The Acts of the Apostles 44

Subtitle: Peter Preaches to the Gentiles

Acts 10:34-43.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 11, 2023.

Today we are going to see the emphasis that God will save "whosoever" will come to Him and believe on Jesus as Lord and Savior.

This idea, that God wanted Gentiles to come directly to Jesus for salvation without first becoming a Jew, and that He would make no distinction between them as Gentiles or Jews, is historically an unthinkable thing for most Jews of that day.  To them, everything in the Old Testament pointed towards the Gentiles need to come under the Law of Moses and then be joined to Israel.

Lest we treat this as some kind of special Jewish prejudice, we should recognize that all nations think and speak of themselves in terms that can be boiled down to this.  We are "The People" and all other nations are something less.  We should not be so quick to accept that this is what the Jewish Scriptures were promoting.

We also have a tendency to promote that all ethnic groups are good and it is wrong to critique them.  However, this is simply refusing to face the truth of history.  Even by modern man's ever changing definition of what is good, there is a tendency to cherry pick certain ethnic groups for castigation, and turn a blind eye to other groups. It is the result of the mentality that the end justifies the means.

We will talk more about this, but for today, we see that God's heart was never operating out of favoritism.  He is going to save and fill with His Holy Spirit a group of Gentiles without making them fulfill the Law of Moses.

Let's look at our passage.

God shows no partiality (v. 34-35)

As Peter walks into the living space of Cornelius' quarters, there is a whole group of Gentiles gathered to hear him.  These are the friends and family of Cornelius.  It is here that Peter makes a powerful statement up front.  God shows no partiality, or favoritism.  This phrase is also translated as "no respecter of persons."  The underlying meaning comes from a word that literally states that He does not receive the face.  God is not looking at the face of the person and accepting them for external reasons.  God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Humans easily fall into this pattern and are sometimes blind to how much we do it.  However, God's judgments are not based upon superficial things.  He does not have a grid of things like: ethnic group, skin color, pedigree, gender, etc., by which He filters out people that He will receive.

You may remember seeing an image or picture of Lady Justice holding scales in her hand and wearing a blindfold.  The idea is that justice should be meted out purely upon the facts of a case and not upon whom is coming before us.   This is a good reminder for us as humans because we generally have to be blindfolded in order to make a just decision.  I wonder how different our halls of injustice would be if our judges and juries were actually "blind" to the superficial identities of the defendant and the plaintiff.  However, even this would not fix everything.

Yet, God does not need a blindfold.  We are all His creation.  He is not a part of our group.  He was not a god created by the Israelites to reflect themselves as the ideal back to themselves.  He holds them accountable to Truth.

The closest thing we have to this in our world is when two children cannot get along and seek a judgment from their parents.  Yes, parents can have a favorite, but a good parent will recognize that both kids generally need to grow up and that both generally need to be disciplined.

God is not just better than parents.  He is perfect in His judgments.  He created us all and is not willing for any of us to perish, but that all should come to repentance.  Yet, some will still refuse to repent.

Lest you think I am making the Old Testament sound better than it is, you should look at Deuteronomy 10 (particularly verse 17) [also 2 Chronicles 19:7].  Moses reminds Israel that God's choice of them was not an act of favoritism.  They were not His pet nation.  No, He called Abram before He was a nation, and not because He foresaw that a perfect nation would come from his offspring.  In fact, the existence of different ethnic groups, nations, is directly connected to a judgment from God against a global rebellion against Him.

God does not call Israel to take their place, but to be a blessing to all the nations (Genesis 12:3).  In the Deuteronomy 10 chapter, we also see God warning them to love the "stranger" in their midst.  There judgments were supposed to render "the judgment of the Lord."  Don't read that as God will stamp His approval on your judgments.  Rather, when we give a judgment, we are certifying that we believe this is what God's judgment is in heaven.  If we can't say that, then we should not make the judgment.

If you are still not convinced, then read Deuteronomy 32.  This chapter lays out that God knew they would be an obstinate and rebellious people (overall).  Of course, this would be true of any human people that He could have chosen.  An honest reading of the Old Testament will come to the conclusion that Israel was not treated with favoritism.  Rather, God was teaching them and doing a work through them that would help all nations (who were all in rebellion against Him by the way).

Peter also states that he "perceives" that God shows no partiality.  This word can be the result of my effort to look into something like a scientist.  I might perceive something, i.e., the light bulb of understanding turns on in my mind.  However, it can also be the result of a process where I am the student and another is teaching me, be it simply life, or God.  Peter is experiencing this second aspect.  God has been teaching and showing him that He is not showing favoritism with Israel simply because the Messiah was from their nation, and his apostles are from Israel.

This is a theme in the Old Testament.  God is a teacher, but humans generally hear Him, and yet, do not hear Him; they see and don't see.  Only the Holy Spirit of God can help us to hear and see what God is trying to teach us.  Even then, the Spirit of God will not override our choices.  The resistant and rebellious will go on over the top of God's teaching and be deaf and blind to it.

By the time we finally "perceive" what He is saying, God has been knocking on our door for a long time (at least when it comes to issues of repentance).  We must be careful as Christians (like Peter) that we do not harden our heart to what His Spirit is trying to teach us.

Have you ever taken any heat for doing what God put on your heart to do?  If not, then get ready.  If you follow Him, there will be plenty of people who will line up and take pop shots at your decision.  It is important for you to have done the hard work in prayer and in studying the Scriptures, so that you can have confidence that God is leading you.

In verse 35, Peter restates the point that God shows no partiality.  They are "accepted by Him."  There is a direct access to Jesus, or better yet, to God the Father through Jesus the Son.  It doesn't matter how much idolatry the person is coming out of, or how wicked their society has been.  A person from any nation can approach Jesus for salvation.

We should praise God for people who are hungry to hear the Word of God.  Some are like pouring water on a duck's back, whereas others soak it up.  However, we must not adopt the attitude that we only speak to "receptive people."  Jeremiah would have never spoke in obedience to God, if he had adopted that attitude.  We might be a voice crying in the wilderness, but we are a voice that belongs to God and is pleasing Him.  There are many people who have turned to the Lord after the deaths of their godly parents.  The parents did not get to see the fruit of their labor in this life, but they will in the life to come.

Peter mentions two things that are the hallmarks of a blameless man in the Old Testament.  The first is a person who fears God.  It is our tendency today to shrink away from this phrase, but in the battle with sin, it is an important, necessary issue.  Instead of ignoring God and His decrees, instead of pushing the teaching of the Holy Spirit away, this person halts and takes God seriously.  Something within them warns them that they had better not rush on and ignore this warning.  They pay attention to God and come after Him with a heart of loyal obedience (don't read that as perfection).  They do this while others ignore, mock, scoff, and continue on in sin.

