The title is Religious People Are Often Stiff
-Necked And Angry.
Now, if you know it, this will step
on toes, I know it will.
But if you know of any religious people,
if you know of any religious people, and
at the end of this sermon you'll know
what religious people are, get the sermon on
your way out and just say, hey, you
might want to check this out, you know,
just leave it on the coffee table, just
drop it on the front seat of their
car, leave it on their desk at work.
Because religious people, I actually have a heart
for religious people because I was one.
Good person, I have a Bible, I live
in America, I'm good with God.
And I actually have ministered to family members,
one of them is dying of cancer.
And when we talk about this subject, they'll
say, well, Shane, I'm good, I'm a Baptist,
or I'm a Methodist, or I'm a Catholic,
I'm good, but they're religious.
So you don't count on your denomination when
you stand before Christ.
You count on the cross.
You will be able to stand before God
and say, because of what Christ did on
the cross, I can be allowed into the
kingdom of God.
No denomination will ever save you.
And that's my concern for some of these
churches that are caught in the religious system.
There's some here close by our church.
There's some in Lancaster, they're religious, they go
through a bunch of rules, but they don't
have a relationship.
And often, religious people are often stiff-necked
and angry.
And I'm going to draw this from Acts
7, 44.
If you have your Bibles, you can turn
to Acts 7, 44.
But let me just throw this out there
as an introduction.
Religion says, I have to follow rules.
A relationship with Christ says, I want to
follow his plan for my life.
Perfect example of this, follow rules, follow rules.
I don't even know if you have it,
it might be on entertainment.
But we released an article about the Filthy
Shades of Grey that's out, that new movie
that's out.
And there's about 50,000 shares of it
in four days.
So we're getting lots of Facebook, lots of
emails, people are like, that's legalistic.
People should have the freedom to do whatever
they want.
You can't tell people to...
See, that's, I have to, I can't go
see that movie, oh darn it.
It should be, I don't want to.
I don't want to see pornography on the
film.
I don't want to, I have this desire
to follow Christ.
So it's not have to, I want to.
That's the difference often between religion and relationship.
Because of my relationship with Christ, they're not
rules to me.
They're the plan for a healthy marriage.
And I want to follow those.
So religion says, I have to.
Relationship says, I want to follow his plan
for my life.
Religion says, I have to go to church.
And I hear people say that a lot,
I have to go to church.
No, you don't.
You should want to go to church.
Here's a good test.
Time to get offensive right off the bat.
If you're sitting there going, another song?
You have a heart problem.
Because I, oh, five songs.
I hope this guy is not long-winded
today.
Man.
There's something wrong with your heart.
I'm, most of us are back there going,
why stop the worship?
Let's just keep worshiping.
Shane, can you just not give a message
today?
And that has happened before.
That actually has happened before.
And at the risk of being repetitive on
this, I think it's important.
I actually, there was a second service in
Lancaster.
I couldn't even come up to preach.
We just need to keep worshiping.
And somebody actually left upset.
They got mad.
I came here to listen to a message.
Well, hello.
You need worship.
You need, you just, you're running from the
very thing you need.
So if you're saying, another song.
Young adults do this.
Because I sit in the back row, oh,
I hate this song.
I can't wait to get home and listen
to my secular music that feeds my fleshly
passions.
But I don't like worship.
The reason you don't like worship is because
your heart is not right in the sight
of God.
You need spiritual resuscitation.
Because it cries, Abba, Father.
There's nothing you can do about it.
It's just, I love to worship.
You'll love to, you love to worship.
You should not be bored with worship.
That's a relationship.
Religion offers a set of rituals.
A relationship with Jesus offers a guiding light.
Religion is man's attempt to find God.
You search all the religions of the world,
and I've read up on a lot of
them.
They are attempting to find God.
Somehow.
But relationship, or true relationship with Christ is
God reaching down to man.
And saving man.
Big difference.
Now, Acts 7.44. Boy, let me set
this up a little bit.
Because some of you weren't here.
Stephen, who was a disciple, early disciple, he's
actually the first martyr, was accused of blasphemy.
So he's giving this long discourse showing why
it's not blasphemy, it's the truth.
And the religious leaders don't like what he's
saying.
So he's about to finish up in 7
.44. He talks about the tabernacle in the
wilderness.
God, this is an interesting concept as well.
God would have a tabernacle in the wilderness.
They would enter through this certain area, and
then the Holy of Holies is this final
place where they would go make sacrifices for
the people.
That's where God would dwell.
That's where his presence would dwell.
So sometimes people think, well, isn't God everywhere?
Yeah, but when God's manifest presence shows up,
you know it.
You know it.
You study any revival in church history, and
they knew it.
God showed up.
It goes from a boring dead service to
a service where you don't get home until
midnight tonight when God shows up.
There's something tangible.
His manifest presence, the closer you draw to
God, the closer you'll feel that.
So there is something different and distinct.
I pray for revival all the time because
of this.
But then Stephen says in verse 48, However,
the Most High does not dwell in temples
made with hands, as the prophet says, Heaven
is my throne and earth is my footstool.
Can you believe that?
Heaven is my throne and earth.
He puts his feet on earth as his
footstool.
What house will you build for me, says
the Lord, or what is the place of
my rest?
Has not my hand made all of these
things?
And I thought for a minute, we're going
to put up a slide real quick.
That's God's...
That's where he sits on the throne.
Do you see yourself there?
Can you see your house?
You can't even see earth.
That's where we are.
God sits on that.
And I just got soaked.
He sits on every problem, every situation you're
going through.
He owns all that.
He created all that.
So look to the great God.
How great is our God?
The worship song says it.
Look to Him for everything.
Not the news.
Not the government.
Not this.
Oh, what's going on?
He created that.
He holds all of that together.
Every time I see that picture, I go,
why don't one of those little stars hit
us?
There's billions and billions.
And as I'm studying for the debate, just
the magnitude, the mathematical equations for all of
this to work to support life, the gravitational,
it's just amazing.
And then you see in the middle a
black hole.
And that black hole is where gravity is
so strong that not even light can escape.
Not even light escapes.
They say it's a place of outer darkness.
Hmm.
Where have we read that before?
Just interesting.
So that's your God.
That's His throne.
