{"id":2832,"date":"2017-02-12T17:46:38","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T21:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=2832"},"modified":"2017-04-24T11:12:55","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T15:12:55","slug":"wilderness-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=2832","title":{"rendered":"Wilderness Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Message by<\/strong> Rev. Richard Jones<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

rec0212-112301<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wilderness Witness<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Acts 8:26-40<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction…<\/strong><\/span>
\nActs 8:4-8 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>4 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
\n5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
\n6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
\n7 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
\n8 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So there was much joy in that city. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Command<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:26 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>26 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, \u201cRise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.\u201d This is a desert place.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Visitor<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:27-28 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>27 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship <\/span>
\n28 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Opportunity<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:29-31 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>29 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And the Spirit said to Philip, \u201cGo over and join this chariot.\u201d <\/span>
\n30 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, \u201cDo you understand what you are reading?\u201d <\/span>
\n31 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And he said, \u201cHow can I, unless someone guides me?\u201d And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Passage<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:32-35 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>32 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: \u201cLike a sheep he was led to the slaughter<\/span> and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,<\/span> so he opens not his mouth.<\/span>
\n33 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation?<\/span> For his life is taken away from the earth.\u201d
\n34 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And the eunuch said to Philip, \u201cAbout whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?\u201d
\n35 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Isaiah 53:1-12 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>1 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Who has believed what he has heard from us?<\/span> And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?<\/span> <\/span>
\n2 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground;<\/span> he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.<\/span> <\/span>
\n3 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;<\/span> and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.<\/span> <\/span>
\n4 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;<\/span> yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.<\/span> <\/span>
\n5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;<\/span> upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.<\/span> <\/span>
\n6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned\u201d\u201devery one\u201d\u201dto his own way;<\/span> and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.<\/span> <\/span>
\n7 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;<\/span> like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,<\/span> <\/span>so he opened not his mouth.<\/span><\/span>
\n8 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered<\/span> that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?<\/span> <\/span>
\n9 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,<\/span> although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.<\/span> <\/span>
\n10 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;<\/span> when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;<\/span> the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. <\/span>
\n11 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous,<\/span> and he shall bear their iniquities.<\/span> <\/span>
\n12 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,<\/span> because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors;<\/span> yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Response<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:36 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>36 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, \u201cSee, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Acts 8:38 (ESV) <\/b><\/span>
\n38 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An Unusual Transport<\/b><\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Acts 8:39-40 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>39 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. <\/span>
\n40 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.<\/span><\/p>\n

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>15 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Message by Rev. Richard Jones rec0212-112301   Wilderness Witness Acts 8:26-40 Introduction… Acts 8:4-8 (ESV) 4 \u00a0Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 \u00a0Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages","category-sermons-by-rev-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2832\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}