Power

Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

There have been few times in human history when a man appeared to be more powerless than Stephen appeared in this moment. Everything is going against him. The tide of human opinion, the power of those in judgment, and the ammunition about to be aimed at his head and body, all speak to the powerlessness of his situation.

Stephen is about to die. There is no uncertainty. We are left to wonder, how might we face death in a similar situation?

Is Stephen dying with a sense of guilt over his condition? On the contrary, he is completely innocent of all the charges which have been leveled against him He knows they are all contrived lies and absolute falsehoods.

Then surely His God will save him. This, the God of all Power and Wonder and Might. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!

As Stephen had provided a brief synopsis of the Old Testament before his accusers, perhaps some of the images had flooded his mind as he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, the story of Isaac being spared at Mount Moriah, or of Gideon and his 300 men provided miraculous victory, or of blind Samson bringing down the pagan temple, or of David slaying Goliath, or of Jonathan and his armor-bearer going up and defeating an entire army.

Our God is an All-Powerful God, who spoke forth creation. He can do anything. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!

And here is Stephen - God’s own precious Stephen - the one who had so boldly stood before the ruling council to proclaim both the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the wickedness of the condition of those who sat in judgment, now kneeling, now about to receive the intense suffering of not only stones, but the hatred and wrath of false accusation and indignation. Not only was Stephen about to be killed, he was being vilified and his reputation trashed in the process. He had nothing to offer in his own defense in this life-ending situation. The only question: Would God come through for Stephen as He had so many times before in the history of those He loves?

But he also recalled a more recent history, one in which his own Savior went to the cross, experiencing a similar fate. And he saw the Gates of Heaven opening to him, with Jesus standing by The Father to receive him, and he remembered what Jesus had said…

- Pastor Bill