Missions Paul

Shine
Acts 6:15
“All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

Now what does the face of an angel look like?
Sometimes it is hard to describe what we see and experience.
Stephen now before the Sanhedrin being tried on trumped up charges is different to everyone else in the room. His demeanour is different. Whether this would be some form of light illuminating from his face it is difficult to know for sure. But clearly though his circumstance was dark and dismal. Though he was surrounded by lies and false witnesses. Though his future looks bleak.
In all these accusations and collaborations, Stephen is standing peacefully and in control.
How is that possible except for the help of the Spirit in our lives?
No matter what you face today your face can reflect a picture of the divine. This is not a made up pretend all is going to be okay attitude. This is an assurance that whatever happens you belong to Him who died for you.
So let your enemies look intently as you shine the glory of the Lord in a dark world.

Hearsay
Acts 6: 14
“For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

No you didn’t! You didn’t hear that at all. Stephen never said it.
Jesus did say the temple would be destroyed but he never said he would destroy it. He was falsely accused of this at his trial and here again the lie is still being told. This time at Stephen.
Regarding the changing of the customs well that’s just an extension to the first lie.

“Elementary My dear Watson”: we might think Sherlock Holmes said that, but he never did.
“Beam me up Scotty”: but Kirk never said those words in Star Trek.
“Play it again Sam” was never asked of Casablanca’s Sam.
“Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?” Is also incorrect.
“Houston we have a problem” was only said in the movie of Apollo 13 but was never actually said at all.
Now I’ve been saying and hearing those things being said since I was a child and yet none of those things were actually true!

We can believe a lot of things that are not true. We can believe a lot of things about people that are not true. We can believe what people say about people but they are not true.
So the next time you hear the words, “we have heard him/her say …”ask yourself “really?”

Perjury
Acts 6:13
“They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.”

I try not to be cynical but there’s a lot of people claiming a lot of things which are just not true.
Well now that’s not a surprise is it? We live in a world where we are conditioned now by certain claims that make us smile.
9 out of 10 dentists, cats, budgies prefer, say, want ….
The deluxe range (which is the same product as the non-deluxe range).
“Spending makes you HAPPY.”
I love this old advert: “Give your throat a vacation, smoke a fresh cigarette, smoke CAMELS.”

Jonathan Aitken, Jeffrey Archer, Lil Kim (American rapper), Lewis Libby (assistant to GW Bush) Marion Jones (athlete) all share the same thing in common. They committed perjury in court. They were false witnesses.
If you love films, then you must watch ‘True story’. It tells the story of Michael Finkel who through a lot of cost to himself learnt the importance of telling true stories.

Within missions I am astounded at the lies that I hear even from very famous people on the Christian circuit. Well they are of course never told as lies, just exaggerations in order to get much needed money. False witnesses.

You can always find someone to back an argument. There is always someone who will come forward.
Just because the story is amazing.
Just because the storyteller is charismatic and amazing.
Just because you desire to part of the amazing.
It doesn’t make it true.

Next time it sounds unbelievable well just slow things down and check out the facts. The witnesses may be false.

Leaders that empty
Acts 6:12

“So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.”

I heard today of how a leader of a church recently led the majority of his people out of his denomination. They all followed him.
It reminded me of the Church where I Pastored for many years where in the early 1980s the Pastor at that time did the same thing and joined another church stream declaring that they were now the true church. The church survived and today no one would know how difficult those days were.
It is relatively easy to stir people up.
It is easy to agitate.
All well and good if it is to turn sleepy people into action.
But so often it is to bring conflict.
One conversation that’s all it takes and suddenly people can be seizing their blessings and throwing them away.
Stephen their amazing deacon, full of grace and power, moving in the gifts of the Spirit is now under threat of being removed of good. All because the people were stirred up by leaders who should know better.
Leaders who stir can often see their crown or reward (the meaning of the name Stephen) being seized from them. They want control and justice and they end up losing grace and power.

The secret place.
Acts 6:11
“Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

A lot can happen in secret. Conversations and persuasions, lies and exaggerations, plots and downfalls. All in secret. Behind closed doors.
Speaking in confidence is often a road marked with secretive attacks.
These secret believers do more harm than any enemy.
Two people meet to discuss the third persons decisions without the third person being present. It is better that way. For the two people are not interested in the truth but in the perceived truth which they can embellish all the more to make the truth more spectacular.
The truth was Stephen has never spoken blasphemy. But people were persuaded to say he had. People can be persuaded to say and do almost anything.
Be careful on entering the secret place, especially if someone is there wanting to talk!

Wisdom and Spirit
Acts 6:10
“but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”

There are many who talk, but wisdom is talking with no personal agenda.
Wisdom hunts down inside situations looking for the missing component, unselfishly, sacrificially seeing the good, the whole, the possibility and being brave to say what no one else is prepared to say.

There are many “Thus says the Lord” but only when it supports what that persons wants.
The Spirit speaks outside of the box, is a non-conformist, even offensive at times and says what no one else would ever imagine saying.

The Church needs people who can speak with wisdom and the Spirit today.

We don’t need a devil.
Acts 6:9
“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”

It is disturbing where opposition comes from sometimes.
The Freedmen were Jewish slaves set free in Rome who had most probably gained Roman citizenship and then had come back home to Jerusalem. They formed a synagogue where they could worship God in Greek.
They had known hardship having been captured by the enemy, they had experienced the grace of God by being set free and now they were home opposing Stephen, a man of grace.

It is disturbing how opposition can become so infectious. Four more Jewish centres joined in. They agreed with the complaint. So after worshipping God Almighty they joined forces to attack Stephen, a man of power.

It is disturbing how opposition is birthed. It didn’t come from an environment of failure. (Actually the reason why the Church sometimes is in such a bad state is because people failed to rise up at times of bad leadership and they became far too passive and their church is now in decline). No, it rose during a time of the Spirit moving in great signs and wonders among the people.

What was happening within the Jewish synagogues sadly does happen in some Churches all over the world today.

Sometimes the Church doesn’t need a devil, it can do the work for him.
People who have received grace attacking people of grace.
People trusting God’s power influencing others to doubt His power.
People seeing a move of God but not seeing it.
And then back we go to worship God to the applause of our devil who says “well done, I couldn’t have done better myself!”

Grace is needed
Acts 6:8
“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.”

Stephen whose name means ‘crown’ was indeed crowned the church’s first martyr.
But his martyrdom did not happen in the last verse of chapter 7 when he physically died. We so often think that it is here when a person becomes a martyr, where their blood does not spill in vain. But Stephen was a martyr here in this chapter when he began to lay his life down in serving others. It began with the widows table and then as he began to do what only the apostles had done previously that is the working of miracles. He began to reach people’s lives through healings and transformations and through his teaching that the worship of God was no longer restricted to the temple (as 7:48-49 will reveal). Many of us have hoped that if ever the day came when we faced the situation of dying for Christ that we would be given a special grace to do just that, a grace to be a martyr, I am sure that would happen. But the question can be answered now. Are you dying to Christ now? Are you living so that God will be glorified in others now?
When the apostles laid their hands on Stephen he was set apart, he was anointed for works of service to people. But he did those works from a place not only of power but of grace.
A grace that created enthusiasm for God.
A grace that served unselfishly and sacrificially.
A grace that valued people.
A grace that was genuine.
A grace that had a positive outlook.
A grace that was an influencer.
Maybe power follows grace?

Key people
Acts 6:7

“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

When I am presenting the work of Elim Missions in churches I often show a picture of 2 men baptising a woman in a dirty river. The picture was taken in an Islamic country and yet our missionaries there are seeing amazing church planting growth. The woman baptised is full of joy and the 2 men are laughing. Nothing unusual perhaps even though we all love a baptism. However 12 months prior to that picture being taken those. 2 men were Muslim clerics! They are now followers of Jesus and leaders in the Church.

A large number of priests …

When you pray for missions, pray for people of significance to be saved. Pray for tribal leaders, for fathers, for Koranic teachers. Pray for Buddhist high priests like the one in another picture I have and use. This high priest had a special healing gift and people would come from miles around for his healing powers. He was a Buddhist high priest for over 40 years. But then he got sick and couldn’t heal himself. So one of our missionaries introduced him to Jesus and he was healed by him. So this priest who is 100 years of age went home and led his 90 years of age wife to the Lord also.

We need more and more key people to be saved. He has done it once and He can do it again.

What do people think of you?
Acts 6:6

“They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.”

Last year I introduced a new appraisal system for my staff which involved part self-evaluation, my evaluation of them but also comments from their peers, their team members.
Of course I was running the risk of a mutiny and world war 3 breaking out but I did it because I feel it is so more empowering when you hear what your peers say about you than just those you work for.

These 7 men were presented to the apostles for appointment by people who knew them well.
I think we underestimate the importance of what people think about us.
What you are at home is really important.
Whether or not you are a diligent worker does count.
Whether people think you are nice or obnoxious, easy to get on with or someone to be avoided, these are not just opinions, they are valuable observations.
I don’t think congregational-style leadership is very effective and if Jesus used that approach then we would have a completely different set of disciples! However, a lot less mistakes would happen when it comes to appointments being made if we asked not the boss but their colleagues what they thought of you.
How are you rated at home?
What does the person sat at the desk next to you think of your work?
What do your neighbours think?
It does matter.