July 30, 2025 • 28 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book Diamonds in
the Dark. But first, here's the message. When hope turns to.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Sight, take your Bible's Turn to Acts, chapter seven. In fact,
the story that we have before us is included in
both chapter six and seven of the Book of Acts
the word Stephen. The name Stephen means crown, Stephanos crown,
(00:41):
and Stephen wore the crown of the Victor of Christ
himself even in death. Revelations Chapter two, verse ten says,
when we are faithful unto death, we will be given
the crown of life. And so in the story of Stephen,
(01:01):
this amazing man, we see the godly influence that we
can all bring to bear on our world and ultimately
our love for Christ that takes us all the way
into his presence. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, the
first one to give his life to die for faith
(01:23):
in Jesus Christ. Many others would follow, including the apostles
and the fathers of the Church early on and through
the centuries, and to this very day, there are men
and women who are laying down their lives for the Gospel,
who taking up the cross and following Jesus all the way,
even if it means death. Stephen was a godly deacon.
(01:47):
He was not an apostle. He was not a member
of the apostle band the disciples who were with Jesus.
He was not a preacher or a pastor teacher. He
was a godly, devoted deacon, a layperson who served the
Lord and took the assignment that God had given him
(02:10):
and did it well. And then God gave him more
and more opportunities to share the faith. We're told that
Stephen was a man full of the spirit. He was
full of faith, he was full of wisdom. He had
a good reputation. He was a mighty man. But in
saying all of that, Stephen was a very ordinary man.
(02:34):
He was not a spiritual hero at the outset. Instead,
he was, as I said, serving the Lord behind the scenes.
He was ministering with mercy to people who needed his help.
But what set Stephen apart was his courage and his character.
(02:55):
He lived a short life. He was a relatively young
man when he died, stoned to death, but he leaves
a long long legacy. We're still talking about him today,
Acts seven, beginning in verse fifty four. Now, when they
heard these things, they were enraged. What things? Peter or
(03:17):
Stephen rather had preached a powerful and persuasive message regarding Christ.
And so they were enraged when they heard these things,
and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full
of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the
glory of God. Don't glance. Don't gaze at your problems,
(03:38):
glance at your problems, gaze at the Lord. And he
looked up into heaven and he saw the glory of
God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
And he said, behold, I see the heaven's opened, and
the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
But they cried out with a loud voice and their
(04:00):
ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him
out of the city and stoned it. And the witnesses
laid down their garments at the feet of a young
man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he
called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he cried
(04:24):
out with a loud voice, falling to his knees. Lord,
do not hold this sin against them. And when he
had said this, he fell asleep. There are three chapters
in this story, in this message that I want to
mention to you. The first one, in this profile of
(04:45):
courage and faith and faithfulness, is what I'm going to
simply call the chapter on character, because this man was
a man who was filled with integrity, spirit, filled with faith,
filled with wisdom, and this comprised his character. Now, character
(05:08):
is the sum total of the choices that we make
in life. And so when Stephen chose to follow Christ,
he was not a part of the original group the
one hundred and twenty in the first chapter of Acts.
He most likely was someone who came to faith on
the day of Pentecost and was baptized and became a
part of the church. He spoke Greek, and thus his
(05:30):
name is a Greek name, Stephanos or Stephen. And so
he is a part of this family of God now,
and he has chosen because he is a man of
good reputation. Acts chapter six tells us that these deacons,
these godly men, were selected and set apart, and he
was one of these men. And it appears to be
(05:52):
the leader, the servant leader among these deacons. It's interesting
to me that his character shows up on his countenance
in Acts, chapter six and verse fifteen. There's a remarkable
verse of scripture there which tells us as he is speaking,
that his face is shining like an angel. They said,
(06:14):
this man's face is the face of an angel, old
angel face, Stephen, our young angel face, as it were. Now,
I don't know exactly what the face of an angel
looks like, but angels are in the scriptures brilliant and beautiful,
wonderful and glorious. They reflect resplendently the glory of God
(06:38):
because they are in his presence, worshiping him day and night.
So when God sends out his messengers the angels, they
go shining like the Lord himself, reflecting his So they
are radiant, they are beautiful. So when it says Stephen
was shining like an angel, I believe it speaks of
(06:59):
the beauty of holiness in his life. There was something
supernatural about this man. His very presence radiated the Lord,
and there was the character of joy and peace, and
the greatness of his life and the godliness of his spirit.
