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Speaker 1: And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold,

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Speaker 1: Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before

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Speaker 1: the ark of the Lord and the head of Dagon,

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Speaker 1: and both the palms of his hands were cut off

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Speaker 1: upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left

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Speaker 1: to him. First Samuel five four to day is the day, Lord,

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Speaker 1: that my mind and heart will change its position as

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Speaker 1: I realize and recognize that you will not be mocked.

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Speaker 1: As I meditate on First Samuel five and six, my

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Speaker 1: heart and my mind will be put at ease when

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Speaker 1: it appears that Satan has his plans for overriding your

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Speaker 1: declared promises and plans for my life. Because it is

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Speaker 1: through this text that you make yourself known. It is

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Speaker 1: in this text that you show your power in making

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Speaker 1: all false gods bow to the power of the Great.

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Speaker 1: I am All glory and praise goes to you, God,

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Speaker 1: and I thank you that in the same way the

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Speaker 1: Philistines returned your ark and brought more than what was taken,

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Speaker 1: I too will receive double for the trouble that the

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Speaker 1: enemy has brought into my life. By decree and declare

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Speaker 1: that nothing will be lost in my life, and that

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Speaker 1: whoever tries to raise up against the plan of the

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Speaker 1: Lord in my life will have no choice but to

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Speaker 1: open the doors that have been locked and cut the

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Speaker 1: red tape that's been wrapped around my future. Thank you Jesus,

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Speaker 1: that at your name, all man made idols of distractions

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Speaker 1: must bow like the idols of the Philistines in Jesus name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us to day. Continue your

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Speaker 1: time with God by listening to to day's story brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Bible in a Year dot com. God's

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Speaker 1: arc returns to Israel. In our last story, we witnessed

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Speaker 1: the slaughter of Israel's army at the hand of the Philistines.

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Speaker 1: Israel summoned the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield,

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Speaker 1: but the Philistines defeated them and took it back to

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Speaker 1: their camp. All of Israel mourned the loss of the Ark,

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Speaker 1: but God would not be trifled with. In this story,

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Speaker 1: we learn about God's power displayed among the Philistines. Inspired

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Speaker 1: by the Book of First Samuel. Hello, this is Pastor

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year podcast. In our previous reading, we heard how Eli's

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Speaker 1: sons died in battle a punishment for their sins against God.

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Speaker 1: Along with them, Israel lost thousands of men to the Philistines,

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Speaker 1: but they lost something even greater as the Ark of

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Speaker 1: the Covenant was taken by the Philistines. Hope seemed lost

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Speaker 1: for Israel, as God's presence had departed from them. But

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Speaker 1: in today's reading we'll hear about the high price the

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Speaker 1: Philistines would pay for their theft, and how God's power

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Speaker 1: was going to be shown to all as his presence

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Speaker 1: was restored to his people. Let's listen now to today's reading.

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Speaker 1: The Philistines drug the Ark of the Covenant back to

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Speaker 1: the city of Ashtod. Torches illuminated the smug grins on

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Speaker 1: their faces as they placed the arc at the foot

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Speaker 1: of their idols. They placed the Ark and the temple

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Speaker 1: of Dagon, the Philistines God. The idol was placed before

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Speaker 1: a bronze statue of Dagon. It loomed over the ark

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Speaker 1: as if they were making God bow to him. The

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Speaker 1: Philistines slept soundly in their beds, not hearing the large

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Speaker 1: crash in the night. When rose the next morning, they

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Speaker 1: found the statue of Dagon fallen face down before the

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Speaker 1: Ark of the Lord. Perplexed, the Philistines put Dagon back

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Speaker 1: in its place and left. Another night passed, crashing and

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Speaker 1: shattering echoed through the empty temple. When the priests awoke

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Speaker 1: to check on the temple, they saw the statue of

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Speaker 1: Dagon fallen face down before the Ark. Its head and

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Speaker 1: both its hands were cut off cleanly and lay spread

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Speaker 1: out before the Ark of the Covenant. The priests trembled

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Speaker 1: and dared not enter the temple again until the Arc

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Speaker 1: was released. Yet God was not yet finished. The Philistines

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Speaker 1: had made a mockery of his name, and they slaughtered

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Speaker 1: his people. They were right to fear him in the beginning,

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Speaker 1: for the God that struck down Pharaoh would have no

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Speaker 1: problem dealing with the minuscule Philistine army. The hand of

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Speaker 1: God was heavy against the Philistines, and they all became

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Speaker 1: afflicted with painful tumors their fall. God Dagon could not

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Speaker 1: save them. Their priests prayed to a piece of metal

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Speaker 1: to deliver them, but God reigned, Get the Ark out

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Speaker 1: of here before we perish, the people of Ashdod said. So.

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Speaker 1: They took the Ark to the city of Gaithe, a

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Speaker 1: terribly evil place filled with giant warriors that wore steel

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Speaker 1: for armor. Yet the mighty men of Gathe quaked under

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Speaker 1: the power of God. Their strong arms and broad backs

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Speaker 1: could not shield them from his anger. Tumors broke out

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Speaker 1: in them as well, and the entire city wailed in pain.

