← Back to sermon library

[Music] welcome to everyone we have a few announcements before we begin the first is is that the pilot light went out on the furnace so if the Pew is exceptionally cold this morning there's a reason for that the furnace was or the light was relit and so hopefully it'll be warm by the time we leave this morning so that's why it's cold not sure how the weather is going to turn out today I've heard there's something of blizzard conditions in Harrison I don't know how it's going to affect Chilliwack but check your emails around 3:30 if the roads get icy and the conditions get worse we may not end up meeting here tonight most likely we will but check around 3:30 ish and then in terms of our service tonight we have the Lord's Supper and then there's a baptismal service on the 17th of February February 17th and our morning worship we have two people that have applied for baptism Kerry Lawson and then Katherine shook also Katherine and Ben are have applied for membership along with Kerry but Ben has already been baptized so we won't be baptizing him so that's the 17th of February if you do not already know these folks please get to know them and praise God for His goodness to us in adding to our church and then in terms of the meeting the Annual General Meeting we do that every February that'll be on February 23rd this month at 7 p.m. so February 23rd 7 p.m. in the fellowship hall that's our yearly Annual General Meeting and then the final announcement is that Christophe and Ashley van Marin are expecting a baby so we can rejoice in the kindness of our God I said I wouldn't say this but I saw Ashley when she was newly born it's odd to add her to the category of pregnant lady now so praise God for His goodness to us in the addition of children to our families well for our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to Psalm 99 Psalm 99 I'll begin reading in verse 1 the Lord reigns let the peoples tremble he dwells between the cherubim let the earth be moved the Lord is great in Zion and he is high above all the peoples let them praise your great and awesome name he is holy the Kings strength also loves justice you have established equity you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool he is holy Moses and Aaron were among his priests and Samuel was among those who called upon his name they called upon the Lord and he answered them he spoke to them in the cloudy pillar they kept his testimonies in the ordinance he gave them you answered them O Lord our God you were to them God who forgives though you took vengeance on their deeds exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy hill for the Lord our God is holy amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number 89 hymn number 89 will stand as we sing together [Music] well let us pray or blessed God and Father we gather together on this day to praise your great and glorious name we come through your son the mediator of the new covenant and we come in the power of the Holy Spirit and we pray that God Most High would be glorified and exalted and enthroned upon the praises of his people in this local gathering we thank you for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for the grace that has saved us and called us out of darkness and brought us into that marvelous light we thank you for the Sabbath day that that foretaste of our heavenly rest and we thank you that we get together in the presence of the God of heaven and earth the God who made the world the God who governs the world and the God who has redeemed his elect from it and we pray that you would indeed be pleased to bless our time as we gather together help us to ponder the implications of the psalm that we read three times the psalmist confesses that he is holy may we not forget this and may we approach you as a holy God may we come with reverence and with fear and with great joy because we know that you have received us because of the work of your son the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for the gospel of our salvation we thank you that Christ came down for us men and for our salvation that he took on our humanity that he identified with us in all points yet without sin that he lived in perfect obedience to the law of the of the Father that he died as a sacrifice and a substitute at Calvary's cross and that he was raised the third day how we thank you that he did this not for himself but for us how we benefit and how we prosper and how we profit from that finished work of the Savior and that we have received the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that avails with you God we praise you and we thank you for these blessings and we ask now that they would be an encouragement to us as we worship and we pray that they would be communicated to those still in their death dead in their trespasses and and that today would be the day of salvation may you extend mercy and grace may you indeed show pity upon sinners and may you cause them to see the the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him do this for your glory and do this for the good of those in this place and not only here but throughout our city throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth have conformity unto that law and wash us and purify us now in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we ask our Father that this would indeed be that which does encourage us to pursue holiness may it never be the case that we continue in sin that that grace may abound but may that grace of God promote in us the fear of God and that desire to no longer let sin reign and are in our members but to present our members as instruments of righteousness you answer and God do undertake on behalf of the physical needs in our church we pray for Linda dear money that you would continue to watch over her at this time that you would bless the the choice in terms of the the procedures with reference to her cancer treatment and we thank you for the way that you've upheld and the way that you have encouraged and the way that you have blessed thus far and we pray that you would continue to do so we ask that you'd be with the Fisher family at this time of Lawson and grief we know Lord God that you are sovereign over all things and nevertheless these things are difficult when we lose loved ones in this world and we pray your comfort Pete comfort the siblings comfort his mother and all those affected by this and God in the midst of this may you bring glory to your name and Lord God as they gather together next week to remember this man we pray the gospel would be preached and that sinners would be saved by Sovereign Grace Solomon said it's better to go to the house of mourning then to the house of feasting because the living will take heed we pray that would indeed be the case and that you would be glorified in this we ask as well for the salute Wade family that you would sustain and watch over them in this coming week many issues and many things in terms of this transition process we pray that you would crown it that you would bless it and that you had caused all things to work for good and the lives of these family this family we also ask that you would look with favor upon each and every one in our church struggling with spiritual issues and challenges and trials God we do confess the difficulty of living in a in a sinful world we confess having remaining corruption as a difficulty in and of itself but living in a world that is contrary to the God of heaven and earth a world where in righteousness is so sorely lacking a world where politicians are for infanticide a world where sodomy is openly promoted and where all manner of wickedness and lawlessness is openly promoted god we pray that you would uphold us that you would strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit and that you would help us to persevere by your grace and for your glory we ask God that you would put it in the hearts of men in high places those in responsible positions of authority and the in the government she would put the fear of God in their hearts we know father it's a it's a wretched thing for a man to carry out his tasks completely oblivious to the god of absolute unrivaled sovereignty and wholeness so we pray that you would put hearts and the govern in a way that is consistent and responsible to the Word of the Living God and if they will not bow the knee we pray that you would restrain them that you would cause them not to continue to engage in the sorts of unlawful behavior we see so openly promoted we ask that in your wrath you would remember mercy we pray God that in this nation there would be revival among the Churches of Christ and there would be awakening among those dead in their trespasses and sins do this for the glory of God Almighty and bless our brothers and sisters in Surrey and in Vernon may these churches know the nearness and the presence of God as their good and may you look with favor upon them as they gather