CAN GOOD COME FROM BAD?

After Pentecost, the New Testament Church grew so fast!

On Pentecost Sunday, Peter’s message to the crowds on the streets of Jerusalem brought 3,000 people into the fledgling church [Acts 2:41]. By 4:4, it is recorded that “There were now about five thousand in the group of believers.”

[All quotes from the New Century Version, unless otherwise noted]

By Acts 5:14, “More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers.” Acts 6:1 reports: “The number of followers was growing.”  Six verses later it reads: “The word of God was continuing to spread. The group of followers in Jerusalem increased, and a great number of the Jewish priests believed and obeyed.”

WOW! PTL!

Apparently, the new church was operating feeding programs for those who were struggling. In this process, some conflict arose:

The Greek-speaking followers had an argument with the other followers.

[Seemingly] The Greek-speaking widows were not getting

their share of the food that was given out every day. [6:1]

The Apostles – clearly being overwhelmed – delegated seven godly men to oversee this ministry so that they could focus on prayer and the teaching of the Word. [6:4]

One of these men was Stephen – who was described as “(a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit). [6:5]

Stephen apparently had a special anointing from God, for just a few verses later, we read:

Stephen was richly blessed by God who gave him the power to do great miracles and signs

among the people [6:8].

Maybe we ought to read that again! 

This guy who was chosen to assist in the daily distribution of food is suddenly – almost immediately – empowered by God to do great miracles?

It’s noteworthy to observe that the other six men chosen to help with the daily distribution of food ARE NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN IN THE BIBLE! However, the lengthy six and seventh chapters are ALL ABOUT STEPHEN!

Stephen was heavily opposed by “people from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They all came and argued with him” [6:9]. He was essentially arrested and brought before the high priest! A conspiracy of lies was concocted against him. As this injustice unfolded, “All the people in the meeting were watching Stephen closely and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel [6:15].

When questioned by the high priest, Stephen lectured the entire group on the history of Israel! It was a lengthy message! As his message progressed, he eventually accused his listeners by saying:

You stubborn people!

You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to Him!

You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you,

just as your ancestors were… [7:51]

 

When the leaders heard this, they became furious.

They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at Stephen.

 

But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.

He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right side.[7:54-55]

The angry mob was stirred up to such an extent that they hauled Stephen out of the city and began to stone him to death. As they did so, Stephen prayed:

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” [7:59-60]

Then, he died!

______________________________________

Why would God bless and empower a man so richly, and then abandon him to a brutal and painful, public death?

This man had quickly acquired a ministry that nearly paralleled that of the apostles themselves! He clearly had SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Why not rescue him? Why not use him for godly purposes?

Dare we question GOD?

He is omniscient [knows all], omnipotent [all powerful], and omni-present [everywhere at all times]!

Who are we to question His wisdom?

BESIDES:

In the incidental details of Stephen’s story, we discover something that is quite powerful!

Acts 7:58 tells us that “those who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul.” Acts 8:1 reports that “Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was good.”

Who is this Saul?

He is a highly motivated, extremely well-educated, aggressive Pharisee who is eager to make a name for himself! He quickly begins to persecute Christians in Jerusalem. His persecution was SO INTENSE that many began to flee Jerusalem! This sounds bad but as these people fled, they carried the gospel in every direction that they went! The result was amazing influence and growth for the Kingdom movement in all of Jerusalem’s surrounding areas!

God was seeing all of this! You must read Acts 9 to capture the power of Saul’s conversion!

Saul was not content to just persecute Christians in Jerusalem! He asked the high priest for permission to go to Damascus and arrest Christians there as well! It was as he drew near to Damascus that God intervened in his life! 😊

God overwhelmed this enemy of the faith and – in doing so – confirmed that this was His choice as Judas’ replacement! This Saul – renamed Paul – was to become the greatest church-planter that the world has ever known!

It’s unstated, but how much did Stephen’s inspiring death impact this young man who held the coats of his killers? How did it affect Saul to hear Stephen – with his dying breath – forgive those who were throwing the stones? This incident has been referred to as THE SEED OF FAITH SOWN IN A FIELD OF HATE!

Kind and Loving God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Thank You for Stephen - his obedience, his submission, his humility, his influence and his outspokenness! His example inspires us!

And thank You for Saul-Paul! What an outstanding leader and example!

These two lives are uniquely intertwined, even though they probably didn't even know one another! 

You are the Master Weaver!

We must learn to trust You more!

What are You currently weaving in our lives today?

Help us to tune in so that we can fit in with Your plans!

FOR THE KINGDOM'S SAKE.

AMEN!