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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. But the voice answered me again from heaven,
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  Speaker 1: What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Acts
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  Speaker 1: 11.9 Jesus, thank you for showing me the most important
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  Speaker 1: lesson in my life when it comes to people. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for showing me that whomever you deemed as clean
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  Speaker 1: and pure, no one can reverse it. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: showing me, Jesus, that your plan is for all people,
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  Speaker 1: regardless of their ethnicity, economic standing, and upbringing. Similar to
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  Speaker 1: the life of Peter, use me in my industry to
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  Speaker 1: share stories of your goodness and mercy. As I speak,
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  Speaker 1: let your Holy Spirit charge and change the hearts of
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  Speaker 1: everyone listening. Let your loving kindness be put on full display.
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  Speaker 1: Like the centurion soldier and his family, may other families
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  Speaker 1: come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. You
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  Speaker 1: are a game changer. You are the way maker. And
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  Speaker 1: through me, others will know that you have called them
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  Speaker 1: and your desire is to love on them. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Unclean.
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  Speaker 3: In our last story, we saw the work of God
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  Speaker 3: through Peter. One man was restored from being crippled for
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  Speaker 3: eight years. Another was dead and raised to life. In this,
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  Speaker 3: we saw the will of God moving people out of
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  Speaker 3: their beds and into a life of purpose. Now we
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  Speaker 3: see God extend his reach further than just the Jews.
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  Speaker 3: We see a Roman family come to know the truth
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  Speaker 3: and power of Jesus. Peter, who would be convinced by
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  Speaker 3: a dream that no person is common, would witness the
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  Speaker 3: extraordinary power of Christ. Inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. Thanks for joining us. In yesterday's episode,
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  Speaker 4: we heard how God worked through Peter in the towns
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  Speaker 4: of Lydda and Joppa to bring physical healing and life
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  Speaker 4: to the sick and dead. And that ultimately pointed people
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  Speaker 4: to faith in Jesus Christ. Today, we'll see the gospel
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  Speaker 4: once again going beyond the Jewish people as a Roman
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  Speaker 4: family comes to faith in Christ. We'll also see how
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  Speaker 4: God is working on the hearts of His disciples as
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  Speaker 4: He speaks to Peter and shows him that no person
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  Speaker 4: is unclean or excluded from God's grace. Let's listen now
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  Speaker 4: to the reading of God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: The night was silent under the crescent moon. The birds
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  Speaker 3: had not emerged to welcome the morning, and the only
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  Speaker 3: sound was that of stirring in Cornelius' bed. He tossed
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  Speaker 3: and turned in the night, experiencing the intensity of God
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  Speaker 3: coming to his dream. Cornelius, the Lord said. Cornelius stared
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  Speaker 3: at the Lord in complete terror. His bones shook, and
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  Speaker 3: his heart seemed to be beating out of his chest.
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  Speaker 3: Here I am, he whimpered. The Lord spoke with great clarity.
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  Speaker 3: I have seen your righteousness, Cornelius. I have seen your
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  Speaker 3: generosity to the poor and your gentle spirit. Your prayers
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  Speaker 3: to me have been heard. Now send men to Joppa.
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  Speaker 3: My servant Peter resides there by the sea. Cornelius woke
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  Speaker 3: with a jolt. He rubbed his eyes and looked out
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  Speaker 3: his window. The sun was rising and there was work
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  Speaker 3: the Lord desired to do in his household. Cornelius was
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  Speaker 3: a Roman centurion and a Gentile. Many of the Jewish
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  Speaker 3: believers still held on to the belief that Gentiles were
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  Speaker 3: somewhat unclean and not a part of the people of God.
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  Speaker 3: Yet Cornelius remained alert to what the Lord was doing,
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  Speaker 3: so he sent for Peter. The next day Peter was
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  Speaker 3: kneeling by the sea. He often looked out into the ocean,
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  Speaker 3: remembering how Jesus calmed the storms that surrounded him. Now
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  Speaker 3: he prayed that Jesus would calm his inner storms. Peter
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  Speaker 3: closed his eyes, doing his best to focus on the
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  Speaker 3: voice of God. However, his stomach had other plans. Peter
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  Speaker 3: was famished and greatly desired something to eat. As he
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  Speaker 3: was praying, the Lord caused him to sleep. Peter saw
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  Speaker 3: the heavens opened up like light through a cave. Peter
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  Speaker 3: gazed upon what seemed to be a large sheet descending
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  Speaker 3: gracefully to the earth. Peter watched as all kinds of reptiles, birds,
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  Speaker 3: and animals grazed on the sheet. Peter watched the beasts curiously.
