Greg Laurie - Leading Others to Christ (01/16/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Acts 8 how Philip boldly preached the gospel, leading to a true conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch while exposing Simon's false faith. The message urges believers to care for the lost, obey the Holy Spirit's leading, share the gospel accurately centered on Jesus, and expect real responses—calling everyone to genuine faith and public commitment to Christ.
The Call to Share Our Faith Boldly
Okay, a couple quick questions before we start. How many of you have ever shared your faith with someone? Raise up your hand. You've shared your faith. Okay, good. That's most of you. How many of you have ever had the privilege of actually praying with someone to accept Jesus Christ? Raise up your hand. Well, it's quite a few of you as well. How many of you, and I'm not going to laugh at you or mock you, but how many of you have never shared your faith before? You've never done it. Maybe you're a new believer. That's okay. Okay, good. Thanks for that.
Okay. So these are some things that we think about. And it is one thing to talk about the idea of sharing our faith. It is another thing to do it in the real world, isn't it? Well Acts chapter 8 is a story of how to effectively bring the gospel to our culture. One thing that will come out when we do this, if we get serious about God and about our walk with Jesus Christ, and we decide to actually at least make an attempt to engage people with the message of the gospel, things are going to get lively, you see. Don't expect the devil to take this sitting down. So if you are going to go out there and tell others about Jesus here is my response to you. Get ready to Rumble. Because Satan hates evangelism.
True Faith vs. False Conversion in Acts 8
Here before us in Acts chapter 8 is a story of a true and a false conversion. Both of the characters that we are going to look at in this story appeared to believe. Fact is both of them were baptized. But one had a genuine conversion and the other did not. Reminding us that whenever the gospel is preached among those that appear to respond some will be genuine believers and others will not be. It is ultimately in the hands of God. The seed of the Word of God will land on both good and bad soil. So that is what we are going to see in the story before us. We will have on display for us both the faith that saves and the faith that does not save.
So let's set the scene. In our last message we saw that young Stephen had been martyred. He became the first martyr of the early church. You recall he courageously stood before the Sanhedrin which was like the supreme court of the day. And before those learned religious men he fearlessly proclaimed the gospel. And it made them even more angry as they literally screamed and put their hands over their ears so they would not have to hear him anymore. But the Bible says his face shined like that of an angel. And as they were stoning Stephen the Lord gave him a glimpse of glory. And he said look I see Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And then Stephen said Lord into your hands I commit my spirit. Don't hold the sin against your charge brother. And so Stephen died. And it was a horrible event. I mean it is glorious how the Lord gave him this glimpse of glory. But the tragedy is a young man was cut down. And in a very horrific way.
Persecution Scatters Believers to Preach
So now who is prevailing or presiding I should say over this execution. Scripture tells us it was Saul in Acts chapter 8 verses 3-4. "As for Saul he made havoc of the church entering every house and dragging off men and women and committing them to prison." So Saul who had been in charge of this execution now is going out of his way to hunt down Christians. The word that is used here for making havoc means to ravage. And it is only used one time in the New Testament. It is right here. It means to destroy, to ruin, or damage. Saul was like a shark that smelled blood in the water. And he was just getting started. He was in attack mode.
In his own testimony as he tells the story he gives us more details. In Acts 26 he tells us that he pursued these followers of Jesus to foreign cities. So he wasn't satisfied to just find them locally. He was going out of his way to hunt these people down. And he had the permission and blessing of the Jewish religious leaders as well. He tells us in Acts 22. But of course God had different plans for Saul. And we will talk about that next time.
Persecution. We think of this as the worst case scenario. Where someone mocks us. Or someone criticizes us. Or someone wants to do physical harm to us because we are a follower of Jesus Christ. I would like you to change your way of thinking. And instead of seeing it that way see it as a badge of honor. If you are being persecuted it means you are doing something right. Because the Bible says all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. When is the last time you invoke that promise? You know we are quick to remind the Lord that He tells us He will provide for us and protect us. When is the last time we said, Lord you promised I would be persecuted. Come on. Bring it on. Well we don't say that because we don't want to be persecuted. But yet it can have a positive impact on our life.
