Amen, let's pray. Father, may this be our prayer this morning, not just because we're sitting in your house, not just because for many of us as we sit among Christian and Christian company, with brothers and sisters in the Lord, but may this be the true desire of our hearts today, that all for Jesus, all I am and have and ever hope to be, may it all be about him. Forgive us when our lives have become about ourselves. Forgive us when our ambitions are more about what we want, rather than what you want for us. And Lord, give us today an earnest desire, Lord, to just live our lives in such a way that we would glorify you in all that we say and all that we do. Forgive us for our sins, Lord, for our transgressions and our iniquities, because we're conscious that another week has passed We indeed, Lord, in some way have failed you or sinned against you, and we ask your forgiveness for this today. We realize that while we live in this world, we will not be perfect, but we thank that your word encourages us to strive to be perfect, to strive to be more and more like your son. But we do look forward to that day when we shall see Jesus. when we shall be in your presence forever and ever, and we shall never, ever again struggle with sin, and sin will never have any dominion over us. So Lord, we look forward to that day, but till that day come, help us to look on to you, the author and perfecter of our faith. Now as we turn to your word, Lord, let your word speak to us. And Lord, even our moments we have together, may it just encourage us where we are along the journey of life. May it help us to edify us, to build us up, and if necessary, Lord, pull certain areas of our lives down, those areas of rebellion, those walls of rebellion, pull them down in our hearts, that we might submit ourselves to thee, and that the words that we sing would truly be the desires of our heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. If you've got your Bible with you this morning, we're turning to the book of Acts. God willing, can I just say, it's just a little bit of an introduction to the times that we're going to have here together in Abbots on our Sundays. Now as you see, Andrew will be back here next Sunday and then, God willing, I'll be back the following Sunday, so sort of alternative weeks. But God willing, for the summaries that I will hear, we're gonna look at some, what I'm gonna call biblical characters, biblical characters, and endeavor just to glean a few truths for them. For example, on one Sunday, we're gonna look together at the woman that God encourages to remember, or the woman that God says we ought to remember. And instantly, whenever I say it, some of you will know who I'm talking about. And then, we're gonna look at, on one occasion, the man that God says will be forgotten. And so, just as an example, but this morning we're gonna look briefly, and then glean from that, at the life of Stephen, a little bit of an introduction to the life of Stephen, what made his life stand out. And we get very little, there's a very little part about his life that's been written, really from, would you say, from his appointment in the ministry to literally all you have is two chapters, and then Stephen's gone to be with the Lord, because as you know, that Stephen bestowed to death for his faith, is what was known as the first martyr. But in verse 1 of chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles, it says these words, and in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, now verse 1 of chapter 6 of Acts of the Apostles, there arose a murmuring of the Grishians against the Hebrews. because their widows were being neglected in daily ministration. Now, before we go any further, can I say something to you? The early church was not prone to murmuring and complaining, just like today's church is not prone to murmuring and complaining. Some of us don't need anything really to murmur and complain about, we just love to complain. We'd always like something to pick holes in something, because that's just, sadly, that's just the type of nature we are. We just want to complain about something. Well, there were nothing, nothing's changed here. Verse 2, then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Now notice what these men were called to. These men were called to study the word and to prayer. These twelve were known as the apostles. That's what their ministry was. And then later on, Paul would write to young Timothy, and Paul would say, give him some clear instruction in the pastorate. And his clear instruction in the pastorate, as many of you know, Paul's instruction to young Timothy was, preach the word. Begins in the season, out of season, but he preached the word. And so how will you preach the word? It's by being in the word, and if we don't be in the word, we can't preach the word rightfully. Wherefore, says verse three, brethren, look ye out among you seven men, of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased the multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man of faith, a man full of faith, and the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Proconus, and Nicanor, and Timion, and Paraminus, and Nicolaus, the proselyte of Antioch. whom they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people." Now, just hold your Bible there because we're going to turn a wee