You are listening to Radical with David Platt , a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor , author and teacher David Platt . You know , I see a story like that about five guys who sacrificed everything and the result being an entire tribe of savages that is transformed and comes to Christ . And I think about my friend Zamir in India . Zamir , when he was a teenager , began to explore Christianity . He had grown up in a Muslim home and he just started asking some questions . So one day his father and his brothers brought him into a room , closed the door and began to beat and abuse Zemir , threw him up against the wall , hit him repeatedly and then , after he had been beaten to a pulp , they dragged him out of their house outside the gates , closed the gates and said Zemir , we don't want you to ever come back . Zemir tells the story , with tears in his eyes , of how he banged on the gates outside his house all night long , asking them to let him back in . How that night he found refuge from a church and how , in the days that followed , he did give his life to Christ . How he has tried over and over and over again to try to reestablish contact with his family , but they have basically given him an ultimatum , something that he had to sign , that would say that there is no way he would ever try to even approach them , even if one of them died . He is not allowed to go to their funeral . And this man , zamir , now lives in a city of 7 million people , most of whom have little to no knowledge of the gospel , and his biggest passion is to turn the largest Muslim mosque in that area into the largest church in that area . I think of my friend Repent , an older man in the Sudan who spent part of his life in what is the equivalent of a concentration camp , seeing his friends and family die , a man who has also seen Christianity quadruple during the last 20 years as a result of faith of him and others like him . I think of Peter , a friend of mine in Asia , who I just got an email from a couple of weeks ago . Peter and his wife have received new threats of imprisonment Because their ministry is growing . It's becoming a little more public , that underground ministry and as a result , the possibility of him being in prison has greatly increased . They have an eight-month-old newborn son , their first , but it's not stopping Peter . Peter and his wife two weeks ago go into a village and lead 70 more people to faith in Christ , knowing that the risk of imprisonment is greater now than it was the day before .
Speaker 1And I hear those stories and I see what we just saw , and the question that penetrates my heart is is it possible for us to have that kind of faith here ? Is it possible for us to see the kind of things that we saw in that story , see the kind of things that we hear about all overseas ? Is it possible to see that here ? And some of you have asked me that . Some of you have come up to me and talked to me and said , David , can we really have that kind of faith here ? And what I want to say to you this morning is that I believe we can . I believe with all my heart that we can , and I believe with all my heart that we can see God do amazing things , things that defy description , but I believe it's going to be costly in order for that to happen . So if you have your Bibles with me , I want to invite you to open to Acts , chapter 7 .
Speaker 1Acts , chapter 7 . And I want to invite you to pull out that notes guide that you have and your celebration guide . That will help you follow along during our time together in God's Word . And I want you to see , at the very top of that , one truth that's going to undergird everything we talk about today . One truth God's desire for the church at Brook Hills . God desires for the church at Brook Hills to have a spirit-filled passion that moves Birmingham and all nations for Christ . I believe God desires for us to have this kind of faith . I believe he desires for us to have this kind of passion , but I believe there's some things we need to think about if we really want this kind of faith , if we really want this kind of passion . What I want us to do is I want us to look at four questions that I believe the church needs to answer today , particularly here in America , if we want to have the kind of faith that we've just seen displayed . Four questions that I think we need to answer , and they're based on Acts , chapter 7 . Look with me at Acts , chapter 7 , verse 54 .
Speaker 1The Bible says when they were furious . When they heard this , they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him . But Stephen , full of the Holy Spirit , looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God . Look , he said , I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God . At this , they covered their ears and , yelling at the top of their voices , they all rushed at him , dragged him out of the city and began to stone him . Meanwhile , the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul . While they were stoning him , stephen prayed Lord Jesus , receive my spirit . Then he fell on his knees and cried out Lord , do not hold the sin against them . And when he had said this , he fell asleep and Saul was there giving approval to his death . On that day , a great persecution broke out against the church of Jerusalem , and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria . Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him , but Saul began to destroy the church . Going from house to house , he dragged off men and women and put them in prison .
