2 Cor 5:13 For whether we were beside ourselves, it was to God; or whether we are sober-minded, it is for you Acts 16:24 [The jailer]...threw them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. (25) And about midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God...
[Part 2 of 2]Stephen was stoned to death. Paul and Silas were imprisoned for the Lord. The book of Acts, however, shows us that the disciples were rejoicing, even though they were suffering. After their release, they were not ashamed but exuberant. They were truly beside themselves for the Lord. Nothing was too great, too difficult, or too hard for them when it was done for the Lord. When Polycarp, the 86-year-old bishop of Smyrna, was taken to prison, the executioners could not bear to see him be killed. They tried to be lenient with him and only asked him to say, "I do not know Jesus the Nazarene" so that they could release him. Yet he answered, "I cannot deny Him...He has never denied me. How can I love my body and deny Him now?" They took him to the stake. As the lower part of his body was being burned, he was still able to speak, and he said, "Thank God that I have the opportunity to be burned here today. Thank God that I can testify for Him with my life." He was truly beside himself in suffering. [This author, Watchman Nee, also died in a prison for his faith in Jesus Christ. He was falsely judged and condemned in 1952, and died in 1972. He suffered greatly for not denying his faith; yet he kept the joy of the Lord for the 20 years in confinement, and his ministry has continued to spread, grow and bear fruit until today.]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee. Being Beside Ourselves to God. The Collected Works...vol. 41, pp. 200-201. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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