Bread of His Presence

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.

Lechem Panim #147 "Learning To Delegate” (Acts 6:2-7) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.

The 1st Organizational Crisis— In chapter 6 of the book of Acts we have been taking a look at the beginning stages of the Early Church, which in this passage we see is  facing its first serious organizational crisis, as it is brought to the attention of the apostles that the needs of the Hellenist Jewish widows are being overlooked in the daily distribution. Due to the rapid growth of the Church, it was becoming harder and harder for the apostles to do all the work themselves; and so we see people beginning to slip through the cracks. And what is so admirable about the apostles is that they are smart enough to recognize that this way of doing ministry is simply not sustainable. They simply cannot handle the full weight of the ministry by themselves. And if the Church was going to remain stable and able to move on to the next stage of the Great Commission, moving out into Samaria and then beyond into the world and to the very ends of the earth, further planning and structuring would become necessary. And so it says in…

Acts 6:2 (ESV)— 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

Table— Now the word here for tables is “trapeza”, which is a Greek word that can mean the kind of table you eat at. But it can also mean “a table or counter of a money changer” or “money matters” (as we see in Matt. 21:12 when Jesus overturns the tables (the “trapeza”) of the moneychangers. But whether we are talking about serving food or dealing with the finances, the apostles recognized that performing these additional ministries themselves would take them away from their central calling, which was to devote themselves to prayer, preaching, teaching, and studying the Word of God. And so they demonstrate one of the rare gifts that any pastor of any successful church has mastered; and that is the ability to say “no”.

A Black Hole Man— You know, that is a word that I wish I had learned much earlier in my life; it would have save me and and my family a lot of pain. In fact, looking back, I wish that my college or seminary had offered a class called something like “100 Ways to Politely and Lovingly say ‘No’”; because when I first entered ministry, let me tell you, I was was like a black hole. I absorbed so many responsibilities, it was borderline insane. In fact, I don’t know how I survived into my 2nd year of ministry. Fresh out of seminary, I found myself preaching/teaching a bare minimum of three messages a week, each of which required a lot of sermon prep. And added onto that were preparations for our monthly men’s breakfast (during which I would share a devotional I had prepared) and also helping to lead worship at a monthly worship service at the local veterans home, during which I would also share another devotional. I was also leading a weekly prayer meeting, teaching the occasional Sunday school class, and (because our Church had no secretary) I absorbed all the secretarial responsibilities as well. And I remember one night at a board meeting the person doing our Church bulletins announced they no longer wanted to do them (it had become too much of a burden), and so I willingly stepped in on what I thought would be a temporary basis to take over that responsibility, but unfortunately never stopped. Now naturally, because it was a small church, I was also responsible for the pastoral home visitations and hospital visitations. But since most of our people wanted to go to the city for medical care (and hour and 15 minutes away), that meant 2 and 1/2 hrs travel time alone plus whatever time I spent there with the person. And what made matters worse is I did not even communicate with my leadership what I was doing and so they had no idea the tremendous load that I was carrying.
    Now thankfully I eventually did learn how to delegate, but it wasn’t natural for me at first because I thought it was wrong for me to say “no”. But it wasn’t. But there are many pastors (and people in general) whose lives and ministries are a constant burden to them simply because they haven’t experienced the liberation of that two-letter word “no”.

The Best “Yes”— And the reasons the apostles were restrictive of their time wasn’t because they were mean or because they didn’t want to help. It was because they recognized that in order for them to say their best “yes” to the things God had appointed them to do, they had to say “no” to a lot of other things that were not God’s will for them do to themselves. They knew where their priorities lay and decided (together) that they were not going to allow anything, however pressing, to distract them from those duties. And so they propose a solution. They say in…

Acts 6:3-4 (ESV)— 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Did The Apostles Err?— Now there’s a mighty man of God I look up to in so many ways. And the insights he draws from the text are both very good and very applicable. But he has made the point on a number of occasions, saying that this decision of the apostles was not a good one because in their devotion to the Word they were neglecting to live out the Word in people’s lives in and through compassionate ministry. They had turned away from a key element of what it means to be a Christian and passed it off to somebody else, wrongly elevating the ministry of the Word over tasks that they thought were beneath them. But that viewpoint is wrong for a number of reasons. First, there is no evidence to suggest that the apostles were completely giving up the meeting of people’s physical needs themselves. They no doubt continued to wait on the occasional table (whatever that might look like) now and again. No, what we are are talking about here comes down to the nature of our specific callings. I agree with my friend that we are all to be involved in compassionate ministry. However, while we are all called to help to meet the physical needs of people to some degree, what we are talking about here is the importance of defining what a person’s central role in the Church is to be. Because the person who tries to do everything, will do none of it very well. That is why Paul says in…

Romans 12:4-8 (ESV)— 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

So while we may wear the occasion extra hat when needed (as is typical and needed in a small church), the goal must always be not to try to be the whole body of Christ yourself, but to be the best ear; the best toe; or the best mouth you can be. Because you try to be a toe AND a mouth; that’s just nasty. It tastes funny, if you know what I mean. But you know, it’s interesting…

No Mowing— I have a friend who, when he was being interviewed for a pastoral position at a church, was asked whether or not he would help keep up the Church grounds. And he said, “No.” And the board was shocked at first. And he said, “First of all, let me tell you. I can do that. But YOU don’t want me doing that. There are other areas you are going to want me to focus on.” And he was right. There were plenty of people in that church who could do it and (after the church hired him) those people did step up and found their place in the ministry of the Church. Now I admire his courage to help lead that church into a better way of doing things. Delegation is key; because my pastor friend was not the one God had called to do that job. And he didn’t want to rob someone else of their opportunity to follow God in serving in that capacity, which would also result in my friend having less time to devote himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word, which is a pastor’s central role. And that is why one of the key roles of a pastor is to recognize the gifts and abilities of others and help them to use them for God’s glory; and that includes connecting their gifts with the Church. Because if you don’t, you hurt the Church and you hurt the people who are receiving your services; because you’re not the one whom God has chosen for that. You may not be the best-equipped person in your Church for that or (as is often the case) you may be wearing too many hats to do all these services as well as they could be done by individuals who can make them their primary focus. But worst of all, you may be hurting the other Church members because you are denying them a means through which they can use and express the gifts that God has given them. And those churches that don’t delegate well simply do not grow. It’s as simple as that. And while a church may survive for some time like that, it (and the pastor) will be severely unhealthy and crippled. This is what Moses himself had to discover after leading God’s people out of Egypt. He quickly felt the weight of trying to do everything himself. And thankfully, he had a father-in-law who had the courage to confront him about it and say, “what you are doing is wrong.” And then he taught him how to delegate. And being the humble, teachable man that he was, Moses listened to his father-in-law and delegated; and the problem was fixed. But this is the Biblical pattern (Ex. 18:17-23). And what’s significant is that the early Church recognized this and accepted it unanimously. It says in…

