1 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,200 What we're looking at today within the theme of the power of 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:14,240 the church might be one of the most ways that we will allow the 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,240 Word to give us a vision for what makes the church powerful 4 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,600 from the 1st century to the 21st century. 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,720 And before we get into it, I'm going to share a personal story, 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,520 a reference point for my own life where I realized the need 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,759 for more power than I contained. And this comes from a time of my 8 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:37,160 life way before I was a pastor, leading a church or even serving 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,160 in any capacity. I was going to a little church 10 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,840 called Calvary Chapel, Boise down when it was meeting on 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,920 Longmont, right off Broadway and fun time of our church, the mid 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,360 90s. And I there was just the work of 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:51,760 the spirit was happening in our church. 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:57,400 And my older sister Becky, she got on fire for Jesus way before 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:01,280 I ever did. And part of her excitement was 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,920 learning of this incredible unconditional love of God. 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,760 And if you know the unconditional love of God, you 18 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:13,320 might even know some basic Greek, which is the word agape. 19 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,960 And my my sister learned the word agape as it describes God's 20 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:23,480 love for humanity as not based off merit or work or self 21 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,320 righteousness, but he just loves you unconditionally. 22 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,400 What a great message to have your heart ignited for. 23 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,280 And because she was so in love with this theological and 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:38,840 profound truth, she took the word agape and she got a 25 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,680 specialized plate and she got the word agape on this little 26 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,680 car that she drove around town. It just said agape everywhere 27 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,280 she went. She eventually graduates high 28 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,240 school, goes to Bible college, and I get to inherit this truck, 29 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,880 the agape, the Agape mobile. I'm just driving around. 30 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,640 One day I'm leaving what was once called Boondocks. 31 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:03,960 It's now called Wahoos. For those of you who are new to 32 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,600 our area, there's an arcade over off the freeway called Wahoos, 33 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,840 and I'm leaving. And by my recollection, I think 34 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,200 I was alone to tell you a little bit about who I was as a 35 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:13,560 youngster. I was just going to video game, 36 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,760 arcade games, playing by myself. I go out to the parking lot 37 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:23,000 surrounding this truck are about 3 or 4 young adults, and they're 38 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:24,800 just staring at the license plate. 39 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,320 And I see them. I approach them. 40 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,720 I walk up and they say, hey, are you the owner of this truck? 41 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,320 I say, yeah, what's going on? They said, we have been staring 42 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,320 at your specialized plate, and we have no idea what this word 43 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,440 means. Will you tell us? 44 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,320 I mean, talk about a softball to the gospel, right? 45 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,080 And I just look at them and I see that they're about my age, 46 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,240 and I have my high school reputation flash before my eyes. 47 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,760 And I look at the plate and I say, I actually have no idea. 48 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,160 My sister gave me this truck. And they're like, OK, I was 49 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,160 like, see you later. And I speed off Like, I hope I 50 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,360 never see them again. I'm so embarrassed at this stage 51 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,000 of my life. I believed in Jesus. 52 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,560 I went to church, went to, you know, the youth group and the 53 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,720 functions. But when it came to actually 54 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,240 living in the power to talk about Jesus, to tell people 55 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:18,520 about the unconditional love of God, I had no interest. 56 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,520 There was too much at stake for my teenage heart. 57 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,840 And today we are going to study very simply, the power of the 58 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,880 church through the power of the witness. 59 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,840 We're going to look at the very first person to stand up and 60 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,880 take the message into the world, witness for the gospel at the 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,720 cost of his life, the first martyr. 62 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:45,080 Stephen and I share my story because I wonder, as I've now 63 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,200 become a preacher, my life is very drastically different than 64 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,840 the person who couldn't even give a a parking lot witness. 65 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:56,440 I wonder how many people right here, right now can relate to a 66 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,800 story like that where you come to church, you listen to the 67 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,640 preacher say the preacher things, you sing the songs. 68 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,440 I mean, you just sing a song. You you just gave the ultimate 69 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,480 allegiance to Christ Jesus as Lord. 70 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,720 No one else is worthy beautiful name and yet you leave this 71 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:19,640 place and there's something that's lacking in your ability 72 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:25,760 to live out a witness beyond the walls that you would go out to 73 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:27,920 the real world. This is kind of like the 74 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,680 Christian zoo right here. This is where everybody can 75 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,960 come. We can, you know, all celebrate 76 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,040 the safety and the joy of being Christians, but outside there is 77 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,160 a world that wants to ask a question about who Jesus is. 78 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:46,560 And the power of the church is not the power of the institution 79 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,120 to just get the right invite cards to bring people in. 80 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,000 What we see in the book of Acts and church history up until now 81 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,080 is the only way the church ever has power, the only way that 82 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,160 revival ever comes, the only way the lost or found is if 83 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,920 something exists outside of the corporate gathering. 