God's Work in Our Lives
Acts 7:17-37
(Scripture Reading vs. 17-23)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - Sept. 29, 2013
BACKGROUND:
*Here in Acts 7 we continue our study of the trial of Stephen. He was a good, godly man, and one of the first deacons. But in this chapter, he was on trial for his life before the Supreme Court of Israel. The trial was a mockery of justice, because the charges against Stephen were all based on lies from false witnesses.
*During this trial, Stephen did something that we would never recommend in court today: He defended himself. Surely, he was under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. And by His Holy Spirit, God spoke through Stephen to put that Court on trial. The stinging indictment from God will come down near the end of chapter 7.
*But in tonight's Scripture, Stephen continued his history lesson by telling the court about Moses. In vs. 17-23, Stephen talked about Moses' earlier years:
17. "But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
18. till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
19. This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
20. At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.
21. But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
22. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
23. But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
INTRODUCTION:
*We look at a Bible hero like Moses, and it's easy to see how God worked in his life. But can you see God's work in your life tonight? I hope so. God was at work in Moses' life, and He is surely at work in ours.
*How does God work in our lives? -- This Scripture helps us to see.
1. Notice first that the Lord sees our struggles.
*The Children of Israel help us see this truth in vs. 17-19, where Stephen said:
17. "But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
18. till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
19. This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
*The Children of Israel were going through a terrible time. It may have seemed like God had abandoned them, but vs. 34 reminds us that He is always on the job watching over His people. There the Lord told Moses: "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."
*The Lord was watching over the Children of Israel and He is surely watching over us. We need to know that. We may be going through a hard time right now, but God knows what we are going through. And even when help seems delayed, we must not lose heart. Don't give up on God!
*John Killinger is a pastor who taught at Vanderbilt University for 15 years. He also served as a dean in one of the colleges. Listen to this testimony John gave about a Christian lady who was trusting in the Lord:
"I remember a delightful little white-haired lady I used to visit in one of my parishes. Her name was Deanne Gwaltney. I sometimes teased Deanne about having a man's name, and told her I had once been a dean too.
*I once asked Deanne, who was then in her 80's, how she felt about all the change taking place in the world. 'Oh, I don't worry about it at all,' she said with a twinkle in her eye. 'You know, God has always managed to bring the best out of the worst, and somehow I don't think God will fail us now!'" (1)
*God is not going to fail us! And we know the Lord is at work in our lives, because He Lord sees our struggles.
2. Sometimes the Lord also develops us with a detour.
*Moses knew all about detours. God had a great plan for his life, but it was a very dangerous time in Egypt for Hebrew baby boys, so the Lord made sure Moses was safe in Pharaoh's house. As we read in vs. 20-21:
20. At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.
21. But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
*Then after Moses was grown, we see a big detour in his life. That's in vs. 22-30, where the Bible says:
22. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
23. But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
24. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
25. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
26. And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?'
27. But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28. Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?'
29. Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
30. And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
*In vs. 24, Moses killed that Egyptian, thinking that his people would follow him, thinking that he was ready to lead his people. Then, 40 years later when God called Moses to lead, he tried to turn the job down because he didn't feel qualified to lead his people.
*Moses thought he was ready when he wasn't. Then he thought he wasn't ready when he was. This reminds us that we always need wisdom and help from God. And sometimes He develops us with a detour.
*Moses learned a lot in Egypt. Verse 22 tells us that "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds." But that wasn't enough, so God took Moses out into the wilderness and gave him a job tending sheep. Moses had to learn how to be a shepherd. And why did God want Moses to learn how to be a shepherd? -- Because the Lord is a good shepherd, and He wanted Moses to shepherd His people.
*God also had to teach Moses how to wait 40 years, because the Lord knew that the Children of Israel would have to wander for 40 years. That was a sad, but necessary detour, because the Children of Israel had to learn to trust in the Lord.
*Nobody likes a detour, but sometimes they are necessary. One day Billy and Ruth Graham were driving through a long stretch of road construction. They had many slowdowns, detours and stops along the way. Finally, they reached the end of all that difficulty, and smooth pavement stretched out before them.
*That's when Ruth saw a road sign that said: "End of construction. Thanks for your patience." And Ruth told Billy those words would be a great inscription on her tombstone someday: "End of construction. Thanks for your patience." (2)
*Ruth Graham is buried on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her grave is marked with a modest stone, and you know what? That is the inscription on Ruth's gravestone: "End of construction. Thank you for your patience." Ruth understood that God's transforming work requires a lifetime. (3)
*And Christians: God is not through with us yet! We're not home ye, but we are on the way to the everlasting Promised Land! Some of us would be willing to go home right now, if the Lord would allow it. But He has some more to teach us, and His timing is perfect.
*God is at work in our lives: He develops us with detours.
3. And He meets with us in a miraculous way.
*Moses reminds us of this truth in vs. 30-33, because:
30. . . when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
31. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
32. saying, 'I am the God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and dared not look.
