*** Acts 6:8-15 Let your light shine

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There’s a word from the lord, coming from the book of Acts
Acts chapter 6 verses 8-15
And you should find these word as printed
8 And Stephen, full of [a]faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 
9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 
11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 
13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 
15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
That’s enough, I want to talk for the next fleeting moments with the help of the holy spirit
I want to to talk about
Let your light shine
Beloved every child of God, should let their light shine
It is in the gospel of Matthew 5:16 that Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
And here in the book of Luke
Luke shares with us how every born again child of God, should let Jesus shine through them daily in their attitudes and in their actions.
We are to let our light shine
And here,
This passage gives us some facts about letting Jesus shine through us.
And here, the first thing that we see is
I. The action of God’s servant and how he was described . (8)
For the text says that
“And Stephen, full of faith and power”
And here Stephen is described
Stephen: was full of faith and power
His name was fitting for him, because he was a faithful servant of the Lord who received a crown from the Lord.
Luke already told us some about Stephen’s character in verse 5 which says, “And they chose Stephen, because he was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,”
Stephen was a Hellenist who had been chosen by the multitude, to be one of the first deacons. His primary responsibility, was to serve with the other six in serving tables. He cared for the widows and the helpless of the congregation. He was a man full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit. That was a requirement for each of the seven that was assigned that place of service. And so, In verse 8, Luke describes Stephen, as a man full of faith or as some manuscripts have it “full of grace.” The NASB translates this word grace. It describes a person that is winsome, gracious, spiritual charming.
And Luke tells about the character of Stephen. He was full of power. This tells us, that the Lord’s presence was within the man and the Lord’s hand was upon the man.
He was full of Power:
He was full of strength, violence, might (wonderful) work. And The Lord Jesus was magnified in the life of this servant of God.
Stephen was submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and filled with the Spirit of Christ.
And can I tell ya, when we look at the life of Stephen
We can all, take note of this
The church needs more servants like this today!
The church needs more servants , who are full of faith and the Holy Spirit,”
The church needs more , who will submit themselves , to the lordship of Jesus Christ
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But then, look at the work
For the bible says
Stephen “did great wonders and signs among the people.”
Luke does not tell us specifically the things that Stephen was doing, but the words he uses, gives us a general sense of how God was using His servant.
The bible says that
“did great wonders and signs among the people.”
This says that,
Stephen was continually doing this great wonders and signs among the people.
Stephen was not satisfied with just serving tables and ministering within the flock. He had a burning desire, to witness to those who were lost about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus.
He did great wonders and signs among the people.
He did wonders and miracles that the people could not deny. • They saw the miracles with their eyes; • they experienced the miracles in their lives; • and they were affected by the miracles in their homes
Apart from the Apostles only Stephen, Philip, and Barnabas performed miracles. God used Stephen, in mighty ways, because he was filled with the Spirit of God and obedient to the word of God!
Stephen was not satisfied in having just one assignment. He was not willing to simply do one job. He was compelled by his desire to serve God, to take the initiative in finding new and wider areas of service.
Stephen didn’t have to receive a letter from the pastor to encourage him. He didn’t have to have a special Sunday set aside for him to get excited.
He didn’t have to see the crowd going with him to move forward.
He didn’t have to be patted on the back to keep going.
He took the initiative himself. He was compelled by his character, to expand his service, for Jesus Christ.
Not external coercion but internal compulsion was the secret of Stephen’s life.”
And I want to tell you young people and all of you are here
When we allow Jesus to shine through us , we will be busy about His business.
And this is what we see in Stephen’s life
Stephen was a man, full of action for the Lord. He was busy about the Lord’s business and the Lord, used him.
And I want to tell you church that, we need need to get busy about the lord’d work
Because when we do, others will see the light of Jesus shine in us and through us
Do I have a witness?
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And so, we see the action of God’s servant,
But now, in our text, we see II. The attack on God’s servant. (9–14)
For the bible says that “Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia),”
In response to the mighty works of God through Stephen,
the Jews responded by lashing out against God’s work and God’s worker.
And what’s disturbing is this
• Instead of responding in praise, they responded by persecution. • Instead of giving God the glory, they gave God’s servant grief • Instead of applauding the work of God, they arose against the worker of God.
Luke tells us that these men arose up against God’s servant. They were the Synagogue of the Freedmen. See, Synagogues went as far back as the Babylonian captivity. While in exile, the Jews were away from the temple and worship of God, so they formed the synagogues where the Scriptures were read and worship of God was practiced.
