Peter Tan Chi - Be a Blessing, Share the Gospel
Today, I want to continue sharing with you the content of last Sunday. A quick review, everyone, Acts of the Apostles tells how the early church began. So the Bible tells us that in the Book of Acts, from chapter one to Chapter 8, this first part talks about the birth of the church. The main place is in Jerusalem. The character mentioned is Peter. Then last Sunday we talked about Stephen. Today we are going to talk about how the church transcended its role in Jerusalem. Border, coming to Judea and Samaria, the protagonist is Philip. Today we are going to talk about Philip. Over the next few weeks we will be discussing how the church reaches the ends of the earth, featuring Paul. How many of you really want your life to be complete? Please raise your hands.
If you want to experience the fact that YOLO, do you know what YOLO is? YOLO, You only live once. My friend, make the most of your life. FOMO, fear of missing out, that's right, you don't want to miss God's plan for your life, so it's very biblical. The only question is how do you live life to perfection, and I was surprised when I looked at some of the statistics, you know, the United States keeps a lot of statistics, and I was surprised to realize that the number two cause of death in the United States today, The second leading cause of death in the United States today, from 10 to 34 years old, is young people. Guess what? suicide. 47,000 people committed suicide, maybe more last year, and those were statistics from a few years ago. Second, they found that more than 50% of these people who committed suicide were depressed, so depression was the real problem.
Depression is a bigger problem than heart disease, AIDS, or cancer, and it affects more Americans today. Why is this so? Let me tell you, if you want to be objective, although in the United States, basically their poor people probably live better than most people in the Philippines, right, basically people don't starve to death, they have houses to live in, and if you are If you are poor, you may only have one car, okay? But what I'm saying is, listen, until you understand God's design for life, before you obey the Creator who created you, and until you obey His design, no amount of money can put you through it. The fullness of life, no matter how famous, popular, or how many assets you have, you will feel empty, so I suggest you listen carefully to today's sermon, because today's sermon will fundamentally change your life.
Not only do I I'll tell you how to live your life to perfection, and I want to share with you how to actually do it. You know, someone once said, at the end of the day, it's not the years of your life that matter, it's the life of your years. What matters is not how many years you live. What really matters is how you live. So today, it is very simple. We follow Philip. Everyone, what is today's topic? Be a blessing and share the gospel. do you know? This is counterintuitive. Because we all want to be blessed, we often don't think about others, but you will notice the law of life, as Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. When you bless others, you are blessed. If you just focus on yourself, bless me, bless me, bless me, my friend, it becomes empty.
So God is amazing, what is today's topic? Be a blessing and share the gospel. What is my basis? If you discuss it with each other, line by line, table by table, now I ask you, what is the most significant thing that has ever happened to you? Think about this. In your mind, what is the most significant thing that has ever happened to you? Think about it. Is it when you meet your wife or husband, for some of you that is the greatest tragedy. Or when you win a big prize, or when you start your own business, let me tell you, we did this a while ago, we were a group of mature men sitting around a table, almost all of us were 50 years away, all of them. Leaders in various industries and large churches, almost everyone at this table has brought this, including me. The greatest blessing that has ever come to me is when I met Jesus, my entire life changed forever.
There was a time when I was on a straight track, with my values and goals, and then out of God's undeserved favor, He allowed me to hear the gospel when I gave my life to Jesus, my life will never be the same again, what about you? Raise your hands, how many of you agree with me that the most significant thing that will ever happen to you is that you meet Jesus? Don't raise your hand reluctantly, okay? Because many of you have religion, and religion has not changed you, because all you have is religion, and I'm talking about Jesus. So what is today's topic? Be a blessing and share the gospel. Do you know why? Because the greatest blessing you can give someone else is to lead them to the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus, who brings you the greatest promise of everlasting life. He brings you the greatest provision, forgiveness, and the greatest peace of mind, which is His personal presence. I don't know why we aren't excited about Jesus.