moment. Folks, the question is, what was the key of success in verse 7 when it says, and the word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied? Well, the key to that whole sense of being successful was if you go back when it says there in verse four, but we will give ourselves continue to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And that was like the key that unlocked the door to what I'm gonna say, great fruitfulness in the early church. Because these men were given to prayer and to the word. It was in many sense as a private ministry, and then there was the public ministry. And so in our lives, if we want, as it were, spiritual success to follow, in our lives, I'm convinced these two parts are the great key to unlocking the door. Prayer, and we mentioned that on Wednesday evening, or Tuesday evening, sorry, at the Babel study, that even whenever Christ was on the cross, we realized he was still in the attitude of prayer, as he was remembering, as he was praying for those who had, he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And prayer of intercession, and so forth. But here I'm going to say to you this morning that there's this key to how the early church grew. It was not about gimmicks. And it was not about fulfilling people's fantasies of what they thought church should be. But it was about these early men, these 12, had given themselves over to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Then if you will just read briefly into chapter seven, then you see Stephen's, what I'm gonna call Stephen's ministry, or Stephen's preaching. We get a very short account here, but I'm telling you, he didn't mince his words. I don't know how he would be liked in, he might not be liked in many parts of the world if he was preaching today, but at verse 51, it really breaks in, and he just hits him straight between the eyes of chapter seven, verse 51, he says, ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one, of whom ye have now been betrayers and murderers. who have received the law by the disposition of the angels, and have not kept it. And when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. And they cried with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the young man's feet, whose name was Saul, who would become Paul. Saul of Tarsus, who was converted on Damascus Road, and they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Then we trust that the Lord will bless the reading of his word to our hearts. John Phillips gives a beautiful little three-point illustrator, little three-point, really, overview of the life of Stephen. And if any of you have got his book, do you want John Phillips' books? He's a very good writer, modern-day writer. If any of you got any of his books in your house, I would encourage you, if you want a little simple story, as you make your way through the Bible, John Phillips has a very good book. He has a number of commentaries on the whole of the New Testament. But John Phillips describes Stephen in three ways. Number one, he calls him a faithful minister. Number two, he says he's a fearless messenger. And number three, he calls him the first martyr. He was a faithful minister in that even when the early church was expanding, Thousands were being converted, coming to faith in Christ Jesus. Now the reason why they were coming to faith in Christ Jesus was because those twelve, those apostles, those men that were given to prayer and to minister the word, God was blessing their intimacy and God was blessing their proclamation of the word. And in return there was a response to that word that was preached and there was fruit that would remain. The early church, extraordinary things were happening, and thus the early church needed to appoint what they called deacons for this specific task, for this specific job. Now we know that the Bible very clearly, New Testament sets out two different types of men, very biblical men, one where it calls about elders, those men, one is the teaching elder, those men that look after the spiritual aspect of the church, and then those men that are deacons. Now we know within, for those of you men and women who are congregationists, You will know that the congregations don't roam with elders and deacons, but just simply weren't roaming with deacons. But in the biblical sense, we have two individuals here. We have two groups. One is called elders and one is called deacons. And the elders' responsibility was the spiritual aspect of the church. and in those elders you would have what's called a teaching elder and he would be classed as we know as a pastor to whom presently he's away on holidays and he's enjoying himself and might be watching us this morning with a big smile on his face so we'll just give him a good touch. Enjoy your holidays you rascal, that's all we'll say to him. Enjoy your holidays. But anyway, setting that all aside, then you had men that were alongside that elder. And what you have is, I believe in early church life you have men that are, the Bible says some was called some the evangelists and some the teachers. So what you've got is you've got a team ministry. You've got a team here now, so it's not a one-man show. It's not one man responsible for everything. The one man, the man here, these twelve apostles, these were not responsible for the practical aspects. So what they said was, you