Earth is His footstool.
He dwells.
I mean, if we just concentrate on how
great our God is, your problem would go
from very big to very small when you
focus on who He is.
So that's what Stephen is reminding us.
But then Stephen turns his direction in verse
51, and probably he's not trying to win
a popularity contest.
Because they've been rejecting God.
They've been rejecting Christ.
They've been rejecting His message.
He says, you stiff-necked.
Uh-oh.
You stiff-necked.
You know what that is, right?
You get your neck.
You stiff-necked.
You're arrogant.
You're proud.
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in your heart
and your ears.
So uncircumcised is your heart needs to be
rent open.
It needs to be humbled before the Lord.
Stop stopping up your ears and start listening.
God, what do you want to say?
Speak.
Your servant is listening.
So he's saying, you don't do that.
You always resist the Holy Spirit.
As your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not
persecute?
And they killed those who foretold the coming
of the just one, of whom you now
have become the betrayers and murderers who have
received the law by the direction of angels
and have not kept it.
That time a serpent will get you killed.
You stiff-necked people.
You religious leaders.
You killed Christ.
You killed the anointed one.
You killed God's Messiah.
Everything the angels foretold, you are murderers.
And the Messiah's blood is in your hands.
What happened?
Time to kill this guy.
Stephen is on a course to being martyred.
But let's stop there for a minute.
The reason the stiff-necked, the neck reflects
the heart often.
Think about that.
The neck.
You know when somebody, they don't want to
get arrested.
What?
What did you say?
The neck goes back.
The gangbangers.
Right?
I won't try that.
But you know what?
The neck is up.
What did you say to me?
It's this position of arrogance.
But the teachable broken person is God.
They're broken.
They're humble.
They're bent over.
They're not stiff-necked.
Bowing down and lowering a head is often
a mark of humility.
That's why we do it when we worship.
Now, there's nothing wrong with praising God and
you're looking up to God.
But a heart that's worshiping is a heart
inside that's bowed down, that's humble before God.
And what he's saying here basically is we
are stiff-necked when we reject the will
of God.
So a person who is rejecting the call
of salvation, especially in our nation.
Look, we've got Bible apps.
We've got preachers on TV.
We've got guys on radio.
We've got churches.
We've got everything.
You've got the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
You've got all these things.
You've got friends.
And they keep rejecting it.
They're rejecting the counsel of God.
They're stiff-necked and they're proud and they're
arrogant when they're rejecting God's will.
Now, bring that into personal application.
I believe that we can be stiff-necked
when we personally are rejecting God's will.
Is there areas sometimes that you know God
wants you to do but you're stiff-necked
about it?
Please shake your head yes because I don't
want to be the only one.
Stiff-necked, arrogant.
And I would encourage you this morning, humble
yourself.
Humble yourself.
Take that stiff neck and turn it into
a humble heart.
Circumcise your heart.
Remove that fleshly aspect, the heart that is
preventing you from hearing from God.
Then verse 54, when they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart.
I bet they were.
And then they gnashed at him with their
teeth.
You know, there's a grinding of teeth.
You ever seen people that angry?
Just they're so mad.
They're going to explode.
Their face is red and they're just so
mad.
And I've noticed that when it comes to
religious, when it comes to topics like this,
that's why they say don't talk about religion
or politics.
When you talk about these things, people get
very, very mad.
They go from very nice to very mad,
gnashing their teeth.
I remember, you're in Lancaster, remember this?
For the other people that haven't been here,
coming very long, you probably won't.
But I was given the privilege, I guess
it is, to go to a Mormon bishop's
house.
And after about an hour of hearing them,
I kind of broke it down.
He said, so you're saying that the Book
of Mormon is from the devil?
I said, yeah, I think it is.
You would have thought you just lit his
house on fire.
Get your shoes, get out of my house.
Within about three minutes, we were out of
his house.
What happened?
You're sitting there nice, cordial.
Let's just dialogue.
Sure, you want to dialogue while you're doing
all the talking.
But then when you challenge him with here's
what the Word of God says, and they
gnashed, I mean, he was mad.
He would have killed me if he could.
If it was not against the law, I
would have been dead.
What stirs that?
It's that demonic element.
The demonic element that's working in an unbeliever's
life.
Gets upset when you shine the light of
Christ into their eyes.
It's nothing new.
So they were cut to the heart, they
gnashed with their teeth.
But he, Stephen, being full of the Holy
Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory
of God.
And Jesus, standing at the right hand of
God, and said, Look, I see the heavens
open and the Son of Man standing at
the right hand of God.
This is just like when he says, I
saw the glory of God.
It's what I mentioned to you before.
There is a time, sometimes, the more you
press into worship, the more you press into
God through fasting and prayer and reading his
Word, he'll start to unfold things.
The glory of God will fall upon your
life.
It reminds me of Isaiah in the sixth
chapter.
When it was in the year that King
Uzziah died, he said, I saw the Lord
high and lifted up.
The train of his robe, his entire robe,
filled the temple.
And the angels were there singing, Holy, Holy,
Holy is our God.
He got a glimpse of God.
He was in God's presence.
And what did he say?
Oh, wonderful.
No, he said, Oh man, I'm a man
of unclean lips.
And I dwell among a people of unclean
lips.
I'm not worthy to stand in front of
your presence.
When God reveals who he is, when you're
standing in the presence of God, you are
not haughty and arrogant, lifted up.
You are broken before him.
You see your sin.
I mean, if you ever opened your eyes
spiritually and you see the depravity, you have
to weep.
And God says, I will fix that problem.
I'll touch his lips with the coals that
were on the altar representing the sacrifice.
And he was made clean before God.
But he saw a glimpse.
Moses saw God.
Paul experienced Christ.
There are times where you will experience the
power of God in your life.
And that's what was happening here.
The closer we draw near to God, the
more we will reflect his glory.
Glory is radiance.
It's nature.
I think it comes from a Latin word
that has to do with being renowned, famous.
This renowned aspect, this glory of God.
It will be reflected in your life.
The closer you draw to him, the more
you reflect that.
That's why I talk about entertainment often.
And I weave it in sermons.
Because if you're 50 shades of gray versus
drawing near, what are you going to look
like?
What are you going to resemble?
