Acts 7 - Prayer Tents



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Acts 7
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Stephen Addresses the Council

7Then the high priest asked Stephen, "Are these accusations true?"G1161G2036G749G1487G686G2192G5023G3779 2This was Stephen's reply: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran.G1161G5346G435G80G2532G3962G191G2316G1391G3700G2257G3962G11G5607G1722G3318G4250G2228G846G2730G1722G5488 3God told him, 'Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.'G2532G2036G4314G846G1831G1537G4675G1093G2532G1537G4675G4772G2532G1204G1519G1093G3739G302G1166G4671 4So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.G5119G1831G1537G1093G5466G2730G1722G5488G2547G3326G846G3962G599G3351G846G1519G5026G1093G1519G3739G5210G3568G2730 5"But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.G2532G1325G846G3756G2817G1722G846G3761G968G4228G968G2532G1861G1325G846G846G1519G2697G2532G846G4690G3326G846G846G5607G3756G5043 6God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.G1161G2316G2980G3779G3754G846G4690G2071G3941G1722G245G1093G2532G1402G846G1402G2532G2559G5071G2094 7'But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,' God said, 'and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.'G2532G1484G3739G1437G1398G2919G1473G2919G2036G2316G2532G3326G5023G1831G2532G3000G3427G1722G5129G5117 8"God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.G2532G1325G846G1242G4061G2532G3779G1080G2464G2532G4059G846G3590G2250G2532G2464G2384G2532G2384G1427G3966 9"These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with himG2532G3966G2206G591G2501G1519G125G2532G2316G2258G3326G846 10and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.G2532G1807G846G1537G3956G846G2347G2532G1325G846G5485G2532G4678G1726G5328G935G125G2532G2525G846G2233G1909G125G2532G3650G846G3624 11"But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.G1161G2064G3042G1909G3650G1093G125G2532G5477G2532G3173G2347G2532G2257G3962G2147G3756G5527 12Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some.G1161G2384G191G5607G4621G1722G125G1821G2257G3962G4412 13The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh.G2532G1722G1208G2501G319G846G80G2532G2501G1085G1096G5318G5328 14Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all.G1161G649G2501G3333G846G3962G2384G2532G3956G846G4772G1722G1440G4002G5590 15So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors.G1161G2384G2597G1519G125G2532G5053G846G2532G2257G3962 16Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor's sons in Shechem.G2532G3346G1519G4966G2532G5087G1722G3418G3739G11G5608G5092G694G3844G5207G1697G3588G4966 17"As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.G1161G2531G5550G1860G1448G3739G2316G3660G11G2992G837G2532G4129G1722G125 18But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph.G891G3739G2087G935G450G3739G1492G3756G2501 19This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.G3778G2686G2257G1085G2559G2257G3962G4160G1570G846G1025G1519G2225G3361G2225 20"At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God's eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.G1722G3739G2540G3475G1080G2532G2258G2316G791G3739G397G1722G846G3962G3624G5140G3376 21When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son.G1161G846G1620G5328G2364G337G846G337G2532G397G846G1519G1438G5207 22Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.G2532G3475G3811G3956G4678G124G1161G2258G1415G1722G3056G2532G1722G2041 23"One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel.G1161G5613G846G4137G5063G5550G305G1909G846G2588G1980G846G80G5207G2474 24He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man's defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.G2532G1492G5100G91G292G2532G1557G4160G2669G3960G124 25Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn't.G1161G3543G846G80G4920G3754G2316G1223G846G5495G1325G4991G846G1161G4920G3756 26"The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. 'Men,' he said, 'you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?'G5037G1966G2250G3700G846G3164G2532G4900G846G1519G1515G2036G435G5210G2075G80G2444G91G240 27"But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' he asked.G1161G91G4139G91G683G846G683G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G1909G2248 28'Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?'G3361G2309G4771G337G3165G3739G5158G337G124G5504 29When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.G1161G5343G3475G1722G5129G3056G2532G1096G3941G1722G1093G3099G3757G1080G1417G5207 30"Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.G2532G5062G2094G4137G3700G846G1722G2048G3735G4614G32G2962G1722G5395G4442G942 31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the LORD