Acts 6:7

“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.” ESV Acts 6:7

Habakkuk looked around his community and was burdened by the unrighteousness that he saw. His response was to go to God in earnest prayer. Paul looked around at the idols while in Athens and scripture tells us that his “spirit was provoked within him” and in response, he used his gift of oration to preach the gospel to Athenians at the Areopagus. Today we’ll take a quick look at Stephen.

For some reason, I picture Stephen as being an unassuming young layman working in the early church. There’s nothing biblical about that mind you, but I picture him that way nonetheless. Scripture does tell us that he was a man of good repute, wise and full of faith. And apparently blessed with some type of gift that enabled him to perform great wonders and signs among the people of Jerusalem.

Stephen, like Habakkuk before his time and Paul whose ministry followed, used his gifts to witness to his neighbors. And like so many other accounts in scripture, we are told that his efforts met with some resistance, some disbelief, and yet others were saved through his witness. If you take time to read Acts chapter seven, you will see that the message he preached was not unlike that of Peter at Pentecost, and later that of Paul on his journeys. And the messages must be similar because there is only one gospel.

In response to his ministry, we are told that some folks rose up and disagreed with Stephen, but could not withstand his wisdom. So they conjured up false charges against him and brought him before a council. There, Stephen gave testimony beginning with Abraham and continuing up to their day. And for his testimony, Stephen was killed; cast outside the city and stoned; the first recorded martyr in the New Testament Church.

The same kind of persecution befalls Christians even today. I read of an account recently of a Christian missionary in India, living and witnessing among Hindu fundamentalists, that was poisoned. He literally died on his door steps; leaving behind a wife and family. Sadly, this isn’t an isolated event. An organization called the Voice of the Martyrs (www.persecution.com) is dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians worldwide and making their plight known.

Christians don’t face true, radical persecution for their faith in this country. For this we should be thankful and for this we should be ashamed. Ashamed for what you may ask? Ashamed that we don’t use every means and opportunity that God grants us to share our faith with our neighbors we encounter every day.

Ken worships at Tharptown Baptist Church where he teaches an adult Sunday School class. Comments on his column may be sent to kenaskew@charter.net.

Acts 17:16

“Now while Paul was waiting for them [Silas and Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
ESV Acts 17:16

We continue this week talking about neighbors. If you missed last week’s article, we began by looking briefly at Habakkuk. Some of you will recall that he was distressed at the injustice and unrighteousness that he saw in his community and it appears that he made it a matter of much prayer.

This week we find Paul waiting on his ministry companions, Silas and Timothy, in Athens after having been run out of Thessalonica and Bera for proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ. But though some got angry, others searched the Scriptures and believed Paul’s message; both Jews and Gentiles and were converted.

Athens, named after the goddess Athena, is said to be the birthplace of democracy and is today the Capital and largest city in Greece. In Paul’s day, it was known as a learning center where people would gather and exchange ideas and philosophy. It was a “happening” town. Incidentally, it was in Athens, at the Areopagus, where many of the events recorded in Acts 17 took place.

But Paul was uneasy in Athens. Our verse tells us that his spirit was provoked as he observed the daily activities of his new neighbors. Paul was uneasy because he observed that the city was full of idols. The bible tells us that Paul had observed that the Athenians even had an altar dedicated ‘To the unknown god.’

So Paul did the only thing he could do. He engaged his new neighbors where he found them (worshiping unknown gods) and began to share with them the truth about God; the God that they apparently did not know. He spoke to them about God the Creator and how He was far and above any created thing. He told them that God demanded repentance and that a day of reckoning was coming when God would judge the world in righteousness. Finally, he told them of the resurrection of Jesus. And like at other times, some scoffed, yet some believed and were converted.

If you claim to be a Christian, try for a moment to remember who it was that first shared Christ with you? Was it a parent; a co-worker; a friend; a pastor? If we could discuss your answers, we would find that witnesses come in all shapes and sizes.

When you look around our city, your Athens, is your spirit provoked because you see evil and unrighteousness? Do you engage your neighbors in whatever spiritual condition you find them and tell them about Jesus? Do you share as much of the good news to as many people as you can?

