SPEAKER_00: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning.
SPEAKER_01: My name is Jeremy.
SPEAKER_01: I'm the student and family pastor here at Faith.
SPEAKER_01: If you're a guest, welcome.
SPEAKER_01: So good to have you here.
SPEAKER_01: I have two things I just want to plug real quick.
SPEAKER_01: First off, last week, if you came, how many of you came to the waffle breakfast that our students hosted?
SPEAKER_01: It was awesome.
SPEAKER_01: They did an awesome bang-up job.
SPEAKER_01: They were on the spot serving waffles, they were busting tables, they were cleaning up, they were doing a lot of stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And the purpose of last week's Easter breakfast was to raise money to send Bibles to Christians in restricted nations where access to the Bible is limited if there's access to a Bible at all.
SPEAKER_01: And so we raised, uh you all donated over$1,700 towards that cause.
SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you, Chris Ann.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Praise God.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Also, I want to plug a resource for you parents.
SPEAKER_01: Parents, if you have kids who have the the wiggles, which that's just about every child in existence, right?
SPEAKER_01: Um, and you're you're trying to get them accustomed to sitting in service and you're not quite sure how to go about doing that.
SPEAKER_01: We have resources for you.
SPEAKER_01: We have this resource, which I've used with my own kids and I've used in other churches and congregations.
SPEAKER_01: I want to commend to you.
SPEAKER_01: We have copies of this uh at the uh VBS signup table.
SPEAKER_01: And so um, this is just a children's sermon notebook, and there's there's uh opportunities for kids to write things out if that's the level that they're at, or uh there's also space for them to draw pictures if your kids aren't quite to the the level of writing things and they they they can draw things, um, and there's ways for you to help engage with your kids in that.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'd really encourage you to pick these up if you're interested.
SPEAKER_01: Again, it's at the VBS signup table.
SPEAKER_01: There's a big coconut tree, so it's it's pretty hard to miss.
SPEAKER_01: Um, so just want to commend that to you.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's get to our Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 7 is where we're going to be.
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 7, that's uh in verse uh 51, is where we're gonna start.
SPEAKER_01: If if you don't have a Bible or you're not familiar with Christianity or or the church, it's uh there should be a black hardback Bible in the seat in front of you, and it's going to be on page 916.
SPEAKER_01: Uh the big numbers are the chapters, and then the little numbers are the verses.
SPEAKER_01: And what we're going to do here this morning is we are going to read the text.
SPEAKER_01: We are going to pray through it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to spend some time unpacking it together.
SPEAKER_01: The thing I love about Second Service, and I know you love this too, there's no time constraints, right?
SPEAKER_01: Mm-mm.
SPEAKER_01: No, not for lunch even.
SPEAKER_01: Man lives on bread, does not live on bread alone by every word of God, right?
SPEAKER_01: So uh no time constraints.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just, I may or may not be serious.
SPEAKER_01: I'll leave you in mystery.
SPEAKER_01: But we're gonna read it, we're gonna uh pray it, we're gonna unpack it, and then uh by God's grace, hopefully, as we leave here today, we will live out these uh time, timeless truths.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 51.
SPEAKER_01: You stiff necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: As your fathers did, so do you.
SPEAKER_01: Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
SPEAKER_01: And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.
SPEAKER_01: Now when they heard these things, they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.
SPEAKER_01: But he, that is Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
SPEAKER_01: But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
SPEAKER_01: Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.
SPEAKER_01: And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
SPEAKER_01: And f and as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
SPEAKER_01: And when he had said this, he fell asleep, and Saul approved of his execution.
SPEAKER_01: And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.
SPEAKER_01: But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: Father God, apart from your help, we cannot understand the scriptures as you have communicated them to us.
SPEAKER_01: We need your divine assistance.
SPEAKER_01: We need you to open up our minds that we might know what Scripture says.
SPEAKER_01: But more than that, we need you to open our hearts that we would receive it with conviction.
SPEAKER_01: That this would not be mere head knowledge, but we would act upon it.
