6.11.10 "And With That He Died"

"And With That He Died"

I Kings 8:1-66
Acts 7:51- 8:13
Psalm 129:1-8
Proverbs 17:1

"And with that, he died." Those are the last words of Acts 7 (TLB). The words are referring to a man called Stephen. I don't know if you've ever thought much about Stephen, but I believe he is one of the greatest heros of the Christian faith. What captures my attention is how his life only took up a couple pages in the bible. That was his "blip" on the "radar screen" of life. The reality is that we all only have a "blip".

What about my blip? What about yours? I want to challenge you to take a look at today, June 11, 2010 as if it's your last day. I don't want us to look at this in a depressing way, but I want to encourage you to look at it from an eternal perspective. What if today was the summation of your "blip?" "And with that he died." These same words will be said of you. What is the contextual application for your life? What is it for mine?

I think the words spoken of me may include stories of lives touched and paths crossed, a life full of good friends and stories of God's provision, of laughter and even jokes of my messy desk. At some point I'm sure my love for the Vikings would arouse a chortle or two... At first glance, i'm not in a bad state. Oh, there may be some "he never wrote that musical he talked about, he never got to see some of his plans take hold..." but in human terms, not a horrible score card. A nice life. "and with that he died."

There is one thing about Stephen that needs to be my highest goal, my biggest dream, my passion, my desire, my hunger. Acts 7:55 says "but Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit..." back in Acts 7:8, it says, "Stephen, the man so full of faith and the Holy Spirit's power..." It's like it's his last name! "which stephen you talking about?" "the one full of the Holy Spirit." "oh yeah, him."

Will that be said of me? Why not? THIS SHOULD BE THE GOAL OF THE BALANCED CHRISTIAN LIFE! We can have all of the dreams and goals in the world, but if only our highest pursuit was to be "full of faith and the Holy Spirit's power". Can you imagine how life would be?

There are a few times in scripture where men's faces glowed. Moses was because he was talking with God as a man talks to another man. Stephen as insults and lies were being hurled at him. I can tell you with certainty that his also came from being in the presence of God. It was when no one was around. He knew who God was. There were no circumstances of man that could quench his passion for the presence of God.

What is the "that" in "and with that he died."? For Stephen it referred to "Lord, do not hold their sin against them." It plays in my mind like the climax of a movie in slow motion: The Jewish leaders rising in rage... "But Stephen full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God...and he said 'look...' then they mobbed him putting their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, and dragged him out of the city to stone him... and as the murderous stones came hurtling at him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' and he fell to his knees SHOUTING, 'LORD DON'T CHARGE THEM WITH THIS SIN!' and with THAT, he died."

We can't forget the foreshadowing that comes at the stoning of Stephen. "The official witnesses - the executioners - took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul". (Acts. 7:58) This man, who would probably never forget the stoning of Stephen, would come to write the majority of the new testament. Sometimes we look at our 'blip' as if it is about us. Sometimes, like Stephen, our life is the "seed" for what is to come.

May my story be:

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceasless praise
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee

Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee
take my silver and my gold; not a mite would i withhold
Take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose

Take my will and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne
Take my love, my Lord I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be ever, only all for Thee.

"...and with THAT he died."




Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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