Well, I want to introduce to you Jim Wright. Of course, he's no stranger to us. We've been supporting the Wrights for a number of years now. And he is now with Baptist Mid-Mission working with Bibles International. So, Jim, you come. As I considered the topic that Pastor Hockey had given to me and appropriately proclaiming the ministry of the Word in our proclamation of Christ, I'd been working on a on the message and yet one morning I woke up and I realized that this passage is really represents this topic. The ministry of the Word in our proclamation of the Christ, the Messiah. Acts 8 verses 26 to 40. Now what I'd like to do here is I believe I can just go down with this. All right, good. And I'd like to share some of the Child Evangelism Fellowship PowerPoint slides and just go through the story, let the story speak for itself, and then we'll proceed on to an outline. Here we see in this picture that Luke, the author of Acts, is writing in Acts 8 that Philip had been preaching in the city of Samaria. This is earlier on in chapter 8. And then he had returned to Jerusalem. So that is the activity that Philip has been engaged in and really he did have quite obviously a gift of evangelism. seeking out new places to preach the gospel. Here's a map of the area in and around the land of Israel and here's where we can begin reading. I'll try not to give a lot of commentary as we read through this passage in Acts chapter 8. Acts 8 verses 26 and part of verse 27. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose, and he went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia." Okay, let's pause. So here we have Jerusalem, he's headed to Gaza, and the Ethiopian eunuch is a man who is headed back home now after having been in Jerusalem. we would see that he'd be following the Red Sea, the Nile River down to this area that would have been Ethiopia, even larger likely than the area that is the country of Ethiopia today. And so let's continue reading with verse 27, a man of Ethiopia and eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. And This eunuch had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot, read Isaiah the prophet." So this Ethiopian man, what might have he looked like? coming from, of course, Africa and below, possibly even the Sahara area, this might be what he would have looked like. He's a eunuch. He's a special man with great authority under Candace, the queen there, and he was the treasurer. He had made this trip to Jerusalem and he was a worshiper of God. Now, the scroll that he has It may not be likely that he had something so clean and cut as that, right? It could have been even papyrus pages. I'm not really studied up on it enough. It'd be interesting to talk with Mr. Robinson about that, but this could have been scroll, could have been pages. It could have been a partial part of Isaiah. All really we're told is that he was reading from Isaiah the prophet. It could have been that there was a collection of scrolls or such that he had available or maybe to have all of Isaiah but maybe at the time he was reading one part of the collection he had, that he had acquired because he was a treasurer there. But this is not to get us focused on quibbling about little things, but to realize there can be more to this than just what a picture shows. Now, okay, what about an idea of the chariot? Okay, could have been larger, could have been something that cloth coverings on several sides that would keep out the sun, but we'll let this help our imagination. So, verse 29, And Philip, then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran hither to him. Next slide. and heard him read the prophet Isaiah and said, understandest thou what thou readest? And the eunuch said, how can I except some man or literally someone should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. So Philip joins him in the chariot to talk about these words that he is able to read And they could have been in Hebrew, they could have been in Greek, the Greek translation. But he's able to read them, but he does not understand their meaning. And so let's read about that. Verses 32 and we'll continue down to 38. The place of the scripture which he read was this. And we know that's Isaiah. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet this, of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and, next slide, they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing." And Philip, but Philip was found at Azotus, which would be about where the M is in Jerusalem. somewhere in there and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea which would be farther up there toward H in Jericho so if we just review a little bit here we have this Ethiopian eunuch God provides him a copy of the scriptures he is reading them, now he's got time as he heads down that desert road And God sends along, at the right time, a person to explain that Christ, that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. And this man believed, was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing. Now this story refers to three major participants. God Himself God's servants or God's servant messengers. and God's Word. Our three main points will concern those three participants. Our main points will also use the terminology of seeking the lost. Remember that the Ethiopian was reading the portion of Isaiah that we now identify as Isaiah 53, which speaks of people wandering away like sheep and going their own way like lost sheep. And Jesus described his own ministry in terms of seeking and finding lost sheep. So think of that term lost. When we're getting to know a new store or a new neighborhood, we might find ourselves feeling lost at the new streets. We might get confused and disoriented for a little while. But what about a person who is spiritually lost and they know it? There's a long-term confusion, fear, they're full of unanswered questions, even crying out and looking for the way home. So I want to use some of those same terms in the message outline. First of all, God Himself is active in seeking and finding the lost. The opening words of this story in