Acts Chapter 7:14-24

What we consider when we think about the formula 1 of things I consider is how all four of them were much better. All for having a relationship with the Lord of walking with the now you could've taken a snapshot perhaps of different of their life and are not doing too well you snapshot of Joseph and Pres. all treat him very well that relationship and working out in the it was an incredible thing are you doing those things of the Bible talks about doing reading your Bible and praying given in sermon and being committed to a local church or are you not doing any other things and expecting your thirst to get clinched welcome to cross the bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge, so North Carolina also encouraged his DA Brown. One of these associate pastors here from the congregation.

Welcome to the program to bottom excited be excited for one listens is teaching the book of acts real practical how to follow Jesus and today food just take some time and listen to radically change forever. You are exactly right. So is if you want your life to be something different then do something different with your life.

As David McGee challenges us with this truth as he continues in the book of acts chapter 7 and three of his teaching Stevens address. Chapter 7 finds us discussing Stephen Seaman was a man who was a deacon if you will, and he served tables and because he was willing to faithfully serve in those small things God continued to raise him up in God continued to do more and more wonderful things through him, we see that model of he who is faithful in small things will be raised up in ministry. That's an important thing for us to remember. So will pick it up with acts chapter 7 verse 14 and speaking about the life of Joseph Vanessa's vengeance sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him. 75 people. They may remember the story of Joseph. He was the God who, in the book of Genesis is his brothers beating him up because he was his father's favorite. He had this dream about what God was going to do with his life and he shared it with his brothers.

His brothers hated it so they beating up and they were going to kill a man and they said well you know we killing were God, but it wing selling and then we can make some money and so they sold him. He went into Egypt and you know then into slavery. He was raised up in Potiphar's house and then he was under unjustly accused of adultery thrown in the prison and so and after a season got out of prison, and God raised them up to a very special place to be the second most powerful person in the land of Egypt, and at that point is when Josephson called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him and and the reason Stephen is saying this disease talking about the fact that brothers of Joseph who were the heads of the beginnings of the tribes of Israel and recognize Joseph the first and Stephen is making the case that the Jewish people. The Jewish leadership didn't recognize Jesus the first time, but perhaps will the second time urgency that consistent through the now verse 15 continues.

So Jacob went down to Egypt and he died. He and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Haim or the father of chef. Verse 17 but when the time of the promise drew near with Scott and sworn to Abraham the people group and multiplied in Egypt. Let's just take a minute, because already in this chapter we would kind of been introduced or are perhaps reintroduced to four characters in the Bible, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph using his are awesome men.

Awesome names also legacies and and these guys are well. There the real-life heroes you grew up watching the different superheroes and super man's in the Batman did all these things and and that was guys were, they weren't real and not diamond any of you out hopefully you knew that I got to meet the real Robin one time and I was just disillusioned.

I guess what be the word that I would use what consumer real-life heroes. They were superheroes really here is that these guys here they were and are heroes now only think of them would lead when we think about when we consider when we think about these four men when things I consider is how all four of them were much better off for having a relationship with the Lord of walking with the Lord that you could've taken a snapshot, perhaps at different times of their lives and thought and are not doing too well you could thing a snapshot of Joseph and Pres. all God not treat him very well that relationship and working out in the EN. It was an incredible thing and what these men did as they stepped out and they trusted God and they serve them and God blessed them in a while because I that is what God dies when a person steps out to serve the Lord God will bless them.

Sometimes no every time we got in this twisted thing that we step out to serve God. Boy it's gonna be horrible and and you and sometimes you hear testimonies of your gasket well you know is a powerful guy on Wall Street making six figures pleasant and then I began to serve the Lord.

Now I really like bologna sandwiches and praise the Lord and it's like okay well you gave up all that death and sin, and disease to have freedom in the Lord and God desires to bless us as we step out in no thing of well you know be careful about just stepping out to serve the Lord Kitchener.

