A Life Well-Lived | Finishing Strong

1:37 Today, in a message called A Life Well Lived, Pastor Greg helps us consider the story of a young man in Acts chapter 7 that set a strong example for other believers to follow. It was an inspiring life right up to the very end. The day, the day when life begins.

2:00 A young man named Stephen was a well-respected man. He was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. And he had this great wisdom. And though he was young, he was so wise. But here's another thing that will come out of this story. Stephen died at a very young age. In fact, he was the first martyr of the early church. The greatest tragedy is not a life that is cut short, if we want to use that verbiage. The greatest tragedy is a life that is wasted. Jim Elliott was a martyr, along with Nate Saint and others, who went to take the gospel to a tribe known as the Alcas. And they were killed by this tribe. And in fact, Jim's wife, Elizabeth, went back and led the very man that killed her husband to Christ.

2:54 So it was a story of redemption ultimately. But Jim was a very young man when he died. He was only 28 years old. And he had a little journal. And in his journal he wrote these words and he found this later. Quote, he is no fool to give up what he cannot give to gain that which he cannot lose, end quote. So Stephen, he looked for opportunities and he sees them. So now he's brought before the Sanhedrin. Now, if Stephen had played his cards right, he could have gone home for dinner. But he thought, no, I want to reach these people with the gospel. And I wonder, and I can't guarantee this, of course, but I wonder if he even zeroed in on one of those men in the Sanhedrin. Clearly the leader, a young man named Saul. And he thought, what if God reached that guy? What if he became a follower of Jesus?

3:47 Can you imagine what the Lord could do through a man like that? We don't know if that was the case, but we know Saul was there. So now Stephen gives this amazing overview of the history of the Jewish people. And there's so much interesting detail in it. And then he brings it to Jesus and reminds him that they betrayed Christ. They crucified Christ. Well, this didn't go over real well. We pick the story up in Acts chapter seven, verse 54. Why don't you look at that with me?

4:21 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation and they shook their fists at him in rage. You know a message is not going over well when people do that. When they shake their fists at you. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand and he told them, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the place of honor at God's right hand. And then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting and they rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And his accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. He fell to his knees shouting, Lord, don't charge him with this sin.

5:17 And with that, he fell asleep. Wow, what a story. God gave Stephen the grace he needed when he needed it. You say, wow, if I were in this situation, I wouldn't have reacted as Stephen did. I don't know that that's true. God will give you what you need when you need it. Not before, never after. because I can think of people I've seen that are suffering and I think, man, I would never be like that. I wouldn't have that kind of faith. Why do you say that? The Bible says he's a very present help in times of trouble. So God will give you what you need when that moment comes. And that's exactly what he did for Stephen. Hebrews 4, 16 says, God will give us grace to help in time of need. And so God gave him that grace. and what does Stephen see? Verse 56.

6:09 I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the place of honor at God's right hand. Isn't that interesting? What keeps Stephen going? He sees Jesus. What will keep you going? You need to see Jesus. You need to get your eyes off of your circumstances, off of your problems, and put your eyes on God himself. Yeah. In Hebrews 12, the author says, lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily beset you and look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. That's what will get you through the troubles you might be facing even now. But here's what is really unique. As Jesus is standing, have you ever noticed that every other time we read of Jesus in glory? he is sitting at the right hand of God.

7:04 But here uniquely, he is standing at the right hand of God. Why was Jesus standing? I don't know, he just got tired of sitting? No. There's a reason, my opinion, is he was standing in honor welcoming the first martyr of the early church. As Stephen was standing for Jesus on earth, Jesus was standing for Stephen in heaven. Because Jesus said, if you will confess me before people, I will confess you before the Father. Jesus is saying, Stephen, I see what's happening here. I love you. You're gonna be with me in just a moment. And Stephen saw that and it just changed everything. And he fell on his knees, verse 59, saying, Lord, don't charge him with this sin. And he fell asleep. Wow.

7:55 Is that not a perfect reflection of what Jesus did on the cross? When Christ was crucified, he gave seven statements, each one significant. The order of them is significant. Statement number one, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Stephen says effectively the same thing. Lord, don't charge them with this sin. And then we read, he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. This means that he knew he was passing in to glory. And it's a reminder that there's no delay from the time we leave this world and go to the next one. When you close your eyes on earth, you open them in heaven. When you take your last breath on earth, you take your next breath in heaven. When a believer dies, they go straight to heaven.

