WEBVTT

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 Good morning, everyone. I'm intentionally speaking a little quieter because I've been told I'm really loud in the mic.

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! But yeah, good morning, everyone. It's great to worship with you all today. I'm excited to preach the word to you today.

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 But first, let me ask a question. What do you think is the most dangerous thing a Christian can do?

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 What's the most dangerous thing a Christian can do? The real answer has got to be complacency, unbelief that hardens you beyond repentance.

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 Aside from that, what else is dangerous? You might think of things like going as missionaries to war zones or smuggling Bibles into closed countries or being radically generous with your money.

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 Those are all costly acts of faith. But today, when we read the book of Acts, we'll discover that one of the most dangerous, most radical, most life-threatening things you could do

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 is to give a history lesson.

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 Give a history lesson.

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 Today, in the book of Acts, we'll meet one of the church's first deacons, a man named Stephen.

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 He was a servant of the church and a man full of the spirit and of wisdom, full of grace and of power.

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 Yet Stephen was murdered in broad daylight by a mob of angry Jewish leaders.

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 And what was his crime? What got them so angry?

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 It was a history lesson, teaching history.

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 In response to some allegations, Stephen opened up the Jewish scriptures.

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 That's what we call the Old Testament of our Bibles.

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 And he connected the dots in Israel's history, from Abraham and Joseph to Moses and all the prophets.

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 And he did that to prove a point.

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 And our question today is, what is in this history lesson?

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 What is in the Old Testament that is so offensive and so radical that cost Stephen his life?

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 And what does that mean for us today?

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 And with that, let's stand as we read the passage today.

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 We stand as a gesture of reverence for God's word.

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 And let me give you a heads up.

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 Stephen wasn't very short-winded.

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 So I hope you brought some comfortable shoes.

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 It's going to be a long speech.

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 And so I've, yeah, let's invite Aidan and Melissa to read with me.

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 Because it's a long passage.

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 I'll be the narrator, so I'm going to narrate this passage.

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 And they'll take turns, Aidan and Melissa being Stephen.

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 So let's stand as we read the word of the Lord together.

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 This is from Acts chapter 6, verse 8 through to the end of chapter 7.

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 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

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 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the freedmen, as it was called, and of the Cyrenians and of the Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

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 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.

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 Then they secretly instigated men who said,

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 We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.

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 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes.

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 And they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council.

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 And they set up false witnesses who said,

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 This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law.

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 For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.

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 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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 And the high priest said,

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 Are these things so?

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 And Stephen said,

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 Brothers and fathers, hear me.

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 The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran and said to him,

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 Go out from your land and from your kindred and go to the land that I will show you.

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 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran.

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 And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land which you are now living.

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 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length,

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 but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, even though he had no child.

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 And God spoke to this effect, that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others

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 who would enslave them and afflict them for 400 years.

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 But I will judge the nation that they serve, said God.

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 And after that, they shall come out and worship me in this place.

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 And he gave to him the covenant of circumcision.

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 And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day.

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 And Isaac became the father of Jacob and Jacob of the 12 patriarchs.

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 And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt.

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 But God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions

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 and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

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 who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

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 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction,

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 and our fathers could find no food.

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 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

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 And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers,

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 and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

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 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob, his father, and all his kindred, 75 persons in all.

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 And Jacob went down into Egypt and he died.

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 He and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem

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 and laid in the tomb that Abraham had brought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamer and Shechem.

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 But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham,

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 the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

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 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants so that they would not be kept alive.

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 At this time, Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight.

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 And he was brought up for three months in his father's house.

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 And when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

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 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

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 When he was 40 years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

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 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptians.

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 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

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 And on the following day, he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying,

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 Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?

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 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside and saying,

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 Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?

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 At this retort, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian,

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 where he became the father of two sons.

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 Now, when 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai,

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 in a flame of fire in a bush.

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 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight.

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 And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord.

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 I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.

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 And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

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 Then the Lord said to him, Take off the sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

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 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning,

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 and I've come down to deliver them.

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 And now come, I'm going to send you to Egypt.

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 This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge?

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 This man got sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

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 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for 40 years.

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 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.

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 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai and with our fathers.

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 He received living oracles to give to us.

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 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron,

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 Make for us gods who will go before us.

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 As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

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 And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

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 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets.

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 Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices during the 40 years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

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 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your God, Rephan, the images that you made to worship,

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 and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.

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 Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it,

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 according to the pattern that he had seen.

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 Our fathers, in turn, bought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.

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 So it was until the days of David who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

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 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

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 Yet the Most High does not dwell in the houses made by hands.

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 As the prophet says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

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 What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord?

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 Or what is the place of my rest?

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 Did not my hand make all these things?

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 You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

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 As your father did, so do you.

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 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

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 And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.

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 And you who received the laws delivered by angels and did not keep it.

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 Now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him.

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 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

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 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

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 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

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 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

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 And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

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 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

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 And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold the sin against them.

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 And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

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 This is the word of the Lord.

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 Let me take a seat.

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 Lord, we thank you for your word.

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 And we trust that your word has power to give life, to point us to your only son who died for the sins of the world.

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 Show us his glory.

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 We pray in Jesus' name.

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 Amen.

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 A deadly history.

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 That's the topic for today in Stephen's speech.

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 Now, who is Stephen?

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 He's one of the first deacons.

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 We spoke about that last week.

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 Deacons are people who serve the church, taking care of administration and practical needs.

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 And one of the deacons they chose was a man named Stephen.

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 Stephen was someone serving the church, giving food to the poor.

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 And in chapter 6, verse 8, it says that Stephen is full of grace and power.

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 He's full of faith, full of the spirit.

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 He's a good guy.

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 But in spite of that, some people couldn't stand him.

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 They argue against him.

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 And in verse 10, it says they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.

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 And so in verse 11, they secretly instigated men against him.

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 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes.

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 And they came upon him and seized him and brought him to the council.

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 They didn't like him, so they brought these accusations against him.

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 There's three big accusations.

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 Number one in verse 11, blasphemy against Moses and God.

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 Number two in verse 13, blasphemy against the law.

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 And number three, blasphemy against the temple.

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 It says in verse 13, we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, the temple,

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 and change the customs, the law that Moses delivered to us.

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 So those are the three big accusations brought against Stephen.

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 Blasphemy against God, the law, and the temple.

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 That's the context for his speech.

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 And so Stephen is before this council on trial.

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 They list off all these charges.

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 And in chapter 7, verse 1, it says,

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 The high priest said, Are these things so?

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 Now at this point, Stephen does something that reminds me of my wife, Jojo.

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 First off, verse 15, it says that his face was like the face of an angel.

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 But secondly, she has this habit.

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 You know how people say long story short?

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 Like Jack and Rose, they fall in love, things happen, but long story short, Titanic sank.

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 It's quick, it's simple, long story short.

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 Well, Jojo instead likes to say short story long.

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 That's her catchphrase, short story long.

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 I'll ask, what did you have for lunch?

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 And next thing, she's telling me how she ran into a glass door or spilled bubble tea on the MTR.

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 Ten other things except for the question.

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 And then she'll say, oh, short story long.

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 I ate some spring rolls.

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 Short story long.

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 And in the same way Stephen's accused of these three blasphemy against these things,

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 the high priest asks him, are these things so?

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 This is a yes or no question.

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 But Stephen replies, short story long, let me give you a history lesson.

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 Buckle up because it's Bible time.

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 And he goes on to drop the longest speech in the book of Acts.

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 Now, to be fair to Stephen, he's summarizing over 2,000 years of history.

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 It's long, but really, he did make a short story long.

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 You're not here for 2,000 years listening to that.

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 And also, if you ask Jojo, she'll tell you.

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 When you ask the question, I can't give you the answer right away because I have to set the scene.

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 You need to feel the story, feel the motion so that you can taste the spring roll that I ate for lunch.

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 And it's the same for Stephen.

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 He brings them on this journey for a reason.

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 There's no quick answer because they're asking the wrong question.

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 Stephen's saying, you think I'm blaspheming against God?

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 Well, you've missed the point of all of history.

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 You've missed the point of all the scriptures.

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 It's not about the law or one location.

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 It's about the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 And you're the blasphemers.

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 You're the ones blaspheming God because you've rejected God's anointed ones.

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 And let me show you that through your history.

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 And that's why he goes on this speech.

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 And so Stephen starts with the history of Abraham.

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 He begins with Abraham because Abraham was the first Jew.

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 He's the father of all Jews.

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 And Stephen's going right back to the beginning of the nation of Israel to say, I'm not a blasphemer.

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 I don't blaspheme God.

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 I fear God.

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 He says in verse two, brothers and fathers, hear me.

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 The God of glory appeared to our father, Abraham.

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 Stephen's saying, he's the God of glory.

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 I worship the God of glory.

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 How could I be blaspheming him?

