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21 ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG SPEAK FREEDOM TEXAS 1 Grace and Power in the Midst of Persecution Acts 6:8-12 and 7:54-8:1 Key Idea: Stephen is the first named martyr of the Christian church. His response is a powerful example for us today in how to live as a public witness for Jesus Christ in the public square and to stand with those who are also facing persecution today. Testimonies of persecuted individuals that can be used as powerful illustrations can be found at www.SpeakFreedomTexas.org. I. Introduction Introduce the topic by highlighting (1) why you decided to focus on the reality of contemporary religious persecution, (2) some of the general facts related to persecution today, and (3) a general background to the book of Acts. Pew Research tells notes that over 70% of the world’s population face high or very high restrictions on their religious practice or social hostilities because of their religious convictions. People of all faiths face persecution though Christianity is the most persecuted faith community worldwide. Here’s the question we can ponder together: When the crowds form, and the culture turns and the rights are reversed, how will we as people of faith respond? II. The Character of Stephen: Acts 6:8-12 Read Acts 6:8. Consider: • What two adjectives are applied to Stephen’s life? Grace and power) • How often do you associate those two words together? Why not? • What words do you often associate with power? And what words with grace? • Why does this make such a potent combination? • Are there other examples in the Bible of individuals facing living out a public faith who faced the persecution / opposition with grace? • How often do you respond in your own life to persecution / opposition with grace? Read Acts 6:8-12. Consider: • The power of words and their ability to lead to strong consequences; • What are the specific words / specific accusation leveled against Stephen? • What are the kinds of words used in the public square to describe people of faith today? How does this impact people of faith in general and our lives in particular? • What are the words that we as people of faith use to describe the public square today, tensions of opposition and people of other religions? • Why might it matter that “grace” be an overriding theme of the believers talk in the public square and on social media? • How can we make our words more seasoned with grace? • What are some of the specific examples today of Christians facing persecution because of the accusation of blasphemy?

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Page 1: Grace and Power in the Midst of Persecutionspeakfreedomtexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Grace-and-Pow… · where Christians are the persecutors. And today there are Muslims in

21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG

SPEAKFREEDOM

TEXAS

1

GraceandPowerintheMidstofPersecutionActs6:8-12and7:54-8:1KeyIdea:StephenisthefirstnamedmartyroftheChristianchurch.HisresponseisapowerfulexampleforustodayinhowtoliveasapublicwitnessforJesusChristinthepublicsquareandtostandwiththosewhoarealsofacingpersecutiontoday.Testimoniesofpersecutedindividualsthatcanbeusedaspowerfulillustrationscanbefoundatwww.SpeakFreedomTexas.org.I. Introduction

Introducethetopicbyhighlighting(1)whyyoudecidedtofocusontherealityofcontemporaryreligiouspersecution,(2)someofthegeneralfactsrelatedtopersecutiontoday,and(3)ageneralbackgroundtothebookofActs.PewResearchtellsnotesthatover70%oftheworld’spopulationfacehighorveryhighrestrictionsontheirreligiouspracticeorsocialhostilitiesbecauseoftheirreligiousconvictions.PeopleofallfaithsfacepersecutionthoughChristianityisthemostpersecutedfaithcommunityworldwide.Here’sthequestionwecanpondertogether:

Whenthecrowdsform,andthecultureturnsandtherightsarereversed,howwillweaspeopleoffaithrespond?

II. TheCharacterofStephen:Acts6:8-12ReadActs6:8.Consider:•

WhattwoadjectivesareappliedtoStephen’slife?Graceandpower)• Howoftendoyouassociatethosetwowordstogether?Whynot?• Whatwordsdoyouoftenassociatewithpower?Andwhatwordswithgrace?• Whydoesthismakesuchapotentcombination?• ArethereotherexamplesintheBibleofindividualsfacinglivingoutapublicfaithwho

facedthepersecution/oppositionwithgrace?• Howoftendoyourespondinyourownlifetopersecution/oppositionwithgrace?ReadActs6:8-12.Consider:• Thepowerofwordsandtheirabilitytoleadtostrongconsequences;• Whatarethespecificwords/specificaccusationleveledagainstStephen?• Whatarethekindsofwordsusedinthepublicsquaretodescribepeopleoffaithtoday?

