Being Full

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEING FULL

Acts 8:1-8

8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

NIV

We are being introduced to Saul, as during the moment the men of the Sanhedrin were stoning Stephen, we are told that the witnesses laid their outer garments at the feet of Saul. We did not go into detail about why they did this, but it was within the law that those who testified against someone had to start the execution of stoning, and then the rest would join in. This was done so to prevent false witnesses, but that did not matter in this case; they all wanted Stephen stoned. He was still full of the Spirit and gave up his spirit, just like Jesus did. Now Saul gave his approval for the death of Stephen, and he began to persecute the church. The universal church has been persecuted throughout the world within our lifetime, but there were times when the church persecuted people who lived in opposition to its rules. The persecution of anyone proves that evil can live within. But our lesson today is our introduction of Philip, as well as all those who were scattered. They preached the word wherever they went. Because the Apostles remained in Jerusalem, those who preached the word were simply Jesus' followers. They may have been people who were in the crowds that followed him wherever he went, or new believers who heard Peter's sermon on that Day of Pentecost. Nevertheless, they preached the word of God wherever they went. That could be our lesson: that no matter our place in life, our education, training, talents, or skills, we should all be preaching the word of God wherever we go. There is something else we should note, and it concerns Philip. He was one of the apostles who stayed in Jerusalem; however, we are told he went into a city in Samaria and proclaimed Christ there. Philip was full of the Spirit and the power of God because he performed miraculous signs, and when the people saw what he did, they paid close attention to what he said. We wonder how many people would pay close attention to what we say if we were given the power to perform miraculous signs, or if evil spirits would shriek in our presence, and people would be healed. We wonder: if we were to have the power of God, be full of the Spirit, and proclaim the word of God, would we be anything like Philip, or anything like Jesus? Let us first be filled with the Spirit and the power of God, and he will do the rest. He will do the work in us and through us. 

Seeing His Glory

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SEEING HIS GLORY

Acts 7:54-60 7:54-60

54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 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.

NIV

After being charged with being "Stiff-necked," they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. That is a strange response, to grind their teeth at him. What we imagine is that their anger was so intense that they clenched their teeth, as if they were growling at him, with hatred in their hearts, and it was reflected in their eyes. However, Stephen's faith was so powerful that he looked up and saw heaven and the glory of God. This is not a normal experience most people would have, yet Stephen was just an ordinary man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. That may not be ordinary, as it would seem many believers do not exhibit the qualities, power, and vision that Stephen had. To peer into heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God requires both faith and the power of the Holy Spirit at work within. This could be our lesson. We could see the glory of God, but we would first need to be full, that is, completely full, not half or somewhat full of the Holy Spirit. Maybe Stephen was a special man, yet he was just a man who did more than believe in God; he believed God, and lived as one who believed God's power could be at work within him. Do we live like that? Do we truly believe God and give the Holy Spirit absolute freedom to exhibit his power and might within us? There is another lesson we could take to heart: the Sanhedrin's response. Of course, no one likes to be called "stiff-necked" stubborn or obstinate as the Greek word implies. However,  being taught, corrected, rebuked, and trained are all part of a believer's life, as we explore the scriptures, because all are God-breathed. Anger, being furious, gnashing our teeth, growling at someone because we think we have been offended, is not being full of the Spirit and the grace of God, but rather we would be full of ourselves. Covering our ears is also not the way of life for a believer, as if we did, it would be closing our ears to the truth of God that corrects us and shows us the right way to live. It was the pride of the men of the Sanhedrin that caused their furiousness, to the point of rushing Stephen and stoning him to death. They were so self-righteous and opposed to the truth of God, seeing that the only one righteous is Jesus, God. When we start to think of ourselves as holy and righteous, believing we are doing everything right, being religious enough, spiritual enough, doing enough good, almost to the point that we do not admit our sinful nature or that we have sin in our lives, we have lost the truth. Everything we know about Stephen tells us that he was sold out for God, that he was totally full of faith, the Spirit, God's grace, and power. Lord, fill us with your Spirit, your grace, and your power so that we can see heaven opened and see your glory. 

