Living and Finishing Well

Living And Finishing Well
Acts 6:8-7:60
November 20, 2022

We are continuing in Acts chapter 6 where the church was having an internal dispute. A complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.

The disciples responded by asking that seven men be chosen who could help in the serving of tables and the resolving of this complaint. They were to choose men of good reputation who were full of the Holy Spirit and filled with wisdom. These seven men were chosen to resolve this problem because they were men of faith and men of character.

Meanwhile, the disciples would devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. God wants His church to be healthy and they need to be fed on the word of God. This must not be neglected, so men with a good hearts and good character were chosen. It’s a great example of the church finding leaders who have a heart to serve and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

One of those seven men was Stephen. He was full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. He is the kind of man that men should aspire to be like. He had a good reputation, he was full of wisdom and the life of God could be seen in his life.

I’m going to tell you in advance how the story ends, Stephen becomes the first martyr of the church. You might think that this is a tragedy, this business of becoming the first martyr. But I submit that God does not see it that way.

The scripture tells us that Jesus sits at the right hand of the throne of God, and as Stephen is being stoned he doesn’t call down curses from heaven against those stoning him. He calls down forgiveness from heaven.

Stephen’s life is remarkable. He speaks in great power to confront the hard hearts of the Jewish leaders. Immediately he sees into heaven itself and beholds the glory of God and sees Jesus standing, not sitting, but standing at the right hand of God. It’s as though Jesus gives him a standing ovation; He stands in honor of a life well lived.

Was God surprised when Stephen was stoned by these Jewish leaders? Was He holding His head in His hands in disbelief? Not at all. Was Stephen’s life cut short? Not at all. If he had lived another day it would have been too long.

In Psalm 139:16 David wrote, “The days that were ordained for me were all written in Your book, when as yet there was not one of them.” In other words, God has written down the number of our days before we were even born. Stephen’s life was not cut short; he lived the exact number of days God ordained.

His death would be a great testimony of the authenticity of the gospel. People are only willing to die for what they know beyond a shadow of a doubt to be true.

We have nothing at all to say about the date of our birth and little to say in regards to date of our death, but we have a lot to say in regards to how we live between those dates.

I. Let God Direct Your Steps

• When Stephen was arrested, he was brought before the Sanhedrin, a group of about 70 Jewish leaders who would decide on religious matters regarding the law. They had their own police force.
• Stephen was called there to give an account of the accusations brought by the members of a synagogue from some other city.
• They couldn’t cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen was speaking, so they stirred up the people with false accusations.
• It should be no surprise that when someone is filled with the Holy Spirit and rises up to be used by God, the enemy attacks and attacks with lies.
• Stephen knows they are Jewish scholars, so he uses the word of God and the history of Israel to give them examples of people resisting the Holy Spirit. He’s going to finish by accusing them of doing that very thing.
• As a side note, it is important to note that Stephen was well versed in the word, able to speak His conviction grounded on the word. This is why it is so important for us to also study the word to be able to do the same.

1 Peter 3:15, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.

• If you want to live your life well, then you need to stop wrestling with God, stop resisting the Holy Spirit, and let God direct your steps.

A. True faith brings obedience

• Stephen begins with Abraham. The Jews loved to say that Abraham was their father. But Abraham was a man of faith. God told him to leave his country and his relatives and come into a land that he had never seen or known.
• Abraham believed the promises of God.
• Even though Abraham was more than 75 years old and had no child, he believed God’s promise that his offspring would be given this land for their inheritance.
• God then gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. This was a mark on their body to signify the covenant relationship they had with God.
• But what’s the point of taking on a symbol without the reality of the heart?

Deuteronomy 10:12, “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

• That’s what living faith looks like, but if those things aren’t true, the symbol loses its meaning. That’s why God told them to circumcise their heart.

Deuteronomy 10:16, “So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”

• The problem is that one cannot be saved by works or change your own nature.. The power of the sinful nature is too strong. The spirit needs to be made alive by the Spirit of God.
• The external circumcision was a foreshadowing or a sign of the internal work the Holy Spirit would do in the lives of those who would put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:29, Circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit,

• What is needed though, is to no longer stiffen your neck. Surrendering to God, recognizing that pride and rebellion of the fleshly nature lead to death and much heartache.
• What does that mean? It means that you love God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Luke 8:15, “But the seed which fell on the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in a good and honest heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

• Honoring God with your heart is just a better way to live. Too many people are conflicted in their hearts and troubled in their souls. There’s a better way.

Illus.- The other day I heard a question being asked by an atheist, ‘If there is a God and He gave me free will, then I have the choice to do wrong things. Why am I not allowed to do wrong things?…

• You don’t have to live a messed up life, God will show you a more excellent way.