Many of you don't like cold. He'll send you to Alaska if you don't like the heat he'll send you to Florida you know, and we get this thing of all, it's a scary thing to put ourselves in the hands of the work, but it's the place to put ourselves. Now we shouldn't put an emphasis on the blessings, but the emphasis on God and God will do incredible things now and look it is sometimes we look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph McGough, welding good men that that's that's why God blessed them because they were just good men and women. Women Abraham was the son of an automaker live men and idolatry. Isaac had a step brother and step mother that I mean yet that didn't really like him. He got Jacob had a brother he ripped off and then his brother Wanda killing Joseph is all his brothers beating him up and sold him into slavery and yet we we go from that to sink in.

As long as were good people. Gotta bless, twist, and as a nonbiblical twist and if you look at their lives.

What you see is the end of their life was much better than some of the beginning things.

It reminds me of a verse in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse eight says the end of the thing is better than its beginning. The end of a thing is better than its beginning. The thing is we get in a place in our life and we think will this is that this is where onset left camp and nothing's going to change nothing's going to be different.

I'm in the middle of this trial is tribulation is temptation. Nothing can ever change but nothing could be further from the truth is going to change one that is going to change drastically and as you look at these men know and you and you read the book of Genesis. You just impressed by the real faith they were just professing faith. They were disabled.

Yes I believe in these things I will repeat the apostles Creed by memory for you and now it was real thing when they stepped out Matthew question.

Are you on an adventure with God right now because if you're not, let me tell you some good news there is a lot of people in this fellowship that are on an adventure with God. What I mean that by the is a step out to serve the Lord and the Lord is blessing in there watching what the Lord is doing and it's just an incredible adventure every week. You know that people can believe in God.

In this week believe you guys know my family got my marriage then there's another group that is standing in the will all on the sidelines. They profess to believe, but are they possessing liberally.

They just professing are they possessing what's the difference well let me put it like this have a bottle water and when I'm thirsty I reach over here and I drink this bottled water. But imagine I will sit here going really thirsty, you know that I don't understand that water is not really doing anything to quench my thirst and sent her thirst got water but this water is really not doing it for me it's just simply not quench my thirst. I can understand people told me that water would quench my thirst. If I had some and here I've got something I'm still thirsty on must be something wrong with the water. Sam professing that I have one: deed is right beside me grabbed hold when I grab hold of and I drink then it quenches my thirst and I think a lot of people treat Christianity the same way as it will go to go to church and do my power and and yet you still enjoying the peace of the Lord will you close do you have a hold of you because you can set aside. Water all day long. Not really unhappy thirst.

But when you grab that line and when you take a sip of then begins to quench your thirst. So are you professing are you possessing these men lived incredible life because they walked with the Lord and had a relationship with the Lord and anyone into a certain degree think they were willing just to be sidelined sit in the pew potatoes. They wanted to know the Lord. They wanted a vibrant relationship and they had a vibrant relationship because they were willing to take a chance willing to step out something about this in a poem by Robert Frost came back them on. Maybe you've heard this, as I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence two roads diverged in a road and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference road less traveled by, by Robert Frost. Basically, the Plumas timeout.

There's two roads one as well or and and and one is Kenneth overgrown the last traveled by, and he goes in. In the poems I knew.

I took the one less traveled by, and he made all the difference in reminds me of the verse Matthew chapter 7 verse 14 says, but the gateway to life is small and the road is narrow and only if you ever wanted to great. Here's the problem. It's amazing what we've done with that verse.

You know, our emphasis on that verse usually the path path is narrow path is hard many times have you heard that street is the word nerves and people say over and over.

What are they saying that once an interesting thing because if you stop to consider it. I like to go the beach.

Sometimes when you asked me how my trip went, going to the beach. I won't go man, that highway is something that boy.

It is just hit up on that.

We talk about the beach while the beach was my destination.

Following C. Because here's what we delete we we put the emphasis on the path portion emphasis on that first be to life. It's not just that the path is narrates that the path is going somewhere that you want to go. And yes is it now yes is a heart yes sometimes it is but what would you rather do if I was going to the beach and you said okay here's a 2 Lane Hwy. that goes straight to the beach and it your best shot, but here's a 10 Lane Expressway, the heads up north. I'm not a go out with a nice express. Think I'll just take that because I'm trying to go the beach and yet some of us treat life like that smooth ride.

