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Listening to Acts of the Apostles [Holy Bible Audio by Abide Meditation] - Abide Meditation App · Abide Meditation App

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Speaker 1: Acts one. In my former book, Theophilus I wrote about
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Speaker 1: all that Jesus began to do and to teach until
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Speaker 1: the day he was taken up to heaven. After giving
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Speaker 1: instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had
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Speaker 1: chosen after his suffering, he presented himself to them and
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Speaker 1: gave many convincing proofs.
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Speaker 2: That he was alive.
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Speaker 1: He appeared to them over a period of forty days
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Speaker 1: and spoke about the Kingdom of God. On one occasion,
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Speaker 1: while he was eating with them, he gave them this command,
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Speaker 1: do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my
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Speaker 1: Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For
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Speaker 1: John baptized with water, but in a few days you
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Speaker 1: will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. They then gathered
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Speaker 1: around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this
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Speaker 1: time going to restore the kingdom to Israel. He said
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Speaker 1: to them, it is not for you to know the
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Speaker 1: times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
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Speaker 1: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
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Speaker 1: on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
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Speaker 1: and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
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Speaker 1: of the earth. After he said this, he was taken
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Speaker 1: up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him
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Speaker 1: from their sight. They were looking intently up into the
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Speaker 1: sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed
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Speaker 1: in white stood beside them, men of Galilee. They said,
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Speaker 1: why do you stand here looking into the sky. This
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Speaker 1: same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven
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Speaker 1: will come back in the same way you have seen
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Speaker 1: him go into heaven. Then the Apostles returned to Jerusalem
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Speaker 1: from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath
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Speaker 1: day walk from the city. When they arrived, they went
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Speaker 1: upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present
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Speaker 1: were Peter, John James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas Bartholomew
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Speaker 1: and Matthew James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot,
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Speaker 1: and Judas, son of James. They all joined together constantly
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Speaker 1: in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother
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Speaker 1: of Jesus, and with his brothers.
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Speaker 2: In those days, Peter stood up.
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Speaker 1: Among the believers, a group numbering about one hundred and twenty,
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Speaker 1: and said, brothers and sisters, the scripture had to be fulfilled,
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Speaker 1: in which the Holy Spirits spoke long ago through David
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Speaker 1: concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.
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Speaker 1: He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.
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Speaker 1: With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought
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Speaker 1: a field. There he fell headlong, his body burst open,
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Speaker 1: and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard
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Speaker 1: about this, so they called that field in their language
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Speaker 1: a caldema, that is field of blood. Four said Peter.
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Speaker 1: It is written in the book of Psalms. May his
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Speaker 1: place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell
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Speaker 1: in it, and may another take his place of leadership. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: it is necessary to choose one of the men who
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Speaker 1: have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus
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Speaker 1: was living among us, beginning from John's baptism to the
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Speaker 1: time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one
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Speaker 1: of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
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Speaker 1: So they nominated two men Joseph called Barsabis, also known
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Speaker 1: as Justice, and Matthias. Then they prayed, Lord, you know
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Speaker 1: everyone's heart, show us which of these two you have
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Speaker 1: chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left
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Speaker 1: to go where he belongs. Then they cast lots, and
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Speaker 1: the lot fell to Matthias, so he was added to
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Speaker 1: the Eleven Apostles Acts chapter two. When the day of
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Speaker 1: Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly
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Speaker 1: a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
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Speaker 1: from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
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Speaker 1: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that
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Speaker 1: separated and came to rest.
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Speaker 2: On each of them.
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Speaker 1: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and
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Speaker 1: began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them.
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Speaker 1: Now there were staying in Jerusalem, god fearing Jews from
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Speaker 1: every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a
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Speaker 1: crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard their
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Speaker 1: own language being spoken. Utterly Amazed, they asked, aren't all
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Speaker 1: these who are speaking Galileans, then, how is it that
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Speaker 1: each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians,
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Speaker 1: Medis and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
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Speaker 1: Phrygia and Pamphilia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Syreene,
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Speaker 1: Visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans
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Speaker 1: and Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God
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Speaker 1: in our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one
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Speaker 1: another what does this mean? Some, however, made fun of
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Speaker 1: them and said they have had too much wine. Then
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Speaker 1: Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and
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Speaker 1: addressed the crowd, fellow Jews and all of you who
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Speaker 1: live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen
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Speaker 1: carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk
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Speaker 1: as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning. No,
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Speaker 1: this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In
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Speaker 1: the last days, God says, I will pour out my
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Speaker 1: spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
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Speaker 1: Your young men will see visions, Your old men will
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Speaker 1: dream dreams, even on my servants, both men and women.
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Speaker 1: I will pour out my spirit in those days, and
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Speaker 1: they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above,
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Speaker 1: and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and
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Speaker 1: billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness
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Speaker 1: and the moon to blood before the coming of the
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Speaker 1: great and glorious Day of the Lord. And everyone who
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Speaker 1: calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved.
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Speaker 1: Fellow Israelites, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a
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Speaker 1: man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and
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Speaker 1: signs which God did among you through him. As you
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Speaker 1: yourselves know, this man was handed over to you by
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Speaker 1: God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge. And you, with the help
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Speaker 1: of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him
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Speaker 1: to the cross.
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Speaker 2: But God raised.
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Speaker 1: Him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death,
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Speaker 1: because it was impossible for death to keep its hold
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Speaker 1: on him. David said about him, I saw the Lord
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Speaker 1: always before me. Because he is at my right hand,
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Speaker 1: I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad
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Speaker 1: and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest in
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Speaker 1: hope because you will not abandon me to the realm
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Speaker 1: of the dead. You will not let your Holy One
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Speaker 1: see decay. You have made known to me the paths
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Speaker 1: of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence.
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Speaker 1: Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the Patriarch
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Speaker 1: David died and was buried, and his tomb is here
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Speaker 1: to this day. But he was a prophet and knew
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Speaker 1: that God had promised him on oath that he would
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Speaker 1: place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what
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Speaker 1: was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,
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Speaker 1: that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor.
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Speaker 2: Did his body see decay.
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Speaker 1: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are
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Speaker 1: all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God.
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Speaker 1: He has received from the Father of the promised Holy Spirit,
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Speaker 1: and has poured out what you now see and hear.
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Speaker 1: For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he
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Speaker 1: said the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my
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Speaker 1: right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for
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Speaker 1: your feet. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.
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Speaker 1: God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord
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Speaker 1: and Messiah. When the people heard this, they were cut
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Speaker 1: to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers,
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Speaker 1: what shall we do. Peter replied, repent and be baptized,
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Speaker 1: every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
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Speaker 1: for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive
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Speaker 1: the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promises for you
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Speaker 1: and your children, and for all who are far off,
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Speaker 1: for all whom the Lord our God will call. With
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Speaker 1: many other words, he warned them, and he pleaded with them,
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Speaker 1: save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his
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Speaker 1: message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to
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Speaker 1: their number. That day, they devoted themselves to the apostles,
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Speaker 1: teaching and too fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and
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Speaker 1: to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many
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Speaker 1: wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers
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Speaker 1: were together and had everything in common. They sold property
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Speaker 1: in possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every
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Speaker 1: day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.
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Speaker 1: They broke bread in their homes and ate together with
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Speaker 1: glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor
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Speaker 1: of all the people.
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Speaker 2: And the Lord.
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Speaker 1: Added to their number daily those who were being saved
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Speaker 1: acts three. One day, Peter and John were going up
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Speaker 1: to the temple at the time of prayer at three
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Speaker 1: in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from
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Speaker 1: birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful,
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Speaker 1: where he was put every day to beg from those
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Speaker 1: going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and
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Speaker 1: John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter
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Speaker 1: looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said,
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Speaker 1: look at us. So the man gave them his attention,
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Speaker 1: expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, silver
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Speaker 1: or gold I do not have, But what I do have,
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Speaker 1: I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of
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Speaker 1: Nazareth walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped
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Speaker 1: him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.
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Speaker 2: He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
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Speaker 1: Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking
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Speaker 1: and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw
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Speaker 1: him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the
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Speaker 1: same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate,
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Speaker 1: called beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement
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Speaker 1: at what had happened to him. While the man held
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Speaker 1: on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished
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Speaker 1: and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.
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Speaker 1: When Peter saw this, he said to them, fellow Israelites,
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Speaker 1: why does this surprise you? You stare at us, as
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Speaker 1: if by our own power or godliness we made this
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Speaker 1: man walk. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
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Speaker 1: God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You
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Speaker 1: handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him
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Speaker 1: before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
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Speaker 1: You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that
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Speaker 1: a murderer be released to you. You killed the author
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Speaker 1: of life, but God raised him from the dead. We
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Speaker 1: are witnesses of this by faith in the name of Jesus,
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Speaker 1: this man, whom you see and know, was made strong.
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Speaker 1: It is Jesus's name and the faith that comes through
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Speaker 1: him that has completely healed him, as you can all
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Speaker 1: see now. Fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in
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Speaker 1: ignorance as your leaders.
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Speaker 2: But this is how.
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Speaker 1: God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets,
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Speaker 1: saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent then and turn
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Speaker 1: to God, so that your sins may be wiped out,
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Speaker 1: that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and
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Speaker 1: that he may send the Messiah who has been appointed
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Speaker 1: for you. Even Jesus heaven must receive him until the
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Speaker 1: time comes for God to restore everything as he promised
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Speaker 1: long ago through his holy prophets. For Jesus said, the
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Speaker 1: Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
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Speaker 1: like me from among your own people. You must listen
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Speaker 1: to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen
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Speaker 1: to him will be completely cut off from their people. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have
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Speaker 1: foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets
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Speaker 1: and of the coven God made with your fathers. He
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Speaker 1: said to Abraham, through your offspring, all peoples on earth
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Speaker 1: will be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he
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Speaker 1: sent him first to you, to bless you by turning
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Speaker 1: each of you from your wicked ways. Acts chapter four.
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Speaker 1: The priests and the captain of the temple guard and
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Speaker 1: the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they
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Speaker 1: were speaking to the people.
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Speaker 2: They were greatly.
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Speaker 1: Disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people proclaiming in
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Speaker 1: Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John,
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Speaker 1: and because it was evening, they put them in jail
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Speaker 1: until the next day. But many who heard the message believed,
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Speaker 1: so the number of men who believed grew to about
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Speaker 1: five thousand. The next day, the rulers, the elders, and
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Speaker 1: the teachers of the law met in jerusale Annus, the
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Speaker 1: High Priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
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Speaker 1: and others in the High priest's family. They had Peter
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Speaker 1: and John brought before them and began to question them,
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Speaker 1: by what power or what name did you do this?
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Speaker 1: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
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Speaker 1: rulers and elders of the people, if we are being
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Speaker 1: called to account today for an act of kindness shown
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Speaker 1: to a man who was lame, and are being asked
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Speaker 1: how he was healed, then know this, you and all
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Speaker 1: the people of Israel. It is by the name of
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God
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Speaker 1: raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
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Speaker 1: Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become
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Speaker 1: the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for
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Speaker 1: there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind
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Speaker 1: by which we must be saved. When they saw the
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Speaker 1: courage of Peter and John and realized that they were
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Speaker 1: unschooled ordinary men. They were astonished, and they took note
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Speaker 1: that these men had been with Jesus. But since they
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Speaker 1: could see the man who had been healed standing there
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Speaker 1: with them, there was nothing they could say. So they
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Speaker 1: ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin, and then conferred together.
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Speaker 1: What are we going to do with these men? They asked,
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Speaker 1: Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign,
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Speaker 1: and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing
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Speaker 1: from spreading any further among the people, we must warn
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Speaker 1: them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.
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Speaker 1: Then they called them in again and commanded them not
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Speaker 1: to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
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Speaker 1: But Peter and John replied, which is right in God's
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Speaker 1: eyes to listen to you.
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Speaker 2: Or to him. You be the judges.
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Speaker 1: As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we
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Speaker 1: have seen and heard. After further threats, they let them go.
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Speaker 1: They couldnot decide how to punish them because all the
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Speaker 1: people were praising God for what had happened, for the
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Speaker 1: man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
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Speaker 1: On their release, Peter and John went back to their
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Speaker 1: own people and reported all that the chief priests and
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Speaker 1: the elders had said to them. When they heard this,
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Speaker 1: they raised their voices together in prayer to godd Sovereign Lord.
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Speaker 1: They said, you made the heavens and the earth, and
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Speaker 1: the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David.
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Speaker 1: Why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain?
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Speaker 1: The kings of the earth rise up, and the ruler's
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Speaker 1: band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: Herod and conscious Pilot met together with the gentiles and
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Speaker 1: the people of Israel in this city to conspire against
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Speaker 1: your Holy Servant Jesus, whom you appointed. They did what
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Speaker 1: your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord,
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Speaker 1: consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your
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Speaker 1: word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal
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Speaker 1: and perform signs and wonders through the name of your
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Speaker 1: hold only Servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where
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Speaker 1: they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled
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Speaker 1: with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God boldly.
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Speaker 1: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No
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Speaker 1: one claimed that any of their possessions was their own,
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Speaker 1: but they shared everything they had.
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Speaker 2: With great power.
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Speaker 1: The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, and God's grace was so powerfully at work
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Speaker 1: in them all that there were no needy persons among them.
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Speaker 1: For from time to time those who owned land or
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Speaker 1: houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and
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Speaker 1: put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed
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Speaker 1: to any one who had need. Joseph, a levite from Cyprus,
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Speaker 1: whom the apostles called Barnabas, which means son of Encouragement,
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Speaker 1: sold a field he owned, and brought the money and
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Speaker 1: put it at the apostle's feet.
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Speaker 2: As five.
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Speaker 1: Now, a man named Ananius, together with his wife Saphirah,
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Speaker 1: also sold a piece of property with his wife's full knowledge.
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Speaker 1: He kept back part of the money for himself, but
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Speaker 1: brought the rest and put it at the apostles feet.
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Speaker 1: Then Peter said, Anonius, how is it that Satan has
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Speaker 1: so filled your heart that you have lied to the
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the
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Speaker 1: money you received for the land didn't it belong to
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Speaker 1: you before it was sold? And after it was sold,
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Speaker 1: wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think
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Speaker 1: of doing such a thing. You have not just lied
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Speaker 1: to human beings, but to God. When Anonaeus heard this,
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Speaker 1: he fell down and died, and great fear seized all
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Speaker 1: who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward,
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Speaker 1: wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
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Speaker 1: About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing
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Speaker 1: what had happened. Peter asked her, tell me, is this
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Speaker 1: the price you and Anonius got for the land?
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Speaker 2: Yes?
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Speaker 1: She said, that is the price. Peter said to her,
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Speaker 1: how could you conspire to test the spirit of the Lord? Listen,
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Speaker 1: the feet of the men who buried your husband are
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Speaker 1: at the door, and they will carry you out. Also.
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Speaker 1: At that moment, she fell down at his feet and died.
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Speaker 1: Then the young men came in, and, finding her dead,
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Speaker 1: carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great
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Speaker 1: fear seized the whole church and all who heard about
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Speaker 1: these events, and all the believers used to meet together
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Speaker 1: in Solomon's colonnade.
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Speaker 2: No one else.
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Speaker 1: Dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by
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Speaker 1: the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed
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Speaker 1: in the Lord and were added to their number. As
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Speaker 1: a result, people brought the sick into the streets and
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Speaker 1: laid them on beds and mats, so that at least
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Speaker 1: Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he
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Speaker 1: passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: bringing their sick in those tormented by impure spirits, and
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Speaker 1: all of them were healed. Then the High Priests and
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Speaker 1: all his associates, who were members of the party of
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Speaker 1: the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles
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Speaker 1: and put them in the public jail. But during the night,
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Speaker 1: an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the
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Speaker 1: jail and brought them out. Go stand in the temple courts,
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Speaker 1: he said, and tell the people all about this new life.
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Speaker 1: At daybreak, they entered the temple courts as they had
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Speaker 1: been told, and began to teach the people. When the
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Speaker 1: High Priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin,
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Speaker 1: the full assembly of the elders of Israel, and sent
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Speaker 1: to the jail for the apostles. But On arriving at
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Speaker 1: the jail, the officers did not find them there, so
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Speaker 1: they went back and reported, we found the jail securely locked,
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Speaker 1: with the guards standing at the doors, but when we
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Speaker 1: opened them, we found no one inside. On hearing this report,
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Speaker 1: the captain of the Temple Guard and the chief priests
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Speaker 1: were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
24:59
Speaker 1: Then someone came and said, look, the men you put
25:04
Speaker 1: in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.
25:08
Speaker 1: At that the captain went with his officers and brought
25:11
Speaker 1: the apostles.
25:13
Speaker 2: They did not.
