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August 3, 2022 6:00 am
Pastor Rick teaches from the book of the Acts
It is the epitome of an irrational mind to suppose that men face such things for known fiction.
It is the epitome of your rationale. To think that Stephen said I saw Jesus rise from the dead, risen from the dead and he is the Messiah and then die for. If it were true. 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, you can get a free copy of this teaching. Satan's blunder is the title of Pastor Rick's message today will be teaching in acts chapter 7 continues bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterword would live ungodly, wherein the Applewood state is not finished yet Peter does continue long. It says and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, righteous Lot.
If your lot made so many blunders if he could understand that there is a such thing as consequence to iniquity, and we are also I don't know maybe you maybe you say yeah right on. I see it to. Maybe you don't.
Maybe. Maybe you don't see that our teens are particularly our teams and our young adults trying to find something that is salvageable about the other side, the sexually perverted culture. This broken wall generation have nothing to offer you, but hell, and you've got to be able to identify that put your uniform in front of them. Where it in front of them. As for me and my house we don't believe this stuff say, but they might turn on me while the Nubian Stevens company, will you not Christ will stand to receive you as he stood to receive Stephen. He says to them you always resist the Holy Spirit, may it not be us three ways in which the Holy Spirit can be opposed that are outstanding in our New Testament what he can be resisted as it is here. Sinners resist the Holy Spirit's stiff arm him get back get away.
Keep your spiritual distance from me. He can be grieved, as were told and asked Ephesians 430. That one is for believers not so much for unbelievers cream is a loving word you grieve over someone that you love someone that stands in a special and close relationship to you, Holy Spirit has that relationship with believers that he can be grieved, and I think he is grieved when we take the word of God, we hide it because we want to fit in. We don't want to be offensive.
The Christian message is offensive to sinners. Well, I was a center apart from Christ I heard the Christian message. I was given a choice by Christ to submit to him or to resist him while I submitted so I don't buy that argument that which too harsh of a message. It is an ultimatum.
The Christian message is an ultimatum, take it or leave it, but this is the gospel. This is the consequence of not receiving it. The Holy Spirit can be quenched. This again belongs to believers, especially an assembly as were told in first Thessalonians. A church can quench the Holy Spirit.
I love the background noise. This is the kind of sermon you preached during a thunderstorm. I didn't choose at England whether Lewis the weather going to be Sunday I'll preach on this. Thank you Lord arrive.
So now that we have your attention coming back to this church can quench the Holy Spirit by allowing men to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit. How does the church to usurp his authority by refusing to be led by refusing to submit by refusing to remember that he is God the Holy Spirit and he is not coequal with us. Just because he chooses to be with us permitting false doctrine or moral evil to go unaddressed. This is how we quench the spirit and in a church can continue to say if the church when it has very little interest in what the Holy Spirit is doing and it just seems to want to tell people all the positive things about what's going to happen to them. Well, that wouldn't work if you gave Stephen that kind of sermon the day before. He stood before this crowd always going to be okay. Stephen they're going to love what you have to say just preach nice things okay.
Well, he didn't preach nice thing from hell standpoint verse 52. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers pages loose on them. Atomic well if you think I'm being harsh UA to see what happens in hell. That's number one and number two find if you like my comments about this, read the section on your own.
You tell me if you can downsize what he is saying what part of when Stephen says which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute, and then he says you killed Christ first Thessalonians chapter 2 Paul writing to new Christians for you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and persecuted us, and they do not please God and are contrary to all men. Paul wrote that Paul is standing in this crowd listening to Stephen and guards the garments of those who were hurling stones at Stephen and yet and yet he becomes a preacher of the things Stephen preached what all blunder on Hells part thinking that they shut Christianity down by shutting down this atomic preacher backfired. God saw the religious habitually killing the righteous.
He sees he saw this to happen all through his history.
The Spanish Inquisition also was never been on many others that just one of religious people killing righteous people world has no idea how much it bowls righteous people. It has no idea there be no Red Cross if it were for Christians, just for an example Salvation Army.