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 Now throughout history, one major way that God shows his glory is by freely choosing to bless those who haven't earned it.

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 The Jewish people began when God appeared to Abraham with a promise.

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 Go out from the land, from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.

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 Out of all the people on the earth at that time, God chose Abraham.

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 Before Abraham had done anything or obeyed God, God chose Abraham and God gave him a promise in Genesis 12.

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 To your offspring, I will give you land and I will make you a great nation.

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 And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

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 That's how the nation of Israel starts.

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 That's the start of the Jewish people.

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 The God of glory had a promise for Abraham and for his descendants.

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 But God's plan wasn't all smooth sailing.

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 He also promises in verse 6, Abraham's offspring would be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years.

00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:10.000
 But I will judge the nations they serve and they shall come out and worship me in this place.

00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:12.520
 And so long story short, that's Abraham.

00:16:13.020 --> 00:16:18.100
 That God will show his glory in fulfilling his promise to save his people.

00:16:18.920 --> 00:16:25.980
 And the expectation of all the Old Testament is to see how God will be faithful to that promise even when things go sideways.

00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:29.120
 Can you see in Abraham this echo of Jesus?

00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:34.460
 Now after Abraham, Stephen moves on a few generations to Joseph.

00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.340
 Joseph is Abraham's great grandson.

00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:43.560
 Verse 8 says, Abraham became the father of Isaac and Isaac became the father of Jacob.

00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:48.039
 And by the way, God also gave Jacob, this guy Jacob, a new name Israel.

00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:50.580
 That's why it's called the nation of Israel.

00:16:51.060 --> 00:16:53.920
 And Israel had 12 sons, one of which was Joseph.

00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:58.299
 The 12 tribes of Israel, you might have heard of the Levites.

00:16:58.959 --> 00:17:02.360
 That's named after this brother Levi or Judah or Benjamin.

00:17:03.199 --> 00:17:07.700
 The 12 tribes of Israel were named after these brothers and those were Joseph's brothers.

00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:13.619
 Now the point in bringing up Joseph is to show that God is faithful to his promise.

00:17:14.379 --> 00:17:16.500
 Despite Israel's obedience.

00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:20.139
 Stephen was accused of blaspheming God and the law.

00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:23.980
 And Stephen's saying, no, you, you're the ones breaking the law.

00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.840
 You're the ones blaspheming God by rejecting his appointed one.

00:17:28.620 --> 00:17:33.700
 Even from the beginning of Israel, the founding fathers, these 12 patriarchs, they were disobedient.

00:17:34.340 --> 00:17:37.440
 What happened was that Joseph was the favorite child.

00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:42.700
 And his brothers, the patriarchs, they thought to themselves, hey, our dad really loves our brother.

00:17:43.580 --> 00:17:44.840
 That's a big problem.

00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:45.399
 Right?

00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:48.599
 So they got together and said, our father loves him dearly.

00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.379
 There's only one possible solution.

00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:51.959
 Let's kill him.

00:17:52.179 --> 00:17:52.659
 Let's kill him.

00:17:52.919 --> 00:17:56.399
 But then the elder brother, Reuben, heard about this and said, whoa, whoa, whoa.

00:17:56.439 --> 00:17:57.379
 We can't kill Micah.

00:17:57.459 --> 00:17:58.119
 That's a bit much.

00:17:58.419 --> 00:17:58.539
 Right?

00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:00.399
 Let's sell him into slavery instead.

00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:02.139
 Let's sell him into slavery instead.

00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:04.220
 Isn't that messed up?

00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:11.500
 The founding fathers of Israel, they got together and sold their brother Joseph into slavery, into Egypt.

00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:14.700
 But did that thwart God's purposes?

00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:16.119
 Look what verse 9 says.

00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.579
 The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt.

00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:23.099
 But God was with him.

00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:25.339
 God was with him.

00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.299
 Despite being trafficked into slavery, despite his brother's disobedience.

00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:33.000
 No, disobedience is too weak a word.

00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.859
 Despite his brother's evil, God was with him.

00:18:36.859 --> 00:18:41.919
 And because God was with him, Joseph prospered.

00:18:42.179 --> 00:18:49.359
 Verse 10 says, God gave Joseph favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler of Egypt and over all his household.

00:18:49.919 --> 00:18:53.899
 Through a dramatic series event, we don't have time for it, but it could be a drama even.

00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:57.099
 There's love, there's lies, there's betrayal, everything you need for a drama.

00:18:57.099 --> 00:19:06.159
 God took Joseph from slave and prisoner to be ruler in charge of everything in Egypt, second in command, next to Pharaoh.

00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.879
 That's the God of glory being faithful to his promise.

00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:13.199
 But God's blessing wasn't just for Joseph.

00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:19.980
 In a great reversal, Joseph ends up saving the brothers, the exact brothers who sold him into slavery.

00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:21.559
 Verse 11 says,

00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:30.599
 Joseph's brothers would have died from this famine.

00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:32.519
 If they stayed there, they would have died from this famine.

00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:42.200
 Their only saving grace was that the brother that they had sold into slavery, that they wanted to kill, ended up ruling over all of Egypt.

00:19:42.879 --> 00:19:45.639
 And God gave him the wisdom to store up food in preparation.

00:19:48.379 --> 00:19:51.259
 Israel was sinful right from its founding fathers.

00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:52.559
 Israel was sinful right from its own.

00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.839
 Those brothers hated the one who would end up saving them.

00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:58.139
 But their disobedience, they couldn't thwart God's purposes.

00:19:58.339 --> 00:20:00.119
 Instead, they were part of God's purposes.

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.559
 In Genesis 50, Joseph tells his brothers,

00:20:03.419 --> 00:20:05.659
 What you meant for evil, you meant evil against me.

00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:07.740
 But God meant it for good.

00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:11.019
 That's the point of Joseph, long story short.

00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:13.899
 We constantly disobey God.

00:20:14.339 --> 00:20:18.259
 But what we mean for evil, God meant it for good.

00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:22.299
 And can you see in Joseph an echo of Jesus?

00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.740
 We have Abraham, Joseph, nix up Moses.

00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:35.200
 So because there was food in Egypt, Israel, the whole family, they moved to Egypt and ended up thriving.

00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.240
 It says the people increased and multiplied in Egypt.

00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:42.680
 But with time, there arose over Egypt another king who didn't know Joseph.

00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:44.839
 The Egyptians forgot about Joseph.

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.019
 And all they saw were a threat to the people.

00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.779
 As the Israelites prospered and multiplied in their land.

00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.680
 And so the Egyptians, they thought, hey, we need to control them.

00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.660
 So they forced the Israelites into slavery.

00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:01.980
 They forced them into slavery to control them.

00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:05.980
 And they even went so far as to commit genocide on the Israelites.

00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:07.799
 Killing baby boys.

00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:09.460
 Every baby boy, we'd kill them.

00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:11.799
 In order to wipe out this nation.

00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:15.299
 While at the same time, keeping that adult slave labor.

00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:21.059
 That's the death and slavery and bondage that Israel was stuck in.

00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:23.839
 Remember, God made this promise to Abraham.

00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:27.599
 Verse 6 says they would be enslaved and afflicted for 400 years.

00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:31.019
 But God says, I will judge the nations that they serve.

00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.719
 And after that, they shall come up and worship me in this place.

00:21:35.419 --> 00:21:40.679
 So in verse 17, as the time of this promise drew near, Moses was born.

00:21:41.719 --> 00:21:44.199
 God kept Moses from being killed in this genocide.

00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:48.219
 And even had him adopted by Pharaoh's daughter.

00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:50.519
 Growing up in Pharaoh's household.

00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:56.199
 God's plan to deliver Israel out of oppression was through the hand of Moses.

00:21:56.200 --> 00:22:00.340
 But you can guess what happened looking at Israel's history.

00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:03.660
 Once again, Israel rejected God's appointed one.

00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:04.900
 They rejected Moses.

00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:06.580
 They do this many times actually.

00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:08.380
 But Stephen gives two examples.

00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:10.720
 One was when Moses was 40.

00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.440
 He saw an Egyptian beating up an Israelite.

00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:16.759
 Moses broke up that fight and ended up killing the Egyptian.

00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:18.960
 Verse 25 says,

00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:24.460
 Moses supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand.

00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:26.259
 But they did not understand.

00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:31.799
 Instead of looking to Moses to save them, accepting that deliverance God was bringing them,

00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:33.279
 they snitched on Moses.

00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:36.400
 And Moses had to flee from Egypt into the land of Midian.

00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:38.799
 That's the first time they rejected Moses.

00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:45.380
 And next, another 40 years, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and sent Moses back to Egypt once again.

00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:46.840
 To say, let my people go.

00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:47.759
 Let my people go.

00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:49.640
 But Pharaoh wasn't willing.

00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:52.280
 And so God sent plagues, 10 plagues.

