 We looked at verse 25 where we saw that Stephen began to speak about the patriarchs. Now he's talking about Moses and he said how Moses was in a hurry to fulfill the promise of God but it didn't work out the way he desired. And you know what happens next? And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting. He tried to reconcile them saying men, you are brethren, why do you wrong one another? Okay, so I think I went ahead of this verse verse 27 but he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away saying who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Verse 28, do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday? Verse 29, then at this same Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian where he had two sons. So Moses seems to have rushed into God's purposes and when he saw that the hearts of the people, his own people who he was supposed to deliver, they were not ready yet because of his mistake. He had to kind of take a detour. So he goes up to the land of Midian but thank God for his grace that even when someone is off track, God still continues to provide and protect that all of us in this case Moses but God protected him. His call never went away from him. We know the rest of the story. Verse 30, and when 40 years had passed, wow, 40 years again, 40 years such a long time that Moses is walking with the Lord. And when 40 years had passed an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. So just when Moses is thinking God, it came into my heart when I was 40 years old but now here I am in the wilderness because of my own mistake. Have you forgotten your promise to me? But what's happening? It's in those moments where me and Moses was beginning to lose his grip on the promise of God that God encounters him in a fresh way. So an encounter in the wilderness. This is an entire sermon in itself so I don't want to make it a sermon but you see God is speaking through every word. So in the wilderness God encounters him in the fire in a bush. So what was he doing at that time? He was just doing his daily activities. We know that in Midian he was more like a shepherd. So he was taking care of his flocks. But at that time in the Mondayness of life God encounters him. So that's so beautiful to know that our God, we might just be having a normal day but it does not prevent God from encountering us in a powerful way even in a regular day of our lives. So it was 31. When Moses saw it he marveled at the sight and as he drew nearer to observe the voice of the Lord came to him. So on a normal day of his life in the wilderness the voice of the Lord came to him verse 32 saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And Moses trembled and died not ever. So the encounter which Moses had, God spoke to Abraham when he was not in the promised land. God was with Joseph when he was an agent. Now God is speaking to Moses in Midian. So the encounter is in a completely different place. God is reminding Moses of what he needs to do in and through his land verse 33. Then the Lord said to him, take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand this holy ground verse 34. I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard that groaning and have come down to deliver them and now come. I will send you to Egypt. So finally the moment has come when God wants Moses to go and do the primary assignment for his life. And all these years what was happening? Preparation. Preparation was taking place. So God is encountering Moses and he said, I want you to go now. Now is the Cairo's moment. Now is the current time for you to step out. And you see how God responds to the cry of his people. So one other insight that we cannot hear is, our cries reach God. The children of Israel each of 400 years, they would have thought, God what happened? Can you not hear us? We are being oppressed. We want deliverance. We want you to redeem our losses. We want you to take away this destruction from us. And they might have thought that time is just passing by and God is not doing anything about our situation. But that's not the fact. What happens? We read here, God acknowledging. I have surely seen the oppression of my people. So God is a God who takes note of whatever we go through. Even our difficulties, our pains, our sorrows. God takes notice of that. I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are ignorant. I have heard the groaning. So he can see, he can hear. And when we call out to him, he hears it. He heard the groaning of the people. And this was the right moment that God picked to deliver. Now when God wants to bring deliverance, generally, what do we see in scripture? We see that God raises up a man. He raises up a woman. There was a time when you read the book of churches, you have people like Deborah, you have Gideon. God raised up people because there was a need for a leader to lead his people. And he made that possible. Similarly, you see, at this time, the people really needed a deliverer. God has chosen Moses and God has prepared Moses for all these years to become that deliverer for his people who were oppressed in Egypt. And little Moses had known how God wanted to do this. So God was with Moses and God encountered Moses in Median. Now verse 35. Now just think about this. There was an accusation about Stephen that he blasphemed God. Which part about God is untrue in what he is saying? He is saying the facts. This God that you are familiar with, the God of our fathers, this is how he spoke to our fathers. And he is giving God that due honor and respect. So which part about Moses is blasphemous in what he is saying? Actually, nothing. He is just stating historical religious facts. It's the Jews already know. So they can't capture anything that he is saying. What else does he want to say about Moses verse 35? This Moses who they rejected saying, who made you a ruler and a judge? Is the one God said