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A New Enemy - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus,
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: receive my spirit. My God, in the same way Stephen
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: displayed an unwavering commitment to his convictions, unlock this level
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  Speaker 2: of conviction in my life. In the face of authorities
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: with the power to execute, Stephen remained strong as he
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: stood and expressed what he knew to be the truth,
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  Speaker 2: both about Jesus and the religious leader's stubborn hearts. In
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: the same way, allow my life to resemble the same
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: spirit and strength that Stephen possessed. May my life prove
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  Speaker 2: that I have the presence of God in it. May
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  Speaker 2: my life prove that I base my commitment on a
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  Speaker 2: biblical foundation. Allow me to spot out and see the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: error of past thinking and old ways of being. Allow
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: my life to stay steadfast as I keep my eyes
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  Speaker 2: on you, Jesus. For I declare that commitment moves past
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  Speaker 2: the mind and emotions and goes straight to the will.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: Thank you for my commitment. that brings my mind and
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  Speaker 2: emotions into alignment to achieve my purpose at all cost.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Like Stephen, I will look up to the heavens to
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  Speaker 2: gain my strength and encouragement. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Speaker 3: A New Enemy In our last story, the apostles were
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  Speaker 3: beaten and imprisoned for preaching the name of Jesus, healing
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  Speaker 3: the sick, and feeding the poor.
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  Speaker 4: Just as their Lord before them, the apostles found themselves
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  Speaker 4: suffering for the sake of restoration. Now we see a
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  Speaker 4: new character arise. A man named Stephan comes onto the
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  Speaker 4: scene to boldly proclaim the good news of Christ. However,
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: there is an evil lurking near. A man by the
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: name of Saul watches and waits for his opportunity to
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  Speaker 4: strike Stephan and any Christian who dare mention the name
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  Speaker 4: of Jesus. Inspired by the book of.
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  Speaker 5: Acts, Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: the Bible in a Year. Thanks so much for joining us.
• 3:01
  Speaker 5: In our last time together, we heard about the religious
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  Speaker 5: leaders as they threatened the apostles' teaching and put them
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  Speaker 5: in jail. God then sent an angel to open the
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  Speaker 5: prison gates and send them to the temple again preaching
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  Speaker 5: the gospel of Jesus. Their opponents could find no real
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  Speaker 5: reason to keep them in prison, and at the counsel
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  Speaker 5: of one of their own, Gamaliel, they release the apostles,
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  Speaker 5: but only after beating them and warning them to never
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  Speaker 5: speak about the name of Jesus again. Of course, the
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  Speaker 5: apostles would never stop. You might as well tell the
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  Speaker 5: sun to stop shining. And they continued preaching the gospel
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  Speaker 5: of Christ and winning more and more people to a
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  Speaker 5: relationship with Christ, more souls for Jesus. Today, we'll hear
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: about Stephen, the first Christian martyr who spoke boldly of
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: Christ and paid the ultimate sacrifice and price. We'll also
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  Speaker 5: meet a new enemy to the gospel, a zealous young
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  Speaker 5: rabbi named Saul, who will lead the hunt for any
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: who would proclaim the name of Jesus, persecuting Christians. So
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  Speaker 5: let's listen now to this reading from the book of Acts.
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: Jews, Greeks, Romans, and many others were catching on to
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: the story of Jesus. One by one they joined the
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  Speaker 4: apostles of Jesus. Together they served their communities and one another.
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  Speaker 4: They were committed to the feeding of orphans and widows,
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  Speaker 4: and daily they met with one another to pray and
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  Speaker 4: seek the truth of God. The church was becoming so
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  Speaker 4: large that the disciples could no longer meet the needs
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  Speaker 4: of everyone on their own. So they appointed men of
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  Speaker 4: good reputation and strong faith to meet the needs of
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  Speaker 4: the poor and destitute. Among these men was a man
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  Speaker 4: named Stephan. a man filled with God's spirit and boldness. Daily,
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  Speaker 4: Stephan would enter into the temple gates and preach the gospel.
