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Lord, we ask you to please be with Brother Dylan as he preaches your word to us and please allow this church to be edified and understand and do your will. In Jesus' name, we pray. All right, well great to be here, great to be back in my home town. I'm just waiting for the snow. It's been such a dry winter even in Portland where it supposedly rains every single day and I expect some snow when I come here but I guess not today. Well, turn your Bibles to Acts chapter number 6. We're going to be starting out in Acts chapter number 6. I just wanted to have Brother Chris read the long chapter just for fun. I'll be honest with you guys, I'm feeling a little ill today so if you could be praying for me that I could get through this and be edifying to the church. So let's look there. Chapter number 6, verse number 8. The Bible says, And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for this day and thank you for the opportunity to be at Verity Baptist Church in Boise. I just pray that you'd help me to preach this sermon and edify your people. Help us all pay attention. Pray for all those who are out sick today. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, telling my sermon today is a man full of faith and power. A man full of faith and power. These two chapters in the Bible are talking about the man Stephen who's actually the first deacon ordained in the Bible. And the Bible tells us that he's a great man of God and that he's a man full of faith and power. We just read the chapter that Brother Chris just read where he preaches this amazing sermon and was actually martyred for the Lord Jesus Christ. And he stayed strong through the whole thing. And that would be, in my opinion, a man full of faith and power. So this morning I want to get five lessons from the life of Stephen. I want to apply it to us and figure out how we can become great men or women or children that are full of faith and power. So lesson number 1, let's read Acts chapter number 6, verses 1-4. And in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the grations against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily administration. Then the twelve called a multitude of the disciples unto them and said, it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. So number 1, every task done for God must be taken seriously and is very important. You see there that the first deacons in the Bible, they were ordained out of a necessity in the ministry. Basically, the apostles were taking care of starting new churches, turning the world upside down to the gospel of Christ, preaching the gospel everywhere, but also they were running churches themselves. And the widows in those churches were being neglected. Because the Bible teaches to honor widows that are widows indeed. You know, if you're a widow indeed, according to qualifications in the Bible, the Bible says that the local church should be taking care of your needs, should be supplying for your needs. That way we don't have to have 65-year-old widows out at Walmart working when they could be taken care of by the church and staying in their proper role. And so because of that, the apostles were overwhelmed. They were overworked. They weren't able to focus what only they could do, the work that only they can do, the starting of churches and stuff like that. They were torn between, hey, just the daily ministration of the church and actually, you know, doing their tasks. So you see there in Acts chapter 6, number 3, let's look at the qualifications for these people. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business. So you may think, you know, oh, these people are just taking care of widows. So we could just pick, you know, Joe Schmo off the street to do that. That's no big deal. Well, the Bible says that these men had to be men full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom. They were high qualified men just to do a simple task such as taking care of the widows. So what does that teach us? Every single task that we do for God, no matter how small we may think it is, is very important to God and we should have high qualities and high expectations of people that serve God. And no matter what capacity, as a mother, as a child, we're all soul owners, right? No matter what we do for God, God expects high expectations out of us and expects us to have high character traits ourselves. Ecclesiastes 9 10 reads, who whatsoever thy hand find it to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. You know, that shows again right there, no matter what task we're doing, if we're doing it with all of our might, it brings glory to God. That's what God expects of us. And turn to Exodus chapter number 18. Exodus chapter number 18. We see this play out in the life of Moses, this concept here. So just to give you some context, obviously Moses is the man of God. He's the leader of this nation of God's people. And what he's doing is every single controversy, every single problem, every single issue that the entire nation has, he is judging all their problems. So they're literally standing in line waiting all day to get to Moses. And Moses is just person by person, judging their issue, judging their issue, judging their issue. Because of that, Moses wasn't able to do the things only Moses can do. And he was being torn between two priorities that way, just like we saw in the book of Acts. So let's read in verse number 21. This is Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, who's giving him some advice on how to fix this issue. We have to read in verse 21. Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all seasons. And it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. So shall it be easier for thyself than they shall bear the burden with thee. So you can see that this is a biblical concept. When a leader or a church has too much going on, and one man isn't able to do it by themselves, the Bible teaches to delegate authority, right? Obviously, the leader always has responsibility. You could delegate authority, but you can't really delegate responsibility. So that's what's happening here. Moses is delegating his authority to men to rule over tens, fifties, hundreds to help him out with this situation. So obviously, a lot of times you hear people today where they think that in order to have a biblical church, you have to have a lead pastor, an assistant pastor, and a board of deacons, and all of these things, right? But we see in the Bible, extra people in leadership come out of necessity in the ministry. It's not just, hey, we're just gonna have a bunch of pastors just because we want to have a bunch of pastors. You know, the people that usually teach us are the new evangelical community church types, where you show up at their church, there's 100 people and there's 10 pastors. You know, it doesn't make any sense because in the book of Acts, they were leading a church of 3000 people, and they had just finally ordained some deacons, you know? So you see, you know, in our day, obviously, the Bible teaches that in the last days, we'll be able to do greater works, right? More and more quantity of work for God. That's why you see churches in our movement, like your pastor, Pastor Menes, he has