1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,700 We’re looking today at the marvelous story 2 00:00:03,700 –> 00:00:07,060 of how one man’s life was changed by Jesus Christ 3 00:00:07,060 –> 00:00:09,760 and how through this one man, 4 00:00:09,760 –> 00:00:12,980 the gospel reached an entire nation. 5 00:00:13,960 –> 00:00:16,680 The theme of the book of acts as many of you know 6 00:00:16,680 –> 00:00:19,920 is laid out in Acts in chapter one and verse eight 7 00:00:19,920 –> 00:00:22,660 where our Lord Jesus says to the disciples, 8 00:00:22,660 –> 00:00:27,660 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you. 9 00:00:28,240 –> 00:00:31,719 The effect of the power of the Holy Spirit 10 00:00:31,719 –> 00:00:33,980 living in the disciples will be this. 11 00:00:33,980 –> 00:00:38,020 You shall be, Jesus says, my witnesses in Jerusalem, 12 00:00:38,020 –> 00:00:42,680 Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 13 00:00:42,680 –> 00:00:47,240 And very basically, the book of Acts tells us the story 14 00:00:47,240 –> 00:00:50,820 of how the gospel spread in fulfillment 15 00:00:50,820 –> 00:00:53,939 of these words of the Lord Jesus Christ. 16 00:00:53,939 –> 00:00:56,439 First it spread in Jerusalem itself 17 00:00:56,480 –> 00:00:58,900 then in the surrounding area of Judea 18 00:00:58,900 –> 00:01:02,439 then in the whole region of Samaria. 19 00:01:02,439 –> 00:01:04,720 And the story that we are looking at here 20 00:01:04,720 –> 00:01:09,239 in Acts chapter eight is of huge significance 21 00:01:09,239 –> 00:01:12,400 because it tells us how the gospel 22 00:01:12,400 –> 00:01:14,160 came to another continent. 23 00:01:14,160 –> 00:01:19,160 How the gospel came to the continent of Africa. 24 00:01:19,419 –> 00:01:23,959 We are looking at the story of how a man from Ethiopia 25 00:01:23,980 –> 00:01:28,320 came to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 26 00:01:28,320 –> 00:01:32,620 And even today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 27 00:01:32,620 –> 00:01:37,620 which by the way numbers between 45 and 50 million people. 28 00:01:38,180 –> 00:01:42,559 The Ethiopian Orthodox Church traces its origin back 29 00:01:42,559 –> 00:01:45,040 to the story and acts in chapter eight 30 00:01:45,040 –> 00:01:49,800 and to the conversion of this man. 31 00:01:49,800 –> 00:01:53,120 Now I’ve called this series Chosen Instruments 32 00:01:53,120 –> 00:01:55,120 because what we’re going to learn 33 00:01:55,120 –> 00:01:57,760 over these three weeks together in the book of Acts 34 00:01:57,760 –> 00:02:00,480 is that God uses his own people 35 00:02:00,480 –> 00:02:04,199 to bring others to faith in Jesus Christ. 36 00:02:04,199 –> 00:02:07,739 The phrase chosen instrument is used of Saul of Tarsus 37 00:02:07,739 –> 00:02:09,960 after he had met the risen Lord. 38 00:02:09,960 –> 00:02:12,839 If you glance across at Acts nine and verse 15 39 00:02:12,839 –> 00:02:13,899 you will see it there. 40 00:02:13,899 –> 00:02:16,860 He is, that Saul who became Paul, 41 00:02:16,860 –> 00:02:19,039 a chosen instrument of mine 42 00:02:19,039 –> 00:02:21,460 to carry my name before the Gentiles. 43 00:02:22,419 –> 00:02:24,419 Philip also as we’re going to see today 44 00:02:24,419 –> 00:02:28,419 was clearly a chosen instrument used by God 45 00:02:28,419 –> 00:02:32,539 to bring this Ethiopian to faith in Christ. 46 00:02:32,539 –> 00:02:34,600 And then the Ethiopian himself clearly 47 00:02:34,600 –> 00:02:37,539 was a chosen instrument used by God 48 00:02:37,539 –> 00:02:40,179 to bring the gospel to his own people 49 00:02:40,179 –> 00:02:43,539 and to his own country. 50 00:02:43,539 –> 00:02:44,740 So, this is a story 51 00:02:44,740 –> 00:02:49,100 that I think speaks very directly to all of us today. 52 00:02:49,139 –> 00:02:54,059 As a church, we are committed to see the gospel run. 53 00:02:54,979 –> 00:02:58,979 We long to see people here and around the world 54 00:02:58,979 –> 00:03:02,539 embraced by the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 55 00:03:02,539 –> 00:03:07,539 We want to see lives redeemed for the glory of God. 56 00:03:08,500 –> 00:03:11,580 And sometimes we wonder and find ourselves thinking 57 00:03:11,580 –> 00:03:15,020 now how in this increasingly secularized age 58 00:03:15,020 –> 00:03:17,419 can the gospel actually penetrate 59 00:03:17,820 –> 00:03:21,100 and permeate into the lives of others around us. 60 00:03:21,100 –> 00:03:23,940 How can a community be touched and changed, 61 00:03:23,940 –> 00:03:27,960 and that is precisely what this story is about. 62 00:03:27,960 –> 00:03:31,240 It’s the story of one life being changed 63 00:03:31,240 –> 00:03:33,059 and how in God’s great kindness 64 00:03:33,059 –> 00:03:37,860 that led to many others being reached. 65 00:03:37,860 –> 00:03:41,539 Now, two very simple observations today from this story 66 00:03:41,539 –> 00:03:44,100 as we look at how this happened. 67 00:03:44,100 –> 00:03:47,320 The first is that God takes the initiative, 68 00:03:47,339 –> 00:03:51,000 the second that we proclaim the gospel. 69 00:03:51,000 –> 00:03:54,020 First, then God takes the initiative, verse 26. 70 00:03:54,020 –> 00:03:56,199 Now, an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 71 00:03:56,199 –> 00:03:59,419 rise and go toward the south 72 00:03:59,419 –> 00:04:02,440 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. 73 00:04:02,440 –> 00:04:06,520 This is a desert place. 