1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,720 On that day when my strength is failing 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:12,000 The end draws me and my time has come 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:19,180 Still my soul will sing your praise unending 4 00:00:19,180 --> 00:00:27,140 Ten thousand years and then forevermore 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:38,760 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul 6 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,700 Worship His holy name 7 00:00:43,700 --> 00:00:51,860 Sing like never before, O my soul 8 00:00:51,860 --> 00:00:58,120 I'll worship Your holy name 9 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:10,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name. 10 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:21,880 Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy. 11 00:01:23,740 --> 00:01:30,080 Yes, I will worship your holy name. 12 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:36,380 Lord, I'll worship your holy name. 13 00:01:53,740 --> 00:02:00,400 I raise a hallelujah 14 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:06,600 In the presence of my enemies 15 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:12,140 I raise a hallelujah 16 00:02:12,140 --> 00:02:18,660 Louder than the unbelief 17 00:02:18,660 --> 00:02:23,860 I raise a hallelujah 18 00:02:23,860 --> 00:02:29,520 My weapon is a melody 19 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,580 I raise a hallelujah 20 00:02:35,580 --> 00:02:42,120 Heaven comes to fight for me 21 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:49,680 I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm 22 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:56,000 Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar 23 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,840 Up from the ashes, hope will arise 24 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:09,020 Death is defeated, the King is alive 25 00:03:09,020 --> 00:03:19,440 I raise a hallelujah 26 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:25,460 With everything inside of me 27 00:03:25,460 --> 00:03:31,160 I raise a hallelujah 28 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:37,380 I will watch the darkness flee 29 00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:42,860 I raise a hallelujah 30 00:03:42,860 --> 00:03:48,900 In the middle of the mystery 31 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:54,640 I raise a hallelujah 32 00:03:54,640 --> 00:04:01,080 Fear you lost your hold on me 33 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,980 And I'm gonna sing 34 00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:08,780 In the middle of the storm 35 00:04:08,780 --> 00:04:15,020 Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar 36 00:04:15,020 --> 00:04:20,880 Up from the ashes, hope will arise 37 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:26,720 Death is defeated, the King is alive 38 00:04:38,780 --> 00:04:43,340 Sing a little louder 39 00:04:43,340 --> 00:04:47,200 In the presence of my enemies 40 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,240 Sing a little louder 41 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,660 Louder than the unbelief 42 00:04:53,660 --> 00:04:55,140 Sing a little louder 43 00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:58,720 My weapon is a melody 44 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,960 Sing a little louder 45 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:05,160 Heaven comes to fight for me 46 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:06,800 Sing a little louder 47 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,600 In the presence of my enemy 48 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,820 Sing a little louder 49 00:05:12,820 --> 00:05:17,060 Louder than the unbelief 50 00:05:17,060 --> 00:05:18,580 Sing a little louder 51 00:05:18,580 --> 00:05:22,160 My weapon is a melody 52 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:24,600 Sing a little louder 53 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,860 Heaven comes to fight for me 54 00:05:28,860 --> 00:05:33,760 I'm gonna sing 55 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,500 In the middle of the storm 56 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:42,500 Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar 57 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:48,580 Up from the ashes, hope will arise 58 00:05:48,580 --> 00:05:54,460 Death is defeated, the King is alive 59 00:05:54,460 --> 00:06:00,040 I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm 60 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:06,340 Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar 61 00:06:06,340 --> 00:06:12,020 Up from the ashes, hope will arise 62 00:06:12,020 --> 00:06:19,080 Death is defeated, the king is alive 63 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:31,160 Test, test, testing, testing, testing, testing, testing 64 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:32,900 Testing 65 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:47,460 Who has held the oceans in His hands? 66 00:06:47,460 --> 00:06:53,900 Who has numbered every grain of sand? 67 00:06:53,900 --> 00:07:00,760 Kings and nations tremble at His voice. 68 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:07,080 All creation rises to rejoice. 69 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:16,620 Behold our God, seated on His throne. 70 00:07:16,620 --> 00:07:21,340 Come, let us adore Him. 71 00:07:21,340 --> 00:07:29,540 Behold our King, nothing can compare. 72 00:07:30,460 --> 00:07:36,120 Come, let us adore Him. 73 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:53,800 Who has given counsel to the Lord? 74 00:07:53,800 --> 00:08:00,440 Who can question any of His words? 75 00:08:00,460 --> 00:08:07,000 Who can teach the one who knows all things 76 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,760 Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds 77 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:20,500 Behold our God 78 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:23,560 Seated on his throne 79 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,220 Come let us adore him 80 00:08:28,220 --> 00:08:33,340 Behold our King 81 00:08:33,340 --> 00:08:35,820 Think and compare 82 00:08:35,820 --> 00:08:43,080 Come let us adore Him 83 00:08:43,080 --> 00:09:00,220 God has felt the nails upon His hands 84 00:09:00,220 --> 00:09:06,480 Bearing all the guilt of sinful man 85 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:19,800 God eternal, humble to the grave, Jesus, Savior, is enouted to reign. 86 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:34,100 Behold our God, seated on his throne, come let us adore him. 87 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:39,480 Behold our King 88 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,380 Nothing can compare 89 00:09:42,380 --> 00:09:49,040 Come let us adore Him 90 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:58,360 You will reign forever 91 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:04,820 You will reign forever 92 00:10:04,820 --> 00:10:11,260 You will reign forever 93 00:10:17,820 --> 00:10:24,860 Behold our God 94 00:10:24,860 --> 00:10:27,800 Seated on His throne 95 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:32,480 Come let us adore Him 96 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,840 Behold our King 97 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,800 Nothing can compare 98 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:47,800 Come let us adore Him 99 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:20,440 My hope is built on nothing less 100 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:26,140 Than Jesus' blood and righteousness 101 00:11:26,140 --> 00:11:31,160 I dare not trust 102 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,300 The sweetest frame 103 00:11:56,140 --> 00:12:26,120 Thank you. 104 00:12:26,140 --> 00:12:56,120 Thank you. 105 00:12:56,140 --> 00:13:12,560 Thank you. 106 00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:46,960 Sorry, I'm looking for all my kids to make sure they're in here. 107 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,160 Good morning. 108 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:56,100 We're going to get started today in our time of worship. 