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Father in heaven, I know what a difference

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you can make in a person's life.

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I know the difference you've made in my

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own life, Lord God.

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I pray right now that in the name

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of your dear son Jesus that this message

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will be used of you to bring someone

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here to know the liberating power of the

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gospel and to know your son Jesus Christ.

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I need you today.

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I'm bankrupt without you, Lord.

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I need the enabling power of that spirit.

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Give me a touch of heaven today, I

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pray.

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Come move in hearts today, Lord, and let

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these dear people see a bloodstained Christ who

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has power to save.

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Let them know your resurrection power in the

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liberating gospel of Christ that Jesus can give

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eternal life, that Jesus can set the captives

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free.

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Come and touch hearts today, Lord, I pray.

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Come touch them with a blessing.

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I pray these things in the strong name

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of Jesus.

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Amen.

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Well, I believe, friends, the gospel can set

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you free.

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I believe there is liberating power in the

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gospel.

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The good news of the gospel is the

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greatness of its power, and it's about a

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great savior from sin.

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In Ephesians, we get a sense of this

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liberating power over sin where we read, and

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what is the exceeding greatness of his power

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to us, Lord, who believe according to the

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working of his mighty power, which he wrought

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in Christ when he raised him from the

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dead and set him at his own right

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hand in the heavenly places.

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And does not the apostle Paul over in

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Romans speak of the power of the gospel

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as well in the salvation of man when

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he states, for I am not ashamed of

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the gospel of Christ, for it is the

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power of God unto salvation to everyone that

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believeth, to the Jew first and also to

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the Greek.

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The teachings of Jesus as seen in the

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gospels are different from the teachings of other

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wise men.

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Buddha was a wise man.

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He lived, he taught, he died, and he

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was buried.

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Confucius was a wise man.

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He lived, he taught, he died, and he

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was buried.

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Muhammad was a wise man.

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He lived, he taught, he died, and he

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was buried.

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Jesus was a wise man.

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He lived, he taught, he died, and he

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was buried.

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The comparison stopped there.

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Because he rose again, Christianity was never built

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on a coffin lid.

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Jesus was not a mere man, but he

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was the Son of God.

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He was the only begotten Son of God,

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who died on a cross for the sins

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of man.

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He was crucified at Calvary, and he was

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buried in another man's tomb, and after three

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days, his body was not a decomposing corpse

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as other men, but on the third day,

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the resurrection, supernatural power of God, made Christ

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rise from the dead.

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He then appeared unto many of his disciples,

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and he ascended back into heaven, where he

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now sits.

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On a throne at the right hand of

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God, he is a risen Christ, and the

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only one who will believe such a thing

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as that is either a madman or a

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truly born-again Christian.

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Christianity differs from other world religions in that

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we don't follow the teachings of a prophet

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who lived and died, but we follow a

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risen Savior who lives and reigns, and who

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is the Son of God, and on top

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of all that, as believers, he lives in

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us.

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The life of God in the soul of

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man is a supernatural occurrence that only God

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can work.

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A Christian is an individual who has the

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Spirit of God living inside of them, and

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to believe that, you have to either be

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insane or a born-again believer.

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You want to try and denigrate Christianity by

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making a decision that man makes like he

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would choose to become a Hindu or choose

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to become a Buddhist?

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No, sir.

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A Christian is a supernatural work of God,

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born of God, by the regenerating work of

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the Spirit of God.

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But as many as received him, to them

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gave he power to become the sons of

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God, even to them that believe on his

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name, which were born, not of blood, nor

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of the will of the flesh, not of

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the will of man, but of God.

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The main reason our brand of Christianity today

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is not much different from other religions is

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because many in our churches today were never

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really changed.

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They made a decision by the will of

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man to become a Christian along the same

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lines you'd choose to become a Buddhist.

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But when one reads the book of Acts

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and observes there that the early church turned

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the world upside down, and we compare that

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to our brand of Christianity today, we've got

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to ask ourselves, why do we lack power?

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If we were truly filled with Christ's Spirit

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and had faith, we could pull down strongholds

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of opposition and move mountains of resistance and

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drive the devil crazy by shaking the very

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gates of hell.

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If you think God has gone out of

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the miracle working business, friend, then you are

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just plumb out of your mind.

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I was taking my oral exam for my

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PhD, and two professors who were interviewing me

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were questioning me, and I said to one

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of them, when I read the book of

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Acts, I see the power of God in

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the gospel as the early Christians turned their

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world upside down.

