Memorial Day
Were you able to remember and reflect upon those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom? How do you respond to the freedom that you have been given?
We should be filled with gratitude for the freedom that we have received. And we should have joy and gratitude, when we remember and reflect upon the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. Because of his sacrificial death for us, we are forgiven of our sins and are freed from our sins to serve and worship Him forever.
So often, I can be prone to forget to respond with a heart of gratitude. We must constantly remind ourselves of all that Christ accomplished for us and for our salvation.
This past Sunday, we reflected on the story of Moses, and how his story ultimately points us to Christ. In Acts 7:17-43, Stephen continued through the story of the Bible. Previously, he devoted time and attention to Abraham and Jospeh, in order to show that God’s presence was with His people outside of the promised land and apart from a temple. That pattern continued this week, with God appearing to Moses at a burning bush outside of the promised land.
We discovered 4 movements through the story, as Stephen spends the most time on Moses’ life. Stephen does this in part, to show that he is not against Moses. But also to show, that Moses’ life and rejection serves as a mirror of the human heart. It reveals the ways we rebel against God’s chosen leader, Jesus Christ.
#1 – God protected Moses through affliction. (Acts 7:17-22)
This span covers the 1st 40 years of his life. You can read about it in Exodus 1:1-2:10.
Moses’ early life revealed that God was with him. Moses was beautiful in God’s sight. He was mighty in his speech and actions.
God was with Moses, even though he was born in times of affliction and hardship for the people of Israel. God protected Moses in Egypt, while he learned the ways of the Egyptians and was raised outside the promised land.
Do you recognize that God is with you, even in times of affliction? So often we can think that if we are going through difficulty that God isn’t present with us.
Through the life of Moses, we see the contrary is true.
#2 – Moses was rejected by the people of Israel. (Acts 7:23-29)
These verses covered the next 40 years of his life. You can read about this in Exodus 2:11-22.
As Stephen works through the story of Moses, he draws our attention to the account of Moses rescuing an Israelite from an Egyptian. They were fighting, so Moses stepped in to save the day by striking down the Egyptian. Moses supposed that his fellow Israelites would see that God was using him to bring salvation to the people of Israel.
They didn’t understand but instead rejected him. This becomes evident on the next day, when he sees two Hebrews fighting with each other. He tries to be the mediator and peace maker, but they want no part in it. He then flees to the land of Midian, and becomes the father of two sons.
There are several points of application that we draw from this. I mention two:
#3 – God commissioned Moses to deliver the people of Israel. (Acts 7:30-34)
40 years had passed for Moses while living in the land of Midian as a shepherd. He might not have felt like he was doing much ministry. He is now 80 years old, and God calls him and commissions him to go back to Egypt. God has seen the affliction of His people and is going to use Moses to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt.
This passage is found in Exodus 2:23-3:22. In this story, Joseph highlights God’s call and commission at the burning bush. God’s presence was made known to Moses outside of the promised land and apart from a tabernacle or temple.
And what we discover it that where God’s presence is located, that place is holy. The place where Moses standing was on ‘holy ground.’ And that ‘holy ground’ was located outside of the promised land. This is absolutely stunning and remarkable, when we think deeply of its implications.
But what I want us to reflect upon is the call and commission of Moses. God commissioned him to go back to a people who had previously rejected him, in order to deliver them from their slavery in Egypt. What a lesson for us to learn and reflect upon.
Apart from Christ, we are in bondage to sin. We are slaves of sin. And like in Egypt, we need rescued and redeemed. And like in Egypt, there is nothing that we can do to free ourselves from it. In fact, there is a part of us that doesn’t desire to leave the sin we are in. But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die on the cross. He is our Passover Lamb. He died to set us free from sin to serve and worship Him. Now, when God sees us, through faith in Christ, as the blood of Christ is applied to our hearts and lives, we are forgiven. We are passed over and don’t experience judgment, ever! Instead, we are called children of God. And we are commissioned by God, to point people to the Savior.
He sends us to tell people about the Savior, Jesus Christ.
#4 – God judged Israel’s rebellion. (Acts 7:35-43)
We get a final look at Moses’ life, which serves as a summary of Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness.
It was Moses who was rejected, even though he led the people out, performed signs and wonders in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness of Sinai.
And God’s Word was rejected. Moses received these living oracles, but the people refused to listen to him. They pursued the idols of their hearts. They offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the words of their hands.
God then responded by turning away from them and giving them over to worship the created things. God responded to their ongoing, unrepentant rebellion by bringing judgment and exile upon the people.
The religious leaders in Stephen’s day were in danger of facing that separation and judgment from God. It was not Stephen who was against Moses and God, but the religious leaders.
There is a lot we can learn from history. For history serves as a mirror for our hearts.
It is so easy to point the finger at those who are ‘living in sin’ outwardly, all while those who claim to know God and be religious are guilty of rebellion and in danger of judgment.
Acknowledge those idols in your heart. Confess them to the Lord. And submit to Christ and receive His forgiveness.
Let’s respond this week to Christ’s death for us and the freedom that He has graciously given us, with worship! Let’s submit to His Word.
Let’s understand our call and commission to make Christ known to those around us.
For this week: Read Acts 7:44-8:3
We should be filled with gratitude for the freedom that we have received. And we should have joy and gratitude, when we remember and reflect upon the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. Because of his sacrificial death for us, we are forgiven of our sins and are freed from our sins to serve and worship Him forever.