B. Faith trusts God even through trouble

• Stephen then reminds them about Joseph and reminds them that the patriarchs, which means “their fathers,” became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt; and yet God was with him.
• When he finishes, Stephen will say to them, “You’re just like your fathers.” They rejected the one that would save them.
• The lesson is personal. Don’t resist God, don’t keep wrestling with Him, walk in faith and trust God even in the midst of trouble.
• Here’s why; one of the great principles in scripture is that God often uses trouble to accomplish His purposes in our lives. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers when God’s hand was revealed at the end.

Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”

• If anyone had reason to question what God was doing, it was Joseph. But Joseph held on to his faith, he held onto his integrity.
• He didn’t resist God’s hand, he moved with it.
• God was also building character in him through this whole process. God made all things work for good, preparing him for his purpose.
• A storm may appear to blow us off course, yet many times it is God redirecting our steps. Relationship with God though is key when the storms rage.

Illus. – Many people when going through difficult things leave God. Even in church life, things might happen that the enemy wants to use as a wedge. You might even hear things like: “If that is what a Christian look like, I want nothing to do with God.” As Christians, we are called to reflect God, but no man is perfect, and as such one might get let down by people. The church is still a hospital for the broken. Our relationship with Jesus is the anchor of our souls, not our relationships with other Christians, although important.

• Joseph could have turned away from God because of his brothers’ actions, but he was grounded in his personal faith and trust in God.
• We are not told to build our faith on the faith of others, but to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
• It’s hard to trust God through a storm when your relationship to Him isn’t right.

Illus. – If you correct a child and His relationship to you or perception of your relationship to Him is wrong, he will stand in defiance, not wanting to be corrected…He might perceive loving correction as rejection and criticism.

C. Turn your heart toward God

• Stephen then reminds them of Moses and after a bit of history, brings them to the point.
• Verse 39; “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to Moses, but repudiated him and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt.”
• When he finishes he’ll say to them, “You are just like your fathers.”
• Moses turned his heart toward God and believed that God would use him to grant deliverance to Israel. Moses would wait 40 more years, but God who promised is faithful.
• They turned their hearts back to Egypt. They grumbled constantly against God and constantly complained for 40 years. And because of their lack of faith, not one of them entered into the land God promised them, except for Joshua and Caleb.
• We get to choose the condition of our hearts. We get to decide whether we will turn our hearts toward God or whether we will live our lives complaining and being bitter because we don’t like the fact that we have to go through a desert in order to get the promises of God fulfilled in our lives.
• Ironically, the condition of your heart might keep you in the desert longer if you do not take hold of God’s promises and guidance.

II. Don’t Resist the Holy Spirit

• Stephen then brings up the tabernacle of God. This was a tent filled with articles made after the pattern Moses was given on Mount Sinai; a pattern which resembled the throne of God in heaven.
• It was the place where God demonstrated His presence; they could physically see that God was with them.
• But the Israelites in the desert were so conflicted, so undecided in their faith, that they also brought along the tabernacle of Moloch (verse 43).
• Instead of fully trusting the God of life, they honored the God of destruction and death.
• This is so reflecting of the choice people make today as well.
• In verse 48 it gets personal; “The Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands…”
• Is there a tabernacle of God anywhere today? Is there a temple anywhere on the earth where God’s Spirit dwells? Absolutely – He dwells right here in you. Choose to dwell where God’s life is.

A. Let your neck bow before the throne

• The grand finale of Stephen’s speech is in verses 51-53. He calls them stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit.
• You really don’t want God calling you stiff in the neck and uncircumcised in the heart. What does it mean to be stiff-necked and what does God desire?
• The idea of being stiff-necked comes from a plowman that would direct the oxen by pressing a light pole on their necks. If an ox was hard to control or stubborn, it was stiff-necked.
• Don’t resist the hand of God on your neck or on your heart. Don’t “kick against the goads.”
• God is trying to help you, God is trying to direct your steps and then pour His favor on your life; why would anyone want to resist that?

Illus – It’s kind of like a teenager having an attitude…Can you see that I am for you?

• The phrase “hell-bent” describes it. Some people are like a car out of alignment, they seem to be bent toward worldly things. But those are the very things that destroy our lives.

B. Live by faith and die well

• Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, is stoned by these stiff-necked Jewish leaders, but the way he dies is nothing short of holy and glorious.
• He connects three times with God in his death. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” Amazing.
• But something is also happening. There is a man there that is being affected by what he sees.
• Saul is there and is so angry against the church that he goes house to house to arrest them, but that moment of seeing Stephen die; would that stay in his heart? “This guy has a relationship and all I have is religion. He has something I don’t have. He said things I would never say; his eyes saw things I’ve never seen and all I’ve got is my religion.”
• What an example of dying well. We’re all called to die even while we live so that the true life of God will be seen in our lives, so we’ll hear, “Well done.”