"Not Forsaking the Assembling Together of Ourselves" By Associate General Pastor Hubert Ulysse June 12th,
2016
You may be seated. I thank God for allowing me to be
here, with you, and I bring greetings.
Obviously, you know, Pastor Paine was here not long ago. I bring greetings from everyone. I thank you for opening those doors for
me. I thank you for allowing me to share
with you. I want to thank Rod for making
this happen. I thank you very much. I thank Mike and Norma, the kids, the dog; thank
you for opening your home. And, I do
want to thank Jim, Rich, and Rod; they decided to come, to make sure I’m back. What a crazy world we’re living
in. Do you know there I no better place
we could have been this morning? This is
the best place. I wasn’t falling asleep,
yet, I was going over my notes, when the news broke out about the shooting in
Orlando. Fifty dead, fifty-three
injured. Is that good news? No. Do
you know who has the good news? We
do. And, if you have the good news, we
have to spread it out; you have to spread it out. But, you may be amazed when I tell you, many
people in the church don’t even know what the good news is. Yet, I’m serious. You see, they say, the Gospel, the Gospel,
but many of us in church don’t even know what the Gospel is. You see, what is good news for me, may not be
good news for you. I think it’s worth
it, if I tell you that, I need to say something: to me, the good news is exciting, and you might
say, “I don’t see what’s good about it.”
But, the good news, the Gospel, is about a dying world who get a
Savior. Like you, you may go to
somebody, you tell them, “Do you know Jesus as your Savior?” and they say, “Who
is He, and saved from what?” This is why
Paul would go out and preach—talking to the Jews, it was easy for Paul, because
they knew the Scriptures. They knew the
God that Paul would talk about. But,
when he was with the Greek, he would have to go from Genesis. From Genesis, then they would understand, and
that’s the good news. Before, after the
fall, nothing can save you; can the Law save?
It could not save. It took Jesus
to come. That’s the good news. The
sacrifices, and all, every year, over and over, could not save, and nobody
could save him- or her-self. When Jesus
came, He said, “Now, I am the sacrifice.
If only you believe in Me, and you accept Me as your sacrifice, you’re
saved.” Isn’t that the good news? Trying hard to do, to get something, and then
Jesus just make it easy for you. I would like for you to go with me
in Hebrews chapter ten, and the goal, this morning, is to share with you about
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. But, we need to understand, first, why are we
even here? Where are we? Why were we to be where we’re at, now? Hebrews 10:1 For the law having
a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can
never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make
the comers thereunto perfect. You can give as many goats, as
many cows, whatever actually give your body to be burned, it still cannot make
us perfect. Hebrews 10:2-3 For then
would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices
there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. Every time you make a sacrifice,
it reminds you of the sin again. Hebrews 10:4-21 For it is
not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and
sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the
volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said,
Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest
not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may
establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies
be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that
he had said before, [forever!] This
is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he
hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And
having an high priest over the house of God; And this is our message this
morning: verses twenty-two through
twenty-five Hebrews 10:22-25 Let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that
promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good
works: [How can we do that? By…] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner [as the habit] of
some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching. May we pray? Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your
Word. Now we are bound to listen to it. We pray that You prepare our hearts. Take away the stony hearts, Lord, and leave
us a heart of flesh, God, that may be sensitive to Your Word. And let us not be hearers, only; let us be
doers. Bless Your servant, through whom
You will speak, to give him all these things, Lord, God, and let him say and
speak only the things that You would have him to. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. “…Let us consider one another to
provoke unto love and to good works…”
You see the background, why we need to provoke, why we need to come
together. It says, “Coming to provoke
one another to love and good works.”
Obviously, you know the word, ‘provoke,’ can sound negative, but this
one is the good part. Come to provoke
one another. We provoke to love. We provoke to good works. This letter was written to immature, and
spiritually persecuted Christians. They
were suffering. And, some were avoiding
coming to church so they could protect themselves, to avoid persecution. We’re not talking about just to watch TV, or
being lazy, we’re talking about they were being persecuted, so, because of
that, they were scared, they were afraid.
It’s like Peter, who denied Christ, not because he did not love Christ,
but he was trying to protect himself.
So, they had good reason not to come.
But there was a danger there, there was the danger of apostasy. There was the danger that they could take
this one thing, and then, never come back.
So, Paul was—we don’t know if it was Paul, but, whoever it was—he was
exhorting the, “Don’t do that. Come.
Even if that is the risk for your own life, you need to come, because, when you
come, you’re going to encourage one another.
