Untitled Sermon (16)

There was a man who made a living selling balloons at a fair. He had various colors of balloons, including red, yellow, blue, and green. Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air and when the children saw it go up, they all wanted to buy one. Every time he released a balloon in the air his sales would go up again. He continued this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket.

He turned around and saw a little boy who said, “I don’t see any black balloons. If you released a black balloon, would it also fly?” Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied with empathy, “Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what is inside that makes it go up.”

Church family my prayer for today is that we would all know that it’s not what’s on you it’s what’s in you. And we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can rise to our full potential. That’s the lesson we can all go to lunch now.

I want to give some highlights about Stephen’s life and then go a little deeper to see what God has to say to us this afternoon. Stephen was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him; full of promise. And although his journey ended abruptly; his legacy is woven throughout the Biblical pages of immortality…he’s recorded as the first Christian martyr.

In order to truly understand Stephens speech in chapter 7, one has to back up to chapter 6 verses 2-4 which reads 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”And so Stephen is selected and six others.

Wait on…that responsibility, in the Greek is the verb (wait on) from which the noun “Deacon” comes from. In other words, Stephen is a newly appointed deacon in the church. But I didn’t want you to think I just made that up. Amen.

But he might have missed his calling as a preacher because this speech is the longest in the book of Acts…he’s long-winded and it reminded me of how Paul was long-preaching in Troas. Amen.

Stay in chapter 6 with me for just a moment.

-In Stephen, we have a man full of God’s grace and power, who did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. That’s verse 8

-Stephen is a deacon in the church; he’s heavily involved in ministry. He’s already finished his Firm Foundation classes, He took Momentum’s Men, Masterlife, Eagles. He facilitated all the small groups. If you have a church you want Stephen there! Amen.

-Stephen was so efficient and proficient at proclaiming the gospel the Jewish leaders were angry with him because they could not withstand his wisdom and spirit. V.10

-So Stephen had a lot of haters. A lot of people disliked him because of God’s hand on his life. And whenever people can’t get the best of you in person, they attack your character and so they begin to falsely accuse him. V.11

-Stephen was seized and dragged before the Sanhedrin council on trumped up charges of blasphemy. V.12-14

Stephen was accused of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God, and against the temple, and the law. Additionally, they accused him of saying that Jesus would destroy both the temple and the customs delivered by Moses.

Stephen is then question before the council and now we enter into chapter 7…He’s questioned and he doesn’t give a straight answer instead he decides to take them on a salvific history roller-coaster of the nation and its people!

If anybody really wanted to know God’s redemptive plan for humanity all they would have to do is read and absorb Acts 7 into their heart.

I believe the first teachable lesson we learn from Stephen is for us to know our history. Our history. I worshipped over at the

From the transatlantic to chattel slavery…Harriet Tubman-John Lewis-Booker T. Washington-Sojourner Truth-Rosa Parks-Medgar Evans-Ralph Abernathy-MLK…We have know, teach, and preserve our history. Amen.

After a spate of education bans in Florida, by the governor, Desantis, over 290 churches decided to take black history into their own hands. From Jacksonville to Miami, black church leaders are inviting folks from the community regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity; whether you are Christian or not you’re invited to learn everything from the Civil Rights Movement to Juneteenth to mass incarceration. The initiative has been a huge success

One of the pastors commented while being interviewed, “History has always been taught in our church in some form or fashion because history still sits in our pews. This has united the black church in a way I have not seen since the Civil Rights Movement. They gave us a bag of lemons in Florida and we made lemonade.” Amen. But we have to keep on telling the story.

In Acts chapter 7 verses 1-16 we see “Patriarchs and Promises”

Stephen begins his speech with Abraham the father of the faithful.

God makes a promise to Abraham…Verse 2-5                                                                                                    But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.”                                                                                                          He says…The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia:

I believe Stephen says that to reinforce the fact God’s glory existed way before the temple or the tabernacle…Before the promised land any of that God’s glory already was.

Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you:

God gave him no inheritance… no child: Abraham was promised both the land and descendants, but had no outward proof of either. He could only trust God for the fulfillment of these things.

3. (6-8) God warned Abraham and gave him the covenant.

