Changing the World - Go and Tell - Acts 8 - December 26,2010

Bible Study – Changing the World – Go and Tell – December 26, 2010
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!
This is lesson three (3) in our series entitled “Changing the World.”
Our scripture is Acts 8:1-39.
CHRIST makes it clear that Christians are to go and tell the Gospel of CHRIST. Christians are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. When a person is in darkness he/she seeks light.


Years ago, our young son and I were spelunking with his scout troop. We had a guide and were exploring a cave that had not been mapped. I remember clinging to a high wall with a 20 foot drop to jaggered rocks below and thinking, as I was about to go around a sharp corner of the wall, “This would not be a good time for my light to go out.” There was some light from the person in front of you until he went around the corner, then darkness. Just as I approached the corner, you guessed it, my light went out. There was a person behind me but he had not reached that section of the wall. It was dark. If you have ever been in a cave then you know what dark is. It was a tense moment for me. I did not know where to place my hands or feet to proceed around the corner. After what seemed to be a long time, the person behind me came close enough to me for their light to help me see where to place my hands and feet and continue working my way around the wall and the corner. I made it to a ledge and fixed my light.


Shortly after this incident, the HOLY SPIRIT brought this incident to my attention to remind me there are times when a Christian’s light may go out or grow dim and he/she needs the light of a fellow Christian to help him/her get to the point that their light is rekindled. Those without CHRIST are in darkness and a Christian is often the only Spiritual light he/she can see. Let the light of CHRIST shine through you, not to draw attention to yourself but for others see the light of CHRIST in you and to encourage them to seek HIM.


We know that salt adds flavor to food but also it can be used as a preservative, melt ice and can help heal. As CHRIST taught, Christians are the salt of the earth. Salt can make you thirsty. Christians should so live that others will thirst for what they have. They should thirst for truth and that truth is found in CHRIST.


Christians come in all sorts of packages and are often poor representatives of CHRIST. If you have encountered a poor Christian representative, do not toss CHRIST out because of the way he/she may have acted. You are responsible for your sins. Do not let something or someone prevent you from putting on the garments of righteousness and truth by asking CHRIST to forgive you of your sins and for HIM to come into your life. Experience the wonder of a changed life, the renewing of your mind and build a loving, intimate relationship with HIM.


Christians are to go and tell as they are called and led by the HOLY SPIRIT. When we get up, every day is a day of opportunity to serve the LORD as HIS children, as HE leads.


GOD provides opportunities to serve HIM in many ways. Our scripture today will give us an example of how GOD works to get the message of salvation to others. Will we, as Christians, agree to go or choose to stay?


GOD called Philip to go and tell. Philip was not the Apostle Philip but he was one of the seven deacons commissioned as we learn in Acts 6:1-6:


Seven Chosen to Serve
1 In those days, as the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews[1] against the Hebraic Jews[2] that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. 2 Then the Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching about God to wait on tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.” 5 The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a • proselyte from Antioch. 6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.[3]

This scripture speaks to the character of Philip. He was chosen to serve because he was a man who would serve without bias and prejudice. So GOD called him to serve among those who believed they were being discriminated against.

The Jews began persecuting the Christians. Notice that Stephen was listed first in the group of seven which could indicate that he was the leader or certainly the first chosen to serve. Philip was listed as the second chosen. The Jews chose Stephen to stone.


Notice in verse 1, that Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen. This was Paul before his conversion to CHRIST on the road to Damascus. The stoning of Stephen resulted in the scattering of all Christians except the apostles. Philip scattered like the others. But did he hide or go and tell? Let’s explore.


First some background. Let’s read Acts 8:1-25:
Saul the Persecutor (As mentioned above, this was Paul before his conversion to CHRIST.)
1 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. 2 But devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church, and he would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.


Philip in Samaria (As you may recall, the Jews hated the Samaritans.)
4 So those who were scattered went on their way proclaiming the message of good news. 5 Philip went down to a[1] city in Samaria and preached the • Messiah to them. 6 The crowds paid attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the signs he was performing. 7 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. 8 So there was great joy in that city.


Notice, when the Christians scattered, they spread the Gospel of CHRIST wherever they went. Philip went to the Samaritans, who the Jews despised and preached the message of CHRIST. Remember, he was a man of character and was not prejudiced so he went to Samaria to minister without hesitation. GOD manifested HIS power through Philip.


The Response of Simon (The sorcerer)
9 A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the • Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God!”[2] 11 They were attentive to him because he had astounded them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he went around constantly with[3] Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed.


Simon the Sorcerer became a Christian or did he? What was Simon’s motive for becoming a Christian? Did he want the power that he saw being manifested through Philip without his heart being changed? Many people have a variety of reasons why they become a Christian. Some people may get into trouble and say they are a Christian. This works to their advantage so they can tell a judge or parents or girlfriend or boyfriend that they have seen the light. But their hearts have not been changed.


Simon’s Sin
14 When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s message, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 After they went down there, they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet come down on[4] any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Holy[5] Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money! 21 You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 24 “Please pray[6] to the Lord for me,” Simon replied, “so that nothing you[7] have said may happen to me.” 25 Then, after they had testified and spoken the message of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, evangelizing many villages of the • Samaritans.


Simon reveals his true heart. Peter jumped him with both feet for his deceitful heart. Once Simon’s true motive was exposed, he knew he was in deep trouble. Hopefully his apparent repentance was genuine.


GOD was using Philip in a mighty way in Samaria. So he was set for the rest of his life or was he? Let’s discover. Surely GOD would leave him in Samaria where he had a thriving ministry.


