Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Whitewashed Tombs - The Books of Acts, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, & 1 Corinthians

Transcript

Whitewashed Tombs - The Books of Acts, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, & 1 Corinthians · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Then said Paul unto him, God shall
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  Speaker 1: smite thee, thou whited wall. Forsittest thou to judge me
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  Speaker 1: after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary
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  Speaker 1: to the law? Acts 23.3 Heavenly Father, when deceitful people
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  Speaker 1: plot against me to hinder and derail the purposes of
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  Speaker 1: my life, like Paul in today's reading, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that you have a special messenger that will relay the
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  Speaker 1: plans of the enemy to those who can shift and
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  Speaker 1: redirect my steps to safety. Move on my behalf today
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  Speaker 1: and direct my life to the place of safety, surrounded
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  Speaker 1: by men and women who are dedicated to helping me
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  Speaker 1: get to the final destination in my life. I declare
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  Speaker 1: that no plan of the enemy will thwart the eternal
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  Speaker 1: plans of God. I declare that even in the midst
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  Speaker 1: of hatred and violence, you will preserve me, because you
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  Speaker 1: have purposed me to do great things on your behalf, Jesus. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: I will not be moved by the shouts and words
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  Speaker 1: of others. I will not allow their ignorance to overshadow
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  Speaker 1: my significance. I acknowledge today that I am called. And
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  Speaker 1: because I am called, no man can cancel what you've
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  Speaker 1: already approved. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for making prayer
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  Speaker 1: a priority in your life. To hear the Bible come
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: to life, stay tuned for the Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: In our last story, Paul attempted to make peace with
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  Speaker 2: the Jews in Jerusalem by adhering to their ceremonies. However,
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  Speaker 2: his reputation for starting churches preceded him. Paul was universally
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  Speaker 2: hated among the Jews in Jerusalem, so they beat him
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  Speaker 2: and tried to kill him. Luckily, he was saved by
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  Speaker 2: the judge of Jerusalem, where Paul would get a fair
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  Speaker 2: trial as a Roman citizen. Now we see that the
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  Speaker 2: Jews refuse to let Paul receive a fair and just trial.
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  Speaker 2: They are hell-bent on killing him, so the judge is
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  Speaker 2: forced to send him away to the governor, one step
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  Speaker 2: closer to Rome. Inspired by the book of Acts, Galatians, Philippians,
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  Speaker 2: 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, and 1 Corinthians.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, Simply go
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: you for your support. In our previous episode, Paul returned
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: to Jerusalem. He sought to be at peace, even participating
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  Speaker 3: in Jewish religious traditions in order to demonstrate to believing Jews,
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  Speaker 3: that is Jews who believed in Jesus, that he was
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  Speaker 3: not rejecting or despising ancient tradition. However, This peace was
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  Speaker 3: soon shattered as unbelieving Jews from Asia who had heard
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  Speaker 3: of Paul's ministry and despised him stirred up the entire
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  Speaker 3: city against him. It nearly cost Paul his life, but
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  Speaker 3: he had appealed to the Roman judge on the basis
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  Speaker 3: of his Roman citizenship and his life was spared, though
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  Speaker 3: he would have to stand trial with the Jewish religious council.
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  Speaker 3: So today we'll hear as Paul appears before the Pharisees, Sadducees,
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  Speaker 3: and elders of Jerusalem. The divided panel will fail to
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  Speaker 3: come to a conclusion about Paul, and Paul would be
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  Speaker 3: referred to the governor for trial. This frustrated council will
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  Speaker 3: plot to kill Paul, but God will once again spare
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  Speaker 3: his life. So, listen now to the reading of God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: Paul stood before the council of Pharisees and elders. The
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  Speaker 2: judge was above them all, observing their dialogue to make
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  Speaker 2: a decision. Dried blood was caked on the side of
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  Speaker 2: Paul's face. As he looked at the crowd, his knee
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  Speaker 2: was swollen from yesterday's beating. It throbbed as he stood
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  Speaker 2: before his accusers. My brothers, I have lived my whole
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  Speaker 2: life with a clear conscience. I, the high priest, slapped
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  Speaker 2: Paul on the side of his face. He ordered the
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  Speaker 2: other men to do the same. One by one they
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  Speaker 2: struck him. With every blow, Paul became more and more angry.
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  Speaker 2: Blood dripped down from his ears. Paul paused for a
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  Speaker 2: long moment. You whitewashed tomb, he scowled. His voice raised
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  Speaker 2: for the whole room to hear. His bones shook with anger.
