Acts 7: Unconditional Forgiveness

July 24th 2022

Series: Acts 7: Unconditional Forgiveness

Sermon Title: ADD

Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 7

Sermon Blurb: In our message today, we will see God working through a regular person who just loved God. We will see how even when bad things happen in our lives how we should respond. Come learn from an amazing man named Stephen.

Sermon:

Well, hello everyone!

Family Moment

Today we continue in our journey through the book of Acts.

If you want to grab your Bible, we will pick up where we left off in Acts 7

PAUSE

Now if you are new or newer to Family Church let me explain how we approach messages.

We are a church that really believes in the word of God, the Bible.

What we do as a church, week in and week out, is we bring our Bibles to church.

We open our Bibles.

We read our Bibles.

We study our Bibles.

And we ask God….how can we apply this to our lives today.

And so, we will simply do that today.

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If you do not have your Bible with you I would encourage you to download our FamilyChurch.App.

There you can find the sermon notes, a free Bible and so much more.

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And since we do not want anyone to feel like they are behind, let me share a few things to catch you up on if you are new or newer today.

The book of Acts is all about how the church we know today started.

We are walking through how the church started and grew.

We are seeing how the church operated in the culture and country they were a part of.

We are seeing the church being attacked by the culture around them and how they respond by just pointing people toward God and not trying to tear down their culture or even really fight their culture.

Last week we saw how the early church delegated leadership as the early church grew and learned some good leadership lessons.

TWICE last week God talked about the church growing!

And we saw that as the church was growing in influence…..

The culture around the church did not like it.

So the people in community leadership started doing things to try and tear down the early church leaders.

PAUSE

Have you ever been there before?

Your career is taking off!

You are so excited to see it!

You love what you are doing.

And then out of nowhere…..a co-worker or boss hits you with something…..

You’re on a sports team and you have great friends.

Then you make it to varsity and your friends don’t….and suddenly your friends don’t want to hang out.

You are FINALLY in a good relationship and are so happy.

Then out of nowhere you friends or family start tearing the person you love apart and you do not know why.

You are in college and you love your major.

But your parents don’t think it is the right thing for you.

Or your friends are pushing you to change your major.

Or you hear there are no good jobs in your future field.

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What do we do when we are being attack by people?

What do we do when it seems like our entire culture wants to rip us down?

What do we do when people we thought were our friends are bashing us?

What do we do when we think we are following God…..but it seems like everything is so much harder in life now….

If you have ever been there….Today’s message is for you.

If you haven’t been in one of those places yet….please lean into this message and file it away for when this happens to you in the future….

Because I promise you…sadly you will go through that at some point..

PAUSE

And let me say one last thing as we get into this.

Today is about a guy named Stephen.

We learned last week Stephen was a REGULAR guy like you and me.

He was not one of the closest follower of Jesus when he lived on earth.

He was a regular dude.

A regular guy who loved God.

A regular guy who had faith.

A regular guy who was filled with God’s Spirit.

So he was nothing special.

He had NO advantage in life over any person in this room when it comes to spirituality.

He was NOT a Pastor, or Rabbi or Elder….

He was just a regular guy following Jesus and doing what Jesus told him to do and Jesus was moving through him in mighty ways.

The EXACT same thing can be true for everyone listening to this!

PLEASE don’t miss that as we read what happens today.

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Stephen is attracting people to follow Jesus…..but there is a problem.

The church leaders of that time do NOT LIKE IT….

Because they are losing power.

And here I want you to note again; what I said several weeks ago…..on how we preach at Family Church….

You are going to see Stephen preaching like Peter did earlier in the book of Acts.

You will see Stephen summarizing parts of the Bible.

Directly quoting the Bible

And giving real life application from the Bible.

The same thing that we try to do week in and week out.

Acts 7: Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin: Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

Stop there…he is talking about the accusations from last week in chapter 6.

That is why you need to be in church every week to know!

Verse 2…..

2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’

4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’

8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.

13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all.

15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’

19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. 20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family.

21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.

25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. 30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.

31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 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.

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’

41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.

Pause there…..

Stephen just summarized a massive portion of the Old Testament.

Stephen started out by explaining to the people something that they all understood.

He started out by finding common ground with them.

Those words guided the minds of the people in the direction he wanted to go in this “sermon.”

Then Stephen goes back to directly quoting the Bible.

This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

Write this down….it is not in your notes…

Read Amos 5:25 this week and you will see that he is referencing that prophecy right here in his sermon!

Again…..Stephen….Peter…and Family Church…..

We all preach the same way!

We open up our Bibles….

We quote them….

We read them…..