What's going to be in your heart?
What are you going to be filled with?
You reflect who you spend time with.
Also, we see here that Bible preaching cuts
to the heart.
True Bible preaching will cut to the heart.
Yes, it encourages.
Yes, it uplifts.
But if it's all about love, which I've
talked about often, so I won't take this
rabbit trail, even though I'd love to.
If it's all about the good things and
not the things that cut the heart, change
doesn't take place.
Because what happens, it cuts to the heart,
and then you point to Christ.
It cuts to the heart, and then you
point to Christ.
It cuts, and then you show the answer.
Christ being the answer.
So on this, what do you do when
you're cut?
What do you do when you're cut?
How do you deal with it emotionally?
Are you mad and defensive, stiff-necked, or
are you open and teachable?
Ouch.
When you're cut, are we in defensive mode,
or are we open and teachable?
It's interesting, this word here, he says, they
were cut to the heart.
And then I immediately think of Acts 2.
When Peter preached his first sermon, and he
said, You stiff-necked people, basically, you killed
Christ.
You put him on the cross.
They were cut to the heart, and they
said, Peter, what must we do to be
saved?
So you have this group, what must we
do to be saved?
And this other group, we're going to kill
you.
All has to do with the heart.
I bet Stephen was going, darn it.
I wonder what happened with Peter.
I wanted all these people to repent and
follow God, not be the first martyr, not
be stoned.
Think about this.
He preached the gospel.
They took him somewhere where he was probably
down low, and they threw large stones and
boulders at him, hit his face, crushed his
skull.
They were stoned for saying this.
And I believe that God allows us to
be cut to reveal the heart.
God allows you to be cut to the
heart to reveal the heart.
If you're here this morning being cut by
a lot of these words, he's wanting to
show you what is in the heart.
You ever have little kids, and when a
package comes from FedEx, you have to open
it right then.
Daddy, it came in the mail.
What's in it?
I don't know.
I have to cut it open.
Same thing.
When we're cut, it reveals the heart.
My mom used to tell me when I
was little, and I didn't like it because
it was usually applied to me.
But she would say, when a vessel is
struck, what's inside spills out.
So when you're cut, does humility and gentleness
and meekness and understanding and grace and goodness
flow out?
Or when you're cut, does anger and cursing
come from this?
Does this come out?
You're like, where did that come from?
I'll tell you where it came from.
It's what's within.
That's why, see, now you're seeing why spending
time with God is so important.
In the morning, your devotional time and your
worship time, and if you're crying out to
God, you spend time with Him in the
morning or in the evening, whenever, and you're
just full of His Spirit.
When you're cut or when something happens, grace
will flow out.
Love will flow out because it's been what's
coming inside.
Now, nobody's ever going to master this perfectly.
But when things happen, what comes out?
Here's the best way to do it and
not beat ourselves up, is when we're cut,
when we're challenged, when we're all these things,
what comes out?
What comes out?
Is it a consistently anger?
Is it consistently cussing?
Is it consistently backbiting?
If it's consistent, then there's a well there
that needs to be tried up and replaced
with living water.
Because everybody slips now and then, right?
I have not perfected yet when I hit
my hand with a hammer to say, Glory
be to God.
Or my kids do something.
You little rascals.
Get over here, you little guys.
It's what comes out.
So just be careful in this area.
We're talking about stiff-necked and being angry,
but it's really what is in is what
is coming out.
Verse 57, Then they cried out with a
loud voice.
Stephen convicted them, he challenged them.
Then they cried out with a loud voice.
They stopped their ears, and they ran at
him with one accord.
And they cast him out of the city
and stoned him.
And the witnesses laid down their clothes at
the feet of a young man named Saul.
Saul right now is the Apostle Paul who
has not yet been converted.
So Saul hates Christians.
That would be encouragement to you who are
upset at your past.
Not too many people can compete.
Unless you've been killing Christians, don't regret or
don't let your, it's okay to regret and
learn from, but don't let your past stop
you from moving forward with what God wants
you to do.
God will use your past.
He used Saul's training and his teaching and
his upbringing.
He used all that past to get him
where God wanted him to go in the
future.
So they cast him out of the city.
They stoned him.
They laid their clothes down at the feet
of a young man named Saul.
They would probably take off their jackets.
They would take off their clothing because you
can throw a rock a lot harder.
Right?
When you get this stuff off of me
and stoning him.
And Saul held those things.
So they stoned Stephen.
And he was calling on God saying, Lord,
Jesus, receive my spirit.
Then he knelt down and he cried with
a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them
with this sin.
And when he had said this, he fell
asleep.
So Stephen's getting stoned and he says, Lord,
do not charge them.
Why?
Because he's filled with the spirit of God.
When you're filled completely with the spirit of
God overflowing, those are the things that come
out.
Jesus dying on a cross, just got hit
and beat up by his creation, says, Father,
forgive them for they know not what they
do.
Not Father, judge them.
Bring the hammer.
Drop the hammer.
Get me off this cross.
Kill these Romans.
Kill the Jews.
Start over.
It's this aspect of forgiveness.
And I've noticed that a forgiving heart often
doesn't have an angry heart.
But when a person holds on to unforgiveness,
that will foster anger.
Unforgiveness and anger go hand in hand because
it's the nature that you're holding on to
unforgiveness.
It's that same nature that drives anger.
I'm unforgiving.
I'm mad.
How could they?
I'm angry.
It's the same.
It's a one-two punch.
That's why when the Bible says don't let
bitterness or wrath or anger, all these things,
let them be put away from you because
God knows it has to do with spiritual
healing, not to mention the physical benefits.
Do you know the physical benefits of being
joy-filled and full of the spirit and
not having anger, all these toxic emotions that
wear the body down?
God knows what he's doing when he says
put these things away.
So being receptive is a good indicator of
humility since we're talking about anger and pride.
Being receptive is a good indicator of humility.
Now this should have read once he convicted
them, they cried out to God, they opened
their ears, and they embraced him.
That's what humility would have done.
They were not humble and teachable.
Anger is a byproduct of being stiff-necked.
But watch out also, I just put this
this morning, watch out for false humility because
false humility goes around with a facade and
just trying to be humble but really they're
not.
They often come home just humble, just meek,
just mild, but they are explosive at home
or when challenged or when upset.