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  Speaker 2: He could no longer endure their hypocrisy. You judge me
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  Speaker 2: because I broke your law, but here you are raising
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  Speaker 2: your hand against a brother, disobeying your own law. Shut up,
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  Speaker 2: one of them shouted. Don't you know you are speaking
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  Speaker 2: to the high priest? Paul rolled his neck back and
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  Speaker 2: thought for a moment. He looked at the crowd. He
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  Speaker 2: saw that some of them were Pharisees and others were Sadducees. Perfect,
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  Speaker 2: Paul thought to himself. The Pharisees believed in resurrection from
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  Speaker 2: the dead, spirit, and angels. Sadducees, however, did not. It
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  Speaker 2: was a highly debated topic of the time and caused
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  Speaker 2: a great amount of division in the culture. Rather than
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  Speaker 2: argue with his accusers, he decided to pit them against
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  Speaker 2: one another. My brothers, please forgive me, Paul said with
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  Speaker 2: an apologetic smile. I was simply hoping in the resurrection
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  Speaker 2: from the dead. I presume that is why I am
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  Speaker 2: on trial. Paul remained silent after this. He could hear
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  Speaker 2: mumbles and murmurings from the crowd. Small conversations arose from
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  Speaker 2: different corners of the room, and soon the entire courthouse
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  Speaker 2: was in an uproar. Pharisees and Sadducees arguing over spiritual matters.
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  Speaker 2: Paul chuckled to himself, remembering when he was as petty
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  Speaker 2: and prideful as they were. They argued for a while,
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  Speaker 2: but eventually turned their aggression towards Paul. Afraid that he
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  Speaker 2: might be ripped to shreds, the judge took him away
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  Speaker 2: and made arrangements for him to go to the governor
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  Speaker 2: for a trial. So Paul spent yet another night in
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  Speaker 2: a cold jail cell. He could hear the clamoring of
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  Speaker 2: people outside, His heart ached for the Ephesian church. He
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  Speaker 2: prayed that they were living in their identities. He missed
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  Speaker 2: the Philippian church. He thanked God for their partnership in
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  Speaker 2: the gospel. He worried for the Corinthian church. He prayed
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  Speaker 2: that their hearts would turn back to God. He rejoiced
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  Speaker 2: over the Thessalonian church. He prayed that they would remain
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  Speaker 2: steadfast and unbroken. He anguished over the Galatian church. Yet
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  Speaker 2: he had hoped that they would reunite with the gospel
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  Speaker 2: of grace. All these people Paul had seen grow and
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  Speaker 2: follow Jesus. He loved them all with a father's heart.
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  Speaker 2: He worried that he would never see any of them again.
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  Speaker 2: As Paul closed his eyes and drifted slowly to sleep,
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  Speaker 2: he felt the comforting voice of God's Spirit saying, Be
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  Speaker 2: strong and courageous, for I am sending you to Rome.
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  Speaker 2: As Paul slept soundly in his cell, the Jews plotted
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  Speaker 2: to kill him the next day. Under the cover of night,
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  Speaker 2: they conspired to murder him, It was their plan to
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  Speaker 2: ask the judge for another trial, and while Paul was
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  Speaker 2: being led to the courthouse, they would send thirty men
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  Speaker 2: to kill him. It was a simple plan, but foolproof,
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  Speaker 2: if they could get the judge to agree to another trial. However,
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  Speaker 2: an agent of the Lord was present in the shadows.
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  Speaker 2: An unknowing minister of his will was listening in on
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  Speaker 2: their conversation. A small boy hid between two barrels, listening
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  Speaker 2: to the Jews conspiring to kill Paul. This little boy
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  Speaker 2: was Paul's nephew. Paul's nephew informed the judge about the
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  Speaker 2: plot to kill him. So the judge gathered 200 men
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  Speaker 2: to escort Paul to Felix, the governor.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading with Paul addressing the council of
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  Speaker 3: the high priests, Pharisees, and elders of Jerusalem. He was
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  Speaker 3: barely able to get his first words out before the
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  Speaker 3: high priest Ananias turned to violence, ordering those near Paul
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  Speaker 3: to strike him on the mouth and silence him. In response,
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  Speaker 3: we hear Paul rebuke them in Acts 23 verse 3, saying,
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  Speaker 3: God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall. Are
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  Speaker 3: you sitting to judge me according to the law, and
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  Speaker 3: yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?
