INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today we continue with our Great Complaints series by looking at a complaint on steroids!
• There are many things in life that we can complain about, but one of the more difficult things we deal with is change.
• It is amazing what we will do sometimes to avoid dealing with change.
• We will stress about the smallest of changes at times.
• Change is even more difficult to accept when the change involves a change of how one lives life.
• Today we will dive into a tragic event recorded in the book of Acts that reveals an extreme case of rejecting change.
• The us begin with for first observation, it begins with…
• SLIDE #2
SERMON
I. The messenger.
• I want to begin our journey with some background concerning our messenger and the context in which this scenario played out.
• The scene takes place around 3 years after Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Jesus was crucified in 30 A.D. Paul was converted about 34 A.D., so we place this event in 33 or possibly early 34 A.D.
• The Church was growing and at this point most of the growth was coming from the Jewish community. The Jewish leaders obviously were not too happy that they were bleeding members to this new-fangled religion that was built upon the man they crucified!
• The Jewish leaders were trying all they could to stomp, as it was called, The Way, out of existence.
• The harder they tried, the more it grew.
• So that takes us to our messenger of the day.
• The messenger was a man named Stephen. Our first contact with Stephen is in Acts 6.
• In Acts 6, the church was growing and there was a problem, the Greek speaking (Hellenistic) Jews were complaining that their widows were not being taken care of like the Hebrew Jews were.
• After prayer and leading by God, the church appointed our first Deacons, of which Stephen, was one.
• The Apostles, who were the only ones who could pass on the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, laid hands on Stephen and the other Deacons, so that they too could perform the miraculous manifestations of the Spirit.
• In Acts 6:8, we see that Stephen was full of grace and power, he was performing great signs and wonders among the people.
• Then according to verse 9, trouble started as many Hellenistic Jews rose up to oppose Stephen as he preached.
• The problem for the opposition was that Stephen was filled with the Spirit and they could not stand up to his wisdom.
• So, what do you do when you can’t win an argument, you try to twist words and falsely accuse the one you cannot win against.
• Stephens opposition got all the networks to get the people stirred up and subsequently, Stephen was seized and taken to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High court.
• So, his accusers sent a parade of false witnesses against Stephen, yet according to verse 15, we are told Stephen’s face looked like that of an Angel.
• Can you imagine having to endure folks lying about you.
• Their great complaint was that Stephen was teaching against the Law of Moses.
• What is ironic about the false charge is those who claim to uphold the Law, themselves were breaking it by presenting false witnesses.
• Anyway, I digress.
• As Stephen was being falsely accused, he just listened, and apparently without any anger or malice.
• This brings us to our next thought.
• SLIDE #3
II. The message.
• The audience in which Stephen found himself was not in the least bit eager to hear what he had to say.
• We face a similar audience today as we try to share the message; however, not quit as hostile.
• Stephen, instead of pleading his innocence, did one of the things the Jews loved, Stephen’s defense was a trip down memory lane.
• The Jews loved to recite their glorious history, and that is what Stephen did; however, he did so with a point to make.
• In the bulk of chapter 7, we find Stephen’s defense. Stephen is trying to get his audience to realize that they need to change, that the Law they so covet, has been replaced with Jesus and the New Covenant.
• Without going into all of the message, Stephen offers a 4-point outline.
• In the first 16 verses, he speaks on the subject of Abraham and the Patriarchs. The emphasis is on God and the fact that God did not have to be worshipped in a temple or in Jerusalem.
• Then in verses 17-29 Stephen shifts to Moses in Egypt. The focus was on the fact that the people of Israel rejected the leadership of Moses, he was implying the leadership of his day was doing the same thing because Moses pointed to Jesus.
• In verses 30-43, he shifts the message to the Israelites time in the wilderness. The focus was on the Law and how those who broke the Law were punished.
• He also pointed out in verse 37, that the Law looked forward to its own abrogation.
• Then Stephen polishes off the message in verse s 44-50, as he spoke of the Tabernacle and the Temple. The focus was on the Temple, on how it supplanted the Tabernacle as the place of worship.