Acts 6:5-6 (ESV)— 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

All Greek— Now notice two things. First, how many were there? Seven. And seven is God’s number; it symbolizes completeness and perfection. But notice something else; something about the names themselves. Does anything stand out to you about those names? Which of those names are Jewish? None. None of them are Jewish. All seven bore Greek names. So what group of people were these men most likely a part of? The Hellenists. Now that is important because in that we see demonstrated the love and unity of the Church. Because remember it was the Hellenists who felt they were feeling neglected. And so the Church appointed seven of the Hellenists themselves to oversee them. They chose people who would be the most in tune with their needs and who were most qualified to be a voice on their behalf. And it was that loving act that probably held the Church together when it so easily could have split apart. And so Satan’s 3rd strategy (his strategy of dissension) failed, because the Church was willing to come together rather than be driven apart; to restructure around what God was doing, and to (following the Holy Spirit) choose those best equipped for that ministry.

The Closing: God’s Confirmation Blessing— Now up until this point Luke has closed each major section of the book of Acts with a description of the growth of the Church. And this has been a way of Luke’s highlighting God’s backing and approval of the way the apostles were leading. God had no problems confronting sin in the Church and bringing it to light, as He did with Ananias and Sapphira. And if the apostles sinned or erred on this matter, God would no doubt have confronted them about it as well. Yet instead we find again a description of the blessing of God. It says…

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 don’t miss this. It says a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. [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.] In fact [It has been estimated that there were eight thousand Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and {so it is more than just some nice little bit of icing on the cake; this is a big piece of the cake. According to this} “a great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!] It’s amazing what God can do through a Church that is flexible and malleable in His hands; a Church that knows how to delegate. And remember, flexible churches are always filled with flexible people; with moldable, shapeable individuals. And so I want to challenge you today to be shapeable in the hands of God. Be willing to adjust to the needs of those around you. And if you have a gift that God is calling you to use, give that gift to Him today. Let’s commit to do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #146 "Growing Pains” (Acts 6:1) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.

Models of Growth— Being a pastor for close to a decade, I have read a lot about church growth; the different kinds of growth, what healthy growth looks like, how it happens, etc. And one of the things that any church growth book worth its salt will tell you is that there is a difference between the organizational structure of a small church and that of a large church. And though an organizational model may have worked out great when a church first started out, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to be the best model moving forward. For instance, in every church I have pastored I have always been the primary source of pastoral care. I have been the one to visit people in hospitals, to visit them in their homes; to serve them communion; to perform all the funerals and those kinds of things. And that’s fine when your church is small. But let’s say a church grows to 200, 300 or more people. That pastor better not be the only source of pastoral care for that congregation because 1st) There’s too many people for him to be able to give quality care to, 2nd) It’s going to take away time from his sermon preparation and prayer time, 3rd) It’s going to rob his family of his time, and 4th) He’s eventually going to get burned out and probably leave that ministry. Churches must change as growth takes place if they are going to remain stable and effective.

Growing Pains— Now in today’s passage here in Acts chapter 6 we see that the Early Church is starting to face problems. And this wasn’t a bad thing. I don’t know if when you were young you ever experienced growing pains or not; l know I did. My bones would just ache for no apparent reason. It often happens when you are just growing really fast. My son now has the same thing going on in his body. But that isn’t bad pain; it’s good pain. And you are always stronger and more physically mature on the other side of it. Well, the same was true here of the Church in Acts 6. You have thousands upon thousands of people coming to faith in Christ, joining the Church; and (as with any organization) the system which worked fine when the organization was smaller didn’t scale up. Remember the Church is growing at an incredible rate. Early on they were able to keep track of the number of converts (2:41) and members (4:4). But even then those figures only represent the men. And now the Church has grown beyond count. According to some estimates, it was probably around 20,000 at this point. And so the apostles were finding it increasingly difficult to minister to everybody. The old structure wasn’t working. And so it is no surprise that it says in…

Acts 6:1 (ESV)— 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

Satan’s New Strategy— Now up until this point there had been many ways that Satan had sought to cripple Christ’s Church. In 4:1-31 and 5:17-41) he had tried persecution. But that only caused the Church to grow faster; because they responded to that persecution in the right way. Next Satan (in 5:1-11) tried to introduce sin into the body of Christ in and through Ananias and Sapphira. But the Church immediately (with the God’s full backing) dealt with that sin. And so now Satan tries a third tactic: dissension.

The Two Battleships— There’s a story of two battleships that met in the night and began to attack each other. In the conflict, a number of crewmen were severely wounded, and both vessels were damaged. As daylight broke, the sailors on the ships discovered to their amazement that both vessels flew the English flag. Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are on the same team, even when we might not see eye to eye. And Satan can often use the smallest of issues (like the one in this passage) to divide the Church. And so was the threat in our passage today.

The Hellenist Widows Overlooked— Because the issue here in this passage had the potential to create a LOT of division in the Church. That word used to describe the first group of people is “Hellenists”; and here that term is referring to Greek-speaking Jews from other nations who had come to Palestine. Now the second description (the description “Hebrews”) here is referring specifically to the residents of Palestine; and they could speak both Aramaic and Greek and often Hebrew. But most of these Jews from outside may not have been able to speak Aramaic or Hebrew. And they used the Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) rather than the Hebrew Scriptures. Now they had remained loyal to Judaism, but at the same time they had absorbed some of their surrounding Greek culture. And that made them suspect to the Palestinian Jews, especially the Pharisees. But they were a minority in the church, which helps explain why their needs were overlooked.

Care For Widows— Now care for widows was a traditional part of Jewish society; clear instructions for their care being given in numerous places in the book of Deuteronomy. God cares about widows, which is why He made sure the Law laid out specific guidelines for their care. And because at this point Christianity was mainly a Jewish phenomenon, this by default carried over into the early Church. Paul (in 1 Timothy 5:33ff) clearly defines care for widows as being one of the chief responsibilities of the Church.

