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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 coming to you from the Granite Bay 00:39 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:43 Now, we started a brand new series of lessons 00:46 about two weeks ago on the Book of Acts. 00:49 And it's really an exciting study that we're looking at 00:52 that first century Christian church 00:54 and what we can learn from them. 00:57 Because we know at the end of time, 00:58 we need to have the same faith and devotion 01:01 that the believers had at the beginning 01:02 of the Christian era. 01:03 Today, we find ourselves on lesson number four, 01:06 that's entitled "The First Church Leaders". 01:10 Well, before we get to our lesson, 01:12 we would like to let our friends, 01:13 who are watching know about a free offer that we have. 01:16 It is a DVD, and it's entitled "Help Wanted, 01:19 Workers in the Vineyard". 01:21 And if you'd like to receive that, 01:22 all you'll need to do is give us a call 01:24 on our phone line there, 01:26 and we will be happy to share that with you. 01:29 The number is 866-788-3966, 01:33 and you can ask for offer number 852. 01:37 And also for those who would like to download 01:39 a digital version of the sermon, 01:42 you'd need to text the number 40544 01:46 and the code "SH100", 01:49 and you'll be able to get information 01:51 about how you can download 01:52 a digital version of that special sermon. 01:55 Well, at this time, 01:57 I'd like to invite our song leaders 01:58 to please come forward. 02:00 And they will lead us in our worship this morning. 04:36 Dear Father in heaven, 04:37 once again we are grateful for the opportunity 04:39 to be able to open up Your Word and study 04:41 so many important lessons that we can learn 04:43 from this first century Christian church, 04:46 the church that you raised up 04:48 to do the work of taking the gospel to the world. 04:51 Father, we have a similar mission in these last days 04:53 that of taking the gospel to the world as well. 04:56 Bless our time today as we study. 04:58 In Jesus' name, amen. 05:00 Our lesson this morning is going to be brought to us 05:02 by Pastor Doug. 05:04 I want to welcome you to Sabbath School 05:06 at the Granite Bay Church here. 05:09 And we're continuing in our study of Acts. 05:12 This is just one of the, in fact, 05:14 the great books in the New Testament 05:15 that tells about the power of God, 05:17 the growth of the church. 05:18 And I'm trusting that as we go through this, 05:21 we're going to learn lessons that are going to help us also 05:24 as a church family and how to incorporate these things 05:27 in our lives and in our church. 05:30 I want to welcome our friends who are watching via satellite 05:33 or perhaps the internet. 05:35 We're glad that you could join us. 05:36 And we're on lesson number four today, 05:39 talking about The First Church Leaders. 05:42 And we have a memory verse. 05:44 And the memory verse is from Acts 6:7, 05:47 if you want to say it with me. 05:49 Acts 6:7, and it says, 05:53 "The Word of God continue to spread, 05:56 the number of disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, 06:00 and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." 06:06 Would the Lord send that time once again 06:09 where the Word of God would spread like that, 06:12 and there'd be this phenomenal, exponential church growth? 06:16 Well, our assignment in our study today 06:19 is to be going through Acts 6-8. 06:24 Next week, we'll be talking 06:25 about the conversion of Saul to Paul, 06:28 but if you have your Bibles, 06:30 go ahead and turn to Acts 6, 06:34 and we're going to see about how they started to introduce 06:37 some of the new leaders in the church, 06:39 and what it was that brought that about. 06:44 I'm going to read the first few verses. 06:45 Acts 6:1, "Now in those days, 06:50 when the number of disciples was multiplying, 06:53 there arose a complaint." 06:56 Now we need to notice that 06:59 there are so many wonderful good things happening. 07:01 We've read about the miracles, 07:03 the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 07:04 the great number of baptisms, the signs and the wonders, 07:09 but they aren't free from problems. 07:11 We learned in chapter 5, it says, "But." 07:13 Everyone was so sacrificial, and honest in giving, 07:16 but Ananias and Sapphira. 07:19 Well, the church is growing here again. 07:21 It says now, "There was a problem... 07:24 It says, "There was a complaint, 07:28 they've got a dispute happening, 07:30 against the Hebrews by the Hellenists 07:33 because their widows were neglected 07:34 in the daily distribution." 07:36 Okay, we've got to give you the background 07:37 of what's happening here. 07:40 First of all, they did not have social security. 07:44 They did not have government assistance 07:46 for the poor among them. 07:48 And in particular, poor women and children. 07:52 You read in the Book of James 1:27, 07:57 "Pure religion and undefiled before God 08:00 and the Father is this, 08:02 to visit the widow 08:04 and the fatherless in their affliction." 08:07 So much of what the Bible says talks about 08:09 caring for the widow and the fatherless 08:11 because it did not fall on the government back then, 08:14 it fell on the church. 08:16 And Paul even goes to great lengths 08:18 to talk about what were the qualifications of a widow, 08:22 who would be able to receive sustenance 08:26 with some regular ration from the church 08:29 to take care of their basic needs. 08:32 And so they had a program back then 08:33 where they would take care of each other, 08:35 I mean, they really did. 08:37 Now there's a dispute though. 08:39 It says, the Hebrews and the Hellenists, 08:42 there was a disagreement that in the daily distribution 08:44 of bread or provisions to help the church as it was growing, 08:48 the Hellenists said, "We're being neglected. 08:51 There's discrimination happening here. 08:52 We're being left out, but we're the last in line." 08:57 Who were the Hellenists? 09:00 Hellenization was something that was introduced 09:03 by Alexander the Great, 09:05 where when he conquered a country, 09:08 he would introduce some of the education, 09:10 the learning, the philosophy of the Greeks. 09:14 And so that became a word 09:16 that was used to describe Jewish believers 09:20 that did not originally live in Jerusalem, they spoke Greek. 09:25 These are Jews that spoke Greek 09:28 or they could be converts to Judaism. 09:30 They read the Bible, not in Hebrew, 09:32 but they read the Septuagint. 09:34 They read the Greek version of the New Testament. 09:37 And they were sort of considered foreign Jews. 09:42 They were Jews, but they had an accent 09:45 because they came from Spain, or they spoke Egyptian, 09:48 or they spoke one of the other languages of Asia, 09:51 and they couldn't read the Bible in Hebrew, 09:55 they read the Greek version of the Bible. 09:57 And they were sort of looked upon as well. 10:00 You know, you've been contaminated 10:01 by living among the gentiles. 10:04 And so... 10:05 Here they're Jews. 10:06 Now, who were some of the examples 10:07 of the Hellenistic Jews. 10:10 Acts 2. 10:12 "Now they were dwelling in Jerusalem, at that time, 10:14 devout Jews out of every nation under heaven." 