Latest / Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay / Saul of Tarsus | Episode #375 | Encore Episode #046

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Saul of Tarsus | Episode #375 | Encore Episode #046 · Reflections On The Word With Richard Kay

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to today's edition of Reflection on the Word with
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  Speaker 1: Richard K. I'm Chuck Christie, and today we are asking
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  Speaker 1: you to spend a few moments of your time with
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  Speaker 1: us each day as Richard shares from God's work with notes, quotes,
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  Speaker 1: and story along with some of his own personal experiences,
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  Speaker 1: to confirm for you God's great love for us, that
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  Speaker 1: his compassion for us never fails, and that he has
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  Speaker 1: a great faithfulness toward us in every regard. Now, if
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  Speaker 1: you miss a portion of today's broadcast or would like
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  Speaker 1: to recommend it to a friend, you can hear this
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  Speaker 1: program anytime online at Talknetwork Radio dot com. Well, now
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  Speaker 1: here's Richard with today's reflection.
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  Speaker 2: While he was together with them, he commanded them not
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  Speaker 2: to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promise. This,
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  Speaker 2: he said, is what you heard from me. For John
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  Speaker 2: baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit not many days from now. So, when they
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  Speaker 2: had come together, they asked him, Lord, at this time
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  Speaker 2: are you restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them,
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  Speaker 2: it is not for you to know times or periods
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  Speaker 2: that the Father has set by his own authority. But
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  Speaker 2: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
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  Speaker 2: upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 2: in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
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  Speaker 2: the earth. Acts, Chapter one and verses four through eight.
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  Speaker 2: Yesterday we talked about the power of the baptism of
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. We've talked about it in reference to
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  Speaker 2: the instructions and the means of being able to convey
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  Speaker 2: the baptism by the laying on of hands of the apostles.
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  Speaker 2: And yet we have also seen that the baptism in
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit came upon believers who had sought Him,
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  Speaker 2: and yet maybe did not realize that they two could
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  Speaker 2: received the same power that would have been manifested through
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  Speaker 2: those early followers. And yet we know that this same baptism.
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  Speaker 2: As we continued to follow through the Book of Acts,
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  Speaker 2: I want us to understand that the Book of Acts
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  Speaker 2: records how the early Church grew. The power of God
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  Speaker 2: was being manifested in every facet of the believer's lives.
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  Speaker 2: We talked about how it was manifested in Stephen, who
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  Speaker 2: was a commissioned deacon. We talked about how it was
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  Speaker 2: manifested in new believers who were in Samaria that Philip
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  Speaker 2: had ministered to, and then the apostles from Jerusalem came
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  Speaker 2: and laid hands on them so that they could receive
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  Speaker 2: the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Also talked about how
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  Speaker 2: Simon the Sorcerer was in need of and wanted to
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  Speaker 2: have the power so that he could give those signs
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  Speaker 2: that were being manifested through the apostles laying on of hands,
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  Speaker 2: and they told him that it could not be done
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  Speaker 2: for their own gain, that it was strictly for the
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  Speaker 2: glory of God and the manifestation of His kingdom here
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  Speaker 2: on earth. Because of this, we recognized that the growth
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  Speaker 2: of the Church was because people could see that there
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  Speaker 2: was a good news, but there was a proof of
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  Speaker 2: good news that followed believers. There's an element in scripture
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  Speaker 2: that many of us perhaps have seen and yet maybe
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  Speaker 2: we have dismissed. When you look in Mark's Gospel, you
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  Speaker 2: can see that there's an account towards the end of
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  Speaker 2: his Gospel message where it says that they will lay
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  Speaker 2: hands on the sick and they will recover, and that
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  Speaker 2: they will actually pick up serpents and they will be bitten,
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  Speaker 2: but it will not harm them. That there will be
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  Speaker 2: many signs and wonders that will follow those that believe.
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  Speaker 2: Now I'm giving you scripture that gives you basis for
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  Speaker 2: the desire to have God manifest his power through us. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I want to come back to the Book of Acts,
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  Speaker 2: and we're going to go into the account that in
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  Speaker 2: many cases people have looked at. According to what is
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  Speaker 2: referred to as the Damascus Road experience, this was the
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  Speaker 2: actual revelation that Jesus became known to Saul of Tarsus,
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  Speaker 2: who later became known as Paul the Apostle. If you
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  Speaker 2: look at the passage beginning in Acts chapter nine, and
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  Speaker 2: as we read meanwhile, Saul, still breathing threats and murder
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  Speaker 2: against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
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  Speaker 2: Priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus,
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  Speaker 2: so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,
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  Speaker 2: either men or women, he might bring them as prisoners
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  Speaker 2: to Jerusalem. As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a
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  Speaker 2: light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground,
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  Speaker 2: he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why
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  Speaker 2: are you persecuting me? He says, who are you? Lord?
