The Acts of the Apostles 36

Subtitle: The Gospel Goes to Ethiopia?  Part 2

Acts 8:34-40.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 12, 2023.

Today we will finish up our look at the Ethiopian Eunuch.

Some days, the world just changes by the grace of God.  Of course, we might think of those changes in terms of being good or bad.  However, when I look back at my life, I find that many times it is the "bad" things that have happened in my life that did the most good for me.

The Ethiopian eunuch is going to be filled with joy because he has come to know the love of God for him.  This is the same joy that we can have.  He goes from being a man pinned down by the Law of Moses as a sinner in need of God's salvation to being a man who has found the salvation of Yahweh in Yeshua, Jesus.

This idea, that some days things just change, is true for individuals, churches, nations, republics, and even this world.  Historically large people groups have been lost from the truth of God, and then, out of the blue, things changed from a situation that had persisted for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Let's look at our passage.

Philip preaches Jesus to the eunuch (vs. 34-36)

Philip is sitting with the eunuch in a chariot.  This clearly is not a Ben-Hur style chariot.  It is large enough for two people to be sitting, which means it had some sort of bench or seats.  I would presume that there is also a driver operating the chariot.  Thus, the scene has them traveling along the road to Gaza while reading the scroll of Isaiah, particularly chapter 53.

This sets up Philip to share the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus with him.  It says that Philip "preached Jesus" to the man.  Luke has used the verb "preached" earlier in this passage.  In verses four and five, he first mentions that the scattered believers were "preaching Jesus."  In the next verse, he says that Philip "preached Christ" to the people of Samaria. 

These phrases should really be taken synonymously.  To preach the word of God, Scripture, is to preach Jesus because all of Scripture is pointing towards our need of him.  In fact, as the living Word of God (see John 1), the Scriptures are a written down form of Jesus, just as Jesus is a human form of the Father (the perfect representation of God).  Furthermore, to preach the word is to also preach about the promised Messiah, or Christ.  Similarly to preach about God's Anointed One is to reveal that Jesus of Nazareth is that very one.

Philips ability to preach to the eunuch is really set up by his question in verse 34.  Is this passage about the author, Isaiah, or is it about someone else?

Questions are an important part of Bible study.  The eunuch is having trouble understanding the identity of whom Isaiah is writing.  This is quite understandable when you read Isaiah 53 without already knowing that it speaks of Jesus.  The passage truly is surreal.

Isaiah starts out by saying that no one believes the report of him and the prophets.  A particular servant of God would come forward who would be despised and rejected by Israel, his people.  However, the Lord would lay all the sins of the people upon him.  This servant would be chastised, bruised, and killed, but not for himself.  In fact, he doesn't object to this treatment, but faces it silently, like a lamb being led to the slaughter, like a sheep before the shearers.    His soul is actually made to be an offering for their sins, and he makes intercession for transgressors.  It then pictures all of this as the "wisdom" of the servant.  By his wisdom (i.e., not saying anything as he is executed for the sin of others), God's righteous servant will justify many because he will be bearing their iniquities.  This is all pictured as the "pleasure" of the Lord, and it also appears to be the pleasure of the Servant who is going along with it out of wisdom.

This is a perplexing passage if you do not know about Jesus.  How thankful are you that you do know about Jesus?  That didn't come about by accident.  It happened by the grace and mercy of God.  It is good to explain a passage to someone, but it is more important for them to know Jesus.  We can become so bogged down in the details of studying the Bible that we can "miss the forest for the trees."  I am not against detailed Bible study.  I am just reminding us to always keep the main thing as the main thing.

So, we are told that Philip preached Jesus to him "beginning with this Scripture."  They went on a Bible field trip.  It is probable that the eunuch had only one scroll, but it is also possible that he had more than one.  Thus, Philip uses what is available to show the eunuch what Christ has done, and what God now expects of him.

This is something that all believers need to be able to do.  Of course, you will be limited if you were saved just this morning.  However, don't be afraid of that.  You responded to something when you responded to the message of Jesus with faith.  That is quite enough to share with another person.  We do need to be people of the Word of God, but more specifically, we need to be people who can show how the Word of God points to Jesus and leads us to faith in him.

People need to know Jesus.  It is as simple as that, and it doesn't take a theologian, or someone who knows the original languages of the Bible, to do introduce people to him.  It only takes someone who know Jesus themselves.  Do you have a living relationship with Jesus.

The eunuch sees some water and asks a question.  What hinders me from being baptized?  Of course, we could back up one notch and recognize the many who hear the gospel, but do not believe.  What hinders them?  However, this was not the problem for the Ethiopian eunuch.  He believed what he was hearing about Jesus.

Philip must have said something similar to Peter's answer to the crowd in Acts chapter two.  The crowd asked what they needed to do, having killed Messiah.  Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and their sins would be forgiven.  In fact, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit too!

Notice that spiritual life is not about exhaustive knowledge of God's Word, but is about having a believing relationship with Jesus that we are willing to publicly live out.

Regardless, at the first sight of water, this man is quick to point out that he could follow through on the Gospel imperative.  The Gospel calls us to follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  That relationship involves discipleship, learning the way of Christ, but one of the commands of Christ is that we be baptized in water.

