Amen. Praise the Lord. Aren't you glad the victory belongs to Him and not to us? If you have your Bibles this morning, let's go to the book of Acts. Acts chapter number 8 is where we will be as we continue our study through the book of Acts as we look at the days of the early church in the beginning of all of the things that they encountered and they experienced along the way. What I thought was interesting when we come to Acts chapter number 8 is an unveiling of what is really taking place. Matter of fact, as we look at Acts chapter number 8, if you will look specifically beginning in verse 4, verse 5 I want you to notice kind of what's going on and therefore they that were scattered abroad when everywhere preaching the word we see Saul here is Saul begins to just terrorize the the settings and just the countryside with him trying to shut down and trying to destroy everything that was taking place, bringing persecution against all of those. As a matter of fact, all the way from Judea through the region of Samaria and all of those areas. So it was all throughout that whole entire area. But even though that was taking place and even though they scattered everywhere, They still went everywhere preaching the Word. And then notice verse number 5, we have another individual comes on the scene by the name of Philip. And Philip comes on the scene here in verse 5, and we see that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and he preached Christ unto them. And then in verse 6, and the people with one accord gave heed unto the things that Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. And so it continues. I mean, even Philip himself, even though they were scattered because of the persecution, the gospel did not cease to be presented. Go over to verse number 12 and you'll find what was taking place as Philip was there in Samaria and when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Notice what happens next. And they were baptized, both men and women. And so we see the gospel as it's continuing to grow and it's continuing to spread. And then you come to the next section that we're going to look at today. Actually, beginning in verse 26 and running all the way through verse 40, the end of the chapter, we find Philip as he is going to move, the angel's going to send him on a journey, but we also see something else that is going to take place. Matter of fact, one of the things that Philip is going to do, now, all throughout the book of Acts so far, we've seen them preaching to large crowds of people. And now we come to Acts chapter number 8 beginning in verse 26 and the gospel is going to go to one individual. And the angel of the Lord is going to move Philip and he's going to ask Philip that he goes to another area, to another direction. But one of the things that I want you to make sure that you get out of all of this passage this morning and the book of Acts from chapter 1 all the way to chapter 8 where we are, we see the increased involvement of the Holy Spirit of God. And let me say this today, I don't understand why that we today that make up the local church today or even make up the church, the body of Christ, I don't understand today why it seems like we're afraid of the Holy Spirit. We're afraid of talking much about the Holy Spirit or even allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives because I want you to understand something what's taking place in the days of the early church came under the control and the leading of the Holy Spirit of God and that's where Philip finds himself now as he makes this journey from Jerusalem as he's going to travel down to Gaza and so I want to take this these last verses from verse 26 down actually through verse 39 and I want to break them up for you I want to share four things with you out of this passage as we look at it this morning and so before we get into the text deeply let's bow our heads together and pray father we thank you for your word father we thank you for the Holy Spirit Father, I pray this morning that the Holy Spirit would go before us even now. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would illuminate our hearts and minds to the truths of the Word of God. And Father, we would not just see them as words on a page or knowledge that we could gain to say that we know all of this information about Philip or this passage of scripture. But Father, as we read this and Father, as we see it unfold, that Father, it would affect our hearts and lives. that, Father, we would take it and allow it to just become a part of our lives and who we are. So, Father, I'm asking you today to do through the power of the Holy Spirit of God what we cannot do. And we ask all this in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. The first thing that we see coming out of this passage of Scripture in verse 26 is the command that was given to Philip. And if you'll notice verse 26, And so the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, I want you to arise or get up, and I want you to go toward the south, unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert." As a matter of fact, it was often referred to as Desert Gaza. And this particular road that he is going to travel down was a fairly dusty desert road down into this desert area, into this desert region. But the command to head for the desert country of Gaza surely surprised Philip, and I'm sure that it probably did. Why in the world would the angel of the Lord be sending him from where he was, preaching to all of these people to travel down a dirt road, or to head down this road and to head into the area toward Gaza? You know, sometimes, Even in our lives today, when the Holy Spirit of God says, I need you to go here, and I know you're involved in this over here, but now I want you to change direction. I want you to go to another direction. How many times do we kind of look surprised, wondering what in the world it is that God has for us? But how many times do we often miss out on some of those great opportunities that God would have for us because we are not surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we don't even look toward the Holy Spirit to lead or to guide us. But Philip, obeying the angel of the Lord, makes his way down