25:14
Speaker 1: Use force because they feared that the people would stone them.
25:18
Speaker 1: The apostles were brought in and made to appear before
25:21
Speaker 1: the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. We
25:24
Speaker 1: gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,
25:27
Speaker 1: he said, Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
25:31
Speaker 1: and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.
25:36
Speaker 1: Peter and the other apostles replied, we must obey God
25:41
Speaker 1: rather than human beings. The God of our ancestors raised
25:46
Speaker 1: Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging him
25:50
Speaker 1: on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand,
25:54
Speaker 1: as Prince and Savior, that he might bring Israel to
25:57
Speaker 1: repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things,
26:02
Speaker 1: and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given
26:06
Speaker 1: to those who obey him. When they heard this, they
26:10
Speaker 1: were furious and wanted to put them to death. But
26:15
Speaker 1: a pharisee named Gamliel, a teacher of the law who
26:19
Speaker 1: was honored by all the people, stood up in the
26:21
Speaker 1: Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for
26:24
Speaker 1: a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, men of Israel,
26:31
Speaker 1: consider carefully what you intend to do with these men.
26:35
Speaker 1: Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and
26:41
Speaker 1: about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed,
26:45
Speaker 1: all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
26:50
Speaker 1: After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of
26:53
Speaker 1: the Census and led a band of people in revolt.
26:56
Speaker 1: He too was killed and all his followers were scattered. Therefore,
27:02
Speaker 1: in the present case, I advise you leave these men alone.
27:06
Speaker 1: Let them go, for if their purpose or activity is
27:09
Speaker 1: of human origin, it will fail. But if it is
27:13
Speaker 1: from God, you will not be able to stop these men,
27:18
Speaker 1: you will only find yourselves fighting against God. His speech
27:24
Speaker 1: persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged.
27:30
Speaker 1: Then they ordered them not to speak in the name
27:32
Speaker 1: of Jesus.
27:33
Speaker 2: And let them go.
27:36
Speaker 1: The apostles left the Sanhedron rejoicing because they had been
27:40
Speaker 1: counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name. Day after
27:45
Speaker 1: day in the temple courts and from house to house,
27:49
Speaker 1: they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that
27:53
Speaker 1: Jesus is the Messiah. Acts six. In those days, when
28:04
Speaker 1: the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among
28:07
Speaker 1: them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were
28:11
Speaker 1: being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the
28:15
Speaker 1: twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, it would
28:19
Speaker 1: not be right for us to neglect the ministry of
28:21
Speaker 1: the Word of God in order to wait on tables.
28:26
Speaker 1: Brothers and sisters. Choose seven men from among you who
28:29
Speaker 1: are known to be full of the spirit in wisdom.
28:33
Speaker 1: We will turn this responsibility over to them, and will
28:36
Speaker 1: give our attention to prayer in the ministry of the Word.
28:41
Speaker 1: This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a
28:46
Speaker 1: man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Also
28:49
Speaker 1: Philip Procrus, nikonor Tyman Harmenus, and Nicholas from Antioch, a
28:57
Speaker 1: convert to Judaism. They present did these men to the apostles,
29:02
Speaker 1: who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the
29:05
Speaker 1: word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem
29:09
Speaker 1: increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient
29:13
Speaker 1: to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's
29:18
Speaker 1: grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
29:24
Speaker 1: Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen,
29:29
Speaker 1: as it was called, Jews of Syene and Alexandria, as
29:33
Speaker 1: well as the provinces of Silicia and Asia, who began
29:36
Speaker 1: to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up
29:40
Speaker 1: against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
29:44
Speaker 1: Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, we have
29:47
Speaker 1: heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
29:53
Speaker 1: So they stirred up the people and the elders and
29:55
Speaker 1: the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought
29:58
Speaker 1: him before the sin had they produced false witnesses who
30:03
Speaker 1: testified this fellow never stops speaking against this holy place
30:08
Speaker 1: and against the law. For we have heard him say
30:11
Speaker 1: that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and
30:15
Speaker 1: change the customs Moses handed down to us. All who
30:21
Speaker 1: were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and
30:25
Speaker 1: they saw that his face was like the face of
30:29
Speaker 1: an angel.
30:34
Speaker 2: Acts seven.
30:36
Speaker 1: Then the High Priest asked Stephen, are these charges true
30:42
Speaker 1: to this? He replied, Brothers and fathers, listen to me.
30:51
Speaker 1: The God of Glory appeared to our father Abraham while
30:54
Speaker 1: he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Heron.
30:58
Speaker 1: Leave your country injure, people, God said, and go to
31:01
Speaker 1: the land I will show you. So he left the
31:04
Speaker 1: land of the Chaldeans and settled in Heron. After the
31:08
Speaker 1: death of his father, God sent him to this land
31:11
Speaker 1: where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here,
31:16
Speaker 1: not even enough ground to set his foot on. But
31:19
Speaker 1: God promised him that he and his descendants after him
31:22
Speaker 1: would possess the land. Even though at that time Abraham
31:26
Speaker 1: had no child. God spoke to him in this way.
31:31
Speaker 1: For four hundred years, your descendants will be strangers in
31:34
Speaker 1: a country not their own, and they will be enslaved
31:37
Speaker 1: and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve
31:42
Speaker 1: as slaves, God said, and afterward they will come out
31:46
Speaker 1: of that country and worship me in this place. Then
31:51
Speaker 1: he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became
31:55
Speaker 1: the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after
31:58
Speaker 1: his birth. Later, Isaac became the father of Jacob, and
32:02
Speaker 1: Jacob became the father of the Twelve Patriarchs.
32:07
Speaker 2: Because the Patriarchs were.
32:08
Speaker 1: Jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave and
32:11
Speaker 1: to Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him
32:15
Speaker 1: from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled
32:19
Speaker 1: him to gain the good will of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
32:23
Speaker 1: So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
32:29
Speaker 1: Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering,
32:34
Speaker 1: and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard
32:39
Speaker 1: there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on
32:42
Speaker 1: their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his
32:46
Speaker 1: brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family.
32:52
Speaker 1: After this, Joseph sent for his father, Jacob and his
32:55
Speaker 1: whole family, seventy five in all. Then Jacob went down
33:00
Speaker 1: to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies
33:05
Speaker 1: were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb
33:07
Speaker 1: that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamoor at
33:10
Speaker 1: Shechem for a certain sum of money. As the time
33:14
Speaker 1: drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham,
33:17
Speaker 1: the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.
33:21
Speaker 1: Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came
33:25
Speaker 1: to power in Egypt. He dealt treacherously with our people
33:30
Speaker 1: and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out
33:33
Speaker 1: their new born babies so that they would die. At
33:38
Speaker 1: that time, Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.
33:44
Speaker 1: For three months, he was cared for by his family.
33:47
Speaker 1: When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and
33:50
Speaker 1: brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated
33:55
Speaker 1: in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful
33:58
Speaker 1: in speech and action. When Moses was forty years old,
34:03
Speaker 1: he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He
34:08
Speaker 1: saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so
34:11
Speaker 1: he went to his defense and avenged him by killing
34:14
Speaker 1: the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize
34:19
Speaker 1: that God was using him to rescue them, but they
34:21
Speaker 1: did not. The next day, Moses came upon two Israelites
34:25
Speaker 1: who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, men,
34:31
Speaker 1: are you brothers? Why do you want to hurt each other?
34:36
Speaker 1: But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses
34:39
Speaker 1: aside and said, who made you ruler and judge over us?
34:43
Speaker 1: Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the
34:46
Speaker 1: Egyptian yesterday. When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian,
34:52
Speaker 1: where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
34:58
Speaker 1: After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses
35:01
Speaker 1: in the flames of a burning bush and the desert
35:03
Speaker 1: near Mount Sinai.
35:05
Speaker 2: When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight.
35:09
Speaker 1: As he went over to get a closer look, he
35:10
Speaker 1: heard the Lord say, I am the God of your fathers,
35:15
Speaker 1: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses trembled with
35:20
Speaker 1: fear and did not dare to look. Then the Lord
35:23
Speaker 1: said to him, take off your sandals, for the place
35:26
Speaker 1: where you are standing as holy ground. I have indeed
35:30
Speaker 1: seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have
35:33
Speaker 1: heard their groaning, and have come to set them free.
35:37
Speaker 1: Now come, I will send you back to Egypt. This
35:43
Speaker 1: is the same Moses they had rejected with the words,
35:47
Speaker 1: who made you ruler and judge. He was sent to
35:50
Speaker 1: be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the
35:54
Speaker 1: Angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led
35:58
Speaker 1: them out of Egypt and pfer formed wonders and signs
36:01
Speaker 1: in Egypt at the Red Sea, and for forty.
36:05
Speaker 2: Years in the wilderness.
36:08
Speaker 1: This is the Moses who told the Israelites, God will
36:11
Speaker 1: raise up for you a prophet like me from your
36:14
Speaker 1: own people. He was in the assembly in the wilderness
36:18
Speaker 1: with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai,
36:21
Speaker 1: and with our ancestors, and he received living words to
36:25
Speaker 1: pass on to us. But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead,
36:32
Speaker 1: they rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
36:36
Speaker 1: They told Aaron, make us gods who will go before us.
36:40
Speaker 1: As for this fellow Moses, who let us out of Egypt,
36:44
Speaker 1: we don't know what has happened to him. That was
36:48
Speaker 1: the time they made an idol in the form of
36:50
Speaker 1: a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in
36:54
Speaker 1: what their own hands had done. But God turned away
36:58
Speaker 1: from them and gave them over to the worship of
37:01
Speaker 1: the Sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is
37:05
Speaker 1: written in the Book of the Prophets. Did you bring
37:08
Speaker 1: me sacrifices and offerings? Forty years in the wilderness, people
37:12
Speaker 1: of Israel, you have taken up the tabernacle of Molik
37:16
Speaker 1: and the star of your God Rafan, the idols you
37:19
Speaker 1: made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile
37:25
Speaker 1: beyond Babylon. Our ancestors had the Tabernacle of the Covenant
37:31
Speaker 1: Law with them in the wilderness. It had been made
37:35
Speaker 1: as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
37:39
Speaker 1: After receiving the tabernacle. Our ancestors under Joshua brought it
37:43
Speaker 1: with them when they took the land from the nations,
37:45
Speaker 1: God drove out before them. It remained in the land
37:49
Speaker 1: until the time of David, who enjoyed God's favor and
37:53
Speaker 1: asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the
37:56
Speaker 1: God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a
38:00
Speaker 1: for him. However, the Most High does not live in
38:04
Speaker 1: houses made by human hands. As the prophet says, heaven
38:09
Speaker 1: is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What
38:14
Speaker 1: kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord?
38:17
Speaker 1: Or where will my resting place be?
38:20
Speaker 2: Has not my hand made all these things?
38:24
Speaker 1: You stiff necked people, Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised.
38:31
Speaker 1: You are just like your ancestors. You always resist the
38:35
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Was there ever a prophet. Your ancestors did
38:39
Speaker 1: not persecute. They even killed those who predicted the coming
38:43
Speaker 1: of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and
38:47
Speaker 1: murdered him, you who have received the law that was
38:51
Speaker 1: given through angels, but have not obeyed it. When the
38:58
Speaker 1: members of the Sandhdrin heard this, they were furious and
39:02
Speaker 1: gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the
39:05
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory
39:07
Speaker 1: of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look,
39:14
Speaker 1: he said, I see heaven open, and the Son of
39:18
Speaker 1: Man standing at the right hand of God. At this,
39:25
Speaker 1: they covered their ears and yelling at the top of
39:28
Speaker 1: their voices. They all rushed at him, dragged him out
39:33
Speaker 1: of the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the
39:39
Speaker 1: witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young
39:41
Speaker 1: man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed,
39:48
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his
39:55
Speaker 1: knees and cried out, Lord, do not hole this sin
40:01
Speaker 1: against them. When he had said this, he fell asleep
40:11
Speaker 1: acts ate, and Saul approved of their killing him. On
40:18
Speaker 1: that day, a great persecution broke out against the Church
40:22
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout
40:25
Speaker 1: Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply
40:32
Speaker 1: for him, but Saul began to destroy the church. Going
40:37
Speaker 1: from house to house, he dragged off both men and
40:40
Speaker 1: women and put them in prison. Those who had been
40:45
Speaker 1: scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down
40:49
Speaker 1: to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
40:53
Speaker 1: When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed,
40:57
Speaker 1: they all paid close attention to what he said. For
41:01
Speaker 1: with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many
41:05
Speaker 1: who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was
41:10
Speaker 1: great joy in that city. Now, for some time a
41:14
Speaker 1: man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and
41:18
Speaker 1: amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he
41:22
Speaker 1: was someone great, and all the people, both high and low,
41:26
Speaker 1: gave him their attention and exclaimed, this man is rightly
41:29
Speaker 1: called the great Power of God. They followed him because
41:35
Speaker 1: he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
41:39
Speaker 1: But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good
41:41
Speaker 1: news of the Kingdom of God and the name of
41:43
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon
41:49
Speaker 1: himself believed and was baptized, and he followed Philip everywhere,
41:55
Speaker 1: astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When
42:00
Speaker 1: the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the
42:03
Speaker 1: word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
42:07
Speaker 1: When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there
42:11
Speaker 1: that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy
42:15
Speaker 1: Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They
42:19
Speaker 1: had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
42:23
Speaker 1: Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and
42:26
Speaker 1: they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the
42:31
Speaker 1: Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles hands.
42:35
Speaker 1: He offered them money and said, give me also this civility,
42:41
Speaker 1: so that every one on whom I lay my hands
42:43
Speaker 1: may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered, may your money
42:50
Speaker 1: perish with you because you thought you could buy the
42:54
Speaker 1: gift of God with money. You have no part or
42:58
Speaker 1: share in this ministry because your heart is not right
43:02
Speaker 1: before God. Repent of this wickedness, and pray to the
43:06
Speaker 1: Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for
43:09
Speaker 1: having such a thought in your heart, for I see
43:13
Speaker 1: that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.
43:19
Speaker 1: Then Simon answered, pray to the Lord for me, so
43:24
Speaker 1: that nothing you have.
43:25
Speaker 2: Said may happen to me.
43:29
Speaker 1: After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord
43:31
Speaker 1: and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem,
43:36
Speaker 1: preaching the Gospel in many Samaritan villages. Now, an angel
43:41
Speaker 1: of the Lord said to Philip, go south to the road,
43:45
Speaker 1: the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
43:50
Speaker 1: So he started out, and on his way he met
43:52
Speaker 1: an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all
43:56
Speaker 1: the treasury of the Candiate, which means queen of the Ethiopians.
44:01
Speaker 1: This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on
44:04
Speaker 1: his way home, was sitting in his chariot reading the
44:06
Speaker 1: book of Isaiah the Prophet. The spirit told Philip go
44:12
Speaker 1: to that chariot and stay near it. Then Philip ran
44:17
Speaker 1: up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah
44:20
Speaker 1: the Prophet. Do you understand what you are reading? Philip asked,
44:25
Speaker 1: How can I? He said, unless someone explains it to me.
44:31
Speaker 1: So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
44:36
Speaker 1: This is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading.
44:40
Speaker 1: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and
44:43
Speaker 1: as a lamb before its shearer, is silent, so he
44:46
Speaker 1: did not open his mouth.
44:49
Speaker 2: In his humiliation, he was.
44:51
Speaker 1: Deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For
44:56
Speaker 1: his life was taken from the earth. The eunuch asked Philip,
45:02
Speaker 1: tell me, please, who is this prophet talking about himself
45:06
Speaker 1: or someone else? Then Philip began with that very passage
45:11
Speaker 1: of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
45:16
Speaker 1: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water,
45:19
Speaker 1: and the eunuch said, look here, is water, what can
45:24
Speaker 1: stand in the way of me being baptized? And he
45:28
Speaker 1: gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and
45:32
Speaker 1: the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
45:38
Speaker 1: When they came up out of the water, the spirit
45:40
Speaker 1: of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch
45:44
Speaker 1: did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however,
45:52
Speaker 1: appeared at Azetus and traveled about preaching the Gospel in
45:57
Speaker 1: all the towns until he reached Caesarea, Acts chapter nine. Meanwhile,
46:08
Speaker 1: Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples.
46:12
Speaker 1: He went to the high priest and asked him for
46:14
Speaker 1: letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he
46:18
Speaker 1: found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men
46:22
Speaker 1: or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
46:27
Speaker 1: As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light
46:30
Speaker 1: from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground
46:34
Speaker 1: and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul.
46:40
Speaker 2: Why do you persecute me? Who are you? Lord?