a church of I think about 180 people, and he does have some deacons working for him. But in case you didn't know, he's doing a lot more work, right? He's doing a ton of work, and he needs those men to help him out. Pastor Menes can't be preaching today in Verity Baptist Manila. Pastor Menes can't be preaching today in Verity Baptist Boise, and Pastor Menes can't be preaching today at Verity Sacramento all at one time. This is how you get, you delegate authority to people. So let's look here. Oh, and then another thing out of that, you notice there the qualifications for those men. There are men of truth that hated consciousness, such as fear God, the Bible says. So, you know, no matter what the task is for God, God expects us to have people doing that work that are qualified, that meet qualifications, that have high standards for their life. So we'll go to Colossians chapter number three. Colossians chapter number three. Colossians chapter number three, looking at verse 23, the Bible says, and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord, he shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. You know, we got to just get it through our heads that no matter what we're doing in the day, whether we're going to our secular jobs, whether we're showing up in church, whether we're doing our schoolwork, whether we're raising our children, whether we're being a good husband to our wives, we serve the Lord Christ. So at the end of the day, our boss in all of those areas is the Lord Christ. So that's why we have to make sure that we have these character traits. So what are some tasks of service to God that we do in the church? You know, Bible reading, people that come up and read the Bible before the service, the song leading, the people involved in the music ministry, you know, the ushers, the security guys, whatever you guys have going on in the church, right? All of these things are needs that a church has. And you just have to realize that they're important to God. And you shouldn't just take your jobs no matter how small you may think they are lightly, like, Oh, I'm just the guy that counts the money. No, you serve the Lord Christ, you count the money like you're serving Lord Christ. If you're the usher, you serve the Lord Christ, how you treat people that come into this church, treat them like they were the Lord Jesus Christ themselves. You know, if, if Jesus Christ was in attendance today, how would you read the Bible for him before the service? How would you sing for him before the service? How would you preach for him if he was in attendance for the service? And everything that we do, no matter how small you think it is, remember that you serve the Lord Christ. And when you do that, you'll be able to realize how important your job is no matter what you're doing for God. So how about, how about soul winning? Second Corinthians 5 20 says, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. That's a pretty hefty title right there. Ambassadors for Christ. You think about being an ambassador for the United States, right? That'd be a pretty, you know, high class job. You know, way more important than being the ambassador for the United States is being the ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ. They don't even compare. They're not even on the same, you know, length at all. And the rest of that verse says, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. So how seriously do you take soul winning? You know, how do you dress when you go out soul winning? One of the things that drives me crazy is when I see people show up to my soul winning time, you know, or any soul winning time, and it looks like they just rolled out of bed. They're in their pajamas. It looks like, you know, they're going out hunting or something. You've got the face paint on. No, not face paint, but you know, when you're going out soul winning, you're an ambassador for Christ. How would you dress if you're an ambassador for the United States? Would you go up to Vladimir Putin wearing your pajamas, or like looking like you just rolled out of bed? You know, people, when you show up at their door, that may be their first impression of a saved Christian. This might be their first time they ever hear the true gospel presented to them. And you know what people always want to say, you know, the inside is what matters, the outside doesn't matter. Obviously, the inside matters more, but the outside does matter too. And so if you're a woman and you're dressed like a whore at someone's door, you know, that's a bad testimony for Christ. If you're a man, you're dressed like a slob at somebody's door, that's also a bad testimony for Christ. How do you carry yourself, you know, when you're soul winning? You realize that you're standing in the gap between eternal heaven and eternal hell for people. Some people, this may be the last chance they ever get to hear the gospel before they die and before their fate is sealed and before they're going one place or another. You know, this may be their only chance and you have, you are the ambassador of Christ at their door. How you carry yourself, how you dress, how you talk, how you act, you know, how your silent partner acts, it's very important. All the tasks that we do for God is very important. How about your performance, even out soul winning? You know, obviously we try to push people to become talkers in this movement, right? We want everybody preaching the gospel. You know, if you're not ready to preach the gospel, there's no shame in being a silent partner whatsoever, because I'd rather someone learn from someone who knows how to go soul winning until they actually can do a good job than to just go doing a horrible job out there, letting people go to hell because you don't really know how to preach the gospel yet. Sometimes we just have to swallow our pride and say, you know what? I'm not ready. I'm going to go with a good soul winner for a while. I'm going to learn for a few more weeks. I'm going to take some notes. I'm going to study my Bible and then just get back at it. But what we don't need is people that don't know what they're doing at the doorhouse. We need people that have high standards that take their job seriously and that know what they're doing. Go back to Acts chapter number six. Acts chapter number six, look at verse five, and the saying please the whole multitude and they chose Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicholas across the line of Antioch whom they set before the apostles and when they had prayed they laid their hands on them. So number two tonight or this morning there is a prepared place for a prepared person. There's a prepared place for a prepared person. So how, why did Stephen and these men with him, why were they the ones that are ordained? Okay well look at that verse again. It says that they were meant Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. You don't get that way by accident. You don't get that way by not doing the work of God. The reason why he was chosen is because he was already doing the work. You know you think about the great men of God that we know we look up to Pastor Menes, Pastor Anderson. No one called up Pastor Anderson five years ago and said hey there's this great church in Arizona