I mentioned one evening on the mission, verse 8 of this chapter, when Philip came and preached in Samaria, the Bible says, there was great joy in that city. And thank God, wherever the gospel is preached, it brings joy to men and women. And we said that wherever the gospel has gone throughout this whole world, thank God, along with the preaching of the gospel, bringing men and women the message of salvation. By God, there has gone men and women to preach the Word of God, to teach the Word of God, to bring education, to bring medicine and help to others and bring humanitarian need. But most of all, the Gospel brings joy in the salvation of the soul. The psalmist could say, is that people whose God is the Lord. People in this world think they have happiness. But as the late Pastor Ivan Thompson used to say, they have champagne on Saturday night and a real pain on Sunday morning with a hangover. They only think they are enjoying themselves. They only think they have life. But Jesus says, I am come that ye might have life and that ye might have it more abundantly here. Now, in this dark and dreary and sin-cursed world in which we live, thank God for the light and the liberty and the joy the gospel brings. The Lord Jesus gave a commission to his disciples that the gospel would be preached in Jerusalem, in Judea, and then in Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the world. And as we take up this chapter in chapter 8, we realize that the gospel has been preached already in Jerusalem, in Judea and in Samaria. And the Lord was blessing Philip. There was a time of revival, a time of great blessing in the city of Samaria. But now the great pagan Gentile world is to be contacted with the Gospel of Christ. God knew all about this man of Ethiopia. God knew exactly where he had been in Jerusalem, where he was now out in the desert. God knew exactly where Philip was and what he was engaged in in preaching the Word in Samaria. But God would now take Philip from this scene of revival and this scene where multitudes were hearing the Word of God. And God would bring Philip to the exact place in the desert to meet this one man, this runic from the land of Ethiopia, that he might find Christ as his Savior and that he might go back to the land of Ethiopia a changed man, a missionary. for the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is no accident that God just called Philip. And Philip went as the angel brought him there to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which was desert. And friend, it is no accident, it is no happenstance that you are here in the meeting this evening. All things are of God. And God has you here for a purpose, to hear this simple message of the Gospel and how this man was saved. Now you'll notice that this man, the Ethiopian eunuch, he was one of three great conversions in Acts 8, 9 and 10. And the interesting thing about those three conversions is this, that we have a man from each of the great racial families of the earth. People are into tracing their family tree. And that might be a good thing, and it may not. You may uncover something you don't really want to know. You may find that way back in your family, someone was hung by the neck. They were a criminal. But you'll never find anybody that hung by the tail. They didn't come from monkeys. They did not evolve out into this masterpiece of humanity today. But when the flood came and the world was destroyed, and then the ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, and then Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives came out onto that new world, well, all the families of the earth go back to the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth. And you'll find that the Ethiopian Enoch, he was of the racial family of Ham. In the next chapter, Saul of Tarsus was converted. He was a Jewish man. He was of the racial family of Shem. And then in chapter 10, Cornelius, the Bible says, There was a centurion, a certain man of Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band. He is of the family of Japheth. But you see, God is no respecter of persons. And salvation is not of a race or according to the blood of which race you belong. And well did the old hymn writer pen the words, In Christ there is no north or south in him, no east nor west. But in every nation under heaven, from every corner of the earth, where men and women believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, thank God there is a people saved by the grace of God. Now I want you to think with me tonight about this wonderful conversion story of the Ethiopian treasurer. The man who was, in fact, the secretary of the treasury for Queen Kandese of the Ethiopians. And I want you to notice that the Bible teaches us something about him in verse 27. It says, And he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Kandese, queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, and was returning." And I want you to notice very simply that this man was a man who was traveling. He had come from the land of Ethiopia. He had made the long and arduous journey to the city of Jerusalem. And now he was going back again to the land of Ethiopia. He was a traveling man. And I say that, beloved, because every one of us tonight in this meeting, we are all fellow travelers on the road to eternity. We are all making that journey from the cradle to the grave. There is not one of us in the meeting tonight who knows exactly how long or how short that journey will be. But we know that we are fellow travelers on the road to God's eternity. Now, you'll notice as this man was traveling, the Bible says that he was a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority. As this man was a traveler, he was a man of position and a man of power. In other words, sir, a man of great authority could be rendered a potentate He is a man of a great, high-ranking position in the land of Ethiopia. He is the Secretary, as we have said, of the Treasury. He is the Minister of Finance. He is well trusted. He is well thought of. He is highly thought of in the land of Ethiopia. And the Queen Candace, she can put her trust in him. that he will look after the affairs of the treasury for her. And he had come to Jerusalem. Now he's traveling on his way home. When I think about him, I think about his position. And of course, it doesn't matter what position we have in this life. It doesn't matter whether we're rich or poor. whether we achieve some dizzy height of fame or not, we are still travelers on the road to eternity. And one day, as it were, the road will run out and we must needs die, for we, the Bible says, are as water spilt upon the ground that cannot be gathered up again. When I think about this man's position, I think also of his condition. You