Meeting God Where He’s Working— And so the Church had to deal with this problem of the Hellenist widows being overlooked in the daily distribution (which was an outflow of what you remember happened in Acts 4:32, where we saw how the Church came together to pool their resources to help any that were in need. Now if a Church is Biblical, it will align itself with what the Holy Spirit is already doing. It meets God where He is at rather than trying to pull Him into their own organization and structure. Does that make sense? And God is interested in the needs of people; every need, no matter what it is. And so the TRUE Church is always characterized by a willingness to respond to the needs of people. That’s why most of our hospitals have names like St. Mary’s or St. John’s or names like that; because people who are truly awakened by Christ are awakened to the needs of the world and have in their hearts an awakening of love that drives them to meet those needs. Now hospitals have structure, but it is structured in accordance with the needs of people; or at least it ought to be. The same with the Church. The needs of people ought not to conform to the structure of the Church. The structure of the Church needs to conform to the needs of people.

A School’s Flexibility— One of the things that impressed us about our kids’ school was how quickly they adjusted when Covid-19 hit. I mean they didn’t even miss a beat. They recognized the needs of the children for an unbroken education experience and immediately switched to an online format that honestly (even at its early stages) was very solid. But it’s no coincidence that the school was born out of and is an intimate part of a thriving Church. The Church is thriving because of its adaptability to the needs of people; and therefore so was the school.

Our Flexibility During Covid— And similarly, those Churches that are doing the best during these Covid times are not those who have said “We are either going to meet in person or not at all”, but rather those that immediately recognized that the needs of people were going to change very dramatically because of this epidemic and were willing to adjust the way they did church in order to meet those needs. Now I’m happy to say that our church was one of those churches. Right off the bat we had online giving up and running; our worship went online; our messages went online; our website was upgraded. And though we had to make some tough decisions as a leadership team, we made them and not only did we maintain, but we even grew our numbers during that time. And that has been the experience even of churches that were willing to just make bare minimum changes. Our leadership here at Renton Park Chapel didn’t see Covid as just something to get through; no, we saw it as God’s means of doing something new in His Church. And because we strived to bring ourselves alongside what God was doing (and is still doing), He saw fit to bless us. And that has been the experience of many churches.

Our Individual Flexibility— Now what is true of the Church as a whole is also true of the individual. The people who make the best church members, the best parents, the best friends, the best employees, the best co-workers are those men and women who are malleable and shapable in God’s hands; who can take a hit without floundering and who are able to stand firm even when things get messy.

The Flexible Church— And Churches that are going to be most effective at reaching the lost are those that are filled with people who are flexible. Because let me tell you; lost people are not always pleasant to be around. They may not act nice, look nice, or smell nice. And they will often drag all their brokenness and baggage right into the Church.

The Drunk Visitor— I remember a number of years ago a man came into the church I was pastoring at that time drunk. He hadn’t bathed in who knows how long and he smelled to high heaven. But he came and sat in the back pew. And it was not a pleasant experience to be around him. And you know how it is when an outsider like that comes; people are somewhat disturbed. And it is disturbing and disrupting when somebody like that comes; because we want our services to be nice and neat and distraction-free. And sometimes we just don’t know what to do. And we may wonder, “Why’s that guy here?” But you know why this man had come? He had come because his mother had just died (in fact I had just done her funeral) and he wanted to visit his mom’s church. Now I was proud of how the congregation responded. Yeah there were some who turned their nose up; there’s most often a couple of those in any church. But most were willing to pray for this man and come alongside of him in his grief. And you know that’s the kind of Church that God can honor.

The Central Mission— What we find with Jesus and will see with the disciples here in this passage is that the mission is always the focus; never deviating from the task of meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the lost. And so let us not deviate. Let us also keep Christ and His mission central. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #145 "Before the Sanhedrin” (Acts 5:34-42) 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 signs and wonders being performed through the apostles, particularly in chapter 5. And these signs evoke a positive response from most of the people of Jerusalem, who are excited to see what God is doing through them; and yet the religious leaders are not so enthused, and have them arrested and thrown into jail. But amazingly, an angel delivers them and tells them to right back to preaching, which they do. And when the religious leaders find out, they have the apostles brought before the high religious court of the land known as the Sanhedrin, which interestingly was the very group of religious leaders who had had a hand in crucifying Jesus. And now these apostles, who are following in the footsteps of Jesus are seen by these religious leaders as a threat; and so they tell them to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus. But the apostles verbally commit to obey God rather than men; at least at this point where the command of these authorities goes explicitly against Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations. And Peter shares with them the Gospel message, during which he also indicts them with the crime of having killed the Savior. And this accusation invokes an immediate, furious response from the Jewish leaders, who suddenly begin plotting to kill them. But before things turn really ugly, someone intervenes. It says…

Acts 5:34 (ESV)— 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.

Gamaliel— Now this teacher of the law named Gamaliel is actually a pretty famous guy. [He was easily the most prominent rabbi of that time and one of the greatest of all antiquity. He was the grandson of another prominent rabbi, Hillel, and his successor as leader of the liberal wing of the Pharisees. Gamaliel was one of the few honored with the title rabban, instead of the usual title “rabbi”…. How highly he was respected by all the people may be seen in the following quotation from the Mishna: “When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the Law ceased and purity and abstinence died”…. {So he was a pretty important guy. And of course} His most famous student was the apostle Paul (Acts 22:3).] And so this guy who is deeply revered by the Jewish people stands up, orders the apostles be put out of the room, and then it says…

Acts 5:35-39 (ESV)— 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,

Just Another Rebel?— Now the fact [That the Sadducees {(who made up most of the Sanhedrin)} would heed the words of a Pharisee shows how distinguished a man Gamaliel was.] But when we look closely, we find that although Gamaliel was supposed to be this great Jewish thinker, the advice he gives is actually very bad. Now God uses that bad advice for the apostles’ benefit, but the advice itself is horrible. Now he’s trying to be the cool head in all of this, but he is also trying to sit on both sides of the fence. And you just can’t do that with Jesus. Jesus is somebody you cannot be neutral about. Now to start off with, Gamaliel classifies Jesus and the apostles as just another group of false prophets, like two of the recent rebels in Israel’s recent history; Theudas and Judas). The problem is that these two guys (whom we don’t know that much about) were unlike Jesus and the apostles in just about every respect; primarily in that they never did any of the miraculous things that Jesus and the apostles did. They didn’t heal everyone of every disease and neither of them ever rose from the dead. In fact, the fact that Theudas and Judas died (and remained dead) is the crux of Gamaliel’s argument. And so even at that point alone Gamaliel’s argument falls flat on it’s face; and it shows that he (like the Sanhedrin) had already chosen to reject the evidence before them; the evidence of the empty tomb and the evidence of the signs being worked by the Holy Spirit through the apostles.

