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When Your Heart Needs Peace- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: For God so loved the world that he sent his
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  Speaker 1: one and only son so that whoever believes in him
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  Speaker 1: will not perish but have everlasting life. Is there any
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  Speaker 1: scripture more precious? I'd like to ask you when I
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  Speaker 1: cite that scripture again, And I come to the word world.
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  Speaker 1: Would you place a nation? For God so loved. And
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  Speaker 1: I'll pause. And I want you to say it out loud.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever nation comes to your mind. Maybe it's your nation.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it's a nation where you have a loved one.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe it's a place you'd always want to visit. However
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  Speaker 1: the Lord leads you. And then after I say, for
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  Speaker 1: God so loved, and you fill in the blank, I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to be quiet. And I'm going to let you
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  Speaker 1: pray for that nation. Welcome the Holy Spirit's work upon
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  Speaker 1: the people. Pray in whatever language, whatever spiritual language, whatever
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  Speaker 1: natural language that you feel so led to pray in.
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  Speaker 1: And let's follow our master's command to pray, therefore, that
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  Speaker 1: the Lord of the harvest Would send forth workers. For
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  Speaker 1: God so loved. Now pray.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Lift your voice a little louder. Let the others in
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  Speaker 1: the church hear you praying for your nation. Pray louder now, please.
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  Speaker 1: Raise up a chorus.
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  Speaker 2: Bless you, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Bless you. If you feel like you want to stand Stand.
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  Speaker 1: If you want to raise a hand, raise a hand.
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  Speaker 1: Intercede on behalf of the people around the world. Hallelujah.
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  Speaker 1: Hallelujah to the King of Kings. All praise to your name.
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  Speaker 1: Continue to pray. We're not in a hurry.
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  Speaker 2: Bless you, Lord. Bless you. Bless you, Father. Bless you.
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  Speaker 2: Go to the distant lands.
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  Speaker 1: Go, Lord. Moscow, Buenos Aires, Tokyo. Reach out, please, to Bogota.
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  Speaker 1: Bless you, Lord, for Mexico City, Sydney, Australia, Fiji, Copenhagen,
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, Berlin. Don't forget London. Please, dear Lord, go
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  Speaker 1: to Iran. Bless our brothers in Israel, our sisters in Israel. Please, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: bring peace to the Middle East. Hear our prayers, O Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Now louder, please, as you lift up your hearts, please.
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  Speaker 1: Bless you, Lord. Bless you, Father. Bless you, Father. Praise
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  Speaker 1: to your name, the God of the nations, the God,
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  Speaker 1: the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Find
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  Speaker 1: the poorest of the poor, Lord. those who are forgotten
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  Speaker 1: and lonely in the mountains, in the jungles, in Brazil,
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  Speaker 1: in Oceania. Heavenly Father, Eskimos, the Native Americans, find a tribe, Lord. Today,
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  Speaker 1: make a difference. Make a difference, O Lord, today. Impact, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Raise up workers. Send them out. Send us out, O
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  Speaker 1: Heavenly Father. All praise to your name All praise to
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  Speaker 1: your name, the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
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  Speaker 1: sovereign over all the earth, over all the earth.
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  Speaker 2: Bless you, Lord. Bless you, Lord. Bless you, Father. Bless you.
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  Speaker 2: Bless you. Bless you, Father. Amen and amen.
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  Speaker 1: It's the most important work you'll do all day, right there.
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  Speaker 1: It's the most important work. You'll do all day. What
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  Speaker 1: a privilege to be a part of this special missions weekend. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Was that not the most beautiful worship that you've ever seen?
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  Speaker 1: You just give me the thumbs up and I'll sit
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  Speaker 1: down and we'll bring them all back up and do
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  Speaker 1: it all once again. Well, no, don't do that. Don't
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  Speaker 1: do that. Don't do that. It's just an honor to
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  Speaker 1: be here and meet and greet people from all over
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  Speaker 1: the world. And may God's richest blessings be upon you,
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  Speaker 1: those of you who have traveled so far. And you
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  Speaker 1: carry such a burden for your home. May the Lord's
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  Speaker 1: richest blessings be yours. I'm personally just so very excited.
