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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Philip said, If thou believest with
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  Speaker 1: all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
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  Speaker 1: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 8.37 As I live my life in complete abandonment
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  Speaker 1: to my plans, I in exchange will live my life
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  Speaker 1: to follow your divine plans for my life, Lord, like Philip.
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  Speaker 1: As I speak the words of Jesus, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that chaos becomes order, hearts turn to you, relationships are healed,
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  Speaker 1: poor become fed, and your children find a place in
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  Speaker 1: the family of God. I praise you that as I
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  Speaker 1: declare your word, those paralyzed become healed, those tormented by
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  Speaker 1: evil spirits are delivered, and joy is restored. Through you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: my feet are led to my next location of impact,
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  Speaker 1: like Philip in Acts 8. Upon arrival, I know that
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  Speaker 1: you will guide me to my next assignment. Through it all,
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  Speaker 1: I am choosing to praise you because my journey is
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  Speaker 1: paved with blessings and open opportunities to share your word
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  Speaker 1: and impact lives forever. I trust you, Lord, even though
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  Speaker 1: I may not see what's next. I'm in love with
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  Speaker 1: trusting your plans. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: praying with us today. Continue your time with God by
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  Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Mission of Philip In our last story, we witnessed
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  Speaker 2: the brutal murder of Stephen. As stones crushed his bones,
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  Speaker 2: he looked up to heaven and saw the living God
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  Speaker 2: looking down at him. Stephen became the first martyr. And
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  Speaker 2: a new enemy emerged from the shadows, a Pharisee by
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  Speaker 2: the name of Saul. He would prove to be a
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  Speaker 2: deadly force for evil. Now we learn about the ministry
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  Speaker 2: of Philip. His story is one of simply saying yes
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  Speaker 2: to God wherever he may lead, inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham.
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  Speaker 3: In our previous episode, we heard how Stephen stood firm
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  Speaker 3: and fearlessly spoke the word of Christ even at the
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  Speaker 3: expense of his own death. He was stoned to death
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  Speaker 3: by the religious establishment as... a result of preaching Christ
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  Speaker 3: and the good news of Jesus. But even in his
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  Speaker 3: final moments, he reflects the glory of God and experiences
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  Speaker 3: the grace of God and goes to heaven. We also
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  Speaker 3: met Saul, who was just getting started with his vicious,
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  Speaker 3: terroristic persecution of believers. And today we'll hear how in
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  Speaker 3: the face of intense persecution that the church scattered to
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  Speaker 3: preach the gospel and how God used a man by
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  Speaker 3: the name of Philip to take the message of Jesus
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  Speaker 3: beyond Jerusalem to a man who would then take the
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  Speaker 3: message of Christ to a distant land.
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  Speaker 2: Just as the Spirit of God once hovered over the
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  Speaker 2: chaotic waters of the world, so did He hover over
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  Speaker 2: the nation of Israel. The Spirit went before the disciples,
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  Speaker 2: and as they spoke the words of Jesus, chaos became order.
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  Speaker 2: Hearts were turned to God. Relationships were healed. The poor
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  Speaker 2: were fed. and the hopeless found a home in the
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  Speaker 2: family of God. All of the disciples scattered around the region,
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  Speaker 2: preaching the truth and proclaiming the kingdom of God. Even more,
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  Speaker 2: they brought in the lonely and broken. Philip was among
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  Speaker 2: the scattered disciples. He went into the city of Samaria
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  Speaker 2: to preach the word. He stood up in the city
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  Speaker 2: streets and began to speak of the history of God.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke of God's plan for redemption and the life
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus. As Philip spoke, hundreds of people gathered to
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  Speaker 2: listen to him. As if they all shared the same ears,
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  Speaker 2: each one of them listened intently to what Philip said.
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  Speaker 2: As the truth went forth like a coursing river, the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit of God refreshed the hearts of the Samaritans. Those
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  Speaker 2: who were paralyzed were healed. Those who were oppressed by
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  Speaker 2: demons found peace. And those who were broken felt whole.
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  Speaker 2: It was a truly Spirit-filled experience for Philip. He rose
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  Speaker 2: to the call of God and found joy in connecting
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  Speaker 2: with the people of Samaria. Then, like a still small
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  Speaker 2: voice whispering in his ears, Philip heard the prompting of God,'
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  Speaker 2: Rise and look south. There is a road that goes
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  Speaker 2: from Jerusalem to Gaza.' Philip nodded and listened to the
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  Speaker 2: prompting nudge of God's Spirit. Filled with purpose, Philip marched
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  Speaker 2: towards the desert. The sun was high and scorching. Philip
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  Speaker 2: licked his parched lips as he trudged through the desert road.