Will It Just Dissipate?— Now Gamaliel continues, saying that just as these particular heretical movements fell apart, so will this one if it is not of God. Now that is another faulty statement because there are plenty of things that DO succeed that are not of God. Just take a look at the many false religions and cults in the world today. And many of them spread (by Satan’s power) at an alarming rate; often faster than the Church. It’s as Mark Twain said: “a lie runs around the world while truth is still putting on her shoes.” And that’s true. Now will God be victorious in the end? Of course, but in the meantime multitudes of people can be led astray. And so Gamaliel’s advice is for them to just wait and see when he really should have been calling them to action. What he should have done was call for the Sanhedrin to follow him in examining the evidence thoroughly and honestly. But instead he just adopts this whole “lets just see how this all plays out” kind of position. Now there are some issues you can remain neutral on; but there are others that require you to take a stand; to make a choice. And this was the time to stand. And yet Gamaliel chooses to play it safe and ends up missing out on salvation because He didn’t make a choice about Jesus. Now for whatever reason his advice seems reasonable to the Sanhedrin, and so it says…

Acts 5:39b-40 (ESV)— So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Beaten— Now the word “beat” here refers to the [beating of forty lashes, less one to avoid violating the legal limit (Deut. 25:3).] And it is important to note that [The flogging was {itself} criminally unjust and {was} done to frighten them…. {But} Apparently Gamaliel had no problem with the whipping, again revealing his {passive} indifference.] But it says…

Acts 5:41-42 (ESV)— 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

The State of Evangelism— Not long ago my father sent me some disturbing statistics on evangelism in the modern Church. They read: 99% of believers hold that ALL Christians are commanded to evangelize...and yet only 5% have ever won anyone to Christ! Only 2% are active in evangelism! 80% never share their faith! 49% of leaders never minister outside church! 63% haven't evangelized in the last 2 years. Yet amazingly, 96% believe churches would grow faster if ALL Christians were more involved in evangelism.

“Little Faith”— Now when we see this we ask, “Why is that?” Especially seeing as the men and women in the early Church had "boldness" to share the Gospel, it raises the question of what is missing in our day and age. Is it a belief problem? Is it a love problem? If having the mind of Christ means to be truly evangelical in our thinking and the way we live our lives, do we REALLY have the mind of Christ? It’s interesting, when I asked my dad about this, he said that (for the most part) it is a faith issue. He pointed out that all 5 times Jesus uses the word oligópistoi (ὀλιγόπιστοι)—meaning "little-faith"—He’s chastising the 12 disciples for not actually following His teachings. Bible dictionaries define the word as “dull to hearing the Lord's voice; disinterested in walking intimately with Him;” or “trusting too little!” And he said there are too many oligópistoi/cheap grace {disciples} today; not enough radical disciples who understand a costly grace. And you know, I think he’s right. These apostles knew what grace and salvation had costed God. They had just witnessed it first-hand on the cross. And that empowered them to live lives of radical self-sacrifice in their quest to make disciples of all nations.

An Honest Confession— Just recently I read a true account about something that happened in a particular church’s board meeting. And the board members [were listening to the pastor talk about evangelism. He shared from his heart about lost souls and caring for our neighbors. {But} One board member interrupted with something raw, real, and straight from his heart. {And} The essence {of what he said} was, “I don’t really care about my neighbors, at least not enough to move me to action, but I want to.” {And you know, I think} What an incredibly honest statement. {And if we’re honest, would we say the same thing? Now you’d think that would kind of kill the mood of the board meeting right there. But what actually happened is that} The board member’s candid and courageous admission broke him right in that moment. He had been praying that God would give him a heart of genuine love and concern, and that night, God answered his prayer. {Now} That {kind of} honesty and authenticity {is contagious; and it} caught fire among other board members, and then among leaders of the church. {And what ended up happening was} A movement swept across the church resulting in tremendous outreach, evangelism, and hundreds saying yes to Jesus. {How amazing it is that} God used a business executive who wasn’t sure he cared about his neighbors to start a revival in a local church.
    {Now this offers hope to you and to me. As the author I was reading pointed out:} If you don’t love others like you want to or feel you should, God can teach you to get there through his Word and prompts from the Holy Spirit. If you don’t care about others as deeply as you want to, God will place that emotion within you if you ask him.]

From Obstacles to Living Sacrifices— Now (looking back) we don’t know what the disciples prayed in Acts chapter 1 as they awaited the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. But what we do know is this. Before Pentecost they had little to no compassion on the lost. They were more obstacles to people coming to Jesus than anything else; and were rather focused on who was going to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when He came into His kingdom; not on carrying the cross of Christ into the dark places of the world and being (as Romans 12:1 says) living sacrifices. And yet here we find that not only has God changed their hearts and given them a brokenness for the lost (as Christ Himself had) but that brokenness is so strong, that nothing (not even the ruling authorities of the land who had killed their Messiah) could stand in their way. And similarly, you and I are called to have that same boldness driven by that same brokenness for the lost. But that brokenness will never come until we also have our own personal Pentecosts; until we allow the Holy Spirit to create in us a perfect love of God that will translate into a perfect love of our neighbors. And so let us ask God to create in us that perfect love today. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #144 "The Crisis Men” (Acts 5:27-33) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. As you know, we are in the season of Lent, which is a time for us to seek the Lord in repentance from any and all sin and (especially as we approach Good Friday in the coming weeks) to reflect in a special way upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ. And I love one of the songs we tend to sing during this time: How Deep The Father’s Love For Us, which is a beautiful song that talks in a very moving and powerful way about the sufferings of Jesus Christ. But what I love about the song is that it doesn’t allow us to remain passive as we remember Christ’s death and suffering. The most memorable lines in the song read:

Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

We’re Complicit— One of the things this song reminds us of is the fact that all of us have be complicit in the death of Jesus Christ; because (as Romans 3:23 says) all of us have sinned and therefore fall short of the glory of God; and all of us are therefore in need of a Savior. And in the book of Acts we see very early on a reckoning; people having to face the reality that they killed their Messiah. Peter and the apostles don’t hold back on this accusation, which they keep making it again and again; they don’t try to brush over what the people of God did to their Messiah; they don’t rush to the empty tomb and the resurrection so they can simply focus on the forgiveness of God made available to them in Jesus. No, there is a process. Just like us, the people first have to come to terms with their own personal sin and therefore their need of a Savior. Now the religious leaders have at this point in our study of Acts chapter 5 seized the apostles and thrown them into the public jail. But remember God sends an angel to set them free; and the angel tells them to go right back where they were arrested from and to continue to preach the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. And so they do. And when the Jewish leaders sent to have them brought, the jail is found empty, and then they of course hear that the apostles have gone right back to preaching; and so they have them brought (though not by force, for fear of the people; who are now standing is support of the apostles) and it says in…