46:45
Speaker 1: Saul asked, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. He replied,
46:52
Speaker 1: Now get up and go into the city, and you
46:56
Speaker 1: will be told what you must do. Then, traveling with Saul,
47:01
Speaker 1: stood there speechless. They heard the sound but did not
47:05
Speaker 1: see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when
47:10
Speaker 1: he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they
47:13
Speaker 1: led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days,
47:17
Speaker 1: he was blind and did not eat or drink anything.
47:22
Speaker 1: In Damascus, there is a disciple named Anonius. The Lord
47:26
Speaker 1: called to him in a vision. Annius, yes, Lord, he answered.
47:33
Speaker 1: The Lord told him, go to the house of Judas
47:36
Speaker 1: on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus
47:39
Speaker 1: named Saul, For he is praying in a vision he
47:43
Speaker 1: has seen a man named Anonius come and place his
47:46
Speaker 1: hands on him to restore his sight.
47:51
Speaker 2: Lord.
47:53
Speaker 1: Anonius answered, I have heard many reports about this man
47:58
Speaker 1: and all the harm he has done to your holy
48:00
Speaker 1: people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority
48:04
Speaker 1: from the chief priests to arrest all who call on
48:07
Speaker 1: your name. But the Lord said to Anonius, go, this
48:14
Speaker 1: man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to
48:17
Speaker 1: the gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
48:21
Speaker 1: I will show him how much he must suffer from
48:24
Speaker 1: my name. Then Ananias went to the house and entered it,
48:31
Speaker 1: placing his hands on Saul. He said, brother, Saul, the
48:35
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as
48:39
Speaker 1: you are coming here, has sent me so that you
48:42
Speaker 1: may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately,
48:50
Speaker 1: something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could
48:53
Speaker 1: see again. He got up and was baptized, and after
48:59
Speaker 1: taking some food, he regained his strength. Paul spent several
49:06
Speaker 1: days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began
49:10
Speaker 1: to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son
49:12
Speaker 1: of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked,
49:17
Speaker 1: isn't he the man who raised Havoc in Jerusalem among
49:21
Speaker 1: those who call in this name? And hasn't he come
49:24
Speaker 1: here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests.
49:29
Speaker 2: Yet Saul grew.
49:30
Speaker 1: More and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in
49:33
Speaker 1: Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. After many
49:41
Speaker 1: days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the
49:45
Speaker 1: Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan.
49:49
Speaker 2: Day and night.
49:50
Speaker 1: They kept close watch on the city gates in order
49:53
Speaker 1: to kill him, but as followers took him by night
49:57
Speaker 1: and lowered him in a basket through an opening in
50:00
Speaker 1: the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to
50:04
Speaker 1: join the disciples, but they.
50:06
Speaker 2: Were all afraid of.
50:07
Speaker 1: Him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But
50:12
Speaker 1: Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He
50:15
Speaker 1: told them how Saul, on his journey, had seen the Lord,
50:19
Speaker 1: and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how
50:21
Speaker 1: in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
50:26
Speaker 1: So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely. In Jerusalem,
50:30
Speaker 1: speaking boldly in the name of the Lord, he talked
50:34
Speaker 1: and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to
50:38
Speaker 1: kill him. When the Believers learned of this, they took
50:42
Speaker 1: him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
50:46
Speaker 1: Then the Church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a
50:50
Speaker 1: time of peace and was strengthened, living in the fear
50:55
Speaker 1: of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. It
51:00
Speaker 1: pest in numbers. As Peter traveled about the country, he
51:06
Speaker 1: went to visit the Lord's people who lived in Lida.
51:09
Speaker 1: There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed
51:13
Speaker 1: and had been bedridden for eight years. Aneas, Peter said
51:19
Speaker 1: to him, Jesus Christ heals you, get up and roll
51:25
Speaker 1: up your mat. Immediately, Anaas got up.
51:31
Speaker 2: All those who lived Inlida.
51:33
Speaker 1: And Charon saw him and turned to the Lord. In
51:37
Speaker 1: Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha and Greek, her
51:41
Speaker 1: name is Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping
51:45
Speaker 1: the poor. About that time she became sick and died,
51:49
Speaker 1: and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.
51:53
Speaker 1: Lida was near Joppa, so when the disciples heard that
51:57
Speaker 1: Peter was in Lilida, they sent two men to him
52:00
Speaker 1: and urged him please come at once. Peter went with them,
52:06
Speaker 1: and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room.
52:11
Speaker 1: All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him
52:15
Speaker 1: the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while
52:18
Speaker 1: she was still with them. Peter sent them out of
52:22
Speaker 1: the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed.
52:27
Speaker 1: Turning toward the dead woman, he said, Tabitha, get up.
52:35
Speaker 1: She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
52:41
Speaker 1: He took her by the hand and helped her to
52:43
Speaker 1: her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows,
52:48
Speaker 1: and presented her to them alive. This became known all
52:55
Speaker 1: over Jappa, and many.
52:57
Speaker 2: People believed in the Lord.
53:00
Speaker 1: Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tailor
53:04
Speaker 1: named Simon. Acts ten at Caesarea, there is a man
53:13
Speaker 1: named Cornelius, a centurion what was known as the Italian Regiment.
53:19
Speaker 1: He and all his family were devout in God fearing.
53:22
Speaker 1: He gave generously to those in need and pray to
53:25
Speaker 1: God regularly. One day, about three in the afternoon, he
53:30
Speaker 1: had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God
53:35
Speaker 1: who came to him and said Cornelius. Cornelius stared at
53:41
Speaker 1: him in fear. Oh what is it, Lord, he asked.
53:45
Speaker 1: The angel answered, your prayers and gifts to the poor
53:49
Speaker 1: have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now
53:53
Speaker 1: send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon,
53:56
Speaker 1: who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner,
54:00
Speaker 1: whose house is by the sea. When the angel who
54:04
Speaker 1: spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his
54:07
Speaker 1: servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.
54:11
Speaker 1: He told them everything that had happened and sent them
54:14
Speaker 1: to Joppa. About noon the following day, as they were
54:18
Speaker 1: on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up
54:22
Speaker 1: on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted
54:25
Speaker 1: something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared,
54:28
Speaker 1: he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and
54:34
Speaker 1: something like a large sheet being let down to earth
54:37
Speaker 1: by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four
54:40
Speaker 1: footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a
54:45
Speaker 1: voice told him, get up, Peter, kill and eat. Surely not,
54:53
Speaker 1: Lord Peter replied, I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.
55:00
Speaker 1: Spoke to him a second time. Do not call anything
55:04
Speaker 1: impure that God has made clean. This happened three times,
55:11
Speaker 1: and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While
55:15
Speaker 1: Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the
55:18
Speaker 1: men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was
55:21
Speaker 1: and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon,
55:25
Speaker 1: who was known as Peter, was staying there. While Peter
55:29
Speaker 1: was still thinking about the vision, the spirit said to him, Simon,
55:33
Speaker 1: three men are looking for you, so get up and
55:36
Speaker 1: go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for
55:41
Speaker 1: I have sent them. Peter went down and said to
55:44
Speaker 1: the men, I'm the one you're looking for.
55:48
Speaker 2: Why have you come.
55:50
Speaker 1: The men replied, we have come from Cornelius the Centurion.
55:55
Speaker 1: He is a righteous and god fearing man who is
55:57
Speaker 1: respected by all.
55:58
Speaker 2: The Jewish people.
56:00
Speaker 1: A holy angel told him to ask you to come
56:03
Speaker 1: to his house so that he could hear what you
56:05
Speaker 1: have to say. Then Peter invited the men into the
56:10
Speaker 1: house to be his guests. The next day, Peter started
56:14
Speaker 1: out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa
56:16
Speaker 1: went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius
56:22
Speaker 1: was expecting them and had called together his relatives and
56:25
Speaker 1: close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him
56:31
Speaker 1: and fell at his feet in reverence, but Peter made
56:34
Speaker 1: him get up. Stand up. He said, I am only
56:38
Speaker 1: a man myself. While talking with him, Peter went inside
56:43
Speaker 1: and found a large gathering of people. He said to them,
56:49
Speaker 1: you are well aware that it is against our law
56:51
Speaker 1: for a Jew to associate with or visit a gentile.
56:56
Speaker 1: But God has shown me that I should not call
56:58
Speaker 1: any one impure. Old were unclean. So when I was
57:03
Speaker 1: sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I
57:08
Speaker 1: ask why you sent for me, Cornelius answered, three days ago.
57:14
Speaker 1: I was in my house praying at this hour, at
57:16
Speaker 1: three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes
57:21
Speaker 1: stood before me and said, Cornelius, God has heard your
57:25
Speaker 1: prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to
57:28
Speaker 1: Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a
57:31
Speaker 1: guest in the home of Simon the Tanner, who lives
57:34
Speaker 1: by the sea. So I sent for you immediately, and
57:38
Speaker 1: it was good of you to come.
57:41
Speaker 2: Now.
57:41
Speaker 1: We are all here in the presence of God to
57:44
Speaker 1: listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.
57:49
Speaker 1: Then Peter began to speak. I now realize how true
57:54
Speaker 1: it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts
57:58
Speaker 1: from every nation the one who fears Him and does
58:01
Speaker 1: what is right. You know the message God sent to
58:04
Speaker 1: the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace
58:07
Speaker 1: through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know
58:11
Speaker 1: what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in
58:14
Speaker 1: Galilee after the baptism that John preached how God anointed
58:18
Speaker 1: Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and
58:22
Speaker 1: how he went around doing good in healing all who
58:25
Speaker 1: were under the power of the devil. Because God was
58:28
Speaker 1: with him. We are witnesses of everything he did. In
58:31
Speaker 1: the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem, they killed
58:35
Speaker 1: him by hanging him on a cross. But God raised
58:39
Speaker 1: him from the dead on the third day and caused
58:42
Speaker 1: him to be seen. He was not seen by all
58:45
Speaker 1: the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen,
58:50
Speaker 1: by us, who ate and drank with him. After he
58:53
Speaker 1: rose from the dead, he commanded us to preach to
58:56
Speaker 1: the people and to testify that he is the one
58:59
Speaker 1: whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
59:03
Speaker 1: All the prophets testify about him, that everyone who believes
59:06
Speaker 1: in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While
59:13
Speaker 1: Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came
59:17
Speaker 1: on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who
59:22
Speaker 1: had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of
59:24
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on gentiles,
59:28
Speaker 1: for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
59:34
Speaker 1: Then Peter said, surely, no one can stand in the
59:38
Speaker 1: way of their being baptized with water. They have received
59:42
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit just as we have. So he ordered
59:47
Speaker 1: that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
59:50
Speaker 1: Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a.
59:53
Speaker 2: Few days.
59:57
Speaker 1: Acts eleven, and the believers throughout Judea heard that the
1:00:02
Speaker 1: Gentiles also had received the Word of God. So when
1:00:06
Speaker 1: Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
1:00:10
Speaker 1: and said, you went into the house of uncircumcised men
1:00:14
Speaker 1: and ate with them. Starting from the beginning, Peter told
1:00:19
Speaker 1: them the whole story. I was in the city of
1:00:22
Speaker 1: Japa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.
1:00:27
Speaker 1: I saw something like a large sheet being let down
1:00:30
Speaker 1: from heaven by its four corners, and it came down
1:00:33
Speaker 1: to where I was. I looked into it and saw
1:00:36
Speaker 1: four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds.
1:00:42
Speaker 1: Then I heard a voice telling me get up, Peter,
1:00:46
Speaker 1: kill and eat. I replied, surely not, Lord, nothing impure
1:00:53
Speaker 1: or unclean has ever entered my mouth. The voice spoke
1:00:57
Speaker 1: from heaven a second time, if anything impure that God
1:01:01
Speaker 1: has made clean. This happened three times, and then it
1:01:07
Speaker 1: was all pulled up to heaven again. Right then, three
1:01:11
Speaker 1: men who had been sent to me from Caesareas stopped
1:01:13
Speaker 1: at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told
1:01:17
Speaker 1: me to have no hesitation about going with them. These
1:01:20
Speaker 1: six brothers also went with me, and we entered the
1:01:23
Speaker 1: man's house. He told us how he had seen an
1:01:26
Speaker 1: angel appear in his house, and say, send to Joppa
1:01:30
Speaker 1: for Simon, who is called Peter. He will bring you
1:01:33
Speaker 1: a message through which you and all your household will
1:01:36
Speaker 1: be saved. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit
1:01:41
Speaker 1: came on them as he had come on us at
1:01:43
Speaker 1: the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said,
1:01:48
Speaker 1: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with
1:01:51
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. So if God gave them the same
1:01:56
Speaker 1: gift he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:02:00
Speaker 1: who was I to think that I could stand in
1:02:02
Speaker 1: God's way. When they heard this, they had no further
1:02:07
Speaker 1: objections and praised God, saying so then, even to gentiles,
1:02:14
Speaker 1: God has granted repentance that leads to life. Now those
1:02:19
Speaker 1: who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out
1:02:22
Speaker 1: when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus,
1:02:26
Speaker 1: and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however,
1:02:31
Speaker 1: men from Cyprus and Syreene, went to Antioch and began
1:02:35
Speaker 1: to speak to Greeks, also telling them the good news
1:02:38
Speaker 1: about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them,
1:02:42
Speaker 1: and a great number of people believed and turned to
1:02:45
Speaker 1: the Lord. News of this reached the Church in Jerusalem,
1:02:49
Speaker 1: and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and
1:02:52
Speaker 1: saw what the grace of God had done, he was
1:02:55
Speaker 1: glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the
1:02:59
Speaker 1: Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man,
1:03:04
Speaker 1: full of the Holy Spirit in faith, and a great
1:03:07
Speaker 1: number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas
1:03:11
Speaker 1: went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he
1:03:14
Speaker 1: found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a
1:03:18
Speaker 1: whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the Church and
1:03:22
Speaker 1: taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians
1:03:27
Speaker 1: first at Antioch. During this time, some prophets came down
1:03:32
Speaker 1: from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood
1:03:36
Speaker 1: up and through the spirit predicted that a severe famine
1:03:39
Speaker 1: would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during
1:03:44
Speaker 1: the reign of Claudius. The disciples, as each one was able,
1:03:49
Speaker 1: decided to provide help for their brothers and sisters living
1:03:52
Speaker 1: in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the
1:03:56
Speaker 1: elders by Barnabas and Saul Acts twelve. It was about
1:04:05
Speaker 1: this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to
1:04:08
Speaker 1: the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the
1:04:13
Speaker 1: brother of John, put to death with the sword. When
1:04:17
Speaker 1: he saw that this met with approval among the Jews,
1:04:19
Speaker 1: he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the
1:04:23
Speaker 1: festival of unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him
1:04:27
Speaker 1: in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four
1:04:30
Speaker 1: squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him
1:04:35
Speaker 1: out for public trial after the passover. So Peter was
1:04:40
Speaker 1: kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to
1:04:43
Speaker 1: God for him. The night before Herod was to bring
1:04:46
Speaker 1: him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound
1:04:51
Speaker 1: with two chains, and centuries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly,
1:04:57
Speaker 1: an angel of the Lord appeared in a light shade
1:05:00
Speaker 1: in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and
1:05:03
Speaker 1: woke him up. Quick, get up, he said, and the
1:05:08
Speaker 1: chains fell off Peter's wrists, and the Angel said to him,
1:05:13
Speaker 1: put on your clothes and sandals, and Peter did so.
1:05:17
Speaker 2: Wrap your cloak.
1:05:18
Speaker 1: Around you, and follow me, the angel told him. Peter
1:05:22
Speaker 1: followed him out of the prison, but he had no
1:05:25
Speaker 1: idea that what the angel was doing was really happening.
1:05:29
Speaker 1: He thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the
1:05:32
Speaker 1: first and second guards and came to the iron gate
1:05:35
Speaker 1: leading to the city. It was opened for them by itself,
1:05:40
Speaker 1: and they went through it. When they had walked the
1:05:43
Speaker 1: length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then
1:05:47
Speaker 1: Peter came to himself and said, now I know without
1:05:51
Speaker 1: a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and
1:05:54
Speaker 1: rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish
1:05:57
Speaker 1: people were hoping would happen. When this had dawned on him,
1:06:03
Speaker 1: he went to the house of Mary, the mother of
1:06:05
Speaker 1: John also called Mark, where many people had gathered and
1:06:09
Speaker 1: were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a
1:06:14
Speaker 1: servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she
1:06:19
Speaker 1: recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back
1:06:22
Speaker 1: without opening it and exclaimed, Peter is at the door.
1:06:27
Speaker 1: You're out of your mind, they told her. When she
1:06:31
Speaker 1: kept insisting that it was so, they said it must
1:06:34
Speaker 1: be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking, and when
1:06:40
Speaker 1: they opened the door and saw.
1:06:41
Speaker 2: Him, they were astonished.
1:06:45
Speaker 1: Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet,
1:06:48
Speaker 1: and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison.
