Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / A Page from Jesus Journal, Part 1(1)

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A Page from Jesus Journal, Part 1(1) · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Imagine having the complete undivided attention of Jesus. Not a
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Speaker 1: distracted glance, not a hurried word, but eyes that look
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Speaker 1: deep into your soul and a heart moved with genuine
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Speaker 1: compassion for exactly what you're facing. Today on Insight for Living,
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Speaker 1: Chuck Swindoll continues his study in Mark 1, where one
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Speaker 1: doorway gets shadowed by a whole city, the sick, the suffering,
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Speaker 1: the broken. And Jesus meets them one by one, never rushing,
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Speaker 1: never overlooking a single soul. What does it mean to
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Speaker 1: be truly seen by the Savior? Chuck titled today's message,
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Speaker 1: A Page from Jesus' Journey.
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Speaker 2: Our reading today in the scriptures is in the first
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Speaker 2: chapter of the gospel by Mark. If you will locate that, please.
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Speaker 2: We'll begin reading at verse 29 of Mark chapter 1,
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Speaker 2: Mark 1, 29. And immediately after they came out of
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Speaker 2: the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and
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Speaker 2: Andrew with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying
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Speaker 2: sick with a fever and immediately they spoke to Jesus
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Speaker 2: about her. And he came to her. and raised her up,
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Speaker 2: taking her by the hand and the fever left her
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Speaker 2: and she waited on them. When evening came after the
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Speaker 2: sun had set, they began bringing to him all who
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Speaker 2: were ill and those who were demonized. And the whole
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Speaker 2: city had gathered at the door and he healed many
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Speaker 2: who were ill with various diseases and cast out many demons.
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Speaker 2: And he was not permitting the demons to speak because
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Speaker 2: they knew who he was. In the early morning, while
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Speaker 2: it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house,
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Speaker 2: and went away to a secluded place and was praying there.
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Speaker 2: Simon and his companions searched for him. They found him
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Speaker 2: and said, everyone is looking for you. He said to them,
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Speaker 2: let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby so
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Speaker 2: that I may preach there also, for that is what
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Speaker 2: I came for. And he went into their synagogues throughout
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Speaker 2: all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
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Speaker 3: You're listening to Insight for Living.
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Speaker 1: To dig deeper into the gospel according to Mark, be
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Speaker 1: sure to purchase a copy of our Searching the Scriptures
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Speaker 1: Bible Study Workbooks by going to insight.org slash offer. Chuck
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Speaker 1: titled today's message, A Page from Jesus' Journal.
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Speaker 2: There's something fascinating, even captivating, about reading the words of
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Speaker 2: another person's journal. This is especially true if they've already
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Speaker 2: gone on before us. And one of the things left
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Speaker 2: in their legacy are their own words. And always in
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Speaker 2: their own handwriting, you can enter into their world as
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Speaker 2: you read those words. And sometimes you can feel like
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Speaker 2: you're a part of the threads woven into the fabric
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Speaker 2: of their lives as they live them out in yesteryear.
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Speaker 2: I'm having that experience right now as I and working
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Speaker 2: my way through the 769-page book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin,
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Speaker 2: Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Her book is titled No Ordinary Time.
