Bread of His Presence

Lechem Panim #157 "The Ethiopian Eunuch” (Acts 8:26-40) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We are continuing our study today of Acts chapter 8, looking at verses 26-40 today, which of course is the story of Philip’s sharing the Good News of the Gospel with an Ethiopian Eunuch, who comes to faith in Jesus Christ.

An Example of Genuine Faith— Now you'll remember that a couple of weeks ago we talked about the sorcerer Simon and the false nature of his faith. He became a part of Christianity for selfish personal gain rather than to be used by the Holy Spirit of God to join with God in his mission of reaching the world. However, in our passage today we are given an example of true, genuine saving faith; a faith that is demonstrated by three very important elements; the proper preparation (as the Eunuch was seeking truth in the Word of God, the proper presentation (as Philip came alongside of the Ethiopian to explain the Gospel message to him), and the proper response, which is seen in the Ethiopian being baptized and truly repenting.

Witnessing Not Overwhelming— Now I don’t know how you feel about witnessing. I think we all agree that it has to be done. But often we have qualms about who is supposed to do it. It can be uncomfortable. But that is because we complicate it too much; or we place to much of the burden on ourselves rather than God. We think that if we slip up then we’ll push people farther away. But that view completely takes God out of the equation. It is humanistic because in thinking that way we are assuming it is us doing the work; but it’s not. You are just called to play a part in God’s work. And that doesn’t have to be a complete sharing of the Gospel. Sometimes it can be (like it was with Philip in our passage today) coming alongside of a person and answering some questions; working with them through an issue they might be facing and offering them the hope that you have found if you feel God leading you to. I think that we get overwhelmed by thinking witnessing means you have to give a full presentation of the Gospel and be able to (afterwards) convince them of their sin and to accept Christ. But most of the time that’s a multi-person job. Don’t worry about the big picture of whether or not they come to Christ; because that’s in God’s hands. Just focus on the opportunities God is leading you into. You may be the planter; you may be the waterer; and only occasionally the harvester; and that’s okay. Just be content with the part God has called you to play. That’s how it was with Phillip.

Moved Into Ministry— Now Philip had the unexpected joy of causing something big to happen merely because he was willing to obey an immediate call from God to come alongside a stranger. Now keep in mind this is not Philip the Apostle, but Phillip the Evangelist, one of seven men chosen to help distribute food to the Greek-speaking Jewish widows who had been overlooked in the daily distribution (probably because of a language barrier); because the Jews in Palestine spoke mainly Aramaic. So Philip was originally called to serve the Lord by waiting on tables so that the apostles could devote themselves more fully to prayer and to the ministry of the word. But then something happened nobody expected. Stephen, who had proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the Sanhedrin, was stoned and killed. And on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1) But, like we said before, this scattering only served to strengthen and grow the Church rather than weaken it.

Ministering in Samaria— Now Philip (who was a Hellenist; a Greek-speaking Jew; and therefore one of the primary targets of this great persecution) goes to Samaria and actually becomes a mighty preacher of the Word. And God moved through him in incredible ways. He becomes the first ever Christian missionary to non-Jews; to these half-breed Samaritans, as they were called. He performed miraculous signs, he cast out demons, he healed paralytics and cripples. And the people of Samaria listened to him and rejoiced at what God was doing through him. But then God kind of shifts gears on him by calling him to an unexpected place. It says in…

Acts 8:26 (ESV)— 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

Now what kind of place is this? Luke tells us: This is a desert place. So from great revival in Samaria to a desert place. But it says…

Acts 8:27-28 (ESV)— 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

Eunuch— Now the word “eunuch” […can refer to one who had been emasculated or generally, to a government official. It is likely he was both since Luke refers to him as a eunuch and as one who held a position of authority in the queen’s court—that of treasurer, much like a Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury. {But listen to this; because this is very important} As a physical eunuch, he would have been denied access to the temple (Deut. 23:1) and the opportunity to become a full proselyte to Judaism.] And maybe just as bad (at least in the mind of a Jew) is the fact that he will not have any descendants to carry on his name and his heritage.

Hope for A Better Heritage— And in ancient culture your value was very much dependent on the heritage you left. Well here is a guy who probably physically cannot have children because he has (because of his job) been made a eunuch. And yet [Isaiah held out the promise that God would grant devout eunuchs a heritage “better than sons and daughters” (Isa. 56:3–5).] Well, what is that heritage? Salvation in Jesus Christ. So as he’s drawing near that chapter in Isaiah, here comes Philip to share the message of Christ with him so that he can be part of that heritage. How AWESOME is that! Now the way the Holy Spirit timed this encounter is simply amazing, which we will see more in a minute. But it says…

Acts 8:29-34 (ESV)— 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
   “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
       and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
       so he opens not his mouth.
33    In his humiliation justice was denied him.
       Who can describe his generation?
   For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

A Sheep Before It’s Shearers— And we know that this passage from Isaiah is actually a prophecy of Jesus, who was silent before Pilate and those who were persecuting Him. And so here Philip has been given a golden opportunity to share Christ with him. And of course he does. It says…

Acts 8:35-36a (ESV)— 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water,

Now just think… [Philip and the eunuch arrive at a rare watering place in the desert precisely when the eunuch requested baptism.] Once again the Holy Spirit is leading in a very clear and amazing way.

Acts 8:36b-40 (ESV)— and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away [much like Elijah was (2 Kings 2:11).], and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

From Seed to Great Harvest— Now Philip probably didn’t know this, but Church tradition tells us that this Ethiopian eunuch also became a preacher of the Gospel and that in fact that place where Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch (in Gaza) [marks the start of the Ethiopian Church], of which one branch today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has a membership of 36 million. You see, God can use our obedience to witness to bring about great change in people’s lives.

A "sign" to start witnessing?— [Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing?]

God Waiting For Us— The fact is there are people all around us who are (like the Ethiopian) waiting for us to connect the dots for them; to make the scripture connect with them so that they might find Jesus Christ. God is simply waiting on us to be willing to be His hands, His feet, and His voice in those moments that He opens for us to share. And the question is, are we going to be faithful? If we are, God can also use us in amazing ways. And so let’s commit to God today to come alongside people and help them to encounter Jesus. Amen.

Lechem Panim #156 "A Light To The Nations” (Acts 8:25) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. It is good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts. We have been in chapter 8, which of course tells of how Philip brought the Gospel to the region of Samaria and a great many Samaritans have come to faith in Jesus Christ. And after Peter and John come and open the door for these Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit it says in…

Acts 8:25 (ESV)— 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

For The World— Now this is a crucial turning point in the book of Acts, because it is here that we begin to see the message of the Gospel breaking out from being just a Jewish reality to being a message for everyone. God is starting to remind His people of something that they had forgotten; and that is that His salvation is for a whole world.

Another Woman Not My Wife— Some time ago I read of [A preacher, who shall we say was “humor inspired”, {and who} attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry. Among the speakers were many well-known and dynamic speakers. One such speaker, boldly approached the pulpit, gathered the entire crowd’s attention, and said, “the best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn’t my wife!” The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, “And that woman was my mother!” The crowd burst into laughter and he delivered the rest of his speech, which went quite well. The next week, the pastor decided he’d give this humor thing a try, and used that joke in his sermon. As he approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday morning, he tried to rehearse this joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him. Getting to the microphone, he said loudly, “The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!” The congregation inhaled half the air in the room! [And he began to get excited. But when he got ready to deliver the punch line, he found that in his excitement he couldn’t remember it. So] After standing there for almost 10 seconds in stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out, “…and I can’t remember for the life of me who she was!”]

Rooted in Israel— Forgetting things can sometimes be very painful. But we I think are prone to forgetting things; particularly about the Christian faith. And one of the basic things we forget (or choose to ignore; perhaps because we don’t recognize the importance of it) is the place of Israel in God's overall plan in bringing redemption to the world. Especially we in our western culture. We forget that God had always intended Israel to be a light to the nations. All the way back in Genesis 1:28 God had told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,…” And he repeats that command to Noah in Genesis 9:7 immediately following the flood. And later, when God entered into covenant with Abraham, he made a promise to him, saying in Genesis 12:3 “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And so we see that when God established Israel, they were to be a light to the nations. God says in…

Isaiah 42:6 (ESV)— 6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)— 6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 52:10 (ESV)— 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 60:3 (ESV)— 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Now, fast forward to the New Testament. Listen to the words of Jesus in…

John 8:12 (ESV)— 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

God’s Love for The World— Now first of all notice how Jesus’ claim to be the Light connects back to concept of salvation given in Isaiah. It is very important to understand that Jesus saw himself as the embodiment (literally) of God’s salvation that God had always planned on giving to the world through Israel. Now that must have sounded a bit jarring to those who heard Jesus; because notice Jesus doesn’t say “I am the Light of Israel.” That is what his Jewish audience probably would have expected Him to say. But no, He was speaking to them in the spirit of Isaiah, pointing them back to the reality that they had forgotten; which was that God’s salvation is for a whole world. And so He says, “I am the Light of the world.” Even in His conversation with Nicodemus he had begun to hammer this point. What did he say to Nicodemus in John 3:16? “For God so loved the world…”; another all-inclusive statement. Now this is so important because the Early Church saw Jesus as the fulfillment of these passages in Isaiah and therefore took these passages as their own personal commission. When Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch in Pisidia, it says in…

Acts 13:44-48 (ESV)— 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Channels of Blessing— You see, God’s plan has always been for Israel to be the means through which his salvation would be brought to the world. And though God had made a covenant with Abraham and with his people to bless them, the blessing was never meant for them alone. No, they were to channel that blessing to the world. Now the sad reality that we are confronted with is that Israel failed to live out this call, and instead gravitated towards either of two extremes.

