And please return in your Bibles to Acts chapter 6 and 7 this morning. Acts chapter 6 and 7 in the Pew Bibles on page 1163. Let's call upon the Lord in prayer together. Heavenly Father, once again it is unto you that we look, O Lord, from For from you comes every good and perfect gift. And it is from your spirit alone that comes the blessing that we seek. Your blessing upon the preached word, your blessing upon the word received, your blessing upon the word heard and believed and impressed upon our hearts to the transformation of our lives. So bring your word home to us this day with power and by your grace. For we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Well, dear church, so far in the book of Acts, Luke's focus has been entirely on the church in Jerusalem and on the ministry of the apostles, primarily Peter and John, of course, who labored there, Peter being certainly the spokesperson throughout that ministry. But obviously, if we go back to the beginning of Acts, and we remember Christ's commission in Acts 1, verse 8, his commission was for the gospel to spread out from Jerusalem. You remember he said, you are my witnesses, and you will take the gospel beginning from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. The question before us as we read this historical narrative of the early church is, how did that happen? We already know, of course, that Saul of Tarsus, who becomes Paul the apostle, that Paul will be the one to take the gospel to the Gentiles. In fact, the largest portion of Acts is on the ministry of Paul, tracing as Luke travels with him on his three missionary journeys. But Paul wasn't one of the 12 apostles. Paul wasn't commissioned in Acts chapter one, verse eight, and it's the apostles whom Christ commissioned. So the question then becomes, how did the apostles get the gospel to the Gentiles before Paul picks up the ball and runs with it, as he does throughout the remainder of his life? Well, this is really the question that Luke sets out to answer in the next six chapters. As he transitions and he moves his narrative away from Jerusalem to the Gentiles and to Paul's ministry in particular. And he begins here, this morning for us, he begins in chapters six and seven with the story of Stephen, who of course becomes the church's first Christian martyr. But more importantly, and more significantly for Luke, as we'll see in time, Stephen becomes the church's springboard into the worldwide missions for which Christ's spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. You remember it was there that Joel chapter two is quoted by Peter, and Peter makes clear that the spirit was poured out, that everyone, sons, daughters, slaves, servants, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, not just the Jews, certainly not just in Jerusalem. Well, as we unfold these two chapters together this morning, the first thing Luke tells us that begins and starts to make this transition in chapter six, the first thing he tells us is that a need arose in the church for help with the daily distribution of food to the church's widows. We go back to chapter two, particularly to the end of chapter four. You remember that those who had property and homes, they sold them and gave the proceeds laid it at the feet of the apostles that the apostles might see to the distribution, particularly to the church's widows. but of course as any had need. And apparently, Luke reminds us and tells us here, apparently some of the widows were being neglected and overlooked. And we shouldn't assume this was deliberate. It may have just been due to the great difference in number between the number of widows who needed serving as this church grew by the thousands and the number of men appointed to manage that ministry, which is why the solution involved appointing more men. It also may have had something to do with cultural tensions. There are still tensions between Jews and Greeks. Though there are many Grecian Jews, there were also Hebrew Jews, and this is where some of the tension was. There are those Jews who are immersed into the Greek culture, embrace the Greek culture, but they're Jews. And there are those, of course, who are more Hebraic in their adherence. And so it may have had something to do with this cultural tension, because we read that it was the Grecian widows who were being neglected and complaining, but the Hebrew widows were not. And that's why, given the Greek names of these seven men, the men they appointed were likely all Grecian Jews themselves. But notice, as we look at just these first opening verses, notice the issue that brings this problem to the surface is that this need in the church was falling on the apostles. It was falling on them directly and it was taking them away from the work that Christ had called them to, a work they describe in verse four as prayer and the ministry of the word. And so the need is legitimate. But the problem is, it's not a need the apostles should be filling. And it's not because serving tables is below the apostles. Rather, it's simply because, as the text makes clear, it's simply because it's not their calling. And if they stepped aside to tend to tables, it would be to the neglect of the pulpit. It would be to the neglect of the ministry that Christ had called them to. That ministry would in turn suffer. And that leads, of course, to the solution. The