Welcome to today's edition of the Weekend Sermon. Thank you for reading the blog. It is my prayer that the sermons that I post on this blog will help people in their spiritual lives. If anyone reads this blog and does not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it is my prayer that that person will come to know the Lord Jesus today.
This was a very eventful week. On Monday, we had a tornado that just missed my house. Thank the Lord no one was injured. There was also a tornado near my work. We all had to take cover in the safe room. I really wish this crazy weather would straighten up around here.
My nephew is recovering nicely. My neighbor who we prayed for a few weeks ago is also doing well. Thank you all for your prayers.
In prayer this week, continue to remember those who live in war torn and strife filled areas of the world. Pray for peace and justice in the world. Pray for an end of the exploitation of the poor by the rich and the weak by the strong. Especially pray for economic and social justice in this world.
Let us also continue to pray for the spread of the message of the Gospel of the love of Jesus. I heard reports again about some countries where there are very few Christians. One of these nations was the Comoros Islands. Let us pray that the message of Jesus will reach this nation.
Before we began our series of messages going through the book of I Peter, we studied on and off the story of the early church found in the first few chapters of the book of Acts. Over the next couple of weeks, I would like to focus on the early church and Acts. At the end of the month, we will begin a new series of messages on the divinity of Jesus Christ as presented in the Gospel of John.
If you remember, one of the people we studied in the book of Acts was a man named Stephen. Stephen was appointed with some others to be a deacon in the early churches. It was the deacon's job to see that the physical needs of the congregation were taken care of so that the Apostles were free to pray and preach the Gospel.
Stephen was a mighty man of God who boldly proclaimed the message of the Savior. Stephen was the first person the Scripture records being put to death for belief in Jesus.
Today, I would like to focus on another deacon who is named Philip. Philip was a man who was wholly committed to the message of Jesus, and he wanted to see the message of Jesus spread to people around the world.
As far as we know, Philip the deacon was one of the first people to take the Gospel to the Samaritans. Jesus had told His followers to preach the Gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the world. Philip was fulfilling the commandment of the Lord. He was also following the Lord's example in taking the message of the Kingdom to the Samaritans.
In John 4, Jesus went to a Samaritan village and had a dialogue with a Samaritan woman. This led to a great revival, and many Samaritans believed in Jesus.
The Samaritans were despised by the Jewish people who lived in Jesus' day. They were completely rejected. But Jesus didn't reject them. Jesus ministered to the Samaritans. In fact, Jesus used a Samaritan in the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach one of His most important messages.
Philip went to Samaria and preached the Word, performed miracles and cast out demons. Many people were converted to Christ as a result of Philip's ministry. Later Peter and John would go to Samaria to confirm that these people were true believers and they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit just as those who were present at the day of Pentecost had received.
Philip would also help to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching to a Ethiopian eunuch. The Lord told Philip to arise and go into the desert. While in the desert, an Ethiopian official's caravan was passing by. The official was reading out loud from the book of Isaiah the prophet. Philip heard the official reading, and asked him if he understood what he was reading. Philip then used this as an opportunity to explain who Jesus was.
The official was reading from Isaiah 53. This is one of the great prophecies of the Old Testament which clearly foretells the ministry of Jesus Christ upon the cross.
After Philip explained the Isaiah passage to the Ethiopian, the Ethiopian put his trust in Jesus and was baptized. This was important, because church history tells us that this Ethiopian went and shared his faith with his fellow countrymen. Today, Ethiopia has many Christian people and a rich Christian history.
After preaching to the Ethiopian, the Spirit took Philip to the city of Azotus. From there, Philip preached up and down the Mediterranean coast of present day Israel.
So what can we learn from the life of the deacon Philip. First of all, I believe that Philip is an example of obedience to the commandments of Jesus. Philip took the Great Commission seriously. He went and preached the Gospel to many different peoples.
To me, this demonstrates the fact that the love of Jesus is available to everybody everywhere. The message of Jesus is not just for some people while others are excluded. Jesus loves everyone, and He wants everyone to come to Him and believe in Him.
In my country, I feel that there are many people that do not want to here the message of Jesus because of the way that people in the church have acted to them. They feel excluded. This is not how it should be. During His ministry on this earth, Jesus spoke His message of love and forgiveness to those that the religious leaders of his day excluded. Jesus said whosoever will may come.
There is no sinner that Jesus does not want to come to the cross and receive forgiveness. Jesus said that whoever would come to Him, He would in no wise cast them out.
We should follow Philip's example and share the love of Jesus with those in our circle of influence. We should also give to missions, so that people who have never heard about the Lord might have the chance to know the Lord Jesus.
Philip is also an example of someone who was willing to go wherever the Lord called Him to go. He never questioned where God was leading him. This is how we as followers of Jesus should be. We should be willing to go where God wants us to go.
The Lord may be calling you to the mission field or to some other type of Gospel ministry. Please, yield to the calling of the Spirit and go where the Lord sends you. As Jesus said, the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few.
For some reason, you may feel that the Lord does not love you. This is not true. Jesus loves you. He wants you to come to Him. It does not matter what your race or ethnicity is, there is room at the cross for you.
You may feel that you have sinned too much for Jesus to save you. There is no sinner that Jesus cannot redeem. Jesus wants you to come to Him today.
Jesus said, "Come to me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That all includes you no matter who you are.
Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. On Wednesday, I will post a review about a book with animals who act as detectives. On Friday, the sermon will be posted. May God bless you this day and this week. Amen.
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