I will send link if you tell me okay got distilling your gonna run out of gas. You are stuck only get stuck on the way out of gas this place is going take you where you want to go when she think him the truth. I choose the one that's going to take me where I want to get where is that the gateway to life and yet how often we saw ourselves on the 10 Lane Highway was just an easier road.

It's not going where you want to go past the life and how many of us really enjoy flying in a plane will any of us.

It's ever flown very much. You don't enjoy it anymore.

I mean it's a means to an end.

It's it's a way to get you somewhere in my dad used to fly. He flew in the Air Force and the flu for fun.

After that is take the boys out Saturday morning sometimes and I don't know is Air Force heritage or something. He didn't really feel like we had flown to Salina family through so you know all these barrel rolls and GE's installs of all the stuff firing somebody. We go back in now so maybe I'm just twisted about my remembrances of flying but you know it's it's not something necessarily any of us enjoying doing it time but you know it is cool you go see some interesting things when you fly.

Get up there in the clouds and occasionally are going to see something that's interesting is hard sometimes it's hard going to the bag check taken longer. All these things but you know what you're going some where. Remember that when the light way gets hard that your going somewhere and and see this is the thing that we would sometimes we look at the head be hard to drink that water. Thirsty not have to reach out and grab that thing and pick it up probably having to sit here and talk about how thirsty I see that's what we do in our spiritual life.

Sometimes it occasionally is going to be hard. Occasionally I may go to grab this water and I may not get off the table. That's okay. There's more water down there to see the parallels. Here's the thing. Life lesson we should be possessors of faith and not professors of faith that we shouldn't profess our faith.

But we should propose that our faith are you a professor or possessor which are are you holding on your faith. Are you walking in your faith doing those things of the Bible talks about done reading your Bible and praying and giving and serving and being committed to a local church or are you not doing any of those things and expecting your thirst to get some help quench your listing to Pastor David McGee on cross the bridge will be right back with more just a moment, but I want to remind you of the free resources available to you on cross the bridge.com there's a team of hundreds of people that will pray for somebody to be saved. You have a loved one that needs to know Jesus as Savior. You need people to pray for them. You need someone to present God's word to him every day were present in God's work from here on cross the bridge with Pastor David McGee. We can play for them as well. Just by simple going to cross the bridge.com and click on the pray for the lost button. All you need to do is put in the first names of the people you love that needs know Jesus as Savior. Click on submit and immediately hundreds of people begin praying for your lost loved ones. What an awesome way to bring love once to Jesus, here's a word from associate pastor DA Brown. We want to take just a couple minutes to pray for some cities in our listening audience, today specifically Grants Pass Hines John Day Junction city Kino Lakeview and Medford, Oregon, Lord, we thank you for the cities and the people who are listening now got even those who might not be listening. We lift up everyone will we pray that your Holy Spirit would draw them into a personal relationship with Jesus that they would put their faith in him. Father we pray that they will get plugged into a Bible teaching church will we pray that you get the pastors in the city's wisdom on how to make disciples and how to encourage everyone that God brings Lord, we pray for the city leaders, mayors, father, the police chief to Fire Chief Louis pray that we would be an encouragement to them. Recognizing the serious responsibilities that they have father we pray that the church globally in the cities would walk in unity and Lord, we thank you for what you're doing.

In Jesus name, amen, amen. Thank you brother and now get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse eight still another king arose. He did not know Joseph this man dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers making them expose their babies so that they might not live. That's interesting. Sorry about Pharaoh cause the death of a lot of babies before Moses came forth as the deliverer, which is an interesting parallel because you may remember in the Gospels.

Another political leader killed babies so that the deliverer might not come forth in both Moses came forth, as of the liver and Jesus came forth as a deliverer and over and over in the Bible you see something interesting you see how God can take something an event and use it for good. Have you been in Egypt at that time you thought how in the world could God use the death of all these babies to work something, well he did. He used it to raise up a leader leader that was can be used for redemption and freedom Street on verse 20 at this time Moses was born and was well pleasing to God. He was brought up in his father's house for three months but when he was sent out Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought them up as her own son. God balked.