Speaker 1If I could be honest with you this morning , this text is a text that I have studied many , many times before , but for some reason , during this last week , I have wrestled with this text in a whole new way , and I pray that God , by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit would give us the ability to look at this text with a new glimpse this morning . Question number one that I think we need to ask ourselves as a church . Question number one Will we choose mission over maintenance in the church ? Will we choose mission over maintenance in the church ? Now , this question springs from the context of this whole passage . You remember we looked at this about a month ago , acts , chapter 1 , verse 8 . Jesus told his disciples you will receive power and the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses when , in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria , and then to the ends of the earth . So that was the plan , and we saw that the Holy Spirit has outlined a plan to take the gospel from Jerusalem as a home base to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth , and that was the design of God's church . But actually , when you look all the way up to this point in Acts , chapter 6 and 7 , the gospel is pretty much stuck in Jerusalem at this point . They've gotten pretty comfortable here .
Now , not that things were easy . They were facing some persecution , but in many ways they had not yet begun to even fulfill that which was laid out in Acts , chapter 1 , verse 8 . In many ways , this looked like a pretty traditional Jewish group . They had a lot of Jewish customs , a lot of traditions that they were holding on to pretty tightly . Even temple worship was still pretty important for the church , even though Jesus had died on the cross and made access for us to be with God , apart from a temple , they were still holding on to those Jewish customs , jewish traditions .
Speaker 1Stephen has a Greek background . He comes on the stage and he says guys , things need to change . We're not here just to maintain religious tradition and keep doing things the way we've been used to doing them . We've got a Savior and a mission that requires everything from us , and a mission that requires everything from us . Stephen starts to say some things that start to get a few people riled up . Now I know what you're thinking , dave . Thanks for the history lesson , but what does that have to do with us today ? Well , I want you to think about it with me .
Speaker 1Is it possible that we in this room and we in churches face the same temptation that the earliest church faced and its germination to get so caught up in religious tradition and in doing certain things , busying ourselves somewhere along the way ? There is a great temptation , for you and I likewise , to completely lose sight of our Savior and the mission that he has entrusted to us . Let's be honest , we are a people that are good at being busy and we can busy ourselves good at being busy and we can busy ourselves with activities in the church and we can busy ourselves with keeping things and maintaining status quo . But what I want to say to you this morning is this the church is not about settling for a routine , monotonous motion of religious activity . That is not the purpose for which we have gathered here this morning . We are not here just to go through a perfunctory motion where we sing some songs , watch some people on the stage , go home and everything kind of stays the same . That is not what this whole deal is about . The church is not about settling for a routine , monotonous motion of religious activity .
Speaker 1You know , this is one of the things I find it interesting , and if you ever have a chance to read a book called In the Shadow of the Almighty , of the things I find it interesting , and if you ever have a chance to read a book called In the Shadow of the Almighty , it's the biography of Jim Elliott , one of the missionaries that you saw in the video just a second ago . I think one of the interesting things as I read that biography was seeing how he had become so discontent with exactly this in the church . He had become so discontent with people just kind of getting in a routine of monotonous religious activity and missing out on passion for Christ and passion for the mission of which we were a part . Listen to a couple of quotes from his journals . People would ask him why don't you stay in the United States and encourage the body here ? Why do you have to go to Ecuador ?
Speaker 1He said so what if the well-fed church in the homeland needs stirring ? He said they have the scriptures , moses and the prophets and a whole lot more . He said their condemnation is written on their bank books and in the dust on their Bible covers . American believers have sold their lives to the service of money and God has his rightful way of dealing with those who succumb to the spirit of Laodicea . That's a pretty heavy quote .
Speaker 1They would ask him why don't you you work with all the young people over there , with these Indians ? Why don't you stay back and help the young people here in the United States ? Let's know what he said . He said you wonder why people choose fields away from the states when young people at home are drifting ? Because no one wants to take time to listen to their problems , he said . I'll tell you why I left . He said because those stateside young people have every opportunity to study , hear and understand the word of God in their own language and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever . I've had to make a cross of two logs and lie down on it just to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man . When there is that much ignorance over here and so much knowledge and opportunity over there , I have no question in my mind why God sent me here . He wrote those whimpering stateside young people will wake up on the day of judgment , condemned to worse fates than these demon-fearing Indians . Because having a Bible they were bored with it , while these never even heard of such a thing as writing . Having a Bible , they were bored with it , while these never even heard of such a thing as writing .
Speaker 1Ladies and gentlemen , we have not gathered here this morning to celebrate a routine , monotonous tradition . We are here because we are on a mission from Jesus Christ , our Savior . The church is not about settling for routine , monotonous motion of religious activity . Instead , the church is about sacrificing every facet of our lives to make the glory of Christ known in all nations . That is the heart of what the church is about Sacrificing every facet of our lives , every facet of the church , for one purpose to make the glory of Christ known in Birmingham and in all nations .
