How to live your best life now, Acts 6:8-15

The most popular message in Christianity today is perhaps best captured in the title of a book by the pastor of the largest protestant church in America, entitled, “Your Best Life Now,” by Joel Osteen.  That book stayed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for 200 weeks.  His sermons are televised to over 7 million viewers in over 200 countries.  His church services in Texas are held in a former sports arena which held 56000 people at it’s dedication.  His net worth is estimated to be 56 million dollars and he lives in a 10.5 million dollar mansion.  So yeah, from the perspective of the world’s view of success, I guess Osteen is living his best life now. 

But of course his message is that you can live your best life now as well.  And just to give you a microcosm of his doctrine, I’ll read you a few quotes from his website.  He teaches things like, “God’s people should be the happiest people on earth. So happy, in fact, that other people notice. Why? Because we not only have a fabulous future, we can enjoy life today!”  Sounds good doesn’t it? I mean, everyone wants to be happy.  He certainly looks happy.  So I guess he is saying that God just wants you to be happy more than anything else. 

He describes that blissful existence in this statement; “Living your best life now means being excited about the life God has given you. It means believing for more good things in the days ahead, while living in the moment and enjoying it to the hilt.”  So live in the moment.  Enjoy it to the hilt.  Enjoy all that life has to offer, because that will produce happiness, and happiness is the goal in life.

Third, he says no matter how bad your circumstances might be now, you need to believe that you can be happy.  Your belief that God wants you to be happy means that you should say, ““Enough is enough. I’m going to start believing God for bigger and better things.”  “Dream bigger dreams. God wants to do more than you can even ask or think. Start living your best life now!”

For example, Osteen says, “God doesn’t want your business to merely make it through the murky economic waters. He wants your business to excel!”  He says, if you believe enough, and have enough faith to release the power of God in your life, (because he says your faith activates the power of God,) then “you will have the best this life has to offer — and more. You can start living your best life now.” 

Well, anyone should be able to see why that is a popular message.  Be happy, enjoy life, move from poverty to success, live your dreams, dream bigger dreams, get everything this world has to offer.  Because that is what God’s desire is for you, and if you will just believe it, then that will release and activate God’s power for you, so that all your dreams will come true.

That sounds good, doesn’t it?  There is even some hints of Bible verses thrown in there for good measure.  It is a message that  appeals to our carnal nature.  It appeals to our flesh, to the desires of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life.  But I am here to tell you today that is not the message of the gospel.  God’s plan for you is not to give you a bigger paycheck, to give you a bigger house, a nicer car, and to fulfill all your dreams and ambitions.  That is not the gospel, nor is it the plan of God for your life.  That is not the way to live your best life now. 

No, I’m going to suggest today that the example given to us in the life of Steven here in chapter 6 and 7, is emblematic of living your best life now.  And though the scripture makes it clear that Steven’s life was full in every way possible and was precious in the sight of God, yet from a human perspective Steven’s potential was never realized, his life was tragically cut short, and his career  came to an unfortunate end almost immediately after it started.  Steven’s life is the antithesis of every thing that Osteen’s book claims is the plan of God.  And yet Acts 7 vs.56 says when Steven found himself at the end of his short life being pummeled to death by stoning, he saw the heavens split open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  In several other places in scripture Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of the Father.  But when Steven’s life comes to a close,  Jesus stands up.  I believe that the life of Steven so fulfilled God’s design for living his best life, that when his brief life came to a close at the hands of evil men, Jesus stood up and led all of the heavenly host in a standing ovation.

I don’t know about you, but I want to live a life like Steven.  I want the end of my life, whenever it comes, to be the fulfillment of God’s plan for me so that Jesus might stand up and say, “Welcome home, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of your Master.” By the way, the name Steven is from the Greek Stephanos, which means “victor’s crown.”  He was victorious in the sight of God and he certainly received that crown upon his martyrdom.

Contrary to popular Christianity’s message, we can either spend our lives trying to find happiness here on earth by accumulating earthly treasures, or we can spend our lives in service to God and reap eternal rewards in heaven.  I don’t think we can do both.  I believe that they are diametrically opposed.  One life makes God your servant, working diligently to fulfill your dreams and ambitions, and the other life makes you God’s servant, working diligently to fulfill His plan and purpose.  One life leads to the victor’s crown given by Christ himself, and one life leads to gaining temporal treasures here on earth which can never bring true happiness and fulfillment but only eventual death.

