Grace Chapel Bible Ministries
worship Call 1187 Philips Mission - 2024/11/22
[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Welcome to worship call with Bible teacher Buzz Lawbet. Buzz is the pastor of Grace Chapel Bible Ministries located in Duncan, South Carolina. This ministry is dedicated to the verse by verse teaching of God's word and discipleship programs aimed at strengthening the faith of God's people. Now here's today's message. [BLANK_AUDIO] From WorthyNews.com this morning, George Whitten, Matthew 634, therefore did not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow we'll worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. When I first gave my life to the Lord, like many of us I had no idea what I was getting myself into. If God would have shown me at that time all the things that I would have changed about me, I think I would have gone running from dear life. After over 20 years working in ministry in Israel, where we still keep our ministry house, I've spent the last few years yet traveling. It's been a while, so many challenges and close encounters with major events that really showed me just how poorly news can be reported. In fact, it got to the point where I couldn't in good conscience link to news stories anymore. We had to start producing all our news content ourselves. That's how we ended up becoming a full blown news agency. If you would have shown me this picture back in the days of my rebellion, I think I would have laughed my head off in unbelief. But that is the Lord's way. God is a gentleman. He doesn't show us more than he feels we need to know. He knows what we are weak. He knows that we are weak and it's merciful enough not to give us more than we can handle. He desires for us to lay our worries upon him and trust in him for our future. God has not given us the power to overcome all the problems we have yet to face. He has given us only the power to overcome what faces us today. Just as children of Israel could collect only enough mana for one day, the power of God gives us to face our trials. It only comes one day at a time. Friends, God has so many wonderful adventures ahead for us who love him and are called according to his purpose. And he will surely give us the strength to endure the trials we will face with each adventure. Let's trust him only for today's trials and let him worry about the rest. Shabbat shalom. Have a wonderful weekend and see you on Monday. Your family and the Lord with much of gape love, George, Bhakravka, Obadiah and Elena. And this is another fine day and the Lord. This is the fifth day of the week in God's created order, the 22nd day of the 11th month, 2024th year of our Lord. Yes, it is another fine day and the Lord has to turn to the Lord. Prayer Father in Heaven, thank you for it. We pray heavily follow that God, the Holy Spirit, will open up our hearts again for another morning. And we pray heavily follow that the world will continue to sanctify our hearts and our minds as we continue to grow and grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In whose name we pray? Amen. And we are talking about adventure today. We are talking about one who is in the service of God, one of the apostles, and we are talking about the apostle Philip. And remember that Philip is the resident of Bhakshita. His name means "lover horses." And he's got a brother named Nathaniel. We met Nathaniel back in the opening ministry of Jesus when Philip came and he was... He shared... He was the first one that we see sharing the message of the Christ. We have found the Christ, the Messiah one, the anointed one, he says to his brother Nathaniel as he was sitting under a tree and as Nathaniel was sitting under a tree. But now his ministry expounds. He is a busy fellow here. We have just seen how he was working in Samaria. And there is a call to go out or they received a news and Peter and John is dispatched from Jerusalem to come to... And it's actually come down it's actually north but it come down from Jerusalem to Samaria to lay hands on people. When you see they were baptized and they were believed but they had not received the Holy Spirit. And for that age, for that period of age right there, there was the two brands of believers. They were the... and it was a crossover. Old Testament believers and New Testament believers. So New Testament believers are the ones that the hands at that period of time, the hands were laid upon them. Well I'm back and brought up yesterday going back to Hebrews where it was a reminder. Hebrews 6 where there was a reminder that you had received the Spirit by the laying on of hands. I think it stands to be re-emphasized that in this period of time there was not a laying on of hands that we received the Holy Spirit. When we are born again, one of the things that we receive at the moment of our new birth is the Holy Spirit. We no longer... it's not the apostolic age, the gift of apostleship and it was these apostles who were laying on hands of passing on the Holy Spirit. So Peter and John had work to do, there was much work to do down there. As we come into this, Jesus commissions his disciples and showcases the obedience of Philip in responding to the Spirit's leading. Emphasizing the importance of action and fulfillment of the Great Commission. I'll start out this morning to remind us that we are all in full time Christian service. That the moment that we stepped in, I read George Whittness Morning and he's actively... he's got a Christian news agency. He's visited our church on several occasions