Sunday Worship Service’ Sermon (7-16-2023)
Living
as a Disciple of the Lord Like the Tree of Life
(Proverbs
11:30, Acts 8:26-40)
1.
Have
you ever learned from someone that a life of faith is like this? Is your life
of faith based on learning from Jesus? Or is your life of faith based on doing
as you see fit? Since the life of faith is related to our salvation, we must
learn about it while reading the Bible. And the life of faith must be learned
from Jesus. Also, the life of faith must be learned from the ancestors of faith
who are written about in the Scriptures. Therefore, if you want to live a good
life of faith, you must read the Bible. If you don't, you can become a false Christian. If you don't, it will be like the blind leading the
blind. Today's text shows us the religious life of the early Jerusalem church
members. Through these words, we will be able to learn how to live a life of
faith. If my life of faith is different from the life of the believers of the
early Jerusalem Church written about in the Bible, then we just need to learn from
their life of faith as it is recorded in the Bible. If the appearance of our
church is different from the early Jerusalem church written in the Scriptures,
we can learn from the early Jerusalem church and imitate it.
2.
The
early Jerusalem church members knew why they existed, their purpose and
mission. They completely went all-in on Jesus' Great Commission, "Go and
make disciples." And the Book of Acts records the names of ‘those who
evangelized’ and who obeyed Jesus’ commission like these: Peter, John, Stephen,
Philip, Paul and Barnabas. Philip, whom we meet in today's text, is one of the
seven men who helped the relief ministry in the early Jerusalem church.
However, Philip did not stay only in that ministry. Among the early Jerusalem
church members, he was the first to go down to Samaria and tell the gospel. He
expanded the field of evangelism that had stayed in the center of Jerusalem to
Samaria.
Philip,
the man of the Spirit, obeyed the very word that Jesus told his disciples
before he ascended to heaven; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). That obedience was not accomplished
when the early Jerusalem church or the church members were at peace. Philip
obeyed this commission given by Jesus when the church was being severely
persecuted, when the church members were in great sorrow due to the martyrdom
of their fellow disciple Stephen, when Saul was arresting and imprisoning the
church members, when the church members were scattered by great persecution. The
early Jerusalem church members, including Philip, did not stop preaching the
gospel even during these difficult times. That is because the work of the Holy
Spirit is to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Who can stop the work
of the Holy Spirit? And, because that is the purpose of the church's existence
on this earth. A church that does not evangelize is no longer the Lord's
church. A disciple who does not evangelize is no longer a disciple of the Lord.
We, too, must learn the faith to go out into the community and evangelize to
people.
Who
will evangelize? The person who has Jesus in him evangelizes. Peter said to a man
who had been lame from birth, “What I do have I give you,” and he gave Jesus to
that crippled man (Acts 3:6). Those who believe that Jesus is Christ and the
living God boldly evangelize. The person who lives with Jesus Christ as their
Savior in him evangelizes. A person who is filled with thrill and joy in being
saved evangelizes. Those who really have Christ in them (Persons who are saved)
cannot endure without preaching about Jesus who saved them. When the officials
of the people threatened Peter and John 'not to speak or teach at all to people
in the name of Jesus' (Acts 4:18), they replied, “We cannot help speaking about
what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). This means 'Because Jesus forgave a
sinner like me and gave eternal life, I have no choice but to tell people about
Jesus who gave me this grace'!! Therefore, a person who evangelizes is a real
disciple of Jesus. The church that evangelizes is the authentic Lord's church.
Philip
went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to the people. This is the
mission and responsibility of the disciple of the Lord. This is the purpose of
the existence of the Lord's Church. In this way, the early Jerusalem church members
knew that the most precious thing that the disciples of the Lord could give to
all people in the world was only Jesus Christ. In this way, when Philip
“proclaimed the Messiah” to the people of Samaria, the people living in Samaria
listened to Philip’s words, saw the signs he performed, and obeyed with one
heart. There was great joy in that city because the unclean spirits that had
possessed many people came out with a loud cry, and many paralytics and
crippled people were healed.
Who
is Christ and how did these miracles happen when Philip preached? Because Jesus
Christ is our Savior, the living God, and the Almighty God. Because the name of
Jesus Christ is the name that gives us salvation, the name that gives us
eternal life, the name that gives us forgiveness of sins, and the name that
heals and renews us. Therefore, ‘evangelism’, which spreads ‘Christ’ to people,
is such a precious thing. The name of Jesus Christ fills the people who hear
the name, the family, and the city with the joy of God's salvation.
