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Speaker 1: Let us pray for do I now persuade men or God?

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Speaker 1: Or do I seek to please men? For if I

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Speaker 1: yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

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Speaker 1: Galatians one ten. Free me, Lord from my brothers and

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Speaker 1: sisters in Christ who are more focused on their own

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Speaker 1: works than on their faith. Free me from the legalistic

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Speaker 1: Christ followers who are bent on justifying themselves through the law.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, Jesus, that by your sacrifice, I am saved

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Speaker 1: by faith and not by my works. Thank you that

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Speaker 1: I can walk in complete freedom and enjoy my walk

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Speaker 1: with You, free from the opinions of others. Continue to

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Speaker 1: allow the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in

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Speaker 1: my life. I decree and declare that in Christ Jesus,

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Speaker 1: I am free and unchained. By decree and declare that

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Speaker 1: I serve You Lord by devotion and not obligation. As

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Speaker 1: I work out my faith in love, I will walk

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Speaker 1: in freedom and in step with the spirit. Where the

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Speaker 1: Spirit of the Lord is, there is always freedom. There

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Speaker 1: is no bondage in Christ. So Lord, I thank you

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Speaker 1: that I don't have to earn my way into heaven.

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Speaker 1: But because I place my trust and love in You,

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Speaker 1: you will guide me in the way everlasting in the

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Speaker 1: name of Jesus.

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Speaker 2: Amen.

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Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.

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Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to to day's

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Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bible in

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Speaker 1: a Year dot com.

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Speaker 3: Dear Galicia. In our last story, we learned about certain

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Speaker 3: Jewish believers forcing Gentiles to be circumcised to be accepted

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Speaker 3: into the Family of God. Outraged by this, Paul and

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Speaker 3: Barnabas held a council of all the leaders in Jerusalem.

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Speaker 3: They debated whether Gentiles should be forced to follow the

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Speaker 3: Jewish customs laid out in the Law. The consensus was

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Speaker 3: a resounding no. Now we listen in on a letter

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Speaker 3: Paul wrote to the Galician church. Paul wrote to the

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Speaker 3: Galatians because they had men in their midst teaching them

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Speaker 3: that all Christians should be circumcised to be saved. Paul's

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Speaker 3: words would reflect the heart of Jesus as he defends

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Speaker 3: the grace given by Jesus on the Cross. Inspired by

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Speaker 3: the Book of Galatians.

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Speaker 4: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the

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Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. In our previous time, together, we

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Speaker 4: heard how the Counsel of Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem,

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Speaker 4: along with Paul and Barnabas, affirmed that gentile believers were

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Speaker 4: not bound to Jewish customs outlined in the law, but

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Speaker 4: should focus on abstaining from things that would hinder their

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Speaker 4: relationship with God in Christ, such as sexual immorality and

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Speaker 4: food sacrifice to idols. Today we'll hear Paul's words to

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Speaker 4: the Church in Galicia and his affirmation of their freedom

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Speaker 4: in Christ, not because of obedience to the law and

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Speaker 4: things like circumcision, but because of faith and the grace

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Speaker 4: of God. Let's hear now the reading from Paul's letter

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Speaker 4: to the Galatians.

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Speaker 3: To the Church in Galicia, Grace and peace to you

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Speaker 3: from our Lord. I am amazed that you would turn

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Speaker 3: from grace so quickly to adopt another gospel, one of

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Speaker 3: bondage and works. Let me tell you this, even if

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Speaker 3: you see an coming down from Heaven preaching another gospel

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Speaker 3: to you, it is false. I tell you this honestly,

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Speaker 3: since I do not seek the approval of man, but

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Speaker 3: of God. If I simply sought to please you, I

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Speaker 3: would not be a servant of Christ. I need you

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Speaker 3: to know this, brothers, that the gospel preached by me

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Speaker 3: to you is not a gospel forged and penned by man.

