Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Agenda #2: Maintain the Status Quo

Transcript

Agenda #2: Maintain the Status Quo · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

0:11
Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
0:14
Did you ever see the movie Fiddler on the Roof?
0:16
One of the most popular songs in that movie is
0:19
called Tradition. There's something about tradition
0:23
that makes us feel secure and connected and grounded.
0:26
But there's a dark side to tradition as well.
0:29
Even good traditions of our faith. So how do
0:32
you know if a tradition has gone dark? Stick
0:36
around. That's today on Living on the Edge. Hello,
0:40
I'm Dave Drury, and today on Living on the Edge,
0:43
Chip Ingram introduces us to Stephen, one of
0:46
seven men appointed to serve the early church,
0:48
who found himself on trial for his life, accused
0:51
of blasphemy. His crime? Pointing out that Israel's
0:55
most sacred traditions, the land, the law, the
0:58
temple, had quietly buried the truth they were
1:01
meant to protect. Stephen's defense is one of
1:04
the longest speeches in the book of Acts, and
1:06
Chip is going to walk us through every word.
1:09
A little later, we'll also have details on the
1:11
mid -year match just after today's message. But
1:15
now here's Chip Ingram with his message, Maintain
1:17
the Status Quo. This is a series, if you're new,
1:21
not about, quote, spiritual warfare or kind of
1:23
overt demonic activity. This is about the subtle
1:27
agenda of evil, how it gets played out. Sometimes
1:32
what we're used to isn't right. Now think about
1:38
that. Sometimes what's accepted, what you've
1:41
heard, what your great -grandfather told your
1:44
grandfather, who told your dad or mother that
1:46
told you, that's accepted, that you don't even
1:49
question, it's just a worldview, sometimes it's
1:53
not right. It's not true. You don't even think
1:57
about it. I'm going to suggest sometimes it's
2:00
not only not right, it's diabolical. It's evil.
2:04
It hurts people. The enemy has us going down
2:09
a path because it's a tradition. It's just accepted.
2:13
Let me give you a few examples. How about the
2:15
world is flat? For hundreds of years, people
2:19
were locked into the world is flat. And some
2:22
great Christians who God made very smart challenged
2:26
that. They were labeled as heretics. It was accepted.
2:30
Everyone believed it. It wasn't true. Or, you
2:35
know, remember the old movies? Or if you, like
2:38
my wife likes the Turner channel that shows all
2:41
the black and white movies. TCM or something.
2:44
You know, Humphrey Bogart. John Wayne. Everyone's
2:49
got cigarettes. It was so cool, right? Cigarettes
2:52
are cool. Cigarettes make you cool. A whole generation
2:54
got into cigarettes. They got cool. Then they
2:56
got cancer. My dad was a three and a half pack
3:00
a day guy. Marine. Cool, 16, World War II. He
3:05
couldn't quit for the life of him. Or when I
3:09
grew up, like a suntan was how the deeper the
3:13
tan, the healthier you are. Remember those days?
3:16
Didn't we all get that? Grandma, get out in the
3:18
sunlight. Get out of this dark room. Come on,
3:19
get out there and play. Take your shirt off.
3:22
I did. I got freckles everywhere, and then they
3:25
cut a piece of cancer out of my throat. Skin
3:29
cancer. Do you get it? Here's all I want you
3:32
to get. We all have traditions. I'm using the
3:35
word tradition in its clear definitional sense,
3:39
not like, oh, a tradition is we put up lights
3:42
at Christmas. Well, God bless you. Here's what
3:45
a tradition is. A tradition is an inherited,
3:48
established, customary pattern of thought or
3:52
action or behavior, like a religious practice
3:55
or a social custom. And then I love the second
3:58
half of this. It's the passing down of elements
4:01
of a culture from generation to generation, especially
4:05
by oral communication. So it seeps into your
4:09
brain. You've heard it since you were a kid.
4:11
Everyone does it. Everyone accepts it. I'm going
4:14
to suggest Satan's number two agenda to ruin,
4:19
to kill, to destroy is to maintain the status
4:24
quo. Wherever you're at, however you're moving,
4:28
maintain the status quo in your life. Maintain
4:31
the status quo in your marriage, your spirituality,
4:33
in churches, in culture. Just maintain the status
4:36
quo. Because see, truth is powerful. Truth brings
4:40
change. Truth liberates. Truth heals. And so
4:45
this is very, very subtle. In fact, here's my
4:48
thesis. I'll put it in your notes. My thesis
4:50
is this. Traditions are not wrong, but they're
4:53
dangerous. I'm not saying that traditions are
4:56
wrong, things that are handed down, but they're
4:59
dangerous. Follow along carefully. Traditions
5:02
are the highway by which we pass on the values
5:04
and principles that matter most. Okay? That's
5:09
how we pass on things that matter. Then circle
5:11
the next word in your notes, will you? Unfortunately.
5:15
Unfortunately, over time, the means, the traditions
5:18
we practice to remember those values and truths
5:20
can take precedence over the truths themselves.
5:24
This was so true in Jesus' day, and it's so easy
5:27
to look back and see it then, but harder now.
5:30
But follow along as I read just a short passage
5:32
from Matthew chapter 15. Then some Pharisees
5:37
and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem
5:39
and asked, Why do your disciples break the tradition
5:42
of the elders? They don't wash their hands before
5:45
they eat, ceremonially washing their hands. Jesus
5:49
replied, And why do you break the commandment
5:51
of God for the sake of your traditions? For God
5:54
said, honor your father and mother. And anyone
5:57
who curses his father or mother must be put to
5:59
death. But you say that if a man says to his
6:03
father or mother, whatever help you might otherwise
6:06
have received from me, well, it's a gift devoted
6:09
to God. He is not to honor his father with it.
6:12
Thus, notice this line. You nullify the word
6:15
of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites.
