How Firm A Foundation | Earth, Wind, & Fire

Always a special thank you to Joellen Dykstra

for being able to get something very beautiful

out of our organ. I'd go and practice with it

and it just comes out as noise. So thank you

for Joellen's gift and that really, for me, that

little liturgical boy in me that I kind of grew

up with, being able to hear some of my favorite

hymns being done on the organ has just been a

blessing. So Jo, thank you for that. In that

song we sang... Fear not, I am with me. Oh, be

not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still

give thee aid. Though that might not be in a

way that you guys talk or pray, unless you're

Roger Momin. He still prays in the thee, thou,

those, and I love it. I don't, but though we

don't use some of that language, the promise

holds true. Fear not, I am with me. For lunch

and a conversation with Pastor Jim, where do

we see that in four different examples in one

of the prophets? Isaiah what? Huh? Oh, Isaiah

49. That is technically correct, all right? So

that's value meal because it's not what I was

going for. So you can get an even number. Or

three or seven. We'll go with that for value

because it's biblical. But no, it's Isaiah 43,

though 41 has it, where it says, Fear not, for

I am with me. When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you. The waves will not overtake

you. When you walk through the fire, you will

not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord your God. That God is declaring

something that over us. Have you ever thought

about that? It's not over just the holy of holies

because guess what? None of us would fit that

bill. That would just be Jesus. He's saying that

to us. Whether in Isaiah 41 or Isaiah 43, the

promise holds true. When you go through the stuff

of life, I will be with you. And for some of

us, that makes us angry because we just don't

want to go through that stuff. Why in the world

do we have to go through whatever that is? It's

usually the negative. When things are going right

in our life, when the bank account is flushed,

when our relationships are strong, when everything

at work or family or sports going well, we think

about the negative, yet we don't really thank

God for that too. But then when things go wrong,

God gets our blame. For I am thy God and will

still give thee aid. What this hymn really is

capturing is what Stephen believed. the disciple,

we're all disciples, right? The believer that

was Stephen, that's what he believed as he lived,

and we're at that point in Acts, is what he believed

as he died. That when your life is built on the

firm foundation of Jesus, no accusation, no suffering,

no earthly power can shake you, dot, dot, dot.

That's the promise, that it shouldn't shake us,

but it does. I'll be the first one to tell you.

Yeah, there are times that's when I fall asleep

fine, but that's all of a sudden at the 1, 145

in the morning, all of a sudden I start thinking

about all the things shaking me, and then I can't

sleep, and I'm moving around, tossing and turning,

and that's when my wife then kind of nudges me

and says either go to sleep or get out, right?

I know what that nudge means, right? You may

have that in a different way, but that's what

it means. And that's when I get up. Right? Because

I want her to be able to sleep. I don't want

to be the cause of that. But the understanding

that I get dismayed. And I'm worried that that

aid is going to come. Or, if we're being honest

this morning, the aid is going to come in a way

I want it to come. See, we do that too. God,

I know you're going to come to my aid because

your Bible says it. But it better come this way.

Again, God's not some genie in a bottle that

does what we wish. But what we see in Acts 6,

the church has grown, the word is spreading,

new leaders are serving. The church is working.

Right? It's one of the reasons why I gave thanks

to all of our committees. Though we might get

in each other's way because they're growing and

doing things, we're doing stuff what we believe

is in right order of the church. Among them,

Stephen. And I love what the Bible says. Stephen,

a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit.

But the same Spirit that fills him with ministry

will also strengthen him for something much greater.

Something that, if I'm being honest, 99 % of

us has probably never encountered or experienced

in the same level as we're going to see it. But

what this passage we're going to read, how firm

that foundation, the passage we're going to read

is a look at what unshakable faith looks like

in the face of fear, falsehood, and death. I

wait to say that part because fear and falsehood,

we can fall into that all the time. We've actually

may be the cause of that for other people. Living

a false life. Right? Living out fear. That people

don't know we're believers because of how fearful

we are. Ouch. Or that we are contradictory. Right?

That we don't walk the walk as we talk the talk

or vice versa. The death part though. We're going

to walk through that together. So we're going

to be in Acts chapter 6, starting with verse

Acts 6 · chapter mention

8. Chapter 6 of the book of Acts, starting with

verse 8. If you're new here today, we do use

the ESV. It will be on the slides. But if you

have your Bible or your Bible app, feel free

to open up to that. We're going to start with

verse 8. We're going to go kind of verse by verse.

to this very important passage, okay? Stephen's

character and power, Acts 6, 8. And Stephen,

full of grace and power, was doing great wonders

and signs among the people. I want you to look

at that verse, clear, leave that up. Put your

name where Stephen's is. How would we feel if

Acts mentioned that? And insert your name here.

