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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus

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Speaker 1: Christ maketh thee whole arise and make thy bed, and

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Speaker 1: he arose immediately Acts nine thirty four. I want to

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Speaker 1: thank you, Lord for all the years that you've loved

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Speaker 1: me and guided me to get me to where I

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Speaker 1: am now. As I stand before others, May my testimony

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Speaker 1: serve as a badge of honor to your goodness and

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Speaker 1: faithfulness to those who love and serve you. Don't let

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Speaker 1: any one for one moment doubt your faithfulness and goodness

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Speaker 1: when they look at all that you've done in my life.

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Speaker 1: Like Tabitha and Aeneas in today's reading, I acknowledge that

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Speaker 1: you have given me the power to speak life into

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Speaker 1: people who have been bedridden and sidelined in life. When

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Speaker 1: I come face to face with these situations, I will

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Speaker 1: activate the same faith that Peter used to heal all

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Speaker 1: those he came in contact with. I will not doubt

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Speaker 1: whether or not it will happen. Instead, I will put

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Speaker 1: my faith in you and watch as your spirit fills

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Speaker 1: them so that you can get the glory in Jesus name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: thank you for praying with me to day continue listening

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Speaker 1: for an incredible Bible story brought to you by Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year dot com bedridden.

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Speaker 2: In our last story, the evil intentions of Saul the

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Speaker 2: Persecutor were thwarted by the presence of Jesus himself. As

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Speaker 2: Saul was on the road to drag Christians out of

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Speaker 2: their homes and imprison them, Jesus threw him off his

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Speaker 2: horse and blinded him for three days. Saul wept in darkness,

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Speaker 2: but his sight was restored and he could see the

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Speaker 2: true light of Christ. Now we follow Peter on his

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Speaker 2: journey to Lydda and Joppa. There he visits the bedsides

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Speaker 2: of two specific people, people who would walk again to

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Speaker 2: experience joy everlasting. Inspired by the Book of.

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Speaker 3: Acts, Hello, I'm pastor Jack Graham with another episode of

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Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast. Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 3: In our previous episode, we heard of Saul's amazing conversion

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Speaker 3: experience on the Damascus Road. He was on his way

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Speaker 3: to persecute Christians to take Christian's lives, but Jesus arrested

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Speaker 3: him and took him himself as a brand new believer

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Speaker 3: and follower of the Savior. When Saul King faced a

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Speaker 3: face with Jesus, the very one that he was persecuting.

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Speaker 3: Jesus changed his life forever, and this man then embraced

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Speaker 3: his calling to take the Gospel to the world. He

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Speaker 3: was a chosen vessel. Today we'll hear how the apostle

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Speaker 3: Peter then journeys to take the good news of the

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Speaker 3: risen Savior around the world. Filled with God's power, he

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Speaker 3: will bring physical and spiritual healing to the sick and

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Speaker 3: the hurting, and the lame and the broken, even restoring

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Speaker 3: one life that had died. In all of it, God's name,

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Speaker 3: the name of Jesus, will be glorified as more and

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Speaker 3: more people multitudes are embracing the message of Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 3: So once again let's hear our reading from the Book

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Speaker 3: of Acts.

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Speaker 2: Peter walked the streets of Lita with purpose. The small

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Speaker 2: city was filled with people who were not close to

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Speaker 2: the ministry of Jesus on earth, therefore in need of

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Speaker 2: hearing his gospel. There was a small community of believers there.

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Speaker 2: They ministered among the people, feeding the poor and preaching

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Speaker 2: liberty from the shame of in Yet there was a

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Speaker 2: specific need that drew Peter there. A man named Eneus

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Speaker 2: was in the city. He was a man in need

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Speaker 2: of a miracle. Eneus sat up in his bed, looking

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Speaker 2: out the window. The sun peered in through the small space,

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Speaker 2: causing rays of afternoon sunshine to fill his bedroom. It

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Speaker 2: was the greatest part of his day. For eight years

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Speaker 2: he had been paralyzed and bedridden. Month after month, Eneus

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Speaker 2: would relive the same nightmare of pain and purposelessness. That

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Speaker 2: was until a stranger peeked in through the door. The

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Speaker 2: man was tall and broad. He held the holy and

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Speaker 2: quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the

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Speaker 2: tattered clothes of a fisherman. Eneus, he asked. Eneus gave

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Speaker 2: a curious nod, I am Peter, sent by Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 2: It is him who heals you at this moment, Rise

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Speaker 2: up and make your bed. And immediately Eneus dangled his

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Speaker 2: legs over the side of the bed. With a small

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Speaker 2: leap of faith, he stood to his fee eat. He

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Speaker 2: leapt for joy and ran outside, and all the citizens

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Speaker 2: of Lyddah rejoiced and came to know Christ. Meanwhile, in

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Speaker 2: the sinny of Joppa, there was a disciple by the

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Speaker 2: name of Tabitha. Her devotion to the character and ministry

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Speaker 2: of Jesus was staggering, and the whole city was blessed

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Speaker 2: because of her. She cared for the sick and lonely.

