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Acts chapter 4 · Scripture Unscripted

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  Acts chapter 4. Let us pray, oh Heavenly Father,
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  I pray in the name of Jesus for you to come in and to shower us
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  with your presence. Shower us, God, with your glory,
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  Father, I pray you'll encompass us.
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  Lord, I pray the Shekinah glory will fall down upon this place,
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  upon this room, upon this time. God, I pray in the name of
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  Jesus, God, that we can light up this world through the
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  illumination of receiving from the sun.
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  God, I pray in the name of Jesus as we receive your eternal
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  words. God, we are different or we are
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  purified. Purge us of the dross.
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  Purge us of all iniquity. Purge us from discord and
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  division. God, I pray God for you to unite
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  us. Lord, I pray that you will help
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  the church at large to come together.
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  Lord of 1 sound mind, the mind of Christ.
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  God, give us clear direction, clear doctrine.
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  God, I pray that our theology is centered around the risen
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  Savior. God, I pray in the name of Jesus
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  that it is by that name and that name alone that we are united.
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  You are our banner, God, You are our protection and healer.
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  Father, you see us, Lord, and I pray that we could be known by
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  you. Search us, Lord, search our
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  hearts, Lord, search our minds. Search our motives.
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  God, I pray that you will put your finger upon anything in our
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  lives that's holding us back from experiencing the fullness
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  that you have for us. Lord, I pray churches are full
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  again. God, I pray that the underground
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  church, Lord, will be emboldened in this moment.
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  Lord, I pray that as we teach these words, the world hears
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  them and receives them and returns back to you.
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  Father, I pray for a spirit of revelation over this generation.
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  God, I pray in the name of Jesus for there to be a revival, a
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  global revival that breaks out on every continent.
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  Lord, people that are sold out to you and to your son and to
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  these holy words. Father, I pray Holy Spirit, fill
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  us. Holy Spirit, break out.
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  Holy Spirit, give us this baptism of fire.
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  Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that you will help us to
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  see you high and lifted up over everyone and everything.
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  God, I pray that we're not chasing after this world, Lord,
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  but we are locked eyes with you. Help us to get our eyes off of
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  ourselves and help us to put our upon You, the Author, the
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  perfector of our faith. Lord, lead us into heavenly
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  places. Lord, lead us beside those still
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  waters. Lord, we enter in with clean
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  hands and a pure heart. Lord, we do not bow down to
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  false idols or swear by false gods.
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  Lord, every other God is an idol who cannot see and cannot hear,
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  but you are the one true living God.
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  We worship you in spirit and truth.
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  Today we cry out, Maranatha, Lord, we stand with Israel
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  today. Lord, we pray in the name of
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  Jesus that you will help that nation.
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  Lord, protect that nation. Lord, I pray that you will keep
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  them from being overtaken and overpowered.
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  Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that all the Israelites in
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  the land from the lineage of Abraham, God will be blessed.
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  Lord, let them be blessed by our obedience.
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  Let them be grafted in, Father back in Lord, as we are the wild
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  grafted into the natural, let those branches, Lord, return
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  back to you. Father, I pray in the name of
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  Jesus that we will see the fulfillment of your prophecies
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  concerning the nation Israel, God and I pray that they, Lord,
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  will come to know you as their Messiah.
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  Lord, remove the blindness from off of them so they can know
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  you. Lord, the way that we know you
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  and we love you. Father, we thank you for these
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  Holy scriptures. We thank you for Jesus.
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  We thank you for the down payment of the Holy Spirit.
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  We thank you, God, for all the many things that you've already
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  done today. We love you, Lord Jesus, and
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  it's in your holy and precious name that I pray.
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  Amen. Let's start in verse one.
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  And as they spoke unto the people, the priest and the
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  captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, So
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  here they are. They are speaking boldly in the
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  name of Jesus Christ. They cannot be silenced.
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  And when you're full of the Holy Ghost, you cannot be silenced,
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  friends. It will naturally spring up.
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  It will naturally bubble out. You can't hide the light.
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  And when salt goes into the wound, it stings, but it
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  cleanses. And when light hits blindness
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  for the first time, it is stinging.
