Devotion for Thursday after Trinity Sunday, 23 June 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for Thursday after Trinity Sunday, 23 June 2011 Anno Domini
“54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.----1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” (Acts 7:54-60, 8:1-4)
There is no earthly pain or danger that can compare to that glorious appearing of our Lord to the comfort and encouragement of His persecuted saints. This event (stoning of Stephen) which appears so sad and tragic to us is precisely the opposite in the mind of God and, here, of Stephen. He has stood boldly and preached the Gospel in the ears of those who hate Christ. He has withheld no truths. He might have presented a very politically correct Gospel, divested of points that would so offend and enrage the company gathered against him; but those truths were the very truths these wicked men needed to hear most either to the conviction of their consciences or to the condemnation of their souls. Stephen, in terms of longevity of faith, was a baby in faith; but, in terms of strong conviction and courage, he was a giant in the Hands of God to proclaim the fullness of the Gospel without restraint. The Word of God is a two-edged sword (Rev 2:12, Heb 4:12). The heart of man does not act with impunity to the Will of God. The Word will either convict the conscience and draw the sinner to Christ, or it will harden the heart and finally condemn the soul.
“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.” Of course they were deeply offended because of their dark deeds and evil intentions. The Sword of God’s Word had penetrated their consciences and fulfilled one of its dual functions. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12). Why would a good and courageous soldier go into the line of battle with a dull or faulty sword? Why would a Called Minister of God go into the fray of heated battle with less than the whole Word of God? He must not water down or temper the Word, but preach it without distinction of the offense in the ears of the hearer. Stephen, a lovely and courageous example of strong heart and Christian Spirit, has stood his ground in battle and taken the sword to the darkest corner of Satan’s principality. He has wielded His Word in a spirit of love and not hate; but it is hate that will inspire the hands of the wicked to cast murderous stones at this young man until he is mortally hurt. Should the Lord lift the veil of our unknowing that we might converse with Stephen today, he would express the greatest joy that the Holy Ghost had given him utterance at the moment of greatest need. He would not disdain the painful death and injustice perpetrated against him but would rather glory in it without any color of regret. He would remind us of the glorious words of the Psalmist: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalms 116:15). So the self-proclaimed exemplars of the law who were actually agents of “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12) gave in to hate and took up stones.
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.” Here, surrounded by the dogs of the hunt, is a precious lamb that lifts not an angry finger in his defense. Please note the consolation the Lord offers to Stephen, whom He loves, at this moment. The pain of every stone that finds its target in Stephen is felt twice by His loving LORD for it is Christ whom they truly wish to destroy. Imagine the comfort of the wondrous vision that falls upon the eyes of Stephen. All of his faith and conviction is confirmed fully thereby, and the hope of a happy eternity with his Lord and Savior looms large in the eyes of Stephen (and it does so at the moment of his greatest earthly peril)! Stephen not only saw, but his youthful manhood proclaimed the vision: “…behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”
“Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.” It is a stain on our faith that the wicked are more often of one accord in their evil intent than the righteous in their zeal for Christ. The wicked will attempt to drown out the voice of truth, outlawing school prayer and public professions of faith. They will also fill their ears with cotton rather than hear truth. Does our love of Christ compel us to the intensity of action as does their hate for Him?
“And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.” There were at least two young men involved here: one was a professing saint of God, the other, though a worker of iniquity at this moment, will become one of the most dedicated Apostles of the Lord. Saul was an educated and polished man of the law – a student of Gamaliel, the Pharisee. His primary vocation was to seek out and persecute the Person of Christ in the form of his followers. But he would soon become Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, after seeing a similar vision and inquiry on a certain Road leading to Damascus!
The Tow Prayers of Stephen:
“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen utters a humble prayer as he was being stoned, not a prayer of imprecation against those who were to shed innocent blood, but a prayer that reflects the sure hope of all the Elect of God: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” We are not in such good hands with All State, but we certainly are with Christ.
“And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” This was the second prayer of dear Stephen. As I write this devotion, I sit in a motel room, alone, in Missouri; but I feel lifted in spirit by another Spirit called Holy to see this event in my imagination’s eye of Stephen at his last mortal moment. It truly brings tears of both sorrow and joy to contemplate. I am made sorrow at the capacity for evil that lurks in the heart of man, but I feel great joy at the truth of how God can create in the heart of a boy such as Stephen a vessel for His own service. I am also impressed that one of the perpetrators of Stephen’s martyrdom will soon be changed as well into such a vessel (Paul). Then I am so heavily reminded that he uses men and women such as you and me to the same purpose of witness though we are in no way meritorious of the privilege. Just as Stephen knew Christ was with him at the moment of his greatest need, we, too, have the comfort of knowing it just as surely as I now feel His looking over my shoulder as I write, in a fashion lacking of any personal beauty, the beauty of this event in a devotion. Stephen fell asleep in Christ, and he had a glorious awakening in Christ the moment of his presumed death! “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2)

The seeds of hate grow more quickly when rained upon by presumed success in their goal. “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” God uses even calamity to achieve His purpose. Often those whose intent is to destroy will be used to accomplish that which the Lord intends. How hateful to them would this knowledge be if they could conceive of it! The hard persecution that prevailed was turned into a wind that would carry the seeds of the Gospel to regions beyond Jerusalem and the Gate called Beautiful.
“And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.” Not only is the death of the saints precious in the eye of the Lord, but also in the hearts of His people. Devout men – committed men, convicted men, dedicated men, courageous men – lamented the hard death of Stephen, tender in years but courageous in faith. The Gospel by more loudly shouted by Stephen in his death than ever in his living.
“As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.” The same Saul, soon to be Paul, will be changed by the very Gospel that Stephen proclaimed with his last breath. He, too, will one day suffer death at the hands of the wicked after following hard and close the dictates of that Lord whose fires he attempted to extinguish. Perhaps you have also attempted to hush the voice of righteousness? It should be a powerful remedy for you if the Lord will draw you also from the battlements of Satan and into the lines of the Lamb of God.
What was the result of the intense persecution that followed on the heals of Stephen’s “falling asleep in Christ?” “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” The Winds of God began to blow, nourished by the blood of men and women such as Stephen. Those Winds bore precious Seed to every corner of the known world. Such a Wind as began to cool the hateful hearts of Saul and countless others still send their refreshing breezes to deserts of Arabia, the jungles of Africa, the Islands of the Sea, and every place that needs the healing love of God to touch the hearts and minds of a disobedient race. Do you feel those Winds in your heart today?