We're once again going to be
in the book of Acts today, but before you turn or put your finger
in chapter 6, turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy. The
book of Deuteronomy. I don't know if you ever had
to say these words to your children. Once in a while I did. And that
was, I would say something and they would say, why do I have
to do that? And I would say, because I said
so. I didn't have to give an explanation.
Now, sometimes we run into places in the Bible that are just like
that. God said it, and if we have any
question about it, you know what He's going to answer? Because
I said so. He is absolute ruler, sovereign,
king, lord of all things. So when he says, I said so, take
it to the bank. Don't argue with it. Well, over
here in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 29, it gives us some
reasons to think about what's going to be happening here in
this latter part of chapter 6 of the book of Acts. In the book
of Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to the children of Israel. Now,
talk about a group of people. My goodness, as we look at these
people, we find out that they are a mirror image of ourselves. that they are exactly like us. Even though God was so gracious
to them in everything, He freed them from slavery, took them
across the Red Sea, fed them for 40 years in the wilderness,
took care of their shoes and their clothes, they didn't have
to purchase a thing. God was taking care of them completely,
and yet they were constantly in rebellion against Him, and
we find out they're just a mirror image of us Everyone, every person
in the world, they�re a mirror image of us, and we need the
same grace. Now, here, as we follow this,
when we get to the sixth chapter of the book of Acts, we�re going
to find some people are not very nice. They�re going to take one
of those deacons, one of those servants of God, and put him
on trial. And they're going to condemn him to death. And there
is going to be a young man that stands there and lets the coats
of those who do the dirty work, Saul of Tarsus by name, he's
going to stand there in consent, full consent. Why did that happen? We're going to have to go back
to God and say, because I said so. Here in the book of Deuteronomy,
chapter 29, verses 1-4, Moses is used by God to explain some
things about why these people did not do what God commanded
them to do. And it is a serious issue. And God could say to us again,
because I said so, Deuteronomy 29, verse 1, these are the words
of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with
the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant
which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses called unto all Israel,
and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before
your eyes in the land of Egypt, and to Pharaoh, and unto all
his servants, and unto all his land, the great temptations which
thine eyes have seen, the signs and the great miracles. My goodness,
wouldn't that be enough to take care of the issue? Well, we find
in verse four, yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive. and eyes to see and ears to hear
unto this day. Now, how are we going to be able
to perceive? How are we going to be able to
understand? The converse of this is the only
way. He gives a heart to perceive. He gives eyes to see. He gives
ears to hear. And that's the only difference,
God Almighty and His gracious act that He gives to some people. All right, let's travel now over
to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 6, and as we continue this great
account that's given unto us here in the book of Acts chapter
6 and throughout the book of Acts, the Acts of the Holy Spirit,
we often find at the beginning of this book the Acts of the
Apostles. Well, they're just participants,
but they're not in charge. It's the acts of the Holy Spirit.
So here in the book of Acts chapter 6, we find that there was an
issue came up in the church and some of the Hellenistic, the
Greek widows were not being taken care of as they should have been. And so a little grumbling goes
on. And the apostles said, you know,
it's not good that we stop reading and studying God's word and praying.
So pick out seven men of honest report. full of the Holy Ghost
over this business. And so they do that. Acts chapter
six, and we follow here, and it tells us in verse five, the
same pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man
full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus,
and Nicanor, and Timon, and Perameus, and Nicholas, the proselyte of
Antioch. From the names, all of these
men are Hellenistic. They're all Greek Jews. So they're
the ones that are going to be helping with the service of those
Greek widows that are not being served as they thought they should.
And they must not have been, because God took care of it quite
quickly in leading the apostles to do this. Whom they set before
the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands
on them. And the word of God increased, And the number of
the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company
of the priests were obedient unto the faith. You know, as
we think about this, we find that these seven men that were
ordained as servants, they were set aside as servants. Now, I
don't think they went through the ordination that modern religion
has brought about. I think they were just, these
are the men God has chosen, we're thankful for them, do your business.