109 00:13:56,140 --> 00:14:01,620 uh we're going to be uh talking about Philip in the unit or brandon was going to be talking about 110 00:14:01,620 --> 00:14:09,640 Philip and the eunuch today and um how God sent him to basically explain the gospel to him 111 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,260 uh which changed his life and it was interesting because i was thinking about that and 112 00:14:14,260 --> 00:14:21,160 thinking Philip was probably a pretty smart guy um but he's i guess he wouldn't be considered 113 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:26,600 today as somebody who went to seminary or spent years going to school to learn everything about 114 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:31,280 the Bible he would have just learned from those that were teaching him and the things that he 115 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:36,780 learned as a kid and stuff like that and so it kind of gives me some encouragement because 116 00:14:36,780 --> 00:14:42,820 I didn't go to seminary and I don't know everything in the Bible but I do know about 117 00:14:42,820 --> 00:14:47,440 the gospel and it's it's interesting how just knowing about the gospel and what Jesus has done 118 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:52,320 for us, and what God does for us every day, and how much he loves us, how that can impact 119 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:58,740 others around us, and so I'm looking forward to hearing about that today, and as we move 120 00:14:58,740 --> 00:15:02,320 into our worship time, we're going to be reading together out of Isaiah, which is what the 121 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:09,400 eunuch was actually reading when Philip met him, and so we're going to stand together and 122 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:20,240 read out of Isaiah 61. We're going to be starting in verse 10 and then going through 11. 123 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:30,820 And it begins, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exalt in my God. For he has clothed 124 00:15:30,820 --> 00:15:39,060 me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom 125 00:15:39,060 --> 00:15:45,860 decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with 126 00:15:45,860 --> 00:15:53,240 her jewels. For as the earth bring forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown 127 00:15:53,240 --> 00:16:00,360 in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up 128 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:08,800 before all the nations. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you for the 129 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:13,800 opportunity to gather here today. We thank you for those that are watching online, and we hope that 130 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:20,080 our time together can be an encouragement to them and to us here. We thank you for the gospel. We 131 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:26,180 thank you for salvation that you've given us so that we can be righteous and be able to 132 00:16:26,180 --> 00:16:33,280 share that good news with those around us, and we thank you for the different gifts that you've 133 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:39,600 given us to be able to show the gospel to others around us. Not all of us know how to speak very 134 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,640 well or sing very well, but you've given us other talents that can just show our neighbors and our 135 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:51,500 friends and our family how you've transformed our lives and how much you love us. We thank you for 136 00:16:51,500 --> 00:16:57,200 this time together. We ask that you be with our service today and help it to glorify you. In Jesus' 137 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:03,280 his name. Amen. Okay, our first Song we're going into today is going to be The Lion and 138 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:24,280 the Lamb. Maybe. It's starting, but it's not playing. Let me try again. Okay. Okay. 139 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:46,000 He's coming on the clouds 140 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,800 Kings and kingdoms will bow down 141 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:56,440 Every chain will break 142 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,440 With broken hearts declare His praise 143 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,460 Who can stop the Lord Almighty? 144 00:18:04,460 --> 00:18:10,760 Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah 145 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:16,340 He's roaring with power and fighting our battles 146 00:18:16,340 --> 00:18:20,800 Every knee will bow before Him 147 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,980 Our God is the Lamb 148 00:18:23,980 --> 00:18:26,640 The Lamb that was slain 149 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,300 For the sins of the world 150 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:31,960 His blood breaks the chains 151 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:37,340 Every knee will bow for the Lion and the Lamb 152 00:18:37,340 --> 00:18:41,840 Every knee will bow before Him 153 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:58,640 Let's open up the gates and make way before the King of Kings. 154 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:08,660 The God who comes to save us, is here to set the captives free. 155 00:19:08,660 --> 00:19:13,000 Who can stop the Lord Almighty? 156 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:19,320 Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah. 157 00:19:19,780 --> 00:19:24,940 He is roaring with power and fighting our battles. 158 00:19:24,940 --> 00:19:29,300 Every knee will bow before Him. 159 00:19:29,300 --> 00:19:35,220 Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain. 160 00:19:35,220 --> 00:19:40,620 For the sins of the world, His blood breaks the chains. 161 00:19:40,620 --> 00:19:45,780 Every knee will bow for the lion and the lamb. 162 00:19:46,520 --> 00:20:00,440 every knee will bow before him who can stop the Lord almighty who can stop the Lord almighty 163 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:10,440 who can stop the Lord almighty who can stop the Lord almighty 164 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:17,180 Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah. 165 00:20:17,180 --> 00:20:22,180 He's roaring with power and fighting our battles. 166 00:20:22,180 --> 00:20:27,140 Every knee will bow before Him. 167 00:20:27,140 --> 00:20:33,140 Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain. 168 00:20:33,140 --> 00:20:38,460 For the sins of the world, His blood breaks in chains. 169 00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:43,700 Every knee will bow before the lion and the lamb. 170 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:48,700 Every knee will bow before him. 171 00:20:48,700 --> 00:20:53,900 All right, if you'd like to remain standing, you can. 172 00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:59,080 We're going to be moving on to our next song, and then we'll have our prayer and share time. 173 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:04,700 And if you're watching online, there's going to be a slide up with a phone number for you to text your prayer requests to. 174 00:21:04,700 --> 00:21:06,400 So if you'd like to do that, that'd be great. 175 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:07,740 We'd love to pray with you on that. 176 00:21:08,180 --> 00:21:13,140 and we're going to be muted here during that time so just hold tight while we have our time 177 00:21:13,140 --> 00:21:17,780 here together and then we'll be back after we're done with that and so we're going to move into 178 00:21:17,780 --> 00:21:20,420 our next song, which is, This is Amazing Grace. 179 00:21:20,420 --> 00:21:40,020 Who breaks the power of sin and darkness, whose love is mighty and so much stronger, 180 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:45,660 the King of glory, the King above all kings. 181 00:21:47,780 --> 00:21:53,700 Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder 182 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:58,180 Who leads us breathless in awe and wonder 183 00:21:58,180 --> 00:22:03,920 The King of glory, the King above all kings 184 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,600 This is amazing grace 185 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,840 This is unfailing love 186 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:17,900 That you would take my place 187 00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:22,380 That you would bear my cross 188 00:22:22,380 --> 00:22:26,620 You would lay down your life 189 00:22:26,620 --> 00:22:32,220 That I would be set free 190 00:22:32,220 --> 00:22:40,180 Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me 191 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:48,240 Who brings our chaos back into order? 