The church takes off!

1
The church takes off!

• Proverbs 169
• In his heart a man plans his course, but the
  LORD determines his steps

2
The things that happened in Jerusalem did not
happen in some dark corner at night with none one
to bear witness to the facts and record them
And Saul was there giving approval to his
deathActs 81
3
This is not how I would plan church growth

• On that day a great persecution broke out
  against the church and Jerusalem, and all except
  the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
  Samaria Acts 81
• Those who were scattered preached the word
  wherever they went Acts 84

4
Why did this happen???

1. We dont have a record of the church members
   asking why!
2. If there is a lesson in the wanders of the
   wilderness it is that Gods plan is often not our
   plan

5
If we are to be faithful... We must not be why
whiners

• Exodus 173 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt
  to make us and our children and livestock die of
  thirst?
• Numbers 1120 Why did we ever leave Egypt?
• Numbers 205 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt
  to this terrible place?
• Why did I not perish at birth Job 311

6
A builder of products offered to our world is
often under ISO requirements and has to even
calibrate tape measures!
7
The church is calibrated by the instruction of
Jesus

• Mat 2818-20 Then Jesus came to them and said,
  All authority in heaven and on earth has been
  given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of
  all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
  Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
  teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
  you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
  end of the age.

8
When things did not happen in the church the way
that it seemed it should

• As they went they went they told others about the
  Jesus Christ
• The Jesus Christ that had caused the trouble that
  they now faced
• They were pressing forward, looking ahead,
  forgetting what was behind, being new creatures
  in Christ, thinking about what was good, setting
  their minds on the things above

9
So when an angel came to Philip

• Acts 828 Now an angel of the Lord said to
  Philip, Go south to the roadthe desert
  roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
• The Angel may have said more to Philip, but there
  has to be a reason why this is all the
  information recorded. When God says go, if its
  because of persecution, GO if He does not tell
  you why, GO if is does not make you comfortable,
  GO! GO! GO!

10
He went on An unexpected journey
11
So Philip goes and on the way, he met an
Ethiopian official
This man was in charge of all the treasure of
Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, He had gone to
Jerusalem to worship The events going on in
Jerusalem likely caused him to be asking the
questionWho is Jesus
12
Philip explains that the OT is pointing to the
lamb who would take away the sins of the world

• Isaiah 536ff We all, like sheep, have gone
  astray, each of us has turned to our own way and
  the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not
  open his mouth he was led like a lamb to the
  slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is
  silent, so he did not open his mouth. By
  oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet
  who of his generation protested? For he was cut
  off from the land of the living for the
  transgression of my people he was punished.

13
Philip used the OT to tell the official about
Jesus

• The eunuch asked Philip, Tell me, please, who is
  the prophet talking about, himself or someone
  else? Then Philip began with that very passage
  of Scripture and told him the good news about
  Jesus.

14
Acts 836ffAs they traveled along the road, they
came to some water and the eunuch said, Look,
here is water. What can stand in the way of my
being baptized?
(Some manuscripts include here) Philip said, If
you believe with all your heart, you may. The
eunuch answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. And he gave orders to stop the
chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water and Philip baptized him.
15
Acts 839When they come up out of the water, the
Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip way, and
the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his
way rejoicing (with an Old Testament Scroll and
good news from Philip)

• Acts 840 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and
  traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the
  towns until he reached Caesarea.

16
God plain is that the gospel go to all the earth

• The gospel is often spread at the discomfort of
  the church and its members Its called
  sacrifice