Today we recognize Labor Day in the United States, to celebrate the achievements of workers. It is apropos to today’s “worker” for Jesus Christ who we will be unpacking. In the last post, ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Service – Part 6A ★ we were introduced to Phillip and Stephen who were the first deacons in the early church. They were described as being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, appointed to help solve a food distribution problem between the Greek and Hebrew widows (see Acts 6:1-5). These two men were the continuation of the Overcoming Adversity Series that we have been in about the Men and Women who consistently chased after God. Phillip and Stephen modeled a life of Service and Sacrifice.
At the end of this post I have listed all the posts thus far from the series but if you want to read them all in order, then just click here. In the post, we focused primarily on Phillip who Overcame Adversity Through Service, and went from the bread line to the front line after the persecution of the Early Church, being God’s messenger to the long hated, and ostracized Samaritans. He is an example for us that when we take time to meet people’s physical needs as Phillip did, they will be more open to listen to the truth about Jesus, who is the only One who can meet their spiritual needs. Today we will look at Stephen who is our paragon of Overcoming Adversity Through Sacrifice. Now this one may be a little tougher to receive than the past (6) posts because Stephen did not reach the other side of adversity as we would all choose to make it. For those not familiar with this great man of the early church, brace yourself. In Acts 6:8-10 (NLT) we get a little insight into the man:
“Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.”
Like Phillip, we first met Stephen in the previous (7) verses of Acts Chapter 6 as a solution to a food distribution problem that arose in the early church between the Hebrew-speaking widows and the Greek-speaking widows (or Hellenists), see Acts 6:1. Now Luke, the author of the Book of Acts is taking us into a deep dive into Stephen who “full of God’s grace and power, [who] performed amazing miracles and signs among the people,” and who “none [who opposed Stephen] could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.” That is an impressive resume to say the least! No doubt the Lord’s blessing was upon him but something to keep in mind is that just because you are a Christian does not mean that you will not experience trouble and storms of life. In fact, oftentimes because you are a believer in Jesus you will face persecution.
In James 1:2-4 (NLT), the half-brother of Jesus gives this warning:
“Dear brothers and sisters, WHEN troubles of any kind come your way, CONSIDER it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that WHEN your faith is tested, YOUR ENDURANCE has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for WHEN your endurance is fully developed, YOU WILL be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (Emphasis added.)
Notice all the “WHENs,” NOT IFs.
- WHEN troubles of any kind come your way…
- WHEN your faith is tested…
- WHEN your endurance is fully developed…
Those are some some promised challenges ahead of every Christ follower but then there are some wonderful promises for those who persevere through the opposition:
- …CONSIDER it an opportunity for great joy.
- …YOUR ENDURANCE has a chance to grow.
- …YOU WILL be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
So, if you think that being a Christian = No problems, I am sorry to burst your bubble, and tell you that it just does not line up with the Bible as we are about to see in Acts 6:11-15 (NLT). Stephen, a man of God through no fault of his own is about to be thrust into a significant storm of life:
“So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.”
This is a good reminder that you can do everything right and yet still go through hard times. It is amazing that Stephen is arrested and in chapter 7 will be on trial before the highest religious court he could face but yet in Acts 6:15 it says, “his face became as bright as an angel’s.” David Guzik had this commentary on Acts 6:15:
“Stephen’s face did not have that mild, soft, angelic look that we see in so many paintings; nor was it a look of stern judgment and wrath. Instead, his face reflected the perfect peace and confidence of one that knows and trusts his God. His face had the same reflected glory that Moses had as he beheld God intimately.” (See Exodus 34:29).
May we all face persecution as Stephen, reflecting “the perfect peace and confidence of one that knows and trusts his God!” In the post, ★ Thought for the Day – Opposition Will Come ★ I shared that opposition WILL come against you as a result of being a Christian. Being associated with Jesus is going to cost you. Anyone who tells you otherwise is peddling a false Christianity. At the time of this post, the ministry Open Doors USA had these startling statistics on their website of the cost Christians around the world were experiencing for their faith in Jesus:
In just the last year*, there have been:
-
- Over 340 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination.
- 4,761 Christians killed for their faith.
- 4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked.
- 4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned.
* 2021 World Watch List reporting period.
In American, most Christians will never face this level of Opposition or to pay the ultimate sacrifice of their life to share the hope of Jesus to the lost people but these statistics of the persecution of believers should:
- Open our eyes that the Christian life is not an easy path.
- Motivate us to move out of our comfort zones…from complacency to conviction.
Stephen is without a doubt a man who did not choose the easy path but was convicted to share the hope of Jesus. In Acts 7:1-2a (NLT)
“Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me.””
I will stop there because instead of defending himself and instantly saying “of course not, they are lying about me,” Stephen goes into a dissertation of the history of the Jewish people from the calling of Abram, the life of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Jacobs’ (12) sons, Joseph’s sale into slavery and eventual rise to Pharaohs’ Palace. The Egyptian slavery of the Jews, the rise of Moses and eventual exodus from Egypt to the (40) years in the wilderness. The Ten Commandments, and the Tabernacle being carried through the wilderness and then into the Promised Land under Joshua where it stayed until King David. David wanted to build the Temple, but it was actually Solomon who was given the privilege. All of this was covered in see Acts 7:2b-50. Stephen then closes with an indictment of his own in Acts 7:51-53 against the religious elite:
““You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.””
I pray that if I were even in a tight spot like Stephen that I would have such boldness to speak the truth without fear and with boldness!! And though the Message was not received well, (as one would expect, see Acts 7:54), look at the reward that he receives by this Testimony in Acts 7:55-56 (NLT)…
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!””
What an honor to receive from the Lord! I cannot even imagine what that would be like, to glimpse into Heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus on the throne! I think that shows how beloved Stephen was to God, and He was signaling to him that the way Stephen was going to overcome this adversity was through sacrifice as Acts 7:57-60 (NLT) shows:
“Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.”
How heart-wrenching to be stoned to death and yet to have the presence of mind to pray “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And then to shout, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” Wow, that is incredible. His last words are reminiscent of Jesus’ recorded in Luke 23:34a (NLT)…
“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.””
I think that Stephen received an unbelievable gift of peace to not only pray as he was pelted with stones, but to also pray for those who were persecuting him and literally killed him in the next breath! Stephen was one the first Deacons of the early church, and now he is recorded as the first martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ! It is sad to see according to the statistics from the Open Doors USA ministry that Stephen certainly was not the last to be executed for his faith, but his sacrifice is not forgotten and should be an encouragement to us to keep working to build the kingdom of God!
Stay tuned for the next post in our series…
★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★
Here is the previous post to our Overcoming Adversity Series:
- ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★
- ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★
- ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Perseverance – Part 3 ★
- ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Loyalty – Part 4 ★
- ★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Courage – Part 5 ★
Daily Dependence 