192 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,720 Who makes the orphan a son and daughter? 193 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,720 The King of glory, the King of kings. 194 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:05,720 Who rules the nations with truth and justice? 195 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,840 Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance. 196 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,560 The King of glory, the King above all kings. 197 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:21,000 This is amazing grace. 198 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,080 This is unfailing love. 199 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:30,040 That you would take my place. 200 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,120 That you would bear my cross. 201 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:38,600 You would lay down your life. 202 00:23:40,020 --> 00:23:44,260 That I would be set free 203 00:23:44,260 --> 00:23:52,320 Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me 204 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:57,580 This is amazing grace 205 00:23:57,580 --> 00:24:01,640 This is unfailing love 206 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:06,440 That you would take my place 207 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,040 That you would bear my cross 208 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,320 You would lay down your life 209 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,400 That I would be set free 210 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:28,740 Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me 211 00:24:37,440 --> 00:25:07,420 Thank you. 212 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:37,420 Thank you. 213 00:25:37,440 --> 00:26:07,420 Thank you. 214 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:57,180 Okay, as we move into our time of communion, we're going to be singing together, All Who Are Thirsty. 215 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:24,440 Oh, who are thirsty, oh, who are weak, come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream 216 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:26,140 of life. 217 00:32:26,140 --> 00:32:45,080 Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away in the waves of his mercy, the deep cries out too deep. 218 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:52,920 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 219 00:32:52,920 --> 00:33:02,160 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 220 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:11,040 All who are thirsty, all who are weak, 221 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,880 Come to the fountain 222 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:21,780 Dip your heart in the stream of life 223 00:33:21,780 --> 00:33:24,300 Let the pain and the sorrow 224 00:33:24,300 --> 00:33:29,240 Be washed away 225 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:33,560 In the waves of His mercy 226 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:40,620 As deep cries out to thee 227 00:33:40,620 --> 00:33:47,640 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 228 00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:57,640 Come, Lord Jesus, come. 229 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:17,720 His deep cries out too deep, His deep cries out too deep, His deep cries out too deep. 230 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:46,160 Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come, 231 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:54,160 Holy Spirit, come. 232 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:36,340 In our family, when our kids tend to be grumpy, it's usually one of two things, right? 233 00:35:36,340 --> 00:35:40,120 They're either very, very tired or very, very hungry. 234 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:44,940 And I don't know where they get their bad attitudes from when they're hungry. 235 00:35:45,100 --> 00:35:50,060 all I know is that sometimes when I come home and I'm really grumpy, Rachel will look at me and 236 00:35:50,060 --> 00:35:54,880 she'll say, when was the last time you ate something? And that's my clue that maybe I'm 237 00:35:54,880 --> 00:36:01,660 being a little bit grumpy. And usually the answer is like yesterday. And so sometimes when we are 238 00:36:01,660 --> 00:36:09,820 hungry, we struggle, we become grumpy. Everything feels a little bit overwhelming. In John the sixth 239 00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:16,240 chapter. There's a lot of things happening, but it begins where Jesus is with some crowds and 240 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:21,680 they're in the wilderness and there's all these people following him and they are hungry. And so 241 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:28,860 what Jesus does is he feeds them and he teaches them. And then after he's done, he gets in the 242 00:36:28,860 --> 00:36:34,240 boat, the disciples get in the boat, Jesus walks across on the water. And the next day, all the 243 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:40,560 crowd show up because they're hoping once again for a free lunch. And Jesus is going to tell them 244 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:47,100 something that is remarkable. He's going to tell them that their true hunger, the thing that needs 245 00:36:47,100 --> 00:36:52,520 to be solved, isn't that they need more bread or more fish, but they need something spiritually. 246 00:36:52,520 --> 00:37:01,360 And Jesus will say this in John 6, 35, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger 247 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,920 And whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 248 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:11,280 And what Jesus says is, I come to nourish your hungry souls, 249 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:16,640 those souls that you've been trying to fill with all the busyness of life. 250 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:21,920 I've come to refresh you in the midst of a thirsty world. 251 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:29,540 And what he does is he shifts the focus from the physical hunger to the spiritual hunger. 252 00:37:29,540 --> 00:37:39,880 And as we gather this morning around the table, we're looking not to our physical hunger, but to our spiritual hunger. 253 00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:47,760 That God nourishes us, that he strengthens us, that as we remember and as we celebrate the gospel together, 254 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:54,000 he encourages us in our salvation, he encourages us in the fact that this is the church's family meal, 255 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,380 That you and I together encourage one another. 256 00:37:57,380 --> 00:38:01,300 That he has empowered us and equipped us with his spirit. 257 00:38:01,300 --> 00:38:04,440 And he refreshes our soul. 258 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:11,040 And so for us as Christians, this is a moment to look not to our physical needs, 259 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:12,880 but our spiritual needs. 260 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:17,200 And in that moment, to fix our eyes upon Jesus. 261 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,860 So I'm going to pray and then we'll read from Scripture together 262 00:38:20,860 --> 00:38:25,580 and will partake of this meal that directs us to our hope that is found in Jesus. 263 00:38:25,580 --> 00:38:30,740 Father in heaven, we thank you that you don't just meet our physical needs, 264 00:38:30,740 --> 00:38:33,140 but you meet our spiritual needs as well, 265 00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:36,420 that you encourage us, that you strengthen us, 266 00:38:36,420 --> 00:38:40,340 and that most of all, you have saved us through your Son, 267 00:38:40,340 --> 00:38:45,640 who went to the cross, not because of his sins, but because of ours, 268 00:38:46,100 --> 00:38:49,820 who paid the price for our brokenness 269 00:38:49,820 --> 00:38:52,180 and rose again for our victory. 270 00:38:52,180 --> 00:38:54,120 And so in this moment, direct us 271 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:55,960 to how you have met our deepest need, 272 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,500 the need for our sins to be forgiven. 