Persecution is real: Ministry Beyond Jerusalem P/1

 

                                         A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                                   PART VIII - I

We, a group of believers, are no longer in Jerusalem.... We have gone to Samaria...You may wonder why we are no longer in Jerusalem....In case you have not heard it, persecution had broken out in Jerusalem....This began to happen right after Stephen had been stoned....This meant that it was too dangerous for us, believers, to remain in Jerusalem... Only the twelve Apostles have remained in Jerusalem.... One of the main persecutors is a young man named Saul... He was present at the stoning of Stephen.... And it was clear that he approved of the stoning... He did not throw any stones.. But he watched over the coats of all those who did....We are praying that the Lord will get hold of this man.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn how Saul went about destroying the church.....

 

                      ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                                 PART VIII - I

On the day that Stephen was stoned things changed for the believers, for on that day persecution broke out against the church and the believers fled, except the twelve Apostles who stayed in Jerusalem as you can read in Acts 8:1b

..... On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

One of the persecutors of the church was a man named Saul, who had been present at the stoning of Stephen. He would do whatever it took to get rid of all believers for he considered them a threat as you can read in Acts 8:3

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

Saul believed he was doing God's will by putting believers behind bars.

Read Part Two HERE

 

Stephen was dragged out of the city: A Growing Church P/6

 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                      PART VII - III

"I, Stephen, saw Jesus standing next to the Father in heaven.... I told the religious leaders... They did not believe me.... They began to yell at me... They then rushed at me.... They next dragged me out of the city... The reason they took me out of the city was to stone me... I knew I would leave this earth soon... So I prayed for these men... While being stoned I noticed a young man.... He was not throwing stones at me.... Instead, he was watching over their clothes.... I wondered if he did approve of their actions.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of a young man named Saul....

 

                     ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                                         PART VII -  III

After the religious leaders had ran towards Stephen, they dragged him out of the city in order to stone him Such was their anger towards this godly man as you can read in Acts 7:58 - Acts 8:1a

..... 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. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 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. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death....

While in the process of killing Stephen, they gave their clothes to a young man named Saul, who approved of his stoning, to take care of them. In his last moments before his death, Stephen prayed for his persecutors and he then peacefully died, in contrast to these very angry religious leaders.

The religious leaders are furious: A Growing Church P/5

 

 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                   PART VII - II 

"I, Stephen,  had been brought before the religious leaders.... I had spoken to them.... They were obviously very unhappy with what I had told them....In fact, I could see that they were very angry with me.... But God was with me.... He gave me a glorious vision.... I saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.... I shared what I saw with the religious leaders.... They did not seem to want to hear my words... For they covered their ears.... They then began to yell at the top of their voices... But I had such peace.... For I knew that my heavenly Father was with me... No matter what would happen to me."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn how the religious leader responded to Stephen's speech....

 

                    ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                                      PART VII - II 

As might be expected, Stephen's words caused the religious leaders to become very angry with him as you can read in Acts 7:54-57

When thet heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 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. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this, they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him.

While the religious leaders were venting their anger at Stephen, he had a vision of heaven where he saw Jesus standing. Now we know that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God after He had paid the price for the sins of the world. But Stephen saw Him standing, which very likely means that He was waiting for Stephen's imminent arrival into heaven. When Stephen discribed his vision to the religous leaders their anger only increased to the point that they ran towards him.

Read Part Six HERE

                                

Stephen's bold speech: A Growing Church P/4

 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                           PART VII - I

"I, Stephen, have been used by God in wonderful ways... But it has caused opposition to arise... Lies have been spread about me...These lies were believed by the religious leaders... They had me brought before them.... But God is with me... I sense His Presence with me to strengthen me.... And He has helped me to speak a clear word to these men....I ended my speech with words of warning.... They are my people.... But they are just like their fathers... They too resist the Holy Spirit.... And they are the ones who are responsible for the death of the One who gave His life for them.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn what Stephen said to the Sanhedrin....

                        ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                             PART VII - I

When the religious leaders looked at Stephen, they noticted something very unique about him as you can read in Acts 6:15

All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

God's Presence was clearly with Stephen when he began to speak to these religious leaders starting in Acts 7:2-53. The final words of his speech are recorded for us in Acts 7:51-53

"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 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 - you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

Stephen used that opportunity to speak boldly, proving to them from their history that they were a stiff-necked people, just like their fathers had been, for they too resisted the Holy Spirit and as a consequence had murdered the Righteous One, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read Part Five HERE

Stephen was falsely accused: A Growing Church P/3

 Read Part One HERE

                               A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                            PART  VI - III

"I, Stephen, have seen God do wonderful things among the believers.... Sadly, however, not everyone appreciates what the Lord is allowing me to do....  In fact, opposition has arisen... Some people began to argue with me.... But the Lord helped me greatly to speak words of wisdom.... However, lies about me have now been spread around town.... They were believed by the religious leaders.... And they want to see me....  I will need to come before the Sanhedrin.... Anyway, I trust that the Lord will give me wisdom... He will help me know what to say.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that opposition arose against Stephen...