Persecution Turns to Gospel Advance
There was a martyr period of church history which extended from A.D. 100 to A.D. 314 where literally thousands and thousands of courageous Christian men and women sealed their own faith with their blood. Secular historians are in agreement. There were ten great persecutions. That is ten major attempts to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth. Starting with the wicked Caesar Nero who presided over the death of Paul up to Diocletian. Christians were fed to wild animals. They were killed in the Roman arenas for sport. They were torn apart. They were tortured. They were burned at the stake. The Roman emperor Diocletian thought he was so successful he actually had a commemorative coin struck with these words, quote, "The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the Roman gods are restored." Close quote. He thought, I am so confident I will be successful in eradicating Christianity from the face of the earth. I will have this coin struck.
Well things did not turn out so well for him. Because the church marches on. What is left of Rome? What is left of Caesar? Salad? I do not know. Not much else. But Jesus said of the church the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
Yes. God will not allow persecution in our lives. I read about some people that were having problems shipping codfish from the east coast. Because when it arrived on the west coast it was spoiled. So they froze it and sent it. But then when it arrived it was mushy to the taste. So they decided to send it live. But when it arrived it was dead. So this time they sent it alive with one difference. They included in the tanks with the live codfish the mortal enemy of the codfish the catfish. By the time they arrived they were alive and well because they had spent the entire journey running from the catfish.
You say that is interesting. What does that have to do with anything? Absolutely nothing. Just thought it. Like to throw out little tips. No. Maybe God has put a catfish in your tank to keep you alive and well spiritually. Maybe it is a member of your family. Maybe it is a co-worker. Maybe it is a neighbor. Maybe it is someone else. But they are always giving you a hard time. The Lord can allow this to strengthen us.
And what was the impact of the persecution of Saul and others against this church? Acts 8 verse 4 says, "Those that were scattered went everywhere preaching the gospel." So Stephen is now in heaven. And remember when those men were chosen to wait on tables because of the conflict that had risen another of them was named Philip. And Philip is identified as an evangelist. In fact he is the only man in the Bible who is identified in this way. That is not to say others were not evangelists. But it is to say Philip is identified clearly as Philip the evangelist. This meant that he had a supernatural gift from God to bring the gospel to people and make it understandable. He had a gifting from God to bring others to Christ. Maybe you have that gift. Philip certainly did.
Principle 1: Have a Heart for Non-Believers
So that brings us to principle number one in effectively sharing the gospel. And that is we should have a heart for non-believers. We should have a heart for non-believers. Look in Acts 8 verse 5. "Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did for unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in the city."
So Philip had a heart for non-believers. You say, well how do you get that from this text? Well consider who Philip was going to. He was going to Samaritans. Being a Jew normally he would have nothing to do with Samaritans. So in effect he was going to the enemies of Israel. The Israelis looked down upon Samaritans. Samaritans looked down upon Israelis. You remember in this conversation with the woman at the well in Samaria. She said to Jesus, why would you, a Jew, ask for a drink of water from me, a Samaritan?
So Philip was willing to cross these cultural lines with the message of the gospel and reach out to these people. And that just reminds us that we can talk all day long about techniques and sharing your faith and apologetics and having the right answers to the right questions. But if you don't care about non-believing people none of that is really going to matter. Alexander McLaren said, quote, "You tell me the depth of a Christian's compassion and I will tell you the measure of his usefulness," end quote.
Listen. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Let me say that again. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So it starts with caring. Caring for the person. They can tell if you care about them. So Philip had this burden to reach out to these people and bring the gospel to them.
False Faith: The Story of Simon the Sorcerer
You remember there was another guy who was called to take the gospel to his enemies. And his name was Jonah. And he was called to bring the gospel to Nineveh. He did not want to do it. You know why? Because he knew the nature of God. And God said, Go to Nineveh and preach to them. And here is the way Jonah reached. And they thought, Okay, wait a second. That means God is going to judge them. And if I don't preach to them they won't repent. And if they don't repent God will judge them and wipe them off the face of the earth. And that is one enemy, one less enemy Israel will have to worry about.
So you know the story. He got in a boat going in the opposite direction. And the Lord managed to persuade him to come around. He is swallowed by a great fish or a whale. Vomited on the shore of Nineveh. Reluctantly went about with his responsibilities telling them 40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown. He did not even offer them forgiveness. But of course God spared that great city. But these were wicked people and Jonah didn't want to go to them.