together save sinners there and hear and edify your people through the preaching of your word and we pray these things through G as Christ our Lord amen well you can turn in your Trinity Psalter that's the red book to Psalm 103 Psalm 103 will sing verses 1 to 13 using a familiar tune [Music] [Music] we can turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel according to John where in John chapter 7 for our scripture reading this morning we'll pick up in the latter half of the chapter beginning in verse 25 so John 7 beginning in verse 25 now some of them from Jerusalem said is this not he whom they seek to kill but look he speaks boldly and they say nothing to him do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ however we know where this man is from but when the Christ comes no one knows where he is from then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple saying you both know me and you know where I am from and I have not come of myself but he who sent me is true whom you do not know but I know him for I am from him and he sent me therefore they sought to take him but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come and many of the people believed in him and said when the Christ comes will he do more signs than these which this man has done the Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning him and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take in then jesus said to them I shall be with you a little while longer and then I go to him who sent me you will seek me and not find me and where I am you cannot come then the Jews said among themselves where does he intend to go that we shall not find him does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks what is this thing that he said you will seek me and not find me and where I am you cannot come on the last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out saying if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water but this he spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in him would receive for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified therefore many from the crowd when they heard the saying said truly this is the profit others said this is the Christ but some said well the Christ come out of Galilee has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem where David was so there was a division among the people because of him now some of them wanted to take him but no one laid hands on him then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them why have you not brought him the officers answered no man ever spade a spoke like this man then the Pharisees answered them are you also deceived have any of have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in him but this crowd that does not know the law is accursed Nicodemus he who came to Jesus by night being one of them said to them does their law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing they answered and said to him are you also from Galilee search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee amen well you see their animosity toward the Lord Jesus Christ is reflected in their ignorance of the Bible on the one hand they say well the scripture doesn't tell us where he's going to come from later they acknowledge that the scripture does in fact tell them where he's going to come from as well they say no prophet has ever come from Galilee Jonah was a prophet Jonah was a man who hailed from Galilee so these men were ignorant of their own scriptures and as a result they were ignorant of who Jesus Christ was they did know however that no one ever spoke like this man he had the popular support or rather he appealed to the populace but the chief priests the Pharisees the scribes the the religious leadership in Israel had a great animosity toward him they despised him they totally rejected him and it's evident here that that tension is building it will culminate ultimately in his arrest and in his offered being offered up and delivered up ultimately to Pilate who would give the kill order and execute the Lord Jesus Christ the one thing I want us to direct our attention to is the the Lord Jesus ministry here notice in verse 37 it says on that the last day that that great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out saying if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water now subsequent to this particular scene there have been those in the history of the church that it sort of looked askew upon those who would tell centers to come to the Lord Jesus Christ other words you can't tell people to believe you can't tell people to repent it's the grace of God it's the gift of God therefore you can't plead with sinners to come to the Lord Jesus Christ but that's precisely what Jesus Christ does that's precisely the path that Jesus takes here Jesus knows who the elect are Jesus knows who it is that will be saved Jesus knows this according to his divinity but according to his humanity on that last great day of the feast that day when Jerusalem was heavily populated with all kinds of sinners Jesus cries out he doesn't just say it in a weak little feeble voice he's not one of the chatty preachers that has holes in his genes a latte in his hand and his hand in his the other hand in his pocket he cries out to sinners Jerusalem sinners a city that is in end uh-uh-uh-uh-uh has animosity towards him by and large and he says if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink that's gospel preaching gospel preaching is seen in Matthew 11 when Jesus says all you who are weary and heavy-laden come to me it's the responsibility of the Christian pulpit to call sinners to believe in Christ and repentance unto life and it's your responsibility if you've not believed and you've not repented to believe and to repent don't hide behind God's sovereignty don't hide behind the doctrine of election don't hide behind predestination all of which is absolutely and certainly true but the call of the gospel isn't consider whether or not you haven't your elect of God the gospel call is to believe on Jesus to close with Christ if you're thirsty come to him and he will give you living water if you're hungry come to him and he will satisfy every need because he is the bread of life the Lord Christ didn't shrink back from offering the Lord Christ in terms of gospel preaching the pulpit must do so not in an Armenian or in a Pelagian way not appealing to the goodness of the wisdom or the ingenuity of man not suggesting that somehow sinners have free will in order to choose for Jesus but to set forth the truth that Christ lived Christ died Christ was raised the third day believe on him and you will have everlasting life that's what we see emphasized on that last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and he cried out saying if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink now in terms of the the metaphor the thirst here means you long for something not just physical it's not just water the idea is is that Christ satisfies the need of man and your need is righteousness your need is placement with God your need is acceptance rather by God and the only way to satisfy that need it's not through your moral reform it's not through your good works your alleged good works but it's through what Christ has accomplished senators believing in him receive forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with God so if you thirst don't tarry don't wait don't try to argue yourself out of it flee rather to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ well let us pray father we thank you for Christ we thank you for these things that we see so clearly displayed in the Christian gospel and we would pray that all over the earth today thirsting sinners would come to that one who is able to satisfy thirsting sinners in this place would come to that one who is able to satisfy that one who does give the forgiveness of sins that one who does give a righteousness that avails with God we pray that you would do this for your glory do this for the exaltation of Christ and do this for the good of souls and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord well for our final him before the preaching will sing number 489 to a familiar tune 489 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts we are in Acts chapter 7 Acts chapter 7 Stephens defense before the Sanhedrin or the council the Sanhedrin of the religious council religious and political council was made up of 71 members it was led by the high priest and here after the charges are formally brought to them concerning Stephens offense the high priest questions him in verse one and then Stephen gives his defence it's a very lengthy defense it's the longest speech recorded in the book of Acts and for that reason I thought it would be helpful to sort of do an overview of it if we just jumped right into verses 1 to 8 concerning the call of Abram we might let a mess sort of the significance of the speech