84 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,160 And this is what we'll study today, the the very first martyr 85 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:09,680 in Stephen. And like I said, we're going to 86 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,320 go fairly quickly as he stands up to give witness to the power 87 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,760 of Jesus in a way that by the end of this, I just want to ask 88 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:22,400 a question, how did he do that? And how can you leave this place 89 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,600 encouraged to be a witness if the church doesn't have the 90 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,400 power of the witness, The church does not have power beyond the 91 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,520 walls. And so the challenge today is 92 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:35,760 how do we look at this very first witness and leave this 93 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,960 place saying, you know what, I want to go from powerless 94 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:43,240 outside the walls to power. And so we start by, in a sense, 95 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,360 picking up where we left off. Acts chapter 6, verse 8, we'll 96 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:48,920 remember just the quick back story. 97 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,840 We were introduced to Stephen, and this is worth mentioning. 98 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:54,440 We were introduced to Stephen last week when there was a 99 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,560 dispute that arose between the widows, the Hellenistic widows, 100 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,520 the Hebrew widows, and there was a need for some ministry to 101 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:03,680 happen. The apostle said we need to 102 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,720 study the word and they appointed what we now call as 103 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,120 deacons or servants. That's Stephen. 104 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,560 That's how we first meet him. He stepped up to the plate and 105 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,160 started serving food to people who were hungry. 106 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,120 And I mention his back story because I think that the the 107 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,640 author of Acts, Luke, mentions it so that we would all hear the 108 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,160 power of the witness is not from the power of the preacher. 109 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,480 We're actually going to study the longest sermon in the book 110 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,440 of Acts today. And it's not the sermon given by 111 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:34,680 the apostle Peter. It's not even a sermon given by 112 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,960 Paul. It's a sermon given by someone 113 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:41,160 who is just serving tables. The back story of Stephen is to 114 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,480 invite everyone into the witness of Stephen. 115 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:49,960 So it says in verse 8 and Stephen full of faith and power, 116 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,840 did great wonders and signs among the people. 117 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,040 And here is where we now get the opportunity. 118 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,200 Stephen doesn't get the softball answer like just explain to me 119 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,240 the Bible. He actually gets what is most 120 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,000 likely to happen when you leave this place. 121 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:09,440 There's going to be someone who says I don't believe what you 122 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,800 believe and I don't believe the power that backs up your life is 123 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,080 real. And this is what happens to 124 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,960 Stephen verse 9. Then there arose from, there 125 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:22,760 arose some from what is called the synagogue of the Friedman, 126 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:28,200 Cyrenians, Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia, and 127 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,640 they start disputing with Stephen. 128 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,520 We're going to see more than once throughout this story that 129 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,080 Stephen inherits in some ways the ministry of Jesus, in a lot 130 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,440 of ways that overlap. You'll remember Jesus comes on 131 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,080 the scene and he he's confounding the wise. 132 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,560 He's doing great wonders and miracles. 133 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,520 And by and large, most people are just flocking to him, want 134 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,920 to be near him, to hear his teaching and be healed. 135 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,880 And, and this is what is essentially happening around 136 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:59,520 Stephen's life, except for there are some that are so tightly 137 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,640 gripped to the system that they belong to, namely Judaism, that 138 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,080 they don't care if it comes with power and they don't care if 139 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:08,880 Stephen or Jesus is doing great works. 140 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,040 All they care about is that their system remains unharmed. 141 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,480 And so this is what they do. They start disputing with 142 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,080 Stephen and and it says that they were unable to dispute with 143 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,040 him. That doesn't mean they were they 144 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,080 were unable to, you know, actually argue. 145 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,680 It means, and we'll see this. They couldn't argue with what 146 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:29,680 was happening. Verse 10. 147 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:35,720 They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which 148 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:40,440 he spoke. They, they couldn't overcome the 149 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:44,120 substance of his life and it says he was speaking with 150 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,120 wisdom. They didn't know what to do with 151 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,680 his arguments because they didn't have counter arguments. 152 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,480 Just so you know where this is going, if you believe in Jesus 153 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,560 and the authority of Scripture in your life and you have the 154 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:56,680 power of the Holy Spirit, there are going to be a lot of counter 155 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,680 arguments to your life. And I'm telling you this right 156 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:01,120 now. One of the ways you get ignited 157 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,920 to be a witness. You have the truth and you have 158 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,720 the way and you have the life, and the outside world will not 159 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:11,880 actually be able to contend with the truth. 