called out to him,G1161G3475G1492G2296G3705G1161G846G4334G2657G5456G2962G1096G4314G846 32'I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.G1473G2316G4675G3962G2316G11G2532G2316G2464G2532G2316G2384G1161G3475G1096G1790G5111G3756G2657 33"Then the LORD said to him, 'Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.G1161G2036G2962G846G3089G5266G4675G4228G1063G5117G1722G3739G2476G2076G40G1093 34I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.'G1492G1492G2561G3450G2992G3588G1722G125G2532G191G846G4726G2532G2597G1807G846G2532G3568G1204G649G4571G1519G125 35"So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior.G5126G3475G3739G720G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G5126G2316G649G758G2532G3086G1722G5495G32G3588G3700G846G1722G942 36And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.G3778G1806G846G1806G4160G5059G2532G4592G1722G1093G125G2532G1722G2063G2281G2532G1722G2048G5062G2094 37"Moses himself told the people of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.'G3778G2076G3475G3588G2036G5207G2474G4396G450G2962G5216G2316G450G5213G1537G5216G80G5613G1691G846G191 38Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God's people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.G3778G2076G1096G1722G1577G1722G2048G3326G32G3588G2980G846G1722G3735G4614G2532G2257G3962G3739G1209G2198G3051G1325G2254 39"But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.G3739G2257G3962G2309G3756G1096G5255G235G683G2532G846G2588G4762G1519G125 40They told Aaron, 'Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don't know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.'G2036G2G4160G2254G2316G3739G4313G2257G1063G3778G3475G3739G1806G2248G1537G1093G125G1492G3756G5101G1096G846 41So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.G2532G3447G1722G1565G2250G2532G321G2378G1497G2532G2165G1722G2041G846G5495 42Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, 'Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?G1161G2316G4762G2532G3860G846G3860G3000G4756G3772G2531G1125G1722G976G4396G3624G2474G3361G4374G3427G4968G2532G2378G5062G2094G1722G2048 43No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.'G2532G353G4633G3434G2532G798G5216G2316G4481G5179G3739G4160G4352G846G2532G3351G5209G3351G1900G897 44"Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.G2257G3962G2258G4633G3142G1722G1722G2048G2531G1299G2980G3475G4160G846G2596G5179G3739G3708 45Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.G3739G2532G2257G3962G1237G1521G3326G2424G1722G2697G1484G3739G2316G1856G575G4383G2257G3962G2193G2250G1138 46"David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.G3739G2147G5485G1799G2316G2532G154G2147G4638G2316G2384 47But it was Solomon who actually built it.G1161G4672G3618G846G3624 48However, the Most High doesn't live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,G235G5310G2730G3756G1722G3485G5499G2531G3004G4396 49'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?' asks the LORD. 'Could you build me such a resting place?G3772G3427G2362G1161G1093G3450G4228G5286G4169G3624G3618G3427G3004G2962G2228G5101G5117G3450G2663 50Didn't my hands make both heaven and earth?'G4160G3780G3450G5495G4160G3956G5023 51"You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you!G4644G2532G564G2588G2532G3775G5210G496G104G496G40G4151G5613G5216G3962G2532G5210 52Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.G5101G4396G1377G3756G5216G3962G1377G2532G615G3588G4293G4012G1660G1342G3739G5210G1096G3568G4273G2532G5406 53You deliberately disobeyed God's law, even though you received it from the hands of angels."G3748G2983G3551G1519G1296G32G2532G5442G3756G5442 54The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.G1161G191G5023G1282G2588G846G2532G1031G1909G846G3599 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand.G1161G5225G4134G40G4151G816G1519G3772G1492G1391G2316G2532G2424G2476G1537G1188G2316 56And he told them, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!"G2532G2036G2400G2334G3772G455G2532G5207G444G2476G1537G1188G2316 57Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at himG1161G2896G3173G5456G4912G846G3775G2532G3729G1909G846G3661 58and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.G2532G1544G1854G4172G3036G2532G3144G659G846G2440G3844G3494G4228G2564G4569 59As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."G2532G3036G4736G1941G2532G3004G2962G2424G1209G3450G4151 60He fell to his knees, shouting, "Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" And with that, he died.G1161G5087G1119G2896G3173G5456G2962G2476G3361G5026G266G846G2532G2036G5124G2837


New Living Translation (NLT). Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. More details.
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