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e e e e e e e e e e e e good morning everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church special welcome to the visitors amongst us again this morning couple of announcements before we get started today is our monthly Fellowship luncheon after the morning service so if you're visiting amongst us we encourage you to join us for food and fellowship right after the service um this evening our service takes place at 5:00 p.m. again and Pastor Porter will be preaching again this evening um Wednesday night bible study at 7:30 and then next week on Sunday the 3rd of November is the baptismal service for Derek and Samantha sterenberg and for Philip Paul we're going to turn to our scriptures to Psalm 114 for our call to worship Psalm 114 this is the word of the Living God when Israel went out of Egypt the house of Jacob from a people of strange language Judah became his sanctuary and Israel his Dominion the sea saw it and fled Jordan turned back the mountain mountains skipped like Rams the little Hills like Lambs what ails you o sea that you fled oh Jordan that you turned back oh mountains that you skipped like Rams oh little Hills like Lambs tremble o Earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the god of Jacob who turned the rock into a pool of water the Flint into a fountain of waters amen for our first hymn we're going to sing Psalm 9 9A as in Alpha Psalm 99a the Lord God Reigns on High please stand with me as we [Music] sing let all the is and the of you let all God is great for all the world and PR is great and awesome the Holy One [Music] his for [Music] youing [Music] right exal the Lord Our God and worship him oh that is good to the Holy One mes his and [Music] was they all the on the Lord From [Music] The Lord Our God you oh God you were foring and their [Music] WR exal the Lord Our God his Mountain God and worship God for he is Lord the holy [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen you may be seated we're going to go to the Lord in prayer and in particular this morning we're going to pray for our brother Peter in Myanmar uh Rebecca Hamilton just sent out an urgent request for his prayer it appears that he's been apprehended by a local Army faction and so we want to pray for him and his wife and that he will soon be released gracious Father in Heaven is with joy that We Gather in your Pres pres this day we thank you for this privilege and this opportunity Lord we know that not all our Brethren have this privilege this morning and we pray in particular for our brother Peter that you'd be gracious to him to his wife pray that you would comfort her Lord we pray for his captors whoever they are that they would have mercy that you would move upon their hearts and that he would he would be quickly released and returned and that he would be able to continue the work that you have placed him in Lord we know that there are many of our our Brethren the world over who are constantly In Harm's Way for the sake of the gospel and for the work that they do in your kingdom and we pray oh God you'd be gracious and merciful to Peter and to many others this day that are sitting in prisons or that are in hiding for the sake of the Gospel be merciful to your people and encourage them this day Lord we pray for the Church of Jesus Christ across our nation of Canada we pray oh God that you would continue to build your church we pray oh God that the privileges that we now enjoy of Freedom would continue and that we would use them wisely Lord we pray that the gospel would be preached and that that gospel would cause a transformation to take place in this nation we live in a Land of much wickedness there are National sins that go on unchecked day after day and week after week horrendous crimes being committed and promoted by our governments Lord be merciful to us father I thank you for the churches that we are in close communion fellowship with we pray that you'd bless them this morning bless the workout in Dryden bless the Brethren up in in uh the orog in Armstrong and the church in Suri we pray Lord that you would encourage these continue to build them up in their Most Holy Faith bless the other Brethren other churches in this city of chilak where the gospel is being preached this morning encourage your flock oh God do the good work that you have promised to do to build your your church and the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it we thank you oh Father for this opportunity we pray that you would continue with us in worship we pray that you would do your people good and we pray Lord if there is any amongst us if there be any who have not yet tasted and seen that the Lord is good may this be the day of salvation we pray in Jesus name amen we're going to turn to our Himel now in sing number 540 and we'll stand As we sing Soldiers of Christ arise [Music] 540 CHR in the Str of his eternal son strong in The Lord of and in his mighty God who the strength of Jesus Christ is more and coner standing his great with all is streng and you but take to you for God the weakness of the Soul and by the to still walking in your and watching on to strength to Str and and all the Heart of Darkness and bring [Music] the amen for our scripture reading this morning we're going to turn to Mark chapter 9 we're reading consecutively through the New Testament and we're in Mark 9 verse1 this morning we'll read from verse 1 through verse 29 and he said to them assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power now after 6 days Jesus Took Peter James and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves eles and he was transfigured before them his clothes became shining exceedingly white like snow such as no laer on Earth can whiten them and Elijah appeared to them with Moses and they were talking with Jesus then Peter answered and said to Jesus Rabbi it is good for us to be here and let us make three Tabernacles one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah because he did not know what to say for they were greatly afraid and a cloud came and overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved Son hear him suddenly when they had looked around they saw no one anymore but only Jesus with themselves now as they came down from the mountain he commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen till the son of man had risen from the dead so they kept this word to themselves questioning what the rising from the dead meant and they asked him saying why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first then he answered and told them indeed Elijah is coming first and restores all things and how is it written concerning the son of man that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt but I say to you that Elijah has also come and they did to him whatever they wished as it is written of him and when he came to the disciples he saw a great multitude around them and scribes disputing with them immediately when they saw him all the people were greatly amazed and running to him greeted him and he asked the scribes what are you discussing with them then one of the crowd answered and said teacher I brought you my son who has a mute spirit and wherever it seizes him it throws him down he Foams at the mouth nashes his teeth and becomes rigid so I spoke to your disciples that they should cast it out but they could not he answered him and said oh faithless generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I bear with you bring him to me then they brought him to him and when he saw him immediately the spirit convulsed him and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming at the mouth so he asked his father how long has this been happening to him and he said from childhood and often he has thrown him both Into the Fire and into the water to destroy him but if you can do anything have have compassion on us and help us Jesus said to him if you can believe all things are possible to him who believes immediately the father of the