So what I want to show you from the scripture today is that in spite of the fact that Steven died a martyr, in spite of the fact that we only have one message preserved for us of his sermons, in spite of the fact that his young life seemed to be tragically cut short, Steven lived a full life, full in the best sense of the word.  In fact in chapter 6 there are five times that Steven’s life is characterized as being full, being complete.  He is described in vs. 3 as full of the Holy Spirit, and full of wisdom, in vs. 5 as full of faith, and in vs. 8 as full of grace and full of power. Five characteristics of a full life, a life pleasing to God, a life that prompted Jesus to stand and celebrate his victorious life. And I think that these five characteristics are possible for each of us here today, that we might live our best life now, just as Steven did.

So we are going to look briefly at these five factors of a full life as evidenced by Steven.  But there is a prequalifying element of Steven’s life that must not be overlooked.  And that is that Steven was first of all a servant.  That is what they were selecting the seven men to do back in the opening verses of the chapter.  The apostles wanted to select 7 men who would serve the tables, serve the widows and serve the needs within the church.  To be a servant.

The primary quality of  a servant is that they must first of all be humble.  Jesus Himself was an example of that, and I believe that Steven followed His example. Phil. 2:7 says that Jesus  “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”  Moses, the greatest prophet that ever lived was described in Numbers 12 as the most humble man that ever lived.  If you want to be great in the eyes of God, if you want to be filled to the brim by all the goodness of God, then you must first humble yourself. James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” “Therefore,” James says in chapter 1 vs. 9,in direct contrast to the teaching of Joel Osteen, “ let the brother of humble circumstances  glory in his high position;  and the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.”

So the prerequisite to a full life is submission to serve Christ and not yourself.  And as a result of that subordination, then the first component of a full life is to be full of the Holy Spirit. This is such a major factor in the life of Steven that it is mentioned  twice as a characteristic of his life.  He was first of all selected because he fit the requirement of the apostles in vs. 3 that he must be full of the Holy Spirit, and then in vs. 5 he is listed as the foremost of the seven and it indicates that being filled with the Holy Spirit was especially a characteristic that he possessed.   So number one Steven was full of the Holy Spirit. 

What does it mean to be full of the Holy Spirit? We alluded to it in the characteristic of a servant – that is to be a servant of Christ rather than a servant of your flesh.  It means to be controlled by the Spirit of Christ, rather than controlled by the weaknesses of the flesh.  Listen, all Christians have been given the same Spirit.  The Spirit is a person, so you either have Him or you don’t.  The Spirit is not a power or a force that you can get more or less of.  But you can be more or less submitted to His control.  And when you let go completely of your own will, and seek to do His will, then you are under the control of the Spirit.  You are filled with the Spirit.  So the way to be full of the Spirit is to die to the flesh, to die to the world. Gal. 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”  So rather than do as Osteen says, that we need to dream bigger dreams and get more and more worldly possessions in an attempt to find happiness, if we want to live a full life that is pleasing to God then we must die to the world and the lusts of the flesh, so that we might be full of the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit, under His control. Gal. 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Secondly, the characteristic of Steven’s full life is to be full of wisdom.  We need to know first of all that being full of wisdom is the outcome of being full of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit gives us a wisdom that is not of this world.  It is the wisdom of God and not of men. 1Cor. 1:20 says, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”  And in 1Cor. 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God."

So wisdom comes from God, which comes as a result of being under the control of the Holy Spirit, which means being submissive to the word of God.  Paul told Timothy that the scriptures are the source of God’s wisdom. 2Tim. 3:15 “from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Next week we will look at the wisdom of Steven in his message, which shows the incredible depth of knowledge that he had of the word of God, starting with the Old Testament and how that was fulfilled in Christ.  But though it is unlikely that Steven had any formal training, his wisdom was unanswerable in his debates with the Jews.  Vs.10, “But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”  Steven not only knew the Author of the scriptures, but the Spirit of the Author indwelt  him, so that he was full of a wisdom which the wisdom of the world could not debate. 

Thirdly, the next component of a full life as exemplified in the life of Steven is to be, according to vs. 5, full of faith.  What does that mean?  Does that mean what Joel Osteen suggests, that if you just want something bad enough, name it and claim it, believe hard enough, then God will be obligated to grant you what you want?  Is that it? 

I should say not.  But rather it is to follow in the pattern of the other components we have already seen.  That means to be fully yielded in faith to trust God, and be content  with whatever lot He chooses for you, rather than to try to control God.  If we are controlled by God, under His leading, led by His Spirit in all that we do, then we can fully trust Him to do what is best for us and for His kingdom.  It means, to paraphrase the words of an old country song, to let Jesus take the steering wheel.  To trust Him to provide what is necessary for our needs.  To believe that He knows what is best for us.  To trust Him enough to wait on Him, rather than try to force Him to accommodate us.  That is a life full of faith.  Completely trusting Him, rather than trying so hard to do get Him to do what we want Him to do.

