The Word Teaches

Thought on This Chapter

Stephen was filled with the Holy Ghost and preached a powerful sermon.  (By the way that is what the filling of the Holy Spirit is for).  The people he preached to were under conviction and instead of getting right with God they stoned him. 

ACTS 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

ACTS 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

ACTS 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

ACTS 7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

ACTS 7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

ACTS 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

ACTS 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Paul was standing there when all this happened and held coats of those that stoned Stephen.  How do we know it was Paul and not someone else?  Paul himself said so. 

Act 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Act 22:20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

Paul had heard much about Jesus.  In fact Paul had heard enough that he went about persecuting the church.  Paul is standing by and watching the murder of Stephen.  And Paul watched Stephen die gloryifing Jesus.  Paul watched him die praying for God to forgive those that were killing him.  Paul watched a man die who was Christ like enough to die with forgiveness on his lips even though he was dieing unjustly. 

No doubt the testimony of Stephen as he died affected Paul.  I believe that watching Stephen die in a Christ like manner in some ways prepared Paul for his meeting with Christ on the Damascus road.  Oh not immediately for Paul continued to persecute Christians.  But seeing firsthand someone die with the grace that Stephen did is something you can't forget or easily dismiss. 

Lost people do watch us.  Especially during times of suffering and persecution.  And it does make a difference in how we handle it.  Whenever we find ourselves in some trial, great or small, we need to pray to God for His grace to enable us to handle it in a way that would make a difference in the lives of others. 

ACTS 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

ACTS 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

ACTS 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

The duty of a pastor is to give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word of God.  In most cases this is unheard of today.  Pastors today find themselves being businessmen.  They have to be greatly concerned with the finances of the church.  They get involved in marketing the church.  They get involved in thinking up and implementing all kinds of promotions.  They spend a lot of time organizing all kinds of events.  The schedule of many churches looks kind of like that of a social club.  Now don't get me wrong.  I am not against promoting the church.  I am not against having special days and programs.  Those things are not necessarily wrong. What is wrong is when it is the pastor who is spending his precious time doing it. 

It would be better to not have all this extra activity, than to have the pastor doing it. 

A church will be better off and have more power with God if the Pastor follows the biblical example of giving themselves  continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

There are more opportunities for service in a local church than most people realize. 

Peter and the other apostles had been boldly preaching Jesus.  They were arrested and thrown in jail for it.  Then the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and told them to preach in the temple.  Which they promptly did.  They are then brought before the council.

ACTS 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

ACTS 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

ACTS 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Peter's response to the rulers was we ought to obey God rather than men.  This truth is very applicable to us today. 

We are to obey the rulers that are over us until what they say is contrary to what God has told us to do.  In the past that has not been too huge a problem in the United States.  But you can see things changing. 

We are told in the Bible to pray in Jesus' name.  People who pray in public meetings are told that they cannot pray in Jesus' name.  Now the person praying has to make a choice.  Is he going to obey men or God.

The hate speech laws are coming.  Any thing said against Sodomy could be considered as illegal.  God says that Sodomy is an abomination.  Preachers as well as Christians in general are going to have to decide are they going to obey men or God. 

Many nations around the world have anti witnessing laws.  If America continues her rapid slide away from God, we could see those kind of laws here. 

If America does not have a revival, then there will be more and more issues where we will have to make a choice between obeying man or obeying God. 

Obeying God and not man does come with a price.

ACTS 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

They were beaten by men for obeying God.  But notice there reaction to it. 

ACTS 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus' name.  When men go thru suffering for His name, He will provide the grace to handle it. 

Each one of us will have to decide what we are going to do.   Peter had personal experience denying the name of Jesus.  And he went out and wept bitterly.  He learned the hard way.  Denial and disobedience to Jesus will Never bring rejoicing. Here we see the same man standing up and obeying Jesus and even thou he was beaten, he is rejoicing.  Even when there is suffering, obeying God will bring rejoicing.

How is this possible?  It is possible thru His enabling Grace. 

ACTS 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Some people believe that all the different religions lead to heaven.  They think that as long as you are sincere that it will count.  But that is a lie straight from hell.  There is no salvation in any other.  Salvation can only be thru Jesus.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

It does not matter how long or hard you look, you will never find any other way to be saved.  You are not going to be saved thru doing good deeds.  You are not going to be saved thru baptism.  You are not going to be saved by joining an organization.  Mohammad cannot save you, and his false god cannot save you.  In fact no one, no thing, and no act can do it.  Only one has been given to save you and that is Jesus.  Have you trusted in Jesus and Him alone to save you?

