"A Simple Presentation into The Book of ACTS" - Chapter 8, Part 3 - Bro. John "Ernie" Perez

Join us "around the table" once again as Bro. Ernie finishes up Chapter 8 in the Book of ACT.  Get you notebooks and your Bibles out!  

A desert road rarely looks like promotion, but when the Spirit redirects, we move. We pick up after a roaring revival in Samaria—healings, deliverance, and apostles ensuring believers receive the Holy Spirit—and follow Philip to a quiet appointment with an Ethiopian official reading Isaiah. What unfolds is a masterclass in simple, powerful evangelism: start with a question, open the Scriptures, preach Jesus, and invite a response that’s more than words.

We dig into Isaiah 53 and show how the early church proved Christ from the Old Testament, then track the eunuch’s response: “See, here is water.” Why does baptism surface so fast? Because the New Testament pattern is consistent—repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit form the core of gospel application. We unpack why belief must become obedience, why baptism is immersion and covenantal, and how joy follows when faith moves from theory to action. And yes, we talk about Philip being “caught away” and share modern testimonies that stretch our comfort while honoring God’s sovereignty.

As the conversation widens, we address rising hostility toward Jews and Christians, and why an Acts-shaped faith—courageous, consistent, Spirit-led—matters now. Expect practical wisdom on witnessing with warmth, navigating missions lawfully abroad, and keeping integrity when the pressure mounts. We close by looking ahead to Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9, where the same unchanging gospel ambushes an unlikely heart and turns an enemy into an apostle.

If this journey stirs your faith, share it with a friend, subscribe for the next chapter, and leave a review with one insight you’re taking into your week. Your voice helps others find the message—and helps us keep the conversation going.

Ways to Give at https://m3mi.org...Thank you for your seed!  :)

Transcript

Welcome And Acts 8 Recap

SPEAKER_01 0:40

I'm here. Hello, Sister Diamond. Thank you for joining us today. And I love that Teddy Lumina says, y'all can't hear it because you don't have headphones on, but it says, let's go open the word and see what Jesus has to say today. I love that. I love that. Because we invite him to come and be with us and and uh Holy Spirit just to move the way he does. We're so excited. We're continuing the study into the book of Acts, a simple presentation of the book of Acts with Brother Ernie Perez. Thank you, Brother Ernie, for being here.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

It's my pleasure, mama.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Hello, Anne. Good morning. Audia. Good morning. Joyce is with us. Hello. Sandy. Hello. And we got a very special guest all the way from India, Brother Joseph with Excel Ministries. Yeah. Hello. Good to have you, brother. Thank you. All right. We're going to do a different podcast after we finish this one, uh, just with him, because I want everybody to hear what his ministry is doing. Great things in India. He's very powerful. He was showing me some video and pictures, and I just really exciting. It's really exciting what God is doing. And he does, he shows up in the most unusual places.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

But you know why? Because he's like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

He can do things that we can't do, you know. But so we just, I'm excited to hear about what's going on there. So let's just go ahead and start. Now you're going to do a recap. We're into a simple presentation of the book of Acts, chapter 8, part three. Go ahead, Brother Ernie.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