It is not that God wants us to be afraid of Him all the time, as if He is going to smash us at any time everyday.  The fear of the Lord is that warning signal that rises up in our heart when we are tempted to sin, or stepping off the path of righteousness.  It is a warning that reminds us that we are in danger of making ourselves an enemy of God, the good and just God in Whom there is no partiality.

Peter also adds to this a person who works righteousness.  They do what is righteous, not in their own opinion, but as directed (defined) by God.  Peter is not saying that Gentiles can be saved by their own righteousness.  This is clear by what is said next, "accepted by Him."  This is about being locked out of approaching God's throne and asking for grace.

The Church must never teach a self-righteousness for acceptance and salvation before God.  We are acceptable and forgiven on the foundation of the righteousness of Jesus.  However, one who accepts the righteousness of Jesus will go after him and live out the righteousness of Jesus by the help of the Holy Spirit.  We can end up in the opposite ditch by steering too hard out of the ditch we are in.

The movie Jesus Revolution depicted the clash that occurred when hippies of the late 60's and early 70's tried to come to church.  They didn't have a suit on, a tie, or even shoes sometimes.  Yet, where in the Bible does it say such a person cannot approach God with the rest of us?  Anyone who comes to Jesus for salvation has only just begun to be cleaned up by his teaching and the help of his Holy Spirit.  Cleaning fish is dirty business, but God gets down in the muck and the mire with us, and by His Holy Spirit, He gets His hands dirty.  Will you join Him in that work?

What He wants from you is patient faith.  By your patient faith in His work, you will take possession of your soul and then make a difference in your part of the world.

Peter breaks down the Gospel (v. 36-43)

Peter then tells them exactly what he told the people of Israel on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and ever since.  Gospel simply means good news.  So, what is the Good News?  It all centers on Jesus.  He is the good news:  who he is, what he did on this earth, his death and resurrection, God the Father's decision, and now our opportunity to have peace with Him.

Another way of thinking about the Gospel is to look at the action and reaction.  God the Father sent Jesus to be the Anointed King.  Israel rejected him and put him to death (with Roman help of course).  God responded by resurrecting Jesus from the dead in a heavenly, glorified body.  He also makes him to be the king of heaven and earth.  God's wrath will be poured out on humanity, but first He allows all men everywhere to believe on Jesus (his work and position) and have peace with Him.  So, God has put the "ball" of choice in your court.  What are you going to do?

We may not feel comfortable with being put in the pinch, but the truth was that we were already enemies of God.  We were already living for sin and not for righteousness.  It is not easy to be set free from sin, and to be clear, it is not "fun" for our flesh to be freed from sins, but it is a joy for our spirit and soul.  There are some things that you may not want to let go of.  Sometimes we can become very hard to the nudging and correction of the Holy Spirit.

I see this when we deal with one another.  We can be in an argument or debate with people and find ourselves playing this game where we are not wanting the truth.  We are only trying to win.  We become nit-picky towards every little thing that is said and ignore any overall truth that is not dependent upon nit-picking grammar, and other irrelevant details.  There are too many people "winning" arguments in this world (in their mind at least).  Two people walk away from a debate and are completely convinced that they won. 

In fact, we are getting to the place where we define winning as not even listening to an argument that is not congruent with our thoughts.  We cancel the other side and call it a win.  We stick our fingers in our ears and refuse to talk with one another because we have become so afraid.  Do you know what we are afraid of?  We are afraid of the Truth.  We are afraid of God breaking through that shell and into our hearts.  We are afraid of finding out that we fall short.  But, please hear me.  The day on which you realize the truth that you completely fall short is a wonderful day.  It is a wonderful day because now you can find Jesus and He will become your foundation of righteousness. 

I tell you.  Every good thing that I have done in my life is really worthless in the end, if it wasn't for Jesus helping me to do it.  Preaching the Gospel is good, but if you are doing it to get the approval of parents and grandparents, if you are doing it to become famous and influential, if you are doing it for any reason other than Jesus has told you to do it, then it is as if it were filthy rags. 

God in His mercy sent Jesus because He knew we could not do it alone.  Take His hand and live!

When you think about the Gospel, it is mind boggling that God offers peace right after they have executed His Son.  It is not what you would expect.  This does not mean God was pleased with what they did.  In fact, they could not have crucified Jesus without His cooperation.  Jesus laid down His own life.  He knew that His willing sacrifice would open the door for Israel and the Gentiles to have terms of peace with God.

Let us be clear.  Peace with God is only available through putting your faith in His solution, which is Jesus.  Christians are those who have entered peace with God through Jesus, and then have become ambassadors to others on how they can have peace with God too.

Cornelius is a God-fearer, but he needed to learn about the Messiah and put his faith in him, just like the Jews of Jerusalem needed to do.

We can compare this to Noah's family in the ark.  As long as they remained in the ark, they would be safe.  It was God's designated place of protection.  If they jumped off the ark in the midst of the flood, their fate would be the same as those who never entered in the first place.  Jesus is our ark, and we enter him by putting our faith in him and following him.  We have a safe place to fight sin and become like Jesus.

In verse 36, the interjection, "Jesus is Lord of all," might sound like an abrupt insertion.  However, it is key to the point.  God in Deuteronomy 10:17 is described as, "the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome."

This highlights that Jesus has received a position that is higher than all authorities, like that of God the Father. He is not confusing them, but recognizing that the Father has put Jesus over all things.  Yes, it is a statement of divinity, but it is also a statement that helps us understand why his death brings Gentiles, all people, to the table.  Even in the Old Testament, God made it clear to Israel that He had not abdicated His throne over all powers in heaven or on earth.  Similarly, Jesus is not only receiving authority over Jews, or Europeans, or light-brown skinned people of the Near East.  He is lord of all, and so his terms of peace are to go out to all peoples.

In verse 37, Peter relates that they are quite aware of what Jesus had done, and how he had been executed.  Such a story would have affected anyone in the area, and especially those tasked with "keeping the Roman peace" in Judea and its surrounds.  Yet, Peter mentions the important points of what had happened.  Starting from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, he points out that: Jesus was baptized by John, Anointed by the Holy Spirit at that time (i.e., began his Messianic ministry), and He did good and healed those oppressed by the devil.  Yet, "they" killed him by hanging him on a tree (crucifixion).  Yet, God raised Jesus up on the third day, and showed him openly to the disciples.

Thus, Peter points out in verse 39 and 41 that he and the disciples were witnesses of all of this, especially the resurrection.  Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that over 500 people saw the resurrected Jesus and many were still alive decades later.