So, today's topic is, be like Philip. Philip, the meaning of his name is: Horse lover. Now don't focus too much on the name, just like you, your name is interesting and has an interesting meaning, but the important thing is who is Philip? He is the only one in the Bible called Philip the evangelist, because Philip was a great man who wanted to bless others. So what is today's topic? Be a blessing. What must you do? Share the gospel. You know, the Bible tells us why this is so important, 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus. This is very solemn, he says now and in the presence of God and of Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead. in the presence of Christ Jesus, charging you with His appearing and His Kingdom... Here is the Apostle Paul telling Timothy to have this eternal perspective, don't just think about the present, YOLO is awesome, you only live once, but think about the big picture, in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, with His manifestation, and Jesus' return.
What must you do? He told Timothy: Read together: 2 Timothy, Read together: Preach the word, say it with me, Preach the word, Preach the gospel, be attentive in season and out of season; and use all means Patience, reproof, warning, and exhortation of all kinds. This is what we are called to do. How to be a blessing? Share the gospel. Sometimes people may not listen, and that's okay, as long as you do it out of love and patience. In Romans 1:16, the apostle Paul said... Folks, let's read: I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why? Please pay attention to the pronouns here. This gospel is the power of God. Please pay attention: What is the power of God to save? This gospel. What is this gospel. This is about Jesus, who died and rose again. The gospel is that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead, proving that He is the Messiah. Everyone, please read this scripture together: Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
So today's message is very simple. If you want to remember the summary, there's only one main point. What's the main point? Be a blessing and share the gospel. In Acts 8, you have Philip sharing the gospel, and those people, in all circumstances, with all people, at all times. So how should he share the gospel? God can use all kinds of people in all circumstances, good and bad, and God wants us to share with everyone, and ultimately, in season and out of season. I'm not asking you not to be such a blessing, just donating money, giving money, helping people with material needs, that's good, please continue. I'm not saying don't be such a blessing, like helping people find jobs, that's good. I'm not saying don't be such a blessing, like helping people finish school, that's good. But I'm saying that the ultimate blessing has to do with the gospel, because it allows you to experience life and purpose and meaning not only in this life, but also in eternity. This is the real blessing. Amen? OK, what can we learn? in all circumstances.
Saul, now let's talk about the man Saul, who later became Paul, Acts 8:3-4 But Saul destroyed the church, went into every house, and took the men and women and threw them into prison. Oh my God. I don't know about you guys, but you might be asking, if your friend was hauled off to jail, or if your husband, you might be wondering: Where is God? Oh God! What happened? Where are you? Have you ever had such a problem? Sometimes you get into trouble, and you wonder why God allows it to happen, right? Well, listen to me, be a blessing, no matter what happens, you know why? Because God works in mysterious ways. In this case, those who were scattered went out to preach the gospel. Do you know why they were scattered? Because many people no longer have peace in Jerusalem.
You see Christians have become so comfortable, just like the CCF center, they have become so comfortable in the center, they come here, OK, Monday, Tuesday, drink coffee, eat fast food, they have become so comfortable, the Bible says: You have to go and share the gospel, but they don't want to do it. Because they love the discipleship group, they love meeting, every night, every day, and God says: You know what? I will allow certain things to happen, the Bible tells us, they are scattered. Praise God, when they were scattered, they didn't curl their lips and shake their heads, they didn't cry, get emotional, lose their temper. Wherever they go, what do they do? They went to preach. So here comes the word evangelize, and the word evangelize is repeated many times in Acts chapter 8. Philip went down to the city of Samaria to preach Christ.
Notice, it was Jesus he was preaching, and the gospel was about Jesus. 6 And all the people obeyed his words with one accord, because they had heard and seen the miracles that Philip was doing. Miracles and wonders happen because God uses all kinds of circumstances. How many of you are familiar with the Ethiopian Airlines accident? You know, in the Ethiopian Airlines accident, the plane was bound for Nairobi, and this guy got his boarding pass. Do you remember this story? He was only 2 minutes late. When he came to the boarding gate, he saw the passengers entering the aisle and entering the plane. He was shouting, let me in, let me in! How many of you have had this experience? The gate is closed and the plane hasn't taken off yet, but they won't let you in again.
Please raise your hand, I tell you, welcome to this club, I have also encountered such a thing, but you can't help it, but do you know what happened? The guy said... He was really angry, but that flight, the one he missed, crashed, remember? Everyone on the plane died, he said, and he didn't understand, why does God allow disappointment to happen in your life so many times? I know some of you are in trouble, but my friends, don't reject God, keep trusting Him. Because God knows what He is doing. OK? Now the Bible tells us that when you share the gospel, God will give you power. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, to the ends of the earth.