SPEAKER_01: My prayer this morning, as we look at what this word says, what the text says, I pray we would not be stiff-necked, stubborn people.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that we would not resist and reject the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that we would not uh hold back speaking truth in difficult circumstances.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I I pray that we would we would gaze upon Christ, that when we open our mouths to proclaim the His truth, to proclaim the gospel, and when the world opposes us in that proclamation, that we would look to Christ, who is standing at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning over all creation, receiving a kingdom unto himself.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that you would be with us here in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: We pray this in Christ's name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Well, as Webb alluded to earlier in his in the prayer time, um, just a week ago, well, before that, we we just finished a week, uh uh what we called Secret Church Week.
SPEAKER_01: Um this past week, we've been focusing on the persecuted church at large.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you had children who came on Wednesday nights, uh our wana leaders did a great job communicating the fact that persecution is a reality for kids across the globe.
SPEAKER_01: Uh they did a wonderful, tactful way of communicating to that.
SPEAKER_01: And the youth, we talked about living a godly life means persecution in the context of 2 Timothy 3.16, the passage that talks about all scripture being God-breathed.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says some stuff about persecution in the context of that passage.
SPEAKER_01: On Friday, we we had Secret Church, which was a marathon of Bible learning.
SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't just designed that way just by chance.
SPEAKER_01: It's actually designed after the way that a lot of Christians have to learn around the world who live in restricted nations.
SPEAKER_01: When they get together, it's no frills, no nonsense.
SPEAKER_01: You're getting together to learn the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: And what time you have is spent in the Word.
SPEAKER_01: And so long periods of time spent uh learning Scripture and praying.
SPEAKER_01: And so we had that, and we also had an emphasis on the persecuted church at large, and specifically the Christians in East Somalia.
SPEAKER_01: And today we're kind of wrapping that up, but I hope it doesn't fade from our memory and fade from our our thoughts.
SPEAKER_01: Um, the idea of persecution in Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: Um this is somewhat foreign to us.
SPEAKER_01: Not somewhat, it is foreign to us, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like we live in an exceptional time where we have tremendous freedom for our faith.
SPEAKER_01: Just a week ago, terrorists in Sri Lanka detonated bombs in three churches, along with several hotels in separate cities, killing nearly nearly 300 people and injuring over 450 more.
SPEAKER_01: Their targets were not random.
SPEAKER_01: They weren't attacking generic Easter worshipers.
SPEAKER_01: They were specifically going after branded Christians, Christ followers.
SPEAKER_01: That was explicit by those who took responsibility for those attacks.
SPEAKER_01: That story made headlines, but it's actually commonplace in most parts of the world.
SPEAKER_01: It's a picture into something that happens every single day in countries across the globe.
SPEAKER_01: According to Open Doors USA, which is a ministry committed to serving the persecuted church worldwide, 245 million Christians experience high levels of persecution in countries on their world watch list.
SPEAKER_01: Those are the a collection of the 50 of the worst countries in the world that it is to be a Christian.
SPEAKER_01: Worldwide, one in nine Christians experiences high levels of persecution.
SPEAKER_01: Every single month, on average, 345 Christians are killed for their faith.
SPEAKER_01: 105 churches and Christian buildings are burned or attacked.
SPEAKER_01: 219 Christians are detained, sentenced, and imprisoned without even the faintest hope of a fair trial.
SPEAKER_01: There's much more that can be said about the global persecution of Christians, such as the rise of violence towards women in Christian persecution, or how Christian persecution has increased over 14% in just one year in these countries.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have time to get into those heart-wrenching details.
SPEAKER_01: But my point in presenting this as my introduction this morning is that you and I need to grapple with two theological realities before we dive into the text this morning because it's what gives us greater context for what's happening here.
SPEAKER_01: The first theological reality that we need to grapple with is that every Christian is involved in the Great Commission, the proclamation of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: One week ago we we celebrated Easter Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: That is, it's not just about bunnies and flowers and new life.
SPEAKER_01: Those things are fun around that time, but Easter is celebrated because there was a man named Jesus who died on a cross, the sky went black, a Roman guard proclaimed him as the Son of God, and they buried him in a tomb.
SPEAKER_01: They sealed it and put Roman guards there, and he ain't there no more.
SPEAKER_01: He's gone.