You’re going to provoke one another to good works.” This is the basis of Christianity, that we
encourage one another, because, until the trumpet sounds, we have to hold on,
right? We don’t come to church for a
well-ordered service. When you come, you
already say, “Yeah, that was a great service!”
But, you come to edify, right?
You come to provoke, right? You
come to encourage! You know the word, ‘forsake,”
means abandon? Is forsaking hard? The reason why this is important to say, yes,
you can come to church, but you’re still not in church. You can be here physically, but, in heart,
you forsake the church. Yeah. We all know what I’m talking about. You can be anywhere physically, but you’re
not there, in heart; your mind in somewhere else. Yeah. I was told a story of a little boy
who was in an airplane; he was jumping around, and then he was forced to sit
down. “Sit down! Buckle up!”
He sat down, he buckled up, but he was all happy. “What’s going on? Why are you smiling?” He said, “I’m still jumping! I’m still jumping, inside,” you know? He was still jumping, having fun, even though
he was in the chair. That’s what
happened. Yeah. In Haiti, we have cards,
presence—attendance cards. People want
to come to church because they want their cards to be perfect in
attendance. Yeah. And they take glory in that. They take glory in that, but, you know
what? Just because they have perfect
attendance, that doesn’t mean they were in church. This what we need to avoid. Now, we are called disciples,
right? What is a disciple? A student?
A learner. Isn’t it kind of bizarre
that someone would call himself or herself a disciple, but they have no desire
to follow, they have no desire to learn?
We can call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, but we’re not too
excited about being where He is, going where He’s going, doing what He does,
but you say, “Yeah, yeah, I’m Christ’s disciple,” but you don’t learn from Him. Are we called sheep of God’s flock? Are we?
I don’t know how many of you grew up on a farm, but, sheep naturally
follow, right? Usually they are at least
in formation going, and, by nature, they love being in the flock. By nature.
By nature, they love being in the flock.
You can find one wandering around, and then the shepherd will take it
in, but, because when one goes somewhere, what will happen? The other ones want to follow, because they
want to be closer. That’s why the
shepherd makes sure that everybody goes where they’re supposed to be
going. And, today, are we observing
church? It’s just a hard time to get
people to church, to get them in the flock, to get them to come to
worship. I will not be surprised a bit,
if, very soon, the church will become E-church.
Electronics. It is beginning
already. They have satellites. We have E-church, and everybody else get it
online. I wouldn’t be surprised a
bit. Yeah. What are some of the reasons why
people miss services? Laundry. They stayed up too late the night
before. Illness. Controversy in the
church. Not interested. Fear.
All kind of stuff, but some of them we can understand, but, some of
them, “Ahhh, I don’t feel like it today.”
Even, I’m probably the oldest guy here.
I see the change, even in my lifetime, because, when it is Sunday, it
used to be called, “Lord’s Day.” That’s
it. Lord’s Day is Lord’s Day. You didn’t have to be Seventh Day Adventist. Sunday, you don’t do much. Sunday is church. Sunday is church. You don’t plan travelling on Sunday, if you
don’t have to. Sunday was pretty much
church. Nowadays, if God can get two
hours out of us, He should be happy.
Seriously, because people, they’re busy.
They’re booked that day. They’re booked every day. So, they do make a little space for church,
but, the preacher better not go too long.
It is a fact. I cannot tell you
how many churches I go to, whether they are Haitian, American churches I
usually preach in—actually, last year, a church in Boston, they flew me from
Norfolk to preach for a special event they were going to have. When the time came, the pastor came and said
have fifteen minutes, because they have a heavy agenda. Fifteen minutes. They flew me. If one’s faith cannot bring one to
church, do you think it’s strong enough to take you all the way up to
Heaven? Tell me something, if, right
here, we cannot even come to church, by design, or laziness, or whatever—I’m
not talking about because you have to work--just, “Nah, I don’t feel like
it.” Then you’re telling me this is a
faith good enough to take you to Heaven.
I would put a big question mark on that.
I would put a big question mark on that. Now, he says, “…Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves,” and he says to provoke, and, let us consider: All these are good words, but, how can one
forsake an assembly? Now, you are going
to tell me, when they just quit, or whatever.
I truly believe we abandon our assemblies when it’s not a high priority
on our list. Okay, it’s just a
convenient—is it convenient? “Yeah,
yeah. I think I can squeeze church
in.” You don’t give it a priority if
you’re planning vacation. You don’t give
it a priority if you’re planning a visit.
