Monthly Archives: April 2019

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ENTER SAUL

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ENTER SAUL

“And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail. Forced to leave home, the believers all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus. Going down to a Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah. When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God’s action, they hung on his every word. Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way. And what joy in the city!” Acts 8:3-8 (The Message).

Enter Saul, a young man made of the stuff God needed but, unfortunately, fighting for the wrong side at this point. But, from God’s perspective, he was already a marked man. God let him run with his hate campaign a little longer while He set the stage for Saul’s transfer from darkness to light.

From his perspective, Saul was fighting for God. On hindsight, he described himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees, with an unquenchable zeal for God. He was willing to go as far as murder to protect what he considered to be the truth about God. He was the one-man audience that was applauding the crazy mob that killed Stephen. But Jesus was right there, biding His time for the moment,   His waiting for the perfect occasion for personal encounter with Saul.

In the meantime, the battle continued to rage between light and darkness. The more the agents of the dark realm of religious fanaticism struck at the children of light, the more the message spread and the church grew. Persecution had not driven the church underground — it had spread the fire beyond the confines of Jerusalem into the neighbouring half-breed nation of Samaritans.

The Jews despised the Samaritans because they were the result of intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles. When Assyria conquered Samaria in 722 BC, they carried off some of the people of Israel into captivity and repopulated the area with people displaced from other conquered nations.

But the old hatred was swallowed up by a new love. Such was the transformation of these Jewish believers that they willingly shared the Message of Jesus with the very people they had previously hated and avoided so that a whole Samaritan city was affected.

Philip, another of the men chosen to distribute food parcels to the suffering widows in Jerusalem surfaced as a powerful witness to this new Way. Like Stephen, he was at the centre of the action, with miracles of healing and deliverance going on apace. He had to flee from Jerusalem with the other believers to escape Saul’s murderous assault on the church but, instead of disappearing, he was at the headwaters of a flood of missionary activity.

The phenomenal spread of “The Way”, as it was called, must have driven Saul into frenzy. Far from curbing the growth of the church, he contributed to its spread. These people could not be silenced or stopped. Like yeast in dough, they infiltrated every corner of society and brought an unstoppable joy to the city!

What is it that has dampened the activity of God so effectively that we see little of the early power and growth of the church today? As I have moved slowly through Acts, one thing is becoming clearer. Every problem that surfaced in the church threatened their unity and every solution restored unity.

What if church leaders today recognised their responsibility to foster and protect unity? What if humility and submission became the priority of every leader and every member in the local church? What if pastors and preachers became more serious about their function than their title? What if they focussed less on being “bosses “and more on being servant-leaders?

What if “Christians” became true followers of Jesus? Would we see the power of God at work again now as it was then?

THE BOOK OF ACTS – GOD HAS HIS WAYS!

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CHAPTER 8

GOD HAS HIS WAYS!

“The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them…Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.

“That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral — not many dry eyes that day!” Acts 8:1-2 (The Message).

God has His ways of getting the job done and His instructions carried out. In the early history of the world, He instructed the first pair, Adam and Eve, to multiply and fill the earth. They multiplied alright but, instead of moving out across the earth, they congregated in one place and began to build a tower and set up a false religion in rebellion against God.

At that stage they spoke only one language. God is smart! He knew how to get them to move – confuse their languages, which is just what He did. When they could no longer understand one another, they separated and moved away from each other. Those that remained called their city Babel — the place of confusion — which became the city of Babylon, symbolic of the anti-God world system which will be destroyed when Jesus returns.

Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But they stayed in Jerusalem. They were comfortable in their circle until this moment when all hell broke loose against them and they were forced to flee from Jerusalem.

But instead of persecution destroying the church and silencing the believers, it only served to spread the message beyond Jerusalem, which was exactly what God wanted. Wherever the believers went, they carried with them the precious story of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit who was in them. Their love, their unity, their unshakeable conviction that Jesus was alive, and even their courage in the face of persecution was so compelling that more and more people joined their ranks in spite of the personal danger of associating with the church.

We see, repeatedly, how God orchestrates the lives and circumstances of His people, which often times seems unfair and even cruel, to serve both His kingdom and His people. No matter how bad things seem to be, the outcome proves that God knows what He is doing. What we think is irreversible disaster turns out to be the best thing that could ever have happened. On hindsight we would not have wanted it any other way!

