Spirit Led Soul Winning

Let's turn to the Word of God here this afternoon to Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8 29. I just want to read one verse, give you three points on this verse, this message. We've been dealing with leading souls to Christ.

This is an essential calling on the Church of Jesus Christ. Apart from our calling to glorify Jesus Christ, second of all, to edify the body of Christ, the great calling of the Church is soul winning, or to lead men to Christ. If this Church doesn't lead men to Christ, we have failed in our calling, in our purpose, and why God has us here.

This is the great calling of the Church, is to snatch men from the very fires of hell. And from the beginning of this Church, we have mentioned, we have made C.T. Studds' motto, our own motto, that this Church would literally be set and placed within a yard of hell. That's what we endeavored to do from the beginning of this Church, that this Church would be in such a place that men who are dropping out into hell, march into hell, that we would be there at the gates of hell, right at that place where hell is raging, where men go to hell.

We would be there, reaching out with the love of Christ, reaching out with the gospel, reaching out with the message of forgiveness. There's no one too late, no one too old, no one too hard, no one too bound in sin, that this gospel cannot reach them. Saints of God, we've got a dynamic message that rescues sinners from the power of hell, washes them, cleans them, changes them radically.

And so, here this morning, this afternoon, I want to preach to you part seven of this series, and this is my title, Spirit-Led Soul-Winning. Reading from Acts chapter 8, verse 29, just one verse, and then I am going to read the surrounding Scriptures, but I want to read this one Scripture. This is my text.

It's so important. I want it to weigh upon your mind heavily. Acts 8, 29, Then the Spirit said, I want you to catch that.

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, I want you to mark that. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, go near and join thyself to this chariot. Will you pray with me here this morning? Father, we are so set towards winning men to you.

This is the greatest of tasks, greater than marriage, greater than finding a partner in life, greater than finding the right job, greater than finding friends, greater than finding comfort or the right house to live in. Lord God, greater than all of these things is that we would find men for Christ, that we would win them to Christ, that we would search after them for Christ. Lord God, we cannot save a man.

Lord God, all of our words, all of our conviction, all of our attempts cannot save a soul. But O God, you have called human vessels to go searching for men, to preach to men, to seek after souls, to bring them to you. And my God, there's a calling on this church to win men to Christ.

If we don't win them to Jesus Christ, we have failed as a church. And O God, we don't want to fail when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ. We don't want to be found with our works burnt up, that we have given our energies and our money and our time to things that do not matter.

But O God, we want to be caught up in the greatest calling, the greatest commission, the greatest mission that this world holds. Lord God, to win men to Christ, to go seek souls for you. And Lord God, I pray light of fire, burden men and women in this church, that they would arise above their own burdens, their own trials, their own afflictions, O God, their own battles in their mind, and that they would see beyond their own trials, there is something far greater, to go seek souls for you.

We love you. We bless you. We adore you this day.

And Lord God, I pray that your word would enliven us. It would encourage us. It would enrich us.

So God, it would teach us and that the Holy Spirit of God, the one that you have sent into your church, the one that you've sent to us individually, would lead us into all truth, revealing the things concerning that yourself and the Lord Jesus Christ. We love you. We bless you.

And as Paul's already exhorted, Lord God, teach us to abide in the love of Christ, that we might dwell on it, and that the Holy Spirit would shed abroad the love of Christ in our gathering, in Jesus' mighty name. Be glorified this day. Amen.

Our text, Acts chapter 8, 29. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. I've got three points for you here today in this message.

My message, Spirit led, soul winning. See, I don't believe all evangelism is Spirit led. I don't even believe that all Christians who really love God and know God are being led specifically of the Holy Spirit at every point.

It's okay to be burdened and go speak to someone. We don't need to wait for a feeling. We don't need to sit there and say, well, I'll only go once I'm led.

You'll make a big mistake on that. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying there is such a thing as Spirit led, soul winning.

There's a time when the Holy Spirit speaks to a real Christian. And it's so vital, the timing of it, the circumstance, the place, and the person, that the Holy Spirit will speak directly to an individual Christian to act immediately, because timing is imperative. You're dealing with a soul on its way to hell.

And this story that we're going to deal with, a true story from the Bible, Acts chapter 8, reveals something of Spirit led, soul winning, of the urgency and the point in time. If that moment in time is missed, a soul could miss eternity. And saints of God, I want to be sensitive to the Spirit of God.

And I want to be led by the Spirit of God. And I want to hear the Spirit of God. And I want to be directed and moved by the Spirit of God.

It's imperative. And so Spirit led, soul winning is a real thing. When it's no longer you trying to win men, you speaking to men, you arguing with men, you persuading men, you trying to lock them into something, you trying to bring them into something.

It's no longer that. It is you being taken over. You used of the Holy Spirit.

You controlled by the Holy Spirit. You led by the Holy Spirit. You commanded by the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit taking you over. It's not you trying to get the Holy Spirit to join your works, your words, your actions. But it's the Holy Spirit literally apprehending you and using you for an immediate, important, vital task to bring someone to Jesus.

I've got three points here. Number one, from this text in Acts 8, the Holy Spirit pursues sinners. I want you to hear that tonight.

The person of the Holy Spirit is real. Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost isn't a power.

He isn't an influence. He's not a thing. He is a person.

He has feelings. He has emotions. He has thoughts.

He has words. He speaks. He acts.

He moves. The Holy Spirit is real. He is deity.

He is divine. He is God. That means He is everywhere.

That means He knows everything. That means He is all power. And yet the Bible teaches clearly, the Holy Spirit has been given to the church to dwell in the church, to live in the church.

The church is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Like the individual, real Christian, is the temple and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This is where He resides.

This is His dwelling place. And my first thing here is the Holy Spirit pursues sinners. In this story in Acts chapter 8, I want to show you how the Holy Spirit pursues after sinners.

Listen as we read the text. Acts chapter 8 verse 26. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying, Arise and go towards 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 the charge of all her treasures and had come to Jerusalem for the worship, was returning and sitting in this chariot, Isaiah the prophet or Isaiah the prophet. Now look at the circumstance here. And immediately the next verse says, Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself unto him.

I want you to notice some things very clearly here about Philip the evangelist. We've spoken about him a lot recently. Philip the evangelist was in a successful citywide revival with thousands coming to Christ, if not hundreds.

In other words, he was in the midst of a unique revival where an entire community was on fire for God. The sick were being miraculously healed. Demons were being cast out.

Multitudes were coming to Jesus. Then they are being baptized in the Holy Ghost and fire. It was a remarkable, unique, unparalleled move of God in Samaria, the like of which has only happened once in all of history.

It was a utterly unusual work. And Philip was the preacher, the evangelist, right in the midst of it. But notice here what has happened in Acts chapter 8. That is in our story here in this message.

We are actually reading verse 26. An angel speaks to Philip, says, Arise, go towards the south unto the way that goeth unto Jerusalem to Gaza, which is a desert. Here is God working in the life of Philip.