C child cried out and said with tears Lord I believe help my unbelief when Jesus saw that the people came running together he rebuked the unclean Spirit saying to it deaf and dumb spirit I command you come out of him and enter him no more then the spirit Cried Out convulsed him great and came out of him and he became as one dead so that many said he is dead but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose and when he had come into the house his disciples asked him privately why could we not cast it out so he said to them this kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting amen so we've reached this point in the life of Jesus we call the Transfiguration children there's major events in the life of Jesus that we like to put little titles on to keep us keep us straight we talk about jesus' conception by the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin Mary we talk about his birth in Bethlehem his baptism in the Jordan River his temptation in the wilderness his ministry and his miracles in Galilee and throughout Judea his Transfiguration we just read about his triumphal entry his crucifixion his burial his resurrection his Ascension some of these are long words this is is the longest one right here his Transfiguration the verb to transfigure comes from Latin transfigure two words meaning to change the outward appearance Transfiguration the noun according to Webster's 1828 dictionary is a change of form this is what Noah Webster said particularly the supernatural change in the personal appearance of our savior on the mount see Matthew 171 you won't find that in a mod dictionary but in 1828 Noah Webster had no problem speaking about our savior all three synoptic gospels Matthew Mark and Luke record this event Peter talks about it again in his epistle in second Peter chapter 1 it was a major event the Transfiguration we have no idea how major this was to the disciples in particular Jesus actually announced as ahead of time we just read that in verse one he said to them ass surely I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power and 6 days later he takes them up on the mountain and this Transfiguration takes place I think I like to think that Jesus was he knew what was coming and I like to think that he was just bubbling with excitement and excited that some of his disciples were going to witness this this is okay a once in A- lifetime event but we use that very very flippantly the once in a life lifetime events that we experience kids for example listen up kids if your mom and dad were to sit you down tomorrow and say kids listen big event happening we're going on a trip over spring break next year a road trip well okay let's fly we're going to Florida we're going to see all the sites we're going to go to Disney World we're going to go EP Epcot Center we're going to see the Kennedy Space Center it's going to be like nothing you've ever had experienced before a once in a lifetime event that's how we use it that doesn't compare with this in fact I was in uh Florida when I was about 17 42 years don't do the math 42 years ago and I went to Disney World I've never been back I've never been back to Florida I guess you could say it was a once- in-a-lifetime event I may go I probably won't fact of the matter is if I really wanted to if I were a Disney World Fan I could have been there half a dozen times I could have taken my kids down to Disney World when I was in Disney World there are thousands of people in that place thousands and some of them probably just came from Orlando and had been there dozen times already that's not really truly a once- in a-lifetime event not like this one a little earlier in my life I had another once in time once in a lifetime event I was 13 in 1980 uh 1980 no sorry 1978 wo there's math again I was 13 and I was in the city of Yorkton when it was announced that the queen Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were coming to town and the day before I watched them put out all of the uh barriers and roll out the red carpet and prepare for the arrival of the queen that was a big thing I was there when she got out of the car and walked down the barriers I was so close I probably have had had had the courage cuz some people were doing I probably could have reached over and shook her hand that's what you call a once in A- lifetime EXP experience that close uh she returned to Saskatchewan 9 years later and many times if I had been a royal fan I probably as an adult could have followed her around the country and met up with her again but it wasn't once in a life at least it was a memorable experience that has no comparison to what we're talking about here no comparison whatsoever this was not just a once in a-lifetime event in the in the lives of these Apostles this was a once in the history of the world event it never happened before it would never happen again had this been advertised in the newspapers in Jerusalem hundreds of people would have shown up even the Skeptics would have shown up for the Transfiguration and if it had been announced months ahead all over the Roman Empire that Moses and Elijah were making an appearance thousands of Jews would have traveled from all over the world to see this event so how many people showed up it wasn't advertised Jesus in three that's it and yet it was such a Monumental event an incredible event to any Jew in these three disciples were Jews Moses the prophet Moses the man of God who led them out of Egypt parted the Red Sea brought down well God did all of that but Moses was his instrument greatest Prophet that ever lived in the Jewish mindset and he had been dead for 1300 years when's the last time you saw someone walking talking that had been dead for 1300 years I guarantee you you I haven't had that experience uh-uh and what about this other Prophet Elijah remember Mount Carmel 450 prophets of baale remember the fire that came down from heaven consumed the the sacrifice and the Altar and the water and then Elijah rounds up these 450 prophets and takes them down to the brook Kidron and executes them that was a Monumental event when did Elijah die trick question he didn't die Elijah never died he was caught up into heaven in a whirlwind Chariot of fire 880 years before the Transfiguration I mean these three disciples got to see something that none of us have ever seen we won't see anything like this till we're in glory this was Monumental know what else is more more even more astounding we have a problem with amnesia when we read our Bibles we tend to read a chapter or maybe just a few verses and we say okay I'm going to close my Bible I'm going to meditate on that we walk away we kind of forget it next day we come back we ah where was I I didn't put my bookmarker in I can't remember it was somewhere in the gospel Mark I think it was the eth chapter I'm going to have to read it again to know where I was and so we've got all these little numbers in our Bible chapter 1 2 3 4 5 Mark has 16 chapters you think now Mark was inspired when he wrote this it's perfect it's inherent there's no mistakes anywhere in this gospel do you think when Mark sat down to write this he was thinking I got to make it easy for my readers so I'm going to put in 16 chapters 16 chapters and 678 verses I counted them yesterday 678 verses so that it's easy for them to find their spot no he didn't he wrote it as one continuous story and it was meant to be read that way you sat down you read it from cover well you didn't read it from cover to cover because it wasn't a book it was a scroll but if you were an early Christian in the first century and you were handed The Scroll of The Book of Mark well for for one thing you didn't own a copy and probably your church didn't own a copy it was a copy that was circulated amongst the churches but if you had it had the opportunity you had it in your hands you read it with jaw-dropping awe from cover to from Roll to roll you read the whole thing that's how it was meant to be read so what did we read last last week go back up five