You don’t give it a priority if you’re doing, really, anything! You just, if you’re in town, and if you’re
not busy doing anything else, “Yeah, I’m good.”
That is forsaking your assembling.
That is forsaking your assembling. It’s amazing, when it snows in
Virginia, everything is closed, because they aren’t equipped like you guys
here. Okay? Or, if they are just making an announcement
that there will be a storm. Or whatever
it is, it seems like we just need just an excuse to call, “No church
today. Church closed.” It bothers me. And, as we close the church, the club on the
other side, they’re partying and the neighborhood comes forth. It’s the same thing. This is forsaking the assembling. You can tell them, “Okay, the kids don’t want
to go to school.” They’ll find any
excuse; this is the same thing. And, by
the way, this is not acting like men, you know?
I do remember, and I’m not saying it to go to the past, but I remember
when we used to have services Sunday morning and Sunday evening, and I do
remember when church was a daily thing for us, because it was not a question
of, ‘day.’ Pretty much, we worship any
time. That doesn’t mean you had to be
there, but, if it’s two, three four, five, it’s good enough. Nowadays, I don’t know how we would start,
make the announcement, “Service on Sunday evening.” Isn’t that cray to you? It is to me.
And, shorten the services. Satan
is playing with that. That is the way we
start the abandoning. Pretty much what
Paul is saying here, “Come to church where you belong.” That’s what he is saying. “Come to church where you belong.” Absence tends to lead to unbelief. Absence tends to lead to—get you in all kinds
of trouble. You know, it amazes me when you
read how Jesus went to pray, and He told His disciples to watch with Him for
one hour—one hour—and He came back, what did He find? They were sleeping. Is sleep a bad thing? No, sleep is not a bad thing. But He told them, “Pray, that you fall not
into temptation, because the spirit is willing,” (Matthew 26:36-41) right? But in your mind, I guarantee you, Jim
probably feel fifteen, twenty years old in his spirit right now. I cannot believe it, when I tried to make a
move, because I feel, in my spirit, I am still that young Hubert, fifty years
ago. The spirit is willing, but the
flesh… You cannot be led by the
flesh. You’ve got to push; let the
spirit lead. In absence you lose a
lot. Do you remember Thomas? He left.
I don’t know; that doesn’t mean he went to do anything wrong, but he
wasn’t there when Jesus was there, and that led to unbelief. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard
the term, “decapitated savior.” Have you
heard this? The decapitated savior? These are people who claim Jesus as their
savior, but they only like His head. We
know Jesus is the head of the church, the church is the body of Christ. They don’t like the body of Christ; they like
the head of Christ. How can you say you
like Jesus, but you don’t like church?
Actually, not even want to come to church. Forsaking it doesn’t sound right, because
Jesus is the head, and the church is the body.
We cannot take one without the other. There are some really good reasons
why we should be in church. First of
all, we are accountable to one another.
Doesn’t the Bible say we are members one to another? (1 Corinthians
12:25) So, my right foot can decide,
“Oh, I don’t really like church.” Or, my
eyes could say, “You know what? All the rest
of you can go, but, today, I’m not going.”
No, it’s the whole thing; it’s a package. Saints minister to saints. What does the Bible say? Iron sharpeneth iron? (Proverbs 27:17) That’s how we get strong. That’s how we get to be encouraged. We assemble to edify one another. That’s why we assemble. We have service, we sing, we praise, we do
everything, but church is a place you come to uplift your soul. David, if you remember, in Second
Samuel, chapter twelve, you know the whole story. He sinned, and God promised that he would pay
for it; the child would die. He prayed,
he fasted, he prayed, he humiliated himself. 2 Samuel 12:19-20 But when
David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead:
therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is
dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and
changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: [and
worshipped!] then he came to his own
house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. David loved the house of the
Lord. Wasn’t it David who said, “I was
glad?” “I was glad when they said unto
me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psalms 122:1) “I was glad…”
This man loved God’s house. There is a story in Isaiah
thirty-six—you’ll have to read it for yourself, but, a king who was troubled,
because the king of Assyria, the Assyrian king sent news for him. It’s like they’re ready for battle, and the
other king told Hezekiah, “You have no chance, buddy. No chance.
