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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ maketh thee whole. Arise, and make thy bed. And
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  Speaker 1: he arose immediately. Acts 9.34 I want to thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: for all the years that you've loved me and guided
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  Speaker 1: me to get me to where I am now. As
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  Speaker 1: I stand before others, May my testimony serve as a
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  Speaker 1: badge of honor to your goodness and faithfulness to those
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  Speaker 1: who love and serve you. Don't let anyone for one
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  Speaker 1: moment doubt your faithfulness and goodness when they look at
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  Speaker 1: all that you've done in my life. Like Tabitha and
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  Speaker 1: Aeneas in today's reading, I acknowledge that you have given
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  Speaker 1: me the power to speak life into people who have
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  Speaker 1: been bedridden and sidelined in life. When I come face
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  Speaker 1: to face with these situations, I will activate the same
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  Speaker 1: faith that Peter used to heal all those he came
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  Speaker 1: in contact with. I will not doubt whether or not
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  Speaker 1: it will happen. Instead, I will put my faith in
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  Speaker 1: you and watch as your spirit fills them so that
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  Speaker 1: you can get the glory. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
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  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Bedridden. In our last story... The evil intentions of Saul
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  Speaker 2: the persecutor were thwarted by the presence of Jesus himself.
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  Speaker 2: As Saul was on the road to drag Christians out
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  Speaker 2: of their homes and imprison them, Jesus threw him off
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  Speaker 2: his horse and blinded him. For three days Saul wept
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  Speaker 2: in darkness, but his sight was restored and he could
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  Speaker 2: see the true light of Christ. Now we follow Peter
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  Speaker 2: on his journey to Lydda and Joppa. There he visits
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  Speaker 2: the bedsides of two specific peoples. People who would walk
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  Speaker 2: again to experience joy everlasting, inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our previous episode, we heard of Saul's
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  Speaker 3: amazing conversion experience on the Damascus Road. He was on
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  Speaker 3: his way to persecute Christians, to take Christians' lives, But
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  Speaker 3: Jesus arrested him and took him himself as a brand
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  Speaker 3: new believer and follower of the Savior. When Saul came
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  Speaker 3: face to face with Jesus, the very one that he
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  Speaker 3: was persecuting, Jesus changed his life forever. And this man
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  Speaker 3: then embraced his calling to take the gospel to the world.
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  Speaker 3: He was a chosen vessel. Today we'll hear how the
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  Speaker 3: Apostle Peter then journeys to take the good news of
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  Speaker 3: the risen Savior around the world. Filled with God's power,
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  Speaker 3: he will bring physical and spiritual healing to the sick
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  Speaker 3: and the hurting and the lame and the broken, even
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  Speaker 3: restoring one life that had died. In all of it,
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  Speaker 3: God's name, the name of Jesus, will be glorified as
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  Speaker 3: more and more people, multitudes, are embracing the message of
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ. So once again, let's hear our reading from
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  Speaker 3: the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: Peter walked the streets of Lydda with purpose. The small
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  Speaker 2: city was filled with people who were not close to
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  Speaker 2: the ministry of Jesus on earth, therefore in need of
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  Speaker 2: hearing his gospel. There was a small community of believers there.
