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Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when he had made a scourge

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Speaker 1: of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,

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Speaker 1: and the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the

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Speaker 1: changer's money and overthrew the tables John two fifteen. I

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Speaker 1: confess to day that zeal for your house has consumed me.

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Speaker 1: Move in my life so that I can stand for

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Speaker 1: what is righteous. Help me so that I can stand

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Speaker 1: for what is godly. Move in my life and allow

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Speaker 1: me to understand heavenly matters. As I look at you, Jesus,

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Speaker 1: help me to understand that God loved me so much

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Speaker 1: that he sent you as a bridge to connect me

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Speaker 1: back into his loving arms.

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Speaker 2: No.

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Speaker 1: I praise you Lord that as I believe in Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 1: I will have access to eternal life. I thank you

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Speaker 1: that you did not send Jesus to condemn me, but

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Speaker 1: to rescue me from my sins and from myself. I

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Speaker 1: declare that I am new and restored because I now

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Speaker 1: have you in my life in Jesus name. Amen, Thanks

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Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear

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Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a year brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot.

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Speaker 2: Com flipping tables and eternal Life. In our last story,

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Speaker 2: Jesus performed his first of many miracles at a wedding

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Speaker 2: in cana By the request of his mother, Jesus blessed

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Speaker 2: a wedding by turning water into wine. The guests were

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Speaker 2: not aware of this miracle. The servants and disciples knew.

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Speaker 2: They awed at the humble power of Christ. They knew

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Speaker 2: even more that he was the promised Messiah. Now we

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Speaker 2: witness the righteous anger of Jesus. When the greed of

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Speaker 2: men seeps into the temple gates, Jesus violently empties its courtyard.

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Speaker 2: He drives out corruption, then speaks of eternal life and

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Speaker 2: why he is come inspired by the Gospels.

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Speaker 3: Hello, this is pastor Jack Graham with another episode of

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Speaker 3: the Bible in a Year podcast. We have now seen

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Speaker 3: Jesus calling his disciples to himself, men who believe that

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Speaker 3: he was from God, even if they didn't fully understand

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Speaker 3: his purpose or the path that he would take as

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Speaker 3: the Messiah. But they were compelled to the call. They

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Speaker 3: dropped everything and began following Jesus. We also heard the

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Speaker 3: last time how Jesus performed his first miracle in Cana

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Speaker 3: of Galilee, turning water into wine. It is a symbol

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Speaker 3: of the power of Christ to transform our lives. The

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Speaker 3: miracle further strengthened the disciples faith in Jesus. Today we'll

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Speaker 3: hear how Jesus shows a righteous anger at the dishonoring

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Speaker 3: and the disrespectfulness of God's house by greedy men who

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Speaker 3: were seeking personal gain at the temple gates. Christ will

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Speaker 3: act swiftly and forcefully to cleanse his temple, showing the

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Speaker 3: disciples that he was zealous for his father's house and

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Speaker 3: serious about calling out wickedness and hypocrisy wherever it presented itself.

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Speaker 3: Most of the religious leaders will look on this act

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Speaker 3: with scorn, but one man will seek Jesus out in secret,

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Speaker 3: wanting to know more. Let's listen now to the reading

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Speaker 3: of God's word.

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Speaker 2: It was Passover in Jerusalem. Men, women and children from

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Speaker 2: many nations gathered in the temple courtyards to make a

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Speaker 2: sacrifice to the Lord. It was a widely celebrated time,

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Speaker 2: a time for reflection on the goodness of God, a

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Speaker 2: time for prayer and thanksgiving, a time to contemplate the

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Speaker 2: saving power of God. However, when Jesus walked into the

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Speaker 2: temple gates. He did not see people celebrating the Lord.

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Speaker 2: He saw money changers and lenders haggling with foreigners. He

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Speaker 2: saw temple clerks charging extra money for people to buy sacrifices.

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Speaker 2: Worst of all, he saw the courtyard of the gentiles

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Speaker 2: filled with money hungry salesmen. Money changes were purposely hiking

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Speaker 2: up exchange rates, so the gentiles had to pay more

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Speaker 2: money for sacrifices. People outside the family of God had

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Speaker 2: come to Jerusalem to seek forgiveness. Instead, they were met

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Speaker 2: with payments and fees. The religious leaders were making people

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Speaker 2: pay to access forgiveness. The deep fury of God welled

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Speaker 2: up within Jesus. Silently, Jesus grabbed some cords from a

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Speaker 2: nearby cart. He sat down and began to braid them.

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Speaker 2: His disciples watched him curiously. They were used to seeing

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Speaker 2: Jesus filled with joy and peace, yet there was a

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Speaker 2: different expression on his face, righteous anger. Jesus finished braiding

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Speaker 2: a long braid of leather cords twice as long as himself.