Speaker 1Now it's at this point that I know some of you are wondering well , how do you do that ? I've had some of you ask me , even email me , and say , okay , I'm in , I want to be a part of making disciples of all nations , I want to be a part of telling unreached people about the gospel . How do I do that ? I want to take just a side note , just for a couple of minutes this morning , and I want to give you five questions , practical questions that I think can help you as you start to wrestle with how you can really sacrifice every facet of your life to make God's glory known in all nations . I want to challenge you . Take a map of Birmingham , take a map of the world . Whether this is you on your own , you and your family sit down . I want to challenge you to do that . Ask five questions . Number one I want to challenge you to ask how will I pray ? How can I pray to impact nations for the glory of Christ ? The good news is today from our knees , we can be a part of what God is doing in Cambodia and Laos and Thailand and South Africa . We can be a part of what God is doing all over the world through our prayers . We can be a part of what God is doing in people's lives throughout Birmingham through our prayers .
Speaker 1I want to ask you , though , this morning in your life , your prayer life , is there really a global emphasis there ? Are you praying like you want to impact nations for the glory of Christ ? One tool that I use is a book called Operation World . It's an incredible book . You can go through the whole year , you pray through a guide every day and at the end of one year , you'll have prayed for every country in the world . It has prayer requests for every country in the world , status of Christianity in every country in the world , status of unreached people in every country in the world . Operation World . It's a great tool , but I want to ask you this morning how are you praying to impact nations for the glory of Christ ?
Speaker 1Second , how will I study ? How will I study ? And by that I mean , well , first of all , god's Word . The more we know God's Word , the more we are filled with God's Spirit and the more equipped we are to go and to share the gospel and to make the gospel known , whether it's in our workplace , our communities , our homes or on the other side of the world . So we need to be sharp when it comes to God's Word . We talked about that a couple of weeks ago . We need to be Not only studying God's word . But how can you study , how can you sharpen your mind to be most effective when it comes to your job , whether you're in banking or teaching , whether you stay at home or you have the opportunity to work in engineering , whatever it is ? How can you be so sharp in that area so that people will look at you and see the glory of God in you in the workplace ? How can you study , how can we fill our minds to be more effective at sharing the gospel with other people here and around the world ?
Speaker 1One of my personal goals at this point is to constantly be in the process of learning another language . Right now , I'm working on learning some Chinese , which my Spanish was not really good , as you heard a few months ago , but my Chinese is even worse and Chinese . I don't know if you know Chinese , but it's a pretty difficult language . They have not only different words , but they have different tones for each word , and so one word , for example , ma . There's four different tones . You can either say it with a rising tone , which is like ma , or a falling tone , which is ma goes kind of down . You could do a kind of rising and falling ma , and then one other tone I can't remember what it is and falling ma , and then one other tone I can't remember what it is . But they all mean different things . One of the ways you say the word ma means horse , and the other way you say it means mother-in-law . Yeah , yeah , yeah , you don't want to get those confused .
Speaker 1Okay , I want to ask you though . I want to ask you how are you studying to impact nations for the glory of Christ With your skills , with the gifts God has given you ? How will I pray ? How will I study ? Question number three how will I give ? How are you giving to impact nations for the glory of Christ ? The fact is , every single one of us in this room , no exceptions , every single one of us in this room is extremely wealthy compared to the rest of the world . We have a tendency in the church to say , well , they're wealthy , or that person's wealthy , that person's wealthy . We are all extremely wealthy . Three billion people in the world today live on less than two dollars a day , and we will be held accountable for the way we use our resources to impact nations for the glory of Christ . And let me say at this point , just as an aside I praise the Lord for you , because last week you gave money to send almost 7,000 Bibles to people around the world . I praise God for that and I pray that God will continue to give you grace to be generous with the way you give .
Fourth question how will I go ? How will I go ? How am I going to be involved in going in this mission , whether here in Birmingham , being involved in sharing the gospel with people in our everyday lives , or overseas ? How are we going to be involved in doing both ? This is not an either . Or People say , well , I just I like to do stuff here , I don't have to go over there . Well , it's a both . And we want to be a part of making disciples in all nations . How will I go ? And five , question number five how will I mobilize ? You see , what we're talking about when it comes to making disciples is more than just praying , it's more than just giving , it's more than just going and studying . It's mobilizing others to do the same . It's mobilizing others to pray Multiplication of our lives and the lives of those around us . Just five practical questions . I would encourage you you sit down in your life this week , sit down with your family this week and say how are we going to pray ? How are we going to study ? How are we going to give ? How are we going to go and how are we going to mobilize to be a part of this mission ? And here's the deal .