160 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,320 So what will happen? It says when they couldn't 161 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,040 contend or they couldn't resist him. 162 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,640 Verse 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, we have 163 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:25,120 heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God, and 164 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,400 they stirred up the elder or the people, the elders and the 165 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,080 scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him 166 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,280 to the council. And then verse 13 again 167 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,280 paralleling what we saw in the final week of Jesus life, they 168 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,440 also set up false witness who said this man does not cease to 169 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:46,680 speak blasphemous words against the holy place and the law. 170 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:50,320 I emphasize the reading of that. Their argument against Stephen 171 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:55,600 is going to be very much centered around the temple, the 172 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,800 law, the customs and the traditions. 173 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,680 They have a certain way that they understand how God operates 174 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,080 and there is no breaking their tradition fact. 175 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,560 It says in verse 14 we have heard him say that this Jesus of 176 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:13,800 Nazareth will destroy this place, meaning the temple and 177 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,880 listen change the customs which Moses delivered to us. 178 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:24,400 All of that is the author of Acts way of saying they were 179 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,160 going all in on the old covenant. 180 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,120 They were saying everything about the system that we have 181 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,720 been given from Moses and traditions. 182 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:37,000 And now this holy temple mount is the only way that God will 183 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:38,720 ever work. And if you go against the 184 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,200 current system, we will go against you, and we will go 185 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,080 against you in any way that we have to think about. 186 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,400 All the things I just read and we don't have time to to 187 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:50,680 pinpoint all of them and find cultural parallels. 188 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,000 But they stir up a mob against them, they bring in fault with 189 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,320 witness against, and they start attacking his character. 190 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,080 All of these things can we just be prepared for? 191 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,960 These should be happening for anyone who goes against the 192 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:06,880 current systems and patterns of the world. 193 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:10,960 There will be mob warfare, there will be false witnesses. 194 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,200 There will be character assassination and part of the 195 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,000 way we can answer the question, how do we have a powerful 196 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,720 witness is also by answering the question, why don't we have it? 197 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,960 One of the reasons is because it cost you a little bit of 198 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,440 reputation. The Bible says that Jesus made 199 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,160 himself of no reputation. You're his follower. 200 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,800 It's very difficult to be esteemed and greatly adored in 201 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,920 the eyes of the world and also be radical for Jesus. 202 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,160 And so here we now come to verse 15. 203 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,280 It says all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at 204 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,840 him saw his face as the face of an Angel. 205 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:56,080 This story is filled and I just emphasize it for our purposes 206 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:01,760 filled with the grace of God covering Stephen your story the 207 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:06,840 more radical you get for Jesus, the more bold and courageous and 208 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,800 the more power you have in your witness, the more you're filled 209 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,760 with the grace of God covering your life. 210 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,600 And now it says Acts Chapter 7 verse one. 211 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,480 Then the high priest said are these things. 212 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,440 So I want you to picture Stephen is now on trial. 213 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,760 Apparently before the same Sanhedrin that that not long ago 214 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,080 Jesus was standing on trial. Probably the same people, maybe 215 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:40,000 the same false witnesses and he is now asked to give a defense. 216 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,440 Are these things. So in other words, are you 217 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:50,480 speaking against the holy place and the law of Moses and all of 218 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:52,520 the traditions that have been given to us? 219 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,080 And in that one simple question, we are now going to get a 60 220 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,360 verse, maybe the longest sermon recorded in all of Scripture 221 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,720 account from Stephen to this question. 222 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,560 And we won't, we won't go over all of it. 223 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,720 And for for this, just a reminder on Wednesdays, Tom 224 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:20,400 Velasco is going verse by verse by verse, exhausting every ounce 225 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,920 of the toothpaste tube that is the book of Acts. 226 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,560 And so I asked him to do that because there is so much that 227 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:31,360 we're going to cover that is so rich and so good that he's going 228 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,000 to spend the next three years covering Acts. 229 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,160 So when he gets to this, you all need to go and get the full 230 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:39,120 details. We're going to go 30,000 foot 231 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,760 overview of what Stephen's going to do. 232 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,160 And let me just give you, you know, the flight map of our 233 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,880 30,000 foot view. Stephen is going to take them on 234 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:54,000 a 1100 year history of the people of Israel. 235 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:56,960 Essentially, they have called him to the mat of the old 236 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:01,240 covenant, and they think he is violating the way God has always 237 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,000 operated. And what Stephen is going to do 238 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:09,320 in a way that is ingenious is he's going to show them point by 239 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,560 point that they're actually the ones that are missing the big 240 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,960 picture, that he actually has a better view of the way God is 241 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,680 operating than they do. And to do that, he's going to 242 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:24,000 use scripture, he's going to use history, and he's going to 243 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,040 really highlight the heroes of the Jewish story. 244 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,480 And so this could be you're broken down a lot of different 245 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,080 ways for our purposes. I just want you to think of this 246 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,800 coming in three parts. First, Stephen's going to look 247 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:40,960 at the patriarchs, Abraham and his sons that lead to the 12 248 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,840 sons of Jacob and lead to the tribes, the patriarchs. 