Acts 7 "Perception and Reality"

Acts 7 – Brandon Hatmaker “Perception and Reality”
Monday, April 21, 2008

“Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?” – Acts 7:1

What were the charges? In Acts 6 it tells us of his words about Moses and Jesus. He spoke about a new covenant and the insufficiency of the law. These were certainly accusations that were against their custom, but they were true. Although verse 10 tells us that “they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” They still considered his words “blasphemy against God.”

What they claimed Stephen said was mostly true. He did say those things. But because they did not consider the Spirit, their perception of why he was saying them and the authority in which he spoke was off base. That made all the difference in the world. Their perception was their reality. Most of the time, so is ours. While we have to acknowledge and cannot ignore this “law of human nature”, we have to also recognize its shortcoming in our own logic. Our perception, our reality, and our opinions do not necessarily make us right. It’s a dangerous place when we find ourselves projecting our opinion as truth, leaving no room for correction. This is true especially as leaders. What if we’re wrong? What are the consequences? Is an individual’s well being at risk? A group or a family? A friend or a coworker? An entire organization, company, nation or culture? In this case, their eternity was at stake.

The signs were everywhere, and they missed it. They just missed it. In verse 51, Stephen pretty much called everyone out when he said, "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”

They always resist the Holy Spirit. There are not many greater accusations of a man of faith than this.

Father, we work so hard for you at times. It’s so easy to separate our spirit from our systems. It’s so easy to divorce our spirituality from our mentality. But we recognize that nothing is gained apart from you. Help us to not resist the Spirit that we might see where you are at work. Help us to deny ourselves and choose your ways in every realm of choice.