Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Most people invest heavily in their futures. But wise believers know that the real future lies in the hands of God, not in any plans we can make. Like the martyr Stephen, our ultimate destiny lies beyond this life. Forget the 401k.
Today, you're going to hear about the eternal future ahead for a child of God. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, isn't there a need for balance in all of this? We're commanded also to provide for our families and lay in store for times of famine.
Tell us what it means that God owns our future when He is first. You know, Dave, of course there is balance. We are supposed to take care of our future. We should invest.
so that our families are able to live and to survive. But Most importantly, what we need to get very clear is eternity. You know, recently I've been studying the Protestant Reformation, of course the 1500s, the 1600s. One of the things that I discovered is back then death was everywhere, the Black Plague, for example, and children died. people were surrounded with death, and therefore they were always thinking about eternity.
Well, we live in a different age, don't we? and so we seldom think about eternity. But it's so important for us to recognize that Stephen is a wonderful example of someone. who was deeply committed to eternity, and that's why he was able to be stoned to death and actually see Jesus en route.
Well, We here at Running to Win are committed to helping all of us face eternity, and at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info for a resource that we have that will help you in your journey of the Christian life. For now, I want you to stay tuned. Yeah.
So what is it like to put God first in your life? The goal of this series of messages, you remember, is to transfer ownership into his hands so that at the end of the day we own nothing. Everything is in his hands, including our future, our entertainment. What we see on the internet The way in which we view our relationships, God is first. What a transformation that really does make.
in our lives. And if God is first, then we really have nothing ultimately to fear because we know that our eternity is secure. Today, I have the delight of preaching on the first martyr, Stephen. I say delight because here's a man who put God first. He was filled with the Holy Spirit.
He was full of boldness. He was brought to the Sanhedrin. The Jewish court. And they were interrogating him, and it says in chapter 6 of the book of Acts. Verse 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. And they could not resist the spirit. and the power with which he spoke. Wow. But we're going to zero in on his death.
Because you remember after he gave his speech, and we don't have time to go through the speech, interesting though it is, I do point out in chapter 7, verse 51, and imagine me saying this to the congregation some Sunday, okay? Just imagine me standing up and saying, you stiff-neck people. With uncircumcised, that is disobedient hearts and ears. You are just like your fathers. You've always resisted the Holy Spirit.
Well, you'd go home and say, I wonder what pastor had for breakfast in the morning.
Well, you can imagine that this did not go over well. In fact, um What's interesting is if you had interviewed the members of the Sanhedrin, they'd have said, our hearts are fine. It is Stephen's heart that is wrong. Nobody likes to have their true hearts revealed. Nobody likes to really be told what is in their hearts, even if it is true.
Well, what we're going to do is to look at the text directly. Because the question that we want to answer today, for someone who for whom God is first, somebody who has. receive Jesus Christ and trust Jesus Christ as Savior. What does it mean for their future, the fact that their future is in God's hands? What can they expect?
Yeah.
The reason I find this passage so interesting is perhaps you've had the experience of being in a hospital when someone has died, a relative, a friend, or maybe you've come into a home where there was a sudden death. The paramedics come and they take the body away, and you feel so empty, so. Alone. But here's the question. If a person is a believer in Jesus Christ, what is it that they are seeing?
Here we have an opportunity to look behind the curtain.
Now, the people who were stoning Stephen couldn't see into heaven to see what he saw. But it's one of the few times in the Bible that we actually have the curtain pulled back and we get a glimpse of what lies on the other side. And what lies on the other side for Stephen, what was there for him, is there for you and for me too when we pass behind that curtain and we arrive on the other side.
So, what is it like for a Christian to die?
Someone whose future is in God's hands. First of all, I want you to notice that they are welcomed by Jesus. It says in verse 54: when they heard this, they were furious. That is the Sanhedrin and the others, and they gnashed their teeth at him. By the way, Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.
And they were full of anger. Maybe I should pause here today and ask you: what is in your heart? What are you filled with? The Spirit? Anger.
or resentment? But notice, first of all, we receive the welcome of Jesus. What a lovely passage. But Stephen, verse 55 of chapter 7, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. There he sees the Shekinah glory.
There he sees that cloud that we read about in the Old Testament where God was localized. God is everywhere, but there's a sense in which he said, I'm going to let you see a little bit of my glory. And that also happened on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus was there and he suddenly was transformed into blazing, dazzling, pure white. And Stephen looks up and he sees the glory of God. And then to the right hand, he sees Jesus standing.
at the right hand. of the Father.
Now in order to understand that significance, we need a little bit of history. In the Old Testament times, no priest was ever allowed to sit down because that would give the impression that his work was over.
So there were no chairs in the temple. There were eight hour shifts and you stood the whole eight hours because no matter how many sacrifices were offered, you were never finished. And God wanted to make that point. It also says now, Especially in the book of Hebrews, that when Jesus finished what He did, He ascended into heaven and He sat down. Don't miss the point, His work was done, it is finished, it was all completed.