6:22
Isaiah was right when he prophesied, you people
6:25
honor me with your lips, but your hearts are
6:27
far from me. They worship me in vain. Their teachings
6:31
are but rules taught by men. Did you notice how
6:35
many times the word tradition and nullifying
6:37
the truth? If we had a little bit more time,
6:41
basically what they did is that if you had some
6:43
money and you were responsible to take care of
6:46
your parents as they aged, what you would say,
6:48
this money is Korban. And that means it's dedicated
6:51
to God. And so it was like putting it in a little
6:53
account over here that you were going to give
6:55
to God. And then you'd say to your parents, I'd
6:57
really love to help you, but I can't because
6:59
it's... And of course, the Pharisees were getting
7:01
the money. There's good traditions. There's bad
7:07
traditions. But all traditions have an element
7:11
of danger. Because here's what happens. Good
7:16
traditions, religious traditions, social traditions,
7:18
traditions around core and important values,
7:21
first you do them to remind you of that important
7:24
thing. Then over time, they start to become a
7:28
little bit more important and they consume the
7:31
truth. And then pretty soon they bury the truth
7:34
and then pretty soon they eliminate the truth
7:37
altogether. And so you have people practicing
7:39
tradition thinking they are doing exactly what's
7:43
right. That's why it's so diabolical. I mean,
7:46
you're never ever in more danger in your entire
7:48
life than when you're convinced how you're thinking,
7:52
how you're behaving, and how you're acting is
7:55
in line with what's true and right. And the fact
7:58
of the matter is, you're going south when you
8:00
think you're going north. Notice the contrast
8:03
between truth and tradition. Truth liberates.
8:08
Tradition perpetuates. Truth gives life. Tradition
8:12
nullifies the Word of God. Truth brings change.
8:16
Tradition's the status quo. Truth defines reality.
8:21
Traditions are built for stability. Truth is
8:24
threatening, isn't it? You hear a new truth?
8:26
I need to address this in my marriage. I need
8:28
to do something with one of my kids. Boy, I've
8:31
got an attitude. I had a friend who said to me,
8:33
you need to deal with this. It's threatening.
8:38
Tradition is comforting. It's been this way.
8:41
I'm used to this way. We'll do it this way. And
8:45
finally, truth is dynamic, but tradition is static.
8:51
Let me give you Satan's agenda, and this is exactly
8:54
how it works. His goal is to do this, to separate
8:58
the truth from the tradition so deceptively that
9:03
sincere people, people like us, I mean, if you
9:06
weren't sincere, you wouldn't be here. We want
9:08
to learn about you, Lord. We want to follow you.
9:11
We want to live those kind of lives. We want
9:12
to be pleasing. We want to grow. We're sincere.
9:15
And the enemy wants to take some traditions in
9:18
your personal life, some traditions in your family,
9:21
and some traditions in this church, and some
9:23
traditions in Christendom, and get us all just
9:28
little by little separating the truth from the
9:31
tradition so slowly and so deceptively. that
9:36
we would hold to a form of godliness. That's
9:38
the way Paul says it. And we would deny its power.
9:42
That's scary. We're going to see the classic
9:47
study in the New Testament on this. We're going
9:49
to see a man who will defy hundreds of years
9:54
of tradition at the cost of his life. If you
9:57
have your Bibles open to Acts chapter 6 or your
9:59
PDA, your mobile device, what do you have? Let
10:02
me give you the scene in the background. Stephen
10:05
was chosen as one of the seven to help distribute
10:07
the food. But God gave him these miraculous powers.
10:10
He began to do miracles to authenticate this
10:12
new work of God. And then he was being challenged.
10:15
He was talking about Jesus is the Messiah. And
10:17
so there's implications for the law. And Jesus
10:19
is the Messiah. Therefore, there's implications
10:21
for the temple and for the future of Judaism.
10:24
And then the opposition came. And so he's accused
10:28
of blasphemy. That's the charge. Now, you need
10:31
to understand, it's a capital offense. If he's
10:35
found guilty, he dies. The two charges from the
10:39
last part of chapter 6 are this. One, you're
10:41
speaking against the holy place or the temple.
10:44
And two, you're speaking against the law of Moses.
10:47
Now, background wise, pull out your pen if you've
10:49
got it. The historical setting is this. The Jews
10:52
in Jesus' day had come to venerate and worship
10:57
the land, Palestine, the law given by Moses.
11:03
And the temple, that unique location, more than
11:07
the purpose of the land, the law, or the temple.
11:09
In other words, tradition over time had so separated
11:12
from the truth that the tradition ruled. So the
11:15
Jews were saying, this special temple, Palestine,
11:19
this holy land, and the law that we've received,
11:22
we're superior, we're better. They trafficked
11:24
in it. They memorized it. They had an oral tradition
11:27
called the Mishnah that had hundreds and thousands
11:30
of other add -ons to it. And the rabbis would
11:33
say the oral law is like a fence around the written
11:36
law. And so, I mean, if you grew up as a Jewish
11:38
boy or Jewish girl, I mean, there were rules
11:41
upon rules and rules about the rules. And that's
11:47
the world that we come to. But they forgot that
11:49
the land was just a place where God would birth
11:51
promises to Abraham. They forgot that the law
11:54
was given to help us see that no one can keep
11:55
it and there's a Savior coming. They forgot that
11:58
the temple was just a place where God's presence
12:00
would come and manifest itself, but you can never
12:02
box God in. It's living, it's vital, it's relational.
12:07
So notice now, Stephen's defense. He challenges
12:12
the status quo tradition concerning the land,
12:15
the law, and the temple with the, write this
12:18
word down, truth. He challenges all three. These
12:23
are the three most sacred things that the Jews
12:27
of this time hold on to. He challenges all three
12:30
with the truth that demand faith, radical change,
12:34
and then following God's promised deliverer,
12:37
the Messiah, Jesus. Now, as we walk through this,
12:42
here's what you need to understand. If you're
12:45
like me and you had never read this before, in
12:49
terms of really studying it, You could read they're
12:54
putting Stephen on trial. And then it just sounds
12:57
like, well, he's talking about Old Testament
12:59
history. This is about Abraham. And then this
13:01
is about Joseph. And this is about Moses. And
13:04
then this is about, you know, the next guy, Joshua.
13:07
And when you just read it cursory, you think
13:09
he's kind of given an Old Testament history.
13:12
And when he gets done, they want to kill him.