to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush? So he is saying, we know the story of Moses. Initially, he was rejected but he was the chosen one. He was the chosen one to lead the people. God encountered him in the wilderness and spoke to him there. Verse 36, he brought them out after he had shown wonders and signs of the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea adding the wilderness for 40 years. So finally through Moses' leadership with mighty signs and wonders, God delivered his people. Now, in what Stephen is saying, I already told us, he is giving them this perspective that it's not about finding God in a geographical location. We are familiar with that. But notice, he is slowly bringing the picture of Jesus. If you haven't noticed, he talked about Joseph who was rejected by his brothers. Bible scholars, that is not the best way of interpreting scripture. You can pick anything and you can say, I see something else in it. And it's the last type of preaching that we want to do using allegories and all that. But still, if you look at the life of Joseph, you could say that there is a type of Jesus in Joseph. Why? Because his own family rejected him. And isn't it the same story with Jesus? Jesus was rejected by his own people. The Jews rejected Jesus. Now, in talking of Moses, Stephen is bringing that same point for 35. Moses whom they rejected. So he's reminding the audience that, hey, we have a history of rejecting the man of God sent as a deliverer. Joseph was sent as a deliverer, but the Jews, his own family, what did they do? They reject. Okay, but thank God, somehow during famine, they were blessed because of Joseph. Because he was still kind hearted towards his people. Moses, he was rejected. Who made you a ruler and judge is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. So, Moses, he was also rejected by his own people and he went into the wilderness, immediately. However, through his life, God delivered. So he's slowly painting a picture of Jesus and he's saying the way the Jews have treated Joseph, Moses, don't you think, you know, you've done the same to this Jesus? Who is the Messiah? After all, Joseph and Moses, they were all like shadows before the real deliverer, the real redeemer, who came to us in the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, verse 37, this is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, God, your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren, him you shall hear. So, notice how Peter preached? He always brought the subject of Jesus. This is good preaching. There is history, there is, you know, explaining, there is facts and figures, all of that is there. The central message, the central theme is to reveal Christ as Lord and that is what Stephen is doing. So, you know, if he was doing oboe politics course, I don't know how many marks his lecture would have given him. He has covered the people, Jesus Christ, the Lord. So, turning the hearts of the people towards God, right? He's not wasting a moment. Everything is coming to the central message, which is Jesus and he is talking about Jesus through Moses. So, now they can't reject. The listeners cannot reject this because they all know Moses. So, he is quoting Moses for them and he's saying, Moses who said to the children of Israel, so don't do what I'm telling you to do. Your father or your prophet, Moses, he said to the children of Israel, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet. So, did Moses tell us there is going to be another person, a prophet like me? So, you know, you could imagine, you know, of the stature of Moses or even greater than Moses. From your brethren, so he will be a part of us, he will be Jewish. Him you shall hear. So, the, you know, the baby is going to be passed on to this key individual, prophet whom the Lord is going to raise up and you have to listen to him. You have to listen to that prophet. Verse 38, this is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us. So, he's explaining a little bit more about Moses and, you know, we know of this. Moses was in the wilderness, he had these encounters with God and he received the teachings of God. So, verse 39, whom our fathers would not obey but rejected and in their hearts, they turned back to Jinnah. He is also, you would say, beginning to offend the Jews because he's saying, you're acting just like the fathers. What did they do? They heard Moses out but their hearts were so far away from God. They were disobedient, they were complaining, they were, you know, people without faith, unbelief, no patience, such were the children of Israel. And they rejected and in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt saying to Aaron, make us gods to go before us as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt. We do not know what has become of him. So, he's reminding the council of the Jews that even our forefathers, they rejected the prophet whom you respect, they rejected the prophet Moses. And, you know, that whole incident of when Moses went to speak with God and, you know, they made for themselves a calf to worship. So, it's like they rejected the prophet of God and they rejected God also, verse 41. And they made a calf in those days offered sacrifices to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands, 42. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven as it is written in the book of the prophets. Okay, so here there is a parallel. If you read of what Paul will write later to the book to the Romans, he says, or rather, you know, it's not later or anything because during this time when Luke was writing this, maybe Paul had already penned things out for the Roman church. But Romans 1, you know, when you read, we see there was 20 that the way God has handcrafted the handcraft of the sky, the way he is, the heavens, the way he has handcrafted this world. He says people do not have an excuse to not believe in God, right? So, there is a God and every human being's conscience tells them that that's what Romans 120 says. But later on in that passage, you see how even though people have that in the knowing, they want to do what they want to do it. So, later on in the passage, you read that God gives them their own choice. Okay, you want to worship other things, please go for it, no problem. So, he is using that same way of writing in verse 42, then God taught and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. Oh, what is God doing? He is just letting them go and saying, okay, I don't know the truth, but if you still want to do what you want to do, then, you know, it's amazing how God does not control people, how he does not impose, you know, how he does not, you know, as in a robotic way, take away our free will and say, no, you have to worship me. That is why salvation is a free gift, but those who believe, we are the ones who will walk in salvation. Those who believe, everyone who believes, does that mean some don't believe? Yes, unfortunately, but it's free, right? Free will is involved in receiving salvation or free will is involved in worshiping God. We cannot make anybody worship God. Okay, even God does not do that, he does not impose. So, the rejecting children of Israel, the complaining children of Israel, he just let them be and he said, okay, do whatever you want to do. And verse 42, the lack of part, did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during 40 years in the wilderness? O house of Israel, verse 43, you also took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your God, Remphan. Images which you made to worship and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. So, Stephen is reminding them of an attitude of irreverence which the children of Israel had towards God, towards the prophet Moses. Okay, so he's pointing out how they worshiped other gods and he mentions verse 43 is tabernacle of Moloch, God, Remphan. These are all Egyptian gods. So, just look at these people, right? The children of Israel, God showed them so many miracles, he protected them, he heard their cries, he delivered them out of Egypt. But as some preachers have said, they came out of Egypt but Egypt did not come out of them and they carried with them the traditions of Egypt. There was a tug on their heart for the gods of Egypt. They probably were familiar with certain gods and methods of worship and it just made them feel good and they subscribed to it even though they knew the living God. So, in a way what Stephen is saying is, we are not any different from what our fathers did. This part can be very offensive. So far, the council would have heard about thinking, okay, he's just narrating our scriptures but now, you know, this is hard for any listener, any Jewish listener who doesn't believe in Jesus. In verse 44, our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness as he appointed instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen. Which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles. Who God drove out before the face of our fathers until the day of David. Verse 46, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. Verse 47, but Solomon built him a house. So, all this history is to explain how this temple has come about. So, encounters, then tabernacle in the wilderness, eventually Solomon built this house. Okay, so, now let's see what Stephen goes with it. Verse 48, however, the most high does not dwell in temples made with hands as the prophet says. Look at this, now he's making the hard-hitting point. Come on, God does not live in this space. He's God, he's greater than, you know, how much this space can hold. And he is substantiating it with an Old Testament scripture. So, he quotes as the prophet says, verses 49 and 50, heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me says the Lord? Or what is the place of my rest has my hand not made all these things. So, he is substantiating what the point he made with what the scriptures of the audience says. Okay, so, as all of us have witnessed, you know, it's a very, like, you know, it's very accurate in its narration and its content. So, the listeners cannot pick on him about accuracy. They cannot pick on him, you know, to prove what they have been saying so far that he's talking wrong things about certain writers. So, now, with this information before them, what is the council going to do? Okay, so, he's going to conclude, Stephen is now going to conclude his sermon verse 51. He says, you stiff-naked and uncircumcised in the heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so to you. So, now, he's not trying to cover up. He's not trying to, you know, sugarcoat what he means. He's putting it down directly. He's saying, you people, you are stiff-naked, uncircumcised in heart and ears. That is to say that, you know, the religious spirit where on the outside, activity wise we are fine. But on the inside, you know, true heart, sincere commitment wise, we are so far away from God. So, he says uncircumcised in heart and ears and he says, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Now, that is an accusation he is making against the council and the unbelieving Jews as your fathers did. So do you. This statement is quite accurate, actually, because he just showed us how the children of Israel were disobedient. Verse 52, which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute and they killed those who fought on the coming of the just one of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers. Verse 53, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. Okay, so again, oops, what is that? Okay, there's some noise, I think. Thank you, whoever muted. All right, so we are seeing Stephen. Now you could say accused. And tell them that they are unbelieving, not just unbelieving, but he said you're walking in