(∆AX Formal Chapter Devotion: September 28, 2008)
Hebrews 10:39 -
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved.”
Acts 6 and 7 recounts the death of Christianity’s first martyr Stephen. Stephen is an awesome example of how to live firmly in the faith, trusting all the promises of God. Acts 6:8 tells us that Stephen was a man full of God’s grace and power. Right away we see that he was an effective life for Christ. He had allowed the Father to use him fully and in turn had been filled with His blessings. The next two words in verse 9 state “opposition arose.” Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, was doing great things for the Kingdom. Any time you are being effective for the cause of Christ, you are going to face opposition. The rest of verse 9 and 10 tell us how those opposing Stephen tried to argue with him, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one or nothing can stand against the Spirit of the Living God that resides in us. Acts 7:55-56 – “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” - This is a powerful picture of Christ’s protection over Stephen that is also over us. Nothing can ultimately be against us, and even in opposition, Christ is standing guard over our lives offering the ultimate protection. Throughout all of the drama Stephen was facing, he still glorified God and kept His peace. Even while he was being stoned to death, Stephen knew where he was going. He wasn’t worried. He asked the Lord to receive his spirit. Stephen’s final words echo the last few words we hear Christ speak while He was on the cross. Stephen drops to his knees and asks the Lord to not hold their sin of killing him against them. This just shows how real and living Stephen’s faith was. He had victory over death already because Christ gave it to all of us with His death on the cross. He was not bitter or revengeful, but full of the grace of forgiveness and love that comes from being forgiven by the Lord through our salvation in Christ. Stephen’s reaction comes from using and living in the freedom and victory that Christ gives us.
We need to have the confidence in Christ that even in the face of death, we have victory over the world and all of its struggles. Let’s look at some of the insight that we can draw from Stephen’s example. First, we will face opposition. It can come in many forms: direct conflict, some simple annoyance that throws our focus off, physical pain, busyness, schoolwork, mental attitudes, emotions that toy with us… anything tangible or intangible can and most likely will oppose us. It can be small or large. The only thing it needs to do to be effective is pull our focus off of Christ. Once we step off the firm foundation, which is the Lord, we are susceptible to all kinds of attacks that will take us down. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about wise and foolish builders. Those that withstand the storm build their house on a rock, which is Christ. The rain may come down, the stream may rise, and the wind may blow and beat against the house, but it will not fall because it has its foundation on the rock. How we defeat the storm, is to stay focused on Christ and stand firm in the confidence that you know who you are because of Him who saved you.
Secondly, we see the protection and peace that Christ offers us in times of opposition. When Stephen looked up and saw Christ standing up at the right hand of God, he knew that His Lord was standing watch over him and his life. Although, physically Stephen may have died, he knew Christ was watching over his spirit and would not let him be defeated. Looking in the Old Testament, we go to the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3. The three men of God refused to serve the gods and gold idols of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. As punishment, they were to be thrown into a furnace and be burned to death. In fact, the king had the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and the soldiers that bound and threw the men in were killed by the intensity of the heat. But when the king looked into the fire, he saw four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed. He even stated that fourth man walking around looked like a son of gods. Once Nebuchadnezzar ordered the men to be taken out, they were found to be completely unharmed and did not even smell of fire. This is how our God protects us. When the world puts us through fire hotter than we can imagine, Jesus Christ walks right beside us through it protecting our spirit and setting us free from any binding power that is upon us. Where do we find this protection? We look to the Word of God. The word of God is a powerful weapon in our lives. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that it is sharper than any double-edged sword. It is the Sword of the Spirit. In addition to arming ourselves with the armor of God as written in Ephesians 6 starting in verse 11, our only offensive weapon is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. If we hold firm to the promises of the Word that God has given us, nothing can defeat us or keep our mind off of the peace that is in Christ.
Knowing that we are protected, especially in time of opposition, we need to remember that we also already live in freedom and victory. As much as opposition and Satan like to think that they can defeat us, the truth is that Christ has already overcome them. 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have already received the victory over death. What else is there left to conquer? In fact Romans 8:37 says that “no, in all these things we are MORE THAN conquerors through Him who loved us.” And Jesus Himself says in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And again in 1 John 4:4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The power of Christ and the Holy Spirit in us is greater than anything thing we may face, big or small, today or tomorrow. In Galatians 5:1 Paul calls us to live in the freedom that Christ gave us: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” We have already been set free. Do not be burdened again by anything else of this world. For the burden that Christ has given us is light and easy. We don’t need to carry anything else.
Now that we know these powerful truths of the Word, we must persevere. Hebrews 10:19-23 “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Verses 35-39 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay, But my righteous one will live be faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10 is a call for us to persevere in this world. We know that we have been cleansed through Christ’s blood. We know that our Savior intercedes on our behalf for all of our needs. We have no need to be guilty, but instead walk in the purity that our bodies have been washed in. When we persevere through opposition and fire, we are walking in the will of God. And as we continue to walk in the will of God, we will receive all that He has promised us. James echoes that promise in James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who persevere under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” And here is the best part – it’s a sure thing – “for He who promised is faithful.” God will never go back on His Word. 2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” Our God’s promises are not empty, but full of power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter talk, but of power.” So claim victory in your Lord. Walk confidently that He will fulfill His Word in you in His timing. Claim the Lord’s blessings over your life and expect to see them. He delights to bless you. He will not give you anything that you can’t handle. And in Romans 8:28 “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
So, walk confidently in Christ this week and forevermore. Don’t wake up in defeat before you begin your day. Instead wake up, knowing that you will face opposition, but that you have already overcome it through Christ Jesus our Savior. Hold firm to the faith that you possess for He who promised is faithful. Look neither to the right or left or behind, but instead keep your eyes focused forward and toward Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. And know that all that is in Christ is dwelling with in you through the Holy Spirit. Merely tap in the great power that we have been given as co-heirs of Christ and children of the King of Glory, the mighty and great living God. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:17-23
Remember:
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who believe and are saved.”
Hebrews 10:39
but of those who believe and are saved.”
Hebrews 10:39
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