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July 26, 2013

Joseph, A Look at God's Sovereignty


By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
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The Story of Josephs life is an interesting look into how God can use a very horrible tragedy, and turn it around for good.

Some people thank God for their testimonies, going through very difficult times due to unbridled sin, or other challenges. Now I’m not negating God’s ability to deliver and change a life but I will say God will work with whatever you give him. If you give him a “goody two-shoes” life He can work with that. If you give him a life that’s been ravaged by sin, He can also work with that.

I often tell people. If you give God lemons he can make lemonade. However, God can make a whole lot more than lemonade. Be encouraged. No matter where you are in life, what you’re going through or what you’ve done, a life submitted to Christ can bring God glory.

Joseph was a dreamer
The Persecution

The Jealousy
Genesis 37
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

The Dream
Genesis 37:7
“We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

I found it interesting that all the brothers, Jacob his father, and his mother all know the interpretation to the dreams seemingly immediately.

Jacob sends Joseph to go check on his brothers to report back to him and when the brothers see Joseph from a distance near Dothan they begin to plot how they are going to kill him. Reuben intervenes and they decide to just throw him into a cistern and tear his coat, the symbol of his father’s favoritism.

Genesis 37:25-28
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Reuben puts up minor resistance as the first born son of his father to protect his fathers interests but allows the process to proceed as planned by Judah. He does manage to save his life.

Potiphar’s House
Genesis 39:2-6
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

The Sexual Assault Accusation
Genesis 39:11,12
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Resulting Imprisonment
Genesis 39:20b-23
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

The Cup Bearer and the Baker’s Dreams

The Cry of Desperation “Remember Me”
Genesis 40:14,15
But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

We know that the interpretation of the dreams came true and that the cupbearer to the Pharaoh forgot about Joseph in the dungeon for approximately 2 more years.

Pharaoh had two dreams about abundance and famine. 7 cows sleek and fat came out of the Nile river were eaten by 7 gaunt cows. 7 heads of grain sprouted on one stalk were removed by 7 heads of grain that were scorched by an East wind.

Joseph concluded that a matter firmly established by God was coming. 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. Then he proceeded to tell Pharaoh a plan to administrate the grain saving and distribution during the famine.

The Promotion
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Joseph’s plan is to store 20% of the grain during the famine in grain bins for re-distribution during the famine.

The Reunion
When the brothers returned for more grain he again speaks harshly to them but eventually reveals his true identity to his brothers.

The Revelation
Genesis 45:4-8
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Ok, what about you? Where are you in life? Are you at home with Jacob, maybe you’re in despair. Some keys from Josephs life include
  • Keeping the vision God gave to him.                                      
  • Practicing the presence of the Lord.
  • Walking in divine favor which included local promotions wherever he found himself.
I believe Josephs attitude was also very key in keeping him through the years of despair. Had he become jaded or embittered toward the Lord his destiny would’ve been aborted.

You and I must remain steadfast, holding onto the vision God has given us, practicing the presence of God in our daily lives and walking in divine favor no matter where we may find ourselves. We must guard our attitudes against bitterness while circumstances would lead a person without overflowing grace into despair.


Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.
Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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July 25, 2013

Give It All You've Got


By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
Abundant Life Today Podcast

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After you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then (Eph. 6:13, 14) Give it all You've Got!

Specifically the passage is talking about attacks from principalities, powers, and forces of darkness in the heavenly realms. When the day of evil comes, stand!

You know, this passage from Ephesians 6:13,14 reflects how I feel at times. When you've done everything you know to do, to the best of “your ability,” then all you can do is stand.

We rest in the finished work of Christ but the Lord is still calling us to obedience. If the Lord asks us to do something we want to do it with as much excellence, vigor and zeal we can muster based on the amount of grace we've received.

Enthusiasm – from Greek enthousiasmos "divine inspiration, be inspired or possessed by God. So when we do things under the direction of the Lord we should do them with fervor.

If nobody does anything, nothing will get done. ~Tony Hammack

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done

Ecclesiastes 9:10a
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,

Might – bodily strength, the power, energy, or intensity of which one is capable.


This passage is cast in the light of “the fragility/brevity of life”. We only have so much time to work so why not give it all we've got!

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Heart – the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature. The seat of passion and emotion. One's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations.

This passage is cast in the light of “who are you working for?” We all can identify with working for someone you don't like, trying to do as little as possible to just draw a paycheck of some kind. However the paradigm in the kingdom is different. We're to work like we're working for the King of King's and Lord of Lord's!

Working very hard forces a result. Either you will have success from your hard work or you will realize “this isn't for me”.  If we don't work with all our heart/might we may meander through years of our lives not fulfilling the plans and purposes of God.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

We don't need to spend our lives chasing our tails or working toward a goal of self gratification. Our efforts should be approved by Jesus. What we strive for should be under the umbrella of his will. When we do this I believe he will establish our plans. Why do we do what we do?

