Latest / Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay / The Seven Keys To Christian Living—Part 9 | Episode #351 | Encore Episode #022

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The Seven Keys To Christian Living—Part 9 | Episode #351 | Encore Episode #022 · Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay

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Speaker 1: Welcome to today's edition of Reflection on the Word with
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Speaker 1: Richard K. I'm Chuck Christie, and today we are asking
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Speaker 1: you to spend a few moments of your time with
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Speaker 1: us each day as Richard shares from God's work with notes, quotes,
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Speaker 1: and stories, along with some of his own personal experiences,
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Speaker 1: to confirm for you God's great love for us, that
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Speaker 1: his compassion for us never fails, and that He has
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Speaker 1: a great faithfulness toward us in every regard. In Lamentations,
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Speaker 1: Chapter three, verses twenty two and twenty three, we read,
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Speaker 1: because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed,
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Speaker 1: for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
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Speaker 1: Great is your faithfulness. Now, if you miss a portion
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Speaker 1: of today's broadcast or would like to recommend it to
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Speaker 1: a friend, you can hear this program anytime online at
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Speaker 1: Talknetwork Radio dot com. Well, now here's Richard with today's reflection.
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Speaker 2: So those who accepted his message were baptized. In that day,
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Speaker 2: about three thousand people were added to them, and they
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Speaker 2: devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching to the fellowship, to
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Speaker 2: the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Second chapter
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Speaker 2: of Acts Versus forty one and forty two. As we
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Speaker 2: come to the end of this series the seven Keys
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Speaker 2: of Christian Liby, we come to the final keep. The
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Speaker 2: final key is not the only key that we want
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Speaker 2: to consider. We want to consider all of the keys,
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Speaker 2: but we also want to be sure that we understand
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Speaker 2: that this is all normal Christian living. So if we
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Speaker 2: look at the final key being expand God's Kingdom, we
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Speaker 2: have to recall that what took place after they were
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Speaker 2: baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit while waiting in
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Speaker 2: the Upper room, we then saw that all of the
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Speaker 2: individual people that had come from many nations were gathered
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Speaker 2: there together for the feast day that we call Pentacosts.
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Speaker 2: That day they heard the Gospel message, and when they
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Speaker 2: heard the Gospel message, they responded first in a means
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Speaker 2: of repentance, and secondly they wanted to know this Messiah.
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Speaker 2: And so the church was established and grew from that
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Speaker 2: day by a multiplied principle that the Gospel brought about
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Speaker 2: the first day, three thousand people were added, and of
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Speaker 2: course it explains how they followed. They devoted themselves to
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Speaker 2: the apostles, teaching, to the fellowship, and to the breaking
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Speaker 2: of bread and prayers. So they were keeping the fellowship
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Speaker 2: with those that had spoken to them the gospel, and
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Speaker 2: then the scripture says fear came over everyone, and many
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Speaker 2: wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now
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Speaker 2: all the believers were together, and they held all things
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Speaker 2: in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed
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Speaker 2: the proceeds to all as anyone had a need. Every
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Speaker 2: day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the Temple complex.
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Speaker 2: They broke bread from house to house. They ate their
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Speaker 2: food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and
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Speaker 2: having favor with all the people. And every day the
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Speaker 2: Lord added to them those who were being saved, completing
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Speaker 2: that portion of Acts chapter two and closing with verse
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Speaker 2: forty seven. Well, as we look at the seven keys
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Speaker 2: to Christian living, it is noteworthy for us to be
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Speaker 2: able to summarize the x keys. Remember we called them
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Speaker 2: the ex keys because they were of extreme nature that
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Speaker 2: provided transforming power that comes from God. So identifying those keys,
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Speaker 2: the first, as you can recall, was exalting God's name
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Speaker 2: and secondly expecting God's grace, thirdly expressing God's love, and
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Speaker 2: then fourthly extending God's forgiveness, fifth experienced God's provision, and
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Speaker 2: six explode in God's power, with the result of expanding
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Speaker 2: God's kingdom. When Jesus came and spoke to his followers, saying,
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Speaker 2: all authority has been given to me in heaven and honorth.
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Speaker 2: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
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Speaker 2: in the name of the Father and of the Son
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Speaker 2: and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
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Speaker 2: things that I have demanded you. And lo, I am
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Speaker 2: with you always, even to the end of the age.
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Speaker 2: We began our study with the provision of the authorized
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Speaker 2: and authority given by Jesus to those who followed him.