We do need to be careful of treating the Bible as merely a list of things to do, things we will check off of our list.  A believing relationship made alive by the Spirit of God must be the foundation of anything we do for our Lord.  Yes, when you follow the Spirit of God, He will give you some to-do lists, but it will come as we respond to the written Word and the work of the Spirit of God.

A textual issue (vs 37)

So, the eunuch has asked a question.  What keeps me from being baptized?  The answer is given in verse 37.  There is a textual issue here.  If you are reading the KJV or a translation based on it, then you will have this verse.  If you aren't then you will probably have a footnote.  Even the NKJV, gives a footnote that says, "Acts 8:37  NU, M omit v. 37. It is found in Western texts, including the Latin tradition."

A bit of explanation.  NU is actually a reference to two different Greek texts.  "N" stands for Nestle and Aland's Testamentum Novum Graece, a Greek Bible.  "U" stands for the Greek text put out by the United Bible Society called The Greek New Testament.  Lastly, the "M" stands for the Majority Text.  In essence, all three of these editions of the Greek agree that the verse is not originally from Luke.  It is only found in Western texts and some older texts in the Latin tradition.

You will run into footnotes like this from time to time no matter which Bible you are using.  They point to the fact that we do not have the original manuscript that Luke wrote, or any other originals for the books of the Bible.  It is important to have at least a cursory understanding of this subject.

How do I know that the Bible has been faithfully transmitted through the centuries when we do not have the original documents? 

Many handwritten copies were made through the centuries in order to increase the reach of the Bible.  Of course, people memorizing portions of the bible would have also played a large part in the spread of the Gospel.  On top of this, copies that were made of papyri (a course paper) and even parchment (treated animal skin) would wear out over time and need to be replaced.  Christians in the earlier centuries were not thinking that it would be important to preserve the first copies.  Still, we do have many manuscripts that we have today that go back even to the middle of the 2nd century (100's AD).  We also have writing of sermons and books against heresy from the early bishops and Church leaders.  On top of this there are many translations into other languages such as: Latin, Syriac, Coptic, even Ethiopic, etc. 

By comparing these manuscripts, we can easily spot spelling errors (they didn't have spell check), and simple mistakes made by copyists that have been well known through the ages.  In short, we come down to a recognition that 98.3% of the Bible has no real questions about what the original was.  And then, only about 1/1000th of the text has any serious variations that are viable and affect the meaning.  However, even then, none of these variations affect any doctrine.

Acts 8:37 says some significant things that we would feel a bit strange taking out of the Bible.  However, no biblical doctrine is supported by only one verse.  We don't need Acts 8:37 to justify that a person needs to believe in Jesus with their whole heart, aka, not half-heartedly.  Second of all, the confession of the Ethiopic eunuch is very similar to Peter's confession of who Jesus is at Caesarea Philippi.  The majority of scholars believe that this verse was not part of the original, but it doesn't hurt us either way.

By the way, if you look into this further, you will find that two different 2nd century church Fathers write about this passage in a sermon style.  Between the both of them, the content of verse 37 is stated.  In other words, Luke may not have written these words, but sermons and retellings of this story by Philip may have accurately described what was said between them.  That oral tradition may just be the source of this insertion.

If you want more information on this subject of Biblical Textual Criticism, then click on this link to a video of Daniel B. Wallace,  Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

The eunuch is baptized (vs 38-40)

So, what are the prerequisites of water baptism?  It is clear from the following baptism that the eunuch met those prerequisites by Philip's judgment.  Water baptism is a symbolic event that gives a picture of what is happening in our life, or shows the declaration that we are making.  We are declaring that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he has paid the price for my sins, even my life.  We are confessing that we are dying (going under the water) to our old life, and coming alive to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is a public expression of your acceptance into the Church of Jesus, but also of the inward reality.  You have come alive to the Spirit of God and are now following Jesus by faith.

In our modern age, many are so afraid of legalism that they make a false separation between intellectual faith and practical faith.  Jesus said if you love him, then you will obey his commands, and one of those commands is to be water baptized.

At this point, we are told that they go "down into the water."  Some emphasize that the going down means that he is fully immersed.  However, the word baptize already means to be fully immersed.  It not clear whether the going down into the water is simply a description of getting out of the chariot and walking out/down into the water.  The same can be said for the phrase "when they came up out of the water."  It can be at the point of coming up from being put under the water, but it can also be a reference for them walking out of the water back to the chariot.

Whether it happened at the point of coming up from being under the water, or as they walked out of the water, something amazing happened.  Philip disappears.  At least, this is what it looked like from the eunuch's perspective who "saw him no more."  One moment Philip was there and the next he was gone.

We really don't know what it was like from Philip's perspective.  Yet, we are told that the Spirit of the Lord "caught Philip away."

It is interesting that this being "caught away" is the same word that is used for the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  Philip was snatched up, but not in a way in which the eunuch saw him flying away.  He disappeared. Verse 40 tells us that Philip was "found" in Azotus, a town that was around ten miles away.  Of course, we are not told that Philip was transported all that distance.  That's where he was found, i.e., a word that involves searching for someone.

