Title Acts 07:54-60 Stephen's Martyrdom 4
Contents Main text: Acts 7:54-60
Title: The Martyrdom of Stephen
“They stoned Stephen, and Stephen cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my soul.” And he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:59-60)
Stephen is an exemplary deacon among the seven deacons of the early Jerusalem Church. As the name suggests, Stephen was an active victim with a sense of mission, meaning 'stephan', meaning crown.
Acts 6:5 'Steven, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit' 6:8 'Steven was full of grace and power, performing great wonders and miracles among the people' 6:10 'They could not believe that Stephen spoke with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. ' 6:15 'All those who sat in the council looked at Stephen, and behold, his face was like the face of an angel.'
1. Deacon Stephen became the model of devotion, service, sacrifice and martyrdom of the New Testament church.
Deacon Stephen did his best in the ministry of the apostles with a truly exemplary spirit of faith. And when he intensively preached evangelism to Jewish leaders, he preached zealously about Jesus Christ. It enumerates the general details of the Old Testament times. From the roots of Abraham's faith, he detailed the fact that the history of the Hebrew people's covenant was fulfilled. At that time, the crowds said, “We have heard of blasphemy against Moses and God, and urged the people, the elders and the scribes, to come and take them, and set up false witnesses in the council.” (Acts 6:11-13)
However, Deacon Stephen preached in front of the high priest that the work of the living God was leading them in the Exodus and wilderness life.
They strongly exclaimed that 'the golden calf incident in the wilderness and 'your ancestors persecuted the prophets and those who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ were killed by them, and you became saviors and murderers of the Messiah, the Savior (Acts 7 :52)
Deacon Stephen was a zealous evangelist in the early church. He was exemplary in helping the apostles, but he also directly testified to the cause, progress, and result of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
2. Stephen's martyrdom awakened the sense of mission in the gospel workers.
Those who work together in the Lord's work must be active witnesses of Christ anytime, anywhere. It reminded us of a sense of mission like the hymn in chapter 355, “This body from which I was called will go wherever I go, and whether it is painful or happy, only the Lord will follow. Hallelujah. Let's praise together.
In particular, those who have received the office of the Lord's church should actively carry out their mission if it is for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
In order to improve the faith of the saints and expand the work of the gospel, devotion to invest body, mind, and material must follow (Colossians 3:16-17)
We evangelize with love for our neighbors, and when church events are held, more than anyone else, the office holders should take the lead and serve in devotion. This is to carry out the active mission of continuing the spirit of the martyrs.
3. Stephen's martyrdom produced great martyrs.
Acts 7:57-58 “They cried out with a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed to him with all their heart, threw him outside the city, and stoned him.
There was a man named Saul at the site of Stephen's martyrdom.
In Acts 13:9, it is said that Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. Perhaps there is an expression that Saul changed and became Paul, but Saul is a Hebrew name and Paul uses both names as a Greek name. After Paul met Jesus in Damascus, from 13:9 onwards, he used the Greek name of Paul until several epistles. Saul is a great man and Paul is a small man.
I hope that the person who participated in Stephen's martyrdom and guarded the clothes receives the Holy Spirit and receives the Holy Spirit and receives grace to receive Christ's glory in my body whether we live or die (Philippians 1:20-21). (Romans 14:8) Not only that, he established a bridgehead for world missions, accomplished the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd evangelism work, suffered imprisonment and hardships, established the commanding tower of the mission, and finally A glorious history of martyrdom has been accomplished.
4. Stephen's martyrdom teaches us about the last life of looking to the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, our faith must have faith in the Lord. Our goal is to believe in Jesus and go to heaven.
Hebrews 12:2 “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Deacon Stephen, just before the martyrdom, said, "Filled with the Holy Spirit, looking up to heaven, looking up, and seeing the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, he said, Behold, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56). ) exclaimed. In Acts 6:15, Deacon Stephen testified that when he was full of grace by doing his best to testify of Jesus of Nazareth, “all those who sat in the council looked at Stephen, and behold, his face was like the face of an angel.”
Deacon Stephen was armed with the ability to be stoned and martyred in the midst of bitter torment, looking only at Jesus, only the Lord, the Lord.
Dear saints, As Stephen looked only at Jesus, only the Lord, he did not blame anyone. When he looked to the Lord who stood at the right hand of God, he asked Jesus for his soul in a glorious way, and he knelt down and cried out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my soul,' and said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." sleep' (Acts 7:59-60).
Let's sing hymn 403 together. (He suffered the heavy suffering of the cross for me)
Let's receive great grace in Hymn 204 (I and the world have gone nowhere, only the redeemed Lord is seen)
In 1963, when the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, the whole nation and the world were grieved. The all-weather flame continues to burn as his body is buried in Washington's Melangton National Cemetery, where fire and water continue to supply gas and water for the duration of America's existence. Kennedy's spirit, ideas, and ideologies continue to burn in the hearts of Americans.
Missionary Jang Seong-jip's missionary work dispatched by this Presbytery's Loyalty Church is humanly mournful and heartbreaking, but the Chungshin Church reflects the passion for missionary work and the lives of his wife (Mihyung Kim) and his three siblings (Myung-geun, Myung, Myung-hoon). Emmanuel's blessing will continue, and especially the sacrificial missionary spirit of the faithful church will continue to burn.