When Jesus Stands Up for You [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. In the first Christian martyrdom, Stephen prayed, and he prayed Lord Jesus. And the Son of God, the Son of Man, the risen Lord Jesus hearkened unto the prayer.

He said, my name's been called upon, and he stood up. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series Unlimited as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I'm going to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org. That's pastoralan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Now, more on this later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. It's why we give money to crisis control. It's why we help to dig wells in Malawi. It's why as a pastor during this time of such racial uncertainties and unrest, and I want to learn and grow. So every Monday, I've been meeting with about 40 pastors, mainly white pastors, learning from our African American pastor friends, learning so we can grow.

And every Tuesday, about four other pastors and I have been meeting with the sheriff of Forsyth County to learn how can we be of help. It is to say that right from the beginning, you see it in the Christian church, we care about justice in the world. And I noticed that the apostle, when the apostle said, we're not going to have time to pray and preach if we're always serving the tables, what they didn't say was we're too spiritual for the serving of tables. That's not what they're saying. They're not saying, oh, we need to go find some more practically minded people to do the serving. No, they're just saying that our primary call is to pray and to preach. And so we need some other people to serve, but what they got people to serve, they got people that were full of the Spirit, people full of wisdom.

And one of them was Stephen. There are two words in the New Testament for the word crown. There is the word diadema, which means a royal crown. We transliterate that into our word diadem is a crown. And then there's the word Stephanos, Stephanos, Victor's crown. That's Stephen's name, Stephanos. His name means the Victor's crown.

It's letting us know that this is a story about real victory. So these first deacons are full of the Holy Spirit and after this wise decision to appoint these godly servants, there are two wonderful things that happen. Acts 6 verse 7 tells us the first, the word of God continued to increase and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great number of the priests.

There are about 18,000 priests that served in the temple in that day and many of them became obedient to faith. Many of them started coming to Jesus. And the second wonderful thing was that Stephen himself, the text says in verse 8, was full of grace and power and was doing great wonders and signs among the people. So Stephen was already full of the Spirit. They laid hands upon him and then all of these miracles began to take place through Stephen's life and the church is just growing, growing, growing. And the growth of the church and the grace of God at work aroused hatred in the religious aristocracy. Here's what happened in Acts chapter 6 in verse 13.

They, the religious leaders, set up false witnesses who said this man never ceases to speak words against this holy place, speaking of the temple, and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. Well, the fear of the loss of control that they had, you see, was causing them to be afraid. Basically, it's the fear of loss that leads to the ungodly use of controlling behaviors. It could be as subtle as giving someone the silent treatment or it could be as horrible as physical abuse, but by whatever means. When we try to control others, it's because we are afraid of being out of control.

In other words, we are afraid of losing something. Our insecurities cause our resentments and our resentments cause us to sin against others. But Luke adds this, while these lies are being spoken against Stephen, the crowd sees something remarkable. Verse 15, And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. They saw that while all these insults are being hurled against Stephen, that his face seemed to be glowing. It must have been something like what happened to Moses when he was with God and his face literally glowed. And what happens then is Stephen stands up and gives a long speech in Chapter seven, which we had time to go over it.

We don't. But in this long speech, he recalls the story of Abraham and Joseph and Moses. And he speaks of Joshua going into the promised land and about this mobile tabernacle, a tent that they carried before they ever had the temple and how David wanted to build a temple. But it was Solomon, David's son, who built the temple. He tells this whole thing in Chapter seven.

And then Stephen's speech becomes very hard for the people to hear. At verse 48, Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these things? At this point, he's referencing the temple. He's quoting the scripture that says the Most High doesn't dwell in a physical temple. They had accused him of preaching against Moses's law and against the temple. And here, Stephen is making it clear the Lord's presence is not limited to a physical temple.

And this infuriates them. And they were remembering how Jesus had said, destroy this temple and I'll raise it up in three days. And then with remarkable candor that seems a direct answer to the disciples' prayer for boldness, he then turns at Acts seven, verse 51, You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one whom you now have betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.

What he's saying is that you're accusing me of speaking against the law, against the law, but you're the ones who never kept the law, he's saying to the religious leaders. And the religious leaders are enraged by this Stephen's speech, but what happened next is what made them want to kill him. Verse 54, Now when they heard these things and they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him, but he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.

And Jesus, he saw Jesus, the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. It was here at this moment they wanted to kill him because he was affirming that he saw Jesus alive, Lord of the universe, full of grace and power. He was affirming the resurrection and the Lord's shepherd Jesus, and they suddenly wanted to kill him. Dudley Hall, my spiritual father, taught me years ago that there really were two primary demonic forces that were already always battling against Jesus, the spirit of rebellion, which says there is no right or wrong and I'll make my own decision about what's right and wrong. And then the other that he faced everywhere he went, the spirit of religion. It was religious leaders, the ones that felt that there is a right and wrong and we're the ones who are right, that there's a right and wrong and we're more righteous than everyone else. And that spirit, that smug, prideful spirit that thinks I'm better than someone else because I'm more righteous than them, that has no real understanding of the grace of God. That spirit hates the grace of God and therefore hates Jesus and hated Stephen. And that's why they wanted to kill them. Verse 57, we pick up reading. They cried out with a loud voice and they stopped their ears.

