Rejection Galore (Part B)

To count my own walk with Christ. My flesh, my flesh is not afraid to get stronger study design is on Superman is so corrupted it is activated instantly and this is the fight that is worth fighting and those who don't fight this fight are lost as they don't think it's worth. We think it's worth it because worthy is the Lamb.

That's why we worship him.

This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of acts.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching rejection galore is the title of Pastor Rick's message today will be teaching in acts chapter 7 the NB the people were coming out they were listening to Jesus. They were attracted to Christ what Christ do when he starts early in his sermons and his public ministry, that sermon on the mount. It just cuts it just cuts them open points out all the things tells the people unless you do better than your past.

As you can get that magazine's past is all messed up. Then I'm going there this your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes. You shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. That's how he told the nurse that like you and bow down to us.

He's not recognizing our roles with whelming. Is anybody cooler than us this big hat I got my problem. I get into a car, but still nice says God was with him. God is with every Christian you look at the like of July from Joseph he said to Joseph, have a time when he could complain and doubt, I do hope we get all once it years of 17 of them almost.

John chapter 8 Jesus said, and he who sent me is with me. The father has not left me alone. God was with Jesus to Steve pointing it out. They came of course, is when this did the brothers confess their sin, but these these potted plants in front of Stephen then not confessing their sin there escalating their sins they going to not to the Joseph revealed himself. Genesis 42. Then they said to one another. We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not hear.

Therefore this distress is come upon us. That was right before Joseph let him know it was him. Well anyway, back to this the anguish of his soul.

That's what Joseph endured for his God, and we never read about Joseph complaining doubting God. Maybe I'm traffic along line and the score gets me upset board.

Where are you like. I believe it is not that bad but maybe this for you because you might not be as righteous as me. 17.

Imagine somebody being that stupid to believe that anyway. Verse 17 but when the promise drew near, which God has sworn to Abraham. The people grew and multiplied in Egypt. I feel like I'm reading a book to you see people with the thing the news into a boy he does he will that's cheating. You can be reading listening about you read them right back.

This is not cheating the bookworms or tapeworms.

It is that simple to another king arose who did not know Joseph this man dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers. That's not one, two, three, four of them making them expose their babies so that they might not live today. They'll bought them. That's what they call it, that's not what it is. So this religion of Molex worship is still happening under the name of liberalism and a woman's right to kill the unborn is because they do not believe life starts at conception.

We are supposed to help them when life begins, they might want to end your life are telling them that are so passionate about.

This is Satan. Satan's got them all right. I'm going down the rabbit trail verse 20 is going to come to that moment we just did, in fact, with the Farrell wanting to kill all the male children from of the Jews first 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 but when he was set out Farrell's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. Okay the Bible says Moses was a beautiful baby which makes you say what you saying Lord of the other was totally and really know it well. All of them are ugly when they first come out. I know you ladies don't agree with that but we men know better.

In the course of debate is just so cute right well what is it mean that he was a beautiful baby. His cuteness was irresistible and so is mom's is no way I'm going to.

Do this child and and then went Farrell's daughter sees as his cuteness is irresistible and she takes admin as her own.

So so alike in all of the miracle of cuteness that our God performed on Moses first verse 22 and Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

Now when he was 40 years old and came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel, and seeing verse 24.

One of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who oppressed was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian. Verse 25 now he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand and the next day he appeared two of them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them saying men, brethren, why do you wrong one another. Verse 27 but he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, who made your rear and judge over us who died and left you the boss is what he's asking. Verse 28. Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday. Then at the saying Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons, well they couldn't do anything right ministry.

He couldn't bury a body and get away with it. This is a practice that we are all susceptible to serving God without being sent by God. Moses was going to deliver his people. He felt that the I'm here now and I'm going change things. Moses put himself in the midst of a fight that God did not call him to and it was a disaster.

Great lessons, but where Stephen is going as Moses was rejected by the Jews on his first visit to his people.

He tried to break up a fight between two Jewish people and they rejected him at least one, the one with the smart Alec one got a wonder was that guy still alive and with the Jews when they left Egypt and Moses leading them out that there's a enough time for it to happen anyway you can reference John one verse 11 and Jesus is is John writes.

He came to his own and his own did not receive him. The Gentiles in chapter 13 when Paul is rejected at the synagogue just doesn't come tell us well. Funny thing about Moses his people reject him when he first came waited with him safely to he flees to the desert and he ends up at the house of Jethro, a Gentile, now Stephen doesn't see the church going in that direction. None of them do not yet. That won't happen until later and it will be a tough transition, but it is here just so much to teach us from the Bible about how to be Christians. We look at the first Christians because they got it right. Overall suffering Ananias to get right. But of course that's not our model verse 30 and when the 40 years had passed an angel of the Lord.