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But when I look at our powerless brand

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of Christianity today, there's little similarity.

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Well, my theology professor got so mad at

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me, he said in a condescending tone, that

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was for that day, not our day.

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And I wanted to jump out of my

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chair and holler, why not?

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Why don't we have that power?

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Don't we serve the same God?

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But I wanted to graduate, so I kept

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my mouth shut.

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But it's true, friends, we limit ourselves by

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our unbelief.

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The underground church in China has supernatural power.

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Christians in persecuted countries like Iraq and Iran

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have supernatural power.

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Christians in northern Nigeria who are getting butchered

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have supernatural power.

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Why is the western church so powerless today,

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that it's even a laughing stock today?

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Why aren't our young people going to church

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in droves, rather than going to hell in

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droves?

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It's because we lack power from on high.

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We lack authority.

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But it doesn't have to be that way.

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A believer has a power from above to

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live in a fallen world and be used

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of God in remarkable ways.

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I like what Vance Havner said.

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He said, if we serve such a dynamite

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God, why are so many of us living

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firecracker lives?

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Well, we don't have to.

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We don't have to live a firecracker life

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because we can access that power through the

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liberating gospel of Christ Jesus.

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You must be born again, friend.

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And that's my subject today.

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We've seen the book of Acts, the liberating

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power of the gospel of Christ, as the

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apostle Peter addresses his audience in his first

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public sermon.

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My first public sermon was given in a

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federal prison, and I was so scared to

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death that the prisoners were going to jump

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me during my sermon.

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I was nervous as a cat in a

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room full of rocking chairs.

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But Peter here had boldness.

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He was once afraid of a maid, but

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now he's not afraid of anybody.

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He's seen the resurrected Christ.

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He has power.

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And in Peter's first public address, he fears

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no man, and he preaches with a holy

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boldness as he informs them about the power

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of God and raising up the Son of

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God.

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Listen to his words.

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And it shall come to pass that whosoever

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shall call on the name of the Lord

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shall be saved.

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Let me pause here to say, friend, that

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includes you as well.

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That includes the biggest sinner in this town

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tonight.

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The liberating gospel of Christ is available to

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you right now.

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Right now.

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Listen to Peter as he continues.

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Ye men of Israel, hear these words.

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Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God

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among you by miracles and wonders and signs,

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which God did by him in the midst

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of you, as ye yourselves also know him

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being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge

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of God, ye have taken him by wicked

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hands, have crucified and slain whom God raised

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up, having loosed the pains of death, because

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it was not possible that he should be

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holding of it.

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Well, that's an amazing thing, friend, for Almighty

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God to raise up his Son from death

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to life.

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He is a living Savior.

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He is a risen Lord.

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The God I serve is not dead in

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a prophet's tomb.

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He's not dead in just the written precepts

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of man.

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Oh, no, my Savior is alive.

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My Savior is a risen Christ.

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Notice after Peter preached Christ and him crucified,

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the Holy Spirit did a number on those

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Jews who had a part in slaying the

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Son of God.

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He brought conviction, and that conviction fell on

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them like lightning bolts out of heaven.

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Look how they responded, friends.

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Now, when they heard this, they were pricked

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in their heart and said unto Peter and

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to the rest of the apostles, Men and

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brethren, what shall we do?

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Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be

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baptized, every one of you, in the name

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of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,

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and ye shall receive the gift of the

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Holy Ghost.

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Well, isn't that wonderful, friend, that Jesus can

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forgive your sins, no matter how big they

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are, no matter how many they are.

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Jesus can wash your sins away in His

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blood.

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You don't have to worry one skinny minute

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of ever ending up in a devil's hell,

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because when you believe on this blessed Savior,

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He washes your sins away.

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Gone is the penalty of sin.

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Gone is the power of sin, the liberating

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gospel of Christ, and its good news is

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good news to every man, woman, boy, and

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girl, that Jesus can take your sins away.

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He can set you free.

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He can give you eternal life, where you

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will live forever and ever in God's glorious

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presence, in a glorious heaven, in the presence

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of God and angels.

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Some of you have loved ones there waiting

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for you.

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You don't have to risk never seeing them

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again, friend, because we serve a mighty God,

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who gave His only begotten Son to die

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on a cross for sinful man, yet to

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take upon Him our sins and its penalty,

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so we would have life, eternal life.

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Oh, what a Savior!

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What a Savior is Jesus, the only remedy

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and refuge for sin.