They didn't have to go through some formality. They didn't get
a certificate. They were just set aside by God
to do the work that God had given to them. And it tells us here
that they, no doubt, just like the 12 apostles, were wonderful
preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We find that they were
doing their business, the assignment given to them, and they were
taking care of that, but the requirements that were imposed
upon those who were selecting them was that they must be holy
men, God-chosen men, God-born-again men, saved men, Men that had
the competence given to them that their heart was opened,
that the Holy Spirit had given them the new birth, and that
they were competent to do what God required them to do. And
in so doing, they were sharing the gospel, preaching the gospel
everywhere they went among the church. How do we know that these
seven and those 12 were doing what God told them to do about
preaching the gospel? We find it right here in the
word of God increased. Verse seven, the word of God
increased and the number of the disciples multiplied. God honored the preaching of
his word. You know, Jesus said, if I be
lifted up. Now there's two things about
that. and they're parallel. Number
one, he must go to the cross. If I be lifted up, and he was
lifted up on the cross. Now, yesterday I had a young
man out here, 24 years old, and we're going through the book
of John. And when we came to John chapter 19, we had to share
with that young man that the cross did not kill Jesus. He is hung on a cross, and He's
going through much agony on the cross, but Jesus Christ's agony
was not the agony of the cross. Jesus Christ's agony was for
God pouring out His wrath on Him when He became sin for us.
That's where the agony came from. Yes, the pain of having his nails
driven through his hands and through his feet, that's no doubt
great agony. But the real agony that he went
through was him being payment for sin. And that is true agony
because, as I shared with that young man, he said, Father, why art thou so far away
from the words of my roaring? Prior to that, he uses the term
Father. After that, he uses the term Father. But at that moment,
he uses the term God. Why are you so far from me? Well, we conclude, as Jesus himself
shares with us, and as all the disciples and apostles share
with us, that when he became sin for us, God could no longer
be in fellowship with him. And during that period of time
that God was pouring out His rich, overwhelming agony against
sin, Jesus Christ was shut off from Him, and then after He paid
the full price for all the sin of all of His people, back in
fellowship one more time. I did what I was required to
do. And you know what? Those disciples
and those apostles and those seven men that were servants
understood this and they preached it and God honored His word. and many people were saved. Jesus
said, ìIf I be lifted up,î He was going to the cross, but you
know what also must come from every pulpit where the Word of
God is honored, out of the mouth of every preacher, every declarer
of the Word of God, where Godís Word is honored, they must preach
a Christ that is high and lifted up. Not some mediocre trying
to get the job done Savior. Not somebody that is out to accomplish
his will but he can't get it done because man prevents it
from getting done. We must hear about a Christ that
will save his people from their sins. Now I ask you this question,
parents. Did you ever have to get after
your children about doing something that may have harmed them? Or
did you just say, you know, I really would like you to get back from
that table saw. But if you don't, I understand. I would really like you to get
out of the street because you might get run over. But if you
don't, I understand. Free will, you know, free will
will allow you to do what you need to do. You know what? I got a kid, when I was substitute
teaching, I got him by the arm and pulled him back from a table
saw to prevent him from getting cut with that table saw. And
I was threatened with a lawsuit. He said, I'm going to tell my
parents and you're going to sue you. And I said, you're going
to sue me for keeping you into that saw? And he said, yes. And
I said, I'll never go to court over that. He says, why is that? And I says, I'll go to court
for breaking your arms and legs, but I will not go to court over
just pulling you out of a saw. Never heard another word. God is not in the business of
letting his people go their own way. He is in the business of
delivering us from our way. He is the business of saving
us in such a way that we turn around and thank Him for involving
Himself and getting in our way and stopping us from the nonsense
that we were involved in and turning us to Christ. Turn me
and I shall be turned. And after he turns us, we just
say, hallelujah, that was the best spin I ever had. I got to
see Christ full face. So we know that these apostles
and these seven servants of the church were preaching the gospel. They were preaching and declaring
Jesus Christ high and lifted up. He is King of kings and Lord
of lords. He's the one that says from time
to time, because I said so. I will save my people because
I said so. I will go to the cross because
I said so. And I will deliver them from
themselves because I said so. Now, God works in mysterious
ways, doesn't he? His wonders to perform. And here
we have, right in the middle of this, that there is a young
man. I think he's quite young. Maybe
he's 40. Maybe he's 50. I don't know. But Stephen, did
you read those words about Stephen? Now, the rest of them no doubt
had the same qualifications. But that's in verse 5. Stephen,
they chose Stephen, a man full of faith. and of the Holy Ghost. Now how did they know he was
full of the Holy Ghost? How did they know that he was
full of faith? How could they recognize that? because he declared a sovereign
God, saving a lost people by his great grace. Grace was the
theme of their message. It was not works. You know, as
Brother Lauren read there in the book of Galatians, most people
by nature believe that we are saved by our works. And it takes
the grace of God to turn us around and say, we're saved by grace. Alone and not by any portion
of our works so we here we have Stephen man full of the faith
You know I had to ask my question is I've done this I've done this
several times with people recently Where did he get his face? No
most people believe well, I just created it I I heard someone
preach about it. I was saddened yesterday when
I heard that a mama got a phone call from down there at one of
those Christian camps, and her son said, I'm going to be baptized. Well, I know exactly what happened.
