Stephen among the Council
Acts 6:8-15 · Vern Peterman · Jun 18, 2017
Acts (2017-18), No. 22
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492660296297

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning and happy Father's Day. We're going to be stepping our way through Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6, verses 8 through 15, just as Courtney just read for us here. One of the things we want to do here is talk about Stephen while we have the chance.

Stephen is one who appears and is soon gone shortly in the book of Acts, and yet a very pivotal person. We had a passage we looked at last week that introduced him and also several very important words, phrases, and these seven men, including Stephen, who were together servants. It doesn't actually call them deacons, but in sort of a proto-deacon in that role. The important words that we saw introduced in last week's passage are disciples, the church, and the faith, those words and phrases. After looking at this, I've decided, and especially after looking at today's passage as well, I've decided to try to work up a book of acts dictionary, that is, some definitions for these words that are really important. The one selected servant, that is Stephen here, among the seven who is pivotal in the entire book of Acts, not just a chapter or two, but he's mentioned later on all the way towards the end of the book, is this man Stephen.

It's kind of amazing to ponder him and to ponder his background. We'll be doing more of that next week as well. Stephen and his character and what he says and what he does be More of our focus today and for next Sunday as well as we take a look at the life of this pivotal and amazing believer He was a pivotal man in the early church it was as it was begun and grown in Jerusalem and One of the points we make with a note there on the top of this slide on page one in your handout, the events that are described here happened in April 35 AD. It had been just two years since Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected. Stephen, very likely becoming a believer since that time, so he is actually a fairly young believer in this. But he had been there from early on, at least, there in the church in Jerusalem. And not just accidentally, but by his character and his spirit among them, he was a very pivotal person.

Stephen, we'll also see, is going to have a unique heavenly vision by his soon homegoing. Here we'll have a pivotal part in the spread of the gospel from Judea and Jerusalem in fulfillment of what Christ told the apostles in Acts chapter 1, verses 6 through 8. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So here's Acts 6, verses 8 and 9. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.

The name Stephen, as we pointed out last week, means crown, and it's not a diadem crown, but was typically a crown that was awarded to those who are victors in an athletic event, sometimes also worn by those who were royalty or had a high standing. But his name means crown. This is the victor's crown.

This full of is an expression that Dr. Luke likes to use. We've seen it previously. We're going to see it again and again. When he says full of, it's not like full of as in a liquid topped off, but grace and power being prominently evident in this case.

It was performing great wonders and signs. This is the first time we see it in either order, wonders or signs, or signs and wonders, in either order by someone who is not an apostle in the book of Acts. So this is extraordinary as well. This is a man who is not an apostle. We have no evidence that he was at all, and yet he was performing these great signs and wonders. And we see other evidences that this is an extraordinary man, not because of him, but because of the way the Lord used him.

The people is, again, another term used consistently. Very rare exception in the Bible. The people, meaning the Jews, referring to them. We have the synagogue of the freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians. This is a Jewish assembly. We're going to be saying more about that. The word synagogue is originally a Greek term. It means to lead together.

And it was something that developed between the Old and New Testament times. They didn't have synagogues during Old Testament times, but it developed between the Old and New Testaments. So synagogues were being developed during New Testament times, and more and more of them were being built. Some of them that were destroyed were rebuilt. So anyway, they were becoming prominent, and we'll talk more about this particular synagogue shortly.

We have Cyrenians and Alexandrians. This is along the North African coast. We'll be shortly looking at a map that will help show where those are. And some from Cilicia and Asia. This is along the coast of what is now called Turkey, at different parts of it. And we'll be taking a look at a map that will show that as well. Cilicia was the region name for the city of Tarsus, where Saul, soon to become Paul, is from, and Asia was kind of the head city, the capital city of the region that was at the west end of what is now Turkey, so the opposite end from Cilicia.

So here is the map. However, in order to focus on the things we're looking at here, we're going to zero in on just the lower left, excuse me, right-hand portion of that. So here's the map, and you have it on page one on the bottom, or at least I certainly hope so, right?

So what we have here is Jerusalem over in the lower right-hand corner. And by the way, this is not announcing a boxing match. So the lower right-hand corner is Jerusalem. Also, the other thing, I do know that if I point to something here, you can't see what I'm pointing at. So that's just a habit I get into. So anyway, so we've got Jerusalem over here in the lower right-hand corner.

