So Acts chapter 8, let's pick it up in verse 25, and I'll read through the end of the chapter. Now, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they remember they're in Samaria, Philip and the apostles, and they returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. And he rose and went, and there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked him, do you understand what you are reading? And he said, how can I unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of scripture that he was reading was this. Like a shepherd, he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer's silence, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip, about whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Zotus. And as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Let's pray. God, I pray that your spirit would speak in your word through me as we exalt your good work. Help us to marvel at who you are and what you do, to trust you as you do it, and to go where you would send us. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. So Acts chapter eight, this second part, is a case study in God's providence. I love that word, providence, and I hope that you will love that word too. Providence is God working through ordinary events for His divine purposes. So I know a lot of you were at Aira's funeral yesterday and Rhonda read a couple of stories from the Aira had written down. And she wrote this whole booklet of her stories. And a lot of the stories, Aira ends with some phrase that says something like, God was my co-pilot, right? And I think one of the ones Rhonda read said something about God being co-pilot. And her idea was that God's the one watching out for me. All these seemingly ordinary events coming together for my good, that's God's providence, we talk like that. It's ordinary events for divine purposes. A lot of people will talk about things being random, or, you know, happy coincidence, or it just so happened, that's kind of common language. When in truth, Almighty God is actually directing all events, orchestrating and planning and moving and turning and redeeming all things for his purposes. That's what we mean by providence. So my intention today is to help you just walk through this text and see God's providence with the primary goal of just helping us marvel at God. One of the best things we can do as we read the scripture and see what God has done is to let our hearts exult, with a U, X, E, X, U, L, T, exult, praise God, wonder at God, marvel at God, who does things like this. So we're just gonna start by walking through the narrative, highlighting the special providences of God. By special providences, I mean things that are uncommon, unexpected, unplanned, and yet evident that it's God that's doing them. And since these are special providences, there's things that we should not expect to be repeated or to be typical. We say rightly, God can work however God wants to work. And he may do things like he does here in this text again, but we shouldn't expect them. It should surprise us when God does things like this. And I'll kind of point that out as we go along. So pick it up again in verse 26. Now, an angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. So Philip, remember, was one of the seven that was chosen in Acts chapter six to serve the needs of the Christian widows. We're told that Philip was full of the spirit, full of wisdom. And then last week in Acts chapter eight, we saw Philip taking the gospel to the Samaritans and preaching the gospel there. So he goes out of Jerusalem. I think he was probably very surprised, as we should be, when an angel shows up and says, go here. Go south. You know, even in the Bible, it is really rare that God speaks directly to a person telling them exactly where to go and when to go there. It's just very rare. So we should be surprised at that. That's a special providence. And really, where he tells him to go is a very odd location. What we know of Philip already is that Philip is a preacher. God said to him, where there aren't any people, Philip, the evangelist, as he later becomes known, go to the deserts. You hear me say like, I'm an evangelist, I'm a preacher, I need people. No, go to the desert, go to the desert. So he goes, and man, this is where we should really follow Philip's example. He just does exactly what God tells him, no argument. Verse 27, and he rose and went, and there was a person. There was an Ethiopian, verse 27, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem. Okay, Philip, go to the desert. And, you know, it just so happened, or we would say God's providence, that someone's there. Now when it says Ethiopian, don't think modern day Ethiopia, although it's close. More likely this is referring to what we now call the Sudan. So if you can picture northeastern Africa, got Egypt at the top, the next country down is Sudan, and then the next country is what we now call Ethiopia. So probably somewhere in that region of modern day Sudan. Northeastern Africa, south of Egypt. So he's a foreigner. And he's a eunuch. His reproductive organs are removed, maybe by birth defect or by injury, but probably more likely because of his role in the palace. It says he's a treasurer to the queen of his country, probably the Candace, like we might speak of the president or the pharaoh, the Candace. Eunuchs were often chosen for royal positions because of the suppression of their testosterone. Now, not only is he a foreigner and a eunuch, we find out he's a worshiper of the Lord, a worshiper of Yahweh. So he goes to Jerusalem to worship. Now, it could be that he was Jewish and had been dispersed. That did happen. It's probably more likely that he was a convert, what the