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Sonship – Position vs. Walk

In my last post I talked about women and sonship. Now I want to talk about sonship in a more general way.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:15-16

This is a great truth of the New Covenant. When we came to Christ and received His salvation, we also received the Holy Spirit within us. At that point we were adopted into the family of God.

This is the foundation for the concept of sonship. But we need to understand it. In listening to what a lot of people are teaching, it sounds like a son is a son is a son. There’s no difference in any of our relations to God.

While the relationship of a son to a father is constant, what we fail to realize is that the dynamics of that relationship change over time. The Bible speaks about different levels of sonship. There are Greek words for adoption, son, infant, toddler, child, and fully matured adults. We miss the full impact of the Gospel when we treat all the levels of our relationship with God as the same.

In the original language of the above verse, the Holy Spirit was called the Spirit of Adoption. The concept of adoption into the family of God is very important for the believer. The word adoption literally means to place in the position of a son. When we received Christ as our Savior, and He placed His Spirit within us, we were brought immediately into the position of a son of God.

Remember – Jesus Christ is THE only begotten Son of God. However, we have been placed into the position of a son of God. This gives us all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the family of God. At that point we’re saved from our sin and on our way to Heaven. But we have to realize that we’re only in the very early stages of our relationship with the Father.

Knowing your position in Christ is important. We are placed in the position of being righteous before God. This means that we can come into His presence at any time, for any reason.

We have also been placed into the position of being holy before God. That means that we have been set apart by God for His purposes. This is great news, because in my own works I could never even hope to attain to such a high calling.

The problem comes in when we fail to understand that there is a vast difference between the position of righteousness and holiness – and the walk that is characterized by those qualities. I cannot assume that I’m living a holy life just because God calls me holy by position. The Apostle John makes it clear as he talks about the walk of righteousness.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
1 John 3:7

Many are being led astray in this generation, thinking that because they have been placed in the position of righteousness, it also means that they are walking in righteousness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your position and your walk are two different things.

It is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to make the position of righteousness and holiness a present reality in our daily walk.

Question: How does the walk of righteousness differ from the position?

1 Comment

Posted by Revzacc on June 23, 2014 in Sonship, The Church

Tags: adoption, Christ, family of God, holiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus, position, relationship, righteousness, sonship, Spirit of adoption, Spirit of sonship, walk

Your Schedule – Who’s Time is it?

18 Jun

I’ve been posting about clearing our schedules for a move of God. Did you know that this is how God operates through His people? It’s only when they turn over their time to Him that the Lord will move in a manifestation of His power.

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Ephesians 1:9-10

We are told in this passage, about the mystery of God’s will. Actually, Paul uses three different words to get this point across. He mentions God’s will, His good pleasure, and His purpose in Christ. These are the things that He wants to accomplish on the earth through His people.

The question is; are we willing to position ourselves to let the Holy Spirit use us in this way? I’ve been saying that this requires our time. There’s no other commodity that will purchase God’s will.

How do I know this? The above passage is very interesting to read in the Greek. It says that this will, good pleasure, and purpose of God is put into effect in the economy of the filling of time.

Economy – that’s a financial term, like when we talk about the economy of the United States. Here we’re talking about the economy of the Kingdom of God. A large part of that economy is time.

In essence this verse tells us that God’s will is accomplished on earth as we deposit time into the bank of Heaven. God doesn’t need our money or our resources. What He really needs in order to do His work is our time.

Actually, who’s time is it? We like to think of it as all belonging to us. With that attitude, we schedule everything we want to do, them place the Lord’s work in any leftover spots.

I know there are things that we need to do. Scripture says that if we don’t work, we don’t eat. The Lord doesn’t want us to neglect our families either. There’s a place for all of these in our schedules.

But are we really operating in the plan of God if there’s no time for the move of His Spirit? In our generation, we’ve learned to add so many good things to our schedules, that we’ve left no room for the best.

I’m truly convinced that if we want to see a move of God in our nation, it’s going to require us to make a sacrifice. Not of money, but of time. Peter puts it this way…

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do…
1 Peter 4:3a

Ours is not the first generation to run into this problem. But it’s something that needs to be straightened out – quickly. Time is short. Now is the time. We are the people God is calling to turn this nation around.