This is what was shining. Everything that was on the
(07:20):
inside was showing up on the outside. You know, if
you are a follower of Jesus, if you say Christ
is in you, then you should notify your face, right.
You are a reflection of what you say you believe,
and your face. Listen to me, Your face is a
reflection of God's grace in your life. It is a
(07:41):
mirror of the soul. And so your faith should demonstrate
the joy of the Lord and the character of Christ
who is in you. The secret of life is grace,
and that grace shows up on your face. And so
let's just say that Stephen is brilliantly and beautifully shining
(08:06):
for Christ, and his witness was winsome and compelling and inviting,
as should ours be as well. You can lose your health,
you can lose your wealth, you can lose your strength,
you can lose your beauty, you can lose even your mind.
(08:27):
But we must not lose our character. You can keep
your character. Character never depreciates over time. In fact, the
apostle Paul said, the inner person is being renewed every day.
That we are strengthened day after day. So nothing takes
(08:50):
longer in your life to build than your character, resulting
in your reputation. But let me also remind you that
nothing could be destroyed quicker than your character by a
single stroke of sin. So we must always be on
guard to maintain our character and our integrity. And you say,
(09:11):
how do you live like this? How do you develop
this kind of character? He was full of the spirit.
In fact, three times in these passages he we're told
that Stephen was full of the spirit, full of the spirit,
full of the spirit. And to be full of the
spirit means that we live in the fullness and the
freshness of the blessing of God, that we live in
(09:34):
the abundance of Christ, who lives in us. The scripture
commands us in Ephesians five eighteen to be filled with
the Holy Spirit, which means to be controlled by the spirit.
We are to be continually conspicuously controlled by the spirit
of God who lives in us. Christ in us is
(09:56):
the secret to life, living life with care character. It's
the fruit of the spirit, which is recorded in Galatians
five twenty two and twenty three. For the fruit of
the spirit is love and joy, and peace, and patience,
and kindness and goodness and gentleness and self control and faithfulness.
(10:19):
This is the fruit of the spirit which is really
representative of the character of Christ in us. You look
at the fruit of the spirit there love, joy, peace, patience,
and all the rest. That's a portrait of Christ. Christ
in us produces these great virtues, these great qualities, which
represents the character of Jesus who lives in us. So
(10:43):
we're not talking about human behavior modification or just doing
the best we can to live a good life. We're
talking about allowing the Spirit of God to control us
and therefore fulfill us with his love and all the
rest that he gives. There's a contrast here in that
the crowd that heard Stephen preach this message about Christ,
(11:07):
and it was a convicting and compelling message, they were
ultimately filled with rage. They were grinding their teeth and
putting their hands up to their ears to stop the noise.
They were resisting the Holy Spirit. They were in rage.
They were filled with rage and anger. And contrasts that
(11:29):
rather than being obsessed and possessed by anger, Stephen who
is possessed of the spirit, who prays and loves and forgives,
and preaches and stands and all the rest because of
his character.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
when hope turns to sight. If you're walking through a
tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you
need to hear. In this honest and hope filled book,
doctor Graham shows you how God uses grief, loss, and
hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We
(12:09):
want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a
thanks for your gift of ten dollars or more. Call
now to request your copy. Call one eight hundred seven
ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven, or text the
word diamond to five nine seven eight nine. Don't let
(12:29):
stress rob you of peace. It is possible to break
the destructive grip of stress on your life and enjoy
the peace and abundance God desires for you. That's what
doctor Graham helps you do in his booklet Breaking Free
from Stress. We'll send you a digital download of Breaking
Free from Stress when you sign up for email updates
from PowerPoint Today. Just go to PowerPoint dot org slash
(12:51):
stress and sign up today. Now, let's get back to
today's message, when hope turns to site.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
That brings to the next chapter which is Courage, Courage,
the courage of Stephen. He is called upon to bring
a message. He is accused of being one of the
christ followers. And so rather than running and hiding, he
stood and before the Council of Israel, before the religious
(13:20):
leaders who were already angry, he brought a powerful message.
