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Howdy Mars Hill church
and our extended family

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of Mars Hill Global.

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Pastor Sutton here
and I'm really, really thankful

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that you have decided to join us
for our Global services today.

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Our Global services
broadcast all over the world

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based on your time zone
so that you can see

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all that Jesus is doing
at our local church.

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Let me first say, you should be
a part of a local church.

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Fellowship and community
is super important.

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So not only are you attending,

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but you're giving
to your local church.

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Above and beyond that
we want you to be a part

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of the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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Jesus is doing some crazy
awesome things through Mars Hill

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and we want you
to be a part of that,

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not only with your prayers,
but with your gifts,

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sowing above and beyond
offering to Mars Hill Global.

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So welcome
to the Global services

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and thank you
for joining us.

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[music]

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You will receive power!

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You will receive power!

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You will receive power!

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Alright, close your eyes.

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Close your eyes and envision
yourself late at night,

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long road trip.

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Very dark, remote area.

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You're tired, you're hungry, you
still got quite a ways to go,

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and your car starts
giving you trouble.

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Eventually you lose power, pull
over to the side of the road,

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and it's dark.

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And you're hoping, anticipating

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that someone's
going to drive by,

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pick you up,
take you to the next town

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a few miles down the road.

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You wait what seems
like a very long time.

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Car won't turn over,
you're getting cold,

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a little frustrated,
impatient.

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You decide,
"I'll throw my coat on

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and walk the few miles
into town."

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You start walking.

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Pretty soon you can't
see your car behind you,

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you can't see anything
in front of you.

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You're walking along
the shoulder of the road

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trying to stay close
to the white line.

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And then you hear this.

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[wolf howling]

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OK, open your eyes.

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OK, you laughed
because you're not there,

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but hypothetically--

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hypothetically, you're there.

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What do you do?

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What do you--

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"Run," says the dead person
in the third row.

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Because what did
we just hear?

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A wolf.
A wolf.

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What do you do
when a wolf comes?

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What do you do when
a pack of wolves comes?

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What do you do when
a howl is responded to

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with a series of howls,
and they're around you?

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What direction do you go?

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I'm not suggesting
you watch it.

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It's got a deplorable view of
God, but did you see the movie,

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"The Grey"?

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Guy's plane crashes,
and the wolves encircle them,

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and one by one, devour them.

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One of the story lines
of the Bible is that God

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is a Good Shepherd.

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Jesus says he's
the Good Shepherd.

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That the church is
a flock of sheep.

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That you all are like sheep.

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Some of you say,
"I'm tough."

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For a sheep,
maybe you're tough.

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But if I change the story
to you're walking alone

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late at night and you see
a flock of sheep,

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you would pet them.

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They're not terrifying.

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That God is good a shepherd,
that Christians are like sheep,

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that the church is like a pen
where we have some protection

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together, that pastors
and other leaders

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are supposed to be shepherds,

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and that conversely,
there are wolves,

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and they run in packs,
and they devour flocks,

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and they attack shepherds.

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It's in the Old Testament,
the teachings of Jesus,

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and the New Testament.

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And we're in
the book of Acts.

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We started this book
a few years ago

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and we take a chunk
every year after Easter,

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and we go through
the book in the order that

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the Holy Spirit chose
for it to be written.

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And today, in God's providence,
we find ourselves in

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Acts 6:8 through Acts 8:3.

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Empowered by the Spirit
to face wolves.

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What's happened is that
the Lord Jesus has come

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for his flock
as the Good Shepherd.

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As he promised, he laid down his
life as the Good Shepherd

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for his flock.

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That the wolves surrounded
him, that they attacked him,

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that they crucified him,

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and he laid down his life
for the sheep.

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After his resurrection,
he commissioned his leaders

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to be shepherds,
to care for his people.

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He ascended back into heaven,
and we saw Christianity early

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in the book of Acts exploding
and expanding,

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and lots of people
became the people of God.

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And so the flock is growing,
the church is growing,

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the number of shepherds
is increasing.

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One of them who is
appointed is named Stephen.

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And now today, we see that
the wolves are coming,

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that they are fast approaching,
that they are planning

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and plotting, that they
soon will be attacking.

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And so we pick up the story
in Acts 6:8-15,

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and herein,
we meet the wolves.

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"And Stephen"--this man who was
just appointed to leadership

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earlier in the chapter--
"full of grace and power"--

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that's Luke's language
for the Holy Spirit.

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The third member of the Trinity
who empowered the life of Jesus

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empowers the life
of Jesus' people.

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And so here, the Holy Spirit
is in and through Stephen

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in a supernatural way.

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He's a natural man with
a supernatural enablement.

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He's like you,
and he's like me.

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He's just a regular guy until
the Holy Spirit fills him,

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and he yields and submits
himself to the person,

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the presence, and the power
of the Holy Spirit.

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And the great wonders and signs
are done, people are healed,

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the Bible is taught,
people become Christians,

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demons are cast out--some of
the things that I've seen in my

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tenure here at Mars Hill Church
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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"Then some of those who belong
to the synagogue of the Freedmen

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(as it was called)"--

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these are people who
were slaves and then freed,

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and they apparently
had made their own synagogue.

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What you're going to see
here are a bunch of packs.

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Here come the wolves.

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Each pack has its alpha.

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It has its male leader,

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the strong one who in every way
leads the pack.

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And now all of the alphas are
leading all of the packs to

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encircle Stephen, the shepherd,
and they're going to attack him.

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"Then some of those who belonged
to the synagogue of the Freedmen

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(as it was called)"--
there's a pack--

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"and of the Cyrenians"--
another pack--

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"and of the Alexandrians"--
another pack--

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"and of those from Cilicia"--
another pack--

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"and Asia"--more packs--

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"rose up"--
with their alphas--

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"and disputed with Stephen."

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The alphas are going
after the shepherd.

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"But they could not withstand
the wisdom and the Spirit

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by which he was speaking."

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That's the Holy Spirit.

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"Then they secretly
instigated men who said,

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"'We have heard him speaking
blasphemous words

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"'against Moses and God.'

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

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More packs, more alphas,

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more packs,
more alphas.

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"And they came upon him and
seized him and brought him

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before the council."

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They're attacking him.

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"And they set up
false witnesses."

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You're not supposed
to bear false witness.

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Here, they're violating
one of the Ten Commandments.

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"They set up false
witnesses who said, quote,

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"'This man never ceases
to speak words against

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this holy place'"--
the temple--

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"'and the law'"--
the Bible--

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"'for we have heard him say'"--

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they never heard this.

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Not like this.

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"'That this Jesus of Nazareth
will destroy this place

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"'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

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was like the face of an angel."

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The goal is very simple.

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Discredit the minister,
and destroy this ministry.

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That's it.

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This is always
Satan's plot and plan.

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And here, those idyllic early
days of the early church,

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the good old days when all we
did was eat meals together,

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and study the Bible,
and baptize the new believers,

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those days are in
the rearview mirror.

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And now the opposition,
the ostracism, it has come.

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The packs have found their way
to the door of the church, and

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the alphas have devised their
plan to take down the shepherd.

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Oftentimes, Christianity
is presented as just

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a self-help scheme for you.

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Today, I want you to care
about the whole church.

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Not just our church,
every church that loves Jesus

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and believes the Bible--

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every flock that is
under our Good Shepherd.

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Here come the packs,
here come the alphas,

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here come the wolves,

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and they start by seeking
to discredit Stephen.

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They bring charges against
him that don't hold up.

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They argue with him but they
can't win the argument because

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he's filled with the Holy Spirit
and he speaks words

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of truth and wisdom.

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They lose their public relations
attempt to cause him

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to be discredited.

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He defends himself,
and he holds his ground.

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So, they're not done.

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They then turn to false
witnesses and false charges.

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They make things up that he
didn't say, or they take things

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that he said and they say them
in ways that he didn't intend.

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They're doing the same thing
to Stephen that they did

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to the Lord Jesus.

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These are the same kinds
of people.

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The alphas surrounded
the Lord Jesus.

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Their packs
came to attack him.

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It started by arguing with him.

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When they lost the arguments,
then it was instigating him.

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And when they couldn't
win the fight,

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then it was false accusations
against him by false witnesses.

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And in the middle of it all,
Stephen, like the Lord Jesus,

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is maintaining his integrity.

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He's serving for God's glory,
and it says that his face

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was like the face of an angel.

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He wasn't angry, he wasn't
vengeful, he wasn't defensive,

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he wasn't accusatory
or derogatory.

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And they're not done.

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And this organized
attack continues.

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The bloodthirst of the wolves
will not be satiated.

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And I've wrestled preparing for
this section of Acts wondering,

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"Lord, should I
take it all at once

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"since it's a unit of thought,
or should I break it down

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because it's
so incredibly long?"

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I've chosen to deal with
the entire narrative

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so that we could see it
all in context.

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And this may be
Stephen's first sermon.

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It is assuredly his last sermon.

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He has just officially entered
into a leadership position in

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the church, and he is now going
to preach his own funeral.

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He's going to preach
his own funeral.

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One thing that I've
asked the Lord is,

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"Let me preach Grace's
funeral and my funeral.

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"Let me take care of my best
friend all the days of her life

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"and when my run is done,
I hope in many years,

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let me preach my own funeral."

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I tend to do that on video.

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I'll just tell you
that right now.

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And I will make sure that
there is a gospel invitation

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at my funeral.

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I will make sure of that.

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Stephen gets the great dignity
and honor in the sight of God

248
00:13:52,917 --> 00:13:56,167
to preach his own funeral,
and it's a long sermon.

249
00:13:56,208 --> 00:13:58,333
Oftentimes when we get
a sermon in the Bible,

250
00:13:58,417 --> 00:14:00,333
it's a snippet or a summary.

251
00:14:00,375 --> 00:14:03,667
This is actually an extended,
maybe an exhaustive transcript

252
00:14:03,708 --> 00:14:05,542
of what he had to say.

253
00:14:05,625 --> 00:14:10,167
So, since these are
Stephen's final words,

254
00:14:10,208 --> 00:14:16,958
this is his funeral sermon, out
of honor and respect for him,

255
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,042
I'm going to ask you to stand.

256
00:14:19,125 --> 00:14:20,833
All of you.

257
00:14:20,917 --> 00:14:23,750
And we're going to read
his sermon together.

258
00:14:23,833 --> 00:14:25,333
I will read it to you.

259
00:14:25,417 --> 00:14:28,333
If you've got your Bible,
feel free to follow along.

260
00:14:28,417 --> 00:14:30,333
Paul says to a young pastor,

261
00:14:30,417 --> 00:14:32,833
"Devote yourself to the public
reading of Scripture,"

262
00:14:32,917 --> 00:14:35,333
so we'll do that now
because faith comes

263
00:14:35,417 --> 00:14:37,833
by hearing the word of God.

264
00:14:37,875 --> 00:14:42,833
Here's Stephen, surrounded
by alphas and wolves.

265
00:14:42,917 --> 00:14:45,458
"And the high priest said,
'Are these things so?'

266
00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:48,167
And Stephen said--"
here's his sermon:

267
00:14:48,208 --> 00:14:51,250
"Brothers and fathers,"
he's respectful, "hear me.

268
00:14:51,333 --> 00:14:53,792
The God of glory appeared
to our father Abraham"--

269
00:14:53,833 --> 00:14:57,083
he starts with Abraham--
"when he was in Mesopotamia,

270
00:14:57,167 --> 00:14:59,250
"before he lived in
Haran, and said to him,

271
00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:02,708
"'Go out from your land and from
your kindred and go to the land

272
00:15:02,792 --> 00:15:04,125
"'that I will show you.'