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What a wonderful gospel that can save you

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from your sins.

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It has power, liberating power.

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Don't you want this power, friend?

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Don't you want your sins forgiven?

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Don't you want to know this blessed Savior,

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Jesus?

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The Holy Spirit did a number on those

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Jews, and they cried out, what must we

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do to be saved?

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And if you get saved, friend, the Holy

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Spirit will do a number on you as

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well, in conviction of sin, and show you

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the glorious truth of the gospel of the

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Son of God, who suffered and died on

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a cross at Calvary, who was buried, who

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rose again, who now sits at the right

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hand of the Father, and who earned that

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right by way of a bloody cross.

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Oh, look at that bloodstained Savior from sin,

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friend.

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Look at Him there, hanging there with His

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arms outstretched, beckoning you to come to Him

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and believe on Him.

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Why won't you come?

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Why do you delay?

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What's your excuse to spurn the love of

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this Savior?

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We love Him because He first loved us.

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I love my Jesus because He loved me

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and gave Himself for me.

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The message of the liberating gospel of Christ

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is power unto salvation to everyone who believes

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in the liberating power of Christ in the

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gospel, friend, can set you free, free from

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sin's penalty, free from sin's power.

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It can give you life eternal.

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Oh, friend, don't you want to know this?

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Blessed Jesus, put your trust in this.

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Blessed Jesus, He can change your life.

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When He was here in His earthly ministry,

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He healed the sick and gave sight to

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the blind.

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And as He passed from town to village,

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all who encountered Him experienced change.

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He can bring change to your life, friend.

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He can set you free.

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He has power to save and power to

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deliver, power to transform.

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Listen to the apostle Peter once more here

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in the book of Acts.

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And the reason I keep bringing up Peter

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is that I can relate to him more

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than the other disciples.

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Peter was an impulsive man, always putting his

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foot in his mouth and stepping on a

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cow patty.

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He was a big loving guy who wore

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his emotions on his sleeve and he was

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always doing and saying the wrong thing, just

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like me.

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Then one day he met Jesus and Jesus

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changed his life.

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Here before magistrates and his enemies, Peter has

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no more fear of men because Peter has

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already died.

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He's died in Christ.

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That's right, friend.

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And he no longer fears death.

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And when a man doesn't fear death, he's

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dangerous to Satan.

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Listen to his bold preaching here in Acts

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chapter 4.

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Let me set the scene before you, friend.

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Peter and John are brought before the Jewish

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leaders because Peter and John had gone up

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to the temple one day and they came

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across a lame beggar who asked them for

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some money.

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But Peter told the man, silver and gold

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have I none, but such as I have,

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give I thee in the name of Jesus

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Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

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And that's what he told them.

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And that's what the man did.

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He stood right up and started walking around

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to the shock and awe of everyone there

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because Peter knew the liberating power of Christ.

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Jesus had showed it to him.

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Jesus had demonstrated it to him.

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Peter had even walked on water, just like

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Christ, before it took his eyes off him

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and sank down in that water.

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But Jesus showed him that he was the

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son of God.

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He knew he could work miracles.

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He knew Jesus could keep on doing it.

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And he was so convinced of it, he

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told that lame man to rise up and

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walk.

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And Jesus healed him.

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All things are possible to him who believes

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because with God, all things are possible.

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Do you believe that, friend?

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Do you believe in a miracle working God?

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I do.

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He hasn't gone out of the miracle working

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business.

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If he saves you, friend, it's going to

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be a miracle because Christ still has resurrection

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power.

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So he tells the crippled beggar to stand

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up.

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And sure enough, the man's legs are straightened

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out.

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They're healed.

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And this causes a riot outside the temple

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because everybody who saw him was jumping up

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and down, praising God and going to shouting.

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And you know, when God does a thing

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00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:17,160
for you, you can't help going to shouting

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00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:17,600
either.

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00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,920
We need more shouting in our churches today

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00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,820
because we need the presence of God in

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00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:25,020
our churches today.

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We need lives transformed today in the power

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00:20:28,620 --> 00:20:30,560
of God and means today.

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If that happens, you'll go to shouting too,

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00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:37,160
friend, just like I'm shouting now because nobody

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00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,000
can shut you up when you know the

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00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,580
liberating power of Christ Jesus.

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00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,680
And that's what was going on here when

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this crowd was running up to Peter and

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John in wonder and amazement.

