Empowered Evangelism
Notes
Transcript
Empowered Evangelism
Empowered Evangelism
Intro
So far in the book of Acts we have seen the early church do many miraculous and astounding things.
A resurrected Jesus was witnessed and he instructed the apostles on their mission to the lost world.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Foreign Languages were spoken by uneducated men to the masses and everyone present understood what was being said.
The apostles have withstood trials and false accusations.
They have healed multiple men and women from various diseases and ailments.
Demons have been exorcised.
Lame legs have been restored.
An angel released the captive apostles from their prison cell.
A martyr witnessed Jesus standing to receive him as he was about to breath his last breath.
Forgiveness was extended to persecutors and murders.
Thousands of people have given their life to Christ by abandoning what they thought was true for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus.
The gospel reached those who were the outcasts, the downtrodden, the dredges of society.
The gospel crossed ethnicities, socio-economic, and power boundaries.
The gospel is unstoppable and God’s mission to save those who are far from him is not stopping, will not stop.
And today’s passage is no different.
Today we are going to witness something miraculous.
And as we read through the passage, you may think what is the miracle here.
This isn’t a lame man being made to walk.
This isn’t a blind man being made to see.
This isn’t the HS falling down and causing Jesus followers to speak in tongues of different languages.
The miracle we are going to look at today is not just different from those, I would argue that it is greater than healings, greater than disease cures, greater than exorcisms greater than any type of physical restoration.
The miracle we are going to witness today is the miracle of spiritual renewal.
The miracle of salvation.
The Miracle of Special Revelation about the person and work of JC.
Let’s not loose sight of the fact that the gift of salvation is the greatest miracle to ever occur.
If you are here today and you haven’t experienced the gift of life found in JC this message is for you.
If you are a follower of Jesus, this message should encourage you to tell others about the great love found in JC.
Before we dive into this amazing Scripture let’s go to the Lord with a word of Prayer.
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.
27 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
28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
Listen and Obey
I am not sure if you remember too much about Philip. So we will do a little recap.
He was one of the seven originally chosen to take care of the the Hellenistic Jewish widows in Acts 6.
He was a man of great character. A man of great faithfulness. A man sensitive to the calling of God.
After the murder of Stephen, he was also displaced and went into Samaria to preach the gospel to those who were ethnically, theologically, and racially ostracized from his own people.
He was the first one to preach the gospel to non-Jewish people and he saw many of those in Samaria come to know and believe in Christ.
He had a thriving ministry in Samaria
Then God sent an Angel to him.
Now real quick on angels.
Angels are created beings made by God to do the will of God.
They worship God in Heaven.
They serve people on earth.
People don’t become angels when they die. Angels already exists apart from humanity.
When they come to people on Earth, they are either bringing people a message from God or they are ministering to people on behalf of God.
In this specific instance, an angel was sent to Philip to give him instructions from the Lord.
Philip was instructed to go to a deserted Road.
This road to Gaza was a road that was no longer used by people on their way to Jerusalem.
It was once a prosperous road, but no longer was it the main road.
It was an old highway that has been forgotten b/c of a new interstate.
This journey would have been dangerous and overwhelming.
He would have to travel over 50 miles to get to where he was going.
He would have to try and avoid marauders and bandits.
He would have to do all of this without a car or air conditioning.
The area of Gaza was in Philistine country.
I’m not sure if you know about the history of the Israelites and the Philistines, but it isn’t a pretty one.
The Israelites and the Philistines were constantly at each other’s throats during the OT times.
There were battles, sieges, and uprisings that took place.
One story you may be familiar with is David and Goliath.
Goliath was a Philistine.
All in all, the Philistines were enemies of God and his people.
No self-respecting Jew would find themselves in or around philistine country.
But Philip is not any ordinary Jewish Man. He is a man that Trusts God.
He listens and obeys.
He would have to do all of this and simply trust that God is doing something.
What he is doing Philip doesn’t know, but he is obediently going to go.
He is sensitive to the spirit. He is trusting the Lord. He is ready to go.
Now let’s contrast this story for just a minute with another person of the bible, Jonah.
In the OT, Jonah was a prophet that was called by God to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.
God speaks to Jonah and commands him to go and tell them to repent and turn toward God.
Jonah, unlike Philip, doesn’t listen he runs the complete opposite direction.
He flees from God’s command and ends up in a storm, thrown overboard on a ship, and ends up in the belly of a big fish for 3 days.
