Gotta turn the mic on. Sorry about that. Thanks, Matt. Um, it's so good to be with you. I'm gonna grab this because it's funny. Oh, thank you. Appreciate that. So we've been going through the book of Acts, and um where we're at in the story is if you remember a couple weeks ago, you know, the the the reality of what's happening in Jerusalem is that Jesus has um has been crucified and resurrected and he's ascended into heaven, and the the Lord has poured out the Holy Spirit on the church, this new creation, this new people of God in Jerusalem, and it is exploding. There is like just expansive growth of the early church in the city of Jerusalem. And by the the time that in chapter six, there's estimates that it that maybe a fifth or a quarter of all the residents in Jerusalem are now followers of Jesus. Just astounding growth. And these new believers that are worshiping Jesus as Messiah have posed a threat to the people, the leaders of the of uh the religious establishment. They're threatened by the message of Jesus and what he stood for, what he stands for, and they in some real ways were complicit in his death. And so as the church is expanding, you'll you'll remember that that uh two of the apostles, Peter and John, performed this like astounding miracle going into the temple to pray. And they're gathered up in the the uh you know the religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, which is like the court of the Jewish uh court, and they get them and they said they threaten them and say, Stop what you're doing, stop talking about Jesus, and stop preaching his name, and and it's over. And of course they say, We're not gonna do that. And so the threats don't work, and then um as the church is expanding, they gather all of the apostles together, they put them in prison, the prison can't hold them, they're released and they preach. They're pretty the next day they're found preaching in the temple, and so they're they're they're beaten, they're flogged, which isn't fun, right? Getting flogged. They're beaten and threatened again. Stop it. And they're the threats, the the abuse has not stopped the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem. And where we pick up on the story is that the attack on the early church is going to a whole different level, and they're gonna actually kill the very first martyr. And that's our story today. And it's a man named Stephen. And Stephen was not one of the apostles, he was one of the, he led the food pantry. He was like the food pantry guy, one of the leaders. Served the poor, served the widows uh um in Jerusalem. But it says in the scriptures that he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. And as he was sharing the message of the apostles preaching, God was just doing powerful signs and wonders. People were getting healed, and God was uh uh authenticating the gospel as Stephen preached it, saying, This is real, because I'm working. And that's where we pick up in our in our story today. This is in Acts chapter six. So let's read together, and this is in verse eight and in Acts chapter six. So, Lord, bless your word. I pray that you would anoint it, that you would bear fruit uh as it's spoken today. I just need your help, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. So this is what the text says. So in verse eight, it says, 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, the Cyrenians, the Alexandrians, those from Sicilia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with with with which he was speaking. Verse 11. Then they secretly instigated men who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. Then they stirred up the people, they stirred up the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him, and they brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses, who said, This man never ceases to speak against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that 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? And Stephen began to speak. They couldn't deny the miraculous work of God that was happening around him. And so these men, which were from this, it's it's ironic that the they're from the the synagogue of freedmen, like they were freed, liberated people, and we'll see in this story that they behave anything but like they're liberated. They they actually behave like they're controlled puppets. But it says that they can't refute him, so they they rose up in verse 9, they argued with him. They instigated people to come and bring charges of blasphemy against him, of like speaking evil of God. Verse 12, it says they stirred up the people, they stirred up the elders and the scribes, and they're just they're they're doing their very best to silence him. And it says that they came upon him and they seized him, they ambushed him, drug him into the council, which it's a room, and there's there's like 70 elders, the high priest is there. Probably the people from the the um the synagogue were there too. So just imagine a room of like 120 people, and you're on and Stephen is on trial before these people, and they're accusing him of horrible things that he has not done. And it says in the text, in verse 15, that all that looked upon him saw him, and he had the face of an angel. I don't know what the face of an angel looks like, but I suspect that they looked at a person that was being charged with a serious crime that could warrant death. They looked at him, and there was nothing but joy and life and peace and connection with God in a way like he was in the presence of God, and it was radiating off of him. Like you can't make that happen. And everyone noted this man looks like a messenger from God. There's