The Book of Acts

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit

Acts 6:8–15 NKJV

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Acts 7:54–8:1 NKJV

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Stephen - Not an apostle. Stephen was a servant in the church who was chosen as one to manage the food distribution to the widows.

Acts 6:1–7 NKJV

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Nearly the first church split - argument over some who felt neglected and discriminated against.

Hellenistic Jews adopted the dress and customs of Greece. The ones called Hebrew believers adhered to the old ways and traditions of Judaism. They considered the Hellenistic Jews to be “second-class” Jews and not true believers. (Not much different than today).

The Hellenist were claiming their widows were being neglected in the daily food distribution because of discrimination. The Hebrew Jews felt “more spiritual” because they held onto the old traditions, the old way of dressing, the old songs and the Hellenists were dressing and living more like the Greeks.

(Not sin, just cultural differences and preferences nearly caused the first split in the church).

The Apostles called everyone together - “It would not be right for us to neglect the preaching of the Word to go and serve tables.”

Today - Whose job is it to visit the sick and shut ins? Who should be feeding the hungry? Who should be visiting those in prison? Who should be on the streets spreading the gospel?

YOU - Ephesians 4:11–12 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”

The reason so many pastors get burned out and leave the ministry is the weight they are expected to carry is far too heavy. It is because in most churches, we hire the pastor by a vote and can fire them by a vote. We want hirelings and not shepherds. We want a hireling who will go and do all of the work while we just show up on Sunday and wait to get fed like cattle lining up at the fence at feeding time. So, he is expected to be involved in every ministry of the church, visit all the sick people, the shut ins, the people who have not been to church in a while, go to the nursing homes, go to the prisons, be a counselor when you have a need, shepherd the flock, and still have time to study and preach the Word, like he does not have a family or life outside of the church.

This is an example of how the church is meant to operate. The apostles said, “Ok, you pick 7 men ‘full of the Holy Ghost” to lead this ministry. They did not say to just pick anyone. If they picked someone not full of the Holy Spirit, they might continue the discrimination.

If you come to me with a problem, I will most likely tell you if God revealed the need to you that is because He wants you to lead up the change. I will support you any way possible but God wants you to do the ministry.

Because the 12 did not neglect their calling to wait tables, the number of disciples multiplied greatly.

Stephen - verse 5, full of faith and the Holy Ghost

Verse 8 - full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs

You cannot expect to have power to do great wonders and signs if you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. If Jesus needed to be filled with the Spirit to do what He did on earth, do not think you can do what Jesus did without the Holy Spirit.

They could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

Man’s wisdom is no match for the wisdom of God. Stephen was not an apostle. He was not a philosopher or someone great in the eyes of the world. But filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, the leaders of the Synagogue could not debate with him.

The convinced some to lie against him. When they cannot touch your anointing, they will attack your character. This is the calling card of the Jezebel spirit.

1 Kings 21:9 “She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people;”

1 Kings 21:10 “and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have blasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.”

The liars Jezebel hired accused Naboth of blaspheming God and the king. These religious leaders hired liars to accuse Stephen of blaspheming against the temple, Moses and God. Next to God, there was no greater person to blaspheme than Moses in their eyes.

When they accused Stephen of these things and looked at him, they did not see anger, bitterness, or hatred on his face. They saw heaven.

“Are these things so?”

He gave them a history lesson, starting with Abraham and going all the way to Jesus to show they were the ones who stood guilty, not him.

Acts 7:35 ““This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.”

They rejected Moses, the one God sent to be ruler and judge. They would later reject Jesus, the Messiah sent by God.

Acts 7:43 “You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’”

Moloch was the god of prosperity and success. Parents would sacrifice their first-born children and watch them die, believing they would then be more prosperous and successful. Same thing happens today.

The leaders argued that Stephen was blaspheming the temple. In verse 48-49, he reminds them that God never asked to be housed in a temple.

Acts 7:49 “‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest?”

Acts 7:50 “Has My hand not made all these things?’”

Acts 7:51–53 ““You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.””

He tells them they always resist the Holy Spirit? Sounds like a lot of religious people today.

He lays the murder of Jesus at their feet. They accused him of blaspheming against the law. He reminds them they do not keep the law themselves. They are betrayers and murderers.

Acts 7:54–60 NKJV

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen’s face reflected the glory of God. Then he began his defense by speaking of the glory of God. At the end, He saw the glory! He saw Jesus standing to receive him into heaven. When he saw Jesus, he could not help but ask God to not charge them with this sin.

Stephen stood in the face of a firing squad and preached with boldness. Today, if we think someone will get offended or make fun of us, we keep our mouths shut. We will only serve God at our convenience. We try to fit God in around our schedule. We will go to church if we have time. We will have revival services if it does not inconvenience us. We will go in the streets as long as the weather is perfect and we have nothing else to do. We would rather stream our favorite shows than spend time in prayer and the Word. We have made ourselves God when we try to make Him fit into our plans and our schedules.

The early church faced prisons or death every time they opened their mouths and proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Son of God.

They preached anyway.

It is time to get our priorities back in line. It is time we get a sense of urgency about the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are too many people dying and going to hell for us to sit in our comfort and refuse to do anything for God that inconveniences us. The world is running out of time and so often we act like we do not care.

Will will choose to be a people that spread the gospel at all costs or will we stand before God and have the blood of others on our hands because we chose convenience over obedience?