The Resurrection and the Life

I had a restless night struggling spiritually with my faith. I had fixed my eyes back on a situation that looks very dead! Hopelessness became a running thought in my mind until I fell off to sleep but not a deep sleep. I woke up with only 5 hours (if that of sleep) and opened my computer and started reading John 11. I am glad because the Father had something He wanted to say to me.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” John 11: 25-26

This was Jesus' response to Martha when he came to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Sometimes I think I need to be reminded of this scripture. I hear a lot of messages about Lazarus being dead and coming back to life. But rarely do you hear a message on this passage. This morning I needed this passage. I was looking a dead situation with no hope. I wish I was like Martha who responded with confidence as she recognized who Jesus was. I am more like Mary who questions Jesus with tears, anger, grief and sense of hopelessness. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32

But Jesus was not done and it didn't matter that Mary didn't understand that Jesus had come to raised what was dead to life. It wasn't Mary weeping at his feet that caused him to go and raise Lazarus. He went back to Judea to bring glory to the Father.

This morning I believe the Lord is saying to me...

Jackie, “I am the resurrection and the life .Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Jackie?”Today the Lord is asking me “Do you believe this Jackie? Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that all who believe in me will live even after dying? Do you believe that those who live in me will never die?”Do you believe, Jackie?” If you truly believe in me then have faith in me, have hope in me, and above all else trust in me.

Its so easy to believe it over my own life but when I look at the deadness the situation and hopelessness it's not always easy for me to remember that He is the resurrection and the life! He can call what is spiritually dead to life! No matter what I may see with my natural eye He sees differently.

Jackie

7/26/12

Emmanuel

Sometimes all it takes is a song to remind us who we are in Christ Jesus.

I remember years ago during church worship questioning my walk with the Lord when he spoke to me through this song.  I had never heard it before that morning.   He said "you are redeemed, free from sin and alive in me." When the Lord speaks to you and then uses a song to break through the hardness you know deliverance(redemption) is about to happen! This was one of many song that God has used throughout the years! For some reason today the word "redeemed" kept coming to mind and this song came to mind as well. I could listen to this song  over and over and never get tired of it!

http://youtu.be/dKhg7Fj75rw


Emmanuel
Emmanuel, God with us
What a wonderful mystery
What an awesome love
I have been, made free from sin
I am crucified with Christ
And in Jesus I’m alive

CHORUS:
And I’m redeemed by the blood of the Lamb
And I am loved by the Great I AM

BRIDGE:
You are the Prince of Peace, Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Risen One, Lion and the Lamb
Alpha and Omega

Sound The Alarm

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand.” Joel 2:1

The Lord is speaking to us. He is calling out to sound the alarm. He is saying that it is time for a turning back to Him. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will relay to you what the Lord has placed on my heart.

Judgment is falling upon us. God’s wrath is approaching us faster each and every passing day. Jesus teaches us the signs of the end of the age in Matthew 24 and these signs are in evidence all around us. A comparison of scripture and current world events will reveal that we are surely living in the last days. We are a sinful nation and the time to repent, pray, and seek God is now.

“Gather together, you shameless nation. Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you-protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.” Zephaniah 2: 1-3

We live a very comfortable life. Americans are extremely blessed with luxury and comforts not experienced in other parts of the world. We have taken these blessings for granted and now we live as if we are entitled to these comforts. We move through our day at a furious pace, our eyes focused on things to be done, bought, or obtained for our pleasure and closed to the signs that we are living as the last generation. We care more about our jobs, earning promotions so we can earn more money to buy more goods that we believe will bring us contentment and joy. We have never been busier. Our children have never been busier. Where is God in all this busyness? Where is worship, teaching the Word to our children, being a light unto the world? All this busyness may help us keep up with the Jones’s but it is driving us further away from Him. We are living in bondage to money, property, work, and activities. We have removed God from his rightful place on the throne and replaced Him with ourselves. We are foolishly deceived into thinking we no longer need Him to meet our needs, to fill us with joy, contentment, and His perfect love. Oh, we say we rely on Him…but does the way we live our lives reflect our true beliefs? Is our reality that we have become enslaved to the world? God is opening our eyes to the truth. The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Isaiah 29:13

We have conformed to the patterns of the world. The Word is clear that we should NOT conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. That’s a daily process. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”Romans 12:2.