basically two charges that they bring against Stephen. And the first charge is basically saying that he's speaking against the law of Moses. And it's they say he never ceases to speak words against the law, and he says that Jesus will change the customs of Moses. And in verse 35, later on, this is there's a big speech that Stephen gives, and he goes over, he recaps and recounts the whole history of Israel. We're going to go right to the part where he's addressing his charges. And in verse 35, Stephen is addressing the charges of him speaking against Moses and the law and wanting to change things. Verse 35 says this says, This Moses, whom our whom are whom they or our fathers rejected, saying, Who made you ruler and judge? This man God sent as both a ruler and redeemer by the hand of an angel who appeared to him in the bush, this man, that's Moses, who led them out performing signs and wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and was in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, he received living oracles or living words to give us. Verse 39. But our fathers refused to obey him and thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned away, they turned back to Egypt, and saying to Aaron, Make for us other gods who will go before us. And so, as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become of him. And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoiced rejoicing in the work of their hands. Verse 42, but God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heavens, these two like other deities, Moloch and Rephan. So Stephen is basically saying, So you guys say that you are faithful to Moses and to the law. Well, let's remember how this, let's remember the story of our fathers. Our fathers weren't faithful. Moses came to them as the deliverer and they rejected him. They said, Who made you ruler over us? And if you know the story, uh turn upon turn, they were rebelling against him, they were pushing against him. And even when the the the high point, when Moses ascends to Mount Sinai and God gives him the law, the Ten Commandments, during that time the people say, Where is Moses? You know, we want our own gods. And they cast uh an idol, a gold, another god, and a golden calf. And they worshiped what they made with their hands. So from the very beginning, you know, it wasn't like the early fathers were faithful to Moses, they resisted, and Stephen is basically saying, you're just like them. You are just like them. And what's interesting is when you think about the judgment of God, I don't know how that looks to you, like God brings judgment, but in verse 42, there's something really important that when Israel rebels, the Jews rebel against him in the wilderness, it says the judgment is that he turns away from them. And he gives them over to what they want. Judgment is is God turning away. And the very things, the other gods, the other appetites that they want, he says, go at it. It'll devour you. It will not work. And it says that God pursues, pursues them, and he challenged them, says, if you don't respond to me, I will turn away from you. And this might be a helpful picture for you to think about, but just imagine like the God of creation, the God of the universe is like shining his glorious light upon his creation. And in this light is like life and food and love and everything that it takes to grow. And we're intended as his creation is to enter into this light and um and pursue it, draw closer to the glory of God. But what people do is they decide I don't want to have God in the center. I want to be in the center. I want to define right and wrong. I want to go after my own appetites. I don't want someone controlling me or directing me or limiting me. So people turn away from the glorious, life-giving, loving presence of their creator. And they pursue, they turn their back and they move away from him. And even though their back is turned upon God, God's kindness and his glory is still shining on them. Even though like they're not looking at him, though they're they're they're reaping the benefit of his life and his sustenance, they're walking in light, you know, things are growing around them, people are having babies and families, and it all looks good. Because even though they're not like pursuing God, God is like caring for them all of all creation, but their back is turned to them, turned to him. And God in his mercy pursues people that are running away. In the old testament, he sent prophets to them. Hey guys, turn back to God, turn back to him. He loves you. And people, as people keep moving further and further away from the source of life, God begins to like lift his hand off of them, and their life begins to dismantle. There's consequences. You know, St. Augustine says that evil is like a direction away from God. Like moving away from God is by definition evil. Moving towards God is by definition good. And so even though God is pursuing them and wooing them and trying to win them back, turn around, turn towards me, He will He will not violate the will of His creatures. And there is a point in time, like this passage, where God says, I will turn away from you. And imagine this that when this glorious light turns away, you're in utter blackness, and everything good that you've ever known is gone. And you're alone and naked and in the dark, and this is a picture of hell. And people choose this, they want this because they will not bow before a merciful and gracious God. And in this passage, Stephen is saying, God turned away from you because you turned away from him. And it wasn't the ultimate hell kind of scenario in this point, but it was judgment nonetheless.

