Acts 6:8-7:1

Please take your copy of God's Word and turn to the book of Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

Our text for this morning will be Acts chapter 6, verse 8 through Acts chapter 7, verse 1.

Acts 6:8 Acts 7:1

And while you're getting there, let me just express to you that it's very good to be back with you this morning.

The whole family took last week off just as we've struggled with our new little one.

If you don't know my family, we have a brand new baby boy in addition to our other two.

And Silas has been a bit more challenging than the others.

We've had our what in the world do we do moments with him, but we're mostly filled with joy.

Sam's here with him somewhere.

I think she's already. Oh, she's here in the room.

How about that for now? She's here in the room.

That's the fussing you're hearing over there.

It's also very good to be back preaching with you again as I'm coming off a preaching break.

I just want to remind you guys why we're doing that, why I'm taking these times of stepping away,

not from my job in total, but from preaching itself.

And they're twofold.

Number one, we want you to want to come and hear the Word of God preached.

Simply that.

The truth proclaimed.

And not necessarily by a particular person.

And I don't think that that happens here.

It's not that I have some strange disillusionment that I'm being worshipped in any way whatsoever.

But we want to get ahead of that kind of thing.

We don't want you to show up and think,

Ah, not Nathan.

Please don't ever think that.

Praise God for the Word of God preached.

The truth is proclaimed here.

And I praise God for the depth of talent we have in that regard.

The second reason is simply that we need to let other people exercise gifting.

I'm certainly glad to get up here week in and week out.

It does grow tiring at times.

But primarily, we need to let other men get into the process and work that gifting out

and have the chance to share what God is working into them with you.

And so, you're going to see breaks like that periodically across the rest of the year.

But all that said, I'm glad to be back.

I'm glad also to be back,

to begin this period of time of study and preaching on your behalf

with a very important transitionary character in the book of Acts.

Come to the life and ministry of Stephen.

Peter has been the primary character up to this point in Luke's narrative.

Continuing forward, we will observe the ministry of Peter in chapters 10, 11, and 12.

And then his presence at the Jerusalem Council in chapter 15.

But the focus is beginning now to shift away from Peter as the primary narrative character to Paul.

We meet him first as Saul at the very end of chapter 7 and on into chapter 8.

And we see this shift through the end of the book then as Paul is the central figure in Luke's narrative.

So, we have this record of Stephen's ministry and it's a short one.

And rightly so, because his ministry is brief.

He is selected to serve as a deacon in order to serve the tables of the Greek-speaking Jewish widows

at the beginning of chapter 6.

And his ministry ends at the end of chapter 7.

He expands his ministry as a deacon to that of a preacher and an apologist.

And the Lord sees fit to end Stephen's ministry by making him the first martyr of the Christian church.

I appreciated this summary by Charles Spurgeon as I appreciate so much of his preaching and writing.

And I put it on the front of the bulletin for you to follow along.

He preached, Stephen the deacon became Stephen the preacher.

This holy man not only used such gifts as he had in one department,

but having abilities for a more spiritual form of service,

he laid them at once upon the altar of Christ.

Nor is this all.

He had a higher promotion yet.

When he had thus become Stephen the wise apologist and brave defender of the faith,

he did not stop there, but he mounted to the highest rank of the Christian army.

He gained the peerless dignity, the foremost nobility, the brightest glory.

I mean the martyr's name and honor.

Stephen the deacon is first Stephen the preacher.

And afterwards, Stephen, God's faithful and true witness,

laying down his life so that he may seal his testimony with his blood.

So we have the opportunity to look at the life and ministry of Stephen, however brief.

And we're going to do so across the next two weeks.

Today, I'd like to look at his arrest and inquiry.

And the next Lord's Day, we'll look at Stephen's response and his death.

And over the next two weeks, I want us to keep in mind two general lessons,

general and broad lessons that we can learn from Stephen's life and ministry.