Moses to that palace for his purposes and he said how much of this book is about redemption and freedom. God chose to use Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt to reconvene them and then to free them and it's another beautiful picture of Jesus Christ who died for our sins, that he might redeem us and set us free, free to do whatever we want to know free to serve him freedom serve him, Moses. It's interesting in verse 22 it says and Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds he would've been schooled in how to write Egyptian script how to write Canaanite script and arithmetic and geometry, music and poetry in astronomy and all these things and all the while it was for God's purposes. You may have in your life been trained in certain ways and this not the other, and perhaps even going I don't understand how God could ever use that education or that experience.

Let me assure you, God can use those things can use those things you will find Moses was willing to walk away from almost new magic.

I don't think it can really register because we have a different system of government and wheat we elect our president so we can't really understand the monarchy type of government necessarily mean we can understand it mentally. But Moses was in line, perhaps to be Pharaoh to be ruler over all of Egypt and he walked away from. He walked away from its it's not a parallel but it's a small one. I remember when I left secular music and I came back home and was getting right with the Lord and back in fellowship with the Lord is interesting talking with other musicians because they they really didn't understand. They said well I understanding you are like in the thick of things in new people.

Things are happening and you walked away from well for the next lifeless borrow the words of Jim Elliott life lesson here is, he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep the gain what he cannot lose. Love that quote is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

How much of stuff in your life right now you to be able to keep at the end of your life, what would you be let go. While some things are fairly obvious. You will be let go of your house will be let go of your finances, you'll be let go of your car unless they bury you in it and still you be let go of it right you be let go of all those things. So how much of your life should be poured out towards the well will you not be let go. The things you did for God scriptures were click very clear very plain about that but the things that you do for God will remain forever. Forever is a long time and so where should you focus on the things you do for God. That's where the focus of Moses was misread on verse 23 now when he was 40 years old.

He came into his heart to visit his brother and the children of Israel and send one of them suffer wrong. He defendant and avenge them he was oppressed, struck down the Egyptian Moses. I believe new.

He'd been called to deliver the people that are. I think there was an inkling I think is have this burden.

I think he knew that and you know it when he did.

As soon as he felt like he had this burden. He started out doing how to start out accounts about he figured he'd take them out. Take a whole injection out whole Egyptian army out one by one. I got I wasn't got God had a plan much better than the plan of Moses see here's the thing in ministry, you can't just depend upon your plan and your abilities as you step out to serve the Lord, because if you do it your way to go well and here's where it can become even more frustrating is when God burrows a vision and you search to stir your heart towards accomplishing something and then immediately know what we do start doing it myself not less than the stuff they contest us do. We can do like Jesus in the New Testament when he would tell a man get up and walk her blind man look at this we have to wait on the intelligence and that's the way the Christian sing our forgiveness comes because we asked for them because we been so good because there's a spark of innate human goodness in God look around a guy I got mostly good saving is not the way that happens and you know for sure that your sins been forgiven. You can know right now only Legion a short simple prayer simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now.

Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven and I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life not done wrong things I have sent and I'm sorry.

Please forgive me of all those things.

Please give me the power to live for you. All of my days in Jesus name, amen friend of you prayed that prayer according to the Bible you've been forgiven you've been born again. So congratulations free and you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you, if you pray that prayer with David for the first time we'd love to hear from you. You can visit cross the bridge.com to receive our first steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ. Or you can write to cross the bridge at PO Box 12, 515 Winston-Salem, NC 27117 and share how God is working in your life you're the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood through radio through the Internet and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use so if you like to support this ministry. Please go to cross the bridge.com. Click on the donate button and ask God how much you would have you give either on a one-time basis or continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's word continues to go out through cross the bridge. Thank you so much ODA before we go. What are some ways that we can bless our listeners each day. You can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David to the word of God is email devotional life lessons to consider daily reading plan and the thought to meditate on throughout your day.

From the heart.

The David McGee those are terrific and it's easy and it's free so folks sign up today, cross the bridge.com. Thanks again for listening and join us next time. As David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the book of acts