8:50 This is what the Bible teaches. Second Corinthians 5.8 says we're fully confident We'd rather be away from these bodies and then we'll be at home with the Lord. Coming back to the cross, remember that thief that was crucified next to Christ. And he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. John Bunyan, the writer, said, and I quote, death is but a passage out of a prison into a palace, end quote. When death strikes the Christian, they fall into heaven. God allowed Stephen's life to be taken because he had fulfilled his task. He had fulfilled his calling in his generation. Now here's the thing. None of us has a guarantee we will live a long life. Coming back to Jim Elliot.

9:46 Another entry in his journal went as follows. and I quote, I seek not a long life, but a full one like you, Lord Jesus, end quote. That's what we want. We want a full life. God determines the length of our life. We don't. Oh, we think we do. Oh, yes, but I'm eating all the proper food, you know, and then there's some random dude who lives on hot dogs and makes it past 100. You spent your life eating tofu and kale. but a full life. A meaningful life. That's what we want. Corrie ten Boom made this statement, quote, a life is not measured by its duration but by its donation. We all want to live long lives. I mean, look, Stephen didn't have a death wish. He wanted to live life.

10:37 No one loves life more than the Christian. Because as Paul said, to live is Christ, to die is gain. We love life. But the Christian does not have to be afraid of death. Doesn't mean we want to die. But what it means is we will die. You wake up in the morning. What if this is my last day on earth? Then it's your last day on earth. So live it well. Live it right. Honor God. And you go straight into glory. But the chances are it's not your last day on earth. You'll probably have many more days on earth. But the point is it's all in God's hands. In a broad sense, life for the Christian never ends at all. Because Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. So, are you living your life well?

11:33 You know, as you get older, you understand that verse that says, we live our lives like a story that's been told. What story is your life telling? And let me say a word to you that are young. It's so important to make the right decisions because in a blink of an eye, you'll be old, like me. But you'll probably look much better than I look. But it's kind of shocking to think about how quickly life goes by. And that's why you want to make the right decisions now. Lay the foundation. Because the evening of your life is determined by the morning of your life or the end from the beginning. Stephen, he had his life right. He was young, but he lived it for God's glory. Ecclesiastes 12.1 says, don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor Him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living.

12:29 So get your goals right and let your passion be for Jesus. You know, I've heard people describe a trip to Israel as seeing the Bible actually come to life. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie. And I've been to Israel many times and I've led a lot of tours. And I have to say that's absolutely true. Listen, when you're walking on the same stones that Jesus himself walked on, That's something that's enriching to your faith. It's not just a travel experience. It actually energizes and enhances your study of the Bible. Think of it this way. It's a vacation with a purpose. And we're going to be taking a tour of Israel, April 6 to 15, 2027. You can find out more at israel.harvest.org. Step right into biblical history. Join Pastor Greg for a tour of the Holy Land, April 6th through 15th, 2027. Get details at israel.harvest.org. Well, we're in the middle of Pastor Greg's series called The Upside Down Life, and we're focusing on the example of Stephen today from Acts chapter 7. Now let me close with just a few quick points. If you're taking notes, number one, for the Christian walking in God's will, death will come at the appointed time.

14:02 Again, for the Christian walking in the will of God, death will come at the appointed time, not a minute before or after. The Bible says there's a time to be born, there's a time to die. So it comes down to this. You are indestructible until God is done with you. So just relax. Don't panic. It's organic. That means nothing. I don't know why I even said that. But you're okay. So don't worry. Jesus says, who of you by worrying can add one moment to your life? Answer, no one. So don't worry about it. It's all in God's hands. Number two. I already made this point, but I'll make it again. The Christian does not have to fear death. Notice verse 59 says, Stephen fell asleep. Actually, this was a violent death. This young man was stoned. And it says he fell asleep. You know, sleep is only used to describe the death of a Christian in the Bible. It's never used to describe the death of a non-Christian. And I think the reason the word sleep is used is it's something, well, it doesn't have to be feared, right? You know, when you get older, sleeping's kind of, well, take a nap. When you're older, happy hour is a nap, right? You don't have to be afraid. Oh, no, I'm going to fall asleep. Oh, no. And it's okay to fall asleep because you'll wake up. And he woke up in the presence of God. Number three, in heaven all of our questions will be answered. Oh, we have so many questions now. So many things we don't understand. Why did God let this happen? I just was with a couple in our church who lost a member of their family, a young man, unexpectedly. And, you know, the questions. I know these questions.

