Jun. 10, 2015

"Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Acts 7:30-50 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. 33 But the Lord said to him,Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egyptwe do not know what happened to him.’ 41 At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘It was not to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel? 43 You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’

44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. 46 David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

49 Heaven is My throne,
And earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
Or what place is there for My repose?
50 Was it not My hand which made all these things?’

 

In today's text Stephen continues declaring the gospel(good news) through the scriptural accounts of the Israelite people, with what we know as the Old Testament and they knew as the Holy Scriptures or Tanakh.  The men that Stephen was speaking to knew these scriptures. Part of their religious training was the study and memorization of scripture. Yet for all their knowledge they had failed to see the Messiah that God had promised them when He walked among them. For us too, all the knowledge and study of scripture, theology and doctrines is of no value if we fail to see Christ. We can know and recite the entire Bible, but if it has not changed our heart we have nothing of eternal value. When asked about the law by a religious  person in Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus says:

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." All of what they knew as scripture is summed up in these two commandments. We need to have this love of God first with all of our heart. Where the heart leads the soul and mind will follow. If someone looks at science and the intricasies of nature through a heart which loves the Lord they will see God in all that their mind comprehends. A hardened heart on the other hand will look for other ways than God to explain all of creation. It is amazing to what lengths the mind will go to explain what it sees if it is ruled by a hardened heart.

Scripture itself is very intricate, ordered and precise.  It records and reveals the heart of God. From Genesis to Revelation, scripture tells the story of God's plan to redeem and restore. The details and intricacies are there for those who require that type of evidence to believe. In John 20:29, Jesus said to Thomas, who required proof of the resurrection:

 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Scripture contains the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord and Savior. Some people receive that revelation through the Word. Others need to personally see Jesus, as Thomas did. For these too Jesus will reveal Himself as He did for Thomas. It's a matter of the heart. In Jeremiah 29:13 God says:

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Stephen declared the gospel message accurately through the scriptures. Yet as we will see the hearts of most of those who heard were hardened. We too can present the gospel through the word and personal testimony, we can live out the love of God to others fulfilling the second great commandment. But only the Holy Spirit can complete the work of touching and changing someone's heart.

What then are we to do? If it is only the Holy Spirit who can convict and convince someone of their need of a Savior, what is our part? Our part is again to be like Stephen, in whatever God has called us to, we do it as unto the Lord. We do it yielded to and guided by the Holy Spirit. We are not responsible for the results. As we will see, Stephen's message was rejected by most. Yet the Holy Spirit, did an amazing thing through the seed sown by the life and words of Stephen. Stephen's words and actions continue to bear fruit even today. We will see as we continue in Acts 8 : Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.    Saul's name is changed to Paul when he experiences a revelation of Christ. Paul's writings continue to reap a harvest of souls to the kingdom even today. Though he did not change immediately, witnessing Stephen's life and words sowed seed into Saul's heart.

We don't know all of the fruit that may be born from our words and actions. The results aren't our responsibility. Ours is to be faithful to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, yielding to Him and leaving the results to God.