into Gaza. And we see in verse 27 and verse 28, the cause, the reason that Philip is going to be directed to go down to Gaza. Look at verse 27. So he arose and he went and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia. He was a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians who had the charge of all of our treasure. and had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning and was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet. You know, one of the interesting things is we come here. We find the first of three remarkable conversions in the book of Acts. Number one, beginning with the Ethiopian eunuch, here in chapter number eight. In chapter nine, you find Tarsus, who becomes Paul. And then in chapter 10, you find Cornelius, the Gentile, the Roman centurion. Three great conversions that we're going to see come as a result of the gospel. But the Ethiopian eunuch here is an interesting passage of scripture. It's the cause, it's the reason that Philip was directed to go. And my dear friend, if we can see one thing in this passage of scripture, I hope you see it, and I hope you understand it. The angel of the Lord, God, through the angel of the Lord, directing Philip to go down and head towards this area to Gaza, to do what? To minister to one person. to minister to one individual, to share the gospel with one individual, an Ethiopian eunuch. And who was he? He wasn't just anybody. He wasn't just any run-of-the-mill individual of who he was. Let me get you to understand who he was. He was a man of great power and trust. Matter of fact, he oversaw all of the treasure for Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. And all we know about his trip is he'd come to Jerusalem to worship, And he was heading home when he met Philip. He was on his way, making his journey home. And here's what he was doing. He was reading a copy of Isaiah. And as he was reading through the copy of Isaiah, let me tell you what he was doing. Searching for some phrase, some key, that would possibly unlock the truth to his hungry heart that was there. Let me share this with you today. There are ones today that are out there that are seeking the truth. They are looking for the hope to make sense out of this world that we live in. There are those out there who are searching for an answer to make sense of the world that we live in today. And my dear friend, oftentimes the Holy Spirit of God knows. God knows that heart. The Holy Spirit of God knows before we do. We need to be attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. And when an opportunity comes our way to be ready to go share the gospel. And let me say this. to you today. Sometimes we think, why do I need to go there? You know, I've shared this with you many times. There are times when I've gone to the hospital to make a visit and get in the elevator and it's me and one other person and the Holy Spirit of God kind of taps you on the shoulder and says, you need to share the gospel with them on this elevator. And it's kind of like you, really? God, don't you understand what my schedule's like today? I don't have time to get, and they probably don't have the time to get into a discussion. And how many times is the door open and we've not done, and we've not been obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the door's open and they get off and the door's closed back and you know, and it bothers you the rest of the day. because we weren't obedient to the Holy Spirit of God. My dear friend, if I can encourage you to do this, there's always a cause when it comes to the gospel. The Holy Spirit of God knows hearts we don't. We need to be available, we need to be willing that when the Holy Spirit of God directs us or moves us, or moves us to an individual, to go, to be there. My dear friend, because we don't always know. Let me ask you a question today. Those of you who are watching, and those of you who are here with us this morning, how many times has the Holy Spirit of God laid somebody on your heart, and you were obedient to the Holy Spirit, and you went and you spoke to that individual, and lo and behold, they were dealing with something you had no idea, and at that moment in time, when your paths crossed, that was the time that God began to deal with them in their heart. Happens all the time. Next we see the contact. We've seen the command to go, Philip went. We saw the cause of that command and it was the Ethiopian eunuch. We come to verse 29 through verse 31 and we see the contact. Look at what happens in verse 29 through verse 31. And I want you to notice verse 29. Then the Spirit said to Philip, and this is where it comes in. So the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God said to Philip, I want you to go near, I want you to go to where he is, and I want you to join yourself to his chariot. Now I want you to understand, this is the eunuch, this is the individual that had power and authority. He looked after the treasure of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. That's who he is. Who am I? Who is Philip? Philip was one of the disciples. Philip was one of those that were in the upper room. Philip is the one who's watched a lot of this take place. Philip knew the power of the gospel, but to take it to this individual, sure, that's what he did. Verse 30. So Philip ran to him. I want you to notice this. Philip did what? He ran to him. He didn't waste any time, did he? He ran to the chariot. He ran to where the Ethiopian eunuch was. And he heard him reading. Philip heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah. And he asked him the question, do you understand what it is that you're reading? You know, oftentimes, I've run into folks who have gotten a Bible in their hands some way and they just kind of started reading and it just didn't make a whole lot of sense to them what they were reading. And oftentimes, I've had individuals say, you know, can you explain to me what I'm reading? Oh yeah, let me take a moment and share with you what you're reading, okay? And to begin to open up for them. And so, that's what Philip asked him in verse 31. Do you understand what you're reading? Look at verse 31. And of course, he said, the Ethiopian eunuch said, well, how can I? Except