Suggested Readings To Read Through The Bible In A Year
Saturday November 15, 2008 Acts 7 through 8
Sunday November 16, 2008 Acts 9 through 10
Monday November 17, 2008 Acts 11 through 13
Tuesday November 18, 2008 Acts 14 through 15
Saturday November 15, 2008 Acts 7 through 8
It is somewhat unfortunate that our reading schedule had us read chapter 6 yesterday and chapter 7 today. These two chapters contain the total story of one deacon by the name of Stephen. (Note: deacons were not selected to govern the church – they were chosen to serve people in the church – they were not chosen because they were people of influence in the business world, they were chosen because they were filled with the Spirit and wisdom. The deacons were men who were on fire for God! Stephen and Philip are prime examples of men so full of the Spirit that they were looking for places to share the Good News of Jesus.)
Stephen’s passion to share Jesus created no small stir in Jerusalem. As he shared the Gospel and prayed for people, there were a number of miracles that took place and people becoming followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek Jews couldn’t handle it, so they got together and falsely accused Stephen of blasphemy – which got him a date with the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish governing body - around 70 men who were supposed to be experts in the Law of Moses and spiritual leaders in the community. It was men from this group that had joined with the corrupt high priest to condemn Jesus to death for blasphemy. Now Stephen stands before them to give account for the charges against him. Note verse 15 of chapter 6
Acts 6:15
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Some take that to mean that his face had a glow about it - and perhaps it did. . . Others look at that sentence and believe it means that Stephen had the countenance of a man of God – serene and confident of the fact he was innocent of the charges against him – calm and poised, reflecting the presence of God in his life.
Stephen never did get around to answering the charges against him. Instead, in true Jewish form, he begins to recite to those religious leaders the history of their nation and God’s dealings with them. The message that we read here is the longest single message recorded in the book of Acts. It leads to the third significant murder of a man of God in that era of time – the first being John the Baptist, then Jesus, and now Stephen. In this message Stephen points out the fact that the Jews have a history of rejecting the men that God has sent when they first appear on the scene - but the second time they surface they embrace them as sent from God. He talks specifically about Moses and Joseph and the way that they had been rejected. The message that Stephen shared was longer, so it lends itself to me getting a bit carried away as well . . . I will try to keep this short – but there are some thoughts I want to point out . . . three in particular. . .
1. There is change and progress in God’s program. Stephen pointed out that it all started with one man - Abraham. But then there came his son and grandsons, and before you know they were 12 great-grandsons who become the patriarchs of 12 tribes of a nation called to serve God. There was the move to Egypt and then the deliverance from there through a prophet named Moses . . . and there was the building of the Tabernacle that housed the meeting place with God . . .and Stephen notes that change again took place when Solomon built a permanent house for God on the hills of Jerusalem. . . . his point being that there has been change taking place for centuries, and now God has brought about one more change in the way that he manifests his presence among men.
2. The blessings of God are not limited to Judah and the temple area. Of course there were people then, as there are people now, who believe that the only blessed real estate and the only chosen people of God is Israel and the Temple. But Stephen notes for them that God started this whole process in Mesopotamia with Abraham . . . and then the venue was in Egypt where Joseph experienced the grace and blessing of the Lord . . . and Moses met God in Midian at a burning bush – and it was in the wilderness that God gave the Law and the Tabernacle was built. Stephen ends that thought with the question that is taken from scripture – what kind of house can you build for God who lives in heaven and uses the earth as his footstool? How do you confine him to one building? Is that possible?
3. Israel’s history was a pattern of rejecting and opposing God’s plan and God’s man. Stephen said
Acts 7:51
"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
Abraham got hung up in Haran on his way to the Promised Land – they rejected Joseph and the dream that God had placed in his heart and sold him into slavery . . . they rejected Moses the first time he tried to come to their aid – and then over and over they complained against him when he did lead them out of slavery – they rejected him at Kadesh Barnea and ended up wandering in the desert until they died . . . and over the centuries they kept forsaking the Law that God had given through Moses and rejecting the prophets that came to call them to repentance.
Stephen tied these three thoughts together and said to these “religious people” – you stand at a crossroads today – you have the opportunity to embrace or to reject what God is doing in his ever changing program to have a people on earth to call his own and to bless with his grace. But you rejected Jesus – you killed him – but he is your only hope – he is the one that God has promised would redeem us and all the nations of the earth. Men – it is no longer about a building in Jerusalem - it is about a people – any people – who will open their hearts to the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. . .
And Stephen died. He delivered the Word of the Lord . . . and was brutally executed for making the declaration
Acts 7:56
"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
That was a defining moment for the church of Jesus Christ. While it would appear that Stephen made a mistake in the way that he answered the charges against him that cost him his life, the fact is, his death set in motion the spreading of the church into all of Europe and Asia – even to India and Africa. It was the catalyst to a revival that swept across the nations . . .
What is it that God wants to do today – right here and right now? Am I open to it? Are you?
