10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Pastor: Dr. Lester Hutson

All of the material listed herein is the property of the Byron McCartney family, and may not be copied without express written authorization.

We all know that a martyr is one who is killed for his/her beliefs. Acts chapters 6 and 7 record Stephen's murder at the hands of the religious leaders of his day. Chapter 6 describes Stephen's selection by the membership of the Jerusalem church along with 6 other men to relieve the daily burden on the apostles and allow them to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of God's Word. The apostles told the members to 'look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom' (Acts 6:3). And it says of Stephen that he was such a one and that after his selection and the laying on of the apostles' hands (the only way a person could receive the power to perform miracles) he was 'full of faith and power,' and 'did great wonders and miracles among the people' (Acts 6:8). The rest of chapter 6 and all of 7 describe how he was brought before the high priest with trumped up charges and false witnesses. Stephen delivered a powerful message of God's dealings with Israel and identified Jesus Christ as the 'Just One' (Acts 7:52). Then verses 54 through 60 record the brutal killing of this great man of God. It is interesting to note that in every other mention of Christ in Heaven He is seated on the right hand of God but in this case it records Him standing. What a powerful testimony Stephen is to all of us Christians who aspire to be like Christ and give our lives for His service. Oh that we would be found so worthy of Christ's attention that He would actually stand instead of sit at the right hand of God on our account.

But there is another type of 'martyr'. This is not the type of Christian that emulates Stephen nor the kind of Christian you or I should aspire to be. If you've been a Christian for any length of time I bet you've met one or two of this type.

The type of Christian I call a 'martyr' (note the quotation marks) is one who when given the most infinitesimal job to do will behave as if he/she has been crucified for the cause of Christ. They will spare no energy or lip to let everyone around them know just exactly how much they are doing for the cause and how huge a sacrifice they are making of their time, talents, and money.

I remember years ago a senior lady (let's call her Mary) joining the church I belonged to. It was our church's custom to have testimony time each Sunday evening during the opening song service. At the very first opportunity Mary gave a beautiful testimony of her salvation and of her work for the Lord. She told of the many church activities she had organized and directed as well as of the many souls she had brought to Christ including some who she said now were pastors and missionaries. We were all quite impressed and were grateful that such a mature Christian had joined our ranks.

Mary was quite vocal and not many services had gone by before everyone knew who she was and what she had done. She never missed a Sunday night opportunity to remind us of her accomplishments. 

Not long after she joined the church the ladies on the decorating committee, wanting to help this new and obviously anxious to serve lady fit in, asked Mary to join their group. These dear ladies met a couple hours before the Sunday morning service to arranged the flowers and plants, which the florist delivered each Saturday, in the foyer and on the podium. Following which they would visit together and have coffee and donuts or little home made cakes.  

I knew a couple of the ladies who had been on that committee for several years and they enjoyed their service. They were faithful and never once did I hear them complain or brag about their service. They were just glad to share the time together and make the sanctuary and entry way to our church look more appealing. Several of these ladies also served on other committees and were always willing to help where needed.

Mary, on the other hand, was quite vocal about her service. To hear her testimony the first Sunday she served on that committee you would have thought she was the founder and spiritual leader of the group. She made it sound like the few minutes of service took a whole week's worth of shopping, planning and decorating.

It wasn't long before we had all heard enough of Mary and although to my knowledge no one voiced their opinion the pastor decided one Sunday night to try to gently tone her down a notch or two. On that particular Sunday night at the commencement of the service the associate pastor announced that a couple volunteers were needed for work in the nursery for the next several services. Well up jumped Mary and stated that she would love to but couldn't due to the work load and responsibility of the decorating committee. When she finally sat down two ladies volunteered for the positions and the service continued.

Then at the beginning of testimony time the Pastor stood and announced that something new was going to take place that evening. He was going to dedicate that time to the volunteer workers in the church. He named each committee its responsibilities and its volunteers. When he got to the decorating committee he asked the lady who had served the longest to stand and describe that group's duties and how much time it took to accomplish those charges. After she finished he then identified all the other members of that committee but went one step further and also mentioned which ladies served in other areas of responsibility in the church: some as Sunday School teachers, some helped in the choir, another with the visitation program, etc. By the time he was finished it was apparent to all that not only were the decorating group's responsibilities, although greatly appreciated, minimal but that most of the ladies on that committee also served in other areas of the church.

His plan worked and Mary was silent during testimony time for many weeks. She remained with the decorating group but refused to help in any other areas. Eventually Mary moved her membership to another congregation.

SUMMARY:

Our Lord tells us that what we do for Him should be done for the honor and glory of God and not for our own aggrandizement. He said, 'let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven' (Matthew 5:16). He also tells us in Matthew chapter 6 that we should not advertise our service to Him but to humbly and meekly serve God without drawing attention to ourselves. He furthermore states that those who do draw attention to their service to God receive their rewards from men while those that serve without boasting are rewarded by God (Matthew 6:5, 6).

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Join me next lesson and find out what God's Word says the ideal Christian is like.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"