Sunday, March 12, 2023 AM

With him, you will freely give us all that we need. All that we need as you work all things together for the good of those who love you, who were called according to your purpose or what a joy it is to gather together on the first day of the week, we reflect on the.

Power of the resurrection of Jesus. You have given us a king who holds the keys to death and the grave that he has come forth as the first fruits of what we have in hope ahead of us, that he is the alpha and the omega, the author and the finisher of our faith.

He is the captain of our salvation, and he is there at your right hand interceding for us. You have given him to us and you have given us to him.

For this, we give you praise, we ask. That you would fill us with your

Holy Spirit as we look at this word that you have given to us about your son.

That you would warm our hearts to the text that we would know by your grace, the amen on earth of your will that is done in heaven.

We pray these things and ask for these graces in the name of your son,

Jesus Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased. Amen. Well, I invite you to open your

Bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter six. Acts chapter six, and we're going to be reading verses eight through 15.

Acts chapter six, verses eight through 15.

And we come to another section of Acts, another story in Acts that seems somewhat familiar.

On two prior occasions, we've seen the preaching of the gospel, the heralding of the good news of the kingdom that Jesus indeed is the

Christ, the son of the living God, that he died upon the cross according to the will of God and was raised the third day, and that he ascended to the right hand of the

Father where he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. The people of God, the

Christians, are heralding this good news attended by signs and wonders, and people who are lame are walking again, and people who are blind are now seeing, and people who were possessed by demons have now been delivered.

The heralding of the good news of the kingdom attended by signs and wonders and persecution as the rulers of the temple, as the unfaithful covenant -breaking stewards of the old covenant respond in rage against the claims being made about this

Jesus of Nazareth. This has already happened in the latter half of Acts chapter 5, it's already happened in Acts chapters 3 and 4, this has been the pattern thus far.

And in between those instances, we've seen crises occur inside the church, both of them dealing with money, both of them dealing with benevolence and compassion.

There was the scandal of Ananias and Sapphira defrauding the Holy Spirit and being judged by God.

We also have the controversy that we've just looked at between the Hellenists and the

Hebrews about whether the Hellenist widows are going to be looked after or not.

So it's interesting to see that in each one of these crises, when there's persecution, when there's trouble, what happens in the resolution of each of these stories is a

Christ -focused, Spirit -empowered, proper interpretation and application of God's Word.

In other words, every time there's a problem, Christ's authority by His Spirit according to the

Scriptures is the solution, every single time. And this is being repeated and shown in various circumstances that that's always the answer.

And on the other side of chapters 3 through 6, we have massive sermons, one by Peter in Acts chapter 2 and one by Stephen that we're going to look at in Acts chapter 7.

And in both of those, Peter and Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, preach

Christ from all the Scriptures. Are we getting the message? We're being shown what's important.

We're being shown what's important. Now, as we come to Acts chapter 6, our attention is drawn to Stephen, one of those who had been appointed as a deacon in the church, a man full of faith in the

Holy Spirit. And we're going to see what happens next. I invite you to stand with me as we read

God's Word. Here are the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by the

Holy Spirit, through His servant, Luke. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

Then there arose some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.

And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.

Then they secretly induced men to say, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.

And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

They also set up false witnesses who said, This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this

Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.

And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. In the year 1555, in the land of England, during the persecution of the

Roman Catholic Church against the saints, during the persecution under the reign of Bloody Mary herself, there were two men who were preaching the gospel named

Latimer and Ridley. And when

Latimer was condemned to die by being burnt to the stake, he responded this way.

He said, I thank God most heartily that he has prolonged my life to this end, that I may, in this case, glorify

God by that kind of death. To which his accuser replied,

If you go to heaven in this faith, then I will never come hither, as I am thus persuaded.

Well, at least they were clear on the definition of their terms. Latimer was then burned at the stake with a fellow brother in Christ, Ridley.

They had a 15 -minute sermon, yelled at them until it was clear that they would not recant, they would not repent.

They were chained to the stake, and a bag of gunpowder was hung around each of their necks, so that when the flames got to a certain height, there would be a quick death.