Nationalism— The first was that Israel gave in to a separatistic nationalism in which Israel resisted contact with all the surrounding Gentile nations. We see this attitude very much alive in the person of Jonah. He was commanded by God directly to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. But not wanting them to experience God's salvation, he took off in the opposite direction. And God had to use some mighty big circumstances in order to turn him around. Now we know that Assyria had caused Israel a lot of grief; and they were a very wicked empire. But the nationalistic attitude of Israel during that time had all but completely cut them off from engaging in God's mission to reach the world. And unfortunately this attitude pervaded much of Israel's history.

Compromise— Now the second extreme was that of compromise. Israel was called to influence the surrounding nations to God; however what ended up happening was that Israel became influenced by the surrounding nations. They were seduced by the paganism and the idolatry. And so they allowed themselves to become tainted by that spiritual adultery. And because they were tainted by that sin and false religion, they didn't have anything that they could give to the surrounding Gentile nations. They had become the very thing that they were supposed to fight against. Now God was able to cleanse Israel of her idolatry; which He did through the Babylonian exile, after which Israel never returned to their former idolatry again.

The New Idolatry— However, they did embrace a new kind of idolatry; and that was that they allowed their religion to become corrupted into a system of salvation by works. The temple itself became an idol. The religious rights and sacrifices became idols; so much so that when God Himself visited His temple in the New Testament, they did not even recognize Him. And they even hated many of the people that Christ came to save. But all of that changed with the birth of the Christian Church, as each new stage of growth pushes the Church farther out in its scope.

God’s New Instrument— And what I want you to see is that the Church has now become God’s new instrument to further the work He had always intended for Israel. They are His great new means of reaching the world. And while Israel had up until this time been very nationalistic in its focus, we find that the Church would be an entity that would embrace people of every race and culture and nation. But (as we have said before) this happened in stages. At Pentecost the spread of Christianity began first in Jerusalem to an exclusively Jewish body. It wasn't long after that that the Church soon began to reach out to minister to the half-breed Samaritans, as they were called. And then in our passage next week we find the third great milestone of the Church as the Gospel finally begins to reach a Gentile audience as well; as through the ministry of Philip a high official in the court of the Ethiopian queen comes to faith in Jesus Christ. But not only him, but we will see also that through him the Gospel would eventually reach those in the great African continent as well.

​Is Israel’s Problem Ours As Well?— But what we need to be careful of is to keep Israel’s problem from becoming our problem. Are we thinking globally? Are we fulfilling God’s call to carry the Good News of the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Oswald J. Smith has rightly pointed out that “Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist.” But you know, in light of that (every pun intended), let us not forget our central purpose; and that is to join Christ in the work He is doing in the world. Let’s join Him this week. Amen.

Lechem Panim #155 "God Is Not For Sale” (Acts 8:12-24) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. I hope you are doing well and that today you are experiencing all the fullness of Christ in your life. As we have been proceeding through our study of Acts chapter 8, we have seen how a man by the name of Philip (not the Apostle Philip, but one of the Greek-speaking men chosen by the apostles to wait on tables) has (in addition to that ministry) also been preaching the Gospel. He is the first missionary named in Scripture and the first to be given the title “evangelist” (21:8). And he has just recently brought the Gospel to the region of Samaria. Now God (as he always does at a new turning point of His salvation plan) confirms His message with miracles; and (lo and behold) a multitude of the Samaritans come to faith in Jesus Christ. And it says in…

Acts 8:12-13 (ESV)— 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Now Simon Magus was a practicer of sorcery and probably a con-artist to whom the people had previously looked up to; a man who (although he believed) was not saved because he had a wrong view of self, a wrong view of salvation, a wrong view of the Holy Spirit, and a wrong view of sin.

The Wrong Reasons— Now although the text says Simon Magus “believed”, we will continue to see that he came to that belief for all the wrong reasons. Because of the Samaritan revival, he knew his own popularity would begin to decline as he ceased to be seen as the Messianic figure that he had marketed himself as as people began turning to Jesus as their true Messiah. He was also motived by a desire [to learn what he perceived to be Philip’s power]. And so he follows Phillip after he is baptized for three apparent reasons. [First, he wanted to sustain contact with the people following the preacher. By joining Philip’s movement, he went where the action was and kept his opportunity for influence alive. Second, as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. He had, so to speak, a professional interest in finding out the source of Philip’s amazing powers. Third, as his later conduct shows, he wanted to figure out how to acquire that power for himself.] And in the next section he thinks he sees his opportunity. It says in…

Acts 8:14-16 (ESV)— 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Peter & John Come— And so word has spread of the incredible success of Phillip’s ministry. And the apostles in Jerusalem receive this word of what is going on in Samaria and they send Peter and John to investigate. And their [Peter and John’s mission was threefold: First, they came to help Philip with the spiritual harvest. The response of the Samaritans was too great for one man to handle. Second, they came to give apostolic sanction and blessing to Philip’s work among the Samaritans. {Because remember that up until this time the Samaritans had been despised by the Jews as halfbreed outcasts. And so the apostles (who were leaders of the church even after the church spread out from Jerusalem) come to officially validate this new branch of the body of Christ. And thirdly}…, they came down from Jerusalem and prayed for the Samaritans that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Although they had believed and been baptized, the Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.]

The Holy Spirit At Conversion— Now some use this passage to argue that Christians nowadays do not receive the Holy Spirit until sometime after conversion, which is not true. At this point in the book of Acts we are in a transitional period into what would later become normative in the Church. All of us receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. But at this point in the history of the Church God withheld that outpouring until the apostles came for a very specific reason. Remember [Jesus had given Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:13–20), which meant that Peter had the privilege of “opening the door of faith” to others. He opened the door to the Jews at Pentecost, and now he opened the door to the Samaritans. Later, he would open the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10).] He was God’s chief instrument in the early days of the early Church. But there is another very important reason; and that was (as one author I was reading this week pointed out) that [For centuries, the Samaritans and the Jews had been bitter rivals. If the Samaritans had received the Spirit independent of the Jerusalem church, that rift would have been perpetuated. There could well have been two separate churches, a Jewish church and a Samaritan church. But God had designed one church, in which “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female,” but “all [are] one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). {And so} By delaying the Spirit’s coming until Peter and John arrived, God preserved the unity of the church. The apostles needed to see {what God was doing amongst the Samaritans} for themselves, and give firsthand testimony to the Jerusalem church, that the Spirit came upon the Samaritans and confirmed their salvation. The Samaritans also needed to learn that they were subject to apostolic authority. And so that is why we see here that (at this point) the gift must come through Peter and John. And so it says in…

Acts 8:17-19 (ESV)— 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

A Wrong View of The Spirit— And so the third fault in Simons’ theology was that he had a wrong view of the Spirit. [When he saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. Evidently, the believers were speaking in tongues as on the Day of Pentecost so that there was a perceivable sign of this great reality sufficient to arouse Simon’s interest. Philip had impressed him, but Peter and John overwhelmed him. Simon asked them brashly and excitedly, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” He treated the two apostles as though they were fellow practitioners of magic, and was ready to negotiate the price to buy the secret of their power.] And this was not unusual during that time. [Magicians often sold each other their tricks and incantations.]

Expensive Magic— When I was younger I was very much into the world of magic; not this kind of evil magic, but rather the world of illusions. And I would go to the local magic shop that had a huge selection of magic tricks. If my mom had shopping to do, she’d drop me off there and I would be content for hours. But the world of magic is very expensive. Tricks that costed a very small amount of money to make would cost the consumer many times over. And that’s because you’re not just buying the prop; you’re buying the secret. But that’s where my lawn-mowing money went because I wanted to be able to perform the greatest magical illusions.

Not For Sale— Well here, Simon sees Peter and John displaying God’s power and immediately wants to have that same power; which wasn’t bad in and of itself (because we ARE to desire the Holy Spirit and the work He can perform in and through us; but (as we said before) Simon had wrong motivations. It was all about how he was going to use that power of the Holy Spirit; not how he was going to be used BY the Holy Spirit. And not only that, but he went about trying to get that power by attempting to buy it like he would any incantation or magic trick. And [By this act, Simon gave his name to the term “simony,” which through history has referred to the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices.] However, nothing God has to offer is for sale (and especially not His Holy Spirit). And that’s because there is nothing we have that God could possibly need or benefit Him. However, there is something of ours that God does desire; and that is our love. He is the Great Groom of Heaven who desires followers who will truly love Him as His Bridegroom. And for any who are willing to be His, He will give us His precious gifts. Listen to the words of…

Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)— 55 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Deadly To The Gospel— Now I'm sorry to say that there are millions of people today who are still desperately and futilely striving to earn salvation. Even many of us Christians can fall into that salvation by works mentality. And this is the first time that we really see it expressed in the early Church. And Peter (through whom God is speaking) makes a radical stand against this. And he does so because the Gospel will always die on the threshold of our manufactured attempts to purchase or earn it. It says in…

Acts 8:20 (ESV)— 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

To Hell— By the way, Peter was being more inflammatory here than what most of our translations show. They have been softened from what really should be read (as J.B. Phillips renders it) “To hell with you and your money!” That is the actual sense of Peter’s words. And Peter wasn’t being profane. He was just truthfully declaring Simon’s spiritual condition. And he emphasizes this as he continues, saying…

Acts 8:21-24 (ESV)— 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

No Sugarcoating— Now we see that following his condemnation of Simon, Peter calls for Simon to repent of his sin so that God might forgive him the wickedness of his heart. He doesn't sugarcoat what Simon has done, but lays it out in all of it heinousness and wretchedness. By [using Old Testament expressions for the most serious offenses against God (cf. Deut. 19:18–20), {Peter} warns Simon of the seriousness of his situation: “I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” The phrase gall of bitterness is very strong. Chole (gall) refers to a bitter ingredient or bile. Coupled with pikria (bitterness), it conveys an extremely bitter, harsh, and distasteful condition. It vividly pictures the reality of one in the bondage of iniquity.] Peter wants Simon to recognize it’s severity so that he will have the desire to abandon it. And God often walks us through the same process as well. He wants us to confront our sin and to acknowledge how bad it is so that we might hate as He does.

