Acts 6 and 7, Ezekiel 20:21-22

Nick Welford reflects on the need to act from who we are and not what we feel

Nick Welford

When it comes to sports I am notoriously inconsistent. As frustrating as this can be it was a lot worse in my teen years. Whenever I was playing with a new set of people, whether competitively or just for fun, a burning desire to prove myself would rear its head. Often the result was that rather than playing my supreme best I would instead play my appalling worst. While over the years my competitive nature has been somewhat toned down, outside of sporting occasions my desire to prove myself, to be accepted, has remained fairly consistent.

I want to be liked by people, and as many people as possible. To be regarded well may seem like a noble task but in reality it's an exhausting pursuit. And as I play this gruelling game I am chaining (or yoking) myself to other people's opinion of me rather than Jesus' unrelenting love for me. I've been aware of it for years, and completely unable to change it. Then I read Ezekiel 20 in the Message.

In this passage God is listing the ugly history of the people of Israel and then He gets to the bit where He's about to dole out the punishment and it says this, 'But then I thought better of it, I acted out of who I am not how I felt.' I couldn't, and still can't, get that phrase out of my head. If it's good enough for God, it's good enough for me!

I started to think about who I was and what it would mean to act out of that rather than my temperamental, fickle feelings. As a Christian who I am is hid in Christ, whether I feel like it or not. He has spoken some pretty powerful things over our lives, and when we act of those truths I believe our lives will be transformed. When I am secure in God and know Him, His love, grace and forgiveness for me I do not need to chase these things from other people.

On top of discovering this verse two other things happened: our church ran a Freedom in Christ course which I attended and I was asked to preach on the story of Stephen in Acts 6 & 7. Stephen was a man who knew what it was like to act out of who he was rather than how he felt. One of the first deacons, (a title that simply meant 'servant', rather than 'wearing of suspect knitwear' as it does today), Stephen quickly gained recognition from fans and enemies alike. It is all too much for the religious leaders of the day and he is dragged before the highest Jewish court on jumped up charges and is falsely accused.

Many of us are familiar with accusation whether from other people or ourselves, direct or indirect, real or assumed. This should not surprise us. One of the names the Bible gives to Satan is 'the accuser'. When you are accused what is your first response? Mine is defensive: I must explain my actions or the misunderstanding that has led to this accusation. I must make sure everyone thinks the right things about me. Stephen, in court on slanderous charges, fully within his rights to claim them untrue, does nothing of the sort. Rather than defending himself he boldly presents the gospel. He tries a last gasp effort at correcting the wayward thinking of the court. Because he is found in Jesus he does not see this accusation as an attack on him but as a chance to share Jesus. We see Stephen's security in his vision of the heavenly court where Jesus is standing as Stephen's defender not sitting as in previous visions recorded in Daniel. Stephen knew he was defended: he knew Jesus and because of that he knew who he was. Because of this knowledge, when the crunch came he honoured God rather than defended himself.

And it wasn't just Stephen: Moses as he led the Israelites was constantly complained about and almost every time he fell on his face before God - he answered to God not to man! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3 are on death row for refusing to bow to the king. The king gives them one more chance to bow and they say to him, 'Forget it! We don't need to answer to you. God can save us from death but you need to know that even if He doesn't - we would never have bowed to you'!

When we act out of who we are, not how we are feeling, we will point to God all the more.

What opportunities do you have today to act out of who you are?