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  And that is what happens whenever we mirror and model and
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  illuminate Jesus Christ to a dark and wicked and perverse
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  world. It stings at first, but it
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  brings about the cleansing that is much needed to being grieved
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  that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the
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  resurrection from the dead. So remember these we're
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  mentioned in verse one, the Sadducees, they did not even
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  believe in the resurrection of the dead.
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  And here they are so upset with these disciples who won't be
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  quiet. And what are they preaching?
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  They're preaching the name of Jesus Christ, and they're
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  preaching Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected from the dead. 3
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  And they laid hands on them and put them in hold, and to the
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  next day, for it was now evening.
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  So they arrested them, They took them by force and threw them
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  into a holding cell. For how be it many of them which
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  heard the word believed. And the number of the men was
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  about 5000. So look how it went from 1:20.
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  Then it went to 3000, and now we're up to 5000.
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  This is the early church being birthed, and they believed on
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  the name of Jesus Christ, and they were saved.
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  These are the early Christians, these little Christs, because
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  they looked like Christ and they spoke like Christ and they
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  walked like Christ, and their ministry smelled like Christ.
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  And I pray that you have a pleasing aroma, your prayers up
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  to God Almighty, and He receives them in the name of Jesus
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  Christ. You can come boldly into the
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  throne room of grace. You can come boldly into the
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  holiest of holy places and make your prayers and supplications
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  unto Him. And we can abide in him and walk
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  with him. And it is a constant pray
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  without ceasing. It is a constant full time
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  discipleship unto the Lord through Jesus. 5 And it came to
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  pass in the morning that the rulers and elders and scribes, 6
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  and Annis the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander,
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  and as many were of the kindred of the high priest, were
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  gathered together at Jerusalem. So here, there's a little side
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  note here that you can see that there is in the high priest
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  office, there's corruption. These men were not put into
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  those places because they served the Lord God with all their
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  heart and with all their mind, with all their strength.
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  They were put there because they were family members.
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  And we can see all throughout Scripture that the children and
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  the relatives of a man who's after God's heart, it does not
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  mean that they will be. That lineage does not always
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  hold true. Sometimes, yes, but by and large
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  no. You'll see the children
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  squandering the inheritance of the parents, the hard work and
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  dedication of a parent who put in something and worked hard for
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  it and understood the value of it.
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  And then the children come in and they have no understanding
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  of the hardships that brought about the revelation.
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  And what do they do? They tend to use the leverage
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  for their own advantage. And you see it time and time and
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  time again. And here Caiaphas and Anis and
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  the other men mentioned, they're all family.
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  They're all together in this corruption. 7 And when they had
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  set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, by what
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  name have you done this? They're talking about the
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  healing of the lame man who was 40 years old, and how Peter told
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  him to get up and walk and his ankles and bones were
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  strengthened and he was be he was able to leap and to go into
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  the temple and to tell everyone what Jesus Christ had done for
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  him. And they're saying, by what name
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  or power have you done this? Eight.
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  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, You
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  rulers of the people and elders of Israel. 9 If we this day be
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  examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what
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  means he is made whole. 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all
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  the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
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  Nazareth, whom you crucified, who God raised from the dead,
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  even by him, does this man stand here before you whole.
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  So Peter hit the nail on the head.
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  He held no punches and got straight to the point.
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  He told them that they murdered their Messiah.
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  He told them that there is no other name that can do these
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  miracles. There is no other name that
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  could make this name make this man whole.
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  And Peter here is showing them how they are in great grave
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  danger of eternal damnation if they do not repent.
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  If they do not turn and confess that they murdered Christ and
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  turn to Christ, they will be eternally separated from God
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  Almighty. Their lineage to Abraham does
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  not count for anything. It is only Jesus Christ.
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  The land there in Israel at the time and the Temple there is not
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  going to save them. Yes, God has a very peculiar
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  relationship with the Jews and with the land, and He is going
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  to set Jesus Christ on the throne in Jerusalem for 1000
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  years as the ruler, and all the nations will flow into that
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  place to learn about God. And it is going to happen.