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  Speaker 3: In calling out the hypocrisy and the hatred of those
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  Speaker 3: who were judging him, Paul's words hearkened back to Christ's
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  Speaker 3: own condemnation of the Pharisees, whom he called whitewashed tombs.
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  Speaker 3: Whitewashing walls or tombs does not change what is behind
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  Speaker 3: the exterior visage, and the council's grandstanding and piety did
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  Speaker 3: not change the condition of their unbelieving hearts. The fact
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  Speaker 3: that they desperately needed genuine salvation. They needed Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah and Savior of the world. Paul then noted
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  Speaker 3: that among these men, there was no unity. The council
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  Speaker 3: was made up of Pharisees as well as Sadducees, the
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  Speaker 3: latter of which did not believe in bodily resurrection from
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  Speaker 3: the dead. Knowing he could not argue his way out
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  Speaker 3: of this situation, Paul made use of the disagreement among
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  Speaker 3: these men, stating that he was being put on trial
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  Speaker 3: simply because he had hope in the resurrection. In this,
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  Speaker 3: Paul was completely truthful, because he did have great hope
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  Speaker 3: in the resurrection of Jesus, and therefore the resurrection of
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  Speaker 3: his own body, because of what Christ had accomplished and promised.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life, and
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  Speaker 3: he that believes in me, though he be dead, he
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  Speaker 3: will live. And though the Pharisees didn't hope in the
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  Speaker 3: same way in the resurrection, they found themselves backed into
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  Speaker 3: a corner. They could not condemn Paul for affirming something
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  Speaker 3: that they believed so dearly, the resurrection of the dead.
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  Speaker 3: So some advocated for his release. As the dissension among
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  Speaker 3: the group grew more and more heated, violence began to erupt.
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  Speaker 3: The Roman judge who stood observing the proceedings was worried,
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  Speaker 3: that Paul would be ripped to shreds, so he shut
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  Speaker 3: things down and sent him back to the barracks. That
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  Speaker 3: very night, the Lord appeared to Paul to comfort and
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  Speaker 3: strengthen him, telling him to take courage because this was
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  Speaker 3: not the end of the road for him. You see,
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  Speaker 3: even in the moment of trial, God was working out
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  Speaker 3: his purposes. Just as Paul had testified to the gospel
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  Speaker 3: in Jerusalem, he would soon have the opportunity to go
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  Speaker 3: to Rome and to share Jesus Christ at the very
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  Speaker 3: seat of power. More than a simple side note to
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  Speaker 3: this story, this is the main point. God works all
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  Speaker 3: things for the good of those who love him and
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  Speaker 3: are fulfilling his purposes. This is Romans 8, 28 in
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  Speaker 3: the New Testament. Let me quote it. For God is
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  Speaker 3: working all things together for the good to them who
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  Speaker 3: love the Lord, to those who are called according to
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  Speaker 3: his purpose. Of course, Paul was not out of danger yet.
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  Speaker 3: As he sat in his cell that night in Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 3: the leader there began to plot his murder. They planned
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  Speaker 3: to ask the judge for another trial the next morning,
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  Speaker 3: but this was only to kill him before he could
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  Speaker 3: even arrive at the courthouse. But as we know, God
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  Speaker 3: had a bigger, a greater plan for Paul. So it
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  Speaker 3: should come as no surprise that their plan was uncovered.
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  Speaker 3: Paul's own nephew overheard them and alerted Paul, who warned
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  Speaker 3: the centurion who was guarding him. So as we close
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  Speaker 3: today's reading, we heard how God provided safe passage for
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  Speaker 3: Paul to leave Jerusalem, not under the cover of night,
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  Speaker 3: but with a Roman escort of 200 soldiers. The gospel
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  Speaker 3: was marching on, headed to Caesarea and Felix the governor.
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  Speaker 3: We'll get to that the next time. Dear Lord, how
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  Speaker 3: we thank you for the reminder that our lives are
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  Speaker 3: always in your hands, that we can be courageous and
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  Speaker 3: fearless in the face of death. Lord, we thank you
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  Speaker 3: for the power of the resurrection and the promise of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel that Jesus lives. May we live in the
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  Speaker 3: power of his cross and resurrection every day of our lives.
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  Speaker 3: And may we always be faithful to share this good
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  Speaker 3: news with our neighbors and the nations. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
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  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries, and can only come to you each
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: the Bible and how God's Word transforms our lives. So
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: to get your copy of The Jesus Book, Simply go
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: you for your support.