This "rapture" is not the same as the rapture mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.  Philip is still in his mortal body.  He has not been transformed into a glorified, heavenly body.  Yet, this does give testimony to the fact that God has the power to take people up at will.  It seems to me that somethings are so strange that God has to give us examples in the Scripture so that we can accept what He promises later.  This "rapture" word is used thirteen times in the New Testament.  Most of these are literally talking about being taken up, or snatched up, like in an arrest.  Others are metaphorical, or rather, spiritual uses.  Here is a pdf of the use of this word in the New Testament.

We should notice that Philip goes about preaching in Azotus and goes north up the coast all the way to Caesarea, which is northwest of Samaria.

Let's bring this to a close by talking about the eunuch.  The text says that he "went on his way rejoicing."  Now I wouldn't blame the eunuch if he thought that Philip might have been an angel.  After his disappearance act (not a normal thing for humans to do), the eunuch would rightly wonder who this guy was.  Of course, our passage is clear that Philip is not a heavenly angel.  Yet, he is a messenger sent by God.  It doesn't matter if we receive a message from a heavenly angel or an earthly messenger.  What matters is that the message is from the God of heaven.

The eunuch goes on his way rejoicing because he now has a relationship with this God of the Israelites through the work of Jesus.  It is the work of Jesus that will encourage him when he reads further in the scroll and reaches Isaiah 56.  His worship would no longer be about all the rituals and activity that he had a duty to do, but would be a joyful following after the one who had suffered in his place.  He would forever know that God loved him.  His lot in life was not destined to be a "dry tree" who would leave no heritage in this life.  Instead, he would become an apostle of the Gospel to his own people!  He would have a spiritual heritage that would have eternal rewards.  This is the God we serve.  The God who turns eunuchs into fruitful trees!

Eunuch part 2 audio

The Acts of the Apostles 33

Subtitle: The Gospel Spreads to Samaria

Acts 8:1-8.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 29, 2023.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, "[Y]ou shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  The book of Acts can be outlined using these three geographical descriptions.

• Chps 1-7, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon Jerusalem
• Chps 8-12, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon Judea and Samaria
• Chps 13-28, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon the nations

The phrase "ends of the earth" is not fixated upon a geographical point on the globe.  It is a picturesque way of describing all of the nations of the globe.  We see this supported in Revelation 5, particularly verse 9, where those worshiping God around the throne are "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

The death of Stephen is presented as the transitional point for the Gospel spreading from Jerusalem into the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria (further north).  Luke shows through his book that the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 happened as he said from roughly AD 30 to AD 62.  Of course, the book ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, but spreading the Gospel. 

Obviously, the Gospel had not made it to the ends of the earth, but the burden is not upon him alone.  He hands the torch down to others.  In fact, far more happened in those thirty years by others to spread the Gospel.  This has led to the concept of an Acts 29 Christian, or an Acts 29 church.  It simply means that they recognize, we recognize, that we are continuing the witness to all the nations that the apostles started.

We will see today that persecution is one of the things that God uses to spread the Gospel.  It isn't necessary.  But, when it comes, it is used of God for the good of souls who need to hear.

Let's look at our passage.

A great persecution of the Church begins (vs 1-3)

In verse one, Stephen gives us a snapshot, summary, of this transitional point of the Church.  We have seen persecution upon individuals like Peter, John, and the apostles up to this point.  However, after Stephen's death a "great" persecution begins.

There are several words for persecution that are used.  This one emphasizes that the hunt is on and people are made to flee from pursuers.  Yet, we should know that the demeanor of those fleeing is not part of this word.  Some could flee in terror, but we do not see this in the book of Acts.  They do not flee in terror, but they do not want to be imprisoned or die.  Thus, they pragmatically move out of the sphere of danger.  They move on, but go forth victoriously- as we will see in the rest of this passage.

At this point, it begins to cost more to follow Jesus.  There is the question of whether you will stay or leave Jerusalem, but it also demands an answer to this question.  Is it worth it to keep following Jesus?  The heat is now on all believers in Jesus.

Luke tells us that this pursuit of anyone who was a Christian is what led to them being scattered throughout the region.  The word for "scatter" pictures the casting of seeds.  Each one of these Christians is a seed, or earthen vessel, containing the treasure of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit.  That seed and Spirit are capable of fruit in their lives, but also of life for others.

This is something that we need to get into our heart.  I might have a wart on the end of my nose and people tend to avoid me.  However, if I have the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, then there is a treasure in me that people need.  Of course, many who are very easy to look at are empty of any treasure.  May God teach us as believers in Jesus to remember that "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."  (Isaiah 53:2 ESV). 

What the enemy intended for evil, God turned to the good.  These believers went forth telling people about Christ and seeing others believe.

It is interesting to me that Jesus had told them that he wanted them to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  Yet, it took persecution to kick-start this part of the mission.  Were they being disobedient?  I do not think that Luke is showing this at all.  There does not seem to be any sense of this in the text.  I think the real point is that there is a proper timing of the Holy Spirit, and a proper way.  It doesn't always have to be because of persecution, but God was allowing Jerusalem to have as much grace as they would take.  They needed to hear the Gospel because the clock was ticking on Israel remaining as a nation.  Judgment was coming.  God gives them as much grace as they will take, and this persecution is basically the leadership pushing the grace of God out of Jerusalem.  Of course, they weren't able to push it all out.

