Don’t Worry: They Can Only Kill You

Don’t Worry: They Can Only Kill You

“Don’t Worry: They Can Only Kill You”

(Acts 6:8-7:60)

Series: The Church On Fire!

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

First Baptist Church Henderson, KY

(9-16-07) (AM)

 

  • Take God’s Word and open to Acts, chapter 6.

 

We’re continuing our study of the Book of Acts, verse-by-verse through the chapters of Acts.  Our series is entitled, “The Church On Fire” and we’re a church on fire and we’re being encouraged to “Fan the Flames” of the fire that burns here at First Baptist.

 

One of the ways we’re fanning the flames here is through our high attendance emphasis this month in Sunday school.  September begins a new Sunday school year and we’re encouraging all of our Sunday school classes to really reach out and call and visit folks to get them connected to Sunday school.  We have said that if every youth and adult Sunday school class increased their average attendance by just 4 people this month, we’d have 140 more people in Sunday school.  Last week we had 624 in Sunday school and I want to say, “Way to go!”  We’re recognizing classes who really excelled and the class on fire last Sunday was the 8th Grade Girls taught by Emily Sights.  They had an increase of almost 70% in attendance last week.  Now we’re shooting for a record high on the last Sunday of this month, September 30th.  We’re shooting for 700 in SS on the 30th.  We can do it.  Let’s fan the flame together.

  • Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

 

We left off our study in chapter 6 at the end of verse 7.  We read about godly men who serve, namely the first deacons of the church.  One of those deacons was a man named Stephen.  He was the first one listed.  We’re going to be reading about Stephen this morning.  We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so we’re just going to read the first few verses of our text to get us started, beginning at verse 8.

 

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 

9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 

10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 

  • Pray.

 

Introduction:

 

One of the links on our web site is a link to Desiring God Ministries, the ministry website of Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I remember some years ago hearing John Piper preach at Southern Seminary in Louisville.  I will never forget the convicting message he brought as he was explaining Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  Piper’s point was that this verse is a very encouraging verse when you and I go through times of persecution.  When you and I share the gospel and do the work we do for the glory of God, the worst thing the opposition can do is kill us.  That’s all they can do.  They can only kill us.  But while they can kill the body they cannot kill the soul.  So don’t fear the opposition.  They have no power over your soul.  Rather, fear the one who has authority of your soul.  Fear God because all the enemy can do is kill your body.

 

And then he said over and over again in a joyful manner, “The worst they can do is kill you!”  It was like, “Get your perspective right.”  The worst they can do is kill you!  They cannot touch your soul.  They can only kill you.  How bad is that?!  If they kill you, you will just be all the more quickly ushered into the presence of God.

 

So my message this morning is entitled, “Don’t Worry: They Can Only Kill You.”  As we read about the brief ministry of Stephen we’re going to learn how to persevere through persecution.  Remember 2 Timothy 3:12: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”  How to persevere through persecution.  If you share your faith in Jesus Christ, you’re going to persecuted in one way or another.  First:

 

I.  Remember God’s Help of the Spirit (6:8-15)

 

At the moment we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior God’s Spirit indwells us.  He comes and lives within us!  The Bible identifies Stephen as a man “full of the Holy Spirit.”  You could tell Stephen was a Spirit-filled man.

 

Now some people rose against Stephen to persecute him.  They are Jews mentioned in verse 9 who begin to dispute with him, but they’re not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.  Look at verse 11:

 

11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 

12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council (Persecution!)

13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 

14 “for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 

15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

 

I love verse 15!  Stephen is so full of the Holy Spirit that, when his enemies look at him all they see is the face of an angel.  Stephen is full of the Spirit.  His enemies cannot defeat him by their words.  They were “not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”

 

God’s Spirit helps you and I in so many ways.  If we’ll yield to the power of the Spirit within, not resisting Him, but submitting to Him, yielding to Him, recognizing He is there and inviting Him to take complete control of our lives, we’ll live like Stephen.  See, God’s Spirit helps you witness.  And He helps you in other ways.  His Spirit helps you overcome addictions.  His Spirit enables you to forgive.  God’s Spirit makes you a better spouse, a better parent, a better student.  His Spirit helps you do your job better.  God’s Spirit gives you a calm and confidence that He is in control of everything!

 

So our first encouraging word is to remember God’s Help of the Spirit.  Secondly:

II.  Remember God’s History through the Scripture (7:1-50)

 

Stephen has been accused of speaking against God, Moses, and the temple.  So he’s dragged before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership and stands before the high priest and the high priest asks in verse 1, “Are these things so?”  And then what you have is Stephen’s defense.  His defense, or sermon, is the longest one in the Book of Acts.  I want us to read through it this morning because what Stephen does is give a brief history of God’s work in the Old Testament.

 

Chapter 7 is really like the “Reader’s Digest Version” of the Old Testament.  It’s like the “Cliff’s Notes” of Old Testament history.  I always liked “Cliff’s Notes” when I was in school!  You have a brief synopsis of Old Testament history here.  Stephen is defending himself before the Sanhedrin and his main point is that it is not he who is speaking against God and Moses.  It is they!  But in revealing this, Stephen gives them this history.

