Don't Touch Him When He's In That Mode.

Most of my friends are ministers. This has been the case with me since I was a young adult in the Salvation Army, and it is still the case today.

Over these 25 or so years of having pastors as friends, I've noticed an interesting phenomenon. When my friends are preaching, there is something that "kicks in" during the sermon and their words become irrefutable. I recognize that it is not an activity they engage in on their own: the Holy Spirit moves through them, and in that move of the Spirit the congregation splits into two camps: those who are receiving the word of God, and those who are rejecting the word of God.

There are times when the opposition to God's word is so strong you can feel it physically. But the Scripture warns us not to oppose the person who speaks as an oracle of God. We know that Miriam, in her opposition to Moses, won a week of leprosy for her efforts (see Numbers 12). And, while we do not have record of any illness striking the men who opposed Stephen, we do have the record of their not being able to withstand him:

"Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)- Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke" (Acts 6:9-10).

We serve a mighty God, the one true God, whose truth always triumphs. And we stand in the midst of a wicked world, where men will resort to lies in their attempts to silence the word of God (see Acts 6:11-14). In the face of opposition, Stephen continued to speak the uncompromised word of God... this humble waiter, expounding the word of life to all who would hear.

A waiter? Yes, Stephen, you establish order and justice so everyone can have something to eat. And yes, Stephen, My anointing has been imparted to you: do signs and wonders and speak life to the hard-hearted.

Stephen came to his assignment full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. After the laying on of the hands of the apostles, he carried out his work "full of God's grace and power" (Acts 6:8) with accompanying signs and miracles. He was so full of God that he was described as having the face of an angel (Acts 6:15).

When you are carrying out your God-given assignment, do others see signs of the kingdom of God in you?