Number one, a life given in service to God is a life that is not wasted.

As we come to the conclusion of Stephen's life next week,

we'll see that God sovereignly uses Stephen's martyrdom for the explosive expansion of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

His death is the catalyst that sets off so much gospel reach and response.

A life given in service to God is a life that is not wasted.

And secondly, the significance of such a life given to God cannot be measured by its short-term gains,

its breadth, or its length.

The significance of a life given in service to God cannot be measured by its short-term gains,

its breadth, or its length.

So with those two things in mind, let's look at our text this morning.

Acts chapter 6, beginning in verse 8 through chapter 7, verse 1.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called,

and of the Cyrenians and of the Alexandrians,

and of those from Cilicia and Asia,

rose up and disputed with Stephen.

But they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.

Then they secretly instigated men who said,

We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.

And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes,

and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council.

And they set up false witnesses who said,

This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.

For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place

and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.

And gazing at him,

all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

And the high priest said,

Are these things so?

Beloved,

this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Now, our text this morning,

I would like to look at in two ways.

Number one,

the details of Stephen's arrest.

And number two,

the Stephen who was arrested.

The details of Stephen's arrest.

And number two,

the Stephen who was arrested.

So number one,

the details of Stephen's arrest.

We begin out here,

after him coming off,

we get this explanation of him being called as a deacon,

this early church that's meeting in Jerusalem

for the sake of serving the tables of the widows,

of the Hellenist Jews,

that Stephen is not only serving tables.

He is also preaching.

We have a deacon here who preaches.

And some have supposed

that the calling of these men

at the beginning of Acts chapter 6

Acts 6 · chapter mention

were not the calling of deacons,

was not the institution of that office,

but rather the institution of the office of elder.

Because Stephen was preaching.

Elders must be able to teach.

That's a qualification that's given for an elder.

But that does not mean

that no one else can have that qualification.

In fact,

deacons and all believers,

whether or not they hold an office in the church,

whether or not they are especially gifted

to teach in a setting like this,

are to be

preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Don't miss that.

And what a great encouragement that is to us

that Stephen,

chosen to be a deacon,

I will argue,

to serve the physical needs of the church,

was also a preacher.

Stephen, the deacon, preached.

If you're looking at the text carefully,

you might be saying,

on what basis do I come to the conclusion

that he's preaching?

Because it doesn't actually say explicitly

that he preached.

But recall that we have noted

in our study of Mark,

if you've been with us for quite a while,

seen the record of Jesus' ministry,

and in our study of Acts so far,

that signs and wonders

were always intended to validate

the message of the gospel.

The preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ

always accompanied signs and wonders

being performed.

Signs and wonders were meant

to cause people to take notice

of the preaching.

God uses the preaching of the gospel

to work the greatest of miracles.

And beloved, we cannot miss this.

God is still in the business

of working miracles

in that He changes hard hearts

to ones that beat for Him.

There is no greater miracle

that has further reach

than hearts changed

toward God.

So, the fact that Stephen

is performing great wonders

and signs

necessitates that he was also

preaching.

So, first,

I come to a conclusion from that.

Second, I come to it

because of the way

in which he's opposed.

Note the opposition

that comes to him for this.

He's not opposed

because he's working miracles.

Verse 9

speaks of

a select group of men

from a variety

of the Jerusalem

synagogues.

We see,

then,

some of those

who belong to the synagogue.

I take that to mean

that those who

were versed

in debate,

those who were of

high training

from each of these synagogues,

the synagogues

of the freedmen,

we get this

parenthetical by Luke

as it was called,

and of the Cyrenians

and of the Alexandrians

and of those from

Cilicia and Asia

rose up

and disputed

with Stephen.

These are a select

group of men

from a variety

of the Jerusalem

synagogues.

You could think of

synagogues

in this day

while the primary

worship of the day

in Jerusalem

happened at the temple,

synagogues were

much like seminaries,

places of

theological

training.