Speaker 1I'm convinced that if we would start asking those questions , it would completely change the climate in the church . It would completely change our conversations . All the things that we get bothered about or flustered by in the church , the things that we want to complain about , take on a whole new light . When you're saying how can we most effectively make disciples of all new nations ? You don't complain about the song that was sung and you don't complain about the way somebody was dressed when you realize there's over a billion people in the world who haven't heard the name of Jesus ? I'm convinced that many of the internal arguments and the things that upset us most in the church come about because we are not involved in this mission , because we get so caught up in a monotonous motion of religious activity , and that's not what we were intended to do . We are about sacrificing every facet of our lives to make the gospel of Christ known in all nations . Will you choose mission over maintenance in the church ? Question number two . Question number two Is our worship driven by a God-centered passion or a man-centered production ? Is our worship driven by God-centered passion or a man-centered production ? Is our worship driven by God-centered passion or a man-centered production ?
Speaker 1Now this really comes alive in Stephen's speech , from the beginning of Acts , chapter seven , all the way to the point where we just read Because of time we don't have time to read through that whole speech and really dive into it . I think it's one of the most difficult speeches , if not the most difficult speech in the book of Acts to really dissect . But into it , I think it's one of the most difficult speeches , if not the most difficult speech in the book of Acts to really dissect . But I think at the core the speech that Stephen gives . He's brought before the Sanhedrin , the ruling body of the day . He's brought before them and basically his speech is about worship and he talks about how the people there in Jerusalem had gotten a completely misconstrued idea of worship . They had begun to think that worship happens at our place , on our terms , for our glory . I want you to see that take place .
Speaker 1Look with me back in Acts , chapter 6 . Look at verse 12 . I want you to see the accusation they brought against Stephen . You'll see those first two parts come out we're worshiping in our place and on our terms . Listen to how they limited worship to a place and to their own traditions . Look at verse 12 , acts , chapter 6 . So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law . They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin . Now look at verse 13 . They produced false witnesses who testified . This fellow never stopped speaking against this holy place and against the law . There it is the place and the terms , for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us . They were holding on so tightly to the fact that we worship at the temple in Jerusalem and we do things the way we've always done them , according to our traditions and the customs Moses has passed on to us . That's the way we do worship at our place , on our terms . And then they said we do it for our glory . Now they may not have said this outright , but I want you to look at the end of Stephen's speech . Look at chapter 7 , verse 48 . Look at this with me how he closes out . What really kind of shuts the door on Stephen Speaking to these folks .
Speaker 1He says in verse 48 , however , the Most High , he does not live in houses made by men . As the prophet says , heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool . What kind of house will you build for me , says the Lord , or where will my resting place be ? Has not my hand made all these things ? You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears . You are just like your fathers . You always resist the Holy Spirit . Was there ever a prophet ? Your fathers did not persecute , they even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one , and now you have betrayed and murdered him , you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it .
Speaker 1He said you put christ to death , god in the flesh , and yet you cling so tightly to these houses that you have made a temple that you have made with your own hands . That's worshiping not for the glory of god in christ , but for your own glory . There's an example of it back in verse 41 . Look at this . It really comes alive . See how the people were worshiping for their glory . It says that was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf . He's using this as an example , but look at this . He said they brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made . Don't miss the picture . They had created idols , put them up , bowed down and worshiped them . They had created gods to be who they wanted them to be . They began to worship them and they celebrated what their hands had made .
Speaker 1Worship happens on at our place , on our terms , for our glory . Now I want you to think about how the same dangerous temptation is there for you and me today . We live in a church culture where , over the last 10 or 15 years , there has been a revival of worship and all kinds of new worship music , some contemporary , some a little more traditional , all kinds of new ways to worship and we have bands and people who lead us in what is very exciting celebrative worship , and that is a good thing . But I want you to think about how it can easily become a dangerous temptation for us to limit worship to a certain place . Do you think we're guilty of that , so programmed to come in here and sing our songs and do the drill that we forget that worship is what happens when we walk out of these doors in our workplaces ? Do we limit worship to a certain place when we spend literally millions upon millions , upon millions of dollars in the United States building houses for us to worship in ? What about our terms , our traditions ? I'm convinced that one of the most divisive areas in the church of Christ today in America is worship style what songs you prefer or what songs I prefer . And I'm not saying there's not important questions in there , but I am saying it's very , very possible for us to get so caught up in our discussions about traditions and styles that we lose sight of what it means to have a passion for the Christ that we worship . But here's , here's where it really hits home , and this this hit me like a ton of bricks as I was studying this week . Worship happens at our place , on our terms . Listen to this for our glory , this picture of a people who are making idols and bowing down and worshiping them . Think about this . Hear me out here .