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Speaker 3: It is from the heart of Christ himself. You know

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Speaker 3: my past. You know that I was once a zealous Pharisee,

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Speaker 3: held bent on the destruction of the Church. I held

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Speaker 3: the law tightly and honored it my whole life. But

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Speaker 3: Jesus called me into grace. So I fled to Arabia,

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Speaker 3: and then Damascus, then to Jerusalem. I wanted to know

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Speaker 3: what was happening to my heart. I wanted to know Christ.

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Speaker 3: Those who saw me change glorified Christ. It was not

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Speaker 3: because I followed the law, but because I was changed

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Speaker 3: by grace. Fourteen years had passed and I was traveling

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Speaker 3: to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, who was a gentile.

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Speaker 3: We did not force him to be circumcised. Yet false

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Speaker 3: brothers tried to bind him into slavery to the old

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Speaker 3: Covenant law. We did not yield in submission to them.

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Speaker 3: To do so would have been to deny the power

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Speaker 3: of the Gospel. It started to become clear to me

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Speaker 3: that I was to be an apostle of the gentiles,

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Speaker 3: just as Peter was called to the Jews. I want

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Speaker 3: to tell you something about Peter, so that you might

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Speaker 3: learn from him. Peter would eat with the Gentiles and

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Speaker 3: fellowship with them, but when his Jewish brothers were present,

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Speaker 3: he would not speak to them or eat with them.

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Speaker 3: This was too faced and not honoring to Christ. So

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Speaker 3: I opposed him to his face. Peter was supposed to

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Speaker 3: be an example to us, and instead his conduct was

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Speaker 3: not in step with the truth. I told him that

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Speaker 3: if he, being a Jew, was able to live like

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Speaker 3: a gentile, then he should not force gentiles to live

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Speaker 3: like Jews. It was simple, and Peter received his correction.

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Speaker 3: Let me make one thing clear. We are Jews by birth,

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Speaker 3: but it is not our tradition or race that makes

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Speaker 3: us justified. Our faith in the work of Jesus on

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Speaker 3: the Cross makes us justified. It is not by works

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Speaker 3: that we attain favor with God, for He is pleased

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Speaker 3: with us. In Jesus. We must die to the law

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Speaker 3: so we can live in Christ. I have been crucified

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Speaker 3: with Christ. I am no longer living. It is Jesus

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Speaker 3: who lives in me. The life we are to live

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Speaker 3: should be by faith in Jesus. He has loved us

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Speaker 3: and gave his life for us. If we gained our

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Speaker 3: righteousness from our good deeds or following the law, then

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Speaker 3: why would Christ have died for us? You foolish Galatians?

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Speaker 3: Who has cast a spell on you that you would

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Speaker 3: turn from this glorious truth? Some of you saw with

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Speaker 3: your own eyes Jesus being crucified. Let me ask you this,

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Speaker 3: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by being perfect?

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Speaker 1: No?

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Speaker 3: Are you so dumb that you would now try and

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Speaker 3: be perfect after receiving grace. Even Abraham was called righteous

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Speaker 3: because of his faith, not his ability to follow rules.

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Speaker 3: The truly righteous ones are the ones who look under

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Speaker 3: Jesus and have faith in him. The righteous live by faith.

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Speaker 3: Let me give you an example of what the law

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Speaker 3: is for picture a contract. Every human contract can be

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Speaker 3: annulled or ratified, but not with God. He keeps his

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Speaker 3: promises despite our failures. So what good is the law? Well,

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Speaker 3: the law was our tutor until Christ came. The law

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Speaker 3: was an image of the perfect character of God. That

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Speaker 3: character was fulfilled in Jesus, so we look to follow him,

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Speaker 3: not the law. That way, the Gospel is not only

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Speaker 3: for Jews who follow the law, but for people of

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Speaker 3: all nationalities who believe in Jesus and follow him. A

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Speaker 3: child is no freer than a slave until he becomes

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Speaker 3: a man, So the child must be looked after and protected.