And it's obvious when you read this message, and it
is recorded for us there in the scriptures that he
was saturated with God's word. He stands to speak, and
he courageously stands up and speaks up as his faith
(13:43):
is under attack. And this message is so compelling. In fact,
we're told in the scriptures that they couldn't resist him,
they couldn't debate what he was saying. He boldly proclaimed
the message of the Gospel and announced Jesus as the Messiah.
(14:04):
And so he preached the whole message. And it wasn't
necessarily complimentary all the way. In fact, look what he
said in verse fifty one, You stiff necked people, uncircumcised
in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit
(14:27):
as your fathers did. So do you. Which of the
prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they kill those
who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one. That's Jesus.
They killed John the Baptists. And then watch this whom
you have now betrayed and murdered. You murdered Jesus, You
(14:48):
who received the laws delivered by angels and did not
keep it. What's happening here? He is confronting this religious
crowd with their sin. See the problem with so many
people as their pride, and they don't see their own sin.
They think they're too good to go to hell. But
(15:12):
he looks right at them and says, you have broken
the law that you have been given, and you proved
it by murdering Jesus. When he said, you murdered Jesus.
What's the message? Certainly, the message of the cross is
that God loves you. You can be forgiven of all
your sins. There is not one sin, past, present, or future.
(15:38):
All your sins can be forgiven because of the blood
of Jesus Christ. He died for you. That's God's love
and the cross is a symbol of that love. The
cross is also confrontive of our sins. The cross reminds
(15:59):
us of our sins. The cross is because of our sins,
our sins. Every vile thought, every evil deed, every sinful attitude,
Your sin and mine was nailed to the cross with Jesus.
And so when you look at a cross. This is
why the message of the cross is infuriating to some people.
(16:22):
It is offensive to some because at the cross you
come face to face with your own inability to save yourself.
You see that sin brings death, that sin murdered Jesus.
And so Stephen went all the way with a message,
(16:45):
knowing that it's the bad news that makes the good
news so good that we can have a new life
in Christ. And it is that cross and the resurrection
that is the message of the Christian faith. And you say,
where's the resurrection in this message? Where we see it? Really?
(17:07):
When Stephen is stoned, they're so angry with Stephen. They
drag him outside of town. They take off their coats,
put them at the feet of Salt of Tarsus, and
they begin hurling, pummeling this man, bludgeting him with these
huge stones and rocks. And as they're beating him down,
(17:30):
he's looking up into heaven. And as he had said,
as we read, I see Jesus standing, I see the
glory of Jesus at the right hand of the throne. Standing.
He looked beyond this world, into the unseen world that
(17:54):
is very very real. It's all around us. But by faith,
with the eyes of his heart, he looked into heaven.
And in his suffering, in his dying, he sees Jesus standing.
And when you see Jesus here standing, it is it
(18:16):
is demonstrative of King Jesus, who is standing at the
throne of God. And let me tell you this, dear people,
when you're suffering and when you're dying, when you are
breathing your last there is a supernatural grace to die,
(18:37):
dying grace and God opens the eyes of the believer
to see beyond this life. And though he was brutalized
and beaten and bludgeoned and blooded, it was a violent death,
and certainly it heard, it was painful, it was real,
and people who were left behind we're told that devout
(18:58):
men wept much and buried Stephen. There was pain, there
was suffering, there was heartache, there was lost, but oh,
there was heaven and Jesus at the throne of God.
And you can know that if Jesus is on the
throne of your life, that he is in control of
the universe. He is in control of your situation. And
(19:20):
when you suffer, when you heard, is not out of control.
He is in control. Jesus is standing at the right
hand of the Father in heaven, and not only as king,
King Jesus, and every knee will bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus is Lord, but not only standing is king,
(19:41):
but standing as priest interceding for us. And I like
to think that the scene in heaven, while this terrible
beating is taking place on earth, that the scene is
heaven is so beautiful, and Jesus is standing. And as
Stephen ascends into heaven. Oh, by the way, Stephen knew
(20:05):
where to look. When he was in trouble. He looked up.
He knew where Jesus was. Acts on eleven he had
ascended into heaven. And this same Jesus, who has ascended
into heaven will so come in the same way that
you've seen him go. So Stephen was taught well. He
(20:29):
knew where to look. In his last breast on earth,
he looked up into heaven, and there was Jesus standing.