Peter is recognizing that the message is first for the Jewish people.  They were the ones among whom God had done this work, so they should hear the truth of it first.  However, it is also for Gentiles who also had rebelled against God in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel.  Paul teaches the same thing in Romans 1:16:17.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (NKJV)

The point is not one of partiality, but one of God's call and purpose.  Even in its disobedience, God would save the remnant of Israel and use them to send the Gospel to the Gentiles.  God's calling is without repentance because He called them knowing full well how they would act and what they would do.

Today a person can step into that place where they hear the truth and respond to the Spirit of God that is within the words of the Gospel.  We become witnesses of those who received the message from witnesses all the way back to the eye-witnesses.

They ultimately testify that God has made Jesus the judge of all humanity (the dead and the living, past and present, Jew and Gentile).  You can't bribe him, nor can you ignore him.  Hebrews 9:27 says, "it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."  This means that you will come before him to receive judgment.

At that point, you will not be accepted or rejected based on your genealogy, church attendance record, etc.  He will simply judge you in righteousness, according to the truth. 

This would be devastating news if the second part of Peter's statement were not present.  Those who believe in him will receive "remission of sins," that is forgiveness.  This means that your sins will be removed from you legally and immediately upon faith in Jesus.  From that point on, your faith in Jesus and obedience to the Holy Spirit will practically remove sin from your life in a process that is lifelong.  We should not use this as an excuse to be lazy because God knows our heart.  Sometimes laziness is an excuse for despising the chores given to you by the one in authority, and that is equivalent to despising the authority.  Jesus is able to discern the truth behind such matters in our life.

It is sad that barriers  have been continually lifted up by Christians that God does not intend to be a barrier.  Our love of sin is a big enough barrier.  Our pride is a big enough barrier, that we do not need to add more.  Jesus laid down his life to remove the barriers to people coming to him.  At least, we can say that he did everything for us, but repent in faith over the top of our protesting flesh.

I will never "finish" myself in becoming like Jesus.  It is God who completes the work.  It is best to see yourself working with Him in your heart and mind.  You do what you can, and He does what you can't.  Jesus has an immortal body, so none of us will be in his image until we too are in resurrected bodies.  You cannot do that in yourself.  God must do this for you.  He has promised to do this for all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Our problem today is not the Jew versus Gentile issue.  I will admit that there are some that have reversed this and despise the Jewish people.  This is sin, of course.  In the 1970s of the United States of America, the problem was those hippies.  Further back, it would have been those black people, those Indians, etc.  God helps us to see that we are all simply sinners in need of the grace of Jesus.  We should bar no one who wants to do so from coming to Jesus in repentance.  If we do so, we may find that the Lord's judgment of us in the coming day is not as favorable as we thought.

Peter Preaches audio

The Acts of the Apostles 35

Subtitle: The Gospel Goes to Ethiopia?  Part 1

Acts 8:26-33.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 12, 2023.

We have seen how God used Philip, Peter, and John to take the Gospel into Samaria, north of Jerusalem.  It appears that the main impetus that made Philip go to Samaria was persecution in Jerusalem.  Of course, we can preach the Gospel in jail, but Philip gets out of town and preaches in Samaria.  Clearly, the Holy Spirit was leading him.

In our passage today, Philip is going to travel southwest of Jerusalem on the road to Gaza in order to help the Gospel on its way to the continent of Africa!  That's right.  It is most likely that the Gospel went into Africa before it ever made it to Europe.

What happened in Jerusalem is now spreading to the ends of the earth.  Hmm...it is interesting that we are here, hearing the Gospel at the ends of the earth.  You are an answer to the Lord's prayer, his purpose, and even prophecy.

Amen.  Let's look at our passage.

God causes a divine appointment (vs. 26-29)

God has a divine appointment for Philip on the road to Gaza with an Ethiopian eunuch. 

You may have heard that phrase before now.  There is a sense where a parent has a divine appointment every day, even every minute, with their children.  God wants you to train them in His Word and in His ways.  However, in a case like this, you know it, and it is on your "appointment calendar."

There are times that God has something out of our normal routine, or schedule.  It is not on our calendar, not on our radar, but it is on God's calendar.

It is important to recognize it when God is bringing us to something that we were not expecting.  When it happens, we need to learn to quickly shift gears, and focus on what God is doing.  A good prayer to pray is, "Help me, Lord, to be used of You in this situation!"

In this case, Philip is told by an angel of the lord some of what he is to do.

The term angel simply means a messenger, and this is what an angel does, but this was a heavenly messenger.  We are not told exactly how this meeting happened.  Was Philip in prayer alone?  Was he back in Jerusalem?  Regardless, Philip has an angelic visitation and now the divine appointment is on his calendar.

In reading the Bible, we may come under the impression that angels should be showing up every day in our lives.  This is not an accurate reading.  Sometimes it was hundreds of years between a clear visitation of an angel in the Bible.  In fact, Hebrews 13:2 tells us that some people have entertained angels without knowing it.  Have you ever had something happen that later you thought to yourself that the person who helped you may have been an angel?

One of the men in our church, Joe Pyott, was driving at night outside of Spokane.  As he was going through a snowy pass, he slid off the road in a remote area.  He was a bit worried because it was late at night, and he did not figure anyone would be driving by for a long time.  However, in short order, three different people showed up and helped him in different ways.  One guy had a shovel and dug out the snow around his vehicle.  Another man had a truck and a chain.  He was able to pull Joe back on the road.  Even better, Joe was able to drive the car all the way home.  Praise the Lord! 

We might wonder if one of those people were an angel, or even all of them.  But, ask yourself this.  Does it really matter if you were pulled out of the ditch by an angel, or by a human being who was quick to do God's will in the situation?

Scripture details increased angelic visits during periods in which God is doing something critical for His plan of salvation.  We see this around the birth of Christ, and then later around the death of Christ, even the beginning of the Church in this passage.  The situation is so critical that God gives heavenly assistance so that the moment is not lost.  Now, notice that this doesn't seem to be how God led Philip to Samaria.  So, why now?

There seems to be something about this man.  He was a critical man, at a critical juncture of God's plan of salvation, with a desire to know God.  He needed to hear the Gospel, and God could see that he would go back to Ethiopia never having heard the Gospel.  That is, unless God did something out of the ordinary.

Just know this.  God can lead us through supernatural methods, but we should not be stuck on only being led by angels.  God is a big God, and creative too.  It is up to Him how we are to be led, and we need to be aware of those ways.