While
Philip was preaching 'Christ' to people in Samaria, an angel of the Lord said
to Philip, “Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.” (Acts 8:26) Here, ‘Gaza’ was a city on the Mediterranean
coast and was on the way to Egypt on the way to the wilderness. There was a
road that passed through the city of Gaza that led to Egypt and Africa. At
least from Samaria to Gaza, it was a wilderness road that was about 100 km (about
50 miles) away, and it was a dangerous road. Philip started out immediately.
Philip was a man of the Spirit who obeyed Acts 1:8. He was one who obeyed
Jesus' great commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and the great commandments (Matthew
22:37-39).
Just
as the angel of the Lord said, Philip ‘got up and went and saw’ there was a
prepared man waiting for the evangelist. Even when we evangelize, God will lead
us to the prepared people who are waiting for the evangelist. He was an
Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace,
the Queen of Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship God and was on
his way home. At that time, the Holy Spirit said to Philip (v. 29), "Go to
that chariot and stay near it."
Please note verse 29. When Philip evangelized, he was not alone. Who was
by his side when he shared the gospel in the wilderness? Yes, the Holy Spirit
worked with Philip. Likewise, when we evangelize, Jesus, who promised “surely,
I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” is with us and works through
us.
Philip
ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 contains
the prophecies of the coming Messiah. "Do you understand what you are reading"
Philip asked. "How can I," he said, “unless someone explains it to
me?” There are people around us like this who want to know Jesus, but there is
no one to teach them or explain the gospel to them. There are people looking
for someone to teach and explain the gospel to them. Evangelism is going and
finding such people. Evangelism is going out and waiting for such people.
The
eunuch invited Philip to come up and sit with him. And Philip asked him what he
was curious about. “Who is this ‘suffering servant’ referring to here, like a
lamb being led to the slaughter?” Philip
said, “This servant who suffered was Jesus who came to the world for our
salvation”, and he preached Jesus Christ to him. On that day, the eunuch
received the Jesus whom Philip preached about as his savior. He was baptized as the first step in beginning
to live as a disciple of Jesus. And he went on his way rejoicing. In verse 39,
it is written that 'the eunuch went on his way rejoicing'. In this way, those
who are saved by Jesus are rejoicing and happy.
Our
God, with eyes like flames, still seeks out people to save and sends His
disciples to that place, whether it is in the wilderness or in a valley. And
God wants us to make them disciples of Jesus, baptize them, and teach them to
obey all that the Lord has commanded. Because God wants everyone in the world
to be saved.
The
next act of Philip is written in the Scriptures as follows,
"Philip,
however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the
towns until he reached Caesarea." (Verse 40) What does this mean? It means
that the early Jerusalem believers continued to participate in the gospel by
holding on to the Holy Spirit from the first day. They were led by the Holy
Spirit to go into the world, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching
them to obey all that the Lord had commanded them to do. This is the appearance
of the early Jerusalem church. This is the religious life of the disciples of
the early Jerusalem church who confessed that the Lord is the Christ and the
living God.
3.
The
early Jerusalem church members and Philip lived as disciples of the Lord like a
“tree of life (= like a tree that bears the fruit of life).” They gained many
people by obeying the commands and commandments of the Lord. Through the
evangelism of one Holy Spirit-filled man - Philip, a man, a city, and even a
nation turned to Jesus and was saved. The Lord's disciples and the Lord's
church that gain so many people are called 'the Lord's disciples who are like
the tree of life, the Lord's church which is like the tree of life.'
"The
fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise
(Proverbs 11:30)."
This
passage means that saved people are like the tree of life which bears fruit,
thus “gaining people.” This means that the Lord's church and disciples are like
the tree of life and win many lives. Gaining people is the wisest thing to do.
To that extent, believing in Jesus and participating in evangelism is living a
life at a much higher level. Jesus is like the tree of life
because He saved your lives, and He saved my life. Peter, Paul, the early
Christians in Jerusalem, and Philip gained many people because they were “like
the tree of life.” A tree that does not bear the fruit of life is a dead tree.
From today to the end, I bless you to live as disciples of the Lord like the
tree of life. Amen.
(Closing
prayer) Dear God, please help our church, which just started its 6th year,
to become a church filled with the Holy Spirit and like a tree of life. Help us
to become disciples of Jesus, who are like the tree of life. So, help us save,
build, and gain countless people in our local community. In the name of Jesus
Christ, we pray. Amen