Greg Laurie - A Life Well Lived

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TOPICS: Lifestyle

So, I have a question for you. What are you passionate about? Now, I can answer that question for you by simply looking at your social media, because the Bible says where your Instagram is, there will your heart be also. Of course, the Bible doesn't say that. The Bible says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also". But the reality is people tend to reflect on their social media platforms, like Instagram, and Facebook, and Twitter, and even Tik-Tok, what they're really excited about. So, as I go through your feed, I'm gonna know what matters to you. For some, it looks like it's cats. Their life revolves around cats, or maybe their dog, or maybe what they just ate. For others, it's politics. For others, it's something else. And here's what I'm saying to you.

If you're a follower of Jesus, number one, you should be passionate about following Jesus. That's where your heart should primarily be. Listen to this. You're going to walk where you look. So, if I'm looking this direction, this is where I'm going to walk. So, where you look is where your life will go, and we want to get our focus on Christ himself. Paul understood this when he said, "This one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, reaching forward to the things that are before, I press toward the mark for the prize in Christ Jesus". One thing. David said, "One thing I have desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life".

Well, I bring this up because now, as we come to Acts chapter 6 and chapter 7, we find a distracted church, failing to make the main thing the main thing. So, let's read a few verse together. If you have your Bible, your tablet, or your phone, or however you're reading with me, let's look at Acts chapter 6, verse 1. By the way, I'm reading from the New Living Translation. "As the believers were rapidly multiplying, there were rumblings of disconnect". I would underline that. That's interesting. "As the believers are multiplying, there are rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So, the Twelve called the Christians together, and they said, 'We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. So, brothers, select seven men who are well respected, who are full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and give them this responsibility, so we apostles can spend our time in prayer and preaching the word.'"

Well, it goes on to say everyone liked the idea, and they chose the following, and it gives a list of those who were chosen, including Stephen and Philip. And then we read, "And God's message continued to spread, and the number of the believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and there were great miracles that were performed, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too". So, reading these verses, we get a real sense of what made the early church tick. And it's clear that what they were passionate about was prayer, Bible study, and evangelism. One of the apostles said, "Look, we can't run this food program. We can't be involved in these things right now. Our calling is to teach the Bible and to pray". And as they got their priorities in order and got everybody pitching in and helping out, they were able to see more people come into the kingdom. The focus of the early church was to see more people coming into the kingdom, and the focus of the church today should also be seeing more people coming into the kingdom.

So, this newly-minted church is experiencing explosive growth. Everywhere they turned, great things are happening. Peter preaches on Pentecost. Three thousand people come to faith. Then in Acts chapter 4, another 4000 believe. So, their numbers are in the thousands. So, now the devil is attacking through what? Through division. Go back to verse 1 again. The believers rapidly multiplied, but there were rumblings of discontent. You know, it's not even really that important what the discontent was over. In this case, it was about the feeling that there was a bias among the apostles. They were favoring one group over the other. But here's what it comes down to. This was about selfishness, not selflessness. They should've been rejoicing that thousands of people are coming into the kingdom of God; and instead, they're griping about what I would classify as secondary issues. So, they needed a plan.

The apostles are saying, "Look, we've gotta focus on Bible study and prayer. This is our calling. And we need some other people to help us". But this is not in any way to say what the apostles did was more important. For instance, someone who's called to preach the Word or teach the Bible is not more important than someone who's working behind the scenes. It's just different callings. So, we have to find our calling. We need to get the round peg in the round hole and get everyone finding their gifts and developing their gifts and using them. So, they say, "Hey, we need seven men who are full of the Holy Spirit, who can do this". And as this list comes out, one of the men that stands out above all of them is named Stephen. And as our story unfolds, we're going to find that Stephen not only served behind the scenes well, but then God used him to help bring miracles about, and then he preached a great sermon. And tragically, his life, as some would describe it, was cut short. But was it really cut short, or did he fulfill his purpose in his generation?

But let's think about Stephen a little bit. Why was he chosen by God? His life was short but impactful. What are some of the qualities in his life? And I bring this up because some of you who are young, and you're thinking about your future, I want you to pray that God will instill these qualities inside of you, so you can be used by God to reach your generation. If you're taking notes, here's number one. Stephen was well respected. Verse 3 tells us he was well respected. We read, "Select seven men who are well respected". The King James translation translates it, "Seven men who have a good reputation". This means that he had personal integrity. Integrity and character are what we are in the dark when no one is looking.