Philip's instructions from the angel are to head down the road from Jerusalem to Gaza through the Judean wilderness, i.e., no one is out there.  There is no indication that Philip is told what will happen.  Of course, since it was an angel, he has a pretty good idea that it has something to do with spreading the Gospel.  Is he going to preach in Gaza?  What will he find?  He doesn't know.

God doesn't always give us all the instructions up front.  He is wanting to see if we will trust Him and step forward.  At the right time, He will give you the next instruction.  Just be faithful.  Thus, we are told that Philip "arose and went."

How important it is for us to be quick to obey when God leads us to do something.  Philip isn't asking why.  He simply gets up and goes.  Better to muse in your mind as you are obeying, then to sit at home wondering what could happen.

Yet, it doesn't have to be just about obedience.  There is a higher level to all that God gives us to do.  Anything that God asks us to do will be a chance to participate in something live changing.  If we really understood that, then we would jump at the chance to do anything for Him.  "Alright, I get to see God do something great!  Let's get started!"  More than that, we get to participate with Him by faith!

Remember that all responsibilities require doing duties, but when we understand the heart of God, we will jump with joy at doing what He wants done.  If God is in it, then we can have joy in it because He transforms lives!

If we look at the story from the Ethiopian's view point, then it is quite different.  God is leading him too, but it is unknowingly.  Of course, we could say that he is not a Christian yet.  True, but he is a believer in Yahweh, a convert to Judaism, a God-worshiper.  Just as God can put something on our heart by His Holy Spirit, or lead us by an angelic visitation, so God can lead us without us even knowing it.  Sometimes God just likes to surprise us with a divine appointment.

So, Philip is traveling along the road, sees the chariot, and the Spirit tells him to overtake the chariot.

The man in the chariot is a eunuch from Ethiopia.  He was a eunuch because that was common practice for palace slaves and palace servants in much of the world throughout history.  It may not seem to be important, but by the end of this sermon, you will see that it is very important that he is a eunuch.

He is also an "Ethiopian."  This term was created by the Greeks to refer to Africans who lived anywhere south of Egypt.  This is a very general term.  However, the reference to the Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, gives us a bead on exactly where he was from.  If you look at a map, you will see Egypt.  As you travel south you will run into the country called Sudan today.  Southeast of Sudan is the modern country of Ethiopia.  Candace is not the name of this Queen.  It was actually a term like "Pharaoh, or Caesar."  In Greek, it is phonetically Cahn-'dah-kay, or better, The Kandake.  These African Queens ruled in what we would call northern Sudan today.  In the Old Testament, this kingdom is always referred to as the kingdom of Cush.

The Kandake ruled in a co-regency with her son as king.  They both had their own armies, treasuries, and palaces.  However, they co-ruled over the Cushites.  In fact, the king's son would not be the next king.  The Kandake's eldest son was king, but the first son of her eldest daughter (who would take her place upon death) would be the next king.

How had this man heard about the God of Israel?  The capital of the Cushite kingdom was over 1,500 miles from Jerusalem.  Notice that he had gone to Jerusalem to worship.  Perhaps, he heard about Yahweh through a servant.  Regardless, he believed in the God of Israel, and went to worship.

The fact that The Kandake would let him travel that far, either means that she values him very highly, or that she is interested in this religion of his, or both.  God was leading this man, whether he knew it or not.

Whether you know it or not, God is leading you.  That doesn't mean that we never make mistakes.  In fact, we can be resisting God like Saul of Tarsus was doing.  God will always be faithful to lead us into opportunity for repentance.  This man had repented and believed, and so God put him on a path to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

A man is puzzled by the Scriptures (vs. 30-33)

As Philip approaches the chariot, he hears the man is reading the prophet Isaiah.  This scroll may be a gift to The Kandake, or it may have been purchased by him.  Philip asks him a clear question that is not insulting, but also opens the door for discussion.  "Do you understand what you are reading?" 

Let's not jump past this simple point.  God wants you to understand the Scriptures, and they have been written in such a way that they can be understood.  Of course, our spiritual state will make a big difference whether or not we can understand the Scriptures.  Only a person who approaches the Word with faith can begin to understand.  Yet, anyone who is really looking for Truth will find it in the Scriptures.

Yes, there are parts of the Scripture that are not as clear to us.  The Bible itself speaks of some parts being "milk" as opposed to other parts that are "meat."    The picture has to do with development.  A baby only digests milk at first.  However, as it grows on that milk, it will be able to digest more and more complex food.  If I read something today, and I don't know what it means, then I should just pray this simple prayer.  "Lord, I love you, and I want to know what this means.  Please help me to understand at the level that I can for now."  In fact, it doesn't matter if you have been a Christian for 70 years.  There is always stuff to learn about God's Word.  He is the God of the universe.  Anything that He has written is bound to keep us busy for a life time of understanding.  However, that is the beauty of God's Word.  You don't have to understand everything in order to understand the most important things.

Believers need to take the Word of God seriously.  He wants you to understand, and understanding will take devotion to reading, studying, and discussing the text with other believers.  We blow a lot of time with entertainments when we could be reading the words of the Creator of the universe!  Don't squander the wealth of Truth and knowledge that God makes available in order to go after the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Some may feel like studying the Bible is the pastor's job.  Don't rely upon another person for your understanding.  They won't be there on that day that you stand before God and give account.  He has written this Bible to you as much as to anyone else.  If you really love Jesus, then you will take His Words to you seriously.

The Ethiopian eunuch's response lets us know that he was having trouble understanding.  He needed a guide, a teacher.  Self-study is the bedrock of understanding the Bible.  However, on top of this, God provides guides or teachers.  This man was isolated.  How many years would it take for the Gospel to make it to Cush without some assistance from God?  God saw his desire to understand the Scriptures, and He sent him a good guide.

Of course, there are many "guides" in the world today who want to lead you astray.  They are false guides, even anti-guides, false teachers, and false apostles.  Jesus warned that Israel's leaders had become blind guides leading the people into a ditch.

So, how do I protect myself?  You protect yourself by being a person who is devoted to reading the Word, and praying to God for understanding.  You protect yourself by being a person who is committed to being led by the Holy spirit.  Such a person will always find that God provides exactly what they need.  Thus, the Bereans of Acts 17:11 searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things that Paul was preaching were really so.  Such a person will be very hard to deceive.

This brings us to the passage that the man was reading.  You may have recognized the verses.  They come from Isaiah 53.  This is the most important section of Isaiah, which reveals God's suffering servant who would save Israel, and the Gentiles, from their sins.  Of course, it is talking about the Messiah, Jesus.

