Acts 6:9-15

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. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Opposition arose…That is the nice way to say it.

More and more the religious elite could see their influence and credibility slipping through their fingers. Men were leaving the broken down law driven system and yearning for the freedom of Christ. Wouldn’t you? Even today there are still churches that operate under giant legalistic terms…you’ve got to talk this way, walk this way, dress this way…that isn’t the gospel. The Gospel declares that God is a forgiving God and is understanding that you don’t have it all together. God knows you are messed up. God knows it’s easier for some of us to create a rule based system to follow because we don’t naturally want to follow God.

My wife likes to say it like this, “People are coming to church…conforming to a set of rules…but their heart isn’t being transformed by the Holy Spirit.” What wonderful wisdom that is. Well here is what it looks like. Stephen is the example here of what you are supposed to look like as a disciple of God…because he is a regular guy. He is a 3rd generation Christian…

Notice how the religious elite try to argue with Stephen…but it goes nowhere. So they stir up the people to gossip…because if there is one thing that hasn’t changed in 2000 years…it’s gossip. Gossip is a formable business these days. We have magazines, TV programs, and websites everywhere dedicated to bringing the latest gossip to the forefront. We feed off of it and call it entertainment today.

They produced false witnesses…I think the Bible is too kind here…they produced liars that were willing to falsely condemn men to death. These men aren’t religious men at all…they are men of money, greed, power, and corruption. They have abused the system for the gain…

So they brought Stephen before the entire council…

There he is standing in the center…the hateful stares of spiritless preachers…Pastor Rick Dubose, the North Texas District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, once said, “There isn’t a man meaner in the world than a man of God that has lost the anointing.” Can you imagine this scene? Stephen is standing in the center of the room with most likely the full knowledge of what they have said and done. He doesn’t deserve this…but he is facing it. Can you relate? Some of you have been in situations in your life where you didn’t deserve the situation…but you had to face it.

So the council looks down on him…they stare down their noses…having plotted this entire event. What do they see? Do they see a man bitter about the situation that he is in? Do they see a man that has no heart for them? Do they see a man standing before them ashamed and not confident in his God?

No…

They see him standing there and the scripture records his face was like an angel…and listen…last I checked in scriptures in the Bible…angels appeared heavenly, holy, and terribly frightening…

I long for the day where men of God will bear the countenance of these heavenly beings again…Preachers used to be terribly frightening men/women…they used to have a great deal more zeal for what God thought…and a lot less for what men thought…

One such man was George Fox…I don’t suspect many of you have ever heard of him…

George Fox was born in 1624 in England. George was 11 years old when he surrendered his heart to the Lord and grew up to be a frightening preacher. He was born long after the Reformation fires had burned out. The clergy of that time had given themselves an abundance of education…but also comfortable living. So fox began preaching…He had little education, no training, and no advantages of any kind. However, the Spirit of God was on George Fox…It is recorded about George that when he preached men got the shakes. The name Quaker was given to Fox and his followers because of the quaking of the men/women who came to hear him preach.

In reading this man’s biography I loved how the writer make this statement about George Fox, “Though he made others shake…no man could make him shake.”

Where are the great men/women of God that are willing to take a stand on what is right? We are dealing with lives in the balance. How much do we love those that we are called to save? Do we love them enough to tell them the truth? Jesus did! More than ever today we are in need of discernment. We need God to reveal to us today who needs to be talked to like the lady at the well…and who needs the tongue lashing like the Pharisees.

Lord grant me the courage to stand boldly, as Stephen did, and proclaim your Way, Truth, and Life!