Sobering, isn't it?

So the remember, Stephen is on trial. It sounds like he's the prosecutor and he's he's prosecuting like all of the Jewish high court, looking like an angel from heaven. The tables are turned and he's he's calling them out in anointing and power. It is it's an incredible scene. The second charge that he deals with is basically they say, Well, Stephen, he's preaching about the destruction of the temple. He speaks that basically he says Stephen never ceases speaking words against this holy place. That's the the temple in Jerusalem, and says, Jesus will destroy this place. And you have to understand, you know, in the in the the Jewish faith, the temple is the center of all of their life. It was the place where sacrifices were done and prayers were happening, and the whole um, I mean, it was it's it's what I what they identified with. And and you know, the presence of God was in the original temple, right? It was in the the ark of the covenant, God's very presence was there. And to say that the temple is going to be like Jesus is gonna destroy the temple is is blasphemy, it's horrible, it's evil in the minds of the leaders. And they tried to get Jesus on this point, and they're trying to get Stephen. The same thing is what they they accused Jesus of. But they don't understand, they don't see and in the Gospel of John, he actually clarifies this in a way that is really helpful. And this is is in John chapter 2, verses 14 through 22. This is what Jesus actually said, it's not what he's they're claiming. And so Jesus comes to the temple, and in verse 14 it says, In the temple, Jesus found those that were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and there was money changers sitting there. Verse 15, and making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the coins on the money changers and overturned their tables. And he told those, and he and he told those who sold pigeons, take these things away, do not make my father's house into a house of trade. The disciples remembered this: that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. So the Jews asked him, What sign will you show us to prove that you are doing these things? And Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and raise it in three days. And the Jews said, It took us forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days. Verse 21, but Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. And therefore, when he was raised from the dead, the disciples remember he had said this, and they believed. They believed. So Jesus is standing in the temple and it's a mess. There, it's it's the sound of animals, there's dung falling on the ground, the people are changing. It's like a it's like the west side market on the busiest day. Loud and and Jesus is offended. And he cleans the temple, he clears it out, he takes core. Like Jesus is not meek and mild, he's strong. He he has Zeal for his house. Other places it says that my house shall be a house of prayer for all nations. So then, as he's driving all these people out, the leaders come and say, Yeah, and and what authority do you have to do this? Jesus is standing in the temple. They ask him what authority says, I will destroy this temple and raise it in three days. Any reasonable person would think he was speaking about the temple. That's the context. He's talking about the temple, but he wasn't talking about this temple. He was talking about the temple of his body, the dwelling place of God. What you may not know is that in um I think it's 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the temple was destroyed. And the Ark of the Covenant, which had the presence of God, was lost. Did you know that? And they built the second temple. There was no ark in the second temple. There was no presence of God. It was a temple, it was the empty temple. It was void of the Ark of the Covenant. And it wasn't until Jesus walked into the temple that the presence of God come again in the temple. It's amazing. And so they're wrong. Jesus didn't say that. He meant something completely different, something completely bigger. It's an empty temple. Look at verse 51. After he as he's a prosecuting attorney, now Stephen makes his formal indictment against the Jewish high counsel. This is his indictment. He says this, you stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. You always resist the Spirit of God. As your fathers did, so do you. Do you see it? They're just like their fathers. You resisting God. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed Isaiah, they killed Jeremiah. And it says in in verse uh 52, it says, They they even killed the righteous one whom you betrayed and murdered. You killed your Messiah. And you who think you're guardians of the law, who received the law as delivered by angels, you did not keep it. I mean, Stephen is he is confrontational about these religious people, and he's saying, You're you are stiff-necked, you don't have a heart that is that is tender for God. Anytime God moves, you resist it. Anytime God sends you a prophet to speak to you, you kill him. And then when the Messiah comes, you reject him and you murder him. And you who think you're perfect and you keep the law, I'm telling you, you don't keep it. You don't keep it. Look at verse 54. And when they heard this, you guessed what happened. They were mad. It says that they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they cried out in a loud voice, and they stopped their ears, and they rushed at him, and when they cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice voice, Lord, do not hold the sin against them. And then he fell asleep after he said this. Not the one that is victimized, but the one that is in control. Think of Stephen that it, you know, he even though he says the truth, he tells them the truth, he he doesn't he doesn't write them off. He he he says the very things that Jesus says. If you remember Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus says, Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit. Stephen says, Lord, uh receive my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Jesus prays to the Father. Father, Stephen prays to Jesus, which is really significant. He's praying to God. Jesus is God. So they say the same thing. Very similar. And when Jesus was crucified, he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They don't know what they're doing. And Stephen says, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. He is just like his master. Just like him. And even though he's being murdered, he's being stoned. Like stones are being hurled at him. He's praying, don't hold this sin against them. And so I he doesn't hold it against him. He's saying, God, don't you hold this against them. And he prays for those that are killing him. This is humanly impossible apart from the presence and the power of the living God residing in us. Residing in Stephen. And look at the people that are in power. They're behaving like animals. Look how they're behaving. Said they're full of rage and they grind their teeth at him. Like, I mean, I don't know what that looks like, grinding your teeth. Like, are they growling? Like, like, what does that look like? I thought of that. I mean, I'm a Star Trek fan. I think of like next generation Star Trek Wharfies to growl and show his teeth. I mean, did these guys, were they like growling? They were like, they were out of control. They were enraged. They were out of control. And then when Steven says this, this is what set him off. Is when he's being killed, he looks up and he says, Behold, I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father. He sees into heaven and sees the glory of God. And they don't see it. They don't see it. But Stephen sees it. And he sees Jesus standing. And there were false witnesses that came forward and accused Stephen, said lies about him. And when you witness in the court, you stand. And we see in heaven Jesus standing as a witness for Stephen. Like, I am with you. I am with you. And Stephen sees him and he falls on his knees and he says, Behold, like you guys, can you see this? And they can't. They're blind. They're blind. Amazing. And it wasn't like Stephen was abandoned by God. He was embraced by God in the worst moments of his life, in the most horrible, being murdered. It was then that he the embrace and the welcome of God came to him.