the footsteps of your fathers who have even killed and murdered the messengers. So what is it? Verse 53, it says, who have received the law by the direction of the angels. So what is direction of the angels receiving the law by the direction of the angels? So that what angels there, if you look it up in the Greek, it actually means messenger. So it is not that angels came and gave the law or anything like that, it's just messenger. God gave the law to his messenger, Moses. And similarly, God gave his word to his man whom he raised up men and women. And that is how he shared what was on his heart. But he said that the Jews have rejected so far what God has been doing. And not just that, they have even gone to the extent of killing the messengers. And there is a mention of Jesus here, though we have not heard the word that Jesus over here. We know that he quoted Moses where he said, Moses said that there will be another prophet, you hear him. So he's talking about Jesus and in verse 52, he says, photo in the coming of the just one. Who is that just one? Obviously the righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ. So they got the point. So what is he trying to say? He's saying, ultimately he's saying, you did not believe Jesus. You did not and you are not believing messengers who are talking about Jesus. Okay, so such is the defense and the speech of Stephen. Once again, he's filled with the Holy Spirit. What did we see when it came to the apostles standing before the Sanhedrin, the council? They had boldness, isn't it? Boldness is one of the expressions of being filled with the Holy Spirit. So even in this case, tell me an ordinary man standing in front of the council. He's not trying to cover up anything. He's telling things as they are. Okay, maybe they needed to hear it this way. And so he's not politically right anymore to its end of his sermon and just gives it to them. So what is going to happen to Stephen? He spoke so boldly, filled with the Holy Spirit, with all the facts, verse 54. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. You remember this cut to the heart? We saw it earlier in Acts chapter 2. But that cut to the heart led to a positive reaction. This cut to the heart is not leading to a positive reaction. They are cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. That simply means grinding their teeth. Okay, why are they grinding their teeth? Verse 55, let's read further. But he, 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 opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. So I'll just read verse 57 and come back, verse 57. Then they cried out to the loud voice, stopped their ears and ran at him with what they got. So I told you, cut to the heart, gnashed at him with their teeth while in opposition, in anger, in rejection. Okay, they are grinding their teeth against Stephen. This was too much for them to take. And after all, this is some believer of that so-called gathering of Jesus followers. So it's okay, we can deal with this math. So that is their take. And they are very angry. They were cut to the heart, hit them hard, but their response is more of anger. And it's not of accepting the fact that they have rejected their own God who they talk about. But on the other side, what about Stephen? In a moment like this, when he's been cried and this gives us so much of comfort and confidence. He's filled with the Holy Spirit. And it's almost like, you know, he is having a vision. He gazed into heaven, it says. So most likely, he's having a vision. He's looking into heaven. What does he see? He saw the glory of God. So heaven is filled with the glory of God. Stephen is seeing the glory of God. And he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So quite different from what we read about. Isn't it Colossians or Ephesians seated at the right hand of God? So Jesus is sitting over there. But in this case, strangely, Luke says that Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And Stephen said this, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Now we might wonder, how did Luke come to know? Because Stephen said it. He said, I see heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. So Jesus was standing when Stephen had a vision of God. God is so gracious to give visions at a very difficult time. Even in the midst of a trial, what is happening? A man of God, a child of God, God encounters that child. And Stephen has a vision. Do you think a vision would have strengthened him at this point? Definitely. There could be all these human faces that are angry. And we see later on, they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their years. So his natural eyes can observe very disturbing scenes in front of him. But his spiritual eyes are seeing the glory of God. What do you think his heart would have been consumed with? He saw heaven open. He saw the glory of God. He saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. I feel that he would have been gripped with the scene of heaven much more than... Did he have fear looking at people shouting at him and all? Maybe he did. But I feel that he probably was more caught up in the scene of heaven and rejoiced in the scene of heaven. Verse 57 says, they were against him towards the end with one accord. Again, cut to the heart, one accord in a completely opposite way. One accord for the wrong things. So even the mob or the council is against... Not the mob yet, but the council is against him. Again, Stephen at this point was 58. 