Question: Are you willing to do whatever it takes to bring about a move of God?

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Posted by Revzacc on June 18, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, The Church

Tags: Christ, clearing our schedules, economy, God's will, good pleasure, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Kingdom of Heaven, leftovers, manifestation, move of God, move of the Spirit, mystery of God's will, power of God, purpose, schedule, the Church, time, time for God, who's time is it

How to Live in Dangerous Times

09 Jun

In my last post I said that we are in spiritually dangerous times. How do we live in light of this? Christ gave an important exhortation. In talking about the last days, Jesus said…

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.”
Luke 21:34-35

His first words are, “Be careful.”

“Pay close attention to what you are doing.”

That sounds like good advice to a rock climber. The words that Jesus used literally mean hangovers, intoxication, and distractions of this life.

So many believers are caught up in what the world have going on. Others are distracted watching what the world is doing. These things can knock you out of the race, in spiritually dangerous times.

You would never think of climbing in this condition. Yet, right now, there are believers on the edge, not prepared for the dangers of this age.

What are we to do if we want to avoid disaster? Christ gives the answer.

“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:36

“Watch and pray in all times”.

God has certain times appointed for certain things. But now is always the time to pray. It doesn’t matter what else is going on – now is the right time.

We must keep watch – pay attention and pray. That’s the foundation for everything else. We must do this so that we can prevail against, flee away from, and stand. Because of a rich prayer life we can prevail against demonic forces. We can flee away from temptation. And we can stand in the face of severe pressure.

We especially need this in our generation. Paul explains it.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18

This is almost the exact same line that Christ used. We are to pray in the Spirit in all times. We have a more powerful prayer weapon than they had under the Old Covenant.

By praying in the spirit we can build up our faith. It opens our heart to hear from God, laying the groundwork for the supernatural. By it we gain wisdom for discerning the times that we live in.

Prayer in the spirit is our greatest advantage in overcoming the dangerous times we live in. Don’t let this great gift go unused in your relationship with Christ.

Question: How has prayer in the spirit strengthened your walk with God?

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Posted by Revzacc on June 9, 2014 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival

Tags: Christ, danger, dangerous times, distraction, Jesus, last days, living in dangerous times, pray, prayer, prayer in the spirit, spiritual, watch, watch and pray

Do You Know You’re in Danger?

06 Jun

I’m taking a few posts to talk about understanding God’s timetable. Do we really understand the times we’re living in? In my last post I talk about Jesus’ rebuke to the Pharisees about not understanding their times. Are we guilty of the same problem?

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 Timothy 3:1

Paul literally wrote to Timothy that he needed to know this truth. In the last days – that’s us – there will be dangerous times. What does that mean?

This word terrible comes from a root which means lowering down into a chasm. I have watched rock climbers going up the face of a sheer cliff. That’s what this verse is talking about.

Serving God in the last days is like repelling off the edge of a mile high cliff. We live in dangerous times.

No, they’re not physically dangerous – at least here in America. But they are spiritually perilous.

If we are going to live a victorious Christian life, then we need to know this and act accordingly. We need the spiritual discernment of the Holy Spirit.

You wouldn’t think of going off the edge of a cliff without training and the right equipment. Think in those terms about being a believer in this generation.

At this time, many are living for self. It’s as though they’re “flying by the seat of their pants” in their Christian walk.

This is not the generation to do that. In times past you could get by just attending church on Sundays and doing your own thing the rest of the week. At the present time we don’t have the luxury of “floating along in Christ.”

That brings me back to a verse I looked at in my last post.

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Romans 13:11

“WAKE UP!!!”

Rock climbers have to concentrate on every move. They can’t afford even a momentary lapse in judgment. Many have been severely injured or even killed because of a distraction during their climb.

This is not the time for God’s people to be distracted by the world. We need to turn our attention and focus back to Christ. We must seek His will, and what He wants accomplished in and through our lives.

Don’t become a victim of the dangerous times we’re living in.

Question: How is this present time spiritually dangerous?