could see a team ministry here building up around in the early church whereby one man wasn't responsible for doing the practical things as well as the spiritual things. One man can't do everything. And so these men, these early apostles, they endeavored to set about and said, look out for your men, seven men full of honest and good report, full of the Holy Ghost and full of faith. And so they set about and Stephen was one of these men. This is where Stephen fits in because he is one of the seven that were appointed for this task. A deacon, even though he was involved in practical matters within the church and was looking after different practical issues, he had to be a man of sterling character. He had to be a man of integrity beyond question, but he also had to be a man full of the Holy Ghost. This was just the criteria in the early church. You look out for a man, you're just not looking for a man who is able to do the practical things, but there must be a godliness about the man. There must be a sense of spirituality about the man, that the man is growing spiritually. And Stephen was honest, he was capable, he was spirit-filled. And that word spirit-filled simply means that the loveliness of the Lord Jesus was seen in everything that this man did. And I asked myself, I had to be honest and just say I was reading over this again this morning, and I asked myself the question, I wonder is the loveliness of Jesus seen in everything that we do? It's easy whenever everything's going well for us that we can very easy portray the loveliness of Jesus. But the problem is whenever somebody stands on our toes, it's the loveliness of Jesus seen in everything we do. And undoubtedly, folks, there's no one that is a better example than Christ himself. And you go back to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah says that when he was revealed, what did he do? He revealed not again. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, yet the Bible says he opened not his mouth, And so what we see is in Christ, even as he faced death, and even as he faced, you could say, persecution and tribulation at the hands of those he'd created, yet still he showed this godliness, this loveliness of Jesus in his very life, his very core. Tell me, as you look back over a past weekend, As you look back over this past week in your life, I wonder, just ask yourself a simple question. In those moments when you have maybe been a wee bit hot under the collar, and something has been really annoying you, and somebody has been annoying you, how have you reacted to them? Have they seen what we're gonna call the lovingness of Jesus in what you've done and how you've responded? Let me say to you also, very quickly, there's this two aspects, and you'll find there was an offering that the high priest offered, and one was a horizontal offering and one was a vertical, so whereby, there was, I think it was called the heave offering, whereby the high priest would take the part of this offering and he would weave it one way and the other way, horizontal and vertical. And as this high priest would make this indication, what he was indicating was that man can be forgiven by man, but also man can be forgiven by God. So there's a manward action and there's a Godward action. Now the manward action, this man, this deacon, he must be a man of honest report. So if there was something dodgy about the man, he was sort of excluded from office. But also he had this Godward action in that he was a man full of the Holy Ghost. Now it didn't necessarily mean these deacons had to know their doctrine inside out. It didn't necessarily mean that these deacons had to know all the church rules and regulations without any question. What these men looked out for, what these people were asked to look out for, were men that were full of the Holy Ghost. That God was seen in them, and they were in God. Tell me, what do people see when they see your life as a child of God this morning? What do people see? He was what I'm going to call a faithful minister. Let me just very quickly march on here. Secondly, he was a fearless, faithful minister, but he was also a fearless messenger. He's not just served the table, but we also get this account that in some way God has gifted him in preaching. Some way God has given him this. And I do believe, folks, that preaching is undoubtedly a gift from God. Not everybody has been given the gift, but I'm telling you, if you haven't been given the gift for preaching or the ability for preaching, listen, do not think that God has overlooked you because he has given you some other kind of gift. or some other kind of talent or some other kind of ability. It's not to be all and end all just because you're not able to preach, folks. Don't ever think that. Don't ever think that at all. But here this man was given the ability to be not only a server at the table, so I see he was very happily able to be in a role of humility as well as a role of position. And I'll tell you folks, there's truly a man, a godly man, who's not afraid to sweep the floors, or seem to be sweeping the floors, as much as stand behind a pulpit and be seen. Sometimes we have this tendency of thinking, oh, you know what I mean, I would rather be, I want a seen position. But these early church men, these deacons, it wasn't so much a seen position and that public view. They