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Write my Bible in 365. 
Brothers and sisters, we have 

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arrived at the most incredible 
book of Second Corinthians. 

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And folks, I'm going to make a 
blatant statement here. 

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And this is one of those books 
where I just can't pick a single

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passage, although there will be 
a verse I will go over with you 

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at the end. 
Let me just simply say this, the

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book of 2 Corinthians is so 
incredibly important. 

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It is unique to your walk. 
It is critical to your 

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participation in the body of 
Christ and it is something that 

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will prove to be completely life
changing if correctly 

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understood. 
Now let me talk about why 2 

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Corinthians is so important. 
And I want you to bear with me 

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because we're going to go over 
some of the major themes of 

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Second Corinthians, all of which
are powerful, all of which will 

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completely minister to you 
because they minister to me. 

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And I can tell you this right 
now, if you bear with me for 

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these next few minutes, you will
walk away with gold. 

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OK, All right. 
The first reason why 2 

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Corinthians is critically 
important is because it gives us

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one of the most personal and 
transparent pictures of the 

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apostle Paul. 
Now, why is that critical? 

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Because he's one of the greatest
theologians that ever lived, one

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of the most central figures of 
Christianity, and we get a 

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powerful picture of the man's 
life, even more than the book of

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Romans, specifically Romans 
Chapter 7. 

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And that's saying something cuz 
in Romans 7 he's saying the 

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things I want to do I don't do. 
The things I don't want to do I 

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do. 
Who will deliver me from this 

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body, this death trap? 
That's what he says. 2 

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Corinthians reveals so much more
about the man, his character, 

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his life, his love for God. 
And it gives you immediately. 

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These incredible areas where you
can relate to things that will 

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cause you to grow and be 
encouraged. 

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Kind of like when you see 
somebody saying something or 

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doing something. 
So if he could say that, I can 

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say it, or if he can do it, I 
can do it. 

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That's what you'll see in Second
Corinthians. 

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It also shows us what genuine 
Christian ministry looks like 

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when it's tested by pressure, 
when it's tested by suffering 

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and criticism and opposition. 
This is a critical book for 

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this, and if you actually want 
to understand what real 

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Christian ministry looks like, 
this book is the place you go to

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find reconciliation for this. 
By the way, when Charlie was 

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martyred, this was one of the 
books that I hung on. 

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This was one of the books that I
I literally would consult 

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because it shows so much and 
helps us to understand things 

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that make so much sense of what 
is going on and what was going 

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on. 
It also teaches us that 

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difficulty is not necessarily 
evidence that something has gone

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wrong. 
As a matter of fact, God often 

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uses difficulty to accomplish 
His deepest work in US, and 2 

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Corinthians literally shows that
to us. 

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It also exposes the difference 
between genuine spiritual 

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authority and self promoting 
religious leadership, which by 

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the way, there's a huge 
delineation there in this world 

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today. 
And there's a lot of what I 

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would call fake pastors that 
continue to walk in self 

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promoting religious leadership. 
And that is a heavy thing. 2 

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Corinthians shows you where that
delineation is. 

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It shows you how to identify 
those things. 

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It also explains how God uses 
weak and imperfect people to 

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display the power of Christ 
Jesus. 

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That is like one of the most 
encouraging points of this 

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amazing book. 
It also reminds us. 

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That Christian ministry is. 
Ultimately. 

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About reconciliation. 
It's about restoration. 

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Yes, of course it's about 
integrity and generosity, but 

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it's also about faithfulness, 
God's faithfulness. 

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The great message running 
through the entire book is that 

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our weakness does not limit the 
power of God. 

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It creates an opportunity for 
his power to be clearly seen in 

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our lives. 
So let's talk about the major 

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themes. 
Of 2 Corinthians and they are 

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awesome. 
The first of the major Major. 

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Themes. 
I almost said themes. 

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The major themes and this one is
powerful God's power is revealed

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through human weakness let me 
say that again God's power is 

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revealed through human weakness 
think about. 

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It. 
The Apostle Paul repeatedly 

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rejects the idea that spiritual 
authority is proven through 

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appearance or personality. 
Thank you Jesus, thank you, 

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thank you, thank you. 
Or any type of ease or human 

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strength. 
The servant of God is often 

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times weak, but God is strong 
and his strength shows through 

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that person. 
The vessel is fragile, but the 

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treasure that God puts in that 
vessel is glorious. 

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That's the picture. 
The second major theme of 2 

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Corinthians is that suffering is
a part of genuine ministry. 

