WEBVTT 00:00:01.504 --> 00:00:02.024 Good morning. 00:00:02.024 --> 00:00:05.213 Let's begin our worship with a word of prayer. 00:00:05.213 --> 00:00:07.424 Father, thank you for this morning. 00:00:07.424 --> 00:00:13.271 Thank you for the beautiful weather that you give to us and the way that you just sustain us and take care of us and bless us. 00:00:13.271 --> 00:00:15.688 Forgive us when we take those blessings for granted. 00:00:15.688 --> 00:00:18.548 Father, just help us be a light in this world. 00:00:18.548 --> 00:00:22.250 Help us be an encouragement to everybody that we come into contact with. 00:00:22.250 --> 00:00:30.467 And, holy Spirit, we just invite you in here this morning to worship with us and enhance our worship so that it is pleasing to the Father. 00:00:30.467 --> 00:00:33.348 And thank you for your Son, and it's in his name we pray. 00:00:33.348 --> 00:00:33.890 Amen. 00:00:33.890 --> 00:00:37.386 I could just sit. 00:00:39.124 --> 00:00:43.177 I could just sit and wait For all your goodness. 00:00:43.177 --> 00:00:49.671 Hope to feel your presence, I could just stay. 00:00:49.671 --> 00:00:58.170 I could just stay right where I am and hope to feel you, hope to feel something again. 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:01.134 I could just sit. 00:01:01.514 --> 00:01:08.659 I could just sit and wait for all your goodness, hope to feel your presence. 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:11.028 I could just stay. 00:01:11.028 --> 00:01:20.358 I could just stay right where I am and hope to feel you, hope to feel something again. 00:01:20.358 --> 00:01:22.328 I could hold on. 00:01:22.328 --> 00:01:32.596 I could hold on to who I am and never let you change me from the inside. 00:01:32.596 --> 00:01:35.460 I can be safe. 00:01:35.460 --> 00:01:50.149 I can be safe here in your arms and never leave home, never let these walls down, and I'll go where you will lead me, lord. 00:01:50.149 --> 00:01:54.631 You lead me, lord. 00:01:54.631 --> 00:02:10.943 I can hold on. 00:02:10.943 --> 00:02:21.395 I can hold on to who I am and never let you change me from the inside. 00:02:21.395 --> 00:02:24.274 I can be safe. 00:02:24.274 --> 00:02:32.661 I can be safe here in your arms and never leave home, never let these walls down. 00:02:32.661 --> 00:02:53.671 You have called me higher, you have called me deeper, and I'll go where you will lead me, lord. 00:02:53.671 --> 00:02:55.925 You lead me, lord. 00:02:55.925 --> 00:03:01.832 I will be yours, lord. 00:03:01.832 --> 00:03:04.623 I will be yours for all my life yours, lord. 00:03:04.644 --> 00:03:05.344 I will be yours for all my life. 00:03:05.344 --> 00:03:10.174 So let your mercy light the path before me. 00:03:10.174 --> 00:03:32.081 I will be yours, lord. 00:03:32.081 --> 00:03:32.723 I will be yours for all my life. 00:03:32.723 --> 00:03:33.990 So let your mercy light the path before me. 00:03:33.990 --> 00:03:36.158 You have called me higher, you have called me deeper, and I'll go where you will lead me. 00:03:36.158 --> 00:03:44.963 Lord, you have called me higher, you have called me deeper and I'll go where you will lead me. 00:03:44.963 --> 00:03:53.861 Lord, you have called me higher, you have called me deeper and I'll go where you will lead me. 00:03:53.861 --> 00:04:05.555 Lord, you have called me higher, you have called me deeper and I'll go where you will lead me. 00:04:05.555 --> 00:04:09.508 Lord, you lead me, lord. 00:04:13.600 --> 00:04:14.605 Amen, praise God. 00:04:18.367 --> 00:04:23.815 As the mountains surround Jerusalem. 00:04:23.815 --> 00:04:29.913 Surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people. 00:04:29.913 --> 00:04:43.711 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people. 00:04:43.711 --> 00:04:55.478 Surround us, lord. 00:04:55.478 --> 00:05:02.939 Surround us, o Lord. 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:08.754 We need to be in your presence. 00:05:08.754 --> 00:05:13.422 Surround us, lord. 00:05:13.422 --> 00:05:25.732 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people. 00:05:25.732 --> 00:05:39.593 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people. 00:05:39.593 --> 00:05:44.809 Surround us, lord. 00:05:44.809 --> 00:05:53.391 Surround us, o Lord. 00:05:53.391 --> 00:06:02.637 We need to be in your presence. 00:06:02.637 --> 00:06:09.884 Surround us, lord. 00:06:09.884 --> 00:06:17.132 Surround us, lord. 00:06:17.132 --> 00:06:27.192 Surround us, o Lord, us, o Lord. 00:06:27.192 --> 00:06:31.694 We need to be in your presence. 00:06:31.694 --> 00:06:39.187 Surround us, lord. 00:06:39.187 --> 00:06:44.944 Surround us, lord. 00:06:50.545 --> 00:07:00.494 Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world. 00:07:00.494 --> 00:07:05.853 They resound with God's own heart. 00:07:05.853 --> 00:07:17.172 Oh, let the ancient words impart Words of life, words of hope. 00:07:17.172 --> 00:07:25.057 Give us strength, help us cope In this world. 