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

 Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

ACTS 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

ACTS 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

ACTS 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

ACTS 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

ACTS 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

ACTS 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

ACTS 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

ACTS 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

Often in the Bible the physical is used to show a spiritual truth.  There are practical lessons that we can learn from them.  This man was born lame from his mother's womb.  He was physically lame from his mother's womb.  We were all spiritually lame from our mother's womb.  We were all born sinners separated from God. 

The man had no power to heal himself.  We had no power to save ourselves.  It is impossible for a spiritual lame man to work his way to heaven. 

By the power of Jesus this man was healed.  Only by His power are we saved.  He has lifted us up out of our hopeless sinful condition and placed us upon a rock.  We are saved not by what we do, but by His power. 

After the lame man was healed he received strength.  After we are saved we receive strength to serve from Him.  We are to serve in His strength and in His power and not thru our flesh. 

After the man was healed we see him using what he was given for the Lord.  He was walking, and leaping, and praising God.

ACTS 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

He was using the change that was made in him to witness to others.   He was showing others what had happened to him and he was giving the praise for it to God.  He was not saying look at what I did (works).  He was saying look at what God has done for me (grace).  He was excited about what God had done for him.  He was not ashamed of it.  He was loudly proclaiming it.  We should do likewise.  We should be excited about our salvation and what God has freely done for us.  We should use the change that He made in us as a witness to others.  We should proudly proclaim our salvation to a lost world.  And we need to give Him all the praise and glory for it.  For without Him we would be nothing and still spiritually lame.

A few short months before this Peter really blew it.  He denied Christ 3 times.  The third time with cursing. He then gave up the work of God and went back to the profession of fishing.  Peter quit but Jesus was not done with Peter. 

ACTS 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

At the feast of Pentecost Peter stands up and preaches in power and God uses him greatly. 

ACTS 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

3000 people were saved and then baptized.  God used Peter's preaching that day and He will continue to use Peter.  Many more will be saved after listening to Peter's preaching.  Peter will also write some of the New Testament.

Peter is a great example of the grace of God in the life of a man who messed up.  We all stumble now and then.  It does not mean that God will put you on a shelf and never use you for His work again. 

Peter might have denied Christ and warmed himself at the enemies fire, but Peter had a repentant heart for what he did.  He went out and wept bitterly.  We never again find Peter denying Christ.  In fact Peter was martyred for his faith.  Peter truly had a repentant heart and was still greatly used by God.

If you have stumbled in some area, you can still be used by God.  Maybe it will be in a different area of work, but God still wants to use you.  What is required is a truly repentant heart.  Turn from what you have done, confess it to God, seek forgiveness and then get busy again for the Lord.

1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1Jo 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

ACTS 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

ACTS 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

ACTS 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Too often we forget that Jesus did not rise from the dead and then quickly go back to heaven.  He shewed Himself alive for 40 days.  And verse 3 tells us that during this 40 days Jesus was speaking to them about the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.  Jesus was busy training these men.  He had worked with them and trained them for about 3 1/2 years before the crucifixion.  And now after the resurrection He spends another 40 days.  You should be seeing the precident that Jesus set of how  His workers need to be trained.  There needs to be a period of time where a man gets prepared for the ministry.  He needs to spend time learning and time walking with Jesus first.  But good training is not enough to do the work of God.  Even after all the training Jesus still tells them to wait.  There is still something that they lack.  Jesus tells them to wait until the Holy Ghost comes.   

ACTS 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Knowledge is not enough.  We need the power of the Holy Ghost to do the work of God.  Too many try to serve God in the flesh and not in the leadership of the Holy Ghost.  Now notice what this power is for.  In verse 8 you shall receive power, and ye shall be witnesses unto Jesus.  The power of the Holy Ghost is for witnessing and not for the crazy stuff you see on T.V. (flopping on the floor, jabbering, ect).   It is the Holy Ghost that brings the necessary conviction to the hearts of men.  We need to be witnesses for Jesus and we need the power of the Holy Ghost to be effective.  Knowledge is important but knowledge alone will not cut it. 