Do you think it's possible that we in this room are tempted to create God to be who we want him to be ? A God who is not demanding to create God to be who we want him to be ? A God who is not demanding wholehearted devotion from every single one of us ? A God who's okay with the fact that we watch more TV or spend more time on the internet than we ever think about his word ? God who's okay with that ? A God who would not call us to do anything uncomfortable , call us to really make huge sacrifices ? A God who is comfortable with our materialism , comfortable with our infatuation with things we create ? God , maybe , a God who's a lot like us . Now think about it with me . We create God to be a lot like us . We come in here to this room and we sing our praises and we lift our hands to him . This God that we have created , that is a lot like us , ladies and gentlemen . If that's the case , then when we come in here and sing and lift our hands , we are not worshiping God , we are worshiping ourselves . I want you to see a contrast in this passage of scripture . That's the picture we've got in this whole speech from Stephen .
Speaker 1But then you get to the part we just read and it says Stephen , full of the Holy Spirit , looked up and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God . This is where true worship begins . True worship sees the glory of God in Christ , glimpses his glory , sees the glory of God in Christ . Stephen is captivated by it . He sees Jesus standing and you know that everywhere else in Scripture when we see Jesus at the right hand of God , he is sitting down . Why is he standing ? Now , all kinds of scholars have debated why Jesus would be standing in this situation . I think it's twofold . To be honest with you , I think there's two reasons . Number one I do believe he is standing on behalf of Stephen , as an advocate for Stephen , as an encouragement to Stephen in this deep time of need . What an incredible encouragement to look up and see Jesus standing on your behalf . But I think it's twofold . Not only is he standing on Stephen's behalf , but I believe he is standing as judge , standing as judge on the people who have engrossed themselves in worship but completely missed out on the person of Christ . And so Jesus is standing there . So Stephen sees that , but then don't miss the importance of what happens next .
Speaker 1This was a scene that Stephen saw that if he was pretty smart he probably would have kept to himself . Don't you think these guys are ready to take his life ? It almost seems like Stephen's egging them on a little bit here . He could have been content with seeing the glory of God , jesus standing at the right hand of God . But what does he have to do ? Stephen says look , guys , I see heaven open and the Son of man is standing at the right hand of God . Well , that was it for Stephen At this . They rushed out and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him . I want you to see that true worship does not stop with seeing the glory of God in Christ . True worship continues to proclaim the goodness of God and Christ . They go together . You see , stephen's heart was so enthralled with the glory of Christ that he couldn't help but to speak about it .
Speaker 1I want you to look at something really interesting too , when he says in verse 56 , look , he said I see heaven open . And it doesn't say in your Bible and I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God , even though that's what verse 55 had just said . He doesn't say I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God . Even though that's what verse 55 had just said . It doesn't say I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God . What does he say I see the who Son of man . Now think about this with me . You could miss this and this is a huge part of this passage . You remember , son of man is the title that Jesus would use to refer to himself throughout the Gospels . But nobody else ever called Jesus the Son of man . Only he called himself the Son of man . And so when Stephen's about to die , he says look , I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God . Why did he use that term ? Do you remember ? We were there three weeks ago . Turn with me back . You've got to see it .
Speaker 1Daniel , chapter 7 . Daniel , chapter 7 . Look with me at verse 13 and 14 . Daniel , chapter 7 , verse 13 and 14 . We saw this at the Great Commission . We were looking at the Great Commission . The authority of Christ .
Speaker 1Look at what Daniel , chapter 7 , verse 13 and 14 says . This is exactly what Stephen is alluding to . He says in Daniel , chapter 7 , verse 13 and 14 . In my vision at night I looked and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven . That's what Stephen saw . He saw the one who is sovereign over all nations and all peoples and all tribes and all languages , and he said look , I see that Jesus is not only the guy you crucified , the guy you assassinated , he is the one who is sovereign over everything . And he couldn't help but to proclaim what Christ had done . It was the overflow of his heart . He knew that worship could not start with seeing the glory of God in Christ . He had to proclaim it . It's the same thing , john Bunyan .