Now that's that's Bible talk for a theophany is talking about the burning bush appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. In other words, it's God using a created instrument to him to speak to man the cloud that followed them in the daytime, the Shekinah and in the fire at night. Those of our theophanies manifestations of God in the created in a created item of Kristof and he is when God does in human form. For example, they came to visit with Abraham 32 Angels and the board or when they visited with Sampson's parents, verse 31, when Moses saw it, he marveled at the site, as he drew near to observe the voice of the Lord came to him, verse 32 saying I am God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac got a shakeup and Moses trembled, and dare not look then Yahweh said to him, take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. This is big listening again when bust himself to say something wrong that your listening and use you if you're Christian you're enjoying the recap. They're not thinking that going approaching it that way but this is holiness. Listen to this God said to in Exodus 35. The section he's quoting from God said to Moses, do not draw near. Then God says at the same time and this is grace. The place where you stand is holy.

Don't come near which you stand in holy ground.

That's that's amazing.

That's holiness you can go, but so far and it's grace but you can come close enough in it were in that place that you come to where God is, is pure. Moses had to learn what it meant to stand in the presence of a holy God just can't sashay on up to God like it's a hey buddy what's up. Maybe if you make up a God you can do that but not a holy and awesome God will of Moses had to learn to not be presumptuous if Moses had to be taught by God how to approach God. So does everybody else I read about Abraham on his face before the Lord speaking to verse 34. I have surely seen the oppression of my people were in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt. Verse 35 this Moses whom they rejected saying, who made you a ruler and a judge is the one God sent to be ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. Verse 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 40 years, so added to Joseph coming and being rejected. The first time by his brethren is Moses he comes along and he's rejected the first time by his brethren in Christ name is added to that all three rejected the first time they came to the people. All three were sent to the people by God, he is despised and rejected by men, man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised, and we did not esteem and why didn't they see that when Christ walked. What was the charge against him. Why can he be the Messiah.

Look at the miracles. He's doing well. Their criteria was we got to like us to be Messiah.

He's gonna recognize who we are.

We didn't duly recognize who they were, but in the negative.

Verse 37 this is that Moses said to the children of Israel. Yahweh your God will rise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren him you show here will recover this last session, we covered it in chapter 3 when Peter first brought this up, pointing to this verse as the authority of Scripture to recognize who Christ was.

Jesus said this, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have life, and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life, and then he goes on to say there in John chapter 5 review believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. Jesus is owning that verse, but they would have none of that their minds were close.

Well, it's their times in the mind should be close straight his way narrowly escape your wicked things. We are to close our minds to it we can, but when it comes to truth. In fact, we have to be open to these things. Pilate did not even want entertainment now what is truth. They give check Christ a chance to answer and say, looking at the truth you looking at the way in the life verse 38 this is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and without fathers. The one who received the living oracles to give to us whom our fathers would not obey verse 39 but rejected it and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt. They wanted to go back to where God delivered them from. That's part of it. Verse 40 saying to Aaron, make us God's to go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt. We do not know what has become of him and they made a calf in those days offered sacrifice to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. That's why those God's raggedy because it made by man. This is the this some whole thing so much to comment on so so they tell Aaron of course. Can you make a representation of God. We we need a visible God's will. Faith think it's too much we need to see the Egyptians get to see what they're doing. The other people's we want one. Also, and of course Aaron with one of the greatest lies in the Bible I just do the stuff in the fireproof alkanes is Colton Like you getting good assistant pastor out of pockets. You can say such a thing. And Moses just ignores it because it's so ridiculous was he going to get out the kilo for different and move forward.

That's pretty much what happened anyway is amazing.

Part of the Bible, a true story. And so the resistance again galore. Stephen says is your favorite reaction to God's grace to resist. It is the favorite thing you love to do.

Isaiah says show kindness to a wicked person and their still be wicked, then I can appreciate how many times have you do show kindness to somebody for them. The bites you wish to God put some in the little clauses in okay should turn the other cheek, but that would've been nice, but he didn't do it about that anyway if they had stumbled so many times in sin against God with idolatry. It's almost boring the Angels and if it wasn't such a high crime. Could you imagine an angel hey did you see that the study make idols over here to any other angle saying you tell me something new boring. I think we can. It's not to the injustices the value of it all, but that's how frequent it would was in the history and churches him once develop much different is almost boring when someone says that doing at the church now, when someone tells you, give you the excuses why they don't believe in the Bible is almost boring, but here we go. You know the billions and billions and billions of years. Wait a minute here you fretting around.