and when he comes back to South Carolina, I'm sure he will visit us again. And he's got a very active ministry. Some of us have small ministries. They're not that... not all of us are pastors and some of us are pastors have very small congregations. We have a small congregation here. Others have a larger, very much larger congregation. Your ministry, whether small or large, the size of your ministry is not. Your ministry may be on one person, but we were creative with good works that we should walk in them. That ministry isn't just for those that have a special gift. We all have the special gift. So that's pretty much our subject today. Acts, we started here with Acts 8.25 and I don't have that set up here. Let me get that set up for you. I should have a checklist in the morning to what needs to be done site. Before aircraft pilot takes it off, he has this naitops, what we call naitops. And he has a checklist that can go through the whole checklist and he has to do that checklist all the time. So here we go. So when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem. And we're preaching the gospel to many villages and of the Samaritans. Here it is. And the day here, who's the day, hun? The day are Peter and John. Peter and John, Peter and John finished up their ministry in helping and aiding. I won't say aiding Philip, but aiding the people there to what they need to hear and baptizing and the laying on of hands and the work of ministry down there where they were dispatched to. And when they had solemnly testified, I don't think we got this set up yet, but I'll bring this up. All right, my naitop. And we'll go to Lewa Nida on that. There we go. And we will float this one. Open and float from that. And we will bring you back up here. Oh, come on. Well, it don't seem to be wanting to move. Here we'll move this way. There we go. Mar to Amai. And Mar to Amai is to make a serious declaration, make a serious declaration on the basis of pursuing personal knowledge to declare to a set to testify. And this is what going back to John 1-1 when John says that this is the message and we'll turn that. John, we got John 1-1. No, first John 1-1. What was from the beginning and what we have heard and what we have seen with their eyes and what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. And the life was manifested. And we have seen and testified and proclaimed to you the eternal life, which was the Father and was manifested to us. What we have seen and we heard, we proclaim to you also so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy may be complete. So it is that the Proclamation, when they had... Coming back, where are we? Coming back to our verse. So when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord. Ministry, the highest responsibility, the highest, it wasn't about the laying on our hands, it wasn't about the baptism. All of these were part of the ministry, but the highest part of the ministry is the communication of the word. See, Peter and John did not go down to build houses, to clothe the natives, to feed the hungry. And all of that's good and that's the part of ministry, but their ministry was the gospel. It was the great commission is to go out to all the world and to make disciples. And again, we are all, it's not just those who are privileged of having some special ministry, but we are all in full-time Christian ministry. So there was work to be done by Peter, by John and by Philip. And the Lord's word, the work of evangelism. And it does begin with the gospel. It is the gospel that brings light into the world. So you can go down and you can do all these great things for people. You can travel from here and there and you can come back with this. Rosie, you know, we help and I've heard people and people talk about missionary activity, how they went. And they've done this and they've done that and they've helped build a school and they helped dig a well. And we've done that and yes, yes, absolutely. There are, you go and where people there is a need, then you can fill those needs, but not. But the highest thing, the highest part of the work, the most important work is evangelism. And that was the job of, and that's what was the focus of these men. And as they went and as they traveled, they would meet people and that would be the course. Let me see, they're headed back. It goes on and they head back to Jerusalem, they're heading back to Jerusalem, coming back to eight. So when they had saw me testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem and were preaching the gospel to many villages to Samaritan. Listen, it's not about just the destination. They were dispatched from Jerusalem to come to Jerusalem. And no, the narrative here focuses upon Samaria and that's where they went. Their job wasn't done. When they stepped out from Jerusalem and their travels, they were in the journey and they were functioning actively in the Lord's work. When they were working in Samaria, when they left there, they were still evangelized. They were still going from village to village. And so as Christians, we're not going from point to point and nothing in between. I'm sure there's a lot more stories that can be told of John and Peter's journey. It probably could be another book written as they were going from place to place. So here's a point of application for you. We may step out of the houses and head to a particular destination. For those who are full-time Christian servers and that's all of us. And that in reality is every believer. The journey to and fro is just