ST. GEORGE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, IVANHOE EAST
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
8.00 and 10 am 14th May, 2017
Readings:
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 17+18
1 Peter 2:11-25
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
INTRODUCTION
The sermon today is in the form of a first person narrative. In the first Scripture reading appointed for today from Acts, (7:55-60,) we heard that the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was persecuted and stoned to death.
I will assume the character of Stephen, in this sermon, speaking as though I were Stephen, the man of faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Stephen was so passionate about his faith in our Lord, that he was prepared to give his all, his life, in order to bring glory to God. St. Stephen has, no doubt, inspired countless lives to give their all to our Lord, counting their own lives as nothing and counting it all joy to serve God in His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Stephen says: “I, Stephen, speak these words to you to encourage you in your very own walk of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
You live in a very different time to when I was our Lord’s servant on earth. We are thousands of years apart in history and culture, but we share the “pearl of great price”, i.e., faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour,
I heard God’s Word to my people, the Israelites, when: I worshipped in the Temple, from our “oral tradition,” from family and faith traditions and from my teachers. (Note: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nzicolaus, (Acts 6:5)”all bore Greek names, probably Hellenistic Jews from the Diaspora, “New Bible Commentary, P979))
I knew the Apostles and was utterly inspired by their lives of faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Every one of them, except John, died for their faith. (“More Than A Carpenter”, p.57, Josh McDowell)
You read and hear God’s Word to you in the Holy Scriptures and you have the faith witness of all the faithful Christians down through the ages, especially those whose faith did not waiver when they were faced with persecution and even death
I, Stephen, wonder what the world is like now for you? What oppression does your world need saving from? No doubt there are some aspects of your world which are in need of change. How well do your family, relatives, friends and Nation know and understand the truth that the Saviour of the world, Jesus, has already came to rescue us all from bondage of every kind and paid the price for each of our sins on the Cross?
JESUS – THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
Let us look in depth at God’s message to you today from the Gospel of John.
Jesus said to His Disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1)
Jesus is comforting, calming down the disciple’s anxiety and fears which had risen almost to fever pitch! As the first Christian martyr, I can say to you that such comforting words from our Saviour Jesus, are that which give us the courage to continue our journey – whatever trials we encounter. In the previous chapter, 13, of this Gospel, Jesus has foretold that, a) one of the Disciples will betray Him
b) that Peter will deny Him three times and, most disturbingly for His disciples
c) that He would shortly leave them
The Disciples, who had left everything to follow Jesus were dismayed, disconcerted, alarmed, insecure – fearing their future. They didn’t understand what was about to happen. I guess, had any of us been there at that time, we, too, would have found it difficult to grasp the impact of what Jesus was saying.
You sit at a different vantage point to the disciples, they were in the midst of those world shattering events.
You see them from afar.
You know what happened.
You know what events occurred in Jesus’ life.
You know the agony our Lord suffered on the Cross to free you and us all – all humanity from the guilt of our sin.
You know the sublime ecstasy that death did not triumph over Jesus.
You know that Jesus rose victorious from the grave.
You know that this is the most profound “Good News” this world will ever know!
You know that God’s love for you expressed in the death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus, has changed history, hopefully the history of your life as you have come to know this truth and understood it in your hearts and as you live the new transformed and resurrected life of a Christian.
I, Stephen, can verify for you, that this is what happened to me. I was hungry to find God, to know God, to know that He is real. God always takes the initiative in drawing us to faith in Him and in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. God draws us like a magnet to Him. He says in His Word: “When you search for Me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 229:13)
A vital teaching from Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, which convinced and convicted me to believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, was that which was read here today at St. George’s.
The early Christians were called, “Followers of The Way”. In John’s Gospel chapter 14, we can hear Jesus’ reply to frustrated Thomas’ question, that they “didn’t know where Jesus was going so how could they know the way?” (John 14:5)
Jesus’ reply was ground breaking, revolutionary, unprecedented, unparalleled when He said those unforgettable words: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6) What Jesus said in this statement, I, Stephen, have personally found to be true. I am now living this life with the Father, with Jesus and with all the redeemed, in eternity because God reached out to my life and drew me to follow “the Way” through faith in Jesus.
JESUS – THE WAY
When Jesus said: “I am the way”, (John 14:6) He was saying that belief in Him is the only way we can connect with God in heaven. That He, Jesus, is the only connection humanity has with God. “Since Jesus is the revelation of God, there is no other way to the Father but by Jesus.” (“The New International Commentary On The New Testament – John, p.637, Leon Morris) Because Jesus is God how can there be any other way to the Father – God? When we follow Jesus, He leads the way to God, therefore He is THE WAY! Faith in Jesus is faith in God – they are one.
As I, Stephen, try to imagine the world you are living in, whatever other “religions” there are in your world – none of them lead humanity to God because Jesus says here that HE IS THE WAY! This was a shattering statement then, because in saying this, Jesus was saying that He was God – which He is, but to my people, the Jews, this was blasphemy. This fact about Jesus has not changed though the centuries have come and gone. This fact remains true to you today and will be true forever. Jesus is the only way to God – the Son of God has said this and He tells the absolute truth! Does this not elevate Jesus to the highest place possible? Jesus is God, nothing less – and He is the only way to God!