Make sure that you don't miss this progression for us as individuals.  We need to receive the Gospel and the Holy Spirit within our own heart and mind, within our own family, which is our "Jerusalem."  As God teaches us and fills us with His Holy Spirit, He will then lead us forth to witness in our community and as far as the scope He has given us will lead.  We shouldn't rush it, but neither should we lag behind being dilatory or lazy.  God's heart is for the nations, and it begins for each one of us at the center of our hearts and minds.

Verse two shows us that Stephen is buried by his fellow Christians, "devout men."  It was considered an offense to publicly lament one who had been executed, especially for blasphemy.  However, these men make it abundantly clear that they are sorrowing over the death of Stephen.  He was a righteous man who did not deserve such a death.

This sorrow is understandable and should not be rebuked.  Though we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, we do sorrow nonetheless.  2 Corinthians 7:9-10 makes this point.  They weep because they are separated from one they love, and in a horrible way.  They weep for the loss of such a man who was used of God to heal people and set them free from evil spirits.  He fed widows and cared for the unfortunate.  We should weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15).

Yet, we do not want to become stuck in grief, and paralyzed by it.  Just as Stephen had served God faithfully to the end of his life, so too we must go on without him and serve God faithfully.  We do no one honor by walking away from God because of what happened to them.  Stephen's witness was that it was worth it to die for Jesus!  Grief has a natural cycle that is not exactly the same for each individual, but will definitely take as much as a year to fully absorb.

This hounding of Christians is lead by the young man Saul.  He seems to be zealous for removing Christians from Jerusalem.  Of course, he is being zealous to push the grace of God out of the city.  In such, we can become blind to the things that God is using in our life in order to bless us.  In our ignorance, we can push out the grace of God, bringing harm to ourselves and others around us.

Luke writes that Saul made a "havoc" of the Church.  The word has the idea of publicly shaming it by defiling their dignity, even causing a stigma to be attached to these Christians.  We see this with Saul entering "every house," and "dragging" them off to jail.  The dragging may or may not have been literal.  It is a word that is frequently used for arrests.  In many cases, it is clear that there is no actual dragging taking place.  It would be similar to a person today saying that, "They slapped him in cuffs and dragged him off to jail."  Again, it could be literal, but the language of slapping and dragging can be metaphorical.

Regardless, it was a difficult time for believers.

Samaria receives the Gospel (vs 4-8)

Saul is clearly trying to contain this "heretical sect," as he takes them to prison, but it doesn't work.  We should remember that there are at least 5,000 Christians in the city, and Luke has given several other summary verses where he describes the Church growing more.  Thus, we have a magnitude of thousands of Christians spreading out into the region.  This will cause the Gospel to spread out into Samaria and Judea as well- just as Jesus said.

It is interesting to me that Saul cannot seem to keep himself from doing the work of Jesus, whether he is trying to stop Jesus or help him.  Ironically, he is really bad at stopping the Church.  Everything he does only spreads it more.  This is the tragic fate of those fight against Christ and his purposes.  In the end, they only help us to do what God wants us to do.

Of course, the world is a lot better at trying to put out the fire of Christians today.  Yet, if you have your eyes upon Jesus, and are filled with his Holy Spirit, it is not that good!  We may be spiritually kicked in the gut and lose our breath, but the Breath of God will fill our lungs and enable us to catch our breath.  Just know that God is in control, not in that He is operating humans as marionettes.  However, His eternal purposes will always be accomplished in our lives and this world!  You can't lose on His side!

Luke then turns away from the persecution of Saul in order to give some stories of God powerfully working through these dispersed ones.

The scattered believers preached the Word.  Though the believers are scattering because of persecution, they are not keeping quiet.  They are using the Scriptures, the Word, to explain to people about the recent events in Jerusalem.  These are the Scriptures that talk about Jesus.  The Messiah had come, was executed, but then was resurrected.  He has now poured out the Holy Spirit upon those who believe.  Luke has already given us a taste of such preaching through Peter and Stephen's accounts in chapter 2 and chapter 7.  None of these events involve a pulpit or podium.  Preaching is not solely the work of a pastor.  It simply means to proclaim.

This brings us to Philip.  We know that this is not the Apostle Philip because verse 14 will tell us that the apostles were at Jerusalem when this happens.  Acts 6 describes the calling of seven men to be deacons in the early Church at Jerusalem.  Luke then went on to describe the ministry and martyrdom of the man who was first on that list of deacons.  Now, Luke shows us that the second deacon on that list, Philip, was powerfully used of the Holy Spirit as well.

As a side-note, the Apostle Philip is never specifically mentioned by name after Acts chapter one.  He is generally mentioned in the phrase "the apostles."  The Philip here is Philip the Deacon.  Of course, that ministry is not going to be able to continue with the scattering of the Church, at least not in the form that they had set up.  He will be later described in Acts 21:8 as "Philip the Evangelist, who was one of The Seven."  Saul had caused Philip to be promoted from a deacon to an evangelist, i.e., someone who has a ministry of telling others about the Gospel of Jesus.  For some reason, Philip goes to the city of Samaria. 