verses in chapter 8 what did we read we read these words Jesus says to Peter get behind me Satan for you are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men if I were Peter I'd have been just shrinking out of sight like whoa what did I say that that's a harsh rebuke I'd have been thinking Me Maybe not Peter but I've been thinking that's it I'm done for I'm I'm not going to be a disciple anymore Jesus is going to tell me Peter you're a good fisherman go back to fishing you're not such a great disciple but Jesus doesn't do that who does Jesus take up on the Mount of transfiguration Peter James and John Peter wasn't even demoted you know you're the 12th disciple 11th disciple Judas takes that spot you're the 11th disciple no Peter's still in these top three Jesus didn't hold it against him isn't that amazing is that amazing the love and the kindness and the compassion passion and the Forgiveness that Jesus has what a wonderful wonderful savior we serve well let's pray gracious Father in Heaven thank you for your mercy and your kindness thank you for this example of your kindness toward your servant Peter and thank you oh Lord that we like Peter we go astray but you forgive us we put our foot in our mouth we say foolish things sometimes we know we're saying foolish things and we say them anyway we do foolish things but well Lord we know that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous would we sin we know that if you've set your love upon us there is nothing that can separate us from that love as Paul said I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord thank you Father for your mercy and your kindness we give you all praise and honor and glory in Jesus name amen our final hymn we're going to sing to uh sing Psalm 20 in our himy Psalm 20b is in Bravo please stand with me as we sing psalm 20b [Music] J you his holy and streng you may your saice all [Music] your your fulfilling all that you in your Sal [Music] ouring oh the Lord will your to [Music] all the will s his anointed re my his right hand holy heaven [Music] Andes their one the [Music] the we arise and of [Music] right oh and may he answer when we well you could turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts acts chap 7 acts chap 7 while you're turning there I'll just give a bit of reminder as to what we did last Sunday morning that section we've been in in John's gospel John 15:18 to John 164 we see Jesus cautioning his disciples or warning them rather or preparing them as probably the best choice of words for the opposition that they will face in this present evil age and in that particular context it was the unbelieving Jews those who reject the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrate a rejection of the father who sent him and so Jesus warns and exhorts the disciples to be aware of that and I gave a couple of illustrations I mentioned that the Apostle Paul was one who went from persecutor to persecuted he was one that tried to destroy the church he tells us that in his written records but we know as well that he was converted by our Lord Jesus Christ much owing to what we're going to look at here in chapter 7 at least from the human perspective and then he went on to be persecuted such that he wanted uh the the Jews and then ultimately the Roman Empire wanted to kill him the other example I mentioned was stepen and I think Steven's martyrdom is very instructive not only to illustrate what we see there in John 15:18 to John 164 but also in light of the news of our brother Peter in Myanmar just to encourage us that there is a Triune God on the side of that brother and that whatever man throws at him they cannot ultimately separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord so I want to pick up chapter 7 in the book of Acts the end of Steven's sermon and I'll explain a bit more how we get here to verse 51 in in a few minutes but beginning in verse 51 you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so do you which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they nashed at him with their teeth but 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 and said look I see the heavens opened in the son of man standing at the right hand of God then they cried out with a loud voice stopped their ears and ran at him with one Accord and they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul and they stoned Steven as he was calling on and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord do not charge them with this sin and when he had said this he fell asleep now Saul was consenting to his death amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for this beautiful day we thank you that the heavens declare your glory and your majesty and your righteousness we thank you that that that empty tomb of our Lord Jesus declares your grace and your mercy and your loving kindness to your elect we pray for your blessing upon the word we pray that you would encourage our hearts we pray that you would cause us to be uh prepared to be ready to be mindful of the opposition that does exist we know there is a devil that roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour we know there is a world that that hates the Lord God most high and the Lord Jesus Christ we know as well we have that own our own remaining corruption so God help us and give us Grace and strength to persevere in the midst of these ch challenges forgive us even now for all of our sin and unrighteousness and cleanse Us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus and God we pray that here and elsewhere wherever your gospel is preached you'd open the hearts of dead Sinners cause them to see their sin before a holy God and cause them to see that provision of our of our gracious God in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and may it be the case today that many would come out of Darkness into Marvelous Light confessing faith in him and we ask ask in jesus' name amen well as I said how do we get to chapter 7 verse 51 when Steven says you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so do you well it sort of begins in chapter 6 if you go back to Acts chapter 6 we note that Stephen is identified as one of the early men we call them deacons later on that would serve in the context of the local church notice in verse 5 the saying please the whole multitude and they chose Steven A Man full of faith and the Holy Spirit and then several others are Manet on the heels of that we see stepen then disputing with those who rejected the truth of Christ notice in chapter 6 at verse 8 Steven 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 freed men sirenian alexandrians and those from CIA and Asia disputing with Steven and they were not able to resist the wisdom in the spirit by which he spoke remember Jesus says the time will come when they'll put you out of the synagogues the time will come when they will kill you and while they're killing you they will actually think they're doing service to God so we see something of that here in the instance of stepen and notice specifically the charges that they level against him I I I love it step is doing what Steven should do Steven is declaring the truth as it is in Jesus Steven is no doubt saying that all the prophets and all the all the the law itself pointed to this Lord Jesus Christ notice in verse 10 they were not able to resist the wisdom in the spirit by which he spoke they couldn't best him in this argument he had the upper hand theologically he had the upper hand biblically he knew the scriptures and they themselves did not so what do they do do they go study do they go to Sunday school do they go to uh Seminary do they go to Bible college now they accuse him of crimes and turn him over to the Sanhedrin so that they can execute him notice in verse 11 then they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak Blasphemous words against Moses and God and they stirred up the people the elders and the scribes and they came upon Him seized him and brought him to the council