Sermon Tone Analysis
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Memorial Day is not Veteran’s Day.
On Veteran’s Day we recognize active duty, reserves and veterans who are alive.
On Memorial Day we remember all those military members who have died protecting the freedoms of our nation — such as THIS freedom to assemble in worship of God.
It is a day when we remember what Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address...
... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain
He was talking about the cause of a United States of America.
I am thankful to be an American.
I am thankful to those active duty warriors who day in and day out pay the price to keep us free.
And I am thankful to those who have paid the ultimate price — their lives — for the price of freedom.
Certainly, in the 246 years that this country has existed, there have been many, many brave men and women who have died keeping this country free.
Keeping this country safe.
We could spend hours and hours, days, weeks, months remembering each of their names — remembering their sacrifices.
There are many patriotic events on Memorial Day weekend for such remembrances.
I am thankful for their patriotic examples.
Most us realize that freedom is not free.
There is a price to be paid.
The price of spiritual freedom is not free either.
It cost the life of Jesus.
Proclaiming that freedom in Christ WILL (not might!) cost US our lives.
Because at a minimum we must die to self and self’s desires.
We must do what Romans 12:1 (NLT) [says:]… give [our] bodies to God because of all He has done for [us].
Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship him.
We must do what Jesus said in Luke 9:23–24 (NLT) [Where] … He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
Yes, let us give our lives as LIVING sacrifices that honor God.
So the price of obedience to Jesus, of being His disciple, of doing what He told us to do:
Proclaiming freedom in Jesus…
Means surrendering our will for the Father’s will.
But the price of obedience to Jesus could even be our physical life.
With that thought in mind I want us to remember a different group of men and women.
Not America’s warriors — as important as they are.
Rather, let’s remember the example of men and women who, led by the Holy Spirit, with plenty of weight below the waterline, were soldiers of the Cross.
May their examples inspire us to live for Jesus today — in our lifetimes.
Stephen
And in particular I want to encourage us to remember the example of one who gave up his physical life for Jesus:
The first martyr: Stephen.
Read:
Acts 6:1-15
Stephen gave his life to Jesus:
He did so willingly, unreservedly, whole-heartedly.
His example shows us what it truly means to have weight below the waterline.
In Hebrews 11:38, the Bible speaks of the people of God, the people of faith — Christians, as "those of whom the world is not worthy."
That was certainly Stephen.
In (Phil 2:15-16 NKJV) says we are to be:
... children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, {16} holding fast the word of life...
We shine as bright lights in the midst of the darkness of this world, reflecting the grace and goodness of Almighty God.
Stephen has the distinction of being one of those bright lights.
1.
He was the first to ever sacrifice his life for the cause of Christ.
2. His commitment to Christ was unwavering, and his devotion was unending.
3. We all need to imitate him.
First, let’s look at THE PERSON OF STEPHEN
Stephen was one of the seven chosen by the early Christian church to deal with a dispute over the distribution of food to the needy.(Acts
6:5)
Based on the information in our text, how could we describe Stephen?
1. Vs. 3 - He had a good reputation.
2. Vs. 3 and 5 - He was full of the Holy Spirit.
3. Vs. 3 - He was full of the wisdom of the Spirit.
4. Vs. 2 - He had a servant's heart.
5. Vs. 3 - He was willing to be under the authority of the apostles.
6. Vs.7 - He didn't just carry a title — because he was active and faithful in his duties (along with the others) the gospel multiplied greatly
This was a man who oozed Jesus.
And yet, amazingly, he didn’t have decades to accumulate weightiness in his soul — but he had that weightiness nonetheless.
I have had the privilege to meet and to know men and women who matured in the Lord in months rather than years.
God did a special work in them.
I remember a man and his wife who came forward to repent of their sins and make Jesus Lord of their lives in a service at First Assembly of God in Berwick, Louisiana.
Shortly thereafter, due to me being laid off, we moved from that area.
About 2 years later, God moved us back and I was amazed to see that man, who had been a finish carpenter, was now the youth pastor of the church.
2 years!
That’s not the norm.
That’s incredibly fast for a man who wasn’t even saved, to mature enough in Christ that he could be a youth pastor.
I can tell you that the senior pastor of that church would NEVER have put an unqualified person into that position.
He had high standards.
Not long after we moved back, God called this man and his family to pastor a struggling church in another part of Louisiana.
So, within the span of a few years, this man and his wife went from being unsaved, lost, to being a senior pastor.
So, can I encourage us?
God will form us into His man, His woman as fast as WE will allow Him to do so.
IF we will surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
IF we will allow Him to put weight beneath the waterline of our lives.
And let me tell you — no one can survive ministry, their ships, their LIVES will SURELY capsize without weight beneath the waterline.
Everyone faces the waves and winds of life, but add to that the incessant storm, the never-ending stress of being in ministry?
Of having a bullseye painted on your back and the enemy constantly lining up to take a shot.
Lightweights need not apply.
But Stephen was NOT a lightweight!
His testimony was:
Vs. 5 - That he was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit
According to vs. 8:
He was full of grace and power
Performed great signs and wonders among the people
How does such a thing happen — whether in a short time or over decades?
It happens when we fully turn away from the things of this world, of this life and fully surrender to God — nothing left on the table — “Lord, it’s all Yours.”
It happens when we devote ourselves to the Word — when we develop and insatiable appetite for more of the Bible.
It happens when we devote ourselves to prayer — spending hours and hours in the Throne room of God.
It happens when we thirst for the living water of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 (NASB95) … do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
The Greek word for “filled” here is (play-RAH- oh) — it is speaking of having more than a little — but rather being SATURATED with the Holy Spirit.
The Complete Bible Commentary tells us that Plēroō is … used in the New Testament in the sense of filling with something, always with a strong element of exclusiveness or totality.
Thus, when a person is filled with the Spirit, as in Ephesians 5:18 or with Satan (Acts 5:3), he is completely controlled by the indwelling power.
It is only as we walk in the saturation of the Holy Spirit that we begin to manifest:
Supernatural wisdom
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