273
00:15:04,167 --> 00:15:06,625
"Then he went out from the land
of the Chaldeans

274
00:15:06,667 --> 00:15:08,000
"and lived in Haran.

275
00:15:08,083 --> 00:15:10,500
"And after his father died,
God removed him from there

276
00:15:10,583 --> 00:15:12,708
"into this land in which you
are now living.

277
00:15:12,792 --> 00:15:15,917
"Yet he gave him no inheritance
in it, not even a foot's length,

278
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,417
"but promised to give it
to him as a possession

279
00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:21,333
"and to his offspring after him,
though he had no child.

280
00:15:21,417 --> 00:15:24,125
"And God spoke to this
effect--that his offspring

281
00:15:24,167 --> 00:15:26,833
"would be sojourners in a land
belonging to others,

282
00:15:26,917 --> 00:15:30,750
"and would enslave them and
afflict them four hundred years.

283
00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:33,542
"'But I will judge the nation
that they serve,' said God,

284
00:15:33,625 --> 00:15:36,042
"'and after that they shall
come out and worship me

285
00:15:36,125 --> 00:15:37,833
"in this place.'

286
00:15:37,875 --> 00:15:39,958
"And he gave him
the covenant of circumcision.

287
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,125
"And so Abraham became
the father of Isaac,

288
00:15:42,167 --> 00:15:46,625
"and circumcised him
on the eighth day,

289
00:15:46,667 --> 00:15:48,667
"and Isaac became
the father of Jacob,

290
00:15:48,708 --> 00:15:50,833
and Jacob
of the twelve patriarchs."

291
00:15:50,875 --> 00:15:52,833
He's deep into Genesis.

292
00:15:52,917 --> 00:15:55,000
"And the patriarchs,
jealous of Joseph,"

293
00:15:55,042 --> 00:15:57,833
he's at the end of Genesis,
"sold him into Egypt;

294
00:15:57,917 --> 00:15:59,833
"but God was with him
and rescued him

295
00:15:59,917 --> 00:16:01,333
"out of all his afflictions

296
00:16:01,375 --> 00:16:04,333
"and gave him favor and wisdom
before Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

297
00:16:04,417 --> 00:16:08,250
"who made him ruler over Egypt
and over all his household.

298
00:16:08,333 --> 00:16:11,000
"Now there came a famine
throughout all Egypt and Canaan,

299
00:16:11,083 --> 00:16:14,042
"and great affliction, and our
fathers could find no food.

300
00:16:14,125 --> 00:16:16,542
"But when Jacob heard that
there was grain in Egypt,

301
00:16:16,625 --> 00:16:19,458
"he sent out our fathers
on their first visit.

302
00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:22,917
"And on the second visit Joseph
made himself known to his

303
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,208
"brothers, and Joseph's family
became known to Pharaoh.

304
00:16:26,292 --> 00:16:28,250
"And Joseph sent and summoned
Jacob his father

305
00:16:28,333 --> 00:16:30,917
"and all his kindred,
seventy-five persons in all.

306
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,542
"And Jacob went down into Egypt,
and he died, and our fathers,

307
00:16:34,625 --> 00:16:39,833
"and they were carried back to
Shechem and laid in the tomb

308
00:16:39,917 --> 00:16:43,167
"that Abraham had bought
for a sum of silver from

309
00:16:43,208 --> 00:16:45,667
"the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

310
00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:48,042
"But as the time of
the promise drew near,

311
00:16:48,125 --> 00:16:49,958
"which God
had granted to Abraham,

312
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,708
"the people increased and
multiplied in Egypt until there

313
00:16:52,792 --> 00:16:56,083
arose over Egypt another king
who did not know Joseph."

314
00:16:56,167 --> 00:16:58,000
Now he's in to Exodus.

315
00:16:58,042 --> 00:17:01,042
"He dealt shrewdly with our race
and forced our fathers to expose

316
00:17:01,125 --> 00:17:04,042
"their infants, so that they
would not be kept alive.

317
00:17:04,125 --> 00:17:05,750
"At this time Moses was born;

318
00:17:05,833 --> 00:17:07,708
"and he was beautiful
in God's sight.

319
00:17:07,792 --> 00:17:09,708
"And he was brought
up for three months

320
00:17:09,792 --> 00:17:11,125
"in his father's house,

321
00:17:11,167 --> 00:17:13,333
"and when he was exposed,
Pharaoh's daughter adopted him

322
00:17:13,375 --> 00:17:15,458
"and brought him
up as her own son.

323
00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,458
"And Moses was instructed in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians,

324
00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:20,833
and he was mighty in
his words and deeds."

325
00:17:20,917 --> 00:17:22,542
Same as Stephen.

326
00:17:22,625 --> 00:17:24,833
The Holy Spirit was
upon him as well.

327
00:17:24,917 --> 00:17:27,625
"When he was forty years old,
it came into his heart

328
00:17:27,667 --> 00:17:29,625
"to visit his brothers,
the children of Israel.

329
00:17:29,667 --> 00:17:31,500
"And seeing one of
them being wronged,

330
00:17:31,583 --> 00:17:33,750
"he defended the oppressed man
and avenged him by

331
00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:35,917
"striking down the Egyptian.

332
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,333
"He supposed that his brothers
would understand that God

333
00:17:38,417 --> 00:17:40,542
"was giving them salvation
by his hand,

334
00:17:40,625 --> 00:17:41,958
"but they did not understand.

335
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,667
"And on the following day he
appeared to them as they

336
00:17:44,708 --> 00:17:46,750
"were quarreling and tried to
reconcile them, saying,

337
00:17:46,833 --> 00:17:48,333
"'Men, you are brothers.

338
00:17:48,375 --> 00:17:50,333
"'Why do you wrong each other?'

339
00:17:50,375 --> 00:17:53,167
"But the man who was wronging
his neighbor thrust him aside,

340
00:17:53,208 --> 00:17:56,250
"saying, 'Who made you
a ruler and a judge over us?

341
00:17:56,333 --> 00:18:00,208
"'Do you want to kill me as you
killed the Egyptian yesterday?'

342
00:18:00,292 --> 00:18:02,500
"At this retort Moses
fled and became an exile

343
00:18:02,583 --> 00:18:04,000
"in the land of Midian,

344
00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:06,792
"where he became
the father of two sons.

345
00:18:06,833 --> 00:18:09,208
Now when forty years
had passed, an angel"--

346
00:18:09,292 --> 00:18:10,792
perhaps even
Jesus I would add--

347
00:18:10,833 --> 00:18:13,125
"appeared to him in
the wilderness of Mount Sinai,

348
00:18:13,167 --> 00:18:15,125
"in a flame of fire
in a bush.

349
00:18:15,167 --> 00:18:17,625
"When Moses saw it,
he was amazed at the sight,

350
00:18:17,667 --> 00:18:20,292
"and as he drew near to look,
there came the voice

351
00:18:20,333 --> 00:18:22,792
"of the Lord: 'I am the God
of your fathers,

352
00:18:22,833 --> 00:18:25,292
"'the God of Abraham
and of Isaac and of Jacob.'

353
00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:27,500
"And Moses trembled
and did not dare to look.

354
00:18:27,542 --> 00:18:29,000
"Then the Lord said to him,

355
00:18:29,042 --> 00:18:30,708
"'Take off the sandals
from your feet,

356
00:18:30,792 --> 00:18:33,375
"'for the place where you are
standing is holy ground.

357
00:18:33,458 --> 00:18:35,500
"'I have surely seen
the affliction of my people

358
00:18:35,583 --> 00:18:38,000
"'who are in Egypt, and I have
heard their groaning,

359
00:18:38,083 --> 00:18:40,000
"'and I have come down
to deliver them.

360
00:18:40,083 --> 00:18:42,500
"'And now come, I will
send you to Egypt.'

361
00:18:42,583 --> 00:18:44,625
"This Moses, whom they
rejected, saying,

362
00:18:44,667 --> 00:18:46,708
"'Who made you
a ruler and a judge?'

363
00:18:46,792 --> 00:18:50,667
"--this man God sent as both
ruler and redeemer by the hand

364
00:18:50,750 --> 00:18:53,208
"of the angel who appeared
to him in the bush.

365
00:18:53,292 --> 00:18:55,542
"This man led them out,
performing wonders and signs

366
00:18:55,625 --> 00:18:57,417
"in Egypt and at the Red Sea

367
00:18:57,500 --> 00:18:59,333
"and in the wilderness
for forty years.

368
00:18:59,417 --> 00:19:01,583
"This is the Moses who
said to the Israelites,

369
00:19:01,667 --> 00:19:06,208
"'God will raise up for you
a prophet like me

370
00:19:06,292 --> 00:19:07,625
from your brothers.'"

371
00:19:07,667 --> 00:19:09,500
That was a prophecy
of Jesus' coming.

372
00:19:09,542 --> 00:19:11,625
"This is the one who was
in the congregation,"

373
00:19:11,667 --> 00:19:13,000
or the church,

374
00:19:13,083 --> 00:19:15,500
"in the wilderness with
the angel who spoke to him

375
00:19:15,583 --> 00:19:17,500
"at Mount Sinai,
and with our fathers.

376
00:19:17,542 --> 00:19:20,125
"He received
living oracles to give to us.

377
00:19:20,167 --> 00:19:23,000
"Our fathers refused to obey
him, but thrust him aside,

378
00:19:23,083 --> 00:19:26,083
"and in their hearts they turned
to Egypt, saying to Aaron,

379
00:19:26,167 --> 00:19:28,417
"'Make for us gods who
will go before us.

380
00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,583
"'As for this Moses who led us
out from the land of Egypt,

381
00:19:31,667 --> 00:19:34,583
"'we do not know what
has become of him.'

382
00:19:34,667 --> 00:19:36,583
"And they made
a calf in those days,

383
00:19:36,667 --> 00:19:39,083
"and offered a sacrifice to
the idol and were rejoicing

384
00:19:39,167 --> 00:19:40,583
"in the works of their hands.

385
00:19:40,667 --> 00:19:43,083
"But God turned away and gave
them over to worship

386
00:19:43,167 --> 00:19:44,500
"the host of heaven,

387
00:19:44,542 --> 00:19:47,000
"as it is written in
the book of the prophets:

388
00:19:47,042 --> 00:19:49,417
"'Did you not bring to me slain
beasts and sacrifices,

389
00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:51,125
"'during the forty years
in the wilderness,

390
00:19:51,167 --> 00:19:52,500
"'O house of Israel?

391
00:19:52,583 --> 00:19:58,250
"'You took up the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,

392
00:19:58,333 --> 00:20:00,542
"'the images that you
made to worship;

393
00:20:00,625 --> 00:20:03,958
and I will send you into
exile beyond Babylon.'"

394
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,500
The prefiguring of
the temple is next.

395
00:20:06,583 --> 00:20:09,333
"Our fathers had the tent of
witness in the wilderness,

396
00:20:09,417 --> 00:20:12,417
"just as he who spoke to Moses
directed him to make it,

397
00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,333
"according to the pattern
that he had seen.

398
00:20:14,417 --> 00:20:17,500
"Our fathers in turn brought
it in with Joshua when they

399
00:20:17,583 --> 00:20:19,833
"dispossessed the nations
that God drove out

400
00:20:19,917 --> 00:20:21,500
"before our fathers.

