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This is a, it's a dramatic and 
devastating bit of the book of 

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Acts. 
It really is. 

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It's got the longest speech 
recorded in Acts, the speech 

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that Stephen gives. 
We meet Stephen, who seems a 

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wonderful man, wonderful 
Christian man, but he swiftly 

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killed for his face. 
And then after this point, the 

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rest of the book of Acts is 
devoted to the spread of the 

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church beyond Jerusalem. 
So there's a lot going on. 

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So to stop us getting lost, I 
want to use a sentence that 

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we're going to keep returning to
to help us keep focus. 

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And it's a three-part sentence 
and it's this. 

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God's people face rejection, but
he is always present with his 

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people and faithful to his 
promises. 

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God's people face rejection, but
he's always present with his 

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people and faithful to his 
promises, but He's always 

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present with his people and 
faithful to his promises. 

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So the story of the church so 
far, just a little reminder. 

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So the Church of Jerusalem, it's
been growing. 

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Jesus has ascended to heaven, 
but his Holy Spirit has come, 

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and more and more people are 
becoming Christians. 

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There are signs and wonders. 
Jesus has been proclaimed to the

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rooftops. 
The church are looking after 

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each other, caring for one 
another. 

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Things aren't perfect. 
There's been a particularly 

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problematic episode of 
dishonesty. 

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There's been some organizational
issues, and there's been 

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opposition from outside. 
The apostles have been arrested 

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more than once. 
But despite all this, actually 

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the church seems to be winning. 
Apostles are given the words to 

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say rescues happen from prison. 
And it seems those opposed to 

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God are completely on the back 
foot. 

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And so this verse in Acts, just 
before the bit we looked at, I 

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think sums well. 
The word of God spread. 

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The number of disciples in 
Jerusalem increased rapidly and 

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a large number of priests became
obedient to the faith. 

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So we can see God's people faced
rejection, but clearly he's 

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always present with his people 
and faithful to his promises. 

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His church is growing. 
It's going great. 

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It's with this background then 
that we meet Stephen. 

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And as in one sense, as we look 
at Stephen, it's like, what a 

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guy? 
And now we know he's one of the 

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men who's previously chosen to 
kind of help with the food 

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distribution to the widows of 
the church. 

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And we know from his name that 
he was a Greek Jew. 

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So either him or his parents 
were probably born outside of 

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Palestine and Israel. 
But if we look at what he was 

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like, so in Acts chapter 6 and 
verses 5/8, 10:15, we see that 

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he was full of faith in the Holy
Spirit. 

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He was full of God's grace and 
power. 

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He did great wonders and 
miraculous signs. 

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Verse 10, you couldn't win an 
argument against him because of 

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his wisdom and by the spirit by 
which he spoke. 

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Verse 15, his face was like the 
face of an Angel. 

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I don't think that means he was 
like really good looking. 

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I think it's kind of like at 
that moment he was just like 

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God's presence, just like 
shining through him. 

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We're supposed to see that he's 
been blessed by God. 

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And throughout whole of Chapter 
7 in Stephen's speech, well, he 

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clearly knows his Old Testament 
history. 

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He's not afraid to stand firm in
the faith and point people to 

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Jesus. 
And even at the point of death, 

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he's still trusting in Jesus. 
What a guy. 

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But he's not a guy on his own. 
It's not that Stephen is just 

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great. 
From these verses, it's clear 

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that the Spirit of God was with 
him. 

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God is present with him. 
Stephen is facing rejection, but

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God's with him. 
And if we remember Jesus words, 

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Jesus promised that he would 
give his disciples A counsellor,

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the Holy Spirit, and give his 
disciples the words to say when 

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they were put on trial, when 
they face pressure. 

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So we can see that God is 
keeping his promise and keeping 

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his promise to Stephen. 
God's people face rejection, but

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he's always present with his 
people and faithful to his 

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promises. 
That's true of Stephen, although

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there's going to be more to say 
on that. 

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So why was Stephen arrested? 
So initially it starts off that 

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there's members of of this 
Friedman synagogue that seem to 

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be against Stephen. 
They're getting into arguments 

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with him, but first time they 
just can't win the argument. 