And then we have Cyrene over here. Now, you've actually heard of this before. Simon of Cyrene was the one who was forced to carry Jesus' cross piece. And as it so happens, Simon of Cyrene's grandson's bone box has been found in Jerusalem. So he is confirmed as actually being a real person.

So Jews from Cyrene They'd come over to Jerusalem and some of them had moved there, some of them made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem often. You may be wondering, where's Cyrene? If you've heard the term Benghazi, that's very near. So Benghazi is the name more prominently in our recent news here. So that's Cyrene. Also on the North African coast is Alexandria. That had been established under Alexander the Great.

Many of the Jews were asked to move to Alexandria, which they did. The Jewish quarter there was the southeastern quarter. It is very possibly, not certainly, where Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus. during their time there in Egypt, because that was a place where there was a significant Jewish population in the southeastern quarter. There were people in this synagogue from Cyrene and from Alexandria.

In addition, we have up in Cilicia, which is the city of Tarsus, is the main city for that region. This is where the Apostle Paul was from. It also tells us, like the Apostle Paul, earlier called Saul, that that was a place where there was a significant contingent of Jews present. And so that was another presence there in this synagogue. And then in Asia, which is the name, we think of Asia and we think much farther east. But this is the term used for that region, that district, political district, which would be the west end of what is now Turkey. It was at the time the place of the seven cities of Asia, as you see listed and addressed in the Book of Revelation. chapters 1 through 3 particularly and so Ephesus later to have Paul visit as we'll see in the book of Acts and have one letter of Paul written directly to that church So here is Ephesus.

So you have these churches spread around the Eastern Roman Empire. These synagogues have people from those areas. So what they are in great part is Hellenistic Jews. Hellenistic Jews. And what that means is they are Jews of significant Greek cultural and language background. That's what that's referring to there. Here's Stephen, a man full of grace and power, as it says in this context. So as we step through the chapter, we find this.

Stephen was a man, in Acts 6.5, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Again, using Dr. Luke's favorite term for someone who this was prominent in their character and life and expression.

Full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, in Acts 6.8. Full of grace and power. So here is another description of him, just only a few verses later.

And so in this passage, and then also in Acts 7.55, full of the Holy Spirit again. So these descriptions of the man are amazing, and also they have them very frequently here in the book of Acts. This man apparently lived very consistently this way.

Here's Acts 6.8, performing great wonders and signs among the people. And again we pointed out this was the first instance of an apostle, excuse me, a non-apostle being described as performing these signs. Previous it had always been the apostles. Now we find Stephen being a man performing these great wonders and signs among the people.

He was also vigorously opposed by the Jews in this one particular synagogue. Now, there's some things here that are possibilities. We're going to talk more about this specific synagogue. These are possibilities. It's possible that later in time, more things will be discovered to give us greater certainty.

It is possible that this synagogue of the Freedmen is a place where Stephen used to go to the synagogue. personally, and why those particular people would be upset with him. It is also possible, especially listing Cilicia that Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, also went to that same synagogue. So very interesting connections. It is possible archaeologically or historically that that would be made more evident. At this point, we can just state them as good possibilities that seem to have some connections.

So this particular group of Jews was not swayed by Stephen's character, spirit, actions, or words. They saw what Stephen did and said, and rather than saying, wow, this is an amazing man, how did God so radically change this fellow? Instead, they became angry with him, started arguing with him, and we'll see how that works out.

So he's the first one mentioned in the book of Acts, beside the apostles, said to perform these signs and wonders, or wonders and signs, if you take the order that is in the passage here. It's rather amazing to be able to perform wonders and signs, and that that didn't cause the leaders of the Jews to kind of have the lights come on. Oh wow, this guy Stephen, he goes and does this and this and this, and there's no other explanation other than that God is doing amazing works through him. No, this is just like with Christ. Christ goes and raises Lazarus, and it only intensifies their desire to kill him, and they want to kill Lazarus too, right?

So it is astounding what people can see and not have the spiritual lights come on. It is really amazing. Astoundingly, Stephen performed great wonders and signs, and even that did not persuade them. It noticed that great wonders and signs, not a little incidental thing here and there, but things that really ought to have gotten their attention, that really ought to have made them think, but it didn't.