“But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision… verse 8

a. His descendants would dwell in a foreign land…into bondage: The promise would not be easy or light for Abraham or his descendants. Yet, God promised to judge the nation that put Israel into bondage.

i. Stephen here suggested the idea that God knows how to take care of and protect His people. He rested in that assurance himself, and challenged the council to have the same assurance.

b. He gave him the covenant of circumcision…

The covenant of circumcision was an outward incision of an inward decision! It was a sign and a symbol of your allegiance to God and your partaking of His promises to His chosen people.

He continues with the lineage and history of the patriarchs…                                                           Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs: Circumcision became the sign of the covenant for Israel, and the covenant was passed down through these descendants of Abraham.

Then we come to Joseph verses 9-16 we see God’s faithfulness in his life and Joseph’s faithfulness to God.                                                                                                                                                                                       

“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.”

One key theme in the life of Jacob is…God was with him

From being back-stabbed by his brothers and sold into slavery…from being lied on by Potiphars wife and being imprisoned through it all…God was with him.

That ought to be good news for you today on your faith journey. That the same God that was with Joseph is with you!

Stephen continues his speech and moves to the life of Moses who was the most humble man on all the Earth during his life and perhaps one of the greatest military leaders of any generation.

In verses 17-43 we see “Sovereignty in Struggle”                                                                                      God’s Sovereignty still reigns amidst our trials and tribulations.

Look at the life of Moses…his life is in danger before he begins living. Pharoah had ordered a decree to kill all the Hebrew male children under two years old and so Moses was born between the tension of God’s sovereignty and the struggle of his people.

So his mother kept him as long as she could but then she decides out of desperation to put her son in a basket and set him in the Nile River and at just the right time…

when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. And even his Momma through God’s sovereignty got paid to nurse her own baby.

Isn’t it funny how God uses the most unlikely people to fulfill His purposes on planet Earth. Moses was rejected by Israel…

When Moses was 40 years old he saw an Egyptian being brutal and harsh towards one of his fellow Israelites and killed the Egyptian. He thought he had gotten away but the “Next Day” he saw two of his fellow Israelites fighting and he tried to break it up and then they said some key words don’t miss this… “Who made you judge and ruler over us?” Verses 27-29

Another 40 years passes and Moses is 80 now…and He says a bush on fire but it was not consumed look at verses 33-36.

So God delivered His people just like He promised but because of their disobedience He decides to let a generation die in the wildnerness…their punishment was great as they would only dream about the promise land.

Look at verse 39…The people rejected Moses!

Look at verses 44-50 we’re almost done.

Here we see the “Truth behind the Tabernacle”

Yes it was a symbol of God’s dwelling but the truth is “God has no desire to live in houses made by human hands” instead he wants to take up residence inside His own creation; The Human Heart.” Amen.

Peter Cartwright, a circuit-riding, Methodist preacher, was an uncompromising man. One Sunday morning he was to preach and he was told that President Andrew Jackson was in the congregation and he was warned to be guarded in his comments. When Cartwright stood to preach, he said, “I understand Andrew Jackson is here and I have been requested to be careful what I say. So I just want to say, “Andrew Jackson is going to hell if he doesn’t repent.” Everybody was shocked and wondered how the president would respond. After the service, President Jackson shook Pastor Cartwright’s hand and said, “If I had regiment of men like you we could conquer the world.”

No matter who’s in the crowd the true Christian has a responsibility and an obligation and a burden to tell the truth about God! NO matter the consequences! That’s why Paul said, “If God be for you it’s more than the whole world against you. Tell the truth about God! Let God be true and every man be a liar…Tell the Truth about God!

SOMETIMES the truth hurts. Look at Verse 51                                                                                                Stephen full of the Holy Spirit. Like the balloon we need to be filled with God’s Spirit so we can rise up against the wiles of the enemy against the rulers of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness…we need the Spirit of God.

Spurgeon said without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are as ships without the wind, branches without sap, coals without fire, we are useless.”

How many of you want to do God’s will? How many of you want to be filled with His Spirit?

This filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one time request. Now we have salvation and the Holy Spirit but to be filled we need to consecrate ourselves and ask God for a fresh anointing of His spirit.

D.L. Moody was asked why he sought to be filled with the Holy Spirit so many times? He said, “Because I leak.” We all leak don’t we? We all have small foxes, specs, and moats in our own eyes. Lord we need your Spirit!