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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and it came to pass that a

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Speaker 1: whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught

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Speaker 1: much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for giving me the heart of Barnabas Lord,

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Speaker 1: Thank you for allowing me to encourage and to speak

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Speaker 1: life into all those willing to listen as I grow

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Speaker 1: and evolve in my faith. I pray that my life

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Speaker 1: would be a beacon of hope and a model for

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Speaker 1: others to follow. As you begin to expand your number

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Speaker 1: of believers around me, I pray that we would operate

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Speaker 1: in such a way that people can see the resemblance

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Speaker 1: of Christ in our every day actions and deeds. Through this,

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Speaker 1: I pray that revival will break loose in my city,

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Speaker 1: in my state, and in my country. I pray that

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Speaker 1: we would make such a noise that the whole world

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Speaker 1: will look in our direction and wonder where we get

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Speaker 1: our joy, our peace, and our power from. When asked,

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Speaker 1: we will rejoice because you are now giving us the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to share the greatest love story ever told, the

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Speaker 1: Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus's name, Amen, listening to

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Speaker 1: these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing

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Speaker 1: from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year,

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Speaker 1: brought to you by Bible in a Year dot.

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Speaker 2: Com Little Christs. In our last story, Peter discovered that

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Speaker 2: the Kingdom of God expanding to more than just the Jews.

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Speaker 2: Through his interactions with Cornelius, Peter began to learn that

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Speaker 2: God was going to extend his reach to all the nations.

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Speaker 3: Now we see the Church expand and grow despite persecution.

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Speaker 3: Everywhere the Family of God goes, positive change follows, and

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Speaker 3: the believers begin to create a reputation that would echo

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Speaker 3: thousands of years into the future.

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Speaker 4: Welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham.

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Speaker 4: In our last episode, we heard how God showed Peter

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Speaker 4: that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for everyone,

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Speaker 4: all nations, not just the Jewish people, but people everywhere.

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Speaker 4: Peter then shared the Gospel with the household of a

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Speaker 4: Roman centurion named Cornelius, and his whole family came to

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Speaker 4: faith in Christ. The good News of Jesus was beginning

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Speaker 4: to spread beyond the Jewish world and Jerusalem, and now

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Speaker 4: the Word of God is moving throughout the earth. Today

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Speaker 4: we'll hear how more non Jews around the world began

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Speaker 4: to embrace the Gospel, and as the church grew, Barnabas

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Speaker 4: was sent to Antioch to strengthen and encourage the new believers.

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Speaker 4: So let's listen now to today's reading from the exciting

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Speaker 4: Book of Acts.

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Speaker 3: The heavy clanging of chains echoed through the streets of Jerusalem.

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Speaker 3: Believers in Jesus were rounded up like cattle and thrown

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Speaker 3: into prison for their faith. Soon the jail cells were

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Speaker 3: overflowing with people singing psalms and praises to God. So

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Speaker 3: the violence increased. Men were fed to lions, and women

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Speaker 3: were ripped away from their children. Whoever did not receive

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Speaker 3: a beating received humiliation. So the people of God scattered

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Speaker 3: to the outer regions of the Roman Empire. Believers in

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Speaker 3: Jesus fled to Cyprus and Antioch for safe haven. Before

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Speaker 3: the word was only preached to the Jews, but now

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Speaker 3: there were rumblings of the revival erupting forth from the Hellenists,

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Speaker 3: who were Jewish Greeks. So many started coming to know

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Speaker 3: Jesus that the Apostles sent Barnabas to go and lead them.

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Speaker 3: They needed someone rational, yet caring. They needed a man

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Speaker 3: strong enough to lead, but gentle enough to comfort others.

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Speaker 3: Barnabas was all of these things and more. God had

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Speaker 3: appointed him with a sharp mind and saintly heart. It

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Speaker 3: was this mind and heart that resonated with Saul. Barnabas

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Speaker 3: had taken Saul under his wing and discipled him. The

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Speaker 3: two spoke of God, Jesus, the Word and miracles. Slowly,

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Speaker 3: Saul was growing in the power and wisdom of Christ.

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Speaker 3: The Hellenistic believers created an infamous reputation in Cyprus and Antioch.

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Speaker 3: When there was a great famine in the land, the

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Speaker 3: disciples of Jesus sent a great deal of resources to

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Speaker 3: meet the city's needs. Believers worked day and night to

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Speaker 3: ensure everyone was fed and clothed. People observed their self

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Speaker 3: sacrifice and kindness. They saw there are thousands of people

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Speaker 3: being fed and hundreds of people being healed. The gentiles

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Speaker 3: noticed that there was something strange about them. They looked

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Speaker 3: and acted like Jesus himself. They were like little Christs.

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Speaker 3: Thus people began to refer to them as Christians.

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Speaker 4: As we begin today's reading, we see that the Gospel

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Speaker 4: is on the move. The Church is on the move.

