I wish to speak this morning from Acts chapter 8 and from verse 36. Acts chapter 8 and from verse 36. Let me explain how I came to look at this text. Some of you may remember, those of you who were here may remember or may not, that last time I came I spoke on Mark chapter 16. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned. And I made the point that baptism there means dipping. And so I entitled that discourse Dipping Demanded by Christ. Well, what you may not know, I don't know whether Gabriel explained it to you, but the week before he had written to me and said that the preacher that evening after me might not be able to attend for domestic reasons. And would I be willing if this man couldn't come, would I be willing to take his place? And I said I would, but eventually it didn't need to take place, the man came. But naturally I was thinking in the week, what would I take? I didn't exactly prepare it, but I was ready. And this thought came into mind, well, if in the morning I had spoken on dipping demanded, This text seemed to be a natural follow-up to that, dipping desired. Dipping desired. And nothing has happened since then to change my mind, so I'll just say this, what I want to say here on this text. Acts chapter 8 verse 36. Now you all know this story like the back of your hand so it'll be a very simple and probably a very short discourse too. But it might be important for some of us. Let's just hope so. Here's the text. Acts chapter 8 verse 36. As they went on their way, this is Philip and this Ethiopian, they came to a certain water and the eunuch said, see here is water. What does hinder me to be baptized? And the word baptized there is the same word as before, and it means exactly the same as it meant five weeks ago, dipping. And so the eunuch says to this, the Ethiopian says to Philip, why can't I be dipped? Dipping desired. That's what he's asking. He's not asking a technical question. Please explain to me. No, no. He's really saying to Philip, I want it. That's what he's saying. And Philip said, well, and so on. Go on with the story. Well, now, let me just deal with the technical point, first of all. Some of you may know, or some of you may not. I don't know whether you know or not. But verse 37, the next verse, there is some question. about the original manuscripts. We don't have the original, of course. We don't have Luke's writings. We only have copies. We have hundreds and hundreds of copies. Over the centuries, these copies were made. And, of course, the translators of our Bible have picked on these, worked them out, and chosen the best and so on to make this version. But as you know, there are other versions today. People are still trying to get together these scriptures, these manuscripts, and draw out the best version. Now there is some question about verse 37. I'll just mention it to you. I have my own view about it, but I wouldn't go to the stake over it. I'm not going to fight anybody over it. There is strong evidence that This was not in Luke's original manuscript. So how did it get here, if that's the case? Well, there's plenty of evidence to show that these manuscripts have margins and people would read these manuscripts and they would make notes in the margin. I do. My books are all scrawled over. I write things over them, often agreeing, quite often not agreeing, and I let it be known. And it's quite possible, I think this is probably what happened, Luke went from verse 37, verse 36, see what's stopping me be baptized, and so on. Now something happened in between, but he went into 38, and he commanded the chariot to stand still. That's Philip and so on, and the eunuch and so on. Now, I think it's very likely that somebody reading this manuscript made a note at verse 37. Now, I'm not at all troubled about this. It just shows you what people in those centuries long ago thought was the way of being baptized. What was the condition? Well, we know what the condition is. Believers are to be baptized. That is the condition. That was what we had five weeks ago. He that believes and is baptized. There's no evidence of anybody who doesn't believe being baptized. Whatever they tell you in the books, there is no evidence. There is none. and all the evidence and all the commandments and all the ordinance of Christ is he that believes and is baptized. So I'm quite happy that verse 37 is there. I don't actually think it was there, but it doesn't matter to me whether you do think it or not. Philip wouldn't have baptized him if he hadn't believed. He wouldn't have dipped him if he hadn't believed. In fact, the eunuch wouldn't have asked if he hadn't believed. So I'll leave that technical point, I'm not going to fight over it. He was a believer, there's no question about that. But the point I want to make this morning simply is this. It's all very well for a preacher, and I try to do it, to carry out what Christ said in Mark 16, go into all the world. Well, I didn't go into all the world, that's true. came here but I did the best I could and I did demand I think in the name of Christ it wasn't an option I didn't say it was an extra I said all who believe should be dipped and I made that point but that's only half the story isn't it there's the other half how are we going to Move on from there. Well, as the eunuch here, he hears this, I mean, I'll come to that in a moment. He hears this, he knows this, and he responds by saying, well, how about me then? How about me? He desires it. Now let's just pick this up and explain. This man, we are told, had a high position in the government in Ethiopia. We've had a lot of fuss lately about chancellors