Acts 8 give us those three, give us three participants. We have an angel, And then the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. So actually I should say that this is probably a fourth participant in the story, but the three major ones we'll deal with is God himself, God's servant messengers, as in Philip, and then God's word. But we do have this other participant of an angel of the Lord, who is a messenger. So the angel tells Philip, but the angel received it from the Lord. So the Lord is ultimately the one who is arranging this. He's the one who is seeking this Ethiopian man. He employs an angel and then a human being. Now the story begins with what God is telling Philip to do, but let's begin with what led up to this point. God, first of all, God prepares people's experience. Think of that Ethiopian eunuch. His setting in life, his family upbringing, what he was what he was set apart to do, really probably outside of his own volition, the location of that. Think of the people that you know and their setting in life and God is preparing their experience, their occupation, their assignments, their travels, their interests, their needs that arise in their life. Jesus said that no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him. And God uses people's experience and the change in their circumstances to then draw them to himself. So God has been working in the life of this Ethiopian eunuch and in really that whole court. Secondly, God provides the witness of Scripture. Not only is he preparing people's experience, he provides the witness of Scripture. So, though we may not know exactly how much of it he had, this was likely a Scripture portion that he was reading. Scripture, the written, authenticated Word of God, authenticated by foretold events that have been fulfilled, that the Jews had carefully preserved through the centuries. God had given his oracles to the Jew and this Ethiopian treasure had gone to the center of Jewish life, the city of Jerusalem. And God had somehow provided him a portion of the Old Testament Scriptures. Could it be through his own interest that he acquired that? The interest of the Queen? We don't know, but God put it in his hands. And he heads out of Jerusalem and he's got time to read the portion. He reads what later we know as to be Isaiah 53 about the Messiah, the suffering Savior. And the central witness of Scripture is about the Christ, the Messiah. And God marvelously draws this man to read this passage at this time. God Himself is active in seeking and finding the lost. Bibles International has a number of stories that they've collected over the years, and I get to read these. I get to tell these. I get to learn about them. Glenn Kerr, one of the consultants, writes an account of a man coming to know the Lord from the Saddakabedem people group in Chad. There was a man not the one who was saved, but another man named Job who grew up as the son of a Baptist pastor. And he had a friend in his village and his friend was the son of a witch doctor. And they grew up together. When they became adults, Job became a Baptist pastor and his friend became a witch doctor. Well, Job witnessed to his friend many times, but to no avail. As Job continued to pastor, he became involved in Bible translation. And when the first scripture portion was finished and dedicated, there was a special service at the church in the village, and Job's witch doctor friend was there. At the end of the service, the witch doctor came to Christ and was saved. And Job was very glad, but he was very curious, why had this friend not come to Christ before? And Job asked him why, and the friend said, I could never believe that a God who did not know my language could love me. When I heard God's word in my own language, I realized He did love me." So God is active in seeking and showing His love to the lost. We return again to the concept of God Himself being active. He's preparing people's experience. providing authenticated witness of Scripture, but he's also, he sends people or a person to help. He is seeing and he is, of course, guiding that the Ethiopian eunuch would be reading the Scripture portion and have questions, and God sends a person. That's how he often is active in seeking the lost. He sends you and he sends me. And notice that God did not send the angel that spoke to Philip. God sent another human being to assist the Ethiopians' understanding. God sent a real human being like you and me. Philip's feet got dusty and dirty as he headed down the road to Gaza. Those nice slides didn't show the dirt. But he would have gotten thirsty and hungry. He wasn't Superman. God doesn't send Superman. There isn't. Just there are people. He was a real person going to help another real person. God can use us because we are fellow human beings with the same problems and perplexities of lost people. We can sympathize. We can relate. We know the hope that comes from getting our questions answered. God sends the needed help and He often uses His people to do it. So, knowing that God Himself is the one actively seeking and finding lost people, we can confidently then proceed to the next point, which is our own participation. And that is that God's servants should participate in seeking the lost. Now Philip was one of God's servants and he enthusiastically participated in reaching the lost and it is apparent that God had gifted him with evangelism. But God's servants, which includes every believer, we are providentially positioned for the service of witness. And all of the disciples as they were waiting for the promise of the Father in Acts 1, they were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come that would enable them so that they would be witnesses. They would be Jesus' witnesses. And those were all of the disciples. There were women as they gathered together, 120 of them. There could have been children in that group. And of course, there would have been believing children amongst those families involved. And so they were all of the disciples together. being called upon to be His witnesses. Now, not all to the same degree or the