solution was obvious. They needed to appoint specific men to look after the situation. And so the apostles told the church to choose seven men from among them who were of good reputation, full of the spirit, and of wisdom. And they said that with the authority given to them by Jesus, they would lay their hands on them and set them apart to that ministry. Now, it's hard to see in the English text. But I want to point out something that's very interesting, and that is that the word for serving tables in verse two is the same word for the ministry of word and prayer in verse four. It's the same exact word. In other words, what we see by looking at the text, particularly the Greek text, is that the apostles were called by God to likewise be servants. But they were called by God to be servants to serve the church with the word. Well, these seven men, were called by God as servants to serve the tables of the church's widows. So both ministries are important, and neither was to be neglected. But the church's health was dependent upon separate men being called to the two tasks. And of course, we see what happens. Seven men are chosen and set apart to this ministry. And again, it's probable, we can't say for sure, because people often had two names, a Hebrew name and a Greek name, but it's probable that all seven men were Grecian Jews. But in either case, it's obvious that Luke is highlighting one of them, and that's the one with whom he begins, Stephen. He says in verse five that Stephen was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. He says in verse eight later that Stephen is full of grace and of power. He's turning our attention to Stephen. Now, the prudence of this action, this solution, is made immediately clear in the text in verse seven. when Luke says the result of having men dedicated to tend to the church's social needs, and thereby enabling the apostles to continue their dedication to the church's spiritual needs, was, says Luke, that the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, including a great many of the priests, the very Sadducees that had been persecuting the apostles in chapters four and chapter five. So we can see the wisdom of God in the solution proposed by the apostles. This reminds us, it tells us right away, the church's needs will always be diverse. But rather than the solution being found in appointing jacks of all trades, or rather than overburdening willing people so that, as they say, 10% of the people do 90% of the church's work, the solution is found in appointing men, and where appropriate, of course, women, to take charge of specific tasks. That way nothing is neglected and everything that's done by God's grace will be done well because people are appointed directly to the tasks. So this is the substance of these opening verses and I've preached on that passage a few times as we have had the privilege of ordaining and installing deacons. But before we leave those seven verses I want to make two quick observations. And the first is it's helpful to note just by way of historical record and as scripture is unfolding it's helpful to note that while a delegation of these seven men is the origin of the church's diaconal board, its deacons, these men are not deacons in the way of 1 Timothy chapter 3. And that's simply because, even as Dr. Truman made mention of in some other accounts, that's simply because the offices and the distinctions, the distinctive callings of the church's elders and deacons aren't identified and defined in any significant way until the church grows beyond the sphere of the apostolic ministry in Jerusalem. That's then where the, if you will, problem or need occurs, so that as Paul himself and Barnabas with him go from city to city planting churches, what do they do? In Acts 14, appoint elders in every church. Why is there such a need? Because the apostles are in Jerusalem, you see. So that need unfolds, becomes identified and defined later on. Now what does that mean practically? It means this, and I think it answers a lot of questions that people have had about both Stephen and Philip. Practically it means that the stories of Stephen in Acts 6 and 7 and the story of Philip in Acts 8 aren't the last word on what deacons are authorized and appointed to do. And that's obvious as we see these men because they both do a lot more than serve tables. But one important The point of this passage is simply that for the good of both the Church's members and the Church's ministers, the Church needs to have specific men set apart to address the diaconal needs and mercy ministries of the Church. And when we're looking for men to be called to that office, we go to 1 Timothy 3 to see the qualifications for deacons. They're laid alongside qualifications for elders. A second observation is, of course, what becomes clear in verse 7, the great importance on the part of both the pastor and the congregation to see that men called to the ministry of the word give themselves wholly to that ministry. When the pastor gets bogged down with other activities and other things, the preaching suffers. And when the preaching suffers, the church suffers as well. And so the blessing comes, go back to Acts 2 now, and Acts 4 as well, which leads up to Acts 6, the blessing comes when the church's members have a heart to serve the church's needs. In other words, so that alongside and under the