Trouble Brewing

SERMON: 2011-11-27--ac1173--trouble-brewing SOURCE DURATION: 00:39:20.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 1 CONFIDENCE: 0.95 APPROVED: false REASON: The entire sequence of candidates represents a sustained conclusion (likely a benediction or prayer) which falls under the category of sermon content. Since there is no clear transition to non-sermon material (music, announcement, etc.), the final candidate must be selected. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:35:18.040-00:39:17.700 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- As we look at these verses together that we have read here in Acts chapter 6, there are, this morning, four things, four observations that I want to make, four lessons from this text that are critical for each one of us. And the first one is this. In this passage, Stephen's ministry expands. Stephen's ministry expands. And again to verse 8, "Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." As you read on in the story, it becomes very obvious that Stephen has become a preacher of the gospel in his own right. I say that because later on he gets accused for speaking continually against the temple and against Moses. And what's fascinating about the story, of course, is that, as I said a few moments ago, we're first introduced to Stephen earlier in the chapter because he was designated as a deacon. He was called upon to wait on tables. Why? So the apostles could do the praying and the preaching to make the gospel go forth. But clearly, Stephen is not content to wait on tables, not because he's arrogant, as we'll see in a few moments, but because his gifting was beyond the gift of serving. And that's important for us this morning, I think, for two reasons. First of all, what it illustrates is that ministry is never static. That is to say, you never just stay where you are. Because you see, when we're joined to Christ, he shares with us his anointing. His anointing is demonstrated in the gift of faith that he gives us, and our job is to steward that gift of faith and that anointing to the full limit of what he has entrusted to us. If he calls you to business, he will give you a measure of faith for your business. And he will give you an anointing of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do business. If he calls you to the gift of mercy, he will give you faith to be with hurting people. And he will also give you the anointing so that you can effectively step into that. And if he calls you to a gift of exhortation, then he gives you the gift of faith, he gives you insight into the things of God, he gives you the words that you need to share it with other people and to help them to move forward. And so Stephen, we're told, is a man full of grace, full of faith, and full of the Holy Spirit. And though he starts off waiting on tables, he doesn't stay there because he is growing into the fullness of his anointing. And the apostle Paul puts it this way when he writes to Timothy. He says, "As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." And one of the challenges for each of us individually and all of us collectively is the church community is to allow ourselves and one another to grow into the fullness of our calling. And when we stand before the Lord Jesus in the end of time, he's going to hold us accountable with what he has given us, have we been good stewards of his varied grace. So ministry is never static. One thing I want us to notice then in that context still under Stephen's ministry that expands is that growth comes in the context of serving. Notice again that Stephen doesn't start out as a preacher. No, apparently he starts out waiting on tables and he didn't turn up his nose because this was beneath his dignity and he didn't go around saying, "Well, why can't I be up front there preaching? Why do I have to work here behind the scenes? I'm a better preacher than these other people are anyway." No, no. He humbly received what was given to him, demonstrated his faithfulness, and as he demonstrated his faithfulness, God accompanied his work with signs and wonders. Other people recognized his authority in the Lord and his ministry expanded. Do you see the implications of that? It's easy for us to aspire to positions here, there, and everywhere, but in the kingdom of God, you grow into your position. "He who wants to be great among you," said Jesus, "has to be what? Has to be your servant." So as we serve, as we wait for opportunity, sometimes people say, "Well, you know, I don't know what it is that God wants me to do and I don't know where to begin." Well, I've got a really simple answer for you, don't worry about it. Just apply yourself to the task at hand. When opportunities come your way and you feel right about it, step into the opportunities even if there isn't going to be your end calling. But as you do it, you'll discover soon enough where your passion lies, where your gift of faith lies, and where the anointing of God lies, and other people will bless you and they will say, I see God really using you when you step out into this situation. Ministry is never static. Ministry expands as we step out in faith and in obedience to the small areas where God calls us to serve. I think that's the first lesson that we learned from Stephen here in Acts chapter 6. Another thing I want us to notice, of course, what do you think happens when he steps out into an act of ministry? Well, guess what? Trouble follows. We read on verse 9 and verse 10, "Opposition arose, however, from the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen," as it was called, "Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against the wisdom or the spirit by whom he spoke." Three things in those two verses that I want to point out. The first is, opposition arose. That is to say, when Stephen steps out in faith with authority and power and he proclaims the name of Jesus, all hell breaks loose. Why? Well, we've talked about it before. When the kingdom of God comes in power, we either bow to his authority or we reject his authority. God is building a kingdom where he is looking for people who will do his will and who will trust him. Satan claims the human race, deceives them into thinking that his authority, his power, and his kingdom is better, and so when the gospel comes in power, it exposes the rebellion that is inherent in the human heart, and people have to make a choice. You're either going to bend the knee before Jesus, or you're going to rebel against Jesus, and