To conform means to give the same shape, outline or contour; to bring into harmony or accord. When we fail to be transformed by the Word and choose to conform to the patterns of the world, believing the world and living like it, then we are enslaving ourselves to the world. Our knowledge of God’s truth is weak in comparison to our knowledge of the world’s truth. We are a people belonging to God and we are supposed to look different so that the lost are drawn to us and desire to know why we are different. Jesus came to set the captive free and to send us out to bring light into a dark and dying world. It is time to become a people of prayer. We need to reconnect to Jesus, to fill our hearts with His word and be transformed!

We have turned into a people who do not want accountability in our lives. We do not want others to tell us what we need to do to get our lives right with the Lord. We do not want to hear truth. We want to be told what our itching ears want to hear. We want to rationalize our ungodly decisions. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warned that this would happen. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. This lack of accountability in our lives has led to complacency and laziness in pursuing a thriving relationship with our Father. Instead of living out our faith, we make excuses for why we can’t. Where has our reverent fear of the Lord gone? We have put our Holy Father on our level. He is God! He is not okay with our disobedience. Our excuses and rationalizations will not be heard. “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad’.” Zephaniah 1:12 It is time to repent and seek wisdom. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7 Our brothers and sisters in Christ are supposed to redirect us with love when we stray. The old saying “pride comes before a fall” is true. Don’t let pride keep you from hearing truth. Accept that we all need accountability to stay on an upright footing.

Judgment day is approaching and on that day we will stand before the Lord and be held accountable to Him for every idle word spoken and every deed done. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelations 20:11-15

So the question is are you ready??!! If Jesus was to return today could you honestly say, “I am ready”? Could you honestly say, “I have done everything I know the Father has asked of me”? Could you say, “I have been a good and faithful steward of my time, my money and service to Him”?

If we answer no to any of those questions then repentance is needed. It is time to turn back to the Father and repent! Now is the time to allow Him to create in us a clean heart. Now is the time for us to allow him to heal us from the inside out. We must confess now any sins we have rationalized or made excuses for. We must cast down the idols that have been allowed to come in, control us, and deceive us. Cast them down and lay them before the Lord! Repent for not making time for God! People, we must submit now to our Father, to see what God wants from us and then do it. Right now is the time to repent and seek the Father again and come back to the one who longs to embrace us and hold us in His arms and sing over us sweet melodies. He is drawing us to him, but we must take the first step to lay down the things that keep us from him.

“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!” Hosea 14:1
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

After repentance comes the restoration process and everything that the enemy thought he had is given back to us seven times fold. Satan cannot keep what is not his and when the Lord begins the restoration process within us He will take the ruins around us and rebuild them into a beautiful showcase for His glory and His glory alone. He will cause our enemies to flee and favor to fall upon us. Doors that seemed locked before will sling open and we will see the hand of the Lord upon our life in everything we do. Things that once seemed like obstacles will be like pebble stones to walk over. We will not have to jump over hurdles because there before you will be a well paved street.

“Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
From beyond the rivers of Cush [b]
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.
On that day you will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from this city
those who rejoice in their pride.
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.
But I will leave within you
the meek and humble,
which trust in the name of the LORD.
The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will speak no lies,
nor will deceit be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
and no one will make them afraid.”
Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment;
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
“The sorrows for the appointed feasts
I will remove from you;
they are a burden and a reproach to you.
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes [d]
before your very eyes,”
says the LORD.


