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There was an event this. 
Last week that really kind of 

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spurred the thought for the 
lesson this morning. 

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I want to talk on how God can 
use you. 

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And that is this already 
mentioned in our prayer. 

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This morning, the death of 
little baby Oliver Preston and 

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Katie Crawford. 
Had this little boy born on 

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April the 22nd, and on Thursday,
this last week, just three short

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weeks, he lived and passed away.
This last Thursday, due to 

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complications of premature death
Well, his mother Katie. 

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Posted. 
The notice of the death on 

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Facebook and she said, he was 
only here for three weeks, but 

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he taught us a lifetime of 
lessons. 

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And many would wonder well how 
this little baby who was only 

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three weeks old, could have such
an impact on maybe so many 

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people. 
And during that time, right? 

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Then God allowed this little 
child to influence, people to 

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influence others. 
The lives of others. 

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And I believe that's very 
powerful when we think about it.

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God allows you to be an 
influence to others as well for 

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his purpose. 
He can use you right now. 

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Just the way you are at this 
point in your life, not later on

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out, sometime down the future, 
but right now, God can use you 

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You know, a lot of times when we
think about being used, you 

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know, we always somebody takes 
advantage of us and we say, 

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well, I got a really got used on
that. 

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I really got taken advantage of.
I hope that's not the way we 

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feel about when we think about 
how God uses us, that that I 

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have to do this. 
And boy, I've taken up too much 

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of my time or whatever, but God 
uses us for his glory and for 

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his purposes and I believe 
that's very powerful. 

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Something that you're really 
good, at, whatever it may be, 

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maybe you're good at mechanics, 
maybe you're a good painter. 

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Maybe you're a good singer. 
Maybe you're good at sewing. 

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Maybe you're good at cooking? 
Whatever it is. 

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Those things are blessings from 
God and maybe you can use those 

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things to benefit others. 
And to give God glory, maybe you

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are the one that has the 
opportunity to take the time to 

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help others, or maybe it's 
always the one that comes and 

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has a word of comfort when 
you're in down in the dumps or 

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your Sorrowing. 
Are you having problems? 

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Whatever your talent is, or 
whatever your skill is, God is 

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behind that. 
He has blessed you with the 

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talent that you have. 
And, and that can be used for 

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his purposes and for his glory, 
but he doesn't bless us with 

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talents or skills so that we can
just get the notoriety for it or

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become rich or become have have 
more money or things. 

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Like, now, that may be a result 
of that. 

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But that's not the purpose. 
It's much bigger than that, God 

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wants us to honor him with those
gifts. 

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He wants us to be good and 
Faithful Servants of our 

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talents. 
How exactly does God want us to 

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use our talents for him? 
I want to talk about three 

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things this morning blessing, 
others. 

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Building his kingdom and 
glorifying. 

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God. 
Well, first of all, God wants us

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to bless others and be a 
blessing to others in 1st, Peter

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4 and verse 10 were called to 
use our gifts to serve others as

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faithful stewards of God. 
As each of you has received a 

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gift Minister it to one another 
as good stewards of the manifold

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with grace of God. 
So, whatever blessings, I have, 

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whatever gifts, I have should be
used to serve others. 

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To God's glory. 
The basic idea is that these 

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blessings carry over to talents 
and God doesn't give us anything

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just for our own benefit. 
After all, we're blessed. 

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So that we can be a blessing to 
other, God wants us to use our 

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talents and skills for the 
benefits of others. 

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Well, how can we put that into 
practice? 

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Well, first of all, we just need
to simply be aware of what the 

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needs are of others. 
So that we can be a blessing to 

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them, you know, sometimes we 
might go around. 

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So focused on ourself all the 
time about what I need to 

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accomplish. 
What I need to get done, what I 

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need for this, or what I did for
that, and we're thinking about 

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ourselves all the time. 
And sometimes we get so clouded 

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about what we need and what's 
within our realm that we fail to

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look Beyond us and see what the 
needs are of others. 

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You know, a lot of times we got 
tomorrow our own problems. 

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It seems like we're just 
floundering sometimes with just 

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taking care of our own problems 
all the time and that's all that

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we have time to do. 
But sometimes there's just a 

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simple word, there's a simple D.
There's a simple thing that we 

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can do. 
That looks outside of our needs 

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at the needs of others. 
Philippians 2 and verses 3 and 

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4, let nothing be done through 
selfish ambition or conceit, but

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in lowliness of Mind, Let each 
esteem others better than 

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himself. 
Let each of you look not only on

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for his own interests but also 
for the interests of others. 

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We all take care of ourselves. 
We take care of ourselves. 

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First, it seems like but we need
to look beyond that at the needs

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of others. 
And, you know, this congregation

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does that very well. 
Does that very, very well and we

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appreciate all that you do. 
So, let's look around at the 

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needs of others. 
Secondly and thirdly, God wants 

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us to work and build in his 
kingdom. 