1:06:52
Speaker 1: Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,
1:06:55
Speaker 1: he said, and then he left for another place, warning.
1:07:01
Speaker 1: There was no small commotion among the soldiers as to
1:07:03
Speaker 1: what had become of Peter. After Herod had a thorough
1:07:07
Speaker 1: search made for him and did not find him, he
1:07:09
Speaker 1: cross examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
1:07:15
Speaker 1: Then Herod went from Judea to Caesa Rhea and stayed there.
1:07:21
Speaker 1: He had been quarreling with the people of Tire and Sidon.
1:07:24
Speaker 1: They now joined together and sought an audience with him.
1:07:28
Speaker 1: After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant
1:07:32
Speaker 1: of the king, they asked for peace because they depended
1:07:35
Speaker 1: on the King's country for their food supply. On the
1:07:39
Speaker 1: appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his
1:07:43
Speaker 1: throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted,
1:07:47
Speaker 1: this is the voice of a God, not of a man. Immediately,
1:07:52
Speaker 1: because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel
1:07:56
Speaker 1: of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten
1:07:59
Speaker 1: by worm and died. But the word of God continued
1:08:04
Speaker 1: to spread and flourish. When Barnabas and Saul had finished
1:08:09
Speaker 1: their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John
1:08:14
Speaker 1: also called Mark Acts chapter thirteen. Now in the church
1:08:23
Speaker 1: at Antioch there were prophets and teachers Barnabas Simeon called Niger,
1:08:28
Speaker 1: Lucius of Syreene Menaean, who had been brought up with Herod,
1:08:32
Speaker 1: the Tetrarch.
1:08:34
Speaker 2: And Saul.
1:08:35
Speaker 1: While they were worshiping the Lord in fasting, the Holy
1:08:38
Speaker 1: Spirit said, set apart from me, Barnabas and Saul, for
1:08:42
Speaker 1: the work to which I have called them. So after
1:08:45
Speaker 1: they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on
1:08:48
Speaker 1: them and sent them off. The two of them, sent
1:08:53
Speaker 1: on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to
1:08:56
Speaker 1: Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived
1:08:59
Speaker 1: at Salamus, they proclaimed the word of God in the
1:09:02
Speaker 1: Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. They
1:09:08
Speaker 1: traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.
1:09:11
Speaker 1: There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named
1:09:15
Speaker 1: bar Jesus, who was an attendant of the Proconsul Sergius Paulus.
1:09:20
Speaker 1: The Proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul
1:09:23
Speaker 1: because he wanted.
1:09:24
Speaker 2: To hear the word of God.
1:09:27
Speaker 1: But Alimis the sorcerer, for that is what his name means,
1:09:31
Speaker 1: opposed them and tried to turn the Proconsul from the faith.
1:09:35
Speaker 1: Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the
1:09:39
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, looked straight at Alimas and said, you are
1:09:44
Speaker 1: a child of the devil and an enemy of everything
1:09:47
Speaker 1: that is right. You are full of all kinds of
1:09:50
Speaker 1: deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right
1:09:53
Speaker 1: ways of the Lord. Now the hand of the Lord
1:09:56
Speaker 1: is against you. You are going to be blind for
1:09:59
Speaker 1: a time, not even able to see the light of
1:10:02
Speaker 1: the sun. Immediately, mist and darkness came over him, and
1:10:07
Speaker 1: he groped about, seeking some one to lead him by
1:10:10
Speaker 1: the hand. When the Proconsul saw what had happened, he believed,
1:10:17
Speaker 1: for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
1:10:22
Speaker 1: From Paphos. Paul and his companion sailed to Perga in Pamphylia,
1:10:27
Speaker 1: where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga,
1:10:31
Speaker 1: they went on to Posidian, Antioch. On the Sabbath, they
1:10:35
Speaker 1: entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from
1:10:38
Speaker 1: the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue
1:10:41
Speaker 1: sent word to them, saying, brothers, if you have a
1:10:45
Speaker 1: word of exhortation.
1:10:46
Speaker 2: For the people, please speak.
1:10:49
Speaker 1: Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said, fellow
1:10:54
Speaker 1: Israelites and you gentiles who worship God, listen to me.
1:11:00
Speaker 1: The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors.
1:11:03
Speaker 1: He made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt.
1:11:06
Speaker 1: With mighty power. He led them out of that country
1:11:10
Speaker 1: for about forty years. He endured their conduct in the wilderness,
1:11:14
Speaker 1: and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land
1:11:18
Speaker 1: to his people as their inheritance. All this took about
1:11:22
Speaker 1: four hundred fifty years. After this, God gave them judges
1:11:27
Speaker 1: until the time of Samuel the Prophet. Then the people
1:11:31
Speaker 1: asked for a king and he gave them Saul, son
1:11:34
Speaker 1: of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
1:11:39
Speaker 1: After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified
1:11:43
Speaker 1: concerning him, I have found David's son of Jesse, a
1:11:48
Speaker 1: man after my own heart. He will do everything I
1:11:52
Speaker 1: want him to do. From this man's descendants, God has
1:11:56
Speaker 1: brought to Israel the savior Jesus.
1:11:58
Speaker 2: As he promised.
1:12:01
Speaker 1: Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism
1:12:04
Speaker 1: to all the people of Israel. As John was completing
1:12:08
Speaker 1: his work, he said, who do you suppose I am.
1:12:13
Speaker 1: I am not the one you are looking for, But
1:12:16
Speaker 1: there is one coming after me whose sandals I am
1:12:19
Speaker 1: not worthy to untie. Fellow children of Abraham, and you
1:12:24
Speaker 1: God fearing gentiles, it is to us that this message
1:12:28
Speaker 1: of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and
1:12:32
Speaker 1: their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning them,
1:12:37
Speaker 1: they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read
1:12:40
Speaker 1: every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a
1:12:44
Speaker 1: death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When
1:12:49
Speaker 1: they had carried out all that was written about him,
1:12:52
Speaker 1: they took him down from the cross and laid him
1:12:54
Speaker 1: in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead,
1:12:59
Speaker 1: and for many days he was seen by those who
1:13:01
Speaker 1: had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are
1:13:04
Speaker 1: now his witnesses to our people.
1:13:08
Speaker 2: We tell you the good news.
1:13:10
Speaker 1: What God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us
1:13:14
Speaker 1: their children by raising up Jesus. As it is written
1:13:19
Speaker 1: in the second Psalm, you are my son today I
1:13:23
Speaker 1: become your father. God raised him from the dead so
1:13:27
Speaker 1: that he will never be subject to decay.
1:13:31
Speaker 2: As God has said, I.
1:13:32
Speaker 1: Will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.
1:13:37
Speaker 1: So it is also stated elsewhere, you will not let
1:13:40
Speaker 1: your holy ones see decay. Now, when David had served
1:13:44
Speaker 1: God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. He
1:13:49
Speaker 1: was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. But
1:13:53
Speaker 1: the one whom God raised from the dead did not
1:13:56
Speaker 1: see decay. Therefore, my friends, I want you to know
1:14:02
Speaker 1: that through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
1:14:07
Speaker 1: Through Him, every one who believes is set free from
1:14:10
Speaker 1: every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain
1:14:14
Speaker 1: under the law of Moses. Take care, though what the
1:14:18
Speaker 1: prophets have said does not happen to you. Look, you scoffers,
1:14:24
Speaker 1: wonder and perish, for I am going to do something
1:14:28
Speaker 1: in your days that you would never believe even if
1:14:31
Speaker 1: someone told you. As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue,
1:14:37
Speaker 1: the people invited them to speak further about these things
1:14:40
Speaker 1: on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many
1:14:44
Speaker 1: of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul
1:14:48
Speaker 1: and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to
1:14:52
Speaker 1: continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath,
1:14:57
Speaker 1: almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of
1:14:59
Speaker 1: the Lae Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they
1:15:04
Speaker 1: were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul
1:15:08
Speaker 1: was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and
1:15:13
Speaker 1: Barnabas answered them boldly, we had to speak the word
1:15:17
Speaker 1: of God to you first, since you reject it and
1:15:21
Speaker 1: do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life. We now
1:15:25
Speaker 1: turn to the gentiles. For this is what the Lord
1:15:29
Speaker 1: has commanded us.
1:15:31
Speaker 2: I have made you a light for.
1:15:33
Speaker 1: The gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends
1:15:37
Speaker 1: of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this, they were
1:15:41
Speaker 1: glad and honored the word of the Lord, and all
1:15:45
Speaker 1: who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of
1:15:51
Speaker 1: the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish
1:15:54
Speaker 1: leaders incited the god fearing women of high standing and
1:15:57
Speaker 1: the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution
1:16:01
Speaker 1: against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region.
1:16:06
Speaker 1: So they shook the dust off their feet as a
1:16:08
Speaker 1: warning to them, and went to Iconium, and the disciples
1:16:13
Speaker 1: were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit Acts fourteen.
1:16:23
Speaker 1: At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the
1:16:26
Speaker 1: Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great
1:16:30
Speaker 1: number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews, who
1:16:34
Speaker 1: refused to believe, stirred up the other gentiles and poisoned
1:16:38
Speaker 1: their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent
1:16:42
Speaker 1: considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed
1:16:47
Speaker 1: the message of his grace by enabling them to perform
1:16:49
Speaker 1: signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided.
1:16:54
Speaker 1: Some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There
1:16:59
Speaker 1: was a plot of foot among both Gentiles and Jews,
1:17:02
Speaker 1: together with their leaders to mistreat them and stone them.
1:17:07
Speaker 1: But they found out about it and fled to the
1:17:09
Speaker 1: Laconian cities of Lystra and Derby, and to the surrounding country,
1:17:14
Speaker 1: where they continued to preach the gospel and listra There
1:17:18
Speaker 1: sat a man who was lame, who had been that
1:17:21
Speaker 1: way from birth and had never walked. He listened to
1:17:25
Speaker 1: Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him,
1:17:30
Speaker 1: saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out,
1:17:34
Speaker 1: stand up on your feet. At that, the man jumped
1:17:39
Speaker 1: up and began to walk. When the crowd saw what
1:17:43
Speaker 1: Paul had done, they shouted in Laconian language, the gods
1:17:47
Speaker 1: have come down to us in human form. Barnabas they
1:17:51
Speaker 1: called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was
1:17:53
Speaker 1: the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was
1:17:57
Speaker 1: just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the
1:18:00
Speaker 1: city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer
1:18:03
Speaker 1: sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul
1:18:07
Speaker 1: heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out
1:18:11
Speaker 1: into the crowd, shouting, friends, why are you doing this?
1:18:16
Speaker 1: We too are only human like you. We are bringing
1:18:20
Speaker 1: you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless
1:18:24
Speaker 1: things to the Living God, who made the heavens and
1:18:27
Speaker 1: the earth, and the sea and everything in them. In
1:18:31
Speaker 1: the past, he let all nations go their own way.
1:18:35
Speaker 1: Yet he has not left himself without testimony. He has
1:18:38
Speaker 1: shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops
1:18:41
Speaker 1: in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of food
1:18:45
Speaker 1: and fills your hearts with joy. Even with these words,
1:18:51
Speaker 1: they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
1:18:55
Speaker 1: Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won
1:18:59
Speaker 1: the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside
1:19:04
Speaker 1: the city, thinking he was dead, but after the disciples
1:19:09
Speaker 1: had gathered around him, he got up and went back
1:19:12
Speaker 1: into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left
1:19:16
Speaker 1: for Derby. They preached the gospel in that city and
1:19:20
Speaker 1: won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium,
1:19:26
Speaker 1: and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain
1:19:31
Speaker 1: true to the faith. We must go through many hardships
1:19:35
Speaker 1: to enter the Kingdom of God, they said. Paul and
1:19:38
Speaker 1: Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, and with
1:19:42
Speaker 1: prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom.
1:19:46
Speaker 2: They had put their trust.
1:19:48
Speaker 1: After going through Pisidia, they came to Pamphilia, and when
1:19:53
Speaker 1: they had preached the Word in Perga, they went down
1:19:56
Speaker 1: to Italia. From Italia they sailed by to Antioch, where
1:20:01
Speaker 1: they had been committed to the grace of God for
1:20:03
Speaker 1: the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they
1:20:07
Speaker 1: gathered the church together and reported all that God had
1:20:11
Speaker 1: done through them, and how He had opened a door
1:20:14
Speaker 1: of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a
1:20:18
Speaker 1: long time with the disciples. Acts fifteen. Certain people came
1:20:27
Speaker 1: from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, unless
1:20:32
Speaker 1: you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses,
1:20:35
Speaker 1: you cannot be saved. This brought Paul and Barnabas into
1:20:39
Speaker 1: sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas
1:20:43
Speaker 1: were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up
1:20:46
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
1:20:51
Speaker 1: The church sent them on their way, and as they
1:20:54
Speaker 1: traveled through Phoenicia in Samaria, they told how the Gentiles
1:20:58
Speaker 1: had been converted.
1:21:01
Speaker 2: This news made.
1:21:01
Speaker 1: All the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem,
1:21:06
Speaker 1: they were welcomed by the Church and the apostles and elders,
1:21:09
Speaker 1: to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
1:21:14
Speaker 1: Then some of the believers who belonged to the party
1:21:16
Speaker 1: of the Pharisees stood up and said the Gentiles must
1:21:20
Speaker 1: be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.
1:21:24
Speaker 1: The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After
1:21:29
Speaker 1: much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them, brothers, you
1:21:35
Speaker 1: know that some time ago God made a choice among
1:21:38
Speaker 1: you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the
1:21:41
Speaker 1: message of the Gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart,
1:21:47
Speaker 1: showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit
1:21:50
Speaker 1: to them, just as he did to us. He did
1:21:55
Speaker 1: not discriminate between us and them, for He purified their
1:21:58
Speaker 1: hearts by faith. Now, then, why do you try to
1:22:03
Speaker 1: test God by putting on the necks of gentiles a
1:22:06
Speaker 1: yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able
1:22:10
Speaker 1: to bear. No we believe it is through the grace
1:22:15
Speaker 1: of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as
1:22:18
Speaker 1: they are. The whole assembly became silent as they listened
1:22:23
Speaker 1: to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders
1:22:26
Speaker 1: God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished,
1:22:32
Speaker 1: James spoke up, brothers, He said, listen to me. Simon
1:22:40
Speaker 1: has described to us how God first intervened to choose
1:22:43
Speaker 1: a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words
1:22:48
Speaker 1: of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it
1:22:51
Speaker 1: is written. After this, I will return and rebuild David's
1:22:55
Speaker 1: fallen tent. It's ruins, I will rebuild, and I will
1:23:00
Speaker 1: restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
1:23:03
Speaker 1: even all the gentiles who bear my name, says the
1:23:07
Speaker 1: Lord who does these things, things known from long ago.
1:23:13
Speaker 1: It is my judgment therefore, that we should not make
1:23:17
Speaker 1: it difficult for the gentiles who are.
1:23:19
Speaker 2: Turning to God.
1:23:21
Speaker 1: Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain
1:23:24
Speaker 1: from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the
1:23:29
Speaker 1: meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
1:23:33
Speaker 2: For the Law of.
1:23:33
Speaker 1: Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest
1:23:36
Speaker 1: times and has read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.
1:23:43
Speaker 1: Then the apostles and Elders, with the whole church, decided
1:23:46
Speaker 1: to choose some of their own men and send them
1:23:48
Speaker 1: to Antioch. With Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called
1:23:53
Speaker 1: Barsabas and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.
1:24:00
Speaker 1: With them, they sent the following letter, the Apostles and Elders,
1:24:04
Speaker 1: your brothers, to the gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.
1:24:10
Speaker 2: Greetings, we have heard.
1:24:13
Speaker 1: That some went out from us without our authorization and
1:24:16
Speaker 1: disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So
1:24:20
Speaker 1: we all agreed to choose some men and send them
1:24:23
Speaker 1: to you, with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, men
1:24:27
Speaker 1: who have risked their lives for the name of our
1:24:29
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas
1:24:34
Speaker 1: to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
1:24:38
Speaker 1: It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us
1:24:41
Speaker 1: not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.
1:24:45
Speaker 1: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood,
1:24:50
Speaker 1: from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.
1:24:54
Speaker 1: You will do well to avoid these things.
1:24:58
Speaker 2: Farewell.
1:25:01
Speaker 1: So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch,
1:25:04
Speaker 1: where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
1:25:08
Speaker 1: The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
1:25:12
Speaker 1: Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to
1:25:16
Speaker 1: encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there,
1:25:21
Speaker 1: they were sent off by the believers with the blessing
1:25:23
Speaker 1: of peace, to return to those who had sent them.