And there were

no less than

480 synagogues

in Jerusalem

in these days.

And they had them

of all kinds

of variety.

These five

are all synagogues

of Greek-speaking Jews.

Now, if you missed

last week,

the Hellenists,

the Greek-speaking Jews,

were those

who either

were already living

in Gentile lands

from the dispersion,

therefore they spoke

Greek as a primary

language,

right?

And they were being

brought back in

or they had started

there and moved

back in

and there was

kind of a bit

of a class separation

as a result

of this.

So,

we find that

Stephen's primary

ministry is to

the Greek-speaking

Jewish widows

and therefore

he's being opposed

by Greek-speaking

Jews.

The synagogue

of the freedmen,

the freedmen,

were made up

of descendants

of Jewish slaves

that were captured

by Pompey

in 63 B.C.

and taken to Rome.

They were later

granted their freedom,

therefore the name

Freedmen,

and they formed

a Jewish community

living there

in Rome.

But this is a synagogue

located in Jerusalem

of these people

who would travel

to Jerusalem

in order to be

educated in

theology.

The synagogues

of the Cyrenians

and the Alexandrians,

both major cities

of northern Africa

which had large

Jewish populations.

Again,

a synagogue

in Jerusalem

for these people.

The synagogues

of Cilicia

and Asia

in much the same way

were Roman provinces

in Asia Minor.

Of interest

at this point,

the Apostle Paul

was from Tarsus,

which is a town

in Cilicia.

Recall

that he was a student

of Gamaliel,

which we've seen

previously in chapter 5.

And he was likely

part of the debate

that's going on.

He's likely one

of the people

standing here

and opposing.

He's likely one

of the people

that helps

recruit liars

to bring false charge

against Stephen

as we see him

at the end

of chapter 7

standing,

residing over

Stephen's

martyrdom.

So there's

this opposition

and it's coming

against teaching.

Verse 10 says,

but they could not

withstand the wisdom

and the spirit

with which he was speaking.

They were unable

to handle him

in a debate.

They were unable

to best the power

of God

at work

within him.

They were incapable

without the illumination

of the spirit of God

to fully comprehend

the scriptures.

They've been trained

in it.

Masterfully trained.

Stephen is likely

a lay person

but he has

the spirit of God

and the power of God

at work within him

to help him understand

this book

that had been taught

to him

from a child.

And he lays it out

for them

and they're unable

to debate with him

and so what do they do?

They turn

to deception.

They have no other

way to stand up

against him

and so

they turn

to deception

and they bring up

these false charges

in secret

and hidden places.

They instigate men.

They recruit false witness

against him

and they make these charges

against Stephen

in three pairs.

And we see them

in verse 11

and verse 13

and verse 14.

Verse 11

blasphemous words

against Moses

and God.

Stephen is speaking

these blasphemous words

against Moses

and God.

Verse 13

He won't stop

speaking words

against this

holy place

and the law.

And verse 14

this

Jesus of Nazareth

will destroy

this place

and will change

the customs

that Moses

delivered

to us.

And the way

these accusations

are brought

the pairs

expand

on the original

accusation

that Stephen

is against

Moses

and against

God.

That is

they go on

to make these

accusations

to say

to speak

blasphemous words

against Moses

is to speak

against the law

and the customs

handed down

by Moses.

And to speak

blasphemous words

against God

is to speak

against

the temple.

Now

these charges

weren't

altogether

false.

Stephen

was certainly

not being

blasphemous

but he was

preaching

the gospel.

So he was

teaching

that righteousness

could not

be found

in the law

or in the

traditions

and that temple

worship

would never

atone

for sin.

He was teaching

that these

things

were a shadow

of the thing

that has

come

in Christ.

Stephen

was preaching

the gospel.

He was

speaking of

the person

and work

of Jesus

Christ.

And that's

why it's

so offensive

to them.