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  Speaker 1: My heart is beating very fast. It's a great treat
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  Speaker 1: for me to be here with you. I continue to
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  Speaker 1: bring you greetings from our church in San Antonio, Texas.
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  Speaker 1: They are sending their love. And I want you to
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  Speaker 1: know that I'm here with their blessing and they're sending
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  Speaker 1: their blessings to you. The truth of the matter is
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  Speaker 1: they are always so happy when I travel. They've been really.
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  Speaker 1: Kind of rough on me lately. I've been there since 1988,
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  Speaker 1: and so they don't hold anything back. No politeness anymore.
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  Speaker 1: They're just telling me, Max, your sermons are getting so long.
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  Speaker 1: So long. In fact, I was preaching two or three
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  Speaker 1: weeks ago, right in the middle of the sermon. A
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  Speaker 1: fella got up and he started walking out. Right in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the sermon. So I stopped everything. I said, hey, buddy,
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  Speaker 1: where are you going? He said, well, I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: go get a haircut. I said, well, why didn't you
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  Speaker 1: get one before you came in? He said, I didn't
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  Speaker 1: need one before I came in. It is a joy
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  Speaker 1: to experience Mission Weekend today. At Gateway. And what better
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  Speaker 1: scripture to ponder this weekend. Than this one from the
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  Speaker 1: second chapter of Acts. The title of our message is.
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  Speaker 1: Just speak. Just speak. And the text from Acts chapter 2.
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  Speaker 1: First verse 14. And then skipping down to verse 39.
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  Speaker 1: Then Peter stood up with the 11. Raised his voice.
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  Speaker 1: Address the crowd, fellow Jews, and all of you who
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  Speaker 1: live in Jerusalem. Let me explain this to you. Listen
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  Speaker 1: carefully to what I say. And then later, verse 39.
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  Speaker 1: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
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  Speaker 1: name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
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  Speaker 1: And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: This promise is for you. And for your children. And
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  Speaker 1: for all who are far off. For all whom the
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  Speaker 1: Lord our God will call. What has gotten into Peter?
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  Speaker 1: Where did he get this courage? Where did he find
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  Speaker 1: such confidence in? Just seven weeks ago, he was hiding
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  Speaker 1: because of Jesus. And now here he is proclaiming the
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  Speaker 1: cause of Jesus. In the hours before the cross, he
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  Speaker 1: denied Christ. And now he announces Christ. On the eve
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  Speaker 1: of Good Friday, you couldn't get him to speak up.
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  Speaker 1: Now you get the impression just 50 days later that
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  Speaker 1: you couldn't get him to shut up. What's gotten into Peter?
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  Speaker 1: He was a coward at the crucifixion, a kind coward,
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  Speaker 1: but a coward nonetheless. It was just a question from
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  Speaker 1: a servant girl that undid him. Remember, not a soldier
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  Speaker 1: who bludgeoned him. The Sanhedrin didn't browbeat him. Rome didn't
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  Speaker 1: threaten to deport him. No, just a waitress from the
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  Speaker 1: downtown diner overheard him talking. and said, I've heard that accent.
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  Speaker 1: Wait a second, weren't you with Jesus? And it wasn't
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  Speaker 1: enough for Jesus just to say, no, I was not.
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  Speaker 1: He had to curse the very idea. Then Peter began
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  Speaker 1: to place a curse on himself and swear, I don't
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  Speaker 1: know the man. But look at him now. Look at him.
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  Speaker 1: On the day of Pentecost, look at him, declaring to
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  Speaker 1: a throng of thousands, God has made Jesus the man
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  Speaker 1: you nailed to a cross, both Lord and Christ. That's
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  Speaker 1: gutsy language. Lynch mobs feed on those kind of accusations.
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  Speaker 1: The same crowd that shouted crucify him could crucify you.
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  Speaker 1: Him from wimp to warrior in just seven weeks. What happened? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: how we need to know. How we need to know.
