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.  

Transformed

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRANSFORMED

Acts 7:9-22

 

9 "Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. 11 "Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. 17 "As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. 18 Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. 20 "At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

NIV

Stephen is building the case against the men of the Sanhedrin by recounting their history with their first patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now with his son Joseph, and how Israel became who they are. Stephen will get to Moses, who was a prophet and the leader who led the children of Israel out of Egypt. The point of this history lesson is to condemn them for disobedience, which we will get to as we work through the complete speech of Stephen. But for now, we will focus on what he said about Moses being educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and being powerful in speech and actions. Strangely, Stephen would have said that about Moses because when Mose encountered God at the burning bush, one of the excuses he tried to give God was that he had never been eloquent in the past and that he was slow of speech and tongue. Here we are shown the truth about how God does whatever He wants to do with anyone, regardless of that person's talents, skills, or abilities. He told a man slow of speech and tongue and turned him into a man of powerful speech and action. Perhaps that was Stephen's story as well, for he was full of God's grace and power. I can testify about the power of God, as we were once very slow of speech, in fact, afraid to speak, hiding behind my camera, not wanting to engage with people. Having extremely limited skills in verbal communication and the nuances of English, God took me into a place I would never have imagined. No matter our background, education, skills, talents, or abilities, God can take us beyond and use us for his purpose. In the case of Moses, God made sure he learned all he would need to be the leader God intended him to be. He can and will do the same thing for any of us if we are willing to give him full access to our facilities, our minds, souls, hearts, and strengths. We know that truth that with us it is not possible, but with God, all things are possible. God transformed Moses into what he needed him to be. Let us continue to trust him, submitting to his purpose, and he will transform us into who he needs us to be.

 

Like an Angel's Face

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIKE AN ANGEL'S FACE

Acts 6:15

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.

 Acts 7:1-8

7:1 Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?" 2 To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 3'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'   4 "So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.'   8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

NIV

Because Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and full of God's grace and power, and did wonders and miraculous signs among the people, those who felt they were in charge became so jealous that they fabricated lies to accuse Stephen of blasphemy against Moses. We will get into Stephen's response, which is full of grace and truth, but first, we wanted to consider his appearance. All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. We wonder how they knew what an angel's face looked like.  This description of Stephen gives us a clue of what someone full of faith and the Holy Spirit should look like. That is not to say that all apostles and the rest of the believers did not have the Holy Spirit; as we know, Peter was full of the Spirit when he got up and preached the best sermon ever, and thousands responded and accepted Jesus. But Stephen was special, and yet only a man, like us. However, he must have released the power of the Spirit to perform those signs and wonders and to be so full of the Spirit and wisdom. That is another clue to his appearance and to how we could appear if we were to actually release the power of the Spirit within us. If we were as full of the Spirit as Stephen was, our faces would show it, and we would be performing great signs and wonders. There is no reason we should not have the power of God in our lives, unless we are quenching the Spirit and trying to be righteous or religious and spiritual on our own efforts. We are told that Stephen was as he had been before he was selected by the people to be a deacon because he was chosen, having been full of the Spirit and wisdom. We can be full of the Spirit, full of the power of God, full of grace and wisdom, for we have the same Spirit that Stephen did. The question is whether we believe it and if we release the Spirit's power. If we allow the Spirit complete access to our whole being, there would be visible evidence to others; even our continence would reflect the glory of God, and maybe, just maybe, our face would look like the face of an angel. 

Grace and Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

 GRACE AND POWER

Acts 6:8-15

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous 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. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy 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." 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.

NIV

We are no sooner introduced to Stephen than men oppose him. We wonder whether the opposition stemmed from Stephen being full of God's grace and power, as well as faith and the Holy Spirit. He also did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. How was it possible that Stephen did such things? He wasn't one of the twelve who walked with Jesus. He was known by the people in the early church as a man full of the Spirit and wisdom, but weren't the other six chosen by the people also supposed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom? Why was Stephen different? Why was he singled out and his story told? He was a special man, yet it was God's grace and power that brought about his fame and opposition. The difference between all those members of the Synagogue and Stephen was that they were hemmed in by their adherence to the law, regulations, rules, and traditions, while Stephen was full of wisdom and truth from God. The men of the Synagogue were most likely schooled by some rabbi or teacher of the law. We do not know what schooling Stephen had, but he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, so we believe he was taught by the Spirit, who leads people into all truth. Ordinary men, without the power of God or the presence of the Holy Spirit, could not stand up against Stephen's wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. That is the clue we should focus on. It was the Spirit who was speaking through Stephen, or Stephen's words were prompted by the Spirit of whom he was full. That truth is what we need to apply to our lives. First, we ought to be full of the Spirit. Is it possible to have been baptized in the Spirit and not be full of the Spirit? Is it possible that we just say we have been baptized in the Spirit, but we are not? We know that if we have the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within, we should be exhibiting gifts and fruit. Can we forge either the gifts or the fruit of the Spirit? It might be possible to pretend, but the truth is that if we are full of the Spirit, the true evidence would show in our lives, such as being full of God's grace and power, even to the point of performing miracles, signs, and wonders among the people. There has to be a major difference between having knowledge of the scriptures and speaking as if we know the truth, and being so full of the Spirit that he speaks through us, or our words are prompted by the Spirit, as Stephen's were. Flow Spirit flow, flow through us with all your grace and power. 