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Speaker 1: Their cries filled the skies, and they cast the ark

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Speaker 1: out of their land back to the Israelites. This has

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Speaker 1: not happened by coincidence. The Philistine elders said. They winced

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Speaker 1: in pain and guilt, saying God struck down Egypt long ago,

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Speaker 1: and now he strikes us down as well. Pharaoh did

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Speaker 1: not listen, but we must learn from his hardened heart.

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Speaker 1: So the Philistines sent back the Ark of the Covenant

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Speaker 1: with a guilt offering. The gold offerings molded into the

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Speaker 1: shape of the tumors in mice that plagued their land.

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Speaker 1: The people of Israel rejoiced when the ark returned. They

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Speaker 1: offered sacrifices to God and worshiped him for his great power.

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Speaker 1: The Philistines would soon regather and retaliate, but for now

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Speaker 1: they hid in fear because of God's mighty hand. God's

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Speaker 1: anger against the Philistines reflected the depth of his righteousness.

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Speaker 1: Though God is patient and kind. He is by no

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Speaker 1: means safe. His name is not to be mocked, and

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Speaker 1: he is not to be placed at the altar of

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Speaker 1: a false god. Like Dagon. The philistines tumors were but

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Speaker 1: an image of their inner sickness. The Philistines would eventually

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Speaker 1: attack again, and again they would witness God's might. Today's

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Speaker 1: story he begins with the Philistines in possession of the

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Speaker 1: Ark of the Covenant. They believed they could use it

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Speaker 1: for their profit their benefit, just as they looked to

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Speaker 1: other gods. So they took the ark to the shrine

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Speaker 1: of their god Dagon and set it next to it.

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Speaker 1: But God was not about to let his name be

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Speaker 1: used by those who did not know or fear him,

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Speaker 1: and he certainly wouldn't be just one among the many

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Speaker 1: false gods. So when the Philistines woke the next morning,

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Speaker 1: they found their idol lying face down. They picked him

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Speaker 1: up and put him back, but the next morning he

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Speaker 1: had fallen again, this time his head and hands broken off.

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Speaker 1: But God wasn't through the whole city felt his judgment,

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Speaker 1: and people for miles around developed tumors. They knew this

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Speaker 1: wasn't a coincidence, so they sent the Ark to another town,

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Speaker 1: and the same thing happened, terrifying the people once more

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Speaker 1: with painful tumors. So the Ark of the Covenant was

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Speaker 1: sent to a third city, but the people cried out

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Speaker 1: in fear, we don't want this. In First Samuel five

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Speaker 1: to eleven we read they sent therefore and gathered together

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Speaker 1: all the lords of the Philistines, and said, send away

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Speaker 1: the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it

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Speaker 1: return to its own place, that it may not kill

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Speaker 1: us and our people. For there was a deathly panic

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Speaker 1: throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very

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Speaker 1: heavy there. You see, God's presence among those who truly

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Speaker 1: seek him brings peace, but among the wicked, those who

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Speaker 1: reject him, it brings panic. God's judgment is not something

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Speaker 1: to be taken lightly, of course, and after seeing what

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Speaker 1: he had done in two other cities, the Philistines begged

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Speaker 1: for the art to go back to Israel. The Philistines

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Speaker 1: knew they were guilty, and the art couldn't simply be

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Speaker 1: returned as if nothing happened, So they sent it back

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Speaker 1: with guilt offerings, golden sculptures of tumors and mice symbols

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Speaker 1: of God's judgment against them. Unfortunately, they were only sorry

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Speaker 1: and scared, not contrite, not changed, not repent it. They

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Speaker 1: just wanted to be done with this punishment. How tragic

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Speaker 1: it is when people reject God and the opportunity to

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Speaker 1: repent of their sins and to get right with him.

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Speaker 1: So the ark was returned to Israel, and great rejoicing

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Speaker 1: arose among them. They worship God for his mightiness, praising

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Speaker 1: him for returning the arc to them. But Israel's struggles

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Speaker 1: were far from over, hindering their relationship with God, and

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Speaker 1: we'll hear more about that the next time. Dear God,

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Speaker 1: we thank you that in our story today we learn

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Speaker 1: how holy you really are, that you are righteous, and

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Speaker 1: that you judge the wicked. Help us not only to

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Speaker 1: regret our sin, but to truly repent of it and

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Speaker 1: turn from it, and ask you to be our savior

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Speaker 1: and deliverer in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening

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Speaker 1: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack

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Speaker 1: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Down Load the Prey dot com

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Speaker 1: app and make Bible study and prayer a priority in

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Speaker 1: your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it

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Speaker 1: with someone you know because it can make a genuine,

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Speaker 1: even eternal difference in their lives. And if you want

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Speaker 1: more resources on how you can know the power of

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Speaker 1: God through Jesus Christ, then visit Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Medicine, an innovative healthcare solution

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