Title: Passion for Salvation (Acts 8:26-40)
Contents
There are two types of faith: the faith obtained through miracles and the faith that you believe in ordinary things. I accepted Jesus as the Lord of my salvation on July 14, 1964. Some people envy me that it will be easier to believe in God because I have a hot revelation. But the person I am really envious of is my younger brother who is now working in Vladivostok. My younger brother has never disobeyed God from the time he was born until now, and he has simply served well. It was pure personal trust in God. I feel ashamed when I think about how much I had rejected God and how God would have called him by showing evidence.
The eunuch rides in a chariot with him and asks him to teach. The Bible verse was none other than that the Messiah, who came into the world in the book of Isaiah, would not even rebel, but would be ridiculed and criticized by people and sacrificed. Some say the Messiah is Isaiah, some say Jeremiah, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Philip uses the Word to tell the story of Jesus and present the gospel. When I was passing through a place with water, the eunuch asked, 'Is there anything that bothers me about being baptized here?' The omitted part of the Bible contains the questions and answers that were originally asked for baptism in the early church. ‘If you truly and fully believe in God, I will do it.’ ‘I believe in God completely.’ The eunuch went down to Ethiopia rejoicing after being baptized, and Philip returned.
There are two things to learn from this story.
The first is the eunuch's zeal. As a stranger and sexually crippled, he was barred from even entering the temple. Although he was in a high position and had nothing to envy, he was able to endure the oppression that prevented him from entering the place of worship because of his longing for God. I see the figure of an investigator reading the Bible without taking his eyes off the wagon that shakes.
God does not forsake those who sincerely long for God. God showed a deeper interest in one man who sought him diligently than in all Samaria. The Lord is more pleased with finding one lost sheep than with the 99 now possessed. God loved me as if I was the only one in the world.
The second is the attitude of the deacon Philip. When he was suddenly ordered to go to the province of Gaza, he did not respond at all. In this way, we too must become obedient people without vomit. Faith is trusting in the person of God. Trust must shift from believing in me to believing in God. You must change your master in order to live a truly spiritual life.
A person who accepted Jesus as the Christ only after seeing the Word Thanks to this one man, Ethiopia is the only Christian country in Africa that is blessed. There may be people around you who say, ‘How can I understand if there is no one to show me and teach me?’ In hellfire, there must be people who complain and mourn for not preaching the Gospel. God said to Ezekiel, “Go and preach the gospel, or you will find the blood of people who have not been preached of the gospel at your hands.” I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that the witness of the gospel will come to pass beautifully.