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Tongues like Fire - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
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  Speaker 1: like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 2.3 Holy Spirit, I thank you for overwhelming me
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  Speaker 1: with the wind of your presence. I thank you that
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  Speaker 1: in the same way that tongues like fire fell on
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  Speaker 1: the disciples, that same anointing is falling on me. As
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  Speaker 1: your words fill my mouth, may they be heard and
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  Speaker 1: understood across all boundaries and borders. May your words of
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  Speaker 1: freedom be felt and experienced in the hearts of all
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  Speaker 1: that I speak to. I praise you, Lord, because revival
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  Speaker 1: is breaking out all around me. I praise you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: that through the power of the Holy Spirit, I'm equipped
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  Speaker 1: to fully realize the purpose of my life. Add daily
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  Speaker 1: to the number of those who are impacted by the
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  Speaker 1: gospel of Jesus Christ. Use me as a conduit to
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  Speaker 1: speak words of hope and life to everyone I meet today.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that the wind of change is upon us,
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  Speaker 1: and your wind of goodness is about to blow us away.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 3: Tongues like fire. In our last story, Jesus commissioned His
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  Speaker 3: disciples to go in power and authority, He comforted them
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  Speaker 3: and told them that the Holy Spirit would come to
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  Speaker 3: help them. So now the disciples wait on the Holy
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  Speaker 3: Spirit to move. In this story, the Holy Spirit shows
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  Speaker 3: up like a whirlwind. The disciples show up to the
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  Speaker 3: temple and declare the truth of Christ to people of
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  Speaker 3: all nations, inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 2: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 2: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
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  Speaker 2: to you each week through the support of listeners just
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  Speaker 2: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
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  Speaker 2: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 2: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
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  Speaker 2: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, Simply go
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  Speaker 2: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 2: you for your support. In our most recent episode, we
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  Speaker 2: learned of the mission Jesus gave to his followers and
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  Speaker 2: all of us as he ascended into heaven. He commanded
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  Speaker 2: us to go into all the world and make disciples
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  Speaker 2: of all nations, making it clear that God's plan of
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  Speaker 2: salvation is for everyone in the world. With the mission
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  Speaker 2: came the promise of the Holy Spirit, and today we're
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  Speaker 2: going to hear how the disciples and others gathered in
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  Speaker 2: an upper room to wait for the promise of the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit, how they prayed, and how God gave the
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  Speaker 2: gospel message to them in the presence and the power
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  Speaker 2: of Pentecost. Let's now listen to today's reading from God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: It was Pentecost. a time when devoted people of all
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  Speaker 3: nations came to Jerusalem to celebrate and worship God. The
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  Speaker 3: uproar caused by Jesus' death had subsided, and all seemed
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  Speaker 3: to be coming back to normal. The high priests stood
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  Speaker 3: in the temple courtyards, watching people pass by with their
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  Speaker 3: sacrifices and money purses. They finally began to feel powerful again.
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  Speaker 3: The rumors of Jesus' resurrection still lingered, but they were
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  Speaker 3: hopeful that they had heard the last of his name.
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  Speaker 3: A small wind began to blow through the city of Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 3: and the tents in the temple courtyards swayed to the
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  Speaker 3: gentle gusts. Among the sea of people were the twelve.
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  Speaker 3: They walked with intention, moving towards the temple steps where
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  Speaker 3: Jerusalem once stood. Peter and the rest of the disciples
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  Speaker 3: stood boldly for all to see. People began to look
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  Speaker 3: as the wind picked up even more. Then, like the
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  Speaker 3: breath of God himself, a sound from heaven boomed like
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  Speaker 3: a mighty wind. The entire house of God was filled
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  Speaker 3: with the wind of God. Flames appeared from the sky,
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  Speaker 3: resembling tongues of fire. They hovered over the mouths of
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  Speaker 3: the disciples. The Holy Spirit had arrived. Just as Jesus
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  Speaker 3: had promised, the life of God was given to each disciple.
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  Speaker 3: They began to utter the truths of God with boldness
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  Speaker 3: and eloquence. Yet the strange thing was that every man
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  Speaker 3: and woman in the temple heard their words in their
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  Speaker 3: own native language. Parthian, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judeans, Cappadocians, Asians,
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  Speaker 3: Phrygians and Pamphylians, Egyptians, Libyans, Romans, Jews, Cretans and Arabians
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  Speaker 3: all heard the disciples preach the truth of God in
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  Speaker 3: their own tongue. Who are these men? they asked. Aren't
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  Speaker 3: they uneducated men from Galilee? How is it that we
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  Speaker 3: hear them all in our own languages? Many were amazed
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  Speaker 3: and confused at what was taking place, but others were
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  Speaker 3: not as impressed. They are drunk, some of them yelled.