False humility is dangerous as well.
Now while we're on this, I thought I
might just give you a few facts on
anger.
If you need help in this area, just
in case you didn't know, but most men
do need help in this area, and women
as well, but mainly I've seen it in
men.
What you're filled with eventually comes out.
We already talked about that.
Stephen was filled with the spirit, but these
men were filled with rage even though they
were religious.
So when it comes to anger, what you're
filled with is what's going to come out.
Number two, selfishness and pride are the fingers
that pull the trigger of anger.
So those things have to be crushed, selfishness
and pride.
Isn't that why we get upset?
Selfishness or pride, and it hurts and we
get upset and we get angry.
Things aren't going according to my plan.
I didn't like that to happen.
You're overriding my authority.
All these things, selfishness and pride often.
Now number three, I was going back and
forth on whether I should say this or
not, but it's important.
If you struggle, if anger is a big
deal, watch what you're consuming.
Watch what you give your body.
If you drink monster drink, you will become
a monster.
That high level of caffeine, you are in
fight and flight mode.
That's what it does.
It puts your body, come on, come on.
I'm ready, I'm ready now.
No, the anger, that just fuels anger, so
be careful.
Medication, certain things.
What we feed our body plays a huge
role in what comes out.
Why would you give yourself something on an
ongoing basis where you're always in fight or
flight mode?
You can't relax in traffic.
You can't relax when somebody challenges you.
You can't relax when the kids get going.
Nothing, because you're always in fight.
I'm so angry.
Shane, I need help.
God, I need deliverance.
Well, remove all that junk.
No, I don't want to do that.
Just give me deliverance without the obedience.
I always tell people, caffeine, nicotine, all those
things that will play a huge role in
anger.
And then obviously the fourth one is when
we live in habitual sin.
What I mean by that is when there's
areas that we just keep falling in and
falling in and falling in and we walk
around as a defeated Christian, are we happy
or are we upset and angry?
We're upset and angry because we're trying willpower.
I can't overcome this.
And we just get through life not spirit
-filled, not leading people to the cross, not
being used of God.
We just walk around angry and defeated.
Angry and defeated.
They go together, don't they?
I'm defeated.
I'm angry.
I can't read the Bible.
How did that happen?
How do I keep falling in this sin?
Why is this?
And we just stay in this cycle of
anger and defeat, anger and defeat.
What's the answer?
Take it to the cross for the love
of God.
Take it to the cross.
That's the whole point of a message.
You point back to Christ and the cross.
You take these things.
When you pray, Lord, I am an angry
person, confession, Lord, I need help, dependence, Lord,
I'm going to work on this obedience, confession,
dependence, obedience.
You open that and you say, Lord, help
me in this area.
I've seen him change raging men into mild
and meek men and women.
I've seen God do it.
I've seen it.
I've seen the dangers of anger.
I've seen how it hurts families and destroys
marriages.
Ecclesiastics 7.9, do not be quickly provoked
in your spirit.
Woo-hoo.
That's a tough one.
Right?
You feel it ever rising up?
Hmm.
You know, it just started in my feet.
Now it's in my knees.
It's about ready to be right here.
It's coming out.
But he says, do not be quickly provoked
in your spirit for anger resides in the
lap of fools.
So when you feel it coming up, do
something.
Pray.
Remove yourself from the situation.
Take a drive and put on worship.
You have to offset that.
Proverbs 15.18. A hot-tempered person stirs
up conflict, but the one who is patient
calms a quarrel.
So quick test.
Please don't raise your hand.
Do you like to stir the pot?
Or do you like to, what it says
at the end here, calm the quarrel?
Be the peacemaker.
Now it's interesting on this peacemaker thing.
A.W. Tozer said that God calls us
to be a peacemaker, but not a peace
negotiator.
You don't have to negotiate the truth and
kind of compromise things to make peace.
A peacemaker is not a negotiator where they
negotiate.
They come and they make peace, and they
help to calm the storm, not increase the
storm.
You know those words that trigger your spouse
or family, don't you?
Come on, guys.
You know how to throw a little bit
of fire, or no, sorry, a little bit
of gasoline on the fire?
A little bit of gasoline over here.
A little more gasoline over here.
And then how could you, gasoline, and why
don't you do this?
Gasoline.
Well, you're never this.
Gasoline.
And just constantly doing it.
The Bible says put that away.
This is an interesting challenge in the Bible
on these types of things, because the Bible
says put these things away.
Do not do these things.
Put off this.
But I'm trying.
I'm trying.
I just can't do it.
If you're a believer, you can.
If you're a believer, you can do what
the Bible commands you to do through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Here's what it looks like.
God, I have an issue with anger.
I have a problem with anger.
Or there's a situation.
I do this quite often.
Lord, this is making me upset.
Please, God, just show me what to do
here.
I'm just going to give it a day.
I'm just going to seek you.
And you just calm that spirit.
You just calm that anger.
Or you can start dwelling on it, right?
You know what?
God, you guys are nuts.
You know what I'm saying, right?
Okay, good.
You just dwell on those negative thoughts.
You just dwell.
How could they?
And why do I need to tell them
off?
I need to give them a piece of
my mind.
And it just keeps increasing and increasing.
And then we get to Acts 8.
Now, Stephen is dead.
And then Saul, it says, Now Saul was
consenting to his death.
At that time, a great persecution arose against
the church, which was in Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered throughout the regions
of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
So the apostles stayed there.
But this persecution began to move the people
out.
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial
and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, who will become the apostle
Paul, he made havoc of the church, entering
houses and dragging off men and women and
committing them to prison.
That's what Paul did.
So we see here that Paul was stiff
-necked.
Paul was saying, How dare you challenge how
I was raised?
And how dare you challenge what I believe?
And you'll see that in the church.
I mean, we all get kind of defensive
on this, right?
When somebody challenges, that's why I think it's
hard to get into some of these false
cults, false religions in America.
Because they've been raised in that.
Grandpappy was raised in that.
My mom and dad raised me in that.
I've been raised in that.
We are good people.
How dare you now come and say that
we are wrong?
How dare you stiff-neck and arrogant?
And when I talk to groups like this,
often I'll say, What's the Bible say?