This is a promise for all of us. All of us.

Is it when you breathe your last breath and it's and you're in pain and you're suffering, that Jesus will come to you and welcome you to home. And it will be glorious, and you'll see into heaven. I've been with people when they die, and I've seen people that die that love the Lord, and I can see when Jesus comes and gets them. You can see it. I had a friend, a friend of mine, Anthony, like, and he was dying, and I said, I said, Anthony, Jesus is going to come for you. And he was comatose. And you could see when the Lord came to him, his whole face lit up. He was like responding, and then he died. It was beautiful and horrible at the same time, right? It's horrible, but it was beautiful. And even though Stephen said the same things as Jesus, right? He said, you know, uh, he prayed and said, Lord, um uh don't hold the sin against them. Lord, receive my spirit. He doesn't pray one thing and doesn't say one thing that Jesus said when he was dying. Do you remember that? When Jesus was on the cross in Matthew 27, he says something that Stephen doesn't say. That's right. Who said that? God bless you. Right. Because Jesus was forsaken when he was on the cross as the Son of God, the perfect Son of God, blameless and pure, that he became the sin bearer for the whole world. And the and the Father put you, your sin and my sin, and the sin of all the world upon Jesus on the cross. And then the judgment was executed on Jesus, and the father turned away from his son. It's the only time in all of history that Jesus was separate from his father. And he cried out, Father, Father, why have you forsaken me? In agony. The worst kind of agony is in torment and death, physical. The worst kind of agony is being separated from God, the God that you know and love, or separated from God that you never knew, you never loved. It's horrible. This is the gospel. This is the good news is that Jesus took it upon himself, our sin, and paid the price, the rejection, and the Father turned away from Jesus so that he wouldn't turn away from you and I if we claim him, if we call upon him, if we put our trust in him, if we put him in the center and pursue him. This is the gospel. This is what changed the world and changed millions and millions and millions of people that have put their hope in this. Right? And then he was welcomed into heaven by his standing savior. He wasn't a victim, he was victorious, and he was faithful to the end. And this is a model for what is possible for you and I when we trust God. And in the moment, you never know. You know what I mean? God gives us ability to be faithful, gives us power to be obedient, gives us words to say when we have nothing to say. Can we stand and we're just gonna pray? This morning I was walking. I get up early and I walk. I walked over to NASA this morning. For every park, I walked to NASA and I pray and I praise and I and I asked the Lord, I said, and I mean just as humbly as I said, Lord, what do you want to do today in our church, in our family? And I didn't hear an audible voice. I didn't hear an audible, but I sensed in my heart, in my mind, I felt like God said, I want to awaken hearts. Hearts that are asleep, hearts that are dead. I want to heal hearts that are broken and disappointed. And I want to fill hearts with my presence. I felt like he said for us, for you and me, that I want to awaken hearts, I want to heal hearts, and I want to fill hearts. Do you want that? Does one of those things speak to you? Can you put your hand on your heart? And Lord, would you do like you promised? Would you come right now? And people that feel dead inside? Would you awaken them? Even that. And you may feel like in your heart, like there's something happening inside your body.

You know what I mean?

Like something's happening. And just say yes to say yes, Lord. I receive all that you have for me. Awaken me, make me awake, wake me up. And for those of you that that your heart is aching and hurting, and you're in pain, Jesus, would you come and make it tender? Would you heal broken hearts today from disappointment from failure?

And Lord, would you fill us? Would you fill us with your presence? Would you fill all of our hearts to the full? Come, Lord.