So here is my question to you right now. Is there someone that you know that you would rather they did not become a Christian because frankly you kind of like the idea of them going to hell. You might not verbalize it but you kind of think it. Think about Louie Zamperini who was our guest here. How many of you were here when Louie was here? Wasn't he great? Think about Louie ending up in a Japanese concentration camp. Beaten within an inch of his life. Tortured. He didn't even touch on what he actually went through. But after his conversion to Christ what does Louie do? He goes back to Japan. Not to hunt down the men that did this to him but to bring the gospel to them. And he went into prison where there were guards from that concentration camp and shared Jesus Christ with them.
See that is exactly what was happening here. Philip is willing to go to people he would normally not have anything to do with. Bringing us to principle number two. Not everyone that responds to the gospel is necessarily a Christian. Not everyone that responds to the gospel is necessarily a Christian.
Enter our first conversion in quotes of our story. His name was Simon. Let's read about him. Acts 8 verse 9. "There was a certain man named Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria claiming he was someone great and to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest saying, This man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. And when they believed Philip as he preached of things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ both men and women were baptized. And Simon himself also believed. And when he was baptized he continued with Philip and was amazed seeing the miracles which were done."
Simon’s Fake Belief Exposed
The sorcery of Simon was a mix of science and superstition. He combined astrology, divination, and occultist practices along with mathematics and astronomy. He was cut from the same cloth as the magi. Remember them. We call them the wise men. They were those guys that came from the east following the star. But in reality these wise men were into astrology and they were into occultism. But they had a heart that was open to God. So interestingly the Lord used a star to bring them to the Creator of the stars. He used the star to bring them to that little stable in Bethlehem and ultimately to the Lord.
Well that is the background of Simon. And so he had been deceiving the people. Now it may have been occult practice. He may have been doing miracles of sorts. By the way the devil can do miracles. Lying wonders. We are told in the last days when Antichrist emerges, and we will talk about this more on Sunday, he will perform lying wonders in 2 Thessalonians 2. Counterfeit power, Scripture says, and signs and wonders will come through the Antichrist.
So it may be that these were devilish deeds. And it may have been sleight of hand. I do not know if you have ever seen a magician perform. I have seen them a few times. I actually have a friend who is a Christian who did a magic show. And it was very impressive you know how they can make things appear that do not seem to be there and make things disappear. It is all sleight of hand. And of course afterwards I asked him to tell me how he did it. And he wouldn't. So it may have been a combination of sleight of hand and also devilish power at work. We don't really know exactly. But he was doing his thing. Everyone thought he was someone great.
And Philip comes to town and starts preaching the gospel with the authentic power of God. A revival breaks out and people are leaving Simon wholesale. And so Simon is realizing that Philip was bad for business. But there is no way that he can compete with Philip. And so what happens is Simon faked a conversion. Look at verse 13. "Simon himself also believed and was baptized." Now this was not a genuine conversion. Why do I say that? Because later when Peter and John come to town and they were doing true miracles by the hand of God, Peter and John rebuked Simon.
In fact when they were doing these miracles he saw it and he said in verse 18 and 19, Hey I will give you some money if you will give me this power so I can lay my hands on people and they will receive the Holy Spirit. By the way it was a common thing back in these days for sorcerers and this kind of person to sell their tricks one to another. So he thought, Hey. You know Peter and John. These guys are like master sorcerers. So hey I will give you. How much do you need? They are like, What is wrong with you? What are you talking about?
Look at Peter's words. Verse 20. "Peter said, Your money perish with you because you thought the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this manner because your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of your wickedness. And pray God will forgive the thought of your heart. For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." Clearly this is not a description of a true believer. This is a super serious charge that Peter is leveling at Simon.
Verse 23. "Your money perish with you" could better be translated to hell with you and your money. That is how the J.B. Phillips translation puts it. It is like, Get out of town. We do not want your stinky money. You cannot buy the power of God. You cannot purchase a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not going to happen.
You say, But it says He believed and was baptized. So what? The Bible says in James 2:19, "The demons believe and tremble." So do you think that means that demons are Christians now? I remember when I was a brand new believer. I was only a couple of weeks old in the Lord and I ended up in a little prayer meeting down in Newport Beach. And I remember a group of young Christians were praying and someone actually prayed, Lord, just convert Satan. Help him to come to you so he won't hassle us anymore. And I thought, I do not think that is right. I do not really know the Bible yet. But I do not think Satan is converting at all. So and he is not.
