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Pledging All To God
There may come a time in our lives when we must sacrifice everything for Christ. Are you prepared to stand alone for Christ and give up everything if that is asked of you? Well, we all need to be prepared. Even though we live in America, there may come a day when we have to make such a sacrifice. In fact, as much as I hate to say it, I think the best thing for the church in America would be some persecution. Persecution purifies the church. Persecution separates the possessors from the pretenders.
This morning we come to one of the best stories in Christianity of sacrificing all for Christ: The story of Stephen. We can learn a great deal from this great servant of Christ. By all accounts Stephen was just an ordinary man who served an extraordinary God!
It has been said that “only when a man is no longer afraid to die, is he ready to live.” That was the message of the song we just heard.
To stand alone we must possess at least 4 characteristics:
I. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit – 6:5, 8
(We’re going to see this morning that Stephen was a man full of a lot of things, but he wasn’t full of himself!)
Acts 6:5
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
As a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit Stephen was:
Acts 6:8
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
Now when we are filled with the HS, we are going to upset the world. Just as a man filled with alcohol will disrupt the world because he is under the control of that alcohol, a man filled with the HS will cause a disruption.
Remember that all believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. And this indwelling is permanent. But the filling is not permanent. God fills us with the Spirit to accomplish His will. Now we can think of the difference like this: When we speak of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit He is a permanent RESIDENT, but when we are filled with the Holy Spirit He is not just a resident, but PRESIDENT! He is in charge!
Acts 6:9-10
Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
Stephen was also wise, b/c he was filled with the HS. Now remember, knowledge is not necessarily wisdom. We put a premium on knowledge today, but God puts a premium on wisdom.
So they plotted against him:
Acts 6:11-15
Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us." And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen was now in their crosshairs. We ought to be living our lives to get into the crosshairs, not to avoid the crosshairs! Now before we move on, let me say this. Stephen, along with the other disciples, has found himself in trouble because he is preaching the truth. I point this out for this reason. There are some preachers and Christian leaders who say stupid things or attack unbelievers personally. Then when they find themselves in the crosshairs, they act as if they are suffering like Christ, or that they are martyrs like Stephen. That is not the case! As I’ve said before we don’t need to take personal shots at people, we need only to preach the truth.
There are Christian leaders out there who arrogantly challenge unbelievers and call them names. Friend, Christ has called us to be humble, not a blow-hard and there is a big difference. In fact, notice Stephen’s face was like an angel, not some sort of pit-bull! Sometimes people today here men yell and scream and they say “wow, they are so bold.” That is not the case. Stephen is a picture of calmness. Yet he is bold!
Now they have made accusations against Stephen, basically saying that he was saying that the Temple would be destroyed and that the Mosaic Law was only temporary. Now these were not total fabrications, as Stephen surely spoke about these things, but the Jews were misrepresenting what he was saying.
Notice that his face, like Moses’ did (cf. Ex. 34:29, 35), glowed like that of an angel. Keep that in mind.
Exodus 34:29
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Exodus 34:35
the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
*Now if we are going to stand alone for Christ, not only must we be filled WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, but:
II. We must be filled with Holy wisdom (Acts 7:3, 10)
Stephen was wise enough to properly apply biblical truth. See the Jews had much knowledge of history, but they didn’t have the wisdom needed to properly apply it. What Stephen does is to give the Jews a bit of a history lesson. The lesson may be a historical one, but it had a present application. Now we don’t have time to look at every verse in detail here, but let me summarize what Stephen was teaching here. And this is an important section in the book of Acts. Stephen is making the transition from the Jews to the Gentiles.
A. Stephen begins by putting forth Abraham as exhibit A:
Acts 7:2-8
And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
| 1. | God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia (v. 2) = Stephen points out that God actually appeared to Abraham before he went to Haran. Why is that important? For Stephens’ purpose he is pointing out that God is not limited to Israel, geographically. |
| 2. | God Himself appeared to Abraham – More than God speaking to Abraham, which the OT tells us, it is now revealed that God appeared, in all His glory, in Mesopotamia. |
| 3. | Abraham was a pilgrim even in Canaan – Stephen’s point being that our real citizenship is in heaven. These Jews need to grasp this. So do we! |
B. Stephen then puts forth Joseph as exhibit B:
Acts 7:9-15
"And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,
Stephen’s point is that just as Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, the Jews mistreated Christ.
C. Stephen then puts forth Moses as exhibit C: Acts 7:17-43
Now Stephen spends most of his time dealing with Moses. This is because Moses is of chief concern to the Sanhedrin, for they had built their entire lives around keeping the Law of Moses.
| 1. | Moses was rejected by the Jewish people – Just as the Jews rejected Christ and now reject His disciples. |
| 2. | God appeared to Moses in Midian – Just as God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia, God appeared to Moses in Midian. This is important as it again highlights that God has worked and will work in Gentile territory. When God told Moses “the place where you are standing is holy ground” it was not Jerusalem, but rather a mountain in Gentile territory. |
| 3. | Moses was rejected again after the
Exodus – You see the point Stephen is so clearly making. The Jews
have done to Christ and are doing to him, what their forefathers did
to Moses. He is also stressing that God is not only God over Israel,
but over all the world. |
Now the Sanhedrin were getting quite angry at this history lesson. The Sanhedrin are a part of that history. You see the Sanhedrin were descendants of those who returned to Canaan from the Babylonian captivity. Unfortunately much of that disposition which ended up in the Babylonian captivity was still present in the Sanhedrin.
