“The face of an angel”
Acts 6:1-8
Pastor Allan Kircher
I. Introduction
Pentecost--Holy Spirit was moving, people far and wide were brought into the fold or unity of Christian brotherhood.
• Hellenistic Jews—Palestinian Jews. Hated each other in the past, now welded together by the bonds of the common faith.
• Many were cut off from financial support.
Loving Christians came along/Barnabas to help.
Money given to the apostles to distribute
Hellenistic Jews claimed they were not getting square deal.
• Claimed their widows were neglected in daily Ministry
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II. Choosing the twelve v. 2, 3.
The apostles saw themselves undertaking too much!
This was a wise decision to choose seven men.
1. Turn the responsibility over to the deacons.
2. Ministry today of the pastors, ministers.
3. Pastors call Acts 6:4, prayer and ministry of the Word.
4. Pastors must be freed to focus on preaching.
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III. Verse 5 “This proposal pleased the whole group, they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit
• Now allow me to introduce Stephen the Chairman of the Deacons.
• Stephen, a Hellenistic Jew! Played a crucial role.
1. His whole story in 2 chapters NT
2. Through his persecution and preaching/catapulted the church out of Jerusalem into the rest of the world (8:1).
3. The highest of all Christian character.
• Luke says Stephen was “Full”
• In what did Stephen’s fullness consist?
• That is an extremely important question.
• Some people are “full” of themselves. full of irony, of sarcasm, trickery, or talk, or negativism.
• Stephen full of faith, power, and grace.
• If I ask someone in your arena, what would they say you’re full of? Beans?
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IV. But Stephen, Luke says first is full of faith.
• Wouldn’t you want someone to say this of you?
Allan, he is full of faith.
• This is the first element of his fullness.
He was not meager, timid, in faith.
not a man with sickly little handful faith.
• He was full of faith, so full that no trail or temptation could arouse him.
He lived Hebrews 11:1…….
What is faith?
1. Faith is living in a hope that is so real it gives absolute assurance.
Taking God at His word and living on that basis.
2. Faith for me knows that God is active and moving in me. Look where I was 10 years ago.
• We have secular faith in cell phone connection.
• Hwy mountain driving truck puts hand out to pass by
Is your faith big enough…..to….
• build an ark in the desert sun.
• sacrifice your son at the altar like Abraham.
• Jump in a fiery furnace Shadrach, Meshack, and Abend-nego.
• To face 450 Baal prophets as Elijah did.
• Not to hesitate in trusting God in trails and temptations.
• To go against a giant with a sling and stone.
• To step out of the boat into the raging waters.
When you face your giants today, where is your faith?
Is it an ark? A son? A furnace? Or is it stepping out into the raging waters?
Heb 11:1……
Certain of what we don’t see. Certain of what we don’t see.
• Certainly if you can have faith in man or a cell phone you can have faith in God.
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Stephen, full of faith.
V. Stephen was also filled with the Holy Spirit.
Listen: “Stephen full of the Holy Spirit”
• It is the privilege of every believer.
Here is:
• The spring that fills all the rivers and oceans.
• Sun that lights up the magical stars.
• Fullness that has given you new life.
• Fullness that heals your sicknesses.
• Fullness of life, of joy.
The Holy Spirit: that saves your children,
that brings peace to death,
that calms the storm,
that wipes out depression and anxiety,
To all you who are saved, you are filled with this Holy Spirit?
Greater is He who that is in me than in the world!!!
Do you believe that, do you have faith? Do you feel it?
The only difference between you and Stephen is obedience, faith, and enabling the Spirit of God to move in your life.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!
Whatever Christ has done to Stephen in possession He can do to you!
The only difference is in Acts 5:32, “We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God had given to those who obey Him.”
Only to those who obey him.
Oh, may we give up:
our needs of the day, our needs of our home, our needs of life, money, greed, our selves.
And place our needs to the creator of life.
He waits to be gracious. He waits to enter in and possess us.
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VI. Verse 6:8 “Fullness of Grace.”
“Stephen, full of grace.”
Titus 2:11-14……
And when a think of grace I think of John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Now allow me to personalize that Scripture.
Because Stephen trusted God, and walked in the fullness of the Spirit, he was given the grace to face persecution.
“Stephen, full of grace.”