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Speaker 2: What's fascinating is that it is the account of life
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Speaker 2: behind the scenes in the White House, mainly during the
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Speaker 2: Second World War years. I was only a lad then,
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Speaker 2: and so my world was altogether different from the world of,
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Speaker 2: of course, the president and the first lady and the
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Speaker 2: cabinet and those who surrounded that difficult time in our
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Speaker 2: nation's history. It's fascinating and even captivating to read accounts
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Speaker 2: where the president is in the midst of a serious
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Speaker 2: decision he must make. Not wanting us to go into war,
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Speaker 2: but feeling the compulsion pushed upon him from the European
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Speaker 2: theater as Hitler was making his move across Europe. As
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Speaker 2: one country after another has fallen. And when I read
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Speaker 2: of that and feel the emotion of his being caught
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Speaker 2: on the horns of a dilemma, I remember how idyllic
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Speaker 2: and innocent and simple Hitler my childhood was. Living out
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Speaker 2: my life, running barefoot in the streets of Houston, playing
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Speaker 2: sandlot football at the end of our street and our
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Speaker 2: residential area. I had no idea of the decisions being
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Speaker 2: made and the actions being taken there in Washington and
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Speaker 2: in places around there. Knew nothing of the struggle between
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Speaker 2: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. And the book tells of the
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Speaker 2: struggle and doesn't hide that from the reader. And then
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Speaker 2: all of a sudden, out of the blue on that
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Speaker 2: dreadful day of infamy, the 7th of December, 1941, which
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Speaker 2: came and left with hardly a notice on my part
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Speaker 2: as a little boy, but it changed everything for our nation,
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Speaker 2: as now we are no longer able to hold back,
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Speaker 2: sit back. We're now sandwiched between two world powers whose
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Speaker 2: hope is ultimately to dominate even our country as well
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Speaker 2: as others. The imperial Japanese forces on one side and
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Speaker 2: the Nazi forces on the other and the submarines in
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Speaker 2: the Atlantic and the Pacific and now, as they put
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Speaker 2: it back then, our boys go to war. And I
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Speaker 2: thought as I sat early in the morning reading this,
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Speaker 2: how great of my parents to carry the burden of
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Speaker 2: a nation and not to concern their children with it.
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Speaker 2: While we prayed for our boys and while we cared
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Speaker 2: for those, I had no idea of the emotional drain
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Speaker 2: that was going on among our leaders and among our
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Speaker 2: commanding officers and those brave men and women who wore
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Speaker 2: the uniform. When I begin to work my way through
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Speaker 2: the gospel by Mark, I feel as though I am
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Speaker 2: reading over the shoulder of the Savior. And It's magnificent
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Speaker 2: when I tear a page from his journal and see
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Speaker 2: what occurred in almost a non-stop, moment-by-moment fashion. I find
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Speaker 2: myself woven into the fabric of that life as well.
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Speaker 2: But not by experience, only through spiritual lessons that can
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Speaker 2: be applied from the sacred text. Last time we were together,
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Speaker 2: the page in the journal took us to the synagogue
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Speaker 2: in Capernaum, and you'll remember that. We all watched as
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Speaker 2: Jesus held his congregation in rapt attention, teaching as no
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Speaker 2: one had ever taught before, and they contrasted his teaching
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Speaker 2: with the teaching of the tedious and dull words of
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Speaker 2: the scribes. No one ever taught like Jesus taught, and
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Speaker 2: In the midst of the teaching, there is this man
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Speaker 2: who is victimized with the presence of multiple demons inside him.
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Speaker 2: And the demons speak through his vocal cords and Jesus
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Speaker 2: addresses the demon and rebukes the demon and casts the
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Speaker 2: demons out. The people are just, well, we read in
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Speaker 2: verse 27, they're amazed so that they debated among themselves saying,
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Speaker 2: what is this? What is this? A new teaching with
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Speaker 2: authority and in the command of those who are demonic
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Speaker 2: and supernatural. He even has authority over them. Our sermon
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Speaker 2: ended but the journal continues on and takes us now
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Speaker 2: into one scene after another. I begin to count just
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Speaker 2: a little simple connective particle and, and, and, I stopped
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Speaker 2: about number 14 or 15. And he did this, and
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Speaker 2: from there they went there, and immediately this occurred, and
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Speaker 2: that evening, and early the next morning, and that day
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Speaker 2: Peter came. It's just one scene after, it's a page
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Speaker 2: from his journal. And if we're not careful, it'll sort
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Speaker 2: of run its way by in a blur, and we'll
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Speaker 2: miss the significance. I don't want us to do that.
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Speaker 2: So today, let's take a little different approach. I provided
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Speaker 2: you with an outline I'd like you to follow. It's
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Speaker 2: in your worship folder, and the outline gives us lines
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Speaker 2: from the journal, if you will. In Capernaum, he entered
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Speaker 2: the synagogue. We were there last time, verses 21 to 28.