Acts 5:27-28 (ESV)— 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

“you intend”— Now notice how the High Priest says to the apostles: “…you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

Did He Forget?— You see, the High Priest doesn’t want to accept the guilt of having killed the Messiah. Now this is so important, because we have to remember back to what the High Priest had said along with the rest of the Jewish people to Pilate back in…

Matthew 27:25 (ESV)— 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

Bloodguilt— Isn’t it interesting how quickly the Jewish leaders are now trying to distance themselves from Jesus and what they did to Him? They had freely accepted His blood upon them. But now the High Priest recognizes the full weight of what that would mean if the people accepted that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And so he and the rest of the Jewish leaders feign innocence. But what is so remarkable about this “trial” is that as it progresses, the apostles become the judges and the council becomes the accused. The council wants them to be silent, but it says in…

Acts 5:29-32 (ESV)— 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Accusing Testimony— Now this testimony of Peter is so powerful for a number of reasons. First of all (once again) he is insisting that they must obey God rather than men. To be in alignment with God was to be at odds with the Sanhedrin. Now this was a very gutsy thing to say, because he was basically saying that the Sanhedrin had set themselves against God Himself and God was in fact working against them, not with them. And Peter highlights this in his pointing out how God raised Jesus from the dead despite their having killed Him by hanging him on a tree, which was a bad enough way for anyone to die, as it was associated with being accursed of God. But the Sanhedrin had done this not just to anyone, but to their Messiah! And the word Peter here uses that we translate “you killed” (Diacheirizō) appears only here and in Acts 26:21; and it actually means “to put to death with one’s own hands.” And so Peter is far from backing off here. No, he is intensifying the accusation. [He had previously charged the Jewish authorities with responsibility for Jesus’ death (2:23–24, 36; 3:13–15; 4:10). {But} Now he insists they are as guilty as if they had killed Him with their own hands.] And in the most shameful way possible. And yet despite that, God raised Jesus from the dead (cf. 2:23–24, 36; 3:13–15; 4:10) and lifted Him out of the shame to which they had subjected Him. Now when the Jewish leaders hear Peter’s accusation, they are livid. It says…

Acts 5:33 (ESV)— 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

Cut In Two— And that word “enraged” in the original Greek literally refers to the cutting of something in two. But what is being cut? Well, they are!  Remember what it says in…

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)— 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Deep Down— Well here the Jewish leaders are being convicted; yet instead of embracing the repentance Peter is calling them to, coming to grips with their sin and humbling themselves before God and seeking forgiveness, they choose to harden their hearts and treat the apostles (despite the evidence of the signs that proved otherwise) as blasphemers. And what this says to us is that whenever we share the Gospel, there will always be the possibility that the person we are sharing the Gospel with will reject us. And that’s people don’t typically like to be told that they are sinful; and that’s because most people have been raised on the philosophy that deep down inside all of us are basically good; and all we need to do to change society and become better people is to tap into our inner goodness. But that is not what the Bible says. What the Bible reveals is that that deep down all of us are sinful; full of sin. That’s what the word “sinful” means. Apart from the goodness shed abroad in our hearts by the mercy and grace of God, we are completely and utterly depraved. And the cross is the ultimate picture of that. No matter how good we think we are, we all have been bad enough so as to warrant the death of the Son of God. And until we come to recognize that for ourselves and also communicate that faithfully to others, we (and they) will never fully understand the grace and forgiveness of God. And that’s because we have to recognize we are sick before we will then be willing to accept the cure. And that’s Peter’s point. He isn’t interested in just making the people and the Jewish leaders feel bad, but wants them to go through the process through which they can come to repentance and embrace Jesus for who He truly is and the fullness of what He has done for them. And similarly with us, our Easter celebrations are made all the more meaningful when we allow ourselves to go through our own Lenten and Good Friday seasons; when we examine ourselves and freely confess to God our own personal sins and the part that each of us had to play in the death of His son. We grow downwards in order to experience the hand of God lifting us up, raising us unto new life as we participate in the resurrection of Jesus.

​Crisis Men— Now one more thing needs to be said about the apostles in this passage; and that is that they were crisis men. What do I mean by that? I mean that they were men whose lives and message forced those around them to make a decision.

[JIM ELLIOT’S PRAYER— {One great hero of the Christian faith was a man by the name of Jim Elliot.} Jim Elliot was one of the martyred missionaries {killed by the Auca tribe back} in 1956. He was a passionate Christian who journaled many of his thoughts and prayers. One such entry addressed his concern about impact. {Listen to what He wrote.} He wrote, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” His impact continues on even though he died over sixty-five years ago at the age of twenty-nine.] All of these apostles were crisis men. They were forks in the road. You could not encounter them and simply go on your way. No, people had to make a decision regarding Jesus after facing them. And you know, that is how it is supposed to be with you and I as well. We are to be crisis men and women in the lives of others; men and women who cause people (after encountering us) to have to make a decision about Jesus Christ. And so let us commit today in a special way to be those crisis people in the lives of others.

Closing Prayer— Dear heavenly Father, we want to thank you today for the gift of your Son Jesus, who died on our behalf to take away the sins of the world. Help us never to forget the power of the sacrifice made on our behalf; and let us be faithful to share the good news of that sacrifice with the world. And let us, Lord, be crisis people, who through our message of Your love and forgiveness, might draw others into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s in His name we pray, Amen.

Lechem Panim #143 "The Name That Matters” (Acts 5:21-28) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. You will remember that last week in our study of Acts chapter 5 we talked about the arrest and imprisonment of the apostles by the Sanhedrin, who were upset that they were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. But that night an angel came and set them free; and he told them to go right to the place where they were arrested and to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which he calls all the words of this Life. And that’s because the Good News of the Gospel is that though we were spiritually dead, Jesus Christ came into our world to give us abundant and eternal life (cf. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). And (without hesitation or fear; and with a courage empowered by the Holy Spirit) it says in…

Acts 5:21a (ESV)— 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

Right Back To It— So [Before the Sadducees were even aware that they had been released they were back preaching.] And it says…

Acts 5:21b (ESV)— Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Before The Sanhedrin— Now “council” and “senate” are both referring to the high Jewish court of the land known as the Sanhedrin. This was the court that Peter and John had just appeared before and was the very court that was responsible for the death of Jesus, which Peter will highlight. But they send for the apostles to have them brought in order to stand trial. However, there’s a problem. It says…

Acts 5:22-23 (ESV)— 22 But when the officers {(meaning Levites of the temple police)} came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”

They’re Gone!!!— In other words: [Everything was as it should have been with one exception—the prisoners were gone!])} Now can [you imagine the surprised looks on the faces of the guards when they discovered that their most important prisoners were gone.]? But even more so the religious leaders! It says…

