Grace Chapel Bible Ministries

worship Call 1183 the Indictments - 2024/11/18

Sin and Evil, rebellion against Christ began with Arrogance. Arrogance is the lofty view of self and one’s own self-importance. It is elevating one’s own self to be one’s own worshipped god. Evil never repents but only doubles down on its own evil failing to recognizes its own self destructive course. Satan seems not to recognize His own inevitable doom. And those whom John the Baptist called a brood of vipers as did Jesus, do not recognize there own self destructive course.

Duration:: 35m
Broadcast on:: 18 Nov 2024
Audio Format:: other

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Welcome to Worship Call with Bible teacher Buzz Lawback. Buzz is the pastor of Grace Chapel Bible Ministries located in Duncan, South Carolina. This ministry is dedicated to the verse by verse teaching of God's Word and discipleship programs aimed at strengthening the faith of God's people. Now here's today's message. Sin and evil, that is rebellion against Christ began with arrogance. When the Satan stands up against God, it says, "I will be like the Most High God." And arrogance is a lofty view of self. The one's own self-importance is elevated above all else. It is elevated one's own self to be one's own worshiped God, and we worship ourselves in arrogance. Evil never repents, has no capacity to repent, but where there is failure among the evil ones that we see this in politics. They are incapable of looking at themselves and say, "I failed, but only doubled down on their arrogance." Satan seems not to recognize his own inevitable doom. He only doubled down on his own evil. And those whom John the Baptist called the root of vipers, as did Jesus call them, that, they did not recognize their own self arrogance. They recognized their own arrogance. They didn't recognize the destructive course that they were on. And as the council thinks that they think that their indictment is against Stephen, in all reality, it is against the religious establishment. This is the second day of the week in God's created order, the 18th day of the 11th month, 2,024th year of our Lord, and this is another fine day in the Lord, and we thank you for it. Father, this morning, we thank Heavenly Father for our time together, each morning. I'm so excited, Heavenly Father, to be sitting here and knowing that there are others out there that we're all pointing in together, and that's such a great blessing. Open our hearts this morning for the study of your work as we continue to grow in it with great anticipation of your return in these things we pray in Christ's name, a man. Just to mention a shout out, Tim, Tim, let Blinda and Destin know that my cup, let's see where am I, there we go. My cup that they sent me, I didn't bring it up here, but it's one that says, "Be careful otherwise you'll be in my next sermon cup." It's a big hit, everybody loves it. So, thank them for it, I have it down in a chapel. So anyway, hey Tim, nice to see you, nice for you to see me, there we go. All right, sit and evil, and we're talking about, here is Stephen, he is standing before the council. They're indicted, and remember that there's two things that they're aiming at there to, that Stephen is talking about this Jesus who said he was going to tear down the temple, and rebuild it, and something sacred to them, and there's also the law that he speaks against the law. Two of the things that they fail to recognize is that these things, the temple, was not there to be worshiped. The law was a, the law of Moses is, as it is to this day, is a covenant that was made with people who broke it, it is a conditional covenant. And as it's so much preached by the apostles, probably why people don't like Paul that much, is he, he didn't preach against the law, but he put perspective on what the law was, that it was a tutor, that something better has come, and that something better is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at Acts 748, if you feel so motivated this morning, I feel like we could, we could go on and teach for some time. All right, let me see what happened to that, there we go, and bring that over there. All right, 748, we'll pick up here, however, the most high does not dwell, this is Stephen's response, let me back up just a little bit on this. And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought, this is Stephen talking to the San Adrian here, having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon disposing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers until the time of David. He even found favorite in God's eyes, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob, but it was Solomon who built the house for him, however, the most high does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says, heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool of my feet, what kind of house will you build me for me, says the Lord? What place is there for my repose? Was it not my hand which made these things? And then he goes on. Now here's the indictment, here is now the, what do we call this, the coup de garre, the, the, who's being the judge here, listen, Stephen is under the filling ministry of God, the Holy Spirit, who's really doing the talking here? And I say it was a Stephen, I would say it is the Holy Spirit, and Stephen is but a mouthpiece here that these people should be listening up to. Here is, by God, here, so here he goes, you men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, and ears are also always resisting the Holy Spirit, you are doing just what your fathers did. You can tell they're already sieving. You impertinent little pug, do you not know who we are? You are talking to, and again, it's not Stephen, this is the Holy Spirit that they are up again. Which one of you prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murders you have now become. You who received the law as ordained by angels and yet did not, did not keep it. This is Stephen's rebuke against the religious establishment. He