of the Exchequer. This is the man who's in that position. He hasn't just been booted out, he's left his home because he wants to go to Jerusalem. He does that clearly because he has become a proselyte. That means to say he has converted to Judaism. And if you're a Jew, the Jews are scattered at this time all across the Mediterranean and Africa and so on, but if you are a Jew, Jerusalem is the key and the temple and so on and this man has to go to Jerusalem and he wants to go to Jerusalem and he's been to Jerusalem and he's coming back home. He's been attending some feast or other. Now he's a real confidant of Judaism because he's reading. In the chariot he's reading a book, a manuscript, and of course we know what he's reading, he's reading the prophet Isaiah. He's one of these odd people who actually in the middle of the week reads from the Bible. There are a few people about like that. They actually get their Bible down off the shelf. The most bought book in the country, isn't it? The least read probably, but there it is. This man is reading it. But he has no clue what it's about. Now, through a strange set of circumstances, Philip has come. And God has been arranging it. The Spirit has moved Philip to this position. And Philip starts the conversation. Do you understand what you're reading? And the chap says, well, I can't. because I need somebody to tell me. I don't understand what I'm reading. Here's this book I'm reading and it says about the person who's suffering. Let me just read the exact words. You'll find it in verse 32. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter like a lamb done before his shearer. So he opened not his mouth and his humiliation, his judgment is taken away. Who should declare his generation and so on for his life is taken from the earth. I don't get it, he says. Is the prophet speaking about himself or is it somebody else? And Philip opened his mouth, he speaks up, and he begins to talk to this chap. And it says in verse 35, he preached unto him. He didn't get into a pulpit like I'm doing here. He just talked to him, but he was certainly preaching to him that day. And Luke records that he preached not some complicated lecture on theology, nothing like that. He simply spoke to this man, opened his mouth. He opened his mouth and spoke from this very same scripture. And he says, now look, what Isaiah is talking about here, he's not referring to himself. And he preached unto him, Jesus. Well, that's a simple little statement. He preached unto Jesus. I put it to you, there isn't enough preaching of Jesus today. There's plenty of preaching of theology. There's plenty of dishing out of lectures on this and that and the other over some preachers who preach on Jesus. The suffering Jesus, the crucified Jesus, the resurrected Jesus. I find all that in Isaiah 53. That's where the man is reading. And Philip clearly preach Christ to him, preach Jesus to him. All we like sheep have gone astray, we turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Philip would have preached on that, he explained it. Who has believed our preaching? Isaiah 53. Philip would have talked about that, and so on and so on. He preached the gospel to him. But as I say, he didn't preach theology, he preached Christ, Jesus. Now, what did he preach in this preaching of Jesus? Well, I don't know because Luke hasn't told me. I have to judge by the result, the end, the product, how it follows on. I have to judge from other scriptures. see how these men preached in their day. What did Philip say to him about Jesus? Just did he tell him the facts about Jesus? You know, he was born as a baby and Bethlehem, he was this and that and the other. I'm sure he did mention that. I see that in Acts chapter 10 when Peter is speaking to Cornelius, the Italian. But these men don't just stop at the facts of Jesus. This man, the eunuch, wants to know what this is about. And Philip isn't interested in just giving him the facts. He gives him the reason for it. I've mentioned some of these texts. He's obviously speaking the gospel to this man, preaching the gospel to this man. And this is the point I'll get to without extending it, because I haven't got the words. But clearly, from what follows, I stand to be corrected. I can't see any other explanation. But clearly from what follows to my mind, Philip must have mentioned, must have said something about baptism. I don't see where else it came from. Well I see, for example, in Acts chapter 2 when Peter is preaching, he's preaching the first sermon after Pentecost, well it's on the day of Pentecost and it's not long before he gets on to baptism too. What must we do? Repent, believe, that's what he's really telling them, repent and be baptized. These early preachers evidently took the words of the Lord Jesus Christ about go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is dipped shall be saved. They evidently took that very seriously, and they did what Christ said. They didn't just stop with believing. Yes, that was the all-important thing, but having come to believing, trusting, as I explained last time I was here, The next step follows like day follows night, whatever it is. Evidently, Philip said, if you believe, if you believe what I've just told you, if you are trusting this Jesus, if you're relying upon this Jesus, then you show that by being dipped. That's what he must have said to him. You say, well, that's speculation. Well, I dare say it is. But I can't think of any other reason. I don't know whether you can think of one. I mean, what made this eunuch say, hang on, here's some water. Now, what is that? Now, it's clearly