1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,920 Good morning. Our scripture reading today is 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:08,360 from Acts 6-7 through 760. If you're using one of the 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,600 Bibles on the floor, it's on page 860. 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,640 If you don't have a Bible of your own, we invite you to take 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,640 that one home with you. It's our gift to you. 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,840 I mean, let's get started. And the Word of God continued to 7 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,200 increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,400 Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,360 the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,280 power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 11 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,880 Then some of those who belong to the synagogue of the freedmen, 12 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,040 as it was called, and of the Cyrenians, and some of the 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,320 Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,000 disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,440 wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. 16 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,560 Then they secretly instigated men who said, We have heard him 17 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,200 speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,040 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, 19 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,760 and they came upon him and seized him, and brought him 20 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,800 before the council. And they set up false witnesses, 21 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,560 who said, This man never ceases to speak words against this holy 22 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,480 place and the law. For we have heard him say that 23 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,000 this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will 24 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,640 change the customs that Moses delivered to us. 25 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,960 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face 26 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:29,080 was like the face of an Angel. And the high priest said, Are 27 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,560 these things so? And Stephen said, Brothers and 28 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,600 fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our 29 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,720 father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in 30 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,040 Haran, and said to him, Go out from your land and from your 31 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,520 kindred, and go into the land that I will show you. 32 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,200 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in 33 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,080 the Haran, And after his father died, God removed him from there 34 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,200 into this land in which you are now living. 35 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,000 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, 36 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,040 but promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his 37 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,040 offspring after him, though he had no child. 38 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,440 And God spoke to this effect, that his offspring would be 39 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,920 sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave 40 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:14,240 them and afflict them. 400 years. 41 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,640 But I will judge the nation that they serve, said God. 42 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,680 And after that they shall come out and worship me in this 43 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,800 place. And he gave them the covenant of 44 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,760 circumcision. And so Abraham became the father 45 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,320 of Isaac, and circumcised him on the 8th day. 46 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,040 And Isaac became the father of Jacob and Jacob of the 12 47 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,200 patriarchs, And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into 48 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,760 Egypt. But God was with him and rescued 49 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,040 him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom 50 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,720 before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt 51 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,840 and over all his household. Now there came a famine 52 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,320 throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our 53 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,800 fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there 54 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,320 was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first 55 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,880 visit. And on the second visit Joseph 56 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,760 made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family 57 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,080 became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned 58 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,000 Jacob his father, and all his kindred, 75 persons in all. 59 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,280 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers. 60 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,640 And they were carried back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb 61 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:24,200 that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of 62 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,720 Hamar in Shechem. But as the time of the promise 63 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,160 drew near which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased 64 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,960 and multiplied in Egypt, until there arose over Egypt another 65 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,840 king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race, 66 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,080 and forced our fathers to expose their infants so that they would 67 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,760 not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and 68 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,240 he was beautiful in God's sight, and he was brought up for three 69 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,480 months in his father's house. And when he was exposed, 70 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,600 Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own 71 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,200 son. And Moses was instructed in all 72 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,360 the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and 73 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,920 deeds. When he was 40 years old, it 74 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,600 came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of 75 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,280 Israel, and seeing one of them being wrong, he defended the 76 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,480 oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 77 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,760 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was 78 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,640 giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not 79 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,040 understand, and on the following day he appeared to them as they 80 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,400 were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, Men, you 81 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,800 are brothers, why do you wrong each other? 82 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,280 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, 83 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,200 saying, Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 84 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,400 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? 85 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,360 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of 86 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,040 Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 87 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,680 Now when 40 years had passed, an Angel appeared to him in the 88 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,160 wilderness of Mount Sinai in a flame of fire in a Bush. 89 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,000 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. 90 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,560 And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the 91 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,080 Lord. I am the God of your father's, 92 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,680 the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. 93 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,680 And Moses trembled, and did not dare look to, did not dare to 94 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,160 look. Then the Lord said to him, Take 95 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,600 off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you were 96 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,600 standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the 97 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,760 affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their 98 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,280 groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. 99 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,800 And now come, I will send you to Egypt. 100 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,880 This Moses whom they rejected, saying, Who made you a ruler and 101 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,880 a judge. This man God sent as both ruler 102 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,760 and Redeemer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the 103 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,560 Bush. This man LED, LED them out 104 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,200 performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in 105 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,000 the wilderness for 40 years. This is the Moses who said to 106 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,200 the Israelites, God will raise you, raise up for you a prophet 107 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,880 like me from your brothers. This is the one who was in the 108 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,840 congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him 109 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:55,960 at Mount Sinai and with our fathers. 