Our glorious Journey Destination (Acts 7:54-60)

[Stephan Choe]

March 18, 2023

Key verses 55-56:    "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, behold, I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

When we take a long-distance trip, we have a destination.

Our life is really a journey.

Let me ask you a question:

What is our literal destination?

Happy life?

Salvation from sin?

Or glorifying God?

I will explain our literal destination today based on the sermon text.

Forty-five years ago, last Sunday before I was sent out to my home church, I preached on Stephen as my farewell sermon because I was excited about Stephen being fully filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then Peter Suh, the church leader in Daejeon, suggested that I change my first name to Stephan for the Germany mission.

But I loved my Korean name and did not want to change my name. Besides, I was a little afraid of martyrdom.

Arrived in Germany, I introduced myself to German students, "My name is Myeong-Hwan." Then they could neither hold my name in their heads nor pronounce it. So I repented of my narrow-mindedness and introduced myself as Stephan. Then they could immediately shout, "Hello, Stephan!"

1. The warning of eternal damnation.

Stephen truly loved people. That is why he warned them of damnation and invited them to the glorious Kingdom of Heaven.

But people did not accept the Good News, but wanted to kill him.

The false witnesses left their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul and threw the first stones at him (7:58).

From that day on, a great persecution began against the Christians.

Saul proceeded "furiously" against the Christians. He carried off men and women and threw them into prison.

2. Christ opened the kingdom of heaven.

Then our Lord opened His kingdom of heaven to Stephen and filled him with His Spirit.

Stephen saw Jesus and was thrilled with His glory.

He could not keep this reality to himself.

He cried out loudly:

"Behold, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" (7,56).

In Revelation 14:14, Apostle John testified to the heavenly appearance of Christ:

"And I looked, and behold, a white cloud.

And upon the cloud sat one like unto the Son of man,

having a golden crown upon his head, and in his hand a sharp sickle."

Christ opened His kingdom of heaven to Stephen and showed him His glory.

Stephen saw that the resurrected Jesus was standing at the right hand of God!

And Christ warmly welcomed him into his kingdom.

When Christ opened His kingdom of heaven, Stephen saw the literal kingdom of heaven and in it Jesus.

And he said:

"Behold, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" (56).

The opening of the kingdom of heaven is not only for Stephen, but also for us who believe in Jesus Christ.

Whether we die now or later, the Lord will open wide his kingdom of heaven to us and welcome us warmly. That is why Paul says to us, "Be joyful in hope!" (Romans 12:12).

We are all to maintain the hope of Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven, because Jesus Christ in Heaven is our destination.

3. Victory with forgiving love.

When the stones hit Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

And he prayed, "Lord, do not impute this sin to them!"

Stephen was full of the Spirit of Christ. He was full of hope and full of grace.

That is why he forgave his murderers and prayed for them.

With what can we be victorious over hatred?

With the grace of Christ!

Stephen accepted the grace of Christ and was victorious over hatred, death, and injustice.

When we die biologically, we will see Christ standing at the right hand of God. Christ paid our debt through his death, rose from the dead, and is now in heaven. And he welcomes us warmly.

Apostle John portrayed our reunion with Jesus this way:

"Then I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God among men!' He will dwell in their midst, and they will be his people; and he, God, will be with them." (Revelation 21:3)

Jesus hat all unsere Schuld durch sein Blut am Kreuz getilgt. Wir werden eines Tages von Jesus in sein Himmelreich herzlich aufgenommen.

"And heavenly hosts give praise, honor, and thanks to Him who lives forever and ever" (Rev. 4:9-11).

And "He will wipe away all tears from our eyes: Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor lamentation, nor travail. For what was before has passed away."(Rev. 21:4).

Although Stephen was stoned by hate-filled people, he had great joy in Jesus Christ and Kingdom of Heaven. That is why his face looked like an angel. He was also full of mercy towards his murderers and cried out loudly:

"Lord, do not punish them for this guilt!" (60).

With this word, he was embraced by Christ.

Although his body rested in the grave until Christ's return, his soul immediately entered into the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The first Christians were often harshly persecuted by the world. How could they overcome this persecution?

They had a living resurrection faith, like Stephen.

When we visit Rome, we should definitely visit catacombs.

In the persecution period, catacombs were used both as tombs and as places of worship . On the walls of the catacombs, we can often see writings and pictures depicting their resurrection hope.

We are to have a living faith in the resurrection. We are not to forget that the risen Christ is our destination.

Through this, we can overcome all fear, worry, and laziness and live and move forward joyfully and hopefully.

Stephen was full of faith and Holy Spirit. He testified to the glorious Christ and Kingdom of Heaven with credibility. His testimony also helped Saul so that he was changed to Paul a little later.

Let us pray for God to begin revival with us.

For this we should not only look at visible things of the world, but also at risen, glorious Jesus in heaven. We should perceive that this Jesus is our destination.

We should travel joyfully as holy pilgrims and speak everywhere about our destination.

On the cross, Jesus had said:

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

In imitation of the Lord, Stephen prayed as he was dying:

"Lord, do not count this sin against them!"

Stephen was free from bitterness toward his murderers. He could pray like this because he had accepted the grace of Jesus.

God answered this prayer and changed the persecutor Saul to the apostle Paul.

Jesus paid all our debts through his blood on the cross. We will one day be warmly welcomed by Jesus into His Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus, our bodily hour of death is not the end of our life, but the glorious hour of Christ's reception into his heavenly kingdom.

I will tell you about the last moment of my wife Esther.

Esther had stomach cancer and was approaching her last hour on earth.

In great pain, she asked God several times, "Why do I have to go through this pain?"

She said this because she was in great pain. She then cried out about three times, "Papa, Papa, Papa!"

Calling God Papa is Esther's language.

After that, she said three times, "Forgive me my sins!".

After Esther said these words, she made a wonderfully peaceful face and soon fell asleep.

These were Esther's last words that I could hear, since I was always with her.

After this sleep, she went to God 3 days later.

4. We go to Jesus Christ in heaven.

The scene of Stephen's death shows us what our entrance into the glorious Kingdom of Heaven will be like.

Saul at first considered this scene did not apply to him. But he could not forget it. So it had an unforgettable effect on him.

Saul continued to persecute Christians for a while. But he himself finally met the glorious Jesus in person.

This struck Saul to the heart. And he repented and was filled with joy about Jesus and his kingdom. He spoke about his joy everywhere. 

Conclusion

Let us always keep our destination in mind and go joyfully to the Lord Jesus Christ.