10:18 And they had come for Pentecost. 10:20 And these are Jews who'd come. 10:21 They're devout. 10:22 They've come for the Jewish holiday of Pentecost. 10:25 But it says they're Parthians, and they're Medes, 10:28 and those of Mesopotamia, 10:30 and they're from all these different parts 10:32 of the Roman Empire, 10:33 even beyond the Roman Empire. 10:34 The Jews had been scattered in this great diaspora, 10:37 and they'd come back to worship, 10:40 but they're not really Jews, Jews because, you know, 10:43 they don't speak good Hebrew, 10:45 and they can't read the Bible in Hebrew. 10:47 And we just saw this when we were in Israel, 10:50 is that we... 10:51 I could spot them, you know, I'd be talking to Karen, 10:53 and we've been walking around Jerusalem and I said, 10:56 "Those are New Yorker Jews 10:58 'cause they grew up in New York. 11:00 And sure enough, I'd hear them talking, 11:01 and they're talking like this to each other. 11:03 They're Jews, you know, they were wearing the yarmulke, 11:04 and they're dressed differently too. 11:07 And they're sort of treated as a lesser class of Jews 11:11 by the Orthodox Jews that you would see. 11:14 And you could spot the Orthodox Jews, 11:15 they've got the black coat, and they've got the black hat. 11:18 It's 90 degrees out, 11:19 but they're dressed completely in black, 11:20 and they've got, you know, the long sideburns, 11:22 and... 11:24 And so, you know, they had even that going on back then. 11:27 Well, some of these Greek Jews had accepted Jesus, 11:33 they were baptized, and some of them had widows, 11:35 and when it came that they were dispersing the bread 11:39 or maybe there was a little allowance 11:41 to the widows among them, 11:43 they kept speaking in Hebrew, 11:45 so that the Hellenistic Jews 11:46 didn't know what they were seeing, 11:48 and they said, "Oh, well, we're sorry, 11:49 you're in the line." 11:51 And so there was some discrimination 11:52 happening there and there was a complaint. 11:56 One of the apostles were going, 11:58 "Oh, brother." 12:01 Do we have to leave what we're doing 12:04 in preaching the Word, 12:06 and praying for the Holy Spirit, 12:08 and the wonderful things that were happening. 12:09 You read in Acts 4. 12:10 They prayed and the place were shaken, 12:12 they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 12:14 And there's so much important work that's going on. 12:16 Are we supposed to leave that now and settle disputes 12:21 and arguments about the dispersion of bread? 12:25 And so when this happens... 12:29 you can read in Acts 6:2, 12:33 "Then the twelve 12:34 summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 12:37 "It's not desirable, it's not appropriate, 12:41 that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables." 12:45 Now, therefore, brethren, seek out from among you 12:49 seven men of good reputation, 12:52 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom," 12:55 Now I'm going to make a point. 12:56 I'll make it, then I'll make it again, 12:57 and then I'll make it one more time. 12:59 The deacons were not busboys. 13:03 "I know," Peter says, 13:04 "It's not good that we should leave 13:05 the Word of God and serve tables." 13:08 If all they needed was people to serve tables, 13:11 they would not be looking for people 13:12 that were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. 13:16 That's usually not on a job description for a busboy. 13:20 And so he uses that as hyperbole. 13:22 It's a figure of speech that, you know, 13:24 where the apostles even called the God. 13:25 We've got a lot of leadership things. 13:27 You really want us to be settling the disputes 13:30 about the daily distribution of bread. 13:33 And so he uses that but he said, 13:35 "Really, what we need to do is 13:36 we need to find people that will help us 13:38 administer a growing church." 13:42 What kind of growth have we read about so far? 13:45 Pentecost, how many baptized? 13:49 Three thousand. 13:50 Then after the incident of the Golden Gate 13:52 and their preaching, how many baptized? 13:55 Five thousand. 13:56 Now they're talking about all the baptisms. 13:58 There's many more beyond that. 13:59 It's that the church was growing. 14:01 It was exploding. 14:02 And so you've got thousands and thousands of people, 14:06 you know, in just a few months that are coming to the church. 14:09 How are the 12 apostles going to be able to manage all that? 14:13 They need to now start delegating authority. 14:16 And so this is what leads us into what's going on here. 14:19 There's a quote in your lesson from the book 14:21 Acts of the Apostles, page 88. 14:25 It says, "The cause of complaint 14:26 was an alleged neglect of the Greek widows 14:28 in the daily distribution of assistance. 14:31 Any inequality would have been contrary 14:34 to the spirit of the gospel, 14:36 yet Satan had succeeded in arousing suspicion. 14:39 Prompt measures must now be taken 14:42 to remove all occasion for dissatisfaction, 14:45 lest the enemy triumph in his efforts 14:48 to bring about a division among the believers." 14:50 What is the devil trying to bring about? 14:53 Division. 14:54 So one of the reasons that we help delegate authority 14:57 is to keep things running smoothly, 14:59 and to snuff out divisions. 15:02 Now, they give them a command. 15:04 They said, "Seek out from among you." 15:07 The disciples didn't do it. 15:09 They said, "You nominate some people." 15:13 Look around, help us pick the very best, 15:16 and then they give qualifications. 15:18 It says, "Pick out seven men, 15:20 full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, 15:23 that we might appoint over this business." 15:26 So they want people to help them administer business. 15:29 There's some business in the church. 15:32 And you need qualified people with those gifts to do it. 15:34 Now where does Peter get this idea? 15:38 You have your Bibles? Turn to Exodus 18. 15:42 This is going to be worth reading. 15:44 Exodus 18:13. 15:48 Now Moses, he's led the children of Israel, 15:52 you know, we got 900,000 men. 15:54 So you count women and children... 15:57 There's got to be two, two and half million of them. 15:59 It's a conservative estimate. 16:01 Have you ever tried to manage two and half million people? 16:03 That's a big group. 16:05 It specifically says that they numbered 900,000 men 16:07 who could go to war. 16:08 Well, it was somewhere between 20 and 50. 16:11 And so then you add in the other men and the women, 16:13 and this is a big group. 16:16 And listen to what he says. 16:17 Father-in-law, Moses is visiting with Jethro. 16:20 He's brought them into the land of Midian. 16:23 And it was so on the next day that Moses sat 16:26 to judge the people. 16:28 And the people stood before Moses 16:29 from morning until evening. 16:31 So when Moses' father-in-law saw 16:33 all that he did for the people, he said, 16:35 "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? 16:38 Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand 16:41 before you from morning till evening?" 