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Gods and Stones - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And there came thither certain Jews from
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  Speaker 1: Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul,
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  Speaker 1: drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 14.19 Meditating on the events of Acts 14, I
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  Speaker 1: have decided to double down and fix myself steadfastly on
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  Speaker 1: my course of action. I will not deviate from the
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  Speaker 1: original plan you have given me. I realize my calling
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  Speaker 1: to be a resource and a solution to someone's problems.
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  Speaker 1: As I am building my life, I will not be
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  Speaker 1: surprised by the rocks of jealousy and envy that get
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  Speaker 1: hurled my way. And even as some connect and cause
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  Speaker 1: pain to me, I thank you that, like Paul, you
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  Speaker 1: will place a team around me of individuals who are
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  Speaker 1: like-minded and who will help mend and heal the wounds
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  Speaker 1: I just received. I will remain thankful and faithful for
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  Speaker 1: the rich relationships you are continually placing around my life.
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  Speaker 1: I am blessed indeed. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for praying with me today. Continue listening for an incredible
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  Speaker 1: Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Gods and Stones In our last story, Paul and Barnabas
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  Speaker 2: began their journey to preach the gospel in parts of
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  Speaker 2: Greece and Rome. Although they were met with some opposition,
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  Speaker 2: the Lord moved. Now Paul has met with some of
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  Speaker 2: the greatest challenges he has ever faced, inspired by the
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  Speaker 2: 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. Thank you for joining us. We're
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  Speaker 3: so thankful for the millions and millions of people who
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  Speaker 3: have downloaded this app, pray.com, and are enjoying and experiencing
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  Speaker 3: together the Word of God. In our previous episode, We
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  Speaker 3: heard how Paul and Barnabas, prompted by the Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 3: traveled to Cyprus. There they preached the message of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: in the synagogues across the island, winning many to Christ.
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  Speaker 3: We also heard how Paul stood against a magician, a
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  Speaker 3: false prophet named Bar-Jesus, rebuking him and judging him with
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  Speaker 3: blindness because he tried to prevent people from turning to Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: And we saw Paul defending their ministry to the Gentiles,
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  Speaker 3: who were just as much a part of God's plan
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  Speaker 3: for salvation as the Jews. Today we'll hear as Paul
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  Speaker 3: and Barnabas preach in Iconium and Lystra. They'll see many
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  Speaker 3: turn to Christ, but also face great opposition. Paul will
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  Speaker 3: feel the sting and the pain of persecution as his
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  Speaker 3: body endures torture for the sake of the gospel. So
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  Speaker 3: let's hear now the Word of God.
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  Speaker 2: A war for the hearts of God's people emerged from Iconium.
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  Speaker 2: Paul and Barnabas entered into the city with words of love, knowledge,
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  Speaker 2: and forgiveness. Both Jews and Gentiles felt their hearts melt
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  Speaker 2: due to the mercy of Jesus. People who felt far
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  Speaker 2: off from God were brought near. People who were trapped
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  Speaker 2: in a cycle of destructive sin were restored. Jesus was
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  Speaker 2: being glorified. However, there was a den of wolves seeking
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  Speaker 2: to take the sheep of God away. Certain Jewish leaders
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  Speaker 2: spread words of discouragement among the people. They added to
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  Speaker 2: the grace of Jesus by saying that there were still
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  Speaker 2: works that could get you into heaven. They came off
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  Speaker 2: as holy, but Paul could see the truth. They were
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  Speaker 2: men taking the place of God. They thought they could
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  Speaker 2: ascend to perfection by their good deeds, but they were
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  Speaker 2: painfully and utterly wrong. Nevertheless, a great deal of people
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  Speaker 2: began to believe these Jewish leaders. Their minds were poisoned
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  Speaker 2: by false teachings. The city was divided and growing restless.
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  Speaker 2: Soon there was a large call to have Paul and
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  Speaker 2: Barnabas stoned. So they fled to Lystra before more chaos
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  Speaker 2: would emerge. However, Lystra would prove to have its own
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  Speaker 2: demons awaiting. Paul and Barnabas arrived on the shores of
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  Speaker 2: Lystra with hope that people could be saved by Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: As they were walking, they came across a man who
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  Speaker 2: could not use his feet. He was crippled beyond repair
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  Speaker 2: and had never truly been able to walk since birth.
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  Speaker 2: Paul knelt down to him and said, Stand and walk.
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  Speaker 2: So the man was healed. The crowds gathered and watched
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  Speaker 2: Paul heal this man through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 2: But they saw no spirit. They saw Paul. They saw Barnabas.