see, this man was a God-fearing man. The Bible says there that he had come from Jerusalem for to worship. The end of verse 27. He had come to Jerusalem for to worship. So there was something in this man's life, something that struck a chord in his heart. And he realized that the truth And the way to heaven and the way to life is to be found amongst these Jewish people. And he has come to Jerusalem. He is in contact with them. He has heard about them having the prophets. He has heard about them having the law. He has heard about the beautiful temple In Jerusalem, he's heard about the priesthood, the Levitical priesthood. And he's interested, and he's a God-fearing man. Now, maybe you're in our meeting tonight, and you say to me, Fred, I have to confess, I'm not saved. I'm not born again. My life has never been changed in that way by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel. But I have respect for the Word of God. I have respect for the Gospel. I have respect for God's house and for God's day and for the things of God, even for the people of God. And that's a good thing. This man was a God-fearing man. But I think about his mission. You see, he had gone to Jerusalem He may have been there on other business for Queen Candace, but on his journey he wanted to worship in Jerusalem. But as he is returning back again to Ethiopia, he is still not saved. And when I thought about that, I could not help but think in my mind about what I had read about Martin Luther. Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, that he was born and he was brought up in Roman Catholicism, and he was sincere in his religion, and he practiced it to the best of his ability. And as a young priest, he longed that he might see what he called the holy city of Rome. And he got there, made a pilgrimage, But, you know, when he got to Rome and he saw the materialism and he saw the hypocrisy and he saw the exclusivism and the sectarianism, he came home disappointed. He came home disillusioned. And it wasn't until he read in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans that the just shall live by faith. That the light of God, the Holy Spirit, shone into his heart. And it is said, he wrote beside his Bible, the just shall live by faith alone. That it's not by works, that it's not by good deeds, that it's not by baptism, that it's not by confession, that it's not by any of these things, but it's by simple faith in Christ. And here's a man, and he was on a mission. And he had gone to Jerusalem. And I dare say tonight that because of his position, because of who he was, because of who he represented, it may well have been that he could not only go to Jerusalem and go to the temple, but he could meet with the chief priests. He could meet with the priests. He could meet with the scribes. He could meet with the doctors of the law. But yet, when he came away, he's still unseen. But thank God for his possession. You will notice what he has in his hand. He is returning in verse 28. Sitting in his chariot, he read Isaiah the prophet. Now, maybe he bought a copy of Isaiah's prophecy, a scroll in Jerusalem. Maybe he could just buy a small part of that prophecy. But he had in his possession part of Isaiah, we know it as chapter 53. Friends tonight, you are even more privileged than the Ethiopian treasurer. Because you have in your hand not just Isaiah 53, but the 66 chapters of Isaiah. Yea, the 66 books of the Bible, the whole canon of Holy Scripture. And that's a wonderful privilege. That's a wonderful thing to have in your possession. So here's a man who was traveling. He's a man of power. He's God-fearing. He's on a mission. He wanted to get Jerusalem to worship. And now he's got a copy of Isaiah. But he's still not saved. Now maybe that's your position tonight. Maybe you're religious. Maybe you're God-fearing. Maybe you're moral and upright and respectable and religious and all the rest of it. And you have the Bible in your own home. But friend, you're still not saved. You've never taken that stamp. I want you to notice, here's a man who was traveling. But look at verse 31. Here's a man who was troubled. You see, the Bible says in verse, if we could back up just a little, to verse 29, The Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And I have always read that and thought, My Philip, he ran. Thank God he ran. And verse 30, Sither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah. And he says, Understandest thou what thou read? I used to say, Well, he ran in case he would miss the traveller. But I read a commentary, a Bible teacher, and he said he ran and the Spirit told him to go and join the chariot at that precise moment so that he wouldn't miss the text. Because the Ethiopian treasure, he's reading there in verse 32, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter And like a lamb done before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth." This man was reading that wonderful passage about the Lord Jesus. And he was troubled. And Philip said, Do you understand what you are reading? And he said in verse 31, How can I except some man should guide me? And he desired, Philip, that he would come up and sit with him. He didn't understand. See, beloved, the natural man doesn't comprehend the things of God. They are, as it were, foreign to him. And many of us who are saved tonight, we were exactly the same. I have been in missions. Sometimes big crowds. Sometimes small crowds. Sometimes really good meetings when we've known the presence of God. And people say to me, sometimes you would wonder how somebody could walk out after a meeting like that. And I've often thought about it, and then I thought, well, you know, I walked out after meetings like that. You walked out after meetings like that. Because humanly speaking, naturally speaking, and the God of this world, Satan, he has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine in. But thank God for this servant of God, Philip. And now he's sitting up in the chariot beside this man. And this man, he could understand the manuscript that he had in front of him. He could understand the words, but he couldn't grasped the message. He had a head knowledge of it, but he didn't have a heart knowledge. And that's like so many. They could recite you passages of Scripture. They could quote you verses of Scripture. But they don't know the Lord Jesus Christ. They know all about Jesus. They could tell you about His birth in Bethlehem. They could speak about His sinless life. They could talk about Him being called the carpenter's son. They could tell you that He grew up on Nazareth. They could tell you that He died on the cross at Calvary. They could tell you many miracles that He performed. They could speak about His resurrection, about His ascension, about