273 00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:02,900 Restore us and refresh us in hope and in strength. 274 00:39:02,900 --> 00:39:06,240 I ask that you bless this bread and bless this cup. 275 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:09,020 It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 276 00:39:09,020 --> 00:39:14,320 As Jesus did with the disciples during the Last Supper, 277 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:19,040 He will take the bread and he will give thanks for it. 278 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,060 When he had broke it, he will say, 279 00:39:21,060 --> 00:39:24,540 This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 280 00:39:24,540 --> 00:39:34,920 He will then pick up the cup at Passover, which would have been the cup of redemption. 281 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:39,720 And in this case, it's not just a reminder of what God has done in Egypt, 282 00:39:39,820 --> 00:39:43,480 but it's about a reminder of what Jesus was about to do on the cross 283 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:45,200 in redeeming his people. 284 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,540 And he will say, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. 285 00:39:48,540 --> 00:39:52,100 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 286 00:39:52,100 --> 00:40:02,320 Father, thank you for this moment that brings us focus, 287 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:06,420 that strengthens us in the gospel, that encourages us, 288 00:40:06,420 --> 00:40:09,620 that welcomes us, that helps us. 289 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:14,040 Be with us. Help us not to lose sight of what is truly important. 290 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:16,800 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 291 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:41,740 This morning's reading will be from Acts 26 through 40, chapter 8. 292 00:40:41,740 --> 00:40:46,640 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 293 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:54,920 Rise and go towards the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. 294 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:58,980 This is a desert place. 295 00:40:58,980 --> 00:41:02,840 And he, Philip, rose and went. 296 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:10,700 And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, 297 00:41:10,700 --> 00:41:16,220 who was in charge of her treasure. 298 00:41:16,220 --> 00:41:23,940 He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot. 299 00:41:23,940 --> 00:41:27,240 And he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 300 00:41:27,660 --> 00:41:33,860 And the spirit said to Philip, go over and join the chariot. 301 00:41:33,860 --> 00:41:43,260 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, do you understand what you are reading? 302 00:41:43,260 --> 00:41:48,140 And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? 303 00:41:48,140 --> 00:41:52,340 And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 304 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:58,340 Now the passage of the Scriptures that he was reading was this. 305 00:41:58,340 --> 00:42:09,600 Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 306 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:14,680 In his humiliation, justice was denied him. 307 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:22,660 Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth. 308 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:35,260 And the eunuch said to Philip, About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? 309 00:42:35,260 --> 00:42:44,460 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. 310 00:42:44,460 --> 00:42:51,260 And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 311 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:56,320 See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? 312 00:42:56,320 --> 00:43:04,060 And he commanded that the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water. 313 00:43:04,060 --> 00:43:08,340 Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him. 314 00:43:08,340 --> 00:43:15,860 And when they had come up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, 315 00:43:15,860 --> 00:43:19,100 and the eunuch saw him no more. 316 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:29,640 and went away rejoicing, but Philip found himself as Otis, and as he passed through, 317 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:35,460 he spread the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. 318 00:43:35,460 --> 00:43:38,180 This is the word of the Lord. 319 00:43:38,180 --> 00:43:39,540 Praise be to God. 320 00:43:39,540 --> 00:43:46,900 Let's pray. 321 00:43:46,900 --> 00:43:49,560 Father in heaven, thank you for your word. 322 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:57,120 We thank you for the wonder of our text this morning as we see the character of Philip, 323 00:43:57,120 --> 00:44:05,540 as we see the encouragement that you give to us, as we see how you welcome those who 324 00:44:05,540 --> 00:44:07,460 are outsiders into your family. 325 00:44:07,460 --> 00:44:12,100 We thank you so much for the good news of the gospel, and may we see it clearly in this 326 00:44:12,100 --> 00:44:14,800 text and be encouraged by it this morning. 327 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:17,280 It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 328 00:44:18,100 --> 00:44:26,340 So there are times in life where you find yourself in a circumstance and you say, well, that didn't turn out exactly like you intended. 329 00:44:26,340 --> 00:44:34,640 And so back when I was a younger minister than I was now, when I first came here, I was a young single man. 330 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:42,400 And so it seemed that some people took it upon themselves to try to remedy that situation. 331 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:46,060 And so it would be things like they'd say, hey, you want to come over to dinner? 332 00:44:46,060 --> 00:44:47,280 And I said, oh, sure, I don't have to cook. 333 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:51,060 go over to dinner, and they're like, well, here's our friend, and they've introduced me 334 00:44:51,060 --> 00:44:54,440 to a young lady, and I would be like, great, thanks for that. 335 00:44:54,440 --> 00:45:01,020 And so this particular Sunday, there was a couple in the church, and they brought a young 336 00:45:01,020 --> 00:45:06,120 lady with them to meet their new preacher, and evidently, according to Rachel, I was 337 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:12,260 really, really rude to her that Sunday, mainly because I was tired of people showing up with 338 00:45:12,260 --> 00:45:15,180 somebody and being like, hey, we found you a wife, congratulations. 339 00:45:16,740 --> 00:45:20,780 And so evidently I was really, we had talked for several more years and then it turns out 340 00:45:20,780 --> 00:45:25,440 we're now married with a bunch of kids and a bunch of dogs and a bunch of fish. 341 00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:31,880 Not what I would have expected from that initial meeting with Rachel, right? 