as important as the destination itself and the people that we meet along the way. We as Christians, our journey began when we stepped out and faith and we walked through that door of becoming believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And at that point, we were entered into full-time Christians. So there are people wondering why God doesn't use them. People that will get into that. Again, the subject of the narrative was what was happening in Samaria. But again, there were stories that were being made. And there was work that was being done as Peter and John was headed back and they were visiting Village to Village point to point headed back. Point of doctrine, your ministry does not start with the arrival of your particular destination or does it stop when you leave that destination. It begins with the journey and continues until you arrive home. And again, our arriving home as Christians isn't until we enter into the gates of heaven. So when Jesus began his ministry, he had come only to the lost sheep of Israel, Matthew 10 5-8. These 12, Jesus sent out after instructing them, "Do not go by the way of Gentiles and do not enter into the city of Samaritans." There was a point that says, "You don't go there." Okay, this first goes to the lost sheep of Israel. But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, freely you receive and freely give. Do not acquire gold or silver or copper for your money belts or a bag of your journey into two coats or sandals or staff for the worker as worthy of his support. The message earlier to the lost sheep of Israel is the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And as they go out into the world, the message, you don't read here about the message of the kingdom, the kingdom is coming. The kingdom of heaven is that which was promised to Israel, salvation to the world through Israel, through the one who came to Israel, through their king. That is what is being preached. The great commission, when you come into the great commission, go out into all the world and make disciples. There is not a single thing up in there about go out and do kingdom work. We are not doing kingdom work here. We are going out and telling others about Christ. The proclamation, John Peter, John and Philip, they were not talking as far as I know they weren't talking about the kingdom. They weren't proclaiming the kingdom. They were proclaiming that which once again you go back to what we have read in 1 John 1 1. At 1 John 1 1, he talked about what we have seen, what we have heard, what we have touched. They hadn't seen the kingdom yet. The kingdom had come. They did see the Lord Jesus Christ. That is as close to the kingdom as they have come. We can argue because, as a matter of fact, Peter and John had seen Jesus on the Mount configuration. So they can actually say that they have seen the kingdom as far as its king is concerned. But they are out to proclaim the gospel of salvation. That for the Gentile world, that salvation is available to all who will believe and put their trust in him. To the tribes of Israel, the kingdom of heaven is preached. The good news of the work of Jesus Christ's opening door that we might be saved is the gospel message that is going out into the world. Note the gospel of the kingdom was preached in the early part of Jesus' ministry as behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But we don't, after Matthew 13, you don't see that same message preached again. So Acts 8, 26, and we'll read on a little bit on that. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and said, "Get up. Go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert road. So he got up and went, and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopian opens, who was in charge of her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the Prophet of Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah, the Prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you're reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture, which he was reading, was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shear is silent. And so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation, his judgment was taken away, who will relate his generation for his life is removed from the earth. The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the Prophet say this of himself or someone else?" The Philip opened his mouth and began, and beginning with the Scripture, he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look, water!" What prevents me from being baptized? That was skip 37. 37 was added, it wasn't in the early transcript, so I'm just going to skip that one. I won't skip it, but let me just remind you that was added later on in manuscripts. And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe in Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariots stop, and they both went into the water, and Philip, as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when he came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. And that interesting verse, right? I don't know if I'm going to be understanding what was it being snatched away by the Spirit, but here it is. Let's start with this. So, but an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." Philip was already busy in ministry, and that's what I was getting ready to get on. God uses two points here. God uses prepared believers. How are we prepared for ministry? Two things. Walking in the Spirit, and when walking in the Spirit is in obedience to God's