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  Speaker 1: We admire the Pentecost, Peter, but we can relate to
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  Speaker 1: the Passover, Peter. We admire the courageous, Peter, but we've
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  Speaker 1: been known to cower. Like the cowardly Peter. We have
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  Speaker 1: people we know. We have nations about which we've read.
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  Speaker 1: We have compassion in our heart. And we want to
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  Speaker 1: do something. But sometimes we just get so tongue tied.
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  Speaker 1: Hog tied. Tied up. We cower. We back away. And
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  Speaker 1: we wonder. Why is her life so fruitful and mine
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  Speaker 1: so futile? Why is his life so powerful? Why is
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  Speaker 1: my life so weak? Aren't we saved by the same Christ?
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  Speaker 1: Don't we read the same scriptures? Don't we rally around
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  Speaker 1: the same cross? Why does some look like Peter before
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  Speaker 1: the crucifixion and others look like Peter? on the day
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  Speaker 1: of Pentecost? Or why do I vacillate back and forth
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  Speaker 1: between the two on any given week? Jesus embedded the
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  Speaker 1: answer to give us. It's in his final earthly message.
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  Speaker 1: He told Peter and the other followers, wait here, speaking
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  Speaker 1: of Jerusalem, wait here to receive the promise from the
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  Speaker 1: Father I told you about. John baptized people with water,
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  Speaker 1: but in a few days you'll be baptized with the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. 120 of them obeyed the apostles minus Judas
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  Speaker 1: plus Matthias, his replacement. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there.
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  Speaker 1: The brothers of Jesus were there. James, Joseph, Simon, and Judah.
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  Speaker 1: Mary of Magdalene, I would imagine, was there. Joanna, the
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  Speaker 1: wife of Chusa, was there. Susanna was there. They followed Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: And now they obeyed Jesus. And now they are charter
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  Speaker 1: members of the church. Jesus sent them to Jerusalem to
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  Speaker 1: do what? To wait. For how long? They aren't told.
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  Speaker 1: Upon whom? The Holy Spirit. How would the Holy Spirit come?
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  Speaker 1: They aren't told. They were sent to Jerusalem to wait.
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  Speaker 1: Could they have imagined what was about to happen? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: look at this. Tongues of fire. When the day of
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  Speaker 1: Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Pentecost
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  Speaker 1: was one of the three feast days on which all
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  Speaker 1: Jewish men were at some time in their life required
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  Speaker 1: to journey to Jerusalem. Many had arrived over 50 days
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  Speaker 1: earlier and participated in the Passover. They would have witnessed
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  Speaker 1: the crucifixion of Christ. They would have heard the word
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  Speaker 1: about the resurrection of Christ. They came from all over
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  Speaker 1: the then known world. Jews from Persia. Medes with long
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  Speaker 1: curled beards and thick hair. Poor Jews from Arabia. Sophisticated
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  Speaker 1: Jews from Rome and their Togus. The population of Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: according to one historian, would swell from 100,000 to a
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  Speaker 1: million people. At this time of the year, you can
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  Speaker 1: envision a dozen dialects echoing in the markets and coins
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  Speaker 1: from every currency jingled in the purses of the merchants.
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  Speaker 1: The city of David hummed with activity. The divine timing
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  Speaker 1: was precise. Now, with the sacrifice of Christ accomplished. Now,
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  Speaker 1: with the tomb of Christ vacated. Now, with the person
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  Speaker 1: of Christ ascended to the throne. Now, with the apostles
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  Speaker 1: gathered together in one place in prayer, waiting on the
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  Speaker 1: power of the Spirit. Now, with representatives from at least
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  Speaker 1: 15 different nations gathered in one place, it was done. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
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  Speaker 1: from heaven and filled the house where they were sitting.
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  Speaker 1: And they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire
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  Speaker 1: that separated and came to rest on each of them.
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  Speaker 1: All of them, all of them were filled with the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. As
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  Speaker 1: the spirit enabled them. And now they were staying in Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 1: God fearing Jews. Look at this. From every nation under heaven.
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  Speaker 1: And when they heard this sound. A crowd came together
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  Speaker 1: in bewilderment. Look at this. Because each one heard their
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  Speaker 1: own language being spoken. Could you not wear out a
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  Speaker 1: highlighter on that paragraph? Tongues of fire came and descended
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  Speaker 1: upon each of them. Son and daughter, man and woman.
