Turning The World Upside Down: Casting Down Sacred Cows: Acts 6:8-7:60

I. Stephen’s Ministry vs. 8

A. Stephen was full of grace. Grace saves us, and changes us, and it shows by what we do. That is Stephen showed grace to everyone.

B. Stephen was Spirit-filled and therefore showed Holy Spirit power.

Acts 1:8 NASB95

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

C. Stephen also did many miracles, because they were a wicked, perverse, and weak generation.

John 4:48 NASB95

So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”

II. Stephen’s Message: 6:9-7:53

A. The Hellenistic Jews were coming against Stephen, and they couldn’t defeat him, so like religious people often do, they tried to destroy their “enemy”.

B. Stephen was calm, having the face of an angel shows that he had a message to give.

C. Stephen goes through the Jewish history and hitting on all the traditions that they held dear. The 3 sacred cows he slew was the land, law, and temple.

D. Abraham didn’t possess the land they held dear.

E. Joseph went against the traditions, but God used him to protect the ones who sold him into slavery. Yahweh will often use the person you hurt, to help you, and your family in a major way, and if you’re the one who was hurt, then He will use you to take care of those who hurt you. This also shows that they were blessed outside the Holy Land.

F. Moses tried to do God’s work his way and failed miserably. God sent him into the wilderness, where he stayed for 40 years.

G. Moses was used outside of Palestine. Holy ground is wherever God is.

H. The law Moses gave was rejected by them (vs. 39-40).

I. The Temple was suppose to be a picture of God’s presence, not the end in and of itself. (vs. 48-50).

J. “What does all this have to do with us today? The land. It is possible to imagine that since we live in a privileged nation where so much good has been done and so many godly people reared, we will surely inherit God’s blessing. The law. Sometimes we, like the Jews of old, make a fetish out of God’s Word. We carry it with us, mark it appropriately, thumb it piously, but fail to let it take root in our hearts. The temple. It is easy to suppose that since we go to the place where God has chosen to meet his people, we will receive special blessings. Three times, not necessarily so! It is possible to have all these things and yet be pitifully and utterly damned, or saved but defeated and disobedient.”- R. Kent Hughes.

III. Stephen’s Martyrdom vs. 54-60

A. These people were just as stiff-necked. and reprobate as their fathers. Just as they rejected Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they rejected a follower of Jesus who was Spirit filled and killed him.

B. Saying that he saw the Son of Man (an Old Testament title) Jesus used for Himself, standing at the right hand of God, caused them to go into a rage. It was illegal, but they didn’t care. They had to silence Stephen and his message!

C. Stephen dies like Jesus.