401
00:20:21,583 --> 00:20:23,458
"So it was until
the days of David,

402
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:26,458
"who found favor in the sight
of God and asked to find

403
00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:28,625
"a dwelling place
for the God of Jacob.

404
00:20:28,667 --> 00:20:32,042
But it was Solomon"--David
and Solomon are next.

405
00:20:32,125 --> 00:20:34,750
"But it was Solomon who
built a house for him.

406
00:20:34,833 --> 00:20:37,667
"Yet the Most High does not
dwell in houses made by hands,

407
00:20:37,708 --> 00:20:39,833
as the prophet say."

408
00:20:39,917 --> 00:20:42,542
Regarding the temple,
God goes on to say,

409
00:20:42,625 --> 00:20:45,000
"'Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.

410
00:20:45,083 --> 00:20:47,917
"'What kind of house will you
build for me, says the Lord,

411
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,000
"or what is the place
of my rest?

412
00:20:50,083 --> 00:20:53,250
Did not my hand make
all these things?'"

413
00:20:53,333 --> 00:20:55,833
You may be seated.

414
00:20:55,917 --> 00:20:58,250
Here's what Stephen does,
and let me say this:

415
00:20:58,333 --> 00:21:03,500
You never know when you're going
to need to know your Bible.

416
00:21:03,583 --> 00:21:07,917
You never know when you're going
to need to know your Bible.

417
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,000
There's no indication that
Stephen was given

418
00:21:11,083 --> 00:21:15,917
advanced warning that this
moment was coming.

419
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,333
He knew the Scriptures,
and as a result,

420
00:21:18,375 --> 00:21:21,125
when the time came
for him to speak,

421
00:21:21,167 --> 00:21:22,958
he was prepared and ready.

422
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,042
Peter says something similar:
"Always be prepared to give

423
00:21:26,125 --> 00:21:28,958
a reason for the hope
that is within you."

424
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,958
Always be prepared to explain
who Jesus is and what he's done.

425
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
You never know when
the time will come,

426
00:21:36,083 --> 00:21:39,042
so you prepare that
you're ready all the time.

427
00:21:39,125 --> 00:21:41,500
Stephen is ready,
and when the moment comes,

428
00:21:41,583 --> 00:21:44,042
he respectfully--calling
them brothers and fathers--

429
00:21:44,125 --> 00:21:47,417
he walks them through
the Old Testament.

430
00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:52,333
And he is leading everything to
the person and work of Jesus.

431
00:21:52,417 --> 00:21:54,458
They would have known
these biblical stories,

432
00:21:54,500 --> 00:21:56,250
they would have studied
them as children,

433
00:21:56,333 --> 00:21:58,792
but their problem was
they had missed Jesus.

434
00:21:58,833 --> 00:22:00,333
Let me be very clear.

435
00:22:00,417 --> 00:22:03,000
You can know the Bible,
but if you don't know Jesus,

436
00:22:03,083 --> 00:22:05,250
you don't know the Bible.

437
00:22:05,333 --> 00:22:08,042
You can know the Bible,
but if you don't know Jesus,

438
00:22:08,125 --> 00:22:10,458
you don't know the Bible.

439
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:13,542
Jesus himself said that he
came to fulfill all Scripture.

440
00:22:13,625 --> 00:22:19,167
He said that the Scripture
was about him in John 5:38-39.

441
00:22:19,208 --> 00:22:20,958
"You diligently study
the Scriptures thinking that

442
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,667
"in them you'll find
eternal life.

443
00:22:22,708 --> 00:22:24,667
"You fail to recognize these
are the Scriptures

444
00:22:24,708 --> 00:22:26,042
that testify about me."

445
00:22:26,125 --> 00:22:29,250
Jesus himself taught a Bible
study after he rose from death--

446
00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:31,958
two, in fact--at the end
of the Gospel of Luke,

447
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,333
showing how the whole
Old Testament was about him.

448
00:22:34,417 --> 00:22:37,125
The whole pie, now,
the whole Bible is Jesus.

449
00:22:37,167 --> 00:22:38,500
It's all about Jesus.

450
00:22:38,583 --> 00:22:41,167
And they knew the Bible, but
they didn't know the Bible

451
00:22:41,208 --> 00:22:42,542
because they didn't know Jesus,

452
00:22:42,625 --> 00:22:44,333
and the whole Bible
is about Jesus.

453
00:22:44,375 --> 00:22:46,042
And so what he is
doing, Stephen,

454
00:22:46,125 --> 00:22:49,208
is he is taking the Bible that
they know and leading them to

455
00:22:49,292 --> 00:22:50,917
the Jesus that they do not know.

456
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,417
And he starts with Abraham, that
they would have called

457
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:54,833
their father.

458
00:22:54,917 --> 00:22:58,375
And he reminds them that
Abraham was a pagan.

459
00:22:58,458 --> 00:23:00,833
He did not start as a Jew.

460
00:23:00,917 --> 00:23:03,333
He circumcised himself
and became the father

461
00:23:03,417 --> 00:23:04,750
of the Jewish people.

462
00:23:04,833 --> 00:23:07,250
But he was a pagan,
just like you and me,

463
00:23:07,333 --> 00:23:09,750
living apart from the Lord,
coming from a godless family,

464
00:23:09,833 --> 00:23:11,167
and God chose him.

465
00:23:11,208 --> 00:23:14,708
Before Abraham ever chose God,
God chose him, elected him.

466
00:23:14,792 --> 00:23:17,167
God showed up and spoke to him.

467
00:23:17,208 --> 00:23:19,250
Before Abraham ever
called out to the Lord,

468
00:23:19,333 --> 00:23:20,958
the Lord called out to him.

469
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,250
And the Lord made
a promise to Abraham:

470
00:23:23,333 --> 00:23:25,167
"You're going to
become a father."

471
00:23:25,208 --> 00:23:27,542
He and his wife
were barren and elderly.

472
00:23:27,625 --> 00:23:31,042
They had no children and no
capacity to have children.

473
00:23:31,125 --> 00:23:34,333
"And through your line
will come a nation of sons,

474
00:23:34,417 --> 00:23:36,458
"the nation of Israel,
and through that nation

475
00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:38,458
will come a particular Son."

476
00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:41,333
I'm summarizing a ton
of Scripture here.

477
00:23:41,417 --> 00:23:45,542
But it was a promise that this
promised Son of miraculous birth

478
00:23:45,625 --> 00:23:49,625
would be a blessing to
the nations of the earth.

479
00:23:49,667 --> 00:23:51,250
Ultimately,
the Lord Jesus Christ comes.

480
00:23:51,333 --> 00:23:55,792
He is the son of Abraham,
and he is the Son of God.

481
00:23:55,833 --> 00:23:58,500
He is fulfillment of
the promise to Abraham.

482
00:23:58,542 --> 00:24:00,708
God gave Abraham
the son Isaac.

483
00:24:00,792 --> 00:24:03,917
His name means "laughter" because
God always gets the last laugh.

484
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,542
And then through Isaac
came the Patriarchs,

485
00:24:06,625 --> 00:24:08,208
which he has just mentioned.

486
00:24:08,292 --> 00:24:09,958
Through them came
the nation of Israel.

487
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,250
It started as a family of
around 70 at the end of Genesis.

488
00:24:13,333 --> 00:24:14,708
By the beginning of Exodus

489
00:24:14,792 --> 00:24:17,167
he says it's a nation
of a few million.

490
00:24:17,208 --> 00:24:19,750
Through these people
comes one person.

491
00:24:19,833 --> 00:24:22,250
God becomes a man,
the Lord Jesus Christ.

492
00:24:22,333 --> 00:24:24,167
He is the descendant
of Abraham.

493
00:24:24,208 --> 00:24:27,750
He is the promised Son also born
of a supernatural miraculous

494
00:24:27,833 --> 00:24:30,667
intervention and birth by God.

495
00:24:30,708 --> 00:24:34,458
And he is not just any man's
Son--he is the Son of God.

496
00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:37,750
And Jesus is the fulfillment of
the blessing that was promised

497
00:24:37,833 --> 00:24:40,625
to the nations of the earth
through Abraham.

498
00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:43,708
He then proceeds
forward to Moses.

499
00:24:43,792 --> 00:24:46,958
First he proceeds,
I should say, to Joseph.

500
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,833
And he says of Joseph that
Joseph was hated, and despised,

501
00:24:50,917 --> 00:24:53,500
and betrayed by his brothers.

502
00:24:53,583 --> 00:24:57,167
He ultimately was thrown in
a hole and left for dead.

503
00:24:57,250 --> 00:25:01,042
That Joseph got out of that
hole and rose up from poverty to

504
00:25:01,125 --> 00:25:06,042
luxury, and went from a place
of obscurity to a place of

505
00:25:06,125 --> 00:25:09,333
great leadership
and prominence.

506
00:25:09,417 --> 00:25:12,208
And that as a result,
Joseph used his position

507
00:25:12,292 --> 00:25:14,917
as a mighty ruler
with lots of resources

508
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:16,833
to feed, care for, love,

509
00:25:16,875 --> 00:25:20,667
and ultimately save people.

510
00:25:20,708 --> 00:25:22,958
Not only that,
he forgave his brothers,

511
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,250
and his great
reconciliation with them,

512
00:25:26,333 --> 00:25:28,750
if memory serves me correct,
is in Genesis 50:20,

513
00:25:28,833 --> 00:25:30,750
where he looks at
them and he says,

514
00:25:30,833 --> 00:25:32,958
"What you intended for
evil God used for good

515
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,167
and the saving of many lives."

516
00:25:35,208 --> 00:25:37,333
And Jesus is
the greater Joseph.

517
00:25:37,417 --> 00:25:40,750
Jesus similarly was betrayed
by his own brothers.

518
00:25:40,833 --> 00:25:43,833
Jesus was thrown into
a hole and left for dead.

519
00:25:43,917 --> 00:25:48,833
Jesus maintained a love for his
Father, and his Father maintained

520
00:25:48,875 --> 00:25:51,958
a love for him, as was
the case with Joseph.

521
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,500
Jesus got out of that hole and
he rose to a leadership position

522
00:25:56,542 --> 00:26:00,958
at the right hand of the king,
much like the Lord Jesus sits at

523
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,917
the right hand of the Father.

524
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,042
And he used what was
intended for evil,

525
00:26:05,125 --> 00:26:09,042
the murder of God on the cross,
for good and the saving of

526
00:26:09,125 --> 00:26:12,750
many lives including our own,
and he reconciles with us,

527
00:26:12,833 --> 00:26:14,750
and he makes us brothers.

528
00:26:14,833 --> 00:26:18,625
He looks us in the eye with
love and says, "You murdered me,

529
00:26:18,667 --> 00:26:21,667
"but what you intended for evil
has been used for good

530
00:26:21,708 --> 00:26:24,958
and the saving of many lives."

531
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,208
He moves from Abraham,
to Joseph, to Moses,

532
00:26:28,292 --> 00:26:30,333
and he tells
the story of Moses.

533
00:26:30,417 --> 00:26:33,833
That in that day, God's people
lived in a land called Egypt.

534
00:26:33,917 --> 00:26:35,750
They were pilgrims
and sojourners, and that

535
00:26:35,833 --> 00:26:37,250
they were far from home.

536
00:26:37,333 --> 00:26:39,042
And that God's people
were under oppression,

537
00:26:39,125 --> 00:26:41,250
and there was a man
who was the pharaoh,

538
00:26:41,333 --> 00:26:43,750
and he ruled over them
as a cruel taskmaster.

