Subject: Philip
by Rick Welborne
Acts 8:26-40 (NKJV)
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
1. To be a passionate witness for Christ you must be faithful.
--Philip (not the Apostle) is first introduced to us in Acts 6. He has qualifications that would give us the indication he was definitely a faithful man to church and was willing to serve.
--I personally believe people like this make the best witnesses because how can you invite people to something you are not faithful to attend and to a place where you do not serve…it helps if you are here serving.
--A concern had arisen in the early church that the widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. The disciples told the people to choose men who were willing to wait tables.
Acts 6:3-7 (NIV)
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
--Philip was saved, he was filled with Holy Spirit and wisdom, and he was willing to serve the church so the preachers could study and pray more…what a beautiful concept. He was chosen by his brothers and sisters.
--The result of this was that the Word of God spread and people were being saved…faithfulness to God’s house and faithfulness to serve communicates dedication and love which I believe attracts the lost.
--Evidently Philip so loved the church and was so filled with the Spirit that he could not help sharing Christ outside the church…Pastor Rick, he must have been an apostle to do what he was doing.
Acts 8:4-8 (NIV)
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
8 So there was great joy in that city.
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
8 So there was great joy in that city.
--Wait a minute…Philip is just a layman in the church, serving tables for widows, and he is going to the streets of Samaria (most dangerous place for a Jew to go) to share Christ with the lost.
--Mark 16 tells us that signs and wonders follow and they did…miracles and healing took place, evil spirits came out, and people were listening…joy came to the city…Samaria. Philip was a passionate witness!
--Not only were the people saved, he also used his swimming pool and baptized them (kidding about the pool). So many were being saved by this layman that the district heard about it and sent apostles…people were filled with Spirit.
2. To be a passionate witness for Christ you must be Spirit filled and Spirit led.
--I am convinced that Philip was in the initial group of the people who were saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit because it was fresh enough no one could talk him out of the experience.
--Now days, it appears, that it does not matter what the Word says, if it makes someone uncomfortable we just can’t do it in church…you know we have to be seeker sensitive.
--Just a thought from someone who loves you…which is better or worse depending on your perspective… people uncomfortable about the Word of God or people uncomfortable for eternity in Hell?
--If Holy Spirit was poured out and given to empower us to be passionate witnesses…why would we be comfortable ignoring Him…it may be why our churches struggle so much.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
--In our text today it says an angel of the Lord told Philip… go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." You need to pay attention…God was up to something.
--This might surprise some of you, but God new an Ethiopian Eunuch was going to be there and that he was ready to hear the gospel of Jesus. Pastor, you are not saying God can speak today and tell us where to go?
--He may tell some of you where to go if you don’t straighten up! I am emphatically telling you that Holy Spirit can speak to us and lead us to witness for Him and to share His message. Example of my sister Barbara – Jesse.
--I was similar to Philip…recently saved and baptized in Holy Spirit…I was serving in the church any way I could…helping the pastor and leading the evangelism ministry…I was praying in my bedroom.
--Holy Spirit said…Drive to Ruston (40 miles away) now and tell your sister that even though she has had two miscarriages that she is pregnant now and she will carry the baby and it will be a boy…pretty specific.
--I get in my Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus and take off…I pray in the Spirit there because I am nervous about what God has spoken…I pull in the driveway, walk up to the door, and a note on the door…Gone fishing!
--I said…Ok, Lord, I missed what you were saying. He said…No you didn’t…get in your car and go find them. In that area you could drive any direction and hit a lake and each lake had several ways of getting there.
--I will lead you…Drive…I am a new believer and I think I might be losing my mind but I drive…turn here, turn there, go done this dirt road (my car), go to the right at this fork…I arrive at a fish camp. Never been there!
--Well at least there is a soda machine here, I will get a drink and I hear someone yelling my name…Ricky! I look at in a boat and there is my sister and her husband…they are freaked out and me too. I deliver the message.
--What are you saying…I am saying that when it comes to delivering God’s Word or His message, that Holy Spirit can direct us where He wants us to go…that’s what He did for Philip. Run down that chariot.
--Philip hears the eunuch reading from Isaiah and he asks him a very logical question…Do you understand what you are reading…How can I unless someone shares with me…A divine set up by God.
--Can this layman…this Spirit filled servant explain the Scriptures to this man that are directly pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. Philip begins to preach Jesus to him. (By the way, my sister had her son).
3. To be a passionate witness for Christ you must be able to share the Word of God.
--This eunuch is hungry to know God but he does not know the way…he is reading Old Testament prophecies but he does not know who it is talking about.
--Let me again point out some facts about Philip just in case you missed it…He is a recent convert to Christianity, he has recently been baptized in Holy Spirit power…Spirit guides us into all truth.
--He is a servant and he is waiting tables at the church to make sure the widows are taken good care of…pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is to care for widows and orphans…unspotted by the world.
--In his spare time he is doing street ministry and signs and wonders are following him everywhere he goes…so powerful was his ministry that Simon the sorcerer is saved and wants what he and the disciples have.
--He is leading many to Christ everywhere he goes, and now, led by Holy Spirit he is sitting in a chariot with an Ethiopian eunuch who is trying to find his way to God…he is looking for Jesus but doesn’t know it yet.
--He is a layman not an apostle and he is asked to explain OT prophecies about Jesus…so what does Philip do?
Acts 8:34-35 (NIV)
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
--When we are saved and filled with Holy Spirit we have a hunger to know the Word of God…the reason we read and study is so we can point people to Jesus. Listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisees:
John 5:39-40 (NIV)
39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
--The Word of God will lead us to the Son of God and we will be able to lead the lost to Jesus…the One and only Son of God…isn’t that the goal. What would have happened if Philip had not known the scriptures.
--Sometimes I believe we too easily give each other a by when it comes to knowing the Word…well it’s ok if you don’t know where certain verses are…Philip did not have the Roman’s Road to Salvation!
--Thank God for JBQ for the kids to learn the Word but what about us…do we study intently so we can answer those who ask us about our faith and hope.
James 1:25 (NCV)
25 But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.
25 But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NRSV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Acts 6:3 & 5-6 (NIV)
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip,
6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
--Pastors and elders of heart come forward…Lay hands on you and send you out!
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