Posts Tagged ‘ Acts 7 ’

Tweets & Rants 15 January: Matthew 5:21-32; Acts 7:39-60; Psalm 12; Genesis 24

believes we must answer the question: “What god or belief are we secretly clinging to in hopes that God won’t see?” Act 7:41-43 @WeeManWest

has seen nothing worse than Religious Rage; it is dangerous, murderous and is cause for blights upon Christ’s name. Act 7:54-60 @WeeManWest

is ashamed at the deceitful, flattering, boastful nature of his own tongue, so need Christ to overcome it daily. Psa 12:1-2 @WeeManWest

thinks that we, as a society, exalt the vile; that’s why the news is full of bad things, they cover what we’ll watch! Psalm 12:8 @WeeManWest

Matthew 5:21-22 Murder begins in the heart and ends with the action. Jesus’ law of His kingdom deals with our heart. Anger is in the heart. The Law dealt with murder and the punishment for it. Jesus’ Law deals with anger. His law is a higher law.

Matthew 5:24 Our relationships are of the highest importance in Christ’s kingdom. We will not be legally right before God if we are harboring anger and ill-will toward one another.

Matthew 5:25-26 God knows our hearts and He will have a day of judgment. Our hearts are wicked and corrupt and need daily renewal in Christ.

Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus doesn’t deal with physical adultery in His kingdom. Remember, His law is a higher law than the Law of the Old Testament. Adultery begins with lust in the heart and if you look at someone with even the intention of lusting then you have committed adultery with that person according to Christ’s law.

It is best to cut off from your life the things that are leading you into lust. Lust will destroy your life if you allow it to fester in your heart.

Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus’ law expands the definition of adultery to include those who have divorced for reasons other than sexual immorality. Jesus law is tough, the kingdom of Christ isn’t the easy path.

Matthew 5:21-32 We see the emphasis of Jesus’ ministry is our hearts. All our wickedness is bound up in our hearts and is revealed in our intentions. Christ alone can renew our hearts through His gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. We are powerless against our own hearts without Jesus. Living under Jesus’ kingdom law is impossible without Christ.

Acts 7:41-43 In case you didn’t quite catch what Stephen was saying, he was quoting Amos 5:25-27 in which God condemns the Israelites for having worshiped false gods in the wilderness. He names two specific gods here which many believe are simply two names for the same god. Moloch was the ancient god to which children were sacrificed. Moloch was believed to be represented by a 6-sided star. Moloch was also said to be Saturn. The question for us: What god or false belief to we secretly cling to thinking we are hiding? Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. He sees and knows all.

Acts 7:48-50 Stephen now answers his “critics” on Jesus’ talk about destroying the temple. The reality is that God doesn’t dwell in temples that men build. Instead, He dwells in men whom He has built, whose hearts He has and is transforming.

Acts 7:51-53 Stephen wasn’t very politicaly correct and if he was hoping to spare himself this was the wrong way to go about such an endeavor. Instead, he chose to honor God by delivering His message in full. Israel had always rejected the work of the Holy Spirit. The 40 years of wandering, the exile to Babylon, the defeats by the Greeks, the current Roman occupation….all were signs of their own disobedience. So also would be the coming destruction of their beloved city and temple. The land was soon to vomit them out for the second time.

Acts 7:54-60 I’m certain that no rage is so furiously expressed as is religious rage. Such is why so many atheists see no reason for religion at all. Religious rage is dangerous and murderous. We must have zeal and proper anger over sinfulness, but never rage. Rage is of Satan and will be used by him to wield his damage upon the name of Christ Jesus. We should rather be wronged, slighted, abused, or killed than to act in religious rage. Christ can defend His own name. He doesn’t call us to slay the infidels. He calls us to pray for them and bless them!

I can’t help but wonder, if when Paul is struck blind, he recounted what was done to Stephen and the merciful, holy response that Stephen had in the face of his own death.

Psalm 12:1-8 We see the contrast between our own words (Psalm 12:1-2) and God’s words (Psalm 12:6). The point of this psalm is that we should see our own corruption. So often we are liars and flatters and masters of double-talk. The greatest evidence of this is in the leaders we elect. We have representative government in more ways than we want to honestly admit.

God will cut off all of our lying and flattering and boasting. God will provide for those who are oppressed by our falsehoods. We are people who exalt the vile (Psalm 12:8) and if you think I’m kidding just watch the nightly news cast and see just how many of the stories are good and wholesome versus those that represent the vile. A news editor decided those were the stories more people wanted to see. If a crime is committed the reporters are there as quickly as police. If charity is done it is lucky if EVER reported.

Genesis 24 What a beautiful picture of the greater servant, the Holy Spirit!!! Our Father sends the Holy Spirit into the earth to find a bride, the church, for His Son, Jesus Christ just as Abraham sent his servant to his homeland to find a bride, Rebekah, for his son Isaac.

The servant is nameless, and is solely focused on doing the will of his master. The servant brings the bride home to Isaac, just as one day the Holy Spirit will bring us home to Christ.

The description of Rebekah (Genesis 24:16) is exactly how Christ sees His bride, the church. Note that Rebekah served the servant in the exact words that the servant had spoken. We walk in the works that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk (Ephesians 2:10) and honor God in so doing.