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  Speaker 2: The gods have come down to us, they shouted. It
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  Speaker 2: is Zeus and Hermes. Then the men of the city
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  Speaker 2: prepared bulls and calves to offer up at the temple
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  Speaker 2: of Zeus. Paul and Barnabas watched in terror as men
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  Speaker 2: and women bowed to them as gods. They could barely
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  Speaker 2: stand the weight of their worship. It was too much
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  Speaker 2: to bear. The two men ran to the steps of
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  Speaker 2: the temple of Zeus. Stop, they shouted. People were about
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  Speaker 2: to prepare a sacrifice when Paul tore his robes to
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  Speaker 2: reveal his bare chest. I bleed as you do, Paul yelled.
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  Speaker 2: We are men. We are men who bring you the
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  Speaker 2: good news of the living God, the only God. But
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  Speaker 2: even as Paul spoke these words, they seemed to fall
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  Speaker 2: on deaf ears. Night fell, and all the chaos of
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  Speaker 2: the day had ceased for a moment. Paul slept soundly
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  Speaker 2: in his bed, finding a brief moment of peace under
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  Speaker 2: the stars. The silence was broken by footsteps coming closer
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  Speaker 2: to Paul. He awoke to a small lamp hanging over him.
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  Speaker 2: It was the elders from Antioch. They had found him.
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  Speaker 2: Before Paul could move, they grabbed him and bound him
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  Speaker 2: with ropes. Paul struggled to break free, but the men
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  Speaker 2: had tied his hands and feet together. They drug him
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  Speaker 2: for miles back to Antioch. The morning was breaking, and
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  Speaker 2: Paul had been tied to a post outside the city.
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  Speaker 2: He looked around. Large stones caked with dried blood sat
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  Speaker 2: on the floor. Paul knew this place. He was well
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  Speaker 2: acquainted with the stoning arena. The first stone was a
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  Speaker 2: direct blow to the head, but not strong enough to
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  Speaker 2: knock him out. Paul peered up at the angry stares
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  Speaker 2: of Jewish leaders. One of them wound up and threw
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  Speaker 2: the stone directly at his ribcage. Paul heard two of
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  Speaker 2: his ribs snap underneath the weight of the rock. He
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  Speaker 2: gasped for air and coughed up blood. Then a third
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  Speaker 2: stone was thrown. This time it hit him in the eye,
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  Speaker 2: sending his thoughts swirling into madness. A barrage of stones
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  Speaker 2: came afterwards. Paul screamed as his bones snapped into the
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  Speaker 2: hurled stones. Soon Paul was reduced to an unconscious and
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  Speaker 2: limp body. His breathing had slowed and he was completely
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  Speaker 2: covered in blood. Thinking he was dead, Paul was left
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  Speaker 2: on the side of the gate outside Antioch. Hours had passed,
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  Speaker 2: and Paul was just beginning to regain feeling in his limbs.
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  Speaker 2: As he did his best to prop himself up against
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  Speaker 2: the wall, he saw some of the believers running up
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  Speaker 2: to him. They took him in and nursed his wounds
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  Speaker 2: back to health. Paul rested all day and then was
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  Speaker 2: back to preaching the next day. He would not allow
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  Speaker 2: broken bones and torn skin to prevent him from preaching
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  Speaker 2: the gospel. A whipped back did not prevent Jesus. He
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  Speaker 2: carried his cross forward with intent to put an end
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  Speaker 2: to shame and sin. Paul would do the same. No
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  Speaker 2: amount of pain would keep him from following Christ.
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  Speaker 3: Finds Paul and Barnabas in Iconium having fled there when
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  Speaker 3: the Jews in Antioch stirred up persecution against them. In
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  Speaker 3: Iconium they preached in the synagogue and many Jews and
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  Speaker 3: Greeks alike came to faith in Jesus. Clearly the Holy
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  Speaker 3: Spirit was moving through these men and the message of
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  Speaker 3: salvation in Christ alone was being embraced by more and
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  Speaker 3: more people. But the Holy Spirit was not the only
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  Speaker 3: one moving. As is always the case, when God is
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  Speaker 3: at work, the enemy is at work as well, trying
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  Speaker 3: to destroy the good things of God. So we heard
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  Speaker 3: that unbelieving Jews in Iconium began to stir up anger
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  Speaker 3: against Paul and the other Christians. They poisoned the minds
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  Speaker 3: of the Gentiles against these men. So Paul and Barnabas
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  Speaker 3: remained there for some time, to make sure the truth
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  Speaker 3: was clearly taught and the new believers were grounded in
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  Speaker 3: the faith so that when they left, They would not
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  Speaker 3: be shaken by lies or by the false teachers. Finally,
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  Speaker 3: their enemies tried to have them stoned so that they
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  Speaker 3: had to flee, and they went to Lystra, where they
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  Speaker 3: encountered a man who was unable to walk. His feet
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  Speaker 3: had not worked since he was born. Paul looked upon
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  Speaker 3: him with compassion and spoke to him, saying, Stand upright
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  Speaker 3: on your feet. This miraculous healing got the attention of
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  Speaker 3: the people of Lystra, but they misunderstood what was happening.