Please note that in order to obey God's command, God allowed them to get into trouble. Do you know why? Because they will be His witnesses. how to do? First, you wait for the Holy Spirit, when you receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Philip was an ordinary man. What was his job? Serving meals, like a waiter, serving widows, but filled with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the overflow is that you want to share the gospel, but the Bible is very clear that you need the Holy Spirit in your life. So when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be my witnesses and preach about Jesus. What has He done for you? Beginning in Jerusalem, and throughout all Judea and Samaria. You see, they get so comfortable, but God allows these things to happen. The Bible tells us that many people were possessed by unclean spirits, and the spirits came out of them with a loud cry; many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 There was great joy in that city. No matter where the gospel is preached, you will notice that healing and wonderful things happen.
Let me share a short video with you. It's a member of our church. He thought he was a Christian. Later he was possessed by a demon. What we did is, we edited this video, but you can watch it on Youtube. to the full version. But I have edited it with the family's permission. Then you will understand the power of the name of Jesus. are you ready? What does it mean to be a blessing and why do people need Jesus? Okay, please play that video.
Praise God! I was in Baguio, last year, a few weeks after this incident, and I realized that people could pretend to be Christians, just like this guy. He was doing all the ministry in the church, and his parents didn't know he was living a duplicitous life. That was my burden. That's why you have to share the true gospel, and the true gospel will transform you. Life, provided there is a real life transformation in the process. You'll notice something in the story of Stephen. Acts 8:9-10 There was a man named Simon, who had been practicing witchcraft in that city and astonishing the people of Samaria by his arrogance. Now comes this character called Simon the Sorcerer, and the Bible tells us: "Everyone obeyed him, both great and small, saying, 'This is the Mighty One who is called God'. They listened to him, because he used sorcery to amaze them for a long time."
In short, my friends, magic is nothing new. Today, occult magic is making a comeback. Magic is real, but it comes from demons. They can do wonders, and their wonders are real. This is why the Bible makes it very clear. Do you remember? In Egypt, when Pharaoh confronted Moses, and Moses threw down his staff, and it turned into a snake, these magicians did the same thing. The only difference is that Moses' snake swallowed the magicians' snakes. The power of evil is limited. In CCF, due to God's grace, we have experienced many miracles and many salvations, okay? We have cast out demons, because demons are nothing compared to Jesus. But you have to realize, this is real, spiritual warfare is real. If you are possessed by a demon, you won't even know it. You don't know why you are filled with anger, bitterness, and rage. Why don't you like to attend every Bible study meeting? Why do you have thousands of excuses not to attend every Sunday service? Remember, the problem is not flesh and blood; the demonic world is a reality. It whispers in your head, it talks to you.
So here we have this guy, and the Bible tells us, I'm admonishing everybody, OK? Here is a warning: 1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." I tell our Bible study group, especially with all the celebrities and teachers on the Internet, be careful! You must test those who claim to be prophets of God. The Bible tells us, how do you test them? "You can recognize the Spirit of God in this way: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and is the Messiah. Every spirit that denies Jesus is not from God."
The test method is it: how we view Jesus, the Son of God? Do we worship Him? This is the spirit of the Antichrist. You heard that he was coming, but now he is here. The word Antichrist in Greek does not mean to be against Christ, it just means to replace Christ. You see many church leaders, there are many wrong teachings, they say, we believe in Jesus, but antichrist means our replacement, Jesus Christ is no longer the only way, there are many ways, substitutes, taking the place of Jesus, So any group, any sect, any prophet who draws attention to himself and takes the place of Jesus, my friend, be careful. The early church fathers of the early church wrote something called Dadache. If you search on Google, Dadache, these are not, how should I say, not inspired, but they wrote down the teachings and words and deeds of the apostles.
One of the things How do you identify a false prophet? I'm not saying that they are all 100% correct, but it is very interesting. Do you know how they tested it? They say if a prophet comes to your house, if he wants to stay for more than a day, you have to be careful. In other words, they tested these prophets by testing how they treated money. If he wanted bread and water, that was OK. If he wanted more than bread and water, if he wanted money, he was a false prophet. In other words, they were very, very careful that people should not use the things of God to ask for money. That was the early church, and there were false prophets everywhere. At CCF we really don't allow our pastors to solicit donations for their personal needs. Do you know why? We believe in God's provision in the church.