SPEAKER_01: And he didn't just disappear.
SPEAKER_01: He was witnessed by over 500 people at one time.
SPEAKER_01: And this Jesus brings his disciples to the top of a mountain, Matthew 28, verse 18.
SPEAKER_01: He comes to them and he says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_01: But my research in that word all means all.
SPEAKER_01: In case you didn't know, write that down and press your friends.
SPEAKER_01: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
SPEAKER_01: Now think about what he's about to tell his disciples.
SPEAKER_01: He's going to give them a big task to accomplish.
SPEAKER_01: But the one giving the task has all authority in heaven and on earth.
SPEAKER_01: No angle, no, no corner of creation is exempt from Christ's authority.
SPEAKER_01: And he gives them this mission.
SPEAKER_01: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
SPEAKER_01: And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
SPEAKER_01: It is a huge task.
SPEAKER_01: It is a monstrous task.
SPEAKER_01: We are called, every single one of us, to go and make disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Making disciples inherently involves communicating the good news and inviting people to repent and trust in Christ in response.
SPEAKER_01: You might not be called overseas into the mission fields.
SPEAKER_01: But I do know this, you parents, you've been called to be a missionary in your home.
SPEAKER_01: Those sweet, beautiful children that you're holding?
SPEAKER_01: Like we got some cute babies in this church, right?
SPEAKER_01: Can you get an amen?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Parents at least?
SPEAKER_01: We got some cute kids.
SPEAKER_01: Every single sweet coup and ah you're holding a depraved, wretched sinner.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't believe me, spend some time with the three-year-olds.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Like when my when my three-year-old does things to my children, like, like push or hit, like, I don't do that in my house.
SPEAKER_01: When I get angry, I don't push or hit anybody.
SPEAKER_01: But that's just something that he knows automatically to do.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because he is a sinner.
SPEAKER_01: He needs the gospel of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Parents, you are called to preach the gospel and make disciples in your homes.
SPEAKER_01: We have been called to preach the gospel and make disciples in our neighborhoods, in our city, in your workplaces, in your university.
SPEAKER_01: Wherever you are called to go, you have been called to make disciples by telling others about Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Paul picks up on this in Romans 10, verse 13 through 15.
SPEAKER_01: He says in verse 13, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
SPEAKER_01: In the words of Vodibacum, Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Like we love that.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: And if you are here this morning and you don't know Jesus, know this, and I know your conscience bears witness against you.
SPEAKER_01: You are a sinful person and feel condemned before God's eyes right now.
SPEAKER_01: You and I know this.
SPEAKER_01: There's something wrong with your relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01: That's why you're in church here this morning.
SPEAKER_01: But all who call upon the name of the Lord, not to live a good religious life, but call on Jesus Christ to save you from your sins.
SPEAKER_01: It's exactly what he did on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: Every lash he took upon his back, every nail pounded into his arms was the wrath of God being poured out on him so that you might be forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: Every ounce of hell that you deserve was placed upon Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And now forgiveness is available to you for every single person who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved.
SPEAKER_01: We love that truth, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we want that.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the catch.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14, you gotta keep reading sometimes.
SPEAKER_01: How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
SPEAKER_01: How are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard?
SPEAKER_01: How are they to hear?
SPEAKER_01: How are they to hear of Christ?
SPEAKER_01: How are they to hear this good news without someone preaching, actively communicating the gospel, not simply living a good life?
SPEAKER_01: John MacArthur says, preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.
SPEAKER_01: He said, I don't know who said it, but I hate it.
SPEAKER_01: You have to explicitly communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: How are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written?
SPEAKER_01: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
SPEAKER_01: I've belabored this point, and I hope you know that why the reason Christians are experiencing heavy amounts of persecution in countries like East Somalia or North Korea or even China, places around the world, is because these brothers and sisters cannot stop talking about Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: They take this commandment, this imperative, and they go and do it regardless of the outcome, regardless of the consequences.
SPEAKER_01: They are willing to risk it all simply to tell their neighbor about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I was so encouraged and convicted as I listened to the testimony of so many Somali brothers and sisters, Christian leaders, pastors talk about what it costs to tell others about Jesus Christ where they live.