supervision of the church's elders and deacons, the members are all permeated with this diaconal spirit and they serve one another freely and cheerfully and spontaneously as any has need. That's what made the Koinonia of Acts chapter two so wonderful. That's what made the Koinonia of Acts chapter four so wonderful. The church was filled with a diaconal spirit. Who has needs that I can meet? Those are the needs I'm gonna seek to meet, right? Giving of oneself. as needs are made aware, giving oneself to meet those needs as we are able. That's when the word of God will prosper, says Luke, and that's when the church will grow to full maturity. So now Luke has introduced Stephen, and he quickly turns away from that concern and the solution and the blessing that followed it to focus our attention on Stephen. Look at verse eight of chapter six. Luke turns our attention to three things, Stephen's ministry, Stephen's speech and Stephen's death. Now, Stephen's remarkable ministry, you can look with me, it's highlighted there in verses 8 to 15. I want to make four quick observations about it. First of all, we notice that this is the first time we read of signs and wonders being done by someone who's not an apostle. Up to this point, it's just been Peter and John, right? In fact, Luke says that Stephen was full of power and doing great wonders. Again, you need to go to the Greek text, but the verb that he uses makes clear that Stephen was doing wonders continually. One might call him a miracle worker. He is busy doing wonders in the name of the Lord Jesus. The great commentator of the Greek text, A.T. Robertson, says, Stephen was a sudden whirlwind of power in the very realm of Peter and John and the rest of the apostles. So clearly then, Stephen is not being introduced here as a model either for deacons or ministers. Rather, Stephen appears on the scene as a unique figure. He's set apart by God for a specific purpose in redemptive history, as will unfold. In fact, the uniqueness of Stephen is highlighted by Luke several times. Look at what he says, verse 3. He doesn't say anything about anybody else, but of Stephen, he says, a man of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. Verse 5, he's full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. He's full of grace and power. Verse 10, they couldn't withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. Verse 15, his face shone like the face of an angel. Stephen stands apart. There's something unique and special about Stephen. Of course, the calling for which God had extraordinarily gifted Stephen was a calling that culminated in martyrdom. His death, that's where the text leads. In a very few moments, Stephen is going to be stoned to death. And so Luke is singling out Stephen because God has a special purpose for his appointment, for his gifting, for his ministry, and for his death. And as I already told you, it's relative to the Gentile mission as a whole. A second thing to observe here, notice it's the Pharisees that are the ones attacking Stephen. Now that's new, isn't it? We've not seen that yet in the text. In chapters 4 and 5, particularly relative to the ministry of the council, it was the Sadducees who led the attack. It was the high priest and the party of the Sadducees, the high priestly family. And it was the Pharisee, you remember, Gamaliel, who intervened and spared the apostles' lives in chapter five, right? They would have been killed. They said they wanted to kill them, as it were, they only flogged them. Gamaliel is the one to thank for that, of course, by God's grace, and Gamaliel being a Pharisee. So what's happened? What has changed? Interestingly here, The Pharisees suddenly lead an attack against Stephen, and Gamaliel is silent. Where is he? Of course, we don't know, but he's certainly not speaking up. That puts Stephen against all odds and all alone, because for some reason, as Luke recounts the story, there's not an apostle in sight. Stephen seems to be standing all alone. Of course, he's not alone at all, is he? As we'll find out soon. And what provoked them, of course, Luke tells us, was that Stephen's ministry was one of healing and teaching in Jesus' name. The very thing they told Peter and John, stop teaching in this name, lest you try to bring his blood upon us. Stop doing anything in this name, right? Because it was the healing that brought the crowds that gave the opportunity for preaching. The very name they tried to bury in infamy on Calvary's hill is turning the world upside down, turning Jerusalem, rather, upside down through Stephen. Along with this is the observation that they attacked Stephen in the same way they attacked Jesus, these Pharisees. How? By stirring up false witnesses against him. False witnesses who claimed that he had blasphemed against the law of Moses and the temple of God, which is ultimately, of course, why they stoned him. Because according to Moses, the penalty for blasphemy is stoning. A further observation is that this is the first time in Acts that we hear of any hostility coming from the people. Did you notice that? In chapter two, verse 47, you remember, Luke says they enjoyed favor with all of the people because they were such good people. God's people were good people and they enjoyed favor publicly. The world couldn't but like them. In chapters four and five, again, it was the high priest and