Podcasts about hellenistic jews

Challenges of Church Growth Multiplication and Division Acts Focus Passage: Acts 6:1-5 1. The Importance of Unity in the Church     * Acts 6:1: “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food distribution.”     * Growth often brings healthy challenges, and with challenges come opportunities for solutions shaped by God's wisdom. As leaders, we must remember that the same God who brings increase also provides answers. Rather than succumbing to panic, we are called to seek His guidance with faith, trusting that His hand will resolve difficulties when we ask, seek, and knock.     * The tension between the Hellenistic Jews and Hebraic Jews regarding the daily distribution of food underscores the importance of addressing cultural and community-specific needs within the church. This conflict wasn't just logistical—it revealed the more profound need for sensitivity, understanding, and intentional inclusion.     * The Holy Spirit equips us to be witnesses to all people (Acts 1:8), and He also empowers us with grace to bridge cultural differences, relate to diverse perspectives, and find Spirit-led solutions. Unity is not just a goal; the Church needs to embody the fullness of God's presence. As Jesus prayed in John 17:21, "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you," unity is the key to effective witness and sustained growth. 2. Spirit-Led Delegation and qualifications for leadership.     * (Acts 6:2-4).2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”     * Every leadership role in the body of Christ should require spirit-filling. Spiritual wisdom is needed to discern God's will and make decisions according to God's heart, not man's.     * The Apostles understood their primary responsibility with the early church was prayer and teaching of the Word, especially with the rapid growth, so other vital tasks like assisting widows had to be designated to others who had to be spirit-filled.     * In Christ, all we do is go unto Him, in the power of the Spirit. Nothing should be seen as less a duty than something else just because of one's title. 3. The Power of Spirit-Filled Ministry     * Acts 6:5-8
"Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. So, God's message continued to spread. The number of believers significantly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too."     * The power of God is not reserved for a select few but is available to all believers. As Jesus declared in Mark 16:17, the signs accompanying those who believe in Him include casting out demons, laying hands on the sick, and more. The early church leaders, like Stephen and the others chosen, exemplified the qualifications required for leadership: being full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Without these essential traits, we are unprepared to represent Jesus effectively and bring glory to His name.     * Furthermore, the act of elders laying hands on new leaders serves as a vital moment of consecration and empowerment, setting them apart for their God-given role. This practice reinforces the spiritual significance of stepping into leadership with prayerful preparation.     * When more believers rise to accept their calling and step into leadership, the Lord multiplies His work. As each vessel contributes to the mission, the Kingdom advances, and the message of God continues to spread powerfully, just as it did in the early church. 4.  Opposition to Spirit-Filled Witness     * Acts 6:9-14
"But one day, some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, began to debate with Stephen. These were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. Yet, none of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded others to lie about Stephen, claiming, 'We heard him blaspheme Moses and even God.' This stirred up the people, elders, and teachers of religious law. As a result, they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The false witnesses testified, 'This man constantly speaks against the holy Temple and the law of Moses. We even heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.'"     * No one can stand against the wisdom of God. When we operate as Stephen did—full of faith and the Spirit—we are empowered to answer any question, speak boldly, and remain unmoved by human opposition, aligning ourselves with God's purpose. However, this does not guarantee that others will respond positively. Some hearts are so hardened and consumed by evil that nothing we say or do will move them.     * Opposition may come, often in the form of lies, schemes, and attempts to stop us at any cost. But we must remember that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces and principalities of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Because of this, we should not take persecution personally. Instead, we are called to rejoice when we suffer for Christ's sake. By doing so, we share in the fellowship of His suffering and stand in solidarity with all the saints who have endured before us. 5. A Glimpse of Glory Amid Trials     * Acts 6:15: “At this point, everyone in the high council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's.”     * Final Charge:
We are called to shine like the sun's rays, reflecting the light of the Son's presence. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, no earthly opposition or suffering can diminish the glory of God radiating through us. Stephen's face, shining like an angel's, was a testament to his communion with the Lord, even in the face of persecution.     * With suffering comes glory! Let us boldly pursue the Lord and His will, keeping our gaze fixed on Him. No matter what happens on earth, we walk in the reality of Heaven. May our lives bear witness to His name, reflecting His light and His love, even in the darkest moments. -- Praise Tabernacle Dr. Joshua Kennedy,  Pastor 2235 Ocean Heights  Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234 pastorjosh@praisetabernacle.com praisetabernacle.church  (609) 927-4560(w),

Read Online“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19–20These words of our Lord came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen, the Church's first martyr. Saint Stephen was martyred within a couple of years after Jesus' ascension into Heaven. He was one of seven deacons who the Apostles appointed to assist them in their work of caring for the poor as the Church began to grow.Stephen was a man of deep faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. After he was appointed deacon, he began to preach with boldness. Among his listeners were members of the synagogue of Hellenistic Jews. Stephen debated them vigorously and proved himself to be full of wisdom and power, performing many signs and wonders in their midst. But this only led his listeners to become outraged to the point of seeking his death. As a result, they made false claims that Stephen was preaching against the Temple and the Law of Moses.In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:2–53), Stephen responded by giving a long and detailed speech by which he explained the full truth of Jesus in light of the Old Testament. Stephen concluded by saying, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.” This infuriated his listeners in the synagogue even more. After this, something truly miraculous happened. Stephen had a vision. He looked up to Heaven and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” He saw his Lord, standing at the right hand of the Father. And it was his proclamation of this vision that finally drove the infuriated crowd to drag him out of the synagogue and city and to stone him to death. Stephen's story, however, ended in a beautiful and inspired way. As the crowd was stoning him, he spoke two powerful statements. First, he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And then he prayed in a loud voice,  “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”As mentioned above, the words our Lord speaks in the Gospel today came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen. First of all, we see that Jesus' prediction that some of His followers would be handed over to deaths by their own kinsmen came true in the life of Saint Stephen. But Jesus also promised that when this would happen, “You will be given at that moment what you are to say.” And it will be the Spirit of the Father “speaking through you.” And that's exactly what happened with Saint Stephen. First, he was given a glorious vision of Heaven. Second, he was inspired to fully surrender his spirit over to Jesus. And third, he was inspired to pray for his persecutors and forgive them. These words and actions did not come from Stephen alone. They were the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that when one is persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, the Father will be especially present and give powerful inspiration at the moment of need. Reflect, today, upon the profound truth that God never abandons us. In fact, when we suffer the most or endure persecution, rejection or any form of mistreatment, God is especially present. Look at your own life and consider those moments that you find most challenging. Pray to Saint Stephen and ask him to pray for you so that you will be open to the inspired words and actions of our Lord when you need them the most. Most glorious Saint Stephen, please pray for me. Pray for me especially when I experience the heaviest crosses in my life. Pray that I, like you, will be open to God's inspiration and grace at those times I need it the most. St. Stephen, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Martyrdom of Saint Stephen by flickr

We rejoin the scene of Paul's testimony right after he mentioned being baptized as soon as he had called on the name of Jesus. What happened next triggered the next steps of his long-term incarceration. Between what we have as verse 16 and verse 17, Paul skips a significant amount of time. You can review it in Acts 9:19–30.Paul skipped over his initial ministry in Damascus, which lasted many days. He didn't mention his over-the-wall-in-a-basket escape. He also didn't mention the time he spent in Arabia, during which time Jesus did some personal training with him, but we are not told any details. He also didn't mention his first visit to Jerusalem and the fact that the Christians in Jerusalem at that time were afraid of him because of his reputation. He didn't mention how Barnabas stepped up to introduce Paul to the apostles and tell his story.He also didn't mention how the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem at that time were attempting to put him to death. That was the second plot to kill him. That time the brethren hustled him down from Jerusalem to Caesarea and put him on a ship to Tarsus. The other thing Paul didn't include was the significant time he spent in his hometown of Tarsus.On that day in Jerusalem when Paul addressed the people who had earlier been beating him up, he went straight from recounting his baptism to that first visit to Jerusalem. He tells us something that happened which is not recorded in the earlier record of that visit.1 - "He Said 'Go!'" (17-21) Or God Has A Plan2 - "Away With Such A Fellow!" (22-24) Or Hatred Dies Hard3 - The Commander Was Afraid (25-30) Or Bluster Backtracks

Who were the Hellenistic Jews in the Bible? What was the difference between a Hellenistic Jew and a Hebraic Jew?

Send us a text“and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ. When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket. When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. And he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭19‬-‭31‬ ‭Support the showThe American Soul Podcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1791934/subscribe

Ever wondered how the early church managed explosive growth while facing internal and external challenges? Our latest episode takes you on a journey through Acts chapter 6, revealing how the apostles' strategic delegation allowed for the Word of God to flourish despite the burgeoning number of disciples. Through a humorous letter from a parishioner, we kick off our discussion with a lighthearted look at the struggles of active church participation, setting the stage for a deeper exploration into the effective leadership and delegation that ensured the ministry continued unimpeded.Tune in as we dissect what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Drawing from the books of Luke and Matthew, we emphasize the core elements of belief, surrender, obedience, and baptism. We shed light on how the early church's dedication to teaching and preaching, as depicted in Acts, led to sustained growth and transformation through the Holy Spirit. This discussion not only underscores the power of the gospel but also provides practical insights for modern-day discipleship.Church growth isn't just about numbers; it's also about unity and the avoidance of internal strife. Moving through Acts 6, we examine the roles of Paul and Apollos, emphasizing the ultimate reliance on God for growth while addressing the critical issue of internal divisions within the early church. Internal complaints and cultural rivalries between Hellenistic Jews and native Hebrews posed significant threats to unity, and we draw valuable lessons from these historical tensions. Our episode wraps up with a call for self-reflection and a heartfelt prayer, encouraging listeners to use their gifts for the service of the church and to seek continuous spiritual growth and obedience.Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHFIxjZ-zsk

Today I will show some Mythvision episodes that describe what I have been studying in regards to the mistake of using the bible as a historical reference, and its much earlier origin with the Hellenistic Jews. I will also apply reason as I argue against the claims presented by Ammon last week. Not that it's not written, but by who and for what purpose. All signs are pointing to a cloaked Saturn Death cult wearing the garb of an alleged Benevolent trio of Abrahamic religions. Why do I emphasize this? Because the same group who have inverted the history of Germanic people and WWII have duped people through the fear of death to follow, and support their efforts to bring about the conditions of a human extinction, save the chosen, of course. We need to snap out of it before it's too late.My Clean Source Creatine-HCL Use Coupon Code FANFAVORITE for 5% Offhttps://www.semperfryllc.com/store/p126/CreatineHCL.htmlSigned Copies of my book:https://www.semperfryllc.com/store/p93/Priestcraft%3A_Beyond_Babylon_%28Signed_Copy%29.htmlAmazon: Priestcraft: Beyond Babylon is getting Great Feedback! 8.5x11 Paperback, Hardcover, & Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNGX53L7/Barnes & Noble: Priestcraft: Beyond Babylon 416 pages, and ebook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144402176KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/priestcraft-beyond-babylonBrighteon Store DISCOUNT Link: https://brighteonstore.com/BaalBustersTake Back Your Health NOW! DR PETER GLIDDEN, ND All-Access https://leavebigpharmabehind.com/?via=pgndhealth Add to the Kristos Family Apocalypse Fund: https://GiveSendGo.com/BaalBustersDR MONZO Products: https://drmonzo.kartra.com/page/shopDR MONZO ATB BOOK: https://drmonzo.kartra.com/page/ATBBookUSE CODE: BaalBusters15 for 15% OFF Dr. MONZO's store itemsDr MONZO AzureWell https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/brand/azurewell/2326 and use code BB5 for 5% Off for Life!Get KRATOM HERE: https://klaritykratom.com/?ref=BaalBustersSubmit Questions: https://buymeacoffee.com/BaalBusters or just Call-in!Have you tired TRY BLUE? https://tryblue.refr.cc/baalbusters  for 17% Off!SHIRTS & MERCH https://my-store-c960b1.creator-spring.com/THIS CHANNEL IS INDEPENDENT and has no sponsors but YOUJOIN Locals by Clicking the JOIN Button Beneath the video.AWESOME Hot Sauce: https://SemperFryLLC.com Use Code at site for 5% Off qualified purchasesBa'al Busters channel: https://rumble.com/c/BaalBustersTwitter: https://twitter.com/DisguiseLimitsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/baalbusters/Telegram: https://t.me/BaalBustersStudiosPlease Read Click this GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/7vvgt-journey-homeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ba-al-busters-broadcast--5100262/support.

At once [Saul (Paul)] began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, ‘Isn't he the man who caused havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?' Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (Acts 9:20-31, NIV)

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 6.1-8, NIV)

Loving Across Our Differences: Embracing Unity in Diversity - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarbor or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard   Summary:   In the new sermon series "Loving Across Our Differences," Pastor Donnell embarks on a scriptural exploration of how the early church thrived as a multi-ethnic, multi-generational community characterized by love and unity. Drawing from the conflicts and resolutions found in Acts 6, the series begins by addressing the often overlooked grievances of the Hellenistic Jews, whose widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food. This narrative sets the stage for discussing broader themes of discrimination and exclusion within communities of faith, underscoring the importance of creating spaces where every group feels seen and valued.   As the sermon progresses, Pastor Donnell delves into the practical skills and spiritual insights employed by the early church leaders to foster inclusivity and resolve tensions. He highlights the apostles' approach of listening, validating, and actively addressing the concerns of the marginalized Hellenistic Jews by appointing seven members known for their wisdom and spiritual depth to oversee fair distribution. This act of empathy and decisive leadership serves as a model for today's church in handling internal conflicts that threaten its unity and mission.   In his concluding remarks, Pastor Donnell connects these historical events to present-day challenges within the church, advocating for a proactive stance on racial reconciliation as a Gospel issue. He encourages the congregation to engage deeply with one another's pain and differences, inspired by the biblical example of Job's friends who shared in his suffering. Through this series, Pastor Donnell calls on the church to not only celebrate diversity but to actively pursue reconciliation and unity, reflecting the inclusive heart of the Gospel.

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Apr 14, 2024 ========== April 14 | Acts Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo April 14, 2024 Tim Keith Question: Who have you given up on? Who have you given up on? God hasn't. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬‬ Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬‬ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬-‭9‬‬ As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink. In Stephen, Saul would hear incredible facts. (6:10) Saul would see an unforgettable face. (6:15) Saul would watch an unshakable faith. (7:60) ‭‭Acts‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬-‭20‬‬ “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.' ‭‭Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬-‭31‬‬ There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” “Here I am, Lord,” he replied. “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.” All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn't this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?” But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Who have you given up on? (Pray for them now.) Who can you go to? (Ask God now.) Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Acts 6:1–7 NIVIn those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

Acts 6:1–7 NIVIn those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

Title: Imperfect Perfection Text: Acts 10:1-8 FCF: We often struggle with the tension of works and faith. Prop: Because Christ is well-pleasing to God, we can live in imperfect obedience and be counted righteous by faith in Christ, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 10. In a moment I'll be reading starting in verse 1 from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible on page 1242 or in whatever version you prefer. Chapter 10 of the book of Acts represents a rather pivotal point in the expansion of the gospel of Jesus. In keeping with its significance, this next narrative episode is quite lengthy. From start to finish it encompasses a chapter and a half, 66 verses. That is the longest narrative episode we've seen yet in the book of Acts. Because it is so long it is difficult to know exactly where to break it up. At first, I had verses 1-23. Then I narrowed it down to 1-20. Then I went 1-16. I finally settled for 1-8. In this way I hope to build each detail of the narrative, one block at a time, as Luke does. The narrative as a whole is somewhat of a puzzle. We have several pieces handed to us, but until they are assembled, we won't see the full picture. So, let's begin with the first detail of the story… lets start with a man from Caesarea named Cornelius. Please stand with me to focus on and show respect for The Word of God. Transition: [Slide 2] Has this ever happened to you. You are standing in the line at the grocery store. It is a very busy day. Snow's coming tomorrow so people are out in droves to make sure they have their bread milk and toilet paper. You are waiting and waiting, the line is moving slowly. Finally, you are getting close to the front. The magazines in the rack distract you… ok being honest it is the candy in the line that is distracting. All of a sudden you hear those wonderful words… “I can help you in line 3. You look up hoping to meet the gaze of the cashier only to find that this cashier had said this to the person who literally just got in line. Makes you a little hot right? Like, HEY! I've been here this whole time. What would justice be? Would it be that they have to wait the same amount you do, or more? We all kinda feel this way about short cuts don't we. But Jesus taught a parable of men being hired for work at various times of the day and still getting paid the same amount. The employer couldn't be accused of being stingy because he paid everyone a day's wage. But to the one who worked less, it seemed like he got more. Jesus' point was that it was the employer's prerogative to be generous in the way He wished to be generous. Today, we will see the abundant graciousness and generosity of our Lord to offer the Jewish Messiah to a gentile. Let's look at verse 1. I.) No matter how good man is perceived to be, he is not good enough by God's standards, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (1-2) a. [Slide 3] 1 – Now there was a man in Caesarea i. [Slide 4] Caesarea as we can see on our map, is the furthest Northwest that the gospel has ever gone in the book of Acts. ii. Damascus represents the furthest northeast. iii. Caesarea is almost at the furthest north border of Samaria. iv. In short, the gospel is spreading far and wide throughout all of Judea and Samaria. It doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. b. [Slide 5] named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. i. Cornelius is a Latin name meaning Of the horn. Cornucopia means horn of plenty. ii. Having a Latin name is not the only indication that this man is a gentile. iii. He is also a centurion. Meaning he is the leader of about 100 men within the Roman army. iv. He was also part of a larger Italian division of the Roman army called a Legion or a Cohort. v. A legion or Cohort consisted of 600 men. Meaning that Cornelius was no doubt one of 6 military leaders within this particular division of the military. vi. All this establishes Cornelius not only as a gentile but also a prominent one at that. vii. The question arises, if this man was in the Italian Cohort, why was he in Caesarea? viii. Caesarea is a highly valued port city on the Mediterranean and it would not be unthinkable for the Roman Emperor to keep a Legion station here. Especially in the wake of the political upheaval of Caligula becoming emperor and Herod Antipas being exiled around this time. ix. It would actually make a great deal of sense to have extra troops in the area just in case something happens. x. But there is more to this man than simply his prominence and his nationality. c. [Slide 6] 2 - He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; i. What does Luke mean that he was a devout God-fearing man? ii. In some ways this could be a simple description of Cornelius' affiliation with the Jewish faith. However, Luke hasn't shied away from using the term proselyte. In Luke 6 he mentioned Nicholas who was a Gentile proselyte now converted to Christ. iii. So, what exactly is Cornelius? Is he a proselyte or something else? iv. [Slide 7] To answer this question, we must look back among the first century historical and archeological records to understand a hierarchy that existed within the Jewish faith. 1. First there were Hebraic Jews. These were Jews who refused to allow Greek influence to spread among them. They continued to speak Hebrew or at least Aramaic. They did not assimilate into Greek traditions and heritages. They attended all the feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 2. Second there were Hellenistic Jews. These were Jews who had succumbed to Greek influence in some way or another. Though still devout and Jewish, they had lost the ability to speak Hebrew and possibly even Aramaic. They, in some cases, had allowed Greek thought and culture to influence other aspects of their lives. They still attended feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 3. Third there would be gentile proselytes. These would be gentiles who converted to Judaism and submitted themselves fully to the religious, ritualistic, and legal practices of the Jews. They would endure circumcision and offer whatever sacrifices they were permitted to offer though they would not be permitted in the inner courts of the temple. 4. Fourth there would be what would be known as God-Fearers. This is specifically a group of gentiles that are favorable to Jewish culture and faith and perhaps even in the process of becoming a proselyte, but are not yet truly converted. They were not circumcised. They did not necessarily attend the festivals and feasts, and they did not offer sacrifices at the temple. They would adopt monotheism and attempt to keep the 10 commandments in their lives. 5. Finally, would be, essentially, everyone else. The pagans and polytheists. These are the furthest away from God, since they worship false gods and not the one true God. v. [Slide 8] Cornelius then, is a God-Fearer. He is not quite a proselyte but is sympathetic to Jewish culture and faith. vi. Why is this significant? 1. This is the first time in the book of Acts so far that a non-Jew by blood and by religion becomes the focal point of the story. 2. Second, we've seen Luke's story arch up to this point and it is reasonable to conclude even if we've never read the rest of this narrative, that the gospel circle is widening yet again. 3. Will the gospel go to gentiles not fully assimilated into Judaism? If so, do they need to be Jews first? We'll have to see. vii. We also see that his whole household were also God-Fearers. Now what does this mean? 1. A household is the basic unit of social structure. But it differed from our household structure we have today. 2. Ignoring for the moment the fracturing of the modern household; even in the ideal with Father, Mother, children this would represent a much smaller sphere than 1st century households. 3. A household in the first century could include a much wider spectrum of kinship. There could also be servants and slaves included in the term household. 4. In short, a household could include anyone who lived in the home and met in the home as family. 5. And so, as we might expect, everyone in Cornelius' house were God-Fearers also. We get the impression that he led the effort for this to be so. Most likely he was the patriarch and priest of his family. viii. How else did he lead? d. [Slide 9] he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. i. Alms giving and prayer have long been a standard measure for the truly pious. ii. As such the Pharisees were critiqued for their show of contributing large sums of money and long public prayers in order to seem very devout and pious. iii. Alms giving and prayer are two of the five pillars of the Islamic Faith. iv. Alms giving and prayer are sometimes a means of restitution in the Catholic Church. v. And even in the 1st century, Roman and Greek philosophers idealized acts of charity and devoted prayer to deities. vi. In short, giving charity to those who are less fortunate and praying regularly have always been associated with those who are devout and pious people. Whether it is true or not. And regardless of religion. You at least appear to be pious when you give alms and are consistently praying. vii. We ought also to see the correlation between Tabitha and Cornelius. Tabitha was a disciple of Christ who gave charitably too. We are not told that she prayed often, but it is reasonable to conclude she did. viii. On the surface then, we are given a man who has everything right, but he is missing one piece of the puzzle. But here is a hint. The piece of the puzzle he is missing isn't that he hasn't yet become a Jewish proselyte. e. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: As wonderful of a man as Cornelius was, admired by men, prominent, a leader, a manager of a house, and pious to boot, he was still not good enough. He still lacked something. No doubt everyone admired and respected a man like Cornelius. And even though he wasn't quite Jewish, we will see later he is highly respected by the Jews. The core truth we see in this first point is that a man can be judged to be a good man by all of society and still be short of the standard of God. For God does not require a good man. He requires a perfect man. Jesus died for sinners… even those whom our society labels as saints. So, we must not rest on our laurels and our own self-righteousness, for it will never be good enough. But we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Transition: [Slide 11 (blank)] But we have made some logical leaps here. Is God not pleased at all by Cornelius' lifestyle? And how do we know Cornelius lacks Jesus? Well, God sends this man an angel. Let's see what the angel says. II.) God is pleased with and graciously corrects those who sincerely worship Him, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (3-6) a. [Slide 12] 3 – About three o'clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God, who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” i. At 3 in the afternoon, it would be a traditional time for sacrifices and prayers to be offered up at the temple. ii. It was at this time that Cornelius, who was probably entering again into prayer, saw a waking vision. iii. A vision is something that appears clearly, vividly, and credibly in the mind but is not actually present. iv. An angel appears to him in this vision and calls to him. v. Like Jesus to Saul before him, this angel identifies Cornelius by name. b. [Slide 13] 4 – Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” i. Cornelius had never seen anything like this before. ii. Like every person who encounters an angel of God, he becomes sorely afraid. iii. Cornelius responds to this angel's call by using almost the same words Saul used when he was met by Christ. iv. Saul asked, who are you, Lord? And Cornelius says, “What is it, Lord?” v. What does this mean? vi. It is difficult to know whether Cornelius has assumed that he was seeing God Himself or whether he is using this term “lord” in its less theologically charged meaning, “Sir.” vii. Even if he did mistake this angel for God, would you blame him? viii. Regardless of what Cornelius meant, the angel makes it plain that he is not God but bears God's message to him. c. [Slide 14] The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. i. The angel indicates clearly that he is not God, but informs him that his prayers and charity have gone up before God. ii. What does it mean that his prayers and offerings have “Gone up before God?“ iii. And what is meant by it being a memorial or as other translations have it a “memorial offering?” iv. In the book of Leviticus, in several sacrifices the priests are instructed to take a handful of the offering and burn it on the altar before the Lord. The rest of the offering would be used by the priests. v. These are called memorial offerings because the one who gives the offering and the one burning the offering are all reminded that though God deserves all of the offering, he is pleased with a small portion. vi. How appropriate for the angel messenger to convey this to Cornelius. vii. Cornelius is, after all, not circumcised. He does not go to the temple for sacrifices. He meets in synagogues to learn of the Jewish faith and practice, and attempts to live accordingly, but is not Jewish. viii. Yet Yahweh, The God of Israel, through His angel, tells Cornelius that his charity and prayers have amounted to a memorial sacrifice. They have pleased God. ix. Though he has never sacrificed in the temple, his charity and prayers have been his offering. x. And his offering has pleased God. xi. So, is he good? Is Cornelius saved? Is that enough? Did he earn his salvation by an offering? xii. No. The angel had more to say. d. [Slide 15] Now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” i. The angel communicates another message to Cornelius that, at first, appears to be separate from the first. ii. However, they are related. iii. He tells him to send men to fetch Peter and tells him where Peter is staying. iv. But we all know the reason for this. v. And later we find out that the angel told Cornelius not only that Peter needed to come to see him, but that he had a message to give to him. A message of salvation. For him, and his household. vi. It is almost as if God is telling Cornelius, “Remember, though you stand a far way off, you have gotten the important part of Judaism. You have gotten enough of Judaism to be ready for the next step in Judaism. Now Peter will come and show you what you lack.” vii. Is God giving Cornelius a shortcut? Is God saying… I desire obedience and not sacrifices? e. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: And so, in this point, although those who are perceived as good and devout men are still not good enough, God is good and gracious to those who diligently seek Him. Though Cornelius had just enough truth and just enough good works to condemn him to hell, God rewards those who are pursuing Him. In many ways, Cornelius was probably more devout than most Jews of his day, because his motives were pure. He sincerely sought the Lord. God is pleased with those who, even imperfectly, sincerely worship Him. And God is sure to lead such people to what they lack. So, we must not be satisfied with our broken attempts to please God, even if He is pleased by our sincerity. Instead, we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. For it is in Jesus that the Lord has said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Transition: [Slide 17(blank)] God rewards Cornelius' diligent seeking by revealing his need. He needs to call on Peter. Peter needs to come and give him and his household a message. So, what do those who have been illuminated by God do? What do those whose eyes have been opened do? They obey… III.) All who God corrects and instructs with truth obey His commands, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (7-8) a. [Slide 18] 7 – When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him, i. Like Aeneas and Tabitha before, Cornelius sets out to obey what has been revealed to him. ii. Aeneas was healed of his paralysis, Tabitha raised from death, but Cornelius was healed of another malady. A malady equally as hopeless. iii. You see for Cornelius though he was a God-Fearer, and though he could potentially achieve proselyte status in the Jewish faith and gain some measure of closeness to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He could never come closer than this. He could never enter the courts of the Jews much less the holy place or the Holy of Holies for that matter. iv. But what has his acts of charity and prayer done? It is a memorial offering. A reminder to him that though God requires all, He is pleased with what Cornelius has done. For he has done it while sincerely seeking Yahweh. v. So God rewards Cornelius by sending an angel, with the truth of the way he could be healed of that relational distance. vi. He has been told that he can come and receive the same gospel message that was given to the Jews. He need not be a proselyte first. Cornelius doesn't need to be circumcised. He doesn't need to become a Jew first. He simply needs the message that Peter will give him. What is that message? Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. 1. Jesus is the funnel. Jesus is the choke point. Jesus is not only the next and final redemptive step in Judaism, but He is also the next and final redemptive step for the Gentile as well. 2. He is the next and final step in the covenants He made with Adam and Eve. a. He is the sacrifice that was killed in their place so that they could be clothed perfectly and completely. b. He is the seed that has crushed the head of the serpent and enlarged the family of God. c. He is the New Adam, our new representative, keeping the covenant of works perfectly. 3. He is the next and final step in the covenant made with Noah. a. He is the ark delivering His people from the world of sin and the judgment that will overwhelm it. b. He is the bow of promise establishing peace between the Father and His people. c. He is bringing the next baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 4. All the covenants of God, to Jews and Gentiles alike, are funneled down to Jesus. vii. And what does Cornelius do after receiving this command which he is told will be the solution for his malady of relational distance to Yahweh? What does he do when he is told that Peter holds the key for that distance to be erased? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter. b. [Slide 19] 8 - and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. i. It is difficult to know exactly what he tells these two servants and soldier. ii. The text says he had explained everything. iii. It seems as though everything he knew, saw, and believed was given to these men as he sent them to bring Peter. iv. Cornelius not only believed the angel, but wanted his whole house to believe as well. c. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: We've seen how the devotion and goodness of Cornelius was not enough, that he still lacked true righteousness. We've also seen the faithfulness and compassion of God to reward those who seek Him diligently. And finally, we see the faithful obedience of all whom God reveals truth to… Cornelius was given life changing truth that would free him from his relational distance to God. And that truth would be given to him by Peter the apostle. So, what does Cornelius do when he is told that Peter holds the key for him to be brought into a close and special relationship with Yahweh? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter immediately. My friends, we know the piece that Cornelius was missing. It is Jesus crucified for sinners. So, we too must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Conclusion: So, CBC, what has the Lord said and how then shall we live? What doctrinal takeaway can we pull from this today? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 21] Men and women can live lives that are devout and pious, being paragons of good among humanity. God is pleased with those who attempt to live out His law and seek to please Him. But mankind's devotion and piety is not enough to satisfy the holy standard of God. So, God in His grace rewards those who diligently seek to please and worship Him. He rewards them by revealing to them how they can be made right with Him. In this we see the tension of mankind's spiritual status as dead and paralyzed juxtaposed against being able to actually, in some way, please God with our meager efforts. Another riddle. The great answer is that God's legal standard is perfection, even if it is pleasing for us to obey Him and seek Him, it will never satisfy the legal requirement of perfection. But that is why God has sent His Son. And that is why God promises to reward those who seek Him. Cornelius was rewarded for faithfully pursuing the God if Israel. How was He rewarded? He was rewarded by God offering Him the next and final step in His redemption. And it was not to make him a Jew first. It was to transfer him directly into the family of the Son. So Cornelius obeyed the Lord and sent for Peter. Jesus is the answer for all men and not just the Jews. All the covenants of God are fulfilled in Him. My friends, although it is true that when we are God's people, we obey Him… our obedience is not what we rely on. Because our obedience will always be imperfect in this life. Instead, we depend on Christ's righteousness. For it is only in Christ that the Lord's legal standard is met. The best we can hope for is God to be pleased with us. With Christ, The Father is well-pleased. So let me improve upon this point in a few ways for us this morning. 1.) [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that no matter how much righteousness we can muster, it will never satisfy God's perfect standard. a. Cornelius was a man who put many Jews to shame. He devoted himself and his entire household to upholding monotheism and the law of the God of Israel. b. Even though he would never be accepted into the inner relationship to Yahweh, he still served Him and sought Him. c. This is a far cry from the Sadducees who only wanted power with their piety. It is lightyears away from the Pharisees who desired honor from men by their devotion to God. d. Nevertheless, as righteous as he was, Cornelius was still missing something. As pleasing as his actions were to God, he still lacked what Peter would bring. e. From meticulous legalism to liberal sincerity, mankind cannot ever achieve the perfect standard of God. f. As we spoke last week, we are all dead in sin. We are hopeless to heal ourselves. Hopeless to raise ourselves. The Lord must do this work. g. But our problem only begins there. Even though the Lord must raise us from sin death that is only half of our problem. For not only are we dead in sin, but we also dead to righteousness, h. Mankind, my friends, is in quite the pickle. Not only do they not want to please God, but even if they did want to, they couldn't. You see God can't bring us to life and then let us go. For we would simply die in sin again when we fail. i. No. God must unite us to something that will never fail. j. This is what orthodox Christianity teaches. Mankind is doubly damned. Not only are we dead in sin, but God's standard is perfection. You cannot be perfect if you are by nature dead in flaws. k. Like a computer with a hardware problem. Even if you reboot it and debug it… if there is a flaw with the hard drive or the motherboard… it will never function properly. The bad hardware must be replaced. l. Mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well. 2.) [Slide 23] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that being dead in sin means we are unable to do good. a. Some having misunderstood this teaching have critiqued it by saying, “If mankind is dead in sin, If mankind is not righteous, then why do my Muslim neighbors shovel my driveway out of kindness? Why do my lost family members buy me flowers when I'm down? Why do my unbelieving co-workers pay their taxes and offer sacrificial love to their families?” b. They offer a wise critique to a doctrine no one is teaching. c. No one teaches that because mankind is dead in sin they can do no good thing. No one is teaching that because mankind is enslaved to sin that all they can do is sin. d. What we mean when we say that mankind is totally depraved or totally unable is that man is not able and not willing to spiritually free himself from sin or seek God or be made right with God. e. In the previous example we said that “mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well.” Now think with me… if we are the computer, can we do that on our own? f. And I know you are thinking – well sometimes my computer reboots on its own. g. Does it? Or did someone program the computer to reboot under certain conditions? h. This is what this doctrine means. Just like a computer, we are not able to reboot ourselves or change our hardware. i. But that doesn't mean that the computer can't do some good things right? It just means that those good things don't fix the problem. j. Cornelius proves this out. He was able to do good things, things that were pleasing to God – but he still needed God to send an angel and an apostle to bring him to Christ. 3.) [Slide 24] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop relying on our own obedience to perfectly please God. a. No doubt we all sometimes succumb to this erroneous teaching that has bound so many of God's dear children. b. We speak harshly to our wives and hit every red light on the way to work. Immediately we observe, God is punishing me for being harsh. c. We pray for our neighbor and then we inherit a small house form a distant uncle who passed. Apparently, God is pleased with me for praying for my neighbors. d. If I wear this, or go to that movie, or drink that, or say this, God will be most displeased with me. e. Even though there is a certain measure of truth in some of this – God is pleased and displeased by our choices, the thing that is faulty is our reliance on our performance to please God. f. My friends, our performance is not what perfectly pleases God. Why? Because our performance is never perfect. g. The scriptures teach us that there is no condemnation in Christ. The scriptures teach us that although we will be rewarded with crowns for our faithfulness to God – we will cast them all at the feet of Jesus. h. The whole of it my friends is that we can't be more or less pleasing to God because we are in Christ. And with Christ, the Father is well-pleased. i. But we could pendulum swing here couldn't we… 4.) [Slide 25] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must obey the Lord while trusting that Christ has satisfied God's perfect standard of performance. a. You see my friends, we obey the Lord out of love and thanksgiving. b. We are not trying to please Him more or fear displeasing him. We are obeying His law because we love Him and are thankful that He first loved us. c. We rest in the perfect righteousness of Christ, knowing that we will never lose that perfect standing before our Father. And then in that state of declared righteousness, we imperfectly obey. d. This is the beauty of the gospel. e. We are imperfectly perfect by faith in Christ. f. And it works because He changes our desires. We no longer want to wallow in imperfection. Instead, we long to be like Christ, while knowing that God has made us to be His righteousness. g. What a great God we serve that although His standard is perfection, He has achieved it for us while changing us to continue to desire it. 5.) [Slide 26] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will reveal Himself to those who diligently pursue Him. a. Perhaps you left last week with a feeling of despair. b. God must wake up people from spiritual death and paralysis. I get it. But what if someone really really really wants to serve God but God says no to waking them up? c. What if someone really wants to be saved but God never turns the lights on, God never opens the prison cell. God never raises them up. What happens then? d. My friends… God promises that those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded. Those who keep knocking on His door, He won't cast out. He will welcome them in. e. Perhaps that is you today. Perhaps you have desired to be God's child and have been knocking and knocking and still He has not answered. f. Will you give up now? Will you turn away? Where will you go? Who else can save like our God? g. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. He is the Son of God who has the words of life… where else can you go? h. Don't stop knocking my friends. The Lord promises that He will let you in. Let me close with a prayer from the church father Eusebius of Caesarea, fitting since Cornelius was from this city. We give you thanks, our God and Savior, and to you, O Christ, in our own feeble way. You are the supreme providence of the mighty Father, who both saves us from evil and teaches us in the way of truth. I say these things not to praise, but simply to give thanks. Who among us is worthy to give you praise? You called creation into being from nothing. You illuminated it with your light. You regulated the confusion of the elements by your laws of harmony and order. More than that, we recognize your lovingkindness. You caused those whose hearts inclined toward you to sincerely seek a divine and blessed life. You've allowed us to pass along what we've received from you, like merchants of wisdom and true blessings. We reap the everlasting fruit of your goodness. Freed from the net of sin, and permeated with a love for others, mercy is always our point of view. We hope for the promise of faith, and we are devoted to modest living – all the virtues we had once thrown aside, but are now restored by you whose generous care is over all. In Jesus name we pray… Amen. May the God who did not spare His own Son, But sent Him to gladly bear our burden on the cross, Remind you always of these things, though you Know them and are firmly established in the truth, Until you arrive to a full measure of glory. Until we meet again… Go in peace.

