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welcome to everyone it's good to be in the house of our God on this Sunday just a couple of announcements and then we'll begin the first is that the Lord's Supper is tonight at our 5 p.m. service the March calendars are available in the back you'll notice that the luncheon is not on the third Sunday of this month but it will be on the 4th Sunday which is March 24th so an even email will be sent out that week that Wednesday encouraging people as to what to bring well for our call to worship you can turn with me now in your Bibles to Psalm 111 Psalm 111 Psalm 111 I'll begin reading in verse 1 praise the Lord I will praise the Lord with my whole heart in the Assembly of the upright and in the congregation the works of the Lord are great studied by all who have pleasure in them his work is honorable and glorious and his righteousness endures forever he has made his wonderful works to be remembered the Lord is gracious and full of compassion he has given food to those who fear Him he will ever be mindful of his covenant he has declared to his people the power of his works in giving them the heritage of the nation's the works of his hands are Verity and justice all his precepts are sure they stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness he has sent Redemption to his people he has commanded his covenant forever holy and awesome is his name the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom a good understanding have all those who do His commandments his praise endures forever amen well please turn in your Trinity Psalter to Psalm 50 Psalm 50 will sing the first six verses and when you get there you can stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] well let us pray our blessed God and holy father it's a joy and the privilege to gather in the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day to come before the God of heaven and earth the God who is from everlasting to everlasting the God who made this world and the beautiful things in it the God who governs it by his own power and sustaining word and the God who has redeemed his a lacked out of the world through the gospel of his son the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you Father Son and spirit for so great a salvation we praise you that you have not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded US according to our transgressions but as far as the East is from the West so you have removed our iniquities and as the prophet has said so well you cast our sins into the depths of the seas we give praise to you for this mercy we give praise to you for your great grace we give praise to you that though we were dead in our trespasses and sins you made us alive through the word of your power we give you praise for the life and the death and the resurrection of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ we thank you that he came down for us men and for our salvation that he lived in obedience to the law that he died as a sacrifice and a substitute on the cross that he was raised the third day and God as the Apostle so clearly states because of our offenses he was delivered up and for our justification he was raised we rejoice in these good gifts and we ask that even now as we ponder these things our hearts would be filled with love with adoration with affection with worship for you our great God that we would come to the Father through the mediation of the son and the power of the Holy Spirit and that the Lord God Most High would be all in all in this place we ask that you would fill our hearts with that gladness and with that joy as well with that fear and that reverence because the scripture says you are a holy God your eye is too pure to look approvingly upon any evil we know Lord God that you are not to be trifled with you are consuming fires both the old and new testaments remind us so help us to fit our worship aright may it be in spirit and may it be in truth and may we come to you knowing who you are knowing what you are and God may our hearts be thrilled at the prospect of drawing nigh unto you through our Lord Jesus Christ we ask even now that you would forgive us for our sins we confess our remaining corruption our remaining sin against a holy God we have been saved unto good works but we confess that we don't always do those those things that you call us unto we confess our transgression of your law we confess our lack of conformity unto that law and we plead the merit and the mercy and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ even now God we thank you for that promise you say if we confess our sin you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and so we plead that even now and for any and all who've come here this morning that are not Christians who are not believers those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would awaken them through the power of the Holy Spirit she would cause them to see their sin against a holy God and cause them see the that provision for sin made in the gospel of our Lord Jesus and by grace through faith may they come unto the Lord Jesus and may they know that blessedness of being found in him not having their own their own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is given from you and received by faith alone we ask as well Lord God that you would encourage and strengthen each and everyone in this room we all come weighed down by various concerns and trials and temptations that we face in this world we all come perplexed about any things in our own lives as we pray that as we gather together we would be still and know that you are God she would provide that comfort and that stability that your church needs she would fit us and conform us more unto the image of your beloved son and send us from this place to do battle in this world not in a physical way but spiritually we know we don't wage war against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of darkness god help us to do so daunting that whole armor of God and living in a manner that is consistent with the written word we ask as well Lord that you would be with those in our midst that suffer physically think of our sister Linda facing surgery on Tuesday we do commit her to you and to the word of your grace we pray that you would sustain both her and Chris as they enter into this we know there are many perplexities anxieties and trials of faith and yet father we pray that you would settle their hearts calm them cause them to know that you have all things under your sovereign control be with others in our mets Lord God that are physically hindered from being with us today we would ask that you would comfort them on their sick bed she would encourage them in the inner man that today would be a day of worship even there and as well father we pray for your blessing upon other churches we thank you that we're not alone in the city of Chilliwack we thank you there are other gospel witnesses here we pray for their blessing we pray for their progress we pray God that you would use the churches in this community to call sinners out of darkness into marvelous light bless the Saints and serene bless the saints and Vernon may you be with them as they gather together for worship and Lord be with your people who suffer as we read in the last hour in the various countries of this earth people do not enjoy the Liberty that we often take for granted and God we pray for those who are sorely vexed under horrific trial she would uphold them that she would give them the grace to persevere the grace never to shrink back from declaring Christ and the midst of godless regimes and may they know the nearness of God as their good and may you comfort those who are brokenhearted may he sustain those who suffer for your gospel and may you cause your your kingdom