2014.03.16 Acts 8: 26-40
Phillip and the Ethiopian
Our text for this morning shows us the next step in the spread
of the Gospel in the early church….…… You'll remember that the church was
formed on the day of Pentecost as God called out a group of men and women to
form a body of believers that could carry the message of Jesus Christ to the
world…… Jesus gave orders to that early church that it should begin in
Jerusalem…..
The church fell under persecution led by The Pharisee
Saul….. He was persecuting the
Christians like a wild animal..... The persecution caused them to scatter…. They
carried the gospel to Judea and Samaria…… In the early part of chapter 8 we
remember that Philip had begun to preach in Samaria…… Verse 4 of chapter 8
says, "They were scattered abroad
everywhere preaching the Word". And the next verse says, "Philip went down to the city of
Samaria and preached Christ unto them".
Many were saved….. Miracles were done….. The persecution
is driving the spread of the Gospel…. They went everywhere proclaiming the Good
News….
These early believers
were always proclaiming the Good News….. They always knew what to do…… Proclaim
the Good News…. The Spirit of God had
filled them and when you're filled with the Spirit you speak the Word with Boldness, Acts 4:31….
That's what they kept doing no matter what happened to
them….. No matter where you put them they shared the Good News… Being Led by
the Holy Spirit…. Phillip and later Peter and John……. Proclaimed the Good news
and Samaria received the gospel……
And now it's time for the Gospel to spread to the
uttermost part of the earth…. That means the hated Gentiles…
Since the beginning….. The plan of God has been to reach the world with His saving truth…. all the way through the Old
Testament…. and God always designed at the beginning in the Old Testament for
all of this communication to come through Israel…… Remember Israel was not a
reservoir of the Good News of redemption…… Israel
was a channel through which the Good News of the Gospel would spread to all
nations….
Phillip was quick to obey His Lord even though he didn´t
understand God´s plan….
How about us… Are we quick to obey the Lord…. Even when
we don´t understand what He is asking us to do?...
Philip went where the Spirit told him…. and Phillip reached
that first Gentile…..
The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) church is the historic church
of Africa…. The ancient peoples of most of northern Africa trace their
Christian experiences to that Ethiopian Eunuch and to Phillip… From the
beginning… God had planned for gospel to
go to the Gentiles….. That´s what he meant when He told Abraham….. In you shall all nations of the world be
blessed….The Good News is for the Gentiles too…. That´s where we pick up
the text…. Acts 8:26….
Acts
8: 26-30 NKJV
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.
27 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, 28 was returning. And sitting
in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30
So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do
you understand what you are reading?”
Acts 8: 26-30 Sch 2000
26 Ein Engel des Herrn aber redete zu Philippus und
sprach: Steh auf und wandere nach Süden auf der Straße, die von Jerusalem nach
Gaza hinabführt; diese ist einsam.
27 Und er stand auf und machte sich auf den Weg. Und
siehe, [da war] ein Äthiopier, ein Kämmerer und Gewaltiger der Kandake3, der
Königin der Äthiopier, welcher über ihren ganzen Schatz gesetzt war; dieser war
gekommen, um in Jerusalem anzubeten,4
28 und nun kehrte er zurück und saß auf seinem Wagen und
las den Propheten Jesaja.
29 Da sprach der Geist zu Philippus: Tritt hinzu und
halte dich zu diesem Wagen!
30 Da lief Philippus hinzu und hörte ihn den Propheten
Jesaja lesen; und er sprach: Verstehst du auch, was du liest?
Philip meets a man from Africa, an Ethiopian eunuch…… Now
in this encounter with the Ethiopian we see some great things….. The First thing
we see is a willing servant….. Phillip was available to serve the Lord in what
ever way That the Lord wanted….. He was being mightily used in Samaria….. But
now the lord says go….. And Phillip doesn´t ask why are you sending me to the
desert…… He gets up and goes out into the desert…. Phillip is an evangelist ….
Who is he going to evangelize out in the middle of nowhere?... An entire
continent….. Millions represented by this one eunuch….