as a whole so I want to look at the significance of the speech as a whole this morning and then in subsequent weeks look at the particular parts and remind us as how those parts contribute to the whole but I'll actually read beginning back in chapter 6 at verse 8 and we'll read to chapter 7 verse 8 so Acts chapter 6 beginning in verse 8 and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and signs among the people then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen Cyrenians Alexandra ins and those from Silesia and Asia disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom in the spirit by which he spoke then they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and they came upon him seized him and brought him to the council they also set up false witnesses who said this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us and all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him saw his face is the face of an angel then the high priest said are these things so and he said brethren and fathers listen the god of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran and said to him get out of your country and from your relatives and come to a land that I will show you then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran and from there when his father was dead he moved him to this land in which you now dwell and God gave him no inheritance in it not even enough to set his foot on but even when Abraham had no child he promised to give it to him for a possession and to his descendants after him but God spoke in this way that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land and that they would bring them into bondage you know press them for hundred years and the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge said God and after that they shall come out and serve me in this place then he gave him the Covenant of circumcision and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day and Isaac begat Jacob and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs Amen well let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word we thank you for this defense of Stephen and we would pray now that your spirit would help us to understand how this functions in the book of Acts as a whole how it functions in terms of his defense before this religious council we ask again that you would forgive us for our sins and unrighteousness we pray for the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit that we would be led into truth that we would appreciate that truth and that that truth would affect us and it would further conform us unto the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and that it would be the means by which you call sinners out of their darkness today into the marvelous light of the Christian gospel and we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ amen well as I said this is a very long speech that Stephen gives it starts here in verse 2 and goes all the way to verse 53 and it sort of focuses on key men throughout Israel's history and our similarities between this speech and and things you see from Moses in the book of Deuteronomy certain Psalms function in a similar way I think Jesus does this in a parabolic way in Matthew's Gospel when he traces the history of Israel to show how they treated as a whole the prophets that were sent to that also the Apostle Paul later in Acts chapter 13 in a synagogue in pacinian Antioch will do a similar thing it's a tracing of redemptive history the history of Israel and the key persons involved sort of or rather so that he can answer the charges that had been laid against him so I want to look first at the question of the high priests in verse one and then secondly the defense offered by Stephen the defense offered by Stephen and again the overview we'll get into the specific parts in the coming weeks but notice first of all the question it says in verse 1 then the high priests said are these things so this is Caiaphas the high priests this is the same one instrumental in the trial of our Lord Jesus Christ anyone that has presided over the Sanhedrin when the Apostle have bumped into them or when the Apostles rather were arrested by them back in acts 4 and again in Acts chapter 5 its Caiaphas the high priest that is presiding over these particular things and when he says to him are these things so he means the charges that have been brought remember there was first as informal allegation brought against Stephen and then they arrest him they seize him and they bring him to the camp of the council they bring him to the Sanhedrin and there by false witness according to verse 13 they formalized the charges against Stephen so with reference to the informal notice in verse 11 in chapter 6 Stephen is preaching he's full of faith he's full of power he is doing great wonders and signs among the people he then is confronted by these various men in a synagogue and notice how they respond in verse 11 it says they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God now they're not suggesting that Moses is more important than God when he says or when they say he spoke blasphemous words against Moses that's blasphemy against God God used Moses as we proceed in the narrative we learn the specific charges involved speaking ill of Moses and the law and speaking ill of the temple of God and that's how it's formally brought to the council according to verse 13 notice they also set up false witnesses who said this man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law so that's their issue so to speak ill of Moses means to speak ill of Moses in the law to speak ill of the holy place means to speak ill of the temple of God so these are the two primary charges and they offer up as proof verse 14 they say in the hearing of the Council of the Sanhedrin they say in verse 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us now as we saw in our studies in God the Gospel of Matthew the the opposers of Christ misquote Christ Christ never said I will destroy this temple but rather he says destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up so he is miss quoted and Stephen is as well plus they misinterpret John and John too tells us that he was speaking about the temple of his body he wasn't talking about Herod's temple he wasn't talking about the Sankat temple who's talking about the temple of his body being raised up on the third day so he misquote both Jesus and Steven and they misinterpret both Jesus and Steven and remember that Luke has already told us that these are false charges as we enter into Acts chapter 7 we have divine commentary that Stephen is innocent it's the council that's wrong it's the Council that's in error we are specifically told by Luke that they brought false brought these charges up via these false witnesses it's the same sort of scene that you have in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 26 the Sanhedrin desperately sought out tests monie that would be able to indict the Lord Jesus Christ so they drum up false witnesses to testify in that way and the same sort of thing is happening here with Stephen the same sort of thing will happen throughout the history of the church in fact some commented after we looked at these charges brought against Stephen in Acts chapter 6 that it sounded like I was describing a particular political party well brethren things haven't changed there is nothing new Under the Sun the particular tactics employed here at the end of chapter six are the same sorts of things we see being done today it starts by a secret inducement its seed starts by a bit of instigation this guy is a troublemaker this guy's got problems this guy's got issues and then it starts to spread beyond that secret inducement or instigation to crowds of people and we were able to gin them up and get them to ultimately cry away with them away with him crucify him and then it ends before the council and the false witnesses are actually being treated as if they're speaking the truth Luke tells us the problem in act 7 is not Stephen the issue in act 7 is the Sanhedrin there is this transfer of power happening right before our eyes it's no longer the Sanhedrin that exercise religious power in Israel it is the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ under his headship under his lead under his direction that are the the overseers of the Israel of God the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ now let's see how Stephen answers these particular charges in the first place notice in verse 2 he says brethren and fathers is that wonderful he's going to end the sermon by calling them stiff-necked and uncircumcised of art telling them you always resist the Holy Spirit the way your fathers did so to you but initially he starts out very respectful brethren and fathers brethren and terms that were all Israelites fathers in deference to these council members and notice he calls God the God of our father Abraham in other words