We explain them…..

We apply it to your lives….

Do you see it church?

We are not trying to invent something NEW here at Family Church we are simply trying to go back to the basics of the early church…..

People ask us all the time, “Why do you think Family Church is growing when so many other churches are shrinking?”

I truly believe it is how we approach doing church.

We are not trying to be some super hip church.

We are not trying to be a church that feels like being at a concert.

We are not trying to be a church that preaches so deeply that no one knows what the Pastor is trying to say.

We are not trying to be a church that focuses on the cultural topics of the day…..

Our model is really quite simple.

Open the Word of God…the Bible….

Read the Word of God…the Bible…

Explain the Word of God….the Bible.

Apply the Word of God…the Bible….to our lives…..

We are NOT reinventing anything….we are simply going back to the basics of Jesus first church….

It worked to grow the church thousands of years ago….and is working today!

Do you see it Church?????

Let’s keep reading….verse 44….

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David,

46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

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

Here again Stephen….a regular guy who just knows his Bible…

Stephen is just explaining scripture to quoting parts of it!

Here you see him quoting part of of Matthew and Isaiah.

This is not rocket science!

It is called just learn our Bibles!

Anyone can do this!

Read our Bibles….

Learn our Bibles…..

Share what we learn with others….

Super simple model….

Verse 49…..

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?’

Pause here church….

Now you are going to see a shift in Stephen.

He goes from connecting with his audience.

To preaching…

To quoting the Bible…

To giving some application..

And now he shifts into accountability mode.

And this is the part of preaching that is the hardest!

No one likes being told what they are doing is wrong…..

No one likes being told they are not good enough….

No one likes hearing, “You do not understand”….

NO ONE really likes accountability….but it is a necessary part of all teaching…..

PAUSE

I know I have offended some of you with things I have said.

I know I have offended some of you with the things I have challenged you to do…..

But understand…..if I….if anyone is challenging you to be more like Jesus…..

or to follow the Bible….

and you get mad at them…..

Your battle is not with that person….

It is with your own heart and submission to God.

Because if you are mad at people trying to lead you to live a more Godly life…..

Your fight is NOT with that person!

It is with you own sinful desires!

PAUSE

And I know saying that will offend some of you….but the truth is truth….

PAUSE

Listen to what he says next to call people into accountability:

Verse 51

51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

Moses made this same cry in the Old Testament!!!

It is actually a common observation because the “religious” people throughout the Bible do not want to follow God as he moves…..

The “religious” people want to lead.

They want to do what they want to do and do not want to follow the leaders God has appointed over them.

It happened in the Old Testament, it happened in the New Testament, and it still happens today!

Well…not at our church….because you are all so amazing….but at other places LOL!!!

PAUSE

Let’s keep reading…Verse 52 he goes on to say

52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—

You KILLED JESUS!

53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

PAUSE

Stephen…..looks right at the people and said….You stiff-necked people!

Bear in mind something here….

Stephen is talking to the Sanhedrin…..

Stephen is talking to people that should have been looking for the coming Messiah….

People that should have been looking for Jesus.

And he says to them….you missed him!

And you not only missed what you’re looking for….you KILLED HIM!!!

Stephen told the good church people of his time…..

You have missed the point of church…..

You have missed the point of what you say you’re doing….

Here is the point I want you all to get from what Stephen says.

Don’t get so tied up in legalism that you cannot see God.

Repeat

That is what we have right here!

These great religious people were so tied up in their laws.

They were so tied up with how they defined God….that they could not see God when he walked among them!

They were so tied up with their version of doing church and worshiping God that they missed Jesus!

And not only did they miss Jesus….

They didn’t like the change Jesus brought so they killed him!

Legalism……

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And look at what the good church going folks did next….

The Stoning of Stephen: 54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

Now I want us to pause here and see the application to our lives today.

Let me ask you all a question.

How many of you have ever been offended in your life? Raise your hands if you have.

Now no lying in church….

How many of you right after someone offended you….went to God in prayer to see if by chance they were right….

How many of you….that is your gut reaction….

No one right….why?

Because we are human and when someone offends us we lash out!

PAUSE

But I want you to note something right here…..Stephen was 100% accurate and right in what he said.

They did exactly what he just said they did.

And they are offended because Stephen called them out on their SIN or their issue…..

And I bring this up because I know there are people listening to this message that have been hurt by someone…..and you are SO CAUGHT UP in your emotions of being offended….. you have never even stopped to ask God…..

Is what this person said or done….the right thing?

Is it possible that some I am being like the people we just read about in the Bible?