There are three basic things that I want you to see under
this concept of the faith that saves.
Saving
Faith
1 preparation….
God himself prepares the heart
2 presentation…
The Gospel must be proclaimed…
3 personal
response…… genuine repentance and faith
let's look at the preparation….. If it is to be real
saving faith….. It has to be a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit…. That´s what
we see in verses 26-29…
Salvation begins with the Spirit of God…… Salvation is
God's work…… It is not ever man's work…. It
is the sovereign grace and mercy of God reaching down to a world full of dead
men´s bones…. And saying Live…..
Nobody deserves God´s grace… …… Nobody
of his own accord finds it….. Turn to I Cor. 2:14…..
1 Cor. 2: 14 NKJV Sch 2000
14
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
14 Der natürliche Mensch aber nimmt nicht an, was vom
Geist Gottes ist; denn es ist ihm eine Torheit, und er kann es nicht erkennen,
weil es geistlich beurteilt werden muß.
Do you remember in
I Cor.1….
Paul
says that when we try to preach Christ crucified to the Gentiles it's
foolishness….
And so the natural man in his own naturalness cannot
understand God…… It's all foolishness…… It is spiritually discerned and he is
spiritually dead… Man cannot approach God because of his own naturalness he is unable…..
But it´s even worse than that… II Cor. 4
Tells us that Satan has blinded their eyes to the truth….
Without
the help of the Holy Spirit….. No one would or ever could choose Christ and
come to saving faith.…
Ephesians
2:1 says, man is dead in sin…… Dead men
don't respond to anything…..
In John 6:44 Jesus said this, "No man cometh unto Me unless the Father Draw him."
It is always God's first action….. He breaks the barrier
that is put there by our sinful humanness and Satan himself……. God uses the
Holy Spirit for this transformation…. Remember
Ezekiel 36 from last week?.... God said that he would wash us clean and
take out our heart of stone…. He said that He would give us a heart of flesh…..
He said I will put my Spirit in you
and you will obey … Jesus told us about the Holy Spirit´s work in John 16…. Turn there please…
John
16: 8- 11 NKJV
8
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of
righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16: 8- 11 Sch 2000
8 Und wenn jener kommt, wird er die Welt überführen von
Sünde und von Gerechtigkeit und vom Gericht;
9 von Sünde, weil sie nicht an mich glauben;
10 von Gerechtigkeit aber, weil ich zu meinem Vater gehe
und ihr mich nicht mehr seht;
11 vom Gericht, weil der Fürst dieser Welt gerichtet ist.
The Holy Spirit uses
the Word of God to convert people…. He will convict the world of Sin…. and
Show God´s righteousness….. and warn of certain judgment for all who refuse
to repent…. He will testify of Jesus….
the Christ…. the redeemer…. The Holy Spirit has been sent into the World by the
Lord Jesus for exactly these
purposes… back to Acts 8…
Verses 26-30…. ….. The Holy Spirit leads Philip into the
desert…. The Holy has already prepared the Eunuch’s heart….. God´s sovereign plan has a prepared heart in
exactly the right place and the right time….. For this man …. Today is the day
of Salvation… He´s on the road to Gaza…
Gaza was a city of the Philistines….. It had been
originally built as a fortress…. It had been destroyed but the old road went
through the ruins and that´s the road the Ethiopian Eunuch is using…..
He told him where to go…. But he didn't tell him what to
do…. Phillip knew what to do….. These early
Believers went everywhere proclaiming the Good News….
Verse 29… Go and join that chariot…..
God uses human instruments….. but we only join Him in His work…. We are
along for the ride…
Saving faith begins with the right preparation….. the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit….. The
Spirit does His work….. The heart is prepared to repent and believe the Good
News…
That brings us to the second part…. The Spirit does the work….. but He uses us….. I like that, don't you? He initiates we
participate…… He could use anyone…
We´re just
cracked pots… We´re nothing special….. He has already done the heavy
lifting…… We´re only tools for the
Masters use… It's nice to be a tool,
isn't it?