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00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,740
So this enrages the Jewish leaders and they

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have John and Peter arrested and they're put

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in jail.

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And in the morning, they're hauled out before

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these Jewish leaders like Ananias, the high priest

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and Cephas.

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And they asked John and Peter, by what

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power, by what name have you done this?

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You know, I wouldn't be surprised to learn

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that some of these religious leaders were Baptist

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00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,680
preachers because some Baptist preachers get riled up

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00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,540
if God begins to move and they don't

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00:21:27,540 --> 00:21:28,620
understand it.

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00:21:28,620 --> 00:21:33,240
So here are these religious men interrogating two

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00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,340
of Jesus' best disciples and pointing fingers at

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00:21:37,340 --> 00:21:40,880
them saying, how dare you work the work

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00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:41,800
of God here?

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00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,540
We thought we put this Jesus to death.

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00:21:44,820 --> 00:21:46,880
We're going to have none of this work

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00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,040
and miracles here.

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00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,460
Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said

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00:21:51,460 --> 00:21:55,280
unto them, you rulers of the people and

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00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,060
elders of Israel, if we this day be

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00:21:59,060 --> 00:22:03,020
examined of the good deed done to the

439
00:22:03,020 --> 00:22:06,060
important man, by what means he is made

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00:22:06,060 --> 00:22:09,800
whole, be it known unto you all, it's

441
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,320
all the people of Israel that by the

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00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,660
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye

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00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:22,380
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even

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00:22:22,380 --> 00:22:27,140
by him, doth this man stand here before

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00:22:27,140 --> 00:22:28,020
you whole.

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00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,240
This is the stone which was set at

447
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,040
nought of you builders, which is become the

448
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:36,440
head of the corner.

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Neither is there salvation in any other, for

450
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,860
there is none other name unto heaven given

451
00:22:44,860 --> 00:22:48,200
among men, whereby we must be saved.

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00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,240
Oh friend, there's power in the gospel.

453
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,240
There's liberating power in the gospel of Christ

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00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:56,720
Jesus.

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00:22:57,380 --> 00:23:00,420
I know I am a sinner and I

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00:23:00,420 --> 00:23:03,180
need a substitute for sin in the person

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00:23:03,180 --> 00:23:06,320
of Jesus Christ and so do you friend,

458
00:23:06,620 --> 00:23:07,780
so do you.

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00:23:08,180 --> 00:23:11,540
Oh friend, the cross is the place where

460
00:23:11,540 --> 00:23:14,620
wicked man sought to get rid of him,

461
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,980
but by his death, it becomes the place

462
00:23:17,980 --> 00:23:21,820
where his saving power flows out to all

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00:23:21,820 --> 00:23:25,600
who come in repentance, confessing they are sinners

464
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,700
and own them as savior and Lord.

465
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It was my sins that nailed unto that

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tree, but it was his love for me

467
00:23:35,860 --> 00:23:38,880
that kept him on that cross so he

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00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:40,260
could die for me.

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00:23:40,740 --> 00:23:43,880
Dear friend, won't you come to this blessed

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savior now?

471
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:46,460
Won't you come?

472
00:23:46,860 --> 00:23:49,500
Surrender your all to God right now friend,

473
00:23:49,900 --> 00:23:52,760
if the spirit has been doing a number

474
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:53,620
on you.

475
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:58,100
Oh don't delay friend, don't you delay coming

476
00:23:58,100 --> 00:23:59,040
to this Jesus.

477
00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:02,880
You come to this bloodstained Jesus now.

478
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,760
There's power in his blood.

479
00:24:06,820 --> 00:24:11,860
There is power, power, wonder-working power in

480
00:24:11,860 --> 00:24:15,160
the blood of the lamb.

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00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:20,580
There is power, power, wonder-working power in

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00:24:20,580 --> 00:24:24,200
the precious blood of the lamb.

483
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,320
Would you be free from the burden of

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00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:27,760
sin?

485
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,060
There's power in the blood, power in the

486
00:24:31,060 --> 00:24:31,660
blood.

487
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,120
Would you or evil victory to win?

488
00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:38,120
There's wonderful power in the blood.

489
00:24:38,820 --> 00:24:43,140
There is power, power, wonder-working power in

490
00:24:43,140 --> 00:24:46,060
the blood of the lamb.

491
00:24:46,380 --> 00:24:50,980
There is power, power, wonder-working power in

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00:24:50,980 --> 00:24:54,980
the precious blood of the lamb.