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And let me say this….if you find your defenses raising with me just saying that….you might really want to look at your heart….

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And look at what happens next:

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.”

God gives Stephen a sign that he is on the right path…..

Stephen gets something that I pray for all the time.

I pray and ask God often to give me an experience like Isiah where I can catch a glimpse of God’s glory…and be forever changed……

But if I can be honest today….I have never prayed to be persecuted like Isaiah or Stephen….which could lead to that moment I so wish to have….

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For many of us, myself included, we want the good stuff that comes from being a part of God….but we do not want any of the hardships….

PAUSE

Let’s finish this chapter….

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,

They covered their Ears and yelled….

We all know the phrase…don’t kill the messenger, right?

They did not like the message God was speaking….the really good church-going people of this time….did NOT like the message….so they covered their ears and scream so they can drown God out.

Let’s be real….we do the same thing today.

We do not want anyone challenging our sacred cows.

Don’t call me out on my hunting or fishing being more important than my relationship with God.

Don’t think about moving my special chair at home.

Don’t think about asking me to sing something other than hymns.

Don’t ask me to read the Bible more than the newspaper!

And if someone touches on an area we think can NEVER change….we react this this….

Or sometimes we let it get even worse like happens next:

Verse 58

58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

I know we don’t stone people with physical stones anymore…but we will throw stones of gossip really quick don’t we?

We will try to discredit people and their message…

I have taught on this before but this Saul here referenced is the Apostle Paul….the person who wrote most of the New Testament….

Later in his life, Saul had an encounter with Jesus and his life flipped upside down…

Later in life….a man who HATED Jesus…..

A man who wanted to destroy everything Jesus did.

A man who led the charge to destroy the early church we are studying….

He, in a vision, saw Jesus and talked to Jesus…..and realized his whole life was heading in the wrong direction. And he made the hard decisions that men listening to this message did not.

PAUSE

Saul made the decision to change.

I know there are people in this room that believe in God. That believe in Jesus….but you have never actually given your life to him.

You have never gotten to that point where your life is flipped upside down because you fully submit to God.

So many of us are partially submitted to God.

Let me give you some easy examples that can help you understand if you are partially submitted to God vs FULLY:

Question to find out how fully we are submitted to Jesus as Lord: How many people have I led to salvation through Jesus?

And I know what some of you are thinking…’

God leads people I don’t….True….but has God ever used you?

If not, why? Is it because you never talk to people that do not know God about God?

Jesus was SUPER clear we are to be making disciples….

So, question two…

Have I ever made a disciple of Jesus?

Who are you pouring into right now?

Who’s spiritual development are you investing in?

If no one; why?

Jesus was SUPER clear we are to be doing that.

So question three…

Do I give to God the BEST of my time, talent, and treasure?

Do you tithe? Do you give God the FIRST 10% of your money? Or is that an afterthought.

Do you only give to God if I have $ left at the end of the month.

Is tithing something that is prioritized under the cable bill?

Do you serve at church freely or only if you are begged?

Are you FULLY devoted to God….or are your partially devoted?

That is something I really want to encourage you to ponder…and if the answer comes up on partially….CHANGE.

Saul did later in life…and so can you…..

Verse 59

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed,

In the midst of being killed……Stephen prayed…

In the midst of being pelted with stones…..Stephen prayed….

And I am going to read this prayer slowly….because it is sooooo humbling to me as a Pastor and I hope it is to you as well….

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

He says, God…..I am yours….

God, here I come!

God, I know this is the end!

God, 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.

He ends….by forgiving…..

Stop and think about that…..

Stephen’s life ends by being murdered by a large group of people.

And Stephen’s last words are: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

PAUSE

I want to conclude with this….write this down.

Forgiven people forgive.

Forgiven people forgive.

Forgiven people forgive.

I want to end with a time for all of us to open up our hearts and forgive.

I know there are people here today….that you are holding on to pain.

You are holding on to hurt.

You are holding on to offense.

You are holding on to the past.

You are holding on to the pain of what someone did to you.

What someone said about you…

And you do not know how to let it go….you can’t let it go….

By your own power, you can never let it go….

But when you give your life to Jesus FULLY.

When you understand the power of being forgiven by God.

That when you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior that he FREELY forgives you of EVER sin you have ever committed….

Once you experience that kind of forgiveness….

It is out of that we can forgive.

So here is my challenge for you all this week.

Life Application: Search your heart for any unforgiveness. Repent and ask God to forgive you for harboring unforgiveness. Seek out the person you were unwilling to forgive and let them know the forgiveness God gave you has changed you and you freely forgive them.

Let’s Pray…..