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Acts 6 - Devotion · The Five Minute Bible Podcast

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  Welcome to Five Minute Bible In our journey through the New
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  Testament. In each episode, we take just a
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  few minutes to focus on one chapter of the New Testament,
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  exploring the truths God is teaching us through His Word and
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  expanding our view of who He is. Before you listen, make sure
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  you've gone straight to the source, either by reading
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  today's chapter. Of the.
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  Bible yourself or listening to today's read along episode in
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  this podcast feed. If you haven't done that yet,
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  feel free to pause and do that now.
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  And when you're ready, let's dive into God's.
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  Word together in Acts chapter 6.
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  The church is growing and that growth puts pressure on the
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  systems and leaders the church has in place.
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  In particular, a complaint arises that the widows from
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  among the Greek speaking Jews were being neglected when it
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  came time to serve food to widows.
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  In other words, an accusation of partiality.
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  The apostles knew that their primary role was to minister the
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  Word of God to the people of God and to pray toward that end.
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  And so they asked the congregation to select men of
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  good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, who could
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  take charge of this task of making sure all the widows were
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  fed and none were neglected. And so 7 servants or deacons
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  were appointed by the congregation and confirmed by
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  the apostles. Among these 7 is a man by the
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  name of Stephen. Stephen is described as a man
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  full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
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  As the church keeps growing and the gospel keeps spreading, God
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  works many miracles at the hands of Stephen, so much so that he
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  begins to cause a stir. One sect, known as the Synagogue
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  of the Freedmen takes particular issue with Stephen and gets into
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  a dispute with him. What we as readers should
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  understand clearly from the way Stephen is described and the way
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  this conflict is described is that much like Jesus encountered
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  with the religious leaders of his day, these men that rise up
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  to argue with Stephen are really taking issue with Stephen's God.
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  The Holy Spirit that indwells Stephen is who is causing these
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  men to have their feathers ruffled.
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  We see this clearly in verse 10 as we're told of their response
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  to Stephen. The verse says that they were
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  unable to cope with the wisdom and the spirit with which he was
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  speaking. They have picked a fight with
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  the Holy Spirit of God and it is not a fight that they will ever
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  be able to win. This leads to a string of false
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  accusations being made against Stephen.
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  We will see in the next chapter that Stephen's obedience and
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  submission to God will be costly in this life, but well worth it.
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  Here's what I want you to see in this chapter though, and
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  especially as we dig deeper into the book of Acts.
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  This book is shortened to just Acts, but the full title is Acts
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  of the Apostles. Now this is appropriate because
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  the whole book will essentially follow the spread of the gospel
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  through the testimony of a handful of apostles.
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  But if you're paying attention, there is likely a title that is
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  even more accurate than Acts of the Apostles, and that is Acts
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  of the Holy Spirit. You see, it's the Spirit poured
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  out who empowers the apostles to proclaim the gospel with
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  boldness and power. It's the Spirit who enables them
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  to take courage when they're persecuted.
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  He, the Holy Spirit, is the one who grants Stephen the wisdom
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  and faith that left these men who attacked him unable to cope.
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  All through this book we will see that the Holy Spirit is
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  present among His people and He is on the move in this world.
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  Remember what Jesus said in John 16, seven as his death drew
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  near. But I tell you the truth, it is
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  to your advantage that I go away.
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  For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.
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  But if I go, I will send him to you.
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  It is to your advantage, and that's what we see on display
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  here in Acts chapter 6. So as we continue in this book,
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  I hope both your understanding of and your reliance on the Holy
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  Spirit will grow. I hope you'll take seriously
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  that if you're in Christ, you are the dwelling place of the
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  Holy Spirit of God, the same divine person performing these
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  marvelous acts in the 1st century.
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  Is it working your heart in life, convicting you of sin,
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  emboldening your witness, teaching you, helping you?
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  Do not miss the truth that the God at work in the Book of Acts
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  is the same God at work in your heart and your life today.