February 9, 2014
Scripture:
Scripture:
Hymn 201 - When we walk with the Lord
Prayer
2 Chronicles 34:1-20
Josiah began his reign of Judah at 8 years old. That is very young for a king. We are told that he followed the Lord, just like his forefather David. David was a man after God’s own heart. Josiah had great respect for God’s word, as we’ll find in this story; so today, I would like to look at some of the things that make the Bible special.
First, read Psalm 119:105. The Bible can be a light to our pathway. It will guide and direct us in the way we should go. When I was young, we would go and visit the Beauchamps. To get to their house, you needed to cross a river. On the way home at night, it was always reassuring to have a flashlight to know where we were going.
In the eighth year of King Josiah’s reign, he began to seek the Lord. God’s word is not only for older people. While you are still young is a great time to begin to read it. Josiah also purged Judah from all the idol and images. This brings us to the second point: the Bible cleanses. Read Psalm 119:9 & 10. The Bible shows us where we go wrong and helps us correct.
Next, Josiah wanted to repair the temple, so he hired the needed workers for the repairs. During the repairs they found a book of the law. This was probably the first five books of the Bible as we know it. This shows us that the Bible is eternal – God makes sure that His word is protected. The book of the law was brought to Josiah; he rent his clothes when he realized what they hadn’t been doing. He knew that there would be consequences for not following God’s law. God’s word requires a response. When we read the Bible, we should change our lives according to what it shows us.
When Josiah read God’s law, he wanted to change. I trust this can be an encouragement to follow what we read in the Bible.
Acts 8:26-40
Philip was doing wonderful work with the revival in Samaria when suddenly the angel of the Lord told him to go to the desert. The desert? When there’s a revival going on? Why? It didn’t make sense. Philip, though, had learned to trust and obey so he went. He’s a good example of obedience for us.
We looked at Simon the sorcerer and how he tried to let everybody know that he was someone great. The Ethiopian eunuch that we find in the desert really was someone great: the head of finance for Queen Candace. He was traveling home—in his chariot—from Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship. He had arrived there just too late. If he had been several months earlier he would have found the real Treasure in the temple. Though he didn’t find the Lord, he did find another treasure: a section of the Bible.
The Bible is a real treasure. Some evolutionists look down on the Bible because it’s so old. Their information is always changing, though, while we need no revisions. God wrote His word with the end of time in mind. It’s as current as tomorrow’s headlines. Don’t let people look down on your Bible. It’s a treasure.
Philip, in the desert as commanded, saw the eunuch’s chariot. The Holy Spirit told him, “Go join the chariot.” Philip ran to it and heard the eunuch read from the prophet Isaiah. He asked him if he understood what he read. There’s wisdom in starting to witness with questions; it makes the other person think. Philip asked his question in a way that offered to interpret the passage for him. This immediately created desire within the man, and he asked Philip to come up into the chariot.
The eunuch had been reading in Isaiah 53 and had a specific question for Philip. Who was the prophet talking about? There are eight pronouns in the passage quote, so it’s definitely about a person, but there are no names mentioned. It would be an intriguing passage if you hadn’t heard about the cross. Philip started at this passage and preached Jesus to this man. What’s interesting is this prophesy had been fulfilled just a few weeks or months earlier.
As Philip and the eunuch drove along, they came to some water and the eunuch asked to be baptized. How did this man know about baptism? Philip might have explained it in his sermon. Baptism displays our burial with Christ (Romans 6), for we have died with him (Galatians 2:20). This could possibly have been part of Philip’s gospel message. What’s interesting is that verse 37 isn’t in Mr.Darby’s translation. It isn’t in the oldest manuscripts.
The Eunuch commanded the chariot to stand still, and he and Philip went down into the water. Baptists believe that baptism is a testimony to others of your salvation, but there was hardly anyone to see this eunuch get baptized. As soon as they come up out of the water, the Spirit caught Philip away.
This eunuch went to the temple to find God, but it was empty of anything real. He got a piece of scripture, though, and found the real treasure—Christ—on his trip home. He’s a contrast to Simon the sorcerer. Simon looked for a way to make money with the Holy Spirit. Peter rebuked this attitude, and told him that he was in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. The Ethiopian, on the other hand, went on his way rejoicing. It’s precious when you get to know the person of Isaiah 53.
The eunuch went home as a missionary. Sources say that there are believers in Ethiopia that are a result of this eunuch’s evangelistic efforts. The Lord’s command to go to the desert—an unattractive place—may have been confusing to Philip. The desert? For the salvation of only one person? There were many people who needed salvation in Samaria! This one person, though, was used to bring many people to salvation in Christ. This blessing came only because Philip had learned to “trust and obey.”
Hymn 350 - I will make you fishers of men
Prayer