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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God
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  Speaker 1: and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 7.59 My God,
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  Speaker 1: in the same way Stephen displayed an unwavering commitment to
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  Speaker 1: his convictions, unlocked this level of conviction in my life.
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  Speaker 1: In the face of authorities with the power to execute,
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  Speaker 1: Stephen remained strong as he stood and expressed what he
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  Speaker 1: knew to be the truth, both about Jesus and the
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  Speaker 1: religious leader's stubborn hearts. In the same way, allow my
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  Speaker 1: life to resemble the same spirit and strength that Stephen possessed.
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  Speaker 1: May my life prove that I have the presence of
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  Speaker 1: God in it. May my life prove that I base
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  Speaker 1: my commitment on a biblical foundation. Allow me to spot
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  Speaker 1: out and see the error of past thinking and old
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  Speaker 1: ways of being. Allow my life to stay steadfast as
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  Speaker 1: I keep my eyes on you, Jesus. For I declare
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  Speaker 1: that commitment moves past the mind and emotions and goes
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  Speaker 1: straight to the will. Thank you for my commitment. that
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  Speaker 1: brings my mind and emotions into alignment to achieve my
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  Speaker 1: purpose at all cost. Like Stephen, I will look up
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  Speaker 1: to the heavens to gain my strength and encouragement. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Speaker 2: A New Enemy In our last story, the apostles were
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  Speaker 2: beaten and imprisoned for preaching the name of Jesus, healing
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  Speaker 2: the sick and feeding the poor.
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  Speaker 3: Just as their Lord before them, the apostles found themselves
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  Speaker 3: suffering for the sake of restoration. Now we see a
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  Speaker 3: new character arise. A man named Stephan comes onto the
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  Speaker 3: scene to boldly proclaim the good news of Christ. However,
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  Speaker 3: there is an evil lurking near. A man by the
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  Speaker 3: name of Saul watches and waits for his opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: strike Stephan and any Christian who dare mention the name
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus. Inspired by the book of.
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  Speaker 4: Acts, Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
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  Speaker 4: the Bible in a Year. Thanks so much for joining us.
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  Speaker 4: In our last time together, we heard about the religious
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  Speaker 4: leaders as they threatened the apostles' teaching and put them
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  Speaker 4: in jail. God then sent an angel to open the
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  Speaker 4: prison gates and send them to the temple again preaching
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  Speaker 4: the gospel of Jesus. Their opponents could find no real
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  Speaker 4: reason to keep them in prison, and at the counsel
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  Speaker 4: of one of their own, Gamaliel, they release the apostles,
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  Speaker 4: but only after beating them and warning them to never
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  Speaker 4: speak about the name of Jesus again. Of course, the
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  Speaker 4: apostles would never stop. You might as well tell the
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  Speaker 4: sun to stop shining. And they continued preaching the gospel
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  Speaker 4: of Christ and winning more and more people to a
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  Speaker 4: relationship with Christ, more souls for Jesus. Today, we'll hear
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  Speaker 4: about Stephen, the first Christian martyr who spoke boldly of
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  Speaker 4: Christ and paid the ultimate sacrifice and price. We'll also
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  Speaker 4: meet a new enemy to the gospel, a zealous young
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  Speaker 4: rabbi named Saul, who will lead the hunt for any
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  Speaker 4: who would proclaim the name of Jesus, persecuting Christians. So
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  Speaker 4: let's listen now to this reading from the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Jews, Greeks, Romans, and many others were catching on to
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  Speaker 3: the story of Jesus. One by one they joined the
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  Speaker 3: apostles of Jesus. Together they served their communities and one another.
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  Speaker 3: They were committed to the feeding of orphans and widows,
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  Speaker 3: and daily they met with one another to pray and
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  Speaker 3: seek the truth of God. The church was becoming so
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  Speaker 3: large that the disciples could no longer meet the needs
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  Speaker 3: of everyone on their own. So they appointed men of
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  Speaker 3: good reputation and strong faith to meet the needs of
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  Speaker 3: the poor and destitute. Among these men was a man
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  Speaker 3: named Stephan. a man filled with God's spirit and boldness. Daily,
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  Speaker 3: Stephan would enter into the temple gates and preach the gospel.