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Speaker 2: And immediately after coming out of the synagogue, 29 to 31,
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Speaker 2: 31 so we go from the synagogue into a home
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Speaker 2: happens to be Peter's home we'll get there in a
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Speaker 2: moment and when evening came after the sun had set
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Speaker 2: we see what happens in 32 through 34 and In
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Speaker 2: the early morning, while it was still dark, 35 through 38,
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Speaker 2: we see Jesus as he seeks solitude and is alone
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Speaker 2: with the Father. And finally, verse 39, he went into
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Speaker 2: their synagogue throughout all Galilee. It's one scene after another
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Speaker 2: after another. You're sort of moved along, almost while watching
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Speaker 2: a movie as the scenes unfold, Mark giving us just
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Speaker 2: the snapshots along the way of the significant events that
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Speaker 2: happened during the hours of that day. Look, for example,
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Speaker 2: as we move beyond where we were last time and
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Speaker 2: let's see where he immediately after they came out of
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Speaker 2: the synagogue. So what do we have? You'll recall it's
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Speaker 2: the Sabbath. It's the Saturday, the sacred day among the Jews.
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Speaker 2: On the Sabbath, you can carry no burdens. You can
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Speaker 2: do no work. All food is prepared the previous day
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Speaker 2: and eaten on the Sabbath. No cooking occurs during the Sabbath.
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Speaker 2: So all of this happens in the Sabbath day in
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Speaker 2: the synagogue and Jesus leaving there goes to Peter's home.
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Speaker 2: You'll read it here. We read, they came out of
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Speaker 2: the synagogue. They came into the house of Simon and
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Speaker 2: Andrew with James and John. I would imagine if you
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Speaker 2: will allow me a little imagination here, they were probably
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Speaker 2: hungry just as you are after church. And you leave
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Speaker 2: church and you go out, go your way. Most of
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Speaker 2: us get in our cars and we drive either to
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Speaker 2: a place to eat or we go home. And before long,
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Speaker 2: one of us, I'm always one to say, I'm starving.
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Speaker 2: Cynthia's learned it can be a little dangerous. She keeps
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Speaker 2: me in that condition very long. So usually our meal
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Speaker 2: is pretty well prepared. Or if we go to some place,
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Speaker 2: I'm not too patient. I'm starving. So maybe they're starving.
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Speaker 2: They may have had fried chicken. I don't know what
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Speaker 2: they had. We're not told what they ate. We're just
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Speaker 2: told that they came into the house, but there's no meal.
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Speaker 2: There's no one serving anybody anything to eat. And we've
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Speaker 2: got five hungry men, Jesus and Simon and Andrew and
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Speaker 2: James and John. And who knows, maybe friends came along
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Speaker 2: with them. But now they encounter someone who is sick.
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Speaker 2: Verse 30, Simon's mother-in-law. What does that tell us? Quite likely,
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Speaker 2: as to this very day, families live together. And when
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Speaker 2: the sons or daughters married, they simply would add on
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Speaker 2: or up to the house, so the house would become larger.
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Speaker 2: The mother-in-law, the father, the daughter, the daughter, all of
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Speaker 2: those people are all living in this place. And the mother-in-law,
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Speaker 2: who probably helps serve on a regular occasion, knowing there'd
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Speaker 2: be a group coming, is not there to serve. She's
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Speaker 2: laid aside. She's sick. When you read Luke 4, which
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Speaker 2: is in keeping with Mark chapter 1, you'll read Dr.
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Speaker 2: Luke's words. It's always interesting when you read of sickness, fevers,
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Speaker 2: and other things, you get a medical doctor's point of view.
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Speaker 2: And here in Luke 4, if you were to take
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Speaker 2: the time, you would see that she has a high fever.
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Speaker 2: The term that Luke uses for fever is This high
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Speaker 2: fever is the original root word for fire. We would
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Speaker 2: say she's burning up with a fever. So it isn't
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Speaker 2: just a mild case of a sore throat or a
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Speaker 2: light flu. This woman's sick. She's very sick. She's burning
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Speaker 2: up with a fever. And in first century days, people
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Speaker 2: died of a high fever. and she's very sick, and
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Speaker 2: Luke tells us more than Mark. Luke says, standing over her,
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Speaker 2: he rebuked the fever. It's an interesting thing. It's a disease,
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Speaker 2: but he treats it as though it is a living organism.
