Sermon by David Adkins

Not to long ago I was playing in my back yard with my brother, Johnathan, and some friends. We started throwing some acorns and it soon developed into an acorn battle. Lewis Roncaglion accidentally hit me with a rock and it really hurt. It was a small rock and he throws like a girl. Of course I didn’t cry but it did really, really, really, really hurt. When I was getting ready for this day it made me think of that pain.

Today I’m going to speak about the story of Stephen; he was a man full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. He stood up for Jesus. He is the first person not an apostle to perform miracles and becomes the first Christian martyr.

The story of Stephen is in the book of Acts in chapters 6 and 7. At this time the church was increasing in size with lots of new members. But there was a disagreement between two groups about distribution of food. One group of Christians thought their people were not getting as much as the other group. The food was for the widows and poor people who had no other way to get the food and other things they needed.

The disciples didn’t want to deal with these problems but wanted to concentrate on their ministry so they chose seven men to handle this problem. These seven men were to handle all the business matters of the church.

There were three main criterions to get chosen. First, they had to have a good reputation. Second, they had to be full of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, they had to have wisdom.

The first one chosen was Stephen. The bible says he was chosen because he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. The choice must have been a good one because the church continued to grow rapidly in size. Even a large number of the Jewish priests were converted.

Stephen did great works and miracles and again was described as someone full of gods grace and power. But the Jewish leaders were mad and began to argue with him. They didn’t stand a chance against the power of Stephen—his wisdom and spirit were too strong.

These guys got other people to lie about Stephen. They said that that Jesus would destroy the temple and change the laws of Moses. This scared all the Jewish people and Stephen was arrested and taken before a group of their leaders.

Stephen stood up for Jesus and defended himself by retelling their history. He started with the story of Abraham and how God promised him that his decedents would be his chosen people. He retold the story of Isaac, Jacob and his sons. He retold the story of Joseph and his enslavement in Egypt. He told of their trip to Egypt and their persecution in Egypt.

He told of Moses and his encounter with the burning bush and how he led the people to freedom. He told of their rejection of God right after their escape. He reminded them that those people had built an idol and began worshiping it instead of God. He told of David and Solomon and the building of the temple.

Stephen showed them that they and their ancestors have rejected God over and over. Stephen told them that again they rejected god and crucified Jesus.

When they heard this they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and he looked up and saw Jesus at the right hand of God. This really made them mad and they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

Saul, later named Paul, held their cloaks while they stoned him. While he was getting hit by the stones he prayed for Jesus to receive his spirit and to forgive those that killed him.

Saul gave approval for his death and this started a great persecution against the church. Many members were run out of town and about two thousand Christians were killed including Nicanor another one of the seven deacons. There are many things that interest me in this story. I’m going to go through the story with more detail on many of these events.

First, there were seven people chosen. All were chosen because of three things. First, they had to have a good reputation. Second they had to be full of the Spirit. And finally, they had to have wisdom. One of the things not on this list that I would think would be important is an education. It doesn’t say if these men ever went to school.

Next time my parents get on me for my grades I will remind them that God doesn’t care about grades. They weren’t picked because they looked good or dressed well. They could have smelled bad or been crossed eyed. But, it didn’t matter because they were full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Another one of the seven mentioned in detail is Philip. He had to leave Jerusalem because of the persecution by Saul. He was able to perform miracles. He healed people and was able to cast out demons. Our story doesn’t say what Stephen’s miracles where but I bet they were similar to Philips. He probably healed people and cast out demons. Philip had a great ministry and led many people to Jesus.

I do not think Philip was killed because he is mentioned again, in Acts Chapter 21, when Paul goes to his home to stay with him for a number of days. This is the same person that held the coats for the people that stoned his friend Stephen and who drove Philip out of Jerusalem. This is another example of how Jesus’ love brings people together.