Zephaniah 3:9-20
I want to close with a personal note. I have an urgent request that you do not wait for the judgment of the Lord to fall upon you. I could have come with a nice fluffy word of ‘peace, peace’, but that is not what God wants us to hear. He wants us to realize that our complacency isn’t okay! America is in need of a great move of God and it will not happen until we repent and start seeking God with all our hearts. The time is near for His return. I do not know the hour or the day. All I know is that I have been compelled to relay that now is the time to come back to the Father.

The other day I was about to read my bible when I shut it and said, “Lord what would you like to tell me today? I will open this book up and where I open it I will trust that this is a word from you.” That is not something I typically do. God took me to Zephaniah, one of the Minor Prophets. I can only tell you that God used those pages to reveal to me that we in America are like those people at that time. It is simple. We need to turn back to God and start reaching a dying world instead of becoming the world. You don’t have to have a minister's’ license to witness, your greatest testimony is the Love of Jesus you have received. Start sharing that and allow God to do the rest.

Rooted In Christ,
Jackie Burgess

Is Sin Crouching At Your Door

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Gen 4:6-7

The Lord told Cain these simple words: “YOU WILL BE ACCEPTED IF YOU DO WHAT IS RIGHT” BUT IF YOU REFUSE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, THEN WATCH OUT! SIN IS CROUCHING AT THE DOOR, EAGER TO CONTROL YOU. BUT YOU MY SUBDUE IT TO BE ITS MASTER.

Cain wanted so much not just for his offering to be accepted but to be accepted by God. But Cain's heart was not obedient in faith and his deeds were evil. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 1 John 3;12

God only takes pleasure in our offering when we are striving to live a righteous life according to His will. Cain was wrestling with jealousy (crouching at his door) God was telling him to subdue it (subdue def: to conquer and bring into subjection: to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; render submissive) to master it!!! However as we read we know that was not the case was it? Cain didn't master the sin in his heart and because of it the sin mastered him to the point of killing his brother, Abel.

Today we can apply this same message God gave to gain to our own lives. Sin is crouching at our doors as well. It crouches at the door of our hearts as well. The outside world can influence us with all its trappings. We also must consider our  feeling and emotions about things can distort the truth of what is really going on in our life, causing offense, bitterness, and anger. However, there is a sure fire way to subdue and master the sin that crouches at our door.

First we can seek God. To know Him and who He is. We can study His Word and apply it and live by it daily. The Lord was not pleased with Cain's evil heart, his offering was from a heart that wasn't obedient or righteous. We must understand that God is more pleased with our obedience than anything we could sacrifice for him.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9
I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6

for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy 1Peter 1:16

Second we can take every thought captive. If the enemy can get us to believe a thought that comes in our mind about something then he has gained ground to our heart.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 2 Cor. 10:3-6

Third thing and last thing is we can submit to the Lord and as David cried out to him we can also...

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psalms 139:23

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. hen there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar. Ps. 51


Closing Thoughts

We must subdue sin and master it, just as God warned Cain He warns us as well. We must realize that the devil is always crouching at the door of our thoughts and our hearts longing for us to give him a way in. We must know who we are in Jesus. We must know His word and stand upon it for it is our weapon when the enemy comes at us.

We need to remember that we may impress man by outwardly looking good and doing good,  By offering our time and money, we may give and serve as as sacrifice to the Lord. We may get the praise/acceptance of man as well. But what should not forget is that what God sees is so much more important than what man sees because God sees the motives of our hearts just as He did with Cain. Man can give us acceptance, praise and blessing but it is only temporal. What God gives is so much more than those three things because what He gives us is eternal!!! He gives us His eternal love, His eternal peace, and most of all eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Rooted in Christ
Jackie

I Remind The Enemy...

