Grace Chapel Bible Ministries
worship Call 1088 Discipleship - 2024/11/25
(light piano music) (light piano music) (light piano music) (light piano music) (light piano 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. From George Witness Morning, we'll start experiencing Genesis 22.1. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested. Hebrew word, then assault to try. Abraham and said to him, "Abraham," and he said, "Here I am." And John 6, 5-6, then Jesus lifted up his eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward him. He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread?" and that these may eat. But this he said to test Hebrew word, "lensalt," to try him, for he himself knew what he would do. James 1, 2-4, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials." Yeah, on noun for "lensalt," knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfectly complete, lacking in nothing. George writes, "The test of Abraham's faith was repeated by Yahweh throughout the patriarch entire life. The test grew greater as his life advanced into everyone, whether Abraham passed or not. Yahweh proved himself to be a friend over and over again. Every test or trial involved a serious challenge or threat in which Abraham had to trust the Lord knew what he was doing, asking and requiring of that his goodness and faithfulness and unquestionable reliability. This type of testing and trying of faith is displayed throughout the Scripture in an entirely different setting. Yeshua asked his disciples Philip a question, "Where shall we buy bread?" that these may eat. The purpose of the question was simply to try Philip's faith. The Hebrew "lensalt" to try to test, and the Greek is "parasmas," which carries an interesting connotation proving by experiment. James, the Lord's brother, speaks of the testing of our faith as well. Though we often think of this testing in negative terms, James exhorts us to count it all joy. Never mind that it is virtually certain that there will be little pleasure in the experience of any trial. The fact is that the trials function as experiments and experiences which serve to prove and improve our faith. In the Hebrew New Testament, the word for trial is "nossion," which also happens to be the word for experience or experiment. So the trials we experience are literally experiments upon our faith. And while it is clear that God himself does not tempt us, we also know that he allows our faith to be proven by experience and experimentally verified. Faith is not based on experience, it is based on revelation from God, but its genuineness is tested by experience. And it ought to be grown through every trial producing a deeper comprehension of God's faithfulness. Friends, your faith is being proved to be genuine through testing and trials experimentally and experientially and experientially, just as was the faith of Abraham, Philip, and every true saint of the Lord. For while faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things seen, it will be proven in by and through the very hard experiences and realities of your life. This is not accidental but very much in the plans and purposes of the Lord. Your family and the Lord will much have got their love, George, but Revka, Obadiah, and Elena. This is the third, or if this is the second day of the week in God's created order. The 25th day of the 11th month, 2024th year of our Lord, and this is another fine day in the Lord. Let us turn to him in prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for this time together. And we pray heavenly Father to open up our hearts that things that we will continue study. We're studying Philip this morning as it's been a subject of George's devotional this morning. And we pray heavenly Father to open our hearts to clean from it. Something to know more about our God, His miraculous hand, the responsibilities and application that we should be discipleship and teaching others. All kinds of messages this morning. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. Glad to have you here, and here we go, another fine week in the Lord as we continue on. It was slow and setting up this morning, but hopefully everything's running. I've got green light going on, so I guess we're over it. What do you think? Got your notes? All right. All right. This sermon will explore several passages that inform and inspire the believer's mission to evangelize and to reach those who are lost, highlighting God's heart for all people. I mean, here it is that Philip isn't going to just a multitude, like Peter's teaching multitudes. You know, challenges for us small church pastors, and Beckett knows this, that we think just small church is not doing the will of God. We're doing something wrong, that the people that are really doing something are something with mega church. Well, you've got Peter. He's got the mega church. He's got the ear of thousands of people. And here the Lord takes Philip, and he takes him to go to a single person, to a single one. No, for the Lord, it's not the number. That heart is just as important, and that single soul is important on the road as it is to folks around. So if you've got somebody in front of you and you think that you did not have a ministry and you're sitting there and you're discipling someone, hey, hey, understand that person that you're discipling is just as important as a pastor that's teaching a whole bunch. All right, Philip met up with the Ethiopian unit. This was a court official of Candice. I think that was a title. She is the king, queen of the Ethiopians. And scripture tells us that he was a treasurer and that he was going to Jerusalem to worship. Gentiles worship, there was a court. There was actually at the temple, the court of the Gentiles. That was a special place. There were those outside of Judaism, or I should say outside of being Jews themselves that would go to the temple to worship. Look at James 841. James 841 also concerned a foreigner who is not of your people Israel when he comes from a far country for your name's sake. For they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and of your outstretched arm when he comes and prays toward this house. Here in heaven, you're dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls for you. Make that full screen. There we go. There were others noticed Gentiles remember the Gentiles, or the magi, and there would be also Greeks in John 1220. Now, there were some Greeks among those who were going to worship at the feast and these then came to Philip who was at Bethsaida of Galilee and began to ask him saying, "Sir, do you wish to see Jesus?" And Philip came and told Andrew, and Philip came and told Jesus. With that said, we should remember that we worship, that the God that we worship is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We should remember that our Savior is the Jewish carpenter who grew up in this culture, Acts 8, 28, and 29. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, this is the unit, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." And Philip ran up and this chariot, note here, carriage, and Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. So I had at least, and here it is that the Spirit directs Philip and directs him to the place of divine appointment. Have you ever had a divine appointment? And I love these. I love hearing people tell me about divine appointments. I love to hear them say, "Well, it just so happened." Or how God was moving in their hearts. And I know my pastor didn't, he didn't care for pestimonies. He'd call them bragamones and stuff like that. But I want mine hearing in the church. They're having a little bit of time to sit by and to hear. And maybe there's a time and place for it. Maybe that's not a time and place for it. But in our, certainly in our corn and ea, our gift together, our potluck, I love to hear people tell. I've been wanting to, you know, it's been a little bit of ambition. I've never pursued it enough time to write a book on people's divine appointments. You know, it just so happens. And I've had them. I've had them. And there's been a few times that it seems like my words and my direction and my guidance were guided by an outside hand. And I often tell a story about a lady at the hospital that when I was there visiting my pot who was, who had cancer and he was in there and he was, and I was walking through an empty hall and a door was opening up. And I passed, you know, and the door wasn't, I mean, I really didn't notice the door opening until I was past it and happened to turn around and see a lady walk out. And it seemed like everything was self-control. And I was, I asked her if she was, she didn't have any hurt feelings or nothing. No, she just a normal face. And that's it. And I would compel to say, are you okay? And, and she, at that point, she broke down crying and was weeping. She said, it's not the way this is supposed to be. I didn't know what was going on. And I asked her if I could pray for it. And she said, yes. And, and I prayed for it. I was on my way away. Everything was so automatic. It's like I had no control over it. But there was a few other instances as well. But there, it's amazing. But I believe this is where Phil, the spirit guided him. The spirit that, Phil, it belonged to the spirit. And the spirit says, okay, go there. So the, so this, these are what we call divine appointments. It's just, just so happens to be at the right place at the right time. And coming to Acts 8.30. Acts 8.30, Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah and said, do you understand what you are reading? And he said, well, how could I, unless someone guides me and he invited Philip up to sit with him? And so here we're going to see an example of what we call discipleship. Romans 10, 14. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how would they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And let's look at this word, a preacher. Corrasso. And Corrasso means to proclaim or to preach. And often we think in terms of a preacher as, a preacher is a proclaimer. A preacher is one who proclaims the gospel. And, and it doesn't just someone with a PhD or, or a theological, a THM on their wall that says, well, hey, I'm a trained professional. Don't try this at home. Anyone with, listen, anyone with the Word of God within their hearts, they are preachers. Mom, you are a preacher. You are a proclaimer of God's good news. If you're discipling someone, someone sitting before you, you're a preacher, you're a discipler. It's, you're a proclaimer of God's good news. So that's, so unless, and so he's saying, unless somebody tells me, unless somebody teaches me, and it wasn't that, that film was going to set up a pulpit and start teaching. No, he said, he climbed up into the carriage and he sat down next to the, the, the Ethiopian Munich. A preacher, a pastor will study to equip his congregation. And you think that's what a preacher is supposed to do is to study and teach. But that doesn't alleviate the rest of us of being students of the Word of God and studying as well. Because as you open up your Bible and as you're studying the Word of God, as you're studying doctrines and precepts and, and, and building up the edification complexity, so you are preparing yourself to be used by God. I guarantee, I guarantee you, if you fall in love with God's Word and you, you fall in love and, and you love the Lord and your obedient and you're learning His Word. Some of the most, I'd almost say some, it's close to the very top of the greatest, greatest experiences that you're going to have is when you're all blessed with teaching someone else proclaiming when you become the teacher, which is a discipler. Someone that's, that's, you've got someone who's interested and you see their, their expression and their eyes are open and their ears are open. And they, they're asking you questions and, and you're being able to, to apply what you've learned through the teaching of somebody else and bringing them to the love of God. Because what you are doing is you're