The city of Samaria is in the middle of the region of Samaria.  It had been destroyed several times through the centuries.  It was actually rebuilt and renamed by Herod the Great in the 1st Century BC.  It's new name was Sebaste, which is Greek.  Clearly, this was not a name that was popular with first century Jews.  This city was populated with around 6,000 people or more.  Note:  Here is a link to a map to help you picture where Samaria (Sebaste) is in relation to Jerusalem.  You may also note that Sychar is where Jesus ministered after speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.

Philip does not go to Samaria to hide.  He begins "preaching Christ" to them."  This is essentially the same as preaching the Word and we should not try to make a technical point out of these two phrases.  The early Church did not study the Word out of a mere desire to grow in intelligence.  They studied and taught the Word to know Jesus the Messiah better!  In fact, the word translated "preach" in both instances is different in Greek.  The first is literally to "Good News" someone.  The second is to proclaim, or herald, news that may or may not be good news.  It emphasizes the proclamation.  Jesus, the resurrected Lord who is in heaven pouring out the Holy Spirit on those who believe in Jesus, is good news that we should be proclaiming!

Notice that this deacon, now Evangelist, does miraculous signs by casting out demons, and healing people, specifically those who had paralysis and were lame.  He is not an apostle, but He is filled with the Holy Spirit and being led by the Holy Spirit.  There is no sense in the Bible that we have to have a title in order to be used greatly of God.  Any one who believes upon Jesus and is filled with the Holy Spirit can be used to do miraculous things.  Yes, God can do these things through us today.

There are seasons in which God gives signs or not.  However, we must be careful of using this as an excuse.  Maybe, they were far more desperate than we are as a people?  You can be cynical about God doing such things today.  However, it can also be our cynicism and lack of faith that leads to these things not happening right now.  Many in the Church, lean on everything, but God.  May we learn to lean upon Him and be in the place where He can do anything through us that He desires.  This calls for a person to be in prayer, in the word, seeking the leading of the Spirit, and then obeying His leading!

Luke mentions that the people paid close attention to what Philip had to say.  We do not know how many of these people were religious Samaritans.  Herod had brought people in to populate the city, and it had several pagan temples.  Still, the ministry at Sychar would have primed the pump in the area.  They would have known about Jesus and his disciples.  These inhabitants of Sebaste are transfixed at the message of Philip and the power of the Holy Spirit working through him.

This brings us to verse eight, which tells us that there was great joy in the city.  Think about the many people who are no longer demon-possessed, and those who knew them.   Think of a desperate parent who has tried everything to help their child, and now they are completely healed!  Think about those who can now walk, and are running around leaping and praising God!  Think about those who had been paralyzed showing everyone who will listen how they can now use their limb! 

How long had they gone without much in the way of God's grace, and then one day things changed.  Remember that about God.  We may be hyper-cynical about a move of God in our family, city, or Republic, but some days, God just changes things!  Maybe, He has been wanting to move for decades, perhaps centuries, but no one was in the right place spiritually for it to happen?  This day, Philip was in the right place with God.  Amen!

What a beautiful thing.  It was almost as if Jesus was back!  In truth, Jesus is back in us when we cooperate with and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yes, there are seasons to the work of God, but its foundation is a person who:  believes in Christ, seeks to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and asks Jesus each day what they should be doing for him.  We don't know if we are a generation that will experience what Jeremiah experienced, unbelief and the judgment of God upon the nation.  How can we know?  We can only know by being faithful like Jeremiah.  Even though it fills like he didn't do any good, Jeremiah lived a life of the Spirit of God and passed that torch on to the next generation.  He didn't fail, the people of Israel stuck in their flesh failed.  The faithful remnant is always victorious to accomplish exactly what God sent them to do!

You and I can be those people who are doing the will of Jesus and are ready for what he may have next.  We are Acts 29 Christians whether we use that phrase or not.  Until Jesus comes back, we aren't done working.  Let's get to work!

Samaria audio

Where Are We Headed? Part 5

Isaiah 25:1-12.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 17, 2022, Resurrection Sunday.

We will finish this series today.  We started off by talking about the fine sounding promises of the elite of this world: creating utopia, everyone learning to get along, science solving every problem, etc.  The problem is that at the end of every one of these promises is a road full of brokenness and being used. 

It is not like science was invented 20 years ago and we just need to give them more time.  The great powers of this world know that people see this, and so they build ever new forms making the same old promises.  They manipulate us to rebel against the old forms, which they created by the way, and put our hopes in the new forms. 

Of course, we should start asking ourselves a couple of questions.  Can they actually deliver such promises?  And even more insidious, do they really intend to deliver these things for every one?  Perhaps, this is their utopia and it requires a seething mass of humanity in shackles everywhere.

Twenty-nine centuries ago, God showed the prophet Isaiah that the capital cities of each nation, even Israel, were full of sin and tyranny over the people.  He promised two things: judgment on the cities and their elite, and salvation for the oppressed.

Let’s begin to look at Isaiah 25.