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  Speaker 4: His words were like sweet honey to weary hearts. He
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  Speaker 4: spoke of forgiveness, empowerment, and repentance. However, the enemy was
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: at work among the religious leaders. They conspired against Stephan
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  Speaker 4: and spread false rumors about his character. Yet, Stephan seemed
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  Speaker 4: immune to such dissension. He continued to serve, preach, and love.
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  Speaker 4: No argument could come against the truth he proclaimed, and
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  Speaker 4: no rumor could undermine his good reputation as an honest man.
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  Speaker 4: They brought him before a court of leaders and judged
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  Speaker 4: him for his words. Do you speak out against Moses
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  Speaker 4: and Abraham?
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  Speaker 1: They asked.
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  Speaker 4: Isn't your devotion to this Jesus an affront against our ancestors?
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  Speaker 4: Stephan looked around the room and saw scowls like wolves.
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  Speaker 4: Jesus was brought before this very court before he was crucified.
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  Speaker 4: He boldly stood before them and spoke only the truth.
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  Speaker 4: So Stephan would do the same, no matter the cost.
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  Speaker 4: Stephan closed his eyes and prayed to the Lord for
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  Speaker 4: a moment. Then he lifted his eyes to all the men.
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  Speaker 4: You stiff-necked people. You are unclean in your hearts and ears.
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  Speaker 4: How long will you resist the Spirit of God speaking
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  Speaker 4: to you? It was your fathers who killed the prophets
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  Speaker 4: of old, and it is you who follow in their
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  Speaker 4: footsteps by slaying the Messiah himself. You hold to the
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  Speaker 4: words of Moses so tightly, but you have missed their
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  Speaker 4: true meaning. The entire room erupted in anger. Stefan could
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  Speaker 4: not even take a second breath before he.
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  Speaker 1: Was stormed by temple guards.
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  Speaker 4: A club flew straight to his jaw as he fell
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  Speaker 4: to the floor, and he was bound in ropes. Stefan
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  Speaker 4: was tackled to the floor. As he took kicks to
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  Speaker 4: his face and ribs, he peered towards the door. A
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  Speaker 4: man was standing at the entrance, smiling at him with
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  Speaker 4: a crooked grin. a man who had conspired against him
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  Speaker 4: and many others, the terror of all Christians, Saul of Tarsus.
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  Speaker 4: Stephan was drug by his feet out beyond the gates
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  Speaker 4: of Jerusalem. An angry mob of temple-goers and Pharisees followed
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  Speaker 4: as the guards tied Stephan to a pole facing the crowd.
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  Speaker 4: Stephan scanned his surroundings. They were outside the city gates,
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  Speaker 4: which could only mean one thing, stoning. Stephan's bruised eyes
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  Speaker 4: watched as men picked up rocks the size of their fists.
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  Speaker 4: Evil grins and angry scowls surrounded him. Stephan breathed in
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  Speaker 4: deeply and looked up to heaven. He fixed his gaze
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  Speaker 4: firmly to the skies, directing his heart towards his Lord.'
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  Speaker 4: I see the King of Glory,' Stephan said as tears
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  Speaker 4: streamed down his face.' I see the heavens opened and
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  Speaker 4: the Son of God standing at the right hand of
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  Speaker 4: the Father.' As Stefan yelled this, the crowd erupted in
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  Speaker 4: battle cries and threw their stones. One stone was hurled
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  Speaker 4: directly at his chest, cracking his ribs and sternum. Another
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  Speaker 4: cracked his knee and shin. Stefan gave out a blood-curdling scream.