74 00:04:08,080 –> 00:04:11,600 Now, here we are reminded that God works, 75 00:04:11,600 –> 00:04:14,199 God takes the initiative, 76 00:04:14,240 –> 00:04:18,959 God instigates a saving work in a person’s life 77 00:04:19,859 –> 00:04:23,220 by bringing one person who knows him 78 00:04:23,220 –> 00:04:27,339 alongside another person who needs to know him. 79 00:04:28,299 –> 00:04:31,100 Philip is to go to a particular place 80 00:04:31,100 –> 00:04:34,179 that is the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. 81 00:04:34,179 –> 00:04:36,440 And he is to be there at a particular time. 82 00:04:36,440 –> 00:04:38,519 If you look at the footnote in the ESV, 83 00:04:38,519 –> 00:04:41,500 you will see an alternative translation of this verse 84 00:04:41,519 –> 00:04:43,179 is to go at about noon. 85 00:04:43,179 –> 00:04:48,179 So the place and the time are clearly referred to here. 86 00:04:49,679 –> 00:04:52,179 Which leads us I think only to marvel, 87 00:04:52,179 –> 00:04:54,420 don’t you marvel at the infinite 88 00:04:54,420 –> 00:04:57,040 and intimate knowledge of God. 89 00:04:58,000 –> 00:05:02,380 He knows where every person is at every moment of time. 90 00:05:03,640 –> 00:05:05,380 You are never hidden from his view. 91 00:05:06,579 –> 00:05:09,040 No one in all creation is. 92 00:05:10,040 –> 00:05:15,040 And God sends Philip so that he will be at the right place, 93 00:05:16,519 –> 00:05:21,480 at the right time to cross paths with someone 94 00:05:21,480 –> 00:05:25,480 who desperately needs to know the Lord as savior. 95 00:05:26,640 –> 00:05:28,480 Now I wonder by the way how Philip felt 96 00:05:28,480 –> 00:05:29,739 about this assignment. 97 00:05:29,739 –> 00:05:33,640 If you look back at verse five of Acts chapter eight, 98 00:05:33,640 –> 00:05:36,299 you will see that Philip had enjoyed the privilege 99 00:05:36,299 –> 00:05:38,380 of ministry in a great city. 100 00:05:38,619 –> 00:05:39,440 We’re told verse five. 101 00:05:39,440 –> 00:05:42,059 Philip went down to the city of Samaria 102 00:05:42,059 –> 00:05:44,059 and proclaimed to them the Christ. 103 00:05:44,059 –> 00:05:46,260 And we’re told that there were crowds 104 00:05:46,260 –> 00:05:48,260 with one accord paying attention 105 00:05:48,260 –> 00:05:50,260 to what was being said by Philip. 106 00:05:50,260 –> 00:05:52,420 And when they heard him and saw the signs 107 00:05:52,420 –> 00:05:53,260 that he was doing so, 108 00:05:53,260 –> 00:05:56,339 Philip had a remarkable ministry, a city ministry, 109 00:05:56,339 –> 00:06:01,200 huge crowds listening and attentive. 110 00:06:02,059 –> 00:06:03,899 And as you follow the story of the chapter 111 00:06:03,899 –> 00:06:05,179 it’s quite fascinating to me, 112 00:06:05,320 –> 00:06:08,500 it seems as if his ministry’s diminishing. 113 00:06:08,500 –> 00:06:12,019 Because about halfway through if you look at verse 25 114 00:06:12,019 –> 00:06:13,540 in the middle of the chapter, 115 00:06:13,540 –> 00:06:15,260 you find that when he had testified 116 00:06:15,260 –> 00:06:16,700 and spoken the word of the Lord 117 00:06:16,700 –> 00:06:18,320 they returned to Jerusalem 118 00:06:18,320 –> 00:06:20,820 and now Philip is preaching the gospel 119 00:06:20,820 –> 00:06:24,660 to many villages of the Samaritans. 120 00:06:25,619 –> 00:06:27,299 So the city ministry, 121 00:06:27,299 –> 00:06:29,380 in which this man has had the immense privilege 122 00:06:29,380 –> 00:06:32,140 of addressing huge responsive crowds, 123 00:06:32,140 –> 00:06:33,899 now he’s being led by the Lord 124 00:06:34,040 –> 00:06:37,179 into villages of much smaller communities of people. 125 00:06:38,500 –> 00:06:40,100 And now at the end of the chapter 126 00:06:40,100 –> 00:06:42,380 God takes him from that ministry 127 00:06:44,079 –> 00:06:49,079 and sends him to minister to one person in the desert. 128 00:06:51,179 –> 00:06:54,980 And in fact notice that God does not even say to him 129 00:06:54,980 –> 00:06:57,619 at this point go to a desert place 130 00:06:57,619 –> 00:07:00,940 because there you’re going to meet a prominent official 131 00:07:00,940 –> 00:07:03,140 from the royal household of Ethiopia. 132 00:07:03,140 –> 00:07:05,100 You’re going to lead him to faith in Jesus Christ 133 00:07:05,100 –> 00:07:06,380 and in time, he will be the means 134 00:07:06,380 –> 00:07:08,779 of touching and changing an entire nation. 135 00:07:08,779 –> 00:07:10,739 No, no, no, none of that chain of events 136 00:07:10,739 –> 00:07:12,640 are made known to Philip at this point. 137 00:07:12,640 –> 00:07:16,040 All Philip knows is that God is sending him to a desert. 138 00:07:18,140 –> 00:07:20,220 And perhaps, you know what this is like. 139 00:07:22,160 –> 00:07:24,739 You come to a place in your own life 140 00:07:24,739 –> 00:07:28,480 when your opportunities seem less than they were before. 141 00:07:28,559 –> 00:07:30,859 And here they are again. 142 00:07:30,859 –> 00:07:33,660 Doors that once were open to you. 143 00:07:34,700 –> 00:07:39,640 Opportunities that you had to serve now seem to be closed. 144 00:07:41,239 –> 00:07:44,040 You feel that you are at a point in life 145 00:07:44,040 –> 00:07:46,799 where you sensed you were on the sidelines. 146 00:07:46,799 –> 00:07:51,359 You wonder, what use can I be to God while I am here? 147 00:07:51,359 –> 00:07:53,480 And I want to say to you from this story, 148 00:07:53,480 –> 00:07:56,299 never underestimate what God can do 149 00:07:56,299 –> 00:07:58,059 when you are in a desert place. 150 00:07:59,100 –> 00:08:02,660 Because for all his preaching to crowds in the city 151 00:08:02,660 –> 00:08:04,500 and for all his good work in the villages 152 00:08:04,500 –> 00:08:07,540 of the Samaritans, there is no doubt 153 00:08:07,540 –> 00:08:10,779 that Philip’s greatest work, 154 00:08:10,779 –> 00:08:15,079 the work for which he will always be remembered, 155 00:08:15,079 –> 00:08:19,920 was his ministry to one man who he met in a desert. 156 00:08:20,940 –> 00:08:22,859 Because it was through this one man 157 00:08:22,859 –> 00:08:24,200 that Philip led to the Lord 158 00:08:24,200 –> 00:08:27,140 that a whole country was reached 159 00:08:27,559 –> 00:08:29,619 and God always has a purpose in mind 160 00:08:29,619 –> 00:08:31,920 even when he puts you in a desert place. 161 00:08:33,919 –> 00:08:35,859 Now, God took the initiative then 162 00:08:35,859 –> 00:08:37,960 by sending Philip. 163 00:08:39,440 –> 00:08:41,580 But I want you to see that God was already at work 164 00:08:41,580 –> 00:08:43,320 and took the initiative also 165 00:08:43,320 –> 00:08:45,320 by preparing the man 166 00:08:45,320 –> 00:08:46,679 that Philip would meet 167 00:08:46,679 –> 00:08:48,359 in the desert. 168 00:08:48,359 –> 00:08:50,200 We don’t know this man’s name, 169 00:08:51,539 –> 00:08:54,520 but we know a very great deal about him. 170 00:08:54,520 –> 00:08:57,200 Let me try and describe this man to you. 171 00:08:57,200 –> 00:08:59,039 We’re told verse 27 172 00:08:59,039 –> 00:09:02,039 that he was a court official 173 00:09:02,039 –> 00:09:04,039 of Candace, 174 00:09:04,039 –> 00:09:07,039 the queen of the Ethiopians 175 00:09:07,039 –> 00:09:08,580 who was in charge 176 00:09:08,580 –> 00:09:12,000 of all her treasure. 177 00:09:12,000 –> 00:09:13,140 Now think about this. 178 00:09:14,000 –> 00:09:16,820 This man was nothing less than 179 00:09:17,700 –> 00:09:19,719 the queen’s treasurer. 180 00:09:20,799 –> 00:09:22,080 He was, if you like, 181 00:09:22,080 –> 00:09:24,080 the chief financial officer 182 00:09:24,200 –> 00:09:26,359 of an entire nation. 183 00:09:27,760 –> 00:09:29,559 A person who gets a job like that 184 00:09:29,559 –> 00:09:31,900 is obviously brilliant. 185 00:09:33,000 –> 00:09:35,919 This man was highly educated, 186 00:09:35,919 –> 00:09:39,000 skilled in investments, 187 00:09:39,000 –> 00:09:41,859 a master of fiscal policy 188 00:09:43,059 –> 00:09:44,679 and he has all the trappings 189 00:09:44,679 –> 00:09:47,479 that come with a successful career. 190 00:09:47,479 –> 00:09:49,520 He has the opportunity to travel 191 00:09:49,520 –> 00:09:52,200 and he rides first class 192 00:09:52,200 –> 00:09:53,119 in his own chariot. 193 00:09:55,080 –> 00:09:56,919 And he was clearly a model man. 194 00:09:58,200 –> 00:10:00,619 After all, when the queen was looking 195 00:10:00,619 –> 00:10:02,760 to appoint someone who would be trusted 196 00:10:02,760 –> 00:10:05,640 with the oversight of her entire treasury, 197 00:10:05,640 –> 00:10:08,059 the first thing you look for in that regard 198 00:10:08,059 –> 00:10:11,919 with competence is ethical integrity 199 00:10:11,919 –> 00:10:13,799 of the highest standard. 200 00:10:15,580 –> 00:10:17,080 And he was a religious man. 201 00:10:19,000 –> 00:10:23,320 He had come, verse 27, to Jerusalem to worship 202 00:10:25,000 –> 00:10:27,539 and He was returning, seated in his chariot, 203 00:10:27,539 –> 00:10:29,640 and he’s reading the prophet, Isaiah, 204 00:10:29,640 –> 00:10:31,700 so it’s a man with the bible in his hand. 205 00:10:33,559 –> 00:10:35,719 This man had embraced Judaism. 206 00:10:36,640 –> 00:10:40,039 He had come to believe in the God of the Bible. 207 00:10:40,039 –> 00:10:42,719 He believed that God revealed himself to Moses. 208 00:10:42,719 –> 00:10:46,280 He believed that God had revealed the way 209 00:10:46,280 –> 00:10:48,119 in which a person should live 210 00:10:48,119 –> 00:10:51,239 and that all of this was laid out in the Ten Commandments 211 00:10:51,239 –> 00:10:53,440 and the other commandments of the Lord. 212 00:10:55,080 –> 00:10:56,719 And he wanted to know this God. 213 00:10:58,359 –> 00:11:00,559 He wanted to grow in his knowledge of this God 214 00:11:00,559 –> 00:11:02,599 to such an extent that he was prepared 215 00:11:02,599 –> 00:11:05,440 to travel hundreds of miles 216 00:11:07,000 –> 00:11:08,380 in order to worship. 217 00:11:09,940 –> 00:11:12,919 So there could not have been a greater intentionality 218 00:11:12,919 –> 00:11:17,159 about the pursuit of a good and a godly life. 219 00:11:19,880 –> 00:11:23,020 Now I wonder how this visit to Jerusalem actually went. 220 00:11:24,400 –> 00:11:29,080 And I suspected it went badly, and here’s why. 221 00:11:30,679 –> 00:11:33,580 In verse 27, and this is surely the significance 222 00:11:33,580 –> 00:11:37,460 of this point, we’re told that this man was a eunuch. 223 00:11:39,039 –> 00:11:41,400 Now, if you check back in the Old Testament, 224 00:11:41,400 –> 00:11:43,799 in Juroname chapter 23 in verse one, 225 00:11:43,799 –> 00:11:47,440 you will see there that there was an ancient law 226 00:11:47,440 –> 00:11:51,200 that specifically excluded eunuchs 227 00:11:51,200 –> 00:11:53,419 from the assembly of the Lord. 228 00:11:55,080 –> 00:11:57,080 So I want you to picture this man 229 00:11:57,080 –> 00:11:59,479 as he arrives in the temple at Jerusalem. 230 00:11:59,479 –> 00:12:02,020 He’s traveled hundreds of miles. 231 00:12:03,159 –> 00:12:05,299 He’s come with a desire to worship. 232 00:12:05,299 –> 00:12:07,739 He’s a man who’s very distinguished and respected 233 00:12:07,739 –> 00:12:10,020 in his own country and in his own culture, 234 00:12:10,020 –> 00:12:13,299 but when he arrives at the temple, he is denied access. 235 00:12:14,200 –> 00:12:17,340 He can’t go into the main courts. 236 00:12:17,340 –> 00:12:21,080 I’m sorry, sir, but you can sit over here. 237 00:12:21,200 –> 00:12:24,919 And he is restricted to the outer edge. 238 00:12:24,919 –> 00:12:27,640 He’s not admitted to the inner circle. 