changing this person's life. One of the greatest moments in my life, I've said this, I've said this so many times and, and, and telling others and all this. I kid you not a great, one of the greatest moments in my life outside of course being a Christian in my marriage and all that is, is being discipled by a man who understood a young man. We are both Marines who understood his Bible, who understood doctrine, who, who I sat there and I had a million questions. Well, what about this and what about that? And, and he was able to see my enthusiasm of, of that. And listen, a pastor don't always see that from his pulpit, but my friend was able to see that from across the table. And I've been able to see it with others. He didn't drag me into church and say, you know, we'll sit here and the pastor will tell you. No, he was right there, before me. He, it was a divine appointment, divine appointment of when we met and there was a certain, it changed my life. And there is nothing greater, what a great experience it is, to say that, that I was used by God to change somebody's life and nothing, and you're going to change somebody's life. There's no greater way than it, than to be, to, to be open to disciple another. Can I get an amen for that? Thank you, ma'am. That is a great, so Hebrews 512. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who takes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant, but solid food is for the mature, who because of the practice, have their senses trained to discern good and evil. And as a student of the word of God, and for so long, you are equipped to share and to be that preacher for others, Acts 832 to 33. Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, this is Isaiah 53, and as a land before it shares its silent, so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will relate this generation for his life is removed from the earth? The unique answer to Philip said, please tell me, of whom does this prophet say this, of himself or someone else, then Philip opened up his mouth and began, well, and beginning from the scripture, he preached Jesus to him. Our proclamation, our preaching, our proclaiming is not how to live a good life. Our proclaiming is not to give up cigarettes and stop drinking and stop doing it and that's not preaching, that's not proclaiming nothing except being a leader list. The proclamation is to preach Jesus and allow the study of the person of Jesus, the proclaiming, the good news to do the transforming. As they went along the road, they came to some water and the unit said, and I'll stop there, but this reminds me back when Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and speaking with the two guys on there and taking them through scriptures, and this is essentially what we saw those do. We saw Philip do before the council, and here we saw now we see Philip doing with this Enoch, the Enoch. So as they went along the road, they came to some water, and the Enoch said, look, water, what prevents me from being baptized? And Philip said, if you believe, and once again, I'm going to take that one. I'll read it, but understand that in the early manuscripts, this was not there, so I don't think it was put there later for doctoral purposes. And Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may, and he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I think that just added for the gospel. So here we come to baptism again. The great commission was to go out, and this exactly what Philip is doing, to go out and make disciples. Baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are, as we've taught, two types of baptisms, I guess maybe more, but in these two baptisms, there is the ritual baptism, and there's the real baptism. The moment that you trust the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul says, is that faith comes through hearing and hearing the message of Christ. It comes from Scripture. Faith is the proper response to the Word of God to developing a trust within your heart, trusting your heart and your soul. It is faith to recognizing that in this aspect that Christ is able to do for you, which you cannot do for yourself. It is the Holy Spirit that takes the information that goes into the ear gate and converts it into that which is understandable to a dead heart. In 1 Corinthians 2, 14, I believe that I got the passage right, says that the soulish man cannot understand the things God for it is foolish to him, but it is spiritually appraised. It is the Holy Spirit that illuminates, that opens the eyes of the heart. And then when there is the response to the gospel message, I am believing what I am hearing. Once again, without the work of the Holy Spirit through common grace, it becomes foolish. It will continue to be foolish to you. So there is the work of the Holy Spirit that opens up the eyes of the heart. And then we respond and we respond to what we have heard. We either walk away from it, we either say I don't believe it or dismiss it, or we respond to the word and to the information I should say. We respond to the gospel that Jesus Christ provides eternal life for anyone that trusts in him for it, that he can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. And that response equates to salvation. At that point, through grace, the Holy Spirit brings us into the position that we are born again, regeneration, that which was dead, which comes alive. And so Philip opened his mouth and began beginning with scripture. He preached Jesus to him. And this preach is you on the lead zone. And it means to communicate good news. And it is that good news that is going to transform the heart. There are people that saved other people in combat. There have been those that saved their buddies forever and dead it for them. And we've seen movies and maybe we know someone who saved somebody else's life and that person is dead to them forever. Listen, it is that when you're sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and somebody responds, you have been used as someone that's going