Praying through Acts- Chapter 7

Daniel R Tidmore

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Acts 7:55–56 NKJV

55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Tonight, we begin our seventh week of praying through Acts. We will look at Acts 7.

Acts 7 is a continuation of the events of Acts 6. Remember that the book of Acts is a book of prayer. As God’s people prayed, He answered their prayers by sending His power through the Holy Spirit.

Once they walked in the Spirit’s power, they did everything they could to perpetuate and exalt the name and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This was a problem for the enemy. For centuries he had his hold on people and nations. Now, the early church turned the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How did the church work so effectively to spread the gospel?

They recieved the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to give them power after the Holy Spirit came upon them.

Acts 1 - promise of power

Acts 2 - received power

Acts 3 - exercised power

Acts 4 - prayed for more power

Acts 5- people lied and God displayed His power

Acts 6- conflict arose and God used people of power to help the church

One of these people of power was one of the first deacons, Stephen. He was full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit.

There continues to become clear distinction between the church and the religious leaders in Judaism. The religious leaders hated the church and wanted to stop them at all costs.

But God used Stephen to remind them of what God accomplished in Israel’s past. Acts 7 is the longest chapter in Acts and through it, we see how we should remember what God has done for us when we pray.

In Stephen’s final words on earth, he took time to remind the listener and reader of God’s faithfulness and plans for His church.

When we pray, part of our prayer life should also include remembering. When we remember God’s faithfulness in the past, it helps is our current state.

As we prepare to pray, I want to look at what Stephen said to the High Priest and how the God of the past revealed Himself to Stephen as He remembered God’s faithfulness.

1. Remember God’s Promises

Acts 7:2–3 NKJV

2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’

In Acts 6, the religious people stirred up the crowd, telling lies about Stephen. He, as a man of God, stared at people people who wanted to kill him, but he chose to remind them of what God did in the past.

He started by going back to a famous individual in Israelite history— Abraham. Everything went back to Abraham. Why was he so important?

God promised Abraham to give him a land that would one day belong to his descendants. He guaranteed that through this nation, the entire world would be blessed.

I want to step away from Acts for a moment and remark that it is interesting that we’re praying through Acts 7 tonight. Yesterday, there was an attack on Israel.

Nations are coming together to take away Israel’s autonomy and ability to govern. But God IS a God of His promises and He STILL blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel.

Therefore, we must do what Isaiah

Isaiah 62:6–7 NKJV

6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

As Stephen looked at these religious people who had no relationship with God, he reminded them of God’s promises.

The promise passed from Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob, to Joseph, even though Israel endured 400 years of slavery.

We should quote and declare God’s promises over our lives as we pray.

God Never forgets His promises, sometimes we need the reminder.

2. Remember God’s Power

Acts 7:30–33 NKJV

30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

Stephen reminded how God raised a deliverer for Israel. He used Moses, under the most extreme circumstances, to lead God’s children out of bondage.

Moses’ life was forever changed when He revealed His power to Moses. As he minded his business tending to his father-in-law’s flock, he saw a bush that burned but was not consumed.

From the bush God spoke and Moses stood before the Lord’s holiness. As He experienced God’s power, the Lord promised that he would also walk in God’s power.

God used him to perform the miraculous. That does not mean it happened without a fight. The enemy attacked Moses every chance he had.

But God never forgot His promise to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. He brought them out by His might power and eventually they entered the Promised Land.

As we pray, we should remind ourselves of the times God displayed His power.

Remembering God’s power gives us confidence that He will remain powerful in every season of our lives.

3. Remembering God’s Presence

Acts 7:44–48 NKJV

44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, 46 who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built Him a house. 48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

Stephen moved his attention from God using individuals to His presence and activity in all of Israel.

He looked at the men who accused him of desecrating God’s temple and told them the original purpose of the Tabernacle and Temple.

God used the Temple to become a place where His presence and glory would dwell. However, God never intended to dwell in Temples forever.

Instead, He initiated a new plan. Through the death of Jesus, He will save people from their sins and now those who believe in His resurrection will become TEMPLES of the Holy Spirit.

As we draw closer to God, He will pour out His presence and we will have a renewed faith and trust in God.

Close:

Stephen had a captive audience, but he wanted to show them that they were on the wrong side of history. Many times God would reveal HIs promise, power, and presence.

And be it through Abraham, Moses, or David, there were always people used by the enemy to cause problems and stir up conflict.

Acts 7:51–52 NKJV

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,

He showed them that they were just like those who had come against God and His plan in the past. Stephen reminded his enemies about all God could do.

Did that make his enemies happy?

No, they were cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth all ready to stone him, but this did not bother Stephen.

Acts 7:55–56 NKJV

Stephen looked up and saw Jesus, standing at God’s right hand, ready to welcome Him.

Think about it, Jesus responded to Stephen’s remembering God’s promises, power, and presence! Therefore, the mocks of their enemy did not stop Him, instead, he was surrounded by the presence of Jesus.

The crowd became livid and began to stone him. But Stephen concluded his time on earth praying like Jesus, God receive my spirit and do not hold this sin against them.

Like Stephen we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy. But we have the advantage.

When we pray, we must can remember what God has done.

There is a song I like and part of the lyrics say, “remember, I’m just human, and human’s forget. So remind me, remind me dear Lord.”

When we remember what God has done, it builds our faith and gives us victory over the enemies attacks and lies.