I've been in that same situation, and that is, he was talked into
a profession of faith, and now they're going to have to have
a baptism so they can put it in their bulletin. Sad, just
sad. Oh my goodness, this man, these
men were preaching a different gospel than that. They were preaching
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, and He really
saves His people. And they don't have to go through
the rest of their life, as we heard in the Bible class, in
fear. I wonder if God's going to get me for this. We don't
go through the rest of our life in fear. We are sitting down
at the throne of God and thankful for the relationship that he
has granted with himself to us. The church is in the best possible
position. There is not one sin held against
them, and they will be presented spotless. There's no better place
to be than in that host that God has ordained from the foundation
of the world to be his host. Well, Stephen, where did he get
his faith? You know, left to ourselves,
we find out that we just don't have faith. We cannot muster
it up. Turn with me, if you would, over
to the book of Matthew chapter 17. This was brought up Wednesday
night, and it just fit in so well. Matthew chapter 17 and
verse 20. Matthew chapter 17 and verse
20. Now, you think you have faith.
I visit with folks, and they're religious to the core, and they
tell me how much faith they have. And what I ask them, if that's
perfect faith, is do you have perfect, oh no, no, I don't have
perfect faith. Well, it's not faith then. You
know, left to ourselves, we just barely have enough natural faith
to sit down in a chair and expect it to hold us up. My goodness,
we're walking through life in fear all the time. And faith
doesn't do that. We're wondering where we stand
with God. I've shared this a number of
times. I'd go fishing and say, Jesus Christ Almighty, if I'm
saved, let me catch a fish. That's not salvation. That's
not faith. That's just a lie. Well, here we have, here in the
book of Matthew chapter 17, verse 20. How many know what the size of
a mustard seed is? Yeah. Pull out your ballpoint
pen and look at the ball. That's about the size of a mustard
seed. It's not very big. It does create quite a bush though.
It's amazing what God could pull out of a little seed, isn't it?
Well, anyway, Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief,
for verily I say unto you, If you had faith as a grain of mustard
seed, if you had faith, the amount. Now, a lot of preachers will
talk to us about mustard seed faith. Well, Jesus Christ goes
on to say, you don't have any. There is no mustard seed faith.
It says here, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye
should say unto this mountain, remove hence to a yonder place. Now, if that is a possibility,
If we can say to this mountain, be ye removed, if we have faith
as a grain of mustard seed, then why do we have an earache? We should be able to take care
of it. Why do we have a pimple? Why does our feet hurt? Why do
we get aches and pains? Why can't we sleep? What is it
that is about us? If we have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, we can say to Mount Hood, be ye removed, and we don't
have enough faith to even get rid of an itch. Now, that just tells us the Lord
Jesus is sharing with us, you have none of your own. You can't
get out of the mess you're in by your own faith. If you had
faith as a grain of mustard seed, but he's saying to us, it's an
impossibility, we don't have any. Turn with me, if you would,
over to the book of Luke, if you would. Luke chapter, oh,
Matthew. Let's just stay right here in
Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. What did
Stephen have? He had faith. Where did he get
it from? God Almighty. That's who supplies faith for
every one of the people he saves. Matthew chapter 19, there in
verse 23, we have this. It says, Jesus said unto the
disciples, Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now, that may be two kinds of
riches. those who have lots of wealth,
and those who have lots of self-righteous wealth. how hardly shall they
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it's
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for
a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Now that eye
of a needle is that little piece of metal that we hold in our
hand with a piece of thread that we put through the eye, and he
said it's easier for a camel to go through that eye than what? For a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God. Now, books will tell us that
there was a door in the walls of Jerusalem that was called
the Eye of the Needle. Well, Jesus just blows that theory
all to pieces by his very next comments, but his disciples said
that in an exceedingly amazing, who then can be saved? And Jesus
said unto them, beheld them and said unto them, with men it is
impossible. Now there is no little door in
Jerusalem that if I take all the bundles off the camel and
it gets down on its knees and wiggles through, it can get inside.
