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Little Christs - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And it came to pass that a
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  Speaker 1: whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught
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  Speaker 1: much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for giving me the heart of Barnabas, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for allowing me to encourage and to speak
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  Speaker 1: life into all those willing to listen. As I grow
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  Speaker 1: and evolve in my faith, I pray that my life
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  Speaker 1: would be a beacon of hope and a model for
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  Speaker 1: others to follow. As you begin to expand your number
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  Speaker 1: of believers around me, I pray that we would operate
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  Speaker 1: in such a way that people can see the resemblance
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  Speaker 1: of Christ in our everyday actions and deeds. Through this,
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  Speaker 1: I pray that revival will break loose in my city,
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  Speaker 1: in my state, and in my country. I pray that
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  Speaker 1: we would make such a noise that the whole world
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  Speaker 1: will look in our direction and wonder where we get
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  Speaker 1: our joy, our peace, and our power from. When asked,
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  Speaker 1: we will rejoice because you are now giving us the
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to share the greatest love story ever told, the
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  Speaker 1: gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Little Christs, in our last story, Peter discovered that the
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  Speaker 3: kingdom of God was expanding to more than just the Jews.
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  Speaker 3: Through his interactions with Cornelius, Peter began to learn that
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  Speaker 3: God was going to extend his reach to all the nations.
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  Speaker 3: Now we see the church expand and grow despite persecution.
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  Speaker 3: Everywhere the family of God goes, positive change follows. And
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  Speaker 3: the believers begin to create a reputation that would echo
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  Speaker 3: thousands of years into the future.
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  Speaker 4: Welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham.
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  Speaker 4: In our last episode, we heard how God showed Peter
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  Speaker 4: that the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for everyone,
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  Speaker 4: all nations, not just the Jewish people, but people everywhere.
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  Speaker 4: Peter then shared the gospel with a household of a
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  Speaker 4: Roman centurion named Cornelius, and his whole family came to
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  Speaker 4: faith in Christ. The good news of Jesus was beginning
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  Speaker 4: to spread beyond the Jewish world and Jerusalem, and now
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  Speaker 4: The Word of God is moving throughout the earth. Today,
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  Speaker 4: we'll hear how more non-Jews around the world began to
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  Speaker 4: embrace the gospel. And as the church grew, Barnabas was
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  Speaker 4: sent to Antioch to strengthen and encourage the new believers.
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  Speaker 4: So let's listen now to today's reading from the exciting
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  Speaker 4: book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: The heavy clanging of chains echoed through the streets of Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 3: Believers in Jesus were rounded up like cattle and thrown
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  Speaker 3: into prison for their faith. Soon the jail cells were
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  Speaker 3: overflowing with people singing psalms and praises to God. So
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  Speaker 3: the violence increased. Men were fed to lions and women
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  Speaker 3: were ripped away from their children. Whoever did not receive
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  Speaker 3: a beating received humiliation. So the people of God scattered
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  Speaker 3: to the outer regions of the Roman Empire. Believers in
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  Speaker 3: Jesus fled to Cyprus and Antioch for safe haven before...
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  Speaker 3: The word was only preached to the Jews, but now
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  Speaker 3: there were rumblings of the revival erupting forth from the Hellenists,
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  Speaker 3: who were Jewish Greeks. So many started coming to know
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  Speaker 3: Jesus that the apostles sent Barnabas to go and lead them.
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  Speaker 3: They needed someone rational yet caring. They needed a man
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  Speaker 3: strong enough to lead but gentle enough to comfort others.
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  Speaker 3: Barnabas was all of these things and more. God had
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  Speaker 3: appointed him with a sharp mind and saintly heart, It
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  Speaker 3: was this mind and heart that resonated with Saul. Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: had taken Saul under his wing and discipled him. The
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  Speaker 3: two spoke of God, Jesus, the Word, and miracles. Slowly,
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  Speaker 3: Saul was growing in the power and wisdom of Christ.
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  Speaker 3: The Hellenistic believers created an infamous reputation in Cyprus and Antioch.
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  Speaker 3: When there was a great famine in the land, the
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  Speaker 3: disciples of Jesus sent a great deal of resources to
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  Speaker 3: meet the city's needs. Believers worked day and night to
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  Speaker 3: ensure everyone was fed and clothed. People observed their self-sacrifice
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  Speaker 3: and kindness. They saw thousands of people being fed and
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  Speaker 3: hundreds of people being healed. The Gentiles noticed that there
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  Speaker 3: was something strange about them. They looked and acted like
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  Speaker 3: Jesus himself. They were like little Christs. Thus, people began
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  Speaker 3: to refer to them as Christians.
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  Speaker 4: As we begin today's reading, we see that the gospel
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  Speaker 4: is on the move. The church is on the move.