He removes him from a citywide revival where maybe thousands are coming to Christ. And he sends them to a desert road. And here's the shocking thing.

He actually does it. An angel of the Lord speaks to him. This is an amazing thing.

And you don't see much of this. See, you've got all these preachers fighting to get in big pulpits, fighting to get in the center of things, fighting to be in a citywide center where everything is happening. That's what ministry looks like today, but not in the Bible.

See, you've got the Holy Spirit working in this life. God had to bring Philip to a place that the Spirit of God could speak directly and say, No, that's the man. Speak to that man.

Join yourself to that man. See, this is God at work in a life. And I want you to see this.

The Holy Spirit pursues sinners. See, the real Holy Spirit, who is God, is not only interested in cities and multitudes and nations. He has his eye on an individual.

I mean, one individual sinner who's going in the wrong direction. Who doesn't have answers. Who doesn't have Christ.

Who doesn't have salvation, but has a lot of questions. And who has been seeking hard, but hasn't found the Messiah. You know what? This Holy Spirit pursues after sinners.

Many years ago, there was a young evangelist in his 20s. He was a friend of McShane's. His name was William Chalmers Burns, a young evangelist.

He was traveling all across Scotland and England and Canada and Ireland. He was doing meetings with literally thousands of people gathered. Hundreds were coming to Christ in each meeting.

It was a revival. I mean, a genuine revival. People were falling on their faces and repenting before Christ.

The wind of God blew in meetings. It was extraordinary. But he said, God spoke to me.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, go to China. He would spend the rest of his days and die in China. The rest of his life, he would only speak to one or two people every day.

Not thousands, not hundreds getting converted every day. No, it was one or two souls he managed to speak to about their soul. And only now and again, occasionally managed to rescue one or two from the very fires of hell.

But you know what? The Holy Spirit sent him to China. And he's the man that impacted Hudson Taylor. He reached China in the most remarkable way.

What am I telling you? The Holy Spirit cares about individuals. He would remove a great revivalist from the fires of revival and send them out after one soul in the middle of a deserted desert. That's how determined the Holy Spirit is to get a soul and to save a man.

It's not us trying to get saved and it's hard to get saved. It's actually the Holy Spirit comes looking, searching after men. Look at this man that the Holy Spirit goes after.

I want you to notice who he is. It says he's a man of Ethiopia. He was an Ethiopian or in the Greek, it's called Ethopos.

That's the Greek word in our Bible. It's not Ethiopian in our Bible. It's Ethiopia.

And so you have them here. This Ethiopian, the Holy Spirit has his eyes on this black man, this Ethiopian from the south who's just been in Jerusalem and is actually riding away from Jerusalem. And I want you to notice some things about him.

It actually says concerning this man, this Ethiopian, that he was a eunuch. Now eunuch in olden days could be one of two things. Either they're a physical eunuch or they're a spiritual eunuch.

It can be one of two things. But this term, a eunuch, it meant that man had intervened often when they're young boys or a child and it operated on them that they are made a eunuch. They can never marry.

They cannot have children. They remain single. They don't have normal desires like a man would.

And they're actually, this is done to them because eunuchs in the ancient world and places of power and influence were very, very important. And notice he's the eunuch of a queen, Candace of Ethiopia. And so he was working under the authority of a most important woman.

And here's a man who is a eunuch. He has lost an awful lot in life as far as being a man, a family, future. None of that was in God's plan for his life.

It wasn't gonna happen. And here's a man, he grew up in this condition. Some people say he wasn't a real eunuch, that it was just a term that was given to secretaries of state and a low eunuchs used to fill that.

It didn't happen anymore. I believe he was a eunuch. I believe the Bible's very clear.

And look at him. He's reading the Jewish scriptures. He has been worshiping in the Jewish city.

He has traveled thousands of miles, 2,000 kilometers on those dusty roads to be in Jerusalem. Now he's making a return journey, 2,000 kilometers. I think that's about 1,200 miles thereabouts.

That is a remarkable length of time. And he's reading the Bible. He's reading the scriptures.

He is seeking after reality. Listen to what Isaiah the prophet says in Isaiah 54 verse three, neither let the eunuch say. It's a message to the eunuch in the Old Testament.

And listen, the thing about eunuchs are they are excluded from the temple in Jerusalem. In fact, they're greatly restricted in what they can do in Judaism. But here's Isaiah the prophet speaking directly to eunuchs.

Neither say behold I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbath and choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name that is better than sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Now hear me, here was a eunuch in this physical condition and the word of God says, I'll give you something better than children. I'll give you a name that's far better.

Since if you walk with God and find this God, you'd be surprised what he does in your life and how he breaks in in your life and the promises that are in scripture. So here's this man that the Holy Spirit sets his eye on. I mean to save him, to bring him to Christ and to urgently rescue him from the power of sin.

He is a eunuch. He'll never have family, never have children, never operate in that normal function that he was created for. Man has intervened.

Circumstance of life have intervened. He'll never be fulfilled as a man, but he can be fulfilled. I wanna tell you also it says he had great authority.

The word that's used here for great authority, it's talking about a position, a legal political position. He had power. He had great influence.

He had great respect for men and yet look at him. He is seeking for something that doesn't satisfy him. See some people, they spend their whole life looking for notoriety and notice and position and power and jobs and security.

This man had it all, but that isn't what his heart was longing for. You need to be careful what you're seeking after in this place. This man was seeking something far more.

He had all of that and I'm sure he had wealth as well. And notice it says he was under Queen Candace of the Ethiopians and was in charge of her treasures. Isn't it interesting? It said he had great authority, but he was under her.

Look at this man. He's under her, under her authority. She is a queen.

She is royalty in his country, in his empire. And yet he had great authority. We've dealt with this before in this church.

We've done a whole series on submission and authority. We dealt with it very thoroughly. You know the men who have most authority, do you know who they are? The ones who are under authority.

If you ever find someone, they never submit, never come under authority. They never have real authority. They never speak with authority.

You need to find a man like the centurion who spoke, who sent a message to Christ. No, you can't even come into my house. Send the word, my servant's going to be healed.

And what did he say? He said, I'm a man under authority and I know what it is to be in authority. You don't even understand authority. You have no authority unless you can submit.

See all across the church and in marriages and all the rest, people say, I'll not submit. Then you'll never have authority. If you're a submitted person, you'll learn to have authority.

Look at this man. He knew what real authority was. It wasn't false.

It was real. He could submit himself under a royal house, under a personage, under the person with power, and yet he had great authority. You know, for him to be under, he was responsible or given a charge.

Some people you can't give a charge because they don't submit. You can't give them responsibility. You can't give them a job.

You can't give them a trust because they're not submitted. This man was a trustworthy man, a faithful man, a reliable man. This queen entrusted all of her riches to this eunuch.

I want you to see who we're dealing with. I want you to see who the Holy Spirit went after. One individual man.