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And So what do you do when you 
can't win an argument? 

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Well, they create a manufacturer
situation where there's enough 

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opposition amongst the people 
and local leaders to have them 

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arrested. 
There's some trumped up charges 

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brought before him and they 
produce produce people who 

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basically lie about what Stephen
has said and, and the charges. 

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We can basically get it down to 
kind of two things. 

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There's two things that they're 
kind of charging Stephen was 

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doing, and we see those in 
verses 1113 and 14 of chapter 6.

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So the first is that Stephen is 
speaking against the temple in 

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Jerusalem, saying that Jesus 
will destroy it. 

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And the second is that Stephen 
is speaking against the law, 

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against the customs that Moses 
handed down to the Jewish 

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people. 
Now this, hopefully, if you're a

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Christian here, they might start
to sound a bit familiar. 

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You may remember that the main 
charge against Jesus at his 

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trial was that he would try 
destroy the temple. 

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Stephen's been accused of 
exactly the same thing and it's 

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a serious accusation. 
So this is like a picture of 

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what the temple might have 
looked at that time. 

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But the temple was supposed to 
be the visible and actual sign 

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of God's presence with his 
people is where God is supposed 

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to be. 
For someone to say I will 

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destroy the temple would be to 
like them saying I'll remove God

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from your presence or indeed 
attack God himself. 

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Likewise the law. 
To do away with the law would be

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to do away with with God. 
It was everything to the Jewish 

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people. 
These are serious, serious 

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charges and Stephen's been 
bought before a serious court. 

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So there's that term. 
The Sanhedrin. 

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This is kind of a council, over 
70 or so Jewish leaders, 

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including the high priest. 
It's would be very intimidating.

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And remember, this is the same 
court that condemned Jesus to 

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death. 
And so throughout this, you know

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what we're looking at, there's 
echoes of Jesus trial and what 

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was said to him and what 
happened. 

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And we know how that ended. 
But even at this point, Jesus 

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Stephen's arrest, I think a 
sentence is still true. 

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OK, God's people face rejection.
Well, yes, Stephen is on trial 

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for his faith, face faith, but 
he's always present with his 

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people. 
We've talked before about how 

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the Spirit was with Stephen, how
he had the face of an Angel. 

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But God is also faithful to his 
promises. 

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This is a promise that Jesus 
made in in John 15/20/21. 

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Remember what I told you? 
A servant is not greater than 

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his master. 
If they persecuted me, they'll 

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persecute you also. 
If they obeyed my teaching, they

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will obey yours also. 
They will treat you this way 

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because of my name, for they do 
not know the one who sent me. 

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Stephen's being treated just as 
Jesus was, and that's something 

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that Jesus would promised would 
happen to his followers. 

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I think Stephen and the early 
Christians knew that really 

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well. 
And I think for us here today, I

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think we need to remember that 
as Christians, we're in receipt 

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of some wonderful promises, but 
we also need to make sure we 

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don't forget the promises that 
might be a bit more difficult to

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hear. 
Jesus is very clear. 

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A Christian can expect to be 
treated badly because of Jesus, 

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because Jesus was. 
And although on the face of it, 

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this doesn't seem like the kind 
of promise we might we might 

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want to hear or have made, to us
it's actually deeply reassuring.

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Christians face hardship. 
Christians face bullying, 

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Christians face mocking, 
Christians face persecution, and

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Christians face death. 
And Jesus says, yes, you will. 

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That will happen as it happened 
to me. 

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There's no pretence, there's no 
sugar coating. 

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There's no saying it won't 
happen. 

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We know it happens. 
A couple of weeks ago we had the

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the persecuted Church Sunday and
Jesus tells us it will happen. 

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So if it happens to you, when 
some of this stuff happens to 

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you, it's actually a reason to 
trust Jesus more because he told

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us about it before it would 
happen. 

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He's trustworthy and real with 
us about what it means to live 

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as a Christian and follow Him 
and what we may might face in 

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our lives as Christians. 
So Stephen's been arrested. 

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We know the charges against him.
What was Stephen's defence? 

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So picture the scene. 
Stephen is before the court. 

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The charges against him have 
been made. 

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The witnesses have spoken and 
the high priest say, says, are 

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these charges true? 
What would you say? 

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What would your response be? 
I suspect it might start with 

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the word no. 
What I suspect you wouldn't do 

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is give a history lesson that 
encompasses the entire history 

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to that point of the Jewish 
people. 

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I don't think that would be our 
first thought. 

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That's what Jesus does, and 
specifically Jesus in his sweep 

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through Old Testament history is
kind of focusing on on 2 areas. 

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He's focusing on, one, where is 
God's presence? 

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And two, what faithfulness and 
following God's law looks like 

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and who's faithful and who's 
not. 

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He wants to demonstrate that 
what Jesus taught and therefore 

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what Stephen has been teaching 
is consistent with Old Testament

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teaching and that in rejecting 
Jesus, they the Sanhedrin who 

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are rejecting God and the law, 
not Stephen and his speech. 

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We can divide it into to five 
parts and and we had the 

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timeline helpfully kind of show 
us that dealing with these big 

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figures in Old Testament 
history, Abraham, Joseph, Moses,

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David and Solomon. 
And then at the end, Stephen 

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makes he turns the tables on the
Sanhedrin and makes an 

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accusation. 
And we can't go into a huge 

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slave slaver in Egypt far away 
from his family. 

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Did God abandoned him just 
because he went to Egypt? 

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No, Verse 9. 
God was with him and rescued 

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him. 
Moses, the Lord spoke to him 

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from the burning Bush in the 
desert. 

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He promised to be with Moses and
his people to rescue them from 

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Egypt. 
And God was most certainly with 

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his people when he bought them 
out of slavery from Egypt with 

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signs and wonders. 
And finally, yes, a temple was 

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built, but Stephen quotes Isaiah
as I was 66 and and he said, 

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look, this what this is in 
keeping with the whole Testament

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teaching. 
You can't really think that God 

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in his presence is just limited 
to a temple. 

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God says heaven is my throne and
the earth is my footstool. 

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What kind of house will you 
build for me? 

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So the focus on the temple as 
being the only way that God is 

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present with his people. 
It's proved wrong by the 

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entirety of Old Testament 
history. 

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I read some John stop like kind 
of explain this posture as I 

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found it extremely helpful. 
And I think the two things he 

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says here are really helpful. 
He says the God of Israel is a 

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Pilgrim God. 
God's presence cannot be limited

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or confined to a specific place 
or building. 

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It is with his people that he 
lives. 

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God's with us here, the avenue 
today. 

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God's with Matt and Lisa in 
Nigeria, it's with Simon and Ali

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in Ethiopia, it's with Asher 
when he's in America. 

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God's with his people. 
And Jesus was God made flesh. 

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Jesus was literally God living 
with his people. 

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The fulfillment of God's 
presence with his people is not 

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a building, not the temple. 
It's Jesus. 

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It's the gift of the Holy Spirit
that Jesus gives to every 

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Christian, and then it's his 
body of the church which becomes

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a new temple. 
That's what Stephen's trying to 

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get across to the Sun Hedram. 
And the second main theme of 

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Stephen's speech is is to 
address the accusation that 

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Stephen's rejecting the law and 
rejecting God. 

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And it's they, the Sanhedrin of 
the true followers of God. 

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How does he deal with this? 
Well, he just kind of looks 

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through Old Testament history 
and says, well, your ancestors 

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keep rejecting God and his 
prophets. 

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00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,440
Look at what Stephen says about 
Moses in verse 27. 

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The Israelites say to Moses, who
made you rule and judge over us?

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But Despite that, God used Moses
to rescue Israelites from 

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freedom, to rescue them from 
slavery into freedom. 

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And then in verses 39 to 43 in 
Chapter 7, Stephen really 

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focuses on Moses. 
He said they rejected Moses 

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again when Moses was talking to 
God. 