the promise of His coming. And they know all about Him, but they don't know Him. So here's a man who was traveling. We're all fellow travelers to eternity. Here is a man who was troubled. And I hope tonight, dear friend, that there is a concern that you are troubled about your soul and where your soul will be in eternity. But thank God he was a man who was told. Look at verse 32 and verse 33 and 34. As he read those verses from Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 53, that he was led as a lamb done before his shearer. He opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life was taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man? Here is the key in verse 35, Then Philip opened his mouth, And he began at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Jesus Christ is the key. Jesus is the way. He is the truth and the life. And Philip told him about Jesus. He told him about the one who is called the Lamb of God. And he speaks to him about the silence of the Lamb. As Isaiah said in chapter 53 and verse 7, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he opened not his mouth. And he tells him how the Lord Jesus Christ was abused, how he was scoffed or he was whipped, or he was mistreated, or he was brought from prison and from judgment, tells him, and yet he was silent. Then he tells him of the slaughter of the lamb. He was in his judgment is taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth." And Isaiah could say, And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence. Oh, he made his grave with the wicked. Why? Because on either side of the cross of Calvary there were two malefactors, two thieves, crucified with Christ. And he was with the rich in his death, because his body was taken by Nicodemus and by Joseph of Arimathea, two of the three richest men it is said in Jerusalem. And they laid his body lovingly in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, who was with the rich in his death. And he could tell him of the substitution of the lamb, that the Lord Jesus as John the Baptist said, was the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Or as the prophet Isaiah would say, all we like sheep had gone astray and turned every one to his own way. But the Lord laid on Him, He was our substitute, the iniquity of us all, that He was wounded for our transgressions, that He was bruised for our iniquities, that He hath borne our griefs, that He hath carried our sorrows. And he tells him of the salvation through the Lamb. You see, he preached unto him Jesus. We often sing the hymns of John Newton, Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound. Newton wrote another hymn. I may have quoted it already on the mission. It was a lovely hymn. It says, What think ye of Christ is the test? To try both your state and your scheme, You cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of Him. As Jesus appears to your view, whether He is beloved or not, so God is disposed to you, and mercy or judgment you are not. Friend, what think ye of Christ. When the Ethiopian eunuch heard about Jesus, and heard that the prophet Isaiah was speaking about Jesus, the one who was the appointed one, the anointed one, the Messiah, the one who was the Savior, the one who loved us, the one who died for us upon the cross of Calvary to take away our sins, you will notice that he said to Philip, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?" Now, Philip had given him a Christ course in the Gospel. He had explained the things of God. And you notice what Philip said unto him in verse 37. If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Here's a man who was traveling. And he's a man who was troubled. And he is a man, thank God, who was told. But look, he is a man who was triumphant. He said to Philip there, I believe, verse 37, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Paul said to the Romans, Romans chapter 10 and verse 9, If thou confess with thy mouth and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And there and then, the Ethiopian treasurer, he exercised faith in Jesus Christ. He said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he wanted to express that faith. And he wanted to be baptized as a sign that he was now a follower. of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says in verse 39, that when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuchs saw him no more. Now here's a man, and he's traveling from Jerusalem back to Ethiopia. And God brings this evangelist to speak to him. And he tells him about Jesus. And the man believes in Jesus. And then he's baptized. in obedience to the Gospel. And then the evangelist who showed him the way, he is taken away from him. But I want you to notice something. It says in verse 39, speaking of the eunuch, The eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. See, friend, you don't need the preacher. Thank God, you need Jesus. And if you have Christ, you will have joy. This man went on his way rejoicing. When Philip preached in Samaria, there were multitudes saved. And he brought joy to the city when he preached to this man one to one in the chariot in the desert. He was saved and he was rejoicing. And he went home to Ethiopia rejoicing, being a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and the land of Ethiopia. Only God knows the plans and the purposes He has for your life. He can save you tonight. He can use you in your home, in your family, in the workplace, wherever it might be, in the community. If you trust the Lord Jesus Christ, if you take Him as your own and personal Savior, you can leave this meeting tonight rejoicing. In these days in which we live, as far as the world is concerned, and the people of this world, there is not much to rejoice about. But, thank God, in the gospel there is everything to rejoice about. Whether it be good times or bad times, as far as this world is concerned, the people of God have the Lord Jesus Christ. The lovely old gospel hymn and the redemptional hymnal And it tells the story of a poor woman who lived in the city of London. She had absolutely nothing as far as this world's goods were concerned. But it says, In the heart of London city, amidst the dwellings of the poor, these few golden words were uttered, I have Christ, what want I more? And friend, that is what we need. Jesus Christ. as our Saviour. Will you come tonight? Will you trust Him? Will you take Him as your own and personal Saviour? And you say, Fred, I will believe tonight on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I will repent of my sin. I will trust Him. I will invite Him into my heart, into my life to make me a child of God. May God bless His Word to our hearts tonight. Our brother, Reverend Salt, will bring him into the club.