239 00:12:27,640 –> 00:12:32,080 He feels himself to be an outsider to the grace of God 240 00:12:32,080 –> 00:12:33,479 and the exclusion. 241 00:12:33,479 –> 00:12:37,400 The reason for the exclusion lies in himself 242 00:12:38,739 –> 00:12:40,520 and he cannot do anything about it. 243 00:12:43,320 –> 00:12:44,780 And so when we meet this man 244 00:12:44,780 –> 00:12:47,400 on his journey home from worship, he’s not happy. 245 00:12:48,400 –> 00:12:52,200 There is a hunger in his soul and it has not been satisfied. 246 00:12:52,200 –> 00:12:53,679 He’d been looking for something. 247 00:12:53,679 –> 00:12:55,760 He’s gone hundreds of miles to try and find it 248 00:12:55,760 –> 00:12:57,619 and he’s not found it. 249 00:12:59,479 –> 00:13:02,159 He has a scroll that evidently he would have bought 250 00:13:02,159 –> 00:13:04,219 in Jerusalem of the prophet Isaiah. 251 00:13:04,219 –> 00:13:06,640 He’s reading it, but it doesn’t make sense to him. 252 00:13:06,640 –> 00:13:08,520 He doesn’t understand it. 253 00:13:10,520 –> 00:13:12,619 Now I want you to think then of what is put 254 00:13:12,619 –> 00:13:14,520 before us here in the Bible. 255 00:13:14,520 –> 00:13:17,039 Here is a brilliant man. 256 00:13:18,400 –> 00:13:20,159 With the best education 257 00:13:21,400 –> 00:13:23,099 and a successful career 258 00:13:24,400 –> 00:13:26,700 and he has money and he has power. 259 00:13:26,700 –> 00:13:29,320 He’s a man of the highest integrity. 260 00:13:29,320 –> 00:13:31,840 He has a Bible in his hand. 261 00:13:31,840 –> 00:13:34,359 Isn’t that what we would all want for our children? 262 00:13:37,619 –> 00:13:39,539 And yet this man is frustrated. 263 00:13:41,859 –> 00:13:42,880 He’s not happy. 264 00:13:44,599 –> 00:13:46,200 He’s perplexed. 265 00:13:48,000 –> 00:13:49,179 He’s burdened. 266 00:13:51,940 –> 00:13:54,760 He has all these things and he’s even been to worship 267 00:13:54,760 –> 00:13:57,820 but he’s coming away from worship and he’s disappointed. 268 00:13:59,580 –> 00:14:01,219 He has no peace. 269 00:14:02,520 –> 00:14:03,840 He has no joy. 270 00:14:05,479 –> 00:14:07,940 And he feels no nearer to God than he did before. 271 00:14:11,320 –> 00:14:12,260 Now I wonder 272 00:14:14,539 –> 00:14:16,820 if you know something of that experience. 273 00:14:18,200 –> 00:14:19,760 Gifted. 274 00:14:20,840 –> 00:14:21,760 Blessed. 275 00:14:23,140 –> 00:14:24,960 Wonderfully educated, moral. 276 00:14:26,739 –> 00:14:27,919 Come to worship. 277 00:14:30,239 –> 00:14:33,039 But somehow you have a feeling that you are 278 00:14:33,039 –> 00:14:35,440 on the outside looking in on joy 279 00:14:35,440 –> 00:14:37,960 that other people seem to experience. 280 00:14:39,320 –> 00:14:41,539 You have a Bible but you don’t 281 00:14:41,539 –> 00:14:44,440 have a sense of it speaking to you. 282 00:14:44,919 –> 00:14:49,520 You can’t somehow see how it connects with your life. 283 00:14:49,520 –> 00:14:53,080 You read it and it just seems to be words in a book. 284 00:14:55,159 –> 00:14:57,640 That was the position of this man. 285 00:14:59,780 –> 00:15:01,000 And he’s not happy. 286 00:15:03,619 –> 00:15:06,679 By the way, the inability to understand the gospel 287 00:15:06,679 –> 00:15:08,919 is not a uniquely modern phenomenon. 288 00:15:09,979 –> 00:15:11,419 You know we say, oh, people do not understand 289 00:15:11,419 –> 00:15:12,719 the gospel today. 290 00:15:12,719 –> 00:15:15,919 Natural man has never understood the gospel. 291 00:15:15,919 –> 00:15:17,179 Never understood the gospel. 292 00:15:17,179 –> 00:15:18,820 Understands the law. 293 00:15:18,820 –> 00:15:21,580 Understands the law enough to be frustrated 294 00:15:21,580 –> 00:15:23,500 by our own inability to do it. 295 00:15:24,900 –> 00:15:27,059 But the Scripture makes clear the natural person 296 00:15:27,059 –> 00:15:29,099 does not accept the things of the spirit of God, 297 00:15:29,099 –> 00:15:29,940 they’re folly to him. 298 00:15:29,940 –> 00:15:31,260 He’s not able to understand them 299 00:15:31,260 –> 00:15:32,940 because they’re spiritually discerned. 300 00:15:32,940 –> 00:15:35,659 And so, here’s this man, he’s done his best, 301 00:15:36,940 –> 00:15:38,000 he’s not happy. 302 00:15:40,119 –> 00:15:41,460 He has no peace. 303 00:15:43,719 –> 00:15:45,640 But what I want you to notice 304 00:15:45,640 –> 00:15:47,679 that’s at the very heart of this story. 305 00:15:47,679 –> 00:15:49,580 And this is the most wonderful thing about it. 306 00:15:49,580 –> 00:15:52,020 If you look down to verse 39 you find this man 307 00:15:52,020 –> 00:15:54,099 in an entirely different position, 308 00:15:54,099 –> 00:15:55,659 because by the end of the story, 309 00:15:55,659 –> 00:15:58,059 he’s not frustrated, burdened and miserable. 310 00:15:58,059 –> 00:16:00,039 Verse 39, by the end of the story 311 00:16:00,039 –> 00:16:01,960 he went on his way with rejoicing. 312 00:16:03,539 –> 00:16:07,080 So what was it that brought the transformation 313 00:16:07,080 –> 00:16:08,799 to this well-educated, brilliant, 314 00:16:08,799 –> 00:16:11,119 successful, earnest, moral man? 315 00:16:12,679 –> 00:16:15,559 It’s the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 316 00:16:15,559 –> 00:16:19,020 that was presented to him by Philip. 317 00:16:20,419 –> 00:16:23,700 Now it seems to me that the hidden hand of God 318 00:16:23,700 –> 00:16:26,400 was very wonderfully at work in this man’s life 319 00:16:26,400 –> 00:16:30,359 preparing him to receive the gospel. 320 00:16:30,359 –> 00:16:32,559 And let me suggest to you 321 00:16:32,559 –> 00:16:36,059 that God actually works both in our success 322 00:16:36,059 –> 00:16:38,260 and in our frustration. 