So, this is the thing that God is looking for. If you want to be a leader, if you want to influence others as a Christian, you need to have a good reputation among those who are not even believers. In verse number 3 through 7, it says people outside of the church would speak well of him, speaking of someone called to leadership. So, he won't fall into the devil's trap and be disgraced. Let me ask you, what do you think nonbelievers say about you? It'd be great if they would say, "Well, look, I don't agree with what he believes, but I have to say he's one of the nicest people I've ever met. He's a great neighbor. He's a hard worker. They seem to be a wonderful, loving husband," or wife, "and family is so important to them, and I admire so many things about them, and I know if I was in trouble they would be there for me".

See, that's having a good reputation, even if they don't believe what you believe. Do you have a good reputation? Well, Stephen did. Number two, he was full of faith in the Holy Spirit, we read in verse 5. And by the way, I can't really accomplish anything without the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, "It's not by might nor by power, but by his Spirit, says the Lord". There's so many things I cannot do without God's help; but with the power of the Spirit, so much can be accomplished. You know, we talk a lot about the power of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, which were given to the believers in the first century. But let's not also forget the fruit of the Spirit, because Galatians 5:22 says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control". So, you can talk all day about the power of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, but do you have control of your temper? We could talk all day about God's Holy Spirit moving in people's lives, but are you a gentle person? Are you a kind person? Are you a loving person? Remember, to be filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by the Spirit.

Also, another quality in Stephen's life, he was filled with wisdom. We see him do this amazing flyover of Old Testament history, showing how he had a good working knowledge of Scripture. Another quality in Stephen's life, he was faithful in the little things. So, what was his job? "Okay, buddy, we want you to wait on tables, take care of the distribution of food, do this menial work and be faithful". And he was faithful. And I think you need to understand that we're never too small for God to use, only too big. The Bible says, "Despise not the days of small things". Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now that feels called to serve God. I would suggest to you, you start in the simple areas. Go to your church and say to your pastor, "I want to just help out wherever I can. I want to do whatever I can, whatever needs to be done". And I find that when people are faithful in the little things, they'll be faithful in the larger things, as well.

Jesus said you are the light of the world, and you are the salt of the earth. What does that mean? We have to understand the first century and how they used salt. Salt was actually something of great value. In fact, sometimes Roman soldiers would be paid in salt; hence the term, "He's not worth his salt". You ever heard that before? Okay, so the idea is you're valuable. You matter. But another thing that salt does is it preserves something. It preserved the meat from rotting. They would rub it into the meat, sort of like our version would be beef jerky, right? Preserves the meat. So, a Christian is to preserve good. We're to stop the spread of evil, speak out for what is true, speak against what is wrong. But another thing that salt does, of course, is stimulate thirst.

Remember when we used to go to movies? And you would order popcorn. There's like three sizes, one tiny little thing, then medium, and then one the size of a trash can or something, and you bought that one because you could get free refills, and you went back to your seat, and it was overly salted. So, you go back to the concession stand. And "Can I get a little cup of water," you ask. "Oh, we're not allowed to give out the cups to anyone, but you can buy a Dr. Pepper this big". You know? But salt stimulates thirst, and I think it's great when a Christian is walking with God, and because of our relationship with the Lord it makes others thirsty for Jesus. I'm reminded of that story of when Paul and Silas were put in the prison in the book of Acts. And they were beaten and mistreated, and their legs were fastened into irons. And they're in this dungeon, we read.

At midnight Paul and Silas sang praises to God. The Lord sent an earthquake, and the walls collapsed, and the Roman jailer thought they were gonna run out on him, and he was gonna get in big trouble. And Paul says, "Don't harm yourself. We're still here". And the Roman jailer said, "What must I do to be saved, sirs"? And it just shows that nonbelievers are watching believers. And when we live a godly life, when we live as salt and as light, shining our light, it's a powerful testimony. And that brings me to light. Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven". So, you let your light shine through, good deeds done in the name of Jesus and the proclamation of the gospel. Be salt and be light. Our world needs it because our world is dark, and our world is thirsty.

So, here is now the early church functioning well, and we have these men serving God so effectively, and the devil is thinking, "I've gotta put a stop to this". So, he brings a new attack with a sort of new twist, persecution again, but this time ending up in martyrdom. Acts 6:11 says they persuaded men to lie about Stephen, saying, "We heard him blaspheme Moses and even God". What a lie that was. It was the very opposite. Stephen honored God. But they made up a lie about him. Let people lie about you because you're living a godly life. Here's another point about Stephen, point number five, he looked for opportunities, and he seized them. He looked for opportunities, and he seized them.

So, Stephen is called before the Sanhedrin. Who were the Sanhedrin? They were like the Supreme Court of the day with this distinction: they were making spiritual decisions, as well as legal decisions, but this was the powerful group of men ruling over Israel. So, to even appear before them, not unlike appearing before the Supreme Court today, is a big deal. You're going to make your case, and Stephen is a young guy. He understands this, but he also sees it as a tremendous opportunity to present the gospel, and that's where our story picks up. I'm back at Acts chapter 6. Look at verse 15. "At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel". Wow, I wonder what that looked like. He was just radiating God's love. There was something about him. They could see it on his face. And then we read, "And the high priest asked Stephen, 'Are these accusations true?' Stephen replies, 'Brothers and sisters, listen to me.'"