Acts 5:24 (ESV)— 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

Greatly Perplexed— I mean [Here they were trying to stop the miracles, but their actions only multiplied the miracles!] Up until this point they had been besides themselves trying to figure out how to stop this new movement that was spreading so rapidly. And it was becoming quickly apparent to them (and to everyone) that their efforts were proving futile, which caused them great alarm. And the reason that they were so alarmed was that the apostles were openly defying their authority and proclaiming what was to them a heretical doctrine (a resurrection, which would have been bad enough; but a resurrection of one of the men they had killed; and not only that, BUT THE MESSIAH!!!). So at every point the apostles were undermining their credibility. And even though the signs that were being performed through the apostles were powerful confirmations that God stood with and was working through the apostles (and were drawing people from all over Jerusalem and the surrounding regions), the Sanhedrin seem resolute in their decision to ignore the signs entirely, as we see they will do here as well. Now when they hear of the apostles’ escape, they are really at their wits end as to what to do. What could have happened to the men they had securely locked away? But then their ruminations are interrupted by some very unexpected news. It says…

Acts 5:25 (ESV)—25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

Open Defiance— Now this compounded the problem because (once again) it was an open defiance of the authority of the Sanhedrin. [Had the apostles gone into hiding after their escape it would have been bad enough. That they had the audacity to go right back into the temple and resume preaching was the ultimate act of insolence.] And so these religious leaders take immediate action. It says in…

Acts 5:26 (ESV)— 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Proceeding Cautiously— Now they no doubt wanted to take extreme measures to quell this rebellion, but found that they could not lest they themselves be stoned by the people. And that just shows the level of support from the people; that the people were so convinced that God stood with the apostles that they would even be willing to stone the High Priest if he should lay hands on them; I mean that in itself is incredible. And so the religious leaders proceed with extreme caution. Now another reason the Sanhedrin found it difficult to move against the apostles more strongly was that although the apostles were defying their orders, they were not resisting arrest; neither had Peter and John. Even in the midst of their civil disobedience they are modeling respect and submission. And that’s because their goal is not to defy the Sanhedrin; but to obey God. And so they comply with the Sanhedrin as much as they can on those points that are not in conflict with what God has told them to do. And that is an important point to distinguish. We can practice civil disobedience without displaying a universal rejection of all we are being asked to do. We ought only to disobey at those points that are in conflict with what God has told us to do or not to do. And in doing so we can still demonstrate a Christ-like submission. So the apostles (in that submission) are brought. And the stage is set for the apostles’ second sermon before the Sanhedrin. It says…

Acts 5:27-28 (ESV)— 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

2 Indictments— Now the high priest here opens the proceedings by giving the first indictment against the apostles; and that was that (in spite of the Sanhedrin’s having given them strict orders not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, the apostles had instead proceeded to fill all of Jerusalem with their teaching. They had defied the court, which was true. And then he proceeds with the second indictment. And that was that the apostles were trying to bring this man’s blood upon them. And that was true as well. [Peter and the rest had boldly indicted the Jewish leaders for their role in Jesus’ death (cf. 2:23, 36; 3:15; 4:10–11).] And rightfully so. The Jewish leaders had been the ones who instigated and led the crowd to cry out for the death of Jesus.

You have filled Jerusalem— Now this opening rebuke by the high priest is fascinating. Because even though it is a hateful indictment against them, it reveals that in the midst of all of this the Church has already evangelized the entire city of Jerusalem. He says you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,; quite an amazing admission when you think about it. Even the wrath of the Sanhedrin was being used to bring praise to God (Ps. 76:10).

Doesn’t Mention The Escape— Now the reason that people are coming to faith in Jesus is because of the signs and wonders being performed through the apostles, who are healing all who come to them with various sickness, diseases, and evil spirits. And this last sign (their being released from prison by an angel) is a mighty climax to all that the disciples have been doing up until this point. Yet, as we talked about last week, any mention of the apostles’ escape from prison is conspicuously absent from the High Priest’s address. And this was because the Sadducees could not explain it while at the same time maintaining their pre-conceived worldview and belief system (which rejected belief in a resurrection, an afterlife, and angels). And so, because they had already made their minds up, they didn’t want to be confused with the facts, so to speak. So they just simply choose to ignore the miracle entirely, just as they had done with the crippled beggar whom Peter and John healed.

No Name— Now notice that also absent in the High Priest’s address is the name of Jesus. Nowhere is the name of Jesus mentioned by the High Priest. He won’t do it. He uses the phrases “this name” and “this man’s blood”, but he is careful not to defile his own lips by speaking the name of Jesus. And there is also some strategy in this. You start mentioning somebody by name, it personalizes them. They aren’t “the criminal” or the “heretic”; he doesn’t say Rabbi Yeshua Ben Joseph of Nazareth; the one in whose name people found physical and spiritual healing; the one who left behind a grieving mother. The High Priest is very careful to keep Jesus nameless. It is a subtle way of de-valuing and de-personalizing Jesus while at the same time distancing himself from Him. But you know what is so fascinating is that here in Luke’s account the high priest himself is not named in the passage. Notice that? Luke (I think very intentionally) leaves his name out, emphasizing that while the High Priest may choose to forget the name of his Messiah (Jesus), the only name that really counts at all is the name of Jesus; the very name the High Priest would not mention. Do you know that we don’t even know who Luke is referring to in this passage by that title. It could be either Caiaphas or Annas; both were going by that title during this time. And so we don’t know who is even speaking here. But you know, I think that’s intentional. This past Wednesday in my personal devotions I studied carefully Proverbs 10. And I came across this phrase in…

Proverbs 10:7 (ESV)— 7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Remember His Name— Let me ask you something before we close today. How many of you know (or even heard of) anyone else named Annas or Caiaphas? I bet you can’t name one. But you know what, I bet every one of you listening today could name a handful of men named John and Peter. You know what I see in that? A fulfillment of Proverbs 10:7. And what that says to us is that if we are willing to stand with Jesus; to remember His name in the midst of a culture that is desperate to forget it, we will be blessed; and more than that, we will be a blessing to the world. Let us remember (always) to proclaim His name. Amen.