323 00:16:39,599 –> 00:16:42,000 And it might help us, particularly today, 324 00:16:42,000 –> 00:16:46,880 to see how the hand of God works in success 325 00:16:46,880 –> 00:16:49,719 and how the hand of God works in frustration, 326 00:16:49,719 –> 00:16:53,320 both of which things this man very clearly knew. 327 00:16:54,719 –> 00:16:56,820 Has it ever occurred to you 328 00:16:58,080 –> 00:17:00,900 that God might have given you success 329 00:17:02,059 –> 00:17:04,760 for the primary reason that you would come to see 330 00:17:04,760 –> 00:17:07,339 that success is an idol that cannot satisfy? 331 00:17:09,099 –> 00:17:10,599 Has that ever occurred to you? 332 00:17:11,939 –> 00:17:14,099 That God might have given you success in your life 333 00:17:14,099 –> 00:17:16,680 for the primary reason that you would come to see 334 00:17:17,699 –> 00:17:20,040 that success is an idol that cannot satisfy? 335 00:17:21,439 –> 00:17:24,900 I suspect that if this man had not been successful 336 00:17:24,900 –> 00:17:27,599 as he was, he might have spent his whole life 337 00:17:27,599 –> 00:17:29,579 thinking that success would be the thing 338 00:17:29,579 –> 00:17:30,739 that would satisfy him. 339 00:17:31,839 –> 00:17:34,280 The point of the story is he’s so successful 340 00:17:34,280 –> 00:17:36,500 and he’s found that that doesn’t satisfy him. 341 00:17:36,599 –> 00:17:38,900 God gave him success so that he would see 342 00:17:38,900 –> 00:17:41,099 that it was an idol that could not satisfy 343 00:17:42,040 –> 00:17:43,479 and that maybe where you are. 344 00:17:46,599 –> 00:17:48,800 And has it ever occurred to you that God 345 00:17:50,199 –> 00:17:54,839 may allow you the hurt of feeling excluded 346 00:17:56,439 –> 00:18:00,500 to keep you from becoming satisfied 347 00:18:00,500 –> 00:18:02,439 with simply being on the inside circle? 348 00:18:03,380 –> 00:18:06,979 I suspect that if this man had been embraced 349 00:18:06,979 –> 00:18:08,959 and accepted in Jerusalem he would’ve been 350 00:18:08,959 –> 00:18:10,459 coming home quite content. 351 00:18:12,260 –> 00:18:13,699 And he would have missed out on the blessing 352 00:18:13,699 –> 00:18:15,199 that God had in store for him. 353 00:18:17,219 –> 00:18:20,420 So if God brings you to a place of being perplexed 354 00:18:20,420 –> 00:18:23,339 and frustrated, perhaps you can see that 355 00:18:23,339 –> 00:18:27,199 his gracious hand may be at work invoking within you 356 00:18:27,199 –> 00:18:29,880 a desire to seek more fully after him. 357 00:18:29,880 –> 00:18:34,880 And if you come to a place where you are perplexed 358 00:18:35,479 –> 00:18:38,560 at what you do not understand, perhaps that is 359 00:18:38,560 –> 00:18:42,260 that God is preparing you to be open actually to learn 360 00:18:42,260 –> 00:18:45,479 from someone who will come alongside you and teach you. 361 00:18:45,479 –> 00:18:49,020 Not easy for a man who’s the CFO of a nation 362 00:18:49,020 –> 00:18:50,560 to have the humility to learn. 363 00:18:52,880 –> 00:18:55,880 Now at this point, where God has prepared philip 364 00:18:55,880 –> 00:18:59,140 by directing him to the particular time and place 365 00:18:59,180 –> 00:19:02,300 and God has clearly been at work both in the successes 366 00:19:02,300 –> 00:19:06,199 and the frustrations of the CFO of Ethiopia, 367 00:19:08,560 –> 00:19:10,979 he brings very wonderfully the two of them together 368 00:19:10,979 –> 00:19:15,079 and their paths cross right here in the desert. 369 00:19:16,380 –> 00:19:19,819 We’re told that the spirit said to Philip, verse 29, 370 00:19:19,819 –> 00:19:22,699 go over and join this chariot. 371 00:19:22,699 –> 00:19:25,839 God brings the one he sends and the one he prepares 372 00:19:25,839 –> 00:19:28,719 wonderfully together in this desert place 373 00:19:29,000 –> 00:19:31,800 where presumably there was hardly another soul around. 374 00:19:33,319 –> 00:19:34,619 And I love this picture. 375 00:19:34,619 –> 00:19:36,920 I wish we could see a movie of this bit. 376 00:19:37,800 –> 00:19:41,560 Philip runs alongside the chariot 377 00:19:41,560 –> 00:19:43,900 and he speaks while he’s running. 378 00:19:43,900 –> 00:19:45,119 Can you imagine this? 379 00:19:46,160 –> 00:19:48,040 Do you understand what you’re reading? 380 00:19:48,920 –> 00:19:51,640 This is evangelism on the run 381 00:19:51,640 –> 00:19:54,119 and you need to be pretty fit to do it. 382 00:19:54,119 –> 00:19:56,500 You can’t keep it up for long 383 00:19:56,520 –> 00:19:59,180 unless you’re a very remarkable person indeed. 384 00:19:59,180 –> 00:20:02,819 Well, mercifully, the Ethiopian who says 385 00:20:02,819 –> 00:20:04,699 well, how can I understand what I’m reading 386 00:20:04,699 –> 00:20:05,839 unless someone guides me, 387 00:20:05,839 –> 00:20:06,979 slows the chariot down, 388 00:20:06,979 –> 00:20:09,599 and invites Philip to come up and join him, 389 00:20:09,599 –> 00:20:11,500 and together, they look at the words 390 00:20:11,500 –> 00:20:13,000 that this man was reading, 391 00:20:13,000 –> 00:20:15,540 which are from Isaiah 53 78th. 392 00:20:17,199 –> 00:20:22,060 Like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter. 393 00:20:22,060 –> 00:20:24,859 Like a lamb before which shearer is silent. 394 00:20:24,939 –> 00:20:28,300 And so he opens not his mouth. 395 00:20:28,300 –> 00:20:30,420 And the man says to Philip, 396 00:20:30,420 –> 00:20:32,300 now who is the prophet talking about? 