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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ maketh thee whole. Arise, and make thy bed. And
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  Speaker 1: he arose immediately. Acts 9.34 I want to thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: for all the years that you've loved me and guided
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  Speaker 1: me to get me to where I am now. As
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  Speaker 1: I stand before others, May my testimony serve as a
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  Speaker 1: badge of honor to your goodness and faithfulness to those
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  Speaker 1: who love and serve you. Don't let anyone for one
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  Speaker 1: moment doubt your faithfulness and goodness when they look at
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  Speaker 1: all that you've done in my life. Like Tabitha and
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  Speaker 1: Aeneas in today's reading, I acknowledge that you have given
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  Speaker 1: me the power to speak life into people who have
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  Speaker 1: been bedridden and sidelined in life. When I come face
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  Speaker 1: to face with these situations, I will activate the same
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  Speaker 1: faith that Peter used to heal all those he came
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  Speaker 1: in contact with. I will not doubt whether or not
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  Speaker 1: it will happen. Instead, I will put my faith in
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  Speaker 1: you and watch as your spirit fills them so that
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  Speaker 1: you can get the glory. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
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  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Bedridden. In our last story, the evil intentions of Saul
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  Speaker 2: the persecutor were thwarted by the presence of Jesus himself.
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  Speaker 2: As Saul was on the road to drag Christians out
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  Speaker 2: of their homes and imprison them, Jesus threw him off
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  Speaker 2: his horse and blinded him. For three days Saul wept
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  Speaker 2: in darkness, but his sight was restored and he could
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  Speaker 2: see the true light of Christ. Now we follow Peter
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  Speaker 2: on his journey to Lydda and Joppa. There he visits
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  Speaker 2: the bedsides of two specific peoples. people who would walk
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  Speaker 2: again to experience joy everlasting, inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with another episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Thanks for joining us. In
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  Speaker 3: our previous episode, we heard of Saul's amazing conversion experience
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  Speaker 3: on the Damascus Road. He was on his way to
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  Speaker 3: persecute Christians, to take Christians' lives, but Jesus arrested him.
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  Speaker 3: and took him himself as a brand new believer and
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  Speaker 3: follower of the Savior. When Saul came face to face
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  Speaker 3: with Jesus, the very one that he was persecuting, Jesus
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  Speaker 3: changed his life forever. And this man then embraced his
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  Speaker 3: calling to take the gospel to the world. He was
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  Speaker 3: a chosen vessel. Today we'll hear how the Apostle Peter
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  Speaker 3: then journeys to take the good news of the risen
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  Speaker 3: Savior around the world. Filled with God's power, he will
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  Speaker 3: bring physical and spiritual healing to the sick and the
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  Speaker 3: hurting and the lame and the broken, even restoring one
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  Speaker 3: life that had died. In all of it, God's name,
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  Speaker 3: the name of Jesus, will be glorified as more and
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  Speaker 3: more people, multitudes, are embracing the message of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: So once again, let's hear our reading from the book
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  Speaker 3: of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: Peter walked the streets of Lydda with purpose. The small
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  Speaker 2: city was filled with people who were not close to
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  Speaker 2: the ministry of Jesus on earth, therefore in need of
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  Speaker 2: hearing his gospel. There was a small community of believers there.
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  Speaker 2: They ministered among the people, feeding the poor and preaching
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  Speaker 2: liberty from the shame of sin. Yet there was a
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  Speaker 2: specific need that drew Peter there. A man named Aeneas
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  Speaker 2: was in the city. He was a man in need
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  Speaker 2: of a miracle. Aeneas sat up in his bed looking
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  Speaker 2: out the window. The sun peered in through the small space,
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  Speaker 2: causing rays of afternoon sunshine to fill his bedroom. It
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  Speaker 2: was the greatest part of his day. For eight years
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  Speaker 2: he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Aeneas
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  Speaker 2: would relive the same nightmare of pain and purposelessness. That
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  Speaker 2: was until a stranger peeked in through the door. The
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  Speaker 2: man was tall and broad. He held the holy and
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  Speaker 2: quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the
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  Speaker 2: tattered clothes of a fisherman. Aeneas.
