in the seventh chapter of Acts this morning. So you want to find your place there. Actually, we'll start in the sixth chapter and close right into the seventh. And this all has to do with the martyrdom of Stephen and how that all was affected. Remember that Stephen was one of the men filled with the Holy Ghost and was one of the seven first deacons. apparently a rather young man, and he would become the first Christian martyr. So here we have in the sixth chapter, then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines and the Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. So Lord give us your blessings here as we open the word There's much to learn from the example of Stephen and we pray that we might find application in our own lives Help us to be a bold witness to our generation in Jesus name. We pray So they stirred up people and the elders and the scribes and came upon him and caught him and and brought him to the council and set up false witnesses which said this man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us. And all that sat in the council looked steadfastly on him and saw his face as it had been the face of an angel then said the high priest are these things so so now we've just crossed into the seventh chapter and you can see here it's going to come to take up a rather interesting text in the bible where we have an encapsulation of the entire history of the Jewish people beginning with Abraham and he kind of moves all the way up into Solomon and then he will be at that point incurring the wrath of these Pharisees. Let's remember that this council called the Sanhedrin This council of 70 elders would have been at the same council previously here. They condemned Jesus Christ to the cross. So they are desperately trying to retain power and authority in Jerusalem. And they feel that the resurrected Christ and his followers pose a great threat to their security and to the continuity of their power. So they will do what they can to try to put a lid on this. Just as Peter and John had already been beaten and imprisoned, now we have Stephen rising up. So they're starting to recognize that the word of God here and the power of the Christian gospel was spreading without their ability to contain it. And so the high priest said, are these things so? And he said, men, brethren and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia Now if you have your Bibles up you're going to see what ensues in this chapter is a Kind of an extended Lesson about the history of the elect people And we're not going to read all of the details of that because basically just kind of that touches on the main themes of the Old Testament. I'm going to give it to you in a little different way here. So what is Stephen doing? And what I think is fascinating about all this is that the first century preachers of the gospel used the Old Testament. They didn't have a New Testament, so the New Testament begins in around 60, maybe a little earlier with Paul's writing to the Thessalonians. And then books are added thereafter, including the Gospels. But all this happening in around the late 50s, early 60s A.D., all the way up to 96 A.D., where we have the compilation of the Book of the Revelation, and thus the conclusion of the matter and the closing of the canon of Scripture. So the preachers heavily rely upon the Old Testament to establish the truth of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. And so what Stephen does here, again, I wouldn't say that he's trying to be clever about this, but he is invitational. He's calling men brethren fathers. So basically, this is his introduction. Listen to me, or give me your ears, right? So he begins with the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham now, so he's found points of contact with the Sanhedrin remember that these Pharisees and Sadducees that comprise the council would have been quite familiar with the Torah the first five books of the Bible and there was some debate then after that with the Sadducees about the authenticity of the historical books nonetheless They would have all agreed with the history of their nation, and they felt rightfully proud about the history of their nation. And so Stephen basically gives them this little tour through the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham, who was called out of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia. So again, what does he have to rely upon but the Torah, which in the first five books of Moses would have contained the Genesis account of creation, as well as the fall in the third chapter, the flood of Noah, and the Tower of Babel in the 11th chapter. And that brings us up to where Stephen actually begins his lesson, which is the life of Abraham and the birth of the elect nation. Then the 12 sons of Jacob, which comprise what we call the sons of Jacob or the tribes of Israel. And then we move, of course, beyond that to the book of Exodus. I'll be actually taking this up Sunday in our Sermons the life of Moses so here they are exiled to Egypt for 400 years There comes a Pharaoh that doesn't know Joseph right so now what what happens is they become an enslaved people and they're put to the construction projects of Egypt into the glory of false gods and So God will send a deliverer in the birth of Moses and Stephen uses an opportunity again rather briefly to explain this history and how Moses becomes the emancipator and brings about 10 plagues upon the nation, and finally the death of the firstborn, and the death angel passing over the elect nation with the shedding of blood. As we well know then, the Red Sea has to part so that they can make their transport into the wilderness of Zion. And at Mount Sinai, the reception of the Ten Commandments. And during that period of time, the Jews then begin to learn from God what their ceremonial laws will be. All of these being a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah that will give his life as the Lamb