Only Lies Can Refute the Truth

Transcript

GR 1202
05/13/2001
Only Lies Can Refute the
Truth
Acts 6:8-15

We’re studying the book of Acts together on Sunday mornings and I’d like to direct your attention to Acts chapter 6. The book of Acts is an exciting book. It is a history book. It unfolds approximately the first thirty years of the church’s history and sets before us some of the mighty and powerful ways God worked in the establishing of His church; as the body of Christ, the bride of Christ in the world. The opening chapters of the book of Acts unfold the explosive growth the church experienced in those early years of existence. There were some problems that came during those years, some persecution. We saw in Acts chapter 4 that Peter and John were arrested for preaching the message of salvation through faith in Christ. They were warned by the Sanhedrin the governing body of Israel, not to preach anymore. Then in chapter 5, the apostles are arrested because they had continued preaching Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of Israel. On that occasion they were forbidden again, commanded not to preach any longer the message of Christ, and then they were beaten to reinforce that message. So there was some persecution but nothing on a great scale in these early days. There were some internal problems in the church. Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5 turn to deceit and lies to try and make themselves look spiritual and threaten to undermine the integrity of the church. They paid for that with their lives. In chapter 6, in the opening chapters, there was a disagreement among the Jews of Greek background and the Jews of a Palestinian background over the care of widows, needy people in the congregation. Those internal conflicts would have been unpleasant, but none of these things, persecution from without problems from within were such a magnitude that the interrupted the continual growth of the church in the early years. Look at verse 7 of Acts chapter 6, “And the Word of God kept on spreading and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem and a number of the priest, that great many of the priest were becoming obedient to the faith,” The message of the gospel was making a great impact throughout Israel, particularly the city of Jerusalem right now. The church, how big is it by now? Estimates carry it beyond 20,000. The last numerical number we had was 5,000 men, and you add women and children to that. Then Luke has told us the church had continued to grow greatly. Now we remind us that grown is continuing. Remember at this time the church is centered only in Jerusalem. So, there is one church that exist in the city of Jerusalem, and it is comprised of Jews. Jews who have converted to Jesus Christ, believing that He indeed is the Messiah and Savior. So we have tremendous growth you think of a church that in a few short years has grown from nothing to perhaps twenty thousand or more people in that one city. A church that would have a tremendous influence. However, we are about to experience a change in circumstances in the life of the early church. We have been introduced to a man named Steven in the first part of chapter 6. One of the groups that we sometimes refer to as the first deacons in the church. From chapter 6 verse 8 through chapters 7 verse 60; Steven is the focal point. In fact, all of chapter 7, all sixty verses relates to Steven and in primarily to a sermon he preached before the Sanhedrin, the governing body of Israel. It is the longest recorded sermon in the book of Acts. Longer than any of the sermons recorded by Peter or Paul. One of the reasons the historian Luke has given so much attention to Steven and the advents surrounding him, and his ultimate execution is that is going to mark a transition in the ministry and development of the early church. The death of Steven will mark the beginning of persecution of believers with an intensity that had not been experienced before. In chapter 8 verse 1 we read Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him, Steven, to death. On that day, the day that Steven was executed, a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. The persecution becomes so great that it is not possible for the believers the remain in Jerusalem. The apostles will stay in Jerusalem that becomes the headquarters if you will of the expanding church. But now you have thousands of believers fleeing Jerusalem and the persecution, moving out into Judea, the regions surrounding Jerusalem, even up into the region of Samaria. In chapter 8 verse 4 we read therefore those who had been scattered went about preaching the Word. So these who went out shared the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever they went and Phillip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. Remember in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, Jesus had told the disciples the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the world. Here we have the gospel now carried to Samaria. Judea and Samaria as the disciples fan out from Jerusalem, now will be exposed to the gospel. In chapter 9 of Acts, Saul of Tarsus is converted. We know him know as Paul. Preparing the way for what will be the focus of the last part of the book of Acts. In chapter 10 Peter shares the gospel with