239 - Prayers Satan Hates Group Study - 14

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Hello and welcome back to Battle Plan, a podcast on spiritual warfare.

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I'm really enjoying sharing my small group study from my search, Prayer Satan Hates,

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and that's what we're going to cover today.

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There's a free downloadable PDF transcript of this podcast available on our website at

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active-faith.org under the resources tab for small group.

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Today we're going to talk about hearing voices.

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Mark 9, 20, I mean Mark 7, verse 29, new century version said, then Jesus said, the demon has

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left your daughter.

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Have you ever had a voice in your head that seems to be telling you something that just

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seems wrong or out of character for you?

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Maybe that's why we need to take captive every thought.

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Let me share my experience in this area.

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I'll never forget the day I was in high school.

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It was a summer in central Texas and it was hot.

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We were busy with one of our many projects as dad always had a list ready when the summer

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break began.

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This one involved hauling old rock.

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The rocks came from an old broken down fence that one of the early settlers in Mason County

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had laboriously constructed.

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It had been replaced by modern day Bob Warfence, complete with T-posts down the middle and

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braced cedar corner post strategically placed where the land rose or fell with the hill

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country terrain.

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We had filled that old pickup with all the weight those old shocks could handle and a

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little more.

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Dad wasn't one to waste time or space or energy or fuel.

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We made the most of every minute and every trip.

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My little brother and I had elected to ride in the back of the truck sitting on top of

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the rocks on the way back enjoying the breeze as we rocketed down the road from the rancher's

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property at a blazing speed of about 30 miles an hour.

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One of life's simple pleasures that many today will never enjoy because of seatbelt

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laws and careful parents.

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We finally left the dirt road and pulled on the pavement and dad gunned it.

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Now we're going at least 45 or 50.

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You could hear and feel the shocks groan with every pebble on the highway.

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Dad slowly increased his speed until we were going about 55.

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For some reason I leaned over the tailgate and stared at the pavement.

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It felt like we were going 100.

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Though I knew the old truck could never go that fast, especially with a load that heavy.

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But it was hypnotic, almost like I was falling into a trance, a feeling I really had never

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experienced before.

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That's when it happened.

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The voice.

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I heard it.

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I know it sounds crazy and I can tell you for a fact it felt crazy.

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But that voice still haunts me because of what it said.

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And I wonder how different my life would be if I had obeyed that voice command.

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I know now it was the voice of Satan or one of his demons.

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But at the time I didn't really make that connection.

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It was specific.

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It was direct.

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It was apparently assigned to me and I'm really glad I didn't away that voice.

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But I confess to you, I almost did.

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Almost.

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What did it say?

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It was simple, just one word, one single word I almost obeyed, almost but not quite.

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If I had obeyed it, the whole course of my life would have changed.

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I'm glad I didn't.

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It said jump.

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It helped me to be deaf to the voice of Satan and his forces and tuned in to your words

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and your communications in Jesus name.

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In Luke 4 9 NLT it says, then the devil took him to Jerusalem to the highest point of the

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temple and said, if you are the son of God, jump off.

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What are strong holes?

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In Corinthians 10 4 NLT says we use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons to knock

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down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

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There are many strongholds in the world around us giving Satan a foothold, a toehold in our

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lives.

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We need a beachhead like Normandy, some small piece of territory we can make a stand and

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begin to fight the surrounding evil.

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We need to remember first of all that we currently live in enemy territory.

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We must acknowledge there is an enemy before we begin to fight him, right?

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Satan is in control.

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He's called the God of this world for now.

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Second Corinthians 4 verse 4, Satan who is the God of this world has blinded the minds

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of those who don't believe.

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They're unable to see the glorious light of the good news.

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They don't understand the message about the glory of Christ who is the exact likeness

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of God.

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So how do we fight him?

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How do we prepare?

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How did Jesus fight Satan when he was tempted for 40 days?