13:14
I mean, isn't this a little overreaction? That
13:16
was honestly. And then I realized I'm missing
13:18
something here. See, he is poking. He is poking
13:23
and he's pulling down the most deeply held traditions.
13:27
So as I read this passage and you follow along,
13:30
here's the three things I want you to get. This
13:33
is what he's doing and use it sort of as a filter.
13:35
So as we walk through it together, because this
13:38
is the difference between the tradition and the
13:40
truth. Three timeless truths. First, God's agenda
13:44
has always been based on his promises, which
13:47
necessitate progression and change. Now, as I
13:50
read this, I want you to see when we talk about
13:52
Abraham and then Joseph and others, he's going
13:54
to slip this in. He's going to say, it's about
13:57
a promise. It requires change. It's dynamic.
14:00
It's living. There has to be faith. Second, God's
14:03
blessings and purpose have never been restricted
14:05
to Palestine or to the temple or just the Jewish
14:09
nation. See, he's going to tell Israel's story,
14:12
but he's going to tell the story, and he's going
14:14
to frame it in certain ways where he punches
14:17
holes into traditions, so by the time he gets
14:20
to the end, they will have got the message. The
14:23
third timeless truth is that God's people have
14:26
historically and repeatedly rejected God's man,
14:29
the prophets, and God's plan of deliverance.
14:34
I want to walk through this, and I want you to
14:36
follow along with me, and I'm going to take those
14:39
key areas like, well, location. In what land
14:42
did the blessing come? Where's the focus on promise?
14:46
Where's the focus on deliverance? And I'll give
14:48
it to you first, and then as I read it, I want
14:50
you to kind of imagine that you were a Pharisee
14:53
and realize he is messing with everything near
14:58
and dear to me. And then in just a little bit,
15:01
lest we make this just a history lesson, I want
15:05
to spend some time and say, what traditions do
15:07
we have? Personal ones, corporate ones, family
15:13
ones that are diabolical. That we're on a path
15:17
that we are as sincere as those Pharisees. We
15:21
are as blind as them. And it's killing us. And
15:26
it's stealing joy. And it's ruining relationships.
15:30
So you ready? Okay. Stephen's message, truth
15:34
or tradition, he's going to talk about Abraham
15:36
first in his defense. Notice the location, Mesopotamia.
15:41
Notice the promise, it's about the land and the
15:44
descendants. His focus, he's going to say God's
15:48
intent was to bless all nations. And then finally
15:52
he's going to say faith, that always involves
15:55
trusting God. And for Abraham, faith meant he
15:59
had to leave. He had to take a step out of his
16:02
comfort zone. Let's pick up the story. Chapter
16:04
7, verse 1. He's on trial. Then the high priest
16:07
asked him, are these charges true? To this he
16:10
replied, brothers and fathers, listen to the
16:13
God of glory. He appeared to our father Abraham
16:16
while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he
16:19
lived in Haran. He said, leave your country and
16:22
your people. And God said, go to a land that
16:24
I will show you. So he left the land of the Chaldeans
16:27
and he settled in Haran. And after the death
16:30
of his father, God sent him to this land where
16:33
you're now living. He gave him no inheritance
16:35
here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised
16:39
him that he and his descendants after him would
16:42
possess this land. Even though at the time of
16:45
Abraham, he had no child. God spoke to him in
16:48
this way. Your descendants will be strangers
16:50
in a country, not their own. And they'll be enslaved
16:53
and mistreated for 400 years. But I will punish
16:56
the nation. They serve and were their slaves.
16:59
And afterward, they will come out of that country
17:01
and worship me in this place. Then God gave Abraham
17:04
the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became
17:06
the father of Isaac, and he circumcised him on
17:09
the eighth day after his birth. And later, Isaac
17:11
became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became
17:13
the father of the 12 patriarchs. Now, his defense,
17:18
he starts out, we can all agree, like, Abraham's
17:21
the man, right? Right. And by the way, we all
17:23
agree they're nodding. There's no problem here.
17:25
And let's see now, where did he get his calling?
17:28
Was it Palestine? Oh, no, no. It was Mesopotamia.
17:30
Oh, okay. And what was the basis? Was it because
17:34
he followed a lot of rules? No, no, no. It was
17:36
a promise. God did the impossible. It required
17:39
faith. And so he builds sort of step one of his
17:43
case. Now he introduces through Abraham the 12
17:47
patriarchs. That's, you know, among Joseph and...
17:50
So he picks up the story now, and he's going
17:52
to talk about Joseph, and the location now is
17:55
Egypt. The promise God gives Joseph, remember,
17:59
he gave him a dream, and he said, one day you'll
18:01
have a position, and your brothers and your parents
18:04
will bow down to you. And the focus is Joseph's
18:08
rejection and God's deliverance. I want you to
18:11
look for that as I read that. He's going to say,
18:13
God saved his people through Joseph, but they
18:19
rejected him. Do you see how he's kind of starting?
18:23
And there's just a little seasoning of someone
18:26
else is going to get rejected later. Rejecting
18:29
Joseph, rejecting Jesus, rejecting Moses, there's
18:32
a pattern here coming. Sincere people. Finally,
18:36
faith means enduring. Joseph endured rejection.
18:40
He endured prison. He endured a false accusation.
18:43
But he's always going to come back to it requires
18:45
a living, vital faith. We pick up the story in
18:49
verse 9. Because the patriarchs were jealous
18:52
of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt.
18:55
But, relationship, God was with him and rescued
18:58
him from his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom
19:01
and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh,
19:03
the king of Egypt. And he made him ruler over
19:06
Egypt and all of his palace. Then a famine struck
19:09
all of Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering,
19:13
and our fathers couldn't find any food. When
19:15
Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he
19:18
sent our fathers on their first visit. On the
19:21
second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he
19:24
was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family.
19:27
After this, Joseph sent to his father Jacob and
19:30
his whole family, 75 in all, and Jacob went down
19:33
to Egypt where he and her fathers died. Their
19:36
bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed
19:38
in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the
19:42
sons of Hamer at Shechem for a certain amount
19:44
of money. And so now he starts to build the case.