were just to get on with the practical aspects. But even with getting on with the practical aspects of ministry, they had to be men full of the Holy Ghost. Even to clean the tables, there had to be men full of the Holy Ghost. Even to sweep the floors, there had to be men full of the Holy Ghost. Men whom people knew that God was with them. But you will also notice, not just was he a servant at the table, but he was also a sharer of the Word of God, or a preacher of the Word. And we read about that in chapter 7. and he was a man who not only preached what he lived, but he lived what he preached. And it's said that whenever Stephen had preached the message, on this occasion in chapter 7 of Acts of the Apostles, it says that their faces were distorted with fury and rage, because the message that he proclaimed was cutting straight into their heart, because it was a message that was delivered, not just was he a man who was full of the Holy Ghost, but he preached in the power of the Holy Ghost. And so his word is a power. His word's an authority. His word's convicted. His word spoke into the hearts of people. And it wasn't him that was doing this work, it was the spirit of God that was working through him. And so here he is, this fearless messenger, who endeavored to preach the word. Folks, can I say something to you? What we desperately need is that God would give us great help for those who are responsible here at Abbots Cross, that God would not just make us men who are full of the Holy Ghost, but men who are fearless of people. Preachers who stand in the churches today and they're afraid because of saying certain things because it might hinder or it might make adjustments to the salary that they receive at the end of the month. or they might not just get the clap on the back that they think they rightfully deserve. Folks, here were men who were out to please only one person in life, and that was their Savior. That was all they were out to do now, just to please God. Please God. And folks, so that God would give us such a desire today that our lives every morning will be raised. And it's not, folks, that we purposely go out of our way. It's not that we purposely go out of our way to get people's heckles up. It's not that we go out of our way to be ignorant or rude to people. I want to tell you something. The Bible tells us, folks, in church, about the life of Christ, when he preached, it says that his life, he was full of grace and truth. Now, can I say this to you? Some of us are adamant that we get the truth across, but the problem is there's no grace. And undoubtedly, what we might be saying is very legitimate and very true, but we're exceptionally graceless in our truth. There's a dear friend of mine, a pastor in a wee church in Rathrieland, and I remember him preaching one time, and he says, what Jesus had, he preached the truth with grace. It wasn't a graceless truth. And some of us ought to be very careful, you know, how we present the truth. Because for the Christ, he was full of grace and truth. But thirdly, very quickly, folks, he was what we're going to call the first martyr. We hear many things about the martyr. If any of you follow mission organizations like Open Doors and Persecuted Church, you will hear that even today there are believers all over the world today that are going through persecutions for their faith. Many have been martyred for their faith, and we have records of that down through history. You take a little book, The Fox's Book of the Martyrs, and you'll not read hardly two chapters before the tears will begin to flood your cheeks as you consider how those early believers were martyred for their faith. Some were burned at the stake, some of their, literally some were cut open and the pigs were brought in to eat of their entrails and so forth. It was some of the most terriblest things that ever happened to the early believers. But Stephen was a man who was stoned for his faith and stoned because he was a Christian. But the great biblical truth here is that whenever you read in verse chapter seven, it's a little thought as I just was sitting in the study on Friday afternoon. When the stone, Stephen, Stephen the Bible says, looked up into heaven. Now we have an account in what heaven is like, some little glimpse into what heaven is like. For example, God sits upon the throne. That's one of the factors. We also see that according to Hebrews chapter 10 that the Bible records for us that whenever Jesus finished his redemptive work, we're told that he sat down at the right hand of the Father. And we're told that a low Christ's work of redemption is finished. That indication, Hebrews 10 and 12, whereby he says, but this man after he had once suffered for sin, suffered one sacrifice for sin, sat down at the right hand of God forever. So it's an indication that the work of redemption is complete. So there's nothing more I can add to redemption. So this is the message that we have to get across to people when some people think it's about works of righteousness and some people think it's about being their prayer. saying prayers, and some people think it's about paying their money and all these things. We say, hold on a minute here, let me just show you from the Bible that the Christ, whenever he had finished his sacrifice, one sacrifice for sin, he sat down at the right hand of God. Now, we are