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  Speaker 3: They are drunk fishermen from Galilee. Peter stepped out from
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  Speaker 3: among them and looked at the crowd. We are not drunk.
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  Speaker 3: It is only morning after all, Peter declared. A small
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  Speaker 3: chuckle could be heard from the crowd. Peter looked at
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  Speaker 3: the sea of faces below. He was welled up with love.
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  Speaker 2: The love of.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus overcame him. He was born to be here. People
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  Speaker 3: of Israel, hear my words, Peter shouted. Jesus of Nazareth
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  Speaker 3: did mighty works among you. You saw them with your
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  Speaker 3: own eyes. He was delivered into the hands of the
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  Speaker 3: priests and killed. You crucified him. However, God used him
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  Speaker 3: to defeat the sting of death. For Jesus could not
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  Speaker 3: be held by the grave. The crowd became silent as
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  Speaker 3: they listened to the Holy Spirit speak through Peter. The
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  Speaker 3: once angry and foolish fisherman was now preaching in front
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  Speaker 3: of thousands of people. Brothers and sisters, our King David
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  Speaker 3: died and was buried in his tomb. You can still
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  Speaker 3: visit it today, but the tomb of Jesus is empty.
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  Speaker 3: He is raised. Let all the house of Israel therefore
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  Speaker 3: know for certain that God has made him both Lord
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  Speaker 3: and Christ. Peter paused for a moment, looking at the
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  Speaker 3: lost souls that stood before him. Repent! Repent and be baptized!
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  Speaker 3: For forgiveness and atonement for your sins are in Jesus
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  Speaker 3: and no longer in the temple. All who are far off, come!
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  Speaker 3: To Peter's astonishment, thousands of people came forward to be
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  Speaker 3: prayed for.
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  Speaker 2: And be baptized.
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  Speaker 3: Three thousand souls believed in the finished work of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: that day. and they devoted themselves to the teaching of
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  Speaker 3: the twelve disciples. They grew in community and fellowship with
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  Speaker 3: one another. Awe came upon every soul. They shared all
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  Speaker 3: that they had with one another. Day by day the
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  Speaker 3: Lord added to their numbers as they preached the gospel,
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  Speaker 3: broke bread, and met in each other's homes. Souls were
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  Speaker 3: being saved, revival had begun, and the world would never
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  Speaker 3: be the same.
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  Speaker 2: In our scripture today, we begin in Jerusalem on the
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  Speaker 2: day of Pentecost. Jesus had ascended to heaven just ten
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  Speaker 2: days before, and the disciples were still waiting for the
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  Speaker 2: promise of the Spirit, just as Jesus commanded them. They
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  Speaker 2: were expecting the power of God to fall upon them
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  Speaker 2: and enable them to preach the gospel to the world.
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  Speaker 2: Pentecost was an important date of feasting for the Jews.
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  Speaker 2: So as Peter and the other disciples gathered in the
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  Speaker 2: temple courts, Jews from all over the known world had
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  Speaker 2: gathered in Jerusalem to commemorate the harvest of wheat. Little
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  Speaker 2: did anyone know at that time, but this Pentecost would
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  Speaker 2: involve a different kind of harvest, a harvest of souls. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 2: as they waited and prayed, the sound of rushing wind
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  Speaker 2: came from heaven and filled the place. Then the disciples
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  Speaker 2: and those gathered with them saw tongues of fire coming
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  Speaker 2: down and resting on their heads. It was as though
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  Speaker 2: they became human candles lit up by the presence of God.
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  Speaker 2: The Spirit of God, the promised helper and advocate, has
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  Speaker 2: now arrived. And those who had followed Jesus and were
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  Speaker 2: waiting for the power that came from God, they received
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  Speaker 2: that power in the presence and the promise of the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit that day. The Spirit of God, of course,
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  Speaker 2: has always been present. And he often filled people throughout
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  Speaker 2: the Bible. Joseph, David, Joshua, and many others experienced the
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  Speaker 2: power of the Holy Spirit. But it was not permanent.
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  Speaker 2: This time it was different. This was the fulfillment of
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  Speaker 2: the promise that Jesus had given days before. And also,
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  Speaker 2: according to the Scripture, a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy that
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  Speaker 2: God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh. that
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  Speaker 2: men and women would prophesy and speak God's truth to others.
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  Speaker 2: This is exactly what happened on that day when the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit came. They began to speak with languages as
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  Speaker 2: the Spirit enabled them, so that people understood the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: As they spoke God's truth, travelers and foreigners who were
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  Speaker 2: there to worship could understand their mother tongues, all that
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  Speaker 2: these men and women were saying. They were amazed and astounded.