The motive of the heart is a very hidden issue however the Lord knows every motive of the heart. (1 Corinthians 4:5) He can reveal to us our motives and give us grace to change them if that is His will.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ~Theodore Roosevelt

1 Corinthians 10:31b
whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.


Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.
Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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June 14, 2013

The Love of God For His People

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
Abundant Life Today Podcast

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The Character of God

I believe the best way I can comprehend the character of God is by describing him as multifaceted When you think of a jewel you think of cuts and imagine on each cut you see the same jewel but because the angle has changed you see a whole different arrangement of light. In the same way God has many different facets to his personality.

Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

1 Corinthians 2:9,10
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

I believe God reveals his nature through his word and he anoints this information to our emotions by revelation. Once God has our hearts, he has us.

This spoken voice of God to our hearts is what should cause us to be arranged in the body. Every person hearing from God, obeying, working in their place of calling. God is a great administrator. Sometimes we have a hard time discerning the voice of God and must make time for this.

Jesus Christ is PERFECT THEOLOGY. When you've seen the son you've seen the father.

The facet of God's Character that I sense the most when I'm in his presences is his great love for me.

He sings over me Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Isaiah 65:19
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If Christ would die for me when I was a sinner, how much more do you think he loves me now that I'm righteous because of his grace?

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

If you think God is waiting to wack you in the head with a hammer you will have a hard time being sanctified. God is loving and expecting you to rise above personl sin, rise above disobedience, conquer fear, and become the person of God he's called you to be. I believe he will believe in you until you die.

Romans 2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

It is the kindness of God that leads to changes in thinking and changes in behavior. We must be able to experience his kindness or repentance will be elusive at best.

The T.V. Show touched by an Angel would always conclude with one or more angels manifesting themselves to the people with a message of God's great love for mankind.

John 3:16,17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God is not wanting to condemn anyone! His will is that not one person would perish but all would come to repentance. His desire means he's extending kindness to humanity at this time because God made the human heart, he knows what causes it to change. It's the revelation of God's great kindness to us.

This parable is often called the parable of the prodigal son however It more appropriately could be called the parable of the loving father.

Luke 15:11-32
  • Longing
  • Looking
  • Running
  • Hugging
  • Kissing Father
Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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June 3, 2013

If God, through his prophets says, "Live!" you will Live!

By Tony V. Hammack

Abundant Life Today Media
Abundant Life Today Podcast

Podcast: Play in New Window | Download
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These notes are best when used in conjunction with the audio or video.


No Matter How Bad Things May Look, If God says, “Live”, you will live!

The Nation of Israel had forsaken God and was in exile. God, because of his namesake was planning on bringing Israel back to their covenant land. God instructed his prophet to speak to this exiled people symbolized by a valley of dead dry bones.

Today, in our nation, when we look out over the spiritual landscape things seem to be going the wrong direction. However, if we have the word of the Lord and declare it, I believe our nation will turn around.

Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

1. Even though obvious circumstances look bad, the Word of God trumps all “realities”.

The obvious answer to God's question in verse 3 is “NO!” but the prophet knows his God and answers based on the fact that “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)

In our lives and in our time, I believe that God's word trumps all realities. Things can look bad, even dead, even very dead, and the Word of God when released will bring the reality that God has ordained for an individual, Church fellowship, or Nation.

In verses 4-6 we see God telling Ezekiel to prophecy breath into the dead, dry bones.

Sometimes God may ask you to do something that is irrational in your own mind. However, if you are sure that you are hearing the Lord you must obey the direction the Lord is leading you. Declaring life into dry bones is not the most rational thing for a person to do but if God says to do it you should obey.

Conversely, if God does not tell you to prophecy to dry bones it would be best not to. Presumption and our own human will is not what this passage is about. It's about a prophet hearing the voice of God and declaring a heavenly reality into the realm of the Earth.

Timing plays a critical role in how God is dealing with individuals and nations. When Israel was under judgment the word of the Lord was “you are going off into captivity”. Now after being in captivity, the word is “you are going to live again”. Prophetic people need to be just that. Not prophesying the will of their own heart. They must find the heart of God.

In Jeremiah 28 we see a prophetic show down of sorts where Jeremiah, the true prophetic man of God, prophecies what modern day people might call “doom and gloom”. Hananiah on the other hand prophecies a return to peace and prosperity.

Jeremiah simply “goes his way” after Hananiah prophecies his lies but hears a word from the Lord and returns saying, something like Hananiah's words would be great if they were from the Lord but because he's prophesied his own thoughts he will die within one year. The prophet is to be judged by the accuracy of his words.

Obedience predicates the manifestation

As Ezekiel prophecies in obedience to the word of the Lord, organization begins to replace chaos. It starts with a rattling sound. Admittedly not very impressive at first but it's the beginning of something very impressive.

After the bones become organized tendons and flesh appear on the bones. The bodies get covered with skin but there is not breath in the bodies.

In Genesis we see a similar process and in Acts Chapter 2 we see some similarities.

When God creates something he often starts with a spoken word.

