act 7:57

"At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,"

Acts 7:57

Imagine feeling corrected, corrected in a way you plan on continuing in. The religious leaders had power, they had money, and they had the people of Israel. So they covered their ears to Stephen's words, they ultimately covered their ears to God. "If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable." (proverbs 28:9). They knew this verse from the old testament, and i wonder how many times they quoted it, but its sad to see how quickly they would turn a deaf ear to God's messenger. Than again "like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool." (proverbs 26:7). God put convictions on their consciences, so they tried getting rid of the thing convicting them. At the top of their voices they rushed Stephen to kill him. The Sanhedrin had ears believe it or not, and in scripture we know, to those who have ears let them hear. They knew they had ears but out of their flesh they covered them. 

I never want my flesh to control me when i'm being rebuked. "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you." (proverbs 9:8). I want to be a wise man of God, not a fool of the law.

act 7:56

"'Look,' he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'"

-Acts 7:56

Towzer once said, "Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction." I believe this to be truth, and i believe Stephen believed this to be truth. So i don't think Stephen wanted them to look up and see what he saw, but instead he wanted to share with them, what God did for him. He was trying to witness to them one last time, he was simply sharing his testimony with them. He says, "Look, I see…" He was showing them what God has done in his life, because He has been faithful to God. "Whoever defends himself will have himself for his defense, and he will have no other. But let him come defenseless before the Lord and he will have for his defender no less than God Himself." (Another quote from Towzer). This explains Stephen's Stoning so well, he did what God told him to do, and now was the test, so instead of running or trying to get out of it, he just says plain and simple, "hey, you guys know what your about to do to me, i know, God knows, but i'm still here because my Father in Heaven is here with me." "Be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9b). 

I want to keep my eyes on my Savior in Heaven, I want to stand boldly before those who hate me knowing the Godhead is with me, and i want to be able to tell my testimony one last time before i go, so that God can use that for those who witnessed what happened, so they can know Him. 

act 7:55

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

-Acts 7:55

Stephen was in the hot seat, with men literally surrounding him because of the way the Sanhedrin was set up. In the heat of things, he stops and looks up to heaven. This is key in our walk with God, all too often we get to climax in the story and we try to  make the story about someone else, "Hey listen if your upset you should find the apostles they were they ones who picked me up for this food ministry anyway." But Stephen gives us the best example, he kept it Christ focused. He had the attention of everyone. It says in verse 58 that there were witnesses. How powerful is that to the witnesses to be in the sights of your enemy's gun, to be on the receiving end of many stones? And say, "right there! i see the glory of God, and Jesus standing at his right hand, the Spirit is with me, its about You." I don't see Stephen dying for what he believed in, but i see him living for what he believed in. 

Being filled with the Spirit, seeing God and Jesus looking down at me is and inspiration to me, because He is with me no matter where i go. I will continue to live for what i believe in.

act 7:54

"When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him."

-Acts 7:54

The men of the Sanhedrin were listening to Stephen speak on how the Sanhedrin has rejected the Holy Spirit, the prophets who came telling of the Coming one, and Jesus Christ Himself. So they gnashed their teeth at Stephen. In other words they were grinding their teeth at him in anger. Often times this is the second stage of anger. First the eyebrows drop, second the face becomes hard, and your teeth begin to grind in anger. 

I all to often can relate with the Sanhedrin, my anger is not of God nor is my pride, it is something i struggle with. "When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; i was a brute beast before you." (Psalm 73:21-22). I need to spend more alone time with God so he can free me from gnashing of teeth. 

act 2:46

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,"

acts 2:46

Today we see Jews and Christians as separate religions, but the truth is the three thousand that believed at Pentecost were still Jews. Jesus Christ our Savior was in fact a Jew. You see Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill the Law. So it made sense that these three thousand would continue to worship and fellowship in the temple courts, because Jesus Christ was the answer to their questions. This belief was were convict arose. See half the Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and the other half (the early church) knew Him to be God. This verse must have took weeks to be carried out. So things got hostile at times, just enough for the early church to begin meeting in homes. With sincere hearts they continued to grow with each other in Christ our savior. 

Believing in Jesus Christ gave us freedom. He took us from the works we were doing in hope of being good enough by going to the temple, to the freedom of His love bringing Joy to God's heart everywhere they went. With Glad and sincere hearts they fellowshipped and broke bread everywhere. They could literally role out of bed and worship together in their homes. This freedom through Jesus Christ is what brought us "glad and sincere hearts."

One thing that caught my attention was the two words "every day." How often do we see our church family? Sunday morning, maybe the evening service, perhaps Bible study on wednesdays? I want to spend everyday with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore i plan on spending each and everyday with the Church, and if we are not out in the world sharing the love of christ than we will be at the church building. 

act 2:45

"Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."

acts 2:45

As we enter any major city in this day and age. The lights shine bright against the billboards of objects society wants us to want. We see the television ads of what we need to live. My question is how do we need it for tomorrow, when we didn't have it yesterday? Evidently the word "need" means something you require to have because it is essential to your daily survival. Our early church had their focus right, they were filled with the Spirit. The early church knew that God was in their presents Jeremiah 30:11a says, "I am with you and will save you, declares the Lord." With confidence from this, they were able to sell everything they had and give to a brother in his time of need. 