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  Speaker 3: His words were like sweet honey to weary hearts. He
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  Speaker 3: spoke of forgiveness, empowerment, and repentance. However, the enemy was
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  Speaker 3: at work among the religious leaders. They conspired against Stephan
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  Speaker 3: and spread false rumors about his character. Yet, Stephan seemed
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  Speaker 3: immune to such dissension. He continued to serve, preach, and love.
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  Speaker 3: No argument could come against the truth he proclaimed, and
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  Speaker 3: no rumor could undermine his good reputation as an honest man.
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  Speaker 3: They brought him before a court of leaders and judged
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  Speaker 3: him for his words. Do you speak out against Moses
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  Speaker 3: and Abraham? they asked. Isn't your devotion to this Jesus
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  Speaker 3: an affront against our ancestors? Stephan looked around the room
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  Speaker 3: and saw scowls like wolves. Jesus was brought before this
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  Speaker 3: very court before he was crucified. He boldly stood before
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  Speaker 3: them and spoke only the truth. So Stephan would do
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  Speaker 3: the same, no matter the cost. Stephan closed his eyes
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  Speaker 3: and prayed to the Lord for a moment. Then he
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  Speaker 3: lifted his eyes to all the men. You stiff-necked people.
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  Speaker 3: You are unclean in your hearts and ears. How long
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  Speaker 3: will you resist the Spirit of God speaking to you?
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  Speaker 3: It was your fathers who killed the prophets of old,
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  Speaker 3: and it is you who follow in their footsteps by
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  Speaker 3: slaying the Messiah himself. You hold to the words of
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  Speaker 3: Moses so tightly, but you have missed their true meaning.
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  Speaker 3: The entire room erupted in anger. Stefan could not even
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  Speaker 3: take a second breath before he was stormed by temple guards.
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  Speaker 3: A club flew straight to his jaw as he fell
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  Speaker 3: to the floor, and he was bound in ropes. Stefan
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  Speaker 3: was tackled to the floor. As he took kicks to
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  Speaker 3: his face and ribs, he peered towards the door. A
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  Speaker 3: man was standing at the entrance, smiling at him with
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  Speaker 3: a crooked grin. the man who had conspired against him
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  Speaker 3: and many others, the terror of all Christians, Saul of Tarsus.
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  Speaker 3: Stephan was drug by his feet out beyond the gates
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  Speaker 3: of Jerusalem. An angry mob of temple-goers and Pharisees followed
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  Speaker 3: as the guards tied Stephan to a pole facing the crowd.
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  Speaker 3: Stephan scanned his surroundings. They were outside the city gates,
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  Speaker 3: which could only mean one thing, stoning. Stephan's bruised eyes
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  Speaker 3: watched as men picked up rocks the size of their fists.
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  Speaker 3: Evil grins and angry scowls surrounded him. Stephan breathed in
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  Speaker 3: deeply and looked up to heaven. He fixed his gaze
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  Speaker 3: firmly to the skies, directing his heart towards his Lord.'
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  Speaker 3: I see the King of Glory,' Stephan said as tears
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  Speaker 3: streamed down his face.' I see the heavens opened and
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  Speaker 3: the Son of God standing at the right hand of
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  Speaker 3: the Father.' As Stefan yelled this, the crowd erupted in
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  Speaker 3: battle cries and threw their stones. One stone was hurled
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  Speaker 3: directly at his chest, cracking his ribs and sternum. Another
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  Speaker 3: cracked his knee and shin. Stefan gave out a blood-curdling scream.
