True Christianity is revealed through genuine faith, not mere outward profession or the pursuit of miracles, using the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch as a prime example. Philip's encounter with the eunuch, who was reading Isaiah 53, demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit in guiding evangelism and the importance of using scripture to preach Jesus. The core lesson is that salvation cannot be bought with money or worldly possessions, but is a gift received through sincere belief and a transformed heart, leading to rejoicing. The message concludes by emphasizing that God uses individuals, regardless of their perceived insignificance, to spread the gospel and that a transformed life is the greatest miracle.
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We begin reading where we concluded this morning, verse twenty-six. Acts, did I see Luke? Well, Luke wrote four of us in Luke. This is his second book. Acts chapter eight. And the angel of the Lord speak unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem, unto Giza, which is desert. And he rose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candice, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.
What returning and sitting in his chariot read, Aseus the prophet, then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join myself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Aseus, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 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 the place of the scripture which he read was this he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb done before his shear so opened he not his mouth in his humiliation his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth.
And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet this, of himself, or of some other man. Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. As they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water, what did hinder me to be that times? 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.
And he commanded the chariots to stand still, and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 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. But Philip was found in Azotus. and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came the Cizzeria. This morning we were speaking, God had to speak, on three characters, and that is the persecutor, the Apostle Paul, and then Philip the Evangelist, and we were going to speak on Simon the Apostate, or Simon the Sorcerer, But we didn't get to Simon the Sorcerer, so we'll say a few things about him before passing on to our subject tonight, and that is a very pleasant pilgrimage, as we think of the Ethiopian Union.
You know when you think of what we were saying this morning about the Christians being scattered, you simply brought out this. separated the real from the unreal. You often hear that expression about separating between the men and the boys. Well, in that day, persecution was severe. And for a man to get up, for a woman to get up, and say, I belong to Jesus Christ, either meant being put in jail, sometimes stoned, or to plead for their life. And here you find these Christians, and we mentioned this morning we know of five thousand men, plus their families, and here they are fleeing from Jerusalem.
Jerusalem has had its last chance. Now it's Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. And in this day of seemingly worldliness, and God only knows what else that has got into a lot of Christians. Their lack of interest in divine things. I believe a real time of persecution would be a healthy thing to happen in the church. It would make Christians search themselves and ask themselves the question, am I really a Christian or am I not? And if you were faced with this question, are you a child of God?
If you are, you're going to be stoned to death. If you're not, then you can go. If ever there was a time in your life that you did some soul searching, it would be there. And if you were a professor, you'd say, no, I'm not a Christian. If you really knew Christ, And he was precious to you, you say, yet, I know Christ. He's my Savior, and I'm ready to die. That's been the history of the church down the ages. Persecution has brought out the real, the reality in those who really knew Christ.
Others have fought, they flunked out, or they chickened out, as they say today. They weren't willing to lay down their life for Christ. They were compromised. And so in the beginning we find these Christians and they were scattered. And they had a time of soul searching before they were scattered. But they had a joy. We were mentioning that this morning. There was great joy in Samaria, those who had received Christ. Now we find sorcery coming into the path of the church. I think from previous... messages we've pointed out how you have opposition beginning in Acts chapter three then you have sin in the church when Ammoniah from Sapphire was looking down here you find Satan he's persecuting the Christians then he's trying to get at the testimony of the church from within causing two Christians to tell a lie and entrust them their lives Then you find ascension in the church in chapter six and verse one.
Now you have false doctrine in the church. Sorcery. This man was a witch doctor undoubtedly. You know this man, Simon Magus, it wasn't so much the preaching that got his attention as it was the miracle. When he saw the miracle, could tell it was performing. Why this spoke to me, and he wanted the power to perform life miracles. And I'll tell you, and even this man was baptized. It says he got baptized.
Yes, he was one of those, and it says Simon believed also, and was baptized. There has never been a time when God has worked in a revival, But what there haven't been those who believe also. They believe also. I'm going to go along with this thing. It looks to be something that's got life to it. I'm going to go along with this thing. They believe also. But I'll tell you when John and Peter came down from Jerusalem and this man had asked for power, in fact, he wanted to die.