It must really hurt to get hurt by a stone. I’ve been hit by rocks before. I’ve already told of Lewis Roncaglion and the acorn battle we had in my back yard. I can’t imagine getting hit by hundreds of rocks like Stephen before he died. Now, last week my mother and I were playing wiffel ball and I hit one really hard, it hit her in the side of the head and knocked out her earring. She was in a lot of pain and that was just a plastic ball and not even a rock.

If I were getting hit by stones I would be screaming. I might say anything it took to make them stop hitting me. But not Stephen, he did not compromise his faith in Jesus. Despite the pain Stephen was able to ask Jesus to accept his spirit and to ask for forgiveness for those killing him.

When Jesus was on the cross he also asked God to forgive those people who had put him on the cross. He also asked God to accept him into heaven. It is hard to believe that Stephen could think of that when he was in all that pain. This story also shows how important church workers are in God’s ministry. Not just the preachers are important but all the people that work in the Church. When I come to church I see Mr. Eich, Mrs. Villers, Bill Burkes and Julia Fleshman, the janitors, our basketball coaches, the ladies that give us the donuts, the lady that organizes the acolyte candle lighting, the ushers and the greeters.

In Matthew chapter 22, verses 37 through 39, we are told Jesus’ greatest commandment. To love your Lord with all your heart and mind. The second commandment is to love your neighbor as your self.

Stephen was chosen not to become a preacher. His job was to take care of organizing food distribution and other business type jobs. He was fulfilling this second commandment—to love your neighbor. The disciples wanted to focus on prayer and ministry of the word. Acts chapter 6, verse 2, says that the disciples didn’t want to neglect their ministry to wait on tables.

Stephen was the one chosen to wait on tables. God used him to affect the lives of all around him and millions since. His life and death probably was the start of Paul’s conversion and we all know what that did for the early church.

The first time Paul is mentioned in the bible is when he holds the coats for those guys throwing the rocks. Maybe this meant that he was their leader, but I bet this does not mean that he was just there minding his own business. In Chapter 6, verse 15, it says that Stephen had the face of an angel, the bad guys had to lie to get to him and even while getting stoned he was able to forgive his attackers.

I wonder if these things weighed heavily on Paul’s mind in the time leading to his conversion. When he was on the road to Damascus and saw the flash of light and heard Jesus, he did not question or doubt that this was God talking. He was ready to get up and go as he was commanded. I believe his experiences with Stephen made him ready to follow Gods command when told, without arguing or doubting.

The next thing I will mention is where Stephen got his faith. The bible doesn’t tell us anything about him prior to his getting chosen by the disciples. In Romans 12, verse 3 it says that God gives us faith. In Romans chapter 10, verse 17, the bible says that Faith comes from hearing the word of God. So this tells us that Stephen was given faith yet he must have listened to the teaching of the apostles or maybe even Jesus himself. He probably listened more than he talked.

In conclusion, before this the only thing I knew about Stephen was that he was stoned. But since then I’ve learned that Stephen was wise and full of the Holy Spirit. He was brave and stood up for Jesus. I’ve learned that the church and the disciples had to deal with everyday problems like disagreements between people in their church and other things like food and probably even leaky roofs. And, God can use anyone for his purpose even those destined to wait on tables.

I’ve learned that the people rejected God many times in the Old Testament and Jesus was sent to us for a final chance to listen to God. I didn’t realize that Paul was so active in persecuting the early Christians. But God changed Saul to Paul and used him as an instrument to build his church. I’ve learned that Jesus gave Stephen the strength to face terrible pain and hardships and if we listen to the word we can face anything.

Let us pray. Dear Lord thank you for bringing us here today. Thank you for children’s Sunday and giving us a chance to lead the worship service. Thank you for all those that helped us prepare for today. Thank you for Stephen. His story has taught me much. He faced great hardship but was able to face those stones with courage. We ask that you will give us all the courage to face what ever comes our way in the future. We ask that you will fill us with the Holy Spirit and give us wisdom, as you did for Stephen. Go with us throughout the day, guide us and protect us. In Jesus name we pray, amen.