1 Kings 8, Acts 7:51-8:13, Psalms 129:1-8, Proverbs 17:1
What God said to me – My word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. When Stephen spoke the word to the Jews, they were cut to the quick and turned on him and stoned him. In contrast, the Bereans received the word with great eagerness and examined the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. My word was shared in both cases, but the responses were totally different. The thing I want you to see is that you should never decide whether or not you are going to share My word based on what you perceive the response might be – you should share My word out of obedience and let Me take care of the responses. When you look at what happened after Stephen was stoned, a great persecution of believers began, but as believers fled to other regions, My word spread quickly, and My church grew as a result. You be faithful to share as I direct – sometimes the response will be positive and sometimes the response will be negative, but I can and will use both to accomplish My plan.