ACTS: Learning to Live in God’s Time

Stephen, one of the seven chosen by the congregation to serve tables, to be a deacon, now finds himself before the High Priest, much the same as Peter has a number of times in the Book of Acts already. The High Priest and the Council are listening to some people from the synagogue of the Freedmen who accused him of speaking against the Moses, the Temple, the Law, and even the customs of the Jewish people. Of course, this was all out of jealousy and spite. The more they accused Stephen, the more the Council were amazed at the look on Stephen’s face as it was glowing like what they expected an angel’s face might look like.  

 

Acts 7:1 And the High Priest questioned Stephen, "Is this true?" 2 He spoke, "Listen, brothers and elders. Our LORD God visited Abraham while he lived in Mesopotamia, long before he lived in Haran, 3 and spoke to him, 'I have a new place for you to live, but you will need to leave behind this country and your family.' 4 "Abraham left the land of Chaldea and moved to Haran. Then, when his father had died, God brought him into this land we now enjoy. 5 "Abraham had no land to call his own, yet God promised that the land would be his for generations to come, even though at the time he had no children. 6 "God told him that his offspring would first have to be slaves for 400 years in another land they did not know. 7 "God spoke up for them saying, 'I will judge the nation where they shall be, bringing them to this land where they will serve Me.' 

 

Stephen began his defense with a rehash of the Biblical story of the history of the people of Israel, beginning with the call of Abraham. This would allow him to justify that he was not speaking against the Jewish people and customs as he was being accused. He told how God spoke to Abraham so clearly that he left the land of his father and traveled to the land of Israel before there was even a “people of Israel.” He packed up his belongings and set out to relocate in a foreign country to become a great nation. Abraham had no property in this new land, he had no children to become heirs of the land, and God said it would take over 400 years before these things would take place. That did not deter Abraham in following Yahweh, when as yet, Abraham did not even know His name. He knew very little about this God or the country where he was being sent. Yet in faith, he set out, believing that God would take care of him.

 

We know very little about the experience where Abraham encountered God. What we do know is the event compelled him to leave all he knew behind, pack up his family, and make a drastic change in his life. It would be a drastic change for us today, but we have computers, maps, language translators, and real estate agents. I wonder what it would take for God to call us from the comforts of our current life to serve Him on the mission field in another country.

 

Stephen recounts the story of Abraham, to counteract the accusations of the Freedmen who wanted to make the case that he wanted to change the whole of the religion of Israel. He wanted to assure the Council that he had no such intention. So, he continued on with the recounting of the history they all knew so well. 

 

Acts 7:8 "God made a promise to Abraham and sealed it with His covenant in circumcision. Abraham circumcised his firstborn son, Isaac, when he was eight days old. To Isaac's son, Jacob was born the twelve men we hail as our forefathers. 9 "These forefathers became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Yet, God did not abandon Joseph. 10 "Instead He protected him with wisdom and favor in the sight of the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh promoted Joseph to be the governor over his household and over the whole land of Egypt. 11 "Then the famine came to the lands of Egypt and Canaan, and our forefathers suffered difficult times and began to run out of food. 12 "Jacob sent our forefathers to Egypt to buy grain, having discovered that Egypt had plenty. 13 "The second time our forefathers went to Egypt for grain, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and introduced his brothers to Pharaoh. 14 "Then he invited his father Jacob and the remainder of his family, seventy-five in all, to come live in the land of Egypt. 15 "It was in Egypt that Jacob died along with our forefathers. 16 "When the time was right, the bodies of our forefathers were moved to Shechem, to a place Abraham had bought from the family of Hamor. 17 "Our relatives increased in number in the land of Egypt until the 400 years were near done, which God had promised to Abraham. 18 "Around that time a new king took the throne in Egypt. This king did not know anything about Joseph. 19 "This king mistreated our people and commanded them to let their babies die. 

 

As Stephen continues to summarize the history of Israel, he rushes through the story of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob and his twelve children. Many of those children did not like Joseph because he had visions of the future where he would be the leader of the family and bring everyone to safety. He shared these dreams with his family, and they decided to get rid of him. One day they had the opportunity to sell their brother into slavery with a band of travelers on their way to Egypt. There would be so much to tell of the story but the point for Stephen was to get to the calling of Moses. With the family enjoying, at first, the joys of life in Egypt, along comes a new king who does not accept these foreigners in his country. He makes them slaves and seeks to squelch out their lineage by making them set aside their newborn babies and let them die. 

 

It is impossible for us to imagine what the people of Israel had to go through for many generations in the land of Egypt. Why did it take God so long to bring them to the land Promised to Abraham so many years before? I suppose we could all ask the question, “God, why are You taking so long?” It often seems that God is slow in responding to us. But God has His timing. One of Peter’s letters, years after Stephen preaches this sermon, says, “Don't forget this truth, my friends, one thousand years in our time is but a day to Jesus. He seems to drag His feet when it comes to our needs, but He is not acting slowly, He has a different agenda than we do, He is patient, hoping that all will repent, and none will perish. (2 Pet. 3:8,9 EBV)

 

This different agenda of God is all for the benefit of us and what is best for us, and at the same time for others who need to come to the point of repentance in their lives. God sees this life from a different perspective than we do. He looks out for the unfolding of His-story, while at the same time caring for the tiniest details of each one of His children. To us, one day only has 24 hours to get things done and a third of that we have to sleep, but to God, time is different, one day can be a thousand years. He is patient. 

 

The prophet Jeremiah says God is watching over His word to make sure that everything He has said will come true exactly as He planned it. This is the message the LORD brought to Jeremiah on the day he began his ministry as a prophet, and he wrote those words down for us to see and believe. And Isaiah said in the words of LORD, “What I say, gets accomplished, it never turns up empty.” (Isaiah 55:11 EBV) 

 

God is so patient, so trusting, and so caring. If we are made in His image, why are these traits so difficult for us? Partly because of our expectations, we desire things to turn out for our best and not for what will make all people better and draw them closer to Jesus. We want things to be clearly on our right path to completion, not realizing that God’s path is far better than ours. We like to try to “play God,” and have control over our lives, and often over the lives of others. 

 

Jesus said to Peter in a moment of rebuke, something He could often say to each of us, “you are setting your minds on your own interests, not on the things of God.” (Matthew 16:23 EBV) It is important for us to step back and gain some perspective. To see that when things do not work out the way we planned them, God has a different timing or an alternate plan. We need to change our expectations to remember we are riding with God on an adventure which might take us somewhere we had never dreamed. But be assured “Yahweh shepherds me and I have no wants,” (Psalm 23:1 EBV) 

 

Stephen feels the confidence before the Council to recount the history of the people of Israel, knowing that whatever will come his way will be from the hand of the LORD. 

 

I remember someone suggesting a plan to teach a congregation a new song.  It first requires having the children’s choir sing it before the church. People will say, “They are so cute.” And then a few months later have the youth choir sing the song to comments “It is nice to have them in church.” Then the adult choir could sing the song and people would say, “that’s a pretty song.” Finally, when the congregation gets the opportunity to sing the song they will say, “haven’t we heard this somewhere before?”

 

None of us like change, especially a change in our plans. But think about Stephen on this day. The last few times Peter came before the Council, he was corrected and set free. What did Stephen have to worry about? And Stephen was caught up in the power of the Spirit, not aware of life or death, just confident in the workings and timing of God to bring about His best. 

 

We will continue this sermon on Sunday, but in the meantime, be willing to let God make some adjustments to your plans today and feel the wonder of His love. I bless you with patience and expectation of seeing God at work in your life. 

Pastor Edd