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  Speaker 2: unable to understand how these men from Galilee, most of
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  Speaker 2: whom had never traveled more than a few miles from home,
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  Speaker 2: could speak in these languages that they had never known
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  Speaker 2: or studied, languages that people had spoken all over the world.
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  Speaker 2: When some of the people who observed this saw it,
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  Speaker 2: they assumed the men were drunk and speaking gibberish. But Peter,
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  Speaker 2: filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up and spoke. Peter,
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  Speaker 2: The same man who was known for lashing out, speaking
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  Speaker 2: before thinking, acting brashly, began to calmly and confidently address
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  Speaker 2: the crowd. The man who denied the Lord three times,
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  Speaker 2: now full of the Spirit, speaks with power and conviction,
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  Speaker 2: with boldness and courage. In Acts 2, verse 17, we
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  Speaker 2: hear as he proclaims that today was the fulfillment of
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  Speaker 2: the prophecy of Scripture. And in the last days it
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  Speaker 2: shall be, God declares. that I will pour out my
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  Speaker 2: Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters
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  Speaker 2: shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
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  Speaker 2: your old men shall dream dreams. As he continued, Peter
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  Speaker 2: poured out the truth of the gospel to those gathered
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  Speaker 2: that day. He spoke of who Jesus is and what
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  Speaker 2: he did by dying on the cross and rising again.
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  Speaker 2: Many of that crowd no doubt had been there when
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  Speaker 2: they cried out, crucify him, crucify him. and the blood
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus was on their hands. But rather than the
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  Speaker 2: stain of condemnation, the blood of Jesus Christ would cleanse
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  Speaker 2: them of their sins and change their lives if they
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  Speaker 2: would only repent and receive him. The very death for
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  Speaker 2: which they were responsible was the very means by which
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  Speaker 2: God brought salvation and redemption to them. His words cut
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  Speaker 2: them to the core. Convicted of their sins, they said,
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  Speaker 2: What must we do? And Peter told them about repentance,
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  Speaker 2: turning from their sin and trusting in Christ. He spoke
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  Speaker 2: to them about being baptized in the name of Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: And as they turned from their sin, confessed and trusted
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  Speaker 2: Christ for His grace, they too received the incredible gift
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  Speaker 2: of God's Spirit. This day of Pentecost was a harvest
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  Speaker 2: of souls. More than 3,000 came to Christ that day
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  Speaker 2: and believed in the gospel. It was the birth of
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  Speaker 2: the church, the body of Christ. And as more heard
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  Speaker 2: about the good news of Jesus Christ, their numbers grew
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  Speaker 2: day after day after day. Multitudes of people were coming
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  Speaker 2: to faith in Christ. The Spirit of God had sparked
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  Speaker 2: a fire that would spread across Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and
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  Speaker 2: to the uttermost parts of the world and change the
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  Speaker 2: course of history and the destiny of mankind. There would
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  Speaker 2: be those who would try to extinguish the flame of God,
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  Speaker 2: but nothing would stop the movement of Jesus Christ into
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  Speaker 2: the world. God's word would not be stopped, and neither
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  Speaker 2: could his people. Dear God, we thank you for the
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  Speaker 2: dear Holy Spirit. Thank you for giving us this promise
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  Speaker 2: and your presence in our lives every single day. Thank
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  Speaker 2: you for today's scripture in Acts chapter 2 and what
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  Speaker 2: happens when we proclaim the gospel and your spirit works
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  Speaker 2: through us. May you give us boldness that we may
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  Speaker 2: believe and that we may proclaim the good news of
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  Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. And let me just say to someone listening
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  Speaker 2: to this right now who does not have a personal
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  Speaker 2: relationship with Jesus Christ, if you will repent of your sin,
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  Speaker 2: that means to turn from your sin, to be willing
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  Speaker 2: for God to change your heart and forgive you of
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  Speaker 2: all your sin by receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior,
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  Speaker 2: then you also will receive the power of God in
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  Speaker 2: your life. to forgive you, to change you, and to
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  Speaker 2: make you a brand new person and give you the
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  Speaker 2: promise of heaven. Put your faith and trust in Jesus today.
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  Speaker 2: In his name we pray, amen. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 2: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go,
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  Speaker 2: I wanted to let you know that the Bible in
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  Speaker 2: a Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and
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  Speaker 2: can only come to you each week through the support
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  Speaker 2: of listeners like you. Your support today is so important
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: that we want to thank you for your gift by
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: giving you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: can better read and understand the Bible and how God's
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Word transforms our lives. So to get your copy of
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  Speaker 2: The Jesus Book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
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  Speaker 2: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.