110 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,760 He received living oracles to give us. 111 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,320 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside. 112 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,880 And in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, Make 113 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,800 for us gods who will go before us. 114 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,640 And for this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt, we 115 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,560 do not know what has become of him. 116 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,640 And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to 117 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,520 the idol, and we're rejoicing in the works of their hands. 118 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,280 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of 119 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:27,040 heaven as it is written in the book of the prophets. 120 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,440 Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices during the 40 121 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,160 years in the wilderness? Oh House of Israel, you took up 122 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:40,040 the tent of Moloch and the star of your God ref in the images 123 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,080 that you made to worship, and I will send you into exile beyond 124 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,480 Babylon. Our fathers had the tent of 125 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,400 witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses 126 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,120 directed him to make it according to the pattern that he 127 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,120 had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it 128 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:57,480 in with with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that 129 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,320 God drove out before our fathers. 130 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:02,800 So it was until the days of David who found favor in the 131 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,720 sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of 132 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,000 Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a 133 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,280 house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell 134 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,040 in houses made by hands. As the prophet says, Heaven is 135 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,320 my throne and the earth is my footstool. 136 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,560 What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, Or 137 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,280 what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these 138 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,560 things? You stiff necked people, 139 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,760 uncircumcised in heart and ears? You always resist the Holy 140 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,280 Spirit as your Father's did, so do you. 141 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,400 Which of the prophets did your Father's not persecute? 142 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,400 And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming 143 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,880 of the righteous one whom you have now betrayed and murdered. 144 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,760 You who received the law as delivered by angels, and did not 145 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,360 keep it. Now when they heard these 146 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,320 things, they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 147 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,840 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven, and saw the 148 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,000 glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 149 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,800 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of 150 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,800 Man standing at the right hand of God. 151 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,200 But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, 152 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,120 and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the 153 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,880 city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down 154 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,360 their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 155 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,760 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord 156 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,160 Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees, he 157 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,480 cried out with a loud voice. Lord, do not hold this sin 158 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,920 against them. And when he had said this, he 159 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,280 fell asleep. This is God's true word. 160 00:08:38,950 --> 00:08:40,950 What's going on? Port City family and friends. 161 00:08:40,950 --> 00:08:43,110 Good to be with you. My name is Tanner. 162 00:08:43,470 --> 00:08:46,350 I'm the lead pastor here and I don't know about you but as that 163 00:08:46,590 --> 00:08:50,520 was read I just get hyped up. Y'all get really hyped as we get 164 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,400 started this Act series. I hope you do. 165 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:57,480 I hope that when we read the book of Acts, we see what God 166 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,320 wants to do in our cities. We see who God is, we see who we 167 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,720 can become. We see what only God can do and 168 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,880 we see that we were made for this and nothing less than this. 169 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,000 We were made to be a part of an adventure like this. 170 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,280 So if you've ever felt like you were made for more than Netflix 171 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,840 and chill, you are correct. And I'm all for the appropriate 172 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,480 setting of Netflix and chill. OK, And y'all, what we're not 173 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,160 going to do in this series, we ain't going to whine about the 174 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:24,680 American church. What we're going to do is we're 175 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:27,600 going to study the early church and we're just going to beg God 176 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,040 to make us like it. We're going to beg God to fill 177 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,360 us with the Spirit. We're going to beg God to do 178 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,800 what he's always done and we're going to repent what we need to. 179 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:37,040 We're just going to we're going to pray. 180 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:38,200 We're going to say, God, let's do it. 181 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,960 I don't want to settle like in a spirit filled way. 182 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:45,640 I just want to say let's go, like let's go. 183 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,920 And man, we got one life to live. 184 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:51,960 It'll soon be passed. Only what's done with Christ 185 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,800 will last and just be you. Have fun, be full of the Spirit 186 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,680 and get in some good gospel trouble this fall. 187 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:01,760 That's what I want, if you will, as we're going to see in today's 188 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,920 text. OK, so let me pray for our act 189 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:08,040 series as we just get going and we'll dive into this sermon on a 190 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,600 sermon. Our Father, we love you. 191 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,080 Thank you, God, thank you, thank you. 192 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,320 Thank you that this happened. Thank you that it's real. 193 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,040 God, there's just so many layers, so many sermons could be 194 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:24,720 preached on the sermon. But God, we ask you, God, don't 195 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,320 just do these things in the nation's, don't just do them in 196 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,480 other parts of the world. God we want, we want to see it 197 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,160 in the States. God, we want to see it in 198 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,920 Norfolk. God, we want to see a movement 199 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,680 and God we know when movement is happening, there is opposition 200 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,200 as a part of that. So God strengthen us for this 201 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:44,240 task, fill us with the Spirit, give us the kind of lives that 202 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:48,520 that amount to this not just one off things, but the the type of 203 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:53,200 life where we are as Stephen was and God, may we understand the 204 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,640 roots of the gospel that make this so offensive. 205 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,320 God and would you save people? We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 206 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:02,720 All right, y'all. So this is a sermon on a sermon, 207 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:07,000 a really long sermon. And really what it comes down to 208 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:08,360 is 2 things. So I want to go ahead and give 209 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:09,160 you those two. OK? 210 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,560 One is going to be the response of the people to the sermon. 211 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:15,600 That's going to be part of the the, the conversation that comes 212 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,120 down to we're going to talk about the word later. 213 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,000 Stiff neck. Somebody say stiff neck. 214 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,600 Stiff neck is the idea that your neck is turned in One Direction 215 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,240 and you're not going to turn it. Like I want you to imagine a 2 216 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,840 year old toddler. OK, this toddler thinks there's 217 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,480 candy to the right. So the toddler starts going 218 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,120 right. You know the candy's to the 219 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,520 left. You want them to have the candy, 220 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,560 but they think it's right. So they're walking you. 221 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,200 You try to grab their hand, they smack it. 222 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,120 They just, I mean, they're just, they don't, they think they're 223 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,320 so much smarter than you. It's hilarious. 224 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:50,800 They hit you. They're they're just, they keep 225 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,560 going and you're like, baby, baby, the candy. 