Howdoesthisimpactpeopleoffaithingeneralandourlivesinparticular?• Whatarethewordsthatweaspeopleoffaithusetodescribethepublicsquaretoday,

tensionsofoppositionandpeopleofotherreligions?• Whymightitmatterthat“grace”beanoverridingthemeofthebelieverstalkinthepublic

squareandonsocialmedia?• Howcanwemakeourwordsmoreseasonedwithgrace?• WhataresomeofthespecificexamplestodayofChristiansfacingpersecutionbecauseof

theaccusationofblasphemy?

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21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG

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III. TheWitnessofStephen:Acts7:54–8:1Stephentriestorespondwithtruth.Butforacourtproceedingthatbeganwithfalsewitnesses,openlyspokentruthwouldbethesealofhissentence.ReadActs7:54–8:1.Therageofthemoment,therageofemotions,ranheadfirstintograceandtruth.Strongwordsareusedtodescribethesereligiousleaders,thosewhomovedfromaccuserstoattackers:furious,gnashingteeth,coveredears,yellingatthetopoftheirvoices,physicallyrushing,dragging,raisedandthrownstones.Thisisaportraitofaforceintentonbarrelingaheadandusingtheirpowertoenforcetheirperspective.Aretherewaysinwhichthishappensinourculturetoday?Unfortunately,forcesintentonmaintainingtheirprivilegedpositionagainstpeopleoffaithremainscommontoday.Considerforexample:• Morethan70%oftheworldlivesincontextswheretheyreceivepersecutionfortheir

religiousconvictions.Christiansarethemostpersecutedfaithcommunityworldwide.Scholarsbelievethatonaverage20individualsaremartyredfortheirfaitheachday;

• ChristiansinnorthernNigeriawhohavebeendisplacedfromtheirhomesbyBokoHaram,experiencedtheburneddestructionoftheircrops,andforcedtoliveformonthsatatimeinliteralphysicalcaves;

• ChristiansinIraqandSyriawhohavebeendisplacedfromtheirhomesbytheIslamicStateandforcedtoliveaspeoplewithoutahome,withouteducation,andwithoutemployment;bothindisplacementcampsinsideIraqandSyriaandasrefugeesinneighboringcountries

• BothRohingyaMuslimsinMyanmaraswellasKarenandKachinChristiansfromMyanmarwhohaveexperiencedtargeteddestruction,rape,militaryviolenceandextrajudicialkillingthathasforcedmanytobecomerefugees;

• ChristiansinChinaareexperiencingthemostseverepersecutiontheyhavefacedsincetheCulturalWar.ThousandsofchurcheshavebeendamagedordefacedbytheGovernmentofChinainjustthelastthreeyears.UighurMuslimsalsofacesignificantrestrictionsfromtheGovernmentasdoTibetanBuddhists;

• EvangelicalChristiansintheStateofChiapasinMexicocontinuetofaceharassmentandlegalrestraintsfortheirfaithconvictions.

Unfortunately,whilethemisuseofpoweringeneralremainsfartoocommon,therearestillspecificexamplesof“raisedandthrownstones”:• In2014,BokoHaramkidnapped276ChibokGovernmentSecondarySchoolgirlsin

northeasternNigeria.Theyselectedoneyoungladytobean“example”andtoldherthatshehadtoconvertfromChristianity,whichsherefusedtodo.Hercaptorstookhertoacertainlocationoutsideoftheircamp,dugupthegroundandloweredherintoaholeuptoherneck.Shewas18yearsold,andheronlycrimewasthatshewasastudentwhowantedaneducation.Thecaptorsraisedtheirstonesandaskedthisteenageronemoretimeifshewantedtoconvert.Herresponse?ShebegantosingpraisestoJesus.Astheystonedher,thelastwordsonherlipswerepraisesongstoJesus.Thestoneswerereleasedandshefellasleepwhilethesongsofpraisewerelifted.