Full of grace and power, was doing great wonders

and signs among the peoples. Wonders and signs.

Interesting. What does that mean? Well, that's

more than going to church, more than maybe sitting

on a board, but it was signs and wonders, was

teaching the things of Jesus. That what Jesus

was teaching was full of signs and wonders. It

was the fulfillment of the Torah. Love God with

all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself. What does it

practically look like to be a believer in this

time of the church? Luke describes Stephen as

full of grace and power. His life embodied a

spirit -filled balance. Again, we don't know

too much about Stephen. I wish we did. But he

had grace and character. He had power and witness.

I would hope that that's said of me one day,

if not right now or ever. I would hope you would

want that said of you. I would hope that it would

be said of this church. And maybe you go to another

church. Praise the Lord. Hopefully your church

could be known as that too. But what would that

look like if that was actually what Munster Church

was thought of by other people? Munster Church,

grace in character, power in witness. It shows

the mark of a true believer. And guess what?

The Belgian Confession helps us. Article 29,

the true believer turns away from sin and follows

righteousness, loving the true God and neighbor.

Stephen models that holiness in both word and

deed. Turns from sin and follows righteousness.

And when falls, stops, repents, turns. And for

some of us, that might be a daily occurrence.

For some of us, that might be a weekly occurrence.

It's the saved that understand that when they

sin, they need to pause and turn. But as we see,

as when the Spirit is doing His work, when people

are walking in the Spirit, what comes next? Some

sort of Opposition. The opposition arises. And

I would love it if this opposition was coming

from some Gentile groups or other cult groups

or maybe the Egyptians get back into it or something.

But it doesn't and it's so frustrating for me.

And it should be for you that opposition arises

in verse 9. And then some of those who belong

to the synagogue. and the freedmen, as it was

called, and the Syrians, and of the Alexandrians,

and of those in Silia and Asia, rose up and disputed

with Stephen. It starts in the synagogue. It

starts with other churched people. But understand,

those mean different things right now in Acts

6. All of the different people groups, we talked

about that. The Hellenists were a part of the

group. They just weren't, the widows weren't

getting fed. And so they're being overlooked.

So the deacons were installed to help make sure

everybody was covered. One of the main jobs of

the deacon. Well, I grew up that the deacons

just oversaw the budget and made it difficult

for elders. No, that's how you may have learned

it in the CRC. That is not how it goes. And I

lovingly am able to say our deacons, I don't

see that from them. They understand what it means

to be a deacon, the diaconate. It's a beautiful

ministry. The opposition's coming from members

of the synagogue, and the freedmen begin to dispute.

These were likely Jews freed from Roman slavery,

hence the name. They were intelligent, they were

educated, they were passionate. But they could

not withstand the wisdom and the spirit of which

he was speaking. They couldn't stomach his words

because they thought they knew better. Insert.

all of us that have been in church for more than

a week. That there are things that go on in churches,

especially churches that might be growing, right?

We've talked about that, and the main reason

I say that is because that's something, and it's

been a blessing of the Lord to see this church

grow the way it has over the last five, ten years.

A huge blessing. Stay humble, stay terrified,

all good things. But at one point in your life,

I guarantee you, And I'm going to throw that

guarantee that Munster Church has done something

that you're like, man, I wouldn't have done it

that way. Or I wouldn't have said it that way.

Or I would have done it differently. Praise the

Lord that we have those thoughts and we have

those opinions. But guess what? Just because

it comes out of you doesn't mean you're right.

Okay? That we have a church that comes together

to mutually submit to one another. And the same

goes for me. I do my best to not have to say,

thus saith the domine. How many of you actually

would take that seriously if I said that to you

to your face? I heard some giggles, and that's

the right answer. I don't ever want to have to

be like that, right? There was a time that people

feared their pastor. I remember a story at Crown

Point. I used the term pastor visit for a couple

that had just gone through a miscarriage. And

I had asked to meet with them. I said, can I

do a pastor visit to come and talk with you?

I didn't hear anything for like three days. Come

to find out she grew up in a tradition of a denomination.

It wasn't CRC. It was something different. That

the term pastor visit meant they were in trouble.