249 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,200 So you're going to look at them and say you're missing the 250 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,200 actual story. He's then going to highlight 251 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,520 Moses and say you want to talk about Moses here. 252 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,280 Let me show you what you've missed about Moses. 253 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,560 And then he's going to help them see that they've actually missed 254 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:01,160 the the story of how God's holy presence is supposed to dwell. 255 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,360 So he starts by looking at the patriarchs. 256 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,880 Verse 2. He says this and he said, 257 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:10,560 brethren and fathers, listen, the God of glory appeared to our 258 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:12,840 father Abraham. Stephen's making it very clear 259 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:18,000 that this is his history too. When he was in Mesopotamia 260 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:23,200 before he dwelt in Haran and said to him, get out of your 261 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:28,240 country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will 262 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,480 show you. Now this is going to set up the 263 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:33,400 main point he's making with Abraham. 264 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,000 Read it again. He said he came to the God of 265 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,840 glory, appeared to our Father when when he was in the temple, 266 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,280 when he was on the Temple Mount, when he was even in the promised 267 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,360 land. No, Mesopotamia. 268 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,320 He met Abraham in modern day Iraq. 269 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,280 That's where God has access, news flash to modern day Iraq. 270 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:58,520 He has access to a man living in the Chaldeans, and he's reached 271 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,600 into his life and said, I'm going to use you to bless the 272 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:05,120 nations. And then from there he goes into 273 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,480 the way that God worked through the patriarchs. 274 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,000 And none of them actually saw the temple. 275 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,360 None of them saw the fulfillment of the promises of the promised 276 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,280 land. They were all operating by 277 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,240 faith, and God's kept speaking into their lives person to 278 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,040 person. Then Stephen reminds them that 279 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,840 the patriarchs got this prophecy that their descendants were 280 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,200 going to be oppressed in a foreign land. 281 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,720 That even as they they put their foot into the promised land, God 282 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,840 was going to remove them and do a whole new work through 283 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,960 redeeming them out of a foreign land. 284 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,440 Verse 9, it says in the patriarchs becoming envious, 285 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:50,440 sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him, verse 10 and 286 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,160 delivered him out of all his troubles and gave him favor and 287 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:59,480 wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he 288 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,480 made him governor over Egypt in all his house. 289 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,839 He's really emphasizing these locations so that those who 290 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,400 would be accusing Stephen Stephen of breaking the way God 291 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,720 operates would understand they've missed it. 292 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:16,319 God worked with Abraham in Mesopotamia and now through the 293 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:20,880 the evil hearts of his brothers, Joseph was sold into slavery, 294 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:25,040 landed in Egypt, and while Joseph is in Egypt, he saves the 295 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,080 world from a famine, not in the holy place, but in Egypt. 296 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:35,560 God is everywhere. God is not limited to a temple 297 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,920 made with human hands, and God can move in whatever land with 298 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:44,080 whatever people He wants. This is the message that Stephen 299 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,000 is trying to get across. Now we get to the part about 300 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,960 Moses. They really emphasize that 301 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,720 Stephen was blaspheming against Moses and the law and the 302 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,760 customs given by Moses. So this is what he says. 303 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,240 You want to talk about Moses? Verse 20. 304 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,920 At this time Moses was born and it was well pleasing to God. 305 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:07,960 He was glad that Moses was born and he was brought up in his 306 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,600 father's house for three months. And Moses was learned in all the 307 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,640 wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. 308 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,680 And now when he was 40 years old, it came into his heart to 309 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,120 visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 310 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,280 We've got a very quick snapshot of the book of Exodus. 311 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:31,640 Moses is born into the slavery of of Egypt, but he is put into 312 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,120 Pharaoh's household, raises in Pharaoh's household for 40 years 313 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:37,480 and then says, I got to go see my people. 314 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,400 I'm an Israelite and they're enslaved. 315 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,720 So he leaves Pharaoh's palace, He goes to his people and he had 316 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,240 a heart to be part of God's redemption for the people of 317 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,880 Israel. And so in verse 24, it says 318 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,880 seeing one of them suffer, he defended and avenged him who was 319 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,880 oppressed and struck down the the Egyptian. 320 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:03,360 This is a small little parable of God redeeming his people out 321 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:06,240 of Egypt. Moses comes, strikes an Egyptian 322 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,120 to avenge the Israelite. And what happens? 323 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:13,360 They want to talk about Moses as though Moses was someone that 324 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,560 was always revered and respected and everyone in Israel always 325 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,280 loved the Law of Moses. Well, Stephen adds A commentary 326 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,160 that's not an exodus. It's from Stephen's heart. 327 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,720 Verse 25. He says because Moses supposed 328 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,360 his brethren would have understood that God would 329 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,840 deliver them by his hand, but they didn't. 330 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,360 They did not see that Moses was coming to bring redemption. 