Peter and Stephen; a Lesson from the Early Church

“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” -Luke 17:10.

There is a lesson from scripture that the Lord showed me years ago, and it involves a simple comparison between Peter in Acts chapter 2, and Stephen in Acts chapters 6&7. In each account, these believers were noted to be full of the Holy Ghost; Acts 2:4, 6:5, and 7:55. The results of this spiritual condition for each of the 2 men, however, are very different!

Peter spoke in this condition in Acts 2:14-41, with the end result being that 3,000 people came to salvation. Stephen's speaking situation is found in Acts chapter 7, but in the end he was stoned to death. The results are quite opposite from one another. What do I take from this?

What we are dealing with today is a “prosperity gospel,” one that is all about positive outcomes, especially to the appearance. The testimony of Stephen's account flies in the face of such thinking. It shows us that the immediate, apparent result of our obedient service in no way indicates whether it was right or wrong in God's eyes. If we walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor.5:7), then we need to believe God and the direction He gives us, and not get caught up in appearances;

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” -John 7:24

Think of all the ways in which the professing church has become oriented to getting good results in men's eyes. How many came to church? How much money came in? How many participated in your programs? How many at the altar? How lively are your services? What is your status in the community? With local officials? I thought we were here to please God, not men!

“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” -2 Corinthians 4:18.

Jesus promised that in Him we would have peace, but in the world, tribulation (John 16:33). And through Paul it is affirmed that through MUCH tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 22:14). We walk by FAITH, which is the evidence of things that are not seen (Hebrews 11:1). So when we have discovered God's will for us we need to carry it out, and remember that God's ways are foolish in men's eyes (I Corinthians 2:14). Are we willing to be fools for Christ?

Maybe you have experienced this; obeying God to the best of your prayer-sought ability, but the results outwardly gave the appearance of a bad decision: DO NOT give up! You are in good company with many others. Be patient, and lean upon the Bible, for we have wonderful promises to rely on. Keep an expectant eye open to observe the way God will use it for His glory. And always remember the examples of Peter vs. Stephen.

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” -Hebrews 10:35&36.

Gathering Gleanings: the Harvest is Past

“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do;” -I Chronicles 12:32A.

It is all too common to hear sermons preached about how the harvest (of souls) is at hand, and how the Lord needs laborers sent into that Harvest. There is some truth in this, but today's expectations are misled. The scriptures used for this come from Luke 10:2, John 4:35, and...

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” -Matt. 9:37,38.

When Jesus spoke of the plentiful harvest, He had not yet made the way of salvation through His death on the cross. Even when He gave the Great Commission to His disciples, their preaching of the Gospel was just beginning. We are now nearly 2,000 years beyond these beginning phases, with God's wrath soon to be outpoured; they are the “days of vengeance” from Luke 21:22.

Please don't misunderstand me; God desires all men to be saved, and the preaching of the Gospel must continue earnestly, because opportunities for salvation are fading fast. But we must continue in this as unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10), without the expectation of great results, for that is the time we live in. We must learn to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15);

Daniel 8:23 says it is a time when the transgressors are come to the full.

Matthew 24:12 says that the love of many will grow cold, because there is much evil.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 shows a “falling away” from saving faith.

I Timothy 4:1 says that men will depart from the faith.

2 Timothy 3:5 prophesies there will be a “form” of godliness which denies God.

2 Timothy 3:13 shows that evil men & seducers will become worse and worse.

2 Timothy 4:3,4 tells us people will reject sound doctrine, and turn to fables.

Revelation 9:20,21 & 16:9 show us that men WILL NOT REPENT, even after God chastens.

There will be NO end times' revival-Jesus never indicated that, and said it would be just like in the time of Noah, and the time of Lot (Luke 17:26-30). We must preach the truth, we must care about souls, we must give them warning while there is still time to do so. But the main harvest of souls is long past, yet some gleanings from the harvest may still be gathered. If you care about lost souls, every lost sheep is precious (Luke 15:4-7)! Jesus said that indeed, few will be saved.

This blog is written in no way for discouragement, but that you may still reach out with the true Gospel, and understand when the multitudes are NOT flocking to Christ. Yet some still may come, and we must leave the accounting up to God; it is He alone that can save the lost.

“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” -Matthew 11:27.

