Adrian Rogers - Every Christian an Evangelist
Would you take God's precious word and find the Book of Acts and then turn to chapter eight? Every Christian an evangelist: every Christian an evangelist. "Could the pastor be speaking to me today, or is this one of those messages for someone else but not for me"? A sales manager was trying to lift up the vision of some of his sales force, and he went into the meeting, and he took a piece of white poster board about so big that had one black spot in the middle, just a dot, in the middle. And he said, "Let's have a little creativity". He asked the first person, "What do you see there"? He said, "Well, a, a black dot".
The next, "What do you see"? "A dot: a dot: a dot". That's all anyone saw. And he says, "Isn't it strange that all of you saw the black dot: none of you saw the white all around it"? Now I think so many of us see that black dot of self-concern when the Savior said, "Lift up your eyes and look upon the fields, they are white already unto harvest". God has a plan for you, and he wants you to get your eyes off of that self and onto others. And I pray God that this message will be used of God to help you to do that, because, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I want to tell you something, and if I do hurt your feelings, you come up to me and apologize and I'll forgive you. Huh, huh.
Now listen, no matter how faithfully you attend, no matter how generously you give, no matter how circumspectly you walk, no matter how eloquently you may teach, no matter how beautifully you may sing, if you're not endeavoring to bring men, women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ, you're not right with God. Did that hurt your feelings? If you're not endeavoring. I'm not talking here about being successful, I'm talking about your desire, your endeavor. If you're not endeavoring to bring men, women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ, you're not right with God. Why? Because you're guilty of high treason against your king. Jesus has commanded us to go and make disciples. It's not a request, not a suggestion, it is a command.
And so every Christian is to be an evangelist. God did not save you to be a member of Christians anonymous. You are to be bringing others, at least endeavoring to bring others to Jesus Christ. And, folks, 50 years most of us will be gone from here, 25 years a great number of us will be gone, 10 years a great number of us will be gone, next year we'll not all be here. We're going to stand before the Lord. I mean, we're going to report in. I was at the bedside of a dying man, a good man, loved God, a denominational worker. I went to see him because he was dying. I knew he was dying, he knew he was dying. He looked up at me and he said, and he called me pastor.
He said, "Pastor, I am not afraid to die. I've given my heart to Jesus: I've been twice-born: I am saved: I know that I'm going to heaven". But then he teared up and he said, "Pastor, I'm not afraid to die, I am ashamed to die. I know before long I'm going to meet my Lord, and I have not been a soul-winner. I have, I've worked, I, I've been a member of my church, I'm a respected member of the church, I worked, I've served this denomination, I'm supposed to be a leader of other people, but I have not been a soul-winner, and now I'm going to meet my Lord". Think about it. "Must I go in empty-handed? Must I meet my Savior so: without one soul with which to greet him? Must I empty-handed go"? That's not the way you want to meet Jesus. You want to come with rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you, golden grain to lay at the master's feet.
Now the story we have today in the Word of God from acts chapter eight is the story of a man named Philip. I named one of my sons after this man, Joyce and I did. That, our little boy who's in heaven is named Philip after this particular man, because we respect this man so much. Philip was a deacon. He was what we might call the first, missionary. And, Phillip was down in the city up in Samaria preaching the gospel and multitudes were being saved. God was doing incredible things. It was a great, great, campaign. Though he was a deacon, he was practicing what I say today that every Christian is an evangelist and he was an evangelist.
Now not all of us, is going to be evangelists, is going to be preachers. Huh, huh, we can't all be preachers, but we can all be reachers. This man was a preacher and a deacon, and he was being used of God mightily in a crusade, and the Spirit of God came to him. The Bible says an angel: the word angel means a messenger. I don't know what, how God brought this message, was it, was a literal angel or, or whether, God the Holy Spirit spoke through some individual, but a messenger came to him and said, "Hey, Phil, I know we're having a great revival here in Samaria, but I want you to go down to Gaza, down to the desert, and, you'll find out why".
