The Acts of the Apostles 26

Subtitle: Stephen's Defense II

Acts 7:9-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 04, 2022.

Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin in defense of the charges of blasphemy that are against him.  This is no true defense before the court, unless you see Stephen making his defense to the heavenly court. 

When you have a defense lawyer today, they work every angle in order to get you out of the charges.  This is not what Stephen is doing.  There is a time to use the law and lawyers to defend yourself.  However, there are times that call for standing up and witnessing for Christ, and this is the choice Stephen makes.

Last week, we looked at Stephen reminding them of the call of Abraham, and how he responded to God.  In today’s passage, Stephen moves forward to Joseph.  The family of Jacob was messy.  You might say that all families can be messy.  You probably were not raised in a family that had children from four different wives.  Stephen reminds them of God’s call upon Joseph, and how the envy of the tribal patriarchs was used to accomplish God’s will.

Let’s get into our passage.

Remember Joseph and the tribal patriarchs (vs 9-16)

As with Abraham, Joseph will be highlighted for his faith in God, especially in God’s promises, despite numerous difficulties.

Stephen points out that the brothers of Joseph were envious of him.  The patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel were spread out in their ages.  Genesis does not give the years of their births, but we know that Joseph is the eleventh son, and that the twelfth son, Benjamin, is his full brother.  They were both birthed by Rachel.  An interesting note, Benjamin is the only one of the boys that was born in Canaan, Bethlehem specifically.

So, what was driving this envy of Joseph by his older brothers?  First, we have the issue of these four wives.  Jacob only wanted to marry Rachel, but he was tricked by Laban into marrying her older sister Leah.  Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years to pay the bride price for Rachel.  Leah was stuck married to a man who did not want to marry her and loved her sister.  This developed a rivalry between these two sisters where Leah was able to produce four sons for Jacob, and Rachel none. 

This drove Rachel to deploy the “Sarah Tactic.”  She gave her maidservant, Bilhah, to Jacob in order to have children by proxy.  Bilhah would be considered a second-tier wife, and her children would be considered Rachel’s legally.  This, of course, is not as satisfying as having children, but Rachel gets a couple of “points on the board” out of it.  Leah then deploys the same tactic with her maidservant, Zilpah, who also has two children (this time considered Leah’s).  Notice that Jacob is in a tight pinch.  He was tricked into marrying Leah.  Then, how could he say, “No,” to the love of his life who could not have children, and was sorely distressed?  Also, how could he say, “No,” to Leah once he acquiesced to Rachel?  Long story not quite as long, Leah births six sons for Jacob, with another two by her maidservant, Zilpah, for a total of eight.  Whereas, Rachel had two sons- she died birthing the second-, with another two by her maidservant, Bilhah, for a total of four.

Such rivalry between mothers has a way of impacting the children who grow up hearing it and witnessing it.

Secondly, Jacob clearly favored Joseph over the rest of the boys.  He loved him more than the others.

As if this was not enough, we are told of an incident when Joseph was seventeen.  He told his dad about some bad things that his brothers were either saying or doing.  The passage is quite vague as to what the “evil” was.  I am sure they saw him as a tattle tale from that time forward.

Lastly, God saw the hatred of the brothers toward Joseph, and chose Joseph to save his family.  Joseph received two dreams that did not take a great interpreter of dreams to interpret.  Each dream depicted the brothers all bowing down to Joseph.  This seems to be the last straw.  The ten brothers (minus little Benjamin) lie to their father about Joseph being killed by a wild beast, when they had sold him to slave-traders on their way to Egypt.  Okay, we can give Reuben a pass on this one, so the nine brothers.

Let us note that God will use the envy of these older brothers to position Joseph exactly where he needs to be in order to save his family from a famine that will come later.

God had a plan and a purpose for every one of them.  However, God blessed Joseph even though it came with a lot of heartache.  Stephen emphasizes that God was with Joseph and gave him favor.  It sounds so spiritual and awesome.  But remember, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.  Imagine the sense of rejection that went deep into his heart.  Imagine watching the hills as you are drug into Egypt, hoping that your father will come to rescue you.  Yet, it never happened.  These things stung and did not feel like the favor of God.

It started to get better when he was purchased by Potiphar.  God blesses him and he is put in charge of the whole household.  Then, Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of trying to rape her.  Joseph is thrown into the royal prison.  There he interprets dreams for Pharoah’s baker and butler.  He asks the butler to remember him when he is restored, and yet, the butler forgets about him for several more years.