JESUS – THE TRUTH
Jesus also said; “I am the truth”. (John 14:6)
That Jesus is the “truth” reminds us of the complete reliability of Jesus in all that He says, does and is. Jesus is God. Jesus speaks the truth. Jesus’ teaching was and is the TRUTH and this pointed His hearers to God.” (Reflections on the Gospel of John, Leon Morris)
JESUS – THE LIFE
Jesus said: “I am the Life.” (John 14:6)
The only life worthy of being called “life” is that life which Jesus brings to us all as a result of our faith in Him, This is full, free, forgiven and abundant life. Ultimately, as I, Stephen, have personally experienced, “there is no eternal life apart from Christ.” (Reflections on the Gospel of John, p494, Leon Morris)
JESUS IS GOD
Jesus enlightened the disciples further, saying unambiguously: “If you know Me, you will know my Father.” (John 14:7)
In response to Philip’s request for Jesus to show the Disciples the Father, (i.e., God). Jesus declared: “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” (John 14:9)
Then Jesus extrapolates further by saying: “….if you do not believe this, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ “works” are the miracles or “signs” . A sign points us in a certain direction. Jesus’ miracles are “signs” which point all humanity to the absolute fact that Jesus is God (no one else could do these “works”). They are evidence that God is at ‘work” in and through Jesus because He is, indeed, God!
What Jesus said about Himself as quoted in John chapter 14 was “revolutionary”, to the Jews of Jesus’ day. It was revolutionary to their religious experience and their theological understanding. No one had ever claimed to actually be the connection between God and humanity, (“But Don’t All Religions Lead To God?”, p.43, Michael Green) as did Jesus when He said: “I am the way, and the truth and the life – no one comes to the Father but by me.” No one had actually claimed, nor have since, despite the plethora of religions which existed then or have since come into being, no other person has ever claimed to be the Son of God nor have they claimed to be the “way” through whom a person will enter heaven.
I, Stephen, came to a profound and life changing convicting knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. That He was the long expected Messiah of my people. You all heard Him say, in the Gospel reading today: “If you know me, you will know my Father also.” (John 14:7
MY (STEPHEN’S) MARTYRDOM
Following Jesus’ ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, (Acts 2:1f) the fledgling church began to grow and to touch more and more lives with the love of God. The message that Jesus’ death on the Cross was for the sins of the whole human race was received with grateful hearts by many who believed in Him, as did I, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit and became Christians, followers of “the Way”. Our lives were totally turned around and demonstrated God’s love through the care and provision we shared with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, many people were healed as the Holy Spirit enabled us to reach out with His healing touch to others in the Name of Jesus. The apostles chose myself, Philip, and five others, laid hands on us and prayed the Holy Spirit would enable us to help with the work of caring for the needs of our community. (Acts 6:1-7)
God filled me with His wisdom and the power of the Holy Spirit enabling me to accomplish much for Him and for His glory. Those who debated with me on some of the points of my people’s faith history and “fixed” the gathering by having people stir others to be objectors to what I was saying. (Acts 6:12)
In response to the high priest’s searching question regarding Jesus, I explained our faith history starting with Moses. God emboldened me through the Holy Spirit, to speak the truth that the hierarchy of the Jews had been: “a stiff necked people and that they had forever opposed the Holy Spirit. That they had killed the prophets who had foretold the coming of the Righteous One”, (Jesus) (Acts 7:51f) t
I then accused them saying: “you have become His betrayers and murderers?” (Acts 7:52) It wont take much for you to imagine that this was too much for them. Their anger became red hot and they ground their teeth at me. (Acts 7:54)
I can only encourage you by saying that at that moment, God encouraged me by showing me His glory and I actually saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. (Acts 7:55) So profound and wonderful was this sight that I gave voice to it in front of the entire Jewish Council and others who had gathered there. This was too much for them – they were the “experts” who knew all about God, but did not know Him or obey His laws with all their hearts.
Their rage was so great that they dragged me out of the city and began to stone me to death. (Acts 7:58) As my life blood was draining away with each stone which penetrated my flesh, God gave me similar words to my Lord’s when He was on the Cross dying for my sins, yours and those of the entire world, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59, (Luke 23:46)) My strength was so sapped that I fell to my knees and gave voice to: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:58) “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” – Jesus – Luke 23:34) These were the last words from my last breath that I uttered.
You may well ask, question, ponder why I would so willingly give up my life for my faith in Jesus Christ.
I can simply say, Jesus gave His life for me so that I can have full and abundant life – greater love has no one than this.
The sacrifice of my spilt blood, has been the source of many a person coming to true faith in our Saviour,
FAREWELL
After my earthly life was taken away from me by those who were angered by the truth about the Son of God, my garments lay at the feet of a man named Saul. You know him as Paul, whose transformed life, once he had been encountered by the Son of God, became the greatest missionary for Jesus the world has ever known. He once wrote in one of his letters: “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection…” (Philippians 3:10)
I feel compelled to say to you that it should be “the burnping desire of every Christian to know God better” to know the truth about God therefore to increase in faith in Him. (“Be Transformed”, p.30, Warren Wiersbe)
As I bid you farewell, I thank you for hearing my story. May you be as powerfully convinced as was I about the truth that Jesus is God, for this is the “pearl of great price” which people all over the world are searching to find.
May all who search find the Son of God, Jesus, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. “
The Lord be with you!
The Rev’d. Gail Bryce
14th May, 2017