Title: A Pen in God’s Hand
Text: Acts 6:3-6; Chapter 7
Introduction
At 16 years of age, the son of a nobleman, was captured from his homeland in Britain by a band of pirates and taken to Ireland. He was sold to a cruel master and a pagan warlord.
Like the prodigal son, Patrick remembered better days. Who would have thought that the cherished son of a nobleman would be tending sheep and cattle? The seed of truth which he had been taught but not embraced now found receptive soil in his heart. Later in his life he would write of this time
“The love and the fear of God and faith increased so much, and the spirit of prayer so grew within me, that I often prayed a hundred times in the day. The Spirit was burning within me.” Captivity became a training ground for his future mission.
After 6 years of slavery, Patrick heard a voice in his dreams, telling him, “Behold, the ship is ready for you.” He escaped and miraculously journeyed home. Patirck’s family begged him never to leave them again, but the calling of his heavenly father to return to Ireland had to be obeyed. Forsaking comfort, he was compelled to bring God’s love to those who were once his captors.
Returning to Ireland, Patrick used a pagan feast day to demonstrate God’s power of heathen darkness. All over Ireland, fires were to be extinguished until a signal blaze was lit but Druid priest at Tara.
On the hill of Slane opposite the valley from Tara, Patrick lit a fire to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. The Druids warn the king that unless this fire put out it will blaze forever in this land. Repeated efforts were made to kill the one who lit the fire. The Druids and magicians used all their occultic power, but they had no power to harm the one who represented the all powerful God.
As a result, the King of Ireland gave Patrick the permission to preach his faith throughout Ireland. During his thirty years of ministry in Ireland, he dedicated 350 bishops, established at least 300 churches, baptized over 120 000 Irishmen. After his death, it would be the Irish who return as missionaries to England, Scotland, France, Belgium and Germany.
St. Patrick was a history maker and a world changer. Through a life moulded and yielded by Christ he became a spiritual giant for the Lord. Through his willingness to answer the call of the Lord, he became a pen in the hand’s of God and a new chapter in Church history unfolded.
This afternoon the title of my message is “A Pen in God’s Hand.”
I would like to share with you the story of a man whose life and ministry was short, but yet his life had such a strong impact on the early church. Through him the gospel which remained largely in Jerusalem, penetrated into Samaria. Through him, the gospel went further into Asia Minor and even Europe. This man is none other than Stephen. We will examine his short life and see what it took for Stephen to become a pen in the hands of God.
1. A man who is a servant (Acts 6:5-6)
When we think of a man filled with the Spirit, the picture that comes to our mind is that of a preacher moving powerfully in signs, wonders and miracles.
The bible says that Stephen is a man full of faith and full of the Spirit. However the first picture we see of Stephen is not one doing mighty deeds for God. Instead he was asked by the Apostles to serve tables as a deacon.
The term "deacon" is derived from the Greek word diakonos, which is usually translated "servant" or "minister."
Now when the Apostles asked if he would consider serving as a deacon, he embraced it as a call from God and in humility began to serve tables.
Humility is crucial to the anointed life. Stephen was a pen whom God could used to write history because he was a man of Character, a man who seeks to be like Christ who came to serve and not to be served.
Such humility and spirit of servant hood must be maintained if we seek to be use by God to pen history.
“But the greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Matthew 23:11
Humility and servant hood is crucial to the anointed life. Without humility, the anointed man becomes an arrogant man.
In recent times many anointed man had lost that sense of humility and became arrogant, trading the anointing for a price. Why? Because they lost the spirit of servant hood!
For St. Patrick, God had to take him out of his life of comfort, mould him before using him.
Asked yourself, do you always look for a place of prominence or are you willing to serve in a place of humility.
2. A man who is full of the Spirit (Acts 6:8)
Stephen was a pen in God’s hand because he was a man full of the Spirit.
Stephen was a man who was full of the Spirit of God. The fullness of the Spirit in Stephen is first characterized by Faith.
Have you ever seen an anointed man who is full of fear and unbelief? Well I have not. All the men and women of God whom I know in person, or read in books and biographies are all men and women of faith.
When you walk in the Spirit, naturally you will become a man of faith for the Holy Spirit will develop faith in your heart as you journey with Him. When you study the word of God, the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to believe those words are true and that God will fulfil them.
Stephen’s faith is seen when he sprung into action in chapter seven. He was a deacon in the church, but outside the church his faith caused him to preach the gospel and performed sign and wonders through the name of Christ.
He did not wait for a position to be given to him before he started preaching the gospel; the faith within him stirred him into action.
Faith is not a passive word, faith is an active word.
Secondly the fullness of the Spirit was characterized by his understanding of the Word. When Stephen spoke to the religious authorities, he demonstrated his understanding of the word and with such wisdom that it infuriated the Pharisees. If you want to become a man full of the Spirit, you must study the word of God. Many of us feed our physical body, but we starve our spirit. Studying the word of God not through the Holy Spirit causes God’s anointing to grow in our lives. Stephen studied the word of God and he became a man full of the Spirit.
Stephen’s fullness of the Spirit was also characterized by his sight. Stephen was a man of devotion and had close communion with the Lord. How do I know this? At the darkest moment of his life, instead of looking the dangers that lurked or the angry mob that was about to kill him, Stephen’s sight was placed upon the Lamb of God.
AC 7:55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
AC 7:56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
For Stephen to do that at such a moment, he must be a one of intimate relationship with God. I believed that Stephen was so closed to Christ’s heart that at that moment, Jesus stood on his feet for Stephen.
The anointed man is one who has learnt to draw strength and power from God, through an intimate relationship with Him.
And that is why Jesus said, “ am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Finally, Stephen’s fullness of the Spirit is characterized by his prayer life. His prayer at his moment of death shows the he is a man of prayer.
Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)
3. A man who dares to Sacrifice (7:58-60)
Stephen was a man who dared to sacrifice. And sacrifice he did to the extent of losing his earthly life.
Every single person whom God used to pen history, are people who dared to sacrifice.
Abraham sacrificed at every junction and was even willing to sacrifice Isaac his only son. He became the father of many nations.
David sacrificed at every junction, and he even said that he will not offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing. He was called by God as the King after God’s own heart.
Paul sacrificed at every junction, giving up fame he followed the way, giving up personal freedom he chose to be arrested so that he can preached the gospel to kings. He became the greatest apostle and many of the NT epistles were written by him.
Patrick sacrificed his personal comfort and safety; in order see his vision of reaching Ireland with the gospel come to pass.
We must learn to sacrifice at every junction in our lives. What is it that you need to sacrifice?
Conclusion
Recently I made a prayer to the Lord. I told the Lord at every given opportunity, use me to make an impact on the lives of young people. I want to be a pen in the hand of God. I want history to be unfolded through my life.
Some times when it comes to making history, we think of big gigantic happenings that come through our lives. Some times it happens, most of the time it does not. For Stephen, his life was such a waste for he died so early in ministry. At the point of death, Stephen would not have known that through his life God was to pen the next chapter history for the church. Through him, God would spur a follow deacon Philip to travel to Samaria to preach the gospel. Through the prayers he uttered God was to touched a hardcore murderer Saul and used him to spread the gospel fire to Asia Minor and even Europe and eventually Rome.