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  Speaker 2: This call of God was nothing like the one he
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  Speaker 2: had before. Before, there were thousands of people who listened
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  Speaker 2: to him. Now there was no one. Not one living
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  Speaker 2: thing dwelled in the desert. Philip walked for miles with
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  Speaker 2: no sign of people or water. That was until he
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  Speaker 2: saw a carriage in the distance. Philip ran towards the
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  Speaker 2: moving tent with what little strength he had left. As
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  Speaker 2: he drew closer, he saw that the carriage was arrayed
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  Speaker 2: with Ethiopian design. Philip approached carefully. It was the carriage
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  Speaker 2: of an Ethiopian official, a counselor to the queen. Philip
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  Speaker 2: knelt near the carriage and listened to what the man
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  Speaker 2: was saying. As it turns out, he was reading from
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  Speaker 2: the prophet Isaiah. Philip's eyes widened and he poked his
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  Speaker 2: head through the fabric. Startled, the Ethiopian screamed and the
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  Speaker 2: carriage came to a halt. Philip apologized, laughing at his awkwardness.
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  Speaker 2: EXCUSE ME, PHILIP SAID, BUT I COULDN'T HELP BUT HEAR
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  Speaker 2: WHAT YOU WERE READING. DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW WHAT
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  Speaker 2: IT MEANS? HOW DOES ONE KNOW ANYTHING WITHOUT BEING TAUGHT?
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  Speaker 2: THE ETHIOPIAN ANSWERED WITH A SMILE. PLEASE COME IN. TEACH
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  Speaker 2: ME THESE THINGS. THE PASSAGE THE ETHIOPIAN WAS READING WAS
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  Speaker 2: FROM ISAIAH. IT READ, LIKE A SHEEP LED THE SLAUGHTER,
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  Speaker 2: HE WAS SILENT. HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH. IN HIS HUMILIATION,
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  Speaker 2: JUSTICE WAS DENIED HIM. WHO CAN EXPLAIN THIS GENERATION? for
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  Speaker 2: his life was taken from the earth. The official was
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  Speaker 2: confused but filled with joyous curiosity.' Who is the prophet
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  Speaker 2: speaking of?' he asked. Philip could not have smiled wider.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke of the suffering Messiah that was prophesied from
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  Speaker 2: days of old and how Jesus fulfilled it all. The
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  Speaker 2: two of them spoke for hours, diving deeply into the
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  Speaker 2: truths of Jesus and the will of God. The Ethiopian's
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  Speaker 2: eyes were wide with amazement. He listened to every word
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  Speaker 2: Philip said. He asked questions and sought deep answers. Then
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  Speaker 2: as the desert road became greener, they passed by a
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  Speaker 2: spring with flowing water. The Ethiopian pointed to it. You
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  Speaker 2: see the water over there? What is keeping me from
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  Speaker 2: getting baptized right now? So the two men went into
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  Speaker 2: the water. The cool spring was a refreshing contrast to
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  Speaker 2: the hot and biting sun above. Philip prayed with him.
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  Speaker 2: He prayed that he would receive the Spirit of God
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  Speaker 2: and that he would dedicate his life to the kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of God. Philip held his hand and back, then gently
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  Speaker 2: dipped him into the water. And as they came up
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  Speaker 2: out of the water, the Lord took Philip up and
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  Speaker 2: sent him to Caesarea. The official would return back to
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  Speaker 2: his country and share all that he had learned. The
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  Speaker 2: world would never be the same.
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  Speaker 3: In today's reading from the book of Acts, We see
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  Speaker 3: the church on the move, fulfilling the mission of Christ
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  Speaker 3: and the Great Commission to take the message of the
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  Speaker 3: gospel to the world. Since Jesus had departed, ascended, the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit had come. The church was alive and growing daily,
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  Speaker 3: but primarily in Jerusalem. There were tens of thousands of
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  Speaker 3: new Christians in Jerusalem, but remember, the gospel is for
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  Speaker 3: the whole world. The apostles and the church was charged
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  Speaker 3: with making disciples not only in their city, but in Judea, Samaria,
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  Speaker 3: and to take the message to the ends of the earth.
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  Speaker 3: But now as a rabbi by the name of Saul
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  Speaker 3: began to ruthlessly hunt down believers and pull them from
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  Speaker 3: their homes and throw them into prison, the church had
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  Speaker 3: no choice but to scatter. They didn't cower down. They
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  Speaker 3: were faithful and fearless, but they were spread. The gospel
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  Speaker 3: fire is spreading as a result of persecution. It's been
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  Speaker 3: said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed
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  Speaker 3: of the church. Little did he know it, but Saul's
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  Speaker 3: attempts to destroy the church were actually helping spread the
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  Speaker 3: mission of Jesus. This, of course, does not mean he
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  Speaker 3: was acting on God's behalf. He was an enemy of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel. But God, in his sovereign plan, can and
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  Speaker 3: does use what some mean for evil to produce good things,
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  Speaker 3: God things. So this persecution created an opportunity for the
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  Speaker 3: word of God and the testimony of Jesus to go
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  Speaker 3: far beyond Jerusalem. And today we hear of one of
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  Speaker 3: the disciples by the name of Philip who went into
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  Speaker 3: Samaria and began preaching the gospel. Now this is significant
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  Speaker 3: because you recall from Jesus' ministry that Samaria was a
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  Speaker 3: place that Jews did not go. If at all possible,
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  Speaker 3: they would avoid it. But now, led by the Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 3: Philip went to share Jesus in the very place that
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  Speaker 3: so many others avoided. He spoke with boldness, and there
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  Speaker 3: was power to heal the sick and the lame. He
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  Speaker 3: did it with a tender heart, just like Jesus. And
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  Speaker 3: surely as he was doing these things, he remembered the
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  Speaker 3: words of Jesus who said, the Holy Spirit will enable
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  Speaker 3: you to do even greater things than Jesus had done.