During those days in Israel, it was acceptable to see this passage as talking about Messiah, but after the cross and Christians preaching Jesus, the rabbis began developing arguments against the passage speaking of Messiah.  Today, the typical rabbi will say that the passage speaks about Israel saving the world through her suffering.  However, this does not make good sense of the flow of God's arguments from Isaiah 40 to 53.

In fact, the argument is precisely that God made Israel to be a servant to the nations, but Israel had become a blind and deaf servant, i.e., useless.  God himself would rise up and bring forth His perfect servant who would not only save Israel, but also save the nations.  Isaiah 53 shows Jesus carrying the sin, and the curse of sin, of the nation of Israel and the Gentiles upon himself.  He would be punished in our place and provide forgiveness through his wisdom.

I don't think the Ethiopian eunuch was reading this by accident, and Philip is not there by accident either.  However, there is one more "accident," or should we say coincidence that we should give our attention.

No doubt, the eunuch not only knows that Isaiah 53 is talking about Jesus, and what Jesus did for him, for all of us, he will keep reading.  Guess what he will find only three chapters later in Isaiah 56:3-8?  Here is the text.  As you read it, you should weep for joy as that eunuch no doubt did when he read it.

3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,

5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.

 6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant—

7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

How must that have hit him.  The Lord is essentially telling this man through Isaiah (written 700 years before this), "Don't say that you are a dry tree!"  In the natural, he was a dry tree.  He was never going to have a family to pass on his love and knowledge.  Yet, he now had a treasure within him that was Jesus, the Lord of Life!

He would take this treasure of God's love through Jesus with him back to Cush as an ambassador of the Lord.  We don't know the rest of the story of this man.  How many people did he share the Gospel with throughout his life?  On the day that he would lay his head down in death, he was leaving behind a spiritual heritage that the God of Israel loves Cushites, and whosoever.  He died so that you can be forgiven and live with him eternally.  It didn't matter that he was a foreigner to Israel, or a "dry tree" in the natural.  He would pass on the faith to spiritual offspring by the power of Jesus. 

And, so will you, if you put your faith in Jesus. If you follow the world, you will be a dry tree.  I don't care how many kids you have.  But, in Christ, the Spirit of God will give you life, and that life will overflow you and impact others!

Ethiopian Eunuch audio

The Acts of the Apostles 32

Subtitle: The Stoning of Stephen II

Acts 7:57-60.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 22, 2023.

Last week, we looked at Stephen's conclusion to his defense before the Sanhedrin, the highest council of Israel.  He tells them that they are resisting the Holy Spirit just like their forefathers did.  He tells them that they have betrayed and murdered the Righteous One, which had to be a hard hit to them.  Lastly, he tells them that they have not obeyed the law.

Each of these hits on an area that they would have thought they were performing well.  They prided themselves in having received the law and meticulously obeying it and teaching it to others.  They would have prided themselves in waiting for the Messiah and teaching others to wait for him in righteousness.  They would have thought that they of all people were not resisting the Holy Spirit, but instead, were doing what God had told them to do through Moses.

However, this isn't the first time that they have heard this.  Jesus took them to task on this.  Peter and John had also said similar things when they were before the Sanhedrin. 

Regardless, if Stephen's charges aren't enough to precipitate his stoning, his description of a vision of God's throne in the heavens pushes them over the edge.  This time Gamaliel doesn't step in.  Is he enraged too?  Or, has he decided that he has pressed his honor far enough, and won't take the risk with this angry group?

There is a powerful spiritual dynamic at work here.  God deals with us as individuals, but at the same time, we are often part of groups.  It is impossible to avoid the group dynamics that can catch us up in a wave of emotional response.

We might even take a moment to ask the question if Stephen should have toned it down a little.  Was Stephen being too judgmental?  Judge not lest you be judged?  In truth, that verse gets quoted a lot by people who use it as a moral cloak.  It is simply a warning to make sure your judgments are righteous because, when you stand before God, He will take the manner of your judgments into consideration.  You were harsh?  Then, He will be harsh.  You were merciful?  Then, He will be merciful.

There are times when God speaks strongly to us.  He does this because He loves us.  Stephen spoke some hard words, but they were from the heart of God who wanted these men to hear the truth.  He loved them enough to tell them the truth.

On the other hand, these men have to be careful how they judge, which looks like they merely judged by emotions.  This is the problem with the accusation that someone is being judgmental.  Even that accusation is itself a judgment.  If you are using it simply to stiff-arm dealing with your stuff, then you are not doing yourself any favors.  Ultimately, we will all stand before God, so it doesn't matter what the other person says.  It only matters what God says.  If God can speak through a donkey, then he can even speak through a sinner who isn't completely right.  Don't shield yourself with platitudes.  Instead, turn to God in prayer and seek the truth.

Let's look at our passage.

The reaction of the Sanhedrin (vs. 57-60)

The council had been listening to a man filled with the Spirit and exposing their sin.  What would their reaction be?  Would it be to fall on their face and cry out to God for repentance?  No, like a pot coming to a boil, the Holy Spirit has been convicting them of sin, and they do not like it.

Verse 54 tells us that the council members were cut to the heart, and they "gnashed at him with their teeth."  This may sound bad, but at least there was a reaction.  It was proof that the Holy Spirit was breaking through to them.  Of course, we don't want to try and make people mad on purpose, but when people do explode in anger, just know that the Spirit of God has touched a nerve.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  God's word through Stephen pierced their heart, and when that happens we can become quite uncomfortable.

Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 that he wasn't ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus because it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles.  We have all had the Holy Spirit convict us of sin.  How we respond is the critical thing.

Like parents dealing with a stubborn and resistant child, God deals with the reality that we need truth inserted into our life, but outward conformity isn't good enough.  Is my highest goal for my child that they not embarrass me in public; that they protect my "brand?"  No, the real issue is always the internal for God and for any parent who truly loves their child.

When the truth finally cuts through to the heart of a child or an adult, you will always get a big reaction, whether for good or bad.  It may seem harsh sometimes when a person is angry or crying, but God wants our hearts, and without the conviction of the Holy Spirit no true work can be done.  Praise God that this is exactly what He does (see John 16:8).  When God convicts a person, it is not about pushing that person down.  Rather, it is Him pleading with them.  "Why will you die?  Take my hand!"

Sadly, instead of falling on their faces in repentance, they covered their ears, cast him out of the city and stoned him.

Perhaps they are crying out, "Blasphemy!" as they did with Jesus in Matthew 26.  They may also be trying to shout him down, since they categorically reject that he is actually seeing the throne of God.

Also, they cover their ears, somewhat to keep from hearing more, and somewhat as a symbolic showing that they reject what he is saying.  Then, they rush at him.