I mean, when these institutions came up. They were they were dynamos of eventually the leaven gets in and then it becomes another thing but their fathers killed the ones who prophesied a man I was a man they killed the Messiah. This not a me, how was the sermon today. Lightning and thunderous's man, read verse 53. And if you're if you have not received pricing your here. I think you got some incentive to reconsider and the notice the punctuation to certain points anyway. Verse 53 who have not received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it well. In other words, the Christianity is a spiritual feature that belongs to all of what we have going all the way back to the days of Adam and even to the end and that's where the Angels come in God employ them doesn't give us details. Suffice it to say it's it's echoed throughout New Testament and Old Testament ally Stephen pulled their religious arrogance into the light. He is there messenger all Stephen you're so negative said the man that was, Joe. I would appreciate a lightning and thunder my jokes to just to balance it out make me feel good about myself because sooner. Anyway, we are not to make people feel comfortable in church so long as they are comfortable with sin, and I think a lot of Christians think that were supposed to do that. The apostles did for a while. Would Christ larger offending them. What I'm trying to do because that's what has to happen if they're going to be saved but got to feel the sting of guilt before God as they will turn to you know do you know anyone who does wrong and will not listen to any you can't reach them is you know you don't have any friends, but there because they're all nuts.
Well maybe maybe maybe it's you I don't hear that well then nothing changes so that it could be that way with us.
I I have to you know, listen to myself because I don't want listen anybody else but you know what I mean sometimes. I've said this before, God speaks to me through people from time to time in the flock, usually not when they think their they're trying to tell your pastor you should do this and that I don't get that too much anymore, but sometimes someone will say something and it will be God mentally note that they did it.
I do remember one.
One person said when you read the Scripture verses.
Can you can you slow down a bit. I said no and from New York can we was right. That's the only thing he was right. I asked I could.
I dislike him for that. And anyway, back to this what you think the answer would be, so I'm a little bit all over the place here with this, but let's get back to verse 54 see if we get some more punctuation on the points when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Real truth strip them bear. That's what truth does they could not hide.
They had no argument here already beaten them in the synagogue see it already refuted their arguments there so they brought him to court court to try to shut him up, and it's not working blindness.
This is man-made religion. Man led religion prohibits people from thinking one thing about the cultures that they will they they want to take away your ability to think, true Christianity says bring the word with you.
Think along with us reason together. Not looking to nitpick or trying to fight or try and pick a fight, but to to think through what is being said from God's standpoint, but reason was trampled by religious rage. On this day, and they gnashed at him with their teeth because he doubted the lawbreakers.
They were to they were they were hypocrites and he's calling them that he turned the tables on them with fact they could not counter the charges with reason. They were left with one of three choices they could repent. They could admitted say that's right. The Scriptures do support everything you're saying and were siding with you. That's conversion they could continue as exposed hypocrites. They could say yeah were not listening to you going to keep living the way we are living or they can continue as exposed hypocrites and then kill him intensify their resistance.
These things are to this day. This is the case you going to the workplace. You share the gospel with somebody they can't refuted me don't convert well then you just sort of live and let live, or you present the gospel. They can't refuted the turn on you and able to do you harm in some way, they become an enemy. He was right. They hated him for diversity five.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit gaze into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, full of faith. This is what were told about this man, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit and even here in the midst of this interaction and it is an interaction that he's doing the speaking they're doing the hating. He will do the dying. They will do the killing were told that Stephen was a man of wisdom, of grace, of power. He did signs and wonders and mercy. When we get the mercy woe as a killing the missing Lord please forgive them.
I will hurry up and get to that point because is very meaningful to us.
Gaze into heaven and saw the glory of God. Here in verse 55 where he began the sermon in verse two, by saying God appeared to the to the their ancestors. Now he's ending his sermon with God appearing to him. Matthew 58 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. You can see God with you don't have to use your eyes to see God. Faith can see God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
This is as it turning on him when he recognized the Lord.
Probably he may have seen the Lord before the ascension were not told doesn't matter. God is able to review make himself known. Typically, or every other time we see Christ in heaven when he says this, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the father. He's sitting. This is the only time this is the one time Christ is standing in heaven shown to us revealed to us and it is to receive his martyr is witness is to receive the man that preached the sermon and died for verse 56. Stephen still speaking and look I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. It was at this word that Jesus is equal with God the father that they ended their tolerance that's what Stephen meant to say that someone was standing at the right hand of God was is to put him on the platform with God, and they understood it that way. The cults don't understand the Scripture. They only understand parts they can twist well. Their intolerance is ignited. At this point, and though the Scriptures sided with Stephen.
They brush that aside. Not only did Stephen look toward heaven, he looked into heaven and ITS a profound thought that God can be seen from Earth, by faith, by his people. God can make himself visible to us without materializing in front of us. In this case he is materialized in the eyes of Stephen. Stephen sees him evidently others don't.
Paul's conversion will involve some of that goes with Paul, they won't share what Paul got to see and hear, as Paul did. Everyone gets to see Jesus on his throne. At some point, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Daniel 12 to some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt don't downside that word everlasting hell is not.