16:43 And then he says some other things and go on, 16:44 he says, "Listen to my voice, and I'll give you counsel, 16:47 and God will be with you. 16:49 Stand before God for the people, 16:51 so that you might bring the difficulties to God. 16:53 You have to intercede to pray. 16:55 And you shall teach them the statutes, 16:57 you were to minister the word." 16:58 Isn't that what Peter just said? 17:00 Why should we leave prayer and the ministry of the word 17:03 to serve tables? 17:06 And he said, "You shall teach them 17:07 the statutes, and the laws, and show them the way 17:10 in which they must work and what they must do. 17:13 Moreover, you shall select from all the people, 17:15 able men, such as are able to fear God, men of truth, 17:19 hating covetousness, and place them over them 17:23 to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, 17:25 rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 17:29 Let them judge the people at all times. 17:31 Then it will be that every great matter 17:33 they shall bring to you, and every smaller matter, 17:36 they them self will judge. 17:39 So it will be easier for you 17:40 and they will bear the burden with you." 17:42 Our country, right now, is a little exercised 17:46 because we just heard the word 17:49 that one of our Supreme Court justices 17:52 has set the date for his resignation. 17:55 Now why does that stir everybody? 18:00 One of the most important things in the country, 18:04 in the US, in particular, is the Supreme Court judges. 18:08 They are much more important than President. 18:12 I think, I mentioned to you last week. 18:13 I was in a meeting in New York City, 18:15 where different Christian leaders 18:16 were sitting down and asking questions 18:20 of candidate Donald Trump at the time. 18:23 And during lunch, I sat down with a gentleman, 18:24 who was out there to visit. 18:26 And he said his name was George Barna. 18:27 Have you ever heard of the Barna Research 18:29 and Barna studies? 18:30 I never met him. 18:31 I'd seen his studies but never seen his face, 18:33 so I didn't know. 18:34 Very nice Christian man. We were talking together. 18:37 And he said, "This is such an important election." 18:39 He said, "That's not because of the president." 18:42 He said, "It's because statistically 18:44 this president is going to be responsible 18:46 for picking anywhere between one and three 18:49 Supreme Court judges." 18:51 And he said, "That is going to set the trend 18:53 for the country for the next 30 or 40 years." 18:58 Because the final arbitration in our country is what? 19:01 The Supreme Court. 19:03 So what's happening here is God is telling Moses 19:06 that you've to threw Jethro. 19:08 You're the Supreme Court. 19:09 It says all the minor matters, you know, 19:12 people have an argument with their ox getting out and that. 19:15 They said, "Don't bring that to Moses. 19:16 There ought to be someone who can deal with that." 19:20 And these other disputes, you know, and they can appeal 19:23 to the next court, and the next court, 19:25 but finally you're the Supreme Court. 19:27 And it's the final word. They can't appeal beyond that. 19:31 And so, you know, our court system 19:34 is based on this council that Jethro gave Moses 19:38 3,400 years ago. 19:44 And he took the council,and what was the result of that? 19:48 He said, "You will prosper. God will bless." 19:50 And so what did Moses have to do? 19:52 Moses said, "No, no, I want to make all the decisions." 19:54 Could he do that? 19:56 He said, "You're going to wear yourself out." 19:58 And this is his father-in-law, who's even older than Moses, 20:01 who is 80 at this time. 20:03 So Jethro's up there a little bit. 20:06 And it says that if you do this, you will prosper, 20:10 the people will prosper, 20:12 but you've got to let go of control, 20:14 and you've got to delegate decisions to other people. 20:17 Pick the very best people. 20:19 Now that's what they did during that time. 20:23 They did something different during the time of the kings. 20:28 1 Timothy 3, they're going to pick deacons. 20:33 What are the qualifications of deacons? 20:35 You need to know how much soap to put in the dishwasher. 20:38 You need to be able to bus the tables. 20:40 You need to know how to cut the bread for the widows. 20:43 Is that what it says? None of it. 20:44 Listen to the qualifications. 20:46 Go to 1 Timothy 3:8. 20:48 Now we read where he said, search out people, 20:50 who are full of the Holy Spirit and they have wisdom. 20:53 1 Timothy 3:8, "Likewise deacons must be reverent, 20:58 not double-tongued, not given too much wine," 21:01 and in some versions you'll say, 21:03 that means not given too much strong wine. 21:07 "Not greedy for money, 21:09 holding the mystery of the faith 21:11 with a pure conscience. 21:13 Let these also first be tested, 21:15 and let them serve as deacons." 21:17 Well, they should be tested, 21:18 in other words, to just make sure 21:19 that they might be in apprentice period. 21:22 "Not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 21:26 Let deacons be the husband of one wife, 21:29 ruling their children and their own households well. 21:32 For those who have served well as deacons 21:34 obtain for themselves a good standing 21:36 and great boldness in the faith 21:38 which is in Christ Jesus." 21:39 So that's a pretty high calling for a busboy. 21:45 Or was a deacon more than that? 21:48 What do we see... 21:49 Well, let me go on here. 21:51 And all right, so he says, 21:52 "We will give ourselves 21:53 to the ministry of the word and to prayer.' 21:56 The saying pleased the whole multitude: 21:58 and they chose Stephen, 22:00 a man full of faith and of Holy Spirit, 22:03 and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, 22:08 and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 22:11 whom they set before the apostles," 22:13 and what did they do? 22:14 "When they had prayed, they laid hands on them." 22:19 Now what does that mean? 22:21 You know there's a lot more to laying on of hands 22:24 in the Bible than I think is taught 22:25 in the church today because 22:27 when Paul talks about, he says, 22:30 "Let us move on from the basic doctrines 22:32 of baptisms and laying on of hands. 22:35 They actually have a doctrine of laying on of hands. 22:38 And so that basically meant 22:41 that someone in a position of leadership, 22:44 who was invested with authority, 22:47 would transfer the authority. 22:50 It was also symbolic of a transferring of blessing, 22:52 and transferring of the Spirit. 22:53 'Cause when did they lay hands on in the Bible? 22:56 They did it when Aaron was priest. 23:00 They did it when a son was blessed. 23:02 And so it was a transfer of a blessing of authority. 23:06 And so these men are then invested with authority 23:10 from the apostles, and Jesus had laid hands on the apostles. 23:15 And so it's like they're transferring 23:16 this great authority because 23:19 they've got to make decisions. 23:20 If there's a dispute, the deacons need to say, 23:23 "No, this is how we're going to do it." 23:25 And they need to respect. 23:26 They say, "Well, who are you? We are not listening to you?" 23:28 They have been invested with authority 23:30 that was to be respected. 23:32 Isn't that what's happening here? 23:33 A position of leadership. And so that's very important. 