Let us pray. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Acts 8:37. As I live my life in complete abandonment to my plans, I, in exchange, will live my life to follow your divine plans for my life, Lord, like Philip. As I speak the words of Jesus, I thank you that chaos becomes order. Hearts turn to you, relationships are healed, poor become fed, and your children find a place in the family of God. I praise you that as I declare Your word, those paralyzed become healed. Those tormented by evil spirits are delivered and joy is restored. Through you, Jesus, my feet are led to my next location of impact, like Philip and Acts 8. Upon arrival, I know that you will guide me to my next assignment. Through it all, I am choosing to praise you because my journey is paved with blessings and open opportunities to share your word and impact lives forever. I trust you, Lord. Even though I may not see what's next, I'm in love with trusting your plans. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by Biblein a year. Com.

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I'm Cheryl McClellum, host of the podcast, Zone 7. Join us every Wednesday to hear cases like the Long Island serial killer. Here, Carrie Lawson, daughter of the notorious serial killer, BTK, weigh in on the accused Long Island serial killer's children.

You show genuine interest and you can't fake it. These guys can see right through to your soul. You have to be walled off, prepared. And if you don't know your stuff, they're going to just call you out and they're going to be like, Nope, I'm talking to somebody else. I'm not talking to you.

Here, great insight from one of New York City's finest, Detective Joe Jackalone, a cold case expert.

You know.

As well as I do, cops weren't even aware of it back then, so.

They're going to have some difficulty putting.

Those.

Cases together unless, of course.

He confesses. Listen to his own seven with Cheryl McClellum on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, I'm Bishop TD, Jake, and I want to welcome you to my new podcast with pray. Com called Sleep Song.

Close your eyes and focus on God. Picture Him as your shepherd that knows you and surrender to him.

Each episode guides you on a serene exploration of Psalms. Thankfully calming every nerve and restless mind turning adventure that keeps you up in the middle of the night, transposing you into the safety of His arms. He is going to lay you down in green pastures and restore your soul. Join me and let the Lord be your shepherd tonight. Listen to sleep songs with Bishop TB Jakes on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

The mission of Philip. In our last story, we witnessed the brutal murder of Stephan. As stones crushed his bones, he looked up to heaven and saw the living God looking down at him. Stephen became the first martyr and a new enemy emerged from the a pharisee by the name of Saul. He would prove to be a deadly force for evil. Now we learn about the ministry of Philip. His story is one of simply saying yes to God wherever he may lead, inspired by the Book of Acts.

Welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham. In our previous episode, we heard how Stephen stood firm and fearlessly spoke the word of Christ even at the expense of his own death. He was stoned to death by the religious establishment as a result of preaching Christ and the good news of Jesus. But even in his final moments, he reflects the glory of God and experiences the grace of God and goes to heaven. We also met Saul, who was just getting started with his vicious, terroristic persecution of believers. Today we'll hear how in the face of intense persecution that the church scattered to preach the gospel, and how God used a man by the name of Philip to take the message of Jesus beyond Jerusalem to a man who would then take the message of Christ to a distant land.

Just as the Spirit of God once hovered over the chaotic waters of the world, so did he hover over the nation of Israel. The Spirit went before the disciples, and as they spoke the words of Jesus, chaos became order. Hearts were turned to God, relationships were healed, the poor were fed, and the hopeless found a home in the family of God. All of the disciples scattered around the region preaching the truth and proclaiming the kingdom of God. Even more, they brought in the lonely and broken. Philip was among the scattered disciples. He went into the city of Samaria to preach the word. He stood up in the city streets and began to speak of the history of God. He spoke of God's plan for redemption and the life of Jesus. As Philip spoke, hundreds of people gathered to listen to him. As if they all shared the same ears, each one of them listened intently to what Philip said. As the truth went forth like a courses river, the Spirit of God refreshed the hearts of the Samaritans. Those who were paralyzed were healed, those who were oppressed by demons found peace, and those who were broken felt whole.

