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
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  Speaker 1: to life, stay tuned for the Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  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: Hello and welcome once again to the Bible in a
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  Speaker 3: Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham. you are joining over
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  Speaker 3: 27 million people who have downloaded this amazing opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: share the Word of God together. Thank you, and be
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  Speaker 3: sure and tell someone else about how they can also
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  Speaker 3: walk through the Bible with us, through the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a year. In our previous episode, Paul returned to Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 3: He sought to be at peace, even participating in Jewish
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  Speaker 3: religious traditions in order to demonstrate to believing Jews, that is,
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  Speaker 3: Jews who believed in Jesus, that he was not rejecting
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  Speaker 3: or despising ancient tradition. However, this peace was soon shattered
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  Speaker 3: as unbelieving Jews from Asia who had heard of Paul's
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  Speaker 3: ministry and despised him stirred up the entire city against him.
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  Speaker 3: It nearly cost Paul his life, but he had appealed
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  Speaker 3: to the Roman judge on the basis of his Roman
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  Speaker 3: citizenship and his life was spared, though he would have
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  Speaker 3: to stand trial with the Jewish religious council. So today
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  Speaker 3: we'll hear as Paul appears before the Pharisees, Sadducees, and
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  Speaker 3: elders of Jerusalem. The divided panel will fail to come
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  Speaker 3: to a conclusion about Paul, and Paul would be referred
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  Speaker 3: to the governor for trial. This frustrated council will plot
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  Speaker 3: to kill Paul, but God will once again spare his life.
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  Speaker 3: 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 counsel 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 priests and Ananias turned to violence, ordering those near
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  Speaker 3: Paul to strike him on the mouth and silence him.
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  Speaker 3: In response, we hear Paul rebuke them in Acts 23,
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  Speaker 3: verse 3, saying, God is going to strike you, you
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  Speaker 3: whitewashed walls. Are you sitting to judge me according to
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  Speaker 3: the law, and yet contrary to the law you order
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  Speaker 3: me to be struck? In calling out the hypocrisy and
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  Speaker 3: the hatred of those who were judging him, Paul's words
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  Speaker 3: hearkened back to Christ's own condemnation of the Pharisees, whom
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  Speaker 3: he called whitewashed tombs. Whitewashing walls or tombs does not
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  Speaker 3: change what is behind the exterior visage, and the council's
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  Speaker 3: grandstanding and piety did not change the condition of their
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  Speaker 3: unbelieving hearts. the fact that they desperately needed genuine salvation.
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  Speaker 3: They needed Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world.
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  Speaker 3: Paul then noted that among these men there was no unity.
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  Speaker 3: The council was made up of Pharisees as well as Sadducees,
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  Speaker 3: the latter of which did not believe in bodily resurrection
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  Speaker 3: from the dead. Knowing he could not argue his way
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  Speaker 3: out of this situation, Paul made use of the disagreement
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  Speaker 3: among these men stating that he was being put on
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  Speaker 3: trial 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 readings, 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: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Let me encourage
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  Speaker 3: you to go ahead right now and download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: app and make the Word of God and prayer a
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  Speaker 3: huge priority in your life. Let me also encourage you
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  Speaker 3: to tell others about this podcast because you can pass
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  Speaker 3: the Word to others. And if you want more resources
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: on how to tap into God's power for living the
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  Speaker 3: Christian life, be sure to visit jackgram.org. That's jackgram.org. We
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  Speaker 3: would love to connect with you right now.