Unfortunately, the wood that they used was green, did not burn very well, and it was a slow and agonizing kind of death.

And Ridley was getting the worst of it. So Latimer called out to his dear brother in Christ, and he said,

Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. Be of good comfort,

Master Ridley, and play the man. Christian courage rarely escapes cost, but always meets with victory.

Christian courage rarely escapes cost, but always meets with victory.

We see this in the life of Stephen, and indeed, his story is not unique, as we've already been seeing in the book of Acts.

Look with me in verses 8 through 15. Stephen is maligned for Christ.

Stephen is maligned for Christ. We're going to look at his message for Christ in the bulk of chapter 7, and then ultimately, him being martyred for Christ.

But here, it begins with his character being maligned, his message being maligned.

But yet, he is a faithful witness. He is a faithful witness. Verse 8 says,

Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

So he's being a faithful witness, and I want us to look at his opportunity to be a faithful witness.

What brought that about? I want us to look at his opponents, how they're operating, what they're saying, who they are.

And then I want us to see how it is that Stephen overcomes in this difficult circumstance.

Stephen is first described for us in chapter 6, when they had this issue between the

Hellenists and the Hebrews in the church. Now, remember that the Hellenists were those who grew up abroad in the empire, and they spoke

Greek. The Hebrews were those who grew up close to Jerusalem, and they spoke Aramaic.

So we have a Cyrillic language and a Semitic language. They had different languages, different words that they were comfortable with, sometimes difficult to communicate, sometimes difficult to understand one another and be there for each other's expectations.

The solution was that the apostles said, we have to make the priority remain the priority.

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, and that is the ministry of the word attended by prayer.

Therefore, multitude, you search out from among you, you scrutinize and look for men who are full of faith and full of the

Holy Spirit, full of wisdom, and we will appoint them to this necessary task of looking after the widows in our midst.

And they picked seven men. The very first one was Stephen. Verse five says they chose

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, several other names.

But everybody could agree about Stephen, first one on the list. Everybody instantly thought of Stephen.

He is a man who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He fits the bill.

The requirement was scrutinize among you, find men who were of good reputation, full of the

Holy Spirit and wisdom. They say, how about Stephen? He's full of faith. He's full of the Holy Spirit.

And indeed, we see that in verse eight, Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders in science among the people.

So what goes on here? You see how he's described? You see the grace at work in his life?

He believes. He believes. He fears

God. He's a man of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He thinks of God first and God most. He doesn't fear man.

He fears God. And he believes in Christ. He's approaching everything that he does with faith in Jesus Christ.

And he is filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, he has power to do the work that he has been called to do.

And see the good that he's doing. See the good that he's doing. He's doing great wonders and signs among the people.

Remember that the apostles back in chapter five, this was what was happening, great signs and wonders by the hands of the apostles.

And then they laid hands on the seven men, the deacons, who were placed before them in the very location where the benevolence gifts were placed in chapter four.

Now they're going to be handed off to these deacons. And the apostles lay their hands upon the deacons so that they may be about this important task of benevolence.

But that was not the only task that they had. Look at Stephen. He's out preaching the gospel.

He's out heralding the good news of the kingdom about who Jesus Christ is.

Clearly, he is one who is approved of by the apostles, of by Christ.

He is doing the approved of work of the Lord. Stephen's a great example of what we've been talking about in the book of Acts.

Here is a man who is full of faith, full of the Holy Spirit, and he is rightly handling the situations that he is in.

If you were to take the pattern of the book of Acts thus far, where there are crises and there are persecutions,

Stephen's involved in them both. He's helping to serve the widows, and he's about to get hit with persecution.

Look at Stephen. Here is a man who is full of faith, meaning he's all about the word of God and what it has to say about Jesus Christ.

Doubt me, read chapter seven of Acts. The longest sermon in the book of Acts, a book that is full of sermons.

One scholar said the book of Acts should be renamed as the book of speeches. And Stephen has the longest sermon in the whole book.

And he's all about the scriptures, and he's all about how the scriptures are rightly understood in the light of Jesus Christ.