Well, let's pick up the re, the reading here. Look in verse 26, "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Phillip, saying, 'arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert'". That is, get out of the hill country, get out of the mountains, leave the revival and go down there to a barren place. "And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia," now Ethiopia is north Africa, "A man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure". Now this man was the secretary of the treasury: he was a man not just an ordinary man, this was one of the high-ranking officials in the government of Ethiopia, "And had come for to Jerusalem for to worship, and was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet".
Isaiah, I'm reading from the King James version of the scripture, Isaiah the prophet. And, "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, 'go near, and join thyself to this chariot'. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'understandest thou what thou readest'? 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 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. In his humiliation and judgment he was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For his life was taken from the earth'. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, 'i pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or some other man'"?
Now here's the key verse, verse 35, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus". Now we're going to see later on that this Ethiopian, came to Christ, he was saved, and I believe was the instrument to open up all north Africa to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, we have here a story, but we have more than a story. We have a pattern to show you how God can use you, and listen to me: are you listening? God never leaves a fully surrendered and cleansed vessel unused. God never leaves a fully surrendered, cleansed vessel unused. You want to be used? Would you like to be a witness? Would you like to be an evangelist? Would you like to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, bringing your sheaves with you? Would you like to rejoice in this life and, and in the world to come? Would you? I know you would. "I'll say yes, Lord, yes".
So let me lay several things on your heart that will help you if you would do this, and they're going to come right out of this, story. Number one: be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit. Be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit. We've been talking today about following Christ. Now if Christ is leading and you're not listening, then you're in difficulty. You see, from an, human viewpoint, what the Holy Spirit told Philip to do, did not really make a lot of sense. He's in this incredibly wonderful revival in Samaria, and God tells him to leave Samaria and go to Gaza.
Now let me tell you several things, at least three things about, the direction of the Spirit that you need to be sensitive to. You need to understand that God's ways are often unexplained. I mean, God did not say, "Now Philip, I want you to go down there, there's an opportunity on wheels, there's a, a man of great importance that I want you to meet down there". God did not say that to him, he just said go, and it's as if Philip went under sealed orders. Now, I don't mean that you're to go off willy-nilly, here-there, but, are you sensitive enough that if the Holy Spirit of God says to you, "Go", you go?
You see, perfect obedience does not need to know why. When I came to this particular church, very frankly I did not know why, huh. I was in, Florida, pastoring at Cape Kennedy, God was blessing. We were, the church was growing exponentially. I was happy: they loved me: I loved them. I'd only been there for eight years and, the pulpit committee here at Bellevue Baptist Church began to speak to me about coming here. I prayed over it, I fasted, I sought the will of God. I, I had nothing against Memphis, Tennessee: I didn't know much about Memphis. The only thing I knew about Memphis is when I looked at a map it looked like a place that God put to hold the world together, just here, that's just some land there. Memphis, Tennessee. But I could not get out of my spirit the fact that God wanted me to come.
Now looking back over my shoulder I can understand a whole lot more clearly why God wanted me to come than I could looking over the horizon. We don't see the will of God by looking over the horizon: we see the will of God by looking back over, our shoulder and saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord led". I think we could all say that. God's ways are often unexplained and God's ways are often unforeseen. Uh, this, Philip had no idea of knowing what God had for him when he went down there. He did not know what God had for him to do to lead this man, this incredibly important man, to the Lord, Jesus Christ. And who knows, listen, who knows what tremendous opportunities God may have for you in the future. And who knows that next individual you lead to Jesus Christ, who that will be.
You don't know, you don't know what you're doing when you bring somebody to Jesus Christ, just one individual, what is wrapped up in that one individual. God says to Philip, "Philip, leave Samaria! Go down here to the desert"! There was the man that's going to open up all north Africa to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so what is this telling us? This is telling us that we need to be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit. We need to be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit. Let God's Holy Spirit lead us. So are you leadable? Oh, we're talking about following the Lord. Are you a follower of the Lord? God has a plan for you. Now here's the second thing I want to say.
