The Damascus Road Experience (Acts 9.1-19)

Introduction

Two years ago, I married a couple called Julie and Laurent. They came and worshipped with us a few months before the wedding; you may remember them. Julie holds the late bride record for weddings I have officiated at; arriving 46 minutes after the service was due to begin.

But never mind. The story about how they came together is great. They met one evening about eight years ago. He was attracted to her. She was attracted to him. But there was a problem. She was a Christian. He wasn’t. So she declined. He thought she was playing hard to get so he persisted. She kept putting him off.

Until one day she sat him down and explained to him why in her view this relationship was a nonstarter. He had no Christian background at all and didn’t get it. She started praying for him. Nothing changed. She started fasting for him. She lost quite a bit of weight! She cried out to God for him, “Lord, I love this man, but I will not date him as long as he remains unconverted. Please, open his heart to believe.”

One evening, Laurent was driving his car and, out of nowhere, the Spirit of God came upon him in such power, such force, such intensity - with a revelation of the love of Jesus - that he had to pull over and surrender his life to Christ there and then.

I first met Laurent a week or two after this happened and I began to help him grow in his new found faith. He eventually became part of the leadership team in a church I was leading at the time. He is anointed in the prophetic and healing ministries and he has grown, by God’s grace, into a real man of God with maturity and stature. It was, you might say, a Damascus Road conversion.

Of course, that well-used English phrase “Damascus Road conversion” comes from the passage we read just now. People use it in many contexts to describe a radical discovery, a change of heart or a sudden and dramatic turnaround.

Are You Converted?

Saul's is one of the most unusual conversion experiences in the history of Christianity, certainly one of the most spectacular and unexpected.

As we’ve been reading through Acts, we’ve met Saul briefly already. We first came across him a few weeks ago, you may remember, holding the coats of those who were stoning Stephen to death early in chapter 8 where it says this; “Saul approved of [Stephen’s] murder.” This innocent man, Stephen was lynched and killed in cold blood by an angry mob and Saul thought that was totally OK. And the Bible goes on to say that Saul “began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” He was a religious fanatic, determined to stamp Christianity out in the days of its infancy.

So zealous was he to crush the life out of the earliest church, he actually became a missionary, travelling from one country to another, to hunt Christians down and lock them up.

People have asked how a man from Judea in Israel could travel to Damascus in Syria, a territory under someone else’s jurisdiction, and just arrest people and take them off. But historians have discovered that the Governor of Damascus at that time, under King Aretas, was a political ally of the Jews. Not only that, but Rome had granted extradition rights to the Jewish religious authority known as the Sanhedrin. So the secular records fit precisely every detail of what the Bible says here. This is, we may be sure, a matter of historical fact.

Well, you know the story. Saul is struck down in the middle of the road, where he encounters the risen Jesus. And in that moment, which tips his world upside down, he turns from his murderous ways and becomes a disciple of the same Jesus whose followers he had pursued. He himself put it this way; “I was on my way to arrest Christians when Christ arrested me.”

He saw a bright light, fell to the ground and heard a voice. It was an encounter with the risen Jesus. The light blinded him.

Why do you think meeting Jesus turn him blind? We know that Peter, James, Mary Magdalene and 500 others met Jesus after the resurrection without losing their sight. What was different about Saul’s encounter that he should go blind?

The answer is that he was the only one to meet Jesus after he had ascended to glory. The book of Revelation tells us that his glorious, ascended, heavenly presence is brighter than the noonday sun. That’s the face that Saul alone saw. But that’s the face everyone will see when Christ comes in glory to judge the living and the dead. We will be unable to look.

Saul could see nothing, and yet he could see everything. He had been spiritually blind but now could see perfectly in high definition. He saw that Jesus was not a misguided troublemaker; he is the Son of God. He saw that all Jewish history, all those blood sacrifices, the temple, the royal line of the shepherd king David, the prophets and Psalms all point decisively and unmistakably to Jesus.

Are You a Justice or Mercy Person?

It was an encounter in which he traded a religion based on justice for a relationship based on mercy.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between mercy and justice? There’s an old story about a man who was posing for his portrait and he said to the artist, “I hope your painting does me justice.” And the artist replied “Oh, it’s not justice you need, but mercy!”

Justice and mercy. This is why Jesus and the Pharisees were always at loggerheads. The Pharisees, and Saul was one of them, had an approach to religious belief that I see every day - even in the church.