too common into advance and a in a powerful way in these lands through the faithfulness of your people in these places and God have mercy upon this country we do enjoy that religious liberté we see it threatened increasingly we ask God that it would be protected we would have the freedom to meet here and the freedom to worship you in spirit and truth God in in your breath we would pray that you'd remember mercy for this nation murders babies and it murders old old people and and sick people this nation displays a complete disregard for human life and God we cry out to you again be merciful use the Gospel message to change hearts and Lord God we pray that it would be unthinkable to murder the most vulnerable among us we would ask that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven and that your glory would be had throughout the nations of the earth and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal to him number 415 hymn number 415 again we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well you can turn in your Bibles to John's Gospel we find ourselves in John chapter 8 for our scripture reading this morning John chapter 8 will pick up reading at verse 37 John 8 beginning in verse 37 I know that you are Abraham's descendants but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you I speak what I have seen with my father and you do what you have seen with your father they answered and said to him Abraham is our Father jesus said to them if you were Abraham's children you would do the works of Abraham but now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God Abraham did not do this you do the deeds of your father they said to him we were not born of fornication we have one father God jesus said to them if God were your father you would love me for I proceeded forth and came from God nor have I come of myself but he sent me why do you not understand my speech because you are not able to listen to my word you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him when he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it because I tell the truth you do not believe me which of you convicts me of sin and if I tell the truth why do you not believe me he who is of God hears God's words therefore you do not hear because you are not of God then the Jews answered and said to him do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon jesus answered I do not have a demon but I honored my father and you dishonor me and I do not seek my own glory there is one who seek and judges most assuredly I say to you if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death then the Jews said to him now we know that you have a demon Abraham is dead and the prophets and you say if anyone keeps my word he shall never taste death are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead and the prophets are dead who do you make yourself out to be jesus answered if I honor myself my honor is nothing it is my father who honors me of whom you say that he is your God yet you have not known him but I know him and if I say I do not know him I shall be a liar like you but I do know him and keep his word your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad then the Jews said to him you are not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham Jesus said to them most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was I am then they took up stones to throw at him but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by amen well throughout his ministry we see this opposition to our Lord Jesus Christ there's two responses to Christ you either believe him and follow him or you resist and reject him and that's what happens here with the leadership in Israel at the time of his first coming Christ came to his own and his own received him not they despised him they rejected him they accused him of having a demon they accused him of being a Samaritan they had no substance upon which to argue so they they go to what is called an an ad hominem they attack his character and yet those things are not true but the one thing we ought to appreciate is Christ's continual insistence upon the truth the Lord Jesus highlights to them that while they may have been physical descendants from Abraham while they may have been able to trace their pedigree ethnically back to Abraham spiritually they were of the devil this is what Christ tells that you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning he was a liar from the beginning you see Jesus doesn't just kowtow to this pressure but rather he maintains the truth and fidelity in the midst of persecution and opposition and the Lord Jesus Christ then highlights something you very unique about father Abraham notice what he says in verse 56 your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and I think that's very crucial for us to understand the Old Testament is a messianic document through and through all throughout the Old Testament it testifies not to some nebulous figure that may someday come and do great things for Israel but it prophesized concerning Jesus of Nazareth it prophesized concerning Jesus Christ this is why Jesus says Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was glad through the promises that Abraham Abraham had been given through the types and the shadows that Abraham had given had been given by God all of that converged upon him so that he knew of a truth that this Jesus Christ was coming to save his people from their sins and then notice what they asked him it says in verse 57 then the Jews said to him you are not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham before we look at Jesus response I remember many years ago I probably was in my early 30s and I was a bunch a group of kids and I asked how old they thought I was and one of them said 60 or you know 65 or something like that again I was in my 30s I thought wow I'm not aging well obviously Christ is in his 30s he's in his early 30s and they pegged him at 50 you're not yet 50 years old he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief living in this sin cursed world for our Savior was not a health wealth and prosperity gig the foxes had their holes the birds had their nests but the Son of man had nowhere to lay his head and having been that man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he probably looked older than 30 because he was that sort of an individual but notice his response to these Jews he says most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was I am he takes or invokes that name of Yahweh from the book of Exodus and they understand all too clear what he is saying because they take up stones to cast at him for what they perceive to be the sin of blasphemy well us knowing who the Lord Jesus Christ is us knowing that he is the mediator between God and men that he is the prophet priest and King we know that's not blasphemous because he is indeed one with his father he and his father are substantially the same in terms of their deity and here according to his humanity asserts that I am and they pick up stones to throw at him well I would suggest to all of us that we do not make the mistake that we do not live in winthe willful rebellion against the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ I mean it's evident here it's obvious here isn't it we see these Jews sort of calling him a demon or saying he had a demon or or Samaritan it may not be as obvious among us we may not profess the true religion but we may also not accuse him of being a Samaritan or or being two demon-possessed there's two options you're either with him or you're against him you're the with Christ or you're with these people who ultimately have the devil as their father well let us pray our God in heaven I pray that all of us would take seriously this opposition