When We See Him - We Can Ask Him

 
Acts 8:14-25

INTRO: Good morning. I have an active imagination and as I study this frequently leads me down paths which take me to a topic for a lesson. If I step on any toes when I give a lesson, please be assured that mine have been stepped on as well. We are going to continue today in Acts chapter 8.

But before we get into our text let me share with you an experience I had when I did a web-search on the topic “Opinions of Others”. Perhaps I ended up there because of all the on-line postings these days. Here are a couple of the quotes:

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”
― Winston Churchill
“The funny thing about truth, everyone seems to have their own version.”
― Carlos Wallace
“(there are) entire groups of people with what seems like an infinite amount of time on their hands to be angry about something that doesn't even affect them in the slightest.”
― Lindsey Ouimet
“Personal opinions rarely mirror the absolute truth yet always reflect the absolution of personal ignorance.”
― Jason Versey

We all have our own ideas about people. The people we want to be around and even I fear, about who should and who should not be accepted into God’s kingdom. This was true of the early Christians as well. We see in scripture that those who have been Jews had to learn to accept the Samaritans into God’s kingdom because God has no favorites among races.

I. In Acts 8:5 we see Philip preaching the good news about Jesus to the Samaritans. In Samaria he was met by a magician whose name was Simon and who was an exceedingly popular figure among the high and the low of society. When Philip preached Jesus his words were confirmed by the miracles he performed, many Samaritans including Simon were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

A. What Luke shares with us today is that not everyone comes to Christ for the right reasons. Acts 8:14-17- “ Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

1. It saddens us today when we hear about bad news within the Lord’s church. When we hear that this or that person who has fallen away or a congregation is forcing something upon its members. Or a congregation has adopted as doctrine what is worldly. It saddens us because bad news seems to spread very quickly, but when a church is doing something great for the Lord we hardly ever hear about it unless it’s been written about in some church publication and even those are often full of the negative.
2. When I stop to think about it, these bad news items compound themselves by being a discouragement to the faithful.

B. When the good news about what was happening in Samaria got to the ears of the apostles who were still in Jerusalem, Luke tells us they sent Peter and John to the city. What we see happening is the power of Jesus changing lives and people’s attitudes towards others. It wasn’t all that long ago when John and his brother, James, asked Jesus to destroy a Samarian city by the way.

1. Luke 9:51-56- “ And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”
2. Previously the Jewish John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritan city that refused to receive Jesus. Now the new Christian John is praying for them in Acts 8:15.
3. Not only did he pray for them, but he and Peter laid their hands on them that they might receive the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit. It is here that we discover the real reason why Simon wanted to become a Christian.
4. Acts 8:18-25- “Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'' But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.'' Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.'' So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.”

C. Before we look at Simon’s sin let me point out a couple of important truths revealed in this text. Clear evidence of a person receiving the miraculous gifts must have been present because Simon was able to see this being accomplished through the laying on of the apostles' hands.

1. Remember that Philip was numbered among the seven in Acts 6:5-6, (appointed to care for the Grecian widows) and he was one of the men whom the apostles had laid their hands upon to bestow miraculous gifts of the Spirit.
2. I’ve made this particular point before recently, but it bears repeating. Ask this question, why didn’t Philip pass on the miraculous gifts to those who were baptized in Samaria?
3. The answer is, he couldn’t. Philip did not have the ability to bestow miraculous gifts on anyone. That’s why Peter and John came to do it.
4. It was only the apostles who had the ability to pass on these miraculous gifts. If you were around then and they bestowed these gifts upon you then you like Philip might perform miracles, but you could not pass those abilities on to someone else.
5. I pray that some of the charismatic crowd would try to understand these texts. When the apostles died, no one was left to pass on these miraculous gifts. When those who had these gifts bestowed upon them by the apostles died all miraculous gifts died with them.
6. Just like Philip, those who had the gifts bestowed on them by the apostles could not pass these gifts on. Religious groups who teach that you’re not a Christian or you don’t posses God’s Spirit until you have a miraculous gift from God need to seriously rethink what they are preaching. That kind of thinking has absolutely no Biblical support whatsoever, and it can be dangerous to the individual.

