I want to look at a little piece of a story we find in Acts Chapter 8. We’ll read it first, then apply the Scripture to our lives.

Acts 8:26-35 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. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

God Works With His Redeemed To Grow His Kingdom

When we read through the Book of Acts, we see how the early Church – even in the midst of great persecution in pagan Rome – was caused to grow by God. The Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, just as Jesus promised (Acts 1:8; John 14:26). God’s people were willing to obey the voice of the Lord.

The Kingdom of God grows when members of that Kingdom – Christians who are “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26) walk in partnership with God, following His direction.

The Bible commands Christians to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). We are to “yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead” (Romans 6:13). We are to “bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4). We do this by telling others about Jesus and the great Grace we enjoy.

In every instance where the Kingdom of God grew in the Book of Acts, it grew because believers shared what Jesus Christ did for us. God saves us by faith in Jesus. Once a person is saved, they are changed to live their lives for Jesus. An old song we often sing, Amazing Grace, says:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but NOW am FOUND,
Was blind but NOW I SEE.

Those who experience the Amazing Grace of God become workers together for God’s Kingdom (2 Corinthians 6:1). The stepbrother of Jesus named James did not come to believe on Jesus until after our Lord resurrected from the dead. James emphasized that once a person became saved by faith in Christ, then that person desired to love God and desired to love his neighbor.

A proposed salvation that expresses neither love for God nor love for one’s neighbor is a dead faith.

The loveless faith, or the faith that only loves the professor, is a false faith. James noted:

James 2:17-26 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Abraham’s faith was proven genuine when he loved God enough to obey God, laying his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice. Rahab’s faith was proven genuine when she laid her life on the line, loving God more than even herself so as to save the Israeli spies. Genuine saving faith always proves itself by outward expressions of love, first toward God, then toward others. The Scripture shows this relationship in:

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is NOT of works, but of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, once you are saved, verse 10 comes into play … For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The believer once saved does loving good works. We love God, we love our neighbor. As we love, we obey God and do good so that the Kingdom can grow.

A salvation that no more than secures Heaven for the professing believer is a selfish, a false salvation.

As we have been loved, we love.
As we have been lifted up, we lift others up.

God Turns Desert Into Gardens Of Life

Acts 8:26 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.

Let’s Talk About The Angel of the Lord: Who is “The angel of the Lord”? I have read commentaries and heard preachers who said that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus. That’s a possibility. The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament professed to have powers that only God could have. In Genesis 16 the Angel of the Lord went to a frightened Hagar, the slave of Abram and Sarai. The Angel of the Lord told Hagar:

Genesis 16:9-10 … Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. … I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

An angel proper has no power to give life, to “multiply {Hagar’s} seed exceedingly”. This is what God does. In another place, when Abraham was told to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah, the Angel of the Lord stopped him from killing his son. The Angel of the Lord said:

Genesis 22:12 Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

It was GOD Who told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-3). Here the Angel of the Lord is speaking as if He is God. So yes, I do believe that the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of God. The Angel of the Lord spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, and the Scripture says it was GOD in that bush (Exodus 3:1-5). So the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of God. I have come to believe the Angel of the Lord is actually the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit was sent “to testify of Jesus” (John 15:26). The Angel of the Lord is sending Philip out to, we will find out, “testify of Jesus”.

Now Let’s Talk About Philip: As the Church began to grow, one of the things the Church did was to lovingly care for the widows and orphans. As this ministry grew, problems cropped up that caused murmuring in the Church. Murmuring is a sign that the Church is off track. We are called to do “good works”, not murmur and complain.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16,Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Good works are loving works. We are created in Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). We are not called to murmur and complain. “When the people complained, it displeased the Lord: the Lord heard it, and His anger was kindled” (Numbers 11:1). God wants us to love others, not murmur.

So the Church called out seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to oversee the widow’s table. Philip was the second man called to serve.

Philip loved the Lord. The Lord called Philip to go to Samaria, and there he went, sharing the love of Jesus to whosoever would hear. Then the Lord sends Philip from Samaria to another place.

Acts 8:26 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.

Word Study: God sends Philip to a “desert”. Now Philip has had a blessed ministry in Samaria among those people, so it seems counterproductive to send Philip to a “desert”. The word “desert” is the Greek ἔρημος érēmos, {pronounced er’-ay-mos}, which means “solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited wilderness”. To us, this makes no sense. Yet beloved, the ways of God are often beyond our comprehension.

God promised childless Abraham a nation and a world
God told a weaponless David to fight a giant
God sent John the Baptist into the wilderness to preach
God offers salvation to the world through a Virgin birth

Illustrate: God works in the places we least expect. “God can turn a barren wilderness into an oasis with water. He can make springs flow into desert lands.” (Psalm 107:35).I was at Harbor Freight this past Friday, standing in line, waiting to check out. Suddenly the man in front of me turned around and asked if I would take him to Shephards Lumber. “I’ll pay you if you’ll take me”. I told him, no, I wanted no pay, but yes, I would take him to Shephards once we checked out. Though I sat with him in the car only a few moments, I prayed for him and shared Jesus the best way I knew how.

God told Philip to move – and Philip moved. We read:

Acts 8:27-28 And {Philip} arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read {Isaiah} the prophet.

