WEBVTT

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Day 306, or November 2nd. Don't fight battles

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you can't win. Our thoughts today come from Acts

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chapter 5, verses 38 and 39. Therefore, in the

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present case, I advise you, leave these men alone,

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let them go. For if their purpose or activity

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is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is

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from God, you will not be able to stop these

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men. you will only find yourselves fighting against

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God. Now the big picture surrounding these verses

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the early church makes such an impact that the

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authorities find its leaders too hot to handle

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and throw them into prison This was the first

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but not the last time such drastic steps would

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be taken by secular men who simply didn't know

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how to handle God's followers. We also have a

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breathtaking account of church discipline with

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Ananias and Sapphira, followed by the election

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of the first deacons in the church. And now today's

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action step. These words from the Jewish leader

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Gamaliel have a sure ring of truth about them.

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He was so right when he said that fighting against

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God is doomed to failure. Interestingly, in the

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Jewish Talmud there is a character called Gamaliel

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who was teaching a student who displayed impudence

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in learning. Some scholars think the student

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was the Apostle Paul, who claims Gamaliel as

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a teacher in Acts chapter 22 verse 3. Gamaliel's

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advice was certainly pertinent for Paul. Stop

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arguing and obey. Having said that, most of us

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waste valuable time arguing with God in our lives

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when the way ahead is all too clear. i wrestled

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with god before leaving my secular job and entering

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the ministry i think deep down i always knew

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he was right but i was scared i shouldn't have

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been and thankfully god didn't discard me for

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this reticence to follow and i am so grateful

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to him after over thirty years so what are you

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arguing with god about today Notice, I didn't

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ask if you were arguing, but assumed, like me,

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there is always something that you think you

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have a better grasp of than God himself. Stop

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it. Fighting with God is an unequal contest,

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and ironically, when you give in, you win.