Gentiles for the first time. The city of Caesarea on the coast up north of Jerusalem from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea the city of Caesarea was the first time now the gospel is proclaimed to Gentiles. In chapter 11 of Acts, you have ministry taking place in Antioch, much further up on the Mediterranean Coast. Up almost up to where the land bends around the north part of the Mediterranean. We’re still on the side of the Mediterranean, the east side there that will be around and cross the north, but that’s where Antioch is so you see the message moving up. What’s significant too also in Act’s chapter 11 is Paul and Barnabas join together in ministry in Antioch. That will become a team that will become dominate for the opening missionary journey of the apostle Paul. Chapter 12 Peter is arrested again, sort of a pattern of his life. Chapter 13, we begin the second major division. The first twelve chapters of Acts, Peter is the dominant character and it’s a ministry primarily focused on Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, that region. Acts chapter 13-28 is a ministry carried throughout the world. Paul becomes a dominant figure. You see what happens the early chapters through chapter 7 the focus of the ministry of the early church is on the church in Jerusalem comprised primarily of Jews. Chapters 8-12 are transitions as the ministry moves beyond Jerusalem to surrounding area. Preparing the way for the ministry to the world that will begin in chapter 13. So this culmination of this early time of the church’s history comes with the events surrounding Steven. That becomes the catalyst that God uses to move the church now out beyond Jerusalem. So it’s a tremendously significant event. That explosive growth in Jerusalem is about to come to an end. Now Jerusalem will become a center of persecution. Unsafe if you will f or believers in large numbers. Come back to Acts chapter 6. Look at verse 8, we’re introduced again to Steven. Steven full of grace and power was preforming great wonders and signs among the people. We meet Steven up in verse 5 as one of the seven men selected as a man of good reputation full of the spirit and of wisdom in verse 3, called full of faith and the Holy Spirit in verse 5; now full of grace and power. A man of highest godly character and significant abilities from God both in the preaching of the word and the doing of mighty miracles. Steven is just a translation of a Greek Word Stephenous is his Greek name. Stephanos in English is Steven and feminine it comes as Stephanie; I believe the Greek word for crown. There are two Greek crowns a diadem and a ruler and a stephinastic a crown of a victor, as the Greek name for a crown of victory. He’s a man full of grace and power. Full of grace to know he carried out a ministry empowered and enabled by God Himself. God was gracious in gifting and enabling him to effectively communicate the truth of the gospels. His ministry went far beyond human limitations and abilities. It’s a grace that according to chapter 4 verse 33, God poured out on the early church and accounts again for some of its unique effectiveness. They had special grace bestowed upon them by God, which is required for ministries to be especially effective. Also true of many would connect the idea that he was full of grace was his very character as a gracious person and that’s certainly true demonstrated when at the end of chapter 7 he is being stoned to death he is praying to God that God would not charge it to their account. That God would be merciful to those who were stoning him to death and give grace to them. So you see something of his character as a godly man. He’s also a man characterized by power. That’s demonstrated in the fact he was preforming great wonders and signs. There are different ones who preform signs and wonders in the book of Acts, but Steven stands out. He performed great signs and wonders. A reminder that his ministry had great impact and God was using him to testify to the reality of the message of Jesus Christ and validating the ministry of Steven with these mighty miracles. They were truly identified with Christ. Back in chapter 2 of Acts verse 22. Peter said that Jesus the Nazarene was a man attested to you by God; with miracles wonders and signs. The ministry of Jesus Himself on earth was validated by God by the mighty miracles that He did. Then the apostles the followers of Christ had their ministries validated by miracles as well. In verse 43 of chapter 2 and everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. Showing that they are in separately connected to the ministry of Jesus Christ, the one whom they represent. In chapter 5 of Acts, verse 12. At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people. They’re only three other people in the book of Acts that are said to have done signs and wonders, other than the apostles. One is Steven, the other is Philip another one of the seven men selected in the first part of Acts chapter 6. Chapter 8 of the book of Acts verse 6. When Phillip is in Samaria, the multitude with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip as they heard and saw the signs which he was preforming. These miracles were signs testifying to the genuineness of the message that he was preaching and then over in chapter 15 verse 12, Barnabas is said to have done signs and wonders in connection with the apostle Paul in their ministry together, Steven, Phillip, Barnabas. For every man outside the apostolic circle of twelve who did miracles, but men closely associated to apostolic ministry because signs and wonders are signs of apostleship and they are only performed by the apostles in the New Testament are of those who are directly connected to apostolic ministry, like Steven, Phillip, Barnabas. There are miracles taking place in the church at Corinth for example, the miracle of speaking in tongues, but the church at Corinth was a direct result of the apostle Paul’s ministry. He said the miraculous gifts were a validation of his apostleship. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12:12. The signs of a true apostle were preformed among you with all signs and wonders and miracles. So here we see Steven having a special validation of his ministry and the message that he is proclaiming. Come back to chapter 6. But verse 9 some from what was called the synagogue of the Freedmen including both Cyrenians, Alexandrians, some from Cilicia and Asia rose up and argued with Steven. Their issue with Steven and not on the miracles that he is doing. You know the Jews loved miracles Paul said in writing to the Corinthians that the Jews want signs. They like the miracles, they were attracted by the miracles, but they hated the message. As Steven is preaching the truth of Christ, some from the synagogue of the Freedmen, and you’re aware of synagogues there were a number of them in Jerusalem. Synagogues came into existence following the Babylonian captivity. As a result of the Babylonian captivity, the Jews were carried away from Palestine, they could no longer center their activity at the temple. So, synagogues rose up in various places as meeting places for the Jews. It was at the synagogue where the law was read. Where the law was explained and taught. There was interaction about the Mosaic Law and so one that took place in the synagogue and the synagogues became established among the Jews and even when they returned to Israel, the synagogue had become part of their life. So in Jerusalem there were numerous synagogues. They were places not where the worship replaced the worship of the temple, the temple was still the center of worship, but that was a place where you would go and have the law read to you. Explained to you by the Rabbi, an opportunity for interaction about the law and so on. Then naturally these synagogues also took on some cultural identity, in other words the Hellenist Jews from outside of Palestine when they returned to Palestine was natural for them to form a synagogue, because they had the same cultural background the same language and so on. That’s what you have with the synagogues of the Freedman, and you have different background people identified here. The Freedman where Jews who had been slaves and set free or children of Jewish slaves who had been set free. Many Jews had been taken into slavery when Pompey conquered Judea in 63 BC and he transported many Jews back to Rome as slaves. Over time many of them were set free and many would identify the synagogue of the Freedman with those of that kind of background. There’s some discussion that there may be more than one synagogue in view. In verse 9 it’s difficult to tell. The language is not conclusive here, but whether there was one synagogue or two or three or five. It doesn’t really matter. The point is here these are Hellenists among the Jews. These are Jews with non-Palestinian backgrounds. As you can tell from the name. Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicia, Asia, regions outside of Palestine. They enter into a debate with Steven over what he is teaching, and just as a little bit of preparation here the Hellenist who came back to Palestine as you might expect were especially zealous for Jewish traditions. I mean these were people that raised outside of Palestine but had such a conviction and commitment to the Jewish ideals and teachings that they had returned to Palestine. In many ways they are less tolerant of certain things so that’s part of the conflict some of the Palestinian Jews they would have been more intolerant of some of the practices of the Hellenist, but the Hellenist also would have been more intolerant in other areas creating some of the tension between the two groups. There’s a discussion and a disagreement with Steven and these people. Perhaps I ought to mention one more thing. Just as an observation you’ll note that one of the representations here is from Cilicia. At the end of chapter 7 in the book of Acts, verse 58, the end of the verse, witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Now Saul was from the city of Tarsus and Tarsus was in Cilicia. So, some have speculated that Saul who would later be known as Paul to us may have been part of this discussion and debate with Steven, because he certainly enters into the proceedings somewhere along the line. Since there were Jews here who had their origin in the region of Cilicia it would not be out of the realm of possibilities that Paul would be represented here. Turn over to the book of Acts chapter 21. This was an identification that Paul maintained in Acts 21 verse 39. He’s addressing the Jews and in verse 39 Paul said