00:07:25.057 --> 00:07:33.872 Where'er we roam, ancient words will guide us home. 00:07:33.872 --> 00:07:45.487 Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you. 00:07:45.487 --> 00:07:50.875 We have come with open hearts. 00:07:50.875 --> 00:07:57.096 Oh, let the ancient words impart. 00:07:57.096 --> 00:08:13.293 Holy words of our faith, handed down to this age, came to us through sacrifice. 00:08:13.293 --> 00:08:19.452 O heed the faithful words of Christ. 00:08:19.452 --> 00:08:30.675 Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world. 00:08:30.675 --> 00:08:36.153 They resound with God's own heart. 00:08:36.153 --> 00:08:43.134 Oh, let the ancient words impart in part. 00:08:43.134 --> 00:08:53.470 Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you. 00:08:53.470 --> 00:08:59.389 We have come with open hearts. 00:08:59.389 --> 00:09:05.745 Oh, let the ancient words impart. 00:09:05.745 --> 00:09:16.592 Ancient words, ever true, changing me and changing you. 00:09:16.592 --> 00:09:22.893 We have come with open hearts. 00:09:22.893 --> 00:09:29.216 O, let the ancient words impart. 00:09:29.216 --> 00:09:34.748 We have come with open hearts. 00:09:34.748 --> 00:09:45.020 Oh, let the ancient words impart Amen. 00:09:46.884 --> 00:09:47.264 All right. 00:09:47.264 --> 00:09:51.812 Our scripture reading today comes from Acts 8, and it's verses 29 through 31. 00:09:51.812 --> 00:09:59.583 It says the Spirit told Philip Go to the chariot and stay near it. 00:09:59.583 --> 00:10:02.390 Then Philip ran to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet Do you understand what you're reading? 00:10:02.390 --> 00:10:04.582 Philip asked and he responded. 00:10:04.582 --> 00:10:07.484 How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me. 00:10:07.484 --> 00:10:10.331 So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 00:10:16.020 --> 00:10:17.163 Will you bow with me please. 00:10:17.163 --> 00:10:20.110 Father, we thank you so much for your word. 00:10:20.110 --> 00:10:22.923 We thank you for your gospel, your grace and your mercy. 00:10:22.923 --> 00:10:38.231 We thank you, god, for the hope that you offer us and as we look at how we can have a heart where we can claim and develop that hope in your life, we pray, father, that you open our hearts to your word and help us be doers of the word and not just hearers. 00:10:38.231 --> 00:10:42.291 In Jesus' name and all God's people said amen. 00:10:45.020 --> 00:10:47.649 A couple of things before we get into our lesson. 00:10:47.649 --> 00:11:09.202 Thursday night was an exciting night down at the Guernsey County Jail, exciting night down at the jail, and Tacey has been studying with some ladies down there and on Thursday night six of those ladies were baptized into Christ and that was phenomenal. 00:11:09.202 --> 00:11:26.783 So we want to celebrate that and also we'll let you know that she's Tacey's trying to it's not a done deal, but trying to work out something where she can take those six ladies to the living word on a Friday night and she's working with the sheriff some of that If that happens. 00:11:26.783 --> 00:11:32.580 She asked, she said she may need some ladies that would be willing to chaperone with. 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:42.529 That Doesn't mean they're going to be shackled to your legs or anything like that, but you know they may want you know somebody to go. 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:53.679 And so if you think, if that happens, and you think you would be interested in that, if you would see me or see Josh, and we will give you Tacey's number we can get in touch with Tacey where that can happen. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:58.773 So she's doing an amazing ministry down there with that. 00:11:58.773 --> 00:12:03.312 So I want to just make you aware of that opportunity to serve. 00:12:03.312 --> 00:12:17.522 Also, if you signed up for Class 101, discovering or Membership, we will meet today, right after this assembly, we'll have lunches in class, we'll have some babysitting and so if you signed up for that, we will meet in the small auditorium. 00:12:17.522 --> 00:12:25.043 And if you're thinking about being a member or looking for a church home, there's no pressure, it's not a hard sell, it's just just hey, here's what we believe. 00:12:25.043 --> 00:12:29.068 Uh, you're welcome to be, be a part of that. 00:12:29.068 --> 00:12:44.094 And then, lastly, you sneaky dogs, you, how in the world did you keep that corn roast surprise retirement party secret? 00:12:44.094 --> 00:12:55.467 Yeah, this is definitely not a gossipy church because I knew nothing about it, but I was humbled and my heart was made, was full, and I thank you for that. 00:12:55.467 --> 00:13:00.308 I never saw so many pies in my life. 00:13:00.308 --> 00:13:05.743 But thank you for that and on behalf of even my family. 