Phillip was a tool ready to be used…. The Holy Spirit
uses human instruments…... But there's a qualification to be used….. and that's
holiness…… We find that in II
Timothy 2:20-21 ….
2
Tim 2: 19-22 NKJV
19
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord
knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.”
20
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of
wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and
useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Flee also youthful
lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the
Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Tim 2: 19-22 Sch 2000
19 Aber der feste Grund Gottes4 bleibt bestehen und trägt
dieses Siegel: Der Herr kennt die Seinen! und: Jeder, der den Namen des
Christus nennt, wende sich ab von der Ungerechtigkeit!
20 In einem großen Haus gibt es aber nicht nur goldene
und silberne Gefäße, sondern auch hölzerne und irdene, und zwar die einen zur
Ehre, die anderen aber zur Unehre.
21 Wenn nun jemand sich von solchen reinigt,5 wird er ein
Gefäß zur Ehre sein, geheiligt und dem Hausherrn nützlich, zu jedem guten Werk
zubereitet.
22 So fliehe nun die jugendlichen Lüste6, jage aber der
Gerechtigkeit, dem Glauben, der Liebe, dem Frieden nach zusammen mit denen, die
den Herrn aus reinem Herzen anrufen!
If you want to be a vessel for honor… you purge yourself
from sin…… God uses holy instruments to do His finest work…… Back to Acts 8….He needed an available
tool and He found one in Phillip…. verse
30…Phillip ran to the chariot and he opened his mouth….
Let´s look at a 3rd element in this man´s
conversion…. This man was a sincere
seeker….
We
see Not only
1 the
sovereign work of the Spirit…
2 the submissive willingness of a man to be
used to proclaim the Good News…. We see
…
3
the searching seeking heart of the Ethiopian……
Something was going on in his heart….. He was searching
for the true God….. This Ethiopean was very rich and he had much power…. He had
everything the world could offer…… But despite his weath…. He was empty
inside…. He was searching for God…..
in verse 27 we see
that he is returning from Jerusalem and that he is reading the scriptures…..
Isaiah….. The 5th Gospel…
He was from Ethiopia….. Ethiopia in that day was a massive kingdom…..
It was everywhere from the Red Sea to the great desert to the west of Africa
and from Egypt south… Most of Africa was
under the control of Ethiopia….. He was very powerful and well respected…. The
bible also says that he was a eunuch….. Eunuchs
often rose to places of prominence…. He was the treasurer of the Queen…. He had
honor and great wealth….. He was searching for God….. He had become a
convert to Judaism…. There were many Jews in Ethiopia… He had come a very long
way… He had a searching heart…..
That´s
the kind of heart God honors…..
So he went to Jerusalem…. He wanted to know and
understand God…. He followed and obeyed the law of …. But it was not enough….
Genuine faith …. Genuine salvation has nothing to do with being religious….. It
is the >Love of God reaching out to
sinful people…. People like us….. And transforming us…. Forgiving us….. Rules
and traditions do not transform the hearts and lives of people…. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of
His great love with which He loved us…. 4 Aber Gott, der reich ist an
Barmherzigkeit, hat in seiner großen Liebe, mit der er uns geliebt hat… ,This man wanted
to know God….. He bought a bible and studied it…… That´s exactly what I did when I was 18…. He
was hungry and thirsty for righteousness….
He was seeking and that's all God asks…… He said that he
will be found by us when we seek Him with all of our hearts….. He had responded
to the Spirit of God's touch in his heart….. We know that because the natural man doesn't
seek God does he? Romans 3, "No man
seeks after God"
The
Spirit of God had begun to work in his life…. there was a little light
coming through the law and the Prophets and he moved toward the light…. Turn to Jeremiah 29:13….
Jeremiah
29: 13 NKJV Sch 2000
13
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
13 Ihr werdet mich suchen und finden; denn wenn ihr mich
von ganzem Herzen suchen werdet,
If you really want to know God’s will you can know it….. If you're really hungry….. God satisfies your
hungry heart……
This man sought God…….
