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A God Encounter Acts 8:26-39Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza." He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot." Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"He answered, "How can I without some help?" and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:

As a sheep led to slaughter,and quiet as a lamb being sheared,He was silent, saying nothing.He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.But who now can count his kinsince he's been taken from the earth?

The eunuch said, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?" Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.

1. God often plans encounters with and for us.

Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza."

Every one of us who have become Christ followers can point to some kind of a God planned encounter in our lives that led us to follow Him.

God is intensely interested in your spiritual life. He created you for fellowship and He longs for you to honor Him with your life.

In 1996, contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Cindy Morgan arrived for a series of concerts in Los Angeles. As she unpacked her clothes for that evening’s concert, she discovered her dress was terribly wrinkled. A woman helping with the concert set out to find an iron. She was sent to a church staff member’s house with a key and instructions as to where she would find the ironing board. To her horror, she entered the house only to find the teenage daughter was home with a loaded gun. She was about to commit suicide when the woman arrived. Through quick thinking, a cool head, and the presence of God, she was able to talk the troubled teen into dropping the gun and returning with her for help. In response to God’s miraculous intervention, Cindy Morgan said, “to rescue a life, he wrinkled a dress.”

Christian Reader, Jan./Feb. 2000, p. 79

Sometimes God speaks to us through the megaphone of pain in our lives. Some of you are right now thinking that you’ve had about as much pain as you can stand. I don’t know if this Ethiopian man was in pain or in trouble but something was causing him to search for God.

Robert Browning penned those old familiar words:

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser
for all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow
and ne'er a word said she
But oh the thing I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me.

What ever you are experiencing today God is allowing you to be in this service because you need to encounter God in a new way. He has brought something across your pathway of life that is leading you to think about Him.

2. God used Phillip to present an explanation about Jesus.

Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.

I love this story because here is this Ethiopian who doesn’t really know anything much about God and even less about Jesus Christ. It is important for us to note that he was searching. He was a wealthy man and a man of responsibility. He was the treasurer for the Queen of Ethiopia. We can assume that he was on a search for God and a relationship with God because of his reading and his trip to Jerusalem.

When Phillip saw that the man was reading some scripture from the Old Testament book of Isaiah he seized the opportunity to teach him about Jesus.

Jesus Christ has a message for all of us. He wants to change our lives and turn us from the things of this life that would destroy our families and lives. The teachings of Christ are radically life changing when they are followed.

I have been following Christ for over twenty six years. I can testify to you that following Christ is a journey. It is a never ending adventure of love and grace. The things that I know about Jesus now are things I had no idea about twenty six years ago. I am learning more and more about Him.

I will tell you something else. You will find that He is gracious and unbelievably patient as we grow and mature in our spiritual walks. He is loving and forgiving and has the ability and willingness to forgive and restore those who have fallen along the way.

3. God pardons everyone who asks.

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2:38

The word repentance means a change of mind. John the Baptist came preaching that people should repent. This means three things:

    1. It is intellectual. By it the sinner comes unto “the knowledge of sin,” and its consequences. Intellectual repentance causes us to be conscious of sin. Rom. 3:20

    2. It is emotional. It is genuine sorrow for sin. It must be deeper than sorrow for being caught. (worldly sorrow) It must be “godly sorrow,” sorrow because one has sinned against God.

    3. The third element of repentance is volitional, a change of will and purpose. It is a turning from sin to God, the heart crying out for pardon and cleansing.

Repentance is an act of man and is antecedent to and a preparation for salvation. It is necessary if God is to forgive. Beacon Dictionary of Theology, pg. 449

Repentance is necessary on our part but to accept the salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ all we must do after exhibiting a godly sorrow is believe that He saves us.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” II Cor. 7:10

Max Lucado tells of a young man who approached his pastor at the close of a worship service and asked, “What can I do to find peace in my life?” The wise minister replied, “I’m sorry, but you’re too late.” The distraught man was perplexed. He said, “You mean I’m too late to find peace? You mean I’m too late to be saved?” The pastor answered, “No, you’re just too late to do anything about it. Jesus did everything that needed to be done two thousand years ago.” The beauty of God’s gracious atonement is that Christ did it all (1 Peter 3:18). We must simply embrace it. “The Beast Within Us All,” Max Lucado, Sept. 26, 1999

4. God promotes baptism as evidence of our salvation.

As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot.