All right. So beginning

Samaria’s Revival And Simon’s Motive

SPEAKER_00 2:12

with the recap, all right. So here we are. Souls are coming to Christ now in droves. They've been the Christians have been, majority of them run out of Jerusalem with the persecutions, except for the apostles and evidently a small group that stayed faithful to them. Philip's ministry in Samaria, he is driven there. And he is accompanied, his ministry is accompanied by many signs, wonders, and miracles. Multitudes are being baptized in the name of Jesus. And per Mark, if you have taken some notes in Mark chapter 16, verses 15 through 20, Acts chapter 1, verses 4 through 8, Acts chapter 2, 38, chapter 2, verse 38, chapter 3, verse 19. Then we looked at Isaiah 28, 11 through 12, and Isaiah 35, 3 through 6. These are all scriptures that we've covered as we've moved through the book of Acts regarding not only prophetic statements, but the prophetic statements about the church being lived out. Now the apostles at Jerusalem, after hearing about Philip's ministry in Samaria, they decided they needed to take some action. A decision was made, and Peter and John were sent to Samaria via apostolic assignment. It was a choice that was made, a decision that was made by the apostles in Jerusalem. They heard about everything that was going on in Samaria, all of the deliverance miracles, all of the healing miracles, all of the people being baptized in the name of Jesus. And they decided, Peter and John need to go to Samaria. Now, when they arrive in the city, they start laying hands on the believers, and the believers now are being filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. So then we see the decision by the apostles in Jerusalem is validated by the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, Simon the Sorcerer, who has begun to follow Philip, if you remember from what we've read earlier. Simon the sorcerer repented of his sorcery. He starts following Philip. It's almost like he wants to be a disciple. They're going hand in hand. Even he is close to this. Now, during their apostolic assignment to Samaria, being that completed, Peter and John, they, of course, have contact with Simon the Sorcerer. But his attitude is not right. It seems that he becomes jealous when they lay hands on the believers and they start receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He offers money. He said, Hey, I'll pay you if you'll tell me how to do this. So what he witnessed was so powerful that he who was this great sorcerer says, I'll pay money if you'll teach me the secret of doing this. Of course, the apostle Peter told him, You're in trouble, man. You cannot buy the grace of God. We cannot sell you the grace of God. He says, Your soul is still in bitterness. Bitterness why? Remember, Simon the sorcerer was worshipped in Samaria as though he were someone great, and by his powerful witchcraft. Right? He had bewitched many of the people in Samaria, and then Philip came along, and all the miracles began to happen in the name of Jesus, and Simon lost his affluence and influence. And though he began to follow Philip, he

One Gospel, One Faith, One Baptism

SPEAKER_00 6:20

also was baptized. There seems to have been a remnant of bitterness in his heart, jealousy and envy. Peter tells him, You're in trouble, that you know, the terrible things that could come upon you. But Simon says, Look, pray for me, that none of these things happen. He pushes the panic button, as it were, makes me wonder, did he hear the story of Ananias and Sapphira already? Because when Peter told him you're in trouble, he said, Hey, you need to pray for me. I don't want any of these things to come on to me. So it seems to me that he already recognized that as much as mercy is a part of the covenant of Jesus Christ, there is a measure of judgment that can fall in this life if we push the envelope far enough. So then we're gonna start now. We see that after their apostolic assignment to Samaria has been completed, Peter and John head back to Jerusalem, and along the way, they preach the gospel in many of the villages of Samaria. Now, the gospel that they're preaching can't be any different than what Peter preached in Acts chapter 2, or what he preached in Acts chapter 3, or what Stephen preached and was stoned for. There's only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There's only one gospel, and there's one application. You know, not long ago, uh, someone who's quite a celebrity in in our culture, his name is Steve Harvey, he's known for a lot of benevolence. He does a lot of good things for people. He's very charitable. But I heard him say that, you know, going to heaven is like TV. You got all these different channels, you got all these different ways and beliefs that you could get there. Well, if Steve and I had a chance to talk, we would discuss that. Because the scripture says there's one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father who is above all, through all, and in you all, even as you are called, and one hope of your calling. So we look for consistency when we study scripture.

Philip Sent To The Desert Road

SPEAKER_00 8:45

All right, so now we're going to pick up and read verses 26 through 40, and then as is our habit, we will go back and we will give you a brief commentary on what we have read. 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. And he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot, read Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot, and Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water, both Philip

