Ep.85 From Sexual Exploitation to God's Grace

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Hey, welcome back to the Words for Change podcast here on December 10th, man.
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We have a wonderful podcast for you today.
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We have a topic today that's going to be awesome.
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We're going to talk about God's grace, how God transforms us in the darkest moments of our life.
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If you're new to the podcast, my name is Lionel.
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Today's episode is a powerful reminder of what God's redemption.
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No matter where we are, no matter where we have fallen, god can redeem us.
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So let us start off with this quote from St Augustine.
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It's a very powerful quote.
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It says this there is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future.
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There's no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.
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Hey, this is a beautiful reminder of what God says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17.
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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
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The old is gone and the new has come.
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So these words are critical to this whole concept and idea, and today we're going to share a story with you from a man named Jeff, a man whose journey from death to brokenness shows us how far God can reach to grab us.
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So buckle up, here we go.
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What time is it, y'all here?
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On december 10th man, we have a lot going on in the news.
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Reverend bishop t jakes went under major icu surgery after having what some would call a serious medical situation.
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During a sermon that he preached at his church, jakes, according to the news, faced a life threatening calamity and was rushed to the ICU for immediate surgery.
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Later on he came and gave a message to his congregation from social media Instagram he posted a video saying that he was grateful for God's goodness and mercy.
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And to his local church he spoke this, but to also his global ministry.
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As we all know, td Jakes is a global pastor, minister to many, and so he's in good spirits.
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He continues to say that he's feeling no pain.
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He's at peace and tranquility.
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He said his job is to recuperate, according to a statement he put on x, and to reflect on god's protections.
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I owe it to my congregation and family.
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He said to rest and ruminate as he gets restored to god's grace and service.
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So please keep Bishop TD Jakes in your prayers.
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Man, we have a lot going on overseas as well.
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One of the Middle East's most brutal and long-lasting dictatorships, the Assad regime, has fallen.
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Syria's streets were filled with jubilation as people celebrated the overthrow of president bashar asad.
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As he has fallen.
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President joe biden said this regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent syrians.
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So some say this revolution it happened to regain our legal and constitutional and human rights Situation over in Syria.
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Please pray for them.
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The scripture says we should pray for all people at all times and seek peace in the world.
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All right, one more story I want to share with you as we approach Christmas.
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Actually, during Christmas time, church attendance varies.
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So you know, protestantsants attend church.
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57 percent of protestants, 56 percent of catholics and those of other religions about 53 percent are more likely to attend church than the 21 percent of unaffiliated individuals.
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So 71 percent basically attend church during christmas times.
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At christmas, uh, those who already attend church during Christmas time so Christmas, those who already attend church on occasion, surprisingly are more likely to show up for services around that time.
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So about once a week, that's 76 percent of those who attend church once or twice a month are more inclined to attend church during Christmas time.
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Why do I bring this up?
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Because it's a wonderful time to invite your friends and neighbors to church to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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As we know, we have a mission.
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We don't just get up this morning to go to a job, but we actually have a mission from God.
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So I've been thinking about this scripture verse and the quote that I started off with from St Augustine that says but there is no saint without a past and there is no sinner without a future.
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There's no sin without a past.
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There's no sinner without a future.
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I was doing research about this guy named Jeff.
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This guy had dreams, had ambitions and had potential.
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He wanted to do great things, but he was filled with insecurities and unresolved pains that led him to a destructive path.
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Now let me tell you guys about Jeff.
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This is a story that I read and did research on, because it is important.
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When we think about God's grace, we think about our text today.
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That's coming from Romans, chapter 5, verse 20.
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He says and the law came in that transgressions might increase.
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In other words, our awareness of what's right and wrongly increased.
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But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
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Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
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Now, jeff was the most prolific online pornographer in the country.
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He ran over a million images and over thousands of hours of videos feeding into the sex industry that thrives on exploitation and addiction.
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So, hey, let me just say this If you have kids around, you probably want to save this episode for later.
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Right, we're going to say a few things that may be a little touchy, nothing too explicit, but I do not advise for kids.
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But Jeff was in the pornography industry and he was taking in millions of dollars in this industry.
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You all know today that the pornographic industry is.
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I don't have the stats on it and I've actually thought about bringing a guy in on to my podcast who specializes in helping people get away from pornography.
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But this guy, jeff, on the surface he was making millions of dollars and he was doing a lot of things in that industry.
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He was a headliner in that industry.
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I'm not going to give his last name because and it is a true story I'm not going to give his last name for his own identity sake, but he no longer participates in that.
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But he seemed like he was doing well, but his soul was unraveling, see.
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So money doesn't solve everything.
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No matter where you are today, you're rushing to get to that job and you're rushing to do everything you can so you can pay your bills and get ready for the Christmas season.
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Hey, I respect that, but money doesn't solve everything.
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Okay, that's something you need to keep in mind and I know you know that right.
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But Jeff described his life think about this, after all the money he was making.
