A Fight To The Finish - Stephen, A Man Who Finished Strong

Sermon: A Fight to the Finish - Stephen, A Man Who Finished Strong

Scripture Lessons - Acts 6:8-15 “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. 11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.[a] 13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth[b] will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.

Acts 7:54-60 “The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.[a] 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” 57 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him 58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.[b] 59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

Introduction: The power of Pentecost spread throughout Jerusalem as the disciples followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. As the church grew, so did the opposition. The scare tactics of the Jewish leaders had failed to silence the church. Stephen the man of our lesson who became the first martyr and served as a warning to every other follower of Jesus. The church has always been persecuted in the world. 2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. "Must I be carried to the skies, On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?"

Stephen was one of seven men who were chosen to serve the daily distribution of food to the widows. We are told in chapter 6 that Stephen was full of grace and power and was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But then opposition arose against him from certain synagogue leaders, but they were unable to stand up against Stephen’s wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. So when they couldn’t defeat Stephen in debate, they decided to make some false accusations of blaspheme against him, and so Stephen was seized and brought before the Sanhedrin – the religious rulers of the Jewish people to be tried. As Stephen sat and listened to the false witnesses, the Bible says that when the Sanhedrin looked at him, they could see that he had the face of an angel. There was something about Stephen’s countenance that prompted comparisons to angels who stand in God’s presence and reflect God’s glory. So, when Stephen stood before his accusers, glowing with the face of an angel, he was radiating God’s wisdom and heaven’s glory. Without speaking a word, Stephen’s countenance gave witness that he was the Lord’s faithful servant.

There are several ideas that seem to emerge from Stephen’s story. First, before a person can give his life for the gospel, he must live his life for the gospel. One way God trains his servants for greatness is to place them in a humble place of ministry. Many fail to be used by God in greater places of service because they are unwilling to serve in a small place of service. Jesus said the pathway to greatness is the path of service. A real desire to serve Christ will always translate into service to others. Stephen learned these lessons well. Stephen also knew the word of God.

When it was Stephen’s turn to speak, he began with the words: “Brothers and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham…” and proceeded to give them a brief history lesson about God’s faithfulness and about Israel’s rebellion. Stephen’s presentation culminated with these truthful but hard words: “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 7:51) The Sanhedrin was enraged and clenched their teeth at him and decided to stone him to death. Stephen’s defense was powerful and on point. His logical response was convincing. His message proclaimed the fact that the Jews had misunderstood their spiritual roots; they had a history of rejecting God and the prophets; they had a habit of disobeying God and dishonoring his word. The Bible says: 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:55-56) And as Stephen was being stoned to death, he knelt down and prayed that God would not hold this sin against them.