with a couple hundred people in it. We'd like you to lead it. Are you down? You know that's not how it works. What happens is men, women, whoever it is, spend their time studying the Word of God by themselves, spend their time praying by themselves, spend their time pouring into their spiritual man and pouring into their spiritual life and they grow in the Lord. They grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and they do the work of God and then they're a prepared place and God or a prepared person and then God will always have a prepared place for a prepared person. He's gonna make sure if you're a man or a woman that's worthy for the job that he's called you to do that he's gonna make sure you have the opportunity to do that. But how many opportunities do you think we might miss in our lives just because we are not prepared? How many people have you maybe ran into in your day-to-day life that could have gotten saved that wanted to hear the gospel but you just weren't ready to preach them the gospel? You just didn't know how to preach them the gospel or you just weren't maybe far enough in your Christian walk to where you were you know maybe bold enough to preach that person the gospel? Whose fault is that? That's our fault when that happens. That's our fault for not being a prepared person because God all the time gives us these opportunities in life even in the secular world. How many times do people just miss a good job opportunity because they don't apply for it right? All the time. They're not prepared. Happens all the time. So let's turn to 1 Timothy 3. We'll be getting there in a little bit but some examples of this in the Bible. People who are already doing the work that God used. How about Saul? You know he was looking for his father's assets. He was working in the farm and then Samuel anointed him king right? He was doing the work of God. David he was keeping his father's sheep. He was already doing the work of God before he got to slay Goliath. Before he became the king of Israel. The prophet Amos. The Bible says he was just a herd man right? But he was doing the work. He was working. God never uses people that are not working. Even you think about how this church has started. This church wasn't just started not knowing just oh hopefully there's some Christians there. You know there's a group here that wants to grow. That wants to do the soloing. That's doing the work and why and what happened? God prepared a place for you guys. You guys were prepared people. God prepared a church for you guys. That's how churches are going to be started all over this nation is groups of people instead of just emailing Pastor Anderson or Pastor Man saying hey send a church in this area. You know God and these men want to see that you're already doing the work and you're not going to get a church in your area especially in a small area if you're not already doing the work. You know it just shows that this church is of God when it's in Boise Idaho. When there's not a whole gigantic population here there's tons of other places in this country where churches need to be started that have way more people than Boise Idaho but what's the problem? There's not people there doing the work you know in most cases. So wherever the people are that are doing the work that's where God is going to work and of course Stephen was the same way. He was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost doing the work. I had you turn to 1 Timothy a little too early. Keep your finger there though coming back and go back to Acts chapter number 6. I just want to show you one more thing here. To prove that Stephen was doing the work that he was a prepared person look at verse number 7 the Bible says and the Word of God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly in a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. You know that kind of stuff doesn't happen by itself. Contrary to what the Calvinists may think that you're just gonna get saved by God just forcing you to be saved. The Bible teaches that you have to have a preacher that explains you the gospel right? You have to have people out there soul-winning to get souls saved. You have to have people out there preaching the sermon to get the churches going. You have to have people out there starting churches. The work for God does not happen by itself. So when you see that the disciples are multiplied the Word of God is increased all these things happening it proves that the disciples were doing great work for God. That's why this book is called the book of Acts right? It's the book of action showing us an example of how we should be as a church. You're there in 1st Timothy 3 let me turn there myself. 1st Timothy 3 we have to be working today for what we want to be tomorrow right? And there's a lot of young men in our types of churches that have been inspired by the great works of God that they see in these movement in this movement and in these churches and they decide you know what I want to maybe be a pastor myself. I want to be a deacon. I want to be in a role of spiritual leadership. Well look there at 1st Timothy 3 verse 1 the Bible says this is a true saying if a man desire the office of a bishop he desireth a good work. See the office of a bishop is work. Verse 2 a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife vigilant sober of good behavior given hospitality apt to teach not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous one that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection with all gravity for if a man know not how to rule his own house how shall he take care of the church of God not a novice lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil moreover he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snares of the devil. So there's the qualifications of a pastor so if you you know you may want to be a pastor someday and even if you don't want to be a pastor someday it's good to try to work hard to meet these qualifications. You know if you want that office you want that good work then understand it's just that it's work and you're not going to get there by spending your days playing Xbox after school or after work or whatever or you're not going to get there smoking weed you're not going to get there drinking alcohol you're going to get there when you actually get your nose in the Word of God and you actually see what the qualifications are and you look at your life and say okay where do I need to change am I given the wine am I a brawler and I'm not talking about MMA you guys are good okay that that's contained but if you're just going out and beating people up on the street okay then yeah you need to fix that right now right but you see it's a lot of work you know Pastor Mendez not only has the biblical qualifications for a pastor but I know he also won't send anyone out that hasn't read their Bible through cover to cover ten times and you know you may be afraid of that number but that if you want to get that done soon that's an hour a day that's an hour a day for I think four years four and a half years something like that I'm just saying it's a reasonable goal you get through the Bible four times in a year if you read it one hour a day that's what I meant to say so it's a