of God. The priesthood is established during that period of time as well in Leviticus, and there's much detail that's given to us in these books about how the priest, his garments, certainly the mitre upon his head, the cleansing of the priest before he would actually do the sacrificial offerings at the brazen altar, and then the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat. And the book of Leviticus also records the seven feasts that would be celebrated during the Jewish year. In the book of Numbers and Deuteronomy then we have the disobedience of the Jewish people unwilling to go into the promised land. They're cursed and must wander then for 40 years in the wilderness. until that generation passed away and then Josh and Caleb would lead the next generation into the promised land. There were various ways that God spoke during that time and in fact Moses before he dies outlines the blessings and the cursings there in the last few chapters of Deuteronomy. do ultimately move into that promised land and the two spies go in and they ultimately lead the children in the crossing of the Jordan, a kind of a many miraculous parting of the Jordan River. And the battle of Jericho and the conquest of Jericho, all of these things are given as a sign of God's special blessing upon the people. The land then is divided. And rather than a king, the children of Israel were ruled by judges. and depending how you want to count them around 16 judges, depends on some people who don't consider Samuel, but there are various judges here that actually would lead the children of Israel during that particular time. There's also this rather intriguing account of Ruth, Four chapters, it's a homely account that we have but also in a sense a very typical picture of Messiah the Ancient of Days and the Bride of Christ From there again, we kind of take up again the history books 1st and 2nd Samuel 1st and 2nd Kings and 1st and 2nd Chronicles so during this time the people demand a king and King is ultimately given to them in the person of Saul, but Saul proves himself quite unworthy and God then chooses to bring David in as the anointed and Saul wastes his efforts in trying to kill David and ultimately dies by the edge of the sword at the hand of the Philistines Then we have David anointed King and we have the accounts of David prospering as the king and then of course his evil and sin with Bathsheba and his ultimate rebellion of his son Absalom and then that leads to David's exile but then his return again of course all this a typical picture of Christ. And then were led up to the apex of the kingdom of Israel. Now it's reached its zenith under the rule of King Solomon. The name Solomon means peace, shalom, and this would be a typical picture of the millennial reign of Christ. And of course the ultimate gift that was given to him in wisdom and thus he was able to erect a temple unto the Lord, a permanent dwelling place rather than the tabernacle in the wilderness. And the subduing of kingdoms surrounding him, the pagan kings and queens would do homage to him. Then Solomon then turns to idols and we see the nation Israel kind of plummeting and ultimately ends up in rebellion against God and God then delivers them to captivity for 400 years until the Messiah would actually appear Well, that's pretty much what what you have there traversing those 40 some verses in Acts chapter 7 and this is what so Stephen is given a an audience up to this point but then we find And we're looking now at the 51st verse, where he recognizes that the audience that perhaps gave him rapt attention up to this point, as long as he was outlining the history and blessing of the people of God. But he recognizes that their hearts begin to turn from him. For a moment, as it were, they gave audience to this man. They, again, remember that the deacons and the apostles they were considered to be unlearned people and yet they could speak with wisdom and even as we saw there earlier in the sixth chapter that when they saw Stephen his face seemed to shine with the countenance of an angel and it was difficult for them to resist that that wisdom But they kind of gathered themselves at this juncture. They recognized that they were, so to speak, under his spell for a while. And then they kind of come out of that. And he can recognize now that they're impatient and they're going to do something to him. So Stephen says and rebukes them you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears You do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did So do ye so you see he's led right up to the all the triumphs of Israel, you know comes all the way up to the kingdom and Solomon's kingdom All is well until now, you know, they recognize that at Solomon is when the kingdom began to come into dissolution. their unbelief, their idolatry. Solomon led them right into idolatry. And the kingdoms then, though there were a few revivalist kings mostly, they were very apostate and brought them into the bondage of the four various empires, beginning with Babylon, then Persia, Greece, and finally Rome. And that kind of leads them right up to where they were. So Stephen is given some explanation here, and he's telling them, you were stiff-necked, uncircumcised, and hard in the ears, resisting the Holy Ghost. And he likens it unto the fathers of the past, which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it." So though he does not give nomination to the name of Jesus, he speaks of him here with appellation, just one, the just one. And they would have understood this to be their Messiah. And so what is this Stephen doing? The point of his lecturing up to this point was to lead them to a place of conviction and to recognize that the bondage that they were experiencing under Rome was a result of their stiff-neckedness and their uncircumcision of heart and ears and the resistance of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So now he's incurred their full wrath. He's now laid the ax to the root. He's now demonstrated why Israel's in its position that it's in and what they had just recently done in crucifying the just one. You have been his betrayer and murderer. And so this, of course, will bring about the end of their tolerance. They're not going to listen any longer to Stephen. And didn't Jesus say, I will tear down this temple and rebuild it in three days before he rose from the dead? You condemned him! Silence him! Shut him up! Look! Look here with me! I see the heavens open! And Christ standing at the right hand of God! O Jesus, receive my spirit. Do not hold this sin against me. And so the account tells us here, but he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. And we'll skip down to the 59th. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Well, there's some tantalizing bits here that we want to be able to expound. So notice this, as Stephen is being stoned to death, it says, he being full of the Holy Ghost. Now, this expression we've already noted in the Book of Acts, and you're going to see this many, many times. So the full of the Holy Ghost, filled with the Holy Ghost. And what always accompanies this is the preaching of the truth. So the sign of the fullness of the Holy Ghost is the emanating forth of that truth by the lips of the dispenser, be it the apostle or in this case a deacon. So they're full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God. So Stephen receives a vision at the end He is able to pierce through into eternity and he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God So this gives us Affirmation to what we know in the scripture to be and that is that at the ascension of Jesus after his resurrection he ascends to the right hand of God and he of course serves there as the mediating high priest and I mentioned this on Sunday, in fact, when we were talking about Daniel chapter 7. So I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. So this enigmatic passage in Daniel 7 indicates the nature of the triune Godhead. So we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit equal, of course. One God, though, and yet we see them in their divisibility. We see them as the Holy Spirit here, of course, is giving the martyr this vision. So he's full of the Holy Ghost, and what does he see? He sees the Father, and he sees the Son. These are the various proof texts that though the word itself Trinity, triunity, doesn't appear in the Bible, the concept of Trinity is evident in so many places, even like we have here. So we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their various capacities, not three gods, but one God in three persons. It's Daniel here that sees the father and the son, and sees the son as sitting at the right hand of God. So in Psalm 110, we have the passage here in reference to the priesthood of Melchizedek, that the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. So the Lord said unto my Lord. So what is this about? Well, there's the mystery, of course, of the Godhead, that the Lord should say unto the Lord, equal and yet diverse in capacity as to what they're accomplishing. So God is the judge of all the earth. Christ, in this position, becomes mediator, intercessor. and without which we would have no hope. But notice that Stephen here sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So Psalm 110 says that he sits at the right hand of God and so likewise Daniel 7 and then so many other places in the New Testament that reaffirm that truth. Jesus seated at the right hand of God. Now, when we find him seated, that helps us to understand that the work is accomplished, that there's no need for him to do any more than what was done, and thus he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as Hebrews 1 says. So this is so vitally important. And this, of course, incurs the full wrath of the Sanhedrin and those that came to stone Stephen. They felt totally justified now because they felt him to be a blasphemer, just by his testimony here. Well, while Jesus ministered on the earth, he asked the poignant question of thinking of Christ, whose son was he? So we have it here in Matthew 22, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They said unto him, the son of David. Of course, remember now, what think ye of Christ? The question that Jesus is posing is, what do you think of the off, of the Christos, the Meshiach, as the way the Hebrew would understand it, the anointed one? What do you think of the anointed one? whose son is he to be? They don't acknowledge Jesus as being Mashiach, but so Jesus asked them, oh, who is he and what son would he be? Well, he saith unto them, how doth David in spirit call him Lord? Saying, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then called him Lord, how is he his son? So he's put before them a spiritual conundrum, and they have no answer. As you see, no man was able to answer him a word, neither dares any man from that day forth even ask him any more questions. So this was the stunning reality, and this is what they would ultimately crucify Jesus as a blasphemer to identify himself as the Son of God. And Jesus quotes this from the from the Davidic writings to indicate that there was such a thing as the mystery of the triune Godhead. Of course New Testament gives us such amplification of the doctrine and the purpose of Christ's ascension and the seating at the right hand of God. Ephesians Paul addresses the matter when he says which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and sent him at his own right hand in the heavenly places Far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and Gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all and So the New Testament indeed is a completed thought now. So what are seed thoughts in the Old Testament, planted like that passage in Psalm 110, now comes to its full fruition. We understand all of the purpose behind Messiah taking a place at the right hand of God. And