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Greatest Man Who Never Lived
(Acts 6:8-17)
September 26, 2021
Read Acts 6:8-17 –A couple of years ago, my bro, Jim, went to Germany to minister in a refugee camp.
An Iranian pastor was there and confirmed Jesus is at work in Iran.
But publicly claiming Christ can mean death.
As a former Muslim, he’s at risk every time he re-enters Iran.
A Xn uncle in the army, a secret believer, checks watch lists for him.
He assumes he’ll be found out one day and it will cost his life.
So how’s your commitment to Christ today?
Stephen’s was rock solid.
He lived what Paul wrote in Phil 1:21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
That’s commitment.
And Stephen soon knew both sides of that equation.
He’s the greatest man who never lived!
At least not for long.
But he was a great man.
Committed to Jesus.
This passage marks a transition in Acts.
Peter dominates the first half of the book, but another looms on the horizon – Paul, who will dominate the 2nd.
Stephen bridges the gap between them.
Peter ministered mostly to Jews; Paul to Gentiles.
Stephen’s brief ministry was mainly to Jews from a Gentile world, and his martyrdom catapults the church out of Jerusalem and into the rest of the world.
His death left a lasting impression on Paul as he held the coats of the executioners.
His life was short, but meaningful.
His greatness is beyond doubt.
In Acts 6:15, “his face shown like the face of an angel.”
As he is about to die, he says in Acts 7:56: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
That didn’t happen for just anyone.
We measure greatness by human accomplishment, even in the church.
God measures by extreme faithfulness under great pressure.
His alone matters.
I. Stephen’s Deportment
Stephen’s greatness is summed up in the phrase 8) And Stephen, full of grace and power.”
Grace without power -- meaningless.
Power without grace is ruthless.
To find both in one man is extraordinary.
Stephen’s life parallels Jesus’ who was “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14), and power, of course.
Stephen was “full of grace and power” and truth as we will see.
Stephen is humble and powerful simultaneously, both elements of true greatness.
Stephen was “doing great wonders and signs among the people.”
These miracles were apostolic in nature, but not entirely limited to the apostles.
Stephen is one of 3 men in the NT, other than apostles, who performed such miracles – the others being Philip (8:6-7) and Barnabas (15:2).
No doubt others did, too, but they were rare enough that Paul could refer his ministry being accredited by “the signs of a true apostle” (II Cor 12:12).
Even in these early days, miracles were rare enough to mainly attach to apostles.
God affirmed Stephen’s powerful preaching with authenticating miracles.
Yet, Stephen started by tables!
We must ask, are we above waiting tables?
Are there tasks too low for us?
We must know our gifting and operate accordingly as did the apostles when they appointed table-servers.
Yet we must be humble enough to go the extra mile, take on the unwanted task, do the hard things.
Stephen was such a man – because in addition to power, he was full of grace.
That’s a potent phrase.
“Full of” means controlled by.
A man full of anger is controlled by his temper.
A man full of grace is controlled by grace -- giving someone something they don’t deserve, and can’t earn.
Jesus was full of grace and where did it lead Him?
To the cross where, tho innocent as a newborn, He willingly took our penalty.
That’s grace.
Living for others – whether they deserve it or not.
Stephen followed Jesus in giving to others what they did not deserve and thus living out the gospel.
Not too big to serve – too big NOT to serve!
Just what Jesus meant when He said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
Greatness isn’t shown by how little we serve; it is shown by how willingly we serve.
That was Stephen.
A little boy got a toy lawn mower for Xmas.
He began to use it in the house, mowing the carpet, pretend, naturally.
One day, Dad invited him outside to help mow the lawn.
Excitedly the boy dragged his mower out.
He lasted about 2 minutes before he announced, “I’m going back inside and mow the carpet.
It’s too hot out here.”
Ever been there.
Too hot out here to serve?
Too much trouble?
Too much time?
No one to applaud.
Let’s don’t get too big to serve.
Serving – that’s how little people become big people in God’s eyes!
II.
Stephen’s Detractors
“Full of grace and power.”
Should be admired, right.
As Stephen was by thousands who made him deacon – but then there were others.
9d) “Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.”
So who are these guys, and what are these synagogues?
Jewish worship centered in the temple in Jerusalem.
Other town had synagogues.
No sacrifices could be made there, but they sang, read Scripture and had lessons –like church.
Often these were ethnic places, created by Jews raised in other countries, but now in Jerusalem.
A separate meeting place to accommodate a native tongue other than Hebrew.
Luke has 4 in mind.
Freedmen were descended from Jews taken prisoner by Pompey in 63 BC.
In Rome, they had a colony along the Tiber River, but later some of their descendants were expelled from Rome, came to Jerusalem and founded a synagogue.
Cyrene and Alexandria were major cities in North Africa; and Cilicia and Asia were Roman provinces in modern Turkey.
Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia and may have been part of that synagogue.
So, Stephen went to the synagogues in Jerusalem, presenting Jesus as Messiah.
Opposition developed – but every objection was met by Stephen with Scripture.
His opponents couldn’t win.
So, they turned him into the authorities, complete with false witnesses – taking the gist of what Stephen was saying but twisting it.
Sound familiar?
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