539
00:26:43,833 --> 00:26:45,750
He had no grace,
he had no love,

540
00:26:45,833 --> 00:26:48,208
he had no mercy
for God's people.

541
00:26:48,292 --> 00:26:52,333
And so God raised
up this man Moses,

542
00:26:52,417 --> 00:26:54,792
and put the Holy Spirit
in him and on him,

543
00:26:54,833 --> 00:26:59,083
and empowered him for preaching
and for miraculous works,

544
00:26:59,167 --> 00:27:01,417
and signs,
and wonders, and deeds.

545
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:04,250
And Moses as a prophet of
God rebuked the Pharaoh,

546
00:27:04,333 --> 00:27:07,042
calling him and the nation
of Egypt to repentance.

547
00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:09,833
And the more he preached,
the harder their hearts became.

548
00:27:09,875 --> 00:27:12,333
The result was that
ultimately God,

549
00:27:12,375 --> 00:27:15,667
through a series of miraculous
supernatural events,

550
00:27:15,708 --> 00:27:18,625
delivered his people from
slavery and bondage

551
00:27:18,667 --> 00:27:21,250
to freedom and worship.

552
00:27:21,333 --> 00:27:23,250
And Jesus comes as
the greater Moses.

553
00:27:23,333 --> 00:27:26,250
Jesus comes as the prophet that
was promised to come through

554
00:27:26,333 --> 00:27:27,667
the line of Moses.

555
00:27:27,708 --> 00:27:30,542
Jesus comes to face
our Pharaoh, Satan.

556
00:27:30,625 --> 00:27:34,333
Jesus comes to free us from
slavery to sin that we might be

557
00:27:34,417 --> 00:27:39,083
free to live new lives as his
joyful people, worshiping him.

558
00:27:39,167 --> 00:27:44,333
And this is his sermon,
and it's all about Jesus.

559
00:27:44,375 --> 00:27:46,667
Abraham is about Jesus,
Israel's about Jesus,

560
00:27:46,708 --> 00:27:49,750
the patriarchs are about Jesus,
the Exodus is about Jesus,

561
00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:52,625
Moses is about Jesus,
Joseph is about Jesus,

562
00:27:52,667 --> 00:27:55,500
David is about Jesus,
Solomon is about Jesus,

563
00:27:55,583 --> 00:27:58,917
the temple is about Jesus,
the priesthood is about Jesus,

564
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,958
kingship is about Jesus.

565
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,083
It's all about Jesus.

566
00:28:03,167 --> 00:28:07,667
Even the shepherd boy
David pointed to Jesus,

567
00:28:07,750 --> 00:28:09,500
our Good Shepherd.

568
00:28:09,542 --> 00:28:14,167
It's all about Jesus.

569
00:28:14,250 --> 00:28:18,250
True or false,
he did a good job?

570
00:28:20,333 --> 00:28:23,667
The wolves have come.

571
00:28:23,708 --> 00:28:26,667
Stephen, by the power
of the Holy Spirit,

572
00:28:26,750 --> 00:28:32,083
he's a good shepherd and he's
preaching his funeral

573
00:28:32,167 --> 00:28:37,958
to the wolves and their packs.

574
00:28:41,333 --> 00:28:45,167
And then who joins this
momentous occasion?

575
00:28:45,250 --> 00:28:48,292
None other than
the chief Shepherd.

576
00:28:48,333 --> 00:28:55,083
Here is the final
words of Stephen.

577
00:28:56,042 --> 00:29:02,792
Acts 7:51-60,
"You stiff-necked people."

578
00:29:02,833 --> 00:29:09,833
The alphas and the packs are
the audience for the sermon.

579
00:29:11,333 --> 00:29:13,083
"You stiff-necked people."

580
00:29:13,167 --> 00:29:15,292
Praise God.

581
00:29:15,333 --> 00:29:18,875
I praise God, and we want to
publicly honor Stephen today.

582
00:29:18,958 --> 00:29:21,333
He didn't become a wolf;

583
00:29:21,417 --> 00:29:23,250
he stayed a shepherd.

584
00:29:23,333 --> 00:29:26,500
It would have been
very tempting for him,

585
00:29:26,542 --> 00:29:31,833
looking at his fast
approaching murder,

586
00:29:31,917 --> 00:29:35,667
in an effort to make
his life simpler,

587
00:29:35,750 --> 00:29:38,667
to have transitioned from
shepherd to wolf

588
00:29:38,750 --> 00:29:42,292
and to become an alpha.

589
00:29:42,333 --> 00:29:46,167
He warns of this,
the Holy Spirit does,

590
00:29:46,208 --> 00:29:48,375
in Acts 20,

591
00:29:48,458 --> 00:29:53,083
where, speaking to
the Ephesians elders, it is said,

592
00:29:53,167 --> 00:29:55,500
"Men will rise from your own
number, distort the truth,

593
00:29:55,583 --> 00:29:56,917
and lead many astray."

594
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,583
The ESV says, "Some of you
elders are going to become

595
00:29:59,667 --> 00:30:05,708
wolves and ravage the flock."

596
00:30:05,792 --> 00:30:08,417
Stephen here is
still a shepherd,

597
00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:15,000
and his flock is watching,
and the pack is approaching,

598
00:30:15,083 --> 00:30:18,417
and he preaches the truth.

599
00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:21,875
Can you imagine how
difficult this was?

600
00:30:21,958 --> 00:30:23,667
He is brand-new to ministry.

601
00:30:23,750 --> 00:30:26,292
This is his rookie season.

602
00:30:26,333 --> 00:30:30,792
"You stiff-necked people."

603
00:30:30,833 --> 00:30:33,833
You ever try to walk
a dog with a stiff neck?

604
00:30:33,875 --> 00:30:36,375
You realize the dog's
trying to walk you.

605
00:30:36,458 --> 00:30:39,417
You ever try and ride
a horse with a stiff neck?

606
00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:42,417
Can't make it go
where you want.

607
00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:45,500
God says that his people are
often, or at least sometimes,

608
00:30:45,583 --> 00:30:49,583
like that, just stiff-necked.

609
00:30:49,667 --> 00:30:52,542
"You stiff-necked people,

610
00:30:52,625 --> 00:30:55,333
uncircumcised in your heart
and ears."

611
00:30:55,417 --> 00:30:57,042
Now, the men were
all circumcised,

612
00:30:57,125 --> 00:30:59,500
but not in their heart
and not in their ears.

613
00:30:59,583 --> 00:31:04,000
They weren't listening,
and they weren't loving.

614
00:31:04,083 --> 00:31:08,375
You can go through
a lot of religious ritual,

615
00:31:08,458 --> 00:31:10,875
but if it's only external
and not internal,

616
00:31:10,958 --> 00:31:17,958
all you are is a religious
hypocrite with a stiff neck.

617
00:31:18,583 --> 00:31:20,000
Here's the bottom line.

618
00:31:20,083 --> 00:31:22,583
"You always resist
the Holy Spirit."

619
00:31:22,667 --> 00:31:25,000
He's convicted you, he's
taught you, he's led you.

620
00:31:25,042 --> 00:31:27,500
"You know what you're
supposed to do,

621
00:31:27,583 --> 00:31:29,583
"you know what you're
not supposed to do.

622
00:31:29,667 --> 00:31:31,708
"And your fight is ultimately,"
Stephen is saying,

623
00:31:31,792 --> 00:31:35,500
"not with me,
it's with him."

624
00:31:35,542 --> 00:31:37,833
And your fathers,
and your grandfathers,

625
00:31:37,875 --> 00:31:40,708
and your great-grandfathers,
they've been warring against him

626
00:31:40,792 --> 00:31:43,333
for thousands of years.

627
00:31:43,375 --> 00:31:45,208
"And it's ultimately,"
Stephen is saying,

628
00:31:45,292 --> 00:31:47,000
"not a battle with me.

629
00:31:47,042 --> 00:31:52,625
It's a battle with God."

630
00:31:52,667 --> 00:31:55,542
"As your fathers
did, so do you."

631
00:31:55,625 --> 00:31:59,333
He's insulting their dad

632
00:31:59,375 --> 00:32:03,208
because their dads
and their granddads

633
00:32:03,292 --> 00:32:06,708
were kindling for
the fires of hell.

634
00:32:06,792 --> 00:32:10,000
Circumcised, Sabbath-keeping,

635
00:32:10,042 --> 00:32:15,792
rule-abiding kindling.

636
00:32:15,833 --> 00:32:20,417
"Which of the prophets did
your fathers not persecute?"

637
00:32:20,500 --> 00:32:22,792
Stephen is saying,
"I'm like Elijah.

638
00:32:22,833 --> 00:32:26,417
"I'm like Jeremiah.

639
00:32:26,500 --> 00:32:30,125
I'm preaching
and you're persecuting."

640
00:32:30,167 --> 00:32:35,000
If you read the book, when
the shepherd gets attacked,

641
00:32:35,083 --> 00:32:41,208
whoever's attacking is the wolf.

642
00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:44,000
"And they killed those who
announced beforehand the coming

643
00:32:44,083 --> 00:32:46,917
of the Righteous One"--
that's Jesus--

644
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,292
"whom you have now
betrayed and murdered."

645
00:32:49,333 --> 00:32:52,958
You murdered God.

646
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,167
"You who received the law
as delivered by angels

647
00:32:55,208 --> 00:32:56,958
and did not keep it."

648
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,125
The angels brought
you the Old Testament

649
00:33:00,167 --> 00:33:02,583
and you murdered Jesus,

650
00:33:02,667 --> 00:33:07,417
the entire point
of the entire Scriptures.

651
00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:11,500
"Now when they heard these
things they were"--what?

652
00:33:11,542 --> 00:33:13,208
"Enraged."

653
00:33:13,292 --> 00:33:15,167
Maybe if he would have
said it differently,

654
00:33:15,250 --> 00:33:18,792
they would have
responded differently.

655
00:33:18,833 --> 00:33:23,833
Maybe Stephen just
wasn't very winsome.

656
00:33:28,292 --> 00:33:31,333
"Now when they heard these
things they were enraged,

657
00:33:31,375 --> 00:33:33,625
and they ground
their teeth at him."

658
00:33:33,667 --> 00:33:40,208
You ever seen a dog--hair up,
teeth out, what do you know?

659
00:33:40,292 --> 00:33:43,000
You're in danger.

660
00:33:43,083 --> 00:33:47,125
It's an involuntary response of
a dog who is preparing to bite,

661
00:33:47,167 --> 00:33:50,208
and devour, and attack.

662
00:33:50,292 --> 00:33:56,833
These men now, demonically
Inspired, are like animals.

663
00:33:56,917 --> 00:34:02,458
They are wolves,
and their teeth are showing.

664
00:34:05,792 --> 00:34:11,792
"But he, full of
the Holy Spirit."

665
00:34:13,167 --> 00:34:16,917
Stephen was a great man

666
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,333
because he submitted
to a great God.

667
00:34:21,375 --> 00:34:24,375
Apart from submitting
to a great God,

668
00:34:24,458 --> 00:34:28,833
there is no such thing
as a great man.

669
00:34:28,875 --> 00:34:35,333
He is now going to be like Jesus
by the power of the Holy Spirit

670
00:34:35,375 --> 00:34:40,708
as Jesus was empowered.

671
00:34:40,792 --> 00:34:43,083
"But he, full of
the Holy Spirit,

672
00:34:43,167 --> 00:34:46,208
"gazed into heaven
and saw the glory of God,

673
00:34:46,292 --> 00:34:48,917
"and Jesus standing at
the right hand of God.