Finished. And so he sat down. About ten times in the New Testament, we read that Jesus is seated. At the right hand. of God.
The father. And now think of how remarkable it is. Stephen is being stoned. And as he looks into heaven, he sees the clouds part. He sees the glory of God, and he sees Jesus getting up from his chair and standing at the right hand of God.
Can't you almost hear Jesus saying, Stephen, be faithful, because in a few moments we're going to be together. I'm here for you.
So you leave the hospital room. And your wife, God bless you. You widows and you widowers. Those of you who have lost a child, you leave the hospital room and there's that emptiness and that loneliness, and maybe it's raining outside, and you just think all the world is dreary. I want you to know today that if they are believers in Jesus, they have met Jesus face to face.
And don't misunderstand when I say if they had the opportunity to come back to this world, I most assuredly believe that they would say no, not because they don't love you, but because they're in the presence of Christ who's waiting for them. You know, in ancient times, before people were sedated with heavy medication, they often saw Jesus and actually reported what they saw. I mean, I just want you all to understand that there's a spirit world out there. And what I'm talking about is not theological terms. I'm talking about reality.
Just want you to let that sink into your heart. There's a spirit world out there where those who are departed in Jesus go to be with Him and they see what Stephen saw. And it's glorious. A welcome from Jesus.
Now, of course, let me say that the folks who were listening to what he said were livid. You'll notice he says in verse 56, Stephen is reporting on what he is seeing. Look, he said, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And how the reason that the people became so angry when Stephen said this is because when Jesus was before Pilate in the 26th chapter of Matthew, he said these words: From now on you shall see the Son of Man at the right hand of power coming in the crown. Clouds of glory.
Stephen was, in effect, verifying the very words of Jesus that these Sanhedrin people had heard, and they were. Angry. At this, verse 57, they covered their ears so that they wouldn't have to listen to this kind of blasphemy. And yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. What happens when God is first and we've trusted His Son, Jesus?
And our eternity is in His hands. Number one, we are welcomed by Jesus. Secondly, we're crowned by Jesus. We're crowned by Jesus. We share the victory of Jesus.
You know in Greek the word Stephan is Stephanos and it means crown. Stephen was crowned because the Bible says, Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. In fact, in the Bible, there are a number of different crowns. It's not just medallions on our head, it has to do with spheres of responsibility in the kingdom. But these crowns are given.
For example, there is such a thing as the crown of rejoicing. Paul says, Who is? My crown of rejoicing. He said, Isn't it you at the appearing of Jesus? Who is our crown of rejoicing?
Isn't it? People who are in heaven because we had a part in their salvation? And then there's the crown of glory. Listen up, elders of Moody Church and pastoral staff. The Bible says that if we are faithful as undershepherds, we will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
And I don't have time to mention the others, although I'll simply mention them and not comment. The crown of glory. There's the crown of righteousness given to those who are faithful and look for Jesus Christ appearing. There's also the martyr's crown that we spoke about here. Regarding those who are faithful unto death, and a crown is given to those who endure temptation, and it's the same crown as those who are martyred for the faith.
There's some of you who are struggling with temptation. It may be sexual temptation. And the struggle is so fierce. And the Bible says in James: if you overcome that temptation, you will receive a special crown of life. Bottom line.
It says regarding the saints, they shall reign with him forever and ever. We receive the victory of Jesus. We are crowned by Jesus. C.S. Lewis said, death opens a door out of our little dark room into the great real place where the true sun shines.
and where we shall meet. There's a third blessing that is received. The blessing. of the welcome. There's the blessing Of the crowning, the victory.
There's also the blessing of receiving the will of Jesus.
Now, we don't have time to go into this today because you've heard me speak about this so many times: God's providence in our death. Was Stephen simply the victim of some evil people who sprang on him, arrested him, and stoned him, and dragged him out of the city, killed him, threw his body away? Although the body was given to the Christians, we learn later. Is that really the way you read history? Stephen belonged to Jesus.
And he died within God's providential will. As we shall see in a moment, some good came out of his death. And sometimes God takes people who are older, sometimes He takes people who are younger. I'm reminded of Jim Elliott, who died as a martyr. As a young man, he said, God is peopling heaven.
Why should he limit himself to old people?
Now, the Bible says, unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. But if it dies, it bears fruit. I want you to notice very briefly two effects. of Stephen's death. For a man by the name of Saul, Stephen's death meant salvation.
Notice what the text says: that they witnesses, I'm in verse 58.
Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, this young, brilliant, Rabbi. Saul. And the reason that they laid their garments there is because they knew that he could be trusted. They took off the clothes. You know, it's hard to throw stones when you have a thick robe on.
And they gave it to Saul. Saul, as a result of all of that, even became more angry and persecuted the church. Eventually, he's converted and he turns into the Apostle Paul. He's renamed And years later, just before he died, he said in Acts chapter 22, he said, I was such a great sinner because he says, I consented. to the death of Stephen.
You know that Paul could never get over Stephen's death. I think there were two things that haunted him. First of all, Stephen's face, which was like the face of an angel in the midst of all of these people who hated him. That was the first thing. And then the second thing is, look at the way in which Stephen prayed and he said, Lord, I'm now in verse 60.