Psalm 105:19 gives us an interesting commentary on this situation. “Until the time that his word came to pass, the Word of the LORD tested him.”  Sometimes, we romanticize the idea of God being with us and calling us to great things.  We may imagine a few things going wrong, but then they will be quickly fixed when we pray.  However, the patriarchs and the prophets went through many difficult things, even though they were truly blessed and called by God. 

Can we trust God?  Can we believe that He is working all things to the good for us, and for others?  It takes a long time, but Joseph eventually ends up as second only to Pharaoh, in charge of storing up the grain of Egypt for the coming seven years of famine.  This was all because God gave Pharaoh a dream about seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.  God also gave Joseph the interpretation of the dream.  This greatly impressed Pharaoh. 

Yes, the good times had come, but it was through much pain and sorrow.  Would my faith in God survive such experience?  I pray that it would, just like Joseph’s faith in God persevered to the end.

Stephen then reminds us that the famine was severe enough that it affected Jacob’s family in Canaan.  Jacob then sends the ten brothers down to Egypt to buy grain, which sets up an interesting interaction.

The ten brothers do not recognize Joseph in his Egyptian garb, years later, and not expecting him to be 2^nd in command of Egypt.  Joseph then tests them to see if they have treated his younger brother, Benjamin, in a manner comparable to how they had treated him.

It is clear to Joseph that the brothers are sorry for their treatment of him, and have not harmed Benjamin.  He reveals himself to them and has his family brought into Egypt to live without fear of the famine.  Joseph would care for them.

This raises a question.  Why would Jacob go into Egypt knowing that God had told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land?  In Genesis 46:3, God tells Jacob not to be afraid to go down to Egypt.  God promised to bring his offspring back to the land of Canaan and give them possession of it.  Jacob was able to move to Egypt because he had learned to trust God, even when it might lead to a difficult experience.

Again, Stephen is using the history of Israel and its patriarchs to highlight the importance of faith in God, versus resisting the Holy Spirit.  How important it is to surrender our lives to God.  Of course, we pray for God to help us and deliver us, but we are content with any development because we know that He is always working it towards a good end.  Yet, every generation of Israel had people who resisted the Holy Spirit, just as we have today.

May we hear what God is saying to His Church today, here in these united States of America.  Too many Christians are resisting the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We need to learn to let go of the tradition of men that we have been taught, and cling to the Word of God that we can see with our eyes, and the Spirit of God Whom we can know intimately if we seek Him with all of our heart.  Let’s seek him today!

Defense II

The Acts of the Apostles 24

Subtitle: The Arrest of Stephen

Acts 6:8-15.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 20, 2022.

Stephen is one of the first deacons for the Jerusalem Church.  He helps to care for the widows who have no family and means of care.

Yet, it is clear in our story that Stephen has a passion that goes beyond taking care of widows.  He also wants to let his fellow Judeans know about Jesus the Messiah.

Let’s get into this passage.

Stephen’s ministry is resisted vs. 8-15

Stephen was listed first in Luke’s list of the seven overseers of the ministry to widows.  His name is a Greek name that means “crown.”  This is very appropriate since Stephen surely won a crown as Jesus promised in Revelation 2:10. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”  (NKJV).  At the end of chapter 7, Stephen will gain the title of the first Christian martyr, at least that we know of in the New Testament.

His name is typically vocalized as “Steven” in these United States, but the name would have been sad with an f-sound in the middle, Ste’-fan-os.  It is very common for historical names from the East to be Latinized.  Remember that these are Aramaic/Hebrew speaking people using the Greek language as a vehicle, that is then translated into Latin before moving further West into the English language.  Just a little research online will demonstrate that Eastern history records the names differently than here in the West.

Stephen clearly has a passion for doing more than feeding widows, as I said earlier.  He begins to powerfully minister in Jerusalem, but resistance develops quickly.  No doubt, if he had limited himself to just feeding widows, there would have been little resistance.  Yet, Stephen speaks out publicly about Jesus and this causes a stir.

There are already some descriptions of Stephen before we get to our passage.  We are told in verse 3 that Stephen would fit the description of being a man “of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.”  This is stated again in verse 5, so it is no surprise in verse 8 when it says he is full of faith and power.

