An Evangelist Who Brought the Light of Life to a Place of Darkness. (Acts 7:51-60)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” May the works of God’s unprecedented and never-repeated blessings be upon each of us today. As we live our walk of faith, what is the standard for our faith? Is the standard just going to church diligently? Is the standard of our faith based on doing a lot of work for the church? Or, is the standard of our faith based on having worldly success while we go to church? If we don’t know the answer to this question, we will create our own standard and live our walk of faith like that, but that’s something I created, it’s not something God gave us. God has already given us His standard through His Word. What is the church supposed to do, and what are the members of the church supposed to do? God has revealed this through the Bible.
In the age of the Early Church, Stephen, who we read about in today’s scripture, was the model, and God wants us to be like that today. This is something God carries out with His Word and His Spirit, so when we decide we want that, then God begins to work. The title of today’s message is, “An evangelist who brought the light of life to a place of darkness.”
1. A Religious Region Without Life
The field of darkness talks about a field of religion, religion that does not have true life. When Stephen proclaimed the accurate gospel, he was actually stoned to death, and in today’s world, believers like Deacon Stephen are the standard of faith; nothing else can be the standard. In order for this to happen, what does Stephen have? Stephen possessed the gospel of life. The fact that he had the gospel of life meant that he had the life of Christ that could save himself. Stephen personally met Christ Who had resurrected from the cross, and the life of Christ lived within Stephen, and he confessed that the gospel is everything. The gospel of Christ is the answer to the problems of our past, present, and future.
And, is Christ with me? Then now, what must we live for? Now, that is the Kingdom of God. The “Kingdom of God” means, Christ is the head, I am the body, and I am reigned over by the Word of Christ. That “Kingdom of God” being established on earth is the goal and vision of our lives. In order to establish this Kingdom of God on earth, God promised us the filling of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, then the gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the world.
You and I must question today whether we are in the same stream as Stephen was back then. Or, am I in the stream that is opposite of the gospel of life, the stream of religion?
1) Jerusalem
In Jerusalem, there is the Temple of Jerusalem, and the Temple is where the Israelites were worshiping for a very long time. The Temple represented that God was with the Israelites.
(1) A city centered on the Temple — a major economic center
Everything was centered on the Temple, so there was a huge economic and financial system revolving around the Temple. Three times a year, there were feasts where Israelites and Jews from all around the world had to gather at the Temple, give the Temple tax, give the money to exchange for their sacrifices. This was a large economy around the Temple. Not only that, but all of these Jews visiting from around the world needed a place to stay and eat, so this was a large economy.
(2) The Temple — the priests and the Sadducees
The priests giving the sacrifices in the Temple were the Sadducees.
(3) The Law — the Pharisees
The Pharisees were the ones who taught the Law of God and enforced the Law. So, these are the two leading groups among the Israelites, they are the Sadducees and the Pharisees. But this leadership group began to oppose the gospel that was being proclaimed. What was their reaction? They began to oppose the gospel, saying, “This is blaspheming against the Temple,” and they accused the gospel of breaking down the Law of God. When the gospel of life was being proclaimed, these obstacles arose. The Sadducees and the Pharisees needed to emphasize the Temple and the Law of God in order to keep on making money and secure their position as higher and more powerful than anyone else. But Stephen began to explain the gospel, that God is not constrained only to the Temple, but that the Spirit of God is with us everywhere. There are people who misunderstand the church as the church building, but this is just the church building; it is not the church itself. I am the church, and us gathering together is the Church. The people are the Church. But people are under the misconception that the building is the church.
2) Stephen — He Declared That They Had No Life
(1) God does not dwell only in the Temple—they did not know the gospel.
So, some people think the building is more precious than the people inside, that’s the beginning of a religious life. They have no interest in the individual lives and souls of the people; they were more interested in the building. The reason why the property and the building have value is because the people gathering inside are so precious. Next, the reason why God gave the law is so that we can use the law to look towards Christ, but the leaders of Israel actually opposed the gospel.
(2) They disobeyed God’s Word given through Moses and worshiped idols for a long
time.