Becoming Our Pain— I remember sitting in a detention center with a young man who (for years) had been battling drug addiction. I had ministered to him, to his parents, and to his grandparents who were all suffering under the weight of his addiction. And he wanted to turn his life around and did (at least for a little while); but he went back to it, partially because he allowed the influence of his drug-addicted friends to come back into his life. Now eventually he became free, but it was only after the heinousness of his sin and realizing what it had done to him and his family. Now those who loved him could have told him (and did tell him) how bad his sin was and where it would lead. But it wasn’t until he confronted that for himself that he was truly able to repent and pursue a new life. And that is the path Peter tries to put Simon on. The fourth major problem in Simons theology was that he had a wrong view of sin; particularly his sin. And so Peter confronts him with it and calls for Simon to repent and pray for forgiveness.

God Would’ve Forgave— Now if Simon had done so, God definitely would have forgiven him. However, interestingly, Simon is not persuaded to repent. Now he is terrified, but notice that although Peter has told him to repent and to pray to God for forgiveness, instead he asks for Peter to pray on his behalf; and not for God to forgive him, or for God to receive his commitment to turn from his sin, but rather that God would not inflict upon him the punishment Peter described. He only wanted to escape the consequences of his sin; not the sin itself. And sadly, that is the camp many people fall into; even today. People want forgiveness without repentance. But notice how Peter places repentance first. You have to come to God with the intent of truly turning; that’s what Biblical repentance means.

Have You Turned?— What camp do you fall in? Do you pray only that God might withhold punishment from you? Or do you seek the fullness of God and the transforming work He wants to do in you? You and I must repent of all sin; and when we do, we find that in that repentance we receive freely the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower that change in our lives. Let us do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #154 "The Faith That Transforms” (Acts 8:9-11) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We are continuing our study today of Acts chapter 8. You will remember that Stephen has recently been stoned and a great persecution has broken out against the Church in the wake of that, causing many of the believers (particularly the Hellenists) to be driven outside of Jerusalem to minister in the surrounding areas, one of which was Samaria. Now one of the Hellenists, a man by the name of Phillip, was the one to bring the Gospel to Samaria. And he tells the Samaritans of both of heaven and of the way they can get there; through faith in the name of Jesus. And this message of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (along with the signs that are being worked through Philip) invokes a huge response as multitudes come to saving faith in Jesus Christ and are baptized. But in this great revival, one of the men the people had previously looked up to (and even deified) was a sorcerer by the name of Simon. And Simon appeared to convert along with the rest of the believers; believing, being baptized, and even following Philip in what looks to be a discipleship relationship. However, as we will see in the rest of Simon’s story, his motives were quite sinister, as he wanted to use Christianity for his own ends; which consisted mainly of his keeping the spotlight and glory on himself. And so because of that he fell into the same category of believers as Ananias and Sapphira had been. He had the appearance, but was in reality a deceiver; a con artist.

Don’t Buy That Bridge!— Now it’s interesting. [In the long history of con artists, George C. Parker holds a special place of dishonor. He is remembered as one of the most successful and daring swindlers in American history. He set up an office in New York City and “sold” some of the city’s most famous attractions to tourists. His favorite was the Brooklyn Bridge, but he also sold the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and Grant’s Tomb. He produced elaborately forged documents and deeds to convince his targets that he was the rightful owner of the landmarks he was selling. Parker was so persuasive that on more than one occasion, police had to come and explain why the new “owners” of the Brooklyn Bridge couldn’t put up tollbooths to collect money from those who tried to cross. After his third conviction for fraud, Parker was sentenced to life at Sing Sing Prison in New York, where he spent the last eight years of his life. He dishonestly made a fortune preying on people who foolishly believed his empty words. He not only was an expert salesman, but he realized that many people were gullible and he could use that to his advantage.]

Self-Deceived— Now one of the amazing things about watching false prophets and con-artists is how convincing they can be. And this can be complicated by the fact that many charlatans actually believe the lies they are telling other people. There is such a thing as being self-deceived; and those who have been deceiving themselves for a long time can lose their ability to distinguish between what is reality and what is make-believe. They become kind of like walking fiction novels that they themselves are writing. But the fact that Simon may have been self deceived did not make him any less dangerous. In fact it made him more dangerous because he did not have the air of a liar. He really believed that he was the special power of God. And everybody was paying attention to him because he was able to astonish them with his magical arts. And the reason they were eager to believe was because they were clinging onto hopes of the Messiah. And when somebody is hopeful about something, that can make them particularly vulnerable to false dealers of hope. And that is not just then, but now as well. Even people in our day and age can be susceptible to being swindled by miracle workers who claim to be acting with the power and in the authority of God.

4 Major Faults— Now last week we began exploring four major faults in Simons theology; faults that were severe enough to cause him to miss out on experiencing true saving faith. And having a wrong view of self was the first one. He had a glorified view of himself that kept him from ever reaching true repentance. And therefore He misses his salvation. Jesus Himself gives a demonstration of this in one of His parables. It says in…

Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)— 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James’ Sermon— James the brother of Jesus may have had this passage in mind when he wrote [one of the most powerful invitations {ever} to sinners]. He writes in…

James 4:6-10 (ESV)— 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Our Pride-full Culture— One of the things that our culture is discovering as it is moving away from God is that we are becoming so full of pride that we are rendering ourselves incapable of healing and restoration. There are multitudes of people who see themselves (not God; but themselves) as the arbiters of truth. And they look around at anybody who disagrees with them with hatred and animosity. Have you noticed there is no humility in dialogue anymore? So many people arrive to the conversation with no intent of learning anything about the positions or beliefs of the other side. And really they can’t learn. Because in order to learn you must first be humble. But you cannot be humble before another person before you are first humble before God. And we live in a culture that (in so many ways) has turned its back on God. In our humanism we think we know better; that we are good; and not only good but the very standard by which all goods ought to be measured. And this was Simon’s problem. But if you and I want to come to Jesus, then we have to come with that sense of our own lostness; that recognition of our own inadequacies, shortcomings, sinfulness, and pride. Because without that brokenness we cannot receive Christ. That is what Jesus was saying in the Beatitude section of His great Sermon on The Mount when He said…

Matthew 5:3 (ESV)— 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Lost Without Jesus— He’s not saying be sad and depressed all the time. He’s saying understand your sinfulness and approach God with the recognition that apart from Him you are utterly and completely lost.

A Wrong View of Salvation— Now Simon had a second fault in his theology. Beyond his false view of himself, he also had a wrong view of salvation. The text does say that Simon himself believed. And he was even baptized. And for many nowadays, that is enough. And when you ask a person about their salvation, they will very often give you the date of their baptism. Now the two often go hand-in-hand, but not always. We see here in this passage that although Simon was baptized, that baptism did not save him; in fact he remained lost. And this is because more than just baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of our sins. It is an important part of the salvation process, but it is not the instrument of salvation. It is rather an outward sign of an inward work. It is an outward washing that reflects an inward cleansing of the soul by the blood of Jesus Christ. But in and of itself it has no power to take away sin or to save us. And people run into problems when they see their salvation as a ritualistic thing.

My Ritualistic Religion— I know this because I was one of those people. For far to many years for me it was all about crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s; making sure I said the sinner’s prayer so many times a day in case I had lost my salvation so that I wouldn’t go to hell. But ritual alone doesn’t save you. Faith is what saves you; resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Now belief is a part of that. But it takes more than belief. Baptism is a part of that; but it takes more than just baptism. You have to believe and then (by faith) walk in newness of life, which is what baptism is a picture of. There has to be a repentance that leads to transformation. Listen to the words of…

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)— 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

And so we see that [Faith that does not transform the life is not saving faith.] Listen to what James writes in…

James 2:14 (ESV)— 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? {And that’s a rhetorical question by the way. The answer (obviously) is no. And then he says in…}

James 2:17-19 (ESV)— 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Transformation— And so the difference between saving faith and the non-saving faith (that of the demons) is that saving faith always produces in us a love of righteousness and a hatred of sin. The demons believe, but that doesn’t produce in them a love for God and a hatred of sin. But if you have given your life to Christ, and that love for God leading to transformation is at play in your life, that is strong evidence of your salvation. But Simon’s problem was that he believed in the signs, but he did not believe or walk in faith with the One behind the signs. And because of that he never experienced [the divine transformation of the soul from love of self to love of God, from love of sin to love of holiness.] The question is, have you and I experienced that transformation? If not, it is available to you today; all you have to do is ask God and He will give it to you. Ask Him today, and you will receive from Him today a true and saving faith. Amen.

