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The Jerusalem Council - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble
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  Speaker 1: not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 15.19 As I am being transformed into your likeness, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: I consciously make the choice to let go of past
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  Speaker 1: rules and outdated mindsets that stand in opposition to the
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  Speaker 1: new way of being. I am freely able to live.
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  Speaker 1: By the work of Jesus, I am now saved by
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  Speaker 1: grace through faith. Keeping traditions that hold me bound to
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  Speaker 1: the past can no longer serve in my new life. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: like the multitude of counsel in Acts 15, guide me,
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, and reveal to me what needs to stay
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  Speaker 1: in my life and what needs to go. Reveal to
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  Speaker 1: me in your holy word the ways I'm called to
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  Speaker 1: live so I may experience the life in abundance that
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  Speaker 1: you died to give me, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, Paul was nearly stoned to death
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  Speaker 2: by Jewish Christians who sought to control Gentiles by the law.
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  Speaker 2: They were dangerous and controlling. Yet Paul did not let
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  Speaker 2: the stones stop him. Now we see a move of
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  Speaker 2: God's Spirit as He guides the apostles and leaders to
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  Speaker 2: address the problems ahead. If Gentiles are to be brought
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  Speaker 2: into the family of God, they are going to need
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  Speaker 2: to learn to let go. Inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is another episode of the Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham. In yesterday's episode, we heard about the
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  Speaker 3: persecution brought upon Paul and Barnabas by those who wished
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  Speaker 3: to silence the message of Jesus. Twice they had escaped
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  Speaker 3: those who wished them harm, but finally in Lystra, Paul
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  Speaker 3: was seized by angry men who stoned him and carried
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  Speaker 3: him outside the city, leaving him for dead. But the
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  Speaker 3: disciples came to his aid and Paul rose up to
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  Speaker 3: continue preaching and teaching and many more came to Christ
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  Speaker 3: as a result. Today we'll hear how Christ-following Jews attempt
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  Speaker 3: to add to the gospel, trying to make Gentile believers
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  Speaker 3: follow Jewish religious traditions such as circumcision. We'll see Paul
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  Speaker 3: and Barnabas journey to Jerusalem and convene a council of
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  Speaker 3: the apostles and elders of the church to stand against
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  Speaker 3: these doctrines that threaten to rob the gospel of its power.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's reading from the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: The toxic doctrine of the church in Antioch was spreading.
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  Speaker 2: Jews who had become Christian considered themselves more complete and
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  Speaker 2: holy followers of God. They lorded their heritage over the Gentiles.
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  Speaker 2: Many of them even taught that a Gentile could not
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  Speaker 2: become a follower of Jesus unless he was circumcised. This
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  Speaker 2: was in direct opposition to what Jesus had spent years
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  Speaker 2: battling against. He died so that nobody would be judged
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  Speaker 2: on the law, but on the righteousness given to them
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  Speaker 2: through his sacrifice. So Paul and Barnabas called for the
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  Speaker 2: apostles and pastors of the church together to discuss these teachings.
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  Speaker 2: Since the early church was mostly made up of Jews,
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  Speaker 2: it was hard for them to comprehend a faith in
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  Speaker 2: Jesus without embracing the Jewish culture. So they prayed and
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  Speaker 2: bore their heads before God and one another. They argued
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  Speaker 2: and debated the law of Moses and the law of
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  Speaker 2: liberty established by Christ. Then, in the midst of the
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  Speaker 2: arguments and debates, Peter stood up before the room. Everyone
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  Speaker 2: paused as Peter paced the room. He stood with authority.
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  Speaker 2: He was no longer the scared fisherman. He was a
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  Speaker 2: man of quiet strength, a man who knew Jesus deeply.'
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  Speaker 2: My brothers,' Peter said, I have been a witness to
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  Speaker 2: what God has done to the Gentiles. God has met
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  Speaker 2: them and given them his spirit. He has made no
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  Speaker 2: distinguishing between us and them. He gives the same spirit
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  Speaker 2: to both, and we are to not call unclean what
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  Speaker 2: God has cleansed. Do we not still believe that we
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  Speaker 2: are saved by grace? Should we not believe the same
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  Speaker 2: is true for them? The room fell silent and Peter
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  Speaker 2: sat down. Then Barnabas and Paul recounted the violence of
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  Speaker 2: the Jewish Christians in Antioch. After this, all looked to James,
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  Speaker 2: the brother of Jesus. He stood to his feet. There
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  Speaker 2: was silence, and James looked deep in thought. My judgment
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  Speaker 2: is this. We should not bind the Gentiles to laws
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  Speaker 2: that bring them no closer to Jesus. We should write
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  Speaker 2: to them to encourage them, to guide them, to restore them.
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  Speaker 2: but we should also inform them on the things from
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  Speaker 2: the law they ought to keep. For such is our
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  Speaker 2: burden as leaders. All were in agreement. So they forged
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  Speaker 2: a letter of encouragement to the Gentile believers, and thus
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  Speaker 2: the first major conflict within the church was solved by
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  Speaker 2: a multitude of voices.
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  Speaker 3: In today's scripture, we find Paul and Barnabas at odds
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  Speaker 3: with some Jewish Christians who came from Judea and began
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  Speaker 3: to teach that Gentiles must first be circumcised in order
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  Speaker 3: to be saved. Paul and Barnabas saw this for the
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  Speaker 3: false teaching that it was, a burden on the Gentiles
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  Speaker 3: that Jesus never meant for them to bear, and they
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  Speaker 3: debated them with passion. It was no small matter, and
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  Speaker 3: a rift was beginning to form in the church. So
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  Speaker 3: Paul and Barnabas wisely traveled to Jerusalem to meet with
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  Speaker 3: Peter and the other apostles along with elders in the church.