Meeting The Ethiopian Treasurer

SPEAKER_00 11:20

and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotis, and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. All right, we're going to now go back over the chapter and give you some commentary there, okay? We don't pretend to be the master of all scripture. But what we hope to do is inspire you to enjoy the word of God, to study the word of God, and to have your own personal encounter with Christ. Because you're getting so into his word that you're being touched by his spirit. All right, verse 26 is where we will begin. 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. So in the midst of this great revival, where there's healing taking place everywhere, and now the apostles from Jerusalem sent Peter and John, you need to go lay hands on these people, because they had not yet received the gift of the Holy Ghost. So if that wasn't important, why did they send them? Why didn't they say, let's leave well enough alone? They saw there an incompletion in God's glorious experience, and they were not satisfied for the Samaritans to not receive the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, Philip, in the midst of this fantastic revival, he hears the voice of God instructing him that he is to go to the road that leads south out of Jerusalem toward Gaza and into the desert. I'm going to continue reading to verse 29. And he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come up to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot, he read the prophet Isaiah. So Philip is in the middle of a glorious campaign for Jesus. Suddenly he hears the voice of God. We're taking you from Samaria, where you're having all this great success. What is Philip's immediate response? Why should I leave here? No, he goes. Listen, because something great is happening here, and you're in the midst of a crowd, and everything is happening, if God says to you, I want you to go someplace else, your response should be like Philip. Drop everything and obey the Lord. Philip's immediate response results in having an encounter with an Ethiopian of great authority. Right? This man answers directly to Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. When they say he's a man of great authority, he sits next to the queen. Not only that, he is her private treasurer. How much authority do you think he had? All of the queen's riches were his responsibility. All of the queen's riches were his responsibility. He is her personal accountant. He's a person of very great influence in his home country. And he is evidently a Jewish proselyte. Or he is a descendant of what historians think are the children of Solomon and the Queen of Bathsheba, because he goes to Jerusalem to worship. And if he's not a proselyte to the Jewish faith, he can't worship at the temple.

Isaiah 53 And Preaching Jesus

SPEAKER_00 15:50

He must espouse Jehovah. He must espouse the law of Moses. He must have been circumcised, or else he could not worship at the temple. We've studied enough about the law of Moses to know that this is true. So he is evidently a proselyte, or he is a half Jewish or part Jewish from being from the descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And this is what historians say. I can't say that directly from scripture, but historians believe it because Solomon was quite the ladies' man. And the Ethiopians, it is a part of their history. Now, he's traveling back to Ethiopia, returning from worshiping in Jerusalem. That is so key. He can't worship in the temple without living a law that is or living a life that is in law with the law of Moses, is in line with it. So while traveling back to his homeland, he's sitting in his chariot. And I think here chariot is a generic word because he's sitting and he's reading. And I don't know if you've ever ridden in a wagon without shocks, but I have. We were in Myanmar, myself and Kurian Thomas. We were in Myanmar walking out through the fields, and this farmer came by with a wagon with two big wooden wheels and a long platform, and he stopped and he motioned to us to get onto the wagon, and so I did. We didn't go very far, and I jumped off. No shocks. This would be a rough ride. But this wagon, this chariot, then was big enough for more than one person. Somebody was driving. Plus, the Ethiopian was a man of great influence and affluence, so he traveled with an entourage. Somebody protected him. He was the treasurer, he was like an ambassador. He was not traveling by himself, driving himself in a chariot, and then reading the scroll at the same time. Now, he's reading the writings of the prophet Isaiah. So he's not in a war chariot. Someone else is driving. There is a way for the eunuch to sit and read, and that someone else attend to the details of the traveling because of who he is. So he's traveling with some sort of escort. Now we're going to get read again. We're going to read from verse 29 to 34. And the spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Now the place of the scripture which he read was this He

