Are you willing? What did I leave out of that question? Ah, willing to do what? Wow, that's what we're going to talk about tonight. Are you willing? Couldn't have been a better special number tonight. than what was sung. We didn't plan that. When pastor called me, well he sent me an email first, and I said, yes, we'll be glad to come. And he told me what it was all about, the theme of this conference, and my mind went immediately to this, and it has not varied. Stephen has been executed, stoned. That's in the very last chapter and the persecution continues through verse 3 and we pick up verse 4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching What? Technology? How to build a house? No. Preaching the Word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria. Now what do we know about Samaria? Class, talk to me. It is not liked. Okay? They were, the Jews made a special effort to bypass the whole area of Samaria. And he preached, what? Christ. Peggy was in a church this year when she had to come up this direction and she picked up a devotional, and the devotional, you know, we do our daily bread for a devot-, devotional for our blind people. The devotional said, The Baptist Bread, and I thought, So it's no good for anybody else. Can you imagine how people would respond to that? Folks, this isn't about being Baptist or Presbyterian or Episcopal or any religion. It's about Jesus Christ. And they preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. The people with one accord. They acted not as individuals, but as a complete unit. They were enthralled with what they had seen. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies, and that were lame and were healed. Notice verse 8. There was a great joy. Wow! A great Joy! Why? They had heard the preaching of Christ. They had seen the miracles. There was beginning a change in the city of Samaria. Now there's always these guys. We're not going to read down through here but starting in verse 9 down through 24 is Simon. Simon the sorcerer and he thought, wow I can make some money. Well we're not going to get into all of the conversation. But after that conversation was settled and he was kind of put to the side, go to verse 25. And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord again, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. They were going to Jerusalem and on the way apparently through every little village and city that they came to, they preached Jesus Christ. Okay? Right in the middle of all of that, verse 26, and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Philip, leave where you are at right now, don't stop at Jerusalem, keep going. Now any Jew that lived in that area, not a big, not a big country, would know to the south was desert. Now where had Philip been? Boy, he'd been in some revivals. People were coming in one accord. People were being saved, hand over fist, and God says leave that? Are you willing? That's why I ask that question. There's no interlude. There's no parenthetical phrase. Verse 27, and he argued with God. No. He arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot. And he read Esaias, or Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Philip, I don't want you to go to one of the little outlying areas in Gaza, in the desert area. I want you to join yourself to that chariot where there's one person. And Philip ran thither, didn't argue, He ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? Do you understand what you're reading? Now he was, our mission, our national missionaries in India, they are all the time holding seekers conferences. This is primarily for people who are seeking the truth. Is Hindu the truth? Is being Muslim the truth? Is Christian? What is truth? Okay? And he said, do you understand what you're reading? And Philip said, or he said, how can I except some man should guide me? Who was that man? What if Philip had argued with God? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. And Philip then began to explain the scriptures. I stopped in a convenience store about three weeks ago to pay for some gasoline because the pump wasn't taking my card. And there was a little girl there. Oh, she was probably seven or eight. And an older man behind her, He was probably 6'8". I mean, he was big. And I was waiting in line, and that little girl came up to me, out of the mouth of babes. She came up to me, and she said, I'm a Jew. Boo! And her grandfather said, yes she is. And that's her mother back there. She's waiting to see her. So when I got up to the counter, I took the opportunity to talk to her. And we had a little conversation. We still had people behind us. So I took the opportunity to talk with her. I haven't found her there yet again. But I got with a ministry in Atlanta. that is run by Messianic Jews. I got some information. I read it first, and I'm waiting to find her again and give that to her. She's Ethiopian eunuch. Was I irritated out at the pump because it didn't take my card? Yes. But then I knew why. Pray for that. I have no idea what her name is. But pray that we'll be able to make that contact. So he began sharing with him Jesus Christ, explaining Isaiah 53, 52, 53, that whole area. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or some other man. You see, he was a, he had been studying, apparently, religion. So he knew enough about it that he wasn't quite clear. He needed some encouragement. That's what our counselors at Source of Light do. They are trying to encourage. They are trying to make sure that they understand what they are reading and what they are studying. Then Philip opened his mouth. Oh, I can't speak. No, he didn't say that. Who was it that said that? Remember Old Testament? Moses. I'm not eloquent. Philippa opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him his doctrine. No, preached unto him Jesus. make the main thing the main thing. Jesus Christ, born, He taught, He was crucified, buried, rose again, and He's coming again. And as they went on their way, He says, see here is water, What doth hinder me to be baptized? So, see, he knew some of the religiosity. And Philip said, if thou believeth with all thine heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. In a lot of these countries, that is a big catcher. Jesus Christ, yeah he's a, he's a historical figure. Jesus Christ was a good man, but saying that he is the Son of God becomes a problem. And he commanded the chariot to stand still and they went down, he was baptized. Verse 39, and when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, just like he had spoken to Philip, who knows, however many days it took for him to get from A to B. He spoke to Philip and said, get up, don't stop and collect your $200, just go on through and go to Gaza. Just like that, he caught him away. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuchs saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. Go back please. Verse 8. What happened in the city of Samaria? A great joy! When Jesus comes into the life, there's great joy. Now that doesn't cover up all the scars, but there's great joy. And I'm thinking of a pastor right now. He's serving four life sentences. in that same Filipino prison that I ministered to about 15 years ago. He went in there a murderer. He is in there now as a pastor. Why? One of these found their way into the prison. And God has transformed his life. He was a controller and now he is controlled. And the officials in the prison have seen such change in his life that they allow him out without a guard once a week to go to the police barracks next door to conduct Bible studies. Source of Light has a church inside that prison. That ground was given by the Catholic priest that oversees all religious training in that prison. He didn't give it to his church. He gave it to Source of Light because he was so impressed the change in his life. And Source of Light gave him the opportunity to name that church. So God's grace, Baptist Church, is now inside the walls. And people are not only getting saved, but they're being trained to do what Pastor Red is doing. So you see, the scars are still there. In the meantime, he has lost his wife. She passed away. But he's happy. He's joyous. He's a big teddy bear. Now, I said big. Most Filipinos are small. He's taller than I am. He was intimidating before he was saved. He's a big teddy bear now. God changed his life. There was joy. Back in verse 8, there was joy. And now, here in verse number 39, he went his way rejoicing. And if history is correct, church history is correct, and there are several varieties of facts or so-called facts here, but if church history is correct, when he got back home he carried the gospel and revival started. Philip had been in revival here in the city of Samaria. And then as they were going back to Jerusalem, going through all those little cities and villages and whatever, they were stopping and proclaiming the truth. God pulled him out of there, down over here, to one man, so he might reach a multitude. Now this is a no-brainer. Pastor, what's your occupation? Of? Okay. What's your occupation? Okay. Retired. That's why I picked you. Electrician. want to be electrician. Oh, no, he's an electrician. Okay. Are you willing, on a moment's notice, as Philip was, to leave what you are presently comfortable with to do something else that the Lord is going to use in His kingdom. It may be the same area. It may be electrician, but an electrician on the mission field possibly. Retired Now we retire from our work, but can we find retire in the Bible? It's not there. We've got a lady at the mission. How old is Eula? Eula is 85. Her husband has already passed away. They've been there at the mission for years. She is still working in accounting. She is dealing with lung cancer. Stage four, she still comes in every day that she feels like it. Wow. Are you willing? That's all God's asking you to do. Philip, I want you to go. Yes, sir. Now, I picked these people. But the same question goes to every last one of you. Missionaries, I've met some of you, haven't met you all yet. But missionaries, you're going to a certain area with a certain ministry. What if God says, I want you to make this move? Wow! I think you all have already experienced that, haven't you? That's right. Almost 11 years ago, God took an incident that happened in 1968 and put me in the Braille ministry. Duh. I tore up my knee at Bob Jones playing soccer. Eleven and a half years ago I couldn't handle the concrete out there where the presses were. It was getting to me. I've got the bionic need to prove it now. And the Lord used that situation and John's situation of needing to let it go. And it was a good thing because he didn't last much longer. God used all of that to place me in an area that I had zero understanding. I did not get any of that training in college. Zero. And at the age of 63, I learned my first Braille dot. And I took the course through the Library of Congress to become a certified transcriber. Difficult? Uh-huh. I can't read by touch. I read only by sight. But I'm working with a group of people that if John had died when he died, there would be no ministry to those people. By the way, that little click of the button that we're sending materials to the Philippines is reaching a hundred and twenty, twenty-five blind Filipinos. And what am I doing? Just providing the material. Just? No. God has a plan. He has a plan for your life. I mean, Pastor, His plan for you? You may die in the pulpit. You know, you may stay here. This may be your stop. but God may have something. Same thing, okay? Are you willing? This was just coincidence. If you believe this, believe that statement, I've got a prime piece of Florida property to sell you. This is in the devotional book, Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon, October 21. Long after, Pastor, ask me long after the Lord directed me to this passage. I want you to listen to this. The passage Second Corinthians 5.14, the love of God constraineth us. Here's what Spurgeon had to say, I won't read the whole thing. How much owest thou unto my Lord? Has he ever done anything for thee? Has he forgiven thy sins? Has he covered thee with a robe of righteousness? Has he set thy feet upon a rock? Has he established thy goings? Has he prepared heaven for thee? Has he prepared thee for heaven? Has he written thy name in his book of life? Has he given thee countless blessings? Has he laid up for thee a store of mercies, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard? If so, and I can just hear him raising his voice, if so, do something for Jesus worthy of his love. If you know Christ as your Savior, He's done all of those things for you and for me. And giving our life back to Him, whatever it may be, it may be to stay right exactly where you're at, or it may be to move. Are you willing? You fill in the rest. That's not for me. You and God fill in the rest. Are you willing? Father, thank you for this time to share your word, to challenge your people, to understand the importance of not doing the status quo, but just going out on a limb and saying, Lord, I'll go where you want me to go. I'll be what you want me to be. Lord, we sing that song, but do we really mean it? In Jesus' name we pray.