Stephen was standing before the Jewish ruling body and defending himself.  He was accused of blasphemy against Moses and God.
(Acts 6:11)
Then as he continued to defend himself, using Israel’s history, he came to the point where God called Moses to deliver the Israelites out of slavery…all in God’s timing.
  Moses “supposed” that God would use him when he was a younger man of forty.

  Now, forty years later, an angel sent by God spoke to Moses… to go back to Egypt from this wilderness as a shepherd to become the deliverer of the Israelites out of Egypt.
How did the Lord God get Moses’ attention?  A bush that was on fire; yet, it was not being burned up. 

  What did the Lord God say to Moses?  “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.”  (Acts 7:32)  This was the same God Who his fathers worshiped and this was the same God who was speaking to him! 

  How did Moses react?  He was trembling, filled with fear, and he did not dare look! (Acts 7:32) 

  What did God tell Moses to do?  Take off your sandals – the place you are standing on is holy ground.  (Acts 7:33)  With what attitude do you pray before the living God?

  What words of assurance did the Lord God say to Moses?  “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them.  And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”  (Acts 7:34 ESV)  God’s timing.

  Now was the time that God prepared for Moses to act in behalf of the Israelites.  God heard the cries and pleas of His people; He saw the oppression under which the Israelites lived, day by day.  Now was the time for them to be delivered from slavery.

  All of these events were known by God hundreds of years before they were a fact.  The Lord God knew who He would send to be the Israelites deliverer.  That man was Moses.

  All the events in your life are known by God.  And He provided a Deliverer for you… the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. 

  Have you turned to Him and asked His forgiveness?  When you receive Jesus as your Savior you are given His Holy Spirit and you are forgiven! 

Now is the time we are to recognize our sins (they are real sins against God). 

Now is the time we are to ask God to forgive us through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now is the time to know for a fact that you have been forgiven… forgiven by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not in yourself and not in another (God’s forgiveness is for certain and for sure for all who turn to Him in repentance and faith in His Son).

~ Take it to heart ~

At the right time, Jesus died on the cross outside of Jerusalem’s walls. 
Now is the time to receive Him as your Savior. 
Now is the time to yield to God’s will for you. 
Now is the time to live as a forgiven child of God.

Categories: The Acts of the Holy Spirit