1:25:27
Speaker 1: But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and
1:25:31
Speaker 1: many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
1:25:36
Speaker 1: Some time later, Paul said to Barnabas, let us go
1:25:40
Speaker 1: back and visit the believers in all the towns where
1:25:43
Speaker 1: we preached the word of the Lord, and see how
1:25:45
Speaker 1: they are doing. Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,
1:25:50
Speaker 1: with them, but Paul did not think it wise to
1:25:53
Speaker 1: take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphilia and
1:25:57
Speaker 1: had not continued with them in the work. They had
1:26:00
Speaker 1: such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took
1:26:05
Speaker 1: Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left,
1:26:10
Speaker 1: commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.
1:26:14
Speaker 1: He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Acts sixteen,
1:26:26
Speaker 1: Paul came to Derby and then to Lystra, where a
1:26:28
Speaker 1: disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a Believer,
1:26:33
Speaker 1: but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra
1:26:36
Speaker 1: and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take
1:26:40
Speaker 1: him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because
1:26:43
Speaker 1: of the Jews who lived in that area, for they
1:26:46
Speaker 1: all knew that his father was a Greek. As they
1:26:49
Speaker 1: traveled down from town to town, they delivered the decisions
1:26:52
Speaker 1: reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the
1:26:55
Speaker 1: people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the
1:26:59
Speaker 1: faith and grew daily in numbers. Paul and his companions
1:27:03
Speaker 1: traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galacia, having been
1:27:07
Speaker 1: kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in
1:27:10
Speaker 1: the province of Asia. When they came to the border
1:27:13
Speaker 1: of Mycia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit
1:27:17
Speaker 1: of Jesus would not allow them to, so they passed
1:27:20
Speaker 1: by Mycia and went down to Troas. During the night,
1:27:24
Speaker 1: Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing
1:27:27
Speaker 1: and begging him come over to Macedonia and help us.
1:27:32
Speaker 1: After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at
1:27:34
Speaker 1: once to leave from Macedonia, concluding that God had called
1:27:38
Speaker 1: us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas, we
1:27:41
Speaker 1: put out to sea and sailed straight for Samathras, and
1:27:45
Speaker 1: the next day we went to Neapolis. From there we
1:27:49
Speaker 1: traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city
1:27:52
Speaker 1: of that district of Macedonia, and we stayed there for
1:27:55
Speaker 1: several days. On the Sabbath, we went outside the city
1:27:59
Speaker 1: gate to the river, where we expected to find a
1:28:01
Speaker 1: place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak
1:28:04
Speaker 1: to the women.
1:28:05
Speaker 2: Who had gathered there.
1:28:07
Speaker 1: One of those listening was a woman from the city
1:28:09
Speaker 1: of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She
1:28:15
Speaker 1: was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart
1:28:19
Speaker 1: to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members
1:28:22
Speaker 1: of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.
1:28:26
Speaker 1: If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said,
1:28:29
Speaker 1: come and stay at my house, and she persuaded us. Once,
1:28:35
Speaker 1: when we were going to the place of prayer, we
1:28:37
Speaker 1: were met by a female slave who had a spirit
1:28:40
Speaker 1: by which she predicted the future. She earned a great
1:28:43
Speaker 1: deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. She
1:28:47
Speaker 1: followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, these men
1:28:50
Speaker 1: are servants of the Most High God, who are telling.
1:28:53
Speaker 2: You the way to be saved.
1:28:55
Speaker 1: She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became
1:29:00
Speaker 1: so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit,
1:29:03
Speaker 1: in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to
1:29:06
Speaker 1: come out of her. At that moment, the spirit left her.
1:29:12
Speaker 1: When her owners realized that their hope of making money
1:29:15
Speaker 1: was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them
1:29:19
Speaker 1: into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them
1:29:23
Speaker 1: before the magistrates and said, these men are Jews and
1:29:28
Speaker 1: are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs
1:29:32
Speaker 1: unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. The crowd
1:29:37
Speaker 1: joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the
1:29:40
Speaker 1: magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.
1:29:45
Speaker 1: After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into
1:29:48
Speaker 1: prison and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
1:29:53
Speaker 1: When he received these orders, he put them in the
1:29:55
Speaker 1: inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. After midnight,
1:30:01
Speaker 1: Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
1:30:05
Speaker 1: and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there
1:30:09
Speaker 1: was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the
1:30:12
Speaker 1: prison were shaken. At once. All the prison doors flew open,
1:30:17
Speaker 1: and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and
1:30:22
Speaker 1: when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his
1:30:25
Speaker 1: sword and was about to kill himself because he thought
1:30:28
Speaker 1: the prisoners had escaped, but Paul shouted, don't harm yourself,
1:30:34
Speaker 1: we are all here. The jailer called for lights, rushed
1:30:39
Speaker 1: in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then
1:30:44
Speaker 1: brought them out and asked, sirs, what must I do
1:30:49
Speaker 1: to be saved. They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus,
1:30:55
Speaker 1: and you will be saved, you and your household. Then
1:31:01
Speaker 1: they spoke the word of the Lord to him and
1:31:03
Speaker 1: to all the others in his house at that hour
1:31:06
Speaker 1: of the night. The jailer took them and washed their wounds.
1:31:09
Speaker 1: Then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The
1:31:14
Speaker 1: jailer brought them into his house and set a meal
1:31:17
Speaker 1: before them. He was filled with joy because he had
1:31:21
Speaker 1: come to believe in God, he and his whole household.
1:31:26
Speaker 1: When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to
1:31:30
Speaker 1: the jailer with the order release those men. The jailer
1:31:35
Speaker 1: told Paul, the magistrates have ordered that you and Silas
1:31:39
Speaker 1: be released. Now you can leave, go in peace. But
1:31:47
Speaker 1: Paul said to the officers. They beat us publicly without
1:31:50
Speaker 1: a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw
1:31:53
Speaker 1: us into prison. And now do they want to get
1:31:56
Speaker 1: rid of us quietly? No, them, come themselves and escort
1:32:03
Speaker 1: us out. The officers reported this to the magistrates, and
1:32:08
Speaker 1: when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens,
1:32:12
Speaker 1: they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted
1:32:15
Speaker 1: them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
1:32:20
Speaker 1: After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they
1:32:22
Speaker 1: went to Lydia's house, where they met with their brothers
1:32:25
Speaker 1: and sisters and encouraged them.
1:32:28
Speaker 2: Then they left.
1:32:34
Speaker 1: Acts Chapter seventeen. When Paul and his companions had passed
1:32:39
Speaker 1: through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonika, where there
1:32:44
Speaker 1: was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went
1:32:48
Speaker 1: into the synagogue and on three Sabbath days he reasoned
1:32:52
Speaker 1: with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that the
1:32:56
Speaker 1: Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus,
1:33:01
Speaker 1: I am proclaiming to you as the Messiah, he said.
1:33:04
Speaker 1: Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,
1:33:08
Speaker 1: as did a large number of god fearing Greeks and
1:33:11
Speaker 1: quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous,
1:33:16
Speaker 1: so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace,
1:33:19
Speaker 1: formed a mob, and started a riot in the city.
1:33:23
Speaker 1: They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and
1:33:26
Speaker 1: Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd,
1:33:30
Speaker 1: but when they did not find them, they dragged Jason
1:33:33
Speaker 1: and some other believers before the city officials, shouting, these
1:33:37
Speaker 1: men who have caused trouble all over the world have
1:33:40
Speaker 1: now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house.
1:33:45
Speaker 1: They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is
1:33:48
Speaker 1: another king, one called Jesus. When they heard this, the
1:33:54
Speaker 1: crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then
1:33:58
Speaker 1: they made Jason in the other post bond and let
1:34:02
Speaker 1: them go.
1:34:05
Speaker 2: As soon as it was night.
1:34:06
Speaker 1: The believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On
1:34:10
Speaker 1: arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the
1:34:14
Speaker 1: Borean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonika,
1:34:18
Speaker 1: for they received the message with great eagerness and examined
1:34:22
Speaker 1: the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
1:34:25
Speaker 1: was true. As a result, many of them believed, as
1:34:31
Speaker 1: did also a number of prominent Greek women and many
1:34:34
Speaker 1: Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonaika learned that
1:34:38
Speaker 1: Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some
1:34:42
Speaker 1: of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring
1:34:45
Speaker 1: them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast,
1:34:50
Speaker 1: but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted
1:34:54
Speaker 1: Paul brought him to Athens, and then left with instructions
1:34:58
Speaker 1: for Silas and Timothy to him as soon as possible.
1:35:04
Speaker 1: While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was
1:35:06
Speaker 1: greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
1:35:11
Speaker 1: So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and
1:35:13
Speaker 1: god fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day
1:35:17
Speaker 1: by day with those who happened.
1:35:19
Speaker 2: To be there.
1:35:20
Speaker 1: A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate
1:35:24
Speaker 1: with him. Some of them asked, what is this babbler
1:35:29
Speaker 1: trying to say? Others remarked, he seems to be advocating
1:35:33
Speaker 1: foreign gods. They said this because Paul was preaching the
1:35:37
Speaker 1: good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took
1:35:41
Speaker 1: him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,
1:35:44
Speaker 1: where they said to him, may we know what this
1:35:47
Speaker 1: new teaching is that you are presenting. You are bringing
1:35:50
Speaker 1: some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like
1:35:53
Speaker 1: to know what they mean. All the Athenians and the
1:35:57
Speaker 1: foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but
1:35:59
Speaker 1: talking about and listening to the latest ideas. Paul then
1:36:05
Speaker 1: stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said,
1:36:09
Speaker 1: people of Athens, I see that in every way you
1:36:13
Speaker 1: are very religious. For as I walked around and looked
1:36:17
Speaker 1: carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an
1:36:21
Speaker 1: altar with this inscription to an unknown god.
1:36:26
Speaker 2: So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship.
1:36:29
Speaker 1: And this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
1:36:33
Speaker 1: The God who made the world and everything in it,
1:36:35
Speaker 1: is the Lord of heaven and earth, and does not
1:36:38
Speaker 1: live in temples built by human hands, and he is
1:36:42
Speaker 1: not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather,
1:36:47
Speaker 1: he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
1:36:51
Speaker 1: From one man. He made all the nations that they
1:36:55
Speaker 1: should inhabit the whole earth, and he marked out their
1:36:58
Speaker 1: appointed times and history and the boundaries of their lands.
1:37:02
Speaker 1: God did this so that they would seek him and
1:37:05
Speaker 1: perhaps reach out for him and find him. Though he
1:37:09
Speaker 1: is not far from any one of us, for in
1:37:12
Speaker 1: him we live and move and have our being. As
1:37:17
Speaker 1: some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring. Therefore,
1:37:25
Speaker 1: since we are God's offspring, we should not think that
1:37:28
Speaker 1: the divine Being is like gold or silver or stone,
1:37:32
Speaker 1: an image made by human design and skill. In the past,
1:37:37
Speaker 1: God overlooks such ignorance. But now he commands all people
1:37:41
Speaker 1: everywhere to repent, for He has set a day when
1:37:45
Speaker 1: he will judge the world with justice by the man
1:37:48
Speaker 1: he has appointed. He has given proof of this to
1:37:52
Speaker 1: everyone by raising him from the dead. When they heard
1:37:57
Speaker 1: about the resurrection of the dead, some of them but
1:38:01
Speaker 1: others said, we want to hear you again on this subject.
1:38:06
Speaker 1: At that Paul left the council. Some of the people
1:38:10
Speaker 1: became followers of Paul, and believed. Among them was Dionysius,
1:38:16
Speaker 1: a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Demarus,
1:38:20
Speaker 1: and a number of others. Acts eighteen after this, Paul
1:38:30
Speaker 1: left Athens and went to Corinth. Then he met a
1:38:33
Speaker 1: Jew named Aquilla, a native of Pontus, who had recently
1:38:37
Speaker 1: come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. Because Claudius had
1:38:40
Speaker 1: ordered all Jews to leave Rome, Paul went to see them,
1:38:45
Speaker 1: and because he was a tent maker as they were,
1:38:47
Speaker 1: he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath, he reasoned
1:38:52
Speaker 1: in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When
1:38:56
Speaker 1: Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively
1:39:01
Speaker 1: to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
1:39:06
Speaker 1: But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook
1:39:09
Speaker 1: his clothes and protest and said to them, your blood
1:39:13
Speaker 1: will be on your own heads. I am innocent of it.
1:39:17
Speaker 1: From now on, I will go to the Gentiles. Then
1:39:22
Speaker 1: Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the
1:39:24
Speaker 1: house of Titious Justice, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the
1:39:29
Speaker 1: synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord,
1:39:33
Speaker 1: and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and
1:39:36
Speaker 1: were baptized. One night, the Lord spoke to Paul in
1:39:40
Speaker 1: a vision. Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do
1:39:45
Speaker 1: not be silent, for I am with you, and no
1:39:49
Speaker 1: one is going to attack and harm you, because I
1:39:51
Speaker 1: have many people in this city. So Paul stayed in
1:39:56
Speaker 1: Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the
1:39:59
Speaker 1: word of God. While Gallio was pro consul of Achaiah.
1:40:04
Speaker 1: The Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul
1:40:07
Speaker 1: and brought him to the place of judgment. This man,
1:40:10
Speaker 1: they charged, is persuading the people to worship God and
1:40:14
Speaker 1: weighs contrary to the law. Just as Paul was about
1:40:18
Speaker 1: to speak, Gallio said to them, if you Jews were
1:40:21
Speaker 1: making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it
1:40:25
Speaker 1: would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But
1:40:28
Speaker 1: since it involves questions about words and names, and your
1:40:31
Speaker 1: own law. Settle the matter yourselves. I will not be
1:40:35
Speaker 1: a judge of such things. So he drove them off.
1:40:40
Speaker 1: Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue leader,
1:40:43
Speaker 1: and beat him in front of the proconsul, and Gallio
1:40:46
Speaker 1: showed no concern whatever. Paul stayed on in Corinth for
1:40:51
Speaker 1: some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and
1:40:55
Speaker 1: sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquilla. Before he sed,
1:41:00
Speaker 1: he had his hair cut off at Centrea because of
1:41:03
Speaker 1: a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where
1:41:07
Speaker 1: Paul left Priscilla and Aquilla. He himself went into the
1:41:10
Speaker 1: synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him
1:41:14
Speaker 1: to spend more time with them, he declined, but as
1:41:18
Speaker 1: he left, he promised, I will come back if it
1:41:21
Speaker 1: is God's will. Then he set sail from Ephesus. When
1:41:26
Speaker 1: he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and
1:41:29
Speaker 1: greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After
1:41:34
Speaker 1: spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there
1:41:37
Speaker 1: and traveled from place to place throughout the region of
1:41:40
Speaker 1: Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Meanwhile, a Jew
1:41:47
Speaker 1: named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He
1:41:51
Speaker 1: was a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures.
1:41:55
Speaker 1: He had been instructed in the way of the Lord,
1:41:58
Speaker 1: and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately.
1:42:02
Speaker 1: Though he knew only the Baptism of John, he began
1:42:07
Speaker 1: to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquilla
1:42:10
Speaker 1: heard him, they invited him to their home and explained
1:42:13
Speaker 1: to him the way of God more adequately. When Apollos
1:42:17
Speaker 1: wanted to go to Akiah, the brothers and sisters encouraged
1:42:21
Speaker 1: him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.
1:42:24
Speaker 1: When he arrived. He was a great help to those who,
1:42:28
Speaker 1: by grace had believed, for he vigorously refuted his Jewish
1:42:32
Speaker 1: opponents in public debate, proving from the scriptures that Jesus
1:42:38
Speaker 1: was the Messiah. Acts nineteen. When Apollos was at Corinth,
1:42:47
Speaker 1: Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.
1:42:51
Speaker 1: There he found some disciples and asked them, did you
1:42:54
Speaker 1: receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, no,
1:43:00
Speaker 1: we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.
1:43:03
Speaker 1: So Paul asked, then what baptism? Did you believe John's baptism?
1:43:09
Speaker 2: They replied.
1:43:10
Speaker 1: Paul said, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He
1:43:15
Speaker 1: told the people to believe in the one coming after him,
1:43:19
Speaker 1: that is in Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized
1:43:24
Speaker 1: in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed
1:43:27
Speaker 1: his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them,
1:43:30
Speaker 1: and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about
1:43:34
Speaker 1: twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke
1:43:39
Speaker 1: boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom
1:43:43
Speaker 1: of God. But some of them became obstinate. They refused
1:43:48
Speaker 1: to believe and publicly maligned the way, so Paul left them.