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  Speaker 2: They ministered among the people, feeding the poor and preaching
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  Speaker 2: liberty from the shame of sin. Yet there was a
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  Speaker 2: specific need that drew Peter there. A man named Aeneas
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  Speaker 2: was in the city. He was a man in need
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  Speaker 2: of a miracle. Aeneas sat up in his bed looking
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  Speaker 2: out the window. The sun peered in through the small space,
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  Speaker 2: causing rays of afternoon sunshine to fill his bedroom. It
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  Speaker 2: was the greatest part of his day. For eight years
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  Speaker 2: he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Aeneas
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  Speaker 2: would relive the same nightmare of pain and purposelessness. That
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  Speaker 2: was until a stranger peeked in through the door. The
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  Speaker 2: man was tall and broad. He held the holy and
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  Speaker 2: quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the
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  Speaker 2: tattered clothes of a fisherman. Aeneas... he asked. Aeneas gave
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  Speaker 2: a curious nod. I am Peter, sent by Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: It is him who heals you at this moment. Rise
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  Speaker 2: up and make your bed. And immediately Aeneas dangled his
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  Speaker 2: legs over the side of the bed. With a small
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  Speaker 2: leap of faith, he stood to his feet. He leapt
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  Speaker 2: for joy and ran outside, and all the citizens of
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  Speaker 2: Lydda rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in the
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  Speaker 2: city of Joppa, there was a disciple by the name
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  Speaker 2: of Tabitha, Her devotion to the character and ministry of
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was staggering, and the whole city was blessed because
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  Speaker 2: of her. She cared for the sick and lonely. She
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  Speaker 2: ministered to the brokenhearted, and she did so with joy.
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  Speaker 2: She reflected Christ in her city and set an example
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  Speaker 2: for what it meant to follow Christ. However, even the
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  Speaker 2: pure can be sick. Even the strong can become weak.
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  Speaker 2: In the prime of her ministry, Tabitha became ill to
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  Speaker 2: the point of death. Her friends washed her lifeless body.
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  Speaker 2: Tears filled the upper room where she lay. They could
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  Speaker 2: not believe that this beautiful soul would be taken from
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  Speaker 2: them so quickly. They closed the door to the upper
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  Speaker 2: room where Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They wept all night.
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  Speaker 2: There was no ceasing to the heartache of death. Even
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  Speaker 2: though Jesus had ridden the final sting of death, they
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  Speaker 2: were still filled with sorrow over their loss. That was
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  Speaker 2: until a stranger peeked in through the door. The man
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  Speaker 2: was tall and broad. He held the holy and quiet
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  Speaker 2: demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the tattered
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  Speaker 2: clothes of a fisherman. Is this where Tabitha lays? the
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  Speaker 2: man asks. The friends nodded, skeptical of the man's intentions.
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  Speaker 2: I am Peter, and I have come to see Tabitha.
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  Speaker 2: So they led Peter into the upper room. They had
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  Speaker 2: heard of Peter, the apostle of Jesus. They knew that
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  Speaker 2: God was active in his life. They knew that a
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  Speaker 2: miracle was not only possible, but probable. Peter closed the
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  Speaker 2: door to the upper room. The room was filled with
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  Speaker 2: incense to mask the smell of death. Its musk made
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  Speaker 2: Peter's lungs feel heavy. Under the dimly lit candlelight, Tabitha
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  Speaker 2: could be seen lying on a bed. Peter took a
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  Speaker 2: few steps forward and knelt down slowly at her side.
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  Speaker 2: He held her hand. It was cold and callous. No
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  Speaker 2: doubt she was a woman well acquainted with hard work.
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  Speaker 2: From what Peter had heard, her hands were used to
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  Speaker 2: the glory of God. Peter squeezed her lifeless hand tightly
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  Speaker 2: and whispered Tabitha, arise. The hand Peter held began to
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  Speaker 2: squeeze back, and color was restored to Tabitha's face and limbs.