It was a truly spirit-filled experience for Philip. He rose to the call of God and found joy in connecting with the people of Samaria. Then, like a still small voice whispering in his ears, Philip heard the prompting of God, Rise and look south. There is a road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip nodded and listened to the prompting nudge of God's spirit. Filled with purpose, Philip marched towards the desert. The sun was high and scorching. Philip licked his parched lips as he trudged through the desert road. This call of God was nothing like the one he had before. Before there were thousands of people who listened to him. Now there was no one. Not one living thing dwelled in the desert. Philip walked for miles with no sign of people or water. That was until he saw a carriage in the distance. Philip ran towards the moving tent with what little strength he had left. As he drew closer, he saw that the carriage was arraied with Ethiopian design. Philipp approached carefully. It was the carriage of an Ethiopian official, a counselor to the Queen. Philipp knelt near the carriage and listened to what the man was saying.

As it turns out, he was reading from the Prophet Isaiah. Philip's eyes widened and he poked his head through the fabric. Startled, the Ethiopian screamed and the carriage came to a halt. Philippe apologized, laughing at his awkwardness. Excuse me, Philippe said, but I couldn't help but hear what you were reading. Do you happen to know what it means? How does one know anything without being taught? The Ethiopian answered with a smile. Please come in, teach me these things. The passage the Ethiopian was reading was from Isaiah. It read, Like a sheep led the slaughter, he was silent. He opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can explain this generation? For his life was taken from the earth. The official was confused but filled with joyous curiosity. Who is the Prophet speaking of? He asked. Philip could not have smiled wider. He spoke of the suffering Messiah, that was prophesied from days of old and how Jesus fulfilled it all. The two of them spoke for hours, diving deeply into the truths of Jesus and the will of God. The Ethiopians' eyes were wide with amazement. He listened to every word Philip said.

He asked questions and sought deep answers. Then as the desert road became greener, they passed by a spring with flowing water. The Ethiopian pointed to it, You see the water over there? What is keeping me from getting baptized right now? So the two men went into the water. The cool spring was a refreshing contrast to the hot and biting sun above. Philip prayed with him. He prayed that he would receive the Spirit of God and that he would dedicate his life to the Kingdom of God. Philip held his hand and back and gently dipped him into the water. And as they came up out of the water, the Lord took Philip up and sent him to Caesarea. The official would return back to his country and share all that he had learned. The world would never be the same.

In today's reading from the Book of Acts, we see the church on the move, fulfilling the mission of Christ and the great commission to take the message of the gospel to the world. Since Jesus had departed, ascended, the Holy Spirit had come. The church was alive and growing daily, but primarily in Jerusalem. There were tens of thousands of new Christians in Jerusalem. But remember the gospel is for the whole world. The apostles and the church was charged with making disciples not only in their city, but in Judea, Samaria, and to take the message to the ends of the earth. But now, as a Rabbi by the name of Saul began to ruthless hunt down believers and pull them from their homes and throw them into prison, the church had no choice but to scatter. They didn't cower down. They were faithful and fearless, but they were spread. The gospel fire is spreading as a result of persecution. It's been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Little did he know it, but Saul's attempts to destroy the church were actually helping spread the mission of Jesus. This, of course, does not mean he was acting on God's behalf.

He was an enemy of the gospel. But God, in his sovereign plan, can and does use what some mean for evil to produce good things, God things. This persecution created an opportunity for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus to go far beyond Jerusalem. Today we hear of one of the disciples by the name of Philip, who went into Samaria and began preaching the Gospel. Now, this is significant because you recall from Jesus' ministry that Samaria was a place that Jews did not go. If at all possible, they would avoid it. But now, led by the Holy Spirit, Philip went to share Jesus in the very place that so many others avoided. He spoke with boldness and there was power to heal the sick and the lame. He did it with a tender heart just like Jesus. Surely, as he was doing these things, he remembered the words of Jesus who said, The Holy Spirit will enable you to do even greater things than Jesus had done. As a result of the preaching and healing and the ministry of Philip, scores of Samaritans had come to faith in Christ. There was great revival going on in Samaria.

But then we hear how the Lord sent an angel to Philip, telling him to leave Samaria and to go south. What was south of Samaria? Not much. A desert, in fact. To human eyes and understanding, what's the value of going to the desert? Why leave this powerful revival going on in Samaria and go to a faraway place? But God, of course, wanted to spread the gospel everywhere, and that included faraway nations. God sent Philip obedience, he followed and trusted God's leading to the desert. Now, there is an important lesson for us here. God's Spirit leads us sometimes in places that we don't want to go or may not even understand why we're going. But when we are abiding in Christ, when we are walking in the Spirit, when we're listening and trusting and obeying Him, we can see distant horizons and opportunities to share our faith or to go where Jesus is calling us in order to make a difference someplace far away. When he arrived in the desert, Philip encountered a man from Ethiopia. This man was a well-to-do man, a counselor to the Queen of Ethiopia. This man was a eunic. This man was in a chariot, leaving Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship.

