July 18,
2021
Answering the call
Acts 6:1-15, 7:1-60, 9:1
We see the church
is growing almost on a daily basis as written in Acts 6:1. The fact the church
has decided to have everything pooled together means they need to figure out a
way to meet everyone’s needs. We see in verse 1 that somehow the needs of some
of the widows among those in the church are not getting everything they need.
At the same time, the apostles know their primary responsibility is to continue
to preach the word wherever the Holy Spirit leads them, so the apostles decide
to get a few of the men from among them to meet the physical needs of those in
the church. You might say a search committee was formed to find the right men
for the job. It would seem the Holy Spirit led the search committee to a group
of seven men who would do the job. Among the seven was a man by the name of
Stephen. Once the seven were presented to the apostles, they prayed with them,
laid hands on them, and sent them forward to do what they had been entrusted to
do.
Another
example of the unity that existed in the early church: Everyone was stepping up,
willing to do what they could to make sure not only the needs of the current
believers were being met, but also to show those who were not yet believers how
God is working in the lives of believers. As a result, we see yet again that
the number of disciples were rapidly increasing and even some of the Jewish
priests were beginning to recognize that God was moving through these
believers, and this movement was really of God. Even with all of this good news,
not everyone was accepting and believing. In spite of all the things God was
doing at this time there were still many in the Jewish community that did not
believe. In fact, they believed the church was not of God at all. Stephen was
especially effective in proclaiming the word of God, as well as leading the
group that was making sure the church’s needs were met. There were a couple of
groups in the Jewish community that took Stephen on for what he was saying and
doing. This group’s desire was to prove Stephen was lying, but the Holy Spirit
provided Stephen with everything he needed to show he was proclaiming the
truth. These Jewish leaders were so convinced Stephen and the early church were
wrong that they made up lies about him to the main decision makers in the
Jewish synagogue, a group called the Sanhedrin. Sadly, those who opposed
Stephen and the church went so far as to get others to testify against him with
what were complete and total lies.
We are not
going to read the majority of the 7th chapter, but I would encourage
you to read it again to see what a compelling and gifted man Stephen was. As
Stephen was asked in the first verse of chapter 7 if the charges against him
were true, he went on to take the Jewish leaders through a brief history of
what they all believed from their past. Stephen pointed out, however, a history
that most chose to ignore about the unbelief that almost always came into play
as God tried to move in their midst. You can tell Stephen was so frustrated
about what was happening to the church at the hands of his own people, the
Jews. He, by the power of the Holy Spirit, called it exactly as it was.
Beginning with the 51st verse in chapter 7 he does not pull any
punches. Can you imagine just how Stephen felt that caused him to be so blunt
about his people’s past; the fact that history was repeating itself again.
Listen again to what Stephen said, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised
hearts and ears; you are just like your fathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit;
was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?” Wow, at this point I
do not believe he was looking to win friends and influence people. It should
have been so obvious to everyone that God was moving in a powerful way and that
Jesus Christ was indeed the promised Messiah, but large parts of the Jewish
community did not care. Stephen then made it personal to those there at that
time. Stephen reminds them that, “They even killed those who predicted the
coming righteous one. And now you have betrayed and murdered him. You
have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not
obeyed it.”
There may
have been times some of us here have had blowups with family, friends,
co-workers, bosses and things may have gotten ugly. Here we have a man of God
trying to convince the world of God’s plan and it is so obvious some of those
hearing him not only do not care, but actually wanted Stephen and the church
eliminated because Satan had deceived them that badly. The Holy Spirt
recognized that fact and had Stephen say these blunt words maybe because there
were others there that needed to know the honest truth about what was going on
before it was too late for them. What was the result? After hearing Stephen lay
it out, these Jewish leaders were like Nineveh in the time of Jonah. They
repented and turned to God. Right? Let us read one more time and see what
happened. “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at
him, but Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the
glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I
see heaven open and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this
they covered their ears and yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed
at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the
witnesses laid their clothes at the foot of a young man named Saul. While they
were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell
on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord do not hold this sin against them.’ When he
said this, he fell asleep.” No, not only did the people refuse to repent of
their sin against God, they added to it by stoning Stephen. We can see by
Stephen’s statement that when he launched against the Jewish leaders, he did
not do it out of anger. He actually did it out of love. His hope and prayer were
that these blunt, honest words would force them to honestly look at their lives
and what is really true. However, it did not work. Satan’s hold on these Jewish
leaders was so strong, they refused to see the truth. With Stephen’s dying
breath, he said something that had to shake many of those there watching, as
well as the ones actually doing the stoning when he asked God not to hold
against them what they were doing.
The title of
our sermon today is “Answering the call.” Clearly Stephen is an incredible
example of that faith, that love, that commitment. How many of us would react
as Stephen did? When we saw how these Jewish leaders were treating our brothers
and sisters, would we react in anger or love? I pray we will never face what
Stephen ultimately faced. However, God is still calling men and women to boldly
step up when the occasion arises. Will we continue to answer the call?
Sometimes it will not be easy. Sometimes it will come at a price. Stephen knew
it was worth the cost to be obedient to God. I pray the Lord gives me the
courage, the boldness, the faith and, yes, the love that we saw in Stephen. May
we each in our own way continue to answer the call.
Pastor Larry
Announcements:
Bible Study 9:30 Tuesday
Newsletter submissions are due July 28.
August 11 Executive Committee
August 14 Oakley Brick Church Pork Chop Supper
If you would like to view Annual Conference worship
sessions, go to www.brethren.org/AC2021/ and click on the link.
Thanks to everyone for your faithful giving!
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First Sundays: food donations for food banks
Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362
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