told in the scripture in Acts chapter 7, there's only one account in the whole of scripture that Jesus standing in heaven. And you read about it in Acts chapter 7 verse 55. It's the only account you ever, you look through your Bible and the New Testament you will never read of Jesus ever standing once in heaven. Only one occasion he stands in heaven and that is whenever Stephen looks up into the, whenever Stephen looks up into heaven it says in verse 55 of chapter 7, but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfast into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So what we find is, though he's seated in one aspect, the work of redemption, but he stands to welcome his faithful ones home. And so he rises to greet us. He rises to meet us. And so says one commentator, a man called Powell, he says, this statement is unique in the New Testament, for elsewhere the Lord described as seated in the place of celestial honor, could it be that that he had risen to greet this illustrious saint who had laid down his life for the master. Is it possible that he had arose to say, well done, my good and faithful servant, writes Powell. It is obvious that Stephen received a great welcome when he reached God's country. And then says Powell, happy ways are they who strive to obtain such a similar entrance. He says that we may be faithful unto death, right to the very death, even of stoning. And this was such a man called Stephen. But so I'm thinking to myself very quickly, folks, here's this man, Stephen, and there's these marks about his life, and there's these aspects whereby, undoubtedly, as we already intimated to you, he's a faithful minister of the Word of God. He is a fearless messenger. He doesn't care what people think of him. It's irrelevant. He preaches the Word of God and the Holy Ghost. He is, what I'm going to say, the first martyr. But I ask myself, Stephen, very quickly, what are some of the marks about your life that made you to advance or to grow in your spiritual journey? What are the things that helped you to get to this position whereby they could appoint you as a deacon? whereby people saw that your life was marked by the Holy Ghost. What are some of the indications that would point to us this morning very quickly, because our time was nearly gone. I have to honestly, that was only my introduction. That's just in passing now. Just forget about that now, so I'll try and cut it a wee bit shorter. But anyway, in saying that now, what are some of the indications, Stephen, that caused you to grow spiritually? Many of you people here this morning, some maybe in church this morning, and sort of formality, ritual, and so forth, but there are some amongst us today, this earnest desire that they may grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. And I want to be more and more like Jesus in my daily living. And so you say, what is it to them? I'll give you two simple indicators. Number one, there was the Word of God. And number two, there was the Spirit of God. The Bible says it was full of faith. Faith in what? Faith in God's Word. and faith in God. And number two was full of the Holy Ghost. You say, what is faith? Well, there's an old man, his name was George Muller. Some of you might have heard of him, some of you might not have heard of him. There's a little DVD brought out about his life. It's called Obstacles to Comfort. If you haven't got it, I would encourage you to get a hold of it and sit and watch it. George Muller set up an orphanage in a place called Bristol in England. And there he would begin to bring in children, one by one. And there were occasions when they had not a penny, not a one penny now, to put food on the table, till George Muller went to prayer. George Muller died a pauper, you know, yet God had given to him literally millions of pounds. You know what he did in his retirement? He used his money to support all our missionaries that had gone to serve in other places. He didn't see any point in him storing up riches for himself, so literally he died a pauper. He gave virtually all his money away, left with very little. Well, on occasion, Muller prayed because they sat at the table with no bread. And during the night, this Christian baker had rose up. God had woke him out of his sleep and told him to bake bread for the orphanage. Didn't know anything about it, didn't know why. Next morning, as the children sat around the table with nothing to eat, Muller just bowed, got the children to bow their heads in prayer. And Muller would say, Lord, would you provide the needs for us today? And the man would rap on the door, door would come, and this baker would walk in with the bread for the children. Mueller didn't tell anybody. Mueller said these words, the faith that I have is no special gift from God. It is the same faith that any child of God can have in their Heavenly Father. The faith that I have is no special gift from God. He said it's the same faith that any man or woman, any man can have in his Heavenly Father. Here, this man has faith in God's Word. He believed God's word changed people's lives, he knew it changed their own lives. So let me give you four simple little thoughts why I believe the word of God is so important. Number one, it searches our lives. You can't come to the word of God, you can't sit in the house of God, you can't open this book and this