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DWDP-Gen 14: 19-24 Abram Gave Him a Tenth of All.. · More Than Medicine

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to More Than Medic, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hosted by author and physician, Dr.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Robert Jackson.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: Papa, can you tell me a story?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: Do you really want me to tell you a story?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you go get your brother and your sisters, and I will tell you a story.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Devotions with Dr.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Papa.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Gather around, grab your Bibles, and let us look into the written word which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  SPEAKER_02: Today we're at Genesis chapter fourteen.
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  SPEAKER_02: We're going to start with verse nineteen and read down to verse twenty four.
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  SPEAKER_02: He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand.
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  SPEAKER_02: He gave him a tenth of all.
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  SPEAKER_02: The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.
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  SPEAKER_02: Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have sworn to the Lord God most high, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, I have made Abram rich.
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  SPEAKER_02: I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me Aner, Eshkal, and Mamre, let them take their share.
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  SPEAKER_02: May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of God's word.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now, as you remember from last week's lesson, God blessed Abram as he pursued the five kings, and he rescued his nephew Lot, brought them back, and on the way back he met Melchizedek, the priest of Salem, or the king of Salem, and he was called the priest of God most high.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: Well then Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, Blessed be Abram of God most high, or El Yom, which was the name that God was known by back in Genesis chapter one.
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  SPEAKER_02: And he called him the possessor of heaven and earth.
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  SPEAKER_02: And if you noticed, Abram gave him a tenth of all.
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  SPEAKER_02: We don't know if that was a tenth of everything he had or just a tenth of the spoils of war.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well then the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the people, and you take the goods for yourself.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now it's obvious that Abram had had a real change of heart and mind since he left Egypt.
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  SPEAKER_02: If you remember, when he left Egypt, God had struck Egypt with a plague because the king of Egypt had taken Abram's wife Sarah.
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  SPEAKER_02: Abram had told them that his wife was his sister.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now she was his half sister, but she was actually his wife.
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  SPEAKER_02: And so God had struck Egypt with a plague.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well finally the king figured out what was going on, and he scolded Abram.
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  SPEAKER_02: He gave him back his wife, and he made him leave, and when he left he gave him sheep and camel and donkeys, and it increased his possessions, it increased his wealth.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm sure that there was some time when Abram and Sarai had an argument around the breakfast table, probably about the fact that she was still barren, and she blamed him and she he blamed her, and she said Nah nah nah, you wouldn't have anything if the king of Egypt hadn't given you all those camel and sheep and donkeys and drove you out of Egypt on account of you lying to him about me being your sister.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then she went on and on and she nagged him because of his disingenuous ways.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, it may not have happened just like that, but that's just pastoral speculation as my pastor friends call it.
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  SPEAKER_02: But anyway about it, he left Egypt enriched by the king of Egypt.
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  SPEAKER_02: And since that time he had probably had some conversations with Elon, the possessor of heaven and earth, and he'd made up his mind that he wasn't going to take even a sandal thong from anybody else, because as he told the king of Sodom, I don't want you to go around saying that you have made Abram rich.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: So what he told him to do was to give his economic and political allies Aner, Eshkal, and Mamre, give them their portion, but as for me I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: So there we have that.
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  SPEAKER_02: But what I want to focus on today is the fact that Abram gave to Melchizedek a tenth of all.
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  SPEAKER_02: So why would he give him a tithe?
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  SPEAKER_02: It's because he recognized him as the possessor of heaven and earth.
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  SPEAKER_02: He recognized him as Elon, the most high God.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now let's talk a little bit about the tithe.
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  SPEAKER_02: We understand that God owns everything.
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  SPEAKER_02: He is the possessor of heaven and earth, and he is sovereign over the entire universe.
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  SPEAKER_02: And more than that, Jesus told us way over in the New Testament that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then later in the New Testament, we're told that God loves a cheerful giver.
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  SPEAKER_02: So keep those thoughts in your mind, and I know that there's a little bit of controversy about this whole idea of tithing.
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  SPEAKER_02: And there are folks that say tithing is an old testament concept, and that tithing is something that was really under the law.
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  SPEAKER_02: But remember, Abram tithed long before God gave the law to Moses, and he tithed because he recognized that God owned everything.
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  SPEAKER_02: He was the possessor of heaven and earth.
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  SPEAKER_02: And he tithed because he had a heart of gratitude.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now, when the law did come, the Jews had a temple tithe, they had a tithe of their land, they had a tithe of their harvest, and when you added up all the tithes that the Jews were commanded to give, it was about thirty percent of their overall possessions.
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  SPEAKER_02: But there are those who say you and I are not under the law today.
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  SPEAKER_02: We are under grace, but yet at the same time we are expected to be givers.
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  SPEAKER_02: Understand clearly giving was before the law, and nothing exhibits God's character like giving.
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  SPEAKER_02: Let me say that again.
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  SPEAKER_02: Nothing exhibits God's character like giving.
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  SPEAKER_02: Probably the most famous verse in the entire New Testament is John three sixteen, for God so loved the world that he gave He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life.
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  SPEAKER_02: In fact, I was coming back from the Middle East one time and I was sitting in an airport in Greece, and I met a Muslim exon executive, and I was reading my Bible there in the airport and he asked me what I was reading, and I told him, and he lifted one hand and he looked at me and he said I read the Bible one time, and I said the entire Bible, and he said yes.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then he said, Let me tell you the one verse that I thought summarized the entire Bible.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well I was intrigued by that, and I said to him, Well tell me what verse did you think and summarize the entire Bible?
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  SPEAKER_02: And he said, It was this verse, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believed in him would not perish but have eternal life.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well I was amazed that this Muslim man would pick that verse out of the entire Bible and he would say that that verse summarized the whole Bible.