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  Speaker 4: The persecution that came as a result of faith in
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  Speaker 4: Jesus Christ has now scattered the church in Jerusalem as
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  Speaker 4: believers now move from their safe haven from Jerusalem to
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  Speaker 4: the uttermost parts of the earth. They're going to places
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  Speaker 4: like Cyprus and Antioch. Though many of the believers were
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  Speaker 4: still stuck in the mindset that the gospel was for
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  Speaker 4: a select group only, and therefore only preached the word
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  Speaker 4: to people who were religious, there were others who, like Peter,
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  Speaker 4: understood that there was a much greater mission, a broader mission.
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  Speaker 4: So in Acts 11, verses 20 and 21, here's what
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  Speaker 4: we find. But there were some of them, men of
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  Speaker 4: Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to
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  Speaker 4: the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand
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  Speaker 4: of the Lord was with them, and a great number
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  Speaker 4: who believed turned to the Lord. Hellenists were Greek men
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  Speaker 4: and women, They were Gentiles. And we see that as
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  Speaker 4: they heard the good news, they also received it by
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  Speaker 4: putting their faith in Christ and following him. The church
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  Speaker 4: is multiplying and now is experiencing an explosion of growth
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  Speaker 4: in these distant cities. This, of course, was great and
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  Speaker 4: all a part of God's plan. And when the church
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  Speaker 4: in Jerusalem received the news that people were being saved
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  Speaker 4: at distant places, they sent a trusted brother in Christ
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  Speaker 4: to help strengthen and instruct these new believers. Barnabas was
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  Speaker 4: one of these men. He was known to be full
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  Speaker 4: of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit. He had
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  Speaker 4: been the first in Jerusalem to welcome Saul, who became
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  Speaker 4: Paul in his miraculous conversion. And so when Barnabas saw
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  Speaker 4: the need in Antioch, he went to Tarsus to find
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  Speaker 4: Saul and bring him to Antioch. And together, these men
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  Speaker 4: taught the believers for an entire year. And their teaching
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  Speaker 4: paid off. These followers of Christ stood out from the
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  Speaker 4: crowd in Antioch. Their generosity and kindness did not go unnoticed,
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  Speaker 4: and soon they earned a moniker, Little Christ or Christians.
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  Speaker 4: This is the name now with which we are so familiar,
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  Speaker 4: and it began back at Antioch when the believers there
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  Speaker 4: were first called Christians because of their Christlike attitude and actions.
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  Speaker 4: Today's reading reminds us of the importance of discipling new
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  Speaker 4: believers in the faith, and that this is something that
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  Speaker 4: takes time and intentional investment by more mature believers. Barnabas
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  Speaker 4: knew that the believers in these places needed to be
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  Speaker 4: instructed in the faith so that they would remain true
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  Speaker 4: to the gospel and to the word of God. He
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  Speaker 4: also understood that Saul, though he was highly educated in
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  Speaker 4: Jewish law and tradition, needed a mentor in his new faith,
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  Speaker 4: someone to walk with him, to encourage him, and prepare
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  Speaker 4: him for the ministry to which God had called him.
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  Speaker 4: We all need a Barnabas or two in our lives,
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  Speaker 4: and we should also seek to be a Barnabas to others. encouraging, mentoring,
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  Speaker 4: and bringing people up in their faith. This reading is
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  Speaker 4: also a reminder of what it means to be called
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  Speaker 4: a Christian. This is not simply a group or a
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  Speaker 4: club that we joined. We are called to reflect Christ
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  Speaker 4: into the world, to remind people of Jesus, that people
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  Speaker 4: will see Christ working in us and therefore call us Christians.
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  Speaker 4: Let's pray together. Dear God, how we praise you for
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  Speaker 4: your goodness and your grace in taking the gospel to
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  Speaker 4: the whole world. and including all of us who believe
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  Speaker 4: and trust in you. Help us, like those believers in Antioch,
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  Speaker 4: to remind people of Jesus, to be models of Christ
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  Speaker 4: in the world so that when people see our good works,
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  Speaker 4: they will glorify God and believe and follow Jesus himself.
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  Speaker 4: For it is in his name that we pray. Amen.
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  Speaker 5: This episode is sponsored by MediShare. an innovative healthcare solution
• 9:17
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Dr.
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  Speaker 2: Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have you join me
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  Speaker 2: on this new podcast, Heroes in the Bible. Come to me, boy.
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  Speaker 3: You and your God will crumble beneath my feet.
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  Speaker 4: He beckoned the giant and said.
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  Speaker 3: I come to you in the name of the Lord
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  Speaker 3: of hosts and creator of the stars.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we all have giants that we face in
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  Speaker 2: our life. And when you understand that the greatness of
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  Speaker 2: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,
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  Speaker 2: it will encourage, inspire, and challenge all of us. to
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  Speaker 2: our faith in God and our growth.
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  Speaker 4: In Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 5: Look past his height and appearance, Samuel, for man sees
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  Speaker 5: the outward appearance. They see the strength of the man's arms.
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  Speaker 5: but the Lord looks into the heart.
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  Speaker 2: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with Dr. Tony Evans
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  Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: your podcasts.