Title Imitated Butler Stevan...
Contents
Acts 7:30-43
Today's sermon, the second half of a long sermon by Deacon Stephen, focuses mainly on the history of disobedience of the people of Israel who rebelled against the leadership of Moses. Deacon Stevan's sermon, which began in Acts 7:2, may lose strength as time passes in front of the stinging eyes of those around him, but he criticizes the core of disobedience even more intensely.
Of the many sermons in Acts, the longest is this sermon by Stephen, not by Paul or Peter. Why is the book of Acts quoting this long sermon from Stephen, which repeatedly summarizes what already exists in the Old Testament? I think it's God's providence that he wants to benefit the readers of the Bible on two levels.
One is that the sermon text itself is important, and the other is that the change of the faith community through the person named Stephen is more important than the content.
That's right. In fact, we are all like that. The essence of the sin that has been passed down to us is the disobedience, betrayal, envy, and poison-like violence that the ancestors of Israel and the religious leaders of Stephen's era harbored. Even as their ancestors in Israel did, they quickly find new replacements because they feel a little tired and annoyed. Of course, you can change the method a bit or take a break when you think there is a problem. But then they changed the nature of trust. As recorded in verse 40, they commanded, “Make for us gods who will lead us,” and proudly declared their oblivion of the past, saying, “We do not know what happened to this Moses who was leading us out of the land of Egypt.” I did. In my view, this is a very deliberate and malicious oblivion. If you really forgot, you can't declare it like this. It means that I need a god who throws food at me right now, and in that case, it shows the extreme of unbelief that I can throw away the Jehovah God I have trusted and relied on like a devoted mate.
However, the problem is that when we also leave the Word, when we are not happy to obey the Word, we neglect the life of worshiping God that much and eventually find another object of worship. In this age, the object of worship is clearly visible like a golden calf, and it does not come close to rustic. To love more than God, to focus my heart more than to serve Jesus, whether it be a good reputation at work, a higher salary, or the success of my family or my children, they are all idols of the 21st century.
I know too well that these idols are constantly trying to come into existence, so I pray and confess every day. Like the content of the prayer the Lord taught, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We pray, especially referring to “the lust of the flesh”, “the lust of the eyes” and “the pride of life.” Because without doing so, there is no way out of the grip of such idolatry.