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  Speaker 1: Tongues of fire came and descended upon each of them.
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  Speaker 1: And because of that tongue of fire, they were empowered
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  Speaker 1: to to speak a language they had never studied and
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  Speaker 1: convey the gospel in a tongue perhaps they had never heard.
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  Speaker 1: And each person who was listening heard the gospel, look
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  Speaker 1: at this, in their own language. In their own language.
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  Speaker 1: It came to them. What a moment that must have been.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew declaring the goodness of God in the tongue of
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  Speaker 1: the Egyptians. Thomas recounting the miracles of Christ in the
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  Speaker 1: dialect of the Cappadocians. Can you imagine Mary, the mother
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus, describing the birth of Jesus to a group
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  Speaker 1: from Crete in the language of their land? Some in
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  Speaker 1: the crowd were cynical. Accusing the disciples of having a
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  Speaker 1: little early morning inebriation. But others were amazed. And they
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  Speaker 1: asked this question. Whatever could this mean? What a question.
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  Speaker 1: Crowded city. prayerful followers, rushing wind, falling fire, 15 nations
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  Speaker 1: represented in one assembly, disciples speaking like trained translators at
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  Speaker 1: the United Nations. Whatever could this mean? It must mean
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  Speaker 1: at least this, and that is the Holy Spirit empowers
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  Speaker 1: Christ followers to speak the heart languages of the world.
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  Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit. empowers Christ followers to speak the languages
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  Speaker 1: of the world. He has a white hot passion to
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  Speaker 1: see the gospel proclaimed in the heart language of every tribe,
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  Speaker 1: every tent, every city, every corner. Compelling communication was the
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  Speaker 1: first fruit of the falling of the Holy Spirit. Compelling communication.
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  Speaker 1: In time, he would allow them and empower them to
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  Speaker 1: heal the sick. In time, he would lead them to
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  Speaker 1: lead the church. In time, they would even raise the dead.
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  Speaker 1: They would open prison doors. But before those mighty acts
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  Speaker 1: of power, there were mighty words of proclamation. Because of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, these unschooled ordinary men, as they will
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  Speaker 1: soon be described in Acts chapter 4, and women were
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  Speaker 1: empowered to speak languages they had never studied and impact
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  Speaker 1: nations to which they most likely would never travel. Fire
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  Speaker 1: fell from heaven and melted the ice that encased the
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  Speaker 1: heart's of at least 3,000 listeners. Do you think God's
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  Speaker 1: will has changed for his church? Do you think that
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  Speaker 1: was a one-time only event never to be repeated? Do
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  Speaker 1: you think God has dialed back his desire? Do you
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  Speaker 1: think he no longer has a passion to see people
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  Speaker 1: hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language?
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  Speaker 1: I think his plan is still the same. Can I
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  Speaker 1: get an amen for that? Best I can tell, his
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  Speaker 1: promise has not been rescinded. Jesus said, do not be
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  Speaker 1: anxious about how you are to speak or what you
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  Speaker 1: are to say, for what you are to say will
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  Speaker 1: be given to you in that hour, for it is
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  Speaker 1: not you who speak. But the Spirit of your Father
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  Speaker 1: is speaking through you. You and I are the curators,
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  Speaker 1: the carriers of a covenant that does not depend upon
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  Speaker 1: our eloquence, upon our brilliance. It depends simply upon our
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  Speaker 1: willingness to open our mouths and speak just like Speak. Common,
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  Speaker 1: ordinary men and women obeyed. They prayed. They waited. They felt.
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  Speaker 1: They received. And then they opened their mouths. And here
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  Speaker 1: we are still today talking about that moment. Oh God,
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  Speaker 1: would you bring another Pentecost today? Would you bring another
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  Speaker 1: Pentecost today?
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Would you be willing to unleash from heaven yet another
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  Speaker 1: supernatural downpour of your Holy Spirit so strong that we
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  Speaker 1: open our mouths and we speak and we see people's
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  Speaker 1: hearts changed. Oh Lord, hear our prayer for another day.
