Sermon Tone Analysis
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Are We Worshipping Idols?
Introduction
Last week - saw 7 men chosen help 12 Apostles take care of food distribution
1 of those was Stephen - described full of faith & Holy Spirit
Appears Stephen’s role covered various aspects of ministry incl.
preaching
During time when he’s sharing gospel at own synagogue in Jerusalem...
Some people disagreed with what Stephen said & start arguing
But Stephen inspired & empowered by H Spirit - arguments failed
So these disgruntled people instigated mob against Stephen
Came up with serious charges against him
& found people to lie as witnesses in support of charges
Grabbed Stephen & dragged him before Sanhedrin Council in Temple
These were head Jewish religious leaders incl.
High Priest Ciaphas
They were most powerful group in holy land at time - Slide
These were charges made against Stephen
And also - Slide
,
Instead of trying to defend himself - Stephen does something unexpected
Acts6:
Instead of
Inspired by God’s Spirit he turns those accusations on their head
Using history of Hebrew people - shows his accuses they’re ones guilty
Guilty making idols of how they worshipped, where worshipped, who worshipped
Slide
The "How We Worship” Idol
So first accusation made against Stephen
Spoken words against Law & claimed Jesus will change customs given to Jewish people
1 of things Jewish people very sensitive about - Law & religious customs / traditions
So Stephen tells history of Jewish people - incl.
story of Moses
Moses on Mt Sinai after leading Hebrew people out of Egypt
God gives Moses His living oracles - God’s living words / Torah / Law
Mosaic Law & all religious customs / traditions developed afterwards - Jews believed holy
Religious leaders, Sanhedrin, Pharisees, Scribes etc believed upheld & kept all God Laws
But Stephen shows them - firstly at Mt Sinai in desert people got Aaron / Moses brother
To make golden calf statue - then bowed down worshipped it then...
Later in history Jewish people repeatedly turned away from God worshipped false gods
So God sent Jewish people into exile in Babylon
They had history oppressing & murdering prophets, treating own people unjustly
all climaxed with bearing false witness & then murdering Righteous One / Messiah
So Stephen says actually its you religious leaders guilty speaking falsely of God’s Law
You can imagine that made those listening very very mad - Slide
You can imagine that made those listening very very mad - Slide
There are lots houses being built around Papamoa where we live
On windy days we seem to get all msorts of builders rubbish blowing into our garden
Building houses is messy business - with all digging up earth for foundations
laying pipes, electrical & phone wires, pouring concrete, nailing wooden frames
Cutting 2x4’s all wood dust, metal cuttings off roofing metal, bits of building paper
Plastic pipes, gibboard dust, paint, pink batts, scaffolding
And all this is done in sorching sun, pouring rain, gailforce winds - Slide
But its not until all mess has been cleaned up you get to see end result of all hard work
Owners get to walk up to & into this beautiful new home
Been transformed from big mess into something new, clean, perfect
Our lives as Christians are like houses being built - messy & caotic
God builder - He works within us throughout our lives so we’ll be ready for eternity
Problem for Jewish people = got hung up what they were doing outwardly to worship God
Got fixed on what
Actually lost sight of what law was for & what God was trying to say to them - Slide
Sadly Jesus had told exact same thing Stephen told them
Jesus
Religious leaders focused on outwardly keeping religious laws / customs
Yet inwardly hadn’t changed at all - Jesus called them white washed tombs
Clean on outside but on inside is death - nothing living - Slide
Stephen called the stu
Acts
Stephen accused them of stubbornness & essentially not cutting or removing sin in lives - Slide
God’s original intent = Law wasn’t an outward thing about doing religious things
God’s original intent Law wasn’t an outward thing about doing religious things
But it would affect our hearts & minds - we’d become different from inside
Jesus summed up whole of OT in 1 commandment - remember?
We need to love God with all that we are & love people equally
You can’t do that outwardly - its got to come from within -
So our lives as Christians are like houses being built - messy & caotic
God builder - He works within us throughout our lives so we’ll be ready for eternity - Slide
So 1st challenging question Stephen puts to us today is;
Is HOW I worship more important to me than WHO I’m worshipping?
Just like Jewish people - we too can make an idol out of how we worship
Make an idol out of our personal or church religious traditions
So do we worship the doing rather than the one we’re doing it for?
- Slide
The “Where We Worship” Idol
Second accusation against Stephen was regarding the Temple
They said Stephen spoke words against the holy place - Temple in Jerusalem
For 1st C Jewish people - very sensitive subject - Temple was centre of Jewish religion
Second accusation
And Stephen said Jesus of Nazareth will destroy temple - sometime in future
For 1st C Jewish people - very sensitive subject - Temple centre of Jewish religion
Its interesting Stephen’s accusers pick up on that - there’s small element of truth in lie
What did Jesus say?
Now Jesus wasn’t talking about literally Temple building
We understand he was actually talking about his own body
Jesus predicted Jewish leaders would destroy his body (temple)
But God would raise him from death 3 days later - Slide
This what Jesus did say about Temple
I.e.
Jesus declared with his arrival - Temple now obsolete
What Jesus did say about Temple
Only through Jesus
No need for it - because we can worship God anywhere
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