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Speaker 2: In Matthew twenty eight, verses eighteen through twenty, as we
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Speaker 2: just read, he proclaimed that the authority was given to him,
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Speaker 2: and now he is giving that authority to carry on
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Speaker 2: his work. But he told them to carry in Jerusalem
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Speaker 2: until they would receive the promise of the Father. Now
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Speaker 2: it is one thing for us to look at these keys,
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Speaker 2: realizing that these are not keys given to a special
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Speaker 2: group of believers. If we look at them strictly in
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Speaker 2: that manner, then we would begin to understand why there
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Speaker 2: would have been a division in the church gathered. But
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Speaker 2: in this church there was no division, there was only multiplication.
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Speaker 2: And how did he get there? Well, I offer three
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Speaker 2: observations that you can consider. Number One, they were obedient
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Speaker 2: to go where Jesus said for them to go, and
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Speaker 2: they were obedient to wait and tarry until the promise
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Speaker 2: of the Father came. And then they could not be
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Speaker 2: contained because they went out everywhere, exploding in the power
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Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit, and moving as he directed, into
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Speaker 2: all of the parts of the known world, and evangelizing
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Speaker 2: them to come to know and receive this Messiah, Jesus
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Speaker 2: the Christ. And so we understand that the whole purpose
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Speaker 2: of the keys to the Kingdom were not for us
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Speaker 2: to be able to relish in somehow being blessed by
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Speaker 2: special anointing, but rather that we give praise to God
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Speaker 2: that he chooses to use us those of us who
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Speaker 2: were sinners. We were, just like everybody else, in need
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Speaker 2: of God's forgiveness, and He demonstrated his love for us
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Speaker 2: while we were still sinners. He died, but when he
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Speaker 2: was resurrected after his death and his burial, he came
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Speaker 2: into our realization in a much different way. He came
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Speaker 2: in power, not a humble servant, but a powerful ruling lord.
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Speaker 2: And nobody could take issue with that. And that is
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Speaker 2: the reason why fear was devout believers. It filled their lives.
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Speaker 2: I don't mean fear in the sense that they were
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Speaker 2: afraid of God. They were in reverend fear. They were
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Speaker 2: used of God in ways that no man would have
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Speaker 2: ever thought could have been done. And because of that,
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Speaker 2: the Gospel was proclaimed not only in words, but indeed
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Speaker 2: actions that followed the words, and many miraculous signs followed them.
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Speaker 2: So as we have the purpose of the seven Keys
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Speaker 2: of Christian Living are to expand God's kingdom, to take
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Speaker 2: the Gospel message in thought, word and deed to all people,
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Speaker 2: every tongue, every tribe, every nation. Because of that, you
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Speaker 2: and I have the awesome privilege to be filled with
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Speaker 2: the power and presence of God. And because of that,
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Speaker 2: others will come to recognize that Christianity is not a religion,
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Speaker 2: but a relationship with a living, powerful, all knowing, supernatural God,
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Speaker 2: because He demonstrates that through his believers. There's a scripture
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Speaker 2: that says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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Speaker 2: And that scripture is found in the Book of Hebrews
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Speaker 2: in chapter thirteen and verse eight. Jesus is the same.
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Speaker 2: He's never changed, His power has never abated, he has
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Speaker 2: never lost his authority, he has never changed his calling.
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Speaker 2: He has constantly fulfilled his promise. He promised that they
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Speaker 2: would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them,
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Speaker 2: and they did. Now, in closing, I want to bring
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Speaker 2: to our knowledge that in this process, if you will,
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Speaker 2: there were many things that were being worked out, but
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Speaker 2: the most important was that everyone that was present during
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Speaker 2: that day of Pentecost, where an agreement had submitted, surrendered
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Speaker 2: all of their will, all of their intentions and design
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Speaker 2: to the power of God. And when that happened, the
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Speaker 2: promise of the Father came exactly as Jesus had said.
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Speaker 2: And now I want you to understand why this is
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Speaker 2: such a critical element in the Seven Keys of Christian living,
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Speaker 2: why this should be normal Christian living. And here is
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Speaker 2: the reason. You find it in Acts chapter two, in
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Speaker 2: the thirty seventh verse beginning, and you'll see it ends
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Speaker 2: in the thirty ninth verse, only three verses of scripture,
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Speaker 2: but it summarizes the whole of the keeps. It is
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Speaker 2: the forgiveness through the Messiah that is achieved. When they
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Speaker 2: heard this, what did they hear? They heard the Gospel
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Speaker 2: message proclaimed in their own languages by all those who
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Speaker 2: had been filled with the Holy Spirit. And then when
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Speaker 2: they heard this they came under deep conviction and said
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Speaker 2: to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what
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Speaker 2: must we do? That question is paramount, because they gave
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Speaker 2: the answer. And here it is in the thirty eighth verse,
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Speaker 2: continuing it says repent. Peter said to them, and be baptized,
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Speaker 2: each of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for
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Speaker 2: the forgiveness of your sins. Listen to this remaining part,
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Speaker 2: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
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Speaker 2: for the promise. Now the thirty ninth first, for the
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Speaker 2: promise is for you and for your children, and for
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Speaker 2: all who are all as many as the Lord our
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Speaker 2: God will call. Now that gives us the essence of
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Speaker 2: how the Kingdom expands. Does it expand in great swelling oratory?