Title: Imperfect Perfection Text: Acts 10:1-8 FCF: We often struggle with the tension of works and faith. Prop: Because Christ is well-pleasing to God, we can live in imperfect obedience and be counted righteous by faith in Christ, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 10. In a moment I'll be reading starting in verse 1 from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible on page 1242 or in whatever version you prefer. Chapter 10 of the book of Acts represents a rather pivotal point in the expansion of the gospel of Jesus. In keeping with its significance, this next narrative episode is quite lengthy. From start to finish it encompasses a chapter and a half, 66 verses. That is the longest narrative episode we've seen yet in the book of Acts. Because it is so long it is difficult to know exactly where to break it up. At first, I had verses 1-23. Then I narrowed it down to 1-20. Then I went 1-16. I finally settled for 1-8. In this way I hope to build each detail of the narrative, one block at a time, as Luke does. The narrative as a whole is somewhat of a puzzle. We have several pieces handed to us, but until they are assembled, we won't see the full picture. So, let's begin with the first detail of the story… lets start with a man from Caesarea named Cornelius. Please stand with me to focus on and show respect for The Word of God. Transition: [Slide 2] Has this ever happened to you. You are standing in the line at the grocery store. It is a very busy day. Snow's coming tomorrow so people are out in droves to make sure they have their bread milk and toilet paper. You are waiting and waiting, the line is moving slowly. Finally, you are getting close to the front. The magazines in the rack distract you… ok being honest it is the candy in the line that is distracting. All of a sudden you hear those wonderful words… “I can help you in line 3. You look up hoping to meet the gaze of the cashier only to find that this cashier had said this to the person who literally just got in line. Makes you a little hot right? Like, HEY! I've been here this whole time. What would justice be? Would it be that they have to wait the same amount you do, or more? We all kinda feel this way about short cuts don't we. But Jesus taught a parable of men being hired for work at various times of the day and still getting paid the same amount. The employer couldn't be accused of being stingy because he paid everyone a day's wage. But to the one who worked less, it seemed like he got more. Jesus' point was that it was the employer's prerogative to be generous in the way He wished to be generous. Today, we will see the abundant graciousness and generosity of our Lord to offer the Jewish Messiah to a gentile. Let's look at verse 1. I.) No matter how good man is perceived to be, he is not good enough by God's standards, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (1-2) a. [Slide 3] 1 – Now there was a man in Caesarea i. [Slide 4] Caesarea as we can see on our map, is the furthest Northwest that the gospel has ever gone in the book of Acts. ii. Damascus represents the furthest northeast. iii. Caesarea is almost at the furthest north border of Samaria. iv. In short, the gospel is spreading far and wide throughout all of Judea and Samaria. It doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. b. [Slide 5] named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. i. Cornelius is a Latin name meaning Of the horn. Cornucopia means horn of plenty. ii. Having a Latin name is not the only indication that this man is a gentile. iii. He is also a centurion. Meaning he is the leader of about 100 men within the Roman army. iv. He was also part of a larger Italian division of the Roman army called a Legion or a Cohort. v. A legion or Cohort consisted of 600 men. Meaning that Cornelius was no doubt one of 6 military leaders within this particular division of the military. vi. All this establishes Cornelius not only as a gentile but also a prominent one at that. vii. The question arises, if this man was in the Italian Cohort, why was he in Caesarea? viii. Caesarea is a highly valued port city on the Mediterranean and it would not be unthinkable for the Roman Emperor to keep a Legion station here. Especially in the wake of the political upheaval of Caligula becoming emperor and Herod Antipas being exiled around this time. ix. It would actually make a great deal of sense to have extra troops in the area just in case something happens. x. But there is more to this man than simply his prominence and his nationality. c. [Slide 6] 2 - He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; i. What does Luke mean that he was a devout God-fearing man? ii. In some ways this could be a simple description of Cornelius' affiliation with the Jewish faith. However, Luke hasn't shied away from using the term proselyte. In Luke 6 he mentioned Nicholas who was a Gentile proselyte now converted to Christ. iii. So, what exactly is Cornelius? Is he a proselyte or something else? iv. [Slide 7] To answer this question, we must look back among the first century historical and archeological records to understand a hierarchy that existed within the Jewish faith. 1. First there were Hebraic Jews. These were Jews who refused to allow Greek influence to spread among them. They continued to speak Hebrew or at least Aramaic. They did not assimilate into Greek traditions and heritages. They attended all the feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 2. Second there were Hellenistic Jews. These were Jews who had succumbed to Greek influence in some way or another. Though still devout and Jewish, they had lost the ability to speak Hebrew and possibly even Aramaic. They, in some cases, had allowed Greek thought and culture to influence other aspects of their lives. They still attended feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 3. Third there would be gentile proselytes. These would be gentiles who converted to Judaism and submitted themselves fully to the religious, ritualistic, and legal practices of the Jews. They would endure circumcision and offer whatever sacrifices they were permitted to offer though they would not be permitted in the inner courts of the temple. 4. Fourth there would be what would be known as God-Fearers. This is specifically a group of gentiles that are favorable to Jewish culture and faith and perhaps even in the process of becoming a proselyte, but are not yet truly converted. They were not circumcised. They did not necessarily attend the festivals and feasts, and they did not offer sacrifices at the temple. They would adopt monotheism and attempt to keep the 10 commandments in their lives. 5. Finally, would be, essentially, everyone else. The pagans and polytheists. These are the furthest away from God, since they worship false gods and not the one true God. v. [Slide 8] Cornelius then, is a God-Fearer. He is not quite a proselyte but is sympathetic to Jewish culture and faith. vi. Why is this significant? 1. This is the first time in the book of Acts so far that a non-Jew by blood and by religion becomes the focal point of the story. 2. Second, we've seen Luke's story arch up to this point and it is reasonable to conclude even if we've never read the rest of this narrative, that the gospel circle is widening yet again. 3. Will the gospel go to gentiles not fully assimilated into Judaism? If so, do they need to be Jews first? We'll have to see. vii. We also see that his whole household were also God-Fearers. Now what does this mean? 1. A household is the basic unit of social structure. But it differed from our household structure we have today. 2. Ignoring for the moment the fracturing of the modern household; even in the ideal with Father, Mother, children this would represent a much smaller sphere than 1st century households. 3. A household in the first century could include a much wider spectrum of kinship. There could also be servants and slaves included in the term household. 4. In short, a household could include anyone who lived in the home and met in the home as family. 5. And so, as we might expect, everyone in Cornelius' house were God-Fearers also. We get the impression that he led the effort for this to be so. Most likely he was the patriarch and priest of his family. viii. How else did he lead? d. [Slide 9] he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. i. Alms giving and prayer have long been a standard measure for the truly pious. ii. As such the Pharisees were critiqued for their show of contributing large sums of money and long public prayers in order to seem very devout and pious. iii. Alms giving and prayer are two of the five pillars of the Islamic Faith. iv. Alms giving and prayer are sometimes a means of restitution in the Catholic Church. v. And even in the 1st century, Roman and Greek philosophers idealized acts of charity and devoted prayer to deities. vi. In short, giving charity to those who are less fortunate and praying regularly have always been associated with those who are devout and pious people. Whether it is true or not. And regardless of religion. You at least appear to be pious when you give alms and are consistently praying. vii. We ought also to see the correlation between Tabitha and Cornelius. Tabitha was a disciple of Christ who gave charitably too. We are not told that she prayed often, but it is reasonable to conclude she did. viii. On the surface then, we are given a man who has everything right, but he is missing one piece of the puzzle. But here is a hint. The piece of the puzzle he is missing isn't that he hasn't yet become a Jewish proselyte. e. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: As wonderful of a man as Cornelius was, admired by men, prominent, a leader, a manager of a house, and pious to boot, he was still not good enough. He still lacked something. No doubt everyone admired and respected a man like Cornelius. And even though he wasn't quite Jewish, we will see later he is highly respected by the Jews. The core truth we see in this first point is that a man can be judged to be a good man by all of society and still be short of the standard of God. For God does not require a good man. He requires a perfect man. Jesus died for sinners… even those whom our society labels as saints. So, we must not rest on our laurels and our own self-righteousness, for it will never be good enough. But we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Transition: [Slide 11 (blank)] But we have made some logical leaps here. Is God not pleased at all by Cornelius' lifestyle? And how do we know Cornelius lacks Jesus? Well, God sends this man an angel. Let's see what the angel says. II.) God is pleased with and graciously corrects those who sincerely worship Him, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (3-6) a. [Slide 12] 3 – About three o'clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God, who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” i. At 3 in the afternoon, it would be a traditional time for sacrifices and prayers to be offered up at the temple. ii. It was at this time that Cornelius, who was probably entering again into prayer, saw a waking vision. iii. A vision is something that appears clearly, vividly, and credibly in the mind but is not actually present. iv. An angel appears to him in this vision and calls to him. v. Like Jesus to Saul before him, this angel identifies Cornelius by name. b. [Slide 13] 4 – Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” i. Cornelius had never seen anything like this before. ii. Like every person who encounters an angel of God, he becomes sorely afraid. iii. Cornelius responds to this angel's call by using almost the same words Saul used when he was met by Christ. iv. Saul asked, who are you, Lord? And Cornelius says, “What is it, Lord?” v. What does this mean? vi. It is difficult to know whether Cornelius has assumed that he was seeing God Himself or whether he is using this term “lord” in its less theologically charged meaning, “Sir.” vii. Even if he did mistake this angel for God, would you blame him? viii. Regardless of what Cornelius meant, the angel makes it plain that he is not God but bears God's message to him. c. [Slide 14] The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. i. The angel indicates clearly that he is not God, but informs him that his prayers and charity have gone up before God. ii. What does it mean that his prayers and offerings have “Gone up before God?“ iii. And what is meant by it being a memorial or as other translations have it a “memorial offering?” iv. In the book of Leviticus, in several sacrifices the priests are instructed to take a handful of the offering and burn it on the altar before the Lord. The rest of the offering would be used by the priests. v. These are called memorial offerings because the one who gives the offering and the one burning the offering are all reminded that though God deserves all of the offering, he is pleased with a small portion. vi. How appropriate for the angel messenger to convey this to Cornelius. vii. Cornelius is, after all, not circumcised. He does not go to the temple for sacrifices. He meets in synagogues to learn of the Jewish faith and practice, and attempts to live accordingly, but is not Jewish. viii. Yet Yahweh, The God of Israel, through His angel, tells Cornelius that his charity and prayers have amounted to a memorial sacrifice. They have pleased God. ix. Though he has never sacrificed in the temple, his charity and prayers have been his offering. x. And his offering has pleased God. xi. So, is he good? Is Cornelius saved? Is that enough? Did he earn his salvation by an offering? xii. No. The angel had more to say. d. [Slide 15] Now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” i. The angel communicates another message to Cornelius that, at first, appears to be separate from the first. ii. However, they are related. iii. He tells him to send men to fetch Peter and tells him where Peter is staying. iv. But we all know the reason for this. v. And later we find out that the angel told Cornelius not only that Peter needed to come to see him, but that he had a message to give to him. A message of salvation. For him, and his household. vi. It is almost as if God is telling Cornelius, “Remember, though you stand a far way off, you have gotten the important part of Judaism. You have gotten enough of Judaism to be ready for the next step in Judaism. Now Peter will come and show you what you lack.” vii. Is God giving Cornelius a shortcut? Is God saying… I desire obedience and not sacrifices? e. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: And so, in this point, although those who are perceived as good and devout men are still not good enough, God is good and gracious to those who diligently seek Him. Though Cornelius had just enough truth and just enough good works to condemn him to hell, God rewards those who are pursuing Him. In many ways, Cornelius was probably more devout than most Jews of his day, because his motives were pure. He sincerely sought the Lord. God is pleased with those who, even imperfectly, sincerely worship Him. And God is sure to lead such people to what they lack. So, we must not be satisfied with our broken attempts to please God, even if He is pleased by our sincerity. Instead, we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. For it is in Jesus that the Lord has said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Transition: [Slide 17(blank)] God rewards Cornelius' diligent seeking by revealing his need. He needs to call on Peter. Peter needs to come and give him and his household a message. So, what do those who have been illuminated by God do? What do those whose eyes have been opened do? They obey… III.) All who God corrects and instructs with truth obey His commands, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (7-8) a. [Slide 18] 7 – When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him, i. Like Aeneas and Tabitha before, Cornelius sets out to obey what has been revealed to him. ii. Aeneas was healed of his paralysis, Tabitha raised from death, but Cornelius was healed of another malady. A malady equally as hopeless. iii. You see for Cornelius though he was a God-Fearer, and though he could potentially achieve proselyte status in the Jewish faith and gain some measure of closeness to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He could never come closer than this. He could never enter the courts of the Jews much less the holy place or the Holy of Holies for that matter. iv. But what has his acts of charity and prayer done? It is a memorial offering. A reminder to him that though God requires all, He is pleased with what Cornelius has done. For he has done it while sincerely seeking Yahweh. v. So God rewards Cornelius by sending an angel, with the truth of the way he could be healed of that relational distance. vi. He has been told that he can come and receive the same gospel message that was given to the Jews. He need not be a proselyte first. Cornelius doesn't need to be circumcised. He doesn't need to become a Jew first. He simply needs the message that Peter will give him. What is that message? Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. 1. Jesus is the funnel. Jesus is the choke point. Jesus is not only the next and final redemptive step in Judaism, but He is also the next and final redemptive step for the Gentile as well. 2. He is the next and final step in the covenants He made with Adam and Eve. a. He is the sacrifice that was killed in their place so that they could be clothed perfectly and completely. b. He is the seed that has crushed the head of the serpent and enlarged the family of God. c. He is the New Adam, our new representative, keeping the covenant of works perfectly. 3. He is the next and final step in the covenant made with Noah. a. He is the ark delivering His people from the world of sin and the judgment that will overwhelm it. b. He is the bow of promise establishing peace between the Father and His people. c. He is bringing the next baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 4. All the covenants of God, to Jews and Gentiles alike, are funneled down to Jesus. vii. And what does Cornelius do after receiving this command which he is told will be the solution for his malady of relational distance to Yahweh? What does he do when he is told that Peter holds the key for that distance to be erased? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter. b. [Slide 19] 8 - and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. i. It is difficult to know exactly what he tells these two servants and soldier. ii. The text says he had explained everything. iii. It seems as though everything he knew, saw, and believed was given to these men as he sent them to bring Peter. iv. Cornelius not only believed the angel, but wanted his whole house to believe as well. c. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: We've seen how the devotion and goodness of Cornelius was not enough, that he still lacked true righteousness. We've also seen the faithfulness and compassion of God to reward those who seek Him diligently. And finally, we see the faithful obedience of all whom God reveals truth to… Cornelius was given life changing truth that would free him from his relational distance to God. And that truth would be given to him by Peter the apostle. So, what does Cornelius do when he is told that Peter holds the key for him to be brought into a close and special relationship with Yahweh? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter immediately. My friends, we know the piece that Cornelius was missing. It is Jesus crucified for sinners. So, we too must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Conclusion: So, CBC, what has the Lord said and how then shall we live? What doctrinal takeaway can we pull from this today? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 21] Men and women can live lives that are devout and pious, being paragons of good among humanity. God is pleased with those who attempt to live out His law and seek to please Him. But mankind's devotion and piety is not enough to satisfy the holy standard of God. So, God in His grace rewards those who diligently seek to please and worship Him. He rewards them by revealing to them how they can be made right with Him. In this we see the tension of mankind's spiritual status as dead and paralyzed juxtaposed against being able to actually, in some way, please God with our meager efforts. Another riddle. The great answer is that God's legal standard is perfection, even if it is pleasing for us to obey Him and seek Him, it will never satisfy the legal requirement of perfection. But that is why God has sent His Son. And that is why God promises to reward those who seek Him. Cornelius was rewarded for faithfully pursuing the God if Israel. How was He rewarded? He was rewarded by God offering Him the next and final step in His redemption. And it was not to make him a Jew first. It was to transfer him directly into the family of the Son. So Cornelius obeyed the Lord and sent for Peter. Jesus is the answer for all men and not just the Jews. All the covenants of God are fulfilled in Him. My friends, although it is true that when we are God's people, we obey Him… our obedience is not what we rely on. Because our obedience will always be imperfect in this life. Instead, we depend on Christ's righteousness. For it is only in Christ that the Lord's legal standard is met. The best we can hope for is God to be pleased with us. With Christ, The Father is well-pleased. So let me improve upon this point in a few ways for us this morning. 1.) [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that no matter how much righteousness we can muster, it will never satisfy God's perfect standard. a. Cornelius was a man who put many Jews to shame. He devoted himself and his entire household to upholding monotheism and the law of the God of Israel. b. Even though he would never be accepted into the inner relationship to Yahweh, he still served Him and sought Him. c. This is a far cry from the Sadducees who only wanted power with their piety. It is lightyears away from the Pharisees who desired honor from men by their devotion to God. d. Nevertheless, as righteous as he was, Cornelius was still missing something. As pleasing as his actions were to God, he still lacked what Peter would bring. e. From meticulous legalism to liberal sincerity, mankind cannot ever achieve the perfect standard of God. f. As we spoke last week, we are all dead in sin. We are hopeless to heal ourselves. Hopeless to raise ourselves. The Lord must do this work. g. But our problem only begins there. Even though the Lord must raise us from sin death that is only half of our problem. For not only are we dead in sin, but we also dead to righteousness, h. Mankind, my friends, is in quite the pickle. Not only do they not want to please God, but even if they did want to, they couldn't. You see God can't bring us to life and then let us go. For we would simply die in sin again when we fail. i. No. God must unite us to something that will never fail. j. This is what orthodox Christianity teaches. Mankind is doubly damned. Not only are we dead in sin, but God's standard is perfection. You cannot be perfect if you are by nature dead in flaws. k. Like a computer with a hardware problem. Even if you reboot it and debug it… if there is a flaw with the hard drive or the motherboard… it will never function properly. The bad hardware must be replaced. l. Mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well. 2.) [Slide 23] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that being dead in sin means we are unable to do good. a. Some having misunderstood this teaching have critiqued it by saying, “If mankind is dead in sin, If mankind is not righteous, then why do my Muslim neighbors shovel my driveway out of kindness? Why do my lost family members buy me flowers when I'm down? Why do my unbelieving co-workers pay their taxes and offer sacrificial love to their families?” b. They offer a wise critique to a doctrine no one is teaching. c. No one teaches that because mankind is dead in sin they can do no good thing. No one is teaching that because mankind is enslaved to sin that all they can do is sin. d. What we mean when we say that mankind is totally depraved or totally unable is that man is not able and not willing to spiritually free himself from sin or seek God or be made right with God. e. In the previous example we said that “mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well.” Now think with me… if we are the computer, can we do that on our own? f. And I know you are thinking – well sometimes my computer reboots on its own. g. Does it? Or did someone program the computer to reboot under certain conditions? h. This is what this doctrine means. Just like a computer, we are not able to reboot ourselves or change our hardware. i. But that doesn't mean that the computer can't do some good things right? It just means that those good things don't fix the problem. j. Cornelius proves this out. He was able to do good things, things that were pleasing to God – but he still needed God to send an angel and an apostle to bring him to Christ. 3.) [Slide 24] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop relying on our own obedience to perfectly please God. a. No doubt we all sometimes succumb to this erroneous teaching that has bound so many of God's dear children. b. We speak harshly to our wives and hit every red light on the way to work. Immediately we observe, God is punishing me for being harsh. c. We pray for our neighbor and then we inherit a small house form a distant uncle who passed. Apparently, God is pleased with me for praying for my neighbors. d. If I wear this, or go to that movie, or drink that, or say this, God will be most displeased with me. e. Even though there is a certain measure of truth in some of this – God is pleased and displeased by our choices, the thing that is faulty is our reliance on our performance to please God. f. My friends, our performance is not what perfectly pleases God. Why? Because our performance is never perfect. g. The scriptures teach us that there is no condemnation in Christ. The scriptures teach us that although we will be rewarded with crowns for our faithfulness to God – we will cast them all at the feet of Jesus. h. The whole of it my friends is that we can't be more or less pleasing to God because we are in Christ. And with Christ, the Father is well-pleased. i. But we could pendulum swing here couldn't we… 4.) [Slide 25] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must obey the Lord while trusting that Christ has satisfied God's perfect standard of performance. a. You see my friends, we obey the Lord out of love and thanksgiving. b. We are not trying to please Him more or fear displeasing him. We are obeying His law because we love Him and are thankful that He first loved us. c. We rest in the perfect righteousness of Christ, knowing that we will never lose that perfect standing before our Father. And then in that state of declared righteousness, we imperfectly obey. d. This is the beauty of the gospel. e. We are imperfectly perfect by faith in Christ. f. And it works because He changes our desires. We no longer want to wallow in imperfection. Instead, we long to be like Christ, while knowing that God has made us to be His righteousness. g. What a great God we serve that although His standard is perfection, He has achieved it for us while changing us to continue to desire it. 5.) [Slide 26] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will reveal Himself to those who diligently pursue Him. a. Perhaps you left last week with a feeling of despair. b. God must wake up people from spiritual death and paralysis. I get it. But what if someone really really really wants to serve God but God says no to waking them up? c. What if someone really wants to be saved but God never turns the lights on, God never opens the prison cell. God never raises them up. What happens then? d. My friends… God promises that those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded. Those who keep knocking on His door, He won't cast out. He will welcome them in. e. Perhaps that is you today. Perhaps you have desired to be God's child and have been knocking and knocking and still He has not answered. f. Will you give up now? Will you turn away? Where will you go? Who else can save like our God? g. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. He is the Son of God who has the words of life… where else can you go? h. Don't stop knocking my friends. The Lord promises that He will let you in. Let me close with a prayer from the church father Eusebius of Caesarea, fitting since Cornelius was from this city. We give you thanks, our God and Savior, and to you, O Christ, in our own feeble way. You are the supreme providence of the mighty Father, who both saves us from evil and teaches us in the way of truth. I say these things not to praise, but simply to give thanks. Who among us is worthy to give you praise? You called creation into being from nothing. You illuminated it with your light. You regulated the confusion of the elements by your laws of harmony and order. More than that, we recognize your lovingkindness. You caused those whose hearts inclined toward you to sincerely seek a divine and blessed life. You've allowed us to pass along what we've received from you, like merchants of wisdom and true blessings. We reap the everlasting fruit of your goodness. Freed from the net of sin, and permeated with a love for others, mercy is always our point of view. We hope for the promise of faith, and we are devoted to modest living – all the virtues we had once thrown aside, but are now restored by you whose generous care is over all. In Jesus name we pray… Amen. May the God who did not spare His own Son, But sent Him to gladly bear our burden on the cross, Remind you always of these things, though you Know them and are firmly established in the truth, Until you arrive to a full measure of glory. Until we meet again… Go in peace.

