Title To win Paul/Acts 7:54-60
"At the time of persecution of Christians in Japan, a devout father and son was sentenced to death. Tomorrow, when the father sees his son, we will be killed. What are we going to do?" I replied, 'I will die with my father. On those two days, the rich and the rich were all sent to the death penalty. When the father saw his son and said, 'My son, be strong and follow me without changing,' he answered, 'Yes', but the voices became less. Then the son who saw his father being martyred Afraid of my heart and a scheming, I thought, 'My father is old, so it's good to die for the Lord, but I'm still young, so it's better to die while I'm still young.' So he apostatized on the spot and was released. But he came out on the 29th. After that, he fell ill and died, only consuming 90 more grits of rice.
The best death is death for the Lord, so it is infinitely blessed. Now, rather than trying to live, I decide how to die well for the Lord and pray.”
The story of today's text is the story of Deacon Stevan, whom we know well. Deacon Stevan was one of the seven deacons of the early church. His faith was filled with the Holy Spirit, he performed great wonders and signs with grace and power, and he mastered his Bible and was also a great preacher. He was also the first martyr of the early church.
Today, we would like to share the grace of the martyrdom of a man of one faith.
1. His sermon.
Stephen's sermon was a sermon that penetrated the entire Bible through Jesus Christ. Then, when Jesus died.
"You stiff-necked men and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit, and you do the same as your fathers did. Which of the prophets your fathers did not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous, and now You are the prisoners of the righteous, and you are murderers; you received the law that the angels preached, and you did not keep it." His sermons were not sermons that looked down on people. It was the cry that Jesus boldly exclaimed as he looked at the Pharisees and said, “You whitewashed tombs, you brood of vipers.”
That's right. The proclamation of the Word is not to search people's hearts, but to preach the Word of God. It is the mission of the preacher to preach the word of the Lord without adding or subtracting. It is not a sermon if you think about and convey a person's point of view. From the standpoint of God, we must preach the words the Lord gives us. No matter what the congregation thinks or reacts when they hear those words, if they are the words the Lord is telling them to preach, they must be preached. That is why preachers are difficult. It was the same when Peter was preaching. Acts 2:36 says, "Therefore, all the house of Israel knows for sure, but God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." you can see That's right. The death of Jesus was not nailed by the people of that time, but by me.”
Hymn 136 "Were you there at that time when the Lord was crucified? Oh, sometimes I trembled and trembled and trembled because of it. Were you there at that time," Yes. We nailed the Lord to the cross.
How do we feel about those words? I have a stab in my heart. Or would you plead, "When did I do that, I wasn't even born then!"?
How did the congregation react to Stephen's sermon?
2. The Congregation's Response
There are generally two reactions that appear when one's fault is pointed out.
One is to accept the criticism sweetly, reflect on it, and repent. Such was the reaction that appeared in Peter's sermon. When it was pointed out that you killed Jesus, people repented, saying, “What shall we do?” As a result, there were 3,000 souls who repented and returned to Jesus in one day. We can see that these three thousand immediately formed the Jerusalem church. That's right. The church is a community where sinners have come and repented and changed in front of the gospel of Jesus Christ, "What shall we do?"
On the other hand, the reaction is also the people who respond when their mistakes are pointed out. Today's text, that is, the reaction that appeared after hearing Stephen's sermon. Rather than repenting, he said that he grinded his teeth. These are the characteristics of those who hear the Word and reject it. ① grind their teeth ② scream loudly ③ cover their ears ④ run and throw them outside the castle ⑤ stone them...
Why are some people who have been stabbed in the heart, repent, be saved, and receive blessings and live a happy life, while others disobey and do not accept the Gospel and are cursed and have to live as murderers for the rest of their lives? Do you mean to bring misfortune? If they had listened to the right words of Deacon Stephen, received them with thanksgiving and repented, their lives would have been different.
Saints! What type of people are you and I? Am I obsessed with my stubbornness and selfishness? Or are you someone who can listen to the right things?
Everyone, looking at this content, does anyone have any thoughts like this? "Why is it the same sermon, but Peter's sermon made people repent and Stephen's sermon was stoned?" thinking to do.
So, is Stephen's sermon a failure? It's not like that.
3. The result of Stephen's sermon.
Obviously, with this sermon, Stevan walked the path of a martyr.
But God has accomplished something through his martyrdom. What is? That is, God was interested in a young man named "Saul," who was watching the scene and actively being born as the persecutor.
A young man who was bewildered when he saw Stephen's face shining like an angel instead of fear as he was struck by the flying stone, a young man who had buried the scene in his heart for a long time. God paid attention to a young man, “Saul,” who was forced to refuse for the sake of being a bigger persecutor. So, finally, I hope you will remember the God who destroyed the young man on the road to Damascus and made him kneel before the Lord.
That's right. Paul was created by the martyrdom of Stephen. Paul Lee later also played a great missionary role in the early church and pioneered the “Antioch Church,” which continues to be a model for all churches to this day.
In other words, it is God who established the "Jerusalem Church" according to Peter's preaching and the "Antioch Church" by Stephen's preaching.
Do you have any hardships that you feel for no reason in your life of faith? Even though I believe in Jesus properly, are there believers who are worried about why they are having such hardships? Please remember. God is a God who never fails. When I suffer, the grace of the Lord comes to me as much as I have suffered.
In front of the stone flying towards Stevan's body, God opened his spiritual eyes so that he could see the throne of God. He tasted the glory of seeing Jesus standing by the throne of God and watching him.
dear ones
What are you suffering from? Am I in trouble for one reason that I believe in Jesus? Have I ever been reviled or persecuted while preaching the gospel? I hope you are happy and have fun.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5) :11-12)"
Through our sufferings, the Lord surely produces the fruit He desires. Stevan said that I preached why! Should I suffer? Why! Should I be persecuted? He must have thought about it, but he sees that he has already forgiven those who threw stones at him. Please remember Stephen, who returned to the Lord's arms while praying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (60).
Everyone, we should pray like this. Please pray for my boss at work who is giving me a hard time. Please pray for the man who brought bankruptcy to my business. If there is an environment that has thrown a miserable life on my children and my family, I hope you will pray over it. Our prayers create amazing works. The effect that Stephen's prayer had on a young man named Saul was enormous.