Let's talk about the Synagogue of the Freedmen. Various Jewish records from the time, and shortly thereafter, tell us that there were somewhere between 390 and 480 synagogues in Jerusalem at this point in time. And that's probably in the area surrounding as well. And one reason why a differentiation in the numbers, 390 to 480, however you take it, there are several hundred. Now, the basis for this particular synagogue seems to be that these were at least founded by Jewish slaves who had been set free after having been made slaves.

That's what a freedman means. I think King James calls them libertines, but the idea that's based on a Latin understanding. Essentially, they were slaves who had been set free who founded this synagogue. Now it says, those who founded it, these synagogues have sometimes been around a while, and a great many others may well have come to the synagogue who were not ex-slaves, as you will. Further, this passage tells us that the Jews who gathered here were from places outside of Israel. So these would be typically, more commonly, Hellenistic Jews, Jews with significant Greek cultural and language background.

Secondly, archaeological discoveries over the last century, starting in 1913, have led many historical and archaeological scholars to believe that the Synagogue of the Freedmen has been in fact located. Here is an inscription, the Theotokos inscription, from what has been identified by many scholars as this Synagogue of the Freedmen. So here is the inscription that you see there, found at the synagogue ruins and remains. So here's what you have here. This is on page two, a map of the Jerusalem area. We've been using this as we've gone through Luke and then the early chapters of Acts.

Right next to the Pool of Siloam, just uphill from it, is a location that many scholars identify as the Synagogue of the Freedmen. Now it just so happens that when we were there, Courtney found us a great parking spot. It was right at the exit, immediately across the street from the exit to the Pool of Siloam. And we had just gone through the Hezekiah's Tunnel. Essentially, Hezekiah's Tunnel goes underneath the synagogue, right? So we had been right underneath where the synagogue was, and it was right, you know, uphill from there.

I mean, this is a very significant place where Courtney found us a parking spot, because it was from there we drove into hell, right? So anyway, yeah, that's Gehenna. So anyway, so that's the location of this, where many scholars identify as the Synagogue of the Freedmen. And so this is the Pool of Siloam. This is right uphill from that very spot.

And then right to the north of there, the inscription, the Theodotus inscription that you see a picture of there, is on display at the Rockefeller Museum. By the way, if you've never been there or just haven't had a chance to look at everything in the museum, go ahead. You can type in this little link that I've got there. And you can see every single item that is in that museum online. Brace yourself, take a lot of time. That's 6,449 items. Anyway, but you can look at that inscription if you want to search for it. Okay.

So the guys from the synagogue rose up and argued. The Jews from the synagogue responded to Stephen's spirit and character and actions and signs and wonders and powerful defense of the faith, remember, Acts 6, 7, by disputing with him, arguing with him. And this is very similar to what had been done with Christ, right? People would try to pick up an argument with him and win the argument.

And similarly, it didn't work out so well. It takes a number of men to argue with one man. When the arguments of a number of men still don't overcome the one man, one has to wonder about the men who are arguing and what they're arguing about. So we're going to see that it actually gets much, much worse. They say, OK, that's enough arguing. We're taking this thing one step further. The arguing isn't working.

So here's Acts 6, 10 and 11, but they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly induced men to say, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. So this is an upgrading of the attack upon Stephen. First we're trying to out-argue him and that's not working. So now they're going to do some covert action, secret induction. they're going to make a false accusation.

So first connection, but they, that is, these are the Jews from the synagogue, Hellenistic Jews, unable to cope with the spirit with which he, Stephen, was speaking, just to make that connection. To cope there means to stand against. They couldn't stand against his arguments. He laid, this is the facts, and this is the facts, and this, therefore this, and their arguments didn't hold sway with them.

Then they secretly induced, that literally means to underthrow. We kind of might say it, they threw him under the bus. That might be the way we'd put it. So, they underthrew these accusations. We have heard them speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. That meant that they did it kind of going around him and taking it above his level. since they couldn't defeat him in open argument, above his level and using this sneaky and I'm going to go around you approach. And then speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God, of course, if it were true, that would call for the death penalty. What they're going to do is get those accusations to hold and we're going to see how that happens here.

So it's time for plan B. Plan B is to start lying. So plan A had been for the men of the synagogue of the freedmen to work together to argue and dispute with Stephen so as to win the argument with the truth as it is in Moses' law. That was plan A. Didn't work. So now plan B. So these men felt forced to bring completely false testimony. What they did is there's actually a basis in truth that they twisted. They twisted. Stephen had been guilty of blasphemy, so they said, according to the testimony, against Moses and against God. We're going to see how that stands up.

So Acts 6.12, and they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the council. So notice that in Acts 15, 11, the same stirring up of the people happened with Christ. So one of the interesting things as we look at this account with Stephen, there's a great deal of it that parallels what happened with Christ in terms of the stirring up the people, the false accusations, even specifically what the false accusations were have some parallels. We're going to see that again in Acts 14 and 17. and what is Paul's first and second missionary journeys.

And the people, of course, are again Jews, a reference to the Jews here. The elders and scribes are subgroups of the council. The elders were typically older ones from ruling people around Israel, oftentimes heads of tribes, and oftentimes some of the more wealthy. The scribes were those who would not only copy scripture, but essentially go around and write legal documentation of different kinds. So these were subgroups in the council.

We saw them previously mentioned in chapter 4 and verses 5 and 8. So I brought them up before these same groups of people. He dragged away, this is a term that gets used again several different times in the book of Acts. It means arrest and temporary imprisonment. Arrest and temporary imprisonment. and then brought them before the council. Typically it took less than 24 hours. They would bring somebody, put them under arrest and keep them in a temporary holding cell and then bring them up usually within 24 hours before the Sanhedrin. Notices would go out to the members of Sanhedrin to assemble. And so that was the usual procedure and that's what had taken place here apparently.

You have here, usually we have this larger, but we were running out of room. But you see here the Chamber of Hewn Stone in this diagram here showing the temple area. This is in the southern part of the inner temple in the center. That was the place where the Sanhedrin, the council, typically met. And that meeting place looked like this. You had 35 members on each side, kind of in a horseshoe shape.

At the head of that was the high priest. The high priest at this time was still Caiaphas. Caiaphas ruled from about 26 until about, excuse me, 18 AD until about 36 or 37 AD. So he was still in charge here. If he was somehow absent, not present, Annas, who was his father-in-law, would take over the role.

But here would be the accused standing before these people, facing the high priest, and with the others in a horseshoe shape around them. And then, so here would be Stephen before the high priest, and with these accusations being made, people brought in to testify. Now, so just two years before, in fact about the same month, two years before, Jesus had been treated similarly by the leaders of the Jews. It wasn't most likely in this exact same place, but nearby another facility.

We're going to see many of the same treatments of the believers in Christ will happen again as we go through this. So will we see this again? The answer is yes. Here's Acts 6, 13 and 14, and they put forth false witnesses who said, This man incessantly speaks against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us. putting forth false witnesses. This is out of Matthew 26 and Mark 14 as you have noted there.

They've done the exact same thing with Jesus. So this is the same plan B brought out again. He speaks against this holy place that is against the temple and one of the reasons they can say this holy place is they were in the temple building itself and again in the southern part of the inner temple. And so that same accusation was made against Christ and against the law, speaking against Moses.

And actually what actually happened with Christ repeatedly, Christ deliberately healed on the Sabbath. He did it again and again and again. We have one instance where he healed in the morning some and then all afternoon until sundown on the Sabbath. He healed and healed and healed and healed and healed.

And here's some quotes of exactly that thing happening. So just as had happened with Christ, here is Stephen being accused of the same thing. So this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place, and of course Jesus did in fact say things like, destroy this temple and in three days I'll raise it up. Well he was not threatening the physical temple there at all, although he had told them that everything will be knocked down here, not one stone left upon another, he was referring to his own body that would be raised up.

But nonetheless, it could be distorted and was then, and was in this instance. So after the customs which Moses handed down to us. What they mean by that customs which Moses handed down to us, is as the Jews had, they had 613 individual statutes. 365 of those were things not to do. And so here, what this is talking about is all the other things that they added to the law. So it's the customs which Moses handed down to us was not actually customs that Moses handed down, but everything else that they used to encrust and corrupt the law and add to it over time.

So, it's deja vu all over again, right? And this is, of course, commonly attributed to Yogi Berra, not the Yogi Bear, right? Yogi Berra, right? But in fact, what you have is an instance here where what had happened with Christ was now happening with Stephen. The very same corrupt strategies, okay, and the false accusations that were brought against Christ just two years before to the month, okay, were also brought against Stephen. The council that had considered false accusations against Jesus were about to consider those exact same accusations against Stephen, right?