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  But He is by and large telling the Jews then and He's telling
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  the Jews now, that you must place your faith in the Lord
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  Jesus Christ if you desire to be saved, if you desire to make it
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  into glory and into heaven, and heaven is where Christ is. 11
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  This is the stone which was set at naughty of you builders,
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  which has become the head of the corner.
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  Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone that everything is
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  built upon. From Genesis chapter one verse
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  one to the end of Revelation, every single syllable is built
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  upon Jesus Christ. The entire Word of God, the
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  infallible, inerrant Word of God, the complete authority, is
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  all built upon Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today,
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  and forever. Amen. 12 Neither is there
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  salvation in any other, for there is none other name under
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  heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
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  It is. The only way that you're going
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  to make it into the presence of God Almighty is by the name of
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  Jesus Christ. It is the name above all names,
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  the only name that has the power to save.
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  Call upon that name today and be saved.
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  Friends, believe that God raised him from the dead, and you shall
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  be saved. Look upon him. 13 And now when
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  they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they
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  were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled and they took
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  knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.
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  Underline it, highlight it, circle it, write it in the
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  margin, put it in your notepad, put it in your journal, keep it
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  as a screensaver. They marvelled that these men
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  were unlearned. Jesus Christ had disciplined
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  them and given them their doctrine.
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  Jesus Christ did not have to released them from all of the
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  things that they had been taught by the synagogue, released them
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  from the things that they had been programmed by the
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  Sanhedrin. These men took Jesus Christ and
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  His words at face value and they truly believed every one of them
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  and all of the learned in the upper class, in the high priests
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  and all of them marvelled because the authority that these
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  men carried in the name of Jesus Christ and the ability for this
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  lame man to walk. And the miracle that had broken
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  out amongst the people, not in private, but in on full display
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  for all to see and wonder about. And many were coming over into
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  the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  And here the Jews and here the Sanhedrin and here the
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  Sadducees, they were afraid and they wanted to know what power
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  they were doing this by, by what name they were doing this by.
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  And here's the fact of the matter.
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  Can people tell that you have been with the Lord Jesus Christ?
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  Does your life exude his goodness and grace and love and
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  mercy, His tenderness? I pray that it does.
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  I pray that as you go out into the world, as you go out, it is
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  good for the boat to be in the water, but it is not good for
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  the water to be in the boat. We do not need to be ships in a
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  shipyard. We need to be out on the water.
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  We need to be out snatching people that are dying and
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  they're going to go to go to hell.
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  We need to be sharing the good news, sharing our testimony,
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  sharing how they can be saved through Jesus Christ.
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  That is our mandate. That is our mission.
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  That is what we are called to. Every blood bought, born again
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  believer is called into ministry, friends, full time
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  discipleship, friends, on to the mission field.
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  Friends, we cannot sit on our blessed assurance.
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  We must be found putting our hand to the plow.
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  We must be found locking eyes with the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  We must be going into the harvest friends.
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  That is what the Lord asks of us.
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  We cannot be lukewarm and play both sides.
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  Choose you whom you will serve. But As for me in my house, we
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  will serve the Lord, and that is what you need to make the line
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  in the sand. And people need to know what you
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  believe and who you believe in, and they need to be able to see
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  that you have been with Him. 14 And beholding the man which was
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  healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
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  This was no magic trick, this was no mirage, this was no
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  trickery. This was actual factual. 15 But
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  when they had commanded them to go outside out of the council
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  and conferred among themselves, 16 saying, What shall we do to
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  these men? For that indeed a notable
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  miracle has been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell
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  in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
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  God revealed it to the masses that the power of the Lord Jesus
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  Christ is still available even after Jesus's death,
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  resurrection, bodily appearance, and bodily ascension into heaven
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  to the right hand of God, seated, seated with power.
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  And they cannot deny. 17 but that it spread no further among
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  the people. Let us straightly threaten them
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  that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
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  They're trying to intimidate them.
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  They're trying to get them to shut up.