Istrouma Baptist Church (BR) Mar 10, 2024 ========== March 10 | Acts Welcome! We're glad you've joined us today for our Sunday morning worship service! For more information about Istrouma, go to istrouma.org or contact us at info@istrouma.org. We glorify God by making disciples of all nations. ========== Connection Card https://istrouma.org/myinfo March 10, 2024 Tim Keith ‭‭Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭15‬‬ In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch. They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen. But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin. They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law. For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭51‬-‭60‬‬ “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it.” When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬‬ Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭59‬‬ While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭12‬‬ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Faith to Overcome Suffering ‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭60‬‬ He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep. Forever to Overcome Saul ‭‭Acts‬ ‭7‬:‭60‬‬ He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬‬ Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭22‬:‭19‬-‭20‬‬ “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.' ‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭10‬‬ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” Want to receive weekly announcements in your inbox each week? https://istrouma.org/email Give Online Text ISTROUMA IBC to 73256 or go to: https://istrouma.org/give Our Website https://istrouma.org

Title: Imperfect Perfection Text: Acts 10:1-8 FCF: We often struggle with the tension of works and faith. Prop: Because Christ is well-pleasing to God, we can live in imperfect obedience and be counted righteous by faith in Christ, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 10. In a moment I'll be reading starting in verse 1 from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible on page 1242 or in whatever version you prefer. Chapter 10 of the book of Acts represents a rather pivotal point in the expansion of the gospel of Jesus. In keeping with its significance, this next narrative episode is quite lengthy. From start to finish it encompasses a chapter and a half, 66 verses. That is the longest narrative episode we've seen yet in the book of Acts. Because it is so long it is difficult to know exactly where to break it up. At first, I had verses 1-23. Then I narrowed it down to 1-20. Then I went 1-16. I finally settled for 1-8. In this way I hope to build each detail of the narrative, one block at a time, as Luke does. The narrative as a whole is somewhat of a puzzle. We have several pieces handed to us, but until they are assembled, we won't see the full picture. So, let's begin with the first detail of the story… lets start with a man from Caesarea named Cornelius. Please stand with me to focus on and show respect for The Word of God. Transition: [Slide 2] Has this ever happened to you. You are standing in the line at the grocery store. It is a very busy day. Snow's coming tomorrow so people are out in droves to make sure they have their bread milk and toilet paper. You are waiting and waiting, the line is moving slowly. Finally, you are getting close to the front. The magazines in the rack distract you… ok being honest it is the candy in the line that is distracting. All of a sudden you hear those wonderful words… “I can help you in line 3. You look up hoping to meet the gaze of the cashier only to find that this cashier had said this to the person who literally just got in line. Makes you a little hot right? Like, HEY! I've been here this whole time. What would justice be? Would it be that they have to wait the same amount you do, or more? We all kinda feel this way about short cuts don't we. But Jesus taught a parable of men being hired for work at various times of the day and still getting paid the same amount. The employer couldn't be accused of being stingy because he paid everyone a day's wage. But to the one who worked less, it seemed like he got more. Jesus' point was that it was the employer's prerogative to be generous in the way He wished to be generous. Today, we will see the abundant graciousness and generosity of our Lord to offer the Jewish Messiah to a gentile. Let's look at verse 1. I.) No matter how good man is perceived to be, he is not good enough by God's standards, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (1-2) a. [Slide 3] 1 – Now there was a man in Caesarea i. [Slide 4] Caesarea as we can see on our map, is the furthest Northwest that the gospel has ever gone in the book of Acts. ii. Damascus represents the furthest northeast. iii. Caesarea is almost at the furthest north border of Samaria. iv. In short, the gospel is spreading far and wide throughout all of Judea and Samaria. It doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. b. [Slide 5] named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. i. Cornelius is a Latin name meaning Of the horn. Cornucopia means horn of plenty. ii. Having a Latin name is not the only indication that this man is a gentile. iii. He is also a centurion. Meaning he is the leader of about 100 men within the Roman army. iv. He was also part of a larger Italian division of the Roman army called a Legion or a Cohort. v. A legion or Cohort consisted of 600 men. Meaning that Cornelius was no doubt one of 6 military leaders within this particular division of the military. vi. All this establishes Cornelius not only as a gentile but also a prominent one at that. vii. The question arises, if this man was in the Italian Cohort, why was he in Caesarea? viii. Caesarea is a highly valued port city on the Mediterranean and it would not be unthinkable for the Roman Emperor to keep a Legion station here. Especially in the wake of the political upheaval of Caligula becoming emperor and Herod Antipas being exiled around this time. ix. It would actually make a great deal of sense to have extra troops in the area just in case something happens. x. But there is more to this man than simply his prominence and his nationality. c. [Slide 6] 2 - He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; i. What does Luke mean that he was a devout God-fearing man? ii. In some ways this could be a simple description of Cornelius' affiliation with the Jewish faith. However, Luke hasn't shied away from using the term proselyte. In Luke 6 he mentioned Nicholas who was a Gentile proselyte now converted to Christ. iii. So, what exactly is Cornelius? Is he a proselyte or something else? iv. [Slide 7] To answer this question, we must look back among the first century historical and archeological records to understand a hierarchy that existed within the Jewish faith. 1. First there were Hebraic Jews. These were Jews who refused to allow Greek influence to spread among them. They continued to speak Hebrew or at least Aramaic. They did not assimilate into Greek traditions and heritages. They attended all the feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 2. Second there were Hellenistic Jews. These were Jews who had succumbed to Greek influence in some way or another. Though still devout and Jewish, they had lost the ability to speak Hebrew and possibly even Aramaic. They, in some cases, had allowed Greek thought and culture to influence other aspects of their lives. They still attended feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 3. Third there would be gentile proselytes. These would be gentiles who converted to Judaism and submitted themselves fully to the religious, ritualistic, and legal practices of the Jews. They would endure circumcision and offer whatever sacrifices they were permitted to offer though they would not be permitted in the inner courts of the temple. 4. Fourth there would be what would be known as God-Fearers. This is specifically a group of gentiles that are favorable to Jewish culture and faith and perhaps even in the process of becoming a proselyte, but are not yet truly converted. They were not circumcised. They did not necessarily attend the festivals and feasts, and they did not offer sacrifices at the temple. They would adopt monotheism and attempt to keep the 10 commandments in their lives. 5. Finally, would be, essentially, everyone else. The pagans and polytheists. These are the furthest away from God, since they worship false gods and not the one true God. v. [Slide 8] Cornelius then, is a God-Fearer. He is not quite a proselyte but is sympathetic to Jewish culture and faith. vi. Why is this significant? 1. This is the first time in the book of Acts so far that a non-Jew by blood and by religion becomes the focal point of the story. 2. Second, we've seen Luke's story arch up to this point and it is reasonable to conclude even if we've never read the rest of this narrative, that the gospel circle is widening yet again. 3. Will the gospel go to gentiles not fully assimilated into Judaism? If so, do they need to be Jews first? We'll have to see. vii. We also see that his whole household were also God-Fearers. Now what does this mean? 1. A household is the basic unit of social structure. But it differed from our household structure we have today. 2. Ignoring for the moment the fracturing of the modern household; even in the ideal with Father, Mother, children this would represent a much smaller sphere than 1st century households. 3. A household in the first century could include a much wider spectrum of kinship. There could also be servants and slaves included in the term household. 4. In short, a household could include anyone who lived in the home and met in the home as family. 5. And so, as we might expect, everyone in Cornelius' house were God-Fearers also. We get the impression that he led the effort for this to be so. Most likely he was the patriarch and priest of his family. viii. How else did he lead? d. [Slide 9] he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. i. Alms giving and prayer have long been a standard measure for the truly pious. ii. As such the Pharisees were critiqued for their show of contributing large sums of money and long public prayers in order to seem very devout and pious. iii. Alms giving and prayer are two of the five pillars of the Islamic Faith. iv. Alms giving and prayer are sometimes a means of restitution in the Catholic Church. v. And even in the 1st century, Roman and Greek philosophers idealized acts of charity and devoted prayer to deities. vi. In short, giving charity to those who are less fortunate and praying regularly have always been associated with those who are devout and pious people. Whether it is true or not. And regardless of religion. You at least appear to be pious when you give alms and are consistently praying. vii. We ought also to see the correlation between Tabitha and Cornelius. Tabitha was a disciple of Christ who gave charitably too. We are not told that she prayed often, but it is reasonable to conclude she did. viii. On the surface then, we are given a man who has everything right, but he is missing one piece of the puzzle. But here is a hint. The piece of the puzzle he is missing isn't that he hasn't yet become a Jewish proselyte. e. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: As wonderful of a man as Cornelius was, admired by men, prominent, a leader, a manager of a house, and pious to boot, he was still not good enough. He still lacked something. No doubt everyone admired and respected a man like Cornelius. And even though he wasn't quite Jewish, we will see later he is highly respected by the Jews. The core truth we see in this first point is that a man can be judged to be a good man by all of society and still be short of the standard of God. For God does not require a good man. He requires a perfect man. Jesus died for sinners… even those whom our society labels as saints. So, we must not rest on our laurels and our own self-righteousness, for it will never be good enough. But we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Transition: [Slide 11 (blank)] But we have made some logical leaps here. Is God not pleased at all by Cornelius' lifestyle? And how do we know Cornelius lacks Jesus? Well, God sends this man an angel. Let's see what the angel says. II.) God is pleased with and graciously corrects those who sincerely worship Him, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (3-6) a. [Slide 12] 3 – About three o'clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God, who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” i. At 3 in the afternoon, it would be a traditional time for sacrifices and prayers to be offered up at the temple. ii. It was at this time that Cornelius, who was probably entering again into prayer, saw a waking vision. iii. A vision is something that appears clearly, vividly, and credibly in the mind but is not actually present. iv. An angel appears to him in this vision and calls to him. v. Like Jesus to Saul before him, this angel identifies Cornelius by name. b. [Slide 13] 4 – Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” i. Cornelius had never seen anything like this before. ii. Like every person who encounters an angel of God, he becomes sorely afraid. iii. Cornelius responds to this angel's call by using almost the same words Saul used when he was met by Christ. iv. Saul asked, who are you, Lord? And Cornelius says, “What is it, Lord?” v. What does this mean? vi. It is difficult to know whether Cornelius has assumed that he was seeing God Himself or whether he is using this term “lord” in its less theologically charged meaning, “Sir.” vii. Even if he did mistake this angel for God, would you blame him? viii. Regardless of what Cornelius meant, the angel makes it plain that he is not God but bears God's message to him. c. [Slide 14] The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. i. The angel indicates clearly that he is not God, but informs him that his prayers and charity have gone up before God. ii. What does it mean that his prayers and offerings have “Gone up before God?“ iii. And what is meant by it being a memorial or as other translations have it a “memorial offering?” iv. In the book of Leviticus, in several sacrifices the priests are instructed to take a handful of the offering and burn it on the altar before the Lord. The rest of the offering would be used by the priests. v. These are called memorial offerings because the one who gives the offering and the one burning the offering are all reminded that though God deserves all of the offering, he is pleased with a small portion. vi. How appropriate for the angel messenger to convey this to Cornelius. vii. Cornelius is, after all, not circumcised. He does not go to the temple for sacrifices. He meets in synagogues to learn of the Jewish faith and practice, and attempts to live accordingly, but is not Jewish. viii. Yet Yahweh, The God of Israel, through His angel, tells Cornelius that his charity and prayers have amounted to a memorial sacrifice. They have pleased God. ix. Though he has never sacrificed in the temple, his charity and prayers have been his offering. x. And his offering has pleased God. xi. So, is he good? Is Cornelius saved? Is that enough? Did he earn his salvation by an offering? xii. No. The angel had more to say. d. [Slide 15] Now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” i. The angel communicates another message to Cornelius that, at first, appears to be separate from the first. ii. However, they are related. iii. He tells him to send men to fetch Peter and tells him where Peter is staying. iv. But we all know the reason for this. v. And later we find out that the angel told Cornelius not only that Peter needed to come to see him, but that he had a message to give to him. A message of salvation. For him, and his household. vi. It is almost as if God is telling Cornelius, “Remember, though you stand a far way off, you have gotten the important part of Judaism. You have gotten enough of Judaism to be ready for the next step in Judaism. Now Peter will come and show you what you lack.” vii. Is God giving Cornelius a shortcut? Is God saying… I desire obedience and not sacrifices? e. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: And so, in this point, although those who are perceived as good and devout men are still not good enough, God is good and gracious to those who diligently seek Him. Though Cornelius had just enough truth and just enough good works to condemn him to hell, God rewards those who are pursuing Him. In many ways, Cornelius was probably more devout than most Jews of his day, because his motives were pure. He sincerely sought the Lord. God is pleased with those who, even imperfectly, sincerely worship Him. And God is sure to lead such people to what they lack. So, we must not be satisfied with our broken attempts to please God, even if He is pleased by our sincerity. Instead, we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. For it is in Jesus that the Lord has said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Transition: [Slide 17(blank)] God rewards Cornelius' diligent seeking by revealing his need. He needs to call on Peter. Peter needs to come and give him and his household a message. So, what do those who have been illuminated by God do? What do those whose eyes have been opened do? They obey… III.) All who God corrects and instructs with truth obey His commands, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (7-8) a. [Slide 18] 7 – When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him, i. Like Aeneas and Tabitha before, Cornelius sets out to obey what has been revealed to him. ii. Aeneas was healed of his paralysis, Tabitha raised from death, but Cornelius was healed of another malady. A malady equally as hopeless. iii. You see for Cornelius though he was a God-Fearer, and though he could potentially achieve proselyte status in the Jewish faith and gain some measure of closeness to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He could never come closer than this. He could never enter the courts of the Jews much less the holy place or the Holy of Holies for that matter. iv. But what has his acts of charity and prayer done? It is a memorial offering. A reminder to him that though God requires all, He is pleased with what Cornelius has done. For he has done it while sincerely seeking Yahweh. v. So God rewards Cornelius by sending an angel, with the truth of the way he could be healed of that relational distance. vi. He has been told that he can come and receive the same gospel message that was given to the Jews. He need not be a proselyte first. Cornelius doesn't need to be circumcised. He doesn't need to become a Jew first. He simply needs the message that Peter will give him. What is that message? Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. 1. Jesus is the funnel. Jesus is the choke point. Jesus is not only the next and final redemptive step in Judaism, but He is also the next and final redemptive step for the Gentile as well. 2. He is the next and final step in the covenants He made with Adam and Eve. a. He is the sacrifice that was killed in their place so that they could be clothed perfectly and completely. b. He is the seed that has crushed the head of the serpent and enlarged the family of God. c. He is the New Adam, our new representative, keeping the covenant of works perfectly. 3. He is the next and final step in the covenant made with Noah. a. He is the ark delivering His people from the world of sin and the judgment that will overwhelm it. b. He is the bow of promise establishing peace between the Father and His people. c. He is bringing the next baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 4. All the covenants of God, to Jews and Gentiles alike, are funneled down to Jesus. vii. And what does Cornelius do after receiving this command which he is told will be the solution for his malady of relational distance to Yahweh? What does he do when he is told that Peter holds the key for that distance to be erased? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter. b. [Slide 19] 8 - and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. i. It is difficult to know exactly what he tells these two servants and soldier. ii. The text says he had explained everything. iii. It seems as though everything he knew, saw, and believed was given to these men as he sent them to bring Peter. iv. Cornelius not only believed the angel, but wanted his whole house to believe as well. c. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: We've seen how the devotion and goodness of Cornelius was not enough, that he still lacked true righteousness. We've also seen the faithfulness and compassion of God to reward those who seek Him diligently. And finally, we see the faithful obedience of all whom God reveals truth to… Cornelius was given life changing truth that would free him from his relational distance to God. And that truth would be given to him by Peter the apostle. So, what does Cornelius do when he is told that Peter holds the key for him to be brought into a close and special relationship with Yahweh? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter immediately. My friends, we know the piece that Cornelius was missing. It is Jesus crucified for sinners. So, we too must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Conclusion: So, CBC, what has the Lord said and how then shall we live? What doctrinal takeaway can we pull from this today? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 21] Men and women can live lives that are devout and pious, being paragons of good among humanity. God is pleased with those who attempt to live out His law and seek to please Him. But mankind's devotion and piety is not enough to satisfy the holy standard of God. So, God in His grace rewards those who diligently seek to please and worship Him. He rewards them by revealing to them how they can be made right with Him. In this we see the tension of mankind's spiritual status as dead and paralyzed juxtaposed against being able to actually, in some way, please God with our meager efforts. Another riddle. The great answer is that God's legal standard is perfection, even if it is pleasing for us to obey Him and seek Him, it will never satisfy the legal requirement of perfection. But that is why God has sent His Son. And that is why God promises to reward those who seek Him. Cornelius was rewarded for faithfully pursuing the God if Israel. How was He rewarded? He was rewarded by God offering Him the next and final step in His redemption. And it was not to make him a Jew first. It was to transfer him directly into the family of the Son. So Cornelius obeyed the Lord and sent for Peter. Jesus is the answer for all men and not just the Jews. All the covenants of God are fulfilled in Him. My friends, although it is true that when we are God's people, we obey Him… our obedience is not what we rely on. Because our obedience will always be imperfect in this life. Instead, we depend on Christ's righteousness. For it is only in Christ that the Lord's legal standard is met. The best we can hope for is God to be pleased with us. With Christ, The Father is well-pleased. So let me improve upon this point in a few ways for us this morning. 1.) [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that no matter how much righteousness we can muster, it will never satisfy God's perfect standard. a. Cornelius was a man who put many Jews to shame. He devoted himself and his entire household to upholding monotheism and the law of the God of Israel. b. Even though he would never be accepted into the inner relationship to Yahweh, he still served Him and sought Him. c. This is a far cry from the Sadducees who only wanted power with their piety. It is lightyears away from the Pharisees who desired honor from men by their devotion to God. d. Nevertheless, as righteous as he was, Cornelius was still missing something. As pleasing as his actions were to God, he still lacked what Peter would bring. e. From meticulous legalism to liberal sincerity, mankind cannot ever achieve the perfect standard of God. f. As we spoke last week, we are all dead in sin. We are hopeless to heal ourselves. Hopeless to raise ourselves. The Lord must do this work. g. But our problem only begins there. Even though the Lord must raise us from sin death that is only half of our problem. For not only are we dead in sin, but we also dead to righteousness, h. Mankind, my friends, is in quite the pickle. Not only do they not want to please God, but even if they did want to, they couldn't. You see God can't bring us to life and then let us go. For we would simply die in sin again when we fail. i. No. God must unite us to something that will never fail. j. This is what orthodox Christianity teaches. Mankind is doubly damned. Not only are we dead in sin, but God's standard is perfection. You cannot be perfect if you are by nature dead in flaws. k. Like a computer with a hardware problem. Even if you reboot it and debug it… if there is a flaw with the hard drive or the motherboard… it will never function properly. The bad hardware must be replaced. l. Mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well. 2.) [Slide 23] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that being dead in sin means we are unable to do good. a. Some having misunderstood this teaching have critiqued it by saying, “If mankind is dead in sin, If mankind is not righteous, then why do my Muslim neighbors shovel my driveway out of kindness? Why do my lost family members buy me flowers when I'm down? Why do my unbelieving co-workers pay their taxes and offer sacrificial love to their families?” b. They offer a wise critique to a doctrine no one is teaching. c. No one teaches that because mankind is dead in sin they can do no good thing. No one is teaching that because mankind is enslaved to sin that all they can do is sin. d. What we mean when we say that mankind is totally depraved or totally unable is that man is not able and not willing to spiritually free himself from sin or seek God or be made right with God. e. In the previous example we said that “mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well.” Now think with me… if we are the computer, can we do that on our own? f. And I know you are thinking – well sometimes my computer reboots on its own. g. Does it? Or did someone program the computer to reboot under certain conditions? h. This is what this doctrine means. Just like a computer, we are not able to reboot ourselves or change our hardware. i. But that doesn't mean that the computer can't do some good things right? It just means that those good things don't fix the problem. j. Cornelius proves this out. He was able to do good things, things that were pleasing to God – but he still needed God to send an angel and an apostle to bring him to Christ. 3.) [Slide 24] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop relying on our own obedience to perfectly please God. a. No doubt we all sometimes succumb to this erroneous teaching that has bound so many of God's dear children. b. We speak harshly to our wives and hit every red light on the way to work. Immediately we observe, God is punishing me for being harsh. c. We pray for our neighbor and then we inherit a small house form a distant uncle who passed. Apparently, God is pleased with me for praying for my neighbors. d. If I wear this, or go to that movie, or drink that, or say this, God will be most displeased with me. e. Even though there is a certain measure of truth in some of this – God is pleased and displeased by our choices, the thing that is faulty is our reliance on our performance to please God. f. My friends, our performance is not what perfectly pleases God. Why? Because our performance is never perfect. g. The scriptures teach us that there is no condemnation in Christ. The scriptures teach us that although we will be rewarded with crowns for our faithfulness to God – we will cast them all at the feet of Jesus. h. The whole of it my friends is that we can't be more or less pleasing to God because we are in Christ. And with Christ, the Father is well-pleased. i. But we could pendulum swing here couldn't we… 4.) [Slide 25] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must obey the Lord while trusting that Christ has satisfied God's perfect standard of performance. a. You see my friends, we obey the Lord out of love and thanksgiving. b. We are not trying to please Him more or fear displeasing him. We are obeying His law because we love Him and are thankful that He first loved us. c. We rest in the perfect righteousness of Christ, knowing that we will never lose that perfect standing before our Father. And then in that state of declared righteousness, we imperfectly obey. d. This is the beauty of the gospel. e. We are imperfectly perfect by faith in Christ. f. And it works because He changes our desires. We no longer want to wallow in imperfection. Instead, we long to be like Christ, while knowing that God has made us to be His righteousness. g. What a great God we serve that although His standard is perfection, He has achieved it for us while changing us to continue to desire it. 5.) [Slide 26] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will reveal Himself to those who diligently pursue Him. a. Perhaps you left last week with a feeling of despair. b. God must wake up people from spiritual death and paralysis. I get it. But what if someone really really really wants to serve God but God says no to waking them up? c. What if someone really wants to be saved but God never turns the lights on, God never opens the prison cell. God never raises them up. What happens then? d. My friends… God promises that those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded. Those who keep knocking on His door, He won't cast out. He will welcome them in. e. Perhaps that is you today. Perhaps you have desired to be God's child and have been knocking and knocking and still He has not answered. f. Will you give up now? Will you turn away? Where will you go? Who else can save like our God? g. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. He is the Son of God who has the words of life… where else can you go? h. Don't stop knocking my friends. The Lord promises that He will let you in. Let me close with a prayer from the church father Eusebius of Caesarea, fitting since Cornelius was from this city. We give you thanks, our God and Savior, and to you, O Christ, in our own feeble way. You are the supreme providence of the mighty Father, who both saves us from evil and teaches us in the way of truth. I say these things not to praise, but simply to give thanks. Who among us is worthy to give you praise? You called creation into being from nothing. You illuminated it with your light. You regulated the confusion of the elements by your laws of harmony and order. More than that, we recognize your lovingkindness. You caused those whose hearts inclined toward you to sincerely seek a divine and blessed life. You've allowed us to pass along what we've received from you, like merchants of wisdom and true blessings. We reap the everlasting fruit of your goodness. Freed from the net of sin, and permeated with a love for others, mercy is always our point of view. We hope for the promise of faith, and we are devoted to modest living – all the virtues we had once thrown aside, but are now restored by you whose generous care is over all. In Jesus name we pray… Amen. May the God who did not spare His own Son, But sent Him to gladly bear our burden on the cross, Remind you always of these things, though you Know them and are firmly established in the truth, Until you arrive to a full measure of glory. Until we meet again… Go in peace.