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Number two for his glory. 
Number three, God made us all 

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different. 
And all in all of us together 

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make up his kingdom and Paul 
compares. 

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The, the our body's physical 
bodies to the body of Christ, he

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just Eva each of us being unique
in our own ways. 

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But the body is complete by each
individual Christ is the head of

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the body if he's in 5 and 23. 
So everything we do points back 

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to Christ because he directs it 
all First. 

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Corinthians 12 verses 12 through
27. 

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For as the body is one and has 
many members. 

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But all the members of that one 
body being many are one body. 

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So also is Christ for by one 
Spirit. 

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We are all baptized into one 
body, whether Jews or Greeks 

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whether slaves or free and have 
all been made to drink into one 

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spirit. 
For in fact, the body is not one

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member but many. 
If the foot should say because I

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am not a hand, I am not of the 
body, is it? 

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Therefore not of the body. 
And if the ear should say, 

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because I am not an I am I not 
the boss? 

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I am not of the body, is it? 
Therefore not of the body? 

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If the whole body were an eye 
would, where would the heat be 

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the hearing if the whole we're 
hearing where would be the 

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smelly? 
But now God has set the members.

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Each of them in the body, just 
as he pleased. 

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And if they were all one member,
where would the body be? 

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But now indeed, there are many 
members, yet one body and the 

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eye cannot say to the hand. 
I have no need of you nor again 

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to the head of feet, I have no 
need of, you know, much rather 

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those members of the body, which
seem to be weaker are necessary 

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and those members of the body, 
which we think to be less, 

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honorable on, these will be 
stroll, greater honor and our 

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unpresentable parts. 
Have greater modesty, but are 

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presentable Parts have no need, 
but Vodka posed the body having 

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given greater honor to the part 
which is lat put lat which 

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slacks it. 
Excuse me, that there should be 

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no Schism in the body but that 
the members should have the same

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care for one another. 
And if one member suffers all 

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the members suffer with it, or 
if one member is honored all the

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members Rejoice with it. 
Now, you are the body of Christ 

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and members individually. 
It's really kind of beautiful 

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how God designed, not only our 
physical body, but the spiritual

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body. 
Now, if I lose a finger nail, I 

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may not think much of it, and it
may not be. 

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We may not think it's a very 
important part, but when I go to

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start picking things up or 
whatever it may be, I might find

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out what would be nice if I had 
that fingernail back. 

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Or a finger, or if I lost a hand
or something like that, or I was

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not far as crippled and I 
couldn't walk and things of that

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nature. 
So, all of these things work 

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together for the body to be able
to function. 

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And so, if you think that you're
an insignificant part of the 

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body of Christ, you're not 
You're not, you're a very 

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important part of the body of 
Christ, and you may not realize 

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it. 
Just like we had no idea how 

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that little baby could have such
an impact on those parents and 

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maybe on others as well. 
We may not think that we are an 

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important intricate part of the 
body of Christ, but you are and 

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God can use you just the way you
are. 

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You can use you in some way. 
God wants us to use our unique 

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roles in the body of Christ and 
doing so, we glorify him. 

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So if God Made You to amazing, 
amazing singer, then use it for 

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his glory. 
Use it for his benefit, whatever

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your talent, maybe counseling or
comforting comforting. 

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Others use it for his glory. 
Find a way to use your talents 

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to honor. 
God honor him, your god-given 

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abilities. 
To reach those who don't know, 

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him, maybe in some way in your 
conversation. 

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There were people here. 
Here that are type A 

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personalities and others that 
aren't. 

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If you're type A personality in 
your one that can talk to 

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anybody about anything, use 
that, use that ability to bring 

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people to Christ. 
Be that Christian that can 

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influence your family, your 
girlfriend, your boyfriend, your

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husband, your wife, your school 
school, friends, your neighbors,

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whatever it is use your talents 
to glorify. 

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God. 
Maybe you can use your talents 

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to be a leader of the church or 
an elder or deacon at some point

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in your life. 
But God needs you and can use 

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you, whatever your talent is. 
Be that city that has said that,

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that is set on a hill and it 
cannot be hid. 

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Be that light. 
Value the position. 

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God gave you in this life for 
his purpose in his glory and the

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more useful you are. 
The more you can be used and the

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more used you are the more 
accomplished, the more things 

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that you can accomplish for the 
glory of God. 

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Let God use you and your life. 
We thank you for listening to 

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our podcast, put on by the 
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

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Road in Bakersfield, if you 
would like any additional 

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information or you would like to
receive a free Bible 

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correspondence, course by mail. 
Please email us at info at True 

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Bakersfield.com. 

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at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 

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Please make plans to join us. 

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