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THE j KING ’S BUSINESS
thee.” Note furthermore that we need par don not only for our acts but also for the
looking for guidance so the guidance came. He w'as prompt in obeying guidance when guidance came, therefore further guidance came. The reason why we don’t have more constant guidance, is because we are not more continually looking for it, and are not so prompt to obey it when it comes, and because we are all the time wanting God to explain why He tells us to do this or that. Philip was a man o f faith and faith’s best proof is obedience (cf. Heb. 11:8). It soon became evident why God sent Philip to the desert road, a man came along that way who was a man o f tre mendous importance and great influence. I f we just go the way God bids us go, ask ing no questions, it will soon develop why God has sent us. The fact that this man was a great person was not the reason why Philip was sent to him, but because he was a sincere seeker after the truth. That he was a sincere seekef after truth appears from verse twenty-seven in his having gone way up to Jerusalem to worship, in verse thirty that he was studying the Bible, in verse thirty-one in his eager beseeching o f Philip to come up and sit with him and explain the' scriptures, in verse thirty-four, in asking o f whom the prophet spoke and in verse thirty-six, in his eager desire to be baptized and make an open confession o f his faith as soon as he had been taught that that was his duty. So here we have a model personal worker and a model enquirer. He was one o f the great states men o f the day, yet he evidently considered religion a matter o f sufficient importance to bestow much time, trouble and expense upon it, “ he had gone to Jerusalem for to worship.” No wonder God gave more light to a man who was so earnestly fol lowing the light he already had (cf. John 7:17; Psa. 25:9). In the eunuch’s action there is a fine lesson on How to Study the Bible, and on How to Improve the Time when Traveling. The lesson on How to Study the Bible is that we improve spare moments. The lesson on How to Improve the Time when Traveling is to improve it by studying the Word o f God. It was while he was engaged in the study of the
thoughts o f our hearts. Monday, November 27. Acts 8:26.
Philip was in the midst o f a great work in Samaria, the city was aroused and whole multitudes were turning to the Lord. There had been also a marvelous outpouring of the. Spirit on believers. In the midst of this wonderful work comes the apparently strange command to leave all these crowds and this deep interest and go down to a “ desert road” to meet a single individual and lead him to Christ. This shows the tre mendous importance in God’s sight o f per sonal work and the enormous value o f a single soul. The salvation o f this one man meant the carrying of the Gospel to a whole nation. W e can never tell what may be involved in the leading o f a single soul to Christ. God spoke to Philip and gave him his commission through an angel. The authorized version says “the Angel o f the ■Lord,” but this is a mis-translation o f the Greek. “ The Angel o f the Lord” is a definite person. A careful study o f all the Scriptures on the subject shows that “ the Angel o f the Lord,” who appears a number o f times in the Old Testament, is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself in His preincarnate state. “ The Angel o f the Lord” never appears in the Bible after the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. The words, “the Angel o f the Lord” occur in the Authorized Version but they are always a mis-translation where used after the birth Philip had learned the highest form of wisdom, the wisdom o f doing just what thp.Lord bade him do without asking any questions. However singular the command seemed to him he asked for no explanation but immediately did as he was told. Philip was a man guided of God at every step, but this shows why he was guided o f God, namely, because he was so quick to listen and so prompt to obey. He was earnestly o f Jesus at Bethlehem. Tuesday, November 28. Acts 8:27, 28.
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