Here he is in this vital, important position. And look what it says. He'd been up to Jerusalem to worship.

He'd just been there and was returning. Made a 2,000 kilometer journey to Jerusalem for one reason. Only one reason.

To worship. He went there to worship. This word worship means to prostrate yourself, to lie flat on your face, to grovel like a dog.

It's talking about worshiping God. Do you know what worship is? You literally submit yourself. You bow yourself.

You yield yourself. You lie on your face and say, I worship you, Lord. I yield to your sovereignty.

That's worship. That's real worship. Today in our church, and it's a crisis, we've made worship the lights.

How they play the guitar, the singing. Now it's the clothes. They all dress the same.

They'll all stretch their leg out in the same direction at the same time. They all prepare and train themselves. They'll copy Hill songs in Australia or copy somewhere in America or somewhere in England.

And the style and the sound and their body movements are all the same. I've watched it for years. I've watched it every single year.

It's always the same thing. That's not worship. Don't come to a worship seminar.

It's not worship. Unless you stand and begin dealing with men's hearts and say, submit to God. Submit everything to God.

Yield to God. That's worship. Not setting the lights, right? You need to get the tone of the music right.

You need to be professional. That's not worship. I thank God for things like this, like music.

Not for flashing lights. I can't thank God for that. That's an abomination in the house of God.

But I'm talking about real worship. Look at this man. He came all the way to Jerusalem for one thing, to worship God.

Here he is going away again. And what's he doing? He's reading the scriptures. He had bought Isaiah.

He must've went up there. He's a rich man, an influential man. He's an educated man.

He's a well-read man. He knows how to speak another language than his own language. Not speaking Ethiopian.

He's reading the text of scripture, either Hebrew or in the Greek language. But he's reading Isaiah. He had bought the scriptures.

He thought the scriptures were important enough to read. But do you know what? As a eunuch, he couldn't enter the temple, according to Deuteronomy. He was like a second-class citizen within Judaism, in the house of God.

And you know what? As he read the scriptures of Isaiah, he did not understand what he was reading. Here he is leaving Jerusalem, the capital of worship, the headquarters of kings, the headquarters of God. God said his name would be there forever.

Here he is leaving. He's unsatisfied. He's got questions utterly unanswered.

Imagine traveling 2,000 kilometers to get to Jerusalem, buying the scriptures, and you're filled with questions. You're coming away with more questions than answers. I believe he was dissatisfied.

I believe also he was preoccupied. Do you know why I know that? Because there's two roads from Jerusalem down into Egypt, and he chose the lesser, the obscure one, the worst road. He didn't choose the best road.

It gives the information here. And Philip is told to go to that road, that specific road, not the main fair with all the hotels and all the stops and the oasis. He has taken an obscure, unbusy road.

See, if he would have taken the other one, it is busy. There's people there. See, he's an ambassador.

He's a man of power and influence. I always wondered, maybe you have the answer. I don't know how all the important people travel because I don't see them in first class on planes.

How do they travel? How does Tucker Carlson travel on his plane? I'd love to intersect these peoples in the airport or something else. You've got all these people moving around our world. I never see any of them in planes or airports or anywhere.

I don't know where they're wearing disguises. But see this man, he's preoccupied. He's reading the word of God.

He doesn't want to be in conversation with men. And I believe he chooses the lesser road, the obscure road, the hard road. You know, I chose something about the state of this man.

So many questions, so much seeking, so unsatisfied. I believe this must have been a few years after Pentecost, maybe five years, maybe three years, who knows? But listen, before I go to point two, this is it. The Holy Spirit pursues a sinner.

I just want to tell you something about Ethiopia here I find very interesting. Now, I've got to be very careful now, or I could go down the sidetrack. And even in studying, because I like history.

I like ancient cultures, and I find this fascinating. But it's biblical. It's a biblical issue, and I want you to hear what I'm about to say.

Ethiopia in the Old Testament, the word in the Hebrew is actually kush. If you go look it up. Ethiopia, like in Ezekiel's war, Ethiopia will come against Israel in Ezekiel's war.

What country is it? It is kush. Now, kush was the first son of Ham, and Ham was Noah's son. So in other words, kush was the grandson of Noah, the first generation after the flood.

And Genesis talks about this. And it says that kush had a son called Nimrod in Genesis 10 who built the Tower of Babel. So kush was a real man.

And if you go to Genesis 10, you have the table of nations. You have individuals mentioned. And out of those individuals came nations, peoples, cultures, different colors, different tongues after the Tower of Babel spreading into different areas of land.

And so we have Ethiopia in the Old Testament was actually the name kush. It was a people, the kushites. It was a place called kush, a real place.

So after the scattering from Babel, kush moved first of all west, then down into Africa. Kush is a very real person. His son Mizraim founded Egypt.

That's the father of Egypt as a nation. We have it mentioned in our Bible who it is. But kush moved south of Egypt.

Kush is on the border of Egypt. Kush is just south. Kush is filled with rivers.

Present-day Ethiopianism, it's not the same. So in the Old Testament, Ethiopia is not present-day Ethiopia. It's a different country.

It's totally different. In fact, Ethiopia is thousands of miles further to the south. So what is kush? Kush is actually Sudan on the Egyptian border just to the south.

Old Testament Ethiopia. And listen, this Ethiopian wasn't an Ethiopian of today's people. He lived just to the south of the border of Egypt.

In fact, I guess and from my research, I believe he was from the city of Meru. And I'll tell you why. Not the Meru local, but here's a city of Meru.

It flourished as the capital of the kingdom of kush. There was an entire kingdom of kush, an entire more than a kingdom. It was an empire.

And this empire flourished from the 700 years before Christ until 300 years after Christ. A period of several hundred years or a thousand years that the city of Meru was the capital of the kingdom of kush. Let me tell you a bit about this city.

I want you to see this because I believe present day history utterly lines up with scripture here. It was a legendary city for fabulous wealth. In fact, I looked at pictures of it just this morning.

They had, this city had a skyline. And Anna liked skylines. And that's why I noted it so much.

Normally, I wouldn't. But now I think skylines. Not every city has a skyline.

This city had a skyline of long pyramids. It was a remarkable city. Its original name was Seba.

It wasn't Meru. The original name was Seba. Meru was a later name.

Who's Seba? He was the oldest son of kush. And do you know what? If you go there today to the city of Seba or Meru, if you go there, you can find a graveyard. And that graveyard is where all the queens were buried.

Now we're getting somewhere. I'm taking you somewhere here. I just want you to understand this.

Now today's historians and archaeologists, they're going into these remains, digging up the past, telling us things that haven't been known in 1500 years. And they're very astounding. When you begin to study this, do you know what you find? That the kingdom of kush, located on the Nile, which is modern-day Sudan, it used to be called Nubia for many years.

It has the city of the kings and the queens of ancient kush. And for a period of over 500 years, they were reigned over by queens. In fact, when you go into the best archaeology and research at the minute, there were 21 queens listed as sole regents of kush.