Not only were these Pharisees opposing the gospel, even their ancestors did the same thing. Instead of receiving the gospel through Moses, they wanted to live a life that they desired, following their own idols. So, nowadays, all of the children or the younger generation that is opposing the gospel, is not happening from out of nowhere; this has been happening since their ancestors, for generations. If the accurate and correct gospel is not being relayed by the parents’ generation, then those spiritual problems and spiritual state will be relayed to the next generation, and the state of our spirit decides everything. You can only change your spiritual state through the gospel. If the spiritual state is not changed from the accurate gospel, then our next generation will do exactly what their parents did. People who don’t know this think that we can change our children through education, but that is not the case. This is a problem of the spiritual truth, so unless the truth of the gospel goes into the children, they cannot change their spiritual state or their spiritual stream. People who want the next generation to just be in their right minds, but even if they are, their spiritual state cannot be changed.
(3) They were stiff-necked and uncircumcised in their hearts and ears (Acts 7:51).
In Acts 7:51, Stephen said, “You stiff-necked people, your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised.” If your neck is stiff, then you cannot nod “Yes,” and i f their neck is stiff towards the Word of God, they cannot bow to say “Amen.” The only thing they can do is shake their head and say no. That’s what it means to have a stiff neck. Because their hearts and their ears are still uncircumcised, they’re not able to hear or understand the words of God in their hearts or in their ears. Circumcision is cutting off the foreskin of the male member, and that represents the relationship the Israelites have with God, but because they had not circumcised their hearts or their ears, they are hearing and doing exactly as their ancestors did.
(4) Like their ancestors, they always resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51).
That’s why Stephen said, “You are just like your ancestors, you always resist the Holy Spirit.” This is not something that comes out of rationality. And whatever the parents held onto, that is spiritually relayed to the children. So all of our actions and words that oppose the gospel, are coming from the spiritual state. If we don’t know the spiritual state, then we keep trying to correct our children with the correct education, but that’s not going to work. If the parents have sexual immorality, then even if they don’t teach their children, that child will also have that sexual immorality. That’s because the spirit of lust gets relayed into the children.
(5) They killed the prophets who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ (Acts 7:52).
In today’s scripture, the Israelite leadership that is opposing the gospel is not coming from their logic; it was passed down from their spiritual ancestors. Stephen says, “Your ancestors killed all the prophets who were predicting the coming of the Righteous One.” The very people who are holding onto the Bible and claim that they believe in God deeply, began to oppose the Gospel when it is proclaimed accurately.
(6) They also betrayed and killed Jesus Christ (Acts 7:52).
Jesus Christ Himself came before them and they killed Him. So, when the leadership stoned Stephen to death, it did not happen out of nowhere. Because the gospel of life had not gone into them, the spiritual stream of their family line was being carried down again in this generation.
(7) They did not keep the Law (Acts 7:53)—the Law testifies about the coming Christ (John 5:39).
In Acts 7:53, Stephen says, “You who were given the law, but did not obey it.” They were holding onto the book of the law, the Bible, but they were trying to complete it, and I almost lost the essence and the goal of the law. God gave the law with the goal of revealing the gospel of Christ, but they lost that essence and were only holding onto the actions and the exterior of the law. If we don’t know the value of the gospel of life, then we will become religious just like them. Even though we go to church, our necks will be still, our hearts and our ears will be uncircumcised, and we will not be able to hear or receive the words of the gospel of life. 2 Corinthians 4:4-5 says that spirit of darkness confuses and blinds the hearts of unbelievers.
This is how boldly Stephen proclaimed this Truth. If Stephen had slightly changed the gospel a bit, he would not have died. But why is the gospel not being proclaimed in America? If we follow the ways of America, our life will be irrelevant to the gospel. We think so much about, “If I say this, will this offend anybody else?” If I speak so directly, then this person will cut off their relationship with me; then what’s going to happen to my job or my business? Wise American people will speak indirectly.
2. Witnesses of the Light of Life
1) The Response of the Sadducees and the Pharisees
(1) They were cut to the heart (Acts 7:54).
(2) They gnashed their teeth at him (Acts 7:54).
But Stephen did not speak in a roundabout way—he gave the answer directly, regarding the beliefs that the Israelite leaders had, and this was their reaction. When the accurate gospel was relayed to them, it says that the members of the Sanhedrin were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. In Acts 2, Simon Peter proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Israelites, and the Bible says their hearts were pierced and they asked what to do. He told them to accept Jesus Christ and they would be saved.
