Friday, July 29, 2011

Unstoppable Faith

Acts 7:57


"Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, 
and ran at him with one accord."

     The comments, the threats, the angry cries were heard all around. A people, so consumed by their own perspective of things, unwilling to yield. Yet in such a moment, such unity was found between them all. In this verse there are 3 different descriptions of their unity, their different cries are descried as "a voice", they all together "stopped their ears", and in "one accord" ran at him. Why were they so angry at this Stephen? Their hearts had become hard, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), and all that was heard were vile mocking toward an innocent man. But what had this man shared to upset them so much? He had spoken the truth of God's word, and their ears were refusing this truth. These people, due to the hardness of their hearts had rejected FAITH. That is what this moment comes down to...the call of faith stood before them, but due to their own folly, they attempted to choke out its call; for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Its not that they hadn't heard all that Stephen had shared, its just that they chose to stop up their ears to it, to reject faith, and instead reach out to the present tangible--run in one accord and put this man, this conviction to death. How often we too find that we would rather choose the tangible option rather than to accept faith. I often find myself in a form of "stopping up my ears" or pretending that I don't hear the Lord telling me to do something, because to obey, would require faith. Before me may be an option, comfort and good things, tangibly there, do I choose this route and run after it, or do I choose to go against the multitude and to run in one accord with my God, to obey His request of me to follow after Him, putting on faith, trusting that what He has in store is for my good? Today I need to ask myself, are my words coming from a heart of faith or of stone? Are my ears receiving the word and believing it in faith? And am I choosing to run after the things He is asking me or to unify myself with the comforts of this life? May Stephen's testimony ring in our minds, that his crime and the cause of their anger toward him was based on nothing more than faith, and what a blessed testimony indeed! for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Instead of stopping up our ears, lets run after Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-3) He walked the path before us, silenced the mocking through His obedience, and in faith completed the work that the Father placed before Him, our example is He.