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. So they had a practice of punishing blasphemers. Why was Stephen stoned? You know, it was a proof that he was blaspheming anything from their points. I don't think that came through from his speech. But you know, towards the end, he started telling them, you are stiff-necked and you have rejected. You have killed the prophets who spoke about the just one. Now, there was so much anger. I don't even know whether they wanted to wait and find a logical conclusion. What did he say? What should be done? They were just in outrage. And you know, when people are in outrage, it leads them to do crazy things. So there was no moment of pause. They just dragged him, cast him out of the city, it says, and stoned him. That was their way of punishing for some crimes. And in this case, blasphemy. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. So it seems like somebody was leading the killing of Stephen. For people to come and lay their clothes at the feet of a certain person, seems like that person was a leader. So once Stephen was killed, they laid down their clothes at the feet, not the clothes of Stephen, their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. So there was a young man named Saul who was leading the esteem against Stephen. Now, we all know who this Saul is. But notice Saul is in Acts 7 way before. We read about him in Acts 9 when he has an encounter on the road to Damascus. So what is the kind of person he is in Galatians? Paul talks about himself. He describes himself a little bit more. And in Philippians, in fact, he points this out. He points out that he was zealous. He was zealous for his religion all along. So here, Acts 7 verse 58 shows us how zealous he was. That he was one of those people who was proud to take down Stephen, a man who was accused of blasphemous against his God. So that is the first introduction of Saul for us in the book of Acts. And one more thing which we can register in our minds right now is, you remember we said that there was the synagogue of the Freedmen and then it had the regions over there, Alexandria and some other regions. So there is also the region of Silesia. So Paul, Saul is from the region of Silesia. So he could have been a member of the Sanhedrin from the region of Silesia. So just keep these details in your mind. We will look more into Paul's life as we go forward. So verse 59. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Anyone else who said receive my spirit? Zeus. Yeah, Jesus. So Jesus said, receive my spirit. And similarly, Saul is crying out to the Lord and he's saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Now I don't think I explained Jesus standing, isn't it? So in his vision, Stephen saw Jesus standing. Even later, we will see how Jesus talks to Saul, a persecutor. Jesus talks to him in his encounter. He says, why are you persecuting me? Jesus will say. So talking about persecution, you know, when God's people are persecuted, he takes it very personally. Jesus never said, we'll see later on in Acts 9, he never said, Saul, why are you persecuting my people? On that road to Damascus, he says, why are you persecuting me? So when God's people are persecuted, it's as if all that is happening to Jesus itself. You see, God takes it like that. Jesus takes it like that. Such comfort from that thought. And in this case, as Stephen saw heaven open, Jesus is not sitting. Some theologians say that Stephen's vision of Jesus standing is like God commending the people who have been persecuted for his name's sake. The people who, we know that Stephen was martyred, but it's like Jesus standing up and giving a standing ovation to somebody who had run his race well and said, hey, you have fought a good fight. And I'm so proud of you that you did not give up. You lived for your faith. And, you know, it's just like, it moves us, right? To think that Jesus would stand up to welcome a martyr. Okay, so that is the difference where Stephen is actually looking at Jesus saying, oh, well done, you've done a great job. Don't worry about the body. And I'm not Jesus said, don't be afraid of those who destroy the body. You must fear the one who is able to destroy more than that spirit, right? He can put the spirit in hell and who has that ability? God has the ability. So our fear must be reverence and all must be towards that God and not so much about, you know, people and pleasing people. So God was looking at Stephen. Jesus was looking at Stephen and saying, you know, you have kept your reverence towards. You did not let these earthly, you know, this earthly counsel scare you. You've done what is the right. So Jesus was standing up and welcoming, in a sense, the martyr into his kingdom now. And it must have been such an encouragement for Stephen in his last moments to see the very Lord Jesus. Again, you know, we can talk so much about it. Maybe Stephen could have had a vision of the angels standing up and clapping or something like that. A crowd kept for him. But Jesus was standing. So it was God, you know, personally encouraging, commenting, applauding, welcoming. His persecuted child soon to be a martyr, you know, into his heavenly kingdom. And that is incredible. That is amazing. And of course, this whole troop of stoning Stephen, it was led by Saul. You've seen, he is one of those learned men from Cilicia, verse 59, and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. So a little bit more about Stephen. So he is surrendering to God. And even in those moments, he says, okay, God, just receive my spirit. Maybe he recognized, okay, this is it, that he will not make it. Okay, he didn't say, Lord Jesus, heal me because maybe he just had that witness in his spirit that it's time for me to go to heaven. It's the end of my life. And verse 60, then knelt down and cried out for the loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. So as if all the description about Stephen was not enough for us to be saying, wow, what a man. The last verse here, he says, he knelt down. He didn't pray for himself. What did he say? He said with a loud voice, Lord, he prayed for the others. He said, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. So this shows us what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit to really, if he had