So often, I can be prone to forget to respond with a heart of gratitude. We must constantly remind ourselves of all that Christ accomplished for us and for our salvation.
This past Sunday, we reflected on the story of Moses, and how his story ultimately points us to Christ. In Acts 7:17-43, Stephen continued through the story of the Bible. Previously, he devoted time and attention to Abraham and Jospeh, in order to show that God’s presence was with His people outside of the promised land and apart from a temple. That pattern continued this week, with God appearing to Moses at a burning bush outside of the promised land.
We discovered 4 movements through the story, as Stephen spends the most time on Moses’ life. Stephen does this in part, to show that he is not against Moses. But also to show, that Moses’ life and rejection serves as a mirror of the human heart. It reveals the ways we rebel against God’s chosen leader, Jesus Christ.
#1 – God protected Moses through affliction. (Acts 7:17-22)
This span covers the 1st 40 years of his life. You can read about it in Exodus 1:1-2:10.
Moses’ early life revealed that God was with him. Moses was beautiful in God’s sight. He was mighty in his speech and actions.
God was with Moses, even though he was born in times of affliction and hardship for the people of Israel. God protected Moses in Egypt, while he learned the ways of the Egyptians and was raised outside the promised land.
Do you recognize that God is with you, even in times of affliction? So often we can think that if we are going through difficulty that God isn’t present with us.
Through the life of Moses, we see the contrary is true.
#2 – Moses was rejected by the people of Israel. (Acts 7:23-29)
These verses covered the next 40 years of his life. You can read about this in Exodus 2:11-22.
As Stephen works through the story of Moses, he draws our attention to the account of Moses rescuing an Israelite from an Egyptian. They were fighting, so Moses stepped in to save the day by striking down the Egyptian. Moses supposed that his fellow Israelites would see that God was using him to bring salvation to the people of Israel.
They didn’t understand but instead rejected him. This becomes evident on the next day, when he sees two Hebrews fighting with each other. He tries to be the mediator and peace maker, but they want no part in it. He then flees to the land of Midian, and becomes the father of two sons.
There are several points of application that we draw from this. I mention two:
- As a church, we are to be eager to maintain peace with one another. We are on the same team, part of the same family. Internal conflict should not characterize Christians.
- As individuals, we can act like we don’t need to be rescued. We act as though we don’t need a Savior. And so, when Christ is presented to us, we reject him and his word. We need to repent of the pride in our hearts and submit to Christ as our Savior, Ruler and Judge. He is our Mediator who brings us peace with God and with one another. Give Him the proper place He rightfully deserves in your life.
#3 – God commissioned Moses to deliver the people of Israel. (Acts 7:30-34)
40 years had passed for Moses while living in the land of Midian as a shepherd. He might not have felt like he was doing much ministry. He is now 80 years old, and God calls him and commissions him to go back to Egypt. God has seen the affliction of His people and is going to use Moses to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt.
This passage is found in Exodus 2:23-3:22. In this story, Joseph highlights God’s call and commission at the burning bush. God’s presence was made known to Moses outside of the promised land and apart from a tabernacle or temple.
And what we discover it that where God’s presence is located, that place is holy. The place where Moses standing was on ‘holy ground.’ And that ‘holy ground’ was located outside of the promised land. This is absolutely stunning and remarkable, when we think deeply of its implications.
But what I want us to reflect upon is the call and commission of Moses. God commissioned him to go back to a people who had previously rejected him, in order to deliver them from their slavery in Egypt. What a lesson for us to learn and reflect upon.
Apart from Christ, we are in bondage to sin. We are slaves of sin. And like in Egypt, we need rescued and redeemed. And like in Egypt, there is nothing that we can do to free ourselves from it. In fact, there is a part of us that doesn’t desire to leave the sin we are in. But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die on the cross. He is our Passover Lamb. He died to set us free from sin to serve and worship Him. Now, when God sees us, through faith in Christ, as the blood of Christ is applied to our hearts and lives, we are forgiven. We are passed over and don’t experience judgment, ever! Instead, we are called children of God. And we are commissioned by God, to point people to the Savior.
He sends us to tell people about the Savior, Jesus Christ.
- Who in your life is God calling you to help them see their need for Jesus?
- Who in your life is God calling you to walk beside in this wilderness journey, until we make it to the ultimate promised land (=the new heaven and new earth)?
#4 – God judged Israel’s rebellion. (Acts 7:35-43)
We get a final look at Moses’ life, which serves as a summary of Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness.
It was Moses who was rejected, even though he led the people out, performed signs and wonders in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness of Sinai.
And God’s Word was rejected. Moses received these living oracles, but the people refused to listen to him. They pursued the idols of their hearts. They offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the words of their hands.
God then responded by turning away from them and giving them over to worship the created things. God responded to their ongoing, unrepentant rebellion by bringing judgment and exile upon the people.
The religious leaders in Stephen’s day were in danger of facing that separation and judgment from God. It was not Stephen who was against Moses and God, but the religious leaders.
There is a lot we can learn from history. For history serves as a mirror for our hearts.
It is so easy to point the finger at those who are ‘living in sin’ outwardly, all while those who claim to know God and be religious are guilty of rebellion and in danger of judgment.
Acknowledge those idols in your heart. Confess them to the Lord. And submit to Christ and receive His forgiveness.
Let’s respond this week to Christ’s death for us and the freedom that He has graciously given us, with worship! Let’s submit to His Word.
Let’s understand our call and commission to make Christ known to those around us.
For this week: Read Acts 7:44-8:3
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