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  Speaker 1: And let we be a part of the answer to
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  Speaker 1: that prayer. How God uses ordinary people to do an
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  Speaker 1: extraordinary work through the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: We could use Billy Graham as an example. The son
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  Speaker 1: of a North Carolina dairy farmer spoke to over a
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  Speaker 1: billion people in his life about Jesus Christ. We could
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  Speaker 1: use Charles Spurgeon as an example, a preacher from a
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  Speaker 1: century and a half ago, and many of us are
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  Speaker 1: still reading his sermons to this day. We could use
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  Speaker 1: Mother Teresa as an example. She wasn't even five feet tall,
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  Speaker 1: and yet when she walked in a room, orators far
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  Speaker 1: grander than her stood back and listened as she spoke.
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  Speaker 1: But I would much rather hear smoke. Maybe she did.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know. But I would rather tell you about
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  Speaker 1: Brenda Jones. Brenda went to see a plastic surgeon, not
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  Speaker 1: for the purpose of cosmetics, but because both of her
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  Speaker 1: breasts were full of cancer. And her only hope was
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  Speaker 1: to have them removed. And she went to see Dr. Pete,
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  Speaker 1: a plastic surgeon in San Antonio who specializes in breast reconstruction.
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  Speaker 1: And when she went and sat across from him, Pete,
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  Speaker 1: a kind man, listened to her story about what she needed,
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  Speaker 1: explained to her the procedures But then as time was
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  Speaker 1: ticking away, she leaned across and she said, Dr. Pete,
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  Speaker 1: can I tell you about the Jesus who saved me?
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  Speaker 1: Can I tell you how good he's been to me?
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  Speaker 1: Can I tell you that I'm not afraid of death?
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  Speaker 1: Can I tell you that though I'm very sick, my
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  Speaker 1: soul is saved? Can I tell you about the Jesus
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  Speaker 1: who saved me? Pete did Kind of what I'm doing now.
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  Speaker 1: He crossed his arms and he leaned back. Highly successful.
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  Speaker 1: Very affluent. Greatly regarded. And yet lost as a goose.
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  Speaker 1: He had spent all of his life climbing the ladder.
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  Speaker 1: And if he were here right now, he would tell you,
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  Speaker 1: I was realizing that that ladder was leaning against the
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  Speaker 1: wrong building. And she leaned across the table and she
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  Speaker 1: looked at Dr. Pete and she said, Pete, apart from
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, you have no hope. But with Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: with Jesus, he'll change your life and turn you around.
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  Speaker 1: And so there was weak, dying Brenda Jones. Who had
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  Speaker 1: the audacity to just speak. And Pete's eyes began to
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  Speaker 1: fill with tears. And his heart began to fill with hope.
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  Speaker 1: And she led him in a prayer. And he said
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  Speaker 1: yes to Christ. She died two months later. I baptized
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  Speaker 1: Pete about six weeks later. on a cold January day
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  Speaker 1: in an outdoor swimming pool. And Pete Ledoux is one
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  Speaker 1: of the elders in the church where I serve. A
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  Speaker 1: dear man who has now raised his family to the
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  Speaker 1: glory of God. Brenda Jones chose to just speak. I
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  Speaker 1: could tell you also about the father of Antinor Gonsalves.
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  Speaker 1: I've listened to Antinor preach many sermons, some in English,
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  Speaker 1: some in Portuguese. What a powerful proclaimer of the truth
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  Speaker 1: he is. He has served most of his life in
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  Speaker 1: a town outside of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Only has three letters, Itu. I-T-U.
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  Speaker 1: And he's pastored a wonderful church there for most of
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  Speaker 1: his life. But he never, as far as I know,
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  Speaker 1: would have become a pastor had there not been the
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  Speaker 1: most interesting decision of a man whom we'll only meet
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  Speaker 1: when we get to heaven, who chose to turn his
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  Speaker 1: front porch into a gospel billboard of sorts. Here's what happened.
