"I See the Lord"

Link to service:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APn81wsQRRo

“I See The Lord”

Acts 7:1-8:3

February 19, 2023

This is a long sermon text this morning, but it is all of one piece.  We need to read the whole thing through in order to get the full impact Luke intended.

This is the word of the LORD.

We continue in our series regarding the early church as it is described in Acts.  As you may recall from last week, in Chapter 6, Stephen got involved in a confrontation with the leaders of a local synagogue.  They were unable to prevail against him in debate, so they stirred up the people with false statements about him.  He was suddenly arrested and brought before the same tribunal that Jesus had faced.

Chapter 7 is Stephen’s defense.  It was a great speech detailing the acts of God on behalf of the people of Israel and their stubborn opposition to God’s grace.  Historically, this passage marks a transition to violent opposition to the growing acceptance of the message of the gospel.

Suffering Saints

The thing that stuck out to me was Stephen’s willingness to declare the truth in the midst of people willing to throw stones at him.  Think about that for a moment.  Put yourself in his literal shoes: picture yourself standing in the midst of mob angry enough to seek to physically harm you because of what you are saying.  The thought of keeping quiet might cross my mind.  I cannot tell you how many witnesses I counseled, “Silence is your friend.”  That, and “less is more” were the two things I would tell my witnesses.  “Say only what you absolutely need to say.”  How would you have felt if you were Stephen?

These days, we do not need a mob in order to be intimidated into silence . It is difficult to talk about the gospel in normal conversation.  You know the temperature of the culture.  We have had a great case-in-point illustration in this past week.  During the Superbowl last Sunday, there were two commercials run about “He Gets Us.”

The ads are part of the campaign's efforts "to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness," according to the "He Gets Us" website.  Yet, as the campaign pushes a message of unity, the ads have been called out in left-leaning circles for their ties to conservative, anti-LGBTQ, and pro-life causes.

In some conservative circles, the campaign has been the target of criticism for its depiction of Christianity.  Many far-right influencers and figureheads have attacked the ads on Twitter for their fundamental messages. 

"While I pray God uses the He Gets Us ads to bring people to Christ, the campaign presents a false, worldly Jesus instead of pointing people to the true gospel," Christian-conservative influencer Allie Beth Stuckey tweeted during the Super Bowl.[1] 

Christ is divisive, exclusive, intolerant, and hateful; or so goes the current climate when Christianity is discussed.  Either that, or faith is considered personal.  It is private.

What happens if you do start talking religion?  If I am in a group or in a setting where I do not know people well or have a good indication as to how they will react, I get anxious.  I feel my stomach flip and my chest tighten up.  I confess there are times when I have walked around praying for spiritual camouflage; hoping that no one will call attention to me and ask me to do anything “God-ish.”

I have been to a number of non-church events as a guest where I have been called out of the group to come forward to say a prayer, “Hey, you are a pastor – why don’t you come up and offer a pray for us?”  On the one hand, it is an honor to be asked to pray for anyone and what a great opportunity to witness; on the other hand, there are times when I would like to simple go and just be.

We do not always get to pick our spots to share our faith.  Some situations are as dangerous as Stephen’s defense and some are as innocuous as my standing up to pray in front of a group of people I do not know.  Sometimes we can plan for our time of sharing.  Sometimes, we are in a place where the decision is thrust upon us – we face a choice.  We do not always get to pick when those choices come, but there are two things we can do so we are not flustered when they do:

1. Expect that surprises will come; and,
2. Decide now how you will respond then.

How important is Jesus to you?  That seems like an accusatory way to ask, but it is the foundational question: how important is Jesus to you?

Saints are those for whom the message of the gospel has so permeated their being that they are unwilling to give it up for anything else.  That was Stephen; he was ready with his testimony when the false charges against him were made to the Temple authorities.  For him, the decision had already been made.  He was prepared and had been prepared.  How?

Clearly Stephen had a grasp of the faith.  He had been raised up by the community as a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit.  He acted on that faith and in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  In short, he practiced and lived into what he believed.  His faith was important enough to be more than a sabbath-day activity; rather, his faith informed how he spent his time, how he would make choices, and, here, what he held as his priority.  He knew what was most valuable.

We have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Receiving the righteousness before God that comes as a gift to us by faith is so valuable that nothing else compares – even physical well-being.  So that begs the question again: How valuable is the gift of salvation and your adoption as a child of God to you?

