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I Am With You - The Book of The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Teach them to observe all things whatsoever
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  Speaker 1: I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
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  Speaker 1: even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28.20
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  Speaker 1: Dear Jesus, When you left the disciples, you promised one
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  Speaker 1: of the greatest comforters that will ever be, and that
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  Speaker 1: is your Holy Spirit. In the same way the disciples
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  Speaker 1: waited in expectation for your Holy Spirit, I too will
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  Speaker 1: wait in expectation each and every morning for your Spirit
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  Speaker 1: to rest on my mind and heart. With the empowerment
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  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit, I know that whatever I put
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  Speaker 1: my hands to will go from natural to supernatural. No
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  Speaker 1: matter what I do, I will not move. until I
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  Speaker 1: feel your supernatural hand upon me. I will not speak
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  Speaker 1: unless my words are empowered by your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: that you haven't left me by myself. Thank you that
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  Speaker 1: even when you ascended to heaven, you cared enough about
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  Speaker 1: our lives to give us the one who puts power
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  Speaker 1: behind your word, the Holy Spirit. as I grow in
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  Speaker 1: my faith. Holy Spirit, teach me and lead me into
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  Speaker 1: all truth. In Jesus' name. Amen. Listening to these daily
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  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
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  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com I am with you.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, we learned about Jesus restoring the
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  Speaker 2: faith of Thomas and the failures of Peter. In this story,
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  Speaker 2: the ministry of Jesus on earth draws to a close,
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  Speaker 2: and room is made for the work and ministry of
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit through the apostles. Jesus ascends into the
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  Speaker 2: heights of heaven, leaving the disciples eagerly awaiting a move
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  Speaker 2: of God's Spirit. Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. Thank you so much for joining us.
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  Speaker 3: In our previous episode, we heard how Jesus appeared to
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  Speaker 3: both Thomas and Peter and gave them exactly what they
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  Speaker 3: needed to experience a renewal of their faith. Neither Thomas'
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  Speaker 3: doubts or Peter's failures were too great for the risen
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  Speaker 3: Christ to overcome. And as a result, both of these
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  Speaker 3: men went on to do great things for the kingdom
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  Speaker 3: of God. and to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: Today we'll hear as Jesus prepares the disciples for His
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  Speaker 3: return to heaven and the great mission He was giving
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  Speaker 3: them to go into all the world and proclaim the
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  Speaker 3: good news. He would not leave them alone, however, because
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  Speaker 3: He promised to send them the Holy Spirit, the Helper
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  Speaker 3: who would be with them always. So let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to today's reading.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus sat with His disciples once again at the Mount
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  Speaker 2: of Olives. The sun was descending gently over the city
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  Speaker 2: of Jerusalem. The men gazed at the temple below with
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  Speaker 2: the breeze dancing around them. The eleven remaining disciples sat
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  Speaker 2: beside Jesus, listening to him speak on the kingdom of God.
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  Speaker 2: For forty days they had been next to him, soaking
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  Speaker 2: in every word he spoke. Jesus had also revealed himself
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  Speaker 2: to over five hundred others, and they all followed as well.
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  Speaker 2: There they all sat, listening to their Lord and watching
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  Speaker 2: the sunset.' Lord,' Is it time for you to restore
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  Speaker 2: the kingdom of Israel?
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  Speaker 3: They asked.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus gave his familiar smile, still peering into the distance
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  Speaker 2: towards the temple. The grass danced around him. It is
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  Speaker 2: not for you to know the time or season, Jesus answered.
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  Speaker 2: That is for God alone to know, and for me
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  Speaker 2: to obey. The eleven were disappointed at his answer. Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: knowing the fear that was in their hearts, reassured them,
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  Speaker 2: Trust in me. You will receive power when the Holy
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  Speaker 2: Spirit has come upon you. Jesus rose to his feet
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  Speaker 2: and turned towards the sun. The wind picked up, causing
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  Speaker 2: his robes to flow like doves' wings. All authority that
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  Speaker 2: has been given to me I give to you. Go, therefore,
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  Speaker 2: and make disciples of all nations. Go and baptize them
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  Speaker 2: in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit. Teach them what I have taught you, and
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  Speaker 2: obey what I have commanded. The disciples stood to their feet.
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  Speaker 2: They watched as Jesus began to walk away from them.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus sensed their fear. He turned to them and said, Behold,
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  Speaker 2: I am always with you. Even to the end of
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  Speaker 2: the age, I am with you. And as Jesus said
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  Speaker 2: these things, he was enveloped by a bright cloud. It
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  Speaker 2: rolled gracefully around him, covering him from head to toe.
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  Speaker 2: And like a vapor, Jesus ascended into the heavens. The
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  Speaker 2: eleven disciples and five hundred witnesses looked up to the
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  Speaker 2: skies in wonder. The sun had turned the skies a
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  Speaker 2: deep orange and the clouds that Jesus ascended upon dissolved
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  Speaker 2: into the horizon. They were on their knees in complete
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  Speaker 2: awe of what had happened. The followers of Jesus had
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  Speaker 2: their gaze so fixed on the skies that they did
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  Speaker 2: not see the two men standing in white robes beside them. Friends,
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  Speaker 2: why do you look to heaven? He will come again.
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  Speaker 2: But you are to go. With that command, the followers
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus descended down the mountain towards Jerusalem. They had
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  Speaker 2: a mission to fulfill. They had a spirit to meet.
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  Speaker 2: The eleven returned to Jerusalem. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James,
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  Speaker 2: the son of Alphaeus, Judas, the son of James, and Simon.
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  Speaker 2: They sat in the upper room, praying about their next steps.
