There is no such thing as hypothetical grace. Many of us like to plan our lives down to the n^th degree and spend much time fretting about ‘what if?’ scenarios that may never happen. There’s nothing wrong with planning, and certainly I would say there’s nothing wrong with seriously considering many important questions and thinking about our answers ahead of time; it alarms me how people try to make life-changing decisions in the middle of crises without ever having considered these things beforehand. (That seems to me to be a recipe for disaster, for emotion often sweeps away common sense and logic.) Nonetheless, God gives us daily bread; His provision for us is not one based on what we may or may not need in the future.

When we read stories such as Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7:54-8:3), that often prompts us to consider how we would react in similar circumstances: would we have the courage and faith that he showed?

The problem we have when pondering that question is that the situation is, in all probability, outside our experience. It’s good for us to ponder the worth of Christ to us and how important He is to us. It’s good for us to dwell on His word which teaches us about opposition and persecution and about the importance of eternal life compared to the momentary sufferings we experience now (see 2 Cor 4:17-18, Rom 8:18). It’s good for us to consider these things and work out what really matters to us as well as to learn from the example of those who have gone before us and died well as martyrs. But we cannot ever know how we would feel in a situation we have never experienced before, and we certainly cannot hope to receive sustaining grace in advance. As Corrie ten Boom’s father reminded her, he did not give her train tickets weeks in advance of her journeys, but on the day of travel. ‘And so it is with God’s strength. Our wise Father in heaven knows when you are going to need things too. Today you do not need the strength to be a martyr. But as soon as you are called upon for the honour of facing death for Jesus, He will supply the strength you need—just in time.’

This doesn’t just apply to martyrdom. Paul learned that God’s grace was sufficient for him in all circumstances (2 Cor 12:9), but grace is given to us when we need it. It’s not given in advance for us to store in a jar on a shelf. We can claim God’s grace when we are in those situations beyond our ability to endure. It will always be there for us and God never runs out of it, no matter how much grace we need (James 4:6)! But we cannot hoard God’s blessings. The Israelites tried to do that with the manna they received, only to find it rotten and full of maggots. (Ex 16:19-20) We must learn to live in the present and receive God’s grace in the present. There’s no peace, no grace and no provision for the hypothetical future. There is, however, all we could ever need in the now.

One of the first ways we learn is through imitation. We see someone doing something and we copy them. We hear speech and learn to speak ourselves by imitating what we hear. It’s so interesting (and often amusing) to watch children learn through imitation, to see them ‘play out’ scenarios they have experienced with their toys. I love watching Esther’s tea parties with soft toys when she gives them food and drink or her attempt to breast-feed her dragon through her navel in imitation of her mother’s breastfeeding of her baby sister. Watching her play charades at the church’s New Year’s Day party when she had no real understanding of the game but simply copied what she saw others doing was a joy!

There are many parallels between the death of Jesus and the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Both speak of forgiveness (Jesus’s ‘“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots’ (Luke 23:33-34) and Stephen’s ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ (Acts 7:60)) Both commit their spirits to God (Jesus’s ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’ (Luke 23:46)) and Stephen’s ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ (Acts 7:59)) – with Stephen’s prayer to Jesus effectively reminding us of the deity of Jesus. Both demonstrate how to die well in excruciating circumstances, showing that a life surrendered to God can face death with confidence, faith and trust.

Death is the one absolute certainty in life, and yet many of us struggle enormously with this subject. Death is often physically painful, emotionally debilitating and theologically challenging, but the Bible gives us, in Jesus and in Stephen, a blueprint for death which offers us hope and confidence to allay our fears and terrors. Death is often described (as is the case here) as ‘falling asleep’ (see also 1 Thess 4:13, 1 Cor 11:30), and few of us fear sleep at night. Jesus came to ‘free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.’ (Heb 2:15) I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first account of a Christian’s martyrdom contains (in the words of F. F. Bruce), this ‘unexpectedly beautiful and peaceful description of so brutal a death.’ We might rationalise the death of Jesus as being because He was the Son of God and therefore ‘different’ to us, but Stephen was an ordinary disciple who gives us hope and confidence that even in death, God is with us, welcoming us home and waiting with open arms. Even in death, we can learn and copy those who have gone before us with the full assurance that faith brings: as Bill Lane said on being told he had terminal cancer, ‘I have taught you to live well; now I will teach you to die well.’ We need role models in the art of dying well as in everything else. Stephen is one such role model.

Christians believe in a spiritual, invisible dimension to life, that there is more to life than meets the eye, so to speak. Our five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell) are invaluable to navigating life on earth (though many people prove they can live successfully without one or more of these), but to live life purely based on the physical and material (as atheists and humanists do) is to miss out on all that God is doing in our world.

