Where Does God Live?
Series: Acts
Chuck Sligh
May 3, 2015
TEXT: Turn to Acts 7
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever heard a church referred to as “God’s house?” I’ve often used this term myself, speaking of the importance of being faithful to “God’s house” by which I meant to the services of the church.
Illus. – I heard a mother talking to her daughter one time who was misbehaving after church, running around like a little banshee chicken. I was about to go and talk to her myself, but thankfully, her mother came in and saw her rambunctious behavior. She grabbed her arm and said, “Beth, you must not behave that way here. This is God’s house.”
Well, I don’t want to split hairs here, but Stephen would never refer to a church building as the house of God, and his statements to that effect where what got him stoned to death.
Last week we saw what we could learn from his life and martyrdom, but today we want to zero in specifically on Stephen’s defense before the Jewish religious leaders, which turned into a combination history lesson and lecture in theology. In it, Stephen teaches some basic biblical teachings these men should have known, but which they obfuscated because it would mean the loss of power and privilege. By confronting them with their false perception of God and their rejection of God’s new working through Jesus Christ, to shut him up, they flew into a fit of rage to kill him.
Let’s examine Stephen’s defense, and think about what his teachings mean to us 2000 years later.
I. FIRST STEPHEN TAKES THESE JEWISH LEADERS ON A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE.
What Stephen does is give a short synopsis of Jewish history. He takes a trip down memory lane for a reason, and what he was implying is what got him killed.
This is a long chapter, so we won’t read it all, so let me see if I can summarize his main point in one sentence, and then we’ll choose selected verses from his defense to help us get the thrust of what he was trying to say to them. In summary, Stephen was challenging the basis of these men’s authority.
They were all wrapped up in the temple. The temple was where you met God. The temple was “God’s house” and though they recognized the omnipresence of God in the abstract as a theological concept, they conveyed the idea that to get to God; to experience God; to be with God; you had to go to the temple, even if you had to make a pilgrimage from many miles away.
Stephen turns this upside down by saying that all the great men of God in Jewish history experienced God; knew God; felt his presence and experienced His power…long before there ever was a permanent temple.
Let’s look at Stephen’s main points:
1) First, Stephen said in verses 2-8 that God was with ABRAHAM wherever he went.
We’ll not read the whole passage, but look at verse 2 as an introduction to his thoughts – “And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.”
In verses 3-8 Stephen told how God worked in Abraham’s life, and led him, and guided him and gave him promises of great blessings to come even though he had no building to worship God in; no traditions handed down and no rituals.
2) Next, in verses 9-19, Stephen told them that God was with JOSEPH.
Again, we’ll not read it all, but look at verse 9 – “And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him.”
God was with Joseph while he was IN SLAVERY IN EGYPT; while he was IN PRISON; and while he was PRIME MINISTER OF EGYPT—even though he had no building to worship God in, and no traditions and ceremonies to follow.
3) Next, Stephen told them in verses 20-43 that God had been with MOSES.
This is a long passage, but the essence of his words here was to prove that God was with Moses while he was in Pharaoh’s house; in Midian; on Mt. Sinai; during the Exodus and in their desert wanderings—even though he had no building to worship God in, and only after God gave the pattern of the tabernacle were there any ceremonies to follow.
4) Then in verses 44-45, Stephen reminded them that God was with JOSHUA as he led the Israelites into the Promised Land, even though God had no permanent building.
Yes, he had the Tabernacle, but that was only meant to be temporary, and it was never meant to convey the idea that God was confined to that one place.
5) Next, Stephen told them that God had been with DAVID
Look at the last phrase of verses 45-46 – “…unto the days of David. 46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.”
David desired with all his heart to build God a permanent temple, but God wouldn’t allow Him to. You see, the temple was not that big a deal to God. David didn’t need a temple to have God’s presence and power in his life. God was with David as he ruled the nation of Israel his whole life.
6) Finally, Stephen preached to these Jewish leaders that God was with SOLOMON in Jerusalem – verse 47 – “But Solomon built him an house.”
Solomon finally built the temple after all these centuries of God working in the lives of these great men of God. But here’s a thought: Once Solomon built a permanent temple, from that time onward in Israel’s history, spiritually speaking, it was downhill all the way. Building a house for God didn’t make the Israelites experience God in any better way than when there had not been a temple to worship in!
Everything that Stephen had said up to this point led up to his conclusion in verses 48-50 – “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? 50 Hath not my hand made all these things?”
Stephen’s point throughout this survey of Old Testament history was this: GOD DOES NOT LIVE IN BUILDINGS MADE BY MEN.
