God is neither contained nor confined to an individual country or religious structures including finite theological boxes, multi-million dollar mega church facilities and small local church buildings.  God is with His children and His activity is never inhibited.

In Acts chapter 7, Stephen is giving a defense in response to the religionist of His day trying desperately to hang on to the status quo.  They feel threatened that Jesus and His followers were going to bring change to their religious institution.  Instead of embracing the change that God is bringing, they resort to lies and the spreading of fear.  Stephen takes a stand for faith and justice.

In the first paragraph of chapter 7, Stephen refers to Abraham.  In the second paragraph, he paints them a picture of Joseph.  Next Stephen talks about Moses. After this, Stephen addresses religious structure in Acts 7:44-53.  The religionists had just accused Stephen of speaking against the Temple, what they consider the holy place, and the Law (Acts 6:13).

In these paragraphs of Scripture, Stephen is showing the religionists of his day two main points:

God is with His children and His activity is never inhibited.  God was with Abraham in Mesopotamia.  God was with Joseph when He was sold into slavery by his own family, when he was falsely accused and put in prison, and when he was raised into power in the land of Egypt and used to save two entire nations.  God was with Moses floating down the Nile as a baby, when he was raised in the Egyptian palace, when he was tending sheep in Median, when he delivered his people out of slavery and led them into the wilderness for 40 years on the way to the Promised Land.

The religionists could not even keep the law that they were accusing him of speaking against.  They had rejected and killed God’s prophetic messengers who always stood for faith and justice and pointed people to the Righteous One to come.  And when the Righteous One did come and stand for faith and justice, they also rejected and killed Him.

This speaks to us today as we still have religionist trying to contain and confine God to a specific place or a set of rules and regulations.  God is the Creator; how can the maker of everything be confined within man-made structures?  Jesus came and replaced the Temple and fulfilled the Law.  He has made God’s children the dwelling place of God and everywhere they go, God is there.

There are lessons here that we can learn and not be like the religionists:

• God is everywhere; the creator is with His creation.
• God’s activity is never inhibited.
• Today’s prophetic messengers are those who will always stand for faith and justice while pointing people to Jesus Christ.
• God is not found in a set of man-made, denominational rules and regulations - Jesus came and set us free from all of that bondage.
• We are to always resist fear and not the Holy Spirit and the changes that He brings for the good of all people.

Stiff-necked religious people who resist the Holy Spirit will never be used of God to bring about change for all people.  Those who follow Christ will stand for faith and justice and be used of God to bring much needed change for all people.  Scriptures declare this truth through and through.