this is very similar to what they did with reference to our Lord Jesus Christ so when Jesus is teaching his disciples that if they hate and oppose the master then certainly they're going to hate and oppose the servant Stephen expresses or rather demonstrates that notice in verse 13 they also set up false Witnesses who said this man does not cease to speak Blasphemous words against this holy place in 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 counsil looking steadfastly at him saw his face as the face of an angel now this is similar to Jesus not only in that they stirred up the crowd and aroused this animosity against him but remember that Jesus was accused as well as being something of a of a insurrectionist he prophesied the destruction of the temple as far as the Jews were concerned the temple and its existence was absolutely crucial to their own existence and so Jesus was accused of speaking words against the temple but intriguingly in Redemptive history so is the Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah announced that the city of Jerusalem was going to be sacked that the temple itself was going to be destroyed which by the way took place but when he made that pronouncement do you think that the Jews at that time said oh that's wonderful information thank you so much for passing that along no they wanted to kill Jeremiah they wanted to kill Jesus they want to kill Stephen so that's the situation then notice there in chapter 7 at verse one they have delivered up Stephen to the Sanhedrin now I've preached this message a few times you may even have notes in your Bibles about it but the thing that I've noticed this time as I've passed through it is that Steven's all alone Steven's solitary I mean maybe he pulled out his cell phone and called his lawyer maybe he texted his wife and said he'd be home late for dinner but there's no indication of that whatsoever there was no Peter to stand by his side there was no James to stand by his side there was no wife to stand by his side there was no Marty Moore from jccf to stand by his side he's all alone now remember the Sanhedrin is made up of 71 men this is the highest court in his Israel at that time they adjudicated matters of politics and matters of ethics and matters of theology so certainly this man who's preaching Jesus as the Christ when they reject that this has become a matter of treason as far as they're concerned and and blasphemy as far as they're concerned but remember that Stephen is all alone he's a solitary figure so what does Steven do in chapter 7 Steven preaches actually engages in what we call biblical theology it's a Biblical theology concerning Temple remember the charges against Steven are very simple he has spoken blasphemy against Moses and against the law and he has spoken blasphemy concerning the Temple and so in the address that is presented here he shows that it's not him who has spoken blasphemy about Moses and it's not him that missed the point concerning the temple it is rather them and that's precisely what he highlights in this sermon that he preaches in Acts chapter 7 so when we pick up where we picked up reading in verse 51 notice you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears we might read that and say boy he went from zero to 100 pretty quickly this indicates that there was animosity this indicates that there had been enmity this indicates that Stephen knows that the unbelieving Jews are engaged in trying to find the people of God and exterminate them just like Jesus Promised they're going to put you out of the synagogues and they're going to kill you and while they're killing you they're going to be thinking that they're doing service to God so Stephen is simply Prosecuting the case and turning the table on them the Theology of the temple points to Jesus the fact that you've rejected and resisted Jesus indicates that you have no understanding whatsoever the per uh for the purpose of the temple as well it's not Stephen that is speaking contrary to Moses but in Believing on Jesus and receiving Jesus as the one of whom Moses wrote It's not Steph that's got the problems it's the Sanhedrin it's unbelieving Israel it's the enemies of Jesus Christ they're the true blasphemers in this particular instance so then we want to pick up in verses 54 to 81 and I want to look first at the response of the council in verses 54 to 56 secondly the murderous Rage of the council in verses 57 to 58 and then finally the death of Steven in verses 59 to 881a but note first the response of the council in verse 54 when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they nashed at him with their teeth now the these things is the entirety of the message everything he has said beginning with Abraham continuing through Jo Joseph to Moses and then to Solomon and David and all these things he had taught concerning the temple they certainly disagreed with that they C certainly didn't Embrace that they certainly didn't receive it but me thinks it was probably more specifically his concluding observations in verses 51 and 52 you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so do you which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute well and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers see Stephen didn't shrink back from saying what needed to be said you can see this in the ministry of Our Lord as well coming up to the prophetic statement at all of that concerning the destruction of the temple in chapter 24 of Matthew's gospel in chapter 23 what does the Lord say woe to you scribes and and Pharisees Hypocrites brute of vipers you killed the prophets you're like whitewashed tombs you're like cups that are filled with muck on the inside but but appear nice on the outside other words they didn't shrink back from speaking the truth even when that truth might cost them their lives and again this is something that the church today needs to take notice of we're not to cow in the face of whether it be religious opposition or civil opposition or to hold fast the truth as it is in Jesus Christ and that is precisely what Steven does again solitary figure standing before 71 men that want his blood and so when he comes to apply it he doesn't say well you know I'd like to make a few observations but but I'm afraid of how it might end for me no you stiff necked and uncircumcised of heart how many times you going to continue to reject and resist the Lord Of Glory the one who came who assumed our Humanity who lived for us who died for us and was raised again for us and that spoken by Moses and the prophets it is your problem step says it ain't my problem and so no doubt when they heard these things they were upset they were cut to the heart not in a good way in Acts 2 Under the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost it says that they were cut to the heart and they cried out what must we do so Peter says repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins that's not the cutting of the heart that these guys are going through this is the cutting of the heart of being filled with rage filled with enmity filled with opposition filled with a desire to rid the world of this Steven because he's a treasonous man he speaks words against Moses and against this Holy Temple so they're cut to the heart and it's to be quick uh to be uh cut to the quick or to be infuriated and then notice they nashed at him with their teeth this this is an expression of Rage I think we still kind of do this today we kind of like that that's what they're doing they're filled with rage against Stephen Matthew P makes the observation nashing of teeth is the curse of the Damned which men by their sins do prepare for we learn that about the Lake of Fire they'll be weeping and wailing and nashing of teeth well they're preparing for this by their actions as they show this animosity to Stephen so we see the response of the council they're cut to the heart they're upset they're enraged and they Nash at him with the teeth but then note the blessedness of Stephen