to Christ that we find in John 8 I pray we'd all take it seriously if we find it in our own hearts and that by grace we'd flee to the gut flee to the Lord Jesus and find forgiveness and mercy and grace in and through this one who is altogether lovely in chief among ten thousand we thank you Lord God for sending your son into this world sinners to save and we thank you for including us this beautiful plan of salvation and we ask for blessing now in Jesus name Amen well you can turn for our final him before the preaching to number 393 hymn number 393 again we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts Acts of the Apostles where in Acts chapter seven been going through Stephens speech in Acts chapter seven it's lengthy essentially what we have in Chapter six is the arrest of Stephen in verses 8 to 15 chapter 7 the bulk of is the defense of Stephen verses 153 and at the end of chapter 7 going into chapter 8 we have the martyrdom of Stephen so Stephen was one of those initial and chosen from the church in Jerusalem to serve he's also a man who can preach the gospel who can speak the truth and we see that he is a threat to the religious leadership in Israel at the time so he is standing before the High Court essentially in Israel he's standing before what's called the Sanhedrin or the council it was made up 71 persons it was presided over by the high priest and it was the high priest according to verse 1 in Chapter 7 that asked him are these things true and there are two charges presented against Stephen and those charges are in the first place they said that he spoke blasphemous words against Moses or Moses and the law and then secondly they said that he spoke blasphemous words against this holy place the temple of God so those are the two things on the table now you might ask the question why doesn't Stephen just stand up and in verse 2 saying that's not true I am NOT anti Moses and I'm not anti temple and then sit down I think Stephen chooses this particular process to show that their own history and their own scriptures are on Stephens side in other words it's one thing for him to say I'm not anti law and I'm not anti temple but it's another thing for their written records to show that it's another thing from for their history to show that and that's the wisdom of Stephen he weaves together a biblical theology of the nation of Israel not to instruct them the Sanhedrin certainly knew their own history he's not giving them lessons here on history but rather he is sustaining or showing or demonstrating that it's not him that's ante law Moses and it's not him that's anti temple but it's rather those in the history of Israel that rejected the prophets those in the history of Israel that found the temple as the end and made that an object of worship it's those persons represented by the Council of the Sanhedrin now that Stephen wants to show are the true ones that are anti Moses and anti temple it's not Stephen so we've seen him appeal to Abraham we've seen him appeal to Joseph and the patriarchs and now he's going to spend the bulk of his defense on the man Moses so I want to read verses 17 to 29 verse 17 but when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose who did not know Joseph this man dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers making them expose their babies so that they might not live at this time Moses was born and was well pleasing to God and he was brought up in his father's house for three months but when he was set out Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son and Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds now when he was 40 years old it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel and seeing one of them suffer wrong he defended and avenged him who was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian for he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand and the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them saying men you were brethren why do you wrong one another but he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away saying who made you a ruler and a judge over us do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday then at this saying Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian where he had two sons amen let us pray our Father in heaven we thank you for the written word we thank you for this defense of Stephen and the great theology that it holds forth to us I pray that your spirit would help us to understand this passage help us to appreciate how that history how that Old Testament led inevitably to the Lord Jesus Christ and God in heaven we pray that that Lord Jesus Christ would be exalted here in the preached word by the power of the Holy Spirit so that sinners may act upon what they've just sung in terms of fleeing to Christ and may this happen today for your glory and for your honor and for your praise again forgive us now for our sin and transgression and fill each and every one of us with your Holy Spirit and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well essentially as Steven comes to Moses now as I said this is the lengthier portion of his defense which makes sense because he's accused for having spoken blasphemous words against Moses against Moses law and so he spends the bulk of his time here and essentially what you have is the Moses section divided into three sub sections 40-year blocks you can see that in verses 23 to 29 then again in verses 30 to 35 and then finally in 36 to 43 and then there are three times that Steven highlights that Moses was rejected by Israel at the time that Moses lived and ministered he highlights that in our text here in verse 27 he'll mention it again in verses 35 and 39 now Stephen sticks very closely to Exodus chapters 1 & 2 in the narrative here so we're gonna kind of go back and forth to see what's happening and then ultimately at the end draw out how Stephen is using this history of Moses in terms of his own defense before the Sanhedrin so I want to look first of all at the birth of Moses in verses 17 to 22 and then secondly the visitation by Moses in verses 23 to 29 in that time when he's 40 and he comes now to visit his brethren but in the first place note what Stephen says in verse 17 but when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham go back in Stephens speech to chapter 7 verses 5 to 7 notice in chapter 7 at verse 5 and God gave him this is Abraham 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 possession and to his descendants after him but God spoken this way that his descendants would dwell a foreign land and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them for hundred years and the nation whom they will be in bondage I will judge said God and after that they shall come out serve me from this place so we have these promises made to Abraham God tells Abraham in Genesis 12 Genesis 13 Genesis 15 Genesis 17 Genesis 20 that Genesis 22 God says I'm going to give you a land and I'm going to give you a seed I'm going to give you a great multitude of descendants in you all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed and then specifically in Genesis 15 God tells Abraham that there's going to be this period of bondage there's going to be this time when they are subject to a foreign power when they're living outside of the land that Yahweh gave them and they will be sufferers they will be oppressed and so that's most likely what Stephen refers to here in verse 17 God does not forget his promise when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham now I think that's very important for us because I think we like God to be on our time frame we like God to jump when we say JA say how high when we say jump we don't want to wait four hundred or four hundred and thirty years we don't want to wait for minutes