Because God clears that up when he said, with men it is impossible. He's making a point that there
is an impossibility. And then he said, but with God,
all things are possible. Now where did Stephen and the
other six and the twelve apostles get their faith? Hebrews chapter
12. Hebrews chapter 12. Would you
turn there with me? It doesn't take us very long
to find out that the moon has no light of its own. When those astronauts landed
on it, it was a rock. There was no source of heat.
On one side, it could be hot. In the back side, it could freeze
you to death instantly. It is a rock. You know, scientists
were amazed when that rocket ship landed on it and it didn't
sink into 10 feet of dust. Because they said as old as the
universe is, we're afraid when we land it's going to be 10 or
12 or 15 feet of dust. And they had this much, half
an inch. Kind of tells us the age of our
solar system. Anyway, we're just moons. Now I am thankful for that great
ball of fire that's out there that makes this earth inhabitable. There wouldn't be a plant on
it if it wasn't for God. There would be no heat if it
wasn't for God and his great son. And every night, and I think
we have six or seven days before it is at its fullest extent.
One more time, full moon. Every night you can look up there
and see that moon reflecting the light of the sun. And we say, wow, that's really
bright. My dad loved it when it was full moon because we go
out illegally hunting and still see. All right. Where did Stephen
get his faith? Where did the other six get their
faith? And where did the 12 apostles
get their faith? And where did every prophet in
the Old Testament get their faith? And where did everyone that is
ever in the family of God get their faith? Hebrews chapter
12, verse 2. Looking unto Jesus. Did you notice
those words? The author and finisher of our
faith. And you know what? When people
argue with that, I'm going to have to say, because God said
so. Because God said so. It doesn't matter what we know.
One of my favorite verses from people that don't know anything
about the gospel is, but I knew a man or a woman or a child. You know, that doesn't matter.
That is not scripture. It is not authoritative. We can make terrible mistakes
and people can make terrible mistakes and lies to us. But
we have to base all that we believe on the word of God. And he says
here, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. All that was going on, he's lifting
up. despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God." Why did he sit down? Because his work
was accomplished. It was finished. He did exactly
what he said he would do. This faith that we're talking
about, turn with me, if you would, to the book of Titus. Where did
Stephen get his faith? He was a man of faith. He had
faith and he was full of the Holy Ghost. A person that has
the Holy Spirit given unto them will believe God's Word without
reservation. They will not quibble over what
it has to say. They will believe God's Word. Now we can walk away and say,
I don't understand it. But God is going to give everyone
of His lost sheep, when He finds them and gives them salvation,
He gives them, as it says, everyone that comes to Him has been taught
of God. And they will come to Christ. And when they come to
Christ, they will believe what God said about the Lord Jesus
Christ and the message of Christ. And there will be no quibbling
or arguing. And we can just say, because He said so. Alright,
here in the book of Titus, Titus chapter 1 verse 1, it says this, Paul, a servant of God, and an
apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, it doesn't take us very
long in studying about Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, it doesn't
take us very long to find out that that man was a terrible,
terrible man to be around, particularly if you had faith and filled with
the Holy Spirit. Particularly if you are declaring
that salvation is of the Lord. Particularly if you said the
law saved nobody. This man could be all over you
and have authority to take you to jail and he'd vote against
you when it came time to stone you. And he said that himself. I'm not making up a story, I'm
just telling you what Saul of Tarsus, now Paul, had to say.
Now it tells us here he's an apostle of Jesus Christ, now
notice this, according to the faith of God's elect. God gives his elect faith. It is the result of the new birth. It does not procure the new birth. It is the result of the new birth.
God gives his people repentance and faith and acknowledging of
the truth, which is after godliness. So he gives us that faith. He's
the author and finisher of our faith. It's the faith of God's
elect. And if you turn with me over here to John, I want to
go back to John for just a moment. John Chapter 10. John Chapter
10. We find out that Stephen's faith
is included in this wonderful promise that the Lord Jesus Christ
gave with regard to His church. To everyone He ever saves, He
gives this wonderful promise. And this promise, God gives us
the faith to believe it. For it tells us in John 10, verse
26. Would you notice that with me?
John 10, verse 26. But ye believe not, because ye
are not my sheep. Now, he's talking to a group
of people that are not believing. And most of them never would.
And Jesus said, you believe not because you're not of my sheep.