Now in every other place in the Bible, Jesus is
noted as seated at the right hand of the Father,
signifying symbolizing the authority of God, the right hand of
(20:49):
God in Jesus. But here he's standing. Wonder why I
like to think that Jesus is welcoming his childhome. Come
on on, son, Because Stephen stood for Jesus on earth.
Jesus stood for Stephen in heaven, and Stephen said, Lord,
(21:16):
Jesus received my spirit. He submitted his will to the
will of God, and Jesus welcomed him home. Well done, son,
and now come and enjoy eternity with me. He died
like he lived in Christ, and his hope turned to
(21:40):
sight back on earth. That young man, Saul of Tarsus
was forever changed by what happened that day. Is noted
there that they threw these garments their coats at the
feet of Saul of Tarsus, that he was there. He
was already involved and persecuting Christians and trying to stamp
(22:02):
out the fires of the Gospel and of the Church.
And for a few more months he would continue in
this like a junk yard dog, killing Christians and imprisoning
them wherever you would find them. But something happened in
Saul's life that day, and when he was on his
way on the Damascus road to capture Christians, he met
(22:26):
the living, resurrected Lord, and Jesus said to him, Saul,
why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you, isn't
it to kick against the goads? He was under conviction,
and I believe it started when he saw this godly
deacon die and echoing in his soul that day that
(22:49):
he met Jesus was the testimony of this godly man,
the influence of this man who lived and died in faith,
and Saul of Tarsus was converted and became Paul, the
greatest missionary the world has ever seen. This was, in fact,
the tipping point of the Christian faith, as the Church
(23:09):
now spreads out from Jerusalem under the fires of persecution,
into Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. God
took the death of Stephen and drove out his people
with the message of Christ, the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
the conviction of the Holy Spirit penetrates hearts, and we
will only know in heaven when we get to heaven.
(23:29):
The influence that you shared with people, maybe with your
own children, your own family, your own friends, your own neighbors.
You're going to meet people in heaven who maybe will
grow up to change the world. Stephen didn't have any
converts that day. He died that day. He preached so hard,
(23:51):
not one but boy and Saul of Tarsus. He had
a whopper on the line. And let me tell you
something else. You know, when the Gospel spread out because
of persecution, this was the last message that we know
about really like this delivered in Jerusalem, and so the
gospel goes out, and it was persecution that pushed the
(24:17):
church forward. It is the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
It's the only message to live by and the only
one to die by. And Stephen is the beautiful example
of character and courage and commitment to Christ. And may
(24:38):
God give us that same strength and the same spirit
of life and liberty that we see in him.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
when hope turns to sight, life doesn't always unfold the
way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that
leave us asking where is God in all of this?
In his honest and encouraging book Diamonds in the Dark,
Doctor Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain.
(25:09):
He is present and He is at work. This powerful
resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to
reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you
or someone you love is facing grief, fear, or uncertainty,
this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope
right where you are. And when you give a gift
(25:30):
of ten dollars or more, we'll send you a copy
of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks. Call one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven,
or just text diamond to five nine seven eight nine
and don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org. Pastor
(25:52):
what is your PowerPoint for today?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Unfortunately, many times when Christians are ridicule for their here
in America, they just fold up their tents and go home.
So often people do not stand up and speak up
for faith in Christ. But Stephen is an example of
the strength and the courage and the faith that we
can inspire to live by. He knew the dangers that
(26:17):
were before him, but he stood anyway, and he preached
Jesus and told people of the good news. My prayer
is that you would come to have the same deep
experience with the Gospel as Stephen had known. My prayer
is that a new generation of believers would rise up
and relentlessly share the good news of God's Word, the
(26:39):
message of Jesus, the hope of salvation, because we know
in Christ the only thing that can save our family,
our friends, and the world is the message of Jesus.
We may be mocked, jeered, even seriously persecuted, as some
people are today around the world for the sake of
the Gospel, and we should always pray for persecuted Christians
(27:03):
and the persecuted Church around the world. But we must
never ever give up. May we boldly share to all
that we know the new life that is found through
Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book Diamonds in the Dark as
our thanks. Call one eight hundred seven ninety five four
six two seven. That's one eight hundred seven ninety five
four six two seven. You can also text the word
(27:37):
diamond to five nine seven eight nine and join us
again next time as Doctor Graham brings a message about
the power in the name we proclaim above all others.
