PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Acts 6:8–10 (NIV)
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
CONSIDER THIS
Four words to keep in mind from today’s text (at least four). They reveal a pattern we have already begun to see as the Holy Spirit grows the church.
Now Stephen . . . Opposition arose
It’s critical to understand the bigger picture here. Were we to get a birds-eye view of the first-century church, everywhere we spotted the activity of the Holy Spirit we would also witness the opposition stirring. The same remains true to the present day. We must understand the real enemy is not the Jews, the Freedmen, or any other human being. Listen to how the apostle Paul will later describe the battle.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:10–12).
Human beings must indeed be held accountable when they serve as the willing yet often unwitting agents of darkness, but they are not the ultimate opponent. Evil is real and everyone remains susceptible to being drawn into its strategies. While evil is no match for the Holy Spirit, only those who learn to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” have any hope of standing against and overcoming it. The big lesson: as much as people may willingly or unwittingly align themselves with the “enemy,” people are never the enemy.
One more piece here. It is important to understand the difference between “resistance” and “opposition.” Resistance is a good, needful, and helpful thing. It often comes from wise people who aren’t trying to stand in the way but whom the Holy Spirit often deploys to refine a project or planned initiative. Opposition is of another order altogether. It sometimes takes discernment to tell the difference. Here’s a couple of tells in discerning the difference. Resistance will most often speak directly to you. Opposition will readily go behind your back. Resistance openly and graciously confronts. Opposition secretly conspires. Resistance refines the direction. Opposition attacks the person.
This core dynamic of Christian discipleship consists of the crisis and process of learning to be “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” who is the Holy Spirit. One more key piece of information: THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL ALWAYS LOOK LIKE JESUS. We simply cannot learn or comprehend how the Holy Spirit works apart from keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. And this will not happen apart from immersing ourselves in every detail we can grasp from the inspired accounts we have of his life as revealed in the four Gospels.
We are about to witness a case study, a high-definition demonstration of how all of this works out in a human life. Prepare to be astonished.
Remember in Luke 12 when Jesus said, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
We are about to see this unfold in vivid detail. Ending where we began today:
Now Stephen . . . Opposition arose . . .
NOW WHAT?
But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Enough said.
THE PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION
Lord Jesus, I am your witness.
I receive your righteousness and release my sinfulness.
I receive your wholeness and release my brokenness.
I receive your fullness and release my emptiness.
I receive your peace and release my anxiety.
I receive your joy and release my despair.
I receive your healing and release my sickness.
I receive your love and release my selfishness.
Come Holy Spirit transform my heart, mind, soul, and strength so that my consecration becomes your demonstration; that our lives become your sanctuary. For the glory of God our Father, amen.
THE QUESTION
Have you been in situations where you discerned the difference between resistance and opposition? How have you experienced the difference? Journal that out a bit today. How have you dealt with opposition? How do you tend to deal with conflict? Why?
THE HYMN
Today we will sing “There’s Within My Heart a Melody.” It is hymn 144 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
P.S. PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR AN OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR NEW ROOM CONFERENCE.
It runs today through Saturday.
Now repeat after me—I am coming next year. Deo Volente! (if it is the Lord’s will).
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