• God’s grace has delivered me from my horrible past life.
1. Not only delivered me but lives in me.
2. This is my life song….the grace of God
When God’s grace is upon you, people around you find themselves strangely comforted and helped.
• The broken hearted are fixed.
• The hopeless forget their despair. That’s God’s grace
• The wounded get healed.
• The barren began to dream again. That’s God’s grace
Stephen, full of grace, spoke to men of a gracious Savior.
As they went away from listening to him they said, “I will go and learn something of his character.”
Stephen, full of grace, shined through to them and they wanted that grace too.
God’s grace will straighten out the frown lines of our face and remove the sin scars from our soul.
Are you so full of grace that it permeates through your skin, spoken in every tone of your voice?
People will be drawn to you by God’s grace in you.
• Know people like that?
• you can trust and confide in?
• that always comfort you with God’s soft voice.
God’s grace….it will look out through your kindly eyes.
It will shine in every lineament of your face.
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VI. One more fullness Luke ascribed to Stephen.
“Stephen, full of power.” If there was a fine virtue that he seemed to be more full of then any other it is power.
Were Stephen went, things happened.
1. Changes took place, revolutions were wrought,
Acts 6:10……”they were not able to resist the spirit and the wisdom by which he spoke.
2. He was full of power. Word used..dynamite.
Full of moral dynamite. An irresistible force.
Full of power!
Full of power—that is not the word that we may use about the church as a whole in this day of grace.
• That is not even the word that we would use to describe the majority of our pastors.
Full of eloquence; full of learning, full of fine and gentlemanly qualities; full of thousand desirable characteristics.
But full of power—that is a description that, sad to say, describes only a few of us today.
• Today even more so it is needed..
• Ever more in the pulpits today?
• ever more needed in the pews today?
I know we have decency and respectability and kindness of heart.
We have money/culture/social standing.
Are we full of power when we work, dine, shop?
But power? –do we possess that absolute essential?
“Shell Point Baptist Church, full of power?
Do we sing with power? Preach, witness, pray, mentor,
Fellowship in power?
Surely it ought to be….
Is this the way our church is to enter into the books of heaven?
Is this a fit description of us as individuals?
Do you yearn for the power of the Holy Spirit?
Do you just want at times to jump out of your skin with the power of the Holy Spirit?
Are we “full of power” or “full of weakness”
Stephen had it. And it can be ours also.
He who gave power to:
Stephen, Moses, Paul, Jonah, Joshua, centuries ago, can make us mighty also….
Acts 1:8 says…..
Jesus is saying to us at this moment, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
Well you might say, “That is fine and dandy for Stephen, he lived right at the time of the mighty Pentecost.”
• It is not possible for me! I have no hope for this power.
• Even if I made a start at it, my life would soon be depleted of its energies.
• All my moral forces will be exhausted.
I see no hope for myself today or tomorrow.
Before you reach this conclusion. Let me ask you the secret of Stephen’s fullness.
John 6:35, I AM the bread of life……
Living water of Jesus Christ.
Are you thirsty for the living water?
• Not all who acknowledge their need and approach Him have their thirst quenched. Rich young ruler.
• He asks what must I do, and then he went away grieving.
• With his thirst unquenched.
Eternal spring that never runs dry.
It is giving, giving, giving all the time.
The living water, the eternal spring, the bread from heaven never exhausts itself.
It never stops, but you must go to the well.
Continuously seek God’s council in your life.
And this is Stephen’s secret. This was not just another pew squatter. He was a runner, running the race for the prize.
How can I be filled with all of the fine graces of God?
Conclusion
And look a moment at the outcome of this fullness.
Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, and therefore full of faith, and wisdom, and power and grace.
But what was the end of it all? What did it amount to?
The result of this fullness:
1. Not simply a joyous and sunny Christian.
2. His effect on the world around him.
3. His effect on the people of his day
4. His effect on the people of all days
5. He was full of the highest usefulness
• He gave out bread in such a way that made people hungry for the bread of Life.
• He quenched people’s thirst for them to seek the Living water.
• When he passed out money to the needy, he did not forget to tell them where they could by more money without a price.
He used the fullness God had given him.
We have to commit ourselves fully into God’s hands.
The rest of the story:
Acts 7:51-60
