Good morning. I am not sure we give enough attention to Stephen, a servant of God who lived and died at the time when Christ’s church was in its infancy. In Acts 6:8-10 we read of him: Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and 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—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Stephen was a wonderful Christian man, “full of grace and God’s power”. The true enemy hated him, but as we read in verse 10, he couldn’t stand up against God’s wisdom revealed by the Holy Spirit. So, what could the enemy do? He did what he does best, he lied and coerced the lost to do his will:they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
When faced with the power of truth, and always remember, Jesus IS truth (John 14:6), Satan must resort to hatred and lies. Nothing has changed. In today’s world, our enemy opposes truth and by doing so he opposes Christ.
But Jesus is greater. He was, He is, and He will always be…greater!
In the face of lies, slander, threats of violence we read this in verse 15: All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen was not one of the 12, an apostle of Christ; He was one of the original deacons of the church in Jerusalem. But what a powerful man he was! Facing incredible persecution and the threat of death, his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen used the opportunity in front of the assembly that had murdered Jesus to speak for the Lord. This enraged them all the more and they stoned him to death. Acts 7:59-60 give us the final details of Stephen’s life: 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.
Now that is powerful faith! That is a true Christian heart and spirit. May we consider the love and the courage of this man of God and consider today how we might live in such power.
Vern