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Speaker 1: For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke one thirty seven. Glory, Hallelujah.

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Speaker 1: I lift up holy hands to the glorious King of Kings.

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Speaker 1: I was worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. Nothing

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Speaker 1: is impossible for you. All things belong to you, were

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Speaker 1: created by you, and will be sustained by the power

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Speaker 1: of your word. You, who created the universe and holds

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Speaker 1: it in the palm of your hands, is the great.

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Speaker 1: I am, I am and ever shall be. I am

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Speaker 1: the same today as I was yesterday, as I will

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Speaker 1: be tomorrow. You, dear Lord, are beyond space and time.

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Speaker 1: Nothing is impossible. If I only believe with God, I

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Speaker 1: can do all things. Through Christ, who strengthens me. Through

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Speaker 1: the birth of Jesus, I have been set free. I

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Speaker 1: look forward to this season that reminds me of His

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Speaker 1: love and the great sacrifice that he made, and that

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Speaker 1: now all things are possible for me. Teach me to

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Speaker 1: have mountain moving faith. Invade my mind, but the truth

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Speaker 1: of your word. Take away my hardened heart and replace

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Speaker 1: it with a heart that beats in alignment with your

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Speaker 1: heart of compassion and love. As I decrease and melt

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Speaker 1: into your heart of love, I live and breathe in you.

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Speaker 1: When I seek to do your will for your honor

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Speaker 1: and glory, I can trust the purity of your power

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Speaker 1: working through me. I give you all the praise and

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Speaker 1: glory and only seek to serve your purposes here on

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Speaker 1: earth in Jesus name.

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Speaker 2: Amen.

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Speaker 1: Stay tuned to immerse yourself in the Greatest Stories Ever

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Speaker 1: Told from pray dot COM's podcast, Heroes in the Bible.

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Speaker 3: Hi, I'm doctor Tony Evans and I'm excited for you

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Speaker 3: to join me on Heroes in the Bible. Jesus. Please

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Speaker 3: follow this podcast on Apple or Spotify to get the

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Speaker 3: latest episodes so you can strengthen your relationship with Jesus.

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Speaker 3: Welcome to the greatest story ever told. It is a

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Speaker 3: tale of a shepherd's heart for his sheep, a father's

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Speaker 3: love for his children, and a hero's triumph over death

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Speaker 3: and darkness. This is a story that continues to shape

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Speaker 3: and mold the world around us, bringing the divine heart

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Speaker 3: of God right into the hearts of you and I.

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Speaker 3: He is the Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, Son

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Speaker 3: of David, King of Kings, Chief Cornerstone, good Shepherd, Lion

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Speaker 3: of Judah, and only begotten son of God. He is

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Speaker 3: our ultimate hero, Jesus Christ. Every generation since Adam and

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Speaker 3: Eve have pined after this long awaited savior, But he

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Speaker 3: was not the hero anyone expected. Many envisioned the giant

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Speaker 3: slayer like David. Others pictured a prophet summoning fire from

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Speaker 3: the heavens like Elijah. But Jesus came to us in

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Speaker 3: an unexpected way. The maker of the stars and captain

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Speaker 3: of the cosmos chose to descend upon our world wrapped

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Speaker 3: in humility. Iro did not come as a charioteer writing

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Speaker 3: the stars, but as a baby lying vulnerably in a manger.

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Speaker 3: I'm excited to begin this journey with you. I hope

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Speaker 3: this fresh take on the life of Jesus will compel

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Speaker 3: you to draw near to God and challenge you to

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Speaker 3: take his character upon you. The truth is we can't

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Speaker 3: encounter the story of Jesus and leave unchanged. His life

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Speaker 3: miracles and words demand a response from us. With each episode,

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Speaker 3: you will discover deeper layers to the person, work, and

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Speaker 3: might of Jesus. My prayer for you is that Jesus

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Speaker 3: would grip your heart and remind you that he can

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Speaker 3: be your hero too. We will begin this episode with

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Speaker 3: a prelude, a story captured from another space and time.

