I have a startling message to bring before
you today, friends, and it is startling because
it goes against popular preaching.
Popular preaching has a topical message of self
-empowerment on your way to heaven.
But when I read my Bible and the
Book of Acts, I see men of God
preaching the Word of God in direct antithesis
to our brand of popular preaching today.
My text can be found in the Book
of Acts in chapter 7.
You can turn in your Bibles there now,
friends.
We will be in verses 51 and following.
The title of my message today is A
Ministry of Self-Preservation.
The backdrop of our story today, friends, stands
out like a brilliant diamond against black velvet.
Stephen is described in Acts 6, 8.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did
great wonders and miracles among the people.
This stirs the Jewish religious leaders, gets them
angry at him, and they arrest him under
false pretenses.
In chapter 7, we see Stephen's defense before
the Sanhedrin.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn if a
few Baptist preachers weren't part of that council
as well.
Anyhow, Stephen then preaches one of the longest
sermons found in Scripture, and it's jam-packed
with excitement as he is loaded for bear,
and he slowly builds momentum in his message
with the history of the Jews, with the
call of Abraham, and then he talks about
Joseph and Jacob and Moses and the history
of Moses and the deliverance of Israel out
of Egypt by way of the Red Sea.
And then he talks about the golden calf
and reminds us hearers of the idolatry of
Israel and their stubbornness of heart.
And by the time we get to our
text today in verses 51 and following, he
then points both barrels at them and peppers
his crowd with the unvarnished truth of God
spoken with the authority of God, and it's
too much for them to handle, so they
go into a devilish rage.
Graham Scroggie had this to say of Stephen,
Stephen's day of ministry had scarcely begun when
it was violently ended, but the greatness of
one's life must not be looked for in
length of days.
Stephen means crown, and early did he receive
his.
Well, let me read us this striking passage
of Scripture, friends, picking up in verse 51
where Stephen rebukes the unbelief of the Jews.
Here now is the word of God, and
may his spirit bless the reading of his
holy word.
Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost,
as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted?
And they have slain them which showed before
of the common of the just one, of
whom ye have been now the betrayers and
murderers.
Let me pause here, friends, to say, notice
how this preacher in our story doesn't hesitate
to rebuke sin in a sermon.
He then calls them out for their lawlessness
and despising the law of God, who have
received the law by the disposition of angels,
and have not kept it.
When they heard these things, they were cut
to the heart, and they gnashed on them
with their teeth.
I believe any preacher of the cross will
face bitter opposition and persecution.
When I read about George Whitefield, they peppered
his preaching with rotten eggs and threw pieces
of dead cats at him.
Charles Wesley said of his brother John that
he was dragged through a village by an
angry mob by his hair, and it was
by God's grace and his brother's shortness that
heavy stones missed his head.
John the Baptist put his finger on the
sin of Herod, and it cost him his
head.
But we don't preach like that today, because
we are too much into self-preservation.
Hence the title of my message today, friends.
Well, Stephen kept his eyes on Jesus the
whole time he was preaching, and was seeing
verses 55 and 56.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looking up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God, and said, Behold, I
see the heavens opened, and the Son of
Man standing on the right hand of God.
Let me pause here, friends, to say, Jesus
was standing because he had to get up
to go receive him into heaven.
For we see in verses 57 and 58
the results of his sermon.
Then they cried out with a loud voice,
and stopped their ears, and ran upon him
with one accord, and cast him out of
the city, and stoned him.
And the witnesses laid down their clothes at
a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
We will pick up the Apostle Paul at
another time, friends, and see how God turned
his life right side up.
But for now, I want us to see
several aspects from our message today, regarding my
subject of a ministry of self-preservation.
I guess somewhere down the line, pastors got
used to a settled ministry that developed into
something that was never meant to.
We got used to our 401ks and financial
security being over a big church.
I've known pastors who, their churches, put them
in million-dollar homes, and gave them country
club membership, and paid to have their kids
go to the best schools.
Now, before I go further, I must admit
that most pastors don't have it that good.
Most are underpaid and overworked individuals because they
have to keep two jobs just to pay
the rent, as most preachers are bivocational, at
least among Baptists, that's the case.