674
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,500
"And he said, 'Behold, I
see the heavens opened,

675
00:34:51,542 --> 00:34:55,667
"'and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God.'

676
00:34:55,708 --> 00:35:00,792
But they cried out with a loud
voice and stopped their ears."

677
00:35:00,833 --> 00:35:03,625
They will listen no more.

678
00:35:03,667 --> 00:35:05,500
"And they rushed
together at him."

679
00:35:05,542 --> 00:35:10,583
All the dogs off the leash.

680
00:35:10,667 --> 00:35:15,625
"Then they cast him out of
the city and they stoned him.

681
00:35:15,667 --> 00:35:18,167
"And the witnesses laid down
their garments at the feet

682
00:35:18,250 --> 00:35:20,500
of a young man named Saul."

683
00:35:20,583 --> 00:35:22,000
There's the alpha.

684
00:35:22,083 --> 00:35:25,167
Only one alpha name
from all the packs.

685
00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:27,333
That's the alpha of the alphas.

686
00:35:27,375 --> 00:35:29,625
His name is Saul.

687
00:35:29,667 --> 00:35:33,333
"And as they were stoning
Stephen, he called out,

688
00:35:33,375 --> 00:35:37,333
'Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.'"

689
00:35:37,375 --> 00:35:40,333
He's saying the same thing
as Jesus, isn't he?

690
00:35:40,375 --> 00:35:42,375
"Father, into your hands
I commit my spirit"--

691
00:35:42,458 --> 00:35:45,500
the Lord Jesus
said from the cross--

692
00:35:45,583 --> 00:35:48,708
"And falling to his knees he
cried out with a loud voice,

693
00:35:48,792 --> 00:35:52,208
"'Lord, do not hold
this sin against them.'

694
00:35:52,292 --> 00:35:54,500
And when he had said
this, he fell asleep."

695
00:35:54,583 --> 00:35:56,833
That's the Bible's language
for a believer who dies.

696
00:35:56,875 --> 00:36:00,750
When a believer dies,
they fall asleep.

697
00:36:00,833 --> 00:36:02,292
Their body lays in the ground

698
00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:05,667
until the resurrection
of the dead.

699
00:36:05,708 --> 00:36:07,542
When a believer
and an unbeliever dies,

700
00:36:07,625 --> 00:36:11,250
for the believer it is death,
physical and spiritual death.

701
00:36:11,333 --> 00:36:13,875
For the believer, it is physical
death but spiritual life.

702
00:36:13,958 --> 00:36:16,667
They fall in a sleep and one day
that dead body

703
00:36:16,708 --> 00:36:18,042
will rise with Jesus.

704
00:36:18,125 --> 00:36:20,500
These are Stephen's final words.

705
00:36:20,542 --> 00:36:25,792
He is on his knees because
the men have encircled him.

706
00:36:25,833 --> 00:36:29,000
The wolves have come for him,
and they're going to stone him.

707
00:36:29,042 --> 00:36:31,500
You need to know that there
is no indication

708
00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:33,000
that this was legal.

709
00:36:33,042 --> 00:36:34,375
This is illegal.

710
00:36:34,458 --> 00:36:36,792
They had challenged him
and failed in their argument.

711
00:36:36,833 --> 00:36:39,875
They had brought charges
against him that did not stick.

712
00:36:39,958 --> 00:36:41,667
They brought false charges
against him

713
00:36:41,750 --> 00:36:44,042
that did not remove him
from ministry.

714
00:36:44,125 --> 00:36:46,500
So now they're
going to murder him,

715
00:36:46,542 --> 00:36:49,667
and they don't seemingly have
any legal right to do so,

716
00:36:49,750 --> 00:36:51,250
and there is no trial.

717
00:36:51,333 --> 00:36:52,625
This is mob violence.

718
00:36:52,667 --> 00:36:55,500
This is exactly what
was done to the Lord Jesus.

719
00:36:55,583 --> 00:36:57,208
Argue with him,
can't win.

720
00:36:57,292 --> 00:36:59,125
Accuse him,
nothing sticks.

721
00:36:59,167 --> 00:37:02,083
Falsely accuse him,
does not discredit him.

722
00:37:02,167 --> 00:37:06,042
Therefore to silence
him, we must kill him.

723
00:37:06,125 --> 00:37:11,167
And Stephen is on his knees
and rocks are flying at him.

724
00:37:11,250 --> 00:37:13,167
And the men who threw the rocks,

725
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:15,667
they were like pitchers
coming out of a bullpen.

726
00:37:15,750 --> 00:37:18,667
The first thing you do is take
your coat off so you

727
00:37:18,750 --> 00:37:21,667
can make sure to throw as hard
and fast as you can.

728
00:37:21,750 --> 00:37:23,167
They take their
outer garments off.

729
00:37:23,250 --> 00:37:25,167
They lay them at
the feet of Saul.

730
00:37:25,250 --> 00:37:26,667
He's the leader;
he's the alpha.

731
00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:30,083
This is all--this is
all for Saul's glory.

732
00:37:30,167 --> 00:37:32,250
Saul's going to win!

733
00:37:32,333 --> 00:37:34,250
Saul's going to be victorious!

734
00:37:34,333 --> 00:37:36,375
Saul's name will be exalted!

735
00:37:36,458 --> 00:37:39,000
All the alphas
will bow down to him!

736
00:37:39,042 --> 00:37:41,375
All the packs
will sing his praises!

737
00:37:41,458 --> 00:37:45,667
Lay all the glory at his feet!

738
00:37:45,750 --> 00:37:49,875
And there's Stephen with
the face of an angel,

739
00:37:49,958 --> 00:37:55,583
filled with the Holy Spirit,

740
00:37:55,667 --> 00:38:00,875
praying for his enemies
to be forgiven,

741
00:38:00,958 --> 00:38:03,167
just like Jesus.

742
00:38:03,208 --> 00:38:04,875
"Father, forgive them."

743
00:38:04,958 --> 00:38:08,292
That's what Jesus
says from the cross.

744
00:38:08,333 --> 00:38:11,458
If you want
the face of an angel,

745
00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:14,000
you've got to forgive your
enemies to the degree

746
00:38:14,042 --> 00:38:17,000
that you pray for them
to be saved.

747
00:38:17,042 --> 00:38:19,500
If you want
the face of an angel,

748
00:38:19,542 --> 00:38:22,292
you need to pray for
enemies to the degree

749
00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:27,292
that you want them
to be saved.

750
00:38:27,333 --> 00:38:30,958
Those who are bitter cannot
have the face of an angel.

751
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,458
Those who by the power of
the Holy Spirit forgive

752
00:38:33,500 --> 00:38:39,542
their enemies are granted
the face of an angel.

753
00:38:43,042 --> 00:38:46,167
Who lost?

754
00:38:46,250 --> 00:38:49,875
If you're looking
at it, who lost?

755
00:38:49,958 --> 00:38:52,833
Stephen.

756
00:38:52,875 --> 00:38:54,500
Who won?

757
00:38:54,583 --> 00:38:57,208
Saul.

758
00:38:57,292 --> 00:39:02,042
The alpha murdered
the shepherd.

759
00:39:02,125 --> 00:39:04,500
Don't be lied to.

760
00:39:04,542 --> 00:39:06,292
"If you love Jesus,
you're a winner!"

761
00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:09,083
At the end,
you are.

762
00:39:09,167 --> 00:39:14,667
In the middle,
you may not be.

763
00:39:14,708 --> 00:39:18,792
Here we see the wolves.

764
00:39:18,833 --> 00:39:22,083
Here we see the alpha.

765
00:39:22,167 --> 00:39:25,500
Here we see the shepherd
doing two things.

766
00:39:25,542 --> 00:39:28,500
He's preaching and praying.

767
00:39:28,542 --> 00:39:30,042
That's what
a good shepherd does.

768
00:39:30,125 --> 00:39:31,875
Preaching and praying.

769
00:39:31,958 --> 00:39:34,292
He teaching about Jesus
and praying that people

770
00:39:34,333 --> 00:39:39,292
would meet Jesus.

771
00:39:39,333 --> 00:39:41,375
And who shows up?

772
00:39:41,458 --> 00:39:43,792
The Good Shepherd.

773
00:39:43,833 --> 00:39:46,833
1 Peter 5, Peter calls
Jesus the "chief Shepherd."

774
00:39:46,917 --> 00:39:48,750
Jesus says, "I am
the Good Shepherd.

775
00:39:48,833 --> 00:39:54,083
I lay down my life
for the sheep."

776
00:39:54,167 --> 00:39:56,833
Jesus is saying, "When Satan
and demons show up to ravage

777
00:39:56,875 --> 00:39:58,375
"and devour the flock,

778
00:39:58,458 --> 00:40:02,333
"I put myself
in the middle, and I am ravaged

779
00:40:02,375 --> 00:40:04,167
and devoured for them."

780
00:40:04,250 --> 00:40:06,500
That's what happened
on the cross.

781
00:40:06,542 --> 00:40:10,708
And how does Stephen
see Jesus?

782
00:40:10,792 --> 00:40:14,875
It says that he
sees Jesus in glory.

783
00:40:14,958 --> 00:40:16,875
I need you to see
Jesus in glory,

784
00:40:16,958 --> 00:40:18,333
especially when
you're suffering.

785
00:40:18,375 --> 00:40:21,625
Oftentimes, we don't look
up until it really hurts.

786
00:40:21,667 --> 00:40:24,625
We're so busy down here.

787
00:40:24,667 --> 00:40:28,708
He looks up and he
sees Jesus in glory,

788
00:40:28,792 --> 00:40:30,500
calls him the "Son of Man."

789
00:40:30,583 --> 00:40:32,708
Do you have a nickname?

790
00:40:32,792 --> 00:40:35,333
We tend to give nicknames
to those we love

791
00:40:35,375 --> 00:40:38,708
and those we hate the most.

792
00:40:38,792 --> 00:40:45,667
Jesus took for himself
a nickname, Son of Man.

793
00:40:45,750 --> 00:40:47,667
It got him in a lot of trouble.

794
00:40:47,750 --> 00:40:50,125
If memory serves me correct,
it appears about 80 times.

795
00:40:50,167 --> 00:40:52,167
It comes out of
the book of Daniel.

796
00:40:52,208 --> 00:40:55,958
It's a staggering claim.

797
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,667
Son of Man is God as a man,

798
00:40:58,708 --> 00:41:01,333
riding down on
the clouds of heaven

799
00:41:01,375 --> 00:41:07,625
into human history to judge
and to bring a kingdom.

800
00:41:07,667 --> 00:41:11,292
It's the way that he's
revealed in Isaiah 6.

801
00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:14,083
Hundreds of years before Jesus
entered into human history,

802
00:41:14,167 --> 00:41:16,125
he says, "The heavens opened.

803
00:41:16,167 --> 00:41:18,208
"I saw the Lord
high and exalted.

804
00:41:18,292 --> 00:41:20,125
"And the angels cried out,

805
00:41:20,167 --> 00:41:23,333
"'Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord God Almighty.'

806
00:41:23,375 --> 00:41:25,417
"Heaven and earth are
full of his glory.

807
00:41:25,500 --> 00:41:27,792
I saw him in glory."

808
00:41:27,833 --> 00:41:32,000
John 12, he says, "I saw"--
Isaiah saw Jesus

809
00:41:32,042 --> 00:41:35,125
and spoke of his glory.

810
00:41:35,167 --> 00:41:38,375
In Revelation, John gets
a picture like that.