Why Baptism Follows Belief

SPEAKER_00 19:20

was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other man? So the Spirit speaks to Philip. The Holy Ghost gives him instructions to approach the chariot and join himself to it. Lord, give us an ear to hear not only what the Spirit says to the churches, but what the Spirit says to me. If we serve the same God that Philip served, we should be able to hear the same God speak to us and give us instructions. And we should have the same obedient attitude. I'm going to do it, Jesus. You ask me, hey, Lord, you I had Brother Benu Joseph tell me once about workers that were working on their headquarters building in Kumbana. He took a lot of pride in the work that the Malayalis were doing. And he smiled and he said, if you ask a Malayali for two, he will give you four. He will give you five. They will do the work. They are a working people. We need to be that way about Jesus. Go with them too. That's because any Roman soldier could compel any non-Roman citizen to carry his pack for a mile. Jesus said to his followers, if they tell you you're going to carry it, you say, I'm going to carry it two miles. Because you're going to be more than obedient. You're going to be kind. You're going to be Christ-like. They're going to see something different in you than they see in anyone else. Philip, understanding this, jumps, runs up to the chariot, and asks the man. He hears him reading from Isaiah and he asks him, Do you understand what you're reading? You got to pick a place to start a conversation if you want to witness to somebody. If you don't know quite how to do it, Then ask them, are you having a good day? Good to see you today. Hey, listen, if there's anything you need that I can pray for, please tell me about it. And I'll pray with you right now if you need, or I'll pray for you. Get an open door by being amiable, by being likable, by being kind, by being courteous. Why should people want to talk to Christians who are sour-faced and foul-mouthed? Why should they listen to us if we are rude? Now, the eunuch says he does not understand. He needs someone who does understand to explain to him the object of the writings. At this point, the eunuch invites Philip to sit with him in the chariot. Look, we

Into The Water And Caught Away

SPEAKER_00 23:00

can't always get people to listen to everything. They won't always eat the gospel right away. So have you ever heard of salting the oats? If the horse you're worried is not drinking enough water, your horses, you you just put a little bit of salt and you sprinkle it in the oats. And when they get through eating, they're thirsty. And they'll go drink. In this life, when you meet people who are not Christian and don't want to hear your testimony, you need to salt the oats a little bit. How do you do that? With loving kindness, with courtesy, with friendliness. You don't have to be judgmental. If they're sinners, they know they're sinners. You don't have to tell them where they're going. They know the drill. You have to be someone who makes them thirsty for God by demonstrating the nature of Christ that is in you. Now the eunuch admits he doesn't understand, and he needs someone to help him understand. What's the point of this writing? So at this point, the eunuch says to Philip, hop in. Perlutes narrative. Philip recognizes the exact scriptures from Isaiah that the eunuch is reading. He hears it and knows it. We need to be familiar with the word of God so that we can be ready to give every man who asks us an answer for what we believe we can give them the reason. It doesn't mean that you're the master of all scripture, but we need to be familiar with the word of God. He starts quoting from Isaiah, and we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 53 right now. This is where he is reading from. So let's turn there together. Isaiah chapter 53. And we're going to look at verses 7 and 8. Isaiah writes, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. So he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. You as a believer need to be familiar with prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus. Listen, this is how Isaiah could prove to the eunuch, or how Philip could prove to the eunuch who Jesus was using the prophecy of Isaiah. Remember, in the book of Acts, they did not have a New Testament to preach from. They did not have written gospels to preach from. They preached from the Psalms, the Proverbs, the prophets, the law of Moses.

Consistency Of The Early Church

SPEAKER_00 26:30

They preached Jesus. Philip gives a perfect example of how that is done here, as he ministers to the eunuch. All right, reading verses 35 and 36 of Acts chapter 8. And Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? So how do we know exactly what Philip taught? It cannot be any different than what has been previously taught. Philip, recognizing the exact scripture, uses the text to preach Jesus to the eunuch. This is not a different gospel than was preached to Samaria. This is the same man of God preaching the same word to the Ethiopian eunuch. We're about to get our first Gentile convert. He's an Ethiopian. So the gospel went to Africa before it ever went to Spain or Rome or throughout Europe. It went to Africa first. Now, obviously, it's not a different gospel. And we know this by Philip's reaction, or I'm sorry, by the eunuch's reaction to Philip's preaching. After listening to Philip preach, Jesus, the eunuch gives this response. See, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? If water baptism was not a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, where did the eunuch get the idea he needed to be baptized? In the preaching of Jesus, just like he did in the city of Samaria, he came around to, hey, you got to change your life. That's repentance. You need to submit to water baptism in the name

Translation Testimonies And Persecution

SPEAKER_00 28:45

of Jesus. That's obedience. Look, I had a young man in Myanmar asked me. He said, Don't you know that in Acts 2.38 that to be baptized is in the passive tense? And I said, Yes. It has to be passive because you are obeying a command. You are not initiating your own baptism. You are obeying the command of the Lord. You remember when Jesus was asked by what authority do you do this? All these things you do, Jesus said, I'll tell you. But I got one question for you first. Then I will answer you. Was John's baptism of God or from man? And they got to talking among themselves. See, they thought they were gonna trick Jesus. No, no, he is the word made flesh. So they said among themselves, well, if we say his baptism is of John, they're gonna ask us, how come we didn't do it? If this baptism is of God, how come we didn't do it? And if we say, well, we didn't need it because, you know, we don't believe John, the people will stone us because they all know John's a prophet, they believe it. So they say, we don't know. Listen to me. Water baptism is not men's works. Water baptism is a command of the Lord. Are we obedient to his commands? You know, we say, Lord, we're going to be a part of your kingdom, but only on our terms. Sorry, the king makes all the rules. We either do it the king's way or we don't come in. Everybody say amen. Amen. So Philip says, Here is water. What does hinder me to be baptized? Now, Philip's belief could not be mere mental ascent. His and and the eunuch's belief could not be mere mental ascent. This is proven by Peter's words in Acts 2.38 and Acts 3.19. So if you want to turn quickly, I know we've read them many times, but the the scripture is the best interpreter of itself. Acts 2.38. Well, with the end of Acts 37, the people believed everything that Peter preached about Jesus, and they believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and they asked Peter and the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? That's because they realized who they crucified. Then Peter said unto them, Repent. See, he didn't say, Everyone, bow your head, close your eyes, raise your right hand, and say, I believe. They already believed. That's why they said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? He said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In Acts chapter 3, verse 19, once again, Peter is giving instruction what to do if you believe the gospel. Repent ye therefore. That's what he said in Acts 2.38, and be converted. That is, be repentant, that your sins may be blotted out. How were they blotted out in Acts 2.38?

Miracles, Missions, And Wise Conduct Abroad

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Water baptism expressly in the name of Jesus. When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, we read in Isaiah 28, the prophecy was with stammering lips and another tongue. Will he speak unto this people? This is the refreshing. Here in Acts 19, Peter preached, when this happens, you will be involved in the times of the refreshing that will come from the presence of the Lord. Philip cannot preach a different gospel. There's one Lord, one faith, one baptism. So the eunuch then, he's told by Philip, if you really, if you really believe, in other words, you can't just believe with your mind. You've got to be committed to following Jesus. He says, You can. We don't baptize just anybody. Because baptism is more than symbolism. We baptize people who are repentant and who say, I'm going to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. They are ready to be baptized. They come to church, no, I'm not a Christian, but I want to be baptized just in case, because I heard about it. I'm not baptizing you. I'm not calling the name of Jesus over you. I was involved in that happening one time, and that cut me to my heart. I will not baptize anyone who is not repentant and determined to follow the Lord. I just won't. So the eunuch then commands the chariot to stop. Verse 37, and I'm going to read through the end of the chapter. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. If you believe with all your heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water. Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way, rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotis, and passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Samaria. Philip, Caesarea, thank you, Mama. Philip requires the eunuch to believe, not just mental ascent, but with all of his heart. The eunuch says, Hey, I believe it. Then he commands the chariot to stop. So the driver or drivers have to obey. However, many are traveling with him, everything comes to a halt. Notice Luke's detail in describing what happened next. Verse 38, he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down into the water. He didn't get a cup of water and pour it on him. He didn't take a handful of water and sprinkle it on him. They went down into the water. How many times have we talked about the word baptism? Means to baptize, means to immerse, to dip under, to overwhelm.