00:22:52.660 --> 00:22:56.940
 There's blood, frogs, bugs, disease, hail, darkness, and death.

00:22:57.320 --> 00:23:00.700
 Until Pharaoh was forced to say, go get out of here.

00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:02.120
 You guys have to leave.

00:23:03.020 --> 00:23:06.620
 That's how God delivered Israel out of slavery.

00:23:07.520 --> 00:23:12.660
 But at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh regretted all this, he regretted letting his slaves go.

00:23:13.420 --> 00:23:15.759
 He sent, Pharaoh sent an army to chase after them.

00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:18.480
 And God delivered them once again.

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:21.599
 They had their backs to the wall at the Red Sea.

00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:26.279
 But God split the Red Sea and Israel walked through on dry ground.

00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:27.519
 Imagine that.

00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:32.279
 Instead of taking the MTR to TST over there, God split Victoria right in half.

00:23:32.379 --> 00:23:34.099
 You saw the water part into two.

00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:38.000
 And you walked right down the middle with walls of water on both sides.

00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:40.819
 Imagine if you saw God do that.

00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:45.039
 But do you know what happens three days later?

00:23:46.179 --> 00:23:49.179
 Three days after seeing God split the Red Sea.

00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:51.679
 Do you know what they complain about?

00:23:52.439 --> 00:23:54.399
 They complain there's no water.

00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.779
 They complain there's no water to drink in this desert.

00:23:58.759 --> 00:23:59.759
 There's no water to drink.

00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:00.819
 We're going to die in this wilderness.

00:24:01.159 --> 00:24:02.059
 After just three days.

00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.599
 Three days after walking through the sea on dry ground.

00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:08.500
 Watching God split the waters into two.

00:24:08.659 --> 00:24:10.339
 They're complaining it's too dry.

00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:11.319
 There's no water.

00:24:12.459 --> 00:24:16.259
 How quickly they've forgotten about this God of glory.

00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:19.240
 And fast forward a few months.

00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:22.679
 Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive God's law.

00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:29.099
 And remember, one of the accusations against Stephen was that Stephen was blaspheming the law.

00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:31.839
 This is the law that Moses was receiving.

00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:36.399
 And literally, as Moses is on the mountain receiving that same law,

00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:37.599
 do you know what Israel was doing?

00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:39.740
 Utter rebellion.

00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:45.179
 They took all their jewelry, made it into a golden calf, and said,

00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:50.119
 These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

00:24:50.919 --> 00:24:52.119
 Are you kidding me?

00:24:52.679 --> 00:24:54.319
 You guys are worshipping a cow?

00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.519
 Right?

00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:57.119
 That they taped together five minutes ago?

00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:01.700
 Three months after seeing God split the red seat and throw all these plagues.

00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:04.759
 You're worshipping a cow that you made with your hands?

00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:05.759
 Are you kidding me?

00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:07.740
 Right?

00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:08.919
 Just months after that.

00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:09.939
 After seeing all that.

00:25:10.159 --> 00:25:13.319
 You might as well just pull together all the pocket lint in your back pocket.

00:25:13.439 --> 00:25:15.359
 Scrunch it in a ball and say, Behold your God.

00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:16.740
 That would be no different.

00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:19.299
 What are you doing worshipping a cow?

00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:24.579
 And all that is just as God is giving them the law.

00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:26.359
 How stupid.

00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:27.240
 How rebellious.

00:25:29.120 --> 00:25:29.279
 Right?

00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:33.500
 And so long story short, Stephen is saying, You want to talk about blasphemy?

00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:44.960
 Our fathers were the ones with both the ingenuity and the wherewithal to find a way to simultaneously blaspheme God, Moses, and the law all in one go.

00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.799
 That's who our fathers is.

00:25:46.879 --> 00:25:47.720
 That's our history.

00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:51.759
 And that's the constant pattern in the Old Testament.

00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:55.400
 That God is faithful to his promises.

00:25:55.799 --> 00:26:01.079
 He is so good to Israel, yet they are so eager, so eager to disobey.

00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:06.759
 See how they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because of disobedience.

00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:08.640
 See how they were exiled to Babylon.

00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:11.579
 See how the temple was destroyed because of disobedience.

00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:15.019
 Stepping back and looking at Israel's history,

00:26:15.019 --> 00:26:21.759
 the picture you see is a people who day after day and time after time are shown so much favor from God,

00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:27.279
 yet are constantly rebellious, constantly disobedient, constantly rejecting him.

00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:29.440
 That's the history lesson.

00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:34.160
 Now at this point, we can look at the Old Testament nodding our heads and say,

00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:35.639
 Yeah, yeah, that was pretty silly.

00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:36.720
 I can't believe they did this.

00:26:37.139 --> 00:26:38.019
 Cool stories.

00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:42.039
 But that's when Stephen turns and points the finger.

00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.240
 He says in verse 51,

00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:49.680
 You stiff-necked Angang people, uncircumcised in heart and ears.

00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:51.880
 You always resist the Holy Spirit.

00:26:52.120 --> 00:26:54.160
 As your fathers did, so do you.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:57.220
 And he's saying, I'm not just telling you stories.

00:26:57.620 --> 00:26:58.559
 This is not just history.

00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:00.120
 It's meant to hit closer to home.

00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:01.519
 This is your history.

00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:03.039
 This is what your fathers did.

00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:07.240
 And not just your fathers, but as your fathers did, so do you.

00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:09.740
 You're the sons of these rebellious people.

00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:11.480
 An apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:17.160
 And as we read this today also, we should allow Stephen to turn the finger to us.

00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:18.440
 That we're no different.

00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:21.099
 As Israel was disobedient, so are we.

00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:23.860
 As Israel was stiff-necked, so are we.

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:25.880
 And how so?

00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:27.339
 How can we see that?

00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.559
 One way is, aren't we just all so forgetful?

00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.519
 Everybody's religious.

00:27:33.819 --> 00:27:37.319
 Everybody's super religious with a vibrant pair of life right before an exam.

00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.460
 Or a job interview.

00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:40.919
 Or when something goes wrong.

00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:44.839
 But after you pass that exam, we don't need God anymore.

00:27:44.980 --> 00:27:46.179
 Or we just boast in ourself.

00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.159
 Hey, look at me.

00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:48.299
 Look at the exam I passed.

00:27:48.379 --> 00:27:49.859
 Look at the career that I worked hard for.

00:27:50.839 --> 00:27:52.479
 And God's thinking, what are you doing?

00:27:52.659 --> 00:27:53.819
 Why are you worshiping a cow?

00:27:55.479 --> 00:27:55.699
 Right?

00:27:55.799 --> 00:28:00.719
 When we think of sin, we often think of things like getting drunk or pornography or lying.

00:28:01.199 --> 00:28:02.259
 And that's all sin.

00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:08.699
 But beneath it, all of that, at the root of sin, comes from a heart that fails to see and savor the God of glory.

00:28:08.699 --> 00:28:10.299
 The God of all these promises.

00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:14.299
 At the core of sin is a mistrust of God and idolatry.

00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:18.779
 It's replacing God and prizing cheap substitutes.

00:28:18.919 --> 00:28:20.700
 Cheap substitutes that we create.

00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:21.700
 A cow even.

00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:24.200
 More than the God of glory.

00:28:24.879 --> 00:28:25.559
 That is sin.

00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:28.200
 And we're so willing in our nature.

00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:30.440
 We're so willing to receive from God.

00:28:31.159 --> 00:28:32.419
 To receive his gifts.

00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:34.000
 But then forget about him.

00:28:34.379 --> 00:28:35.899
 And turn his gifts into idol.

00:28:35.899 --> 00:28:38.759
 All that gold that they took and made into a cow.

00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:40.660
 Those were things.

00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:44.160
 That's the jewelry God made the Egyptians give them.

00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:47.839
 They took his gifts and turned it into an idol.

00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:53.000
 Right?

00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:55.200
 We pray hard.

00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:57.160
 We pray hard for a job.

00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:01.059
 But then next we say, I worked so hard for this.

00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:03.539
 I deserve that trip to Thailand, to Japan.

00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.480
 Sorry, I can't make it now to Life Group.

00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:06.180
 I'm too busy.

00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:07.660
 I can't come on Sunday.

00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:09.960
 Using the gift that God's given us.

00:29:10.860 --> 00:29:12.860
 Or actually we might say, I don't need God.

00:29:12.940 --> 00:29:14.180
 I don't believe in him anyway.

00:29:14.600 --> 00:29:15.720
 How forgetful are we?

00:29:17.560 --> 00:29:22.920
 The greatest commandment God gives us is to love the Lord your God with all your heart,

00:29:23.040 --> 00:29:24.600
 all your soul, your mind and strength.

00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:30.160
 But how many of us are content sitting eight hours at our desk without even a thought of God?

00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.400
 And that happens all the time.