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Speaker 3: It is impossible for us to explore Jesus without first

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Speaker 3: going to the beginning, when mankind was first exposed to

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Speaker 3: darkness and hope for the light began. Here is episode

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Speaker 3: one He Is Coming.

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Speaker 2: Prelude, Chapter one. In the beginning, there was silence. There

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Speaker 2: was no singing of angels in the heavens, no creatures

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Speaker 2: howling on the earth. Darkness loomed over the chaotic waters,

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Speaker 2: and creation was but an idea, not yet manifested. Then,

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Speaker 2: in the dark and quiet mystery of an untamed universe,

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Speaker 2: a voice spoke, Let there be light, and a burst

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Speaker 2: of life, and light broke through the noiseless void. The

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Speaker 2: word of God formed and fashioned every detail of the cosmo.

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Speaker 2: This word was powerful. This word was with God and

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Speaker 2: was God. Beams of light and streams of water obeyed

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Speaker 2: the word, and it was good. God created life itself

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Speaker 2: with his very voice. The earth and the fullness therein

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Speaker 2: was created by Him and for him. Within his creation,

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Speaker 2: he chose to reflect his own character and his own

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Speaker 2: image through mankind. From the dust, he formed men and women,

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Speaker 2: and he stamped them with his lightness. He created a

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Speaker 2: garden teeming with life and freedom. God dwelled in this

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Speaker 2: garden with them. God commissioned man to tend to his

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Speaker 2: creation and enjoy it. They were to be fruitful and

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Speaker 2: multiply all throughout the earth, bringing the character and image

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Speaker 2: of God wherever they stepped His creation, danced and harmony

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Speaker 2: with one another. It was a beautiful relationship. Yet every

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Speaker 2: relationship requires choice. God gave the first men and women

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Speaker 2: the choice. They could choose to dwell with Him and

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Speaker 2: follow in His ways, or they could be their own

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Speaker 2: gods and know the burdens of good and evil. Mankind

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Speaker 2: chose wrongly. They chose to live a life that learned

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Speaker 2: away from God and towards death. Because of this, they

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Speaker 2: were cast out from the garden. The ground beneath him

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Speaker 2: was cursed and no longer produced food without labor. The

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Speaker 2: unity between husband and wife was tainted with strife. The

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Speaker 2: bond of brotherhood was marred with jealousy. Mankind chose to

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Speaker 2: act as though they were their own creators, and they

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Speaker 2: ignored the voice of God. Darkness loomed once again. Mankind

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Speaker 2: was drawn away from the light. They tasted death and

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Speaker 2: an altogether worse darkness. Dwelled among them. Even though the

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Speaker 2: light still shone brightly, it became dim to them. Cold,

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Speaker 2: alone and broken, they fell deeper and deeper into their

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Speaker 2: own sin. The darkness was too much to bear. Its

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Speaker 2: weight was heavy, like the waves of the sea. The

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Speaker 2: swells of sin billowed and beat against the vessels of

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Speaker 2: their souls. Yet there was one who had the single

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Speaker 2: word that could calm it.

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Speaker 4: All.

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Speaker 2: The weight mankind was destined to drown under would be

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Speaker 2: poured out on another, God himself. The word would descend

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Speaker 2: in a cosmic rescue mission to redeem his image bearers.

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Speaker 2: The death that bound the children of God would be

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Speaker 2: chased out by the light of the world. By his

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Speaker 2: wounds they would be healed, and by his blood they

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Speaker 2: would be washed clean. This is the story of that

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Speaker 2: light returning once again, and the hero of all creation

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Speaker 2: redeeming his people. This new word was preceded by a

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Speaker 2: voice speaking into the silence. This voice came from a

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Speaker 2: man named John. Chapter one, He is Coming. Nearly five

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Speaker 2: hundred years had passed since God had spoken to his

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Speaker 2: people through the prophets. The people of Israel longed for

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Speaker 2: their promised hero. The Law and the prophets had spoken

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Speaker 2: of a Messiah who had come to rescue them from

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Speaker 2: oppression and bondage. So they waited, holding fast to their

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Speaker 2: religious traditions and practices that kept them tethered to their culture.