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  Speaker 3: Then he heard a voice from heaven saying,' Arise, Peter!
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  Speaker 3: Hunt and eat!' Peter pondered the command. Was this a test?
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  Speaker 3: He knew that many of the animals presented were not
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  Speaker 3: considered clean by the old covenant law. Did God truly
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  Speaker 3: want him to eat what was once considered unholy? Peter
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  Speaker 3: shook his head. By no means. I have never eaten
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  Speaker 3: anything common or unclean, Peter said very sure of himself.
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  Speaker 3: Peter believed he had passed God's test, showing himself to
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  Speaker 3: be obedient with old traditions. Yet the voice spoke a
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  Speaker 3: second time, saying, What God has made clean you shall
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  Speaker 3: not call unclean. The saying was repeated three times, and
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  Speaker 3: Peter woke up. Still hungry and still confused, he went
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  Speaker 3: to go eat, still pondering what the Lord meant in
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  Speaker 3: his heart. A few hours passed, and the men sent
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  Speaker 3: by Cornelius had reached Peter. They implored him to join
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  Speaker 3: them at Cornelius' home. They told Peter of Cornelius' faithfulness
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  Speaker 3: and goodwill towards the people of God. So Peter went
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  Speaker 3: back with them to Caesarea. They walked for over a
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  Speaker 3: day and arrived at the home of the centurion. Peter
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  Speaker 3: walked in through the door and saw a house filled
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  Speaker 3: with Roman Gentiles. All of Cornelius' family and friends were
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  Speaker 3: there to see Peter. When Cornelius saw Peter, he ran
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  Speaker 3: towards him and fell at his feet. Peter's face grew red.
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  Speaker 3: He was flustered by the gesture. Please stand up. I
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  Speaker 3: am only a man, like you. Cornelius stood to his feet.
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  Speaker 3: As Peter looked around the room, he began to realize
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  Speaker 3: what God was trying to say to him through his dream.
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  Speaker 3: He saw many faces wearing expectant grins. Peter sighed and
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  Speaker 3: laughed to himself. God was faithful to him. He had
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  Speaker 3: shown Peter exactly what his will was. Peter raised his
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  Speaker 3: voice to the crowd and said, You all know that
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  Speaker 3: Jews are not supposed to associate or build friendships with
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  Speaker 3: anybody from another nation. However, God has recently showed me
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  Speaker 3: that I am not to call anyone unclean or common,
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  Speaker 3: even Gentiles. So Peter ate with them and exchanged stories
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  Speaker 3: about who Jesus was and what he was sent to do.
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  Speaker 3: Cornelius and his family gathered around Peter, listening. Peter laughed
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  Speaker 3: and cried as he told stories of Jesus' kindness, compassion, strength,
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  Speaker 3: and even humor. It was not before long that every
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  Speaker 3: person in Cornelius' house came to believe in Christ. The
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit moved like rushing waves over the Gentiles that night.
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  Speaker 3: Signs and wonders were done among them. Even more, their
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  Speaker 3: whole world view began to shift and change. They believed
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  Speaker 3: in God for their city and their community. They sought
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  Speaker 3: the gifts of the Spirit and experienced the full weight
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  Speaker 3: of His glory upon them. The whole household of Cornelius
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  Speaker 3: was baptized, and they began to change the community with
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  Speaker 3: their deeds. This was the beginning of a new wave
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  Speaker 3: of God's majesty. It was promised thousands of years ago
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  Speaker 3: that through the seed of Abraham all nations would be blessed.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus was that seed. Through him, all nations would be
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  Speaker 3: able to come to God. Not just one specific group,
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  Speaker 3: but every culture and nation under the sun. God would
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  Speaker 3: work in and through the Gentiles. As a result, every
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  Speaker 3: nation on earth would know the name of Christ.