00:13:05.743 --> 00:13:11.085 Didn't tell me, you know, but I just want to thank you for that. 00:13:11.085 --> 00:13:16.674 It was a very special night and a lot of corn. 00:13:16.674 --> 00:13:23.870 It's hard to believe in 36 years here and I've been blessed to be a part of that. 00:13:23.929 --> 00:13:42.024 I told the 830 service that before I came here I was three years, a little church up north around Cleveland, and before that I spent eight months which I thought was probably the eight most wasted months of my life being a youth minister at a church in Sparta, tennessee. 00:13:42.024 --> 00:13:44.750 Amy and I were newlyweds. 00:13:44.750 --> 00:13:45.852 We'd just gotten married. 00:13:45.852 --> 00:13:53.265 I'd left the place where I'd been for several years and went to Sparta there and it just wasn't a good experience. 00:13:53.265 --> 00:13:56.206 It wasn't the people and it was probably more me than anything. 00:13:56.206 --> 00:14:01.104 I knew I was in trouble when the first Sunday I walked in here the preacher came up because I was the youth minister. 00:14:01.104 --> 00:14:05.789 The preacher came up to me and he said I want to let you know your office is downstairs. 00:14:05.789 --> 00:14:16.961 So I felt like Cinderella your office is downstairs and he said that's my secretary, not yours. 00:14:16.961 --> 00:14:17.745 You don't ask her to do a thing. 00:14:17.745 --> 00:14:20.816 So I knew I was in trouble with this preacher because, for whatever reason, we just we just clashed. 00:14:20.816 --> 00:14:28.346 So so after eight months and one of those eight months we were snowed in we had like 21 inches of snow. 00:14:28.346 --> 00:14:31.149 21 inches of snow in Tennessee is like 10 feet here. 00:14:31.149 --> 00:14:37.725 I mean we just shut down everything and I said, amy, we've got to get out of here, this is just not working. 00:14:37.725 --> 00:14:49.143 And so we moved to Wyndham here and so I just felt like I wasted eight months here and so I just felt like I wasted eight months. 00:14:49.222 --> 00:14:52.448 During that eight months there was one family that sort of came we came close to was the Camp family. 00:14:52.448 --> 00:14:58.923 Jim was a lawyer he's the first of two lawyers that I've had to work with as elders. 00:14:58.923 --> 00:15:19.023 The other one's here and lawyers and elders there's a framer in here, anyway, but we got close and he had two kids, two sons that we got close to, philip and Danny Camp, and we just sort of worked with them. 00:15:19.023 --> 00:15:21.912 My eight months was sort of spending time with them at this church in Sparta. 00:15:21.912 --> 00:15:32.249 We came so close and I was so impressed with Philip and Danny that my son, philip his name is Philip Daniel Biggs, he's named after Philip and Danny Camp, and I thought what a waste of eight months there. 00:15:32.249 --> 00:15:46.008 But I was here a couple of years and come to find out Philip and Danny now one is a Bible professor at Lipscomb Preaches in Nashville and the other one became a Christian counselor, a youth minister, and he's now an elder at a church in Nashville. 00:15:46.008 --> 00:15:49.754 So those two guys you know came through. 00:15:49.813 --> 00:15:55.950 You know through that eight months that they say that I sort of lit a spark in them for ministry. 00:15:55.950 --> 00:16:02.565 And then when I was here so about six years after I left Sparta, Jim called and said what are you doing? 00:16:02.565 --> 00:16:04.726 In October I said I don't know what am I doing? 00:16:04.726 --> 00:16:05.707 He said you're going to Cuba. 00:16:05.707 --> 00:16:14.736 I said okay, and so I went to Cuba, I think spent almost three weeks there in Cuba and you know the rest of the story. 00:16:14.736 --> 00:16:19.600 Through that we got involved. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:21.224 There was only nine congregations of the Lord's church in Cuba at that time. 00:16:21.224 --> 00:16:22.086 Today there's 136. 00:16:22.086 --> 00:16:24.210 And a lot of those churches are because of this church right here. 00:16:24.210 --> 00:16:46.852 And so I'm saying all that to say this During the eight months that I thought was the most wasted eight months of my ministry turned out to maybe be the most productive months of my ministry Because God used that those eight months and we've literally changed the nation here through that work in Cuba. 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:51.489 I think Philip sort of felt like that that we're going to look at in Acts 8. 00:16:51.489 --> 00:16:54.043 You look at Philip in Acts, chapter 8. 00:16:54.043 --> 00:16:56.389 Philip the evangelist is in Samaria. 00:16:56.389 --> 00:17:07.381 There's a great revival going on, people are being healed, people are being taught about Jesus, people are being baptized into Christ, and things are going on. 00:17:07.381 --> 00:17:16.288 And in the middle of this great revival, an angel comes to Philip and says hey, I want you to go down to the desert road next to Gaza. 00:17:16.288 --> 00:17:28.694 And if I'm Philip, I'm thinking why am I leaving this great revival to go to a deserted road, a desert road in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere? 00:17:28.694 --> 00:17:32.367 That'd be like God saying, hey, I want you to leave New York City and go to Derwent. 