JN 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

JN 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

JN 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

JN 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Jesus had already risen from the dead.  Peter and John had been to the tomb and seen the linen clothes.  And now the disciples go fishing.  This was not a pleasure trip.  Fishing was the  occupation for many of them before they met Christ.  Jesus had told them to leave their jobs as fishermen and follow Him, and He would make them fishers of men.  They now decide to go back to fishing.  Going back to their old occupation was clearly against the will of God for them.  Their endeavor was met with total failure.  They fished all night and caught nothing.  Now I can go out with a fishing pole and accomplish that no problem.  But they were fishing with nets.  It is pretty hard to fish all night in an inland lake with nets and not get at least one fish.  This was not an accident.  God was at work.  He was using fishing as an object lesson.  He is teaching them that He has a job for them to do.  They still need to be fishers of men.  They were called men of God.  If they chose to go back to their old occupation, God was not going to bless their endeavor.  Then Jesus talks to them and commands them to cast the net on the right side.  They do it and catch more fish than they can draw in.  Hopefully you see the difference.  They were fishing in disobedience to God and caught absolutely nothing.  This is contrasted by fishing in obedience to God and they caught a great many fishes.  What a powerful object lesson to men who had been told to leave fishing for fishes and become fishers of men.  They got the point and never went back to their old trade.  Instead they turned the world upside down for Christ. They fished for men and brought in a great harvest.

We see here that God wanted them to stay faithful to the work that they were called to do.  The same is true for us.  God has a job for every born again believer, and how ever big or small that job is, we need to stick with it.

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JN 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

JN 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

JN 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

There was something special about the linen clothes that caused a disciple to believe that Christ had risen (vs 8).  The linen was not made of anything special.  The linen had no special powers or anything crazy like that.  They were simply strips of cloth that were used to wrap the body for burial, as was the custom of that day. 

What was so amazing about the linen was as the Bible says, "the linen clothes lie."  They were just lying there without the body.  They were not wadded up in a corner.  They were not in disarray like they would be if someone unwrapped the body.  They were simply lying there where they were put.  However, the body of Jesus was gone.  Now what is so amazing about that you say.  Well the body of Jesus was a mess.  He was beaten and had wounds all over His body.  After 3 days the body fluids and blood would have dried attaching the linen to the body.  It would have been very difficult to remove the linen from the body.  The disciple I believe to be John who stood by the cross.  He saw the state of the body.  He knew that those grave clothes could not be taken off and still be lying like they were, unless Jesus rose from the dead and in the power of God came up out of the grave clothes.  The testimony of the linen clothes lying the way they were was startling enough to make the disciple believe.  Remember at this point they do not yet understand the resurrection.    

JN 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Christ had plainly told them that he would rise again, but they did not understand it.  It was an idea that was foreign to their thinking.  Jesus will explain the scriptures to them over the next 40 days before He ascends.  But at the tomb John did not understand yet and still he believed when He saw the grave clothes.  They were a strong undeniable testimony of the resurrection of Jesus.  They were left in the tomb by Jesus as proof of His resurrection. 

JN 19:4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

JN 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Pilate had already questioned Jesus and found no fault in Him.  Pilate wanted to release Jesus but the Jews were in an uproar and clamoring for His death.  Pilate then had Jesus scourged.  Jesus took the beating and ridicule different than other men.  Jesus bore it with patience and meekness.  Pilate then brings Jesus out to plainly declare that Jesus is innocent.  I think that maybe Pilate was hoping that when they seen how severely Jesus had been punished that they would be satisfied and that Pilate could let Jesus go.  But they were not satisfied with a severe beating.  They would accept nothing but murder. 

JN 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

JN 19:8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

Pilate is worried now, and goes and ask Jesus about His origin. 

JN 19:9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

JN 19:10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

JN 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Jesus now plainly tells Pilate that what he is doing is a sin.  He says that those that delivered Him to Pilate hath the greater sin.  Pilate was still committing sin by treating Jesus this way and sending Him to die, but those who were clamoring for His death were committing a greater sin.

Pilate now has enough evidence to know who Jesus is.  Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent.  He knows that Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God (a term claiming deity).  Pilate has witnessed Jesus handle a beating like no other man.  He has been told that what he is doing is a sin.  We can tell that this greatly affected Pilate by his reaction.   

JN 19:12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

Pilate wanted to stand for Jesus, but he decided not to.  He would have a revolt on his hands if he released Jesus.  That would cause him all kinds of problems. Instead of standing for Jesus, he sent Him to be crucified.  In the end Pilate felt the price was too high.

What about you?  If you are really going to stand for Jesus, you will have to pay a price.  There are people who will think less of you.  There are others who will throw rocks your way or even worse.  Is bearing some reproach a price you are willing to pay?