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  Speaker 1: he asked.
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  Speaker 2: Aeneas gave a curious nod. I am Peter, sent by
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  Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. It is him who heals you at this moment.
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  Speaker 2: Rise up and make your bed. And immediately Aeneas dangled
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  Speaker 2: his legs over the side of the bed. With a
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  Speaker 2: small leap of faith, he stood to his feet. He
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  Speaker 2: leapt for joy and ran outside, and all the citizens
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  Speaker 2: of Lydda rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in
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  Speaker 2: the city of Joppa, there was a disciple by the
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  Speaker 2: name of Tabitha Her devotion to the character and ministry
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus was staggering, and the whole city was blessed
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  Speaker 2: because of her. She cared for the sick and lonely.
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  Speaker 2: She ministered to the brokenhearted, and she did so with joy.
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  Speaker 2: She reflected Christ in her city and set an example
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  Speaker 2: for what it meant to follow Christ. However, even the
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  Speaker 2: pure can be sick. Even the strong can become weak.
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  Speaker 2: In the prime of her ministry, Tabitha became ill to
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  Speaker 2: the point of death. Her friends washed her lifeless body
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  Speaker 2: Tears filled the upper room where she lay. They could
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  Speaker 2: not believe that this beautiful soul would be taken from
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  Speaker 2: them so quickly. They closed the door to the upper
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  Speaker 2: room where Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They wept all night.
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  Speaker 2: There was no ceasing to the heartache of death. Even
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  Speaker 2: though Jesus had ridden the final sting of death, they
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  Speaker 2: were still filled with sorrow over their loss. That was
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  Speaker 2: until a stranger peeked in through the door. The man
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  Speaker 2: was tall and broad. He held the holy and quiet
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  Speaker 2: demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the tattered
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  Speaker 2: clothes of a fisherman. Is this where Tabitha lays? the
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  Speaker 2: man asks. The friends nodded, skeptical of the man's intentions.
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  Speaker 2: I am Peter, and I have come to see Tabitha.
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  Speaker 2: So they led Peter into the upper room. They had
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  Speaker 2: heard of Peter, the apostle of Jesus. They knew that
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  Speaker 2: God was active in his life. They knew that a
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  Speaker 2: miracle was not only possible, but probable. Peter closed the
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  Speaker 2: door to the upper room. The room was filled with
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  Speaker 2: incense to mask the smell of death. Its musk made
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  Speaker 2: Peter's lungs feel heavy. Under the dimly lit candlelight, Tabitha
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  Speaker 2: could be seen lying on a bed. Peter took a
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  Speaker 2: few steps forward and knelt down slowly at her side.
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  Speaker 2: He held her hand. It was cold and callous. No
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  Speaker 2: doubt she was a woman well acquainted with hard work.
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  Speaker 2: From what Peter had heard, her hands were used to
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  Speaker 2: the glory of God. Peter squeezed her lifeless hand tightly
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  Speaker 2: and whispered Tabitha, arise. The hand Peter held began to
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  Speaker 2: squeeze back, and color was restored to Tabitha's face and limbs.
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  Speaker 2: Her eyes slowly opened to see Peter's smiling face looking
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  Speaker 2: back at her. Peter laughed, and Tabitha wept with tears
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  Speaker 2: of joy. The two exchanged a few words, but it
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  Speaker 2: was brief, since an excited mob of widows and believers
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  Speaker 2: stormed the room. They hugged and kissed her. Words of
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  Speaker 2: her healing spread everywhere. And Tabitha wore her testimony like
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  Speaker 2: a banner of God's faithfulness.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading in the city of Lydda, many
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  Speaker 3: miles to the north of Jerusalem. Despite increased persecution and
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  Speaker 3: danger for the believers, Peter had not ceased to go
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  Speaker 3: from place to place with the gospel message. In Lydda,
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  Speaker 3: he found a man named Aeneas who had been confined
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  Speaker 3: to his bed for eight years. Eight years of pain
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  Speaker 3: and suffering ensued. He was stuck in his home with
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  Speaker 3: little hope of being made well. But the Lord guided
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  Speaker 3: Peter to his house. Peter entered the house and spoke
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  Speaker 3: to Aeneas saying, Jesus heals you and told him to
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  Speaker 3: get up and make his bed. If you've ever lived
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  Speaker 3: in a small town, you know how fast word spreads.
