In our day, you do not have to look far to find books on hard times and how to handle difficulties. For the most part, you can learn from them. However, I am glad that we have a Bible full of practical examples of how we can deal with these issues of life. This sermon outline takes a look at the man named Stephen. Every time I read about him I get stirred! I hope this outline helps you as well!Title: “How To Handle Hard Times!”
Text: Acts 6:8-15; Acts 7:54-60
(Acts 6:8-15) “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” (KJV)
(Acts 7:54-60) “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (KJV)
Introduction:
• Between our text verses lay the sermon that Stephen, the deacon preached to his inquirers!
• We find a few firsts in these two chapters! A “First Deacon”, and a “First Martyr”.
• We find that Stephen is faced with great opposition and he did not adopt situation ethics to escape it!
• He eventually died for his faith.
• We may not have this kind of opposition now, but one day we will!
• We must understand that any small persecution, now, can quickly lead to great personal harm.
• We do not know when we may run up on hard times so we need to begin to practice some “Stephen Principles” in order to deal with them.
Proposition: There are five principles that we need to look at so we can see how we can handle hard times!
I. We Need To Be Full!
(Acts 7:55) “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” (KJV)
A. Full of what?
a. Holy Ghost (Acts 7:55)
b. Which produced faith, power,(Acts 6:8) and wisdom (Acts 6:10)!
B. Instead of being full of self, we need to be full of Bible, Prayer, and Fellowship with God!
(Ephesians 5:18) “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” (KJV)
II. We Need To Be Watching!
(Acts 7:55) “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” (KJV)
A. Stephen was not looking in the wrong place during his hard times!
B. He was watching for reinforcements! This is what faith will do for you!
III. We Need To Focus!
Acts 7:55) “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” (KJV)
A. Many times we are looking a certain direction, but there is no focus! We become like those that would not watch and be sober minded!
(Mark 14:38) “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
(1Corinthians 16:13) ¶ “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”
(Colossians 4:2) ¶ “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”
(1Thessalonians 5:6) ¶ “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
(2Timothy 4:5) But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
(1Peter 4:7) ¶ “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
B. We should fix our eyes upon Jesus!
(Hebrews 12:2) “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (KJV)
IV. We Need To Tell!
Acts 7:1-53
A. In the face of opposition we need to continue to tell others for there is no argument against this kind of testimony!
B. He preached this sermon and preached it well!
C. This sermon did not go unrewarded!
V. We Need To Influence On Purpose!
(Acts 7:58) “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” (KJV)
A. Often we do not realize who is watching us, so we do not think about it unless it will possibly cause us adverse circumstances. This is very selfish!
B. We must embrace the opposition and realize that there may be a Saul around us!
Conclusion:
• God may want us to be a martyr. We do not go around looking for it, but we should be willing to accept it!
• God will use His people if we let Him!
To The Sinner:
• Be saved!
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The Pursuit of God – A 31 Day Experience |
By A.W. Tozer / Wingspread Publishers
During a train trip from Chicago in the late 1940s, A.W. Tozer began to work on The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night long, the words coming to him as fast as he could put them down. By the next morning, when the train pulled into McAllen, Texas, the rough draft was done.
Although written in such a remarkably short period of time, the depth, clarity and completeness of Tozer’s message has made The Pursuit of God an enduring favorite—about 1.7 million copies in print in 15 languages.
Prepare yourself for a deeply meaningful and enjoyable experience. The complete text of the classic is divided into 31 daily meditations and other quotations enhance this work.