He believed in God, but he had never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. So the Holy Spirit prompted him to go to the chariot and talk to this man about faith. And as he walked up to the man, he could hear him reading from the Book of Isaiah, and it was a prophecy about the Messiah. Philip, of course, did not pass up the opportunity to share Christ that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. The unit wanted an explanation of what he was reading. Here's what we find in Acts 8:35. Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. As he shared the gospel with this stranger in this divine appointment, this man trusted in Christ and wanted to be baptized. Because of Philip's faithfulness, the Ethiopian man was forever changed, and he returned home as a follower of Jesus, filled with the same Spirit of Christ. This is significant because Jesus's command to take the gospel to the world is now being fulfilled. Ethiopia, in those days, by many, was considered to be the end of the earth. Now the gospel is on its way there.

This was not due to Philip's careful planning. It was his openness and obedience to do what God told him to do. In the same way, we need to be willing for God to use us. There are three abilities that God really uses: availability, expendability. Perhaps the greatest ability God uses is availability. When we are available to God, He will use us in a great way, and the same Holy Spirit who led Philip will lead us as we listen to him. Let's pray together. Dear God, we thank you for the scripture today in the Book of Acts that shows us how we can be used by you to make a difference in people's lives. Help us to be attentive and alert to divine opportunities, divine appointments, for we know that there are people that we will encounter even today who are ready and responsive to receive the good news and salvation in Jesus Christ. May we be faithful and fearless in following you, listening to your Spirit and walking in your truth. For we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you for listening today's Bible in a year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the pray.

Com app and make prayer a priority in your life, just like over 20 million people have done to this day. If you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you know and love because by sharing this message of the word of God, you can make an eternal difference in someone's life. I want to encourage you to go to jackgraham. Org. That's me at jackgraham. Org. We have resources available to you. We're also taking a trip, two trips next year. One to Israel, leaving April the first, and then an Alaskan adventure and Bible study cruise in July of 2024. You can go to our website, jackgraham. Org, or Prestonwood. That's P-R-E-S-T-O-N-W-O-O-D. Org, Prestonwood. Org for information about the trip to Israel and the cruise to Alaska. God bless you, and we look forward to joining you again the next time.

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Hello, I'm Dr. Tony Evans, and I'm excited to have you join me on this new podcast, Heroes in the Bible.

Come to me, boy.

You and your God will.

Crumble beneath my feet.

He beckened the giant and said.

I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts and creator of the stars.

We all have giants that we face in our life. When you understand that the greatness of God affects our ability to handle the giants of life, it will encourage, inspire, and challenge all of us to our faith in God and our growth in Jesus Christ.

Look past his height and appearance, Samuel, for man sees the.

Outward.

Appearance. They see the strength of the man's arms.

But the Lord looks.

Into the heart.

Listen to heroes in the Bible with Dr. Tony Evans on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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I'm Cheryl McClellum, host of the Cold Case podcast, Zone 7. Join us every Wednesday to hear cases like the Long Island serial killer.

You show genuine interest and you can't fake it, but these guys can see right through to your soul. You have to be prepared. If you don't know your stuff, they're going to just call.

You out. Listen to Zone 7 with Sheryl McClellum on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

Hello, I'm Bishop GD, Jake. I want to welcome you to my new podcast with pray. Com called Sleep Psalms. He is going to lay you down in green pastures and restore yourself-love, join me and let the Lord be your shepherd tonight. Listen to sleep songs with Bishop Pee D. Jakes on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hello, I'm Bishop TV, Jakes. I want to welcome you to my new podcast with pray. Com, called Sleep Psalms. He is going to lay you down in green pastures and restore your soul. Join me and let the Lord be your.

Shepherd tonight. Listen to Sleep Psalms with Bishop TV, Jake's on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast. Or wherever you get your podcast. Pray. Com's meditative prayers podcast is the best way to bring God's perfect peace into your night. Each meditative prayer helps you focus on God, fight anxiety, sleep better and more. As you.

Close your eyes, ask God to come and have fellowship with you. Open yourself to the Holy Spirit and ask him to minister to you.

Listen to meditative prayers on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.