Something Greater

The Faith of Abraham Stephen's defense was based upon the faith of Abram, who later was called Abraham. In obedience to God's direct command, Abram left a country in which his family ancestors had lived for generations, to a land completely foreign to him. "Now the Lord said to Abram, - Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV) Abram obeyed, but with great reluctance and procrastination . Still, he obeyed. Yet what was Abram's reward? What happened to God's promise? "God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to...

Grace and Goodness from a Wasted Life Stephen, preacher and servant of Christ, has been arrested for heretical blasphemy. In the face of hateful, false witnesses and malicious judges, Stephen's appearance radically changes in the eyes of all at the trial, and he begins his defense. "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, - Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you." Acts 7:2-3 (ESV) What was "your land" and how did it become their land? MESOPOTAMIA: mesopotamia (Mesopotamia, region between the Euphrates and the Tigris); from mesos (middle) and potamos (a current, brook or freshet: running water that is drinkable) The Old Testament account described Abraham's country as "Ur of the Chaldeans". UR: ur (a place in Chald'a); from ur (flame, figurative for the East, the region of lig...

He Looked Like An Angel The wisdom and spiritual power of Stephen upset the preferences and plans of Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Unable to refute arguments solidly supported by Scripture, the religious rulers set up false witnesses, stirred up public anger and arrested Stephen, charging him with blasphemy and religious rebellion . When the council's anger and self-righteousness had vented itself in a furious storm of words and threats , they paused for breath and stared at Stephen daring him to defend himself: "And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel." Acts 6:15 (ESV) How many angels had these religious rulers seen? What experiences allowed them to compare Stephen's face with that of an angel? Their experience with angels was probably limited to only the descriptions written in their holy Scripture. The final book of the Old Testament, written by one of the last authentic Jewish prophet, Malachi, spe...

Secret Slander and Public Deception "Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen." Acts 6:9 (ESV) FREEDMEN: Libertinos (a Roman feedman) CYRENIANS: Kyrenaios (a Cyrenaean, an inhabitant of Cyrene); from Kyrene (Cyrene, a region of Africa) ALEXANDRIANS: Alexandreus (an Alexandreian, an inhabitant of Alexandria) CILICIA: Kilikia (Cilicia, a region of Asia Minor) ASIA: Asia (Asia, Asia Minor, usually only its western shore) Libertinos had strong family connections with Roma, a major city in Italia, the nation we now call Italy . Cyrenians immigrated from Cyrene, a major city in Cyrenaica on the northern coast of Africa, the nation we call Libya . Alexandrians came from Alexandria, a major city in Aegyptus, the country we know as Egypt . Cilicia was a region just north of Jerusalem, along the southe...

Big Enough to Save "Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:8 (ESV) In our modern, commercialized minds, Stephen does not fit the image of "Table Server". Rather than function as a mild committee member, helping to make food distribution fair, he lives a life "full of grace and power", "doing great wonders and signs among the people." The apostles were right to view ministry leaders, leaders of any Christian ministry, as reflectors of Christ Himself, requiring hearts of honesty, full of God's Spirit and wisdom. GRACE: pistis (persuasion, credence, conviction, reliance, constancy and truth); from peitho (to convince, pacify, conciliate, assent or rely) The ESV translation uses "grace", but the original word is better translated as faith. Stephen was full of faith. Faith in Christ provided the motivation for all that Stephen wanted and all that he did. Stephen was comple...

Devoted to Prayer and Preaching "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Acts 6:4 (ESV) DEVOTE: proskartereo (to be earnest towards, to persevere, be constantly diligent, to attend, to adhere closely to); from pros (forward to, toward) and kartereo (to be strong, steadfast or patient); from kratos (vigor) The English word "devote" comes from a Latin word meaning "from a vow", to be dedicated by a solemn act. The English word tends to be used to describe emotions of compassion and selfless love for others. It has a quality of softness , with tones of tenderness. "The woman devoted herself to the unending care of her ailing husband." The Greek word used by Paul is as similar to that our our English word, devote, as an M1 Abrams battle tank is similar to an XTS Cadillac luxury vehicle. The apostles declared that they would make prayer and preaching their M1 battle tank: unstoppably strong and steadfast. ...

Serving Tables: Leadership Qualities Conflict divided the early church in Jerusalem. On one side, the Hellenists, preferring an intellectual emphasis in worship. On the other, the Hebrews, preferring a cultural, genealogical emphasis in worship. The apostles, as leaders of the church, directed the assembly to create a committee: "Brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty." Acts 6:3 (ESV) The apostles required the "Table Serving Ministry" leaders to excel in three qualities: Good repute Full of the Spirit Full of wisdom First we will examine "good repute". GOOD REPORT: martyreo (to be a witness, to testify, give evidence, bear record, be well reported of, testify); from martys (a witness, or a "martyr") "Good report" is translated from a single Greek word that means "witness", whether of one telling what he has seen and ...