Go in history to see how many gods ever deliver any nation out of my
hand when I come around, so, don’t think your God will be able to do
anything.” He really punched him
hard. In chapter thirty-seven, verse
one: Isaiah 37:1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah
heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and
went into the house of the LORD. When we come to church, it’s
should be, a person comes to the Lord and says, “I’m going to be revived! I’m going to be refreshed! And guess where I’m going to get this
refreshing? From my brothers, from my
sisters. They will bring
encouragement. They will uplift my
soul. They will provoke me unto love,
and unto good works.” We are not in
church just for ourselves. No, we’re
not. Every time you come into church,
don’t take it as it’s for you. You’re
coming for other people, too. How do you
think it would feel this morning, if we came to church, and half of these
chairs were empty? How would you
feel? Who cares? Who cares?
Would you say, “Yes, hallelujah!
Chairs are empty!” Is that what
you want it to be? And, if, for some
reason, somebody say, “Yeah, so-and-so decided not to come to church.” Would you be uplifted by this? But, what if you come, you see everybody;
people you did not expect to come, not only did they come, but their friends
are with them? When you walk in, do you
feel anything different? Wouldn’t that
encourage you? Every time we don’t come
to service for any silly reason—you bring a little bit of encouragement, and
more people who will do it, it will continue like that—this will not be to
encourage one another, and it would be very disappointing to us. Amen? Doesn’t the Bible say two are better than
one? (Ecclesiastes 4:9) Now, today, we can argue we don’t
have persecution anymore. We are not
going to be chased by the government, to kill us for worshipping. So, we don’t need much encouragement,
anymore. But Satan uses other
tricks. Other tricks. We still get discouraged by many, many, many
other things. The only way I feel like I
can explain this to you: It’s like,
nowadays, Satan doesn’t chase you, kill you, whatever; he finds a smarter way
to do it: He keeps you in church. He keeps you in church. But, what he does, it’s like, you see this
clock here? When it gets to twelve, it’s
not twelve o’clock until the last second.
It’s not twelve yet. So, what
Satan’s goal is to keep you as far away as possible from twelve. As far away.
Some of us, we say, “Well, if I come to church once a month, that’s good
for me, and I know my Bible. I listen to
messages online. And I pray.” So, Satan keep them in that one, because that
thing is going clockwise, so that person is good in one. He’s good in one; that’s far away from
twelve. And, if you find some who is
more religious, more active, Satan lets you go, even unto the—some people are
even on the fifty-nine! That makes you
feel good to do that. Doesn’t the Bible
say there are some that bear thirty, forty, fifty? (Mark 4:8) IF you were designed to bear forty, you can
be at thirty-nine point nine nine nine—you’re still not there yet. Satan tries to keep you as close as possible,
but still away from where you should be.
And we need to come, and encourage one another. Say, “Let’s come. We can do it.
We can do it.” We find excuses not to go to
church: “You don’t have to go to church
to be saved. Church doesn’t save me. Actually, there is so much going on in
church, church can actually cause me to go to Hell.” That’s Satan.
That’s Satan. You know the
illustration of charcoal: If you have
charcoal together, and fire, but you take one out, what happens? Slowly but surely, it will die faster. It will die faster. In corporate worship, we encourage each other
that’s why it’s important for you to be in church. When you come to church, we come to church,
let’s purposely—purposely, not by accident—find somebody to talk to and
encourage. Have somebody in mind, or, if
you know somebody who made need some encouragement. Leave your house with that in mind, “I am
here to encourage somebody.” Don’t be
selfish think of others, also. Philippians 2:1-4 If there
be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye
be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of others. Don’t come to church thinking it’s
for yourself. Come to church for somebody
else, too. Don’t come to be blessed and
leave; talk to someone. Know someone;
fellowship with someone. The amount of
years I’ve been pastoring, there is one thing no one can deny—no pastor, at
least, will deny that when you see people starting to not come to church,
abandoning; maybe a Sunday at a time, maybe a Wednesday at a time; it’s like
having a slow leak in your tire. Eventually
the tire will get flat. If you discover
that slow leak, you cannot say, “Ah, it’s just a slow leak.” It may last one week, two weeks, maybe a
month, but the tire will be flat; it’s a leak.
As the manner, as the habit, of some is.
Some have the habit of that slow leak.
Every one of us should pay attention to that. Know who is not here; get the plug and plug
it. “Oh, you know, if you don’t see me
here, I listen to the messages.”
Actually, we have CFCMI messages online; I listen to all the messages
from Norfolk on our site. Nothing online
can compensate, can replace the fellowship we’re supposed to have here. Nothing.
Church is where we come to be involved in the lives of fellow
believers. We are here to get involved
in somebody else’s life. You don’t do
that staying home. One of the big misunderstandings
is that, even some pastors of churches think, Sundays, or whenever the
gathering is, is when they use to evangelize.