to save another man's life. The good news is a life and death message. It is a life and death message. It's a life message to the dead. And when they respond to it, there is life. So, again, as we go in Matthew 28, 19, fulfilling the Great Commission, go therefore, as you go, and make disciples of all nations, all peoples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, I should say, once again, let's recap just in case I missed it. So, you have a ritual. So, you have the real baptism, which is what happens to you at the moment that you have trusted in Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. You have been born again, and you have been identified as what baptism means. You have been identified with the birth, the life, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's identification. Baptism means identification with Christ. And at the moment that you trust, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. There is also the ritual baptism. The ritual baptism is a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality. It is a public proclamation that you have been identified with Christ. In the days of persecution, this would be a death warrant to do so. And it would take a lot of guts to do so to make that proclamation. Do I still believe, and is there still a place for water baptism? I believe there is. I certainly believe there is. Does it mean that if you're not water baptism, tithe, you're not safe? No, I don't believe that. I don't believe in children and baby baptism. I think it only gets them wet. It coincides with the decision that a person makes to believe and to trust in the transformation of his spiritual life. And I believe that there should be public baptisms. As I do believe that there should be public weddings. It's a point of departure. And it's a point of following our Lord Jesus Christ was water baptized. And I believe in that sense that we follow them. As I was talking yesterday, do your homework. That's my opinion in that sense. Here it is that with the great commission, go therefore and make disciples of all peoples, baptize them in a name. I believe this baptize it here. It's the Holy Spirit that does the baptizing. So when he's telling his disciples to baptize, I think there is actually telling them to go out and actually do the ritual as well. Alright, Philip opened his mouth and beginning with scripture and proclaiming preaching the Jesus to him. And as they went along the road, they came into water and the eunuch said, "Look, water." Which prevents me from being baptized in the eunuch. So the eunuch learned he had already responded to the message of Christ. He was already a believer. He was already a new Christian. And the ritual is a... what the ritual did was just the act of fact of the real baptism that he went through. Let's go to Acts 839. Acts 839, when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. This snatch is harpazzo. And we see that word harpazzo. And harpazzo means to grab, to seize, to force with purpose of removing and or controlling, to seize the snatch away. It's the same word that we see in 1 Thessalonians 4, 17. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up harpazzo, snatched up with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And this would be beyond a natural phenomena. How do we read this? What's your feelings about when you read this? You see, some Christians claim the ability to fly. But the language of Philip's removal suggests supernatural movement. More like as mentioned in the Old Testament, in the Old Testament they have this. And once again, how do I... Okay, whatever, he just disappears, he just goes. And you know, how do I teach this and how do you receive it? That here is a baptism. It comes up out of the water and Philip is gone. Phew. And are we a little embarrassed to really receive that because it's not a natural phenomena? Any more than watching Jesus being elevated up and taken up into the clouds? Can he not do that? And that's what I should ask. Is it beyond God's ability to affect something that is supernatural, that's beyond the natural realm? Can God just snatch him up and put him someplace up? Absolutely. We snatch this up or we come meet the Lord in the air. Why can't he do it then, you know? And what I'm saying here is that I've learned not to try to explain away the miracles in the Bible. Nothing's impossible with God. I've read books where in the books they look at trying to explain away a supernatural phenomena. And rather than saying this is the hand of God, so here it is, the hand of God snatched Philip up and put him someplace else. And he was gone and certainly this was something that we don't know anything more about the eunuch after this. He goes on, he's rejoicing. And so one day we will all meet and when we all gather together in the heavenlies and we'll be able to meet this eunuch and ask him how the rest of his life went. But the Bible doesn't record it. And then it was that Philip finds himself elsewhere to continue on with his ministry. So that, let's close that prayer. Father in heaven, thank you for this opportunity of fellowshiping your word once again. I pray Heavenly Father for this week. I pray for divine appointments for each of us and for each of us to ready ourselves each morning and each day learning our scripture and being ready to give an answer for the hope that's found in us to be able to change somebody's life through discipleship. And I pray these things in Christ's name. Amen. All right, another fine day to the Lord. Keep your armor on and keep fighting a good fight of faith. Lord Willensburg, God, Raptor Pending. We'll be back here in the AM. Love you all. For joining us, you can hear this message again as well as previous lessons and get note by visiting us online at www.gchapel.org. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO]
This sermon will explore several passages that inform and inspire the believer's mission to evangelize and reach those who are lost, highlighting God's heart for all people.