23:37 And so... 23:38 You know, sometimes I think, you know, when we pick deacons, 23:40 I hear some churches say, 23:41 "Oh, you know, we don't have enough people 23:42 moving the grass, better find another deacon. 23:46 Is that the qualification of a deacon? 23:48 I mean, should everyone in the church be a servant? 23:52 Pastors should be able to mow the grass and help. 23:56 Pastors ought to be there helping with a work project. 23:59 Pastors ought to know how to vacuum. 24:01 That for every Christian, Jesus said, 24:03 "He who is greatest among you, let him be minister of all." 24:05 Isn't that right? 24:07 And so all need to be able to do the jobs of service. 24:12 But the deacon, 24:13 there was also some spiritual leadership there that we see. 24:17 It's a very high calling. 24:19 All right so... 24:20 And there was a principle here of delegation that was given. 24:25 Now in the days of the Exodus, 24:29 Moses was the Supreme Court judge. 24:33 Then there was a period in church history 24:35 where they had judges. 24:37 So you don't have to guess. 24:39 Even Samson, believe it or not, 24:41 was the Supreme Court at one time, wasn't he? 24:43 He was a judge in Israel. 24:45 As was, you know, a number of others, 24:48 we had Samuel and many others. 24:50 Then when you get to the time of the kings, 24:52 who is the Supreme Court? 24:55 The king is. 24:56 But did the king do it all by himself or did he delegate? 25:00 I'm going to have some of you help me 25:01 read a couple of verses. 25:03 Okay, Hoftis, you have the first one. 25:04 That'll be 2 Chronicles 19:5. 25:07 But 1 Kings 7:7. Let me read this. 25:11 "Then he made a hall for the throne, 25:14 called the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge" 25:17 Now Solomon... 25:20 What was Solomon's principle prayer? 25:24 When God said, "What do you want?" 25:25 Wisdom. "Why did he want wisdom?" 25:28 That I might know how to determine 25:30 between right and wrong. 25:32 A king was a judge, and he needed to judge wisely. 25:37 Solomon not only had a house, he's got a throne, 25:39 he's got a temple, he had a judgment hall 25:42 Isn't that what it said? 25:43 You read in 1 Kings 3:16, 25:45 "Two women that were harlots 25:47 came and stood before the king." 25:48 Do you remember that was... 25:49 This was such a difficult case. 25:50 It was brought to the Supreme Court. 25:52 How many remember the story about Solomon saying, 25:54 "Let's divide the baby." 25:57 All right. 25:58 All right, go ahead, you can read for us 26:00 in 2 Chronicles. 26:02 "Then he set judges in the land throughout 26:05 all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 26:08 and said to the judges, 26:10 'Take heed to what you are doing, 26:12 for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, 26:17 who is with you in the judgment.'" 26:19 Very important. He said... And this was Jehoshaphat. 26:21 He's setting up a series of judges. 26:23 There's the districts that are scattered 26:26 throughout the land. 26:27 How many of you heard of the cities of refuge. 26:30 Typically, where there was a city of refuge, 26:32 there would be a judgment seat, 26:34 where you could bring your cases there, 26:35 for the district. 26:37 You know, if you've lived in the county, 26:38 county seats usually got a courthouse. 26:40 In North America, it's typically 26:42 how that's set up. 26:44 Just a couple more verses on this. 26:45 Look in 2 Chronicles 1:2. 26:49 "Now Solomon spoke to all Israel, 26:51 to the captains of thousands and hundreds, 26:53 and to the judges." 26:55 Boy. 26:56 Can you imagine being tested as a judge by Solomon. 27:00 You have to qualify. 27:01 Why did they tell Samuel... 27:02 Why did the people tell Samuel, 27:03 "We don't want to be like you anymore. 27:08 We want to have a king." 27:09 Why did they say that? 27:11 What instigated them not wanting 27:13 to go under the judges any more? 27:15 Because the sons of Samuel... 27:17 I said Solomon, Samuel. 27:19 The sons of Samuel, they were taking bribes. 27:24 And so when they felt like 27:25 they couldn't trust the judges... 27:27 And so these people were invested with authority, 27:29 God through His church history has had times 27:32 where authority and leadership was distributed and delegated. 27:36 And that's what's happening here. 27:38 And it doesn't stop just with the deacons. 27:40 Do they... 27:41 Doesn't Paul go from town to town? 27:43 And he then appoints elders and bishops 27:47 which are pretty much the same thing 27:49 in the different cities. 27:50 Now we've got a number of friends 27:51 who are watching on Facebook, 27:56 and we've got a question that came in. 27:58 Someone is asking, 27:59 "Does the Bible still require us to sell 28:01 all that we have and to split it among 28:03 the brethren, like the apostles did?" 28:05 It tells us that the apostles were taking the distribution. 28:08 First of all, it never says that 28:10 they were required to sell everything they had. 28:13 It does say that many of them sold houses and lands. 28:17 It doesn't say they sold every house and land. 28:19 Because later, Paul is talking about 28:21 those who are wealthy among you be willing to distribute. 28:24 Well, if everybody joins a church, 28:26 and the first criteria is that you sell everything 28:29 and give it to the church. 28:30 That sounds like Jim Jones. 28:32 That's kind of what he did it. It doesn't say that. 28:35 They were very sacrificial, selling houses and lands, 28:39 but they may have other things. 28:41 If every member of the church sells all their houses, 28:43 where do they live? 28:45 Are you with me? 28:47 So that wasn't really a criteria. 28:50 Are we required to be more sacrificial? 28:51 I think that as God pours out His Spirit, 28:53 you're going to see in the church in the last days 28:56 the same level of sacrifice that you saw 28:59 when Christ came the first time. 29:00 Amen? 29:02 I see another question here. "How important 29:04 is church tradition when it comes to finding truth? 29:08 Well, how do we determine truth, 29:09 by tradition? 29:11 No. 29:13 It tells us that 29:15 you have a fine way of setting aside 29:16 the commandments in order to observe your tradition. 29:20 And so we're to put the commandments of God first. 29:22 All right. Well, some of the questions... 29:23 We want to stick to the theme here 29:25 about the early church, 29:27 and talking about the leadership here. 29:29 And so... 29:30 And then he says here, they had judges. 29:33 Finally, should we have the ability 29:36 to do this in the church? 29:37 1 Corinthians 6:1-6. 1 Corinthians 6:1-6. 29:42 "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, 29:44 go to law before the unrighteous, 29:46 and not before the saints? 29:48 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 29:51 And so if the world will be judged by you, 29:53 are you unworthy to judge in the smallest matters? 29:55 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? 29:58 How much more then the things that pertain to this life? 30:01 If then you have judgment concerning 30:03 these things pertaining to life, 30:05 do you appoint those who are least esteemed 30:08 by the church to judge? 30:09 I say this to your shame. 30:11 Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?" 30:14 What were the qualifications of the deacon? 30:16 Man full of wisdom. 