226 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:54,320 They're hitting you. They're not listening. 227 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,800 They will not turn. Even you pick them up. 228 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,920 They're kicking and screaming. That's the image of stiff neck. 229 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,560 You will not turn. OK, so that's the first thing 230 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:07,320 we're going to see is just this response of stiff neckedness in 231 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:12,040 the heart of the hearers. And the second is we need to 232 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,280 focus on the person of Steven. And there's something about who 233 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,080 he was, what he did, and, and just in the even the way he 234 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,600 died, just everything the author of Acts is trying to get us to 235 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:24,800 see with Steven. That is a key to our life with 236 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,120 Christ if we want to see this type of movement in our time. 237 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,600 So we're going to look at the stiff neck response and we're 238 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,280 going to look at the look of Steven. 239 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,480 OK, so I got four kind of turns we're going to take. 240 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:40,240 We got the situation, the sermon, the response, and the 241 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,200 man, if you are ready, let me hear you say I'm ready. 242 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,440 OK #1 the situation. It kind of explains to us what 243 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,160 was happening. I know we're picking up on a 244 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,400 series in chapter 6. In previous years we did the the 245 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,560 first chapters, but basically in chapter 6, the church had 246 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,560 reached this pivotal moment in its development where an issue 247 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:06,120 popped up and the apostles were like you, this is a really 248 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,640 important thing, but we need to preach the word and praise. 249 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,040 We need to raise up others. That's the first installment of 250 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,240 deacons and servants and Stephen is one of those people chosen, 251 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:21,000 set aside prayed over here you go OK and it tells us in verse 7 252 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,400 the word of God continued to increase and the number of 253 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,360 disciples multiply greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of 254 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,040 the priests became obedient to the faith. 255 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,680 The idea was the Lord honored this moment where the church was 256 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,840 starting to struggle having some multi ethnic racial tension. 257 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,680 That's what's happening at the beginning of Chapter 6 where 258 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,440 certain widows were being neglected of a certain language. 259 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,960 So it was race and language based preference, if you will. 260 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,280 And so Steven was brought up to help lead in that moment and he 261 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,120 does and the Lord honors it. And the church is growing well. 262 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:55,920 This Steven is just becoming a leader. 263 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,240 He's he's given, he's teaching and he's teaching in the temple, 264 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,080 which is where a lot of the, the early church action was going 265 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,640 down before some persecution breaks out as we'll talk about 266 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,440 next week. And then what happens is 267 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,600 Stephen's doing miracles. He's doing all kinds of stuff. 268 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:16,480 And it tells us in verse 11 that as happened with Jesus, starts 269 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:17,880 happening with Stephen. They ain't like that. 270 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,040 And in the temple, there's one name you got to bring up if you 271 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:22,600 want to cause a problem. Watch what they do. 272 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,800 Then they secretly instigated men who said, We have heard him 273 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:31,160 speak blasphemous words against somebody, say Moses, Moses, and 274 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,920 God. And they stirred up the people 275 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,760 and the elders and scribes, and they came upon him and seized 276 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,280 him and brought him before the council. 277 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,600 And they set up false witnesses who said, This man never ceases 278 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:43,720 to speak words against this holy place in law. 279 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,280 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will 280 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,840 destroy this place. It's referring to the temple, 281 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,080 and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. 282 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:57,360 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face 283 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,800 was like the face of an Angel. Y'all so many sermons could be 284 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:02,920 preached on even what I just said. 285 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,560 OK, Just the imagery of his face looking like an Angel. 286 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,200 Like if in a Jewish mind when Moses came down after receiving 287 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,600 the 10 commandments, he was shining kind of like an Angel. 288 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,160 So they should, they're ironically saying he's not the 289 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,960 Moses guy, but he is shining like Moses. 290 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,080 Jesus was shining on the mount of Transfiguration. 291 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,800 So like, there's this, we can all see who's with Jesus here, 292 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,880 like who's on Yahweh's side here, but they're opposing him 293 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:29,600 in the name of Moses. OK. 294 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,760 And so there's just so much irony in the text and it's, it's 295 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,240 literally filled with just imagery of what Jesus himself 296 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,880 went through, right? Like they, they would throw 297 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:43,200 false charges and Jesus just sat there silent where Jesus sat 298 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,560 silent. Steve is grabbing the mic. 299 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,960 He's like, let me explain to you something. 300 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,960 OK, so that's the situation. They get a stir going and here 301 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,440 comes point #2 the sermon and y'all, they just picked the 302 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,560 wrong guy to mess with. They just picked the wrong guy. 303 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,680 Like there's certain guys, certain times, certain people, 304 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,240 you press the buttons, they walk away and maybe even the Lord 305 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:06,840 saying, let's back down, this ain't the moment. 306 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,640 But the spirit decided this man going fry y'all, and I'm going 307 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,720 to have my man Luke write it down so that it's there forever. 308 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,160 And basically a lot of Pauline theology, a lot of the rest of 309 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,080 the New Testament theology of explaining how Judaism gives 310 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,360 birth to Christianity. They're not in opposition, but 311 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,840 true the, the the roots of Christ are. 312 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,240 I mean, they're they're sprouting from a Davidic tree 313 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,640 House of Abraham. All of it flows together. 314 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,360 It is all in this sermon. And Paul spends a lot of time 315 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,440 breaking it down. And the basic idea, if you don't 316 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,400 know your Bibles that well, that is OK, OK. 317 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,800 But the basic idea is he is methodically going to fry them. 318 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:51,440 It's a really a three piece combo. 319 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,920 He brings up Abraham, he brings up Temple and he brings up 320 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,720 Moses. I can't do all of them. 321 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,120 As you probably could tell, Moses is the highlight. 322 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:00,520 That's where we're going to hang out. 323 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,720 OK. But though that that three piece 324 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,760 right there is everything that it means to be Jewish, OK, from 325 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,599 an ethnic standpoint. Now God had an intention through 326 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:14,720 the ethnicity and through the lineage of faith shared with 327 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,319 Abraham. And what Steven is trying to get 328 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,560 them to see is they missed it from the jump. 329 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,079 That's what he's trying to say. If you are anti Jesus, you were 330 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:27,000 never with Yahweh. That's what he's saying. 331 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,840 If you were not with Jesus now, you missed it from the jump. 332 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,480 So he goes back to Mesopotamia in the call of Abraham to point 333 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,000 out this hasn't changed. Stay with me. 334 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,480 And he methodically brings them to their guy Moses through their 335 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,720 own history and then fries them on Moses. 