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Speaker 2: He stood up. Although Jesus was not a particularly tall man,

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Speaker 2: his presence felt larger than the temple itself, like lightning,

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Speaker 2: Jesus swung his hips and whipped the braid towards the

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Speaker 2: sheep and oxen. The livestock scattered and ran away as

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Speaker 2: Jesus relentlessly drove them out of the temple. The cellars

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Speaker 2: of the livestock ran after them. Jesus turned his eyes

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Speaker 2: towards the money changer. With purpose, he marched toward the table,

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Speaker 2: took the bags of temple currency, and threw them against

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Speaker 2: the wall. Jesus turned towards the large stone tables with

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Speaker 2: weights and scales. With god like strength, Jesus flipped them

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Speaker 2: over on their sides and let the gold spill over

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Speaker 2: the edge. The money changers and salesmen were frantically trying

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Speaker 2: to gather their goods. When Jesus marched up the temple stairs.

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Speaker 2: The people watched him closely, and the entire courtyard fell silent.

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Speaker 2: It is written, Jesus began to yell. It is written,

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Speaker 2: my father's house should be called a house of prayer.

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Speaker 2: Jesus's eyes were filled with furious compassion. But look at

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Speaker 2: what is around you. Look closely. You have turned this

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Speaker 2: house of prayer into a den of thieves. His disciples

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Speaker 2: listened to his words They could see the deep pain

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Speaker 2: in Jesus's eyes. All he wanted was for people to

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Speaker 2: worship God free from burdens. The prophecy of David resonated

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Speaker 2: in their minds. Zeal for your house will consume me.

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Speaker 2: The people looked at him with awe, but the religious

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Speaker 2: leaders looked at him with contempt. What authority do you

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Speaker 2: have to say these things? What sign will you show us?

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Speaker 2: Jesus dropped the whip in his hands and pointed to

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Speaker 2: the temple. Destroy this temple, and I will show you

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Speaker 2: if you destroy it, I will raise it back up

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Speaker 2: again in three days. Chuckle could be heard from the crowd.

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Speaker 2: One of them scoffed at him and said, it took

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Speaker 2: forty six years to rebuild that temple, and you think

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Speaker 2: you could do so in three days. Jesus shook his

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Speaker 2: head and walked down the steps. He took his disciples

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Speaker 2: and left the courtyard. What they did not know is

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Speaker 2: that Jesus was not speaking of the actual temple. He

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Speaker 2: was speaking of his body. He would be destroyed and

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Speaker 2: raised again in three days time, all for the sake

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Speaker 2: of people worshiping God free from burdens. Many of the

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Speaker 2: Pharisees scoffed at Jesus. They shook their heads and spat

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Speaker 2: in his direction. They thought of him to be just

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Speaker 2: another zealous They were wrong. They were profoundly and dangerously wrong.

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Speaker 2: Yet there was one among them who did not scoff.

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Speaker 2: His curiosity about Jesus was piqued, and the dead of

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Speaker 2: night a pharisee named Nicodemus entered into the home of Jesus.

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Speaker 2: Nicodemus knocked on the door silently. He did not want

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Speaker 2: to be seen speaking with Jesus and feared that it

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Speaker 2: might ruin his reputation. Jesus opened the door and smiled.

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Speaker 2: He greeted Nicodemus and allowed him to come in. A

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Speaker 2: few of Jesus's followers were sitting beside the fire. Jesus

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Speaker 2: sat Nicodemus down. He had been expecting him. How can

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Speaker 2: I help you, Jesus asked, pouring Nicodemus a drink. Nicodemus

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Speaker 2: began speaking, Rabbi, there is no doubt in my mind

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Speaker 2: you are a teacher sent from God. No one can

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Speaker 2: do these things that you have been doing otherwise. Jesus

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Speaker 2: nodded in agreement. However, he was more than a teacher

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Speaker 2: unless one is born again, he truly cannot see the

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Speaker 2: Kingdom of God, Jesus said. Nicodemus was confused at his statement.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure I follow Rabbi. Are you suggesting that

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Speaker 2: someone needs to re enter his mother's womb and be

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Speaker 2: born again? Jesus gave a gentle laugh. No, no, listen.

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Speaker 2: Unless you are born of the spirit, you cannot enter

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Speaker 2: into the Kingdom of God. We are all born in

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Speaker 2: the flesh, yes, however not all are born of the spirit.

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Speaker 2: Jesus could tell that Nicodemus was having difficulty understanding. He

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Speaker 2: leaned forward and touched Nicodemus's shoulder. Don't be confused by this,

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Speaker 2: he said, reassuringly. The wind blows and nobody can see it.

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Speaker 2: It is the same with being borne by the spirit.

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Speaker 2: But how can that happen? Nicodemus asked, aren't you a teacher?