the Sadducees who were hostile. But here, it's the people. It's the crowds, beginning with these freedmen. And the reason is because just like they did on the day of Christ's crucifixion, Luke says, the Pharisees stirred up the crowd. Stirred up the crowd. Again, went to the Greek text and looked at this stirring up. The word literally means they shook the crowd together like an earthquake to throw them into a commotion. They're not just whispering and hoping it'll catch on. He's a bad man, pass it down. They're shaking the crowd like an earthquake to stir up a great chaotic commotion. They're trying to raise a mob, which is exactly what they do. Are you seeing the remarkable parallel between Stephen and Christ? It's interesting, isn't it? Don't know that we can say exactly why it is, other than his place in redemptive history. But it's interesting to see how much of Stephen's story is a replay of Christ. There's his remarkable ministry of signs and wonders. It's exactly what Jesus did. A remarkable ministry of signs and wonders. There's the inability of his opponents to withstand his wisdom. Remember we're told? No one dare ask him any more questions. No one could withstand him. Remember when they sent guards to arrest Jesus and they came back empty-handed? No one ever spoke like this man. Are you too deceived like the people? So there's the inability of his opponents to withstand his wisdom. There's the opposition of the Pharisees suddenly. There's the false witnesses regarding both the law and the temple, just as they said about Christ. They drag him before the council, just as they did to Christ. There's the rebuke that Stephen gives in verse 51. Christ lands a share of his rebukes against the Pharisees. Just go to Matthew 23 and the seven woes. There's also this brutish rage of the people against him. This mob which took place at the cross, let his blood be upon us and our children. Just crucify him already and give us Barabbas back. We'll take a murderer in place of the king of the Jews. And there's, of course, his martyrdom itself. And even in the circumstances surrounding his death, look at his dying words. Where have you heard those before? Christ prayed that very same prayer. You see this remarkable parallel? It's all remarkably reminiscent of Christ's ministry and Christ's suffering in a way that's entirely unique in the New Testament. So that once again, we're being forced to see that the Lord's doing something very special and important in redemptive history through Stephen. We're trying to get our finger on it, but something unique is happening. Finally, notice how the Lord honored his servant before the council. They despised him, they hated him, they disputed with him, they dragged him before the council, smeared him with lies, claimed that he had blasphemed against God and his law. How shocking it must have been for the high priest and all there when Stephen's face shone like an angel. It was just like Moses' face shone in Exodus 34 when he came out of the tent of meeting with God. He didn't know his face was shining. He came to the people. He had been speaking with God. Stephen's face shines up and his enemies can't but see it. It's remarkable. The high priest, of course, intercepts and he changes the subject in a sense by saying, are these things so? as it begins with chapter seven. But the point here is they can say what they want about Stephen. God's favor was resting upon him. Full of, full of, full of, full of, and now full of glory in such a remarkable mosaic way. Isn't that remarkable? It was clear that God's favor was upon him. We'll come back to that later. This brings us to Stephen's speech, of course, the longest section, and I just wanna make three points here. Stephen is essentially giving his speech, preaching a sermon of sorts, But let's begin by recognizing what they accuse him of. What do they accuse Stephen of? They accuse him of blaspheming against God's temple. Because while they held that God's presence was bound to the temple and to the Jews, so that the presence of the temple ensured the favor of God. They're just like their fathers. Remember when their father said in the days of Jeremiah, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, no judgment can come here, we have the temple of the Lord. What did Jeremiah say? God's gonna destroy that temple. What did God do in the days of Ezekiel? He left that temple, Ichabod, the glories departed. They're just like their fathers. But they claimed, right, that God's glory was bound to the temple, God's presence is bound to the temple, and the presence of the temple ensures the favor of God we are. Remember what John 8, the Jew said to Jesus when he began to rebuke them so clearly. How can you say we're children of adultery? We are children of Abraham. You're not Abraham's children. If you were, you would believe me. So Stephen claimed that God's presence with his people was never temple bound. And then he gives him four examples, and that's essentially, there's a lot going on in this sermon, and we could pick out several things, but I'm only picking out a few details to get the overall picture. He proves that God's temple, God's presence is not temple bound, never has been. And he gives him four critical epochs in their history, four examples with which they cannot argue. First of all, take Abraham, for instance. Who was it that