He eventually submits to God’s calling and tells the Ninevites to repent and when they do, he pouts b/c he believes that they don’t deserve the grace and mercy of God.
Philip cannot be any more different from Jonah. Philip should be looked up to. He should be imitated in his trust and obedience toward God.
He listens and obeys. And through his obedience we see a person come to know the richness of Jesus and his love for people.
You have heard me say it many times before, God cares about people. God loves people. God sees and wants relationships with people.
Just like God cares about people, we should care about people.
People are valuable because God sees them as valuable.
And even though Philip isn’t sure what is going to happen.
Even though the journey may be dangerous.
Even though it sounds crazy Philip rose and went. (v. 27)
When he arrived, he met a man, The Ethiopian Eunuch.
This is not the same Ethiopia that we know today.
Basically, Ethiopia was a term used to describe all that was south of Egypt.
Ethiopia for the Romans and the Jewish people was the ends of the earth.
The is the first picture of Acts 1:8 coming into fruition.
This Ethiopian was a man interested in finding God. Not just any God the God of the scriptures. Yahweh. The God of the Bible.
He was a wealthy and trusted man within the King and Queens Court.
He was in charge of the finances and treasure.
He came to Jerusalem to worship.
It’s possible that he was a proselyte, that he had convictions that the God of the Jews was the true God.
It is also possible that he was just searching for the truth and he wanted to see what this God looked like.
Either Way God saw him on his journey and he sent Philip to answer his questions.
Regardless of where this Ethiopian was in his belief about God, a few things are for certain.
This Journey would have cost a lot of time and energy to make.
Jerusalem is roughly 1500 miles from Ethiopia
From Louise, TX. To Los Angeles, CA
He couldn’t actually enter into the temple to worship
He was a Gentile. He could not enter into the temple b/c he was not of Jewish descent or a complete Jewish Convert.
The fact that he was a Eunuch also barred him from Worshiping in the Temple
1 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
But he wanted to go and worship God anyway.
Regardless of his access, he was a seeker of truth. He was after the God of the Bible and God would not disappoint him.
God draws all types of people to himself.
We also know that he was of great wealth b/c he actually had a scroll of Isaiah.
We are so spoiled in the time that we live that we forget that not everyone lived at a time when books were readily available.
This scroll would have been transcribed by hand on valuable paper.
The words would have been written small and close together with every centimeter of the the paper covered with words.
That is why he reads it out loud. Because it would have been difficult to read silently.
Just imagine when your kids or grand-kids started to read. They always had to read aloud b/c it takes a type of sophistication to read silently.
Especially if you don’t know the language and the the writing is all squished together.
I know that every time I receive a hand written letter, especially one that is written in cursive, I have to take the time to read at least parts of it out loud just to understand what is being said.
The Ethiopian Eunuch is in his chariot minding his business and then Philip is prompted by God to chase down the Chariot.
For me, one the the most comforting doctrines that Christians have held on to for centuries is the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty.
One way to define God’s Sovereignty is that:
nothing happens without God’s willing it to happen, willing it to happen before it happens, and willing it to happen in the way that it happens.
There are no coincidences. There is no happenstance. There is no Serendipity.
God isn’t a God of flukes, accidents, or chance.
God is orchestrating our lives.
God is in complete control over all that happens.
Nothing takes God by Surprise.
Nothing ever catches God off guard.
If you are watching online or sitting in this worship center you are supposed to be here in this place at this time.
This is not an accident. God has placed you right where you are in order to hear this message.
Keep listening. Stay tuned in. Don’t worry about what else is going on listen to the spirit speaking through the Word of God.
This account of Philip and this Eunuch is a perfect example of that in action.
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 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.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
36 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?”
38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 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.
40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Gospel Message
Philip is prompted by the HS to go and chase down the chariot.
As he catches up to it he hears the Eunuch reading aloud in the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah alone is a special book for both Christians and Jews.
Isaiah has many prophecies about the coming of the Messiah.
This excerpt is taken from Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53 is one of the four Servant Songs found in the book of Isaiah that are directly attributed to Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection.
This specific passage is written of in the NT some 85 times.
I could preach a sermon alone on the passage that is spoken about here, but I will save that for another time.
The Eunuch asks Philip an important question. A question everyone should ask at one point in their life.
A question at the heart of the Scriptures.
A question that will determine what we do with the information we receive from the Bible and our experiences.
He essentially asks who are these Scriptures about.
He already accepted the fact that these were God’s Words.