The power to perform miracles. And you notice what Peter said to him in verse twenty? But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee. Now they say Peter was the first pope. You never get a pope to say that. Thy money perish with thee. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray, Godly, perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the ponder of the nectar. Here's a man, and he believes also, and he got baptized, But he didn't have a change of heart. He was still a slave of sin, a plon of amygdala. Reminds of the words of the Lord Jesus at the end of John chapter one. And you read these words in verse twenty. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast day, many believed on his name.
when they saw the miracles he did. Here are people, and when they saw the miracles the Lord Jesus performed, it says they believed on his name. But notice the next verse. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, because he knew what was it. Christ knew whether their faith was real, whether it was genuine or whether they were yet curious individuals, going along for the excitement that accompanied in performing these murders.
And you'll always find people like that. They haven't really been born again or experienced a genuine change of heart. They believe all. And some get that time. But if life goes you... have referred to in Matthew chapter seven, who say unto the Lord in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in thy presence? Have we not cast out demons? And in thy day name we have done many wonderful works, and he shall say unto them depart from me works of the electricity of the light that I use to you. Those were always taken up by the excitable things.
Those things that seemed to please man's curiosity, the propelments of miracle, Kiprasaki, Sackler. Yes. They had taken up the feast. And here is Simon. He wants this gift. Oh, he says, I'll pay you. I'll give you money. If you'll give me this power, then I too can perform these miracles. He wanted that place of popularity. He wanted that power to perform miracles. My, what money he could make. Here is the Balaam of the Old Testament, the Balaam of the New Testament. Balaam wanted to make a market of his gift, they were reading the Old Testament.
And Balaam was a good preacher. You want to read in the book of Numbers, around chapter twenty-four-five? But... He would like to have made a market out of his gift. He would like to have sold talent. But God didn't know. There are those today, sad to say, that have talent, but they want paid for the use of those talents. Were it not for the pay, check, they wouldn't be engaged in that work. In other words, they've got to be paid for everything. Nothing is done of the love of Christ or in his name.
They want something for their service. They want paid. They want a big salary. No miracles are not Christianity. That's where he played. But Christianity does produce miracles. But Christianity itself is not miracles. that I've seen a lot of miracles performed because of Christianity. Sometimes people like to talk about someone who got healed, the young fellow in the apartment this afternoon, trying to convince us that he could see people healed and so on.
Yes, they talk about these kind of miracles, someone being healed in the body. But to me, a miracle far greater than that is to see a man who shall not godly serve, a drunken, a thief, a liar. He's got a terrible reputation. He personally swears he has no time for the things of God. A man of disrepute, this is it. Here's the day she strayed. And then he comes to know Christ as a Savior. My, what a transformation.
What a change! Now he starts to build the home that is wrecked. Now he's trying to gather his family together that he has scattered. My, what a change, see that man with a Bible under his arm of all his family, and he is sober going off to church on the Sunday morning. That, to me, is a great miracle. And that's the kind of miracle. God is performing today. God's not interested in healing the body as much as he is healing the soul. But God will give everyone a new body on the resurrection morning, everyone who is saved by God's grace.
When you say, I know I can't buy salvation. A lot of people have got enough sense to know that. Of course, a few think because they... a very nice check to the church every month, whether they attend or whether they're not. Well, I think this will see me through. I had a man, a businessman, right here in Albany a couple weeks ago. He called me into his office. He said, I won't talk to you. I said, all right. He said, what do you think of the world's situation? He said, it's got me worried. Well, I said it's bad, and it's just fulfilling scripture. I said, the word of God is being fulfilled, and I spend about a half an hour with him.
Well, he said, I don't have what you have. I can't say I'm a Christian. He said, things look back. Well, I said, you can. He stayed the same as I was. Christ died for you. This salvation is for whosoever will. I'm no favorite. You can be saved just the same as I was saved. Well, he said, I tell you, it's got me sick. He said, I've got two boys. Neither of them were saved, and neither of them were interested in the things of God. Well, I said, you hold the answer to that situation. You get saved, and then go and show them what reality is.
Show them what Christianity is, whether you can win the voice of Christ and start with you. So then after a minute or two deep studies, Well, he said, it's true, maybe I don't have what you've got. He said, I've got a few things going on. I've got a few things going on. In other words, you've got some good things. A few good things. He gives a little money here and he makes a little there. Then, let me tell you, you can't buy, said he. But I tell you the thought I want to get across to you tonight. I hope that anyone here thinks you can buy, sell these.
