{"id":6332,"date":"2020-04-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/wp\/?p=6332"},"modified":"2020-04-21T13:17:22","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T18:17:22","slug":"acts-chapter-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/?p=6332","title":{"rendered":"Acts Chapter 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

7 <\/strong>And the high priest said, \u201cAre these things so?\u201d 2 <\/sup><\/strong>And Stephen said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 <\/sup><\/strong>and said to him, \u2018Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love in verse 2 where Stephen labeled God has the \u201cGod of glory\u201d. Do we really truly give God the Glory he deserves?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 <\/sup><\/strong>Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 <\/sup><\/strong>Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love in verse 2 where Stephen labeled God has the \u201cGod of glory\u201d. Do we really truly give God the Glory he deserves? Do we fully trust that God will come through on what he promises? <\/strong>Abraham was promised both the land and descendants, but had no outward proof of either. He could only trust God for the fulfillment of these things.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 6 <\/sup><\/strong>And God spoke to this effect\u2014that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 <\/sup><\/strong>\u2018But I will judge the nation that they serve,\u2019 said God, \u2018and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What in our life do we serve over God? I believe we are in a time were God is showing he deserves to be the priority in our life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 <\/sup><\/strong>And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cAnd the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 <\/sup><\/strong>and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 <\/sup><\/strong>Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 <\/sup><\/strong>But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 <\/sup><\/strong>And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 <\/sup><\/strong>And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 <\/sup><\/strong>And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 <\/sup><\/strong>and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cBut as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 <\/sup><\/strong>until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 <\/sup><\/strong>He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 <\/sup><\/strong>At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 <\/sup><\/strong>and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.22 <\/sup><\/strong>And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cWhen he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 <\/sup><\/strong>And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 <\/sup><\/strong>He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.26 <\/sup><\/strong>And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, \u2018Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?\u2019 27 <\/sup><\/strong>But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, \u2018Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 <\/sup><\/strong>Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?\u2019 29 <\/sup><\/strong>At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses offered deliverance to Israel, he was rejected and rejected with spite. Israel denied that he had any right to be a <\/strong>ruler and a judge<\/strong> <\/strong>over them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cNow when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 <\/sup><\/strong>When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 <\/sup><\/strong>\u2018I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.\u2019 And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.33 <\/sup><\/strong>Then the Lord said to him, \u2018Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 <\/sup><\/strong>I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen again emphasized one of the main points of his reply to the council \u2013 that God, His glory, and His work was not confined to the temple. God <\/strong>appeared<\/strong> <\/strong>to Moses <\/strong>in the wilderness<\/strong>, before there ever was a temple. Stephen emphasized that God both called and commissioned Moses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

35 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cThis Moses, whom they rejected, saying, \u2018Who made you a ruler and a judge?\u2019\u2014this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 <\/sup><\/strong>This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though Israel had rejected Moses and his leadership, God appointed Moses with unmistakable signs, including the burning bush in the wilderness. Though Israel rejected Moses at what might be called his \u201cfirst coming,\u201d he still remained God\u2019s chosen deliverer for Israel. If God has called you to something He will eqip you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

37 <\/sup><\/strong>This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, \u2018God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.\u2019 38 <\/sup><\/strong>This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 <\/sup><\/strong>Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 <\/sup><\/strong>saying to Aaron, \u2018Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.\u2019 41 <\/sup><\/strong>And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 <\/sup><\/strong>But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 <\/sup><\/strong>You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea here is both important and awesome. Paul later built on the thought of God giving man over to his sinful desires in <\/strong>Romans 1:24-32<\/strong><\/a>.It makes each of us consider the question: If we reject Jesus, what will we be given up to?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

44 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cOur fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 <\/sup><\/strong>Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 <\/sup><\/strong>who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[<\/sup>a<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup> 47 <\/sup><\/strong>But it was Solomon who built a house for him.48 <\/sup><\/strong>Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

49 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201c\u2018Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
    or what is the place of my rest?
50 <\/sup><\/strong>Did not my hand make all these things?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a more subtle level, many Christians do the same thing. It may not be the worship of a church building (though certainly that does take place from time to time), but it is the confinement of God to one place. In other words, the only place they meet God is at the church. As far as they are concerned, God is absent from the rest of their lives. In the minds and lives of some today, God might as well only live at the church.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

51 <\/sup><\/strong>\u201cYou stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 <\/sup><\/strong>Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 <\/sup><\/strong>you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stoning of Stephen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

54 <\/sup><\/strong>Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council was angry, but because Stephen\u2019s message had hit the target. They could not dismiss or ignore what he said. Conviction is nothing to play with.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

55 <\/sup><\/strong>But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 <\/sup><\/strong>And he said, \u201cBehold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was being persecuted and still gave nothing but glory to God. <\/strong>This was a great contrast to the behavior of the council. The fact that Stephen was <\/strong>full of the Holy Spirit<\/strong> <\/strong>shows the source of his courage, wisdom, and power in preaching.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

57\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together\u00a0at him.\u00a058\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Then\u00a0they cast him out of the city and\u00a0stoned him. And\u00a0the witnesses laid down their garments\u00a0at the feet of a young man named Saul.\u00a059\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And as they were stoning Stephen,\u00a0he called out, \u201cLord Jesus,\u00a0receive my spirit.\u201d60\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And\u00a0falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice,\u00a0\u201cLord, do not hold this sin against them.\u201d And when he had said this,\u00a0he fell asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen\u2019s life ended in the same way it had been lived: In complete trust in God, believing that Jesus would take care of him in the life to come. Stephen finish his race living a life that showed nothing but Jesus.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Franks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScripture quotations are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version\u00ae), copyright \u00a9 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":1168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","filesize_raw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-reading"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6333,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6332\/revisions\/6333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}