16:00 I ask these same questions. When our son went to be with the Lord 13 years ago, why did this happen? Why him? He was so young. He had his whole life ahead of him. Why, why, why, why, why? It's okay to ask why questions. Even Jesus, hanging on the cross, said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So ask away. Doesn't mean you'll get an answer, but you can ask. But one day you will get an answer. And until that day, we live on promises, not explanation. So don't spend too much time wondering why. Instead go back to who and what. Who as in who shall I turn to? You need to turn to God. What as in what should I do now? You should seek to glorify God. One day your questions will be answered. One day your tears will be dried. One day all of these things will be resolved.

16:54 But until that day we must trust God. Never trade what we do know for what we don't know. There's a lot of things I don't know. You should have met me when I was 21. I was a young pastor and I knew everything. I had a verse for everything. I'd say, you need to do this, you need to do that. Now that I'm 51, see that's even funny now, that's sad. I'm older. You know my grandkids, oh Papa, my birthday's coming. Man, when my birthday is coming, it's like, oh no, another birthday is coming. I don't look forward to birthdays. Is that only true of me? And when you're older, it's like, oh no. All those candles, it's so much work to blow them out. Too many candles. And they're too expensive to have that many too. But all these things are gonna be resolved one day. And all these questions are gonna be answered.

17:49 But until that day, we wanna live for God. There's one other thing I wanna close with. God can bring good out of the worst kind of bad. God can bring good out of the worst kind of bad. Now, Romans 8, 28 is a verse that is so beautiful and powerful. But it's often misunderstood. We all know it, right? You want to take a stab at just saying it together without it on the screen? For we know that all things work together to those who love God and are called to the earth. Isn't that pretty good? Like 12 of you do.

18:27 That's a great verse. We quote it. Now here's where we misunderstand it. We think maybe it means that no matter what bad thing happens to me, God will turn it into something good, right? That's not actually what the verse says. It says, we know that all things work together for good to those that love God. You see, there are things that happen in life that are bad things. They're tragic things. and there'll always be a bad and tragic thing. But despite that tragic thing, God can still do something good. So it doesn't mean I need to say, this bad thing happened, so this good thing will happen. No, maybe it's like this. This bad thing happened. I don't know why this bad thing happened. I wish it had not happened. And one day maybe God will explain it to me. But despite that, I pray that God will bring good in my life as I've come through this tragedy with this house.

19:18 It's a difference. There's a difference. Everything doesn't have a tidy little bow on it. But with Jesus, he'll show me his purposes ultimately. Now, how did this work out in the church? Well, instead of stopping the church, the church exploded in a good way. You see, up to this point, the church is kind of hanging out in Jerusalem. Jesus said, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you Would you be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the innermost parts of the earth? And they're like, yeah, that's cool, but we're gonna hang out in Jerusalem. They're having a little holy huddle. But after they saw the courage of Stephen, after they saw him lay his life down as he did, they went everywhere with the gospel. And there was one man that was reached this day, and his name was Saul of Tarsus.

20:15 And later on, we're gonna look at his amazing conversion story. So incredible. I love this story. And I think that God used Stephen in a significant way to get through to Saul. He planted the seed. So you could say Stephen didn't reach a lot of people, but the one he reached, man, that was one whopper of a convert. Saul of Tarsus, later to become the great apostle Paul. So Stephen's life is short, but it was full. And he was faithful to death, and God gave to him a crown of life. And that's what he promises to all of us as we serve him. So let me close with this thought and then we're gonna pray. If you died today, would you go to heaven? You say, well, I hope so. Well, look, I want more than hope. I wanna know.

21:06 I know I will go to heaven when I die. Why? Because I'm a preacher? No. Because I put my faith in Christ and he's forgiven me of my sins. same way you're gonna get into heaven. As they've said so many times, heaven is not for good people, it's for forgiven people. You need to be forgiven. So if you're not sure if you're forgiven of your sin, if you're not certain that you'll go to heaven when you die, I would like to have a prayer. And I would like to lead you in a prayer where you would ask Christ to come into your life. If you need Jesus in your life, pray this after me right now. Pray these words. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord.

22:06 Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.