According to the rules, pastors are taken care of. Do you understand? But just because people need money, that doesn't mean they're false prophets, don't get me wrong, OK? I'm just saying, you're going to put them to the test, but the Bible tells us, Acts 8:12-13 And when they believed Philip preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. So the gospel is powerful, you see, be a blessing, share the gospel, because people need the Lord.
Notice, even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed with Philip, and was astonished when he saw the signs and great miracles he was doing. He was so amazed that the Bible tells us, if you read on, that He wanted to have this authority. Do you remember what happened? Before I read that verse, I first look at what the Bible teaches in order. When the apostles heard in Jerusalem that the Samaritans had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When the two men arrived, he prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Sorry, you're telling me that they believed and were baptized, but they haven't received the Holy Spirit yet? Does this confuse you? Is this a question in your head now? Yes or no? If you don't ask questions, I won't answer them in the future. Do you have any questions? What is this scripture talking about? They believed and were baptized, but they did not receive the Holy Spirit.
You won't understand what's going on here unless you see the full context, which I'll explain to you in a moment. The Bible tells us that because the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them, they were baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then the apostles laid their hands on their heads, and they received the Holy Spirit. ah! Does the Bible say that one has to lay hands on an apostle to receive the Holy Spirit? Is this what the Book of Acts teaches? I will explain to you, will you listen? Remember, we want to teach God's Word, so I'm going to let God's Word explain this to you. You'll notice in the Bible, in some texts, when the Bible was written, there are so-called narrative, descriptive passages. Tell me, descriptive, describing what happened.
As opposed to normative, what is normative? When you dictate that things should be the way they are, that's called doctrinal, narrative, descriptive, sharing what's going on, that's not normative. David, Solomon, how many wives did Solomon have? Sorry to say, there are only 700, 700 wives, how many concubines are there? 300, how many women? There are only 1,000 of them. Now some people will say, look, look, my friend, that's what you call descriptive, it's not a rule that you should have concubines, you should have many wives. The normative part is found in the epistle of the apostle, 1 Timothy, to be the husband of one woman only. It's the same thing in Acts, describing what happened and why? Why did these things happen? Should this be normative? Or is this something unique to that time in history?
Let me share with you, you have to understand the background. Samaritans and Jews have always hated each other. The Bible says in John 4:9: Samaritans The woman from Adam said to Jesus, "Why do you, a Jew, ask a drink of water from me, a Samaritan woman"? (It turns out that Jews and Samaritans have no contact with each other.) You must understand this, so that you can understand Bible. You see, the Samaritans were in the north of Israel. They belonged to the ten tribes. What happened in Israel? There was a division. Israel was once a country, but later it was divided into two. The southern kingdom of Judah was composed of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. Jesus came from there, and David also came from there. It was called the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom designated Samaria as its capital.
About 700 BC, the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. The entire northern kingdom of Israel was conquered. They were taken captive to foreign countries, so they began to intermarry with foreigners, so there were 10 The tribes mixed with the Gentiles, so the Jews, they were pure blood, and when they were conquered, they remained pure, and when they returned to Jerusalem, they remained pure, but they never respected or loved Satan. Maria people. Because the Samaritans were a mixed race. But the Bible doesn't want us to be racist. So, what happened is this, in Jesus' day, a Jew would never go through Samaria, they were hostile, second class citizens, they would never go there.
But when the gospel was preached to the Samaritans and they believed in Jesus, the question arose, was this legal? Is this true? Who did they send? Peter and John, the two apostles, so by laying on their hands to receive the Holy Spirit, God was telling the Jews, I don't care about race anymore, and I will give my Holy Spirit to the Samaritans. And the Samaritans should not start another church called Samaritan Christians, no, no, no, there is only one church, Jesus is our Lord, whether you are a Jew or a Samaritan, We are all one in Christ, so that, my friend, is the context here. They needed the authority of the apostles, so the Samaritans would know, we were still subject to the authority of the apostles, there was only one church, scattered in different places, and guess what happened in the end? Now, you'll notice that this is not normative.