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Speaker 2: She ministered to the broken hearted, and she did so

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Speaker 2: with joy. She reflected Christ in her city and set

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Speaker 2: an example for what it meant to follow Christ. However,

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Speaker 2: even the pure can be sick, even the strong can

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Speaker 2: become weak. In the prime of her ministry, Tabitha became

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Speaker 2: ill to the point of death. Her friends washed her

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Speaker 2: lifeless body. Tears filled the upper room where she lay.

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Speaker 2: They could not believe that this beautiful soul would be

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Speaker 2: taken from them. So quickly they closed the door to

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Speaker 2: the upper room where Tabitha lay and went downstairs. They

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Speaker 2: wept all night. There was no ceasing to the heartache

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Speaker 2: of death. Even though she had ridden the final sting

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Speaker 2: of death, they were still filled with sorrow over their loss.

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Speaker 2: That wasn'tuntil a stranger peeked in through the door. The

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Speaker 2: man was tall and broad. He held the wholly in

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Speaker 2: quiet demeanor of a caring priest, but he wore the

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Speaker 2: tattered clothes of a fisherman. As this where Tabitha lays.

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Speaker 2: The man asks. The friends nodded, skeptical of the man's intentions.

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Speaker 2: I am Peter, and I have come to see Tabitha.

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Speaker 2: So they led Peter into the upper room. They had

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Speaker 2: heard of Peter the apostle of Jesus. They knew that

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Speaker 2: God was active in his life. They knew that a

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Speaker 2: miracle was not only possible, but probable. Peter closed the

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Speaker 2: door to the upper room. The room was filled with

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Speaker 2: incense to mask the smell of death. Its musk made

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Speaker 2: Peter's lungs feel heavy. Under the dimly lit candlelight, Tabitha

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Speaker 2: could be seen lying on a bed. Peter took a

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Speaker 2: few steps forward and knelt down slowly at her side.

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Speaker 2: He held her hand. It was cold and callous. She

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Speaker 2: was a woman well acquainted with hard work. From what

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Speaker 2: Peter had heard, her hands were used to the glory

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Speaker 2: of God. Peter squeezed her lifeless hand tightly and whispered,

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Speaker 2: Tabitha arise. The hand Peter held began to squeeze back,

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Speaker 2: and color was restored to Tabitha's face and limbs. Her

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Speaker 2: eyes slowly opened to see Peter's smiling face looking back

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Speaker 2: at her. Peter laughed, and Tabitha wept with tears of joy.

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Speaker 2: The two exchanged a few words, but it was brief

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Speaker 2: since an excited mob of widows and believers stormed the room.

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Speaker 2: They hugged and kissed her. Words of her healing spread,

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Speaker 2: and Tabitha wore her testimony like a banner of God's faithfulness.

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Speaker 3: We began today's reading in the city of Lida, many

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Speaker 3: miles to the north of Jerusalem. Despite increased persecution and

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Speaker 3: danger for the believers, Peter had not ceased to go

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Speaker 3: from place to place with the gospel message. In Lidda,

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Speaker 3: he found a man Aneas, who had been confined to

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Speaker 3: his bed for eight years, eight years of pain and suffering.

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Speaker 3: He was stuck in his home with little hope of

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Speaker 3: being made well, but the Lord guided Peter to his house.

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Speaker 3: Peter entered the house and spoke to Aeneas, saying, Jesus

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Speaker 3: heals you, and told him to get up and make

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Speaker 3: his bed. If you've ever lived in a small town,

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Speaker 3: you know how fast word spreads, And that's exactly what

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Speaker 3: happened in this little town. Everyone knew Aneas was paralyzed

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Speaker 3: and confined to his bed, so when they saw him

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Speaker 3: walking around completely healed, they were amazed and glorified God

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Speaker 3: through one physical healing. God then opened the door for

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Speaker 3: spiritual healing salvation for many people listened to what Acts

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Speaker 3: nine thirty five says, and all the residents of Lydda

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Speaker 3: and Charon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

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Speaker 3: Not just one city, but two, All who lived there

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Speaker 3: turned to the Lord. We then heard of a woman

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Speaker 3: in the nearby town of Joppa named Tabitha. Tabitha was

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Speaker 3: a believer who was busy going about the work of Christ.