19:49
And he said, in our great history together of
19:51
what God has done, there was a deliverer. And
19:54
the deliverer was given a promise. And the deliverer
19:57
had to suffer unjustly. Are you starting to make
20:00
some of the, you know, these are the smartest
20:03
guys on the planet right now in terms of Judaism.
20:05
There's 70 of them. They know the Old Testament
20:07
backward and forward. And he even uses this Shechem.
20:10
You know what Shechem is? Shechem is the capital
20:13
of Samaria. It's like salt in their face or salt
20:16
in the wound. He goes, now, Mesopotamia is where
20:18
it starts blessing. Then the blessing comes out
20:21
of Egypt. And not only that, but here's where
20:24
he buried our forefathers. The blessing in the
20:26
hand of God was even in the capital of Samaria.
20:28
The Jews hated the Samaritans. Built his case.
20:33
He's pulling down one by one the pillars of tradition.
20:37
And he's taking him back to the truth. Next,
20:40
he'll go to the core. Moses is like bigger than
20:45
Elvis. I mean, he's a rock star of rock stars
20:48
of rock stars. And not only is there that he
20:51
gave the law, that he gave the Ten Commandments,
20:53
that he wrote the Pentateuch, all that, but there
20:55
was a lot of extra biblical information about
20:57
his childhood and amazing stories. And I mean,
21:00
he was just venerated, nearly worshipped. So
21:04
we're going to get the longest section with him.
21:06
And then notice the location here. Where does
21:09
the blessing occur? Midian. What's the promise?
21:13
Moses, you will deliver my people. What's the
21:17
focus here? God's law is given. That's what the
21:21
Pharisees like to champion. But it's also rejected.
21:25
And then finally, faith means returning. See,
21:29
he's going to make the point that it's dynamic,
21:31
it's relational, it's living, it's powerful,
21:33
it's change, it's progressive. God's living.
21:37
For one man, faith means stepping out and leaving
21:39
everything. For another man, it's going back
21:41
to where you don't want to go to. There are no
21:43
formulas. It's trusting and believing. And so
21:46
now we pick up the story. Moses, the rock star,
21:52
revisited with some of the points highlighted,
21:56
not from tradition. But from the truth. Verse
22:00
17. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter
22:30
took him and brought him up as her own. And Moses
22:34
was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
22:37
and he was powerful in speech and in action.
22:41
And now Moses is going to have a midlife crisis.
22:44
He's looking for his roots. At age 40, he decided
22:48
to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of
22:51
them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went
22:53
to his defense and he avenged him by killing
22:56
the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people
22:59
would realize that God was using him to rescue
23:01
them, but they did not. The next day, Moses came
23:04
upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he
23:06
tried to reconcile them by saying, Men, you're
23:08
brothers. Why do you want to hurt one another?
23:13
But the man who was mistreating the other pushed
23:15
Moses aside and said, Who made you ruler and
23:18
judge over us? Do you want to kill me the way
23:20
you killed the Egyptian yesterday? And then when
23:22
Moses heard this, he fled to Midian. where he
23:26
settled as a foreigner and had two sons. Now,
23:29
you need to understand, one of the greatest evidences
23:31
of God's blessing is children. Where does Stephen
23:37
remind his hearers that God's blessing happens?
23:41
He gets two sons, not in Palestine, Midian. We
23:47
pick up the story. I am the Lord. After 40 years,
23:52
he looked closely. And an angel appeared to Moses
23:58
in the flames. It was at the desert of Mount
24:00
Sinai. And when he saw this, he was amazed at
24:02
the sight and went over to look more closely.
24:05
And he heard the Lord's voice. I am the Lord,
24:08
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and
24:11
Isaac and Jacob. Moses trembled with fear and
24:16
he did not dare to look. And then the Lord said,
24:19
take off your sandals. The place where you're
24:21
standing is holy ground. I've indeed seen the
24:24
oppression of my people in Egypt, and I've heard
24:25
their groaning, and I've come down to set them
24:27
free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.
24:31
This is the same Moses whom they had rejected
24:34
with their words, who made you ruler and judge.
24:38
He sent them to be their ruler and deliverer
24:41
by God himself through an angel who appeared
24:43
to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt.
24:45
He did wonders and miracles and signs in Egypt
24:48
and at the Red Sea. And for 40 years in the desert.
24:51
This is the Moses who told the Israelites, God
24:54
will send you a prophet like me from your own
24:57
people. If you have your own Bible, underline
24:59
that verse, verse 37. This is not a verse that
25:02
the Pharisees are quoting. Notice what he's saying.
25:06
He goes, Moses, your hero, the one we all so
25:10
highly respect, who gave us the law. He had his
25:13
sons in Midian. There was God's blessing. Then
25:16
he came and he got... The hand of God upon him
25:20
for this deliverance. And then remember, this
25:24
is the Moses who told the Israelites, God will
25:26
send you a prophet like me. What do you mean
25:28
like me? A deliverer. Someone that will take
25:32
you out of your bondage. And all through the
25:36
Old Testament, we have this picture of Egypt
25:38
being this sort of place of bondage and sin.
25:41
The salvation is through the Red Sea and into
25:43
the promised land and new life. And Stephen is
25:47
saying, There's a new Moses, and the new Moses
25:50
is the Messiah, and he's going to build his case.
25:54
He was in the congregation in the desert with
25:56
our fathers when the angel who spoke to him on
25:58
Mount Sinai, and he received the living words
26:01
to pass on to us, the Ten Commandments. But our
26:03
fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected
26:06
him, and in their hearts, they turned back to
26:09
Egypt. And they told Aaron, make us gods who
26:12
will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who
26:14
led us out of Egypt, we don't know what's happened
26:17
to him. He's up on the mountain getting the Ten
26:19
Commandments. He's with God. That was a time
26:22
when they made an idol in the form of a calf
26:24
and they brought the sacrifices to it and they
26:26
held a celebration in honor of what their own
26:28
hands had made. Then notice this, but God turned
26:32
away and gave them over to the worship of heavenly
26:34
bodies. And this agrees with what is written
26:37
in the book of the prophets. See, when they told
26:40
the story, when the Pharisees looked at... the
26:42
truth. They looked at it through the lens of
26:44
their tradition and control and power and the
26:47
parts they wanted to hear. He's now telling the
26:50
story of Moses and how, yes, another prophet's
26:53
coming like him. And then he tells a story and
26:55
he says, the people rejected this law that you
26:59
guys think is so great, which God gave and is.