We've said

this in

previous weeks

that went

against the

world system

which their

religion was

a part of.

It flew

in the face

of it.

And they

could not

have him

tear down

their

religious

worship.

Stephen

preached

that people

must believe

in the

person

and work

of Jesus

Christ.

And I don't

know if you've

been noticing

me across

the last

month saying

that often

that phrasing

person and

work

of Jesus

Christ

because beloved

it's not

enough to

believe in

one and

not the

other.

We must

believe that

Jesus is

who he said

he is.

That he is

the son of

God.

That he is

the Messiah

the chosen

one of

God.

The one

who was

sent to

take away

the sins

of the

world.

We also

must believe

in his

work.

We must

understand that

he lived a

perfect life.

That he

fulfilled the

law in

himself.

That he

has

righteousness

that's

granted to

us by

faith.

We put

on his

righteousness

and that

his

sacrificial

death

paid the

penalty for

our sin.

Both are

important.

The person

and the

work.

We must

believe that

Jesus is

the Christ

and that

his active

and passive

obedience has

brought us

into right

relationship

with God.

And this

is the

gospel that

Stephen is

preaching.

This is the

offense to

the world

system in

which he

lived.

Now, the

story of

Stephen is

used by

Luke.

And I

don't mean

that he

makes the

story up or

that he

conveniently

puts the

story in

this place.

But under

inspiration,

Luke writes

this account

and uses

the story

for a

very important

transition in

the book of

Acts.

I want to

show you

that.

At this

point in

the story,

God is

about to

turn loose

the church.

The beginning

of chapter

8,

persecution

ramps up

and the

church is

scattered.

God is

going to

take the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

in a

single

generation

across

three

continents.

The

gospel goes

forth in

a radical

way and

it's about

to happen

right here

on the

cusp of

that.

And here

the story

of Stephen

is this

transition

between the

two.

The

gospel is

going to

go from

Jerusalem

to the

world.

At the

beginning

of chapter

8.

In

Acts 3,

chapters 3

through 5,

we see the

effect of the

gospel as

it's spreading

throughout

Jerusalem.

Like the

teaching is

everywhere,

like many,

many thousands,

possibly tens

of thousands

have converted

to faith in

Jesus Christ.

It's spreading

even in the

face of

opposition,

even in the

face of

the arrest

and the

beating of

the apostles.

The gospel

is going

forth

throughout

Jerusalem.

The

primary

message

of their

preaching

is that

God's

blessing

is found

in

Jesus,

not in

temple

worship.

Beginning

after

temple

worship,

right?

As a

shadow

of a

former

thing.

God's

blessing

is

ultimately

found

in

Christ.

Now,

in Acts

6 and

7,

the life

and ministry

of Stephen,

the proclamation

of the

gospel leads

to Stephen's

trial and

his death.

The opposition

to the

gospel,

even as

it's

gone

forth

before

this

in

Jerusalem,

right?

In the

face of

opposition,

the opposition

cranks way

up.

We see

the first

martyrdom,

the first

death for

the cause

of Christ.

Leads to

his trial

and to

his death.

And the

primary

message of

Stephen's

preaching

is that

God has

never been

limited

by the

temple.

Always

try to

contain

him in

a house,

put him

in a

container,

but it's

never been

limited to

that.

His influence

has gone

forth far,

far,

far beyond.

So,

look to

Jesus for

God's

blessing.

And we're

going to

see,

beginning in

Acts chapter

Acts 8 · chapter mention

8,

through the

end of the

book,

through chapter

28,

that the

effect of

the gospel

is that it

spreads

beyond

Jerusalem,

goes beyond

the Jewish

population,

that in

Abraham,

all the

peoples of

the earth

might be

blessed.

And the

primary

message of

the gospel,

God's

blessing is

for all

who will

believe in

Jesus Christ.

And so,

that's where

we stand

in this

gap.

And that's

why the

offense of

him speaking

against the

temple is

so massive

at this

point.