now Stephen's vision is such that we understand the purpose of all this, with Jesus now standing at the right hand of God as our defender before a holy God, a mediator that can make peace with God through the blood of the covenant. Romans, well, Hebrews chapter 9, Romans 8 also has, or Romans 5 has a word on this, I think. But for Christ is not entering into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." So now we see the full manifestation of the ministry of Christ. And Christ descending from the right hand of God, coming down to earth. He was made a little lower than the angels, Hebrews 2 says. for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. and so experiences life as we must and becomes a faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. After fulfilling the role here of the last Adam, living the perfect life that no man ever did, he now is able to restore humanity and thus he prays just before in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion he prays, restore to me the glory which I had with thee from the foundation of the earth. And so we see him restored, we see him at the right hand of God and making intercession for us. So, which is what the purpose of all of this for, there's that passage I mentioned in Romans 5, therefore being justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So our great high priest has ascended. He's at the right hand of God. This is mentioned in so many places now in the New Testament, that he had accomplished what needed to be done, purging us of our sins, and thus sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. So we find it curious now that he's standing to receive Stephen, though normally the scripture is clear that he sits at the right hand of God. Here again in Hebrews 4 seeing them that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens Jesus the Son of God Let us hold fast our profession and in Romans 8 The rhetorical question of who is he that is that condemns? It is Christ that died yea rather than it is risen again. It was even at the right hand of God who also make it intercession for us In so many places, of course, through the book of Hebrews, we would especially note, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Timothy tells us, Paul tells us there in writing to Timothy that there's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. There in first John so we you can see here the consensus amongst the Writers of the New Testament, so we have Paul speaking we have John speaking here So if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world and this mediator of the New Testament that by means of his death the redemption of the transgressions that run to the first testimony they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. So it is no wonder then that as Stephen is about to breathe his last breath that the heavens open and he sees this vision and he gives testimony to this that he's seeing this, and this would, of course, should bring great conviction, and it is a witness to the truth, that it only infuriates the persecutors at this point. But now again, he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So I kind of use here as a picture of Christ standing with us. So yes, he's seated at the right hand of God, receives our confession and our prayer, But when it's time to meet the father, we will find the advocate by our side, standing with us. And so in our courts of justice today, people that are hauled off and brought before a judge, they're about to be sentenced. And it's standard procedure that the defending attorney stand with the accused, or in this case, the condemned, and stand with them as sentences passed. So it's kind of a tradition. It's what's to be done. So likewise, we have one who stands with us when we appear before God, and one that will defend us. And of course, when the condemnation comes from the lips of our accuser, Satan, when Satan brings our charges against us, and rightly tells the Father that we don't deserve to go to heaven, it's Jesus that will stand with us. receive us into glory. All right, so back to the text. And behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him. So they're not going to tolerate anymore. They had given audience up to a point. As long as Stephen was telling them what they wanted to hear their ears were, you know duly tickled and so But but of course when Stephen brings to bear upon them the guilt of the Lord Jesus Christ When he says you've murdered the just one You're culpable for the death of the Son of the Living God Then they've had enough They'll hear no more And as he is being condemned, as they take up the stones to stone him, heaven opens and he sees the vision and recounts the vision to them. And this, again, they will not tolerate. And instead, they cry out and they're trying to drown him out. They cry out with a loud voice and they stop up their ears. And they ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city. You know, it's interesting in Zechariah's account. Well, Zechariah is writing 500 years before this account, and yet you can see that it's almost wonderfully reenacted here in the case of Stephen's testimony. And it's repeated. We have people to this day that essentially stop up their ears. They don't want to hear any more of it. They don't want to be exposed to the truth. They walk out while the preacher is telling the truth and they wag their heads, you know, they won't hear it. And You can see here, even in the Book of Acts, and as Zechariah suggests, that they actually put fingers in their ears. They're so irritated by the truth that they just refuse for those words to enter in. Therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it has come to pass that as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear, said the Lord of hosts. So what we have here is commensurate judgment. So we have, you stop up your ears and I'll stop up mine. Proverbs 1 says, they laughed at me, I'll laugh at them in their calamity. So these are all commensurate judgments. This is what happens to a people who are given opportunity and reject the opportunity. In Romans 10, of course, we know that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And so this is why they feel compelled to stop up their ears, because it's having an effect, obviously, bringing deep conviction. Proverbs tells us, bow down thine ear, hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto knowledge. And of course, this passage that our Lord gave to us in John 5, 24, verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. And Jesus said, If any man have fears, let him hear. Take heed therefore how you hear. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken, even that which he seemeth to have. So there's your opportunity, and Luke 8 speaks about people that they all heard. We've got four cases, you know, the seed sown in various types of ground. In each case, each one heard, but it's how they reacted to what they heard. And that's the expression, to take heed how you hear. In other words, the words have to penetrate. They have to get down into the heart for it to be effective. And so, then I speak here of the oblique meaning of that parable of the sower and the seed. So, and the disciples came and said unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. And whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing, see not, and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand. Seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them, the blessed are ye, are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Ye hear, therefore, the parable of the sower." So Jesus giving these explanations, and I speak of an oblique meaning. In other words, when Jesus spoke the parable, it was a story. It was esoteric. It demanded interpretation. The Pharisees were offended at this. They felt like they were being demeaned, child's fables and tales that were being told to them, when in fact they had a significant meaning but would only be given to those who had the humility to accept those meanings. Here in this context also of the sower and the seed in the eighth chapter, Luke gives us a few more details. Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told them by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee. And he answering said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it. Well, so we have Stephen being martyred, telling the truth, giving out the word of God. And those, rather than being recipients, ready hearers of the word, reject the word. And they have ears, but they can't hear. And so they stop up their ears and they persecute the messenger. So they stoned Stephen. calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus received my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. When he had said this, he fell asleep. Now there's much to extract from this as well. I noticed that Stephen here must have been familiar with the very words of the Lord Jesus. Of those last seven sayings, Jesus quotes two, or Stephen quotes two of them here. We'll recall that the thief cries out to Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus answers verily, I say unto you, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. So the forgiveness of sin and also this expression The last very last words of jesus father into thy hands. I commend my spirit so these two utterances Were said by jesus at the cross and apparently stephen has access to those words That they well understood though. They have yet to be recorded at the time of stephen's death in 33 a.d and no gospel has been written. And yet, those words of Christ were well known and already being put forth. Many witnesses hearing what Jesus said and recording it already. Well, what a noble way to die and to be reciting the verses. Later, Peter would write about this idea of forgiving You know, lay not this sin to their charge, Stephen says. So that is very benevolent and to be able to look at your persecutors and to know that the injustice that you're experiencing and yet to pronounce forgiveness upon them. It is indeed divine. Not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, but a contrary wise blessing. knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. Peter has a lot to say about this, doesn't he? For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Well, Peter knew he was there that day that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount and in it relayed the notion of forgiveness. So we're told here in Matthew 6 when we have the instruction of how to pray and we have the famous words of the Lord's Prayer that We have, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. And Jesus then adds at the end an addendum to the prayer. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, Neither will your father forgive your trespasses. So, um, it's a comment on the prayer. Uh, the prayer had ended, but now Jesus wanted to make a, uh, an emphasis of forgiveness and how important it is for those that would name the name of Christ and have received beneficiaries of forgiveness that we should in return forgive. There were parables that Jesus gave regarding this, about men owing great sums and being forgiven the great debt, and then having been forgiven that debt, one that comes and owes you a much smaller amount, and yet you send them to the debtor's prison. Jesus points the hypocrisy of this if you're a recipient of mercy and forgiveness Then we ought to be willing to distribute that same forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ Well at this time. I always like to use an illustration of Corrie ten boom I call this audacious forgiveness During World War two in the concentration camps Jews would be rounded up and carried to their death. And there were those, like Corrie ten Boom's family, that hid some of these Jews and tried to get them safe passage. They were able to escape the Holocaust. But