This document provides details from a church service, including the memory verse and topics that were discussed. It then describes the story from Acts 8:26-40 where Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah and explains the gospel of Jesus to him, leading to the eunuch's baptism. Key points include Philip obediently following the Spirit's prompting to take an unusual desert road, where he finds the prepared eunuch seeking understanding, and the eunuch demonstrating genuine faith through his proper response to Philip's presentation of Jesus.

1. “The Effective Christian Life”
Philip and the Ethiopian
Acts 8:26-40
June 30, 2013
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. The Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association
My Hope
Outreach Emphasis
www.myhopewithbillygraham.org

3. JUNE MEMORY VERSE
Matthew 28:19-20
“Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of

4. the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to
observe everything I have
commanded you. And
remember, I am with you
always to the end of the
age.” Matthew 28:19-20

5. July 7th—Lesson 2—
“The Christian Witness”
ADULT SUNDAY
SCHOOL RALLY IN
FELLOWSHIP
HALL EAST AT
9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

6. July 7th lesson led by Ken
Blackstock and Ken Sims.
July 14th--Lesson 3
“The Care of
New Christians”
1 Thessalonians 2 & 3

7. WHAT’S THE #1 THING?

8. BRING GLORY TO GOD!

9. 1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV
31 Whether therefore ye
eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all
to the glory of God.

11. 1) Bet Sepher - ages 6-10
House of the Book
2) Bet Talmud - ages 10-14
House of Learning
3) Bet Midrash -ages 15-30
House of Study
Talmidim - disciple

12. The best of the best from
Bet Sepher went on to Bet
Talmud and the best of
the best of the House of
Learning went on to Bet
Midrash (House of Study)
at age 15.

13. *The Jewish Educational
System of Jesus’ Day
*Jesus: A Jewish Rabbi
and His Yoke
*Follow in His Dust

14. In Jesus day, there were
two different kinds of
Rabbis:
1) Common rabbis
2) Rabbis with s’mekah

15. Yoke of learning

16. The rabbis with s’mekah
referred to their own
unique collection of
interpretations of
Scripture as their “yoke”
or yoke of learning.

17. Jesus said:
“Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I
am meek and lowly in

18. heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 KJV

20. Follow in His Dust

24. Are we walking so closely
with Jesus, that we’re
covered in His dust?

25. The Holy Spirit!

27. PBPGINFWMY
Please Be Patient,
God Is Not Finished
With Me Yet

31. You are God’s Masterpiece

33. *In Ephesians 2:10, the
passage that we studied
three weeks ago, Paul says
we are the workmanship of
God, God’s poem!
*God is not finish writing
all of His poetry yet!

34. Allow Him to write the
rest of your story.
The Gospel According to You?

35. 10 For we are his (poiema)
workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath
before ordained that we
should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 KJV

37. …“created in Christ Jesus
unto good works” for
God’s glory!
WHAT’S THE #1 THING?

38. BRING GLORY TO GOD!

40. Acts 8:26-40

42. Acts 8:26-40 KJV
26 And the angel of the
Lord spake unto Philip,
saying, Arise, and go
toward the south unto the
way that goeth down
from Jerusalem unto

43. Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and
went: and, behold, a man
of Ethiopia, an eunuch of
great authority under
Candace queen of the
Ethiopians, who had the

44. charge of all her treasure,
and had come to
Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and
sitting in his chariot read
Esaias (Isaiah) the
prophet.

45. 29 Then the Spirit said
unto Philip, Go near, and
join thyself to this chariot.

46. 30 And Philip ran thither
to him, and heard him
read the prophet Esaias,
and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest?

47. 31 And he said, How can
I, except some man
should guide me?
And he desired Philip that
he would come up and sit
with him.

48. 32 The place of the
scripture which he read
was this, He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb
before his shearer, so
opened he not his mouth:

49. 33 In his humiliation his
judgment was taken
away: and who shall
declare his generation? for
his life is taken from the
earth.

50. 34 And the eunuch
answered Philip, and said,
I pray thee, of whom
speaketh the prophet this?
of himself, or of some
other man?

51. 35 Then Philip opened his
mouth, and began at the
same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus.

52. 36 And as they went on
their way, they came unto
a certain water: and the
eunuch said, See, here is
water; what doth hinder
me to be baptized?