Looking Ahead To Saul’s Conversion

SPEAKER_00 36:20

So they got down and they went into the water. Then Philip baptized him. Next, look at what Luke writes. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more. Get this. You remember when Jesus appeared in the room with the disciples? All the windows and doors were closed and locked, and Jesus appeared in the middle of them? Yeah, they were shocked. Where'd you come from? Poof, he was there. Philip disappeared like that in front of the eunuch. Now, I know a lot of people won't believe that, but me and Mama heard a testimony of someone who experienced that. And they were afraid to talk to other people about it. They just won't believe what God did. God can do anything. Anything that's been done in the book of Acts will be done in God's church today if we'll believe it. There's only one church. It's not Baptist, it's not apostolic, it's not Presbyterian, it's not Pentecostal, it's not Methodist. It's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that is striving to emulate the church that is in the book of Acts. So we need to take all those labels down. And let's dive into Scripture and try, Lord, teach me to align my life with this word. So Philip disappears. And the eunuch went away rejoicing. Well, as far as the eunuch was concerned, it was a miracle when Philip could talk to him about the book of Isaiah and say, this is all about Jesus. How many years had the eunuch been studying scripture? I don't know. But he was a devout believer because he traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem during the feast to worship there. So he was a man acquainted with Scripture and studying Scripture. And now nothing he heard in Jerusalem changed his heart. But when Philip got alone with him and handled the word of God before him and said, You're learning all about Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. He's the one who said, Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. He's the one. And this changed the eunuch's world upside down. Now, did the eunuch receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost? Luke doesn't write that here, but my question is this. Does he have to write it every time? Look, if you're watching a football game and you're getting the recap, and the team scored eight touchdowns, six by passing, two by running, a lot of times the announcer just says, and they scored. What does that mean? That means they crossed the goal line. That means they got a touchdown. He doesn't have to describe every inch of the play for you to know what happened. If the eunuch never received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, then the apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria foolishly and to no purpose. The application of the gospel cannot change from the first time it is spoken until the last time it is spoken. There's one Lord and one faith and one baptism. So upon completion of his God-given assignment, Philip was found at Azotis. This is modern-day Ashtod. It's approximately 30 miles away from where they were. And as he passes through Azotas until he reaches Caesarea, he travels preaching in every city he visits. For the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. You can read that in Revelation chapter 19, verse 10. What I say, I close this out with preach Philip Preach. It was the same message that he preached in Samaria. The same message. We expect the same results as in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 3, and in Acts chapter 8 to continue. We do not have a God who is inconsistent. We have a God who is consistent in everything. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Can you say amen?

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

So the application of the gospel from Acts chapter 2 to Acts chapter 3 to Acts chapter 8 cannot change. All right. Thank you for your kind attention. Next lesson will begin with chapter 9, and we will see Saul of Tarsus as it begins to make the transformation from Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul. It's going to be an exciting lesson. I'm looking forward to it. We'll see you then in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

All right. So we hope that we got we've got that video changed. Boy, chapter eight was just so exciting, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 42:14

I I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 42:16

Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, we're looking forward. We're looking forward to chapter nine beginning. There's so many questions that that we could ask on just this last part, but I did want to add, I just want to to to make the comment. You had said that you knew someone who actually experienced translation.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

And I'm and I know brothers right here too. Don't we see if we're if we're talking about we're supposed to be the axe church completely, right?

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

I see that there with what we see coming on in the world today, what we see with all the turmoil and everything beginning to just escalate, escalate, escalate. And it's not just over there. Oh, I'm sorry, that that country is experiencing. We're experiencing it right now in the United States, right? And so we're seeing more and more persecution toward the Jewish people that are here. We're seeing more and more persecution of Christians that are here. Yes. And I think that that's going to continue to escalate, right? So, because scripture in time, scripture in Revelation is going to happen. You know, there's a time for that, and it is going to happen. So the necessity for the church to be the book, the book of Acts church is growing exponentially. And and oh yes, I see that there is going to be a time where that's going to be necessary to do to translate from one place to another without having, you know, to be able to book a plane and get somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 43:52

It's never happened for me.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

No, but but wouldn't it be exciting if you could have the faith?