reasonable goal there are some people that can attain to that goal and if you want that office then you need to you need to be reading the Bible at least for an hour a day first Corinthians chapter number three turn there please I just want to end this point with the thoughts about soul winning again because that's obviously the most important thing we do you know if we didn't do anything else if we had to keep only one ministry for a church it'd be the ministry of reconciliation right because nothing matters for people if they grow in their Christian faith if they're not even saved if they're gonna spend eternity in hell so look at first Corinthians 3 5 Bible says who then is Paul and who is a Paulist but ministers by whom you believed even as the Lord gave to every man you know God gives to every single person on this earth a minister by which to believe right and you are if you're saved you are that minister to who knows how many people in this world today you don't know them they don't know you but that doesn't change the fact that you are their minister and if you're not ready to give them the gospel then you are the one that's failing as a Christian you're the one that's not a prepared person and when God prepares those people and those places in your life where you can do a mighty work for him and you fail and that's just on you that's because you are not prepared so you need to make sure we are getting prepared right now go back to Acts chapter number six Acts chapter number six starting in verse seven again the Bible reads in the Word God increased and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith and Stephen full of faith and power did great wonders and miracles among the people number three this morning you can earn great rewards in heaven no matter your position so you read those verses and it's like oh yeah these are men of God in the Bible of course they're doing great works and miracles of course the Word of God is multiplying but you remember that this man Stephen what he was ordained to do was to minister to widows you know that's pretty amazing when you think of it in that light when you think of you know pastors or evangelists going out and just tearing it up for Christ then you can be like oh yeah they're doing great things for God but in the Word of God here God quantifies doing great works for him as as just obeying him when you're ordained for your position what God has called you to do if you're the man that's supposed to be taking care of the widows and you do a great job God has high praise for that you'll get great rewards in heaven for that the rewards that you get in heaven are not dependent on the position that you have as a Christian so let's go to 1st Corinthians number three again sorry about that I should have you stay there 1st Corinthians chapter number three it's pretty cool that the Bible says that the Word of God increased by these men even though all they were doing is taking care of the widows 1st Corinthians chapter number three look in there in verse 5 the Bible reads who then is Paul and who is Apollos but ministered by whom you believed even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollos water but God gave the increase so then neither he neither is he that planteth anything neither he that watereth but God that giveth the increase now he that planteth and he that watereth are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor for we are laborers together with God you are God's husbandry you are God's building you know there's so much in that that's so important you see there verse 8 it says that every man excuse me shall receive his own reward according to his own labor you know if you're the husband if you're the wife of a pastor you're not just gonna magically get a bunch of rewards in heaven just because your husband does great works for God God will give you rewards in heaven based on the work that you do it comes down to the work that you do for God but you know good news is that we're laboring together with God right not only that the Bible says that he that watereth and he that planteth are one so what's cool about that why Stephen was able to do such amazing things for God and why he's able to have such good rewards in heaven is because you remember why he was ordained he was ordained to help the Apostles be able to focus on their job so he that watereth he that planteth are one so here's the thing if you are able to take a burden off of someone else so that they can do their job for Christ that let's say only they can do you get to be partakers of that person's reward right so if you're out soloing this is a perfect example a silent partner right you may think that you're not getting rewards in heaven as being a silent partner but what you're doing is you're doubling the forces of soul winners that we have out there so you that plant and he that watereth you're one if you're allowing more work to be done for God then you get the extra rewards that even that person's doing turn to 1st Samuel 30 we get a Old Testament story that talks about this principle 1st Samuel 30 where we turn lots of places this is the Bible study this morning 1st Samuel 30 verse 21 Bible reads and David came to the 200 men which were so faint that they could not follow David whom they had made also to abide at the brook of Esau and they went forth to meet David and to meet the people that were with him and when David came near the people he saluted them then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial of those that went with David and said because they went not with us we will not give them out of the spoil that we have recovered save to every man his wife and his children that they may lead them away and depart and David said ye shall not do so my brethren with that which the Lord had given us who had preserved us and delivered the company that came up against us into our hand for who will hearken unto you in this matter but as his part is that going down to the battle so shall his part be that tarryeth by the stuff they shall part of life so there you go again the people that just stayed by the stuff and just guarded the stuff while the rest of the people went to war and fought the battle Bible says that they get the same reward they part alike so this makes me think of maybe a mother that has lots of children you know if you're watching the children so that your husband can go out soul-winning you're not gonna just not get rewards in heaven for that that is something spiritual because you're staying by the stuff while the husband goes out to battle or vice versa I think women should be soldiers just as much as then if the man stays home on one weekend to take care of kids so that his wife can stay sharp and her soul-winning you know I keep that Terry quite a stuff shall part alike with him that goes forth to battle so I'll I'll read for you at a first Corinthians 3 number 10 according to the grace which God has given unto me as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation and another build it thereon but let every man take heed how he build it thereon for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Christ now if any man build upon this foundation gold silver precious stones wood hey stubble