Stephen and these men share a history together but Stephen Andes man took completely different forts in the road at the coming of Jesus Christ these men rejected Christ and Stephen embraced Christ so that history is in fact shared and as Stephen will so able he demonstrate that history culminates that history is realized that history is fulfilled by Jesus Christ so remember the two bring Moses runs from verses 17 to 44 but notice the rejection of Moses in verse 25 for he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand there was this misunderstanding on the part of Israel concerning Moses their deliverer concerning Moses their judge notice in verse 27 but he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away say who made you a ruler and a judge over us do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday and again we're gonna get into the particulars the subunits and are these subsets and get into the nuts and bolts here but suffice it to say God made him a deliverer God made him the mediator of the Old Covenant God made him Israel's had in leader and then notice again in verse 35 in terms of their rejection of Moses verse 35 this Moses whom they rejected saying who made you a ruler and a judge is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush one man Thompson says a recurring theme in the speech is the rejection of God's messengers this is particularly emphasized in regard to Moses as the rejection of Moses is highlighted three times it's not only with Moses what happens with Joseph according to verse nine his brothers hate him his brothers despise him his brothers sell him into slavery what Stevens point they got it wrong in the past maybe you've got it wrong in the present they got it wrong with reference to Moses perhaps you've gotten it wrong with reference to the one that Moses wrote about you see Stephen is defending himself Stephen is defending Christianity Stephen is presenting a cogent argument in terms of the two specific charges that have been laid against him notice as well that Stephen highlights something that Peter does before him in Acts chapter 3 Moses wrote about Jesus look at verse 37 this is the Moses who said to the children of Israel the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren him you shall hear turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 18 that is a quote from Deuteronomy chapter 18 it is a quote concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Deuteronomy 18 is an announcement a messianic promise that Jesus Christ is going to come and so Stephen says that this Moses this one you're claiming that I opposed is actually the one who announced the very Christ that I worship he is the one that wrote of him I think Stephen is saying I'm not the one who missed the Old Testament you're the ones who missed the Old Testament I'm not the one who missed the transition or trajectory in redemptive history but rather it's the religious counsel you wretched unbelieving Jews you christ-rejecting jews you're the ones who have missed everything by a long shot now Deuteronomy 18 is most instructive in the first place you need to understand the context with reference to Deuteronomy 18 verses 1 to 8 the provision for priests and Levites is spelled out in other words Israel is going to be a nation that has a priesthood Israel is going to be a nation that in terms of its religious observance under God is going to have a priesthood and those priests have to eat those priests have to wear shoes those priests have to have warmth those priests cannot live on love and fresh air so verses 1 to 8 specifies that you feed the priests you clothe the priests you put shoes on the priests kids you give them the sorts of things they need in order to function as normal human being and then as well there is a prohibition against following the abominations of the nations in verses 9 to 14 especially occultism especially occultism sometimes people ask the question why does God have a problem with the occult because it's an abomination and sometimes people think well it's just useless it's it's it's worthless it doesn't work I don't believe God commands us to stay away from it because it doesn't work he commands us to stay away from it because it's an abomination you see that scene in 1st Samuel chapter 28 that Witch of Endor called up something again it's not the case that it didn't work it's that it's wicked and violent evil Israel was not supposed to join the nations around them seeking out those occultic means of instruction rather Israel was to be a people not only with priests but a people with prophets and the prophets spoke the Word of the Living God the prophets spoke the mind and will of God stay away from the Ouija boards stay away from the witches stay away from the tea leaves stay away from the lines on the palms stay away from the fortune tellers but rather go to the prophet of God who speaks the truth of God those things are not condemned because they don't work those things are condemned because they're a vile transgression against the God of heaven and earth that's why scripture says suffer not a witch to live again we freaked out at that reality and we say horror of Horrors how could that ever be well brethren it is an affront to the God who speaks notice as well there is this promise concerning the prophet in Israel so there's this prohibition against occultism and then there's this prophet a promise rather concerning the prophetic ministry in verses 15 to 19 notice verse 15 the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your myths from your brethren him you shall hear isn't that what stephen quotes there in acts 7 at verse 37 to show that moses promised the coming of a particular profit in fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 1815 now notice he goes on verse 17 and the Lord said to me what they have spoken is good I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him and then there's a warning that if you do not heed him you will be cut off verse 19 it shall be that whoever will not hear my words which he speaks in my name I will require it of him and then there's a warning against false prophecy in verses 20 into 22 they say well how do how do they know that that had to do with Jesus Christ well there's a whole lot of reasons we know that it had to do with Jesus Christ one of them is Matthew 17 remember on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter James and John John saw the glory of Jesus Christ they saw him shining and beautiful and trance transfigured before their eyes God the Father says this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him just like Moses says here hear him Peter interprets it the same way in Acts chapter 3 in fact in our reading in John chapter 7 what's one of the questions the people were asking could this be the Prophet well what prophet are they asking about the prophet of Deuteronomy 18 the Prophet promised by Moses the Prophet that as redemptive history moves forward is identified as Messiah or Christ the one who would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah the one who would be glorious and wondrous and most high and excellent you see stephen is telling the Sanhedrin that it's not Stephen that has a problem with Moses but it's the Sanhedrin that has a problem with Moses the modern Jew today has a problem with Moses now here's what people said well you can't attack other religions I'm not attacking them in terms of ethnicity I'm attacking them in terms of theology they're wrong they've missed Moses main point just like Jesus says in John 5 you say that you believe Moses but if you believed Moses you believe me because Moses wrote about me that's the point and this is what Stephen is communicating in this particular instance now notice back in Acts chapter 7 the indictment in terms of this particular charge I think the indictment of verses 51 and 52 seals the deal notice he rebukes them in verse 51 you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears I think in terms of homiletics there's something very appreciate something to appreciate here sermon that can start off with brethren and fathers can end up with you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart it's the reality that when a people fail to to bow the knee to the king of kings and the Lord of lords at that point they're no longer brethren and fathers they're stiff necked they're uncircumcised they have they have demonstrated their consistency with the opposers of Moses and this is Stephens point with reference to his sermon notice in verse 51 you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your father's did so do you see what I'm saying when we overview the sermon we asked the question does Stephen defend himself he most certainly does he is not anti Moses because the council is anti Moses he is not against the law of God because the council is against the law of God these are passages are rather there are a whole host of passages