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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Philip said, If thou believest with
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  Speaker 1: all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
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  Speaker 1: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 8.37 As I live my life in complete abandonment
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  Speaker 1: to my plans, I in exchange will live my life
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  Speaker 1: to follow your divine plans for my life, Lord, like Philip.
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  Speaker 1: As I speak the words of Jesus, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that chaos becomes order, hearts turn to you, relationships are healed,
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  Speaker 1: poor become fed, and your children find a place in
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  Speaker 1: the family of God. I praise you that as I
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  Speaker 1: declare your word, those paralyzed become healed, those tormented by
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  Speaker 1: evil spirits are delivered, and joy is restored. Through you, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: my feet are led to my next location of impact,
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  Speaker 1: like Philip in Acts 8. Upon arrival, I know that
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  Speaker 1: you will guide me to my next assignment. Through it all,
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  Speaker 1: I am choosing to praise you because my journey is
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  Speaker 1: paved with blessings and open opportunities to share your word
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  Speaker 1: and impact lives forever. I trust you, Lord, even though
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  Speaker 1: I may not see what's next. I'm in love with
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  Speaker 1: trusting your plans. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: praying with us today. Continue your time with God by
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  Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Mission of Philip In our last story, we witnessed
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  Speaker 2: the brutal murder of Stephen. As stones crushed his bones,
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  Speaker 2: he looked up to heaven and saw the living God
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  Speaker 2: looking down at him. Stephen became the first martyr. And
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  Speaker 2: a new enemy emerged from the shadows, a Pharisee by
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  Speaker 2: the name of Saul. He would prove to be a
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  Speaker 2: deadly force for evil. Now we learn about the ministry
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  Speaker 2: of Philip. His story is one of simply saying yes
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  Speaker 2: to God wherever he may lead, inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up To the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint, today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. In our previous episode, we heard how
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  Speaker 3: Stephen stood firm and fearlessly spoke the word of Christ
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  Speaker 3: even at the expense of his own death. He was
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  Speaker 3: stoned to death by the religious establishment as a result
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  Speaker 3: of preaching Christ and the good news of Jesus. But
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  Speaker 3: even in his final moments, he reflects the glory of
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  Speaker 3: God and experiences the grace of God and goes to heaven.
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  Speaker 3: We also met Saul, who was just getting started with
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  Speaker 3: his vicious, terroristic persecution of believers. And today we'll hear
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  Speaker 3: how in the face of intense persecution that the church
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  Speaker 3: scattered to preach the gospel and how God used a
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  Speaker 3: man by the name of Philip to take the message
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus beyond Jerusalem to a man who would then
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  Speaker 3: take the message of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Just as the Spirit of God once hovered over the
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  Speaker 2: chaotic waters of the world, so did He hover over
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  Speaker 2: the nation of Israel. The Spirit went before the disciples,
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  Speaker 2: and as they spoke the words of Jesus, chaos became order.
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  Speaker 2: Hearts were turned to God, relationships were healed, the poor
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  Speaker 2: were fed, and the hopeless found a home in the
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  Speaker 2: family of God. All of the disciples scattered around the region,
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  Speaker 2: preaching the truth and proclaiming the kingdom of God. Even more,
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  Speaker 2: they brought in the lonely and broken. Philip was among
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  Speaker 2: the scattered disciples. He went into the city of Samaria
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  Speaker 2: to preach the word. He stood up in the city
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  Speaker 2: streets and began to speak of the history of God.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke of God's plan for redemption and the life
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus. As Philip spoke, hundreds of people gathered to
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  Speaker 2: listen to him. As if they all shared the same ears,
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  Speaker 2: each one of them listened intently to what Philip said.
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  Speaker 2: As the truth went forth like a coursing river, the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit of God refreshed the hearts of the Samaritans. Those
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  Speaker 2: who were paralyzed were healed. Those who were oppressed by
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  Speaker 2: demons found peace. And those who were broken felt whole.
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  Speaker 2: It was a truly Spirit-filled experience for Philip. He rose
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  Speaker 2: to the call of God and found joy in connecting
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  Speaker 2: with the people of Samaria. Then, like a still small
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  Speaker 2: voice whispering in his ears, Philip heard the prompting of God.
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  Speaker 2: Rise and look south. There is a road that goes
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  Speaker 2: from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip nodded and listened to the
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  Speaker 2: prompting nudge of God's Spirit. Filled with purpose, Philip marched
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  Speaker 2: towards the desert. The sun was high and scorching. Philip
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  Speaker 2: licked his parched lips as he trudged through the desert road.