That's next time on power Point with Jack Graham. PowerPoint
with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministry s
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book Diamonds in
the Dark. But first, here's the message. When hope turns to.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Sight, take your Bible's Turn to Acts, chapter seven. In fact,
the story that we have before us is included in
both chapter six and seven of the Book of Acts
the word Stephen. The name Stephen means crown, Stephanos crown,
(00:41):
and Stephen wore the crown of the Victor of Christ
himself even in death. Revelations Chapter two, verse ten says,
when we are faithful unto death, we will be given
the crown of life. And so in the story of Stephen,
(01:01):
this amazing man, we see the godly influence that we
can all bring to bear on our world and ultimately
our love for Christ that takes us all the way
into his presence. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, the
first one to give his life to die for faith
(01:23):
in Jesus Christ. Many others would follow, including the apostles
and the fathers of the Church early on and through
the centuries, and to this very day, there are men
and women who are laying down their lives for the Gospel,
who taking up the cross and following Jesus all the way,
even if it means death. Stephen was a godly deacon.
(01:47):
He was not an apostle. He was not a member
of the apostle band the disciples who were with Jesus.
He was not a preacher or a pastor teacher. He
was a godly, devoted deacon, a layperson who served the
Lord and took the assignment that God had given him
(02:10):
and did it well. And then God gave him more
and more opportunities to share the faith. We're told that
Stephen was a man full of the spirit. He was
full of faith, he was full of wisdom. He had
a good reputation. He was a mighty man. But in
saying all of that, Stephen was a very ordinary man.
(02:34):
He was not a spiritual hero at the outset. Instead,
he was, as I said, serving the Lord behind the scenes.
He was ministering with mercy to people who needed his help.
But what set Stephen apart was his courage and his character.
(02:55):
He lived a short life. He was a relatively young
man when he died, stoned to death, but he leaves
a long long legacy. We're still talking about him today,
Acts seven, beginning in verse fifty four. Now, when they
heard these things, they were enraged. What things? Peter or
(03:17):
Stephen rather had preached a powerful and persuasive message regarding Christ.
And so they were enraged when they heard these things,
and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full
of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the
glory of God. Don't glance. Don't gaze at your problems,
(03:38):
glance at your problems, gaze at the Lord. And he
looked up into heaven and he saw the glory of
God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
And he said, behold, I see the heaven's opened, and
the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
But they cried out with a loud voice and their
(04:00):
ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him
out of the city and stoned it. And the witnesses
laid down their garments at the feet of a young
man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he
called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he cried
(04:24):
out with a loud voice, falling to his knees. Lord,
do not hold this sin against them. And when he
had said this, he fell asleep. There are three chapters
in this story, in this message that I want to
mention to you. The first one, in this profile of
(04:45):
courage and faith and faithfulness, is what I'm going to
simply call the chapter on character, because this man was
a man who was filled with integrity, spirit, filled with faith,
filled with wisdom, and this comprised his character. Now, character
(05:08):
is the sum total of the choices that we make
in life. And so when Stephen chose to follow Christ,
he was not a part of the original group the
one hundred and twenty in the first chapter of Acts.
He most likely was someone who came to faith on
the day of Pentecost and was baptized and became a
part of the church. He spoke Greek, and thus his
(05:30):
name is a Greek name, Stephanos or Stephen. And so
he is a part of this family of God now,
and he has chosen because he is a man of
good reputation. Acts chapter six tells us that these deacons,
these godly men, were selected and set apart, and he
was one of these men. And it appears to be
(05:52):
the leader, the servant leader among these deacons. It's interesting
to me that his character shows up on his countenance
in Acts, chapter six and verse fifteen. There's a remarkable
verse of scripture there which tells us as he is speaking,
that his face is shining like an angel. They said,
(06:14):
this man's face is the face of an angel, old
angel face, Stephen, our young angel face, as it were. Now,
I don't know exactly what the face of an angel
looks like, but angels are in the scriptures brilliant and beautiful,
wonderful and glorious. They reflect resplendently the glory of God
(06:38):
because they are in his presence, worshiping him day and night.
So when God sends out his messengers the angels, they
go shining like the Lord himself, reflecting his So they
are radiant, they are beautiful. So when it says Stephen
was shining like an angel, I believe it speaks of
(06:59):
the beauty of holiness in his life. There was something
supernatural about this man. His very presence radiated the Lord,
and there was the character of joy and peace, and
the greatness of his life and the godliness of his spirit.