Number one: be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit. Number two: be swift for the demands of the Spirit. Now look if you will in the verses 29 through 30, "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, 'go near, and join thyself to this chariot,'" now watch this, "And, and Philip ran," he ran, Philip, "To him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah and said, 'understandest thou what thou readest'"? Now, had he not run, he would've missed this opportunity on wheels. He had to run to catch this Ethiopian. And, he could've had plenty of excuses. I know there're times when God has prompted my heart to witness, and I didn't do it, and the opportunity went past.
You know, you'll always find some reason not to do it. If Philip had, used these excuses, he could have rationalized why not to do it. He could've said, "Well he's rich, he's important, I can't approach him". Or he could've said, "He's reading and I don't want to interrupt him". Or he could've said, "He's of another race: it wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak to him". But Philip ran because, listen, the time was ripe, but the time was short. Opportunities are passing through our fingers. And here I'm so grateful that not only was he sensitive, he was swift.
Number three: be steadfast in the desire of the Spirit. Now what is the desire of the Spirit of God? Well, would you let desire of the Spirit of God be your desire? What is the desire of the Spirit of God? Well listen, John 15 verses 26 and 27, "When the comforter is come," that's another word for the Holy Spirit, "I will send, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And ye also shall bear witness". When the Holy Spirit is come, "He will testify of me," Jesus said, "And you will bear witness". What is the desire of the Spirit? That you share Jesus.
Now look in, beginning in verse eight. "Then Phil, Philip", chapter eight verse 30, "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'understandest thou what thou readest'? 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. And the place of the scripture which he read was this, 'he was led as a sheep to the slaughter: and like a lamb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth'? And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, 'I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or of some other man'"?
Now here's the key, I've told you already, verse 35, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and preached unto him Jesus". What are the desires, what is the desire of the Spirit? What is the office work of the Spirit? That we share Jesus. What did Philip talk to this man about? He didn't talk to him about denomination. He didn't talk to him about race relations. He didn't talk to him about politics in Ethiopia or in Jerusalem. He talked with him about Jesus. That's the message that we need today, is the Lord Jesus Christ. And, and find out how Philip shared the Lord Jesus Christ. He told him some basic things. First of all, he told, this Ethiopian that he was a sinner. Isaiah chapter 53: that was his text. And Isaiah chapter 53 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all".
I had the joy of taking this same passage, Isaiah chapter 53, and leading a young Jewish businessman, to Jesus Christ. And I read this verse, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on us, the, on him," on Jesus, "The iniquity of us all". We need to understand, we need to teach people today, just as Philip taught this Ethiopian that he could be saved, but he needed to be saved. And there're none so, good they need not be saved, and none so bad they cannot be saved. He took this text and showed how Jesus, the Lamb of God, like a lamb for the slaughter, died upon the cross, took our place on the cross, as a substitute.
See, a holy God cannot overlook sin: that sin must be paid for. I read somewhere of a housekeeper who got saved and a, a man who wanted to ridicule her religion said to her, "Well how does it feel to be a saint"? She said, "I'm not sure, I know what a saint is". But she said, "I know this much, I'm saved by grace and I'm looking forward to heaven". "Oh," he said, "You're go, you've been saved, have you? Ha, ha, well what's it like to be saved"? She said, "I probably cannot explain it where you could understand it". But she said, "I'll tell you what it feels like to me. It feels like I'm standing in Jesus' shoes and he's standing in mine". I want to tell you, a theologian could not have said it better. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all". He takes our place that we might take his.
What do you need to understand in order to be saved? What is the desire of the Spirit? We're sinners and we need to be saved, we're like sheep gone astray. Jesus, the Lamb of God, led, led to the slaughter for us. And, secondly, that, that salvation is by faith, it's not of works of any kind. It is the gift of God. How do I know he preached this? Well, in acts chapter eight, look in verse 36, "And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water: and the eunuch said, 'see, here's water: what doth hinder me to be baptized'? And Philip said, 'if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest'". You've got to have believers' baptism. Not baptism before you believe, believer's baptism. It is not that baptism saves you, but baptism is an illustration and demonstration of your salvation. But, notice what he said, "Mr. Treasurer, you must believe with all your heart and then you will be saved".
