Implications of Stephen’s Sermon
January 28, 2018San Angelo, TX
Acts 7:55-56
Buthe [Stephen],being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,56and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Acts 6:12-13
And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came uponhim,seized him, and broughthimtothe council.Theyalso set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speakblasphemouswordsagainst(1)thisholy placeand(2)the law.
CHARGES AGAINST STEPHEN
“This Holy Place”
“The Law”
Acts 6:14
forwe have heard him say that thisJesus of Nazarethwilldestroy(1)this placeand changethe(2)customs which Moses deliveredto us.”
CHARGES AGAINST STEPHEN
“This Holy Place”“this place”JerusalemTemple
“The Law”“customs which Moses delivered to us”Law of MosesThe Scriptures
JESUS OF NAZARETH
CHARGES AGAINST STEPHEN
LOCATION
OBEDIENCE
JESUS OF NAZARETH
Stephen’s Topics
Let us quickly review the high points with an eye towardsLOCATIONandOBEDIENCE.
Call of Abraham
LOCATIONMesopotamiaHaranWhydidAbrahamand his father go to Haran?
OBEDIENCE“Leave your country and your relatives and come to a land I will show you.”Obedience leads to blessing.
The Patriarchs inEgypt
LOCATIONCanaanEgyptShechemWhy mention these locations?
OBEDIENCEDespite negative circumstances, always trust God.Obedience trusts the providence of God.
IsraelDeliveredbyMoses
LOCATIONEgyptMidianMount SinaiWildernessWherever God is, the ground is holy.
OBEDIENCEMoses, whom they rejected, was the one God sent to be a ruler and a judge.Obedience allows for deliverance.
Rebellion in theWilderness
LOCATIONWildernessBabylonWhy were the people not allowed in or to stay in the Promised Land?
OBEDIENCEThen God turned and gave them up to false worship.Obedience requires true worship.
God’s TrueTabernacle
LOCATIONWildernessPromised LandJerusalem(Solomon’s House)Where is the house you will build me?
OBEDIENCETabernacle (God)Temple (Man)Obedience means following God’s pattern.
Israel Resists the HolySpirit
LOCATIONIsraelHow were the prophets in Israel treated?
OBEDIENCEYou always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did.Obedience requires acceptance of the Just One.
Acts 7:52-53
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of theJust One(Jesus of Nazareth) , of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,53who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not keptit.”
CHARGES AGAINST STEPHEN
LOCATION
OBEDIENCE
JESUS OF NAZARETH
Acts 7:54-56
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him withtheirteeth.55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,56and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
IMPLICATIONS OF STEPHEN’S SERMON
The anger towards Stephen led to his stoning by the Jewish leaders.
His death started a chain of events that would result in the spreading of the church and the gospel.
Acts 7:57-58; 8:1
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;58and they casthimout of the city and stonedhim.And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.NowSaulwas consenting to his death.
Acts 7:59-60
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling onGodandsaying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”60Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Saul of Tarsus
The most prominent writer of the New Testament was “consenting” to the death of Stephen – possibly a reference to being the “officer in charge” of the execution.
No doubt, this event weighed heavily on his conscience.
St.Augustine: "the Church owes St. Paul to the prayer of St. Stephen".
Acts 8:1-2
Atthat time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were allscattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.2And devout men carried Stephento his burial,and made great lamentation over him.
Acts 1:8
Words of the Resurrected Jesus:Butyou shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses toMe inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jerusalem 2. Judea3. Samaria 4. End of the earth
CONCLUSION
LocationandObediencewere at the core of Stephen’s sermon – it was not just a history lesson!The sermon was very well craftedand subtle.Thefaith of Stephen was no doubt a factor in the eventual conversion of Saul of TarsusThe death of Stephen helped to initiate the movement of the church throughout Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world
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