1:43:53
Speaker 1: He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily
1:43:56
Speaker 1: in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. They went on for
1:43:59
Speaker 1: two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who
1:44:03
Speaker 1: lived in the province of Asia heard the word of
1:44:06
Speaker 1: the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that
1:44:11
Speaker 1: even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken
1:44:14
Speaker 1: to the sick, and their illnesses were cured, and the
1:44:18
Speaker 1: evil spirits left them. Some Jews, who went around driving
1:44:22
Speaker 1: out evil spirits, tried to invoke the name of the
1:44:25
Speaker 1: Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They would say,
1:44:29
Speaker 1: in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I
1:44:32
Speaker 1: command you to come out. Seven sons of Skiva, a
1:44:36
Speaker 1: Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil
1:44:40
Speaker 1: spirit answered them, Jesus, I know, and Paul, I know about.
1:44:47
Speaker 2: But who are you.
1:44:49
Speaker 1: Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on
1:44:51
Speaker 1: them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a
1:44:55
Speaker 1: beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
1:45:00
Speaker 1: When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living
1:45:02
Speaker 1: in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the
1:45:06
Speaker 1: name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
1:45:10
Speaker 1: Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed
1:45:13
Speaker 1: what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery
1:45:17
Speaker 1: brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they
1:45:21
Speaker 1: calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to
1:45:25
Speaker 1: fifty thousand drachmas. In this way, the word of the
1:45:30
Speaker 1: Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this
1:45:34
Speaker 1: had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through
1:45:38
Speaker 1: Macedonia and Achaiah. After I have been there, he said,
1:45:44
Speaker 1: I must visit Rome.
1:45:45
Speaker 2: Also.
1:45:47
Speaker 1: He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia,
1:45:51
Speaker 1: while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
1:45:55
Speaker 1: About that time, there arose a great disturbance about the way.
1:45:58
Speaker 1: A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis,
1:46:03
Speaker 1: brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
1:46:06
Speaker 1: He called them together, along with the workers in related trades,
1:46:09
Speaker 1: and said, you know, my friends, that we receive a
1:46:13
Speaker 1: good income from this business. And you see and hear
1:46:16
Speaker 1: how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large
1:46:20
Speaker 1: numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole.
1:46:24
Speaker 2: Province of Asia.
1:46:26
Speaker 1: He says that gods made by human hands are no
1:46:28
Speaker 1: gods at all. There is danger not only that our
1:46:32
Speaker 1: trade will lose its good name, but also that the
1:46:35
Speaker 1: temple of the great Goddess Artemis will be discredited, and
1:46:40
Speaker 1: the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia,
1:46:43
Speaker 1: and the world will be robbed of her divine majesty.
1:46:50
Speaker 1: When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting
1:46:54
Speaker 1: Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians. Soon the whole city
1:46:58
Speaker 1: was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus,
1:47:03
Speaker 1: Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed
1:47:07
Speaker 1: into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd,
1:47:11
Speaker 1: but the disciples would not let him. Even some of
1:47:14
Speaker 1: the officials of the province. Friends of Paul sent him
1:47:17
Speaker 1: a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
1:47:22
Speaker 1: The assembly was in confusion. Some were shouting one thing,
1:47:27
Speaker 1: some another. Most of the people did not even know
1:47:30
Speaker 1: why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed
1:47:33
Speaker 1: Alexander to the front and they shouted instructions to him.
1:47:38
Speaker 1: He motioned for silence in the order to make a
1:47:41
Speaker 1: defense before the people, but when they realized he was
1:47:45
Speaker 1: a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours.
1:47:50
Speaker 1: Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians. The city clerk quieted
1:47:55
Speaker 1: the crowd and said, fellow Ephesians, doesn't all the world
1:48:01
Speaker 1: know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of
1:48:03
Speaker 1: the temple of the Great Artemis and of her image
1:48:06
Speaker 1: which fell from heaven. Therefore, since these facts are undeniable,
1:48:13
Speaker 1: you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.
1:48:17
Speaker 1: You have brought these men here, though they have neither
1:48:20
Speaker 1: robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If then Demetrius and
1:48:25
Speaker 1: his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts
1:48:28
Speaker 1: are open and there are pro consuls. They can press charges.
1:48:34
Speaker 1: If there is anything further you want to bring up,
1:48:36
Speaker 1: it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is,
1:48:41
Speaker 1: we are in danger of being charged with rioting because
1:48:44
Speaker 1: of what happened today. In that case, we would not
1:48:48
Speaker 1: be able to account for this commotion, since there is
1:48:51
Speaker 1: no reason for it. After he had said this, he
1:48:56
Speaker 1: dismissed the Assembly Acts, Chapter twenty. When the uproar had ended,
1:49:05
Speaker 1: Paul sent for the disciples, and, after encouraging them, said
1:49:09
Speaker 1: goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area,
1:49:13
Speaker 1: speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally
1:49:17
Speaker 1: arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months because some
1:49:21
Speaker 1: Jews had plotted against him. Just as he was about
1:49:24
Speaker 1: to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
1:49:28
Speaker 1: He was accompanied by so Pater son of Pirus from Berea,
1:49:32
Speaker 1: Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonika, Gaius from Derby, Timothy also
1:49:39
Speaker 1: and Tikichus in Trophemus from the province of Asia. These
1:49:44
Speaker 1: men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas.
1:49:48
Speaker 1: But we sailed from Philippi after the festival of unlevened Bread,
1:49:51
Speaker 1: and five days later joined the others in Troas, where
1:49:55
Speaker 1: we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week,
1:49:58
Speaker 1: we came together to break read. Paul spoke to the people,
1:50:02
Speaker 1: and because he intended to leave the next day, kept
1:50:05
Speaker 1: on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the
1:50:09
Speaker 1: upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window
1:50:12
Speaker 1: was a young man named Eutikus, who was sinking into
1:50:16
Speaker 1: a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When
1:50:20
Speaker 1: he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from
1:50:23
Speaker 1: the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down,
1:50:28
Speaker 1: threw himself on the young man and put his arms
1:50:30
Speaker 1: around him. Don't be alarmed, he said, he's alive. Then
1:50:36
Speaker 1: he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After
1:50:40
Speaker 1: talking until daylight, he left.
1:50:44
Speaker 2: The people took the.
1:50:44
Speaker 1: Young man home alive, and were greatly comforted. He went
1:50:50
Speaker 1: on ahead to the ship and sailed for Aesos, where
1:50:53
Speaker 1: we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made
1:50:56
Speaker 1: this arrangement because he was going there on foot. When
1:50:59
Speaker 1: he met us at Aesos, we took him aboard and
1:51:02
Speaker 1: went on to Medeleine. The next day we set sail
1:51:05
Speaker 1: from there and arrived at Chios. The day after that
1:51:08
Speaker 1: we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day
1:51:12
Speaker 1: arrived at Melidus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus
1:51:16
Speaker 1: to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for
1:51:19
Speaker 1: he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem if possible
1:51:22
Speaker 1: by the day of Pentecost. From Melidus, Paul sent to
1:51:27
Speaker 1: Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived,
1:51:30
Speaker 1: he said to them, you know how I lived the
1:51:32
Speaker 1: whole time I was with you. From the first day
1:51:35
Speaker 1: I came into the province of Asia, I served the
1:51:38
Speaker 1: Lord with great humility and with tears, and in the
1:51:41
Speaker 1: midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.
1:51:46
Speaker 1: You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything
1:51:49
Speaker 1: that would be helpful to you. But I've taught you publicly,
1:51:52
Speaker 1: and from house to house. I have declared to both
1:51:55
Speaker 1: Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in
1:51:58
Speaker 1: repentance and have failed and our Lord Jesus. And now,
1:52:03
Speaker 1: compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not
1:52:07
Speaker 1: knowing what will happen to me there. I only know
1:52:10
Speaker 1: that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that
1:52:13
Speaker 1: prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my
1:52:18
Speaker 1: life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to
1:52:22
Speaker 1: finish the race and complete the task that Lord Jesus
1:52:25
Speaker 1: has given me, the task of testifying the good news
1:52:29
Speaker 1: of God's grace. Now I know that none of you,
1:52:33
Speaker 1: among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will
1:52:35
Speaker 1: ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today
1:52:41
Speaker 1: that I am innocent of the blood of any of you,
1:52:45
Speaker 1: for I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the
1:52:47
Speaker 1: whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all
1:52:52
Speaker 1: the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,
1:52:56
Speaker 1: be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought
1:52:59
Speaker 1: with his own blae blood. I know that after I leave,
1:53:02
Speaker 1: savage wolves will come in among you and will not
1:53:05
Speaker 1: spare the flock, even from your own number. Men will
1:53:09
Speaker 1: arise and distort the truth in order to draw away
1:53:12
Speaker 1: disciples after them. So be on your guard. Remember that
1:53:18
Speaker 1: for three years I never stopped warning each of you
1:53:21
Speaker 1: night and day with tears. Now I commit you to
1:53:26
Speaker 1: God and to the word of his grace, which can
1:53:30
Speaker 1: build you up and give you an inheritance among all
1:53:33
Speaker 1: those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone's silver,
1:53:37
Speaker 1: or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands
1:53:41
Speaker 1: of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs
1:53:45
Speaker 1: of my companions. And everything I did, I showed you
1:53:49
Speaker 1: that by this kind of hard work we must help
1:53:51
Speaker 1: the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said,
1:53:56
Speaker 1: it is more blessed to give than to receive. When
1:54:01
Speaker 1: Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of
1:54:05
Speaker 1: them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him
1:54:09
Speaker 1: and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement
1:54:13
Speaker 1: that they would never see his face again. Then they
1:54:17
Speaker 1: accompanied him to the ship Acts twenty one. After we
1:54:25
Speaker 1: had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to
1:54:28
Speaker 1: sea and sailed straight to kas The next day we
1:54:32
Speaker 1: went to Rhodes and from there to Pattera. We found
1:54:36
Speaker 1: a ship crossing over to Phoenicia when on board and
1:54:40
Speaker 1: set sail. After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south
1:54:44
Speaker 1: of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tire,
1:54:48
Speaker 1: where our ship was to unload its cargo. We sought
1:54:51
Speaker 1: out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days.
1:54:54
Speaker 1: Through the spirit they urged Paul not to go on
1:54:57
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem. When it was time to leave, we left
1:55:00
Speaker 1: and continued on our way. All of them, including wives
1:55:04
Speaker 1: and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there
1:55:08
Speaker 1: on the beach we knelt to prey. After saying good
1:55:11
Speaker 1: bye to each other, we went aboard the ship and
1:55:15
Speaker 1: they returned home. We continued our voyage from Tire and
1:55:20
Speaker 1: landed at Ptolemay, where we greeted the brothers and sisters
1:55:23
Speaker 1: and stayed with them for a day. Leaving the next day,
1:55:27
Speaker 1: we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip
1:55:30
Speaker 1: the evangelist, one of the seven. He had four unmarried
1:55:35
Speaker 1: daughters who prophesied. After we had been there a number
1:55:39
Speaker 1: of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea,
1:55:44
Speaker 1: coming over to us. He took Paul's belt, tied his
1:55:47
Speaker 1: own hands and feet with it, and said, the Holy
1:55:50
Speaker 1: Spirit says, in this way, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem
1:55:54
Speaker 1: will bind the owner of this belt and will hand
1:55:58
Speaker 1: him over to the Gentiles. When we heard this, we
1:56:02
Speaker 1: and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go
1:56:05
Speaker 1: up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, why are you weeping
1:56:12
Speaker 1: and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to
1:56:16
Speaker 1: be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the
1:56:20
Speaker 1: name of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be dissuaded,
1:56:26
Speaker 1: we gave up and said the Lord's will be done.
1:56:31
Speaker 1: After this we started on our way up to Jerusalem.
1:56:34
Speaker 1: Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought
1:56:37
Speaker 1: us to the home of Nason, where we were to stay.
1:56:42
Speaker 1: He was a man from Cyprus and one of the
1:56:44
Speaker 1: early disciples. When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and
1:56:49
Speaker 1: sisters received us warmly. The next day, Paul and the
1:56:52
Speaker 1: rest of us went to see James, and all the
1:56:54
Speaker 1: elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail
1:56:59
Speaker 1: what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
1:57:03
Speaker 1: When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said
1:57:08
Speaker 1: to Paul, you see, brother, how many thousands of Jews
1:57:12
Speaker 1: have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
1:57:16
Speaker 1: They have been informed that you teach all the Jews
1:57:19
Speaker 1: who live among the gentiles to turn away from Moses,
1:57:22
Speaker 1: telling them not to circumcise their children or live according
1:57:25
Speaker 1: to our customs.
1:57:27
Speaker 2: What shall we do?
1:57:29
Speaker 1: They will certainly hear that you have come, so do
1:57:32
Speaker 1: what we tell you. There are four men with us
1:57:36
Speaker 1: who have made a vow. Take these men, join in
1:57:39
Speaker 1: their purification rights, and pay their expenses so that they
1:57:43
Speaker 1: can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there
1:57:47
Speaker 1: is no truth in these reports about you, but that
1:57:51
Speaker 1: you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As
1:57:54
Speaker 1: for the gentile believers, we have written to them our
1:57:57
Speaker 1: decision that they should abstain from food sacrifice, to idols,
1:58:00
Speaker 1: from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from
1:58:04
Speaker 1: sexual immorality. The next day, Paul took the men and
1:58:09
Speaker 1: purified himself along with them. Then he went to the
1:58:12
Speaker 1: temple to give notice of the date when the days
1:58:15
Speaker 1: of purification would end and the offering would be made
1:58:18
Speaker 1: for each of them. When the seven days were nearly over,
1:58:22
Speaker 1: some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at
1:58:25
Speaker 1: the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting,
1:58:30
Speaker 1: fellow Israelites, help us. This is the man who teaches
1:58:35
Speaker 1: everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place.
1:58:40
Speaker 1: And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and
1:58:43
Speaker 1: defiled this holy place. They had previously seen Shophemus the
1:58:48
Speaker 1: Ephesian in the city with Paul, and assumed that Paul
1:58:51
Speaker 1: had brought him into the temple. The whole city was
1:58:55
Speaker 1: aroused and the people came running from all directions, seizing Paul.
1:59:00
Speaker 1: They dragged him from the temple and immediately the gates
1:59:03
Speaker 1: were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news
1:59:07
Speaker 1: reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole
1:59:10
Speaker 1: city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once
1:59:14
Speaker 1: took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd.
1:59:18
Speaker 1: When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they
1:59:21
Speaker 1: stopped beating Paul. The commander came up and arrested him
1:59:25
Speaker 1: and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then
1:59:29
Speaker 1: he asked who he was and what he had done.
1:59:33
Speaker 1: Some of the crowd shouted one thing and some another,
1:59:37
Speaker 1: and since the commander could not get at the truth
1:59:39
Speaker 1: because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken
1:59:42
Speaker 1: into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence
1:59:47
Speaker 1: of the mob was so great he had to be
1:59:49
Speaker 1: carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting
1:59:54
Speaker 1: get rid of him. As the soldiers were about to
1:59:58
Speaker 1: take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, may
2:00:02
Speaker 1: I say something to you?
2:00:05
Speaker 2: Do you speak Greek? He replied, aren't you the.
2:00:09
Speaker 1: Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists
2:00:12
Speaker 1: out into the wilderness some time ago? Paul answered, I
2:00:18
Speaker 1: am a Jew from Tarsus and Silicia, a citizen of
2:00:23
Speaker 1: no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.
2:00:30
Speaker 1: After receiving the commander's permission, Paul stood on the steps
2:00:34
Speaker 1: and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent,
2:00:40
Speaker 1: he said to them in Aramaic Acts, chapter twenty two,
2:00:48
Speaker 1: brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense. When they
2:00:53
Speaker 1: heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
2:00:59
Speaker 1: Then Paul said, I am a Jew born in Tarsus
2:01:04
Speaker 1: of Silesia, but brought up in this city. I studied
2:01:08
Speaker 1: under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of
2:01:11
Speaker 1: our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as
2:01:15
Speaker 1: any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of
2:01:19
Speaker 1: this way to their death, arresting both men and women
2:01:22
Speaker 1: and throwing them into prison. As the high Priest and
2:01:25
Speaker 1: all the council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters
2:01:30
Speaker 1: from them to their associates and Damascus, and went there
2:01:34
Speaker 1: to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
2:01:39
Speaker 1: About noon, as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright
2:01:45
Speaker 1: light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the
2:01:48
Speaker 1: ground and heard a voice say to me, Saul, Saul,
2:01:54
Speaker 1: why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? I asked,
2:02:01
Speaker 1: I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting, He replied.
2:02:07
Speaker 1: My companions saw the light, but they did not understand
2:02:10
Speaker 1: the voice of him who was speaking to me. What
2:02:14
Speaker 1: shall I do, Lord, I asked?
2:02:17
Speaker 2: Get up, The.