Drafted to be God's Soldiers

“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:”

-Psalm 144:1

When a person first comes to Christ, there is usually a flood of peace & joy that they experience within. Little do they realize that they have just been enlisted as a Christian soldier! There is no choice about this enlistment, it comes naturally with the commitment. Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but in HIM we will have peace, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Do I exaggerate by saying this? Isn't the scripture listed written through David, and in the Old Testament? A quick look will verify that the warfare principles exist throughout the whole Bible.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)" -2 Corinthians 10:3,4

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" -2 Timothy 2:3,4

And as you probably know already, Ephesians 6:10-18 identifies our enemy, the devil and his fallen angels, and the weapons God has given us to fight them.

The devil hates all of mankind, but by our naturally sinful nature he already has the great majority of people (John 3:18). Those that he fights hardest against are the redeemed of the Lord, for they have the weaponry to launch an effective counter-attack, and by which more soldiers may be enlisted. Beware! The devil will fight hard against the new, weaker Christians, trying to disarm them before they are even aware of the weapons God has given them for the fight.

These things are being written to the body of Christ for their encouragement, that they might continue in that spiritual journey Jesus has called them to. Don't be discouraged, soldier, hold the line-"Resist the devil, and he will flee" (James 4:7). And remember that God will NOT allow you to be tested beyond what He has already given you the power to overcome!

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." -I Corinthians 10:13.

Not every Christian follows the exact same route, but the devil will oppose all who have made Jesus their savior & Lord. If you are having the struggles, remember that these trials are a confirmation of a transformed life (2 Corinthians 5:17), rather than showing something is amiss. Be encouraged! Be strengthened! No evil the devil can bring will separate you from the savior!

"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:33-39.

Jonah and the Whale

 “The Words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.”-Psalm 12:6,7

The story of Jonah is a very popular Bible story with children, and often repeated. Kids love stories with animals! But this story also has points of controversy with adults that are really are not needed.

When we read the account in Jonah 1:17, it simply reads that God had prepared “a great fish” to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was likely telling his story to a scribe. But the questions arise from Jesus' account of it in Matthew 12:40, which reads;

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

And so the problem arises for us today because we have been taught that whales are not fish, they are mammals. I'm certain it didn't matter much to Jonah at the time! Yet this really is easy to understand, for the term “mammal” was first coined in 1752, long after the Bible was written. So it really was no problem for a whale to be considered a big fish, or a big fish a whale. Today we even have a whale shark which is very much a fish, but is the size of a whale.

But there is more of a problem due to the Bible revisions, when the accounts in Jonah & Matthew were CHANGED to make them match. Much worse still is the fact that the revisionists chose to change Jesus' words, not Jonah's! This was never honest re-translation, and shows a good measure of contempt toward the person of Jesus Christ.

Now you are aware of the Bible alterations regarding the story of Jonah. It is a grief, yet it also fulfills prophecy about last days' men, taken from Romans 1:25 when it reads, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie...” And the truth of this matter is that it was a whale; which could also be looked at as the type of fish that swallowed Jonah, because mammals were not yet present.

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” -Proverbs 30:5

No More Good-byes

 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I (Jesus) would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” - John 14:2,3

Jesus spoke these tender words to the 11 remaining disciples that were with Him the night before His death. They were words of hope the disciples would need to carry them through the next few troubling days.

But the sorrow of the disciples ended before long (John 16:20) when Jesus rose from the dead; our own sorrow for the death of a loved one can last much longer, even years. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” - Matthew 5:4

When we think of repenting from our sins and becoming “born again,” we often think about it in terms of changing our lives here, or avoiding the fires of Hell. But there is another benefit that is wonderful, and is taken much too lightly – there is hope in dying. The pains of death vanish quickly as our spirits live on, without pain, in Jesus.

Yet during our lives we do also suffer much emotional pain when separating from loved ones. Not only in death, but even normal good-byes in life can be very painful (Acts 20:38).

A big part of the eternal life God offers is the chance to be with those we love, with no more separations! He wants there to be no more good-byes to interrupt our joy.

My wife and I didn't like the sound of saying good-bye to each other when we were first together. Neither did we care for, “see you later,” because we wished not to be apart at all. If we had to be apart, we wanted it to be for only as short a time as possible. Not liking good-byes, or any need to separate, we now say, “I'll see you soon”; when we must separate for a time.

By receiving salvation through Jesus, God's love delivers us from the flames of Hell. But this is just the beginning of how God shows us His love; He has taken the sting out of death, and removed the pain of Good-byes.