Lord, do not hold this sin. against them. That's the way a true Christian dies. You say, well, Did God answer this prayer? Yes, God answered the prayer.
For those people whom God intended to save. It was a prayer that was answered in the life of the Apostle Paul and others. It was not a blanket. A blanket prayer that was applied to everyone as if God would not hold them accountable. But there were some people for whom the sin was not laid to their charge.
And Paul was one. There's another response. For Paul, it was salvation. For the nation of Israel, it was condemnation. You remember, Jesus had predicted that not one stone would be left upon another in the temple.
And that's exactly what happened. Because in 70 AD, Titus came and surrounded the city and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in the most horrific way with a sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of lives brutally murdered. And Jesus said that that was happening because you did not know the day of your visitation. Stephen's death. With just another another nail, so to speak.
in this coffin. What are the two lessons we can learn from the death of Stephen? He received the welcome of Jesus. He was crowned by Jesus. And he received the will of Jesus.
God's purpose was accomplished in his life. And we're talking about making God first. A year or so ago, I read the book by Viktor Frankel entitled Man's Search for Meaning. It's a book that all of you should read. It is a remarkable book of life in a concentration camp.
in Nazi Germany. And Frankel, as a psychiatrist, is trying to look at what happened in his own experience to try to figure out why did some people survive and why did some die. And I can't go into all the details, but he has a remarkable statement when he says, He who has a why to live. can put up with any how. In other words, those who had family and friends, they were the ones who survived because there was a reason to survive.
But if a person had no reason to survive, he just gave up and died.
Well, I want to take Frankel's words. and interpret them a little differently. He who has his future secure His eternity secure, can put up with anything. In time. I don't care what you're going through today.
Well, I do. I do care about what you're going through. I care about what I'm going through. But you know, it's all going to end okay if you trust Jesus. The worst that your enemies can do, probably, is to kill you.
And that's not too bad. That's not too bad. Stephen would say, hey man, bring it on. Did I give you some stones? There are more stones over here.
Because the worst thing that can happen is for you to spend. Your eternity on the wrong side. If you know that Christ is your Savior, death is a glorious entrance. That's why the Apostle Paul says: for me to live as Christ, no matter what happens here on earth, I've got Jesus. But he said to die The game.
Because then I've got Christ. This is the death of a Christian. There's a final lesson, and that is that The destiny of all people. The destiny of all people is settled in this life. not the life to come.
Stephen was welcomed into heaven, and Jesus was there to greet him at the right hand of God the Father and the glory of God, which is the very essence and beauty. and purity of God. Jesus was there to welcome him. But you think of all those who die without faith in Jesus, the only qualified Savior, and it is a horrid picture. Yeah.
I told you a few moments ago that Years ago, before sedation and medicine, people often anticipated and could see behind the curtain even before they died, and they'd make remarks when they slipped from this life to the next. I told you about D.L. Moody, and here we have the example of Stephen. But let me give you only two comments made from those who did not trust Christ as Savior. I'm thinking of Voltaire, the great.
the great agnostic who wrote against Christianity. His last words were, I am abandoned by God and man. I shall go to hell. And then Francis Newport, I won't give you the whole quote. I'll recite some of it from memory and then I'll quote the last line.
He says, Oh, he says. If I could suffer for a million years, it would not buy my forgiveness. And he ends by saying, Oh, eternity. Eternity. Oh, the insufferable pangs of Hell.
Wow. So while on the one side we rejoice on the other side of the curtain for those who have trusted Christ, there is another side to the curtain which is horrific. And it all boils down to what you do with Jesus, the only one qualified. to let you into. Heaven.
Everything comes down to this question. What will you do? Yeah.
With Christ Let's pray. Her father. Thank you today for the hope. Of all those who have trusted Jesus. Thank you for Stephen.
Thank you that He models for us what it's like when you're first. With his boldness and with his joy and with his anticipation. We thank you, Father, for that, and we ask that you will invigorate us. the same blessed Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name.
Eight men. Eight men. Uh Um So my friend, I want to emphasize that question, what will you do with Christ? You know, one of the things that you discover is this, that when tragedy happens in your family, When someone is terminally ill or in an accident, nobody is calling an atheist in order to get some comfort. In order to help you with your journey, we're making available for you a resource.
It's actually a book written by Pastor Sweeting, and it is entitled How to Begin the Christian Life. Very quickly, here's some contact info. You can go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Even if you have begun the Christian life a long time ago, you and I need to be able to rehearse and relearn many of the basic lessons.
Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-1. ninety three thirty seven You can write to us at RunningTowin 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Often we say, we bumped into an old friend, or just happened to meet so-and-so. But are these coincidences?
Or does God superintend the chance events of life? When it comes to our conversion to Christ, you bet.
Next time I'm Running to Win, how the Holy Spirit sets the agenda for a child of God and for a child of God yet to be. Tune in as we learn that when God is first, He owns our appointments. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