that sound just like this in the old testament you stiff-necked you see that in the book of exodus you see it in the book of Nehemiah and why stiff-necked why is that it's an interesting sort of convention isn't it would we use that once in a while I don't know how often look well he's stubborn or he's hard-hearted or he's he's a stubborn stubborn minded person that that's what stiff-necked means it means to be stubborn it means to be with causa Trent it means to dig in your heels and say no way it's very intriguing again I think I mentioned the book by GK Beal on idolatry we become what we worship it's a biblical theology of idolatry and one of the things he points out is that Israel becomes like the gods it worships and this stiff nekkid this reflects that what do we do with an animal we put it put a yoke on it why because it's stubborn we have to put the yoke on it so that we can guide it and move it and direct it to do the particular tasks that we want what was one of the things that Israel worship they worship Cavs in fact this particular passage alludes to that or deals with that when Moses is up on Horeb dealing and communing with God what are the people say to Aaron make us gods that we can worship and what does Aaron produce he produces calves psalm 115 tells us that the idolaters becomes like that which he worships so Israel collectively or collectively had taken on the characteristics of these animals that were stubborn these animals that were unbroken these animals that would dig in their feet and not be moved and not be directed the the very gods that they worship they had taken on those very characteristics that's why the the prophet Isaiah upbraids that you have ice but you don't see you have ears but you don't hear how are the prophets or how does the psalmist Mock the prop of the the idols in Psalm 150 he says they have eyes but they don't see they have ears but then on here damned noses but they don't smell their mouths but they don't speak what happened all those who worship them will become like them so this accusation or rather indictment of them being stiff-necked is not new in Israel's history and then in terms of uncircumcised of heart and ears the Prophet Jeremiah uses that convention as he upbraids the people of Judah in his time and this resisting of the holy spirit that's not only in Ephesians 5 do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation but be filled with the holy spirit or back in Ephesians 4 and grieve not the Holy Spirit by whom you've been sealed for the day of redemption that's an Isaiah 63 they grieve the Holy Spirit in the wilderness so P Stephen is pulling from their own history not only the record of their abuse in terms of Moses but the same sorts of characteristics displayed by Israel that are still being displayed by Israel now in rejecting Jesus they had rejected Moses in rejecting Jesus they had thrown away the Old Testament in rejecting Jesus they had missed everything and that's Stephens point very specifically notice in verse 52 which of the prophets did your father's not persecute and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one you see what he says there they killed the very prophets that were talking about Jesus they killed the very prophets that had written under inspiration Holy Spirit and had preached the people of Israel and Judah that this Jesus Christ was coming that he was going to save his people from their sins that he would be the champion and now notice what Stephen says with reference to his errors they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers you see he's turned the tables as indeed fact brethren when we see Jesus standing at the right hand of God in the next section I think the emphasis is upon the fact that there is a trial but it's not Stephen who's in the dock there is a trial but it's not Stephen who's defending it's them they're guilty they aren't wretched they aren't lawless they have no regard whatsoever for the law of Moses or the very temple of God that's Stevens Point now let's look secondly at that part of his defense in terms of the temple of God the first thing he does is shows that God's presence is not confined to an earthly temple see what happened in Israel was this God said build this temple David wanted to but David wasn't allowed to David was a man of war he had blood on his hands that's not to be interpreted as if David was a bad man he had blood on his hands because God the LORD commanded him to God the Lord said David you're the man that's going to institute the boundaries in Israel you're the man that's going to extend this Empire you're the man that is going to defeat the enemy surrounding Israel so that's what was his task he was a man of war but after David's reign there was a season of peace so his son called Solomon which means peace was the house builder or the temple builder for God again when they built that temple and that's what's intriguing Solomon himself recognized that the temple couldn't contain the the very God of heaven but when they built that initially it was good God manifested his glory God showed us his approbation of this particular place it wasn't that it contained God but it represented the presence of God and God showed that by what was called the Shekinah glory but nevertheless what happened the people turned the temple into an idol it's an amazing thing with us as creatures God could give us good things good things lawfully good and we'll still make idols of them it's an it's an amazing thing isn't it money it's not a bad thing the people said well the love of money is the root of all evil it's the love of money not money money doesn't hop into a car money doesn't go out engage in drive-by shootings money doesn't abort babies money doesn't commit euthanasia money is neutral it's what the sinner with it does so that make sense so you see we take something good marriage relationships children parents good things and we make idols of that well this is what happened in Israel's history they concluded that insofar as the temple stood gods pleased with us now let's see how Stephen addresses this Israel in the first place he indicates that the temple or rather the God of heaven and earth is not confined in temples the first reference is found in verse 2 notice and he said brethren and fathers listen the god of glory he's not a blasphemer he speaks of as the god of glory but notice what he says in verse 2 the god of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran you see if the Jews argument was the temple is the location of God or the temple is the dwelling place of God you have to consider with this fact that our father Abraham saw God in Mesopotamia I mean not even temple and I realize it wasn't built yet but that's his point God doesn't need a temple to appear to his people God doesn't need a box to reveal himself the temple was there for a time it function in a particular capacity and once again the Sanhedrin and unbelieving Israel missed the point completely but God appears not just in apart from temple but even in Mesopotamia in foreign soil he's not even in Judah in this particular instance notice the promise of God's meeting with Israel in Sinai verse 7 the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge and said God and after that they shall come out and serve me we're in this place Sinai yeah not Judah Jerusalem my temple but God is able to meet with his people in the wilderness notice the presence of God with Moses in the flames of the burning bush in the wilderness of Sinai notice in verse 30 verse 30 and when forty years had passed an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire and a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai when Moses saw a marvel at the sight as he drew near to observe the voice of the Lord came to him saying I am the God of your father's the God of Abraham the god of Isaac and the God of Jacob and Moses trembled and dare not look then the Lord said to him take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them and now come I will send you to Egypt you see this what he's doing that doesn't need an earthly temple he doesn't need the temple made with hands he's not dependent upon that you become like Bay lists you become like Dagon you become like those who have this temple and you believe that God resides there and therefore you have made that very temple an idol you've missed the point God is the god of glory powers majesty and he does reveal himself in the temple but he is not restricted to the revelation of himself in the temple notice the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness verse 44 our fathers had the tabernacle of wildon the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness as he appointed instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen now for those who don't read the Old Testament you know what I'm gonna say next right you should read the Old Testament but for those who don't or perhaps you missed this spot