It cannot be purchased with money, but you're allowing the things that money can buy that keep you from Christ. Yes, you buy a house, and you make a meeting, and then you go to church, and you don't arise, won't you? You buy a lovely house, and you spend your time around that house, and you sit at home, enjoying that comfortable chair to hold the TV there. And you can buy a book on other places you can buy with money. You know that you can't purchase salvation with money, but you use money to buy a lot of things that are keeping you from God.
And as Peter said, thy money carries with it. friend, what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? I trust you'll think upon that, and exercise pure heart in this presence. Are you asylum-negatives? Or you say, I believe? In fact, this fellow is undistracted by... He mentioned that. Well, I said, I believe the Bible. I said, the devils believe in tremble. And they do. The devils believe in a supreme being.
And they know, too, that that say, supreme being had a son. For in the Acts you will see a later on, a man filled with demons said, Jesus I know and Paul I know. But who are you? Yes, I've said it one thing, the demons know who God is, and they know who Jesus Christ is, and they know who belongs to Jesus Christ. They're persecuted. It's a nice thing to know that you're really saved and born again by the sovereign grace of God. Now we get into our text here in verse twenty.
I should have said that this morning, but I tacked it on first and then. 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 Giza, which is dead. This verse is exceedingly precious to me, because it had a lot to do with my coming south forty-one years ago. I have certain indications. I thought that the Lord wanted me to come for the South, but I wasn't quite there. There was a brother, Tom Wilkie, laboring in Ontario, and he wanted me to labor with him.
Tom was home with the Lord, one of the finest gospel preachers I ever heard. And, of course, my folk would have liked me to have stayed in Ontario. John Strieman, who's down in Quebec now, although he won't be here much longer, laboring in Quebec down in the East, He wanted me to come down there, labor among the French people. Mr. Willoughby out in the West, the Canadian prairie, I could have gone with him. And also Charles Keller in Pennsylvania wanted me to join him. But I wasn't impressed too much. Lord, I said, I want your mind, I want your will.
After where am I to go? This happened to be my reading one morning, and these words leaked out of this page and passages, as if they were written in fire, arise and go toward the sun. And in those days I used to read some in the New Testament and some in the Old Testament. And what do you think the passage in the Old Testament was? You find it in Ezekiel. Ezekiel twenty, verse forty-six. Son of man, lift up thine eyes toward the south and prophesy toward the south field.
And I couldn't get this text out of my mind, this one especially. Arise and go toward the south, though I got my direction. And I believe, when God calls a man, that he intends him to be in bull-dry ministry, he'll show him the field. We are then eased a little. This is the lesson I've been from. The instruction here given to Philip on this appeal. Arise and go toward the south. I think a few years ago, possibly five or six, we were speaking on this at a baptismal service. I see a lot of you weren't here.
You take it up because it's in our studies on Acts. In this chapter you have three men. draw up before you. You have a man in verse twenty seven, you can underline that if you haven't already done it. You have a man. Then you have some man in verse thirty-one, except some man sooner. Then you have in verse thirty-four some other man. That's the third man. First you have The Ethiopian eunuch in verse twenty-seventh, he's the sinner. Then you have some man, that's Philip, he's the soul winner.
Some other man, that's the Savior. So you have these three men in this passage. This Ethiopian eunuch, he was a very influential man. His nationality, an Ethiopian. And one of great importance, Chancellor of the Shaker, Queen of the Ethiopian, a charge of all her treasures. And no man would have that responsible position unless he was a trustworthy man, a man of honesty, integrity, and sincerity. And here is this man high in the government of Ethiopia.
But you know he was very religious. He evidently had come in contact with Judaism, and became undoubtedly a Jewish proselyte. He decided to accept that Jewish religion has his religion, and he journeyed all the way to Jerusalem in a chariot, and to go there and back, likely take about six months, a long, hard-easy journey. inconvenient and going across those deserts with anything but flattened. Nevertheless, this man was a religious man.
And Yolona's house in Shiriwa. He had obtained this prophecy of Isaiah and Didi Dan reading it. He was seeking. Evidently he wasn't fully satisfied with Judaism. He was still seeking something. I hear you find him in that chariot pouring over this prophecy of Isaiah. Yes, this man was disturbed. Even though he was a religious man, he was spiritually unsatisfied or dissatisfied, seeking further life.
