3 Fullnesses
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Martyrs or dedicated to God? The passage we have just read is not intended to call us to martyrdom, but to live our lives for the Lord and, as Paul says to the Romans: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1 - NIV).
Every occasion is good! Injustice! This is the word we must use to describe what was happening to Stephen:
wrongfully accused (Acts 6:9),
mistreated (Acts 6:12),
slandered (Acts 6:13-14)
stoned (Acts 7: 59).
Yet despite his innocence, Stephen used this opportunity to preach about Jesus.
The Bible reminds us to seize every opportunity the Lord gives us to proclaim God's salvation: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction (2 Timothy 4:2 - NIV).
3 Fullnesses. How difficult it is to be lucid in difficult and painful situations.
Yet this biblical passage shows us Stephen in total control of the situation.
What is his secret?
How can we face problems and experience the serenity, authority and peace that this man of God achieved in the most difficult moment of his existence?
Stephen experimented with the 3 Fullnesses! May our life overflow with God's presence as Stephen's life overflowed.
N. 1 - A Heart filled with the Holy Spirit
N. 1 - A Heart filled with the Holy Spirit
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.
Fullness of the Holy Spirit. It always starts from the heart!
Luke reminds us 4 times that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit:
when he was called to service (Acts 6:3, 5),
when he exercised the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:8),
when he was about to die (Acts 7:55).
Every season of life in which we find ourselves can and should see the rain of the Holy Spirit fall!
The rage of enemies. Stephen's enemies had hearts full of anger (Acts 7:54) while in the martyr's heart was the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:55).
Stephen's enemies, due to anger and hatred, can no longer control themselves and, like a pack of wolves, attack the servant of God (Acts 7:57-58).
When we are filled with anger everything gets out of control and we are in the hands of anger and hatred.
Blessed are those who have every instinct, every impulse, every passion under control. Blessed are those who are entirely self-controlled.
William Barclay (New Testament Scholar)
This is the time when God wants to fill our hearts with his Holy Spirit.
What are we filled with? And if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, why is there so much noise, shouting and evil around us?
N. 2 - Eyes Filled With Heavenly Glory
N. 2 - Eyes Filled With Heavenly Glory
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.”
Eyes fixed on the sky. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, directs his gaze towards Heaven (Acts 7:55).
In that instant, his eyes are filled with the vision that the Lord grants him: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56).
In this vision there is the Trinity engaged in assisting and comforting this servant of the Lord.
Stephen had a thousand reasons to direct his gaze elsewhere: he could look at the angry crowd, he could notice his loneliness since no disciple was with him.
Yet he decided to turn his gaze towards the only place we have to look: towards Heaven!
God blessed this state of mind and granted him a vision which filled his eyes and encouraged his soul.
What fills your gaze? Unfortunately, more and more often we see empty, dull eyes turned towards the things of this earth, attracted by the pleasures of this society.
Even in the Church we can meet gazes dull and lost in the emptiness of this world.
The Holy Spirit this evening wants to give us a vision that fills our eyes and awakens our hearts.
Like Abraham, the Lord invites us tonight to turn our gaze away from our limitations and begin by faith to look heavenward: He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5 - NIV).
May the Lord grant us a new vision for our life, for our home, for the church to which we belong: Lord, fill our eyes with your glory!
N. 3 - A Future Filled with Hope
N. 3 - A Future Filled with Hope
dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Under the stones. Humanly speaking, this is the future we see for Stephen: a helpless body lying under a pile of stones (Acts 7:59-60).
Yet it is not so! Indeed, Luke leaves us a clue that the future, the legacy, the testimony of faith left by Stephen was placed at the feet of a young Pharisee called Saul.
Soon this young man would meet Jesus and the Lord would use him for his glory like no other.
He was young, he was not ready, but he would grow, mature and eventually blossom strongly for the glory of God.
Stephen's future was therefore not under the stones of those Pharisees, but at the feet of that young man who would soon inaugurate a true spiritual awakening for the church of Jesus.
Your Future. Perhaps, humanly speaking, like Stephen you too are seeing your future fade away a little at a time, falling asleep under the unjust weight of accusations and slander, yet God does not agree!
He is about to fill your future with something or someone who is now small, insignificant but who will soon fill the future God has set for you.
As Saul represented the future for Stephen, so God used that child in the basket lying on the banks of the Nile to give a powerful future to the people of Israel.
Our future is not stones with blood, in fact God is preparing something glorious for the Church!
Humanly, we cannot yet recognize him: he is young, he is small, he is a child, but he will soon grow up, mature and fill our future.
Never any that hoped in God’s word were made ashamed of their hope. [2.] A thanksgiving for it.
Matthew Henry (Nonconformist Biblical Exegete)
Conclusion
Conclusion
Conclusion. There is a call that the Holy Spirit is addressing to the Church of Christ Jesus and it is the call to fullness: Hearts Filled, Eyes Filled to realize a Future Filled with the hope that proceeds from God.
