Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.

 

Stephen was appointed by the Church as one of the first Deacons but Stephen was called by God for far more than that! God had placed upon him the Calling of an Evangelist and Stephen wasted no time in stepping into that position.

 

We read in the 6th Chapter of the Book of Acts that Stephen was a man of great knowledge, faith, and Power. This would indicate that he was full of the Holy Spirit and spoke with boldness to anyone who would listen.

 

The Church was growing by leaps and bounds every day which caused the hierarchy of the Synagogue to become more and more violent against them. Stephen had stepped into a leadership position and was gathering large crowds. Great numbers of people were listening to him and giving their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. This infuriated the Jewish council and as we read in Acts 6:9-14 they rose up against Stephen personally. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

 

It’s easy to see that they framed Stephen and convinced people to stand before the council and lie about him. In addition, they had the people all stirred up against him. At the same time, hundreds of people were coming to Christ because they were hearing Stephen preach the Truth of the Gospel.

 

Basically, what they had was a riot and a revival happening at the same time! This happened all because one man (Stephen) had the knowledge, faith, Power, and courage to stand up in the streets and preach the Gospel.

 

Down through the ages, this has continued to be the case. Whenever someone who is Called by God to Preach and is empowered by the Holy Spirit takes a stand and speaks the Truth of the Gospel of Christ, two things happen at the same time: Revival breaks out and a riot ensues.

 

What we need today is a lot more people with the knowledge, faith, Power, and courage of Stephen. Perhaps God is calling you to be a Stephen in your town. Pray about it. I will guarantee you that your community is full of lost people who need to hear the Truth of the Gospel of Christ. Will you do it?

 

 

The Gospel of Christ will……..….turn the tide……….in this world.

 

Expecting a revival and a riot!         Doreen

 

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