So the idea here is that you can have true faith as the next character in our story has. Or you can have devil's faith. Fake faith. Pseudo faith. Counterfeit faith. Whatever you want to call it. It is not real faith.
Principle 3: God Saves—We Share the Message
Let me give you another example of what appears to be believed that isn't. In John 2:24 we read that when Jesus was preaching and doing miracles many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He did. So you say that is good right. Listen then to the next verse. "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men." What? Many believed in Him but Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men. Let me re-translate that. They believed in Him but He didn't believe in them. Why? Well they saw the miracles He did. See their faith was not based on true conversion. It was based on being dazzled. It wasn't real faith.
And now instead of repenting of his sin after his rebuked by Peter, Simon resists. Look at verse 34 of Acts 8. "Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, and none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me." Instead of saying, Man, I want to repent of my sins and get right with God, he is just basically saying I don't want to face the consequences of my sin. But if you have truly put your faith in Jesus you will turn from your sin you see. Second Corinthians 7:10 says, "God uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. Sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death." So there has to be genuine sorrow but then action that follows it.
So that is a false conversion. Simon. Now let us look at a true conversion. We do not know his name. He is just identified as a man from Ethiopia. A powerful man I might add. He effectively had everything this world offers to bring happiness and fulfillment. He had wealth. He had influence. He had fame. But yet there was something missing in his life that sent him on a search for God.
This Ethiopian eunuch as he is called was the secretary of the treasury of a powerful nation second only to the queen in authority. But there was this big hole in his heart. So this search led him to the spiritual capital of the world, Jerusalem. This is the land of Israel. The land of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So this foreign man who would worship false gods believed that the answer to life's questions would be found in this city.
So he arrives in Jerusalem. And no doubt when he rolled into town they gave him the VIP treatment. He probably had like a stretched chariot with the little flags of his nation on each side. And guys running alongside and sunglasses. You know. Probably not. But still you know you get the idea. He was the equivalent of a foreign dignitary. So he would have been given royal treatment and so forth. And a very important man. But he did not find what he was looking for in Jerusalem. But he found it in a conversation with Philip as he had an appointment with God.
True Conversion: The Ethiopian Eunuch
Let's pick the story up. Acts chapter 8 verse 26. "An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise, go down along the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert." So he arose and went. And behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all of her treasure he had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading from Isaiah the prophet.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go and overtake his chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come and sit with him. The place in the Scriptures where he read was this, "He has led as a sheep to the slaughter, as the lamb before her shearer is silent. So he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation his justice was taken away. Who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth."
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of who does the prophet say this? Of himself or some other man?" Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Philip said, "If you believe with all of your heart you may." And he answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized them. And when they came out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away. So the eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. Isn't that a great story?
So there is a lot of important principles found in this story about sharing our faith. This brings me back to my opening question. Have you ever done this? Have you ever thought about engaging a person in a conversation about Christ? You might respond by saying, Well I thought that was only for a few privileged few. No. Not at all. We are all called to do our part in evangelism.
Principle 4: Obey the Holy Spirit’s Leading
Now some people say, Well I am really uncomfortable with that. It is awkward for me to go up to someone that I do not know and talk about these things. Well let me ask you a question. Let us say for an illustration you were a great scientist. And you had been working for years in your laboratory to find a cure for cancer. And let us say you succeeded one day and distilled it to a simple little pill which if a person took, took, they would be instantaneously cured of cancer. So what would you do? Would you go and tell anyone about it? No. I am really not a public speaker. And it is awkward going to someone I do not know. No excuse me. Hello. You are not going to go to a person who has cancer and give them this pill that they can take and be instantaneously cured. You are going to get over whatever inhibitions you have because of the cure that you have. Right?
It is even more true of the gospel. This is even greater than a cure for cancer. Because even as great as a cure for cancer would be the person will still have to die. But the gospel says you never have to die. Oh sure in one sense we physically die. But the Bible tells us if we put our faith in Christ we live forever in the presence of the Lord. So I am not going to tell someone about that because it is awkward or it is uncomfortable or it is difficult. No. We need to engage people. Because God has chosen to primarily reach people through people. Don't ask me why. If I were God this is not what I would have done. I would have done it differently.