There is no purgatory purgatory is not a teaching from the Bible and if it's not a teaching from the Bible about the things of God. It is called heresy. Second Corinthians 510 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that puts Christ on equal platform with God the father because he is. That's how it has been ordained. There is no veil between Christ and Stephen, there's nothing blocking the site of of Christ. Stephen does not have to run down and get a shot lamb, or sheep to offer so that he can have this audience with God is the blood of Christ that is on him and these things are for us to not in this necessarily in this exact format but on a daily format we can approach God does not have to be this dramatic verse 57. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stop the ears, and ran at him with one accord well. This enraged mob never answered any of Stephen's charges because they could not when he made these when he says your stiff neck which the prophets have you not killed. They couldn't say all Jacob to anyone because they were lined up with those ancestors that were guilty of those things having Bibles where they go wrong, you would think they had the Scripture, where did they go up the same place that Christians that Christians can go wrong. Titus 116 they profess to God. But in works they deny him or as we read earlier from Peter writing to the Christians saying to them that they didn't obey what they read. They cherry picked they kept the things they like and they dismissed the things they did not care for. That's how you can have the Bible be religious, be zealous, be fanatical and be wrong at the same time.
Verse 58 and they cast them out of the city, and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul will death by stoning was how was the legal method of dealing with a blasphemer which they were charging Stephen with and I you know again what did they had little boxes like in case of blasphemy, break glass grabber rock install.
I mean, it is always these rocks around, and it's a city and it's not like you're out any and all gravel roads, you know how I wish I look at the video when I get to heaven to find out that's a joke of the house. It is the appear to me of an irrational mine to suppose that men face such things for known fiction. It is the epitome of your rationale. To think that Stephen said I saw Jesus rise from the dead were risen from the dead, and he is the Messiah and then die for. If it were true.
This this this is something you cannot argue away with these apostles had Jesus not risen from the dead. None of them would've died, claiming they saw him rise from the dead, they would've been insulted.
People don't do that. People die for a lie.
If they think it's true, but it is a known law very likely not die for. And then this this is just more testimony to the veracity of the Scripture and the history that belongs to Christianity and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul what Paul evidently told Luke.
This Luke is the one who was put together this book of acts. He wrote years later, Paul did almost 30 years later.
Although I was formerly a blasphemer or a persecutor and an insolent man but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord Jesus our of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
So the things he was charging Stephen with was actually what he was guilty of doing blasphemer he is saying I was the blasphemer I stood there that day when Stephen was executed on the charge of blasphemy.
But it was me.
We should of been stone. They have their garments taken off because they don't want to be hindered as they throw stones. Incidentally, the roads were in the way, Stephen. He had refuted those who were even from Celestia. The men of the synagogue of Friedman's itemized verse in acts chapter 6 Paul was from Celestia.
He admits that in chapter 21 and so he knew what was being preached.
He was sobbing picked apart with everybody else. Verse 59 and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Well there is such a thing as zeal without knowledge and thus those who are killing him are doing just that Paul would later write I have is I bear them witness that is his own people. The Jewish people. The unconverted ones that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge God's word is a hammer, and it can be Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 29 God says is not my word like fire says Yahweh. And like a hammer that breaks the rock rocks in pieces. That's what's going on here in the section of Scripture right now Stephen is using that rock on that that word of God as a hammer against the rock Jesus had said they will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God's service. In these things they will do to you because they have not known the father, nor me so you can have religion without knowing God again.
Jeremiah chapter 9 Jeremiah says look if you're going to boast about something boast that you, your you you know God that your understanding God and the people in Jeremiah's day were devoutly religious and the persecuted him. Mr. tried to kill him. This is the third murder in relation to the Messiah. They permitted John the Baptist to be killed by Herod that was a sin against the father because the father sent John. They had asked for Jesus to be killed.
That is sin against God the son, and they killed Stephen sin against the Holy Spirit because we had read that he was full of the spirit, doing signs and wonders in the spirit. And this is something that is part about preaching to this day to tell people who reject the Scripture, the point these things out. Why did they kill John the Baptist. What crime did he commit what crime did did Jesus commit crimes. Stephen commit is everything he said was true.
Just read Isaiah 53 wide why did they not make the connection to Isaiah 53 he says it says here that here in verse 59, saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and we seek Jesus praying directly Christ. Paul prayed to Jesus. Also in second Corinthians 12 eight this vision that he is getting here is granted.
I believe those in the hour of death by persecution 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 in your favorite podcast to the next time as Pastor Rick continues teaching through the book of acts right here on cross reference radio