appeared to Abraham? Particularly, Luke says, excuse me, Stephen says, it was the God of glory. He could have just said God appeared to Abraham, but he particularly said God, the God of glory. He's highlighting that Shekinah glory, that God, right? In other words, the God of the Shekinah glory that filled Solomon's temple in 1 Kings 8 after the priest put the ark in the Holy of Holies. Stephen begins by saying that same God, that Shekinah glory God, appeared to Abraham over a thousand years before the temple was even built. And where did he manifest that glory to Abraham? Outside the Holy Land, in idolatrous, Gentile Mesopotamia. And the covenant? He moves to the covenant. Very important. The covenant that is at the heart of God's revelation to Israel. I will be your God, you'll be my people. And here's the sign of the covenant. Circumcision he gives to them. That covenant that's at the heart of God's revelation of himself to Israel. Stephen says, when did God give Abraham that covenant? When did God make that covenant with Abraham? not only when he was a sojourner in the land and had no inheritance in it, but also over 400 years before there was even a holy nation called Israel. Clearly, God's presence, God's glory, God's covenant promises are not tied to the temple any more than they're tied to the land. Secondly, he moves, take Joseph. Joseph was a foreigner, a slave, and a prisoner in Egypt. And yet, what do we read in Genesis as Stephen references it? But that God was with Joseph. Not only blessing him in prison, but even raising him up to be second in command over all of Egypt for the preservation of infant Israel. So that again, notice where God manifests his presence. Where does God manifest his glory and his power and his presence to our father, Joseph? In the Gentile land of Egypt. Clearly, God's presence. and glory aren't tied to the temple or the land. Thirdly, of course, take Moses. A lot more could be said here, but let's make this point. When did God appear to Moses? Where did God appear to Moses? In a bush in the land of Midian. Was God really there? Yes. Moses was told to take off his shoes. God's presence made the ground in Midian holy. He appeared with no temple or sacrifice in sight even, and he made the place holy. And when God called Moses to be Israel's deliverer out of Egypt at his 40 years of age, what did God do in the accomplishment of that deliverance? He not only manifested his power over the gods of the Egyptians in the plagues, but he manifested his presence, his grace, and his love to Israel by protecting them from the plagues, delivering them out of Egypt, and then taking them to Mount Sinai and doing what no God has ever done before, giving them his law audibly. You heard his voice, says Moses. What people is there who has a God who went into a foreign land, defeated its gods and brought them out and then appear to them and they're still living? Nobody. Nobody like Israel because nobody like God. And even after they disobeyed God and they had to wander in the wilderness, in that Gentile wilderness for 40 years, the presence of God, Stephen reminds them, was visibly with them in that mobile temple and the Shekinah glory that was a cloud by day and a fire by night. So again, even with Moses, we see God's presence and glory aren't tied to the temple and aren't tied to the land. Lastly, of course, he takes even David and Solomon in the era of the monarchy. Sure, Solomon built the temple on Mount Zion, and God's glory filled it, 1 Kings 8. But even Solomon himself said in his dedicatory prayer, even Solomon himself declared that the Most High God does not dwell in houses made by men. So that as Stephen quotes from Isaiah, what kind of house will you build for me? Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool, where can you house me? Stephen's point is clear. Israel's God is a God whose presence can't be confined. He's a God who's always been on the move. The temple and the land were where God manifested his presence, but God was never bound by them such that he couldn't leave them. In fact, he did leave it. Visibly, in the vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God depart, go over the threshold, and where was it going? It was going to Babylon. Why? Because that's where the remnant was. God's presence left the temple. because of the wickedness that was within it. You remember the holes put in the wall for Ezekiel to see the wickedness. And so for Christ to declare, and now for Stephen to echo, that God had left the temple. Think of the tearing of the veil at the death of Christ. We only have time to get into that. But for Stephen to echo the fact that God had left the temple, and that God dwells with those who love and worship him, that's no blasphemy at all. That's the perennial truth of Israel's own experience, as all the prophets have foretold, in their prophecies of the coming of the Messiah's kingdom, that it will be a universal kingdom over all the world. The nations will come in. This goes back to the Abrahamic covenant. Your seed will bring blessing to the nations. It was never to be confined. It always had a global perspective, even in the very covenant promised to Abraham. He gives them these four examples to make clear that it's not blasphemies committing at all. He's telling the truth. They just don't want to hear it. Secondly, in answer to the claim that