You know God could text message everyone instantaneously. Even if your phone was turned off. You know. It would even be like a super vibrant. Whoa. I mean he could do whatever he wanted. He could come on these screens right now with a message. He could appear to us. He could send an angel with a sword drawn who would say believe in Jesus or I will kill you. That would be powerful. He could write it in the sky. He could do anything he wanted. But God has primarily chosen to reach others through people using verbal communication. That is what the Bible says. Romans 10 verse 14 says, "How will they believe in the human whom they have not heard? And how will they hear unless someone tells them?"
God could have sovereignly spoken to the man from Ethiopia. But instead He chose Philip who was the right man in the right place at the right time. And the man from Ethiopia said it best in response to Philip's question. "Do you understand what you are reading?" He said, "How can I," verse 31, "unless someone guides me?" A better translation of this would be, How can I unless someone shows me the way? That is what God wants you to do.
Bringing us to principle number three. God is the one who saves people, not me. God is the one who saves people, not me. I don't have any converts. I have had people come to me, You saved me. I didn't save them. I told them the truth about the gospel. And they put their faith in Jesus. He saved them. And so I don't have to worry about being the one that saves people. But I do need to concern myself with being the one that tells them about how to find salvation.
God is the one that is going to bring about the conviction of the Spirit. Jesus said in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." So it is the work of the Holy Spirit. But God uses the seed of the Word of God in that person's heart.
Here is an interesting thing to consider. There is no person in the New Testament that came to faith apart from the agency of a human being. Let me repeat that. There is no person that came to faith in the New Testament apart from the agency of a human being. We can find example after example. Take the Philippian jailer in Acts 16. God could have reached him in many ways. Instead He chose to reach him when Paul and Silas were incarcerated in his cell. And he ultimately said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Then there was Cornelius, a man of great authority and power, a centurion who was searching for God. Interestingly an angel came to him. Now the angel could have given Cornelius the gospel. But instead the angel said, Hey man you have to hook up with Peter and he will give you the message you need to hear. So the angel directed Cornelius to Peter who then delivered the gospel. The angels are not the primary agents God uses to bring the gospel. There are some exceptions to that. But primarily God will use people to reach people.
You say, No I have got one for you, Greg. Saul. No one preached the gospel to Saul. It was just him and Jesus on the Damascus road. That is true. But I would argue that Stephen played a key role in the conversion of Saul. I think when young Stephen preached as he did and died as he did, praying even for the ones that were responsible for this, it made a great impact on the hard heart of the notorious Saul of Tarsus. Which ultimately resulted in his conversion. God reaches people through people.
Principle 5: Share the Gospel Accurately Centered on Jesus
I know it gets hard at times. But we need to just stay with it. Because there is great joy when the person responds. Isn't there? Psalm 126 says, "Those that sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with him."
Number four. We need to be open to and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We need to be open to and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Notice how the Lord comes to Philip in verse 26 and says, "Arise and go toward the south." How easily Philip could have argued with this? What? Go toward the south. He says, Go down to that road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. Desert.
Now there are two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza. And the angel commands Philip to go to the one that is seldom used. And by the way it is also implied when he says toward the south that that could also mean at noon. So in other words the angel is saying, Not only do I want you to go to the desert to a rarely use, basically deserted road. I want you to go on the hottest time of the day. It would be like the Lord saying to you, Go to Barstow at lunch time. But why? Go out in the middle of the desert and just stand there. And you are having a productive ministry over here and God says, Now go over in that desert and just stand there. Yeah that is okay. This doesn't make any sense at all.
But to Philip's credit he obeyed the Lord. You see God was preparing both the listener and the speaker. God was preparing the man from Ethiopia who would go to Jerusalem and not find what he was looking for. And God was preparing Philip to go to this man and be in place when the man from Ethiopia arrived.
So here is what I am saying to you. God doesn't always give you a detailed blueprint of what he wants to do. So stop waiting for it. He is going to ask you to take steps of faith. There is going to be risk involved. Are you willing to do it? God's way becomes plain when we start walking in it. Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.
Maybe God is waiting for you to take the first step before he is going to show you what the second one is. Are you willing to just take a little risk? You say, I am not. Okay. Then God is going to find someone else to do it. But it would sure be great if it was you.
