul to find the peace that passeth all understanding, you will never know the true JOY of serving God if you only have religion, and so when he left Jerusalem he started searching for the answers that had come up in his mind. My friend listen to me isn’t that what is happening in our world today, they are searching for the answers, for peace of mind, the are searching for joy. But I want you to notice with me verses 29-31, the results of this one man’s hunger for the things of God. You see God knows that this ethiopian need someone to show him. Look in verse 31 SOME MAN You see God needs vessels, he needs people who are willing to get involved, people who are willing to give their whole self to God, but you know what I have found, many are not willing to get involved, because they are afraid to they think that God will ask them to do something that they don’t want to do, or they become satisfied with just coming and sitting idlely by. Listen to me before you will ever get involved I believe their are some thing that must be in your life and we can see them right here in Phillips life.
#1 A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP TO GOD- You see the closer you get to God, you began to see just where God’s heart is, it is centered around his creation, you and I. You see the closer you get to God the greater the Blessing are and the greater the Joy is. I firmly believe that a large per centage of Christians have never really fully enjoyed the full joy of their salvation, they have never really enjoyed the rich Blessings of God, now I’m not saying that they have never been blessed, because all of us have been blessed, but have you ever heard how men or woman of God had a dire need and they prayed about it and God did something supernatural to meet that need, you see those kind of Blessings only come when you have a close relationship with God, when your hearts desire is what God’s hearts desire is. Do you know why God created man to begin with, if you study Genesis you find that he wanted to have fellowship with his creation, can you imagine what it was like for God to come in the cool of the day and fellowship with Adam, you can if you will be determined to have a closer walk with him.
#2 MUST BE READY AND COMMITTED TO DO THE WILL OF GOD- Look in v 27 and he arose and went, you see that is committment.
#3 MUST BE AVAILABLE- Phillips desire was to tell others about Jesus and he was ready to forsake all to do that
Now watch their was A MAN that went to jerusalem to worship, and as he left he opened the old testament and began searching for himself the scriptures to find the answers to the questions that had arose in his mind, then some man, Phillip comes along out of nowhere and ask him if he understands what he is reading and his response to phillip in verse 34 was, I don’t understand who is this prophet talking about himself or SOME OTHER MAN, Just in case your interested he was reading over in Is. 53: 1-10, but you know I’m glad he wasn’t talking about himself but he was talking about the GOD-MAN, not a man who thought that he was God, but GOD WHO BECAME MAN, Jn. 1:1 "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God, the same was in the beginning with God." Verse 14 " AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US ANS WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH." Listen he was talking about the center attraction of heaven, the one who was full of Glory, the only begotten son of God But one day he laid aside that glory and came down to this old sin cursed world and took on a body like unto sinful man but without sin, suffered at the hands of ungodly men was beaten scourged spit upon humiliated and died on an old rugged cross, hey Is. says he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, what you saying preacher, I’m saying that God almighty came suffered and died for you and I why Because he loved you and I that much, listen to me he could have called ten thousand angels to come and get him but he didn’t, he stayed on that old rugged cross why that you and I might not have to go to a devil’s hell, Listen to me when Jesus came down to this earth he was despised and rejected of men, listen Is. says he was a man of sorrows, He went through more than you and I will ever realize why that we might one day be able to spend all eternity with him, and when Phillip expounded all this to him he found that peace he was looking for, that void had been filled with the love of God, listen to me he is heavens bread for earths hunger, heavens light for earth’s darkness, heavens wisdom for earth’s folly, heaven’s glory for earth’s shame, heavens love for earth’s hate, heavens justification for earth’s condemnation, he’s my everything is he yours if he is not today he can be, all you need to do is come and bow down at this old fashion altar and ask him to save you if your lost, or to help you have a closer relationship with him if your a christian, the choose is up to you. God wants so much to have a closer relationship with you.