See, Freedmen: These were the descendants of Jewish slaves who were captured by Rome under Pompey in 63 B.C.
Where they later, obtained their freedom and there they formed a Jewish community.
And Luke tells us who attacked Stephen, then he proceeds to tell us the way they attacked Stephen.
1. They disputed with Stephen. (9b) They Argued with him
This word does not refer to a quarrel, but to a formal debate. • What started in a formal debate, ended in a fighting disputed. • What started out as cordial ,ended as critical! • What began as a healthy dialogue with Stephen, ended with a hypocritical defamation of Stephen! • What started out respectable, ended repulsive!
Luke tells us that, these men rose up to debate with Stephen about what he was doing and what he was teaching! Obviously, they didn’t like the doctrine that Stephen was teaching.
And Luke tells us, why this debate turned into an all out onslaught.
In verse 9 we’ve learned that they disputed with Stephen; in verse 10 we note: 2. They were defenseless against Stephen. (10)
For the bible says
“And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”
Stephen was filled with the Spirit of God and wisdom (vs. 3) and the Jews could not refute is defense. They were defenseless against the wisdom and the Spirit by which Stephen spoke.
They could not stand against the wisdom and spirit
And This verse tells us of their motives in debating!
They did not come to learn or listen, but they arose against him to discredit, defame, deny, and disprove what he said. The Bible tells us that they could not stand up against the wisdom of Stephen or the Spirit by which he spoke.
Stephen was filled with the Spirit of God and spoke with the wisdom and power of God. The result was that, the Jews were defenseless!
By the way, when we are filled with the Spirit of God and have the wisdom of God, the world will not be able to resist or refute what we say!
Because, We speak the truth in love and the Holy Spirit uses His word to convict sinners of sin.
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And so, We’ve learned about the people that attacked him, in verses 11–14
And now, we see B. The plot for the attack on him. (11–14)
1. The secrecy of the plot. (11a) For the bible says that
“Then they secretly induced men to say,”
repeat
And can i tell you that
This is just like Satan. When his initial plan falters, he always has a plan B to use against God’s servants.
And you know, they could not find fault with Jesus, so they set up false witness against Him.
I’d say that, Stephen was in pretty good company! AMEN!
When we are lied about and slandered, we can praise the Lord Jesus that we are going through the same things He went through!
The Bible tells us of the secrecy of the plot! They secretly induced men to lie about Stephen
They had a evil motive.
Can i tell you, one one of the things that i’’ve learned about devil is
The devil always works in secrecy! His people work with evil motives behind the scenes to accomplish his work.
2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
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And so,
The Bible speaks of the secrecy of the plot; in verse 11 we also see: 2. The seriousness of the plot. (11b–14)
a. The accusations against Stephen. (11b, 13–14)
For the bible says
11 “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God” “They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
And here, what we see is , The false witnesses accused Stephen of blaspheme! This charge was so serious, that it was punishable by death! (Leviticus 24:16) They testified, turned, and twisted what they heard him say! They said he had spoken blasphemous words against Moses and God!
David Jeremiah said, “It’s interesting that they cited Moses first. They were more concerned about Stephen’s damage to their religion, than they were damage to God.” It was a serious accusation though in that, they did accuse him of blaspheming God! They used the same trumped up charges against Stephen than they used against the Savior.
In verse 13 they said he does not cease to speak blasphemy against the temple or the law! In verse 14 the Bible says that they heard Stephen say that Jesus would destroy this place, referring to the temple, and change the customs which Moses delivered to them. The Lord Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but fulfill the Law! He did not come to undermine the law, but to uphold the Law!
The Lord Jesus while on earth, promised that if they destroyed His temple that He would raise it up again on the third day! He did just what He said He would do!
The false witnesses turned what Stephen said around! The Lord didn’t destroy that place, but the Romans would in A. D 70. The coming of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice for sins , would indeed change the way men and women would approach God. The Levitical Priesthood would no longer be needed seeing that all those who are in Christ have been made a royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9) The sacrificial system of the Old Testament would no longer we in effect seeing that the Lord Jesus offered Himself, once for all, as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. (Hebrews 9:11–28)
The accusations were serious against Stephen! They could not legitimately refute what he said, so they secretly induced men to twist what he had said.