So this is what it means that he is full of faith, and he is full of the Holy Spirit. So when we're thinking about the life of Stephen, here is a man who is responding to the things around him by the power of the

Holy Spirit in light of who Christ is according to the word of God. That's been the solution the whole time thus far in the book of Acts.

So we're thinking about the story of the book of Acts thus far. Stephen is the personification of it.

He is a great representative of what is going on. And we are invited to pay attention to what goes on here.

We see he has an opportunity, but I want us to see the grace at work in his life. He is a man full of faith and power.

Where did that come from? Where did that come from? Where did the faith come from?

Where did the power come from? It comes from the Lord. He's doing signs and wonders.

Now, wonders are things that catch people's attention, but they're also called signs because they're pointing at something else.

When everybody wanted to put Peter and John up on their shoulders and cheer

Peter and John for the healing of the man born lame in chapter three of Acts, they said, no, it's not about us.

It's about the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the same thing going on here. They're called signs because signs are not the destination.

Signs are pointing to something else. And in this case, as Peter is contending for the faith, as he is in disputation with those who would deny

Jesus Christ, these wonders are signs which are pointing to the reality that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the

Christ, that he is not dead, he's alive and he's raining from the right hand of God. And we are seeing in the present time manifestations of his authority.

This is important because Stephen and his opponents are using the same Bible. They have the

Torah, the law, they have the Nevi 'im, they have the prophets, they have the Kethuvim, they have the writings, they have the same

Bible, they have the Tanakh. They're both working from the same passages of Scripture. And Stephen is saying, this is all about Jesus of Nazareth.

He's the Messiah. This is what it's all about. And they're saying, you're messing with Moses. And they're arguing, but they're coming from the same passage.

So who has the right interpretation? The guys from the big gold box up the hill or the guys in whom the

Holy Spirit is powerfully working? Is it the old covenant temple that gets to decide how to read the

Bible or is it the new covenant temple that Jesus is building that is full of the

Holy Spirit? That's the contention. That's the contention. So what about his opponents?

What about his opponents? We read that there were some from what is called the synagogue of the freedmen,

Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia. There were many different synagogues in Jerusalem, and it makes sense.

After all, if you were a Hellenist like these men are, if you're from Cyrene or Alexandria, if you're from Cilicia, if you're from Asia, Asia, not the way we write

Asia on the map, but the way that John the Apostle wrote Asia on the map, you know,

Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Laodicea, the churches of Asia.

All of these are not locals. They didn't grow up in Jerusalem.

They came from afar. The freedmen are the descendants of the slaves that Pompey took away to Rome in 63

B .C. Their descendants grew up, and they've come back, but they came back from Rome.

They've come from Cyrene. They have come from the Greek -speaking areas of the ancient world, and that's why they can so clearly communicate with Stephen, who was also a

Hellenist. They're speaking the same language. And the problem in their debate, the problem in their conversation is not that they don't understand what

Stephen is saying. The problem is they do understand what he's saying. And it makes them mad. Now, we read that there are several different types of people.

There are lots of people. It's Stephen versus a horde. They're from Alexandria.

Alexandria is where the Greek translation of the Old Testament was written. And what about Cilicia?

Do you know what the capital of Cilicia is or was? Tarsus. Now, who's from Tarsus?

Somebody from Tarsus. We're about to meet him, aren't we? Saul of Tarsus. Saul is there.

He's there with his crew, and they're all shouting things and trying to say things, interrupting each other.

And they're all after Stephen because they don't like what he's saying. And why do they like what he's saying?

Well, yes, of course, they get the sense that he's saying that Moses isn't as important as they think he is.

They're getting the idea that the temple up the hill is not as important as they think it is, and they don't like what he's saying.

And here's the thing. If you grew up away from Jerusalem and you came back to Jerusalem and you were a

Hellenist, you're like a second -class citizen of the Old Covenant. As far as the chief priests and the scribes are concerned, as far as the

Pharisees are concerned, if you came from the Hellenist side of things, then you're just never going to be able to really measure up.