You know what happens in Acts 10? If you read the next few chapters, I'm going to show you something about the Holy Spirit. In the next few chapters, when Peter starts preaching to the Gentiles, you have to understand that the Gentiles, the Gentiles are considered second class, third class. Citizens, they were called wood for fire, wood that burns in hell, that's how the Jews viewed the Gentiles, wow, Peter was sent by God to speak to Cornelius, a Roman, a Gentile, when As he preached, Acts 10:43,44 the prophets also testified about him: 'Whoever believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins through his name. ' Now please pay attention and read with me: While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. There was no laying on of hands. The Holy Spirit fell upon everyone listening to Peter's sermon, and they were Gentiles.
The Bible tells us, Acts 10:45-46 Then the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astonished. Why? For I saw that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out also on the Gentiles. What is the message conveyed here? Don't be racist, don't be racist anymore, we are all one in Christ. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God. And then Peter said, notice, there was a sign, so that they would know that these people were legitimate, that the Gentiles were God's legitimate children, by the Holy Spirit. Let's read it together, please read it together. 47 Then Peter said, "'Who can forbid the baptism with water, since these have received the Holy Spirit as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ."
Please pay attention to the order here. This order is: faith, coming of the Holy Spirit, and baptism. So what is the order in Acts chapter 8? Belief, baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit, in other words, are not prescribed like this. Those so-called historical records, when a new group of people come to believe in Jesus, in the history of the church, God wants them to know that a church, the authority of the apostles, the most important thing is, God does not value race. Having said this, let us now look at the logical question: According to the Bible, when did you receive the Holy Spirit? Now this has doctrinal importance, Ephesians chapter 1, when did you receive the Holy Spirit? When someone lays hands on you? Of course not. When did you receive the Holy Spirit?
Let's read it. Ephesians 1:13 In Jesus you also heard the word of truth, the gospel, that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead, and this is the gospel by which you are saved by believing in Him as your Savior, Everyone read: I have also believed in Christ. From a grammatical perspective, since I have believed in Him, I have been sealed by the promised Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit comes into your life. If you really believe this gospel, you are really reborn. You really believe in Jesus. Do we understand? What are the credentials? It's the Holy Spirit. So the Bible is very clear, the Holy Spirit is the evidence of your salvation, but the Bible tells us, Romans 8:9 But you are no longer of the flesh, but of the Spirit.
If the Spirit of God truly dwells in your hearts. Everyone read: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. In other words, you can be here tonight, you can be here today, participating in CCF activities, but you do not have the Spirit of God. The Bible says that you do not belong to Him. You might be like this guy, Simon, and you know why. Look at Simon the sorcerer, Acts 8:18-19 When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands, he gave the apostles money. Looking at his heart, 19 he said, "Give me this authority also, that I may lay my hands on you". He who cares about you will receive the Holy Spirit".
Look at his heart. He cares about himself, not Jesus. He wants control. He wants power. Peter said to him, everyone read, "Your money. Perish with you! Because you think that the gifts of God can be bought with money. 21 You have no part in this, because your heart is not right before God. This is a very strong word in Greek. Say, Peter said, go to hell with your money! In English, go to hell! This is a very strong term, and it means... People ask me, is Simon a Christian? Judging from the evidence, he is not. Can you imagine? He said he believed, but he was not a Christian. You see, your heart is not right before God. Call him to repent, Acts 8:22-23 Repent of this sin of yours, and pray to the Lord, that the thoughts of your heart may be forgiven.
You see, God sees our hearts, 23 and I see that you are in the gall of bitters, and are sinful. Bound. Just like that young boy Rafael, Rafael was also in the gall of bitter, bound by sin, but he showed all the outward behaviors of a Christian, but without Christ. Look at Rafael's family, his father is a Doctor, they all love the Lord, the whole family loves the Lord, Rafael has seen many things, but my friend, if your heart has not been touched by the Spirit of God, and you do not repent of your sins, my friend, what things None of that will happen to you, you just have the façade, pretending you're a Christian, but you're not. You see, the best test, according to these Dadache, was the early church leaders. Their writings, the best test is by their fruit.