00:17:32.367 --> 00:17:34.252 Why? 00:17:34.252 --> 00:17:38.463 But Philip went. 00:17:38.463 --> 00:17:40.150 He went. 00:17:40.661 --> 00:18:01.509 And we're going to look at what happened when Philip went to that desert road, because I want to think and Philip probably thinking as he's walking down this desert road why did God take me away from this revival in Samaria, where lives are being changed, and sent me down here to this road? 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:04.180 Why did he do that, to this road? 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:10.288 Why did he do that and he goes on the road and we're going to see in a minute that he met a guy called an Ethiopian eunuch. 00:18:10.288 --> 00:18:14.086 This eunuch is baptized into Christ, and here's what I want you to understand. 00:18:14.086 --> 00:18:20.827 That eunuch from Ethiopia went back to Africa, and this isn't Bible, but this is history. 00:18:20.827 --> 00:18:27.526 According to history, he went back to Africa and started spreading Christianity all over Africa. 00:18:29.325 --> 00:18:32.067 So what seemed like in Philip's mind? 00:18:32.067 --> 00:18:41.626 I would think, or at least in my mind why am I leaving this great revival and I'm going to go teach this one guy over here in the middle of nowhere? 00:18:41.626 --> 00:18:44.963 And God said just worry about it, you're not wasting your time, philip. 00:18:44.963 --> 00:18:54.509 Something great is going to come out of this, because God is a master of taking something that seems insignificant and a waste of time to us and doing great things with it. 00:18:54.509 --> 00:19:08.711 And so I want us to look at that event and I really want us to focus on the eunuch, because I think from the eunuch we read about what happens, and this eunuch, he has this great. 00:19:08.711 --> 00:19:18.741 I mean, he leaves rejoicing, his whole life has changed and he leaves with a lot of hope. 00:19:18.761 --> 00:19:30.147 When we encounter the eunuch, when Philip first meets this guy, he's confused and he moves from confusion to confidence and he leaves After meeting Philip, he's full of joy and hope. 00:19:30.147 --> 00:19:32.894 He receives a great blessing. 00:19:32.894 --> 00:19:36.150 He leaves rejoicing, he receives a new purpose. 00:19:36.150 --> 00:19:40.364 His whole life is changed from having this gospel conversation with Philip. 00:19:40.364 --> 00:19:44.715 But it all happens because the eunuch had the right type of heart. 00:19:44.715 --> 00:19:51.882 I want you to understand that God wants to give you hope for your hopelessness and God wants to give you forgiveness for your guilt. 00:19:51.882 --> 00:19:57.224 And God wants to give you mercy for your struggles, and God wants to give you a purpose for your life. 00:19:57.224 --> 00:19:58.410 That seems purposeless. 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:05.551 And God wants to teach you how to have better relationships and God wants you to be able to live a life without fear. 00:20:05.551 --> 00:20:09.487 But we cannot have any of those things until our heart is right. 00:20:09.487 --> 00:20:23.690 And so I want us to look at the eunuch's heart this morning just for a few minutes, and see how we can develop a heart so we can receive those blessings God is waiting to just pour into your life. 00:20:23.690 --> 00:20:31.836 But sometimes we don't receive them because we don't have the heart, and so so let's look at that. 00:20:31.875 --> 00:20:37.189 It says the angel lord said to Philip go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. 00:20:37.189 --> 00:20:48.468 So he started out and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, which means queen of the Ethiopian. 00:20:48.468 --> 00:21:10.717 So he goes down and he meets this person, and so I want us to see what happens when he meets this treasurer, this eunuch, and see what we can learn about how to find hope and how this eunuch found hope. 00:21:10.717 --> 00:21:23.051 All right, it says the man had gone to worship and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet, the Ethiopian eunuch. 00:21:23.051 --> 00:21:29.856 A eunuch was a male who had been castrated for one or two reasons. 00:21:29.856 --> 00:21:31.412 Number one, he couldn't mess with the harem. 00:21:31.412 --> 00:21:40.680 But number two, it was against the law for anyone who was castrated to become king or queen. 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:41.529 Become king? 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:46.934 I guess not, queen maybe nowadays, but anyway depends on how he identifies at the moment. 00:21:46.934 --> 00:21:48.571 But anyway, they become king. 00:21:48.571 --> 00:21:53.230 Just a few more weeks, fellas. 00:21:53.230 --> 00:21:54.273 Just a few more weeks. 