You and I due to the nature of God in us have power in our words to bring life or bring death. Proverbs 18:21

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost." God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this, let's say we have a man making contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK, great!" But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

In Ezekiel 37:9-10 Ezekiel is instructed to prophecy to the breath. So in obedience to the word he does it. When the breath comes into the people they stand to their feet like a vast army. An army speaks of organization, rank, file, and purpose.

In verse 11 we get a glimpse into the attitude of the Israelite people. They have a meditation of the heart and it goes something like this. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Gloom, despair and agony on me!

What the Israelites are saying is true but God want's to shift their reality by returning them to their land and giving them hope again. The change can't happen unless someone begins to declare the heavenly reality. Ezekiel is the Man of God who in faith declares the Word of the Lord.

In verse 13 we see God's motive in doing everything he's going to do. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord

We need to see the manifestations of God in our generation if people in our time are to come to know the Lord.
   

Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.


Jubilee Family Church45 Thunderbird Dr. Batesville, AR 72501 (870) 793-9124
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May 28, 2013

The Most Illogical Conclusion to the Question: Who is Jesus?


By Tony V. Hammack
 
As far as I can understand, the majority of non Christian world religions and some cults, conclude that Jesus Christ was a historic figure at least but some elevate Jesus to the status of "Good Person" or "Accurate Prophet" or "Good Teacher" or "Healer" or some other title you'd place upon a very gifted or kind hearted human being.

As I was reading my Bible today I came across a passage in John 10:33 where Jesus, was about to be stoned for blasphemy.   John 10:33 says, "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

My Bible tells me that the contemporary listeners of Jesus understood him to be making distinct claims to DEITY.  If Jesus wanted to refute the accusation he easily could've said, "Hey wait a minute guys, I'm a man just like you, I never said or tried to imply I'm divine."  However these words are not found in scripture.  Amazingly enough Jesus is also worshiped by people who are on the receiving end of miracles but it's never recorded in scripture that he told the people to stop, like the apostles do and angels do in other places in scripture.    Now this is critically important because Jesus makes claims to deity it dispels the idea that Jesus was just a good person or just a prophet or just a nice teacher or whatever other illogical conclusion a person would want to draw concerning his identity.

Let's explore the idea of someone making distinctive claims to deity in modern times.  Suppose your neighbor walks over to you and says, "Hey come over here, I've got something to tell you."  You walk over and he whispers in your ear, "God and I are one!",  "When you've seen me you've seen the father".  Now, you have a choice to make.  Is your neighbor telling you the truth or is he not?  If he is you should stop what you are doing and worship him on the spot but if he isn't you could not conclude any longer that your neighbor is a "good person".  Let's explore what you must conclude if he's not telling the truth.

#1 He's a liar!  So if your neighbor tells you he's equal with God and he knows in his own mind he's not, that makes him a liar.  Now on the scale of lies this is one of the worst kind of lies a person could tell.  So he knows he's not the way to salvation but knowingly leads others astray from the truth.  This is the worst kind of lie because it's devilish in nature.  Your neighbor could lead thousands or perhaps millions away from the truth by concocting this hoax on humanity.  So your neighbor can't be considered a good person if he makes distinct claims to deity knowing he's not.

#2 He's a lunatic!  So if you travel down to your local mental institution you may find people who are mentally ill who claim to be God.  Now in their defense they are convinced in their own minds that they really are.  Unfortunately one wouldn't consider a person with this level of mental illness a "good person".  Perhaps they were a victim of some horrific crime that damaged their mental capacities to perceive reality or maybe they have a genetic predisposition for this kind of thinking.  Perhaps they are suffering from a demonic presence.  We don't really know but we know one thing.  This person is not capable of leading in a good way nor is this person someone most of us would "follow", because there will be other components to their mental illness that make them hard to coexist with let alone die for. 

So let's review our two choices for the person who decides to make claims to deity but isn't.  #1 Liar: Not just a little white lie kind of liar but a hoax on humanity kind of liar, someone who should be put into the worst kind of liar category.  #2 Lunatic: A person who really believes they are God (and isn't) is crazy.  And not just a little crazy, very crazy.

#3 He's Lord and God! So looking at the manuscript authority of the New Testament, and the teaching, life, miracles, resurrection and ascension of Jesus; one, who's logical, must conclude that Jesus claims to deity are substantiated by his words, attitude and actions.  The only logical conclusion for who Jesus is, is who he said he was.  Jesus is who the Pharisees understood him to be claiming to be.  If you can't draw this conclusion for yourself, for whatever reason (your eyes are closed or blinded by some other ideology) then please don't make the idiotic statement that "Jesus was JUST a good person".  "Jesus was JUST a prophet". or "Jesus was JUST a good teacher".


 
Visit with us at Jubilee Family Church this Sunday at 10:15 AM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) and Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM (Central Standard Time U.S.A.) If you can't be with us in person please visit via internet video on Jubilee T.V. If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.

Jubilee Family Church
45 Thunderbird Dr.
Batesville, AR 72501

(870) 793-9124

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