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September 1 - Acts 11 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is, Monday.
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It is the first day of September.
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That means it's meant to be spring, but I'm literally
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wrapped up in a blanket with socks and slippers and warm
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things on because winter is saying goodbye with one last
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powerful punch of iciness. So if you're here with me in the
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chilly parts of the world, hello.
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If you are far away, somewhere much warmer, ohh, that sounds
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much more comfortable. But wherever you are and no
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matter how many layers of clothes you got on right now, we
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are starting a new week and we are continuing along in this
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journey of hearing all about how Jesus is building his church
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using these amazing moments where his Spirit is drawing the
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apostles into these places with these unexpected people, these
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Gentiles. Who knew that God's church would
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not just be for the Jews, but for everyone else.
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That's including me and you. So without further ado, friends,
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let us dive in and continue reading Acts Chapter 11.
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Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in
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Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God.
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But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers
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criticised him. You entered the home of Gentiles
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and even ate with them, they said.
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Then Peter told them exactly what had happened.
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I was in the town of Joppa, he said.
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And while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision.
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Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners
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from the sky, and it came right down to me.
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When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild
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animals, reptiles and birds, and I heard a voice say, Get up,
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Peter, kill and eat them. No, Lord, I replied.
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I've never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared
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impure or unclean. But the voice from heaven spoke
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again. Do not call something unclean if
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God has made it clean. This happened three times before
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the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.
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Just then, three men who had been sent from Cesarea arrived
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at the house where we were staying.
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The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not worry, that
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they were Gentiles. These six brothers here
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accompanied me and we soon entered the home of the man who
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had sent for us. He told us how an Angel had
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appeared to him in his home and had told him.
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Send messengers to Joppa and summon a man named Simon Peter.
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He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can
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be saved. As I began to speak, Peter
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continued. The Holy Spirit fell on them
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just as He fell on us at the beginning.
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Then I thought of the Lord's words when he said, John
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baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy
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Spirit. And since God gave these
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Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord
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Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God's way?
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When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began
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praising God, they said. We can see that God is also
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given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and
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receiving eternal life. Meanwhile, the believers who had
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been scattered during the persecution after Stephen's
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death travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch of
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Syria. They preached the word of God,
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but only to Jews. However, some of the believers
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who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to
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the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.
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The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of the
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Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
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When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they
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sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this
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evidence of God's blessing, he was filled with joy, and he
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encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.
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Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in
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faith, and many people were brought to the Lord.
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Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.
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When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch.
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Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year,
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teaching large crowds of people. It was at Antioch that the
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believers were first called Christians.
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During this time some prophets travelled from Jerusalem to
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Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood
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up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that
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great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world.
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This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.
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So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the
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brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they
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could. This they did, entrusting their
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gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church
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in Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus, we hear of your
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message and your Spirit going out and convicting people of the
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truth about you. And as this happened, that these
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communities became generous and inclusive and looking out for
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those vulnerable ones among them.
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Lord, we know that this is your heart.
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This is your way. And as we look around in our
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broken world, we see such a need for you and your Spirit and your
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Kingdom to be fleshed out more fully around us.
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Holy Spirit, come move in our lands, Move in our cities, move
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in our towns, move in our families, move in our friendship
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circles, move in our communities so that your way can become the
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way that people live and act and treat each other now.
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We love you Jesus, and you have changed everything for us.
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I pray that we live as ambassadors in your way, living
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with your priorities in our heart.
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Empower us and send us. In your name we pray Jesus,
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Amen.