What is, in other words, he's saying, you have no faith because
you're not my sheep. My sheep have faith because I've
given it to them. I'm the author and finisher of
the faith. It's the faith of God's elect. And then it goes
on to tell us, but you believe not because you're not my sheep.
As I've said unto you, my sheep hear my voice and I know them
and they follow me. And I give, now included in these
wonderful words that Jesus Christ gives to his disciples, gives
to his church, gives to everyone that he has ever saved. These
wonderful words, I give unto them eternal life. Now in that, he has said, I will
give them faith, I will give them repentance. Every bit of
this is included in this great declaration that Jesus Christ
shares with his disciples. He said, I give unto them eternal
life. Now the result of him giving
eternal life is God has granted me faith. Now my faith is dead
faith, my faith is so terrible, but I have His faith, the faith
of Jesus Christ, the faith of God's elect, the faith that He's
author and finisher of, and it is real faith that God has given
to His people, to His church. Now we have none of our own,
we just simply say, He's given me His. And that's what we need
to stand on. He said, my sheep hear my voice,
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. So the deal is, when God saves
his people, he gives them every spiritual gift in Christ Jesus
the Lord, he gives unto them eternal life, and part of that
them my faith, I give unto them my repentance, and they're able
to serve me as a result." So how do we know that where Stephen's
faith came from? Or the other six? Or the twelve? Or all the prophets in the Old
Testament? Where did Abraham get his faith? Where did Abel? Abel is mentioned
in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, the first one. By
faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice. How did he get that?
God gave it to him. It was a free gift in salvation
in the new birth. So Stephen would be the first
to admit that his power, if you go back through the book of Acts,
we find out great power. He had great power and he's performing
miracles. Well, he'd be the first to admit
where his power came from. God, he never boasted in the
power that he had of his own. And he performed great miracles,
and where did they originate? He would be the first to admit,
I have no power to do anything in myself. Just like Peter and
John said with regard to that man that was healed on the way
to the temple, if you're questioning us about this man, it is of Jesus
Christ the Lord alone. He did not need to start an offshore
bank account to take care of his miracle wealth. He didn't
have it. He trusted the Lord. Stephen
is doing what the 12 apostles were doing, and the other six
servants selected by the host of people that the gospel had
been revealed to. His ministry catches the attention
of a council. Let's go back to the book of
Acts. Stephen's ministry now at this time. Why didn't it catch
the attention of the rest? They were preaching the same
thing Because God said I said so one man out of those six One
man out of the six and twelve are going to catch the attention
of a council Over here in the book of Acts chapter 6 we read
about this there in verse 9 and there arose certain of the synagogue
and which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians,
and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia, and of Asia, Asia
Minor, part of Turkey, disputing with Stephen. They debated with
him. You know, none of them could
stand against the wisdom and spirit with which Stephen spoke. They just didn't have any power
over him. They couldn't prove what they
had to say, and they certainly couldn't disprove what Stephen
had to say. He had God's word on this. They
were debating with him. They were not able to resist
the wisdom and the spirit by which Stephen spoke. And they
tell us here the different groups of people that were interested
in bringing these charges against him. You know, as we follow this,
we find Libertines. Have you ever wondered what those
guys were? They were ex-slaves, or their parents were slaves
of Rome. Most of them were Jewish slaves,
and they had been granted freedom by a Caesar of Rome as long as
you leave Rome. And so we find them here in Jerusalem. And they have the synagogue of
the Libertines. They were held captive under
Rome by Pompey and afterwards set free. And they were former
slaves and servants of Rome. You know, as I thought about
that, you would think You might think that former slaves, now
free men, might have a sympathetic heart for those who preach the
gospel of freedom. These seven and these 12 and
all the apostles and all the preachers of the gospel of God's
grace preach the gospel of freedom. Freedom in Christ. I'm no longer
bound. I am set free from the prison
of sin. And I would think, wouldn't you
think, that these guys that had been in slaves of Rome Servants
of Rome with no rights of their own, after they'd been set free,
they'd have a little compassion? No, they didn't. The next group
we have there, it tells us about the Cyrenians. It says, the Libertines
and the Cyrenians. They're from Cyrene and northern
eastern Libya, known for wealth, trade, and culture. You know,
as I thought about that, you'd think that because of their wealth
and the trade and the culture, that they'd be sympathetic in
their heart towards the gospel. But you know what? They weren't.