some man should guide me or show me. And so there was a desire in his heart then for Philip that he would come up and sit by him. I'm going to tell you something. I always loved this. Let me tell you something. One of the greatest joys and one of the greatest times in the life of a believer is when God sends you to someone who is searching for the truth and they are ready to hear the truth of the Word of God. There is no greater joy. Let me tell you what, it's not a difficult process because they're wanting to hear. They're wanting to hear what you have to say. And my dear friend, listen to me. One of the things that we need to understand when it comes to a true conversion in the life of an individual, it takes the Word of God, it takes the Holy Spirit of God, and it takes conviction to the heart of the individual hearing the gospel. So guess what we have here? We have Philip, who is obedient to go. We have the word of God, he's reading from the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit is present because it's the Holy Spirit who directed Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch. And so, as we look at the end of verse 31, so Philip gets up and sits beside of him. Philip had no doubt who he was to go to speak to. The Holy Spirit is the one who pointed him there. So let me ask you a question. How many of us start the day with the Holy Spirit? How many of us pray and ask God to give us an opportunity to share the gospel with someone who may be searching for the truth that particular day? And when that opportunity does come, we don't look all surprised like, where in the world did that come from? Me, Lord? When the Holy Spirit lays someone on our heart, may we be obedient to be attentive to that and to go and not to waste our time. No trouble understanding the written words. Please watch that. No problem understanding the written words, but he had considerable trouble understanding the message. He was reading the words. but he didn't understand the message. My dear friends, they can read the word, the words off the page, but the message comes through the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. Then number four, we find the conviction. So we've seen the command to go, the cause was the Ethiopian eunuch, The contact that Philip then made with the Ethiopian eunuch. And now he's got right up beside of him. They're going through the prophet Isaiah. Now comes the conviction. Look at verse 32. The place of the scripture which he read was this. I'll go ahead and tell you where he's reading from. Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53. And let me just say this to you. The place that he was reading from was the great gospel passage out of the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 53. And notice verse 32. And the place of the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb done before his shearer, and he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and he said, I pray you, of whom does the prophet speak? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and he began at the same scripture and notice what it says. And he preached to him, who? Jesus Christ. He preached to him, who? Jesus Christ. My dear friend, one of the things that we need to really get our hands around today and to understand this, it's what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. It's the power of God. My dear friend, what broke, listen, what brought conviction to this Ethiopian eunuch? I'll tell you what brought conviction to the Ethiopian eunuch. It was the Holy Spirit of God. It was the word of God from the passage of Isaiah and Philip sitting there explaining it to him of who it was. And Philip told the eunuch, listen, it is Jesus. That's who it speaks about. What greater gospel text. And what greater opening for Philip! I mean, here he is, he's reading out of Isaiah 53. And imagine that if you can get this visual picture of this, Philip gets up there beside of him, and he sees immediately where he's reading from, and Philip knew exactly what that passage of scripture was pointing to, and that was to Jesus Christ. And he was ready! He was ready as Philip explained the who of that portion of Isaiah. Because notice he asked the question, so who's the prophet speaking of? Is he speaking of himself or is he speaking of something future? And Philip was ready, now watch this, don't miss this. Philip was what? Philip was ready with the answer of the hope that was in him, Jesus Christ. He's a believer today. One of the things all believers should be ready with is the answer to the hope that lies within them. You ought to be ready today with the hope that lies with inside of you as a believer. Don't be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation. Philip was not ashamed of it. Philip joined himself up to Him quickly. He was ready. Look where he was reading from. Listen, may this be our prayer today. May we always be ready to share with those who are searching for the answer to the emptiness in their own hearts and in their own lives. And let me share this with you. If there's ever been a day that people are looking for the answer to the emptiness that is inside of them and the blessed hope of the purpose of the world that we live in today, there is no greater day than today to share the gospel. They want to hear it. They need an answer. Their world's falling apart. What's the answer? Let me say this to you. I hate to tell you this, but the federal government is not your answer. And for believers today, there is no reason for us to fear what's taking place. Because as a believer today, our anchor, our trust, our rest, our peace, our confidence is found in no one outside of God the Father himself. And the faithfulness of God, the Holy Spirit, what brings us comfort in our lives each day? The Holy Spirit of God, if we'll allow him to. Matter of fact, Paul writing to the church at Galatia says, If you live in the Spirit, then walk in the Spirit. And notice the combination of both of those. If you live in the Spirit, then walk in the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit resides inside of you, then walk in the Spirit. Walk each day accordingly. Then something else happens. Starting in verse 36. And let