Are You a Member of God's AARP?

I want to read from Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8, and I want to begin to read at verse 1. Read through Acts chapter 8.

Let me begin to read at verse 1, and just follow me as I direct you. Now Saul was consenting to his death, that is, Stephen's death. At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes, with one accord, heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed, and there was great joy in that city. And then four verses, beginning at verse 14 through verse 17. When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

For as yet he had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And then verse 26 to the end of the chapter. Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

This is desert. So he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit said to Philip, Go near and overtake this chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, Do you understand what you are reading? And he said, How can I unless someone guides me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shear is silent, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation his justice was taken away, and who will declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth? So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this?

Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water.

What hinders me from being baptized? Then 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. So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached in all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Tonight as we consider this portion of God's word in Acts chapter 8, I want to ask you, Are you a member of AARP? You say, well that's a strange question. AARP stands for the American Association of Retired Persons. I get solicitations in the mail, I get phone calls, and as I draw closer and closer to retirement age, it seems their interest in me increases. I think there are 45 to 50 members, or 50 million members of AARP. But what I'm asking you tonight has nothing to do with your age. I'm asking you if you are a member of AARP in an Acts chapter 8 sense of the word.

And that will make sense as we proceed. Philip, who is he? Who was he? Well he's not to be confused with Philip, one of the apostles, one of the disciples that Jesus chose. He's Philip from Acts chapter 6, one of the devout, God-fearing men that was chosen to minister to the needs of the widows there. And in Acts chapter 21, verse 8, we have that identification plus something else here about him. Acts 21, 8, it says, On the next day we, who were Paul's companions, departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. Two things about Philip there, according to Acts 21, 8. He was Philip, one of the seven. That, again, takes us there to Acts chapter 6. Philip, one of the seven, and this designation, Philip the evangelist. What is going on here in Acts chapter 8?

Well, two things. The church is undergoing persecution. Persecution has intensified, and because of the persecution that has come upon the church, the church has scattered. Do you remember the last words that Jesus spoke while he was on this earth before his ascension? It's recorded in Acts chapter 1, in verse 8, he said this, You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me, where? In Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. And that provides, I think, a very good outline to follow the activities of the church, the early church. And you can follow the growth of the church in Jerusalem, and then into these geographical areas that are mentioned here, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. And that's what we're drawn to here in Acts chapter 8 at the beginning. Again, notice what's going on.

Two things. Persecution and the scattering of the church. Now Paul was consenting to Stephen's death at that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. The apostles were still in Jerusalem, but the church, apart from the apostles, has been scattered.

And scattered where? Throughout the regions of where? Judea and Samaria, where Jesus had said, You will be my witnesses in these areas. Philip.

Notice what we're told about him. Verse 4, Therefore those who were scattered, scattered because of persecution, went everywhere preaching the word. Those who were scattered. Not just Philip went preaching the word, but what's it say? Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. So many people went preaching the word. But then the text singles out Philip.

Then Philip, verse 5, went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And again, I'm asking the question, Are you a member of God's AARP? Not that organization for retired people, but the AARP of Acts, chapter 8.

And let me give you the first identifying marker of an AARP member. We'll see it in Philip, and then I'll ask you if this is true of you. Philip, number one, was accountable. He was accountable, or he was under authority, we could say. What do I mean by that?

Well, two things. He was a gifted man. He had the gift of evangelism. He was Philip the evangelist, but he was under God's authority.

He was gifted by God to be used where God wanted him to be used, how God wanted him to be used, and where God wanted him to be used. And God directed him. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and he preached Christ to them.

Philip was accountable. While he was there, there was a wonderful spirit-wrought response to his preaching. Men and women heard the word of Peter as he preached Christ, and they responded favorably to his preaching. Word got back to Jerusalem concerning this, and the church in Jerusalem dispatched Peter and John to go to Samaria.

That's why I read there in verse 14. Notice again, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. So, God is working through Philip's preaching. People are hearing of Jesus Christ and are being converted. Word gets back to the church in Jerusalem and they send Peter and John to go check up on this. We don't have a lot of detail here, but it seems, let's go down there and make sure that things are being done and carried out in an orderly way. Let's be sure that what Peter's preaching is indeed the true gospel.

