PROCLAMATION
“And Stephen, full of
faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” Acts
6:8 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
These are the acts of
the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the
influence of The Holy Spirit of God. As the number of disciples
multiplied, there was complaining and murmuring among the people that some of
the widows were not being served food. The
twelve apostles gathered all of the multitude of disciples together. They
asked them to select from among themselves seven men, who were full of The Holy
Spirit and wisdom, to whom they could delegate this responsibility. (Acts
6:1-4) Stephen was one of the seven men selected. (Acts 6:5) These
believers were laymen and are considered to be the first deacons. They were all well versed in The Word of God
and they spoke well. The apostles prayed
over them and laid their hands on them, and these men were blessed.
Stephen was full of God’s grace and power, and he was able to perform signs and
great wonders. (Acts 6:6-10) It is possible that all seven of these men
were blessed with the ability to do this. However, Stephen was such a
powerful witness for the gospel of Jesus, The Christ, that he incurred the
hatred of the Sadducees and they plotted against him. (Acts 6:10-15)
APPLICATION
It is important to
note that Stephen and the other six men were selected out of the group of
believers. They were students of God’s Word. They were not
priests or apostles, but they had good reputations, and were full of wisdom and
The Holy Spirit, (Acts 6:3) and full of God’s grace and power. (Acts 6:8)
If we truly believe and are serious students of The Word of God, then each of
us could be used by The Lord God to be a powerful witness for Christ. It
is not just the preachers that God can use to do His work. We all can do
great things for Him if we are faithful and willing to be used by Him.
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