This is what was shining. Everything that was on the
(07:20):
inside was showing up on the outside. You know, if
you are a follower of Jesus, if you say Christ
is in you, then you should notify your face, right.
You are a reflection of what you say you believe,
and your face. Listen to me, Your face is a
reflection of God's grace in your life. It is a
(07:41):
mirror of the soul. And so your faith should demonstrate
the joy of the Lord and the character of Christ
who is in you. The secret of life is grace,
and that grace shows up on your face. And so
let's just say that Stephen is brilliantly and beautifully shining
(08:06):
for Christ, and his witness was winsome and compelling and inviting,
as should ours be as well. You can lose your health,
you can lose your wealth, you can lose your strength,
you can lose your beauty, you can lose even your mind.
(08:27):
But we must not lose our character. You can keep
your character. Character never depreciates over time. In fact, the
apostle Paul said, the inner person is being renewed every day.
That we are strengthened day after day. So nothing takes
(08:50):
longer in your life to build than your character, resulting
in your reputation. But let me also remind you that
nothing could be destroyed quicker than your character by a
single stroke of sin. So we must always be on
guard to maintain our character and our integrity. And you say,
(09:11):
how do you live like this? How do you develop
this kind of character? He was full of the spirit.
In fact, three times in these passages he we're told
that Stephen was full of the spirit, full of the spirit,
full of the spirit. And to be full of the
spirit means that we live in the fullness and the
freshness of the blessing of God, that we live in
(09:34):
the abundance of Christ, who lives in us. The scripture
commands us in Ephesians five eighteen to be filled with
the Holy Spirit, which means to be controlled by the spirit.
We are to be continually conspicuously controlled by the spirit
of God who lives in us. Christ in us is
(09:56):
the secret to life, living life with care character. It's
the fruit of the spirit, which is recorded in Galatians
five twenty two and twenty three. For the fruit of
the spirit is love and joy, and peace, and patience,
and kindness and goodness and gentleness and self control and faithfulness.
(10:19):
This is the fruit of the spirit which is really
representative of the character of Christ in us. You look
at the fruit of the spirit there love, joy, peace, patience,
and all the rest. That's a portrait of Christ. Christ
in us produces these great virtues, these great qualities, which
represents the character of Jesus who lives in us. So
(10:43):
we're not talking about human behavior modification or just doing
the best we can to live a good life. We're
talking about allowing the Spirit of God to control us
and therefore fulfill us with his love and all the
rest that he gives. There's a contrast here in that
the crowd that heard Stephen preach this message about Christ,
(11:07):
and it was a convicting and compelling message, they were
ultimately filled with rage. They were grinding their teeth and
putting their hands up to their ears to stop the noise.
They were resisting the Holy Spirit. They were in rage.
They were filled with rage and anger. And contrasts that
(11:29):
rather than being obsessed and possessed by anger, Stephen who
is possessed of the spirit, who prays and loves and forgives,
and preaches and stands and all the rest because of
his character.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
when hope turns to sight. If you're walking through a
tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you
need to hear. In this honest and hope filled book,
doctor Graham shows you how God uses grief, loss, and
hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We
(12:09):
want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a
thanks for your gift of ten dollars or more. Call
now to request your copy. Call one eight hundred seven
ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven, or text the
word diamond to five nine seven eight nine. Don't let
(12:29):
stress rob you of peace. It is possible to break
the destructive grip of stress on your life and enjoy
the peace and abundance God desires for you. That's what
doctor Graham helps you do in his booklet Breaking Free
from Stress. We'll send you a digital download of Breaking
Free from Stress when you sign up for email updates
from PowerPoint Today. Just go to PowerPoint dot org slash
(12:51):
stress and sign up today. Now, let's get back to
today's message, when hope turns to site.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
That brings to the next chapter which is Courage, Courage,
the courage of Stephen. He is called upon to bring
a message. He is accused of being one of the
christ followers. And so rather than running and hiding, he
stood and before the Council of Israel, before the religious
(13:20):
leaders who were already angry, he brought a powerful message.