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He described his life as a prison with golden bars.
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He was trapped in it and he couldn't get away from it.
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He wasn't just running the business.
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He was trapped by it and he couldn't get away from it.
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He wasn't just running the business.
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He was trapped by his own addictions.
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That was full of drugs, alcohol and desperate attempts to fill the void in his heart that was consuming his life.
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Here's the thing Sin never delivers on this promise.
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It promises freedom, but slaving is always around the corner.
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It promised satisfaction, but it never leaves us fulfilled.
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It leaves us empty, and this was what Jeff was dealing with.
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This brother eventually hit rock bottom.
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Right, he was.
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He was filled with drugs, alcohol and all kinds of things, as you can imagine, and then he led to a drug bust and his empire came apart.
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Okay, he lost everything, as the weight of sin does, right, it causes us to lose the things that are most important to us, like our morality.
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He was in the weight of this emptiness.
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Overnight, he was caught up in a situation and he tried to take his life.
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He attempted suicide.
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We call it in my industry an attempt on suicide but God had grace on him.
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Yes, I say God had grace on him because he woke up the next morning.
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How many people who tried.
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I remember standing beside a bedside of a young, 23 year old man young boy, I would say and he tried to take his life.
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And the thing he said to me he says you know what, pastor, he said I didn't want to wake up and see your face.
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That's what he told to me.
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I did not want to wake up and see your face, your face.
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Ok, so the first miracle in this situation was what?
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That God wasn't done with him.
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God could have let him lose his life, but he didn't Right.
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And so here's what this guy did next he drove to a Christian camp when he realized that something wasn't right because he should have died.
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He walked into the camp, surrendered his heart to the Lord.
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He heard the music from a Christian camp that he was familiar with and went there, gave his heart to God right and told God that he would do anything, because he realized the power of God's grace in that moment.
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So he found God's embrace.
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He found the church community Right.
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Just like many people walk down the aisle.
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You see it on Sunday after Sunday People you've never met before and give their life to Christ for the first time.
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You never know where these people coming from.
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That's why you shouldn't judge people.
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But this brother went through his criminal proceedings.
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He was then surrounded by a family of God, the children of God.
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He got through counseling.
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He kept going through counseling for years.
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He confessed his sin, he sought forgiveness and he allowed God to do the impossible in his life.
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God took the mess of his life and created something beautiful.
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We like to say God will take your mess and make it a message.
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This brother discovered his unique skill set could be used in another way.
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Instead of spreading darkness, now he could spread light.
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So he began creating content to share his story of redemption and testimony.
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It became a lifeline for others in that industry.
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So his story isn't just about transformation, ok, it's about what it reveals, about God, see.
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So no matter who you are, no matter what you came from, god can touch you.
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So think about that child, or think about that spouse, or think about that family member who's wayward I was a wayward child.
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I shared my testimonies.
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Go check that out on my YouTube page.
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It's called Lloyd Talks.
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What's it called?
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Lloyd Talks Media New YouTube page is all based around helping people who don't know Christ come to the message of Jesus Christ.
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Right, I want people to come through the doors.
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I don't care who you are, just come through the door.
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So.
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So God turned his mess into a message, and I don't care where you are.
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Maybe you have a messy past.
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Maybe you feel things are too heavy or too messy or too complicated Right, but God's grace is bigger than your sin.
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His love can reach you, right.
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There is therefore Romans 8 once is there is no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus.
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Right, this is what Jeff experienced.
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He experienced the power of God grace.
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It's a promise that is available to everyone.
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Ok, so here's what we can learn from this story.
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It's a reminder that God's love isn't just for the perfect, it's for the broken.
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Jesus says I came for those who had need of a physician.
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When we surrender our brokenness to him, he can do incredible things with us.
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When we surrender our brokenness, god can do incredible things with us.
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Jeff's story helps us to move forward.
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It shares the power of God's grace, what God can do to help other people.
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Now here's what I need you to do.
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If this episode right here, it's meant to be quick and to the point and it's a gospel episode, I want you to share this with someone who you think may need a reminder of God's grace, so that they don't forget that God has a purpose for them.
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The people you're looking at and the people you're crying about, and the people that you're calling out to God about, this could be the message that God wants them to hear, and God wants you to deliver to them.
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Okay, so that's what I want you to do.
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This is what I need you to do.
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During this time of Christmas season, the best thing you can do is help someone.
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Number one, you can show forgiveness, but help someone experience the grace of God.
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If you're watching, listen to this podcast for the very first time.
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Don't forget to subscribe to the Words for Change podcast.
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Listen before I go.
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I want to leave you with this your past doesn't define you.
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In God's hands we are.
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We are Our story.
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In God's hands is the soil where we can grow into our future.
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Hey guys, thanks for listening on this day.
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Blessings to you.
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May the Lord bless you, keep you.
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May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and you experience peace from this time and evermore.
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I'm signing off until I see you again.
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Peace.
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I'll talk to you soon.
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Thank you.