811
00:41:38,458 --> 00:41:42,125
He saw Jesus high
and exalted in glory.

812
00:41:42,167 --> 00:41:44,167
How do you see Jesus?

813
00:41:44,250 --> 00:41:46,917
Don't see him just in humility,
a humble, marginalized,

814
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,208
Galilean peasant.

815
00:41:49,292 --> 00:41:52,458
That was a short few
years of his eternal,

816
00:41:52,500 --> 00:41:57,250
unending existence
as Creator God.

817
00:41:57,333 --> 00:42:01,917
Today the Lord Jesus
is as Stephen saw him,

818
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,625
in glory not humility,
being worshiped by angels,

819
00:42:05,667 --> 00:42:08,583
being adored by departed saints.

820
00:42:08,667 --> 00:42:12,792
And Stephen has clarity
because he saw Jesus.

821
00:42:12,833 --> 00:42:19,000
There is no clarity down here
unless we see him up there.

822
00:42:19,042 --> 00:42:21,833
Unless you know that Jesus
is alive, that Jesus is God,

823
00:42:21,875 --> 00:42:24,208
that Jesus is Lord,
that Jesus is ruling,

824
00:42:24,292 --> 00:42:28,167
that Jesus is reigning,
that Jesus is in glory,

825
00:42:28,250 --> 00:42:32,208
that Jesus sees all,
knows all,

826
00:42:32,292 --> 00:42:36,333
judges all perfectly,

827
00:42:36,375 --> 00:42:40,167
until you have
that kind of clarity,

828
00:42:40,250 --> 00:42:44,417
nothing here is clear.

829
00:42:44,500 --> 00:42:47,708
And Stephen had that clarity.

830
00:42:47,792 --> 00:42:51,125
And he is the only man in the
New Testament other than Jesus

831
00:42:51,167 --> 00:42:53,500
to refer to Jesus
as the Son of Man,

832
00:42:53,583 --> 00:42:55,958
because he saw him like
no one else saw him.

833
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,958
Some of you who are suffering,
you know that you see Jesus

834
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:03,333
in a way that
no one else sees him.

835
00:43:03,375 --> 00:43:06,667
And it was customary in that day
that in court the judge

836
00:43:06,750 --> 00:43:09,208
would sit, hear the case,
and render the verdict.

837
00:43:09,292 --> 00:43:13,417
The witnesses
would stand to testify.

838
00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:15,833
Here, the Lord Jesus
is standing.

839
00:43:15,875 --> 00:43:19,208
He's gotten off of his
throne for Stephen,

840
00:43:19,292 --> 00:43:22,208
to honor Stephen and to serve
as a witness saying,

841
00:43:22,292 --> 00:43:24,500
"I've seen it all.
I know it all.

842
00:43:24,583 --> 00:43:26,500
I will judge all."

843
00:43:26,583 --> 00:43:29,500
You need to know that not
only is Jesus your judge,

844
00:43:29,583 --> 00:43:31,417
he's your witness.

845
00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:33,792
He sees and knows all--
all that you do,

846
00:43:33,833 --> 00:43:35,792
and all that has
been done to you.

847
00:43:35,833 --> 00:43:39,417
He sees the evil that you and I
have done, and he sees the evil

848
00:43:39,500 --> 00:43:40,917
that others have done to us.

849
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:42,917
He's not only the judge;
he's the witness.

850
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,125
And either he died in our place
for our sins, or we die

851
00:43:46,167 --> 00:43:51,625
in our place for our sins,
but there is justice for all.

852
00:43:51,667 --> 00:43:56,958
And it says the Lord Jesus got
off of his throne, seated

853
00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:01,375
at the right hand of the Father,
and he looked down at Stephen,

854
00:44:01,458 --> 00:44:04,625
telling him, "I am witnessing
all of this,

855
00:44:04,667 --> 00:44:07,125
and I will welcome you."

856
00:44:07,167 --> 00:44:10,125
And his arms are out
to welcome Stephen home.

857
00:44:10,167 --> 00:44:13,000
And Stephen closed his eyes in
Death, and he opened his eyes

858
00:44:13,083 --> 00:44:16,000
to see the Lord Jesus face to
face, to feel his embrace,

859
00:44:16,083 --> 00:44:18,208
and to hear, "Well done,
good and faithful servant.

860
00:44:18,292 --> 00:44:21,708
Enter into your rest."

861
00:44:21,792 --> 00:44:24,333
Saul was living
for his own glory,

862
00:44:24,375 --> 00:44:27,167
and Stephen was living
for God's glory.

863
00:44:27,250 --> 00:44:30,500
The wolves, the shepherd,
the Chief Shepherd,

864
00:44:30,542 --> 00:44:34,542
and the alpha.

865
00:44:37,958 --> 00:44:40,708
It does not say,
"And it got all better."

866
00:44:40,792 --> 00:44:44,833
It does not say, "And they
lived happily ever after."

867
00:44:44,875 --> 00:44:48,333
It does not say, "And 3,000
were added to their number

868
00:44:48,375 --> 00:44:52,625
and baptized."

869
00:44:52,667 --> 00:44:55,833
Acts 8:1-3,
here comes the alpha.

870
00:44:55,875 --> 00:44:57,917
"And Saul."

871
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,917
Saul, we know his name.

872
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,917
All these groups,
all these packs, all these men,

873
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,667
we only know the name of one.

874
00:45:06,750 --> 00:45:09,500
He's the alpha.

875
00:45:09,583 --> 00:45:12,000
"Approved of his execution."

876
00:45:12,083 --> 00:45:14,500
This was his strategic plan.

877
00:45:14,583 --> 00:45:16,208
He had organized this.

878
00:45:16,292 --> 00:45:20,000
He had brought all these angry
men together to attack

879
00:45:20,083 --> 00:45:23,875
the minister and the ministry.

880
00:45:23,958 --> 00:45:28,708
"And there arose on
that day a great"--what?

881
00:45:28,792 --> 00:45:31,375
"Persecution
against the church."

882
00:45:31,458 --> 00:45:34,208
They're attacking the church.

883
00:45:34,292 --> 00:45:39,000
The wolves have gone after
the shepherd, and now the wolves

884
00:45:39,042 --> 00:45:45,000
are going after the sheep.

885
00:45:45,042 --> 00:45:46,500
"Against the church
in Jerusalem."

886
00:45:46,583 --> 00:45:48,000
This was very strategic.

887
00:45:48,083 --> 00:45:49,792
Jesus already told them
early in Acts,

888
00:45:49,833 --> 00:45:53,375
"You'll be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, Judea,

889
00:45:53,458 --> 00:45:56,375
Samaria, ends of the earth."

890
00:45:56,458 --> 00:46:00,792
The gospel won't go forward
if the church is destroyed

891
00:46:00,833 --> 00:46:05,083
in Jerusalem.

892
00:46:05,167 --> 00:46:07,292
"And they were all scattered
through the regions of

893
00:46:07,333 --> 00:46:09,375
Judea and Samaria."

894
00:46:09,458 --> 00:46:10,875
People stopped going to church.

895
00:46:10,958 --> 00:46:12,500
They stopped walking with Jesus.

896
00:46:12,542 --> 00:46:17,292
They fled, they
ran, they scattered.

897
00:46:17,333 --> 00:46:22,875
Do you know how vulnerable
one lone sheep is?

898
00:46:22,958 --> 00:46:27,375
"Except the apostles,"
the leaders, the shepherds.

899
00:46:27,458 --> 00:46:30,042
You know who the shepherds are
because when the wolves come,

900
00:46:30,125 --> 00:46:32,250
the Bible says that
the hired hand runs

901
00:46:32,333 --> 00:46:37,958
and the shepherd stays.

902
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,833
Oftentimes, you don't know who's
a hired hand or who's a shepherd

903
00:46:40,917 --> 00:46:46,667
until the wolves show up.

904
00:46:46,750 --> 00:46:49,250
Let's say I'm sitting at
your house for dinner,

905
00:46:49,333 --> 00:46:52,708
and there are two other men
there, and a woman and children,

906
00:46:52,792 --> 00:46:54,917
and I don't know which one is
the father

907
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,792
because I just met you.

908
00:46:56,833 --> 00:46:59,375
And I hear gunshots,
and a banging on the door,

909
00:46:59,458 --> 00:47:02,500
and one man runs.
That's not the husband,

910
00:47:02,542 --> 00:47:04,792
that's not the father.

911
00:47:04,833 --> 00:47:07,458
The dad runs to the door;

912
00:47:07,500 --> 00:47:11,667
the other man
runs for his life.

913
00:47:11,750 --> 00:47:15,000
You don't know who the shepherds
are sometimes

914
00:47:15,042 --> 00:47:17,667
until the wolves show up.

915
00:47:17,750 --> 00:47:19,667
And the hired men run,

916
00:47:19,708 --> 00:47:22,375
and the shepherds
hold their posts.

917
00:47:22,458 --> 00:47:24,583
That's what happens.

918
00:47:24,667 --> 00:47:27,000
They know they're going to get
treated like Stephen,

919
00:47:27,042 --> 00:47:29,000
and they stay.

920
00:47:29,042 --> 00:47:31,500
They know that their reputations
are going to be destroyed.

921
00:47:31,542 --> 00:47:34,667
They might be arrested and maybe
even murdered like Stephen,

922
00:47:34,708 --> 00:47:39,667
and they stay because they
love the sheep and because

923
00:47:39,708 --> 00:47:45,708
the Holy Spirit has given them
the heart of the Good Shepherd.

924
00:47:47,458 --> 00:47:49,667
"Devout men buried Stephen

925
00:47:49,708 --> 00:47:52,125
and made great lamentation
over him."

926
00:47:52,167 --> 00:47:54,292
Funeral.

927
00:47:54,333 --> 00:47:56,500
"But Saul was"--what?

928
00:47:56,583 --> 00:47:59,000
"Ravaging the church."

929
00:47:59,083 --> 00:48:03,000
This is--in the original
Greek--I don't do this to you

930
00:48:03,042 --> 00:48:05,875
a lot, but that's the language
for what happens

931
00:48:05,958 --> 00:48:09,500
when a wolf
gets in a sheep pen.

932
00:48:09,542 --> 00:48:14,167
It's ravaging, it's
bloodthirsty, it's ugly,

933
00:48:14,208 --> 00:48:19,667
it's death.

934
00:48:19,750 --> 00:48:24,583
"Saul was ravaging the church
and entering house after house,

935
00:48:24,667 --> 00:48:27,375
he dragged off men and women
and committed them to prison."

936
00:48:27,458 --> 00:48:32,167
Now he's making his way
through the Community Groups.

937
00:48:32,250 --> 00:48:35,375
How many of you, you're going to
go to Community Group this week,

938
00:48:35,458 --> 00:48:38,375
and you're advertising it
so that people can come,

939
00:48:38,458 --> 00:48:42,792
and if a terrorist showed up,
that would be the last day of

940
00:48:42,833 --> 00:48:46,833
your Community Group?

941
00:48:50,625 --> 00:48:54,292
There's three things
I want you to see here.

942
00:48:54,333 --> 00:48:59,375
This wolf attack on the flock,

943
00:48:59,458 --> 00:49:02,583
it's relentless,
it's religious,

944
00:49:02,667 --> 00:49:05,000
and it's ravaging.

945
00:49:05,042 --> 00:49:09,792
It's relentless, it's
religious, and it's ravaging.