in verses 55 and 56 there's a vision that he has and then there's a declaration that he makes and notice the vision verse 55 but he being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glor of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God remember solitary Steven we like those sorts of things don't we we dare to be a Daniel we move on like Moses I don't know if anybody's everever said that but solitary stepen is not solitary at all and he being full of the Holy Spirit looks up into the heavens and sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand Paul mentions something like this in second Timothy CH 4 kind of his swans song epistle he says at my first defense no one stood with me no no one stood with me but the Lord strengthened me Stephen is understanding in great Vivid detail what Jesus promises in the upper room remember way back in John CH 14 Jesus makes a promise to his disciples if you love me verse 15 keep my Commandments and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you I will not leave you orphans I will come to you and then dropping down in verse 21 he who has my Commandments and keeps them it is he who loves me and he who loves me Will Be Loved by my father and I will love him and manifest myself to him and then again in verse 23 if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him solitary stepen is anything but solitary he's filled with the spirit he gazes into the heavens he sees the glory of God and he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of the father notice in Acts chap 6 we already saw sort of his induction to the to the role as Deacon according to verse 5 the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose Steven A Man full of faith and the Holy Spirit dropping down in verse 10 and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke you know you have ever wondered well will I be able to to stand before a Sanhedrin of men and give my defense I I can't see it cuz I'm pretty much a chicken as it is pretty much a coward as things go I've always been encouraged at the thought that if God calls upon you to do something specifically for him and his glory he's going to fit you and prepare you to do it when Stephen needed that Spirit to serve the church when it came to the to to the feeding of the the Hebrews and the helist when Steph needed that Spirit in order to best those bad theologian that didn't have an understanding of Temple and when Steven needed the spirit so that he could die a martyr's death the spirit's there he being filled with the Holy Spirit notice he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God this Vision was not seen by everyone but God gave this to Stephen in his time of great need Calvin says the glory of God appeared not unto Steven holy as it was but according according to man's capacity we gaze into the glory of God that's an accommodation on the part of God we can't just gaze into the glory of God that's an impossibility based on the fact that he's infinite and we're finite Calvin says for that infinite infiniteness cannot be comprehended with the measure of any creature other words he's given by accommodation by God's goodness and Revelation something of his own Glory to encourage Steven as he's standing before these god-hating Rebels filled with the spirit he gazes into the heavens he sees the glory of God but then notice as well and Jesus standing at the right hand of God now we've got already in the book of Acts according to Acts 2 and again in Acts 5 that Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of God but it's usually specified as sitting what's the sort of significance here of his standing I think it's twofold I think the fact that Jesus is standing shows Jesus willingness to receive his martyr when that last Stone snuffs him out it's a good thought isn't it you're about to be stoned to death you may be in the presence of being stoned to death and you you contemplate the reality that your blessed savior is standing there ready to receive you but I also think it's an act of judgment see it's not step that's on trial here it's not Steven that's the culprit it's not step that missed Moses and the prophets it's not Steven with a bad Theology of the temple it's the Sanhedrin this is yet another indictment another evidence another manifestation in case you need more the unbelieving Jews in their rejection of the Messiah reject Yahweh himself so Jesus is standing there presiding over this Jes is the judge yes he's going to receive Steven and that's wonderful but he's standing ready to judge P picks up on the first and standing ready to assist and comfort all that should suffer for his sake receiving Steven Gil picks up on the latter where he was seen by him standing to denote his readiness to assist him and his indignation at his enemies imagine somebody's messing with your child on the playground do you stand or do you sit in the bench and say don't do that to my little Junior no you stand up and you puff out your chest and you walk over there ready to rock and roll so Jesus is standing ready to receive Sten but ready to smash these Rebels which inci entally is coming in the destruction of Jerusalem in 870 now at this point it hadn't happened at this point there's a temple at this point there's a priesthood at this point there's a sacrificial system all defunct all a sham all a shell because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ it's them that are blasphemers not Steven so that's the significance of the standing but notice what stepen does the the the fellow who says you stiff necked and uncircumcised and heart and ears is the sort of fellow that's going to tell you about the vision that he just had now remember they got a problem with Jesus they got a problem therefore with Yahweh they they they just got a problem with all this and so look at what Steven says in verse 56 he said look look I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God now I'm not justifying it I am not condoning it I am not saying that it's okay but at some fundamental level I understand verse 57 I understand it in the same way I understand John 8 and John 10 when the Jews picked up stones to throw at Jesus again not condoning it not justifying it not encouraging it but understanding that if you're a diabolical rejector and hater of Jesus and thus Yahweh and Jesus is standing there equating himself with Yahweh I get the propensity to pick up a stone and to launch it at his head again kids not condoning this not justifying this but for Stephen to say what stepen says in verse 56 is to invite in a human demonic Earthly level the response of verse 57 so he says look I love that look I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God now Brethren this is very similar again to what happens with Jesus as he standing before the Sanhedrin remember the Sanhedrin the high priest puts him under oath are you the Son of God Jesus says it is as you said nevertheless I say to you Hereafter you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven when Jesus does that in the Sanhedrin in Matthew 26 you know the response the high priest rips His Garment the high priest probably throws up up his hands and the high priest says we have no further need of witnesses he's condemned himself he is equating himself with the danielc son of man as far as I know Steph is the only new other New Testament author or or speaker that refers to Jesus as son of man and so Stephen is following closely his Lord and Master and is receiving the same sort of treatment that his Lord and Master received deed now why did he do this well because he's not a coward why did he do this because it was true and why did he do this to rebuke his hearers Calvin says God not meant God meant not only privately to provide for his servant but also to ring and torment his enemies you got a problem with Steven's message will he hear about his vision you don't like his conclusions concerning Temple and Moses you're really going to have a fit when you hear what he's seeing