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Stephen (3) - The Martyr · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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  Acts chapter 7.
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  This evening we're looking at the last part of chapter 7 and into chapter 8.
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  As we consider Stephen, as we've been looking at him this evening, thinking of Stephen the martyr.
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  Verse 54, we read these words.
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  Now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.
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  But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
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  And he said, behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
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  And so on.
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  Well, as you look through the book of Acts up to this point, you see the early church being the witness to the Lord Jesus.
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  And how initially everything seems to be going so well.
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  You see an amazing growth in the early church.
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  But how does that growth come about?
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  Well, as you read through the chapters, you find that you see faithful people gathered together and praying to God.
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  You see people preaching the word of God, such as Peter on the day of Pentecost and thousands turning to the Lord.
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  You think this is wonderful.
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  This is great.
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  What a blessing to see everything going so well and the church growing in this way.
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  But as you continue to read through the book of Acts, and especially as you come to this passage,
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  we've been looking at where we see Steve and you see another way the church grows.
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  And it's a surprising way.
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  And it's maybe not the way we would want the church to grow.
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  But it's often the case that it is through persecution that the church will grow.
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  And you read about that.
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  Even Jesus himself mentioned that in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Beatitudes, where he says in verse 10 of Matthew 5,
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  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
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  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
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  For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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  And that's a message that Stephen has already reminded them of here.
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  In verse 52, as we read, which of the prophets did not your fathers persecuted?
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  And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one.
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  And you see so many similarities between Stephen and the Lord Jesus.
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  And it's a reminder to us, Stephen, that this is what every Christian should desire to be like.
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  To be more Christ-like.
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  And so we come to the conclusion here of looking at Stephen's life by looking at Stephen the martyr.
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  What we've seen of him so far is how he was chosen as one to serve tables.
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  It doesn't sound very glamorous, and yet in it all, he was serving the Lord.
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  He was a faithful man.
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  He was full of the Spirit.
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  And here, as we've seen in chapter 7, then we looked at the message that he brought to the people.
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  He presented to the people what they had done before God, how they had turned away from him, and their need to repent.
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  We see now the reaction of the people when they heard these things.
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  They were enraged.
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  But what we see now is that even in his martyrdom, it is the Lord who is glorified.
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  And indeed, as we see, the word is spread.
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  The word martyr itself comes from the word witness.
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  It is to witness.
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  And that is what Stephen is doing here, is bearing witness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  The Lord Jesus, who himself is described in Revelation chapter 1, verse 5, as Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.
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  That word witness is where martyr comes from.
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  And so here is Stephen the martyr, bearing witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.
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  The one who freed us from our sin by his death and by his resurrection.
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  And from the early church onwards, you see Christian martyrs such as Stephen, martyred for their faith and their witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, down through all the generations.
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  In our own day, it's still the case that Christians are martyred around the world.
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  As we thought of organizations such as Release International, Open Doors, Steadfast Global.
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  Why is there a need for them?
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  Because of the persecution the church is suffering.
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  Places such as the Middle East, India, Nepal, many parts of Africa, North Korea.
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  Christians are challenged on a daily basis to renounce their faith, to convert to other religions, to pay religious taxes.
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  And ultimately many to face execution.
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  But they remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Because they know that there are greater blessings with him.
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  It's not just about the here and now, as we sang in Psalm 23, the Lord with us through the peaceful times.
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  The Lord with us through that valley of the shadow of death.
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  But our journey doesn't come to an end there.
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  You see that in God's house, forevermore, there's a dwelling place for God's people.
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  And that's what the life of Stephen encourages us by and reminds us of as well.
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  So what can we take from Stephen this evening and his martyr, him being a martyr?
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  Well, there's three things I want us to think about as we look at this.
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  The wickedness of man, first of all.
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  Then the grace of God in the midst of it all.
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  And then the greater good that God can bring out of these things as well.
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  So the first thing we see is the wickedness of man.
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  Here is Stephen in the midst of his own life experience.
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  He's facing up a crowd who are enraged and gnashing their teeth, grinding their teeth at him.
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  But it says in verse 55, but he full of the Holy Spirit.
