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Acts 7 - Devotion · The Five Minute Bible Podcast

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  Welcome to Five Minute Bible in our journey through the New
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  Testament. In each.
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  Episode We take just a few minutes to focus on one chapter
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  of the New Testament, exploring the truths God is teaching us
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  through his Word and expanding our view of who.
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  He is. Before you listen, make sure
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  you've gone straight to the source, either by reading
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  today's chapter of the Bible yourself or listening to today's
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  read along episode. In this podcast.
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  Feed if you haven't done that yet, feel free to pause and do
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  that now and. When you're ready.
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  Let's dive into God's. Word together
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  In Acts Chapter 7 we see Stephen, who we met in the
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  previous chapter, standing before the council and giving a
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  defense. Remember, he was brought there
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  because men were secretly paid off to bring charges against him
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  because they were unable to cope with the wisdom from the Holy
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  Spirit with which he spoke. And now he stands to make his
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  defense. Now, I don't know how many
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  courtroom defenses you've heard, but I can just about guarantee
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  you've never heard one. Like Stevens, Stephen makes no
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  apology, nor does he dispute the claims of his accusers.
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  No, Stephen, over the course of about 52 verses in Acts Chapter
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  7, expounds the history of the Jewish people in the Old
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  Testament. He walks through the Bible, from
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  Abraham to the prophets, describing how God had
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  established and preserved his people.
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  His message culminates by discussing the building of
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  Solomon's temple and telling the council that God does not dwell
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  in houses made by human hands. He reminds them of the words of
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  Isaiah, saying heaven is my throne and earth is the
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  footstool of my. Feet what?
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  Kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord.
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  Or what place is there for my repose?
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  Was it not my hand which made all these things?
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  And then it gets real. In his spirit filled scripture
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  rich defense, Stephen makes his own accusation.
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  Listen to what He says. You men who are stiff necked and
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  uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy
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  Spirit. You're doing just as your
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  Father's did. Which one of the prophets did
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  your father's not persecute? They killed those who had
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  previously announced the coming of the righteous One whose
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  betrayers and murderers you have now become.
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  You who received the Law as ordained by angels and yet did
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  not keep it. The very prophets that God
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  provided to bring His truth to Israel were killed by the Jewish
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  people, even by their religious leaders.
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  And Stephen says that this generation is doing the very
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  same thing. They're killing the messengers
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  of God, in particular the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ.
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  In essence, Stephen is using this platform and opportunity
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  not to defend himself, but to proclaim the truth of the
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  gospel, to lay out the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, that
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  he is the way that man may dwell with God.
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  Needless to say, the Council does not love this last part of
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  Stephen's defense. The text says they are cut to
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  the quick, that they began gnashing their teeth at him.
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  Stephen is unfazed though. He looks up to heaven and sees
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  the glory of God and sees Jesus standing at the right hand of
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  God. The people rushed at Stephen,
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  driving him out of the city and eventually stoning him to death.
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  Listen to the last two verses of this chapter as Stephen is being
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  killed. They went on stoning Stephen as
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  he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
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  Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice.
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  Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
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  Having said this, he fell asleep.
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  We know Stephen is the first Christian martyr.
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  He's the first to give his life for the sake of the gospel after
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  Jesus death and resurrection. And his death and those of the
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  many martyrs that would come after him is unlike most
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  executions. He's not filled with anger or
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  malice or rage. No, he's filled with
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  forgiveness, with compassion for his accusers and executioners.
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  He's filled with the Holy Spirit.
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  And in that way, even in his death, he models his master,
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  even essentially directly quoting Jesus as he's breathing
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  his last. The Gospel is altogether
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  different. This is not mere religion, no
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  mere set of beliefs, no mere message.
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  This gospel, and the power of the Holy Spirit that accompanies
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  it, is powerful to both cut unrepentant men to the quick and
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  induce murderous rage, and it is powerful to grant supernatural
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  courage and peace to a man under threat of imminent death.
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  This gospel is powerful, and if you will receive it, it is
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  powerful to change you from the inside out, just like it did for
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  Stephen.