the tabernacle is simply a place that means dwelling and the tabernacle was given by God to Israel before they were established in the promised land it was a portable tent and within that tent there was a room called the holy place and then another room called the Holy of Holies that's where Israel went through the sacrificial rituals that's where they would bring the animals they'd cut the animals throats they'd give the animals to the priests the priests would then divvy up the animals he burned some of it there would be all these there's all these rules for sacrifice well the tabernacle was a portable sort of a thing now once they get stationed in the land as I've said David wanted to build a house for God he didn't like the fact that he was living in a palace David was and God was still living in a tent in 2nd Samuel 7 David says this very thing I want to build a house for God and that's when God says no I'm gonna build a house for you a dynasty a dynasty of gangs and there's going to be one son that comes from you that's gonna have eternal reign an eternal Kingdom that refers to Jesus Christ but under Solomon in the promised land in the city of Jerusalem they build the temple this is a permanent structure and again the concept or the idea is that God dwells or meets with his people there that's the place where they sacrifice that's the play they worship that's the place where they praised so that's what Stephen is referring to when he speaks about this Tabernacle in the wilderness in other words Wow Israel's in the wilderness God meets with them it's a beautiful and a wonderful thing doesn't have to be the temple the stabilized temple in Jerusalem notice as well this reference to the tabernacle brought into the Promised Land in verse 45 which our fathers having received it in turn also brought with Joshua into the land a possessed by the Gentiles whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David and here's David's request verse 46 who found favor before the before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob and then we see the construction of the temple under Solomon verse 47 so you see while Stephen is giving a history of Israel there's a point there's a method there's a reality there's a an emphasis again his argument is not I have a problem with the temple of God his argument is you have a problem with the temple of God because the very purpose for which there was a temple has come and that purpose you betrayed and you murdered in other words the temple should have never become an idol because the temple was simply a signpost pointing forward to the Lord Jesus Christ and now that the Lord Jesus Christ has come to continue to be attached to this temple has become idolatry for you it has become an abomination for you that which God gave you for good you have twisted it and perverted it and misused it and abused it that's Stevens Point notice the limitation of temples with hands verse 48 however the most high does not dwell in temples made with ants as the Prophet says yeah this shouldn't have been new information for the council they shouldn't have said well we never knew what isaiah 66:1 and 2 meant but that's precisely what Stephen says to them now notice his quote from Isaiah in verse 49 heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool what house will you build for me says the Lord or what is the place of my rest has my hand not made all these things again Solomon himself at the dedication of the temple which God willing will look at tonight he says but will God indeed dwell on the earth behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you how much less this temple which I have built so what's Steven saying your attachment to the temple and your rejection of Jesus Christ has put you in concert with the same persons that rejected Moses the same persons that killed the prophets your problem with Jesus reflects your problem with the temple and your problem with Moses Thompson again in his most helpful book to biblical theology of the book of Acts it's called the acts of the risen Lord Jesus he says one of the points Stephen makes in his response to the charge that he is against the temple is that God's presence has never been limited to the temple or even to the land of Israel Stephen gives a kind of theological geography lesson from Israel's history to his audience and GK Beale mentions this he says the reference to Isaiah indicates that Stephen did not believe that Solomon's building of the temple was a sufficient fulfillment of the divine promise that a son of David would build God a temple now if that was very confusing here's what bill said in 2nd Samuel 7 God promised that a son of David would build a house for God the fact that Isaiah writes what Isaiah writes indicates that the people of God at Isaiah's time knew that the promised son of second Samuel 7 was not Solomon it wasn't him Solomon himself recognized that when he confessed that that this house this this temple cannot contain the God of heaven and earth so in other words if David understood that if Solomon understood this if Isaiah understood this how come the council the religious leaders that religious in israel's history at this particular time missed the point steven is showing affinity with david and solomon and Isaiah and Stephen is showing that it's the council that has a problem with David and Solomon and Isaiah it's not Steven that's missed the mark in his reception of Jesus Christ it's them who have missed the mark in their rejection of Jesus Christ that makes them haters of Moses and haters of the temple of God it really is a an ingenious argument that Stephen weaves together but let's just see a little bit more in terms of this temple theme notice the idolatry of Israel at the time of Moses verse 38 notice in verse 38 this is he who was in the church literally in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on mount sinai and with our fathers the one who received the living Oracle's to give to to give to us whom our fathers would not obey but reject it and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt saying to Aaron make us gods to go before us as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him and they made a calf in those days offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands then God turned and gave them up to worship the hosts of heaven as it is written in the book of the prophets did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness o house of Israel you also took up the tabernacle of moloch and the star of your god remphan images which you made the worship and I will carry you away beyond Babylon but for those of you who weren't here two weeks ago with reference to the sermon on abortion Molech was Planned Parenthood back in those days Bullock was the God who had arms outstretched scanning in the fiery flames who the worshipers would throw their children into its arms and of course they bounced out into the fire and be consumed he said well you can't say that that's a horrific image and that's a bad thing well that's exactly what it was see what Israel had become in those days they had become idolaters rejecting Moses they turn to the gods of the heathen around them what Stevens point rejecting Jesus the one that Moses wrote of has reduced you to idolatry in other words this attachment to the temple this Craven desire for the temple this external formalistic rote approach to who you say is your God has actually become an exercise in idolatry again one fellow makes this observation I think very well he says as Moses was rejected and the people's worship became blasphemous thereby so with Christ rejected the temple worship becomes a blasphemy so you have to understand that if you're gonna ever understand the book of Hebrews what's happening in hebrews hebrews is written to jewish christians prior to the destruction of the temple in AD 70 those Jewish Christians are being tempted to turn back from Jesus Christ to go to the temple well what's the author in the book of Hebrews saying he's not saying Tabernacle bad temple bad he said those things were types and shadows until the time of reformation came now that Jesus is here to go to the temple is to go backward and redemptive history the illustration I always use when I'm with my grandkids I don't want to look at pictures on an iPhone I've got the kid I can hold them I can squeeze them I can smell them I can kiss them I can do all of that all look at the iPhone picture when I'm sitting here on Thursday morning this is what the book of Hebrews is saying you have Christ you have the substance you have everything in him why would you go back to the picture why would you abandon the very substance for the types of the shadows a lot of consistency between Paul who I think wrote Hebrews and Stephen in terms of his redemptive history in Acts chapter 7 the ones who had a problem with the temple in first century Israel were not the Apostles because they understood that