00:21:54.273 --> 00:21:57.788 And and? 00:21:57.788 --> 00:21:59.672 And so you know he's. 00:21:59.811 --> 00:22:13.019 He's obviously a proselyte Jew, remember, he's Ethiopian, he's African, he's on a high, he's coming back back, just like when our kids come back from Winterfest and they're coming back all excited. 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:29.540 He's coming back, he's sitting in his chariot and he's reading the book of Isaiah, and the first thing I want us to understand about having a heart where God can give you hope is that you have to have a heart that you're hungry. 00:22:29.540 --> 00:22:32.134 This man's hungry for understanding God's will. 00:22:32.134 --> 00:22:36.596 He's coming back and he's reading the book of Isaiah because he wants to know. 00:22:36.596 --> 00:22:42.616 He wants to know what God wants to do for his life. 00:22:42.616 --> 00:22:44.829 And we'll see how hungry in a minute. 00:22:45.111 --> 00:22:46.890 Let me ask you a question how do you know you're hungry? 00:22:46.890 --> 00:22:53.055 Stomach growls Huh. 00:22:53.055 --> 00:22:55.288 Ross says he's awake. 00:22:55.288 --> 00:22:58.173 He's awake, he's hungry. 00:22:58.173 --> 00:23:02.372 Huh, get hangry. 00:23:02.372 --> 00:23:07.054 I mean, I get hangry, you know, you can know when you're hungry. 00:23:07.054 --> 00:23:10.227 One way you know you're hungry is if you're tired. 00:23:10.227 --> 00:23:14.979 If you're tired, you're hungry, and you know. 00:23:14.979 --> 00:23:26.250 And so if you run out of energy, if you never eat, you've been there where you just get tired because you never eat, and you know we skip meals or we get busy, we're hard. 00:23:26.250 --> 00:23:27.272 It's not a good thing. 00:23:27.272 --> 00:23:30.618 The other way is when you're hangry, you're irritable. 00:23:30.618 --> 00:23:32.990 You're just irritable. 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:35.775 When I get hungry, I can get irritable. 00:23:35.775 --> 00:23:45.570 And so when you're irritable, you can understand that Because, scientifically, your blood sugar dips and blah, blah, blah, I just get hangry. 00:23:45.570 --> 00:23:50.407 And then the third is when you have a headache, you know you're hungry. 00:23:50.407 --> 00:24:00.075 When you start feeling pain, you don't eat, you start feeling pain and so you get hungry and you know all those things. 00:24:00.075 --> 00:24:03.214 Well, the same thing happens when you're spiritually hungry. 00:24:04.026 --> 00:24:07.016 When you're spiritually hungry, you are tired. 00:24:07.016 --> 00:24:07.998 You're tired of living with guilt. 00:24:07.998 --> 00:24:08.739 You're tired of living in tired. 00:24:08.739 --> 00:24:08.919 You're tired of living with guilt. 00:24:08.919 --> 00:24:10.471 You're tired of living in shame. 00:24:10.471 --> 00:24:12.151 You're tired of living in fear. 00:24:12.151 --> 00:24:15.315 You're tired of just living with broken relationships. 00:24:15.315 --> 00:24:17.291 You're tired of feeling like a loser. 00:24:17.291 --> 00:24:24.794 If you're tired of all of those things, if you're tired of guilt, if you're tired of regret, that's just a sign that you're spiritually hungry. 00:24:24.794 --> 00:24:28.854 If you're irritable all the time, you're always mad at people. 00:24:28.854 --> 00:24:30.406 You never get along with people. 00:24:30.406 --> 00:24:32.954 You read the news and your blood pressure or read the news. 00:24:32.954 --> 00:24:35.310 You watch the news and your blood pressure goes up. 00:24:35.310 --> 00:24:40.186 You hate people, you're bitter towards people, you refuse to forgive people. 00:24:40.186 --> 00:24:41.128 You're just irritable. 00:24:41.128 --> 00:24:44.135 That's a sign that you need some spiritual food. 00:24:44.135 --> 00:24:59.433 And if you're in pain, if your past is causing you pain, if your regrets are causing you pain, if your sinful habits are causing you pain, if your unaccounted for addiction is causing you pain, all of that is a sign that you're spiritually hungry. 00:24:59.433 --> 00:25:06.314 We understand that when I get a headache or my stomach growls or I get hangry, I know what I need to do. 00:25:06.314 --> 00:25:08.538 I need to go get some food. 00:25:08.538 --> 00:25:11.511 Now sometimes we go get junk food. 00:25:11.511 --> 00:25:12.595 That doesn't help us at all. 00:25:12.595 --> 00:25:15.251 And the same thing spiritually. 00:25:15.251 --> 00:25:25.394 When I realize that I'm spiritually hangry and that I'm hurting, we'll try everything, we'll go get junk food to try to fill that spiritual hunger. 00:25:25.394 --> 00:25:33.875 It could be anything from alcohol to church instead of a relationship with Jesus. 00:25:39.786 --> 00:25:44.568 This eunuch's life was changed because he had a hungry heart. 00:25:44.568 --> 00:25:50.792 He's sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah, trying to understand what was going on. 00:25:50.792 --> 00:25:55.717 So the three signs that you're hungry is you're tired, you're irritable and you're hurting. 