The job of the Spirit is to make the Word of God come alive in your experience. Dr. Tony Evans says that's when we see the Lord invade our circumstances with His presence and power.
So invite God to do that on a daily basis, because the more regularly you do it, the more regularly you'll see it, the more real it becomes. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. As early church leaders faced opposition to the teachings of Jesus, they made the same bold point over and over that true faith is about a living, dynamic relationship with God, not just following religious rules or traditions.
But there's a cost to standing up for the truth, and we'll learn about it today as Dr. Evans begins with a short review. Alright, we're surveying the book of Acts, the link book between the Gospels and the Epistles, showing us the birth of Christianity and its expansion through the church, highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit in this process of advancing the person and work of Jesus Christ. We ended last time with Stephen as he is standing before the leaders at the end of chapter 6, and he is affirming Jesus Christ before them. So they were saying Stephen is a threat to Judaism. He's a threat, because he's rejecting what has been passed down to us all these years. The high priest said, Are these things so?
Have you been defaming our background, our history, our temple, our laws, our customs, as your accusers have said? This question opens up Stephen's long address in chapter 7, leading to his martyrdom. His point is that the Old Testament was looking for a relationship with God.
It was not looking for religious activity. The religious leaders had staken all their commitment to the fact that they were, you know, held on to the Mosaic law, that they worshiped in the temple, that they had this tradition in history. But he says, No, you do not understand. That is not what the Old Testament was about. So he goes back and he says, verse 2, Here, brethren and fathers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham.
So he goes all the way back, and this shows how the New Testament reaches back to the Old Testament to make a New Testament point. Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harib. And so God comes to him and he tells him to leave his country in verse 3, and he left, and he settled in the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harib until his father died. Then God moved him on. In other words, Abraham was following God.
He gave him no inheritance in the land in which you are now living. In other words, you're making a big deal about this land and Abraham was never even, he never even got to own any of the land because it wasn't about the land. It was about Abraham's relationship with God. Then he continues in verse 10, and he talks, he now moves to Joseph. And his key word, he says, The Patriots became jealous, verse 9, of Joseph and sold him to Egypt. So Joseph is not even in the land. Joseph is in Egypt. And then he comes in verse 9, he says, The Patriots became jealous and sold him into Egypt, yet God was with him. Now his point was God was with Joseph, and Joseph wasn't even in the land.
Joseph was in Egypt, but God was with him. So the issue is not your property. The issue is where is God and where are you? So while having the land, loving the land, thinking that this is God's land, this is God's property and all of that, without the relationship, it's missing the point.
His argument is you focused on the wrong thing. You're making a big deal about the land, the law, and the temple, and you've missed the Lord. Let me go to verse 35 because he's just reciting this history. He comes down to now Moses. He's now talking about the history of Moses. He says, And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning thorn bush. So he talks about Moses. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight, and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord.
I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look, but the Lord said to him, Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. Okay, but he wasn't in Israel when he said that. He was at Mount Sinai. He was in the wilderness in the desert, and guess what? God called that location holy ground. The holy ground was where you and God meet, even if it's not in this formal location called the Promised Land.
And so now he's driving it home. Verse 51, You men are stiff-necked. Stiff-neck means you won't bend. You're so stuck in your tradition.
You know people like this. They're just stuck where they are, no matter what God says, and uncircumcised of heart. In other words, you're not cleansed in relationship to God in your heart, and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. Now, this is a very important point, because that means the Holy Spirit is resistible. In other words, he can speak and you can refuse to listen, you know, obstinate to what God is saying.
And you are doing just as your fathers did, so you're doing like your daddies. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one.
Of course, Jesus Christ, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, because you were involved in the murder of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was murdered, by the way. There were six trials, all of them illegal, as they tried to cook up a way to legitimately get Jesus killed. And ultimately, they got the Romans to side with them, because they couldn't— the Jews could not perform capital punishment without the Roman permission. And so they got, when they said that he was against Caesar, then that's what got the Romans to jump on their side, because Pilate was going to let him go, time after time after time after time again. He said, I'm finding that he hadn't done anything wrong until they trumped up the charge that he's against Caesar, and we're going to tell Caesar there's another king. Well, that was the problem, because now that's insurrection and blasphemy. So you got all these trials going on to cook up the murder of Jesus. So he calls them murderers of the righteous one, referring to Jesus Christ. Now, when they heard this, verse 54, they were cut to the quick, because they're being condemned by Stephen, who is speaking, and we're told he was full of the Spirit, verse 55, and being full of the Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God. And Jesus standing at his right hand.
Okay, wait a minute. Stephen is still alive. He hasn't died yet. But he looks up and sees God's glory, and he sees Jesus standing, because Jesus is alive, he's risen from the dead, at the right hand of God. What would you think it would be like in your transition from time to eternity to be able to see where you're headed? I would like to suggest to you that this is what happens to faithful saints in their transition. God gives them enough of heaven for them to be ready to leave earth.