The world’s false promise of salvation

We should note that chapters 13 to 23 in the book of Isaiah are prophecies of judgment against each nation and its leading city that was around Israel.  Israel is included in this series of dooms (Samaria in Isaiah 17 and Jerusalem in Isaiah 22).  Chapter 24 becomes the climax and template for the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, or The Apocalypse.  It is sometimes called Isaiah’s Apocalypse.  It pictures the whole earth devastated under the wrath of God’s judgment.  This is not just a judgment on a particular nation, or city.  This is something that encompasses all of the nations. 

On the heels of this, chapter 25 is essentially a hymn of praise, a rejoicing over God’s saving judgment in chapter 24.  Humanity has been oppressed by other humans who have prostituted themselves to power, money, and even wicked spiritual beings who truly manipulate things on this earth.  The day will come when God will unleash a final salvation of the poor and needy from the oppression of the wicked.

In some ways, nothing has changed today, other than the oppression becoming more sophisticated and deceptive.  However, Resurrection Sunday and the Cross of Jesus the Christ is a reminder from God that He has not forgotten His promise.  The death and resurrection of Jesus shows us that our greatest problem is not billionaires and an elite shadow-government.  Rather, our greatest problem is our own sin and tendency to rebel against trusting God and His promise. In a sense, we are discouraged by the “success” of the wicked, and drawn into their world of compromise to whatever individual degree we choose.  If Christ did not do what he did 20 centuries ago, none would be saved from the wrath of God that even now looms over this world like a dark shadow because we all would be complicit.

Chapter 25 speaks of a particular city, even though the preceding chapters make clear that all the great cities of the earth will be judged.  It is called a “fortified city,” “a palace of foreigners,” and “the city of the terrible nations.  Note that the term terrible has the idea of awe and fear inspiring.  The shock and awe of the great nations of the earth is seated or headquartered in a particular city.  This is parallel with the city Babylon the Great that is destroyed in The Revelation.

This city is the city that rules over the world, and has changed locations throughout the centuries.  In fact, in keeping with Revelation’s harlot imagery, we should see the capital cities of the world as prostituting themselves saying, “Pick me!  Pick me!  I want to be the seat of power and authority in the earth.”  Of course, they do not cry out to God and His Anointed One Jesus.    Instead, they build an Olympus like system of oppression over the common people, and propagate themselves through a dog-eat-dog climbing of the mountain.  Those who are able to raise themselves up out of the sea of humanity and sit atop the pinnacle of earthly power become the modern demi-gods of this world.  Such is the true actions of Satan, always promising godhood to those who serve him and his purposes. 

This “godhood” is not all it is cracked up to be as the “demi-gods” realize that they are simply slaves to the devil and his angels.  The revelation of the One True God is that these beings will all suffer the second death and their greatness will be no more. 

Today, we see this same model and struggle.  The powerful cities of the earth merely struggle with one another for the “privilege” of being the next city that rules the world and oppresses at will, projecting power globally at will.  This final city is the one that Isaiah refers to and John as well.

In verse 4, we are shown that the poor and needy are under great distress.  The terrible ones of the earth blast against them like a storm against a wall, and like a hot desert wind serving as the furnace of their affliction.  They need refuge from the storm and shelter from the heat.  The elite have never cared for the average person of this world, the poor and needy.  No matter how much they may give lip service to it, they only care about themselves in the end.

Verse 7 mentions a covering of evil that has been cast over the nations.  This covering can also be seen as a veil.  It has several layers that are spiritually connected.  Ultimately, there is a veil of spiritual deception that has been instigated by the devil and his angels and cast over all the world.  Second Corinthians 4:3-4 says,

“…even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.…” 

Also, those powerful men and women of the earth, who have learned to also operate behind veils of intentions and actions in order to manipulate the masses for their ends, create evil covers.  Of course, at our current stage there are often competing veils.  However, even this competition is a kind of a veil.  In the end, they are all on the same team working towards the same ends.  Things are never as they seem with these people, and with these spiritual beings.  There is always enough truth to sell the poison and lies mixed into it.  This is their mode of operating.

Lastly, in verse 11, Isaiah prophesies that God will bring down their great pride and the trickery in their hands.  Their tricks are similar to the veils.  The tricks represent the plans they operate behind the veils.  Their cunning craftiness seems to work to their great gain, but God will eventually bring it down on their heads.  “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”  Matthew 8:36 (NKJV).  This judgment day is true for the individual powers as each empire replaces another one, and it is true globally as God promises an end to this dog-eat-dog wrestling of the terrible ones on the earth, and the oppression is puts on humanity.  In fact, it is time to admit that even Washington D.C. has taken its place as a city of the terrible nations oppressing the poor as they vie for power over the world.  Like little children, our state capitols are in her tresses scooping up what little tidbits they can from their mother’s industry, i.e., prostitution.

Enough about the wickedness of this world and its judgment.  This is a chapter about celebrating God’s final judgment!  Hallelujah!

Rejoice for Yahweh really saves!