They didn't even want to hear it. And they rushed together at him. And then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

That's Alan Wright. And we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Would you love a better marriage? You don't need more good advice.

You need more good news. Marriages like people aren't changed by human effort or even by applying principles. Marriages are changed by the gospel of grace. In six video sessions, Pastor Alan and his wife, Anne, lead you and your spouse into a fresh encounter with the God of grace. You'll learn a simple grace-filled process that makes great communication easy. You'll discover the freedom of forgiveness and the power of celebration. You'll also learn how to pray for your spouse and how to bless one another with a faith-filled vision for the future.

To help you grow, when you order the video series, we'll also send you two copies of the accompanying study guide. Whether your marriage is going through some special challenges or your marriage is in a season of health, you'll find powerful, transformational truth in good news for your marriage. Make your gift to Alan Wright Ministries today and fill your marriage with the grace of God. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues.

Here once again is Alan Wright. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. I don't want to be too graphic here, but there were established guidelines for stoning someone. If there had been a proper trial and he had been condemned to execution by stoning, there was a protocol for how it would take place. They would take the convict and put him into a ravine that was about 12, maybe 10 feet wide. And first is a sense of the only mercy and the horrible execution is they would roll a huge boulder down that would essentially crush the person or render him unconscious. And then witnesses would take off their heavy outer garments to free themselves up to throw stones. And they would begin to throw stones after the victim was already unconscious. That's not what happened here. This was a lynch, a lynching, a mob rule. The religious leaders didn't stop it. There was no mercy in it.

So they just took off their outer garments. They laid it at the feet of a man named Saul and they just began throwing rock, jagged rock after jagged rock, torturing him, crushing him, causing him to bleed and to hurt. And it's in the middle of dying a slow and painful, gruesome death that a miracle happens. This beautiful man, Stephen, who had only loved people, who had been serving the tables to care for the widows, who had been used by God for the healing of other people, this beautiful man, slowly dying at the hands of evil people. But here's what we read in verse 60. And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Stephen, as Jesus had on the cross, prayed for the Lord to forgive the people who were murdering him. How?

How is it possible? This was not Stephen who is just trying to be a positive thinker in a difficult situation. It doesn't work that way. No, no, you can't be, you can't be slowly killed by execution in this manner and just say to yourself, well, let me just go back and think, what would Jesus have done? Well, he probably would have forgiven them.

Oh yeah, I remember that. So I'm just going to try hard to forgive them. It doesn't work. It doesn't work to do it that way. You can't muster this up. You can't find this down in your natural being. Your mind can't make sense of it.

It won't happen that way. So how did he forgive? Here's how he forgave. Verse 56 is the key. He said, behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

He said, I see Jesus. See, most of us have been taught that it's important to take a stand for Jesus. And there are ways in which it is important to take a stand for Jesus. We've been told that we need to stand up for what we believe. We've been told that we need to stand up for our own rights and there's a measure of truth and all of that. But the exhortation to stand strong never makes us strong. What makes us strong?

I'll tell you what makes us strong is to see the risen Lord Jesus. Look, he said, behold. I think Stephen was saying, everybody look. Why can't everybody see Jesus? And they could not. And they did not look and they could not. They were spiritually blind. This wasn't Stephen saying, he wasn't saying if I will be faithful, then soon I'll get to be with Jesus.

So I'm going to endure this execution. No, this was Jesus. Jesus Stephen saying, I see him right now. He's not saying I one day will get to be with him or soon and soon and very soon I'll be with him. He's saying I'm with him now. I see him now. Look, everybody, I see Jesus. He's saying because I see him, I can be faithful.

He's not saying if I'm faithful, then I see him. The scriptures and the creeds have all taught us that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Back from the time that David in his Psalms prophesied of the Lord will say to my Lord, sit at my right hand, it is affirmed all the way into the New Testament scriptures that Jesus is seated at the right hand. And I think part of the importance of that is that being seated is a symbol of being finished. When if you see me suddenly sit down, it means I'm finished with this message and I'm not quite there yet.

If you see someone do a great work, a great job, and then they sit down, it's because I'm finished working on that. Jesus was the great high priest, the writer of Hebrews said. And unlike the priests of old who had to stand day after day after day to continue their ministry and offer many more sacrifices, Jesus offered one sacrifice himself for all time. And he sat down and the work is finished to tell us that he said on the cross, it is finished. There's nothing else that needs to be added to the finished work of Christ in order for us to be saved. If you're not a Christian today, you can accept him simply because of what he's done through simple childlike faith, accepting the grace of God. There's nothing else for you. That's not Jesus plus anything else.