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  Speaker 1: Antinor's father took the train every day from outside of
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  Speaker 1: Sao Paulo, Brazil into Sao Paulo. And then he disembarked
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  Speaker 1: and would walk through a modest neighborhood to get to
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  Speaker 1: his office. It was about a two mile walk. And
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  Speaker 1: as he walked through the neighborhood, he noticed that there
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  Speaker 1: was a house and this house had a porch and
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  Speaker 1: someone had taken a chalkboard, a blackboard and placed it
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  Speaker 1: on the front porch and every day the owner of
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  Speaker 1: that house would write a different bible verse so that
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: anybody who walked past if they stopped would read a
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: scripture every day the verse was different but every day
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: the desire was the same to just speak just deposit
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: some truth in the heart of a person And every day,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Antinor's father, Mr. Gonsalves, would pause and he would read
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: that scripture. He had never held the Bible, never been
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: taught the Bible. But every day he would pause and
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: he would read a verse of scripture. A verse maybe
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: like this. one. Forgive me, Brazilians, it's been 35 years.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Porque Deus amou o mundo de tal maneira que Deus
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: seu filho unigénito, para que todo aquele que nele crê,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: não pereça, mas tenha a vida eterna. Because God so
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: loved the world that he gave his one and only son.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: That whoever believes in him would not perish, but have
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: everlasting life. The words intrigued Mr. Gonsalves. One day his
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: curiosity got the better of him. And he knocked on
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: the door and had a conversation. And that conversation led
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: to an invitation. And that invitation led to a visit
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: to a church. And that visit to a church led
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: to a Bible study. And that Bible study led to
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: a moment of salvation in which Mr. Gonsalves said yes
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: to Jesus. And he went home and he picked up
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: little two-year-old Antinor. And from that moment on began teaching
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: Antinor about Jesus. And to this day, Antinor is proclaiming
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: the grace that his father first found on a chalkboard
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: in the outskirts of Brazil. God used the blackboard to
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: change a family's trajectory. And he used a second string
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: quarterback to change mine. My friend Mike was the backup quarterback.
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: I was the backup center. I have to say that
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: word carefully. Not sinner, but center. Then again, I was both.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: And Mike and I did what backup football players do.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: We stood on the bench, stood on the bench, sat
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: on the bench, stood on the sidelines. People ask me,
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: what position did you play in high school football? I said, well,
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: I must have played self-back because the coach was always saying,
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: get yourself back over there and sit down. And so
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Mike and I would hang out and Mike and I
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: did what teenage boys in high school do. And Mike
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: had an excuse. I didn't. Mike wasn't a Christian. I
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: was supposed to be. But we both knelt each week
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: at the altar of Coors instead of the altar of Christ.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: But then Mike met Pam. Pam knew Christ. Mike fell
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: in love with Pam and then fell in love with Christ.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: And little by little, Mike changed. He was kinder. He
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: was gentler. I noticed that he was more respectful, especially
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: to the people on the outside of the circle. I
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: really don't recall Mike articulating words to me about the
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: gospel but then again he preached the gospel to me
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: every single day by what he did and by what
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: he chose not to do at first I thought it
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: was just because he fell in love with Pam but
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: then he and Pam broke up and his heart was
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: still soft And then he and Pam got back together.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: And he was really happy. They've been married nearly 50
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: years now. And I think about Mike a lot. And
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: I especially thought about him about four years later. When
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: in my own life, thanks largely to the influence of
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Steve Green, who's with me, I wanted to come back
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: to Jesus. but I didn't know if I could. And
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: I remembered Mike. And guided by his example and the
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: way the Holy Spirit worked through him, I came home. Yeah,
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: we could talk about Billy Graham or we could talk
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: about Charles Spurgeon. We could talk about Mother Teresa But really,
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: I'd rather talk about you. I'd rather talk about you.
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: I'd rather talk about people like you who are willing
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: to open your mouth when you visit a doctor, who
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: are creative enough to put a blackboard on your front porch,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: who just are willing to let the Spirit of Christ
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: live through you. And I'd like to close with a question.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: What is your language? What is your language? If the
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit has a white hot compassion to see the
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: love of Christ articulated in the heart language of every
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: person who has ever lived, what is your language? What
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: is it? You can speak a language that's unique to you.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: Something about the constellation of your world events. Something about
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: where you live and how you've lived, where you've been
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: and what you do. You can speak a language. Maybe
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: you can speak the language of a biker, the hiker,
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: the academic, the tree hugger, the weightlifter, the book reader,
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: the teachers. What language do you speak? Please hear me.