When I've lost hope
When I can't find peace
When I don't feel comforted
When I have lost all joy
When I don't feel loved
When I feel defeated
When fear paralyzes me
When darkness surrounds me and I can't find my way
When all of hell has waged war against me & I can't find relief
When the enemy starts questioning my who I am (my identity)

That's when I remind him (satan) that ….
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
I am a child of God (Romans 8:16)
I am redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy (Psalm 107:2)
I am forgiven (Colossians 1:13,14)
I am saved by Grace through Faith (Ephesians 2:8)
I am justified (Romans 5:1)
I am sanctified (I Corinthians 6:11)
I am a new creature (II Corinthians 5:17)
I am a partaker of His divine nature (II Peter 1:4)
I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.(2 Timothy 1:7)
I am redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
I am delivered from the powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13)
I am led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
I am free from all bondage (John 8:36)
I am kept in safety wherever I go (Psalm 91:11)
I am getting all my needs met by Jesus (Philippians 4:19)
I am casting all my Cares on Jesus (I Peter 5:7)
I am strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might (Ephesians 6:10)
I am doing all things through Christ who strengthens me(Philippians 4:13)
I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)
I am blessed coming in and blessed going out (Deuteronomy 28:6)
I am an heir of eternal life (I John 5:11, 12)
I am blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3)
I am healed by His stripes (I Peter 2:24)
I am exercising my authority over the Enemy (Luke 10:19)
I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
I am an overcomer by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)

Stephen"s Speech

As I read the speech Stephen gave my thoughts were “why bother saying anything to these people they don't care. They crucified Jesus and no matter what is said they are going to do the same to Stephen.” Then I thought “ Well if this is going to be the last time to speak for Jesus then why not give a history lesson to them reminding them of all the times they rejected the man of God that was put into power. Why not remind them of all the Prophets that they killed?” However, my thoughts went beyond a history lesson and past what the commentaries had to say about his speech. I started looking at each man that Stephen mentioned in his speech and wanted to know what Stephen was saying to me, (to us) about them. I wanted to know what I (we) could learn from Stephen as he stood and faced death. I wanted to know understand his character, his courage and his faith to stand boldly in front of those ready to stone him. Stephen's faith was tested and then he was persecuted.


I believe the faith of this generation is being tested and soon it will be persecuted. Maybe you think our faith is being persecuted now but I would argue with you on that fact just simply b/c we can still speak of Jesus without being jailed or killed. However, we are tested everyday in our life to stand for or faith and contend with others for it! In America we still have freedom of religion and as long as we have that we have no excuse to say that we are being persecuted! We are only being tested!!!!!
Stephen was being questioned by the Sanhedrin's. The Sanhedrin's were more involved in politics than religion. I believe they were only interested in religion when it affected them and their position. They needed the Pharisees because they were popular with the people. Even though the Pharisees didn't like them . Sound familiar at all with our own political status. I believe our govt represents the Sanhedrin and the churches represent the Pharisees. Especially the church leaders who allow themselves to be influenced by the political foolishness of our time. In order to stand against our enemy we must recognize and know who it is. Stephen knew who he was addressing just as Jesus knew who he was addressing. I share a brief description of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees.I include a link that you can go to and read more if you want.

The Sadducees:During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.

1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27;Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.
The Pharisees: In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people

1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.

2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).

3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.

4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).
(Ref:http://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees-Pharisees.html)

What can we learn from Stephen's speech..

Stephen represents the character of each of these men that he spoke about.

Abraham-represented the Promise of God
Joseph -represents the Protection by God
Moses -represents the Deliverance of God
Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God
David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God
Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell

Abraham-represented the Promise of God: Stephen identified himself with the Son of Abraham and in doing so he identified himself with the Promises of God. Abraham was given a promise by God that his inheritance would be that his descendants would possess the land. This promise came to Abraham even when he had no child. Abraham never saw the promise fulfilled however as we read the bible we can see the promise being fulfilled. We can stand with Stephen and know that the Promise of Jesus returning for His bride will come to pass. We may not see the promise fulfilled just as Abraham and Stephen didn't see if fulfilled in their lifetime but we have the hope that one day we will stand in the presence of Almighty God and give thanks. We can have confidence that if God gives us a promise than it will be fulfilled no matter what the circumstances my look like.