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  The Lord is with him.
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  Just as he is going through that verse in Psalm 23.
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  Yet though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
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  He knows that the Lord is with him.
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  That the Lord is near.
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  And we'll see it as we go through it.
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  Just how powerful his vision of the Lord is.
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  But the first thing we notice here is the analogy of the shepherd leading his sheep.
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  And how faithful the Lord is to Stephen here.
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  And how precious a thing that is for ourselves this evening too.
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  That we can take heart from the experience of Stephen here.
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  That here he is.
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  He has had a time of blessing seeing the church grow.
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  That time when God has led him by the still waters.
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  But here he is now going through this valley.
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  This time where the shadow is drawing close.
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  And yet here he is still so assured that the Lord is with him.
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  He is full of the Holy Spirit.
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  And what our text this evening makes clear for us is the difference between Stephen who is trusting in the Lord.
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  And those who are persecuting him.
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  You see those who have heard the message and they're enraged at what they've heard.
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  They grind their teeth.
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  They block their ears.
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  It says to us as well.
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  And they rush him to take him out of the city to stone him.
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  The gospel is so offensive to them.
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  They want no more to do with it.
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  They want to hear nothing else from it.
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  But when you look at verse 55, you see the great difference between Stephen.
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  And this is the way the Christian should be as well.
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  That as we face up to many challenges in this world, a people who reject and even revile against the gospel.
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  That this is how we are to be.
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  This is our response.
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  It says of Stephen, but he.
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  In these simple words, it defines the difference.
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  But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.
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  He was different.
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  He was a Christian.
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  He knew Christ and he knew Christ with him.
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  And he knew where to look.
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  He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God.
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  God, Satan does not sit idly by as the Lord is at work here in this world as well.
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  Satan wants to snatch a people for himself.
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  He wants a people to turn and be enraged against the gospel.
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  And God, even though he sees his people suffering such as Stephen here.
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  This is the hard part for us.
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  You think, why didn't he intervene?
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  Why didn't he miraculously protect Stephen here?
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  Why does he allow this choice young man to be cut down in his prime?
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  Well, it takes eyes of faith to see why.
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  Because, as we'll see later, you see that even in the midst of this, the persecution, the suffering, the greater good of God goes on.
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  But what you're reminded of here, too, is that that is good for Stephen in it all.
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  He knows that there is greater to come.
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  He has this action here where he's calm, clear-headed, articulate, even kind towards the crowd as they rush to stone him.
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  But they are angry.
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  They are gnarling at him.
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  They're gnarling and grinding their teeth.
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  They're so enraged.
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  And this is just a reminder to us of the wickedness of man.
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  And how often we see this again and again.
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  Things that we cannot understand.
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  Suffering for God's people.
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  That we sometimes think, why?
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  Why this way?
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  But down through every generation, we see man's inhumanity to man.
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  Again and again, we're reminded of the evil of this world.
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  Time and again.
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  You look in history, and it's there constantly for us.
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  Every January, the 27th of January each year, is Holocaust Memorial Day.
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  As always, a powerful reminder to us of how evil mankind can be.
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  Millions died in awful ways.
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  And we cannot understand some of these things.
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  But we can learn that God is still with his people in it.
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  And one survivor who you probably all heard of was Corrie Ten Boom.
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  And how she spoke of the wickedness that she saw.
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  And many others have done likewise too.
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  But also to see the love and grace of God in it all too.
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  And she once said this.
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  There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.
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  And that's the way we sometimes have to look at things.
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  To remind ourselves that in the wickedness of mankind in this world,
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  there is no pit so deep that God's love cannot go deeper.
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  Regardless of the reason that hardship has come,
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  every believer needs to be like Stephen here.
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  A but he believer.
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  That whatever is going on around us,
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  whatever is going on even in our own experience,
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  that we have this faithful view of Stephen.
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  But he, full of the Holy Spirit,
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  gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.
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  That we remind ourselves again and again
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  that the Lord is with us always.
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  Just as Psalm 23, such a precious Psalm to us.
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  You go through the valley,
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  but there's always that destination at the end of it.