Bible will later call a God-fearer. You know, and all these things put together actually show us his extreme disadvantage. According to the laws of Israel, foreigners could not enter the temple. Eunuchs could not enter the temple. So even if he's a convert and he makes this massive pilgrimage. One source I read said it could have taken him five months one way. So imagine this guy giving up roughly a year of his life. Asking excuse from the Queen, can I go and worship in Jerusalem? And he can't even go in the temple. Everything about this man is a sharp reminder that he can't approach the presence of God. Nonetheless, he wants to. Like it's worth it to him to go just to be near God. To use modern terms, we would call this man a seeker, like of the best sort. Desperately wanting to know God, and yet with this reality that he's an outsider. And he's on his return trip, verse 28, and he was returning. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Now, you know this is long before the printing press. To own a scroll, was a rare and valuable possession. Handwritten, hand copied, only for the most wealthy. And this guy has Isaiah, which, you know, by our measurement is 66 chapters long. It's one of the longest books in the Old Testament. So not only does he have a scroll, he's got Isaiah, and it's a big one. And, you know, it just so happens that he's reading it out loud. Now again, this is God's good providence. And, verse 29, the Spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. Now, we have this third-person view of saying, like, look at what God's doing. He brought Philip and the eunuch to this very place for this very meeting. This is a demonstration of God's hand advancing His purposes for His glory. It's God's providence. And it's not just like random. Remember, God told the apostles, Jesus told the apostles that they would be witnesses of his resurrection in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Now here we are in Acts chapter eight, we've seen the gospel preached in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and now the ends of the earth. For all intents and purposes, Sudan is the ends of the earth. Ethiopia is the ends of the earth. And so it's not just God doing something random, but accomplishing his big purposes through ordinary events. So, verse 30. Again, Philip's obedience, he ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. Now, we gotta pause here because remember in verse 28, we found out the Ethiopian was riding a chariot. When you hear chariot, don't think war horses kicking up a whole bunch of dust at breakneck speed and Philip is somehow sprinting alongside this chariot, shouting at the top of his lungs. That's not what's happening. By chariot, we probably mean more like a wagon pulled by oxen. Philip probably didn't even have to run to talk to the Ethiopian. His running is his obedience. God says, go to that chariot. Philip says, I'm going as fast as I can. And of course, providentially, the eunuch is not just reading Isaiah, he's reading Isaiah out loud. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and verse 30, asked him, do you understand what you are reading? You know, I think that's a really aggressive question. In our day, you know, we don't wanna ask people aggressive questions, because it might offend them. And I'd encourage you Christians, when it comes to talking about Jesus, ask more aggressive questions. Just do it with a smile on your face and kindness in your heart. Like this is a really, I mean, just think about this. You don't own a scroll and read it out loud without having any idea of what you're getting into. Now, this is just my imagination, so you can take it or leave it. In my imagination, this eunuch has traveled, has saved up for years to travel five months to go to Jerusalem, and he's collected a lifetime of wealth, and he buys this one possession. Again, this is speculation, not Bible, but just speculation. He buys this one possession, a scroll from the prophet Isaiah, and it's not because the cover looked enticing. It didn't have a cover, it's a scroll. He buys it because he knows this is God's Word and there are precious truths in here that I want to seek out. And so for Philip to then say, do you understand what you're reading? Do you know it? Do you comprehend it? Can you get a grasp on it? Like, I don't know, that might offend the Ethiopian eunuch, but it doesn't. Really what Philip is doing is he's pressing him because of what he's reading, particularly. It's not a random text of scripture. It's a prophecy about Jesus. So Philip is asking this Ethiopian, do you know what that's talking about? Do you know the fulfillment? And the Ethiopian is honest. Verse 31, he says, how can I unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this. Like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shears is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation, for his life is taken away from the earth? In isolation, it's a hard passage of Scripture to understand. And we're going to pull back, like I said, next week, and look at how this comes from Isaiah 53. It's part of verse 7 and part of verse 8. And Isaiah 53 is the most, by my estimation, the most vivid prophecy of Jesus' death in all of the Old Testament. And here's Philip who knows what it's talking about. And the Ethiopian who doesn't. And so God has put Philip in the exact place for a perfect purpose. And, verse 34, the eunuch said to Philip, about whom I ask you, does this prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? So he's saying, who's the he, right? In Isaiah 53, he was led to the slaughter. In his humiliation, justice didn't deny him. Stranger, do you know what Isaiah is talking about? You know, Philip, verse 35, opened his mouth And beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. Do you know who this is talking about? I can just imagine Philip with a big smile on his face saying, I do. And I have really good news for you. And again, this is just my imagination. I just imagine Philip just taking that scroll and just opening it up a little bit further and saying, let's read a little bit more. That's what we're going to do next week. Because Isaiah 53 tells him who Jesus was. The Son of God. Despised by men. Dying for the sins of his people. Gathering all nations to himself. Giving them eternal life. And Philip's telling this eunuch, it's happened. It's been fulfilled. Jesus came. He died. He rose from the dead. And he's preaching this good news to the eunuch. Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus will then identify himself with Jesus through baptism. And remember, they're in a desert place. By definition, there's not a lot of water. And verse 36, as they were going along the road, They, you know, my imagination inserts in here, and it just so happened that they came to some water. And that's kind of how we're supposed to think about it, right? It didn't just so happen. They're in a desert. God provides the water. And the eunuch says, see, here's water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ordinary events for divine purposes. Maybe it took just long enough for Philip to walk him through the text of scripture and explain who Jesus was and get to the point where he's even saying, those who put their faith in Jesus, I identify with Jesus in baptism. And at that very moment, this is my imagination, at that very moment, they happen to come to the next spring along the road, God's providence. All these little things, which really aren't that unusual in and of themselves, put together for God's purposes. And then that's it! Philip's work is done, and the eunuch goes on his way. Look at verse 39. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. And the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself in Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. So this is where God's providence gives way to a miracle. There's a difference. Because Azotus is about 30 miles north of Gaza. So it's not like Philip just happened to wander there. No, the spirit of the Lord carries him away and he finds himself at Azotus. It's almost as if, you know, in a moment, all of a sudden, Philip is 30 miles away, and I love the way that says this, like, the Ethiopian, he just went on his way rejoicing, like, well, that was a happy coincidence. No, that was a wonderful gift of God's providence. This random stranger shows up while I'm reading Isaiah 53, explains to me who it is, baptizes me, and then disappears. Philip, Then just finds himself in his Otis and says, well, I guess that's what God wanted me to do today. And he goes on his way. He actually says, you know, preaching through the cities, the towns until he came to Caesarea. And Caesarea probably refers to a city, a coastal city. north of Azotus in Samaria, where actually, by all indications, Philip stayed the rest of his life. Later on in the Book of Acts, when the Apostle Paul is traveling along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and he stops in Caesarea, guess who he meets? Philip the Evangelist. We'll get there, Lord willing, next year. I don't know, all that, isn't that just a cool story? I just like reading it. Just seeing God put all those events perfectly together so that one person hears the good news about Jesus and accomplishes this purpose of God bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth. We should read it and marvel. It's just like, what an amazing thing that God has done. And I don't know about you, it makes me long for these sorts of special providences. Wouldn't you love for God to put you in a place at an exact time with the exact information needed so that you could make Jesus known? I want people to know Jesus. I'd be happy to guide someone into understanding. So wouldn't it be wonderful if God just put me in a spot? You should pray for that. It's a special providence. Okay, so it should surprise us when God does these sorts of things. But I encourage you to pray that God would go before you and put things together so that you can make Jesus known. And so that ready ears would hear and ready hearts would believe. So wouldn't it be great if a friend or a neighbor just randomly, not randomly, says to you, hey, could you help me understand who Jesus is? Or maybe a coworker would come up to you and say, hey, just curious, do you know of a good church or someone who could teach me the Bible? Like, wouldn't that just, I mean, how could you not say this is from God? Like, wouldn't that brighten your day and make you excited and give all praise and glory to God? Those are special providences. And remember, they are special. They're unexpected. They're unplanned. They're unpredictable. God can do it. But it's probably rare. I think that's why our right response is to marvel. We shouldn't blame God, like, why don't you do this more? No, we should just say, praise God that you did that. Once or many times, we should give God praise. Some of you, I know, have stories from your life where God's done this sort of thing. Putting seemingly ordinary events together to bring the gospel to someone or salvation to you. We should marvel at that. God is worthy of our praise. The things he does draw out of us words of gratitude. So though they may be rare, we should pray for the special providences of God and marvel when he works. And as you pray for special providences, prepare for ordinary ones. Here's the big difference. Special