same position in the body of Christ, but yet nevertheless, God's servants are providentially positioned for the service of witness. And I don't know if I could get a little drink of water sometime. That'd be great. I should have thought of that ahead of time, but God's servants do get thirsty. And seeing those slides just got me really thirsty. But at this point, again, another illustration from BI, Bibles International, God's servants should participate in seeking the lost. And this is a little story from Fred Carlson, who was one of previous BI directors. This is concerning the Zarma people, Zarma language in Niger. Fred Carlson had visited Niger along with EBM missionary Heath Bobbitt. Heath took Fred to Niamey, the capital, I probably didn't say that right, and there to the bookstore that sells the Zarma Bible. He introduced Fred to one of the women from the church, Madame Soumana. Fred inquired as to her feelings about the Zarma Bible. Her eyes opened in a wide smile as she said, when I first received my copy, I slept with it under my pillow. Then she went on. Every week I read from it to my friends who are in false religions and they listen. So here she is participating in active seeking of the lost. It's not enough, and she's looking at the position God put her in. I mean, yes, she's selling these Zarma Bibles, so she's working in a bookstore, but, you know, it's not just enough to try to sell these, but I want to make sure that there are people reading these, because if there are false religions, do you think they're just going to come into their bookstore? Probably not. So she wants to take that extra step that's needed for making sure that they hear. This is often the case when we were working with Muslim people in northern Cameroon. We had to try to help arrange ways that would make those Muslims feel more comfortable with talking with us. Thank you. And so at times that meant arranging a work situation where they actually came into our courtyard and they would make individual concrete blocks one at a time. with a form. And then that got them into a compound and allowed them the freedom to interact with us and to also receive maybe a piece of literature or something from us. Whereas at other times they would not dare enter the compound in the eyes of their friends. What are you doing over there? Well, if they say, I was doing some work. Okay, that's all right. So God's servants are providentially positioned for the service of witness, and then God's servants prepare themselves to give accurate and understandable witness. Now think of this point in your already God-placed position in life. Fathers, are you giving accurate and understandable witness to your children? And I've been working on this lately. Being able to take the Scripture, put it on their level. and work on a Bible timeline. And how do the books of the Bible compare with the timeline? And what are the stories that would come out of that timeline? So that they have a good handle on what the Scripture is. And, you know, what is Zephaniah about? Or these other books. So, mothers, do you teach God's Word to your children on their level and in a way they can knowingly fulfill God's commands? So, you know, there are also, there are those in our society who speak other languages. Their first language is not English. And God's servants prepare themselves to give accurate and understandable witness. We, as we travel, we encounter, I mean, at least if you go to a Chinese restaurant, right? That's one good reason to go to a Chinese restaurant. And I often try to have either a tract or maybe a chip that's got the Mandarin or Cantonese Bible and make it available to them if they would like that. Now, I believe that the Lord, as He places us in a routine context, He is providing us windows of time for witness. It's not always just like this situation with Philip, where it was immediate. He's giving us, consider the windows of time you have for witness, the neighbors you have, the interactions you have with work, the contacts you have. He's giving you, he's not necessarily expecting you right away because he's giving you time to form an accurate and understandable witness to them. And this sometimes is a matter of discovery. It takes time. Understanding the cultural situation or language spoken or allowing the other person time to gain confidence in you. We've been living in a mill neighborhood in Greenville, West Greenville, and we're renting there until the Lord would have us go up to Grand Rapids as far as we can see, possibly by next summer, if the Lord will. Well, we've been about a year and a half in this mill neighborhood, and you know it's kind of like living in a village, because you can look right down everybody's porches, about eight porches right down the street, and you know everything that's going on, unless they put a tarp up like one guy did. But down at the end of the street, there are two brothers. They lost their mother. They're in their 50s. They're unmarried. They lost their mother this past January. And before that, I would drive by and I'd wave, and it just always seemed like I always saw the back of their head after that. But at the time of their mother's loss, we were beginning to make some connection and bringing some meals and some tract, leaving some tracts and such. And now, they always wave. And it took time. And it took effort. And it takes time listening to their problems. And believe me, there's problems. And the neighbors can tell you about them. But here's been opportunity with my next door neighbors, too, to they see how I treat the guy down at the end of the street. And nobody else wants to treat him well. And they're warning me that I better watch out. And I have to proceed with wisdom and really make sure that I ask the Lord, what should I do? What shouldn't I do? Because there's just, you know. There are things that you have to be wise about and maybe things you have to stop doing, and I did have to do that. But that doesn't mean I stopped visiting. It doesn't mean I stopped giving the gospel. It doesn't mean I stopped leaving some cookies or my kids