2:02:18
Speaker 1: Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be
2:02:23
Speaker 1: told all that you have been assigned to do. My
2:02:26
Speaker 1: companions led me by the hand into Damascus because the
2:02:28
Speaker 1: brilliance of the light had blinded me. A man named
2:02:33
Speaker 1: Annonaius came to see me. He was a devout observer
2:02:36
Speaker 1: of the law and highly respected by all the Jews
2:02:39
Speaker 1: living there. He stood beside me and said, brother Saul,
2:02:45
Speaker 1: receive your sight. And at that very moment I was
2:02:50
Speaker 1: able to see him. Then he said, the God of
2:02:54
Speaker 1: our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and
2:02:57
Speaker 1: to see the Righteous One, and to hear a word
2:03:00
Speaker 1: from his mouth. You will be his witness to all
2:03:03
Speaker 1: people of what you have seen and heard. And now
2:03:08
Speaker 1: what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and
2:03:11
Speaker 1: wash your sins away, calling on his name. When I
2:03:16
Speaker 1: returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I
2:03:20
Speaker 1: fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me.
2:03:24
Speaker 1: Quick He said, leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here
2:03:28
Speaker 1: will not accept your testimony about me. Lord, I replied,
2:03:33
Speaker 1: these people know that I went from one synagogue to
2:03:36
Speaker 1: another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.
2:03:39
Speaker 1: And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed,
2:03:43
Speaker 1: I stood there, giving my approval and guarding the clothes
2:03:47
Speaker 1: of those who were killing him. Then the Lord said
2:03:50
Speaker 1: to me, go, I will send you far away to
2:03:55
Speaker 1: the Gentiles. The crowd listened to Paul until he said this.
2:04:00
Speaker 1: Then they raised their voices and shouted, rid the earth
2:04:04
Speaker 1: of him, He's not fit to live. As they were
2:04:10
Speaker 1: shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into
2:04:12
Speaker 1: the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into
2:04:15
Speaker 1: the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated
2:04:21
Speaker 1: in order to find out why the people were shouting
2:04:23
Speaker 1: at him like this. As they stretched him out to
2:04:26
Speaker 1: flog him, all said to the centurion, standing, there is
2:04:31
Speaker 1: it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who
2:04:35
Speaker 1: hasn't even been found guilty. When the centurion heard this,
2:04:41
Speaker 1: he went to the commander and reported it.
2:04:44
Speaker 2: What are you going to do?
2:04:45
Speaker 1: He asked, this man is a Roman citizen. The commander
2:04:50
Speaker 1: went to Paul and asked, tell me, are you a
2:04:53
Speaker 1: Roman citizen?
2:04:55
Speaker 2: Yes? I am, he answered.
2:04:57
Speaker 1: Then the commander said, I had to pay a lit
2:05:00
Speaker 1: of money for my citizenship, but I was born a citizen,
2:05:05
Speaker 1: Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew Immediately.
2:05:10
Speaker 1: The commander himself was alarmed, and he realized that he
2:05:13
Speaker 1: had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. The commander
2:05:19
Speaker 1: wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused
2:05:22
Speaker 1: by the Jews, so the next day he released him
2:05:26
Speaker 1: and ordered the chief priests and all the members of
2:05:29
Speaker 1: the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had
2:05:34
Speaker 1: him stand before them Acts twenty three. Paul looked straight
2:05:42
Speaker 1: at the Sanhedrin and said, my brothers, I have fulfilled
2:05:48
Speaker 1: my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.
2:05:52
Speaker 1: At this the High Priest and Annius ordered those standing
2:05:55
Speaker 1: near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
2:05:58
Speaker 2: Then Paul said to him.
2:06:00
Speaker 1: God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. You sit there
2:06:05
Speaker 1: to judge me according to the law. Yet you yourself
2:06:08
Speaker 1: violate the law by commanding that I be struck. Those
2:06:13
Speaker 1: who were standing near Paul said, how dare you insult
2:06:16
Speaker 1: God's High priest.
2:06:18
Speaker 2: Paul replied, brothers.
2:06:21
Speaker 1: I did not realize that he was the high Priest,
2:06:23
Speaker 1: for it is written, do not speak evil about the
2:06:26
Speaker 1: ruler of your people. Then Paul, knowing that some of
2:06:29
Speaker 1: them were Sadducees and the other's Pharisees, called out the Sanhedrin,
2:06:34
Speaker 1: my brothers, I am a Pharisee descended from Pharisees.
2:06:39
Speaker 2: I stand on.
2:06:40
Speaker 1: Trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.
2:06:43
Speaker 1: When he said this, a dispute broke out between the
2:06:46
Speaker 1: Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. The
2:06:50
Speaker 1: Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and that there are
2:06:54
Speaker 1: neither angels nor spirits. But the Pharisees believe all these things.
2:06:59
Speaker 1: There is a great uproar, and some of the teachers
2:07:01
Speaker 1: of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued vigorously,
2:07:06
Speaker 1: we find nothing wrong with this man. They said, what
2:07:09
Speaker 1: if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?
2:07:12
Speaker 1: The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid
2:07:16
Speaker 1: Paul would be torn.
2:07:17
Speaker 2: To pieces by them.
2:07:18
Speaker 1: He ordered the troops to go down and take him
2:07:21
Speaker 1: away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
2:07:25
Speaker 1: The following night, the Lord stood near Paul and said,
2:07:29
Speaker 1: take courage, As you have testified about me in Jerusalem,
2:07:34
Speaker 1: so you must also testify in Rome. The next morning,
2:07:39
Speaker 1: some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an
2:07:42
Speaker 1: oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
2:07:46
Speaker 1: More than forty men were involved.
2:07:48
Speaker 2: In this plot.
2:07:50
Speaker 1: They went to the chief priests and the elders and said,
2:07:52
Speaker 1: we have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything
2:07:56
Speaker 1: until we have killed Paul. Now, then you and the
2:08:00
Speaker 1: sand Hedrin petitioned the commander to bring him before you
2:08:03
Speaker 1: on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case.
2:08:08
Speaker 1: We are ready to kill him before he gets here.
2:08:13
Speaker 1: But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot,
2:08:16
Speaker 1: he went into the barracks.
2:08:18
Speaker 2: And told Paul.
2:08:19
Speaker 1: Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, take
2:08:23
Speaker 1: this young man to the commander. He has something to
2:08:26
Speaker 1: tell him. So he took him to the commander. The
2:08:30
Speaker 1: centurion said, Paul, the prisoner sent for me and asked
2:08:34
Speaker 1: me to bring this young man to you because he
2:08:38
Speaker 1: has something to tell you. The commander took the young
2:08:41
Speaker 1: man by the hand, drew him aside, and said, what
2:08:45
Speaker 1: is it you want to tell me? He said, some
2:08:49
Speaker 1: Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before
2:08:51
Speaker 1: the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate
2:08:55
Speaker 1: information about him. Don't give in to them, because more
2:08:59
Speaker 1: than four of them are waiting in ambush for him.
2:09:02
Speaker 1: They have taken an oath not to eat or drink
2:09:04
Speaker 1: until they have killed him. They are ready now waiting
2:09:09
Speaker 1: for your consent to their request. The commander dismissed the
2:09:14
Speaker 1: young man with this warning, don't tell anyone that you
2:09:18
Speaker 1: have reported this to me. Then he called two of
2:09:22
Speaker 1: his centurions and ordered them get ready a detachment of
2:09:25
Speaker 1: two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to
2:09:29
Speaker 1: go to caesarea at nine tonight. Provide horses for Paul
2:09:34
Speaker 1: so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.
2:09:39
Speaker 1: He wrote a letter as follows Claudius Lysius to his
2:09:44
Speaker 1: excellency Governor Felix. Greetings, this man was seized by the Jews,
2:09:50
Speaker 1: and they were about to kill him. But I came
2:09:53
Speaker 1: with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned
2:09:56
Speaker 1: that he is a Roman citizen. I wanted to know
2:09:59
Speaker 1: why they were accusing him, so I brought him to
2:10:01
Speaker 1: their sanhedrin. I found that the accusation had to do
2:10:04
Speaker 1: with questions about their law, but there was no charge
2:10:07
Speaker 1: against him that deserved death or imprisonment. When I was
2:10:11
Speaker 1: informed of a plot to be carried out against the man,
2:10:14
Speaker 1: I sent him to you at once. I also ordered
2:10:17
Speaker 1: his accusers to present to you their case against him.
2:10:21
Speaker 1: So the soldiers carried out their orders, took Paul with
2:10:24
Speaker 1: them during the night, and brought him as far as Antipatris.
2:10:29
Speaker 2: The next day, they let.
2:10:30
Speaker 1: The cavalry go on with him while they returned to
2:10:33
Speaker 1: the barracks. When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered
2:10:37
Speaker 1: the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.
2:10:41
Speaker 1: The governor read the letter and asked what province he
2:10:44
Speaker 1: was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said,
2:10:49
Speaker 1: I will hear your case when your accusers get here.
2:10:52
Speaker 1: Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in
2:10:55
Speaker 1: Herod's palace. Four five days later, the high priest Anonaius
2:11:04
Speaker 1: went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and
2:11:07
Speaker 1: a lawyer named Turtilus, and they brought their charges against
2:11:10
Speaker 1: Paul before the governor. When Paul was called in, Turtilus
2:11:14
Speaker 1: presented his case before Felix. We have enjoyed a long
2:11:18
Speaker 1: period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought
2:11:21
Speaker 1: about reforms and this nation everywhere and in every way,
2:11:26
Speaker 1: most excellent Felix. We acknowledge this with profound gratitude, But
2:11:32
Speaker 1: in order not to weary you further, I would request
2:11:35
Speaker 1: that you be kind enough to hear us briefly. We
2:11:38
Speaker 1: have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up
2:11:42
Speaker 1: riots among the Jews all over the world. He is
2:11:45
Speaker 1: a ringleader of the Nazarenes sect, and even tried to
2:11:48
Speaker 1: desecrate the temple, so we seized him. By examining him yourself,
2:11:53
Speaker 1: you will be able to learn the truth about all
2:11:55
Speaker 1: these charges we are bringing against him. The other Jews
2:11:59
Speaker 1: joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.
2:12:04
Speaker 1: When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied,
2:12:09
Speaker 1: I know that for a number of years you have
2:12:10
Speaker 1: been a judge over this nation, so I gladly make
2:12:14
Speaker 1: my defense. You can easily verify that no more than
2:12:18
Speaker 1: twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
2:12:22
Speaker 1: My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at
2:12:24
Speaker 1: the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues
2:12:27
Speaker 1: or anywhere else in the city, And they cannot prove
2:12:32
Speaker 1: to you the charges they are now making against me. However,
2:12:37
Speaker 1: I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors.
2:12:40
Speaker 1: As a follower of the Way, which they call a sect.
2:12:45
Speaker 1: I believe everything that is in accordance with the law
2:12:47
Speaker 1: and that is written in the prophets. And I have
2:12:50
Speaker 1: the same hope in God as these men themselves have,
2:12:54
Speaker 1: that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous
2:12:57
Speaker 1: and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my
2:13:00
Speaker 1: conscience clear before God and man. After an absence of
2:13:06
Speaker 1: several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people
2:13:09
Speaker 1: gifts for the poor and to present offerings. I was
2:13:13
Speaker 1: ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts
2:13:16
Speaker 1: doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was
2:13:20
Speaker 1: I involved in any disturbance.
2:13:22
Speaker 2: But there are some Jews.
2:13:23
Speaker 1: From the province of Asia who ought to be here
2:13:26
Speaker 1: before you and bring charges if they have anything against me,
2:13:30
Speaker 1: or these who are here should state what crime they
2:13:32
Speaker 1: have found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
2:13:36
Speaker 1: unless it was this one thing I shouted as I
2:13:38
Speaker 1: stood in their presence. It is concerning the resurrection of
2:13:41
Speaker 1: the dead that I am on trial before you today.
2:13:46
Speaker 1: Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned
2:13:51
Speaker 1: the proceedings When Lyseus, the commander comes, he said, I
2:13:56
Speaker 1: will decide your case. He ordered the centurion to get
2:14:00
Speaker 1: Paul under guard, but to give him some freedom and
2:14:03
Speaker 1: permit his friends to take care of his needs. Several
2:14:07
Speaker 1: days later, Felix came with his wife Drusala, who was Jewish.
2:14:11
Speaker 1: He sent for Paul and listened to him as he
2:14:13
Speaker 1: spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness,
2:14:18
Speaker 1: self control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid
2:14:22
Speaker 1: and said, that's enough for now.
2:14:26
Speaker 2: You may leave.
2:14:28
Speaker 1: When I find it convenient, I will send for you.
2:14:33
Speaker 1: At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would
2:14:35
Speaker 1: offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently.
2:14:39
Speaker 2: And talked with him.
2:14:42
Speaker 1: When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Poresus Festus,
2:14:47
Speaker 1: but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews,
2:14:51
Speaker 1: he left Paul in prison acts twenty five. Three days
2:15:01
Speaker 1: after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea
2:15:04
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders
2:15:07
Speaker 1: appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.
2:15:12
Speaker 2: They requested Festus as a favor.
2:15:13
Speaker 1: To them to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they
2:15:17
Speaker 1: were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
2:15:21
Speaker 1: Festus answered, Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I
2:15:25
Speaker 1: myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders
2:15:28
Speaker 1: come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong,
2:15:31
Speaker 1: they can press charges against him there. After spending eight
2:15:35
Speaker 1: or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea.
2:15:39
Speaker 1: The next day he convened the court and ordered that
2:15:41
Speaker 1: Paul be brought before him. When Paul came in, the Jews,
2:15:45
Speaker 1: who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They
2:15:49
Speaker 1: brought many serious charges against him, but they could not
2:15:53
Speaker 1: prove them. Then Paul made his defense. I have done
2:15:58
Speaker 1: nothing wrong against the Jewish law, or against the temple,
2:16:03
Speaker 1: or against Caesar. Festus, wishing to do the Jews of favor,
2:16:08
Speaker 1: said to Paul, are you willing to go up to
2:16:10
Speaker 1: Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?
2:16:15
Speaker 1: Paul answered, I am now standing before Caesar's.
2:16:19
Speaker 2: Court, where I ought to be tried.
2:16:22
Speaker 1: I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as
2:16:24
Speaker 1: you yourself know very well. If however, I am guilty
2:16:28
Speaker 1: of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die.
2:16:33
Speaker 1: But if the charge is brought against me by these
2:16:35
Speaker 1: Jews are not true, no one has the right to
2:16:38
Speaker 1: hand me over to them.
2:16:41
Speaker 2: I appeal to Caesar.
2:16:45
Speaker 1: After Festus had conferred with his counsel, he declared, you
2:16:48
Speaker 1: have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar, you will go. A
2:16:53
Speaker 1: few days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea
2:16:57
Speaker 1: to pay their respects to Festus. As they were spending
2:17:00
Speaker 1: many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king.
2:17:04
Speaker 1: He said, there is a man here whom Felix left
2:17:08
Speaker 1: as a prisoner when I went to Jerusalem. The chief
2:17:11
Speaker 1: priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against
2:17:14
Speaker 1: him and asked that he be condemned. I told him
2:17:18
Speaker 1: that it is not the Roman custom to hand over
2:17:20
Speaker 1: anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had
2:17:23
Speaker 1: an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. When they
2:17:27
Speaker 1: came here with me. I did not delay the case,
2:17:30
Speaker 1: but convened the court the next day and ordered the
2:17:33
Speaker 1: man to be brought in. When his accusers got up
2:17:35
Speaker 1: to speak, they did not charge him with any of
2:17:38
Speaker 1: the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points
2:17:42
Speaker 1: of dispute with him about their own religion, and about
2:17:44
Speaker 1: a dead man named Jesus, whom Paul claimed was alive.
2:17:49
Speaker 1: I was at a loss how to investigate such matters,
2:17:52
Speaker 1: so I asked if he would be willing to go
2:17:54
Speaker 1: to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. But
2:17:58
Speaker 1: when Paul made his appeal to be held over for
2:18:00
Speaker 1: the emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could
2:18:03
Speaker 1: send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I
2:18:08
Speaker 1: would like to hear this man myself. He replied, tomorrow
2:18:14
Speaker 1: you will hear him. The next day, Agrippa and Bernice
2:18:18
Speaker 1: came with great pomp and entered the audience room with
2:18:21
Speaker 1: the high ranking military officers and the prominent men of
2:18:24
Speaker 1: the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.
2:18:29
Speaker 1: Festus said, King Agrippa, and all who are present with us,
2:18:35
Speaker 1: you see this man. The whole Jewish community has petitioned
2:18:40
Speaker 1: me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting
2:18:44
Speaker 1: that he ought not to live any longer. I found
2:18:48
Speaker 1: he had done nothing deserving of death, But because he
2:18:51
Speaker 1: made his appeal to the Emperor, I decided to send
2:18:54
Speaker 1: him to Rome. But I have nothing definite to write
2:18:57
Speaker 1: to His Majesty about him. Therefore, I have brought him
2:19:01
Speaker 1: before all of you, and especially before you King Agrippa,
2:19:06
Speaker 1: so that as a result of this investigation, I may
2:19:08
Speaker 1: have something to write. For I think it is unreasonable
2:19:12
Speaker 1: to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the
2:19:15
Speaker 1: charges against him.