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Speaker 2: The age of education, religion, and government had emerged in Israel,

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Speaker 2: but not without cost. The Roman Empire had conquered almost

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Speaker 2: all the known world, and Caesar's grip on the nation

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Speaker 2: of Israel was hard and cruel. The Jewish people remained

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Speaker 2: faithful to the practices of the Temple, and the priests

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Speaker 2: and pharisees grew more rigid in their religious dogmaey the

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Speaker 2: nation was pining for a Messiah. Religious oppression from within

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Speaker 2: and military oppression from without left God's people longing for

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Speaker 2: a savior. In the days when Herod was king over Judea,

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Speaker 2: there was a priest named Zechariah. He and his wife

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Speaker 2: Elizabeth were beloved members of their community. Together they sought

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Speaker 2: the righteousness of God. Since they had not been blessed

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Speaker 2: with the ability to have children, the two of them

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Speaker 2: dedicated their lives to the ministry of God. It pained

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Speaker 2: them that they could not have children. It was a

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Speaker 2: desire of their hearts for so long. Yet now that

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Speaker 2: they were advanced in years they had come to accept

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Speaker 2: where the Lord had them. It was before dawn and

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Speaker 2: the sun had not yet made its way over the horizon.

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Speaker 2: Zachariah woke up and breathed in the coolness of the morning.

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Speaker 2: He dressed himself in his ceremonial robes, strapped on his sandals.

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Speaker 2: Was the day of Atonement, a special day where the

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Speaker 2: priests would make sacrifices on behalf of the people of God.

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Speaker 2: His specific division was on duty that morning. Zachariah walked

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Speaker 2: the road leading up to the Temple of Jerusalem. He

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Speaker 2: could see its gold fixtures reflecting and the rising sun.

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Speaker 2: Its rays of light spread across the city streets, making

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Speaker 2: it impossible to ignore. Zachariah walked up to the temple

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Speaker 2: and greeted his fellow priests. As was the custom, they

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Speaker 2: were going to cast lots to determine special roles for

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Speaker 2: the priests. The first lot was to choose who would

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Speaker 2: cleanse the altar and prepare the fire for sacrifice. The

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Speaker 2: second lot determined who would killed the morning sacrifice. The

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Speaker 2: third lot was the most special of tasks. The third

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Speaker 2: lot determined who would come and offer incense in the

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Speaker 2: holy of holies, the presence of God covered by a

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Speaker 2: thick veil in the depths of the temple. This third

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Speaker 2: lot was at once in a lifetime opportunity. Hundreds of

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Speaker 2: people were gathering outside the temple to take part in

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Speaker 2: the morning worship. The sun was peeking over the temple

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Speaker 2: roof and shone brightly over their faces. The priests gathered

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Speaker 2: and the lots were passed. Zachariah watched as the lots

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Speaker 2: fell into the hall. The first was cast and fell

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Speaker 2: on Amram, he would cleanse and prepare the altar. The

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Speaker 2: second lot was flung into the air and landed on

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Speaker 2: the name of Fival. He would kill the morning sacrifice

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Speaker 2: on behalf of the people. Then came the third lot.

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Speaker 2: The high priest passed the lot high into the air,

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Speaker 2: and everyone watched as it fumbled round the floor. Zachariah's

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Speaker 2: eyes widened as he saw the lot fall on his name.

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Speaker 2: His heart began to pound, and his eyes immediately darted

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Speaker 2: towards the high part of the temple. He was just

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Speaker 2: chosen to enter the holiest ground on earth, the chosen

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Speaker 2: dwelling place of God. The gong sounded and reverberated all

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Speaker 2: throughout the temple courtyard. As Zechariah took steps forward towards

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Speaker 2: the vale, the thick curtains motionless, his bottom laying heavy

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Speaker 2: over a stone floor, zachariaher gulped. Holding the incense in

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Speaker 2: his hand. He did his best to keep his hand

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Speaker 2: from shaking as he passed through the veil opening.