me say this to you this morning. There are some translations. that leave the next portion of scripture out. Verse 37 specifically. But my dear friend, if it was in any of the manuscripts of which it was, then it's an important passage of scripture and it ought to be in the scripture, it ought to be in the word of God. Verse 36, and as they went on their way, They came to a certain water and the eunuch said, so apparently Philip must have spoke to him concerning baptism. Because now they're continuing along, they come to this body of water and the eunuch sees this body of water and guess what? He asked Philip, is there any reason why I can't be baptized? I love, let me tell you something. As a preacher or someone who shares, let me tell you something, the greatest joy that there is, is when they say, well, then I need to be baptized. So when can I get baptized? You know, it's a shame sometimes when you got to tell them, well, you know, we, we can't do it today, but we can, we can do it next week. And my dear friend, I wish today that we always had an area that was always full of water and it was always ready to go for that one who is seeking to be baptized once they come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and not have to delay, not have to wait, but at that moment in time to be able to follow the Lord in scriptural baptism. The eunuch looked at Philip and said, so is there any reason why I can't be baptized? Well, except for some water. That's what they found. Verse 37. And then Philip said, I think this is key. If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Verse 38. So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into the water. Down into the water. Both Philip and the eunuch, and guess what? Philip baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. Notice who took and moved Philip? The Holy Spirit did. Not Philip on his own. The Holy Spirit redirects Philip here. And that eunuch saw him no more. But you ought to underline the last part of verse 39, and he went on his way, what? Rejoicing. There was joy in his heart. Let me tell you this morning, joy is the outcome. Joy is the outcome of genuine conversion. I remember the day I got saved. It was, listen, words can't even begin to describe what took place. When I finally come to the point in my life that I accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and He was who He said that He was, and that Jesus Christ became my Savior and Lord in my life, at that moment in time, soon as it was over, soon as it happened, there was a joy now inside of my heart and inside of my life that was not present before. I didn't say anything about happiness here. I said everything about joy, not anything about happiness, but all about joy. And my dear friend, there was a joy that came over my heart and life. It's called joy unspeakable. And let me say this that morning. When I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ, as I got up from where we were kneeling, I turned around and looked at the one who led me to the Lord and I said, when can I get baptized? And he said, well, they're baptizing tonight. I said, put my name on the list. And Monday morning, my, listen, after that Sunday was over with, my whole entire life changed. This Ethiopian eunuch, his whole entire life changed. You say, well, preacher, how do you know that? Well, the end of verse 39, guess what? He went on his way doing what? Rejoicing. Because of what? He now, he finally had the answer of the hope that was inside of Philip. Now it was inside of the Ethiopian eunuch as well. So let me ask you this question today. Do you have joy in your heart today? Do you have a peace that is beyond comprehension? Do you have a contentment when you lay your head down on your pillow at night and you close your eyes, understanding and realizing that if you don't open them up on this side, that you'll open them up in the presence of the Lord? This pandemic that we find ourselves in the middle of, What if I come down with this COVID-19 virus? What if I wind up in the intensive care unit? What if I wind up on a ventilator? What if I wind up losing my life to the COVID-19 virus? Where will you go? Where will you spend all of the rest of eternity? And I hate to tell you this, You may believe this all you want to, and you may think that when you draw your last breath here on this side that it's all over. Well, I hate to tell you this, it's not. God created inside of you, God placed inside of you. The spirit of who you are, your soul that's inside of you, your soul will live on throughout eternity in one of two places. Either in the presence of God or separated from Him for all of eternity. That's the answer to the question of what happens after death. But now, there's another question that you need to answer. Where will you spend eternity? What happens if you get the virus? What happens if you wind up in the intensive care unit? What happens if you wind up on a ventilator? What happens when you lose or if you should lose your life? What happens next? Well, if Jesus Christ is your savior, you have nothing to worry about nor fear. Why? Because if you close your eyes on this side, you will open them in the presence of God himself. My dear friend, that's what creates the joy that's inside of us. We don't have to be afraid. We don't have to fear what's coming because we know where we're going. We don't have to worry about what's coming because we know where we're going. My question to you today, do you know where you're going? You may be just like this Ethiopian eunuch. You may be one today that is searching for the answer. You may be looking for the purpose of life. You may be this same one as this Ethiopian eunuch was. You've been reading, but you don't understand what you're reading and you need someone to come alongside of you and explain it to you. We'd love to do that for you. If you're in a place today that you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, that there's never been a time, there's never been a period in your heart in life where you've called upon the name of Jesus Christ to be your Savior, to come in to be Lord of your life, I pray and ask you today, it's not difficult. It's not a difficult process. You need to understand and