His heart is prepared….. God´s chosen instrument is on
hand…. His mouth is open….. Enter the Word of God… The Good news according to the
Prophet Isaiah……
He probably had the complete scroll of Isaiah and the
Spirit of God just made sure he got to Isaiah chapter 53…..
There he was…. the right
place the right time… he is reading Isaiah 53….. This is the suffering servant passage…. It is a
great presentation of the death of the Messiah……
and purchase of salvation through His sacrificial atonement……. It's right there…..
Everything comes together perfectly……..
That's the Spirit of God controlling everything…..
Everything has come together and now the Spirit of God
uses the Word of God to lead this man to Christ Jesus the Messiah…. The Lamb of
God who takes away the sins of the world…
If a man really wants to know the truth of God…. he only needs
to open the bible….. God will reveal it to him if he's got a
searching heart….. Do you remember what
Jesus said in John 5:39....
John 5: 39,40 NKJV
39
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and
these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me
that you may have life.
"Testify
of Me." And then in verse 46 He says, "You if you really believed Moses
you'd accept Me because he wrote of Me".
John 5: 39,40 Sch 2000
39 Ihr sucht in der Schrift, denn ihr meint, ihr habt das
ewige Leben darin; und sie ist's, die von mir zeugt;
40 aber ihr wollt nicht zu mir kommen, dass ihr das Leben
hättet.
Now Phillip presents Jesus to this man…. He said do you
understand what you are reading? Then we pickup the text at Acts 8….v31…v 31…
Acts
8: 31 NKJV Sch 2000
31
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come
up and sit with him.
31 Er aber sprach: Wie kann ich denn, wenn mich nicht
jemand anleitet? Und er bat Philippus, aufzusteigen und sich zu ihm zu setzen.
How can I understand this without a teacher….
Boy, what a
terrific opportunity…. What Boldness, he just moves right in there…… How
often do you run into a bible teacher in the middle of the desert? Here he was.
It must have been exciting as Philip jumped up into the chariot and they began
to talk….. He had a humble attitude…. He was ready and he was teachable… Don't
you love a humble teachable attitude? God loves a humble and teachable heart…You
know what the bible says in Psalm 25:9,
it says:
Psalm
25: 8,9 NKJV Sch 2000
8
Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The
humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
8 Der HERR ist gut und gerecht; darum weist er Sündern
den Weg.
9 Er leitet die Elenden recht und lehrt die Elenden
seinen Weg.
This guy was ready…. He was studying the
right chapter of Isaiah….. Isaiah 52 and 53… There we read prophesies about
Jesus… These prophesies show the Messiah…. The Savoir… as the suffering servant of God….. Laying
down his life to redeem sinners…. People like me and you…. reading
from Acts 8…v32…
Acts
8: 32,33
NKJV Sch2000
32
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 shearer is silent, So He opened not His
mouth.33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare
His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
32 Die Schriftstelle aber, die er las, war diese: »Wie
ein Schaf wurde er zur Schlachtung geführt, und wie ein Lamm vor seinem Scherer
stumm ist, so tut er seinen Mund nicht auf. 33 In seiner Erniedrigung wurde
sein Gericht aufgehoben. Wer will aber sein Geschlecht beschreiben? Denn sein Leben
wird von der Erde weggenommen!«
So he read from 53: verses 7
and 8….. the great 53rd chapter of Isaiah… which prophesies… Christ´s sacrificial substitutionary death……..
The great Jewish scholars all through the years have always said it's the Messiah…..
On the Sabbath portions are read….. The suffering servant passage is no longer
read in the services…. V34…
Acts
8: 34, 35 NKJV
Sch 2000
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?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth,
and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
34 Da wandte sich der Kämmerer an Philippus und sprach:
Ich bitte dich, von wem sagt der Prophet dies? Von sich selbst oder von einem
anderen? 35 Da tat Philippus seinen Mund auf und begann mit dieser
Schriftstelle und verkündigte ihm das Evangelium von Jesus.
V34.. he says, I
don't understand this… Who's he talking about?