 

                    ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                          PART VI - III

We would expect everyone to be very appreciative of the ministry of Stephen but that was not the case. In fact, valse accusations were made against him and he was eventually brought before the religious court, the Sanhedrin, to prove his innocence as you can read in Acts 6:9-12

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, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

Lies were spread about Stephen that seemed to have been believed by the religious leaders and, consequently, he was brought before them.

Read Part Four HERE

 

Men of Faith are needed: A Growing Church P/2

Read Part One HERE
 

      A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                              PART VI - II

"I, Stephen, am one of the believers in Jerusalem.... The Apostles approached me one day... They shared with me that some problems had arisen related to the various groups of widows...Many of these widows were very poor... They were, therefore, unable to take care of themselves.... The Church had, consequently, begun a food distribution program among them... However, it seemed that some widows were given more food than others... So the Apotles asked if I would be willing to be part of a team of seven men to oversee the distributon of food... That way they could make sure every widow is taken care of properly... It has been a real privilege to serve the believers.... God, furthermore, has given me other opportunities to serve the believers.... And at these times, many worders and miraculous signs took place.... We all praised God for what He did.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of the appointment of seven men to help with the distribution of food among the widows...

 

                  ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                          PART VI - II 

Among the men chosen to serve the widows was a man named Stephen as we can read in Acts 6:5

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.

Stephen, enabled by the Holy Spirit did much more than taking care of the administration of food for her preached the gospel and performed miracles among the people as we can read in Acts 6:8

Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonder and miraculous signs among the people.

We would expect everyone to be very appreciative of the ministry of Stephen. 

Read Part Three HERE

Discrimination among widows: A Growing Church P/1

 

       A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                PART VI - I

 "I, Peter, as well as the other Apostles, were thrilled that more and more people turned to Jesus... However, we became aware of certain problems.... We found out that certain widows were being neglected.... And they were being neglected because they were not Hebraic Jews... They were Grecian Jews...Such kind of discrimation is completely against the Lord's teaching.... For all believers are one in Him.... We are all children of the living God.... Whatever our background.... We knew we must take measures to sort out this problem... We knew too that we could not handle this problem among ourselves.... Our task is to teach the Word of God and to pray for the Church.... We must select a group of other believers to take care of this task."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn how the Apostles solved the issue of food distribution....

                        ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                                                                   PART VI - I

As the church began to grow, some problems began to arise, and a plan was developed to deal with these challenges as we can read in Acts 6:1-4

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 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. 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 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."

A group of deacons was selected to oversee the distribution of food to make sure that all the widows, whether Greek or Jewish, would be properly taken care of. The basis for their selection was that they were to be men who were full of wisdom and full of the Holy Spirit. This task was obviously seen as very important and needed God's wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit in order for it to be done in a way that was honouring God. We may well want to ask if today the church upholds that same standard when selecting leaders, including leaders who take care of what we may consider the more mundane tasks.

Read Part Two HERE

Flogging is part of the deal: Effective Ministry P/11

 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                    PART V - XVIII

"I, Peter, together with the other apostles, have been set free.... The Religious Leaders called us back in... They then told us they would not keep us... However, they flogged us before letting us go.... They then spoke to us.... They once again told us not to talk about Jesus... Perhaps they thought that this time we would obey them.... After all, they had flogged us.... They, no doubt, believed that would make a difference... But even a flogging will not stop us from speaking about Jesus.... So we continue our teaching and preaching.... Every day we go out and about and speak about the Lord."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn what happened to the apostles after Gamaliel's speech.....

  

                     ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                           PART V - XVIII

The Religious Leaders listened to the advice of Gamaliel and as a result, the punishment for the apostles was not death but flogging and afterwards they were warned not to speak about Jesus ever again. These words fell on deaf ears as you can read in Acts 5:40-42

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. The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.Day after day, in th temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

The apostles knew that they had to obey God rather than men and God had made it very clear they had to continue speaking about the Lord Jesus  and so they never stopped teaching and preaching the Good News about the Lord Jesus

The wise words of Gamaliel: Effective Ministry P/10

 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

                                                     A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                                                 PART  V - XVII

I, Peter, together with the other apostles, was waiting to hear what would happen to us.....We had come before the Religious Leaders... They are very angry with us.. One of them had us removed from the room... His name is Gamaliel.... He is well respected among the Religious Leaders....No doubt, he is now giving his speech to the other Religious Leaders what should happen to us.... The other Religious Leaders, very likely, will listen to his counsel....Anyway, we know that, no matter what these men decide to do to us, we are in God's hand... Only what He decides is to happen will happen.... Whether these men decide to let us go or to keep us in prison.... We trust our God for the outcome.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn about the advice Gamaliel gave the Religious Leaders....

                     ATTACHMENT A WALK THRUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                       PART V - XVII

The response of the apostles caused the Religious Leaders to become so furious that they were ready to have them put to death. Thankfully, one of them, a man named Gamaliel, was able to calm down the situation as you can read in Acts 5:38-39

"Therefore, in this 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. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." 

Thankfully the Religious Leaders listened to Gamaliel and consequently the apostles were not put to death.

Red Part Eleven HERE