2:19:20
Speaker 2: Acts twenty six.
2:19:23
Speaker 1: Then Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak
2:19:27
Speaker 1: for yourself. So Paul motioned with his hand and began
2:19:32
Speaker 1: his defense. King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand
2:19:38
Speaker 1: before you today as I make my defense against all
2:19:41
Speaker 1: the accusations of the Jews, and especially so because you
2:19:45
Speaker 1: are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore,
2:19:50
Speaker 1: I beg you to listen to me patiently. The Jewish
2:19:55
Speaker 1: people all know the way I have lived ever since
2:19:57
Speaker 1: I was a child, from the beginning of my life
2:20:00
Speaker 1: and my own country, and also in Jerusalem. They have
2:20:04
Speaker 1: known me for a long time and can testify, if
2:20:07
Speaker 1: they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect
2:20:11
Speaker 1: of our religion, living as a Pharisee. And now it
2:20:15
Speaker 1: is because of my hope in what God has promised
2:20:18
Speaker 1: our ancestors that I am on trial today. This is
2:20:21
Speaker 1: the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled
2:20:25
Speaker 1: as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa,
2:20:30
Speaker 1: it is because of this hope that these Jews are
2:20:33
Speaker 1: accusing me. Why should any of you consider it incredible
2:20:37
Speaker 1: that God raises the dead? I too was convinced that
2:20:41
Speaker 1: I ought to do all that was possible to oppose
2:20:44
Speaker 1: the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just
2:20:47
Speaker 1: what I did. In Jerusalem, on the authority of the
2:20:51
Speaker 1: chief priests, I put many of the Lord's people in prison,
2:20:55
Speaker 1: and when they were put to death, I cast my
2:20:58
Speaker 1: vote against them. Many a time, I went from one
2:21:01
Speaker 1: synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried
2:21:04
Speaker 1: to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with
2:21:08
Speaker 1: persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
2:21:12
Speaker 1: On one of these journeys, I was going to Damascus
2:21:15
Speaker 1: with the authority and commission of the Chief priests.
2:21:18
Speaker 2: About noon, King.
2:21:19
Speaker 1: Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a
2:21:23
Speaker 1: light from heaven brighter than the sun, blazing around me
2:21:27
Speaker 1: and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and
2:21:31
Speaker 1: I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, sauw, sauw,
2:21:38
Speaker 1: why do you persecute me? It is hard for you
2:21:42
Speaker 1: to kick against the gods. Then I asked, who are you, Lord?
2:21:51
Speaker 1: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. The Lord replied,
2:21:58
Speaker 1: now get up and stand on your fee. I have
2:22:00
Speaker 1: appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and
2:22:03
Speaker 1: as a witness of what you have seen and will
2:22:05
Speaker 1: see of me. I will rescue you from your own
2:22:08
Speaker 1: people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to
2:22:12
Speaker 1: them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness
2:22:15
Speaker 1: to light, and from the power of Satan to God,
2:22:20
Speaker 1: so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a
2:22:24
Speaker 1: place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. So, then,
2:22:32
Speaker 1: King Agrippa I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.
2:22:36
Speaker 1: First those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and
2:22:39
Speaker 1: in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles. I preached
2:22:43
Speaker 1: that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate
2:22:46
Speaker 1: their repentance by their deeds. That is why some Jews
2:22:51
Speaker 1: seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
2:22:54
Speaker 1: But God has helped me to this very day, so
2:22:58
Speaker 1: I stand here and testify it. Small and great, alike,
2:23:03
Speaker 1: I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses
2:23:05
Speaker 1: said would happen, that the Messiah would suffer, and as
2:23:10
Speaker 1: the first to rise from the dead, would bring the
2:23:13
Speaker 1: message of life to his own people and to the Gentiles.
2:23:18
Speaker 1: At this point, Festus interrupted Paul's defense. You are out
2:23:22
Speaker 1: of your mind, Paul, he shouted, Your great learning is
2:23:27
Speaker 1: driving you insane. I am not insane, Most excellent Festus,
2:23:33
Speaker 1: Paul replied, what I am saying is true and reasonable.
2:23:39
Speaker 1: The King is familiar with these things, and I can
2:23:42
Speaker 1: speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of
2:23:45
Speaker 1: this has escaped his notice because it was not done
2:23:49
Speaker 1: in a corner.
2:23:51
Speaker 2: King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.
2:23:58
Speaker 1: Then, Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in
2:24:01
Speaker 1: such a short time you can persuade me to be
2:24:03
Speaker 1: a Christian? Paul replied, short time or long? I pray
2:24:09
Speaker 1: to God that not only you, but all who are
2:24:12
Speaker 1: listening to me today may become what I am. Except
2:24:17
Speaker 1: for these chains, the King rose, and with him the governor,
2:24:22
Speaker 1: and Bernice and those sitting with them. After they left
2:24:26
Speaker 1: the room, they began saying to one another, this man
2:24:29
Speaker 1: is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment. Agrippas
2:24:34
Speaker 1: said to Festus, this man could have been set free
2:24:38
Speaker 1: if he had not appealed to Caesar. Acts twenty seven.
2:24:46
Speaker 1: When it was decided that we would sail for Italy,
2:24:49
Speaker 1: Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a
2:24:52
Speaker 1: centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. We
2:24:57
Speaker 1: boarded a ship from Adramytium about to sail for worts
2:25:00
Speaker 1: along the coast of the province of Asia, and we
2:25:03
Speaker 1: put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
2:25:08
Speaker 2: Was with us.
2:25:10
Speaker 1: The next day we sailed at Seidon, and Julius, in
2:25:13
Speaker 1: kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends
2:25:16
Speaker 1: so they might provide for his needs. From there, we
2:25:19
Speaker 1: put out to sea again and passed to the lee
2:25:21
Speaker 1: of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. When we
2:25:25
Speaker 1: had sailed across the open sea off the coast of
2:25:27
Speaker 1: Silicia in Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lysia. There
2:25:32
Speaker 1: the centurion found an Alexandrian ships sailing for Italy, and
2:25:36
Speaker 1: put us on board. We made slow headway for many
2:25:40
Speaker 1: days and had difficulty arriving off Sneidas. When the wind
2:25:43
Speaker 1: did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed
2:25:46
Speaker 1: to the lee of Crete opposite Salmone. We moved along
2:25:50
Speaker 1: the coast with difficulty and came to a place called
2:25:53
Speaker 1: fair Havens, near the town of Lucia. Much time had
2:25:58
Speaker 1: been lost and sailing had already become dangerous, because by
2:26:02
Speaker 1: now it was after the day of Atonement.
2:26:05
Speaker 2: So Paul warned.
2:26:06
Speaker 1: Them, then I can see that our voyage is going
2:26:10
Speaker 1: to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo,
2:26:15
Speaker 1: and to our own lives also. But the centurion, instead
2:26:19
Speaker 1: of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of
2:26:23
Speaker 1: the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since
2:26:26
Speaker 1: the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided
2:26:30
Speaker 1: that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and
2:26:33
Speaker 1: winter there. This was a harbor in crete, facing both
2:26:37
Speaker 1: southwest and northwest. When a gentle south wind began to blow,
2:26:43
Speaker 1: they saw their opportunity, so they weighed anchor and sailed
2:26:47
Speaker 1: along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind
2:26:51
Speaker 1: of hurricane force called the northeaster swept down from the island.
2:26:56
Speaker 2: The ship was.
2:26:57
Speaker 1: Caught by the storm and could not head into the wind,
2:27:00
Speaker 1: so we gave way to it and were driven along.
2:27:04
Speaker 1: As we passed to the lee of a small island
2:27:06
Speaker 1: called Kauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure,
2:27:12
Speaker 1: so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes
2:27:15
Speaker 1: under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they
2:27:19
Speaker 1: were afraid they would run aground on the sand bars
2:27:21
Speaker 1: of Curtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the
2:27:24
Speaker 1: ship be driven along. We took such a violent battering
2:27:28
Speaker 1: from the storm that the next day they began to
2:27:30
Speaker 1: throw the cargo overboard. On the third day they threw
2:27:35
Speaker 1: the ship's tackle overboard with.
2:27:36
Speaker 2: Their own hands.
2:27:38
Speaker 1: When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and
2:27:41
Speaker 1: the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope
2:27:46
Speaker 1: of being saved. After they had gone a long time
2:27:49
Speaker 1: without food. Paul stood up before them and said, men,
2:27:55
Speaker 1: you should have taken my advice not to sail from crete.
2:27:58
Speaker 1: Then you would have spared yourself this damage and loss.
2:28:02
Speaker 1: But now I urge you to keep up your courage,
2:28:05
Speaker 1: because not one of you will be lost. Only the
2:28:08
Speaker 1: ship will be destroyed. Last night, an angel of the
2:28:12
Speaker 1: God to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood
2:28:15
Speaker 1: beside me and said, do not be afraid, Paul. You
2:28:21
Speaker 1: must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given
2:28:25
Speaker 1: you the lives of all who sail with you. So
2:28:29
Speaker 1: keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in
2:28:32
Speaker 1: God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless,
2:28:36
Speaker 1: we must run aground on some island. On the fourteenth night,
2:28:42
Speaker 1: we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when
2:28:46
Speaker 1: about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. They
2:28:50
Speaker 1: took soundings and found that the water was one hundred
2:28:53
Speaker 1: and twenty feet deep. A short time later, they took
2:28:58
Speaker 1: soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. Fearing
2:29:01
Speaker 1: they would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four
2:29:05
Speaker 1: anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. In an
2:29:09
Speaker 1: attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the
2:29:12
Speaker 1: lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to
2:29:16
Speaker 1: lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to
2:29:19
Speaker 1: the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay with
2:29:23
Speaker 1: the ship, you cannot be saved. So the soldiers cut
2:29:27
Speaker 1: the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
2:29:32
Speaker 1: Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat. For
2:29:36
Speaker 1: the last fourteen days, he said, you have been in
2:29:39
Speaker 1: constant suspense and have gone without food. You haven't eaten anything.
2:29:44
Speaker 1: Now I urge you to take some food. You need
2:29:47
Speaker 1: it to survive. Not one of you will lose a
2:29:50
Speaker 1: single hair from his head. After he said this, he
2:29:55
Speaker 1: took some bread and gave thanks to God in front
2:29:58
Speaker 1: of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
2:30:02
Speaker 1: They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether
2:30:07
Speaker 1: there were two hundred seventy six of us on board.
2:30:10
Speaker 1: When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they
2:30:13
Speaker 1: lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
2:30:17
Speaker 1: When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but
2:30:21
Speaker 1: they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they
2:30:23
Speaker 1: decided to run the ship aground if they could. Cutting
2:30:27
Speaker 1: loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and
2:30:31
Speaker 1: at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders.
2:30:34
Speaker 1: Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made
2:30:38
Speaker 1: for the beach. But the ship struck a sand bar
2:30:41
Speaker 1: and ran aground. The bough stuck fast and would not move,
2:30:46
Speaker 1: and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding
2:30:49
Speaker 1: of the surf. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners
2:30:53
Speaker 1: to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping,
2:30:57
Speaker 1: but the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept
2:31:00
Speaker 1: them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who
2:31:03
Speaker 1: could swim to jump aboard first and get to land.
2:31:07
Speaker 1: The rest were to get there on planks or on
2:31:09
Speaker 1: other pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone reached
2:31:14
Speaker 1: land safely.
2:31:18
Speaker 2: Acts twenty eight.
2:31:21
Speaker 1: Once safely on shore, we found out that the island
2:31:24
Speaker 1: was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They
2:31:28
Speaker 1: built a fire and welcomed us all. Because it was
2:31:31
Speaker 1: raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood, and
2:31:35
Speaker 1: as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven
2:31:38
Speaker 1: out by the heat, fastened itself onto his hand. When
2:31:42
Speaker 1: the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they
2:31:44
Speaker 1: said to each other, this man must be a murderer,
2:31:48
Speaker 1: for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice
2:31:51
Speaker 1: has not allowed him to live. But Paul shook the
2:31:54
Speaker 1: snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
2:31:59
Speaker 1: The people expect him to swell up or suddenly fall dead,
2:32:03
Speaker 1: But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual
2:32:06
Speaker 1: happened to him, they changed their minds and said he
2:32:10
Speaker 1: was a god. There was an estate nearby that belonged
2:32:14
Speaker 1: to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed
2:32:18
Speaker 1: us to his home and showed us generous hospitality For
2:32:21
Speaker 1: three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from
2:32:25
Speaker 1: fever and dysentery. All went in to see him, and
2:32:29
Speaker 1: after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
2:32:33
Speaker 1: When this had happened, the rest of the sick on
2:32:35
Speaker 1: the island came and were cured. They honored us in
2:32:39
Speaker 1: many ways, and when we were ready to sail, they
2:32:43
Speaker 1: furnished us with the supplies we needed. After three months,
2:32:48
Speaker 1: we put out to sea in a ship that had
2:32:49
Speaker 1: wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with
2:32:53
Speaker 1: the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Polyx. We
2:32:57
Speaker 1: put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From
2:33:01
Speaker 1: there we set sail and arrived at Regium.
2:33:04
Speaker 2: The next day.
2:33:05
Speaker 1: The south wind came up, and on the following day
2:33:07
Speaker 1: we reached Puchulai. There we found some brothers and sisters
2:33:11
Speaker 1: who invited us to spend a week with them, and
2:33:13
Speaker 1: so we.
2:33:14
Speaker 2: Came to Rome.
2:33:15
Speaker 1: The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming,
2:33:18
Speaker 1: and they traveled as far as the form of Appius
2:33:21
Speaker 1: and the three taverns.
2:33:22
Speaker 2: To meet us.
2:33:24
Speaker 1: At the sight of these people, Paul thanked God and
2:33:26
Speaker 1: was encouraged. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed
2:33:30
Speaker 1: to live by himself, with the soldier to guard him.
2:33:35
Speaker 1: Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders.
2:33:39
Speaker 1: When they had assembled, Paul said to them, my brothers,
2:33:43
Speaker 1: although I have done nothing against our people or against
2:33:46
Speaker 1: the customs of our ancestors. I was arrested in Jerusalem
2:33:49
Speaker 1: and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and
2:33:53
Speaker 1: wanted to release me because I was not guilty of
2:33:55
Speaker 1: any crime deserving death. The Jews objected, so I was
2:34:00
Speaker 1: compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did
2:34:03
Speaker 1: not intend to bring any charge against my own people.
2:34:07
Speaker 1: For this reason, I have asked to see you and
2:34:09
Speaker 1: talk with you. It is because of the hope of
2:34:12
Speaker 1: Israel that I am bound with this chain. They replied,
2:34:17
Speaker 1: we have not received any letters from Judea concerning you,
2:34:21
Speaker 1: and none of our people who have come from there
2:34:23
Speaker 1: has reported or said anything bad about you.
2:34:26
Speaker 2: But we want to.
2:34:27
Speaker 1: Hear what your views are, for we know that people
2:34:30
Speaker 1: everywhere are talking against this sect. They arranged to meet
2:34:34
Speaker 1: Paul on a certain day and came in even larger
2:34:37
Speaker 1: numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed
2:34:41
Speaker 1: to them from morning till evening, explaining about the Kingdom
2:34:44
Speaker 1: of God, and from the Law of Moses and from
2:34:47
Speaker 1: the prophets. He tried to persuade them about Jesus. Some
2:34:51
Speaker 1: were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
2:34:55
Speaker 1: They disagreed among themselves and began to leave. After Paul
2:34:59
Speaker 1: had made this final statement, the Holy Spirit spoke truth
2:35:03
Speaker 1: to your ancestors when he said, through Isaiah the Prophet,
2:35:07
Speaker 1: go to this people and say, you will be ever
2:35:10
Speaker 1: hearing but never understanding. You will be ever seeing but
2:35:14
Speaker 1: never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused. They
2:35:19
Speaker 1: hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
2:35:24
Speaker 1: Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
2:35:27
Speaker 1: understand with their hearts in turn, and I would heal them. Therefore,
2:35:34
Speaker 1: I want you to know that God's salvation has been
2:35:36
Speaker 1: sent to the gentiles, and they will listen. For two
2:35:43
Speaker 1: whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house,
2:35:46
Speaker 1: and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed
2:35:49
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus
2:35:53
Speaker 1: Christ with all boldness and without hindrance, love no