Making Your Life Count Series

Let’s read Acts 6:8-15. We are going to look at Stephen, one of the elected SEVEN.

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)-Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Reflecting on Stephen’s life, I’ve entitled this message MAKING YOUR LIFE COUNT.

• Stephen lived a short but very significant life. Life is not about its length but purpose, fulfilling God’s purpose. Stephen died preaching the Gospel.

Sharing the truth of Christ is not easy. It hasn’t been so right from the beginning, for the disciples of the first church.

• They were put on trial and persecuted, and in the next 2 chapters, we see Stephen martyred for his faith and the disciples were forced to flee.

For us today, our ‘persecutions’ are much milder. It could be the mockery of others, the insults and scorn, the rejections, and for some, resistance from loved ones.

• But like the first disciples, we know that the Lord is with us. We stand firm because this is the truth. Jesus Christ died and rose again for our salvation.

• "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

• And so like them, we pray for BOLDNESS, for the courage and strength to stand firm and be good witnesses for Christ.

Stephen, one of the SEVEN chosen to resolve the need in the daily distribution of food to the widows, set us a good example of a faithful witness of Christ.

• He was introduced to us in Acts 6 and he died in Acts 7, but God used him in remarkable ways. Let his testimony be an encouragement to us.

In all that has happened, we are going to see how the Lord prepares His men and plans His move, the spread of the Gospel.

WE SEE HOW GOD PREPARES HIS MEN

It started with a neglect in the daily distribution of food to the Hellenistic widows.

• Some men needed to be called out to manage this so that the apostles would not be distracted from their core role of prayer and the preaching of the Word.

• It was interesting to note that for such an administrative task, the apostles set the criteria and asked for men “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (6:5).

If it happens today, we would probably be looking for people with some paper qualifications, like a degree in management. We want someone with good people skills, or with experience in administration.

• Imagine, the seemingly menial job of “waiting on tables” requires candidates to be full of the Spirit and wisdom (6:3).

• We see God’s choice of His servants. We see God’s preparation for the work of His Kingdom.

Being “full of the Spirit” would mean they are walking close with God.

• Using Paul’s description in Gal 5, they are walking by the Spirit and not gratifying the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16) and bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).

• It’s the godly character of a person, and not his competence. That’s what they were looking for.

When Stephen was introduced again in 6:5, Luke added that he was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.”

• He has “full faith” in God, complete trust in Him, which was evident in the next chapter when he was being stoned.

And when he serves, Luke says in 6:8 he was “full of God’s grace and power, and did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”

• That’s the outflow of WHO he is, a man who believes God fully and hence serving Him with grace and power.

By now we see this, it’s not about charisma, competence or credentials, although these are good and important. Godliness anchors it.