00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:33.220
 That happened to me.

00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:35.080
 Aren't we forgetful?

00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:36.060
 Prone to wander.

00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:38.720
 Think about some of the idols in your life.

00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:42.059
 Because we all fall short of the glory of God.

00:29:43.679 --> 00:29:46.220
 But the Old Testament doesn't just point out our sin.

00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:48.500
 It points out our need for a savior.

00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:52.039
 The Bible makes us look into the darkness.

00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:54.720
 Not just to condemn us and put us in the darkness.

00:29:54.720 --> 00:30:00.900
 But so that when our eyes adjust to it, when the light comes on, it shines even brighter.

00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:03.279
 And that's the point of the Old Testament.

00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:07.819
 So ultimately what gets Stephen killed is in verse 52.

00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:10.920
 And saying that Jesus is the righteous one.

00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:12.259
 Jesus is the righteous one.

00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:14.600
 He's the Messiah promised in the scriptures.

00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:19.680
 He's the fulfillment of all God's promises to save us and take away the sins of the world.

00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:20.799
 But what did you do?

00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.420
 You killed him.

00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:24.080
 You killed him and rejected him.

00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:25.799
 Just as you did with Joseph.

00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:29.720
 Just as you did with Moses and all the prophets who were pointing to him.

00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:31.259
 He's the son of God.

00:30:31.360 --> 00:30:34.580
 And you blasphemed God by killing his only son.

00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:39.019
 We've seen in Stephen's speech, the signpost to Jesus.

00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:41.240
 There was God's promise to Abraham.

00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:47.159
 That Abraham's offspring, through Abraham's offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

00:30:48.159 --> 00:30:51.059
 And that promise found its fulfillment in Jesus.

00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:56.279
 In him, salvation was offered to all nations through his death on the cross.

00:30:57.639 --> 00:30:59.339
 Jesus is also the better Joseph.

00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:02.299
 Just as Joseph was betrayed by his brothers.

00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:07.019
 Jesus was betrayed by his close friend, Judas.

00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:12.720
 Jesus suffered and died on the cross to save those who sinned against him.

00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:15.180
 To save the people who nailed him to the cross.

00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:18.559
 And that was all according to God's sovereign plan.

00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:20.799
 That wasn't an accident.

00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:24.180
 What we meant for evil, God meant for good.

00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:26.819
 The greatest evil ever committed in the world.

00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:28.619
 The murder of God's own son.

00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:30.539
 Was meant for the greatest good.

00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:34.579
 That all who believe in him may be forgiven and have life.

00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:37.359
 Jesus is the better Moses.

00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.799
 He's the one who frees us from slavery and bondage to sin and death.

00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:45.460
 Jesus is the one that Moses was speaking of when he said,

00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.319
 God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.

00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:53.299
 And Jesus is the righteous one in verse 52 that all the prophets were announcing.

00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:57.119
 He's the savior that all the Old Testament was pointing to.

00:31:57.439 --> 00:31:59.500
 That's the whole point of this history lesson.

00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:03.700
 To show our sin, but also to show our savior, the Lord Jesus.

00:32:04.700 --> 00:32:08.720
 There is no other name given under heaven by which we may be saved.

00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:11.940
 So let us not just look at Israel's history.

00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:18.019
 Let's also look at our world with histories of war and conflict and evil committed.

00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:19.779
 And also at our own lives.

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.339
 I could try to do good all I want, but inevitably I will fail.

00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:26.339
 We all need a savior.

00:32:26.339 --> 00:32:33.039
 So today, if you haven't put your faith in Christ today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts.

00:32:33.879 --> 00:32:35.759
 Don't be like the Jews who rejected him.

00:32:35.939 --> 00:32:37.240
 Don't resist the Holy Spirit.

00:32:37.379 --> 00:32:38.439
 Don't be stiff necked.

00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:41.480
 Turn to Jesus today and he will give you life.

00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:46.000
 That's what the Old Testament is pointing to.

00:32:47.699 --> 00:32:52.000
 Now, if you remember, there's also one more accusation you haven't talked about yet.

00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:57.900
 Stephen was accused of blaspheming God, Moses, the law, and lastly, the temple.

00:32:58.500 --> 00:32:58.880
 The temple.

00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:02.599
 Now, to address accusations against the temple, Stephen says,

00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:07.779
 the point of what Stephen is saying is, is that God is bigger and more glorious than you think.

00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:10.119
 You care so much about the temple?

00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:12.240
 Well, you can't confine him to the temple.

00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:13.680
 You can't put God in a box.

00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:17.099
 He's bigger than you think and he can't be served by human hands.

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:21.240
 Stephen says in verse 48, he quotes the Old Testament saying,

00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:24.019
 The most high does not dwell in houses made by hands.

00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:28.559
 As the prophet says, heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

00:33:28.740 --> 00:33:31.359
 What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord?

00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:32.759
 Or what is this place?

00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:33.980
 What is the place of my rest?

00:33:34.460 --> 00:33:36.380
 Did not my hands make all these things?

00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.000
 In other words, Stephen is saying,

00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:43.380
 who do you think God is that you would put him in a box?

00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:45.319
 Who do you think God is?

00:33:45.620 --> 00:33:47.319
 He is the Lord most high.

00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:50.440
 Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:53.880
 You know, we live on one planet, the planet earth,

00:33:54.460 --> 00:33:56.500
 out of eight planets in the solar system,

00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:59.340
 out of hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way.

00:33:59.600 --> 00:34:03.380
 And that's just one out of trillions of galaxies in the observable universe.

00:34:03.980 --> 00:34:06.059
 These numbers don't even make sense to my head.

00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:09.179
 But the Lord says, the Lord most high says,

00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:10.619
 heaven is my throne.

00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:13.340
 The billions of billions of stars,

00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:15.840
 each one of them that could burn you into a crisp

00:34:15.840 --> 00:34:18.119
 if you even got within thousands of kilometers.

00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:21.179
 They all exist to declare the glory of God.

00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:22.539
 They are his throne.

00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:25.480
 And the earth is his footstool.

00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:29.900
 We're just tiny creatures living on his footstool

00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:34.319
 in a tiny speck of an island on his footstool that we call Hong Kong.

00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:37.480
 We're minuscule next to him.

00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:39.580
 We're tiny.

00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:42.900
 The question that we should be asking is,

00:34:43.180 --> 00:34:45.080
 what is man that you are mindful of him

00:34:45.080 --> 00:34:48.660
 and the son of man that you will care for him?

00:34:49.640 --> 00:34:54.019
 Who are we to think that we can confine the God of glory

00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:56.740
 and control him and put him in a box?

00:34:57.680 --> 00:35:00.700
 No, our God is in heaven and he does all that he pleases.

00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:03.919
 Now what does that mean for us?

00:35:04.819 --> 00:35:07.960
 How do we minimize and distract from the glory of God?

00:35:09.339 --> 00:35:14.139
 I think the key to that is a few words in verse 48.

00:35:15.659 --> 00:35:19.460
 The most high does not dwell in houses made by hands.

00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:22.480
 He doesn't dwell in houses made by hands.

00:35:23.339 --> 00:35:24.639
 In verse 41 it says,

00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:29.039
 they made a calf and they were rejoicing in the work of their hands.

00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:31.879
 We minimize God.

00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:36.599
 We confine him when we elevate the work of our hands.

00:35:37.739 --> 00:35:41.279
 God becomes small when we try to make ourselves big

00:35:41.279 --> 00:35:43.139
 and try by our own abilities,

00:35:43.339 --> 00:35:44.119
 our own power,

00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:45.379
 our own righteousness,

00:35:45.839 --> 00:35:46.779
 our own morality,

00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:47.900
 our own ethics.

00:35:47.900 --> 00:35:50.039
 And when we do that,

00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:53.079
 we turn ourselves into this golden calf,

00:35:53.420 --> 00:35:54.460
 worshiping ourselves,

00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:56.440
 the work of our hands,

00:35:56.539 --> 00:35:58.240
 thinking that by our good behavior,

00:35:58.460 --> 00:36:01.619
 we could twist God's arm to do our will to bless us.

00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:04.579
 Do we ever try to earn from him,

00:36:04.680 --> 00:36:05.840
 to bargain with him?

00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:08.860
 God, if you give me this job,

00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:10.519
 I will do X, Y, Z,

00:36:10.619 --> 00:36:11.440
 I will serve you.

00:36:11.820 --> 00:36:15.579
 I will give 10% of my money to you.

00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:18.559
 Or God, I serve on the worship team.

00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:19.739
 I stack chairs.

00:36:20.340 --> 00:36:21.420
 I read the Bible.

00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:22.779
 I've even memorized a lot of it.

00:36:22.860 --> 00:36:23.340
 I pray.

00:36:24.139 --> 00:36:26.380
 That means I've earned my way into the good books,

00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:27.199
 in your good books, right?