Stephen knew how he would respond.  Again, though, I try to put myself into his shoes: either as Stephen or someone advising Stephen.  And what comes to mind immediately is the other bit of counsel I used to share with clients: there are several ways to tell the truth.  You can tell the truth in a way that helps you.  You can tell the truth in a way that neither helps nor hurts you.  But, there is for sure a way you can tell the truth that will hurt you.

Sometimes those three options are not available.  Sometimes the gospel often involves hard truths that will sound harsh to those who do not believe.  It will come across as judgment and wrath.  Look at Stephen’s words in the close of his argument – he was not looking for people to think nice thoughts of him.  He was telling hard truths: “You stiff necked people.”  That does not sound nice.  “Uncircumcised in heart and ears.” You refuse to hear the truth; you do not recognize God when he is speaking to you.  You are forever opposing the Holy Spirit.”  Again, true; but this is not the “you draw more flies with honey” kind of speech that most of us expect to share.  “Now you have become his betrayers and murderers.”

From a human perspective, it was not difficult to see the outcome of his defense.  No one like being called a sinner.  No one likes to being called to account.  You do not tell the judge he is a murderer and expect an acquittal.  Nonetheless, it was the truth.

Telling the truth often leads to suffering.  It is part of the reason why we often shy away from telling the hard truth; we do not want to be perceived as mean or want to hurt others’ feelings.  We do not expect people to joyfully receive the word that pierces them to the core.  In this case you would hope that Stephen’s listeners would have been cut to the heart about their own conduct – instead, predictably, they were enraged at Stephen for pointing out their guilt.  How dare he accuse them – the religious leaders, those who knew the scriptures backwards and forwards – how dare he accuse these well respected, well educated, well trained religious leaders of being murderers and of not knowing the Spirit of God?

Yet, he did.  And, more important, Stephen was speaking the truth.  We do not have video or any kind of recording, so we do not have his tone of voice.  But whether it was spoken in an accusatory tone or even in the most pleading of voices, the substance remained the same: their hearts were hard, and their ears were closed.

This is a hard truth today, too.  It is highly inappropriate in polite culture to say to someone, “You are wrong.”  Whatever someone believes, as long as they believe it sincerely, is supposed to be acceptable and tolerated.  The problem, as Stephen pointed out, is that to lead people astray is to lead them towards their death.  We have examples of that today:

• “Jesus is just one way among many ways to God.  All the religions point to the same God, so pick and choose what you like, as long as it does not affect me.” That is wrong.  Jesus is our only hope for salvation.  Trying to take another path to salvation is deadly.

• “Jesus loves me just the way I am.  I was created this way and I do not care if the Bible says that what I am doing is wrong, it feels right to me.”  That is wrong. Taking comfort in our own goodness is deadly.  In fact, that attitude is what causes us to deny our sinfulness; it is what causes us to be on the side of Stephen’s opponents: those who trusted their own righteousness to the point of participating and causing Jesus’ death.

• “In order to be a Christian, you must take the following positions on social issues – if not, you are not a Christian and you will not go to heaven.”  That is wrong . Again, taking comfort in our own righteousness is deadly.

• “If you are not successful, if you do not have everything you want: it means that God is punishing you for something you have done, or you do not have enough faith.”  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Taking comfort in worldly things is deadly.

The truth is: not everything is true.  The truth is that we often do not like to hear the truth because it is an accountability check on our pride, our selfishness, our passions, our blindness and, perhaps greatest, our unwillingness to yield to God over the idols to which we cling tightest.  The truth cuts, sharper than a two-edge sword. it is precise and pure, separating bone from marrow.  It is spoken as a word of grace to draw sinners to repentance.

That is right: the piercing truth is spoken as a word of grace to draw sinners to repentance.

And, more often than not, as Stephen himself pointed out, speaking the truth leads to great physical pain for the speaker.  He said, “Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?  They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One,” meaning that the Temple leaders’ ancestors also rebelled against the Word of God violently.  Then Stephen said, “And now you have become his betrayers and murderers;” how these same leaders persecuted and judged Jesus to the point of death on the cross.  Those words were the truth spoken out loud.  Instead of repenting, they were enraged and picked up stones.

Well, they were enraged and delighted simultaneously.  This was precisely the result they wanted.  Remember, they had chosen to charge Stephen with the only exception to the rule prohibiting capital punishment.  When Judea became a Roman province in A.D. 6, the death sentence was allowed only when decreed by the Roman governor (like Pilate, in Jesus’ case), except for offenses by word or deed against the sanctity of the temple.  Where successfully prosecuted, however, the Sanhedrin was allowed to pronounce and execute the death sentence.^[2]  Hence, “this man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law;” or, we tried to correct him but he just will not quit.  Now, declaring as “murderers” those charged with preserving and maintaining the temple had to fill the bill for “offending the sanctity of the temple.”  Case closed; death sentence justified.  Limber up those arms, stones they would be throwing.

