Sunday, July 1st
Read: Acts 7
There are many things wrong with the Church today. We see hypocrisy, dead religion, a lack of love, apathy about things God really cares about, and the list goes on. What do we do about these things? Some people keep quiet, some people speak privately about them and some people speak publicly about them. While Jesus was on the earth he said that the way to know if we love God is to watch for obedience to his commands. We are to speak when God wants us to speak and we are to speak what God wants us to speak. Are we always obedient to when and what the Lord is prompting us to say?
Stephen, in Acts, was a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit and he had a holy discontent for the way things were. Stephen spent his time administering the food distribution in the church, doing signs and wonders, and speaking with those in the synagogues. He spoke of things that the people around him didn’t like or agree with. Stephen continued to speak up despite opposition because he knew he was speaking God’s words. Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit; the words that came out of his mouth were from God. We, too, need the Holy Spirit’s help and counsel in order to speak in a revolutionary way today.
Stephen also knew what he was talking about; he knew history. He was informed. He knew that the times he lived in were a direct fulfillment of prophecy. Are we the same? Do we make educated statements or are we sometimes clumsy with what we say? Words have power. We need to make sure we only speak words that are from God. And when you do speak words from the Lord, don’t be surprised if you get opposition.
In this chapter Stephen primarily was pointing out the sins and blindness of those in opposition to his message with the backing of God’s word. They had rejected Christ and his message. They had murdered their Messiah! Stephen reminded them of what the prophets said so long ago and how their own actions fulfilled these prophecies. They were infuriated by what he said and couldn’t believe he had the guts to say it!
God speaks to people’s hearts to convict them, and people don’t like to be made aware of their sin. Sometimes he chooses to use other people to reveal sin and to bring conviction to our hearts. Our reaction to what we hear is what will be revolutionary or not. We have a choice to let conviction revolutionize our life or cause us to go deeper into disobedience and hard-heartedness.
When you speak on behalf of the Lord you will get persecuted for speaking truth—whether it is for the purpose of bringing conviction or not. Make sure it is God’s words you are getting persecuted for; that it’s God’s voice you are following. Test it with the scriptures. Would you really gain anything if you were persecuted for the words of your own mouth and not the words of the Living God?
Process:
– If God were to speak a revolutionary message to you for the Church, are you prepared to give it?
– Do you guard the words that come out of your mouth? Do you test them with the scriptures?
– Do you rely on God’s understanding instead of your own?
– Do you receive what God says to you through others or do you reject words that convict and make you feel uncomfortable?
– Again, how might you understand the way(s) God speaks? And what are you doing with what you hear?
Youth Department