53. 37 And Philip said, If thou
believest with all thine
heart, thou mayest. And
he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God.

54. 38 And he commanded
the chariot to stand still:
and they went down both
into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch; and he
baptized him.

55. 39 And when they were
come up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord
caught away Philip, that
the eunuch saw him no
more: and he went on his
way rejoicing.

56. 40 But Philip was found at
Azotus: and passing
through he preached in all
the cities, till he came to
Caesarea.
Acts 8:26-40 KJV

58. A eunuch is a man who
may have been castrated,
typically early enough in
his life for this change to
have major hormonal
consequences.

59. Castration was typically
carried out on the soon-to-
be eunuch without his
consent in order that he
might perform a specific
social function.

60. The earliest records for
intentional castration to
produce eunuchs are from
the Sumerian city of
Lagash in the 21st century
BC.

61. Over the millennia since,
they have performed a
wide variety of functions
in many different
cultures: treble singers,
religious specialists,
government officials and

62. guardians of women or
harem servants.

63. A study on eunuchs has
found that they live 13.5
years longer than non-
eunuch men as a result of
a lack of testosterone,
which suppresses the
immune system, and its

64. resultant negative effects
on health.

65. The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.

66. *Influenced by the
surrounding nations,
Israel frequently fell into
pagan idolatry.
*An idolatrous Israel had
no message to give to the
idolatrous Gentile nations.

67. By the time of Jesus, the
worship of pagan idols
was gone, disappearing
for the most part after the
Babylonian Captivity.

68. It was replaced, however,
by a corrupted form of
Judaism that advocated
salvation by works.

69. Because of Israel's failure,
God cut a new channel
through which His
blessings could reach the
world — the church.

70. Unlike national Israel, the
church would embrace all
nations.

71. Beginning on Pentecost
and in Jerusalem as an
exclusively Jewish group,
the church soon reached
out to the half-breed
Samaritans.

72. Another milestone was
reached as Philip
presented Jesus Christ to a
Gentile.

73. Through this man, a high
official in the court of the
Ethiopian queen, the
gospel would first
penetrate the souls of the
great African continent.

74. In contrast to Simon the
Magician, his faith was
genuine, resulting in
salvation.

75. That genuine faith
required three elements:
the proper preparation,
the proper presentation,
and the proper response.

76. PROPER PREPARATION

77. Genuine saving faith
demands the proper
preparation.
In the parable of the
sower, only the good,
properly prepared soil

78. brought forth the fruits of
salvation.
The text indicates four
features which prepared
the soil of the eunuch's
heart.

79. Paul writes, "If our gospel
is veiled, it is veiled to
those who are perishing,
in whose case the god of
this world has blinded the
minds of the unbelieving,
that they might not see

80. the light of the Gospel of
the glory of Christ, Who is
the image of God"
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
*Satan and his demon
hosts are also actively
involved in keeping men

81. from finding God's truth.

83. Like the birds in the
parable of the sower, they
snatch away from fallen
men the truth
of the Gospel.

84. As a result, "when anyone
hears the word of the
kingdom, and does not
understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his
heart" (Matthew 13:19).

85. The Spirit began his
preparatory work by
maneuvering
Philip into
a strategic
position.

86. An angel of the Lord
spoke to Philip saying,
"Arise and go south to the
road that descends from
Jerusalem to Gaza."
(This is a desert road.)

88. The circumstances that
were to lead to the
eunuch's salvation were
sovereignly and
specifically arranged by
the Spirit.

89. Gaza (one of the oldest
cities in the world at 5,000
years old) was one of the
five chief cities of the
Philistines, along with
Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron,
and Gath (Goliath).

91. A road from Jerusalem to
Egypt ran through the
ruins of old Gaza
(where Samson
died).

92. Luke's footnote that this is
a desert road underscores
the strangeness of the
Spirit's
command
to Philip.

93. There were two roads
from Jerusalem to Gaza,
and the Spirit commands
Philip to take the one that
was seldom used.

94. It is also possible to
translate the Greek phrase
kata mesembrian
(toward the south)
“at noon”.

95. That rendering would
make the divine
command to Philip all the
more unusual:
at noon the road would be
deserted of travelers
because of the heat.