30:18 "Is there not a wise man among you, not even one, 30:20 who will be able to judge between his brethren? 30:22 But brother goes to law against brother, 30:25 and that before unbelievers!" 30:27 And so this all started with what? 30:29 A dispute between two brethren. 30:32 And the devil was trying to bring in division. 30:35 Has the devil changed? 30:38 So when there are disputes, 30:39 how should we deal with them as Christians? 30:42 First of all, as far as possible, 30:43 love, forgive. 30:46 Jesus said, you know, 30:48 "If it means someone suing you for your shirt, 30:50 give him your shirt if you got an extra one." 30:52 Don't let the devil get in and cause division. 30:55 And then if there is a dispute 30:56 that needs some just settlement, 30:58 go to people leadership in the church. 31:00 Is there no one with wisdom? 31:02 You know, when you sign a lot of contracts now, 31:04 there's a clause that before you go to court, you do what? 31:09 I haven't heard anyone. 31:11 Mediation, mediation. 31:13 And there should be mediation in the church, 31:15 where people can sit, 31:16 and a lot of these things could be resolved. 31:19 All right, let's move on here. 31:20 Stephen's ministry. 31:22 So after Stephen is chosen. 31:24 It says, he's a man full of the Holy Spirit. 31:26 You can also read in Acts 6:8. 31:29 "And Stephen, full of faith and power, 31:32 did great wonders and signs among the people." 31:35 Now, what wondering sign does he do? 31:40 It doesn't say. 31:43 Probably it talks about some of the signs and wonders 31:45 the apostles did. 31:46 A lot of it had to do with healing. 31:49 And a lot of the signs and wonders that Jesus did, 31:51 they had to do with healing. 31:52 So I'm guessing that some of it had to do with healing. 31:55 He may have had some of the gift of prophecy, 31:58 being able to foretell some things. 32:00 But one of the things that really cause a problem now, 32:03 he is preaching. 32:04 This is a deacon. 32:05 But he's now teaching and preaching with power. 32:09 And he's saying that Jesus now is the Messiah. 32:14 He's also explaining 32:16 that the same thing that Paul and others say, 32:19 "It doesn't make sense for us to sacrifice lambs anymore. 32:22 Jesus was the Lamb of God. 32:25 And when the veil ripped in the temple, 32:27 all that that temple pointed to was really in Christ." 32:32 And, boy, 32:33 the very idea that you would say 32:35 anything against the temple, 32:36 the life of the Jews in Jerusalem 32:38 revolved around the temple, 32:40 even the apostles were infected with that, 32:43 saying to Jesus, 32:44 "Look at the temple. 32:45 Look at the stones." 32:46 They kind of worshipped the building. 32:48 But where in the Bible 32:49 are we told to worship the building? 32:53 Nowhere. 32:55 And did God at one point or on a couple of occasions 32:58 allowed the temple to be destroyed 33:00 because of unfaithfulness? 33:02 He said, "I'll inhabit this place, 33:03 and you should pray towards these place, 33:05 and I'll answer your prayers as long as you're faithful." 33:08 But if you're not faithful, it's nothing. 33:10 It's just bricks and mortar. 33:13 Well, saying things like that, in that environment, 33:16 those are fighting words. 33:18 And so false witnesses are found. 33:22 And it says in Acts 6:11, 33:24 "Then they secretly induced men to say, 33:27 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words 33:29 against Moses and God.' 33:31 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, 33:34 and they came, and they seized him, 33:35 and they brought him to the council." 33:38 Now does this sound familiar of somebody stirring up 33:40 false witnesses? 33:44 And bringing a person to the Sanhedrin. 33:47 They brought him to the council, and they said, 33:50 "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words 33:53 against this holy place and the law." 33:55 Now who else did that? 33:59 Jezebel. 34:01 Any of you remember the story 34:02 of Naboth's vineyard? 34:05 Ahab wanted the property next door to his castle 34:09 because it was great southern exposure, good soil. 34:12 He wanted to put in a vegetable garden. 34:15 And so he goes the Naboth, who owns the land, 34:17 he says, "Sell me your land, 34:18 so I can put in a vegetable garden. 34:20 I'll give you some other land. I got lots of land. 34:22 I want this right here by the house, 34:24 so I can bring the vegetables to my kitchen quickly." 34:26 And he said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry. 34:28 But, you know, the law says, 34:29 'I cannot sell the birthright of my ancestors.'" 34:33 That was in the law. 34:34 And the king got mad. 34:35 He came home and started to pound. 34:37 Jezebel said, "Why are you pounding?" 34:40 Our neighbor won't sell me his vineyard. 34:41 She said, "You're king in Israel, 34:42 give me your signet ring, I'll take care of this." 34:45 So she writes letters to the people there in Jezreel, 34:48 and says, "Proclaim up fast. 34:53 Bring everybody together." 34:54 And they get two witnesses to point at Naboth and says, 34:56 "He has cursed God and the king." 34:59 If you had two witnesses to do that, 35:00 it was a death penalty. 35:02 So she arranges all this. 35:03 She gets two scoundrels who are willing to do that. 35:05 She pays them to say this, and they say, 35:08 "Naboth has cursed God and the king." 35:10 And he seemed like such a good man. 35:12 They were surprised. 35:13 They take him out, they stone him to death outside the city. 35:17 He's a type of Christ. 35:19 It's because Ahab, the wicked king, 35:24 wanted to take the property that belonged to God. 35:27 The devil wants to take God's vineyard. 35:29 And so Christ was taken out of the vineyard. 35:31 Do you know the parable Jesus tells? 35:33 They said, "Let us seize the son. 35:35 Let's kill him that the vineyard might be ours." 35:38 And all of that is talking about this battle 35:40 between good and evil. 35:41 So someone's going to read for me in Matthew 5:11, okay, 35:47 in just a moment here. 35:48 Let me read Mark 14:55, "Now the chief priests 35:52 and all the council sought to find testimony against Jesus 35:57 to put Him to death, but they found none. 35:59 For many bore false witness against Him, 36:02 but their testimony did not agree. 36:04 Then some rose up and they bore false witness against Him, 36:06 saying, "We heard Him say, 36:08 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, 36:10 and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" 36:13 What's the argument over with Jesus? 36:16 He's been accused of not appreciating the temple 36:19 and they get false witnesses. 36:20 Does that sound familiar? 36:22 But not even this testimony did agree. 36:24 Now Jesus did say something like that. 36:27 Jesus did say, "Destroy this temple, 36:29 and in three days I'll raise it up." 36:31 And He spoke of His body in the Gospel of John. 36:33 All right. 36:34 Go ahead, please read for us Matthew 5. 36:37 Matthew 5:11. 36:39 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, 36:42 and say all kinds of evil against you falsely 36:45 for My sake." 36:48 What's to be the Christian response 36:50 when people revile you? 36:53 Will there be false witnesses against you? 36:58 And, well, you'll have that. And you know what? 37:00 You just got to shrug it off. It happens. 