Acts 7:11-16

"Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money."

Our experience with Jesus is a lot like this story. Something beyond our control happens ("Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan"), which brings great suffering to us. We can't solve the problem on our own, so we start to listen to other people and the solutions they have found ("Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt").

We check it out -- maybe by attending a Men's Breakfast, Easter program, or church on Sunday. Jesus then reveals who He is ("Joseph told his brothers who he was") -- and through Jesus -- God learns who we are ("Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family"). We accept Jesus and through us (our witness), our whole family is welcomed into the body of Christ ("Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all").

In the story of Joseph, Stephen has drawn a road map to Jesus, as well as painting a picture of His life and purpose on this earth. This is the point Stephen is making to the Sanhedrin and other Jewish leaders. The question remains -- are they paying attention and do they see themselves in their own history?

Sometimes suffering occurs to get us back on the path -- Jesus' path. The point of suffering is not the pain -- it's to focus us on Jesus -- maybe it's time for you to bring ALL of your focus to Him? Other times people we know are suffering and become open to solutions -- when someone you know is in trouble do you offer worldly advice, or do you offer Jesus? Is there anybody in your life who needs Jesus? What can you do to offer them Jesus?

            On occasion, we're amazed by a believer's perseverance in adversity and confidence in God's promises. Such people demonstrate a spiritual fullness that many of us long to have. A closer look reveals that they have followed Jesus' example and surrendered all to God. 

            We may find it hard to submit to the Lord, because we like to be in charge. This has been man's problem since the beginning. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, decided to ignore God's warning and charted their own course, which ended in disaster. Like them, we often overlook the limitations of our understanding and ignore God's wisdom and knowledge. 

            Another reason that we hold back is fear: perhaps we won't like what the Lord chooses for us--He might ask us to give up a favorite activity or take on additional responsibility. How we are perceived by others also factors into our decision about submission, as we don't appreciate criticism for being "too religious." In addition, selfishness and pride can make us reluctant to let God take charge: we cling to our ideas and dreams and prefer to be independent. 

            The truth is the opposite of what we think. By yielding control to the Lord, we position ourselves to live the abundant spiritual life. We'll experience His deep love, which satisfies more fully than any other. Our usefulness in His service will be maximized as we operate in the Spirit's power. And obedience will also bring glory to Him as well as blessings to us. 

            Surrender is the way to abundance. Won't you humble yourself before God and relinquish all to Him?

            Scripture says that Jesus Christ was "in very nature God" (Philippians 2:6 niv), yet He left heaven to become a man. Here on earth, He lived in full submission to His Father's plans, with no restrictions or conditions. Jesus gave God complete control over everything He did and held nothing back--not even His life, which He sacrificed on the cross for our sake. 

            Jesus did this because He had perfect trust in the One who sent Him. For example, He knew that: everything is under the Father's sovereign control, and no plan of His can be thwarted; God's decisions are good, as they are based on divine love, mercy, and justice; God's plans always take into account what is best for us, and His will is to lead us towards repentance, salvation, and spiritual growth. In addition, Jesus obeyed to bring glory to the Father's name (John 17:4). 

            We are to live the same way--in unconditional surrender to God's will. This means acknowledging that He has the right to order our lives--including finances, family, friends, and fun--and relinquishing control over these areas to Him. Now and again, we may have to let go of things we love. But at other times, we will receive rich blessings from His hand. 

            By submitting to God's authority, we declare our trust in Him and our willingness to accept whatever He sends us--riches or poverty, health or sickness, marriage or singleness. Full submission is the only way to live a victorious Christian life. That's how we glorify the Father, grow in Christlikeness, and receive the Lord's favor.

One of the most prevalent and poisonous rationalizations of sin is that,  I can handle this. If I sense that I'm losing control, I'll just quit. I won't let it get out of control. The problem with such thinking is that in sin's erosive grip, the heart of a person is dulled ever more by repeated sin. A calloused heart cannot sense the pain and increasing danger of the sin barraging it.

Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we will remain stunted, always at a disadvantage to the grossness of our own personal ambitions. If you are a believer attempting to walk in the likeness  Christ, you can be sure that the Holy Spirit will be asserive within your spirit when confronted with a situation or decision that would take you outside the will of God. Because it all boils down to a life of unreserved dependence upon Christ. Amen.

Acts 7:2b-3 "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran."

As Stephen begins his testimony he launches into a full history of the patriarchs from Abraham to Moses. Why? It certainly wasn't because his audience didn't know Jewish history (those listening to him included the Jewish chief priest and Sanhedrin). The purpose and one of the main points he is making relates to his defense of the accusation against him of "speaking against this holy place." Stephen's response is that God doesn't reside in a place -- He is not tied to a particular country or building.

The Jews in Stephen's day were guilty of placing God in a box -- confining God to their locations and ideas. The "God of glory" reference that Stephen makes, indicates God's sovereign nature (He can do anything He wants); and His appearance in Mesopotamia to Abraham, illustrates that God does not confine Himself to a particular country.