96. This was no mere chance
encounter and certainly
not the result of clever
human ingenuity.

97. *Apart from the Spirit's
orchestration of events, it
would have never taken
place at all.
*That emphasizes again
the sovereign work of the
Spirit in salvation.

98. THE SUBMISSIVE WILL
OF PHILIP
Acts 8:27a
“And he arose and went;”

99. God often accomplishes
His sovereign work
through human
instruments
(Acts 2:4,14; 4:8,31; 6:3-8;
7:55; 8:17; 10; 16:25-34).

100. Like a master sculptor, He
takes otherwise useless
and inconsequential tools
and uses them to create a
masterpiece.

102. There is a prerequisite,
however, for being used
by God.
Paul writes, "Now in a
large house there are not
only gold and silver
vessels, but also vessels of

103. wood and of earthenware,
and some to honor and
some to dishonor.
Therefore, if a man
cleanses himself from
these things, he will be a
vessel for honor,

104. sanctified, useful to the
Master, prepared for
every good work"
(2 Timothy 2:20-21).
God uses holy tools to do
His work.

105. Philip was such an
instrument.
When ordered to go on
what must have seemed
an illogical journey, he
arose and went.

106. *He did not struggle with
the irrationality of the
command before obeying,
nor did he question God.
*Partial obedience is
disobedience. *Delayed
obedience is disobedience.

107. To leave the thriving
work in Samaria for a
deserted road might seem
absurd to many but not to
the man of God who has
just been visited by an
angel of the Lord.

108. By willing obedience he
became the means by
which God saved the
eunuch.

109. THE SEARCHING
WORSHIP OF THE
EUNUCH
Acts 8:27b

110. Acts 8:27b KJV
and, behold, a man of
Ethiopia, an eunuch of
great authority under
Candace queen of the
Ethiopians, who had the
charge of all her treasure,

111. and had come to
Jerusalem for to worship,
Acts 8:27b KJV

112. The Ethiopian eunuch
was a seeker after the true
God, as shown by his long
journey to Jerusalem to
worship.

113. 6 But without faith it is
impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently
seek him. Hebrews 11:6

114. How he came into contact
with Judaism is not told,
but there was a large
Jewish colony at
Alexandria.

115. He was a high ranking
official in his country, a
court official of Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians.
Ethiopia in that day was a
large kingdom located
south of Egypt.

116. To the Greeks and
Romans, it represented
the outer
limits of
The known
world.

117. Its kings were believed to
be incarnations of the sun
god, and the everyday
affairs of government
were beneath them.

118. Real power lay with the
queen mothers, known by
the hereditary title
Candace (which is not a
proper name, but an
official title, like Pharaoh
or Caesar).

119. This man was in charge of
all her treasure.
In today’s terms, he was
the Minister of Finance, or
Secretary of the Treasury.

120. Despite his power and
prestige, he had a vast
emptiness in his soul.

121. He made a long, arduous
journey from his
homeland to Jerusalem,
searching for
the true God.

122. Unfortunately, given the
state of contemporary
Judaism (based on
works), he probably went
away still empty.

123. Because he was a eunuch,
he would have been
denied access to the
temple (Deut 23:1) and
therefore been unable to
participate fully in the
Jewish worship services.

124. Deuteronomy 23:1 KJV
1 He that is wounded in
the stones, or hath his
privy member cut off,
shall not enter into the
congregation of the Lord.

125. Further, he would not
have been allowed to
become a full proselyte to
Judaism.

126. He would have been
limited to the status of a
God-fearer — one who
attended the synagogues
and read the Scriptures
but stopped short of
becoming a full proselyte.

127. The Gentile Cornelius was
an example of such a
God-fearer (Acts 10:1-2).

128. God's sovereignty in
salvation does not obviate
man's responsibility.
That God rewards the
seeking heart is the clear
teaching of Scripture.

129. In Jeremiah 29:13 God
said, “You will seek Me
and find Me, when you
search for Me with all
your heart.”

130. *The eunuch is a classic
example of one who lived
up to the light he had.
*God then gave him the
full revelation of Jesus
Christ through Philip's
ministry.

131. Acts 8:28 KJV
28 “was returning, and
sitting in his chariot read
Esaias (Isaiah) the
prophet.”

132. While returning to his
own country, the eunuch
was sitting in his chariot,
and was reading
the prophet Isaiah.

133. He had a desire to know
God and was aware that
He was to be known
through the Scripture.
He was indeed an eager
seeker.