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Speaker 2: For Jesus, it is. He is Lord over the dying,
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Speaker 2: The disabled as well as the diseased. He is just
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Speaker 2: as able to rebuke the wind and the waves. And
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Speaker 2: they all still. They all die down. And the sea
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Speaker 2: becomes a slick. Surface with no ripples. Because he rebuked
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Speaker 2: the wind and the waves. They follow his command. Here
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Speaker 2: he rebukes the germs within the woman. He rebukes the fever.
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Speaker 1: And....
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Speaker 2: Immediately we read the fever left her and she waited
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Speaker 2: on them. I don't want you to miss something. When
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Speaker 2: the miracle is authentic, there's no waiting period. May I
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Speaker 2: say there's no exchange of money. This is no healing
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Speaker 2: line done by a showman. This is in a private home, unexpected,
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Speaker 2: spontaneously A miracle is performed. I met a man just
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Speaker 2: before our first morning worship service began who's been married
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Speaker 2: a number of years and the last half dozen or
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Speaker 2: so his wife has had Alzheimer's and he's a caregiver.
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Speaker 2: My heart went out to him immediately as it does
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Speaker 2: to anyone who serves alongside a loved one who's laid
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Speaker 2: aside like that and the The curtain is slowly being
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Speaker 2: drawn and as he put it, she's no longer home,
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Speaker 2: no longer there. And I thought as tears came to
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Speaker 2: his eyes and I threw my arms around him and
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Speaker 2: thanked him for visiting with us today, I thought, wouldn't
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Speaker 2: it be great just to say, psst, Jesus, come here.
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Speaker 2: Would you go home with this man? Would you just
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Speaker 2: rebuke the Alzheimer's disease and bring her back? Oh, he
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Speaker 2: would have. Not because I asked him, but because he
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Speaker 2: is filled with compassion. He rebukes the fever and she
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Speaker 2: waited on him. Another sign of a miracle is that
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Speaker 2: there is an immediate full recovery. There's no waiting period.
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Speaker 2: Alleged faith healers today promise the person in line that
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Speaker 2: later you'll be healed. Nonsense. When there is a healing,
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Speaker 2: the healing is now. And it is total, thorough, immediate.
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Speaker 2: She's up and she has no sense of fever and
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Speaker 2: she's waiting on them. But let's learn the lesson. I've
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Speaker 2: left you a little space here for a lesson following
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Speaker 2: each one of these. The lesson following verses 29 through
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Speaker 2: 31 is this. Out of compassion, he brought healing. If
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Speaker 2: you don't mind, I'd like you to write it down.
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Speaker 2: You'll need it later. If not today, you'll need it
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Speaker 2: before too long in your life. Out of compassion, he
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Speaker 2: brought healing. He helped instinctively because he is supremely compassionate.
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Speaker 2: and sincerely compassionate. I love that about the Savior. He
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Speaker 2: didn't interest to increase his prestige. He didn't show interest there.
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Speaker 2: He ministered to her because he cared. Paul Tournier, the physician, wrote,
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Speaker 2: my patients very often say to me, I admire you
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Speaker 2: for the patience with which you listen to everything I
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Speaker 2: tell you. Tournier responds, it's not patience at all.
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Speaker 3: But interest.
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Speaker 2: If you have a competent physician and you go with
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Speaker 2: an illness or disability or a disease and you talk
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Speaker 2: to your physician about it, your physician is either standing
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Speaker 2: or sitting on the edge of her seat or his
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Speaker 2: seat listening. Not so you'll be impressed, but because he cares.
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Speaker 2: There cannot be a proper diagnosis if there isn't a
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Speaker 2: proper analysis. And that takes listening, caring. People in need
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Speaker 2: take time. I'll say more about this in a moment.