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  SPEAKER_02: And he was correct.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well he and I had a very lively discussion after that, but he was not at all inclined to accept the truth of John three sixteen.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now in the book of Luke in chapter six, Jesus said to his audience give and it shall be given unto you.
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  SPEAKER_02: Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men pour into your lap.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now that wasn't just a suggestion, it was a command.
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  SPEAKER_02: And the sense of the word is that it's a continual giving, and it was a command for everyone to give.
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  SPEAKER_02: And the sense of that command was that it was to keep God's money in continual circulation, and that when people give, they would give with an expectation that God would give back to them again.
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  SPEAKER_02: Give, and it shall be given unto you.
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  SPEAKER_02: And the sense of that verse is that you cannot outgive God.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now let me tell you a secret.
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  SPEAKER_02: You will never meet a person who says, you know, the devil has been really good to me.
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  SPEAKER_02: I meet people all the time who say God has been so good to me, but I've never ever met a person who says the devil has been so good to me.
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  SPEAKER_02: And you'll never meet a person who says, you know, I tried and I really did outgive God.
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  SPEAKER_02: No, no.
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  SPEAKER_02: You'll never meet a person who says truthfully that they outgave God.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now here's a progression that I want you to understand.
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  SPEAKER_02: And the progression goes like this duty, discipline, desire, and then delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now let me break that down for you.
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  SPEAKER_02: There are a lot of things in our Christian life that start off as a duty, then they become a discipline, then they become a desire in our heart, and then they become a delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now think about it.
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  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes reading God's word or memorizing scripture or even praying start out as a duty.
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  SPEAKER_02: It's just something we know we're supposed to do.
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  SPEAKER_02: But then later on it becomes a daily discipline.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then as we grow as a Christian, those things become the desire of our heart.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then as we mature further, they become our delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, let me tell you this.
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  SPEAKER_02: Giving also works through that progression.
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  SPEAKER_02: It starts off as a duty, but then later it becomes a discipline.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then as we mature as Christians, it becomes the desire of our heart.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then lastly it becomes our delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: And as the scripture says, God loves a cheerful giver.
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  SPEAKER_02: God loves it when you and I get to the place in our spiritual journey that giving becomes our delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: So where do we start?
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, I suggest you start with 10%.
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  SPEAKER_02: I remember when I got my very first paycheck.
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  SPEAKER_02: I was working on my uncle's pig farm.
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  SPEAKER_02: We talked about that last week on More Than Medicine when I told you about my latest book, Pig Tails and Bible Truths.
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  SPEAKER_02: And my first paycheck was$25.
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  SPEAKER_02: I was making five dollars a day.
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  SPEAKER_02: I got a twenty-five dollar paycheck at the end of the week, and nobody told me that I should tithe, but I got two dollars and fifty cents out of that paycheck, and I I put two dollars and fifty cents in the in the uh in the bank, and I put two dollars and fifty cents uh in the offering plate that Sunday, and I did it every Sunday after that.
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  SPEAKER_02: And I've I've tithed every paycheck that I've ever received ever since I was sixteen years of of age.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now, why did I do that?
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  SPEAKER_02: I'm just telling you, the Spirit of God told me as a young Christian man that I should give back to God his part of what he was given to me.
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  SPEAKER_02: Because you see, it's God who gives you and me the power to make wealth.
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  SPEAKER_02: Can I give more than 10%?
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, of course I can.
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  SPEAKER_02: And of course you can.
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  SPEAKER_02: And why?
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  SPEAKER_02: Because it's my delight.
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  SPEAKER_02: It's my delight to give to God, it's my delight to give to my church, it's my delight to give people to people that are less fortunate than I am.
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  SPEAKER_02: It's my delight to give to the missionaries and the charitable organizations.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm I'm getting close to wrapping this up, so so pay close attention now.
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  SPEAKER_02: Adrian Rogers was the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church for many, many years and he said this any Christian who lives under grace, who would allow a Jew who is under the law to give more than they do under grace is a disgrace to grace.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now let me say that again.
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  SPEAKER_02: Any Christian who is under grace, who would allow a Jew who lives under the law to give more than they do under grace is a disgrace to grace.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now ponder this.
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  SPEAKER_02: When you go to the restaurant, at the end of your meal you usually give a tip to the waitress of about anywhere between ten and twenty percent.
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  SPEAKER_02: That's sort of standard these days.
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  SPEAKER_02: So do you give more to the waitress in a tip than you give to God?
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  SPEAKER_02: Are you are you just gonna tip the God of the heavens and the earth?
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  SPEAKER_02: Ponder that.
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  SPEAKER_02: Now when God looks at you and he says I want you to give all of your life to me for the rest of your life, what do you say?
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  SPEAKER_02: Are you like Donald Duck, the cartoon character character that says mine mine, mine, mine?
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  SPEAKER_02: Or are you like the gospel singer who says all that I am and ever hope to be I give it all to thee.
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  SPEAKER_02: And then he goes on to sing to God be the glory.
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  SPEAKER_02: Which one is it for you, brothers and sisters?
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  SPEAKER_02: You see, Abram chose wisely, and the Bible says that he gave a tenth of all to Melchizedek, who I believe was an old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  SPEAKER_02: How about you?
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  SPEAKER_02: What will you give?
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  SPEAKER_02: Well, you're listening to devotions with Dr.
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  SPEAKER_02: Papa.
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  SPEAKER_02: If you like what you hear, I pray that you would follow, like, or share, tell your family and your friends, and we'll be back again next week.
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  SPEAKER_02: Until then, remember Jesus loves you and your doctor loves you.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: Till next week, may the Lord bless you real good.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine.
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  SPEAKER_00: For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaker engagement, go to their Facebook page, Instagram, or web page at Jackson Family Ministry.