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The Four Soils - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when it is sown, it groweth up,
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  Speaker 1: and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches,
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  Speaker 1: so that the fowls of the air may lodge under
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  Speaker 1: the shadow of it. Mark 4.32 Those who have ears
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  Speaker 1: to hear, hear. These words are the staples in which
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  Speaker 1: I am listening to today's reading. Lord, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: that You've given me the Bible to help lead and
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  Speaker 1: guide me in the way that I should live my life. Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for being the personification of the living Word
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  Speaker 1: here on earth. As I meditate on today's truth found
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  Speaker 1: in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, 1-32, I realize that
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  Speaker 1: your Word is the seed in which all my purpose
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  Speaker 1: and destiny will blossom and come forth. Therefore, my heart
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  Speaker 1: will not be like the soil that allowed your seed
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  Speaker 1: to lay unprotected so that other people around me can
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  Speaker 1: steal what you've deposited in me. My heart will not
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  Speaker 1: be like the shallow soil that could not allow the
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  Speaker 1: root of your word to take hold so that when
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  Speaker 1: the trials of life come, it withers under the heat
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  Speaker 1: of pressure. I also declare that I will not let
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  Speaker 1: your word fall on the thorns of life and become
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  Speaker 1: so focused on my trials that they choke your promises
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  Speaker 1: out of my thoughts and speech. I declare that my
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  Speaker 1: heart and my life is good soil. I declare that
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  Speaker 1: I'm healthy and ready to have your word produce a
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  Speaker 1: crop of abundance, thirty, sixty, a hundredfold. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
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  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Four Soils In our last story, Jesus accepted a
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  Speaker 2: sinful and broken woman who had been scorned by the world.
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  Speaker 2: He rebuked the Pharisees for their judgment and Now Jesus
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  Speaker 2: reveals more about the kingdom of God through the story
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  Speaker 2: of the four soils, inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In yesterday's episode, Jesus was
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  Speaker 3: shown extravagant love and honor by a sinful woman who
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  Speaker 3: entered a home and wiped the Lord's feet with her
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  Speaker 3: tears and hair before bathing them in expensive perfumes. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: used this occasion to teach those gathered with him, many
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  Speaker 3: of them religious leaders who felt that they were righteous
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  Speaker 3: and justified by their good deeds, a lesson about forgiveness
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  Speaker 3: and the proper response of those who have received that grace. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we'll hear Jesus teaching about different ways in which God's
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  Speaker 3: Word is received and what happens to the seeds planted
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  Speaker 3: in different kinds of soil. It's one of the most
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  Speaker 3: famous stories Jesus ever gave. So, let's hear it now.
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  Speaker 3: from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: The seagulls flew gracefully across the face of the calm ocean.
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  Speaker 2: The gentle breeze rocked the anchored boats slightly as Jesus
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  Speaker 2: sat at the front of a ship. Thousands of people
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  Speaker 2: sat on the shore, listening to his words and wisdom.
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  Speaker 2: They were enraptured by him. Jesus smiled and began to
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  Speaker 2: speak of a farmer and his seed. There once was
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  Speaker 2: a farmer, and he went out to sow his seed
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  Speaker 2: among his land. Some of the seeds fell along the roadside.
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  Speaker 2: They were vulnerable and easily swept up by the birds.
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  Speaker 2: Other seeds fell on rocky soil. They sprung up quick
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  Speaker 2: with water and sun, but they died just as quickly
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  Speaker 2: because their roots could not go deep enough. Some of
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  Speaker 2: the seed fell among thorny soil. Once they grew, the
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  Speaker 2: weeds choked the life out of the plants. Jesus paused
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  Speaker 2: for a moment and looked around the crowd. He stood
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  Speaker 2: to his feet and lifted his finger, saying, But there
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  Speaker 2: were some seeds that fell on good soil. It was soft, pleasant,
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  Speaker 2: and yielded great fruit. Some of the crops increased thirtyfold
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  Speaker 2: and sixtyfold, some even a hundredfold. Whoever has an ear
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  Speaker 2: to truly hear, hear. Then the people left back to
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  Speaker 2: their homes, and Jesus was by the campfire with his disciples.
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  Speaker 2: Silence fell among the disciples as they gazed at the stars.
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  Speaker 2: The flames flew up to the skies. The sound of
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  Speaker 2: popping wood and crashing waves filled the silence. Do you
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  Speaker 2: understand the story I told them today? Jesus asked his disciples.
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  Speaker 2: They looked up at him. If they were being honest,
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  Speaker 2: none of them truly knew what he was saying. Jesus laughed.
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  Speaker 2: How will you understand if you don't ask? He said
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  Speaker 2: in jest. He picked up a stick and poked the fire.
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  Speaker 2: The soil represents the word of God, Jesus said. The
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  Speaker 2: seeds that fell on the road represent those that hear,
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  Speaker 2: but Satan swoops up the truth like the birds. The
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  Speaker 2: rocky soil represents those that receive the word with joy
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  Speaker 2: at first, but when hard times fall, their root is
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  Speaker 2: shallow and they fall away. The disciples began to nod.
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  Speaker 2: They were understanding Jesus as he explained. The thorny soil
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  Speaker 2: represents the cares and worries of the word. Some are
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  Speaker 2: so anxious that they are unable to truly receive truth.
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  Speaker 2: They are choked by the worries and cares.
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  Speaker 3: Of the world.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus grinned from cheek to cheek. Then there's the good soil.