37:05 And for Christ's sake, if you stand up for Jesus, 37:07 you're going to be falsely accused. 37:09 1 Peter 4:14, "If you are reproached 37:13 for the name of Christ, 37:14 blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory 37:17 and God rests upon you. 37:18 On their part He is blasphemed, 37:20 but on your part He is glorified." 37:22 Did the disciples rejoice when they were worthy 37:25 to be persecuted for Christ sake? 37:27 Not too many of us want that, 37:28 but he says that we can rejoice, 37:30 we don't have to be afraid. 37:32 All right. 37:33 And so now it goes 37:34 into one of the great sections of the Bible. 37:38 He's brought in. 37:39 Look in Acts 6, 37:43 and you'll see here in verse 14. 37:47 "We have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth 37:50 will destroy this place." 37:52 Now does that sound like what they accused Jesus of? 37:54 "And change the customs that Moses delivered to us." 37:58 And all who sat in the councils, 38:00 Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin. 38:04 He's going to be tried. 38:06 And what happens to his face? 38:08 All who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him 38:11 saw his face as the face of an angel. 38:15 Like Moses, when he had been communing with God, 38:17 his face was shining. 38:19 Remember when Jesus said, they came to arrest Jesus, 38:22 and they said, "Are you Jesus?" 38:23 He said, "I am." 38:24 And when he said, "I am," 38:25 they fell back from the glory that came out of His face. 38:28 God did something there, maybe not to the same degree, 38:31 but his face was shining. 38:33 Now, I'm bringing out these points 38:34 because I want you to notice how many similarities there 38:38 are between Stephen and between Jesus. 38:43 What is Stephen's name mean? 38:47 Any of you? 38:48 Some of you've got Steve... We got a Steve there. 38:50 We got a surname Steve. And you're S-T-E-V-E. 38:54 And then you got Stephanie. And you got... 38:58 It comes from the Greek word Stephanos, 39:02 which means crown. 39:06 Who is the first martyr? 39:08 Stephen is the first Christian martyr. 39:10 Now the first apostle to die is Judas, 39:12 but that was a suicide that's doesn't count. 39:15 The first good Christian to die... 39:18 I said it wrong, Judas is a suicide, right? 39:23 And Stephen is the first martyr for the faith. 39:28 And so he becomes a type of Christ because Jesus said, 39:34 "If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you." 39:37 And you will notice that Stephen ends up 39:40 going through a lot of the very same things 39:42 that Jesus went through. 39:43 So he's in the council, his face is shining, 39:45 and finally the council convenes, 39:47 and the high priest. 39:48 And who's this high priest? 39:50 Same high priest, Caiaphas, that condemned Jesus. 39:56 So the high priest says, "Are these things so?" 39:59 He's been accused of, you know, not appreciating the temple, 40:03 and speaking against the fathers and Moses, 40:07 and he preaches. 40:08 It's the longest sermon in the Book of Acts. 40:12 That should be significant right there. 40:15 Now why am I making a big deal of this? 40:17 I'm not going to tell you yet, but I will in a minute. 40:21 "He said, 'Brethren and fathers...'" 40:23 Listen, he starts it very respectfully, 40:25 "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham," 40:28 he says we're brethren, he was our father, 40:30 'cause he was in Mesopotamia, he talks about Abraham. 40:34 And then he talks about Joseph, 40:37 and then he talks about Moses, 40:39 you can read in verse 7 of this speech. 40:42 "The patriarchs, becoming envious, 40:44 sold Joseph into Egypt." 40:45 Why does he talk about them betraying Joseph? 40:48 What had God's people just did on to Jesus? 40:52 Did Joseph forgive his brethren? 40:54 Did Jesus say, "Father, forgive them." 40:58 Stephen is going to say that in just a minute too. 41:02 Many says, Moses, go to verse 35. 41:05 "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 41:07 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' 41:10 is the one God sent to be a ruler 41:12 and a deliverer by the hand of the angel 41:14 who appeared to him in the bush." 41:16 Now he then goes on to quote 41:17 and if you go in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18, 41:22 and it may be, let me see here. 41:24 It's Deuteronomy 18:13. 41:29 It's a very important verse. 41:30 I think that you got to look this up 41:32 and I've got it marked in my Bible. 41:34 My Bible is three days old. 41:38 It's a new Bible. 41:39 I've already got this marked 41:40 because I was going to share with you. 41:43 Verse 15, Deuteronomy 18:15. 41:45 "The Lord your God will raise up for you 41:47 a Prophet like me 41:50 from your midst, from your brethren. 41:52 Him you will hear..." 41:55 So Moses is making a prophecy that God was going to raise up 41:58 another great leader, another great judge, 42:01 another great law giver, 42:02 like him from among their own people 42:07 but just as they rejected Moses 42:09 and tried to stone him on several occasions 42:10 and who made you a judging the Lord over us, 42:13 they would reject Jesus. 42:15 So you see what's happening here in what... 42:19 What Stephen is saying in his sermon, 42:22 Abraham separated from his family 42:24 because they had turned to idols. 42:26 Moses walked away from Egypt, 42:30 he wasn't appreciated by his own people. 42:32 Joseph separated from his brothers, 42:36 they didn't know who he was when they came to Egypt, right? 42:40 He had to reveal himself. 42:41 They didn't know who Moses was. 42:44 And so he's trying to show them, 42:46 you have just repeated history. 42:49 And finally when they realize where he's going, 42:51 they can't handle it. 42:54 He sees in his sermon, I'm going back to Acts 7. 42:58 In his sermon, you'll notice... 43:05 Go to verse 51. 43:09 Now I want to back up a little bit. 43:10 Go to verse 49. No, go to verse 48. 43:15 "However, the Most High does not dwell 43:17 in temples made with hands, 43:18 as the prophet says, 'Heaven is My throne, 43:21 and the earth is My footstool. 43:22 What house will you build for Me? 43:24 says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest? 43:27 His, has not His hand made these things?'" 43:30 He saw their faces change when he began to say, 43:33 "The temple doesn't really hold God." 43:36 What temple can you make it hold? 43:38 He's speaking against the temple. 43:40 Now didn't he just quote from the Bible? 43:42 Their Bible. 43:44 Even though he quoted from their Bible, they got mad, 43:46 even though he was right. 43:48 That was he could see from the expression on their face, 43:50 they started to murmur among themselves 43:52 and then he realized, 43:53 "All right, I can see this is... 43:54 They're not going to let me finish my sermon. 43:57 So then he says, "You stiff-necked 43:59 and uncircumcised in heart and ears! 44:01 You always resist the Holy Spirit, 44:04 as your fathers did, so you do. 44:06 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?" 44:09 Does he look like he is appealing for mercy now? 44:12 Or he is going from prosecuted to the prosecutor. 44:18 He is a prophet now in the way he is talking to them. 44:21 "Which of the fathers did you not persecute? 