D. Simon had believed and had been baptized, so there is no doubt he had been saved from his former sins. Jesus tells us in Mark 16:16 - “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Yet, and this is important—when Simon was confronted with a power potentially so useful for dominating the city in Samaria, he reverted to a materialistic approach... and tried to purchase the power from Peter and John.
E. Not all Christians received miraculous gifts, and Simon is one of those people. Simon's attempt to purchase this power with money led Peter to tell Simon that he and his money would perish together if his heart was not changed. He could have no part in matters eternal so long as his heart was not right with God and he tells Simon to repent.
F. That was not the case in Acts 5 if you recall. Let me tell you another story... An elder was preaching to a large audience using as his text the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to God and were struck dead. The preacher roared: "God doesn't strike people dead for lying like He did in Acts 5. If he did, where would I be?" This got a laugh from his audience, but then he retorted, "I tell you where I would be. I would be right here preaching to an empty house!"

II. Every Christian, every single Christian is tempted in many ways. Simon’s temptation to gain more popularity was so great; he was even willing to pay. There nothing wrong with wanting to be great in God’s kingdom provided you’re willing to do it the right way.

A. In Matthew 20 when the mother of James and John asked Jesus to place her sons in positions of high authority, Jesus rebuked them and said in Matthew 20:25-28- "... "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.'' "
B. We live in a society where everything is fast tracked. People will do anything to get up their professional ladder as fast as they can. You cannot fast track greatness in God’s kingdom. Jesus tells us Matthew 20, “Not so with you.”
C. You don’t become great in God’s kingdom by becoming a dictator, you became great by serving. When you serve and become a slave for Christ and put your brothers and sisters in Christ first... then you become great. Christianity is not a popularity contest; Christianity is a group of slaves who are willing to serve from the bottom up.

1. The apostle Paul preaches what I’m talking about better than I do in Philippians 2:5-11- “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
2. You want to be great in His kingdom? Then do what Jesus did; be humble and serve others. In other words, don’t tell people what to do, show them. If you find yourself wanting to become great by any means other than serving, then do what Peter instructed Simon to do, pray that God would forgive you.
3. Simon became a Christian and was freed from sin, yet the temptation of sin bound his heart once again. Simon acknowledged to the apostles that he had sin in his heart by asking the apostles to pray for him.

D. There are times when Christians need to practice what James tells us in James 5:16- “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

1. Mutuality is certainly implied by this. The cathartic effect of confession, as mutually engaged among Christians, is helpful and beneficial; the purpose of such confessions is the enlisting of mutual prayers of Christians for each other. There is no requirement for Christians to confess their past sins "to the whole church," in view here. That is a practice which is not being espoused, and which can have a very detrimental effect.
2. Unfortunately there is a practice among some present-day religious groups for the unbosoming completely of those being initiated. This is apt to have more harmful than beneficial results, giving an outlet for unhealthy exhibitionism or punitive attitudes between those who would worship God.
3. Also don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying we all get together in nice little groups and start to confess all of our sins to each other. What I am saying is that if you have a sin that’s ruling your life and you’re struggling with it, talk to someone about it in confidence.
4. When you talk to someone about it, you can pray together about it and then through the power of prayer, God will give you the strength to overcome that sin problem. The very fact that you took the time and courage to speak to someone about your struggle, says that you’re looking for help and you don’t want to struggle anymore.

III. Luke tells us after Simon’s request, that when Peter and John finished preaching the word of God in this town, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching in all the cities of Samaria along the way. It’s at this point that Luke tells Theophilus that Philip was directed by an angel of the Lord to go south to a place along the Jerusalem to Gaza desert road.

A. Let’s read about that in; Acts 8:26-35- “Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.'' This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace [KAN duh see] the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot.'' So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?'' And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?'' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away. And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.'' So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?'' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.”
B. We might note that the Jews didn’t have copies of the Old Testament as readily available as we do today. There were scribes whose job it was to copy the Old Testament scriptures for Synagogues and for those who could afford to have one copied. The Ethiopian Eunuch certainly had an important job and was able to have such a copy.

1. In fact, Luke tells us that he served under Candace [KAN duh see] the great Queen of the Ethiopians and his job was treasurer for her. The Eunuch was likely a Jew or converted Jew because not only did he have a copy of Isaiah’s prophecy, but he was on his way home after worship in Jerusalem.
2. However he was struggling to understand what Isaiah meant when he wrote in Isaiah 53:7-8 paraphrased; “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken”.

C. Philip ran alongside the chariot, and asked the Eunuch, "Do you understand what you are reading?" Unlike the Jews who had been listening to Stephen’s sermon, the Eunuch had an open heart, and I know he had an open heart because of his response to Philip. He replies to Philip, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?"