we want God to deliver what God says he's going to live and we want it right now well we need to be patient we need to back it down God's not on our timeframe we're on his timeframe and the reality is he never forgets his promises he never reneged on his covenant and he is always faithful we need to wait and we need to wait patiently fact when we get to the time that Moses comes to visit his brethren he's 40 years old at that time one might wonder if he's the deliverer if he's the champion why doesn't he come at 20 why doesn't he come at 25 why doesn't he come at 30 why does he wait until they're you know 40 years of this oppression and this bondage well we don't know the answer to that other than God's timetable and this is something that Stephen sets forth in verse 17 now I want you to put your pencil there and go back to Exodus for just a moment so I want to sort of shine a light on this statement of Stephens in verse 17 the fact that God remembered his promise as I said Stephens speech here centers on Exodus 1 and 2 and he sticks very closely to the narrative in Exodus 1 and 2 and in fact as he cites the particular things that he will you'll see it's connection to Exodus 1 and 2 but I want us to see at the end of Exodus 2 God's disposition to his suffering people verse 23 says now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died then the children of Israel grown because of the bondage and they cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage so God heard their moaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God acknowledged them brethren behold your God it may not come in four minutes it may take 400 years but behold your God he hears the cries of his people he sees the bondage of his people and he comes to deliver his people and in this instance what is truly unique is that the Israelites were not groaning because they were far from God they weren't groaning because they wanted God's involvement they were groaning because of the bondage they were groaning because of the hurt they were groaning because of the pain and notice Yahweh doesn't upbraid them and say well you need to cry because you put yourself in this mess no he sees their pain and he comes to their aid that's our God it may take 400 years but that's our God again we're not to demand that he live according to our timeframe but rather we by grace or to live according to his timeframe now going back to Acts chapter 7 we see this treachery of Pharaoh in verses 17 B to 19 it's very important that you get this it's very important that you see the connection at this time Moses is born at this time of infanticide on a corporate level at this time when the rage of the Pharaoh is palpable at this time when it seems that there's no hope whatsoever doesn't God often do that when everything is contrary to when everything looks that it's absolutely impossible it's that time when God sends his man and that's precisely the emphasis here in 717 beat nine nineteen now notice in 17 B it says the people grew and multiplied in Egypt that's Exodus 1:7 now just take you back there you don't have to actually flip if you can manage to not flip you know back and forth that's great but if you want to see it you're gonna have to flip back and forth but Exodus 1:7 tells us the children of Israel multiplied greatly tremendously it was an amazing thing but what should that do to you when you get to accident or one it should cause you to flag that God is faithful because as I said in Genesis 12 13 15 17 and 22 God said that Abraham's seed would be a multitude so we get to Exodus 1:7 and we see that Abraham's seed is a multitude and then we have this expectation that whatever problems Israel is facing in terms of their claiming their land it will nevertheless be done because God is faithful if he gives them the seed in that sort of a setting he will give them the land in that same sort of a setting and that's the emphasis that Stephen is highlighting the consistency in the faithfulness of God but this new Pharaoh this new king did not know Joseph remember Joseph was renowned Joseph had endeared himself to the previous Pharaoh Joseph was an interpreter of dreams Joseph was the second in charge throughout Egypt Joseph was the means by which Israel didn't die yeah Joseph was the means by which Egypt didn't die but the Pharaoh dies and there's this new Pharaoh and he doesn't know Joseph so now he no longer holds Joseph's people in any sort of regard whatsoever and he sees them that father is a slave force and this is what is mentioned notice it says this man dealt treacherously with our people in Exodus 1 9 and 10 Pharaoh's fear was this he looked out at this multiplication of Israelites and he said if they ever get the bee in their bonnet to rise up and revolt we're gonna have big problems now that's a paraphrase but that's essentially what's going on in his head he sees these Israelites multiplying like buddies and he says if they ever rise up in revolt they're going to overtake us we've got to subdue them we've got to crush that we've got to deal subtly with em in fact Exodus 1 9 and 10 he feared that it would be more and mightier than the Egyptians so he said let us steal shrimpy shrimpy with them lest they multiply and it happened in the event of war that they also join our enemies and fight against us and so go up out of the land now Stephen rightly interprets deal shrewdly as dealt treacherously now how did Pharaoh do this he did it by three needs first he'll press the work he oppress the workforce he made them a slave force he took away the supplies necessary he made their tasks difficult again you break the back of slaves so at the end of the day they don't have meetings on how they're going to revolt or reject the the government he kept them too busy and too tired the second means by which the oppressed and was infanticide it's good to know that if this Pharaoh lived today in America there'd be one party with open arms for him because they are the party of infanticide and that's what this Pharaoh was all about as well and that's precisely what he did he orders the midwives to terminate the male Israelite babies these Hebrew midwives were told to snuff them out to kill them to get rid of them we can't have them more and mightier we can't have an uprising we can't have them revolt or reject us now the midwives thankfully feared God the midwives thankfully allowed babies to live because they feared God interesting note the Geneva Bible which preceded the King James Bible had a note on exodus 119 saying that what the Hebrew midwives did was good it was commendable King James of the King James Bible called that seditious it was sedition to rise up against the crown even if the crown demanded infanticide I'll go with the notes in the Geneva Bible thank you very much over against King James and his desire to see subjects loyal to whatever it is the King might say or suggest but when the midwives revolted when the midwives rejected then Pharaoh gives the order at large to put the babies in the river to kill them to exterminate them to liquidate them again we've got to manage the population we don't want young strong males we don't want young your old men we don't want them rising up and taking over we want a good slave force that we can subdue that we can oppress that we can manipulate and that we can utilize to build whatever it is that we want that's what Stephen says was the prevailing conditions at the time Moses comes don't miss the connection don't miss the point notice in verse 20 at this time Moses was born at this time Moses was born John Calvin says it is not without cause that Stephen notes the circumstance time Moses was born at the very same time when the King had commanded that all the men children should be cast out therefore it seems that the Minister of