I mean, let's go.
Wow, yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
No, what does the Bible say?
Because see, the truth always invites scrutiny.
The truth always invites scrutiny.
A person has a problem with the Trinity,
look at the truth.
A person has a problem with this, creation,
look at the truth.
A person has a problem with a prophet
in their religion came to receive truth that
doesn't line up with Scripture.
What does the Scripture say?
It's actually very easy to determine what the
truth is if you look at the Scriptures.
So Saul, Paul was stiff-necked.
How dare you challenge me?
How dare you challenge how I was raised,
what I believe?
He was taught he was a Pharisee.
He was raised up by one of the
top Jewish leaders, and he knew his stuff.
So this is a perfect example of religion
versus relationship, isn't it?
Look at the Apostle Paul, who was well
-qualified, Saul back then, well-qualified to preach,
well-qualified to tell people about God.
And then here comes Stephen, probably not been
a convert very long.
I mean, the church, I don't want to
speculate here, but the church is not very
old at all.
And he's filled with the Spirit, he's preaching
a gospel.
Here you have this guy who's a Pharisee,
who knows the Bible inside and out, and
he's on his way to hell.
Had he not been converted, Saul would be
in hell.
So we see religion versus relationship.
Folks, they read the same Old Testament.
Stephen, Paul, they read the same Old Testament.
They saw the prophecies in Zechariah, they saw
the prophecies in Isaiah.
They knew about the Messiah.
They had the same thing.
That's why religion often looks like relationship, but
it's got a veil on their face.
So they go through the same motions sometimes.
They'll say the same things, but it's like
a programmed robot of religion.
And going through the motions of prayer, saying
the same things, and the same type of
things, reading this in Latin, doing this in
prayer, and all these things.
It's just the same religious emotion that has
nothing to do with relationship with God.
Because relationship is on fire for God.
It's doing different things.
And this is, I want to bring this
up, I think it's important.
Because, and most of you know my heart,
it's not to name these different religions, but
I have to, to tell you the difference
in what's going on.
Say the building down the street, or other
ones in town, or other groups that are
not big organizations as well, that are not
what we consider Christians.
They often say, look how structured we are,
Shane.
But you guys are all divided in all
these different denominations.
You've got, right, because living children are living.
Dead children are not.
Living children need rules, dead children don't.
So when they have this form of every
church does the same thing, we've got this
order of events, and we do the same
thing, the same book of this, the same,
the same, we look identical, we look cookie
cut.
Right, it's religion, not relationship.
So when the church is living and vibrant
and growing, you've got people exercising gifts of
the Spirit here, you've got different denominations that
believe in this, that's why you have the
Baptists, they emphasize Baptists, you believe in Pentecost
because they emphasize the book of Acts and
Pentecostal, and Charismatic, then you have Reformed, where
they take their theology from John Calvin, and
Calvinism, and total depravity of man, and unconditional
election, and limited atonement, and irresistible grace, and
perseverance of the saints, and they have this
theology formed around it, and people that believe
that will hang out with that group.
People that believe Charismatic will hang out with
that group.
People that are non-denominational come here, and
we're all living and vibrant, trying to live
the message of the gospel, while bringing the
message of the gospel out.
That's why we're promoting this class, is because
we're not just, oh, that sounds good, let
me just go home like that.
No, we're here to bring it out to
others, to get it out to people who
don't know the gospel.
If not, we're just getting fat on the
gospel, and we need to lose some weight.
How do you lose weight?
You get it out, you get it off,
that's how you burn calories.
All calories are, this, is stored energy that
I have not used yet, and it's not
healthy.
Good energy that's stored is not healthy.
So we come, we listen, we're fed, but
we need to go out.
We need to send the message out.
So what can we glean from here?
God uses persecution to spread the word.
God often uses persecution to spread the word.
Oh, I probably, I didn't read, actually.
I got ahead of myself, I'm sorry.
We left off at committing them to prison.
Paul was putting them into prison.
And then verse 4, as in chapter 8,
Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching
the word.
It's interesting.
These people, they saw Stephen killed.
They were scattered, they went everywhere.
They weren't hiding under rocks and not saying
anything.
Okay, well, I'm going to die here.
I guess I'll go to this city and
preach to God.
Everywhere they went.
See, that's a typical response of a Spirit
-filled believer.
That's why I've been preaching on this topic
since we began in the book of Acts.
You have to be filled with the Holy
Spirit of God.
Well, how do I know?
You know.
You know when you're filled with the Spirit
because it's an overflowing aspect of God that
He consumes everything.
He's part of your life, in the worship,
in the message, at home.
It's everything.
Not perfection, but the Spirit-empowered life.
Without that, what are we even teaching for?
Because that's where we engage what God wants
us to do.
So they went everywhere, scattered.
Then Philip went down to the city.
There's a disciple named Philip.
He went down to the city of Samaria
and preached Christ to them.
In the multitudes, with one accord, he did
the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing
the miracles which he did.
For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice,
came out of many who were possessed.
Isn't that interesting?
People don't think you can get demon-possessed.
That was just allegory.
Jesus really didn't mean it.
Yeah, right.
Go to a different country sometimes, Colombia, or
in the mission field in different nations, you
will see this even more so.
And many who were paralyzed and lame were
healed.
And there was great joy in that city.
So we talked about God uses persecution to
spread the Word.
What about these miracles?
Well, miracles are God's megaphone.
Miracles, healing, this, this, set free.
That's God's megaphone, and it also confirms the
message.
Now, the question always comes up, why don't
we see this anymore?
And the quick answer is, I don't know.
Now, I have thoughts.
I have theories.
I've suggested.
I've shared in the past.
I think the closer you draw to God,
the more miracles you will see.
The closer you are in tune with his
spirit and devoting your life, you will see
those because he can be used through you.
He can use you to do things and
ministry take place through you.
You talk to people out in different nations
ministering, and you'll hear a lot of miracles,
blind eyes being opened, being cured of certain
things.
Well, are they all just making this stuff
up?
Of course not.
I believe in America that we don't rely
on God very much.
My back hurts.
Is there some Vicodin?
Man, we're in a financial strap.
Put on Visa.
And we don't rely on God as much.
We're not open for the miracles.
We're not wanting to see those things.