This is exactly what got these Jewish leaders so riled up. Preaching about God not living in temples only infringed upon their territory. They had a racket going where they had a corner on religion, a pretty profitable one at that. Whenever anyone wanted to get close to God, they had to go through these religious men in the temple.
But God wanted to change the way people thought they had to come to God. Stephen thoroughly proved that this was not something new—some new, innovative, strange doctrine; some cultic idea foreign to the scriptures. His point in going through Old Testament history was to show that God had NEVER been confined to buildings, no matter what these religious hypocrites said to the contrary.
II. NEXT I WANT YOU TO SEE HOW, AFTER HIS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE, STEPHEN “TELLS IT LIKE IT IS.”
What he had said up to that point no doubt was starting to worry these Jewish leaders. But so far, he was simply implying uncomfortable, inconvenience truths. He hadn’t accused them of anything straight out—yet.
They didn’t have to wait long. Verses 51-53 are a good lesson on how NOT to “win friends and influence people,” but they sure are a good lesson how to “tell it like it is.” Let’s read his words in verses 51-53: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:as your fathers did, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
This caused an immediate reaction, which led to Christianity's first martyrdom: Look at Acts 7:52-60 – “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. 54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Did you notice the reaction of these leaders when they heard Stephen’s words? They were FURIOUS and gnashed their teeth at Stephen. They covered their ears like little children, and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him.
Thus ended the life of a man who was true to the truth to the end.
CONCLUSION
Now what are we to make of what Stephen said to these men? In other words, what applications can we draw from Stephen’s message to our own lives today?
1) First, don’t lose sight of Stephen’s central point: that God does not live in man-made buildings. – Acts 7:48 – “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands…”
Illus. – When I pastored in England, we met in a school. When we told people where we met, many British people did not consider us a “proper” church, because we didn’t yet have our own building. But did you know that the Apostle Paul also met in a school? In fact, he met in a school for two years according to Acts 19:9-10.
Did you know that NONE of the New Testament churches had church buildings? You see, church buildings are simply meeting places. Other than that, they’re just brick and mortar. God doesn’t live in buildings, but WHEREVER TRUE BELIEVERS ARE. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
Illus. – Having had the privilege to live in Europe and visit almost every European country, I’ve visited some of the world’s great cathedrals—Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the Notre Dame in France, Westminster Abbey in England, Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, and many others less well known, but no less beautiful. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s how DEAD they seem. They’re certainly outwardly beautiful—but in reality, they’re just cold, lifeless stone and mortar. Why?—Because GOD is not in them. If God is not IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE inside the building, then God is not IN THE BUILDING!
The truth is that God is wherever two or three are gathered together to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, even if it’s in a town hall, or a school or a store front.
Yes, having our own church building has advantages, but only if THE PEOPLE IN IT have God in their hearts. Just going into a building that’s called a “church” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to experience God. And even going to a church that’s full of people who do have Jesus in their hearts doesn’t necessarily mean that YOU will experience God.
The only way that you can experience God is if you have God in our own heart. Does God live in your heart? If not, let me encourage you to come this morning and be saved.
2) The second personal application I’d like to drive home is this: If you’re a believer, WHEREVER YOU ARE is holy ground. – Acts 7:33 – “Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.”
Holy ground COULD BE in A CHURCH BUILDING; it should also be AT WORK; it ought to be AT PLAY; and it MUST BE at HOME! The religious leaders of Stephen’s day had turned the temple into a special, holy place “where God lived” and they expected everyone to act differently in there because that’s where they thought God lived.
Why do some people want to do the same thing with a church building today? Well, if the church building made by human hands is the Holy Ground of God, then THEY DON’T HAVE TO TAKE GOD HOME WITH THEM! They can do whatever they want—use foul language, lie, cheat, gossip, lust, hate, worry, fear—as long as they aren’t in “God’s house.”
But Stephen teaches us that if you’re a Christian—WHEREVER you stand is holy ground! God dwells WHEREVER you are—so you’d better be careful where you go and what you do and what you say—because GOD IS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU and you don’t want to defile holy ground through sin!
Do you live as if wherever you went, you really were standing on holy ground; as if, as is truly the case, God is with you wherever you go; as if He really did hear every word you said and could read each thought you thought.
We should certainly live our lives so as not to lead a sinner astray or to be a stumbling block for some weak believer, but let me give you an even more compelling example to live a life of holiness. How about doing it because wherever you are is holy ground. May God help us to live for God with the immediate holy presence of God with us everywhere we go every day of the week.
