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May 25 - Acts 4 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:11
  Hello friends. It's Sean.
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  Here it is Monday, it's the 25th of May, and this is me
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  attempting to be as perky as the background music.
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  At the start of the podcast I had someone message me saying,
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  Sean, I think this music is like the perfect representation of
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  who you are. So I'm not quite sure how to
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  take that. I'm going to go with Perky.
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  I hope you're doing well at the start of this new week as you
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  and I continue on this spectacular journey into the
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  growth of the new church as we see Jesus through his Spirit,
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  growing his people, growing this church at this unbelievable rate
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  and working out what does it mean to be a disciple, a
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  follower of Jesus in this really tough, harsh world of the Roman
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  Empire and beyond. And so that is what are we going
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  to be covering over the next few weeks as we read through the
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  story, as we hear these incredible apostles going out
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  and just having their minds blown with what the Holy Spirit
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  has in mind, with who is included and how this new
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  Kingdom will be. So why don't you join me,
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  friends? Holy Spirit, come open up our
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  hearts, teach us who you are so that we can encounter you in a
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  new and fresh way today. All right, friends, let us read
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  together Acts Chapter 4. While Peter and John were
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  speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests,
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  the captain of the temple guard and some of the Sadducees.
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  These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John
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  were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a
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  resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and since it
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  was already evening, put them in gaol until morning.
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  But many of the people who heard their message believed it so.
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  The number of men who believed now totalled about 5000.
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  The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and
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  teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.
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  Annus, the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John
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  Alexander and other relatives of the high priest.
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  They brought in the two disciples and demanded By what
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  power or in whose name have you done this?
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  And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and
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  elders of our people, are we being questioned today because
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  we've done a good deed for a crippled man?
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  Do you want to know how he was healed?
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  Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of
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  Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ,
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  the Nazarene, the man you crucified, but whom God raised
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  from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to
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  in the Scriptures when it says, the stone that you builders
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  rejected has now become the cornerstone.
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  There is salvation in no one else.
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  God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be
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  saved. The members of the council were
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  amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for
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  they could see that they were ordinary men, but no special
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  training in the Scriptures. They also recognised them as men
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  who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man
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  who had been healed standing right there among them, there
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  was nothing the council could say.
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  So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and
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  conferred among themselves. What should we do with these
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  men? They asked each other.
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  We can't deny that they've performed A miraculous sign and
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  everybody in Jerusalem knows about it, but to keep them from
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  spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not
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  to speak to anyone in Jesus name again.
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  So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never
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  again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
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  But Peter and John replied, Do you think God wants us to obey
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  you rather than him? We cannot stop telling people
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  about everything we have seen and heard.
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  The council then threatened them further, but they finally let
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  them go because they didn't know how to punish them without
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  starting a riot. For everyone was praising God
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  for this miraculous sign, the healing of a man who had been
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  lame for more than 40 years. As soon as they were freed,
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  Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them
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  what their leading priests and elders had said.
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  When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their
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  voices together in prayer to God.
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  O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and
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  everything in them. You spoke long ago by the Holy
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  Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, Why
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  were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time
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  with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared
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  for battle. The rulers gathered together
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  against the Lord and against His Messiah.
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  In fact, this has happened here in this very city, for Herod
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  Antipus, Pontius Pilate, the governor, the Gentiles, and the
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  people of Israel were all united against Jesus, Your holy
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  servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was
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  determined beforehand according to Your will.
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  And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, Your
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  servants, great boldness in preaching Your Word, stretching
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  out Your hand with healing power.
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  May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of Your
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  holy servant, Jesus. After this prayer, the meeting
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  place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
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  Then they preached the Word of God with boldness.
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  All the believers were united in heart and mind, and they felt
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  that what they owned was not their own, so they shared
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  everything they had. The apostles testified
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  powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's
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  great blessing was upon them all.
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  There were no needy people among them because those who owned
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  land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the
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  apostles to give to those in need.
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  For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed
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  Barnabas, which means son of encouragement.
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  He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the land of
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  Cyprus. He sold the field he owned and
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  brought the money to the apostles.
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  Oh Lord, what an inspiration this chapter is to see how this
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  early church rolled, to see how when they came under attack,
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  they came to you on bended knee and prayer.
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  And they didn't pray for protection.
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  They didn't pray for safe passage.
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  They prayed for boldness to be able to continue sharing Your
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  Word effectively. Ah Lord, I pray that You would
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  infect us with a similar spirit of boldness so that as we face
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  opposition, our desire would be for increased boldness to tell
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  of Your great love for us. Because what could be more
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  important than sharing the story of You and what You have done
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  for us and the reality that You have now ushered in for all
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  humankind? Ah, you are a generous,
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  wonderful God, and we just praise you and worship you.
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  And we pray all of this in your wonderful saving name, Jesus,
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  Amen.