44:24 And they killed those 44:25 who foretold the coming of the Just One, 44:27 of whom you now have become 44:29 the betrayers and the murderers, 44:32 who've received the law by the direction of angels 44:34 but you've not kept it. 44:36 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart..." 44:41 Now there's one or two things that will happen 44:42 when you're cut to the heart. 44:44 When on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached and he said, 44:47 "You crucified the Son of God." 44:48 The men were more noble, they were cut to the heart, 44:51 they humbled themselves and said, "What shall we do?" 44:53 The high priests are not cut to the heart, 44:56 high priest in the Sanhedrin and they don't want to hear it. 45:00 They want to stop the voice. 45:02 "They were cut to the heart, 45:04 they gnashed on him with their teeth." 45:07 They were grinding their teeth. 45:09 "But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, 45:11 gazed into heaven, saw the glory of God, 45:14 and Jesus standing at the right hand of God," 45:16 and he couldn't keep it to himself, "He said, 'Look! 45:19 I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man 45:22 standing on the right hand of God!'" 45:24 Showing the divine position of Jesus they saw as blasphemy. 45:28 Isn't that right? 45:30 "And they cried out with a loud voice, 45:31 and they stopped their ears..." 45:33 That is very, very, very, very, very, 45:34 very, very, very, very important. 45:38 Who is stopping their ears? 45:40 The Supreme Court. 45:43 How would you feel if you're pleading for your life 45:44 and the judges plugged their ears? 45:46 Is that a good sign? 45:49 They're not wanting to hear anymore. 45:51 They stopped their ears, they grind their teeth, 45:54 they cried out with a loud voice, "No, stop, stop." 45:57 They couldn't take it anymore. We don't want to hear any more. 46:00 They ran on him with one accord. 46:02 This is the court, it's not very dignified. 46:05 "They cast him out of the city." 46:09 They carried him up over their heads. 46:11 "They cast them out of the city and they stoned him. 46:15 And the witnesses laid down their clothes 46:17 at the feet of a young man named Saul." 46:20 Now Luke introduces that in the story 46:22 because he's going to have a lot more 46:23 to say about Saul later, doesn't he? 46:25 Says, I don't want you to miss this point 46:27 that the chief bailiff in this proceeding, 46:29 the one who oversaw the execution of Stephen 46:33 was a young man, 46:34 very zealous young man, a Pharisee named Saul. 46:37 He's later... 46:38 His name is known as what? Paul, the Apostle. 46:44 And notice, there is clothes here. 46:45 They laid down their clothes 46:46 because when you're getting ready to stone someone, 46:48 you take off your outer garments 46:49 because you're going to be hurling stones. 46:52 And they stone Stephen as he was calling on God. 46:56 They also did not want to splatter their clothes 46:59 with the blood of the victim. 47:01 He's saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 47:05 Then he knelt down and he cried out with a loud voice, 47:09 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.'" 47:12 He prays for their forgiveness. 47:14 "When he said this, he gave up the spirit, he fell asleep." 47:18 It wasn't any particular rock that killed him. 47:22 He laid down His life. 47:23 Now everything Stephen does here happens 47:25 by Jesus on the cross. 47:28 Have you noticed that? 47:32 Was Jesus accused of blasphemy? 47:34 Are you with me? Yes. 47:37 Was Jesus accused of speaking against the temple? 47:40 Yes. 47:41 Were there false witnesses against Jesus? 47:45 Yes. 47:46 Was Jesus tried by the Sanhedrin? 47:49 Yes. 47:50 Was it an illegal trial? Yes. 47:52 There was no appeal time here, 47:55 this was a hastily called an executed trial. 48:00 Was Jesus taken out of the city? 48:03 He was. 48:04 Were their clothes mentioned? Yes. 48:07 At the cross, again removed His clothes. 48:10 Does Jesus pray 48:11 for the forgiveness of His accusers? 48:13 Yes. 48:14 Does He cry out with a loud voice, 48:18 and He says it is finished? 48:21 And then He breathes His last. 48:25 It isn't crucifixion that kills Him, 48:27 it's a broken heart. 48:29 Now the reason 48:30 I've made such a big deal about pointing this out 48:32 is Stephen is the first martyr, 48:37 he is executed exactly three and a half years after Jesus. 48:42 Stephen's being executed, 48:45 the Jewish Supreme Court plugging their ears 48:49 marks the end of the prophecy. 48:52 It's the end of the 490 year prophecy you find in Daniel 9. 48:57 Remember it says, in the midst of this last week, 49:00 three and a half years, it's half a week, 49:03 He, Jesus calls us to sacrifice to cease. 49:05 Jesus dies on the cross, 49:07 Jesus starts to preach in AD 27. 49:11 Jesus preaches three and a half years. 49:13 Jesus confirms the covenant 49:15 with God's people for one week, seven years. 49:18 A day is a year, right? 49:20 Three and a half years Jesus in person 49:22 confirms the covenant. 49:24 At the end of three and a half years, 49:26 He dies on the cross. False witnesses. 49:30 Prays for their forgiveness. Supreme Court rejects Him. 49:33 But God in His mercy gives Him another three and a half years. 49:37 Not only was a covenant confirmed through Jesus, 49:39 it says in Hebrews, 49:40 He confirmed the covenant through those that heard Him. 49:44 So through people like Peter, James, John and Stephen, 49:48 they preached for another three and a half years 49:50 exclusively to the Jewish nation. 49:53 Had the gospel gone to the gentiles yet? 49:55 Have they preached to Samaritans yet? 49:57 That happens in chapter 8, the next chapter. 50:00 Have they gone to Cornelius yet? 50:01 No, that's chapter 10. 50:03 You realize for those 50:04 first three and a half years after Christ, 50:06 they're only preaching to the Jews. 50:09 All those who are baptized are Jews. 50:10 Isn't that right? 50:12 And exactly three and a half years later, 50:14 the same thing that happened to Jesus, happens to Stephen. 50:17 It marks the end 50:18 of that incredible prophecy in Daniel 9, 50:21 where he says, for seventy weeks, 50:23 I will confirm the covenant with My people. 50:25 And in the midst of that last week, 50:27 the Messiah comes, 50:28 He teaches, He calls us to sacrifice to cease. 50:31 He ascends to heaven 50:32 and He then confirms the covenant 50:34 for another three and a half years 50:35 through the apostles. 50:37 But when the Supreme Court, 50:39 when the leaders of the Jewish nation plug their ears, 50:41 what did that mean. 50:44 They don't want to hear about Jesus anymore. 50:46 What does Paul say when he go to preach in a synagogue? 50:50 He go to the synagogue first because God salvation, 50:52 Jew first, then the gentile. 50:54 He said, since you judge yourselves 50:57 unworthy of the Kingdom of God, 50:59 lo we turned to the gentiles. 51:02 And so this is what happened at that point. 51:04 Now is that saying, God still doesn't have a place 51:08 and a work for the Jewish nation? 51:09 No. Even after AD... 51:12 All right, I didn't finish, 27 Jesus teaches, AD 31, 51:15 He dies on the cross, AD 34, Stephen is stoned, 51:18 exactly seven years after Jesus began His ministry. 