Now, granted, I believe there was a time
when the gospel first came out that there
was the shadow of Paul, handkerchief.
I mean, God was moving in a miraculous
way in this area.
However, I still think that God can do
the miraculous.
For it to just stop for no reason
does not make a lot of sense.
So the closer you draw to God, the
closer you will begin to see him work
in your life.
Now, this is interesting.
We're possessed.
And if you look up the Greek, some
of you I know have, it's probably better
worded as demonized or have a demon.
And then the question comes up, can Christians
be possessed?
And you'll see some teaching says yes, some
says no.
It really all depends on how you're defining
the word.
Can a Christian who has the Holy Spirit
residing in them, then suddenly and somehow be
open, demonic comes in, you're now possessed with
the demon, the Holy Spirit leaves, and now
you're possessed with this demon?
Of course not.
But if you look at the word demonized,
can a Christian open themselves up to demonic
activity?
Absolutely.
So a person can say, you know what?
I wonder what this new movie is that
was out recently, Ouija.
And Ouija board, isn't that entertaining?
Maybe we should get together and try it
out.
And then we look, well, horoscopes just for
fun.
And we start to drift from God.
You begin to what is open the door.
The Bible talks about opening the door and
giving the enemy a foothold.
And as we open ourselves up, isn't that
entertainment?
I mentioned the movie that's out, Fifty Shades
of Dark or whatever it is, those kind
of things.
You begin to open your door.
You begin to own the enemy comes in,
the demonic realm.
Why am I struggling with lust like this?
I can't believe.
And the demonic realm, you've opened your door
to that.
So we believe that believers can be harassed,
influenced by the demonic realm.
But it comes in, if you're talking about
being possessed, like I can't control myself and
I'm just a robot, whatever Satan wants me
to do, that cannot happen to a believer.
When you see people being delivered and set
free, very often it's those who are unbelievers
who had a demon, but you also see
believers who have opened themselves up to.
It's interesting, this whole debate on marijuana I
wrote about in the paper.
And who doesn't see the medicinal use of
certain things?
Of course.
But if you look at the word pharmacy,
it comes from a Greek word pharmakeia, and
it means sorcery, witchcraft.
The thing on Walgreens, up on their sign.
Witch's pot, brew, you know, medicine.
So you've got to be careful in these
areas because you can open your up.
Drug use will open the door.
You see somebody who has a couple drinks
and that leads to a couple more.
How did that happen?
That's why it's called spirits.
You open yourself up.
I would never do that.
Of course you wouldn't sober because you're in
control.
You begin to open yourself up and you
give yourself over to a six-pack of
such and such.
You're no longer controlled by your Holy Spirit
who's now quenched in grief.
You're controlled by this demonic influence.
It's serious business when we play with these
things.
Because you can open that door to the
demonic realm.
It was interesting, I was reading that verse.
Many of you know what it is.
I knew I should have wrote it down.
God does not give us a spirit of
fear, but of peace and timidity.
It's interesting.
God does not give us a spirit.
The word pneuma in the Greek language is
where we get our word pneumatology or the
study of the Holy Spirit.
But that word pneuma, it's the same with
the Holy Spirit.
He does not give us that spirit.
So is that a spirit?
A lying spirit?
A fearful spirit of intimidation?
Does that spirit come upon a believer and
they're gripped with fear and intimidation?
It's something to think about.
That fear and intimidation, you can rebuke that
in Jesus' name.
And say, if this is some type of
demonic realm, this is some type of spiritual
nature, in Jesus' name, I'm not going to
be fearful.
I'm going to be bold and I reject
that.
I'm not going to be intimidated.
I'm not going to be pushed down.
I'm not going to live in a state
of fear.
Because God has not given me a spirit
of fear.
So if I have that spirit, it's not
God.
That's how the demonic realm works.
They look for open doors.
That's why you're wrestling right now.
You're not wrestling with flesh and blood.
You're wrestling with principalities and darkness and the
rulers of this age.
And up in the heavenlies, this dark demonic
realm.
What's the wrestling match?
The wrestling match is He's trying to get
you to open certain doors.
I mean, I can't tell you how many
problems have started from small open doors.
Now we see a sorcerer getting converted.
Or some say it was a false conversion
because he turned away.
And later we'll read next week that the
sorcerer, the Bible says he believed.
So we'll have to unpack this next week.
He wanted the same power of laying on
of hands and seeing the Holy Spirit.
And he was rebuked.
And they said, you will have no part
nor portion in this matter because your heart
is not right before God.
So it's an interesting debate.
And then the Holy Spirit falls in Samaria.
But they're already believers.
So is the Holy Spirit falling later?
So we're going to uncover that next week.
You want to be here next week because
I'm going to try to better understand what
happened here.
But verse 9, there was a certain man
named Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the
city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming
that he was someone great and to whom
they all gave heed from the least to
the greatest, saying, this man is the great
power of God.
Obviously he was doing some type of sorcery,
some type of witchcraft.
And it's interesting.
Always remember this.
It's helped me a lot.
The demonic realm knows all about your past
because they were there.
So they will bring up.
Remember when you were abused as a child?
How would you know that this must be
of God?
No.
The abusive spirit might have been there too.
But they won't be able to tell you
what's happening in the future.
The horoscopes, all these things, astrology, turn away
from it quickly.
I just asked one person a couple weeks
ago about this.
And they go, oh, it's just for fun.
Really?
The horoscope is just for fun?
You're opening yourself up to that demonic realm.
So the sorcerer here, he previously practiced sorcery.
And he had the great power of God,
they said, just because obviously he was doing
something that was extraordinary.
And they heeded him because he astonished them
with his sorceries for a long time.
But when they believed in Philip as he
preached the thing concerning the kingdom of God
in the name of Jesus Christ, both men
and women were baptized.
Then Simon himself also believed.
And when he was baptized, he continued with
Philip and was amazed, seeing the miracles and
the signs which were done.
I want to just kind of stay calm
right now.
But this scripture, I was just so blessed
this week because I realized not even the
demonic realm, this guy is into sorcery.
He comes and preaches the gospel.
This guy is set free.
So you don't have co-equal forces going
on here, God and the devil battling it
out.
You have the sorcery going on.