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Speaker 2: Jesus replied, you should understand this. I have done many

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Speaker 2: signs and given you earthly examples. You have seen and

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Speaker 2: heard them. Yet you and the rest of the Pharisee

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Speaker 2: still do not believe. So how could I possibly explain

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Speaker 2: heavenly matters to you? Jesus could see the look of

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Speaker 2: disappointment on Nicodemus's face. He had compassion on him and

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Speaker 2: loved him for his heart. Jesus spoke of himself now, saying,

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Speaker 2: the one who truly knows the things of heaven is

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Speaker 2: the one who came from heaven. Just as Moses lifted

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Speaker 2: the bronze serpent up in the wilderness for people to

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Speaker 2: be healed, so people will look upon him and receive

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Speaker 2: eternal life. Nicodemus knew that story, the story of the

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Speaker 2: Israelites being saved in the wilderness from venomous snakes. By

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Speaker 2: gazing upon the bronze serpent. He was beginning to understand

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Speaker 2: slightly what Jesus was telling him. The Lord smiled and

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Speaker 2: leaned in closer to Nicodemus. For God so loved the

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Speaker 2: world that he offered up his only begotten son, and

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Speaker 2: whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Speaker 2: And God did not send his son to condemn the world, no,

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Speaker 2: but that by him the world should be saved. There

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Speaker 2: was a joyfulness in Jesus's voice. His disciples were behind him,

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Speaker 2: hanging on his every word. His eyes glistened in the

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Speaker 2: fire light. The light has come to the world Jesus continued,

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Speaker 2: but people love darkness rather than the light. Wickedness hates

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Speaker 2: the light because it exposes it. But whoever knows and

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Speaker 2: acts upon the truth steps into the light. With those words,

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Speaker 2: Nicodemus left. He held the words of Jesus closely, regretting

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Speaker 2: that he could not totally understand.

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Speaker 3: Today we began with Jesus once again at the temple

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Speaker 3: during Passover, and this time we don't see Jesus sitting

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Speaker 3: with teachers. In today's reading, we saw something that included

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Speaker 3: a holy zeal and a righteous fiery anger that comes

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Speaker 3: from the Lord. God's temple is meant to be a

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Speaker 3: house of worship, a place of prayer, a place where

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Speaker 3: people are forgiven, But instead the temple was being used

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Speaker 3: by greedy businessmen and religious leader taking advantage of people,

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Speaker 3: charging exorbitant fees for them to access sacrifices and find forgiveness.

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Speaker 3: We often think of the gentleness of Jesus, and truly

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Speaker 3: Jesus is gentle and lowly of heart. His character is kind.

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Speaker 3: But Jesus is also strong and never weak. He was

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Speaker 3: always deeply devoted to the things of God, just like

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Speaker 3: his predecessor, ancestor King David was called to be strong

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Speaker 3: as a warrior for the Lord. Jesus now rises up

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Speaker 3: to defend the house of God. He was not silent,

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Speaker 3: and this was not calm. It was violent. He was

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Speaker 3: determined to set people straight. God's temple would not be

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Speaker 3: defiled by thieves. He braided a whip and scattered the vendors.

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Speaker 3: He turned over the tables of those charging money and

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Speaker 3: taking advantage of the gentiles, speaking with loud voice his

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Speaker 3: accusations against them. He would not allow this hypocrisy, this dishonesty,

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Speaker 3: to continue. This was not Jesus losing control of his emotion,

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Speaker 3: flying off the handle and losing composure. This was clear

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Speaker 3: and planned behavior. This was righteous indignation. We can only

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Speaker 3: imagine how shocked the disciples must have been to see

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Speaker 3: Jesus performed this act of cleansing the temple and behaving

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Speaker 3: in this way. But they remember the words of Psalm

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Speaker 3: sixty nine, which says the zeal of your house will

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Speaker 3: consume me. This is yet another sign that Jesus is

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Speaker 3: indeed the Messiah. But the religious leaders and other Jews

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Speaker 3: did not see this so clearly. They challenged Jesus and

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Speaker 3: asked what right he had what authority he possessed to

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Speaker 3: say and do these things. His response for them was

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Speaker 3: confusing to those who heard it. In John two nineteen,

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Speaker 3: Jesus answered them, destroy this temple, and I will raise

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Speaker 3: it again in three days. They thought he was talking

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Speaker 3: about the physical temple, the building, the temple of stone

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Speaker 3: and mortar. But Jesus was speaking here about himself. He

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Speaker 3: was the temple. He was the very presence of God.

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Speaker 3: The glory of God was upon him, and one day

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Speaker 3: he would be destroyed his temple, his physical body would die,

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Speaker 3: but he would be raised to life on the third day.