And a lot of times when the Lord has opened up opportunities for me to share the gospel it is not like I got up in the morning and I am getting ready and the Lord comes to me audibly. Hello Greg. Good morning. I have a mission for you today. And the Mission Impossible theme is playing in the background. And then when it is done this message will self-destruct. No. Nothing like that. You know I just get up like anybody else. And you get started in the day and off you go. And maybe you are just running an errand. You are going to the market. You are getting some gas. You are doing whatever it is you do. And you just happen to come across a person. And there is a little nudge of the Holy Spirit. It is not like a ray of light comes from heaven all around them. And you hear angels singing. Angels pointing. This is the guy. This is the girl. It is just a nudge. Just a little how to talk to that person. And you do not even know what you are going to say. You are not even sure how to start the conversation. It is even awkward at times. But you learn to listen to that. You learn to respond to that.
So you take the next step. Then the Lord shows you what to do next. And you take the next step. Then He just guides you right along. And then when you look back you say, I had no idea that was going to happen. Well this is what was taking place in the story before us.
Verse 27. He is called a man from Ethiopia. Just a little historical footnote. Ethiopia in that day was a large powerful kingdom. Located to the south of Egypt. To the Greeks and Romans it represented the outer limits of the known world. He was a man of great authority. It says he was under Candace. Candace was not so much the name of a person as much as it was a title similar to Caesar. He was in charge of her treasury. He effectively was the minister of finance. But though he had this great money and authority and power and prestige there was this emptiness.
So he rolls into town. He does not find what he is looking for. It is not the Judaism of the glory days of the first temple. The Shekinah glory is not there like it once was. The prophets are not preaching as they once did. No. It is a lot of cold ritualistic legalism with the Pharisees and the Sadducees arguing with each other and actually standing in the way of people coming into a relationship with God. So he realizes the answer isn't here. But he did obtain something of great value. He got a copy of a scroll of Isaiah. Now that is really valuable. See back in those days needless to say they didn't have printing presses. So everything was written by hand. So you didn't have a personal Bible that you carried around. You would memorize portions of Scripture. And so because he was a VIP he was given the scroll of Isaiah to take back with him.
Nowadays I mean we have Bibles in every shape and size and translation. You have the King James Version, the New King James Version, the American Standard Version, the Living Bible, the New Living Bible, the even Newer, Newer Living Bible, the Bible for men, the Bible for women, the Bible for kids, the Bible for bald men. All verses related to hair growth and red. There is one. You know we have all these specialty Bibles and so forth. You probably have a lot of Bibles in your home. I do. And they didn't have that luxury in these days. But he did have Isaiah.
So he is reading. And what chapter does he happen to be on? Why Isaiah 53. And as you know that is a description of the death of Messiah. So he is reading it. Trying to sort it out. So here is Philip. He is standing there in the desert. You know he is kind of kicking the dirt and looking at some stupid lizard you know. And all of a sudden he sees a cloud of dust and along comes this entourage. A man in a chariot. And all these people around him. And they may have had flags and banners. And they get closer. And Philip is going, Wow. What is this all about? And then he hears this man reading from his chariot. He is reading out loud from Isaiah 53.
And so Philip runs up and says, Excuse me. Do you understand what you are reading? And the Ethiopian man says, How can I unless someone shows me the way? See Philip had something which is often lacking in evangelism. And that is called tact. A lot of times we just, we come on like a ton of bricks to people. You know we just start firing away and hit them with everything we have got. We do not engage them. We do not establish a dialogue. We do not build a bridge. We just come with all of our arguments and with all of our statements. And we are so impressed with ourselves. And they are like just looking forward to us shutting up and going away.
And we will walk away. Boy I really blew them out of the water. They said this and that. And I argued and I embarrassed them and humiliated them. Wasn't that great? No it wasn't great. It was really stupid actually. Our job is not to win the argument. It is to win the soul. And the idea is if we want to really know how to share the gospel with people we engage them.
Jesus was the master evangelist. Right? What did He do with the woman at the well? He engaged her in conversation. It was give and take. He spoke. He listened. She shared her heart with Him. He revealed truth to her. When we share with people it is a dialogue. Not a monologue. It is not just you talking. It is you listening and you offering the appropriate passages from Scripture and statements from a heart filled with love so that a person can come to believe in Jesus Christ.