Look at the scenario. The Jerusalem church was growing, consolidating and flourishing. The people had great favour in the city and then…Peter and John went and healed a crippled beggar! That got the attention of the religious authorities. This was not just a co-incidence. This Jesus, whom they thought they had exterminated, was rearing up His head again. His followers were not only claiming He was alive, they were proving it by doing what He did. They had to be stopped. So they jailed and threatened them

But it didn’t stop there. Stephen was not even an apostle, yet he was doing what the apostles were doing — and accusing the Sanhedrin of more than murdering Jesus. He accused them of perpetuating the murderous behaviour of their forefathers who killed the prophets for foretelling the coming of Messiah.

This aroused the bitter hatred of a fanatical young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. The incident with Stephen released a flood of persecution led by Saul, which sent the believers scattering — just what God wanted!

Does this not give us huge encouragement? The story of the church in the book of Acts is the story of global war — God’s kingdom and the dominion of darkness, but is was and is a one-sided conflict. “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 (NIV).

THE BOOK OF ACTS – IT HAD TO HAPPEN!

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IT HAD TO HAPPEN! 

“At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls, whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed — he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all His glory with Jesus standing at His side. He said, ‘Oh I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!’

“Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede, they dragged him out of the town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.

“As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, “Master Jesus, take my life.” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, ‘Master, don’t blame them for this sin,’ — his last words. Then he died.” Acts 7:54-60 (The Message).

It had to happen! The crazed mob, led by men who had long since made their choice and sealed their judgment, turned on Stephen and carried out their “sentence” with the same vicious hatred that had driven them to sentence his Master to the cross.

But when we read the story from Stephen’s perspective, as Luke so masterfully describes it, Stephen was in a realm no other human being had ever experienced. Not even Moses, the greatest of the Old Testament characters, had been welcomed into the presence of Jesus with a standing ovation! Before he even stepped over the divide, he had seen them, both Father and Son, waiting to receive him into their eternal presence.

This was too much for the howling mob. Without even so much as considering their verdict, they sentenced and executed their sentence with extreme viciousness. Just as surely as Stephen glimpsed heaven, so the mob which was stoning him was experiencing hell.

In Hebraic thought, hell is a boundary-less place, and here we have evidences of the horrors of hell. So great was the vehemence of their hatred of this godly man and the God he represented that they dropped all boundaries of justice and decency and let rip with the venom of hell itself.

The contrast between Stephen and his tormentors is glaring. As with Jesus versus the Sanhedrin, so with Stephen, it was the same situation. Who was on trial? The Sanhedrin again, and again they were found guilty. It was Stephen’s scathing indictment that tipped them over the edge. It was his verdict that cooked his goose. But what did it matter? His future was secure and his entrance into it glorious.

Eugene Peterson’s version of this incident in The Message highlights the grace that Stephen experienced as he slipped out of his earthly tent into his permanent eternal dwelling. This was his coronation day and we are privileged to catch a glimpse of it.

But we have to ask: Is it possible to live our ordinary lives in a realm where we are unaffected by the ups and downs of everyday life? When we watch Jesus, we have to conclude that it is possible. But He was the Son of God.

The Apostle Paul said something that alerts us to the possibility for us ordinary humans. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV).

Just as Stephen was oblivious of what was happening to him because his eyes were on Jesus, so can we be in the rough and tumble of living if we set our vision on Jesus who went before us to show us the way and is utterly reliable to keep His promise to see us through every dark valley.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – STEPHEN’S DEFENSE

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CHAPTER 7

STEPHEN’S DEFENSE

“Then the Chief Priest said,’ What do you have to say for yourself?’

“Stephen replied, ‘Friends, fathers and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia…and told him, ‘Leave your country and go to the land I’ll show you.’ ……..

“And you continue, so bull-headed! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn’t get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you’ve kept up the family tradition — traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed down to you by angels — gift -wrapped! — and you squandered it!” Acts 7:1-53 (The Message).

No wonder Stephen got the better of his opponents! He not only knew the Scriptures; he understood the Scriptures. With great skill and insight he opened the Scriptures; one more nail in his own coffin. The men he was standing before were supposed to be the experts in the Scriptures but here was a man, on trial for perverting the Word of God, who accurately and skillfully summarised the entire Old Testament with one aim in view — to put them on trial for their treatment of Jesus and His followers.