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  That dwelling place with God.
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  And so as we ourselves,
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  as we face up to the wickedness of man around us,
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  whether it's in the distant lands
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  where we pray for persecuted people,
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  whether it's in our own nation,
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  or even on our own doorstep,
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  when we face up to the challenges that are around us through sin.
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  That we don't respond with evil.
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  That we don't respond like for like.
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  That we make sure our eyes,
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  our focus is fixed on the Lord.
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  That we seek to be a glorious witness for him day by day.
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  Praying for faithful patience and grace
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  to be his witness to all around us.
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  We have the wickedness of man all around us.
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  But we're reminded certainly of the grace that overcomes.
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  And we see what grace does in this passage.
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  Grace is illustrated in many different ways here for us.
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  Remarkably, you see it in the people
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  who are gathered around even stoning Stephen.
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  And there's one in particular who we see.
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  And his name is Saul.
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  And in just a few words in this passage,
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  it says that as they stoned him,
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  the witnesses laid down their garments,
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  this is in verse 58,
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  at the feet of a young man named Saul.
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  All the people that were gathered around,
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  he's the only one that's named.
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  A young man named Saul.
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  You see his name referenced then in chapter 8, verse 1.
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  And Saul approved of his execution.
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  And from there, he continued to persecute.
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  He continued to go on.
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  It says then in verse 3 of chapter 8,
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  but Saul was ravaging the church
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  and entering house after house.
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  He dragged off men and women
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  and committed them to prison.
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  And you're beginning to think to yourself,
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  how can grace be seen here
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  in the person of Saul?
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  And it's a reminder to us
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  that when people view the grace of God at work,
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  when people view Christians
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  as Saul was viewing Stephen here,
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  it doesn't mean that there's going to be
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  an instant response.
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  In fact, if you look at Saul here,
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  it says his heart's going harder.
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  He's going the other way completely.
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  He's becoming more and more determined
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  to persecute the church.
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  He's going around.
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  He's dragging them out, men and women,
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  committing them to prison.
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  So it's as if he's going further away.
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  And you're saying to yourself,
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  how can any good come out of this?
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  Seems as if he's going further away.
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  And yet, all you have to do
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  is jump into chapter 9.
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  And you see the grace of God.
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  But Saul, still breathing threats
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  and murders against the disciples of the Lord.
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  He's still at it.
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  But what happened?
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  He met with the Lord on the road to Damascus.
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  And his life was transformed.
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  As a reminder to us,
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  even as we see a persecuted people
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  around the world,
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  whatever it is,
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  in foreign lands,
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  and even in our own lands,
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  as we see such a contempt
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  of the Christian faith just now
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  and so many against the Christian faith,
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  it seems to be getting worse.
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  It's not time to stop praying for them,
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  but to pray even more
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  that the persecutors would be like Saul,
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  watching on,
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  maybe seeming in our eyes to get worse,
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  but that the Lord would meet them
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  and transform them
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  just like he transformed Saul
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  by that wonderful grace.
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  So we see grace at work
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  in unbelievable ways here.
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  We see also the grace God gives to Stephen.
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  And you notice just how,
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  we've sort of touched on this already,
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  how the Lord is with him
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  and with him in a remarkable way.
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  And you think of those who are present here,
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  not watching on,
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  but those who are present with Stephen.
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  And when you read verse 55,
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  it says,
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  but he,
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  full of the Holy Spirit,
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  gazed into heaven
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  and saw the glory of God
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  and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
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  What do we have in that verse?
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  We've got all the members of the Trinity.
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  They're all there.
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  He's full of the Holy Spirit,
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  the comforter that Jesus had promised.
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  We see that he's looking up into heaven
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  and he's seeing the glory of God.
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  And at the right hand of God
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  is Jesus,
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  the Son,
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  standing at the right hand of God.
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  He's there standing,
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  waiting for Stephen.
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  It's a remarkable image.
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  And he goes on to say in verse 56,
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  and he said,
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  behold,
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  I see the heavens opened
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  and the Son of Man
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  standing at the right hand of God.
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  Now we often read of Jesus
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  being at the right hand of God,
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  but he sat,
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  sitting at the right hand of God.