And so that is exactly what Philip did. Because listen. No one is ever going to be argued into the kingdom of God. They are going to come because the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin. So my job is to just bring them the essential gospel message.
Principle 6: The Gospel Demands a True Response
Paul is another example of this. On Mars Hill when he stood before all these idolatrous Greeks who were known for their intellectualism and so forth. And they had all these images that they bowed before. You name it. They had a God of it. They had Thor. And they had Epaphrodite. And they had Nike. And they worshipped all which would be made into movies and shoes later. Little did they know. But Paul sort of surmises, checks out the situation. And I love his statement in Acts 17 from a modern translation. He says to them on Mars Hill, "So it is plain to see you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day I was fascinated with all the shrines they came across. I found one inscribed to the God nobody knows. I am here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently. And know what you are dealing with." That is called tact.
Even if you disagree with the person. Can you hear them out? Let them make their statements. And now share what the gospel says.
That brings us to point number five. Philip gave the gospel accurately. This is very important. You know there are quack doctors out there that you will read about every now and then that actually aren't licensed. That will perform some surgery that sometimes can be even fatal. I have a concern about some quack preachers out there that don't know what they are talking about. They are guilty of spiritual malpractice. Preachers who do not accurately give the gospel message. It is not just the weird way they speak. But it is what they leave out of the gospel.
If your so called gospel presentation does not contain the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus then it is insufficient. Every effective gospel presentation be it a sermon from a pulpit or a private conversation needs to ultimately come down to, listen friend Jesus Christ the Son of God died on the cross for your sin. And He paid the price for every wrong you have ever done. And then He Rose again from the dead. That is the essence of the gospel. That is the message we need to bring to people.
So there is a couple of things that need to be in play if I want to be effective in sharing my faith. Number one you should have it center on Scripture. Look at verse 35. "Philip opened his mouth the beginning that this Scripture preached Jesus to him." Do you know why he did that? Because Philip knew the Bible. He knew Isaiah 53 already. You know the Ethiopian man could have said, Well of whom is he speaking? Of himself or of another? Philip would say, What are you reading again? Isaiah. I don't know. Is something Isaiah. I have no idea. Can I get back to you? What is your mobile number? No. He either knew or he did not know.
That is why the Bible says, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." So you commit Scripture to memory. You know the word of God. And then when someone asks you a question you have that well to draw from. And you pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the right passages to mind. And that is what Philip was able to do. He knew the Scripture and he presented it.
And then it should also center on Jesus. And that is what Philip did. He preached Jesus to him. The Scripture says.
Number six. The gospel must be responded to appropriately. The gospel must be responded to appropriately. So really this is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit. But the man from Ethiopia, he gets it. I love this story. Verse 36. They went down the road. They came to some water. The eunuch said, Hey, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Philip says, Well if you believe with all of your heart you may. He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And Philip baptizes him.
And the Bible says he comes out of the water and Philip is gone. And remember in our last message on Sunday we talked about the word that is used there to describe Philip being gone. It is the Greek word harpazo which means to be moved by force. It is the word that is used there in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 17 that we will be caught up. The word is often translated rapture. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Philip was harpazoed. Caught up. Not up but sideways. Forty miles away. That is a pretty sweet deal don't you think?
But I love the way the story closes. The man from Ethiopia went on his way rejoicing.
Okay let me contrast this in closing with one other story very quickly. There is a man who came to Jesus. We call him the rich young ruler. He came to the Lord and he said, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus could see that this young man was possessed by his possessions. You know he cruised up. He had his BMW chariot. Holding his latte. He was cool. Had a cell phone. Hey. How is it going Jesus? What must I do to inherit eternal life? I mean I have got everything else. I want this too.
Jesus sized the guy up. Knew he was possessed by his possessions. And he said, I will tell you what buddy. If you want eternal life you need to sell all your stuff. Give it away to the poor. And then come follow me. The guy, what are you talking about? And he went away sorrowful. Because he was very rich.
Now here is the point. That is not a passage that is saying every rich person has to give up everything they own to be a Christian. Because Jesus never said that to anyone else. That is a scripture saying Jesus sized the guy up and saw what his problem was. Told him what to do. And the guy wasn't willing to do it. So here is a powerful, wealthy, young man who has a hole in his heart. Who comes to Jesus. He is given the answer. And he says no. And he goes away sorrowful the Bible says. Sorrowful. Sad. Because he didn't do what he was supposed to do.