331 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:44,040 In fact, the story will go on in verse 27, verse 27. 332 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,640 He who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away. 333 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,160 Moses tries to break up another fight and they said, who made 334 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:54,440 you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you 335 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,840 did the Egyptian? Then at this saying, Moses fled 336 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:01,240 and became a dweller in the land of Midian. 337 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,720 So Moses spends 40 years in another wilderness. 338 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,120 He spent 40 years in modern day Saudi Arabia. 339 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:14,200 So we now have Stephen showing them their own history, Abraham, 340 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,200 Jacob, now Moses, they're all people that God was using 341 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,640 outside of their holy understanding. 342 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,800 And it goes on to say, which is a verse that has even more 343 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,760 context now that we're hearing Stephen's sermon, verse 30. 344 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,600 And when 40 years had passed, the Angel of the Lord appeared 345 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,840 to him in a flame of a fire in a Bush. 346 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,640 This is the famous, you know, the the Bush that is not 347 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,720 consumed moment in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 348 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,720 And when Moses saw it, he marvelled at the site. 349 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,560 As he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 350 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:51,000 saying, I am the God of your father's, the God of Abraham, 351 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,440 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 352 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,720 And Moses trembled and dared not look, and look what the Lord 353 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,960 says. Then the Lord says to him, Take 354 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:05,960 your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is 355 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:13,600 holy ground. These religious zealots are now 356 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,200 so committed to their system that they've been convinced and 357 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,400 lost the sight of the God of the universe that dwells anywhere. 358 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,040 His presence is, is holy. And Stephen is saying, don't 359 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,640 remember when Moses met God in the wilderness, that he had to 360 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,280 take off his sandals. Because when you're in the 361 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,760 presence of God, it's holy. It was in the wilderness, it was 362 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,680 in Midian, it was in Egypt, it was in Mesopotamia. 363 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,400 By the end of this section. Stephen will go on to show them 364 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,760 and remind them that while Moses was receiving the law, which 365 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,080 they are now zealots for, what were the Israelites of the day 366 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,040 doing? They were worshipping a golden 367 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,840 calf. They were so quickly and they 368 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,200 were ready to reject Moses. They said we don't even know 369 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,520 what happened to Moses, make us a golden calf. 370 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,240 They were ready to turn into the pagans that they left. 371 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:12,280 And once again, Stephen is saying you have such revisionist 372 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,960 history. You act as though you were 373 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,560 always loved the people that God sent to you and that that God 374 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,360 was always waiting for him to have this perfect place to 375 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:23,680 dwell. And the only way that God could 376 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,280 commune with people is if he finally had the priestly system 377 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,920 to bring his presents. And they've missed the God of 378 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:35,120 the whole show. And by the end of this now in 379 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:38,400 Part 3, Stephen is going to bring this all to the holy place 380 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,280 itself. Verse 44 Our fathers have the 381 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:47,920 Tabernacle of witness, where in the wilderness, as he appointed, 382 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,480 instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he 383 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,120 had seen, which our fathers having received it in received 384 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:58,560 it in turn also brought with Joshua into the land, until the 385 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,640 days of David, who found favor before God, and asked to find a 386 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,440 dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built his house. 387 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:10,080 Where was the Tabernacle in the wilderness? 388 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,200 The Tabernacle was essentially a tent, a mobile place, that 389 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,360 wherever they went, they would set up the dwelling place of 390 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:21,400 God. And then he quotes the prophet 391 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,040 Isaiah in verse 48. However, the Most High does not 392 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:28,440 dwell in temples made with hands. 393 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,440 As the prophet says, Heaven is my throne and earth is my 394 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,880 footstool. What house will you build for 395 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,240 me, Says the Lord, Or what is the place of my rest? 396 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,400 Has my hand not made all of these things? 397 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:52,000 God is not limited to a building made with human hands, and God 398 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,640 is not limited to speak only through great prophets of old. 399 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:01,560 Stephen is now going to help them understand that there is a 400 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:06,120 pattern from 1100 years until the outpouring of the Spirit on 401 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,760 the church where God sends a messenger wherever He wants to 402 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,200 communicate and the people reject him. 403 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,920 This is now the indictment that Stephen is going to give to the 404 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,680 people who are trying to seize him or have seized him. 405 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:26,600 Verse 51, you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears 406 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,200 almost feel like Steven could have stopped his sermon at the 407 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,240 history of Israel. Let them, you know, go home and 408 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,600 think about it, you know, make some time to pray in journal. 