342 00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:37,040 And so what we find is in life, sometimes it takes a turn that we wouldn't expect, that 343 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:38,760 sort of surprises us. 344 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:43,740 And sometimes it turns out in a difficult way, but sometimes it turns out in a wonderful 345 00:45:43,740 --> 00:45:49,760 way. And what we find in our text this morning is Philip is going to find himself in a situation 346 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:55,280 that doesn't necessarily look that great, right? He's going to this deserted road. He's leaving 347 00:45:55,280 --> 00:46:01,300 his ministry in Samaria where God is doing amazing things to go out and walk along a desert road, 348 00:46:01,300 --> 00:46:10,160 and then God does something wonderful. And there is so much in these verses this morning that are 349 00:46:10,340 --> 00:46:16,600 filled with wonder. They have so much to teach us. And so rather than trying to cover every 350 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:22,240 little piece of this text, I want to this morning just simply direct you to three things that I 351 00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:31,720 think are wonderful from the text that we just heard. And so I want to begin by introducing us 352 00:46:31,720 --> 00:46:37,120 to Philip. Now we've seen him over the past few weeks, and what we find in Philip is this 353 00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:43,140 wonderful example. So we're first introduced to this man, Philip, in Acts the sixth chapter. And 354 00:46:43,140 --> 00:46:50,060 if you remember in Acts chapter six, the church is growing so big and so fast that some of the 355 00:46:50,060 --> 00:46:55,380 widows who are in need of food are not getting taken care of. They're getting overlooked. And so 356 00:46:55,380 --> 00:46:59,980 they're not getting the food that they need. And so the apostles, in their wisdom, they're going to 357 00:46:59,980 --> 00:47:05,020 pick out seven guys. One of them is Stephen, who we talked about at length. And another one of them 358 00:47:05,020 --> 00:47:09,680 is Philip. And their qualifications have to be that they're full of the spirit and that they're 359 00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:16,460 full of wisdom. So they're spiritually strong, but they're also practically useful. And so they know 360 00:47:16,460 --> 00:47:21,880 how to take the spiritual things and put them into practice. And so that's what they do. And Philip 361 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:29,660 was one of those men. And after Stephen is murdered, the church scatters. It says this 362 00:47:29,660 --> 00:47:31,740 in Acts chapter 4 and 5. 363 00:47:31,740 --> 00:47:33,360 Now those who were scattered 364 00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:35,560 went about preaching the word 365 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:37,300 and Philip went down to the city of Samaria 366 00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:38,880 and proclaimed to them the Christ. 367 00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:41,340 So as everybody runs out of Jerusalem 368 00:47:41,340 --> 00:47:43,220 because they're worried about being murdered, 369 00:47:43,220 --> 00:47:45,940 Philip goes and he goes towards Samaria, 370 00:47:45,940 --> 00:47:48,380 a place where no Jewish person would ever want to go. 371 00:47:48,380 --> 00:47:49,220 And you know what he does? 372 00:47:49,220 --> 00:47:51,480 He preaches the gospel. 373 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:53,980 Later on in Acts, 374 00:47:53,980 --> 00:47:56,220 he's called Philip the Evangelist. 375 00:47:56,220 --> 00:47:58,160 And in fact, in Acts 21, it says this, 376 00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:00,520 Luke writing about his journey with Paul. 377 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:03,980 On that day, we departed and came to Caesarea 378 00:48:03,980 --> 00:48:06,940 and entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, 379 00:48:06,940 --> 00:48:09,660 who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 380 00:48:09,660 --> 00:48:12,080 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 381 00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:13,820 And so here's a remarkable thing. 382 00:48:13,820 --> 00:48:15,980 In Acts chapter 8, we find Philip running 383 00:48:15,980 --> 00:48:18,440 because Paul is going to persecute the church. 384 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:21,960 In Acts 21, Paul stops and he stays with Philip, 385 00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:24,140 who is still proclaiming the gospel. 386 00:48:24,140 --> 00:48:28,540 Everywhere Philip goes, he tells people about Jesus in Samaria. 387 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:33,640 on the desert road as he travels after meeting the eunuch. 388 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:39,900 Even in Acts 21, he's still known as a guy who loves to tell people about Jesus. 389 00:48:39,900 --> 00:48:49,200 So look at what happens in Acts 8.26. 390 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:51,460 Rachel, could you grab me a bottle of water? 391 00:48:51,460 --> 00:48:55,480 My allergies are having a rough day. 392 00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:05,660 the angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go toward the south, toward the road that goes down 393 00:49:05,660 --> 00:49:13,000 from Jerusalem to Gaza. Thank you very much, Tommy. This is the desert place. Now, I want you to think 394 00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:18,160 for a minute, what happens when we don't want to do something? We see this a lot of times with our 395 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:23,180 kids. We'll say something like, hey guys, can you straighten up your room? And immediately what 396 00:49:23,180 --> 00:49:30,320 happens is they begin to walk very, very slowly or pick up very, very slowly. They say there's 397 00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:35,280 nothing heavier than a toy that you've just asked your toddler to pick up, right? It's like, 398 00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:42,460 oh, that's just far too heavy for me. And so sometimes when we don't want to do something, 399 00:49:42,460 --> 00:49:48,840 right, we go very slowly or we procrastinate or we put it off or we don't want to do these things. 400 00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:56,500 sometimes we ignore it completely so Philip here is asked to go to this desert road and he has some 401 00:49:56,500 --> 00:50:01,940 great reasons why he shouldn't go to the desert road right he has a flourishing ministry in 402 00:50:01,940 --> 00:50:07,720 Samaria people are doing amazing things they're coming to Jesus the spirit is working there's 403 00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:12,460 new Christians that need to be taught there's opponents to the faith simon the sorcerer is 404 00:50:12,460 --> 00:50:18,480 trying to derail the church and all of these things are happening there's so many good reasons 405 00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:21,520 For Philip to stay in Samaria and here God goes, 406 00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:24,920 go to the deserted road in between Jerusalem and Gaza. 407 00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:28,420 It doesn't seem like a great place to go. 408 00:50:28,420 --> 00:50:32,220 And if I was Philip, I could think of a hundred reasons 409 00:50:32,220 --> 00:50:35,700 why I didn't need to go to that deserted road. 410 00:50:35,700 --> 00:50:40,280 Look at what Philip does. Acts 8, 27, he arose and went. 411 00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:44,500 He didn't argue. He didn't complain. He didn't make excuses. 412 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:46,540 He didn't take his time to get all this stuff there. 413 00:50:46,540 --> 00:50:56,240 he just goes where God sends him he trusts God so even when he's asked to go somewhere that for him 414 00:50:56,240 --> 00:51:03,380 may not make very much sense he obeys and his obedience is the fruit of his faith in God let's 415 00:51:03,380 --> 00:51:10,080 jump down to verse 35 it says Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture he told 416 00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:17,580 him the good news about Jesus. You see, when Philip speaks to this Ethiopian, he tells him 417 00:51:17,580 --> 00:51:22,840 the gospel. The gospel just simply means good news, not about what you need to do, but about 418 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:28,800 what Jesus has done for you, that he died in your place for your sins, he rose again for your victory, 419 00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:34,080 that he has gone to prepare a place for you, and it is a wonderful thing. And what Philip does 420 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,800 is he tells the Ethiopian about Jesus. 421 00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:40,780 He doesn't sit down and tell the Ethiopian about all of his opinions. 422 00:51:40,780 --> 00:51:45,520 He doesn't sit down and deal with his current pet peeves. 423 00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:50,000 He doesn't deal with the political situation of the day. 424 00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:54,840 What he does is he focuses completely on Jesus. 425 00:51:54,840 --> 00:52:00,760 And one of the reasons that Philip is able to just overflow with Jesus 426 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:02,280 because that's what he's filled up with. 427 00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:07,260 And so if you take a cup, right, and you fill it up with milk and you tip it over on your 428 00:52:07,260 --> 00:52:08,040 table, what happens? 429 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:08,780 Milk comes out. 430 00:52:08,780 --> 00:52:13,240 You take a mug and you fill it up with coffee and you tip it over on your table, what happens? 431 00:52:13,240 --> 00:52:14,180 Coffee comes out. 432 00:52:14,180 --> 00:52:18,220 You take a glass and you fill it up with water and you tip it over on your table, what happens? 433 00:52:18,220 --> 00:52:19,340 Water comes out. 434 00:52:19,340 --> 00:52:24,180 What you fill the cup up with is what's going to come out when it's poured out. 435 00:52:24,180 --> 00:52:30,000 And what goes into your life is going to pour out of your life. 436 00:52:30,540 --> 00:52:36,060 And Philip, filled with the Spirit, filled with the good news about Jesus. 437 00:52:36,060 --> 00:52:38,340 You know what pours out of his life? 438 00:52:38,340 --> 00:52:42,020 The good news of the gospel. 439 00:52:42,020 --> 00:52:46,480 He's so filled that it overflows into the lives of others. 440 00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:50,780 Right, so Philip is constantly telling people about Jesus. 441 00:52:50,780 --> 00:52:55,600 He witnesses about Jesus, even in uncomfortable circumstances. 442 00:52:55,600 --> 00:52:59,740 Because this is what his life has been filled with. 443 00:53:00,300 --> 00:53:05,020 In Samaria, on this road, in the towns along the coast of Israel, 444 00:53:05,020 --> 00:53:09,000 not his opinions, not his pet peeves, not his political ideology. 445 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:13,340 He has one sermon, and it's all about Jesus. 446 00:53:13,340 --> 00:53:19,320 And so the first thing we see in this text is that Philip is this wonderful example 447 00:53:19,320 --> 00:53:24,800 of somebody who is obedient to what God has called him to do, 448 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:28,300 and as he does so, he overflows with the good news of the gospel. 449 00:53:28,420 --> 00:53:31,540 The second thing that I would direct your attention to in this text 450 00:53:31,540 --> 00:53:34,880 is the wonderful encouragement that we find here. 451 00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:38,740 And the simple fact is that God can use the dark 452 00:53:38,740 --> 00:53:43,020 and the difficult seasons of your life for something wonderful. 453 00:53:43,020 --> 00:53:46,420 And I want you to think about this because I think we overlook 454 00:53:46,420 --> 00:53:49,460 the reason Philip is out in the mission field. 455 00:53:49,460 --> 00:53:53,400 We think, man, he's doing such a great job in Samaria telling everybody about Jesus. 456 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,980 He does a great job with his Ethiopian telling them about Jesus. 457 00:53:57,100 --> 00:53:58,840 Well, why is he there in the first place? 458 00:53:58,840 --> 00:54:01,720 He's there because the church is being persecuted. 459 00:54:01,720 --> 00:54:04,740 And he's in danger. 460 00:54:04,740 --> 00:54:09,020 And the future of the church is filled with uncertainty. 461 00:54:09,020 --> 00:54:13,280 In Acts 8, verse 3, it says, 462 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:15,780 Saul ravaged the church, entering house after house. 463 00:54:15,780 --> 00:54:20,100 He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 464 00:54:20,100 --> 00:54:22,360 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 465 00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:25,760 And so the church is faced with uncertainty. 466 00:54:25,980 --> 00:54:31,320 And in the midst of that uncertainty, Philip preaches in Samaria and many people come to know Jesus. 467 00:54:31,320 --> 00:54:34,780 And then you have the desert road. 468 00:54:34,780 --> 00:54:39,800 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go to the south of the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. 469 00:54:39,800 --> 00:54:41,700 This is a desert place. 470 00:54:41,700 --> 00:54:46,840 And when we talk about this, we're not talking about sort of a friendly desert, right? 471 00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:50,280 With cute little road runners and jackrabbits running around. 472 00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:53,520 We're talking about a place that is dry, that is barren. 473 00:54:53,840 --> 00:54:57,060 And oftentimes as you travel it, you are in danger for your life 474 00:54:57,060 --> 00:55:01,120 from those who would attack travelers to take whatever they had. 475 00:55:01,120 --> 00:55:06,280 And so Philip has been called into the darkness and preaches in Samaria, 476 00:55:06,280 --> 00:55:09,000 and now he's called into the desert. 477 00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:15,040 And what you find is that Philip's experience in both Samaria and in the desert 478 00:55:15,040 --> 00:55:17,640 encourage us because both of these events, 479 00:55:17,640 --> 00:55:20,960 you see the power of the gospel in the midst of difficulty, 480 00:55:21,140 --> 00:55:24,900 in the midst of the uncertainty that the church faces as they are being persecuted, 481 00:55:24,900 --> 00:55:27,080 the gospel is proclaimed in Samaria, 482 00:55:27,080 --> 00:55:29,660 in the midst of the deserted place in the wilderness, 483 00:55:29,660 --> 00:55:33,020 the Ethiopian comes to know Christ. 484 00:55:33,020 --> 00:55:36,240 And I would say this, God is in the work in the midst of your darkness 485 00:55:36,240 --> 00:55:39,860 and in the midst of those desert times in your life. 486 00:55:39,860 --> 00:55:44,300 God uses those difficult seasons to do something good. 487 00:55:44,300 --> 00:55:49,080 And maybe we are tempted to say, well, I'm not that person. 488 00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:53,080 I don't really deal with the uncertainty of the darkness, 489 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:56,480 and I don't deal with the deserted places in my life very well. 490 00:55:56,480 --> 00:56:00,340 And here's where we come to the second bit of encouragement in the life of Philip. 491 00:56:00,340 --> 00:56:06,760 That God will equip you with what you need for the task that He has given you. 492 00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:08,400 In Acts 6.3, 493 00:56:08,400 --> 00:56:11,320 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, 494 00:56:11,320 --> 00:56:15,880 full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 495 00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:17,260 In Acts 8, 496 00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:21,280 The crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip. 497 00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:24,520 They heard him and saw the signs that he did for unclean spirits. 498 00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:28,020 Crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them. 499 00:56:28,020 --> 00:56:31,040 Many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 500 00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:36,780 And in Samaria, his ministry is confirmed by the physical and spiritual victories 501 00:56:36,780 --> 00:56:38,660 and the power of the Holy Spirit. 502 00:56:38,660 --> 00:56:41,760 And in Acts chapter 8, what do we find? 503 00:56:41,760 --> 00:56:46,180 Verse 29, the Spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. 504 00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,680 You see, Philip's life was marked by God empowering him with his spirit. 505 00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:54,600 And so we say, well, how can I do what Philip did in the midst of the darkness? 506 00:56:54,600 --> 00:57:00,120 One is to understand that God uses those dark and desert places in our life to do something good. 507 00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:05,340 And we look at our life and we might say, I'm not strong enough or I'm not good enough or I'm not skilled enough. 508 00:57:05,340 --> 00:57:14,340 And God says, I will equip you with my spirit who will help you and who will lead you and empower you and guide you in those dark moments. 509 00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:20,460 And this is a call for us as a church not to be fearful when we face those difficult areas, 510 00:57:20,460 --> 00:57:27,500 but rather to be bold in the gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit for God's people. 511 00:57:27,500 --> 00:57:31,620 And so we've talked a lot about Philip so far this morning. 512 00:57:31,620 --> 00:57:35,820 We're going to meet the second character in the account, this Ethiopian eunuch. 513 00:57:35,820 --> 00:57:38,820 And what's remarkable about this guy is there's a remarkable contrast. 514 00:57:38,820 --> 00:57:44,000 So on one hand, he is powerful, he is important, and he is wealthy. 