everywhere the gospel goes in history, it has that kind of effect on the human race, and you can see it in the crucifixion of Christ, remember? Who were crucified on either side of him? Two thieves. What happened? One said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," and the other continued to rail against Jesus. That is a prophetic story, I believe, that illustrates the power of the gospel, which is a stumbling block, an offense to those who perish, but it's the power of God unto salvation for those who are being saved. So Jesus warned us about that, of course, in John chapter 15, verse 18, when he says to his disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." And as I've often said, doesn't mean we go looking for trouble. It will come, because Paul says all those who live godly lives in Christ Jesus, sooner or later, my addition, sooner or later will suffer persecution. One thing I want us to notice in the passage, then, is that this opposition comes from members of the synagogue of the freedmen. Two things there. First of all, the synagogue, somewhere between the exile of Israel and the birth of Jesus, they're developed among believing Jews, a system of synagogues. The word synagogue means to meet together, and they became places where Jews would come together for prayer, for preaching, and for fellowship, kind of like what we do in the church today. This didn't take the place of the temple, because in the temple, you had to make sacrifices. In the temple, you had the priesthood, and three times a year, every male Israelite, regardless of where he lived, had to go to the temple in Jerusalem to pay homage and worship to God. But the synagogues abounded in the days of Jesus. And following the example of Jesus, the early apostles all preached in the synagogues. Why? Because they had already made audience of Jewish believers who said they were all looking for the consolation of Israel. We came, and we brought good news, is what the preachers thought, but that wasn't always received that well. So it is thought that at this time in Jerusalem, there were as many as 480 different synagogues. And this particular synagogue is called the Synagogue of the Freed Men. Two possible interpretations of that and commentators differ. One interpretation, one that I kind of favor personally, is that the people here were Jewish slaves who had been set free, freed men, you know. And this became the synagogue where they banded together with a common experience. When they came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire for these feasts, this having been the Feast of Pentecost in the Book of Acts, this is where they gather together. There's another interpretation, because in original languages, the word "freed men" means libertine, and there was a place back in those days in Libya that was called Libertina. And so there are people who think this synagogue was named after the citizens of Libertina. And the reason that is given is because in the text there is an emphasis, of course, on people being from Cyrene, from Alexandria, from Cilicia, and Asia. And that's rather interesting, because let me show you a map. If you take a look at that map, you will see there the province of Asia, which is Turkey today, then down here, this is Cyrene, this is Alexandria, this approximately is Jerusalem, and up here is Cilicia. Now what's fascinating is what city do you think this city in Cilicia is? Let me see how good your geography is this morning. Tarsus. Who is from Tarsus? Saul is from Tarsus. If this is the synagogue of freed men, including people from Cilicia, is it possible that this was the synagogue Paul attended, and was he perhaps one of those people debating with Stephen? It would certainly explain why at the end of the next chapter, when Stephen is being stoned to death, who is guarding the clothing of the witnesses but Saul of Tarsus. Fascinating little insight into that story. So this opposition comes from the synagogue of the freed men. They hear Stephen preaching Jesus, and they begin to engage him in debate. Not necessarily a bad argumentation, but they engage each other, and they vigorously disagree. And so we notice then, as the story goes on, a third element in that passage that we just read together is the fact that these men couldn't stand against his wisdom or the spirit by whom he spoke. And there's an important point there. When God calls you to something, and he anoints you by his Holy Spirit, he gives you authority in that area. And while the world, the devil and the flesh, will all try to tear you down in those places, there is a strength, there is a wisdom, there is an authority. You see that in the ministry of Jesus, where the Pharisees are coming at him all the time, and they come up with all these clever trick questions. You remember how those stories go? And he never, ever walks into the trap. I mean, they ask him the question, "This woman has lost all these husbands, and come the resurrection, whose wife is she going to be?" And you say, "Jesus, how are you going to get around that one?" And he says, "You know, diddly-squat," just a little paraphrase, because he says, "You know neither the power of God," which is an interesting comment, "nor the fact that in the new age to come, there's not going to be any marriage." By the way, do you know why there is no marriage in the new creation? Because marriage on earth is a representation of the union of Christ with his people. It is a shadow of the substance that is to come. In eternity, we're going to have our complete fulfillment in our union with Christ. A lot of people say, "Oh, if my wife isn't going to be there, I don't want to go to heaven." But that fails to understand what the purpose of marriage is. It is a symbol of the union of Christ and his people. And on that day, we will see fully face-to-face. And every longing that we have ever experienced in the here and now, every joy that we have experienced in union with each other in that day is going to be fully satisfied in the presence of God. Remember, eye hasn't seen, ear hasn't heard. The heart of man hasn't imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. So Stephen's ministry expands. As his ministry expands, opposition arises from the synagogue of the freed men. They begin to argue with him, but they're not able to box him in because Stephen is filled with the Holy Spirit. So now, what do you think happens next? Well, what do you do when you can't win the argument head on? Well, you try to get rid