Happy Thanksgiving & No-Shave November!

Acts 8:4-6, 8  A 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did… 8 So there was much joy in that city.26-40

Acts 8  A 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place.  27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" 31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The Ethiopian’s studies in Isaiah…  Isaiah 20:3-5 “Then the LORD said, ‘As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush (or Ethiopia), so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyption captives and the Cushite (or Ethiopian) exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush (Ethiopia) their hope and of Egypt their boast.”’”

The Ethiopian’s studies in Isaiah…  Isaiah 45:14-17 “ 14 Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush (Ethiopia), and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'" 15 Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. 16 All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. 17 But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.”

The Ethiopian’s studies in Isaiah…  Isaiah 56:3-5 “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely separate me from his people’; and let not the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

The Ethiopian’s studies in Isaiah…  Isaiah 56:6-8 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The LORD GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, ‘I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.’”

Acts 8  A 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:  "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”  34 And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"

The Good News is better than I thought.  A 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.  God wants His family to be diverse!

The Good News is better than I thought.  Ephesians 3:4-6 “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

The Good News is better than I thought.  Galatians 3:8 “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’”

The Good News is better than I thought.  A 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.  Diversity and Unity in the Gospel

The Good News is better than I thought.  Galatians 3:27-28 “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Implications of the Thesis of Acts  Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Our Obstacles to the Gospel’s Advance  Hatred?  Are we like our founding fathers?  Fear?  Are we xenophobes (those who fear people different from ourselves)?  Indifference.  We don’t give a rip!

Indifference: Our Main Obstacle  “Most of us have no real loves and no real hatreds. Blessed is love, less blessed is hatred, but thrice accursed is that indifference which is neither one nor the other.” – Mark Rutherford, British writer and civil servant

Indifference: Our Main Obstacle  “The true opposite of love is not hate but indifference. Hate, bad as it is, at least treats the neighbor as a thou, whereas indifference turns the neighbor into an it, a thing. This is why we may say that there is actually one thing worse than evil itself and that is indifference to evil. In human relations the lowest point of morality, the lowest point as far as Christian ethics is concerned, is manifest in the phrase, ‘I couldn’t care less.’” – Joseph Fletcher, American professor who founded the theory of situational ethics

We are the end of the earth.

 Ephesians 2:11-13 “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh… remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Our story continues…  Acts 8: And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. (Taking the gospel to Ethiopia.) 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Our story continues…  When have I felt like an outsider?  Do I feel like an outsider or an insider to the family of God right now?  What “end of the earth” places in my heart does God long to reach?  Have I experienced the power of the Gospel in my life? In uniting diverse people?

Our story continues…  How has my background (American or otherwise) prevented me from loving foreigners?  Who do I hate, if anyone?  Who do I fear, if anyone?  Who am I indifferent towards, if anyone?  Who do I know that I can’t imagine following Jesus Christ?  Who is the Spirit asking me to go ask questions and listen to?  What spheres of influence do I have?  Do I believe that God wants those people to have life in Christ?