These days we’re learning from the characters in the Bible about men and women of God. They always stood for their convictions. They lived & died for their faith in God, in Jesus. They are truly awesome examples for us to follow. Tonight we will learn from the life of John the Baptist & Stephen.

1. They were filled with the Holy Spirit

Luke 1:8-16
8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.
16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.

Acts 6:1-5
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

While John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the time of his birth, Stephen was full of faith & holy spirit because he was the disciple of Jesus. We’re also the disciples of Jesus and we also got the Holy Spirit at the time of our baptism when we confessed and repented from our sins.

Q. Do you see Holy Spirit in you? Do people around you see you full of Spirit? If not, it is serious. A close relationship with God through intense prayers and fasting will help you to see yourself and others God’s Spirit working powerfully in your life.

2. They knew the Bible very well.

Luke 3:1-6
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
6 And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"

In the above passage John quoted Isa 40:3. In his speech to the Sanhedrin Stephen quoted Old Testament 9 times [i.e, Act 7:3 (Gen 12:1), Act 7:28 (Exo 2:14), Acts 7:32(Exo 3:6), Acts 7:34(Exo 3:5,7,8,10), Acts 7:37(Deut 18:15), Acts 7:40(Exo 32:1), Act 7:43(Amos 5:25-27), Acts 7:50 (Isa 66:1-2)].

As disciples of Jesus we got to know the Bible very well.

Q. How is your Bible study? Do you memorise the scriptures useful for you? We got to be excellent in our Bible study. It gives us conviction to be full of faith.

3. They had a humble heart

Matthew 3:11,13-15
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

John talked about Jesus with tremendous respect and honour. He was even ready to get baptised by him. In John 3:30 he says-”He must become greater, I must become less.”

Acts 6:1-5
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

Stephen in Acts 6:1-5 was ready to serve at the table. John was gaining popularity, but he never claimed to be Christ or something else. Stephen also never showed disagreement to the responsibility given to him.

Q. Are you a humble disciple? Do you like to do little things asked from you?

Are you fired up to take responsibilities?

As disciples we got to be humble with serving heart.

4. They never got appreciation

Luke 3:19-20
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done,
20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Acts 6:8-9
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,

John and Stephen were doing what was right in the eyes of God.

But what they got was being locked up in prison and face opposition. People for what they did never appreciated them.

When you do something good:

Q. Do you look for appreciation? Do you want your name to be shared in the Sunday messages?

Do you look for encouragement?

As disciples we should continue to do what is good without looking for appreciation.

5. They boldly preached the word

Mark 6:17-20
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.
18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled ; yet he liked to listen to him.

Acts 6:8-10
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen,
10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

John boldly preached Herod what was right and what wrong according to the Word of God. Because of his preaching Herod was afraid of him and even liked him (v.20). Stephen though was surrounded by arguments; even then nobody could stand before him because of his powerful preaching.

Q. How is your evangelism? Are you bold in evangelism? How are you in teaching Bible to the people? Do you preach and teach powerfully?

We should be bold when we share our faith and teach the word of God.

6. They died as martyrs

Matthew 14:6-12
6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much
7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."
9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted
10 and had John beheaded in the prison.
11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.
12 John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

Acts 7:54-60
54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,
58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

John was beheaded because he told the truth. He never compromised with sin.

Stephen was stoned to death because of his radical preaching. They died in the service of the Lord. One died before Jesus, another after Jesus died, but they both met Christ-like death.

Q. Are you willing to die for God’s Word? Are you willing to die in the service of the Lord? Are you ready to meet Christ-like death?

As disciple we live for Jesus and we die for Jesus (2 Cor 5:15).

2 Corinthians 5:15
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Today we learnt from two men of God.

Their life is truly challenging. But this is what for we are called make a decision to be like John the Baptist and Stephen in your life and live for God’s glory.