And I'm reading between the lines here, but I think there's something implied here. Philip was under the authority of the apostles and of the church in Jerusalem, and God has sent him. He has been sent to this place in Samaria to preach, but he wasn't a lone ranger. He was a man under authority. He was accountable.

Accountable number one to God, accountable number two to the church in Jerusalem and its leadership. So, Philip was accountable. Number two, Philip was available. You see what I'm doing? I'm following that across the AARP, not the American Association of Retired Persons, but the AARP of Acts chapter 8. Philip was number one, accountable.

He was number two, available. What do I mean by that? Well, notice what it says there in verse 26. Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

This is desert. So he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians who in charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet. Philip was available. Now think with me about the situation. Here's Philip, and he's carrying on an evangelistic ministry.

And he's being very effective. People are being converted. Think about the possible objections one might have in such a situation. Word comes by the Spirit that he's to leave this place of blessing, this place where the Spirit of God is being poured out, and go to a desert. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

This is desert. Think of the possible objections one might have in such a scenario. Okay, I hear that, I'll do that, but not now. We're in the middle of a revival, and I'm the one who's been sent here. And humbly he might say, and it's through me that this blessing is being poured out. I'm the one sent here, I'm the one with the gift of evangelism, God is using me, so I hear that I should go, but not now, he could have said. Or he could have said, okay, but not me Lord, am I the only Christian around? It said they were scattered and they went everywhere preaching the word, so it wasn't just Philip preaching the word, there were many people out preaching the word. He could have said, not me Lord, am I the only Christian around? And what about Peter and John, who made the trip from Jerusalem, couldn't you use them?

What about the other apostles who are still in Jerusalem? Or he could have questioned the place. A desert? You want me to leave this metropolis, you want me to leave this bustling city where people are and go to a desert?

No one lives there, everyone knows you go to the city, that's where people are. Now, I'm just raising these as possible objections, there's no hint, there's no record that Philip voiced any of these objections or that he entertained any of these objections in his mind. What am I saying? I'm saying, I'm asking, are you a member of God's AARP? Number one, are you accountable? Are you under authority?

Number two, are you available? Philip was available. Notice what it says, again, verse 26, now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, this is desert. And I injected all those objections but there's no hint that Philip had any objections, spoke any objections, entertained any objections because the next verse says, so he arose and he went.

He rose and he went. Philip went because he knew something that we need to know that will be very helpful in our Christian lives and what is that? That God's ways are not our ways, that his thoughts are not our thoughts.

And how do we know this? Because God has told us that in Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 8. When we are engaged in spiritual work, there are always going to be areas we will not fully understand. We'll find ourselves asking, why does God do this?

Why does he do that rather than something else? Have you asked that question? Have you entertained questions like that? Have you wondered about God's ways? Of course you have.

I have. Take the case of someone who is extremely effective in some particular area of Christian work. And it's him.

He's the one who gets sick and dies. And do you find yourself asking, why him Lord? Why him?

Again, speaking from our perspective, there are all sorts of Christians that you could dispense with. Why take this valuable, unique person out of the equation? They seem to be so valuable.

They seem to be so indispensable. Well, because God's ways are not our ways. The real answer from our side of things is that really there is often no answer that satisfies our curiosity. We're left to wonder, why?

I was preparing this message. I was thinking of Stuart's situation. Why now? After he's had the transplant and after he's had half a dozen additional surgeries after the transplant, why now?

Why not have spared him all of this? And again, I don't have the answers to that. And what do we do when we are asking these questions in our humanness? What do we do? We bow.

We submit. We say, God, you are all wise. Whatever my God ordains is right.

And we trust God. When Philip was given this call, he did not know what God was going to do with him. And I'm sure it did not make a lot of sense to him to leave what he was doing in the midst of a revival, in the midst of spiritual blessing, in the midst of being used of God through his gifts to see people being converted to leave that place and go to a desert. But that's exactly what he did. And I think there's a good lesson here, and that is whenever it comes to a choice between our way of thinking and what God has said and revealed in his word, we know what we should do.