409 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,960 But he's going to take this indictment right into the modern 410 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,120 moment. He says you guys are stiff 411 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,960 necked and you're uncircumcised in your heart, in your ears. 412 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:49,200 This was a a way to essentially put them in the class of the 413 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,080 pagans. You guys think you're set apart 414 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,600 and marked by an outward sign of circumcision, and yet you don't 415 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,280 have ears that are actually cutting away the flesh to hear. 416 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:02,840 And then he says this. You always resist the Holy 417 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,000 Spirit as your Father's did. So do you. 418 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,440 Which of the prophets did your father's not persecute? 419 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,080 And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just 420 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:20,240 one whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers who have 421 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,120 received the law by the direction of angels and not kept 422 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:26,400 it. Even now Stephen is using 423 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,600 Scripture to help them see the pattern. 424 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,680 He calls them stiff neck. This is the imagery of an oxen 425 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,000 with the with the yoke on his shoulders. 426 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,360 And you know, I don't know if you've ever tried to lead an 427 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,760 oxen with a yoke on, but the best ones are the kind that you 428 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,240 can just gently kind of use the reins to direct. 429 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,880 The worst kind, you try to direct them and their neck is 430 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:49,800 stiff, they won't move. They do what they want. 431 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:53,080 They're obstinate. And over 20 times in the Old 432 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:58,280 Testament, God calls his people stiff necked, giving that image 433 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,480 he can't move them where he wants them. 434 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,920 They aren't moved by the the commandments. 435 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,280 They aren't moved when the prophets raise up and say you 436 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:07,960 need to repent and turn back to God. 437 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,120 And then he says, which of the messengers didn't you kill? 438 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,040 Which of the prophets raised up and said repent? 439 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,960 Did you not persecute? Reminds me of the words of Jesus 440 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,920 as he encourages his disciples to be witnesses. 441 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,480 In Matthew chapter 5, he says, blessed are you when they revile 442 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,840 and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you 443 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,480 falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 444 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,680 for great is your reward in heaven. 445 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,680 For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 446 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:48,920 This is the story of God moving. God moves and reaches into the 447 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:53,760 life of one person, and he can reach them in the wilderness. 448 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,360 He can reach them in the Pagan culture of Egypt. 449 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,440 He can reach them in their Father's home in the UR of the 450 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,240 Chaldeans. He can reach you in Boise, ID 451 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:06,480 God can reach anyone, anytime, anywhere. 452 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,920 And when He reaches people, He gives them the power to make 453 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,960 witness that there is actually a living God who actually has a 454 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,560 plan for your life and the pattern of history that all 455 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,160 points us to. The ultimate fulfillment of this 456 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:27,080 story is that as God raises up the messenger, people resist the 457 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:32,040 messenger, and they eventually choose the dark over the light. 458 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:39,080 This is pointing us all of history, the people of Israel is 459 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,480 1 long arrow that is aimed at Christ. 460 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,920 And in this moment, Stephen is not going to just give a 461 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,880 biblical history lesson. Stephen is going to play witness 462 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,040 to the heart of Jesus. It says when they heard these 463 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,440 things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at the at 464 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,160 him with their teeth. This is the moment of final 465 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,680 betrayal. There's only two times in all of 466 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,280 the Scripture it says they're cut to the heart. 467 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,400 One we looked at in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit is poured 468 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,520 out. Peter gives the first sermon on 469 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,840 Pentecost. The people were cut to the heart 470 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:15,800 and they said, what should we do now? 471 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,080 And and when you're cut to the heart, when the Holy Spirit 472 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,960 convicts you for the reality of God, there will be a fork in the 473 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,320 road with one of two destinations. 474 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:28,800 Either you respond like Acts 2 with humility. 475 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,360 Lord, I now see that Jesus is the visible image of the 476 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:35,760 invisible God. What do I do to to align with 477 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,760 him? Or you're cut to the heart like 478 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,240 Acts Chapter 7. And it says they were cut to the 479 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,800 heart in the same way. And instead of responding with 480 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,240 humility and seeing themselves in the storyline, they respond 481 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,960 by hardening their hearts, by gnashing their teeth, by 482 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,720 covering their ears. And let me tell you this as we 483 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:00,760 ask the question, what makes a powerful witness? 484 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,200 A powerful witness realizes that either response is going to 485 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,320 happen. And if you're waiting to be the 486 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,880 person that walks into the the place where someone's asking for 487 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,520 the direction or disputing with you about what is real. 488 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,560 And the only way you'll give witness is if you're like, hey, 489 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,360 I want to tell you about Jesus. He's got a plan for your life. 490 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,800 He died for your sins. And they're like, Amen, baptize 491 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:23,440 me. You're probably not going to 492 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:28,080 witness to many people because waiting for all of us outside of 493 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:32,240 this sanctuary are people that need to hear the message from 494 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:35,920 the messenger and they are going to gnash their teeth and they're 495 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,200 going to harden their hearts and they're going to cover their 496 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,320 ears. And that has to be on your 497 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,160 radar. If your reward is that you get 498 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,080 to lead a bunch of people to the baptismal waters or it's not 499 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,280 valid, then you've missed the greater reward. 