of said person. So they purpose next to get rid of Stephen. And notice again how the passage goes on. Let's read it again. They secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sinhedrin. They produced false witnesses who testified, "This fellow never stops talking against this holy place and against the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth," get this, "will destroy this place and change the customs." Moses has handed down to us, again very quickly, five things in those verses that are worthy of note. First of all, they begin to work behind the scenes. They secretly persuaded some men. And the emphasis there is on secretly. If you can't win a fair fight, then the temptation for all sons and daughters of Adam is to go behind the scenes and to work there. Where else in the book of Acts did we run into that? Well, we ran into it in Acts chapter four, verse 27, when the early church gathers for prayer after Peter and John have come home from their first bout of persecution and they pray together, quoting from the scriptures, "Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed." The word "conspire" means to plan secretly. As I said, one of the devil's favorite tools, and this happens in families, this happens in places of work, this happens in churches, this happens in the political scene. If I can't fight it out with you face to face, guess what I'm going to do next? I'm going to do an end run behind you and I will secretly try to win people over. And how this stands in contrast to the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostle Paul is something that we clearly need to know so that we can identify what is the spirit of Jesus. John chapter 18, verse 20, the words of Jesus, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues or at the temple where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. There was nothing devious or mysterious about the ministry of Jesus." Now the apostle Paul, he does exactly the same thing because he goes on to say, 2 Corinthians chapter 2, "We have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use deception nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." So they can't win with Stephen in a fair fight. They go underground and begin to work behind the scenes. And then the next thing, of course, they do is they begin to play on the fears of the people. Listen again to how this passage goes, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." Now the name, Pharaoh Bhatti, probably doesn't mean much to you. She was, is the Christian grade 8 student in a school in Pakistan back in September who made the unfortunate mistake of making a spelling mistake in a project that had to do with the prophet Mohammed. Here is the mistake that she made. The top line that you see there, "nate" or "not," however you pronounce that, is the word "praise" that she misspelled, but she added just a couple of minor things, but that changed the meaning of the word "not" to "lanat." And if "not" means "praise," to her sad misfortune, the word "lanat" means "curse." So for this, she got called up to the front of the class. The story has that the teacher beat her. She got expelled from school. Her mother lost her job. The girl was accused of blasphemy, and they were forced out of their home. Why? Because the teacher couldn't believe her explanation that it was a simple, honest mistake. The tragedy of that is the pain that came along with that because, of course, it plays on people's fears. And that's what you see happening in this particular passage. There is nobody more sacred in Israel than Moses and the temple. And if I can persuade you that you are blaspheming against Moses and the temple, then you are in big trouble. It's a little bit like how Christians feel about the cross. The difference is that Christians tend to be more laid back because we tend to turn the other cheek. And perhaps we're not sufficiently motivated to stand up for Jesus and what he represents. So what you have happening here is a playing on people's fears. Glossop has no power. I don't know if you've ever experienced this in your life, if it doesn't register with some fear. But if I can say something that will register your fears, then I will have power to persuade you. Negative advertising in political campaigns is so incredibly successful. Everybody says they hate negative advertising. Everybody says we shouldn't be stooping that low, we shouldn't be doing this. But everybody does it and they do it more all the time. Why? Because it works. If I could persuade you years ago that Harper has got a secret agenda that he doesn't tell you about, then I can convince you not to vote for him. And when more recently, you know, that she was on the other foot and we were told that Ignatieff really was only visiting in Canada, didn't really belong here, then I can get you to vote against Ignatieff. People are easily swayed in places of their fear. And don't you ever think that any one of us is immune to that, and we always need to be on guard against people who exploit our places of fear. Because you see, that's not love. Love is wanting what's best and helping you to move forward. So they play on fears, and as a result then, they succeeded in stirring up a lot of people. Notice how the passage goes on. So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. Now, what you have here is a serious acceleration of persecution. Because up until now, the people, what was the people's attitude towards the church up until now? They had favor. The people thought they were wonderful people, and the persecution came from the elders and the scribes and the Pharisees. And the scribes and the Pharisees didn't dare act because they were afraid of the people. But now, the people's faith and religion is being challenged to the core. And now, you get everybody up in arms, and that sets the stage then, for the obvious next thing, Stephen gets arrested and he gets brought to trial. They seized Stephen and they brought him before the Synhedrin. And the Synhedrin, you will recall, is the religious court. There was a smaller Synhedrin of 23 members. The full council was something like 70 or 71, and they ruled the religious life of Israel. And so, as we'll see in a few moments, this becomes a trial. But if you're going to have a trial, then you have to have witnesses because you cannot just charge somebody with something. You have to be able to prove your point. So what do they do? They produce false witnesses who testified, "This fellow never