What is that? We must submit to God. We must yield our way.

We must trust him. And we'll have all eternity to ask our questions and perhaps get maybe some answers to the perplexities of this life. There's no promise that God will answer those things for us, but perhaps he will. We'll have a long, long, long time to ask our questions. And maybe when we get there, it won't matter. All these questions perhaps will fade away.

I don't know. Again, we're talking from this side of the veil of tears. Philip was, number one, he was a man under authority. He was accountable. He was accountable to God. He was accountable to the church in Jerusalem and to its leadership.

And number two, he was available. God said, I want you to go, leave where you're at, and go down south to the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert. So, without hesitation, without argument, he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Well, isn't that an interesting coincidence? It just happened.

No, it didn't just happen. God ordained that Philip, in route, would intercept this man in his chariot. God had an appointment for Philip, and God had an appointment for this Ethiopian eunuch, and God has a way of bringing people together for his wise and gracious purposes.

This was just not any man. This was, we're told, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem. He'd come to Jerusalem to worship.

Ethiopia, a long, long ways away. In fact, the place where the queen of Sheba had come to inquire of King Solomon. And one would have to think that Solomon would have spoken to the queen of Sheba about the scriptures of the Jews. Who is to say what may have happened in that encounter a thousand years earlier? Over all those years, who knows what remained of true religion, what may have been carried by the queen of Sheba back to Ethiopia.

But here's a man. We do not know how he came to know of God. He was a God-fearing man. He'd come to Jerusalem to worship. He was in search of the true God. And when he came to Jerusalem, you say, well, why didn't God direct one of the apostles to intercept this chariot while he was in Jerusalem? Well, there was a bunch of apostles there. There was only one, Philip the Evangelist, in Samaria.

Again, we're back to the question. This is God's way. This is what God ordained. God was going to use Philip the Evangelist and nobody else in the life of this Ethiopian eunuch. So this man had made the long trip to Jerusalem. Another man would not have been able to do this. It was hard to travel in those days and it was a very long and costly journey. We're told that this man was a very important man. He was the keeper of the treasury of what was acknowledged by all to be a very rich country. Therefore, he was free to go about because of the position that he held. So here he is in Jerusalem.

Notice what it says. Verse 28, he was returning from Jerusalem, sitting in his chariot, and he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake this chariot.

Go near and overtake this chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you understand what you are reading? Philip was not only a man under authority, he was accountable. He was not only that, he was available to God. But number three, as we're thinking of the AARP of Acts chapter 8, he was ready. He was ready.

The Bible commands us to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and be ready to give an answer to any man who asks us for the reason of the hope that's within us. And Philip was a man who was ready. Philip knew the scriptures. And here the man is, not just reading anywhere in the Old Testament scriptures, he's reading the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures, and he's reading in the book of Isaiah.

Again, the timing of this is amazing. Philip was ready. Philip was ready to engage this man. Philip was ready to ask an engaging question.

Do you understand what you're reading? There are two people who are prepared here. The Ethiopian eunuch is a man who's being prepared by the Spirit of God, and Philip the evangelist is a man who's being prepared by God for this moment. He's ready. And I wonder, how many of us leave our homes, wake up in the morning, perhaps we're confined to our home, but we have a mindset of readiness. We are ready to speak of Christ. We are ready to engage whomever God brings across our pathway for the purpose of evangelism.

We're ready to talk to them about Jesus. And folks, in this day of confusion, in this day of bewilderment that has enveloped so many people, more and more people are open to hear of the hope that's within us. We must not succumb to the same despair that's all around us, because we believe that this life is not the end. We have a hope that is beyond this. We're just pilgrims passing through. We know a God who's ordering all things after the counsel of his own will. So we're not wringing our hands, we're not frustrated.

We know God has purposes in what he's doing. Now, can I explain it? Can I connect dots?