And so, The accusations against Stephen led to: b. The apprehending of Stephen. (12)
(1.) They were stirred up against him. (12a) “And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes;”
These false witnesses played the crowd and plotted against the Christian. They whipped the crowd into a frenzy! Stirred up:
They did a thorough job of inciting the crowd against Stephen.
They stirred up three groups of people.
They stirred up the people, which referred to the general public, those who had been helped by the mighty wonders and miracles.
They stirred up the elders, those religious rulers and leaders who had a great interest in guarding the traditions and customs of the nation. It wouldn’t have taken much to stir these men up against anyone who was serving Jesus.
They stirred up the scribes who were responsible for coping and teaching the law of God. They would have taken offense to anyone who would mess with the law! These people didn’t believe in the principle “Innocent until proven guilty!” They already saw Stephen as guilty just by the false testimony of those secretly induced to speak lies.
They didn’t want to hear the truth or heed the truth! Many of these were guilty of rejecting Jesus and now they were rejecting the servant of Jesus.
John MacArthur wrote, “There is a fine line between hearing the gospel and hatred for the gospel.”
The Bible tells us that, they were stirred up against him.
The Bible also tells us: (2.) They seized him. (12b) “and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.” The people had had enough and they rushed Stephen and came upon him with evil intent! • “Came upon him” • “Seized him”
The meeting, was no out of hand! They crossed over the line! They were infuriated by what they heard so they attacked and apprehended God’s servant. John Phillips wrote, “The nation, having officially rejected the Son of God, was now going to officially reject the Spirit of God with the same trumped-up charges, the same use of false witnesses,
Same lawless murder of the victim.” \
When Satan cannot get us through intimidation ,he will use manipulation, and when he cannot stop us through manipulation he will resort to domination!
This physical attack on Stephen, was evidence of this!
So far we’ve seen the action of God’s servant, the attack on God’s servant, and in verse 15, Luke tells us of:
III. The appearance of God’s servant. (15)
A. His appearance was to all. (15a) “And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him,” Everyone gathered in this council saw the difference in Stephen.
They looked steadfastly at him. This was no casual glance, but a steadfast stare!
to gaze intently:-fasten (eyes), look (earnestly, steadfastly, up steadfastly), set eyes. All eyes were fixed on Stephen.
They wanted to see how he would respond to the charges!
Would he be angered by the accusations? Would he defend himself against the accusers?
They looked steadfastly at him. Stephen didn’t put on a false face to hide his true feelings. He didn’t look down in shame over his true disposition! Stephen reflected the glory of God.
His appearance was evident to all. His appearance was for all; we also see: B. His appearance was like that of an angel. (15b) “saw his face as the face of an angel.”
His face was shown with the brilliance and radiance of an angel of God!
He reflected the glory of God, because he spent time with the Son of God!
The Jews had accused him of blasphemy and speaking evil of Moses! The same Moses they defended was the same Moses that came down from the Mount whose face lit up because he too had been in the presence of God.
The people could not even look on Moses. Exodus 34:29–30 says, “Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”
Warren Wiersbe wrote, “It was as though God was saying, ‘This man is not against Moses! He is like Moses—he is My faithful servant!” All the council looked steadfastly at Stephen and saw his face shining like the face of an angel!
John Phillips wrote, “It was not hate they saw there, nor horror, but heaven.” When others look on us, I pray that they would see faithful men and women of God who shine the light of Jesus in this world!
Are we letting Jesus shine through us? Are we tainted and tarnished by sin? Has the light that’s within us be put out or turned down because of worldliness? In his book “The Pursuit of Excellence,” author Ted Engstrom writes, “I was cleaning out a desk drawer when I found a flashlight I hadn’t used in over a year. I flipped the switch on but wasn’t surprised when it gave no light. I unscrewed it and shook it to get the batteries out, but they wouldn’t budge. Finally, after some effort, they came loose. What a mess! Battery acid had corroded the entire inside of the flashlight. The batteries were new when I’d put them in, and I’d stored them in a safe, warm place. But there was one problem. Those batteries weren’t made to be warm and comfortable. They were designed to be turned on—to be used. It’s the same with us. We weren’t created to be warm, safe, and comfortable. You and I were made to be “turned on” -to put love to work, to apply our patience in difficult, trying situations—to let our light shine.”
Church, The Lord is calling for Christians to let Jesus shine through us!
Are you serving Jesus?
Are you suffering because of your testimony?
Are you reflecting His light and His love to this world? We can learn much from God’s faithful servant Stephen!
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