The Past of the Church

Introduction

Acts 7 is an interesting part of Scripture. It is basically a speech that is made be the new apostle Stephen. Verse 1 has the high priest asking Stephen a question. Acts 7:1

Acts 7:1 NIV84

1 Then the high priest asked him, “Are these charges true?”

Stephen answers that question in the next 52 verses.

I would highly encourage you to read this passage so you can fully see how this answer is given. Stephen starts with the time of Abraham which was about 2100 BC and gives a history lesson all the way to about 60 AD. 2100 BC-60 AD

He begins with Abraham and tells how God told him to leave his country and go to the land he is told to go. Acts 7:5

Acts 7:5 NIV84

5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

Then he tells about the miracle of this old childless couple being told they would have descendants as many as the stars. He blessed Abraham with Isaac and Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of the 12 patriarchs. He spoke of how these brothers became jealous of Joseph.

Acts 7:9 NIV84

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

Joseph finds favor of Pharaoh and was made ruler over Egypt. This position enables Joseph to help his family when the famine struck the rest of the land. Stephen goes on to tell how Moses entered into the picture as a Hebrew boy cared for by the royalty of Egypt. Acts 7:22

Acts 7:22 NIV84

22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

At the age of 40, Moses visits his fellow Israelites and finds one being mistreated. Going to the defense, he kills the one that had been mistreating another. Witnesses saw what Moses did and he was confronted.

Acts 7:29 NIV84

29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

Forty years passed and an angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush. He heard the voice of God. Acts 7:32

Acts 7:32 NIV84

32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

Moses had a holy encounter with God and God directed him to go back to Egypt to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. Stephen shares that Moses had several encounters with God as the people were being set free.

Acts 7:37 NIV84

37 “This is that Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.’

Stephen’s speech is full of history and tradition that the high priest would have known well. Stephen decides to turn things up a notch.

Acts 7:39 NIV84

39 “But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

Stephen tells of how the tabernacle was designed by the direction of God and how the people made it a place where God dwelt. Stephen turns it up another notch speaking about the tabernacle:

Acts 7:48–50 (NIV84)

48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

49 “ ‘Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me?

says the Lord.

Or where will my resting place be?

50 Has not my hand made all these things?’

With more boldness than ever, Stephen says,

Acts 7:51–53 NIV84

51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”

His speech ends with these words.

Acts 7:54–60 NIV84

54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen’s speech or really more of a sermon, has a couple of things about which we need to think. There are four questions I would like to pose to us as we think about our past, particularly how we were raised spiritually. Not necessarily how our parents raised us, but how we have grown in our faith and what the church of our past has taught us.

Did We Learn From the Past?

First question, did we learn from the past?

The History

Stephen’s ability to recall history is quite fascinating. I have mentioned that he tells the Biblical story from Abraham to his present day. His detail is quite accurate and very amazing. He tells the Biblical narrative that we have in Genesis, Exodus, the Prophets, and part of the Psalms. I am reminded that Scripture is life changing. Learning a full grasp of Scripture will enable one to talk freely about God’s plan. Romans 15:4

Romans 15:4 NIV84

4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

We should learn from the past and remember it is an honor to do so.

The Honor

Scripture is given to us as a guidebook. We, as the people of God, can learn from the past of the church as we strive to serve Him daily.

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV84

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

We also need to be reminded in looking at the past how God has saved us from the horrific.

The Horrific

The horrific is that sin separates us from God. Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 NIV84

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 5:17 NIV84

17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

The horrific is that sin hardens us and keeps us from that loving relationship with God.

Ephesians 4:18 NIV84

18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Yes, we can learn from the past!

Are We Living in the Past?

The second question for us is, are we living in the past? Do you know what the last words of a dying church are?

“WE AIN’T NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT BEFORE!”

What happens is we become satisfied.

Being Satisfied

When we are satisfied, we think we cannot do better. We think that we doing all that God desires. Jesus came to comfort the disturbed but also to disturb the comfortable.

