This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Waterford Lakes, East Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Well, good morning. There is a sermon outline that's in your bulletin that might help and serve as a guide. I hope you follow along and hope that you're already turned to Acts 6 in your Bible as well, too. We're continuing our sermon series in Acts and this is a quick reminder to again of what Acts is all about. It is a testifying, a testimony of the work of the Holy Spirit. As God had promised His Spirit to be poured out on His church, and Jesus said, wait, go to Jerusalem and wait, and when my Spirit is poured out upon you, then you will become my witnesses. And we're seeing that happen here. We're seeing that explosion go forth. In 2000 years later, in North America, here we are gathered in Central Florida. As a result of that, seeing the fruit of that work of that Holy Spirit. God's power going forth. We're going to look at Stephen and his life. We saw last year he remembered that he was one of these seven deacons that were appointed, that were brought to so that the elders could focus on a ministry of the word and prayer, and because other ministries were vitally needing leadership. God raises up other men filled with the Spirit and Stephen is one of them. You know, if Stephen was here this morning, he would tell you this, I honestly believe this is all my heart. He would say, don't make me a character example of somebody that you want to be like and put your eyes and attention on me. Many of you know what's going to happen in the next chapter that follows. We're going to look at next week is Stephen's incredible testimony of which Stephen will become in church history known as the first official martyr at this time, at least recorded in scriptures. An amazing man. But he would say, don't make the mistake of putting your attention on me, putting your focus on me because what makes a man or a woman, a man or woman after God said their eyes are not focused on any earthly human being, but the one that left heaven and came to earth to be human being. Focus is on Christ. And as you know, in his story next week, we'll look at if him being martyred or many of you will know, he had his eyes fixed heavenly. He saw the Son of God standing in the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Even in this passage, we read that his face was that of an angel that which reflected the glory of God much like maybe like Moses in the Old Testament when he had spent time with God. Stephen intimately was acquainted with Jesus Christ who was living inside of him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Stephen would say, don't look at me. Look at the one I was looking at. And that's my excitation and encouragement to us as we begin to look at this passage here this morning is where our eyes need to be fixed and where we're being called to do that. We looked last week at seven different characteristics of spirit-led leadership. If you recall, as we're seeing some of those qualities that we're looking for, there wasn't any master textbook of leadership that they were studying, but the Holy Spirit brought them to get in the Holy Spirit, gave them wisdom and how to discern and start some of the basics of leadership there in the church. Well, we're going to look now this week at a foundational decision that was behind the spirit-led leadership. And that foundational decision that led to spirit-led leadership that we saw last week in the pointing of the seven like Stephen was a decision to follow Jesus. Everyone who received the Holy Spirit had made a decision to follow Jesus, to set their eyes on him. And when you follow the king, it always becomes a matter of surrender. Look at this definition of surrender. Surrender to willingly relinquish ownership and control of oneself to the rightful king. To willingly relinquish ownership and control of oneself to the rightful king. To follow Jesus Christ, you see, is to be purchased by God. First Corinthians 6, 19 through 20 says this, don't you realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God. You do not belong to yourself. For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. Even the catechism question that we looked at are very first week of the new city catechism was this, what is our only hope in life and in death that we are not our own but belong body and soul both in life and death to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ. When we were sharing that as a family, I asked my family, I said, well, why is that hopeful? Why is it hopeful that somebody has bought you that you don't belong to yourself? I asked you that question this morning. Why is that hopeful? Because none of us have grown up in a country thinking that, yeah, I want to be purchased. I want to be owned by somebody else. It's not a value in many ways right of this country. This country is set of a people who have been set released from that from England. Country has been set people as we even celebrate Martin Luther King Day tomorrow realizing that there have been people of minorities in our own country who have been set free from the idea that somebody owns you. What is this that we are not our own what we belong to him? A follower of Jesus Christ has been purchased at a very, very high cost, the life, the death, the resurrection, the ascension, the coming back one day. All that's a package deal but the follower of Jesus Christ has been purchased by Christ. He belongs to him and surrender is the qualification and the representation of that. When the apostles and the follower of Jesus waited as Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they were acting on their decision to surrender their lives to him. As a result, God's promise became fruitful in their lives. The spirit was poured out. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be living surrender to Jesus Christ. They are one and the same. To not live a surrendered life and to say that you are a follower of Jesus Christ is a contradiction in terms and to follow Jesus Christ means that you have decided that your life is surrendered to him by definition. We're going to look at just a few ways that was played out in Stephen's life here. We're going to look at that not just to look at him as a character example, even though he is, but to realize what the power of the source was for that is Stephen looked to Jesus himself. Three qualities I want you to look at. First one this morning. Natural qualities are replaced by supernatural qualities in a life that's surrendered. Natural qualities are replaced by supernatural qualities. Look at verse 8. Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. We know from verse 3, from last week's passage, we know Stephen was respected and filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom. That's why he was selected to be one of the seven in the first place and this passage goes on and says he's full of God's grace and power. He's doing miraculous wonders and signs, probably least that probably means things like healing. Some of the other things that Peter and John and the other apostles were doing. Stephen is displaying that power as working in his life through power of Jesus Christ as well. Natural qualities are replaced by supernatural qualities of a life that's surrendered. There was evidence of power working in Stephen's life far greater than one could have contributed to him. It was the power of God. You can only give to others of what God has already given to you and you can only give it in a way that God gives it to you. Let me say that again. You can only give to others of what God has already given to you and you can only give it in the way that God gives it and Stephen acknowledged that and displays that. Stephen was considered full of grace. Why? Because he had richly received grace. You don't richly give grace and live it out fully before others unless you have richly have it over poured on your life so that it flows out of who you are and that was the case with Stephen. Natural qualities were replaced by supernatural ones. How many of you have seen the recent new movie of it, Les Miserables? I'm just curious about it. How many of you have seen the play, the movie, whatever? At some point I know the story. Most I guess here. One of my favorites of all times, certainly my all-time favorite Broadway play but you know in the story John, Valjean receives one of you back up. John, Valjean who is in prison, right? What? Some 20 years in prison who is finally released and it was only because he was what stole a loaf of bread to help you know beat his starving sister son or something like that. So it's been 20 years. He's finally released and he gets, he finds a shelter in a local church there with the priest and in his panic and his wanting to start over steals the silver there from the cathedral wherever he was and it gets caught and gets brought back and he comes there with the priest and you know from the story the priest says, well what was why would you leave the very best and he comes and he gives them the huge large silver candlesticks from the center of the table. He says you forgot these and gives it to him. Here's lyrics from the song he sings right after that. John, Valjean. He sings yet why did I allow the man to touch my soul and teach me love? He treated me like any other. He gave me his trust. He called me brother. My life he claims for God above can such things be for I had come to hate the world, this world that always hated me. And in the second verse he says one word from him and I'd be back beneath the lash upon the rack. Instead he offers me my freedom. I feel my shame inside me like a knife he told me that I have a soul. How does he know what spirit comes to move my life? Is there another way to go? If you know from the rest of the story everything changes at that time when he chooses to walk in the freedom and the grace that he's received and a man who's been angry, who's been bitter, who's been looking to get back at life looking to get back at God perhaps comes and lives the life of gracious living before others. And so the rest of the story goes. Lauren, I were talking about this the past week and she reminded me she's you know one of the amazing things about it is that he never tries to give the candle sticks back. You know even when he was a successful businessman and things were going well you know you could have come back and said hey thanks these are yours but he never does. He never tries to repay a debt that certainly he has discovered he never can repay because it's far more than a candle stick isn't it? When we accept God's grace but then try to live a life of giving that grace back as a way of paying for it showing that we were worth it and never has the power to change us. But we receive God's grace knowing we can never pay it back, could never have earned it, could never even show ourselves going forward to be worthy of it in the first place. There's a power that's released in that especially when it comes from our creator the one that we know we know we know we owe everything to his natural qualities of striving or Jean Valjean were replaced by the super natural qualities of forgiveness and grace right he began to even show to the one that would be his chapter the rest of the story. Stephen likewise his natural qualities of striving at some point were replaced by the supernatural qualities of forgiveness and grace and so he was a man full of grace. No wonder people say making one of the seven receiving God's forgiveness don't ever forget is supernatural because there's something innate in each of one of us that doesn't think we really need it that much or that bad when the truth is that we are far worse sinners than we could ever imagine. Before or more love than we could dare to hope it is supernatural to receive that kind that itself is a gift of the spirit to receive the forgiveness of God and extending God's forgiveness when you're offended continues to be a supernatural thing as it plays out in your life as well. I want you to thank for a second about the sanctity of human life and we're going to talk about they know this text is not directly talking about that and directly it's talking all about it.