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Speaker 3: That is what the law did for us. It took

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Speaker 3: care of us until we were ready to step into maturity.

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Speaker 3: You are sons, daughters, and heirs to all the gifts

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Speaker 3: of Jesus. To know Jesus is to be free. So

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Speaker 3: it concerns me that you are all trying to enslave

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Speaker 3: yourselves to the law. Stop. I am afraid that all

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Speaker 3: your effort and labor to be perfect is all in vain.

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Speaker 3: Brothers and sisters, I beg you be like me.

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Speaker 5: Let go.

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Speaker 3: We were close ones. You would have laid down your

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Speaker 3: life for me. But now I feel like I am

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Speaker 3: your enemy just because I preach to you the truth.

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Speaker 3: I am perplexed and disturbed by you. Christ has set

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Speaker 3: us free to walk in liberty. The ability to do

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Speaker 3: what is good and noble comes from a place of freedom,

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Speaker 3: not bondage. Do not be slaves to mindless devotion. If

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Speaker 3: you decide that one must be circumcised to be saved,

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Speaker 3: then you put yourself under the bondage of the whole law.

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Speaker 3: You cannot pick and choose. You either follow the whole law,

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Speaker 3: or you follow the one who has made you righteous.

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Speaker 3: It is not about being circumcised, It is about working

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Speaker 3: out your faith in love. You are doing so well.

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Speaker 3: Tell me who has whispered lies in your ears, who

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Speaker 3: has hindered you from speaking the truth? Know this that

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Speaker 3: a little bit of leaven can ruin the whole loaf

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Speaker 3: of bread, the same as with people. Honestly, I wish

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Speaker 3: that those who told you you needed to be circumcised

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Speaker 3: were just cut off their privates altogether. For you were

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Speaker 3: called to freedom, and they have set you back. Walk

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Speaker 3: in freedom. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity

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Speaker 3: to sin serve one another, for the entire law is

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Speaker 3: truly fulfilled in these words. You shall love your neighbor

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Speaker 3: as yourself. But if you insist on devouring one another,

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Speaker 3: take heed, lest you all consume yourselves into oblivion. If

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Speaker 3: you keep in step with the Spirit, you will have

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Speaker 3: no need of laws, for He will guide you. For

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Speaker 3: the desires of the spirit will oppose the flesh, for

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Speaker 3: the fruit of the flesh is obvious. Fits of rage, rivalries, division, envy, drunkenness, selfish,

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Speaker 3: sexual gratification, jealousy, idolatry, and all sorts of rage that

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Speaker 3: break instead of build. But the fruit of the spirit

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Speaker 3: is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and

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Speaker 3: self control. If you have these things, you have no

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Speaker 3: need of law. Yet we all fail, we all fall

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Speaker 3: in some way. So let us restore one another in gentleness.

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Speaker 3: If anyone is caught in sin, let us help bear

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Speaker 3: one another's burdens, and take heed of your heart. For

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Speaker 3: whoever thinks they have reached the heights of holiness are

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Speaker 3: sure to be brought low. Take care of one another.

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Speaker 3: As you can see, I have written this letter with

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Speaker 3: my own hand, for my eyesight is failing me, and

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Speaker 3: the words are large on the page. Understand these large

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Speaker 3: words of mine. Far be it from me to boast

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Speaker 3: except in the cross of Jesus Christ. From now on,

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Speaker 3: let no one cause anybody else to stumble. May the

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Speaker 3: grace of the Lord Jesus be upon you.

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Speaker 6: Amen.