00:36:27.279 --> 00:36:29.380
 That means you owe me something, right?

00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:32.880
 Do you ever find yourself with the attitude

00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:37.819
 that I'm doing good and I deserve from God?

00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:40.259
 To that, God says,

00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:41.699
 no.

00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:44.400
 Did not my hand make all these things?

00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:47.760
 Did not my hand make all these things

00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:49.800
 that you claim to earn?

00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:51.760
 Who has given a gift to him

00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:53.039
 that he might be repaid?

00:36:53.260 --> 00:36:55.700
 For from him, through him, to him are all things.

00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:57.480
 To him be the glory forever.

00:36:57.619 --> 00:36:57.880
 Amen.

00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.980
 God won't allow us to put him in a box

00:37:01.980 --> 00:37:04.059
 and think we can twist his arm

00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:06.139
 and earn favor with him

00:37:06.139 --> 00:37:09.000
 through religious duty and ethical morality.

00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:11.340
 And if we think we can,

00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:14.820
 we will rob God of the glory that he's due.

00:37:16.539 --> 00:37:18.400
 And so that's why when Jesus came,

00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:19.519
 that's why they were giving,

00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:21.880
 they were accusing Stephen in the first place.

00:37:21.940 --> 00:37:23.179
 When Jesus came, he said,

00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:25.039
 you destroy this temple,

00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:26.320
 tear this temple down,

00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:28.059
 and in three days,

00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:29.360
 I will build another one,

00:37:29.420 --> 00:37:30.639
 not made with hands.

00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:32.880
 I will build a temple not made with hands.

00:37:33.820 --> 00:37:35.099
 Jesus was saying that

00:37:35.099 --> 00:37:39.160
 he came to destroy this distorted religion

00:37:39.160 --> 00:37:40.579
 that they built around this temple,

00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:43.260
 which was a good thing,

00:37:43.340 --> 00:37:45.220
 but they built this religion around this temple

00:37:45.220 --> 00:37:47.160
 that worships our accomplishments,

00:37:47.539 --> 00:37:49.180
 our works, the works of our hands,

00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:50.160
 our sacrifices,

00:37:50.579 --> 00:37:52.380
 thinking that we could earn our way to God

00:37:52.380 --> 00:37:53.720
 just by offering him things

00:37:53.720 --> 00:37:55.200
 and by doing good behavior.

00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:57.379
 Jesus says,

00:37:57.559 --> 00:37:58.739
 I will tear down that temple

00:37:58.739 --> 00:38:00.739
 and build another one in three days.

00:38:02.279 --> 00:38:03.779
 See, the gospel,

00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:06.019
 what Jesus has done for us,

00:38:06.739 --> 00:38:08.079
 it's the good news of grace,

00:38:08.759 --> 00:38:10.460
 free, unmerited grace.

00:38:11.879 --> 00:38:13.839
 Jesus died to accomplish what we could not,

00:38:13.919 --> 00:38:15.759
 what we couldn't do with our own hands.

00:38:16.579 --> 00:38:18.939
 And so he calls us to trust him,

00:38:19.460 --> 00:38:20.119
 rely on him,

00:38:20.399 --> 00:38:21.619
 put our faith in him alone,

00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:23.480
 not the work of our hands.

00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:26.740
 That's Stephen's response

00:38:26.740 --> 00:38:28.280
 to the accusation of the temple.

00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:29.880
 You can't put God in a box.

00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:31.400
 You can't twist God's arm.

00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:33.260
 For my own glory,

00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:34.480
 I will do it, declares the Lord.

00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:36.300
 He's the God of glory.

00:38:39.320 --> 00:38:41.079
 And when we truly understand

00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:43.619
 that God is this big sovereign God

00:38:43.619 --> 00:38:46.000
 and our salvation is a free gift

00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:47.460
 that we don't earn,

00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:49.119
 it changes everything.

00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:50.760
 It changes everything.

00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:54.660
 It frees us from trying to earn his favor.

00:38:55.980 --> 00:38:56.920
 We can't earn.

00:38:57.160 --> 00:38:58.740
 Who can give a gift to God?

00:38:58.900 --> 00:39:00.340
 It's all the work of his hands.

00:39:01.060 --> 00:39:02.760
 It frees us from trying to earn his favor.

00:39:04.600 --> 00:39:06.520
 But it also compels us

00:39:06.520 --> 00:39:08.420
 to give him everything at the same time.

00:39:09.060 --> 00:39:10.180
 Stephen understood this.

00:39:10.179 --> 00:39:15.599
 He knew that God can't be put in a box.

00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:17.299
 That God is the God of all.

00:39:17.399 --> 00:39:18.440
 And if that is true,

00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:20.179
 then God has a rightful claim

00:39:20.179 --> 00:39:21.559
 on every part of our lives.

00:39:23.339 --> 00:39:24.460
 He is Lord of all.

00:39:24.579 --> 00:39:25.259
 And for Stephen,

00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:27.619
 that understanding had a very real cost.

00:39:28.399 --> 00:39:29.899
 It ends up costing for Stephen

00:39:29.899 --> 00:39:30.460
 everything,

00:39:31.119 --> 00:39:31.879
 even his life.

00:39:33.279 --> 00:39:34.179
 Let's read in verse 54.

00:39:34.179 --> 00:39:54.619
 Just like that,

00:39:55.079 --> 00:39:55.699
 just like that,

00:39:56.239 --> 00:39:57.619
 we have the first Christian martyr,

00:39:57.619 --> 00:40:00.179
 the first Christian to die

00:40:00.179 --> 00:40:01.899
 for his faith in Christ.

00:40:04.219 --> 00:40:05.259
 Stephen knew that

00:40:05.259 --> 00:40:06.919
 you can't put God in a box.

00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:08.659
 And if that is true,

00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:10.699
 then that means that Jesus is Lord

00:40:10.699 --> 00:40:12.859
 and he demands your entire life,

00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:13.519
 all of it.

00:40:14.460 --> 00:40:15.259
 Not just Sundays.

00:40:16.059 --> 00:40:17.500
 Not just our spare time.

00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:19.719
 Not just a quarter of our attention.

00:40:19.879 --> 00:40:20.819
 Not just our scraps.

00:40:21.419 --> 00:40:22.879
 He demands everything.

00:40:24.679 --> 00:40:26.039
 It was Hudson's Taylor that said,

00:40:26.039 --> 00:40:28.679
 Christ is either Lord of all

00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:30.619
 or he is not Lord at all.

00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:32.320
 He is either Lord of all

00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:33.940
 or he is not Lord at all.

00:40:34.699 --> 00:40:36.639
 Is Jesus the Lord of our lives?

00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:39.679
 Is Jesus the Lord of everything in our lives?

00:40:40.340 --> 00:40:42.639
 That means that he's Lord of our relationships.

00:40:43.179 --> 00:40:44.559
 He's Lord of our finances.

00:40:45.420 --> 00:40:47.420
 Lord of our university decisions.

00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:50.159
 Lord, when no one's watching you at home,

00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:51.840
 he's Lord of your time.

00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:54.460
 He's Lord of all.

00:40:54.460 --> 00:40:58.480
 What area of our lives

00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:00.119
 are we holding back

00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:01.679
 from surrendering to him?

00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:04.500
 What areas are we tempted

00:41:04.500 --> 00:41:05.780
 to put God in a box

00:41:05.780 --> 00:41:07.059
 and say you can have everything

00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:07.780
 except for this?

00:41:11.220 --> 00:41:12.619
 Even when we're serving him,

00:41:12.840 --> 00:41:14.099
 he's Lord of all.

00:41:15.019 --> 00:41:17.039
 He can't be boxed up into a corner

00:41:17.039 --> 00:41:17.940
 that we build up

00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:19.500
 by our own hands

00:41:19.500 --> 00:41:20.380
 as a temple for him.

00:41:21.980 --> 00:41:23.679
 You see, the irony of the gospel

00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:26.339
 is that the gospel presents to us

00:41:26.339 --> 00:41:27.179
 a free gift.

00:41:27.619 --> 00:41:29.219
 It's freely given that we can't earn

00:41:29.219 --> 00:41:31.419
 but demands so much more

00:41:31.419 --> 00:41:32.139
 than we imagined.

00:41:33.539 --> 00:41:35.019
 The gospel tells us

00:41:35.019 --> 00:41:36.619
 that we can't work for anything,

00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:39.319
 that we must surrender everything.

00:41:40.179 --> 00:41:41.239
 The gospel tells us

00:41:41.239 --> 00:41:42.839
 that we can't earn our way to God.

00:41:42.840 --> 00:41:44.880
 We're lavished with grace.

00:41:45.579 --> 00:41:46.920
 But it's not a cheap grace.

00:41:47.500 --> 00:41:48.620
 It's a costly grace

00:41:48.620 --> 00:41:49.680
 as Bonhoeffer put it.