Well Philip took his opportunity and he taught him the
substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
verse
35, "Then Philip opened his mouth and began at this "Scripture, he preached Jesus to Him….
Isaiah 53…. Sure I can help you…. let me explain that to you….. Phillip was a
student of the Word…. He was well prepared…. There is never an end to the study of the word of God…….
We need to know the Word of God so that
we can pick it up and proclaim the Love of Jesus Jesus to anyone….
Sometimes I've been ashamed because I was not able to
immediately address their questions with the Word of God…. We should be like
Phillip…. He was prepared because of his diligent study of the Word of God…. Philip
said… Isaiah 53….. I'll explain it verse
by verse….. We should be so well prepared that we can open the Bible And show
Jesus while we explain the scriptures to someone…
Peter put it this way…..
1 Peter 3: 15 NKJV Sch 2000
15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness
and fear;
15 heiligt aber den Herrn Christus in euren Herzen. Seid
allezeit bereit zur Verantwortung vor jedermann, der von euch Rechenschaft
fordert über die Hoffnung, die in euch ist,
We should have something to say about Jesus and His work
in our lives to every person that we meet….
The
Presentation of the Good News
1 is centered on
the Word of God…..
2 it's
centered on the Savior….. Jesus is who he preached…..
3
shows the way to genuine Salvation…..
Back
to the Ethiopian Eunuch…. Phillip told him how to be saved from
the scriptures.… He went
through the substitutionary atonement in Isaiah and announced the whole truth
of Christ, salvation…..
Philip didn't talk
about religion…... He talked about Jesus….. and he told him how to be saved……True
evangelism presents the whole plan of salvation…..
back to Acts 8….v.35…..
Acts
8: 36- 38 NKJV
36
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?”37 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.”
38
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water, and he baptized him.
Acts 8: 36- 38 Sch 2000
36 Als sie aber auf dem Weg weiterzogen, kamen sie zu
einem Wasser, und der Kämmerer sprach: Siehe, hier ist Wasser! Was hindert
mich, getauft zu werden?
37 Da sprach Philippus: Wenn du von ganzem Herzen
glaubst, so ist es erlaubt! Er antwortete und sprach: Ich glaube, daß Jesus
Christus der Sohn Gottes ist!
38 Und er ließ den Wagen anhalten, und sie stiegen beide
in das Wasser hinab, Philippus und der Kämmerer, und er taufte ihn.
Is Baptism important? Yes…. Philip taught him about it….. Is it important
for salvation? No….. But it's important as a public testimony of the new birth
that the Lord has given to us…...
Here we see an instant genuine response to the
work of the Holy Spirit in this man´s life…
The eunuch said, Look water", this is unbelievable…
In the middle of the desert….fantastic… 'What
hinders me from being baptized?"
His faith was real and he wanted to be baptized…..
Verse
38…. Phillip baptized him….
Phillip
was a soul winner…. Acts 8…v.39…
Acts
8: 39 NKJV Sch 2000
39
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.
39 Als sie aber aus dem Wasser heraufgestiegen waren,
entrückte der Geist des Herrn den Philippus, und der Kämmerer sah ihn nicht
mehr; denn er zog voll Freude seines Weges.
verse 39….. There is genuine faith here…… and there's public
confession of his faith here…. The Holy
Spirit took Phillip immediately away….. That was a miracle….. Don't you think
that eunuch didn't know it….. And the Ethiopian eunuch went his way rejoicing……
He knew that he was saved…. He knew that his sins were forgiven… As I said
earlier….. He proclaimed the Good news in his home land and the fruit of this
desert meeting continues to this very day…
Soul
Winning
The Scripture says,…. He that wins souls is wise…
Proverbs 11….v30….
Proverbs
11: 30 NKJV Sch 2000
30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.
30 Die Frucht des Gerechten ist ein Baum des Lebens, und
der Weise gewinnt Seelen.
Charles Trumbull was a great soul winner….He sometimes
used Isaiah to preach the Good News to sinners….
