September 30, 2018
Hymn 170 - Jesus! O name divinely sweet!
Prayer
Last time we saw almost all the Christians leaving Jerusalem because of persecution, and spreading out across Judea and Samaria.
Acts 8:5-8. Samaria is north of Jerusalem, but it says that Philip went down to Samaria because Jerusalem is up on a mountain. Once he got there, he preached the gospel, did miracles, and many of the people believed on Jesus. The apostles back in Jerusalem heard this, and decided to check it out.
Acts 8:14-17. The same thing that had happened to the believers in Jerusalem - the coming of the Holy Spirit - now happened to those in Samaria. They had the same Holy Spirit, and were therefore part of the same church body. The Holy Spirit was the sign of true belief. It was wonderful, for a oneness was brought in between the Jerusalem believers and the Samaria believers. This church expansion was really fantastic.
So Philip was preaching, and people were getting saved, healed, and they were rejoicing. It was a really great gospel campaign! But then, in verse 26, the Lord tells Philip to go all the way south to the desert. To the desert? Why would the Lord want him to go there? Were there any people there? What was Philip going to do?
V27. Philip didn’t make excuses. He was willing to be available and ready to do whatever God wanted. He went to the desert, and there found a black man, an Ethiopian. He had a good job, and quite a bit of authority under the queen of Ethiopia (he took care of her treasure). He wanted more than he had, though. He had heard of the God of the Jews, and had traveled about one thousand miles to worship in Jerusalem. Philip met him as he was going home, but apparently he was still unsatisfied.
This Ethiopian must have been rich, because he had been able to buy something special: a scroll from the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah. He still seemed to be searching for something, because he was reading it. Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest gospel passages in all of the Old Testament, so it was a good place for him to be reading.
It was an angel of the Lord that had sent Philip to the desert, but now things get exciting because the Spirit said, “Go join yourself to this chariot.” We’ll see what happened next time.
September 30 , 2018
Reading Meeting
John 6:1-21
We see that, in the fifth chapter the work of the Spirit is on dead people. But it is different in chapter six. Instead it builds up to the main part of “I am the bread of life”. There is a possibly six month gap in between the two chapters.
The Lord was surrounded by a multitude and He miraculously provided for them. Jesus went into a mountain with His disciples. This could be a heavenly picture of the Lord on high.
It seems that almost immediately the subject of bread and eating is brought up. Jesus tested Philip with a question. He already knew about the loaves and fishes. With the Lord there, there would be no shortage. Andrew showed Him the boy’s lunch, but still wondered what they could do with it when there were so many people.
The Disciples had the privileged of handing out the food once Jesus multiplied it. He didn’t leave them out. We may not have much, but we can cast it on the Lord who can multiply it. He will give it back in a bountiful way. There was a man who had a Christian ministry. When they received donations, they gave it to others. He remarked that every time God had given back to them more abundantly. When we let the Lord multiply His Word in our heart we can be ready to give it out and share.
This is one of the three miracles that Jesus did where He created something. Jesus gave thanks to the Father He was always in touch with. Andrew was afraid they wouldn’t have enough, but there ended up being more then they could eat. God’s grace goes beyond the need. We can’t exhaust His store. That boy didn’t know what Jesus was going to do with his lunch when he prepared it that morning. We need to be prepared for what the Lord has for us when we are in His Word in the morning.
Hymn 10 Faith is a very simple thing
Prayer