Lechem Panim #153 "The Kiddie Door To Heaven” (Acts 8:9-11) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks in our study of the book of Acts we have been talking about the persecution that broke out against the Church in the wake of the stoning of Stephen. And this [persecution scattered the Jerusalem fellowship and led to the first missionary outreach of the Church. And Philip, whose ministry begin with waiting on tables with the rest of the Hellenists, is now being used by God as a mighty minister to bring the Gospel to the Samaritans. But in the midst of this incredible story, there was a man who (despite outward appearance) was in fact a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It says in…

Acts 8:9-11 (ESV)— 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

A Contrast— Now it’s important in our study of this passage to also look ahead; because the book of Acts is about to present us with a stunning example of what it means to place saving faith in Jesus Christ. And that is demonstrated in the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch, which we are about to come to later in this chapter. But before we get to his story, we are first given the account of Simon Magus, who represents the first known Satanic attempt to sew a tare in the Church. He’s a Samaritan; and one whose beliefs are very unorthodox and (as we will see) very much self-worshipping.

Bargain Emeralds— Now I know most of us are not traveling much during these days; but if you ever do plan on traveling out of the country and [If you're planning to vacation in Zambia, beware of the street-corner "emerald vendors." And if you're driving, be prepared for some confusion in the streets, owing to stolen traffic lights. The two warnings are related: The traffic light thieves are selling green glass chips to unsuspecting tourists who think they're getting bargain-basement emeralds.]

All The Earmarks— Well, Simon Magus was one of those who at first appeared to be a stunning emerald; a monument and testimony to what God can do in a person’s life. He had all the ear-marks of being a genuine Christian. And he even managed to deceive Philip, who was very godly and discerning. And no wonder. Simon had believed, had been baptized, and he had “continued on with Philip” (verse 13), which are the three major marks of the true believer. And in reality, he was very close to being a Christian. So where did he go wrong? Well, we will see as we proceed through this passage four major faults in Simon’s theology; faults that were severe enough to cause him to miss salvation. (1) He had a wrong view of self, (2) a wrong view of salvation, (3) a wrong view of the Holy Spirit, and (4) a wrong view of sin.

A Wrong View of Himself— And the first of these is seen in that he sees himself as not just good, but “somebody great“. And that is antithetical to what the Bible tells us about mankind before we enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. But this faulty philosophy is still being taught today. A myriad of people will tell you that man is basically good; and if we can reach deep down inside of ourselves and tap into our inner goodness (who we really are underneath), then the world would be a better place. However, scripture tells us that sin has so marred us, that our hearts are wretchedly sinful; so much so that we are incapable (without Christ) of doing any works that aren’t (in the eyes of God) like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The reality is that we are desperately wicked and in need of a Savior. And without that necessary starting point of humility (recognizing our need of a Savior), we are incapable of receiving saving grace. And Simon Magus never seemed to come to that point; and certainly wasn’t there in the beginning, which is seen in his declaring himself to be “somebody great”. And that greatness he and others believed flowed from his ability to perform magic. Now that word “magic“ obviously comes from the word “magi“, which remember referred to the high-priestly tribe of the Medo-Persians. And those beliefs were a mixture of science and superstition. They combined astrology, divination, and cultic practices with history, mathematics, and agriculture. Now were these magical feats trickery or were they demonic? We don’t know for sure, but it very well could’ve been a mixture of both. Those who are possessed by or using the power of demons can sometimes perform feats similar to God’s, but on a much smaller scale. But whatever those miracles were, they gave Simon Magus an incredible hold on the people of Samaria. Everybody was paying attention to him and held him in the highest respect. They even said “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” Now remember what Jesus had said in…

Mark 14:62 (ESV)— 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Claiming Deity— Simon is claiming a very similar description. And this seems to suggest that Simon was even claiming deity of himself, which is the most heretical view that you can have of yourself. And the early church fathers report that Simon was in fact one of the founders of Gnosticism and that he actually viewed himself as God incarnate (like Jesus). And so we see that his false teaching actually did a lot of damage not just to this group of Samaritans, but to the Church as a whole. And that is always where Satan wants to bring us; to where we attempt to place ourselves on the throne of God. That was the heart of his temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; and we see this same temptation even today. It is at the heart of virtually every key issue we are facing in our culture. Who has the ultimate say-so over our lives?

Our Bodies?— Whether it is the issue of abortion, homosexuality, or the myriad of other practices that involve our bodies, it is very important to pay attention to the language used to defend those practices. It is said “You have the right to do with your body whatever you wish.” “It is your body, your choice.” I talked with a homosexual man this week who told me “Yes, I am a Christian, but I live my life how I want to.” Now that (to me) was a very interesting and telling statement; one that rubs against what the scriptures tell us about the Lordship of Christ over our bodies. Listen to the words of...

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)— 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

The Crux of It— Let me tell you, those two verses have the power to change the world and can completely reverse the downward spiral of our nation. The crux of many of the issues we are facing today in these great culture wars boils down to this single question; am I God or is God God? Do I have the freedom to define who I am and use my body how I see fit or do I trust in God’s Lordship over my body? If God is God, then when it comes to the issue of abortion, we have no right to kill the works of creation He has established in us, even if (for a time) they are dependent on us. And when it comes to our sexual identities as well, He has a plan that is not ours to redefine. We are not our own. We were created by and bought anew by the blood of Jesus Christ. And until we are willing to receive Jesus Christ (to borrow the words of Thomas) as “My Lord and my God”, we will miss salvation just like Simon Magus did. Pride (the elevation of ourselves to the place of God) is the enemy of salvation. And that was Simon‘s problem.

Pride’s Masquerade— Now Simon Magus didn’t recognize his pride. And nor do we most of the time and that is because pride can masquerade under seemingly upright motives. With Herod, it masked itself as integrity when he beheaded John the Baptist. With the Pharisees, pride masked itself as holiness; and they ironically ended up rejecting the Holy One Himself. With the Jewish authorities, pride masked itself as zeal for God, but ended with their killing the very Son of God. Pride caused the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Pride cost Nebuchadnezzar his reason, Rehoboam his kingdom, Uzziah his health, and (as we studied in the book of Esther) it cost Haman his very life. This is why there is so much emphasis in scripture on humility as the starting point of salvation.

The Kiddie Door— The other day on our day off my wife and I spent the day together while the kids were in school. And let me tell you, even after 11 years of marriage we still know how to have a romantic date. Of all the frivolous ordinary things we could have done, we sprang for the ultimate; we went shopping. And one of the places we shopped at was a kids consignment store. Now I very chivalrously offered to stay and guard the car (because, you know, you can’t be too careful these days), but my wife didn’t think that was necessary and “requested” that I come in with her. And of course I was MORE than happy to do so; at least that’s what I’ve been told. But there were two doors into this kids clothing store; one normal sized door and then a much shorter door for the children. And my wife frivolously and cheerfully ducked under the kids door.  However I (in all my dignity) walked through the regular run-of-the mill door for big people. I was not about to duck and look ridiculous stooping to fit through that small kiddie door. After all, I’m a man. But you know, as I was preparing this message I thought again of that small kiddie door. Jesus had said the most remarkable thing in...

Matthew 18:1-4 (ESV)— 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

We Have to Stoop— You know what Jesus was saying? “You have to stoop.” There IS no big person door to heaven. Until we become as little children (as Jesus says) we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. There’s only one way. And it begins with humbly accepting Christ’s Lordship over our lives and our bodies, and recognizing that our ways are not His ways; they’re not even good ways; they are (without Christ) desperately wicked. And it also means we must we see ourselves as weak, lost, and utterly helpless without the intervention of Christ. There is no other door but through the humble door of submission to Christ Jesus. Have you entered that door? Have you humbled yourself and accepted Christ’s Lordship over your life? If not, I would like to encourage you to do that today. Receive Him as Lord and He will fulfill you in a far better way than you ever could have doing things your own way. Receive Him today as the Lord of your life. Amen.

Lechem Panim #152 "Glorying In Suffering” (Acts 7-8 & James 1:1-4) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We have been talking about the first great persecution of the Early Church, which begins in Acts chapter 7 with the stoning of the first Christian martyr; Stephen. After his death, the Church is driven out of Jerusalem and Philip the apostle even goes so far as to take the good news of the Gospel of Christ into the region of Samaria.

And today I would like for us to take a look at a passage of scripture that ties in and really helps for us to apply what is happening here in Acts chapter 8 to our own lives. And that is James chapter 1. We’ll start with verses 1-2. It reads…

James 1:1-2 (ESV)— 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Now James was probably written before A.D. 50. If that dating is correct, then it makes James [the earliest of all the NT writings—with the possible exception of Galatians.]

A Greeting Command to Rejoice-- And so imagine, the first command given in what is very likely the very first Christian epistle, is a command that completely changes forever how Christians are to think about trials, tribulations, and persecutions. First he says "Greetings" which (as we’ll talk about later) is actually a call to Rejoice. Then he says in verse 2: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Why God?!!!!-- Now when you and I face trials in our lives, our tendency is often to immediately shift into frustration. God, why are you allowing this in my life? Did I do something wrong? Are you angry with me? Do you really care about? If you do, how can you allow this to happen to me?