They had no sympathy whatsoever. even coming from where they came
from, even having what they had. They had no sympathy. The Alexandrians, you know, Alexandria,
northern Egypt was noted for its outstanding, outstanding
education and library. It was the largest library in
the world at the time. They were noted for their education. They were noted for their wisdom
and knowledge. And you would think that this
group of people, among all the rest of them, would have some
sympathy towards these men preaching the gospel, particularly Stephen
when they heard him. But they wanted to debate him
and find fault with him and arrest him. And they do that. And we
find here The Cilicia. Oh, those from Cilicia,
an area in modern Turkey. You know who had the city of
Tarsus? That was the capital of Cilicia.
Who do we know that came from Tarsus? Yep, Saul of Tarsus. How much sympathy did he have
for the gospel? And he represented those folks
from Cilicia, from Tarsus, the capital there. Tarsus, the ancient
Roman city which Paul was from, and yet there is nothing there
that would cause anybody to have some sympathy. And Asia, Asia
Minor, modern Turkey, you would think that farmers and herders
would be sympathetic, but they were not. Every group, you know,
it doesn't matter where we come from. Everybody by nature is
put out by the gospel. They are at variance with the
gospel by nature. We are variance with the gospel.
We are so sure of ourselves that we will base our eternal life
on our good works. And someone comes along with
the gospel and says, it's not by works of righteousness, which
we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. And he
says, I find fault with that and I would argue with you. I
will debate you. And if I could, as they did,
I would have you arrested and brought before the court and
you'd be found guilty. And then we'd take care of you.
Well, if we're not born, again. Look with me to the book of John,
chapter 1, if you would. John, chapter 1. In John, chapter
1, we read these words. John, chapter 1, verse 13. It's not a birth. God does not
give us a birth. That is, which we're born not
of blood. It's not because we're related
to Abraham. in the flesh. It's not because
we're related to some king or queen or somebody of influence. The other day I bought a piece
of silver. It had Wells Fargo stamped on it. Now why would
I buy that? I'm related to the guy. But you know what? He didn't
have a dime to leave me. He was bankrupt when he died.
I couldn't even get a coffee cup down here at the Wells Fargo
Bank. When I told him my name was Wells,
he says, do you have an account here? And I says, no, I don't.
He says, we can't help you. It's not a blood. Not a blood,
nor the will of the flesh. You know what? As much as I would
like to see, and I hear Paul talking about this with Israel.
Oh, my heart's desire is that Israel would be saved. It is
my heart's desire. My youngest brother would be
saved. My sisters, my twin brother would
be saved. It's my heart's desire, but I
can't get across the line. That's God's business. I can
get to this point, but I can't go across the line. I would love
to have that young man I've been meeting with saved, but I can't
get him across the line. It is an act of God. It's not
of blood, nor the will of the flesh. And now look at the next
one. nor the will of man. It is not
our free will. We find out that our will is
so dead that we don't have a will towards God, and we must be given
a will. In the day of His power, He will
make us willing. In the day of His power, that's
what He said He would do. So it's not, we're not born,
not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man,
but here's how it happens, but of God. The last three words
in that verse, but of God. And in Revelation chapter five,
would you turn there with me? Revelation chapter five. We read
this, Revelation chapter 5 and there in verse 9, Revelation
chapter 5 and verse 9. Revelation chapter 5 verse 9,
the word of the Lord says, And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof,
for thou wast slain, Speaking about Christ. He's the one that
has the power to take the book and to open the book Thou that
for thou was slain and as redeemed us to God by thy blood Not a
word said about what we do. Thou hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood, and now hereís the fulfillment of the promise
that God made to Abraham in the Old Testament when he says, ìThrough
you every nationís going to be blessed.î He said, ìOut of every
kindred and tongue and people and nation.î out of everywhere,
God is going to bring a people that He had disposed there by
His own purpose of grace. And we might ask the question,
why did He do it that way? And God's going to answer, because
I said so. Now, in preparation for next
week, The charges brought against Stephen are listed, delineated
here in the book of Acts, chapter 6, verses 11 through 13. And
they are blasphemous words against Moses. One of the few times you'll
ever find that blasphemy is mentioned toward another person. Blasphemy
is against God. blasphemous words against Moses
and against God, blasphemous words against the holy place,
whether it be the temple or Jerusalem, and against the law. Now, there's
the four charges they're going to bring against Stephen. We'll
look into this fuller next week. Thank you for your time, and
thank you for your attention. Brother Mike, if you'll come.