SPEAKER_01: There's a woman in particular who described that she has to live a transient life because when she tells people about Jesus, it's about time to pick up and move because they're going to start coming after her as soon as they pinpoint who she is.
SPEAKER_01: So she goes from place to place to place, and as she meets people, invites people in, she tells them about Jesus, and then she has to pick up and keep moving.
SPEAKER_01: But it's all worth it for the sake of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That's theological reality number one.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, my goodness, we're not even halfway through.
SPEAKER_01: What's number two?
SPEAKER_01: Theological reality number two: every Christian is promised persecution.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a difference between varsity and JV.
SPEAKER_01: Varsity Christians don't get persecuted, and JV Christians don't.
SPEAKER_01: Every Christian is promised persecution.
SPEAKER_01: Persecution defined by open doors USA is this Christian persecution is any hostility experienced from the world as a result of one's identification as a Christian.
SPEAKER_01: So it could be it could be verbal harassment, it could be being bullied here in America, it could be bullied online, it could be uh threatening of your job.
SPEAKER_01: In other countries, it's much more severe, but any hostility experienced on behalf of Christ can be defined as Christian persecution.
SPEAKER_01: I use the word simply, it's opposition from the world.
SPEAKER_01: It's worldly opposition to your faith.
SPEAKER_01: And this isn't just a victim mentality, it's not a poor us.
SPEAKER_01: This is something promised by Jesus Christ Himself.
SPEAKER_01: John 15, 18, talking to his disciples, he says, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
SPEAKER_01: The world hates Jesus before they hate you.
SPEAKER_01: If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.
SPEAKER_01: But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
SPEAKER_01: So here's what he's getting at.
SPEAKER_01: Christians, disciples, you're different.
SPEAKER_01: You're not of the world.
SPEAKER_01: If you were of the world, everybody would love you.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody would accept you.
SPEAKER_01: They would all approve of your views and philosophies and lifestyles.
SPEAKER_01: They would be open-armed, accept you, and embrace you.
SPEAKER_01: But Christian, Christian, listen.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus promises that the world at some point is going to decide that they don't like you very much.
SPEAKER_01: That they hate you.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 20 Remember the word I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.
SPEAKER_01: If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
SPEAKER_01: They came after Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He was betrayed by his best friend.
SPEAKER_01: He was brought before a trial which was nothing more than a sham.
SPEAKER_01: They paid off false witnesses to falsely accuse Jesus of things he had never done or said.
SPEAKER_01: He was presented for a mob after having been beaten by cowards, mocked, disrobed, and hung on a cross for all to see.
SPEAKER_01: And if they did that to my Jesus, what on earth makes me the exception if I follow him?
SPEAKER_01: Why should I be better than him and not have to endure that in my life?
SPEAKER_01: A servant is not greater than his master.
SPEAKER_01: If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
SPEAKER_01: 2 Timothy 3 12.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says it very succinctly.
SPEAKER_01: Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
SPEAKER_01: Now, hear me when I say this.
SPEAKER_01: We don't go seeking persecution.
SPEAKER_01: We don't view everything through the lens of everybody who hates us.
SPEAKER_01: You and I are not victims.
SPEAKER_01: But we need to acknowledge the reality that if you live for Christ long enough, you will experience opposition to your faith.
SPEAKER_01: It's going to happen.
SPEAKER_01: And with that, I'm going to start my sermon now.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 51.
SPEAKER_01: We're kind of airdropping in on the middle of a sermon.
SPEAKER_01: It's actually a tail end of Stephen's sermon.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen is a man that we know very little about, but that what we do know is pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_01: And we're going to get into that a little bit uh later.
SPEAKER_01: But he he is just he's he's he's basically brought before the religious rulers, the same people who had Christ uh uh crucified.
SPEAKER_01: He's brought before them and he gives a defense of himself, but not really a defense of himself, a defense of God.
SPEAKER_01: He He stands before them and says, God has continually wanted to make his dwelling among you, but you types of people, you religious leaders, are constantly opposing both God and the ones he sends.
SPEAKER_01: And so here's how he wraps up his sermon.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 51.
SPEAKER_01: Here's his altar call.
