Hello Friends,
I have been reading the book of Acts lately. Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian faith, but he was not an apostle. He was one of seven men chosen to distribute food - "to wait on tables" (Acts 6:2). He was an ordinary person, (like you and me) yet he "did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people" (verse 8 of Acts 6).
Miracles, signs and wonders tend to be messy. People get emotional when they are saved from terrible diseases or can see for the first time in their lives. They become more interested in pursuing a vibrant relationship with God than in following religious etiquette.
The religious leaders did not like the disturbance of their status quo so they hauled Stephen before their council. But the Spirit of God helped him to answer their accusations with such wisdom that the religious leaders "could not stand up against it" (verse 10). Their solutions was to persuade some men to be false witnesses against Stephen.
Then everyone saw Stephen's face become like "the face of an angel" as he spoke to them. I believe this was God's mercy, giving those present a sign to know that his Spirit was on Stephen and they could believe what he was saying.
But they didn't.
By the end of chapter eight, they dragged Stephen outside of the city and starting pelting him with rocks. Even though they had all witnessed the angelic-like glory of God on Stephen's face as he spoke, they hardened their hearts against him. Their pride and sense of rightness in their own eyes was more powerfully motivating than the miraculous sign the Lord had so graciously given them.
Through the generations there have been many sovereign moves of God. And there have always been those who have pelted rocks and been false witnesses against them. One person says something derogatory and others pass it along (hearsay) without finding out for themselves whether or not it is true.
People say things like, "God is a gentleman" (totally not in the bible). He would never cause people to shake, fall down, laugh, etc. (there is much evidence to the contrary, even in the bible). And whether you want to call it Revival, Renewal or Awakening, moves of God are messy. Mostly good things happen, like healings of bodies, minds and marriages.
But inevitably somebody does something weird.
One or two people decide to focus on the weird thing and others pass it on (hearsay) without ever checking out the facts for themselves and, more importantly, without even asking God about it. Soon that whole move of God is characterized by that one isolated incident of weirdness.
Many are saying that we are poised for another move of God, perhaps the greatest move since the first church. If there are things that I don't like or criticisms I hear from others, I want to be diligent to seek out the truth and humble enough to ask God what he says about it.
I'm not saying that we should believe everything just because it sounds good either. I used to listen to podcasts by a certain person, who spoke of many fantastic revelations. I had heard some criticisms, but something also seemed a little off to me. I prayed about it and soon saw for myself that this was not good. I did not rely on the criticisms of others, but took what I had heard to the Lord.
When the stirrings of revival start happening, I sure don't want to pelt rocks at it, especially if there are clear indications of the supernatural power of God, like someone's face looking like an angel.
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope I have inspired you in some way or even just caused you to stop and think about what you may have accepted or criticized based only on the opinions of others.
Blessing hugs,
Teresa
I have been reading the book of Acts lately. Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian faith, but he was not an apostle. He was one of seven men chosen to distribute food - "to wait on tables" (Acts 6:2). He was an ordinary person, (like you and me) yet he "did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people" (verse 8 of Acts 6).
Miracles, signs and wonders tend to be messy. People get emotional when they are saved from terrible diseases or can see for the first time in their lives. They become more interested in pursuing a vibrant relationship with God than in following religious etiquette.
The religious leaders did not like the disturbance of their status quo so they hauled Stephen before their council. But the Spirit of God helped him to answer their accusations with such wisdom that the religious leaders "could not stand up against it" (verse 10). Their solutions was to persuade some men to be false witnesses against Stephen.
Then everyone saw Stephen's face become like "the face of an angel" as he spoke to them. I believe this was God's mercy, giving those present a sign to know that his Spirit was on Stephen and they could believe what he was saying.
But they didn't.
By the end of chapter eight, they dragged Stephen outside of the city and starting pelting him with rocks. Even though they had all witnessed the angelic-like glory of God on Stephen's face as he spoke, they hardened their hearts against him. Their pride and sense of rightness in their own eyes was more powerfully motivating than the miraculous sign the Lord had so graciously given them.
Through the generations there have been many sovereign moves of God. And there have always been those who have pelted rocks and been false witnesses against them. One person says something derogatory and others pass it along (hearsay) without finding out for themselves whether or not it is true.
People say things like, "God is a gentleman" (totally not in the bible). He would never cause people to shake, fall down, laugh, etc. (there is much evidence to the contrary, even in the bible). And whether you want to call it Revival, Renewal or Awakening, moves of God are messy. Mostly good things happen, like healings of bodies, minds and marriages.
But inevitably somebody does something weird.
One or two people decide to focus on the weird thing and others pass it on (hearsay) without ever checking out the facts for themselves and, more importantly, without even asking God about it. Soon that whole move of God is characterized by that one isolated incident of weirdness.
Many are saying that we are poised for another move of God, perhaps the greatest move since the first church. If there are things that I don't like or criticisms I hear from others, I want to be diligent to seek out the truth and humble enough to ask God what he says about it.
I'm not saying that we should believe everything just because it sounds good either. I used to listen to podcasts by a certain person, who spoke of many fantastic revelations. I had heard some criticisms, but something also seemed a little off to me. I prayed about it and soon saw for myself that this was not good. I did not rely on the criticisms of others, but took what I had heard to the Lord.
When the stirrings of revival start happening, I sure don't want to pelt rocks at it, especially if there are clear indications of the supernatural power of God, like someone's face looking like an angel.
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope I have inspired you in some way or even just caused you to stop and think about what you may have accepted or criticized based only on the opinions of others.
Blessing hugs,
Teresa