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Paul's suffering was not 
evidence that God had abandoned 

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him. 
It actually became the means 

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through which God comforted 
others. 

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It became the means that God 
destroyed self-reliance and it 

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literally was used to display 
the life of Christ in that man 

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while teaching other people how 
to understand what eternal joy 

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was all about. 
It certainly produced eternal 

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glory. 
Let me let me tell you that the 

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third theme that you will see, 
and this one is a particularly 

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powerful 1, is that integrity 
matters. 

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OK, Paul emphasizes sincerity. 
He emphasizes what it means to 

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have a clear conscience, you 
know, honest conduct. 

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Those are the things that he 
talks about refusing corrupt 

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communication as it relates to 
the Word of God. 

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He makes it clear a ministry 
cannot be separated from the 

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character of the person that 
actually runs the ministry 

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that's carrying it out. 
Here's the. 

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Other theme that we see in 
Second Corinthians. 

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The gospel is a message. 
Of reconciliation. 

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Let me say that one more time. 
The gospel is a message. 

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Of reconciliation. 
God reconciles. 

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Sinners. 
To himself. 

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Through. 
His son, Jesus Christ. 

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Those who have been reconciled 
are then commissioned ready. 

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That's the term. 
Commissioned as ambassadors to 

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carry out the very same message 
that affected you. 

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It's awesome now. 
This is what I love and it's so 

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clear as well, 'cause it talks 
about the grace of God. 

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Grace produces generosity. 
Let me say that one more time. 

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Grace. 
Produces generosity. 

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You learn that in Second 
Corinthians. 

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Christian living is neither 
manipulation or compulsion. 

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It never. 
Will be it is the natural 

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expression of a heart that 
understands what Christ has 

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given that is so incredibly 
important to grasp and to hold 

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fast to the other thing. 
That it shows us is that 

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spiritual. 
Authority exists to build. 

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People up. 
Not to tear them. 

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Down. 
Paul possessed real. 

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Apostolic Authority. 
That's no that. 

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Nobody questions that. 
But he. 

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Repeatedly explains that this 
authority was given for the 

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purpose of edification. 
That's one of the terms he uses.

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Restoration and literally the 
very health of the church. 

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The spiritual health of the 
Church. 

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The other. 
Thing that. 

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It does, and I'm telling you. 
These are easy ones. 

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To remember, the other thing 
that it does is it shows that 

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real ministry points to Christ. 
Charlie. 

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Really demonstrated that, 
especially in the last several 

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years of the ministry that he 
was holding fast to. 

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False apostles have always 
directed attention toward 

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themselves. 
It's always the way it works. 

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Look at me. 
I'm the pastor, you know. 

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It's it's always the way it 
works. 

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But Paul. 
Directed attention. 

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Toward Christ. 
He was willing to be seen as 

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weak so that Christ could be 
recognized. 

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As strong. 
Perhaps my favorite verse in 2 

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Corinthians is chapter 12 verse 
nine that says this. 

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And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee, for my 

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strength is made perfect in 
weakness. 

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I've come to love the fact that 
when people see me rolling in my

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mobility scooter, they minimize 
me. 

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I love the fact that they often 
times view me as weak. 

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I love the fact that they think 
that I'm unintelligent. 

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And inarticulate. 
I see it happened so much and it

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seems as though lately it's 
happening more and more. 

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But the reason why I love it is 
it because it takes people's 

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eyes off of and puts people's 
eyes on what God is doing 

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through. 
You can take every single flaw 

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that I have and make a great 
case for why I am incapable of 

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doing the work that God has 
called me to. 

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But you can also take every 
single one of those things and 

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say to God, be the glory, great 
things he has done and even 

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greater things he's going to do.
We're rapidly approaching the 

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one year mark of the day that 
Charlie was taken from us, and I

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cannot help but to think in my 
heart of hearts that God's 

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bigger purpose is shining 
through in every aspect of 

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weakness. 
God's grace is sufficient for 

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me. 
May that be said of you. 

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May it be said that my strength 
is made perfect in your 

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weakness, that when God. 
Says that. 

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My strength is made perfect. 
In your weakness that it would 

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be understood as such as I'm 
weak. 

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God's strength is made perfect. 
That's the glory of the life 

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that we live as believers and 
May 2 Corinthians serve as one 

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of the greatest reminders of the
fact that God is the one at work

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and you get to take credit for 
all that he's done by means of 

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participation. 
To God be the glory He deserves,

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the credit, great things he has 
done and greater things He's 

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going to do. 
I love you guys. 

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Keep fighting the good fight.