SPEAKER_01: You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: As your fathers did, so do you.
SPEAKER_01: Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
SPEAKER_01: And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.
SPEAKER_01: You who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't have said that, Stephen.
SPEAKER_01: Like, like this is your moment.
SPEAKER_01: He spent time talking about how God desires to dwell with his people.
SPEAKER_01: Like God wants to be with his people and they keep rejecting him.
SPEAKER_01: Here's his moment.
SPEAKER_01: Stop rejecting the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Submit to him now.
SPEAKER_01: Receive Christ.
SPEAKER_01: You're responsible for you have blood on your hands for his death, but he is willing to forgive you.
SPEAKER_01: Like this is good material.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a I'm a like I love preaching.
SPEAKER_01: This is good invitation material, right?
SPEAKER_01: How does Stephen conclude?
SPEAKER_01: You're stiff-necked, you're stubborn, you're just like your ancestors, rejecting God and the Holy Spirit over and over and over.
SPEAKER_01: Is anyone else here thinking, Stephen, you are not going to win these people over with this kind of language?
SPEAKER_01: This is not how to win friends and influence people.
SPEAKER_01: Well why?
SPEAKER_01: We live in a culture where we don't want people to hear harsh things because we think it'll turn them off to Christianity, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like we don't want to say mean things.
SPEAKER_01: We'll kind of allude to things like hell and judgment and sin in hopes that we won't offend people too much.
SPEAKER_01: But here's what we know of Stephen and why he's saying this.
SPEAKER_01: In Acts 6.3, the apostles tell the church to appoint deacons to help care for physical needs within the church.
SPEAKER_01: And one of the qualifications is that they must be men of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: So that's a given, right?
SPEAKER_01: That's a qualification.
SPEAKER_01: Can't be a deacon unless you have that.
SPEAKER_01: The church selects men that were presumably full of the spirit, but in 6.5, when we are given the roster of men chosen, out of the seven, Stephen's the only one who is described as being full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: So not only is that a requirement, but Luke, the author of Acts, wants us to take special note that Stephen is particularly a man filled with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: He loves Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He is submitted to his rule and reign, and now the Spirit is out of control in his life.
SPEAKER_01: A few verses later, in Acts 6.8, we see Stephen again.
SPEAKER_01: He's full of grace and power.
SPEAKER_01: Where does that grace and power come from?
SPEAKER_01: From the spirit that's within him.
SPEAKER_01: He's doing these great wonders and signs among the people.
SPEAKER_01: It gets up the nose of certain religious people.
SPEAKER_01: They tried to argue with Stephen, but verse 10 says that they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.
SPEAKER_01: They cause a mob to seize him and falsely accuse him of blasphemy in obvious hopes that he'd be threatened, beaten, or even killed.
SPEAKER_01: But to them it didn't really matter as long as he shut up.
SPEAKER_01: And as Stephen is now standing before the religious council, before he even opens his mouth to give his introduction of his sermon, look at what they're gazing at.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15, chapter 6, verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
SPEAKER_01: He's a glowworm.
SPEAKER_01: He's so full of the spirit that it even affects his physical appearance before non-believers.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_01: So we can conclude that Stephen is a man full of the Holy Spirit, and we can rightly assume that he is speaking with the Spirit at the helm as he addresses these people.
SPEAKER_01: These harsh words that come out of Stephen's mouth are not Stephen trying to get on his soapbox and call people out.
SPEAKER_01: This is a direct, uh direct um, this is the Spirit speaking through Stephen.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the bottom line, what I'm trying to get at.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen, a man full of the Spirit, he's not afraid of letting the Spirit guide his words, even when it means possibly being offensive or abrasive.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, Stephen here is a prime example of Jesus' words being fulfilled in Luke 12, 12.
SPEAKER_01: Luke 12, uh actually 11 through 12, he says, and this is Jesus talking to his disciples.
SPEAKER_01: He says, and when they bring you before the synagogues, not if they bring you before the synagogues, not perhaps they might, but when it happens, when they bring you into the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen is dependent fully on the Spirit to guide his words, and it has guided him into saying some things that might possibly be offensive.