No, I can't. But knowing the theology that I know ought to affect my demeanor. It ought to affect my emotions. I ought to be a hopeful person. I ought to be an engaging person. I ought to be an opportunistic person, ready to speak and engage people that God brings across my pathway. And I trust that you'll be challenged in that way. Philip was a man who was ready.

Ready. He knew the scriptures. Could you do what Philip did? Could you engage somebody and it doesn't matter whether you're in Genesis or whether you're in Revelation.

It's easy to do that in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53. And the man asks, who is this about? Is this about the prophet or some other man?

Well, talk about an open door there. It's about the Lord Jesus Christ. God's appointed Messiah. But in Genesis chapter 1-1, can you go from Genesis 1-1 to Jesus?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Well, you better be able to because Jesus is God. Jesus is in Genesis 1-1. Hebrews tells us that he holds all things together by the word of his power.

Who does? Jesus does. What about Revelation? We get to the end of the book of Revelation. It says, behold, I am coming quickly. Who's coming quickly? Jesus is coming quickly. We ought to be able to, wherever we are in the scriptures, get to Jesus rather quickly. Our ladies have been involved in Bible studies for years and a good much of the Bible studies that they've been doing have been seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. It's been a rich, rewarding study for them.

We need to grow in our ability to do that. So again, Philip, a member of God's AARP. He was, number one, accountable. He was under authority, under God's authority, under the authority of the church in Jerusalem and under its leadership. He was, number two, he was available.

He was available for God to use him however God wanted to use him, wherever, however. And number three, he was ready. He was a man ready. He prepared himself. And number four, Philip was prompt. He was prompt, no hesitation. The Spirit said, verse 29, to Philip, go near and overtake this chariot.

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, do you understand what you are reading? He was prompt, no hesitation, quick to obey, quick to be in the Lord's service. And I trust that you are that kind of a person, that there's no hesitation in you. You don't have to think about the commands and the precepts of God. You're a person under authority.

If you know this is what God requires of you, you don't have to think about that. I'm prompt. Yes, Lord. Philip was a man who was prompt. The Ethiopian said, Philip says, do you understand what you are reading? Verse 31, he said, how can I unless someone guides me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the scripture which he read was this. And there's a quotation from Isaiah 53, verse 34. So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this?

Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture, preached Jesus to him. And now as they went down the road, they came to some water and this man, there's evidence that he was converted and he asked to be baptized. And he and Peter went down into the water. He was baptized and they came up out of the water. Kind of hard for a pedobaptist to explain that passage away, but that's not our point this evening.

That's my challenge tonight to you. Are you a member of God's AARP? Are you a person under authority, submitted to the word of God, submitted to the local church and its leadership? Are you available? Have you made yourself available to be used by God?

How he wants to use you, where he wants to use you, when he wants to use you. Are you ready? Are you prepared? Are you ready to give an answer to any man who would ask you the reason for the hope that is within you? And are you a person of promptness? No hesitation. You know what God's will is for your life. You're on it. You're a prompt.

I don't mean run. Yes, my son worked for an organic farmer up the road from our house when he was in high school. And he was eager to have this job and Gary Murray was the owner of the farm. And we became friends and I was talking with Gary one day. He says, I'm going to say something to you about your boy. He said, one of the first times he was up here, I said to him, go up to the barn and get some tomato steaks. And he said, he took off like a shot running to the barn. And he said, when he came back, he said, I sat him down.

I said, son, let me say something to you. When I ask you to do something, you don't have to run. We're farmers. We take our time. We're disciplined. We know what we have to do. And we get we get the job done. You don't have to run.

So what I'm saying is this isn't a matter of running. This is a matter of promise. We know what God wants us to do. We're not we don't hesitate.

We don't argue. We're ready to be what God wants us to be. A couple of other things I'd like to just mention to you as we're thinking about evangelism here.

I want you to notice. If we're going to be effective in the work of evangelism, that's something that can only be done. Up close.

This is not something that we can do at distance. I'm convinced that the gospel crosses relational bridges. That when we're investing in our neighbors, we're investing in our co-workers, we're investing in our friends, we're building relationships with people and we have an end in mind.

And what is that? We are building a relationship to earn the right, earn their trust, to talk to them about Jesus. We're told here.

