Acts 7:2-53

"[Stephen continued his defense with a shocking turn, quoting Isaiah and criticizing worshiping only in the Temple:] "Our ancestors carried the..."

"[Stephen replied to his accusers by speaking about Abraham's faith]: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor..."

"[Stephen continued his defense before the council:] "One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel....."

"[As Stephen continued his defense, he pointed to God's faithfulness through Joseph:] "But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery,..."

"[As Stephen continued his defense, he moved from God's deliverance of his people through Joseph and began to tell the story of Moses:] "As the time..."

"[Stephen reminded his adversaries of the kind of leader Moses was:] "So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they..."

"[In his defense before the council, Stephen continued to tell the story of Moses:] "Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel..."

"Then the high priest asked Stephen, "Are these accusations true?" This was Stephen's reply: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God..."

"[In his defense before the council, Stephen spoke of his rebellious ancestors and God's judgment on them:] "So they made an idol shaped like a calf,....."

"[Stephen continued his defense by reviewing some significant things in the lives of Israel's patriarchs:] "God also gave Abraham the covenant of..."

"[Stephen spoke of God's work through the life and hardship of Moses:] "At that time Moses was born — a beautiful child in God's eyes. His parents..."

"[Stephen, in his defense before the council, emphasized how the Jewish ancestors had turned against Moses during their time in the Sinai wilderness:]...."

"[Stephen moved from reviewing Jewish history in response to the accusation against him to challenging his accusers by saying,] "You stubborn people!....."

"[Stephen said to the Sanhedrin,] "You stubborn people! You are heathens at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what..."

"[In his defense before the Sanhedrin, Stephen said,] "And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the..."

"[In his defense, Stephen continued to tell the story of Moses:] "So God sent back [to Egypt] the same man his people had previously rejected when they..."

"[Stephen continued talking about Moses in his defense before the council:] When Moses heard that [his killing of an Egyptian was known among the..."

"Jacob's sons became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and saved him from all his troubles. The king of..."

"[Stephen continued his defense before the council by quoting what God said to Moses when calling him back to Egypt to save God's people:] "'I have..."

Are those old broken dreams really gone? Phil Ware continues a series of messages called Traveling Mercies focusing on Moses and his journey from broken dreams to having those dreams realized in his life.

"Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not."

"[Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrin:] "You stubborn people! You are heathens at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit?...."

Inspirational illustration of Acts 7:25 -- Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.

Are you looking back or straining to what's ahead? Sometimes we find ourselves unhappy with where we are and look back to the good ol' days just like Israel did in turning their hearts back to Egypt.

"But Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been a skilled speaker. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly..."

"Dear Believer, Today I want to give you a glimpse of My servant, Stephen. In the verses below, you will see how he followed My example when faced..."