I have witnessed this. I have been to the hospital with faithful believers who are transitioning into eternity, to be able to be that close to the Lord on earth, that when it's time to transition, you see what's next. You see? And the reason why it was so important was because of how he was going to die, because it says, Behold, I see, verse 56, the heavens opened, and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.
So he's talking, I see him. And they cried with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and rushed at him with one impulse. And when they had delivered him out of the city, they began stoning him. And the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Okay? So we're now getting introduced to the next big figure, Saul, better known to us as Paul, because he gets a name change.
But they went on stoning Stephen, verse 59, as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, to be able to have that conversation with God. I'm coming home. I see you.
Let's get on with it. Then, falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice. Look at this. Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
Having said this, he fell asleep. Now, if there was anybody you would want God to get, it's these guys. But he says, no.
No, don't hold this. He repeats what he saw his Savior do. Jesus told the Father when he was on the cross, receive my spirit, and he said, forgive them, for they know not what they do. So he's actually repeating his sin. He was so close to Jesus that he could repeat in his own death what Jesus said in his death.
That's how close they were. His point was, you guys, you Jewish leaders, have missed it. It's not about your religion. It's about this relationship with Jesus Christ, out of which the others can flow. Dr. Evans will tell us more about that character named Saul when he returns with more of our message in just a moment. First, though, I want to let you know that today's message is part of his 14-message series on the book of Acts, which chronicles the early Church's journey, highlighting the apostles' bold faith and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. This audio collection will give you a deeper understanding of the Church's foundation and mission, uncovering timeless principles that will inspire and empower your own spiritual journey. And it's available on CD or digital download as our gift to you in appreciation for your generous donation to support the alternative. As a special bonus, we'll also include a copy of Dr. Evans' insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, a valuable resource that will help you uncover your unique calling and point out practical steps to fulfill your God-given mission.
This special double offer is only available for a limited time, so be sure to contact us before time runs out. Someone in our resource center is always available to help you when you call 1-800-800-3222, or you can make the arrangements instantly online by visiting tonyevans.org. I'll repeat that contact information later in the program, after part two of today's lesson, and this.
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Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. Saul, chapter 8, was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. So Saul okays the murder of Stephen. On that day, a great persecution began against the church of Jerusalem.
So they're persecuting Christians big time. And they were all scattered in Judea and Samaria except the apostles. The apostles stayed there to keep things in order because they were the leaders of the church.
So the leaders remained there. Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentations over him, sadness of the lost. But Saul began ravaging the church. That word, that Greek word ravaging, he acted like a wild animal. I mean, he went crazy to get rid of Christianity and to get rid of the church. He entered house after house—he's doing house arrest—dragging men and women.
He didn't care about your gender if you were a Christian. And he put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the Word.
Interesting. Remember God says, you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the other most parts of the world. So God was actually using persecution to spread the gospel.
Because of persecution and people spread out, that means the Word of God spread out with them. So when God forces you out of your location and out of your comfort zone and out of what you used to, when you are made to leave by circumstances, before you get mad, get glad. Ask God, what new thing do you want to do with me, for me, to me, through me, by me, in where you're moving me?
In a change of scenario, in a change of occupation, in a change of—when you are forced into a change, because they were forced—persecution. You've got to ask God, what are you doing? Because now the Word of God is spreading, God's truth. He's actually fulfilling what he said in Acts 1-8. Now there was a man named Simon, verse 9, who formerly was practicing magic in the city. So he's a magician, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.
And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with magic arts. But when they believed Philip's preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. So Philip shows up, he's preaching the gospel, he's preaching about the kingdom, and he's showing the power of the kingdom. Even Simon himself believed. So we can only conclude Simon got saved, too.
Now, follow this. And after being baptized, he continued on with Philip. So he got baptized, continued on, and he observed signs and great miracles taking place. He was constantly amazed.
And so here's a magician being amazed by what Philip is doing. They started back to Jerusalem and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. These were the Jew-Gentile mixed marriages.
An angel spoke to Philip, saying, Go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road. So he goes there and he meets an Ethiopian eunuch. So here's an African, Ethiopian eunuch, and a court official of Candace.
So he's probably the treasurer for Candace, the head of Ethiopia. So this African is a court official who had become a proselyte to Judaism. So he's coming from Jerusalem, and as he was returning, he's reading his Bible, the Old Testament. Verse 28 says he's reading the prophet Isaiah. And he's reading from the prophet Isaiah, Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go up and join the chariot. Now, please notice the phrase, Then the Spirit said. Then the Spirit said. Because the Spirit speaks, okay? Now, you may say, I have not audibly ever heard the Spirit speak.