How do you identify false prophets? You look at their lives. So the answer I give you is exactly what Jesus said. You will know them by their fruits. History tells us, Acts 8:24 Simon, behold, Simon was even able to pray, and Simon said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that nothing of what you say may come to me. On your body! "What kind of prayer is that? I can't repent for you, you have to repent for yourself. If you don't mind, this is an additional verse, please read this additional verse, there are actually false Christians among us, read together.
Matthew 13:24 Jesus told them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while they were sleeping, an enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. When the shoots sprout and sprout ears, the tares will also appear. The owner of the field's servants came and told him, 'Lord, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where do the tares come from?' The master said, 'The enemy did this.' The servant said, 'Do you want us to go and fetch him out?' The master said, 'No, otherwise the weeds will be gathered up, and the wheat will be pulled out as well. These two things grow together, waiting to be harvested. At harvest time, I will say to the reapers: Gather out the tares first, tie them into bundles, and keep them for burning, but the wheat must be gathered into the barn.'"
Jesus is saying here, there are wheat and tares in the church today, there are real Christians, and what else? Fake ones. They look alike, and let me share with you, these are the wheat and the tares, from the outside, they look the same, but Jesus said, don't separate them yet. On the Day of Judgment, I will send reapers. The reapers in the Bible are angels. They will separate the false from the true. The Bible says. The fake ones will be gathered out and burned, but the real ones will be put in the barn. Friends, only God knows, and only you know. Whether you are real or fake, I can't judge, but I tell you, this is very serious.
When I preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, I want to tell you the good news. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. You can receive forgiveness of sins if you sincerely say in your heart, Lord, I repent of my sins. But if you are using Jesus as a tool to achieve your goals, like Simon the sorcerer, his story tells us, Father Irenaeus, this guy, Simon, was a sorcerer, according to history, he became the leader of a false sect, Gnosticism (agnosticism), and he began to twist the teachings of the Bible. Do you know why? He never understood the gospel, which is about the grace of God. I am a sinner, I can't save myself, I need to change, I need to repent, and the Bible tells us, Acts 8:25 After the apostles had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages in Samaria, wherever they go, they will preach the gospel. I once asked my wife to come here. OK, let's welcome my wife and give a brief sharing.
Praise God, you know, a few weeks ago, I was waiting at the airport and I met someone, my wife and I both have this habit of sharing the gospel of Jesus, and by the grace of God, this man opened his heart to us. He said he was living with a girl, and I said: Are you married? He said: It's over. I said: Do you know God loves you? Because among 7 billion people, why did I meet you today? I want you to know that God loves you! I said, can I ask you to come over? So I made a brief sharing. Do you believe it? On the following Sunday, from Los Angeles... after we landed, on the following Sunday, this man showed up at church looking for me. Isn't God amazing? Praise God! Now my point is: You and I don't have the ability to change people's hearts, but what is your duty? Be a blessing, what are you going to do? Share the gospel. Because a lot of people are thirsty.
Now that we're almost done, I want you to understand that in order to share the gospel, you have to be sensitive. Let's read: Acts 8:26 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go southward toward the On the road from Jerusalem to Gaza"! Those of you who want to go with me to Jerusalem, I can show you where they go from Samaria to Gaza, and it's not an easy road, like from here. Bulacan, ah, it's a long way to go. So Philip got up and went away. So you don't know how long he was gone. Unexpectedly, there was an Ethiopian, a powerful eunuch who was in charge of the treasury under the Queen of Ethiopia, Gan Daji. He went up to Jerusalem to worship. Now my friends, I call this a divine meeting. Because there's this guy here, and we don't even know his name. An Ethiopian eunuch, the first black African to hear the gospel. This eunuch, who is this eunuch?
Ladies, you don't understand this. Men, put your hands up and say hey to me. OK, men, you don't want to be a eunuch. You know why? When you become a eunuch, it's over for a man, you can't have children or have sex. But in ancient times, if you wanted to gain a high position and gain the queen's trust, they would castrate you. This man is a high official, in fact he may be the Minister of Finance. A courtier in charge of the treasury, but his heart was ready, and he went to Jerusalem to worship even though he was not allowed to enter the temple. He was a eunuch and a black man, but God was at work in his heart. The Bible tells us, what is this man doing? Now come back and sit in the car and read the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go, keep close to the chariot"!
