God has also granted great power and strength to those "sons of man" that helped begin to make God's House of Prayer a House of Prayer for ALL people in Acts 8, with the only account of evangelism in the entire Bible.We'll see here that Holy Spirit of God actually caught up Philip and transported him 30 miles away after reaching out to and converting and baptizing a eunuch! As we'll see from these Scriptures, Philip had simply followed the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit to teach the eunuch about God's plan of salvation, and how to claim his inheritance with all the other born again believers. The only requirement for being saved and baptized was that he believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God!
25 Now when [the apostles] had borne their testimony and preached the message of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem, proclaiming the glad tidings (Gospel) to many villages of the Samaritans [on the way].
26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and proceed southward or at midday on the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza. This is the desert [route].
27 So he got up and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship.
28 And he was [now] returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, Go forward and join yourself to this chariot.
30 Accordingly Philip, running up to him, heard [the man] reading the prophet Isaiah and asked, Do you really understand what you are reading?
31 And he said, How is it possible for me to do so unless someone explains it to me and guides me [in the right way]? And he earnestly requested Philip to come up and sit beside him.
32 Now this was the passage of Scripture which he was reading: Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation He was taken away by distressing and oppressive judgment and justice was denied Him [caused to cease]. Who can describe or relate in full the wickedness of His contemporaries (generation)? For His life is taken from the earth and a bloody death inflicted upon Him.
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, I beg of you, tell me about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this portion of Scripture he announced to him the glad tidings (Gospel) of Jesus and about Him.
NOTE: Let's pause here and take a minute to look at the Scriptures from Isaiah that Philip shared with the eunuch, and we will find that the Holy Spirit led Philip to teach the eunuch about the Messianic prophecies concerning Jesus Christ, and read from Isaiah 53:7 all the way through until Isaiah 56:8, hence the eunuch's response in this next verse:
36 And as they continued along on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch exclaimed, See, [here is] water! What is to hinder my being baptized?
37 And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart [if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and [Philip] baptized him.
39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing on he preached the good news (Gospel) to all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 8:25-40
NOTE: Again, we see the importance of Isaiah's prophecies concerning making God's House of Prayer a House of Prayer for all people, and again and again, the Church has ignored its teachings and significance. The point I am most concerned with (as was Paul in his letter to the Church at Corinth) is that the time is winding down to when the Lord will return to the earth, but He cannot until ALL prophecies have been fulfilled.
I contend that the only prophecy left to be fulfilled is that one, and yet so many preachers have said over and over that all the prophecies necessary for the return of Christ have been fulfilled. It's this kind of willful ignorance to God's Word that is keeping our Lord from returning, just as God said it would in Isaiah 56:10-12 (right after the eunuch prophecies), saying:
10 [Israel's] watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, they love to slumber.
11 Yes, the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. And such are the shepherds who cannot understand; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his own gain, from every quarter [one and all].
12 Come, say they, We will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink! And tomorrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
I say it's time for the Church to wake up and realize that the only thing holding Jesus Christ back are those "blind Church Shepherds" who cannot understand. I believe it is up to us to show them that the days of fetching wine and thinking that everything will keep going on like it has been have come to an end, and help bring the Church into a new beginning!
In Him,
BrotherBrian
