“ Great warning. ” This was useful: we must keep our minds free of any intoxication with sins or other things, which do not allow us to have fellowship with God or serve God, but we must give our minds unto Him.
“ Great difference. ” People love idols because they can control them and they want this. But The true God controls the destinies of men and we depend on Him.
“ Sovereignty in salvation. ” The Holy Spirit guides the preacher, prepares the hearts of those whom He wants to save and send teachers to instruct them. The work of salvation is a great work orchestrated by our Sovereign Lord.
“ Wonderful grace! ” In our world of haters and rejecters of truth and light, He came to die for our sins to bring us back to the God who loved us and wanted a relationship of love with us. And He made us from enemies His children and frinds. And what is all this, but grace?
“ Great standard. ” An elder must have a well-ordered reputation, a well-ordered home, a well-ordered heart and a well-ordered doctrine. A needed reminder of God's high standard for His servants.
“ Blessed message. ” Blessed message! I liked the observation that Paul says that older men and older women must have the same character traits and the elders in the church. All Christians must practice a saintly life. Older people in the church are not perfect, they must progress in holiness, they can change and the church needs them. There is a place for their service. And they, as all Christians, must resemble the character traits of our Lord.
“ Our Life. ” The Son of God, our Life, our Light, came to escape us from our darkness. Because of our sin we were enclosed in darkness and hatred, and self-centeredness and we saw not the happines which is in a spiritual life with God. Christ came to suffer and die so that we should be in fellowship with God.
“ Great transformation. ” The light of the Holy Spirit not only exposes the darkness in the lives of sinners, but has the power to transform the sinner in a child of God. And grace is a transforming grace. It awakens us to holiness in living, making us examples of God’s salvation and light in a dark work.
“ Glory to God! ” My heart was lifted up to listen how the Redeemer was exalted, He who was the hope of the nations, He whom the people of God waited for in all the history. He is only hope for salvation. The sermon shows the relation of the Word and time, Word and God, Word and creation, and Word and meaning.
“ A life so changed. ” What a beautiful God we have: giving power unto the end to Stephen to declare His Word and to declare the hard-heartedness of the people, giving him the comfort of seeing Jesus testifying about himself before the Father and giving him the spirit and the power to pray for his enemies!
“ One church. ” Great power and wisdom of God's plan to save and bring together in one church people so hostile before as the Jews and Samaritans were. Nothing is too hard for God's Spirit. He makes His people a witnessing people. Very good the observation that the word testimony in the book of Acts do not mean teling your personal story, but testifying about what God did in Jesus for the salvation of His people.
“ Great unity. ” What a blessing the the church is not an organization in which we are related extwrnally, but it is the society of those saved by the grace of God through Christ, who have the same faith.
“ Balance. ” A call to balance in the Christian life between the doctrine of election and a godly life, between authority in leading the church and the attitude of a servent, between doctrine and godliness.
“ Great Light. ” Christ is Light and makes us lights in this world, teaching us to walk worthy of our names as lights, in godness, righteousness and truth.
“ Great protection. ” Blessed naration of God's protection of David, His annointed. Very good the illustration of the parallels between David and Christ.
“ Great rejection. ” Blessed sermon of Stephen, who is presenting the Jews their history of always rejecting, persecuting and killing God's messenger to them. They did the same with Jesus and now are doing the same with Stephen. They are not recognizing the dealings of their God with them.
“ Watch. ” Good reminder that we Christians have not permission to live like those in the world, but we are to live as saints cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We are to watch to our ways for God's glory.
“ Great calling. ” God calls us not to impart life in secular and sacred aspects, but to live our whole life as a service and worship unto God, everyone in his calling being a testimony of God's renewing work in us through Christ.
12/28/11 3:47 PM