Can you be a successful witness? Absolutely! I think it’s J. Vernon McGee who should get credit for this definition of a successful witness: “Share Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leave the results to God.” That’s exactly what Paul did and you can too.

-Ken Askew

Habakkuk 1:2-4

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” ESV Habakkuk 1:2-4

Is it easier to pray when things are going along smoothly in our lives or is it easier to pray when it seems that nothing else can go wrong? Most will confess that it is much easier to pray once we have exhausted all other means to bring closure to a particular situation.

Anybody who has ever had a very sick child can relate to what I’m saying. It is difficult as a parent to watch a child suffer with sickness; especially when you feel totally helpless and incapable of diagnosing or remedying the situation. There are many other examples of course, but I know from experience what it’s like to hold a sick child and I know too that prayers flow freely during those times.

Of course God hears the prayers of His children during these anxious times, but it might surprise you to learn that he is interested in hearing your prayers concerning everyday concerns, and not simply prayers of desperation. God is interested in the daily concerns of your heart. What are some of the daily concerns of your heart? Perhaps they include prayers for protection; provision perhaps; healing of course; wisdom; controlling anger perhaps; etc. Our worries and concerns seem to have no bounds and neither should our prayers.

Speaking of bounds, everything I’ve mentioned thus far has one thing in common. Have you caught it? The common thread is self. Yet when you look to the Bible, you’ll be hard pressed to find a self-centered prayer. I think the pressures of our culture incline us towards self-centeredness, but Jesus’ own testimony, in Matthew chapter 20, was that He came to serve, not to be served. And in John, chapter 17, you’ll find Jesus voicing one of the most selfless and beautiful prayers in all of Scripture.

In our text today, note that Habakkuk had a deep burden for his neighbors. Everywhere he looked he saw injustice, destruction, violence and wicked doings. But more importantly, Habakkuk cared; and not just for himself and his loved ones, but for his neighbors. Habakkuk cared about his neighbors and he made those present concerns known to God through prayer on a daily basis; otherwise we wouldn’t see his complaint about delay on God’s part.

Food for thought: Do you care about your neighbors? Do you pray for them? Over the next few weeks we will look at prayer some more and (odd as it may seem) we will be talking about our neighbors. In the mean time, let’s follow the instruction found in James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

-Ken Askew

2 Kings 1:3

“But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” ESV 2 Kings 1:3

After the Kingdom of Israel divided, along about 931 B.C., the northern kingdom had a string of “bad” kings; bad in the sense that none of them worshiped the true God. Ahaziah was one of those kings. The Bible tells us that he did evil in the sight of the Lord, caused the nation to sin and worshiped the false god Baal. Baal of course was a pagan god of man’s own making.

Apparently, King Ahaziah took a nasty and debilitating fall inside his palace. Sick, anxious perhaps, and confined to his chamber, Ahaziah sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub as to whether he would recover from his injuries. But the messengers were intercepted by the prophet Elijah who confronted them with a rhetorical question as to why they were seeking answers from Baal-zebub: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub…?” Of course, the true God is always available to those who seek him by faith. But instead of inquiring of the true God through prayer, Ahaziah, apparently lacking faith, sought answers from a manmade god.

As I thought about this scenario this past week, I asked myself whether we are guilty of Ahaziah’s sin today. Do we seek advice and answers from false gods? Or do we pray (making our concerns and petitions known) in faith to the true God? Too often, I think we are guilty of seeking advice from sources that are likely to tickle our ears and tell us what we want to hear. Sources like magazines, talk shows, fortune tellers, etc. are tailored to confirm and agree with every whim and vice that we may have. All the while, the true God, who can give us peace beyond measure, eagerly awaits our faithful prayers.

When you think about it, prayers to God and faith in God are inextricably linked. E.M. Bounds once wrote: “Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its petition is preferred, before its requests are made known – faith must have gone on ahead…” How true.

The real issue in this story is faith in God. Ahaziah’s actions betrayed his lack of faith in the true God. The question for you and me is whether our actions confirm our faith in the true God or betray our lack of faith. Do we run to and fro looking for answers that please our ears, or do we seek truth through faith in God?

Seek truth from God and take comfort in Paul’s words to the Philippians: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ESV Philippians 4:6-7

-Ken Askew