134. He had no doubt paid a
great price in Jerusalem
for that scroll, which
would have been difficult
for a Gentile to acquire.

135. Perhaps Isaiah had special
meaning to him, since the
book speaks
encouragingly to eunuchs
(Isaiah 56:3-5).

136. Isaiah 53:3-5 KJV
3 Neither let the son of the
stranger, that hath joined
himself to the Lord,
speak, saying,
The Lord hath utterly

137. separated me from his
people: neither let the
eunuch say, Behold, I am
a dry tree.

138. 4 For thus saith
the Lord unto the eunuchs
that keep my sabbaths,
and choose the things that
please me, and take hold
of my covenant;

139. 5 Even unto them will I
give in mine house and
within my walls a place
and a name better than of
sons and of daughters:
I will give them an
everlasting name, that

140. shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 56:3-5 KJV

141. While God's existence,
and some of His
attributes, can be
discerned from nature
(Rom 1:20), saving
knowledge of Him comes
only through the Bible.

142. Romans 10:12b-15 KJV
12b for the same Lord
over all is rich unto all
that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.

143. 14 How then shall they
call on him in whom they
have not believed? and
how shall they believe in
him of whom they have
not heard? and how shall
they hear without a

144. preacher?
15 And how shall they
preach, except they be
sent? as it is written, How
beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring

145. glad tidings of good
things!
Romans 10:12b-15 KJV

146. *All the essentials were in
place; the Spirit's work of
preparation was
complete.
*Philip had obeyed the
Spirit's call and was in
place to meet the man.

147. The eunuch's heart was
seeking, prepared by
reading the Scriptures.
All was set for the next
step.

148. Acts 8:29 KJV
When the Spirit said to
Philip, "Go up and join
this chariot," he instantly
obeyed.

149. *Although the eunuch's
entourage must have been
impressive, Philip was not
intimidated.
*Boldness belongs to
Spirit filled people
(Acts 4:31).

150. Acts 4:31 KJV
31 And when they had
prayed, the place was
shaken where they were
assembled together; and
they were all filled with

151. the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the word of God
with boldness.
Acts 4:31 KJV

152. We can discern in Philip's
words the essence of an
effective presentation of
the Gospel.

153. IT MUST CENTER ON SCRIPTURE

154. Acts 8:28b-31 KJV
28b and sitting in his
chariot read Esaias
(Isaiah) the prophet.

155. 29 Then the Spirit said
unto Philip,
Go near, and
join thyself to
this chariot.

156. 30 And Philip ran thither
to him, and heard him
read the prophet Esaias,
and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest?

157. 31 And he said, How can
I, except some man
should guide me? And he
desired Philip that he
would come up and sit
with him.
Acts 8:28b-31 KJV

158. Apparently without the
benefit of a formal
introduction normally
required for an audience
with such an exalted
leader, and demonstrating
his eagerness by having

159. run up, Philip heard him
reading Isaiah the
prophet.

160. The ancient custom of
reading aloud provided
an opening for Philip,
who, though a complete
stranger, boldly asked,
"Do you understand what
you are reading?"

161. The man was so
perplexed by the passage
he had been reading that
he seems not to have
cared who Philip was or
why he was in his
presence.

162. The eunuch just
exclaimed,
"Well, how could I, unless
someone guides me?"

163. *Amazingly, he then
invited Philip to come up
and sit with him.
*The evangelist's heart
must have been rejoicing
in the confidence that God
had so prepared this man.

166. That the official invited
Philip to explain the
Scriptures to him speaks
of the eunuch's seeking,
humble, and teachable
spirit (Isaiah 55:6-7).

167. Acts 8:32-34 KJV
32 The place of the
scripture which he read
was this, He was led as a
sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb

168. before his shearer, so
opened he not his mouth:

169. 33 In his humiliation his
judgment was taken
away: and who shall
declare his generation?
for his life is taken from
the earth.

170. 34 And the eunuch
answered Philip, and said,
I pray thee, of whom
speaketh the prophet this?
of himself, or of some
other man?
Acts 8:32-34 KJV

171. That passage, taken from
Isaiah 53:7-8, puzzled the
eunuch.

172. His confusion was
understandable, since
contemporary Jewish
thought was divided on
the interpretation of this
passage.

