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November 6 - Acts 3 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday, it's the 6th of
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November and good day. Great to have your company.
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We are going to do some reading today because we're not called a
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chapter a day Bible reading podcast for no reason.
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No, this is what we do. We read God's word together and
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today are we are just strapping ourselves in embarking on this
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crazy and wonderful journey of the church, just exploding from
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those early, early days of the 12 apostles together saying what
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do we do next to the point where the Holy Spirit is unleashed
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upon those people and we will see what happens next.
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And it's really interesting to note that when God's spirit
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becomes alive and and active in these people, boy, their life
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changes. Nothing is the same for them.
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Interesting reflection for us and where we allow God's Spirit
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to move in US and where we say, yeah, do you know what, Holy
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Spirit? I'm a little bit comfortable
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here. Can you just leave me alone in
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this space? Ah, Holy Spirit, come.
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In fact, all of our lives fill us with a passion for you and
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your Kingdom as we hear these words recorded together in Acts
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chapter 3. Peter and John went to the
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temple one afternoon to take part in the 3:00 prayer service.
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As they approached the temple, a man lame from birth was being
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carried in Each day. He was put beside the temple
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gate, the one called the Beautiful gate, so he could beg
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from the people going into the temple.
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When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some
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money. Peter and John looked at him
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intently. Peter said, Look at us.
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The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.
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But Peter said, I don't have any silver or gold for you, but I'll
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give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,
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get up and walk. Then Peter took the lame man by
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the right hand and helped him up, and as he did, the man's
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feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.
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He jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk.
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Then walking, leaping and praising God, he went into the
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temple with them. All the people saw him walking
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and heard and praising God. When they realised that he was
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the lame beggar they had seen so often at the beautiful gate,
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they were absolutely astounded. They all rushed out in amazement
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to Solomon's colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to
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Peter and John. Peter saw his opportunity and
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addressed the crowd. People of Israel, he said, what
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is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we
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had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
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For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all
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our ancestors, who has brought glory to His servant Jesus by
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doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you
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handed over and rejected before Pilate.
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Despite Pilate's decision to release him.
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You rejected this holy righteous 1 and instead demanded the
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release of a murderer. You killed the Author of life,
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but God raised him from the dead and we are witnesses of this
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fact. Through faith in the name of
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Jesus this man was healed and you know how crippled he was
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before. Faith in Jesus name has healed
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him before your very eyes. Friends, I realised that what
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you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance, but
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God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the
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Messiah, that he must suffer these things.
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Now repent of your sins and turn to God so that your sins may be
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wiped away. Then times of refreshment will
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come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you
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Jesus, your appointed Messiah, for he must remain in heaven
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until the time for the final restoration of all things, as
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God promised long ago through His holy prophets.
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Moses said The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
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like me from among your own people.
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Listen carefully to everything he tells you.
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Then Moses said anyone who will not listen to that prophet will
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be completely cut off from God's people.
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Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is
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happening today. You are the children of those
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prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to
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your ancestors. For God said to Abraham through
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your descendants, all the families on earth will be
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blessed. When God raised up his servant
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Jesus, He sent him first to you, people of Israel, to bless you
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by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.
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Our Lord, how wonderful to hear Peter preaching.
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How wonderful to hear him laying out your plans from the very
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beginning. From the moment you set foot on
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this journey, travelling alongside humanity, calling
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Abraham to follow you there, you were planning to rescue us
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through Jesus all along. Thank You that Your plan was
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never for us to earn our way to You, and our plan was never for
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us to find our own way in this big scary world and universe of
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ours. But Your plan all along was to
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provide everything that we needed in Jesus so that all we
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need do is believe in Him and all of our sins will be wiped
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away. And with a clean slate and
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uninterrupted relationship with You, we can bask in Your holy
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presence as Your sanctified people.
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Wow, thank you for your marvellous plan that you enacted
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so long ago so that we right here today could just come
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before you and bask in your grace and your love for us.
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We thank you, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for your
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love. And we pray all of this in His
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holy and precious name, Amen.