Count It Joy— But the very first point made in what is likely the very first book ever written in the New Testament is that suffering is not something to complain about, but something to rejoice about. Notice I didn’t say we are to rejoice in. Many people say that we are to maintain joy even in difficult circumstances. And that is true. But James isn’t talking about only keeping joy in the midst of trials. James says to count it joy when we meet trials. Trials themselves are what he says ought to produce joy in us. And I want you to catch that because that was one of the most profound concepts these early Christians in the book of Acts had.

Martyrs Embracing Trials-- And when you look at the early Christian martyrs (of whom Stephen here is the first), that’s exactly what you find; Christians who rejoice not only within difficult circumstances, but rejoice because of difficult circumstances. And part of that is that they have the privilege in partaking with Christ in His sufferings. But again it goes further than that. They rejoice not only because they are participating with Christ in His suffering, but because that suffering is the means through which Christ is maturing their faith and developing and drawing them close to Him.

Taking our Arm— James Packer makes this point pretty clear in his book Your Father Loves You. He says [This is the ultimate reason, from our standpoint, why God fills our lives with troubles ... of one sort and another -- to ensure that we shall learn to hold him fast. ...When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, and someone takes our arm to help us, likely we would impatiently shake him off; but when we are caught in rough country in the dark, with a storm brewing and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we would thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough... , so that we may learn to lean on him thankfully. Therefore he takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in himself, to -- in the classic scriptural phrase for the secret of the godly man's life -- "wait on the Lord."]

Persecution the Engine of the Church-- Some time ago I remember I had a conversation with a gentleman about the persecution that the Church is going through. And we talked about the reality that in and throughout history, persecution became the engine that drove the Church. The harder the Church was persecuted, the more they grew. And I think part of that was that people witnessed how these Christians suffered; the joy they found in and through suffering. And they wanted that in their lives too.

“I am one of them”-- In the third century, a famous Christian name St. Cyprian (on his way to die a martyr’s death) wrote from Carthage to a friend of his named Donatus: “This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see; brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It really is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet, in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians…and I am one of them.”

    I love what he says, “They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world.” These Christians had that strength of character; the steadfastness that trials produce;.

Steadfastness Through Testing— And James’ second point is that that steadfastness comes through testing. He says...

James 1:3 (ESV)— 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

In fact, you might also accurately say that steadfastness comes only through testing. We are never growing more than when we are tested; than when we are meeting resistance.

Resistance Suits— [On December 29, 1987, a Soviet cosmonaut returned to the earth after 326 days in orbit. He was in good health, which hasn't always been the case in those record-breaking voyages. Five years earlier, touching down after 211 days in space, two cosmonauts suffered from dizziness, high pulse rates, and heart palpitations. They couldn't walk for a week, and after 30 days, they were still undergoing therapy for atrophied muscles and weakened hearts.  At zero gravity, the muscles of the body begin to waste away because there is no resistance. To counteract this, the Soviets prescribed a vigorous exercise program for the cosmonauts. They invented the "penguin suit," a running suit laced with elastic bands. It resists every move the cosmonauts make, forcing them to exert their strength. Apparently the regimen is working.
    We often long dreamily for days without difficulty, but God knows better. The easier our life, the weaker our spiritual fiber, for strength of any kind grows only by exertion.]

Perfect & Complete— But there was another thing that Cyprian, on his way to die, pointed out that is absolutely important for us to grasp if we are to understand what fruit steadfastness produces in our lives. He says of Christians, “They are masters of their souls.” In other words they are not in bondage to sin any longer, but are living lives free of sin. Sin has no authority over their souls whatsoever. And that is James’ third and last point. He says...   

James 1:4 (ESV)— 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  

Becoming Holy-- He doesn’t say partially holy; partially perfect but still sinning occasionally. No, the kind of perfection that he is talking about is a present perfection that is complete, lacking in nothing. God offers us, in the trials we face every day, the means of becoming holy. Why can we rejoice in suffering? Because in it we become more like Christ; in it we become perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The first teaching given in the New Testament to some of the very first believers in the early church is that we are called to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. We are called to be holy; not perfect in the sense that we won’t make mistakes, but perfect in the sense that we are so filled with God’s love and presence that He gives us the necessary spiritual equipment to resist temptation and be and remain victorious over sin; to be masters of our souls.

Pushing Through-- And so what I think what James wants us to understand about trials and suffering is that when we know what the purpose of suffering is, though we might not immediately see why we are going through a particular suffering, we can get through it because we know that in that suffering God is making us more like Himself. Even if we don’t know why we are going through it or why God has allowed it, we know what God is using it for in our lives; to move us towards that perfection in holiness. And it is in those moments that we are closest to Him and and growing the most.

“Rejoice”-- In the first line of James, he says “Greetings”. But that word [“Greeting”--that translation is a little stilted, for the word in the Greek literally means “rejoice.” He writes to them and says, “Rejoice.”] Joy in Christ through trials is, in the mind of James, the starting point of what it means to be a Christian. Not to get overwhelmed; not to ask “why me”, but to rejoice that in our suffering we are being made perfect, lacking nothing.

Joining Hands— Are you overwhelmed with life today? Or are you rejoicing in your Lord? Are you allowing trials to break your spirit, or are you allowing those trials to produce the steadfastness of Christ in you? As you go to work this week; as you take life day by day, you will face trials. There may be people like Saul who seek to ravage you; circumstances that are bringing you down. But the question is, “Will you allow those trials to draw you closer to God or drive you farther away from Him.” “Will you allow Christ to take your hand and, drawing you closer to Him, lead you through the darkness?” This week, rejoice that God is using your trials and persecutions to make you more like Him and to further His salvation work. Glory in your suffering so that in your suffering the world might see in you the glory of Jesus. Amen.

Lechem Panim #151 "The Seed is Scattered” (Acts 8:1-8) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We have been studying the growth of the Early Church in the beginning chapters of the book of Acts. And (as we have been talking about in recent weeks), the Church has been growing at an incredible rate within the confines of Jerusalem. But as the church continues to grow and expand, it also continues to run into conflict with some of the Jewish leaders. And the tension climaxes in Acts 6:8-8:1 with the seizing and stoning of Stephen, who becomes the first martyr of the Christian Church. And last we recently read of his death at the hands of the Jewish leaders there in Acts chapter 7. But there is a person present at Stephen’s stoning who was watching the garments of those stoning Stephen; and this was a man who would have enormous significance for the Church. And of course I am speaking of Saul (also known as Paul).

Paul’s Early Life— Now we can glean much from the book of Acts and the Epistles about the early life of Paul. [He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 22:3), a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (see 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5), the “son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6), and a Roman citizen (16:37; 22:25–28). He was educated in Jerusalem by Gamaliel (22:3) and became a devoted Pharisee (26:4–5; Phil. 3:5). Measured by the law, his life was blameless (Phil. 3:6). He was one of the most promising young Pharisees in Jerusalem, well on his way to becoming a great leader for the Jewish faith (Gal. 1:14). {And} Saul’s zeal for the law was displayed most vividly in his persecution of the church (Gal. 1:13–14; Phil. 3:6). He really thought that persecuting the believers was one way of serving God. {He had no idea that he was in fact persecuting God Himself, which Jesus confronts him with in chapter 9.} He obeyed the light that he had {at that time}, and when God gave him more light, he obeyed that and became a Christian!]

The Dual Names of Saul/Paul— Now some will say that it was at that point that he became known as Paul. But that is not in fact what the Bible teaches. Throughout the course of his life, he always had and maintained two names; one a Jewish name (Saul) and one a Greek name (Paul). [The custom of dual names was common in those days.] It is a common misconception that Saul’s name was changed to Paul. Many Christians think that Saul had his name changed, much like Abram’s was changed to Abraham; or any other of the famous name changes of scripture. Some even go so far as to say that it was Jesus who changed Saul’s name after appearing to him on the Damascus Road; a story that we will cover in depth in the next chapter. However, the reality is that Saul actually never changed his name. [Jesus addresses him as “Saul, Saul” during the christophany (Acts 9:4).] [Ananias addresses him as “Saul” after his conversion (Acts 9:17).] [The Holy Spirit calls him “Saul” before his first missionary trip.] [After the conversion experience, he is {in fact} called “Saul” 11 more times.] And in fact he isn’t even called Paul at all until Acts 13:9 while he is on the island of Cyprus. Now there is a definite shift to his using the name Paul more than he uses Saul, but it is not for the reasons we might assume. [The decisive shift from “Saul” to “Paul” in Acts happens only once Paul sets off on his missionary journeys away from Jerusalem.] In Jerusalem he used his Jewish name, “Saul” and outside of Jerusalem when he was ministering to Gentiles, he chose to use his Greek name “Paul”. As we will see when we come to chapter 9, he not only had an exquisite Hebrew education, but a secular (and even Greek) one as well. And so (depending on his audience) he could adapt not only the way he presented the Gospel, but even his very name to help relate best to those to whom he was bearing witness; which we will see will eventually be primarily to Gentiles (hence the shift to his Gentile name). But [Saul and Paul were two names for the same person all along.] Now Saul is far from being a Christian at this point in the book of Acts. Not only is he watching the garments of those killing Stephen, but it says in…

Acts 8:1 (ESV)— 1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Scattered— And so we see the Church is scattered. The apostles remain in the city; and rightfully so. They knew they had to remain there to care for the Church. But the believers are scattered out into the rest of Judea and even Samaria. And [The word translated “scattered” (diaspeiro, Acts 8:1,4) {literally} means “to scatter seed.”] And so we see that instead of persecution killing the church, [Persecution does to the church what wind does to seed: It scatters it and only produces a greater harvest.] And that harvest now begins to move outwards into the rest of Judea and even into Samaria. But we see later in Acts that the death of Stephen pushed the Gospel even farther than Samaria. It says in…

