Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19980222.htm

ACTS: THE LOCAL CHURCH AS GOD'S AGENCY FOR DISCIPLING MEN
Part XXX: God's Establishing ETERNAL Fruits From The Godly One's TRANSIENT Works
(Acts 13:14-51 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. We are told by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:58 always to abound in the Lord's work for our labor is not in vain in the Lord. This command coincides with Jesus' revelation in John 15:16 that He chose the believer to bring forth fruit, fruit that should remain. It also coincides with the hope supplied in 1 John 2:17 that he who does the will of God has a remaining effect that glows on into eternity.
    2. However, in the midst of life's efforts to serve the Lord, the eternal significance of what one does can be seemingly lost due to the great human wear or price that is paid to accomplish God's works.
    3. Well, viewing the ministry of the Apostle Paul in Acts 13:14-51 in terms of the lasting effectiveness of the works of the godly acts to encourage us to keep on plugging as follows:
  2. God's Establishing ETERNAL Fruits From The Godly One's TRANSIENT Works, Acts 13:14ff et al.
    1. When the deacon, Stephen gave his riveting speech before the Jewish Sanhedrin in Acts 7, the immediate response was his being rejected and martyred, Acts 7:54-60.
    2. Though Stephen's effort might seem futile on the surface, we can trace amazing blessings of Stephen's sermon in Church History in keeping with God's promises to preserve the godly one's works as follows:
      1. Witnessing Stephen's sermon before the Sanhedrin was the unsaved Saul, Acts 8:1.
      2. That sermon made an profound impact on Saul, whom we know later as Paul, for when Paul gave his sermon in the Pisidia Antioch synagogue in Acts 13:16-41, it followed the pattern of Stephen's sermon given in Paul's presence before the sanhedrin, G. C. Morgan, Acts, p. 325-326:
        1. Like Stephen, Paul traced the history of the people of Israel, pointing out the working of God through that history, Acts 7:2-50 and Acts 13:16-22.
        2. Like Stephen, Paul revealed the way Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecies but was rejected and crucified by Israel only to rise from the dead in proof of His messianic identity, 7:51-52; 13:23-37.
        3. Like Stephen, Paul charged his listeners to receive Jesus as Savior, Acts 7:51-52 with 13:38-41.
      3. Well, Paul's sermon produced dramatic results as had Stephen's, but with lasting effects as follows:
        1. At first, the whole city was moved to hear Paul preach again, Acts 13:42-44.
        2. However, moved by jealousy, the Jews rejected the Gospel while many of the Gentiles accepted it, and Paul had to move to another city, Iconium due to this rejection, Acts 13:45-48, 50-51.
        3. At Iconium, Paul got mixed reviews and had to move to Lystra and Derbe, Acts 14:1-7.
        4. At these cities, the Jews familiar with Paul's Pisidia Antioch sermon followed and hounded him until he was stoned and left for dead. Paul rose up by God's power and continued his ministry, 14:19-22.
        5. Well, on a later missionary journey, while circling back through Derbe and Lystra where he had been stoned, Paul came into contact with Timothy to whom he later wrote the Pastoral Epistles, 16:1-2.
        6. In Paul's ministry to Timothy who later pastored the influential Ephesian congregation, Paul reminded Timothy of his own initial sufferings at Pisidia Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, sufferings which had begun with his Stephen-type sermon and climaxed in his own stoning similar to Stephen's. In reminding Timothy of these sufferings that Timothy, who was from that area would have had full knowledge, Paul urged Timothy to keep plugging in the pastorate as he had exampled for Timothy at these cities in how to continue in ministry when the going gets tough, 2 Tim. 3:10-4:2.
        7. This 2 Timothy section, built on Paul's testimony of events at Pisidia Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, which events began with his copying of Stephen's martyrdom sermon, still deeply affect pastor's to this day who minister to their congregations out of the advice of 2 Timothy.
        8. Thus, Stephen's dying sermon has a long string of cause-effect blessings on congregations by way of its encouragement and insight to struggling ministers, including our own, and that through Paul and Timothy and the 2 Timothy Epistle through the history of the Church!
Lesson: Though HUMANLY speaking, Stephen's sermon was an apparent exercise in futility, from the ETERNAL perspective, GOD made it a massive influence through Paul and His ministry even to us.

Application: Always abound in the work of the Lord forasmuch as we know our labors are not in vain!