He already was searching for truth.
He already was curious about God and his plan.
But who do the Scriptures speak of.
“Jesus is the center of the Scriptures. Everything from the OT points forward to him; everything in the NT proceeds forth from him.” —John Broadus
The entirety of the Scriptures point to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
The entire story of the bible points us to the Cross of Christ.
The Bible isn’t a book on how to be a good and moral person.
The Bible isn’t a book about how we can appease God.
The Bible isn’t a book about how to get to heaven.
The Bible isn’t a manual for prosperity.
The Bible isn’t a science book.
The Bible isn’t a political tool.
The Bible isn’t a reason to justify sin and hatred.
The Bible isn’t merely a guide on how to avoid hell.
The Bible is a book that points us to the reality of God coming to save humanity.
The Bible is our God given revelation of how God rescues us from our sin and accepts us into his family.
The point of the Bible is to reveal to us the person and Work of Jesus Christ.
I don’t care what you have heard before about the way to use, read, or study the bible.
If you aren’t finding Christ on Every Page you aren’t reading it correctly.
The whole of the bible talks about and points to him our suffering savior who provides life.
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
I don’t want to presume upon anyone who is listening today.
I don’t want to assume that you have heard the gospel message.
I don’t want to assume that you know and worship this Jesus that is presented in the Bible.
So with those assumptions set aside, I want to make sure that today you here a presentation of the gospel that is not muddled or obscure.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ begins in Genesis.
God created the universe. Heaven and Earth. Plants, animals, stars, seas, planets, mankind, Everything.
This creation took place in a perfect environment free from pain, from hurt, from tears, free from all that ails humanity as we know it today.
Until one day, the pinnacle of God’s creation, man, went and messed everything up.
Instead of Trusting in God’s goodness our first mother and father, Adam and Eve, chose to trust themselves.
They decided that they wanted what God had. They were deceived into believing that God was holding back from them. That God wasn’t as good as he said he was.
They were convinced that they could do a better job at providing for themselves, at making up their own rules, at living their own lives rather than living in God’s grace and presence.
So they rebelled and that rebellion caused a colossal collapse of astronomical proportions.
Rebellion, distrust, and disobedience brought sin into the world.
Because of their rebellion, God removed Adam and Eve from his perfect and holy presence.
God cannot stand to be in the company of sin.
What is Sin?
Sin is anything that we think, say, or do that runs against God’s commands.
We are all stained by Sin. We are all tainted by sin. We are all influenced by sin.
Because of our sinfulness and rebellion we deserve the full wrath of God.
We deserve to be separated from God.
We deserve to be condemned by God.
We deserve death, pain, heartache, tears.
We don’t deserve any grace or any mercy...
But he made a promise to both Adam and Eve. That Promise was that one day sin and death would be defeated. That he would send a son to destroy sin and allow people into his presence one again.
That one day his wrath would be satisfied.
That people could once again walk in his presence.
That people could once again have a full and meaningful relationship with the king of the universe.
He began this mission with a man named Abraham and his wife Sarah.
They were the mother and father of the Israelites, the Jewish People.
Eventually, the Jewish Men and Women found themselves enslaved in Egypt, but God sent them a deliverer.
Moses came and through miraculous signs and wonders led God’s People on a Journey to the Promised Land.
Along the way, God revealed to the Israelites a list of Commands that should be obeyed if they wanted to continue to live in his blessing.
Along with the 10 commandments another 600+ commands were given to teach the Israelites how to rightly worship God.
God promised them that if they lived according to his instructions he would continue to bless them, but if they didn’t there would be consequences.
They all failed. They all sinned. They all came up short.
But God still kept his Promises.
And He continued to make more promises.
Another promise for a Savior was given to King David.
One of his descendents would be the Messiah that Came to restore all that was broken.
That he would come and make all things right, all things new, that he would demonstrate how to rightly worship God.
But they had to continue to wait.
Prophets wrote about this Savior’s coming.
Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.
All the while the people waited in expectation.
Waited with bated breath.
Waited for God to send this deliverer.
This Savior. The one who would reconcile and rejoin humanity’s and divinity’s relationship.
This savior was born as a baby in a manger.
He came as a baby the perfect human and perfectly divine.
100% God 100% Man
This baby was Jesus.
He lived a life of complete perfection.
He accomplished what we couldn’t.
He held up and held onto all the laws.
He perfectly obeyed and did the will of God.