spoken the sermons spitefully with bitterness in his heart towards the Jews. I don't think when he is breathing his last, he would say, God, don't charge them with this sin. He would have said, God, give them a very good punishment for what they have done. But just the way Jesus, forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do. A representative, what did Jesus say? He said, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you shall be my witnesses. Isn't this being a witness for Christ in speech, in faith, in boldness, in deed, in compassion, in forgiveness? What else do we see in Stephen's life? We see wisdom, we see power. What a witness. This is Acts 1-8 in demonstration. He is ready to give up his own life. He just, he understands, okay, God, you are the receiver of my spirit. This is the end of my life. So he says, okay, Lord, receive my spirit and then finally, prayer of forgiveness for his persecutors. Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Okay, so the doctor Luke is saying that Stephen fell asleep in the New Testament. This is the language which is used for believers who die in Christ fell asleep because we will rise up again. So physical then is not permanent because of the redemption which we have received through the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is really hoping that Acts 8 and I was trying to go like a train but my train is not fast enough. I think I have to stop. It's almost 10.46 now. Maybe we can talk about what we have learned so far. Four minutes, any thoughts, comments, insights and then Acts 8. Hopefully, you know, next class onwards, this is going to get faster. So anything that you all want to add to what you've been talking about. Yes, Christopher. Oh, yes, so I just wanted to just go through the verse 748. However, the most high does not live in houses made by human hands. And I mean, does this mean that, you know, the churches that are built now, you know, should not have, you know, should not have idols, should not be, you know, very on it, should not be, you know, very, should not really, should not spend much money on it. And because God doesn't dwell there, he dwells, you know, everywhere basically. And yeah, I just wanted to get some view on that. So Christopher, like scripture is quite clear, even when we studied about the house of God, the body of Christ, we've seen how, and the temple, temple of God, we've seen how we are told that you are the temple or the people of God. We are the temple of God. And Jesus said that two or three are gathered in the midst of human being. So his presence is in the midst of the believers. So it's not so much about the physical building. Yes, the physical building is blessed by the presence of God, which comes when believers pray, they worship. And, you know, they invite God. Okay, so that is one point. Now, should much be done regarding the beauty of the places of worship, I think that is up to the people. If people want to make that place beautiful, then that's fine. That's okay. But that's not the primary focus. I don't know if I answered your question. Yeah, my question was just a little bit extended towards, you know, you know, having it, you know, with a lot of statues and, you know, idols and, you know, I mean, there are denominations that still, you know, have that. And some of these churches are also very, are really beautiful, you know, I mean, some of the churches even in, you know, in Europe and even churches in India. So I just wanted to understand should that be the practice, you know, now or should it just sort of, you know, be simple and. Okay, so, so if you're talking about this, this culture of having, you know, ornate churches, church buildings, people all that. You could say that some of that stems out of this belief that God lives there and it's a house of God. Okay, but we know that it's the people who actually make it the house of God. So yeah, that belief that only these physical buildings are where God lives that would not stand alone by itself. So yeah, there's no need to spend so much on just the external building anymore. Okay, sure. Thank you. And I think Tarun has a scripture here in the chat. It's for Christopher. Is it Tarun? I was just reading about Hall of Heaven Stones, which is the actually the Hall of the Sanhedrin. That's the only building which is built with. The Hall of Heaven Stones is like if you use some tools to cut the stones, it's called Heaven Stones. Now in Exodus, God makes it very clear when we build the temple, we have to pick up the natural stones and not use any tool on it. For example, if you use iron to cut the stones, it might carve into an image and that might lead to idolatry. That's the kind of detail that God was very keen on. And he writes in Exodus, it's clearly written that you should just use the stones in the shapes and sizes that we find naturally to build the temple and not try to even carve it. Likewise, there are like so many implications like if you, iron is actually used for weapons of war and iron is not supposed to be used on the stone. That's the kind of detailing that God went when it was, because temple is meant for peace and not for shortening the life which war was, but to extend the life. So you need to be very careful about idolatry when it comes to building the temple. So that's the verse I just wanted to read. Yeah, thanks, Tarun. Very interesting there. If you have any links, please do leave it on our screen page. We have for everyone. And because of the positive of time, I think we will wrap up here, but we can pick up a little bit more on this subject in the next session. Say we'll take up your question then. Okay, so thank you everyone. God bless. You have only eight minutes to connect to your next class. All the best to you. I'll see you next week. Have a great weekend. Thank you, Pastor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Pastor.