336 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,280 Does that make sense? So I want to I want to take you 337 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,160 just to the Moses thing. But what he's trying to say is 338 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:56,600 he is not knocking the the setup of Judaism that God constructed. 339 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,880 He's knocking their manipulation of it from the beginning to the 340 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:04,480 point that they kill the man who is blazing with glory in front 341 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,560 of them like Moses once did in the name of Moses, like just 342 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:11,920 the, the irony is so thick. OK, so I want to show you kind 343 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,360 of the the crux of what he's saying. 344 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,560 So look with me at verse 35. He gets to Moses. 345 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:23,200 He brings up Moses's early stuff and just pay attention to this 346 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,440 one word. It starts with an R. 347 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:30,200 You'll hear it here in a minute. This Moses whom they rejected 348 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,640 saying, who made you a ruler and a judge. 349 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,760 This man God sent as both a ruler and Redeemer by the hand 350 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,720 of the Angel who appeared to him in the Bush. 351 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:45,080 Then verse 39 our fathers, he's meaning like in the flesh like 352 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:51,120 our our our ancestors refused to obey him, but thrust him that's 353 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,640 Moses aside and in their hearts they turned to Egypt saying to 354 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,400 Aaron make for us gods who will go before us. 355 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,760 As for this Moses who led us from the land of Egypt. 356 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,600 We do not know what has becoming him and they made a calf in 357 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,600 those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol and 358 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,160 rejoicing of the work of their hands again. 359 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,280 If you don't know Bible immediately after the giving of 360 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,600 the 10 commandments as that's going on. 361 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:19,440 God's like, hey, Moses, Aaron down there making a cow, they're 362 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,600 worshipping a cow. Moses, let's just start over 363 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:22,960 right now. Me and you come on. 364 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,880 And Moses like no Lord like. But the point is he's saying 365 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,560 y'all bit y'all, y'all don't claim Moses. 366 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,400 Moses, you really want to talk Moses? 367 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,000 Let's talk Moses like y'all rejected him. 368 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,520 Y'all didn't listen to him. You wanted to go back to you'd 369 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,160 rather be slaves in Egypt with steak than in the wilderness 370 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,360 with God with what God wants to give you bread from heaven. 371 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:51,400 Verse 53 That's what he says he he says of them you who received 372 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,480 the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. 373 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,960 What he's trying to say he's coming for the jugular. 374 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:05,280 He's like look you're you're claiming that I'm anti law anti 375 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,920 Moses but y'all don't keep the law. 376 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,600 But that's kind of the crux of where they disagree. 377 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:14,040 Even so, they disagree on what it means to be pro Moses and pro 378 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:15,800 law. But what he's trying to say is, 379 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,240 hey guys, the law was never about the external. 380 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,320 And in the sermon you can go back and look at the covenant is 381 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,120 given after he meets Abraham. Just the way the sermon is 382 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:30,440 constructed is so wise is to point out that all of these 383 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:35,880 symbols within the system were to point to our need, were to 384 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,280 point to what we lack. The law is a mirror. 385 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,360 It shows you what you lack. It shows you what you don't 386 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,480 have. It shows you who you are not 387 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,480 shows your need for sacrifice, which yes, happens in the 388 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,600 temple, but it was never an end. It was a means to showing your 389 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,040 need for grace. And this Moses that you worship 390 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,720 in verse 37. Look at that one with me, y'all? 391 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:05,080 This is a famous verse if your Bible doesn't have one of those 392 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,840 things called somebody help me footnotes, cross references. 393 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,520 Thank you Deuteronomy 1815 is a big one. 394 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,840 OK, Moses said this. This is the Moses who said to 395 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,960 the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me 396 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,640 from your brothers the. Idea. 397 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,760 All of Moses's ministry was pointing to an eventual greater 398 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,160 Moses and Moses said another Moses is coming. 399 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,200 Does that make sense? So he's saying y'all about to 400 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,760 kill me like he's he's not saying that in the sermon. 401 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,360 But think about it. They're about to kill the guy 402 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,000 talking about Moses, quoting Moses, saying there will be 403 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,440 another Moses while gazing like Moses and blazing like Moses and 404 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,600 y'all gonna kill me in the name of Moses. 405 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,960 Just like you killed. Jesus in the name of Moses. 406 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,480 So he's just laying it on thick and what he's trying to say, 407 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,560 y'all? Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, all of 408 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:01,640 the the the new covenant promise was that God would put onto his 409 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,280 people's heart the Law. The goal always was for God to 410 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,800 have a people who actually wanted him, who actually were 411 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,160 indwelt by him, who actually loved Him. 412 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:19,960 The Law can't make you love him. And that doesn't. 413 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:24,480 Make the law bad. Part of what the law is doing is 414 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:29,240 taking you to him by making you aware you're captive to it. 415 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,600 So the law is good, OK. It's like a it's like the cage 416 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,720 to the prisoner. You already a prisoner is just 417 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,400 making you aware of your imprisonment and showing you 418 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:43,880 your need for a Redeemer. And so and there's other pieces 419 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,320 in here. Just two little Nuggets. 420 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,320 One of the things he does at the very beginning. 421 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,640 I can't I can't walk through the the temple theme and the the 422 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,240 stuff with Abraham as much. But look at how he starts in 423 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,360 verse two. Look at this and Steven said 424 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:05,160 brothers and fathers, hear me the God of glory appear to our 425 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,800 father. You know what I think he's 426 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,800 trying to say? I think Stephen is. 427 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,120 Trying to say from the beginning Abraham knew a person. 428 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:20,280 Y'all know a system like God was always a glorious Redeemer? 429 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:25,160 Who called? Abraham and Abraham received it 430 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:26,680 by grace. Abraham believed God. 431 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,720 He counted it as righteousness. Then with the temple. 432 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,160 Stuff because again, they worship the temple, not the God 433 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,720 of the temple. They worship the temple and 434 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,640 verse 50 he. Does this. 435 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:43,960 It's a quote. To the prophets that said did 436 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,400 not my hand make all these things referring to the Lord 437 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,920 being like if you go back and read, you can write down first 438 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,600 Kings 8. If you're if you're going home 439 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,600 and just kind of rereading this sermon and the one of the 440 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,080 longest prayers in the Old Testament. 441 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,560 Solomon prays as they commissioned the temple and 442 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,760 Solomon says God, you don't dwell in what we build. 443 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,480 Solomon said that when they built it so that's not like the 444 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,840 New Testament just making up that God doesn't dwell in 445 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:10,600 building. Solomon said it when they built 446 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,040 the first one. So he's saying y'all worship 447 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:14,600 temple. But even the dude who built the 448 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,640 temple, Solomon said this ain't it. 449 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,400 Like he looked at it how amazing it was. 450 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,120 He's like God you more amazing than this building. 