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Speaker 4: We begin today's reading with Paul's surprise at how quickly

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Speaker 4: the believers in Galicia had lost the point of the Gospel,

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Speaker 4: and we're trying to add requirements to the grace of

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Speaker 4: God in Christ and subject themselves again to bondage. There

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Speaker 4: were Jews among them who insisted that believers needed to

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Speaker 4: also follow the requirements of the law in order to

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Speaker 4: be saved, and Paul is unequivocal in his words. Anything

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Speaker 4: different than the Gospel of God's grace through Christ and

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Speaker 4: Christ alone is a false gospel. To make this point

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Speaker 4: even stronger, Paul told them that even if an angel

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Speaker 4: were to come town down and give them a different gospel,

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Speaker 4: that angel would be cursed. The reminder to the Galatians

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Speaker 4: is ones that we should heed today as well. If

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Speaker 4: you try to add to the Gospel, whether you're subtracting

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Speaker 4: it or adding to it, you end up with a

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Speaker 4: lie is subtraction or its addition or subtraction by addition.

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Speaker 4: As Paul told these believers, he of all people would

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Speaker 4: know that following the law does not save, and to

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Speaker 4: be saved means to know God and to be forgiven

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Speaker 4: of sins and to know eternal life. So how is

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Speaker 4: one saved not by works of the law. Before his conversion,

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Speaker 4: he was an example of piety and zealousness among Jewish believers.

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Speaker 4: Paul knew the Law backwards and forwards, inside and out.

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Speaker 4: He followed it to the letter and even persecuted those

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Speaker 4: who preached the gospel he is now advancing. Paul argued

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Speaker 4: that if the law could have made him justified before God,

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Speaker 4: it will it hath, but it did not because the

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Speaker 4: law cannot save. His life was changed because he embraced

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Speaker 4: Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior in God's grace

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Speaker 4: in order to save him. He then gave the example

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Speaker 4: of Titus, a gentile, a Greek man who came to

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Speaker 4: faith in Christ and joined Paul and Barnabas on their

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Speaker 4: missionary journey. There were Jewish believers who tried to impose

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Speaker 4: the burden of circumcision and Jewish law on Titus, but

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Speaker 4: Paul defended him and refused to let him be subject

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Speaker 4: to the bondage of legalism, which would strip away the

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Speaker 4: power of the Gospel. Paul even confronted Peter, an apostle

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Speaker 4: and the leader of the church. Paul had witnessed Peter

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Speaker 4: eating with gentiles when Jews were not around, but separating

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Speaker 4: himself from them when Jews were present. By his hypocritical actions,

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Speaker 4: Peter was creating a division between Jews and Gentiles, and

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Speaker 4: this was inconsistent with the Gospel. Not only that it

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Speaker 4: was robbing the Gospel of its power. Paul called on

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Speaker 4: Peter to examine his own life and to experience the

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Speaker 4: freedom in Christ, the freedom that we have because of

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Speaker 4: what Christ has done, not because of what the Law

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Speaker 4: has done. If Peter could enjoy his freedom, how could

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Speaker 4: he not allow others to experience that same freedom in Christ.

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Speaker 4: It takes courage to stand up for the truth, especially

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Speaker 4: when a leader may be more mature and yet is

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Speaker 4: wrong and acting in a way that undermines the power

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Speaker 4: of the Gospel. Paul was willing to confront Peter for

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Speaker 4: the sake of the advancement of Jesus Christ and the

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Speaker 4: message of the Gospel. Paul's example is one of encouragement

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Speaker 4: for all of us to stand boldally and courageously for

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Speaker 4: the truth of God's word and the power of God's message.

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Speaker 4: And as Paul continued his letter, he reminded the Galatians

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Speaker 4: just what that truth is. Justification does not come from

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Speaker 4: our human efforts, but by faith, and the object of

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Speaker 4: our faith faith is Jesus. It is our faith in

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Speaker 4: Christ that makes us righteous, not our works. To bring

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Speaker 4: this point home, Paul said that if the law made

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Speaker 4: people righteous, then Jesus died for nothing. Why then, if

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Speaker 4: we have righteousness through faith in Christ and Christ alone,

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Speaker 4: would these Galatians look to the Law to make them righteous.