I just wanted to go and pray with them and bring

them coffee. Yet there was a tradition in there

to the point where the husband said, what did

we do to warrant a pastor visit? And I got that

message. I was like, I don't understand. Come

to find out it was kind of a church culture misunderstanding.

But what a terrible thing. That if I wanted to

use the term pastor visit, you guys don't sleep

for three days because you think that's a bad

thing. What a hard way to have a relationship

pastor do his people. But when we all have our

opinions and we all think we know how churches

should be run, we should submit them one to the

other, right? We should look to the council to

clarify. And that's how churches work. That's

the right order. And we see the same here. When

truth collides with pride, opposition is inevitable.

When we think our plans and our ideas are better

than other people, what we're saying is we're

better than other people. That's not a good thing

in the church. That's opposition and friction.

and then something inevitably will happen, especially

when we don't get our own way or we don't like

the system. We're going to probably use our words

or our emails or our texts or our whatever communications

for something not godly, and that's called slander.

And the strategy of slander we're going to see

in verses 10 and 11. 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. But they could not. There's only

one, right, Claire? Did I write that down wrong?

Nope, there's only one. You were right. I'm wrong.

Unable to refute him, they resort to drama. They

resort to deceit. They secretly instigated men.

saying, we have heard him speak blasphemous words

against Moses and God. And when I got to this

point, I just thought about the gotcha journalism

in our culture and how dangerous it is to post

things online. Because that one thing you may

have just, in your emotions, in your venting,

You just go because all you know is use your

thumbs, you know, and then you hit send, and

then immediately you go, oh, wait, no, no, no,

let me find the delete button, and you can't

do that with your thumb. You've got to get the

mouse, and you've got to do the things. All of

a sudden, someone's already screenshotted it,

and you just lost your job. Now, that's a dramatic

example, and we've seen that, right, a lot over

the years. It's why we need to be discerning

with our words. That we don't need to project

all of our angst to everybody thinking they want

to know. But unable to refute them, they resort

to deceit. The devil's oldest tactic. We shouldn't

be surprised by this. If you can't destroy the

truth, then what do you do to it? Distort it.

Who said that? Who said distort? Somebody, I

heard it. Because it's written right here. Up

in the balcony. Shauna, way to go. That literally

is what it says here. Distort it. I should have

put lunch on it, but I didn't. I owe you like

three anyway. So if you can't destroy the truth,

distort it. Don't we do that? Man, I know I do

that. I'm tempted to do that. I know we do that

as people. Just as Jesus was falsely accused,

so now his followers bear the same cross. This

is Jesus in the Gospel of John. In this world

you will have trouble. In this world you will

have turmoil. In this world you will have tribulation,

whatever translation you're reading. But take

heart, I've overcome the world. He says, when

they hate you, they've hated me first. They're

going to do it in the same way. This goes all

the way back to the Garden of Eden. Right? The

two perfect commands we get. You know this. The

two perfect mandates we get. They're not commands

yet. They're mandates. In Genesis chapter 2 are

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

what? What are the two perfect commands? We'll

just call them that for lack of a better word

right now. In chapter 2, Adam is told to do what?

Be fruitful and multiply, says the newly engaged

person. Absolutely. Right? Be fruitful and multiply.

And then what is the other one? The first one.

Now that's the same thing as be fruitful and

multiply. You've got to fill the earth. We'll

go over that. Close. Close. Work the ground.

All right. In the front, you've struck out. In

the back. What's the first one? It's simple.

Don't overthink it. How many of you are getting

hungry? You're not allowed to answer beginning

in front of the church. You've lost that ability.

Back. We've got to go back to Genesis. You can

eat of everything of the garden except for what?

The tree. Good. Okay, yeah, the tree. All right.

We're just going to keep, we're just going to

move on. Yes. Of that tree, right? Of the tree

of the knowledge of good and evil. First two.

Don't eat from that tree. You got all the other

ones. Fair game. Not that tree. Be food for a

multiply. What is the first thing Satan says

to Eve with Adam next to her? Because he says,

if you eat of it, surely you will die. We all

got that. Ooh, death. We remember that. The tree.

And what is the first thing Satan says? Surely

you won't die. Takes God's word, discredits it.

Oldest tactic in the book. And what does that

do? When all of a sudden lies are out there,

when all of a sudden deceit's out there, we get

all hopped up, we get all dramatic, we get very

hostile around these things, especially if we

care about them. And that's what happens. The

public hostility takes over in verse 12. And

they stirred up the people and the elders and

the scribes, and they came upon him, seized him,

and brought him before the council. This is worse

than just sharing a bunch of junk online, right?