There's also deeply rooted suspicion in this. There was a villain in history named

Antiochus Epiphanes, who was trying to spread the Hellenistic culture, the Greek culture, everywhere he went, and he set his target on Jerusalem.

And he hated the fact that they were holding to their traditions. And so he labored to destroy

Judaism, to outlaw circumcision. He sprayed pig blood through the temple.

He tried to destroy Judaism on the face of the planet, and the Jews revolted.

Called the Maccabean Revolt. So if anybody in this present day, not so long in history after all of that happened, if anybody in this day and age is a

Hellenist, then they're under suspicion. That's just the way it is. It's like when people show up in Texas and in Tennessee and say, we just moved here from California.

And the locals are saying, could you head back? Could you head back? That's what it's like.

They don't trust them. And so those who are Jews and are Hellenists are extremely zealous to make sure that they are not going to be pegged as somebody who's trying to change the customs of Moses.

They know that they're under suspicion already, so they're going to go above and beyond, and they're going to be extra zealous to try to prove that they're not trying to destroy

Judaism. Think of Paul and how he talked about his resume. He had a resume.

He outworked everybody. Why? He was a Hellenist. He had to prove himself to everybody.

And this is why they're upset with Stephen. Now, what happens in their arguments?

Verse 10, they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.

So in this rapid back and forth, firing questions, challenging and so forth,

Stephen bested all of them, even Saul, who is the best of the best.

They could not resist. They could not stand before him. They were knocked down, bowled over, didn't have a leg to stand on.

They got embarrassed by Stephen. And he's not arguing from Greek philosophers.

He's not trying to press Greek culture upon them. He's preaching from the very text that they thought they championed and they realized they didn't really know what it was that they believed.

How did this work? How did this happen? It was the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

They were not down by the wisdom on display in the word of God when the light of Jesus Christ made it all make sense.

They had nothing to say. They could not refute what he was saying. And the Holy Spirit himself could not be opposed by these critics of Stephen.

He's the one empowering Stephen in contending for the faith. So Stephen absolutely embarrasses them.

Now, we know that we can win an argument and still be wrong.

We know that we can win an argument in a wrong way. But it's not wrong to win an argument.

It's not wrong to win an argument. Somehow, somewhere in the discipleship of the church, we've gotten the idea, number one, it's wrong to argue and contend.

And then if you win the argument, then you're a bad person because you made the other person feel bad.

We really can't support that idea from the Scriptures. While recognizing you can win an argument and still be wrong, and you can win an argument in a wrong way, that does not mean that we're not supposed to win arguments.

What are we ever to win arguments? We are to win arguments in the wisdom of the Word and the power of the

Holy Spirit. We are to contend for the faith that was handed down to the saints once for all.

We are to make a defense for the hope that is within us. And that's what

Stephen is doing. He is being a faithful witness and he overcomes by the power of the

Holy Spirit. Now, why are they so upset with Stephen? I could mention some of that.

They're upset about what he's saying. I mean, but they're all Hellenists there. Surely they could understand one another and get along.

Isn't he helping people? Are not the lame now walking? Are the blind now seeing? Are not the demon -possessed now free?

Why are they upset with him? Why are they angry? They couldn't stand the Christ of him.

That's why they're upset and it's just as Jesus said.

Matthew chapter 10, verses 22 and following, Jesus says, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake.

Why? For my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.

For surely I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the son of man comes, not his return to judge everything that's still ahead of us.

But they didn't have time to get through the cities of Israel before he came and judged Jerusalem, which he talks about later.

So Jesus isn't confused, right? This is where liberals take this verse and they say, see, Jesus thought that he was going to come back and end world history before they had time to make it to all the villages and towns of Israel.

See, he was wrong. Actually, he was right. They had about 40 years before Jerusalem went down in flames, so he was right.

He nailed it. He goes on, verse 24, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master, right?

It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master, if they have called the master of the house

Beelzebub, they did call Jesus Beelzebub. How much more will they call those of his household?

Therefore, do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.

So how do they treat Jesus? Expect to be treated the same way.

And then don't get all haughty. Don't get all proud and say, I don't deserve to be treated this way.