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  Speaker 2: They devoted themselves to prayer, seeking the knowledge and guidance
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  Speaker 2: of Christ. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there as well,
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  Speaker 2: along with Jesus' brother. Peter stood up from among the group.
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  Speaker 2: He was nervous. Jesus, in many ways, had been groomed
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  Speaker 2: to lead the disciples as they pursued the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 2: There were over 120 people in the room with them.
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  Speaker 2: All of them were wide-eyed and hopeful for the future,
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  Speaker 2: but afraid. He encouraged them with the word of God.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke from the heart and declared the need for
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  Speaker 2: a new disciple among the twelve. They chose a man
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  Speaker 2: named Matthias. Together, they sought God. They had no plan.
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  Speaker 2: They had no strategy. They simply waited in that upper
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  Speaker 2: room for a move of God's Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. Today's scripture begins on top of the
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  Speaker 3: Mount of Olives, which is in Jerusalem. This was the
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  Speaker 3: place where Jesus had preached and taught, where he had
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  Speaker 3: prayed the night he was arrested, and now it would
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  Speaker 3: become an even more strategic spot as Jesus prepared to
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  Speaker 3: return to the Father. For 40 days after his resurrection,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus had gone about showing himself to people, witnesses who
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  Speaker 3: would attest to his resurrection, and spread the word so
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  Speaker 3: that all could believe. He was there with the disciples,
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  Speaker 3: teaching and maturing them in the faith. They wanted to
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  Speaker 3: know if he was now ready to restore Israel's kingdom.
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  Speaker 3: To them, Jesus was still a Messiah, a Jewish Savior,
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  Speaker 3: and they expected that God would restore the glory to
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  Speaker 3: his chosen people. Jesus replied that God's timing was not
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  Speaker 3: their timing. God had a much greater plan, a greater purpose,
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  Speaker 3: and a wonderful promise. Christ's earthly work was finished, but
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  Speaker 3: these men still had a great mission, one that could
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  Speaker 3: not be accomplished alone. So he assured them that they
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  Speaker 3: would receive the Holy Spirit, the power and the presence
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  Speaker 3: of Christ in them. The message of hope and salvation
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  Speaker 3: in Jesus wasn't meant to stay in just a small
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  Speaker 3: corner of the world or to be only for the
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  Speaker 3: Jewish people. The gospel is for all the world. This
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  Speaker 3: wasn't a new plan or a new strategy. It was
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  Speaker 3: God's plan all along. We know it as the Great Commission.
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  Speaker 3: is found in Matthew 28, 19-20, and these are among
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  Speaker 3: the most important verses in the Bible. Go therefore and
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  Speaker 3: make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
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  Speaker 3: of the Father and of the Son and of the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
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  Speaker 3: commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to
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  Speaker 3: the end of the age. After delivering to the disciples
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  Speaker 3: their and our marching orders, these men watched dumbfounded as
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  Speaker 3: Jesus ascended into the sky, high above the clouds until
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  Speaker 3: they could see him no more. This is the ascension
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus, one of the most important events in all
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  Speaker 3: of the Bible. The disciples and other witnesses stood amazed,
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  Speaker 3: looking up into the heavens. They couldn't possibly understand it all,
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  Speaker 3: but they knew that Jesus was Lord and that he
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  Speaker 3: had given them a mission and a promise. As they
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  Speaker 3: stood there, two men appeared beside them. They asked the
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  Speaker 3: disciples why they were looking into the sky. Jesus would return,
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  Speaker 3: they assured them. But it was not time to wait.
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  Speaker 3: It was time to go. These are important words for
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  Speaker 3: us today as followers of Jesus. We live in anticipation
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  Speaker 3: and assurance that one day Jesus is coming again. This time,
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  Speaker 3: not as a baby in a manger in a small,
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  Speaker 3: unremarkable town, but as King of kings and Lord of lords,
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  Speaker 3: coming in the clouds to reign forever. It is such
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  Speaker 3: a great hope for every Christian. In fact, the Bible
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  Speaker 3: calls it the blessed hope. But just as the disciples
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  Speaker 3: had a mission, we have a mission too, and that
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  Speaker 3: is to carry out the Great Commission and to tell
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  Speaker 3: the world who Jesus is and what He can do
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  Speaker 3: to change every life who will come to Him. We
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  Speaker 3: are to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel.
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  Speaker 3: The disciples returned to Jerusalem knowing only that they had
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  Speaker 3: a mission and a promise. Soon they would receive the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit, the same Spirit of God who was at creation.
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  Speaker 3: the one who surrounded and led Israelites in the deserts,
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  Speaker 3: and the one who spoke to Elijah in the desert
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  Speaker 3: in a still small voice, God's Holy Spirit would be
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  Speaker 3: given to them, just as Jesus promised. He would be
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  Speaker 3: with them always. And it is so important to remember
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  Speaker 3: that God has given His Spirit to all who trust
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  Speaker 3: in Him, every believer. So they waited just as Jesus
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  Speaker 3: had commanded them to wait. And what would come next
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  Speaker 3: would spark a new movement that would spread like fire,
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  Speaker 3: changing the world forever. And we'll hear about that in
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  Speaker 3: our next episode. Dear God, we thank you for the
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  Speaker 3: truth that Jesus is Lord, that he lived, died, rose again,
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  Speaker 3: and ascended on high. We also thank you for the
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  Speaker 3: mission that you've given us and the commission to work
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  Speaker 3: with your church and your people to take the gospel
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  Speaker 3: to the world. We're so grateful for the promise of
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  Speaker 3: your soon return. And until then, may we be busy
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  Speaker 3: about the work of your kingdom as we look forward
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  Speaker 3: to seeing you face to face. 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 Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's JackGraham.org.