every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is so you know at the judgment seat of Christ when we stand before God every man is going to be rewarded for his own labor you're not going to be able to rely on what anyone else has done you know your wood hay and stubble the things that you did that are just worldly and fleshly and that corrupt that it's all gonna burn up but you know what the things that you do for God even if they're small even it's just taking care of the widows if you're helping someone else another Christian do what they need to do for God then you will have great rewards in heaven for that go back to Acts chapter number six so now we know we need not to be disparaging of menial tasks or what we would think is menial tasks because they're not menial tasks to the Lord you know people that clean the church people that you know do whatever it is for God it's not menial task it's very important to the Lord Acts chapter number six will read verses 9 starting there verse 9 then there arose a certain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and of them of Cilicia and of Asia disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake then they suffered men who said we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and came upon him and caught him and brought him to the council and set up false witnesses which said this man ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place in the law for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us and all that sat in the council looking steadfastly on him saw his face as it had been the face of an angel so number four this morning godly Christians always suffer persecution you know there's this really weird mentality in America and really it's only found in America because we have such prosperity and we just have such you know cookie cutter lifestyles where we just think that we're always gonna be in prosperity we're never gonna have any persecution right the prosperity gospel that you hear people preach that as long as you're right with God you're gonna have riches and health and the homes and everything you could possibly want it's not what the Bible teaches you saw right there the Bible said that Stephen a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost a man that spoke with wisdom a man that was preaching what was right what happened they set up full witnesses against him and of course you know the rest of story what we just read before the service he praises this hard sermon and they stoned him to death right did Stephen do anything wrong no he was doing only that which was right but yet he did suffer in that way why because that's what the Bible teaches will happen if you are living godly in Christ Jesus turn to Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53 you know like I was just talking about Stephen was doing everything right he was speaking by the Holy Ghost he was speaking the Word of God he was speaking wisdom he was speaking truth yet they hated him yet they set false witnesses against him yet they killed him does that remind you of anyone how about the Lord Jesus Christ you know people who say that Christians will never go through anything they don't even know their own Savior they don't even know the man the God that is the founder and the basis the cornerstone of this entire religion hey guess what he was a man that was spoke by the Holy Ghost who had no sin who was speaking wisdom who's speaking truth who's speaking the Word of God who's speaking right guess what they did to him they set up false witnesses to him they crucified him they spit on him they put a crown of thorns on him you know what the Bible says that the servant is not above his master right so us as Christians if our masters the Lord Jesus Christ and he went through that being perfect how much better do you think we are than him who are sinners that words is not going to go through any persecution we're not gonna have any problems in this life you know it's a stupid mentality that a lot of Christians have the reverse three and Isaiah 53 prophecy of Lord Jesus Christ he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did a stream him esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes were healed and we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened it not his mouth you know Stephen the story of Stephen is a type is a picture of the story of Lord Jesus Christ because when Stephen was being stoned what did he say he said lay not this sin to their charge when Jesus was being crucified he said father forgive them for they know not what they do right so if you're gonna look at an example of a Christian in the New Testament and say Lord what should I expect for my life as a Christian that serves God if you want to be a man full of faith and power should I expect riches should I expect honor no you can expect to be despised like Christ you can expect to be rejected like Christ you can expect to be acquainted with grief like Christ was Bible says that he that increases knowledge increases sorrow right when you get to understand when you have the perfect Word of God and you understand what's wrong with this world when you see someone living their life and they're not living it according to God's Word and you know that the end of that is death you know that the end of their life is just failure because they're not following the Word of God you know and what they're doing right now is gonna lead them to a bad place because you have that knowledge it's gonna increase your sorrow right when you have the Word of God it's gonna increase your sorrow so you should expect as a Christian to suffer like Christ suffered you can expect to be wounded even at times obviously right now we're not at that point in America where we're gonna be out you know wounded out preaching the gospel although even in Vancouver Washington going door-to-door soul wing we have to have one person assaulted and punched in the face out soloing didn't do anything wrong just asking the guy hey if you're sure if you die today would you go to heaven you know I punched him in the face you can expect to be wounded and you know if we ever as our generation if we ever make it to the Great Tribulation you better be expected to be wounded because when that time comes it's not going to be legal to be a Christian it's not going to be legal to have the Word of God and you see that stuff getting set up all around us all the time you can see that that kind of a world is being set up right now so don't listen to these prosperity gospel idiots to tell you that you're just gonna have you know sunshine sunshine and lollipops everywhere you go you know you can expect to suffer like Christ suffered first Thessalonians 3 I'll read for you for verily when we were with you we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass and you know you know I think it's just so funny all these pre-tribbers when they get to heaven I wonder if they're gonna be asking Stephen if Stephen was a pre-tribber if I wonder if they're gonna be getting to heaven and asking the Apostle Paul if he believed that we're gonna go through life without any tribulation you know ask Jeremiah thrown in prison right ask all these men of God in the Bible all of them suffer persecution the