Acts 11:19-21 (ESV)— 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. [So you have persecution causing the spread of the Gospel] 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists[a] also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

So persecution is driving the Church to spread out across the empire. And though we see it as a wonderful and even a necessary part of God’s plan, think about how they must have been processing all of this. They don’t see the big picture yet. All they know is that one of their most anointed leaders has been killed. And they are still in mourning over that. It says in…

Acts 8:2-3 (ESV)— 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. {And then it says.} 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Saul’s Ravaging— Now your Bibles probably say of Saul something like he began to destroy the church. That phrase is actually a Greek phrase that is sometimes used to describe the ravages of wild animals. So this was an intense persecution; and because of it, the Church at Jerusalem is scattered all throughout Judea and Samaria. Now when you and I face persecution, we also don’t always see the big picture. And though it might be hard at times for us to understand, persecution is not always a bad thing. In fact Tertullian, an early church theologian once pointed out that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Well, that is what we see. It says in…

Acts 8:4-5 (ESV)— 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Samaria— Now who lives in Samaria? Samaritans. Well, who are they? Well, you will remember that after the reign of King Solomon in the Old Testament, the kingdom of Israel was split in two. You had the northern kingdom of Israel, whose capital King Omri named "Samaria" (1 Kings 16:24). And then you had the southern kingdom of Judah. But the northern kingdom of Israel was the region that, in 722 BC, was conquered by the Assyrians and taken into captivity into Assyria. Now we remember that Israel was called by God to remain ethnically pure. They were not to intermarry with and of the surrounding nations. However, during those years that the northern kingdom of Israel was in captivity in Syria, the Jews ignored those prohibitions and began intermarrying with the non-Jews around them. And so they lost their ethnical purity. Now the southern kingdom of Judah was also taken into captivity in 586 BC by the Babylonians. Yet we find that while they were in captivity they maintained their ethnical purity and did not intermarry with the Babylonians. They kept themselves pure. And Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego) were stalwart examples of this kind of resolve to keep themselves pure unto God. However, when both captivities were ended and everyone came home, the Jews from the southern kingdom of Judah began to regard the Jews from the northern kingdom of Israel as half-breeds—Samaritans because they had mingled blood. And so they despised them. And that hatred was passed down throughout the generations and was still every bit as alive in Jesus’ day as it was in the beginning. In fact, so deep was the hatred that [A popular prayer in those days among some of the southern-kingdom Jews was, “Lord, do not remember the Samaritans in the resurrection.”] Praise God that He doesn’t say “yes” to all our prayers. Now I say all of this because I want you to understand what a miracle it is that the early Christians brought the Gospel to Samaria; because it means that the love of God shed abroad in their hearts has moved them to cast aside their racism and their hate and embrace those they had until recently despised. It’s a powerful thing. And you can imagine what an impact this had on those who were recipients of Philip’s ministry. It says in…

Acts 8:6-8 (ESV)— 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

Philip’s Ministry in Samaria— So we see that Philip goes to Samaria and actually becomes a preacher of the word. And God moved through him mightily. He becomes the first ever Christian missionary to non-Jews. He performed miraculous signs, he cast out demons, he healed paralytics and cripples. And the people of Samaria listened to him and rejoiced at what God was doing through him. And I’m sure Philip rejoiced as well.

But all of that would not have happened at all if there had not been a mighty wave of persecution in the Church; a persecution that touched many of these believers on a very deep and personal level. And what that ought to tell you and me is that when things seem darkest (even after the death of a great leader) or in the midst of friends, family members, or co-workers who are trying to persecute you, God may be doing a mighty work; because others are watching and seeing the righteousness of Christ being lived out through you in those moments. And so don’t give up; don’t get discouraged. Hold fast to Jesus; as Stephen did, look up into the eyes of the Savior and trust that even though we might not see the big picture, God is using us and will continue to use us if we but remain faithful to him. Let’s hold fast to Him today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #150 "The God of Glory” (Acts 7) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks we have been taking a look at the life and ministry of Stephen, one of the men chosen by the apostles to help wait on tables. And yet (as we have seen) God was also using him to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and to perform miraculous signs and wonders that confirmed his message. Yet when he started proclaiming the Gospel in some of the synagogues, he was met by violent opposition. At the end of chapter 6 (6:13-14) Stephen is accused by a group of men from various Hellenistic synagogues of threatening God’s temple and rejecting the Law of Moses (the Torah). And these are very serious accusations; and are the same ones (interestingly) that had been leveled against Jesus Himself. And so it seems that the men of these synagogues apparently are so threatened by Stephen, that they are after his very life.

Stephen’s Apologia— Now our chapter today (chapter 7) is really quite an amazing chapter; because in it we have Stephen’s apologia (his defense) of both himself and of the Gospel. Now I don’t think Stephen was so interested in preserving his own life as much as much as he was interested in defending what it was that Christianity was really teaching. Christianity wasn’t about throwing out the law of Moses or those things that had been at the heart of the Jewish faith, but rather was a fulfillment of all of those things. And we see this in his apologia (his defense) here in our passage today, which he roots in the Old Testament scriptures themselves; particularly in the Law of Moses, whom his accusers are saying he is rejecting. And it is significant to note that this address is the longest of any address in the book of Acts; and it is a summary of the Old Testament, particularly of the lives and ministries of some of Israel’s greatest leaders. We have Abraham in verses 2-8; we have Joseph in verses 9-17; we have Moses in verses 18-44; Joshua in verse 45; and David and Solomon in verses 46-50. And the reason that Stephen brings up these men is both to defend himself against the indictments made against him by his accusers, but also to indict the religious leaders themselves (and Israel as a whole) for rejecting the Messiah. Stephen shows in a very powerful way how there was a pattern of behavior in Israel; a destructive pattern that had caused them serious problems throughout the entirety of their history, and which would ultimately lead to their downfall if they did not repent; and that pattern of behavior is seen in that Israel had this tendency to always resist the will of God and even persecute those whom God was using as His instruments through whom he was moving His salvation plan forward. All of these leaders Stephen mentions dealt with rejection by the Jewish people. And Stephen very clearly says that the Jewish leaders are practicing that same behavior. Now this is remarkable because while it is supposed to be Stephen on trial, like when Peter and the apostles had stood trial, Stephen (the defendant) turns the tables on them and becomes the prosecuting attorney!

Temple-Focus— And in his prosecution; his indictment, we see two major overarching themes. The first is of course Israel’s rejection of God’s messengers. And that theme is climaxed in their rejection of the Messiah. But then you have another theme; and that is in relation to God’s sovereignty and His glory. Notice the title Stephen uses when talking about God. It says in…

Acts 7:2 (ESV)— 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

The God of Glory— He calls God by this title The God of glory. And then in verse 55 it says that as he is gazing into heaven he saw the glory of God. And keep in mind that this whole time he is there, standing before the Sanhedrin on trial, his very face is radiating with that same glory, as it says his face was like that of an angel. There is so much emphasis in this passage on the glory of God. Why is that? Well, it’s because Israel was unique in that they were a people who had been hand-chosen by God to have His glory as part of their inheritance. And Paul really hones in on this in Romans 9:4 when he says of the Jewish people…

Romans 9:4 (ESV)— 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

Their Privilege Lost— Now remember that though Israel had had the privilege of having in their midst the very glory of God, the glory of God left them, first from the tabernacle (which we read about in 1 Sam. 4:19–22) and then later from the temple (which we read about in Ezek. 10:4,18). And so the tabernacle and temple became places void of the glory of the presence of God when they were supposed to be places filled with the glory of God. And rather than the seeking the glory of God, we find (especially when we come to the New Testament) that the Sadducees had made the temple (not God) the focal point of their religion. Everything had become about the temple; a temple that was ultimately a man-made thing. Now God wanted to bring His glory back, but (interestingly) not to the temple. No, He wanted to reveal Himself in a much more intimate and personal way than that; and so He reveals His glory in the person of His Son Jesus Christ (John 1:14), who became man in order to bring God’s glory into the very flesh of our humanity. That is how personal God gets with us. And the writer of Hebrews really wants his listeners to catch the awesomeness of that, which is why the book opens with his saying of Jesus in…

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)— 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

At God’s Right Hand— So in Jesus the glory of God is revealed. And Stephen sees that glory at the end of chapter 7 as he is being stoned; executed at the hands of these religious leaders. And (as the author of Hebrews says) Jesus is at the right hand of God; and that is how Stephen sees Him. But notice that (unlike the passage in Hebrews) Jesus isn’t sitting. No, look again. It says in…

Acts 7:55 (ESV)— 55 But he {(Stephen)}, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Jesus Standing— So Jesus isn’t sitting; he’s standing. Do you know why? It is most likely because it was customary during that time (as it still is today), when you were making a defense before a judge, to stand. You stand when you are presenting your case. And so what is Jesus doing? He’s standing for Stephen. How beautiful is that! Remember, Jesus had promised all the way back in…

Matthew 10:32-33 (ESV)— 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus Stands for Us— Here we find Stephen standing for Jesus. And as he’s doing that, we get a glimpse into what happens also in our day to day lives when we choose to stand for Jesus. Jesus stands for us! He stands for us before our accusers; and He stands for us before the Father and bears testimony that yes we are His. Now we might still face persecution and death (which Stephen does at the close of this chapter); but ultimately when we get to heaven we will know that we are welcome because Jesus will have already stood for us.