D. Stephen puts forth the tabernacle as exhibit D:
Acts 7:44-50
"Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, " 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?'
Now the tabernacle was the portable temple the Jews carried with them during their time in the wilderness. They took it into the Promised Land and it was retained, at least in part, until David’s time. It was only during Solomon’s reign that they had a permanent temple. Solomon’s temple was magnificent compared to the portable tabernacle, and Herod’s temple was even more grand. In fact, as Stephen spoke, Herod’s temple was the glory of Jerusalem. It was covered in large part by gold. It was magnificent.
Stephen’s main point is that the Jews couldn’t see beyond their temple. Just as God could be found in the less than magnificent Tabernacle of the wilderness years, so now He can be found outside of Herod’s temple.
Now just as the Jews and their forefathers rejected the things of God in the past, they are so doing in the present.
*Now if we are going to stand alone for Christ, not only must we be filled WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, and filled with HOLY WISDOM but:
III. We must be filled with Holy Power
Acts 7:51-53
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
(v. 8 – says he is filled with “power.” That word (dunamis) has the idea of “power might, strength, or force.” This is the word Jesus used in Acts 1:8 when said that the disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them.)
Now Stephen makes it clear that they were guilty of 3 specific things:
| 1. | They were resisting the HS as they had always done – v. 51 The word resist has the idea of opposing. So they didn’t just resist Christ, they opposed Him as the Messiah. |
| 2. | They were persecuting and killing the prophets as they had always done – v. 52 |
| 3. | They were breaking the law of Moses as
they had always done – 53 |
They prided themselves on keeping the Mosaic Law, but they didn’t really keep it.
*Now if we are going to stand alone for Christ, not only must we be filled WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, and filled with HOLY WISDOM and filled with HOLY POWER but:
IV. We must be filled with Holy Faith
Acts 7:54-60
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
(v. 8 – some translations have “grace,” but faith he is said to be full of faith in v. 5, so we should accept faith as the proper translation. Stephen had enough faith in God, that he was willing to risk it all.)
Acts 7:54-56
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
Again, he is filled with the HS. Now we already saw in 6:15 that his face was like an angel. Now we see that Jesus is standing. We usually thing of Jesus as sitting at the right hand of the Father, since Scripture teaches that. Perhaps what is happening here is that Jesus is standing as He brings Stephens soul up to heaven.
(Story: I remember hearing about a young girl, I think she was about 7, who was epileptic. Her parents were transporting her to the hospital as they had done many times before. Her mother observed her daughter sitting in the back seat and reaching her hand up. Her mother asked what are you doing. The little girl said I am reaching out to grab Jesus’ hand. And the little girl died. I have heard several stories like that. Perhaps that is how we enter heaven.)
Acts 7:57
But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
Literally the text says “they held their ears together.” They didn’t want to hear what Stephen was saying.
7:58-59
and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Living for God can be dangerous to our physical health. You know we see Acts chapter 2, and some say “I want to preach God’s word and see God save 3,000 people.” Well, friend that might happen, but it might be that instead of getting 3,000 souls you get 3,000 stones!
Acts 7:60
And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen echoes our Lord’s words.
Now don’t look at this story and say “wow, Stephen was a super man.” No friend, he was a man just like us, but what made him super was God! God can do that to us as well! If you are filled with the Holy Spirit then God can use you as well.
| Conclusion: | |
| To the believer | Are you ready to stand alone if you have to? Are you ready to pledge all that you have to Christ? |
| To the unbeliever | While believers can look forward to taking Jesus’ hand as they enter heaven, you can look forward to an eternal fire. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Will you accept Him as your Lord and Savior now? |
Pledge My Head To Heaven
By Keith Green
Well, I pledge my head to heaven for the Gospel,
And I ask no man on Earth to fill my needs.
Like the sparrow up above, I am enveloped in His love,
And I trust Him like those little ones, He feeds.
Well I pledge my wife to heaven, for the Gospel,
Though our love each passing day just seems to grow.
As I told her when we wed, I'd surely rather be found
dead,
Than to love her more than the one who saved my soul.
I'm your child, and I want to be in your family
forever.
I'm your child, and I'm gonna follow you,
No matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things
lost.
Well I pledge my son to heaven for the gospel.
Though he's kicked and beaten, ridiculed and scorn.
I will teach him to rejoice, and life a thankful
praising voice,
And to be like Him who bore the nails and crown of
thorns.
I'm your child, and I want to be in your family
forever.
I'm your child, and I'm going to follow you,
No matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all things
lost.
Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all
things lost.
Well I've had the chance to gain the world, and to live
just like a king,
But without your love, it doesn't mean a thing.
Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all
things lost,
Oh no matter whatever the cost, I'm gonna count all
things lost.
Well I pledge my son, I pledge my wife,
I pledge my
head to heaven,
I pledge my son, I pledge my wife,
I pledge my head to heaven, for the gospel.