Philip is led to “a man of Ethiopia”, someone who had been seeking God in Jerusalem. He had been to the Temple to worship God, and was on a return journey home. Along the way this highly regarded Treasurer was stopped on the side of the road, reading from the Book of Isaiah. In those days Bibles were handwritten scrolls, often secured at only great cost. This man was powerful, wealthy – and he was seeking God. God said:

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.

God loves the whole world, and wants everyone to be saved if they would. “Blessed are those who seek the Lord with their whole heart” (Psalm 119:2). This Ethiopian has been to the Temple, and perhaps has heard text read from Isaiah. Yet his heart is not blessed.

Religion itself will not bless. This man needs the Lord.

Acts 8:29-30 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet {Isaiah}, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

Philip met this Ethiopian at his time of spiritual need, and asked to help. This man is under conviction.

Philip yielded to the Spirit of God, Whom Jesus sent
to save souls and seal saints.

John 16:8-11 … when {the Holy Spirit} is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

John 16:13-14 .. the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. … 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Ethiopian is ready! He replies:

Acts 8:31 … How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Philip now shares a …

Sermon From A Chariot

Acts 8:32-33 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

The text that the Ethiopian is reading is Isaiah 53:7-8. He questions Philip:

Acts 8:34 … I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

The Bible tells us that “Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus”. Philip “began” at Isaiah 53:7-8, but he did not stop there. I believe Philip shared all of Isaiah 53 with the Ethiopian Eunuch. Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of the Coming Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God told Adam in the Garden of Eden that “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam’s failure to obey God brought universal sin upon all of his children.

Adam’s arm brought sin on us all – and only God’s “Arm”
could take this sin away.

Isaiah 53 focuses on the “arm of God”, the means by which God would save the world. The Bible tells us that God is One, but in Three Persons – Father, Son, and Spirit. Man brought sin and death into the world, something that only God could correct. God decided to correct our fallen state. He did this through Jesus Christ His Only Begotten Son.

Jesus is Only Begotten because He is the only Member of the Godhead to enter His own creation. Jesus Christ is Eternal God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Jesus Christ was with the Father from eternity. He prayed before He went to the Cross for our sins:

John 17:1-5 … Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Jesus Christ was with the Father “before the world was”. Jesus Christ was with the Father, creating the Heavens and the Earth. Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17).

Jesus Christ is the Arm of the Lord that brings salvation. How did He do this? Jesus humbled Himself, made Himself the lowest of the low, so He could save all.

As Philip read Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:1-2 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

When Jesus grew up in Nazareth, He did not look like the “Arm of the Lord”. If anything, Jesus looked common, “a root out of a dry ground”. His own earthly family – His stepbrothers and stepsisters – and even His friends disbelieved Jesus.

Mark 3:21 … when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself …

John 7:5 … For neither did his brethren believe in him.

The Arm of the Lord, Jesus Christ our Savior, had “no beauty that we should desire him”. He was attacked constantly as He walked this earth. Jesus was and is the Son of God, but He was not well received. Isaiah said:

Isaiah 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus was betrayed by man. He was “smitten of God, and afflicted”. Betrayed by both the creation He made, and the Father that He co-created with, what did Jesus do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing. Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary was not about any sin that He committed. Jesus’ suffering and death on Calvary was about our sin, our failures with God.

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Our healing, the fact that we can be made right with God, comes through the fact that Jesus took our penalty for sin on Himself. All of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Though Adam caused our fall, we willingly and often delightedly pursued darkness. Jesus Christ came to pay for our sins. “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.

We stand before God, dear beloved, a redeemed people because of what Jesus did. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace …

Colossians 1:12-15 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Jesus Christ suffered horribly for us. He was “brought as a Lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7), “for the transgression of God’s people Jesus was stricken” (Isaiah 53:8). When Jesus died, He died between two thieves. “He made His grave with the wicked .. though He had done no violence nor deceived anyone” (Isaiah 53:9).

Jesus took a debt that He did not owe, paying a debt
that neither you nor I could pay.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

It is strange to hear that “it pleased the Lord to bruise him”. I do not think that God enjoyed causing His Son to suffer for our sin. But I believe that it pleases God that His Son would go to such lengths to save us. God the Father is pleased in us when we give ourselves to His Son. The Blood of Jesus Christ brings the believer close to God. We are told in:

Ephesians 2:13-16 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

When Jesus went to that Cross, innocent Incarnate God took the penalty for fallen mankind. When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, your sins and debt are erased before God. The Scripture says:

Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We are saved to serve our Risen Savior.

The Saved Willingly Serve The Savior

As Philip shares the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch, he gives his life to Jesus. We read:

Acts 8:36 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?

When a person gives their life to Jesus, they then OBEY Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15), and “If you keep My Commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 15:10). Jesus gave up the glory of Heaven for the hell of the Cross. He did this for you and I. Will we withhold anything from our Savior and Lord? Absolutely not! The Eunuch was ready to serve Jesus in any way He asked. Philip told him:

Acts 8:37-39 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. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 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 he went on his way rejoicing.

The Ethiopian’s confession was simply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. He believed Jesus to be the only Way unto God the Father. Professing Christ to be as He is, the Eunuch was baptized in water, obedient to the command of Christ. Though Philip went on his way, the Ethiopian went “on his way rejoicing”. Why? Because he could sing:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free,
My God, my Savior has ransomed me.
And like a flood, His mercy rains,
Unending love, Amazing grace.

The Earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine.
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Jesus is ever mine!

May God the Holy Spirit call you to His side this very day. Here is joy – only in Jesus. Amen and Amen.