it was blasphemous for Stephen to say that the Mosaic law is fulfilled and even superseded in Christ, Stephen reminds them that it was Moses himself in Deuteronomy 18, which he quotes, who prophesied the coming of Christ and even warned that God would judge those who don't listen to him and obey him. In other words, it's no blasphemy to see Moses superseded in Christ, because Moses was Christ's forerunner. It's no blasphemy to see the law of Moses give way to Christ, because like Moses himself, the law foreshadowed Christ, making way for Christ's obedience as the Lord, our righteousness, and making way likewise for Christ's suffering and sacrifice as the Lord, our atoning lamb. This is what the law was pointing to, that there needed to be a righteousness that Israel never could give, but one is coming who will give it. And there needs to be a penalty that not enough lambs can even cover. But one is coming who will pay that price. That's what the law declared. That's what the law showed. The moral law, the judicial law, the ceremonial law, all of it pointed to the coming of Christ. It's no blasphemy to say that these things are fulfilled in Christ. And so again, what the Pharisees are missing is that the Christ being preached by the apostles and the Christ being preached now by Stephen is the very one to whom the entire Old Testament pointed. The very one in whom the Old Testament found its culmination. All the things that we studied in our big picture series as a church. A third and final point that Stephen makes is the point that ends in the crushing rebuke of verses 51 to 53 and ultimately in the martyrdom of verse 58. Stephen purposely highlights Israel's perennial pattern of rebelliously rejecting every deliverer God sent them. He says that when God raised up Joseph, his brothers rejected him, the patriarchs, they rejected Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Let's be rid of this man. When God raised up Moses, the people rejected him. Who made you judge and leader over us? They rejected him so that out of fear he became, he fled and became an exile in Midian. And even when Moses returned 40 years later, and miraculously delivered them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness toward Sinai. Stephen says, even there, they thrust him aside again. God was so clearly with him. God was so clearly with Moses. He was God's man, God's prophet. His face shone. And yet Israel rejected him again. They thrust him aside. Why? Because he was on the mountain with God too long. And Stephen says, in their hearts, they turned back to Egypt, and they worshiped idols, saying to Aaron, make gods who will go before us. And then, even after God brought them into the land and settled them there, interestingly, Stephen says, even in the land, they never worshiped God aright. He says, still, they rejected the worship of God for the worship of the planets and the stars. And this is where Stephen turns the tables and drove the last nail into the coffin, surely theirs as well as his own. He went from saying them to saying you. He said, you are just like your fathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit. You're resisting him now. He's bearing witness to Jesus Christ through the apostles, through Stephen's ministry. He's bearing witness through the apostles to Jesus Christ as Israel's deliverer, Israel's Messiah, through that ministry. And you're resisting him. Just like your fathers did. Just like your fathers rejected Joseph. Just like your fathers rejected Moses. Now you're rejecting Jesus. Just like your fathers killed all the prophets, what prophet did he say? What prophet did you not kill? What prophet did you not reject and despise because they spoke the word of truth to you? Hardening your hearts, casting him out, throwing Jeremiah into the well even. Just like your fathers killed all the prophets who prophesied his coming. When he came, you killed him. It's Israel's religious leaders who are guilty of blasphemy. not Stephen and not the apostles. But of course, they're blinded by this beastly rage, again, the language Luke uses is very powerful, this beastly, animalistic rage, grinding their teeth at him. They drag Stephen out of the city and they stone him with the false witnesses starting it off according to the law of Moses, the witnesses through the first stone. And we have Stephen's death and all that surrounds it. But our eyes are directed to what God does in these moments, because directly contrary to their judgment of him, Stephen, Luke says, is filled with the Holy Spirit. And he beholds the heavens opened and he sees the glory of God. The glory of God, not in a temple made with hands, not even in Jerusalem, not even on earth. but in heaven, in the face of Jesus Christ. So much is Stephen's death like Christ's death. And yet, beautifully and gloriously, it's so much unlike Christ's death. In order that he might testify to all the ages and to the church of all ages that our faith placed in Jesus of Nazareth, that despised name even still today. That our faith placed in Jesus is well-placed. Because Stephen has seen, Stephen has beheld the heavens. The veil was removed for him. And Stephen has seen that there, the throne in heaven is Christ's. And everyone who loves and serves him on earth will be welcome to join him in heaven when their life here is done. In his death, it's just as Jesus