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Posted by Revzacc on June 6, 2014 in Return of Christ, Revival, Spiritual Warfare

Tags: Christ, danger, dangerous times, distraction, God's timetable, Jesus, perilous times, spiritual danger, spiritual discernment, understanding the times, victorious, wake up

Do You Understand God’s Timing?

04 Jun

Sometimes our timetable and God’s doesn’t agree. How does God look at time? How can we work within His system?

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Romans 13:11

This verse literally says that we must know by seeing the present, appointed time. This assumes a couple of things. First of all, it assumes that we’re aware of the spiritual climate that’s happening around us. We see society and know what’s expected of us as believers.

It also assumes that we know what God desires to accomplish during this generation. This means that we see what’s next on His agenda as well as what it will take for His church to see it done.

There are times that God has set for certain things to take place. These are God’s appointed times.

God has a different perspective than we do. In our timing there are things we’d like to see happen. There are also things we hope for and then there are things we want right now. With God, there are simply a string of appointed times where He will accomplish what He said He will do.

It’s the same way that Jesus lived when He walked the earth.

Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.”
John 7:6

We must get His view of life. In God’s reality we are given a series of set times for a set purpose. We must learn to live and act within these seasons.

From our perspective, we want to pray and immediately see the answer. The fact is that God has appointed times, and it’s up to us to understand them. This was what He rebuked the Pharisees for.

He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”
Matthew 16:2-3

You can see the difference in weather patterns. By them, you can predict what is going to happen – fair or rainy weather. Yet the Pharisees could not see what was happening right in front of them.

The times of Christ – the Messiah – had come. Of all people, they should have seen and understood it.

Knowing the times takes discerning, especially now – during this time in history. I want to take a few posts to talk about God’s timing and what it means to us.

Questions: Have you ever had problems with God’s timing? Why?

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Posted by Revzacc on June 4, 2014 in Prayer, Revival

Tags: appointed time, Christ, God, Jesus, prayer, spiritual climate, timetable, timing, understand God's timing

A Soul at War

02 Jun

How healthy is your soul? I’m taking a few posts to talk about soul health and prosperity. Most people ignore the health of their soul. It’s just like the health of your body.

Some people just assume that they’re healthy. They go to the gym, but then smoke 2 packs a day. There are Christians who treat their soul the same way. Yet it’s the most important part of my being.

My soul determines who I am. It decides whether I listen to my spirit or my flesh. It’s important that my soul be healthy and attentive.

Your environment plays a big issue. What do you allow yourself to be exposed to? The Apostle Peter had this to say about Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

…for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.
2 Peter 2:8

Because he moved into the wicked city of Sodom, Lot placed himself in a position of constant attack on his soul. Many of us do the same things. The movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the friends we spend time with all have an effect on us.

In Lot’s case, it caused him to compromise and eventually he lost everything he held dear. That’s because when we chase after the world system, it affects the health of our soul.

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:11

We need this attitude. The knowledge that this world system is not my home. I belong to a different Kingdom. I’m simply a stranger passing through. I live by a different set of laws.

The word abstain in the above verse literally means to keep your distance from. We need to understand that the closer we get to the world, the more we want what they have. These desires cause a conflict in our souls.

Unfortunately, it’s not a fierce fire fight that we can win with one decisive strike. No, instead it’s a constant siege. It wears down our strength little by little until we find ourselves in a position we never thought we would ever be in.

If you want to maintain the strength and health of your soul, then you’ll need to be careful how close you get to the world. Obviously, we can’t live like monks. We need to go to work, school, and other daily activities.

What we don’t need to do is adopt their standards. We can’t live by their lifestyles. Our foundation for living is in the Word of God and our strength is in the Holy Spirit.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2

That’s why time with the Lord is so important. It’s where we find rest from the constant siege of the world. As we remain in Christ, we find that our soul has the health we need to overcome in this life.

Question: How often do you find your rest in Christ?

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Posted by Revzacc on June 2, 2014 in Prayer, Spiritual Warfare

Tags: Christ, compromise, environment, health, Jesus, prosperity, soul, soul at war, spiritual warfare, warfare

Let God Take You Away

23 May

In my last post I was talking about Enoch’s experience with God. I said that, like Enoch, God wants to transport us – not out of the world, but from death to life.

Where exactly does the Lord want to transport me to?