We are not smarter, better, or more righteous than those who favor a pro-choice position. We share the common ground of rebellious sinners before righteous God every single one of us. Our uniqueness is that we are and we have received and have experienced the grace of God that empowers us to live out of gratitude, joy and love as forgiven people. That's the only difference and we must be reminded of that. Let me ask you this though is that what those and the pro-choice pro-choice movement audience feels from you? Is that what they feel from me? Is that what they feel from the church? It's from a group of people that have been overwhelmed by the grace of God extended towards them. If it's not, it should be. I love the story of Norman McCorvey, who's Norman McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe V Wade, whose life is transformed even in the midst when she was still fighting for the pro-choice movement because the softness of a family that had been, as I understand it, petitioning and being thicketing and praying against abortion clinic reached out to her and their little girl who invited her to come to church. She eventually took her up in the offer, came to faith in Jesus Christ through a church that wasn't judgmental towards her, but they extended the same kind of love, grace and compassion that they themselves had received. And now, Norman McCorvey is one of the greatest pro-life advocates we have. And she fights for that cause. When we surrender, natural qualities are replaced by supernatural qualities. Secondly, worldly reason is replaced by wisdom from God through surrender. Look at verses 9-10. Opposition arose, however, from members of the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called, Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as the provinces of Celicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or their spirit by whom he spoke. There are many synagogues in Jerusalem, we know from historical record, and the synagogue of freedmen was probably referring to a synagogue where there had been former slaves of the Romans. Jews who had been formally enslaved through the conquest of Rome had been set free. They were called freedmen. There are often, in most cases, probably Greek speaking, like Stephen was. Stephen, his name is Greek, Stephanus, meaning crowned. That's probably why Stephen was in the synagogue in the first place. So, these were ones that had known and understood slavery firsthand and bondage firsthand from the conquest of Rome. This is the group he's talking to. This is the opposite that rises up. There's reason even historically to believe that Paul, formerly known as Saul, who will be the one holding the cloaks of those who will stone Stephen next chapter, was good chance from this particular synagogue, or at least spent time there. His home at Harsas was in the principal city that was in Celicia, where some of these people would have come. Paul could have been very much in the context here. He could have heard the sermon from Stephen. He certainly could have been around and maybe even known Stephen. Stephen known him. Paul says he's a Hebrew, a Hebrew. He's a Pharisee. He's a top student in his class. He's a religious expert. We know that from Paul's own testimony about himself before he came to faith in Christ. Paul with all that experience, all that expert could not stand up with anybody else next to Stephen, not a trained man, not a religious expert, not one who was an excellent study of the scriptures, at least not from upright of his upbringing. But it was the spirit of wisdom that came upon. Worldly reason was replaced by the wisdom of God, and it's far superior than anything here on earth. Jesus had told them back in Luke that this would be a sign of the Spirit's presence. Luke 12, Luke 12, 11 through 12 says this, and when you are brought to trial, Jesus said, in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said. Jesus, are you told them that would happen? Stephen, exhibit A, you see it happening here, and then we'll continue to happen out to the book of Acts. Worldly reason can change the mind of man, but only spirit-filled wisdom from God can change his heart. Worldly reason can change the mind of a man or woman, but only spirit-filled wisdom can change get wisdom from God can change his or her heart. Paul with all his worldly reasoning power after he comes to faith in Jesus Christ, even with all his academics, all his knowledge and training, he says this in 1 Corinthians 2, 3 through 5, he says, I came to you in weakness, timid and trembling, and my message and my preaching were very plain, rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom, but in the power of God. Swintered lives, learning become to know more and more that worldly wisdom is replaced by the wisdom that comes from God. There is no sound reasoning that's going to transform any heart or life on the issue of abortion. I have to confess, years ago I thought that you could through good sound reasoning. It's a little bit of a no-brainer if you think about it. If you look at the issues and you look at them statistically, you look at what the definition of death is, you look at what it means and conception and life and death, you look at this and go, how do we say this is not a real living person and a real life? How do we come up with that? There is no worldly reason that explains it. Let me tell you, there was no worldly, there was no reason that it could explain it away in World War II. When six million Jews were killed and the vast majority of Christians and the church in that country remained silent or on our own civil war, so many African-Americans were persecuted, killed in many cases and the church had remained silent in so many cases, especially in the south,
worldly reasoning is not the power that changes a heart on an issue. Let me tell you, it's not a political issue. Does it play out in the political arena? You betcha. Is it a political issue? Absolutely not.