the temple functioned for a time and that the temple was fully realized and fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ it really is beautiful but but let's just follow his argument one step further and then we'll close I know this might have been a bit of a different sermon for most of you but but I think to get this sort of overview will help us to make heads or tails of the parts as we move our way through it and you might say well doesn't this overview just do act 7 no no no no and you're not getting off the hook that easy if we got time to actually look at the Old Testament through the lens of Acts 7 we're going to look at the Old Testament through the through the lens of Acts 7 but but notice now how Stephen ups the ante he increases the pressure that there's no mistaking what he's doing in this part of his sermon notice specifically in verse 55 well first 54 it says when they heard these things they were they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth says the same thing in acts 2 on the day of Pentecost they were cut to the heart then in NASH at steet Peter with their teeth they said men and brethren what must we do and there they are directed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ be baptized in his name for the remission of sins that's not the case here they're cut to the heart but now they're gnashing their teeth at Stephen they are taking unto themselves the the authority to execute a criminal that they don't possess this is probably just a couple of years after the the crucifixion of Jesus we're not talking about a generation later the book of Acts we might be around 80 30 36 right now we're where Stephen is actually martyred so three years prior they well even probably less than that the prior they didn't have the the lawful authority in the Roman Empire to execute Jesus that's why they had to use Pilate that's why Pilate had to be you know applied to and why they had to present their case before Pilate because they didn't possess the lawful authority that doesn't even concern them now they understand Stephens sermon even up to this point but is only gonna make it that much worse for them in his dying words but at this point they are so angry they are so frustrated they nashit him with their teeth they drive him outside of the city and they execute him with stones which again is the lawful execution of awful punishment for blasphemy but that is not what happened in the case of Stephen they're the blasphemers but now notice what Stephen does verse 55 he being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God in other words Stephen looked up and saw the temple Stephen looked up and saw the temple he's filled with the spirit he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand wasn't that one of the reasons for temple in Tabernacle was the revelation of the glory of God Exodus chapter 40 that that glory cloud descends upon the tabernacle such that nobody could even enter in until the sacrificial system is given in Leviticus one to nine that glory of God descends it's referred to as the Shekinah glory not in Scripture it's a lone word it applies first Kings chapter 8 the glory of God comes down upon the temple Stephen now filled with the spirit sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand Jesus standing there is another affront to these religious leaders again Thompson makes the observation in pointing to Jesus therefore Stephen points away from the temple not just because God is bigger than the temple but because in the kingdom of God which Jesus inaugurated Jesus is the one who fulfills the goals of the temple gotta keep that in mind in fact when we get to the New Jerusalem what do we learn in Revelation 21 22 this is a beautiful thing that is consistent with what we see here John says I saw no temple in it the New Jerusalem for the Lord God Almighty the lamb are its temple see why the dispensational desire for a rebuilt temple is going backwards in redemptive history it has more affinity with the Sanhedrin than it does with the Christian Church I'm not saying their God hating rebels that are going to hell but I'm saying they have misunderstood the purpose of temple temple points us to temple directs us to temple shows us Jesus now that Jesus is here we don't go back to temple we have churches that people come to and we worship God the Father through the sign by the power of the Holy Spirit doesn't Jesus teach the Samaritan woman the very same thing and in John chapter 4 after he says go and call your husband she says I don't have a husband he says you're right you don't have a husband you've had several and the one that you have is not your husband she says let's talk about worship Jesus says ok let's talk about worship our fathers say we're supposed to worship here and eugen say you're supposed to worship in Jerusalem what's the truth he says the woman of the time is coming when the worshipers of God will worship in spirit and truth it won't be connected to Temple in Jerusalem it'll be wherever the blood-bought people of God are gathered together approaching the father through the son by the power of the Holy Spirit see what we find in this particular passage of acts 7 is Stephens response completely consistent with everything that's gone before it now he steps up the air he steps it up even more so what does Stephen do with reference to Jesus he prays to him again I don't think worth they think away the Sanhedrin would so I'm gonna try to tell you you should what's the temple the temple is the place of sacrifice but it's also a house of prayer for all the nations that Jesus is called or that Stephen is calling upon Jesus shows that the locus has changed it's not the temple where one goes to pray but it's to Jesus Christ that one goes to pray and then notice as well what Stephen does sounding very similar to his master when he says to Christ doon charge them with this sin again if you thought temple you would think forgiveness of sins that was the place where Israel would go they'd take the animal out of their flock they'd cut its throat they'd present it to the priests and there would be a pronouncement of the forgiveness of sins that great day of atonement that happens once a year according to Leviticus chapter 16 the high priest takes his hands he puts them on the head of the scapegoat and he confesses the sins of Israel and he drives that goat out into the wilderness that was a beautiful illustration of what we sing today my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin of my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord and yet now Stephen is bypassing the earthly temple and going right to Christ who is the fulfillment of Temple and asking him to extend the forgiveness of sins to these very wretches that are about to put him to death that Stephens defense he deals with the charge that he's anti Moses he deals with the charge that he's anti temple well in conclusion we have to appreciate the gravity of the charges and the shrewdness of the Sanhedrin now I suggested earlier that they misinterpreted the Old Testament but they certainly haven't misinterpreted politics they certainly haven't a misinterpreted power politics in power religion if we can create the the understanding that Stephen and therefore Christianity is anti Moses and anti temple well it'll be very easy to dispatch Christianity you see that anything they weren't fools they weren't dummies when it came to try to consolidate their power they understand what's happening again not in terms of theological reflection upon the text of Scripture and the promises of God in the Old Testament but they saw that Jesus was a threat to their leadership during his earthly ministry they are rightly concluding in perceiving that the Apostles are a threat to their leadership through their ministry of preaching and teaching and now here's this he's not even one of the apostles he's one of the brothers the church selected to serve meals to the Hellenistic widows this man has just bested us in theological argument so we have to show society just what a menace he and his ilk are we have to show that they're blasphemers we have to show they're renegades we have to show they're rebels and therefore that's why they do what they do brethren there's nothing new Under the Sun I mean we read this morning that a Buddhist again I don't know I must have missed the memo I always thought Buddhists were a peace-loving people you know the biggest thing about Buddhists would do is bang his tambourine and wear his orange robe I mean in terms of a political threat or even a religious threat no this is not in my radar of people to be afraid of they turn in a Christian woman in a city in India because she had a prayer meeting in her home what kind of a threat is that and where was it one of the states or one of the nations that we read was at Sri Lanka where they they violated the the Chinese version of Fung Shui some believers built a church and it didn't