 

Now I find God’s history through the Scripture encouraging to us as we’re facing persecution because what we read about is what we might call some of the “heroes” of faith of the Old Testament.  Stephen sort of condenses the history under three men, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.  Each one of these leaders of old also faced persecution.  I think that’s the encouragement for you and me this morning.  You’re not alone.  Godly people have faced persecution before you.  They, too, were rejected but they persevered through the persecution and received the greater blessing of God.  So let’s look at these three men.  First, Abraham.  Verse 2:

 

2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 

3 “and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’  (I love that!  Come to a land.  Where?  I’ll show you!)

4 “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 

5 “And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 

6 “But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 

7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ 

8 “Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs. 

 

Abraham trusted God and followed God and persevered through the difficulties of moving his family to wherever God showed him.  He faced many trials but he believed God and because he persevered, God blessed his offspring.  He blessed his children.  Listen: the decisions you make today have an affect upon your children.  Did you know that?  Abraham persevered and received the greater blessing.  The next Old Testament figure is Joseph.  Verse 9:

 

9 ” And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him  10 “and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 

11 “Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 

12 “But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 

13 “And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. 

14 “Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 

15 “So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 

16 “And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. 

 

Joseph is a great story in the Bible!  We’re reading about him in our family devotion time.  Read the story of Joseph at the end of the book of Genesis, chapters 37-50.  It’s a great story of how God was with Joseph, providentially guiding and encouraging Joseph in the face of persecution, persecution from his own brothers and persecution from others.  Joseph persevered through his persecution and received the greater blessing.  The next man we read about is Moses.  Let’s just enjoy listening to this history of Moses.  I’ll try to read it without much comment.  History of Moses, beginning at verse 17:

 

17 ” But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 

18 “till another king arose who did not know Joseph (that’s the pharaoh.  Everybody say, “Boo, Pharaoh!”)

19 “This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. 

20 “At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 

21 “But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 

22 “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds. 

23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 

24 “And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 

25 “For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

 26 “And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 

27 “But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 

28 ‘Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

29 “Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.  (See the persecution?  All of God’s people face it)

30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 

31 “When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 

32 “saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 

33 ‘Then the LORD said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 

34 “I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”‘ 

35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 

36 “He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 

37 ” This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’ 

38 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, 

39 “whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 

40 “saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

41 “And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 

42 “Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 

43 You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ 

 

44 ” Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 

45 “which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, 

46 “who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 

47 “But Solomon built Him a house. 

48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 

49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest? 

50 Has My hand not made all these things?’ 

 

So Stephen gives this condensed history of the Jews during Moses’ time and takes them right up to the time of David and Solomon, reminding the people that God does not live in a building.  The Jews who were persecuting Stephen accused him of speaking against God, Moses, and the temple.  Stephen’s reminding them that God is bigger than a building.  That’s a good reminder for us, isn’t it?  This building really isn’t God’s house is it?  I mean, God owns it, but God’s home is the universe.  We don’t worship the building.  We worship the God of the building.

 

So Stephen gives this sermon in which he reveals God’s history through the Scripture.  And in giving the history of the Scripture, he mentions a few heroes of the Scripture, namely Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.  Each faced persecution but each persevered to receive the greater blessing.  That’s the encouragement to you and me.  Here’s our third point:

 

III.  Remember God’s Home for the Saint (7:51-60)

 

51 ” You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 

 

Stephen is pointing out that the very ones who persecuted Abraham, Joseph, and Moses are the very ones who are now persecuting him!  It’s like Stephen has them hooked this entire time and then says at the end, “Oh by the way, I’m really talking about you guys!”

 

52 “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One (that’s Jesus), of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 

53 “who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” 

54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 

 

That’s a way of saying the Jews were really ticked off at Stephen.  They didn’t want to see themselves in this story.  Scripture has that effect upon us.  James says it’s like a mirror.  We look into the Scripture and we see what needs correction, then we correct it.  The Jews looked in the mirror and didn’t like what they saw, but they didn’t want to correct it. They didn’t want to admit that they were as bad as their forefathers, persecuting the prophets of old and now guilty of killing the Messiah.

 

55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 

56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 

 

Stephen actually sees into heaven.  God opens the window and Stephen sees.  This isn’t, “I Can Only Imagine,” this is reality.  Only five times in the Bible do we read about someone catching a glimpse of heaven from earth: Isaiah 6, Ezekiel in chapter 10, Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, John in Revelation 4 and 5 and here with Stephen.

 

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 

58 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 (a little foreshadow, there)

59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 

60 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. 

 

What a beautiful ending to Stephen’s life!  You may say, “How is that beautiful?!  He was killed by stoning!”  And he was.  Tradition teaches he was pushed off a precipice and then large stones were dropped upon him, crushing his head and crushing his head.  But as he dies he cries out like the Lord Jesus on Calvary’s cross: “Lord, receive my spirit.  Do not charge my enemies with this sin.  They know not what they do.”

 

And the Bible says “when he head said this, he fell asleep.”  That is, he died.  But you tell me where he went.  Where did he go?  Say, “Heaven.”  Right!  Heaven is God’s home for the saint.  Heaven is God’s home for Christians.

 

The Bible says in Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.”  Stephen got a glimpse of heaven.  God through open the window and Stephen say Jesus at the right hand of the Father.  Look again at verse 56.  What is Jesus doing?  Standing.  He’s usually referred to as sitting at the right hand of the Father.  Why is He standing.  He’s standing to welcome home his child.  God has thrown open the window.  Now God opens the door.  Stephen persevered and he received the greater blessing.

 

As one preacher said, “Stand for Jesus and Jesus will stand for you.”

 

When you face persecution this week, don’t worry: they can only kill you.

 

  • Stand for prayer.

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