as well it corroborates his defense what's one of Steven's points we didn't have a long you know we can't go through all of chapter 7 but one of step's points is that God does not need a physical Temple to manifest himself he appeared to Abraham out in Mesopotamia he he appears as he decrees and as he determines now certainly the Tabernacle and the temple functioned in Old Covenant religion as the the the visible representation of God's special presence but it wasn't tied to that in fact when Solomon dedicates the temple in First Kings chapter 8 Solomon admits as much we know that that the heavens of Heavens can't contain you much less this Earthly structure see there's a fundamental misunderstanding of Tabernacle SLT temple in the Old Testament and that fundamental misunder understanding is replicated in dispensationalism today we've got to have a rebuilt Temple we've got to have a rebuilt structure Jesus is the reason for the temple and the Tabernacle those were types pointing forward to the Lamb of God who exceeds and transcends the temple we don't go backward in Redemptive history we don't try to build more temples we don't insist upon temple building the Temple is here the fundamental idea with temple is dwelling place where do God and sinners dwell in and through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ so the idea being is that when Steven says I see the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand it corroborates his defense you think that in the temple you've got the alone presence of God I am seeing the glory of God and guess what the Jesus you hate the Jesus you resist the Jesus you reject the Jesus you crucified he happens to be standing right at his right hand th this would have enraged them which obviously it does they go nuts they can't handle this I mentioned this last week Brethren freedom of speech is a an illusion it is an illusion as long as you color with inside the lines it's an illusion that should be a reality it's an illusion that should be a truth it is basic and inherent and intrinsic to image bearers that they they be able to say whatever it is they want to say without committing crimes but here it's a different religious field it's a different interpretation of scripture it's a different interpretation of theology what does it drive these men to do it drives the men men to exclude from the synagogue and ultimately kill them and think they're doing service for God now notice we come to the murderous Rage of the council verses 57 and 58 note first they seize Steven according to verse 57 then they cry cried out with a loud voice stopped their ears and ran at him with one Accord you get the picture right they stopped their ears you probably did that as a child when somebody said something you didn't want to hear you stopped your ears and you might went so you didn't hear that these are like children only they happen to be disgusting demonic god-hating children but nevertheless they're conducting themselves like children right there done it's over Stephen we're not going to debate we're not going to search we're not going to read they're treating him just like they treated Jesus so you see when Jesus says if they did this to the master they're going to do it to the servant this really does confirm for us and validate to us the truth in John 15:18 to John 16:4 up until this morning even when Mrs Hamilton texts her emails and says that Peter was arrested why would you arrest Peter like again if you are on that side of arresting a Peter you've got big big problems if you're the guy that's wanting to kill Stephen it's not Steven that's the problem it's you so notice they seize him they cry out with a loud voice they stop their their ears Daniel Bach says the Remar uh the remarks send the crowd into a frenzy we got to get this this isn't like some you know little academic exchange oh well we just disagree with your Theology of the Temple we'll hear you again on the apostles get much better respect from the Romans when Paul goes to the areopagus in chapter 17 and he throws down with the epicurian and stoics do do you think they say well you know we got to kill this guy like right here right now you're done no some mocked they continued to think he was nuts Brethren accept that as a Christian people are going to think you're nuts I hate to hurt you hate to offend you or trigger you but people are going to think you're nuts they thought Paul was nuts they thought Jesus was nuts they thought Steven was nuts you don't think they're going to think you're nuts so Paul then continues on he gets treated pretty well by the civil government throughout the Book of Acts guess who's not treating him pretty well throughout the Book of Acts it is the unbelieving Jews So Bach says the remark send the crowd into a frenzy when stevenh declares that he sees the son of man standing at the right hand of God he is stoned for blasphemy because in the view of these Jews no one has the right to be at the side of God God's Heavenly presence it makes sense that they respond that way notice the end of verse 57 ran at him with one Accord there was no deliberation there was no voice of reason there wasn't a third that said you know what we probably should reconsider this before we just converge upon him and mob violence send him out of the city and stone him to death there was none of that these guys are upset these guys are animated they're filled with rage and fury they're covering their ears they're acting like children in the playground again demonic Wicked little you know horrible children but children nonetheless I don't want any kids to say you hurt me when you talk about children I've often said this if I accuse men of acting like little girls that doesn't mean I have any problem with little girls little girls are are good when they're little girls grown men acting like little girls girls or not they need to repent grow up be big boys go do your thing go fly little birdie so notice they seize him and then they Stone him verse 58 they cast him out of the city why do they cast him out of the city we can't let this blasphemer Blood pollute our holy city they do this with nabbo in First Kings chapter 21 as well that guy was set up Jezebel woman of the year here what a wretch Ahab you can't get that land get in there and lie get in there and and accuse get in there and get that man's land so they do when it comes time to kill they got to get him out of the city look at their their their absolute hypocrisy it's kind of like when they go to Pilot to prosecute the case against Jesus they won't go inside the pretorium they won't go inside that confine because it was the Passover and they had to remain ceremonially clean you're committing first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder you're committing the most heinous act of treason ever committed by the creature against God but you're concerned about ceremonial defilement by going into a gentile Precinct it's the same thing here we don't let Unholy polluted blasphemer blood pollute our holy city that's why they want to drive him out of the city in terms of blasphemy they got the text Leviticus 24:14 or Leviticus 24:16 whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death all the congregation shall certainly Stone him the stranger as well as him who is born in the land when he blasphemes the name of the Lord he shall be put to death so they get the law on their side at least in a surface uh superficial way they're interpreting interpreting it incorrectly they're missing the point in terms of who God is and who Jesus is but 24:14 in Leviticus take outside the camp him who is cursed then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head and let all the congregation Stone him so mentioned last week though they didn't have authority to kill Jesus why do they suddenly have authority to kill Steven they're fastidious to obey the law of the Roman Empire when they're going to kill Jesus but not long after they're going to go ahead and take matters in their own