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Speaker 4: Paul then pointed back to the first patriarch, to Abraham himself,

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Speaker 4: to explain that righteousness by faith is nothing new. Righteousness

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Speaker 4: has always come through faith, not works. Abraham believes God,

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Speaker 4: and his faith was credited to him as righteous. The

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Speaker 4: Law was not given to make people righteous, but as

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Speaker 4: a guardian, a guide, a teacher, until the time when

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Speaker 4: Christ came to set all people free, not only Jews,

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Speaker 4: but people of all nations. Listen to what Paul writes

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Speaker 4: in Galatians three twenty five to twenty eight about what

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Speaker 4: Jesus has done for us. These are powerful words. But

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Speaker 4: now that faith has come, we are no longer under

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Speaker 4: a guardian. For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons

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Speaker 4: of God through faith. For as many of you as

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Speaker 4: were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is

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Speaker 4: neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free.

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Speaker 4: There is no male and female, for you are all

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Speaker 4: one in Christ Jesus. Don't miss how profound this statement is.

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Speaker 4: We are the children of God. We are the sons

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Speaker 4: and daughters of God, heirs to the promises of Christ.

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Speaker 4: We have been adopted into His eternal family, God's forever family,

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Speaker 4: and it's all because of what Jesus has done for us.

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Speaker 4: This adoption means that we are truly free and favored

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Speaker 4: by God. Paul calls the Galatians to not walk away

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Speaker 4: from this freedom, but rather to walk in it. It

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Speaker 4: is a freedom to love and serve god fully. But

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Speaker 4: Paul knew also he needed to caution against misunderstanding this freedom.

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Speaker 4: Our freedom in Christ is not license to live in

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Speaker 4: sin as we please. It is a freedom to live

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Speaker 4: by God's grace in the power of his Spirit. He

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Speaker 4: then explained what it looks like to live by God's Spirit,

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Speaker 4: giving us the fruit of the spirit, love and joy,

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Speaker 4: and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness

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Speaker 4: and gentleness and self control. All of this flows out

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Speaker 4: of a life committed to follow Jesus Christ. The work

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Speaker 4: of the Holy Spirit is to fuel us for godly

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Speaker 4: living and to fill us that we might produce the

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Speaker 4: fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is

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Speaker 4: Christ's likeness, and he reproduces himself in us by the

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Speaker 4: power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul

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Speaker 4: concludes by acknowledging that we will fail, and he impressed

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Speaker 4: upon the Galatians that they must support and encourage one

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Speaker 4: another and bear one another's burdens. The Christian life was

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Speaker 4: never meant to be lived alone. It was true then

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Speaker 4: and it's true today. Dear God, we thank you for

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Speaker 4: this powerful letter that Paul gave to the Galatians and

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Speaker 4: to us. We are so grateful that we are not

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Speaker 4: saved by our own works, because we could only fail,

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Speaker 4: but by your grace, through your cross, in the power

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Speaker 4: of your resurrection, we are saved from our sins. You

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Speaker 4: live in our lives, and we can live forever with you,

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Speaker 4: all because of Christ. God, help us to walk in

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Speaker 4: the fullness, in the freedom, in the favor that you

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Speaker 4: have given us in Christ. And may we live to

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Speaker 4: humbly serve you and point others to your Son. In Jesus' name. Amen,

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Speaker 4: thank you for listening once again to the Bible in

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Speaker 4: a year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor

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Speaker 4: of Prestonwood Baptist Church. You can download the Prey dot

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Speaker 4: Com app and make prayer and Bible study a priority

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Speaker 4: in your life. And if you are enjoying this podcast,

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Speaker 4: please let others know share it with someone else so

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Speaker 4: that they can also join our journey with Jesus through

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Speaker 4: the scriptures. God bless you and thank you for joining us.

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Speaker 2: This episode is sponsored by Meta Share, an innovative health

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Speaker 2: care 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.

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Speaker 5: Christ look past his height and appearance. Samuel for man

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Speaker 5: and sees the outward appearance. They see the strength of

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Speaker 5: the man's arms, 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