The Glorious Plan— Now one more thing needs to be highlighted about Stephen’s summation of Israel’s history. And that is that from the beginning, we see that God had a glorious plan for the salvation of the world; a plan that He faithfully worked out in and through His people and (eventually) in and through His Son Jesus.

God’s Plan Not Thwarted— And you know what? God hasn’t changed; neither has His promises. God has a plan for your life and for my life as well. And let me tell you, that plan isn’t thwarted by our persecution or our trials. Whatever those are in your life, God foresaw them; and He has a plan to reveal His glory to you in those persecutions and trials and to actually use them to further his plan, which (if you are faithful to Him) will lead ultimately to your salvation.

    I want to point out something that I think we know, but we often forget. And that is that in the story of Joseph, after God had revealed through Joseph’s dreams that he would rule over his brothers, his brothers subsequently sold him into slavery to nullify that promise of God. But how does the story end? Were they able to thwart God’s plan? No; in fact they only helped to further it. And that was one of the reasons Joseph was able to forgive them; because he recognized how God used even their sin against him to further His plan and to save an empire and the surrounding countries from utter ruin. At the time of the Exodus, Pharaoh couldn’t stop God’s plan either. He tried to resist as well, but instead his resistance only served to make the deliverance of God’s people all the more fruitful, as Israel consequently gained favor in the eyes of the humbled Egyptians, who gave them whatever they asked for; and thus they were able to plunder the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36); and it was that plundering of the Egyptians that may have furnished them with much of the necessary materials they would need to build the Tabernacle. In the New Testament, Herod also set himself to resist God in his attempt to kill the Jesus, the Messiah, the true King of the Jews; but ended up only fulfilling many of the prophecies God had given through his prophets hundreds of year prior about the Messiah and the events in and surrounding His birth. Pilate couldn’t thwart God’s plan either; even when he sentenced Jesus to death; again, that only fulfilled God’s plan. And even the Israelites themselves who stood up against God’s chosen leaders all throughout Israel’s history could not thwart God’s plan. God’s Messiah came and His gift of salvation has been made available to all through the very cross they condemned Jesus to death on. And so what God’s Word is revealing to us in our passage today is that in the days ahead, no matter what the future holds, we know that God’s plan is not going to be thwarted.

Personal Faith— And if you grasp nothing else from our time together today, at the very least walk away with the knowledge that God is in control over all thing’s and wants you to live in a relationship of faith and trust in Him. If we can do that, the story of God’s salvation will be our story as well. Let’s embrace Him in faith in and through His Son Jesus today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #149 "Living The 'Full' Life” (Acts 6:9-15) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. Today we will be continuing to take a look at one of the most remarkable early Christians we find in the book of Acts; a man by the name of Stephen, whose life was characterized by “fullness”.  In Acts 6:5 he is first described as being a man full of faith. And that faith was foundational to his life.

Full of The Spirit— And flowing from that fullness of faith was also a fullness of the Holy Spirit (cf. 7:55). And it was the Holy Spirit who empowered him, taught him, and re-made him in the image of Christ so that he lived like Jesus. And that is always the mark of somebody filled with the Spirit; not miracles or prophecy or any other dramatic gifts, but whether or not they look like Jesus. And Stephen apparently did, which is why he ended up facing much of the rejection and persecution that Jesus Himself had experienced.

Full of Grace— Now the third spiritual reality that Stephen had fullness of was grace; a lovingkindness that flowed from his trust, obedience, and submission to the Holy Spirit. And it was probably for this characteristic that the Church chose him to help minister to the widows. But nowhere do we see the grace of Stephen more graphically lived out than in the final moments of Stephen’s life when (as he is being pelted with stones in 7:60) he looks up to heaven and (just as Jesus had done on the cross) asks God that this sin might not be held against them. Now I don’t know what I would say if faced with similar circumstances. But in those moments his heart didn’t burn with anger, or even fear or terror. He was both at peace with the death coming upon him in those moments and also able to (even then) demonstrate the love of God in a way that no doubt shook the hearts of many who were watching. Because that kind of grace doesn’t happen naturally. That is a God-empowered, Holy Spirit filled kind of love which can only come from a heart that has been transformed by the reality of what Christ did for us on the cross. And it is that kind of grace that will most draw people to Christ through us as well.

Full of Power— Now the last thing Stephen was full of was power. [Stephen was full of power. That was a direct result of his being filled with the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8). That he was performing great wonders and signs among the people suggests he was far more than simply a deacon. Instead, his deeds of power show his close link with the apostles. In the New Testament church only the apostles, Stephen, Philip (Acts 8:6–7), and Barnabas (15:12) performed miracles. {And} The imperfect tense of poieō (was performing) shows Stephen was continually doing those mighty works, no doubt with the same impact as the apostles (5:12–14). {Now} Taken together, verses 5 and 8 give both the Godward and man-ward sides of Christian character. {Stephen was} A man full of faith toward God, and yielded to the Spirit’s control,]. And anybody who is like that [will be gracious toward others and manifest great spiritual power.]

Under God’s Control— So [The emphasis in Stephen’s life is on fullness: He was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3,10), full of faith (v. 5), and full of {grace and} power (v. 8).]. What a great description for a person. Are any of you full today? Stephen was a guy who was full; able to be used by God because He was completely surrendered to Him. Now in the midst of his proclaiming the Gospel, Stephen encounters a few different groups of religious leaders. It says in…

Acts 6:9 (ESV)— 9 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.

The Role of Synagogues— Now synagogues were places of worship that began during the inter-Testamental period all the way back to in and around the Babylonian captivity.  Remember that Jews who were dispersed (of the dispersion) (usually Hellenists) (Because they did not have access to the temple in Jerusalem) needed a place to worship and read the Old Testament. Hence synagogues were developed. And because you had [Jews from many nations {who} resided in Jerusalem in their own “quarters,”…some of these ethnic groups had their own synagogues.]

3 Synagogues— And here we likely have mentioned [3 synagogues: {the first being} the Synagogue of the Freedmen, a second composed of Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and a third composed of those from Cilicia and Asia. Cultural and linguistic differences among the 3 groups make it unlikely they all attended the same synagogue.]

Freedmen— But let’s look at these groups one by one just to give us an understanding of who these guys were. First, we have a group known as the Freedmen (“libertines”). You will remember from your history books about the city of Pompeii in western Italy, southeast of Naples. Mount Vesuvius would later erupt in AD 79 and the volcanic ash would perfectly preserve the remains of buildings, mosaics, furniture, the personal possessions of the people, and many of the people themselves in that city. Well the freedmen mentioned here were [Descendants of Jewish slaves captured by {the city of} Pompeii (63 B.C.) and taken to Rome. They were later freed and formed a Jewish community there.]

Cyrenians— Now for the second group; the [Cyrenians. {The Cyrenians were} Men from Cyrene, a city in North Africa. {You will remember that} Simon, the man conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross, was a native of Cyrene (Luke 23:26).]

Alexandrians— Now next we have the [Alexandrians. Alexandria, another major North African city, was located near the mouth of the Nile River. The powerful preacher Apollos {(whom we will encounter later in Acts 18)} was from Alexandria (see note on 18:24).]

Cilicia and Asia— Now the last group of men were from [Cilicia and Asia. {These were} Roman provinces in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Since Paul’s hometown (Tarsus) was located in Cilicia {(Acts 21:39)}, he probably attended this synagogue.] And [it is possible that he heard Stephen in the synagogue and may have {even} debated with him.] We don’t know.

Formal debate— So you have these men from each of these synagogues beginning to dispute with Stephen. Now [The word translated “disputing” signifies a formal debate. {It doesn’t say what they debated about, but} They no doubt focused on such themes as the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the OT evidence that He was the Messiah.] And though they no doubt disagreed with much of what Stephen was saying (particularly about Jesus) it says…

Acts 6:10 (ESV)— 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

Stephen’s Victory— And so we see that they were making arguments, but at every point Stephen proved victorious. And the text says that this was first because of his superior wisdom (which no doubt includes knowledge of the scriptures; but more importantly, understanding what the scriptures mean and how Jesus Christ had fulfilled them). And secondly, because he was full of the Spirit. He was being empowered by God Himself to deliver His message to these Jewish leaders. And so it says that none of them could withstand his wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit in which he was speaking. And this (in and of itself) was a fulfillment of prophecy; because Jesus had said to his disciples all the way back in…

Luke 21:15 (ESV)— 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

And that is exactly what we see here. They could not withstand his arguments. And we know that this will eventually lead to Stephen’s death. But even that was a fulfillment of prophecy. Because in the very next verse of Luke 21 Jesus had said…

Luke 21:16-17 (ESV)— 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. {And we definitely see here some of that hatred. It says…}

Acts 6:11-14 (ESV)— 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 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, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 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.”