Title: Imperfect Perfection Text: Acts 10:1-8 FCF: We often struggle with the tension of works and faith. Prop: Because Christ is well-pleasing to God, we can live in imperfect obedience and be counted righteous by faith in Christ, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 10. In a moment I'll be reading starting in verse 1 from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible on page 1242 or in whatever version you prefer. Chapter 10 of the book of Acts represents a rather pivotal point in the expansion of the gospel of Jesus. In keeping with its significance, this next narrative episode is quite lengthy. From start to finish it encompasses a chapter and a half, 66 verses. That is the longest narrative episode we've seen yet in the book of Acts. Because it is so long it is difficult to know exactly where to break it up. At first, I had verses 1-23. Then I narrowed it down to 1-20. Then I went 1-16. I finally settled for 1-8. In this way I hope to build each detail of the narrative, one block at a time, as Luke does. The narrative as a whole is somewhat of a puzzle. We have several pieces handed to us, but until they are assembled, we won't see the full picture. So, let's begin with the first detail of the story… lets start with a man from Caesarea named Cornelius. Please stand with me to focus on and show respect for The Word of God. Transition: [Slide 2] Has this ever happened to you. You are standing in the line at the grocery store. It is a very busy day. Snow's coming tomorrow so people are out in droves to make sure they have their bread milk and toilet paper. You are waiting and waiting, the line is moving slowly. Finally, you are getting close to the front. The magazines in the rack distract you… ok being honest it is the candy in the line that is distracting. All of a sudden you hear those wonderful words… “I can help you in line 3. You look up hoping to meet the gaze of the cashier only to find that this cashier had said this to the person who literally just got in line. Makes you a little hot right? Like, HEY! I've been here this whole time. What would justice be? Would it be that they have to wait the same amount you do, or more? We all kinda feel this way about short cuts don't we. But Jesus taught a parable of men being hired for work at various times of the day and still getting paid the same amount. The employer couldn't be accused of being stingy because he paid everyone a day's wage. But to the one who worked less, it seemed like he got more. Jesus' point was that it was the employer's prerogative to be generous in the way He wished to be generous. Today, we will see the abundant graciousness and generosity of our Lord to offer the Jewish Messiah to a gentile. Let's look at verse 1. I.) No matter how good man is perceived to be, he is not good enough by God's standards, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (1-2) a. [Slide 3] 1 – Now there was a man in Caesarea i. [Slide 4] Caesarea as we can see on our map, is the furthest Northwest that the gospel has ever gone in the book of Acts. ii. Damascus represents the furthest northeast. iii. Caesarea is almost at the furthest north border of Samaria. iv. In short, the gospel is spreading far and wide throughout all of Judea and Samaria. It doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. b. [Slide 5] named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. i. Cornelius is a Latin name meaning Of the horn. Cornucopia means horn of plenty. ii. Having a Latin name is not the only indication that this man is a gentile. iii. He is also a centurion. Meaning he is the leader of about 100 men within the Roman army. iv. He was also part of a larger Italian division of the Roman army called a Legion or a Cohort. v. A legion or Cohort consisted of 600 men. Meaning that Cornelius was no doubt one of 6 military leaders within this particular division of the military. vi. All this establishes Cornelius not only as a gentile but also a prominent one at that. vii. The question arises, if this man was in the Italian Cohort, why was he in Caesarea? viii. Caesarea is a highly valued port city on the Mediterranean and it would not be unthinkable for the Roman Emperor to keep a Legion station here. Especially in the wake of the political upheaval of Caligula becoming emperor and Herod Antipas being exiled around this time. ix. It would actually make a great deal of sense to have extra troops in the area just in case something happens. x. But there is more to this man than simply his prominence and his nationality. c. [Slide 6] 2 - He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; i. What does Luke mean that he was a devout God-fearing man? ii. In some ways this could be a simple description of Cornelius' affiliation with the Jewish faith. However, Luke hasn't shied away from using the term proselyte. In Luke 6 he mentioned Nicholas who was a Gentile proselyte now converted to Christ. iii. So, what exactly is Cornelius? Is he a proselyte or something else? iv. [Slide 7] To answer this question, we must look back among the first century historical and archeological records to understand a hierarchy that existed within the Jewish faith. 1. First there were Hebraic Jews. These were Jews who refused to allow Greek influence to spread among them. They continued to speak Hebrew or at least Aramaic. They did not assimilate into Greek traditions and heritages. They attended all the feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 2. Second there were Hellenistic Jews. These were Jews who had succumbed to Greek influence in some way or another. Though still devout and Jewish, they had lost the ability to speak Hebrew and possibly even Aramaic. They, in some cases, had allowed Greek thought and culture to influence other aspects of their lives. They still attended feasts and festivals and made sacrifices in the temple. 3. Third there would be gentile proselytes. These would be gentiles who converted to Judaism and submitted themselves fully to the religious, ritualistic, and legal practices of the Jews. They would endure circumcision and offer whatever sacrifices they were permitted to offer though they would not be permitted in the inner courts of the temple. 4. Fourth there would be what would be known as God-Fearers. This is specifically a group of gentiles that are favorable to Jewish culture and faith and perhaps even in the process of becoming a proselyte, but are not yet truly converted. They were not circumcised. They did not necessarily attend the festivals and feasts, and they did not offer sacrifices at the temple. They would adopt monotheism and attempt to keep the 10 commandments in their lives. 5. Finally, would be, essentially, everyone else. The pagans and polytheists. These are the furthest away from God, since they worship false gods and not the one true God. v. [Slide 8] Cornelius then, is a God-Fearer. He is not quite a proselyte but is sympathetic to Jewish culture and faith. vi. Why is this significant? 1. This is the first time in the book of Acts so far that a non-Jew by blood and by religion becomes the focal point of the story. 2. Second, we've seen Luke's story arch up to this point and it is reasonable to conclude even if we've never read the rest of this narrative, that the gospel circle is widening yet again. 3. Will the gospel go to gentiles not fully assimilated into Judaism? If so, do they need to be Jews first? We'll have to see. vii. We also see that his whole household were also God-Fearers. Now what does this mean? 1. A household is the basic unit of social structure. But it differed from our household structure we have today. 2. Ignoring for the moment the fracturing of the modern household; even in the ideal with Father, Mother, children this would represent a much smaller sphere than 1st century households. 3. A household in the first century could include a much wider spectrum of kinship. There could also be servants and slaves included in the term household. 4. In short, a household could include anyone who lived in the home and met in the home as family. 5. And so, as we might expect, everyone in Cornelius' house were God-Fearers also. We get the impression that he led the effort for this to be so. Most likely he was the patriarch and priest of his family. viii. How else did he lead? d. [Slide 9] he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. i. Alms giving and prayer have long been a standard measure for the truly pious. ii. As such the Pharisees were critiqued for their show of contributing large sums of money and long public prayers in order to seem very devout and pious. iii. Alms giving and prayer are two of the five pillars of the Islamic Faith. iv. Alms giving and prayer are sometimes a means of restitution in the Catholic Church. v. And even in the 1st century, Roman and Greek philosophers idealized acts of charity and devoted prayer to deities. vi. In short, giving charity to those who are less fortunate and praying regularly have always been associated with those who are devout and pious people. Whether it is true or not. And regardless of religion. You at least appear to be pious when you give alms and are consistently praying. vii. We ought also to see the correlation between Tabitha and Cornelius. Tabitha was a disciple of Christ who gave charitably too. We are not told that she prayed often, but it is reasonable to conclude she did. viii. On the surface then, we are given a man who has everything right, but he is missing one piece of the puzzle. But here is a hint. The piece of the puzzle he is missing isn't that he hasn't yet become a Jewish proselyte. e. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: As wonderful of a man as Cornelius was, admired by men, prominent, a leader, a manager of a house, and pious to boot, he was still not good enough. He still lacked something. No doubt everyone admired and respected a man like Cornelius. And even though he wasn't quite Jewish, we will see later he is highly respected by the Jews. The core truth we see in this first point is that a man can be judged to be a good man by all of society and still be short of the standard of God. For God does not require a good man. He requires a perfect man. Jesus died for sinners… even those whom our society labels as saints. So, we must not rest on our laurels and our own self-righteousness, for it will never be good enough. But we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Transition: [Slide 11 (blank)] But we have made some logical leaps here. Is God not pleased at all by Cornelius' lifestyle? And how do we know Cornelius lacks Jesus? Well, God sends this man an angel. Let's see what the angel says. II.) God is pleased with and graciously corrects those who sincerely worship Him, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (3-6) a. [Slide 12] 3 – About three o'clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God, who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” i. At 3 in the afternoon, it would be a traditional time for sacrifices and prayers to be offered up at the temple. ii. It was at this time that Cornelius, who was probably entering again into prayer, saw a waking vision. iii. A vision is something that appears clearly, vividly, and credibly in the mind but is not actually present. iv. An angel appears to him in this vision and calls to him. v. Like Jesus to Saul before him, this angel identifies Cornelius by name. b. [Slide 13] 4 – Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” i. Cornelius had never seen anything like this before. ii. Like every person who encounters an angel of God, he becomes sorely afraid. iii. Cornelius responds to this angel's call by using almost the same words Saul used when he was met by Christ. iv. Saul asked, who are you, Lord? And Cornelius says, “What is it, Lord?” v. What does this mean? vi. It is difficult to know whether Cornelius has assumed that he was seeing God Himself or whether he is using this term “lord” in its less theologically charged meaning, “Sir.” vii. Even if he did mistake this angel for God, would you blame him? viii. Regardless of what Cornelius meant, the angel makes it plain that he is not God but bears God's message to him. c. [Slide 14] The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. i. The angel indicates clearly that he is not God, but informs him that his prayers and charity have gone up before God. ii. What does it mean that his prayers and offerings have “Gone up before God?“ iii. And what is meant by it being a memorial or as other translations have it a “memorial offering?” iv. In the book of Leviticus, in several sacrifices the priests are instructed to take a handful of the offering and burn it on the altar before the Lord. The rest of the offering would be used by the priests. v. These are called memorial offerings because the one who gives the offering and the one burning the offering are all reminded that though God deserves all of the offering, he is pleased with a small portion. vi. How appropriate for the angel messenger to convey this to Cornelius. vii. Cornelius is, after all, not circumcised. He does not go to the temple for sacrifices. He meets in synagogues to learn of the Jewish faith and practice, and attempts to live accordingly, but is not Jewish. viii. Yet Yahweh, The God of Israel, through His angel, tells Cornelius that his charity and prayers have amounted to a memorial sacrifice. They have pleased God. ix. Though he has never sacrificed in the temple, his charity and prayers have been his offering. x. And his offering has pleased God. xi. So, is he good? Is Cornelius saved? Is that enough? Did he earn his salvation by an offering? xii. No. The angel had more to say. d. [Slide 15] Now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” i. The angel communicates another message to Cornelius that, at first, appears to be separate from the first. ii. However, they are related. iii. He tells him to send men to fetch Peter and tells him where Peter is staying. iv. But we all know the reason for this. v. And later we find out that the angel told Cornelius not only that Peter needed to come to see him, but that he had a message to give to him. A message of salvation. For him, and his household. vi. It is almost as if God is telling Cornelius, “Remember, though you stand a far way off, you have gotten the important part of Judaism. You have gotten enough of Judaism to be ready for the next step in Judaism. Now Peter will come and show you what you lack.” vii. Is God giving Cornelius a shortcut? Is God saying… I desire obedience and not sacrifices? e. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: And so, in this point, although those who are perceived as good and devout men are still not good enough, God is good and gracious to those who diligently seek Him. Though Cornelius had just enough truth and just enough good works to condemn him to hell, God rewards those who are pursuing Him. In many ways, Cornelius was probably more devout than most Jews of his day, because his motives were pure. He sincerely sought the Lord. God is pleased with those who, even imperfectly, sincerely worship Him. And God is sure to lead such people to what they lack. So, we must not be satisfied with our broken attempts to please God, even if He is pleased by our sincerity. Instead, we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. For it is in Jesus that the Lord has said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Transition: [Slide 17(blank)] God rewards Cornelius' diligent seeking by revealing his need. He needs to call on Peter. Peter needs to come and give him and his household a message. So, what do those who have been illuminated by God do? What do those whose eyes have been opened do? They obey… III.) All who God corrects and instructs with truth obey His commands, so we must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. (7-8) a. [Slide 18] 7 – When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him, i. Like Aeneas and Tabitha before, Cornelius sets out to obey what has been revealed to him. ii. Aeneas was healed of his paralysis, Tabitha raised from death, but Cornelius was healed of another malady. A malady equally as hopeless. iii. You see for Cornelius though he was a God-Fearer, and though he could potentially achieve proselyte status in the Jewish faith and gain some measure of closeness to Yahweh, the God of Israel. He could never come closer than this. He could never enter the courts of the Jews much less the holy place or the Holy of Holies for that matter. iv. But what has his acts of charity and prayer done? It is a memorial offering. A reminder to him that though God requires all, He is pleased with what Cornelius has done. For he has done it while sincerely seeking Yahweh. v. So God rewards Cornelius by sending an angel, with the truth of the way he could be healed of that relational distance. vi. He has been told that he can come and receive the same gospel message that was given to the Jews. He need not be a proselyte first. Cornelius doesn't need to be circumcised. He doesn't need to become a Jew first. He simply needs the message that Peter will give him. What is that message? Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. 1. Jesus is the funnel. Jesus is the choke point. Jesus is not only the next and final redemptive step in Judaism, but He is also the next and final redemptive step for the Gentile as well. 2. He is the next and final step in the covenants He made with Adam and Eve. a. He is the sacrifice that was killed in their place so that they could be clothed perfectly and completely. b. He is the seed that has crushed the head of the serpent and enlarged the family of God. c. He is the New Adam, our new representative, keeping the covenant of works perfectly. 3. He is the next and final step in the covenant made with Noah. a. He is the ark delivering His people from the world of sin and the judgment that will overwhelm it. b. He is the bow of promise establishing peace between the Father and His people. c. He is bringing the next baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 4. All the covenants of God, to Jews and Gentiles alike, are funneled down to Jesus. vii. And what does Cornelius do after receiving this command which he is told will be the solution for his malady of relational distance to Yahweh? What does he do when he is told that Peter holds the key for that distance to be erased? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter. b. [Slide 19] 8 - and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. i. It is difficult to know exactly what he tells these two servants and soldier. ii. The text says he had explained everything. iii. It seems as though everything he knew, saw, and believed was given to these men as he sent them to bring Peter. iv. Cornelius not only believed the angel, but wanted his whole house to believe as well. c. [Slide 20] Summary of the Point: We've seen how the devotion and goodness of Cornelius was not enough, that he still lacked true righteousness. We've also seen the faithfulness and compassion of God to reward those who seek Him diligently. And finally, we see the faithful obedience of all whom God reveals truth to… Cornelius was given life changing truth that would free him from his relational distance to God. And that truth would be given to him by Peter the apostle. So, what does Cornelius do when he is told that Peter holds the key for him to be brought into a close and special relationship with Yahweh? He obeys the angel and sends for Peter immediately. My friends, we know the piece that Cornelius was missing. It is Jesus crucified for sinners. So, we too must seek out and trust in the righteousness of Christ. Conclusion: So, CBC, what has the Lord said and how then shall we live? What doctrinal takeaway can we pull from this today? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 21] Men and women can live lives that are devout and pious, being paragons of good among humanity. God is pleased with those who attempt to live out His law and seek to please Him. But mankind's devotion and piety is not enough to satisfy the holy standard of God. So, God in His grace rewards those who diligently seek to please and worship Him. He rewards them by revealing to them how they can be made right with Him. In this we see the tension of mankind's spiritual status as dead and paralyzed juxtaposed against being able to actually, in some way, please God with our meager efforts. Another riddle. The great answer is that God's legal standard is perfection, even if it is pleasing for us to obey Him and seek Him, it will never satisfy the legal requirement of perfection. But that is why God has sent His Son. And that is why God promises to reward those who seek Him. Cornelius was rewarded for faithfully pursuing the God if Israel. How was He rewarded? He was rewarded by God offering Him the next and final step in His redemption. And it was not to make him a Jew first. It was to transfer him directly into the family of the Son. So Cornelius obeyed the Lord and sent for Peter. Jesus is the answer for all men and not just the Jews. All the covenants of God are fulfilled in Him. My friends, although it is true that when we are God's people, we obey Him… our obedience is not what we rely on. Because our obedience will always be imperfect in this life. Instead, we depend on Christ's righteousness. For it is only in Christ that the Lord's legal standard is met. The best we can hope for is God to be pleased with us. With Christ, The Father is well-pleased. So let me improve upon this point in a few ways for us this morning. 1.) [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that no matter how much righteousness we can muster, it will never satisfy God's perfect standard. a. Cornelius was a man who put many Jews to shame. He devoted himself and his entire household to upholding monotheism and the law of the God of Israel. b. Even though he would never be accepted into the inner relationship to Yahweh, he still served Him and sought Him. c. This is a far cry from the Sadducees who only wanted power with their piety. It is lightyears away from the Pharisees who desired honor from men by their devotion to God. d. Nevertheless, as righteous as he was, Cornelius was still missing something. As pleasing as his actions were to God, he still lacked what Peter would bring. e. From meticulous legalism to liberal sincerity, mankind cannot ever achieve the perfect standard of God. f. As we spoke last week, we are all dead in sin. We are hopeless to heal ourselves. Hopeless to raise ourselves. The Lord must do this work. g. But our problem only begins there. Even though the Lord must raise us from sin death that is only half of our problem. For not only are we dead in sin, but we also dead to righteousness, h. Mankind, my friends, is in quite the pickle. Not only do they not want to please God, but even if they did want to, they couldn't. You see God can't bring us to life and then let us go. For we would simply die in sin again when we fail. i. No. God must unite us to something that will never fail. j. This is what orthodox Christianity teaches. Mankind is doubly damned. Not only are we dead in sin, but God's standard is perfection. You cannot be perfect if you are by nature dead in flaws. k. Like a computer with a hardware problem. Even if you reboot it and debug it… if there is a flaw with the hard drive or the motherboard… it will never function properly. The bad hardware must be replaced. l. Mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well. 2.) [Slide 23] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that being dead in sin means we are unable to do good. a. Some having misunderstood this teaching have critiqued it by saying, “If mankind is dead in sin, If mankind is not righteous, then why do my Muslim neighbors shovel my driveway out of kindness? Why do my lost family members buy me flowers when I'm down? Why do my unbelieving co-workers pay their taxes and offer sacrificial love to their families?” b. They offer a wise critique to a doctrine no one is teaching. c. No one teaches that because mankind is dead in sin they can do no good thing. No one is teaching that because mankind is enslaved to sin that all they can do is sin. d. What we mean when we say that mankind is totally depraved or totally unable is that man is not able and not willing to spiritually free himself from sin or seek God or be made right with God. e. In the previous example we said that “mankind not only needs a reboot, but a hardware replacement as well.” Now think with me… if we are the computer, can we do that on our own? f. And I know you are thinking – well sometimes my computer reboots on its own. g. Does it? Or did someone program the computer to reboot under certain conditions? h. This is what this doctrine means. Just like a computer, we are not able to reboot ourselves or change our hardware. i. But that doesn't mean that the computer can't do some good things right? It just means that those good things don't fix the problem. j. Cornelius proves this out. He was able to do good things, things that were pleasing to God – but he still needed God to send an angel and an apostle to bring him to Christ. 3.) [Slide 24] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop relying on our own obedience to perfectly please God. a. No doubt we all sometimes succumb to this erroneous teaching that has bound so many of God's dear children. b. We speak harshly to our wives and hit every red light on the way to work. Immediately we observe, God is punishing me for being harsh. c. We pray for our neighbor and then we inherit a small house form a distant uncle who passed. Apparently, God is pleased with me for praying for my neighbors. d. If I wear this, or go to that movie, or drink that, or say this, God will be most displeased with me. e. Even though there is a certain measure of truth in some of this – God is pleased and displeased by our choices, the thing that is faulty is our reliance on our performance to please God. f. My friends, our performance is not what perfectly pleases God. Why? Because our performance is never perfect. g. The scriptures teach us that there is no condemnation in Christ. The scriptures teach us that although we will be rewarded with crowns for our faithfulness to God – we will cast them all at the feet of Jesus. h. The whole of it my friends is that we can't be more or less pleasing to God because we are in Christ. And with Christ, the Father is well-pleased. i. But we could pendulum swing here couldn't we… 4.) [Slide 25] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must obey the Lord while trusting that Christ has satisfied God's perfect standard of performance. a. You see my friends, we obey the Lord out of love and thanksgiving. b. We are not trying to please Him more or fear displeasing him. We are obeying His law because we love Him and are thankful that He first loved us. c. We rest in the perfect righteousness of Christ, knowing that we will never lose that perfect standing before our Father. And then in that state of declared righteousness, we imperfectly obey. d. This is the beauty of the gospel. e. We are imperfectly perfect by faith in Christ. f. And it works because He changes our desires. We no longer want to wallow in imperfection. Instead, we long to be like Christ, while knowing that God has made us to be His righteousness. g. What a great God we serve that although His standard is perfection, He has achieved it for us while changing us to continue to desire it. 5.) [Slide 26] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will reveal Himself to those who diligently pursue Him. a. Perhaps you left last week with a feeling of despair. b. God must wake up people from spiritual death and paralysis. I get it. But what if someone really really really wants to serve God but God says no to waking them up? c. What if someone really wants to be saved but God never turns the lights on, God never opens the prison cell. God never raises them up. What happens then? d. My friends… God promises that those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded. Those who keep knocking on His door, He won't cast out. He will welcome them in. e. Perhaps that is you today. Perhaps you have desired to be God's child and have been knocking and knocking and still He has not answered. f. Will you give up now? Will you turn away? Where will you go? Who else can save like our God? g. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. He is the Son of God who has the words of life… where else can you go? h. Don't stop knocking my friends. The Lord promises that He will let you in. Let me close with a prayer from the church father Eusebius of Caesarea, fitting since Cornelius was from this city. We give you thanks, our God and Savior, and to you, O Christ, in our own feeble way. You are the supreme providence of the mighty Father, who both saves us from evil and teaches us in the way of truth. I say these things not to praise, but simply to give thanks. Who among us is worthy to give you praise? You called creation into being from nothing. You illuminated it with your light. You regulated the confusion of the elements by your laws of harmony and order. More than that, we recognize your lovingkindness. You caused those whose hearts inclined toward you to sincerely seek a divine and blessed life. You've allowed us to pass along what we've received from you, like merchants of wisdom and true blessings. We reap the everlasting fruit of your goodness. Freed from the net of sin, and permeated with a love for others, mercy is always our point of view. We hope for the promise of faith, and we are devoted to modest living – all the virtues we had once thrown aside, but are now restored by you whose generous care is over all. In Jesus name we pray… Amen. May the God who did not spare His own Son, But sent Him to gladly bear our burden on the cross, Remind you always of these things, though you Know them and are firmly established in the truth, Until you arrive to a full measure of glory. Until we meet again… Go in peace.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Sermon - The First Deaconate Acts 6v1-7 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Introduction So far in the book of Acts, we can see that the Church has come under attack by the The world (persecution), satan (deceit & moral compromise) Now a new crisis appears. Unable to destroy the church by way of persecution and deceit, satan now tries to create a split in the church by getting believers to argue and fight with each other. If satan had succeeded in creating an implosion within this church, the only church in existence at the time, then the effects could have been devastating. The media in our world loves to report about anything negative to do with Christianity and the church. So any form of dissension, pressure splits and arguments within the Church, is often reported with an almost earnest gleefulness by the media. From this Bible passage, four questions quite naturally arise. What was the problem? How was it resolved? What happened after it was resolved? How can we apply it to church life, 2000 years after the event? The Problem! (v1) Good news - they were growing, but this had caused a problem! Bad news - Some widows were not being cared for! Hebraic Jews = always had lived in the then nation of Israel, spoke mainly Aramaic and some Hebraic. Well used to life in a Jewish society, the Temple and avoiding those who were not Jews - the Gentiles.. Grecian or Hellenestic Jews = were part of the Jewish Diaspora, born elsewhere within the known world and had returned to Jerusalem. These mainly spoke Greek, and well used to working with Gentiles. Widows were important to God, because justice is important to God. God is a God of justice and mercy. In the Old Testament, under the Law of Moses, God commanded provision for those who were widows, oppressed or uncared for. There was no NHS at the time in Jerusalem. The Apostles would have known about God caring for the widows and in Jesus teaching about justice for the poor and the oppressed. We know this because if you remember from Acts 2 and 4, people were selling and sharing possessions and ensuring that people within the Christian community were being looked after and cared for. This included making sure that everyone got fed, particularly those who had no family to care for them. Somehow, unintentional or not, this group of widows were missing out. What to do? The Solution! (v2-6) Three things about the solution Transformation of the Apostles - James, Peter & John particularly (v2) Its not stated here, but a transformation had taken place! Only a few short time ago, the disciples of Jesus had refused to wash feet as an act of service (Peter); some had wanted positions of power and greatness (James & John). Their old nature must have started asking questions and prompting them to react negatively. The world has attacked the church, satan has attacked the church, and now satan would have been using the Apostles old nature to attack the church. But - as they are transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit and now have a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ, they react much more righteously and judiciously. All together now! (v2-5) Notice they gathered all the believers together for a church meeting. The gave their opinion or judgment if you like, that their ministry or time would be better spent doing what God had called them to do - to be leaders of the Church, praying, preaching, evangelizing and discerning how best to apply the 3 years of teaching that they had had when traveling with Jesus Christ before His ascension. Their time, rightly so, was best spent doing that, for that was their ministry of service. But other people in the church gathering, who had a ministry of service and overseeing the food distribution, could spend their time doing that! So what of these seven men with Greek names? They were elected by the whole church, both Grecian and Hebraic, to perform this duty. They may already have been doing it, but now were being set apart especially for this role. These men were controlled by the Holy Spirit and were wise. They were chosen to give relief to the leadership so that the Word of God and prayer would not be hindered. Commissioning (v6) Interestingly enough, the word diakonia is translated here in the NIV as ministry. Another way to translate it is as deacons, as our sermon title suggests. But, they were not deacons in the way the Paul uses the word as part of a church government in 1 Timothy 3. Rather they were deacons, set apart for this specific task - it was their ministry. It may well have been from here, that Paul developed what some parts of the universal church understands of the role of deacons. So these seven men, were prototypes as it were, for the Paul-ine idea of deacons. Note also that the Apostles didn't say their work was more important than serving. They were just following what God had called them to do, just as God had called these seven men to take responsibility for providing food for the widows. So they were commissioned by God, by the laying on of hands and set apart to perform it. We know only of Steven and Phillip and that they continued doing other ministries as well as this. The Result! (v7) Growth and witness = conversion of former enemies... (v7) Growth and witness = reasoning and transformation Now that the Apostles had time for their dedicated and unique ministry, all the widows could be fed, and all believers able to participating within the life of the church. Not only that, Stephen was instrumental in reaching the Apostle Paul (Acts 7:58). Philip was instrumental in reaching the city of Samaria and won over for Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian Eunuch who then took the gospel to Africa. (Acts 8) This growth was where the word of God increased in its effectiveness in the lives of those unbelievers who would listen to the gospel. This growth was not merely addition but multiplication! It was explosive! So explosive that even former enemies were becoming converts! Sadducees were Jewish believers who didn't believe in a bodily resurrection - yet they came to faith and started to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's not hard to imagine that some of those Priests coming to faith in Jesus Christ were former persecutors of the Church! They were watching the church to see how best to attack and debate them. Yet found that they were joining the church, rather than continuing to oppose it. The church was preaching one thing and acting upon it. There was no hypocrisy within the church. The church was transparent - it lived as it believed. The church was seen as transformative and servant-like. While the Church continue to reason with others about the validity of Jesus Christ's claims to be the Messiah, it would have not been effective if lives were not being transformed. If lives were not being changed, then no amount of reasoning alone would have seen the growth in numbers being added to the Church. Just as transformation and change alone would not have been the catalyst for growth, without the reasoning behind it. Conclusion Transformation As we have seen here, the first Church was a radical community of believers, growing quickly. The church today, also needs to be a community that is seen to be radical by the surrounding society. At Pentecost, the church community began when the Holy Spirit filled the Disciples (Acts 2v4). The hallmarks of this community were commitment and transformation. This community was radical. It was where people's lives were being changed as the Holy Spirit filled them. Instead of being a withdrawn people filled with fear of retribution from the Roman government and Jewish leaders, they became a people filled with boldness and joy. This church in Jerusalem grew by being a radical community imbued with radical individuals engaging with others and serving. It was a church where every member was asked and expected to play some role. Imagine this church here, if nobody straightened the chairs, vacuumed the carpets, made the tea and coffee etc. All vital parts of church life, and everyone can participate in the life of the church. I was glad to see in the handout Steve gave me that all members were encouraged to participate in some way within the life of the Church here in Bearwood. Today's church will grow by building a strong community. And by church, I don't mean just Bearwood Chapel, but all churches in this area, this country and this world. In working with other local churches, a church community can be created which involves joining together isolated and solitary individuals where people are imbued with love, shown caring for each other, particularly the frail, elderly and young. Despite small differences in worship style and non-essential doctrines, local churches working together can show a world looking in, that all local churches are unified in some positive aspect. In doing this, churches can be a visible symbol of the invisible link that unites all churches. And we can do it, with what somebody once called a "creative passion for the impossible." An inherent human need is the need to belong, and by fulfilling relational needs, the radical church community will become relevant to the people within it. It will then also become relevant to those who are on the outside and looking in. And people are looking in, all the time, whether you want them to or not. When systematic persecution comes to this country, and it will, local churches will need to work with each other and show that Jesus Christ is the reason for our hope and faith. This is shown partly be caring for those who are in need within the community as a whole, and not just in the Church. This involves improving present societal conditions, rather than remaining a conservative community, which merely repairs the status quo. In doing this, today's church will be emulating characteristics of this church we have read and heard about this morning. Jesus Christ is glorified, honoured as the Church community's spiritual health gets stronger and the community bonds in unity. I know of churches that are good at one thing but not the other. Some churches are excellent at social care and social justice, but are very weak in regards to teaching from the Bible and prayer. I know others who are the opposite - are faithful in prayer and bible teaching, but neglectful in regards to social justice. The church must be both as it endeavours to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. The church must be a community of people, willing to be holy. By holy, I mean living a life of constant transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. Being transformed by the Holy Spirit as God's Word is read, studied and applied to your life. It is by being holy, that the church will grow, as we have seen with this church in Jerusalem. The role of the community engaged in radical transformation is to help people to be holy and not merely happy. Happiness will flow from holiness, but holiness will not necessarily flow from an induced ‘feel good factor'. Good leadership, as we have seen this morning, stems from good accountability to each other and to the whole church community. Ministry for all - serving! The Christian life is not to be static or inactive. The Christian life is to be dynamic and active. As we have seen the word "deacon" here denotes ministry. Ministry is any service for Jesus Christ When you serve as God's deacon in this way, God's honour is released. That's why the embryonic Church in Jerusalem grew and flourished. This is done because service shows the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ to those being served and to those watching. That is to be our motive for service. I don't know you. I don't know how or why or if you serve in the Church here in Bearwood. But I do know that ministry and serving in some capacity is for all Christians. In some parts of the worldwide church, ministry is only ever used of the clergy, missionaries and other "professional Christians". And, with a few exceptions notably the Brethren movement, this was the case in most Christian denominations until 40 or 50 years ago. But since then, service and ministry has returned to its New Testament roots. Service and ministry is the domain of all those who would profess to call Jesus Christ as LORD. Serving and ministry should never to be about what you and I can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is not glorified. God's glory and supremacy is our goal as Christians. Spiritual growth comes from serving rather than being served. This is because what ever is given in service of God and others, faith grows and Jesus Christ gives back even more. Jesus speaking in Matthew 25v15-30 tells of the rewards for faithful service and the penalties for being faithless. Serving others is a sign that you are trusting God and having faith in God. Serving God and others is the mark of a spiritually maturity and through service, the greatest servant of all, is reflected: Jesus Christ, who came to serve and give his very life for others (Mark 10v45). As Christians, we are to be as Jesus Christ (Romans 8v28; Philippians 2v5) and to serve. Yet if we are honest, we sometimes feel incapable, just as Moses did (Exodus 3). An excellent example to follow is that of the deacon Stephen. As the church, we are dependent upon each other, just as one part of the human body has dependence on another part. That is why we serve each other and use the gifts generously given by God. If we are Christians here today, you have spiritual gifts and talents, and you have a responsibility to discover and develop them (1 Timothy 4v14)! As we have hopefully seen today, God has called all Christians into one ministry or another and equipped them to fulfill that ministry. So find where in this church, you can serve. Ask the elders and other Church leaders, how they think you can serve here. Finally, if you would not call yourself a Christian here today, then I would urge you to look at this Church. You maybe here having investigated Christianity rationally but still need a bit more for one reason or another. In that case, I would urge you to see how this church cares for the poor and the widows of this area and the world, and match that against its dedication to Jesus Christ. Or you may be here, because you have seen the transforming work of this church with the poor and the widows, but feel you need a bit of something else. Then I would urge you to match this transforming work in individuals against what the Bible says and rationality. Maybe you are in one of those camps, you want to cross the line to faith, but just can't quite get there. Ask one of the Church leaders here, how they might be able to help you. Let's pray. Tap or click here to save the audio in MP3 format.