Now, ladies and gentlemen, please notice God's control of time. This is Philip, walking all the way from Samaria, and he went down to This road leads to Gaza, which is the road to the wilderness. The Bible says it leads into the wilderness, which means there is no one there. So he must be thinking, Lord, why did you let me come here? What am I doing here? And then all of a sudden, wow! A Cadillac, that's a Cadillac, you know why? People were very poor at that time, so if there was a carriage, you must be a rich and powerful person. Look what is happening. The man in the carriage is reading. What is he reading? He was reading Isaiah, and the Lord told Philip, OK, do you want to do sports ministry? This is a sports ministry, you run with the car, follow the car, okay?
So I followed the car and ran, oh, do you understand? OK? Now that this is happening, get ready. Philip ran to the eunuch and heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, "Do you understand what you are reading"? You see, Philip is very sensitive. Do you understand? An Ethiopian eunuch, praise God! He had a humble heart and said, "How can I understand unless someone teaches me"? So he asked Philip to get in the chariot and sit with him. Do you understand the timing? The Bible tells us that the passage he was reading was Isaiah 53. There is this verse in Isaiah 53: "He is led like a sheep to the slaughter, like a lamb before its shearers. Silent, so he opened not his mouth. When he was humbled, he was not judged righteously. Who can tell of his generation"?
Only two verses are listed here, but In Isaiah 53, which I'll show you shortly, it's about Jesus Christ. The eunuch asked Philip a beautiful question, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about"? Are you referring to yourself or others? Is this chapter 53 in the Old Testament talking about himself? Or is it talking about someone else? Ah! Everyone read: "Philip then opened his mouth and began to preach Jesus to him from this scripture". You know that when I went to Israel, I don't use the New Testament, but when I preach to my Jewish friends, I use the Old Testament, because the Old Testament also talks about Jesus, for example, Isaiah chapter 53, let's read together: Isaiah 53:3 He despised, despised, a man of sorrows, acquainted with sorrow. He was despised, as one whose face was hidden from men, and we did not respect him.
This is speaking of Jesus, a man of sorrows, acquainted with sorrow. When Jesus was on earth, He understood human suffering. We did not treat Him well. The Bible tells us that He indeed bore our sorrows and carried our pains, but we thought that He was punished and smitten by God. It's all about Jesus. The gospel is all about Jesus. We read it together, but we didn't realize that He was crucified for our transgressions. The crucifixion had not been invented at that time. Isaiah 53 was invented after the crucifixion. Written before coming out, He was bruised for our sins. This is the gospel. Jesus took your place, my sins became His, and He was bruised for our sins, and we have peace. By his stripes we are healed.
My friend, it's very clear who this is about. The gospel is in the Old Testament, and you can't understand the Passover from now on. A few weeks later, we will celebrate Passover. In the Old Testament, the blood was sprinkled on the doorposts, and then we celebrated. Jesus died on Passover. Why? He was the perfect sacrifice. It was all about Jesus, The Bible tells us, Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid upon Him the sin of us all. My friends, I don't know about you, but when I hear about Jesus. The gospel, how he took my place on the cross, my heart was greatly moved, I praised God, this eunuch heard the gospel from Philip through the Old Testament, the Bible tells us, Acts 8:36-37 2 The man was walking forward and reached a place with water.
Oh my god, there is water on the roadside in the desert! The eunuch said: "Look, there is water here"! What's wrong with me being baptized? "That is all right," said Philip, "if you believe with all your heart". He answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God". So he ordered them to stop, and they both went into the water, and Philip baptized him. You see, baptism is a beautiful picture, which means that when you are in the water, you die to yourself, and when you come out of the water, you are reborn. So baptism is a public confession, if you confess it with your mouth. Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved if you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, for with your heart you believe and you confess with your mouth and you are saved.