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  Speaker 2: I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied, But
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  Speaker 2: get up and go into the city, and you will
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  Speaker 2: be told what you must do. Now, what had happened
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  Speaker 2: during this event was that Saul of Tarsus was in
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  Speaker 2: pursuit with the authority from the synagogues that were in Jerusalem.
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  Speaker 2: He was given authority to persecute, to bring all of
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  Speaker 2: those who were followers of Jesus referred to in the
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  Speaker 2: passage that we read as those belonging to the Way.
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  Speaker 2: The way was a means of identifying that this was
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  Speaker 2: a new belief, a belief in a Messiah that had
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  Speaker 2: come and that was dead and buried and then resurrected,
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  Speaker 2: who appeared to many, and who proclaimed that they would
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  Speaker 2: receive power when the Holy Ghost came upon them. And
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  Speaker 2: so now we see this event as it unfolds. Saul
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  Speaker 2: of Tarsus is actually blinded physically as he experiences the
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  Speaker 2: revelation that Jesus is alive, whom he is persecuting through
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  Speaker 2: those who follow him. And so he tells this same man, Saul,
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  Speaker 2: that he must go into the city and that he
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  Speaker 2: will find in Damascus a man that is located on
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  Speaker 2: the city street called Strait, that he will go to
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  Speaker 2: the house of Judas and ask for the man from
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  Speaker 2: Tarsus named Saul. This man was the prophet Annius. Now
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  Speaker 2: this is a different Annius. This is not the one that,
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  Speaker 2: of course went to Peter in Jerusalem and was then
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  Speaker 2: dead before him because of conspiring about the sale of
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  Speaker 2: his property. But this is another prophet. The Lord appeared
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  Speaker 2: to him in a vision, and he told him to
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  Speaker 2: go to the street called Strait, and there you're going
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  Speaker 2: to find a house of Judas, asks for the man
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  Speaker 2: from Tarsus named Saul. Since he is praying there in
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  Speaker 2: a vision he has seen a man named Annius coming
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  Speaker 2: in and placing his hands on him so he may
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  Speaker 2: regain his sight. Now what follows is Anonius argues in
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  Speaker 2: this vision with the Lord, and he says he's heard
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  Speaker 2: many things about this man and the harm that he
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  Speaker 2: has done to the saints in Jerusalem. He has authority
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  Speaker 2: from there from the chief Priest to a all who
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  Speaker 2: call on your name. But the Lord said to him,
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  Speaker 2: go for this man is my chosen instrument to carry
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  Speaker 2: my name before gentiles, kings and the sons of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: I will certainly show him how much he must suffer
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  Speaker 2: for my name. Now what follows is that Anonius, after
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  Speaker 2: being reluctant, then is obedient, and he goes into this
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  Speaker 2: house that was already described, And when he sees Saul,
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  Speaker 2: who is blinded, he then places his hands on him,
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  Speaker 2: and he says, brother, Saul, the Lord Jesus appeared to
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  Speaker 2: you on the road you were traveling. The same Lord
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  Speaker 2: has sent me, so you may regain your sight and
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  Speaker 2: listen to this and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now,
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  Speaker 2: when he laid his hands on him, the scales that
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  Speaker 2: were keeping him from being able to see physically fell
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  Speaker 2: from his eyes. He got up, and then he was baptized.
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  Speaker 2: Now I want you to understand something. He was baptized
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  Speaker 2: in the Holy Spirit before he was baptized in water.
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  Speaker 2: You see what took place. And Aniyas laid his hands
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  Speaker 2: on him because he had been commissioned by the Lord
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  Speaker 2: Jesus to do this, to make sure that Saul would
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  Speaker 2: be able to do the work that he had commissioned
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  Speaker 2: him to do. And so he gave him the means
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  Speaker 2: of giving him physical sight back and be filled with
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. This terminology used was the same terminology
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  Speaker 2: as to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When you
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  Speaker 2: receive power. This is the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 2: And at once the scales fell from his eyes. He
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  Speaker 2: was physically healed. He regained his sight. Then he got
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  Speaker 2: up and he was baptized. Now he was baptized in water,
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  Speaker 2: and he then obediently followed. He took some food, he
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  Speaker 2: regained his strength, and then he was with the disciples
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  Speaker 2: in Damascus. Many days immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in
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  Speaker 2: the synagogues. He is the son of God. Now what
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  Speaker 2: took place in the life of Saul of Tarsus was
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  Speaker 2: nothing short of miraculous. He had not seen Jesus. He
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  Speaker 2: had only witness the persecution of those who followed him.
