Stephen Part 1—The Man With A Face Like An Angel

LIFE AND MINISTRY OF STEPHEN
Acts 6:8-15

– the man with a face like an angel, one of the unsung heroes of the Bible.
He was an incredible man. He was so useful to the early church that through his short ministry, the church was launched globally.

1. His GRACE (v.
We notice the similarities between Jesus’ and Stephen’s ministry, though it is worth nothing that Jesus is the giver of grace and Stephen is the receiver of it. And he was full of grace. Stephen did great things, but they were intended to point to the Greater One who is Christ.
He was the first Christian to fully follow Jesus – in terms of his life, ministry and death.
We cannot help but see Christ in Stephen, to be reminded of how to follow the Lord.

2. His GRIT (v.9-14)
The level of opposition that Stephen had to deal with was so great. He was honest and wise that his haters weren’t able to stand up against him (as he was filled with the Spirit) so they decided to persuade people against him by bringing false claims against him (by TWISTING the things Stephen had said)
It was probably, in general, easier to deceive people with twisted half-truths than completely false things. As an example, how many Christians today are being condemned as hateful or homophobic?
What did Stephen have that enabled him to speak wisely and rise to the oppositions?
A. Knowledge of Scripture
B. Empowerment of the Spirit

3. His GLORY (v. 15)- “like the face of an angel”
It’s fair to say that in the face of Stephen, the glory of God was reflected before his trial, in order to vindicate him.
We understand that we are going to be universally rejected by the world because it is stiff-necked, but it is also our call to have the glory of God reflect through our lives and actions.

The story of Stephen is a reminder of how we should follow Christ.