27:02
It was rejected by them. Then he quotes Amos
27:04
chapter 5. And God speaks saying, did you bring
27:07
me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the
27:09
desert, O house of Israel? You have lifted up
27:13
the shrine of Molech. This is a false god. They
27:15
would take their small baby children and they
27:17
would throw it into the fire to appease this
27:20
god. The altar of your god Rephim, the idols
27:23
that you made to worship, therefore I will send
27:25
you into exile beyond Babylon. And so he's telling
27:28
the story about Moses, but when he tells the
27:30
story, notice he says the blessings came from
27:33
Midian. Moses came to deliver. He did have the
27:36
law. The law was rejected. It was all about faith.
27:41
Now he's going to move to Joshua. So he's addressed
27:44
the issue about the land. He's addressed the
27:48
issue about the law and its real purpose. And
27:50
now he's going to address the issue about the
27:52
temple. Because they've now got God inside of
27:56
a box, in control. This is God's presence. We've
27:59
got, you know, only us. We have it. No more.
28:02
And he's going to talk about the origin of where
28:04
did we get the temple? And he's going to tell
28:07
the history in a way that breaks through their
28:08
tradition. Notice the location is the wilderness.
28:12
Again, we're not in Palestine. The promise is
28:14
victory over your enemies. He's going to talk
28:16
about Joshua going to the promised land and overcoming
28:19
his enemies. And then the focus is going to be
28:21
the tabernacle's purpose. He's going to talk
28:24
about it's God's presence. Every time, remember,
28:26
the cloud would move or the fire by night, and
28:29
then they would take the... Tabernacle when it
28:31
was portable and they would move. Wherever God
28:34
moved, the tabernacle. The point is the tabernacle
28:37
wasn't to be worshipped. The tabernacle was a
28:39
place that always identified the living, moving,
28:42
dynamic presence of God. And obedience is always
28:45
moving and changing to whenever God, he moves,
28:48
you move. He moves, you move. He stops, you stop.
28:55
And it's like a chainsaw cutting underneath of
28:58
the core of their tradition. And so far, the
29:04
issue of the land has been decimated. The issue
29:07
of the law and how they view it is being crunched.
29:10
And now he goes after their view of the temple
29:13
that they put their trust in. We pick up the
29:16
story in verse 44. Our forefathers had the tabernacle
29:18
of testimony. They had it with them in the desert.
29:22
It had been made as God directed Moses according
29:25
to the pattern he'd seen. Having received the
29:27
tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought
29:30
it with them when they took the land from the
29:32
nations. God drove it out before them. It remained
29:36
in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed
29:38
God's favor and asked that he might provide a
29:40
dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was
29:43
Solomon who built the house for him. So he said,
29:46
we had the tabernacle, and then they had the
29:48
promised land. David had it in his heart, but
29:50
Solomon is the one who built it. However, this
29:54
is what he adds, the most high God does not live
29:57
in houses made by men. As the prophet says, and
30:00
now he quotes Isaiah 66, 1 and 2, heaven is my
30:03
throne, God speaking, and earth is my footstool.
30:05
What kind of house will you build for me? Or
30:08
where will my resting place be? Has not my hands
30:12
made all these things? Now, again, for us sometimes,
30:16
not sort of being steeped in the Old Testament,
30:19
nor being Jewish, nor being a rabbi, we don't,
30:24
we really don't get how deeply he's puncturing
30:28
what's going on. Isaiah 66 is a classic, classic
30:32
passage. Isaiah is a prophet and he's prophesying
30:36
about when Israel is in sin and has turned away
30:41
from God. Now he gives verse one and two, but
30:45
I will guarantee all 70 of those scholars, they
30:48
know verse three, four, five, and six. And it's
30:51
like a lawyer who has someone on the stand and
30:54
he makes the point. Point one, point two. But
30:57
in the news media, point three, four, and five
30:59
have been there. And he just makes point one
31:01
and two. And then he walks away and kind of lets
31:03
it simmer while everyone's going, whoa, the implications
31:05
are unbelievable. Well, let me, just for your
31:09
sake, tell you what's in Isaiah 66. You can just
31:13
listen. Verse three, he says, God has said, heaven's
31:17
my footstool. My hands made all things. Nothing
31:20
can contain me. Verse three, this is the one
31:23
I esteem. He who is humble and contrite in heart
31:27
and trembles at my word. What's the problem of
31:32
the Pharisees? What did Jesus say? They're arrogant.
31:37
Their way is the way. They're not contrite when
31:41
they're faced with the truth. And they don't
31:44
tremble at God's word. They manipulate it. Now
31:48
God says some things that if you were a rabbi,
31:50
your blood pressure is going from about 140 over
31:54
80 to about 200 over 160 because what you know
31:59
is what God says after that is this is how he
32:01
feels about people who respond in these kind
32:04
of ways. This is God speaking. But whoever sacrifices,
32:08
speaking of people who would worship him falsely,
32:10
whoever sacrifices a bull in the temple is like
32:14
one who kills a man. And whoever offers a lamb
32:17
is like one who would break the neck of a dog.
32:20
And whoever makes a grain offering is like someone
32:22
who would present pig's blood. And whoever burns
32:26
memorial incense is like one who worships an
32:29
idol. I mean, do you see those pictures? They've
32:33
chosen their own way and their souls delight
32:35
in abominations. So I will choose harsh treatment
32:38
for them and bring upon them what they dread.
32:41
And then he gives the reason why he's rejecting
32:43
Israel. For when I called, no one answered. When
32:49
I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my
32:54
sight, and they chose what displeases me. He
33:00
has made the case for the land. He's made the
33:05
case for the temple. And he's made the case for
33:09
the law. That you are nullifying the truth of
33:12
God and all of his purposes in all those things
33:15
by your traditions. And it's put you in control
33:18
and comfort and power and religiosity. And you
33:22
have rejected the one who gave the law. And you
33:25
have rejected everything that God promised to
33:28
our father Abraham in the land. And the whole
33:30
purpose was to bless all the nations. And so
33:34
his finale is strong. Notice. Finally, we get
33:41
to his comments about Jesus. The location he
33:43
talks about is our hearts. He says the real issue
33:47
is always about the heart. It's about inside
33:49
you, not external religious stuff. Eternal life
33:52
is the promise. It's deliverance from sin and
33:56
death, and it's the fulfillment of the law. Did
33:59
you notice in each one, he talked about descendants.