1. Folks, an open heart is a searching heart and a searching heart is always going to strive to understand better. When Philip accepted his invitation to sit with him in the chariot, the Eunuch asked the most important question of all, "I ask you, of who does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
2. When you study the Bible with people, you can get to a point where you can almost know who is going to grow in Christ quickly and who are going to grow slowly. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, I believe that all Christians will have questions which need to be answered.
3. Some Christians have many questions that they want answered and I believe that those Christians are the ones who will grow quicker. Please don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not saying if you don’t ask questions, you’re not growing. What I’m saying is that some Christians have hearts which search more. That’s the kind of heart that the Eunuch has and so Philip did what every one of us should do when we begin a study with someone.

D. You begin from where they are in their understanding. If a non-Christian asks you a question about gambling, you don’t give them a lesson on marriage and divorce. If a non-Christian asks you a question about homosexuality, you don’t give them a lesson on church leadership.

1. No, you do what Philip did; you begin from where they are... and then go on to tell them about the power of the gospel of Christ.
2. Let’s continue in; Acts 8:36-40- “ Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?'' Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may.'' And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.”

E. This is another good example of the gospel being preached but notice the text doesn’t say anything about Philip preaching baptism to the Eunuch. Common sense again tells us that when a person is preaching about Jesus they have to include baptism in that preaching.

1. Philip must have preached baptism; or why would the Ethiopian ask Philip, "Look, here is water. What’s stopping me from being baptized?"
2. Then in Acts 8:37 Philip replied, “If you believe with all your heart. The Eunuch answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

F. Now I am fully aware that verse 37 is omitted from some translations because it is not found in the oldest and best documents and shows up first around the year 500. However, it is obvious from other scriptures that if a person wants the Lord to confess their name before the Father, then that person will confess Jesus before men.

1. Jesus says in; Matthew 10:32-33- “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
2. Then in; Romans 10:9-10- we read; “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.”

G. The Eunuch confessed Jesus as the Son of God in front of Philip and then ordered the chariot to stand still. It’s then that Luke tells us that both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him for the forgiveness of his sins. The Eunuch became a Christian in the same way that all others became Christians in the first century church. Indeed, in the same way that we all became Christians, by being baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
H. The outcome of such obedience is always the same. Rejoicing in the Lord for what He has done for us. Immediately following their coming up out of the water, the Spirit caused Philip to be gone from the presence of the eunuch. On his journey back to Caesarea, Philip preached in coastal cities like Azotus along the way.

CONCLUSION:
I would like us to use our imaginations for a moment. I understand that the Bible doesn’t tell us about what happened to the Eunuch when he got back home. Like I said I have an active imagination so I sometimes wonder what happened. I also understand the reason we are not told because it’s not important for us to know, but wouldn’t you love to know the rest of that story? Perhaps I had too much Paul Harvey in my youth.

Let me tell you a quick story about this man who once stood before God in prayer, his heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. "Dear God," he cried out, "look at all the suffering, the anguish and distress in this world. Why don't you send help?" God responded, "I did send help. I sent you."

The Eunuch went back to Ethiopia rejoicing as it says in verse 39. This reminds me of how the Samaritan woman Jesus spoke with at the well went back to the city rejoicing and told others the story of Jesus. I can imagine the Eunuch doing the same thing. I can imagine his friends and maybe even the queen asking, “Well how was your trip,” or “How was worship this time?”

I can imagine, though we don’t know, he couldn’t contain his joy as he shared the whole story about trying to understand Isaiah’s words and Philip appearing. Maybe he shared with them that Isaiah was speaking about Jesus and then went on to tell them we need to be baptized into Christ to enter a relationship with him.

We don’t know what he did, we don’t know if he remained faithful all the days of his life. Maybe one day when we get to heaven and we see him, we can ask him what happened when he got home, because I believe he will never forget that day, even in death. I don’t think there is anything wrong with our wondering as long as we do not add or detract from God’s word. It is when people try to go beyond what they are told in scripture that they can get into trouble.

When we see Jesus, perhaps we can ask Him all the questions we ever wanted answered. But for now, while we are still living on this earth, whenever we are feeling down, whenever we are feeling lost or feel that God isn’t there or doesn’t care anymore, we need to just remember the day we were born again, or remember when it finally dawned on us what Christ has done for us and continues to do for us.

We need to honesty look back at all the sins we committed and know that God forgave us of all of them when we were buried with Christ. God continues to forgive us if we ask Him of every sin committed since. Our hearts need to rejoice in the Lord.

Just like the Psalmist says in Psalm 13:5-6, “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me”.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference Sermon: Mike Glover