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  Speaker 3: And as a result of the preaching and healing and
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  Speaker 3: the ministry of Philip, scores of Samaritans had come to
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  Speaker 3: faith in Christ. There was great revival going on in Samaria.
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  Speaker 3: But then we hear how the Lord sent an angel
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  Speaker 3: to Philip telling him to leave Samaria and to go south.
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  Speaker 3: And what was south of Samaria? Not much. A desert,
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  Speaker 3: in fact. And to humanize an understanding, what's the value
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  Speaker 3: of going to the desert? Why leave this powerful revival
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  Speaker 3: going on in Samaria and go to a faraway place?
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  Speaker 3: But God, of course, wanted to spread the gospel everywhere,
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  Speaker 3: and that included faraway nations. So God sent Philip obediently.
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  Speaker 3: He followed and trusted God's leading to the desert. Now,
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  Speaker 3: there is an important, important lesson for us here. God's
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  Speaker 3: Spirit leads us sometimes in places that we don't want
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  Speaker 3: to go or may not even understand why we're going.
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  Speaker 3: But when we are abiding in Christ, when we are
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  Speaker 3: walking in the Spirit, when we're listening and trusting and
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  Speaker 3: obeying Him, we can see distant horizons and opportunities to
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  Speaker 3: share our faith or to go where Jesus is calling
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  Speaker 3: us in order to make a difference someplace far away.
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  Speaker 3: When he arrived in the desert, Philip encountered a man
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  Speaker 3: from Ethiopia. This man was a well-to-do man, a counselor
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  Speaker 3: to the queen of Ethiopia. This man was a eunuch.
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  Speaker 3: This man was in a chariot, leaving Jerusalem where he
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  Speaker 3: had gone to worship. He believed in God, but he
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  Speaker 3: had never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit prompted him to go to the chariot and
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  Speaker 3: talk to this man about faith. And as he walked
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  Speaker 3: up to the man, he could hear him reading from
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  Speaker 3: the book of Isaiah. And it was a prophecy about
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah. Philip, of course, did not pass up the
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  Speaker 3: opportunity to share Christ, that Jesus is the fulfillment of
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  Speaker 3: the prophecy of Isaiah. The unit wanted an explanation of
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  Speaker 3: what he was reading. So here's what we find in
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  Speaker 3: Acts 8.35. Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture,
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  Speaker 3: he told him the good news about Jesus. And as
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  Speaker 3: he shared the gospel with this stranger, in this divine appointment,
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  Speaker 3: this man trusted in Christ and wanted to be baptized.
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  Speaker 3: Because of Philip's faithfulness, the Ethiopian man was forever changed,
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  Speaker 3: and he returned home as a follower of Jesus, filled
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  Speaker 3: with the same Spirit of Christ. This is significant because Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: command to take the gospel to the world is now
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  Speaker 3: being fulfilled. Ethiopia in those days by many was considered
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  Speaker 3: to be the end of the earth, And so now
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  Speaker 3: the gospel is on its way there. This was not
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  Speaker 3: due to Philip's careful planning. It was his openness and
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  Speaker 3: obedience to do what God told him to do. In
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  Speaker 3: the same way, we need to be willing for God
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  Speaker 3: to use us. There are three abilities that God really uses. Availability, expendability.
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  Speaker 3: Perhaps the greatest ability God uses is availability. When we
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  Speaker 3: are available to God, he will use us in a
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  Speaker 3: great way. And the same Holy Spirit who led Philip
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  Speaker 3: will lead us as we listen to him. Let's pray together.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for the scripture today in
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  Speaker 3: the book of Acts that shows us how we can
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  Speaker 3: be used by you to make a difference in people's lives.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to be attentive and alert to divine opportunities,
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  Speaker 3: divine appointments. For we know that there are people that
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  Speaker 3: we will encounter even today who are ready and responsive
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  Speaker 3: to receive the good news and salvation in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: May we be faithful and fearless in following you, listening
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  Speaker 3: to your spirit, and walking in your truth. For we
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  Speaker 3: pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 3: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: You can download the Pray.com app and make prayer a
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  Speaker 3: priority in your life, just like over 20 million people
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  Speaker 3: have done to this date. If you enjoyed this podcast,
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  Speaker 3: share it with someone you know and love, because by
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: sharing this message of the Word of God, you can
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  Speaker 3: make an eternal difference in someone's life. And I want
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  Speaker 3: to encourage you to go to jackgram.org. That's me at jackgram.org.
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  Speaker 3: We have resources available to you. God bless you, and
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  Speaker 3: we look forward to joining you again the next time.