397 00:20:32,300 –> 00:20:33,239 Is this about himself 398 00:20:33,239 –> 00:20:35,079 or is he talking about someone else? 399 00:20:38,020 –> 00:20:39,739 Then we’re told verse 35, 400 00:20:39,739 –> 00:20:41,099 that Philip opened his mouth 401 00:20:41,099 –> 00:20:42,500 and beginning with this scripture, 402 00:20:42,500 –> 00:20:44,640 he told him the good news about Jesus. 403 00:20:44,640 –> 00:20:45,979 So you see how God works? 404 00:20:45,979 –> 00:20:47,339 God takes the initiative 405 00:20:47,339 –> 00:20:49,939 both in the life of the one he sends 406 00:20:49,939 –> 00:20:52,579 and in the life of the one he prepares. 407 00:20:52,579 –> 00:20:54,140 He brings the two together. 408 00:20:54,520 –> 00:20:55,359 He makes sure he may do it 409 00:20:55,359 –> 00:20:56,660 in the most unusual way 410 00:20:56,660 –> 00:20:59,380 and in the most unexpected place. 411 00:21:01,000 –> 00:21:04,979 And then he uses his chosen instrument 412 00:21:06,280 –> 00:21:07,920 to proclaim the gospel. 413 00:21:09,540 –> 00:21:11,119 Philip does not get bogged down 414 00:21:11,119 –> 00:21:13,900 in a long discussion on how we should live. 415 00:21:16,040 –> 00:21:17,800 He certainly doesn’t miss the point 416 00:21:17,800 –> 00:21:19,760 by giving a long report 417 00:21:19,760 –> 00:21:21,359 on his own personal testimony 418 00:21:21,359 –> 00:21:22,540 and his experience. 419 00:21:22,560 –> 00:21:25,319 What he does is he told him 420 00:21:25,319 –> 00:21:29,420 the good news about Jesus. 421 00:21:31,439 –> 00:21:33,520 That would have meant telling him from scratch 422 00:21:33,520 –> 00:21:35,959 the good news about who Jesus is. 423 00:21:37,199 –> 00:21:39,319 That he had been born in Bethlehem 424 00:21:39,319 –> 00:21:43,060 about 35 years before this point in time. 425 00:21:44,680 –> 00:21:46,560 That his mother Mary was a virgin. 426 00:21:46,560 –> 00:21:48,000 So, right from the start, 427 00:21:48,000 –> 00:21:49,400 he was clearly very different 428 00:21:49,400 –> 00:21:51,199 from anyone else who had ever lived. 429 00:21:52,579 –> 00:21:54,479 When he began his public ministry, 430 00:21:54,479 –> 00:21:58,300 it immediately became clear that he was different 431 00:21:58,300 –> 00:22:01,880 in what he said from any of the other prophets. 432 00:22:01,880 –> 00:22:04,380 The other prophets all pointed to someone else. 433 00:22:04,380 –> 00:22:06,280 But Jesus pointed to himself. 434 00:22:07,660 –> 00:22:09,219 He said, I’m the bread of life. 435 00:22:10,819 –> 00:22:12,380 I am the light of the world. 436 00:22:12,380 –> 00:22:15,939 I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. 437 00:22:15,939 –> 00:22:18,020 And he would have explained 438 00:22:18,020 –> 00:22:19,680 that that was exactly what happened 439 00:22:19,680 –> 00:22:22,020 after three short years of his public ministry. 440 00:22:22,020 –> 00:22:23,579 There was this outcry against him. 441 00:22:23,579 –> 00:22:28,000 People called for his death and he was crucified. 442 00:22:29,280 –> 00:22:33,500 Jesus is the one that Isaiah was talking about. 443 00:22:33,500 –> 00:22:37,199 Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter. 444 00:22:37,199 –> 00:22:39,060 This is what you’re reading, 445 00:22:39,060 –> 00:22:41,560 and like a lamb before it, sheares is silent, 446 00:22:41,560 –> 00:22:45,699 so he opens not his mouth. 447 00:22:46,699 –> 00:22:51,699 What he proclaimed to this man was the atoning death 448 00:22:53,920 –> 00:22:56,119 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 449 00:22:56,119 –> 00:22:59,000 The good news about Jesus. 450 00:22:59,000 –> 00:23:01,660 He’s beginning in Isaiah in chapter 53. 451 00:23:01,660 –> 00:23:04,079 We’re told he begins in this scripture, 452 00:23:04,079 –> 00:23:08,180 and what’s the very heart of Isaiah in chapter 53? 453 00:23:08,180 –> 00:23:09,880 Many of us know this well. 454 00:23:09,880 –> 00:23:14,859 It’s the atoning death of the messiah, who was to come. 455 00:23:15,599 –> 00:23:20,599 The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. 456 00:23:22,920 –> 00:23:25,939 In other words, the Lord Jesus saves us, 457 00:23:25,939 –> 00:23:30,939 understand this, not by his teaching, not by his example. 458 00:23:34,300 –> 00:23:36,640 The Lord Jesus Christ saves us 459 00:23:36,640 –> 00:23:39,040 by his atoning death on the cross, 460 00:23:39,040 –> 00:23:41,380 and at the heart of this atoning death 461 00:23:41,380 –> 00:23:44,739 is a great transfer that takes place. 462 00:23:44,800 –> 00:23:45,819 A transfer. 463 00:23:47,540 –> 00:23:50,359 The Lord laid on him, 464 00:23:50,359 –> 00:23:53,199 moved something from one place to another. 465 00:23:53,199 –> 00:23:55,079 The Lord laid on him what? 466 00:23:55,079 –> 00:23:58,959 The iniquity of us all. 467 00:24:00,119 –> 00:24:03,739 God took our guilt and laid it on Jesus. 468 00:24:03,739 –> 00:24:07,380 A transfer was made in which he who knew no sin 469 00:24:07,380 –> 00:24:10,060 became sin for us. 470 00:24:11,459 –> 00:24:14,560 And that transfer of sin brought consequences 471 00:24:14,579 –> 00:24:15,939 with it, of course. 472 00:24:15,939 –> 00:24:16,780 Verse five, 473 00:24:16,780 –> 00:24:20,219 the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. 474 00:24:20,219 –> 00:24:21,180 In other words, 475 00:24:21,180 –> 00:24:25,319 God removed our punishment 476 00:24:25,319 –> 00:24:28,719 by laying it upon Jesus Christ. 477 00:24:28,719 –> 00:24:32,280 God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. 478 00:24:32,280 –> 00:24:35,300 Christ endured all the dimensions of hell 479 00:24:35,300 –> 00:24:37,219 that should have been ours on the cross 480 00:24:37,219 –> 00:24:39,560 so that we would never know what it was like. 481 00:24:41,359 –> 00:24:43,040 I suspect by the way that this 482 00:24:43,040 –> 00:24:47,339 transfer language made sense to a man who was an economist. 483 00:24:49,359 –> 00:24:50,800 As treasurer to the Queen, 484 00:24:50,800 –> 00:24:54,280 this man was responsible for balancing the books. 485 00:24:55,819 –> 00:24:59,400 He knew that what was used in one place 486 00:24:59,400 –> 00:25:02,319 must be supplied from another. 487 00:25:03,420 –> 00:25:06,760 He knew that what was added to expense 488 00:25:06,760 –> 00:25:09,479 must be subtracted from income. 489 00:25:10,439 –> 00:25:14,000 He knew that what you credit to one account 490 00:25:14,000 –> 00:25:19,000 must by definition be debited from another account. 491 00:25:20,619 –> 00:25:23,040 So if our guilt is to be removed, 492 00:25:23,040 –> 00:25:25,060 it has to go somewhere else. 493 00:25:25,060 –> 00:25:27,520 If we are to be saved from divine wrath, 494 00:25:27,520 –> 00:25:30,939 the divine wrath must be spent somewhere else. 495 00:25:30,939 –> 00:25:33,640 If sinners are to be made right before God, 496 00:25:33,640 –> 00:25:34,880 then that righteousness, 497 00:25:34,880 –> 00:25:36,459 which we do not have in ourselves, 498 00:25:36,459 –> 00:25:38,000 must come from somewhere else, 499 00:25:38,000 –> 00:25:39,800 it’s gotta come from somewhere else. 500 00:25:41,599 –> 00:25:43,040 And then Philip would have proclaimed 501 00:25:43,040 –> 00:25:46,780 not only the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, 502 00:25:46,780 –> 00:25:50,020 but the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus. 503 00:25:50,020 –> 00:25:52,699 That’s in Isaiah 53 to the scripture 504 00:25:52,699 –> 00:25:55,199 that was open on the scroll in front of them. 505 00:25:55,199 –> 00:25:58,140 Although the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, 506 00:25:58,140 –> 00:25:59,300 that’s the atoning death, 507 00:25:59,300 –> 00:26:02,619 he will see his offspring and prolong his days. 508 00:26:02,619 –> 00:26:04,260 That’s his resurrection life. 509 00:26:04,420 –> 00:26:05,260 Amen. 510 00:26:06,699 –> 00:26:08,660 Oh, it says Philip to his new friend, 511 00:26:08,660 –> 00:26:11,500 it’s not just that Jesus died for our sins, 512 00:26:11,500 –> 00:26:16,500 but he rose in triumph over death and he’s a living savior. 513 00:26:16,979 –> 00:26:21,000 And the mission of Jesus today is to gather offspring, 514 00:26:21,000 –> 00:26:23,900 people from every nation and every background 515 00:26:25,300 –> 00:26:28,859 who will come to know him and to enjoy him forever. 516 00:26:29,520 –> 00:26:32,140 And then I cannot but think 517 00:26:32,140 –> 00:26:36,900 that with Isaiah chapter 53 opened before them, 518 00:26:36,900 –> 00:26:38,500 that Philip must surely, 519 00:26:38,500 –> 00:26:40,780 since it says beginning with that chapter, 520 00:26:40,780 –> 00:26:43,199 he told him the good news about Jesus. 521 00:26:43,199 –> 00:26:46,739 I cannot imagine, but that he would have gone forward 522 00:26:46,739 –> 00:26:49,459 from there to Isaiah and chapter 56 523 00:26:49,459 –> 00:26:51,819 and spoken specifically to the eunuch 524 00:26:51,819 –> 00:26:54,339 about the gracious invitation of Jesus 525 00:26:54,339 –> 00:26:57,060 because just three chapters on from Isaiah 53, 526 00:26:57,140 –> 00:26:57,979 we read this, 527 00:26:57,979 –> 00:27:02,099 let not the foreigner who has joined himself 528 00:27:02,099 –> 00:27:05,579 to the Lord say the Lord will separate me from His people. 529 00:27:05,579 –> 00:27:08,760 Oh, here’s a promise that’s for you. 530 00:27:08,760 –> 00:27:12,219 You’re not going to experience separation from God’s people 531 00:27:12,219 –> 00:27:14,540 if you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 532 00:27:14,540 –> 00:27:16,180 and even more specifically, 533 00:27:16,180 –> 00:27:21,180 let not the eunuch say behold, I am a dry tree. 534 00:27:22,760 –> 00:27:26,239 And then God gives this marvelous promise to the eunuch 535 00:27:27,140 –> 00:27:29,660 who holds fast to his covenant, 536 00:27:29,660 –> 00:27:34,660 God says He will give a place in his house. 537 00:27:34,859 –> 00:27:36,959 And He will give a name that is better 538 00:27:36,959 –> 00:27:38,180 than sons and daughters 539 00:27:38,180 –> 00:27:40,660 because it will be an everlasting name 540 00:27:40,660 –> 00:27:43,660 that will never be cut off. 541 00:27:45,180 –> 00:27:47,260 Now here very simply then is what we must learn 542 00:27:47,260 –> 00:27:49,619 from this story today. 543 00:27:49,619 –> 00:27:52,239 Our Lord Jesus Christ is on a mission 544 00:27:52,239 –> 00:27:53,939 to seek and to save the lost 545 00:27:53,939 –> 00:27:57,640 and He invites us to join Him in it. 546 00:27:57,640 –> 00:28:02,219 And lives are changed and communities will be reached 547 00:28:02,219 –> 00:28:05,079 as God takes the initiative 548 00:28:05,079 –> 00:28:06,560 and as we proclim the Gospel. 549 00:28:06,560 –> 00:28:08,719 That’s what we learn from this story. 550 00:28:08,719 –> 00:28:12,339 And it is the fact that God takes the initiative 551 00:28:13,439 –> 00:28:16,040 that is actually our greatest motive 552 00:28:16,040 –> 00:28:18,640 for proclaiming the Gospel. 553 00:28:18,640 –> 00:28:21,839 If you really believe that God is already at work 554 00:28:21,839 –> 00:28:24,400 in the lives of some people, 555 00:28:24,400 –> 00:28:26,319 that He is prepare certain people 556 00:28:26,319 –> 00:28:30,479 and making them ready to be receptive to the Gospel, 557 00:28:30,479 –> 00:28:32,319 then you will be prepared to put up 558 00:28:32,319 –> 00:28:34,199 with all the conversations you will have 559 00:28:34,199 –> 00:28:36,579 with people who aren’t the slightest bit interested 560 00:28:36,579 –> 00:28:38,400 in order to get to the one 561 00:28:40,199 –> 00:28:42,579 that is with the person who’s just like this man 562 00:28:42,579 –> 00:28:45,719 who has come to a place of being ready 563 00:28:45,719 –> 00:28:48,239 to receive the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ. 