This is stirring people up, getting them to buy

in mob mentality, right, to the negatives, to

the lies. And what do they do? They seize the

man. They seize Stephen. The opposition escalates.

Stephen is seized. He's brought before the council.

The pattern of persecution repeats over and over

and over again. We'll see it in Paul in the epistles

later. The gospel exposes the hearts. And those

unwilling to repent respond with rage. It's one

of the saddest things that I think I've seen

as a pastor over now 20 years. Is when people

are brought to the truth. When they're being

exposed. In the midst of that. Exposure, that's

not a word. In the midst of being exposed, they

turn angry. Why? Because we can't control our

lie anymore. How many people remember the rumor

weed? This side, this side, don't know if you're

saved. So understand that this is from VeggieTales,

right? The rumor weed, how do you continue a

rumor? You just continue the lie, and then you

have to cover up that lie, then you have to cover

up that lie with that lie. You see where I'm

going. Right? That's all control. How much I

can control it is how much I can manipulate it.

And then when God is exposing it, you're trying

to have a spiritual arm wrestle with the Almighty.

Guess who's going to lose? Us. Ten times out

of ten. Yet we get angry about that because we

are trusting in ourselves. Not that the gospel

exposes the hearts. We just don't want. We are

unwilling to repent. So we respond with rage.

Yet. As I read this, I notice something missing.

I have already been there. Fear. Stephen stands

firm because he knows the foundation beneath

him cannot move. I had to pause. That one punked

me out. When I make a decision that hurts somebody

or when I mess things up in a situation, I'm

always trying to kind of cover my own butt when

it comes to, well, I did this the right way,

but not this. I'm trying to splice it. When if

we're standing in truth, knowing that all of

this has been lies, public ridicule, deceit,

you stand on the foundation set for you. The

deceit was what? False testimony, right? thou

shall not bear false witness. It's one of the

top ten of the commandments, one we've talked

about. Verse 13 and 14 brings this out. 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. So now they're planting more people. You

see how they have to control all of this? Kind

of this snuff job. They're having to put all

of this in place. Some of you are going, that's

what our politics does. So isn't it the right

way to do it? We're not going to go there. But

this is what happens when you stand and only

want human authority. Human authority is always

going to let you down. Godly authority, what

we can stand on, on this life or the next in

Stephen's case. is really what matters. This

man never ceases to speak words against this

holy place in the law. Their accusation is ironic,

right? Stephen isn't rejecting the temple of

the law. He's proclaiming the fulfillment in

Christ. They don't even know how to do this the

right way. The Belgic Confession, Article 25,

says this. We believe that the ceremonies and

symbols of the law have ceased with the coming

of Christ, yet their truth and their substance

remain in him. What does that mean practically?

It practically means that on Monday, Thursday,

I have not asked the Smedbergs to bring me two

goats, two sheep, kill one in front of you, and

then we send the other one on Ridge Road. We

don't have to do that anymore. That the laws

have been fulfilled because of Jesus. And if

you are new and you want to know why I brought

that up, it's because the Spedbergs are farmers

and they have animals. Stephen's message is not

rebellion, it's revelation. The temple points

to Jesus, the true dwelling of God among his

people. Look how God is even using their false

testimony and their blasphemy, right? He's actually

using it for proclamation. Because Stephen right

now, it may be said of all of us one day, he

is the face of faith. Verse 15. And gazing at

him, all who sat in the council saw that his

face was like the face of an angel. We all think

about that about our newborn kids. But that's

not what we're talking about. That there was

something about Stephen's standing and the face

that he had, right? They looked at him as if

a face was the face of an angel. This wasn't

a, like, sentiment emotion. This is a visible

reflection of God's peace and a faithful heart.

Friends, I had to pause here. This was their

Wednesday. I had to pause here. Because that

line that the Holy Spirit gave me is very convicting.

This is the visible reflection of God's peace

in a faithful heart. But what happens when there

is faithlessness going on in our lives? All of

this gets stirred up. Create in me a clean heart,

O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Cast me

not away from my transgressions, but uphold me

by your spirit. Not my own doings, not my own

sayings, not my own manipulations. When we don't

have peace, there's a reason. I say that even

to my anxiety folks in the room, and I'm looking

at the mirror first as someone who struggles

with that. Anxiety has a root somewhere. Getting

into some good mental health can help you find

that root, and we very much believe in that here

at Munster Church. Why do you think Jesus is

called the Prince of Peace? Because when there

isn't all the drama and the deceit, peace comes.