00:41:50.380 --> 00:41:51.680
 Costly grace is grace

00:41:51.680 --> 00:41:52.680
 that costs God

00:41:52.680 --> 00:41:53.820
 the life of his son.

00:41:54.440 --> 00:41:55.340
 And costly grace

00:41:55.340 --> 00:41:57.440
 is the treasure hidden in the field.

00:41:57.539 --> 00:41:58.460
 When we see Jesus,

00:41:58.600 --> 00:41:59.980
 when we see his worth,

00:42:01.079 --> 00:42:02.720
 he is the treasure hidden in the field.

00:42:02.860 --> 00:42:03.660
 For the sake of it,

00:42:03.880 --> 00:42:05.559
 a man will go in his joy,

00:42:05.700 --> 00:42:06.680
 sell all he has,

00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:07.760
 and buy that field.

00:42:07.840 --> 00:42:08.820
 He will give up everything

00:42:08.820 --> 00:42:09.860
 because it's worth it.

00:42:09.860 --> 00:42:13.740
 As Dallas Willard put it,

00:42:14.420 --> 00:42:16.039
 grace is not opposed to effort.

00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:18.240
 It's opposed to earning.

00:42:19.380 --> 00:42:20.320
 Grace doesn't mean

00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:21.099
 that we don't work.

00:42:22.220 --> 00:42:23.000
 It just means that

00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:23.680
 we don't work

00:42:23.680 --> 00:42:24.940
 to earn anything from God.

00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:27.599
 Those who are controlled by grace

00:42:27.599 --> 00:42:28.360
 instead say,

00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:30.500
 I worked harder than any of them,

00:42:30.660 --> 00:42:31.760
 though it was not I,

00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:33.200
 but the grace of God

00:42:33.200 --> 00:42:33.820
 that is in me.

00:42:35.340 --> 00:42:36.800
 So what's the most dangerous thing

00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:37.599
 a Christian can do?

00:42:38.960 --> 00:42:39.820
 Follow Jesus.

00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:41.559
 To accept this free gift.

00:42:42.500 --> 00:42:43.480
 Because when we do that,

00:42:43.700 --> 00:42:45.320
 Jesus bids us come and die

00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:46.480
 and find our life in him.

00:42:48.620 --> 00:42:49.380
 Following Jesus

00:42:49.380 --> 00:42:50.480
 costs Stephen his life.

00:42:51.240 --> 00:42:52.079
 And following Jesus

00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:53.200
 will cost yours.

00:42:53.740 --> 00:42:54.820
 Maybe not in martyrdom.

00:42:54.920 --> 00:42:55.880
 Maybe you won't be stoned

00:42:55.880 --> 00:42:57.019
 to death,

00:42:57.680 --> 00:42:58.599
 being killed like Stephen.

00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:00.620
 But following Jesus

00:43:00.620 --> 00:43:01.680
 requires us

00:43:01.680 --> 00:43:02.700
 we deny ourselves,

00:43:03.160 --> 00:43:04.180
 pick up our cross,

00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:05.360
 and follow him.

00:43:06.460 --> 00:43:08.160
 What area of our lives

00:43:08.159 --> 00:43:09.579
 are we holding back

00:43:09.579 --> 00:43:10.059
 from Jesus

00:43:10.059 --> 00:43:10.879
 that we're not willing

00:43:10.879 --> 00:43:11.359
 to surrender,

00:43:11.500 --> 00:43:12.440
 that we're just trying

00:43:12.440 --> 00:43:13.579
 to box up and hold back.

00:43:16.539 --> 00:43:17.339
 Now suppose

00:43:17.339 --> 00:43:18.779
 you do want to follow Jesus.

00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:20.460
 You want to give him everything.

00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:21.719
 What are some ways

00:43:21.719 --> 00:43:22.420
 we can do that?

00:43:23.019 --> 00:43:23.699
 Really quick,

00:43:23.779 --> 00:43:24.399
 there are three things

00:43:24.399 --> 00:43:24.940
 that we can learn

00:43:24.940 --> 00:43:25.460
 from Stephen.

00:43:25.719 --> 00:43:27.019
 Three ways that Stephen

00:43:27.019 --> 00:43:28.440
 endures and gives up

00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:28.899
 his life.

00:43:30.259 --> 00:43:30.859
 Number one,

00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:33.279
 hold the glory of God

00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:34.120
 in the face

00:43:34.120 --> 00:43:35.080
 of Jesus Christ.

00:43:35.900 --> 00:43:36.960
 To follow Jesus,

00:43:37.080 --> 00:43:38.019
 we need to see

00:43:38.019 --> 00:43:38.900
 the glory of God

00:43:38.900 --> 00:43:39.500
 through Jesus.

00:43:41.240 --> 00:43:42.340
 In verse 55,

00:43:42.900 --> 00:43:43.720
 Stephen gazed

00:43:43.720 --> 00:43:44.360
 into heaven

00:43:44.360 --> 00:43:45.540
 and saw the glory

00:43:45.540 --> 00:43:45.920
 of God

00:43:45.920 --> 00:43:46.760
 and Jesus standing

00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:47.420
 at the right hand

00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:47.800
 of God.

00:43:49.100 --> 00:43:49.980
 How do we find

00:43:49.980 --> 00:43:50.440
 the strength

00:43:50.440 --> 00:43:51.300
 and resolve

00:43:51.300 --> 00:43:52.080
 to follow Jesus

00:43:52.080 --> 00:43:52.980
 even at the cost

00:43:52.980 --> 00:43:53.440
 of our lives?

00:43:54.460 --> 00:43:55.440
 I don't have

00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:56.100
 enough goodness

00:43:56.100 --> 00:43:56.700
 in my heart

00:43:56.700 --> 00:43:57.120
 to do that.

00:43:57.240 --> 00:43:58.019
 I don't have

00:43:58.019 --> 00:43:58.620
 enough goodness

00:43:58.620 --> 00:43:59.120
 in my heart

00:43:59.120 --> 00:44:00.019
 to give up my life.

00:44:01.120 --> 00:44:01.800
 That strength

00:44:01.800 --> 00:44:02.640
 only comes

00:44:02.640 --> 00:44:03.220
 from seeing

00:44:03.220 --> 00:44:03.840
 and savoring

00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:05.039
 the glory of God

00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:05.560
 through Jesus.

00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:07.980
 How do we do that?

00:44:08.240 --> 00:44:08.620
 Well, Stephen

00:44:08.620 --> 00:44:09.400
 looked into heaven

00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:09.900
 and he saw

00:44:09.900 --> 00:44:10.580
 the glory of God.

00:44:10.760 --> 00:44:11.840
 We can't always do that.

00:44:11.900 --> 00:44:12.380
 That's not something

00:44:12.380 --> 00:44:13.300
 I can do every day.

00:44:14.500 --> 00:44:15.500
 But before Stephen

00:44:15.500 --> 00:44:16.300
 looked up in heaven,

00:44:16.460 --> 00:44:17.120
 he looked down

00:44:17.120 --> 00:44:18.200
 and opened up

00:44:18.200 --> 00:44:18.640
 the scriptures.

00:44:19.539 --> 00:44:20.400
 He opened up

00:44:20.400 --> 00:44:20.780
 the Bible.

00:44:20.900 --> 00:44:21.320
 That's something

00:44:21.320 --> 00:44:22.240
 we can do every day.

00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:23.820
 That's where he saw

00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:24.740
 the glory of Christ.

00:44:25.200 --> 00:44:25.940
 Stephen showed us

00:44:25.940 --> 00:44:26.400
 in his speech

00:44:26.400 --> 00:44:27.420
 that all the scriptures

00:44:27.420 --> 00:44:28.140
 are about Jesus,

00:44:28.620 --> 00:44:29.460
 even the Old Testament.

00:44:29.980 --> 00:44:30.660
 And sometimes

00:44:30.660 --> 00:44:31.220
 the Old Testament

00:44:31.219 --> 00:44:32.139
 can seem distant

00:44:32.139 --> 00:44:33.459
 or be hard to understand.

00:44:33.779 --> 00:44:34.939
 But Stephen points us,

00:44:35.399 --> 00:44:36.059
 he tells us that

00:44:36.059 --> 00:44:37.119
 the point of all of it

00:44:37.119 --> 00:44:38.119
 is to roll out

00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:38.839
 this red carpet

00:44:38.839 --> 00:44:39.980
 for Jesus' arrival.

00:44:40.899 --> 00:44:41.480
 So when we read

00:44:41.480 --> 00:44:41.839
 the Bible,

00:44:41.959 --> 00:44:43.039
 look for Jesus in it.

00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:44.779
 Stephen showed us

00:44:44.779 --> 00:44:45.239
 some ways.

