Calling Fulfilled

Acts 6:8
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

 Stephen was full of wisdom, and full of the Holy Spirit, and full of faith and power. He had the gifts, the bo...ldness, and the brilliance to be a powerful witness, yet even his witness would be rejected by the religious leaders. Hearts opened only by God, not by our gifts, boldness and brilliance.

 Stephen, one of the unsung heroes of the church, was a young man with so much promise in his life. Because of his faithfulness, he was selected to be a deacon in the early church

 Many probably thought that Stephen had a great ministry ahead of him, because he was only a young man. But because of his preaching, he was called before the Jewish Sanhedrin to give an account. Now the Sanhedrin was sort of like the Supreme Court of that day. Its members were very powerful men. They did not like Stephens preaching about Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and they called him to account for it.

 Now if Stephen had been careful, he could have gone home for dinner that night. But instead, this young man saw the possibilities of reaching the Sanhedrin with the gospel. The Bible says that his face shined like that of an angel (see Acts 6:15), and he began to preach to them. But as Stephen preached they became so outraged, they decided to execute him. So they stoned him to death. And even as his young life was being drained from him, he cried out, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7:60).

 I believe it was the testimony of Stephen that brought Saul of Tarsus (later Paul), under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. For right on the heels of Stephens martyrdom, Saul went out to hunt down Christians.

 Here is what we need to remember: We don't know how long our life will last. We all have a task to complete, a calling to fulfill. And the length of our lives is not determined by genes or statistics, but by God. So our objective should be to stay on course and do what God has set before us.

 The book of Acts shown Stephen as the first martyr and during the time the infant church faces opposition from the Jews and Gentiles alike. But with every successive wave of persecution, the church grew more and more. In hardship and trails, Christians depended increasingly on the Lord strength and guidance. In so doing they demonstrated faith to others.

 By this being the first martyr of Christian faith, but he certainly was not the last. Although falsely accused of blasphemy Moses and God, his unfairly treatment and violence death would serve as a example to persecute believers throughout the centuries who would face similar trails for upholding the name of Jesus Christ.

 Christians have died for their witness to the truth of the gospel. They set their eyes on Jesus instead of this world. They did not values the approval of the people over the approval of the Savior. Therefore refuse to disown Jesus. For their courage to stand up for the truth. Jesus promise to acknowledge them before His Father in heaven (Matthew 20:32,33)