Persecution

Act 8:1

“And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him (Stephen) to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except for the apostles.”

We have mentioned persecution in the past as we saw the apostles put in jail because of their testimony. That was relatively mild compared to what we see in this chapter. One of the greatest persecutors was Saul and we get another glimpse of him here in that role. Notice in v. 3 he began “ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.” We’ll look at Saul more closely later.

Today, let’s spend some time thinking why God allows persecution of His people. In this instance I think one of the reasons is to begin the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 where Jesus shared with the Christians that they would “be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Notice the persecution caused the people to be scattered throughout “the regions of Judea and Samaria” (8:1). We see in v. 4 “those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

A study of the history of Christianity will reveal that there is a close relationship between persecution and growth of the number of Christians. Examine the countries where persecution has been greatest and missionaries have even been forced to leave. China is a great example as it was a closed country for years. When it began to open up and Christians gained access they learned that there were a tremendous number of Christians and house churches meeting in secret. That also occurred in countries in Eastern Europe.

I have had the privilege of getting to know Congressman Sam Johnson, who currently represents Plano in the U. S. Congress. He was a prisoner of war for seven years during the Vietnam war. He will tell you his faith was the only thing that got him through that time and that it grew immeasurably as he faced great persecution almost to the point of death. He has been a stalwart testimony for Christ since going through that experience. I have heard the same thing about men who were imprisoned in Soviet Russia.

Sometimes we don’t know why God allows persecution and we have a significant instance in the Bible in the case of Job. What we do know is that God took him through that time and he was faithful. His testimony has been preserved in Scriptures for our benefit.
I pray that regardless of the situations you face in life, you will be faithful to Him.

Stephen

Acts 6:8-7:60

Stephen is first mentioned in v. 5 when the congregation chose him to be a deacon. In that verse we learn he was “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit”. In v. 8 we see him also described as “full of grace and power” and in v. 10 we learn that he had great wisdom. He was brought on trial before the same authorities that the Apostles had faced. His defense before them in chapter 7 is the longest message recorded in Acts.

As I read his defense I am impressed with his command of Israel’s history. He begins with Abraham, calling him father, and talks about Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. He also demonstrates a deep knowledge of the Bible quoting from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Amos, and Isaiah. One of the best summaries of Old Testament history I have read is Stephen’s defense. One of the significant things he points out in this message is that Israel did not accept the leadership of Joseph and Moses the first opportunity they had. Each of them was initially rejected, just as Christ was.

Then Stephen stated his defense in v. 51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.” That is quite a statement for someone who knows he is facing death. Don’t miss the implication of the word “heart”. While these men may have been circumcised physically, they weren’t from a “heart” or spiritual perspective and this is what really mattered. While they may have heard the message of truth they did not listen, accept it and apply it to their lives. The primary point of Stephen’s message is that Israel always evidenced a pattern of opposition to God’s plan and His men.
That is still true today of Israel and of much of human kind. That is the world we live in today and we must be prepared to face it with the same kind of courage Stephen and the apostles did. I don’t know what we may face as the future unfolds, but I thank God for your acceptance of Him and pray that you will have the courage to be bold for Him in the midst of opposition that is sure to come.

Delegation Of Responsibility

Acts 6:1-7

Many people were trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior at this time (v. 7). The apostles began to see that their ministry was being impacted by many details that needed to be handled. They made a decision to delegate some of these responsibilities so that the apostles could continue to “devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

There are several important principles we can glean from this passage. First, is the importance of staying focused on God’s purpose for your life. The apostles had been charged to spread the Gospel and as they began to bog down in details, they were not carrying out this responsibility as effectively as they could have been.

Note also that they were not carrying out the other tasks well as people were being neglected (v. 1). It is often easy to assume that we can do tasks better than others but as we let those duties take up our time we do not accomplish our main purpose as efficiently as we could. This principle applies to our work lives and our Spiritual lives. God has given each of us specific spiritual gifts and we should be careful to use them most effectively.

Notice that the apostles also exhorted the congregation to be careful about whom they chose. We see in v. 3 the men should be “of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”. First the men should have been mature enough so that they have developed a good reputation. Secondly, they should be walking closely to the Lord which would be evidenced by the fact that they were Spirit filled. Finally, they should have demonstrated wisdom by using their knowledge well.
The apostles also realized the danger of neglecting the word of God (v. 2) and prayer (v. 4). I cannot express to you strongly enough how important I think it is to spend time daily in God’s word and in prayer. I know from experience that regardless of your age or education level God can and will speak to you through the Bible. I encourage you to develop and maintain a habit of daily Bible study and prayer and don’t let other priorities get in the way of that. It is critical to your spiritual growth.

Rejoice In Suffering

Acts 5:41

“So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

Notice in v. 40 that the apostles were physically beaten and released as the Council followed Gamaliel’s advice. Years ago I underlined v. 41 in my Bible because it reveals to me the attitude I should have when I feel rejected or persecuted for sharing the Gospel. As we learned before the apostles had been threatened with death if they continued to talk about Jesus and yet they remained faithful. Now we see that although they had been ordered to talk about Jesus no more “they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (v. 41) and rejoiced “that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” v. 40).

I don’t know what the future holds, but as I write this morning I am aware of continuing and increasing pressure in America to remove God from our society. Our freedoms are constantly being threatened and we need to stand strong in defense of them. Even in the school systems around us people are trying to remove any influence of God. Even elementary age children face pressure to sin against God especially through the use of drugs and sexual immorality. I pray daily that my grand-children would be able to reject those threats because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their life.

We still have much more freedom than other places in the world and we should not take that for granted. We have good churches all around us that are faithfully teaching the Bible. We have schools that are faithfully training men and women in the Christian faith. As I serve in leadership roles in church, at Dallas Theological Seminary and on a mission board I see Satan working hard to negatively impact or destroy those ministries, just as he was working through the Sadducees and Pharisees in this passage in Acts. It is critically important that we pray diligently for faithful ministries and also labor to protect the freedom to worship we enjoy.
I remember when my children were born in the sixties feeling fear for them because of the world into which they were born. I have since learned that God is in control and I can be assured that He will work out His best in our lives if we allow Him. Those of us who are older have a vital ministry in praying for our children and grand-children. We should be sensitive to His will and obedient to His desire for us to be faithful and rejoice that we are a part of His family.