I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia a citizen of no significant city. You see identifies himself. His place of origin was in Cilicia, the city of Tarsus. Down in chapter 22 verse 3. I am a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city and educated under Gamelio. So early he had come to Jerusalem and had been raised there. So it may be that Paul was here and part of this debate and discussion of Steven, if not, he enters into the proceedings when they come before the Sanhedrin, and he is significant player in what is taking place because the lay their robes at his feet as they prepare a stone Steven. Back in Acts chapter 6 verse 10, we find out these Jews, these Hellenist Jews were unable to cope with Steven in his presentation. Verse 10 and yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and Spirit with which he was preaching. We’re not told what the debate was about, how Steven argued what he was teaching from the history that he unfolds in response to accusations in chapter 7 and we know that he was preaching about Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture as the fulfilment of the mosaic law. That one in whom the worship of God would center and being a Jew and worshiping in the temple did not make you acceptable to God. Some of these issues will come out in chapter 7. Some of these things the Jews found very very offensive, and you know what happens when you’re confronted with truth, and you don’t have the answer to do it what are you going to do? Are you going to submit to the truth? Are you going to continue to battle against it? He’s argued his case persuasively. There is no answer. He has demonstrated conclusively if you will to this point. That his arguments are valid. They didn’t have anything to say so what can you do? Lie. You can’t compete with the truth against Steven. So, you could either submit to the truth he is preaching, and effect come to his side, or you must resort to lies. Verse 11 they secretly induced men to say we have heard him speak blasphemy words against Moses and against God. Now Jesus had promised his followers in Luke 21 verse 15, Luke records it, I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. He had indeed done that with Steven. But Jesus did not say therefore your enemies will submit to you. He simply says your enemies will not be able to successfully refute you. These Jews gather false witnesses. You can see we are in a serious matter here. Why do you gather witnesses? Because the law required in Deuteronomy 17, two or three witnesses to condemn a person. They are going to accuse Steven of a capital offense. Blasphemy against God. Blasphemy against the Word of God. When we speak about Moses they’re speaking about the books of Moses, the law. The man’s guilty of blasphemy that’s a capital offense. We’ll have the marshal false witnesses to bring about his execution. What can they to get some false witnesses that are going to say we heard him speak blasphemy words. Steven is a man of impeccable reputation. We are told that in verse 3 of this chapter. He’s full of the Spirt and of wisdom. He’s full of grace and power, full of faith in the Holy Spirit, these are all things that have been said about Steven. Are false witnesses that are going to lie about what he has said going to be able to have any impact? We’ll read verse 12. “And the stirred up the people. The elders the scribes. They came upon him and dragged him away and brought him to the council.” I’ll tell you how successful they were the supreme court of Israel is now back in session. The Sanhedrin is meeting. They’ve got everybody stirred up. Isn’t it amazing? A few lies overwhelm the truth every time. Here it happens the devil strategy doesn’t change. Important for us to realize here as well. The problem was not with the messenger. It wasn’t a flaw in Steven, a deficiency in his character and his abilities. It wasn’t anything wrong with the message or the presentation of the message. In fact it was all just the opposite. The truth was presented so clearly and so powerfully that there was no successful way to stand against it. All we can do is lie and undermine the messenger and so that’s what they do. Now I say this because I want you to grasp the way the devil works. Nothing changes in 2000 years of church history. You know we have a colloquial expression that’s probably not the best use on the pulpit to talk about navel gazing. The church sometimes indulges in this to a fault. We become so introspective. Anytime we share the gospel, or we preach Christ, and somebody accuses us of being unloving, unkind, insensitive, we think what we did wrong? Why did they get so upset? Must be something wrong with us. Why do we have this kind of repetition, why is our church known as this? Why do people react negatively to me when I present the gospel? We begin to try and analyze ourselves. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t be loving and kind and gracious and so on presenting the truth. I think the testimony of scripture is clear, Steven was such a man. The truth must be presented clearly and accurately and effectively and Steven has done that and you understand it didn’t change anything. It made it worse. Now the goodwill that the church has been enjoying among the people; now that relative freedom that the church has had is about to come to an end. They say oh my you know Steven should have been a little more tactful. Steven shouldn’t have gotten into these kinds of discussions because he’s going to close the door on this explosive ministry in Jerusalem. But you know what? We are reminded with the life of Steven that the church is to do what God says it is to do. Then God uses His people for the accomplishing of His purposes. It is time in the plan of God for the church to be scattered in Jerusalem and He’s going to use the preaching of Steven to get it done. Matthew chapter 5 Jesus is speaking to His followers, others may be listening in, but primarily here on the Sermon on the Mount describing those who will be part of this kingdom, blessings for them were what? Called beatitudes because they begin with the blessings, blessed, blessed, blessed. Look at verse 10, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness.” You know that inner joy and happiness belongs to those who have been persecuted, for the sake of righteousness. Verse 11, “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you. And persecute you. And say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me.” Now stop and think about it. Is this really a portion of scripture that you believe? I know we all say yes, we believe the bible I believe it from cover to cover and I believe every word. But if people analyze our practice do, we really believe this? If you testified for Christ at work or in your neighborhood and the result of your testimony, people have begun to say ugly things about you behind your back and things that aren’t true. They’ve lied about you. All the sudden there talking and you’re not a good worker and they are spreading rumors about you, and you just get on your knees and say oh thank you Lord for such great blessings. How blessed I am Lord of you to be able to be so insulted and lied about. That’s just not the way we look at it. You know were on our knees sometimes as a result were saying Lord what’s gone wrong? Lord I’ve tried to be faithful. Lord why are they telling lies about me? Lord why are they persecuting me? Well there is no question to ask why is there the answer has already been given. Why? Well righteousness. Your identification with me. If we didn’t get the point he says it again. He says blessed, blessed, then he says in verse 12, rejoice and be glad. Because that’s exactly the way they treated the prophets before you and your reward in heaven is great. Now everybody agrees the reward of the prophets in heaven is great and you know what? I want to go to the same heaven the prophets are going to. I’m just not sure I want to travel the same road to get there. They had to go the road of persecution, suffering, I want to go to the same heaven, but I just would rather travel a smoother road over here. Reading in the last week or so some of the persecution is going on in some Muslim countries. You know it’s a similar kind of feel that you get when you read what’s going to go on in Acts. Where Christians are suffering terribly. Being an accused of blaspheming against Allah or against Muhamad or against the mosque and you know they come in the night and do terrible things to these people. I read that and I pray for those people and I also thank the Lord that I’m not going through that. Rarely do I ever say, Oh Lord I wish I could have such great blessings that they are. How honored and blessed they are of you to suffer such terrible things for the testimony of Christ. I just have a hard time marking that out is that kind of overwhelming blessing. I tend to thank him for the blessings I have of not having to suffer and that is a blessing in a sense. It is a unique privilege to suffer for Christ and so what is happening to Steven? They are saying all kinds of evil things against him falsely because of Christ. He’s going to suffer and pay for it with his life. Stop on your way back to Acts at the book of John just before Acts, and John 15, now note something here we always would like our church to be like the church in the early chapters in the book of Acts, but I wonder do we really want our church to be like the church in the early chapters of the book of Acts? John 15:18, Jesus says “I if the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I choose you out of the world therefore the world hates you.” You see the fact is there. The world hates the people of God, because of what we do? No, because of what we are. He has chosen us out of the world therefore the world hates us. Now sometimes that hatred is covered over, but the fact is there is fixed animosity and hatred between the people of God and the people of the devil. Remember a slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me they will persecute you. Down in verse 25 they have hated me without cause. Now the reason the animosity so bubbles out with Steven is why? Because he was such a nice person. Had a good reputation. What causes such animosity to be directed to him? He presented the truth of Christ to them. Now the animosity that maybe have a veneer of friendliness over it is stripped away and their hatred comes out. Why don’t we share the gospel more boldly? Let me think about it we know people apart from Christ are on their way to an eternal hell. They are separated from God and doomed forever. There