But kush is Ethiopia. Remember in the Old Testament, a queen of Ethiopia is the queen of kush or the queen of Sudan as a modern nation. 21 queens, six of whom had the name Candace.

It's not a personal name. It's a title, meaning the great mother, the large one or the royal one. It's talking about a queen mother.

And so you begin to realize that now history, archaeology, all of this is just being discovered at the moment. And you know what I believe? I believe a lot more is about to get revealed here. But as I read history, secular studies, and then I go to my Bible, I know where this man came from.

I know the very city he came from. I know the journey that he made 2,000 years ago in search of life and reality. When you go back 2,000 years, you have the Greek writers, Starbo, Pliny the Elder, Eusebius, D.U. Casman, who I've never heard of before.

All these men are writing about Ethiopia and they call it with the biblical axe name, the same name, Ethiopic, the same name that we have in Acts chapter 8. They talk about Ethiopia with the same name, saying it's just south of Egypt. All these great scholars. And here, I tracked down the name of this queen of Candace, who the eunuch was under in authority.

See, we're dealing with history, real people, real facts, real places. These aren't obscure stories, not at all. And so, sadly, when I started to research this, I think I've come up with five different spellings, no, six different spellings for her name.

But I'm going to take Wikipedia's written form of it. Her name was Amentori. A-M-E-N-T-O-R-I, that was her name.

She was given the title Candace in our English, or Candelsa, if I'm pronouncing it right, in their culture. So you have the actual queen. Now, how did I track it down? Because she's listed the year of her birth, the year of her reign, the year of her death.

And as I started to read this, I didn't know this before. I'm just simply reading it and I go, I better not get sidetracked. I'm preaching the word of God and the gospel here.

But do you know what? I love that all these things tie into scripture so clearly. If you go on Wikipedia, you'll see that she's the last queen of the third Meroitic period, the very last queen. They have dates for her, information on her.

In fact, archaeology has dug up all these artifacts from the first century. They began excavating her buildings, her temples, her palaces, her pyramids. They say she built 200 of these Kushite pyramids.

It's remarkable. And in fact, during her reign, the kingdom was at its very height in power and influence. And an authority and notoriety.

It was at a high point when this eunuch came riding down the road. She is also mentioned in several different ancient texts by Greeks and others. She ruled jointly with her son.

And listen to this. She was a warrior princess. She went to war.

She led the armies. She fought in the battlefield. She was right there in the heat of the battle.

Some woman. I'm telling you, if you're a eunuch under this woman, you don't step out of line. This is a remarkable, rare woman.

And you know what? She was buried in one of these pyramids. They knew which pyramid it is. In fact, when I looked online, they said the base of it is six meters by six meters.

That was the size of the pyramid that she was built in. Her personal palace is now a UNICEF heritage site. It's preserved by the UN.

They look after it personally and say, this is of great importance to world history. And the language of the people, they call it the Meroitic language. And listen to this.

It went extinct in 400 AD. 400 years after this man went extinct, wasn't used anymore because enemies invaded. And Ethiopia that we know today, they invaded, took over, and stole the history.

The history of the queens and of Candace. And the name Ethiopia became their name and not the Kushites anymore. But listen to this.

Their language still hasn't been deciphered. And I just wonder, when they begin deciphering the language, are we going to find who a eunuch is? Are we going to find a retina? Remember, this is the most important queen, one of the greatest queens to rule and reign over this great empire. A remarkable woman, a warrior princess, a woman of great authority and influence and power.

She stood against the Romans. She stood against the Greeks. This is a dynamic woman.

But I wonder about this eunuch. This black man, this eunuch, this religious man, he had converted to be a Jew. He'd become a convert of Judaism.

He was a real Old Testament believer. But here he is. He's missed Christ, hasn't he? He went up to Jerusalem.

This is after the crucifixion, after the ministry of Christ, after the death and burial, after the church gets scattered. Remember, Philip, when the church got scattered, Philip came, made this journey to Samaria. And so here you have, it's amazing.

This eunuch is working with this lady. But this is my first point. God has taken the initiative.

The Holy Spirit pursues sinners. See, the Holy Spirit knew this man. This man wasn't only seeking God and seeking answers and seeking the scripture.

He was empty, no answers, lost. Power, influence, it doesn't satisfy. Never seek these things in life.

You'll be left destitute. Don't seek after likes on Facebook. Don't seek after something of this world.

Don't do it. You know what? It'll leave your soul barren. If only I had friends, maybe they'd curse you.

It's a very real thing when you get the Holy Spirit pursuing a sinner. And what you see in this story and chapter about the eunuch, God is taking the initiative. Look at what God is doing.

Verse 26, God says an angel to him to speak to Philip. Go down to that dusty old road, that desert. I'm taking you out of revival and I'm gonna send you to a desert.

I often wondered in my mind, can you imagine Philip standing there going, what am I doing here? Haven't even seen a carriage in the past 30 minutes. Lord, are you sure? Can I really hear from an angel? An angel told me to come here. There he is.

You know what that shows is that God is in control. Man doesn't take the initiative in salvation. You don't seek after God.

God comes seeking after you. It's not you trying hard and going, I can't find God. Rubbish, rubbish.

He hasn't lost, you're lost. He's the good shepherd. The sheep are lost.

They have strayed. They have gone far off. They have rebelled.

It's not God that's lost. You don't need to find him. He's not lost.

You're lost. I was lost. We were lost.

But you know what? God takes the initiative. He sends an angel to put this man in the right spot. Then in verse 29, the Spirit spoke saying, go join yourself.

See how the Spirit's in control. See how God is in control. Because that could have been missed.

He could have been in the right place at the right time. And this man was right, but he wouldn't have joined himself to that place. It took a work of the Holy Spirit.

And then in verse 39, it says, when it's all done and dusted, when this man's being converted, says the Spirit of the Lord, cut Philip away. Doesn't want man involved. Don't want your fingerprints on it.

You've done your task. Now you're not needed anymore. Do you see how the Holy Spirit's dealing with this Ethiopian? It's an amazing thing.

The Holy Spirit's after souls. Since you think you're after souls. No, the Holy Spirit's after souls.

You think your burden for your mommy, your daddy, your brother, your sister, your children, workmates, friends, associates, people in this city. Oh no, it's the Holy Spirit. I want you to see this.

First of all, the Holy Spirit pursues sinners. It wasn't Philip. Wasn't the church of Jerusalem.

Wasn't the apostles. It wasn't the guest of the Holy Spirit. It was the person of the Holy Spirit has his eye in this Philippian or in this Ethiopian all the way, 2000 kilometers.

Then traveling all the way down. He's watching. The Holy Spirit's watching.

Better be careful of your heart. Number two, the Holy Spirit uses men. Not only the Holy Spirit pursues sinners, the Holy Spirit uses men.

So theology in the church, I don't like it. And they say, well, I'm being led by the Spirit. I don't need men.