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Speaker 1: No?
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Speaker 2: Does it expand in tremendous education? No? How does the
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Speaker 2: Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven brought to this earth?
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Speaker 2: How does that happen? As we expand the Kingdom? It
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Speaker 2: happens through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Speaker 1: Richard will be right back in a moment to wrap up.
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Speaker 1: But if you've just joined us, you've been listening to
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Speaker 1: Reflections on the Word with Richard K. You can hear
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Speaker 1: this message in its entirety again online as well as
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Speaker 1: Richard's entire archive at Talknetwork Radio dot com. We would
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Speaker 1: like to acknowledge our theme song, how Great Is Thy Faithfulness,
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Speaker 1: from the America's twenty five Favorite Hymns album unless otherwise.
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Speaker 1: Express scriptures are read from the Homan Christian Stance Entered Bible,
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Speaker 1: which is published by Homan Bible Publishers in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Speaker 1: Additional resources used for Reflections on the Word with Richard
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Speaker 1: K include Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Our Daily Bread
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Speaker 1: and printed by Discovery House Publishers. Again, here is Richard
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Speaker 1: to wrap up today's message.
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Speaker 2: We have people that come to us and say, I
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Speaker 2: wish that I knew what to say to people so
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Speaker 2: that they could come to know Jesus. And you know,
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Speaker 2: everyone who knows Him, truly knows Him, has that ability
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Speaker 2: to communicate to someone else. But we all need something
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Speaker 2: that takes that situation beyond just words. It has to
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Speaker 2: be empowered by God. Now, this is an element of
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Speaker 2: our series that is worthy of further prayer and consideration.
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Speaker 2: If we regard Pentecost as a historical event, which was
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Speaker 2: back two thousand years ago, and as a one time
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Speaker 2: historical happening, then we lose the impact of the promise
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Speaker 2: from the Father. If we think we can do this
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Speaker 2: on our own, we are fools. Without Jesus, without the
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Speaker 2: power of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. But
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Speaker 2: with Him, submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit,
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Speaker 2: all things are possible. Bringing our series to not a close,
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Speaker 2: shall we say to a beginning where we are surrendering
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Speaker 2: ourselves more to this loving, living, forgiving, empowering Lord. Have
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Speaker 2: you done that? I encourage you read the scripture for yourself.
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Speaker 2: There's more than just what I cover. But read it
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Speaker 2: for yourself and ask God if it's not his desire
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Speaker 2: that all should have the promise the gift of the
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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit. You see, there's two separate issues that he's
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Speaker 2: dealing with. One repent and be baptized in the name
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Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. That
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Speaker 2: brings about the gift of the Holy Spirit. Some people
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Speaker 2: receive that gift immediately upon their profession of faith and salvation.
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Speaker 2: Others may receive it sometime later, but regardless that gift,
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Speaker 2: the gift of the Holy Spirit is the promise of
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Speaker 2: the Father to all believers, not just to a few,
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Speaker 2: but to all believers. Children who are baptized in the
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Speaker 2: Holy Spirit can lay hands on the sick, and they
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Speaker 2: will recover. They can cast out demons, because the Holy
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Speaker 2: Spirit is empowerable. If children can be used of God
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Speaker 2: in that way, and we are His children, regardless of age,
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Speaker 2: we need the same power to expand His kingdom. Go
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Speaker 2: therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
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Speaker 2: the name of the Father and of the Son and
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Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things
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Speaker 2: I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always,
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Speaker 2: even until the end of the age. And that is
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Speaker 2: today's Reflection on the Word.
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Speaker 1: Thank you, Richard. Join us again tomorrow when we continue
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Speaker 1: with the next edition of Reflections on the Word with
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Speaker 1: Richard k Or Richard and the entire team. This is
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Speaker 1: Chuck Christie saying thanks for listening to this edition of
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Speaker 1: Reflections on the Word. Sh