Announcement, baptism is coming soon, and if you are a true follower of Jesus, you have not been baptized. You are not baptized to become a Christian, but to declare that you are a Christian. Are we clear? Tell us, Acts 8:39-40 39 And the Spirit of the Lord lifted Philip up out of the water: and the eunuch no longer saw him, and he walked with joy. This is the power of the gospel. Then share the gospel, which brings joy to people. Then Philip was found in Azotus, which is a part of Israel, about 24 miles north of Gaza, and he traveled throughout that area, preaching the gospel in every city, up to Caesarea. Philip was a great example of how God used an ordinary man like Philip, who was not an apostle, but who was used by God because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit filled. He wanted to be a blessing, so he preached about Jesus, and the Bible tells us that he did not neglect his own family.
You will meet Philip again in chapter 21, and we read it together. The next day, we (Paul and the author Luke (Gal.) Leaving there, we came to Caesarea and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven deacons with whom we lived. 9 He had four daughters, all virgins. Those who prophesied. History tells us that Philip's daughters were very powerful. They were not priests. They were prophetesses. If you preach God's message, you are a prophet. The gospel to his own family, he did not neglect his own home. My friend, what is the message today? To be a blessing, share the gospel, you know why? Only this life will pass soon, only for Christ. What we do lasts forever.
If God has spoken to you and you feel you need to be an evangelist, God wants all of us to share the gospel. I would like to encourage you to share the gospel this week and ask Jesus for help. You share the gospel, I will pray for you, if this is your desire, please raise your hands, if you want to be a blessing, you want to share the gospel, please raise your hands. Now when you raise your hands, please put them down first. Come on down. There are a lot of you who, if you haven't experienced the gospel, you don't want to share the gospel. If you haven't experienced the forgiveness of sins in Jesus, maybe that's why you're indifferent to sharing the gospel. You haven't experienced the gospel yet.
Think about this. If you're not excited about Jesus and the gospel, it's possible that all you have is religion, but you haven't really met Jesus. If that's you, I want to pray for you. I want you to surrender your life today and repent completely. Please raise your hands and praise God. Anyone else? You haven't experienced the gospel yet. You don't know what I'm talking about.
Why should I be excited? Because you have not experienced true forgiveness from God, you are not sure of your forgiveness, but you want to be sure today, please raise your hands, raise your head high! Praise God, anyone else? Please raise your hands, do you know why? You humble yourself, just like the eunuch, who was very sincere, who was very humble, who came to Jesus. If you are like this eunuch and you want to know Jesus today, please raise your hand. You don't want to be a fake Christian. You want to be a real Christian. Please raise your hands high. Do you know why? It is important for you to be a true follower of Jesus, so raise your hands, lift them high! I want to pray for you:
Father God in heaven, I pray for these men and women who raise their hands and say, we want to be true Christians, Lord Jesus, may You strengthen their faith, may You make them know that in Christ, we sins have been forgiven. It's all by grace. We cannot obtain your gift of salvation through money or influence, it all comes from you. Please help us realize that salvation and the Holy Spirit are gifts, we cannot earn them, we cannot buy them, but they all come from you, Lord.
Those of you who are raising your hands, please join me in praying this prayer, Lord Jesus, I want to know you, I want to experience real joy, real forgiveness of sins, please come into my heart, transform me, make me Come to know You in your most authentic way, Help me to place my faith in You. The second prayer is for those whose hearts have been touched by the Lord and want to be a blessing. You want to be a blessing, you want to share this good news, but you are afraid, you don't know how. I want to pray for you. I'm going to pray that God will give you the opportunity and give you the courage to share it with your family, but you need to humble yourself if that's your desire. "Lord, I want to share the gospel, but I'm afraid, I'm shy, please help me". Then please raise your hand, raise it higher. Okay, everyone who wants to share the gospel, share it with one person this week, okay? I'm asking you to share with at least one person this week. You raise your hands and I want to pray for you.
Father God in heaven, I pray for this group of men and women that they would share the gospel with at least one person this week, may you open doors, may you open doors of opportunity, and give them the courage to put their faith in you to share the good news, to share the gospel, because the gospel is about you, Lord. Now I'm praying for other people too, maybe they're struggling, they're confused, please tell them very clearly that it's only by your grace that we can experience the gospel, that we can experience the gospel about Jesus, Lord, please transform us. Heart, just like you transformed Rafael, just like you transformed that Ethiopian man, thank you for reminding us that when we put our faith in you, nothing is in vain, and we all pray in the name of Jesus, Amen! Amen!