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Speaker 4: Into the room, the.

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Speaker 2: Holy of Holies, the most holy place where no man

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Speaker 2: could enter except for this one day year. Zechariah faced

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Speaker 2: the golden automate with the incense. He took a step forward,

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Speaker 2: being mindful of the rope tied around his waist. Many

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Speaker 2: men had died there behind the veil, so priests took precautions.

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Speaker 2: The room was dimly lit by a single golden lampstand.

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Speaker 2: It was silent, almost too silent. The only sound Zachariah

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Speaker 2: could hear was the pounding of his own heart. He approached,

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Speaker 2: he altared cautiously. Zachariah never experienced something like this. Despite

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Speaker 2: the room being empty, he could clearly feel the presence

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Speaker 2: for another The incense burned and filled the room with

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Speaker 2: a rich smoke. Its haze made the dim light from

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Speaker 2: the lampstand disperse in several directions. Zechariah closed his eyes

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Speaker 2: and took a deep breath. Before he could utter any

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Speaker 2: word of prayer, a burst of light knocked him down

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Speaker 2: on his back. Zechariah stumbled to his feet before gazing

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Speaker 2: up to see an Angel of the Lord on the

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Speaker 2: right side of the altar. The smoke covered his face

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Speaker 2: and Zechariah thought he was being attacked. The angel was

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Speaker 2: a glorious sight, almost indescribable to nature and stature. He

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Speaker 2: was gloriously terrifying. Fear overcame Zechariah as he fell to

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Speaker 2: his face, trembling. This is where I die. He thought.

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Speaker 2: The angel must have come to kill me. The angel

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Speaker 2: was perched on the altar, looking down at the trembling priest.

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Speaker 2: Despite their closeness to heaven, angels did not fully understand

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Speaker 2: the relationship God had when these creatures so imperfect yet

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Speaker 2: so beloved by the Most High. The angel peered at Zechariah,

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Speaker 2: as many humans did when seeing angels. He was incredibly

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Speaker 2: afraid and shaking. The angel comforted him, saying.

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Speaker 4: Do not be afraid, Zachariah. To day your prayers have

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Speaker 4: been answered.

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Speaker 2: The quivering priest looked up to see what seemed to

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Speaker 2: be a smile on the angel. Slightly curious, but still afraid,

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Speaker 2: Zechariah rose to his feet. The angel continued, saying.

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Speaker 4: The Lord has found you and your wife people of favor.

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Speaker 4: You too will soon bear a son, and his name

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Speaker 4: will be John.

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Speaker 2: Zachariah's jaw nearly hit the floor with disbelief as he

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Speaker 2: watched the creature speak. Sensing the doubt in the priest,

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Speaker 2: the angel continued.

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Speaker 4: Ah, what a joy it will be for your household.

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Speaker 4: Many will rejoice set this little one's birth, for he

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Speaker 4: will be special. Yes, he will be a great voice

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Speaker 4: proclaiming the coming of our Lord. His words will go

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Speaker 4: forth like iron to wood and reach the.

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Speaker 2: Hearts of many.

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Speaker 4: Be sure that this child is not given to wine

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Speaker 4: or strong drink, for he will need his wits about

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Speaker 4: him for the coming mission.

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Speaker 2: The angel's presence grew more palpable as he raised his

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Speaker 2: hands to heaven and shouted.

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Speaker 4: Yes, Zachariah, your son will be filled with the spirit

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Speaker 4: of the Living God, even from his mother's wound. The

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Speaker 4: Holy Spirit will mold and shape his heart to know

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Speaker 4: his will.

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Speaker 2: Zachariah stepped back, tempted to slap himself to wake up.

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Speaker 2: Was not a dream? Before him stood a heavenly being

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Speaker 2: telling him that he and his aged wife were going

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Speaker 2: to have a son, and somehow he was going to

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Speaker 2: be special. The angel cocked his head towards the feral priest.

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Speaker 2: An intensity boiled up in his eyes, and his voice

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Speaker 2: grew more serious.