“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19–20These words of our Lord came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen, the Church's first martyr. Saint Stephen was martyred within a couple of years after Jesus' ascension into Heaven. He was one of seven deacons who the Apostles appointed to assist them in their work of caring for the poor as the Church began to grow.Stephen was a man of deep faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. After he was appointed deacon, he began to preach with boldness. Among his listeners were members of the synagogue of Hellenistic Jews. Stephen debated them vigorously and proved himself to be full of wisdom and power, performing many signs and wonders in their midst. But this only led his listeners to become outraged to the point of seeking his death. As a result, they made false claims that Stephen was preaching against the Temple and the Law of Moses.In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:2–53), Stephen responded by giving a long and detailed speech by which he explained the full truth of Jesus in light of the Old Testament. Stephen concluded by saying, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.” This infuriated his listeners in the synagogue even more. After this, something truly miraculous happened. Stephen had a vision. He looked up to Heaven and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” He saw his Lord, standing at the right hand of the Father. And it was his proclamation of this vision that finally drove the infuriated crowd to drag him out of the synagogue and city and to stone him to death. Stephen's story, however, ended in a beautiful and inspired way. As the crowd was stoning him, he spoke two powerful statements. First, he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And then he prayed in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”As mentioned above, the words our Lord speaks in the Gospel today came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen. First of all, we see that Jesus' prediction that some of His followers would be handed over to deaths by their own kinsmen came true in the life of Saint Stephen. But Jesus also promised that when this would happen, “You will be given at that moment what you are to say.” And it will be the Spirit of the Father “speaking through you.” And that's exactly what happened with Saint Stephen. First, he was given a glorious vision of Heaven. Second, he was inspired to fully surrender his spirit over to Jesus. And third, he was inspired to pray for his persecutors and forgive them. These words and actions did not come from Stephen alone. They were the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that when one is persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, the Father will be especially present and give powerful inspiration at the moment of need. Reflect, today, upon the profound truth that God never abandons us. In fact, when we suffer the most or endure persecution, rejection or any form of mistreatment, God is especially present. Look at your own life and consider those moments that you find most challenging. Pray to Saint Stephen and ask him to pray for you so that you will be open to the inspired words and actions of our Lord when you need them the most. Most glorious Saint Stephen, please pray for me. Pray for me especially when I experience the heaviest crosses in my life. Pray that I, like you, will be open to God's inspiration and grace at those times I need it the most. St. Stephen, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Title: “Stephen's Last Sermon: Explanation” Part 1 Text: Acts 7:1-34 FCF: We often struggle admitting the true depth of our need for God to pursue us. Prop: Because man is blind to God, God must call His people, so we must respond when we hear Him call. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 7. In a moment I'll begin reading a rather large portion of scripture beginning in verse 1 and continuing to verse 53. I'll be reading from the Legacy Standard Bible, but you can follow along in the pew bible starting on page 1236 or in whatever version you prefer. Last week, we saw a man, filled with grace and power from God, doing many signs and wonders in His name. He preached to those whom he knew well. And they did not receive him. Now, this man, Stephen, stands before the highest court in Jerusalem to answer for the crime of blasphemy against Moses and God. Today will be part 1 of Stephen's response to his accusers. He will answer… but it will not be a defense. Please stand with me out of respect for and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Transition: You may be seated. We have much to get through today. Let us hasten to the text so we can see it all before time slips through our fingers. I.) God alone secures a people for Himself, so we must respond when we hear Him call. (1-8) a. [Slide 2] 1 – And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” i. Beginning with the High Priest's question is a perfect opportunity for us to review exactly what Stephen was being charged with. ii. What are the “things” that may or not be true? iii. Remember that these Hellenistic Jews, desiring to be accepted by the Hebraic Jews, came out against Stephen. However, they were not able to oppose his teachings. So, they resorted to secretly persuading people to accuse Stephen of blaspheming Moses and God. iv. In the trial false witnesses testified that they had heard Stephen frequently blaspheming the holy place or the temple and the law of Moses. v. Specifically, they heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the temple and alter the customs handed down from Moess. vi. To us, such statements do not seem blasphemous… but to the Jews during this second temple era, to suggest that someone would destroy the temple and it be a good thing or to alter the customs of Moses and it be a good thing… would have been just that… blasphemous. vii. They held three primary pillars to their faith. The law, The land or Kingdom, and the Temple. Stephen, then, is accused of speaking against two of the three pillars of 1st century Judaism. viii. He is called upon to answer whether or not he has spoken in such a way. ix. Stephen's response both deals with each charge against him, but also doesn't at the same time. x. HIs response addresses the law of Moses, but not in the sense of whether or not he has said that Jesus will alter the customs. Stephen's response addresses the temple, but not in the sense of whether or not he has said that Jesus will destroy it. xi. Stephen essentially uses these charges as a springboard to go back through the history of Israel. xii. In so doing he quotes or alludes to several passages of scripture. Because we do not have the time, nor do we know how much Stephen is quoting, alluding, or paraphrasing, we will pass over these references. You can do the work on your own this week in looking up these passages to which Stephen refers. xiii. There are also several chronological and topological details that seem to contradict what is recorded in the Old Testament. We will not be able to explore these in any detail at all. But suffice it to say, that the easiest way to understand why these contradictions occur is primarily Stephen's telescopic view of Israel's history. He is not going for exact precision. Rather he is picking up key threads along the way. xiv. What are these threads or layers of teaching. 1. First, he reveals a cycle of the people's accepting God's provision while rejecting Him. a. He shows that by Israel rejecting God's chosen deliverers, they are actually rejecting God Himself. b. He shows that these deliverers are prototypes of Jesus of Nazareth whom they are rejecting actively at this very moment. c. He shows that they have kept holy, things that were given by God, while rejecting God Himself because they have rejected His Son, His Messiah, His Ultimate Deliverer. 2. Second, he reveals God's promises and covenants forming a redemptive plan of God that is progressing and therefore, by necessity, changing. 3. Third, he reveals God's presence, provision, glory and worship separate from the law, away from the land of Canaan, and outside the temple. 4. In short, the scope of Stephen's response has nothing to do with his own defense, since he seems to have no intention of ever making it out of this trial alive. Instead, his entire purpose of this sermon is as a prosecutor dismantling the present form of Judaism to reveal a form of godliness that has denied its power. A Judaism that needs reformation. A Judaism that needs a Deliverer – The Son of Man who stands at the right hand of God, Jesus of Nazareth. Stephen is on the attack, not on the defense. xv. I will not endeavor this morning, or in the weeks to follow, to unpack every minute detail in this sermon. To do so, I fear we would be here for many, many weeks. xvi. My aim is to give you the main points of his sermon so the sharpness at the end hits as cleanly as it did the day in which Stephen spoke it. xvii. That said, I still anticipate it taking us a few weeks to get through. xviii. So, without further ado, Stephen's last sermon. b. [Slide 3] 2-3 – And he said, “Hear me, brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.' i. Stephen begins at the beginning. He begins with a man called out from the land of Ur. ii. Yes, before Abraham lived in Haran, which is at the Northernmost boundary of the promised land, Abraham lived in Ur. The land that would later be called Babylon. Abraham was from that most depraved land. A land symbolic of the seat of the forces of darkness. iii. Why would Stephen include this detail? iv. Because, even the nation of Israel was not a nation once. Even the nation of Israel would need to be called out of the nations to be made a nation. As a Hellenistic Jewish Christian, such a truth would be quite comforting and equally uncomfortable for the Hebraic Jews. v. Stephen calls God the God of glory. This title is significant in that it is uncommon. Why would he use such a title? 1. First, Stephen is being accused of blasphemy. Such an accusation is immediately answered with a declaration of God being the God of glory. 2. Second, he shows that divorced from the land of Canaan and from the temple, and without a law, God is still the God of glory appearing to Abraham. His glory cannot be contained by national boundaries, God given laws, or walls made with hands. This creates an excellent bookend to his explanation section. We'll get there next week. 3. Where God is – is where we worship Him. God decides where and how He reveals Himself. vi. God called him out of this land, to depart from his family, to go a land that He would show him. c. [Slide 4] 4-5 – Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS SEED AFTER HIM, even when he had no child. i. The story of Abraham is recorded in the book of Genisis over only a few chapters. ii. Stephen only hints at a remarkable truth that we often miss. It was over 40 years after God made these promises to Abraham, that Abraham actually had an heir. iii. In that process, although Abraham nomadically lived in the land that God had promised him, he did not actually own any property. iv. Stephen attempts throughout the sermon to establish ethos with his listeners. He began by calling them brothers and fathers. He uses almost exclusively the first-person plural pronouns to discuss the history of Israel. In this he establishes comradery with his audience. He is one of them. Therefore, it is probably significant any time Stephen deviates from this practice. And before he enters his final appeal to them in verse 51 he only deviates from the 1st person plural pronouns twice. v. We'll see one today and one next week. vi. The first one happens here in verse 4. Stephen said that God had Abraham move to this country in which YOU are now living. 1. It is possible that Stephen does not identify himself as a dweller or inhibiter of this land since he is a Hellenized Jew. 2. Perhaps this is even for his audience's benefit. Perhaps they would take issue with him claiming to be an inhibiter of this land while not being able to speak Aramaic or Hebrew. 3. But more likely, Stephen by excluding himself is actually excluding them. By saying that they inhabit or dwell in the land, he suggests that they do so without legal right. Since the land is one of the pillars of their faith, it would be a subtle way to hint at what his entire sermon shows. That though they have the land, they are interlopers and have no right to it. Why? Because they have rejected this land's King. What do you call someone who possesses the King's land but does not bow to the King? Invaders, pretenders, traitors, insurrectionists, or… in the case of faith… blasphemers. 4. The tables are officially turned. vii. But let's proceed. He has much more to say. d. [Slide 5] 6-7 – But God spoke in this way, that his ‘SEED WOULD BE SOJOURNERS IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. 7 AND I MYSELF WILL JUDGE THE NATION TO WHICH THEY WILL BE ENSLAVED' said God, ‘AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.' i. As a part of God's plan to bring Abraham's seed to this land and give it to them, they would first be enslaved in a foreign nation. ii. This slavery would take 400 years to complete. iii. God promises to judge the nation who does this to them and to bring them out to serve Him in the land that He will give to Abraham. iv. Again, God promises this is all before Abraham has an heir and before he owns any land in Canaan. e. [Slide 6] 8 – And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so, Abraham was the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. i. So even though Abraham did not have any land that God had promised him, even though his descendants would be enslaved to a foreign nation for 400 years, even though there was no temple and no law, God still gave to him a covenant. ii. A covenant that was concerning far more than land, law, temples and nations. A covenant of abiding favor and relationship. A covenant remembered through a sign. A covenant that in Abraham all the nations of the earth will be blessed. iii. Does God need a temple, land or a law to establish a relationship with His people? The answer, of course, is no. iv. Nevertheless, the law and the temple came about. What does that mean? v. It means that God's redemptive plan progressed and therefore, by necessity, changed. Not in substance but in form. God's relationship with His people still depended on a one-sided covenant. But the form of that relationship would not always be the same. vi. For Abraham, it was the sign of circumcision and the hope of a nation brought through slavery to a land promised to him many years before. It required nothing from Abraham. He simply trusted that the Lord would do all of this in His timing and by His power. f. [Slide 7] Summary of the Point: God is the one pursuing His people my friends. He comes for them. There is no land, no nation, no religious temple tying Him down. He will come and take for Himself a nation from the nations. He will call unto Himself a people. He will not forget them! He will not abandon them! Nor will He fail to keep His promises to them. Their relationship may not always take the same form – but it will always have the same substance. And what is that substance? That God alone will do everything necessary to secure a bride for His Son. He will do all that is required to preserve a remnant. He will call and save and purify and keep and glorify His people. And He doesn't need anybody or anything to help Him. He has done this through His own will, power, mercy, and grace. And He has done this through His Son, the Righteous One. Transition: [Slide 8(blank)] With such assurances that God will do as He has promised to do and secure for Himself a people, we might expect the people of Israel to have always believed and trusted God to do as He said He would. Of course, you and I both know that this wasn't the case. Stephen goes here next. II.) Men are unable to discern God's provision, so we must respond when we hear Him call. (9-36) a. [Slide 9] 9-10 – And the patriarchs, becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household. i. But in the process of God's promises coming to fruition, we see even the patriarchs act in opposition to it. ii. They reject and sell into slavery one of the Lord's promised descendants of Abraham. How appalling. How counter to God's promise and plan! How demonic! iii. And why do they do this? It was out of jealousy. How interesting that Luke just recently commented on the motivations of the Sanhedrin council to act against the apostles. Do you remember what their motivation was? Was it not jealousy? And what was the endgame of the jealousy of the patriarchs? Was it not to return to a time before Joseph's existence? Was it not to be rid of him and go back to when there were only the brothers of Leah and none of Rachel? Was not the jealousy of the Sanhedrin to preserve the former form of Judaism, prior to the advent of their Messiah? iv. An interesting correlation is being made here. Although Abraham left all he knew to follow the Lord and do as He commanded – his descendants consistently resisted God's leading and desired to go back to what they had always known. v. So, they sell him and send him to Egypt. He is, in their minds, dead. vi. Yet, God was with him. vii. These five words overcome the world my friends. viii. No matter what opposes the Lord's anointed – these five words will undo it all. ix. God being with Joseph, though he was separated from the rest of the covenant people, though he was sent to a foreign land, though he was surrounded by pagans – God was with HIM. x. And because God was with HIM, out of the land of Cannan, under foreign power, he still prospered. He was saved from his afflictions, granted favor in the sight of Pharoah and given a position of prominence and leadership. b. [Slide 10] 11-16 – Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16 And from there they were removed to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. i. And so, the promise of God takes another step toward fulfillment. ii. The people of God go to a foreign land to sojourn there in the midst of great need. iii. God uses the sinful jealousy of the patriarchs to ensure the success and stability of His people. iv. Notice the details that Stephen includes. He has in this section mushed together the stories of Jacob and his son's burial plots, which are not the same place. Almost breezing over this detail. v. But in the same space, he has made sure to include the detail that at the first visit to Joseph, his brothers did not recognize him. On the second visit he was made known to them, raised from the dead as it were. And he invited his family to join them. vi. Jesus was not recognized at first, He was revealed to His disciples through his resurrection from the dead, and now has sent for His people to come to Him. vii. And notice that though all the patriarchs died in the land of Egypt, their remains, their bones, were brought back to the only place Abraham owned in the land of Canaan. viii. Even death cannot separate the promises of God from those to whom He has promised them. ix. They died without a temple. They died without a law. They died outside of the land of Canaan. Yet God's faithfulness remained. c. [Slide 11] 17-18 – But as the time of the promise was drawing near which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until ANOTHER KING AROSE OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW ABOUT JOSEPH. i. Notice that God while suffering His people to be enslaved in a foreign land for a period of 400 years, he also grew them, multiplying them upon themselves. ii. They lived in Egypt until a time when another King, another Pharoah did not know… or appreciate Joseph or his people. d. [Slide 12] 19-22 – It was he who deceitfully took advantage of our family and mistreated our fathers to set their infants outside so that they would not survive. 20 It was at this time that Moses was born, and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father's home. 21 And after he had been set outside, Pharoah's daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and deeds. i. This King acting maliciously, though not outside the promise of God, did attempt to subdue the superior numbers of the Hebrews. ii. So, he ordered the exposure unto death of all sons born to Hebrew women. iii. During this dark time, Moses was born. iv. And he was lovely in the sight of God. v. The word used here is beauty in breeding. We have an expression “He is from good stock” meaning his heritage or lineage was good. vi. And so for him to be of good stock in the eyes of God, is to see that he is chosen of God. He is graced or favored of God. vii. Again, we must pause to marvel at the favor of God. “Yet God was with him” were the words about Joseph. Similar words are spoken here of Moses. “he was lovely in the sight of God” viii. Because of the favor given to him by God, he was nurtured three months and left exposed, only to be drawn out of the water by the Pharoah's daughter and raised as an Egyptian prince. ix. Another rags to riches story, where God brought something that was nothing to be a deliverer of His people. x. He was educated in the wisdom of his day and powerful in word and deed. Much like another young man raised in a place that was not his home, by a family comprised of his enemies. e. [Slide 13] 23-25 – But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took justice for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he supposed that his brothers understood that God was granting them salvation through him, but they did not understand. i. At the age of 40, it entered into his heart – a humble way of saying that the Lord led him– that he go and visit his people. ii. How did Egypt treat his countrymen? How did they fare? iii. Not well. They were indeed oppressed. They were indeed unjustly treated. iv. He, as a righteous judge, as a ruler, he bears the sword in justice to punish the guilty and exonerate the innocent. v. Perhaps his people would see this and know that he was God's means to deliver them. vi. This little comment about Moses' suppositions is not found anywhere in the Old Testament. What is clear is that this is Stephen's editorial comment. He is drawing a parallel. vii. Moses thought that his brothers would see his justice as proof that he was God's chosen man to deliver them from their oppression. He assumed they would understand viii. But no… they did not understand. Just as Joseph's brothers did not recognize him, so the people did not follow Moses. ix. The comparison to Christ and the resistance of the Jewish leaders to follow Him… is quite obvious. f. [Slide 14] 26-29 – On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you treating one another unjustly?' 27 But the one who was treating his neighbor unjustly pushed him away, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? 28 DO YOU INTEND TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?' 29 At this remark, MOSES FLED AND BECAME A SOJOURNER IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he was the father of two sons. i. They were unconcerned about justice. ii. They had not clung to the promise of God. iii. They squabbled among each other. They did unjustly to one another. iv. And when God's anointed came to encourage them to live uprightly, they scoff at his seemingly self-appointed title of ruler and judge. v. They question his justice and wonder if the power had gone to his head. Will he dole out justice on them also? vi. And like Joseph, Moses too is cast aside. He is rejected. vii. This theme of Hebrews fighting one another to the extent that they do not recognize their ruler and deliverer… again the comparison is too obvious to miss. They have done it all again and to a much larger degree with Jesus of Nazareth. Their own Messiah. g. [Slide 15] 30-34 – And after forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT SINAI, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING BUSH. 31 When Moses saw it, he was marveling at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.' Moses trembled with fear and would not dare to look. 33 BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM, ‘REMOVE THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND. 34 I HAVE SURELY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT. i. The number 40 returns. ii. 40 years Abraham waited from promise to Isaac's birth. 40 years he waited for the smallest provision of a promise God made and even still no land was his. iii. Now with Moses, 40 years had passed between when he was in his youth, in his prime, a man of powerful word and deed, able to save his people, a man whom God considered lovely in His sight… iv. 40 years he waited in exile… before the Lord spoke to him… for the first time. v. He is approached by an angel. An angel who is God. God who speaks from a bush that although burning is never consumed. vi. He tells Moses to take off his shoes for he is on holy ground. vii. Notice that Holy ground is where God is, not where God must dwell. Wherever God is, is Holy Ground. It is not holy therefore He appears there, but it is holy by nature of Him being there. viii. God tells Moses that it is time for him to go to Egypt and deliver His people. ix. Moses, who is no longer powerful in word and deed – Moses, who is just as much Midian as he is Egyptian, Moses, who was rejected by his own people as a ruler and judge - God has chosen to go and deliver them from the oppression of the Egyptians. h. [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: As an unfortunate corollary to the previous point, although God acts alone, without law, land, or temple, to secure, save, keep, and glorify His people – men are blind and ignorant to His power and provision to save them. Joseph's brothers not only despised and rejected him, but they did not know him until he revealed himself to them. Moses was rejected by his people though chosen of God to deliver them from their oppression. Without land, without law, and without temple, His people were completely separated from Him and unable to clearly see His chosen savior. The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them about the torment of hades. But Abraham said that even if someone would rise from the dead to tell them, they would not believe. My friends, God has given men the greatest provision of all. His Son, crushed for the sins of His people and raised the third day. Nevertheless, unless He reveals Himself, none will believe. God alone will pursue His people, and it must be this way, for man's heart is incurably wicked. No man seeks after God. And would a risen Christ stand before them, would eye-witnesses of the risen Christ stand before them – they will not believe. Woe to men who cannot see what is so plain before them. They do not need a law, a land, or a temple… They need the Lord of glory to open their eyes. Conclusion: Even though this is only half of Stephen's sermon, what doctrinal takeaway can we draw from what he's said so far? What have we learned and how then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 17] With or without temple, law or land, mankind is desperately blinded to God and His purposes. As God intervenes, as He intercedes, as He sends deliverer after deliverer, and even the ultimate deliverer, His Son, man still is blind, ignorant, deaf and dumb. We are described as dead in sins. We are described as untilled soil. We are described as children of wrath and of our Father the devil. Stephen's audience needed to understand exactly this about themselves. That though they had the law, the temple, and the land – they were nothing more than interlopers. They were pretenders. They were blind men claiming they had sight. Dead men dressed in glorious robes perfumed with delightful scents. They were lost pretending as though they knew the way home. It was not their law, or their land, or their temple that was special. No. It was their God. The Glorious One. Who from ages to ages is the same. He is the great pursuer of His people. He promises and keeps His promises. He pursues each of His dear children. And His Son, the righteous One, Jesus of Nazareth is the final step in His pursuit of His people. His Son said “I will lose not one of the sheep that my Father has given me and my sheep hear my voice.” As deflating as it is to hear that men are so far from God – how delightful it is to know that God pursues us. So, if God has revealed Himself to you today – you must place your trust in Him. For He pursues His own my friends and His own hear His voice. Since Stephen's sermon is not complete as of yet, let us refrain from attempting to improve upon this point until next week. Let us just carry with us this week this truth: that in spite of our blindness to the truth, God pursues and reveals Himself to His people. He shows light to those who live in darkness. And while we were sinners He died for us. If you hear His voice, you are His sheep. Follow your shepherd. [Slide 18 (end)] Let me close with a prayer from the church father Methodius of Olympia Through him who sits on your throne, and who cannot be separated from your divine nature, you have given us the gift of reconciliation. You have granted us access to you, with confidence. True and all-powerful God, you recognize no other authority. And you have given these justifying gifts of grace as certain and unquestionable rights to those who have received mercy. This is what Isaiah meant when he said that "the Angel of his Presence saved them. In his love and compassion he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old" (Isaiah 63:9). But all this was not due to any righteous works on our part, or because we loved you. Our forefather Adam turned away from your commands, was judged unworthy of that life-giving place, and from then on the offspring of sin has been so weak. But you, Lord, by yourself and because of the indescribable love you had toward your creation, you have confirmed your mercy to us. You felt sorry for this separation from you. You were moved by the sight of our degradation, and you took us into compassion. Now a joyous festival is established for us, Adam's race, because the first creator of Adam has freely become the second Adam. And the brightness of our Lord God has come down to live with us, and we are saved. We have seen your salvation, Lord. Let us be delivered from the bent yoke of the law. We have seen the eternal King, who has no successors. Let us be free from this burdensome chain of slavery. We have seen him who is by nature our Lord and deliverer, so let us receive his deliverance decree. Set us free from the yoke of condemnation, and place us under the yoke of justification. Deliver us from the yoke of the curse, from the law that kills, and enroll us in the blessed company of those who, by the grace of your dear Son, who is of equal glory and power with you, have been received into adoption as your children. In Jesus name we pray… Amen! [Benediction] Jude 24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.” Until we meet again; go in peace.

Title: Our Shepherd Text: Acts 6:8-15 FCF: We often struggle enduring in obedience. Prop: Because God shepherds us through His purposes, we must faithfully obey the Lord. Scripture Intro: LSB [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 6. In a moment I'll read from the LSB starting in verse 8. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1236 or in whatever version you prefer. Last week, we saw how the church faced an internal problem that could have shattered it in its infancy. Instead, the Lord called and equipped leaders to wisely delegate responsibility in order to serve the body in multiple capacities. Luke shows that God is continuing to provide for and guide His church through the many perils it will face. And we saw that God continues to do that for us as well. Today, we'll only just start to see another showdown that the early church will have with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. We've seen Peter and John and the rest of the apostles stand before the Sanhedrin to preach the gospel. So far, the Jewish leaders were in the minority for viewing the church as a danger to the rest of Judaism. The church viewed itself as the next step in the Redemptive plan of God for His people. And the people of Jerusalem looked on the church with favor. But today, the tide will begin to turn. In this, we will see our God continue to guide and shepherd His church. Please stand with me out of respect for and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Transition: [Slide 2] 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. [1] Why did I just read Psalm 23? Today, we will see the Lord be this Shepherd to a man named Stephen. He will do all He promised in this psalm. And He will do the same for His church. Let's look. I.) God equips His people to do what He has called them to do, so we must faithfully obey the Lord. (8-10) a. [Slide 3] 8 – And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. i. Chronology in the book of Acts is a difficult thing to nail down at times. ii. We know that Jesus was probably crucified around AD 29-30. 40 days later he ascended and 10 days after that was the celebration of Pentecost in which the apostles were filled with the Spirit. iii. Since that event, we haven't had any real chronological markers. iv. We assume that things are happening in fairly quick succession. v. But the nearest marker we have is that we know the persecutions of Saul probably occurred somewhere between AD 33 and AD 35. That means that from the ascension of Christ to Acts chapter 8, it spans around 5 years. vi. It is difficult to know where to insert a large portion of time like this in what we've seen thus far, given the fact that every narrative chunk seems to flow from the previous. vii. To me, it seems like we could have a significant amount of time between verse 6 and verse 8. viii. In verse 7, the church grows again. This is not necessarily an indicator of time elapsing nor is many priests coming to Christ. ix. But when we arrive in verse 8 we see Stephen, who was appointed as a Deacon, now inheriting gifts that were formerly only associated with the apostles. x. Up to this point in the book of Acts, the only people who have done signs and wonders have been the apostles. It would be natural for us to assume or conclude that Stephen is no longer solely caring for the daily provision of food for widows. His role has expanded or even, perhaps, changed altogether. xi. Not that he has become an apostle. No where do we see him referred to as such, nor do we see much evidence in the book of Acts for an expansion or succession of the apostolic office. But perhaps he has moved on to a prophetic or Elder office in the church. xii. This leads us to conclude that some time has elapsed since the appointment of the first Deacons and this narrative concerning Stephen. xiii. Notice also the source of Stephen's doing great signs and wonders. Grace and power filled him. xiv. Grace especially is not something that can be earned, bought, achieved or won. Grace must be given by God specifically. Power too is something that must be gifted. Indeed, all things are gifts from God. We have nothing that He has not given us. xv. Stephen is not performing these signs and wonders because he can in and of himself. He is doing so by the power and grace of God. b. [Slide 4] 9 – But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, i. So, let's pause and ask… what is the Synagogue of the Freedmen? ii. Synagogues are places of teaching and worship that continued to be used even after the temple was rebuilt and later refurbished by Herod. They allowed Jews dispersed around the world to continue to learn and worship God and practice their Jewish faith. iii. Freedmen, would have been former slaves who had either earned or been granted their freedom. iv. Given the specialization here of a synagogue of Freedmen, it probably denotes a group of people who ither were not welcomed at other synagogues around Jerusalem. v. What follows gives us a clue as why these folks might not be welcome in other Synagogues around Jerusalem. c. [Slide 5] including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. i. Cyrene and Alexandria are areas in Northern Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean. Cilicia is located in Modern Turkey on the coast of the Mediterranean just North East of the island of Cyprus. Asia in the scriptures always refers to the Roman province of Asia, which comprises the western third of modern-day Turkey. ii. But how many people groups were represented in this Synagogue? The argument could be made that all four are part of this synagogue of the freedmen, or none of them are, or some combination. The LSB favors the Cyrenians and Alexandrians being part of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, but the other two are simply other people groups that join the argument against Stephen. I personally see all these groups as part of this Synagogue. iii. But , no matter what we conclude the irony is inescapable. iv. These men who argue with Stephen, are either Hellenized Jews, or Jewish proselytes. v. Why is that ironic? vi. Stephen, himself, was a Hellenized Jew. He was a man who had lost his Hebrew heritage and could not speak Aramaic or Hebrew. He only spoke Greek. vii. The unity of the church between Hebraic and Hellenistic Jews is now superseding even the unity among matching racial factions. Stephen has greater unity and acceptance among Hebraic Jewish Christians than he does with Hellenistic Jews. viii. But what led to the altercation between them? There are no doubt two factors here that we can point to. 1. Jews who were dispersed from Israel, born in a foreign land, Hellenized, but have chosen to return to Jerusalem to live, would have been Jews particularly zealous for the law. a. They no doubt would have been quite motivated to return to their roots. b. Perhaps they were trying to learn Hebrew and Aramaic. Perhaps they were attempting to un Hellenize themselves. c. This certainly would have caused a rift to form between Stephen and these Jews, since Stephen remains a Hellenized Jew and a part of the Nazarian sect too. 2. Second, because Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, he would go to these kinds of synagogues to teach and expound the scriptures to these folks. This would explain how this altercation came about and it would explain the ferocious extent of their attempt to destroy Stephen, more on that as we go along. ix. At first, these men merely attempt to refute Stephen's beliefs… d. [Slide 6] 10 - But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. i. Once again, the power and wisdom of Stephen is not what is on display here. ii. God is at work in this entire situation. iii. Jesus said, “Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:11-12 and in Luke 21:15 He said, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.” iv. Here we see Stephen, a man full of faith and the Spirit, a man full of wisdom, a man full of grace and power, a man supernaturally prepared… v. He is able to leave them absolutely speechless. vi. They couldn't refute his teaching. No matter how devoted to the law and the teachings of the scribes they were… his explanation of the scriptures was without flaw. e. [Slide 7] Summary of the Point: God always supernaturally equips and prepares His people to do what He has called them to do. Here we see a man, who was already full of faith, with a strong testimony of the Spirit's indwelling, and filled with godly wisdom, expend himself in the operation of the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem. While the apostles continued their work in the temple, Stephen goes forward with compassion and mercy to share the gospel to those who were not Hebraic Jews. But as well as Stephen does to stand firm in the truth, Luke makes it abundantly clear that God is the one who had equipped Him for this work. God always does this for His people. We can trust that no matter what God is calling us to do for Him… He will supply what we need to do what He has commissioned us to do. Transition: [Slide 8(blank)] So, if God has equipped Stephen to take the gospel to these people and refute their arguments, that must mean that we are about to see another Pentecost experience, right? II.) God will vindicate His people but not necessarily in this life, so we must faithfully obey the Lord. (11-15) a. [Slide 9] 11 – Then they secretly induced men to say, i. What do you do when you can't beat your opponent? ii. Cheat. iii. They began to induce, instigate, or persuade men… but not openly. Not overtly. iv. Through whispers and back alley deals they gathered men who would oppose Stephen. v. What might they convince these thugs to say that would defeat Stephen? b. [Slide 10] “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” i. It is important for us to note the progression in the story here. ii. There are really only two crimes of which these men have been persuaded to accuse Stephen. iii. And they are summarized in this brief statement. But as we go forward, we will see them testify before the Sanhedrin. What we must understand is that these are not additional charges but rather further expressions of these same crimes mentioned right here in verse 11. iv. Blasphemy against Moses or against the law of Moses would be treated as blasphemy. To attack what God had given as His law would be to blaspheme God indirectly. v. But they also accuse Stephen of blaspheming God directly too. We'll see how specifically in a few moments. vi. Blasphemy is a crime punishable by stoning. It is a very serious crime if proven true. vii. In other words, these men were persuaded secretly to spread a lie that could see the man they were to lie about… put to death. viii. Knowing that these men were particularly zealous to return to the Jewish roots, their hatred for Stephen and the Nazarian sect was no doubt a development of and a response to the Sanhedrin's dealings with the apostles. This group wants to appear to the Sanhedrin, that although they are Hellenized, they desire not to be. ix. But this was not all they did. It wasn't enough to have men lie about him, saying he was blaspheming. c. [Slide 11] 12 – And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, i. They also incited a mob. ii. No doubt using the testimony of these men persuaded secretly, they encouraged the people, the elders, and the experts in the law, to come out against Stephen. iii. This is another reason that this narrative portion seems later in time than what we have covered thus far. The people seemed to be generally in favor of the apostles and the teaching of the Nazarian sect up to this point. All of a sudden, things are beginning to change. iv. There are a lot of layers to this that Luke does not provide for us. So, we must pay close attention to the details he has provided. They are the key. v. Remember, Jewish priests were beginning to convert to this new sect. vi. Hellenized Jews and Hebraic Jews are allowing their differences to coexist while they love each other. vii. We might see these people's actions as extreme, and indeed they are, but when we realize that the perception of this Jesus movement is shifting, we recognize that even the people are starting to believe that this Nazarian sect may not be a sect at all… but rather… a schism. viii. That instead of this being another party or denomination of Judaism – this may actually be a dangerous and false teaching. ix. It would be the difference between comparing a Baptist Church to a Wesleyan church and comparing a Baptist Church to the Mormon Church. In the first comparison, we see a Wesleyan church as generally our brothers but not agreeing on enough points to be part of the same local body. But in the second comparison, Mormons teach a heretical doctrine and do not conform to the foundational creeds of the Christian church. Therefore, they are not even Christians. x. Up to this point the Jews in Jerusalem and even the Jewish Christians themselves saw this Jesus movement to be like the Baptist/Wesleyan comparison. But the tide is turning. Perception is changing. xi. My friends, the lies these Hellenistic Jews drew up about Stephen, were hitting a little too close to home. It played upon the growing fears of the Jews in Jerusalem. xii. The growing sentiment in Jerusalem was that the Sanhedrin was right. This WAS a dangerous teaching. And the name of Jesus WAS something quite different than Judaism. xiii. Even though the church enjoyed the relative favor of the people for a time… Luke shows us that such favor was never guaranteed to continue. d. [Slide 12] And they came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to the Sanhedrin. i. Since these were serious fears and serious charges, the only place they could take him would be to the Sanhedrin. ii. They could not take him to the Roman authorities, for they would care very little about the crime of blasphemy. iii. But since this is a trial before a Jewish court, there must be 2 or three witnesses to accuse someone of a crime that would result in the death penalty. iv. Not to worry, our very zealous Hellenistic Jews are at it again. e. [Slide 13] 13-14 – And they put forward false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” i. We must pay particular attention to the nature of their charges against Stephen. They will help us to understand Stephen's response next week. ii. The governing accusation they submitted was blasphemy against Moses and God. iii. Specifically, he would not stop speaking against the holy place and the law. So, the blasphemy against God is against His dwelling place, ie the temple. Blasphemy against Moses is against the law of Moses. iv. But this narrows still further. 1. Blasphemy against God – speaking against the temple – is attributed to Stephen saying that Jesus would destroy the temple. 2. Blasphemy against Moses – speaking against the law – is attributed to altering customs which were handed down from Moses. v. Already we are starting to see that calling this blasphemy is a bit of a stretch. It is the final two accusations to which Stephen will reply. vi. But isn't there a kernel of truth in what they said? vii. It is difficult to know why exactly these witnesses were “false.” viii. Jesus Himself said, tear this temple down and in three days I will rebuild it. Of course, He did not say that HE would tear it down, and he was talking about His body and His resurrection. ix. And Jesus had also prophesied about the future destruction of the temple in AD 70. An event still future even to Luke as he penned this book. x. And we know that Christians did eventually begin to alter the customs handed down from Moses, especially for gentile believers. xi. We see Gentiles and Jews not being obligated to maintain dietary laws. And gentiles are not obligated to bear the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. xii. We know that Jesus Himself said that He had come to fulfill the law. xiii. Jesus also told the Samaritan woman that there would come a day where people would worship God not on their mountain or in Jerusalem but in Spirit and truth. They will worship God through His Messiah. Him. xiv. Meaning that even the temple would lose its significance as the center of the worship of Yahweh. xv. All this, of course, does not mean that the law was null and void or that the temple should be burned. Rather it meant that Jesus perfectly obeyed the whole law and became a new representative for His people. Giving them His righteousness. And in that, the sacrifices, which never truly took away sin, and which only pictured the final sacrifice of Christ, would eventually become unnecessary. xvi. So, we see that what these men testified about what Stephen had said, could have some truth to it. xvii. If so, why would Luke call them false witnesses? xviii. Most likely because they are misrepresenting the meaning of what Stephen said. As we already mentioned, Jesus never said HE would destroy the temple, but merely that it would be destroyed or if it was destroyed, He would raise it again. Jesus does not alter the law of Moses, but He does fulfill it, rendering portions of it complete and therefore expired. xix. So as an act of Jewish zealousness these men persuaded people to accuse Stephen of blasphemy, gathered a mob to drag him to a trial, and found false witnesses to twist his words to paint him in the worst light – all to charge him with a crime that requires his execution. xx. Wow. That is some cold-hearted hatred there. xxi. It appears that the Jews whom Isaiah prophesied about in Isaiah 59, are still the same. There he said “Their feet run to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood;” Indeed, two sins the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:17 is a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood. Here, these Jews have both. f. [Slide 14] 15 – And fixing their gaze on him, all who were seated in the Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel. i. It is difficult to know what to make of this comment by Luke. ii. What we struggle to understand is why they were gazing at him and what it means that he had the face of an angel. iii. If his face shown like an angelic being then we might know why they were gazing at him. However, it seems that they were gazing at him first. iv. Perhaps they were looking for some body language or facial feedback from him as the testimony against him mounted? v. As for the face of an angel, it seems best to understand this in the mystical way. vi. Some have tried to say that his face was innocent looking or that he was young or handsome or powerful… but it seems best to conclude that his face was glowing – much like Moses' face. vii. Such a tie to Moses could subtly suggest that rather than blaspheming the law of Moses, he was the only faithful interpreter of the law in the room that day. viii. It is God's testimony in the case against Stephen, that he was innocent and his judges were guilty. g. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: As a contrasting point to our previous point, although God does equip His dear children to face all that He has called them to do on this earth, that does not mean that men will favor us. No, the second truth we see is that God will ultimately vindicate His children, even if or when they are criminalized, ostracized, villainized, or demonized by men. God will clothe the bride of His Son with white robes which are their righteous deeds. One day all the world will know the righteousness of His people. Not a righteousness they have of their own, but one that has been gifted to them by the merits of Christ. Though men call us guilty – For the sake of Christ, God has declared us innocent. Though men shame us – For the sake of Christ, God has exalted us. Though men strip us of power – For the sake of Christ, God will glorify us to reign with His Son. Transition: Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how shall we live? What doctrinal takeaway can we arrive at today? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 16] God is a shepherd who looks after His people. He walks with them to still water. He guides them with His staff. He sets out a table before their enemies. God is a God who leads His children through the valley of the shadow of death. No matter what God has called us to do, no matter what command He has given, and no matter what danger He leads us into, He is there with us for every single step. Even when everyone else abandons us. Even when others hate us. God will deliver us safely into His Kingdom where we will be honored and rewarded for our obedience. What does this mean for us? It means, Christian, that we have no excuse for not obeying our Lord, wherever He may lead us. We must faithfully obey the Lord in all that He has commanded, and follow Him wherever He may lead. But let us improve on this point with more specific applications for our daily life. 1.) [Slide 17] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” I actually have two of these this week. First, we must deny that Stephen was some sort of special super-Christian naturally capable of this task. a. In this text we see Stephen performing signs and wonders. We see his teachings of Christ holding up against the strictest scrutiny. We see him accused of blasphemy, dragged to court, and falsely accused. b. In all of this we might be tempted to look at Stephen with deep admiration. We might be tempted to see Stephen as a special person in the history of the church. A super-Christian worthy of our applause. c. But my friends, Luke bends over backward here to make sure we don't do such things. d. I'd like to think that Stephen, if we were able to talk to him today, would rebuke us for thinking such things. e. My friends, Stephen was filled with grace and power. He was indwelled by the Spirit. He was full of faith. He was full of wisdom. And He was given an angelic face. f. What is the common thread of all of these traits? g. Is it not that God had gifted them to Him? h. My friends, the hero of this story is not Stephen. Stephen is just a man. A follower of Christ. Just like you and I. i. He was a man called to bear witness to Christ. Like you and I. j. He was a man called to have an answer for the faith in Him. Just like you and I. k. Stephen isn't special. Stephen isn't significant. l. Stephen's Savior… is. 2.) [Slide 18] Refutation: Secondly, we must deny that God giving us grace and power means that we will be spared from deep pain and tribulation on this earth. a. Although God gave Stephen grace and power, and although God transfigured Stephen's face to shine like Moses' face. b. God did not spare Stephen the hardship of being falsely accused, dragged to court, and slandered before many witnesses. c. If we truly confess that God is sovereign, even over the wills of men, then we must also believe that Stephen being treated unjustly was part of God's plan for his life. d. To the extent that when we read that Stephen was full of grace and power, one of the reasons he was filled with these was to ensure that he could hold up under this injustice. e. God's favor on us does not mean that we will never experience heartache, mistreatment, abuse, misfortune, or deep anguish. My friends, some of the most graced and faith filled people through the church age, have suffered deeper wounds than any of us will ever face. f. God's favor oftentimes is not to spare us pain… but rather to see us through it. 3.) [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must give an answer for the hope we have in us. a. Stephen goes to those whom he has much in common. b. He goes to those who are Hellenized Jews, and speaks to the truth of Jesus the Messiah of God. c. He teaches them about Jesus' death and resurrection. He teaches them about the fulfillment of the law of Moses in the life and death of Christ. He teaches them about the sacrifices never taking away sin but how Christ did with His sacrifice. d. And he stood strong against their rebuttals. He knew the scriptures well and left them without an answer. e. We too must do this. f. We too must go to those to whom we are closest. Our neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, those who do not know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must do so to the best of our ability, giving an answer to those who might dispute the truth of the gospel. g. Some of you may be squirming here. How am I supposed to do that? How am I supposed to be ready to give an answer to those who try to refute the gospel? h. That brings us to our next application. 4.) [Slide 20] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop worrying about what we will say or do when we face resistance or rejection. a. There are certainly things we can do to prepare ourselves. We can study and know the gospel well. We can know God's Word well. b. We can use others in the church as iron to sharpen us. c. But going back to our first point – we must first and primarily ask the Lord for grace and help in these times. d. We have a responsibility to be ready – but God also will equip us for this work too. e. God equips His people to do mighty works. Stephen is just another in a long line before and after him who were equipped by God by grace and power to do mighty deeds for His glory. f. The author of Hebrews invites us to boldly approach God's throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for help in a time of need. g. James tells us that if we lack wisdom we should ask. h. Jesus tells us that if we have faith as big as a mustard seed, we can command mountains. i. My friends, the common thread is that we as God's people live and die, succeed and fail, on the provision of our great and mighty God. j. Nothing Stephen did is beyond what you and I are able to do in the grace and power of God. k. Indeed, we may soon be called to do exactly as Stephen did. l. And we may not feel equipped for such a task now… but those who trust the Lord, and seek Him for wisdom and grace… will be equipped for all He calls us to do for His name. m. And that includes answering those who dispute the gospel message. 5.) [Slide 21] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God will deliver us safely to His Kingdom where we will be made to be like His Son… forever. a. Although we may have great difficulty in this life, and face much opposition… we know that this life is not the end. b. This world is not our home. c. One day we will open our eyes and behold the beauty and majesty of our Loving Lord. d. One day we will stand before His throne declared a good and faithful servant of the Lord Most High. e. One day our good deeds will be revealed for all to see. f. One day we will wear the white robes of Christ's righteousness and all who opposed us and our God will be ashamed and silenced. g. It will be worth it all… my friends… when we see Jesus. [Slide 22(end)] Let me close with a Prayer by the Puritan Robert Hawker. Grant, dearest Lord, that though we still live in this world, yet never, never may we forget our relationship to You. Though we are outcasts, yet we are Jesus' outcasts. Lord, be our hiding place, so that You are all we need, like “streams of water in a dry place; like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.” Oh, for a word, a whisper of Jesus. We cannot live without it. We dare not let You go, unless You bless us. None of all the past enjoyments or experiences will do us any good, until You again shine upon our souls. Come then, Lord Jesus! We fly to You as our God, our Savior, our Portion, our All! We see our daily, hourly, continual need of You. You are our hope and Savior! Keep us, Lord, near You, for without You we are nothing. Precious Jesus, help us to see our clear part in You, from our union with You. And dear Lord, make us so strong in Your strength, that during the whole period of our present warfare, we may be “awesome as an army with banners” to all who would oppose our way to You, and in You. Yes, Lord! Let sin, and Satan, and the world, be united against us; yet put on us the whole armor of God, that we may “fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life,” and be made “more than conquerors through the One who loved us” In Jesus name we pray… Amen! [1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 23:1–6.