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  Speaker 4: Stefan had his gaze firmly fixed towards heaven. As the
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  Speaker 4: barrage of stones flew through the air, Stefan whispered, Lord,
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: do not hold this against them. Until another stone hit
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  Speaker 4: his temple, knocking him out. Stones continued to fly towards
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  Speaker 4: Stefan's lifeless body until he was reduced to a pile
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  Speaker 4: of flesh and broken bones. There, behind the crowd, holding
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  Speaker 4: people's coats and garments, was Saul of Tarsus. As people
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  Speaker 4: took back their clothes and walked away, Paul stepped forward
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  Speaker 4: to observe Stefan's mangled corpse.
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  Speaker 1: Paul spat at it.
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  Speaker 4: Blasphemous Christian, he hissed. Then he turned away. hell-bent on
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  Speaker 4: destroying and murdering every last man, woman, and child who
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  Speaker 4: dared proclaim the name of Jesus.
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  Speaker 5: As we begin today's reading, we find a growing number
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  Speaker 5: of Christian believers. The Holy Spirit is working through the
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  Speaker 5: disciples to bring more and more people to a faith
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  Speaker 5: in Christ and into the fellowship of the church. This church,
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: the community of faith, loved one another and served with
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  Speaker 5: the heart of Christ, caring for those in need, including
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  Speaker 5: the widows among them. As the church grew, this task
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  Speaker 5: became too much for the apostles to take on alone,
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  Speaker 5: so seven godly men were selected and appointed as deacons.
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  Speaker 5: These deacons would handle the care of the community and
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  Speaker 5: the church. But just as the size and influence of
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  Speaker 5: the church was growing, even winning many religious leaders and
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  Speaker 5: priests to Christ, so also was the hatred of those
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  Speaker 5: who opposed the gospel. who wanted to destroy this movement,
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  Speaker 5: the movement of Jesus Christ. We learn that one of
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  Speaker 5: the seven men chosen to serve the church.
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  Speaker 1: Was a man named Stephen. What a man!
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  Speaker 5: He was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a
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  Speaker 5: desire to spread the good news of the gospel. Soon
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  Speaker 5: Stephen began facing stiff opposition, and those trying to discredit
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  Speaker 5: him brought false charges of blasphemy against him because they
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  Speaker 5: could not tear down his arguments. They accused Stephen of
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  Speaker 5: speaking against Moses and the law and saying Jesus would
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  Speaker 5: destroy their customs and places of worship. It is a
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  Speaker 5: reminder to us that the enemy does not fight fair.
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  Speaker 5: The devil knows he is no match for God's truth,
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  Speaker 5: and so he often attacks with lies, just as he
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  Speaker 5: did with Adam and Eve in the garden. These lies
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  Speaker 5: and half-truths are an attempt to stop God's plan and
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  Speaker 5: God's purposes. Stephen was taken before the high priest and
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  Speaker 5: asked if he was in fact saying such things. He
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  Speaker 5: could have simply denied Jesus and tried to walk away
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  Speaker 5: by explaining himself. But Stephen saw this as an opportunity,
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  Speaker 5: an opportunity to boldly preach Jesus before a crowd of people.
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  Speaker 1: And that's exactly what he did.
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  Speaker 5: He went all the way back in the scriptures to
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  Speaker 5: Abraham and traced the line of God's promise to the
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  Speaker 5: father of the Jewish faith all the way to the
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  Speaker 5: Jewish Messiah. It is quite a Bible study when you
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  Speaker 5: hear it, when you read it. He was showing them
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  Speaker 5: that everything written in the scriptures, both the law and
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  Speaker 5: the prophets, was leading up and pointing to Christ, who
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  Speaker 5: is the fulfillment of it all. And yet, the people listening,
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  Speaker 5: so many of them, were still blind to the truth.
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  Speaker 5: rejecting Jesus, rejecting God's word. And just as they killed
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  Speaker 5: the prophets who spoke God's word and announced the Messiah's coming,
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  Speaker 5: they will now kill one of God's preachers. The words
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  Speaker 5: of Stephen enraged the council and those gathered and were
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  Speaker 5: told that they were grinding their teeth. They were just
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  Speaker 5: filled with rage. This is how much they hated hearing
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  Speaker 5: the truth. Then in Acts 7.55, here's what we read.