(3) They dragged him out of the city and stoned him (Acts 7:58).
On the other hand, the members of the Sanhedrin, their hearts were also pierced but their reaction was to gnash their teeth, so they dragged Stephen out of the city walls and stoned him to death. Even right now, Satan only disturbs and opposes the gospel. The devil is not afraid of how morally and ethically you live your life. The devil is not afraid of how much worldly success you can accomplish. If you don’t know what the devil who rules this world is afraid of, then you will fail. The devil is afraid of the gospel of light being proclaimed. The reason life is so difficult is not because of our job or because of people. The reason our life is so difficult is because we are not within the stream of proclaiming the gospel of life.
2) Stephen Spoke After Seeing the Risen Jesus
(1) He full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:55).
Today’s scripture says that Stephen, “full of the Holy Spirit.” The “filling of the holy spirit” means, the spirit of God completely takes over our thoughts, our heart, our body. If we don’t know understand this, imagine being high on drugs, then you are filled with drugs, or if you are drunk with alcohol, then are you filled with alcohol. What I mean by this is, whatever substance you are on, that’s what controls you. If the devil works upon us, then the devil controls our spirit and our soul. However, if the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of God, controls our spirit and soul, what happens? God’s Kingdom is established. And when God’s Kingdom is established, then true peace, joy, and righteousness come upon us. If we want to live a righteous life, there’s no righteousness there because only Christ Himself is true righteousness.
If I try to have good relationships with the people in my life, can I gain peace that way? I cannot. The best thing you can do is avoid fighting with people, but that is not true peace. Only when we have received the true peace that Jesus Christ gives within us, will we overcome many problems like our bipolar disorder, panic attacks, and depression. The Holy Spirit fills us when establishing God’s Kingdom around this world becomes the goal and vision for our life. In order for the Kingdom of God to become the goal and vision of our life, we must acknowledge that the gospel of life is everything. If the God of heaven and earth is not our “everything,” then we have to seek something else instead, and those other things will take us into the kingdom of Satan, this world. If the Holy Spirit fills us today, then we change. The filling of the Holy Spirit will result in the filling of wisdom; the wisdom of God Who created the entire world will be within me. Then, I will receive the wisdom of how to live in this world. And then the filling of the Holy Spirit is a filling of faith.
(2) He looked intently into heaven (Acts 7:55).
(3) He saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55).
When Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, he did not look at the people who were trying to stone him and kill him, but instead, he looked up at heaven, to the glory of God. It’s important what you look at. There are many people who would see an apple falling from a tree and would think, “Oh, the apple fell,” but someone saw that and discovered the universal law of gravity. Nowadays, finances are very difficult but what’s important is what you see. If you’re not able to see the guidance of God, you will not be able to see, no matter where you are. Because if we’re not filled with the Holy Spirit, then we’re bound to lose in the present reality and the environment. On the other hand, if someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, then the way they see changes. We are able to see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. In the midst of your problems, your environment, and your circumstances, you must be able to see Jesus Christ Who is reigning over us and this world. But if you only see the problem, then you’re only looking at it physically correctly. But if you’re able to see how Jesus Christ is working and guiding you within that problem, it means you have the filling of the Holy Spirit.
3) Stephen Proclaimed What He Saw
(1) He said, “Look!” (Acts 7:56).
(2) “I see heaven opened” (Acts 7:56).
(3) “I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56).
“Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” What does it mean that Stephen said this? The people around him crucified Jesus and Stephen is telling them that he saw Jesus Christ resurrected and standing at the right hand of God. The people around Stephen were misdirecting the people of Israel, based on the law, and this was all being revealed. Because the leader said, there is no resurrection; they said, “Jesus is a liar, and that’s why we crucified Him. We crucified Jesus because He said He was the Son of God and that’s blasphemous.” But Stephen is telling them, “I see this Jesus Who you crucified, is alive, and is standing at the right hand of God,” then, imagine what the leaders’ reaction will be. They covered their ears, yelling at the top of their voices, and all rushed at Stephen.
You must proclaim this gospel exactly as it is. If we’re worried about how the other person will receive it, then we’re thinking about their perspective, but we must proclaim the truth exactly as it is, then that person will determine if they accept it or they oppose it. The people who proclaim Christ are those who live for the gospel. They are not people who live for themselves. Those are the True Christians who believe in and follow the gospel accurately.