564 00:28:48,239 –> 00:28:49,319 I end with this. 565 00:28:50,160 –> 00:28:54,939 In the church that I served in in London, 566 00:28:56,819 –> 00:28:59,420 we used to go door-to-door, 567 00:29:00,800 –> 00:29:02,839 sharing the gospel 568 00:29:02,839 –> 00:29:04,939 and inviting people to come to the church. 569 00:29:04,939 –> 00:29:07,160 We called it pray or go. 570 00:29:07,160 –> 00:29:09,400 People came to the church divided into two groups. 571 00:29:09,400 –> 00:29:11,859 Some of us will pray, some of us will go 572 00:29:11,859 –> 00:29:15,040 and the two things were obviously profoundly connected. 573 00:29:16,760 –> 00:29:18,119 It wasn’t for the fainthearted 574 00:29:18,119 –> 00:29:19,760 knocking on the doors in London. 575 00:29:21,079 –> 00:29:24,280 And one evening when we were out, 576 00:29:24,280 –> 00:29:28,099 my wife Karen had a particularly discouraging time. 577 00:29:30,099 –> 00:29:32,060 I gotta say, looking back to my embarrassment, 578 00:29:32,060 –> 00:29:35,839 it was not good planning, because the World Cup was on 579 00:29:35,839 –> 00:29:38,520 and England, who we’re actually doing rather well 580 00:29:38,520 –> 00:29:40,859 at that time, which shows how long ago it was. 581 00:29:44,300 –> 00:29:46,060 They had progressed in the World Cup 582 00:29:46,239 –> 00:29:48,180 and they were playing on this particular evening 583 00:29:48,180 –> 00:29:50,199 when we were scheduled and planned to go out. 584 00:29:50,199 –> 00:29:51,219 We went out anyway. 585 00:29:53,420 –> 00:29:57,099 And one door after another iTunes experience was the same. 586 00:29:57,099 –> 00:29:59,400 Either no answer, you could see the blue light 587 00:29:59,400 –> 00:30:00,760 that was flashing in the living room. 588 00:30:00,760 –> 00:30:02,420 Everyone knew what was going on. 589 00:30:04,160 –> 00:30:08,760 Or very brief, not interested, not interested, 590 00:30:08,760 –> 00:30:09,599 not interested. 591 00:30:10,479 –> 00:30:15,420 The whole evening, not a single conversation. 592 00:30:16,900 –> 00:30:19,959 And the last door, I kid you not, 593 00:30:19,959 –> 00:30:24,959 the last door that she knocked on that evening, 594 00:30:25,900 –> 00:30:29,000 she said I’m Carne Smith, I’m from the church in the town, 595 00:30:29,000 –> 00:30:30,520 we’re talking to people about hope 596 00:30:30,520 –> 00:30:32,520 and inviting people to come and join us in the church, 597 00:30:32,520 –> 00:30:34,859 and the woman said, that’s exactly what I need. 598 00:30:36,660 –> 00:30:39,140 It turned out that our husband was severely ill 599 00:30:39,140 –> 00:30:43,880 and she had reached her limits in caring for him. 600 00:30:43,880 –> 00:30:45,040 Didn’t know what to do, 601 00:30:46,079 –> 00:30:48,479 and at that moment, my wife knocked on the door. 602 00:30:50,420 –> 00:30:53,079 What happened was that the church surrounded the family 603 00:30:53,079 –> 00:30:55,060 with love and with practical support 604 00:30:55,060 –> 00:30:59,479 and over the next weeks, the lady, her husband, 605 00:30:59,479 –> 00:31:02,339 her daughter and her daughter’s friend 606 00:31:03,260 –> 00:31:07,520 all came to living faith in Jesus Christ. 607 00:31:09,640 –> 00:31:11,400 And Carne remembers feeling 608 00:31:11,400 –> 00:31:13,839 so discouraged after this evening, 609 00:31:14,060 –> 00:31:15,420 walking this way down the street 610 00:31:15,420 –> 00:31:18,540 and there was a time we did it for like an hour and a half 611 00:31:18,540 –> 00:31:20,219 and then it was time to be back at the church 612 00:31:20,219 –> 00:31:24,619 and she says, I remember thinking it’s time to pack it in 613 00:31:24,619 –> 00:31:27,239 and go back to the church and I felt in my heart 614 00:31:27,239 –> 00:31:28,719 I’ll knock on one more door. 615 00:31:31,579 –> 00:31:35,160 And there will be four people in heaven 616 00:31:35,160 –> 00:31:37,400 who forever will thank God that she did. 617 00:31:39,939 –> 00:31:42,180 The greatest motivation for going on 618 00:31:42,459 –> 00:31:44,040 into this sometimes discouraging work 619 00:31:44,040 –> 00:31:45,819 of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ 620 00:31:45,819 –> 00:31:50,760 is you’re looking for gold and the gold is there. 621 00:31:50,760 –> 00:31:53,300 There are those in whose lives God is at work 622 00:31:53,300 –> 00:31:55,079 and who have already been prepared. 623 00:31:55,079 –> 00:31:56,719 You’re gonna have to turn over a lot of rocks 624 00:31:56,719 –> 00:32:00,479 to get to the gold but thank God for Philip 625 00:32:00,479 –> 00:32:03,900 who was in the right place at the right time 626 00:32:03,900 –> 00:32:06,300 and it led to the transformation of one man’s life 627 00:32:06,300 –> 00:32:08,839 and that in God’s providence led to the touching 628 00:32:08,839 –> 00:32:12,000 and changing of an entire nation. 629 00:32:13,160 –> 00:32:15,599 Father, we pray that you will renew our vision 630 00:32:16,520 –> 00:32:18,520 for the transforming power of the gospel 631 00:32:18,520 –> 00:32:20,540 and the immense privilege that is ours 632 00:32:20,540 –> 00:32:22,800 of being fellow workers with you. 633 00:32:22,800 –> 00:32:25,180 Hear our prayers and grant your help 634 00:32:25,180 –> 00:32:27,920 for these things we ask in Jesus’ name. 635 00:32:27,920 –> 00:32:28,760 Amen.