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  Be quiet, go and have your little prayer meetings, but
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  don't tell anybody else about the name of the Lord Jesus
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  Christ. And what it was, friends, is
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  there was an immense amount of conviction because if they
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  admitted that Jesus is the Christ, then they must admit
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  that they wrongfully executed him. 18 And they called them,
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  and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of
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  Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered, and said unto them,
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  Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you, more
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  than unto God you judge? 24 We cannot but speak the
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  things which we have seen and heard.
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  We need to always obey God, no matter what.
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  We cannot be silenced, no matter if it costs us our livelihood.
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  We cannot be silenced no matter if it costs us our reputation.
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  We cannot be silenced even if it leads to ridicule and subtle
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  persecution. We cannot be silenced even if it
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  costs us our very lives. Friends, we must be willing to
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  charge the hill. We must be willing to draw the
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  line in the sand and not be able to talk, be talked out of it.
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  We have to have divine revelation and divine
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  convictions that the Lord gives us that are unmovable and
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  unshakable, and His name is Jesus, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
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  There is no other name which anyone can be saved by, and we
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  cannot be silenced. We must take that name in the
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  good news of the Lord Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.
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  21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them
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  go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of
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  the people. For all men glorified God for
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  that which was done. 22 For the man was above 40 years old, on
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  whom this miracle of healing was showed.
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  So here's that fear of man again.
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  They have No Fear of God, but they fear men, which reveals
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  their true motives. It reveals the true heart of the
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  matter that all of these high positioned men were more afraid
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  of losing their own lives by being stoned to death.
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  They were more afraid of the people than they were of God
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  Almighty. Far be it from us, and how
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  amazing is God to reveal this miraculous to the masses. 23 And
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  being let go, they went to their own company and reported all
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  that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.
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  So here we are, these Christians are getting fueled up and filled
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  up with the Holy Ghost. 24 And when they heard that, they
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  lifted up their voice to God with 1 accord, and said, Lord,
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  you are God, which has made heaven and earth and sea, and
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  all that is in them. 25 Who by the mouth of your servant David
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  has said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine
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  vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood
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  up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
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  against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against your holy child
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  Jesus, whom you have a point, anointed both Herod and Pontius
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  Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were
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  gathered together. 28 For to do whatsoever your hand and your
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  counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold
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  their threatenings, and grant unto your servants that with all
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  boldness they may speak your word, 30 by stretching forth
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  your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by
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  the name of your holy child Jesus. 31 And when they had
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  prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
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  together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
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  they spoke the word of God with boldness.
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  I pray that boldness over you today.
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  I pray the fear of man breaks off of you today.
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  I pray the fear of government breaks off of you today.
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  I fear the. I pray the fear of persecution
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  falls off of you today. I pray that the fear of disease
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  falls off of you today. I pray against the spirit of
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  fear in your life, and I pray for a spirit of wildness.
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  Friends, we cannot shrink back and be cowards in the face of
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  opposition. We must stand firm to the end.
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  We must proclaim the name of Jesus Christ.
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  There is no power outside of the name of Jesus Christ.
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  He is the only one who holds the power to save this resurrection
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  power. And do not fear the one that can
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  kill the body, but fear the one that can kill the body and cast
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  your soul into hell. We need to be found standing
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  with Jesus Christ to the end. 32 And the multitude of them that
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  believed were of 1 heart and one soul.
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  Neither said any of them that all of the things which he
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  possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
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  So this was a miraculous atmosphere that only God can
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  sustain. Men like Judas have entered into
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  these settings and a little bit of yeast corrupts the whole
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  batch. And cheap grace has allowed many
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  wolves in in sheep's clothing. And they're only there to
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  extort, and they're only there to have selfish, greedy gain at
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  the hands of the sheeple. And we need to know that this
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  one accord in one mind is a miraculous working of the
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  manifest presence of God Almighty in their midst, this
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  Shekinah glory. And the people understood how
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  important this time was the birthing of the early church.
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  And I would have you to know you could go to every closed down
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  church that has been shuttered, turned into dwelling places for
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  people who care nothing for God. And it does not diminish God's
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  power one iota. It does not put God to shame.
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  It just means that they had left God.
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  They had left the presence of God before he ever had left
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  them. And we need to know that it is
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  through this masquerading as angels of light that many people
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  have been LED off into slaughter.