33. 'Then the Lord said to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
*The Lord God met with Moses in a dramatic and miraculous way. This angel was not just any angel. It was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. Ordinary angels don't say what this angel said in vs. 32: "I am the God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . ."
*Through the burning bush, the Lord met with Moses in a dramatic and miraculous way. But Christians, as I said this morning: It's good to remember that God is always with us, even when we are not aware of His presence.
*God was close to Moses every day of that long 40 years he spent in the wilderness tending sheep. God didn't just get back from a long vacation when He set that bush on fire. The Lord was always with Moses.
*And because of the cross of Jesus Christ, God is even closer to us, even when we are not aware of it. In those times, God is like a good father following a little toddler around. That baby doesn't have a clue. He is looking ahead, wobbling around, seeing where he can go, and what he can do. But there his father is, right behind him, with His arms stretched out, ready to catch him if he falls.
*Linda Sledge learned this lesson from a day she will never forget. She was a little girl playing on a Hawaiian beach near where she lived. But Linda had wandered away from her parents, and suddenly a huge wave knocked her off her feet into the water. She managed to get up, but the retreating wave washed the sand out from under her feet. Then, crash, another wave struck, and she fell again.
*Linda cried out for her parents. All she could see was the vast ocean ahead. She thought she was doomed. But just then two strong arms reached out from behind, and pulled her to safety. "Don't be afraid," her father said. "I've been watching you all the time." (4)
*That's what God is like. And sometimes He makes us extra aware of His presence, not with a burning bush, but with a burning heart. He speaks to us through His miraculous Word, and we realize it.
*We know that He is here. And just like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:32, we can say: "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?'' It is a holy and humbling thing to be aware of the presence of the Lord.
*God is at work in our lives. He meets with us in a miraculous way.
4. And He has an important mission in mind for us.
*The Lord reminds us of this truth as He speaks to Moses in vs. 34, and says: "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."
*God had a mission for Moses, and God has a mission for us! He may not want us to lead a nation. But He definitely wants us to make a difference in our world! And He definitely wants us to help other people make it to the Promised Land!
*Cleavon Matthews explained our mission this way: "As individuals Christians, we have an assignment. And every assignment given to us from God is important."
*Here are some of the assignments Cleavon listed:
[1] Proclamation: Mark 16:15, "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."
[2] Illumination: Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
[3] Consecration: 1 Peter 1:15, "But as he who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation."
[4] Maturation: 2 Peter 3:18, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . ."
[5] Dedication: Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
*God has a mission for us in every stage and station of life. God is at work in our lives. He has an important mission in mind for us.
5. And He surely wants to save our souls.
*This is the message for us in vs. 35-37, where the deacon Stephen said:
35. "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36. He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
37. This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.'"
*Of course, that Prophet is the Lord Jesus Christ. God sent Moses to lead the Hebrews to the earthly Promised Land in Israel. But He sent Jesus to lead us all to the eternal Promised Land in Heaven!
*Moses was only a picture of what God had in mind. And he could never pay the price that Jesus paid to set us free and take us home. Jesus left His home in Heaven. He came into this broken and hurting world to hurt for us. He came to suffer and die on the cross for us. And then Jesus rose again to save everyone who will hear Him and receive Him as Lord. Stephen knew this truth beyond the shadow of a doubt. That's why he was on trial for His life.
*God wants to save souls. I think about my mother coming to know the Lord. Before my mother met my dad, she had a sad life. Both of her parents were alcoholics, and she went through a terrible marriage at 17. It was so bad that she never talked about it, even once.
*Mom's life brightened after World War II, when she met and married my dad. But he passed away when he was only 55, and she blamed God. She was so mad at God for taking my dad. But eight years later Mom saw God's Hand at work through those tragic circumstances, and she was ready to trust in Jesus.
*God gave me the privilege of leading my mother to the Lord. Mom was 68-years-old, and she had been through many detours in her life:
-The detour of neglectful parents.
-The detour of a short and terrible marriage.
-The detour of attending church, where the cross was seldom preached.
-The detour of a rebellious son who broke her heart many times.
-The detour of false friends who cheated my father out of most of his money.
-And the detour of a terrible illness that took my dad to an early grave.
*Mom had been through many detours in her life. But she put her trust in Jesus Christ, and 10 years later He took her home. All of that time, God was at work in my mother's life. When she went through terrible heartache, and mostly when she couldn't see it, God's hand was at work in my mother's life.
CONCLUSION:
*And we should know. We must believe that God is at work in our lives today.
-He sees our struggles.
-He develops us with detours.
-He wants to meet with us in miraculous ways.
-He has missions in mind for us.
-And He wants to save souls.
*God is surely at work in our lives. Savor this truth as we go to God in prayer.
(1) csec.org - "The Everlasting Breath of Jesus" by John Killinger
(2) SermonCentral illustration contributed by Paul Fritz
(3) Home Life, February 2014, p.33 - Source: "IN OTHER WORDS" - March 2014 #2 - Produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
(4) "The Clergy Journal" - Possible source: "Dynamic Preaching"
