Application in Acts: Week Two

Day 8: A true witness of Jesus Christ will, as a part of the Church, share with others who are in need. (Acts 4:32-5:16)

   There is a great lesson to be learned from the early Church in the book of Acts. They were unselfish; they considered nothing to be their own (4:32), no one had need of anything (4:34), and it was because they gave to who was needy (4:35).  An example is given of Barnabas; he sold a piece of land and gave the money away. That’s quite a bit different than the materialistic society we live in today, where it’s rare to even find a Church that does that.

   And the Scriptures tell us that God took this seriously. There was a certain couple named Ananias and Sapphira who sold their land but instead of giving it all away, kept a portion of the money for their selves. When Ananias came to bring the money to the disciples, Peter said “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (5:3). Wow! That’s pretty harsh. I wonder what he would have said about our materialism. “You have not lied to men, but to God.” (5:4). and what happened? They died. (5:5, 10) There’s no reason to believe that anyone other than God had killed them. He was serious.

   Although there was a result of disobedience for Ananias and Sapphira, there was also a result of obedience for the others. Verses 12-16 highlight the growth of the community and its experience with the Spirit’s power.

Day 9: A true witness of Jesus Christ, when doing as the Lord commands, will not need to worry about the earthly hardships they must face, for God will bring them out of it according to His will. (Acts 5:17-42)

   After seeing all the wonders the Holy Spirit was doing through the Church, the Sadducees became jealous, arrested the apostles, and put them into prison. But such a situation is no problem for a slave of Christ, for God had sent an angel to break them out, instructing them to stand in the temple and preach the gospel (5:19-20)

   And they obeyed. Just as Peter’s healing of the lame man provoked a trial before the Sanhedrin (3:1-4:22), once again the apostolic miracles precipitated a trial, this time with all the apostles. The high priest then stood before them and said “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name” (5:28). But Peter and the apostles’ answer is one that should be on the tip of the tongue of every witness of Christ, “We must obey God rather than men” (5:30). They were beaten and let go (5:40), but their response to it is one that totally blows my mind. They were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name (5:41)!  THAT is being a witness of Jesus Christ! REJOICING for the opportunity to suffer in Jesus’ name!  I’m sure they kept Jesus’ words in Matt. 5:11-12 readily in their mind.

   And guess what? They didn’t stop! Every day they did not cease to teach and preach Jesus as the Christ. (5:42)

Day 10: A true witness of Jesus Christ will make sure no needy person goes un-helped. (Acts 6:1-7)

   The growth of the Church created problems when a number of Hellenistic (i.e., Greek-speaking) Jews responded to the gospel. The resulting language barrier led to the neglect of some needy widows, and the apostles called upon the Greek-speaking community to choose leaders to meet the need. They could have just left them alone, but they didn’t. I think they probably thought about what Jesus would have done and it drove them to action. They chose seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to serve the widows while the Apostles continued to preach.

   And what was the result?

   I think if we really want revival to happen in our culture today, we need to follow what the apostles did here in Acts.

   “And the Word of God continued to increase” (6:7)

   “But the Word of God increased and multiplied” (12:24)

   “And the Word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” (13:49)

   “So the Word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” (19:20)

     I rest my case.

Day 11: A true witness of Jesus Christ may have to bear the ultimate witness. The first step: initiation of witnessing. (Acts 6:8-15)

   Like I said on day one, the Greek word for “witness” is μάρτυς (martus), which came to be associated with witnessing to the point of death, from which the word “martyr” derives. The next three days will be a study on what the “ultimate witness” is. Stephen became the first such “ultimate witness” in the early church (c. A.D. 31/34).

   Today I will explain what the “initiation of witnessing” looks like.

   Stephen was the first listed of the seven Hellenists selected to minister to the widows (v. 5). Like the apostles, he not only ministered to the needy but was primarily concerned with the ministry of the Word. He preached Christ in the Greek-speaking synagogues of Jerusalem, where he was seized and dragged before the Sanhedrin.

   Stephen was said to be full of faith and the Holy Spirit (v. 5): the two main ingredients of a true witness of Jesus (look back at day one). We see that the initiation of witnessing should start when you confess Jesus and the Holy Spirit indwells you.

   But such witness will not be popular. It’s not popular today and it wasn’t popular when Stephen did it. Just when it seems like you’re on the top of your game and you’re “doing great signs and wonders among the people” (v. 8), the opposition will come. Because when you’re facing God it means you’ve turned your back on the world, you can’t look both ways at the same time.  You may come across people like Stephen did, people who “set up false witnesses” (v. 13) to take you down, and you may even face the same results as he did, like being arrested. But even through all of that, can it be said of you, “And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (v. 15”)? He probably wasn’t beautiful and thus his face wasn’t physically like an angel’s, there was apparently a visible manifestation of the brightness of the glory of God on his face, as there had been with Moses (Ex. 34:29-30, 35) and, to an even greater extent, with Jesus at His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2)

Day 12: A true witness of Jesus Christ may have to bear the ultimate witness. The second step: the defense of the witness. (Acts 7:1-53)

   Stephen's defense is the longest discourse in Acts. It is a selective recital of OT history, including sections on Abraham (v. 2-8), Joseph (v. 9-16), Moses (v. 17-34), and Israel's apostasy (v. 35-50). It was cut short when Stephen applied his history lesson to Israel's present rejection of the Messiah (v. 51-53). Stephen responded to the charges by turning them on his accusers; THEY were the ones who were really disobeying God because they rejected His appointed leaders.

   Stephen was not ashamed of what he believed. He not only knew what he believed was true, he could explain WHY he believed it was true. He not only defended his position but turned the tables against the Sanhedrin because they had rejected Jesus (v.52). The witness just wouldn't stop.

Day 13: A true witness of Jesus Christ may have to bear the ultimate witness. The third step: the fulfillment of the witness. (Acts 7:54-8:3)

   Stephen's testimony was cut short as the enraged Sanhedrin turned on him (7:54). Their anger intensified                                 

 as he shared his vision of the exalted Christ (7:55-57). What they do next made me laugh: they "cried out with a loud voice and stopped

their ears". Just like my little brother and sister when I say something they don't want to hear.

   The anger built up so much to the point where they threw him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen had fulfilled his witness. As he died he was calling out to Jesus, not only for himself but for his persecutors. He died praying for the people who were killing him!

   Although Stephen had fulfilled his witness, there were many Christians who had yet to fulfill theirs, and since Stephen's martyrdom triggered a general persecution against the church (8:1b-3), it looked like they would get their chance.

   Acts now also introduces a new character, Saul, who will have a huge role to play in

God's plan for the Church.

Day 14: The witnessing must continue. Period. (Acts 8:4-25)

   With his message of a God not bound to one people or place, Stephen had laid the foundation for a worldwide mission. Philip, who like Stephen was a Hellenist, was the first to put Stephen's vision into practice, witnessing to the Samaritans.

   There was a certain magician named Simon, who had practiced magic and amazed everybody, but when he had heard Phillip praching the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, he believed and was baptized. He continued with Philip and the disciples and, after seeing true miracles done through the Holy Spirit, noticed that his petty magic was worthless compared to the power of God. But Simon, being ignorant of the power of God, thought too much of the power of money; he tried to pay the disciples to teach him how to lay his hands on people, in order for them to recieve the Holy Spirit. Peter was not happy with this saying, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 

   How often do we try to obtain gifts of God with money rather than just by obediance to the gospel?