00:25:55.717 --> 00:26:06.234 And that can go physically, but that also can be true spiritually Tired, irritable, hungry. 00:26:06.234 --> 00:26:18.333 So the beginning of having a heart where you can find hope is to realize you know what? 00:26:18.333 --> 00:26:19.557 I'm tired of being empty. 00:26:19.557 --> 00:26:23.873 I'm tired of being angry all the time. 00:26:23.873 --> 00:26:26.672 I'm tired of being in pain. 00:26:26.672 --> 00:26:29.190 I'm tired of being in pain. 00:26:29.190 --> 00:26:30.076 I'm tired of being weak. 00:26:30.076 --> 00:26:37.190 I need something and you'll never see your need for God. 00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:39.516 You'll never find the hope you want. 00:26:39.516 --> 00:26:45.730 You'll never find what you're searching for until you acknowledge your spiritual hunger. 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:46.872 Does that make sense? 00:26:46.872 --> 00:26:50.199 Secondly, be humble. 00:26:51.866 --> 00:26:57.573 This guy is reading Isaiah the eunuch, and the spirit tells Philip go up to the chariot and stay near it. 00:26:57.573 --> 00:27:00.191 I want you to understand how difficult that would be. 00:27:00.191 --> 00:27:07.713 Wonder if God told you hey, see that guy over there sitting in that pickup truck with the red light. 00:27:07.713 --> 00:27:11.089 Go up there and start talking to him about God. 00:27:11.089 --> 00:27:12.875 Would you go? 00:27:12.875 --> 00:27:16.070 Let's say it's a black man. 00:27:16.070 --> 00:27:26.144 I mean, there was nothing these two had in common. 00:27:26.144 --> 00:27:29.893 Here's a black wealthy. 00:27:29.893 --> 00:27:31.135 He had a scroll. 00:27:31.135 --> 00:27:31.978 He had to be wealthy. 00:27:31.978 --> 00:27:34.292 Gideons didn't hand out Bibles back then. 00:27:37.365 --> 00:27:43.317 Powerful treasurer of a kingdom. 00:27:43.317 --> 00:27:53.788 And here's this dusty old preacher walking down the desert road and God says hey, go up to that dude, that rich black dude, and talk to him about God. 00:27:53.788 --> 00:27:58.238 Hmm. 00:27:58.238 --> 00:28:07.155 And so Philip runs to the chariot and he hears the man reading Isaiah the prophet. 00:28:07.155 --> 00:28:09.031 And Philip says hey, you understand what you're reading. 00:28:09.031 --> 00:28:14.320 And then the eunuch says man, don't come talking to me about what. 00:28:14.320 --> 00:28:15.464 I don't understand what I'm reading. 00:28:15.464 --> 00:28:16.589 Don't you know who I am? 00:28:16.589 --> 00:28:18.692 I am the treasurer of Ethiopia. 00:28:18.692 --> 00:28:20.971 You're just nothing but an old street guy. 00:28:20.971 --> 00:28:21.815 I don't even know you. 00:28:21.815 --> 00:28:23.666 How dare you come up here and walk to me about it? 00:28:23.666 --> 00:28:24.347 What do you mean? 00:28:24.347 --> 00:28:25.750 I know what I'm reading. 00:28:25.750 --> 00:28:27.392 You're saying I can't read. 00:28:27.392 --> 00:28:29.515 That's what he said. 00:28:29.515 --> 00:28:34.060 That's not what he said. 00:28:40.405 --> 00:28:45.288 That Ethiopian eunuch said how can I? 00:28:45.288 --> 00:28:47.055 I need somebody to explain this to me. 00:28:47.055 --> 00:28:50.112 He had a hungry heart. 00:28:50.112 --> 00:28:52.292 God, what do I need to get rid of my guilt? 00:28:52.292 --> 00:28:53.650 God, I want to find out. 00:28:53.650 --> 00:28:57.712 I am so tired of religion, I am so tired of legalism. 00:28:57.712 --> 00:29:01.593 I'm so tired of guilt, I'm so tired of waking up and not knowing why. 00:29:01.593 --> 00:29:04.595 I'm so tired of wondering what's going to happen to me when I die. 00:29:04.595 --> 00:29:05.926 I'm so tired. 00:29:05.926 --> 00:29:11.374 Then he had to be humble. 00:29:11.374 --> 00:29:17.909 Tell me, tell me what I got to do. 00:29:17.909 --> 00:29:18.833 I'm tired of the pain. 00:29:18.833 --> 00:29:25.796 So the Ethiopian eunuch he said somebody's got to explain this to me. 00:29:25.796 --> 00:29:28.333 Get up here and sit with me, tell me. 00:29:28.333 --> 00:29:31.771 Tell me what's going on here. 00:29:31.771 --> 00:29:33.576 And he's humble. 00:29:33.576 --> 00:29:35.830 That's the beginning. 00:29:36.724 --> 00:29:46.912 Hungry, humble, in James chapter 4, james is writing to and I would encourage you this would be your homework Go home and read James chapter 4 sometime today. 00:29:46.912 --> 00:30:01.199 He's writing to a group of Christians who are being persecuted and he gets on their case in James chapter 4, because they're being divisive and he warns them, he scolds them for living according to the wisdom of the world. 00:30:01.199 --> 00:30:02.386 They're jealous. 00:30:02.386 --> 00:30:07.738 He says their ambition to succeed is not based on pure motives. 00:30:07.738 --> 00:30:09.773 They're fighting with each other. 00:30:09.773 --> 00:30:12.145 Sounds like a country I know named America. 00:30:14.713 --> 00:30:17.190 And then James warns these believers. 