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  Speaker 4: As we open today's reading, we are introduced to a
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  Speaker 4: man named Cornelius. He was a centurion, a commander in
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  Speaker 4: the Roman army. Although he was a Gentile, we are
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  Speaker 4: told that Cornelius was a God-fearing man. He was earnestly
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  Speaker 4: seeking the Lord and living out the Christlike principles of
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  Speaker 4: prayer and even caring for the poor. And so one
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  Speaker 4: night as he slept, God sent an angel to him
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  Speaker 4: in a vision saying God had seen his devotion and
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  Speaker 4: generosity and was pleased with him. So the angel gave
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  Speaker 4: him specific instructions to send for a man named Peter
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  Speaker 4: who was at Joppa. You see, though Cornelius was seeking
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  Speaker 4: God and showed religious devotion, he was still not in
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  Speaker 4: a relationship with the one true God through Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 4: He needed to hear the gospel and follow Jesus. And
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  Speaker 4: although the angel could bring a word from God, he
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  Speaker 4: could not preach the gospel. This is an opportunity and
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  Speaker 4: a task given to Christians. It is our calling and
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  Speaker 4: it is our privilege as believers to to be witnesses
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  Speaker 4: and to share the good news of eternal life with
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  Speaker 4: people who need to know the Lord. And so when
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  Speaker 4: he awoke, Cornelius did as the angel had told him
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  Speaker 4: to do and sent two men to find Peter. As
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  Speaker 4: we soon discover, God had two purposes in sending for Peter.
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  Speaker 4: He would work through Peter to share the good news
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  Speaker 4: of Jesus with Cornelius, and he would use Cornelius to
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  Speaker 4: show Peter that God's grace and salvation is meant not
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  Speaker 4: only for the Jews, but to Gentiles as well, for
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  Speaker 4: the whole world. The next day, as Cornelius' men were
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  Speaker 4: headed to find Peter, we hear that Peter was very hungry,
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  Speaker 4: and as he prayed on the of a sheep descending
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  Speaker 4: from the heavens, filled with animals of all kinds. These
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  Speaker 4: were animals considered unclean by Jewish law. And then a
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  Speaker 4: voice told Peter to rise, kill, and eat. But Peter protested,
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  Speaker 4: affirming that he had never defiled himself with unclean or
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  Speaker 4: common things. The same voice spoke again, saying, What God
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  Speaker 4: has called clean do not call unclean or common. Three
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  Speaker 4: times Peter heard this voice say the same thing. Once again,
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  Speaker 4: it seems Peter needed something to be said three times
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  Speaker 4: to get through to him, just as Jesus had told
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  Speaker 4: him three times to feed my sheep. God is now
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  Speaker 4: showing Peter that there is a new reality and that
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  Speaker 4: everyone can have a relationship with Jesus. God wasn't speaking
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  Speaker 4: just about food. It was much bigger than that. It
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  Speaker 4: was about faith and how to know Christ. As Peter
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  Speaker 4: sat there trying to understand what he had just experienced,
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  Speaker 4: who should come into the house but the men Cornelius
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  Speaker 4: had sent? God's Spirit spoke to Peter, saying that they
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  Speaker 4: had been sent there by the Lord and that Peter
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  Speaker 4: was to go with them. So Peter went to the
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  Speaker 4: men and told them that he was the one they
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  Speaker 4: were looking for. And they told him all about Cornelius
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  Speaker 4: and his vision and their reason for coming. Peter invited
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  Speaker 4: the men in as guests to stay the night. This
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  Speaker 4: is significant, as we already see Peter's perspective on Gentiles
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  Speaker 4: being changed. The next day they left for the home
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  Speaker 4: of Cornelius, and when they arrived, The man was thrilled,
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  Speaker 4: so much so that he fell at Peter's feet to
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  Speaker 4: worship him. If this was the man God had sent
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  Speaker 4: to him, surely he was worthy of worship. But, of course,
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  Speaker 4: Peter refused to be worshipped. He lifted him up and said,
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  Speaker 4: I'm just a man. Cornelius had gathered his family and
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  Speaker 4: many others to hear what Peter had to say. And
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  Speaker 4: as Peter stood there, he explained what he was doing
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  Speaker 4: in sharing Christ and that it was beyond anything that
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  Speaker 4: he had been taught as a Jew. They were not
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  Speaker 4: to associate with foreigners in this way, Peter said. But