said, it's just as Paul makes most clear, in his death, Jesus bore our sin, suffered our condemnation, so that in our deaths, we might receive his commendation, that we might enter into his glory and share it with him as his people. Which is why he said to the disciples, and through them to the church of all ages, you will sit with me on thrones. and you'll receive the glory of my father. In fact, I want to close this morning, and much could be said about what we've looked at, but I want to close by drawing your attention to three lessons that we learned from Stephen's death, because I want us to draw the comfort that is here. Again, the text isn't so much about Stephen's martyrdom as it is about Stephen being the springboard for the next several chapters. But I don't want us to leave Stephen's death without taking comfort, because there is so much here First of all, Stephen is obviously the first Christian called to seal the truth of the gospel with his blood. And when he died, Christ opened his eyes to see him standing in approval, standing to receive him, standing in authority over the whole scene on earth, all in order to assure every Christian who dies in faith That although we may not be able to see Christ in that moment as Stephen did, yet he's looking on, Christ is looking on in favor. Christ stands ready to receive his people with open arms and welcome them home. If all heaven rejoices over one sinner that repents, you can bet Christ rejoices when one part of his bride is brought home. What a glorious testimony we are given through Stephen's death. to the reception Christ gives his bride when any one of us are taken home. It's just as he said in the Gospels, just as you acknowledge me before men by faith, so I will stand to acknowledge my love for you before the Father. Here comes my bride. Here she comes. I've waited for her, and she draws near. The hour has come. And so regardless of whether the people of Christ die by disease, or accident, or even murder. Our Savior stands in heaven, and he stands as Lord over the whole scene. What's so beautiful is Christ is standing as Lord. Christ isn't surprised, he's not wringing his hands, he's not shocked, going, oh my, now what do I do? This is terrible. Christ is standing as Lord in approval, in acceptance, in praise, in acknowledgment. And he's standing over the whole scene in full control. He's carrying out his goodwill towards Stephen. And if we can't see that at the time of our death as Stephen did, we will see it immediately after when our spirit ascends into the presence of his sovereign lordship and we behold the Savior welcoming us home. And we will be irresistibly able to sing, hallelujah, hallelujah. Praise him, all ye heavenly hosts, praise him. For the Lord, my God, Jesus, my Savior, is Lord over all. He never left me. He was there with me even in that dying hour. What a great comfort this is for our loved ones who die in Jesus. And what a great comfort it'll be to us if we can take these things to ourselves in a dying hour. Christ stands to receive us. Secondly, I want you to note how it rejoiced Stephen's courageous soul. Think of what it did for Stephen to behold his Savior. The veil is torn back and to behold his Savior standing at the right hand of God. Stephen has spent his life, as much as we know, he had spent his life testifying to the truth of Jesus as Lord. He's preaching it even now. He's disputing over it. He's going forth everywhere he can, preaching Jesus Christ, proclaiming the good things of God. He's disputed with the religious leaders that that Jesus whom you crucified, he's Christ. He's your Messiah. He stood trial before the council. He gathered up all the courage to oppose them, to rebuke them, to turn from talking about them and your fathers to you here now. This is what you are doing. You're rejecting Jesus of Nazareth. as Lord and Messiah. And now Stephen is laying his life down as a testimony to how firmly he believes what he has been professing. Are you willing to die for this, Stephen? Are you willing to die for this faith you preach? Are you willing to die for this Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified between thieves? And it's at that moment that his eyes are opened, not simply to see the person of Jesus. That would have been wonderful enough. but to see the divine glory of Jesus as God. God in the flesh, the God we behold with our own eyes, says Job, says 1 John 3. The God who will appear on the day of judgment before all the world to be visibly seen, Jesus Christ. He must have said to his soul, behold my soul, the living evidence of what you believe. Behold my soul, there stands the Savior you've trusted. Yes, there stands that Jesus of Nazareth. There stands He who died for me, He who rose for me, He who ascended to heaven for me, He who now stands in the presence of God for me, what was the object of my faith, has now become the object of my sight. He must have said to himself, let them pass sentence on me as a blasphemer. My Jesus stands in heaven to reverse it. Let them stone me to death. My Jesus stands to receive my life. Let them reject him. Let them deny him. And yet there he stands still as my Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, God over all. Israel's Messiah. We can't, of course, expect to see things as Stephen did when we come to our dying moment, but we're meant to