451 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,320 So from the. Beginning their worship ended 452 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,440 where God was not at. Does that make sense? 453 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,640 They ended at the thing and not the person behind the thing. 454 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,840 And I told you that this is basically what Paul spends many 455 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,920 letters trying to break down in different ways depending on what 456 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,320 they're struggling with. He says it's so emphatically in 457 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,120 Romans 228 and 29. This is how he says it. 458 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,440 Again, you don't have to know the whole Bible to get this, but 459 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,480 the more you see it, as you read the Word over and over and over 460 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,840 over the years, it just becomes more and more beautiful to you. 461 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:59,640 That's what he says. Romans 2. 2829 For no one is a 462 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:04,000 Jew who is merely 1 outwardly. Nor is. 463 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,880 Circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is 1 464 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,280 inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the 465 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,200 Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man, but 466 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,760 from God. Yo. 467 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:16,240 This is what the New Testament teaches. 468 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,240 If you trust in Christ, you are in Abraham's family. 469 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:24,680 You are. You are. 470 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,480 In the lineage of Abraham, all of the blessings of Abraham are 471 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,960 yours. In Christ, you are in. 472 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,920 That's wow. That's what the New Testament 473 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:37,840 teaches, and that's what Steven told them in a lot of different 474 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,400 ways. So let's see how they respond. 475 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,680 To that. OK, let's talk about the. 476 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,080 Response. The response is pretty simple. 477 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,920 They kill him. OK, this whole point just 478 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,240 kidding, they do kill him they go wild. 479 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,240 But I I want y'all to think about the moment where the 480 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,720 sermon went from like. I don't like this dude to. 481 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,640 Like, let's kill him. OK, Here's the moment. 482 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:02,840 Look with me at verses 51 through 54. 483 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:06,080 He makes so. Plain what I just tried to 484 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,280 explain to you, but these verses are just cutting. 485 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:14,720 You stiff. Necked people, uncircumcised in 486 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:22,240 heart and ears, You always resist the Holy Spirit as your 487 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,520 Father's did, now not our fathers as your Father's did. 488 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,480 So do you. Which of the prophets? 489 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,400 Did your Father's not persecute, and they killed those who 490 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,840 announced beforehand the coming of the righteous One, whom you 491 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,760 have now betrayed and murdered? You who received the laws 492 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,640 delivered by angels and did not keep it? 493 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:42,560 I imagine them in the crowd be like, what do you say? 494 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:50,440 Me so he gives a little 3. Piece here underline them if you 495 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,080 got your Bible stiff neck. Uncircumcised in. 496 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,440 Heart and ears so we got a neck heart ears neck heart ears y'all 497 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,320 see those you see them there we're going to talk about them 498 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,960 those those are the images we need to grab heart ears. 499 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,080 Next, let's start with heart. Somebody say heart. 500 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:11,000 You know the Bible teaches that every single thing we do flows 501 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,800 from the heart. Everything How? 502 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:14,680 The overflow. The heart. 503 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,640 The mouth speaks. Guard your heart from everything 504 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,960 you do flows from it. Everything. 505 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,720 What you want dictates what you do. 506 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:22,480 What you want dictates what you say. 507 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,760 I remember growing up. It's. 508 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,080 Crazy the stuff I. Did all gossip about people, all 509 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,160 kinds of stuff and just be like my bad, I ain't mean that. 510 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,120 That it just wasn't. True, like we, we, we said that 511 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:36,400 kind of stuff. But somewhere you thought it for 512 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,600 you said it premeditated, you know, And yeah, you, you might, 513 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,000 you might be able to hold it in when you've had your coffee, but 514 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,080 when you haven't, you annoyed and your kids bothering you and 515 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:46,400 this is happening that you let it RIP. 516 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,280 But it doesn't mean it wasn't real. 517 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,680 The overflow of the heart is everything we do and our hearts 518 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,440 are the problem then, right? And so This is why external 519 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,960 religion makes no sense like a, a fixing what's on the surface 520 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,480 doesn't deal with the roots of the problem, right? 521 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,600 Like our heart is the problem. And so he calls them 522 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,160 uncircumcised in heart. First off, if you call an ethnic 523 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,200 Jew uncircumcised anything, they're like, what are you 524 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,440 trying to say man? What are you trying to say? 525 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,520 But he says you're uncircumcised in heart. 526 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:20,680 So think. About. 527 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:25,160 This, what circumcision is, is a killing off of the flesh for the 528 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,480 purposes of something new coming to life. 529 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,400 Old gone, new comes, old gone, new comes so. 530 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,720 The. Physical image of circumcision 531 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,920 was supposed to point to the need for heart circumcision. 532 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,240 Cut off old new comes. Cut off old new comes. 533 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,240 OK, so you can cut your body, you can't cut your heart. 534 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,240 Does that make sense? The idea is you need your heart 535 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,200 cut by the heart cutter. You need the scalpel of the Lord 536 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,680 to cut your heart. You need to be given the new 537 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,920 heart. You need to be heart of stone 538 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,520 removed, heart of flesh planted. The idea that the Bible presents 539 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,680 is that God wants to give you a new heart. 540 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,920 That's what it teaches we. Can't do. 541 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,440 That so to call them uncircumcised in heart means you 542 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:19,280 did all you think you run the system, but your actions are 543 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,440 evidence that you don't have a new heart. 544 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,280 Spirit does not indwell you and that's the most condemning thing 545 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,520 he could call them is uncircumcised in heart. 546 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:32,040 But he doesn't stop there. He says uncircumcised hearts and 547 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:33,640 ears. Somebody say ears. 548 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,760 So why the ear? You're on the Bible, The pathway 549 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,520 to the heart is through the ear. See that the? 550 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,560 Path to the heart is through the ear. 551 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:50,080 The idea is we we hear and it hits the heart and then we 552 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,320 change. OK so to be uncircumcised in ear 553 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,400 is to close off the path to what would change the heart, right? 554 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:00,920 So to say you're uncircumcised and hears means you ain't 555 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,520 listening. Romans 10/17 says faith comes 556 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:07,840 through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. 557 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,280 You don't hear, heart don't get cut. 558 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,720 That's kind of the idea. So he's saying y'all don't. 559 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,120 Hear you need you have uncircumcised hearts, you have 560 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,880 uncircumcised ears. So you've they probably had 561 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,440 entire portions of this book memorized and he says you have 562 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,920 uncircumcised ears. So you sent through school all 563 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,400 them years, you had your ears closed the whole time. 564 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,960 You can memorize 1,000,000 verses and have the ears closed. 