Tell it to Jesus. And then he's going to say, don't you remember what

I told you? Jesus shepherds all of this to victory.

He was not saying in this text, get ready to lose. All right, welcome to team loser.

He was saying it's going to be rough, but expect it, get ready for it. And Jesus is the one who shepherds it all unto victory.

Think about what happens after after Stephen is martyred. What happens? After Stephen is martyred, the good news of the kingdom.

Bursts forth out of Jerusalem and goes further than it ever had before.

Finally, the new wine and the old wineskin starts busting out and spreading throughout the known world.

See how Jesus shepherds that which we see as bad and he brings what is actually good.

Now, as we look at what goes on here in Acts. We should be reminded that this is every

Christian's responsibility. This is every Christian's responsibility to herald the good news.

I didn't say make a sales pitch. I didn't say emotionally manipulate.

It is every Christian's responsibility to herald Jesus Christ as king. And as soon as you make that authority claim, all manner of objections are going to come rolling in.

And they're going to be different from all these different folks. And it may seem very difficult to answer.

However, it is all of our responsibility. Mark, chapter eight, verses thirty four to thirty five.

When he had called the people to himself with his disciples, also, he said to them, whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Whoever did not desires to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it.

And he tells his disciples in Luke 24, verse forty six, thus it is written, thus it was necessary for the

Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.

And you are witnesses of these things. Jesus told his disciples to go out and make other disciples that we would observe all that he has commanded us to do.

And so we are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection and ascension.

And sure, sure enough, his return or to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations.

And we've been about this business for some almost 2000 years. He says, behold,

I send the promise of my father upon you, who is the Holy Spirit, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are indeed with power from on high.

So this is every Christian's responsibility. But you heard it's we have every Christian has the resources to do this.

Not because I have a Ph .D. in sociology. Not because I can read

Greek and Hebrew and not because I've read three systematic theologies entire.

What is the resource that every Christian has? Well, Jesus said, you're going to go, but wait, wait for the

Holy Spirit to come upon you. And he says the same thing in in Matthew chapter 10, back to Matthew 10.

By the way, if you're looking for any any kind of work, any kind of publication on discipleship 101, it's

Matthew 10, verse 16. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Therefore, be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. But beware of men.

He didn't say be afraid of men. Just be aware. For they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak.

In other words, don't worry about how am I going to get out of this one? How am I going to walk away from this where they're not upset with me and suspicious of me and saying all manner of bad things about me for Christ's sake?

Don't worry about that. No. For it will be given you in that hour what you should speak, for it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father who speaks in you.

Now, let's let's be very clear about what this means. The Holy Spirit has inspired every last jot and tittle of this word, and Jesus says it was the spirit's ministry as our comforter.

He did not leave us orphans, but he sent us another comforter who is the Holy Spirit to bring to our mind all that Christ has commanded us.

Peter says it is the spirit of Christ who was in the life of all of the prophets and the apostles who wrote this text.

So this is not an admonition to not study, to not know what the Bible says.

If you want to know what the spirit would have to say in any given situation, it's right here. And the spirit speaks of Christ in every situation.

That's his ministry. So as we open up the word of God and we read the word of God in the light of Jesus Christ, he's the light of the world.

He's the light of the word. As we read the scriptures in the light of Jesus Christ, we'll know what the spirit has to say about any given situation and pray that the

Lord will bring those things to mind. So we have a responsibility and we have a resource.

I'm sorry. We have no excuses. I'm sorry. We are to be faithful witnesses just like Stephen.

He didn't say, I'm a deacon, not my job. Evangelism, not my job.

I'm a deacon. He didn't say that. It's all of our responsibilities. But notice further, in contrast to Stephen, who was a faithful witness, we have the false witnesses in verses 11 through 15.

Verses 11 through 15. Notice what they did. They couldn't argue with him. They lost the argument.

Right? So now what are they going to do? They're going to impugn his character.

Right? You know you're winning the argument when they start screaming racist, right? OK, when they have nothing left, they're just going to scream.

So verse 11, then they secretly induce men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God, and they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him and brought him to the council.