Hey, let's play this record again, right? Let's play this tape again. Almost exactly the same individuals were in the council, only as much change as might have taken place over a couple of years period of time. Otherwise, it was essentially the same group of people. at the same time as Jesus' trial, including Caiaphas still being high priest. So same guy, right? Same one. He's the one that said, hey, let's have Jesus die for the sins of the people, right? Okay.

Acts 6.15, and fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the council saw his face like the face of an angel. So Stephen had their full attention. They fixed their gaze on him. That's a word, by the way, we're going to want to focus on a little bit. And here, unique in the Old, excuse me, in the whole New Testament is someone having a face like the face of an angel. Nobody else we see had that description. He had not yet spoken. Hmm, okay.

So, fixing their gaze, this is actually a word that we're going to be revisiting upon. It is one of the terms that is used for beholding the Lord, and one of the reasons why we're going to focus on it. I've given a list of all the different places where that word is used. It turns out, except for two places in 2 Corinthians 3, where the Apostle Paul says they could not keep their gaze on Him, All the other references are from the hand of Luke and most of those in the book of Acts, only two in the gospel of Luke, all the rest of them again and again and again in the book of Acts. But it's one that's very important for us to take a look at, whether or not you, you know, remember the Greek term here, Atenizo, it's not a name for a disease, as far as I know anyway. This word means to fix or set one's gaze, and there are some synonyms we'll be looking at as well.

This word is so important because the next time we're going to see this word, it will be used to describe Stephen fixing his gaze into heaven. seeing the glory of God, and he sees Jesus standing, using this exact same word. We're going to see it many times as we go through the book of Acts and make careful note of it because it's an important word.

So our beholding the living Word of God, as we'll see especially as we get into next week's passage, through the written Word of God is an essential aspect of our fellowship with Him. Got that? Our beholding the living Word of God, Christ, through the written Word of God, the Bible, is an essential aspect of our fellowship with Him. That is, by the way, one of the reasons why we gather here this morning, is to behold the Lord through His Word.

Now, how about this face like an angel? Did Stephen look angelic? At first I thought, imagine all these love songs from the 50s and 60s, you know, about, you know, she's an angel and she had the face like an angel and all those things, you know. And of course, that's probably not how he looked, right?

So what did that mean? Think about it. Oftentimes, because there's a lot of mythology in our culture about angels. Did you know that? I mean, some of the pictures of angels have the male angels look like they've been pumping iron for a thousand years, right? Some of the other male angels, you see them all tempted with some female angel. I mean, there's all kinds of crazy stuff that goes on in the name of angels. The Bible, by the way, never describes a female angel, right?

It doesn't do that. That's, again, more mythology, right? the face of an angel. What did that mean? Here's, I think, one of the clues that we have in Exodus 34, 29, and 35. Moses' face also shone brightly. The council should have recognized that in Stephen. Whoa!

But you notice these guys were not impressed by signs and wonders. These guys were not impressed by powerful argumentation and oratory, laying down of the facts. So these guys, it doesn't matter what you show them, they're not understanding, they're not getting it, because they don't want to.

An angel was and is a messenger of God, even those angels who delivered the law of Moses. We have a reference here in Galatians 3.19 and Hebrews 2.2.

It was by angels that the majority of the law of Moses was delivered. We have how many written on stone by the finger of God? The ten, right? On tablets. The rest of them all delivered by angels from any evidence that we have here. It was angels who delivered the law of Moses and so guess what? To have the face of an angel means this guy is about to deliver. He's about to deliver them God's message just like an angel does. So this is not an angel, oh isn't that cute, right? This is an angel like, here is a guy that talks face to face with God. Here is a guy who is going to deliver God's message. And by the way, many times when people saw the face of an angel, what was their response? The angel had to tell them first thing, do not be afraid.

Those are the references we have there in Matthew 28, Luke 1.13, 1.30, and 2.10. Do not be afraid, do not be afraid, do not be afraid. Apparently these guys weren't afraid enough. Alright.