Stephen Like Jesus— Now because they could not win against Stephen with rational argument, we see that (because of their unwillingness to accept where the evidence pointed) they decided that their only remaining option was to kill Stephen. And so these men intentionally instigate others to make false accusations; skewing what Stephen was saying and obviously adding things that he himself had never said. And you know, their treatment of him closely resembles how the Jewish leaders had treated Jesus Himself. They hired false witnesses (as they had done with Jesus) and stirred up the people (as they had done with Jesus), who accused Stephen of attacking the law of Moses and temple, just as the Jewish leaders had done with Jesus (Matthew 26:59-61). And the reason this [group falsely accused Stephen of wanting to change Moses’ customs…{was}… because they knew that the Sadducees, who controlled the council, believed only in Moses’ laws.] And they would be highly offended by that. And they also knew the Sadducees’ love of the temple (which was their primary focus); and so they say that Stephen has been claiming that [Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. {This was} Another lie, since Jesus’ words (John 2:19) referred to His own body (John 2:21).] But it was the same lie the Jewish leaders had used at Jesus’ own trial. Now you would expect that especially in light of what had happened to Jesus, Stephen might be afraid. But it says in…

Acts 6:15 (ESV)— 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Face of An Angel— And what this means was the Stephen was demonstrating [Pure, calm, unruffled composure, reflecting the presence of God (cf. Ex. 34:29–35).] Moses’ face had shown with the presence of God after encountering Him in and intimate way. And here we see Stephen reflecting that same glory that had been on the face of Moses; a glory that flowed from his intimacy with Jesus. And that shows that he was at one with God and even at one with Moses.

Now I don’t know what word you thought of when thinking about the central defining characteristic of your life. I kind of like “angel-face”; having a face that reflects the presence of Jesus. You know we talked last week a bit about waves. Most waves start off pretty small. They don’t become large right away. And a wave that might become a large wave will have no idea the significance it could have later down the road. But you know, that is the same with us. Stephen had the steady breath of God on blowing upon his life; and in later chapters (after his death) we will see the incredible impact of this simple man’s life; this simple man who was called to wait on tables but who ended up moving mountains. If you think God can’t do the same through you, you’re wrong. He can. All you need is to be full; to be full of faith, to be full of the Spirit, to be full of wisdom and grace, and in so doing you will be filled with the very power of God. Be full today.

Lechem Panim #148 "God Is Small” (Acts 6:8) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.

Hittin The Waves— You know, several months ago my family and I got to visit Cannon Beach in Oregon; one of our favorite places to go. Now the sun wasn’t out and the weather was a little chilly, but do you think that was going to stop our kids going into the cold water? No. They were determined to live out all that they had been looking forward to. And its fun collecting shells and dodging the waves. And the view of the waves crashing against Haystack rock is always breathtaking. And what’s also amazing is the drive we usually take from Cannon Beach to the Tillamook Factory; always my favorite place to go. But the drive there along the coast has some amazing views; at times you are very high up looking down at the ocean; and you can see not just the waves hitting the shore, but you can see them long before they reach the shore; slowly moving inwards towards land. And waves are funny things. [Waves on the ocean surface are usually formed by wind. When wind blows, it transfers the energy through friction. The faster the wind, the longer it blows, or the farther it can blow uninterrupted, the bigger the waves.] And those waves can grow tremendously by the time they reach shore. And perhaps the imagery of waves is most helpful when thinking about the rapid outward growth of early Christianity. The Holy Spirit came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and got the waters moving; and those ripples slowly began to move outwards and gain more and more strength. And by the time we reach Acts 5, we see just how big the wave has gotten; as the high priest says in verse 28…

Acts 5:28 (ESV)— 28…“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,…

A Rogue Wave— Wow! Filled all of Jerusalem?!!! That’s a pretty big wave. Remember back when Hurricane Dorian hit back in 2019? That was a pretty massive hurricane. Did you know that [hurricane Dorian…created a wave over 100 feet high in the northern Atlantic]? And even farther away from shore there are special waves that often form called “rogue waves”. And let me tell you, you don’t ever want to encounter a rogue wave. There are reports of rogue waves reaching 112 feet high; just imagine!!! And they [can be extremely unpredictable. To sailors, they look like walls of water. No one knows for sure what causes a rogue wave to appear, but some scientists think that they tend to form when different ocean swells reinforce one another.] Well, that is what the Church is experiencing. They have that initial ripple effect from Pentecost, but the Church is continuing to grow and the throngs of Christians are reinforcing one another like great ocean swells. And the Church is just like this massive rogue wave crashing through all the sin; all the darkness; all the brokenness; and is shaking the core of the establishment that had grown “comfortably numb” to spiritual things. And now the apex of the wave has reached such a height, look what it says in…

Acts 6:7 (ESV)— 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Converted Priests— Now, like we said before, [These were, of course, not the chief priests or members of the Sanhedrin, but a very large number of the rank and file priests who ministered in the temple.] [It has been estimated that there were eight thousand Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and “a great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!] Now that decision could cost them greatly, as it was an [obvious violation of the wishes of the high council that would endanger their position.] But it shows that the Gospel message had now gotten to the  point where it [had infiltrated the entire city and all levels of society.]

Stephen— Now in our passage last week, we saw the appointing of seven men who would wait on tables (dealing with the food and money distribution) so that the apostles could focus more on the ministry of the Word. And today we are introduced further to one of these Hellenist disciples. And he was a man by the name of Stephen, a man whose [ministry {mainly to Jews from Gentile lands} was the catalyst that catapulted the church out of Jerusalem into the rest of the world (8:1).]; the next major wave. And the way that he did ministry seems to have been very similar to that of Paul in that he boldly confronts the synagogues of foreign Jews there in Jerusalem, [possibly even entering them to debate their members (6:9). {And, as we will see later, in a similar way whenever Paul}…entered a new city to minister, …{he}… would habitually go first to a synagogue (17:2). {And as we will see in in the coming weeks,} Like Paul, Stephen encountered fierce opposition, even to the point of physical persecution (7:54–60; cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–25).] And we will see that (because of his faith) he would become the first Christian martyr.

Also Doing Miracles— Now I find it interesting that right after this man is chosen to “wait on tables” so that the apostles might minister, we find this man fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel. And not only that, but he’s also doing miracles; which is strange because up until this point in the book of Acts, it has only been the apostles who have performed miracles (Acts 2:43; 5:12). But we see here that God also empowered Stephen in this special way as well, as it says in…

Acts 6:8 (ESV)— 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

Everyone Is To Witness— Now the reason this is important for us to note is because often we can interpret the previous passage (in which we find men being chosen to wait on tables so that the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word) as meaning that we need to allow the pastors to do the evangelizing and witnessing and the super spiritual stuff and those who have other gifts can simply use the gifts they have been given. But no, we don’t see that here at all. Instead, what this passage reveals is that it doesn’t matter what your position is in the Church; ALL OF US are called to be witnesses. God can anoint you and use you just as much as He can use any one of His pastor-types. And here He chose this common man to be his instrument [to bear witness to the leaders of Israel. Stephen’s powerful testimony would be the climax of the church’s witness to the Jews. Then the message would go out to the Samaritans and then to the Gentiles.]

Describe Yourself— Now have you ever had a job interview before and the person interviewing you asked you to describe yourself; perhaps even in one word. One pastor, when being interviewed by a Church board, was asked that question. And he responded “condescending”. And then he said, “That’s when….you know….you talk down to people.” They all got a laugh out of that. Now hopefully that is not your word. But what IS your word? If those around you were to describe you in one word, what would it be? Are you an encourager; maybe you’re a inspirer; maybe you are a servant; maybe you’re an anchor for other people. What is your central defining characteristic?

"Fullness"— Well, for Stephen it was the word “full”. Over and over again we will see that he is described by this word “full”. Now what does it mean to be full? Well [In Scripture, to be “full of” means “to be controlled by.”] It’s what has you. And so let’s look at what the scripture says Stephen was full of; what controlled his life.

Full of Faith— First, we see that Stephen was totally controlled by faith; a faith he demonstrates in everything he does; whether waiting on tables or when sharing his faith. He is a man who seeks to live faithfully in every area of his life. Now when it comes to his faith, we are talking more than just a warm belief in something. No, keep in mind (like we talked about last week) the content of belief is just as important as the devotion to that belief. It is not enough to have courage in your convictions, you must be willing to examine your beliefs to make sure they are indeed true. And this is something that Stephen no doubt did; and in so doing he came to the conclusion that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And in his sermon that he gives before the Sanhedrin later in chapter 7, Stephen clearly explains how his faith is deeply rooted in the historical facts agreed upon and accepted by all his fellow Jews, as he walks them through the main tenets of Jewish history. And in that we see that he accepts both God’s sovereign control over that history (7:1-51); but also God’s sovereign control over his own individual life as well. He didn’t just know God had a plan for the Jewish people as a whole; but he also knew that God had a plan for him. And so he was willing to face anything (even death) knowing that God was in control (7:59-60).

God Is Small— Now let me ask you something. Do you find it easier to trust God with your eternal destiny than to to trust Him with the concerns of your everyday life? I don’t know; sometimes we think that God can handle all that future religious stuff (by which we mean heaven) but we often have a hard time trusting Him with the concerns of everyday life. What about that battle with cancer? What about that loss of a job? What about dealing with that child who might have special needs? Or that family member who is giving you grief? Sometimes we don’t struggle with believing that God is big enough. Sometimes we struggle to believe that God is small enough; small enough to enter through the doorways of our homes; or even the doorways of our hearts. I’m gonna sound like a heretic today, but I want to tell you that God is small. Is He big? Yes. We all know that. But He’s also small. Jesus was the embodiment of that; He was God made small enough to enter into our everyday world. And if we can wrap our minds around that, I think we will come to the starting point of faith; Jesus is not just the world’s Savior; He’s your Savior; He’s your Redeemer. And Stephen understood this. And because of that (no matter what he might face) Stephen could say right along with Paul “If we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). May you and I be able to say that as well. May God bless your week and may you experience all the fullness of faith in your own life. Amen.