It says that where you end up after you die depends on how well you manage on earth to live up to God’s standards. It says you must be good enough. It says you have to do your best to get to get to heaven and if you do well you will have deserved to get there. What could be fairer? That’s justice.

Now if that’s the way you see your Christian life I must tell you that this was Saul’s way of life, it is the way of every single religion in the world, but unfortunately it is the exact opposite of what Jesus came to bring.

The Jesus way is not about justice, it’s about mercy. The way to God is only opened when a man or a woman says “God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I don’t deserve eternal life and I’ll never earn it. I need grace.”

The good news is that Jesus gives grace and forgiveness and a new start to everyone who asks for it. Saul switched from a justice-based religion to a mercy-based relationship and so must all of us if we haven’t already done so.

This is what it means to be converted. Don’t tell me you’re religious, Paul was religious! Are you converted? It could have been an unusual, sudden and dramatic encounter like Saul’s. Or, more likely, it might have been a slower, more gradual process. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you can say this morning “I belong to Christ. I am no longer striving to get from God what I deserve by my own effort. I am trusting Christ to give me, by faith alone, what I do not cannot earn...”

Do You Ever Limit God?

We might describe Laurent’s encounter with Christ – at the wheel of his car driving home from work - as unbelievable. And "unbelievable" is a good word to describe Saul's conversion too. It seems, for example, that Ananias didn't quite believe it. You get that impression from v13-14.

God instructs this man to go and visit Saul, lay hands on him and minister healing to him. But Ananias says to almighty, all knowing God, the ever living Lord of heaven and earth (for whom nothing is impossible), “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

He says, in effect, "No, Lord. I’m not sure this is wise." Do you ever put limits on God, even subconsciously?

How much could you be missing out on, due to limiting God to what your mind can cope with? Don’t limit God. The Bible says “Nothing is too hard for the Lord.”

Are You Willing to Take a Risk?

And God expects you to take risks. Ananias limited God with his thinking. But once he’d risen above his doubts, he had no hesitation in following the leading of the Holy Spirit. God says in v15, "Go!" and in v17 we're told that Ananias went.

Imagine the scene. He walks down the main east-west route which still exists today in the middle of this oasis city in the Syrian desert. He's wondering what he's going to say. His heart is in his mouth. He has sweaty hands.

The fact is he went. And at the end of the day, that's all we need to do. Jesus said, "Heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, make disciples!" It doesn't matter what I feel about that, it doesn't matter if I make a complete idiot of myself every time I have a go. One thing matters; I say “yes” out of obedience or I say “no” out of fear. That's the issue.

When I was a young Christian, I received what I thought was a word from God about a man who had been a father to me in the faith, but had since gone off the rails and separated from his wife. It was a really hard word, with a revelation about an adulterous affair, about which I had no knowledge at all. I shared with his wife what I believed God was saying and asked her permission to gently but firmly confront this man with it. To my absolute horror, she said "yes."

So I went to see him – a man who had given me so much and to whom I was so indebted – and I explained to him that I believed God was saying, in a nutshell, that he should repent of rebellion and adultery. It is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

He looked at me straight in the eye, denied everything, and with an angry tone in his voice he showed me the door. I felt terrible. But when I phoned his wife, she told me that she felt strongly whilst praying that something had broken in him that night. Six months later, the truth came out, the word had been right, he turned from his sin, they got back together and have enjoyed 25 years of happy marriage and fruitful ministry since then.

Praise God! When he says "Go for it!" you've got to go for it. Ananias did and Saul goes on to be the primary architect and builder of Christianity, successfully planting vibrant Christian communities across the Roman world - but not without great personal cost.

Have You Counted the Cost?

In fact, as he reflected back on his life, years later, he said this: “I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummelled with rocks... I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city [and] in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labour, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches.”

Sounds like a complaint on Trip Advisor doesn’t it?

Acts 9.15 says “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Wow! That’s a life lived in the mighty power of the resurrection! Kings and whole nations are going to be touched by the gospel. We like that bit.

But the very next words are these: “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

We like that a bit less. But you see, Christians are not only anointed to live in the power of the resurrection, we are called to walk the way of the cross, marked by suffering, mockery, dishonour and to endure it with joy. Paul himself put it perfectly; “Suffering” he said, “yet always rejoicing.”

Are You a Christian Friend?

One of the first things you need after getting converted is a Christian friend to help you take the next steps. That’s why courses like Journeys and Alpha are so important. You grow in faith with a little group of friends who walk with you as you take those baby steps.

