The Gospel begins to spread, and as it does persecution begins to rise. Why is it that persecution and revival are often linked?
Read Acts 7-8
I don’t believe that these chapters contain that answer, but I will tell you that revival follows disciples who are fully committed to Christ. Perhaps persecution drives our commitment to new levels. Maybe persecution wicks away some of the people who are marginal believers who, if they stayed among us, would “water down” our effectiveness. Again, I’m not sure…but I know that persecution and revival often go together.
In one sense I feel sad for Stephen, a man who did nothing wrong, was hardworking and devoted. I find myself wishing that Stephen could see that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain, and that by surrendering his life he was actually spreading the Gospel. I doubt Stephen would have considered that his story would be told for millennia, and honestly I don’t think he would have cared. He cared about one thing, serving Jesus wholeheartedly and sharing the message whenever he had the opportunity. Apart from the children killed by Herod when he was trying to kill baby Jesus, Stephen is the first martyr for the Gospel. His eloquent, concise speech and his boldness in delivery are made even more amazing considering that his job was supposed to be helping organize the food ministry. I mean, if there are people the caliber of Stephen organizing the distribution of food…wow. In most churches today someone like Stephen would be a unique highly qualified and sought after leader. But in the early days of Christianity men of power and deep spirituality seem to have been quite common.
I look at Stephen’s recount of history….he leaves out enormous chunks, focusing instead on the parts that have to do with deliverance, and the hardship the preceded each account. Abraham lived a life of promise, but had only one child. Jacob had many children, but nearly died of starvation when the famine began, The Hebrews were persecuted in Caanan, Egypt for many years before a deliverer appeared. And the deliverer himself spent 40 years wandering the desert before rescuing the people. I hadn’t really focused on the story Stephen told before today…I mean, I already know all this, so I kind of read quickly. But today I thought “let’s examine it a little more closely, because these are the few things that the Holy Spirit wants Stephen to share.” Clearly, every word was important, right? The historical fact of “rejecting God’s messenger” cannot be disputed by anyone, especially the Pharisees. They know the history of Israel better than most, and they are well aware that the Jews have always had a hard time staying obedient to God. The example of creating a golden calf just weeks after Moses disappears up the mountain is one of many, many examples of their immaturity and lack of faith. When Stephen began talking about the people rejecting Moses, who was trying to help, I thought “how appropriate to the rest of the story”. Moses, the one who was rejected is the one who returns in power and delivers the people from the hand of the wicked king. Jesus, who was rejected by the people will one day return and deliver His people from the hand of satan, and we will march out of condemnation to be free once and for all. We will receive communion, spiritual bonding with God on a plane of existence that we cannot understand today, and we will follow Him through the gates of heaven into eternity, to enjoy peace, joy and contentment forever.
Saul’s name is mentioned here…we know the rest of the story so we smile when we see it. But it’s hard to smile in the face of those who torture and kill you when you don’t have the privilege of seeing the future. However it bears remembering that those who persecute the Gospel occasionally become the greatest disciples of it. That might be worth remembering the next time someone is persecuting you. You could be influencing a great disciple.
Philip is often referred to as the evangelist, perhaps because of the few things we know about him from Scripture. Phillip shared in Samaria, the place where God fearing Jews wouldn’t even go. Revival broke out there. He shared with the Ethiopian who undoubtedly took the Gospel home…who knows how many people became believers in that nation because of Phillip. And then he (Phillip) is miraculously transported to another place where his direction of travel is changed 180 degrees. He was heading south, but after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, he is found heading north, and ends up along the coast of the Med in the northern part of the country. The message he delivered seems to simply be an explanation of the fact that Jesus came to deliver us. Just think…could it really be that easy today? Why do we make witnessing so hard?
It probably bears repeating that Simon the sorcerer wasn’t pure of heart even after he believed. The parable of the soils can be applied to Simon I think. Clearly he lusted after power and thought he could buy influence in the kingdom. Perhaps it was simply ignorance….because his response seems genuine to me. I am reminded that when we accept Christ we aren’t suddenly “perfect” in the sense that we lose all our bad habits and misconceptions. Our sins our gone, but we will be a lifetime growing into the people God wants us to be.
I think I will cut Simon a little slack…I am certain I’ve made more mistakes than he.
Faithfully,
PR