Yahweh is the name given to Moses at the burning bush.  It speaks to God’s eternal being.  He is not only the always existing one, but also, He is what He always will be.  This word has historically been transliterated into English as Jehovah.  Regardless, it is not important to get hung up on the change of language and misunderstanding of scholars.  In the end, the One True God knows when we are faithfully referring to Him.  Many people knew the proper spelling and pronunciation of God’s name in the first century, but they perished because their hearts were far from Him. 

As I said earlier, this chapter is a hymn or psalm of praise as the dust settles from chapter 24. The righteous are seen rejoicing that God’s counsels of old have proven to be faithful and true.  Imagine it.  In Isaiah’s time (700s BC), the counsels of God were already ancient, starting with Adam and then to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Isaiah and lastly to Jesus.  In all of these, God has counseled us to trust in Him and His plan to save us.  If we do, we will not be put to shame, but all of those who cast Him aside and join the terrible ones will be put to shame.  Yes, it doesn’t look like that here on earth, but what we see today is not the whole sum of reality, nor of our existence.  Even now, those same counsels are a strength for the needy.  It gives us faith and purpose.  It gives us understanding and wisdom. 

We understand that Christ came to deal with our greatest enemy first, and it is our job to go to war against that great enemy within that seeks us to join the prostitution of the earth.  My sin and the desire of my flesh for it is the Goliath that I must slay!  Before we can deal with the tyrants of the world, we must all deal with our own inner tyrant screaming to get out.  This is why all revolutions ultimately fail.  Without facing truth, we only replace the old system with a new system destined to be corrupted and prostituted.  Praise God that He has revealed the things behind the curtains of today in the days of old, and we have these counsels faithfully preserved by His grace.

The salvation of Yahweh of course involves His judgment of those terrible ones.  You can picture the 2^nd Coming of Christ and his judgment against the kings of the earth along with the spiritual interlopers operating on the earth.  That day is coming as sure as the dawn.  We can even rejoice today as the Spirit of God opens our hearts to the truth that only He can deliver.

The great corruption across the world is part of the deception of the devil.  When his man the Antichrist comes forward, it will be a mockery, a trick, that pretends to put down the “wicked of the earth” for the sake of humanity.  Yet, his true intentions will quickly become seen.  By his fruits you will know him.  I don’t plan on being around to have to figure it out, but the counsels of God have warned the world of an arch-deceiver that will stand over all the earth at the end of time with an iron fist over religion, politics, and the economy.

Yes, there will be a revolt against the current political world in order to make room for a “grand new age of enlightened global governance.”  However, it will be done by people who are spiritually in chains to their sins, and they will only build a platform for the greatest evil this world has ever known.  Hallelujah that He promises to bring it down and remove it completely!  Here is a quote from Isaiah 24:21-22. 

"It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth.  They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be punished.”   

Note that it is referring to heavenly and earthly beings.  The rejoicing is not so much about their fate as it is about God’s relief for our oppression, and His restitution of righteousness.

Verse 8 talks about God swallowing up death forever, and wiping the tears from all faces.  Note that this identical to the language given to John in Revelation chapters 20 and 21.  The death of death and the destruction of the grave is something that seems to be mere poetry.  However, the resurrection of Jesus becomes God’s proof that He is greater than all of the things that oppress and hold us back from the destiny that He has for us.  Even death will flee away before the power of our God! 

The salvation of Yahweh is not just a temporary salvation during my short existence on this earth, but goes forward into eternity.  The shocking salvation of Yahweh is just as awe-inspiring, and even terrifying, as the actions of the terrible ones, but it is different in that it is good and righteous.

The tender picture of the Creator of all things wiping the tears from our eyes is what God wants you to know about Him, and to believe in Him, to trust in Him, to bring you to that precious moment.

Verse 6 pictures God creating a feast for the poor and needy after He has put down the terrible ones.  This is already spiritually true in Jesus.  At the cross, Jesus neutralized the only true weapon Satan could wield against us, our sin and the law.  Even now, we have a spiritual smorgasbord that Christ has given us in His Word, and gives to us daily by His Holy Spirit.  We can walk in these ancient counsels that continue to prove faithful and true.

This leads to verse 9 where the people celebrate by saying, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He is saving us.  This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation!”  Some versions say that He will save us, or in the future.  That is a possible translation.  However, the word simply means that it isn’t done.  In the context of God’s recent judgment here (recent within the prophecy, but still future to the hearers of the prophecy), it is better to translate it as something that is started, but is still continuing.  It’s not completed yet.

Friend, God has loved you with an everlasting love, but He is also truth.  Your sin, my sin, has to be dealt with.  Jesus did his part to pay the price for our sins.  However, can we do our part by repenting of not putting our full trust in him?  Can we begin trusting in Jesus today and start walking a life that is founded upon God’s counsels?  May we realize that without God, this world has nothing for us, but with Him it is an amazing world of God’s grace!  Don’t prostitute yourself by casting off God in order to get more of this world.  It will only bring pain in the end.

Yahweh Saves! audio

The Fruit of Faith

Romans 15:13.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 30, 2018.

Today we will finish our series looking at the issue of faith. 

Ultimately faith is not intended to be a dull and drab hardship that grinds all the fun out of life.  God does want us to enjoy and rejoice in trusting Him.  In our passage today we will see how trusting God fills us with wonderful things that make life enjoyable and can fill us with peace.