they were finally found out. The SS came in and found these hiding places in these homes and carried these people off. themselves and took them, Corrie Ten Boom, her father and her sister, to the concentration camps. Romans 8, that the spirit himself will teach us how to pray. We have to forgive. I was not at peace with men. There was hatred in my heart. When gods were cruel for my friends and for Betsy and me, there came such a hatred in my heart. Oh, and then I learned to take the promise of Romans 5.5, the love of God is shed abroad into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And I learned this prayer, thank you, Jesus, that you brought into my heart God's love through the Holy Spirit was given to me and thank you father that your love in me is stronger than my hatred and the hatred went and I could love my enemies so it was in a church in Munich that I saw him she writes a balding have heavy set man in a gray overcoat brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947, and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with a message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from Hollanders' minds, I like to think that that's where forgiven sins were thrown. When we confess our sins, I said, God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. There were never questions after a talk in Germany in 1947. People stood up in silence. In silence, collected their wraps. In silence, they left the room. And that's when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment, I saw the overcoat and the brown hat and the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush. The huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsy, how thin you were. Betsy and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland. This man had been a guard at Ravensbrook concentration camp where we were sent. Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out, a fine message for a line, how good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea. And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled at my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course. How could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women? But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face-to-face with one of my captors, and my blood seemed to freeze. You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk, he was saying. I was a guard in there. No, he did not remember me. But since that time, he went on, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein? Again, the hand came out. Fräulein? Will you forgive me?" And I stood there. I was I whose sins had every day to be forgiven and could not. Betsy had died in that place. Could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out. But to me, it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I'd ever had to do. For I had to do it. I knew that. The message that God forgives as a prior condition, that we forgive those who have injured us. If you do not forgive men their trespasses, Jesus says, Neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses. I knew it only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war, I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were also able to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that. And still, I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion. I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. Jesus, help me, I prayed silently. I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supplied the feeling. And so, woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, An incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arms, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. I forgive you, brother, I cried with all my heart. For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you. Live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. That last expression is perhaps a bit strange. Fall asleep? Well, he died. But in the New Testament, the expression sleep is a euphemism for death. Because for the believer, death has no fear and no power any longer. It's as one just falling asleep. Find it in John chapter 11, these things said he, after that he saith unto them, our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then it said his disciples, if he sleep, He shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. So this euphemism, and a euphemism is an example of substituting a mild, indirect, vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive, a pleasant name for something that is unpleasant, a euphemism. So in the Bible, we find death to be explained with the word sleep for believers. All that sleep in Christ, he shall bring with him. Well, we'll elucidate the point more next week. But Lord, we ask your blessing upon what we've learned today. And clearly, Lord, there's lessons for all of us here. I would imagine that all of us have, as matured believers, have learned to forgive. We must bear no grudges. We've all been recipients of great mercies, Lord, when we consider what you have saved us from, Lord. Who are we to neglect giving out that same forgiveness to others who may have injured us in some fashion? We thank you, Lord, that you had that kind of mercy upon us. So teach us, Lord, to show towards others. Lord, subdue our spirit. We have sometimes anger, revenge in the heart, and that, Lord, has no place in the believer's life. We pray for our enemies, Lord, and those that are about us that hate you, that live perverse lives, that are bringing a great curse upon our nation, Lord. We pray for them, Lord. They need to be saved. And just as you had mercy upon us, that you'd have mercy upon them. For Isaiah tells us, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the first wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous men his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord, and he shall have mercy. And unto our God he shall abundantly pardon. In Jesus' name, amen.