Joseph -represents the Protection by God : Joseph was rejected by his family (brothers) sold into slavery, honored with position, thrown into jail, released from jail and honored again with a position, helped save a people from famine, and forgave his brothers. There is much more about Joseph but that sums it up. Through all that Joseph endured God protected him. Maybe at the time he didn't feel like God was there, just as we do sometimes when we face trials in life. Joseph was a man no different than us. He had to have had the same emotions that we have. However, I believe somewhere down deep he knew who he was and knew the God of his fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. His identity didn't become his circumstances and he made the best of what life had given him and through everything God protected him. We may not look at Joseph's life and think of protection but Joseph represent's the Protection of God when we are faced with hardships, rejection, hopelessness, despair, loneliness, anger.

God protects his children. He will protect us as well. Maybe you are thinking/asking “Why didn't he protect Stephen? My answer is protection doesn't come in the way man perceives protection."For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is. 55:8-9 It is not for me to understand God's protection I am only to have faith that it is there. However, Stephen represented the protection of the Gospel of Jesus by NOT compromising it and becoming the first martyr. I am moved at the thought of Jesus standing and heaven being opened wide ready to receive him home. I would like to believe that this was a form of God protecting Stephen by allowing him to see that He (Jesus) was standing there awaiting his arrival. Jesus wasn't sitting next to God, He was standing next to God!!!!! He was so excited at Stephens courage!

Moses represents the Deliverance of God: Moses delivered the people of Egypt and Stephen was just like Moses in the essence that he was being used to deliver a message of hope to people and see them delivered out of bondage and into life. Moses delivered the people from slavery and bondage with the power of God and Stephen delivered a message with the power and grace of God leading him. Moses was not accepted by his people, he was rejected; same is true with Jesus and the same is true with all God's people who take a stand for truth in order to see people set free from bondage. Stephen knew he was not going to be accepted, however, he stood and represented the character of the one who delivers knowing that he too would be delivered!This is our hope as well!

Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God: Stephen had the Courage of God to stand for truth and contend for his faith. He gave his life up for the truth. In a society where courage is rarely found, where truth is in the eye of the beholder, and faith is silenced with the fear of man's opinion. I pray “Lord raise up Joshua's and Stephens who with courage are willing to take hold of the promise land knowing that nothing can separate them from you. Joshua was bold and courageous and took the promise land for you and the people. Stephen was the same he was bold in standing for your truth and courageous to speak it to the Sanhedrin.”Stephen knew what he would face but he faced it with boldness, courage and in the end forgiveness.

David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God: David's heart was to God and his praise was to him. David wasn't a perfect man we know that by reading the scripture but he was a man after God's own heart. He praised God when the enemy encamped about him and he praised Him when things were going good. I believe Stephen had the same character. His heart was for Jesus and truth. Through his death He praised the the Lord by giving Him glory and honor for a life surrendered to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell:Solomon had great wisdom and solved many problems of his time. I do not believe it was his wisdom that brought him down; I believe it was lust. Stephen wasn't like Solomon in the essence of the lustful nature but he had wisdom from God that when he preached the gospel his opponents could not argue with him.

Solomon built the temple and gave a place for God's presence to dwell, but Stephen knew that God didn't dwell in the house built by men, he lived and dwelt in the heart of man. Temples, Synagogues, Cathedrals and church buildings made by man do not hold the dwelling place for God. He dwells within the heart of each who call on His name and believe in Him. Stephen knew this clearly that they could kill him as they did all those before him even killing Jesus but they could not kill the Spirit of God that dwells within him!