entire the founder of our religion Lord Jesus Christ was killed on the cross even though he had no sin we all suffer persecution I'll read for you 2 Timothy as you turn to John 15 John chapter 15 2 Timothy 3 12 yay and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution I'm trying to give you a lot of verses on this because for some reason in America this is the main belief you ask 99% of Christians today you know do Christians suffer tribulation no we're not appointed to wrath that's not what I ask I didn't ask if some Christians suffer the wrath of God I asked you if they suffer tribulation right they don't understand this John 15 verse 18 listen to the words of Jesus Christ listen to the words of the founder of our religion if the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love his own but because you're not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hate of you remember the word word that I said unto you the servant is not greater than his Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you if they have kept my saying they will keep yours also so you know what what did we see with Stephen did the world hate Stephen no the world hated Lord Jesus Christ and because Stephen kept the Word of Christ then they hated Stephen because those Jews hate the Lord Jesus Christ because they always resist the Holy Ghost like Stephen said because the Jews crucified the Lord of glory because Stephen was preaching the words of Christ they hated Stephen as a result of that it's not because they hate us as individuals it's because they hate Christ and that is what's going to bring tribulation in our life but if you want to be a man full of faith and power you better be ready to suffer tribulation go back to Acts let's go to Acts chapter number 7 now Acts chapter number 7 so for sake of time I'm skipping through this long sermon that that Stephen preached but you saw what it was there's basically a recap of the entire history of Israel you know back from when they were wandering in the wilderness all the way up to the time of Christ and Stephen's just saying hey from that time then to this time now you always have resisted the Holy Ghost you do as also did your fathers look there at a verse number 51 you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears you do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did so do ye which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted and they have slain them which showed before to come to the just one of whom you have been now betrayers and murderers who have received the law by disposition of angels and have not kept it when they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth but he being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said behold I see in the heavens open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul and they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord lay not this sin to their charge and when he had said this he fell asleep number five this morning God will use your trials and tribulations for good when you respond correctly so how did Stephen respond to his persecution in Acts chapter 6 when they arrested him how did he respond he preached the Word of God he held nothing back from the Word of God he preached it hard that's the same thing with every man of God in the Bible John the Baptist who is beheaded for preaching the Word of God what did he say he was brought before King Herod he said hey King Herod it's not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife he's preaching against adultery to a king of a nation and you know sometimes that'll get you your head cut off right but if you are a man full of faith and power if you are a man of God you'll continue to preach the Word of God you'll not hold anything back no matter who says anything about it no matter how much your family want to love the fags right then not my parents of course but not all them but you know everybody's got those family members where it's just like they always want to you know force the fags on you I don't care who they are I don't care your family I don't care if you're in front of the Kings you know what you stand with what the Word of God says you preach with what the Word of God says you hold nothing back Stephen preaches this hard sermon in front of people he knew that would kill him and did he stop preaching no he preached it he knows that he has a better resurrection in heaven the worst thing that anyone can do to us is kill us and we have eternal life with Christ in heaven with rewards forever it's not that bad if you ask me so second Timothy 4 2 I'll read for you preach the word the instant in season out of season reproved reviewed exhort with long all long suffering in doctrine we got to be instant in season and out of season whatever our world thinks is popular you know no matter what this world thinks whether they think it's popular or not you preach what the Word of God says there ever been a time in this country when preaching certain things out of this book would have offended no one you know at the founding of our country the Bible the King James Bible was actually used as proof in legal courts you could say well hey this person is guilty because Leviticus 2013 so the Bible says and they're like hey guilty this this was this held the weight of law at one point in our nation right people would have been offended by it but now you have nations like Canada where they have literally made hate speech laws where you can't even preach certain verses out of the Bible so what should we do if we live in Canada today we ought to obey God rather than men we ought to preach the full counsel of God in season out of season no matter what the law is no matter who likes it no matter who doesn't like it you preach the Word of God like Stephen did so and that he responded number one by preaching the full counsel of God he responded number two by finishing his course with a charitable heart go to first Peter chapter number four first Peter chapter number four verse eight the Bible reads and above all things have fervent charity among yourselves for charity should cover the multitude of sins use hospitality one to another without grudging as every man have received the gift even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God if any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus to whom he prays in Dominion forever and ever amen beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed you may be glad also with exceeding joy so you know what when this happened to Stephen he didn't respond by saying you all reprobate Jews you're all gonna die and go to hell he said you know what lay not this sin their charge Lord he had a charitable heart like the Bible says there in verse 8 and you know when he had when his time came to suffer for Christ he counted it joy he rejoiced that he was able to be partakers of the sufferings of Christ he knows that his rewards gonna be great in heaven he responded with a charitable heart we I'll read for you John chapter 9 you know a lot of times a lot of times when bad things happen to us that's what we focus on right that's a bad thing is happening to us we gotta realize that not every bad thing that happens to us in our life is really that bad I'll