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He quoted the Bible every time.

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And by the way, he didn't just quote some random verse and use the same verse every time.

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He quoted a Bible verse that applied to the temptation he was being faced with.

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I think that's very important to note.

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Acts 13 10 said, then he said, you son of the devil full of every sort of deceit and

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fraud and enemy of all that is good.

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Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?

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Do you know the scriptures?

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It's never too late to begin to study and learn them.

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Well, I guess that's not really true.

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You can wait until it's too late, but I hope you don't.

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I hope you begin now before it's too late.

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James 1 25, New Century version says, but the truly happy people are those who carefully

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study God's perfect law that makes people free and they continue to study it.

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They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says.

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Those who do this will be made happy.

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Okay.

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How else do we fight?

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We study and pray.

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Start right away.

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Don't let Satan stay in control of your life.

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Second Corinthians 10 3 to 5.

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An IV says, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

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The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

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On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

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We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets himself up against the knowledge

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of God.

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And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

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Now there's a war term.

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You take captives in a war.

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You're in a war, whether you realize it or not.

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Lord help me to first recognize the footholds that Satan has in my life, especially those

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that have become his strongholds.

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Next let help me to renounce them, reject them completely and then defeat them daily

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in my life from now on in Jesus name.

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Now how would Satan accomplish putting thoughts in our minds and making us think it's our

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own thoughts?

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He wouldn't say, you need porn, you need drugs.

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He would whisper, I need porn, I need drugs into our minds.

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Then we think it's our own thoughts rather than his suggestion.

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Think about that.

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The strategies of the devil are cunning.

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I'm just saying.

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So in light of today's thoughts, let me suggest part of your personal battle plan might be

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consider the following thoughts about taking captive every thought that comes into your

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mind.

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I believe there are four ways we can take captive those thoughts.

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Number one, develop the fruits of the spirit.

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Galatians 5, 23, 22 and 23 in LT says, but the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit

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in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness

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and self control.

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There's no law against these.

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So number one, develop the fruits of the spirit.

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Number two, focus on and look for the good in every situation.

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Philippians 4, 8, GNT says in conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things

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that are good and that deserve praise, things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and

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honorable.

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So number two, focus on and look for the good in every situation.

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Number three, and this sounds weird until I explain it.

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Number three, think about your thoughts.

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Think about your thoughts.

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Why are you mad?

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Why are you sad?

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Why are you offended?

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See when we think about our thoughts and ask ourselves why we feel that way, this gives

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God a chance to speak to us about what we're thinking.

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Job 13, 24 amplified.

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Why do you hide your face, Joe, as if offended and consider me your enemy?

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See why am I offended?

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Psalm 43, verse five, why are you in despair, O my soul?

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Why are you relentless and disturbed within me?

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Hope in God and wait expectantly for him, for I shall again praise him, the help of my

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sad countenance and my God.

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So why am I sad?

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And then why am I mad?

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John 7, 23 amplified.

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If to avoid breaking the law of Moses, a man undergoes circumcision on the Sabbath, why

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are you angry with me for making a man's whole body well on the Sabbath when they were mad

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at Jesus for healing on the Sabbath?

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Why are you mad?

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Why are you sad?

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Why are you offended?

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Is it because man has wanted you to be offended or are you offended because it's offensive

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to God and to his word?

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It's two very different reasons.

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So develop the fruits of the spirit, number one, and then two, focus on look for the good.

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Number three, think about your thoughts.

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Ask yourself why you feel that way.

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And number four, make everything part of your pursuit of God.

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See a mind that's captured by the wonder of God has no room for anything else.

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Colossians 3, 16, amplified.

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Let the spoken word of Christ have its home within you, dwelling in your heart and mind,

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permeating every aspect of your being as you teach spiritual things and admonish and train

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one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness

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in your hearts to God.

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And let me remind you to keep praying because prayer works.

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God loves you and I love you.

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Have a great day.