It's a

tipping point

for them.

We're not

going to see

a lot of

conversation

about the

temple

beyond this,

but that's

why it

brings this

whole event

and the

first martyrdom

to such a

head in

this.

And then

just note,

just as I'm

kind of

walking through

the passage,

verse 15

and 7-1,

and gazing

at him,

all who

sat in

the council

saw that

his face

was like

the face

of an

angel.

This

picture of

gazing,

some of

your

translations

might say

staring,

would be a

good word

for it.

It's not

a kind

gazing,

right?

They're

set him

in the

midst of

the council

and they're

staring him

down.

They see

that his

face was

like the

face of

an angel.

Take that

to mean

that his

face was

illuminated.

And the

high priest

said,

of these

accusations,

are these

things so?

And next

week we'll

see him

launch into

his,

it's not

much of a

defense.

He kind of

instigates

himself,

but his

speech following

that question,

are these

things so?

So those are

the events.

This is the

things that

happened in

his arrest.

Let's look at

secondly now,

the Stephen

who was

arrested.

What kind

of man

was Stephen?

What was

his quality?

He is

certainly a

saint that

we should

emulate.

We need to

observe this

brief little

record,

the life and

ministry of

Stephen.

We would

all do

well to

look like

Stephen.

And I think

even a better

question would

be how was

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ shaping

him.

Beloved,

if you are

in Christ,

if you are

indeed in

Christ,

you are

being changed

one degree

of glory

to another.

We're getting

a little

better.

There's

sanctification,

right?

It's what that

process is

called.

We're improving

bit by bit.

And it doesn't

always feel like

that in a day.

I know that,

and I'm there

with you in

that.

It doesn't

always feel

that way in

a week or

maybe even

in a month

or possibly

in a year.

But if we

zoom way

back,

we take

God's

perspective

on our

lives,

our trajectory

is toward

holiness.

It's away

from sinfulness

and it's

toward holiness.

This process

is called

sanctification.

The biblical

view of

sanctification,

and I

unapologetically

say that,

the biblical

view of

sanctification

is called

progressive

sanctification.

It means that

we continue

to plod

that course.

We continue

to move

in that

direction,

to look

more like

Christ.

And it is

taught in

the scriptures

as a

synergistic

process.

And by that

I mean

that both

God and

us are

involved in

this process.

We're both

involved.

That's what

the scripture

teaches.

At times,

it really

seems to be

an apparent

paradox.

You've heard

that phrase

before.

A paradox

is a

statement

that is,

at least

it seems

to be on

the surface,

self-contradictory.

The scripture

doesn't conflict

with itself,

so it's an

apparent paradox.

It's not,

but it seems

to be.

And many

people have

tried to

wrestle through

the logic

of these

things,

and many

heresies

have arisen

from it.

If not

heresies,

at very

least,

erroneous

teaching on

the matter.

There are

some things

that are

very difficult

for our

minds to

reconcile.

So we

step back

away from

the scripture,

and rather

than standing

over it

in judgment,

we stand

underneath it

and let it

speak to us.

Why has

God revealed

himself to

us?

Why has

he shown

us the

process of

sanctification

in this

way?

The way

that the

gospel works

in to

us holiness.

I can't give

you all the

answers to that.

I don't know

that I have

all the answers

or that I

have the

time this

morning,

but I

appreciate

that the

scripture

itself doesn't

always try to

wrestle it

out.

There's a

wonderful

example of

this if

you'd like

to see

it,

Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Paul states

the one and

the other

side by

side.

Now let me

just sum up,

if you're

turning there,

what I mean

by this.

We are being

perfected by

the power of

God and the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

through the

working of

the Spirit

in our

lives.

We would

of course

give all

glory and

honor to

Christ in

the process

of that.

We don't

take the

ownership

for that

kind of

thing,

but you

were not

made perfect

by sitting

around.

It doesn't

happen.