God fills us with Joy

In Romans 15, verse 13 seems to be a prayer that Paul is praying for the believers in Rome.  The first thing he prays for them is joy.  He prays that it will come to them “in believing.”  This direct connection helps us to see that faith is a prerequisite to having joy or peace.

These things are given by God and yet they are also the natural outgrowth of faith in God.  When we have become convinced that God can be trusted and the things that He has promised will come to past, it ignites a whole host of things within our heart of which joy is one.

This joy is a rejoicing happiness that one can experience even in the face of great difficulty.  Sometimes it rides on the surface, but at its heart it is deep-seated bedrock that no volume of turbulent water in this life can wash away.  It is a joy that comes not from the things of this world, but from the knowledge that “I am my beloved’s and He is mine!” (Song of Songs 6:3).  Regardless of what I experience this relationship with Jesus cannot be touched by it.

Also, he prays that God would fill them with this joy.  There are many carnal joys of this life that can “fill” us for a time, but they are transient and not long lasting.  However, the joy that comes from believing in Christ is one that truly fills.  However, we can be drawn away from this joy if we get our focus off of Christ.  Yet, when we draw our eyes back to Jesus, we once again connect with that deep-seated joy that He has given us, and will constantly supply as we trust Him.  He desires joy for us, but not as a command.  Rather it is a constant supply that He pours into our lives as we trust Him, a supply that never runs dry.

God fills us with Peace

Now let’s look at the other thing that Paul prays for them.  He prays that they would be filled with peace.  This too is connected to believing in Jesus.  It is the fruit of a life that is trusting Christ.

There are several things that we should notice in regard to this chapter.  First, in verse 33 Paul refers to God as “the God of Peace.”  He does a similar thing in verse 5 calling Him “the God of patience and comfort.”  The point is not just that God has these things that He can give us, though we can start there.  God has abundant stores of peace, patience, and comfort.  However, these are also the natural experience of His being.  God is full of patience and not frustrated with how long things are taking.  God is full of comfort and not inconsolable towards the world today.  God is also at peace and not in turmoil at any time.

We in our flesh are not as impressed with God’s patience, comfort, and peace.  We often holler at God to do something right now!  However, if we trust Him, He will take from what is His and give to us without measure and without end.  Let us turn to Him for these things in our lives every day rather than turning to the things of this world to give us peace.

When your peace comes from God then nothing can really take away your peace.  You may be convinced to quit drawing peace from God, but it is always there.  1 Peter 1:6-9 says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love.  Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

The next time you sense that you are lacking peace take time to remember that it is connected to your faith in Jesus.  Go back to the fundamentals and trust the Lord.

We receive them in Hope

Though Paul could have listed hope as a third thing that we are receiving (that is it is also a fruit of faith, a fruit of the Spirit), he instead lists it as a condition in which we receive joy and peace.  If we have no hope then our joy and peace is greatly diminished if not extinguished.  Thus hope is critical to our joy and peace in life.

As we saw earlier with peace and comfort, so we see here.  God is called the God of Hope.  Again, He doesn’t just have hope in a bag for you.  He is filled with hope Himself.  Do you ever think that it could be possible that God has had his hopes crushed and is stuck in despair?  Of course He isn’t.  He is God!  Yet, when it comes to ourselves we often forget this.  God is He who cares for you, and the One who cares for you is still full of hope.  He knows that the future holds wonderful things for those who trust Him.  Yes, He is the God of hope and, even more so, He is our God!  As we hope in Him He pours joy and peace into our hearts.

Paul also prays that these things would “abound” to them.  This means that it will be given in an abundant measure.  The word means to overly fill, to have plenty of leftovers.  Thus we need to allow faith to ignite hope in our hearts.  In fact, faith is to the mind what hope is to the heart.  I understand that faith involves the heart as well, but faith at its heart is recognition of facts.  It believes the truths about Christ.  Hope also involves the mind and looks forward to factual things that God has promised, but at its core it is a response of the heart agreeing with the mind.  Yes, He will come through for us!  As we trust in God, He fills us with hope for today and for tomorrow.

Paul also describes this as being done by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Fruit cannot grow without some energy source and thus God Himself is the author and finisher of our faith.  It is He who is working in you by the power of His Holy Spirit to fill you with faith, hope, joy, love, and peace (the list goes on).  Sometimes we allow our experiences to pull us off of the path that we should be walking with the Holy Spirit.  We can go off on our own tangents and end up wondering why we don’t have those things anymore.  Rather, we must return back to the place where the Holy Spirit is waiting for us and continue walking with Him.  Let Christ be your source of strength and power by the work of His Spirit within you.

Ultimately this whole verse is a prayer for believers, and not just those from Rome.  We too must add our prayers to Paul’s.  Take time to pray for the Lord to strengthen your faith and hope in Him.  Ask Him to fill you with His joy and peace to overflowing, so that you might live a victorious life in this world.  Also, do not let the world define for you what a victorious life is.  We dare not look to the world and our circumstances in it to give us the faith, hope, joy and peace that we need.  Rather we must wholly trust Jesus and Him alone.

The Fruit of Faith audio