Lechem Panim #142 "The Greatest Escape Act” (Acts 5:12-21) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. I’d like to start out today by reading the opening of the passage we will be discussing today; and that’s…

Acts 5:12-16 (ESV)— 12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Signs, Wonders, & The Gospel— Now in this passage we see that signs and wonders are being performed through the hands of the apostles, as everyone who came to them with all sorts of diseases and illnesses were healed. And this wasn’t just for the people of Jerusalem. [Additional people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed. This is the first record of the church’s influence spreading beyond Jerusalem. They were beginning to fulfill the Lord’s charge to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem but also “in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).] And this was glorious to see. The worst conditions imaginable were leaving the people by the hands of the apostles. And this demonstrated not just that God’s power was at work through them, but also that God was authenticating by these glorious displays of His power the name they were proclaiming; the name of Jesus, the one whom the people had crucified. And we see that it is that element of their ministry (the central element; the message of the Gospel) that causes such a strong reaction against them from the Jewish leaders; particularly the Sadducees. It says in…

Acts 5:17-18 (ESV)— 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

Satan’s Counterattack— Now anytime the Gospel is preached, Satan will always launch a counterattack of persecution. And as difficult a reality as that is, it simply goes with the territory. Jesus Himself had said in…

Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)— 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. {(By the way, it’s interesting He says “when”, not “if”. If we follow Christ, persecution is going to happen. But Jesus says in the midst of that persecution:)} 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Opposition from The Sadducees— And so it is no surprise, then, that those in power respond to this dynamic moving of the hand of God is a wave of opposition. And that wave comes mostly from the Sadducees. [While the Pharisees led the opposition to Jesus in the gospels, the Sadducees were the chief opponents of the early church.] And they are in opposition to the Church for three reasons. First, because Peter and John had not submitted to their authority in that they continued to preach and teach the Gospel. So they were (in the minds of the Sadducees) in open rebellion. But secondly, what they were teaching was at odds with the the theology of the Sadducees because the apostles were proclaiming that Jesus (though He had been dead and buried) was now alive, which (if true) would undermine their disbelief in a resurrection and an afterlife. But third (and this is something our text today highlights) they were also filled with jealousy. And the reason for that was that these apostles (who were untrained, unauthorized, ordinary men) had so quickly won such a great following; something that they themselves (with all their traditions and religious prowess) had been unable to do. They had had a hold on the people, but that hold was fragile; because at any moment the Romans could sweep in if they caught even a whiff of insurrection and take away their place of prominence. And so the Sadducees disguise their jealousy under a garb of concern for “doctrinal purity” and arrest the apostles (this time all 12) and throw them into the public jail, which is where the common prisoners were kept.] And notice again how the apostles are now living in the pattern of Jesus. Isaiah 53 had predicted that Jesus would be numbered with the transgressors (v.12) and that He would be chastised (v.5). And so the apostles are sharing in that same persecution. They are also numbered with the transgressors and (by the end of the passage) we will see also that they are chastised as well. Now you would think that after all the miracles that the Sadducees had seen they would have come to understand that prison bars could not hold them. If death couldn’t hold Jesus, certainly flimsy old prison bars would not be able to hold back the hand of God moving through His followers. And that is what we see. It says in…

Acts 5:19a  (ESV) — 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out,

Another Display— And so the Sadducees had sought to contain the Gospel. However, they only succeeded in providing God with yet another opportunity to display his power, as an angel comes during the night and sets the apostles free. And [God’s use of an angel to free them was especially ironic, since the Sadducees denied the existence of angels.] And when we come to the section where the Sadducees are questioning the apostles, we will see that never once (amidst all the questions) do the Sadducees ask how they got out. Now I’m an amateur magician; always have been ever since I was a little kid. And what prompted my curiosity was this perpetual need to always know how a magic trick was done. Now what interests me about this passage (and we’ll see this) is that the Sadducees would witness the greatest escape act of all time; but notice how not one of them asks how they did it. Because (once again) their theology can’t handle the weight of the evidence. They were unable to look where the facts are pointing. So once again instead of dealing with the facts, they will look the other way. Now after the angel sets the apostles free, it says he…

Acts 5:19b-21a  (ESV) — brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” {In other words, “Where you were just arrested from; go right back there and continue preaching and teaching the Gospel. And there’s no protest; no fear. It simply says:} 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

No Conflict Please!— You know it's interesting; there are many different personality types in any group of people. And I don't know if you have ever taken a personality test to see if you are the type a personality or perhaps some other letter. I took one not long ago and it was remarkably accurate and helped me to better understand myself. But no matter what personality you have, there are few people who wake up in the morning and think "boy, I just can’t wait for conflict today!" Maybe there are those kinds of people, but I have rarely (if ever) met one. Usually we shy away from conflict. Now we should try to steer away from unnecessary conflict; and we are to be peacemakers. But we are never to be peacemakers at the expense of the truth. Biblically, we have a mandate to stand up for what is right; and especially when somebody's salvation is on the line. This was what was behind Peter and John’s response when the Sanhedrin had previously said to Peter and John back in chapter 4 to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus, it says…

Acts 4:19-20 (ESV)— 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Truth & Deliverance— Peter and John (and we see here ALL of the apostles) were willing to stand in boldness for the sake of the truth. But there was also something else. They weren’t just concerned about making sure a new mental concept got across to the people in Jerusalem; it wasn’t just a theological debate or them saying, “Hey, here’s a nice new teaching to follow. No, they were concerned about the people themselves; people who would be impacted (eternally) by this new revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Burning Beam— This past week my wife and I watched a scene on TV where a boy and his brother had just survived a bombing. And the older brother (after being knocked unconscious) slowly woke up and found around him piles of burning rubble. And he gets up and immediately starts looking for his brother; and finds his brother lying on the ground with a burning beam laying across his burning legs. And the older brother (without hesitation) seizes the burning beam with his hands and pulls up with all his might, freeing his brother. And afterwards, for the rest of his life, he carried those scars (those burn marks) on his hands. You want a picture of the cross this Lenten season? That’s it. Jesus grabbing the beams so that He could lift the weight of sin off our shoulders. We were important enough for Him to sacrifice Himself (His very life) for our salvation. And that reveals two things. First, His love for us…

1 John 3:16 (ESV)— 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, {But listen to the rest of the verse:} and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Feeling the Weight— You see, we are to have in our lives that same kind of love. There ought to be in our souls a desperation to see people come to Jesus; a sense of urgency that causes us to move and head directly into the flames in order to pull them from death to life. Well, enter the apostles. These were men who were healing and preaching to the lost not because they thought it might be a good idea to grow their following. No, it was so much more than that. These were men who were awake to the spiritual war going on for people’s souls. These were men who felt on their shoulders the weight of eternity (as C.S. Lewis calls it, “The Weight of Glory”) and they were sold out hook, line, and sinker to their mission. Somebody says, “Sinners are going to hell.” You know what the response of the apostles would have been? “Over my dead body!” And they meant it! And you know, we ought to have that same tenacity when it comes to spreading the Gospel.