I know that Stephen's speech was more for the Sanhedrin to realize the foolishness of their ways, but I saw the character of Stephen in each one of those he mentioned. Last but not least Stephen had the character of Jesus Christ! That is the common thread with all these men is that you can see the character of God and the identity of God. Jesus laid his life down so we might have life. Stephen stood for truth and died so that it could live. I love it b/c in the next chapter we see Saul (Paul) who was there persecuting Stephen how he is radically transformed after his encounter with Jesus!!!! When we encounter Jesus we too will be radically transformed!!!

Rooted in Christ ~ Jackie~



Stephen's Speech
As I read the speech Stephen gave, my thoughts were “why bother saying anything to these people, they don't care. They crucified Jesus, and no matter what was said they were going to do the same to Stephen. Then I thought, “Well if this was going to be the last time to speak for Jesus then why not give a history lesson to them reminding them of all the times they rejected the men of God that God had sent to them. Why not remind them of all the Prophets they had killed?” However, my thoughts went beyond a history lesson and past what the commentaries had to say about his speech. I started looking at each man that Stephen mentioned in his speech and wanted to know what Stephen was saying to me, (to us) about them. I wanted to know what I (we) could learn from Stephen as he stood and faced death. I wanted to know and understand his character, his courage and his faith that enabled him to stand boldly in front of those ready to stone him. Stephen's faith was tested and then he was persecuted.
I believe the faith of this generation is being tested and soon it will be persecuted. Maybe you think our faith is being persecuted now, but I would argue with you on that fact, just simply because we can still speak of Jesus without being jailed or killed. However, we are tested every day in our life to stand for our faith and contend with others for it! In America we still have freedom of religion and as long as we have that we have no justification to say that we are being persecuted! We are only being tested!!!!!
Stephen was being questioned by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made up of Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees were more involved in politics than religion. I believe they were only interested in religion when it affected them and their position. They needed the Pharisees (even though the Pharisees didn't like them), because the Pharisees were popular with the people. Sound familiar at all with our own political status? I believe our politicians represent the Sadducees and the churches represent the Pharisees, especially the church leaders who allow themselves to be influenced by the political foolishness of our time. In order to stand against our enemy we must recognize and discern the spiritual condition and underlying motives of our political and religious leaders. Stephen knew the spiritual condition and political motives of the leaders he was addressing, just as Jesus did when he addressed the Sanhedrin. I share a brief description of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. I include a link that you can go to and read more if you want.

The Sadducees: During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.
1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).
The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.
The Pharisees: In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people
1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.
2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).
3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.
4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).
What can we learn from Stephen’s speech?
Stephen represents the character of each of these men that he spoke about.
Abraham-represents the Promise of God
Joseph -represents the Protection by God
Moses -represents the Deliverance of God
Joshua -represents the Boldness and Courage of God
David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God
Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell
Abraham-represents the Promise of God: Stephen identified himself with the Son of Abraham and in doing so he identified himself with the Promises of God. Abraham was given a promise by God; his inheritance would be that his descendants would possess the Promised land. This promise came to Abraham even when he had no child. Abraham never saw the promise fulfilled, however as we read the Bible we can see the promise being fulfilled. We can stand with Stephen and know that the promise of Jesus returning for His bride will come to pass. We may not see the promise fulfilled just as Abraham and Stephen didn't see it fulfilled in their lifetime, but we have the hope that one day we will stand in the presence of Almighty God and give thanks. We can have confidence that if God gives us a promise it will be fulfilled no matter what the circumstances my look like.


Joseph-represents the Protection by God : Joseph was rejected by his family (brothers), sold into slavery, honored with position, thrown into jail, released from jail and honored again with a position, helped save a people from famine, and forgave his brothers. There is much more about Joseph but that sums it up. Through all that Joseph endured, God protected him. Maybe at the time he didn't feel like God was there, just as we do sometimes when we face trials in life. Joseph was a man no different than us. He must have had the same emotions that we have. However, I believe somewhere down deep he knew who he was and knew the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. His identity didn't become his circumstances and he made the best of what life had given him, and through everything God protected him. We may not look at Joseph's life and think of protection but Joseph represents the Protection of God when we are faced with hardships, rejection, hopelessness, despair, loneliness, anger.