And then they also set up false witnesses who said, this man has not ceased to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.

So we're going to get some false witnesses. We're going to get the crowd's opinion against him, and then we're going to get the council's opinion against him.

And that way, we're going to be rid of him. Rid of him. Once upon a time, there was a vineyard.

This vineyard was very nice. It was well kept, and it was right next to the palace. And Ahab looked at that vineyard and said, man, wouldn't it be great?

I can walk out of my master suite right into my vineyard, and we have all kinds of parties here.

It's going to be great. So he goes to the owner of the vineyard named Naboth, and he says, I'll buy your vineyard for you for this tidy sum.

And Naboth says, no deal. This is the property that I have inherited from my forefathers. I am not going to sell it.

And Ahab goes home and he pouts, and he pouts in such a way that catches his wife's attention. Not a very manly thing to do.

He pouts in such a way that he gets his wife's attention. And then she says, well, what's wrong? And so he tells her the problem, and she begins to scheme and to think about how this is going to work.

Obviously, all you have to do is use some corruption, some false witnesses. You can use the maladjusted justice system in a corrupt fashion, and you can get rid of people who oppose you.

And so, so Hillary says to Bill, I mean, Jezebel says to Ahab, here's what we're going to do.

We're going to set up false witnesses. And what do they do? They blaspheme, they say, Naboth blasphemed

God and the king. And then he gets put on trial, the same thing happens, and then he is killed.

He's moved out of the way. Ah, now they can have the vineyard. Now, once upon a time, there was a vineyard, and this vineyard was owned and it was put into the stewardship of some tenants who were to work the vineyard and to give the produce to the owner, what was due him.

And they became corrupt and unfaithful. And though he sent them many servants, they did not listen, and they killed one and hurt another, and they refused to give to the owner what was due him.

So finally, he said, I will send my son. Surely they will respect my son. And when the son showed up, the tenants of the vineyard said,

Ah, here's the heir. We've always wanted pure ownership of this property. Let's kill him, and then we will receive the vineyard.

And they did kill Jesus Christ outside of the walls of Jerusalem, and Jesus told that parable before he died.

And the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, everybody here who is putting Stephen on trial, knew he was talking about them.

When Jesus said, Well, what's going to be done to these tenants? The crowd themselves answered and said,

Well, he's going to come and destroy their city. These tenants had a city?

They did have a city. And Jesus proclaimed judgment against that city in Matthew 23 and 24, and it happened exactly the way that he said it would happen.

And this city is under the judgment of God. And guess what?

Stephen is talking about some of those themes, and they don't like hearing the fact that the temple will not have one stone left upon another, but all of it will be cast down.

They consider that heresy. They consider that blasphemy to say what Jesus said about the temple, that not one stone will be left upon another.

They consider it to be blasphemy. Stephen is just saying what his Lord said, and they're angry with him.

But how merciful is God? How merciful is God? He sent his servant

Jonah to Nineveh, didn't want to go, and he got swallowed by a big fish, and he got spit out by that big fish, and he went to Nineveh, went through the whole city.

And what did he say? Yet 40 days, and the city will be overthrown. That's all he said.

The king and everybody with him humbled themselves in sackcloth and ashes and repented of their wickedness, and God spared that city.

And Jesus said to those in Matthew, to this wicked and perverse generation, this is the kind of generation that looks for signs.

I'll give you no sign, no further sign, except for the sign of Jonah, as he was in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be in the belly of the earth.

Here's the sign of Jonah. Now, so what happens after that? Look at the mercy of God.

Nineveh got 40 days. Jerusalem got 40 years. This generation will not pass away till all these things take place.

You get 40 years to repent, Jerusalem, 40 years to repent. And Stephen is saying the

Messiah has come. Don't worry about that big box up on the hill. Turn to Jesus Christ. The new covenant is here.

And they respond in anger and they lie. They arrange a conspiracy.

They say he blasphemed God and Moses. No, he didn't. He talked against the temple and said that something greater is here, just like Jesus said, something greater is here.