51:21 Okay. 51:23 So that's the end of 490 years, 51:25 but is it the end of God's work among Jews? 51:28 The nation, as a nation, 51:30 the leaders then had plugged their ears. 51:33 But I still think he's got a special work 51:35 that He's going to do 51:36 and there will be a great revival 51:37 among the Jewish people. 51:38 Anyway, I don't have time to go into all that. 51:40 I just got a few minutes left. What happens next? 51:44 It tells us, the gospel begins to spread like wildfire. 51:48 Immediately after the stoning of Stephen, 51:51 it says the gospel begins to go to Samaria. 51:55 You can read in Acts... 51:57 Someone's going to read for me Acts 1:8. 52:00 John, you got that, go ahead. 52:03 Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power 52:06 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 52:09 And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, 52:11 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 52:15 Now many of us have memorized Acts 1:8. 52:18 Have you memorized Acts 8:1? 52:21 That's a verse we're looking at now. 52:23 "At that time a great persecution 52:25 arose against the church that was at Jerusalem..." 52:28 Where were they supposed to start preaching in Acts 1:8? 52:30 Jerusalem. 52:31 "And they were scattered 52:33 throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, 52:36 except the apostles." 52:38 Notice, Jesus said, "Jerusalem, Judea, 52:40 Samaria" in Acts 1:8. 52:43 Now you go to Acts 8:1, 52:45 it starts with Jerusalem, Judea, 52:47 Samaria and then it says, they were scattered everywhere. 52:51 They go to the ultimate ends of the earth. 52:53 The very things that Jesus foretold 52:55 would happen begin to happen. 52:57 So what happens in Samaria? 53:00 Holy Spirit is poured out, they start preaching. 53:02 Now you might say, "Pastor Doug, 53:03 they haven't gone to the gentiles yet. 53:05 Why would they go to the Samaritans?" 53:07 I mean, remember, Peter said, 53:09 I don't want to go into Cornelius' house, 53:10 he is a gentile. 53:12 Why would they go to the Samaritans? 53:14 Did Jesus preached to Samaritans? 53:17 Yeah, Jesus did not go, preach to gentiles. 53:20 Why Samaritans? 53:21 Because Samaritans were sort of half Jewish. 53:24 What I mean by that is they were a monotheistic, 53:27 they believed in Jehovah, 53:29 they believed in the Five Books of Moses. 53:31 They practiced many of the same religious rights. 53:37 They had been instructed, the people in Samaria 53:39 had been instructed by Jewish priests way back 53:42 when 10 of the tribes came back from Assyria, 53:45 or some of the people from the tribes came back, 53:47 so they were kind of half and half. 53:49 And so you notice the transition, 53:51 God is preparing them to be able to say, you mean, 53:54 the gospel is not just for Jews, it's for gentiles. 53:56 They started to preach in Samaria. 53:57 They went, wow, look at that, 53:58 the Holy Spirit's come on the Samaritans. 54:01 They weren't sure they should do it. 54:02 And so as they're preaching to the Samaritans, they say, 54:04 maybe we ought to send Peter and John out there, 54:05 make sure this is "kosher", pardon the pun. 54:09 And so remember, 54:11 there was a Samaritan wizard up there named Simon, a magician. 54:16 And he said, I'll give you money for the Holy Spirit. 54:19 And that didn't settle well with Peter, 54:21 but when they laid hands on the other Samaritan believers, 54:24 men and women were baptized, 54:26 they were filled with the Holy Spirit. 54:28 And so they said, I guess we're supposed to be preaching 54:31 among the Samaritans after all Jesus did it. 54:33 You remember, the woman at the well. 54:34 After she believed, she went told the town. 54:36 Jesus went and He preached in that town for several days. 54:39 And so they said, "Well, it must be okay 54:41 because Jesus did it." 54:42 And so it still took another leap of faith for them 54:45 to get to the gentiles. 54:46 And then after that, I got one minute left to talk about. 54:50 Then Philip is told to go to preach to... 54:55 Philip becomes a hitchhiker, he gets a ride in chariot, 54:58 he preaches to a leader 55:00 in the court of Candace of Ethiopia 55:02 who is the treasurer there, he is a Jew 55:05 but he's an Ethiopian Jew, 55:06 he's a convert to Judaism from another country 55:09 that is not Jewish. 55:11 So now the gospel is going to other country, 55:13 see what's happening. 55:14 And you know the Ethiopian believes and he is baptized. 55:18 So we've tried our best to cover Acts 6 through 8, 55:22 hope you learned something today about how God prepared 55:25 for the outpouring of the Spirit in the church group. 55:27 I want to thank you for joining us, friends. 55:30 We have a free offer and it is "Help Wanted, 55:34 Workers in the Vineyard". 55:36 All of us need to do our various jobs. 55:39 If you like to get that free offer, 55:40 you can ask for offer number 852 55:43 when you call 788-3966. 55:47 That's 866-788-3966. 55:51 Thank you very much for studying with us. 55:52 God willing, we'll study His Word 55:54 with you again next week. 56:05 So what is the brightest light in the world? 56:07 Well, naturally, you would say the sun. 56:09 But we're talking about 56:10 the brightest man-made light in the world. 56:13 It's the light that shines out of the roof 56:15 of that pyramid shaped hotel in Las Vegas called the Luxor. 56:19 There in the cap of that hotel, 56:20 there is a room that contains 56:22 39 washing machines size xenon bulbs, 56:26 and each of those bulbs requires about 7000 watts, 56:30 altogether they produce 56:31 about 40 billion candlepower of light. 56:35 Can you imagine getting that electric bill 56:37 of the Luxor hotel every month? 56:39 That light is so bright 56:40 that planes can see it 250 miles away. 56:44 They are shooting light 10 miles up into space, 56:48 meaning if you happen to be floating by, 56:49 you can read a newspaper up there. 56:52 And as you might have guessed that bright light 56:54 has become the world's best bug attractor. 56:57 Bringing in moths, bats and owls 56:59 creating its own ecosystem there at night above the hotel. 57:03 But the sad thing about 57:04 the brightest light in the world 57:05 is especially when the night air 57:07 is clear without any particles, 57:09 the light doesn't hit anything and it's invisible, 57:13 it shoots up into empty space. 57:15 The brightest light in the world 57:18 illuminates nothing. 57:19 You know, the Bible tells us 57:20 that there's another great wasted light, 57:23 and that's the light of God's Word. 57:25 It says in Psalm 119:105, 57:28 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet 57:30 and a light onto my path." 57:32 And yet so many people are walking in darkness. 57:35 Furthermore, Jesus said, "If you do have that light, 57:38 make sure you don't put it under a bushel, 57:39 but you let it shine 57:41 and illuminate the lives of others. 57:42 Jesus said in Matthew 5, 57:45 "Set your light up on a hill like a city 57:47 so that all might see it." 57:49 Light only benefits others when it reflects off of something. 57:53 God wants our lights to illuminate the lives of others. 57:57 So are you glowing for God? 57:59 Remember, Jesus said, "Let there be light." |
Revised 2018-07-23