Title: Called and Equipped Text: Acts 6:1-7 FCF: We often struggle submitting to leadership. Prop: Because God has established and equipped leaders to unify His church toward His will, we must submit to godly leadership. Scripture Intro: ESV [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 6. In a moment we will read starting in verse 1 from the English Standard Version. You can follow in the pew bible on page 1236 or in your preferred version. We are right on the cusp of transitioning to the expansion of the church. Very soon we will see the church burst out from the walls of Jerusalem. But before we get to that, both chronologically and thematically, Luke needs to show us how the church handled a problem that truly came from within. We've seen issues arise from the church's interaction with the Jewish leadership. That isn't done yet, but the Lord has preserved them. We've also seen fake Christians attempt to lie to the Spirit of God in order to profit. In this also, the Lord guarded His church. Today, we will see a problem arise truly from within the church and we will see God deal with the issue in a subtly supernatural way. Please stand with me both out of respect for and to focus on the reading of God's Word. Transition: We have a lot to get to today. So, let's waste no time. I.) God has established and equipped officers of His church to guide it, so we must submit to godly leadership. (1-4) a. [Slide 2] 1 - Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, i. The opening statement in this section “now in these days” seems to bind it more closely to the events we completed in Acts 5. ii. Despite the Jewish leadership's antagonism and even their certainty that the Nazarian sect will die out… the opposite is proving true. They continue to grow. iii. But the more people you have, the easier it is for some to fall through the cracks. b. [Slide 3] A complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews i. We need to understand exactly what is happening here and in order to do so we need to know a little about Hebrew culture in the 1st century. ii. When Alexander the Great conquered the known world around 330 BC, he also spread Greek culture throughout the empire. Greek religion, philosophy, language, values, art and literature flourished in places that it never had before. iii. But what happens when you fill a glass half full of clear water with red Kool-Aid? Do the contents of the cup remain clear or does it start turning red? It turns doesn't it. iv. As Greek influence filled and stayed in these places, it began replacing and even superseding the culture of the native people groups. v. In Jerusalem and the surrounding area, there was a movement to prevent this and keep Hebrew culture thriving. But some Jews succumbed to the influence of Greek culture and lost their ability to speak Hebrew and Aramaic. vi. They spoke only Greek. They became… Hellenized. vii. This caused a lot of bigotry and preferential treatment among Jews. Jews that could not speak Hebrew or at least Aramaic were treated as less than Hebrew. They weren't quite Jewish. viii. Even a cursory reading through the gospels reveals a Jewish nation who prides themselves in a pure bloodline. They disdained the Samaritans for having mixed with non-Jews. Hellenized Jews were treated similarly. ix. And now it seems that this prejudice is seeping into the church. x. How specifically? c. [Slide 4] Because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. i. So, we need to understand what the daily distribution is and why widows were included in this. ii. Widows and orphans were among the neediest in their day. Women could not own property or be the sole proprietor of a business. Therefore, when their husband died their possessions would be distributed among their male family members first. iii. It would be the responsibility of the family to care for widows – but as it is today, many found ways to neglect their duties. Still others had no family to care for them. iv. The church took the initiative to care for widows among them by taking food to them each day. v. In this process, the Greek speaking Jewish Christians were not being taken meals. vi. This escalated into a complaint. Luke does not say whether or not the people brought this complaint to the apostles or if the apostles just heard about it through the grapevine. vii. In one way or another the apostles become aware of this problem. d. [Slide 5] 2 – And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, i. The apostles spring to action. They deem this compliant important enough to act on without delay. ii. They summon the full number of the disciples. iii. It is difficult to know exactly what this may mean. iv. It stretches believability to think that there would be a place in Jerusalem they would be able to gather around 7-15 thousand people together to address this issue. v. The words “full number” means a large number or a group large enough to distribute information quickly to the whole or a number able to reach some sort of decision with. vi. When we see this word in this context it has the sense of a quorum or meeting the number of people needed to do business. vii. This suggests that the church had representatives. Perhaps we see the makings here of the local assemblies and their respective Elders gathered under the direction of the apostles. viii. This seems to make the most sense. That the disciples gathered were those who were the spiritual heads and representatives of smaller bodies throughout the city of Jerusalem. ix. Notice Luke does not record any sort of discussion here. There is no debate or brainstorming session. x. The apostles speak and the representatives listen. e. [Slide 6] “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. i. The apostles establish the proper priorities of their office. ii. The thought of them giving up preaching the Word of God to make this problem go away is completely unacceptable. iii. Preaching God's Word is of absolute priority. Both teaching in homes and preaching in the temple. This must continue and they must focus on this. iv. Waiting tables or serving tables does not take our modern connotation of being a waiter or waitress. Instead, we can easily derive the meaning from the context – that they are providing food for widows. v. As noble as a task as it is to provide food to widows… the apostles recognize that preaching the Word is a greater priority. One that they cannot sacrifice. vi. THEY must preach the Word of God. vii. But rather than seeking the advice of the gathering, the apostles have already arrived at a wise solution to the problem. f. [Slide 7] 3 – Therefore brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. i. Again, the apostles tell these men how to go forward. We are not told of any discussion or voting. They simply told these representatives to do this. ii. They must choose seven men. The word used here is not Anthropos which would be more ambiguous on gender, meaning mankind. iii. The word used here is Aner, which can mean man or husband. iv. A ministry to widows seems to be a great opportunity to employ the managerial skills of women, yet the apostles chose to hand this to men. This is not a definitive proof that the office of Deacon should only be men – but it is an argument in favor of that interpretation. v. These men must be of good repute. They must have a good reputation. vi. They must be full of the Spirit – meaning they have a marked life that is easy to see the Spirit's indwelling influence in their life. vii. They must be full of wisdom too, knowing God's perspective of the world and acting in that same perspective. viii. We notice that these men's ability to carry large sacks of food or run long distances is not listed as a qualification. ix. This is most likely because these men were not the ones that were going to be delivering the food. x. In fact, the food was already being delivered. xi. They were simply bringing organization and order to an already functioning ministry that needed to be better managed and organized. g. [Slide 8] 4 – But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” i. The apostles reaffirm their devotion to the priorities that mattered most. ii. They were going to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. iii. These take the highest priority for the apostles. And for every church following this, we should fight to preserve these as our highest priorities. iv. One final point before we summarize what we've learned. v. Scholars disagree over whether the neglect of the Hellenistic Jewish Christian widows was intentional prejudice or accidental. 1. After weighing the evidence, it seems best to conclude that this was accidental. 2. Not that such prejudice was impossible among God's people. We saw warnings against prejudice when we studied James. 3. I conclude that it was accidental for several reasons in this text, the first of which we have already seen. 4. If this was indeed a purposeful neglect out of prejudice and bigotry, why did the apostles attempt to put a band-aid on the problem? 5. Outsourcing this issue to 7 men to deal with for them seems like a big-time cop out. 6. Furthermore, they identify the issue as waiting on tables. Serving food is the issue. But if this was intentional neglect – serving tables isn't really the issue any more, is it? 7. There is another big reason to conclude this was accidental but we'll get to that in a bit. h. [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: God has always equipped members of His Covenant community with what is necessary to lead and manage the community toward godliness and holiness. God supplied Moses, priests, the Levites, military leaders, Judges, Kings, Prophets and apostles. And God continues to supply Evangelists, Elders, and Deacons to grow, lead, and manage His people. He has not left a vacuum of leadership, nor has He refused to gift those in these positions with wisdom, compassion, mercy, humility, knowledge and holiness. The church must continue to look to godly leaders to guide and manage them toward becoming a holy community. Transition: [Slide 10 (blank)] But God not only appointed and equipped these leaders to wisely lead His church. He also equipped them through that wisdom to unify His church in the love of Christ. II.) God equips godly leaders to unify His church in the love of Christ, so we must submit to godly leadership. (5-7) a. [Slide 11] 5 – And what they said pleased the whole gathering i. The apostles' direction and leadership on this issue was recognized by the whole gathered assembly of representatives. ii. We ought not infer from this that there was some kind of vote here to accept what the apostles said as the direction they needed to go. As if the church could override the decision of the apostles. iii. Instead, the purpose of this statement speaks more to the wisdom of the apostles and the trust the rest of the church had for their leadership. In a word, this statement is about the unity of the church. iv. The church trusted her leaders and her leaders were trustworthy. v. This is the point of this comment. vi. And we should recognize the wisdom of the apostles too. vii. Out of all the things that they could have done to solve this problem, from telling the Hellenistic Jews to get over it and stop being so needy, to meeting with everyone who supplied food to find who was really to blame so they could be punished, to eliminating the ministry altogether… viii. This seems like a very, VERY wise answer to the need. b. [Slide 12] And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, i. Stephen is very obviously singled out here. ii. He is the only person in the list who has any character comments attached to him. iii. The easiest explanation for this is simple foreshadowing by Luke. He intends to relate the story of Stephen's sermon to the Sanhedrin and his subsequent martyrdom in a few short verses. iv. We can also probably assume that Stephen was something of a leader among the seven. That would not be too great a leap for us. v. Stephen appearing at the head of the list here links both the previous section of problems in the church with the next section of expansion of the church from Jerusalem. vi. When we get to Stephen's sermon in chapter 7, we'll notice quickly how he is truly a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He speaks as eloquently as Peter. And he speaks with passion, truth, and mercy. vii. More on Stephen next week. c. [Slide 13] And Phillip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, i. The next 5 names in the list are given without details concerning them. ii. Each name has a meaning but it is unlikely that we can derive any description of the man from the meaning of their name. iii. These 5 are all thought to be men of good reputation, who are full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom. d. [Slide 14] and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. i. The last name is the only name given any details besides Stephen. ii. The description of Nicolaus is that he is a proselyte from Antioch. iii. By Antioch, Luke no doubt refers to Antioch of Syria. It would be the closest Antioch to Jerusalem, northwest up the coast of the Mediterranean, close to present day Turkey. iv. But what is a proselyte? v. A proselyte is a general term to refer to someone who left a former life and began a new one. vi. We could replace the word with “convert”. vii. But to what was Nicolaus converted? It would not be Christianity or even the Nazarian sect of Judaism. Because that would be true of everyone in this list. viii. What Luke is showing us is… that Nicolaus was a gentile, a former pagan, who converted to Judaism. After converting to Judaism, he received Christ to continue and complete his pursuit of the Jewish faith. ix. This is an important detail for Luke to mention to us. Nicolaus is the first non-ethnic-Jew that we have seen among the members of the church. x. So far, we've seen the gospel call go to Jews in Jerusalem, Jews from all parts of the world, and now… we see the gospel call go to Jews who were not ethnically Jewish but who were religiously Jewish. Like Nicolaus. xi. Although it is not as dramatic as pagans converting straight to Christ, it is more foreshadowing that the gospel call is expanding beyond the Jews. xii. This complete list of seven men is another point in the argument that the neglect of the Greek Speaking Jewish Christian widows was accidental. 1. All seven names… are Greek names. One of them isn't even ethnically a Jew. 2. The church took seven Hellenistic Jews and put them in charge of making sure that the distribution went out to every single widow in need. 3. The Hebraic Jewish widows' needs were already being met. They needed to make sure the others were met too. 4. This is a sign that the church recognized their accidental error and sought to make sure it never happened again. e. [Slide 15] 6 – These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid hands on them. i. Even though the church was given the opportunity to choose from among themselves men to do this task, the apostles maintained the exclusive authority to approve or disapprove of their choices. ii. But the men set before them were men who had stood out among the early church as men full of wisdom and the Spirit. Men who had a good reputation. iii. So, the apostles laid their hands on them, praying over them, blessing them and commissioning them into service in their role. iv. And what was the result of this? f. [Slide 16] 7 – And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, i. The problem was resolved without the need for the apostles to stop preaching and teaching. ii. The apostles kept holding their primary duties as primary. iii. They kept teaching and preaching God's Word and men and women continued to come to Christ. iv. But also, the integrity of the church shined forth for all to see. v. Two groups of people who notoriously held prejudices against one another, were now harmoniously dwelling and caring for one another. g. [Slide 17] And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. i. Let's take the back end of the verse first. ii. What does it mean to be obedient to the faith? iii. There are other expressions in the scriptures such as “obey the gospel” which sound similar to this. iv. The gospel is summarized by Paul when he states that he preached Christ crucified for sinners. v. Therefore, to obey the gospel is to live as though all that is true. 1. This must first include repentance, since we must first recognize we are sinners and forsake our sin. 2. This must then include desperate dependance on Christ who died to both take our penalty for sinning and to give us His righteous standing before God. vi. And so, what Luke means when he says they became obedient to the gospel is that many priests were converting to Christ. vii. But another question we must ask about this strange ending comment is, what is its significance? viii. It is difficult to know what Luke intends for us to see from this comment. ix. Many commentators point out that beyond Jerusalem and the aristocratic priestly line, most priests tended to be less dogmatic on the divide between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. With some commentators even speculating that many more rural priests would have favored the Pharisaical party's position. A position that seems to be easier to reconcile with the doctrines the apostles were preaching. x. They also would point out that most of these priests would be quite poor, working in some trade to earn a living waiting for their 2 weeks of service a year in the temple. xi. Thus, the comment about many priests coming to Christ is remarkable mainly because the church was a charitable organization ministering to the poor which drew the attention of the poor priests. xii. What I found dissatisfying about most commentators' understanding of this point was that they were all quite quick to leave Jerusalem to find and focus on these priests. xiii. Luke does not tell us that these priests were from outside the city. And he just got done saying that disciples continued to multiply in… JERUSALEM. xiv. Everything Luke has said about the priests up to this point has indicated a strong resistance to the teachings of the early church. And certainly, everything that follows shows a persisting resistance to its teachings. xv. I find the concept of poor priests drawn to the church because of their charity – somewhat hollow and fairly earth bound in a book that has so far focused on supernatural means to the success of the church. xvi. Therefore, I have an alternate idea of why this final comment of Luke's is significant. xvii. We remarked before that the priests were predominantly Sadducean in their outlook. xviii. I would suggest that Luke intends us to see that many of that persuasion were now converting to Christ. xix. The natural question we have is… why? Certainly, by the power of God. But why now? xx. This little comment by Luke I believe speaks to the testimony of the apostles, the Elders, the newly established Deacons, and the church as a whole. xxi. Despite the doctrinal differences between the church and the priests, the priests could find no natural reason that such a group of people could so easily set aside decades of racial prejudice to live in love with one another. xxii. No other group of Jews had ever been able or even desired to live in such love and harmony so as to solve the differences between Hebraic Jews clinging to their heritage and Hellenistic Jews who had lost or abandoned their heritage. xxiii. And now… this new sect of Judaism. This rapidly growing, miracle powered, explosive movement, has somehow solved this issue. xxiv. Such change requires supernatural intervention. Gamaliel said that if this plan or undertaking is of God, then nothing could stop it. As if he were a prophet, he foreshadows a difficulty sure to shatter the fledgling movement… and instead of racial prejudice breaking the church… it flourishes instead. xxv. Now all of a sudden, these Sadducean leaning priests are saying… “it must be of God then.” xxvi. But if Sadducean priests are coming to Christ now, how do you think that is going to go with the Sanhedrin? xxvii. More on that next week. h. [Slide 18] Summary of the Point: The second point builds on the first. Not only has God supplied and equipped His church with individuals who can lead and manage them toward holiness. But also, through wise and godly leadership, God unifies His church around the bond of the blood of Christ. Old hatreds and prejudices die. From the leadership of the church all the way down to Hellenistic Jewish widows, the love of Christ reigns. God used the unity of this diverse group of people to humble many priests and call them to Himself. And He can do the same today with you and I. Through wise and Christlike leadership, the Lord can stir up the bond of love and peace among His people. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Let's break all this down to a doctrinal takeaway this morning. Doctrinal takeaway: [Slide 19] God appoints and equips leaders of His church to wisely guide and unify them in the love of Christ. No other organization, group, club, nation, or gathering of any kind functions this way, for no other gathering is headed up by The Lord of all Creation. His servants, though they be mere men, are graced with wisdom and calling to do His will. Elders and Deacons alike are qualified by God to provide spiritual guidance and manage potential roadblocks to ministry. This produces love and peace among the body. Which in turn, creates an entity that the world cannot ignore. An entity that even the most stubborn of hearts cannot help but marvel at. God uses such an entity to call more of His people out from the darkness into His light. We are a city on a hill shining forth into the darkness. In response to this, it is incumbent upon the church to submit to and follow their godly leadership, trusting that the Lord is equipping them to guide them into truth, eliminate issues that would prevent God's people from ministering to one another, and stir up love and peace among the body. Let me improve this doctrinal takeaway by looking at a few ways this truth impacts us today. 1.) [Slide 20] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that prayer and preaching and teaching God's Word is our church's highest priority. a. The church through the course of history and certainly included in that would be the church of America, has committed themselves to do and be a great many things. b. In the state of Michigan churches are classified as charitable organizations. They do not need to apply for this status. All they must do is prove that they are an ecclesiastical organization and they are granted that status. c. Why is that? d. Simply put, the church has had a long history of solving social ills and charitably giving to those in need. e. This is a beautiful and necessary function of the church. Especially toward one another. f. We see it on full display here with the church caring for widows who are unable to care for themselves. g. But the apostles were not willing to set aside prayer and the preaching and teaching of God's Word in order to devote themselves to making sure widows were being fed. h. This reveals two things to us. i. First, it reveals that the apostles believed that they were specifically called by Christ to pass on His teachings to the church and preach the gospel to the lost. i. They were not willing to be distracted from their calling, no matter how noble a purpose it may have been. ii. They recognized the priority in their own lives that Christ had placed on them to preach and teach His commands. iii. Although they no doubt have been passing on these teaching responsibilities to others (as we will see with Stephen next week), it did not free them to do other things… for prayer and preaching and teaching God's Word was their calling. j. Second, it reveals the necessary priority of the preaching and teaching of the word of God in the church. i. As noble as a work as it was to care for widows. Pure and undefiled religion as James says. ii. Such charitable acts cannot overtake a ministry to be the sum total of their identity. iii. Churches are not primarily charitable organizations. They are centers of worship and discipleship. iv. Any church that does not place prayer and the teaching and preaching of God's Word as the highest priority– runs the risk of losing what it is to be a church. v. God's people gather to commune with Him. They do this by hearing from Him and speaking to Him. These are ordinary means by which God ministers to and grows His children. vi. That is, primarily, and necessarily, why we exist. vii. To focus our efforts, CBC, on any other task, no matter how noble, is to miss the point of what it means to be His church. 2.) [Slide 21] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” I actually have two of these this morning. First, we must deny that the most qualified men to be deacons are the ones who are gifted in physical strengths and skills. a. The job set before Stephen and the rest, was one of a physical care problem. They were not teaching the scriptures to these widows. They were not going house to house raising a bible study or administering the Lord's Supper. b. Instead, their job included organizing people, their schedules, the food collection, food storage, the routes for food distribution, adding names to the list, taking names off, gathering new volunteers, volunteer training, volunteer improvement and correction, budget management for purchasing more food, and perhaps many other duties. c. If you and I were setting up qualifications for such a person, we might be tempted to establish a VERY different list of qualifications for such men. d. First, we might look exclusively for women, since many women excel at such tasks. Second, we might be looking for managerial skills, people skills, financial skills. We might look for someone who knows the city well, the back roads, the alleyways. We might look for someone who is a good business man and can get discount prices on food. e. But the apostles set the qualifications. Seven men, full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. f. My friends, although the office of the Deacon is predominantly related to earthly matters… there is a resoundingly spiritual component to their role. g. And the fact of the matter is, no matter how well someone can do plumbing, electrical, or landscaping… they will be ill equipped to manage God's people toward love and unity if they are not godly people. h. We must forever dismiss this idea from our minds, that Deacons must be equipped with physical earth-bound skills. For that is simply not true. They must be godly. That is their qualifications. i. As we seek the Lord for the reception of more Deacons in the future, we must focus on their spiritual strength and not their physical skills. 3.) [Slide 22] Refutation: Secondly, we must deny that the best way to arrive at the right answer is by consensus. a. We notice in this text that consensus follows the solution. It does not precede it. b. The apostles stated the problem, their inability to meet it, and their instructions for solving the problem. c. And when the church leaders put forward 7 men to serve in the capacity which the apostles directed, the apostles ultimately approved and appointed the men to do the work laid out before them. d. Because of our American heritage, we naturally assume that the best way to arrive at the best solution to a problem is to come to some kind of consensus. To get in a room and discuss all our options until the best one emerges. We verify it is the best by the number of people that support it. e. How shocking to discover that the early church did not function this way. f. Some suggest that is because their society was not ready for a system of government where all have a vote to determine policy and direction. g. The problem with that is that both a democracy and a republic had existed before Jesus was born. To say that the 1st century church was unaware of these forms of government is to ignore the fact that Rome and Greece before it operated this way. h. If God desired to establish a democracy to operate His church, he needed only to point to the Greeks. If it were to operate like Republic, He needed only to point to the early days of Rome. i. Instead, the apostles, based on the wisdom and love of God, make the decisions and leave it to the church leaders to implement them. j. In this God has made it abundantly clear that it is not raw consensus that leads us to the best solutions. Instead, it is consensus among men who are qualified and called of God to lead His people. This is what leads us to the best solutions. k. That is not to say that there is no place for consensus among the people. Certainly, after the apostles put forward their solution, it pleased the community leaders. But this speaks less of the power and authority of the consensus and more of the wisdom and direction of the apostles. l. The bottom line is this… God has not given us instruction to govern our churches where the majority wins. Instead, God has called and qualified godly men to lead His people, earning trust while being trusted. m. This leads us naturally to our next application. 4.) [Slide 23] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must trust and submit to our godly leaders. a. The commands to submit to Elders make absolutely no sense if God has designed His church to operate as a democracy. Just as it would make no sense for a wife to submit to her husband but have an equal vote in the decision making, nor a slave to submit to his master but have an equal vote in his employment. b. This is why God has given us the qualifications for who a person must be if he is qualified to be an Elder. c. Although every man must strive for each characteristic, it is only some whom God graces to have those characteristics. God ultimately calls and equips those whom He desires to lead His church. d. It is the church's responsibility to receive, trust, and submit to their godly leaders. e. Much like a relationship of a husband to a wife – this is not without mutual trust and mutual submission. f. The apostles could have appointed the men themselves, yet they delegated and entrusted this task with the individual community leaders. g. This shows a give and take relationship between church leaders and those they lead. h. But we cannot allow the pendulum to swing too far. For it is the churches' responsibility to pray for and submit to their Leaders. i. This does not mean that they are never to be questioned or investigated. It doesn't mean that they will never be wrong. But generally speaking, the Lord will make His will known by the consensus of godly men He has called to lead. j. The church must bring complaints, issues, problems, disagreement, and concerns to the leadership… but trust God to work in and through them to arrive at the best answer for the community. k. Elders too must submit to one another. Even when they are outvoted. l. Submission is not easy… but it is a highly biblical concept. m. I can state this application not as a corrective… for I think generally speaking, despite having only had Elders leading for a year and a half, you are a fairly submissive church. n. But this application goes out for all of us. We must submit to those whom God has called and qualified to lead. 5.) [Slide 24] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must not give in to knee jerk reactions when things go wrong. a. Elders, I speak to us specifically with this one. And to myself especially. i. We must resist the urge to respond impetuously on matters of difficulty within the church. ii. It is easy to see how the apostles could have over or under reacted to this issue. iii. I can see myself brow beating the Hellenists for being too soft. I can see myself desiring to find out who messed up and chew them out. I can see myself ending the ministry and counting it as lost. iv. The apostles took a path of great compassion and mercy. One that we must tread if we are to lead these wonderful saints whose souls we are caring for. v. The apostles creatively came up with a solution without dismissing or exacerbating the problem. vi. Brothers, we should aim for such a mark. vii. Let us move forward, relying on God's grace, to be as wise as they were in addressing issues that arise among our people. b. But CBC, I'll address you in this too. i. Notice the church complained. ii. The difference between a godly complaint and an ungodly complaint has to do with both the audience of your complaining and your willingness to find contentment no matter the outcome of your complaining. iii. When church members bring a complaint to other church members, family members, friends, neighbors, members of other churches, or church leaders of other churches… they complain in sin. Why? iv. Because the one to whom they complain is neither called or equipped to solve their problem. v. When church members complain even to God or their Elders but do so demanding their own way or expecting to get what they want. They complain in sin. Why? vi. Because godliness with contentment is great gain. You cannot be thankful and lacking contentment at the same time. vii. So, complain well CBC. 1. Complain only to those who can do something about it. 2. And complain with sincere, humble, and gentle hearts, not needing to have your fears and pains alleviated but desiring only to make it known to those who care for you. 6.) [Slide 25] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God is faithful to bless His church with growth when they strive for unity under their godly leadership. a. We see a wonderful correlation between trusting and submitting to church leadership, love, unity, and God growing His church numerically. b. While we can't break it down to a formula that is always true. We can see the correlation between a unified, submissive, love filled church and a desire from the outsider to be a part of such a community. c. What a testimony, especially in our culture, to willingly submit to and trust godly leaders. Are you telling me that won't confound the world? d. “You mean you just do what your church Elders tell you to.” e. “Yeah. I trust them. They are some of the godliest people I know.” f. “What if they screw up?” g. “They have. They admitted it and we forgave them.” h. And what a comfort to see God bless a unified church. i. It encourages and motivates us to follow suit. Let me close with a Puritan's prayer. This prayer is specifically offered on behalf of the Elders of CBC. [Slide 26 (end)] O our Lord, Let not our ministry be approved only by men, or merely win the esteem and affections of people; But do the work of grace in their hearts, call in your elect, seal and edify the regenerate ones, and command eternal blessings on their souls. Save us from self-opinion and self-seeking; Water the hearts of those who hear your Word, that seed sown in weakness may be raised in power; Cause us and those that hear us to behold you here in the light of special faith, and hereafter in the blaze of endless glory; Make our every sermon and teaching a means of grace to ourselves, and help us to experience the power of your dying love, for your blood is balm, your presence bliss, your smile heaven, your cross the place where truth and mercy meet. Look upon the doubts and discouragements of our ministry and keep us from self-importance; We beg pardon for our many sins, omissions, infirmities, as men, as ministers; Command your blessing on our weak, unworthy labours, and on the message of salvation given; Stay with your people, and may your presence be their portion and ours. When we preach and teach to others let not our words be merely elegant and masterly, our reasoning polished and refined, our performance powerful and tasteful, but may we exalt you and humble sinners. O Lord of power and grace, all hearts are in your hands, all events at your disposal, set the seal of your almighty will upon our ministry. In Jesus Name we pray… Amen.