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Speaker 2: But let's make sure as we mature in our growth
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Speaker 2: in Christ that our compassion deepens. Let's make sure it's sincere,
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Speaker 2: not just posing as if we care. And by the way,
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Speaker 2: those who are ill always know the difference. They can tell.
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Speaker 2: When evening came, verse 32, the journal continues. When evening
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Speaker 2: came after the sun had set. Now, why would Mark
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Speaker 2: add that? Before we even get into what happened, why
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Speaker 2: would he do that? Why would he add that detail?
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Speaker 2: Because the Sabbath is over. Remember, we said earlier on
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Speaker 2: the Sabbath, you can't carry burdens. But now that the
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Speaker 2: Sabbath has passed, not only can meals be cooked, not
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Speaker 2: only can work be done, but you can take in
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Speaker 2: your arms the one you love who can't walk. anymore,
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Speaker 2: and you can bring that person to the door of
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Speaker 2: where Jesus is ministering. That's exactly what happens. When evening came,
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Speaker 2: after the sun had set, they began bringing to him
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Speaker 2: all who were ill, those who were demon-possessed. The word
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Speaker 2: is really demonized. The person may be demon oppressed. The
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Speaker 2: person may have a demon or demons within him. The
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Speaker 2: Greek term is demonized. Demonizomai is the word. And it
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Speaker 2: is the idea of being demonized in whatever level of demonism.
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Speaker 2: And in this case, there are people fighting with unclean spirits.
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Speaker 2: And they have heard in the synagogue, he took care
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Speaker 2: of the man who was living with an unclean spirit.
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Speaker 2: And maybe the loved one says, come with us. Come
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Speaker 2: with us. We know someone who can relieve you, who
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Speaker 2: can bring healing to your soul, who can release you
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Speaker 2: from the grip. And what a chaotic scene it must
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Speaker 2: have been. Look at verse 33. The whole city had
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Speaker 2: gathered at the door. The whole village of Capernaum, he
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Speaker 2: had once been in a synagogue, and now he is
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Speaker 2: in the home of Peter. And Peter's family and the
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Speaker 2: others are there, and they begin to hear the noise
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Speaker 2: outside through the afternoon. And then by evening, there's a
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Speaker 2: cacophony of sound. It is all over, and they push
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Speaker 2: the door open. And there, as far as the eye
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Speaker 2: can see, there are people in need all around the area.
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Speaker 2: And he healed many who were ill with various diseases
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Speaker 2: and cast out many demons and was not permitting the
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Speaker 2: demons to speak. Because they knew who he was. He
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Speaker 2: didn't need demons to be his evangelists. He muzzled them
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Speaker 2: just like before. They knew who he was. They knew
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Speaker 2: their days were numbered. They know doom is ahead of them.
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Speaker 2: That's why Satan is on the march hoping to bring
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Speaker 2: with him as many people as possible to a lake
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Speaker 2: of fire prepared for the devil and his demons. But
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Speaker 2: Jesus says to them, you be silent. Don't speak. And
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Speaker 2: they did not speak With deliberateness and with determination, he
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Speaker 2: pressed through the crowd and helped this person and that
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Speaker 2: one and this one and that one and her loved
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Speaker 2: one and her mother and this man's father and this
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Speaker 2: one's son, this one's daughter. It must have been magnificent.
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Speaker 2: He didn't come for the purpose merely to heal and
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Speaker 2: to impress people. He came to preach the good news
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Speaker 2: of the truth. But this corroborated that he was not
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Speaker 2: simply another spokesman. He was from God. And he was
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Speaker 2: able to heal at will under the power of the
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Speaker 2: spirit who filled him. Lesson learned here. Don't miss it.
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Speaker 2: Write it down. With faithfulness, he met the needs of
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Speaker 2: the broken. With faithfulness, He met the needs of the broken.
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Speaker 2: Earlier it was compassion. Now he faithfully is working through
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Speaker 2: the crowd. Looking one after another in the eye. It
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Speaker 2: must have been an eye contact like no one had
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Speaker 2: ever seen before as he looked deeply into their lives.