work, and you've got to know God's work. And it is when we are faithful in taking in the Word of God, and not only taking it in, but applying it, walking in it. We are walking in the boundaries of the spiritual life, and therefore we are walking in the light in the spiritual life. And then that is our order of the day each and every day. And as Ephesians 2 tells us that we were created for good works, that we should walk in them. Again, I'm going to re-emphasize that full-time Christian service. Point number one is that God uses prepared believers. I'll also say that God uses busy believers. Those that are actively engaged. There are those that are sitting around, they're waiting, they're going about their lives, and yes, there's a lot to go about. But they don't recognize that they're already in Christian service. They're already, what do I say, how did I explain this? If buddy of mine said that if you want something done, if you want something done, ask a busy person. A busy person will find a way to get it done. A lazy person will just try and excuse not to get it done. So first and foremost, a new believer is to get into God's Word. And in your spirit of growth, your ministry will find you. And so we are actively engaged. Philip was actively engaged in ministry when God says, "Okay, I'm going to give you something else." He sends an angel. An angel is a messenger. And he directs the work. So, Philip's working, and here you have an angel that comes to direct the work, direct his course of action. And so our first and foremost responsibility, once again, is the Word of the Lord. It's the Word of the Lord that transforms the heart. And with under the building of ministry of the spirit, and with that, we are guided. And again, we will find our ministry and our ministry will guide us. And it is God who will direct a busy believer. So a curious question I have, maybe you have it too. Okay, if the angel comes down and directs Philip, why don't he just go down to God's Word? Why don't he just go down and find this Ethiopian? The only answer I could come up with is that God uses man to evangelize man. It's not the angel's job. I think the angel was the first one to declare the risen Christ when he told Mary outside the tomb that this Jesus said you're looking for, he is risen. But now it becomes a responsibility, our responsibility to go out and to meet divine appointments. And from day to day, and what the angel is doing with, what he's doing with Philip is he's setting up a divine appointment. And we go out from day to day for divine appointments, we don't know. And again, remember when we, in our journeys, and as we are going along, it is the Lord by his providential hand that will set up divine appointments. He's going to send, I think this is interesting too, he's going to send Philip down to Gaza. I won't bring it up, we'll run that time. But he's going to send Philip down to Gaza for one man, one man, a unit, a servant of a queen. A queen, Candice is a title as he is a queen of Ethiopia, a servant, going down to one man. And again, sometimes your ministry, sometimes for some ministries are maybe a hundred, a thousand, whatever, and you've got impact. But here it is that one mission, Philip could have argued and said, "Hey, I got something more important to do." You know, it's just one man, I want more people. But Samaria has all kinds of people and they're still, he said no. I don't think Philip argued, but he would have said no, that's just one man. You're going to go evangelize this one man or go down. And he didn't tell why he was going incidentally, don't let me mislead you on that. He didn't send down for a hundred, he didn't send down, he didn't know, he just said go. That ours, when we are led by the Spirit, when we are walking in Spirit, we go where God will have us to go. We'll do what God will have us to do. We'll meet on whom God will have us to meet. We will say what God would have us to say. We are God's, we are His servant. And the Lord pinpointed this one soul, that here's the impossible, he's not so big that he can't go to the one man, one man down in Gaza, this unit, that he's going to share the gospel with. And we'll continue that on Monday morning. Father in heaven, thank you for this opportunity of fellowship being yours morning. Thank you for your grace, your mercy, your time, for your work. I pray heavenly Father, we recognize that we are not spiritual scouts, potatoes in this life. But ours is to serve the, to go where you have us to go, to be what you have us to be, to do what you have us to do. If it's the works of banal events where we're going to help put on a roof or clear out a tree or help in a food line or a soup line and bless the work of our hands and that we're caring for the needy. But let us also do it with the gospel in our hearts, ready to share the gospel with all that we come into contact with. We pray these things in Christ name, amen. All right, another fine day to the Lord, keep your armor on, keep fighting good by the faith. Lord, will and spirit God. Raptor pendant, we'll be back here on Sunday morning. It's already Friday. All right, love you all. Take care. Have a great weekend. You can hear this message again, as well as previous lessons, and get note by visiting us online at www.gchapel.org. www.gchapel.org. www.gchapel.org. [ Silence ]
Jesus commissions His disciples and showcases the obedience of Philip in responding to the Spirit's leading, emphasizing the importance of action and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.