book because it tells me, says the psalmist, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. What does it do? It sheds light in my pathway. It shows me exactly where I am. It shows me that I am unredeemed. It shows me that I am, what the biblical theological word is, ungenerated. Unregenerated. Whereby we have not been born again by the Spirit of God. Whereby we are still in our darkness and our sins. And this is why we need light. Because we are in darkness. This is why we need life. Because according to Ephesians we are born dead in our trespasses and our sins. This is the way we were, but Christ has brought new life to us in this new work of regeneration. The Word of God, it searches our lives, and we don't know, even as the Lord's people, man, it searches our hearts. We come to the house of God on a Sunday, we come to our Bible study, we open the Word during the week, and we're opening it as we're sitting, reading the Word of God, we realize this Word is speaking to me, it's saying something to me that I don't like what it's saying because it's causing me to make adjustments in my life, making tweaks in my life. My Uncle Geordie was a mechanic by trade, He was old school and everything was done by ear. Nothing was done by electronics. You didn't plug it. At that time if you talked about plugging something in, Uncle Gerry would have chased you off the yard. But anyway, you didn't plug a diagnostic system into the car. You literally just opened the bonnet and he listened. And so men would come with problems with their carburettors and just as he listened and as he tweaked, He made the necessary adjustments that the vehicle would run smoothly. In our lives we come to God's Word and the Word of God searches for what reason that we might make the necessary tweaks and that we might keep our ear close to God to hear what God is saying to us. It searches our hearts. It reveals our need to us. It reveals the exceeding sinfulness of our sin. And we are also very glad that the Word just doesn't stop speaking to us when we get converted and brought into this royal family. God continues to reveal our imperfections, our pride, our jealousy, our covetousness, our lustfulness. His word continues to search our hearts for what reason? Because when we come into the family of God, then what He's endeavouring to do is He's endeavouring then by His Spirit to make me more and more into the image of Christ. And it's going to be less about me and more about Him. John the Baptist would say that I must decrease and He must increase. He said, John 15, I am the vine and ye are the branches. He says the branch can't bear fruit on its own. Now I know very little about gardening, very little about gardening. If you put me in the garden, a friend of mine, me and him would be much the same. His wife gave off, she went away shopping one day and he just said he would do gardening. And she says he went away to some horticulture show in England and I brought back these expensive bulbs a year ago, planted them, expected a beautiful blossom. I come home the other Saturday morning, the whole thing wheeled out in the street and in the bin. He's no clue what the difference between a bulb and a weed was, not a notion. Now I know this folks, you cut a branch off, it can't bear anything of it's own, it dies. That's why John 15 says very clearly, the branch is grafted into the vine for a purpose. Because our strength and our life comes from God, comes from the vine. Now it doesn't mean the branch doesn't need to be pruned. And that's what the tweaking is. That's what the Word of God does. He searches. He's endeavouring to make the necessary cuts here and there to take off the dead branches. Sure, we look at our lives, folks, and we see our flaws and our imperfections, and what are they? They're causing us not to get closer to God, but causing us to get away from God. These things need to be cut off in our lives. Now, I don't stand here. Now, don't you think for one minute I stand here this morning preaching to you and not realising this is for me. This is important now for me standing here. So don't you ever get this impression now, just because a preacher standing behind a pulpit doesn't need it. He needs it more than you need it. There is in our lives a need in between. Why? Because as we read God's Word, God's showing us things that are not godly and not wholesome. And he wants rid of them in our lives. And that's why the Bible speaks about wrecking yourselves to be dead and lead on to sin and leave on to God. Secondly, very quick, look at that time, it's gone. Give me five minutes and we'll see how we get on. And you'll just have to, if you think I'm talking fast already, I haven't started yet. You've never seen a fast man yet in Middle Ulster getting going. I'm telling you, you only silly people who think you can talk fast. You get out of good company, man, you'll not have a clue what he's saying. Not a notion. But he'd think he said a whole pile. But anyway, let me say to you secondly, not just to assert your life, but very quickly, the Word of God is our source of life. It's our source of life. 1 Peter says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all glory of men as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falleth away, but the Word of the Lord endureth forever. Folks, we can only experience this new birth, or