stopped speaking against this holy place and against the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." Notice, "We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us." And you know what's so interesting about that? The charge is actually true, because that is exactly what Jesus had said. John 2, verse 19, "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.'" The problem is, what did he mean by that? Well, John goes on to point out a verse or two later, he was talking about what? The temple of his body. He says, "Destroy this temple, this place where God dwells, and in three days I will raise it back up." But you see, what the false witnesses did is they took his saying out of context. They twisted it to their convenience and they made it sound as if he was speaking against Moses and against the temple, as opposed to being a fulfillment, a fulfillment of everything the temple stood for and everything that Moses stood for. And that is what bearing false witness is. We often think that bearing false witness is an out-and-out lie. And none of us is ever immune to finding ourselves in a situation where we lie about something. I mean, ask any parent about their kids and who did what. It wasn't me, it was the other one. But not all false witness is a full-fledged lie. More commonly, and this has been my experience in life, and we're all guilty of this periodically, it has an element of truth and then we twist it so as to make ourselves look better and the other person look worse. That's why a judge told me one time years ago that when you go to court and they ask you to swear on the Bible or whatever they do now, you have to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth because there are many ways of lying. And that, of course, is where the Ninth Commandment comes into the picture. You shall not do what? Bear false witness. Why? Because it perverts the judicial system. And as a lot of you know, Thursday night midweeks, I teach a Heidelberg catechism class to a bunch of our folks and we just finished the Ten Commandments and I was really struck by the Heidelberg catechism's exposition of the Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness." Let me just read it with you because it so addresses this issue that we're talking about. It's Lord's Day 43, question and answer 112. What is the aim of the Ninth Commandment? Listen carefully now, "That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind. These are the very devices the devil uses and they would call down on me God's intense wrath. I should love the truth, speak it candidly and openly acknowledge it, and I should do what I can to guard in advance my neighbor's good name." And as we've been going through the Ten Commandments and the Heidelberg catechism, we've been picking up on the fact that each of the commandments, as it is being explained to us, not only has the negative, but it always has the positive. That is to say, "It's not good enough for me not to lie. It's not good enough for me not to twist somebody else's word or take those words out of context. It's not good enough for me not to do the bad things that I ought not to be doing. The positive side is that I ought to do what I can to advance the good of my neighbor." And you know, when you begin to take seriously those commandments in that fashion, not only do we all stand under judgment because who of us hasn't broken them, but doesn't it drive you to your knees and drive you to Jesus because Jesus is the only one who was able to fulfill those commandments and do it perfectly. He always loved God above all. He always loved his neighbor as he loved himself. And the thing that I want us to come away with this morning from this passage, as I said earlier, is not to think of everybody out there that we might be able to think of that we think has violated this teaching of scripture. Remember when you point your finger, how many fingers are pointed back at you? There isn't one of us who hasn't at some point or another in our lives misrepresented somebody, misrepresented a situation, used it for our advantage as opposed to our neighbor's good. Is that not true? And what the Lord wants us to do, each one of us, is look at our own lives and say, "Lord, show me those places where I have not been faithful to you. Show me those places where I have inadvertently given ground to the devil." I often think that if Jesus could turn to Peter when Peter was trying to keep him from going to the cross and said, "Satan, get behind me," then it's very helpful for me to remember that any one of us in a given situation can be used by the devil as opposed to the Holy Spirit. And what the Lord wants us to do is grow in his grace and in his knowledge. That means keeping a guard on our own lips. It means thinking thoroughly before we speak. It means being ready to own those places where the Holy Spirit rebukes us for having crossed the line. And it means allowing the Holy Spirit to fill our mouths with his praise and with his glory, and that the mouth which can be so readily a spring of poison can in the hands of God become a fountain of blessing. Can you imagine a community where people stumble all over each other to advance each other's good reputation, where God's grace covers all the crud, and where God lives among his people as a demonstration to the peoples of the world that these are my people and they have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb? Isn't that something? I think that's exciting and you know what? God's going to get those people because your cruddiness or my cruddiness is not going to get in the way of his presenting us one day before the presence of his glory with rejoicing without spot or wrinkle or blemish or any such thing. [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:35:18.040; remove through 00:39:20.000] Today I choose to follow you. Today I choose to give my yes to you. Today I choose to hear your voice and let today I choose to follow you. As for me and my house, we will serve you. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. Today I choose to follow you. Today I choose to give my yes to you. Today I choose to hear your voice and let today I choose to follow you. As for me and my house, we will serve you As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you. As for me and my house, we will serve you As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you today. [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:39:20.000; resume after this marked segment]