Then the Spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake the chariot. Go near. And we have to be intentional about how and with whom we have relationships. It's easy to have relationships with Christians. In fact, the longer you're a Christian, most of your relationships are with Christians, unless perhaps you're working in a place where there are a lot of non-Christians around you. But after a while, when we begin to look around us, we think, you know, everybody I know in my family and my workplace are Christians. I don't have any meaningful relationship with lost people. I think we need to rethink that.

I think we need to have a strategy where we intentionally have relationships with lost people for the purpose of speaking to them about Jesus. Now, I've awkwardly done that. I joined a bowling team a number of years ago.

It's probably been eight or ten years ago. And I'm not a great bowler, but I'm a better than average bowler, so I joined this rather high-end league, and there were three men on a team, and I was the low man on the team. Neither one of the other two guys were Christians. And I thought, you know what, I'm going to do what I tell other people to do. I'd seen these guys. I had known them a little bit, so they knew me, and they needed somebody with a high handicap to help the team. So they didn't want me on the team because I was a great scratch bowler.

They wanted me on their team because every once in a while I would throw a really good game, and my handicap would really help the team. So, anyway, I think the league lasted for 24 weeks or 26 weeks, so every week I would see these guys, and they knew who I was. They knew I was a pastor, and we talked about this, that, and the other. And as the weeks went by, I started to wonder, are they just thinking through the week?

What kind of a predicament they can put me in? What kind of a hard question they could ask? But after a while, many of the questions they asked were legitimate questions. I think they were not playing games with me.

They wanted to know. So I was able to have a relationship on purpose with these two guys who did not know the Lord. Now, I don't know what God may have done with that, but I need to do more of that. I think we need to do more of that on purpose, because I really do believe that the Gospel crosses relational bridges. We need to build relational bridges with people. And then when God gives us the opportunity to speak to people, we don't talk to them about religion.

We don't talk to them about going to church. We do what Philip did. He preached Jesus to them.

Notice that? Over and over again, right back to Acts 8, verse 3, it says, Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and did what? He preached Christ to them. That's what he was doing in Samaria. He was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. Well, what happens when he meets this Ethiopian eunuch on his way away from Jerusalem?

It says in verse 35, Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at the Scriptures, preached Jesus to him. So when God gives us that opportunity, let's speak to people about Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus that God gave to redeem sinners. That's our hope. That's the only hope we've got for this world.

That's our hope. Let's not confuse and muddy the message by confusing it with all kinds of other things. Let's talk to men and women as God gives us opportunity about Jesus. Let me conclude with this Charles Wesley hymn. Lord, grant my yearning heart's desire that I be filled with fervent zeal to save poor sinners from the fire, to snatch them from the verge of hell and turn them to a pardoning God to cleanse their souls in Jesus' blood.

I would the precious time redeem and longer live for this alone to spend and to be spent for them who have not yet my Savior known. Fully on these my mission prove and only breathe to breathe thy love. My talents, gifts, and graces, Lord, into thy blessed hands receive and let me live to preach thy word and only to thy glory live. My every sacred moment spend to publish forth the sinner's friend. And in the last stanza, enlarge in flame and fill my heart with thine own boundless love divine. So shall I all my strength exert and love them with a zeal like thine and lead them to thine open side, the sheep for whom the shepherd died.

Let us pray. Father, we marvel that you would purpose to use fallible men in the work of the gospel, and yet that's what you have revealed. Here's an Ethiopian eunuch making a journey, reading the scriptures.

You could have regenerated him on the spot without the means of a human instrument, and yet you called Philip away from a revival to go to a desert to intercept a man in a chariot. Lord, help us to find new joy and delight in your purposes that you want to use us in the work of evangelism. Lord, some have the spirit endowed gift of evangelism, but only a few do.

Most of us do not. But that does not disqualify us, so Lord, help us to be ready, to be available, to be used of you in the reaching of our lost acquaintances and loved ones. Thank you for what we see in Philip the Evangelist. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. To Him be the glory, the dominion, the power forever and ever. Amen.