SPEAKER_00 43:57

The sister that told us that she Went about 35 miles. And uh the brother that told me he experienced it, I don't know how far he went, but he was sitting on his front porch, and it was like when the Lord translated Ezekiel. And he said, I saw myself moving through the sky. I was watched the city, the town underneath me, and I went through the walls of this house, and it ended up, I'd never been there before, but it ended up knowing the people. I went to church with them, and they were there talking about the man of God and his family and just berating people in the church. And they were not being foul-mouthed, but carrying on very evil communication. And he heard it all. And then he said his body just left the house, went back, and he ended up, he opened his eyes, he was sitting in his rocking chair. So the next service, he approached them after church, and he said to them, The Lord knows that this is what you're discussing, discussing. And he started to recount the conversation.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

And you talk about repentance. The lady that that told us about as she was panicking, she said, I don't know who I can tell this to people are gonna think I'm crazy. She said, but I was traveling down the highway and an 18-wheeler came barreling behind me. She said, My car went up in the air, and I passed through the 18-wheeler. I passed through the cab and I looked at the driver and he looked at me. His eyes were very big. She said, and I went through the trailer and then I landed on the ground behind it. No problem. She said, I was really shook up. And I don't know how long I sat there before I got the courage to drive around. She said, when I pulled out, he was hanging out of his window, cranked down the window of his cab, was hanging out looking at me.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 46:18

He was stunned. She said, I pulled up to the stop sign. And I turned left and I thought, I'm not, she was going to another city. She said, I just turned around. I'm not going, I got to go home.

SPEAKER_01 46:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:30

She was shook up. She said, I turned left, I went across the freeway, and I would have come to another stop sign and then turned left to go back the other direction. She said, I got to the other stop sign, looked up, and I was in my driveway.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 46:46

She said, I went in the house and I didn't go anywhere. I just stayed home.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

I don't blame her.

SPEAKER_00 46:53

Listen, because you don't see these things every day, people think they're not possible, and they would say, I don't believe it if I don't see it. I understand why you're of that persuasion, but I've seen enough miracles in my life that I don't exactly write somebody off because they've experienced something that I haven't. I can look at them and say, Praise God for your experience. And the Lord can validate it or not. But I don't tell them that didn't happen to you. Unless the Spirit of the Lord speaks to me, I honor the testimony of the Lord no matter who gives it.

SPEAKER_01 47:30

Yeah, yeah. You know, you know, this is like one of the popular preachers on radio and TV, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas. He doesn't believe that anybody's ever died and then came back because he said you're only appointed one time to die.

SPEAKER_00 47:46

We we saw that.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

I said, but you know, I've experienced it. So my prayer for him is always, I hope you never have to experience it before you believe it.

SPEAKER_00 47:57

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

But you should never throw stones at somebody who says they have, because even though it says you have one time to die, doesn't mean that you that's the only time. If God chooses, he can choose whatever he wants to, you know, and thank God he did for me.

SPEAKER_00 48:12

But I've seen it once. Mama's seen it twice.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Yeah. Yeah, that's my point.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

Uh and well, there's a lot of people we want to come, you know, raise and come back from the left. I can't determine when God's gonna do this, but when he does it, you can't deny it.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

I can't deny it. Saturday on Tony. I know. I know, I and I and that was in my mind, and I was like, we could do that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

I did put my hand on his chest, but you know, my my motivation was different. Yeah, I just wanted to touch him. Yeah, and I I I was at another funeral one day, and I was there by myself by the casket before we went in to do everything was during the visitation. And when I left, I felt so bad. Yeah. Why didn't I command him to come up? Well, I'm gonna tell you something.

SPEAKER_01 49:04

Because you unless you're unless God tells you to do it, you're just gonna embarrass yourself. Yeah. But I think, but I do think that there are times where the Lord kind of gives us instruction to step into that supernatural type of thing. And and here's my thing is I think it's gonna become more and more prevalent as we're as we're starting to step into these times. I think that's gonna be necessary, especially for somebody like Brother Joseph here, because he's got to get to so many places quickly, you know, and I think the Lord could just project him to wherever he wants them to go, you know.