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  Speaker 2: For those that hear the word and accept it, they
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  Speaker 2: do not toil or worry. They simply receive with gladness.
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  Speaker 2: These are those that will bear much fruit for the
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  Speaker 2: kingdom of God.
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  Speaker 3: Our reading today is an illustration of the kinds of
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  Speaker 3: hearts that receive God's truth and how the seeds of
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  Speaker 3: truth grow or wither in each kind of soil. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: is speaking to his followers, a larger crowd at first,
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  Speaker 3: and he's using an agricultural image. This is something his
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  Speaker 3: audience would have understood well. He spoke to the crowd,
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  Speaker 3: telling them of a farmer who went out to spread seed.
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  Speaker 3: Farming was much different in those days. No high-tech farming equipment,
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  Speaker 3: of course. precise planting of seeds in neat little rows,
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  Speaker 3: this farmer was just walking across his plot of land
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  Speaker 3: scattering seeds. It almost seemed haphazard. I picture a man
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  Speaker 3: with a bag of seeds in one hand, dipping his
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  Speaker 3: other hand into the bag and pulling out a handful
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  Speaker 3: of seed that he tosses here and there, letting them
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  Speaker 3: land where they may. So as he walks along, the
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  Speaker 3: seed falls on four different kinds of soil. Some doesn't
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  Speaker 3: even make it to the ground. It hits the path
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  Speaker 3: and birds quickly eat it up. Some falls among rocky ground,
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  Speaker 3: and though they sprouted, the seeds lacked nutrients and water,
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  Speaker 3: so the plants withered. A third bunch fell among the thorns.
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  Speaker 3: The soil was good enough for the plants to grow,
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  Speaker 3: but the environment around them was hazardous and toxic, and
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  Speaker 3: the thorns choked out the crops. But some of the
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  Speaker 3: seed fell in a good soil. It grew strong and
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  Speaker 3: healthy and produced a great crop, yielding a hundredfold. That's
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  Speaker 3: the good stuff. Jesus then said to the crowd, whoever
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  Speaker 3: has ears to hear, let him hear. The disciples asked
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  Speaker 3: why he spoke in parables, and he responded that the
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  Speaker 3: secrets of the kingdom of heaven had not been given
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  Speaker 3: to them but to the disciples. In other words, Jesus
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  Speaker 3: was going to give these men special insight into the
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  Speaker 3: things of God, into the kingdom of God, to prepare
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  Speaker 3: them for what is to come. Jesus also said he
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  Speaker 3: spoke in parables to reveal truth to those who would
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  Speaker 3: respond to it and receive it. He said in Matthew 13,
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  Speaker 3: 16 and 17, Blessed are your eyes because they see
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  Speaker 3: and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you,
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  Speaker 3: many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see,
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  Speaker 3: but did not see it, and to hear what you hear,
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  Speaker 3: but did not hear it. The disciples were hungry for understanding,
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  Speaker 3: so Jesus explained this parable to them. The seeds represented
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  Speaker 3: the word of God, and the soil represented human hearts.
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  Speaker 3: Some hear God's word, but the enemy comes and snatches
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  Speaker 3: away the word. It never takes root in the heart,
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  Speaker 3: so it never grows. The rocky ground represents the hearts
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  Speaker 3: that accept the word quickly, but without any depth. The
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  Speaker 3: root of truth doesn't establish itself, And so when troubles arise,
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  Speaker 3: those people fall away from the word. Still others, represented
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  Speaker 3: by the thorny ground, receive the word and it sprouts
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  Speaker 3: in their heart, but worldly worries choke them out and
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  Speaker 3: they never produce any fruit. The good soil represents the
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  Speaker 3: heart that receives the word and bears much fruit. This
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  Speaker 3: is the heart of the believer who understands God's word.
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  Speaker 3: The truth of the gospel grows in their heart and
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  Speaker 3: they yield fruit for the kingdom. because they believe what
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  Speaker 3: God has said. That's an important word for us here.
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  Speaker 3: As believers today, we are to be sowers of seeds.
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  Speaker 3: We are to give the gospel to the world and
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  Speaker 3: spread it to the hearts of men. The yield does
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  Speaker 3: not depend on us, and we are not to pick
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  Speaker 3: and choose where we sow the seed. We are to
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  Speaker 3: share all the gospel with all men until the whole
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  Speaker 3: world hears. Some will receive the truth and yield fruit.
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  Speaker 3: but others, for various reasons, will either never receive the
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  Speaker 3: word or will never bear fruit. Nevertheless, it is the
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  Speaker 3: calling of every one of us who name the name
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  Speaker 3: of Christ, who are followers of Jesus, to be witnesses
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  Speaker 3: of the gospel, to sow the seeds of truth, and
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  Speaker 3: to trust God for the harvest. God, we thank you
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  Speaker 3: that your word is always effective, that it always accomplishes
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  Speaker 3: your purposes. May we boldly proclaim your truth. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: that we have been called to participate in the ministry
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  Speaker 3: of the gospel by sowing seeds among men and women,
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  Speaker 3: that as many as will receive Christ can be saved
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  Speaker 3: by your grace and your love because of your cross
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  Speaker 3: and resurrection. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app and make Bible study and prayer the
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  Speaker 3: priority of your life. And if you appreciate this podcast,
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  Speaker 3: please share it with someone else. I also want to
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  Speaker 3: encourage you to go to JackGraham.org. That's JackGraham.org for information.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you.