Handling Church Problems God's Way

Scripture: Acts 6:1-7; Matthew 5:9-12

Today we conclude our series. Today we will see the awful sin of religious persecution (and how we should handle it).

•  The Making of a Martyr, (Acts 6:8-7:52)

•  The Miracles of Stephen, (Acts 6:8)

1. ( v. 8 ), “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.”
a. Prior to this verse, all of the “signs and wonders” have been performed by the apostles.
1) ( Acts 2:43 ), “And everyone kept feeling sense of awe; and many signs and wonders were taking….”

2) ( Acts 3:4-7 ), “ Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!'... and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened….”
3) ( Acts 4:33 ), “And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the Lord Jesus.”
4) ( Acts 5:12 ), “And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place.”

5) “Signs” brought people to faith, ( Jn. 2:11 ), “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and His disciples believed in Him.”

b. So what happened? Why is it that Stephen, who is not an apostle, able to perform these miracles?
1) The apostles “laid their hands on him & the other 6,” ( vs. 5-6 ), “The statement found approval… And they brought them before the apostles; and after praying they laid their hands on them.”
2) Those upon whom the apostles laid their hands could then perform miracles…
a) ( Acts 19:6 ), “And when the apostle Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.”
b) ( II Tim. 1:6 ), “I remind you to rekindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the…”
3) But this “gift” could not be transmitted through the hands on a non-apostle. ( Acts 8:6, 14-18 ),
“And the multitudes with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing … Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, whom came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands.”

c. So what about today?
1) The apostles have long since died & the purpose for miracles has ceased, ( Mk. 16:20 ).
2) Yet we today have been given a miraculous power source that is just as effective.
3) God's word is a miracle and is powerful, ( quote Jn. 20:30-31; Rom. 1:16 ).

4) So when we obey the Great Commission , ( Mk. 16:15 ), we may face what Stephen did!

•  The Malice Against Stephen, (vs. 9-15)

1. ( v. 9 ), “But some men from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and
some from Cilicia and Asia rose up and argued with Stephen.”
a. Here we have the beginning of arguing against the teachings of Jesus by His church.
1) We must never “generalize” about people, e.g., “Everyone from _____ is hard-hearted,” etc.
2) For it was a man from Cyrene carried Jesus cross – and his two sons became well-known throughout the church. ( Mk. 15:21 ), “And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the
country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.”

2. ( v. 10 ), “And yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”
a. Notice, they did not argue the “signs,” but rather the “wisdom” Stephen was “speaking . ”

b. Listen as these men charge Stephen with teaching a two-fold blasphemy:
1) #1: Jesus will destroy the temple of God, ( vs. 13-14 ), “And they put forward false witnesses who said, ‘This man incessantly speaks against this holy place… for we have heard him say this Nazarene will destroy this place'”
a) When Jesus drove the money-changers from the temple, He said, ( Jn. 2:19, 21 ), “Jesus said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up' … But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
b) The temple = the church, ( Eph. 1:22-23 ), “And gave Him as head over all things to the church , which is his body , the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
c) ( I Cor. 3:16 ), “Do you not know that you are a temple of God , and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you [plural] ?”
d) Thus, Stephen is cares enough about these people to tell them the truth!

2) #2: Jesus will destroy the law of God, ( vs. 13-14 ), “…incessantly speaks against this holy place, AND the Law… this Jesus will alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.”
a) What Jesus taught…, ( Matt. 5:17-18 ), “Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth shall pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”
b) Abolish = to break up, destroy. But fulfill = to see the end result “accomplished . ”
c) ( Lk. 24:44 ), “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

c. Therefore, they accuse him of teaching things blasphemous to them – but to God it is TRUTH!!
1) It's not unusual for people to reject something new or novel which they have never heard.
2) Yet what God wants people to do is to honestly examine these things to see if they are true.
a) ( Acts 17:11 ), “Now these [Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.”
b) ( I Thess. 5:21 ), “But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good.”

•  The Message of Stephen, (7:1-52)

1. ( v. 1 ), “And the high priest said, ‘Are these things so?'”
a. This is now the third time that a Christian has been brought before the Supreme Court of the Jews.
1) The first two times were apostles who openly defied the orders of the court.
2) So choosing a “non-apostle” whom they hope will be easier – the begin examining Stephen!

2. In making his defense, Stephen speaks of a singular truth which as true throughout the O.T., and is still true . . .
a. The truth is that God's people have rejected those whom God has sent to them.
1) Abraham ( vs. 2-8 ), was a man of faith (not “law” like these Jews, cf. Heb. 11:8 ), “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going to a place he was to receive for an inheritance,….”

2) Joseph ( vs. 9-19 ).
a) In Joseph, God was providing for the needs of His people – but they rejected him!
b) ( v. 9 ), “And the patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. And yet God was with him.”

3) Moses ( vs. 20-44 )
a) ( v. 25 ), “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand.”

4) David, Solomon ( vs. 45-50 )
a) These leaders desired to do the right things before God.
b) But of the temple which they built, that the Jews desired to preserve, (remember Stephen's “2 nd blasphemy”), God Himself says, ( vs. 48 ), “The Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands.”

c. So Stephen concludes by showing his alleged “blasphemies” were in reality God's truth….
1) Blasphemy #1: Destruction of the place of worship!
2) Yet they murdered the One who the temple was built to worship!
a) ( vs. 51-52 ), “You are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of
the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”
b) Here Stephen points out that they are no different from the men throughout the Bible!

3) Blasphemy #2: They also accuse him of speaking against the Law!
a) Yet they are ones who are disobeying it!
b) ( v. 53 ), “You who receive the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it!”
c) Therefore, all they accused Stephen of doing – is true of them!

3. So how did these good religious people respond when Stephen told them the truth from God's word?!
1) ( Acts 7:54, 57-58, 60 ), Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him … And they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and they rushed upon him with one impulse. And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him … And
falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!' And having said this, he [died] .”

CONCLUSION:

•  Martyrs today? Are we willing to face persecution for the sake of Jesus & His gospel, ( II Tim. 3:12 )?!

•  This is what Jesus was talking about in our Scripture Reading, ( cf. Matt. 5:9-12 ).

•  Earlier I showed how Christ desires for all of His people to “proclaim the gospel,” ( Mk. 16:15 ). If you are one of our guests today, and desire to respond to Jesus and to follow Him, the next verse tells you how to begin, ( Mk. 16:16 ), “The one who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.”