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And so God gave them over to 
their impulses and they 

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worshipped fake gods. 
And it became a repeating theme 

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in the life of Old Testament 
Israel. 

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And Stephen quotes Amos to make 
his point there. 

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The idea that far from there 
being a glorious history of the 

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Sanhedrin's ancestors being 
faithful and obedient followers 

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of the Law, no, they reject 
God's chosen prophets and 

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Saviours time and again and 
again. 

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And they reject God too. 
The track record is terrible. 

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And so Stephen brings it to a 
head in his accusation in in 

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verses 51 to 53, basically he's 
saying, you people who are 

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accusing me, you're just like 
your ancestors. 

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You've got it so wrong. 
Was there ever a prophet your 

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ancestor did not persecute that 
even killed those who predicted 

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the coming of the righteous one?
That's Jesus. 

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And now you have betrayed and 
murdered him, murdered Jesus, 

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you who have received the law 
that was given through angels, 

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but have not obeyed it. 
So Stephen is turning the screw 

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and pointing the light back on 
the Sanhedrin. 

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He said you killed Jesus, you 
killed the Messiah, you killed 

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God's promised king. 
And in doing so, you're the 

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people who have not obeyed the 
law. 

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00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,040
It's not me who's blasphemed 
God. 

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It's not me who's not obeyed the
law. 

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It's you guys. 
They didn't worship Jesus, they 

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killed him. 
And so through this whole sweep 

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00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:38,000
of Old Testament history, you 
know, IA sentence I've put helps

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00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,840
us, it's still true. 
God's people face rejection. 

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Joseph, Moses, the prophets, 
Jesus himself, Stephen. 

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But God is always present with 
his people. 

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God is always present with his 
people wherever they are. 

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00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,080
And God is faithful to his 
promises. 

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I mean, there's so many examples
of that. 

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But, you know, just we could 
think of God rescuing his people

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from Egypt, but Stephen dies. 
He puts those who are judging on

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the spot, and they hate it. 
They're furious. 

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But then Stephen says something 
else. 

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Before they can say anything, he
says, look, I see heaven open 

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and the Son of man standing at 
the right hand of God. 

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00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:23,640
And when Stephen says this, they
go, I mean, they go crazy. 

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Any pretense that normal legal 
procedure seems to be thrown out

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00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,240
the window. 
They yell at him, they rush at 

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him, they drag him out of the 
city and stone him to bat to 

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death. 
It has kind of a pattern of like

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00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,240
a mob killing. 
And what Stephen has just said, 

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00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,040
it's actually very similar to 
what Jesus said at his trial 

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before the Sanhedrin. 
I put it up there for you from 

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Matthew. 
You've said so, Jesus replied 

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00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,960
when asked, you know, if he was 
the Messiah. 

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00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,800
But I say to all of you, from 
now on, you will see the Son of 

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00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,200
Man sitting at the right hand of
the Mighty One and coming on the

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00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:57,080
clouds of heaven. 
Jesus is the Son of man. 

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00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,120
He's referencing Daniel here 
where the Son of man is given 

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00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,040
authority and power in 
judgement. 

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00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,920
Jesus saying that he is the Son 
of man and the Messiah. 

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00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,920
So when Stephen says he sees the
Son of Man, this figure of 

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authority and judgement, you bet
your bottom dollar that the 

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00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:19,720
Sanhedrin, remembering what 
Jesus said to them, Stephen has 

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00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,800
basically said that the man you 
killed, the man who said he's 

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00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,760
the Son of man, well, actually 
he really is. 

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00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,560
He's now getting ready to judge 
you. 

289
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,520
And so the Sanhedrin lose it. 
Rather than bend the knee and 

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00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,400
bow to Jesus asking for 
forgiveness, they double down 

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00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,040
and they do to Stephen what they
did to Jesus and they kill him. 

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00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,200
That's sad, isn't it? 
That should make us feel sad. 

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00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,640
Stephen full of grace of power, 
Stephen full of the Holy Spirit,

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00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,960
Stephen who spoke so well, God 
is so present with he's killed. 

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00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,680
What are we to make of this 
God's people face rejection. 