• InEritrea,auniversitystudentnameSemeresharedhisexperienceafterescapingandbecomingarefugeeinEthiopia.EritreahasanatheistgovernmentthatremainsfirmlycommittedtolimitingallreligionsincludingbothChristianityandIslam.InSemere’sfirstyearofcollege,agroupofChristiansmettopray.Onceaftersixindividualshadmetinaprivatehomeforprayer,theywentoutsideandweresurprisedtodiscoverthatamobhadgatheredandbeenwaitingfortheminanearbyfield.AsSemereandthegroupexitedthe

Page 3: Grace and Power in the Midst of Persecutionspeakfreedomtexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Grace-and-Pow… · where Christians are the persecutors. And today there are Muslims in

21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG

SPEAKFREEDOM

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home,themobbegantoaccostthem.Theybeganthrowingstonesatthem.Whilemostofmygrouptriedtorunaway,Semerewashitonthebackofhisheadbyastone,andlaythereseriouslybleedinginanopenfieldfrom7P.M.until1A.M.Eventually,hewasabletogetupandgoforhelp.Inhiswords,“Sadly,Iwastheonlymaninthatgrouptosurvivethestoningmostlyunscathed.Oneoftheyoungmenbecamementallyillafterthestoning.ThiseventleadthecollegetodismissmeforayearbecauseofmyChristianbeliefs.”

Tobeclearthisisnotaboutsinglingoutanyonereligion.Allreligionshavethecapacitytopersecuteandallreligionshavethecapacitytoliveinpeace.ThereareplacesintheworldwhereChristiansarethepersecutors.AndtodaythereareMuslimsinChinaandinMyanmarwhoareamongsomeofthemostpersecuted.Thisisoftennotaboutreligionbutaboutpower.Whichiswhyitissocritical,whenChristiansareinpositionsofpower,thatbeforethemisthemodelofStephen–onewhocombinedpowerwithpublicgrace.Consider:• Aretherewaysinwhichthismayormaynotbedescriptiveofourownengagementin

placesofpower(family,school,community,workplace,government,society)?• ArethereinstancesinhistoricalorcontemporaryinstanceswhenChristianshavenotheld

poweringrace?• Whymightthisbethecase?Howcanweguardagainstit?

IV. LessonsWeCanLearnFromStephen:Acts7:54–8:1Thispassagealsohighlightsthatfarfrombeingpassiveactorswhoneedourhelp,manywhohavebeenpersecutedhaveincrediblelessonstoteachus.Sixpossiblelessonsemerge:A. LessonOne:Leanintoawitnessofpublicpresencemodeledbygrace.

GraceandpowerremainanunusualcombinationasevidencedinthefactthatthisistheonlyplaceinalloftheNewTestamentwherethisuniquecombinationisfound.Whyisthatthecase?ThestoryofStephenreallybeginswithhiscommitmenttocombathungerinhiscommunity.UltimatelyitwashisservicetothosewhowerehungryinthenameofJesusthatleadstothisconfrontation.Consider:• Whatwouldhappenifwebegantomeetthephysicalneedsofothers?

• HowdidStephenusehisskillsettobecomeablessingtohiscity?• EveninthefaceofoppositiondidStephendisengagefromhiscultureorcity?• Howshouldthebelieverrespondwhenfacedwithfalsestoriesandresistancefortheir

commitmenttousingtheirskillsandpassionsasservantsinthepubliccommunitywhoaremeetingrealneeds?

B. LessonTwo:LeanintoavisionoftheKingdomofGod.

ReadActs7:55.Atthiscriticaljuncture,whatdidStephen’seyessee?Whenfacedwithopposition,whatdooureyesandourfocusoftensee?

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21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG

SPEAKFREEDOM

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HowdoesStephen’sactionscorrespondtocontemporaryunderstandingsoftakingactionswithsafetynets?Howshouldthebelieverdefinevictory?ThereareinstanceswhentheLord,inhisunderstanding,choosetobringaboutphysicalhealing,physicalsalvation,orcompletesafety.Sometimes,theLord,inhisunderstanding,doesnot.Stephendidnotexperiencethisworldrescue.Doesthismeanhedidnotexperience“victory”?Howdoesthisunderstandingofvictoryhelpuslivewithcourageandboldnessinourpublicwitnessandinourengagementwiththepersecutedtoday?

C. LessonThree:Leanintograce,joyandthefruitsoftheSpiritmorebroadly.Stephen’sbodymighthavebeenphysicallydraggedbuthisspritrefusedtobepulleddown.Whatabouthiswitnesscontinuedtoenragehisattackers?Howdoesthishelpusunderstandhowtruepowerisdefined?Whatdoesitmeantobeawitnesswholeansintograce,joyandthefruitsoftheSpiriteveninthefaceofopposition?