Now, that still doesn't excuse any of us
from not preaching the unvarnished truths of the
gospel, but many today still are hesitant to
do so because of a ministry of self
-preservation.
I will describe this in the negative by
listing what we refuse to preach.
A ministry of self-preservation will, number one,
not rebuke sin.
Number two, a ministry of self-preservation will
not warn of a future judgment that awaits
all mankind where a day reckoning will be
made before the judge of all the earth.
Number three, a ministry of self-preservation will
not speak of the terrors of damnation in
a burning hell that rages for all eternity
for all of those who die outside of
Christ's blood.
Number four, a ministry of self-preservation will
not warn man of their duty of repentance
and inform them that unless they repent they
will bust hell wide open when to die.
When I first moved to Florida, I visited
the head of my denomination in regard to
missions and let him know of my availability
to preach in the churches in the area
that needed pulpit supply or wanted to have
revival.
He's never taken me up on it, and
he doesn't even return my calls because most
nice church people don't like to hear disturbing
messages.
It may bring out the malice in some
of them, and we couldn't have that.
The state of the church today as it
stands mainly is in a ministry of self
-preservation, and it reminds me of a story
that Sam Jones always told.
If you're not familiar with Sam Jones, friends,
let me give you a brief on him.
I have walked through his stately home in
Cordersville, Georgia, which was built for him by
the citizens of Nashville for turning that city
upside down in revival under his mighty preaching
against sin where at least ten thousand souls
were saved.
One of the biggest sinners there was a
riverboat captain who was all over the liquor
trade on the steam ships in that area.
His name was Ryman, and he was converted
under Sam Jones's preaching, and after he had
his employees pour out all the booze he
kept on his fleets of ships into the
river, he built an auditorium to hold Sam
Jones's preaching.
It's been used in modern times as the
Ryman Auditorium for the Grand Old Opry.
It was said of Sam Jones that some
who resisted his ministry ended up dying through
sudden death.
Sam Jones always faced opposition in the towns
where he preached.
When I was walking through his home in
Cordersville, Georgia, I saw a placard used to
advertise his preaching in a certain city, and
someone had scrawled over his face the words
Hang Him.
You can go see it there today, friends,
if you don't believe me.
It's in one of the hallways.
He was hotly persecuted as a preacher, and
one day while he was at the train
station, a man beat him about the face
with his cane when he found out it
was Sam Jones.
I reckon most of us would rather avoid
such unpleasantness so we don't necessarily not preach
the gospel, but it is in what we
refuse to preach wherein lies the problem.
If we don't preach against sin by rebuking
it, how can the Holy Spirit bring conviction
to our hearers for sin?
If we fail to warn men and women
and boys and girls about a future judgment
and a burning hell, then we shouldn't be
surprised if a good portion of our congregations
end up going there.
If we omit the necessity of repentance and
salvation and preach only a only-believed gospel,
then we shouldn't be surprised either when the
members of our churches who remained unconverted because
they never exercised repentance toward God for forgiveness
of sin then go on to die in
their sins beyond the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus.
This is a serious matter, friends, because many
today have traded a penetrating ministry for one
that is more acceptable.
It's our self-preservation that stands in our
way, that stands in the way of our
people hearing what they need to hear to
save their souls, and our self-preservation stands
in the way of what God wants to
do among us but cannot because we have
blocked him.
I believe Jesus couldn't do much in some
villages and towns because of their unbelief.
I believe that's scriptural, but let me tell
you that story, friends, about Sam Jones and
then I will let you go, but it
sums up our subject today perfectly about a
ministry of self-preservation, and here are his
words.
I knew a pastor who, upon taking charge
of his church, was met by a delegation
of the deacons previous to delivering his inaugural
sermon.
They said, Now, brother, you mustn't preach about
fashion because our fashionable members will be out
to hear you.
You mustn't preach about dram drinking or liquor
selling because several of our members who are
liquor sellers will be out to hear you.
You mustn't preach about covetousness because several of
our millionaire members will be out to hear
you.
Oh, well, what can I preach about, he
asked in great perplexity, about the Mormons, replied
the good deacons.
Give them blazes.
There won't be a Mormon to hear you.