"The Rights of the Redeemed: pt 3, The Right to be Refreshed" - By Rev. Troy Benton

Sunday,

April 29, 2018

 

Psalm 22: 25 - 31

(NIV)

 

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

   before those who fear you[a] I will fulfill my vows.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;

   those who seek the Lord will praise him—

   may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth

   will remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

   will bow down before him,

²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord

   and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

   all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

   those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰ Posterity will serve him;

   future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,

   declaring to a people yet unborn:

   He has done it!”

 

 

Acts 8: 26 - 40

(NIV)

 

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

   and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

   so he did not open his mouth.

³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

   Who can speak of his descendants?

   For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” ^{[37]  38} And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”