The prophet declared the nature of humanity when we live separated from a humble trust in God.
“Justice is turned back,
and deliverance stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square,
and uprightness cannot enter.” (Isaiah 59:14)
Stephen was a remarkable servant of the Lord, but he was met in the public square by people who were characterized by the wrongs in Isaiah’s complaint. This first deacon is a picture of how things ought to be.
“Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8)
The early church leaders recognized Stephen as someone who was filled with the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 6:5). Through the power of the Spirit, he was given the ability to heal and set people free from demonic influence.
We live in a society that resembles Isaiah’s words and desperately needs men and women who, like Stephen, are full of the Holy Spirit’s grace and power. A humble willingness to fully trust God’s activity in our lives will open the door for the Spirit to work through us in this way.
Lacking Truth and Justice
When truth, justice, and uprightness are absent from a culture, it fights against the light. A group of men weren’t able to rejoice over the sick being healed and the tormented being freed from demonic oppression. Stephen wasn’t doing it their way, which, in their minds, was “the right way.”
They couldn’t match the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit evidenced through Stephen, so they brought forth false witnesses to accuse him.
They set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.” (Acts 6:13-14)
Stephen Becomes the Prosecutor
Stephen was accused of changing the customs of Moses. In the longest speech in Acts, he revealed the truth. Even though his accusers cherished the teachings of Moses, they didn’t observe them.
I write a daily blog and produce videos with two friends. I have studied the Bible for almost 60 years. However, like the guilty parties in Stephen’s speech, I don’t always practice what I preach. It is always advisable to ask how we are like the “bad guys” in the text.
Map vs. Flashlight
Stephen began his speech at the beginning: the call of Abraham.
“Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.'” (Acts 7:2-3)
You may remember having a paper map in the glove compartment of your car. You could open it up and see all the turns necessary to arrive at your destination.
Abraham wasn’t given a map. He was told to “go to the land that I will show you.” His trip was like walking in the dark with a flashlight. You have only enough light to see 50 feet or so in the distance. However, after taking those steps, you have another 50 feet of light.
Trusting in God is not like having a map and knowing the destination and turns ahead of time. It is like walking with a flashlight.
Stephen had first-hand knowledge of trusting God. When you are led by the Holy Spirit, you say, “Holy Spirit, what do you have for me today?” Then, you follow His directions for the moment. That’s flashlight trust.
Abraham had a flashlight kind of faith, but Stephen’s accusers didn’t. They believed they had the map of reality and were pushed off balance when God did something different from their map of believed reality. They were so intent on upholding their beliefs that they willingly distorted the truth in the face of God’s activity.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 6:8-7:3 today on YouTube.