34:01
Then he talked about deliverance with Joseph,
34:04
and then deliverance with Moses, and deliverance.
34:06
He's saying this is the final deliverer. The
34:09
focus is the rejection and killing of the Messiah.
34:12
And for Stephen, faith means you believe to the
34:17
point that if they kill you, you refuse to compromise
34:23
on the truth. Notice these harsh but accurate
34:27
words. Now he's made his case, here's his application.
34:31
You stiff -necked people with uncircumcised ears
34:34
and hearts. You are just like your fathers. You
34:37
always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there a prophet
34:40
your fathers didn't persecute? They even killed
34:42
those who predicted the coming of the righteous
34:44
one. And now you've betrayed and murdered him.
34:48
What a line. You've received the law, tradition,
34:52
that was put into effect through angels, but
34:56
have not obeyed it. That's truth. Result, when
34:59
they heard this, they were furious and they gnashed
35:02
their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the
35:04
Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the
35:06
glory of God and Jesus standing at the right
35:08
hand of God. Look, he said, I see heaven open
35:11
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
35:13
of God. And at this they covered their ears,
35:16
yelling at the top of their voices, and they
35:18
rushed at him and they dragged him out of the
35:20
city and they began to stone him. So much for
35:22
the trial. So much for justice. Does that sound
35:35
familiar at all? When he had said this, he fell
35:40
asleep. As you turn to the last page, as I said,
35:47
it's a very interesting history lesson, isn't
35:50
it? But I don't... I don't think God's purpose
35:54
is for us to look back and understand how they
35:56
didn't get it. I think God's purpose is for us
35:59
to have the decision at a crossroads to say,
36:03
am I going to look at life through a Pharisee
36:05
and tradition, or am I going to look at life
36:07
through a Stephen and truth, regardless of how
36:10
painful it might be? I find there's four lessons
36:13
that just pop out of his story that I think,
36:16
at least for me, are very applicable, and I think
36:18
probably for you. Lesson number one. Simply put,
36:22
is truth demands transformation. Truth demands
36:26
transformation. James 1 says when we receive
36:29
truth and we don't act on it, we're hearers,
36:32
we're not doers of the truth. Jesus said it's
36:35
when you know the truth. And when he said know,
36:37
he meant by way of application, when it abides
36:39
in you, when you act on it, when you respond.
36:41
When you're the Abraham, if God speaks, you lead.
36:43
If you're Moses, you return. If you're Joseph,
36:46
you endure. If you're Joshua, you fight. But
36:48
truth is based on promises given to you and your
36:51
following in relationship. Truth brings transformation.
36:58
But you can traffic in truth. You can read the
37:02
Bible every day. You can go to a men's Bible
37:04
study. You can come to church regularly. You
37:07
can listen to Christian radio. And you can feel
37:10
like, I must be okay, right? I mean, I'm in the
37:14
Bible. Well, Could it be that coming to church
37:21
and hearing God's word is a part of a tradition?
37:24
But the diabolical part would be, what if you're
37:27
not responding to the part of truth where God's
37:30
speaking to you? And coming to church and reading
37:33
the Bible and even being in a Bible study makes
37:36
you feel safe and comfortable and okay. But what
37:40
if the truth of God is, you need to address the
37:43
issue in your marriage. You need to forgive your
37:46
mate, go get counseling and make it right. What
37:49
if the truth is your finances are out of control
37:52
and I've been whispering it, whispering it, whispering
37:54
it, and you go to a lady's Bible study and afterwards
37:57
buy 15 pair of shoes? What if the truth is you
38:00
have a sexual addiction, you flirt at work, and
38:03
I want to save you and save your marriage and
38:06
you need to get help, get clean? What if the
38:10
truth is that you live with a low -level resentment
38:13
of one of your folks or an ex -mate and you're
38:16
just... You smile on the outside, but you're
38:19
an unhappy, resentful person on the inside, and
38:22
you're bound by it. And you drink the poison
38:25
of unforgiveness thinking it's going to kill
38:27
somebody else. What if the truth is that your
38:30
schedule is crazy, and the denial of it's going
38:34
to slow down, and as soon as we do this, or as
38:36
soon as we do that, and your kids are neglected,
38:39
and you're giving them stuff instead of you.
38:42
What if that's the truth? What if the truth is
38:46
you're a religious person, you're just not very
38:48
loving? You tell everyone how closed non -Christians
38:54
are, you know why they're closed? You're not
38:57
a very nice person to be around. You come off
38:59
self -righteous. What if that's the truth? See,
39:05
I can live with all those things completely unaddressed
39:09
and go to Bible study. And check off, I read
39:13
Genesis 22 this morning and Matthew 22. And I
39:18
can't wait till we go to our smaller group and
39:19
we talk about the stuff that I'm comfortable
39:21
with. Just as long as we don't deal with issues.
39:25
You see it? When you look at Christendom across
39:28
America, is this not true or not? Haven't all
39:32
of us, I mean, I grew up, I didn't grow up as
39:33
a Christian. I just grew up around all these
39:34
people who said they were, they lied and cheated
39:37
and committed as much adultery and did stuff
39:39
that everyone else did. So I said, I don't want
39:40
any part of you. How much of that is in us? Second
39:47
lesson. The basis of God's blessings are relational,
39:51
not ritual. Jesus would say here in Matthew 15,
39:55
go and learn what I mean. I desire compassion,
39:59
not sacrifice. There is no formula, okay? It's
40:03
not read the Bible, go to Bible study, give 10%,
40:07
and ooh, I even went on a mission trip. And now
40:11
God, You owe me a great marriage, a great life.
40:14
Bring the right man, the right woman. All my
40:16
kids turn out right. We're utterly mobile. And
40:18
that's evangelical Christianity. Much of America.
