SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/23/2017 10:17 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Intro to
Acts 7:54-8:1a
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
7:54-8:1a
Message of the verses: “54 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. 1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.”
My introductions to various chapters from John
MacArthur’s commentaries are frequently filled with his quotes as it is good to
see where he is taking us as we move through the different chapters. In this chapter which is entitled “The First
Christian Martyr” MacArthur tells the story of Martian Luther when he was
summoned before what is called “The Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”
where Luther was to appear before Emperor Charles V to talk about his beliefs
as far as what the Scripture had to say opposed as to what the Roman church had
to say. It was in the spring of 1517 a
little over 500 years ago when Luther spoke there. We know that it was in October of 1517 that
the Protestant Reformation would begin.
In my study of the book of Revelation for our Sunday school class we are
now looking at the seven churches and some believe that these churches are in
prophetic order as to what the dominant church of the age is and I don’t
believe that it is a coincidence that in Hal Lindsey’s book “There is a New
World Coming,” which is a commentary on the book of Revelation that church of
Thyatira ends and the church of Sardis begins.
Thyatira began in 590 and ended in 1517 a very long reign as far as a
dominant church in the world. Some
people do not believe in the prophetic arrangement of these seven churches, and
some do, I for one do as the entire book of Revelation is about prophecy and so
I ask myself “why not the churches?” Ok
back to MacArthur’s commentary where he quotes Lewis W. Spitz, “The Rise of Modern Europe: The Protestant Reformation,” as we will
quote a short version of Luther’s speech and then quote the remainder of MacArthur’s
comments that will led us to the first main point of this section of Scripture.
“Unless I am convinced by
the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either
in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often
erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted
and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything,
since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God
help me, Amen.”
MacArthur writes “Fifteen hundred years earlier, a
miracle-working servant of Christ stood trial for his life. Like Luther, Stephen stood solidly on the
rock of divine revelation. And like
Luther, his bold stand was to change the course of history. His speech in his own defense was a masterful
recounting of Israel’s history. In it he
ably defended himself, and by extension all Christians, against the false
charges that he had blasphemed God, Moses, the law, and the temple. Faithful evangelist Stephen then went on the
offensive, closing his speech with a blistering denunciation of the Sanhedrin’s
hypocrisy. By so doing, he turned the
tables on his accusers. It was they, not
him, who stood convicted of blasphemy.
“The concluding verses of chapter 7 record the last
moments of Stephen’s life. For unlike
Luther, who was spirited away to safety by Elector Frederick the Wise of
Saxony, Stephen was to pay for his boldness with his life. It is a dramatic, moving passage. Although he was killed, Stephen was not the
victim, he was the victor. Death merely
ushered Stephen into the presence of his Lord.
Most of the murdering mob (with the notable exception of young Saul of
Tarsus), though they lived on, would perish eternally.
“A
stark contrast between Stephen and his murderers weaves its way through this
brief passage. So extreme is the
contrast that it can be said to symbolize the contrast between heaven and hell. That contrast may be viewed from four angles: It is the contrast between being filled with anger
and being filled with the Spirit, between spiritual blindness and spiritual
sight, between death and life, and between hate and love.”
We will begin looking at the first contrast “Filled with
Anger Versus Filled with the Spirit” in our next SD. As mentioned in our last SD for those who
read this SD in the United States of America, I want to wish you a very happy
Thanksgiving Day.
Spiritual meaning
of my life today: I have to greatly
admire men like Stephen, Polycarp, and Martian Luther, and many others who have
stood their ground against those who were telling and teaching lies. Stephen has come to mean much in my life as I
have studied his brief life that is described in the book of Acts.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord will led me each and
every day of my life and will give me the courage to stand up for the Truth.
Memory verse: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy
of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8).”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Jesus” (John 1:47).
Today’s Bible
question: “At what place did Abraham and
Abimelech make a covenant?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/23/2017 11:07 AM
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