Some versions have “grace and power, but that is not a big problem.  The grace of God is not activated except by faith in Him (see Ephesians 2:8,9).  Stephen had both the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit also worked powerfully through Stephen.  We are told that he did great wonders and signs.  None of these signs and wonders are detailed, but the adjective “great” speaks for itself.  Of course, Luke gives us plenty examples of the apostles doing such.  Though Stephen was operating powerfully like the apostles were, there is no mention of him preaching in the temple. 

There is no room for ego in God’s church.  There is no contest for who has the most power of God, not to mention that we would not be the best judges of what is the most powerful work of God.  Would that all God’s people would be operating in great wonders and signs.  Yet, there are seasons in the work of God.  My job is to be so full of the Holy Spirit and faith that He can do through me whatever He wants.

Stephen draws the attention of a particular synagogue.  Jerusalem had many synagogues.  The Synagogue of the Freedmen is most likely a group of Jews who had been Roman slaves, and then had been emancipated, or manumitted.  This happened from time to time, but great number of Jews received freedom from Pompey in the first century BC.

Cyrene is on the coast of North Africa in modern day Libya.  Of course, Alexandria was on the coast of Egypt west of the Nile Delta.  Cilicia was a province in Southeast Turkey, which has the city Tarsus in it.  The Asia here is the province of Asia in Western Turkey on the coast towards Greece.  The cities of Revelation 2 and 3 are in this province.

These men began to dispute with Stephen, no doubt in public.  However, they were unable to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.  Notice that it is not “his wisdom and spirit.”  Stephen clearly spoke by the wisdom of Jesus and with the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is important for believers to rely upon the wisdom of God’s word and the help of His Holy Spirit.  Without these, we are doing the same thing as the world and will have varying results, all natural.

Since they are unable to stand against him publicly, they stir up the people and leaders to arrest him.  In debates, the term ad hominum is used to refer to an attack against or to the person, or human, that you are debating.  It is a common deflection to attack the person when you are unable to disprove their point.  The extreme form of this is to become physical and to use whatever power one can to make a person retreat from their argument.  These men secretly induced some to twist Stephen’s words to be blasphemous against Moses and God (more on this later).  Stephen would have slipped under the radar if they had not brought attention to him, being how the apostle’s ministry was so public and the focus of the elders.

A large group seizes, or arrests, Stephen and take him before the Sanhedrin to lay charges against him.  At this point, we should point out that it is important to know that Stephen most likely does not know where this is all headed.  He is simply being faithful to Jesus and the Gospel.  He just cares about his people and has great faith.

It is interesting that God clearly protects the apostles at this point.  All twelve of them have just been released even though the council wanted to put them to death.  Yet, at the same time, God is going to allow Stephen to be martyred.  We do not always understand why God protects one and not another. We could even ask if those who are allowed to be martyred are more blessed than those who are not.  Regardless, this question really has no solution other than that God’s wisdom is above ours.  He displays His power in some through deliverance, and His power in others through their martyrdom.  They are simply two very different witnesses that are both important.

Stephen is falsely accused of blasphemy.  They say that he is speaking blasphemous words against the holy place and the Law (of Moses).  The main blasphemous statement they hone in on is this, “Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 

We can recognize parts of the Gospel in both charges.   As the Messiah, Jesus has been given authority over heaven and earth.  Jesus had made it clear that Jerusalem would be completely torn apart by the Romans after his rejection.  To be fair, this is clearly represented as a judgment from God for rejecting His Anointed King.  This is nothing more than almost every prophet in the Old Testament had stated.  Thus, it cannot be blasphemy.  Similarly, Jesus had fulfilled the Law of Moses, and was leading Israel out from under its yoke into the law of the Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus.  Therefore, many of the customs of food, offerings, and sacrifice for sin would no longer be effective.  What is blasphemous about these?  Jeremiah spoke about a day when God would create a New Covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 31).  Stephen was not speaking against any of these things.  He was speaking for God and His Anointed Prophet-King.

The last verse tells us that Stephen looks like an angel before the council.  Some commentators believe that there was something visible upon Stephen, such as a glow.  We do see that angels, and heavenly beings, are sometimes described in terms that emphasize glowing, or bright light.  At the very least, there is a powerful peace and composure upon the countenance of Stephen that could be described as not of this world.  He does not look like a man who is facing excommunication, or even execution.  He has the look of an angel, which most likely infuriated his opponents.

