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Why do heroes do what they do?
What would possess the fire fighter on the 40th floor of one of the World Trade Center Towers to
disobey a direct order from his battalion chief…Leave the building, he was told “I refuse to obey that
order, he replied, I will not leave these people!
It is clear from, his response that something big was going on within his heart and mind…deep within
him was a belief and passion that would cause him to disobey a direct order, put himself clearly in
harm’s way and ultimately cost him his life.
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Perhaps it was for him what he believed about his duty
Maybe it was a strong compassion for other human beings
Perhaps his personal faith caused him to act so heroically
Whatever it was – whatever conviction rose up within him – it trumped everything including his own
well being.
What is it within you that would motivate action that would cause you to put your own life in danger?
What would you die for?
Heroes are people noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially those who have risked
or sacrificed their life for a cause.
Let me expand on that definition…
Heroes are people whose convictions are so crystal-clear and compelling, that nothing is more
important to them, not even their own well being.
Ambivalent folks make poor heroes. Hesitant people will not risk much. Heroes do not come from the
ranks of the tentative.
Heroes will tell you straight up what they’d die for. And they rehearse those convictions long enough
and often enough so that when the moment of truth comes they will lay down their lives.
What would you die for?
Today I want to look at the life of a man, a hero, who died for his convictions. And in so doing we’ll
take a cold hard look at the motivations of your own life.
Acts 6
Review:
Our study of the lives of heroes these past 5 weeks has been for a reason:
We must pay attention to heroes who will motivate us to do great things for God’s Kingdom.
We’ve noted that millions of heroes currently sit in the stands of the stadium of our lives and wonder if
we will follow in their footsteps…
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything
that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us. Hebrews 12:1
My hope through this series is that as we have looked back at the lives of Barnabas and Rahab, and
Josiah and Ruth, and as we’ve noted a handful of the people of Grace who have served heroically
these past 20 years of our existence, that you’d find a spark of inspiration to move toward your
destiny as a masterpiece of God.
I’m hoping that same will happen today as we consider Stephen:
Background:
Stephen was a Greek speaking Jewish follower of Jesus.
Born outside of Israel into a Jewish family, he was Greek by culture but Jewish by faith until he
met Jesus and determined to be a follower his.
His spiritual growth was rapid, so much so, that in a short time He became a significant leader
in the early church movement
He was assigned the task along with 6 other men for carrying for the underprivileged of the
church
But that’s not all he did…
6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs
among the people.
Apparently he was quite the public communicator and through him God did miracles – probably
healings.
He was a very, very powerful man with an extraordinary graceful spirit about him.
And through him and others the church exploded in growth. But this did not go over well with
others…and he was not well liked by the established religious leaders of the day…
6:9 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, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he
spoke.
The fact is this wasn’t the first opposition to break out …it had been growing as the church of Jesus
Christ expanded by the thousands. Tensions were very high – sides were being formed…
And it all reached a boiling point at this one synagogue in particular –
There were numbers of synagogues in Jerusalem. Places where people met to hear the scriptures.
They were not the focal point of Jewish faith – the Temple was where sacrifices were performed was
still THE place that they believed God dwelt.
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This one, Synagogue of the Freedman, was where former slaves met along with others who were
born outside of Jerusalem. This was the place where sparks began to fly.
The argument that transpired was over Jesus. Stephen and the other church leaders maintained that
He was the Messiah and that God’s Kingdom had come. And that the old order of Jewish worship had
to end. The law was now trumped by Jesus teaching. The Temple sacrifices no longer necessary.
And of course the established religious leaders saw this as heresy of the worst kind. But even though
they fought back they kept getting hosed by Stephen and since they couldn’t win the debate they had
to resort to Plan B.
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they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of
blasphemy against Moses and against God." 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the
teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced
false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against
the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change
the customs Moses handed down to us." 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at
Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
The debate which began in one synagogue ended up before the mighty Sanhedrin – the same men
who put Jesus on trial led by none other than Caiaphas who tried Jesus. Déjà vu all over again.
But note Vs. 15 – fascinating … the face of an angel. What does that mean?
I can tell you it doesn’t mean he looked like a cherub. Based on the thinking of the day and what
we’ve been told already about Stephen I believe they were looking at an otherworldly kind of face;
one of fierce but peaceful inspiration; a face that was off-puttingly alarming and disarming
It was the face of a hero.
IL - Ever seen a movie about a hero in which he or she has set back after set back…and things look
bleak…but then something snaps in them and suddenly their countenance changes…and they take
on that “bullet proof” gaze that says…I don’t care what you throw at me …try to stop me!”
That, I believe, was the face of Stephen.
7:1 Then
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the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?"
The charges of treason and sedition – of claiming that the Temple would be destroyed and
their whole system of religion upended.
this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me!
Strong commanding words, almost insolent … and what follows you’d expect to be this epic diatribe
that wows everyone with eloquence and power.
But instead we get a history lesson. You read his argument thru Chapt 7 and at first glance it comes
off like lesson from Mrs Truby’s 3rd grade Sunday school class.
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But that is only how it sounds to us…in that moment,the place was electric, the way he rehearsed the
history of Israel was radical and the themes he developed were beyond controversial…
You can read the whole speech later but hop forward to his conclusion and you’ll see the straw that
broke the camel’s back and unleashed hell on him:
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the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: 49 "'Heaven is my
throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or
where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?'
Stephen’s point: God is not restricted to any one building, one land or one people – you do not have
an exclusive claim to God anymore.
The Temple system and what it represents must end. The Law has been trumped by the coming of
God into this world. Relationship with God is no longer based on nationality but on Jesus.
51 "You
stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You
always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?
Stephen get’s intensely personal
 you are Stiff-necked = obstinate
 you have uncircumcised hearts and ears = unresponsive to the desires of God
 You are resisting the work of the Holy Spirit…
o You always reject the messengers of God (Joseph, Moses, prophets)
They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed
and murdered him-- 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have
not obeyed it." Acts 7:48-53
Stephen accused them of killing the Messiah – betraying and murdered him
This is the core of his accusations and the focal point of his revised history lesson.
You obliterated the great hope of this world. You killed God.
7:54 When
they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 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. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
What did he see?
Was this a pre-death experience?
I see Jesus standing:
Jesus standing in the place of power and world-wide dominion
Jesus standing as the son of man (Stephen was the only one in NT Scriptures other than
Jesus himself to use that phrase) It meant Jesus was the Messiah…the man/God who came to
rescue the world.
Jesus standing – perhaps to applaud him? To assure him of his presence? Maybe even to
come and get him?
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6:57 At
this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58
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. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit." 60 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 was tortured. It was not a quick execution (stoning can take 10 – 20 minutes to kill a man)
Stephen died and Jesus received him into glory. Stephen died a hero.
Stephen’s belief in Jesus was so strong, so powerful that not even the threat of death deterred him.
Heroes are people whose convictions are so crystal-clear and compelling, that nothing is more
important to them, not even their own well being.
What would you die for?
In particular…are your convictions about Jesus so crystal clear and compelling that nothing is more
important?
Perhaps it is time…time for you to step up and determine once and for all that your tepid belief in
Jesus must be replaced with raging conviction that will reshape your life and destiny.
Jesus stands today as the world wide Lord and King…one who died for you to be reconciled to
God…one who lives for you to be utterly transformed.
Today is the day for you to once and for all believe and then live the rest of your days as a hero until
that time he arises takes your hand and leads you home.