173. Some held that the
slaughtered sheep
represented the nation,
others that Isaiah spoke of
himself, still others that he
referred to the Messiah.

174. There was no doubt in
Philip's mind, however, of
whom Isaiah wrote.

175. Philip was knowledgeable
enough in the Scriptures
to meet the eunuch where
he was.

176. Every believer should
strive to be proficient in
the Scriptures so that we,
too, can meet people at
the point of their
perplexity and lead them
to the Savior.

177. In the words of Peter, we
are to "always be ready to
make a defense to
everyone who asks us to
give an account for the
hope that is in us"
(1 Peter 3:15b).

178. IT MUST CENTER ON JESUS CHRIST

179. Acts 8:35 KJV
35 Then Philip opened his
mouth, and began at the
same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus.

180. Philip was ready.
Beginning from the very
Scripture the eunuch had
been reading, he preached
Jesus to him.

181. He showed the eunuch
that the Lamb of which
the passage spoke was
none other than the
Messiah, Who would be
the ultimate and final
sacrifice for sin.

182. He then presented
evidence that
Jesus was that
Messiah.

183. Any Gospel presentation,
to be effective, must
clearly and
comprehensively present
the Person and work of
Jesus Christ.

184. Perhaps the reason some
reject Jesus is that He has
not been presented well
enough for them to
understand Who He is
and what He has
accomplished.

185. To proclaim to others
what Christ has done in
our lives is important, but
the Biblical truth about
Jesus Christ is the
essential message the
sinner must hear.

186. As Paul wrote to the
Romans,
"Faith comes from hearing
. . . the word of Christ"
(Romans 10:17).

187. THE PROPER RESPONSE

188. The Spirit's preparation
and Philip's presentation
combined to produce the
proper response on the
eunuch's part.

189. That proper response was
threefold:
1) faith
2) confession
3) rejoicing

190. Acts 8:36 KJV
36 And as they went on
their way, they came unto
a certain water: and the
eunuch said, See, here is
water; what doth hinder
me to be baptized?

191. FAITH

192. As they went along the
road the eunuch was
instructed about baptism.

195. They came across a pool
or stream in the desert at
just the appropriate
moment for the man to
publicly testify to his
saving faith by being
obedient to the ordinance

196. of immersion.

197. That is yet another
example of the Holy
Spirit's control of events.

198. CONFESSION

199. Acts 8:37-38 KJV
37 And Philip said, If thou
believest with all thine
heart, thou mayest. And
he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God.

201. 38 And he commanded
the chariot to stand still:
and they went down both
into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch; and he
baptized him.
Acts 8:37-38 KJV

202. Baptism is the public
confession of faith
expected of
all believers.

203. The eunuch not only
confessed his faith
personally to Philip but
openly in front of his
entire entourage.

204. *That both he and Philip
went down into the water
indicates that his baptism
was by immersion.
*So the word baptizo
means “to immerse” not
“to dip”.

205. REJOICING

206. Acts 8:39-40 KJV
39 And when they were
come up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord
caught away Philip, that
the eunuch saw him no

207. 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. Acts 8:39-40

208. By performing this
startling miracle, the Holy
Spirit confirmed to the
entire caravan that Philip
was indeed His
spokesman.
So are we!

209. As for the eunuch, he
went on his way home
rejoicing.
Joy is a mark of a true
believer!

210. Philip, meanwhile, found
himself at Azotus.
Azotus, twenty miles
north of Gaza, was the
current name for the
ancient Philistine city of
Ashdod.

211. *As he passed through the
coastal region, he kept
preaching the Gospel to
all the cities.
*No matter where he was,
Philip had only one thing
on his mind.

212. As he made his way north
toward Caesarea, where
he and his family
apparently made their
home (Acts 21:9), he
preached in the cities
(such as Joppa and Lydda,

213. which Peter would
shortly visit) as he
traveled.

214. *Luke does not give us the
subsequent history of the
Ethiopian eunuch.
*According to the church
Father Irenaeus, he
became a missionary to
the Ethiopians.

215. What is clear is that the
Spirit's preparation,
coupled with Philip's
presentation, produced in
him the faith that does
save!

216. The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.