Stephen, like Jesus and His apostles, had no thought for his own skin. He boldly proclaimed and defended the truth and, in doing so he signed his own death warrant. Once again the accusing finger pointed at the religious leaders and once again they shrugged off responsibility by removing the accuser.

Stephen was not as gentle with the men of the High Court as the apostles had been. Although they indicted them, the offer of forgiveness was woven into their accusation which the Sanhedrin neither heard nor heeded. They did not want forgiveness — they wanted power and the money that came with power! They had passed by their opportunity and Stephen spoke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with deadly accuracy.

What message does this incident hold for my readers? One of the clear messages of the Bible is the mercy of God extended to anyone who will listen and heed His invitation to repent, return and lay down their arms against God. He cleared the way for reconciliation and graciously gives it to anyone who will receive His gift.

But there is another side to the coin. He has endless mercy for those who will receive it but His wrath remains on those who refuse His offer. God will never force His love on anyone. He respects His gift of free will too much to go back on it. He will always give us what we want even if we destroy ourselves in the process. On judgment day no one will ever be able to accuse Him of being unfair.

No matter how unfair man’s treatment of man may be, God’s justice is final and impeccable. Stephen put his life on the line by delivering the message but it had to be done to serve God’s purposes for the Sanhedrin.

But why should Stephen have to pay for delivering a message they refused to receive anyway? God is painting His picture on a canvas much bigger than we can see or understand. It is not our place to question but to trust because He is trustworthy,

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WHO SAID LIFE IS FAIR?

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WHO SAID LIFE IS FAIR?

“That stirred up the people, the religious leaders and religion scholars. They grabbed Stephen and took him before the High Council. They put forward their bribed witnesses to testify. ‘This man talks nonstop against this Holy Place and God’s Law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear this place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.’

“As all those who sat on the High Council looked at Stephen, they found they couldn’t take their eyes off him — his face was like the face of an angel.” Acts 6:12-15 (The Message).

Talk about bribery and corruption! The gloves were off and from now on the fight was on, not only against the leaders of the church, but also against anyone who claimed allegiance to Jesus.

Because of his godly life and powerful witness, backed up by the miracles God was doing through him as a testimony to the truth about Jesus, Stephen got the unwelcome attention of a group of freed Jewish slaves who were members of the synagogue of Freed Men, according to Luke. With lies and bribery they cooked up a story about him and dragged him before the Sanhedrin — the same group of men who had it in for Jesus and His followers.

Was there any hope of justice from these prejudiced leaders who had already shown their true colours in their dealings with Jesus and with the apostles? Their agenda was not about what was right but about who was right, and they thought they were right and they used their clout to prove it, or so they thought.

They were willing to give their ear to anyone who told stories to their advantage. At least these men who had arrested Stephen had the good sense to bribe more than one witness! Jewish law demanded the testimony of two or three witnesses to find a man guilty of the charge. Interesting that their charge was the same one that was thrown at Jesus; a twisted version of His statement, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” John 2:10 (NIV)

The first question we are tempted to ask in this terrible situation is: ‘Where was God in all this?’ How can God allow this kind of thing to happen to His own followers? It’s the same question we ask when we are treated unfairly. Why does God sit on His hands when life throws us a curved ball.

God is sovereign. He has the power to intervene in any situation but He doesn’t. Why? Firstly, He gave man the gift of choice and He will not override that even to prevent people from destroying themselves or others but…every person will have to give an account of the choices they made.

Secondly, in a way beyond our understanding, He turns even the worst that humans can do to His children to our good and to His glory. What they did to Jesus is a case in point. Even taking our lives is not the worst that God-haters can do to us. Our lives are secure in Him, but His kingdom grows on the testimony of those whose love and loyalty cannot be destroyed by the threat of death.

The story of Stephen is an illustration of the miracle of God’s ways. Every seed sown in the ground produces a multiplicity of seeds. It was so with the life of Jesus and it so with every person who lays down his life for the Master.

Does that mean we have to die to be of any value in God’s kingdom? Yes, but not necessarily in the literal sense. A true disciple of Jesus is one who denies himself, takes up the cross daily and follows Him. Perhaps the daily inward dying is more difficult than the once-off physical dying for Him.

A dead person is beyond resenting the unfairness that life dishes up to us. Dying to ourselves frees us from the emotional storms we experience at the choices other people make that affect us. Our times are in God’s hands and He is able to make all things work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, because He is shaping us into sons like Jesus.