deliverance is dead before he is born but that time is most fit for God to work in when there is no hope or counsel to be looked for at man's hands I that should throw your hearts brethren this is one of those instances where if we were in a men saying church we'd a men the words of John Calvin there at this time when everything is contrary when everything is bleak when everything looks hopeless that's when God works see again he's not on our timeframe he doesn't march with reference to our orders but rather were supposed to subject ourselves to him we are to submit to him we're to trust in his wise government we're to trust in his profit ends which as we move through the narrative as you read through Exodus 1 and 2 how anybody could come out of that and not be reformed in their theology is absolutely mind-blowing the way that God uses the means to preserve Moses is baffling it shows his power and sovereignty and majesty all the while preserving this man sent to Israel as the deliverer now notice the birth Moses was pleasing to God verse 20 at this time Moses was born and was well pleasing to God now as you might imagine excuse me as you might imagine there's a lot of other stuff that has been written about Moses in the Jewish tradition Moses is a hero in the Christian and Jewish traditions I mean if you said top top top five men in the Bible Moses is most likely gonna be in that list every single time by anybody who ever is asked that question there's a lot of things written about Moses in the sense that he was so gorgeous he was so beautiful that as a little baby persons would see get a glimpse of him and stop and just stare I you know that may be but we don't know that they when he tells us that he was skilled in the wisdom of the Egyptians and he was mighty and both deeds and words you know they say that you know Egyptian civilization owes its it's beating to Moses that the rest of civilization owns as being to Moses and you know various men commenting on you know the geometry and the trigonometry the various things that Moses masks well the text doesn't tell us that he kind of see though how with a great man these stories would rise the point of the passage is not that he was so endearingly beautiful he was so handsome that he was that baby that every mother loved rather he was pleasing to God in the sense that God raised him up God made him a judge and a deliverer when that Hebrew later on rebels and rejects him and says who made you judge over us God made him judge over you and you need to pay attention to him so this man was well pleasing to God for the time that he was going to engage and this is precisely what we find here notice the protection of Moses in verses 21 and 22 again whole-scale Holt Saul and infanticide in the land of Egypt yeah baby Moses makes it baby Moses arises baby Moses not only makes it but he's raised Pharaoh's house you see the glory and the sovereignty and the see in the majesty of God how could anybody doubt that when you come face-to-face with it in the pages of Holy Scripture right under Pharaoh's eyes God is raising up the man that is going to vindicate his people and great those people that farrell has worked very hard to subdue and to subject notice in terms of the preservation of protection of moses the protection of moses by his faithful parents in the first three months months notice verse 20 at this time moses was born and was well pleasing to god and he was brought up in his father's house for three months it's a parallel in Hebrews 11 it says by faith Moses when he was born was headed three months by his parents because they saw that he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's command praise God for those midwives praise God for four Amram and-and-and-and and his wife praise God for the parents of Moses that they weren't afraid of the Kings commands but now three months has passed they set him out in this Clark what happens is sister Miriam is watching and Pharaoh's daughter goes out her heart is drawn to this baby look at the difference in this family the father's policy is infanticide the daughter's policy is adoption the father wants to liquidate and terminate and the daughter seized with compassion this little one her heart is drawn out and love for him and then Miriam makes the suggestion shall I fetch a wet nurse from the Hebrews and that reads good for this Pharaoh's daughter so what is God - God orchestrates it such a way that Moses mother feeds Moses and gets paid to do it you doubt your God puked out that he's going to come to your aid do you doubt that he's going to vindicate you and rescue you do you actually doubt that his word is not true do you actually think that there's a time in your life that he's going to leave you or forsake you perish the thought again it may not be in our timeframe it may not be according to our watch but vindicate his people he most certainly will I mean look at how he orchestrated this all of the moving parts so Jacque Abed his mother takes him and nurses him and then brings him back to Pharaoh's daughter and he's raised up according to Egyptian wisdom look at the Providence of God there he's a fit leader now I know that we're gonna meet Moses and in Chapter four he's gonna say I'm not given to eloquence but it says here he's mighty in deed and work that causes people problems could it be the case that somebody's mighty indeed inward and at certain junctures of their life they feel like they can't do anything right is that a potential is that a possibility or do we demand that there's contradiction in the text Moses was a young man Moses got better speaking obviously because if you know the book could do a Deuteronomy it simply addresses by Moses on the plains of Moab to a great multitude of people so at some point he found his voice at some point he was able to lift it up and speak to great multitudes but this Moses is the man God raised up for this particular time and when God sends him he orchestrates all things for the particular end in view and I would suggest to us we need to see that we need to understand that that this God is our God this God is with us this God has promised us because Hebrews 13 I will never leave you nor forsake you now I think we take that text and eveness 13 out of context it's primarily their temporal we know God will never leave us or forsake us in the spiritual realm there is no separating us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord he who begins a good work in you will complete it on to the day of Christ the context is temporal provision I'll never leave you nor will I forsake you it may not be steak and lobster every night they may be gruel from time to time and maybe you know you may be living on the the $15 bag votes that's a pretty reasonable price there it's Avon for longer than you might think it's always struck me on people by a little thing of votes for five bucks when they can buy that massive thing that you have to you know hoist out of there for 16 bucks and those oats lasts forever so that's the thing it may not be steak and lobster it may not be media it may not be in our way but God is always faithful can any of you who've walked with Christ for any amount of time ever say well you know he led me down here he wasn't there here or he didn't do this know the consistent testimony of God's people is great as thy faithfulness the consistent testimony of God's people is he's always there he's never left us he's never forsaken us now notice secondly the visitation by Moses again following Exodus 2:11 225 very closely notice age at verse 23 now when he was 40 years old excuse me when he was 40 years old the reference in Exodus 2:11 says when Moses was grown but I think this is a helpful way for us to remember Moses or to remember the blocks in Moses life he was according to Deuteronomy 