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  Speaker 5: But he, that is Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 5: gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and
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  Speaker 5: Jesus standing at the right hand of God. What encouragement
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  Speaker 5: just to see a little bit of heaven, a glimpse
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  Speaker 5: of God's glory. But rather than keep the vision to
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  Speaker 5: himself and hold on to the comfort of knowing that
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  Speaker 5: he was right, Stephen again spoke to the crowd, telling
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  Speaker 5: them what he was seeing. It was too much for them.
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  Speaker 5: So they rushed him, took him outside the city to
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  Speaker 5: be stoned. And there he was martyred. Stephen became the
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  Speaker 5: first of many Christian martyrs that day. Just as Jesus
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  Speaker 5: had told the disciples before he ascended that soon they
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  Speaker 5: would be taken where they did not want to go,
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  Speaker 5: they would face persecution, Stephen was then led.
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  Speaker 1: To his death.
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  Speaker 5: And yet even in that moment, he echoed the very
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  Speaker 5: words of Jesus from the cross, Father, forgive them. Receive
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  Speaker 5: my spirit. When we face opposition and resistance or cancellation,
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  Speaker 5: even persecution and suffering for preaching the truth of the gospel,
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  Speaker 5: how are we going to react? How will we respond?
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  Speaker 5: Will we be courageous and confident or will we be cowardly?
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  Speaker 5: Will we keep sharing Christ no matter the consequences? Will
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: we boldly stand for Christ in our generation? Will we
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  Speaker 5: see the glory of God and experience the grace of
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  Speaker 5: God and share that.
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  Speaker 1: With others without compromise?
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  Speaker 5: What is our attitude to those who hate the gospel
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  Speaker 5: or the gospel that we preach?
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  Speaker 1: Do we fight back? No.
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  Speaker 5: In Christ, we submit our lives to God's hand and
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  Speaker 5: seek forgiveness, even for those who may oppose us and
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  Speaker 5: could even hurt us. Stephen, in the midst of these
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  Speaker 5: tragic circumstances, did not waver. He gave his life to
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  Speaker 5: follow Jesus all the way to heaven. Finally, as we
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  Speaker 5: closed out today's reading, we met a man who would
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  Speaker 5: soon break onto the scene as the most fierce enemy
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  Speaker 5: of Christ and the church. A young man, a rabid
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  Speaker 5: rabbi by the name of Saul, who stood and watched
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  Speaker 5: as Stephen was stoned, even held the garments of those
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  Speaker 5: who stoned them, he watched Stephen die. Saul hated the
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: followers of Jesus, and he was about to unleash a
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  Speaker 5: level of persecution that early believers had not yet experienced.
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  Speaker 5: But nothing could stop the movement of God's Spirit. Nothing
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  Speaker 5: could stop the church of Jesus Christ. And the next time,
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  Speaker 5: we'll hear how God worked through Philip to take the
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  Speaker 5: good news to Samaria and even to the ends of
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  Speaker 5: the earth. Let's pray together. Dear God, how we thank
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  Speaker 5: you for the example of Stephen's courage. May our faith
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  Speaker 5: be fearless. May we boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus.
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  Speaker 5: May we live and stand for our faith no matter
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  Speaker 5: what we may face. Give us your strength, O God,
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  Speaker 5: and in the power of the Holy Spirit, may we
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  Speaker 5: live and die for you and for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Again,
• 14:50
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• 14:52
  Speaker 5: Year podcast. I'm personally grateful for the incredible response that
• 14:56
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• 15:01
  Speaker 5: Bible in a Year. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
• 15:06
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• 15:36
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• 15:41
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• 15:46
  Speaker 5: God bless you. And we look forward to the next
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: time together.
• 15:55
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• 16:04
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