All of these descriptions fall short of godly judgment of godly men.  However, the worst description to me is the phrase "in one accord."  It was if they were a single organism working with one purpose and one passion.  Unity is important precisely because the thing that unifies us can be bad or good.  I don't like one word mottoes like: Unity!  Love!  Equality!  They beg too many questions.  Unity around what?  Love of what, and how is this love defined?  What do you mean by equality? 

These men were just as unified as the 120 disciples were in the upper room of Acts 1-2.  However, a different spirit was animating and unifying them.  It reminds of that scene in Fyodor Dostoevsky's book The Possessed.  It is set in Tsarist Russia before the Bolshevik revolution.  A fire is set in a rundown section of town and everyone is scrambling to put out the fire.  A man who was demonstrably crazy throughout the book is running around yelling, "You can't put out the fire.  It's in the minds of men!"  Of course, no one is listening to him.  He's a crazy man, but it is the most salient point in the book.  The communist revolutionaries were seized upon by a fiery idea that would unify them to horrible things.

Groups, crowds, and protests can be powerful for good, but they can also be powerful for evil.  What spirit is animating the group?  More importantly, what spirit is animating me?  If the Spirit of God is animating me, then I will know if I run into a group that is not.  Of course, the Pharisees believe that they are led by God's Spirit too.  So now, we can have an event where one side says they have the Spirit and the other side says, no, we have the Spirit, a spiritual stand-off.

Some people become frustrated with such things and just walk away, even from church altogether.  How can you know who has the Spirit?  You make sure that you are in connection with God's Spirit, and if you aren't sure, then get out of the group, go home, get on your knees, and pray until you find God.  Time always proves what side has the Spirit of God.  In fact, sometimes neither side has the Spirit of God.  Yes, it is hard and difficult to go through such things, but it is the call of God to grow up in Christ.  Make sure for yourself that you are being led by the Holy Spirit, and leave the rest up to God.

As the group begins to stone Stephen, Luke brings our attention to young Saul of Tarsus.  Chapter eight will begin to describe an outbreak of persecution upon the Christians, and Saul was a zealous tip of the spear in it.  There it says that Saul was "consenting to his death." 

In this passage, it says that they laid their outer cloaks at his feet.  He would be the guarding them as they focus on stoning Stephen.  Someone could steal them.  Similar to playing sports at the park, it is hard to watch your stuff while you are playing.  Typically, you get a friend to watch it.

Saul didn't throw any stones, but he was an accessory to the murder of Stephen.  Of course, he was probably glad to be part of cleansing Israel for God.  However, later he would look back on this moment and see himself as the chief of sinners.

Have you ever done that, looked back at your life and saw just how blind you really were?  Often, it is not just blindness, but wickedness too.  Saul would go by Paul after his salvation.  He realized that he had been the worst of the worst, and yet, God loved him.

What do you do when you know how wicked you have been, how resistant and rebellious, and yet God calls you, and tells you that He loves you?  We can protest that God doesn't know how bad we really are, but the truth is that He knows that we are even worse than we believe we are.  Yet, He still loves you.  Why?  How?  There is no real answer to that.  Try to tell your spouse, or kids why you love them.  You will end up with a list that seems trite.  Even if you say that you love them because they are so lovable, it dredges up the inevitable question.  What if you find out who I really am, an unlovable person?  You don't have to have a why when your kid is born.  You love them.  You don't know what their life will be like, but you love them.  However, God knows everything about us, past, present and future.  Yet, He still loves us.  He died on a cross for you, just as He died on the cross for Saul of Tarsus, and even Caiaphas.  God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should have eternal life.

In Stephen, God was goading and pleading with those men that day to accept the Truth about who Jesus was, and still could be in their lives.  We should be thankful to God that we are not stuck in the truth of what we were, or even what we are today, any more than Saul was stuck being a blind persecutor of God's people.

Let's finish by looking at the last words of Stephen.  The scene is a loud and angry one, and yet, Stephen is serene in the face of it.  Surrounded by hatred and people throwing stones at him, he demonstrates the love of Christ through his actions and words.

This is easier said than done.  There is a spirit of rage moving in the crowd that can be infectious to both sides.  It doesn't matter if you are right.  You can be caught up in a spirit of fighting and arguing that is not of God.  Now, you both are wrong.  However, Stephen does not rail against them.  He simply cries out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"  He is not calling down fire from heaven upon them.  He knows that he is about to go home to his lord.

Jesus had told the Pharisees within the hearing of the disciples that he would send prophets and wise men to them and that they would kill some of them.  So, these men knew that they had signed up for something that could cost them their life.

Stephen had come to the end of his race, and now the only thing left was to run through the tape into the arms of an awaiting Jesus!  It is interesting to me that it was a Hellenized Jew who was the first to die for Christ.  I don't think this was to slight Peter, nor was it to protect him.  Peter would give his life around 30 years later.

Regardless, for the believer in Jesus, to die is to be present with Jesus at the throne room of God the Father.  Stephen has lived a life that was a witness to the Truth of Jesus, and now he will give the ultimate witness by dying for Christ.  Jesus is worth dying for and he is worth living for.  In fact, it is only a person who has lived for Christ who can die for him.  They both go hand in hand, like two sides of the same coin.

Lastly, Stephen stays true to form by giving words of mercy to those who are killing him.  "Lord do not hold this sin against them."  It is clear that he is thinking about the death of Jesus.  Jesus committed his spirit unto the Father, and asked the Father to forgive those killing him because they didn't know what they were actually doing.  He perfectly images the Father in this moment because He is perfectly imaging Jesus, who perfectly imaged the Father.  I hope you followed that.

How could he do that?  He is unjustly being put to death by wicked men.  Clearly, the death and resurrection of Jesus had changed his mind about what his job in this life was.  His job wasn't to get justice, or rail against wickedness.  His job was to be a witness to the lost of the love of God that is calling to them even as they murder a man.  Stephen refused to become bitter, hateful, and angry.

Of course, this doesn't mean God will not judge.  In fact, it is precisely because God will judge that we can show mercy.  As long as they are alive, they can repent, turn from their sins, and put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Do I really believe that God is not willing that any should perish, even those throwing stones at me right now?  Do I really believe that He wants to hold out His hands offering peace through me, even those who are mistreating me?  How can a person have this kind of attitude?

We can only have this attitude by dying to our desires and plans, and asking God to fill us with His desires and plans by His Holy Spirit.  Only the Spirit of God can enable a person to love their murderer and pray for their forgiveness.  "Oh God, do in me what I cannot do in myself!"  Everyday people are slipping into eternity lost, and it breaks the heart of God.  Can it break mine too?  It can if I will seek to be filled with the Spirit of God, and His love.