What is my composure and demeanor in the face of the anger and incivility of this world?  How do I respond when people employ under-handed tactics against me, and twist my words?  Stephen was a man full of the grace of God.  He had great faith in Jesus, the Gospel, and that he was doing God’s will.  Like his master, we will not see him lashing out at his accusers and yelling at them.  Instead, we will see him speak the truth in love, though it cost him his life.  Stephen would follow his master in laying down his life in order to wake them up to the great sin they were committing.  May God help us to follow the Holy Spirit with great faith, no matter where it may take us.  He is worthy of every sacrifice that we make in His name!

Arrest audio

Responding to the Holy Spirit- Part 3

1 John 2:18-19; Mark 4:5-6, 16-17; Mark 4:7, 18-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 7, 2021.

Last week, we looked at those unbelievers who positively respond to the Holy Spirit.  The image of the chaste, virginal, engaged bride is used of those who keep faithful to him in this life.

Today, we are going to talk about the reality that not everyone who becomes a “Christian” is a believer, or remains a believer.  This is quite evident when you read some of the polls that are put out by the Barna Group.  Many people still like holding on to the label, but they aren’t holding on to the one it points to.  The former is useless without the latter.

Let’s get into our first passage.

Some who appear to believe never did

In 1 John 2:18-19, John is speaking about The Antichrist of the last days, and then transitions to talking about the many antichrists that were in his day.  Notice, though, where these antichrists came from, in verse 19.  “They went out from us…,” says John. In other words, these were people who were apart of the Church, “Christians,” for a time, but then left.  He calls them antichrists because they were leaving Christ behind, or at least the true Christ, and going after the spirit of this world.  John recognizes that such people were never really “of us.”  They can hang around the group for a long time, or they can be exposed and move on rather quickly.  Either way, these are people who were never really saved.  These are sometimes called false converts, or a false conversion.  They say the right words, join a church, and find a niche in it.  However, there heart is not with Jesus and His Spirit.

John knew that the people he was writing to were genuine.  Those who left did so because they weren’t.  In fact, they did so because they were really against all that is Christ, whether they understood that at first or not.  There can be a wide variety of reasons that people would come into the Church and not truly believe.  Some are not told the whole gospel and come in hoping for “there best life now.”  Others are charlatans and see the Church opportunistically. 

This raises a question.  Wasn’t the Apostle John guilty of this same thing when he left the synagogues of Jerusalem?  Of course, we should see that this question only looks at the issues superficially.  It is the same mistake that the false convert makes.  It looks like it is similar (i.e., one person leaving a larger group), but this doesn’t automatically make John an antichrist.

The truth is that the disciples of Christ were pushed out by persecution.  They were following the God that their leaders claimed to be following.  The problem is not a person leaving the group, but whether or not we are following Jesus.

This happens all the time in history.  Martin Luther of Germany was only wanting to see the Roman Catholic Church reformed, but they sought to put him to death.  Yes, he went out from the RCC, but it had become run by antichrists who stood in the way of God’s Spirit.  This is what John and the apostles faced in the first century.  The leaders of Israel had become antichrist (anti-messiah).  Oh, they gave lip service to a figment of their imagination upon which they put the label of “Messiah.”  But, when the true Messiah showed up, they hated him with a passion.  The institution had become antichrist, and true believers not only shouldn’t stay within it, but in fact, they would be put to death or pushed out.  This similar dynamic happened with in the Protestant Churches almost 400 years later with the rise of Pentecostalism.  These people were often run out of Protestant churches who should have known better from their own experience with Rome.

We see here that those who are not truly believers will generally leave a godly church.  However, some will remain, and over time (as they increase), they can come to influence the institution, even take it over.  This is not a problem for those other denominations.  It is a problem for any denomination of believers who are pushed out of antichrist systems.  Whatever they build will come under the same dynamics of the prior institution.  Constant vigilance and repentance are necessary to keep a church or denomination from becoming antichrist.

Of course, I will briefly recognize that some people who leave groups and start new ones are actually antichrist.  Yes, the antichrist spirit has raised up “churches” as well.

Perhaps, Judas was of this group.  It is most likely that he never believed because we see early on that he was already pilfering money out of the ministry fund long before he ever betrayed Jesus.  However, we should not be dogmatic on that point.  Yet, it is good to see that betrayal is exactly what spiritual adultery is.  The things that I have described here are exactly that, spiritual adultery.  We were called to be a faithful engaged bride, but instead, they go after a different christ, a different spirit.

Let’s look at another problem in the Parable of the Soils.

Some who believe fall from faith later

In Mark 4, the Parable of the Soils opens the chapter as Jesus refers to 4 types of soil.  Later in the chapter, he gives his disciples an interpretation of the parable.  I want to look at two of those soil types.  We will look at both the parable and the interpretation for each, one at a time.

I would say that for this group we might not use the term false conversion, though some people do.  However, we should notice that Jesus never questions the sincerity of the response to the Holy Spirit and the implanted word for each of these soils.  The problem is that something causes their early faith to fall short of the goal.  Let’s look at the stony soil in verses 5-6, and then interpreted in 16-17.

Here, we are told about a soil that is filled with many stones.  The Word of God is unable to put down deep roots.  Jesus doesn’t get into what the rocks represent.  What is it in a Christian’s life that would keep the Word from putting down deep roots?  Perhaps, it is a pet sin of which we are avoiding God’s conviction.  It might be unforgiveness and a root of bitterness that we refuse to dig out.  Regardless, we are told that the growth caused by the Word withers during a time of trial, when the heat is turned up on them.  When our faith withers, it is directly connected to the withering effect of God’s Word upon our hearts and lives.

It is important to respond to God’s Word in our lives so that it can put some deep roots into our souls.  This only comes through responding to it in the works of repentance and the works of faith.  I say it that way on purpose because we are often unbalanced on the concept of works.  There are works that are acceptable to God, those done in response to the Spirit by faith in Jesus.

Jesus pictures the hot sun as tribulation and trials.  We all have trials.  In fact, Acts 14:22 tells us that part of Paul’s message was exhorting people to stay in the faith and not walk away.  “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”  God help us to dig up and roll out of the field of our life, those stones that may be preventing the Word of God from growing deep into our life.

The second problem soil is found in verse 7, and then interpreted in verses 18-19.  It is the thorny soil.  If the brute force of trials doesn’t knock out our faith, the seductive pull of the things of this world may work.  Jesus describes the problem thorns, weeds, as: the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.

The cares of this world, the things that we fret over, can be things that are bad or good.  Jobs, houses, spouses, etc., can be things that we become so consumed with that it chokes God’s word from growing within us.  Notice that it is not just riches, but that the allure of riches is itself a deceit.  How many times do Christians think that the answer will come with more money?  The idea that money can solve your problems is a deceptive idea.  The third category is very general and pretty much covers anything that we desire that is not Jesus and His Kingdom.  Clearly, Jesus is talking about things in the natural that are part of this life.

In 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul refers to Demas forsaking him.  Demas was a companion and helper of Paul who is mentioned in the books of Colossians, and Philippians.  He had been with Paul through many difficult things, but this last situation, where Paul was imprisoned in the dungeons of Rome and did not look to get out, was too much for him.  Demas didn’t just forsake Paul.  Paul saw that his real problem was his “having loved this present world.”  Most likely he was afraid of death for himself.  It might be that he was tired of not having anything because his whole life had been helping Paul and pursuing God’s Kingdom.  Some Christians every day come to a point where God’s Word is so choked out in their life that they fall away from faith in Jesus.  They may grow weary of serving others and choose to “live for myself,” in life.  Regardless, if the Word is choked out, then the Holy Spirit’s conviction is choked out.  He then becomes grieved, until we one day don’t realize that He has left us.  Guard your heart from these things that come between us and our Lord.

Let me close by mentioning that both of these problems may or may not quit being religious, and going to church, even leading a church.  Like I said earlier, over time some churches and whole denominations have come to a place where they are led by a majority of men and women who are no longer true believers in Jesus and his Word.  They are no longer followers of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t get me wrong.  Most of them would be incensed if someone told them that this was the case.  Caiaphas the High Priest of Israel was such a man.  They have loved this world more than Christ, and they co-opt his Church for their own purposes, which they may believe to be Christ’s.  Like the Pharisees and Sadducees before them, they have become dressed up on the outside, but inside they are dead man’s bones.

Oh, friend, guard your heart and beware the things of this life that will choke out God’s Word from growing his righteousness within you.

Lessons from the Underground Church 13: True Identity

This is a 13 week series that will not be posted on our website.  If you would like an audio of the sermon or a written article on the sermon contents then please contact the church at AbundantLifeEverett@frontier.com.  You can also leave a message at 425.438.1500.  Thank you for your interest.