Isaac had went out into the field and received Rebekah (Genesis 24:63) just as Christ will one day return to receive His bride.

Isaac and Rebekah were pleased with one another and wed (Genesis 24:67) as also is Christ in His church and should be His church in Him as will happen on that Day!

2013
01/16
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Tweets & Rants 14 January: Matthew 5:13-20; Acts 7:1-38; Psalm 11; Genesis 22-23

must realize how much he needs Jesus if he is going to have any success living a kingdom life in this lost world. Mat 5:13-20 @WeeManWest

thinks one great lesson of Scripture is this: those we reject are the exact ones God will use to do great things. Act 7:1-38 @WeeManWest

believes that God tests us, not for Himself, but for us to see the state our faith is in and where it needs to grow. Psa 11:4-5 @WeeManWest

Matthew 5:13 Jesus’ kingdom and new law requires that we change the flavor of this world and that we create lasting change. We do this by depending on Jesus. Attempting this in our own strength and effort will leave us tasteless and trampled upon. I believe that many churches are struggling in our day because they are built around programs done in our strength rather than in mission that require Christ’s power.

Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus’ kingdom and new law requires that we shine His light through our good works that are done in dependence upon Him. Good works that are done in reliance upon Him will shine and light up this dark world. If He is truly shining in our lives He cannot be hidden or restrained. It is unfortunate that so many of us are not willing for Christ to shine in our lives. We keep Him hidden and in effect cripple our own witness.

Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus’ new law didn’t abolish the old law but instead became the greater fulfillment of that law. Jesus’ law is a higher law, a higher standard, than the law of the Old Testament. Jesus’ law in His kingdom isn’t as much about keeping every jot and tittle but instead about moving past checking every iota and dot. In other words, Jesus’ law isn’t about a tooth for a tooth, but instead is about turning the other cheek!

How drastically different Jesus’ kingdom is from this world and from our natural tendencies as human beings?! We must see and realize just how desperately we need Him in every moment to walk in this world living according to the statutes of His kingdom.

Acts 7:1-38 Stephen lays out the pattern in his speech that God seems to chose the one that the Israelites have rejected to bring deliverance to the Israelites. Joseph’s brothers rejected him and sold him to slavery and yet it was he whom God used to deliver them from famine and provide them a place in Egypt.

Moses was rejected by the Israelites, having been raised as a prince of Egypt, when he attempted to stop Israelites from fighting with one another after he had prior slain an Egyptian for harming an Israelite. Moses fled to the wilderness for 40 years before God called him to use him to deliver Israel from Egypt.

This pattern hold throughout Scripture, often those we men reject are the exact ones that God will use to bring about our deliverance and His great works.

Psalm 11:3 A common theme for life itself, if the foundation for a dwelling is destroyed how will the house stand. When the wicked remove the foundations of a society the righteous are put in peril. The wicked destroy foundations for the sake of defeating the righteous, never for the sake of protecting the masses. History has so often repeated itself on this principle.

Psalm 11:4-5 God is enthroned in His temple. He is in full control of everything that happens. He allows the events and circumstances of this life to test His people. His testing is not so much for Himself, but moreso for us to see how solid or weak our faith really is. His tests are designed to draw us closer to Him if we are willing but to endure for a time the wickedness of the wicked upon us.

Genesis 22:1 God tests Abraham. God isn’t testing like a school teacher who is trying to assess the level of a student. God is testing as an omnipotent God, who already knows the outcome of the test. God tests Abraham so that Abraham can see the state of his faith, and by extension the level of his relationship with God.

How we miss the opportunities to grow our faith when we refuse to see God’s tests as opportunities for growth rather than unfortunate circumstances that we must endure.

Genesis 22:2 God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac the child of promise. The child through which God has promised him that all his children will be born. It’s not certain how old the boy is at this point. Many point to him being 33. Scripture doesn’t seem to indicate. One thing I will note is that Abraham doesn’t discuss this with Sarah. Whether he was keeping it from her, or whether she had already passed away. She would have died when Isaac was 27 years old.

Genesis 22:5 Abraham seems to be trusting that though he sacrifice Isaac, God will raise him from the dead. Such is also stated in Hebrews 11:17-19 that Abraham trusted in God’s ability to resurrect Isaac. He believed they would indeed both be coming back.

Genesis 22:8 & Genesis 22:14 Abraham trusted God to provide, either through resurrecting Isaac, or through some other means. God provides the ram for the offering. Here we see that God provides on His mountain and it is believed by many that this is the very mountain upon which Christ would be crucified.

The story of Abraham’s sacrifice is the story of sacrifice and resurrection. It’s about having faith in God’s ability to bring His word to pass even though it seems to us humanly impossible for such to occur. As Jesus taught, what is impossible with man is possible with God. Then He proved it by getting up out of the grave on the third day.

Genesis 22:21 Here we see that Aram is the close relative of Abraham.

Genesis 23 Abraham mourns for Sarah after her death. He buys a cave from the Hittites and pays full price for it. This place was ease of Hebron.

2013
01/15
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