That's because he doesn't typically speak audibly. What he typically does is speak to your mind. How does he speak to your mind? By bringing God's thoughts to your thinking. He brings God's thoughts to your thinking.
Now, he may do that in a number of different ways. He may use other people's words to bring. But when God's thoughts, okay? So the question is, well, how do I know it's God's thoughts and not just my thoughts?
Okay? Well, in a sense, that's a false dichotomy because what he's doing is integrating his thoughts into your thoughts. So, in fact, they are your thoughts, but they're your thoughts that he has spoken into so that now you're thinking it. Is it consistent with God's Word? Does it bring glory to God?
And is it beneficial? Okay? When you can answer those questions positively, then you assume that this is the Spirit speaking. So the Spirit has been speaking a lot more often than we've been hearing because we're not listening for new thoughts coming into our thinking. Okay? That's why the Bible talks about the renewing of the mind as the Spirit speaks to the mind. So the Spirit leads him and go up to join the chariot.
Okay? So now he knows what God wants him to do. So Philip runs up, and he sees the guy reading Isaiah, and he asks him, Well, do you understand what you're reading? And he said, Well, how could I unless someone guide me? Somebody's got to show me because I don't understand what I'm reading.
And that happens to all of us. We're reading the Bible. We don't know what the Bible's saying. So I don't understand it.
I need somebody to help me. Now, the passage of Scripture which he was reading was, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, as a lamb before shearers are silent. So he did not open up his mouth, and he's reading Isaiah 53, verse 34, The eunuch answered Philip and said, Please tell me of whom this prophet says this, of himself or someone else.
Who is he talking about in Isaiah 53? Oh, that was all Philip needed to hear. Then Philip opened his mouth and began, and beginning from the Scriptures, he preached Jesus to him.
And this is all he got. All he had was the Old Testament. And as they went along the road, they claimed to some water, and the eunuch said, Look, water, what prevents me from being baptized? And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may.
In other words, your belief precedes your baptism. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, immersion. Philip, as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. And the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself in the zealous, and as he passed through, he kept preaching the gospel in all the cities until he came to Caesarea. What we've seen is the Spirit of God moving. Now, we're not in the book of Acts time, but we're still in the age of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit still moves. We're just not used to it because we listen to too much other noise.
We got all this noise coming every which way all the time. So I want to just challenge you. A simple way to get into practice of hearing the Spirit is if you were to say, and you begin your day, Lord, today, show me somebody you want me to be kind to. Do you just ask him, show me somebody you want me to be kind to. Bring them so that I hear you and see you leading me to them, like you led Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch. And to watch God bring somebody across your path, and you go, whoa. But he does that for you to minister to them. When you get used to seeing God do stuff like that with the Holy Spirit, now God becomes real. It's not just hearing the Bible.
The man was reading the Bible, but he didn't understand what was going on. But Philip was being led by the Spirit, and you keep seeing the Spirit all over the place in the book of Acts. Because the job of the Spirit is to make the Word of God come alive in your experience. So invite the Spirit to do that in any dimension of your life. Spirit, show me how to handle this situation I'm in.
Give me the right words to say. That's why even Stephen's sermon, it says, being filled with the Spirit, he gave his sermon. So when God gives you words you didn't plan on saying, when he causes you to react in ways you didn't plan to react because he re-steers this stuff, and as you can see in the book of Acts, the Spirit moves on a dime.
He zings people in, zings people out, creates scenarios, reacts to scenarios. That's when the Word of God is popping, because the Spirit of God is using the Word of God to direct you and guide you and steer you and be the steering wheel of your life. So invite God to do that on a daily basis. Because the more regularly you do it, the more regularly you'll see it, and the more regularly you see it, the more real it becomes. And so the Christian life becomes now this supernatural life you're living, not just this ordinary church life.
It becomes supernatural. And that's what the book of Acts wants you to see. It wants you to see the supernatural movement of the Spirit of God to advance the program of God, the kingdom of God. Dr. Tony Evans, with advice from the book of Acts about making your faith a dynamic and living experience. If you've missed any of our recent lessons on Acts or want to have the entire series for your personal study, I highly recommend taking advantage of the resource package I mentioned earlier. It includes all 14 messages from both volumes of Dr. Evans' teaching series on the book of Acts, along with his insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, which helps you find and follow God's divine calling for your life. These resources are our gift to you when you make a donation to this listener-supported program. To make the arrangements, simply visit TonyEvans.org or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where our team is ready to assist you 24-7. That's 1-800-800-3222, or visit us online at TonyEvans.org. The transformation of Saul into Paul is one of the most pivotal moments in church history. Dr. Evans will tell us that powerful story on Monday as he explores the cost of standing firm in faith and the miraculous ways God works through those who are committed to Him. Don't miss it!