You don't

sit on your

hands and

go,

well,

God said

he's going

to do it.

Just waiting.

I promise

you that God

will never

animate you

in the morning

and cause

you to swing

your legs out

of bed and

cause you to

pick up the

scripture in a

way that you're

not part of

your faculty,

right?

That you go and

you open it and

you begin to read

it and you go,

what is happening

to me?

I don't even

know what's

going on right

now.

But I will

say when you

wake up in the

morning and you

swing your legs

out of bed and

you go and you

open the scripture

and you begin to

read it,

that God has

worked in you

for this very

thing to happen.

You get the

apparent paradox

in play.

So listen to what

Paul says,

Philippians chapter

verse 12,

man's responsibility,

verse 13,

God's empowering

work.

Therefore,

my beloved,

as you have

always obeyed,

so now,

not only as in

my presence,

but much more

in my absence,

work out your

own salvation

with fear and

trembling.

Why?

For it is God

who works in

you,

both to will

and to work

for his good

pleasure.

Verse 12,

you work,

verse 13,

God works.

So how is it

that he does

this?

And this takes

place in our

lives in four

broad areas,

and I promise

I'm coming back

to Stephen,

because it's

working in

Stephen's life,

in four broad

areas.

We could classify

these in many

different ways.

There's a lot of

wonderful books

on it that

classify what's

often called

the means of

grace.

I like to call

them habits

of grace,

because we play

apart in

these things.

So there's

other ways to

categorize this.

I'm going to

categorize it in

four broad areas,

and we're going

to talk about

this a lot

in the coming

year.

And those four

areas are

gospel conviction,

gospel character,

gospel community,

and gospel

commission.

You've already

got to memorize,

because they all

start with C.

Gospel conviction,

character,

community,

and mission.

These are means

of grace,

or habits of

grace, as I

prefer.

Things that we

are involved in,

and God uses

them to bring

about holiness

in us.

And so I want

to look at

Stephen and see

how the gospel

was at work

in these ways.

So number one,

gospel conviction.

Let's back up

in our text just

a little bit to

Acts 6, 5.

The disciples

are presented

with this solution

to the issue

of the tables

not being served,

and it pleases

them, and they

choose Stephen,

a man full of

faith,

and of the

Holy Spirit.

The response

that Stephen

gives to the

council in

chapter 7,

the full speech

that he gives

shows that

he had faith

that God

ruled history.

He believed

in God's

sovereign rule.

Now, I know

we haven't read

the text,

but we're going

to get there

next week.

I encourage

you to read

it this week

and see that

Stephen had

faith.

He believed

that God

ruled history.

He believed

in a sovereign

plan.

He could say

with Paul,

as Paul says

in Romans 14,

8,

for if we live,

we live to

the Lord,

and if we die,

we die to

the Lord.

So then,

whether we live

or whether we

die,

we are the

Lord.

And he had

this conviction

of that that

allowed him

to press into.

Remember,

he's going

around doing

signs and

wonders,

and he's

preaching the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

already in the

face of

opposition.

He already

knows that

it's happening.

We've already

had Peter

and John

arrested.

We've already

had the

apostles arrested

And flogged!

They're being

told,

do not speak

in the name

of Christ.

And this

man of

conviction,

trusting in

the Lord's

sovereign rule,

presses on

in to

these things.

Stephen had

faith that

Jesus was

the fulfillment

of messianic

prophecy.

He believed,

was convicted

that Jesus

was,

is,

the Christ.

Acts 7,

52,

the end of

his speech.

Which of

the prophets

did your

fathers not

persecute?

And they

killed those

who announced

beforehand the

coming of

the righteous

one,

whom you

have now

betrayed and

murdered.

He knew that

Jesus is

the Christ.

He was

convicted of

that.

Stephen believed

that Jesus

had risen and

was at the

right hand of

the Father,

and that he

would stand

and judge

the earth.