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Speaker 4: The spirit and power of Elijah was prophesied to return

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Speaker 4: and prepare the nation of Israel for their king. It

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Speaker 4: will be your son, Zachariah, who carries that burden. He

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Speaker 4: will turn many hearts to the wisdom and justice of God.

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Speaker 4: He will prepare the way for the coming Messiah, the Messiah.

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Speaker 2: But this cannot be true, Zachariah exclaimed, Look at me,

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Speaker 2: I'm an old man. My wife is well, at fast

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Speaker 2: past child bearing years. Perhaps you have the wrang. I

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Speaker 2: am Gabriel, The angel interrupted with a gust of wind

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Speaker 2: behind his voice. The booming sound launched Zechariah off his feet.

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Speaker 4: I stand in the presence of the most high Creator himself.

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Speaker 4: It is I who was sent to speak to you

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Speaker 4: this good news. And here you stand in doubting that.

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Speaker 2: The angel's power was felt in this moment. It wasn't human,

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Speaker 2: it was something else entirely. Zachariah covered his face before

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Speaker 2: he could respond. Gabriel spoke, saying, you.

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Speaker 4: Will see the goodness of God before your very eyes.

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Speaker 4: But behold, you will not be able to speak until

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Speaker 4: your son is born. Your speech will be taken from you,

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Speaker 4: therefore forcing you to truly consider the blessing of God

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Speaker 4: within yourself. Hear me, this word will be fulfilled.

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Speaker 2: Gabriel was silent and leaned down to the crying priest.

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Speaker 2: With a resolute voice, filled with a hope, he whispered,

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Speaker 2: he is coming. He whose final words the angel disappeared

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Speaker 2: into the smoke of the burning incense. Much time had

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Speaker 2: passed since Zechariah entered behind the veil. The other priests

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Speaker 2: were growing worried. However, when he emerged that they were

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Speaker 2: unable to know what had happened. For just as Gabriel

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Speaker 2: declared he was unable to speak, Zechariah's face was white

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Speaker 2: as shock, Yet deep within his soul he knew what

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Speaker 2: the angel said was true. He stumbled home, and that

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Speaker 2: night he made love to Elizabeth and fell asleep in

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Speaker 2: her warm embrace. Just a few months later, as Elizabeth

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Speaker 2: was walking to retrieve water, she could feel the slight

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Speaker 2: cakes of the baby and her womb. Her eyes welled

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Speaker 2: up with tears as she fell to her knees. Ah,

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Speaker 2: the Lord has smiled upon me, she whispered to herself.

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Speaker 2: So Elizabeth continued to praise God as Zechariah struggled in

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Speaker 2: his silence. God was clearly at work in them. They

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Speaker 2: could see the will of God dimly but not yet

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Speaker 2: fully formed. That was until they were paid a visit

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Speaker 2: from Elizabeth's cousin Mary.

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Speaker 3: Everything is being set up for Jesus to come, and

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Speaker 3: I can't wait to see how the story unfolds. This

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Speaker 3: episode set up a foundation for us, specifically with the prelude.

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Speaker 3: The prelude took us all the way back to the beginning,

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Speaker 3: when the Word of God spoke the expanse of heaven

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Speaker 3: and the foundation of earth into existence. We were given

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Speaker 3: a poetic overview of the creation's story, followed by the

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Speaker 3: telling of man's fall from paradise. At the end of

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Speaker 3: the prelude. We are supposed to feel this longing for

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Speaker 3: the light of mankind to return. Not just longing, but

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Speaker 3: a deep need to be saved. No doubt, many of

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Speaker 3: us have felt like boats being tossed to and fro

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Speaker 3: by the storms of life ever since the Garden of Eden.

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Speaker 3: We have been longing for peace, light, and life. The

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Speaker 3: prelude connects us to that deep need while also offering

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Speaker 3: us hope that redemption is coming. He is coming. The

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Speaker 3: prelude puts a great deal of emphasis on the Word

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Speaker 3: of God. John One tells us that the Word of

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Speaker 3: God became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is referred

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Speaker 3: to as the Word of God. Why to put it simply,

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Speaker 3: words are our greatest tool to express our identities, hopes,

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Speaker 3: and intentions. Jesus is God's way of expressing his identity, hope,

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Speaker 3: and intentions.