being born again, remembering indeed the importance of not just the work of the Spirit of God, but also the work of the Word of God and the work of the Son of God. And so the Word of God reveals my need. The Spirit of God convicts me of my need and the Son of God meets my need. Simple as that now. He meets my need. Because his work of redemption was sufficient to pay for the full price of my sin. All of my sin. Despite how ungodly or how unwholesome my life was and is. His blood alone can cover and cleanse all of my sin. The old hymn writer would write, my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to his cross and we bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O our souls. All of our sins now, all of our uncleanness, and all of our unrighteousness, thank God the blood alone is able. It's our source of life. It's our sustenance to life. Not only is it a search of lives, not only is it a source of life, but it's our sustenance to life. Paul, Peter would write in the epistle, he says, As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. Now my work, as many of you know, I work for the Gospel Mission of South America and I travel a wee bit for them. A few weeks ago I was in the south-west of England, as far down as St. Ives. And if you went to St Ives, have you ever been in St Ives? Oh that's powerful. Have you ever been in Newquay? I've been there too. Somebody says get yourself into Newquay. Well if I went, it was worse than Northern Ireland. It rained all day and rained all night. I'd never come back to this place again. But I went to St. Ives and in St. Ives I would preach in a wee church and it's called the Babel Christian Chapel. Now don't be jumping to any conclusion whenever I say the Babel Christian Chapel. It was like a wee breakaway of wee Methodist. But that's how the Methodists are seen in England. They're called wee chapels. And so that's how they're viewed. But they called themselves back in 1815. They called themselves the Bible Christian Chapel. And the reason why they called themselves the Bible... It is 1815. The reason why was because they stuck fast to the Bible. They said, if there's anything going to direct me, it's going to be God's Word. It's not going to be church rules. It's not going to be man's regulations. But it's going to be God's Word that's going to direct me. And that day, the old fishermen would come in and there was pews at the side. They don't sit on them. They would lay on the pew, their legs up on the pews to each side. And they just lay on them. And when the preacher would have been preaching, if the preacher said something that they didn't feel was in the Bible, they would simply shoot from the pew. Excuse me, preacher, I don't read that in my Bible. That's just how they would react to the preacher. But can I say something to you? They believed this because they realized that the Word of God sustains them in life. It sustains them in life. Now, can I say this to you? Here's what Peter is saying. Here we see if you want spiritual growth, you've got to be people who are spending time in the Word of God. This is what will sustain us in life. This is what will help us to grow. Now, whenever Paul would write to the church in Corinth, he would say in 1 Corinthians 3, he says, and I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but unto carnal. Now, he was speaking to brethren, brothers in the Lord, people who had been born again, people who had been redeemed, because the book of Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth. But these people, he says, I can't speak unto you carnal or unto spiritual, but unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. Now where do we get this other expression of babes in Christ? Peter picks it up and says that newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Lord. He says, I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you're not able to bear it, and yet are you not yet able? For you're yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, and you walk not carnal, you walk carnal and walk as men. Now note, it was the great apostle who had written these words to these believers, and he had set for them a very practical example of how they ought to live. Yet they didn't seem to glean anything from it. He describes them as in Christ, but fed with milk. They were unable to understand the profounder doctrines of the faith. Because they'd never really grown. Now you can understand if he was speaking to babes in Christ, if they were saved a month, six months, or maybe even eight months or a year. But it wouldn't be a terrible thing if he was speaking here to people who'd been converted. three years, thirteen years, dare I even say it, thirty years. But they'd never grown. And what was the indication they hadn't grown? Because they were still carnal. They were bickering and they were fighting amongst themselves. Now you meet a man that's fond, or a woman that's fond of bickering and fighting and talking with all her people and they're like, they're not spiritual. Paul would say to them very simply, you're carnal. You haven't grown. You haven't become a man of faith, and a man of the word. But let me say very quickly, because look, my time is gone, and I'm actually seven minutes over. But, and we'll leave the other point this morning, for we have no time, but anyway. The other little thought