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Speaker 2: Sometimes you meet individuals that when they look you in
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Speaker 2: the eye, you feel as if they're looking into your soul.
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Speaker 2: Jesus is like that. Penetrating sight. And he touched this person.
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Speaker 2: He spoke to that one. He rebuked this demon. He
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Speaker 2: did this ministry. And they have never seen anything like it.
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Speaker 2: Where do we find him within a matter of hours? Well,
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Speaker 2: first of all, he's got to get some sleep. So
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Speaker 2: between verses 34 and 35, he finds a place in
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Speaker 2: the home where he can lie down. He's resting. But
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Speaker 2: I love the beginning of 35. In the early morning,
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Speaker 2: while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house,
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Speaker 2: and went away to a secluded place and was praying there.
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Speaker 2: Isn't that magnificent? Remember, he is the theanthropic person. He
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Speaker 2: is the God-man, undiminished deity, at the same time, true humanity.
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Speaker 2: Deity never gets tired, but humanity can be exhausted. Deity
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Speaker 2: never needs sleep. Humanity needs rest. And in his humanity,
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Speaker 2: he is exhausted from the day before. However, he has
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Speaker 2: the wisdom, he has the discipline to rise early in
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Speaker 2: the morning, and he gets along with the Father, and.
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Speaker 3: There he prays.
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Speaker 1: What a picture of the Savior, exhausted from a day
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Speaker 1: of pouring himself out. From his deep compassion, he brought healing.
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Speaker 1: With faithfulness, he met the needs of the broken. And
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Speaker 1: in solitude, he found the strength to keep going. You're
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Speaker 1: listening to Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll. Maybe today
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Speaker 1: you needed that reminder that the one who cared for
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Speaker 1: the crowds cares just as deeply for you. Stay with
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Speaker 1: us because there's more to this snapshot of Jesus that
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Speaker 1: Chuck wants to show us. Well, it's October 20th, and
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Speaker 1: we're beginning to turn our attention to the fall season,
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Speaker 1: including Thanksgiving and Christmas. To help you make the most
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Speaker 1: of the holidays this year, we have a creative resource
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Speaker 1: designed just for your family, hoping the next few weeks
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Speaker 1: will become rich with spiritual meaning. I'm referring to a
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Speaker 1: devotional that's published exclusively by Insight for Living. Everlasting Light
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Speaker 1: is a 25-day Advent devotional that invites you to step
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Speaker 1: out of your busy schedule and into a prayerful rhythm
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Speaker 1: of waiting, reflection, and preparation. This includes scripture to anchor
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Speaker 1: your heart, a quote from Chuck Swindoll to shape your thinking,
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Speaker 1: and pastoral reflections from our own Carlos Sesueta to carry
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Speaker 1: into your day. This hardcover devotional is ready today, so
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Speaker 1: you'll receive it in plenty of time for Advent. Ask
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Speaker 1: for the book called Everlasting Light when you include a
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Speaker 1: contribution to support the ministry of Insight for Living. Call
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Speaker 1: us at 800-772-8888. I'm sure your heart is heavy, as
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Speaker 1: mine is, about the tension prevailing here at home and
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Speaker 1: around the world.
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Speaker 3: Do we need any more convincing.
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Speaker 1: That our troubled world needs the love and compassion of Jesus?
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Speaker 3: This only amplifies the need to.
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Speaker 1: Shine the everlasting light of God's love through Insight for Living.
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Speaker 1: You can partner with us right now by going to insight.org
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Speaker 1: slash donate or call 800-772-8888. And when you give, remember
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Speaker 1: to request the 25-day Advent devotional called Everlasting Life.
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Speaker 3: I'm Bill Meyer.
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Speaker 1: Be sure to join us again when Chuck Swindoll reveals
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Speaker 1: what he calls a page from the personal journal of Jesus.
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Speaker 3: Tomorrow on Insight for Living.
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Speaker 1: The preceding message, a page from Jesus' journal, was copyrighted
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Speaker 1: in 2010 and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted
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Speaker 1: in 2026 by Charles R.
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Speaker 3: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
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Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.