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  Speaker 2: This call of God was nothing like the one he
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  Speaker 2: had before. Before, there were thousands of people who listened
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  Speaker 2: to him. Now there was no one. Not one living
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  Speaker 2: thing dwelled in the desert. Philip walked for miles with
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  Speaker 2: no sign of people or water. That was until he
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  Speaker 2: saw a carriage in the distance. Philip ran towards the
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  Speaker 2: moving tent with what little strength he had left. As
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  Speaker 2: he drew closer, he saw that the carriage was arrayed
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  Speaker 2: with Ethiopian design. Philip approached carefully. It was the carriage
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  Speaker 2: of an Ethiopian official. A counselor to the queen. Philip
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  Speaker 2: knelt near the carriage and listened to what the man
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  Speaker 2: was saying. As it turns out, he was reading from
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  Speaker 2: the prophet Isaiah. Philip's eyes widened and he poked his
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  Speaker 2: head through the fabric. Startled, the Ethiopian screamed and the
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  Speaker 2: carriage came to a halt. Philip apologized, laughing at his awkwardness.
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  Speaker 2: Excuse me, Philip said, but I couldn't help but hear
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  Speaker 2: what you were reading. Do you happen to know what
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  Speaker 2: it means? How does one know anything without being taught?
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  Speaker 2: The Ethiopian answered with a smile. Please come in. Teach
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  Speaker 2: me these things. The passage the Ethiopian was reading was
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  Speaker 2: from Isaiah. It read, Like a sheep led the slaughter,
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  Speaker 2: he was silent. He opened not his mouth. In his humiliation,
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  Speaker 2: justice was denied him. Who can explain this generation? For
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  Speaker 2: his life was taken from the earth. The official was
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  Speaker 2: confused but filled with joyous curiosity. Who is the prophet
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  Speaker 2: speaking of?
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  Speaker 1: He asked.
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  Speaker 2: Philip could not have smiled wider. He spoke of the
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  Speaker 2: suffering Messiah that was prophesied from days of old and
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  Speaker 2: how Jesus fulfilled it all. The two of them spoke
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  Speaker 2: for hours, diving deeply into the truths of Jesus and
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  Speaker 2: the will of God. The Ethiopian's eyes were wide with amazement.
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  Speaker 2: He listened to every word Philip said. He asked questions
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  Speaker 2: and sought deep answers. Then, as the desert road became greener,
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  Speaker 2: they passed by a spring with flowing water. The Ethiopian
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  Speaker 2: pointed to it. You see the water over there? What
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  Speaker 2: is keeping me from getting baptized right now? So the
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  Speaker 2: two men went into the water. The cool spring was
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  Speaker 2: a refreshing contrast to the hot and biting sun above.
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  Speaker 2: Philip prayed with him. He prayed that he would receive
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  Speaker 2: the Spirit of God and that he would dedicate his
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  Speaker 2: life to the kingdom of God. Philip held his hand
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  Speaker 2: and back, then gently dipped him into the water. And
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  Speaker 2: as they came up out of the water... The Lord
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  Speaker 2: took Philip up and sent him to Caesarea. The official
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  Speaker 2: would return back to his country and share all that
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  Speaker 2: he had learned. The world would never be the same.
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  Speaker 3: In today's reading from the book of Acts, we see
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  Speaker 3: the church on the move, fulfilling the mission of Christ
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  Speaker 3: and the Great Commission to take the message of the
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  Speaker 3: gospel to the world. Since Jesus had departed, ascended, The
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit had come. The church was alive and growing daily,
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  Speaker 3: but primarily in Jerusalem. There were tens of thousands of
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  Speaker 3: new Christians in Jerusalem, but remember, the gospel is for
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  Speaker 3: the whole world. The apostles and the church was charged
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  Speaker 3: with making disciples not only in their city, but in Judea, Samaria,
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  Speaker 3: and to take the message to the ends of the earth.
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  Speaker 3: But now, as a rabbi by the name of Saul
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  Speaker 3: began to ruthlessly hunt down believers, and pull them from
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  Speaker 3: their homes and throw them into prison, the church had
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  Speaker 3: no choice but to scatter. They didn't cower down. They
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  Speaker 3: were faithful and fearless. but they were spread. The gospel
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  Speaker 3: fire is spreading as a result of persecution. It's been
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  Speaker 3: said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed
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  Speaker 3: of the church. Little did he know it, but Saul's
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  Speaker 3: attempts to destroy the church were actually helping spread the
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  Speaker 3: mission of Jesus. This, of course, does not mean he
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  Speaker 3: was acting on God's behalf. He was an enemy of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel. But God in his sovereign plan can and
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  Speaker 3: does use what some mean for evil to produce good things,
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  Speaker 3: God things. So this persecution created an opportunity for the
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  Speaker 3: word of God and the testimony of Jesus to go
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  Speaker 3: far beyond Jerusalem. And today we hear of one of
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  Speaker 3: the disciples by the name of Philip who went into
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  Speaker 3: Samaria and began preaching the gospel. Now this is significant
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  Speaker 3: because You recall from Jesus' ministry that Samaria was a
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  Speaker 3: place that Jews did not go. If at all possible,
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  Speaker 3: they would avoid it. But now, led by the Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 3: Philip went to share Jesus in the very place that
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  Speaker 3: so many others avoided. He spoke with boldness, and there
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  Speaker 3: was power to heal the sick and the lame. He
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  Speaker 3: did it with a tender heart, just like Jesus. And surely,
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  Speaker 3: as he was doing these things, He remembered the words
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus who said, the Holy Spirit will enable you
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  Speaker 3: to do even greater things than Jesus had done. And
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  Speaker 3: as a result of the preaching and healing and the
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  Speaker 3: ministry of Philip, scores of Samaritans had come to faith
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  Speaker 3: in Christ. There was great revival going on in Samaria.