• So, the focus of Stephen was to get the people to see the flow of things that change with God, and how all these things pointed to a change from the Law to Jesus.
• Stephen was showing that what he was teaching was in line harmony with the Old Testament Prophets in showing there is a better way to worship than the worship conducted in the temple.
• Well, it seemed to be going well, then something changed as the audience, who was not stupid, started to catch the drift of what Stephen was preaching.
• Next let us look at….
• SLIDE #4
III. The reception.
• Well something changed, Stephen went from telling the story of the nation to this!
• SLIDE #5
• Acts 7:51–53 (CSB) — 51 “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. 52 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. 53 You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it.”
• Stephen uses the same language that Moses used when he was upset with the Israelites when Stephen called them stiff-necked.
• Stiff-necked referred to an animal what would not allow itself to be yoked or bridled. It refers to being stubborn.
• He also said they were always resisting the Holy Spirit, that they persecuted all of the prophets.
• Stephen also said their hearts and ears were uncircumcised.
• Circumcision was a sign of being a Jew and a sign of acknowledging the authority of the Law of Moses.
• But here we have folks who had gone through the ritual, but their hearts were not in it and their ears were not willing listen.
• They were willing to acknowledge the Law, but not submit to it.
• As Christians, we have to make sure the act of Baptism is not just a ritual, but rather that we live like we are a part of God’s family.
• Too many cling to their baptism, but are unwilling to humble themselves before the Lord. The audience was fake on the outside and fake on the inside.
• The people were all ritual and no relationship.
• Stephen finishes his talk by saying the following.
• SLIDE #6
• Acts 7:54–56 (CSB) — 54 When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
• When he said this the crowd rushed Stephen and dragged him out of the city and proceeded to stone him to death.
• SLIDE #7
IV. The reaction.
• This is where I wanted to get to this morning.
• Stephen seemed harsh, but he was making one final attempt to wake these people up.
• Stephen wanted them to receive message and change their ways because he cared for them.
• We see that the people did not want to change, they were in the process of killing Stephen.
• What do you do when you and your message get rejected? How do we deal with it?
• Now, admittedly, Stephen’s rejection was a rejection on steroids.
• How does he deal with this as his life is leaving his body?
• SLIDE #8
• Acts 7:60 (CSB) He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he died.
• WOW!
• I want you to think about this for a moment. Put yourself in the terrible position that Stephen was in.
• How would you react? I am amazed at how Stephen pleads with God not to hold this sin against his killers. I pray I could react the same way.
• How could he do that?
• The answer is simple, JESUS!
• When Jesus was on the cross being crucified, He ask the Father to forgive his murders, for they did not know what they were doing.
• We talk a good game with Jesus. WE can send Memes on Facebook, share or write wonderful Christian blog posts, but are we walking the walk or just talking the talk?
• See, for Stephen, Jesus was not just a piece of Jewelry, nor was He a philosophy to follow when he felt like it.
• For Stephen, Jesus was his life. Jesus changed him.
• Stephen was not fake in any way, Stephen was sold out for Jesus.
• Stephen died like he lived, for Jesus. Stephen was not all show and no go, Stephen possessed a genuine faith that passed the test.
CONCLUSION
• WE possess a message that will get rejected more times than not for many reasons.
• The thing we have to consider is how do we react when rejected?
• The answer is just like Jesus.
• Here is something I want to leave you with. During the stoning of Stephen there was a young man in the crowd, a young man who watched over the garments of those who would stone Stephen to death.
• This young man was Saul, who later would become a disciple of Jesus and write a good chunk of the New Testament.
• Who knows the impact of the grace at which Stephen handled his death.
• In the aftermath of this, Saul was more vigorous in his persecution of the church.
• A year or so later, Saul will meet Jesus on the road to Damascus.
• Just a closing thought, if you did not know, Luke is the author of the book of Acts, where do you think he got the details of this event?
• Inspiration, in some way probably. Or could this have come from an eye witness to the event, the Apostle Paul himself.