How earnest this man was. It's nice to see people that are earnest and sincere and have an open mind and listen to what the Bible has to say. For the Bible says, seek, and ye shall find. People that they are not seeking, if they were, God would leave them. They say they're dissatisfied. They don't have to be. If they're genuine before God, God will lead them to where they'll be in the future. This man was earnest. He was seeking. And God took Philip away from a revival in Samaria and set him down into a desert, thus speak to one man in a chariot.
There's a lot behind that move. And so you find this man was a sincere seeker. seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things referring to material things Shabbi added unto you. And he that seeketh findeth that has been proven time and time again. And the person who is really seeking whether it's salvation or whether it's church position, church truth, if they are really seeking before God, God will leave them. where they can become satisfied, I'm very sure about that.
He was a dissatisfied man, notwithstanding his position, his power, and his possessions. He undoubtedly was quite wealthy. He was dissatisfied, and also he was an inquiring man. Verses twenty-eight to thirty-five, you see how diligent he was. reading the scriptures, how humble he was, a man of high rank, yet here is a stranger in the desert, and he writes him up into the chariot. He was a humble man. He didn't say, well, you can talk to me down there if you want along. No, he went right up there in the chariot.
He was a humble man. And he was a teachable man, with all his learning and position and power. and from in his dwelling he was teaching he said but whom speaketh the father is of himself or some other man and as the result of that conversation he became a converted man believing confessing and being baptized how did all this come about well as we've already mentioned When Philip went down into the desert, that's quite a miracle in itself.
The deserts are the place. And here is Philip, and he's going down into the desert. It's like looking almost for a needle in a haystack. Here's the land he's going through that desert. Who was it led Philip to the very place where he met that man in that chariot? and he's met him at the right time because he got there just in time to hear and reading the first fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. Here is God working at both ends. He tells Philip to go down from Samaria, from the great revival, down into the desert.
Philip lets him wonder why. Why, Lord, you ought to take me away from here where all the people are getting saved, we're having a wonderful time. Philip didn't question, he went. And when he got to the spot where God was leading him, there was the chariot. And the Spirit told him to join himself unto this chariot. And as Philip drew alongside, he heard this man reading in the prophecy of Isaiah. The man looks, and Philip says, understandest thou what thou read. Do you know what you're reading there? No.
I wish some man would show me. I wish some man would explain it to me. Would you mind getting up in that chariot and explaining his passage to me? I've been reading here in Isaiah fifty-three. Hannah, who speakest of prophethood? Is Isaiah talking about himself? Or is he talking about some other man? Here's the third man. And Philip began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Why, wasn't that wonderful? He began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus.
And the man of Ebenezer David Trusted in Christ, we know he did that the Scripture wouldn't give us this record. And Philip must have spoken about something else, too, because Judaism doesn't teach baptism. And Philip must have taught him about baptism, what God's intention was for his people in this dispensation. For when they came to water, the eunuch says, Here's water. What does it mean to me that time? He didn't say, you know, I don't think I should submit to that. After all, I'm Chancellor of the Exchequer. My position forbids me from taking a step like that.
That's quite humiliating. It's below my office. No, no. He says, here's water. What does tender me to be baptized? And it went down to the bank of the river, and Philip gave him a little water on his face. They went down into the water, and they came up out of the water. There was no sprinkling or pouring here. It was immersion. They went down into the water. They came up out of the water. And the Spirit of God caught away Philip, and the eunuchs saw no more.
But they'll leave again. They'll meet again in heaven. When we were taking up Stephen last Sunday when I was home, I was thinking about it. I thought, what will it be like when Saul of Tarshish, now Paul the Apostle, meets Stephen in heaven, if I could already know. Paul will say, Stephen, I've consented unto your death. Thank the very ones who stoned you to death with their toes at my feet. And I took care of those clothes.
I saw those stones lie. I saw your body being fattened. And I'll never forget the look on your face. It was like that for an angel. But Paul could say, Stephen, your martyr, martyrdom wasn't in vain. Right that day something began working in my heart. I never got out of my mind. And over in the later chapter, chapter twenty-six, when Paul is giving his conversion, he says, then Stephen was marked, I gave my voice to his execution.