believe them as he did. The veil is pulled back not just for Stephen, but for the church. We're meant to believe these things as Stephen did, and we're encouraged by what he saw with his own eyes to look to the same thing with the eyes of our faith because it'll be no less true for us by faith than it was for him by sight. The very same things will be true. Christ will stand to welcome his people home. He will stand as Lord over your death and all the circumstances concerning it, Lord over your suffering and all the circumstances concerning it. And finally this morning, I want you to see the testimony that Stephen gives to the final triumph of our Christian faith, however feeble, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we find Stephen in his dying hour. Stephen is standing on the brink and the verge of the eternal world. Any regrets are then. And yet there he stands on the verge of that eternal world. And Luke says that he's under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled him. His last and most important step, as it will be for you and me and all of us, his last and most important step of his life is to commit his soul into the eternal care of his God, his maker, his judge, to cast it now upon the arms of your faith. In what, in whom have you believed? This is it. This is the moment. Everything has led to this. Now we will know what you believe and whether you really believe it. And what does he say in this dying hour, this most critical moment of his entire life, the most critical moment of his profession of faith as a Christian and a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, what does he say? Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Brothers and sisters, I want you to take this to heart this morning. Death can be such a fearful thing. It may be that we've all seen someone die. As a pastor, I've seen many people pass over. I've seen many deaths. It can be a terrible and fearful thing, even for God's people in that moment. Letting go of all that we know, letting go of everything we see, and shooting our souls forth into the unknown, the eternal, to pass over into the irreversible, the unchangeable, the immutable, the once for all time, The mind can be suddenly plagued with so many nervous questions. Have I done enough? Am I really ready to die? Amos charged Israel, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. Am I ready to meet my God? What have I done? What have I not done? What have I left undone? Is Jesus waiting for me? We begin to think of our utter unworthiness and our sins The devil is so cunning at that moment, he will bring all your guilt before you to try to cloud out everything else. Say, where do you think you're going? Here's the list. Are all my sins forgiven? Will heaven be my home? Or will hell be my eternal prison? What else do I need to do? In that moment, what can I do? So often that dying hour, if we're given a dying hour, we're helpless. There's nothing we can do. We can't go back. We can't fix anything now. How often is it morphine and barely a clear mind? Just take away the pain and let me pass. What could you do at that moment to go back, to fix, to change, to undo? Nothing. The dying hour is a helpless hour. This is when the Truth comes to bear. This is when what you really believe comes forth, and who you really are, and where your faith really is. Brothers and sisters, when you come to that moment, and we all shall, if we're given a dying hour unless we die suddenly, I want you to lay all that aside. I want to encourage you today to learn from Stephen. If you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, That his life is your righteousness with God. Period. Can't be added to, need not be added to. It's perfect. And that his death is your sacrifice with God. Your sins are paid for. The sacrifice is sufficient. It is finished. That his resurrection is your justification with God. You are at peace with God. You are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. and that his presence in heaven is your home with God. If those things are so, then I tell you today, dear Christian, that there is nothing more you need to do in that dying hour of even little clarity. There is nothing more you need to do in that dying hour than lift your heart to God, open the eyes of your faith, and pray Stephen's prayer. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Take me home. Take me home. And when you do, dear Christian, when you do, you will find, as Stephen found, you will find, as the text makes clear on purpose, that death will be nothing more than falling asleep, regardless of the circumstances that surround it. Because your body under the care of Christ, so united to Christ, will be laid in a grave by your Christian family. In a dormitory, a cemetery. A place to sleep. A place of rest. Until Christ comes for it again. And your soul will immediately ascend into the open arms of the one in whom you believe. The one who died to save you. The one who rose to go before you. and the one who will stand on that day to receive you. Because he is the one, says Paul, who loves you and gave himself up for you. Brothers and sisters, may your faith, may your faith find its dying courage today. May you find your dying courage today in the death of Stephen, whom the Lord welcomed just as he will very, very soon welcome you and me and us all. Amen.