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Speaker 3: Here Jesus begins prophesying his own death and resurrection. The

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Speaker 3: Pharisees tried to laugh this off, failing to see the

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Speaker 3: one who was standing before them. All they knew is

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Speaker 3: that they despised this man who spoke with such authority

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Speaker 3: and challenged their position and power. But Jesus was not

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Speaker 3: seeking personal power and pride and prominence. He was calling

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Speaker 3: people to repentance. He was calling people to himself in

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Speaker 3: a brand new life. There was one leader among them

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Speaker 3: who wanted to know more about this Jesus. Perhaps he

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Speaker 3: was afraid to ask in the broad daylight to ask openly.

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Speaker 3: So at night this man came to Jesus. His name

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Speaker 3: was Nicodemus. He wanted to know more about this man.

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Speaker 3: Is he the Messiah? Is he more than a man?

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Speaker 3: Is he more than a teacher from God. Jesus then

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Speaker 3: told Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of God, one

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Speaker 3: must be born again. Academus was confused, so he asked

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Speaker 3: for clarification. How is it possible to be born again?

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Speaker 3: The Lord explained to him that he was not talking

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Speaker 3: about physical birth, but birth in the spirit, heavenly birth,

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Speaker 3: to be born again from above. This is the new

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Speaker 3: life that Jesus promises to all who will be born again.

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Speaker 3: Jesus then gave Nicodemus and Us an illustration. He talked

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Speaker 3: about Moses and the Israelites who looked to a bronze

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Speaker 3: servant a brazen serpent in the wilderness to be saved

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Speaker 3: from the bites of snakes. This was a story that

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Speaker 3: Nicodemus knew well, and Jesus explained to him that this

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Speaker 3: is a picture of God's love. That God sent his

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Speaker 3: only son Jesus into the world, and that whoever would

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Speaker 3: believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. This,

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Speaker 3: of course, is one of the key verses in all

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Speaker 3: of the Bible. John three point sixteen. For God so

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Speaker 3: loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,

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Speaker 3: that whoever believes and him would not perish, but have

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Speaker 3: everlasting life. His words clearly stuck with Nicodemus. Jesus came

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Speaker 3: into the world to save sinners, religious people like Nicodemus

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Speaker 3: and irreligious people even like you and me. Whoever you are,

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Speaker 3: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

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Speaker 3: And if you will trust in Christ and Christ alone

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Speaker 3: as your savior and Lord, you will be given eternal life.

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Speaker 3: Not only will your sins be forgiven, but Jesus will

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Speaker 3: live in your life, and you will live with the

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Speaker 3: hope of eternal life with you now and forever. I

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Speaker 3: want to invite you and encourage you to be born again.

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Speaker 3: If you have never put your faith and trust in Jesus,

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Speaker 3: do it right now. Simply pray a prayer and invite

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Speaker 3: Christ into your life. Be willing to turn from your sins,

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Speaker 3: that's repentance, and receive Jesus as your lord and follow

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Speaker 3: him as your savior. And if you will do this,

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Speaker 3: you will have a brand new life now and forever.

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Speaker 3: Pray something like this, Jesus, I ask you to come

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Speaker 3: into my life, to be my savior and my God,

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Speaker 3: my master and friend. In the power of your spirit.

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Speaker 3: I will live for you all the days of my life,

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Speaker 3: and I will live with you forever in heaven. Lord,

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Speaker 3: thank you for giving me a brand new life today

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Speaker 3: in Jesus's name. Amen. Once again, thank you for listening

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Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack

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Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Let me encourage you to download

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Speaker 3: thepray dot Com app and make Bible study and prayer

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Speaker 3: a real priority in your life. And if you are

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Speaker 3: enjoying this podcast, share it with someone you know, someone

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Speaker 3: you care about, because sharing God's word has a powerful

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Speaker 3: impact upon people's lives. And if you want more resources

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Speaker 3: as to how you can find faith, grow in your faith,

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Speaker 3: develop as a dis disciple and follower of Jesus, be

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Speaker 3: sure to visit me at Jack Graham dot org. We

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Speaker 3: have plenty of resources that will encourage you and equip

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Speaker 3: you for life. God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Meta Share, an innovative healthcare

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Speaker 1: solution for Christians. To save money without sacrificing quality.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the pre News podcast, where hope is our

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Speaker 2: only bias.

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Speaker 1: Each day, we'll unpack the most prominent stories happening in

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Speaker 1: the news and offer a Christian perspective. We won't shy

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Speaker 1: away from the hard topics, and we won't dilute the

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Speaker 1: hopeful message of Christ. This is more than a daily

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Speaker 1: brief on the news.

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Speaker 2: It's a way to be informed and transformed.

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Speaker 3: Listen to pre News on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 3: or wherever you get your podcasts.