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Thessalonians 5:9

God did not take us to a place where we suffer His wrath. A lot of Christians need to hear this.

The Lord takes us into His salvation. He has taken us to a place where we can receive healing, prosperity, grace, joy, peace, as well as all the other blessings which He paid for on the cross. That’s why He wants to set you apart. He wants life for us – not death.

Too many believers picture God as someone just waiting for us to mess up so He can “zap” us. That’s not the God we serve. Christ has done everything needed for us to live in the divine blessing of His love and acceptance. We need to see that as a completed work in Christ.

But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
1 Corinthians 12:18

This is another great truth of Scripture.

The Lord takes us to His body. We need to understand what it means to be part of a body. It’s very different from being part of a collection. In a collection everything is independent from each other.

I have a postage stamp collection. If I’m missing a certain stamp, I say, “Someday it would be nice to get it.”

That’s not how the church should operate. In a body, all the parts depend upon all the others. A person that’s missing a hand is at a disadvantage.

Stamp collections can be arranged in many different ways – by topic, color, country, value, etc. In a body every part has only one place where it belongs. This means that I must let God place me where He wants me.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
1 Timothy 1:12

This is the final place we’re transported to.

The Lord takes us to His service. This is an incredible verse. God has endued me with His power so that now He can put His faith in me. He wants to trust me and place me in His service.

What a privilege – I can serve God as a well-pleasing servant. I don’t serve out of fear, but love. He has provided all that I need to serve Him acceptably. I can know and do His will.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:12

Paul had a goal. He wanted to pursue His calling in Christ. He did this so that he could take hold of that for which Christ had taken him. Christ wants me for a reason. I want to find out what that reason is.

This should be the attitude of every believer. Pursue the knowledge of why God has chosen you for His service.

Question: What is your place in the body of Christ?

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Posted by Revzacc on May 23, 2014 in Faith, Ministry, Power of God

Tags: blessing, Christ, death to life, Enoch, God, Jesus, let God take you away, power, salvation, service, the body of Christ, the cross, wrath

Have You Been Taken By God?

21 May

There are some important truths that we can learn from the life of the patriarch, Enoch.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Hebrews 11:5

This verse says that it was by faith that Enoch was taken. Faith is always a choice. It’s the decision to accept and believe something that I have come to understand about God.

We must choose to be taken by God. This is the first and most important choice of the any believer. As Christians, we have accepted the sacrifice of Christ. But very quickly after salvation it becomes obvious that God wants more than just a prayer and an offering.

This is what it means to be a living sacrifice. The Lord says to each one of us, “I want you. I have a purpose and a plan for your life.”

The Scripture says that Enoch was transported so that he did not see death. It’s clear that God doesn’t want us to see death at work in our lives.

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:13

Jesus Christ has brought us over from death to life. The problem is that sometimes, because of our flesh, we’re more comfortable with death. We allow things into our lives that are killing us.

There was a prerequisite to what Enoch experienced. Before he was taken, he was well-pleasing to God. This is one of our greatest blessings in Christ – the fact that today we can be pleasing to God. That’s why the writer talks about it in the next verse.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

This verse literally says that apart from faith you are powerless to please God. You can try to work to please God – but you’re powerless to accomplish it. The only thing to do is to choose to believe He exists, and then earnestly seek Him as the Rewarder of your life.

It is only because of these two choices that the Lord of the universe is well pleased with you. It’s because of your faith that He wants to take you as His own – if you’ll let Him. His desire is to transport you from death to life.

Just like with Enoch, God takes you out of your old life and brings you to a new place of blessing. In my next post I’ll talk about exactly where the Lord transports you to.

Question: Why is it important to know that my works have nothing to do with being pleasing to God?

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Posted by Revzacc on May 21, 2014 in Faith, Power of God

Tags: believe, Christ, death, death to life, Enoch, faith, God, Jesus, life, living sacrifice, salvation, taken by God

The Locked Up Church

19 May

In my last post I talked about the picture of the church that the Lord gave me from Acts, chapter 16. In that passage, Paul and Silas are in prison, chained up, in the dark. Yet they were praying and singing as if nothing were unusual.