946
00:49:09,833 --> 00:49:13,875
It's interesting, we don't deal
with wolves a lot in our day,

947
00:49:13,958 --> 00:49:15,875
but in some places they do.

948
00:49:15,958 --> 00:49:17,583
Let me share this with you.

949
00:49:17,667 --> 00:49:22,083
It's from the BBC
World Service Podcast.

950
00:49:22,167 --> 00:49:24,500
The announcer asks, "What's it
like when you stare

951
00:49:24,542 --> 00:49:26,750
into the eyes of a wolf?"

952
00:49:26,833 --> 00:49:30,083
Caroline Burda knows
the feeling all too well.

953
00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:32,583
She's a sheep farmer
in the French Alps.

954
00:49:32,667 --> 00:49:35,792
And in the last couple of years,
she's been on the front lines

955
00:49:35,833 --> 00:49:37,292
of a battle with the beasts.

956
00:49:37,333 --> 00:49:39,667
The wolf was hunted to almost
extinction in France

957
00:49:39,750 --> 00:49:41,167
in the 1930s,

958
00:49:41,250 --> 00:49:43,500
but after being labeled
an endangered species it has

959
00:49:43,542 --> 00:49:46,167
made a surprising comeback,
with wolves now killing

960
00:49:46,250 --> 00:49:49,042
6,000 sheep a year
and the government allowing

961
00:49:49,125 --> 00:49:50,958
some wolves to be shot.

962
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:57,000
Can't we domesticate them?
No.

963
00:49:59,083 --> 00:50:00,708
"The wolves are
clever," she says.

964
00:50:00,792 --> 00:50:03,667
"They spend long hours
watching, watching,

965
00:50:03,750 --> 00:50:06,292
"learning the flock's movements.

966
00:50:06,333 --> 00:50:09,292
"They wait and attack.

967
00:50:09,333 --> 00:50:11,833
"When they attack a flock,
especially when they get inside

968
00:50:11,875 --> 00:50:14,708
an enclosure that's supposed to
protect the flock"--this is

969
00:50:14,792 --> 00:50:17,333
the language of the church
in the New Testament.

970
00:50:17,375 --> 00:50:21,000
She says--this is
Insightful--"They go berserk.

971
00:50:21,083 --> 00:50:23,833
"Once they get in where
the sheep are, they go berserk.

972
00:50:23,875 --> 00:50:26,500
"They won't stop killing as
long is there is a sheep

973
00:50:26,542 --> 00:50:28,583
or a lamb still moving."

974
00:50:28,667 --> 00:50:32,333
It's not about the food;
it's about the death.

975
00:50:32,375 --> 00:50:35,833
"In general, we have one ewe
eaten and several others that

976
00:50:35,875 --> 00:50:39,917
"they've killed just
for the sake of it.

977
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:41,542
"What's frightening,"
says Caroline,

978
00:50:41,625 --> 00:50:43,750
"is the wolf's
singularity of purpose."

979
00:50:43,833 --> 00:50:46,250
"She spends a lot of time
looking after her sheep,

980
00:50:46,333 --> 00:50:47,958
"but people also do
other things--

981
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:51,500
"send text messages, do homework
with the kids, vacuum the house.

982
00:50:51,583 --> 00:50:55,833
"The wolf stays concentrated on
how he's going to run amuck

983
00:50:55,917 --> 00:50:57,667
in her flock."

984
00:50:57,708 --> 00:51:00,417
And then the woman
says, "All the time,

985
00:51:00,500 --> 00:51:06,708
all the time they
are watching us."

986
00:51:06,792 --> 00:51:10,500
These wolves who are
now attacking the church,

987
00:51:10,583 --> 00:51:12,500
they are relentless.

988
00:51:12,583 --> 00:51:15,625
They started with Stephen,
they've got Stephen dead,

989
00:51:15,667 --> 00:51:17,375
now they're going
from house to house.

990
00:51:17,458 --> 00:51:19,375
Do you know how much
time, and energy,

991
00:51:19,458 --> 00:51:23,500
and organization it takes
to go to this Bible study,

992
00:51:23,583 --> 00:51:26,208
this Community Group,
this Redemption Group?

993
00:51:26,292 --> 00:51:29,333
Whatever their groups were,
they were meeting in homes,

994
00:51:29,417 --> 00:51:31,708
going through
the list of the leaders,

995
00:51:31,792 --> 00:51:35,458
going through the organization
of the church, and one by one,

996
00:51:35,500 --> 00:51:39,250
declaring war, and even
taking men and women, leaders,

997
00:51:39,333 --> 00:51:42,458
off to prison to punish them.

998
00:51:42,500 --> 00:51:44,833
Well, this obviously causes
the rest of the people

999
00:51:44,875 --> 00:51:47,125
to be afraid and to scatter.

1000
00:51:47,167 --> 00:51:49,542
Wolf comes in the sheep
pen, kills a few sheep,

1001
00:51:49,625 --> 00:51:52,417
the rest of the sheep
run for their life.

1002
00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:58,458
It's relentless, this plan
that Saul has overseen.

1003
00:51:58,500 --> 00:52:00,625
It is also religious.

1004
00:52:00,667 --> 00:52:03,625
Saul is not an atheist.

1005
00:52:03,667 --> 00:52:06,125
If you were to sit
down with Saul and say,

1006
00:52:06,167 --> 00:52:08,625
"Tell me about yourself," he
would echo what he says

1007
00:52:08,667 --> 00:52:10,000
in Philippians 3:

1008
00:52:10,083 --> 00:52:12,000
"I was born into
a devoutly religious family.

1009
00:52:12,083 --> 00:52:14,333
"I learned the Hebrew Scriptures
growing up.

1010
00:52:14,375 --> 00:52:17,125
"I had a good, formal
Bible education.

1011
00:52:17,167 --> 00:52:19,792
"I'm a leader in my
religious community.

1012
00:52:19,833 --> 00:52:22,000
"I was circumcised
on the right day.

1013
00:52:22,083 --> 00:52:23,833
"I obey all the rules.

1014
00:52:23,917 --> 00:52:28,458
"I'm a good, moral,
upright person,

1015
00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:30,958
and I am doing this
for the Lord."

1016
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:32,542
No one appointed him,

1017
00:52:32,625 --> 00:52:37,833
but he believes that God
has anointed him.

1018
00:52:37,917 --> 00:52:43,917
He could argue Bible with
you all day in Hebrew.

1019
00:52:45,667 --> 00:52:50,458
He's very religious,
but he didn't love Jesus,

1020
00:52:50,500 --> 00:52:53,833
and so he's very wrong.

1021
00:52:53,875 --> 00:52:57,667
He's not serving the church,
so he's very wrong.

1022
00:52:57,708 --> 00:53:04,292
It's relentless, it's
religious, and it's ravaging.

1023
00:53:08,583 --> 00:53:10,417
They're going into
people's homes,

1024
00:53:10,500 --> 00:53:12,417
they're going into
relationships,

1025
00:53:12,500 --> 00:53:16,875
they're going into churches,
and the goal is very simple:

1026
00:53:16,958 --> 00:53:22,125
ravage, scatter.

1027
00:53:22,167 --> 00:53:28,167
Ravage, scatter.

1028
00:53:30,708 --> 00:53:36,500
What do you do
when this is done?

1029
00:53:38,875 --> 00:53:45,875
What do you do
when this is done?

1030
00:53:47,417 --> 00:53:51,750
You grieve.

1031
00:53:51,833 --> 00:53:58,833
It says that devout
men led the lamenting.

1032
00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:09,708
The Day of Pentecost was
a wedding day, thousands saved.

1033
00:54:09,792 --> 00:54:14,708
This is a funeral day.

1034
00:54:14,792 --> 00:54:17,667
Stephen is dead,
and the church is bleeding,

1035
00:54:17,750 --> 00:54:19,417
and the sheep are fleeing,

1036
00:54:19,500 --> 00:54:23,417
and the wolves
have gone berserk,

1037
00:54:23,500 --> 00:54:26,125
and the alpha has come
out of the shadows

1038
00:54:26,167 --> 00:54:33,167
and is getting all the glory.

1039
00:54:34,583 --> 00:54:38,917
We in the West
do not lament well.

1040
00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:40,583
When tragedy befalls
some Eastern cultures,

1041
00:54:40,667 --> 00:54:42,917
you turn on the TV, you're
like, "They're crying,

1042
00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:45,125
"they're out in public,
there's days of mourning,

1043
00:54:45,167 --> 00:54:46,500
there's a process."

1044
00:54:46,583 --> 00:54:47,917
We don't have that.

1045
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:52,083
We celebrate publicly;
we lament privately.

1046
00:54:52,167 --> 00:54:54,417
We make our wins
known to all,

1047
00:54:54,500 --> 00:54:57,417
and we keep our losses
to ourselves.

1048
00:54:57,500 --> 00:54:59,625
What do you do when you're
struggling and dying?

1049
00:54:59,667 --> 00:55:01,833
What happens when you
didn't get cured of cancer,

1050
00:55:01,917 --> 00:55:03,333
you're dying of cancer?

1051
00:55:03,417 --> 00:55:05,542
What happens when you didn't
live happily ever after,

1052
00:55:05,625 --> 00:55:07,167
but you got served
divorce papers?

1053
00:55:07,250 --> 00:55:09,167
What happens when you
didn't just get pregnant,

1054
00:55:09,250 --> 00:55:10,667
you had the miscarriage?

1055
00:55:10,750 --> 00:55:17,750
What happens when
it all falls apart,

1056
00:55:18,750 --> 00:55:23,583
or at least that's how it
feels--that evil is winning,

1057
00:55:23,667 --> 00:55:27,583
and you are losing,
and your heart is bleeding?

1058
00:55:27,667 --> 00:55:30,708
The answer is lamenting.

1059
00:55:30,792 --> 00:55:34,167
It's a way of not denying
reality or becoming evil,

1060
00:55:34,250 --> 00:55:35,917
but walking through it.

1061
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,125
And the Bible says we need
to walk through

1062
00:55:38,167 --> 00:55:39,833
the valley
of the shadow of death.

1063
00:55:39,875 --> 00:55:42,000
And everybody wants to
buy the book that says,

1064
00:55:42,083 --> 00:55:43,792
"Here's four, or six,
or ten steps

1065
00:55:43,833 --> 00:55:46,208
to walk around the valley
of the shadow of death."

1066
00:55:46,292 --> 00:55:48,417
Nobody--you know, "Here's
the seven steps to walk through

1067
00:55:48,500 --> 00:55:50,125
the valley
of the shadow of death."

1068
00:55:50,167 --> 00:55:52,833
We're not going to buy
that one.

1069
00:55:52,875 --> 00:55:55,375
Nobody wants to go through
the darkness, and the pain,

1070
00:55:55,458 --> 00:55:58,375
and the grief, and the loss,
and the mourning, and the hurt,

1071
00:55:58,458 --> 00:56:01,667
but the only way to the other
side of it is through it.

1072
00:56:01,708 --> 00:56:04,167
You've got to go through
it just like Jesus did.

1073
00:56:04,208 --> 00:56:06,333
There's a whole book of
the Bible called Lamentations.

1074
00:56:06,417 --> 00:56:07,750
It's about lamenting.

1075
00:56:07,833 --> 00:56:09,500
There are large sections
of the Bible

1076
00:56:09,542 --> 00:56:11,667
that are journal entries of
people who are lamenting,

1077
00:56:11,750 --> 00:56:13,083
like Nehemiah.

1078
00:56:13,167 --> 00:56:17,167
The book of Psalms is
150 poems and songs,

1079
00:56:17,208 --> 00:56:20,833
the largest category
of which are laments.