I love the way Ananias looks after Saul. One commentator said, "It is not always easy to show love and acceptance to others, especially when we are afraid of them or doubt their motives." That’s true isn’t it? If anyone had a good reason to be afraid of someone else, it was Ananias with Saul.

Ananias places his hands on the man, imparting the healing power of Jesus.

Then his words are full of affection too. "Brother Saul" he says. All the fear has vanished. All the barriers are down. All the debt is forgiven. All the past is forgotten with just two words. Brother Saul.

Saul had spent three days completely blinded, taking no food or water stuck in a foreign city. In v18-19 we can surmise that Ananias baptised him, found him a towel, cooked him up a good meal, made sure he was OK and put him in touch with other believers in Damascus. The second half of v19 tells us that he spent three days with them, enjoying their hospitality.

Nothing on earth in the field of human relationships comes close to the love in Christ we share as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Ending

So what is God saying to you through this word today?

Are you, like Saul was, struggling to earn your way to heaven? It doesn’t matter if you’ve been coming to church all your life – can you say “yes” to this simple question: “Are you converted?”

Do you believe that God can bring to faith the most hardened heart?

Is there someone you can pray for that they would turn to him?

Could you get alongside a younger believer and help mentor them in faith?

You may be facing a choice where you need to step out in faith. That will be demanding but exciting. Or you can go the other way, which is familiar and easier. Do you need to go for it and take a risk?

Let’s pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 28th September 2014

Och Aye or Och Nae?

I’m not really a political animal. Have you guessed how I vote by the things I say? Well, about as floating as any voter can be, I tend to mark my X against whichever candidate I think is most likely to do what Jesus would do, whatever colour rosette they wear.

I’m writing this on the eve of the independence referendum in Scotland. It is ‘on a knife edge’ according to the media. 'Too close to call.' 

If I lived north of the border I’m not sure how I’d vote. The UK attributes more of its budget proportionately to Scotland than to Wales or England so secession might damage the economy, hitting the most vulnerable in Scotland hardest. So maybe I’d vote No. On the other hand, I would like the chance to rid my country of weapons of mass destruction and spend the money saved on aid, poverty, health and education. So maybe I’d vote Yes.

The No campaign has made much of the risks involved in independence making some alarming predictions of an unstable future in the event of a split. But I don't recall Slovakia and the Czech Republic bringing an apocalypse down upon themselves when they voted to break up Czechoslovakia. The Yes camp has accused Better Together of bullying. Whatever 'bullying' means it surely doesn't mean me telling you what I think are the negative consequences of what you want to do.

What does the Bible say? Look up 'Scottish referendum' in a concordance and you won't be inundated with data to trawl through. But I've been reflecting on 1 Kings 12 where God allowed the separation of Judah and Israel in 930 B.C. This is when God’s people tore themselves in two on north/south lines; ten tribes separated to the north and kept the name Israel. Two tribes remained in the south and took the name Judah after the larger of the two. On one level it was all caused by disgruntlement about tax (nothing new there then!) but the Bible says that at a deeper level it was a consequence of the nation rejecting the Lord as King.

I know we live in a constitutional monarchy and not a theocracy. But I wonder sometimes if the slow fragmentation and weakening of the United Kingdom, with increasing unhappiness about what is fair expressed in every corner of the Union, is not entirely unrelated to our nation's turning away from its Christian heritage.

Whether the Scots vote for independence or not tomorrow, my prayer is that all the inhabitants of these islands will assent to Christ as Lord. Whoever is making the laws in parliament, in whatever city that happens to be, from whatever political affiliation, and however long the United Kingdom lasts, there is only one unshakeable Kingdom that will have no end.

Cold Water

Today at church I took the Ice Bucket Challenge having been nominated by our son Benjamin, who can expect some kind of surprise revenge attack to be sprung on him some time soon.

Inspired by a vicar friend in Essex, I decided to take it in church and use the IBC to make a point or two. The children came forward and verified to their great excitement that the water was indeed absolutely freezing.

Having chilled down in our chest freezer for a few hours and topped up with ice cubes it certainly was. Then five young people from the Youth group did the honours. Man, that was unpleasant.

Nominating Tearfund's water and sanitation projects as my charity of choice, partly due to my complicity in this reckless waste of good, clean water, I gave my church two challenges.