D. LessonFour:Leanintoanactiveprayerengagement.Stephenwasaproactiveparticipantthroughthisentireprocess.Hedidnotsurrender.Heleanedintoanactiveprayerengagement.WhatistheimmediatecontextofStephen’slastwords(Acts7:59)?Inthiscontext,whatwereStephen’slastwords(Acts7:59-60)?Doesthisprayeranditsimplicationsdefineourapproachandouractions?Whataretheimplicationsifitisorisnotrepresentativeofourlife,witnessandengagement?

E. LessonFive:LeanintotherealitythattheHolySpiritchangeshearts.Thislessonismoreimpliedthanstatedexplicitly.Onlytwoindividualsarenamedinthistext,Stephen,andwhoelse?Consider:• Whatdoesitmeanthatthenamesoftheaggressorsarelosttohistory?• Whatdoesitmeanthattheonewhoseheartwaschangedisremembered?• Atthispointinthestory,howwouldtoday’ssocialmedia,talkcultureand24hour

newscyclehavecharacterizedSaul?• WhatmightitmeanthattheeconomyoftheKingdomthereisalwaysanopportunity

forachangedheart?F. LessonSix:Leanintotherealitythatyoucanstandwiththepersecuted.

Individualswhohaveexperiencedpersecutionarenotperfect.Peoplearepeople.Weshouldnotidealizethosewhohavehadtheseexperiences.Butwhatwedoseeinthispassagethosewhostoodonbehalfofthepersecuted.Acts8:2indicatesthattherewereindividualswhowerewillingtocomeandpubliclycollectStephen’sbodyandthusidentifythemselveswiththeonewhohadbeenkilledinfrontofthosewhohaddonethekilling.Arewewillingtodothesameforthosearoundtheworldwhoareexperiencingphysicaldeathfortheirfaith?

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21ST CENTURY WILBERFORCE INITIATIVE | 405 NORTH WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 300, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046 571-297-3177 | [email protected] | WWW.21WILBERFORCE.ORG

SPEAKFREEDOM

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V. Conclusion:ACalltoActionInthistexttherearethreekindsofleaders:• Stephen–Soughttolivealeadershipthatinfusedpowerandgrace.• ReligiousandCulturalLeaders–Filledwithaself-power,astone-filledpower,andfollowed

therageofthemoment,therageofemotions.• Unnamedleaderswhousedtheirprivatelivestoidentifywithandstandwiththeonewho

hadbeenkilledforhisfaith.Whichofthesekindsofleadersdescribeus?Whataresomefirststepswecouldtaketodaytobealeaderwhostandswiththepersecuted?Amongotherswecould:• Committoprayregularlyforthosefacingpersecutionandtheirfamilies;• GeneratemoreawarenessbysigningupforAlertsthathighlighttheserealitiesandthatare

oftenoverlookedinmanymediacoverages(recommendedsource:www.21wilberforce.orgwithsignupatthetop;orevenconsiderhavingasimplesign-upformattheendofeachrowthatcouldbepasseddownsothatmemberscanelectinandthenmailthatformtothe21stCenturyWilberforceInitiativeformanualinput);

• Givetosupportorganizationsactivelyworkinginthisarea(suggestedamount:$21permonththroughwww.21wilberforce.orgcanmakeasignificantdifference);

• Actasavoicemultiplierbyregularlypostingabouttherealityofpersecutiontoyoursocialmediaaccounts;

• Goonamissiontriptoacountrywherepersecutionremainsreal;• Ifyouareastudentlearnmorebychoosingthistopicforaresearchproject;• Enhancereligiousfreedominyourimmediateareabyinvitingsomeoneofanotherfaithto

yourhomefordinnerandsharedconversation;• Reachouttorefugeesinyourareaandbuildanintentionalfriendship;• Encourageyourelectedrepresentativestoprioritizetheseissuesandtodemonstratethat

prioritybytaskingoneoftheirstafftotrackinternationalreligiousfreedomissues(visitwww.IRFscorecard.orgtodownloadafreescorecardthatgradeseachSenatorandCongressmenonthedegreetowhichtheirvotessupportthisarea);

• Volunteeryourbackgroundspecialtysuchas:legal,research,teaching,micro-finance,smallbusinessormedical.

Whenthecrowdsform,thefistsareclenched,thestonesareraised,andtheculturereversesrights:howwillwerespond?


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