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Speaker 2: For us.

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Speaker 3: Jesus is the embodiment of who God is and the

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Speaker 3: highest expression of truth. And just as the Word of

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Speaker 3: God formed the cosmos, he wants to form us as well.

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Speaker 3: He wants to take the chaotic nothingness within us and

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Speaker 3: create order. He wants to speak peace to the sees

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Speaker 3: that rage within us and speak light and life into

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Speaker 3: the barren wastelands of our hearts. The Creation story is

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Speaker 3: not just a poetic account of what happened. It is

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Speaker 3: an invitation to have the same thing happen to us.

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Speaker 3: As this series unfolds and the Word of God Jesus speaks.

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Speaker 3: Remember that it is the same voice that said, let

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Speaker 3: there be light, Allow the unformed parts of your heart

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Speaker 3: to be spoken to, and wait as paradise grows within

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Speaker 3: your soul. After the prelude were introduced to Zachariah, a

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Speaker 3: priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. He was a part

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Speaker 3: of a religious structure that was designed to preserve the

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Speaker 3: Jewish people under intense persecution. The history of Jewish suffering

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Speaker 3: cannot be understated. Since they're enslavement in Egypt. They have

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Speaker 3: been attacked, enslaved, and subjected by every major empire that

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Speaker 3: ruled each age. However, faith, the Law of Moses, tradition,

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Speaker 3: and a rich heritage kept them alive. It is important

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Speaker 3: to me mention this because the religious Jews will occasionally

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Speaker 3: come across as villains in this series. They aren't the villains.

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Speaker 3: They built a dogmatic religious structure that protected them from

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Speaker 3: assimulating into Roman culture, and it was that system that

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Speaker 3: kept a culture alive long enough to see the long

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Speaker 3: awaited Messiah come. Zacharia is not just a character in

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Speaker 3: this episode. He is a symbol. He is a symbol

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Speaker 3: of the transition between two religious systems, the Old covenant

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Speaker 3: promises and laws established by God in the Old Testament

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Speaker 3: is about to be fulfilled, making a path for a

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Speaker 3: new covenant through Jesus. Zacharia's son is going to be

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Speaker 3: the forerunner for Jesus, preparing hearts for the new work

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Speaker 3: God is about to do. There is symbolic significance to

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Speaker 3: Zachariah entering the Holy of Holies behind the veil. This

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Speaker 3: was the place where the manifest presence of God dwelt,

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Speaker 3: separated from the rest of the world by a thick curtain.

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Speaker 3: This whole story is about the veil being torn, giving

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Speaker 3: every man and woman access to God. At the end

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Speaker 3: of this series you will hear about the veil again.

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Speaker 3: Our hero's body will be torn asunder, and the veil

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Speaker 3: separating God and man will be torn as well. When

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Speaker 3: Zachari enters the Holy of Holies, we are given the

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Speaker 3: ominous feeling that someone else is there with him. Clearly,

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Speaker 3: the presence of God is palpable in that room, but

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Speaker 3: there is another as well, a creature unlike anything Zacharia

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Speaker 3: has ever seen. The story uses the word creature purposefully. Oftentimes,

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Speaker 3: when angels are portrayed in movies, they're given a cute

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Speaker 3: and harmless quality, but that is not how the Bible

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Speaker 3: describes them. Some angels are described in detail and are

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Speaker 3: frankly terrifying. Angels like Gabriel are described with more humanlike characteristics,

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Speaker 3: but they were not simply humans with pretty wings. There

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Speaker 3: was a different quality to them and a glory that

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Speaker 3: instilled fear in anyone they came into contact with. The

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Speaker 3: Bible also tells us that we get access to God

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Speaker 3: in a way that angels marvel at. Although they are

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Speaker 3: heavenly beings, their relationship with God is not like ours.