Well, the Holy Spirit needs men. You must be greater than the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit places importance on using men. He doesn't need men.

He uses men. In fact, he almost never works without using men. This is in verse 26.

An angel of the Lord said unto Philip, arise, go down to the south under the way that goes down unto Jerusalem, unto Gaza, which is a desert. And he arose and went. Look at this, how the Holy Spirit uses men.

This is Philip being used. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit speak directly to the eunuch? Oh, I just need the Holy Spirit to speak to me. Don't you think the Holy Spirit could speak to him in his chariot? He's reading his Bible.

He's reading Isaiah. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit just speak to him and say, it's Christ? He didn't do that. He's got the Bible.

He's been in a religious city. He's seeking, he's prepared. What does God do? God sends a man.

He lifts a man up out of a revival, busyness ministry, and he sends him to a deserted, dirty desert road and says, stand there. I've got a mission for you. You know what? It's one soul.

God uses men. Men are very important to the Holy Spirit. You see, Philip is a prepared man.

The Holy Spirit uses men, but only prepared men. You won't be used of the Holy Spirit. To reach souls in this way, unless you're prepared.

And most Christians don't allow that preparation to take place. How did God prepare this man to reach Samaria city and then reach an individual? How did he prepare him? Years of obscurity. If you go to Acts chapter six, verse three, you'll find that Philip was one of the seven men chosen to look after widows and to disperse bread, to hand bread out.

To fighting widows. Some of them Jewish national Israel. Others that were Greek-ish Hellenistic Jews who'd come in from other nations.

They're Jews. They're of Jewish stock, same DNA. It's just they were born and grew up in other countries with a Greek language.

And so you've got these widows fighting. Listen to what it says in Acts 6, 3. Says, wherefore brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, who we may appoint over this business. And the apostles had said, we want to give ourselves to the word of God in prayer.

Do you know what my job is? To give myself to the word of God in prayer. And see when I've got a thousand distractions, I can't do that. So I don't mind handing out bread to widows.

I don't mind that. There's lots of things I've done all my life. I worked for six, seven years on a video camera in a church.

Every other Sunday, I'm on the video camera. And those preachers moved around. I'm up there moving that thing.

Not an entire service. I've cleaned the ladies toilets and the men's toilets, six years running almost every week in that local church. I've done every job you can imagine.

I don't mind doing it because for me, it's spiritual. If the word of God gets preached, these jobs are spiritual. It's all hands on deck.

I'm going to be there doing my part in the church of God, whatever that entails, whatever it means. And so you had Philip. How do you get prepared for on that one day to be guided by the spirit of God or used by the spirit of God? Well, here he is, a man filled with the spirit.

Hey look, he's filled with the spirit. Let's make him an evangelist, a missionary, a preacher, a pastor. No, we're choosing you.

You're so spirit filled. You're so honest. You're so dynamic.

We want you to hand out bread to widows. See, the Holy Spirit uses men, but they've got to be prepared men. And we're told about Philip.

He was an honest man. He was full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. Do you see the men that God uses are filled with the Holy Spirit? See, he allows himself to be used by the Holy Spirit.

And practical things, secular things, normal things, things in the body of Christ to keep peace and unity and all the rest. He's also filled with the wisdom of God. He also has a task and he does it faithfully.

So you have a man in the house of God. God is going to use men to reach an Ethiopian eunuch. You know what? I'm not going to entrust a job to someone who I know.

Almost, I could prophesy to you, they won't do that job. And if they've got a history of that, and yet I entrust them relying on a very important thing and they don't do it, you'd say, but sure you knew. You knew all along the way.

You knew their character, their nature, everything. You know this man, the Holy Spirit went, I know I can trust him. And you know what? I need a man who'll respond instantly, immediately, without question, because it's life and death.

I'm going to choose Philip. See, that's how the Holy Spirit works. Look at this man's burden for souls.

He was not only a prepared man. He's a burden man, says in Acts 8 verse 4. Therefore, they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them.

Look at this man with a burden. He's being persecuted. He is being scattered from home, from his city, from his usual environment.

They're being threatened. They could die at this time. What does he do? He gets to Samaria and he preaches unto them Christ publicly.

The word preached here is caruso. It means to be a herald, a town crier. Some people don't like street preaching.

Then you wouldn't like Philip. Oh, I want a mild and meek preacher. Why do they need to lift their voice? Throw your Bible out.

You wouldn't like John the Baptist. You wouldn't like Stephen. You wouldn't like Peter.

See, there is a preaching. Preaching isn't the same as teaching. I've had friends say, oh, I don't understand the difference.

The Bible differentiates between words. Why do you think the Bible, the Holy Spirit, used the word preach and teach? They're not the same. In fact, just look up your Strong's Concordance.

They mean two different things. They don't mean the same. To teach is to expound and open up and labor.

To go through methodically. Preaching is something else. It is a herald.

It is crying aloud. It is a proclamation. It is a demonstration of the word of God.

And so we have Philip here. He goes and preaches. He's burdened for souls.

He's burdened for a city. He's a man on fire for souls. He's a man longing for souls.

You know, if you've got no longing for souls, you don't stumble into this and become a soul winner and hear the direction of the Holy Spirit saying, reach them. Why would the Holy Spirit use you if you're not burdened and you don't have a passion and you don't care? Do you think you're going to accidentally stumble into leading someone to Christ? No way. You know what? The Holy Spirit uses and chooses men that are prepared, that are ready, who have a burden for souls.

Notice as well, he's an unbiased man. He works cross-country. Went to the Samaritans.

Remember what John and James, they wanted to call fire down. Call fire down on them. Do you know who the Samaritans were? They're half-baked so-and-sos, half-Jewish, half-pagan.

They're a mixed culture. They weren't a pure people, mixed culturally, religiously. That's why they only, I believe, kept the first five books of Moses.

The rest of them, they didn't keep the rest of the Old Testament. It was only the law of Moses. They believed in Moses, didn't believe in the prophets.

Reject that part of the Bible. That's what the Samaritans were like. And yet, here you have Philip.

He went to the Samaritans and preached. He didn't have a second thought. He didn't care about culture or nation or anything else.

The apostles are worried about that. Can we preach to the Gentiles? Can we go to them? You know, he walked into a city that rejected the gospel, and he is preaching Christ onto them in a dynamic way. And then look at this road.

Here he is, and God brings an Ethiopian to him. Why do you think God used this man to reach an Ethiopian? See, if there's racism and bias and some attitude, see, you can have an attitude in all sorts of ways. I've been told, I don't know personally by experience, but I've been told about Limerick that there's almost a caste system in Limerick, but like the Indian caste system, I'm sure it's not as bad as that.

And you know, if you're born even on a certain road in this city, that is marked and noted. If you're born, you never get away from that. Legally, in the eyes of authorities, the council, they mark down where you were born.

That's very unusual in this city. Very strange in this city. I'm not saying it's everywhere, but it is here.

