The Way Into God’s Presence
[An Advanced Study –
Part One]
Take your Bibles
tonight and go to Acts 6, please.
Tonight I thought I’d
share with the Corp on this opening of the Corp week the Word of
God regarding The Way Into God’s Presence.
Jesus Christ said in John 14:
He said I am the
way, the truth and the life. No man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -- John 14: 6
In our hearts, in
our lives, in our minds, we believe that.
That there is only one way and that Jesus Christ is the way. He is the way. He is the truth, he is the life and that
there is no other way to God but through our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. In Acts chapter 6:
Stephen, one who
is full of grace, in verse 8, and power, did great wonders and signs among the
people.
And
Stephen, full of faith then power, did great wonders and miracles among the
people. -- Acts 6: 8
Then there arose
certain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the libertines and
the Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of them of Ciicilia and of
Then
there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of them of
And
they were able not able to resist, [withstand] the wisdom and the spirit by
which he spake. -- Acts
Verse 11: Then they appointed men to say, we have heard
him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
Then
they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses, and
against God. -- Acts
I want you to
notice that when they could not withstand the wisdom or the spirit whereby
Stephen spoke, they set about to just appoint people, just pick people, appoint
them and pay them for saying that they had heard him speak blasphemous words.
And verse 12 says: They stirred up almost to a mob fever the people and
the elders, meaning the top brass the Scribes and they came and they caught,
they seized Stephen and brought him before the Senhedrin,
the consul, the 70 ruling elders of Jerusalem, top brass.
And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the
scribes, and came upon him and
caught him, and brought him to the councel,
--
Acts
Verse 13: And then look what they did.
They set up false witnesses which said, this man ceases not speak blasphemous
words against this holy place and the law.
And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak
blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: -- Acts
For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of
And all that sat in the consul, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of
an angel. -- Acts
They set up false witnesses.
First, they hired men who said he blasphemes. Then they set up false witnesses, to prove
that he blasphemed against the holy place and the law for we heard him say that
this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this first place and will change the
customs which Moses delivered unto us.
So you have men paid to speak against Steven. To swear to it that he spoke blasphemous
words. To be false
witnesses, paid false witnesses.
And the one thing they hit also was that he is going to change our
custom. And all that sat in the council
looked steadfastly on him, saw his face as if it had
been the face of an angel.
Then comes this great seventh chapter:
And Stephen teaches the greatness of God’s Word among these people who
are members of the Sanhedrin, those who are false witnesses, those men who have
been paid to lie and it comes down to verse 51 in this seventh chapter and he
says:
Ye stiffnecked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your
fathers did, so do ye. -- Acts
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed
before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers
and murderers: -- Acts
Who received the law by the disposition of angels, as it was ordained
my angels, messengers, and have not kept it.
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels,
and have not kept it. -- Acts
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart,
and gnashed on him with their teeth.
--
Acts
The reason they were cut to the heart, they knew he was right. They knew that what he was saying was
true. Everything they were doing and
producing, they knew was a lie.
But he, verse 55, being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly
with full of assurance into heaven, and he, Stephen, saw the glory of God and
Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
If Jesus is God, he couldn’t have been standing on the right hand.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up
stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God. -- Acts
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son
of man standing on the right hand of God. -- Acts
Then they cried out, you see it
change their customs. It changed their
customs. Today, all Christendom believes
in 3 Gods, but they say he’s only one.
The Way Ministry is changing their custom and it’s bad to change
customs. They cried out with a loud
voice and they stopped their ears. They refused to hear
any further and they ran upon him with one accord.
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their
ears, and they refused to hear any further, and ran upon him with one accord. -- Acts
They cast him out of the city, and they stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their
clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. -- Acts
And they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord
Jesus receive my spirit.
[He did not say receive my soul, he said receive my spirit.] -- Acts
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice. Lord Lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. -- Acts 7: 60
Verse 1 of chapter 8: And Saul was consenting unto Stephen’s
death. And at that time, there was a
great persecution against the church….
And Saul was consenting unto his death, And at that time there was a great persecution against the
church …………. Acts 8: 1a
In chapter 9, talking about Paul yet, verse 1. But, Saul [Paul] yet breathing out threatenings and murders is the
text. Not slaughter, it’s
murder. Breathing out threatenings and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went on to the high priest.
And
Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, -- Acts 9: 1
And desired of
him, requested of him, letters, signed documents allowing him to go to Damascus
to the synagogues that that if he found any of the way, whether they were both men
or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And
desired of him letters to
Again, he went to
the top brass which is as highest you can go in the religious circles. The high priest and he got written
documentation officially signed and sealed with the authority of everything
that the world could put upon a man. Giving him permission to go to
And as he
journeyed, he came near or he drew near to
And
as he journeyed, he came near
And he falling
down or he fell to the earth, heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And
he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? -- Acts 9: 4
And he, Saul said,
Who art thou Lord?
And he said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
[The rest of that verse in verse 6 is deleted from all the major texts]. And yet the truth is axiomatic. It is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks.
And
he, [Saul] said, Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: It is hard
for thee to kick against the pricks. -- Acts 9: 5
And he Saul,
trembling and astonished said Lord, what will thou have me to do? The Lord said unto him, arise and go into the
city and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And
he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the
city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which
journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no man. -- Acts 9: 6, 7
And
Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but
they led him by the hand, and brought him into
This was the great
man Saul. In Acts 22, in verse 3, he
says:
I am
a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city
in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city [of Jerusalem]
at the feet of Gamaliel and taught according to the
perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all
are this day.-- Acts 22: 3
And
I persecuted this [the] way unto the death, binding and
delivering into prison both men and women. – Acts 22: 4
And the high
priest also doth bear me witness, and all the consul of the elders: from whom
also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them
which were there bound unto Jerusalem for to be punished.
As
also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate [consul] of the
elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to
Now look at verse
19 of this 22nd second chapter. And I
said Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that
believe on thee.
And
I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that
believed on thee: -- Acts
And
when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and
consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. -- Acts
In Chapter 24, and in verse 13 of this chapter: Neither can they prove
the things wherof they now accuse me, he says.
Neither can they prove that things whereof they now
accuse me. -- Acts 24: 13
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy, which is the Greek word (airesis) [pronounced har-esis] translated in the Bible as heresy or sect. Today they translate it cult. This I confess unto thee that after the way
which they call a great cult, so worship I, the God of
my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets:
But I confess unto thee, that after the way which they
call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are
written in the law and in the profits: -- Acts 24: 14
People were called followers of the way because Jesus Christ is the
Way, the truth, and the life. Here’s a
man, Saul, he thought he was in God’s presence.
He thought he was really following God, the Way. And look what he did. A man can be completely sincere and totally
in error. He thought he was in the Way
of God’s presence. What changed that
man? What did he find out? He discovered that the very people whom he
was persecuting were followers of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. And he finally learn
that this Jesus Christ is the Way. And
that’s why he made that tremendous statement that I just read to you from Acts
24. Let’s go back to Acts 18 and look at
it again from another angle -- different individuals.
Acts 18, verse 8, Better go to 24, 25, 26:
And a certain Jew named Apollos,
born at
What did they expound to him?
They expounded unto to him the way of God more perfectly, yes.
End of Part
One