As a church
grows there is always some kind of strife.
Satan is always at work to divide and conquer, because he hates the
church. It happened in the first church
and it happens today. The church and the
apostles were threatened and distracted from their God-given call, because the
Grecian Jews complained that some of the widows were being overlooked in daily
food distribution. God wanted the
apostles to spread the word of God and saturate themselves in prayer and
ministry of the word and not let social pressures of the time divert their
attention. So the whole church met
together and they appointed 7 men (first elders of the church) to be
responsible for such matters. They were
to be full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. They must be in submission to God’s Word. 1 Tim.
3 tells many more characteristics deacons and elders should have like being
trustworthy, men of respect, self-controlled, able to teach, etc.
The church
presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
So God’s Word kept spreading and the number of disciples increased. God worked through the gospel to bring people
to salvation.
God set His seal
of authority on their choices. One of
the men chosen was Stephen. He was as
powerful as the apostles by doing great wonders and miraculous signs (Acts 6:8).
Stephen was a
godly man and displayed courage as he witnessed for Jesus. He was
full of the Holy Spirit. He was full of
wisdom. He was full of faith. He was full of grace. He was full of power.
Opposition
arose. Members of the Synagogue began to
argue with Stephen, but they couldn’t stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit
in him. They secretly persuaded men to
be false witnesses against him saying he spoke blasphemy against the temple and
the law.
Stephen answered
the Jewish leaders’ accusations by reminding them of their history from Abraham
to Moses. He showed them God’s grace
throughout history. He reminded them of
their continued rejection and their resistance to the Holy Spirit. He accused them of the murder of Jesus and
disobeying of the law. He called them
“stiff-necked people”. He used the Bible
quoting Isaiah 66:1-2.
When they heard
all Stephen said they were furious, but Stephen was calm and confident. This was the start of persecution of the
church. They dragged him out of the city
for stoning. He looked up and saw the
glory of God in heaven and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. As Stephen was stoned to death he asked God
to not hold this sin against them just as Jesus asked God to forgive them as He
died on the cross.
Principles: God’s
truth will be opposed.
As we witness we
should be prepared for opposition especially when we talk to religious blinded,
hardened sinners. These kinds of people
can’t defeat the message so they go after the messenger. They took Stephen’s statements and twisted
them. Does that sound familiar? I’m sure it’s happened to you sometime during
your life time no matter the subject. I
see it in our politics with words and actions being twisted to serve the
opposition’s purpose. There is blinded hate
and jealousy when we should be living in unity.
Logic and wisdom are not enough to make converts. Only God can do that. We just have to plant the seeds and God will
do the work.
Principle:
God gives us power through the Holy Spirit to share the truth.
What effect
does opposition to Christian activity and life in the Spirit have on you?
Are you a
Christian, but living otherwise?
Do you pray
for your pastor and church leaders?
What truths
are you refusing to receive that God has shown you?
Where do you
need to stand up for Jesus?
Do you tell
others about Jesus? When
witnessing you don’t need to be defensive, just tell your story.
Join me here
next week for our next study in the book of Acts. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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