Those angels did not speak against the law, they were the ones who delivered it to Moses. Earlier on, we made note of these points about Stephen. Stephen was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and power, full of the Holy Spirit, performing great wonders and signs among the people. This particular group was not to be swayed by Stephen's character, spirit, actions, words, or even having the face of an angel, which ought to have gotten their attention. Not impacted by anything. So you say, why was Stephen like this? So, did Stephen try really hard to be full of grace and power and faith in the Spirit? Was that his own effort? Did Stephen go, now I'm full? Is that what happened? Probably not. Did he work on it with great personal effort and immense natural ability?

No. Stephen had these qualities and could do the things that Dr. Luke describes for us consistently because of his utter dependence upon the Lord. The intimacy that he had with Christ, even though he was a Hellenistic Jew, right? All that set aside. He depended upon the Lord. He had an intimate relationship with him. He knew the Lord. That's how he could speak powerfully and have the face of an angel.

So, one of the questions we could ask, if a person does everything right and lives exactly how God wants them to live, does that mean that their life will be free of troubles and trials and difficulties? I've actually been in churches where they've taught this.

I kind of roll my eyes, uh-oh, this is a problem, right? where leaders of churches are exhorting people, you're going through troubles in your life because you're not doing X, Y, and Z. If you were doing everything right, then God wouldn't be picking on you like this, right?

So guess what's going to happen to this guy Stephen? This guy Stephen, he is, as we would say, doing everything right, right? But not getting that kind of a treatment. If a person says all the right things in the right way, exactly as God wants them, then will everything go smoothly for that person, and will his relationships all be peachy? No. Not happening. Especially not for Stephen.

He is case in point. As a matter of fact, we could ask a very good question. Here is a man, Stephen, the church is very young, He has possibly been a believer for two years or less. But great things are happening through this guy. It is evident, Dr. Luke records repeatedly, he is full of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and power. This guy is by the Lord's doing and by the Lord's operation an amazing man, a phenomenal man. If you were God, would you decide, hey, that guy is doing great things, I think I'll bring him home. Would you say that? Would you do that? Would you make that decision? Probably you and I wouldn't.

And we might even ask that at different times where we've come across, boy, it's amazing, the Lord just took this guy home, it seemed like he was doing great things. Maybe even, you know, this guy was really young and the Lord took him home. I used to work with a fellow who used to work in the ministry with Keith Green, the musician. Right? Christian musician. And he said he was there at the ministry office when the plane crashed in the airfield. He saw it go down. Everybody was stunned.

Here he was in the middle of ministry and the guy was having an impact and the Lord took him home. Why would the Lord do that? And we're going to address that here as we look at the life of Stephen. Why would the Lord do that? He does. And He did it in the life of Stephen. One of the things, and we've been talking about it here in the elective that meets in this room right before, is oftentimes God is doing something that is not evident to us. God has an entirely different process in place than what we would design.

As a matter of fact, if you look at the various things that God allows in our life, and if the Lord were at some point in time to say, okay, here's all the different things that I might bring in your life, sign here. Would you sign? Probably not. And you might say, I'll sign, but I've got to strike out this and this and this, right? But in fact, the Lord has something very purposeful in mind for those things. We point out that being conformed is a process that the Lord takes us through. The ultimate end is predestined. But being conformed is a process. And it was based upon, you know, hammer strikes. Hammer strikes again and again. Tap, tap.

Our growth does not come about by just a bunch of good things happening. And what is all this about? It's getting us ready for something else. The time that we spend here is a whole lot shorter than the time we're going to spend with the Lord. And he's looking at that. He says, that's what really matters.

And so if we go about looking at the circumstances that we've got and say, Oh, Lord, you messed up here. You know, you're supposed to clear the way here and take this difficulty away. And we immediately get down on our knees and pray, Lord, you know, make that go away and heal this guy and heal me and, you know, get the situation worked out. And the Lord says, nothing doing.

Because I've got something else in mind. So here is Stephen. full of faith and full of power and twice full of the Holy Spirit. And God says I want him home. Today. Right now. It is amazing what the Lord is doing. And it's all because he loves us. Let's pray. Thank you Lord for your word as we begin to look We say the life of Stephen, but as we begin to look at the end of life for Stephen, and first having seen who he is and what he's done, and that he is full of the Holy Spirit, twice it says. What an amazing thing, and we would ask that you would teach us, teach us not just in our heads, but in our hearts and in our lives, the truths that come from this. And we thank you for those marvelous truths you've given to us because you love us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.