00:30:17.190 --> 00:30:30.815 He says all this fighting and all this division and all this trying to get your own way and all this arguing at one another, he says you are committing adultery with God because you're not being faithful to God. 00:30:30.815 --> 00:30:39.150 And then he says this God opposes the proud when you are prideful. 00:30:39.150 --> 00:30:41.256 And I don't need help, I know what I'm doing. 00:30:41.256 --> 00:30:43.770 I got it all together. 00:30:43.770 --> 00:30:45.907 Nobody tells me what to do? 00:30:45.907 --> 00:30:47.352 I can fix this. 00:30:47.352 --> 00:30:48.394 I ain't got the problem. 00:30:48.394 --> 00:30:49.116 You got the problem. 00:30:50.164 --> 00:30:55.478 God, you are an enemy of God when you pridefully stand there and say, god, I got it all together. 00:30:55.478 --> 00:31:02.585 But he gives grace, saving and sustaining grace to the humble, to those who say you know what God? 00:31:02.585 --> 00:31:03.787 I'm a mess. 00:31:03.787 --> 00:31:07.892 Somebody needs to explain to me what I need to do. 00:31:07.892 --> 00:31:10.816 Somebody, please explain to me. 00:31:10.816 --> 00:31:14.661 And so the eunuch knew he needed help understanding God's word. 00:31:14.661 --> 00:31:20.799 That's why you need in a Bible class at 930. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:25.080 That's why we encourage you to be a part of a life group. 00:31:25.080 --> 00:31:42.519 That's why you need to get two or three Christians of the same gender together, grab a couple of bookmarks, meet once a week for just six or seven weeks and follow the bookmark and have a discovery Bible study, because we know we need somebody to help us to find the hope that God wants to give me. 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:46.271 I got to be humble enough to say you know what I need some help Every week. 00:31:47.134 --> 00:31:52.796 Every week, I call One of the good things about being an old preacher like this morning. 00:31:52.796 --> 00:31:54.623 I get a text from Belafonte. 00:31:54.623 --> 00:31:55.647 He spoke Sunday night. 00:31:55.647 --> 00:32:01.713 Belafonte preaches up at Ravenna and he was a kid in my youth group 40-something years ago and he said hey, here's what I'm preaching on today, what do you think? 00:32:01.713 --> 00:32:07.814 And every week I contact preachers. 00:32:08.034 --> 00:32:14.330 When I was doing the Peter thing last week, the sermon on Peter I remember asking Josh and Jevin I said what do you think? 00:32:14.330 --> 00:32:16.432 Did Peter get out of the boat because of? 00:32:16.432 --> 00:32:25.820 I needed help to understand. 00:32:25.820 --> 00:32:40.298 But if I think I have all the answers, I've got a whole tub full of sermons. 00:32:40.298 --> 00:32:45.521 Buddy's filing system is a filing system of a man with a sick mind. 00:32:45.521 --> 00:32:53.256 Buddy's filing system is a filing system of a man with a sick mind Because Buddy's filing system he's got them categorized. 00:32:53.256 --> 00:32:54.557 He's got this big ledger book. 00:32:54.557 --> 00:33:05.365 You give him the topic, it runs down to the topic and he cross-references it and then he goes to the file E22, and pulls it out. 00:33:05.365 --> 00:33:11.797 So if I say, Buddy, I need something on the Holy Spirit, well, wait just a minute. 00:33:11.938 --> 00:33:20.358 Right there it is Me. 00:33:20.358 --> 00:33:21.961 You need something on the Holy Spirit Me. 00:33:21.961 --> 00:33:23.305 Yeah, I open up this top of his tub. 00:33:23.305 --> 00:33:30.295 Yeah, I got something on the Holy Spirit in here somewhere and just throwing it everywhere. 00:33:30.295 --> 00:33:30.915 He's a sick. 00:33:31.076 --> 00:33:32.376 He's just sick, he needs help. 00:33:32.376 --> 00:33:40.746 I mean, he's so organized I can tell him right now, go find a sermon He'd have it in two minutes and tell me the last date he preached it. 00:33:40.746 --> 00:33:45.132 But huh, one minute, one minute. 00:33:45.132 --> 00:33:49.778 And so I got this big tub, you know, and you get ready to retire. 00:33:49.778 --> 00:33:52.442 It's like I need to get rid of this tub. 00:33:52.442 --> 00:33:54.463 Nobody cares about these sermons. 00:33:54.463 --> 00:33:55.164 I need to throw them away. 00:33:55.164 --> 00:34:05.103 I got a room full of books I can't give away, and so I finally took the tub home because in my mind I just can't throw it away yet. 00:34:09.750 --> 00:34:12.965 And you know what's funny Is I don't believe half of what I preached 10 years ago. 00:34:12.965 --> 00:34:13.528 I've grown and changed. 00:34:13.528 --> 00:34:20.719 I look at so many sermons and say I don't believe that now, but I still can't throw it away, even though I wouldn't want to give it to anybody. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:22.996 I just need that big bonfire. 00:34:22.996 --> 00:34:42.878 But the reason why I think I'm like that is I've always been a student, I've always been ready to learn, and until I'm ready to humble myself and learn, I'm never going to have the heart where God can really bless me. 00:34:42.878 --> 00:34:43.619 Does that make sense? 