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

 574 Barnabus Represents Saul to The Disciples, A Guided Christian Meditation on Acts 9:26-31 with the Recenter With Christ app    The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.  Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.   Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:   Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate,  deflate. Scripture for Meditation KJV Acts 9  26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had aseen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. 29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and "disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. 30 Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaa and Galilee and Samaria, and were "edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the b comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multi-plied. 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Meditation: Understandably when the man who had be violently persecuting them, says he wants to join the disciples, thye are hesitant and fearful. One of the Disciples who saw Saul proclaiming the gospel so clearly and firmly, vouched for him. Barnabus became the means to bridge the gap of fear and danger. Barnabus was in the right spot, had witnessed things, and had the right life experience, that allowed him to be able to help Saul join the community. Saul continues his testimony and continues to disturb the Hellenistic Jews who hate him more due to perceived betrayal. Sometimes our human fears, judgements, or experience, can make it challenging for people to find a place at Church. They may show up and see a whole group of people who feel they are superior, even if they dont feel that way. It is important for us to be bold, as Saul was, in unifying with other believers, and when we find that our life experience allows us to fill Barnabus's role we should take that on with intentionality also, so that all people can be unified together under the grace of Christ.  Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates:  Final Question:  Final Thought:   FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod  

Authentic Community > Independent LivingShow me your friends and I will show you your future.Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.Acts 9:26-2826 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.1. Life is better together.Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.2am FriendsActs 11 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.2. Learns from one another. 3. Gives generously.“Therefore I urge you to imitate me. That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:16-17Refrigerator RightsActs 13 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.4. Lives on mission. “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” -unknown“If we're going to make disciples and move out in mission, we need to go from managing boundaries to integrating family and mission into one life, a cohesive framework and fabric that empowers a culture of discipleship and mission, not just occasional events and periodic programs.” - Mike & Sally Breen, Family On Mission

Authentic Community > Independent LivingShow me your friends and I will show you your future.Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.Acts 9:26-2826 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.1. Life is better together.Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.2am FriendsActs 11 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.2. Learns from one another. 3. Gives generously.“Therefore I urge you to imitate me. That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:16-17Refrigerator RightsActs 13 1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.4. Lives on mission. “If you want to run fast, run alone. If you want to run far, run together.” -unknown“If we're going to make disciples and move out in mission, we need to go from managing boundaries to integrating family and mission into one life, a cohesive framework and fabric that empowers a culture of discipleship and mission, not just occasional events and periodic programs.” - Mike & Sally Breen, Family On Mission

Introduction Unity is always a vital topic, but even more so now than usual.  The church continues to spread, expand and develop. This is all good but it means we must pay more careful attention to our unity.  These lessons will discuss attitudes and actions that can strengthen our unity. Today's lesson is focussed on examining one example of how Jesus built unity, and one example of how the early church built unity.  - - -  1.  Jesus Prays for unity “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22–23 NIV11) - Jesus in the Father is the model for us Teaches on unity ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:34–35) How did Jesus maintain unity? Example “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”” (Mark 9:33–37) - See also vv 14,16 The disciples react to Jesus attempting to help them be honest by going quiet.  No one has the conviction or purity of heart to confess on behalf of the group. - How did Jesus maintain unity? - Observant - was not looking at his phone while with his disciples! - Waited for the right time and place - Asked a question - Allowed silence - Taught with compassion Reminded them it was about him More work needed - Mark 10:35–45 We are one chapter further on and they still need help.  Unity is never ‘finished'. Important we do not get tired of working to maintain unity. Application - Any tensions?  - Any ungodly attitudes or behaviour? - Unity is not maintained by harshness, nor by silence - Unity is maintained by listening, loving and talking - - -  2. The Early Church Example “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1–7 NIV11) - Leadership listened - Involved everyone - Understood limitations - Discussion - Prayer - - -  Conclusion All about Jesus Tuning fork (Ephesians 2:11–22 NIV11) Please add your comments on this week's topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here's the email: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org).  If you'd like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://[www.malcolmcox.org](http://www.malcolmcox.org/).  Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.  “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)  God bless, Malcolm

Introduction Unity is always a vital topic, but even more so now than usual.  The church continues to spread, expand and develop. This is all good but it means we must pay more careful attention to our unity.  These lessons will discuss attitudes and actions that can strengthen our unity. Today's lesson is focussed on examining one example of how Jesus built unity, and one example of how the early church built unity.  - - -  1.  Jesus Prays for unity “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22–23 NIV11) - Jesus in the Father is the model for us Teaches on unity ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:34–35) How did Jesus maintain unity? Example “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”” (Mark 9:33–37) - See also vv 14,16 The disciples react to Jesus attempting to help them be honest by going quiet.  No one has the conviction or purity of heart to confess on behalf of the group. - How did Jesus maintain unity? - Observant - was not looking at his phone while with his disciples! - Waited for the right time and place - Asked a question - Allowed silence - Taught with compassion Reminded them it was about him More work needed - Mark 10:35–45 We are one chapter further on and they still need help.  Unity is never ‘finished'. Important we do not get tired of working to maintain unity. Application - Any tensions?  - Any ungodly attitudes or behaviour? - Unity is not maintained by harshness, nor by silence - Unity is maintained by listening, loving and talking - - -  2. The Early Church Example “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1–7 NIV11) - Leadership listened - Involved everyone - Understood limitations - Discussion - Prayer - - -  Conclusion All about Jesus Tuning fork (Ephesians 2:11–22 NIV11)

Introduction      Previously, the church had come under persecution by Saul (Acts 8:1-3), and the result was, “those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Philip—one of the seven Hellenistic Jews chosen in Acts 7—showed himself to be an obedient-to-the-word believer who shared the gospel with others who were willing to listen (Acts 8:5-8). Philip relied on the Holy Spirit to create witnessing opportunities and engaged people through normal conversation. Text      As Luke continues to recount Philip's evangelistic ministry, he focuses on a particular person named Simon, saying, “Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, ‘This man is what is called the Great Power of God'” (Acts 8:9-10). Here, Luke records the first of three encounters with the occult in the book of Acts (cf., Acts 8:8-9; 13:8; 16:16). This magic that Simon practiced was not mere sleight of hand, but had demonic powers working through him. This led many people to focus on him and to be misled by his activities. According to Stanley Toussaint: "Because of his “sorcery,” the ability to exercise control over nature and/or people by means of demonic power, people called him the Great Power. They may or may not have thought of him as possessing deity. At any rate Simon boasted that he was someone great, and the people of Samaria believed him. Furthermore, he accepted their adulation."[1]      Luke continues, saying, “And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts” (Acts 8:11). Apparently Simon was performing his “magic arts” by means of demonic forces. Biblically, there are examples of when Satan empowered his false messengers to perform miracles in order to deceive. For example, when Moses was executing God's plagues upon Egypt, it is recorded that three times “the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts” (Ex 7:10-11; cf., 7:21-22; 8:6-7). Later, Moses warned the Israelites who were about to enter the land that they should guard themselves against false prophets and dreamers of dreams who arise and give them a “sign or wonder” and then seek to lead them away from God (Deut 13:1-4). Jesus warned of future “false Christs and false prophets who will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matt 24:24). And Paul spoke of the coming Antichrist, “whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Th 2:9-10). Those who know God's Word and live by it will guard themselves against the deceiving power of false miracle workers.      Luke informs us that Simon began to lose some of his followers, saying, “But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike” (Acts 8:12). Here were people turning from Simon's deceptive practices to the true and living God as they believed Philip's message concerning the good news about “the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12b). The kingdom of God here refers to the coming future earthly kingdom that Christ will bring in at His second coming (Acts 1:3, 6; Rev 20:4-6). Of course, Jesus Christ is the Savior and coming King who will rule over the earth in righteousness. Stanley Toussaint states, “‘The name of Jesus Christ' looks to His position as Messiah (cf., 8:5, ‘the Christ,' lit., the Messiah). In other words, the message meant that some Samaritans would become heirs of the Millennium by faith in Jesus, the Messiah.”[2] Apparently, Philip's message about Jesus included His work on the cross as well as a future hope of a better world when He returns and rules the world in righteousness (Rev 20:4-6). Here was a contrast between Simon and Philip. Whereas Simon sought to bring attention to himself, Philip pointed others to Christ.      Interestingly, Luke tells us, “Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed” (Acts 8:13). I take this passage as Simon's conversion experience, as the text states he “believed” the good news message Philip was preaching and he was “baptized” as a new convert. Stanley Toussaint thinks Simon was not saved because of his sinful actions that follow (see his notes in the Bible Knowledge Commentary). However, I tend to agree with Thomas Constable, who wrote, “Even Simon believed. I see no reason to conclude that Simon's faith was spurious. The text says that he believed just as the others Luke mentioned (Acts 9:12), and there is no reason to doubt the reality of their faith.”[3] Charles Swindoll notes, “Luke says plainly, ‘Simon himself believed' (Acts 8:13). He expects us to take that statement at face value; after all, Philip didn't doubt the man's authenticity. Simon was baptized in water and then followed Philip like a disciple, observing the deacon's ministry of preaching, healing, and casting out demons.”[4]      Luke continues, saying, “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17). This account reveals the Samaritans had been accepted by God just as the Jewish believers. But why was the Holy Spirit withheld from the Samaritans until Peter and John came down from Jerusalem? According to Charles Swindoll, “God didn't bring the apostles to Samaria to bestow the Holy Spirit but to witness the Samaritans receiving the Holy Spirit. The Lord delayed the falling of the Holy Spirit for the apostles' benefit, to assure them that He had accepted the Samaritans' belief and had made them full-fledged brothers and sisters in the kingdom.”[5]Stanley Toussaint states: "Perhaps the most important aspect of God's withholding the Spirit till apostolic representatives came from the Jerusalem church was to prevent schism. Because of the natural propensity of division between Jews and Samaritans it was essential for Peter and John to welcome the Samaritan believers officially into the church. The contrast between John's attitude here and in Luke 9:52–54 is significant."[6]      Luke then brings Simon back into the account, saying, “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, ‘Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit'” (Acts 8:18-19). What Simon visually witnessed is uncertain. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was manifesting Himself through these new converts by means of tongues, just as He did when He came upon those on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). Whatever Simon saw, it moved his carnal heart to seek to have that power himself, so he offered Peter and John some money, thinking they could transfer this ability to him. The purchase of knowledge or power for personal gain was and is a worldly practice. Here, Simon was operating from a state of carnality and seeking to monopolize God's power for personal advantage. Toussaint notes, “The term simony, which is the buying or selling of things considered religious or sacred such as an ecclesiastical office, comes from Simon's desire to purchase the ability to impart the Holy Spirit to others.”[7]      But things did not go as Simon had hoped, as “Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God” (Acts 8:20-21). Simon was worldly minded and did not understand grace. He was governed by selfish pride for personal gain rather than selfless humility for the service of others. The pronouncement of Peter that Simon perish (ἀπώλεια apoleia – to be destroyed) could refer either to eternal destruction (John 3:16), or to premature physical death such as happened with Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-10). If Simon was not a Christian, then it speaks to his eternal damnation. If Simon was a Christian, then it refers to the sin unto death which a believer can experience (1 Cor 11:30; 1 John 5:16-17).      Do God's children ever behave sinfully? Yes. Throughout Scripture, we observe examples of God's children behaving sinfully, yet they were true believers. For example, Abraham twice lied and jeopardized the safety of his wife, Sarah (Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-11). Samson slept with several women (Judg 16:1, 4), and lied to his parents (Judg 14:5-9). David had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband, Uriah (2 Sam 11:1-17), followed Satan's temptation and “sinned greatly” by taking an unauthorized census in Israel  (1 Ch 21:1, 8), and even practiced the sin of polygamy contrary to the Law of Moses (Deut 17:17). Solomon practiced polygamy and “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines” (1 Ki 11:3a), and went “after other gods” to worship them (1 Ki 11:4). Jonah disobeyed the Lord and temporarily fled His calling (Jonah 1:1-3). The apostles James and John suggested to Jesus that a Samaritan city be destroyed by fire (Luke 9:51-54). Peter rebuked the Jesus and tried to stop Him from going to the cross (Matt 16:21-23), and later publicly denied Him three times (Matt 26:69-75). The apostle John, while receiving divine revelation, was twice rebuked for worshipping an angel (Rev 19:10; 22:8-9).      We cannot know with 100% certainty whether Simon was saved, but at the end of the day, “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim 2:19). The problem is, if we doubt the statement here about Simon's faith in Jesus, it opens the door for us to doubt the faith of anyone who believes, including ourselves. In this way, we can easily become fruit inspectors who spend our time analyzing people's lives and thinking they are not saved because we don't immediately see the fruit of a changed life. Taking the passage in a straightforward way, it's easier to see Simon as a carnal baby believer who has a lot to learn.      Peter's advice for Simon was, “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity” (Acts 8:22-23). Simon was jealous of the Apostle's ability and wanted the power for himself. To be in the gall of bitterness is to be deeply envious of someone to such an extent that it results in bitterness and bondage because they have something you don't, and the thought of it drives you to mental madness. Simon was in the “bondage of iniquity.” However, after being rebuked by Peter, Simon seems to display some humility, as Luke records, “But Simon answered and said, ‘Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me'” (Acts 8:24). This seems to be a genuine cry of concern from Simon, which might further argue his conversion was true. Conclusion      Many Samaritans had believed in Christ as their Savior, but the giving of the Holy Spirit was intentionally delayed until the Apostles could arrive. This was a special occasion, as the baptism, indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit would occur at Salvation for future believers (1 Cor 12:13; cf., 1 Cor 6:19; Eph 1:13; 4:30). The Samaritans received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the Apostle's hands to reveal a unity and new Christian identity as part of the church. The new spiritual identity created by God the Holy Spirit destroyed the hostilities that had existed for centuries between the Jews and Samaritans.      Prior to believing in Christ, Simon was involved in the occult and had the ability—through demonic forces—to perform supernatural acts to manipulate people and circumstances for his self-interest and self-glory (Acts 8:9-10). In contrast, the Apostles performed miracles by means of God's power, always giving credit to God and pointing men to Christ for salvation (see Acts 3:12, 16; 4:10). Though Simon had “believed” and been “baptized” along with the others at Samaria, he was still governed by pride and worldly viewpoint. Simon reveals his theological ignorance when he requested to buy the ability to dispense the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Peter strongly rebuked Simon who failed to understand God's grace, and thought to turn it into a system of self-centered glory. Simon became fearful after Peter's rebuke and asked Peter to pray for him, hoping to avoid the punishment. Present Application      Taking Simon as a believer, it demonstrates the point that regeneration does not automatically produce humility or the divine viewpoint necessary for Christian service. After being born again, the Christian must begin the process of expunging a lifetime of human viewpoint thinking and replacing it divine viewpoint. This is accomplished only through consistent study and the application of God's Word over time (see Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:11-16; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18). The Gospel      If you are here this morning without Christ, without hope, and without eternal life, I want you to know that when Jesus was on the cross, He had you personally in mind as He bore your sin and paid the price for it. He died and paid the penalty for your sins so that you would not have to. Scripture reveals, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), and “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). The good news for us is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4), and if we place our faith in Him as the only Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), we are promised forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), eternal life (John 10:28), and place in heaven forever (John 14:1-3). Dr. Steven R. Cook               [1] Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 372. [2] Ibid., 372–373. [3] Tom Constable, Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ac 8:13. [4] Charles R. Swindoll, Acts, Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016), 145. [5] Ibid., 145. [6] Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, vol. 2, 373. [7] Ibid., 373.

Introduction This is a very Thames Valley specific class series, but the principles will apply elsewhere. Nothing is broken, but that does not mean we should not strengthen what we have because greater strain is coming in the future. When unity is unattended to, it does become weaker. These classes will discuss attitudes and actions that can strengthen our unity. If you have not listened to the sermon from last Sunday I suggest you do so. Today's class is focussed on building unity in our local group. Next time we will discuss unity between groups. 1. Jesus Prays for unity “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:22–23 NIV11) Teaches on unity ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:34–35 NIV11) Works to promote unity..... Example 1 “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”” (Mark 9:33–37 NIV11) See also vv 14,16 The disciples react to Jesus attempting to help them be honest by going quiet. No one has the conviction or purity of heart to confess on behalf of the group. Timing and location matter Example 2 “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don't know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”” (Mark 10:35–45 NIV11) We are one chapter further on and they still need help. Unity is never 'finished'. 2. The Early Church Example 1 “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1–7 NIV11) Leadership listened Involved everyone Understood limitations Discussion Prayer Example 2 - (Romans 12:3–8 NIV11) Discover gifts - often more obvious to others than oneself Use those gifts for the benefit of the body Conclusion All about trust Built by love Built by respect Built be honesty Questions Any un-dealt with tensions in your group? What is the next significant decision in your group? How will you approach it to ensure maximum unity? How can you help each other play their part? Please add your comments on this week's topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here's the email: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org).  If you'd like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://[www.malcolmcox.org](http://www.malcolmcox.org/).  Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.  “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)  God bless, Malcolm

Introduction      Luke had previously addressed the conflict that arose in the early church between the Hellenistic Jews and the native Jews over the matter of food distribution to the widows in the community (Acts 6:1). To resolve the issue, the apostles directed “the congregation of the disciples” (Acts 6:2) to select seven men of “good reputation” who would make sure the widows were being cared for on a daily basis (Acts 6:2-3). The apostle's reason was so they could devote themselves “to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). The seven men who were selected were described as being “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Act 6:3), and “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), and were approved by the apostles for their ministry (Acts 6:6). Afterwards, we're told, “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem” (Acts 6:7). In the following pericope, Luke singled out Stephen, who was a transitional figure in the early church. Stephen takes up such a large section in Acts because he is the first Christian martyr and his death marks the beginning of the great church persecution that scattered Christians all over the world. Text      Luke wrote, “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Previously, Stephen was among those who were said to be “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3), and specifically was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). And here, Stephen was said to be “full of grace and power” (Acts 6:8). The Greek adjective πλήρης pleres, translated full of, appears 16 times in the NT, with half of the occurrences in Acts. According to Mounce, the word means to be “completely under the influence of, or affected by.”[1] Stephen was marked by the good qualities one would like to see in a godly leader. The word grace translates the Greek word χάρις charis, which commonly denotes unmerited favor or undeserved kindness, but here means “a winning quality or attractiveness … charm, winsomeness.”[2] Furthermore, Stephen was under the influence of God's power, Who was working through His servant to perform “great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8b). It is assumed these signs and wonders were similar to those performed by the apostles, and that it was done to promote the gospel message to others in the community. According to Charles Swindoll, “In faith, Stephen submitted himself to the direction of the Holy Spirit and worked to serve the church. This is exactly the kind of faithful Christian God loves to use to do big things. Stephen took his faith seriously, and he yielded to the Holy Spirit's control. That's what it means to be ‘full' in this way.”[3] But godliness does not come without resistance. According to Arnold Fruchtenbaum, “Because of his actions in this context, Stephen ended up being the first member of the church to qualify for the martyr's crown. The main purpose of the book of Acts is to tell the story of Peter and Paul, and Stephen is the link between these two key apostles: he was appointed by Peter, but Paul will be consenting to his death.”[4]      Because the church exists in a fallen world, where Satan is ruling in a limited way (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 1 John 5:19), and where many people are resistant to God's work (Matt 7:13; John 3:19; Rom 1:18), it was only a matter of time before a conflict arose. Luke informs us, “But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen” (Acts 6:9). Here, we have some men who were from a specific synagogue called “the Synagogue of the Freedmen”, which consisted either of Jewish men who had previously been slaves and were now free, or were the sons of those who'd previously been freed. Their common bond was their freedom from physical slavery, yet they were hostile to Stephen who offered them spiritual freedom in Christ (Acts 6:9-14; cf. Acts 26:18; Col 1:13). Thomas Constable notes, “Like local churches today, these synagogues tended to attract people with similar backgrounds and preferences. Many families that had experienced liberation from some kind of slavery or servitude evidently populated the Synagogue of the Freedmen.”[5] And Charles Swindoll states: "Synagogues not only held services for worship and teaching, but they also served as community centers where people met socially. This made them ideal locations to discuss theology. Stephen and the other believers regularly frequented synagogues, looking for opportunities to testify about Jesus the Messiah and His resurrection from the dead. Stephen quickly demonstrated a remarkable ability to debate, which infuriated these freedmen (Acts 6:10)."[6]      That these men “rose up and argued with Stephen” means they opposed his preaching, not necessarily his grace or good works. We're not told exactly what Stephen was preaching, but from their opposing arguments that follow, it was related to Jesus, the Mosaic Law, and the temple. The apostle Paul was a “Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia” (Acts 21:39) and may have fellowshipped in this particular synagogue. If so, it would make sense why he was listed among those who approved of Stephen's killing in the next chapter (Acts 7:58).      But these Jewish men, collectively, could not adequately defend their position against Stephen's well-reasoned and robust teaching. Luke tells us, “But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10). Because Stephen was so proficient in his presentation of God's Word, showing from Scripture that Jesus is the Christ, he threatened the theological base of those who opposed him. Stephen appears as an unusually gifted teacher who was able to communicate God's Word. Apparently Stephen presented his case with such compelling force that the Hellenistic Jews were unable to cope with his wisdom. Luke's comment about Stephen speaking by “the Spirit” implies his words were divinely sanctioned. That is, they originated with God the Holy Spirit and were truth. This appears to be a display of what Jesus told His disciples, saying, “I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute” (Luke 21:15). Rational words only work with rational minds, and those given over to sin are not always rational. Furthermore, winning an argument does not mean winning a heart, as some who are recalcitrant and committed to their sinful ways will not be persuaded by solid biblical reasoning, but will only dig in their heels (cf., Jer 25:3; John 3:19). That Stephen spoke by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit meant his detractors were actually arguing with God, and thus it was an unfair debate. When the Jews from the Synagogue of the Freedmen could not win their debate by rational means—since they were governed by pride—they resorted to sinful practices that are common to the world. Luke wrote: "Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council. They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:11-14)      Stephen was treated the same as the Lord Jesus, where Jewish leaders employed false witnesses to testify against Him, declaring He would destroy the temple. Mark tells us in his Gospel, “Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands'” (Mark 14:57-58). Though it was Stephen standing before the Sanhedrin, it was as though Jesus were on trial all over again. However, before the supreme court of heaven, and God, “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), it was these unbelieving Jewish men and the Sanhedrin itself that was on trial. Apparently the Sanhedrin had so elevated Moses, that they considered one who spoke against him as worthy of capital punishment. Josephus says of them, “What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses]; whom, if any one blaspheme, he is punished capitally.”[7]      Those who opposed Stephen, assuming they knew the Law at all, might have been thinking of when Moses wrote, “the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30). Of course, these men only used the Scripture as a means of controlling others and destroying their enemies. Luke tells us these men 1) “secretly induced men to say” false things about Stephen (Acts 6:11), 2) “stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes” (Acts 6:12a) 3) “dragged him away and brought him before the Council” (Acts 6:12b), and 4) “put forward false witnesses” to accuse him (Acts 6:13).      These wicked men violated the Scripture in order to protect their power. It was evil that they secretly induced men to spread lies about Stephen, which is a direct violation of the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex 20:16). Spreading a lie and stirring up the people was their tactic to manipulate the situation and win local support, which they felt they needed to overpower Stephen and the influence he was having on those who heard him. It's noteworthy that such actions are a common tactic among the wicked, as David prayed to the Lord, saying, “Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence” (Psa 27:12). Once they had their false charges and the support of others, they grabbed Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. Luke employs the Greek word συναρπάζω sunarpazo (translated dragged away) which, according to BDAG, means “to take hold of forcibly, to seize someone.”[8] One can imagine a group of strong men approaching Stephen and grabbing him by force and dragging him through the city to bring him before the Sanhedrin. This reveals the physical actions some people will resort to when dealing with God's people, all because they feel threatened by divine revelation and will seek to shut down those who communicate it by whatever means necessary.      Once the false witnesses were put before the Sanhedrin, they said, “we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us” (Acts 6:14). The charge that was brought against Stephen echoed that which had been brought against Jesus a few months earlier (Mark 14:57-58). For the Sanhedrin, this was Déjà vu all over again. According to Stanley Toussaint: "The false witnesses were not necessarily outright liars. Stephen had probably said the things they accused him of; however, they misrepresented the intentions and imports of his statements (cf. Matt 26:61; Mark 14:58; John 2:19). The Lord Himself predicted the destruction of the temple (Matt 24:1–2; Mark 13:1–2; Luke 21:5–6), though He never said He would do it. The other half of the allegation against Stephen involved the temporary nature of the Mosaic system. Undoubtedly he saw the theological implications of justification by faith and the fulfillment of the Law in Christ. Furthermore, if the gospel was for the whole world (Acts 1:8), the Law had to be a temporary arrangement."[9]      Luke closed out this pericope, saying, “And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). The Sanhedrin, fixing their collective stares at Stephen, were probably trying to intimidate him. That, along with the false charges, would normally frighten anyone in that situation. But Luke tells us they “saw his face like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15b). This could very well be God's shekinah glory, resting on Stephen as it had rested on Moses after he'd spoken with the Lord, and whose “face shone” for others to see (Ex 34:29). It could also be Luke's way of saying that Stephen displayed a calmness in the face of his accusers. If so, it reveals a relaxed mental attitude in the face of hostility. No doubt, the Lord was with Stephen, and His Word saturated his thinking, so much so, that Stephen remained calm in the face of great pressure. Present Application      As God's people, we must be faithful to Him in those moments when we have opportunity to share Christ and His Word. When we share Christ with others, it gives them the opportunity believe in Him as their Savior, believing He died for them, was buried, and raised again on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4). Once they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they receive forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), eternal life (John 10:28), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), and many other blessings (Eph 1:3). However, we must also keep in mind that we live in a fallen world that is largely governed by Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 1 John 5:19), and where the vast majority of people are under “the dominion of Satan” (Act 26:18), and reside in his “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13). It is in this realm that we live our lives and must proclaim the truth of God's Word, as lights in a dark world (Eph 5:8-10; Phil 2:5). Sadly, the majority of people in this world will seek to suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18), and to silence God's messengers by whatever means they can. Yet we must be strong, for God has told us, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb 13:5); therefore, we take courage, for “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (Heb 13:6a). Knowing God's Word and walking with Him erects a fortress in our souls that enables us to stand in the face of great pressure. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] William D. Mounce, Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 1246. [2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1079. [3] Charles R. Swindoll, Acts, Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016), 126. [4] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Acts (San Antonio, TX, Published by Ariel Ministries, 2022), 153. [5] Tom Constable, Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ac 6:9. [6] Charles R. Swindoll, Acts, Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary, 126. [7] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 606. [8] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 966. [9] Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 368–369.

Staff member Moises Davidson brings insight from Acts 6:1-7. In this passage, we see the early church addressing a problem that threatened to tear it apart. The Hellenistic Jews felt that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. They were concerned that the native Hebrews were getting preferential treatment. The apostles recognized the injustice of this and chose to take action. Rather than simply taking sides or ignoring the issue, they came up with a creative solution. They appointed seven men of good reputation and full of the Spirit and of wisdom to look into the matter and make sure that everyone was being treated fairly. This passage offers us a great example of how we should respond when faced with difficult problems. We should not be reactive or hasty in our decisions. Instead, we should seek wise counsel and find creative solutions. This requires us to look at the problem from multiple perspectives and come up with a solution that is fair to all involved. As we seek to live out the example of the early church, we can look to Acts 6:1-7 as a reminder of how to respond to difficult situations. Let us be wise and seek solutions

I will take any excuse to have my favorite Substack writer on the program and this is a great one! Chris Bray [subscribe to his Subtsack! https://chrisbray.substack.com/] tells us the real reason why Amazon, CVS and Humana are purchasing primary care medical clinics (hint: it's not because of their deep desire to help humans achieve better health and happiness. Chris writes: Incentives Create Trajectories, Corporate Model or, "let's start foregrounding the gleichschaltung"“You have to love ‘intense coding practices.' So the emerging model of primary care is a financial game that manipulates billing practices to capture more money from government. The business is resource extraction; the pretext is medical care.Why?The federal government spent about $2 trillion a year at the start of the Obama administration, and now spends close to $7 trillion a year. The growth of federal spending looks like this, in a chart from this statistics website, though it leaves off the last few extremely significant growth years:”Chris also tells us how California fell and offers some poignant, simple and beautiful parenting advice. What does God say? We are called to provide care for the body, which was then a new view for religious people. After Pentecost, one of the first jobs assigned to members of the church was to “care for the Greek widows.” The teachings of Jesus lead, in fact, to the first hospitals, founded by the Christian church.Acts 6:1-76 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”There is nothing wrong with doctors being paid--Luke was a Doctor--but, as in all things, the motive matters.