Salvation is by grace through faith. None of it depends upon you, it is all God. Do you understand that? That's grace. Romans 11:6, "And if by grace it's no more of works, otherwise work is no more work and if by work it's no more of grace, otherwise grace is no more grace". That makes sense if you'll read it. What he's saying is this: it's either grace or works, not grace and works. If you were hanging, over a precipice, two thousand feet below are jagged rocks and there's a chain of one hundred links. Ninety-nine of them made of forged steel, one of them made of crepe paper, how safe are you? Huh. As safe as that one link.
Now, friend, if any part of your salvation depends upon you, you're not going to make it, you're not going to make it. It is by grace. What did, what did this man preach to him? He preached to him that he's a sinner, that Christ died for him, if he will put his faith where, where God has put his sins, that he will be saved. Now, you know the sign that he really believed that is that he was willing to be baptized. Uh, look if you will in acts eight now, look in verses 38 and 39, "And he," that is the Ethiopian, "Commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch: and he baptized him. 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".
What is the motive for this baptism? Number one, obedience. Have you been baptized? Have you? Jesus commanded baptism, he gave the great commission, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the age". You want Jesus to be with you? Obey his commandments, teach his commandments. Baptism is one of them. Baptism is not necessary to salvation, but it is necessary to obedience, and obedience is necessary to joy.
"He went on his way rejoicing". It's also, baptism is a form of confirmation. I mean, it's, it's making real to this man what happened to him. Here he is, a man of great authority in the chariot riding along. He gets saved, he says, "See, here's water, what doth hinder me to be baptized"? Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may". He said, "All right, stop the chariot, get out, now what do I do"? He said, "You stand here, fold your hands like this". I don't know how they did it. But said, "Now I'm going, you fold your arms like this".
I don't know exactly what he did, but it was enough water for them to be baptized. He, he, he didn't sprinkle water on him, they went down both into the water and he baptized him. The Greek word is he immersed him, baptitso, which means to immerse: he immersed him. Why did he do that? Well I'll tell you one thing. He was demonstrating the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "We are buried with him by baptism, that like as Christ was, raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life". And he was demonstrating to all his entourage, he's not traveling alone, this is, m, I mean, this man is a governmental official: there's a great entourage.
Can you imagine what it meant to them to see this high muckety-muck get out of the chariot and go down there and let a man plunge him beneath the water? It was a testimony that something has happened. Uh, it was a testimony to others but a confirmation to himself when he went under the water. He's saying, "The old, Ethiopian is dead and buried". When he comes up out of the water, it pictures a new person raised to walk in newness of life. I wish I had more time for this story, but I've got to bring it to a close.
Listen to me, folks. Listen. What a privilege God has given us, say amen. What a privilege God has given to us. We have a privilege that angels don't have, that's bringing souls to Jesus Christ. And we have an opportunity that we will not have in the world to come. That is, to bring souls to Jesus Christ. Now, God is calling you to be an evangelist. Every member an evangelist. And you need to be sensitive to the direction of the Spirit, you need to be swift to the demands of the Spirit, and you need to be, friends, steadfast for the desire of the Spirit, and that is, that you lift up the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if God, listen, listen, if God brought Philip out of Samaria down to the desert, why? He brought him there because there was somebody there that needed the gospel. I am bold enough to say that you're not here by accident today. God put this message on my heart 'cause I prayed over it, and God brought you here. You know why? He loves you. He wants you to be saved. You see, God is working in your heart. Do you find a hunger in your heart? That's the Holy Spirit of God. And I tell you, I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you'll trust Jesus, he will save you today instantaneously. He will be with you continually, and he'll keep you eternally if you will trust him today.