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Speaker 4: The persecution that came as a result of faith in

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Speaker 4: Jesus Christ has now scattered the Church in Jerusalem, as

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Speaker 4: believers now moved from their safe haven from Jerusalem to

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Speaker 4: the uttermost parts of the earth. They're going to places

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Speaker 4: like Cyprus and Antioch. Though many of the believers were

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Speaker 4: still stuck in the mindset that the Gospel was for

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Speaker 4: a select group only and therefore only preached the word

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Speaker 4: to people who were religious, there were others who, like Peter,

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Speaker 4: understood that there was a much greater mission, a broader mission.

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Speaker 4: So in Acts eleven, verses twenty and twenty one, here's

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Speaker 4: what we find. But there were some of them, men

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Speaker 4: of Cyprus and Sirene, who, on coming to Antioch, spoke

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Speaker 4: to the Helenists, also preaching the Lord Jesus. And the

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Speaker 4: hand of the Lord was with them. And a great

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Speaker 4: number who believed turned to the Lord Helenus were Greek

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Speaker 4: men and women. They were gentiles, and we see that

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Speaker 4: as they heard the good news, they also received it

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Speaker 4: by putting their faith in Christ and following him. The

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Speaker 4: Church is multiplying and now is experiencing an explosion of

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Speaker 4: growth in these distant cities. This, of course was great

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Speaker 4: and all a part of God's plan. And when the

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Speaker 4: Church in Jerusalem received the news that people were being

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Speaker 4: saved at distant places, they sent a trusted brother in

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Speaker 4: Christ to help strengthen and instruct these new believers. Barnabas

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Speaker 4: was one of these men. He was known to be

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Speaker 4: full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit. He

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Speaker 4: had been the first in Jerusalem to welcome Saul, who

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Speaker 4: became Paul in his miraculous conversion, and so when Barnabas

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Speaker 4: saw the need in Antioch, he went to Tarsus to

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Speaker 4: find Saul and bring him to Antioch. And together these

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Speaker 4: men taught the believers for an entire year, and their

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Speaker 4: teaching paid off. These followers of Christ stood out from

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Speaker 4: the crowd in Antioch. Their generosity and kindness did not

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Speaker 4: go unnoticed, and soon they earned a moniker little Christ

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Speaker 4: or Christians. This is the name now with which we

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Speaker 4: are so familiar, and it began back at Antioch when

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Speaker 4: the believers there were first called Christians because of their

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Speaker 4: christ Like attitude and actions. Today's reading reminds us of

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Speaker 4: the importance of discipling new believers in the faith, and

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Speaker 4: that this is something that takes time and intentional investment

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Speaker 4: by more mature believers. Barnabas knew that the believers in

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Speaker 4: these places needed to be instructed in the faith so

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Speaker 4: that they would remain true to the Gospel and to

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Speaker 4: the Word of God. He also understood that Saul, though

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Speaker 4: he was highly educated in Jewish law and tradition, needed

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Speaker 4: a mentor in his new faith, someone to walk with him,

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Speaker 4: to encourage him and prepare him for the ministry to

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Speaker 4: which God had called him. We all need a Barnabas

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Speaker 4: or two in our lives, and we should also seek

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Speaker 4: to be a Barnabas to others, encouraging, mentoring, and bringing

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Speaker 4: people up in their faith. This reading is also a

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Speaker 4: reminder of what it means to be called a Christian.

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Speaker 4: This is not simply a group or a club that

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Speaker 4: we joined. We are called to reflect Christ into the world,

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Speaker 4: to remind people of Jesus. That people will see Christ

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Speaker 4: working in us, and therefore call us Christians. Let's pray together,

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Speaker 4: Dear God, how we praise you for your goodness and

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Speaker 4: your grace in taking the Gospel to the whole world

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Speaker 4: and including all of us who believe in trust in You.

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Speaker 4: Help us, like those believers in Antioch to remind people

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Speaker 4: of Jesus to be models of Christ in the world,

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Speaker 4: so that when people see our good works, they will

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Speaker 4: glorify God and believe and follow Jesus himself, for it

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Speaker 4: is in his name that we pray. Amen.

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Speaker 5: This episode is sponsored by Metashair, an innovative health care

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Speaker 5: solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.

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Speaker 6: Hello, I'm doctor Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have

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Speaker 6: you join me on this new podcast. Heroes in the Bible,

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Speaker 6: come to me, boy, you and your God will crumble

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Speaker 6: beneath my feet.

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Speaker 1: He beckoned the giant and said.

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Speaker 2: I come to you in the name of the Lord

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Speaker 2: of Hosts and creator of the stars.

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Speaker 6: You know we all have giants that we face in

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Speaker 6: our life, and when you understand that the greatness of

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Speaker 6: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,

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Speaker 6: it will encourage, inspire and challenge all of us to

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Speaker 6: our faith in God and our growth in Jesus. Christ.

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Speaker 5: Look past his height in appearance. Samuel for man sees

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Speaker 5: the outward appearance. They see the strength of the man's arms,

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Speaker 5: but the Lord looks into the heart.

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Speaker 6: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with doctor Tony Evans

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Speaker 6: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get

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Speaker 6: your podcast