SPEAKER_01: My encouragement for you here this morning, Christian, you are full of the Spirit of God.
SPEAKER_01: Every single follower of Christ has the power of God within them.
SPEAKER_01: Does the Spirit of God guide you in what you ought to say when it comes to testify about Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Do you humbly submit your words to God, the Spirit?
SPEAKER_01: Do you trust the Spirit to tell you what you ought to say when it comes time to proclaiming and defending your the hope that lies within you?
SPEAKER_01: You know, so much of the reason why I don't share my faith is because I'm afraid I might not have the right words.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what the person might say, I don't know how well read they are.
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times I just feel like a mental midget.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not that smart, and so I don't know if they're going to be able to kind of outwit me in the philosophical argument that proceeds.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we're fearful of others' reactions, we're fearful where the conversation leads, we're fearful of losing relationships or jobs.
SPEAKER_01: Trust in the Spirit of God that that dwells in you to transcend all of those unknowns.
SPEAKER_01: Trust in the sovereignty of God.
SPEAKER_01: He already knows the outcome.
SPEAKER_01: Trust in the power of the gospel and God's word.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid that there is a God who loves you.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid that there is a God who sent his one and only Son.
SPEAKER_01: That whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid that those who reject Christ will face eternal judgment before him.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid to proclaim that all who trust in him in repentance and faith will be accepted into eternal glory.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_01: Let the Spirit guide your words, and sometimes that's going to take you into uncomfortable territory, but trust God working in your life.
SPEAKER_01: We are called to preach the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Then we see the opposition of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 54.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the reaction of them, obviously.
SPEAKER_01: The invitation didn't work.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 54.
SPEAKER_01: Now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.
SPEAKER_01: You ever see somebody so angry?
SPEAKER_01: Like they make that face?
SPEAKER_01: You ever see that?
SPEAKER_01: Like it's such a ridiculous-looking face.
SPEAKER_01: Like we almost think like it's it's kind of cartoonish, but that face where your face is scrunched, your teeth are showing, and they're kind of grinding, that's the face that all these religious leaders are making.
SPEAKER_01: And the only time I've ever seen this face, really, is my children.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: They're acting like a bunch of toddlers, all right?
SPEAKER_01: But but they're they're so angry that they're grinding their teeth, and it says that they're enraged, which really is a word meaning uh that they're they're exasperated by their anger.
SPEAKER_01: If you know anything about being exasperated, being exasperated is like at your wit's end.
SPEAKER_01: You don't know what else to say, you don't know what else to do, and it's kind of a kind of anger that just fuels itself, it perpetuates itself.
SPEAKER_01: That's where they're at after hearing Stephen's message.
SPEAKER_01: There's obvious intent on them right now.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen, if if he's reading the situation correctly, this is not going to end well.
SPEAKER_01: It's not going to end well.
SPEAKER_01: They're not just angry, they're exasperated with anger.
SPEAKER_01: And then Stephen has this vision of Jesus that we're going to get to next, but after he declares what he sees in his vision of Jesus, it says, they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.
SPEAKER_01: And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man.
SPEAKER_01: You might know him, his name is Saul.
SPEAKER_01: Next verse, Saul approves of his execution.
SPEAKER_01: There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him, but Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house.
SPEAKER_01: He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
SPEAKER_01: Starting with Stephen, begins a great tradition, two thousand years worth of Christian persecution.
SPEAKER_01: Systematic Christian persecution.
SPEAKER_01: And I've already belabored that point already.
SPEAKER_01: Persecution is imminent.
SPEAKER_01: But the question here is: are you prepared for it?
SPEAKER_01: Are you prepared for the adverse reactions for the sake of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Have you counted the cost of following Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Is Christ worth it?
SPEAKER_01: Would you be willing to give up everything at this moment for the sake of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: If not, my job is not to condemn you or say you ought to know better, but count what you're holding on to.
SPEAKER_01: What does this world have to offer you except for death and decay?
SPEAKER_01: Every single thing that you possibly have is tomorrow's landfill.
SPEAKER_01: Relationships are going to separate.
SPEAKER_01: People are going to pass away.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing in this world is worth living for.