Again,

Acts 7,

Acts 7:55

verse 55 and

56,

full of the

Holy Spirit,

Stephen gazes

into heaven,

sees the

glory of God

and Jesus

standing at

the right hand

of God,

and he

says,

behold,

I see the

heavens opened

and the

Son of Man

standing at

the right

hand of

God.

He believed

in the

promises of

God found

in the

Scripture.

He was a

man of

conviction

because he

knew the

Scriptures

and he

believed them.

He knew

the Scriptures

and he

believed them.

Stephen was

also full

of the

Holy Spirit.

He was

filled up

with the

Holy Spirit.

And as we

have said

before,

the opportunity

for this

is not

unique

amongst

followers of

Christ.

We don't

have varying

classification

of Christian,

those who

are filled

and aren't

filled.

If you are

a believer

in Jesus

Christ,

you have

been baptized

in the

Spirit and

we all

have the

opportunity

to be

filled.

And it

should not

be a

rare

occurrence

or reserved

in any

way.

To be

filled

with the

Spirit is

to have

the Word

of Christ

dwell in

you richly

in a way

that brings

about

change.

Romans 8,

3 and 4.

For God

is done

with the

law,

weakened by

the flesh,

could not

do by

sending

His own

Son in

the likeness

of sinful

flesh,

and for

sin He

condemned

sin in

the flesh,

in order

that the

righteous

requirement of

the law

might be

fulfilled in

us who

walk not

according to

the flesh,

but according

to the

Spirit.

The great

evidence of

being filled

with the

Spirit is

obedience.

Being so

captivated with

Christ that

we are

obedient to

His call.

It's

following

our Lord.

I've read

this to you

before,

I just love

it too much

not to read

it again.

I think this

may be number

three in the

book of Acts.

Dan Phillips,

a contemporary

pastor,

said this,

Show me a

person obsessed

with the

Holy Spirit

and His

gifts,

real or

imagined,

and I

will show

you a

person not

filled with

the Holy

Spirit.

Show me a

person focused

on the

personal work

of Jesus

Christ,

never tiring

of learning

about Him,

thinking about

Him,

boasting of

Him,

speaking about

and for

thrilled and

entranced with

His perfections

and beauty,

finding ways

to serve and

exalt Him,

tirelessly

exploring ways

to spend and

be spent for

Him,

growing in

character to

be more and

more like

Him,

and I will

show you a

person who

is filled

with the

Holy Spirit.

Not to be

the normative

part of our

Christian living,

that we be

people of

faith who

are filled

with the

Spirit of

God,

and we see

the evidencing

of that in

obedience.

We hold

our lives up

to the

Scripture,

and we go,

yes,

I find

myself in

this,

failing at

times,

but moving

progressively away

from my sin

and toward

holiness.

So what part

do we play

in gospel

conviction?

What's our

part?

If it's

synergistic,

right,

being perfected

by the

gospel,

what part

do we play?

We read,

and we study,

and we meditate

on the Word

of God.

Beloved,

we're to be a

people of the

Word.

We're to be

saturated by

this book,

and it's

not nearly as

difficult as

we all make

it out to

be.

We make

far too

many excuses

for our

biblical

illiteracy.

The number

one I hear

is time

management.

I just

need you to

pray for

time management.

Not what

you need

prayer for.

You need

prayer for

the idolatry

of your

heart.

It's a

worship issue.

The fact that

we don't take

this thing up

and read,

and I'm in

the boat

with you

guys,

right?

It's an

issue of

worship.

It's an

issue of

priority.

My old

self is an

idol factory.

I picture it

that way in

my mind,

little

smokestacks,

chukka,

chukka,

chukka,

chukka,

turning out,

new things

for me to

worship.

It takes

all these

varying forms

all the

time.

God has

built a

new wing,

right?

And it

produces

righteousness.

And he

is working

at destroying

that part

of the

factory that

I seem so

bent on

keeping

running.

And you