“Hearers and Tellers”
(Acts 8:26-40)
Series: The Church on Fire!
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Henderson, KY
(10-7-07) (AM)
- Take God’s word and open to Acts, chapter 8.
We’re going to pick up our study in the middle of chapter 8, beginning at verse 26. We’re continuing our series of messages through the book of Acts, studying every chapter of this wonderful book in a series entitled, “The Church on Fire!” We’re studying the first church in history and we’re learning about how the gospel spread from the inner city of Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria.
This morning we’re reading about Philip, one of the church’s first deacons, who will take the gospel all the way down to a deserted place in Africa. We actually studied this text several years ago, but we’re going to look at it a little differently now as we’re passing through in our study. Now, just to get us started, let’s read only the first verse of our text.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s holy word.
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.
- Pray.
Introduction:
Billy Graham was in a certain city conducting evening worship services. One afternoon he was walking down the streets of the city and he met a little boy. He asked the boy, “Little boy, do you know where I can find the post office?” The little boy said, “Yes,” and he pointed in the direction of the post office. Billy Graham thanked the little boy and then he said, “Little boy, if you’ll come to our worship service tonight you can hear me telling everyone the way to get to heaven.” The little boy shook his head and replied, “I don’t think I’ll be coming.” Billy Graham said, “Why not?!” The little boy said, “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”
We Christians have the responsibility of helping people “find the way.” We have noted several times now that the key verse to the book of Acts is Acts 1:8. Jesus says, “After the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the utter end of the earth.” That’s our mission. That’s our “job description.”
When you think about it, there are two things necessary for us to fulfill that mission. There must be two kinds of people. There must be someone to tell the gospel and someone to hear the gospel. The Holy Spirit brings those two people together, someone to tell the gospel and someone to hear the gospel. The church cannot grow without those two persons coming together. So I want to talk to you about these two persons, tellers and hearers. Let’s note some truths about each. I have a very simple outline. We’re going to look at three truths about tellers and three truths about hearers. First,
- Truths about Tellers:
If you’ve already received Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, then you’re a teller. You’re someone who has been given instructions by the Lord Jesus to tell other people about Him. You are His witnesses. How many of you have already received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Let me see your hands. I’m raising mine with you. Look around. We are tellers. Now there are three truths about tellers.
1) We Must Listen to the Spirit
Jesus said the Holy Spirit is with us and in us to guide us as we share Christ with others. Philip was a man who listened to the Spirit. I mean, he was “tuned-in” to the Spirit so he recognized opportunities to share the gospel when they happened. The Bible says in verse 26, “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.’” Then Luke, the writer, adds the words, “This is desert.” Now that doesn’t mean cactus, sand, and tumble-weeds. It’s more like, “a deserted place.” Now look at just the first part of verse 27. What did Philip do? He, “arose and went.”
Good idea, right?! I mean, he didn’t have to, right? He could have ignored the angel of the Lord. He could have said, “I need to pray about this first, Mr. Angel.” But he doesn’t. He arose and went. What did Philip do? He did what? He “arose and went.”
Now God typically speaks to us today by way of the Holy Spirit. You know it when it happens. You see someone who you can talk to and you sense the Spirit of God within you saying, “Hey, go over there and talk to that person.” And at that moment you and I need to “arise and go.”
I shared with our deacons last Tuesday evening a short prayer that helps me. I try to pray it every morning and I offer it to you, too. It’s a simple 3-part prayer: “Lord, give me an opportunity to share the gospel with someone today. Give me the wisdom to recognize the opportunity when it happens. And give me the courage to proceed.”
We must listen to the Spirit and do what He says. So that’s first. We must listen to the Spirit. Number two:
2) We Must Love Souls
You say, “What does that mean?” Well, we must remember that every single body has a soul. Every single person listening to this message right now has a soul that will live forever. When our physical bodies die our souls live on in one of two locations. If we die without Christ our soul lives on in a terrible place the Bible calls hell, a place of eternal separation from God. If we die in Christ, our soul lives on in a wonderful place the Bible calls heaven, eternal life in the presence of God and all His glory. So here’s the deal: when you and I look at a person, we must remember that that person has a soul. And if we are tellers, persons who have received the gospel, then we will share that good news with others so that their soul is saved from hell. So our prayer is that we are focused upon the souls of people. We are “soul-conscious.” We love souls.
Now Philip loved souls. You say, “How do you know that?” Because Philip left a mighty revival in Samaria and went by himself all the way down to the upper Nile region of Africa to share the gospel with one person. And furthermore, that one person was of a different race. I’m sure Philip could have said, “Look, there’s a lot of need right here in Samaria, okay? Someone else can take the gospel down there to Africa.” But he didn’t. He had a love for souls and nothing would deter him from sharing with others.