Speaker 1Many of you are familiar with Pilgrim's Progress . Did you know that John Bunyan spent 12 years in prison ? At any point John Bunyan could have gotten out if he had only promised not to proclaim Christ . Only promised not to proclaim Christ Twelve years . His wife and his children needed him . One of his daughters was blind , and yet he stayed in prison for twelve years . Some of the times they would come and visit him and he said it was like pulling the flesh from my bones . I wanted to be with my family , but proclaiming Christ was more important to him .
And some of you are thinking okay , if worship means that I proclaim Christ and I tell others about Christ , well , I need to get some training in order to be able to do that . I don't know how to do that , and I do think training and sharing the gospel is important , and that's one of the things that we've been talking about is how to do that . And I do think training and sharing the gospel is important , and that's one of the things that we've been talking about is how to put that before us so we can be more effective at sharing the gospel . But I want to remind you that training is not necessary in order to share the gospel with people around you . How many of you , how many of you , are parents or grandparents Anybody , okay , got a lot , those of you who raised your hand . How many of you have received training on how to talk about your children or grandchildren ? How many of you have been through the course grandparents talking , bragging about grandchildren ? How many of you have been through the course ? Because I know you do it , I hear you do it .
Speaker 1Well , we don't have to go through training . Why not ? Because they're on our heart , they're always on our mind . Why ? And what comes out of your heart , what's on your heart , always comes out of your mouth . What happens when the church of God savors the glory of God in Christ and , as a result , they can't help but to shout the glory of God in Christ . Is our worship about a God-centered passion or a man-centered production ? Question number three . Question number three . Question number three Will we this is where it gets really heavy will we embrace suffering as the primary means for the spread of the gospel on earth ? Will we embrace suffering as the primary means for the spread of the gospel on earth ? Now , I want you to see how Luke develops this , because that's a pretty bold question right there the primary means for the spread of the gospel on earth through suffering . Will we embrace that ? I want you to see the first thing you got under that question . God ordains for our lives to mirror the sufferings of Christ . God ordains for our lives to mirror the sufferings of Christ . Now we see that all throughout the gospels . What does Jesus say ? If anyone's going to come after me , he'll ask to deny himself , take up his cross and follow me that we imitate Christ . But I want you to see when you come to Stephen's death .
Speaker 1It's very interesting , if we had time we'd go back and forth between Luke and Acts , but I just want you to think about the similarities . It says they all rushed out , and verse 58 says dragged him out of the city . That's exactly what Hebrews 13 , 13 says . It says Jesus was dragged out of the city , taken outside the camp to be crucified there . It says , while they were stoning him , stephen prayed Lord , jesus , receive my spirit . Does that sound familiar ? Father , into your hands , I commit my spirit . What does he say after that ? He fell on his knees and cried out Lord , do not hold this sin against them . Father , forgive them , for they do not know what they do .
Speaker 1This passage , luke , is intentional to show us and you can go back and compare it to Luke 23 and 24 . There are so many parallels between the death of Stephen and the death of Christ , because Luke is showing us the Holy Spirit , is showing us that our lives are intended to mirror the sufferings of Christ . Now , okay , we'll buy into that , dave , but the primary means . The primary means for us to share the gospel on earth is going to be through our suffering . I want you to think about it with me . Follow along here .
Speaker 1God's strategy for redeeming the world to himself , what is it ? It was a suffering servant . Ask the question how do you think God has shown his love most clearly to the world ? If you had to sum up how God has shown his love most clearly to the world , how has he done it ? He has done it through a suffering servant , through the sacrifice of his only son . That was . That is how he chose his strategy for showing his love and his grace to the world . What I want to say to you this morning is that I do not believe God's strategy has changed . God's strategy has not changed . He is showing his love and his grace and his mercy to the world through suffering servants .
Speaker 1I want to show you two passages of Scripture that help supplement this , and you've got to see these . Turn me over to your right . Go to Philippians , chapter 1 . Go to Philippians , chapter 1 . I want you to see two verses from Paul . We'll just look at these real quick . Two verses from Paul that illustrate this God's strategy in the world today for showing his love and his grace and his mercy is through suffering servants . Look at Philippians , chapter 1 . Look at verse 27 .