hands pilot schet local Governor why would we go to the local Governor Steven's guilty summary execution right here right now except not right here get him off get him off our property take his vile self outside the city and let's Stone him to death now this was a lynching don't know how else better to say it there was no due process there's no corroborating evidence there's no witness testimony there's no cross exam which by the way Brethren those things are absolutely necessary and crucial to all civil society when you know the defense can't present evidence or the defense can't be expecting cross-examination if if those things are gone Society is gone shortly thereafter it should really concern us when the benches are compromised in the L it should really concern us when the bench is politicized in the name of the service of the Civil State now here there is no justice John Gil this I I I disagree with John Gil very few things theologically the biggest would be eschatology but but he says this was not the Sanhedrin but the common people I disagree I think it was the Sanhedrin when Jesus is before the Sanhedrin in Matthew 2 6 67 and 68 it was them who spat on him it was them who slapped him I doubt the Sanhedrin said okay mob come on in and let's deal with stepen these men were already expressed their enmity and their opposition to Jesus as the master so the servant you've got grown men that are supposedly leading a people now albeit subset ish they're not the ultimate Authority in the Roman Empire but they have their own ability to make laws and govern themselves in so far as they don't present a challenge or threat to the Roman State all that's gone it's done no no doe process no nothing let's just kill him so notice what we see there in verse 58 they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul the Witnesses are those stoning Steven they loow lay their clothes CL down probably so they have unrestricted use of their arms to throw the stones even harder and it could have been hot work up quite a bit of sweat killing an innocent man I would imagine the young man is introduced here because the young man is going to loom large in the rest of the book this young man Saul of Tarsus Luke make sure that we know that he's here actually Paul makes sure we know that he's here it's always good to quote that quote from Matthew Henry he says that Paul fed his eyes with this bloody spectacle in hopes it would put a stop to the growth of Christianity we have reason to think that Paul ordered Luke to insert this and I think that's a good supposition Paul and Luke were buddies there are we sections in the book of Acts indicating that Luke was presently with them when they went to certain places but back to Matthew Henry we have reason to think that Paul ordered Luke to insert to insert this for shame to himself and glory to free Grace shame to himself and glory to free Grace Luke might have been saying I you know this is conjecture should I put this put it in why Paul they'll have a bad view of you they should have a bad view of me and they should magnify free Grace doesn't Paul do this in 1 Timothy 1:13 formally a a a blasphemer uh a a persecutor an insolent man I I tried to extinguish the church Galatians 1 there is in him that bring shame to the name of Paul so that Christ may be magnified and free Grace may be celebrated and that's what you have in Spades in this particular account and then that brings us finally to the death of Steven you've got his dying words and you've got his death itself and Brethren it is hard to not make the case that the servant is following exactly the heels of the master so notice in verse 59 they stoned Steven as he was calling on God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord do not charge them with this sin and when he had said this he fell asleep so he called Upon Jesus probably best to leave out God there and see it as a direct call from Steven to Jesus to receive his Spirit remember Jesus does this when he's on the cross and he says father into your hand I commit my spirit this picks up Psalm 31 which is about Jesus now in terms of the Comfort Calvin says this is an inestimable comfort in that we know our souls do not want wander up and down when they fill out of our bodies or flit out of our bodies but that Christ receives them that he may keep them Faithfully if we commend them into his hands this hope ought to encourage us to suffer death patiently Brethren I think that Stephen even in these dying words is corroborating his sermon what's the significance of Temple well it's where God and man meet together for the purposes of prayer and for forgiveness Stephen in his prayer or in his final words is confirming his Theology of Temple now whether that's in his mind or not we on this side of the the story can see it everything they Rage Against the thought that that Jesus is is a li five for one Jews weren't down on the whole Resurrection story remember they took pains to try and cover that whole thing up Stephen just assumes it and he places Jesus a standing Jesus at the right hand of the glory of God but as well Jesus is the one hearing prayer and Stephen understands that Jesus is the one to whom the petition for forgiveness is ultimately to be made he calls Upon Jesus to forgive his own murderers notice then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord do not charge them with this sin just like Jesus on the cross father for forgive them for they they know not what they do Stephen is following precisely what the master had taught and then as well notice the strength that he has given he cried with a loud voice Brethren I I don't get that I don't experientially cognitively I get it it's words on a page it means loud voice but experientially you you got a sniffle or a cold or you're laying on the couch there's no loud voice there's help me there's bring me crackers someone as well said wasn't it better when we treated you know colds with chicken soup and and tea versus communism yeah that's a good good thing but when you're crying out for that Ginger you're not loud voicing it he cries with a loud voice and this checks my spirit Brethren because if I was going to cry out with a loud voice at that moment it would be smash them destroy them every impactation I could recall from the Old Testament psalms let them have it Lord that's not Stephen remember last week I said when Jesus teaches his disciples it is to promote in them perseverance it is to promote in them Joy it is to promote in them pity what do we have that we did not receive and Stephen cries this out to his Lord understanding full well that Temple is where prayer is heard and where forgiveness is wrought and the temple wasn't that appendic that they were boasting in it was The Lord Of Glory enthroned at the right hand of the father who was prepared to receive his holy Steven into his presence and then that last statement and when he had said this he fell asleep FF Bruce I think captures this beautifully Stephen fell asleep an unexpectedly peaceful description for so brutal a death but one which fits the spirit which Steven accepted his martyrdom amen amen we we don't usually describe horrific brutal fatality oh they went to sleep no they got into a horrible car crash they probably suffered tremendously there was ashes fall asleep man was stoned to death that means big rocks hurled at his body to the point where it stopped him from breathing all his bodily functions ceased in light of the stones that were inflicted upon him and yet he's said to have fallen asleep and then 81 got to look at it now Saul was consenting to his death this means to join in approval to agree with to approve of consented to sympathetic with the murder the murder of a Godly Man the murder of a holy man interestingly Paul will use this term in Romans chap 1 after he levels his death blow upon the Godless pagans he says that they approve those who do the same just like he did when he stood there and watched step get stoned to death well brethren in conclusion