Isaiah 53 and 55 for example… He said that personal
soul-winning is the main way to win
souls….. The Romans road… Verse 40…
Acts
8: 40 NKJV Sch 2000
40
But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the
cities till he came to Caesarea.
40 Philippus aber wurde in Asdod gefunden, und er zog
umher und verkündigte das Evangelium in allen Städten, bis er nach Cäsarea kam.
To confirm the Word… God did a miracle… As they came up out of the water…. Phillip
disappeared… That whole caravan saw it…..
I can imagine that others in his caravan were also converted that day….
For sure the miracle established a topic for that eunuch to preach all the way
to Ethiopia…… Azotus was the name of the
ancient Philistine city of Ashdod…. And look at this, What did Phillip do….. What
did he always do? He preached Jesus as
he went….. He went everywhere telling everyone about Jesus… Think about this…. Phillip is proclaiming
the Good News to the bitter enemies of Israel…. That´s grace and mercy…. So
there he goes preaching till he came to
Caesarea."
Here you have an illustration of one man's availability to reach one other man for
the Lord Jesus….. Just one Gentile man
in the desert….. Suddenly a continent reached for the Gospel…. The #1 ability in ministry is
availability…. Phillip was available and he was willing to open up his
mouth…He proclaimed the Good News about
Jesus….. To some…. It is foolishness….
To those who repent and believe…. It is the power of God…. Transforming and
saving men and women….
Close
Ephesians
2: 1- 10 NKJV
1 Once
you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to
live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander
of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of
those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the
passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we
were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we
were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the
dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us
from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms
because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future
ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us,
as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for
this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we
have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned
for us long ago.
Ephesians 2: 1- 10 Neues Leben
1 Auch ihr wart früher tot aufgrund eurer Sünden.
2 Ihr habt genauso in der Sünde gelebt wie der Rest der
Welt, beherrscht von Satan, der im Machtbereich der Luft regiert. Er ist der
Geist, der in den Herzen derer wirkt, die Gott nicht gehorchen wollen.
3 Wir alle haben früher so gelebt und uns von den
Leidenschaften und Begierden unserer alten Natur beherrschen lassen. Wir wurden
mit dieser Natur geboren und waren Gottes Zorn ausgeliefert wie alle anderen
Menschen auch.
4 Doch Gott ist so barmherzig und liebte uns so sehr,
5 dass er uns, die wir durch unsere Sünden tot waren, mit
Christus neues Leben schenkte, als er ihn von den Toten auferweckte. Nur durch
die Gnade Gottes seid ihr gerettet worden!
6 Denn er hat uns zusammen mit Christus von den Toten
auferweckt und wir gehören nun mit Jesus zu seinem himmlischen Reich.
7 So wird er für alle Zeiten an uns seine Güte und den
Reichtum seiner Gnade sichtbar machen, die sich in allem zeigt, was er durch
Christus Jesus für uns getan hat.
8 Weil Gott so gnädig ist, hat er euch durch den Glauben
gerettet. Und das ist nicht euer eigenes Verdienst; es ist ein Geschenk Gottes.
9 Ihr werdet also nicht aufgrund eurer guten Taten
gerettet, damit sich niemand etwas darauf einbilden kann.
10 Denn wir sind Gottes Schöpfung. Er hat uns in Christus
Jesus neu geschaffen, damit wir zu guten Taten fähig sind, wie er es für unser
Leben schon immer vorgesehen hat.
Phillip proclaimed the Good News from Isaiah…. As a young Christian I learned the Romans road…. The Word of God is filled
with the Good News…… It´s all about
Jesus…… He is the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the world!
Jesus has saved us for a reason…. We are living in a lost
and dying world…… He has sent us to go out and proclaim the Good News…. Reach out
to whoever God places in your path… Don't ever estimate the importance of anyone…. let God take care
of that….. Just be ready….. And when the opportunity comes….. trust the Lord
and open your mouth….. Proclaim the Good News….. Learn to condense your personal testimony…..
You can learn to tell the essentials in 2 or 3 minutes…… Don't minimize your
usefulness…… trust the LORD…
Let's pray.
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