And it's obvious when you read this message, and it
is recorded for us there in the scriptures that he
was saturated with God's word. He stands to speak, and
he courageously stands up and speaks up as his faith
(13:43):
is under attack. And this message is so compelling. In fact,
we're told in the scriptures that they couldn't resist him,
they couldn't debate what he was saying. He boldly proclaimed
the message of the Gospel and announced Jesus as the Messiah.
(14:04):
And so he preached the whole message. And it wasn't
necessarily complimentary all the way. In fact, look what he
said in verse fifty one, You stiff necked people, uncircumcised
in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit
(14:27):
as your fathers did. So do you. Which of the
prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they kill those
who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one. That's Jesus.
They killed John the Baptists. And then watch this whom
you have now betrayed and murdered. You murdered Jesus, You
(14:48):
who received the laws delivered by angels and did not
keep it. What's happening here? He is confronting this religious
crowd with their sin. See the problem with so many
people as their pride, and they don't see their own sin.
They think they're too good to go to hell. But
(15:12):
he looks right at them and says, you have broken
the law that you have been given, and you proved
it by murdering Jesus. When he said, you murdered Jesus.
What's the message? Certainly, the message of the cross is
that God loves you. You can be forgiven of all
your sins. There is not one sin, past, present, or future.
(15:38):
All your sins can be forgiven because of the blood
of Jesus Christ. He died for you. That's God's love
and the cross is a symbol of that love. The
cross is also confrontive of our sins. The cross reminds
(15:59):
us of our sins. The cross is because of our sins,
our sins. Every vile thought, every evil deed, every sinful attitude,
Your sin and mine was nailed to the cross with Jesus.
And so when you look at a cross. This is
why the message of the cross is infuriating to some people.
(16:22):
It is offensive to some because at the cross you
come face to face with your own inability to save yourself.
You see that sin brings death, that sin murdered Jesus.
And so Stephen went all the way with a message,
(16:45):
knowing that it's the bad news that makes the good
news so good that we can have a new life
in Christ. And it is that cross and the resurrection
that is the message of the Christian faith. And you say,
where's the resurrection in this message? Where we see it? Really?
(17:07):
When Stephen is stoned, they're so angry with Stephen. They
drag him outside of town. They take off their coats,
put them at the feet of Salt of Tarsus, and
they begin hurling, pummeling this man, bludgeting him with these
huge stones and rocks. And as they're beating him down,
(17:30):
he's looking up into heaven. And as he had said,
as we read, I see Jesus standing, I see the
glory of Jesus at the right hand of the throne. Standing.
He looked beyond this world, into the unseen world that
(17:54):
is very very real. It's all around us. But by faith,
with the eyes of his heart, he looked into heaven.
And in his suffering, in his dying, he sees Jesus standing.
And when you see Jesus here standing, it is it
(18:16):
is demonstrative of King Jesus, who is standing at the
throne of God. And let me tell you this, dear people,
when you're suffering and when you're dying, when you are
breathing your last there is a supernatural grace to die,
(18:37):
dying grace and God opens the eyes of the believer
to see beyond this life. And though he was brutalized
and beaten and bludgeoned and blooded, it was a violent death,
and certainly it heard, it was painful, it was real,
and people who were left behind we're told that devout
(18:58):
men wept much and buried Stephen. There was pain, there
was suffering, there was heartache, there was lost, but oh,
there was heaven and Jesus at the throne of God.
And you can know that if Jesus is on the
throne of your life, that he is in control of
the universe. He is in control of your situation. And
(19:20):
when you suffer, when you heard, is not out of control.
He is in control. Jesus is standing at the right
hand of the Father in heaven, and not only as king,
King Jesus, and every knee will bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus is Lord, but not only standing is king,
(19:41):
but standing as priest interceding for us. And I like
to think that the scene in heaven, while this terrible
beating is taking place on earth, that the scene is
heaven is so beautiful, and Jesus is standing. And as
Stephen ascends into heaven. Oh, by the way, Stephen knew
(20:05):
where to look. When he was in trouble. He looked up.
He knew where Jesus was. Acts on eleven he had
ascended into heaven. And this same Jesus, who has ascended
into heaven will so come in the same way that
you've seen him go. So Stephen was taught well. He
(20:29):
knew where to look. In his last breast on earth,
he looked up into heaven, and there was Jesus standing.