take the cookies. We share the love of Christ. We show that we are here to stay, to be their friends. And one of the neighbor's kids yesterday The one man in the street walks by, walks down the street, walking his dog. My neighbor's daughter, she's seven, I think, she says, don't ever talk to that man. Because her daddy told her not to. Her daddy and her had a squabble. Daddy and that guy had a squabble. And this girl's daddy had been driving down the road, he has radio cranked up and he's not a Christian, and he gets to the end of the street and so those guys say to him, you know, turn it down or something. So he sits there for like five minutes with it cranked just to spite them. Okay, so, wow, I'm starting to get in myself into some really sticky situations. But you know what? The Lord wants us to be there as a witness, a Christian witness to everyone. So God gives us time, windows of time in our setting to be a witness for Him. the one brother, this wasn't the one that was the most adamant, but the other brother, I was able to give him a Bible and he's been reading that and I think that it's very possible he is a Christian. But he just has some real struggles in his life right now. But he reads that Bible and he tells me what he's been reading. So, very thankful for that. Well, let's go on here to the third point under about God's servants. God's servants are responsive to the specific leading of God's Spirit. So we have those windows of opportunity where the Lord's give us a flexibility because we can't just respond in a moment all the time. But now there are some times where we must be responsive at a specific time. And I've got a page here, but I'm not going to try to read it or cover it all, but I would just have us think about this situation. You've got the Ethiopian eunuch and he's headed home. And where is that? He's got lots of miles to travel along, down that, along either the Nile or the Red Sea, gonna probably stick to the water source. He may not ever get back to Jerusalem or that area. The Lord wants Philip to go and give that man understanding of who Isaiah is talking about. And that man's going to get saved, and then he's going to be baptized. And it's significant that he would be baptized before he heads all the way down there, and he's going to be evangelistic with that scripture, and then he's going to baptize others. And so he needed that example of baptism, likely, at least that was one thing I would imagine God was doing. So it was very important that Philip would be responsive very quickly But then thirdly, we have God's Word is the other participant going on in the story. And God's Word effectively ministers to the lost. Why? Because God's Word is revelation. It is revelation that is divine in its origin. 1 Corinthians 2, 9-10 says, And in this book, God has revealed what we would never have found out or never have thought up. Revelation in the Bible's International Consultant Manual, it's written that revelation is the disclosure of what was previously unknown, specifically spiritual truths about God, man, supernatural beings, creation, etc. It is the communication of God's mind. There's a people group in the Philippines in the 20th century, the 1900s, the Balangao people. And they did not have the Word of God available in their language and two ladies went to begin to learn their language, begin to translate. And they found out that this people group way out in the mountains, this is the major island of the Philippines, but way up in the bush area, they found out that these people believed that their ancestry was the rock and the banana plant. That's where they came from. That's what they believed. And then they were shown the scriptures and particularly they were shown the genealogy of Matthew. And they were like, wow, we've got the names of the people where we came from. And the genealogy itself was a huge authenticator for them of the Word of God. They know now that, of course, they did not come from the banana plant and the rock. They can know that God created the world and God created Adam and Eve, and then there's this race of people that they descended from. And it was revelation to them. And so, you know, Paul David Tripp, in a recent sermon that I heard and watched him preaching. He says, we are hardwired to be dependent on revelation. God didn't hardwire us with everything we need to know all at once. He has hardwired us to be dependent on revelation from God. So, God's Word effectively ministers to the lost because God's Word is revelation. It is revelation that is divine in its origin. It is inerrant in its content. Again, the BI Consultant Manual says, in this process, the writer's individuality is maintained, but their depravity is restrained. In other words, the Scriptures are without error. And also, it is because revelation, it is revelation that is unfailing in its purpose. What does God say about His own Word? Well, it's in Isaiah and the Ethiopian eunuch would have come to this verse in a little bit because it's Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55, 10 and 11, for as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth in bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So that water is effective in what it's doing. God says, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. So God's word is effectively ministering to the lost because it is revelation and also because it is communication. It is communication that is entirely normal. It is communication that is amazingly varied. I already meant, well, I was supposed to have mentioned before that the Word of God informs us. I think I skipped over that, but such is the problem with skipping in your notes, but we're wrapping it up here. Communication that is amazingly varied in its literature forms, But let me just go through this quickly here. This is what the Bible tells us. The Bible tells us that God, through the agency of his word, instructs us, reproves us, corrects us, trains us for righteousness. By it, he skillfully reveals people's thoughts and motives. The Word is at work in them. In the darkest of perplexities, it