{"id":20856,"date":"2022-03-27T22:00:30","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T05:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_7_30-43-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-03-22T14:31:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T21:31:43","slug":"acts_7_44-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts_7_44-60\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Your Eyes on Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 7:44-60\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 7:44-60.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 7:44-50 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n44\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
\n45\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Having received the tabernacle, our fathers 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,
\n46\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
\n47\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But it was Solomon who built the house for him.
\n48\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
\n49\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“‘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?
\n50\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Has not my hand made all these things?’<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 44-50: \u00a0After talking about how the Israelites rejected Moses\u2019 leadership and worshiped idols instead (v30-43), Stephen turns his attention to the way the temple in Jerusalem was built.\u00a0 Stephen recounts how God originally gave Moses specific designs for a tabernacle, which was a\u00a0portable<\/em>\u00a0tent where His people could worship Him as they journeyed from place to place (v44).\u00a0 The Israelites would use this portable tabernacle to worship Him throughout the days of Joshua until the reign of King David (v45-46).\u00a0 After that, it was King David who initiated and his son King Solomon who completed the construction of what was meant to be a permanent temple (v46-47).\u00a0 But Stephen reminds his audience that God never asked for or required His people to build Him a\u00a0permanent<\/em>\u00a0standing temple (v48).\u00a0 He quotes Isaiah the prophet (in Isaiah 66:1-2) to show how silly it is for people to think that they could keep God inside the man-made buildings that they build.<\/p>\n

Stephen is not saying that it is wrong to have a building to worship God in.\u00a0 Rather, when you consider the context and direction of Stephen\u2019s speech, Stephen is ultimately critiquing his accusers\u2019 use of the temple in Jerusalem and their attitude toward the temple.\u00a0 Instead of treating the temple as a house of prayer, Stephen believed his accusers had turned the temple into an object that they worship.\u00a0 Instead of treating the temple as a place to discover and be empowered for God\u2019s purposes, Stephen believed his accusers were using the temple as a tool for their own political purposes.\u00a0 (For example, according to some scholars political rallies against the Roman empire often started at the temple.)\u00a0 Instead of treating the temple as a launchpad from which God\u2019s kingdom could expand, Stephen believed his accusers were using the temple to limit God and box in His Holy Spirit.\u00a0 A few decades after Stephen makes this speech, the Roman authorities would in fact destroy the temple in 70 A.D., in accordance with Jesus\u2019 prophecy in Mark 13:2\u00a0 Perhaps God was using Stephen\u2019s speech to warn his accusers that if they did not use the temple properly, they would eventually lose it.\u00a0 And lose it they eventually did.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from all this?\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t put God in a box.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to limit Him by thinking that His work and His presence are only confined to one time or one place, for God won\u2019t be limited that way.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 7:51-53 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n51\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
\n52\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him–
\n53\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 53:\u00a0 Stephen accuses his accusers of continuing their ancestors\u2019 pattern of stubbornly resisting the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 He accuses them of taking all these good things that God has given to them \u2013 circumcision (v51), the prophets (v52), the law (v53), even Jesus \u201cthe Righteous One\u201d himself (v52) (in addition to the temple mentioned earlier) \u2013 and missing the point of all of them.\u00a0 That\u2019s what sin does in our lives.\u00a0\u00a0Sin takes what is good in our lives and twists it, such that we fail to see what is good anymore and simply use it for our own selfish purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 7:54-60 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n54\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
\n55\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But 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.
\n56\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
\n57\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
\n58\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
\n59\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
\n60\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 54-60:\u00a0 At the end of his speech, while his accusers are raging with anger, Stephen looks up to heaven and sees a vision of the glory of God with Jesus standing at God\u2019s right hand.\u00a0 He points that out to his accusers, and his accusers lose it.\u00a0 They drag him out of the city and stone him, leaving their cloaks at the feet of Saul so as not to get them wrinkled or bloodied.\u00a0 Stephen prays for the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit and for the forgiveness of his killers before falling asleep.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Especially when you are under attack or facing incredible pressure, keep your eyes on heaven and on Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus will give you everything you need to finish your race well.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Hebrews 12:2-3 says:<\/p>\n

2\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, may You be the one I fix my eyes on today, for nothing I go through can compare with You.\u00a0 Thank You that when I fix my eyes on You, I become more and more the person You made me to be.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 7:44-60.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 7:44-50 (NIV)
\n44\u00a0\u00a0“Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
\n45\u00a0\u00a0Having received the tabernacle, our fathers 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,
\n46\u00a0\u00a0who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
\n47\u00a0\u00a0But it was Solomon who built the house for him.
\n48\u00a0\u00a0“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
\n49\u00a0\u00a0“‘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?
\n50\u00a0\u00a0Has not my hand made all these things?’
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 44-50: \u00a0After talking about how the Israelites rejected Moses\u2019 leadership and worshiped idols instead (v30-43), Stephen turns his attention to the way the temple in Jerusalem was built.\u00a0 Stephen recounts how God originally gave Moses specific designs for a tabernacle, which was a\u00a0portable\u00a0tent where His people could worship Him as they journeyed from place to place (v44).\u00a0 The Israelites would use this portable tabernacle to worship Him throughout the days of Joshua until the reign of King David (v45-46).\u00a0 After that, it was King David who initiated and his son King Solomon who completed the construction of what was meant to be a permanent temple (v46-47).\u00a0 But Stephen reminds his audience that God never asked for or required His people to build Him a\u00a0permanent\u00a0standing temple (v48).\u00a0 He quotes Isaiah the prophet (in Isaiah 66:1-2) to show how silly it is for people to think that they could keep God inside the man-made buildings that they build.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20856"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20859,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20856\/revisions\/20859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}