Hear, See, Speak

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HEAR, SEE, SPEAK

Acts 7:51-53

51 "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

NIV

These are the last words of Stephen as he was standing before the Sanhedrin, and they were damning words against them. He not only accused them, but he also passed judgment upon them. He called them "stiff-necked." This phrase had been used against their forefathers several times throughout the Old Testament. Its meaning comes from when oxen refuse to take the yoke, stiffening their neck, not bending their heads to receive the yoke on their necks. Stephen is telling them that they are stubborn, insubordinate, and unwilling to submit to the law's restraints. Stephen is not finished with just judging them as "stiff-necked", but he tells them they have uncircumcised hearts and ears. We know that Paul used the same idea that people are not Jews because of the circumcision of the flesh, but the true Israel is those who have a circumcised heart. The male reproductive part is the most tender of all parts; circumcision, therefore, exposes it, removing a covering. The heart is truly the most sensitive member of the body, and to cover it, to hide it, deep within, not allowing God to circumcise the heart would mean a refusal to submit to his authority. When we do not allow our hearts to be exposed to God, we live under the cover of darkness. It is the same with our ears, refusing to listen to the truth, forging our own set of rules and regulations that we know we can abide by, and then think so well of ourselves. This is what Stephen judged them for doing. They resisted the Holy Spirit, who leads men into all truth. They wanted their own truths, and we need to be careful to learn that lesson well. When we allow God to circumcise our hearts and ears, we are completely open to his authority and totally submitted to his plan and purpose for our lives. We cannot manipulate the word of God, as the Pharisees, Sadducees, chief priests, and the teachers of the law did, and apply it so that we fit it to our way of thinking. That type of thinking is like the three monkeys: "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil, except in the case of the uncircumcised hearts and ears, it is "see no truth, hear no truth, and speak no truth."  If or when we do that, we are living with uncircumcised hearts and ears. Let us listen first with our ears, but secondly, and most importantly, with our hearts.

 

The Throne

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

 THE THRONE

Acts 7:44-50

44 "Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.   47 But it was Solomon who built the house for him. 48 "However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

49 "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?       says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?'  

NIV

We are still in the response Stephen made as he stood before the Sanhedrin. He is recounting the times when Moses received the detailed instructions from God to build the tabernacle, a place that signified the Lord's presence. It had two chambers: the outer chamber and the Holy of Holies, the inner chamber where the Ark of the Covenant was. This was the place of meeting with the Lord, during the time of David and Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem, where the presence of the Lord now rested. However, Stephen is making the point that men cannot build anything capable of containing God's presence. Heaven is his throne. What kind of house will be built for him? How could we build a building for God? Men have built some great edifices, some with great amounts of gold, filled with all sorts of places for the living and the dead. Others have built large auditoriums that have no appearance of a place of worship; one man built a cathedral of crystal glass. There are many smaller places, or what we would call a church, some adorned spectacularly, others as plain as could be. However, the point is that every building is a testament to human ingenuity and skill, and if we are not careful, we can become proud of our building. We might consider the building as a place to meet with the living God, but how could that be if God's throne is in heaven? Although God did instruct Moses to build the tabernacle, and Solomon to build the temple. God can certainly inhabit a building for a moment, as he did when he met with Moses, but it is not a place he dwells. It is possible for God to temporarily fill every church in all the world, for God is omnipresent, and there is nothing impossible for him. We can surely invite the Holy Spirit to fill our sanctuaries, and he will. Jesus has told us we can ask and he will do it. When the Spirit fills the sanctuary, it becomes a holy place, just as the tabernacle and the temple were considered holy. Still, our God sits upon the heavens, the whole earth is his, and everything, including the heavens, was made by his hand. Let us not worship a place, or put too much value in a place, but let us worship the One True God, who sits on his throne. 

The Idol

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE IDOL

Acts 7:39-43

39 "But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt — we don't know what has happened to him!'   41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

"'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? 43 You have lifted up the shrine of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile' beyond Babylon.

NIV

We are still in Stephan's response as he stood before the Sanhedrin. They are furious with him and produced false witnesses against him, accusing him of blasphemy against the Holy place and the law. He is recounting the history of Israel and how, while Moses was on the mountain of God for those forty days and forty nights, the children of Israel had Aaron make a golden calf for them to worship. Why is it so easy to worship what our hands have made rather than God? They said they did not know what happened to this fellow Moses. He was out of sight, and they put him out of their minds. However, what they could make with their own hands was visible and touchable. It could serve their pride, but in reality, it did nothing for them, for it was without eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mouth to speak. It could not perform miracles or any signs and wonders. Everything this golden calf was not and could not do, God was and could do and more. Yet the people refused to obey him, rejected him, and refused his plan for them to go to the land he had promised to Abraham. We cannot imagine the church today refusing to obey God. We cannot fathom that the church would not want to follow God's plan or make anything more important than God. The children of Israel made that golden calf their idol, and it could be said the Pharisees made the law their idol, rather than worshipping the One True God. Israel rejected God, and the Pharisees, the Chief Priests, and the teachers of the law rejected Jesus. We are so happy the church today has not created for itself any idols, but worships the Lord our God in spirit and in truth. We do wonder whether, over the years, the church has become distracted by creating or developing its own set of rules and regulations, or whether it has looked to its "Good works" to the point that they almost become an idol. Certainly, we would never turn away from our Lord or refuse to obey him, but have we added or idolized what we have done? Do we lift ourselves up, thinking how good, or religious, or spiritual we are, rather than humbling ourselves before the Lord, lifting Him up, glorifying Him and His name? Let us be careful not to think of ourselves more highly than we should, for just as the golden calf could not save the people, we cannot do anything or look to anything other than God to save us. Let us always face our God, looking only to him, forfeiting all else, not having idols, but submitting to his plan or purpose for our lives and for the life of the church. 