500 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,200 Stephen's reward was not seen a revival from this council. 501 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,840 In fact, it says in verse 55, but he being full of the Holy 502 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,880 Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God. 503 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,280 He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, 504 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:14,360 look, I see the heavens open and the Son of man standing at the 505 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:17,400 right hand of God. Jesus says rejoice, great, your 506 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,960 reward will be in heaven. Every single one of you is going 507 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,800 to see Jesus as judge, everyone of you. 508 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:28,400 That's the message I bring. Some of you can harden your 509 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,240 hearts to that message. Some of you can be stiff necked 510 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,360 against that reality that waiting for you is the day where 511 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,080 you will see the judge face to face. 512 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,920 And when Stephen sees the judge, he stands up to receive him. 513 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,680 He only he. He not only sees a judge, he 514 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,440 sees an advocate. And for those of you who are 515 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:51,040 born again believers in Jesus, your reward is not the fruit of 516 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,280 your witness now. It is the reality of your 517 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:58,160 witness then that you will have a judge in Jesus that welcomes 518 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:03,680 you because he's also your advocate, He's your Savior, He's 519 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,680 your Lord. Verse 57 Then they cried out 520 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,440 with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with 1 521 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,800 accord, and they cast him out of the city, and they stoned him. 522 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,960 And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a 523 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,320 young man named Saul. And they stoned Steve as Steven 524 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,240 as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my 525 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,920 spirit. Then he knelt down with and 526 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:34,040 cried with a loud voice. Lord, do not charge them with 527 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,680 this thin. And when he had said that he 528 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:42,400 fell asleep. I love the the language of these 529 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:47,040 early believers. Death was just sleep until you 530 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,960 rise again. And this is where the witness 531 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,520 goes from witnessing with the power of the word and the 532 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,920 history of the people and looking for the pattern, helping 533 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,640 them see where they fit in the storyline to witnessing with the 534 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,880 power of his life. He witnesses by showing them the 535 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:08,160 heart of Jesus in a word he says, Father, forgive them, for 536 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:11,480 they don't know what they do. If you don't have the power of 537 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,840 forgiveness in your heart, you can't see a lost and dying world 538 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,760 as in need of forgiveness, then you'll never witness. 539 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,800 You're good, you already got to church, you already sang the 540 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,200 songs, your name is written in the book of life. 541 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,320 But there is a dying world who needs to hear the message of 542 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,680 forgiveness. They don't need just the 543 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,080 biblical scripture. They need the biblical life on 544 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:39,360 display that points people to Jesus to live like Jesus. 545 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,600 So with the the few minutes I have left, let me just offer 546 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:49,400 three suggestions on what we just encountered through the 547 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:55,440 example of Stephen, a person who took the power of the witness 548 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:01,080 into the power of life and death. 549 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,040 We give three things that I see in Stephen's life. 1st, I'm 550 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,560 going to keep preaching this message as we study the book of 551 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:13,800 Acts as being renewed in me. Stephen knew the word Stephen. 552 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,520 Stephen was not like well, I feel like and I think and you 553 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,120 know, according to my thoughts and I know your thoughts or your 554 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,920 thoughts. We live in such a pluralistic 555 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,960 world that you forget that you stand on the reality of the 556 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,440 truth of God. This is the pattern we see in 557 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:29,800 the book of Acts. Jesus came post resurrection. 558 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,160 He said let me open up the scriptures rode to Emmaus. 559 00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,360 He showed them all from Moses to the prophets how it all pointed 560 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,240 to him. Peter stood up sermon on 561 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,600 Pentecost, he said just like the prophet Joel said, just like 562 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:48,400 King David said, if you want to have confidence, you have to 563 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,840 know what's true and contained in the Bible that I am 564 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:58,760 proclaiming right now is the truth of the reality of this 565 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,960 world. God is good. 566 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,320 He made a good creation. Man fell and God sent his Son 567 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:05,720 into the world, redeemed the world. 568 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:08,520 You know the Bible and you have the power of the witness. 569 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:15,320 This is why Billy Graham always says the Bible says according to 570 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:19,719 the word of God. There's a a quote that comes 571 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:21,360 from Billy Graham. The more time I spend in the 572 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,560 Word, the more I look out in the into the world with confidence 573 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:26,520 that we have been given the words of life. 574 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:31,440 The words of God have. The Word of God has the answers 575 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,159 for a country divided, for families broken, for the 576 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:37,159 hopelessness felt in a lost and dying generation. 