515 00:57:44,120 --> 00:57:45,680 It says this in verse 27. 516 00:57:45,680 --> 00:57:48,940 There was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, 517 00:57:48,940 --> 00:57:52,420 the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all of her treasure. 518 00:57:52,420 --> 00:57:55,040 He had come to Jerusalem to worship, 519 00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:57,440 and he was returning seated in his chariot, 520 00:57:57,440 --> 00:57:59,420 and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 521 00:57:59,420 --> 00:58:02,880 So first of all, he says he's a court official of Candace. 522 00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:07,420 Now, Candace here is not a name of a person, 523 00:58:07,420 --> 00:58:08,660 but rather it's a title. 524 00:58:08,660 --> 00:58:11,760 So we would think of it like Pharaoh or like president. 525 00:58:12,340 --> 00:58:16,240 And so the Candace in Ethiopia, she was the mother of the king 526 00:58:16,240 --> 00:58:19,840 because the king was considered a descendant of the sun 527 00:58:19,840 --> 00:58:24,240 and he's far too important to deal with the mediocre matters of government. 528 00:58:24,240 --> 00:58:30,720 And so the queen mother would be in charge of all the practical parts of ruling the kingdom 529 00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:33,680 and she was known as the Candace. 530 00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:38,620 And so he works for the person who is in charge of the entire kingdom 531 00:58:38,620 --> 00:58:43,100 and he's in charge of all of the treasure, right? 532 00:58:43,100 --> 00:58:46,120 He doesn't just have a small expense account, 533 00:58:46,120 --> 00:58:49,360 but he has the wealth of this entire nation 534 00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:51,020 at his disposal. 535 00:58:51,020 --> 00:58:52,320 And he is important. 536 00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:53,480 And we see this in a couple of ways. 537 00:58:53,480 --> 00:58:55,980 First of all, he's able to take like three months off 538 00:58:55,980 --> 00:58:58,140 from work to go on vacation, right? 539 00:58:58,140 --> 00:58:59,500 So it'd probably take a month from him 540 00:58:59,500 --> 00:59:01,760 to journey from Ethiopia to Israel. 541 00:59:01,760 --> 00:59:04,400 He's probably gonna spend likely a month there 542 00:59:04,400 --> 00:59:06,900 and then he's going to journey back another month, 543 00:59:07,020 --> 00:59:09,500 but he also is not doing it on foot, right? 544 00:59:09,500 --> 00:59:11,840 He has guys with him. 545 00:59:11,840 --> 00:59:13,620 They're part of his security detail. 546 00:59:13,620 --> 00:59:15,200 They're also there to make sure of his comfort. 547 00:59:15,200 --> 00:59:19,780 He's not walking, but he's riding in style, right? 548 00:59:19,780 --> 00:59:23,200 He has an official royal entourage 549 00:59:23,200 --> 00:59:25,660 befitting someone of his stature. 550 00:59:25,660 --> 00:59:28,620 And so on one hand, this guy is incredibly wealthy, 551 00:59:28,620 --> 00:59:30,220 incredibly important. 552 00:59:30,220 --> 00:59:32,860 He has a bunch of resources 553 00:59:32,860 --> 00:59:35,460 that most people wouldn't have. 554 00:59:36,680 --> 00:59:38,520 But he's also sort of an outsider. 555 00:59:38,520 --> 00:59:41,660 Likely not Jewish at all. 556 00:59:41,660 --> 00:59:45,820 Also going to Jerusalem to worship, he would not, because he's a eunuch, 557 00:59:45,820 --> 00:59:48,080 not be allowed into the temple. 558 00:59:48,080 --> 00:59:50,320 It was a prohibition from the book of Deuteronomy 559 00:59:50,320 --> 00:59:53,020 that he would not be able to walk through the doors of the temple. 560 00:59:53,020 --> 00:59:57,160 And so he goes to Jerusalem to worship, and they don't let him in. 561 00:59:57,160 --> 00:59:59,340 Can you imagine that? 562 00:59:59,340 --> 01:00:03,500 You take your time, and you're somebody important, and you show up to worship. 563 01:00:04,040 --> 01:00:07,140 They say, sorry, you don't qualify, you're not allowed in. 564 01:00:07,140 --> 01:00:10,560 So on one hand, he's incredibly important. 565 01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:15,280 And on the other hand, he's also an outsider and an outcast. 566 01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:21,440 And you have this contrast in the life of the Ethiopian. 567 01:00:21,440 --> 01:00:25,980 And I would say this, as we look at what Philip says to him, 568 01:00:25,980 --> 01:00:27,660 and I'm going to read this section here in a minute, 569 01:00:27,660 --> 01:00:31,340 I want you to understand what happens next is not an accident. 570 01:00:32,280 --> 01:00:35,000 In verse 26, the angel of the Lord said to Philip, 571 01:00:35,000 --> 01:00:37,160 Rise and go toward the south. 572 01:00:37,160 --> 01:00:41,180 The road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, this is a desert place. 573 01:00:41,180 --> 01:00:45,600 And as he rose, there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, 574 01:00:45,600 --> 01:00:49,660 queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. 575 01:00:49,660 --> 01:00:53,340 He had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning, seated in his chariot. 576 01:00:53,340 --> 01:00:55,740 And he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 577 01:00:55,740 --> 01:00:59,900 And so it was traditional for pilgrims who went to Jerusalem to pick up a souvenir. 578 01:01:00,080 --> 01:01:03,560 Just like when we go somewhere, we'll say, we're going to stop at the gift shop and get something nice. 579 01:01:03,560 --> 01:01:07,460 A lot of these guys would stop and they would pick up a scroll while they were in Jerusalem. 580 01:01:07,460 --> 01:01:10,620 And he picks up the scroll of Isaiah, I don't think by accident. 581 01:01:10,620 --> 01:01:14,140 And the Spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. 582 01:01:14,140 --> 01:01:17,620 So Philip ran to him, heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, 583 01:01:17,620 --> 01:01:19,860 do you understand what you are reading? 584 01:01:19,860 --> 01:01:23,060 And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? 585 01:01:23,060 --> 01:01:26,340 And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 586 01:01:26,340 --> 01:01:28,840 Now the passage of the Scripture he was reading was this. 587 01:01:29,720 --> 01:01:35,000 Like a sheep he was led to slaughter, and like a lamb before his shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 588 01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:38,280 In his humiliation, justice was denied him. 589 01:01:38,280 --> 01:01:43,500 Who can describe this generation, for his life is taken away from the earth? 590 01:01:43,500 --> 01:01:48,440 So what you find is, first of all, it was no accident that Philip was on the road at this time. 591 01:01:48,440 --> 01:01:51,740 It's no accident that Philip goes up to the chariot. 592 01:01:51,740 --> 01:01:56,740 I don't think it's an accident that the Ethiopian has a scroll of Isaiah, 593 01:01:56,900 --> 01:02:02,080 And I don't think it's an accident that he's reading a passage that's directly about Jesus. 594 01:02:02,080 --> 01:02:06,340 And what you see in this text, we tend to focus on Philip and the Ethiopian. 595 01:02:06,340 --> 01:02:07,840 But who is at work? 596 01:02:07,840 --> 01:02:09,100 It's God. 597 01:02:09,100 --> 01:02:12,380 It's God in his providence. 598 01:02:12,380 --> 01:02:15,680 When the Ethiopian buys a scroll, he buys a scroll of Isaiah. 599 01:02:15,680 --> 01:02:18,980 And when he opens it to read it, God in his providence directs him to this passage. 600 01:02:18,980 --> 01:02:22,440 It's God in his power who directs Philip to this road. 601 01:02:22,440 --> 01:02:25,460 It's God in his power who directs Philip to the chariot. 602 01:02:25,460 --> 01:02:26,480 And what is he doing? 603 01:02:26,660 --> 01:02:32,160 He's pursuing this man who is seeking something more than what he has right now. 604 01:02:32,160 --> 01:02:37,240 God is calling the excluded foreigner outcast. 605 01:02:37,240 --> 01:02:40,520 The one who wasn't allowed to worship in the temple of Jerusalem. 606 01:02:40,520 --> 01:02:44,200 And he's not just sort of extending a general invitation saying, 607 01:02:44,200 --> 01:02:45,520 hey, if you want to show up, show up. 608 01:02:45,520 --> 01:02:52,160 But he sends Philip, the gospel proclaimer, puts him in his chariot and he preaches Jesus to him. 609 01:02:52,160 --> 01:02:54,940 What you see is God wants you. 610 01:02:56,100 --> 01:03:01,180 He doesn't just tolerate you, but he pursues you, and he seeks you, and he wants you. 611 01:03:01,180 --> 01:03:10,360 And I would say this is not just a message if you're outside the church to hear that God wants you to be a part of what he has done, 612 01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:18,600 that he wants you, but it's also a message for you and I who are in the church as we look outside to see that God wants those people too. 613 01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:24,360 We tend to focus on ourselves and what we want, and sometimes we tend to look down on others, 614 01:03:24,460 --> 01:03:26,900 but that's not how God sees people. 615 01:03:26,900 --> 01:03:29,500 He sees people who are spiritually hungry 616 01:03:29,500 --> 01:03:30,700 and spiritually thirsty, 617 01:03:30,700 --> 01:03:33,280 who are in desperate need of salvation. 618 01:03:33,280 --> 01:03:36,620 And he sends his people, in this case, Philip. 619 01:03:36,620 --> 01:03:41,560 He also sends us to a hungry and thirsty world. 620 01:03:41,560 --> 01:03:44,880 So let me ask you just a few questions. 621 01:03:44,880 --> 01:03:47,520 First of all, if you're a Christian this morning, 622 01:03:47,520 --> 01:03:49,300 what are you filling your life with? 623 01:03:49,300 --> 01:03:52,440 One of the ways that you can evaluate that question 624 01:03:52,440 --> 01:03:54,180 is say, what is pouring out of my life? 625 01:03:54,860 --> 01:03:57,380 What is it that I'm really excited to talk about? 626 01:03:57,380 --> 01:03:59,460 What do I focus on? 627 01:03:59,460 --> 01:04:01,360 What is it I spend my time on? 628 01:04:01,360 --> 01:04:05,480 And those things will direct you to what you're filling your life with. 629 01:04:05,480 --> 01:04:10,620 Are we like Philip filling our life with the good news of the gospel? 630 01:04:10,620 --> 01:04:17,880 Or are we so busy with all of the other things that we're filled up with entertainment and worries and busyness? 631 01:04:17,880 --> 01:04:22,100 Or are we filled with the power of the gospel? 632 01:04:23,580 --> 01:04:26,640 And maybe this morning, you're not a Christian. 633 01:04:26,640 --> 01:04:29,480 You're like this man, this Ethiopian on the desert road. 634 01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:31,920 And you're searching for something. 635 01:04:31,920 --> 01:04:34,000 And I'll tell you simply, his name is Jesus. 636 01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:39,640 And maybe you're tired and you're weary and you feel like you can't go any farther. 637 01:04:39,640 --> 01:04:41,900 Here's what Jesus says. 638 01:04:41,900 --> 01:04:45,900 Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. 639 01:04:45,900 --> 01:04:48,200 And I will give you rest. 640 01:04:48,200 --> 01:04:50,840 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. 641 01:04:50,880 --> 01:04:53,200 for I am gentle and lowly in a heart, 642 01:04:53,200 --> 01:04:56,020 and you will find rest for your souls. 643 01:04:56,020 --> 01:04:59,480 If you're tired, the answer is found in Jesus. 644 01:04:59,480 --> 01:05:02,160 Maybe you're spiritually hungry and you're spiritually thirsty, 645 01:05:02,160 --> 01:05:03,740 and you feel like you're empty. 646 01:05:03,740 --> 01:05:07,560 Hear those words of Jesus that we talked about earlier. 647 01:05:07,560 --> 01:05:09,440 I am the bread of life. 648 01:05:09,440 --> 01:05:11,500 Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, 649 01:05:11,500 --> 01:05:14,060 and whoever believes in me shall not thirst. 650 01:05:14,060 --> 01:05:15,720 And maybe you're an outsider, 651 01:05:15,720 --> 01:05:17,800 and you feel like nobody would ever want me. 652 01:05:17,800 --> 01:05:19,540 Most of all, Jesus. 653 01:05:20,880 --> 01:05:22,720 See the actions of Jesus. 654 01:05:22,720 --> 01:05:26,380 He eats with outsiders in Luke 15. 655 01:05:26,380 --> 01:05:30,140 He hugs the leper in Matthew chapter 8. 656 01:05:30,140 --> 01:05:32,760 The one guy that nobody wants to be around, let alone touch. 657 01:05:32,760 --> 01:05:34,480 Jesus heals him. 658 01:05:34,480 --> 01:05:37,960 He pursues the Ethiopian. 659 01:05:37,960 --> 01:05:42,640 And I would encourage you this morning to come to the one who wants you. 660 01:05:42,640 --> 01:05:44,880 Who gives you rest. 661 01:05:44,880 --> 01:05:46,560 Who nourishes you. 662 01:05:46,560 --> 01:05:47,700 Who strengthens you. 663 01:05:49,120 --> 01:05:51,620 And He desires to be near you. 664 01:05:51,620 --> 01:05:52,160 Let's pray. 665 01:05:52,160 --> 01:05:53,840 Father in heaven, 666 01:05:53,840 --> 01:05:58,580 as we consider these wonderful things, 667 01:05:58,580 --> 01:06:01,060 the example of Philip, 668 01:06:01,060 --> 01:06:04,500 the power of the gospel in dark places, 669 01:06:04,500 --> 01:06:06,020 the encouragement that you give us 670 01:06:06,020 --> 01:06:07,300 through the work of your spirit, 671 01:06:07,300 --> 01:06:10,880 and this invitation to see, hear, 672 01:06:10,880 --> 01:06:12,320 and respond to the gospel, 673 01:06:12,320 --> 01:06:15,360 help us to see that you are the one 674 01:06:15,360 --> 01:06:16,200 who meets our needs, 675 01:06:16,200 --> 01:06:17,280 the one who fills us up, 676 01:06:17,280 --> 01:06:18,460 the one who strengthens us, 677 01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:19,600 and the one who helps us. 678 01:06:19,600 --> 01:06:25,380 Help us to fill our lives with you by your grace 679 01:06:25,380 --> 01:06:27,560 and through your power and through your word 680 01:06:27,560 --> 01:06:29,020 that you may be at work in us 681 01:06:29,020 --> 01:06:30,480 to share the good news with the world. 682 01:06:30,480 --> 01:06:32,940 It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 683 01:06:32,940 --> 01:06:37,840 We're gonna stand and sing Jesus who paid it all. 684 01:06:48,520 --> 01:06:58,120 I hear the Savior say 685 01:06:58,120 --> 01:07:02,900 Thy strength indeed is small 686 01:07:02,900 --> 01:07:07,340 Child of weakness, watch and pray 687 01:07:07,340 --> 01:07:12,660 Find in me thine all in all 688 01:07:12,660 --> 01:07:16,980 Jesus paid it all 689 01:07:16,980 --> 01:07:22,080 All to Him I know 690 01:07:22,080 --> 01:07:26,940 Sin hath left a crimson stain 691 01:07:26,940 --> 01:07:31,180 He washed it white as snow 692 01:07:31,180 --> 01:07:43,260 Lord, now indeed I find 693 01:07:43,260 --> 01:07:47,760 Thy power and thine alone 694 01:07:47,760 --> 01:07:52,620 Can change the leper's spots 695 01:07:52,620 --> 01:07:57,460 And melt the heart of stone 696 01:07:57,460 --> 01:08:02,980 Jesus paid it all 697 01:08:02,980 --> 01:08:07,300 All to Him I owe 698 01:08:07,300 --> 01:08:11,940 Sin hath left a crimson stain 699 01:08:11,940 --> 01:08:16,160 He washed it white as snow 700 01:08:16,160 --> 01:08:28,240 For nothing good have I 701 01:08:28,240 --> 01:08:32,940 Whereby thy grace to claim 702 01:08:32,940 --> 01:08:37,660 I'll wash my garments white 703 01:08:37,660 --> 01:08:42,600 In the blood of Calvary's land 704 01:08:42,600 --> 01:08:48,020 Jesus paid it all 705 01:08:48,020 --> 01:08:52,280 All to Him I owe 706 01:08:52,280 --> 01:08:56,940 Sin had left a crimson stain 707 01:08:56,940 --> 01:09:01,080 He washed it white as snow 708 01:09:07,660 --> 01:09:17,980 And when before the throne I stand in Him complete 709 01:09:17,980 --> 01:09:22,500 Jesus died my soul to save 710 01:09:22,500 --> 01:09:26,960 My lips shall still repeat 711 01:09:26,960 --> 01:09:33,080 Jesus paid it all 712 01:09:33,080 --> 01:09:37,280 All to Him I owe 713 01:09:37,280 --> 01:09:41,940 Sin had left a crimson stain 714 01:09:41,940 --> 01:09:46,100 He washed it white as snow 715 01:10:07,280 --> 01:10:08,800 next to the cookies 716 01:10:08,800 --> 01:10:10,600 if you would like to take one of those. 717 01:10:10,600 --> 01:10:12,100 We'll go ahead and have a word of prayer 718 01:10:12,100 --> 01:10:14,340 and sing the doxology. 719 01:10:14,340 --> 01:10:18,540 Father, thank you for the good 720 01:10:18,540 --> 01:10:19,940 that you have done for us. 721 01:10:19,940 --> 01:10:22,360 We thank you that you have saved us, 722 01:10:22,360 --> 01:10:23,660 that you have loved us, 723 01:10:23,660 --> 01:10:24,620 you have pursued us, 724 01:10:24,620 --> 01:10:25,580 and you have called us. 725 01:10:25,580 --> 01:10:27,600 Help us to be a light 726 01:10:27,600 --> 01:10:29,880 that shines in a dark world 727 01:10:29,880 --> 01:10:31,460 that we would show people 728 01:10:31,460 --> 01:10:32,720 your love and your grace. 729 01:10:32,720 --> 01:10:34,160 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 730 01:10:34,160 --> 01:10:34,680 Amen. 731 01:10:37,280 --> 01:10:49,140 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. 732 01:10:49,140 --> 01:10:54,060 Praise Him, all creatures here below. 733 01:10:54,060 --> 01:11:00,120 Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. 734 01:11:00,120 --> 01:11:05,800 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 735 01:11:07,280 --> 01:11:09,340 you