was accused of being on the same page as Jesus, and he was accused with speaking against the law. Incidentally, the temple is going to be rebuilt. The temple that's going to be destroyed in 87 is going to be rebuilt. I believe it's going to be rebuilt in our lifetime, but it's not a great religious movement. It is not what we, you know, in one aspect, it's what we talked about yesterday. We're not praising the fact that all the temple is being built, and now religion and God can come back, no, the temple is being built in a time of apostasy. You see, they're rebuilding the temple so they can restart their sacrificial system. Why do they need a sacrificial system because they have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ? That's why they need a temple. And as recapped yesterday, why are we excited? Why are we excited about the rebuilding of the temple? Well, because it because we're coming close to seeing the return of the Lord, to receive the son of man coming in the clouds. The coming to the point where we are going to be raptured out of here and being translated to see the, to be face to face with the Lord. That's where the excitement lies. Stephen was also accused of talking ill of the Mosaic law. Again, the Mosaic law was conditional, and the law was there. So you have the temple, and the temple and the things of the temple were only copies of those things in heaven. The actual worst things to be worshiped, the actual objects are the things in heaven, not the things on earth that was built in the hands of man. These were just training aids, object lessons, all these things were not to be worshiped. So what is it that Stephen is being indicted for? What the people have failed to see? That the temple, along with the law were things that was really irrelevant. They were not things to be worshiped. They missed the point. Once the question of the law and the temple, and these were false issues, were set aside, Stephen now turns his attention to the true guilty party, not himself. He doesn't go about defending himself. He doesn't go about saying, "Well, well, I said that he doesn't go about that. He sticks to scripture." At 751, and this is so great because he's repeating what Jesus had already said. Often in the Old Testament, you men are stiff neck and uncertain size. In heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing what as your fathers did. Remember, Jesus already set up the indictment against them when the religious leaders were saying that Jesus did these miracles by the power of Bill Elseva, which is Satan, and the Lord said to them, "Hey, listen. You can say what you want about the Son of Man and about the Son of Man, and you can be forgiven. But when you speak, blast me against the Holy Spirit, that is a sin that will not be forgiven. The indictment, each and every time found in the Old Testament, was always indictment against the people as being stiff neck, Exodus 32-9. The Lord said to Moses, "I've seen this people, and behold, they are obstinate people." 33-3, "Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey, for I will not go up in your midst because you are obstinate people, and I might destroy you along the way." The Vedicists, 26-41, "I also was acting with hostility against them to bring them into the land of their enemies, or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity." 27-14, "For in the wilderness of Zinn, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my command to treat me as holy before the eyes at the water. These are the waters of Marabah." And it goes on, we'll go to Jeremiah 926, don't have it up there. And Jeremiah 926, Egypt and Judah and Edom, the sons of Ammon and Moab and all those inhabitants in the desert who clipped their hair on their temples for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised and hard. And as Pastor Tim has pointed out, when this is national sin, there's individual sins, and individual can have a hardening of a heart and do this, and this is what Jesus is pointing to, or this was Stephen, the indictment. These are the leaders. This is the leadership that's on trial here, and this is what Stephen is pointing out. They had set their course, and they refused to change. This is what we've learned to be called the blackout of the soul. They set their course, and they were doubling down on evil. You know, every time there was application to the believer and unbeliever on this. For the unbeliever, who by the grace of God, who's under common grace, and they hear the gospel message, and they refuse, or they make a stand against God that there is no God. And the more that they, well, actually it is a Romans, and Romans speaks of this, starting in Romans 115, and in Romans it talks about that they were foolish in their own eyes. And they worship the engraving things that idolatry, and this was the view of Stephen and accusing them. You see, they worshiped the temple, and they worshiped the law, but they didn't worship Jesus. They set up idols within their own heart, and God handed them over. The worst thing that could happen to anyone of us in this life is being handed over to a depraved heart. And this is what happened to these religious leavers. Now caution, and you might be casting stones from far off, because we are believers, so we can't lose our salvation absolutely right. But while you're let yet believers, and the more time that we sinning, and sin is rebellion, it gets God even from his own people. God is faithful. God is faithful. As a child of God, you cannot lose your salvation. But the longer that you are walking in sin and walking in carnality, you may be saved, but you may be looking like the unbeliever. You may be walking like the unbeliever. You are a child of light living in the darkness. Be careful because you're getting ready to be pruned. Such a believer is subject to divine discipline, from intensive discipline to extreme discipline to the time when the Lord says, "Okay, I'm going to pull you out." And I do believe that there is a place to where there's no turnaround. You're locked in. You're locked in. You've heard the message. You've turned away from it. You've gone back to, like a dog, we turn it back to his vomit, and you become locked in to that. Principal holds true with Hebrews chapter 6. Now, Hebrews chapter 6 is an indictment against the people, or a caution, a portion wrote. The context of this letter is the Jews that were changing their mind. They had received the Spirit. They were moving along in the spiritual life. But because of the pressure, which was upon them, they turned around, went back to the old system, went back to the Judaism system. Hebrews 6-1. Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ led us, pressed on to maturity, not laying again on a foundation of repentance from dead works and a faith toward God. Of instruction about washing and laying on of hands and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For in the cases of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gifts and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted a good word of God, the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible you knew them again to repentance. Since they, again, crucified to themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame. And I'll go home. For the ground, drench up the rain, which often falls on it, and brainfort beds chase, use for those whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and dissals, it is worthless and close to being cursed and ends up being burnt. Because after a while there is the blackout of the soul, it is the hardening of the heart to the point where no longer it will truth be communicated to that heart. It's hardened. It's like cement. You know, when cement comes in the dirt form, but once water is added to it, and when it allows the hardening, and once it gets hardened, it will no longer be miable to the water that can be added to it. It's just a rock at that point. So in this context of Jewish believers, and we're just saying, went back to that old system, and their hearts were hardened at that point. So again, a point of application, while we cannot lose our salvation, we can certainly lose our position. We will not stop being in the family of God, but we can destroy any hope of future blessings in heaven. With the fact of dying sin under death, and you're standing before God, you can only look at life as being something lived in vain. Going back to these leaders of the law, these were unbelievers, with no hope of repentance, with no hope, and they've used up their common grace, their uncircumcised, which means that they're unbelievers. By the law, they stand for the law, but as Paul's going to preach later on, the circumcision of flesh is irrelevant. It's the circumcision of the heart. The ritual only portrays the spiritual reality of having a circumcision of the heart that we may be productive spiritually. Locked in sin means no capacity here. If there's no opportunity, one of your favorite lines in the Bible is, all those who have a ear, let them hear what the Spirit says. They've lost their hearing. They've gone death, let's say, because of the hardening of the heart. They're Suki Cos men, and the Suki Cos men cannot understand the things for God for their foolish to them. In the case of those who have hardened their hearts through their negative relation, there is no longer the ability to hear or to comprehend spiritual truth. Just like the situation is, just like the situation in Genesis, then the Lord saw the weakness of man. It was great on the earth, and every intent of his thoughts, of his heart, was only evil continually locked in negative volition. Not only should we fear the Lord, and we should fear the Lord, but we also recognize the righteous of God, and we recognize the issue that sin should, especially for the believer. Listen, there are so many believers that do walk around carelessly. They live their spiritual life carelessly, as if they were going to be. I'm saved, I'm good to go. I've said my things to God, and I've been baptized, and I'm secure in salvation. There's going to be a loss if no one has seen, and no one has heard what God has given, or what God has done, and given to those who love him. Oh, my goodness, the loss is going to, you cannot even fathom the loss of that. And so, just the fear, coming closer to God, you also have a fear of, and so occupied with the Lord that sin is no smaller than sin. That sin is no small thing to you like that, I guess that's what I'm saying. I like to think that men always have, that there is always hope. I like to think that there's always hope, but it doesn't look like it's here. It looks like once you've crossed that threshold, there's a point of no return. There's a point of lockout, negative volition, which these Pharisees have gone, that their hearts are hard, and they are uncircumcised, and that's where they're stuck. Acts 751, you men are stiff-necked and uncircumcised. So, first of all, uncircumcised is their unbelief. Sticked neck is unable to repent. In your hearts and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just what your fathers did, going back to the fact that their fathers had killed the prophets. As Jesus had said in Matthew, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often have I looked to gather you like a mother hen gathers her chicks, but you were unwilling. "It is those who had killed the prophets," he said. So, it is the Spirit that makes salvation clear. The same Spirit that for so long that these leaders had resisted. And again, this is their indictment, but Jesus said, "It is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that will not be forgiven." You men stiff-necked and uncircumcised. In your hearts and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just what the fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one. Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You, you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you do not keep it. Boy, this would be, you know, I hope this is videotaped somehow or divinely taped. I would love to see it. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you just love to see this court case right there, the religious leaders and Stephen right there making that indictment. That would be so cool. So, they who have received the word, the teachers, will be held at a higher accountability when the day of judgment comes. They will be held accountable for all whom they have misled. They will be accountable for having the word and being experts of the Lord. They were no dummies. They knew the word, but they rejected the word. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and they began dashing their teeth. Isn't this something? The hatred of Stephen was burning. The hatred for their brother was burning out, burning out from those who were on this council. The hatred against an innocent man, just like it was hatred of Jesus. And this was bringing an indictment upon themselves. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5.22? But I say to you that anyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And whoever says to his brother, "You good for nothing shall be guilty before the Supreme Court." And whoever says, "You fool shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Acts 7.55. But being full of the Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven, this is Stephen, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Both Becca and I have been privileged to see a woman who, in her dying moments, who had been, she had been, as cancer had come to, and she lay basically unconscious for a week or two prior to this, and while we were in her presence on that Thanksgiving Eve night, a very godly woman. We were there when she opened her eyes one last time. Her eyes opened wide. As wide as you remember that, her eyes opened as wide as they could be. And I say that we were looking at a woman who was looking into heaven. Heaven was opening her up to receive her, and physically, still physically alive. She opened her eyes just as wide as she could to take in the glory of heaven before she closed her eyes for one last time. It was amazing. And I believe Stephen was doing the same thing. I believe Stephen, right there at that count, when heaven opened up, his eyes just almost bulged out of his skull, as he was looking into heaven, the imagery. That which staggers man's imagination, and he could not keep quiet about what he testified before the council and Acts 7.56. And he said, "Behold, I see heavens. I see the heavens open up in the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." This was glorious to Stephen, but this is a great uh-oh. It should be a great uh-oh for the Sanhedrin, because this was an indictment coming. Jesus normally sits at the right hand of Father. He sits at the right hand of Father. Now he's standing, and why is he standing? He's standing as a second witness to the indictment. Look at Deuteronomy 17-6. "On the evidence of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witnesses." One witness. Who's on trial here? Not Stephen, but these Pharisees. Matthew 12-32, we've talked about this. "Whoever speaks the word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or the age to come." Stephen, the good witness, a faithful witness in the persecution, is about to die. His time on earth, without time on earth, is done no matter how we are taking out of this earth. It is the Lord that brings us home, regardless of how we are going to die. Stephen is going to die a violent death. But he's going to step into heaven. He's going to step into heaven gloriously. He is, do you ever recognize that Stephen is the first one? There is a martyr's crown. Stephen is the first one to receive that martyr's crown. He sets the precedence of the witness that we are to give, even if it means our death. So, what has he lost when he lost his life for Christ? And now he's after, now he's standing before the Lord with a well done, good and faithful servant. The council is going to die too. Every member in that council will die. Many of them will die, if not all of them will die during 80, and when it comes 80-70. When it comes time, and this is going to be, probably about 35 or 40 years from now. Maybe some of them would have died and already gone to their judgment. But there's going to be those that's going to be there, present in 80-70, to see that temple, that temple which they have destroyed. And they're going to die too, we're all going to die. But they're going to face, while Stephen faces eternal rewards, glory in heaven with a crown. Those that persecuted him on this earth will die a fiery death. I was paraphrasing here, but Polycarp says to his persecutors, "You threaten me with fire. That's going to burn for a little while and then burns out." But you're in danger of being burned into a fire that will never be quenched. Father in heaven is actually for this opportunity, a fellowship in your world. We pray heavenly Father, that you open our hearts and pray heavenly Father's excitement. Knowing that we've been saved through faith in Christ. But I also pray heavenly Father that we live a life that is worthy, that we respond in our life. Let us not have a heart and heart because of sin. But let us heavenly Father pursue thee with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our strength. And let us be careful in our walk and the things that we say and the things that we do and the things that we sing. That we might not be, that we might keep our hearts safe from such a condition that an unbeliever who spent so much time and carnally has. We pray these things in Christ's name, amen. All right, another fine day in the Lord. Another awesome day. Thank you Lord for it. And we pray and we Lord willing, Spirit. Oh, come shall we do this? All right, Lord will, Spirit God, Raptor Penny. We'll be back here in the area. Talk to you. For joining us, you can hear this message again as well as previous lessons. And get note by visiting us online at www.gchapel.org. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO]