Wholehearted: Following with a Whole Heart
Wholehearted • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsStephen was a wholehearted follower Jesus even to the point of death
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Wholehearted: With a Whole Heart (Acts 6:5; 8-14; 7:54-8:1)
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Intro: We talked about His Heart, No Heart, and Half Heart. Tonight we talk about following Jesus with a Whole Heart. There were a lot of examples among the apostles as each of them followed Jesus to the point of death. Few examples are better than ours for tonight–Stephen.
Hook: Have you ever followed after something with everything you had? When you first fall for somebody, when a relationship is new. You want to talk to them all the time. Spend time with them all the time. Impress them all the time. When I was first dating Emily, I wanted her to laugh every second we were together. I tried to impress her (fall over bike story). I pursued wholeheartedly with the hope of the relationship continuing. When we fall out of that, it requires putting more effort back into it! We are going to talk about a wholehearted follower of Jesus, that put everything he had into that relationship.
Wholehearted in Action
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
The disciples were increasing in number. They were needing to select more disciples and they picked seven men. Of Stephen it says that he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
He was bought in before He was brought in.
If you want to be used by God in a big way, you have to be committed in the small ways too!
He was already doing the work before he ever had a title.
His love for the Lord was exceptional.
Wholehearted and Holy
And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 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. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
Stephen was full of grace and power; he was out there doing the most.
People noticed, and they hated him for it
They lied about Him
When you are wholeheartedly committed to Jesus, it doesn’t mean that people won’t be against you.
They may talk about you.
They may hate you.
They may lie about you.
But it didn’t matter to him. They stared Him down and he looked back like this
Kendrick Meme
He was serving a higher purpose, which diminished the lower opinions of others.
Wholehearted and never alone
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
He spends this whole chapter preaching to the haters.
They were enraged.
But Stephen was reminded that he wasn’t alone.
They couldn’t bear to listen to him anymore
Stephen signed up to die.
He was willing to die for this movement and did so peacefully, knowing He was being received into heaven. Nothing Earth could offer measured up to his eternal reward.
His execution was approved by a familiar character–Saul, who would later be Paul.
God is working in ways we could never imagine.
Our role is to follow wholeheartedly as much as we can, and when we do, it will be evident in our actions, we won’t be alone, and it will be worth it.
While out in public, you might be tempted to blend in or shy away from expressing your beliefs. This week, challenge yourself to make a point to share your faith in a positive way. Whether it's wearing that cross necklace proudly or engaging in a conversation about your church activities, be unapologetic about who you are as a believer. By openly living your faith, you set an example for others and invite meaningful dialogues about Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