There's a way of thinking. You see, the Holy Spirit's gonna use a man who's actually unbiased. You can't send a man to reach an Ethiopian who looks down an Ethiopian or makes a difference about skin color or richness.

What if you're a poor preacher and you're going to this rich man and you despise him? See, this can happen in different ways. You could despise a poor, smelly man beside you. Or you could despise the rich man who has everything.

Where's your heart? None of that should make a difference. All you see is a soul that needs Christ. I'm not saying a poor man.

I'm not saying an Irish man or an English man or a Russian or an American. I'm not saying an African or an Asian. I don't care about skin color or anything else.

All I see is a soul that needs Jesus Christ. And I tell you, this man was that sort of a man. That's all he cared about.

He's also an obedient man. Look at it. The angel tells him to go down that road.

He goes immediately. Then the Holy Spirit speaks to him, says, join yourself to the chariot. He does it immediately.

This man is an actual obedient man. He needs no explanation. Lord, why am I on a dusty road standing here in the middle of nowhere? Why are you taking me out of revival? He wasn't leaning on human logic.

He wasn't arguing with God. He didn't say, wait until later. He wasn't doing any of that.

And yet we do that so easily. Wait, why? Why? Why? I need an explanation. See, a real Christian, if he's gonna become a soul winner or spirit-led, where the Holy Spirit actually leads him, if he's gonna come to that actual position of being led by the Holy Spirit, I wanna tell you, he's gotta be an obedient man.

He's gotta be led of the Holy Spirit. And you know what? Here's another thing. Philip was not indispensable.

He was dispensable. He wasn't vital. He was only a tool, only a vessel.

When the Holy Spirit says, fine, you've done your job. I used you on this day. Fine, you're not needed anymore.

Twice over, in Samaria, seeing a revival. Okay, that's over. You're finished here.

Okay. Then there on the road with the eunuch, I just baptized this important person from Ethiopia. This rich man, this noted man, this ambassador.

I mean, he's serving the queen of one of the great empires. Wouldn't you wanna hang around? Can I have your email address, please? Could we WhatsApp? Not him. You know, the Holy Spirit immediately removes him from the scene because it's not your convert.

It's not your ministry. This is why he was an obedient man, a trustworthy man, a tool, a vessel. God uses men.

The Holy Spirit will use a man, but he's a certain kind of man. Some of you are saying, oh, I would love the Holy Spirit to say, join yourself to the chariot. Oh, I'm here.

I just long. Are you reading your Bible? Oh, I'd long for that. Have you been obedient in the past? If God told me to do so, if I heard a voice, if the Holy Spirit spoke to me, I'd do it immediately.

Would you? Have you done that in the past? Have you been obedient? Have you been humble? Have you been prepared? Have you been unbiased? Listen, the Holy Spirit guidance of a man is dynamic. It says in Acts 8, 29, then the Spirit said unto Philip, he doesn't need Philip, but how does the Holy Spirit work? He doesn't just intervene in men's lives. Often the Holy Spirit primarily chooses to use a man.

And by a man, I mean a woman as well. The Holy Spirit uses a man. He could speak to him.

He can save him. He can do wonders. He could give him a dream or a vision or send an angel.

But no, he sends a man to an old dusty road to stand there, to give him the gospel and explain Christ to him. This is amazing. And see, when you go to the Word of God, you see this.

Notice the Holy Spirit speaking to Philip. He gives clear instructions. The Holy Spirit spoke to him in words, not just a dream.

It was clear words, a clear sentence. Go near and join thyself to this chariot, this one here. He gives clear spoken sentence.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit speaking. So I'm not a cessationist. I'm not of those that believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit were only for the first century.

Miracles were only for them. That the Holy Spirit doesn't give any information then or now. I'm not a cessationist.

I believe the Holy Spirit speaks. But I'm not like a lot of people in the world who follow voices and don't listen to the Word of God. There's a balance in this.

And you know what? If you're so safe and say, I don't follow all those strange things. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit speak to you? Why don't you have a testimony of the Spirit of God speaking directly to you? See, the Holy Spirit does use men. He ought to use men in this church.

You ought to have experiences where the Holy Spirit has guided you urgently and very specifically. Notice what the Holy Spirit says. Says, go near.

Approach Him. Focus in on Him. Isn't that a strange thing? I mean, He's there on the road, this deserted road.

This chariot comes with this important man reading the scriptures. Wouldn't that be all you need? You'd say, ha ha, providence. This is the will of God.

God's got me here. This is God's plan. That wasn't enough.

This is a good man, a godly man, a gifted man. But he needs the Holy Spirit to say, approach, go near. Do you know why I believe that was? Because this was a great man.

You could see the entourage. You could see the chariot. It was obviously, it was a rich man, an important man, an ambassador.

I'm not sure like today's cars of ambassadors, where they have the little flag. I'm not sure if they had that, where it goes, this is an ambassador. But I believe that it took the Holy Spirit to speak to him.

Because even though he could see all the signs of God working, God's brought me here. This man is reading scripture. I'm in the right place.

It's an unusual situation. He still needed the Holy Spirit to say, approach Him. Focus in on Him.

This man is an important man. You know, I think he had all the same feelings as us. Oh, but he's a very important man, surely me.

Who am I to speak to him? We get natural fears, inhibitions, all those things. You and I have them. The Holy Spirit was very gracious to say to Philip, go near.

The second thing he says, join thyself to this chariot. Not that one, this one. Not that car, this car.

Join thyself. The word join thyself means to glue yourself, stick yourself. Don't leave it.

Stay with them. If you're reading the New Testament, you've got various times when the Spirit of God speaks. Like Acts chapter 10, speaking to Peter.

Listen to what he says. The Spirit said unto him, behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.

These three sinners come and seek in the gospel. And Peter needs a word from God. Three men are going to knock at your door.

I want you to go down, rise up right now. I want you to go with them. I want you to go preach.

Do you see how the Holy Spirit wins souls? Peter needed that. Philip needed that. I need that.

You need that. Since we try to evangelize, win men, and we're not listening for the Holy Spirit, we don't have ourself in the right place. Third and finally, the Holy Spirit prepares situations.

The Holy Spirit prepares situations. The Holy Spirit not only focuses in on sinners and goes after sinners, and He not only prepares and uses men to reach them, but the Holy Spirit prepares the entire situation. As we close, I want you to see this.

It says that in verse 28, He was returning and sitting in His chariot and reading Isaiah the prophet or Isaiah the prophet. Is that not preparation? So the Holy Spirit brings you all the way out onto this old dusty road, and you're standing there waiting, obedient. Here comes this chariot.

He's reading Isaiah the prophet. It's amazing. And again, in verse 30 and other verses, it talks about this.

He's reading the scriptures. Don't you see the hand of God in this? Don't you see the same Holy Spirit that says, join yourself to the chariot now. Draw near to that man.

That man, that chariot right now, I've prepared everything. Don't you see how God has got Him reading the scripture right at that time? He is actually reading. Don't you see how He's prepared things? You can't do that.