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00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,360
Well, that's clearly true. 
The killing of Stephen is the 

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00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:07,040
ultimate rejection of of of him 
and of God's truth. 

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00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,880
But at this moment always 
present with his people, 

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00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,720
faithful to his promises. 
Stephen's been killed. 

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00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,640
It's, it's difficult. 
Where was God? 

301
00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,319
Was this present God? 
And Stephen was killed. 

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00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,920
You know, a few chapters earlier
we read about a miraculous 

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00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,160
escape from jail, didn't we, for
the apostles? 

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00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:42,560
Well, where's Stephen's escape? 
And we know, yes, Jesus says 

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00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:44,000
that we will face the same as 
him. 

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00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,360
He promises that. 
But maybe actually, if we think 

307
00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:48,640
really about that, maybe that's 
a promise we'd prefer that God 

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00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,600
didn't keep cost Stephen his 
life. 

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00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:55,680
These are hard questions. 
I'm not pretending I've got all 

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00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,320
the answers. 
But I think that Stephen's 

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00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:04,080
death, actually God is present 
there with his people and 

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00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,480
faithful to his promises. 
Not just Stephen's death, but 

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00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,200
actually Jesus death, his 
resurrection, his ascension to 

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00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:14,640
heaven, which Stephen's speech 
and his death point us towards. 

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00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,200
Let's remind ourselves, what or 
who does Stephen see before he's

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00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,640
taken out to be stoned? 
He sees Jesus, the Son of man. 

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00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,560
Jesus is at God's right hand, in
a position of power and 

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00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,280
authority. 
Jesus is not dead, Jesus alive. 

319
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,720
Jesus is not weak or powerless. 
He's in that position of power 

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00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,920
and authority. 
Stephen sees Jesus, his eyes are

321
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,920
fixed on him. 
He knows his presence. 

322
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,680
But the thing to notice about 
Jesus when Stephen sees him is 

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00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,880
that he's not sitting. 
He's standing. 

324
00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,960
When Jesus spoke about himself 
to the Sanhedrin, he said that 

325
00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,640
he'll be sitting, but Stephen 
sees him standing. 

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00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,680
What might that mean? 
Next time the high priest see 

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00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,600
Jesus, he will be sitting on 
judgement on them. 

328
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:16,640
But Stephen sees Jesus standing.
Might be that Jesus standing 

329
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,280
because he's talking to his 
Father, saying there is my 

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00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,560
faithful servant Stephen, who 
has put his faith in me and I 

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00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,120
stand for him to cover the cost 
of his sins. 

332
00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:27,320
He is a good and faithful 
servant. 

333
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,720
Might it be that Jesus standing,
because he's standing there to 

334
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,960
welcome Stephen home to his 
heavenly home, his true home, 

335
00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,080
the place where the presence of 
God with his people is fulfilled

336
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,600
completely and utterly, and his 
promise of God with us is 

337
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:47,720
completely fulfilled. 
Perhaps Stephen sees Jesus and 

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00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,320
he knows he's going home. 
And if you're a Christian here 

339
00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:53,840
today, that's true for you as 
well. 

340
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,920
One day you'll get to go home 
and Jesus will welcome you into 

341
00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,600
his presence, fulfilling all his
promises to you. 

342
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,840
One of my favorite films, which 
I'm not going to name because of

343
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:10,000
spoilers, is about a little girl
living through a European civil 

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00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,520
war, and it has fantastical 
elements to it. 

345
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:15,720
But essentially throughout the 
film, her life is grim and 

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00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,360
horrible. 
She has no Lovings family, and a

347
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:22,120
situation gets worse and worse 
and worse and worse, and at the 

348
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,320
end this girl dies. 
But the film does not end with 

349
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,880
her death, it actually ends with
her being welcomed home. 

350
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,840
Welcomed back to a fantastical 
home where her family are, where

351
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,800
there's no more pain and where 
the joy of being in that place 

352
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,800
completely overwhelms the misery
of her former life. 

353
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:43,680
And it's the only form I've ever
watched. 