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  Speaker 3: These were people who had lived alongside Jesus and heard
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  Speaker 3: him preach. If anyone could rule on this matter, it
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  Speaker 3: would be them. As it turned out, this was not
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  Speaker 3: simply a question on the fringes. There were many Jews
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  Speaker 3: in Jerusalem who believed the same things, that Gentiles had
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  Speaker 3: to follow Jewish laws and customs and become circumcised. Of course,
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  Speaker 3: it was a deeper issue than circumcision. This was a
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  Speaker 3: fundamental misunderstanding of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 3: and the freedom that he gives to all who follow him.
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  Speaker 3: After a great deal of debate and discussion, Peter stood
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  Speaker 3: and spoke with confidence. I can imagine that as he
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  Speaker 3: addressed the gathering, he was recalling the day on the
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  Speaker 3: roof when the vision of unclean animals came to him
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  Speaker 3: and he heard God tell him to rise, kill, and eat.
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  Speaker 3: how after he protested, God told him that he was
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  Speaker 3: not to call anything unclean that God had made clean,
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  Speaker 3: and how just after he awoke from his vision, men
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  Speaker 3: came to bring him to a centurion named Cornelius, a
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  Speaker 3: Gentile who came to faith in Christ. Peter had led
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  Speaker 3: this man and his whole family to faith in the Lord,
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  Speaker 3: and there had been no need for circumcision. Salvation came
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  Speaker 3: through faith in Christ alone, by God's grace alone, to
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  Speaker 3: these Gentiles who heard the word of God and the
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  Speaker 3: message of salvation. And the same Holy Spirit had been
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  Speaker 3: given to them as was given to Peter and other
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  Speaker 3: believing Jews. To Peter, the matter was settled. God made
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  Speaker 3: no distinction and had called all nations and all people
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  Speaker 3: to himself. So in Acts 15, 10 and 11, he concludes,
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  Speaker 3: Now therefore, why are you putting God to the test
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  Speaker 3: by placing a yoke on the back of the disciples
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  Speaker 3: that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
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  Speaker 3: But we believe that we will be saved through the
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  Speaker 3: grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as they will.
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  Speaker 3: Paul and Barnabas then began to tell those gathered what
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  Speaker 3: the Lord had been doing among the Gentiles who were
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  Speaker 3: coming to faith in the Lord. Finally, James, Jesus' own brother,
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  Speaker 3: stood and testified that what Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were
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  Speaker 3: saying did not contradict Old Testament prophecy, but rather supported it.
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  Speaker 3: This is so important that we remember this today as well. Yes,
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  Speaker 3: God uses experiences to shape and inform us in our walk,
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  Speaker 3: but our experiences do not trump God's revealed Word. God's
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  Speaker 3: Word is our final authority for faith and practice. And
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  Speaker 3: as James concluded, God did not intend for Gentiles to
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  Speaker 3: become Jews. So rather than burden them with religious requirements
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  Speaker 3: of the law, they should instead exhort them to abstain
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  Speaker 3: from things like sexual immorality and other practices that that
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  Speaker 3: would violate God's moral law, ultimately hindering their fellowship with
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  Speaker 3: God and other believers. This Jerusalem council then drafted a
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  Speaker 3: letter to send out to believers, resolving the matter and
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  Speaker 3: encouraging them to have unity in the faith. This was
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  Speaker 3: the first major disagreement in the church, resolved through wise counsel, discernment,
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  Speaker 3: understanding of God's word, and prayer. It would not, however,
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  Speaker 3: be the last division in the church, and as we'll
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  Speaker 3: discover in our next episode, Paul would remind believers again
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  Speaker 3: that righteousness and freedom come not from good works but
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  Speaker 3: through faith in Jesus Christ by God's grace. We'll learn
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  Speaker 3: more about that the next time. Let's pray. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: we thank you for the gospel, that your grace is
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  Speaker 3: available to all, that this is not a religious event.
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  Speaker 3: experience but a life-changing transformation by the power of the
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  Speaker 3: Lord Jesus Christ. May we always judge our experiences in
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  Speaker 3: the discernment of God's Word through the lens of Scripture.
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  Speaker 3: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you once again for joining
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  Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year. And you can help ensure
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  Speaker 3: that more and more people can hear the life-changing message
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  Speaker 3: of God's Word with your generous gift today. To keep
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: these gospel-centered messages reaching people around the world, please give
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: at www.bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative health care
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Dr. Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: you join me on this new podcast, Heroes in the Bible.
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  Speaker 4: Come to me, boy.
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  Speaker 2: You and your God will crumble beneath my feet.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: He beckoned the giant and said.
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  Speaker 2: I come to you in the name of the Lord
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  Speaker 2: of hosts and creator of the stars.
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  Speaker 4: You know, we all have giants that we face in
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  Speaker 4: our life. And when you understand that the greatness of
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  Speaker 4: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,
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  Speaker 4: it will encourage, inspire, and challenge all of us to
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  Speaker 4: our faith in God and our growth in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 4: Look past his height and appearance, Samuel, for man sees
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  Speaker 4: the outward appearance.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: They see the strength.
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with Dr. Tony Evans
• 11:47
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• 11:52
  Speaker 4: your podcasts.