00:44:45.500 --> 00:44:45.899
 When we read

00:44:45.899 --> 00:44:46.419
 the Old Testament,

00:44:46.899 --> 00:44:47.379
 we can see

00:44:47.379 --> 00:44:48.779
 it shows our sin

00:44:48.779 --> 00:44:49.279
 and our need

00:44:49.279 --> 00:44:49.799
 for a savior.

00:44:50.419 --> 00:44:51.319
 It shows our sin,

00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:52.819
 our helplessness,

00:44:53.199 --> 00:44:53.719
 and our need

00:44:53.719 --> 00:44:54.219
 for a savior.

00:44:56.559 --> 00:44:57.639
 It shows us darkness

00:44:57.639 --> 00:44:58.659
 so that the light

00:44:58.659 --> 00:44:59.579
 is brighter.

00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:01.579
 So we can see that.

00:45:01.980 --> 00:45:02.880
 And also we can look

00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:03.440
 in the Old Testament

00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:04.420
 for God's promise

00:45:04.420 --> 00:45:05.400
 of salvation.

00:45:06.259 --> 00:45:07.119
 That God is faithful

00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:07.819
 to his promises,

00:45:08.079 --> 00:45:09.000
 even to those

00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:09.819
 who don't deserve it.

00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:11.139
 That's what Stephen

00:45:11.139 --> 00:45:12.380
 demonstrated in his speech.

00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:13.579
 He's faithful

00:45:13.579 --> 00:45:14.119
 to his promises.

00:45:14.299 --> 00:45:14.980
 He's so good

00:45:14.980 --> 00:45:16.159
 to those who don't

00:45:16.159 --> 00:45:16.699
 deserve it,

00:45:16.940 --> 00:45:17.960
 ultimately through Jesus.

00:45:19.759 --> 00:45:20.579
 So we can see

00:45:20.579 --> 00:45:21.619
 his glory through the Bible.

00:45:21.759 --> 00:45:22.199
 Number two,

00:45:22.460 --> 00:45:23.099
 to follow Jesus,

00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:24.960
 let us be filled

00:45:24.960 --> 00:45:25.699
 with the Spirit.

00:45:26.420 --> 00:45:27.319
 Verse 55 says

00:45:27.320 --> 00:45:28.400
 that Stephen was full

00:45:28.400 --> 00:45:29.180
 of the Holy Spirit.

00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:30.940
 And that's how he saw

00:45:30.940 --> 00:45:31.720
 the glory of God.

00:45:31.980 --> 00:45:32.900
 We can't savor

00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:33.380
 and treasure

00:45:33.380 --> 00:45:34.519
 the glory of God

00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:35.500
 without the Holy Spirit.

00:45:35.620 --> 00:45:36.539
 We can't open up

00:45:36.539 --> 00:45:36.960
 the Bible

00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:38.180
 and see his glory

00:45:38.180 --> 00:45:39.059
 without the Holy Spirit.

00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:40.760
 So let's pray

00:45:40.760 --> 00:45:41.960
 and ask the Spirit,

00:45:42.420 --> 00:45:43.500
 ask the Spirit

00:45:43.500 --> 00:45:44.380
 to show us

00:45:44.380 --> 00:45:45.559
 who God is.

00:45:46.039 --> 00:45:46.860
 And when we live

00:45:46.860 --> 00:45:47.340
 and serve,

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:48.100
 let's not do it

00:45:48.100 --> 00:45:48.900
 by our own strength,

00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:49.960
 but rely

00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:50.940
 on the Holy Spirit.

00:45:52.940 --> 00:45:53.840
 And number three,

00:45:54.720 --> 00:45:55.660
 we can just follow

00:45:55.659 --> 00:45:56.399
 Christ's example

00:45:56.399 --> 00:45:56.899
 of faith.

00:45:57.879 --> 00:45:58.559
 We call Stephen

00:45:58.559 --> 00:45:59.179
 the first martyr,

00:45:59.279 --> 00:46:00.299
 but he wasn't really

00:46:00.299 --> 00:46:01.239
 the first Christian

00:46:01.239 --> 00:46:01.619
 to die.

00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:02.659
 He was simply

00:46:02.659 --> 00:46:03.399
 following Jesus.

00:46:04.359 --> 00:46:04.879
 Stephen wasn't

00:46:04.879 --> 00:46:05.699
 the first to be accused

00:46:05.699 --> 00:46:06.319
 of blasphemy,

00:46:06.539 --> 00:46:06.960
 of destroying

00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:07.619
 and dishonoring

00:46:07.619 --> 00:46:07.980
 the temple.

00:46:08.359 --> 00:46:09.319
 He wasn't the first

00:46:09.319 --> 00:46:10.199
 to be full of the Spirit,

00:46:10.639 --> 00:46:11.579
 seeing the glory of God.

00:46:11.920 --> 00:46:12.719
 He wasn't the first

00:46:12.719 --> 00:46:13.039
 to say,

00:46:13.179 --> 00:46:13.379
 Father,

00:46:13.480 --> 00:46:14.059
 into your hands

00:46:14.059 --> 00:46:14.920
 I commit my spirit.

00:46:15.599 --> 00:46:16.279
 Or Father,

00:46:16.399 --> 00:46:16.879
 forgive them,

00:46:16.980 --> 00:46:17.480
 for I know not

00:46:17.480 --> 00:46:18.059
 what they are doing.

00:46:18.940 --> 00:46:19.819
 Stephen was free

00:46:19.819 --> 00:46:21.179
 to let go of his life

00:46:21.179 --> 00:46:22.279
 because his Lord

00:46:22.279 --> 00:46:23.159
 laid his life down

00:46:23.159 --> 00:46:23.579
 for him.

00:46:24.480 --> 00:46:24.799
 Remember,

00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:26.360
 sin is a mistrust

00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:26.740
 of God,

00:46:26.860 --> 00:46:27.780
 believing the lie

00:46:27.780 --> 00:46:28.560
 behind the idols.

00:46:29.120 --> 00:46:29.220
 Well,

00:46:29.280 --> 00:46:30.180
 Jesus went to the cross

00:46:30.180 --> 00:46:31.260
 with full confidence

00:46:31.260 --> 00:46:32.200
 in his Father,

00:46:32.539 --> 00:46:33.140
 full belief

00:46:33.140 --> 00:46:33.800
 that laying down

00:46:33.800 --> 00:46:34.780
 his life was worth it.

00:46:35.380 --> 00:46:36.100
 For the joy

00:46:36.100 --> 00:46:37.140
 that was set before him,

00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:38.400
 he endured the cross,

00:46:39.260 --> 00:46:40.180
 despising the shame,

00:46:41.019 --> 00:46:41.620
 seated at the right

00:46:41.620 --> 00:46:42.220
 hand of God.

00:46:43.460 --> 00:46:44.039
 Following Jesus

00:46:44.039 --> 00:46:45.000
 comes at a cost.

00:46:45.140 --> 00:46:46.080
 It'll cost our time,

00:46:46.480 --> 00:46:46.980
 our money,

00:46:47.600 --> 00:46:48.120
 everything,

00:46:48.560 --> 00:46:49.600
 but it is worth it

00:46:49.600 --> 00:46:50.880
 because we get

00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:51.620
 to know Jesus.

00:46:52.320 --> 00:46:53.180
 Great is your reward

00:46:53.180 --> 00:46:53.539
 in heaven.

00:46:53.539 --> 00:46:56.219
 And so we covered

00:46:56.219 --> 00:46:56.820
 a lot today,

00:46:57.139 --> 00:46:58.400
 2,000 years of history.

00:46:59.119 --> 00:46:59.480
 Abraham,

00:47:00.059 --> 00:47:00.440
 Joseph,

00:47:00.900 --> 00:47:01.179
 Moses,

00:47:01.400 --> 00:47:01.880
 the prophets,

00:47:02.139 --> 00:47:03.320
 ultimately all pointing

00:47:03.320 --> 00:47:03.860
 to Jesus

00:47:03.860 --> 00:47:05.559
 and it can feel like a lot.

00:47:06.920 --> 00:47:07.779
 But if you forget

00:47:07.779 --> 00:47:08.619
 everything else,

00:47:08.739 --> 00:47:09.340
 remember this.

00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:11.360
 The speech that got

00:47:11.360 --> 00:47:12.019
 Stephen killed,

00:47:12.119 --> 00:47:13.679
 this whole history lesson,

00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:14.820
 the entire point

00:47:14.820 --> 00:47:15.900
 of the Old Testament,

00:47:16.219 --> 00:47:17.420
 the point of this church,

00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:19.380
 it's all about one thing.

00:47:20.340 --> 00:47:21.259
 Long story short,

00:47:21.360 --> 00:47:22.880
 it's all about Jesus.

00:47:22.880 --> 00:47:24.519
 It's all about him.

00:47:25.200 --> 00:47:26.320
 And the question for us

00:47:26.320 --> 00:47:27.059
 then is simple.

00:47:28.420 --> 00:47:29.619
 Is our life

00:47:29.619 --> 00:47:31.360
 all about Jesus?

