and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
3 sermons cite this verse
May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of God's holy word. I want to continue our conversation, this series entitled The Truth About the Church. And I want to look at this idea of an African who shaped our faith. An African who shaped our faith. I would invite you to pray with me as we present this word on today. It was years ago. I had the privilege of hearing a scholar, a brilliant scholar, no longer with us by the name of Ivan Van Sertema. His most well-known publication was titled, They Came Before Columbus. the African presence in the Americas. In this book, he argues Africans spent time in the Americas trading with indigenous nations on what we call South, Central, and parts of North America, also known as Mexico. Then I had this opportunity to hear Van Sertum a lecture in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a blessing, as I mentioned, and it was powerful, but it also was something that spoke to my spirit that to this day, I still remember his words. …
Now that's enough to let us know that this is a very well designed and prepared encounter, and the one who is preparing this is none other than the Holy Spirit. So let's start there. The proper preparation for salvation, for true salvation, begins with the sovereign work of the Spirit. It starts with divine preparation. It starts with God's Spirit preparing the soil, God's providential working. And essentially we know this is happening here because an angel of the Lord speaks to Philip and tells him to go directly to this individual who's a court official of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, for the sake of the gospel. This is the divine encounter that is prepared by the Holy Spirit. didn't know that. He only knew to be obedient. He only knew to get on the road, and God would determine His purpose. We act, but the Spirit initiates. What a wonderfully encouraging reality that is. So the faith that does save begins with the right preparation, which begins in the sovereign purposes of God in the work of the Holy Spirit. …
Now that's enough to let us know that this is a very well designed and prepared encounter, and the one who is preparing this is none other than the Holy Spirit. So let's start there. The proper preparation for salvation, for true salvation, begins with the sovereign work of the Spirit. It starts with divine preparation. It starts with God's Spirit preparing the soil. God's providential working. Salvation is God's work, is it not? It is not man's work, it is God's work. It is initiated by God. It is a reflection of His will. No man seeks after God. The natural man is dead in trespasses and sin, ignorant, alienated from the life of God, hopeless, helpless, indifferent, disinterested. But what happens is by the purpose of God and the power of God, the glorious light of the gospel begins to shine into the darkness. And it shatters the blindness that is natural blindness, sinful blindness, and it shatters that second blindness which is satanic blindness, the blindness that the God of this world imposes on sinners. …