Stoned To Silence - #Are We Next | Wednesday Bible Study

 

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another mid-week Bible study. Instead of taking on an entire book of the Bible, I want to discuss a hot topic in our world today: Censorship. Christians have been censored since the time of Jesus. We knew that following Jesus would cost us something, many don't realize that commitment to Christ requires giving up everything. Jesus said, "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour." (John 12:25-26)

The multitudes followed Jesus for the miracles He performed and the provision that He gave, and honestly many Christians do the same thing. There is a superficial relationship many have forged so shallow that it's very posture reveals the true heart. Instead of hands raised in complete surrender and adoration to our Lord and Savior Jesus, their hands are extended and open waiting for another blessing to be given. Jeremiah 29:12-13 paints a different expectation of the follower of God. He says, "Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." There's a requirement of our whole heart in following God. We know that from the commandment Jesus repeated in Mark 12:30, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

There are men and women all across this country and around the globe who are fired up for Jesus! There are people, a remnant, who have not bowed the knee to Big Tech, who have not compromised to gain followers, subscribers, sheep, whatever you want to call them. There are men and women, children, teens, people diverse from one another who seek God daily, who look for His face more than His hands, and who are sold out believers, ready to die for Him if it required it. Make no mistake, God has a Church! He will one day gather all of us and what a glorious day that will be! But until then, we are to go and make disciples, and in so doing, do not expect to make friends with the world. Friends, we will be hated of the world. In John 15:18-19, Jesus said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And we have seen so many examples of that recently in censorship of the Christian faith.

We read in the book of Acts in the sixth chapter that out of necessity to ensure the needs were being met of all the people, because the number of disciples continued to multiply, the 12 disciples gathered the multitude of disciples for a meeting. They said it would not be good for the 12 to stop preaching the Word of God to serve food to the poor and the widows. They recognized the importance of the mission and it was not "beneath" them, but they knew there were others who had those gifts that could be utilized in that way, so the 12 disciples could continue to reach more people and the poor and widows could be served as they should be. So they appointed seven men who had a good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom. Stephen was one of the seven chosen for this task.

The Bible says that Stephen was full of faith and power and did great wonders and miracles among the people. He was living what he was speaking and preaching and teaching. When our lives line up with God's Word and what He wants us to do, we are a threat to the enemy of God. When we walk in the gifts and callings God has given us we are a threat to the god of this world, and his name is Lucifer. Stephen is preaching and teaching with signs and wonders following. He has good fruit and it is evident. No one can dispute it, but then a group of Libertines, or Freedmen, got upset. The liberal crowd got offended and began disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and Spirit that enabled Stephen to teach with such boldness. Since they had no real argument against Stephen, they just disliked what he stood for, they secretly bribed men to lie on Stephen. These false witnesses claimed they heard Stephen blaspheme against Moses and against God. His life was a living, breathing, walking testimony of His commitment to Christ. Of course he was going to be targeted by the religious sect who had no desire to be transformed and changed by the power of Christ.

The group grabbed Stephen and dragged him off to the council where they lied about his character. They lied about his message. They wanted to stop Stephen from speaking things they did not like, they did not agree with, and they did not want to have to think about. The false witnesses were in place, and the bible says, in Acts 6:15 "And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." Pure innocence and yet the high priest continues with this mock trial. Do no think that this was "way back in the Bible days" and that it cannot happen here in American in 2021. You must not be so blind.

I want you to read Acts chapter seven. Read the compelling last words of this man of great faith. Carefully examine the words of Stephen and decide for yourself what he said that was worthy of death. What did he do that you and I, in the free country of America, with liberty of speech and liberty of religion, cannot also do? Have we said some of these same things? Are we pushing back against Cancel Culture? Because censorship of the Christian is real and rampant. It has been going on for a LONG time and it is only getting worse as we are stripped of our rights every single day.

ACTS 7:51-60 (51)Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so did ye. (52)Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: (53)Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (54)When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (55)But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. (56)And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (57)Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, (58)And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. (59)And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (60)And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

 Let's pause for a moment.

A man stood up for God and for Truth, revealed the heart behind the wicked accusers, but the religious customs were more important than the relationship Jesus wants to have with us, so they killed Stephen. They took up big stones and threw them with great force in anger and an adrenaline rush to silence God's messenger. What do you think they will do to us?

What might happen when we stand up for Biblical truth? What could happen to Christians in America when we stand up for the unborn, the disabled, the elderly, the chronically ill? What will happen when we call out Big Tech for dropping the hammer on those speaking truth?