40:24
It's our view of ritual. Our attempt to put God
40:28
in a box, have a formula, and say A7, B4, C3
40:35
on the little vending machine of God. Now, make
40:38
me happy. Make me wealthy. Keep me from cancer,
40:42
have all my kids turn out right, and I really
40:44
want to get them in these kind of schools. And
40:47
when you do that, thank you, Jesus. I give you
40:50
all the credit. That doesn't sound a lot like
40:53
leaving, returning, enduring, fighting, and being
40:59
an instrument of God in a fallen world that fulfills
41:02
his agenda. Now, any of those things or all of
41:06
those things that he happens to give you, he's
41:09
just good. But they're not the goal. Third lesson.
41:17
Perverted traditions must be exposed and abandoned.
41:20
I get that from Acts chapter 7. I mean, this
41:23
guy went against hundreds and hundreds of years
41:26
of tradition. Hundreds of years of the law and
41:33
the temple and the land. Could I just name a
41:38
few? What if... How many of us, you know, included,
41:42
how many of us have this tradition that we just
41:46
buy gifts and go into debt every Christmas and
41:50
buy stuff because we feel obligated and not because
41:55
the people need it and not because we really
41:58
want to do it, but it's just a tradition. And
42:00
to not do it, well, what would they think? Well,
42:09
why do you do that? Do you understand the peer
42:11
pressure? I mean, why is it end of January, half
42:16
of March, you know, you're underwater again?
42:21
I mean, I've walked around with my wife in a
42:23
store for some people that I really love and
42:24
care about, and I'm thinking, there's not a thing
42:26
in the world they need. Why are we buying them
42:28
anything? Whereas I got from someone, it was
42:31
one of the most meaningful gifts. You know what
42:33
I got from someone? A note. Dear Chip and Teresa,
42:36
I want you to know how much I love you both.
42:38
How much I really care about you both. By the
42:40
way, the picture you see is the picture of a
42:42
goat that I bought for you that will be in a
42:44
family in Africa that's starving. I thought it
42:47
would mean a lot. What if we all did two or three
42:49
of those? Or how about Thanksgiving? I mean,
42:53
the day will stop. A country who says, in the
42:56
providence of God, look what he's given us. Let's
42:58
thank him from the heart. What's our traditions
43:00
now? It's the lions at 11 o 'clock, the cowboys
43:04
at 2 o 'clock. gluttony at 5 o 'clock, and materialism
43:08
at Black Friday the next day. Is it true or not?
43:12
It's a tradition. And it's orally being passed.
43:16
What does your 5 -year -old think Thanksgiving's
43:19
about? You're teaching them. What's your 7 -year
43:22
-old think? What do your teenagers do? Come on,
43:24
honey, it's 3 in the morning. We've got to get
43:25
shopping. You know what? We'll get those tennis
43:28
shoes. I'm wearing shoulder pads this year. Someone
43:30
got shot last year. Do you understand? Or, okay,
43:35
those are the funny ones. Tradition. Upward mobility
43:39
is a God -given destiny and right for you and
43:44
your family. Wherever you're at, you need to
43:48
make more. Whatever kind of house, it's got to
43:50
be better. Whatever kind of car, you got to upgrade.
43:52
What would happen if you had a job that you loved
43:55
with more time and deep relationships and made
43:58
less money? And your kids, are you ready? Here's
44:01
the other one. Education is paramount. Your kids
44:06
need to get great scores, get in great schools,
44:08
be very upwardly mobile, get great jobs so you
44:13
can feel good about you. My kid went to Stanford.
44:18
He got this on his SATs. And so we had hassles
44:24
almost all their life in junior high and high
44:26
school as we pressured and pressured and pressured
44:28
and pressured and pressured because education
44:29
is the God in our home. Ooh. Now we're getting
44:34
down to where we live, huh? Especially in some
44:38
of our cultures. In others, it's not education.
44:41
It's sport. My son made the traveling team. Wow.
44:48
He's 12 years old. And so we don't go to church
44:51
anymore. So I'm passing down this tradition.
44:53
Sports is what matters. You're the center of
44:55
the universe. I want to make you a narcissistic
44:57
kid. And if I'm successful, you'll make... $20
45:01
million someday and won't talk to me and put
45:05
white powder up your nose. I mean, think about
45:10
it. Or are you ready for this one? I'm on a roll.
45:14
Be gentle. Tradition. When the Niners play, make
45:23
sure you're on time. When U2 comes to town and
45:28
I have tickets, We're not arriving 20 minutes
45:31
late. We stand outside for an hour and a half
45:34
in the rain to sit where we want to sit. But
45:38
I want you to know, when we go to worship the
45:40
living God, 15, 20, 30 minutes late, you know,
45:46
I kind of come for this part or that part, and
45:49
you're training your kids. It's tradition, right?
45:54
See, by the way, Please don't hear God's down
45:58
on you. Please hear that for some of you, the
46:02
money issue that you need to get your debt and
46:04
your budget and you're giving an order. God wants
46:08
to protect you from what will happen. The issue
46:11
that he keeps saying about your marriage, he
46:12
wants to prevent a divorce. He wants joy in your
46:15
life. With your kids, what he knows is a good
46:18
education is great and sports are fine, but both
46:20
can become idols. He wants to protect you and
46:23
your kids from death and killing and destruction.
46:27
And there's certain traditions in our culture
46:29
and in the church and in your family that are
46:33
ruining you and ruining them. And it will take
46:37
a Stephen -like boldness and conviction. I had
46:45
a tradition I had to deal with here recently.
46:47
And living on that, I just had this explosive
46:49
growth. And so I found myself getting up earlier
46:51
and doing the things I know I'm supposed to.
46:54
But just in a season of real pressure, I found
46:56
myself, you know, just that last hour or so before
46:58
I went to bed, it was, you know, man, I just
47:00
got to wind down here and ESPN. Some of you actually
47:02
have a tradition of... It's a very strong tradition
47:05
that two and a half to three hours every night
47:06
you sit in front of the TV. It's a tradition,
47:09
and you're passing it on. So if that's getting
47:12
you where you need to go, then I would keep that
47:13
tradition. If not, you ought to question it.