God protects his children. He will protect us as well. Maybe you are thinking/asking “Why didn't he protect Stephen? My answer is protection doesn't come in the way man perceives protection."For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is. 55:8-9 It is not for me to understand God's protection, I am only to have faith that it is there. However, Stephen represented the protection of the Gospel of Jesus by NOT compromising it and becoming the first martyr. I am moved at the thought of Jesus standing and heaven being opened wide ready to receive him home. I would like to believe that this was a form of God protecting Stephen by allowing him to see that He (Jesus) was standing there awaiting his arrival. Jesus wasn't sitting next to God, He was standing next to God!!!!! He was so excited at Stephen’s courage!


Moses-represents the Deliverance of God: Moses delivered the people of Egypt and Stephen was just like Moses in the essence that he was being used to deliver a message of hope to people and see them delivered out of bondage and into life. Moses delivered the people from slavery and bondage with the power of God and Stephen delivered a message with the power and grace of God leading him. Moses was not accepted by his people, he was rejected; same is true with Jesus and the same is true with all God's people who take a stand for truth in order to see people set free from bondage. Stephen knew he was not going to be accepted, however he stood and represented the character of the one who delivers, knowing that he too would be delivered! This is our hope as well!


Joshua-represents the Boldness and Courage of God: Stephen had the Courage of God to stand for truth and contend for his faith. He gave his life up for the truth. In a society where courage is rarely found, where truth is in the eye of the beholder, and faith is silenced with the fear of mans opinion, I pray “Lord raise up Joshua's and Stephen's who, with courage, are willing to take hold of the promised land knowing that nothing can separate them from you. Joshua was bold and courageous and took the Promised Land for you and the people. Stephen was the same; he was bold in standing for your truth and was courageous to speak it to the Sanhedrin.” Stephen knew what he would face but he faced it with boldness, courage, and in the end forgiveness.


David -represents the Heart of God and the Praise to God: David's heart was to God and his praise was to him. David wasn't a perfect man; we know that by reading the scripture, but he was a man after God's own heart. He praised God when the enemy encamped about him and he praised Him when things were going good. I believe Stephen had the same character. His heart was for Jesus and truth. Through his death He praised the Lord by giving Him glory and honor for a life surrendered to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Solomon-represents the Wisdom of God and A Place for God to Dwell:Solomon had great wisdom and solved many problems of his time. I do not believe it was his wisdom that brought him down; I believe it was lust. Stephen wasn't like Solomon in the essence of the lustful nature, but he had wisdom from God that when he preached the gospel his opponents could not argue with him.

Solomon built the temple and gave a place for God's presence to dwell, but Stephen knew that God didn't dwell in the house built by men; he lived and dwelt in the heart of man. Temples, Synagogues, Cathedrals and church buildings made by man do not hold the dwelling place for God. He dwells within the heart of each who calls on His name and believes in Him. Stephen clearly knew that they could kill him as they did all those before him, even killing Jesus, but they could not kill the Spirit of God that dwells with in him!

I know that Stephen’s speech was meant more for the Sanhedrin to realize the foolishness of their ways, but I saw the character of Stephen in each one of the men he mentioned. Last but not least Stephen had the character of Jesus Christ! That is the common thread with all these men, that you can see the character of God and the identity of God. Jesus laid his life down so we might have life. Stephen stood for truth and died so that it could live. I love that in the next chapter we see Saul (Paul), who was there persecuting Stephen, and how he is radically transformed after his encounter with Jesus!!!! When we encounter Jesus we too will be radically transformed!!!
Rooted in Christ ~ Jackie~