realize that you're a sinner and understand that Jesus Christ did everything that was necessary to provide for your redemption. There's absolutely nothing you can do to gain it. to earn it, to pay for it, to buy it. It's not a part of your heritage. It's not a part of the home that you were raised in. It's an individual choice that comes from your heart about Jesus Christ and who he said he is. So when you realize that today and you realize that you're a sinner and you stand in need of Jesus Christ, then bowing your head and asking Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin and to And to go through and to make and to affirm that Jesus Christ is in fact who He said that He is. And to ask Jesus Christ to become the Savior of your life. To give your heart and life to Jesus Christ. The scripture says that God will hear the prayer of the sinner. And will save that soul. That's how simple the process is. today for an individual. But here's the difficulty. It's your choice. And oftentimes, pride will stand in the way. And oftentimes, the buts or the except or, I'm just not ready yet. My dear friend, listen to me. You can't afford to say you're not ready. Because the scripture says, your life's but a vapor. It appears for a little while and then vanishes away. You don't know how long you have left. You don't know if you'll make it through the rest of the day. You don't know what the next hour holds. Today is the day of salvation, not later, but now, today. And so I encourage you today that if you're to the point in your life and you've gone through and you recognize and realize that you're a sinner, or you need to talk to someone here about that, please go out to our website, there's a Connect card out there, and you can select where we can help you. Let it come back to us, we'll contact you, and we'll be happy to sit down and take the Word of God and show you, just as Philip showed the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. Reading from the prophet Isaiah as he shared with him who it was speaking about, and that was Jesus Christ. We'll do the same for you. Take the Word of God and show you how you can become a child of God. And maybe you're watching today, and maybe you're here today, and you know, sometimes we just We kind of do things our own way throughout the day instead of allowing the Holy Spirit of God to direct us and to lead us. Maybe there have been times where we've not been obedient to the Holy Spirit. May we all ask God to forgive us. May we begin each day with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, give me an opportunity today to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Use me. May I submit to your leading. May I follow you all day in my life every day. If that's your prayer today. I trust that it will be. Let's bow our heads together as we pray. Father, we thank you for your word. Father, we thank you for. This account of Philip. And father, out of. out of the ordinariness of his day, as the angel of the Lord prompted him to go down a desert road. Not to a crowd of people, but to one individual that was seeking, that was searching for the truth. And Father, I thank you that Philip was obedient to go. And as Philip, under the prompting and the leading of the Holy Spirit of God, made his way to that Ethiopian eunuch on that particular day, and as he joined himself to him in the chariot, and as he looked at what the Ethiopian eunuch was reading from, a scroll of Isaiah, and I thank you for the boldness of Philip as he looked at the eunuch and he said, do you understand what it is that you're reading? Father, I thank You that Philip went on to explain that the very one that that passage of Scripture was speaking of is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. And the Ethiopian eunuch responding to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God became a child of God on that particular day. Father, I thank You for the words As we come to the closing verses where it says that as a result of that day, as a result of what Philip was unable to show him, and as a result of his own choice, he continued on his way and went home rejoicing. No longer searching, but going rejoicing because he found the answer. And he found the truth. Father, I pray today that for each of us, and oh Father, I pray for those that are trying to navigate each day through this pandemic and through this virus, trying to figure out what in the world is going on in the world. My dear friend, this morning, I thank you. I thank you for the Holy Spirit. God that you give to us each day to lead us and to guide us. But Father, may we be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit to take the word of God to those that are searching today, looking for an answer, looking for some sense of normalcy. May it be found in Jesus Christ. Father, thank you for the privilege that we have to share the gospel. Father, may we never be ashamed of the Gospel. Father, may we realize and understand it's the power of God unto salvation. As we watch the days of the early church, Father, and as the Gospel went forth with power and the activity of the Holy Spirit of God, Father, my heart longs to see the power of the Gospel, the active work of the Holy Spirit of God convicting hearts of men and women and boys and girls to the truth of the Gospel. Father, may we get back to the basics today, to understanding that there is absolutely nothing, there is no power inside of us apart from the Holy Spirit of God. Help us, I pray today. Help us, I pray today as believers, to move to the back and let the Holy Spirit go before us. we ask all of this in Jesus precious and holy name this morning my dear friend if you're watching this morning as brother red comes to sing for us time of invitation you can sing along with us I encourage you this morning if you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior that can be changed in your heart and life today as a believer If you start each day without the power of the Holy Spirit of God, may we get back to the point that we ask God, may we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us each day in our lives. I trust today, I trust today that we'd allow the Holy Spirit back to where he should be in our lives.