00:34:43.619 --> 00:34:49.692 A hungry heart, a humble heart, an obedient heart, it says. 00:34:50.574 --> 00:34:54.791 The eunuch asked Philip, tell me please, who's the prophet talking about, himself or someone else? 00:34:54.791 --> 00:34:59.583 Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture man, that's small, isn't it? 00:34:59.583 --> 00:35:03.797 And told him I should have broke this up and told him the good news about Jesus. 00:35:03.797 --> 00:35:10.958 The passage of Scripture that he tells him about you can read it in Acts 8, is Isaiah, chapter 53. 00:35:10.958 --> 00:35:13.036 And it's in your Bible. 00:35:13.036 --> 00:35:15.135 And so he begins about. 00:35:15.135 --> 00:35:17.480 He reads he says this is what I'm reading. 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:18.443 I don't know what this means. 00:35:18.443 --> 00:35:24.456 He was led like a sheep to the slaughter as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 00:35:24.456 --> 00:35:27.155 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. 00:35:27.155 --> 00:35:28.858 Who can speak of his descendants? 00:35:28.858 --> 00:35:30.922 For his life was taken from the earth. 00:35:30.922 --> 00:35:34.476 And the eunuch says who's Isaiah talking about himself or somebody else? 00:35:34.476 --> 00:35:40.737 And it says that Philip started right there and he started telling him the good news of Jesus. 00:35:40.737 --> 00:35:46.376 Now, one lesson we need to learn is that the Old Testament is full of the good news of Jesus. 00:35:46.376 --> 00:35:53.449 It's all through there. 00:35:53.449 --> 00:36:01.157 And so he begins with that passage and he starts telling him about Jesus. 00:36:01.157 --> 00:36:04.583 And whatever he's telling him about Jesus, notice what it includes. 00:36:07.070 --> 00:36:07.900 Along the road, they came to some water. 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:11.358 After he explains the scripture to them and the eunuch says look, here is water. 00:36:11.358 --> 00:36:14.159 What can stand in the way of my being baptized? 00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:15.998 He's saying well, here's water. 00:36:15.998 --> 00:36:29.202 Whatever he when he explained the good news of Jesus, it included baptism, and the eunuch said well, let's do it, there's water. 00:36:29.202 --> 00:36:34.217 He was ready to obey. 00:36:37.431 --> 00:36:50.635 Here is this black African Jewish proselyte who heard something new that he didn't know, who just wanted to please God, heard something new that he didn't know, who just wanted to please God. 00:36:50.635 --> 00:37:14.934 And even though what was taught went against his cultural traditions, his family traditions and his religious traditions, what he'd been taught religiously, when he saw that he needed to be baptized, he said let's do it Until I can have a hungry heart and a humble heart, but until I have an obedient heart that says, okay, god, I don't understand why you want me to love my enemies, but I'm going to love my enemies, then I'll understand it. 00:37:14.934 --> 00:37:16.259 It has to be a faith thing. 00:37:16.259 --> 00:37:26.309 And then I find that hope and some of us are saying I just don't know how I'm going to make it through this world and I'm just so tired of feeling so guilty. 00:37:26.309 --> 00:37:26.447 I just don't know. 00:37:26.447 --> 00:37:31.025 I don't know how I'm going to make it through this world and I'm just so tired of feeling so guilty and I just feel like if I die, I'm not sure I'm going to go to heaven. 00:37:33.710 --> 00:37:39.056 And God said I'm just ready to pour it in, but your heart's too hard. 00:37:39.056 --> 00:37:51.722 You're holding on to tradition, you're holding on to concepts that you're unteachable. 00:37:51.722 --> 00:37:56.097 Three truths, real quickly we learn about baptism. 00:37:56.097 --> 00:37:58.333 First one is this Baptism is important. 00:37:58.333 --> 00:38:01.081 We learn from the eunuch baptism's important. 00:38:01.081 --> 00:38:03.295 He said what do I need to do? 00:38:03.295 --> 00:38:06.934 Here's water, let me do it now. 00:38:06.934 --> 00:38:07.858 It's important. 00:38:08.070 --> 00:38:14.398 We see that in Romans 6, where Paul says don't you know that all those who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 00:38:14.398 --> 00:38:22.882 When I'm baptized, when it means baptized into his death, it means I receive the benefits of his death. 00:38:22.882 --> 00:38:28.677 He died on the cross for my sins and I don't receive those benefits until I'm baptized. 00:38:28.677 --> 00:38:32.331 The unit realized that baptism was important. 00:38:32.331 --> 00:38:33.858 It's something that needed to do. 00:38:33.858 --> 00:38:49.693 You may believe in Jesus and you may be committed to Jesus, just like you may be engaged to be married and you may be committed to being married, but until the wedding happens you don't receive the benefits of being married. 00:38:49.693 --> 00:38:50.615