It is finished as Jesus' work is done on the cross. And so he sat down. But on this day he stood. Stephen saw him stand.

And at least you're wondering why. You know, it could be that part of the reason he stood is we stand as a sign of honor, don't we? When you hear a musical performance and you like it, you clap. If you really like it, you stand up and clap. A standing ovation. If you go to a concert and you like it so much you want them to keep going, you just keep on standing.

Maybe they'll give you another song. It's an honor to have someone stand for you. And the Lord of the universe was standing for Stephen. I think some may, maybe he stood because Jesus knew this is the exact same thing that happened to him and it was all being replicated. It was being expressed right there in Stephen. He stood up.

Maybe that was it. Maybe it was because Jesus is the advocate. The word for advocate, his advocacy for us is really a legal term. He's like a lawyer for us.

He's our mediator. And a lawyer stands up for you. How do you plead? The lawyer stands up, says not guilty. When someone stands up for you, they are a go-between.

They're an intermediary. Maybe you've had a big brother who just stands up for you sometime. Maybe that's why he stood up. Or maybe the reason that Jesus stood up that day is because in the first Christian martyrdom, Stephen prayed and he prayed Lord Jesus. And the Son of God, the Son of Man, the risen Lord Jesus hearkened unto the prayer. He said, my name's been called upon.

And he stood up. He stood up to hearken to a prayer. And maybe it was one of the most important prayers ever prayed in the New Testament. It certainly was a miracle to pray Lord Jesus, do not hold this sin against them.

And it might've been that it was the most important prayer in the New Testament because of Acts 8 verse 1. And Saul approved of his execution. Saul of Tarsus, Pharisee of Pharisees was there watching.

He didn't throw a stone, but he gave his consent. His silence was violence. He watched it all happen. And we read shortly after this in Acts chapter 9 verse 3 that as Saul went on his way, he approached Damascus, the greatest persecutor of the early church, Saul. He approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him and falling to the ground. He heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you Lord?

And he said, I'm Jesus who you are persecuting. When Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, do not hold this against them. He was praying in part for Saul. I wonder if Stephen's eyes as he was nearing the end caught the eyes of Saul. And when he prayed, do not hold it against them, forgive them. He might've been thinking of the Pharisee. And in his mercy, Jesus answered the prayer and he came and made Saul his own and redeemed him. At first, Saul was blinded, led around for three days in Damascus, but as soon as the scales came off, we read in verse 20, immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue saying, he is the son of God. By many different measures, you could say that apart from Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul is the most influential man who's ever lived. He was used by God to change the whole world. You cannot forgive out of your own natural abilities.

We can't. We can like Corey 10 Boom extend a hand, but the forgiving is released by the power of the Holy Spirit and a vision of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The power of the gospel in our lives is released by a vision of Jesus. He stands for you too. You may not have the same kind of opening of heavens and vision that Stephen did, but you can see Jesus. Every day you can see him. You can see him in the word. You can see him in life. You can see him in providence.

You can see him in his move in your life. Jesus is alive and he loves you. And he came to forgive you so that you could have the freedom of forgiving others. It's the power of the gospel. It's the power of grace. Forgiveness is an exotic from heaven available to every believer. And that's the gospel. Allen Wright, today's teaching, When Jesus Stands Up For You.

It's in our series, Unlimited. And Pastor Alan joins us here in just a few moments with our parting good news thought for the day. Stick with us. Would you love a better marriage? You don't need more good advice.

You need more good news. Marriages like people aren't changed by human effort or even by applying principles. Marriages are changed by the gospel of grace. In six video sessions, Pastor Alan and his wife, Anne, lead you and your spouse into a fresh encounter with the God of grace. You'll learn a simple, grace-filled process that makes great communication easy. You'll discover the freedom of forgiveness and the power of celebration. You'll also learn how to pray for your spouse and how to bless one another with a faith-filled vision for the future.

To help you grow, when you order the video series, we'll also send you two copies of the accompanying study guide. Whether your marriage is going through some special challenges or your marriage is in a season of health, you'll find powerful, transformational truth in good news for your marriage. Make your gift to Allen Wright Ministries today and fill your marriage with the grace of God. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Right here in the studio with Pastor Alan for our parting good news thought of the day. And I'm reminded of the lyric, I am loved.

I can risk loving you because the one who knows me best loves me most. And I think you could probably take and put forgive in there, right? I am forgiven.

And so I can risk forgiving you. We forgive because we've been forgiven. And when you're a Christian, you understand forgiveness is costly. We aren't forgiven by God because he just said, ah, you know, doesn't matter after all. No, the ultimate cost, the ultimate debt was paid through this cost of the life of Jesus. So when you forgive, there's a cost, but there's so much gain because your own heart can then be healed. You don't forgive by willpower. You forgive by focusing on Jesus's own forgiveness for you. He's standing up for you so you can forgive. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.