We don’t come to church to be evangelized. That’s not where we evangelize. No.
It’s like taking your car to the gas station to use it. That’s not where you use it; you take the car
to the gas station to refuel the car, so you can go use it. When we come to church, we come to encourage
one another, so we can go out there and live that testimony and tell people
about Christ. So, evangelism is not the
primary focus of gathering. No, it’s
not. Evangelism will automatically come,
once you are filled and pumped up, right?
If you come out of here, and you are pumped up, and just excited, it’s
going to be manifested outside. It’s
going to, and that’s how we bring people to church. Now, let’s say the church is not
healthy, the church is pretty much dying.
And then, they want to evangelize?
The best they can do is produce weak disciples. They will produce weak disciples. If they are strong in evangelism, and they
find they get people to come, you’re going to have weak disciples, and you’re
even going to have some faulty confession.
But, if the church is healthy, they come in provoking one another, and,
at the same time, go out and live the testimony and bring people to church, it
will be like, whoever comes, that person will come, those people will come, and
the fire already in their heart, and just go on. Now, on the other hand, the
primary mission of the church, itself, is to take the Gospel around the
world. But, when it comes to a church
meeting, the primary reason is to teach and edify the Saints, and to build them
up. So, I hope we understand that. Jesus is our Master, right? And we are His disciples. Did you know Jesus was addicted, when it
comes to going to church? The Bible says
He had the habit of going to church. We
definitely should follow His steps. I
get a glimpse of that in: Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was [as His custom was], he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day... That’s the day that they
gathered. He had the custom of
going. At least, at least, if the custom
for us, here, is having a once-a-week service, at least every Saint, every
follower of Christ should be here, should be here. Now, it continues to say, “…to exhort one
another, and so much more…” the more, “as you see the day approaching.” What day is he talking about? Judgment Day. You know, the Bible says: Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better
than precious ointment; and the day of death [so there is a day of death] than the day of one's birth. There is a day of death. There is day you’re going to die. That’s still not the day he’s talking
about. In Hebrews it says, it is appointed
for a man once to die, then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). There is a day of judgment coming,
Saints. It’s coming. 1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man's
work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it... The day shall declare it, and the
day’s approaching, Saints. It is
approaching. We are convinced it’s
approaching. Look at us, now, and
remember years ago, when we were growing up in church, to see how fast it is
approaching. If the trumpet doesn’t
sound, our trumpet may sound individually.
The day is coming. 1 Corinthians 3:13 … because it
shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is. I’ll leave with this: Psalms 90:10 The days of our
years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be
fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut
off, and we fly away. I am fifty-one. Do you think I truly can convince myself that
I am going to get another fifty-one, you think?
It’s possible. It’s possible. But, do you think, at least nowadays, don’t
you think I am at least halfway on?
Sometimes I don’t want to believe.
I do have a drawer in my house where I count my days. Okay?
I have two big things full of marbles, so I count an average of
four-score years. And I put them in
every day. I don’t do it every day,
sometimes I forget, or I am not here, but when I am out for so many days, when
I come back I count them. Do you know,
you can tell where you’re going?
Yeah. You can tell where you’re
going. The wife doesn’t like it, because
she sees one side start coming down; the other side is piling up. It’s the reality, Saints, the day is
coming. The day is coming. And, every time, it’s like when you’re taking
a test, it’s timed, and you look at the clock, there’s not much time, you
hurry, “I’ve got to get this thing right.”
That’s how I feel when I look at my marbles coming down. “My goodness; I have work to do!” I sleep less, now, and I do more. Yeah.
I sleep less, I do more, and I want to work wiser than before, because I
wasted so many years; I was silly, and I did dumb things, and now, before I
touch something, I want to make sure that’s the best shot. I don’t have time for mistakes anymore. As we see the day approaching. Psalms 90:11-12 Who
knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. I see some old folks doing some
silly things. They think they have long
to go. They don’t even care about how
long they have. They think they have an
eternity, too. It’s not true. It’s not true. Actually, it’s so not true, we cannot even
count on the next minute coming up. And
it said, even if you get to be four-score or more, trouble, pain, all your
friends hating, and, I mean, it’s just not even sweet. What you can do, the strength you have, now,
that’s what this is designed for, now.
Now, you have to provoke yourself and provoke one another to love and
good works. Tomorrow may not be yours;
yesterday’s gone; today is the day. God
bless you.
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