“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19–20These words of our Lord came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen, the Church's first martyr. Saint Stephen was martyred within a couple of years after Jesus' ascension into Heaven. He was one of seven deacons who the Apostles appointed to assist them in their work of caring for the poor as the Church began to grow.Stephen was a man of deep faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. After he was appointed deacon, he began to preach with boldness. Among his listeners were members of the synagogue of Hellenistic Jews. Stephen debated them vigorously and proved himself to be full of wisdom and power, performing many signs and wonders in their midst. But this only led his listeners to become outraged to the point of seeking his death. As a result, they made false claims that Stephen was preaching against the Temple and the Law of Moses.In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:2–53), Stephen responded by giving a long and detailed speech by which he explained the full truth of Jesus in light of the Old Testament. Stephen concluded by saying, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors.” This infuriated his listeners in the synagogue even more. After this, something truly miraculous happened. Stephen had a vision. He looked up to Heaven and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” He saw his Lord, standing at the right hand of the Father. And it was his proclamation of this vision that finally drove the infuriated crowd to drag him out of the synagogue and city and to stone him to death. Stephen's story, however, ended in a beautiful and inspired way. As the crowd was stoning him, he spoke two powerful statements. First, he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And then he prayed in a loud voice,  “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”As mentioned above, the words our Lord speaks in the Gospel today came to fruition in the life of Saint Stephen. First of all, we see that Jesus' prediction that some of His followers would be handed over to deaths by their own kinsmen came true in the life of Saint Stephen. But Jesus also promised that when this would happen, “You will be given at that moment what you are to say.” And it will be the Spirit of the Father “speaking through you.” And that's exactly what happened with Saint Stephen. First, he was given a glorious vision of Heaven. Second, he was inspired to fully surrender his spirit over to Jesus. And third, he was inspired to pray for his persecutors and forgive them. These words and actions did not come from Stephen alone. They were the fulfillment of Jesus' promise that when one is persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, the Father will be especially present and give powerful inspiration at the moment of need.Reflect, today, upon the profound truth that God never abandons us. In fact, when we suffer the most or endure persecution, rejection or any form of mistreatment, God is especially present. Look at your own life and consider those moments that you find most challenging. Pray to Saint Stephen and ask him to pray for you so that you will be open to the inspired words and actions of our Lord when you need them the most.Most glorious Saint Stephen, please pray for me. Pray for me especially when I experience the heaviest crosses in my life. Pray that I, like you, will be open to God's inspiration and grace at those times I need it the most. St. Stephen, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2022 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

On this Bible Talks episode of Coffee with Keith, we continue our journey through the book of Acts.  Today, we begin Acts 6 and in it, a problem has arisen.  The Hellenistic Jews come to the disciples and inform them that their widows are not being provided for.  You will remember that there was communal care being provided but the growth of the "church" was so drastic, people were falling through the cracks.  Today, we see how Peter and the other teaching disciples decided to handle the situation.  So, grab your coffee, have a seat at my table, and let's chat on Coffee with Keith.*Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional nor am I a licensed therapist.  If you need either of those services, please consult a local professional.To connect with me on Instagram, visit here.Join the "Coffee Club" Patreon group with just a $5 monthly gift. (Cool extras in this membership)Free Support Group for BI+ (open to all LGBTQ+):  Circle of Champions Check out the "Bisexual Champions-Silver" Group Coaching HERE (Jan-Feb, 2023)Check out the "Bisexual Champions-Single" Group Coaching Here (Mar-Apr, 2023)Free: 7 Journal prompts for bisexualsTo visit my website and learn moreThe Bisexual Life: 1-on-1 Coaching for any season of lifeJumpstart Your Healing as a Bi+ Christian: 1-on-1 Coaching Coming Out as Bi+: 1-on-1 CoachingBisexual Relationship Coaching (Couple)Are you an older adult and perhaps you are just now coming to terms with your true identity as bisexual? Perhaps you haven't share this news with anyone. Your spouse or partner may not even know. I get it. This is a very delicate time in your life and that's why I want to encourage you to check out the "Bisexual Champions-Silver" group coaching journey coming up Jan-Feb, 2023. Visit HERE. This is gonna be a hoot. As a member of the "Coffee Club," you are going to gain access to private podcast episodes and a private FB group where we will be interacting and having fun. Come join my wife, Candace, and me as we spill the tea...or coffee in our case...and just have a great time doing. it. The low cost just helps with podcast expenses.

Scripture Reading: John 1:1-5It's only session 2 and we already fell behind! I intended to cover John's prologue in the first session, but I planned too much material and didn't get to it. (Apologies!) The questions I posed in the first blog post will still be our guide to discussing the text. So, if you haven't read that post, you might do so. I will try to post some additional notes on this second blog post. There's a small catch though: I have limited time every night. I will have to update this blog post several times throughout the week. Hopefully by Saturday there is a complete set of notes. Chiastic Structure in John 1:1-2I don't know about you, but other than some vague recollection about Shakespeare's iambic pentameter, I do not remember a lot of literary structures. Well, we need to refresh our memories just a bit.A chiasm is a figure of speech in which the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase, such that two key concepts from the original phrase reappear in the second phrase in inverted order. Here's an example:She is the most beautiful woman, my eyes cannot stop staring. My sight won't leave her, she is such a gorgeous girl.Notice (other than my awful poetry):A She is the most beautiful woman, B my eyes cannot stop staring. B' My sight won't leave her,A' she is such a gorgeous girl.Now, notice that John 1:1-2 has a chiastic structure as well:A In the beginning B was C the word D and the word E was F with God F' and God E' was D' the word (this seems out of order, but think in Greek) C' This one B' wasA' in the beginning with God.The chiastic structure is not exact, but neither were the parallelisms of the Psalms and other Semitic poetry.What does a chiastic structure suggest? Scholars will sometimes consider whether John adapted a song or poem that was popular at the time (“borrowing” in the ancient world was not frowned upon like today). Regardless of whether that is the case, I think what is more important is how deliberate the first two verses are. The literary structure gives them beauty and depth, while making them easy to remember. These verses are masterful in content and structure and should be taken seriously (and probably memorized).In the BeginningGenesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.John 1:1-3. In the beginning was the Word . . . . All things were created by Him . . . .The allusion to Genesis 1:1 is unmistakable, particularly since John 1:3 goes on to talk about creation.John's point is groundbreaking: remember all that creation talk in the Torah? Well, none of that happened without Jesus. Moreover, in the beginning God is there. He does not come into existence, he is not born, he is not made, He Is.Exodus 3:11-14. Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He replied, “Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God at this mountain.” Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?'—what should I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM that I AM.” And he said, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”There are some astounding conclusions: God exists “asei.” Indeed, God is necessary.Asseity (from gotquestions.org): The aseity of God is His attribute of independent self-existence. God is the uncaused Cause, the uncreated Creator. He is the source of all things, the One who originated everything and who sustains everything that exists. The aseity of God means that He is the One in whom all other things find their source, existence, and continuance.Necessity (from reasonablefaith.org): When we say that God is metaphysically necessary, we mean that it is impossible that He fail to exist.These attributes of God are also evident from natural theology.Consider Leibniz' question: Why is there something rather than nothing? This is a good introductory video to the contingency argument (which the video calls a cosmological argument). Not only can you go into much further depth into the argument, but some versions of it do not rely on the principle of sufficient reason or at least use a more modest version.Also consider modern cosmology: The universe seems to have a beginning.The following argument can be made:(1) Anything that begins to exist has a cause.(2) The universe began to exist.(3) The universe has a cause. Wisdom (Sofia), Torah (Nomos), or even Better—the Word (Logos)Why did John use the word Logos? Sometimes considering the alternatives can be enlightening.John could have used the word Wisdom (Sofia). Nearly everything John says about the Logos, Jewish literature said about divine Wisdom. John and his readers would have shared a common understanding of this background. Using Wisdom, however, may have caused some issues.(1) Sofia is feminine. Although the gender of a word is nothing more than an accident, switching from feminine wisdom to an incarnate male could be awkward.(2) The fact that Wisdom was already being personified, both in the Old Testament and contemporary Jewish writings, provided a common understanding—but what if that understanding is not completely correct when applied to Jesus. Consider Proverbs 8.Proverbs 8:1-7Does not wisdom call out?Does not understanding raise her voice?At the top of the prominent places along the way,at the intersection of the paths she has taken her stand;beside the gates opening into the city,at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:“To you, O people, I call out,and my voice calls to all mankind.You who are naive, discern wisdom!And you fools, understand discernment!Listen, for I will speak excellent things,and my lips will utter what is right.For my mouth speaks truth,and my lips hate wickedness.Sounds pretty good, right? But then comes verse 22:The Lord created me as the beginning of his works,before his deeds of long ago.By the way, I believe the entire Bible is good. I am not saying that verse 22 is bad—it just doesn't apply to Jesus. Calling Jesus the Sofia could have caused confusion.John could have used the word Law (Nomos). Nomos was the Greek word used by Hellenistic Jews to refer to the Torah. Torah, like Wisdom, was commonly personified. Torah was spoken of as being involved in creation, as either being the first creation or eternal, and as being associated with life, light, and truth. So why not use Nomos:(1) Nomos may not be the best translation of Torah into Greek. Many scholars agree that the word limited the understanding of Torah only to law and not to the greater concept of revelation.(2) The personification of wisdom was more common than of Torah. By choosing neither Sofia nor Nomos, John's audience could pull from the personification of both. (3) Logos refers not only to the Torah, but to the Word that the Torah talks about. An example would be Isaiah 40:8. “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (NIV)Truly, using the word Logos is brilliant. Consider how much the Pharisees cared for the Torah:As Craig Keener points out: The relatively popular Pharisees and their successors were particularly known for their study of the Law. Tannaim emphasized lifelong study of Torah. A Torah scroll could be said to be "beyond price." Some declared study of Torah the Bible's point in saying "serve the Lord with all one's heart and soul"; other Tannaitic texts attribute the exile to neglect of Torah, or declare it better never to have been born than to be unable to recite words of Torah, or declare one who does not study worthy of death; or declare that Torah study is a greater role than priesthood or kingship.By using Logos, John makes Christ greater than Moses, greater than Torah, greater than all—Jesus is the supreme revelation. Hence those who claimed to love Torah but hated Jesus were blind or hypocrites. That is a recurring theme of John's gospel.The Word as Life and LightJohn 1:4-5. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.LifeTranslators' Note 8 in the NET Bible explains in part: John uses ζωή (zōē) 36 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiōnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.)LightA figurative use of light is frequent in the Old Testament (e.g., Ps 119:105), and it was common in Jewish sources. However, it was the Dead Sea Scrolls that finally convinced scholars that John's use of light and darkness was not gnostic in origin.Craig Keener points out: [Verse 5] introduces the light/darkness dualism of the rest of the Gospel. Both light (1:4, 5, 7, 8, 9; 3:19, 20, 21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9, 10; 12:35, 36, 46) and day (9:4), darkness (1:5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35, 46) and night (9:4; 11:10) appear regularly throughout the Gospel, sometimes even with symbolic significance in the narratives (e.g., 3:2; 13:30; 19:39; perhaps 6:19).DarknessDid the darkness not overcome or not comprehend light? The Greek word katelaben in verse 5 could be translated either way.Consider Cyril of Alexandria: Darkness he calls the nature that lacks illumination, i. e. the whole originate nature. . . . For this, I suppose, is the meaning of The darkness comprehended it not. For the Word of God shineth upon all things that are receptive of His Irradiance, and illumineth without exception things that have a nature receptive of illumining. But He is unknown of the darkness. For that which is the rational nature upon earth, I mean man, served the creature more than the Creator: it comprehended not the Light, for it knew not the Creator, the Fountain of wisdom, the beginning of understanding, the root of sense. (https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cyril_on_john_01_book1.htm)But also consider Origen and other Greek church fathers who understood katelaben as overtake.My personal view is that this is an intentional and profound double entendre. Imagine I liked a girl and her best friend told me, “Forget it. She doesn't like you, in any sense of the word.” In that sentence, the word “like” means she does not like me romantically or as a friend, at the same time. In the same sense, katelaben can mean the darkness neither understood nor overcame the light, at the same time.God is Fully RevealedIn the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter Two, Article I, Subsection III: III. Christ Jesus—“Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation”God has said everything in his Word“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” (Heb 1:1-2) Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect, and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one. St. John of the Cross, among others, commented strikingly on Hebrews 1:1-2:In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word—and he has no more to say... because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.There will be no further RevelationSession Recording

The early church hits an incredibly dangerous crisis moment, as the community is in danger of fracturing over the cultural and political fault lines of their times. The issue showed up in the way the early church cared for widows left destitute by crisis and heartache. It seems that the Hebrew-speaking Jews, who would have aligned more with the anti-Roman view of the day, were being served, while the Greek-speaking women, who would have been more sympathetic with Hellenism, were being left out. The potential for political rivalry and division is significant. But the apostles step in and lead the people in a solution that actually empowers the Hellenistic Jews and puts them into leadership, preserves the unity of the church, assures the pastoral care of those who are hurting, and maintains the focus on the mission of the Gospel. As a result, we end up with what many believe are the first deacons in the Bible and the outcome is that the church continues to multiply.

Day 95 Today's Reading: Acts 6 God sees beyond anything we can ever see. That's why the Bible is quick to point out to us in Isaiah 55:8 that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. That's important for us to remember as we look at today's reading in Acts 6, because this is where the early church starts to get organized. It's all brand new for them, as there has never been a church before. I heard it said before: “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't go anywhere.” Well, the church had obstacles . . . and they were going somewhere. They were on a path to change the world. Growth means life. But growth also means more people, and where there are more people, there are more problems. This is exactly what we find in Acts 6:1: “At this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.” I have heard people say that we need a church today like the early church. I know they don't mean exactly what they are saying. They want the presence of the Holy Spirit but they forget that the early church had problems too. By Acts 5 and 6, the church already had people lying about the offering and dying and really upset widows who were not getting any food and being overlooked, and the implication was racism. The upset widows were Hellenistic and the widows who had food were Jewish. That's the early church. They had their problems, but they also had leadership responsible to deal with it well. That is our focus in today's reading—how they dealt with this issue. The disciples knew this problem was not simply telling the people to start feeding the Hellenistic widows, it was also a great lesson on leadership and delegation: do what only you can do and not what others can contribute. So in response to this issue, they decided to choose the first deacons of the church. And this point is key: remember that His ways are higher than our ways. People need to be fed and served: The twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4) Pick people who have a good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom. God has higher ways. It would have been easy to look for those who had been in the restaurant business, worked as a waiter or maître'd or a race relations person. I'm thinking of the issue at hand and trying to connect the issue with experience. But God's ways are higher. God says we need to be Spirit-filled and we need wisdom and a good reputation. Why? Because God is higher and He sees further down the road and knows what we need. Because the requirements will be a weapon we can use later on. Why these requirements? It seems that the enemy knew that the Twelve were willing to die for their faith in God, so he had to attack the next level of leaders, which he did. It didn't take long for these deacons to come under attack just as the twelve apostles had: The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to

This is Father Jared Cramer from St. John's Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan, here with today's edition of Christian Mythbusters, a regular segment I offer to counter some common misconceptions about the Christian faith. Today, as the church moves through Holy Week and approaches Easter Sunday, there is a tendency sometimes for Christianity to turn inward. And so, whether you are hearing this on Wednesday in Holy Week or on Easter Sunday, I want to take a moment to talk about how I think the story of Christ's death and resurrection should not be one that turns us inward. I want to break that myth and explore how this story should expand our views and tear down the barriers we build. The Gospel of John shades the story of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection rather differently than the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John doesn't have a Last Supper narrative with the institution of Communion, instead he has the story of foot washing in the upper room. Whereas in the synoptics, the last meal in the upper room is a Passover dinner, in John's Gospel the last meal is the night before the Passover. Because in John's Gospel, Jesus is killed at the same time as the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, drawing a unity between the lamb and Christ who is our Passover lamb sacrificed for us. Before the passion and resurrection narratives in John, Jesus is at the Passover festival, and we are told some Greeks came to Philip and wanted to see Jesus. These would have been Jewish Greeks, since they are at the Passover festival, so they are probably Hellenistic Jews, those who had been a part of a tradition in Judaism exemplified by Philo and others that blended Judaism with Greek philosophy.But oddly enough, Philip doesn't just take them to see Jesus. Instead, Philip goes and talks to Andrew and then both of them go and talk to Jesus. And rather than Jesus saying anything about the request of the Greeks who Philip and Andrew say want to see him, Jesus answers them by saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”What a bizarre answer. Right? You wonder, what happened to the Greeks? Why does Jesus answer the disciples with this theological explanation, this foreshadowing his coming death on the cross? I think a hint of the answer, though, can be found near the end of Jesus theological explanation, where he says, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”I wonder if the reason that Andrew and Philip don't immediately bring these Greeks, these Hellenistic Jews, to see Jesus is because in their eyes these Greeks aren't the right sort of Jews. These are fancy Greeks who enjoy philosophy and whose Aramaic was likely broken, not good Palestinian Jews like Philip and Andrew and Jesus and the rest of the disciples. So, instead of bringing them to Jesus, they hear their request, leave the Greeks were they are, and then go to Jesus to tell him, “Just so you know, Jesus, some of those Jews are here, those strange Hellenistic Jews. And, we don't know what to do with them.” Because surely, Andrew and Philip think, surely Jesus wouldn't want to talk with those people.Jesus gives this theological explanation, this emphasis on his dying like a grain of wheat, to the disciples, to make it clear to them that his choice to do this, his choice to die on the cross, is so that he can draw the whole world to himself… including those people that Andrew and Philip might find suspect. The idea of God's all-encompassing love is threatening to the narrow views of the religious of his time, so threatening that he is going to let the religious kill him, so that he can make it clear that his love for all people—including his love for those people the religious might not like, those people you may not like—his love for those people is what will triumph in the end. And all this pushes us, as Christians today, to ask who those people are to us? Who are the people that, if they came up to you, you would not really want to invite them to your church? Who are the people you tend to “other,” to set aside, to want to avoid? Maybe it's their politics, or their piety. Maybe it's their documentation status or their social class or even the color of their skin. Who are those people to you? Do you know that God is trying to draw those people to himself as well? He is trying to catch you and them in the grip of his love. After all, you know your conception of God is wrong if you're pretty sure God and Jesus likes the same people you like and hate the people you hate. So maybe die to that today, just a little today. Let God's love rise in you and create in you an expansive love, a love even for those people you would rather avoid. Thanks for being with me. To find out more about my parish, you can go to sjegh.com. Until next time, remember, protest like Jesus, love recklessly, and live your faith out in a community that accepts you but also challenges you to be better tomorrow than you are today. 

Early Church Math Acts 6:1-7 To be someone's best friend requires a minimum investment of time. More than that, though, it takes emotional energy. Caring about someone deeply is exhausting. At a certain point, at somewhere between 10 and 15 people, we begin to overload. -Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, page 177 The figure of __________________ seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us… Ibid, p. 182 The Problem: Multiplied Disciples meant _______________ needs V. 1 The Hebraic Jews were the native Jewish population of Israel. The Hellenistic Jews were __________________ speaking Jewish believers who had come to Jerusalem from other parts of the Roman Empire. Now some assume this was a meals-on-wheels type deal, getting food to widows. But the word there for distribution is the first of three forms of the word “____________________________” in verses 1-4. It is also translated service or ministry. The Solution: ______________ ministers means true needs get met! V. 2-7 This is the only time in Acts the apostles are called the Twelve; they functioned as a plurality of ______________________ in the church of Jerusalem like elders would later in Jerusalem and in every church planted in the Book of Acts. Do you see what's happening here? The apostles understood that if they fed the widows physically they would starve the church ________________________! “The key idea seems to be that ministry is ministry whether it consists of teaching God's Word or taking care of widows.” -Ken Gangel Now since money was involved, the apostles did put some qualifiers around the kind of people they were looking for. They had to have a good ___________________… They had to be Full of the Holy Spirit… They had to be full of wisdom… The Judean believers were willing to let the Non-Judean believers take the lead in this significant ministry. When a need goes unmet in a church, it may be because of leaders who are reluctant to delegate or because members won't step up to meet a need! Biblically based churches know that _______________ member is a minister. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by what every ligament supplies, promotes the growth of the body for the building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part. -Ephesians 4:16 The Result: Gospel Math V. 7 To keep multiplying disciples, a church needs to keep _____________ ministers like you!

Sunday, 27 March 2022   And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, Acts 6:5   The apostles' instructed that seven men should be selected to attend to the daily distribution while they would continue with the duties of their ministry. With that noted, Luke next records, “And the saying pleased the whole multitude.”   This doesn't mean that the apostles required their approval, but that the decision of the apostles was a good, just, and fair one that was agreeable to all who heard it. With this happily rendered decision, it next says, “And they chose Stephen.”   Stephen is the first to be noted of the seven chosen. The reason for noting him first will become evident as the narrative continues. His name (Stephanos in the Greek) means “Crown.” The word stephanos is used in the New Testament when referring to the crown of thorns on Jesus' head as well as the various crowns Paul, Peter, and James refer to in their writings. Revelation also uses the word eight times. Of this person, he is next described as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.”   This statement will be more fully realized later in this chapter and throughout Acts 7. He had a deep-seated faith in the truth of God in Christ as it is realized in the Person of Jesus. He understood Scripture well enough to be able to clearly see that everything written there was leading to Jesus, and that Jesus was the fulfillment of it all. Further, later in this chapter, and as he will speak before the people, the filling of the Holy Spirit for performing signs and wonders, as well as faithfully speaking about the scriptural writings, will become evident.   Next, it says, “and Philip.” His name means “Horse Loving.” He will be noted again in Acts 21 as the evangelist with four daughters who prophesied. Also, as the name was a common one, he may or may not be the same person who preached in Samaria in Acts 8 and then later in the same chapter who met with the Ethiopian eunuch. Next, it notes the following men: Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas.   They are known by their names only and nothing further is noted of them. The name Prochorus literally means “Before the Dancing,” or “Before the Chorus,” but the intent may be “Choir Director.” Nicanor literally means “Man of Victory,” but it may indicate something like “Victorious,” or “Conqueror.” Timon means “Valuable,” or “Honoring.” Parmenas means “Near-Stayer.” One might paraphrase it as the “Guy Close By.” Finally, the list ends, saying, “and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.”   The name means “Victor Over the People.” A proselyte is a non-Jew that has been circumcised and has adopted the religious practices of the Jews.   All of the names are Greek. Although this does not mean they are all Hellenistic Jews, it could mean that. Many Hebrews Jews had both a Hebrew name and another name, usually a Greek one. Whether they are all Hellenists or not, the Greek names show an affinity for the Hellenists. As such, they would be well-suited to be a part of the daily distribution where the Hellenistic widows had been previously overlooked. The selection shows wisdom because of this.   Life application: The selection of these men to serve is specifically given to reveal that the problem had been handled, that the decision was appealing to everyone, and that their particular selection was agreeable because they identified with those who had been previously neglected.   However, the first requirement was already stated in the previous verses. They were first and foremost to be of good reputation and full of the Holy Spirit. It is a lesson that has been almost wholly ignored in our modern world. People of ability have traditionally been chosen because of their abilities first and foremost. It is true that many people of ability have been overlooked because of their race, culture, gender, and so on. But in today's woke world, those characteristics are being placed above ability.   As such, businesses, companies, schools, the military, and governments at all levels are being filled with people who are wholly unqualified for their duties. People are promoted because of skin color, even if they don't have the reasoning of a rabbit. They are promoted because of their gender, even though they could not find their way out of a public bathroom. And they are selected for high-level positions because they have moral leanings comparable to Nero.   When the biblical model is ignored, a society cannot endure. The world is heading down the exact same path that it followed before the flood of Noah. Wickedness is pervading every aspect of society, and the strong and determined hand of judgment will come upon the world because of it. As Christians, we are not to accept nor tolerate these things. We are to keep ourselves from being molded into society's corrupting image. Instead, we are to work as best we can to have society return from the path it has chosen to one of reason and right morals.   Stand firm on what the Bible reveals. Hold fast to its instruction and be pleasing to the Lord who has so directed it to be.   Lord God, Your word is not something we can compromise on. We must hold to its moral precepts and stand fast on what You have revealed. Help us in this. The world is devolving into wickedness and immorality, and it is so easy to be swept along with that tide. May we stand fast on the Rock of our salvation and proclaim the better way! Yes, help us in this Lord God. Amen.  

Multiplication in a new direction            Growth as the Spirit leads. Question is this: why does the movement not have a name? Because they don't see themselves as being outside of what is Jewish. Their worldview is very different from ours.  They see Jesus as the waited Messiah, so it is the completion of what they have been trying to defend. Here is the clash that the leaders had with Jesus, the apostles, and now the Hellenistic Jews.             The attack is similar to Jesus and the apostles who are arrested, tried before the Sanhedrin, and punished.              The face like an Angel is like Moses, the men in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:19,25; Exodus 34: 29,30) and Jesus at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:29) is a sign of Godly authority to speak on his behalf.Things like Jesus:Wisdom that cannot be refuted: “for I will provide you eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute.”  Luke 21:15 NASB2020Sequence of events: open confrontation, spies, agitating the people, arrest, brought to trial at the Sanhedrin  The “passion” of Stephen: false witnesses, blasphemy, accused of speaking against the temple, and Moses.  This accusation is repeated 3 times just as when Jesus is brought before Pilate.The apostolic succession, and the future of this movement to the Gentiles is getting the same foundation as to the Jews.What do we learn from this?How are we preparing?Understanding the issues within the Jewish mindset. What did the Pharisees believe? Why are they so upset?The focus on Jesus and an experience that results in demonstrating the passion for The one true God!            Like The fiery furnace, Moses, the transfiguration Our commitment to Jesus

Thanks for listening!  Please support the Rob Skinner Podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/robskinner. This episode is the third of a three-part series called “Go Get It.”  I'm going to be talking about how to make 2022 your best year so far spiritually.  I know that if you are listening to this podcast that you are ambitious for Christ.  You are hungry to make this life count and to do whatever it takes to grow spiritually and make a difference for God.  I want to share with you three things that will help you make 2022 your best year so far.  I talked about: Get happy Get Help This final episode the title is Get Focused. All this and more on the Rob Skinner Podcast!  Get Focused Luke 10:39-42 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha was a loving, caring person and was worried and upset, distracted by many things. Mary focused on only one thing: Being with Jesus, focusing on him and listening to him. By nature, small church leaders have to do many things. You have to be good at many different things: Setting a good example Preaching Raising a good family Being kind and encouraging Meeting needs Bringing visitors Organizing events, Sundays and midweeks Building your career if you are self-supporting This is why ministers burn-out and quit: A 2013 study from the Schaeffer Institute reports that 1,700 pastors leave the ministry each month, citing depression, burnout, or being overworked as the primary reasons. According to the study, 90% of pastors report working 55 to 70 hours a week, and 50% of them feel unable to meet the demands of the job. You start in ministry doing what you love the most: Preaching Teaching the gospel in Bible studies Staying close to God When you grow your church, the number of problems only increases. Personal sharing Discipling too many people Trying to meet all the needs Taking on too many extra projects Not doing what really brought me joy Becoming an administrator rather than what I loved. Look at how the Apostles got focused in Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word…” 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The church was growing, the needs were growing. How did the apostles respond?  They met the needs through others and refocused on their primary calling. What's the solution for us? Figure out your “One Thing” Share about the book: “The One Thing” by Gary Keller He says we should ask ourselves: “What's the One Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Practical application: List all the areas that matter to you: (Show Worksheet) Relationship with God Ministry and leadership Personal evangelism and outreach Marriage and family Finances Friends Fun and adventure New Skills or Learning What can you do to improve in those areas? List out five ideas Circle the “one thing” that will make the biggest difference. Personal example 2022 Decisions: Spirituality: Weekly Sabbath Church and Family: Consistent, weekly discipling times with Pam & my primary leaders Health Walk 10,000 steps a day Conclusion Get happy Delight yourself in the Lord Get help Pray and ask for outside attention and “eyes” to help you see what you might be missing Get focused Put the work in to narrow your focus on what makes the biggest difference in the areas that matter the most to you and God.

God blesses Stephen with an apostolic ministry and opponents rise up against him from every corner of the Roman world. In this instalment of our series in Acts, Pastor Mpumelelo explains the devilish response of the Hellenistic Jews against Stephen's ministry.

Join us as Brian continues The Greatest Stories Rarely Told, taking a look at some of the greatest, yet lesser-known stories of the Bible, that point back to our 3 core values; Sacrificial Generosity, Radical Hospitality, and Uncommon Humility. I've accepted Jesus • https://willamette.cc/follow-christ • Let us know you made this decision, and we'll help you discover what's next! Get Baptized • https://willamette.cc/baptisms • If you have accepted Jesus but have never had the opportunity to celebrate your new life in Him through water baptism, this is your next step! Share Your Story • https://willamette.cc/grow#story • How is God working in and through your life? If you want to share your story, fill out a short form to let us know! Sermon Notes - June 27, 2021The Greatest Stories Rarely Told - Brian Becker “A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do. A disciple is not a person who has things under control, or knows a lot of things. Disciples simply are people who are constantly revising their affairs to carry through on their decision to follow Jesus.” - Dallas Willard Sacrificial GenerosityRadical HospitalityUncommon Humility Acts 6:1-7 (NIV)In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.In those days when the number of disciples was increasing…___________________________________________________________ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly… Acts 5:14 (NIV)“…more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” Acts 5:16 (NIV)“…Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” Acts 4:31 (NIV)“…After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 6:1a (NIV)In those days when the number of disciples was increasing… Acts 6:1 (NIV)In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. Acts 6:3-4 (NIV)Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5This proposal pleased the whole group. Acts 6:5 (NIV)They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. Acts 6:7 (NIV)So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. The gospel flows through generosity. Malachi 3:10 (NIV)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Do you see God's generosity towards you?How has your view on generosity expanded?Are you willing to do something new? The gospel flows through generosity.

In today's episode we continue our series “Radical Acts” the story of the birth of the multiethnic church.  Last episode we left off with the story of Stephen, the Hellenistic Jew.  Stephen was an “ethnic outsider” to the predominantly ethnically Jewish early church, and once in leadership, he went to share the story of Jesus … Continue reading Episode 140: Radical Acts – “The Lost Cause of the Hellenistic Jews.”

In this week's study, we see another issue pop up in the early church; division between the greek speaking "Hellenistic" Jews and the Hebrew-speaking, local, "Hebraic" jews. We look at how the apostles deal with this issue and we are introduced to yet another amazing man of God, Stephen. Watch this video: https://youtu.be/qSnNlsjPr3M Contact Dave: dave@davebigler.com Join the Email List: http://eepurl.com/g-2zAD

In Acts 6 we see the first complaint recorded in the church. The Hellenistic Jews complained that their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. The twelve gathered the congregation of disciples and put a plan in place to select some men of good reputation to take charge of this task. These men were to have the Spirit and wisdom within them. They were to uphold this task utilizing knowledge, experience, common sense, and insight. Every position in the church is important for the overall function and effectiveness to expand the Kingdom of God. Are we as the church fulfilling needs when we see them or are we relying on others to take up the opportunity? Are we also allowing God to make us into people with a good reputation in the process? Jesus gave us the perfect example of what it looks like to be a servant to others. These tasks can feel difficult, but they're more than attainable because Jesus has overcome all obstacles that come our way when we're obedient to accomplishing his will. We are never alone. "Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.' The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And they brought these men before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them."Acts 6:1-6