Then he goes on to give an amazing message in Acts chapter 7, a flyover of the history of Israel. Verses 9 to 10 of Acts 7 deal with the story of Joseph. Verses 17 to 43 deal with Moses. But everything builds to the main point: Jesus Christ. "Jesus Christ the Messiah of Israel has died on the cross for our sins and risen again from the dead, and you've rejected him. You've rebelled against him". That did not go over well. Go back to Acts 7. Look at verse 54. "The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage".

Now you know you're not doing well in your sermon when people are shaking their fist at you enraged. "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at the right hand of God. And he said, 'Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man is standing in the place of honor at God's right hand.' Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting, and they rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And his accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' He fell to his knees shouting, 'Lord, don't charge them with this sin.' And with this, he fell asleep".

Wow, what a powerful account that is. Look at the blind bias that these men have. Their hatred for Stephen, as we read in Acts 7:57, they put their hands over their ears and began shouting and rushing at him and dragged him out of the city. It's an amazing thing how irrational people can be when you talk about Jesus. You can be talking about anything else. And boy, you get on the subject of Jesus Christ, and some people can effectively flip out. Their face turns red, their voice gets louder. You know, they just don't want to hear it. They want to silence you. That's what's happening in so many ways in our culture today. We have cancel culture. It's not that they disagree with you. It's that they don't want you to even express that opinion. They want to silence you. They want to shut you down, and that's what they were doing to Stephen.

"We want to stop you from saying this". Why do people act this way? Jesus gives the answer in John 3:20. He says they hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed, and they'll be punished. Well, as he's speaking, these religious leaders, these are experts in theology, listening to this young kid who clearly knows the Bible, speak with boldness, and with power, and he radiates like an angel. And they were angry, they were coming under the conviction of the Spirit. In fact, verse 54 says they were cut to the heart. Which means to literally saw the heart in half. This was really hitting them, and Stephen was so heroic in what he did. Even when he was on his knees, he stood tall. They said, "We have to kill him," and they stone him.

Now, stoning was a horrible process. It took a while, frankly. They would take a person sometimes and bury them up to their waist, so they couldn't move, and people would pick up rocks and throw them at them, and it would take time, it would be painful. It was horrible. They're stoning young Stephen, and God gives to this young man a glimpse of glory. Very few people have been given a glimpse through the portal into the afterlife. We know that some have, like Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on his throne. He was high and lifted up, and his glory filled the temple. He wrote about it in Isaiah 6. Ezekiel was given a glimpse of glory. So was the Apostle Paul. So, God gave Stephen what he need when he needed it. Know this. Stephen was in extreme adversity, but God gave him what he needed. Sometimes you'll look at someone who's suffering, and you say, "Oh, man, if that happened to me, I would never have the faith that person has".

Oh, I think you would. I think God will give you what you need when you need it, because as Scripture says, "He's a very present help in time of trouble". So, God gave Stephen this glimpse into glory. And what does he see? He sees Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father. Have you ever noticed that when you read of Jesus, with the Father in heaven, it always says he's sitting at the right of God? But in this particular instance, we read that Jesus is standing at the right hand of the Father. We don't read of this any other time in the Bible. Why do you think that is? Could it be that Christ was standing in honor of this young man who would be the first martyr of the Christian church? Remember, the Lord says, "If you will confess me before men, I will confess you before the Father".

So, as Stephen stood for Jesus on earth, Jesus stood for Stephen in heaven, effectively welcoming him in. And look at the prayer of this young man. He says, "Lord, don't charge them with this sin". Wow. You would've thought he might've called a curse on them. "Curse these godless men. Bring judgment on them all". But was not the prayer of Stephen a reflection of what Jesus prayed on the cross? You remember the first statement of Jesus, as he hung on the cross. He gave seven statements in total. His first statement was, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". And what did Stephen pray? "Lord, don't hold this sin against them". And then he said, "Lord, receive my spirit". He knew he was going to glory. He knew he was going to heaven.

When a Christian dies, they go immediately into the presence of God. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says we're fully confident and would rather be away from these bodies because then we will be at home with the Lord. Writer John Bunyan once said, quote, "Death is but a passage out of a prison into a palace," end quote. When death strikes the Christian down, they fall into heaven. The Lord allowed this to happen because Stephen's work was done. He was faithful to God to fulfill the calling in his generation. Listen, we have no guarantee we will live long lives. To quote Jim Elliott, again, he said, "I seek not a long life but a full one like you, Lord Jesus".