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  Speaker 3: And that's exactly what happened in this little town. Everyone
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  Speaker 3: knew Aeneas was paralyzed and confined to his bed. So
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  Speaker 3: when they saw him walking around completely healed, They were
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  Speaker 3: amazed and glorified God. Through one physical healing, God then
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  Speaker 3: opened the door for spiritual healing, salvation for many people.
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  Speaker 3: Listen to what Acts 9.35 says, And all the residents
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  Speaker 3: of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. Not just one city, but two. All who
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  Speaker 3: lived there turned to the Lord. We then heard of
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  Speaker 3: a woman in the nearby town of Joppa named Tabitha.
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  Speaker 3: Tabitha was a believer who was busy going about the
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  Speaker 3: work of Christ. We're told that she was full of
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  Speaker 3: good deeds and charity, generosity. In other words, she cared
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  Speaker 3: for the needs of people around her. Tabitha lived out
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  Speaker 3: the Lord's command to love her neighbor. And yet she
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  Speaker 3: became sick and died. Following Jesus does not automatically mean
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  Speaker 3: that the will of God is easy with life and
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  Speaker 3: health and prosperity, or even a long life. and so
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  Speaker 3: this woman dies. Her friends were not ready to say
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  Speaker 3: goodbye to Tabitha, however, so they cleaned her body and
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  Speaker 3: laid her in an upper room and then sent word
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  Speaker 3: to Peter, who came right away. When he arrived, he
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  Speaker 3: went into the home to the upper room where Tabitha lay.
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  Speaker 3: Just as Jesus had done when he went to the
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  Speaker 3: home of Jairus to raise his daughter from the dead,
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  Speaker 3: Peter spoke to Tabitha, telling her to arise. Peter was
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  Speaker 3: carrying on the healing ministry of Jesus, even raising the
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  Speaker 3: dead to life. Peter then presented Tabitha to her friends
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  Speaker 3: and family, and many turned to the Lord as a
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  Speaker 3: result of her resurrection. Today, we are reminded that God's
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  Speaker 3: miracle-working power has the ability of drawing people to himself.
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  Speaker 3: God still cares for those who are hurting. We saw
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  Speaker 3: the compassionate heart of Christ going about doing good and
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  Speaker 3: helping those who were hurting and healing the sick and
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  Speaker 3: even raising the dead. And in the same way, there
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  Speaker 3: is a desire in the heart of those of us
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  Speaker 3: who follow Jesus to help hurting people, to bless those
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  Speaker 3: who need the blessing of God, and especially those who
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  Speaker 3: need to hear the witness of the gospel and to
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  Speaker 3: turn to Christ. Our mission as the followers of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: is is to preach the gospel and to help people
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  Speaker 3: know and follow our Lord. We, like the Apostle Peter
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  Speaker 3: in this case, need to be attentive and alert to
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  Speaker 3: opportunities all around us to share the good news of Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: Let us always be available to help people discover the
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  Speaker 3: power of God in their lives. Let's pray. Dear Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: we know that you have come to bring healing and
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  Speaker 3: wholeness to the world. May your message of hope and
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  Speaker 3: salvation go to the ends of the earth through your witnesses.
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  Speaker 3: May we as your followers keep our eyes open for
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  Speaker 3: the opportunities to obey you in sharing this good news.
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  Speaker 3: For we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack
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  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: and make prayer a priority in your life, just like
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  Speaker 3: over 20 million people have done to this date. If
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  Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you know
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  Speaker 3: and love, because by sharing this message of the Word
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  Speaker 3: of God, you can make an eternal difference in someone's life.
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  Speaker 3: And I want to encourage you to go to jackgram.org.
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  Speaker 3: That's me at jackgram.org. We have resources available to you.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you, and we look forward to joining you
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  Speaker 3: again the next time.