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Speaker 3: They do not bear his image or get access to

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Speaker 3: his heart in the same way. This is why Gabriel's

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Speaker 3: interaction with humans in this story is supposed to be

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Speaker 3: a little awkward and different from a simple human to

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Speaker 3: human interaction. Gabriel will visit again in this series. The

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Speaker 3: angel has a message for Zachariah. His wife will give

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Speaker 3: birth to a baby boy, and his name will be John.

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Speaker 3: According to Gabriel, he will be a great voice proclaiming

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Speaker 3: the coming of the Lord. His words will go forth

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Speaker 3: like iron to wood and reach the hearts of many.

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Speaker 3: Elizabeth bearing a child is highly improbable, and Zachariah reminds

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Speaker 3: Gabriel that they are both beyond. Zacharia's protest is an

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Speaker 3: interesting one because it reveals an ignorance of the scriptures.

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Speaker 3: All throughout the Old Testament, God showed favor to his

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Speaker 3: people by opening up the baron womb. There are six

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Speaker 3: stories of barren women in the Old Testament, Sarah, Rebecca,

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Speaker 3: and Rachel, who are all matriarchs. There was also Hannah,

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Speaker 3: the mother of the prophet Samuel, the unnamed mother of Samson,

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Speaker 3: and a Shunamite woman who was an assistant to Elisha.

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Speaker 3: In all these instances, God opens up their wounds so

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Speaker 3: they can give birth to God's chosen patriots, heroes, and prophets.

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Speaker 3: This is perhaps one of the most important patterns in

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Speaker 3: the entire Bible. This ongoing motif was trumpeting the promise

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Speaker 3: of a son. In each of these stories, the son

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Speaker 3: that came from the baron woman went to suffer and

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Speaker 3: redeem God's people in some way. Isaac was almost sacrificed

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Speaker 3: at the altar, but went on to continue the promise

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Speaker 3: of Abraham. Jacob fled for his life but became Israel.

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Speaker 3: Joseph was sold in the slavery, nearly killed, but rose

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Speaker 3: to power to redeem his family. Samson waged war against

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Speaker 3: the Philistines and died to save his nation. Samuel was

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Speaker 3: given up as a young boy to be a priest,

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Speaker 3: then served the nation of Israel as their last judge.

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Speaker 3: The Shoudamite Son died but was brought back to life

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Speaker 3: by Elisha. All of these men came from barn wounds

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Speaker 3: and modeled in some way the life of Jesus. Zachariah

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Speaker 3: should have known better when protesting God's promise. Let me

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Speaker 3: ask you a question. What is more impossible than a

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Speaker 3: barren woman becoming pregnant a virgin becoming pregnant. God is

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Speaker 3: going to transition from doing the improbable to the impossible.

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Speaker 3: Our story ends with a dim picture of things to come,

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Speaker 3: but the image is getting clearer. The unknown future presented

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Speaker 3: to Zachariah and Elizabeth represents the obscurity of Jesus's arrival.

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Speaker 3: There are whispers, veiled prophecies, and echoes of things to come,

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Speaker 3: but nobody can fully be prepared for what's about to happen.

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Speaker 3: An unlikely hero is coming, and the long awaited light

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Speaker 3: is about to show into the darkness. Our journey has begun,

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Speaker 3: and I can't wait to see what happens next. Join

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Speaker 3: us next time for episode two You Are Chosen, we

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Speaker 3: will meet the two people chosen by God to raise

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Speaker 3: his Son. Thanks again for listening. For more inspiring stories,

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Speaker 3: daily prayers and wisdom to last a lifetime, go to

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Speaker 3: pray dot com. And to expand your heroes in the

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Speaker 3: Bible Journey, download the Heroes of the Faith devotional at

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00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 3: Tonyevans dot org. Forward slash Heroes. Follow the podcast on

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Speaker 3: Apple or Spotify to get the newest episodes right as

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Speaker 3: they come out, and always be inspired by the Bible.

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Speaker 3: God bless