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Glory awaits the faithful. Acts 7:55-60. Glory awaits the faithful. How does that help when I struggle with suffering?. One: You must STAND on truth. Stephen is murdered because he has preached truth. A firm grasp of Scripture can help us in suffering.
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One: You must STAND on truth. • Stephen is murdered because he has preached truth. • A firm grasp of Scripture can help us in suffering. • “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). • Comfort in Scripture: • “My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). • “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). • Heb13:5b-6.
Two: You must SEE Jesus. • Stephen saw Jesus as he was about to die. • Through Scripture, we can see Jesus. • We see His example in suffering. • “To this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Pet 2:21). • We see His glory after suffering. • “When [Jesus] had by Himself purged our sins, [He] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:3). • “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).
Three: You must SHOW mercy. • Stephen shows great mercy. • Is there someone you need to forgive?
Four: You must SUPPLICATE. • Stephen prays twice in this passage. • Why pray? • We have nowhere else to turn. • “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me” (2 Tim 4:16). • We have a great helper in Jesus. • “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn 14:14). • We will be with the Lord shortly. • Your life “is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Js 4:14).