577 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,840 The Word of God has the power to give us faith in the power of 578 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:47,960 God. Second thing I see in the 579 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:55,760 example of Stephen, and it's all over the way Luke writes us in 580 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,960 Acts says he was full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen full of the 581 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:03,480 Holy Spirit and wisdom, a man full of faith in the Holy 582 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,800 Spirit, Stephen full of faith and power in the Holy Spirit 583 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:12,200 over and over and over again. And this is the most exciting 584 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,800 part about why I'm so grateful that we've been placed in such a 585 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:17,720 time as this. If you just look at the 586 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:23,120 opponents for Stephen, there's one distinct difference between 587 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:28,240 his witness and theirs. They had all the systems of 588 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:32,680 religion, they had a specific place, they had their prophets 589 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,840 of old, they had their customs, and they had their traditions, 590 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,840 but they couldn't overcome the power of what Stephen had. 591 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:47,560 Stephen had the power of the living God and the divide of our 592 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,360 world, and it's a divide that goes so much farther than divide 593 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,560 of church. The divide of our world is 594 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,200 religion versus the living God and His Spirit. 595 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:01,120 The difference between what we are celebrating today and every 596 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:03,440 world religion is the power of the Holy Spirit. 597 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:07,960 Every world religion will tell you where the holy place is. 598 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,560 They'll tell you to make your pilgrimage and get to the actual 599 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,840 ground on earth where the holy place is. 600 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,120 And yet what we have right now, this is not a holy place. 601 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:23,920 This is a former car dealership. I am not a prophet. 602 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:29,360 I'm not a patriarch, I'm a kid that grew up in this church and 603 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,840 is opening the power of the word to proclaim the power of the 604 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,880 Spirit. I love this quote. 605 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,840 Religion is people working towards God. 606 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,600 The Holy Spirit is God dwelling in each person. 607 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:44,960 Religion is righteousness earned. 608 00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,360 The Holy Spirit is righteousness empowered. 609 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:51,440 Religion aims at our outer reformation. 610 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,200 I'm gonna teach you the rules. You don't drink or chew or go 611 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,760 with girls that do, and you get to figure out all the stuff that 612 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:00,560 makes you an outwardly clean person. 613 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,520 But the Holy Spirit brings inward transformation into your 614 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:07,200 heart and your mind and your life. 615 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,360 Religion brings a burden. The Holy Spirit brings peace. 616 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:17,120 Religion is a work and the Holy Spirit is a gift. 617 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:20,520 And you are people of the Holy Spirit and they don't want 618 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,160 religion, but they're dying for life. 619 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,480 And we'll end with this if we consider and preparing our 620 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:33,040 hearts for communion. Stephen had the power of heaven. 621 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:38,120 He stood up and he saw a vision that went way beyond this earth. 622 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:42,600 And if I could diagnose the number one problem in our day 623 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:45,720 and age that makes believers want the preacher to carry the 624 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:48,480 weight of the preaching and the church building to carry the 625 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:52,200 weight of the Holy Spirit, it's because we don't have a vision 626 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,040 that goes very much beyond a couple moments in our life. 627 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:58,880 The reason I didn't give witness when someone's asked me of the 628 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:01,480 unconditional love of God is because I couldn't see past the 629 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:05,500 high school cafeteria. You can't see past your Co 630 00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:08,320 workers in the judgement of you believing in one way and one 631 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,680 truth and one life. You can't see past the online 632 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:15,880 chatter that you actually do believe in a king of the 633 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,160 universe, and he's alive, sitting at the right hand of the 634 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:23,280 Father, and he's coming again to redeem everyone who's put their 635 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,000 faith in him. The message will be judged. 636 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:32,520 But if you have a vision that goes beyond this life, it 637 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,200 doesn't matter what you give away for it. 638 00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:39,640 And I don't expect anyone of you to have to lay down your life 639 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:45,400 for the witness of Jesus in the next coming days. 640 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:48,800 I'm hoping for a future where more of us get the opportunity. 641 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,560 But never mind trying to die for Jesus, let's just start living 642 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,280 for him. Let's just live by the power of 643 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,240 the Holy Spirit that gives a vision for life beyond life. 644 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:01,840 That the treasures you're actually building up are for 645 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,720 heaven and not earth. That the rewards you're living 646 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:07,400 for are from Jesus and not your coworkers. 647 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:14,680 And so with those three things, you will see a revival in our 648 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,920 day. If people actually stood on the 649 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,360 power of God and it wasn't just a text, but it had the power of 650 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:25,680 the Holy Spirit going where beyond buildings and beyond 651 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:29,080 pulpits and beyond stages and people had a vision for the 652 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:33,440 power of heaven, then we will see the power of the church on 653 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,680 display. Not from a Sunday morning live 654 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,480 stream. We I'm glad you're here, but 655 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:47,600 from every single one of you who believe in the power of Jesus. 656 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:51,200 Thanks for joining us today. If you would like to watch the 657 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,760 full service, check out the link in the description. 658 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:58,000 For next steps and to learn more, visit calvaryboise.com.