You can argue. You can debate. You can wrangle.

You could buy them a Bible. They'll never read it. Please do keep doing all those things.

But I'm saying there's something about when you find yourself in a situation, God, the Holy Ghost has prepared this. You couldn't have. This is ordained.

This is you raping where you haven't sown. And so you walk in and this man, this important man, this great man, this influential man is sitting reading the scriptures. Notice the text.

It's Isaiah 53 about the suffering Savior. Imagine reading the prophets, the Old Testament on the scripture. It is an exact prophecy.

In fact, I think Isaiah 53 is more clear than the four gospels about the crucifixion. It's a portrayal, visual. In fact, Isaiah depicts things about Christ on the cross and in his suffering that none of the gospel writers ever depict.

Isaiah says his back was like a plowed field. They don't say that to say he was whipped. Isaiah said his beard was literally plucked from his face.

Do you see the detail of Isaiah? Isaiah and what he is reading, the very text about the suffering Savior, the atoning blood. The imputation of righteousness. It's all here where he's reading.

Notice as well the situation. So not only that he's reading scripture, imagine he could have been reading Leviticus. He could have been reading some obscure passage or some history of the life of Joseph.

No, it was the suffering Savior. It was blood atonement. It was about lambs that needed to be found.

Do you see how the Holy Spirit even had to have the right text at the right spot on the road, the exact right place. And then notice as well in verse 30, the questions to sinners. He actually has a question to sinners.

And Philip ran hither. Notice he ran. A child's moving.

You better run. Let's run along beside him. And as he's running, listen to what it says there.

He asked them a question. He heard him read the prophet Isaiah. And he said, understand this.

I want to understand this. What do I read? No, he's running along. What are the other respect of this man? Do you see the question? Do you understand that? Look how mannerly he is.

Look how helpful he is. He's well winning. He's willing to reach out to this man.

So I don't like the evangelism of some people. They're rude. They're arrogant.

They're proud. That isn't how you ought to be in the streets and reaching souls. You know, just recently here on the street, someone marched up hindered.

Jason, as he evangelizes, someone needing Christ reaching out. And you've got a old backslidden Christian who should know better interrupting and then starting an argument with him. Just look in trouble.

It's not okay. That's not okay. You know that like preaching on the street, calling sinners, telling them they smell.

You don't want to be misunderstood. That's someone who smells in my nostrils. I want to tell you.

I'm tired of this rudeness. We need those kind of people off the streets. That's not Holy Spirit evangelism.

The Holy Spirit has him prepared that. That's rude, arrogant people. But notice Philip.

He says, do you understand what you're reading? See, now all across the church, we're gone. If we just get them an easy to read Bible, they'll understand this. No, they will not.

How foolish. How many English Bibles do we have in an easy read? The passion Bible, the NIV. I mean, you name it.

There are hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of Bibles in English, and they're still pumping them out. Why do you think they're doing that? There's money in it. It's a mass business.

Southern languages don't have one version in their language. Not one Bible in their language, and the English is getting pumped out. Bible after Bible after Bible.

Sinners come into bookshops and they go, can I have a Bible? Which one do you want? They're utterly confused going, I thought there was only one. Oh no, there's all of these array. If only we could get, oh, your Bible's confusing.

If you could only get them a nice easy read Bible, they'll understand. Hey, I had dyslexia, failed all my school exams, couldn't read, couldn't write, couldn't spell. I'm telling you, a good old fashioned King James Bible taught me about the reality of Christ.

I'm not for having confusion over language, but I'm telling you, there's a think in the church. If we simplify it, if we do, hold on, Christ told parables. Why? Oh, so that sinners can understand.

No, he didn't. The Bible says, so that they would not understand what's being said. Christ wants to save sinners, but not the pride, not the arrogant, not the intellectual, not those who don't really want them.

There's a veil. The Pharisees, there's a veil that can't even come to Christ. Christ said, you cannot come on to me.

You cannot believe. Since there's some things that we need to really understand. 1 Corinthians 2, it actually says that the natural mind of man cannot receive what is spiritual unless the Holy Spirit teaches them.

You need the Holy Spirit to prepare a sinner. The only way a sinner is going to get saved is he's reading the texts of scripture. Notice the work of the Holy Spirit.

It's going to bring them to Christ, but he doesn't ignore the Bible. The man's reading the word of God. He's asking real questions.

So the Holy Spirit sends a man that says, I'm going to help you. Do you understand what you're reading? I haven't got a clue. This is an intelligent man.

This is a leader in a nation. He's a treasurer. He's educated.

He speaks other languages. He reads, he writes. He is very well educated, but he doesn't understand Isaiah 53.

He cannot comprehend it. He needs a teacher. Let me say he's a humble man, isn't he? He's got power.

He's got influence. He's got wealth. He's got importance, but he's a humble man.

This man, this preacher running alongside him, saying, do you understand it? No. You know what he says? He says, how can I accept some man guide me? Here's an important man. He's willing actually to say, I need someone to teach me.

There's all the Holy Spirit. See, we teach evangelism in a way that we exclude this. Oh, men don't need people like you to reach them.

The Holy Spirit will reach them himself. No, he won't. The Holy Spirit sends a man to explain scripture.

Just like Peter, Cornelius' house. Sends an angel, Cornelius, go get a man. Here's his address.

Go ask him to come to preach the gospel to you. Why didn't the angel tell him? Why didn't God just do it in a dream? And this does happen all across the Muslim world where there's no preacher, where there's no one to go. He does.

He does use dreams and visions and miracles. But not if there's someone there who can go because he wants them to be connected to the church, the body of Christ. Look at this man, his invite.

He then invites Philip up into his chariot in verse 31. What an invite. This man says, come up into a chariot.

Please explain this. Look at the mind of this man. Inquiring, asking, wondering, humble.

Look at the questions he asks in verse 34. Please tell me what the text of scripture means. I need to understand this.

Do you see how the Holy Spirit's prepared this situation? It's right to witness out of season when hearts are hard. Keep witnessing. It's right to preach on the high street when no one seems to believe or get saved.

Keep preaching. It's right to keep reaching out to your family when they seem opposed. But saints, there's something that's called spirit-led evangelism or soul winning or bringing men to Christ.

This is all of God. This is really his work. And listen to what it says.

It says in verse 35, he preached to him. The word preached there is different than the other one. It's not herald.

Don't shout at the guy. Don't preach at the guy over the coffee table. This is different.

The manner is different. The volume is different. The style is different.

The way is different. You're dealing with one soul and his chariot. Be humble.

Lower your tone. Do you know what this word means? It means to evangelize. It means to share, to talk.

As I've said before, to gossip the gospel. That's the sort of gossip I like. I love that gossip, not the other gossip.

This means to give someone the good news. The word here preached literally means to proclaim good news. Not just bad news, not just warnings.

The good news of redemption. God loves you. Christ died for you.