Spurgeon’s Passion For The Lost— Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

Let Us Proclaim— I love that. And so I want to challenge you today (and myself as well) to refrain from being the silent witnesses of the Church; let us speak out boldly (even in the face of persecution) so that others will come to know the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #141 "Disciplined For Holiness” (Acts 5:12-14) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim.

God’s Triumph Over Satan— In our study of the book of Acts, we have seen the beginning of the persecution of the Church at the hands of the religious leaders. And yet in our passage today here in Acts chapter 5 we see that despite this opposition, spiritual victory is still being won in an incredible way. You will remember that back in chapter 4 the Church cried out to God in the words of Psalm 2, saying in…

Acts 4:25b-26 (ESV)— “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

A Spiritual War— Now in doing so you will remember that these believers were recognizing how even from times of old Satan has been at war against God and His plan of salvation for the world. But remember that although they only quoted the first line of the Psalm they would have known the rest of the Psalm by memory (even the women would have, who were less educated during that time). And the end of this particular Psalm says that the Lord will bring judgment on those who have set themselves against the Lord’s anointed. And they recognized in that a prophecy of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, and also the world’s rejection of Him. And in the Sanhedrin (this high council of Jewish leaders) we see Satan at work, trying once again to keep the message of the Gospel from spreading. And the bent of his aim was to divide and conquer the Church. Yet we see here in verse 12 that (despite his continued attacks) the Church actually became more unified than ever. In the very place the lame beggar was healed and Peter preached his second sermon (and where Jesus had Himself preached in John 10:23ff), these early believers formed their fellowship as they [met there daily for prayer and worship.] It says in…

Acts 5:12b-13 (ESV)— And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. {Now the next phrase is very interesting. It says…} 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

Why The Hesitation?— Now you would think that if the disciples were held in such high esteem, people would be eager to join the Church. Why then did so many hesitate? Well, remember what has just happened a few verses earlier; God struck dead a couple (Ananias and Sapphira) who had tried to lie to the Holy Spirit of God; they were counterfeit Christians masquerading as genuine disciples sold out to Jesus Christ. They had tried to appear like Barnabas, who really HAD sold out (literally) to Jesus when really they only wanted to have the appearance. And their death (which was also a sign from God; a negative one) sent the spiritual message very strongly that God would not tolerate sin in the Church. Ananias and Sapphira (with their sin) had brought discord into the Church. And [Now that the sin of Ananias and Sapphira had been dealt with, the church was again in one accord.] The Church being of one heart and soul God takes VERY seriously. God wanted a Church that was united in purity. And this is something we cannot fail to see. God values purity more than you and I can possibly imagine. And sadly, this is something that the Church as a whole has decreasingly emphasized nowadays. But it says in…

2 Timothy 2:19-21 (ESV)— 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

You Have To Be Pure— Now what we learn from that is that if we want to be useful to God, then we have to be pure. [No one {has} stated that truth any more clearly than the noble nineteenth-century Scottish pastor and evangelist Robert Murray McCheyne. He gave the following sage advice to a young man entering the ministry: Do not forget the culture of the inner man—I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument—I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God. ]

Confronting Sin— Now this is true both of the believer individually, but also corporately in the Church. If we are to be successful in reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ, then we must be a Church that is pure. And for that to happen, the Church needs to have the courage to confront and deal with sin. God was the first one to do this in the Church with Ananias and Sapphira. But now the responsibility of disciplining sinning believers falls to the local church. Now we just don't do that in this day and age; and that is largely due to the fact that we have come to believe that tolerating people (and their sins) and building up their self-esteem are the chief ways that we show God’s love to them. But that just isn’t Biblical. If you truly love someone, you are not going to let them continue in those patterns of behavior that are destructive for them. And you are going to fight for their purity. This is why it says in…

Proverbs 27:6 (ESV)— 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Scriptural Support for Discipline— And in Luke 17:3, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself commanded, “If your brother sins, rebuke him.” You will remember that [Paul put Hymenaeus and Alexander out of the Ephesian church because of their blasphemies (1 Tim. 1:20). He commanded the Corinthians to remove from their fellowship a man guilty of gross sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1–7). He instructed his young protégé Titus to “reprove [believers] severely that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13). Even church leaders are not exempt from public rebuke (1 Tim. 5:20; cf. Gal. 2:11–14). {But} The most extensive teaching on how to exercise church discipline comes from our Lord Himself: If your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. (Matt. 18:15–20)]

Context of Discipline— Now we all focus on the last part of that verse; the promise of God’s abiding with those who are gathered in His name. But what we often fail to remember is why God comes in their midst in the first place in that context. That passage is connected and tied to Jesus’ discussion about discipline in the Church; it is about God coming alongside those who are gathered in His name to help lead others out of sin and into living lives of spiritual purity!

A Holy Challenge— Now we shy away from this because we don't want to be labeled as "judgmental". After all, who is going to want to join a church that might confront them about their sin? But what God demonstrated was that if the Church was going to keep its integrity and remain effective, it also had to keep pure. If it didn’t actually challenge and lead people into become more like Jesus, what is the point? And yes we see here in verse 13 that that kept some people away. It says…

Acts 5:13 (ESV)— 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

You see, people respected them chiefly because they WERE that committed to purity. And that proved effective, because while verse 13 says some were kept away, it says in…

Acts 5:14 (ESV)— 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

The Count is Lost— And it is fascinating to note that it is at this point where the multitude grows so much, everyone loses count. Luke stops recording the numbers. All he can say is multitudes of both men and women,. From that point onwards the Church was too big to count. And I want to highlight that for you; the point at which the Church can no longer keep track of it’s numerical growth is at this precise moment when the Church (through God) becomes radically committed to purity.

Committed to Purity— And what that shows us is that if we want to be effective and fruitful Christians (both individually and corporately), we have to be radically committed to living lives of purity and holiness. And it is our responsibility to help one another to achieve that purity, even if that might mean an unpleasant conversation or even Church discipline at times. If we truly love one another, we won’t allow one another to walk in sin; we will lovingly step in. We will encourage, guide, direct, and help God to re-shape that person. If we want the power of God to be made manifest in and through us both individually and corporately, there are no shortcuts. We have to go through the cross. We must, as it says in…

Colossians 3:9b-10 (ESV)— put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Mutual Support— And so let us commit to live lives of purity and holiness; and let us support, encourage, challenge, and even discipline one another as we (together) become the very image of Christ to the world. If we can do that, the world will esteem us and God will be able not just to grow His Church, but to grow it in the right way; with people who are willing to live lives truly sold out to Jesus Christ. Let’s commit ourselves to Him, His Life, and His character in a special way today. Amen.