I think first we see the Rage of the enemies of Christ yes we need to be prepared yes we need to be encouraged yes we need to be persevering yes we need to be full of pity but yes we need to understand that this stuff isn't confined solely and alone to the first century now thankfully life isn't horrible for us I mean I got up this morning there was no machine gun bullets you know whizzing past my head for which I'm very thankful I don't know that I'd like that life but just because something is the way it is doesn't mean it'll always be that way and for the people of God for a couple of generations now we've had it pretty good and we may continue to have it pretty good I'm not you know oh we're going to suffer as soon as we walk out these door I don't know that but there does seem to be at least in the hearts of some that profess saving faith in Jesus this idea that we're somehow immune from any persecution any opposition or any suffering whatsoever see the rest of the Bible is contrary to that notion I think preparation is a good idea preparation in terms of how will I answer if they put a gun to my head and tell me to recant my faith in Jesus how will I answer if you know unbelieving Jews or or Muslims or or or other sorts of cultists or civil religionists or Comm H how will I answer if if they ask me to to account for my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ well no I think the Bible says something about something there is really no excuse for us to be as ignorant as we are and I'm not speaking specifically I'm speaking generally in terms of the Christian world like like Stephen was able to reason with these guys in such a way that they had no other recourse as far as they were concerned but to kill him could we reason thus could we account for justification by faith alone if we're facing down a hostile pop uh papist C can we account for the triun of persons and the godhead if we're facing down the hostility of of modern day Aryans or Jehovah's Witnesses you know we only ever think of you know a Muslim state or a Jewish state or a Christian State what if the cultist got a hold of what if the the cultist take charge and it becomes Orthodoxy to deny the Trinity would you struggle with that would you be tripped up by that Brethren step was able to throw down because he understood there were going to be enemies and he understood he better be able to answer that I would suggest as well the stability of the faithful witness of Christ he demonstrates dependence on the Triune God he's there all alone again that jumped out at me more than it ever has as I've gone through this passage I have this overarching fear I'm going to end up in the GG sometime in my life and it's going to be all alone unless there's a couple of you you know few down few cells down that we can kind of rub our our cups against the the wire and sing some Psalms or hymns but that solitariness but he wasn't alone the the the anthem theme song of Liverpool England is You'll Never Walk Alone it's pretty impressive to see 90,000 football soccer fans singing that song well that's the reality for the Christian We'll Never Walk Alone there's nothing that shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord I will not leave you as orphans Jesus says in John 14:18 I will come to you this the spirit of truth I will ask my father and he'll give you the spirit of Truth we see that here in stepen called upon to suffer called upon to testify called called upon to do these things and never left on his own as well he expressed courage in the face of martyrdom what you don't get from Stephen is I I'm done guys okay I'll sign wherever you want me to sign I'll recant I'll re I'll reneg I I I'll deny I will I will say no he doesn't do that he can't be bought he can't be threatened I mean he can be and promised but he's not going to Wi he's not going to shrink back and and the fact that it reports his vision that's an in your face I don't think he meant it that way because he's actually Godly and I'm not but I would think of it that way oh I'm going to let them know what Vision I've had this will really get their goat for me to say that I see the glory of God and Jesus whom they crucified standing at the right hand of that Glory oh that's going to really upset them that would have given me a certain bit of peace and joy again I don't want to impose that or predicate that of Steven because he seems a whole lot holier than me but notice as well he evidences Christ likeness in his trial and affliction he doesn't abandon that doesn't forsake that he doesn't reneg on that he follows the master even to the grave and he is comforted at the prospect of being with Jesus Lord Jesus receive my spirit so brethren when we look at this passage it confirms for us practically John 15:18 to John 164 but it also confirms practically the rest of the upper room discourse god father son and spirit abide with us God gives us perseverance God gives us Grace God gives us the wisdom necessary to not only testify but to suffer and to die if needful and that God is worthy to be praised that God is worthy to be glorified that God is worthy to die for and that what you have is what you get from Stephen falling asleep under the hands of vicious murderers and if you're not a believer in Jesus Christ may I encourage you to consider the question what would move step to be a stepen it was because Christ is Christ because of the Gospel Life Death Resurrection it's because of justification by faith alone because of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit Steph does what step does because Stephen is a believer in Jesus Christ so don't end the day without belief in Jesus it's the good thing about Jesus he stands to receive his his his Martyrs that suffer for his name's sake do you know what else he does he receives Sinners that come to him in faith in fact he says it all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out you can't reason well if I go to him he won't receive me then he wouldn't be Jesus because Jesus says he receives those who come so come be blessed and get in the battle and be ready to die with stepen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this demonstration of what Jesus teaches in the upper room discourse not only at the point of the suffering and the persecution and the opposition but especially at the point of communion with the Triune God in life and in death and in eternal life we thank you so very much for the gospel of our Salvation we thank you so very much for our Lord Jesus Christ pray that many would come to know him by your grace through faith and that you would be glorified all over the Earth today and again be with our brother Peter may you bring to his mind the scriptures of both Old and New Testaments may he realize that he is not alone that you are with him that you are his portion and his lot and please God Comfort his dear wife his family and watch over all those orphans that he is responsible for and we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well let's stand and close by singing praise to our Triune God number 568 568 bless Praise In All Creatures here pra him the pra Father Son and Holy G Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen I'll go ahead and thank God for the food and everybody can head upstairs and get a nice nice meal and some time to Fellowship so let us pray Our Father we thank you for your word we know that man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that does proceed from the mouth of God we thank you as well though you give us those good gifts the temporal things that our bodies need the nourishment we pray that you would bless us as we gather together that we would receive with Thanksgiving the gifts provided by you thank you for all the labor that went into the preparation and for your supply of all these good things and we pray now through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll have a brief time of meditation and then please head on upstairs for food and fellowship e e e e