Title: Manage Your Face / Acts 6:8-15
Content - Manage your face - (Acts 6:8-15)
This is how the Bible describes a man named Stephen.
“All those who sat in the council looked at Stephen, and behold, his face was like that of an angel” (Acts 6:15). What is important, under what circumstances does he really have his face like that of an angel?
While the Jerusalem church was growing, a problem arose, and that was the 'relief' problem.
As he was finally ordained and set up and began his ministry, great wonders and signs appeared through him (verse 8), and there was no obstruction in the process of arguing over the word of God.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to frame Stephen.
"This man blasphemes God. He blasphemes the temple. He blasphemes the law" (verses 10-13). Then he brought them to the council and set up false witnesses.
But, saying that he heard something he didn't say, he framed him unfairly and started to condemn him. What incident comes to mind?
When they killed Jesus, they used exactly the same method, and the crowd captured Stephen.
It was the same charge that was applied to Jesus at that time, and the false witnesses mobilized were the same group at that time, and the council that was brought in was also the same.
Their eyes lit up, and everyone clenched fists and trembled, staring intently at him, ready to throw stones at him.
Their goal, which was falsely framed, was already set to kill him. Surrounded by the false witnesses, Stephen didn't know what kind of crisis he was in and how he would die miserably?
Nevertheless, the Bible reveals that Stephen's face 'like the face of an angel' in that very situation is not a subjective opinion of Luke alone.
If 'everyone who sat in the public meeting saw it that way' and everyone felt that way, this is a real challenge.
The human face is a mystery itself. So Daniel MaNeill, who became a global figure with the book 'Face', expresses the human face in his book like this.
"The face is like a mine with many minerals buried there. Everything about that person is buried there." That's right.
The past, present, and future are all melted into the face, and the person's information is intact.
So, by looking at a face, you can immediately recognize age, gender, race, occupation, health status, mood, etc.
The face is the center of the body, and it eats, drinks, breathes and speaks. In the end, it also means that everything about that person is included.
So what did Stephen with the face of an angel look like? One thing is certain, it is speculation that Stephen's appearance may not have been that great.
The reason is that first, when the Bible refers to a person's appearance, it is always mentioned first (when referring to King Saul, David, Absalom, and Esther).
Second, when selecting the seven deacons, the criterion was not their appearance.
From this point of view, we can draw this conclusion based on Stephen's face.
The 'angel' light emanating from his face was not something he had from the beginning, but something that was refined and made over a long period of time.
To put it more simply, Stephen was the man who managed his face.
The important thing is, how did Stephen manage his face?
(1) Spiritual fullness was the secret to having the face of an angel. Above all, he loved the Word, meditated on it, and had deep fellowship with God.
As we valued and shared spiritual communication with God in this way, his face naturally became like that of an angel.
After fasting for 40 days on Mt. Sinai, he had a wonderful experience of having deep fellowship with God and receiving the word directly. When Moses came down from the mountain, his face lit up.
(2) The solution to the problem of death was the secret to having an 'angel's face'.
When his enemies threw stones at him, the reason Stephen could not complain and curse at them was because he was looking into the world after 'death'.
(3) Wanting to be like Jesus was the secret to having an 'angel's face'.
Stephen's lifelong wish was to be like the Lord even to the last moment of his death.
I wanted to die like the Lord, pray like the Lord, and see the glory of heaven like the Lord (Acts 7:59~60).
It is no accident that Stephen was able to have the face of an angel just before his martyrdom.
Who are we to emulate today? "Be ye imitators of me as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1) Can the face change? The answer is yes, and life of faith can be defined as 'managing one's face'.
The reason why we use the word 'management' to compare our religious life to face management means that we need to put a lot of time and effort into our religious life.
Because, at the last moment, when our Lord tests us, the most important thing we look at is the face. Why are you looking at your face? Because everything is written on your face.
That's why Ludwig Wittgenstein even said that 'the face is the soul of the body'.
Dear saints,
What is the standard of your religious life? How similar is it to the Lord? is.
Regardless of what we were like before we started living in faith, I hope that when we stand before the Lord, we will be able to manage our own faces day by day, eager to be the faces of angels like Stephen.
We must strive to reach spiritual fullness, and we must be armed with the gospel so that we can stand upright before death. We must strive to be like Jesus.
At that time, without realizing it, I believe that a bright light will appear from that face, the light of angelic glory.
I pray in the name of the Lord that the grace will come to all of us.