1234 a hundred and twenty years when he died so there are these three 40-year blocks of his life he spent 40 years in Egypt he spent 40 years in Midian and then he spent 40 years leading the children of Israel those are the three 40-year blocks in Moses life and this is what Stephen refers to now with reference to his arrival to his brethren again question may arise why did it take him so long to get involved in the affairs of his people if it hadn't entered into your head I'm sorry for introducing it but that is an issue why 40 years he wasn't ready at 30 he wasn't ready at 35 he wasn't ready at 39 he operates according to God God is sovereign over all the moving parts God is sovereign and orchestrating every detail it's God's timing you know what's really intriguing in this particular narrative is when they reject Moses Moses leaves to go to the land of Midian for 40 years by there rejecting Moses they bought 40 more years in the hardship and the oppression that Egypt had to offer you see that in the text now guess where I'm gonna go with that don't reject Jesus the Lord Christ is preached in this church as the only one who can save you from your sins the only one who can deliver you from the bondage of your sins why would you reject him why would you send them away why will you leave today at 12:15 or 12:20 or 12:30 won't be any longer than that I can guarantee you but why will you leave having sealed your own bondage for more time why reject Moses why get rid of the deliverer why say no to him why do that with Christ why say no to Jesus and the offer of salvation that he brings why won't you hear Jesus say come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you best you say no I want to continue with this yoke of bondage on my neck I want to continue being driven by that taskmaster Satan I want to continue to be governed by my lusts I want to continue to be governed by lawlessness and recklessness and wickedness don't do with Jesus what these men did with Moses rejecting their vivir again you see Stephens point just a way that Moses was rejected then the council is now rejecting Jesus it's not Steven that's anti Moses it's the council it's the Sanhedrin in their rejection of Jesus they're rejecting one Moses wrote about ad nauseam he wrote all about the Lord Christ that Steven's point terms of his defense but notice he goes to visit his brethren actually one text I should shine the light on Hebrews 11 Hebrews chapter 11 gives us information concerning this decision of Moses excuse me and in verse 48 calls it's a Hebrews 11 verse 24 says by faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter she showed him great compassion she she kept him from the deaths death squad she kept him from the Nile in its most horrific way she spared him she see this was a religious commitment on the part of Moses couldn't side with Pharaoh's daughter could inside with Pharaoh's daughter's gods she sides with he sides with Yahweh and his people so by faith Moses when he became a phage refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he looked to the reward so going back to Acts chapter 7 let's see these visits by Moses to his people at this particular time and the visit here isn't simply why just want to see them you know I want to leave the palace for a bit stretch my legs in the back for tea and and just get a view at those people that I identify with no no the visits here are helped the visits here or the proper assistance the visits here are to vindicate to aid them to come alongside of them and that is precisely what both these visits do with Moses now notice what we find in verse 26 or in verse 24 and seeing one of them suffer wrong he defended and avenged him who was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian now again this is Exodus 2 11 and 12 and this particular exchange Moses defends an Israelite from an Egyptian and in the defense at this particular moment he delivers a lethal blow and kills the Egyptian now mind you commentators and Bible students are perplexed about this was it justifiable homicide was it something legit are we given the prerogatives to do that and thus oh we're not but with reference to Moses I think verse 25 is absolutely crucial for our understanding and I think it's absolutely crucial for understanding what Stephens doing in his speech notice in verse 25 for he Moses supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand now this indicates that God had revealed to Moses something of Moses task and we typically think of the burning bush and that's going to come later in the book of Exodus where God visits Moses out there in Midian via the burning bush but even prior to that time Steven tells us that Moses knew that he was a an instrument in the hand of God to be a means of deliverance for the children of Israel and Moses assumed that they knew that to Moses assume that they would have understood his particular purpose now again this is theology this is Stephen under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit telling us something that the text of Exodus does not make clear we know God communicates to Moses at the burning bush but prior to that we don't have this sort of interchange where God reveals himself to Moses dispatches him to his brethren and says I want you to fix them I want you to help them I want you to deliver them but Stephen tells us that Moses knew this Stephen tells us that Moses thought that everybody else knew this and operating on that assumption I would suggest that it was most likely adjustable justifiable homicide he's employed by God for a particular task and in that and the execution of that particular task he deals the deals a lethal blow to this Egyptian now back to the tax to the second visit notice what Stephen goes on to say verse 25 he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand but they did not understand they did not understand this is Ed this is what Stephens doing he's saying just like you guys don't understand they didn't understand Moses you don't understand the one that Moses pointed to they didn't understand Moses you don't understand Jesus he is linking these two characters he is showing the Sanhedrin that it's not him that is anti Moses it's then that's anti Moses you reject Jesus you reject Moses this is what Jesus says in John 5 you claim to like Moses John 8 they claim to be of Abraham John 5 they they claim to be committed to Moses he says Moses wrote about me and you wanting to kill me you wanting to destroy me is completely contrary to what Moses wrote up Moses wrote about me that's that's what the Stephen is doing in this particular instance fact Marshall says what is emerging at this point is a comparison between Moses as an offer of salvation and Jesus as a savior and between the incomprehension the people in comprehension of the people toward Moses and toward Jesus Matthew Poole makes it very very pithy when he says stupidity is frequently charged upon this people they then did not receive Moses as these now would not receive Christ see verse 25 Moses assumed that they would see that he was a deliverer they didn't and that's what brings on this response in verses 26 to 28 notice and the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting so it's not Egyptian against Israelite it's two Israelites fighting amongst each other it's two Israelites in some sort of a tussle Moses is there to help and notice he doesn't defend or go on the offensive in terms of either/or but he seeks reconciliation with his brethren again Bach makes the observation that's precisely what Stephens doing Stephens trying to bring reconciliation to the nation by pointing them unto Jesus Christ this is Moses point he comes to these two Israelites they're fighting together and he says nothing don't argue don't fight don't be at odds with one another now notice the text in verse 26 the next day appeared to two of them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them say men you are brethren why do you wrong one another no note but he did his neighbor wrong pushed him away he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away now you've probably heard me say this before if you were my wife you've probably seen me do this before you get rebuked and what's the tendency well what about you does ever happen to you somebody says you know brother I didn't talk to you about this you've got this issue and this well what about you all right we can deal with me later but right now let's deal with you it's an attempt to hide it's an attempt to defend it's an attempt to abuse Kate it's an attempt to wriggle out of something uncomfortable and of course it's the guy whose fault it is says well what about you I'm not gonna own this I'm gonna receive this I'm gonna reconcile with my fellow Israelite I'm gonna keep on in this particular vein and I'm going to expose your problem Moses who do you think you are that's the emphasis in the text verse 27 he who did his neighbor along pushed him away say who made you a ruler and a judge over us we know the answer it's God this is precisely what the Sanhedrin does with Jesus who made you this who said this of you we saw it in John chapter 8 you see it in John chapter 5 you see it at the trial of our Lord Jesus we we a Jew of Judea we put you under oath are you the of God and Jesus says yes and they flip out and they tear their clothes this was always the issue with that it was always the issue with the unbelieving in Israel to whichever leader God sent in this instance it was Moses the man Moses I mean the guy that has all this history written about him the hero of Israel and this rebel Israelite is functioning like the rebel Israelite Council in the first century and this is what he says who aid you and judge over us do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday again Marshall says the reply implicitly denies Moses divine appointment which it is assumed the man should have recognized the slaying of the Egyptian is seen as a threat rather than it's a means of rescue brethren I hate to break this to you I hate to upset your 21st century fragility minds but Egyptians had to die to vindicate God's people right in order to break the Brat back of oppression some eggs have to get cracked in the midst right so this Israelite says are you gonna kill me like you did the Egyptian hey genius maybe if Moses did that to more of these Egyptians you wouldn't be slaves you'd be free you could go back to your land it's an intriguing thing isn't it that God actually has to use the treachery of infanticide to make these people want to leave and even when they finally do want to leave and even when they're finally in the wilderness what happens they want to go back they want to go back to the land of Egypt we don't like the wilderness we don't like manna we don't like we'd rather be slaves eating garlic and melons than be free men sustained by God in the wilderness I think Israel is very typical of just about every other human being on the face of the earth we like the safety and security that slavery provides rather than the freedom the colibri the liberty that the sons of God enjoy you see this is what's happening they reject Moses they despise Moses so back to Marshall the slaying of the Egyptian is seen as as a gret as a threat rather than as a means of rescue thus the role of Moses as Redeemer and reconciler is rejected again a parallel that Jesus is implicit now brethren we did an overview of the sermon I know we're going very slow through the sermon but as we end this particular sermon in terms of Stephens defense he connects the dots they understand his implications that's why they blocked their ears so why they nashit him with his teeth their teeth it's why they drive him out of the city and that's why they stoned him to death because Stephen is saying you're the rebel Israelite you're the one that's mouthing off to Moses you're the one that's on the offensive against God's deliverer you are the people in your rejection of Jesus you're just like those who rejected Moses that's Stevens Point now notice this flight to Midian will land here and conclude with a few thoughts and then we'll go but notice this flight to Midian verse 29 this is intriguing then at this saying Moses fled it became a dweller in the land of Midian where he had two sons the one son is Gershon which means stranger in a strange land at the end of Exodus - the other son is mentioned in Exodus 18 Eliezer but it is intriguing why the mention of two sons just a historical fact I'd just a little bit of nugget there in case weren't following what you read Exodus Moses had two sons and you know what one commentator at least said it's relevant it's an irrelevant fact why do I include that in there I like Barrett I don't always agree with Barrett I think Barrett's got some issues but Barrett's right here he says or was the intention to emphasize that but for the divine call Moses would have good reason to remain in Yeah right don't you think Moses saddled out 40 years in Mitte he marries a poor ax he's got two sons he's living on the land it would take something pretty huge to get in out of retirement it would take something pretty significant to get him back into Egypt and that's the call of God upon him to go and to tell Pharaoh to let my people go it's a beautiful wonderful glorious story well in conclusion I would suggest the first thing that we need to get our minds wrapped around is the promise of God to Abraham 717 picks up on 7 6 & 7 the way that Exodus to 23 and 25 picks up on Genesis 15:13 and 4,400 years is a long time four hundred and thirty years as a whole it is a long time 400 days is a long time 400 minutes can seem like a long time again brethren we need to make sure that our minds are wrapped around God's timeframe humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and in due time he will lift you up that due time is not the time that you and I want that do time is Lord it was you know could happen no 25 minutes ago it's his time brethren we need to submit we need to guard against whining and grumbling and complaining Paul tells the Philippians do all things without disputing and grumbling where do you think he gets that he gets it from this generation see Moses does get this call Moses does go back God does vindicate God does free God brings them out and into the land of Endor the wilderness and what do they do there they whine and they grumble and they complain it's incessant you've all read the story you read it you look come on guys you can you know can you back up and sort of hang in there trust that God's God's good and he's not going to discount your your needs you know in our own hearts we don't see the whiny let us see the grumbling we don't see the complaining we don't see the bitterness and the resentment that may settle in our hearts if we think God has been tardy in answering a particular prayer request you know brethren Yahweh ISM or true Bible religion is not bail ISM bail was a God you could manipulate bail was a god you could coerce bail was a God you could sort of gin up so that he would deliver for your particular needs Yahweh's not like that we are his creatures we are dependent upon him it really ought to sadden us that the the breath we take from him we used to whine against him the food that we eat and the water that we drink that energizes us and strengthen us to wine comes from him we're not supposed to be a whining people we're supposed to be a faithful people but when the time the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham how many times the Bible say stuff like that how many times does the Bible