One of the most beautiful and sacred institutions of the church is our ability to public identify with Christ and the church through the ordinance of baptism.

It has meant many things through the ages of church history and in the many different cultures. For some as in the first century church it meant death because you were identifying with Christ and His message.

What a beautiful thing it is to be symbolically buried with Christ in the water and raised to signify and illustrate the new life you have taken on with Him.

There is nothing like starting a new life with Christ. There is nothing like serving the God of the second chance.

We find in Jesus the mercy that we need.

Former televangelist Jim Bakker went to prison for fraud as he should have. In his book He speaks of events that occurred immediately after his release from prison:

When I was transferred to my last prison, Franklin [Graham] said he wanted to help me out when I got out—with a job, a house to live in, and a car. It was my fifth Christmas in prison. I thought it over and said, "Franklin, you can't do this. It will hurt you. The Grahams don't need my baggage." He looked at me and he said, "Jim, you were my friend in the past and you are my friend now. If anyone doesn't like it, I'm looking for a fight."

So when I got out of prison the Grahams sponsored me and paid for a house for me to live in and gave me a car to drive. The first Sunday out, Ruth Graham called the halfway house I was living in at the Salvation Army and asked permission for me to go to the Montreat Presbyterian Church with her that Sunday morning. When I got there, the pastor welcomed me and sat me with the Graham family. There were like two whole rows of them—I think every Graham aunt and uncle and cousin was there. The organ began playing and the place was full except for a seat next to me. Then the doors opened and in walked Ruth Graham. She walked down that aisle and sat next to inmate 07407-058. I had only been out of prison 48 hours, but she told the world that morning that Jim Bakker was her friend.Afterwards, she had me up to their cabin for dinner. When she asked me for some addresses, I pulled this envelope out of my pocket to look for them—in prison you're not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked, "Don't you have a wallet?" And I said, "Well, yeah, this is my wallet." After five years of brainwashing in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She walked into the other room and came back and said, "Here's one of Billy's wallets. He doesn't need it. You can have it." "The Re-education of Jim Bakker," Christianity Today (December 7, 1998)

That is a picture of the mercy and grace and love that we find in Christ. It is not on your merits or personal achievements that you find a relationship with God. It is because He is pursuing you. He wants a relationship with you.

5. God provides encouragement to us through His presence.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.

What a great testimony of a Christ follower.

In addition to being the most prolific hymn writer of the 20th century, B. B. McKinney was a music teacher, pastor, and music minister during his lifetime. Though his life's service was dedicated to God, he still realized that he had done little for his Savior, even after Jesus died on the cross to pardon his sin. While contemplating that fact, he composed four stanzas of what perhaps is the most thought provoking hymn in history. "Satisfied With Jesus" is McKinney's personal testimony of what his Lord had done for him.

I am satisfied with Jesus,
He has done so much for me:
He has suffered to redeem me,
He has died to set me free.

I am satisfied, I am satisfied,
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me,
As I think of Calvary,
Is my Master satisfied with me.

He is with me in my trials,
Best of friends of all is He;
I can always count on Jesus,
Can He always count on me?

I can hear the voice of Jesus,
Calling out so pleadingly,
"Go and win the lost and straying;"
Is He satisfied with me?

When my work on earth is ended,
And I cross the mystic sea,
Oh, that I could hear Him saying,
"I am satisfied with thee."

I believe that God has spoken to some of you this morning. You’ve watched the testimonies of these who were baptized and you’ve been doing a lot of thinking about your life. Your choices and the consequences sometimes seem to overwhelm you. I want you to know today that Jesus Christ is aware of everything that is going on in your life and He has allowed you to be here today to see this service and to hear His voice.

I want to give you a chance to respond.

2004/01/25