is a Savior who loved them and died for them, and their only hope is to hear the truth of His death to pay the penalty for their sin that they might believe in Him and be saved. Why aren’t we running out telling everyone? Very simply, I don’t think they’ll like it. In fact, they might even get angry over it. They might make trouble for me. Let’s tone it down. If we want to be like the church in the book of Acts, we’re out sharing the gospel with everyone, but we know what’s going to happen. That’s going to stir up some opposition. The opposition turns to persecution. The persecution can get a little unpleasant, so the church, particularly thinking about in our country; we enter this truce. We all get along because we won’t too openly about Christ to you and then you leave us alone. Steven didn’t have that kind of attitude, nor did the early church. Come back to Act’s chapter 6. They stirred up the people, the elders, the scribes, so you see it was a Hellenistic Jews that got this started with Steven, but now they’re getting everybody on their side. Now we got the scribes, the elders, now you’re drawing in the Sanhedrin, they put fourth, verse 13, false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against his holy place in the law.” Know the problem? Steven incessantly taught the truth of Christ. He wouldn’t stop. Now they said he speaks against this holy place in the law. The bible says they were false witnesses that was a lie. Now the way the devil works the false witness just doesn’t bring something totally out of the blue. The devil is great, he takes something that has an element of truth and he so twist it and distorts it, that it is a lie. So, Steven undoubtably talks about the Mosaic Law. Jesus had said in Matthew 5 he didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. As he explained to these Jews how Christ fulfilled the law and how the Old Testament said he would fulfill the law, they didn’t have any comeback they couldn’t answer it. So, they had to lie and say you know he’s blaspheming the law, he’s saying the law had no purpose, he’s preaching against the law, he wasn’t. He was preaching the very purpose of the law which was a school master to bring people to Christ. He had to speak about the temple about true worship and just going up to the temple and offering a sacrifice did not make you acceptable before God, because no man comes to God except through his Son Jesus Christ as Jesus had said in John 14. Now that it’s turned around it’s blaspheming. What does the devil do? He takes a portion of the truth he mixes in lies and falsehood and then uses it to attack. Stop and think of the rumors that go around. We practice church discipline as a church there is a biblical foundation for church discipline. Both of what I hear what people say outside about how we practice church discipline has nothing to do with whatever I have seen or observed. Everything from women who get pregnant out of marriage have to line up in front of the church here altogether and be publicly humiliated. The most stupid lie gets a hearing. People could say the most foolish ridiculous things and somebody with their ears there said hmmmm got something here. Is it any wonder they could stir up the city against Steven? He’s blaspheming against the law, blaspheming against the temple, oh He needs to die. Oh wait a minute. Is there any truth to it? We think it’s sad if it wasn’t truth? And on they go. What if they hear them say we have heard them say that this Nazarene, verse 14, Jesus and you see they’re distain? Comes out with that word, this. We have heard this Nazarene, Jesus will destroy this place, well did Jesus say He would destroy the temple? No, He didn’t, in John chapter 2, verse 19, Jesus said “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Verse 21, Jesus spoke about the temple of His body. Which would be destroyed, and He would raise it up after three days. So I wasn’t talking about the mosaic temple there. Furthermore, He didn’t say I will destroy this temple, He said if you destroy this temple, I will raise it up, and He’s talking about His body. Oh, he wants to find out, what was He talking about, well He used the word temple, that’s good enough for me, He used the word destroy. You put destroy and temple in the same sentence I don’t care about what the rest of the sentence says. I don’t care whether He really said I will destroy He said destroy, didn’t He? He used temple there didn’t matter if it was used and meant the temple in Jerusalem or He meant His body. You put destroyed and temple in the same sentence you’re guilty, that’s all that there is to it. Jesus also prophesied that the temple would be destroyed in seventy A.D. in passages like, Matthew chapter 24, He didn’t say He would destroy it, He said this temple would be destroyed. So, what they’re trying to say is that Jesus tried to lead a political revolt. We’ve killed him and now his followers are trying to see that political revolt through. They want to over though the temple and destroy it. Well you know what a fiery issue that would be. I mean think about it in another sense, the Muslims in Jerusalem. Start out the rumor that they’re about to destroy the Dome of the Rock, you can get a riot started, you can do it with a lot less than that. Second thing, you go to alter the customs which Moses handed down to us and oh we are so passionate for the temple of Moses. People who are lying through their teeth, people who have executed the Son of God. People who are about to stone to death an innocent man, and oh we are so passionate for the temple and His worship. Oh, we are so concerned for the Word of God, the law of Moses, there’s something ugly about this, something revolting about this, how totally hypocritical. They are, did Steven preach against the Law of Moses? What did the Old Testament say? Well, the Old Testament prophesied and promised in Jeremiah 31, a new covenant. The writer of the Hebrews says in chapter 8 it is our argument, the promise of a new covenant, means the old one would be done away. So, we are not preaching at the Law of Moses we are preaching what the purpose of the law was. Didn’t the law and all the sacrifices point to Jesus Christ as their ultimate fulfillment and so on. They don’t want to hear that. Remember they couldn’t answer his arguments. So, since he’s preaching the law differently than we are since we believe your saved because you keep the law and are circumcised, then if he preaches anything differently, he’s preaching against the law, he deserves to die. They’re not concerned for the truth in fact they hate the truth, you understand Romans 1 says that the unbelieving person suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. Well we want to fall back and say, well if it was only presented properly. Oh if they had only argued a little more logically. Stop and think about it. We said we’re going to have a witness at the university to a group of professors, we probably think of the men we know of that are the best at presenting Christianity logically and intellectually. Reasoned arguments and there’s a place for that. We can know what they really need to hear, the simple truth of the gospel. Because it won’t be a matter where your arguments more logically compelling or not, you cannot argue and reason a person into believing, because the unregenerate men wants to suppress the truth not acknowledge it. One more evidence, verse 15 “And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the council saw his face like a face of an angel”. Even his appearance is transformed. The serenity, the calmness the courage, even his face is a testimony of truth in the work of God. All said and done, you’ll preach the longest sermon in the book of Acts, and the end result of it is he’ll be stoned to death. Turn to one other passage and we’re done. 1 Peter chapter 4. Verse 12. Beloved, Peter is writing, “do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you. As though some strange things were happening to you.” You know Peter before his death has to write to believers and say what? Don’t be shocked that you’re being persecuted as though this was some strange thing. You see do we really believe the scripture? Some of the passages we read with many others. But to the degree that you share the same sufferings of Christ keep on rejoicing. If you are reviled for the name of Jesus Christ you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Know what he even had as he stood before that council, facing the supreme court of Israel and their half circle, seventy-one men in their seats. The spirit of glory and God rested on Him. Paul wouldn’t I want that? Well if you are reviled, share the sufferings of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rest upon you. I would like the Spirit of glory and of God rest upon me but, could we take out the reviling and the sufferings, persecution part? I don’t think so. So we say oh we want to be like the early church in the book of Acts. Oh Lord, well reviling, persecution, suffering, well not totally like the early church in the book of Acts. Oh I would like my life to be like Steven, wouldn’t it be something to have such a life to be such a testimony, you know to stand before them and have the Spirit of glory and of God upon you?! Well when you think they’re going to pick up stones and smash your head, don’t know about that one either Lord. Maybe Lord we’re just happy the way we are. Well we’ll end this and go to lunch glad for the early church and glad we’re not them. No, I think we want the church at the end of its history to be like the church at the beginning of its history. Let me Lord, Give us boldness to present the truth that we have so concerned, oh we be too harsh, the problem in the church today is a lack of boldness, a lack of courage, a lack of clarity, that’s where we need to concentrate, that people might hear the truth and that God might use the truth for his purposes. So we may pray Lord let your will overwhelm us with persecution in this coming year. Well whatever you do make us bold with the truth. Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for Steven. Thank you for the testimony of his life. Thank you Lord he was a man submissive and obedient to you. Stood boldly at the testimony of Christ might be strong. Thank you for the testimony of the early church, the persecution it is about to enter into. Lord may our concern be to manifest the same boldness and faithfulness in the presentation of the truth. May we be willing to accept from your hand whatever is the result of such a faithful testimony. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.