ACTS CHAPTER 6

MAIN THINGS

It is awesome to see God using just another guy. Stephen was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and not an apostle. That is an incredible description of His life. I have been thinking about my life, would I have any kind of extra thing written about me like Stephen or would I be just a name. I want to have extraordinary faith and follow God well, not just mediocre. If my role is to be in the list of names though, I will humbly accept my position and allow God to do with me what He would do. My intent in life though is to be sold out to such a degree that I will look back very grateful at this one chance I had at life. Stephen’s attitude is really impressive because he doesn’t point fingers or tell that the men are lying, he just continues preaching and teaching. I want to exhibit faith like Stephen in this life.

QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

vv. 1 – There was division between the Grecian and Hebraic Jews by a language barrier. They were Christians these were not outsiders, they had come to know Christ and were now living with the Christians. It is cool to see that more and more people are being added to the number. Inevitably though, people begin to complain. This type of complaint would of course happen if anyone looked too closely at the exact distribution of food. What are you complaining about in life that is tearing others down and even your own attitude? What can you fall into complaining about that is trivial or destructive to unity that you need to let go of?

vv. 2-4 – The disciples greatly valued leadership and would only put in leadership (even of distributing food to widows) to those were full of the Spirit and wisdom. This is so wise in selection, for those you select will represent you either poorly or solidly to a world in need. Where is God calling you to serve? Do you need to look more intently at the word and spend more time in prayer or are you called to a service role within the body? We are all called to ministry, I think this is defined here, but in what capacity is the specific call.

vv. 5-7 – As I wrote in the main things section, I am challenged by the description of Stephen. It is also amazing to see what happened as leadership was chosen wisely, the numbers increased rapidly and even priests were accepting Christ. How would you be described?

vv. 8-10 – Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He was walking in the power of God. No one could truly oppose him. This is Stephen, not one of the disciples, this could be you. What is keeping you from walking in the power of the Holy Spirit? What is the unconfessed sin? What do you still need to learn or believe?

vv. 11-15 – The people couldn’t find anything wrong with him so they started making up things about blasphemy. This reminds me of someone else, oh yeah, Jesus. What could people find in your life if they dug deeply? I know this challenges me to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. Stephen did that and they couldn’t touch him with any truth. His face was even that of an angel in this moment. Wow! That’s cool!