565 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:38,560 Did you know that you have uncircumcised ears and then he 566 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,240 calls them stiff necked? Somebody say stiff neck you so. 567 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,400 Stiff neck. I think our vernacular is 568 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,040 stubborn, but stiff neck that I might start, I might start using 569 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:50,880 that one. Y'all don't be stiff neck now, 570 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:56,040 though I might sign off text. Don't be stiff neck, y'all just 571 00:30:56,040 --> 00:31:00,120 just your neck is strong. I mean, you can just you ever go 572 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,800 to, every once in a while you go to the gym and those dudes put 573 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:04,360 on them things on their head and they're like. 574 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,000 You've reached levels. In the gym game, when you're 575 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:16,440 doing the head belt with the 45 on and you're just, I'm not 576 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,960 there, I'm not there. But y'all, your neck is strong 577 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,560 even if you don't do that. And the idea is the neck, the 578 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,000 reason I love that image. I think we need all three. 579 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,120 OK, here's kind of the point. God's got to cut your heart. 580 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,720 You have some volition over your ears, but when you hear neck, 581 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:34,960 that's you. You choose what you turn to. 582 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,200 That makes sense. So there's this great tension in 583 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,480 Scripture. God wants to give you a new 584 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:41,080 heart. You got to turn your neck. 585 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,200 Lest we begin. To blame God that he didn't gift 586 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,640 us the heart. You didn't turn your neck. 587 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,680 Does that make sense? So I can't cut my heart, but 588 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:54,480 God's calling me to turn my neck. 589 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,080 He wants to circumcise. Your heart, but you won't open 590 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:02,320 your ears and turn your neck. That's what he's saying, lest we 591 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,600 turn this on God. And y'all, I just want to. 592 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,000 I just want us to hear this. If we are not in. 593 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,600 Christ, we are uncircumcised in heart and ears and we got stiff 594 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,800 necks. And one of the. 595 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:24,320 Signs that God is drawing you to himself is if he's turning your 596 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:30,000 neck if what he says begins to go from intolerable vomit 597 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:35,880 repulsive shut my ears ignore it avoid it avoid that person avoid 598 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:40,800 those places go through the motions when your heart awakens 599 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,640 when you feel like you're coming alive something is happening 600 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,640 where the spirit it again it's us. 601 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:54,320 It's the Spirit is turning us and I just want to say turn your 602 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,200 neck like I'm pleading with you if you don't know Jesus. 603 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,160 Yo what he wants. To give you is a new heart. 604 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,200 He wants to make. You, the you he made you to be. 605 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:13,320 He wants to give you. Victory over sin practically in 606 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,760 power and in penalty. Like we just focus on the I, I 607 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,120 don't want to be in trouble part, but the power part. 608 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,880 God wants to give you victory. He wants to give you new life. 609 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,200 He wants to give you resurrection. 610 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:26,920 He wants to give you all the energy you wasted on lust and 611 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,920 gossip and hating people and annoyed and just resentment. 612 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,600 Like you ever just get annoyed How much of your energy goes to 613 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,600 that stuff? It's almost like. 614 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,040 What if a power from on high could invade you and make you a 615 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,440 different kind of person with different taste buds who 616 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,320 actually wants what you were designed to want? 617 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,960 What if that were possible? Well, it is. 618 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,320 I'm pleading with you. To become who you were designed 619 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:56,360 to be, you can't do it. In the path. 620 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,680 Is through the ear, it's through the word of Christ. 621 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,520 As Christ crucified, He died on a cross. 622 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,960 Not to motivate you. He died on a cross. 623 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:07,880 To cut your heart, He died on a cross. 624 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,760 To give you a heart of flesh. He died on the cross for the 625 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,560 Spirit to indwell you. But this isn't a. 626 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,560 This isn't a a a a a. You get a little bit, he gets. 627 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,080 A little bit. This is a a, a surrender, A 628 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:26,360 submitting, A bowing and acknowledging that you killed 629 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:27,880 him. He says you killed him, you 630 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,800 delivered him over. And for every person who is a 631 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,679 true Christ follower, what they've all acknowledged to and 632 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:37,719 bowed to is to say I killed Jesus Messiah. 633 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:41,040 I did that. You're agreeing with God that 634 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:45,159 you were uncircumcised in heart and ears and stiff neck, and I'm 635 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:49,080 pleading with you to do that. Don't try harder. 636 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,120 That's not how you start to be right with Jesus. 637 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,920 You need a new heart and poor city. 638 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,639 Where are we stiff neck? Where? 639 00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:59,600 Where are those, those of us who the spirit and dwells? 640 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:03,520 Where we still got that? Just don't want. 641 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,800 To turn and what tense. In my experience, it's just when 642 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,160 life ain't going my way in big ways, in little ways when I'm 643 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:15,000 irritated on down days, we justify in our weakness. 644 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,720 That's when I get stiff neck weakness leverages the moment 645 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:20,280 and weakness ain't always bad things. 646 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:22,160 It's when you're tired. It's when this it's when that's 647 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,240 when that's not going right. Money this, the car happened 648 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:26,400 this and then I just spazzing on people. 649 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,840 It's like I get it, but you're being stiff neck submit like you 650 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,640 want a pity party, get over it. So. 651 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:36,240 I just want to call you. Like stiff neck never leads to 652 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:37,440 life. Just don't. 653 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,080 It leads to death. It hurts you, it hurts others. 654 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:41,920 Doesn't build the Kingdom. Believers. 655 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,440 Is life disappointing? Does it feel like a wreck? 656 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:48,160 Open your ears to God's Word, my friend, and turn your neck. 657 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:52,160 All right, let's let's. Finish out talking about the 658 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,800 man. Let's talk about the man Steven. 659 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:00,280 Steven, we get told before the sermon his face is glowing like 660 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,360 an Angel. Moses references Jesus, 661 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,480 references his life clearly looks like Jesus, and then he 662 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,440 dies a lot like Jesus and Luke is just trying to. 663 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,880 Luke wrote Acts, by the way. So if you didn't know that Luke 664 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:13,840 wrote Luke and Acts. So it's kind of cool. 665 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,240 If you want, you can read them all together, take you a couple 666 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,960 hours, but skip a movie one night and just read them. 667 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,880 Luke and Acts, he wrote them. He's just trying to sprinkle in 668 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,320 there. This dudes looking like Jesus. 669 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,360 Look at me. We'll look at verse 15 to start. 670 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:35,520 Verse 15 Sorry, I might have I. Might have wrote down the wrong 671 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,200 one on that one. Yeah, I did. 672 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:42,040 I think it was. Oh, chapter 6. 673 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,080 Verse 15 Yeah, we good. And gazing at him, all who sat 674 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,640 in the council saw that his face was like the face of an Angel. 