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The Eternal Optimist Optimism! In 1914, the French never contemplated defeat at the hands of Germany. The essence of this optimism is revealed in a report to General Joseph Joffre from General Ferdinand Foch: "My center is broken, my right retreats, the situation is excellent—I attack!" That sort of optimism—with eyes raised above the circumstance—may very well have helped bring an allied victory in 1918 in World War 1. But what does "optimism" have to do with the church? The first generation of church leaders expressed an optimism that is even greater than this—it is eternal! They were baptized in every adversity, showing forth a grace that comes out of the midst of disgrace. They gladly accepted and gratefully endured all setbacks and attacks. Their unconquerable optimism fills the New Testament—Paul is in jail, but in those times, he is more free than he ever was. Peter and John are beaten to a pulp, but their words still conquer human hearts. Christians lose their possessions, jobs, and even lives, but others come and fill the gap—absolutely unable to resist the sway of the Christ who uses even suffering to proclaim His conquest of Satan. If we really want to know what this optimism is all about, and where it comes from, let's take a few moments to turn to the proverbial eternal optimist, Stephen. Acts 6 introduces him by way of a problem within the church: "And in those days, when the number of disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." (vs. 1). Sound familiar? What church today hasn't been plagued by hurt feelings because someone perceives they or someone else has been slighted or neglected? When pride comes into it, it gets blown up way out of proportion, but in this case, something was needed. There were so many people, the disciples couldn't handle it all. Truth be known, they weren't supposed to—the Body of Christ, pastor and people, are to be reaching out as the Spirit leads. Now, in order that the apostles could give themselves, "continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word," they chose out seven men who were of "honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,"(vss. 3,4) and they were given this awesome responsibility of serving the Lord by serving others. I have known pastors who want to use this text as a proof that they don't need to be visiting in hospitals and preaching in nursing homes—they are too busy with other things. Heaven forbid—the pastor and the people make up the Body of Christ, and caring and outreach are for everyone. Stephen was one of those seven chosen, and could have easily felt slighted—after all, "Why should I do all of that other stuff; why can't I be an apostle, too? Certainly, being filled with the Holy Spirit, I am worth more to God than that! After all, God needs me!" Really? A.W. Tozer once wrote, "I could never offer myself to a God that actually needed me. If He needed me, I could not respect Him or even worship Him, because if He needed me, and I refused Him, then He would be lacking something—and what kind of a God is that? Some of our appeals in churches include this error—that we should serve Him because He needs us so badly. The fact is that God is riding above this world and clouds are the dust of His feet, and if you do not follow Him, you will lose out. He will still be glorified in His true overcoming saints, and admired by all those who fear Him. To bring ourselves into a place where God will be eternally pleased with us should be the first responsible act of every man." You see, this is the point! The Scripture says that no one can please Him, except through true faith—trusting in Him to be a God in total control; knowing even our difficult circumstances are for a purpose, we move forward. Due to His love, He wants us, not needs us! This is the true source of eternal optimism, and Stephen knew it. Oswald Chambers put it this way: "God is my Father, He loves me, and I will never think of anything that He will forget—so, why should I worry?" Good point! Know in the heart of hearts that "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised," (Ps. 145:3) and you can go anywhere He calls you to, simply because He goes too—even within you. This was Stephen's heart and it would get him through—even clear to the end. Being filled with God's Spirit, he was able to do great works, and, having the wisdom of God, he preached the Gospel with such power, people were not able to refute it. Oh, they tried—but "they were not able to resist" it (vs.10)—in other words, they couldn't honestly stand against it. They were as mad as a hornet because his words convicted them of their sin, but when they tried to dispute the truth, they couldn't honestly do it. And "honestly" is the key word—they were only able to bring him to trial by scrounging up some who would lie about Stephen, saying, "This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us." (vss. 13,14) Do you see what their problem really was? They were worried about their precious building and they were concerned that things were changing—their customs, their traditions, their understanding of religion. They were uttering the seven deadliest words of the church: "We never did it that way before." You see, they didn't really hate Stephen, they hated what he stood for. Verse 15 tells us, "And all that sat at the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." They didn't hate him, in fact, they couldn't even figure out why they were mad at him. Stephen hadn't done anything to hurt them—he had given them the truth, God's heart, and that was the problem! They had never been there before, and pessimism set in. Not Stephen! He didn't have his eyes on this world; he had his eyes up in the heavenlies—even unto Jesus! Stephen proceeded to answer them, but not with ranting and raving, hollering and shouting—not even with boisterous displays of self-defense. In fact, "self" had nothing to do with it—he just gave them the Gospel. Purposefully and methodically, Stephen worked his way through the Old Testament to show them how it all had pointed to Jesus, the One they had crucified. Now, when they heard that, "they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth." (vs. 54) In the Greek, it means they were exasperated—Stephen had to be gone! Many today, being faced with this kind of animosity, would faint at the prospect—but not Stephen. His eyes weren't on his circumstances and on all he was about to lose. No, 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, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (vss. 55,56) Stephen's eyes were fastened upon Jesus, and nothing else. He was gazing intently on his only hope—his only eternal hope. No matter how much the afflictions of this life—even the prospect of death itself—tried to crush him, Stephen was eternally optimistic. And why not? Just look at where Jesus was—standing at the right hand of God. Repeatedly, Scripture makes it clear that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, but He is always sitting. (Acts 2:34; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Col. 3:1; etc.) Now, He is standing—Stephen had stood up for Jesus, now Jesus would stand up to receive Stephen into His eternal presence. Glory to God—this is not just for Stephen, or for a select few—no, this is for all overcoming, Spirit-filled Christians who will live for Him now. It is for all those who keep their eyes fastened on their only Hope, Jesus Himself, giving no honor to the worldly philosophies that try to bring them down. Whatever happened to this holy optimism? Did we lose it in our haste to institutionalize the Body of Christ, to gain respect and favor in the community of unbelievers, to safeguard our reputations, to ease the requirements for salvation in order to boost the numbers? If we ever had it, we had better find it again. If we never had it, we must pray to receive it. As Stephen was stoned to death, he asked Jesus to not "lay this sin to their charge." (vs. 60) This "charge" is the same Greek word used for Jesus "standing" at the right hand of God. In other words, "Lord, if and when any of them repent, please don't allow this to stand against them and keep them out of your Kingdom." And indeed, He didn't—in just two chapters, the one who stood there watching over the cloaks of those stoning Stephen—Saul Himself—would get miraculously saved, and become the Apostle Paul. And it is no different for us—when our center is broken and our rights retreat, the situation is actually excellent, and nothing can keep us in that pessimistic pit. In true faith, will you stand up for Jesus, and be this generation's eternal optimist? Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