Firstly, that the entire congregation was spared of being nominated by me on the basis that they are baptized and therefore exempt. However, if anyone present believed in Jesus but was not yet baptized they should be. It is a question of obedience, not choice, because the Bible says "believe and be baptized, then you will be saved."

Secondly, that the entire congregation should use this opportunity to review their own giving. Christians should be aiming in faith to be ever more generous so that the love and grace of God can be felt and experienced throughout the world. When was the last time you took a good look at your finances and asked whether you could give more away? Christians should do this regularly, annually is a good rule of thumb.

Tearfund is extremely easy to donate to online. On sending my donation, I received an immediate automated reply which was really moving to read.

Thank you so much for your gift... Your donation is hugely valued and will support our work to provide clean, safe water and sanitation to poor communities across the world. Your generosity is not only helping to improve people’s health, but providing work, dignity and hope for the future – thank you.

Tearfund’s partner the Diocese of Kigezi’s Water and Sanitation Programme (KDWSP) is helping rural communities in south west Uganda in all these ways. Recently KDWSP has been training women from Kagorora Church to construct rain water collection tanks to improve the community’s access to safe water. They have been busy installing water points and working on a 4000 litre capacity tank to help households in the area access safe water easily.

Previously women and girls had to travel over 3 km to fetch water, but now they feel empowered and able to put this burden to an end. Women not only have better access to clean water but have also improved their incomes and livelihoods as they are paid to construct the tanks. They have been able to pay school fees for their children, and even build improved houses. During their training they also learned entrepreneurial skills, and so alongside their husbands they have also been able to begin other income generating activities.

It also means that instead of spending time fetching water, children can be where they should be, in school, strengthening their prospects for the future.

Thank you again for your partnership, which is releasing people from poverty and empowering them to reach their true potential.

Receiving that e-mail was well worth a little indignity and discomfort.

Worth Dying For? (Acts 6.8-15, 7.51-58 and 8.1-3)

Introduction

Ten years ago this week, we had news about somebody who had been with us just a few months before; an exceptional Christian leader. He had preached at the church I was then part of. But just a few weeks after his visit to us he was killed in a head-on car crash in Romania. He died instantly. When you get news like that, you don’t quite believe it at first. You go quiet. It’s sobering. It makes you wonder. It makes you think about how fragile life is and how arbitrary death can be. It makes you ask “why did God not prevent this?” If you’ve ever had that kind of sudden news, you know what I mean.

Persecution

I say this because today’s reading is about the last days, and particularly the last moments of one man’s life, Stephen. No accident this time, he was murdered in cold blood and he was the very first in a long line of Christians to pay the highest price for belonging to Jesus.

According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular group with members in 38 countries, 80% of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians.

Research suggests that hostility towards Christians reached a new high in 2012, when our brothers and sisters in Christ faced some form of discrimination in 139 countries, that’s almost three-quarters of the world's nations.

The Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in the USA estimates that around 100,000 Christians now die every year, targeted for their faith.

So this is absolutely relevant for us this morning.

Introducing Stephen

Who was Stephen? The Bible tells us he was an able and anointed man.

We’re told in Acts 6.5 that he was “full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” Like Jesus, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor and bind up the broken hearted.

Verse 8 says he was “full of God’s grace and power and did many great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” So, like Jesus, he was given authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. 

Verse 10 adds that his adversaries “could not stand up against the wisdom or the Spirit with which he spoke.” So, like Jesus, he spoke in a way that made everything clear and was spiritually incisive.

Verse 13 says that they had to produce false witnesses against him, presumably because no one could pin anything on him. So, like Jesus, he was a man of integrity.

The big issue

What did Stephen do to provoke the mob that eventually killed him? The clue comes in the last verse of last week’s reading, 6.7, where it says that “a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

Until this point, all those who came to faith in Jesus as the messiah were Jewish. They continued to be obedient to the Law of Moses. They continued to read only the Jewish scriptures, there was no New Testament. They continued to worship in the temple courts, there were no church buildings.

But in that little verse, Acts 6.7, is the seed of revolution. “A large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” That was new. If you were a Jewish priest and you converted to Christ what did you do now? Would you go on slaying lambs to offer as a sacrifice for sin on the temple altar?

Well no, because Jesus’ one perfect death for all means that no more sacrifice is necessary, ever again. He abolished sacrifices. Jesus fulfilled the Law. He replaced the Temple.

So priests didn’t have anything to do. Their role had become obsolete. They would have no choice but to resign their orders and find other work. And “a large number of priests” turned to Christ.

So Christianity, what had been a minor movement within the Jewish faith, was now becoming a major and serious departure from it. It was threatening to end the Jewish religion altogether. The boat was rocking. And Stephen was rocking the boat more than most.

In v13 it says people were upset because Stephen was saying two things directly related to the role of the priests; he was saying that Jesus is the end of the temple and that Jesus was the end of the law.

In other words, you can come to God anywhere now without needing a priest to shed the blood of a goat or a lamb. And you no longer have to be burdened with keeping every one of the 613 ceremonial laws of Moses to be right with God. He was saying that you can’t mix belonging to Jesus with the old Jewish religion.

And the truth is you can’t mix belonging to Jesus with any religion. Jesus is the end of religion, and he said no one comes to the Father but through him.

They rounded up some religious zealots and fed them lies about Stephen. They produced false witnesses and accused Stephen of blasphemy. In other words, they pressed exactly the same fictitious charges that Jesus faced and from the same court. Verse 15 says that, as he listened to the false accusations, knowing he faced imminent death, “his face was like the face of an angel.” They saw it.

A good death

Have you ever seen an angel? I am not sure I have, but I have a theory that some angels walk dogs. A pastor friend of mine once locked his car keys inside his car. He tried all the doors three times and looked to see if there were any windows open. Nothing. Then, a man walking a dog came by, asked him what the problem was, and then – annoyingly – asked if he had tried all the doors. (That’s even more annoying than someone saying “where did you last see them?” when you lose your keys – as if you hadn’t thought of that already!) My friend said, “Yes I’ve tried all the doors three times!” The man asked if he could try. He then pushed the passenger door handle and the door opened perfectly. So my friend thanked him and climbed inside to get the keys. When he got out of the car again to say goodbye, the man and his dog were nowhere to be seen.

Stephen wasn’t an angel, but he did have the face of one. What was it about his face do you think? Was there a strange radiance? Maybe there was just something unearthly about it. I think they saw the face of a man whose home is not here, but elsewhere, a man whose citizenship is in heaven.

I’ve had the privilege of accompanying Christians at the hour of their death and I’ve sometimes seen the face of an angel – someone whose heart is already with the Lord but whose body hasn’t quite got there yet. I think Stephen’s face was like that. A man who knew death at an early age was imminent but who was convinced that being with Christ is better by far.

In chapter 7.1, the high priest gives Stephen a chance to defend himself against the charges. We skipped most of chapter 7, for reasons of time, picking the story up in v54. I’d encourage you to read his defence when you go home. But I’ll quickly summarise it.

Stephen gives a highly selective potted history of Israel. And he mostly picks the best bits – Abraham, Joseph, Moses, (three great men) before stopping at David and Solomon; which was Israel’s golden age.

He leaves out the dark period of the Judges; he doesn’t mention the worst kings or the destruction of Jerusalem. But even focussing on Israel’s greatest heroes and finest accomplishments, the people still rebelled.

Basically, Stephen was saying this, “Our nation has persecuted the prophets and hardened its heart against God throughout its history. Yes, we had the law from God but rebelled against it. Yes, we built the temple but we shut God up in it. And when the greatest one of all came, true to form, we crucified him as well.”

His point was this; once you’ve met Christ, you don’t need religion. Once you’ve met Christ, you don’t need a temple. Once you’ve met Christ, you don’t need the law. And people who like religion tend to oppose whatever the Holy Spirit is doing. That’s what he says in v51.

I’ve found that again and again. I’ve known people, who were on fire for God in their youth, go all churchy and lukewarm. It becomes all about the religious sideshow; the trappings and accessories, the garments, the exclusive vocabulary that no ordinary person understands. And it’s true, those I’ve known who are into all the religiosity usually fear and resist the new thing of the Holy Spirit.

In Stephen’s day, you would get into big trouble for saying that Jesus is the Messiah, the end of the law and the end of the temple.

In every age people have got into trouble for something. In the middle ages you’d be burned for saying that Jesus is the only mediator between us and God.

In the non-Western world in our day, the uniqueness of Christ over all religions or political systems is area in which God’s people are being challenged to stand firm. 100,000 a year are martyred for this – and many more are imprisoned, tortured, beaten and threatened.

In the West in our day, it’s probably issues of human sexuality that most provoke marginalisation and contempt. They might not stone you here for reading your Bible, but you might well lose your job for publically agreeing with some of its content.