underscore for us previous promise and realization how many times does the Bible tell us something that God said dad is coming to pass it now it does that because we're thick it does that because we don't make connections it does that because we won't say hey there it is there's that promise God Himself has to say okay here was the promise and here's make me making good on it and every time we read something like that it should strengthen our faith in Him so that will patiently wait upon him and not run and whine and grumble and complain secondly the Providence of God in the birth Moses the treachery is again Bruce argues that it was that treachery Pharaoh which was means by God used by God to make sure that he that Israel didn't get too comfortable in Egypt but they still did they still did would you go back to a country where the king said to take your baby boys and throw them in there's a lot of water so that they could die it doesn't matter how many good mountain melons and garlic's and leeks they have they they pollute the river there with the blood of innocence you've got a really wonder about Israel when you when you read through the narratives and again I'm not taking on them I see them as typical of the rest of us I see them typical of the rest of us we want to be slaves where we get the melons and the garlic's and the leeks rather than free men dependent upon God for our bread we don't want that just give us the security and the stability that slavery provides secondly the god-fearing Hebrew midwives praise God that are these Hebrew midwives that said no we're not gonna do that these are babies these are precious certain image bearers we don't kill them we preserve them we cuddle them we hug that we breastfeed them when they get older we play ball with that we take them with us when we fix the fence we take them with us when we put a superstore we like to be with them we don't kill that they're not expendable praise God that these Hebrew midwives feared God and not men as well praise God for the loving courage of his parents how many of us when the government says this is what you must do our gonna say with Amram Jacque Abed not us not us we must obey God rather than men we're not going to expose our baby we're gonna love our baby we're going to care for our baby we're going to tend to our baby the compassion of Pharaoh's daughter again Moses god of age he said I want to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter but at that time in Providence of God praise God for compassion praise God that in that unholy Court there was a a woman who had that affection that natural affection and then praise God way that he orchestrated everything in terms of the sister connecting the parties and such that payment was even rendered to jakka bet when she nursed her baby boy that beautiful you doubt God's sovereignty you doubt Providence you doubt that he governs all his creatures and all their actions look at every step of the way and the life and the preservation of Moses why is that because God's gonna use Moses to do great things and whatever it takes God's going to make sure poses does great things he's going to preserve him in his Providence you know third thing as I've said the place Moses in Stevens Stevens defense Stevens not anti Moses the counsel is Stephen is not anti temple the counsel is God reveals himself to Moses in Egypt he's not confined to temple he's not confined to Canaan he is not confined to any locale and Moses and temple always pointed forward to Jesus Christ that's Stephens point throughout this entire sermon and then has mentioned earlier a bit off handedly but I'm convinced if this man Pharaoh needed a political party today do you know that every one for the democrat party running for president in the u.s. just voted against a bill that was put up to preserve the lives of those who survived abortion like that we even have abortion is unthinkable you know some people say well can you believe yeah I can believe it because if you don't treat all life with dignity you're gonna get to the point where you treat no life with dignity and we're seeing that consistently played out but a man ben sasse i think it was one of the senators put forward legislation legislation that has been put forth in the past to preserve babies who survived abortions what Guler monster doesn't sign off on that everyone running for the President of the United States of America in the Democratic Party they're the party of infanticide that is horrifying now before we look down our noses and say those wicked terrible Americans it ain't any better in Canada there is an utter disregard for the lives of children Farrell would fit right in in modern North America and as I said to you earlier if you're not a believer in Christ what this fool did this man who made you a judge over me do you want to kill me like you did that Egyptian yesterday and then Moses flees to Midian where he's there 40 years again genius this was the man who could bring deliverance so the man who might kill a hundred thousand more Egyptians to vindicate the people of God and you drove him out to the land of Midian don't do that with the Savior as he's offered to you in the gospel don't resist don't reject don't embrace the bondage of sin don't say this is the kind of life that I love and I want no flee to the Lord Christ come to the one in whom there is forgiveness the one who says I will give you rest you have rest today you have the forgiveness of sins today you know peace with God today you can have what Paul speaks of in Romans five therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God let me tell you there's nothing better than peace with God it's good to be a peace with your wife good to be a peace with your husband good to be a peace with your kids and with your civil society but there ain't nothing like peace with God and that comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ don't look at him and say who made you a Savior or a deliverer for me come to him in faith well let us close in order prayer father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for Stephens speech we thank you for its purposes and not only setting forth his defense but showing forth the glory of Jesus Christ as that one whom the law of Moses and the Temple of God pointed that one in whom all the promises of God are yes amen taking their own scriptures their own history Stephen shows how all these things inevitably led to Christ and God as we live on this side of these blessed events may everyone here see Christ as that one whom it's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 it may by grace they they come in faith and taste and see that the Lord is good and God for all of us may we be comforted in this passage to see that though the promises may have some significant time in terms of the fulfillment may we never run ahead and may we never whine and grumble and complain but may we stay our hearts upon a faithful God knowing that you deliver on your promises again go with us now bless us help us to keep the day help us tonight to glorify you and our worship and we pray these things Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close our service by singing the doxology and praised God Father Son and Holy Spirit can stand as we sing together [Music] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen a great and our triune God we thank you for these words of blessing upon us we ask that we would know that peace that love that comfort that you give that you afford again give us for our sins our transgressions against your law keep us by your grace in in a right place before you and help us to sanctify the day help us to enjoy the day help us to enjoy the Savior and we pray in his most blessed name hey madam may be seated for a brief time of meditation