Philip walks on the scene, tells them about
Christ, the all-sufficient Savior, the great and
mighty one who holds everything in his hand.
He is high and lifted up.
And even the demonic realm had to submit
to that.
And this great sorcerer is converted.
But it's just exciting because sometimes we get
caught up in this, the devil and God,
oh, who's going to win in my life?
Oh, I've got this challenging situation, and who's
going to win?
Oh, no, no, no, no.
It's not a boxing match to watch who's
going to win.
This is very interesting.
Some would call it dichotomy.
But the victory has already been won.
So you're not fighting necessarily for a position
of I've got to win.
Victory, you're coming from a position of victory.
That's why the Bible says, having done all,
stand.
Just stand there, hold the ground.
The battle has been won.
Jesus Christ conquered hell, death, sin, and the
grave.
So we fight from a position of victory.
So if somebody, that demonic realm or whatever,
I mean, I've had people that you know
they're demon-possessed.
And I just say, I don't care.
I don't care.
You have to be under Christ's authority.
Don't talk about that.
Don't talk about that name.
Oh, yes, we will talk about that name.
Why don't you like that name?
Even the demons tremble because that name is
high and lifted up above every other name.
They will have to bow their knee.
They'll have to even be forced.
I don't know.
They're going to have to bow their knee
at some point, get on the ground, and
say, God has highly exalted him and given
him a name which is above every name.
They hate that.
So you walk in that power.
You walk in the authority.
You can walk into the hospital homes, not
be intimidated.
You can walk on your job site, not
be intimidated.
You can present the gospel, not be intimidated.
It doesn't matter because Christ has already won.
So you come from a position of victory.
This guy is doing sorcery.
Philip doesn't even debate him.
He just preaches the gospel.
And people are converted.
They turn from sorcery.
They turn from witchcraft because when they compare,
they'll see the true source of power.
Darkness, people always know that's not the true
source of power.
It has me bound.
It has a grip.
But when the power, the light of the
gospel comes on, they see that as the
true source of power and strength.
The gospel is always stronger.
Remember that.
And it will help you not get frustrated.
Because you get, oh, gosh, they're just not
listening.
Oh, yeah, they're listening.
Because when you plant, I've noticed when you
plant the word of God, that seed is
staying there.
Some people can't even sleep.
Ask somebody sometimes, hey, where are you going
if you die?
Oh, man.
They're just going to think about that, think
about that.
Here's what God's word says.
And you plant that seed.
What is sorcery?
Just while I'm here, it's calling on the
wrong spirit.
Sorcery, looking to the wrong spirit for guidance
and direction.
And while we're on the topic of anger,
anger often follows darkness.
Wrong anger.
Wrong anger is demonic.
It's a demonic influence.
Explosive anger.
What can cause a father to shake his
one-year-old so violently that she dies?
What is so demonic?
Anger is destructive.
There are kids addicted right now who are
running away from God because of angry parents.
Who yelled and lashed out and didn't represent
Christ.
Now, I've not mastered this area, but I
will apologize to my kids.
And I will say here, and they see
that spirit of humility and needing Christ.
I tell them, I need Jesus, too.
I need Jesus, too.
But anger, look what it destroys.
Look at that.
Little boys are hurt.
Little girls, their spirits are broke because of
anger.
I know.
I came from a very angry, very angry
home on my dad's side.
You know the whole thing, boy, you don't
cry.
And this anger and walking on eggshells.
And it just crushes and breaks.
And then you look to alcohol.
You look to others.
You look for self-esteem.
You look for approval.
Because you're broken by this destructive thing.
So, anger is not good in this form.
Now, there's something called righteous indignation.
Anger that, like, I have to stop the
sex slave trade.
I have to stop abortion.
I have to.
I'm sick and tired of this city being
called the number one child abuse capital.
What can we do?
Lord, and that anger fuels passion.
That anger fuels you to do.
I'm so angry.
I've had enough.
I'm going to do something.
Have you ever?
Really?
Have you ever done that?
So, that's a good kind of anger.
So, on this, I forgot to tie this
in with sorcery.
But darkness should not entertain you.
Here's something to keep the Ouija boards, astrology,
horoscopes, spells, wizards, all that thing.
Darkness should not entertain you.
So, if there's something entertaining about darkness, check
your heart.
Because all these movies about vampires and witches
and the occult, and all these young adults
are so entertained, they love it.
They can't get enough, but they hate being
in church.
Could it be?
That demonic element is influencing them?
Oh, Shane, this hurts.
Good.
It's time to hurt.
If you open yourself up, you will close
yourself off to the work of the Spirit.
And that's the key.
Philip's power was stronger.
And now I'll close with this.
Simon himself also believed.
So, Simon the sorcerer believed.
And when he was baptized, he continued with
Philip and was amazed, seeing the miracles and
signs which were done.
That's where we're going to pick up next
week, because he wants to buy this power.
He wants to buy the power he's seeing.
But he was, it's interesting, he was believed,
and then he was baptized.
And I don't want to minimize this, because
this is a perfect opportunity.
Believe and be baptized is the norm.
A person who believes should want to get
baptized.
Good plug, March 5th, after the second service,
we would love to see a list of
people wanting to get baptized.
I was baptized as a baby.
I was baptized as a little kid.
I didn't really understand it.
Or, Shane, I've come to believe.
We're hearing from people all the time.
They're coming to believe through the church, through
the preaching of the Word.
Get baptized.
There's no reason why we shouldn't, I mean,
we should have it full every Sunday.
Okay, does anybody want to get baptized?
Okay, I'll just wear this.
I mean, I believe today I want to
get baptized.
That's what we did.
It's a step of obedience.
Why?
Here's what happens.
Nine times out of ten, when I ask
people, are you ready to get baptized?
Oh, I don't want to get that serious
yet.
What?
Do you have any scriptural support for that?
You won't find anything.
Now, I haven't quite put my hands around
this yet, but often you have to wonder
about their commitment.
It's like, I'll be a, you know, I'll
try it, Shane.
I'll try it out, but I don't want
anybody to know.
I mean, when you truly believe, you know,
and you want to get baptized.
So if you haven't been baptized, Jesus was
baptized.
Let us know.
Sign up for it.
We're doing it on March 5th, and it's
a point, I believe, of obedience.