read through John 9 3 just remind you of this story Jesus answered neither have this man sinned nor his parents but that the works of God should be made manifest in him so what he's talking about here is that there was a man that was blind from his birth and these people asking like so hey Jesus this man's been blind from the day he was born so tell me who sinned this man or his parents why is this bad thing happening in his life and he said neither is this man sin nor his parents but that the works of God should be made manifest in him we must realize every single time something bad happens to us in our life all it is is an opportunity for us to glorify Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf every time you know even if this situation even if you had a child that was born blind you know you could raise that child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord you can raise that child to be a soul winner although blind you know I love how God can use different people to reach people that only that person can get saved you know what I'm saying there's like there's a kid in our church that's 12 years old he's read the Bible over 10 times cover to cover at 12 years old the guy's a genius he's like a computer programmer at age 12 his name is a guy you guys know who he is if you ever come up and visited us but I love going soul winning with him because you get the most prideful people at the door you know like these Russian Pentecostals where literally you ask them the question and a lot of times the answer we go to Pentecostal Church we know everything we get that I seriously get that exact answer so many times we know everything okay so this kid Sakaya he's going soul winning and he asked this Russian Pentecostal if he's 100% sure he's going to heaven and he goes listen I've been in prison I've read the Bible through four times cover to cover when I was in prison how many times have you read the Bible little 12 year old kid and he's like I'm halfway through my 11th time and the guy's like I'll learn from you Sakaya preaches in the whole gospel in this prideful false doctrine indoctrinated Pentecostal Russian gets saved as a result of the 12 year old that was prepared the 12 year old that was full of the Holy Ghost the 12 year old that decided to get his nose in the Bible instead of wasting his life on vain things you know the 12 year old that's that's probably willing to suffer for Christ you know God's able to use the weak things of this world to confound strong right that's an amazing testimony to see Romans 828 says and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are the called according to his purpose so when you have a trial or tribulation in your life you just you know if you love God how do we love God Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments right love is not just saying oh I love God no if you love me keep my commandments Jesus said so if you love God if you're the called according to his purpose if you're saved then you can rest easy that whatever happens all of it will work together for good for the glory of God if you respond correctly so how Stephen stoning how was him getting stoned to death how did that work out for good for Stephen go back to Acts chapter number 7 Acts chapter 57 then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet don't miss this whose name was Saul you know who's there when Stephen was stoned to death you know who witnessed the man making a stand for Lord Jesus Christ you know who witnessed a man full of faith and power that was prepared that was ready for what came his way Saul the Apostle Paul the man who would go on to start more churches in his lifetime than anyone ever has the man that would go on to write the rest of the New Testament pretty much the man that would go on to get you know this whole world turned upside down for Christ the Apostle Paul was there consenting unto the death of Stephen so how could that have worked well for Stephen well because his rewards in heaven are astronomical because everything that Paul ever did for God Stephen gets rewards for because of the fact that he made that stand because of the fact that that impression that he made on Paul could very well have had something to do with this conversion later in life that's pretty amazing when you're getting stoned to death you're not thinking that you're not understanding that when the trials are in your life are coming you're not thinking of the end road of where your trials lead but that's why you have to just trust God trust the Lord of all my heart lean not unto thy known understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths the Bible says so when Stephen understood that Stephen was versed in the Bible was he not he just preached the whole sermon by memory he just preached an entire history of the Jews from Old Testament to present day on the spot by memory this guy's mighty in the Word of God he knew that he knew that God works all things together for good right and he didn't necessarily know how it would work out he didn't know that Paul would become Paul right Saul would become Paul but he stayed strong and that's what happened go to 1st Corinthians 15 1st Corinthians 15 1st Corinthians 15 58 therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord let's read that again therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in Lord you know God gives us zero excuse to quit you know there's nothing that could happen in your life no matter how hard it is that God says okay you can stop serving me that's fine no he says be unmovable be steadfast hey God what if I have to be stoned to death be unmovable hey God what if my child is born blind from birth what do I do be unmovable be steadfast there's no excuse you'll ever have to quit the only person you'll ever convince that is yourself you're never gonna have an excuse from God you're never gonna have a pass for quitting on God I think that verse is one of the most powerful verse in the Bible you understand that when he's saying whatever happens you have to be unmovable that's a pretty amazing verse I'll repeat Romans 12 1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service that's what Stephen did right he presented even his own body to Christ as a sacrifice go to first Corinthians 13 almost done here then we'll get into application and we'll close first Corinthians 13 verse number one though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity I am become as sounding brass or as a tinkling cymbal and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity and profit of me nothing so what if Stephen would have quit right what if Stephen would have even responded without charity the Bible says it would profit him nothing even if you give your own body as a burnt sacrifice the body says if you don't do it with charity profits you nothing so by the fact that Stephen stayed strong he didn't quit and he had a charitable heart when he did he said you know lay not this into their charge he had a very Christlike spirit then he did fulfill charity it was worth something for him but that's a scary verse in my opinion that even if you understood the whole Bible we had all mysteries all knowledge all faith gift of prophecy you could remove mountains you