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  But here,
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  he is at the right hand of God standing.
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  So he's waiting
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  just to welcome Stephen home.
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  So we have them.
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  They're all there.
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  They're all present.
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  And what a view,
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  what a vision he's got here.
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  What he sees is remarkable.
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  You know,
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  we've marveled these last few weeks,
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  some evenings,
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  when we see the northern lights
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  and how spectacular they are.
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  We lift up our gaze in the skies
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  and you see these lights
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  dancing in the skyline.
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  And you think how amazing that is.
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  And yet here,
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  we see Stephen
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  with a much more greater view
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  than anyone could ever have
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  with the northern lights.
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  He sees the glory of God.
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  He sees it all
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  as he lifts his eyes
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  up to heaven.
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  And even in his dying moment,
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  you see the grace of God
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  at work in him,
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  at work through him.
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  Look at the words
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  that he sees.
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  As he's in the throes
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  of just the last moments
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  of his life,
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  he's seeing these things.
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  But he also has words
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  to speak.
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  And he says in verse 59,
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  Lord Jesus,
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  receive my spirit.
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  And then in verse 60,
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  he says,
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  falling to his knees,
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  he cried out
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  with a loud voice,
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  Lord,
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  do not hold this sin
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  against him.
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  And again,
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  you think,
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  where do these words,
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  what do they remind us of?
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  The words of Christ
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  as he was crucified.
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  Father,
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  into your hands,
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  I commit my spirit.
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  And Father,
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  forgive them,
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  for they know not
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  what they do.
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  They're so alike.
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  And it's a reminder
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  to us as well
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  that this is how
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  we are to be as well.
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  We are committing ourselves
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  into the Lord's hands,
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  into the Lord's care
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  at all times.
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  And we are also
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  to have that kind
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  of attitude too.
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  Lord,
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  do not hold this sin
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  against them.
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  Forgive them
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  for what they do.
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  Charles Spurgeon
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  once said
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  of Stephen's death
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  that it was
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  full of Jesus.
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  It's full of Jesus'
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  sin,
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  he said.
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  It's full of Jesus'
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  invoke
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  that's called upon.
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  It's full of Jesus'
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  trusted.
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  And it's full of
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  Jesus imitated.
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  And again,
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  it's just such a powerful
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  reminder to ourselves
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  of the way we should
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  seek to live
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  our lives too,
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  to be Christ-like
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  and to know
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  the grace
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  of God
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  in that way.
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  And that's the grace
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  that he promises
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  to you
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  and to me.
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  Grace
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  for every
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  occasion
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  in life.
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  Grace
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  to live
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  day by day.
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  Grace
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  to witness
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  grace
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  to him
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  day by day.
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  Grace
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  to die.
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  But the Lord
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  is with us.
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  The grace
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  of God
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  is a remarkable
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  thing.
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  Finally,
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  we see here too
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  God's
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  greater purpose
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  in it all.
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  No one
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  suffers
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  for Christ
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  in vain.
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  that is a great
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  truth
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  that we see
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  in Stephen's
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  life
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  and every
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  Christian's
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  life as well.
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  No one
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  suffers
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  for Christ
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  in vain.
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  Even as Stephen's
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  life is taken
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  from him here,
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  God has a purpose
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  in it all.
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  It was Tertullian,
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  the early church
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  father,
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  who said,
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  the blood
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  of the martyrs
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  is the seed
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  of the church.
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  In other words,
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  that even
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  through the
• 23:00
  death of the
• 23:01
  Christians
• 23:01
  over generations,
• 23:04
  that that would
• 23:05
  be the seed
• 23:05
  of the church.
• 23:07
  That is where
• 23:07
  growth
• 23:08
  would come.
• 23:10
  And you see
• 23:10
  here that even
• 23:11
  as this
• 23:12
  persecution
• 23:12
  was done,
• 23:14
  something else
• 23:15
  happened as well.
• 23:17
  That the word
• 23:18
  of God
• 23:19
  spread.