The Call

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE CALL

Acts 7:35-38

35 "This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert. 37 "This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.'   38 He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us.

NIV

There is a simple truth in this segment of the response of Stephen as he stood in front of the Sanhedrin. When Mose tried to break up the fight between two Hebrews, they rejected his attempts and his authority. They rejected him with the words, "Who made you ruler and Judge?" Stephen made the great point that God did, in fact, make Moses ruler and judge over them. Here is the story that comes right into our lives. Men can declare whoever they want to be their ruler. In our country, that should be done rightly by the vote of the people. However, in the church, a completely different standard is at work. In some denominations, deacons are chosen by the congregation through some selection process, while elders are hand-picked by the pastor. Some denominations send the pastor to a church, while others choose their own pastor. Still, God's calling regarding who should pastor a church may not be the standard some denominations use. God ordained Moses to shepherd the people of Israel; however, many denominations require that their standards be met before ordaining someone. It is like any earthly organization; it has the right to demand certain rules and regulations be met to join. But it is not men who ordain a shepherd; it is God who ordains someone to be the shepherd of his people. Yet we live in a time and culture where the church seems to function more like an organization than a church. God called Moses, and after a few attempts to refuse to go back to Egypt, he complied. We know that even though God has called and ordained, there are still the rules and regulations of the church that must be met for a man to be ordained. Yet, first, and foremost, the truth is that no matter if man ordains, if God has not called and ordained a person, then they are the one to be the shepherd of God's people. The other truth is about being a ruler and judge, as Moses was appointed by God. The pastor or shepherd of God's people is not a ruler nor a judge, but should be a servant to the people of God. Jesus set that standard, and if we are following Jesus, then the truer calling is to be a servant leader. Yet, nothing should happen unless there is "The call." 

Hear His Voice

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HEAR HIS VOICE

Acts 7:23-34

23 "When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' 27 "But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'   29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. 30 "After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice: 32'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33 "Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.'  

NIV

We are still in Stephen's response as he stood before the Sanhedrin. As he recorded the life of Moses, he included the moment of the burning bush. It is amazing how God drew Moses' attention, and when he took a closer look, he heard the Lord's voice. When the Lord spoke, we are told that Moses trembled and that he dared not look. We know this story well, but the truth we should focus on is hearing the Lord's voice. Moses must have heard the voice of God more times than are recorded for us, as we know he met with God in the tent of meeting many times, and even before that, when he gave all the instructions about the plagues and the exodus. We should learn the fact that God does speak to his people. Perhaps not everyone or all the time, but it is possible God could talk, and we could hear his voice. We believe the reason God spoke to Moses is that he had a special plan for Moses, a calling, a directive to lead the children of Israel out of slavery into a place he had prepared for them, the land he had made a covenant with Abraham that he would give to his descendants. God spoke to Abraham, another opportunity for us to learn that God speaks to his people when he has a plan for them to do something. How else are we going to know what to do unless the Lord tells us? What do people mean when they say they have a call? Did God call them? Did they hear the voice of God? Did he do something to draw their attention, as he did with Moses? We, Christians, say that we are a people who pray, but is most of our prayer time spent talking to God, with little, if any, time listening for the voice of God? How are we supposed to know what God desires for us to do, our vocation, where we are to live, what church we are supposed to engage with, and specifically what we should be doing for the kingdom, or in our vernacular, our calling? Perhaps the Lord may not speak to us in long, drawn-out paragraphs of instructions, as he did with Moses. He may speak only a few words, but they would be direct. Sometimes, he might use something like that burning bush to draw our attention so we would know he wants to tell us something or direct us in a certain way. However, if the Lord decides to inform us of his intended purpose for us, we need to listen and watch so that we are within his plan. Let us always be more attentive to the voice of the Lord than our own. Let us hear his plan rather than devise our own plan. Let us listen, rather than talk. Let us hear his voice.