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  Speaker 4: then he told them that God had shown him that
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  Speaker 4: he should not consider anyone outside the grace and the
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  Speaker 4: love of God. So in Acts 10, 34-35, Peter says this,
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  Speaker 4: Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in
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  Speaker 4: every nation anyone who fears him and does what is
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  Speaker 4: right is acceptable to him. Peter was beginning to understand
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  Speaker 4: the fullness of the gospel, that Jesus came to free
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  Speaker 4: the whole world of sin, to forgive all who would
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  Speaker 4: trust in him, to make all things new, that Jesus
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  Speaker 4: is not just for the Jews, but for the Jews,
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  Speaker 4: the Gentiles, and the whole world. Peter then shared the
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  Speaker 4: gospel with his house full of Gentiles, telling them about
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  Speaker 4: Jesus and how he had died and risen from the
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  Speaker 4: grave in order to bring salvation to all who would
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  Speaker 4: trust in him. As he spoke, The Holy Spirit fell
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  Speaker 4: upon all those who heard the word. Peter's Jewish companions
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  Speaker 4: who had come along were amazed, seeing that God's Spirit
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  Speaker 4: was not limited to Jews, but also is now being
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  Speaker 4: poured out on Gentiles. It was a new era for
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  Speaker 4: the church. The gospel has been unleashed and it is unstoppable.
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  Speaker 4: Men and women from every tongue and every nation can
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  Speaker 4: now know that Jesus is Lord and discover new life
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  Speaker 4: in Him. Let's pray together. Dear God, how we thank
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  Speaker 4: you for this passage of scripture that reminds us just
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  Speaker 4: how much you love the world, that there is not
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  Speaker 4: a person in this world that you do not love.
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  Speaker 4: We know that we have all sinned and broken your commandments,
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  Speaker 4: and yet you've demonstrated your love toward us, and that
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  Speaker 4: while we were yet sinners, you died on the cross
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  Speaker 4: for us and rose again so that we could be
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  Speaker 4: forgiven and be set free from the power of sin
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  Speaker 4: and death in our lives. So Lord, we praise you
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  Speaker 4: for this. And may we be witnesses of this truth. Lord,
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  Speaker 4: help us to go in your name and tell others
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  Speaker 4: of Jesus who is powerful to save. For it is
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  Speaker 4: in his name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 4: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor
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  Speaker 4: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and
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  Speaker 4: make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: And if you are enjoying the podcast, let someone else know.
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  Speaker 4: We now have over 23 million people who have downloaded
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  Speaker 4: the Bible in a year. We are praising God for that.
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  Speaker 4: Help us get the Word out. It is a powerful
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  Speaker 4: tool to share the Word of God and the testimony
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  Speaker 4: of Jesus. And one more thing. If you want more
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: resources as to how you can know what it is
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: to follow Christ and to live the Christian life and
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: to be a disciple of Jesus, be sure to visit
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  Speaker 4: jackgraham.org and there you will find resources for your spiritual
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  Speaker 4: growth and maturity. God bless you and good day.
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  Speaker 2: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
• 15:18
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• 15:24
  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Dr.
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: Tony Evans and I'm excited to have you join me
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: on this new podcast, Heroes in the Bible.
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  Speaker 3: Come to me, boy. You and your God will crumble
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  Speaker 3: beneath my feet.
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  Speaker 1: He beckoned the giant and said.
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  Speaker 2: I come to you in the name of the Lord
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  Speaker 2: of hosts and creator of the stars.
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  Speaker 5: You know, we all have giants that we face in
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  Speaker 5: our life. And when you understand that the greatness of
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  Speaker 5: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,
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  Speaker 5: it will encourage, inspire us, and challenge all of us
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  Speaker 5: to our faith in God and our growth in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Look past his height and appearance, Samuel, for man sees
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  Speaker 2: the outward appearance. They see the strength of the man's arms,
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  Speaker 2: but the Lord looks into the heart.
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  Speaker 5: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with Dr. Tony Evans
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  Speaker 5: on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
• 16:24
  Speaker 5: get your podcasts.