SPEAKER_00 49:38

On my second trip to India, yeah, we went to like four or five churches. It's the first time I ever saw this. And I brought mama back the next time because I wanted her to see it, and God didn't do it. But while we were praying, preaching, people were getting healed. Yeah, and people were getting filled with the Holy Ghost. Yeah. And and he's the first church he looks at me and says, No need to lay hands. They're they're being healed. Yeah, there look at them. Yeah, they're being and they were being healed. They were claiming their healings, yeah. They were being baptized in the Holy Ghost. We did that at three or four churches, yeah. And so I brought mama the next time, oh, we're gonna go back. I couldn't wait to go. And it didn't happen. I mean, we had a powerful move of God, but we didn't have that. Yeah, and I was so disappointed, but you can't tell God, please satisfy my personal desires. We can turn it into lust. Yeah, lust for something that you know is not on God's menu, not on his agenda. Right, right. So I yes, I was disappointed. I I wanted Mama to see it so bad. Yeah. I I had a friend, he's long dead now. His name was Roscoe C and he was in New Guinea, and he had videoed a big uh crusade in Papua, New Guinea, where they had the big stage and the loudspeakers and all that. And when they gave the altar call, there was about 25 yards between the crowd and the altar to platform. And I know this is true because I watched the video. Those people, when the call to repent was given, they sprinted down to be prayed for. Sprinted. Receiving the Holy Ghost, some of them on their way there. And I've never been a part of something like that. But I will tell you this. The most successful ministry that I've ever been involved in, and not speaking badly about ministries that I have been involved in, but is Excel ministries. I haven't been anywhere where the ministry was more powerful. And and later, I know you're gonna have a podcast in here we are from Brother Benu Joseph. And it's been a thrill to work with their team. They've had me there several times to speak to the leadership at their headquarters and to go out to cottage meetings. And in between, you you can't just go to India and preach anywhere. Yeah, you gotta have a license. And you know, so we make sure that we follow all the rules and regulations when we go. But wherever your host takes you, you're free to interact with the people and to talk with them about the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 52:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:40

So if you ever do go there, you remember that.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:43

Because you have to behave properly when you're a guest in someone else's country. Just like when they come here to the USA, we want them to obey our laws accordingly.

SPEAKER_01 52:55

Yeah, well, it was like that in Israel, right? Yes. And that was one of the main things they said was you can't, you can't, you know, try to proselytize them at all. You know, you can't try to convert them.

SPEAKER_00 53:07

Um you're there. Yeah, we we we did learn, and uh when I first got my visa for India, they gave me a big speech about it. And I said, I'm going to be with friends. They said, well, you make sure that you're a tourist, right?

SPEAKER_01 53:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:22

And and they look, I go everywhere. They take me to take pictures. I've been to Munar a couple of times, I've I've been to the museums and to the palace. What town is that? Palace in that you took me to? Yes. And so they make sure that I follow the law. Yeah. But I get to observe so much. Yeah. And speak to the students and and their leadership.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:49

Well, we definitely and their private meetings.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

Yeah, we definitely want to get into that conversation on the next podcast. So we've we finished up this simple presentation of the book of Acts for chapter eight.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

Looking forward to chapter nine. Um, but then also we're looking forward to hearing from you, brother, on the next on our next podcast, and we'll get that done. So, thank y'all for joining us. Thank you for being with us today. And we want to uh share this as we uh close out to go show some love, love, show some compassion, give mercy and go be Jesus today. Amen. Hey SDU family, if you have enjoyed this podcast today, would you please like, follow, and share our podcast link? And we would love to hear your feedback and your podcast topic suggestions. To do that, simply go to our website at www.m3mi.org, scroll to the more tab, and select contact us. Also, if this to you has been a blessing to you, you can also go to our website and select sew a seed. There's several ways that you can give, whether it's Zelda, Vin Mod, or if there's an address to send a check from money order. All your gifts are text-deductible, and we thank you so much for sewing your seed with us. I want you to remember this. This person wants it. That a person has given you their time, they've given you their most precious gift because they can never ever get it back. Thank you for sharing this day with me. We love you, we'll see you soon.