It's when all of a sudden, at maybe 2 .15, 2

.30, I try to go back to sleep. And that's what

I pray for, is peace. It doesn't mean the problem

in my life has gone away. I may have confessed

it, and I'm right with God. Praise the Lord.

There's still that human emotion, but when peace

comes, then there's rest. Moses' face once shone

after being in God's presence. Now Stephen's

radiates the same glory, testifying that he walks

with God even in suffering. And his worst suffering

hadn't even happened yet. So where do we go from

there? Where do we take this? Well, first, we

go to firm faith, what I call firm faith. Firm

faith begins with a fullness of the Spirit. You

want to grow in your faith? You want to stand

firm on the promises and providences of God?

Get into God's Word and ask for the Holy Spirit

to reveal those things to you. Stephen wasn't

strong because he was brave. He was strong because

he was filled. He was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Courage flows from communion with Christ. Second,

when truth is proclaimed, guess what? Opposition

is going to come. It's inevitable. Faithfulness

doesn't always lead to applause. Often it invites

resistance. Don't mistake opposition for failure.

And I say that to my committees. I say that to

my councils. Right? That when truth is proclaimed,

opposition will come. And I hate to say it, opposition

sometimes comes from within the room. And that

can be difficult, but we've got to walk through

it. We walk through it how? With integrity. That

integrity in trial reveals true foundation. Stephen

didn't crumble when he was accused. He didn't

try to flee. His peace came from knowing his

standing with God was secure. Come what may.

That if you are standing on the promises of God

and you're doing your best to walk that out,

you can stand secure. And then it's not defined

by your bank account. It's not defined by some

of the relationships in your life or your standing

at work or with your family. Those are things

you might need to work on that God might be changing

in you. a calling to account, you can stand firm.

Why? Because the gospel fulfills, never destroys.

The gospel fulfills, not destroys. Like Stephen,

we must show that Jesus doesn't abolish God's

promises. He completes them. He fulfills them.

All the law and the prophets are fulfilled in

Christ when we love the Lord our God and our

neighbor as ourself. He is the one completing

them. He is calling us to walk in that completion.

And then life changes, right? If you give your

testimony, your life before Jesus, your life

after Jesus, in good reform circles, it's when

that stage of your sanctification, right, where

something happens in your heart, it gets regenerated

to recognizing the salvation God has given you,

and you stand in that profession. Other traditions,

it might be when you come up and get baptized

or you pray the salvation's prayer, all the things.

It's that kairos moment when the Spirit reminds

you you're not doing this on your own, that the

Spirit's got you. What happens? Your life turns

radiant. I use the term radiant for a reason.

A radiant life speaks louder than words. The

world may attack what you say, what you post,

all the things, but it cannot ignore. When Christ

shines through you. So, that last one. When Christ

shines through you. I want you to think today.

And if you have a trusted friend or a spouse

or a family member, I want you to talk to them

about it today. As you are talking about who

to give your seven cards to. When's the last

time Christ shined through you? Well, it's when

I came to church. I hope that's true. But I'm

going to say, not right now. In your life outside

of this place, when's the last time Christ shined

through you? You see, like I said, the world's

going to attack what you say. They'll cherry

pick your words all day. But it cannot ignore

when Christ shines through you. So my friends,

stay firm under pressure. Know that faith comes

even in the fire of life. And part of our job

is to be a peaceful... Witness to the world.

As we're going to see, Stephen's story doesn't

end here. It leads to one of the darkest moments

in the book of Acts. His martyrdom. He died for

the faith. Even as stones are raised against

him, the foundation of his faith doesn't crack

even a millimeter. He stood firm because he knew

who his foundation was. Not his doctrine, not

his temple, not his confessions, not a system.

but his Savior, Jesus Christ. The cornerstone

rejected by men, but chosen by God. So Munster

Church, live in this as we close. If we build

our lives on that same foundation, we will stand

firm in every storm, even the storms we bring

upon each other. The world may lie, accuse, oppose,

but it cannot shake the rock beneath our feet.

So when we sing it, my hope is we believe it.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

Please stand if you are able. And as we have

done, we do so today. Let's close together by

praying our closing prayer. Lord Jesus Christ,

our firm foundation, thank you for being our

strength in trial and our peace in suffering.

Fill us with your spirit as you filled Stephen.

When opposition comes, help us stand firm in

truth and love. Let your light shine through

us so that others may see your good works and

glorify you. In the powerful name we pray, amen.

And as you go out into your week, may the Lord

bless you.