He was without blemish. He was without spot. He was the perfect, holy, Son of God.
His perfection and mission upset a great many people.
He was despised and rejected by men.
He was hated for the truth that he taught.
He was hated for the love that he showed.
He was hated b/c of his devotion to people and God.
He was mocked. He was beaten, flogged, spit on, and ridiculed
He was silent. Like a lamb before its shearer.
He was humiliated.
A crown of thorns twisted and placed upon his head.
Then, he was Crucified.
Hung on a cross for all to see. Nails pierced his hands and feet.
He died. He died a horrible torturous death.
A death by suffocation. A death aided by the immense blood loss from the beatings.
A death that you and I deserve.
But worse than the torture.
Worse than the loss of breath.
Worse than the beatings.
He experienced the full wrath of God that was deserved by each one of us.
This perfect and innocent man. This holy and perfect God did something amazing.
He took on our sin.
He put on our brokenness upon himself and satisfied the wrath of God.
He stood in our place.
He substituted himself for us. He atoned for and paid the debt that we owed.
He cried out “IT IS FINISHED” and breathed his Last.
He was placed in a tomb. He was buried. He was laid to rest. after this brutal death.
It should of been you and I enduring this wrathful and horrendous death.
But God offers us a solution through Jesus Christ.
The Promise made in the Garden was fulfilled on the Cross.
You see, Jesus Death happened on a Friday. In fact, this past Friday is a celebration of the day he was crucified. It is called Good Friday.
All that blood was shed, that death occured, and Jesus breathed his last, but that day is called good.
Why is that day Good?
B/c Jesus’ horrendous death isn’t the end of the story.
Today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Resurrection.
Today we celebrate b/c JC isn’t in the tomb anymore.
He rose from the dead. He was witnessed by 500 people to be alive after his death.
He appeared to those who loved him, who cared for him, who now Worship him.
He now reigns at the right hand of God the father.
He is waiting to come back and get his people.
He is waiting to restore creation back to its perfect order.
He is waiting to wipe away all the tears, all the pain, all the heartache that Sin brought into the world.
The truth is if you haven’t submitted your life to Christ. If you aren’t earnestly and honestly seeking his face death is coming for you.
Not just physical death, but an eternal death separated from the goodness and grace of God.
You only get one chance to get this right.
You have a choice to make while you live on this earth: to follow Christ or to Reject him.
If you follow him, you will receive the gift of life eternal. You will one day be raised in a resurrection much like the one Jesus experienced.
But if you reject him you are condemned to spend eternity apart from God.
That is the gospel message.
There is a way out of your sinfulness. There is a way out of your condemnation.
There is a way to get to the God of the universe. That Way is the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
You can’t get to God by being good and moral.
You will never be good enough or moral enough.
You can’t get to God by following religious rules and regulations.
You can’t get to God by voting the right way.
You can’t get to God by any other path than the path that Jesus paved.
You will never be able to measure up to God’s standard. Because God’s standard is perfection and I can assure you that you have already messed up. You have already missed the mark of perfection.
But Jesus didn’t. He was perfect, He was sinless, He is Risen.
He is inviting you to give your life to him. To accept the Gift of Grace and Mercy.
You Don’t have to clean up to come to Jesus.
Come just as you are. Hear the Saviors call. Sin has left a crimson stain. He washes it white as snow.
After you submit to Jesus, it is time to respond like the Eunuch in our story today.
Be baptized. Baptism follows belief. Baptism is an exclamation to the world that I am now a follower of Jesus.
That I have given my life to the one that Saves.
It is the first act of obedience that as Christians we are called to and get to partake in.
If you haven’t been baptized, I would love to speak with you.
Whether you have been a Christian for a long time or you have just given your life to Christ Baptism is a special and public profession of your Faith in JC.
Are you ready to submit your life to Jesus?
Are you ready to answer the call of salvation?
Are you ready to be made whole and washed clean of your sinfulness?
Respond to Jesus. Follow After Jesus.
Listen to the message.
You are wretched. You are wicked. You cannot appease God.
But Jesus did. And he wants you to be with him.
We are going to have a time of the LS.
The LS is for Christians and only for Christians. If you are here and you are a follower of Jesus please take the bread and cup as the ushers bring them around.
If you aren’t a follower of Jesus please let the plate pass by you. I want you to take this time and reflect on the grace that could be had if you submitted your life to Him.
Give your life to Jesus. It’s much better than this reminder of what JC did for us.
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,
28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”