providences are where God uses ordinary events in a very unique way. Think of Acts chapter 8. Go south. You're gonna meet somebody who's reading the Bible. None of those things are all that special. Traveling, meeting, reading. But it's how God strings them together that makes them stand out and special. But there are also ordinary providences of God, things that we can count on, things that we can expect to work a certain way. For instance, we all have lungs, and there's oxygen in the air, and we breathe in and we live. That's providence. That is God working through ordinary events to keep us alive. It's just really ordinary, so we don't think about it as much. We look at Acts 8, we say, man, it would be cool if something like that happened. We don't breathe and say thank you with every breath. Nonetheless, God has ordered the universe and your life for his divine purposes. You live in a place. You know people, you have relationships, parents have children. All of these things are with the purpose of making Jesus known. God has made you who you are and put you where you are, when you are, for making Jesus known. Okay, so an angel might not speak to you and say, go here and do this. But the fact that God has placed you where you are is His message to you to move, to rise up, to go and tell. So as much as we marvel at the special providence of God and pray for Him to do it, we should prepare for the ordinary. We should look for the ordinary ways that God is working in our midst to make Jesus known. These are the primary pathways of faithfulness. You wanna be faithful to the Lord if you sit around waiting for God to do something unusual, you're unfaithful. You wanna be faithful to the Lord, work in the ways that God has just made the world to work. We call those ordinary providences. And actually, within this awesome text of these special providences of God, there are four ordinary providences that I'll highlight that you can all live in and move in right now. So first, ordinary providence. is that God made people worshipers. It's built into the DNA of our souls. We find things to praise. The terrible condition of our heart, though, is revealed in that we worship the creation rather than the creator. Like, talk to people. Listen for what they worship. Where do they direct their affections? What controls decisions? Where do people find their hope and happiness? Everybody has a God. Just listen closely and see if you can tell who it is, the way they speak. This is no accident that we're worshipers. It's because that's how God made us. He made people to live in his place, the Garden of Eden, to worship him, to know him, to have fellowship with him, to delight in the provisions of God. Our big problem as humans is that we're idolaters. We worship the creation rather than the creator. And yet, that human inclination to worship is an ordinary providence of God that we can leverage to make Jesus known. Think of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. He's just this reminder that God made people to seek him. He's from so far away, so foreign, so detached from God, and yet he has to go. He has to go and worship. So it's a helpful reminder, I think, that there are people in your life who have this intense longing to know God. People who are ready to hear the gospel because that's how God made them. And you can point them to Jesus. Now, you might be thinking, you know, there's some people in my life who are so far removed from Jesus. There's no way that they have any sort of longing to know God. Acts 8 is a reminder that no, The ordinary truth is that people have a longing to know God. The doctrine of God's providence calls us to tell whoever God puts in our paths and to trust God's mighty power to save people. Again, back to this eunuch. This eunuch is a reminder that God delights in saving those who are far off from Him. Think about everything this eunuch has working against him. Number one, he's wealthy. Remember, Jesus told us that wealthy people are hard to reach. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why is that? I think it's because wealthy people don't feel their need. He's a foreigner. Again, by the laws of Israel, can't enter the temple. He's a eunuch, can't enter the temple. He's unclean. He's damaged. And yet, God woos him and draws him and guides him to salvation. And it started a long time before Philip. He had this desire to know Yahweh, to worship in Jerusalem, to read and understand the scriptures. And then when he actually sees it and sees the fulfillment of God's promises and the hope that he has in Jesus, he believes. So there's part of this passage that we marvel at God fulfilling his plans to take the good news about Jesus to the end of the earth. The other part of this passage, though, is God fulfilling his plans to gather people to himself that are far away from him. There's a really beautiful passage in Isaiah 56, so close neighbor to Isaiah 53. that actually speaks exactly of this situation. It's worth reading because I think what we see in Acts chapter eight is the fulfillment of Isaiah 56. So if you have a minute, turn over to Isaiah 56. Part of what's going on in Isaiah 56 is this. God is envisioning people who are far from God and how he's going to bring them near. So Isaiah 56. This is 700 years before Jesus in the context of the law of Israel. Isaiah 56 verse 3. This is God speaking. He says, Look at that. Why would they say that? Well, because that's what the laws of Israel said. Foreigners can't come in. Eunuchs can't come in. So God's saying, don't let the foreigner and the eunuch think like that. What's God doing? Verse four, for thus says the Lord, to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast to my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." So the grief of the eunuch is he can't have children, he can't have a family. God says, I'm going to give you something better than that. An everlasting name that cannot be cut off. And the foreigners who have joined themselves, this is verse 6. to the Lord, to minister to Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants. Everyone who keeps the Sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayers." You know that there were walls built around the temple complex, and there was a court of the Gentiles. They could come in that far, but then there are walls. There's actually, we found plaques that said on the temple, like, foreigners do not pass this point. You're not welcome to approach God as close as the Jews are. Now what does God say? Tell them, come to my holy mountain. It's like the doors are open, come on in. I'll bring them to my holy mountain, I'll make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. The Lord God who gathers the outcasts of Israel declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. This is the business of God, to gather those who are outcasts. Doesn't it bring you joy to think about who you were before Jesus and how God has brought you out of darkness and depravity? Some of you were so far from God when he called you to salvation. And yet God sought you out. Like you were so disqualified, so dry, so separate. We should marvel. God delights to bring the lowly, the foreigner, the outcast, the eunuch, the sinner to salvation. Like that's really all of our stories. God gathers the outcasts and gives us an eternal home in Jesus. So we're talking about providences reaching people with the gospel. Don't give up on the people you think are way too far from Jesus. They might be the exact people that God has put you where you are and when you are to tell them about Jesus. Listen, start looking for people that are looking for hope. You know where it's found. It's found in Jesus. Tell them. This is a sweet providence of God. This human inclination to worship. That's the first ordinary providence in Acts 8. Second ordinary providence in Acts 8 is Bible reading. The primary instrument that God has given us for communicating the good news about Jesus is the Bible. and the eunuch is reading the Bible. We can read the Bible. That's so ordinary. One of the most powerful things that you can do for the sake of somebody's soul is to put the Bible in their hands. I mean, golly, today, it's as simple as downloading a free app, copy and pasting a text message. I'd even encourage you to go a step further than that, though. That's all good stuff. Because that's where the Word of God is. It's where you can hear God speaking and know Jesus. Maybe if there's someone in your life that you've been wanting to tell about Jesus, you've had a couple of conversations, maybe, why not buy them a Bible as a gift and ask them to read through a portion of it with you together? Maybe one of the Gospels. You don't even have to buy one. We have a whole bunch of Gospel of John little booklets that I will give you all that you want to hand out freely. And we do this because God speaks in his word. People are made to worship the one true God, and they need to hear about that one true God, and he's written it down in a book, so give him the book. So just curious, and you don't have to raise your hand if you don't want to, but you can if you want. Did any of you come to faith just simply through reading the scriptures? I don't know if anybody did. I actually know some people who have. Maybe there were other forces, but the main thing that happened is they were reading the Bible one day, and they went, wow, I understand what this means. Okay, that's wonderful. That's God's good providence. He's given us his word in our language to read. That's an ordinary providence, though. It's not special. I mean, it's special, but not unique special. It's wonderful. The third ordinary providence in this account is a guide. If you are someone that likes to circle words in your Bible, or highlight, or underline, whatever you do, I'd give you two in this passage. In verse 30, it's the word understand, and in verse 31, it's the word guide. Do you understand what you're reading? Philip asks the eunuch in verse 31. He said, how can I unless someone guides me? Okay, now maybe we will say, raise your hand. How many of you came to faith in Jesus because somebody else told you about Jesus? Parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, friends, that's so ordinary. So wonderfully ordinary, right? God's good providence, so common. We would put the scriptures in people's hands, yes, do that, and offer to be their guide. So go ahead, give somebody a Bible and say, I will help you understand it. Now, I know some of you in your mind just said, I can't do that. I can't help people understand the Bible. I'm gonna say a few things as your pastor. Remember, I love you, so listen. You know the Bible way better than you think you do. I can say that with a good degree of confidence in this room. Even if you're fairly new to the Bible, you have enough knowledge worth sharing. And the second thing I'll say to you is nothing will push you to know the scripture like somebody else depending on you to guide them in it. So just take the risk and ask someone to read the Bible with you. You're gonna grow by necessity. I think it'd be good. I would love to get a panicked phone call from you. You say, pastor, I just invited someone to read the Bible with me and I have no idea what I'm going to tell them. And I'll smile and say, okay, well, I'll help you along. We can do this. You can do this. It'll be great because you'll grow leaps and bounds. And it's just so ordinary. Like this is what God does. He gives pastors and parents and Sunday school teachers and friends to just come alongside us and guide us through the scripture so that we can know Jesus. That is a wonderfully kind providence that God sends guides to explain the scripture. Fourth ordinary providence in this account is the act of telling the gospel where you are. Look again at verse 40. Acts 8 verse 40. Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Now, it seems like because Philip stays in Caesarea, that was maybe his hometown. We know that Philip was one of the Hellenistic Jews, one of the Greek-speaking Jews who was in Jerusalem. So he was probably from a Greek city like Caesarea, and then in Jerusalem to hear the gospel. And so it's like, hey, I'm in my home country, might as well just keep walking till I get to my hometown. And what he does is he preaches the gospel. whether he's traveling or at home, he opens his mouth. We're gonna get into the life of Paul soon in the book of Acts. It's like everywhere he goes, he just starts telling people about Jesus. And so I remind you that God has providentially put you somewhere to be faithful, to tell people about Jesus, to read scripture, to guide others, both people who don't know Jesus and people who do know Jesus. We're just where God has us so that we can, we like to say at our church, know Jesus and make him known. So wherever God has you, open the scriptures, be the guide, tell people about Jesus. I was thinking of one very particular application of this, and that is to the role of parents. We've got a handful of parents here, we've got little children. Having children, as special and awesome as it is, is extremely ordinary. We were all children once, right? So it's just what happens. It's an ordinary providence of God. Good, good ordinary, right? And parents, our role is to raise up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. How are we gonna do that? Read scripture to them. Read scripture to your children so that they'll know Jesus. I love hearing babies around the church. What a blessing it is to see and hear the babies. We got lots of little ones in our church. We need to start telling them about Jesus from the Bible, from the womb. And I particularly say dads, like be the one who leads your family in this. So read the word of God and be a guide to explain Jesus to them. You know, one of the great things about having little ones is that they're full of grace. You can get a lot of things wrong and kids won't point it out to you and hold it against you. So you can get a lot of practice telling your kids about Jesus from the time they're really little. And by the time they start to comprehend, you'll be a lot better at it. This is one of the blessings of having small children. If you don't know where to start, ask for some help. And I'd even challenge those of you who are not parents of small children anymore to come alongside the small children in our church and start telling them about Jesus. Don't wait until they can read. Don't wait until they're old enough to have a long conversation about Jesus. Just put those words in their ears from the time they're born. Why? Because that's how God works. It's just the ordinary way in which God makes himself known. One of the primary ways that God has spread the gospel around the world to generations is through parents telling their children. Just simple. Guiding them in the scriptures to worship God and Jesus. I just encourage you, it's an ordinary providence, take hold of it. Again, we would long for God to do very unique things, even among our children, but among our friends and family, we'll long for these special providences and pray for them, and yet, prepare for the ordinary ones. There are things that you can count on in your life, that you can open the Bible, read it, and help someone understand it, because people are hungry for God, whether they may admit it or not. And so wherever God has you, tell. And in that, remember that because they're providences, you should trust the Lord to work. Even in the simple reading of Scripture, it's not our mere obedience and repetition of doing that that causes people to be saved. It's God's Spirit speaking through the Word that draws people to Himself. And so even in the ordinary providences, we marvel. We marvel at God's special providences. We marvel at God's ordinary providences. Philip explained the good news about Jesus from the book of Isaiah. He was in the right place at the right time by God's directing. And then he used what God made available in his word to take up the word and read it and explain who Jesus is. And God, by his amazing work, brought salvation to someone who was far off. That'd be great. And just as great is that we all have Bibles in our hands and on our phones. We have all these ordinary providences of God that we can use to make Jesus known. So let's be like Philip. Follow God's directing, even if it's strange. But more than that, trusting God's divine purposes and marveling at his providence. Let's pray. Yes, God, we would long that you would do things in our lives that would surprise us, that would catch us off guard, that we could stand back and go, wow, I can't believe God did that. We would love that, and God, we would praise you for it. And at the same time, God, we are so grateful that simply through the reading of your word or parents or a friend explaining scripture to us, we've come to faith in Jesus, come to know the same salvation that the Ethiopian eunuch found. So God, we thank you for that, and we pray that you would keep us faithful and keep us marveling at your good work. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.