When you are walking in Holiness, signs will follow you!
Luke wrote by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 6:
1 During those days the number of Jesus’ followers kept multiplying greatly. But a complaint was brought against those who spoke Aramaic by the Greek-speaking Jews, who felt their widows were being overlooked during the daily distribution of food.
2 The twelve apostles called a meeting of all the believers and told them, “It is not advantageous for us to be pulled away from the word of God to wait on tables.
3 We want you to carefully select from among yourselves seven Godly men. Make sure they are honorable, full of the Holy Spirit and Wisdom, and we will give them the responsibility of this crucial ministry of serving.
4 That will enable us to give our full attention to prayer and preaching the Word of God.”
5 Everyone in the church loved this idea. So they chose seven men. One of them was Stephen, who was known as a man full of faith and overflowing with the Holy Spirit. Along with him they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas from Antioch, who had converted to Judaism.
6 All seven stood before the apostles, who laid their hands on them and prayed for them, commissioning them to this ministry.
7 God’s Word reigned supreme and kept spreading. The number of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem quickly grew and increased by the day. Even a great number of Jewish priests became believers and were obedient to the faith!
8 Stephen, who was a man full of grace and supernatural power, performed many astonishing signs and wonders and mighty miracles among the people.
9 This upset some men belonging to a sect who called themselves the Men Set Free. They were Libyans, Egyptians, and Turks. They all confronted Stephen to argue with him.
10 But the Holy Spirit gave Stephen remarkable Wisdom to answer them. His words were prompted by the Holy Spirit, and they could not refute what he said. 11 So the Men Set Free conspired in secret to find those who would bring false accusations against Stephen and lie about him by saying, “We heard this man speak blasphemy against Moses and God.”
Stephen is an excellent example for us to consider. He was not one of the disciples but operated with the same power and authority. What were his qualifications? He was full of The Holy Spirit and full of faith. He did not have an MBA, a PhD, or any other earthly qualification. It is clear that he walked in Holiness.
The fruit of The Holy Spirit manifested in his ministry of distributing food to the widows. Signs and wonders can follow anyone who is doing FATHER’S business, great or small.
How committed was Stephen to walking in Holiness?
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.
13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this Holy place and the Law;
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Men lied about Stephen and accused him of blasphemy. They presented false witnesses. We can expect the same as we walk in Holiness. The adversary will use anyone walking in the flesh to lie, cheat, and steal from those walking in Holiness.
The Glory of GOD was manifesting in Stephen’s face for all to see. With the anointing manifesting in and on Stephen, he preached to everyone in attendance. He began with the call of Abraham and spoke of the patriarchs in Egypt. He then recounted GOD delivering Israel by Moses and their rebellion against GOD. The Israelites were once again rebelling against GOD when their hearts turned back toward Egypt (the world).
Finally, Stephen spoke:
51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the Right Hand of God,
56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the Right Hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The crowd could not stand to hear Words of Holiness proceeding from Stephen’s mouth. The world wants to do away with Holiness on earth but will ultimately fail in all areas. Truth will come forth like a hailstorm and sweep away the refuge of lies. Stephen was the first martyr and in response, Jesus rose from His Throne to receive him!
Stephen walked in Holiness with undeniable signs following. The enemies of Christ attempted to eliminate The Way from their midst… they failed. The Gospel continued to spread to the uttermost parts of the earth. Holiness on earth will prevail!