The Kingdom Light – Episode 1124
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On today’s show, we’re gonna spend some time in the book of Acts, chapter 8. This will be a Bible study into some of the amazing adventures of a man named Philip – complete with signs, wonders, and even the unexpected.
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Now you have heard me say often times that we are called to preach the truth and the good news of Christ. The same was true of Philip. He was a man of God, called to spread the gospel message. And today we’re going to learn some important truths about this calling.
As we open up this 8th chapter of Acts, one of the great martyrs of our faith, Stephen, had just been stoned to death for daring to preach about Jesus. Saul had just given his approval of Stephen’s death. Of course, this was before Saul’s conversion – before he became Paul, one of the greatest Apostles of our faith.
So this chapter begins in a very dangerous time to be a Christian. Yet even as Saul was ravaging the church and having people jailed or worse, Philip was faithfully fulfilling his duty and proclaiming the teachings of Christ. Let’s pick up with verse 5…
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
In a time when people were being imprisoned and even killed for their belief in Jesus, there were obedient men of God who did not shrink from declaring truth. Philip was one of those men. And his obedience was met with great success. Evil spirits came shrieking out of people. Others who were afflicted experienced healing. People found joy in Christ in the midst of turmoil.
So the first thing we learn from Philip is to let nothing discourage you from doing what God calls you to do. Trust me, when you set out to do the will of God, the enemy is going to come after you with roadblocks, quicksand, and everything he can think of to stop you. But we must stand firm and obey God.
As we continue with verse 9, we see that obedience to God brings signs and wonders that get the attention of sinners…
9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
This guy, Simon, had been a magician – someone who was all about the fame and notoriety. He was an attention seeker. Like one of those people at a county fair, Come see Simon the Sorcerer! Now Philip’s preaching was accompanied by amazing signs, so Simon believed. However, we’re about to see in the next few verses that someone new to Christianity can still fall back into old habits.
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
…As though this power could be purchased with money. Boy, was he about to get the rebuke of a lifetime!
20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
Now we know that Peter has always been a little over-the-top. This is the same guy who chopped off the ear of a Roman guard the night they came to arrest Jesus. Some of us might look at how harshly he handled Simon here and say, “Whoa, wait a second there, Pete! This Simon guy is new to the faith. Cut him a little slack, man!” But NO, everything Peter said to him was right. And even though his words may seem a bit much, this is exactly what Simon needed to hear. He needed someone like Peter to get in his face and tell him the real score.
24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
Even though Simon had believed, he was still seeing the power of God as something to be exploited and used for his own purposes. Recognizing this, Peter called him out for his wickedness. Here we see even those who believe can be in need of correction.
Now let’s get back to Philip, because this dude is all about doing what God says to do and going where God says to go. And doing God’s will can be a real adventure! See, there was another person nearby who was new to the faith and needed some guidance. Picking up in verse 26…
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. 27 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 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Let me point out that, when the spirit of the Lord tells you to do something, do it knowing that this is a important opportunity to see God work. Once again, it is in the obedience that we see God’s hand. And we see here that this was divinely orchestrated. This Ethiopian official was primed and ready to receive a word from God – he was actively seeking it. That’s just when the Holy Spirit sent Philip to him. God’s timing is perfect.
As Philip began to explain the words of Isaiah were referring to the coming of the Messiah, teaching the eunuch all about Jesus, there was an excitement building up in his heart. This guy was hungry for the truth of Christ! We see just how excited he was down in verse 36 of this passage…
36 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?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
You see, the truth of salvation through Christ is exciting and desirable. When people who are hungry for something to give purpose and meaning to their lives find out how God loves us and made a way for us to live forever with Him, why would anyone turn that down? Those who long for the light of truth will find it in Jesus, but those who prefer darkness will reject Him.
Now folks, for the grand finale, let’s look at what happened after Philip obeyed God and baptized this Ethiopian official…
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. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Okay, hold up. You need to get this picture in your mind. This official, a man so excited to learn of Jesus, who insisted on being baptized as soon as he spotted some water – he comes up out of the water, smile on his face, wipes his eyes and sees what? Philip is gone. Vanished. Poof.
There’s no record here of the dude freaking out that Philip had disappeared. All it says is that he just went on his way rejoicing. He’s just given his heart and life to Christ, and nothing else seems to matter. From this we learn that giving your life to Jesus is more important than anything.
But what about Philip? What happened to him? He baptized a guy, came up out of the water and – suddenly finds himself in another town? Biblical scholars say that, from where that baptism took place to where Philip appeared in Azotus, it’s a distance of about 25 miles. Other manuscripts say that Philip was translated by the Holy Spirit from one place to the other.
This isn’t like the Star Trek transporters – you know, “Beam me up, Scotty.” No this is beyond that. This was an instantaneous, now you see me now you don’t, moving at the speed of thought, kind of thing. Philip’s job with the eunuch was done and God needed him elsewhere. So, poof, now you’re in Azotus. Preach on, Philip!
I love how this chapter ends! A miraculous teleportation from one place to another. Why not? We need not be shocked when God does the unexpected. Take it in stride and go on about our calling. That’s what Philip did. So should we.
Living in the will of God is anything but boring. And we are called to His purpose no matter what obstacles get in the way. Those who press on in obedience will see God’s hand prevail. We will witness signs, wonders, and yes, even the unexpected. It’s all part of the adventure for we who are charged with shining the Kingdom Light.
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