God desires us to continue to grow and become more like Jesus! In fact, that should be our prayer.

Colossians 1:10 NIV84

10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

We should never be satisfied.

Being Stuck

Sometimes we live in the past because we are stuck. We allow the past to dictate our lives and hinder us from going forward. We think that we aren’t smart enough or good enough. We are stuck in the rut of pride and self-centeredness. Stephen’s words were “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!” (Acts 7:51)

Do you have religion or a relationship?

Are you stuck? When we are stuck, we need to be reminded that we can be smart.

Being Smart

What I mean by this is that God gives us the freedom to boldly share our faith with others. Stephen boldly went where no man had gone before except for Jesus. Remember the main verse of Acts? Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NIV84

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

God desires us to share our faith. We can be assured that He has equipped us and will enable us to carry out this task. His faithfulness in the past will assure of His faithfulness in the present and the future.

Can We Lean on the Past?

There is no doubt we can lean on the past as we go into the future.

Foundationally

I think it is important to remember the foundation on which the church is built. 1 Corinthians 3:11

1 Corinthians 3:11 NIV84

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

It is not denominationalism. It is not tradition. It is not “the way we have always done it.” Stephen calls Jesus the Righteous One in Acts 7:52. It was Jesus that fulfilled the prophets’ predictions, the predictions for which these prophets were persecuted and killed. The prophets pointed to the Messiah, the One that was sinless and righteous. Isaiah 53:11

Isaiah 53:11 (NIV84)

11 After the suffering of his soul,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous

servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

If your foundation is anything but Jesus, you are building a faith that will collapse. Therefore, we must lean on the past truth of Jesus being our sure foundation.

Firmly

We must firmly believe in this and not sway. Psalm 119:89

Psalm 119:89 (NIV84)

89 Your word, O Lord, is eternal;

it stands firm in the heavens.

The way that Stephen firmly stood on the Word of God is amazing to me. Could you provide that detail? When I was in seminary, one of my Old Testament classes required that I learn details. The final exam question was this: “Describe the Exodus.” We had to write out all the details about Moses, the plagues, the signs and wonders, and the ten commandments. Everything had to be precise and biblically sound. It was a tedious task but it was one that was doable! God has given us His Word that we can study it, learn it, and live by it. One of the things we learn is that we are no longer in bondage to the law, but we can live freely.

Freely

Allow me to explain this further. In Stephen’s speech, He makes reference to the tabernacle and the belief that God lived within that tabernacle. Acts 7:48

Acts 7:48 (NIV84)

48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men.

I am reminded from this that God can be worshiped in places other than the traditional meeting places. We are free to worship in this sanctuary as well as outside of this sanctuary. In fact, there are 168 hours in a week. We spend maybe one hour in here each week. Does that mean we are not to worship the other 167 hours we are not in here? Of course it does not! The word worship means “an act or practice expressing devotion, reverence, and adoration towards God.”

Psalm 29:2 (NIV84)

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

This is a daily, moment by moment activity! We are free to do so because of the access given by Jesus!

Can We Leave the Past?

When it comes to the past, we must remember these things. While we can remember, we have to leave the past and move on to the present and the future. In doing so, we must look inward.

Inward

What has Christ done in your life? How has He saved you?

Onward

We must go onward realizing we are a work in progress. Philippians 3:12

Philippians 3:12 NIV84

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Upward

But always, we must look upward.

Acts 7:56 NIV84

56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Life is fleeting. When the early church elected Stephen as an apostle, it was not to be for just a little while. They elected him to serve for a long time. Somehow, the providence of God so fit to cut his life short. Every moment we have is gift from God. We need to live like it!

Alfred Lord Tennison wrote:

He heeded not reviling tones,

Nor sold his heart to idle moans,

Though cursed and scorned and bruised with stones.

But looking upward, full of grace;

He prayed- and from a happy place

God’s Glory smote him on the face.