• 23:20
  It says in
• 23:20
  verse 1 of
• 23:21
  chapter 8
• 23:22
  that there arose
• 23:23
  on that day
• 23:24
  a great
• 23:24
  persecution
• 23:25
  against the
• 23:26
  church,
• 23:26
  and they were
• 23:27
  scattered
• 23:27
  throughout the
• 23:29
  regions.
• 23:30
  The Christians
• 23:31
  were scattered,
• 23:32
  but what happened
• 23:33
  as they were
• 23:33
  scattered?
• 23:34
  Well,
• 23:34
  just go down
• 23:35
  to verse 4.
• 23:35
  Now,
• 23:36
  those who were
• 23:36
  scattered
• 23:37
  went about
• 23:38
  preaching the
• 23:39
  word.
• 23:40
  Philip went
• 23:40
  down to the
• 23:41
  city of Samaria
• 23:41
  and proclaimed
• 23:42
  to them
• 23:43
  the Christ,
• 23:44
  and there was
• 23:45
  much joy
• 23:46
  in that city.
• 23:47
  it says.
• 23:49
  Even through
• 23:50
  Stephen's
• 23:51
  death,
• 23:53
  through his
• 23:53
  witness,
• 23:55
  through his
• 23:55
  life,
• 23:56
  the church
• 23:57
  bore fruit.
• 24:00
  And you just
• 24:00
  think again
• 24:01
  of Saul
• 24:02
  and how he
• 24:04
  looked on
• 24:04
  at this
• 24:05
  stoning of
• 24:06
  Stephen and
• 24:07
  approved of
• 24:07
  it all.
• 24:09
  And yet
• 24:09
  this Saul
• 24:10
  who became
• 24:11
  Paul and
• 24:13
  who God
• 24:13
  used for
• 24:14
  the growth
• 24:14
  of the
• 24:15
  church
• 24:15
  over many,
• 24:16
  in many
• 24:17
  different
• 24:18
  places.
• 24:19
  And you
• 24:20
  think of
• 24:20
  some of
• 24:20
  the words
• 24:21
  that Paul
• 24:22
  would later
• 24:22
  speak.
• 24:24
  And how
• 24:24
  different the
• 24:25
  words that he
• 24:26
  had been
• 24:26
  saying at
• 24:27
  this time
• 24:27
  when he
• 24:29
  says in
• 24:29
  1 Corinthians
• 24:30
  15,
• 24:31
  verse 58,
• 24:33
  therefore,
• 24:34
  my beloved
• 24:34
  brethren,
• 24:36
  my beloved
• 24:37
  brethren,
• 24:39
  those who he
• 24:39
  had persecuted,
• 24:40
  those who he
• 24:41
  had dragged
• 24:42
  out and
• 24:43
  committed to
• 24:44
  prison,
• 24:44
  they are now
• 24:45
  my beloved
• 24:46
  brethren.
• 24:47
  And he
• 24:48
  says to
• 24:48
  them,
• 24:49
  be steadfast,
• 24:51
  immovable,
• 24:52
  always abounding
• 24:53
  in the work
• 24:54
  of the Lord,
• 24:56
  knowing that
• 24:57
  your labour
• 24:58
  is not in
• 24:59
  vain in the
• 25:00
  Lord.
• 25:02
  And you
• 25:02
  just wonder
• 25:03
  are these
• 25:03
  words linked
• 25:04
  to this,
• 25:07
  to Stephen's
• 25:08
  stoning,
• 25:10
  or looking
• 25:10
  back to the
• 25:12
  death of
• 25:12
  Christ.
• 25:14
  And you
• 25:15
  think,
• 25:15
  how many
• 25:15
  thought that
• 25:16
  that was
• 25:17
  it,
• 25:17
  that was
• 25:18
  the end,
• 25:19
  when Christ
• 25:20
  was crucified,
• 25:21
  that will
• 25:22
  finish off
• 25:22
  the church,
• 25:23
  but no,
• 25:25
  it grew.
• 25:26
  Or as
• 25:27
  Stephen is
• 25:28
  stoned,
• 25:28
  they're thinking
• 25:29
  this will put
• 25:30
  an end to
• 25:30
  the witness
• 25:31
  of the church,
• 25:32
  what happened?
• 25:33
  The seed
• 25:33
  was scattered.
• 25:36
  And so he
• 25:36
  says,
• 25:37
  your labour
• 25:39
  is not
• 25:40
  in vain
• 25:40
  in the
• 25:41
  Lord.
• 25:42
  No matter
• 25:43
  what you
• 25:44
  are doing
• 25:44
  for the
• 25:45
  Lord,
• 25:46
  it is
• 25:46
  not in
• 25:48
  vain.
• 25:49
  There have
• 25:49
  been periods
• 25:50
  in our
• 25:50
  own nation
• 25:51
  where the
• 25:52
  Christian
• 25:52
  church
• 25:53
  would seem
• 25:53
  to have
• 25:53
  been cast
• 25:54
  away in
• 25:55
  so many
• 25:55
  places.
• 25:57
  And there
• 25:58
  was a time
• 25:58
  in the
• 25:59
  1600s when
• 26:00
  many parts
• 26:01
  of Scotland
• 26:02
  saw martyrs
• 26:03
  in their
• 26:05
  lives taken
• 26:06
  because they
• 26:07
  would not
• 26:07
  turn their
• 26:08
  back on
• 26:09
  the Lord
• 26:09
  Jesus.
• 26:11
  And our
• 26:11
  time in
• 26:12
  Dumfries was
• 26:13
  certainly a
• 26:14
  time when my
• 26:15
  eyes were
• 26:15
  opened to
• 26:15
  that,
• 26:16
  where there's
• 26:16
  many monuments
• 26:17
  to martyrs
• 26:18
  of the past.
• 26:20
  In the town
• 26:21
  centre near the
• 26:22
  bus station
• 26:22
  of Dumfries,
• 26:24
  there's a
• 26:24
  stone monument
• 26:25
  there.
• 26:27
  And on it
• 26:28
  is the name
• 26:29
  James
• 26:30
  Kirko.
• 26:32
  And he
• 26:32
  was shot
• 26:33
  in the town
• 26:34
  there in
• 26:34
  May 1685.
• 26:36
  because of
• 26:37
  his faith
• 26:37
  in the
• 26:38
  Lord Jesus.
• 26:41
  Then further
• 26:42
  down the
• 26:42
  coastline
• 26:43
  there's a
• 26:43
  town called
• 26:44
  Wigtown.
• 26:46
  And there
• 26:46
  near that
• 26:47
  town is a
• 26:48
  memorial to
• 26:49
  two ladies,
• 26:51
  two Margarets,
• 26:53
  who again
• 26:53
  were martyrs
• 26:54
  for the
• 26:54
  Christian faith,
• 26:56
  Margaret Wilson
• 26:57
  and Margaret
• 26:58
  McLaughlin.
• 27:00
  And they
• 27:01
  would not
• 27:01
  turn their
• 27:02
  back on the
• 27:02
  Lord Jesus.
• 27:04
  And so they
• 27:05
  were tied to
• 27:06
  posts out
• 27:07
  in the
• 27:08
  sand where
• 27:09
  the
• 27:09
  Solway Firth
• 27:11
  comes in.
• 27:13
  And the
• 27:13
  tide was
• 27:14
  coming in
• 27:14
  upon them
• 27:15
  and rising
• 27:17
  up.
• 27:18
  And the
• 27:18
  soldiers were
• 27:19
  telling them
• 27:20
  to renounce
• 27:21
  their faith,
• 27:22
  but they
• 27:22
  wouldn't.
• 27:24
  Instead,
• 27:24
  they sang
• 27:25
  Psalm 25,
• 27:27
  even as the
• 27:27
  tide was
• 27:28
  coming up
• 27:28
  over their
• 27:29
  head.
• 27:29
  And there
• 27:30
  they died
• 27:31
  for faith
• 27:32
  in the
• 27:32
  Lord Jesus.
• 27:34
  And that's
• 27:35
  not that
• 27:35
  long ago
• 27:36
  in our
• 27:37
  own nation.
• 27:39
  And we
• 27:39
  say to
• 27:39
  ourselves,
• 27:40
  we will
• 27:40
  never see
• 27:41
  days like
• 27:42
  that again.
• 27:44
  But even
• 27:45
  if we do,
• 27:46
  do we not
• 27:47
  still have
• 27:47
  that great
• 27:48
  hope?
• 27:49
  That hope
• 27:50
  that is ours
• 27:50
  in Christ.
• 27:53
  John Bunyan,
• 27:54
  the author of
• 27:55
  Pilgrim's
• 27:55
  Probes and
• 27:56
  other books,
• 27:57
  he spent
• 27:57
  12 years
• 27:58
  in jail
• 27:59
  because of
• 28:00
  his faithful
• 28:00
  preaching of
• 28:02
  God's word.
• 28:03
  And he
• 28:04
  once wrote
• 28:04
  this, he
• 28:05
  said,
• 28:05
  a smile
• 28:06
  or a
• 28:07
  kind look
• 28:07
  from Christ
• 28:08
  shall be
• 28:09
  worth more
• 28:11
  than 10,000
• 28:12
  worlds.
• 28:14
  Again, he
• 28:15
  was reminding
• 28:16
  us to
• 28:17
  fix our
• 28:17
  eyes on
• 28:19
  the Lord
• 28:19
  Jesus,
• 28:20
  to keep
• 28:22
  our eyes
• 28:23
  on him
• 28:24
  and to
• 28:24
  keep that
• 28:25
  day in
• 28:26
  mind when
• 28:27
  the Lord
• 28:27
  will come.
• 28:29
  In 1
• 28:29
  Peter 4,
• 28:31
  verse 14,
• 28:32
  it says,
• 28:33
  if you are
• 28:34
  insulted for
• 28:34
  the name
• 28:35
  of Christ,
• 28:36
  you are
• 28:36
  blessed because
• 28:38
  the spirit of
• 28:39
  glory and
• 28:40
  of God
• 28:40
  rests upon
• 28:42
  you.
• 28:44
  And that's
• 28:45
  what we see
• 28:46
  in Stephen.
• 28:47
  Even as he
• 28:48
  was stoned
• 28:49
  here, he
• 28:50
  gazed up
• 28:51
  to heaven
• 28:52
  and he
• 28:53
  saw the
• 28:53
  glory of
• 28:54
  God and
• 28:54
  Jesus
• 28:55
  standing at
• 28:56
  the right
• 28:56
  hand of
• 28:58
  God.
• 28:59
  And that
• 29:00
  is the
• 29:00
  kind of
• 29:00
  Christian
• 29:01
  that we
• 29:02
  should strive
• 29:03
  to be as
• 29:03
  well.
• 29:04
  Every one
• 29:05
  of us
• 29:05
  to be
• 29:06
  faithful in
• 29:07
  whatever we
• 29:07
  are doing
• 29:08
  for the
• 29:08
  Lord,
• 29:08
  remembering
• 29:09
  our labor
• 29:10
  is not
• 29:11
  in vain.
• 29:13
  Even when
• 29:13
  things seem
• 29:14
  to be going
• 29:14
  against us,
• 29:16
  God has
• 29:17
  a purpose
• 29:18
  and a plan
• 29:19
  in it all.
• 29:21
  And there's a
• 29:21
  greater good
• 29:22
  God
• 29:23
  at the
• 29:23
  end of
• 29:23
  it as
• 29:24
  well.
• 29:25
  Just as
• 29:25
  Stephen saw
• 29:26
  the Lord
• 29:27
  Jesus
• 29:27
  standing at
• 29:28
  the right
• 29:29
  hand of
• 29:29
  God,
• 29:31
  so every
• 29:31
  Christian
• 29:32
  remembers
• 29:33
  that the
• 29:34
  Lord will
• 29:35
  welcome
• 29:35
  his people
• 29:36
  home.
• 29:38
  That we
• 29:38
  might suffer
• 29:39
  in this
• 29:40
  world,
• 29:41
  but there
• 29:42
  is greater
• 29:42
  to come,
• 29:44
  and that
• 29:45
  is through
• 29:45
  faith in
• 29:47
  the Lord
• 29:47
  Jesus,
• 29:48
  the faith
• 29:48
  that we've
• 29:49
  seen in
• 29:50
  Stephen.
• 29:50
  Stephen the
• 29:51
  man who
• 29:52
  was a
• 29:52
  godly
• 29:53
  man and
• 29:54
  a wise
• 29:54
  man.
• 29:55
  Stephen's
• 29:55
  message was
• 29:56
  one of a
• 29:57
  real God
• 29:58
  to a
• 29:59
  real people.
• 30:01
  And Stephen
• 30:01
  the martyr
• 30:02
  saying,
• 30:03
  I looked,
• 30:04
  look,
• 30:04
  I see
• 30:05
  heaven open
• 30:06
  and the
• 30:06
  son of
• 30:07
  man standing
• 30:08
  at the
• 30:08
  right hand
• 30:09
  of God.
• 30:10
  He saw
• 30:11
  the glory
• 30:11
  of God,
• 30:12
  but remember
• 30:12
  this,
• 30:14
  he saw
• 30:14
  people around
• 30:15
  him too,
• 30:17
  and his
• 30:17
  prayer was,
• 30:18
  Lord,
• 30:19
  do not
• 30:19
  hold this,
• 30:20
  against
• 30:21
  them.
• 30:22
  So may
• 30:23
  we keep
• 30:23
  our eyes
• 30:24
  on the
• 30:25
  Lord Jesus,
• 30:26
  but keep
• 30:27
  our eyes
• 30:28
  on the
• 30:28
  world around
• 30:29
  us too,
• 30:30
  in a
• 30:30
  prayerful
• 30:31
  way,
• 30:32
  that they
• 30:32
  would not
• 30:32
  perish,
• 30:34
  but see
• 30:34
  the glory
• 30:35
  of God
• 30:35
  for themselves.
• 30:38
  Amen.
• 30:38
  Let us
• 30:38
  pray.
• 30:41
  Our
• 30:41
  Father in
• 30:42
  heaven,
• 30:42
  we thank
• 30:43
  you for
• 30:43
  your word
• 30:44
  and for
• 30:44
  the boldness
• 30:45
  of Stephen
• 30:46
  as we have
• 30:47
  seen so much
• 30:48
  of in this
• 30:48
  passage.
• 30:49
  we pray,
• 30:50
  Lord,
• 30:50
  that you
• 30:51
  will fill
• 30:51
  us with
• 30:52
  that seal
• 30:53
  of emotion
• 30:55
  and devotion
• 30:56
  to those
• 30:57
  around him,
• 30:58
  longing,
• 30:59
  Lord,
• 30:59
  that they
• 30:59
  would know
• 31:00
  the glory
• 31:01
  of God
• 31:01
  in their
• 31:02
  lives,
• 31:02
  that that
• 31:03
  might be
• 31:03
  our prayer
• 31:04
  too for
• 31:04
  those around
• 31:05
  us.
• 31:06
  But too,
• 31:06
  Lord,
• 31:06
  we pray
• 31:07
  that you
• 31:07
  will keep
• 31:07
  us with
• 31:08
  our gaze,
• 31:09
  our vision
• 31:10
  fixed on
• 31:11
  Jesus,
• 31:12
  the one
• 31:12
  who has
• 31:13
  gone before
• 31:14
  us and
• 31:15
  prepared the
• 31:15
  way for
• 31:16
  us.
• 31:16
  Lord,
• 31:17
  bless
• 31:17
  your
• 31:18
  word
• 31:18
  to us
• 31:19
  and
• 31:19
  pardon
• 31:19
  our
• 31:20
  sin
• 31:20
  in
• 31:20
  it
• 31:20
  all.
• 31:21
  We ask
• 31:21
  it in
• 31:22
  Jesus'
• 31:22
  name.
• 31:23
  Amen.
• 31:23
  Amen.
• 31:23
  Amen.
• 31:36
  Amen.
• 31:36
  Amen.
• 31:37
  Amen.
• 31:38
  Amen.
• 31:40
  Amen.
• 31:44
  Amen.
• 31:44
  Amen.
• 31:45
  Amen.