675 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:48,960 Again, I pointed that out to you. 676 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:52,560 But gazing at him, they saw that his face was like the face of an 677 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:54,440 Angel. He had a face like an Angel. 678 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:57,040 That's a human being. They they perceive that this man 679 00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,480 is different than us. OK. 680 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,880 And then in verse 55. We see this. 681 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,000 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the 682 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,640 glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 683 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,440 I love this verse. Y'all we know in. 684 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:17,480 Scripture that when Jesus ascends into heaven or goes 685 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,440 back, he sits at the right hand of the Father, and he's often 686 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,440 described as seat at the right hand of the Father. 687 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,400 But right before Stephen died, Stephen sees him standing. 688 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,760 There's a sense in which his life was so beautiful. 689 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,240 This moment was so beautiful. Jesus stood up for this man. 690 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,600 How cool is that? How would you like to get Jesus 691 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:37,000 standing up for you like that imagery like finish strong 692 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:42,720 brother. Verse 59 as they were stoning 693 00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:46,560 Stephen, he called out Lord Jesus receive my spirit, quoting 694 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:50,600 Psalm 31 verse 5, quoting Jesus on the cross. 695 00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:53,440 He says, Father into your hands I commit my spirit. 696 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,200 And then lastly verse 60 and falling to his knees, he cried 697 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,280 out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. 698 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,160 When he had said this, he fell asleep. 699 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:04,000 I love that he fell asleep. That's because in the early 700 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,360 church, you ain't, you ain't, you ain't if you ain't Christ, 701 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,800 you ain't dead. You going to sleep, but you 702 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:13,440 going to rise again. OK, so and Jesus famously said, 703 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:15,320 Father, forgive them. They know not what they do on 704 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:17,720 the cross as well. So two things I want to tell you 705 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:20,960 about Steven #1. We were made to. 706 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,520 Look like Jesus. This man looked like Jesus, man. 707 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:26,760 He did. He looked like him. 708 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,280 But lest we think we weren't created to do the same, you 709 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:31,920 were. You were created not to look 710 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,640 like Old Adam, New Adam. Many of us get comfortable with 711 00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:37,120 Old Adam. We think that's the normal. 712 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:41,280 That's not true. Steven should be what we think 713 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:43,760 is normal. Steven is what you were created 714 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,160 to be like, not what we see on the TV and on the phone. 715 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,400 This is this is you. This Is Us. 716 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,480 This is possible in Christ. We weren't. 717 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:54,400 And when I say that, it's not a conjuring of something. 718 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,200 You are a conduit believer of the Holy Spirit. 719 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,000 In the text he. Was careful to point out Steven 720 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,920 full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven. 721 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,400 So it's not like Steven had some gene, OK? 722 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:09,640 He just knew Christ, OK? So a conduit of the Spirit of 723 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:12,840 God. And y'all, the good news is we 724 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:15,120 can live like that no matter. You don't need a new job to be 725 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,360 Steven. We need Steven janitors, we need 726 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:19,880 Steven. We need Steven everybody. 727 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,440 We need Steven lawyer, Steven doctors, Steven teachers. 728 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,200 We need people full of the Spirit, intimate with God who 729 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:30,720 stand up under opposition. And then all of those jobs, 730 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:32,000 people are going to cheat, they're going to lie, they're 731 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,080 going to cut corners, they're going to use their power. 732 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:37,040 They're going to gossip, they're going to whine about the thing. 733 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,760 They're going to hand the things they don't like to the new 734 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:40,240 people. That's what they're going to do. 735 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,000 And you get a chance to be full of the spirit and just be 736 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,720 different. And then you going to take hits 737 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:49,760 for being the goody 2 shoes. And how you handle that? 738 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:54,040 Is part of the impact you'll make my wife for for Father's 739 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:56,600 Day this year she got a quote that she put on the wall. 740 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,080 One of my favorite quotes by a dude named Leonard Ravenhill. 741 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:02,560 He says he who is intimate with man, sorry he was intimate with 742 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:06,240 God, will not be intimidated by man Y'all. 743 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:09,000 This was a dude ready for the moment because he was full of 744 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,880 the spirit. But y'all, I think we we. 745 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,600 Daydream of these big moments, but the big moment, you just are 746 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,480 who you were before the moment. I mean, it's just hopefully the 747 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,920 Spirit's filling you in a unique way in those moments, but it's 748 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:24,080 just an overflow of our intimacy with God going viral, if you 749 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,560 will. And the greatest fruit, 750 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,320 honestly, maybe of his life is this forgiveness moment, right? 751 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:33,480 Like how much more can we be identified with Christ than when 752 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,560 we forgive, right? There is nothing that identifies 753 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:41,080 you more with Christ than what you do towards those who wronged 754 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:45,040 you. That's it, right? 755 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,680 And y'all, there's wisdom, you know, this is it's complicated 756 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:52,120 with family and when somebody's burned you a million times and 757 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,800 barriers all that. But what we do with those who 758 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,920 have wronged us is where we get to showcase most that Christ 759 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:03,120 indwells us. So when he says these words, 760 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,800 Father, forgive them for they know not what they do or Lord do 761 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:08,000 not hold the sin against them. That's not just cool religious 762 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,120 talk. This is a man who's about to die 763 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,920 who's so focused on Christ, he's not even like he. 764 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:18,520 When Jesus says blessed are those who are persecuted, 765 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:22,040 there's something they've tapped into that they know what they're 766 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,280 experiencing isn't about them, it's about God. 767 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:28,000 This has nothing to do with me. This opposition is about God. 768 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:30,480 I'm the conduit of God's opposition. 769 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:33,240 That's really what you are. You're stepping into something 770 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:36,520 through your intimacy and then it turns into opposition and you 771 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:40,480 just embrace it and it extends itself through forgiveness. 772 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:44,200 So y'all, what is the fruit of forgiveness look like in our 773 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:48,160 life right now, where we are intimate with God, there will be 774 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:51,160 great forgiveness. Y'all, the Lord's Prayer has 775 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,400 forgive us our debts. That's not just a cool slogan we 776 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,360 should say every day. It should be the lifeblood of 777 00:41:56,360 --> 00:42:00,440 the the the Christian soil, if you will, is rooted in 778 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:03,200 forgiveness and that's what we're extending again. 779 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:04,720 We could write 5 sermons on that. 780 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:08,000 OK, second thing. So look like. 781 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,160 Jesus, you have to look like Steven. 782 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:13,640 Now, this is a plain word, so stay with me. 783 00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:16,560 To look like Jesus, you have to look like Steven. 784 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:22,240 I don't mean copy Jesus. By copying Steven to look like 785 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,120 Jesus, you have to look like Steven who's looking at Jesus. 786 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:28,360 You get what I'm saying? What makes Steven unique is what 787 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:33,320 he's looking at. In the Bible. 