1080
00:56:20,875 --> 00:56:23,417
People who are crying out
to the Lord in frustration,

1081
00:56:23,500 --> 00:56:25,500
and hurt, and anxiety,

1082
00:56:25,542 --> 00:56:28,333
and grief,
and loss, and mourning.

1083
00:56:28,375 --> 00:56:31,833
And it's an act of faith to cry
out to God in those moments,

1084
00:56:31,875 --> 00:56:33,917
just as Stephen did.

1085
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:38,625
He was talking to Jesus.

1086
00:56:38,667 --> 00:56:42,000
If you don't mourn, ladies,
you end up in depression.

1087
00:56:42,083 --> 00:56:44,208
If you don't lament,
you end up in depression.

1088
00:56:44,292 --> 00:56:49,125
Men, if you don't mourn and
lament, you end up in anger.

1089
00:56:49,167 --> 00:56:52,667
And it's a purifying thing
for the soul to mourn,

1090
00:56:52,750 --> 00:56:55,125
and to grieve,
and to lament.

1091
00:56:55,167 --> 00:56:57,208
That's what Ecclesiastes
says that a sad face

1092
00:56:57,292 --> 00:56:59,625
is good for the heart.

1093
00:56:59,667 --> 00:57:02,875
It says about the Lord Jesus
he lamented over Jerusalem,

1094
00:57:02,958 --> 00:57:04,667
wept over it.

1095
00:57:04,750 --> 00:57:07,167
When his friend Lazarus
died, he shed his tears.

1096
00:57:07,208 --> 00:57:10,000
He lamented
the death of his friend.

1097
00:57:10,042 --> 00:57:12,167
When Jesus knew that the cross
was before him

1098
00:57:12,208 --> 00:57:15,167
and he was about to atone
for the sin of the world,

1099
00:57:15,208 --> 00:57:17,875
he had his lamenting moment in
the Garden of Gethsemane

1100
00:57:17,958 --> 00:57:19,875
with the Father, being
honest but humble,

1101
00:57:19,958 --> 00:57:23,125
and submissive yet truthful
about how this was

1102
00:57:23,167 --> 00:57:28,833
all so very painful.

1103
00:57:28,875 --> 00:57:34,917
Lamenting is how we deal
with evil,

1104
00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:38,583
injustice, sin, oppression,

1105
00:57:38,667 --> 00:57:42,583
death, grief,
mourning, and loss.

1106
00:57:42,667 --> 00:57:45,083
And the Bible says,
"We do not grieve as ones

1107
00:57:45,167 --> 00:57:47,083
who do not have hope."

1108
00:57:47,167 --> 00:57:49,417
We know that the Lord Jesus rose
from death,

1109
00:57:49,500 --> 00:57:51,083
and we will rise from death.

1110
00:57:51,167 --> 00:57:53,583
We know that the Lord Jesus sees
and knows all,

1111
00:57:53,667 --> 00:57:56,708
and so we know that all
will be made right in time.

1112
00:57:56,792 --> 00:57:59,875
And we know that when we die,
we'll stand face to face with

1113
00:57:59,958 --> 00:58:03,167
Jesus, and we will see him
who ultimately has the face

1114
00:58:03,250 --> 00:58:05,167
of an angel.

1115
00:58:05,250 --> 00:58:07,958
And so we grieve, but we
do not grieve as those

1116
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:13,917
who do not have hope.

1117
00:58:16,958 --> 00:58:19,833
I'm not good at this--

1118
00:58:19,917 --> 00:58:24,167
lamenting, and mourning,
and grieving.

1119
00:58:24,250 --> 00:58:28,667
By God's grace,
I'm growing in it.

1120
00:58:28,750 --> 00:58:30,792
And I find that it
has a cleansing

1121
00:58:30,833 --> 00:58:35,417
and purifying effect
on the soul.

1122
00:58:35,500 --> 00:58:38,625
And so I invite you to this
great gift of lamenting

1123
00:58:38,667 --> 00:58:45,333
and weeping
with those who weep.

1124
00:58:45,375 --> 00:58:50,333
And this week, when you get
together for Community Group,

1125
00:58:50,375 --> 00:58:53,708
I want you to be grateful
that you're still meeting,

1126
00:58:53,792 --> 00:58:57,000
that your leaders haven't
been thrown in prison yet,

1127
00:58:57,083 --> 00:58:59,208
and that your group hasn't
scattered as everybody ran

1128
00:58:59,292 --> 00:59:03,792
for their life.

1129
00:59:03,833 --> 00:59:09,167
And I want you to treat
one another as sheep.

1130
00:59:09,250 --> 00:59:12,167
And if you know any
wandering sheep,

1131
00:59:12,250 --> 00:59:15,167
I want you to invite them back
to the flock

1132
00:59:15,250 --> 00:59:17,292
because they're in danger.

1133
00:59:17,333 --> 00:59:20,000
We love them.

1134
00:59:20,083 --> 00:59:23,375
And as we collect our tithes
and offerings and we get ready

1135
00:59:23,458 --> 00:59:25,875
to partake of Communion,
remembering the Good Shepherd

1136
00:59:25,958 --> 00:59:29,417
who laid down his life
for the sheep, that Jesus,

1137
00:59:29,500 --> 00:59:33,167
just like Stephen, he had his
body broken and his blood shed,

1138
00:59:33,250 --> 00:59:38,625
and the wolves attacked him
in our place for our sins.

1139
00:59:38,667 --> 00:59:42,833
I want you to get ready for
Community Group this week.

1140
00:59:42,875 --> 00:59:44,375
A couple questions.

1141
00:59:44,458 --> 00:59:46,500
Is your alpha
a shepherd or a wolf?

1142
00:59:46,583 --> 00:59:50,375
The person you look up to,
listen to, and follow--

1143
00:59:50,458 --> 00:59:55,875
are they a wolf or a shepherd?

1144
00:59:55,958 --> 00:59:58,875
Are you in a pack of
wolves or a flock of sheep?

1145
00:59:58,958 --> 01:00:02,500
Wolves roll together in a pack;
sheep roll together in a flock.

1146
01:00:02,542 --> 01:00:05,875
Sheep don't hurt
people; wolves do.

1147
01:00:05,958 --> 01:00:09,625
And Mars Hill, we don't
criticize other churches.

1148
01:00:09,667 --> 01:00:12,917
We'll disagree with certain
theological content for sure,

1149
01:00:13,000 --> 01:00:16,208
but we don't criticize
and attack other churches.

1150
01:00:16,292 --> 01:00:18,208
We don't.

1151
01:00:18,292 --> 01:00:21,208
Are you in a pack of
wolves or a flock of sheep?

1152
01:00:21,292 --> 01:00:23,958
The people that you run with,
spend time with, listen to,

1153
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:31,000
lean on, is it a pack of wolves
or is it a flock of sheep?

1154
01:00:32,708 --> 01:00:35,708
Number three,
how do you lament?

1155
01:00:35,792 --> 01:00:38,833
How do you lament, and how
can you lament together?

1156
01:00:38,917 --> 01:00:41,833
It was a public thing
that they did together.

1157
01:00:41,917 --> 01:00:45,042
If one of you in the group
or more than one of you

1158
01:00:45,125 --> 01:00:47,167
in the group is really
struggling and suffering,

1159
01:00:47,208 --> 01:00:49,042
it feels like
a season of bleeding.

1160
01:00:49,125 --> 01:00:50,458
What does lamenting look like?

1161
01:00:50,500 --> 01:00:52,958
And lastly, is God calling
you to be a shepherd?

1162
01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:56,167
You say, "Man, as I hear this
my heart is for Jesus' people,

1163
01:00:56,208 --> 01:00:58,667
"and his church,
and the well-being of those

1164
01:00:58,708 --> 01:01:00,417
who are vulnerable."

1165
01:01:00,500 --> 01:01:02,417
Then by the power
of the Holy Spirit,

1166
01:01:02,500 --> 01:01:04,417
qualify yourself to be
a Community Group leader,

1167
01:01:04,500 --> 01:01:06,625
and to be a deacon,
to be an elder--

1168
01:01:06,667 --> 01:01:12,125
whatever the case may be
that God is burdening of you.

1169
01:01:12,167 --> 01:01:15,208
As we take of Communion, we
honor our Good Shepherd who laid

1170
01:01:15,292 --> 01:01:19,083
down his life for his sheep,
who from the cross prayed,

1171
01:01:19,167 --> 01:01:23,333
"Father forgive them,"
just like Stephen.

1172
01:01:23,417 --> 01:01:27,000
And we're here because Jesus
answered his own prayer.

1173
01:01:27,083 --> 01:01:29,500
In dying for our sin,
he forgave us.

1174
01:01:29,583 --> 01:01:31,750
You need to know this.

1175
01:01:31,833 --> 01:01:35,833
We're the pack.

1176
01:01:35,917 --> 01:01:40,750
He's the Good Shepherd.

1177
01:01:40,833 --> 01:01:44,042
And then we're going
to sing to Jesus.

1178
01:01:44,125 --> 01:01:49,333
We need to see him as
Stephen saw him--in glory,

1179
01:01:49,417 --> 01:01:54,000
standing up for us

1180
01:01:54,083 --> 01:01:59,042
and waiting to welcome us.

1181
01:01:59,125 --> 01:02:03,708
Lord Jesus, we ask that you
would send the Holy Spirit,

1182
01:02:03,792 --> 01:02:09,917
that we would see the ways
in which we are relentless,

1183
01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:16,000
religious, ravaging wolves,

1184
01:02:16,083 --> 01:02:20,333
and that we would see that
you are a Good Shepherd

1185
01:02:20,417 --> 01:02:25,542
who has laid down his
life for his sheep.

1186
01:02:25,625 --> 01:02:29,125
And Lord Jesus, we ask for the
grace now through the power

1187
01:02:29,167 --> 01:02:31,958
of the Holy Spirit
to see you in glory,

1188
01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:35,042
to see you seated at
the right hand of the Father,

1189
01:02:35,125 --> 01:02:39,250
to see you on your throne,
to see you high and exalted,

1190
01:02:39,333 --> 01:02:42,250
to see you receiving
all praise and glory,

1191
01:02:42,333 --> 01:02:46,833
to see you surrounded
by angels and saints.

1192
01:02:46,875 --> 01:02:52,042
Lord Jesus, that's where we are
going and so in this moment,

1193
01:02:52,125 --> 01:02:54,750
let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

1194
01:02:54,833 --> 01:02:57,167
the author and perfector
of our faith,

1195
01:02:57,208 --> 01:02:59,833
who for the joy set before
him endured the cross,

1196
01:02:59,917 --> 01:03:03,583
scorning its shame, and sat down
at the right hand of the Father.

1197
01:03:03,667 --> 01:03:07,000
Consider him who endures such
opposition from sinful men

1198
01:03:07,083 --> 01:03:10,667
that you would not grow
weary or lose heart.

1199
01:03:10,750 --> 01:03:15,000
Lord Jesus, may we look
to you and not grow weary

1200
01:03:15,083 --> 01:03:16,583
or lose heart.

1201
01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,958
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1202
01:03:21,000 --> 01:03:24,042
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1203
01:03:24,125 --> 01:03:26,667
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1204
01:03:26,708 --> 01:03:29,292
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1205
01:03:29,333 --> 01:03:32,833
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1206
01:03:32,917 --> 01:03:35,833
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1207
01:03:35,917 --> 01:03:38,750
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