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  Speaker 2: He was present when Stephen, who had been a commissioned
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  Speaker 2: deacon full of the Holy Spirit, had been stoned to death.
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  Speaker 2: He continued to pursue, thinking he was doing God's will
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  Speaker 2: to persecute those who were the believers in the Messiah.
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  Speaker 2: And on his way in this Damascus trip, he then
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  Speaker 2: confronts the Living Lord. He's revealed to him. He removes
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  Speaker 2: from him any of the doubts. He tells him that
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  Speaker 2: he is going to go into the streets in Syria
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  Speaker 2: and in Damascus, he will actually have his message proclaimed.
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  Speaker 2: He told him that there's a man named Annonius who
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  Speaker 2: will come to him and lay hands on him, and
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  Speaker 2: he will receive his site.
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  Speaker 1: Richard will be right back in a moment to wrap up.
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  Speaker 1: But if you've just joined us, you've been listening to
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  Speaker 1: Reflections on the Word with Richard Ka, you can hear
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  Speaker 1: this message in its entirety again online as well as
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  Speaker 1: Richard's entire archive at Talknetwork Radio dot com. We would
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  Speaker 1: like to acknowledge our theme song, how Great Is Thy
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  Speaker 1: Faithfulness from the America's twenty five Favorite Hymns Album, unless otherwise.
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  Speaker 1: Express scriptures are read from the Holman Christian Standard Bible,
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  Speaker 1: which is published by Homan Bible Publishers from Nashville, Tennessee.
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  Speaker 1: Additional resources used for Reflections on the Word with Richard
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Ka include Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Our Daily Bread
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  Speaker 1: and printed by Discovery House Publishers. Again, here is Richard
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  Speaker 1: to wrap up today's message.
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  Speaker 2: So for this account we can see that here a
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  Speaker 2: man named Annonias had received vision and a commissioning from
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  Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus to go and lay hands on this
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  Speaker 2: Saul of Tarsus, and obediently he did just that. And
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  Speaker 2: when he did what God had actually told him to do,
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  Speaker 2: he told Saul of Tarsus to be filled with the
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit initially
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  Speaker 2: was the baptism in the Holy Spirit, where Jesus had
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  Speaker 2: stated in the very beginning, where we read in the
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  Speaker 2: Book of Acts, chapter one, this is before Jesus ascended
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  Speaker 2: to the Father. But he is in his resurrected form,
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  Speaker 2: and he says, this is what you heard from me.
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  Speaker 2: For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
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  Speaker 2: with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. You know, folks,
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  Speaker 2: there's a reason why we use this particular scripture, not
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  Speaker 2: just to point to Pentecopts, but to show that this
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  Speaker 2: was an expected norm in the life of a believer.
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  Speaker 2: The reason that we've covered this in such detail is
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  Speaker 2: because we want to have the understanding that Jesus has
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  Speaker 2: never changed his authority. He is still baptizing believers in
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  Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. He's the baptizer, and because he baptizes
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  Speaker 2: with the Holy Spirit, we are the ones that he
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  Speaker 2: gives the authority to carry out his work. You can
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  Speaker 2: remember that we read in John's Gospel in the fourteenth
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  Speaker 2: chapter in the twelfth verse that greater works than these
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  Speaker 2: will you do because I go to my Father, because
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  Speaker 2: he was telling them he's going to send the Holy Spirit.
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  Speaker 2: And when he sent the Holy Spirit, it was not
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  Speaker 2: just in a whisper, it was in power and great
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  Speaker 2: manifestation to show that we as believers, can be transformed
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  Speaker 2: by the power of God. And that is today's Reflection
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  Speaker 2: on the Word.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Richard. Join us again tomorrow when we continue
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  Speaker 1: with the next edition of Reflections on the Word with
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  Speaker 1: Richard k or Richard the entire team. This is Chuck
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  Speaker 1: Christie saying thanks for listening to this edition Reflections on.
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  Speaker 2: The World's fogus Porant.
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  Speaker 1: Basia pocust b