And it's also a point of humility.
I explained it before.
I probably explain this a lot now because
it motivates people.
But I was 30 years old, and I
got baptized in 2000 around Christmas.
I came back to the Lord.
I did it when I was a little
kid in a pool.
I had no clue what it meant.
And I want to say, Jesus, I believe
fully with my heart.
I want to follow you.
Your word's been coming alive.
I want to go in front of people
and publicly confess.
I want to be baptized.
And I had to fight a 30-year
-old.
Shane, I mean, I was speaking at churches.
In 2000, I was just starting to speak
and write and different things.
And I'm like, oh, goodness, this is embarrassing.
Oh, 30-year-old.
But nobody cared.
Nobody cared.
We all know we've baptized 70-, 80-year
-old people here before.
Or young adults who say, I want to
make a profession of faith.
So I don't want to minimize baptism.
Here's why.
Jesus never did.
Believe and be baptized.
The Ethiopian believed and was baptized.
This person believed and was baptized.
Why?
Because I believe.
Now I'm going to show you by the
sincerity of my commitment that it's real.
I'm going to publicly declare that I am
a follower of Jesus Christ.
And that's where you know the rubber meets
the road.
I often wonder, if we could take a
picture as you're leaving.
Hey, we're going to put this picture in
the Allant Valley Press newspaper, and we're going
to let everybody know you're a believer around
town.
Are you good with that?
Not right now.
Maybe next week.
Why is that?
Because it's a heart check.
That's why I bring these things up.
It's a heart check to see where we're
at with that relationship.
So here's the points to ponder.
Is anger dominating your life because you are
not filled with the Spirit?
And it's a daily struggle.
Here comes anger.
Empty yourself.
Be filled with the Spirit.
And I want to focus our prayer and
worship towards anger.
It's destroying our homes.
It's destroying our marriages.
It's destroying relationships with fellow believers.
We need to humble ourselves.
Who in the world do we think we
are that we can't be challenged?
Who?
It was funny.
I think it was last Sunday.
There were friends from out of town in
Texas.
My mom brought them.
And she goes, oh, son, that was a
great message, but you never got to the
cross at the end.
You're right.
I didn't.
It was all about fearing God and fearing
God and fearing God and fearing God.
I'm like, ah, that's right.
Or, will you tell me what to do?
It was fine.
People know.
See?
So I said, yeah, I can't believe I
forgot that.
Because the people from out of town, you
know, and they're like, oh, I thought you
were going to get to the cross.
I'm like, God, how did that happen?
Never again.
I've got to point people back to the
cross.
But to be open for constructive criticism, it's
hard.
Being a bachelor is the hardest thing I've
ever done in my life.
You have to have two-inch thick skin.
You have to go around town and say,
wonderful sermon, I love it, and hear from
somebody else, I hate you and everything you
stand for.
I probably hate your children because I hate
you.
I mean, you just, whoa, God's calling me
to do it.
And you have to have, Morgan has to
have thick skin.
Oh, man, there's all this, you know.
But that's part of dealing with anger and
not being angry.
So I can, what I'm trying to say
is, I should have just said from the
get-go, I can relate.
I can relate.
You think I just walk around all humble
all the time and, you know, especially I
come here early and these guys think the
hill is NASCAR.
And they want to see how quick they
can get to my bumper.
You know, I'm just so humble, this is
wonderful.
Like, do you have a baseball bat still
in the backseat?
You know, but it's a constant battle.
So that is the point of application.
Anger is a byproduct of frustration.
I keep falling, I keep falling, Shane, I
can't.
Yes, you can.
Yes, you can if you rely on the
work of the Holy Spirit.
Take it to Christ.
Repent.
Bring it to the light.
Say, I'm an angry, I need prayer for
anger this morning.
Bring it to the light and let God
change that.
And Saul, the last point is Saul was
religious.
He followed a lot of rules and he
knew the Bible.
But Saul was hellbound because he did not
have a relationship.
Hear me good, hear me closely.
If that fits grammatically.
Just hear me good.
You can't say, I'm good, I help people,
I've read the Bible, I go to church
sometimes, therefore I'm good.
No, you're religious.
You're religious.
Are you religious?
Do you truly have a relationship?
Let me take my mom's advice and bring
the cross in.
Because that's the only hope.
If you have not bowed your knee to
the cross, and repented of your sin, and
embraced Christ, and now you have this passionate
relationship with God.
If you don't have any of that, you
have religion, and you are following rules.
And you are hellbound if there's no relationship
with God.
Because when you stand before God, you don't
say, here's my wife, here's the church I
went to.
You stand naked and bare before God Almighty.
And all he's going to say is, what
did you do with my son?
I made the provision.
Not how good you are.
Not how much you read the Bible.
Not that you go to church.
Not that you follow.
Because there's people caught in a religious system.
They say the same prayers and they go
through the same thing because they're caught in
that religion and not a relationship.
So humble yourself this morning.
These people should have said, the Bible should
say, they cried out to God, they opened
their ears, and they embraced him.
That's what my prayer is for you this
morning.
Some of you, I know some of you
are walking strongly with God.
My only encouragement would be to walk stronger,
deeper.
Because there is a deeper relationship.
The closer you draw to God, the closer
he'll draw to you.
Begin to do that more.
But those of you who might have religion
and not a relationship, turn to Christ today.
Repent of your sin.
And those of you who maybe walked away
or you're in the prodigal son state, you've
been opening yourself up to demonic influence, repent
of that this morning.
And come back to Christ.
And humble yourself.
Don't be stiff-necked.
That's one of the challenges with preaching, is
I see the same people month in and
month out, year in and year out with
the same problems.
The same, this posture.
This posture.
They want to usually sit in the back,
they don't want to worship, and they just
come to church with this posture.
And I know who you are.
And if it doesn't change, I might lovingly
speak to you, because I love you.
I love you enough to tell you, you
cannot continue to be religious.
Religion doesn't get anybody to heaven, it gets
a lot of people to hell.
Jesus' strongest rebuke in the entire New Testament
was to the religious leaders.
He called sinners to himself, but religious leaders
he rebuked.
You whitewashed tombs.
You're beautiful on the outside, but you are
dead men's bones on the inside.