Most of us do not want to suffer for the gospel – sure, it sounds noble; but it is not fun, not pleasant, not growth.  Suffering hurts.  Intellectually, we know that we may have to suffer in this world because there is opposition to the gospel.  If you are like me, you may harbor a silent prayer in your heart that you would prefer to hear the stories about others who have suffered.  We usually go out of our way to avoid pain.

This morning we heard about Ryan Koher being wrongfully imprisoned in Mozambique for following God’s call on his life to extend the gospel to unreached people groups.  We sympathize, we support, and we pray; and in that way we share in his suffering.  It is not really that bad for us.  Or, we read about shifts that need covering for NOTS – in the middle of the night.  Those times are really inconvenient for my regular schedule, so getting out of my comfort zone is tough – but in the bigger picture, it is not really all that bad.

Stephen was looking at people picking up stones.  As the mob was growing more and more restless, Stephen was given a vision of heaven, validating the truth he had just expressed.  “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”  In other words, the Old Testament prophesy was fulfilled, and Jesus stood (and stands) in judgment of those who reject God’s grace.  The truth and eternal beauty of what he saw caused him to shout aloud.  He saw God’s glory and it was greater than any danger that Stephen faced on earth.  Everything else paled in comparison with the vision of glory he saw.

Loving Sinners

And then we turn to Saul, the one who stood by watching the coats of the stone throwers.  Saul looked on in approval.  There is some scholarly speculation that Saul was part of the synagogue where Stephen had been doing all the great wonders and signs among the people.  If so, he would have been among those who argued with Stephen but could not prevail against him.  Given what we know about Paul from the rest of the New Testament, can you imagine how being verbally bested by Stephen would have fueled his jealousy, hatred, and determination to do away with him?

Saul began ravaging the church by entering house after house – zealous for the Law. It is easy to see him as a villain here, it is easy to see him as an enemy.  But Stephen did not see Saul – or those throwing stones – as an enemy.  What were Stephen’s last words?  “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  His last words were intercession for those who were lost.

That is amazing to me.  So often I act and feel like those with whom I disagree must be enemies.  There is a competitive spirit in me that wants to prevail over them.  I want to be so persuasive, so convicting, so compelling that they repent – not only do they repent, they have to repent because I was so overwhelmingly right.  And, not only do they have to repent, they have to ask for my forgiveness for even questioning whether I was right.  If you were to ask my girls, they would tell you that as children I made them say, “You were right.”  You know who that makes me look like?  Saul, not Stephen. 

Stephen: how amazing is the love he had for Christ that he sought to lovingly intercede to God on behalf of the very people who were stoning him.

That is a powerful love.  That is Christ’s love on the cross for us.  That is his command to us.

How do we know Christ’s word is true?  Because what he says will happen does happen.  Do you see what happens as a result of Stephen’s death and the persecution?  “All except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.”

 Why is this significant?

Do you remember what Jesus told the disciples would happen?  “You will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  And what happened?  They were his witnesses in Jerusalem.  Then, just as he said, Jesus’ witnesses got to Judea and Samaria.  They did not get there are a result of their own mission outreach plan, they got there as a result of God scattering them like seed. 

Conclusion

Hold onto the truth of the gospel.  Choose now how you will respond then.  Choose now so in times of struggle, in times of suffering, in times of persecution and disfavor with the people around you, you will hold fast to the one who is truly valuable: Jesus. God has called us to know the truth, to treasure the truth, to bear witness to the truth, and to trust in him.

It may not be comfortable here and now, but for saints and sinners alike the eternal promises are so much greater and wonderful that pain and suffering now pale in comparison.  So, hold fast to the faith you have received.  Prepare to make a testimony for the hope that is found within you.  Pray for the chance to share your faith.  Do these things in remembrance of Him.

Amen.

Questions:

1. People often wonder how they will respond in a time of crisis or challenge.  Are you preparing for that situation now?  If so, how?
2. Stephen interceded lovingly for those who were judging and throwing stones at him.  Could you?
3. The risen Jesus told the disciples that they would be his witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  They would get to Judea and Samaria by escaping persecution.  Can you see ways in your own life that things that God took things intended for evil and used them for good?  Do you have stories to tell?

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/he-gets-us-jesus-ads-preached-unity-made-everyone-angry-2023-2

[2] Ajith Fernando, NIVAC New Testament, Acts, p. 246.