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  Speaker 3: Stefan had his gaze firmly fixed towards heaven. As the
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  Speaker 3: barrage of stones flew through the air, Stefan whispered, Lord,
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  Speaker 3: do not hold this against them. Until another stone hit
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  Speaker 3: his temple, knocking him out. Stones continued to fly towards
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  Speaker 3: Stefan's lifeless body until he was reduced to a pile
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  Speaker 3: of flesh and broken bones. There, behind the crowd, holding
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  Speaker 3: people's coats and garments, was Saul of Tarsus. As people
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  Speaker 3: took back their clothes and walked away, Paul stepped forward
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  Speaker 3: to observe Stefan's mangled corpse.
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  Speaker 4: Paul spat at it.
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  Speaker 3: Blasphemous Christian, he hissed. Then he turned away. Hell-bent on
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  Speaker 3: destroying and murdering every last man, woman, and child who
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  Speaker 3: dared proclaim the name of Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: As we begin today's reading, we find a growing number
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  Speaker 4: of Christian believers. The Holy Spirit is working through the
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  Speaker 4: disciples to bring more and more people to a faith
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  Speaker 4: in Christ and into the fellowship of the church. This church,
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  Speaker 4: the community of faith, loved one another and served with
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  Speaker 4: the heart of Christ, caring for those in need, including
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  Speaker 4: the widows among them. As the church grew, this task
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  Speaker 4: became too much for the apostles to take on alone,
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  Speaker 4: so seven godly men were selected and appointed as deacons.
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  Speaker 4: These deacons would handle the care of the community and
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  Speaker 4: the church. But just as the size and influence of
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  Speaker 4: the church was growing, even winning many religious leaders and
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  Speaker 4: priests to Christ, so also was the hatred of those
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  Speaker 4: who opposed the gospel. who wanted to destroy this movement,
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  Speaker 4: the movement of Jesus Christ. We learn that one of
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  Speaker 4: the seven men chosen to serve the church was a
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  Speaker 4: man named Stephen. What a man! He was filled with
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  Speaker 4: the Holy Spirit and had a desire to spread the
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  Speaker 4: good news of the gospel. Soon Stephen began facing stiff opposition,
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  Speaker 4: and those trying to discredit him brought false charges of
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  Speaker 4: blasphemy against him. because they could not tear down his arguments.
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  Speaker 4: They accused Stephen of speaking against Moses and the law
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  Speaker 4: and saying Jesus would destroy their customs and places of worship.
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  Speaker 4: It is a reminder to us that the enemy does
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  Speaker 4: not fight fair. The devil knows he is no match
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  Speaker 4: for God's truth, and so he often attacks with lies,
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  Speaker 4: just as he did with Adam and Eve in the garden.
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  Speaker 4: These lies and half-truths are an attempt to stop God's
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  Speaker 4: plan and God's purposes. Stephen was taken before the high
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  Speaker 4: priest and asked if he was in fact saying such things.
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  Speaker 4: He could have simply denied Jesus and tried to walk
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  Speaker 4: away by explaining himself. But Stephen saw this as an opportunity,
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  Speaker 4: an opportunity to boldly preach Jesus before a crowd of people.
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  Speaker 4: And that's exactly what he did. He went all the
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  Speaker 4: way back in the scriptures to Abraham and traced the
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  Speaker 4: line of God's promise to the father of the Jewish
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  Speaker 4: faith all the way to the Jewish Messiah. It is
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  Speaker 4: quite a Bible study when you hear it, when you
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  Speaker 4: read it. He was showing them that everything written in
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  Speaker 4: the scriptures, both the law and the prophets, was leading
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  Speaker 4: up and pointing to Christ, who is the fulfillment of
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  Speaker 4: it all. And yet, the people listening, so many of them,
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  Speaker 4: were still blind to the truth. rejecting Jesus, rejecting God's word.