SPEAKER_01: We have a hope and a promise for an eternal life, not a temporal one.
SPEAKER_01: Is Jesus worth it to you?
SPEAKER_01: I would say it was worth it to the early disciples because, boom, as soon as this happened, they scatter.
SPEAKER_01: You can't stop us.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to go to Samaria.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to tell people about Jesus up there.
SPEAKER_01: And he's worth it.
SPEAKER_01: If we experience persecution, fine, we're going to do it.
SPEAKER_01: And the disciples stayed regardless.
SPEAKER_01: Is Jesus worth it?
SPEAKER_01: If you think I'm preaching at you, I'm preaching at myself.
SPEAKER_01: So so much that convicts me, especially as I've worked through this, that I had to reflect on why I won't.
SPEAKER_01: Is Christ worth the awkward conversation?
SPEAKER_01: Is Christ worth people thinking poorly of me?
SPEAKER_01: Think of me, thinking of me as a religious nut.
SPEAKER_01: And I already get those reactions when I tell people I'm a pastor.
SPEAKER_01: Right, Jason?
SPEAKER_01: Can I get an amen?
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: You know, so there's the preaching of truth, there's the persecution and opposition of the world, but that's not where we're ending.
SPEAKER_01: That's not where we're ending.
SPEAKER_01: Amongst all the adversity that Stephen is now experiencing because of his testimony of Christ, he gazes up.
SPEAKER_01: He gazes upward.
SPEAKER_01: He's not looking around at all the wrong and all the bad that's happening.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen's focus is upward.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 55.
SPEAKER_01: They had not attempted to kill him yet, but they are obviously had the intent in their faces.
SPEAKER_01: Remember the tempered tantrum face, scrunched face, grinding teeth.
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, they're intending to do him harm.
SPEAKER_01: But he, full of the Holy Spirit, there it is again, Stephen being full of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: He gazes into heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He has this vision, he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
SPEAKER_01: And Luke seems to want to emphasize this point because not only does he describe it, he also has uh Stephen stating it here.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
SPEAKER_01: It might seem like an inconsequential detail here, but notice the posture of Jesus in Stephen's vision.
SPEAKER_01: He is standing.
SPEAKER_01: That's important.
SPEAKER_01: Because other texts of scripture we see Jesus is being seated as a symbol of his finished work of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: Hebrews 10, 11 through 12 kind of encapsulates this, I think, in the best way.
SPEAKER_01: Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
SPEAKER_01: This is a look back into the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: The Old Testament priests would stand because they constantly had to make sacrifices for sins.
SPEAKER_01: And because it was constantly incomplete, they constantly had to sacrifice.
SPEAKER_01: Their work was never done.
SPEAKER_01: They couldn't ever sit down.
SPEAKER_01: But then verse 12 but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down.
SPEAKER_01: Work done.
SPEAKER_01: It's finished.
SPEAKER_01: No penance to be paid, no rights to accomplish, no traditions to adhere to.
SPEAKER_01: It's finished.
SPEAKER_01: It's done.
SPEAKER_01: He sat down.
SPEAKER_01: It's been accomplished.
SPEAKER_01: Christ is seated at the right hand of God as a symbol of his finished work of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: Now details matter here.
SPEAKER_01: Why is Christ, now in Stephen's vision, standing?
SPEAKER_01: There's several explanations that some theologians and commentators have offered.
SPEAKER_01: Some suggest that the posture is not consequential.
SPEAKER_01: Standing and sitting can be somewhat interchanged.
SPEAKER_01: It could also be that Christ is standing so as to receive Stephen as the first Christian martyr.
SPEAKER_01: So, like he gets off his throne and opens his arm and welcomes Stephen as the first Christian martyr.
SPEAKER_01: However, the fact that Stephen uses the phrase son of man is helpful in understanding what he's seen and what it means.
SPEAKER_01: Because no one else ever refers to Jesus as the Son of Man except for Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen's the only one outside of Jesus himself who does that.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a specific reason why Jesus uses this term.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a specific reason why Stephen uses this phrase.
SPEAKER_01: Daniel chapter 7, verse 13, it says, I saw in the night visions.
SPEAKER_01: That's Daniel.