Speaker 1We're going to focus on verse 29 , but I want you to get the context he says whatever happens , conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ . Then , whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence , I will know that you stand firm in one spirit , contending as one man for the faith of the gospel , without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you . This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed but that you will be saved , and that by God . Now listen to verse 29 . For it has been granted to you , on behalf of Christ , not only to believe on him , but also to suffer for him , since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that I still have . Did you hear that Paul said it's been granted to you ? It's a gift not only to believe in Christ , but to suffer . Now that's weird . Come , receive Christ and get a gift , free gift Suffering . That doesn't pull a lot of people in the church .
Speaker 1Look over the next book , colossians , chapter 1 . Colossians , chapter 1 . And listen to this Colossians , chapter 1 , verse 24 . Look at what the Bible says there . Paul says Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you and I fill up in my flesh . Listen to this . Look at what the Bible says there . Paul says Did you catch what verse 24 said ? He said I fill up , we fill up what is lacking in regards to Christ's afflictions .
Speaker 1Now , what is Paul saying there ? Is he saying that what Christ did on the cross was not enough ? We need to finish that work ? No , he's talking about the mission of Christ . When he says Christ is in you , the hope of glory , he is saying that if we are going to display the love and the grace and the mercy of Christ in the world today , it will not primarily be through your prosperity , but through your suffering and through the afflictions that you share with Christ , but through your suffering and through the afflictions that you share with Christ .
Speaker 1Think about it . How are we going to show Christ to the world if everything always goes right for us , if everything's always good for us ? How are we going to show the afflictions of a suffering servant ? The world is not impressed . The world is not impressed with people who have everything and just turn it into gratitude on Sundays . The world is not impressed with people who have everything that they have and they just turn it into gratitude on Sundays . The world is not impressed with people who have everything that they have and they just turn into gratitude on Sundays .
Speaker 1But when life hands us trials and difficulties and sufferings , and in the middle of them we said Christ is my hope of glory , that speaks volumes to our world of glory , that speaks volumes to our world . Now I'm not saying in any way this is an easy thing . We've heard a story this morning about ella grace and a horrible time this family's been going through and I cannot imagine the pain and the trial that they're going through . And it's represented around this room with things that you may have gone through . But if , when things that are difficult happen to us , we shake our fist at God and we indict God , then we miss the whole point of our sufferings . Our sufferings are intended to show the grace and the glory of Christ . God allows us to experience them Since the day of Job till now . He allows us to experience them so that this mission can be accomplished . That's exactly what Stephen is experiencing here and we've got to get a hold on to this . God , help us to get a hold on to this .
Speaker 1Many times when I talk about going overseas , people automatically begin to think well , isn't it dangerous ? Isn't it dangerous to go overseas ? I have a friend of mine who works with an independent mission sending organization and after September 11th he told me he said , after September 11th , the number of people willing to go overseas drastically dropped Parents not wanting their children , students , to go , parents not willing to go themselves it's too much risk . Grandparents , senior adults we're not going to go , it's too much risk , it's too difficult . And I hear that and I couldn't help but to think . You know , on September 12th God did not come down to the church in America and say okay , let's put a stop on it . Let's put a hold on it . We're going to make my glory known in all nations . About 10 years from now , when it's safe for Americans to fly and the war on terror is over and you're more liked around the world , then we'll go back to making the salvation of Christ known in all nations . That is not what he said .
These words were written by a guy who said I consider my life worth nothing to me . If only I may finish the grace and complete the task . The Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace . Isn't it dangerous ? Yes , what happens when a church embraces that ? Now I know that at this point you're thinking you've gone off the edge , dave . That is far too radical . I believe it's biblical . Please hear me . I am not in any way saying this morning that we need to pursue persecution , seek out suffering . That's not in any way saying this morning that we need to pursue persecution , seek out suffering . That's not at all what I'm saying .
Speaker 1But I remember a conversation I had with one girl in Asia . She had an American name . She called herself Jemima Isn't that a great name ? I don't know who told her to name herself Jemima Outward pancakes , but it's Jemima . Jemima's sitting there and she looks at me and she says David , my family and my friends have experienced much persecution in my country . And she said but we've done it for a reason . And she said that's why I'm going to India with my life , because I want to make the gospel known .
Speaker 1And she looked around at the others who were at this training and she said many of us may die , but we are willing to be tortured and even to die if we can complete the mission of Christ . There was nobody there asking isn't it dangerous for us to do this ? Meanwhile , a world away , we sit here and we say the safest place to be is at the center of God's will . Let me tell you what words did not come out of Stephen's mouth when stones were being hurled at him the safest place to be is at the center of God's will . Ladies and gentlemen , the center of God's will may just be the most dangerous place to be . Will we embrace suffering as the primary means for the spread of the gospel on earth ? I've got to share this with you .