And he includes it in the telling of his conversion in Acts twenty-six. sharing it was there, and God says it departed for you, Saul, the kick against the prince. You've had many a gold, but that's the meaning of a pick. A gold, something they used to spur an animal on. I golded you, Paul, and likely the first real gold was when he witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen. I want to be a happy day. And of course I say already, undoubtedly Stephen and Paul have met.
And here this Philip and the Ethiopian unit, the man of high authority, they meet. Wonderful things in heaven. When we meet, the Apostle Paul speaks of the glory of that wonderful day. When he shall meet those. whom he has led to Christ. It's nice to be a soul winner, isn't it? I wonder if you'll meet some there that you have had the pleasure of leading the Lord. Here you see the value of one person. You say, well, I'm just one person.
I can't do much. I'm insignificant. What can I do? God uses individuals, and he can use you. For instance, a lot of tracks on those racks at the back, put some in your purse, or talk, and give them up. Who was instrumental in leading see its version to Christ? I think one of the greatest preachers since the Apostles. The preacher didn't turn up that morning in the little church. the little Kirk that he used to call it. So much snow had fallen, the preacher couldn't get there.
Only a few got there. But Spurgeon, he didn't get to where he wanted to go. So he turned into this little Kirk. The preacher didn't get there, but there was an old shoemaker, and he got up in the pulpit. And so he took his steps. And he apologized for the fact that he wasn't a preacher, but he said, I want you to listen to this. Take, look unto me, and be saved. All the ends of the earth, for I am God, and despite that there's none else. And he said, young man, he saw Spurgeon sitting back under the gallery, sixteen years of age.
He never had seen them before. Young man, he says, you look miserable. and you'll be miserable for all eternity unless you look to Jesus. Look to Jesus, young man. Look to Jesus. And the Virgin says, I look. And I got saved. And Spurgeon, that Prince of Portavir, saved. They were just an insignificant hobbler and men of the sheep. Do you think that, Philip, or Andrew, rather? wasted his time when he witnessed to his brother Peter no when he witnessed to his brother Peter Peter saved but on the day of Pentecost when Peter was up there preaching and three thousand souls were saved Andrew could say I led him to the Lord I led him to the Lord oh the value of realizing what God can do with one man, just you.
Yes, you can use you if you want to get involved, if you're exercised along this line. I think you mentioned one time before about in the first century, I think it was in the year, sixty-one, sixty-seven, Ming Chi, the Emperor of China, was seeking truth. He wasn't satisfied with whatever religion he had. And he was seeking truth. And he sent an embassy to India, inquiring for truth. You know what happened? That embassy brought back Buddhism.
And this emperor received Buddhism. He accepted it. He became a convert to Buddhism. And from that day to this, millions upon millions, hundreds of millions of people from the first century have a great Buddhism and they've died with it and they've gone to hell because no salvation in Buddhism. All because of one man that went from India to China and converted the Emperor China to Buddhism. supposing the Apostle Paul had taken that journey.
The Far East would have become a Christian nation. Why was it that Paul turned west and not east? Paul turned west into a Europe. We can thank God he did because in Europe he became evangelized. And we can thank God that Paul was led west and not east. Here you have the value of one soul, one individual, giving out tracks, giving his test to one. And you know you find in this incident, the mark of a good soul winner.
He began at that same scripture, that simple text where the unit was reading, how beautifully God timed it. just at that spot where he was reading that very chapter. Possibly he began at the first of Isaiah. Now he's in chapter fifty-three, and that's right where Philip joined him. God had this thing all timed and worked out. And then Philip began at that very text and preached unto him Jesus. He used the word of God to lead this Ethiopian to salvation.
You know, the Ethiopian, or rather Philip didn't say the Ethiopian, well, I tell you, I'd like to talk to you a little about Ezekiel, about those dry gold shaykhs. He wouldn't likely have led that Ethiopian to the Lord. He began at that same passage, that text, and he preached unto him, too. No need of preacher getting on the platform to hang the pulpit, And preaching something deep, get in over his own head, and he doesn't know what he's saying half the time. God wants us to be simple from the presenting the gospel.
You can't be too simple. And so he began at that very text, and he preached unto him Jesus. And this is where you have the third man. A man, and then another man. And then this man, of whom speaketh the prophetess of himself, or son of the man? And so Philip had done his job. He had led this Ethiopian eunuch to Christ. And when he did that, and he baptized them, and he taught them, and he left them.
