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I. THE EARNEST WORKER.

1. He is in full fellowship with the Spirit, quick to receive Divine influences, and living in the atmosphere of Divine companionship (vers. 26-29).

2. He is obedient and self-denying, prompt to go wherever sent, ready to exchange a large field for a small one, Samaria for the desert (vers. 26, 27).

3. He is aggressive, eager to get at his work, running to meet the one with whom he is to labour, and at once beginning the conversation without waiting for an invitation (ver. 30).

4. He is skilful. He speaks kindly and cheerfully to the Ethiopian. "Philip's only recorded words contain a pleasantry" (ver. 30).

5. He is scriptural, taking the Word of God as his text, and showing how every page points to Christ (vers. 30-35).

6. He is practical, leading to personal faith in Christ and to union with the Church (vers. 35-37).

7. He is broad in his views, recognising the privilege of Gentile as well as Jew to be saved and baptized (vers. 37, 38).

II. THE SINCERE SEEKER It is hard to say whether the worker or the seeker in this lesson shines in the brighter light.

1. He is a noble seeker, a man of high rank and many public cares, yet a humble follower of God (ver. 27). Christian politicians are not so numerous as they should be (ver. 27).

2. He is a diligent seeker, living twelve hundred miles away, yet journeying to the temple and reading the Scriptures on the road (vers. 28, 29).

3. He is a teachable seeker, eager to learn the truth, willing to be instructed by a layman far below him in social position, and ready to embrace any opportunity to learn the way of salvation (vers. 30-34).

4. He is a believing seeker, exerting personal faith in Christ, and receiving Him as his Saviour (ver. 37).

5. He is a confessing seeker, not ashamed to profess Christ in the presence of his company (ver. 38).

6. He is a rejoicing seeker, going on his way happy in his new experience.

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KJV: 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.

WEB: But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert."