Latest / End-Time Revival Ministries, USA / Episode 162 - Murdered For Jesus

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Episode 162 - Murdered For Jesus · End-Time Revival Ministries, USA

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  Speaker 1: Loved the Lord. He heard my cry, and he has
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  Speaker 1: pitied every groan. So as long as I live, I
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  Speaker 1: will call up on the name of the Lord, who
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  Speaker 1: is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved
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  Speaker 1: from my enemies. This poor man cried, and the Lord
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  Speaker 1: heard him and delivered him from all of his fears.
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  Speaker 1: We welcome you once again to this another edition of
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  Speaker 1: End Time Revival Ministry USA podcast for those of you
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  Speaker 1: who do listen to us by way of all audio podcasts,
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  Speaker 1: which of course can be found through multiple platforms, and
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  Speaker 1: we certainly invite you to if you have not already,
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  Speaker 1: become a subscriber, and certainly by all means share it
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  Speaker 1: with someone else. Amen. Because again our aim and our
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  Speaker 1: goal here is and teach the Word of God in truth,
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  Speaker 1: with plainness, boldness, clarity, and certainly with an adherence to
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  Speaker 1: what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to the church. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: And we want to be Amen, found faithful, We want
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  Speaker 1: to be consistent, Amen, in proclaiming the liberty that is
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  Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. So again welcome, We
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  Speaker 1: welcome those of you listening to us by way of
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  Speaker 1: our audio podcasts, and we also simulcast on our YouTube channel,
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  Speaker 1: One Voice in the Wilderness. We thank God again for
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  Speaker 1: those of you who pray for and support, Amen, the
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  Speaker 1: work of this ministry One Voice in the Wilderness on
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  Speaker 1: our YouTube channel. Please by all means, of course, as well,
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  Speaker 1: you can become a subscriber there also. Again, Amen, we
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  Speaker 1: are called to speak forth the word of God. Amen,
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  Speaker 1: in such a time as this God has a purpose
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  Speaker 1: in all that he has allowed, all that he has decreed,
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  Speaker 1: and we want to be found in the will of
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  Speaker 1: God doing what God has commanded and commissioned us to do. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: So we continue in our series God, Government, Church, and State.
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  Speaker 1: And before we begin Acts, chapter number six is where
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  Speaker 1: we're going to be today, six and a portion of
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  Speaker 1: chapter seven, Acts Chapter six. If you have your Bible
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  Speaker 1: you can follow along with us. Father again, thank you
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  Speaker 1: for the emerging grace, favor, loving kindness, peace, joy, the
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  Speaker 1: hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Thank You for
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  Speaker 1: the very breath of life that is in our bodies,
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  Speaker 1: even now, allowing us again this opportunity a man and
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  Speaker 1: this privilege to be a spokesman for the cause of Christ,
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  Speaker 1: for the name of Jesus, for the Church of the
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  Speaker 1: Living God, bless us, and we shall be blessed. Lord.
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  Speaker 1: If you keep us, we shall be kept. And we
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  Speaker 1: pray that someone's eyes and ears will be open and attuned.
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  Speaker 1: Amen to the voice of the Savior who knocks at
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  Speaker 1: the door of the hearts of men. Any man open,
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  Speaker 1: you say, you will come in and sup with them. So, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: we pray to someone somewhere will come boldly to the
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  Speaker 1: throne of grace to receive the mercy that you have
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  Speaker 1: and the help that you have in this time of need.
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  Speaker 1: We give you praise, glory and Nona and all things
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ's name. We pray, Amen. Amen, all right,
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  Speaker 1: Acts Chapter number six. A man murdered for Jesus, murdered
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  Speaker 1: for Jesus. Amen, We've already been examining how that there
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  Speaker 1: has been persecution with the church, government, leaders, rulers, one
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  Speaker 1: same ones, the same group for the most part, who
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  Speaker 1: will hostile against Jesus. Had Jesus murdered, are now a
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  Speaker 1: man harassing the church? They cannot, as I've already shown
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  Speaker 1: and demonstrated, they cannot for a moment. Door opposition changed
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  Speaker 1: to the status quo, others garnering as it is in
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  Speaker 1: their eyes power and control over the people. This is
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  Speaker 1: what they see the Church as being competition. Amen. And
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  Speaker 1: of course a man we know the mastermind behind the
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  Speaker 1: scenes is Satan himself. But again the promise of Jesus is,
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  Speaker 1: I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell
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  Speaker 1: shall not prevail. We win, ladies and gentlemen, Church of
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  Speaker 1: the Living God, never forget that we win. So we
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  Speaker 1: move now to Acts chapter number six, where we'll find
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  Speaker 1: a man by the name of Stephen, who becomes the
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  Speaker 1: first martyr of the Church, as recorded a man in
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  Speaker 1: the Book of the Acts in the History of the
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  Speaker 1: Church Versse number nine. We'll pick it up there. And Stephen,
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  Speaker 1: full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles
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  Speaker 1: among the people. Then there arose certain of the Synagogue,
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  Speaker 1: which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and the
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  Speaker 1: Sirenians and Alexandrians, and of them of Silesia and of Asia,
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  Speaker 1: disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist
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  Speaker 1: the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then
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  Speaker 1: they suborned men which said, we have heard him speak
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  Speaker 1: blasphemous words against Moses and against God. And they stirred
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  Speaker 1: up the people and the elders and the scribes and
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  Speaker 1: came upon him and caught him and brought him to
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  Speaker 1: the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, this
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  Speaker 1: man ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy
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  Speaker 1: place and the law. For we have heard him say
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  Speaker 1: that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and
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  Speaker 1: shall change the customs which Moses delivered us, and all
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  Speaker 1: that said in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw
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  Speaker 1: his face as it had been the face of an angel,
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  Speaker 1: the first martyr of the church, murdered for Jesus. Now,
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  Speaker 1: of course, Jesus, as we've already amen discussed in previous episodes,
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  Speaker 1: he had already well prepared his disciples, his apostles, whom
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  Speaker 1: he had chosen and man, for the hostile opposition to
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  Speaker 1: his name that they will be facing. He said, they've
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  Speaker 1: rejected me, They're gonna reject you. If they receive me,
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  Speaker 1: they'll receive you. They hated me, they're gonna hate you.
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  Speaker 1: You'll be hated of all nations, he said, for my
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  Speaker 1: name's sake. And we've already seen how well prepared apostles
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  Speaker 1: were when they were threatened, when they were arrested, when
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  Speaker 1: they were beaten when they, of course, were brought up
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  Speaker 1: before the government to give an account for their disobedience
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  Speaker 1: to the decrees, by the way of the leaders of
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  Speaker 1: the government, that they should no longer teach nor preach
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  Speaker 1: in the name of Jesus. However, you remember the apostle Peter,
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  Speaker 1: along with John, and they of the apostles at large.
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  Speaker 1: They said to them, we ought to obey God rather
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  Speaker 1: than man. And so now they took good counsel, as
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  Speaker 1: it were, from Gamalia, as we saw in our previous podcasts.
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  Speaker 1: And the church is growing. The church is a man
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  Speaker 1: expanding by leaps and bounds. And now with this explosive
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  Speaker 1: growth of the church, in full of fact, by the
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  Speaker 1: move of the Holy Ghost, the Lord confirming his work
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  Speaker 1: with signs and wonders, by the hands of the apostles,
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  Speaker 1: by them preaching faithfully the Word of God, the Gospel
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  Speaker 1: of Salvation, the name of Jesus. The apostles have to
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  Speaker 1: now again, because of the growth, explosive growth of the church,
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  Speaker 1: they have to now delegate some duties to others in
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  Speaker 1: order for them to be free and man to give themselves.
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  Speaker 1: As we see in chapter number six here to the
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  Speaker 1: ministry of the Word and to prayer, as they would say.
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  Speaker 1: The burden of the numbers that they were having to
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  Speaker 1: now see to was too much for them, and so
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  Speaker 1: now delegation of duties needed to come about. And so
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  Speaker 1: they chose Stephen and six other men, a man from
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  Speaker 1: among the people, to assist the apostles with the care
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  Speaker 1: of this growing church. And Luke tells us that Stephen
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  Speaker 1: of the seven was full of the Holy Ghost and faith,
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  Speaker 1: and so much so that he also Stephen also did
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  Speaker 1: great wonders and signs among the people. And of course
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  Speaker 1: this did not sit well with the powers that be,
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  Speaker 1: the demons and the devils, those who aligned themselves with
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  Speaker 1: the power of darkness, with the kingdom of this world.
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  Speaker 1: They were not at all pleased. And now not only
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  Speaker 1: the Apostles were doing these great things, but now, as
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  Speaker 1: it were, in their eyes, lesser men such as Stephen
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  Speaker 1: were now coming to a man forefront and doing great
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  Speaker 1: things and wonders and signs and miracles, as the Bible
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  Speaker 1: tells us, here in the midst of the people. And
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  Speaker 1: so the Bible tells us that they opposed Stephen, and
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  Speaker 1: they began to challenge him, to dispute with him publicly.
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  Speaker 1: But when they were unable to argue effectively, UH, in
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  Speaker 1: defense of their religion, in defense of their philosophy, in
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  Speaker 1: the defense UH of their wisdom that they used by
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  Speaker 1: way of man, the wisdom of this world. The Bible
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  Speaker 1: tells us Paul ris to the ch Corinthian Church. God
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  Speaker 1: has made foolish the wisdom of this world. And that's
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  Speaker 1: all they had. They had their philosophy, they had their religion,
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  Speaker 1: They had the wisdom of man, which of course is ineffectual.
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  Speaker 1: And so they were simply relegated to being babblers. And
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  Speaker 1: and and of course they were under the influence of
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  Speaker 1: their father, the devil, and of course again unable to
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  Speaker 1: resist the wisdom by which Stephen was a man being
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  Speaker 1: used by the Holy Ghost to a man, combat them
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  Speaker 1: as it were. Uh. They of course did what the
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  Speaker 1: devil does, did what devil followers do, did what devil
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  Speaker 1: worshipers do, did what God haters do. Those who you know,
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  Speaker 1: hate the Church, hate the name of Christ, who persecute
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  Speaker 1: the church, these did the very same thing. First of all,
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  Speaker 1: they lied, They did the deeds of their father, As
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  Speaker 1: Jesus said, you are of your father, the devil, and
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  Speaker 1: the deeds of your father that you will do. He
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  Speaker 1: was a liar from the beginning. He comes to steal, kill,
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  Speaker 1: and to destroy. So the devil is a liar, the
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  Speaker 1: devil is a thief, The devil is a destroyer, the
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  Speaker 1: devil is a murderer. And so this is the same
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  Speaker 1: ammo if you will, that they're going to use and
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  Speaker 1: try to resort to to combat Stephen. So they lied
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  Speaker 1: and then suborned perjury from like minded nefarious their do
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  Speaker 1: wells if you will slanderers who were maybe even paid,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if they were paid to do it
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  Speaker 1: or not, but they were certainly willing to bear false
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  Speaker 1: witness against Stephen. And so they testified to the council,
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  Speaker 1: brought up these acts against him. And on the strength
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  Speaker 1: of these accusations against the man Stephen, they went on
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  Speaker 1: to stir up the people the Bible tells us and
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  Speaker 1: the government leaders, the scribes, and they brought their case
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  Speaker 1: amen to this council as it were. Again, again the
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  Speaker 1: council is just they got. They got their hands full
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  Speaker 1: of trying to control the church, try to stop what
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  Speaker 1: God is doing. But again the devil is I mean,
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  Speaker 1: he's insistent on being defeated, And so here they come.
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  Speaker 1: Since they couldn't oppose Stevens, since they could not argue
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  Speaker 1: effectively against what he was preaching and teaching, against the
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  Speaker 1: miracles and signs and wonders that were being done by him,
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  Speaker 1: they went to the next level in their helplessness. They're
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  Speaker 1: still helpless, but they don't realize it. When you're living deception,
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  Speaker 1: you don't realize you're helpless. You don't realize you defeated.
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  Speaker 1: You don't realize you're on the losing side. Do you
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  Speaker 1: think you can win it? Because the state of delusion,
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  Speaker 1: and so they think that they can go to the
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  Speaker 1: next level and their helplessness against what God is doing
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  Speaker 1: with his church. And remember Gamalia had given them good
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  Speaker 1: counsel already. If this thing is of God, you cannot
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  Speaker 1: fight against it, you cannot oppose it. You'll be fighting
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  Speaker 1: against God. You're fighting a losing battle if this is
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  Speaker 1: God's work. And as it was, with the apostles being
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  Speaker 1: unsuccessfully threatened UH to be silent. Uh, these willing weapons
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  Speaker 1: of hostile hatred against the Church, now hope that they
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  Speaker 1: can somehow silence Stephen, somehow put him to shame. And
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  Speaker 1: UH and so now Stephen finds himself before the high priests,
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  Speaker 1: being brought up before the government rulers again, as it were,
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  Speaker 1: to give an answer for his ministry against the charges
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  Speaker 1: that they have leveled against him. And so Stephen would
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  Speaker 1: proceed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus
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  Speaker 1: taught his apostles disciples, Hey, when they bring you up,
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  Speaker 1: and you will be brought up before the council, he
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  Speaker 1: warned them. He said, they're gonna bring you up, They're
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  Speaker 1: gonna they're gonna do these things. And uh, but don't
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  Speaker 1: even meditate beforehand what you're gonna say, because the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit will speak through you. I'll be with you, I'll
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  Speaker 1: never leave you, I'll never forsake you. And so Stephen,
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  Speaker 1: under the power of the Holy Ghost, would proceed to
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  Speaker 1: provoke them, as it were, even more so, to take
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  Speaker 1: their hostile hatred to the utmost level of effectiveness. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: in their minds, the most effective way to silence those
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  Speaker 1: who they oppose the church is to kill murder. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: So in their mind this is the most effective way. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: But they would see they were simply not prepared for
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  Speaker 1: what Stephen would say. And by the way, if you
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  Speaker 1: look at of course, uh, and read the accusation that
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  Speaker 1: they leveled against Stephen, And of course High Priest then
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  Speaker 1: proceeds to ask Steven, are these things sold? These charges
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  Speaker 1: that they've leveled against you. Steven is now standing before
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  Speaker 1: the government, the officials, the high priests to answer, uh
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  Speaker 1: against these charges. And Stephen did not. He didn't even
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  Speaker 1: bother with defending himself, as it were, with the charges. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: he goes on to rehearse the history of the nation
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  Speaker 1: of Israel to them, and Uh, then I wanna drop
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  Speaker 1: down the verse fifty one of chapter number seven, because
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  Speaker 1: this is what happens. This is what this is what
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  Speaker 1: happened brother, and this is what I believe got Stephen
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  Speaker 1: in very hot water. This is what provoked them, because
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  Speaker 1: I mean, all of the all of the history, there
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  Speaker 1: was just a little simple history lesson Abraham, Isaac Jacob
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  Speaker 1: on down. But but but when he got to them
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  Speaker 1: in their day and what they had done to Jesus
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  Speaker 1: and and then basically he in essence called them out
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  Speaker 1: for what they were uh. And and they didn't like
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  Speaker 1: that they and they had already won their apostles. Look,
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  Speaker 1: why do you all insist on bringing the blood of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus on us. Why do you all And Jesus had
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  Speaker 1: already told him too. You are just like your fathers
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  Speaker 1: who killed all the prophets. You are the murderers. You are,
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  Speaker 1: you are, you are co conspirators with them, uh, even
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  Speaker 1: though you weren't there. See when you, when you are
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  Speaker 1: in uh cahoots with the devil, you are just as
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  Speaker 1: guilty uh as all of those who are committing murder
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  Speaker 1: because you are consenting to it. You are silence and
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  Speaker 1: not opposing evil and wickedness. And that's what the Bible
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  Speaker 1: tells the indictment in Roman chapter one, not only those
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  Speaker 1: who do those things, but those who give approval. So
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  Speaker 1: when you give approval to those who practice wickedness, you
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  Speaker 1: are just as guilty as those who are actually engaging
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  Speaker 1: in all of these a man indictable offenses against God.
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  Speaker 1: Go down to verse fifty one of Acts chapter seven.
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  Speaker 1: Stephen finishes his remarks after this history lesson. He goes
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  Speaker 1: on to bring this indictment against those who are in
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  Speaker 1: earshot of his testimony verse fifty one. Listen what he says,
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  Speaker 1: Ye stiff neck and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Boy,
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  Speaker 1: that really got him. You calling us uncircumcised, you're calling
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  Speaker 1: They knew exactly what. Listen, they knew where this came from.
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  Speaker 1: Stiff neck, they knew the Old Testament, they knew the scriptures,
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  Speaker 1: and they knew what Stephen was referring to. And again
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  Speaker 1: calling them out for what they were. He said, you,
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  Speaker 1: stiff neck and uncircumcised, in heart and ears, you do
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  Speaker 1: always resist the holy ghosts as your fathers did, so
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  Speaker 1: do you so? In other words, he you know, you
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  Speaker 1: see again, these religious hypocrites, pharisees, scribes, all of them,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, felt like they were above, felt like they
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  Speaker 1: were better, felt like they were, you know, basically shoe ins.
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  Speaker 1: When John the Baptists came preaching and baptizing people here,
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  Speaker 1: they came again because hey, somebody is gathering disciples popularity.
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  Speaker 1: They came to the baptism of John the Baptists to
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  Speaker 1: see what's going Awhile all these people, wait a minute,
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  Speaker 1: were losing. We're losing. We're losing something here, So they
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  Speaker 1: come to the baptism of John the Baptists, and John
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  Speaker 1: the Baptists called them, a you generation of vipers, who
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  Speaker 1: has warned you to flee from the raft, to come
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  Speaker 1: a man so again, just as their fathers had done,
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  Speaker 1: they were also resistant to the Holy ghost, a man
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  Speaker 1: resistant to the spirit of God. Amen. And so Stephen
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  Speaker 1: goes on to say, verse shifty two, which of the
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  Speaker 1: prophets have not your fathers persecuted? Tell me which of
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  Speaker 1: them did they not persecute? And they have slain them
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  Speaker 1: which showed before of the coming of the just One.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, the prophets who foretold of the coming
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus. They were also killed, murdered for Jesus, murdered
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  Speaker 1: for the a man speaking of the truth of God,
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  Speaker 1: testifying of the wickedness of their fathers. Amen. These men
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  Speaker 1: were murdered, a man martyred, a man for Jesus. So
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  Speaker 1: Stephen said, of whom you have now been, the betrayers
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  Speaker 1: and murderers. You are guilty of the blood of Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And remember they had already again as the apostles, very
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  Speaker 1: nicely we would say to that, Please, can y'all not
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  Speaker 1: continue to bring this man blood upon us? Oh, Stephen
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  Speaker 1: now does it again. He reminds us, you are guilty.
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  Speaker 1: You betrayed Jesus, you murdered Jesus, and now you are
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  Speaker 1: you are just as stiff necked and uncircumcised as your
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  Speaker 1: fathers were. Look at verse fifty three. You received the
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  Speaker 1: law by disposition of angels, and you have not kept it. Amen,
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  Speaker 1: the law that was given by Moses, I mean it
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  Speaker 1: came by Amen guard himself from Heaven and the oracles
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  Speaker 1: of God, the commands of God, the presence of God
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  Speaker 1: was with you with your fathers. You've not kept the law.
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  Speaker 1: You're not keeping the law. Now you are violating the
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  Speaker 1: law in batter faight right, as I've already mentioned aforehand,
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  Speaker 1: they suborn witnesses, false witness, and the Bible tells us
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  Speaker 1: one of the commands, which is somebody just the ten commandments.
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  Speaker 1: Stop should not bare false witness against your neighbor, and
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  Speaker 1: no problem with that. And then they subborn perjury, no
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  Speaker 1: problem with that, slandering, no problem with that. I mean
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  Speaker 1: they had the law. They considered themselves to be the
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  Speaker 1: guardians of we're talking about the high priests. These are
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  Speaker 1: the people who are supposed to be teaching the people,
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  Speaker 1: instructing the people in the world of righteousness. And they
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  Speaker 1: in a way of the law of God and doing
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  Speaker 1: what is right. No no, no, no, no no no no.
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  Speaker 1: They were not keepers of the law. Stephen reminds them,
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  Speaker 1: and the Bible says, look at this verse fifty four
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  Speaker 1: when they heard these things, what things? Just those three
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: verses fifty one, fifty two, and fifty three, not the
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: history lesson about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how their
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  Speaker 1: fathers passed over and came out of Egypt and all. No, no, no,
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  Speaker 1: that's not what bribed them up. They knew all of that.
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  Speaker 1: It was when they were called out for what they
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  Speaker 1: are and who they are. The devil likes to work
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  Speaker 1: under cover. He likes to pretend. He likes to you know,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: he likes to be in the mix, in the mingle,
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  Speaker 1: and he doesn't like to show himself necessarily, at least
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: it out said. So he wraps himself up in religion,
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  Speaker 1: and he joins himself to the church as it were,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: but not a member. But he goes in and again
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  Speaker 1: with the form of godliness, but denying the power because
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  Speaker 1: the power is against him. The power is against his kingdom.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: If Satan cast out Satan, Jesus said, how can his
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: kingdom stand? So they oh, they're big on religion. Governments
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: don't have a like I said before, governments do not
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: have a problem with religion. They have a problem with Jesus,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: a problem with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: name of Jesus, with the Church of the Living God,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: with the True Church of Jesus Christ. That's what they
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  Speaker 1: have a problem with. So when they heard these things,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the Bible says, they were cut to the heart, and
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: they gnashed on him with their teeth. They are so
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  Speaker 1: incensed that Stephen that they listen, We're going straight from
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: murder now, we're going with this guy. Cannot breathe another moment.
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  Speaker 1: We cannot handle this, the Bible says, b e Stephen,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: being full of the holy goos, he looked up stepfastly
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: into heaven. He saw the glory of God, Oh help us,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus and Jesus, he saw, the Bible says, standing on
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: the right hand of God. And he said, behold, I
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: on the right hand of God. And the Bible says,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: they cried out with a loud voice. They just couldn't.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: We can't take it anymore. We can't take it anymore.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: They stopped their ears, the Bible says, and they ran
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: upon Stephen with one accord. And of course the text
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: tells us they cast him out of the city, stoned
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Stephen to death as he was calling on the name
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: of the Lord. And of course you know, he said, Lord, Jesus,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: lay not this sin to their Oh what a oh, Oh,
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: what a spirit, What a spirit to have? Oh what love? Oh? Murdered,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: murdered for Jesus. The martyrs. Stephen is the first recorded
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: in the Book of the Acts recorded in the history
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: of the Church, first of many millions, millions of saints
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: who would be murdered, martyred for Jesus. Now, in essence,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: every true child of God is indeed a martyr for
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: the cause of Christ. In fact, and I'm closing here,
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: the Bible teaches Jesus himself taught it. We are called
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: upon to lose our lives for the sake of the Gospel,
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: for the sake of the kingdom. We are called upon
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: to love, not our lives to the death. As a
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: matter of fact, we're called upon not to love our
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: life in this world. We are called to hate our life,
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: to take up the cross, as it were, to follow
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Jesus daily, to deny ourselves. And he's not talking about
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: committing suicide here in the sense that we take our
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: physical lives. No, but the old man has to die.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: And Jesus said, unless we deny ourselves and take up
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: the cross and follow him, we cannot be his disciple.
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  Speaker 1: We have to be ready and willing to die for
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: the cause of Christ. Christ. And the Bible tells us
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  Speaker 1: in Revelation chapter of twelve. The Bible speaks of those
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: who overcome, And that's what Jesus called us overcomers. We
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: are more than conquerors. We overcome by the blood of
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: the Lamb, by the word of our testimony. The Bible says,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: they overcame him Satan, the devil, who is at the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: helm of all of this, a man hatred and malice.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: And again he loves to work in the chief places
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: of government, in the high places, a man. But we overcome,
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: the Bible says, by the blood of the Lamb, and
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: by the word of our testimony. And look what the
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Bible says they they who overcome, did not love their
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: lives to the death. Amen. That's what God wants, desires
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: commands of us for thy sake. The Bible says, we
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: are killed all the day long. We are counted as
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: sheep for the slaughter. Paul picks it up in Romans
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: chapter eight. And all these things we are what more
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: persuaded to neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, powers,
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: things present, things come. Nothing can separate us from the
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: love of God which is in Christ, Jesus our Lord.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: For thy sake we are killed all the day long.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. And it
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: may well be, in our increasingly hostile world of opposition
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: to the name of Jesus Christ, that some of us
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: will be called upon to love not our lives to
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: the death. Some of us, indeed may be murdered for Jesus,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: but absent from the party present with the Lord. Paul
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: facing the death penalty, knowing that his time was at hand,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: and man, he said, I fought a good fight. I
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: finished the course. I kept the faith. That's what I
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: want to be able to testify. And may we all
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: indeed have that testimony. May we have the boldness, May
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: we have the courage, May we have the strength to
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: stand firm in such a time as this, cleaving to
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: God and resisting the devil, living not in fear, because
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: God is not giving us the spirit of fear, but
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: a power, love and a sound mind. So Lord, we
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  Speaker 1: pray today someone somewhere would be encouraged, be emboldened, and
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: someone somewhere will hear the voice of the Savior knocking
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: at the door of their heart. They will open and come.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: You will come in rather and be with them, Be
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: in them, transform there and make them soldiers, good soldiers
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: fighting a good fight of faith. God, be glorified in
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: your people. Every where we pray in Jesus' name, Amen
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: and Amen,