And he said that Moses isn't there for the sake of Moses. He's there to testify of Christ, which is exactly what

Jesus said. He said, if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he testified of me. So they're saying you're blaspheming

Stephen. And Stephen is saying, no, I didn't. And he'll prove that he didn't in chapter seven. But they're upset by the idea.

That the temple is going to go away and the customs of Moses are going to go away. That's why they didn't like Jesus, because he said the same thing, the temple is going to go away and the customs of Moses are going to go away.

So they got it wrong. It wasn't blasphemy and they got it right. These things were going to pass away.

But this is why they are angry now. As they put him on trial, as they put him on trial.

All who sat in the council, verse 15, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

That interesting, how would they know what an angel looks like? Saul of Tarsus was there, and later on, we know him as the

Apostle Paul, he saw angels. And Luke is his best friend.

He's the one who told him what happened. Do you think that Paul ever forgot the face of Stephen, the man he helped kill?

He knew exactly what that face looked like. And he told Luke and Luke puts it in here. You know,

Paul never forgot that. He never, ever forgot it. Here is Stephen contending for the truth of the scripture can only be understood in the light of Jesus Christ.

It's the temple is not for the sake of the temple. It's a sign unto Christ. Moses is not for the sake of Moses. He's there to testify of Christ.

And that's what Stephen's message is, is the same message that Peter preached in the day of Pentecost. And his face is shining like that of an angel.

Paul never forgot that. Second Corinthians, chapter three, verse 13.

Remember how it was when Moses met with God and he came out of the tabernacle of the meeting and his face was all the glow and the children of Israel couldn't handle it.

It was like Mount Sinai all over again, but it just in the face of their leader, they couldn't stand Mount Sinai.

Get get us away from this. They couldn't stand the glow on Moses's face. Get us away from that. So they had to put a veil over Moses's face.

But second Corinthians three, 13, unlike Moses, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

But their minds were blinded, for until this day, the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the

Old Testament. So they're they're hearing Stephen preach in Acts seven, he's like Old Testament, this

Old Testament, that Old Testament, this and he's saying, it's Jesus, it's Jesus, it's Jesus. And they've got the veil firmly in place over their faces and they're saying you're blaspheming, you're blaspheming, you're blaspheming.

Here's some good news, though. The veil is taken away in Christ. Verse 15.

But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the

Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

But we all with unveiled face beholding as in the mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the

Lord. This is why our prayer is when we take up the scriptures, we say, Lord, let me get a good look of your son in this word that I will look like him in this world.

As we are being transformed from one glory to another into the conformity to his son,

Jesus Christ, they're upset, but they're upset because they deny

Christ. You know, Jesus really is that superior. He really is that superior to Moses.

He really is that superior to the temple. He really, really is that superior to all of the

Old Testament is but a mantle that he picks up and wears unto his own glory. He really is the sovereign.

There's only one who is deserving to come to the right hand of God and take the scroll and break the seven seals.

Only one who is worthy. Worthy is the lamb. This is what

Stephen preaches. This is what the Sanhedrin hates. And we've just got to understand why the persecution occurs.

Jesus said, Jesus said, this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

That's what it is, and there's a zealousness in opposing the light, but we have to keep our attention upon Christ.

Stephen, he gives this brilliant, brilliant sermon preaching

Christ, and they gnash their teeth at him and kill him.

He's defending Christ in the streets, doing signs and wonders, and his opponents stir up the people like a earthquake that causes an avalanche that just crushes

Stephen. It's not a defeat. It's not a defeat.

Jim Elliot and his friends die on the on the shore of the river. It's not a defeat.

We have a good shepherd. We have a good shepherd.

Latimer and Ridley burning at the stake. Be of good comfort.

Play the man, Master Ridley. He says, we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.

Christian courage rarely escapes cost, but always, always meets with victory.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the time we've had in your word, a reminder of what's important.

We are weak. You are strong. Our time and our vision, our abilities are limited, but you bring about all these things for good, according to your purpose.

I ask that you would help us to trust you, help us to rejoice in your truth, never be ashamed of it, to rightly understand and anticipate what it means to courageously stand for you.