Prov. 3:5-8 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.” 

I am reminded of the Psalmist David’s comment in Psalm 131:2 “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.”  That is what it means to be full of faith, completely trusting, leaning on the Lord.  Not striving with God by some means of forced faith to get what you want, or get what you think is best, but to rest in the assurance that God knows best and He will do what is best for those that love Him.

Fourthly, a full life is a life characterized by being full of grace, vs. 8.  Full of grace means what exactly?  We hear a lot about grace today in the church.  Grace means gift of God, and we all want to receive gifts, don’t we?  But as we consider the words of David, as we quiet our soul, when we stop being infantile in our neediness, always wanting something from God, then we come to the point of being satisfied with God.  Where we can crawl up on His lap so to speak and be content.  We come to the point where we are full of His grace.  So as Paul said in 2Cor. 12:10 “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

And when we are full of grace, then it stands to reason that we give grace.  When we realize we have all we need in Christ, then that spills out in generosity towards others, to show grace towards others.  We become gracious, long suffering, patient, forgiving, merciful.  Those are all the product of a life full of grace.  Grace is not some selfish pursuit of what God will give me, but what I can give back to God.  When you are full of grace, ladies and gentlemen, then it starts to spill over into the lives of the church.

That leads us to the last characteristic of a full life, we are full of power.  “Oh boy, finally!  Let’s start running around now healing people, casting out demons, calling down fire from heaven.”  Is that power?  Is this talking about the power to get all the things that I want out of  life?  No, I’m afraid that spiritual power starts out a whole lot more practical than that.  Let’s look again at 2 Cor. 12, this time starting in vs. 9 Paul said, “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

Here is what it means to be full of power; it means to be emptied of my strength, of my resources, of my wisdom, of my will, and then when I trust in Him I can trust in His power to accomplish in me and through me what is pleasing to Him.  It means according to 2Pet. 1:3-4  “that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 

Did you get the last part of what Peter said?  We like to camp out on the first part, the part about God granting us everything pertaining to life.  That is where Joel Osteen stops.  “God’s power has granted everything pertaining to life, now all you have to do is claim that in order to unleash God’s power in your life.”  But that is missing the point.  Peter says, God’s power has granted everything pertaining to life AND GODLINESS.  So that we might partake of the divine nature.  That means that we have the power to live godly lives, the power to live according to God’s nature, not according to the lusts of the flesh.  But rather escape the corruption of the world.  Bottom line is that God has granted us the power to live godly lives.  To live sanctified, separated lives, consecrated wholly unto God.  That’s what we were saved for.  To live godly lives in service to God.  Not to live out our idea of our best life now.  But to live out God’s plan for our lives. 

That plan may one day call for you to give up this life in service to Him, just as Steven did.  We may not all end up as martyrs, but we are all called to take up our cross and follow Jesus.  To die to the world so that we might live for Christ.  To crucify the flesh.  To die, that we might live forever.  That is what it means to live a full life.  Whatever Joel Osteen and the like are selling is not seen anywhere in the scriptures, especially in the lives of saints such as Steven.  They were willing to give all to serve Christ.  They are written to be examples for us, that we might live lives that are pleasing to God. 

When you live a life that is first of all submitted to serve Christ as a servant, when you are truly full of the Holy Spirit, full of wisdom, full of faith, full of grace and full of power, then you too may receive the crown of righteousness, the victor’s crown which Steven received. 

As Steven faced his accusers who end up stoning him to death it says in vs. 15, “And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel.”  What is Luke talking about? I don’t think that Steven’s face had some unearthly glow. Angels have seen God.  Angels continually gaze on the face of God.  So to have the face of an angel is to have a countenance that reflects a perfect trust in God, because you know God perfectly.  Steven was so full of the presence of God, so submitted to God in every area of His life, that he faced his accusers with a serenity that can only come from an intimate relationship with God.  He could trust God.  He had given God all of his life and consequently the fullness of God was sufficient.  It was enough.  He was satisfied with Christ and willing to face anything, because he knew with the certainty of the angels the sovereignty and the love of God. 

I believe that the serenity of Steven is available for us as well.  I trust that you will submit your soul, your life, your all to Jesus Christ to serve Him, to sacrifice everything for the joy of knowing Him.  And if you do that, He promises to fill you completely.  To live inside you, filling you with His Spirit, His wisdom, faith, grace and power.  Let us pray.