My Face Will Glow with Assurance in The Gospel
Scripture Passage: Acts 6:8-15 (NASB)
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council. 13 They put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking against this holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And all who were sitting in the Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.
SUMMARY
Stephen is persecuted as he preaches the gospel to some of the Jewish diasporas and he is able to stay firm even in the face of persecution.
REFLECTION & APPLICATION
When I think of Stephen, I think of someone who was especially blessed by God. He was able to “perform great wonders and signs” (v.8) and had great courage in the face of persecution. It’s easy to think that I couldn’t be anything like Stephen, performing wonders or looking like an angel even in the midst of persecutors. He must be special, right?
But what I want to believe is that that’s just an excuse for the fear I have of becoming someone like Stephen who boldly preaches the gospel and suffers persecution as a result. I want to believe that God can use any ordinary believer, including me, to do exactly what Stephen did. And that should be true because the God who gave Stephen the grace, power, wisdom, and courage to do what he did is the same God who lives today and is working in his people.
The last time I felt something even close to Stephen’s assurance and boldness was a few years ago. It was during my mission trip to Tokyo at the end of my Discipleship Training at HolyWave. I remember some of the joy and assurance that God placed in my heart to share the gospel with people in Japan. I would talk to complete strangers, many of whom couldn’t even speak English, and in a nation that we know has very few Christians. Thinking back on it, it’s hard to imagine I could muster up any of that courage or boldness on my own since I feel so inept to do that now. The Spirit really helped me back then.
Even then, I didn’t experience the kind of opposition that Stephen did. Still, Stephen managed to have “the face of an angel”. His faith must have been firmly rooted in Christ to have that level of assurance, courage, and peace even when false testimonies were given against him.
I realize that I want to have this kind of faith and that I’m not so far removed from it as I might believe at times. It’s not an unattainable desire, especially with the help of the Spirit. I want to continue growing in my faith so that I can have the assurance that Stephen had when enduring persecution.
REFLECTION & APPLICATION
I must remind myself that the same God who used Stephen is the same God who can use me.
I want to pray that the Spirit would increase my faith by providing opportunities for my faith to be challenged - that way, I can learn to be rooted in Christ even in the midst of difficulties.
PRAYER
Lord,
You are the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow. You gave Stephen grace, power, wisdom, and courage to preach the gospel and stand firm in the face of persecution. And you do that today - you give all these and more to your people every day to share the gospel and expand your kingdom. Thank you for the example of Stephen in the Bible, and the example of many others who stood firm in the face of persecution.
Please increase my faith so that I can share the gospel with the same assurance that Stephen had. Help my unbelief when I’ve convinced myself that I can’t do anything close to what Stephen did. Clear away those lies and help me to see that through your Spirit, nothing is impossible. Provide opportunities for your Church to build up our faith in the face of persecution and trust in you through it all.
I pray that if and when we do face persecution, we would have the heart of Christ to act and react in love - that we would have the face of an angel as Stephen did, not reacting in fear or anger but staying firm in the assurance of our God.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
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