fit the environment so they they get rid of the church I mean a little bit of a cold morning here brethren is it really suffering for Jesus when you when you read some of these things with reference to voice of the martyrs I mean the the Philippines a bomb blast 20 people dead and this is normal routine and you asked the question why are nice guys like Christians put to death because they preach another King even Jesus and men opposed to Jesus despise now they loathe him they hate him and because they can't get at him they kill his people why is Stephen I mean the fact that he was even arrested he's in the synagogue of the free man and he bests them with his argumentation well what about didn't your mother teach you to not be a sore loser you lost the argument secretly inducer instigate Mendte to drum up charges don't don't arrest him and bring him to the to the council with these false child you know don't be a sore loser that's just not how the opponents of Christ operate again we don't see it perhaps as they do in other countries but we may be seeing at increasingly more as the day's progressed Christianity is an affront to carnal man and they don't just say well it's okay you worship God and do your thing and we'll just leave you a date oh they harass they destroy then imprison they torture they do a whole host of horrible they like Stephen ine best them in a theological argument you'd like to think that doesn't mean getting drummed out of the city and stoned to death with stones but that's what it meant for Stephen as well we need to understand the consistency of Stephen he understood the biblical theology of the temple it's amazing the commentators say well he's he's defending a form of Hellenistic Christianity versus a Hebraic Christianity and so his anti temple sentiment he's not anti temple any more than Jesus was anti temple any more than the Prophet Jeremiah was anti temple or the prophet Micah was anti temple all of whom spoke about the destruction of the temple is that anti temple ISM but rather it is this anti God ISM that is reflected in their attachment to the to the temple so Steven that's got the problem it's them he's consistent with the prophets or the prophetic testimony of Moses consistent with the Old Testament prophets again Micah and Jeremiah prophesied concerning the destruction of the first temple he was consistent with the Lord Jesus he prophesied concerning the destruction of the second temple and he's consistent with the Apostles Peter shows that we dent of history Israel's redemptive history ultimately and inevitably leads to Jesus as well in terms of the book of Acts this is brilliant placement again Luke doesn't need me to tell him he's a brilliant writer but think about the book what's the purpose of the book of Acts we get specified clearly in acts 1:8 Jesus says you'll be witnesses to me first in Jerusalem then Judea Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth up until this point what's happened the church has been confined to Jerusalem after Stephen is stoned what happens this persecution is used by God to scatter the people of God out of Jerusalem into Samaria that's the next chapter Acts chapter 8 they go to Samaria they preach the gospel there and then with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus the very man that guards the garments of those who are stoning Stephen he is converted and then in acts 13 the latter part of acts 1:8 is fulfilled you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem then Judea Samaria and then what to the uttermost parts of the earth where does the book of Acts end it ends in life see Jesus accomplishes his purpose Jesus accomplishes his task and we might not like the way he does it sometimes or at least at some level we might struggle with it I mean this is a horrible thing and as an innocent man Steve and judicially innocent is stoned of that a man who knew the Bible better than they knew it nevertheless he's taken outside of the city and he stoned to death but what happens the Lord Christ uses even that crooked thing to bring to pass something straight that's our God this persecution is the means by which the people of God leave Jerusalem and they start going into other areas to fulfill the Great Commission it's a pivotal place in the book of Acts Stephen probably should get a whole lot more credit than we ever give to him because he was an awesome wonderful individual and finally and we ought not to avoid or escape this the wickedness of man is certainly highlighted in acts 7 I mean to reject Moses you got big problems right think about those Old Testament people think about it God gives them the law Moses is still up there with God on the mouth and they're down on the on the ground with Aaron and they say you know we don't have any patience we don't want to wait we want you to make us a god I think you got here Aaron what's Aaron's say later on well I you know the people prevailed upon me and I took the gold and I threw it in and out out came this calf really out came this calf there was no shaping there was no tool there was no making there was no man you factored out came this Caffrey are you kidding me throw all the gold into any fire you ever want it's not gonna just pop out as a calf it just doesn't happen so you see they're there they're there incorrigibility that they want a god they want a calf they want to worship you trace through israel's history that's what you find they're always craving something they don't want god they want creature they don't want the Creator they want stuff they get a fix to and an engrained with and an attached to the various idols of the nations and the peoples around that and then we come to the New Testament era Jesus comes to his own and his own received him not Jesus was a man who went about doing good jesus healed people Jesus fed people Jesus raised people from the dead and what did they do to Jesus they crucified Him you see the sinfulness of man is clearly revealed in Acts chapter 7 and Stephen puts his finger on it Stephen shows that now as they respond that cutting to the heart is a good thing perhaps in your own life you've been cut to the heart understand there are two different ways of proceeding after you've been cut through the cut to the heart or as a pastor says or preacher says or your neighbor's size or your friend says your wife says your husband says or your parents say look this is what God's law says and you have violated it every step of the way you you don't just make a you know surface violation but you actually go out of your way to outdo the sinners before you it's kind of like that bit about a hab in first Kings chapter 16 as if it was too small a thing to follow in the footsteps of Jeroboam the son a knee bat he actually builds an altar to bail right there in Samaria so someone might have done that some faithful person in your life might have to you you're wicked your wretched your lawless your vile you need grace you need help you need salvation there's that cut to the heart I always pray that happens I shouldn't say always I'm a fallible man but we don't see it when it's us right but that's the way we are weak we get cut to the heart and instead of taking the message and saying the way they did in acts 2 in the day better guys what shall we do we get upset we get whiny we get complaining and we grumble and we don't want to be around that person anymore because they don't tell us the sorts of things we want to hear just like they have that wretched man that despised the true prophet of God if you're cut to the heart because of your sin listen to the language of Jesus in John 7 If any man thirsts let him come to me and I will give him drink If any man is weary and heavy-laden come to me and I will give you rest I hope and pray that you're cut to the heart and I hope and pray that you run to Jesus not run against the preacher not run against the one who tells you the truth not run against the person that actually says you're a wretch and you stand in need of Jesus how about running to the Jesus you stand in need of that's the hope that's the prayer that's the desire well let us close in a word of Prayer father we thank you for your word we thank you for Stephens defense here and we do pray that you'd help us to appreciate his argument help us to appreciate the entirety of the Old Testament leads inevitably to the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ as Paul says he is the end of the law the purpose of the law the the Telos of the law for all those who believe and we rejoice in that and we praise you for that and we look forward to that day we enter into the New Jerusalem where there's no temple because God in the lamb are the temple and we ask that you would be with us now grant us safety as we travel now and grant us grace to sanctify the day and to glorify you and we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord amen we close our the brief time of meditation and then be dismissed