give your all your goods to feed the poor you give your own body to be burned if you don't have a terrible heart when you do it that's how much rewards you have in heaven zero none of it counts for you you have to be doing it for the right reason so application here how do we become a man full of faith and power number one you must consistently read the Bible every single day you know like I just mentioned how amazing is it that Stephen under the pressure of persecution was able to preach such an amazing sermon off memory of basically overview of the whole Bible how is that because he was reading the Bible every day how is it that he was even chosen for the job because he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost he was able to speak with wisdom that men could not resist how did he get that by the Word of God right turn to Psalm 1 while I read for you how do we become a man full of faith and of power Romans 10 17 says so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God you're there in Psalm 1 blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree blinded by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in the season his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper there's your prosperity gospel it's not as easy as just putting your hand on the screen and donating money to Joel Osteen it's you read the Word of God day and night you bring forth fruit in your season right go soul winning you love God by keeping his commandments you do that then whatsoever you do will prosper how because all things work together for good to them that love God them that are called according to his purpose all things prosper for you maybe not in the way that your fleshly mind would want it to but in the way that God will be glorified in the way that all things will work together for good in the end in the way of you getting rewards in heaven you will be prosperous prosperous in all ways in that sense I'll read for you Matthew 4 as he turned to Ephesians 3 Matthew 4 4 Jesus said but he answered and said it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God so number one you must read Bible every day number two you must be rooted and grounded in your Christian life Ephesians chapter number three Ephesians chapter number three look at verse number 17 the Bible reads that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth all which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God so notice there verse 17 said rooted and grounded number two you must be rooted and grounded in your Christian life what is this this is mastering the basics okay I'm talking about Bible reading prayer church attendance soul winning you know living a separated life you know to be a man full of faith and power you have to not be just a babe in Christ and if you are a babe in Christ there's nothing wrong with that everybody's a babe in Christ at some point if you just get saved you haven't read the Bible through cover to cover you're just getting new to church you need to grow but if you want to someday grow into a man full of faith and power you have to have mastered the basics you don't wake up on Sunday morning and think shall I go to church this morning you know you wake up shall I read my Bible today shall I pray today it's Saturday morning shall I go soul winning today you know those things have to become second nature to your life if you want to be a man full of faith and of the power of God you don't need to be questioning in your mind should I be doing the basics of my Christian service right makes me think of the verse where Jesus said hey if you've done all things whatsoever I've commanded you you can consider yourself unprofitable servants right that's pretty humbling statement that Jesus said that if you're doing everything I told you you're cutting even for the kingdom of God right Jesus is high expectations of us he's not like this limp-wristed long-haired hippie that everybody preaches that he is Christ is our master right and he he's our master with love we're not his slaves we're his servants but he is our master he is our Lord he expects high expectations out of us turn to Galatians chapter 5 it's back one book there everyone must read the Bible every day number two you must be rooted and grounded in your Christian life number three you must learn to walk in the spirit Galatians 5 22 the Bible says but the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against such there is no law look we need these attributes in our life to be able to serve God like Stephen did Stephen definitely had these attributes in his life he definitely was a man that was full of the Holy Spirit and you are not gonna make it you're not gonna be a powerful man or woman or child of God I even gave you the example of the child children could be great mighty people of the Lord as well right but they need to be walking in the spirit as well because the spirit is what gives us our power how do we get filled with the Spirit so turn to Ephesians chapter 5 forward again one book he's in chapter 5 I'll read a few verses a couple verses here number one how do we get full of the Spirit we ask Luke 11 13 says if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him you know people often apply this verse to just asking God did for anything and that's a great application because you have not because he asked not the Bible said when we ask God in faith we're asking not to consume things upon our own lot our own lust when we're asking things that we need for our life God's gonna give it to us if our own earthly fathers are able to give us good gifts Bible says us being evil then how much more is God able to give the Holy Spirit and then that asked them so you know why are you not filled with the Holy Spirit have you even asked God and I'm not talking about Pentecostal spirit coming upon you rolling in the floor I'm saying you being not not not being slain in the spirit or anything like that okay being filled with the Spirit is what that verse I just read for you is having the fruit of the Spirit I'll read it again real quick says love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance rolling on the floor away now that was on there right not rolling on the floor not speaking in tongues the actual biblical fruits of the Spirit okay that's what's gonna come from you being filled with the Spirit so how do you get over spirit or one ask number two look at Ephesians 5 verse 17 Ephesians 5 verse 17 wherefore be not unwise but understanding the will of the Lord is and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess but be filled with the Spirit so don't be drunk number one and 19 singing speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to your heart in the Lord so why do we always sing songs before our service is that we can get filled with the Spirit of God and no matter where you are if you're singing the hymns if you're singing good godly music if you're asking God to fill you with the Holy Spirit you're reading your Bible you're doing spiritual things you will be filled with the Holy Spirit that's just a fact go to Ephesians chapter 6 Ephesians chapter number 6 this would be the last verse this morning verse 11 Bible says put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against