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  Speaker 4: And just as they killed the prophets who spoke God's
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  Speaker 4: word and announced the Messiah's coming, they will now kill
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  Speaker 4: one of God's preachers. The words of Stephen enraged the
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  Speaker 4: council and those gathered and were told that they were
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  Speaker 4: grinding their teeth. They were just filled with rage. This
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  Speaker 4: is how much they hated hearing the truth. Then in
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  Speaker 4: Acts 7.55, here's what we read. But he, that is Stephen,
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  Speaker 4: full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw
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  Speaker 4: the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right
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  Speaker 4: hand of God. What encouragement just to see a little
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  Speaker 4: bit of heaven, a glimpse of God's glory. But rather
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  Speaker 4: than keep the vision to himself and hold on to
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  Speaker 4: the comfort of knowing that he was right, Stephen again
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  Speaker 4: spoke to the crowd, telling them what he was seeing.
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  Speaker 4: It was too much for them. So they rushed him,
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  Speaker 4: took him outside the city to be stoned. And there
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  Speaker 4: he was martyred. Stephen became the first of many Christian
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  Speaker 4: martyrs that day. Just as Jesus had told the disciples
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  Speaker 4: before he ascended that soon they would be taken where
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  Speaker 4: they did not want to go, they would face persecution,
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  Speaker 4: Stephen was then led to his death. And yet even
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  Speaker 4: in that moment, he echoed the very words of Jesus
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  Speaker 4: from the cross, Father, forgive them. Receive my spirit. When
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  Speaker 4: we face opposition and resistance or cancellation, even persecution and
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  Speaker 4: suffering for preaching the truth of the gospel, how are
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  Speaker 4: we going to react? How will we respond? Will we
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  Speaker 4: be courageous and confident or will we be cowardly? Will
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  Speaker 4: we keep sharing Christ no matter the consequences? Will we
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  Speaker 4: boldly stand for Christ in our generation? Will we see
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  Speaker 4: the glory of God and experience the grace of God
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  Speaker 4: and share that with others without compromise? What is our
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  Speaker 4: attitude to those who hate the gospel or the gospel
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  Speaker 4: that we preach? Do we fight back?
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  Speaker 1: No.
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  Speaker 4: In Christ, we submit our lives to God's hand and
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  Speaker 4: seek forgiveness, even for those who may oppose us and
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  Speaker 4: could even hurt us. Stephen, in the midst of these
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  Speaker 4: tragic circumstances, did not waver. He gave his life to
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  Speaker 4: follow Jesus all the way to heaven. Finally, as we
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  Speaker 4: closed out today's reading, we met a man who would
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  Speaker 4: soon break onto the scene as the most fierce enemy
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  Speaker 4: of Christ and the church. A young man, a rabid
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  Speaker 4: rabbi by the name of Saul, who stood and watched
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  Speaker 4: as Stephen was stoned, even held the garments of those
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  Speaker 4: who stoned them, he watched Stephen die. Saul hated the
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  Speaker 4: followers of Jesus, and he was about to unleash a
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  Speaker 4: level of persecution that early believers had not yet experienced.
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  Speaker 4: But nothing could stop the movement of God's Spirit. Nothing
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  Speaker 4: could stop the church of Jesus Christ. And the next time,
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  Speaker 4: we'll hear how God worked through Philip to take the
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  Speaker 4: good news to Samaria and even to the ends of
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  Speaker 4: the earth. Let's pray together. Dear God, how we thank
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  Speaker 4: you for the example of Stephen's courage. May our faith
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  Speaker 4: be fearless. May we boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: May we live and stand for our faith no matter
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  Speaker 4: what we may face. Give us your strength, O God,
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  Speaker 4: and in the power of the Holy Spirit, may we
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  Speaker 4: live and die for you and for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Again,
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  Speaker 4: we thank you for listening to the Bible in a
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  Speaker 4: Year podcast. I'm personally grateful for the incredible response that
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  Speaker 4: we're receiving as now 23 million people have downloaded the
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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• 15:24
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  Speaker 4: God bless you, and we look forward to the next
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  Speaker 4: time together.