Now in every other place in the Bible, Jesus is
noted as seated at the right hand of the Father,
signifying symbolizing the authority of God, the right hand of
(20:49):
God in Jesus. But here he's standing. Wonder why I
like to think that Jesus is welcoming his childhome. Come
on on, son, Because Stephen stood for Jesus on earth.
Jesus stood for Stephen in heaven, and Stephen said, Lord,
(21:16):
Jesus received my spirit. He submitted his will to the
will of God, and Jesus welcomed him home. Well done, son,
and now come and enjoy eternity with me. He died
like he lived in Christ, and his hope turned to
(21:40):
sight back on earth. That young man, Saul of Tarsus
was forever changed by what happened that day. Is noted
there that they threw these garments their coats at the
feet of Saul of Tarsus, that he was there. He
was already involved and persecuting Christians and trying to stamp
(22:02):
out the fires of the Gospel and of the Church.
And for a few more months he would continue in
this like a junk yard dog, killing Christians and imprisoning
them wherever you would find them. But something happened in
Saul's life that day, and when he was on his
way on the Damascus road to capture Christians, he met
(22:26):
the living, resurrected Lord, and Jesus said to him, Saul,
why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you, isn't
it to kick against the goads? He was under conviction,
and I believe it started when he saw this godly
deacon die and echoing in his soul that day that
(22:49):
he met Jesus was the testimony of this godly man,
the influence of this man who lived and died in faith,
and Saul of Tarsus was converted and became Paul, the
greatest missionary the world has ever seen. This was, in fact,
the tipping point of the Christian faith, as the Church
(23:09):
now spreads out from Jerusalem under the fires of persecution,
into Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. God
took the death of Stephen and drove out his people
with the message of Christ, the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
the conviction of the Holy Spirit penetrates hearts, and we
will only know in heaven when we get to heaven.
(23:29):
The influence that you shared with people, maybe with your
own children, your own family, your own friends, your own neighbors.
You're going to meet people in heaven who maybe will
grow up to change the world. Stephen didn't have any
converts that day. He died that day. He preached so hard,
(23:51):
not one but boy and Saul of Tarsus. He had
a whopper on the line. And let me tell you
something else. You know, when the Gospel spread out because
of persecution, this was the last message that we know
about really like this delivered in Jerusalem, and so the
gospel goes out, and it was persecution that pushed the
(24:17):
church forward. It is the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
It's the only message to live by and the only
one to die by. And Stephen is the beautiful example
of character and courage and commitment to Christ. And may
(24:38):
God give us that same strength and the same spirit
of life and liberty that we see in him.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
when hope turns to sight, life doesn't always unfold the
way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that
leave us asking where is God in all of this?
In his honest and encouraging book Diamonds in the Dark,
Doctor Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain.
(25:09):
He is present and He is at work. This powerful
resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to
reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you
or someone you love is facing grief, fear, or uncertainty,
this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope
right where you are. And when you give a gift
(25:30):
of ten dollars or more, we'll send you a copy
of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks. Call one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven,
or just text diamond to five nine seven eight nine
and don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org. Pastor
(25:52):
what is your PowerPoint for today?
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Unfortunately, many times when Christians are ridicule for their here
in America, they just fold up their tents and go home.
So often people do not stand up and speak up
for faith in Christ. But Stephen is an example of
the strength and the courage and the faith that we
can inspire to live by. He knew the dangers that
(26:17):
were before him, but he stood anyway, and he preached
Jesus and told people of the good news. My prayer
is that you would come to have the same deep
experience with the Gospel as Stephen had known. My prayer
is that a new generation of believers would rise up
and relentlessly share the good news of God's Word, the
(26:39):
message of Jesus, the hope of salvation, because we know
in Christ the only thing that can save our family,
our friends, and the world is the message of Jesus.
We may be mocked, jeered, even seriously persecuted, as some
people are today around the world for the sake of
the Gospel, and we should always pray for persecuted Christians
(27:03):
and the persecuted Church around the world. But we must
never ever give up. May we boldly share to all
that we know the new life that is found through
Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book Diamonds in the Dark as
our thanks. Call one eight hundred seven ninety five four
six two seven. That's one eight hundred seven ninety five
four six two seven. You can also text the word
(27:37):
diamond to five nine seven eight nine and join us
again next time as Doctor Graham brings a message about
the power in the name we proclaim above all others.
That's next time on power Point with Jack Graham. PowerPoint
with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministry s
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