Here is another guy now in contrast. A man from Ethiopia. Powerful, wealthy, etc. And he goes on his way rejoicing. Because he responded.
So you have come here tonight. And you are going to decide how you are going to leave here tonight. Maybe you have come with a hole in your heart. Maybe you are wealthy. Maybe you aren't. But you are thinking things will fill the void in your life. Maybe you are thinking sex will fill that void in your life. Maybe you are thinking your religion is going to fill it. Or you think moral living is going to fill it. Or your position at work is going to fill it. Or whatever it is. Or your friends are going to fill it. Or a husband. Or a wife. Or a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Or a new husband. A new wife. A newer boyfriend. A newer girlfriend. Whatever it is.
Here is what I want to tell you. Let me save you a little time. None of these things will fill the deepest void of your life. You were created to know God. The Bible says He has placed eternity in your heart. That means that in contrast to the animal kingdom mankind is made in the image of God. We are pre-wired to know God.
So you can leave here sad because you don't like what I am saying. And you say I don't want to believe in Jesus. And I want to live the way that I want to live. Okay. That is your choice. You can make that choice. Or you can leave here rejoicing with your sin forgiven because you have trusted in Christ.
I have already said what we need to say to people that don't know the Lord. Let me say it to you in case you don't know Him. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. He shed His blood for you. Because you and I were separated from God. There is nothing we can do to satisfy His righteous demands. But Christ who is God in human form absorbed the wrath of God and took your sin upon Himself. And then He Rose again from the dead three days later. And the same Jesus that changed this man from Ethiopia can change you tonight. The same Jesus that transformed Him can transform you if you will say Lord I am sorry for my sin. And I want to believe in You. And God will forgive you of all the wrongs you have ever done.
Invitation to Genuine Faith in Christ
So we are going to close now in prayer. And I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God if you need to. Let us all pray. Father thank You for Your Word to us tonight. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. Now Lord Jesus we pray that You will speak to the hearts. We pray Your Holy Spirit will help people see their need for Christ right now.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together how many of you would say tonight. Greg pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I am ready to say yes to Jesus. If that is your desire. If you want Jesus Christ to come into If you want Him to fill that void deep inside of you. If you want to go to heaven when you die instead of hell. If you want a second chance in life. Would you lift your hand up wherever you are and I am going to pray for you tonight. Just lift your hand up and I am going to pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. There in the back. God bless you. Just lift your hand up if you want Christ to come into your life tonight. I will pray for you. God bless Bless you in the back. Up here toward the front. Anybody else? Lift your hand up. God bless you. God bless you. Over there in the lobby there I can see through the window. You want to make this commitment to Jesus? Raise your hand up. Out there. I will pray for you. You want His forgiveness. Anybody else? Maybe you have fallen away from the Lord. You want to come back to Him again tonight. You want to return to Him. Would you lift your hand up? Let me pray for you tonight. Just lift your hand up wherever you are. God bless you and you.
Father I thank You now for each one of these. And I pray You will give them the strength to stand up and follow You from this night forward and become real Christians. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
You know everyone that Jesus calls He calls openly and publicly. And we are going to do the same in a moment. Our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer that when this song begins you would get up out of your seat, walk down here to the front and stand here. And when you get here I will lead you in prayer.
Now why do I ask you to come publicly? Well Jesus calls people publicly. Like the man from Ethiopia. He did this publicly. He was baptized in front of His friends and people that worked for Him. He didn't care. He wanted to know God. And I am going to ask you to do this publicly as well.
Maybe you did not raise your hand. But I will ask you to come up here and make this commitment. Listen. There might be some of you here tonight and you are a fake Christian. And by that I mean you put on a good show. But you know in your heart of hearts it is not real. You know you say you are a Christian and you use Christian verbiage and all that. But you know that you really don't have a relationship with God. Don't be a Simon. Be like the man from Ethiopia and really believe tonight. You have this opportunity right before you.
So if you want your sin forgiven. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want to go to heaven when you die. If you want Him to fill that void deep inside of you. Or if you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him tonight. Right now as the group sings. Get up out of your seat. Come on down here to the front. Stand here. And I will lead you in a prayer when you get here. Get up and start coming now. Come on.