Paul tells us that those without Christ live effectively as people blinded to the light (2 Cor 4:4). Stephen is an example to us of what happens when spiritual sight is restored. Just before his death, Stephen said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’ (Acts 7:56) This was a bleak moment for Stephen; he was being stoned to death by a crowd furious at his testimony about Jesus Christ, and yet at the darkest moment from a physical point of view, light and life shine through. Stephen could see by faith something the crowds could not see, just as Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be open to see the invisible army of God enabling him to have confidence even when foreign armies were surrounding him. (2 Kings 6:15-17)

Spiritual vision is essential if we are to stand firm in the faith no matter what comes against us. If we only use natural eyesight, we will soon become depressed, disillusioned and defeated. I can’t think of much worse than being stoned to death for blasphemy when you have done nothing wrong, but Stephen’s death as the first Christian martyr is redolent of victory and peace. As F. F. Bruce puts it, ‘Stephen has been confessing Christ before men, and now he sees Christ confessing his service to God.’ This is not an isolated experience; many others have spoken of seeing God at times when others have been impervious to the spiritual realm (including Saul himself, as we later discover!)

Paul prays for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened (Eph 1:18) and we often sing, ‘Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.’ (Paul Baloche) There is no better prayer to pray if we are to grow spiritually and maintain a vibrant witness for Christ in our current dark days.

Dave spoke tonight from Gen 29:15-30, the story of Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel. The marriage to Leah was not Jacob’s idea; the schemer found himself outsmarted by his uncle Laban. Often, we focus on Jacob’s love and loyalty to Rachel (working 14 years for her hand in marriage!), but tonight, Dave’s focus was on these two sisters.

Leah, the older sister, was not beautiful, perhaps having a squint, and she was clearly not loved or respected by her father and was not loved by Jacob. Rachel was beautiful and seemed to have everything, but in this story, we see how God cares for the hurting and the rejected. When God saw that Leah was not loved, He enabled her to have children, and we see how she hoped that this would be the way to her husband’s heart. In reality, Jacob still did not care for her as he did for Rachel, and she had to learn to praise God through all problems (which she did by her fourth son, Judah!)

The story deals with sibling rivalry and jealousy. Leah must have felt jealous of Rachel for many reasons, but it was Leah’s ability to bear children which made Rachel jealous. We learn from this how destructive jealousy and envy can be, and also how appearances can be deceptive: even those who appear to have everything may nurse secret hurts. Certainly, Rachel was the sister with looks and with love, but Leah was the one who proved to have life and left a legacy: her son Levi became the forerunner of the priesthood and her son Judah ultimately became the tribe from which the Messiah came.

We need to understand that Jesus knows all about being rejected and forsaken and He is able to give us the comfort and love which may well not be available to us from any other human source. We can be the beloved of God; we can know God’s favour and help. We need to learn contentment in God and refuse to let envy and jealousy embitter us and poison our lives.

Garry spoke at Cherry Tree Court this morning about his rather eventful journey home from work on 7th November, when flooding hit South Yorkshire. Travelling to and from work by motorbike meant he was not caught up in traffic as long as some people in cars, but the journey – which usually takes about 40 minutes – took almost three hours as roads were blocked because of flooding. At many points during the journey, he simply longed to be home, out of the soaking rain and in the safety and security of his own home.

Luke 15:11-32 tells the story of a son who left home to make his fortune, believing the grass would definitely be greener on the other side… only to discover that life was much harder than he had anticipated. When the son returned home, he discovered that his father was waiting for him with open arms; the father was watching out for the son’s return and eagerly ran to meet him. This is a picture of the Father’s heart for us and how He longs to welcome us all back to His family.

It can be hard to view Almighty God as a father, but this is the relationship now open to us all as we draw near to God. We can know we are dearly loved children who are welcomed home into the Father’s presence.

Stephen spoke tonight about ‘the difference of a righteous man.’ Spiritual health is an essential part of our wellbeing. We were created by God to be holy and sinless and to be in relationship with Him, but Rom 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If there were such a thing as a ‘sin scanner’ (rather like the scanners at airports which are looking for metal), we would all set them off beeping! But God has persevered with humanity and longs for us to be restored to righteousness.

Noah is described as a righteous man who was blameless among the people and who walked with God. (Gen 6:9) This enabled him to make a difference by obeying God and building an ark as commanded. When we allow God to fill our vessels, we too can make a difference in our world.

A vessel can hold many things (rather like the capacious bag owned by Mary Poppins or the delivery bags on the Deliveroo adverts!) and often this is where sin creeps in to our lives, contaminating us from within (something which is not necessarily visible to others.) Ps 15:1-5 reminds us that God is looking for those whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous. He wants to dwell in each of us so that His righteousness is given to us (Rom 3:22). James reminds us that if we want to be righteous, this involves confession of sin to each other, prayer for each other and a gentleness in bringing back those who have strayed. (James 5:16-19) He also reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. We can make an enormous difference through prayer as we live in right relationship with God.