This verse reminds me of a trip i took to the beach with a few families from the church. As me and my best friend-Tim fished and helped my little brother-Jeremiah (who is 9) cast off the shore. We had a multitude of little boys hanging out with us within minutes, we didn't know who they were but it was all good company. As my brother got tired of seeing us bring fish after fish in, he decided to go swimming. When he was gone we asked him if we could use his pole to let our new friends practice fishing. He said yes, and gave me a little look. I knew what his look meant because i all to often have the same look in my eye. Its that, "yes that is fine because i have been raised to do it, but i know someone will break it" look. Sure enough some sand got in the inner compartment of his reel, and it was broken (for the time being). He came back and just looked at me and said, "i knew i shouldn't have brought it." Well i ended up fixing it for him later, and everything was fine, but i all too often have the same feeling with the things I have been assigned a steward to. Every time something breaks, God renews it, and I am constantly learning that they were God's to begin with. 

Act 2:44

"All the believers were together and had everything in common."

-act 2:44

We are: waiters, accountants, computer programers, construction workers, doctors, lawyers, the list goes on. You see: tall men short men, fat men, skinny men. We are all shades of colors, each with a unique tone. Some men are leaders and some men are followers. Physically, socially, and emotionally we are a diverse group. You can spend an eternity dissecting the church. You can waste the short time we have on this earth over analyzing your brothers and sisters in the body. You will have a great survey at the end of your observations. But this will pass, and it wont matter. 

The undeniable truth is we have the same Father in heaven, and He loves us all. "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:3-5) We serve the true and living God. Our eyes are all looking to heaven, and that is all we need to have in common. "All the believers were one in heart and mind…" (Act 4:32). When you really let your mind go, and come to the realization that what you have on this earth does not compose who you are. You are free to believe that once all is said and gone, all that we have left is our Salvation in Jesus Christ. The things of this world will not last. They are futile. It would not make sense to associate each other according to the flesh because its only a matter of time before it rots. 

For many years I would complain to my mother that i had nothing in common with anyone at church, she always looked at me and said, "you have the only thing that matters in common." I finally figured it out the last few years, and I need to continue to see my brothers and sisters in the church not for where they work, or their appearance, because God "…does not look at the things man looks at. man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 samuel 16:7). I think i can love more with my heart, if i only look at other's hearts. And in doing so, i will see all i have in common with the body of Christ just like the thousand new believers did at Pentecost. 

"Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." 

-Act 2:43

As the people stood in God's presents they could not move away from the feeling of awe. Like a husband who is standing hand in hand with his soon to be bride at the alter, the feeling is indescribable… but he knows the love he has for her, and the realization that she will forever be his. We can imagine being one of the Three thousand standing there knowing that we are forever Gods. With our lives being given to Him and there is no going back, even if there was an option who would want that after "He rescued [us] from [our] powerful enemy, from [our] foes, who were too strong for [us]." (Psalm 18:17). We shall be His people, and He shall be our God, giving Him full dominion over our lives. The feeling is real, better than any rush… no wave, no plate of food, no amount of dopamine can come close, because the feeling of His love last forever. He "…turned my wailing into dancing, [He] removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to [Him] and not be silent…" (Psalm 30:11). The three thousand simply received God's love, and through His love we received everything we have. it is a wonder that I wake up each morning with the health and life I have. The things that happen in each of day can only be described as miracles. God's hand is upon my life and it is obvious. I will continue to look to the sky, to the depths of the deep, to a baby's smile and be reminded that my Creator gave these gifts to me. I never want that initial love to grow dull. I am in awe of my Creator, without Him i have nothing. So who am I to take my eyes off of Him?

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Act 2:42 "They" meaning the three thousand people whose lives were changed at Pentecost , because they devoted their lives to Jesus Christ. 

Primarily, they studied God's Word, which was the "apostles' teaching." Their teaching and letters consisted of stories of Jesus' love, His miracles, and simple the things that made Him to be our Savior. The closer the three thousand people got to knowing Jesus, the closer the three thousand became of one mind creating the body of Christ. 

Secondly, they began to fellowship with each other, which incorporates a whole list of things from simply talking to each other, up to supporting one other in time of need. Fellowship includes much more than just say a quick hello and the typical sunday morning social questions. Fellowship is what we will be spending much of eternity doing, its about developing eternal relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Thirdly, the people became to "break bread" or eat together. Image a world without Costco; you cant buy salmon by the fillet, you cant buy chicken by the pound, and you can not buy fruits and vegetables in the quality or quantity we can today. People worked hard for the food they had. I have been doing a lot of fishing this past year and regardless of the type of fish, it takes time in order to catch fish. One day i was trolling for salmon with my buddy Rob for close to 9 hours before we got a bite, and we only took home one fish. Now keep that thought in mind and thing about this: you spent your whole day fishing for that fish and it might feed your family if your lucky, now do you think you would want guest over as well? absolutely not, because in their culture the pot luck did not exist, if you asked someone to come over to eat its because you had food to share with them. Logically thinking, for the common man there is no way you could be sure you would catch fish for the next night. They became of one mind and for that they set their eyes on whats eternal. They broke bread with their eternal family members, and didn't allow the worries of this life to effect their fellowship. Where God abides, God provides. 

Lastly, they spent time in prayer together. There is power in prayer, when we take time to talk to God, he is listening. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." I need to spend more time with my brothers and sisters in prayer. I all too often find myself praying alone, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the power that I can harness in a group setting, can move a mountain. In today's culture, I want to be used to move those mountains. A revival is coming.