is, not just does it search our lives, not just does it, our source of life, and not just sustain us in life, but I'll tell you, as we gleaned from this word, and why Stephen felt it was important, was because he realizes that the word of God is his strength in life. His strength in life. Now show me any Christian that doesn't need strength. Show me a day that goes by when you say, I didn't need any strength from God today. And I doubt very much, much about your Christianity. Not a day goes by, folks, when I realize how much I don't desperately need the strength and the power of God in my life. What does they say in the prophecy? They that wait upon the Lord shall renew what? Renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. We need this strength. Why? Because I'll tell you why. Because we have an enemy. The Bible calls him like a roaring lion. The Bible says he's like an angel of light. The Bible calls him the deceiver of the brethren. But I'll tell you what he's out to. He's out to try his best to pull us down, and most of all, make us of no use to God and no use to man. And so I realise folks, undoubtedly in the light of that now, we need strength in the face of temptation. Two of us have been tempted over another week, in different forms and different ways, but boy I'm telling you, the old devil does his best to tempt us. Sometimes sadly we yield to his temptations. I grew up going to the wee gospel hall, Sunday school, we learned a wee chorus, yield not to temptation. for yielding as a son, each victory will help you some other to one. Don't know whether I agree with the latter part, but I agree with the first part, when it says, yield not a temptation for yielding as a son. It's the yielding as a son. It's not the temptation as a son, it's the yielding to the son as a son. So how do I find victory in the days of defeat, or how do I find, I realize that I can only get the strength. Whenever this Lord was tempted, remember in Matthew four, when he was led by the spirit into the wilderness, and there he fasted, And the Bible says there also he was tempted on three occasions. Three occasions. You all know them well now. Turn the stones into bread. If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down from here. And he goes on and says, fall down and worship me and I'll give you all the lands. And on three occasions, folks, what does he say? It is written. Why? Because he, the Son of God, knew the importance of the Word of God. Knew the importance of the Word of God. Now, Stephen knew it. The question is, do we know it? And if so, as we enter a new week, what are we going to do to cherish this Word? and do something about bringing change that we may again once be a people of strength instead of a weakness. Time is well gone. Folks, you've been very patient. I am thine, O Lord. I have heard thy voice and am told I love thee. It's this lovely hymn. If you have a hymn book, it's 613. But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer, closer drawn to thee. That's my prayer today. And I know I need to be drawn closer. And folks, one of the ways we will be drawn closer is by spending quality time in this book. We'll not get strong and we'll not become spiritual by neglecting this book. May the Lord encourage your hearts today, folks. We don't stand here by any means like a cane to rattle your knuckles. It's not why we come to the house of God. Trust this morning as the word has went forth that in such a way that you have been encouraged, even though it may challenge your life or even rebuke you, but challenge you just where you are. Let's stand as we sing, I am thine, O Lord. I have heard thy voice. Let's rise together. Oh, do I really want to know Him, when He comes to call me to Him? And only nearer, nearer, nearer does He go, to the cross where now I'll die. Only nearer, nearer, nearer does He go, to the rest of His life. We come to the service floor, by the power of grace we come. Let my soul arise, with the strength I show, and my will be lost in Thine. All ye heaven and earth, hear our prayers with joy and hope, for the love of Thine. I'll be nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to Thy precious King in time. Oh, the pure delight of the single heart that before Thy throne I spent! When I kneel in prayer and with Thee my God, I commune as friend with friend. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where love has died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, ♪ Through Thy precious clean sight ♪ ♪ There are depths of love that I cannot know ♪ ♪ Yet my thoughts will have no tears ♪ ♪ There are minds so fine that I may not reach ♪ ♪ Yet I rest in peace with Thee ♪ Our Father, this morning we graciously ask and pray that you would indeed work in our hearts, Father, individually and collectively as a congregation. And our prayer will simply be today, Lord, draw us nearer where we have drifted away, Lord, where we have wandered from thee. We ask you, Lord, to help us to make the necessary tweaks and adjustments by our spirit and through your word to come back to our first love. And Father, help us today to cherish your word as if it was the most, as it is the most important, to be the most important book in our lives. Part us with your blessing and with your peace. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you, dear people. God bless you.