What does it mean for us to have and enjoy the gospel? It means that we believe that everything that I have, everything about myself, has been crucified on the cross with Christ. And now, the life I live, I live by faith in the life of Jesus Christ Who lives within me. If we have this faith, then all of the problems in your past, present, and future are finished. Because even if we do face a problem, the Lord has to take care of it. In the past, I had to take care of and face all of my problems. But now that we have the gospel, it means that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord Who guides and works through all of our problems, so we look for His plan of blessings. Then, we have no choice but to talk about this gospel. We have no choice but to proclaim the gospel of life to the people who are struggling in the world without this answer. For the young adults who are trying to get married or find jobs, if you have the gospel, then establishing God’s Kingdom becomes the goal for all of that.
What does that mean? If I marry this person because I love them, then that is not the Kingdom of God being raised up. Yes, you might marry this person because you love them, but even above that, Christ must be head of your family and the Word of God must reign over your family, then your marriage establishes God’s Kingdom through your family. That is only possible when you receive the fact that the gospel is the greatest thing. The goal of going to school or going to your job must be to establish God’s Kingdom there. A “Christian” who does not have that is a fake Christian. Because their goal is for themselves, that’s why they go to church, for themselves. God is raising up believers like Stephen today as well.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is an incredibly important work for us, and it is the promise we must hold onto. When you wake up in the morning, what do you start your day with?
There are some people who wake up without a single thought, there are some people who wake up already heavily burdened by what they need to do to survive. That’s normal but if you stay in that state, living will be difficult. You need to change your state with the gospel of life. “Oh, I already died with Christ and now Christ lives within me.” The reason why I go to school or go to work or meet with people is to establish and spread God’s Kingdom there. The second and third generation of Stephens arising, it’s those people who go to school, go to work, or meet with people, with the goal of giving them the life of Christ, establishing God’s Kingdom there. We pray for this purpose—may the spirit of God completely fill me. If we live our lives without this, then 100% we are just religious. Religious people have no power at all, they’re worried about what others say about them, “If I say this, then this might hurt my business. If I say that, then it might hurt my relationship with them.” That might look like it’s a good personality trait, but it’s actually cowardice. We have to proclaim the gospel to save these people, but we’re actually more worried about our perspective. Then, 100% that person is religious. And any kind of suffering that person faces is their fault, because in this field of darkness, the life of Christ is not their lord, they have their own lord, so of course they will suffer. That’s why people say, “Life is hard no matter what.” It’s because they don’t know how to change what is actually difficult.
3. The Gospel of Life That Overcame Death
1) The Actions of the Sadducees and Pharisees Who Killed Jesus
(1) They shouted loudly and covered their ears (Acts 7:57).
(2) They rushed at him together and stoned him (Acts 7:57–58).
When I go out into the world with the motive of proclaiming the gospel and change the Lord of my life, then I am changed. When we receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the wisdom of how we must live our lives. We don’t even have to worry about how to live our lives. We live with the gospel of life. We live for that life. We live filled with that life, for this purpose. If a fish is inside of water, then they are filled with life. Do you think that fish is worried about how it will live? They lived freely and abundantly, comfortably. But life is so difficult for us, because we are not breathing, enjoying being in this life. Only Christ Himself is Life. Only when I breathe with that Christ will I come to life. When we come to life, when prayer becomes our life. If prayer is not taking place for us, it means we are living by ourselves. Life is not hard because I’m not able to pray, but the very state of living by myself, that’s what is difficult. Even right now, as we listen to the Word, there are some people who are able to listen with life and prayer. That is the state that is able to have and enjoy life. If we have money, then we cannot just hoard it; we have to spend it, too. If I have the life of Christ, then I don’t just hold onto that; I have to use it, so all of “Me” comes to life. There’s no greater mission or purpose in life than proclaiming this life of Christ.
(3) The witnesses laid their garments at the feet of Saul (Acts 7:58).
Going back to the scripture, in order for the Israelites to stone somebody to death, there needed to be a witness, and the witness here, it says, was “a young man named Saul.”
2) Stephen
(1) “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59)
While Stephen was being stoned to death, he prayed, “Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.” When our spirit is separated from our physical body, we call that, “death,” and our spirit goes to our Lord Jesus.
(2) “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60).