It's nice to notice that the Spirit of God didn't catch your way, Philip. until he baptized the unit, showing the importance God attaches to the baptism. But after Philip had fulfilled his mission, on that time he'd broken the Spirit, caught him away. And Philip saw him no more. But who did Philip leave behind in the chariot? Did the unit go on by himself? No. The Lord Jesus went along with the unit right back to Ethiopia, Ethiopia.
You know, I believe that in this case you have Africa being introduced to the gospel by this one man. Philip, in leading this Ethiopian journey to Christ, introduced the gospel to Africa. how he would go back and tell the dream about what he found, how he had left her August peasants on going to Jerusalem, a Jewish postulate. He came back and on the way back a man met him and explained Isaiah fifty three to him, and he said, I've got Jesus.
I've got Jesus. Simply this, he couldn't be a Jew. And say what he said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That shows him. So it is. Breaketh Judas, but no Jew, a true Jew, would say a thing like that. He said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. How he would tell the Queen about his experience. How the news would spread. We do not know whether she got saved or not. Like it would, maybe, along with herself and many others, she was beaten.
The gospel began spreading in Africa. Remarkable, isn't it? Here's God using one precious soul to bring about such a wonderful harvest of souls. And so we have this wonderful story, and the lessons that are in it for you and me relative to being led of the Lord, arise and go toward the site, God giving direction. And he met a man. He led that man to the Lord. And then he after he baptized him and was caught away. And the unit went on and the Lord was with him. And the Lord has sent everyone that gets saved.
Though I am with you always. Even unto the end of the year. My how that unit would have liked Philip to stay. Oh, Philip, I wish you'd stay with me. Won't you come back with me to eat the yogurt? I need your help. I'd like to know more about this Messiah. No, the Spirit of the Lord caught away, Philip. And the unit was on. But he had within his heart of peace. He had within his heart of joy. But it says we went on his very rejoicing. went on his way with us. He upon the Savior, and what a wonderful experience that was.
You might have this summarized. The worker is spirit-led, that's Philip. Then you have the wisdom of sympathy. Understandest thou what thou readest. Now it's nice to you. deal with a soul and have a little understanding and have a little sympathy toward this soul may not know very much and so you have the wisdom of sympathy in dealing with souls and the witness of the scriptures he took the scriptures he proved his point he preached unto him Jesus and then the way of salvation to the sacrifice of Christ that's what Philip presented to him on then the work of faith.
And Peter insists on this. Faith! Who faith leads to a confession? And he confessed Christ by word, but he confessed Christ also by an act, and that was by baptism. And no soul winner has done his duty. until he has left a soul rejoicing and introducing him to the truth of the New Testament, not only baptism, but the other ordinance to the Lord's Supper. This is the responsibility of the soul.
And then the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. You don't have three men in Scripture. This one went on as very rejoicing. And remember the Old Testament in the fifth of second Samuel, is it? Or second Kings? Maybe first Kings. You know the case of Nehemiah, the leper? And when Elijah the prophet told him to go and dip in Jordan seven times, it says he went away in a rain. He went away in a rain. Right here, him telling me, to go and dip in Jordan seven times, we're going to tell him, we'll do some math back in my own country.
But you know, he left that snake in him, finally he used, and he did what he was told to do, and he got viewed and read. But usually when he went on his way of rejoicing, the man went on, went away in a rage. But there's another young man in Scripture, the Lord says, go and sell all that thou hast, and come and follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and he went the way solidly. For he had great possessions. The rich young ruler. How are you going to leave the chapel tonight? Lots of people go away in a rage because they heard something they didn't want to hear.
The word of God searched them. The Word of God knocked out their press from under them. And they didn't like that. Many a person has gone away from a gospel meeting, gone away in a rage because the Word of God has disturbed their conscience and reached their heart. Some have gone away, some of them, like that it's here in the world. I'm not going to give up these things. I'm not going to give up this word. not going to do it. He knew or he wouldn't have been sorrowful. He knew he was making a mistake. He knew he missed a chance to have eternal riches.
He knew down in his heart I'm doing wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have been sorrowful. But he went away sorrow. Pray that you go away rejecting Jesus Christ, hanging on to the things of this life. You'll be solvable for all eternity.