Sermon Tone Analysis
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Scattered Yet Faithful
acts 8.1-
Saul, the young man at whose feet they laid their coats while stoning Stephen
Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death
A “great persecution” arose against the church
It became very unpopular to be a Christian in those days
very much like it is today in many parts of the world.
This persecution was so intense that most of the Christians in Jerusalem were driven from their homes, from their businesses, from their families, from everything they had and everyone they knew...
they were “scattered” throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, being no longer able to live in Jerusalem.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people
I think that one of the things that cause many new Christians to become discouraged with their faith, is that they feel like they were deceived when bad things happen
It is true that there is no more wonderful experience that being born again.
The bible says that no eye has seen and no ear has heard the glory that is prepared for us.
But He has revealed it by His Spirit.
Just this taste, this small revelation by Spirit of the unspeakable joy to come, is more wonderful, and more sure than anything this World has to offer.
It is a sure foundation
Yet we can focus so much on describing the benefits of Christianity that we make it sound like a life of carefree ease where bad things don’t happen anymore.
Where there is prosperity and peace and joy, and life forevermore, and that’s it.
While all of that is true and more, the bible says that in the world we will suffer persecution.
There will come a day when Jesus returns and brings about this universal peace and joy.
But in the meantime, although we live in victory through His Spirit, and have eternal life, we are still in a fallen world, and sometimes bad things happen, even when we didn’t do anything wrong,
We need to be prepared for that also, lest we grow weary and faint in our minds.
Here we see that even though Stephen was “full of faith and power”, “they stoned him while he was calling upon God”
Stephen died calling upon God, but he didn’t die in vain.
In fact, they said his face was like an angel, and he said he could see Jesus.
All these things work out for Good
Stephen didn’t lose anything.
He was by no means defeated.
Like Jesus, he died in Victory.
As we will see, because of his faith, his death did not stop his witness, or power.
Like Abel, his life still speaks, and continued to speak then
heb11.
Stephen simply stepped into glory.
He remains alive and well today, in that place with Jesus, where there really is peace without evil.
All of the things that happened to Stephen were allowed for the glory of God.
If we can just take the focus of our thoughts and plans off of ourselves long enough, you would be amazed what God can do through you!
We like to preach about the kind of faith that always prospers us, and always delivers us from harm, but Hebrews talks about an even greater faith:
I know, I like the the benefits of comfort and prosperity also.
I certainly don’t want to be imprisoned, stoned, beaten or killed.
But are we wiling to suffer at all for Jesus?
To sacrifice anything?
describing examples of faith says this:
heb11:3
I not suggesting anyone go to North Korea or South Sudan and be martyred.
But what are you willing to suffer for Jesus?
Has you faith cost you anything at all?
So many Christians today have no concept of “sacrifice”.
for many, their giving is more like tipping, if they give at all.
And anything that they do or give, is only what is left over
We give God the time that is “left over” after we satisfy all of our need (and most of our wants)
We give God the money that is left over (if any), after we have paid for all of our needs
Which usually include a good many things we don’t need, and even shouldn’t have.
The idea of giving to the point of sacrifice, or suffering, whether it is time, money, persecution, popularity, or anything else, is foreign to a very good many people who call themselves Christians.
Again, I’m not asking anyone to sacrifice anything today: But would you?
Are you willing?
Would you leave your home for Jesus?
Would you give up your job?
Your possessions?
Your friends?
Your life?
All these things were for the furtherance of the gospel
Stephen and the other Christians who suffered under this persecution were greatly used of God to spread the Word beyond Jerusalem
The devil’s plan greatly backfired.
If we can keep our eye on Jesus, everything in our life can work the same way - for the glory of God
The things the devil throws at us to hurt us, to trie to turn us from Jesus, will actually turn out to bring more people to Jesus!
act
This is were we first get introduced to this character - Saul
We want to pay special attention here because we will be hearing a lot more about him as we go through this series
Who is this “Saul” character who was there when Stephen was stoned?
The Bible says that he was a “young man” here.
He was probably in his early thirties, just beginning his rise to prominence.
He was a devout Jew.
A Pharisee who had been taught under Gamaliel (Remember him from earlier)
Apparently Gamaliel was a respected leader and teacher.
This Saul was very well educated, and had tremendous zeal for his Jewish traditions.
Because of this zeal, he saw Christianity as a threat, as an offence, as something to be stopped at any cost.
He also was a man of means, apparently he was born a Roman citizen, which gave him considerable status above most Jews in Jerusalem.
Although he was a young man, he apparently grew quickly to a position of prominence and power (above many his equals - Gal. 1.14)
While he was there holding the coats when they were stoning Stephen, he grew to become one of the most famous and most powerful persecutors of the faith.
So that the bible says here that he “made havoc oft he Church”, and “breathed out slaughter” against it.
He went into people’s home dragging out both men and women
leading them in chains to prison, to be beaten and stoned, many were killed.
Some were even forced to deny Jesus.
This Saul of Tarsus will become one of the most influential men the world has seen.
We will see much more of him in the later chapters of the book
Here is a beautiful thing about Christianity -
You don’t go to church, you are the church
By driving these people out of Jerusalem, they didn’t stop the church, they just caused it to spread
I’m sure that some people might have looked on them as broken losers who left their city defeated...
But many more, seeing that favor of God on them, saw victorious Christian believers, whose faith could not be shaken
Who, though they were driven from homes and possessions, possessed something hat couldn’t be driven from them
When they saw the love of God, the power of God, the faith of God, the hope of God the expectation of God, all working in these believers, they couldn’t help being drawn to them
The same God that healed crippled people in Jersualem through Peter would heal Crippled people in Lystra through Paula and Barnabas.
Christians began to be known then world over - by faith.
Not because of their conformity to the world - but because of their contrast to it.
We need to stop trying to win people to Jesus by assimilating the world, and rather be assimilated by Christ so that the world can be reconciled to Him through us.
Too many Christians and Churches are trying to reach the world by imitating it.
The Bible says that we should not do this:
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