Then, Stephen also prayed, “Do not hold this sin against them.” The people who were surrounding Stephen were killing him because they are opposing and rejecting the gospel, and Stephen was praying that one day they would receive the gospel, so even his final prayer is for evangelism. Even when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He prayed to God to forgive the people who were crucifying Him for “they know not what they did.” And there were two robbers who were crucified next to Jesus Christ who were both mocking Him, but one of them accepted Jesus Christ and received salvation. This is not something we can do on our own; only when we are filled with the Spirit of Christ can we do as Jesus did. We cannot just set our mind to do this. Only when the Spirit of Jesus Christ fills us will He speak and move through us.
(3) He did not die, but fell asleep (Acts 7:60).
Stephen was stoned to death, but it did not say that he died; he fell asleep. If we fall asleep, it means we will wake up again. Jesus Christ overcame death. We are also living our lives, holding onto the life we will have after death. Why are we afraid of death? We are afraid of death if we do not believe we will come back to life. If we face a crisis in our life, financially or with our health or mentally, then we are filled with fear, but you need to hold onto the covenant, the promise that, even if you die, you will live because our eternal life is guaranteed. Stephen did not die; he overcame death. As we live in this world, there is so much fear, fear that someone might destroy our lives or that finances might kill us, but if we have the covenant of life after death, then we can enjoy eternal life. “If I perish, I perish,” that is the only way to overcome. There is no other strategy we can use to overcome fear, maybe momentarily, but not in the end. Even if you avoid all of these obstacles until now, there will come a day where you cannot avoid it. So from the very beginning, just come to that conclusion. If I die, I’ll die, because my life is in God’s hands, and if I die, I come back to life. So, Stephen overcame his fear of death. That is a truly successful person. Any worldly success is fake, because we have a fear of death, so it is a fake success.
3) Saul
(1) He believed that killing Christians was the right thing to do (Acts 8:1).
(2) He took the lead among those who persecuted and killed Stephen.
(3) He became a disciple of Christ.
This young adult who was witnessing this stoning thought that it was right for Stephen to die, but Stephen’s death did not end with just his death. It was actually a time for this young adult Saul, who would later arise as a great disciple of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
1. Those Who Have Life — The Covenant Within Me (Bartizan)
If I come to this conclusion today, to live for the gospel of life, then later on, in my life, I will leave behind masterpieces.
2. Being Filled with the Holy Spirit — The Power Within Me (Bartizan)
You and I must decide, what will I live for? Will I live as a religious person, lost in darkness, just going back and forth to church, or will I live as someone with the life of the gospel as the greatest value, proclaiming this with the filling of the Holy Spirit?
3. Proclaiming the Gospel That Gives Life — The Journey Prepared by God (Journey)
God wants to raise up the correct church that has and testifies of this gospel of life. The building is not what’s important, God wants our spiritual state to be corrected.
4. The Fruits of Life — God’s Signposts (Milestones)
Your spiritual state is relayed to your children directly, and that spiritual state is relayed to their next generation. When you and I have this gospel of life and proclaim this gospel of life through our lives, then the masterpieces will continue to arise, and I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that you will have this beginning.
Message Prayer
Let us pray right now together, holding onto the Word God has given to us as the covenant for the rest of the week.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We thank You for giving us the gospel of life and for giving us the grace to live for this gospel. God, we believe You will give us Your grace every day so we will no longer live for the temporary things of earth, but live holding onto the eternal covenant of God. We have received everything from You, God, and we are returning a portion of that to You. We pray You will bless the hands that have given the offering of tithe, missions, future generations, and thanksgiving offering, and we believe You will bless us so we will truly know Who is the Master of finances. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Announcements
Local Church News
1. Please continue to pray for the purchase of our church building.
2. Departing from Korea on July 28 and arriving in the U.S. on August 8.
3. Church Supplies Purchase – Hyojung Lee, Deacon Esther Kwa
4. Kitchen Gas Purchase – Elliott and Cameron
5. Church offering (Venmo): @Antiochmissionchurch
PARA News
1. WRC- Korea, July 29 – August 6
2. Three adults and three Remnants participate.
3. We had a Remnant Day.
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, the indwelling, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all of the people who desire to have and spread this gospel of life, be with them now and forevermore always, amen.
Let’s shine the light of life!