Full Of Faith

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FULL OF FAITH

Acts 6:1-7

6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

NIV

Here, we are first introduced to Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. We will spend more time with Stephen later, yet we cannot help but think about what he must have been like. What was his personality? Why was he so full of faith and so full of the Holy Spirit? He must have been a powerful believer, having no doubts about his salvation and the resurrection of Jesus. When did Stephen become a believer? Was he part of the first disciples of one hundred and twenty that were in the room when Jesus appeared to them? Was he one of the many who heard Peter's speech on the Day of Pentecost and was added to their number? Because he was full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, we believe he had to be among those in the room when the Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, and what appeared as flames of fire settled on each of them. We will ponder Stephen further, but for now, we should focus on why the apostles decided to have the brothers choose seven men to become deacons, who would administer to the physical needs of the widows. Their reasoning was that they should not be distracted from attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. This gives us a clue into how the church should function. At first, when the church was small, perhaps the apostles took care of the needs of widows, but as the numbers increased, it would have taken too much time from the ministry of the word, so the introduction of deacons was made. This teaches us that clergy should not be involved in the daily administration of the church, but should spend their time in prayer and the ministry of the word. That is not to say that pastors should divorce themselves from what goes on in the church; rather, they are the spiritual leaders. This does not mean they should not serve the church in various ways, for they should be servant leaders, as Jesus demonstrated throughout his time with his disciples. However, today it seems pastors do need to be part of the church, serving and doing things to build it up. However, pastors should never neglect focusing on prayer and the ministry of the word. However, it seems that in some denominations, within the organization, clergy are hired as administrators. However, the pattern given in this text is for the local church system rather than for the organization of districts, regions, parishes, schools, and denominational headquarters. Within the local church, there should be deacons to administer to the people's needs, while the pastor can serve in an overseer capacity. The first responsibility of the pastor is prayer and the ministry of the word; let the deacons attend to being deacons, full of faith and the Holy Spirit. 

Cannot be Stopped

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CANNOT BE STOPPED

Acts 5:33-42

33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." 40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.  

NIV

The first truth that shines through is in Gamaliel's speech. He is a well-respected teacher of the law, who is honored by all the people. If he is respected and honored for his great knowledge of the law, he would also be very knowledgeable about the prophets and would recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of their words. Yet he was blinded by law, rather than seeing the law as a mirror that showed his sin, and Jesus as the soap that cleansed him. However, in his speech to the Sanhedrin, he stated that if this movement, headed by Peter, John, and the rest of the Apostles, was generated by the mind of men, it would fail, like the others before them. But if what they are teaching is from God, the men of the Sanhedrin will not stop them, for they will find they are fighting against God. We still have people today who would want believers to be silent. They do not want to hear anything that opposes their agenda. They are blinded by their own desires and passions, unable or unwilling to see the truth. The scripture is clear regarding men loving the darkness because the light exposes their sin. However, the truth is that the apostles were not promoting their own agenda but teaching the truth about Jesus and his resurrection. It would not fall apart, for Jesus will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. What the Apostles taught through the power of the Holy Spirit has spread throughout the world and the centuries, becoming the church we know today. Because there is continued growth, someone is still proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ, and people are being added to the church. That is one of our tasks as believers, to proclaim the good news, to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. We send missionaries to some ends of the earth, but the fact is, we live in one of the ends of the earth, and here is where we are to proclaim the good news. We should see people added to the local church, maybe even daily, weekly, or monthly, but nevertheless added. The Good News cannot be stopped. 

Never Being Silenced

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NEVER BEING SILENCED

Acts 5:25-32

25 Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people." 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. 27 Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead — whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

NIV

This is a great witness to the facts concerning Jesus and the main purpose he came to earth. This narrative is also a judgment about those who rejected Jesus and handed him over to the Romans to be crucified. Instead of the Sanhedrin Judging Peter and all the apostles, they judged the Sanhedrin. That could be our lesson: instead of letting non-believers judge our faith, the Word of God, Jesus judges them. However, everyone has been judged as guilty of sin, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. We could use this truth about obeying God rather than men; however, that may only apply to speaking up about the resurrection of Jesus, because we are also told to submit to the governing authorities, for no authority exists without the permission of God, or that God establishes. Paul, inspired by the Spirit, has more to say about that in the letter to the Romans, but there is another truth we should focus on. Peter said that the Holy Spirit is a witness to everything about Jesus, whom God has given to those who obey him. What does this obeying God refer to? Does it mean not being silenced by men, but standing up, speaking up, about the resurrection of Jesus? If we take obeying God to apply to all the commands of God, then we would never be given the Holy Spirit, for who has obeyed God completely? On the other hand, we have obeyed in the sense that we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have obeyed God by giving him all the praise and honor. Even our gathering together to worship him is an act of obedience to his word. Yet, the point is that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. This brings us to the two schools of thought about when we are given the Holy Spirit. Some believe we are given the Spirit at the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. How does that apply to those who consider themselves believers all their lives? When did they receive the baptism in the Spirit? The other thought is the gift of the Spirit, or the baptism of the Spirit with fire, which comes at some time after we accept Jesus; it is a second experience, as we can see in the rest of these Acts of the Apostles. Nevertheless, we must understand that the Spirit is a gift from God; in fact, the Spirit is God because God is triune, and thus we live in the presence of our Lord God Almighty, with the Spirit dwelling within, bringing his power into our lives. Let us live in the power of God, standing up, speaking up, and never being silenced.