It's a human life issue. It is, are you made in the image of God or are you not? Has he formed you in the womb or has he not? Did he know you before the foundations of the earth were laid or did he not?
Is he in control of the day you're born and the day that you die or is he not? Was John the Baptist in the womb filled with the Holy Spirit according to the scriptures or was he not?
I like what one person said one time, they said, you know, it's really a matter of holiness. And I was like, how's that? God says, be holy because I am holy. God is the authority. God is the creator. God who is the one who has given life. We have no right to take it at any stage of the game. Only the Spirit's conviction of sin and the holiness of God revealed through the life and death that Jesus Christ will change hearts. And if we believe that then our first weapons in this battle, weapon number one will be prayer, not a bumper sticker. Weapon two or maybe combined with prayer one, weapon number one for sure, showing the love of Christ of those lost and doing it in action and in words with the same kind of mercy and grace that God has bestowed upon you. Weapon number three, communicating to them not through bumper sticker on your car or a picket signed in your hand or by holding a vigil somewhere else but by holding their hand and walking the road with them. Thank God we have Cornerstone Pregnancy Center. That's not just there to help people what they shouldn't do but it's there to say we want to help and we understand you're in crisis and we understand there's hard decisions to make. But we'll walk this road with you. It's why it's so important. I'm glad we have Allison Lee and others here to have a passion for saying how can we come along? How can we help? How can we support? When we surrender worldly reason is replaced by the wisdom from God and the wisdom from God which the world would never come up with was for a merciful loving God to come and give his life and lay it down as a ransom for many. And Jesus did and if we follow Jesus we will follow that same pathway, that same pattern. Jesus attracted the broken. How can we as the church propel them? It's time for it to change. May it start here at Christ's Kingdom. Lastly and briefly the priority of self preservation is replaced by the priority of God glorification through a surrendered life. Look at verses 11 and following. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say we have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God. So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law they see Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses who testified this fellow never stop speaking against this holy place and against the law. But we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs of Moses handed down to us all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen and they saw his face was like the face of an angel. What does this story sound strangely eerie familiar to? Well the story marked 14 where against Jesus himself they stirred up false witnesses against Jesus. So they might have leveraged to accuse them to foster the accused them. The priority of self preservation is replaced by the priority of God glorification for those who have surrendered their lives. You know if you think about it for a second it would have been easy right for Stephen. When he sensed there was some pressure there was some resistance when he was seeing things they all right there's some opposition here that's a little intense. He could have kept this mouth shut. It would have been easy just to talk a little bit less or to be silent all together. He could have avoided the issue or pushing the issue by just changing the subject right. You know he could have said let's talk about this. I mean the woman at the well was pretty good about changing subjects with Jesus. He could have borrowed that play out of the playbook. He could have focused on defending himself against the false witnesses. He could have said look well I never said that. Hey who are these guys? Where did they come from? No who told you to say who paid you? He never even defended himself. Neither did Jesus. That would have been very difficult for me if I thought people were foster the accused against me. I would want to say hey I've got a little defense here because this is not true but he doesn't because self-preservation was replaced by the priority of God glorification and if he was foster the accused so what if God is authentically glorified in his proclamation in his life. He was secondary by far and God's glory was what was strongest and most important. You know he could have convinced himself that it would have been better to serve God. This is probably a attack I would have taken. Convents himself that had been better to serve God by keeping silent and being able to continue his current ministry because you know taking care of the widows was important. He had just been appointed by the apostles to do this. You know I'm going to really give the right attention I need to do for that. I'm going to have to play it kind of cool here and be careful and that's self-preservation driving isn't it. I don't think Stephen was looking to get martyred and to get killed. Stephen might have thought hey God's going to deliver me in a mighty way like he has in many other cases but I think Stephen didn't care in some ways that his life was lost if it was for the sake of the proclamation of the glory of Jesus Christ. Who's spirit of Jesus was filling him. Surrender manifests itself quickly when the priority of self-preservation is replaced by the priority of God glorification. Let's talk about abortion for a second. Where are the temptations of self-preservation for us as the