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: No one else has your assignment. No one else. No
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: one else can speak to those kids like you can.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: And no one else can envision a trip to the
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: Amazon like you can. No one else can pray for
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: those in a far distant land like you. No one
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: else can write a letter the way you can write
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: it or send an email. There's something unique about you
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: that exists only if you allow it to exist. Would
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: you just speak? Now I can hear the hesitation. I
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: can hear it. Oh, but what if I mess up?
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: What if somebody asked me a question? I mean, there's people,
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: some Christians would rather memorize the book of Leviticus than
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: speak up. So my message to you is all you
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: got to do is open your mouth. Just speak. I say,
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: I don't know what to say. Well, I'll tell you
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: what to say. Share your story. You know, there's a
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: word in the Old Testament for this. It's your Ebenezer.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Your Ebenezer. It's a great word. Because the children of
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: Israel tended to forget. They would forget the great works
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: that God had done for them, delivered from Egyptian captivity,
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: guided through the desert. Never knew a hungry belly. Never
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: knew a sandal that would wear out. God took care
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: of them. But it just would take the slightest discomfort.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: And they would say, I'm going back to Egypt. Did
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: you know there was a time they melted down their
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: earrings and turned it into a golden calf? And there
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: in front of the living, God started worshiping a golden cow.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: And so God... gave them a tool and taught them
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: to create an Ebenezer. An Ebenezer was a memorial stone,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: if you will, a statement of how God had been
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: good to them. And they would bring people and they
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: would tell the story. They would point at that Ebenezer
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: and they would say, oh, this reminds us of how
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: God got the children of Israel. How God got Joshua through.
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: How God protected us when. And they would have Ebenezers.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: What are your Ebenezers? What are your only God moments?
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: What are they? Your assignment between now and when I'm
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: back next week. And I'm going to check homework. Your assignment.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: What are your Ebenezer moments? What are those times as
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: you look back over your life that you say, only
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: God could have done that. Only God could have gotten
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: me out of that problem. Only God could have given
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: me that job. Only God could have provided as he did.
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: Only God.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: Listen, that's your story. That's your chalkboard. That's your message.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: You don't have to answer everybody's questions, but you do
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: need to be able to say, let me tell you
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: what God did for me. And can I just say,
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: Can I just say, and this is important, that God
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: is creating an Ebenezer moment for the Gateway family. God
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: is creating an Ebenezer moment right now. Because we're going
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: to get through this. We're going to get through this transition.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: We're going to get through this challenge. And there will
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: be families. People in the days, months, weeks, years, decades
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: ahead who will look back and say, oh yeah, it's
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: a tough time. But boy, we went through a tough
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: time back then and God got us through it. That's
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: our Ebenezer, our Ebenezer. Your Ebenezer moment is that moment
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: in which you can say only God could have done it.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: You can tell your Ebenezer story, can you not? There
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: was an occasion that Jesus healed a deranged man The
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: fellow had made his home in a cemetery and often
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: cut himself with rocks. And when Jesus delivered him, the
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: man did what I would have wanted to do. The
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: man said, can I go with you, Jesus? You know
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: what Jesus said to him? Jesus said, go home to
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: your friends and tell them what great things the Lord
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: has done for you and how he has had compassion
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: on you. We can do that, can't we? We can
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: go home to our friends and we can tell them
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: how good God is and how he has had compassion
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: upon us all. In other words, show someone your Ebenezer.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: You say, I don't know. I feel still kind of hesitant,
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: a little awkward. That's okay. God will do the hard work.
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: He will speak through you. And he will talk to
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: them today before you put your head on your pillow. Say, Lord,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: is there somebody with whom I could share my story?
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: An Ebenezer moment. I had kind of an Ebenezer moment
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: not too long ago in the hill country of South Texas.