Verses 57-58 tell us that Stephen’s murder was not a mad, impulsive affair. They covered their ears and yelled and rushed towards him. They dragged him out of the city. It was a lynching. What would have been going through Stephen’s mind? All he can hear is a screaming mob, as he is pushed and pulled outside the city to his certain death.

Is Jesus worth dying for?

And if you could have asked Stephen at that time, “Was it worth it? Look, Stephen, you have provoked today a great wave of persecution against followers of Jesus in Jerusalem,” (that’s what 8.1 says), “Stephen, what do you think about that? What about all those innocent people who are going to suffer because of your stubbornness?” I think he would have replied, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”

I think he would tell you what happened in v56. Looking up and seeing the glory of God, he said “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” To look up and see King Jesus, triumphant, reigning, glorious and waiting – to know that this was my inheritance, to give what I cannot keep to gain what I cannot lose – yes, it was worth it.

For 100,000 people, in 139 countries this year, the preciousness of Christ will be dearer than life itself.

In this 20th anniversary week of the permanent cease fire in Northern Ireland let me tell you a true story from Belfast.

A young woman was locking up the church hall after taking her Sunday school class. Life was good: she had just graduated from University and had got engaged; her one great sadness was that her father had recently died. A young man walked up to her. “Karen?” “Yes,” she answered. “I’ve come for you,” he said, and pulled out a gun. “But there must be some mistake,” she said. “No mistake,” he answered, and shot her at point blank range.

As Karen lay dying in her hospital bed, her mother distraught by her bedside, Karen said this: “I know you’re broken-hearted for me mum, but think of the mothers of the boys who do things like this. Think how they must feel.” Then she gestured towards the Bible that lay by her bedside and said this; “I want you to find one of these terrorists and give him my Bible. And tell him that I love them.”

A week later there was a conference at Belfast’s Wellington Hall. The main speaker was Charles Colson, the man who became a Christian in prison for his part in Watergate. The speaker before him was Liam McClosky, a former member of the IRA. While he had been in the Maze prison McClosky been one of the hunger strikers, going without food for 55 days. His mother had force-fed him when he was too weak to resist. But now he had become a Christian and renounced violence, sharing with others how the love of Christ had changed him.

What a testimony. Suddenly, there was a security alert. A woman was walking up the aisle with her hand in a bag. A security guard rushed towards her but before he got to her, she had pulled her hand out of the bag and was holding… a Bible. She went up to the platform and embraced Liam McClosky and said, “This week I have lost a daughter, but tonight I’ve gained a son.”

The gospel of peace that heals broken communities and turns enemies into friends. Is that worth laying down your life for?

Back to Stephen. Do you remember what Jesus said as he hung on the cross and was about to die? “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” As they threw rocks at Stephen, one by one, thudding into him, breaking his bones, opening up deep wounds, he said “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Do you remember what Jesus said as they gambled for his clothes? “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” As Stephen’s life flowed out of him, as his strength failed, as he slipped into unconsciousness, he fell to his knees and cried “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

All through life, and in even in death, Stephen wanted nothing more than to be like Jesus.

And on that day when my strength is failing,
the end draws near and my time has come,
still my soul will sing your praise unending;
ten thousand years and then forevermore.

Ending – the unquenchable flame

8.1 tells us that Saul, later to be called Paul, was an approving witness of this sickening death. But we know that he never got it off his conscience. In the last letter he wrote, right at the end of his life, he still described himself as the worst of sinners because he had once persecuted believers.

And Stephen’s death gave rise to a wave of heavy and systematic violence against Christians, but the church grew even stronger. Because the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

Last year, the bombing of a church in Peshawar in Pakistan killed 127 people and injured 250 more. I read shortly after Justin Welby’s visit there in May that the church has actually grown, not declined, there since that attack.

When Saul got converted not long after Stephen’s death, the gospel spread like a wild fire all over the Mediterranean basin.

Stephen’s death sowed the seeds for the collapse, years later, of the mighty Roman Empire, with all its corruption, its decadence, its perversion, its anti-Christian cruelty, its excess and its godlessness. 

Few of us - probably none of us here - will be appointed to die for Jesus. But every one of us here is called to live for Jesus, every day. And this is what he says:

“Those who would come after me, must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life for me will find it. What good will it be if someone gains the whole world, yet forfeits their soul?”

Let’s stand to pray...

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 7th September 2014.