shines light on the path. By His words, man learns to fear God. The Scriptures bear witness, true witness, about the identity and work of the Messiah. As good news, the Word intends to make people glad. The Word is sufficient and exactly complete, nothing to be added or taken away. The Word will enable you not to sin and to cease from sinning. God says that adherence to His book will make you your way prosperous and you will have good success. His words restore the soul. Think of these things as we're thinking of sharing the Word with people. His words restore the soul, turn foolish people into wise ones. His statutes cause the heart to rejoice. They enlighten the eyes like sweet and tasty things do. God's Word warns the servant and great reward is for those who keep His words. His Word is like fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. The Word is life to those who find it and healing to their flesh. Receiving the implanted word is able to save your souls. The words that Christ has spoken to us, they are spirit and they are life. The word is the sword of the spirit. His words show his servants what must soon take place. So God's word, as I said, it is life to those who find it. It's healing to their flesh. It sends them on their way rejoicing like the Ethiopian eunuch. And this is another account here of of Ross and Kathy Hodgson. These are long term Bible international consultants. They used to live in my hometown and attend our church. They had already worked on the New Testament in Brazil for a number of years. Then they come on as mission. He was the missions pastor of the church. I grew up in Ohio. And then they joined Bibles International. And they live up in Maine right now. Their health is failing, but they still do work. But this is something they wrote of the Ronglong project in India, the Ronglong language. When the dedication of the Ronglong New Testament took place, we had older people just hold onto our arms, murmuring. It was their form of blessing. But on that day, it included tears running down their cheeks. Several thousand had turned out to meet in a harvested rice paddy in a huge improvised tent for the dedication. You know, William Ward, also who was one of those team members of William Carey's team in India, and he wrote this. Now, Ward was the printer, but this is what he felt his work was. He writes, unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given that I should print for the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. To give a New Testament to men who never saw one before, this is our privilege. Few will know its value immediately, but sometime, in sometime, to many, a leaf, even a verse, will be more precious than a load of hay. And they will come to value that Scripture. And the Ethiopian eunuch, I'm sure, just loved that scroll or those pages. And I'm sure who knows along the Nile River who he talked to. I look forward to finding out what happened after the Ethiopian eunuch returned home. And we look forward to that. May the Lord bless you as you are placed providentially for the service of witness. And might I say, prepare yourself. But then in the times when God gives you the opportunities, of course, there's going to be that fear sometimes, but just pray, trust the Lord, know that he's already actively working that He knows exactly what you know and what you can say, so relax, and I tell myself this, and trust the Lord and have the joy of the Lord in your heart and on your face, and that will speak volumes in and of itself. I remember a guy, I was in Cameroon, I was headed to town, and it was a soldier. And he was on the road, so I stopped, and I offered him a ride to town. And he got in, and he's like, later he told me, he said, I could just tell you were different. You know, and I don't get that a lot, believe me. I mean, sometimes you don't want to be told that, but it was, he could sense that Christ was in me. And I think he was a believer, too. I wasn't sure that he was, but he did give somewhat of a testimony. But, you know, I think our countenance, our trust in the Lord, it does speak. And even though we may not know what all to say, if we just respond to the Lord how He wants to use us, they and we can go on our way rejoicing. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that you will enable us to be like Philip and be responsive to your Spirit's leading, to be about the Master's business, to be knowing the Scriptures so that we can show others answers to their questions. Take the opportunity, the windows of time you give us, help us to know who it is you want us to reach out to, and how, and enable us, and give us joy in doing so. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Real good exhortation tonight to be about God's business, the Great Commission. What are we to do? We're to go into all the world and we're to make disciples. And how do we do that? Well, it's really very simple. If you think about it, if you think about tonight's message, I think about that one verse that we looked at tonight, verse 35, and it's in the passage that Jim showed us tonight. We're told that Philip opened his mouth. You've got to be willing to do that, right? You've got to be willing to talk about your Christianity. That's what being a witness is. A witness is bearing testimony to what God has done, both on a personal level, but also the fact that Jesus is the Savior for the lost. And so Philip opened his mouth, and then what did he do? He began at the same scripture. He used the scriptures. And that's really the message tonight is the use of the scriptures of the Bible in our proclamation. We need to do that. You cannot really lead someone to the Lord without sharing the scriptures with them. Share them the gospel from the Bible. That's essential. And then the last part of the verse says that Philip preached unto him Jesus. That is our theme. Proclaiming Christ to the world and of course we need to use the scriptures to do that and we need to open our mouths and bear testimony. So just a wonderful exhortation. Thank you, brother. Appreciate your challenge to us tonight.