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  Speaker 2: Her eyes slowly opened to see Peter's smiling face looking
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  Speaker 2: back at her. Peter laughed, and Tabitha wept with tears
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  Speaker 2: of joy. The two exchanged a few words, but it
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  Speaker 2: was brief, since an excited mob of widows and believers
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  Speaker 2: stormed the room. They hugged and kissed her. Words of
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  Speaker 2: her healing spread everywhere. And Tabitha wore her testimony like
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  Speaker 2: a banner of God's faithfulness.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading in the city of Lydda, many
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  Speaker 3: miles to the north of Jerusalem. Despite increased persecution and
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  Speaker 3: danger for the believers, Peter had not ceased to go
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  Speaker 3: from place to place with the gospel message. In Lydda,
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  Speaker 3: he found a man named Aeneas who had been confined
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  Speaker 3: to his bed for eight years. Eight years of pain
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  Speaker 3: and sufferings. He was stuck in his home with little
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  Speaker 3: hope of being made well. But the Lord guided Peter
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  Speaker 3: to his house. Peter entered the house and spoke to
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  Speaker 3: Aeneas saying, Jesus heals you and told him to get
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  Speaker 3: up and make his bed. If you've ever lived in
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  Speaker 3: a small town, you know how fast word spreads. And
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  Speaker 3: that's exactly what happened in this little town. Everyone knew
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  Speaker 3: Aeneas was paralyzed and confined to his bed. So when
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  Speaker 3: they saw him walking around completely healed, They were amazed
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  Speaker 3: and glorified God. Through one physical healing, God then opened
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  Speaker 3: the door for spiritual healing, salvation for many people. Listen
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  Speaker 3: to what Acts 9.35 says, And all the residents of
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  Speaker 3: Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: Not just one city, but two. All who lived there
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  Speaker 3: turned to the Lord. We then heard of a woman
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  Speaker 3: in the nearby town of Joppa named Tabitha. Tabitha was
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  Speaker 3: a believer who was busy going about the work of Christ.
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  Speaker 3: We're told that she was full of good deeds and charity, generosity.
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  Speaker 3: In other words, she cared for the needs of people
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  Speaker 3: around her. Tabitha lived out the Lord's command to love
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  Speaker 3: her neighbor. And yet she became sick and died. Following
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  Speaker 3: Jesus does not automatically mean that the will of God
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  Speaker 3: is easy with life and health and prosperity, or even
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  Speaker 3: a long life. And so this woman died. Her friends
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  Speaker 3: were not ready to say goodbye to Tabitha, however. So
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  Speaker 3: they cleaned her body and laid her in an upper
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  Speaker 3: room and then sent word to Peter, who came right away.
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  Speaker 3: When he arrived, he went into the home to the
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  Speaker 3: upper room where Tabitha lay. Just as Jesus had done
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  Speaker 3: when he went to the home of Jairus to raise
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  Speaker 3: his daughter from the dead Peter spoke to Tabitha, telling
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  Speaker 3: her to arise. Peter was carrying on the healing ministry
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus, even raising the dead to life. Peter then
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  Speaker 3: presented Tabitha to her friends and family, and many turned
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  Speaker 3: to the Lord as a result of her resurrection. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we are reminded that God's miracle-working power has the ability
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  Speaker 3: of drawing people to himself. God still cares for those
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  Speaker 3: who are hurting. We saw the compassionate heart of Christ
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  Speaker 3: going about doing good and helping those who were hurting
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  Speaker 3: and healing the sick and even raising the dead. And
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  Speaker 3: in the same way, there is a desire in the
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  Speaker 3: heart of those of us who follow Jesus to help
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  Speaker 3: hurting people, to bless those who need the blessing of God,
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  Speaker 3: and especially those who need to hear the witness of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel and to turn to Christ. Our mission as
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  Speaker 3: the followers of Jesus is to preach the gospel and
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  Speaker 3: to help people know and follow our Lord. We, like
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  Speaker 3: the Apostle Peter in this case, need to be attentive
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  Speaker 3: and alert to opportunities all around us to share the
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  Speaker 3: good news of Jesus. Let us always be available to
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  Speaker 3: help people discover the power of God in their lives.
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  Speaker 3: Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we know that you have come
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  Speaker 3: to bring healing and wholeness to the world. May your
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  Speaker 3: message of hope and salvation go to the ends of
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  Speaker 3: the earth through your witnesses. May we as your followers
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  Speaker 3: keep our eyes open for the opportunities to obey you
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  Speaker 3: in sharing this good news. For we pray 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: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily task and
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.