I said that much of the church is in that condition today. We go on praising God every Sunday, yet having no effect on the world the rest of the week. How did we get into this position?

I believe that it’s because we didn’t heed the warning that Christ gave us during His ministry.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”
Luke 21:34

Here Jesus tells us of three weights that can hinder us from fulfilling our destiny. They are called dissipation, drunkenness, and anxieties. We will never reach our true potential in Christ if we try to run with these hindrances.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

We are warned to throw off the things that hinder. Probably the worst is dissipation. We allow the best parts of our life to be dissipated.

The world has so many distractions these days. Classes we could take, recreational opportunities, athletic events, and entertainment. All of these things, in and of themselves, add to our enjoyment of life. They’re good things.

“Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me” – but I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:12

Yes, they are all good things, permissible things, but they’ve become the masters of our lives. They dictate our schedules. They tell us what we can and can’t do for God.

We fill up our time with all these good things. Then, more often than not, God gets the leftovers. Our leftover time, strength, and resources.

What happens when God says, “I want you to take a week to meet together and experience my work of revival in you.”?

“Sorry, that won’t work for me. I have a class on Monday night. Tuesday is my bowling league. Thursday I have to get the kids to their Karate lessons. I just can’t make it out to weekday meetings.”

Where does all the time go? Dissipation. We have allowed the distractions of the world to dissipate the time that should belong to the Lord. Our schedules have become mastered by the good things of the world.

In this way the church has become a prisoner to our permissible things. We are in chains and in the dark. We need to be set free by the power of God.

Question: What will it take to shatter these chains from the church?

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Posted by Revzacc on May 19, 2014 in Revival, The Church

Tags: Christ, church, dissipation, distractions, God, hindrances, ineffective, Jesus, leftovers, locked up church, mastered, meetings, permissible, praying, prison, resources, revival, schedules, set free, singing, strength, time, weights

Is Your Faith Visible?

14 May

Are people around you aware of your beliefs? Actually, they know more about what you believe than you do sometimes. What do I mean by that?

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
James 2:14

The truth about faith – your beliefs – is that it’s not so much what you talk about, but what defines your actions. It’s why you do what you do. It’s the choices you make and the path you pursue.

When I heard the truth about Jesus Christ, faith was birthed in my heart. Because it was a real faith, it prompted me to do something. I made the choice to publically accept Him as my Lord and Savior.

True faith is made visible in your actions.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:17

People can only see what you do and how you respond to circumstances. They only see your living faith. You may tell yourself that you believe certain truths, but if you don’t live them out, you’re only deceiving yourself.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
James 2:18-19

Even in the case of demons, what they believe affects what they do. They may hate the truth, but it still causes them to tremble when they think about it.

You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
James 2:24

It’s only when what you believe and what you do line up that you can truly say this is your faith. That’s why Christianity is a counter-culture to our modern society. We live in an age where the lie is much more preferable to the truth.

The American way of life teaches us that it’s normal to believe one thing and then live a totally different lifestyle.

“I’m a Christian – but I can’t let that affect my politics.”

I’ve heard that on many occasions. According to Scripture, what do you truly believe? What you do shows your living faith.

The world system is based upon a foundation of self-deceit.

“I’ll trust you to do what you say – as long as I get it all in writing.”

“I’ll love you forever, but we need a pre-nuptial agreement, just in case.”

All of these, and more, are examples of how our present generation has left the truth and is in pursuit of a lie.

As the church of Jesus Christ – we are different! We must not be like the world. Our beliefs should affect our behavior. If they don’t, then what do we truly believe?

It’s time for us to stand up and live out what we believe.

Question: What are your beliefs in Christ that you find most difficult to live out?

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Posted by Revzacc on May 14, 2014 in Faith, The Church

Tags: actions, beliefs, believe, choices, Christ, faith visible, Jesus, living faith, talk, trust, trust God, works

The Spirit and the Word

Tag Archives: Christ

Sonship – Position vs. Walk

Your Schedule – Who’s Time is it?

How to Live in Dangerous Times

Do You Know You’re in Danger?

Do You Understand God’s Timing?

A Soul at War

Let God Take You Away

Have You Been Taken By God?

The Locked Up Church

Is Your Faith Visible?

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