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  Speaker 3: But then we hear how the Lord sent an angel
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  Speaker 3: to Philip, telling him to leave Samaria and to go south.
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  Speaker 3: And what was south of Samaria? Not much. A desert,
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  Speaker 3: in fact. And to human eyes and understanding, what's the
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  Speaker 3: value of going to the desert? Why leave this powerful
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  Speaker 3: revival going on in Samaria and go to a faraway place?
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  Speaker 3: But God, of course, wanted to spread the gospel everywhere,
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  Speaker 3: and that included faraway nations. So God sent Philip obediently.
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  Speaker 3: He followed and trusted God's leading to the desert. Now,
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  Speaker 3: there is an important, important lesson for us here. God's
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  Speaker 3: Spirit leads us sometimes in places that we don't want
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  Speaker 3: to go or may not even understand why we're going.
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  Speaker 3: But when we are abiding in Christ, when we are
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  Speaker 3: walking in the Spirit, when we're listening and trusting and
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  Speaker 3: obeying Him, we can see distant horizons and opportunities to
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  Speaker 3: share our faith or to go where Jesus is calling
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  Speaker 3: us in order to make a difference someplace far away.
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  Speaker 3: When he arrived in the desert, Philip encountered a man
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  Speaker 3: from Ethiopia. This man was a well-to-do man, a counselor
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  Speaker 3: to the queen of Ethiopia. This man was a eunuch.
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  Speaker 3: This man was in a chariot, leaving Jerusalem where he
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  Speaker 3: had gone to worship. He believed in God, but he
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  Speaker 3: had never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the
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  Speaker 3: Holy Spirit prompted him to go to the chariot and
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  Speaker 3: talk to this man about faith. And as he walked
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  Speaker 3: up to the man, he could hear him reading from
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  Speaker 3: the book of Isaiah, and it was a prophecy about
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  Speaker 3: the Messiah. Philip, of course, did not pass up the
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  Speaker 3: opportunity to share Christ, that Jesus is the fulfillment of
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  Speaker 3: the prophecy of Isaiah. The unit wanted an explanation of
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  Speaker 3: what he was reading. So here's what we find in
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  Speaker 3: Acts 8.35. Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this scripture,
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  Speaker 3: he told him the good news about Jesus. And as
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  Speaker 3: he shared the gospel with this stranger, in this divine appointment,
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  Speaker 3: this man trusted in Christ and wanted to be baptized.
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  Speaker 3: Because of Philip's faithfulness, the Ethiopian man was forever changed,
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  Speaker 3: and he returned home as a follower of Jesus filled
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  Speaker 3: with the same Spirit of Christ. This is significant because Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: command to take the gospel to the world is now
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  Speaker 3: being fulfilled. Ethiopia in those days by many was considered
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  Speaker 3: to be the end of the earth, and so now
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  Speaker 3: the gospel is on its way there. This was not
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  Speaker 3: due to Philip's careful planning. It was his openness and
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  Speaker 3: obedience to do what God told him to do. In
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  Speaker 3: the same way, we need to be willing for God
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  Speaker 3: to use us. There are three abilities that God really uses. Availability, expendability.
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  Speaker 3: Perhaps the greatest ability God uses is availability. When we
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  Speaker 3: are available to God, he will use us in a
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  Speaker 3: great way. And the same Holy Spirit who led Philip
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  Speaker 3: will lead us as we listen to him. Let's pray together.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for the scripture today in
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  Speaker 3: the book of Acts that shows us how we can
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  Speaker 3: be used by you to make a difference in people's lives.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to be attentive and alert to divine opportunities,
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  Speaker 3: divine appointments. For we know that there are people that
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  Speaker 3: we will encounter even today who are ready and responsive
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  Speaker 3: to receive the good news and salvation in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: May we be faithful and fearless in following you, listening
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  Speaker 3: to your spirit, and walking in your truth. For we
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  Speaker 3: pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to
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  Speaker 3: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I want you to know that
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  Speaker 3: I would love to send you my daily devotional to
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: give you fresh encouragement every single day. So visit jackgraham.org
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  Speaker 3: to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.