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  Speaker 3: These Greeks believed in many gods. And when they saw
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  Speaker 3: the healing, they began to praise Paul and Barnabas, believing
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  Speaker 3: they were Hermes and Zeus, Greek gods. At first, Paul
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  Speaker 3: and Barnabas did not understand what was going on. But
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  Speaker 3: when the priest of Zeus brought bulls and calves to
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  Speaker 3: offer sacrifices to them, they were horrified, tearing their clothes
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  Speaker 3: as a sign of their rejection of such blasphemy. Paul
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  Speaker 3: then spoke to them, urging them to see they were
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  Speaker 3: not gods, but mere men. He then preached a simple
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  Speaker 3: message to them in terms that related to their pagan understanding.
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  Speaker 3: So we read in Acts 14 verses 15 to 17
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  Speaker 3: these words, We bring you good news, that you should
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  Speaker 3: turn from these vain things to a living God who
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  Speaker 3: made the heavens and the earth and the sea and
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  Speaker 3: all that is in them. In past generations He allowed
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  Speaker 3: all the nations to walk in their own ways, yet
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  Speaker 3: He did not leave Himself without a witness, for He
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  Speaker 3: did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
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  Speaker 3: satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. Paul was getting
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  Speaker 3: on their level. He is building a bridge to share
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  Speaker 3: the gospel. And this is an important aspect of how
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  Speaker 3: we share our faith. While the core message of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: and the gospel of his grace never changes, we always
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  Speaker 3: look for ways to reach our culture with the message
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  Speaker 3: of the gospel. We bring the message of good news
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  Speaker 3: in the context so that hearers can comprehend it. And
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  Speaker 3: yet still, even after their protest and witness to the
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  Speaker 3: truth of the God who is, many still wanted to
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  Speaker 3: see them as gods. We're told they were scarcely able
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  Speaker 3: to stop them from offering sacrifices. For many in the
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  Speaker 3: crowd that day, they were simply not ready to comprehend
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  Speaker 3: or receive the gospel. The truth is, we can speak
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  Speaker 3: the words of truth that we are called to deliver,
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  Speaker 3: but we can't force anyone to believe or understand them.
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  Speaker 3: We then heard how the Jews in Antioch and Iconium
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  Speaker 3: were determined to stop these men. They came to Lystra
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  Speaker 3: and took Paul by force to stone him. Paul had
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  Speaker 3: seen this happen before. Surely he remembered how he had
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  Speaker 3: led similar rage when he was persecuting the church. Now
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  Speaker 3: Paul himself was the target of the persecution. He was
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  Speaker 3: stoned and dragged out of the city and left to die.
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  Speaker 3: But the disciples gathered around him, and Paul rose up,
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  Speaker 3: pressed down but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned, struck
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  Speaker 3: down but not destroyed. Most people would have run as
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  Speaker 3: far away as possible, but not Paul. He entered the
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  Speaker 3: city again, and the next day went to Derby to
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  Speaker 3: continue preaching the gospel. There was no stopping his mission,
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  Speaker 3: and there is no stopping the good news of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: He and all the believers understood their trials and tribulations
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  Speaker 3: were a part of following Jesus. They were willing to
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  Speaker 3: take up the cross in order to proclaim the cross.
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  Speaker 3: And they knew it's worth it all to give our
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  Speaker 3: all to follow Jesus. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank
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  Speaker 3: you for the scripture and the powerful testimony of the
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  Speaker 3: Apostle Paul, his resilience and perseverance in the face of trials.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for so many who have gone before us
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  Speaker 3: in martyrdom and faith to live faithfully for you, to
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  Speaker 3: proclaim your words so that we could be delivered the
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  Speaker 3: truth of the gospel. May we also be faithful in
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  Speaker 3: our own generation and and courageous to boldly share Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: And it is in his name that we pray. 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 of Dallas, Texas. You can download the
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  Speaker 3: Pray.com app and make prayer and Bible study the priority
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  Speaker 3: of your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, tell
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  Speaker 3: someone about it. Pass it on. Let others know because
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  Speaker 3: it is our desire to get God's word to as
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  Speaker 3: many people as possible as fast as possible. And if
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  Speaker 3: you want to know more about what it means to
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  Speaker 3: be a Christ follower, what it means to be a
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  Speaker 3: disciple of Jesus, then go to jackgraham.org, jackgraham.org. And we
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  Speaker 3: have many resources that are available for you there. God
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  Speaker 3: bless you.