00:47:33.500 --> 00:47:35.980
 Is our life

00:47:35.980 --> 00:47:36.920
 all about Jesus?

00:47:38.820 --> 00:47:39.820
 Don't reject him.

00:47:40.500 --> 00:47:41.820
 Don't put him in a box.

00:47:42.700 --> 00:47:43.559
 Show in your life

00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:45.000
 that he is Lord of all.

00:47:45.380 --> 00:47:46.400
 That's what Stephen did

00:47:46.400 --> 00:47:48.720
 down to his very last breath.

00:47:49.639 --> 00:47:50.500
 Can we do the same?

00:47:51.039 --> 00:47:52.000
 Can we do the same church?

00:47:52.500 --> 00:47:53.059
 Let's pray.

00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:04.980
 God of glory,

00:48:06.039 --> 00:48:07.459
 we seek your face.

00:48:07.460 --> 00:48:08.019
 God of glory,

00:48:08.019 --> 00:48:10.139
 we confess.

00:48:11.340 --> 00:48:12.599
 We've sinned against you.

00:48:12.679 --> 00:48:13.659
 We can do nothing

00:48:13.659 --> 00:48:14.780
 on our own.

00:48:15.199 --> 00:48:16.220
 We have turned aside,

00:48:17.380 --> 00:48:18.099
 bowled against you.

00:48:19.380 --> 00:48:20.340
 We thank you

00:48:20.340 --> 00:48:21.900
 that time and time again,

00:48:22.159 --> 00:48:23.679
 you've shown us

00:48:23.679 --> 00:48:24.220
 your goodness.

00:48:24.619 --> 00:48:25.340
 All my life,

00:48:25.420 --> 00:48:26.119
 you have been faithful.

00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:28.400
 And throughout all of history,

00:48:28.500 --> 00:48:29.139
 you have been faithful.

00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:30.079
 And you are faithful

00:48:30.079 --> 00:48:30.860
 to your promise,

00:48:32.360 --> 00:48:33.220
 fulfilled in Jesus.

00:48:33.219 --> 00:48:36.359
 And so we trust in him.

00:48:37.500 --> 00:48:38.659
 Lord, we pray,

00:48:39.139 --> 00:48:40.179
 fill us with your spirit

00:48:40.179 --> 00:48:42.099
 that we can see your face

00:48:42.099 --> 00:48:44.000
 and cling to him

00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:45.179
 and serve you,

00:48:46.099 --> 00:48:47.519
 follow you with all our lives,

00:48:47.579 --> 00:48:48.559
 not just a part of it.

00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:51.980
 We want you.

00:48:54.059 --> 00:48:54.739
 Help us.

00:48:55.359 --> 00:48:56.819
 In Jesus' name, amen.

00:48:56.820 --> 00:48:56.940
 Amen.

00:49:04.380 --> 00:49:05.760
 Verse 35, it says,

00:49:05.960 --> 00:49:07.000
 full of the Holy Spirit,

00:49:07.120 --> 00:49:08.380
 he gazed into heaven

00:49:08.380 --> 00:49:10.140
 and saw the glory of God

00:49:10.140 --> 00:49:11.880
 and Jesus standing

00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:14.519
 at the right hand of God.

00:49:20.440 --> 00:49:22.840
 Lord, as we wrap up today,

00:49:23.620 --> 00:49:25.700
 we read in this first instance

00:49:25.699 --> 00:49:27.359
 where you're not just seated

00:49:27.359 --> 00:49:28.419
 at the right hand of God,

00:49:28.500 --> 00:49:28.939
 that in fact,

00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:29.679
 you are standing

00:49:29.679 --> 00:49:31.079
 at the right hand of God.

00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:32.179
 And this is the only occasion

00:49:32.179 --> 00:49:32.819
 that we've seen

00:49:32.819 --> 00:49:34.219
 the standing ovation

00:49:34.219 --> 00:49:35.439
 of you yourself, Jesus.

00:49:36.619 --> 00:49:37.879
 Lord, as we live this life,

00:49:37.939 --> 00:49:39.079
 as we go on from this day,

00:49:39.139 --> 00:49:40.519
 as we seek the approval

00:49:40.519 --> 00:49:41.980
 of our partners,

00:49:42.099 --> 00:49:42.619
 of our friends,

00:49:42.699 --> 00:49:43.659
 of our bosses,

00:49:43.799 --> 00:49:44.359
 our CEOs,

00:49:44.579 --> 00:49:45.480
 our parents,

00:49:46.899 --> 00:49:47.619
 Lord, remind us

00:49:47.619 --> 00:49:48.500
 to be like Stephen

00:49:48.500 --> 00:49:49.839
 who put his hand up

00:49:49.839 --> 00:49:50.119
 to say,

00:49:50.199 --> 00:49:51.279
 hey, I'm here to serve.

00:49:51.779 --> 00:49:52.259
 I'm here to be

00:49:52.259 --> 00:49:53.059
 the first deacon

00:49:53.059 --> 00:49:54.419
 thinking he's going to give

00:49:54.419 --> 00:49:55.279
 this life to you

00:49:55.280 --> 00:49:55.980
 to serve you.

00:49:56.680 --> 00:49:57.260
 Little did he know

00:49:57.260 --> 00:49:58.380
 that he would be standing

00:49:58.380 --> 00:49:59.980
 in your very steps

00:49:59.980 --> 00:50:00.960
 looking at you,

00:50:01.640 --> 00:50:03.019
 getting the standing ovation

00:50:03.019 --> 00:50:04.440
 from Jesus Christ himself.

00:50:05.300 --> 00:50:06.560
 The moment that people

00:50:06.560 --> 00:50:07.400
 were stoning him,

00:50:07.460 --> 00:50:08.500
 he saw only you.

00:50:09.480 --> 00:50:09.780
 So Lord,

00:50:09.820 --> 00:50:10.720
 let us not live

00:50:10.720 --> 00:50:11.860
 for the standing ovation

00:50:11.860 --> 00:50:12.980
 of anyone else but you.

00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:15.500
 And Lord,

00:50:15.580 --> 00:50:16.160
 you standing

00:50:16.160 --> 00:50:16.880
 and you seated

00:50:16.880 --> 00:50:18.320
 at the right hand of God

00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:19.440
 just means that you are alive

00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:19.720
 and well,

00:50:19.780 --> 00:50:21.080
 that you are our advocate,

00:50:21.900 --> 00:50:23.320
 that as we are praying to you

00:50:23.320 --> 00:50:24.000
 right this moment

00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:24.619
 from the gathering

00:50:24.619 --> 00:50:25.119
 and admiralty,

00:50:25.179 --> 00:50:27.039
 that you are praying for us,

00:50:27.099 --> 00:50:29.099
 you are interceding for us.

00:50:29.800 --> 00:50:30.159
 And Lord,

00:50:30.219 --> 00:50:31.719
 if we truly could hear that

00:50:31.719 --> 00:50:32.400
 and see that,

00:50:33.300 --> 00:50:33.440
 Lord,

00:50:33.460 --> 00:50:33.880
 there's nothing

00:50:33.880 --> 00:50:34.900
 that we need to be afraid of,

00:50:34.940 --> 00:50:35.440
 there's nothing

00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:36.699
 that we need to be anxious of.

00:50:36.900 --> 00:50:38.199
 We have complete freedom.

00:50:38.800 --> 00:50:39.960
 We have complete fullness

00:50:39.960 --> 00:50:40.460
 of joy,

00:50:40.519 --> 00:50:40.940
 of peace,

00:50:41.019 --> 00:50:42.239
 knowing that you are faithful

00:50:42.239 --> 00:50:43.460
 and that, Lord,

00:50:43.519 --> 00:50:44.079
 that this church

00:50:44.079 --> 00:50:45.860
 was not built yesterday,

00:50:46.019 --> 00:50:46.199
 Lord,

00:50:46.219 --> 00:50:46.739
 it was built

00:50:46.739 --> 00:50:48.739
 from before the foundations

00:50:48.739 --> 00:50:49.239
 of the earth.

00:50:49.300 --> 00:50:50.000
 So we thank you.

00:50:50.400 --> 00:50:50.920
 We pray, Lord,

00:50:50.920 --> 00:50:52.000
 that as we go from this place

00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:53.200
 that we have the heart of Stephen,

00:50:54.019 --> 00:50:54.820
 here to serve,

00:50:55.659 --> 00:50:57.680
 here to die to self,

00:50:58.360 --> 00:50:59.300
 living for you,

00:50:59.420 --> 00:51:00.800
 living for your standing ovation,

00:51:00.980 --> 00:51:01.159
 Lord,

00:51:01.220 --> 00:51:02.139
 in Jesus' mighty,

00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:03.000
 mighty name we pray.

00:51:03.300 --> 00:51:03.619
 Amen.