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Speaker 3: We're told that she was full of good deeds and

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Speaker 3: charity generosity. In other words, she cared for the needs

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Speaker 3: of people around her. Tabitha lived out the Lord's command

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Speaker 3: to love her neighbor, and yet she became sick and died.

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Speaker 3: Following Jesus does not automatically mean that the will of

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Speaker 3: God is easy with life and health and prosperity, or

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Speaker 3: even a long life, And so this woman dies. Her

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Speaker 3: friends were not ready to say goodbye to Tabitha, however,

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Speaker 3: so they cleaned her body and laid her in an

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Speaker 3: upper room, and then sent word to Peter, who came

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Speaker 3: right away. When he arrived, he went into the home

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Speaker 3: to the upper room where Tabitha lay. Just as Jesus

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Speaker 3: had done when he went to the home of Jyris

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Speaker 3: to raise his daughter from the dead. Peter spoke to Tabitha,

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Speaker 3: telling her to arise. Peter was carrying on the healing

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Speaker 3: ministry of Ji Jesus, even raising the dead to life.

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Speaker 3: Peter then presented Tabitha to her friends and family, and

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Speaker 3: many turned to the Lord as a result of her resurrection.

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Speaker 3: Today we are reminded that God's miracle working power has

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Speaker 3: the ability of drawing people to himself. God still cares

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Speaker 3: for those who are hurting. We saw the compassionate heart

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Speaker 3: of Christ going about doing good and helping those who

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Speaker 3: were hurting, and healing the sick, and even raising the dead.

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Speaker 3: And in the same way, there is a desire in

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Speaker 3: the heart of those of us who follow Jesus to

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Speaker 3: help hurting people, to bless those who need the blessing

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Speaker 3: of God, and especially those who need to hear the

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Speaker 3: witness of the Gospel, and to turn to Christ. Our

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Speaker 3: mission as the followers of Jesus is to preach the

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Speaker 3: Gospel and to help people know and follow our Lord. We,

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Speaker 3: like the apostle Peter in this case, need to be

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Speaker 3: attentive and alert to opportunities all around us to share

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Speaker 3: the good news of Jesus. Let us always be available

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Speaker 3: to help people discover the power of God in their lives.

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Speaker 3: Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we know that you have come

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Speaker 3: to bring healing and wholeness to the world. May your

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Speaker 3: message of hope and salvation go to the ends of

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Speaker 3: the earth through your witnesses. May we, as your followers,

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Speaker 3: keep our eyes open for the opportunities to obey you

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Speaker 3: in sharing this good news. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download thepray

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Speaker 3: dot Com app and make prayer a priority in your life,

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Speaker 3: just like over twenty million people have done to this date.

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Speaker 3: If you enjoy this podcast, share it with someone you

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Speaker 3: know and love, because by sharing this message of the

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Speaker 3: Word of God, you can make an eternal difference in

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Speaker 3: someone's life. And I want to encourage you to go

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Speaker 3: to Jack Graham dot org. That's me at Jack Graham.

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Speaker 3: God bless you and we look forward to joining you

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Speaker 3: again the next time.

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Speaker 4: This episode is sponsored by Meta Share, an innovative health

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Speaker 4: care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.

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Speaker 5: Hello, I'm doctor Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have

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Speaker 5: you join me on this new podcast, Heroes in the Bible.

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Speaker 5: Come to me, Boy, you and your God will crumble

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Speaker 5: beneath my feet.

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Speaker 1: He beckoned the giant and said.

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Speaker 4: I come to you in the name of the Lord

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Speaker 4: of Hosts and creator of the stars.

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Speaker 5: You know we all have giants that we face in

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Speaker 5: our life. And when you understand that the greatness of

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Speaker 5: God affects our ability to handle the giants of life,

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Speaker 5: it will encourage, inspire, and challenge all of us to

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Speaker 5: our faith in God and our growth in Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 4: Look past his height and appearance. Samuel for man sees

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Speaker 4: the outward appearance. They see the strength of the man's arms,

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Speaker 4: but the Lord looks into the heart.

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Speaker 5: Listen to Heroes in the Bible with doctor Tony Evans

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Speaker 5: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get

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Speaker 5: your podcast.