they come across an oasis. OK. Now, is that speculation? They're in the desert. They meet in some water, water's not all over the place in the desert, I'll tell you, I've been there several, I've been in two deserts and it's not at all like that. Occasionally you might see an oasis, yes, and this is what happens here. And the eunuch says this, it's a question that doesn't make any sense unless Philip had raised the issue. What's getting in my way? What about me? What about you? Why can't I be dipped? Here's some water. And he's asking for it for himself. He must be confessing, whether verse 37 is there or not, as I've explained, that doesn't matter to me. The question of faith must have come up. That is why the chariot was stopped, verse 38, and so on. Now I don't want to get into too much technical detail, but it is important to see it. The unit didn't say when they were traveling along the road, oh, I've got some water in a bag at the back. You know, they carry the water in a desert, don't they? I mean, if you're going through the desert, you carry water bags. And he could have said, if you're going to make a sign on my forehead, like they do for babies very often, he would have said, I'm carrying some water. Evidently, the eunuch understood that he needed a sight more water than you carry in a glass. Here's a glass of water. You can't be dipped in that. He needed a pool. And he said, look, here's a pool. Here's an oasis or river or wadi, whatever it is. What's the point I'm making? It confirms what I mean and what I've said about dipping. If sprinkling was enough, if making a mark on the head was enough, they wouldn't have needed a pool. And certainly it wouldn't have been like in verse 38. They went down both into the water. You don't need to do that if you're just going to make a watery mark on the forehead. Both these men got wet. One of them got dipped. That's what it means in verse 38. What I'm saying to you, my friend, that dipping is the essential thing. Romans 6 says quite a bit about it. Galatians 3 says quite a bit about it. I'm not going to get into that this morning. But the point is, it is essential to the symbol, to the picture, to the illustration. It's there. Dipping is what it means and dipping is what they did. But the point I want to concentrate on this morning, and I'm nearly done with it, it's so short and simple but it is a very important point. It's all very well for preachers to preach Christ's demand and I've tried to do it. I think I must have said last time, the ball is in your court and here's the answer that this eunuch gave he hears this kind of preaching whether he actually you heard the words of mark 16 or something like them he that believes and is dipped shall be saved the eunuch says well put my name down then why not me well i can't speak for the friends here i'll speak for myself but i think i can speak for them yeah those who are here, I'll tell you this. It would please me, and I'm sure it would please many others too, if people would start asking, why not me? Why not me? It's not a thing we hear very often, to use a phrase that is a bit sort of everyday, but Winston Churchill used it. I think it was the Battle of Alamein. He used the phrase, it warmed the cockles of our heart. And I do read in my Bible, I don't know whether it's in your Bible or not, but the angels rejoice over one sinner that repents. I think there would be rejoicing, I'm sure. But the position is clear. Dipping is demanded, and here's a man who desires it. And then verse 39, it says, when he was dipped and so on, He went on his way miserable as sin. No, not in my Bible. He went on his way rejoicing. Well, that rather confirms what I've just said. I don't think Philip was miserable about it, do you? Oh dear, got wet again. I don't think the eunuch was miserable. No, he went on his way rejoicing. I know people are looking for what they call a win-win situation. I know that's the phrase. This is a win-win. Everybody rejoices here. And I believe heaven rejoices over it too. So, if you like, what I was intending to do five weeks ago, morning preach on the demand, evening preach on the desire. And I thought that would complete the picture. But I've been thinking this week, and I'm gonna close with this illustration. I hope you'll forgive me for this illustration. That is not quite completing the picture, is it? Let me bring it to a conclusion. I don't know whether you like doing jigsaws, but you have your board out and all the pieces all over the place, and you put them in, and you get to the end, and there's one piece missing. What do you do? You get on your hands and knees and scrabble about looking for it, don't you? Yeah. Well, last time I came, I think I put in half the pieces. Or we did together. The demand for dipping. This morning, I know it's been short, but I've tried to put in the other half. Dipping desired. But there's one piece missing. Where is it? Ah, I know where it is. It's in your hand, my friend. It's in your hand. It's not in mine, but it's in yours. What do I mean? Put the piece in, my friend, and complete the puzzle. What do I mean? It's only worth talking about the eunuch, but what about you? May God bless this short discourse. May it bring us to the point. Let's hear a bit more eunuchs crying out. What hinders me? Only one thing. If you do not trust the Saviour, don't dare get near baptism. But if you do trust the Saviour, it's not only your duty, my friend, But I can assure you, like the eunuch, it will be a cause of deep rejoicing to you and to others. But that peace is in your hands. Nobody else's. May God bless this to us. Amen.