788 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:37,520 You shine not because of what you do, but what you're in 789 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:42,240 intimate proximity to. So Moses shines after coming 790 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:44,320 down the mountain because he was with God. 791 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:48,400 That makes sense. So the the reference to his face 792 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:51,480 being like that of an Angel isn't because he did some, it's 793 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:55,200 because of who he's living intimately with his look. 794 00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:57,880 Is what makes. Him look like that. 795 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,480 You want to live like Steven, You got to look like Steven. 796 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,280 Does that make sense? You got to look the way he 797 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:09,200 looked if you want to live the way he lived. 2nd. 798 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,720 Corinthians 318 It's a good one to write down. 799 00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:18,200 Go to Go to page 9 O 7 if you're in our Bibles. 2nd Corinthians 800 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:24,040 3. 18 Paul says it this way. I just. 801 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:25,000 I just want to. Drive home. 802 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:28,360 This is not a special gene that we don't have, OK? 803 00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:33,200 This is what it says and we all somebody say all is all like 804 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:38,080 most of the people in the church or it's all of them, OK, and we 805 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:42,120 all with unveiled face. Beholding. 806 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:45,840 The glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image 807 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:49,120 from 1° of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is 808 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,240 the Spirit. Y'all, I just want us to hear 809 00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:55,760 that you were created to look like Jesus because you're 810 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:59,880 looking at Jesus. And I think sometimes. 811 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,880 We hear the word and we feel burdened of what we're not 812 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:04,880 looking like. And I just want to say, look at 813 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,480 him and you will look like him. Look at him and you will look 814 00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:08,680 like him. Look at him. 815 00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:12,440 Y'all another way to ask? This would be like pay attention 816 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,800 to your fixation. Your look is what you're. 817 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:20,080 Fixed on fancy way to say is we become what we behold. 818 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:22,680 What you look at becomes your legacy. 819 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,440 You know, a lot of people, they, they, I hear a lot of talk about 820 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:29,000 legacy. Legacy is what the way we tend 821 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:32,280 to say is what you think you're building your stats, your, your 822 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,640 111 concern I have in our current cultural climate is we 823 00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:38,800 think we can measure our impact. This is not a bad thing. 824 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,640 This is a good thing, OK? It's just a fact. 825 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,160 Like when you do a a post online, you know your footprint 826 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:46,840 of how many people it's reaching down to the number of seconds 827 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,280 it's watched. But what it's doing is we think 828 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,200 subconsciously we live in a world where all can be 829 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,920 calculated. Y'all? 830 00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:57,200 That's just not how the Kingdom works. 831 00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:00,360 It's not We're going to talk. Next week about how the Lord 832 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,160 uses this and Saul's life becomes Paul and the persecution 833 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:06,320 of the church. All the things but Stevens 834 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:08,680 legacy. He had no idea this is changing 835 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:11,000 the world. His look was his legacy and it 836 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,720 changed the world. So y'all let me tell you 837 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:16,080 something. Your legacy isn't what you say 838 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,400 it is. Your legacy is what you looked 839 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:19,920 at with your life. Does that make sense? 840 00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:23,280 Your legacy is the type of soul you leave behind. 841 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:27,760 It's what you looked at, it's what you were fixated upon is 842 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,240 what will go forward. It's what God can use. 843 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:33,120 What you look at? Is what you leave behind. 844 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,840 You ever noticed people I. Mean anything you celebrate, 845 00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:40,360 anything you love, you begin to take on some of those 846 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:42,440 attributes. Athletes, you dress like them, 847 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:46,480 you wear the jerseys like we, we spouses get mannerisms like each 848 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:48,160 other, Siblings talk like each other. 849 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:49,480 I mean, it's just, it's just natural. 850 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:52,240 You become what you call, you become what you fixate on. 851 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:56,840 So what has captured your imagination and your attention? 852 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:01,240 What's got you right now and what's behind that? 853 00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:06,560 What promises are behind that? The statement has. 854 00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:08,240 Been true as long as it's been told. 855 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,400 Look at your looking, my friend, because you become what you 856 00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:15,120 behold. So y'all just want us to hear? 857 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:18,040 As we close, this is what you were made for. 858 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:23,360 You were made to look like Jesus by looking at Jesus. 859 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:26,560 You were made not to have a stiff neck but have a 860 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:29,200 circumcised heart for the spirit to indwell you. 861 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:32,440 And the good news y'all. What I'm so hype about this 862 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:37,200 series is our looking can come become somebody else's seeing. 863 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:40,480 Does that make sense? It is through you looking at him 864 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:44,080 that others will see him. That's the good. 865 00:46:44,080 --> 00:46:47,720 News is many will come to Christ if we look at Christ. 866 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:51,440 Our looking. Can become their seeing. 867 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,000 I see because somebody else saw and then show me what they saw. 868 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:59,680 Does that make sense? Nobody gets saved alone because 869 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:03,240 of what we tell them. We tell them because the ear is 870 00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:06,080 connected to the heart and they see That makes sense. 871 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:08,240 It's all so linked. That's why it's all so 872 00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:09,880 important. This is a show and tell game. 873 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:12,080 We end, you know what I mean? We got to show, we got to tell. 874 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:15,920 We show and we tell, but y'all, I just want you to dream of what 875 00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:18,760 God could do. Dream of what people's lives 876 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,360 could look like if they looked at Christ. 877 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:25,240 Dream of what generational sin patterns could be changed. 878 00:47:25,240 --> 00:47:26,320 I know you got them in your family. 879 00:47:26,320 --> 00:47:28,680 I got them in mine. I dream and God has started 880 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:31,200 something new and you Amen. Praise God. 881 00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:34,560 And also he wants to do it again and again and again and again 882 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:37,360 and again. And people as bad as they want 883 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:42,160 to can't be saved by going to Spotify in five ways to reduce 884 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:43,720 anxiety in your life. It's it's great. 885 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:45,760 They need to look at Christ, man. 886 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:50,280 That's what they need more than we need an efficient new life. 887 00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:52,560 We need the spirit to invade our life. 888 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:57,160 Just dream of what Christ could do if we look at him and the 889 00:47:57,160 --> 00:48:01,840 spirit invades. Let's pray our Father, we love 890 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:03,920 you. Thank you so much for this text. 891 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:06,320 Thank you so much for the sermon from Stephen. 892 00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:10,160 God, I pray for any who need a new heart. 893 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:12,720 I pray for them to turn their neck, to open their ear, to 894 00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:14,840 repent, to believe, to trust in God. 895 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:18,240 We are church who are in Christ. God, would you fill us with the 896 00:48:18,240 --> 00:48:20,440 Spirit? God, would you teach us to look 897 00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:23,360 at? Look at you, God, forgive us for 898 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:25,920 where we look at other things. Forgive us for other fixations. 899 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,400 Forgive us for just chasing legacies in the flesh. 900 00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:31,160 God give us. Hearts that love you. 901 00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:33,800 Eyes locked on you, we pray in Christ's name, Amen.