SPEAKER_01: He's getting a vision from God, and behold, the clouds of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: There came one like a son of man.
SPEAKER_01: And he came to the ancient of days.
SPEAKER_01: It's a euphemism for God, and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
SPEAKER_01: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
SPEAKER_01: As Stephen looks up and he sees Jesus Christ at the right hand, he's looking at a king with a dominion that is unquestionable, a kingdom that is unshakable, and a glory that's unfadable.
SPEAKER_01: He's looking at the glorified Christ.
SPEAKER_01: All people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will bow the knee to King Jesus, including those who are intending to do Stephen harm in this very moment.
SPEAKER_01: One day they will bend the knee, whether in this life or the next, it will happen.
SPEAKER_01: One day they will confess Jesus Christ is Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And as Stephen gazes upon Christ, exalted in his glory, his anxiety and fear fade even further, regardless of the evil people around him, seeking to do him harm.
SPEAKER_01: And he is compelled to pray two specific prayers.
SPEAKER_01: The first prayer is this Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
SPEAKER_01: He did not pray for deliverance, he didn't ask God to make them stop.
SPEAKER_01: His prayer is a prayer of submission.
SPEAKER_01: It's Stephen saying, God, my life is yours, take it and do what you want with it in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: I don't care what happens to me, I don't care what the cost is, what the price, you take me as I am.
SPEAKER_01: It's an act of submission.
SPEAKER_01: He's crying out, no matter what happens, I belong to you.
SPEAKER_01: Stephen's perspective on his own life has become an eternal one because his focus is not on himself, but again, it's on King Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And then he's compelled to pray the second prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
SPEAKER_01: These people hate Stephen.
SPEAKER_01: They're throwing rocks at his face.
SPEAKER_01: I get pretty aggravated when I step on a Lego.
SPEAKER_01: This guy's getting pelted with rocks in his face.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the care and concern that Stephen now has for those actively trying to kill him.
SPEAKER_01: To his very last breath, he is pleading on behalf of those who hate him.
SPEAKER_01: And we shouldn't be surprised that Stephen's prayers reflect the prayers of Jesus as he died on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and Lord, receive my spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Why is he praying these prayers?
SPEAKER_01: Because he is beholding his king.
SPEAKER_01: The one who has gone before him, the one who rules with all authority.
SPEAKER_01: The one who is receiving a kingdom, and nothing can come against it.
SPEAKER_01: Hell itself shall not prevail against his kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: And he is actively building it as we speak here today.
SPEAKER_01: Might I suggest that the reason we often avoid evangelism in spiritual conversations, especially in light of perceived opposition from others, is because we are beholding the wrong person.
SPEAKER_01: We are beholding ourselves and everything that might happen to us.
SPEAKER_01: But when we behold Christ, we lose sight of ourselves and gain sight of what matters most, his rule and reign.
SPEAKER_01: As Jonathan Edwards said, Lord, stamp eternity onto my eyeballs.
SPEAKER_01: May I see you in all that I do?
SPEAKER_01: Who are you beholding?
SPEAKER_01: Who are you looking to as you seek to tell others about your Savior?
SPEAKER_01: Who are you looking to as you experience the oppression and opposition of the world?
SPEAKER_01: Are you turning to yourself or are you gazing upon the king?
SPEAKER_01: Are you looking to him and his rule and his kingdom?
SPEAKER_01: There's nothing that's going to shake up it, his kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Out of everything I've said, look to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Look to Christ, exalted in his glory, reigning from his throne, standing before all peoples, of whom every knee, tongue, tribe shall bow.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: God, I thank you so much for your word.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I confess the times where I know I should, but I don't.
SPEAKER_01: Others need to know, and I brush it off as an inconvenience.
SPEAKER_01: I justify ignoring it.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that you would make us a bold people.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray that we would go into these conversations knowing that the world will oppose us.
SPEAKER_01: But regardless of what the world brings at us, we serve a risen king who is reigning gloriously from his throne.
SPEAKER_01: We serve him and ain't nothing coming against him.
SPEAKER_01: May that truth and reality sink deep into our hearts and may we act upon it.
SPEAKER_00: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.