There is salvation in the name of the Lord. And then you know the rest from verse 36 on. As they went, the eunuch says, what does forbid me? What does hinder me from being baptized? And water says, look, here's water.

Let's stop. And it says the both got down into the water together. He said to him, if you believe in your heart.

That Jesus Christ is Lord. Nothing hinders you. They got down into that water together.

That excludes infant baptism. Infant baptism is no baptism. It's not baptism.

Ours is not re-baptism. It's your first baptism. And they got down in there, baptized them.

And then says they both come up out of the water together. Now, I've never seen a priest get into that little dish of water. Never seen that.

You can't do that. You can't both get in there. But you know, with this, you actually have them both going down into the water.

The eunuch being baptized in water because he's believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're born again, you must be baptized in water to command. And then look what happens.

The very last verse, verse 39. 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.

And he went on his way rejoicing. This is spirit led winning of souls to Christ. See what the spirit of God done.

It's very deliberate. Do you see how everything within this is the Holy Spirit? You're not important. We try to insert ourself or the church inserts itself.

We don't not. We led men to Christ. Do you know what the Holy Spirit does? You're not that important.

I use men. I will use men. I always use men.

But you're not that important. You're a mere servant. You're a tool in my hand.

You can shake a city. It's the Holy Spirit. And here you can win a man to Christ.

No, leave him with me. Do you know what? Nobody's imprint is going to be upon this man. But the Holy Spirit of God.

He's not got the word of God. He's got Christ and salvation. And the Holy Spirit is going to continue to lead him.

He's on his way back to Ethiopia. He's going to walk back into a palace. And that big, large, I've seen pictures of her.

That big, large warrior princess, Candace of the Ethiopians. Going to walk right back in there and live his life out for Christ. Boy, this Holy Ghost is some Holy Ghost.

And you know what? He pursues after souls. He's after the souls of your friends. Saints, it's not you after them.

The Holy Spirit's after them. And if you wait upon him and you fast and you pray and you look. I told you, Anna's a great aunt, 94 odd years old.

And she cries out after a lifetime of being a nun. A Catholic nun. Hard and strong.

The last time we talked to her last year, she is strong and adamant in her convictions. Clear-minded. But God brings her to a place.

She's got a niece, two nieces in fact. And they said, we will not let her go. We're not going to let her die and go to hell.

We're not handing her back to the Catholic Church. We're going to pray. We're going to believe.

We're going to fight for her soul. And she comes through to Christ. Saints, we need that again.

It's the Holy Spirit can only do it. But God uses men. Your faith, your determination.

You draw the line, son. I'm not letting them go to hell. My children aren't going to hell.

I'm not going to let the devil take my children. See, that's a choice. I'm tired of hearing Christians, of pastors losing their children in this hour.

There's something wrong with that. Oh, well, they're going to make their decision. Wise up.

There's something wrong. What, you're going to let the devil march in, you're going to let your children just decide. No one would come if it was left to us.

None of us would come. It takes a miracle of God. And you know what? If you're there going, I'm just going to let them make their decision.

They'll choose to go to hell. And you'll be responsible. Saints, we need to reach out.

And we need to be led by the Holy Spirit of God. And saints, there's a glorious message. Because you can so fit yourself.

But one of these days, like with Ananas, the Lord comes and says, I've got someone for you to go to. He's a new convert. Saul of Tarsus.

Saul of Tarsus. He's killing everyone. He's, the last I heard, he's come to the city to kill people.

It's okay. He's not a praying man. The Holy Spirit's telling him this.

Jesus is telling him. And he says, I want you to go to him. Okay, Lord.

It's going to take courage. But I'm going to go. Do you know what, saints? If you walk with God, it may only be once in your life that you'll be in the right place at the right time.

And in a dream or a vision or an angel or the spirit of God speak to you and say, go join yourself under that chariot. Or go to, go to the straight street. And go to Simon the Tanner's house.

And you're going to find Saul there. And he's being converted. And he needs your help.

Need you to lay hands on him and say, brother Saul. Can you imagine you kill Christians? You kill them. Watch them being stoned to death.

And this Christian comes to your heart, looks for you and says, I've come to you to say, brother Saul. You stand with me. Let's pray here.

Saints of God, we're caught up in something very real. God has put us here in this city as a light. We're weak.

We're frail. We have our ups and downs. We're not always of the right state of mind, our heart, our emotions, our circumstances.

But he's looking for men. He's looking for women like you and I. Saints of God, we're caught up in something. And even as a church, God has put this church here for a plan, a purpose, a reason to reach men for Jesus Christ.

There is an Ethiopian to reach. There is a Saul of Tarsus to go and minister onto. There is a Samaria to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we're dealing with a sovereign Holy Spirit, an almighty Holy Spirit that knows all things. And I believe he speaks today. There's information that is not in the Bible that you have to know if you're going to obey him and do as well and be effectual in this hour.

There is a real voice of the Holy Spirit that will direct you instantly, clearly, and precisely. If you allow yourself day by day to be trained and prepared and be made ready, and if you fall flat in your face, get up, go back to the blood, repent of your sins. Keep walking with Jesus.

Just encourage yourself in the Lord. Put on the robe of gladness. Put on the garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.

Saints, we need to keep going forward because there's a task. There's something that could affect a nation, that could affect a city, that could affect a politician in this nation. God could be on his way to use you to touch someone who's at the right hand of someone in power, even within the nation.

I believe this with all my heart. And even here, respond to the word of God. Respond to the Holy Spirit of God that has us gathered like this, that he would use you.

Lord God, we pray right now in the mighty name of Jesus that you're gonna find vessels in this church that amidst our weakness and our battles and our struggles, Lord God, fighting sin and temptation, fighting battles and struggles. Father, I pray that you're gonna have the people in the right place at the right time to reach the right souls. We ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the voice of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit cares about souls more than us. He cares about this city more than us.

He knows every fact. He knows every bend in the road. He knows the timing.

He knows everything about the hearts of men. And Lord God, we entrust ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and the control of the Holy Spirit. And we ask that you fill us with your Holy Spirit.

My God, we're asking that a fire would burn in our souls, that we wouldn't be satisfied without your mighty movements. Lord God, we wanna see hundreds and thousands converted. Lord God, we wanna see a deluge on the city of Limerick.

We wanna see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We know without the Holy Ghost, the church is powerless. It's impudent to God.

It's without power to speak or to act or to win. Lord God, we cannot do anything without the work of the Holy Spirit. We're asking that the wind of the Spirit would blow.

We're asking for the flowing of that river. Out of our midst. Lord God, you said out of our innermost being, out of our bellies, rivers of living water would flow.

This is speak of the Holy Ghost that was within them. My God, we ask of you right now. Oh, river of God, flow down upon us.

River of God, flow through us. Lord God, in this barren wilderness and desert around us, let the river of God break out. Let the burden and passion for souls break out.

Let it desire for your will and your kingdom and your glory burn as a fire. In Jesus' mighty name, hallelujah.