354
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:45,320
We're at the end of cry tears of
joy. 

355
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:53,080
And it's it's a wonderful moment
because it kind of almost like 

356
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,360
gave a little glimpse of what it
would feel like to have a joy of

357
00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,680
going home to be with Jesus. 
And I think Stephen Ward had 

358
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,800
even more joy than that when he 
was welcome home by Jesus. 

359
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:07,000
And that's true for us today if 
you put your trust in Jesus, 

360
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,080
your sins and wrongs botted out,
your sufferings far outweighed 

361
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,480
by the glory of being with Jesus
in his presence and his promises

362
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,160
all fulfilled. 
Welcome to home. 

363
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,160
Not to some fantastical film 
home, but to a heavenly home. 

364
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,240
So no matter how bad or 
difficult it gets or feels, 

365
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,960
whether you're suffering or 
difficulties relate to 

366
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,600
persecution or not, please hold 
on to that hope. 

367
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:32,960
Cling to Jesus because he will 
bring you home. 

368
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,000
But there's one more thing just 
to finish. 

369
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,640
I think Stephen was completely 
assured that Jesus will keep his

370
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,440
promises. 
Look how he dies. 

371
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,560
Verse 59 he says Lord Jesus 
receive my spirit. 

372
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,440
Verse 60, Lord, do not hold this
sin against them. 

373
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,720
Again, I think we should be 
thinking about Jesus. 

374
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,240
These mirror very closely some 
of Jesus last words on the 

375
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:04,800
cross. 
Verse 59 implies that Stephen 

376
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,280
has a complete enough to trust 
that Jesus has got him. 

377
00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:13,000
For Stephen vertically to ask 
Jesus to forgive those who are 

378
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,320
killing him, that's not the 
prayer of a vengeful or bitter 

379
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,280
man. 
It's a prayer of a man who 

380
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:21,920
completely entrusts himself to 
God and to God's grace. 

381
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,640
But you could argue, you could 
make an argument that the most 

382
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,600
important words are the ones 
Stephen doesn't say. 

383
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,760
We've noticed that he says words
very similar to those that Jesus

384
00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,400
said as he died. 
But what doesn't he say? 

385
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,680
There are words that he can't 
say, but there are words that 

386
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,640
Jesus said as he died. 
Jesus said, my God, my God, why 

387
00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,360
have you forsaken me? 
It's not Stephen who shouts out 

388
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,160
these words as he dies. 
It's not Stephen who is 

389
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,320
separated and punished by God as
he dies. 

390
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,160
Stephen doesn't shout out these 
words because Jesus already said

391
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,200
them when he died. 
Jesus was forsaken by God. 

392
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,840
Jesus was punished for 
Stephenson for our sin instead 

393
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,320
of us. 
He was crucified so that we 

394
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:16,520
don't have to say those words. 
And that as death could not hold

395
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,720
Jesus and he was reunited with 
his Father, so we too will one 

396
00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,560
day rise up to be with him even 
beyond death. 

397
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,600
No matter how bad it gets for us
as a Christian, we won't face 

398
00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,400
that. 
We won't be forsaken or 

399
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,360
separated from God because our 
faith in Jesus saves us, because

400
00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:36,920
he went through it all instead 
of us. 

401
00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,680
So please, if you're not, if 
you're sitting here today and 

402
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:45,240
you're not a Christian, don't 
put yourself in a position where

403
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,800
one day you end up before the 
judgement seat and Jesus is 

404
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:49,440
sitting down in judgement on 
you. 

405
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,520
You won't be able to stand. 
Instead, put your faith and 

406
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,280
trust in Jesus for the 
forgiveness of your sins and one

407
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,680
day see Jesus standing up to 
welcome you home. 

408
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,800
So for Stephen and for us, I 
think this, I think it holds 

409
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,520
true. 
God's people face rejection, but

410
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,080
he's always present with his 
people and faithful to His 

411
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,800
promises. 
Whatever life will throw at you 

412
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,000
in the weeks, months, and years 
to come, Jesus is with you. 

413
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,040
He keeps his promises and he'll 
see you home.