Stoning II audio

The Acts of the Apostles 31

Subtitle: The Stoning of Stephen I

Acts 7:51-56.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 15, 2023.

As Stephen's defense comes to a close, we come to a bitter sweet event.  In some ways, this is an awesome story.  Stephen is standing up for Christ like a mighty warrior.  He is a good image of Jesus.  This here is some good imaging of our Lord.  At the same time, Stephen is winning the martyr's crown.

Yet, this story is also sad.  It is sad because he will be executed for believing in Jesus Christ as the Anointed Savior for Israel and for the whole world.  It is sad because the grace of God was rejected that day.

It is sweet because Stephen dies, and death holds no terrors for the believer.  O, yes, it does hold terror for our flesh.  We may all want to go to heaven to be with Jesus, but it is the dying part that makes us squeamish.  Not all deaths are equal.  Some pull their feet up into bed at night, go to sleep, and never wake up.  That's almost cheating!  However, others come to death through great torture and pain.

I have been reading about the Scottish Covenanters in the AD 1600s.  They were tortured greatly before being put to death, simply for not yielding to a king's demand that they worship Jesus in a particular way.  Yet, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord where there is no pain and suffering.  To be die is to be free from the battles against sin and wickedness.

Yet, we must be careful.  Yes, I long to be with Jesus, but the battle for saving souls is important.  It was important enough for Jesus to come down and fight it with us.  In fact, he fought for us when we were without strength.  There is something good in the battle.  It helps us to be more like him.  Our day of vindication will come from the Lord in due time.

It is sad because in this one moment they will prove the words of Stephen, and in this one act, they will make his case for him.  They could have repented, but instead, they did to him what they had done to Jesus before him.

Let's look at our passage.

The conclusion of Stephen's defense (vs 51-56)

Stephen comes to the end of his defense with a very hard conclusion.  He tells them that they are resisting the Holy Spirit like their ancestors before them.  On top of this, he declares that they are uncircumcised in heart and ears.

These men would be shocked by such a statement.  Circumcision was an outward sign that they were a part of the covenant of Moses, a son of the law.  Not to be circumcised would be to have no inheritance in Israel.  Neither was this just a male thing.  Women were part of the inheritance through only marrying circumcised men.   

Yet, in Deuteronomy, Moses made it clear that this pointed to a spiritual thing.  God wanted them to circumcise their hearts.  Stephen adds the idea of circumcised ears here.  What does it mean?  It is a part of my nature that keeps me from hearing and being touched by what God is saying and doing.  It needs to be cut away so that we can be sensitive to God.  If I want to be able to hear God, then I must remove from myself that flesh which keeps me from hearing God.  We could use any of the senses, such as eyesight.  If I want to see God, feel God, then I need to take up the sword of the spirit and do my own spiritual circumcision.

When Stephen mentions that they are resisting the Holy Spirit just like their ancestors, it reminds me of times when one parent will say to the other, "Do you know what YOUR child did?"  These are Stephen's ancestors too.  Also, we can note that not all of their ancestors resisted the Holy Spirit.

It might be good to go back through Stephen's defense and not all the people who resisted the Holy Spirit and all those who were obedient to the Holy Spirit.  In fact, you could say that Israel came about as a nation because Nimrod led a rebellion against the Spirit of God.

Stephen's argument starts with Abraham.  God cast away the nations because of their rebellion, but then turns around and says to him, "Abram, come follow me!"  Abram believed God and receives the promise that will lead to the nation Israel, and the promise to bless the nations.

What about the patriarchs?  God raised up Joseph and gives him some special dreams.  The Spirit of God was on this boy!  But, what happens?  His brothers don't like it.  They persecute him, and no doubt, in their minds they are only persecuting a spoiled brat kid who thinks he is better than them.  However, they are resisting the Holy Spirit.  They could have said, "Hallelujah, God is really working through our little brother!  Maybe, I should get to a place where God can use me too."  Or, they could have said, "God is with our brother.  Let's help him and we will participate in the great thing that God is doing through him."  Instead, they hated "Little Joe," and wanted to kill him.

Do you remember Moses?  The people resisted Moses from the beginning even unto the end.  This same thing happens throughout their history.  God shows up and calls prophets, priests, and kings, and the nation resists.  This pattern of small groups touched by God and faithful to him, a repentant remnant, countered by a large group who are resistant and rebellious.

By the way, we should pay attention to the parable of Ishmael and Isaac.  The whole point is that it is not enough to be genetically descended from Abram.  The blessing would be upon those who were born of a miracle of God.  This child of the flesh contrasted to the child that is a miracle from God is meant for us to understand what God is doing.  What Abraham could not produce in his flesh, God produced by His Spirit.  We are all born of the will of a man and woman, of the flesh, an Ishmael.  But, the good news is that we can choose to be born again by putting our faith in God, in Jesus.  The physical birth cannot save us, only the spiritual birth can. 

Stephen is making the same spiritual point that Jesus made in John 8:37-47.  Go ahead and read it.  I will wait for you.....

Essentially Jesus tells them that they claim to be from Abraham, but they don't do the things that Abraham did.  Nothing went wrong in their genetics.  They are biologically descended from Abraham, but Jesus doesn't even bother with that part of the point.  He jumps right to the problem.  You are imaging your true father the devil.

This is not a physical thing that you are stuck in.  Some people try to make a big deal about the serpent-seed and people literally being children of the devil.  Or, some through theology make it out like you have no choice.  You were either born a child of the devil or of God.  You can't do anything about it.  That is not what I see in the Bible.  If you give the Bible to a farmer, or a shepherd, and they read the Bible, they will come to the conclusion that we have a real choice.  These guys had the Law of God and the witness of the prophets, but they refused to come into a spiritual relationship with the God of Abraham.  They remained children of the flesh instead of children born of a spiritual act of God.

I don't think any of the men on the Sanhedrin that day were purposefully choosing to image the devil, although it is possible some were mere posers.  Most likely they had fallen into it because they refused to have that relationship with God where they believed Him with all their heart.  They had been born into a system and a way of doing things that they didn't build.  I am sure that God was poking and prodding their hearts along the way.  Yet, they continued on without finding out what God was trying to say.  If you don't image God, you will automatically fall into imaging the devil.  You may start out trying to image your "true inner self."  However, the devil will manipulate you all day long.  He is the father of all rebellion.

This same dynamic exists in the Church.  It is not enough to be physically born into a church, or physically go to a church.  It is not enough to say with our lips that we love Jesus.  We must embrace Him in our heart and learn from him by taking his yoke upon us.  "Yes, Lord.  I will quit pulling my way, and will start pulling your way."  A young ox who is not used to using a yoke will be yoked in with an older experienced ox.  I wonder who the older experienced ox is with whom we are yoked?  It's Jesus!  And, believe me; he does the heavy lifting!

