Acts 6:8
As I scan the short but impactful life of Stephen, the more I come to realize that one does not have to be appointed, licensed, or credentialed by human agencies, to be effective for God. It does not go by paper but by power, the power of God effectually working in us on the inside.
The Apostle Paul confirms this for us when he wrote “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in in us” (Ephesians 3:20). To the Thessalonians, a similar thought is described when the apostle speaks of “the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). He makes this truth crystal clear, that there is a power deposited within each of us that we ought to use and magnificently display as we stand in witness of this great gospel.
It is with keen interest we note again that Stephen was filled not only with great faith but also with great power (Acts 6:8). Therefore, my contention is, if we are filled with the same power with which Stephen was filled, then we should be able to do similar things as Stephen. We, like Stephen, should be motivated at least to get up and do massive things for our God. It cannot be church as usual.
Spirit-filled people cannot be lazy and inactive. They are people of action and dynamic ministry, whether licensed or unlicensed. They are divinely commissioned by the Holy One to go into all the world and make disciples of all people and help advance the cause of Christ.
It so happens that because of their faith and power things transpire in the supernatural. They are not surprised when miracles occur. They live in expectation. They naturally expect God to confirm His Word as they go forth (Mark 16:20).
In fact, they become more surprised when miracles do not transpire. Every time we speak and preach the Word, we should expect the presence and power of God to show up. Is it not true that we belong to the same God and the same faith-tradition as Stephen and the first apostolic bishops?
I declare that today is a new day, a day of miracles for the Church of the living God. As they preached Christ in faith and power and expected Him to show up, so must we. The question is, are we willing to pay the same price and sacrifice they so eagerly made to see the kind of results that regularly occurred in their ministries?
I challenge the last days Church of God to be that kind of church – a church filled with power and supernatural wonders. May the Almighty help us today to be no ordinary, dried-up, anemic church, especially in these desperately difficult last moments of time. Let it be that when we pray and preach that things without fail would happen in the supernatural. We earnestly pray for great miracles to be manifested among us again, especially in these crucial times – whether licensed or unlicensed!
Leroy V. Greenaway
Presiding Bishop – Northeast Region