church on this particular issue? Is it worried that people won't like you? Is it fear of being labeled by your friends or family members? Fear of being misunderstood perhaps the fear of being ostracized in some way? Is it the inconvenience? Is it the fact that it requires a lot of emotional energy to engage a topic like that? Is it fear of being sucked into a cause when your agenda is already full and your to-do list already has too many boxes anyway that you'll never check to the same kind of reasons that were given by the church in World War II and the church in the South during the Civil War? Is it strangely similar? There are opportunities for God glorification. When we speak for the week and the defenseless we really do it, don't we? When Jesus says, if you've done it until the least of these, you've done it unto me. It's hard to think of any more at least than these than the innocent unborn little boy, little girl in the womb. When we don't oppose women's rights, we support the God given to life and extend it to the womb. We realize that there are at least half of those that are in the womb that are women. And we fight for that cause and say, yes, women should have rights, including all 50% of them in the womb. Those are opportunities. When we remind people that God redeems and makes all things new, even unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, let me tell you, if those messed up God and His plans and He can't work goodness through that, if all things can't work together for good in that situation, if God's promises to prosper you and to give you hope in the future, don't apply in that situation that He's not worthy to be called God. But if His promises are just as true in those particular circumstances, then it's time to see His power and His glory released in those opportunities in those situations, even though we would never want them and invite them to come. But when those situations are there, it may be glorified in that. We realize that as God saved the Apostle Paul, who was a persecutor and killer of innocent Christians, he is still trying to save men and women today, whether they approach voice or not. So important to remember that Paul is the one that's giving full approval of Stephen's death in this next chapter. And who would have thought that God had the power to change a guy like Saul at the time? Nobody. Number one on that list Saul himself. And yet Jesus does. Who would have thought normal McCorvey would have come to faith in Jesus Christ? God did. God does. How many opportunities are we missing to not proclaim to speak the truth and love to those that God is quite capable and willing to bring His lost sheep home in this situation? Let me ask you this. What have abortion as part of your story? What if it's a part of your story? Can you trust God's work and power in your life? I've been surprised over the years that he didn't ministry. How many people have come up and said, you know that I made that choice a long time ago. And I'm struggling with it. But the guilt, the shame, can God redeem that situation and use it for his glory and honor? You bet he can. Knowing his forgiveness in that
can it set you free? You bet it can. Could you trust God to use your story? Yes, you can. Can God take and make beauty from ashes? Yes, he does. And he's willing to do it again. Could you share it with those who are hurting? Those who might be in your same situation. And maybe some of you had that decision and made a pro-life choice in the midst of that. You can still share your story, the toughness, the decisions that were made. When we surrender, the priority of self-preservation is replaced by the priority of God glorification. When you follow the king, you live a life of surrender. You willingly relinquish ownership and control of yourself to the rightful king. Let me encourage you, surrender to him this morning if you haven't. Surrender him in whatever unique opportunities. We've talked a lot about abortion this morning because of this sanctity of human life Sunday. I don't care what your situation is. What your struggle is. There is a call to surrender in a very real practical way in your life this week. Maybe it's a struggling marriage. Maybe it's difficult finances. Maybe it's looking for a job. Maybe it's a broken relationship, strain relationship. Maybe it's school and the struggles with that. Maybe it's with your parents and maybe parents is with your children. I don't know. But there are opportunities to experience surrender in your life here. And God is calling you to do that. So that human natural human power will be replaced by supernatural power. So that you'll experience the reality of wisdom from God working your life over worldly wisdom. So you'll have an opportunity to come and experience the priority of God glorification your life over self-preservation. Jesus meant it when he said, he who seeks his life will lose it. But he who loses his life for me will find it. He's calling us here this morning to worship him. He's calling us here to live spirit-lid lives of surrender. Take the flag. Wave it. Give your life to him. Let's pray. God just asked that you would make that reality of surrender, the knee for that, the clarification of that very evident clear in our lives here this morning. God has become to your table as we come and realize that this represents your life being poured out and surrendered to your heavenly Father who you have been only followed and out of love and out of joy lay down your life to obey the Father, to redeem a people to yourself. God will become following you the one who has shown the way of surrender and has done it perfectly and excellently. We come to you now. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.