47:15
See, what I want to say about all of us, we ought
47:17
to ask, why do I do what I do? Why do I do what
47:22
I do? That's how you get from tradition to truth.
47:24
And so all I want to tell you is that I found
47:26
myself every night. watching stuff. And then
47:32
ESPN, I take commercials, so I went to ESPN to
47:34
express the highlights and what's on the next
47:36
station. And I'm beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
47:38
for about an hour, my brain going like this.
47:42
And it was every night, every night. And I did
47:44
this for a few months. And then I realized I
47:46
wasn't sleeping as well. And then I heard the
47:49
Holy Spirit whisper. This was three months ago.
47:52
Put something good in your mind before you go
47:54
to bed. Okay, I will. And I'd be coming home
47:58
from something late, and I'd be thinking, I'm
48:00
going to get a bag of popcorn. I'm going to watch
48:01
ESPN for an hour before I go to bed. Is it wrong?
48:03
No. Is it sin? Absolutely not. But God was whispering.
48:07
You're setting yourself, you're building a tradition,
48:09
Chip. And so I didn't listen. So I did it for
48:14
another couple, three months. Then I didn't sleep
48:17
as well. And then God began to... not whisper
48:20
as much as I'm, you know, passages and passages
48:22
and passages. And like you, I'm thinking, well,
48:24
I'm in the Bible every day and I'm preaching
48:26
every week. And this is the area he was, what?
48:28
Because he loves me. And it just, at the new
48:31
year, I had to say, I have developed a little
48:33
addiction of watching TV before I go to bed and
48:36
not putting anything good. And so I started just
48:38
reading these two chapters, you know, before
48:41
I went to bed. Now I'd like to say, okay, so
48:45
just for some of you who know, so I went five
48:47
nights in a row this last week and I was so proud
48:49
of myself and then Friday I didn't. ESPN highlights,
48:52
ESPN highlights. Okay? Breaking traditions is
48:56
hard. When I do what God whispered in my ear,
49:00
all of a sudden passages are going through my
49:03
mind as I was dreaming. God's speaking to me.
49:05
I'm resting more deeply. You know why? He loves
49:07
me. Sometimes what you get used to, isn't right.
49:15
It's diabolical. The very last point here is
49:19
that truth bearers refuse to maintain the status
49:25
quo in their life, their relationships, or their
49:30
sphere of influence. You know when homes are
49:31
going to change? You know when workplaces are
49:33
going to change? When I and you all together
49:39
Say, we will be Stevens and Stevenettes. And
49:45
we will take honest looks at the traditions in
49:48
our lives. And we will take so literally that
49:51
if we know the truth and practice the truth,
49:55
then we will know the truth and it will set us
49:58
free. And where there's freedom, there's always
50:00
faith. And there's power. And there's promises.
50:04
And there's relationship. And there's joy. And
50:06
there's impact. but you have to break some tough
50:11
traditions. You're listening to Living on the
50:16
Edge with Chip Ingram and a message titled Maintain
50:19
the Status Quo. It's from our series called The
50:22
Jesus Revolution, Join the Movement. All of these
50:25
messages are available anytime at livingontheedge
50:28
.org, so feel free to go back or pass them along.
50:32
We'll hear more from Chip in just a moment, so
50:35
don't go anywhere. And don't miss Chip's teaching
50:37
Monday through Friday. Subscribe to the Living
50:40
on the Edge podcast to stay current, or find
50:43
the Chip Ingram Sermon podcast for his full -length
50:46
messages. Both are available wherever you listen
50:49
to your podcasts. An hour of TV before bed. Nothing
50:54
sinful, nothing dramatic. But after months of
50:57
it, the sleep was worse, the mornings were harder,
51:00
and the whisper of God was harder to hear. That's
51:03
the insidious thing about the traditions in this
51:05
series. They're not evil on their face, but God
51:08
hates what they quietly produce. Because you
51:11
can be going south while completely convinced
51:14
you're going north. That's exactly why the work
51:17
of Living on the Edge matters. Helping people
51:19
move from the traditions that are slowly killing
51:22
them to the truth that actually sets them free.
51:25
And here's Chip on what that looks like around
51:27
the world and how your gift this June makes it
51:30
possible. Stephen was the first martyr of the
51:33
Christian church. He was falsely accused, put
51:36
on trial, and stoned to death. And he died praying
51:39
for the people who killed him. By every worldly
51:43
measure, he looked like a defeat. But watch what
51:46
happens next. A young man named Saul stood there
51:49
holding the coats of the men who had thrown the
51:51
stones. And the seed planted in that moment eventually
51:55
grew into the greatest missionary the world has
51:58
ever known. In Acts chapter 6 and 7, God shows
52:02
how he turns apparent defeat into unstoppable
52:05
advance. What looks like the end of the story
52:08
is often the beginning of the next chapter. Stephen
52:12
couldn't see what his faithfulness would produce.
52:15
Neither can you, neither can I. But we can give
52:19
anyway, because we serve the God who writes the
52:22
next chapter. Your gift this June is a seed.
52:26
It's matched the moment it arrives. Plan it and
52:30
trust the gardener, the sovereign king of the
52:34
universe, who sees all that you're going through,
52:37
all that's going on in the world, just like he
52:39
did in the early church, and in his great wisdom
52:42
and love and providence will bring about his
52:46
purposes fulfilled in you and through you as
52:50
you walk with him. There is a movement that started
52:53
early in the book of Acts and it is forcefully
52:57
moving and the gates of hell cannot prevail against
53:01
it. Make sure you're a part of it. We can make
53:05
a difference together. Your gift this June is
53:09
a seed and it's matched the moment it arrives.
53:12
Every dollar doubled, every impact multiplied.
53:15
Don't miss out. Go online and give today at livingontheedge
53:19
.org or call us at 888 -333 -6003. You can also
53:25
mail your gift by writing to us at Living on
53:27
the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024.
53:33
Well, I'm Dave Drewy inviting you back next time
53:36
when Chip Ingram continues our series, The Jesus
53:39
Revolution, right here on Living on the Edge.
53:45
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
53:48
Living on the Edge.