So often we do the same thing. We think that God is only at church, or only interested in Christians, or supports only an American agenda. God is as interested in your son or daughter's salvation as He is in the salvation of a drug dealer in Colombia, a prostitute in Paris, or a child with AIDS in Africa. God doesn't have boundaries and no one is a waste of time or effort for God.

We all are guilty to one degree or another of placing boundaries on God. What restrictions do you place on Him? Where have you put God "in a box of your own making?" Intellectually you may agree that God is not only at church, but sometimes we do not have the same "feeling" of being close to God outside of the building where we worship. What thoughts or ideas about God do you need to change?

Acts 7:1 "Then the high priest asked him, 'Are these charges true?'"

 Imagine Stephen's predicament, here he was standing alone before the high priest having just heard numerous witnesses lie about what he had said -- they testified that he spoke words of blasphemy against Moses and God. Stephen knew Jewish law, so he knew the penalty for blasphemy was stoning, and he knew these people were looking for an excuse to punish him severely.

This was Stephen's "defining moment" -- the high priest asked the question, "Are these charges true?" Don't miss the significance of this moment -- there are always two paths or choices at times like these -- the one you choose will define who you are in Christ. The first choice is toward safety (reduction of tension, finding common ground, peace making, and blending into the crowd), as Peter did when he denied Jesus 3 times; the other requires the courage to stand firm in the face of adversity.

What would you do if faced with the same choice? How would you answer the question? Not always do we face such direct opposition or dire consequences as Stephen did here; however we still regularly experience moments when we have an opportunity to either stand up and answer in Christ, or walk away. When was the last time you had such a choice? How did you answer the question?

            As Christians, we like to compare notes about the Lord's work in our lives. We share how He has blessed us or intervened in miraculous ways. But most of us don't think to praise God when His work involves heartache or struggle. In fact, we would rather resist or try to get around the hurt. And yet, surrendering to His hands is far better than living outside His will. No matter what we face, God has promised to be with us in all His power and wisdom, and He is faithful to every single promise He has made. 

            We know we're trusting in His faithfulness when our prayer is, "God, keep me in this season of life until You have accomplished Your purpose in me." Acknowledging that His plan is best--and that it should be seen through to completion--is hard. I have been a Christian for more than 60 years, and sometimes I still struggle to yield fully. 

            Surrendering to the Lord's work in our life will transform us. Circumstances might not change, but our attitude will begin to reflect peace, contentment, and trust in Jesus Christ. Confidence in God shields us from anxiety, because we're focused on Him and His promises of protection and provision. 

            None of us want to face hardship, but God sometimes requires that we suffer. Through our trials, we learn trust, patience, compassion, and other attributes needed for living a godly life. Our periods of hurt make us more like Jesus Christ than other experiences can. And that is a blessing well worth sharing with believers and anyone else who will listen.

Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

Stephen was a man who was FULL: Full of faith -- he believed without limits in the promises of the Lord; he was Full of grace -- he received the fulfillment of those promises, he was anointed by the Spirit, and experienced the favor of God; and, as a result, he was Full of power -- by which he was enabled to do great wonders and miracles among the people.

Many times we wonder why God doesn't use us -- it's because of what we're full of. Paul, in Romans 1:29-31 gives us a pretty complete list of what we don't want to be filled by: "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and viciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, haughty, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to their parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless."

Wait a minute, you say, "I haven't murdered anyone." Isn't it funny how we pick the most extreme from the list to argue about? But what about listening to some juicy talk about a colleague at work (gossip); yelling at someone on the freeway who cut you off (quarreling); showing off your new car for the wrong reason (boastful); ignoring the needs of the family down the street (heartless)?

What do you want to be filled with? The answer for all of us is to be filled like Stephen -- full of God's grace and power. So how do we get there from here? The answer is Jesus -- He has already paid the price (for our sin), there is only one thing we need to do -- have faith (believe) without limits in the promises of the Lord.

 Abraham faced one of the greatest tests of obedience recorded in the Bible: God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. It's hard to imagine the confusion and pain this request must have caused. However, Abraham obeyed willingly and promptly. His response teaches important lessons about yielding to God. 

  Obedience often collides with reason. God had promised Abraham descendants too numerous to count, but He then asked for the father of those descendants to be sacrificed. In spite of the strangeness of the command, Abraham trusted God to keep His promise and so set out to obey (Hebrews 11:18-19). 

   Obedience means leaving the consequences to God. Abraham had no idea how the promise could be fulfilled if Isaac was dead. But his words and actions indicate he believed in divine sovereignty. When Abraham took the boy to Mount Moriah, he told his servants, ". . . I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you" (Genesis 22:5). He didn't say, "I will return" but expressed that both would come back. Abraham went to the holy place, determined to obey. At the same time, he fully expected that the Lord would somehow preserve Isaac in order to keep His pledge. God did this by providing a ram in the boy's place (vv. 13-14). 

 The Lord already knows how His children will respond to tests of obedience. He challenges people because He wants them to know the truth about how well they submit. A believer's willingness to obey (or disobey) reveals the state of his or her commitment to God.