Download Sermon on Acts 7:1-2,51-60 Pastor David Wietzke 4th Sunday of

Sermon on Acts 7:1-2,51-60
Pastor David Wietzke
4th Sunday of Easter / Confirmation Day
May 7, 2017
Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous
signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the
Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia
and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen…
To this he replied, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You
are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your
fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous
One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was
put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen,
full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right
hand of God."
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at
him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their
clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he
fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said
this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:1-2,51-60)
In Jesus' name, dear friends, and especially Brendon, Lucas, Isaac and Andrew on your
confirmation day:
"Do you intend, with the help of God...to remain in Christ as a branch remains in the vine, and
to suffer anything, even death, rather than fall away from him?"
Those are a couple of the questions I'll be asking these four young people later. They are
part of the vows of the confirmation rite--to promise lifelong faithfulness to Jesus. And this
is not just "lifelong" in terms of life reaching its natural end but "lifelong" as in "no matter
what happens"--no matter what persecution or hostility or temptation I might face. It is to
promise that I would be willing to, if necessary, die a martyr's death rather deny my Lord
or retract my confession of faith in Jesus Christ and his Word.
I once heard a pastor reflect on this vow that we ask our confirmands to take. "When
you're 14," he said, "you can't even decide if you want the sausage or the pepperoni. We're
just happy if they keep their room halfway clean. And he're we're asking these young
people before God to pledge their very lives to Christ?" His opinion is that we're doing this
too soon, that we should wait until these young people are older before asking them to
make this kind of a promise.
But what we're asking these young Christians today to promise is really no different than
what Jesus asks of all of us. "Be faithful, even to the point of death," he told his church, "and
I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10) The story of our first lesson, the story of
Stephen the martyr, is a good reminder and example of what all of us are called to:
faithfulness to Jesus, in life and in death!
I. Jesus' triumph leads to faithfulness in our life's work
Stephen, as you heard in our lesson earlier, was originally chosen to help out the Jerusalem
church as a part of its ministry toward widows in need. We can be sure that he did this
work faithfully. But by the Spirit's power he was enabled to do more. Acts chapter 6 tells
us that he even did miracles. More than that, he became known as a bold witness to the
faith.
But as you heard, he was quickly opposed by the same people who had opposed Jesus.
Stephen had preached salvation through faith in Jesus as the Savior, but there were many
who wanted to teach a way of salvation only based on obeying the Law of Moses. In their
pride they didn't want to admit they needed a Savior, and they felt threatened by a message
that people could be forgiven of their sins. Stephen's enemies raised false charges against
him, had him hauled off to trial. In Acts chapter 7 we hear a long address that Stephen
spoke in his defense.
You heard how he ended that address. He didn't exactly go out of his way to butter up his
enemies, did he? He called them stiff-necked murderers of the prophets and of God's Son.
And God gave him a glimpse of what is above. 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." This
is what drove Stephen's life and work--his trust that his Lord Jesus Christ had conquered
death, ascended into heaven, and now was ruling all things in heaven and earth.
The four of you are going to confess later the same thing that Stephen saw: "He ascended
into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." What an impact
that truth must have, and will have, on the life that is ahead of you! You are living in a
world where many, perhaps most people are floundering about what their purpose in life
is. And it shows, doesn't it? Is life about getting rich? Saving the planet? Fighting for
justice? Or just getting high? Doing what feels good at the moment?
Dear friends, you and I have a higher calling because it comes from on high. Our calling is
to serve the one who paid for your sin, forgave it in his love, who conquered death and
rules the world. And so you are called to follow him.
In order to do that, you will need to hear him. You'll need to hear his Word. And so that is
why we will ask you to make that promise as well--that you will keep hearing the Word of
God, so that you can be guided, strengthened, and inspired to live for him
II. Jesus' death gives us courage to be faithful unto death
Who can say exactly what form your service to Jesus will take? Where will you live? What
kind of family will you have? What career will you pursue? You don't need to know those
things now. You just need the confidence that your Good Shepherd will be with you always,
as you serve him and hear his Word.
But you need to be prepared for it not to be easy. All of you know this, I think. As if it
wasn't bad enough that we have to struggle with our own sinful nature that is always
wanting us to ignore God's way and choose the world's easy way instead, you like Stephen
will have to do this in an environment that will be often hostile to you. It has always been
that way, of course, but I have every reason to think it will be even harder for you than it
was in your parents' and grandparents' day.
We always talk about martyrdom as if it is something that only happened in long ago
centuries or far away places. But how many of you are confident that Christianity is going
to be happily tolerated even here for as long as these young people may live? Who knows
what Jesus might ask them to endure for him in the decades to come?
Should we be scared? Maybe humanly speaking, but I can honestly say that I have great
confidence. Not that society will suddenly become friendlier to the Word of God. And not
even confidence in your own knowledge and strength, although all four of you are
tremendously gifted young people who have grasped the truths of the faith. But my
confidence is not so much in you as it is in Jesus Christ.
After all, he is the one who called you. He is the one who saw to it that you were baptized in
his name. He is the one who gave you Christian parents who cared for you. More than that,
he is the one who laid down his life for you his sheep. He is the one whose Holy Spirit lives
in your heart. He is the very same Lord Jesus who lived in the saints of old, like Stephen,
gave them courage, enabled them to be faithful to the end. And that same Lord Jesus has
not lost any of his power or his love for his church. If you continue to hear his Word, he will
give you all the strength, the power, and the courage that he gave to the heroes and the
saints of old, so that you can stand firm and be blameless when the Lord Jesus appears in
glory.
Conclusion
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he
fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had
said this, he fell asleep. Stephen had learned from Jesus, hadn't he? He imitates Jesus'
own words from the cross in his last words--asking for forgiveness for his killers and
confidently trusting in Jesus' promise of eternal life.
So many people think of Christianity as just a bunch of rules. What I have taught you, I
hope and pray, is that this really is not what is at the heart of your faith at all. Brendon,
Lucas, Isaac and Andrew, your Savior did not shrink from death itself. Knowing that it was
the only way that your sins could be atoned for, that the only way you could ever be clean
in God's eyes was for him to bleed, suffer, and die, he did it all for you. As much as friends
and parents love you, he has loved you far, far more. When it comes to any trial or
temptation you face, remember that it's not just about keeping some rule. It's about
following the one who loved you even at the cost of his life. It's about trusting in the only
one who can give you a better life than this, a life that will not end.
The four of you are ready, not because you are a certain age, not because you don't have a
lot more to learn from God's Word (and so do all the rest of you!) but because you have
been told about the amazing love of Jesus Christ for you a sinner. May that love protect
you, empower you, and inspire you as long as you live, until the Lord Jesus receives your
spirit and you join Stephen and all the saints at his right hand. The Lord lives, and we are
confident today that he will do all this and more for you! Amen.