It’s amazing, really. The first person to receive Christ as Lord and Savior outside of Jerusalem and the surrounding area is not a European, but a man from Africa. And not just any man from Africa, but a guy who was not exactly highly esteemed among the Jews. Let’s pick up the story in verse 27.
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.”
Stop right there. See that again in verse 29? The Spirit spoke to Philip: “Go near and overtake this chariot.” Tellers listen to the Spirit. Tellers listen to the Spirit and tellers love souls. Who is this man of Ethiopia? The Bible says he is a eunuch, which means he was a person who had been castrated so that he might serve under the queen of the Ethiopians and in her palace. This was a common sort of thing. I know, not a great thing, but it was the custom. Now because he was a eunuch he was considered by the Jews “unclean” and therefore unfit for worship in the temple. He was not allowed in the temple for worship. He could get close, but he could not actually go into the temple. He was ostracized by society, ignored, and shunned.
One of the things that makes the gospel so wonderful is that it is for everyone. I mean, this Ethiopian eunuch was labeled “unclean” by the religious people of Jerusalem, by the Jews. But the gospel is for everyone. No matter a person’s race, or social status, or background. God so loved every person of the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him, shall be saved. God loves you, too! You may feel as ignored and as shunned as the Ethiopian eunuch, but God loves you, too. The gospel is for everyone. If we’re tellers of the gospel, then we will listen to the Spirit and we will love souls.
Are you ready for the third truth about tellers? We must listen to the Spirit. We must love souls. Number three:
3) We Must Learn the Scriptures
We’ve got to know the gospel if we’re going to share the gospel with others. We’ve got to know the Bible if we’re going to share the Bible with others. We must learn the Scriptures. Again, Philip, this deacon, he’s got this down. I love the picture in my mind when I read this passage. It’s great! Remember Philip is listening to the Spirit. Philip loves souls so here he goes down to this deserted area where the Ethiopian is riding home in a chariot. The Bible says in verse 28 that the eunuch is reading what? Isaiah the prophet. So the Spirit says to Philip in verse 29, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” Now watch this in verse 30:
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
I love that! I mean, apparently Philip is just running alongside the chariot and he hears the Eunuch reading. By the way, the chariot isn’t like what you see a couple soldiers standing in, you know a sort of semi-circle thing that they rode into battle. It was more like a carriage. A few people would be sitting in it. And it isn’t going very fast because Philip is running alongside it. So Philip runs up there and hears the eunuch reading from the Prophet Isaiah. And then he asks him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” This is great, isn’t it? I mean, picture this thing in your mind! Philip looks at the eunuch, looks down at what he’s reading. Looks back up to him: “Understand what you’re reading?” What an approach!
But here’s the thing: Philip’s question implies this: “If you don’t understand what you’re reading, I can help you,” which is a way of saying, “I know the Scriptures. I’m not just some guy who says he’s a believer but has no love for the Bible. I can help you.” Do you understand what you’re reading? Look at verse 31:
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
So the eunuch invites Philip into the chariot. Philip climbs aboard and the evangelism visit continues. Those of you in FAITH, can you imagine sharing this during “Celebration Time?!”
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?”
Where is this passage in the Bible, this passage in verses 32 and 33? Isaiah 53. I am assuming that all of Isaiah 53 is under discussion as the eunuch has the scroll opened to that section. It is an amazing chapter. It is probably the quintessential passage of Scripture that foretells the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Written 700 years before Christ. 700 years before Christ, yet written with such clarity, foretelling future events fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. If you haven’t read Isaiah 53 lately, read it this afternoon and see how it foretells the death and suffering of Jesus Christ.
Now the eunuch does not know this. He’s like, “Who is the prophet writing about? Himself or some other man? Verse 35:
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
He “opened his mouth!” I like that. You’ve got to open your mouth to witness. Philip knew the Bible. He began at the passage where the eunuch was reading and the phrasing suggests that Philip included much more. He just began where the eunuch was reading. So Philip was able to explain, “Mr. Eunuch, the prophet is not writing about himself, but about some other man and the name of that man is Jesus.” Jesus is the sheep led to the slaughter when He died on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem. Jesus is the lamb, silent before his shearers. He didn’t defend himself when he stood before Pilate. Jesus is the one who, “in His humiliation justice was taken away.” There was no justice in His death. Jesus is the one about whom the prophet asks, “Who will declare his generation,” which is a mysterious phrase dealing with the fact that Jesus was not married and had no descendants, no physical children. Jesus is the one about whom the prophet is speaking in Isaiah 53:6 where the Bible says that God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He died for us. He took our sins upon Himself. He took care of our sins. The gospel can be summed-up in four words: “Jesus in my place.”
That’s the gospel. That’s what Philip shared with this eunuch. If we’re tellers, we must do the same. We must listen to the Spirit. We must love souls, and we must learn the Scriptures.
In order for the church to grow. We need two kinds of people: tellers and who? Hearers. If you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are a hearer. You are someone hearing the gospel message. Quickly, let’s look at three truths about hearers.
- Truths about Hearers:
1) We Must Believe in the Lord
We must believe in the Lord Jesus. Philip shares Jesus Christ with this eunuch. The Bible says in verse 35 that Philip “preached Jesus to him.” How are we saved from sin? By believing in Jesus.
We don’t die and go to heaven automatically. We must believe what the Bible teaches about Jesus. We must believe the good news. This eunuch is reading the Bible and he seems to be a good, nice, religious person. But he is not saved and that is precisely why the Holy Spirit sends Philip to go tell him the good news. We can’t be saved from our sin without believing in the good news of Jesus Christ.
There is no other way to go to heaven. We don’t go to heaven by attending church. We don’t go to heaven by being good or religious. We must believe what the Bible teaches about Jesus. That’s the good news. We must believe in the Lord. Secondly,
2) We Must be Baptized in the Lord
Believing in Jesus is step one. Being baptized is step two. First we are saved. And if we are saved, then the first thing we will do is to be baptized as soon as possible. Listen to verse 36 and following:
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.
Now some of you do not have a verse 37 in your Bible. Some of you have it in the margin and so forth. That’s just because the English translators were not really certain whether it was part of the original manuscript. You know we don’t have the original manuscript of Acts. We have thousands upon thousands of copies, though. When you compare all those copies together you pretty well find them all saying the same thing. There is a small fraction of Scripture that scholars are just not really sure about whether they’re in the original. You say, “How small a fraction?” One tenth of one percent. Scholars are not exactly sure about the original wording in one tenth of one percent of the entire Bible. Verse 37 is part of that small one tenth of one percent. Here’s the neat thing. Whether verse 37 is in the original manuscript of Acts, we all agree it’s totally biblical. What hinders me from being baptized? Nothing. I need only believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Baptism is a picture of two things. It pictures what happened to Jesus and it pictures what happened to the Christian. Jesus died for us and was buried and rose again the third day. When a person is baptized he goes under the water, which is a picture of death; Jesus died for us. When the person comes up out of the water, that is a picture of resurrection; Jesus rose from the grave. Baptism pictures what happened to Jesus. Baptism also pictures what happened to the Christian. The Christian died to his old life and has been raised to walk in a new way of life.
Once a person becomes a Christian he should be baptized just as soon as he can. This was the attitude of the eunuch. He believes in Jesus first. Then he sees some water and gives orders for the chariot to stop. Then he is baptized. If you have become a Christian you should be baptized as soon as possible. Baptism is a way of identifying with Jesus Christ. When you are baptized it tells everyone that you are not ashamed of your Lord and Savior Jesus.
Hearers must believe in the Lord and hearers must be baptized in the Lord. Thirdly:
3) We Must Bear Witness to the Lord
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.
Something incredible happened to Philip. He is caught up and away by the Holy Spirit. Apparently he disappears as the Spirit of the Lord takes him away to another location for him to tell someone else about Jesus.
But something incredible happened to the eunuch, too. Once a person trusts Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, the Lord blesses him with a newfound joy. The Bible says in verse 39 that the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.” He is changed. He is different now. He is full of joy.
The Bible does not say that the eunuch would never have any more problems. Yes, the eunuch will stay have to work for a living. Yes, the eunuch will still have bills to pay. Yes, the eunuch will still get sick sometimes. Yes, the eunuch will still experience tragedy and sorrow, but he is now full of joy. Joy is a gift from God. We can be joyful even when bad things happen because we know that God loves us and He has forgiven us and He has saved us. We can be joyful because we know that when we die will we go to heaven.
Everyone here today falls in one of two categories: we’re all either saved or lost, Christians or non-Christians, tellers or hearers. Those of you who are Christians, you are tellers. Leave today telling the good news to others. Tellers listen to the Holy Spirit. Tellers love those who need Jesus. Tellers love their Bibles.
Those of you who are here today and are not Christians, you are hearers. I have just told you the good news about Jesus. So how are you to respond to what you have heard? Believe the good news and be saved. Believe and then be baptized as soon as possible. And if become a Christian today, God will give you the gift of His joy. You will leave today like the Ethiopian eunuch: you will go on your way rejoicing.
- Stand for prayer.
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