Let’s read Acts 8:26-29:
The Conversion of the Ethiopian Official
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to desert Gaza.”[8] 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”


Philip was a busy, effective evangelist. Surely GOD would keep him in Samaria. No, HE didn’t! Why do you think GOD called Philip to leave this active ministry to go of all places to the desert? Could it be that HE knew Philip’s heart and that his desire was to do the will of GOD wherever he was called to minister? There are times a person can stay in one place to long. Philip’s ego was in proper perspective. All he wanted to do was obediently serve GOD as led by the HOLY SPIRIT. He was called to minister wherever GOD called him to serve.


GOD sent an angel to deliver Philip a message, which in essence was, “Philip leave this thriving ministry and go to the desert.” What would your reaction be? Mine would be, “LORD are YOU sure? Did I hear this message correctly?” What did Philip do?


He got up and went to the desert without hesitation.

What did he see? He saw an Ethiopian man, a black man, a Gentile, riding in a chariot, reading scripture. He was a person of importance because he was in charge of the Queen’s treasury. The queen’s name was not Candace. Candace was a title like the title of Pharaoh. The title Pharaoh was the title used for any number of kings. The Ethiopian was a eunuch. He could have been a eunuch meaning a person who had been castrated at an early age or the term also referred to a government official. The Greeks used the term to refer to the person who guarded the harems.


He had been to Jerusalem to worship and he was reading scripture from Isaiah. The HOLY SPIRIT instructed Philip to go up and join himself to the chariot. If Philip had been a prejudiced person, he may have been reluctant to go and speak to the Ethiopian. But he wasn’t and GOD knew that, thus HE called him to go and witness to the Ethiopian.


Let’s read Acts 8:30-35:
30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth. 33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.[9]34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?” 35 So Philip proceeded[10] to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.


Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the Ethiopian reading Isaiah. Philip asked him if he knew what he was reading. This was a gracious opening for the Ethiopian to reveal where he was Spiritually. This question provided the opportunity for dialogue between these two men. It is important to meet people on common ground to explore spiritual matters. The Ethiopian gave Philip the opportunity for him to reveal truth to him. GOD provided the opportunity at just the right time. The Ethiopian was reading in the exact place in scripture that was the springboard to salvation.


I have found when GOD has led me to witness to others; HE has already been working in their lives. Often, they had questions that needed answering. When GOD leads you to witness, do it.


Philip gave the Ethiopian the message of salvation through CHRIST.


Let’s read Acts 8:36-39:
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?” [ 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”][11] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in[12] Azotus,[13] and passing through, he was evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea.


The scripture is silent about the details that Philip passed along to the Ethiopian but we see from this scripture that he wanted to be baptized. Philip asked him if he believed in the message of CHRIST. He said, yes and Philip baptized him.


Notice that the Ethiopian questioned whether or not there was anything that would prevent him from being baptized? Had he faced discrimination as he worshipped in Jerusalem? Did he question if his national origin prevented him from being baptized and being a Christian? We do not know but this we know. CHRIST is no respecter of persons. All who believe that HE gave HIS life for them on the cross to pay the price for sin and ask HIM to forgive for their sins and ask HIM to come into their lives are born into the family of GOD.


If you have ever felt that you do not qualify to become a Christian, forget it. CHRIST gave HIS life for you. If you believe and accept CHRIST as your SAVIOR, HE will save you and come into your life at the very instant you ask HIM. The HOLY SPIRIT will indwell your life and confirm in your heart that you are a child of GOD through the miracle of rebirth.


Then what happened next is very interesting. It seems that Philip was zapped away and landed him in Azotus. Azotus is Ashdod, one of the ancient capitals. We see that as he traveled he preached the Good News.


I read a story years ago of an evangelist who had been in another city and was returning home with his wife. They were riding on a train and it stopped along the way. The preacher told his wife that GOD wanted him to get off the train. It was late afternoon and daylight was fading. She told him that GOD did not tell her to get off the train and she continued the journey home. He got off the train and it was getting dark. He told the LORD, “Here I am, now what do YOU want me to do?” The LORD led him down several streets in the city. By this time it was dark. The HOLY SPIRIT led him to a door where he could see light coming from under the door. The LORD told him to open the door and go in. When he opened the door, he saw a number of people on their knees praying. A man, located in front of the room, lifted his head and said, “Folks you can stop praying because our preacher has arrived.” He preached to them and boarded the next train home.


Just think of the blessing that Philip would have missed if he had stayed in Samaria or the preacher chose not to get off the train. Have we missed blessings by not responding to GOD’S call for us to go and tell?


Serving GOD is an exciting journey.

So what happened to Philip? Let’s fast forward a few years and read Acts 21:8-9:
8 The next day we (Paul and party) left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven,[1] and stayed with him. 9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.


We learn that Philip was still preaching the gospel of CHRIST in Caesarea. He had four (4) virgin daughters who prophesied. Philip was still obediently serving CHRIST and ministering to others. It is exciting to see that his daughters were also obediently serving CHRIST.


Philip’s walk with the LORD had a positive spiritual influence on his daughters who were faithful ministers for CHRIST. It is believed that Philip lived in Caesarea for about 20 years.


Our lesson is “Go and Tell.” Notice the words of the Ethiopian - 30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?”


Christians are to go and share the Gospel of CHRIST as GOD leads them. Obediently respond to the call of GOD for your life. Do not hide your light under a cover but let others see CHRIST in you as you live each day. The only gospel others may read is the gospel according to you.

If you are not a Christian, ask HIM to forgive you of sins and to come into your life right now. If you are a Christian and have not been living for HIM as your should, then confess it and ask HIM to renew and restore your relationship with HIM. That your desire is to obediently serve HIM as HE leads you by the HOLY SPIRIT.