You may not like choosing sides, but sometimes God forces the issue through moral dilemmas that come our way.  Don't wait until you get into the moral dilemma.  Start today drawing near to God in prayer and seeking His readiness for the trials that lie ahead of us.

In verse 52, Stephen points out the unsavory truth.  Those ancestors persecuted the prophets and killed those who prophesied the coming of the Righteous One, the Messiah.  This was a common occurrence.  Later they would gather the writings of the prophet and decorate their grave like a shrine.  They might even have a holiday to remember old Saint Elijah et. al.  One might make the argument that none of these prophets were perfect.  How could God blame them for persecuting them.  Of course, we will embrace the Righteous One when he comes.  This bluff came to an end with Jesus.  He was the ultimate litmus test.  They had practiced so well with all of the prophets.  How could they not persecute and kill the Righteous One?

Had these guys learned the lesson?  Of course not.  They are now doing the same to the disciples of Jesus, and Stephen here.

Then we have the charge again.  You have betrayed and murdered Messiah (vs 52).  It is one thing to persecute or kill a servant of Messiah, but quite another to kill the Messiah.  It is not like God has a six-pack of Messiahs that He can send if we fail to recognize the first, second, third, etc.  They had been drawing near to God with their lips while their hearts remained far from Him.  Yet, the Lord is faithful in every generation.

How can you process the reality that you just killed the only Hope that God sent to fix everything wrong with this earth?  Sometimes we think that we are boxed in, that we can never yield and confess just how wrong and sinful we have been.  We might develop a kind of cognitive dissonance that fights against us accepting the impossible truth.  However, this is the very path of salvation.  God is so loving that He simply wants us to quit posing long enough to be truly converted.  Converted simply means to turn around.  It begins with the revelation of the Truth that I have not been in right relationship with God.  What will I do with that?  What should I do with that?  I should have a change of mind where I agree with God's Word, with God's Spirit, and I should confess with my mouth that His way is righteous and the only way for me.  I should turn around and follow Jesus by doing those actions of repentance to which he leads me.

Then in verse 53, he accuses them of not obeying the law that they pretended to be upholding and teaching others to obey.  In essence, they were frauds.  No one likes being called a fraud in public, and those who have power don't like it even more.  If someone were to stand up within the State of the Union speech in the House of Representatives and declare that everyone in that building were frauds, that they were not obeying the Constitution of these united States of America, it would not be received well.  That person would be bagged and tagged within seconds and the long knives would come out in every facet of our society.

The reality is that people like this have come to believe their own press.  They would say...  "The Constitution is what we say it is," just as these men would say, "The Law is what we say it is!  Who do you think you are?"

Yes, being exposed is never easy, but it is the only path back to life, to repentance, to Jesus.  Only the Truth can set you free!

At this point the leaders are gnashing their teeth at Stephen.  It is not going well.  If you were a preacher,  you would be praying, "Lord, what can I say to turn this around?"  It is at this point that God does a strange thing.  He gives Stephen a vision of the throne of God in heaven.  He see the Glory of God on the throne and Jesus standing at His right hand.  Stephen is so caught up in the surprise of it that he blurts out what he sees.  Like young Joseph who was excited to share his dream, but didn't understand completely the implications of sharing it, so Stephen goes from life to death.  God knew the hearts of the patriarchs and if they really knew God then they would have gladly bowed down to their little brother.  Why?  We would do so because we would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that whatever God has for me to do will make me more like Him.  It will increase my resemblance to Him and give me communion with He who is Life itself!  This Sanhedrin could not accept what Stephen said he saw.  If he wasn't already a dead man, this would seal the deal.

Why would God do that?  Jesus had warned the leaders of Israel in Matthew 23:34 that he would send them prophets and wise men, and that they would kill some of them.  If they thought Jesus was a one and done thing, and that they wouldn't have to make such a hard choice again, they were wrong.  God in His mercy will keep bringing us back around to repentance.  We may not like it, but He loves us too much not to try!  No one will be able to say on that day, "God, You didn't try hard enough!"  No, God puts us in a tighter and tighter place, forcing us to make a decision.  Which side am I on?

It doesn't matter who God uses to deliver.  What matters is that our God is great and can give us victory through anything.  He can use the guy who isn't even in the army.  He's just a young man bringing lunch for his older brothers.  Then he hears the big giant bellow while all of Israel is shaking in their tents in fear.  Perhaps they are all saying, "When is Saul going to go out and fight him?"  Yet, Saul is no doubt saying, "There is no way I can go out there and fight him!"  Saul who was head and shoulders above the men of Israel did not have enough of God to stand up that day.  Yet, the Spirit of God rises up in the young man David.  "Who is this uncircumcised (pause and think about that for a minute) Philistine to slander our God?"  Was there not 1 circumcised male in Israel who could have stood up to Goliath that day?  Why did God have to bring forth a young boy with lunch for his brothers?  Isn't the story greater because God uses an untrained fighter to take out a giant?  Doesn't it make the God of Israel even more awesome?  The truth is that it is kind of fun when God uses the least of us to spoil the enemy.  It shows His power instead of ours.  It puts fear in the hearts of our enemies in a way that defeat at the hands of Saul could have never done.

In our flesh, we become stuck on things like this.  Perhaps, it is because we just aren't quite converted yet; we haven't been bold enough to circumcise our heart yet.  Praise God that He is always working to bring us back to Him.

You might feel like God isn't doing you any favors, or only making it worse.  "Why did You let that happen, Lord.  Why did You do that?"  However, at the same time, it is the greatest grace of God to us.  Stephen was a blessed angel of Truth to this Sanhedrin.  The blazing, white-hot Truth about how they could participate in the Kingdom of God!  If we could only surrender to Him, we will later look back and see His great love drawing us in the perfect direction.  How blind am I?  Saul didn't know how blind he had been until Jesus knocked him off of his high horse, and blinded his eyes.

Maybe, I am fighting the very thing that is God's grace in my life.  Perhaps, this is the wisdom behind the verse, "In everything give thanks!"

Let's be honest.  Everyone of us has resisted and rebelled against the Holy Spirit at one time or another in our life.  Yet, the love of God didn't quit on you, and He doesn't quit on others.  It is His mercy.  He is not easily offended.  In truth, He cannot be offended.  He can only be rejected and lost forever to us, He who is the greatest good, the very definition of good!  Let us turn to God with a whole heart today and not resist the Holy Spirit!

Stoning I audio