Speaker 1This is a letter from Adoniram Judson , first missionary from America . He was wanting to marry Anne and he asked her father for permission , wrote him a letter . I want you to hear this Now . Imagine , dad's in this room , you've got a daughter . This is the letter you get from the proposed husband . The letter said I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring to see her no more in this world .
Speaker 1Whether you can consent to her departure and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life . Whether you can consent to her departure and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life , whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean , to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India , to every kind of want and distress , to degradation , insult , persecution and perhaps a violent death . Can you consent to all this for the sake of him , who left his heavenly home and died for her , and for you ? For the sake of perishing immortal souls , for the sake of him who left his heavenly home and died for her , and for you ? For the sake of perishing immortal souls , for the sake of the glory of God , can you consent to all of this and hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory , with the crown of righteousness , brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall resound to her savior from heathens , saved through her words from eternal woe and despair ? How would you respond to that ? Her father let her decide and said yes . Will we embrace suffering as the primary means for the spread of the gospel on earth ? One more question then we're finished . We're going to fly through this one . Is this mission unstoppable enough to die for ? Is this mission unstoppable enough to die for ? I just want you to see this Stephen dies . It's a horrible day . Luke tells us he fell asleep . It's an interesting way to describe somebody who just was stoned to death . Death is always peaceful for the believer who is on mission with Christ , no matter how violent it may .
Speaker 1Look to the rest of the world and look at what happens next . It says on that day a great persecution broke out against the church . And where did they go ? And I remember we started this whole thing . Acts , chapter 1 , verse 8 . They're stuck in Jerusalem . They're not going to Judea , samaria , to the ends of the earth . Where did they go ? It says they were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria . The great commission was being accomplished not in spite of the sufferings of Stephen and the church , but precisely by the means of suffering in Stephen's life and the church . Don't miss this . Satan's strategy to stop the church actually serves to advance the church Days that follow . They go throughout . Acts , chapter 11 , verse 19, . Look at it . It says the believers who gathered together in Antioch that were the sending base we looked at last week to go to all nations . Those believers were there because they had been scattered with the persecution associated with Stephen . Acts , chapter 11 , verse 19 . The gospel was being advanced , not through Satan's strategy to stop the church . But as they experienced that suffering , that's how the gospel advanced .
Speaker 1What I want to tell you this morning is that nothing , absolutely nothing , will stop this mission . Death will not stop it . Suffering , persecution , intense times of trial , they will not stop this mission . They will only serve to advance this mission in the hearts of God's people . So the question I ask you this morning is this mission unstoppable enough to die for ? And at that point I want to share with you a quote . Before you start thinking , well , how does God want me to die for this mission ?
Let me share with you a quote from Elizabeth Elliot , wife of Jim Elliot , who was on the video that you saw . I think this quote will be up here on the screen . Listen to this . She says Jim's aim was to know God . His course obedience , the only course that could lead to the fulfillment of his aim . His end was what some would call an extraordinary death , although in facing death , he had quietly pointed out that many have died because of obedience to God . He and the other men with whom he died were hailed as heroes , martyrs . I do not approve , nor would they have approved , is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for him after all , so great Is not .
Speaker 1The second , the logical conclusion of the first . Furthermore , to live for God is to die daily . As the apostle Paul put it , it is to lose everything that we may gain Christ . It is in us laying down our lives that we can find . So in that spirit , I ask you four questions , give you four challenges . Number one I wanna to challenge you this morning to get involved personally and practically in this mission . Sit down with your family this week , sit down by yourself with a map of the world and say how are we going to impact nations in Birmingham for the glory of Christ ?
Speaker 1Number two repent of self-centered worship that never leads to God-centered proclamation . Repent of worship that is done in our place , on our terms , for our glory . Number three embrace suffering as a means , as a means for accomplishing the great commission in your life . God help me . I do not say that lightly this morning . I know that across this room , many of you are experiencing some very difficult times , but I want to encourage you . I want to encourage you this morning to embrace suffering as a means to show the hope of the glory of Christ in your life during this time . And number four to die daily to yourself and to this world in order that you might gain Christ and make Him known . Will you bow your heads with me ? We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt . For more resources from David Platt , we invite you to visit radicalnet .