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  And we would do well to study the Word of God, to own the Word
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  of God, to read the Word of God, to meditate upon the Word of God
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  so that we're not duped by the counterfeit when it comes.
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  And there have been many who have claimed that they serve the
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  Lord God. But you can see what happened in
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  the end. It was nothing but stealing,
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  killing and destroying and they were serving the Father of lies
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  who masquerades as an Angel of light.
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  And we need to know that, friends.
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  We need to know that there is a reason He is called the
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  Antichrist. There will be enough semblances
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  of Christ that it will lead many astray.
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  It would even deceive the elect if that was possible.
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  But this is our lifeline, the Word of God.
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  We cannot just watch little snippets and sound bites,
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  friends. We must put in the work that it
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  takes to unearth the jewels and the gems that are found in the
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  infallible, inerrant Word of God from Genesis to Revelation.
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  That is the power that is available to us, the boldness
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  that is available to us, the salvation that is available to
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  us because the Word became flesh and in the beginning was the
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  Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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  We must get into this book and ask God for divine counsel from
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  on high and receive our doctrine and theology from God, not from
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  an institute with a plaque on the wall.
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  Friends, God does not look upon those things with merit.
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  It is only by divine revelation that God can give you the mind
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  of Christ to understand these scriptures.
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  And I pray that over you today, friends, that you fall madly and
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  deeply in love with God's Word and we're not being spoon fed by
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  this wicked and perverse generation who's trying to lead
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  us astray by so many subtle lies that look correct.
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  But without discernment we will be duped and LED astray. 33 And
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  with great power gave the apostles witness of the
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  resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them
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  all. This is great grace.
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  This isn't cheap grace. This cost him everything,
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  friends, and you show me somebody who abuses grace, and I
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  will show you somebody who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  If you truly know him, you will not abuse this grace.
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  This is great grace. 34 Neither was there any among them that
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  lacked for as many as were possessors of lands and houses.
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  They sold them and brought the prices of the things that were
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  sold 35 and laid them down at the apostles feet, and
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  distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
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  You know this early church, this believers, these 5000 that were
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  banded together here, they saw a lack in one house, so they
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  equalized it all. And the church should be able to
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  be the welfare system for the brothers and sisters in the
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  world. We should not rely on tyrannical
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  rulers and governments to supply all of our needs.
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  It should come from the church. This is when the Church is
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  operating in the true facet of how Jesus Christ desires.
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  And much of the persecution of the early Church is because they
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  rubbed up against the power of Rome because they were actually
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  doing the work and Rome was sitting on the sidelines just
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  trying to pacify those so that they could continue to overtake
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  them in power and greed. And here we see that the Church
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  is called into being able to be in tune with the needs of
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  brothers and sisters, and being able to take care of widows and
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  orphans in their time of distress. 36 And Joseph, who by
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  the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being
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  interpreted, the son of Consolation, a Levite, and of
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  the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the
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  money, and laid it at the apostles feet.
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  Well, praise God, Hallelujah. We'll find out next chapter why
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  this is so important to end this chapter with.
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  But you can see Barnabas had the right heart and the right
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  motive, and he counted it all as joy, and he was a cheerful
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  giver. And God loves the cheerful
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  giver. And he looks favorably upon
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  those who give and expect nothing in return.
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  And we need to be found, like Barnabas, A comforter, somebody
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  who consoles and encourage her friends.
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  And I pray that that is your gift.
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  I pray that the Lord has given you the gift of encouragement so
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  that you can help those that are feeling as if everything is is
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  gone wrong and the Lord has departed.
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  You can encourage them back into the faith and back into the
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  fold, back in to knowing the promises of God.
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  And that is my intention, friends, is to encourage you in
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  the Word of God, to encourage you to read the Word of God and
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  to own the Word of God and to know the Word of God, to live
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  the Word of God. I pray that you have fallen in
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  love with the Word of God. Hope you've been blessed by this
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  chapter. I know I sure have.
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  I love you. I'm praying for you.
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  I'm gonna see you back here tomorrow.
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  God bless you.