8th Jun 26 | 14:45
Studies by Book
02 Acts 07 54-60 STEPHEN SLEPT IN THE LORD 25 Acts 07 60 Put the lessons to practise
📖 Acts 07:54-60
25 – 05Dec2023 – *Put the lessons to practise* - _Acts 07:54-60_ - STEPHEN SLEPT IN THE LORD - Bible reading: _James 01:22-25_
_Acts 7:60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep._
_...when he had said this, he fell asleep…_
Stephen slept in Jesus. What a glorious end to the earthly life of Stephen. Stephen had completed his God given mission for his time on the earth. His mission for us was to be the demonstrative model of _Acts 1:8_. He has therefore left for the church on what it means to be a witness for Jesus.
I have said earlier. God has His mission for each of us for our life time here on earth. We must be driven to know and complete our God given mission. When we meet the Lord, each of us will have to give an account if we have completed His task for us while we are here on the earth.
God has thoughts and plans concerning each of us and all of this are written in His book. _Psalms 139:16-17 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And *in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. (17) How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!*_
On the day when we stand before the Lord, all the books will be opened. _Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; *Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened*._ / _Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and *books were opened*. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And *the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books*._
It is God’s good pleasure to reveal to us His purposes. _Ephesians 1:9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,_ We must first lay aside what we are pursuing as our goals in life and come before Him for Him to reveal His purposes. If we hold on to our plans and also seek to know His purposes, we will never know His plans though He longs to reveal them to us.
_Acts 13:36 "For David, *after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep*, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;_ Just like David, Stephen and many others, each of us must complete God’s purposes for us for our generation or our time here on earth.
Mortality was now putting on immortality and Stephen was experiencing this final victory over death. _I Corinthians 15:51-54 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and *the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (54) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY."*_ This is the glorious victory that awaits every one of us, who sleeps in Jesus.
At the Lord’s return, those who have slept in Jesus will rise first and then the rest who remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. We will then always be together with Lord. _I Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first._
Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection. He has risen and He revealed Himself in His glorious new body. _I Corinthians 15:20-23 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (23) But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming._
Stephen was now putting on His new habitation. He was following Christ in the resurrection, with a new body which conforms to the resurrected body of Jesus. _II Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens._
Friends, as Stephen was moving on to His eternal habitation, let us also desire to finish well, our journey here on earth. We must be excited and be with eager anticipation to be clothed with our new habitation in which we will spend eternity with others in the presence of the Lord.
```As we conclude our study on the life of Stephen, we can look back with satisfaction that the Lord has taught us several lessons. May we, in His enablement, put these lessons to practise. Praise be to the Lord.```
Community Feedback
Reviews for 02 Acts 07 54-60 STEPHEN SLEPT IN THE LORD 25 Acts 07 60 Put the lessons to practise
☆☆☆☆☆
0 reviews
Leave a Review
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.