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: I was driving. I know those hills very well. I
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: know those roads very well. And now I know a
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: highway patrolman very well. I wasn't paying much attention and
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: I looked up and I saw that sight. Don't you
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: hate it when you see the light spinning and you
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: hear the ambulance? Oh, I pulled over to the side.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: I didn't get out of the car. I lowered my window.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: He came walking around. He asked for my driver's license.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: I handed it to him and he said, you look familiar. Yes, sir.
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: Are you a pastor? I said, yes, sir. hmm, on
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: your way to a funeral? I said, no. Emergency? No.
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: Just in a hurry, huh? Yes. He said, I'm going
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: to give you a break. And I said, thank you.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: You've also given me a sermon illustration on forgiveness. Yes. Friends,
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: my whole life is a sermon illustration on forgiveness. My
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: Ebenezer is that God took a kid who was headed
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: on a train that was about to roll over the tracks.
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: And he treated me with grace I did not deserve.
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: And he loved me into his family. That's my Ebenezer.
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: What's yours? Would you be willing to share it? Would
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: you tell it? Would you... like some are called to do,
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: travel around the world and share it? Or would you
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: begin by going next door and just loving the people
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: in your world? Peter's gospel invitation on that day is
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: his invitation still. Turn to God and be baptized, each
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: sins are forgiven. Receive the Holy Spirit. This promise is
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: targeted to you and your children, but also to all
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: who are far away, whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: If you've never said yes to Jesus, we beg you
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: to do so because we have no guarantee of another day.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: But right now is your day of salvation. And if
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: today is your day of saying yes to Jesus, we
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: welcome you into the family of God. And as you
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: commune with the beautiful people of Gateway, talk to somebody
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: about your decision. Be baptized. Find a group where you
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: can grow in your faith. Learn your Bible. And most
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: of all, share your Ebenezer story. Just speak. Hear our prayer,
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: O Lord, as we offer this up to you. Knowing
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: that you're a good and faithful God. Thank you. And
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: thank you for these, your servants, who have traveled from
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: all over the world to be here. May your mercy
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: be upon them. And please continue to hear our prayers
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: for people. We offer this prayer through Christ. Amen.
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: As long as you're somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
• 45:40
  Speaker 4: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need
• 45:48
  Speaker 4: promises to keep.
• 45:51
  Speaker 3: Just the thought that you are breathing Somewhere in this
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: world I see Even if I'm not beside you Even
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: if you never know There's a quiet kind of comfort
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: just in knowing you still blow.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: I don't need forever.
• 46:14
  Speaker 4: I just need you to exist You don't have to
• 46:24
  Speaker 4: stay with me.
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: You don't have to feel the same.
• 46:30
  Speaker 4: Just as long as you're still out there.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: Calling softly through my days.
• 46:36
  Speaker 4: You don't have to look my way.
• 46:40
  Speaker 3: You don't have to be my home. It's enough to.
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: Know you're living in a world.
• 46:48
  Speaker 4: I'm not alone.
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: I won't chase you through the distance. Won't disturb your
• 46:58
  Speaker 3: chosen life. I'll just keep you in my silence like
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: a star that shines at night. Through the dark and
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: through the blue.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: I still think of you.
• 47:22
  Speaker 4: You don't have to feel the same Just as.
• 47:26
  Speaker 3: Long as you're still out there Calling softly through my
• 47:31
  Speaker 3: days You don't.
• 47:32
  Speaker 4: Have to look my way You don't have to be
• 47:37
  Speaker 4: my home It's enough to know you're living In a
• 47:43
  Speaker 4: world I'm not alone.
• 48:01
  Speaker 3: I don't need to be your light I don't need
• 48:05
  Speaker 3: to cross your mind All I need is just the
• 48:08
  Speaker 3: truth That you're somewhere Still alive.
• 48:16
  Speaker 5: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 48:20
  Speaker 5: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 48:25
  Speaker 5: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
• 48:30
  Speaker 5: to look my way You don't have to be my
• 48:35
  Speaker 5: home It's enough to know you're living
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: In a world I'm not alone.