We can't be the only ones in the universe has to be you know aliens and Martians and such.

Why can't we be the only ones to say this is not the beginnings later on the other people continuing what my mama points all those billions and billions of years ago everybody was alone good enough problem with that is you on that. I'm just saying there's some very smart people, human beings to incredible things but when it comes to God. There the dumbest people alive when they have rejected him on this subject and is this amazing that's why God says the fool is said in his heart there is no God. You have to be a fool to do that.

Okay so you say there is a got on what basis is your God. God, how does your God get to be God. Well, what we have today are all these written accounts and none of them have anything within them that would make you say this is the stuff is this is good.

Shakespeare's kisses good stop is accept the word of God. What makes us different well the fact reason is one of the prophecies you just can't beat the prophecies God telling the future. Nobody, the Koran has no prophetic is nothing in this prophetic certainly nothing it's come to pass, except the violence don't be intimidated by these things will go see them to pick on the people were big on Confucius.

He will hurt you back, but don't mess with the Muslims we mess with lies because of who they come from regards the consequences and that's what Stephen is doing standing up to these boys cannot take your stuff by the same Bible that you have you missing the point. I'm going to show you why you're missing the point and is doing any dozen giving them your motivational speech, would you just hang in there you'll figure it out one day God's got a plan for you. He does have a plan of your soul to Satan and is the support of the sober mind sees these things all right almost done.

Verse 42 then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven as is written in the book of the prophets, do you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness of the house of Israel. Did you offer me verse 43. You also took up the tabernacle of more and the star of your God rent for images which you made to worship and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. So now he's quoting the prophet Amos the Jews counted the 12 Minor Prophets as one book reason why they put them all in one scroll.

We have now is the minor prophets that they were they were below age range like that minor in volume compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel of that's why they're called the minor prophets and the Jews said listen, if we take Obadiah for example, that one small little prophetic word and we give them a single scroll with a lucid, so let's take all the smaller profits and thus put them into one scroll and they became the minor prophets. The others Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are known as the greater prophets of the latter prophets of these distinctions are important to us. If you want to start digging into how we got our Bible.

The deities that Amos is mentioning here in an Stephen is repeating more like an REM fan.

They included in their worship was child sacrifice. Leviticus 1821 specifies that about Malik soaked. It was then, and it is to this very day. Satan comes up with nothing new because he's not creative, and because the things that he did in the past, work right now just as good. Anyway, he doesn't have to think about, then to take this guy down. It's pretty easy for him if it were not on guard so before sermon. I gotta pray that a study about to chew on these things and one on 2 August work not to count my own private walk with Christ. My flesh is that doing you that my flesh is not the prey to get stronger study doesn't have his blood on Superman is so corrupted it is activated instantly and this is the fight that is worth fighting and those who don't fight this fight lost as they don't think it's worth. We think it's worth it because worthy is the Lamb. That's why we worship him well.

Paul writing about Gentiles and even as they did not retained God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting in.

So that matches the Jews there going back to Molech in an REM fan well so is everybody else who is against God. Verse 44 our fathers had the tabernacle of the of witness in the wilderness as he appointed instruction instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen on pause there. I'm trying to read through the verses a little faster and it's not easy doing that because if I don't and you going to be here in our so just look at it this way he's looking out for us guessing. Verse 45 which our fathers having received in turn also brought with Chuck Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob, but Solomon built him a house. However, most high does not dwell in temples made with hands as the prophet says heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me is Yahweh or what is the place of my rest. Verse 50 has my hand not made these things God is saying look I can make my own temple have the creator. What is what's going on is drawing out of his people. What's what's happening is reminding them at the same time.

This is not going to make you righteous your heart's got to be right. Your here are the heart that is righteous will bring life to the building, not the other way around. You know this used to be a grocery store my office in this area here is in the fruit and nut section and I'm not kidding you guys shop here so this is more the checkout area actually my offices of fruits and nuts, so whenever people come in, I realized that what I know come in getting hooked up type.

I love you is not as much in now. I who said that anyway you can go home and tell me before you, Jesus.

Of course greater than the temple. Matthew 12 six. Jesus is one with greater than God is not interested in stone building buildings of souls lie in ruins. Anyway that's it's even as minister sermon. Well, almost. Next is going to give them the application and it is going to be scathing move you've been listening to cross reference radio daily radio ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast. Today's teaching is available free of charge at our website. Simply visit cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from pastor Rick you could subscribe to cross reference radio.com or simply search for cross reference radio your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of acts right here on cross reference radio