I was censored on YouTube when my video was posted on my channel. I got shadow banned because I offended them when I told my viewers to put their trust in God and trust Him more than a vaccine or a government official. That was the offensive statement: that we should put our faith in God and not man or man-made things. You may think I am over-reacting and that I should not compare that to Stephen. I am not comparing what happened to me with the cruel, inhumane way they murdered precious Stephen. I cannot read that passage without mourning and crying! What a huge cost for someone who did not love his life to the death! That is what it means, friends, to take up your cross daily. Stephen counted the cost. My YouTube channel shadow ban on a video is not the same, but it is evidence that we are going in that same direction.

God sent my family and me to Alabama to live and serve and we did so for 16 months. God called us back to Indiana and during my time in Alabama, God had me praying for the city of Mobile. Day after day, I would drive back and forth to work, around the city on errands, going to and from church and I prayed for the city of Mobile, for deliverance, for salvation, for freedom from addictions and bondage. We get back to Indiana and the other morning I get a text message from a  friend and this is what it said:

Monday, February 22, 8:48 am: "a big revival broke out in mobile yesterday.folks getting babtized in their trucks and masses giving life to the Lord."

A man named Sean Feucht has been going across the country and stirring up revival in the heart of God's people. He has been sharing video clips and testimonials and it's been incredible to see the power of God moving. So many of us have been praying for a move of God and it's sweeping the nation and people are hungry for it. Sean was putting out a worship album and he really believed it was going to be life-changing for many people. He prayed it would turn people's hearts toward God. The company that was going to release the album in just a few days from the moment he announced it chose to ban it! It was denied!!  Just after sharing incredible testimonies of people being healed by the power of God, he announced the excitement of this new release, and then bam! Denied! Saints of God everywhere began to pray. People started sending messages to the company and after being inundated with people's cry for the album to release, they decided to release the album.

So, it's a YouTube video on a channel that has less than 1500 subscribers, and a worship CD. Should we care? Yes! We should care! We should care because it was the cake baker who owned their own business and chose not to bake wedding cakes for weddings that didn't honor the man-and-woman marriage God designed. A business owner can choose who to cater to and who not to. The baker had politely declined to bake the cake for the homosexual couple and even told them of other bakers that would do what they wanted. Instead of leaving the store and finding a bakery that could accommodate them, they sued the baker! A Christian woman worked for a company who does many things, one of which is selling marriage licenses. Her beliefs did not allow her to make the transaction for the same-sex couple. She went to jail! The woman who stood up for what she believed in, God's Word, was thrown in jail!!! Not in the days of Daniel or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This is our lifetime, our modern day times! 

James Daly, president of Focus on the Family, has a wonderful ministry to help families in America grow closer to God. Every episode is helping fathers be more like Christ and strong leaders of their homes, or teaching women how to love well in the midst of insecurities and pressures of society to be and conform more like the world; and resources are available for parenting, financial needs, health concerns, and mental stress. Actively walking out their faith with boldness and love, they were even targeted for a tweet they shared. You can read all about that here. Church wake up, please!! We are being watched and targeted and anything we say or do can and will be held against us!

If we were doing everything sinful, ungodly, and unimaginable, we would be celebrated and rushed to the top of the ladder of success. We would be indulged, never censored, never held accountable. We would be seen as loving and good. The evil ones, according to the world, are the people like you and me who choose to stand up for truth and justice. The Bible told us it would be this way. It should come as no surprise if we are reading the Word of God for ourselves. 

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-7 (1)This know also, that in the last days perilous times will come. (2)For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. (3)Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4)Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God: (5)Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (6)For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (7)Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Friends, we could literally be reading America's profile today. Money lovers, irreconcilable, reckless, liars, haters of those that are good. We must not fall asleep on this topic. Do not think it's just the way things are nowadays. We cannot conform to this world and remain reconciled to Christ. It will never happen! I'm going to ask you to speak up when you see others getting targeted and bullied by Big Tech. Support ministries and organizations that are sharing God's truth. Keep speaking truth to those around you. Do not let one day go by without sharing God's message of hope, love, and forgiveness with the world. Tell someone. Call a friend, family member, coworker, anybody and tell them that Jesus loves them and has a plan for their lives: a hope and a future, something that will produce good results and great success. Introduce someone to Jesus today. Let's go and be disciples. 

Let me leave you with this familiar scripture, that bears repeating:

ROMANS 12:1-2 (1)I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2)And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I hope something I have shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens