Romans 11:1-10
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SLIDE 3
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
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SLIDE 4
“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
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SLIDE 5
Rom 11:
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So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
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Rom 11:5-
SLIDE 6
as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”
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Rom 11:8-
SLIDE 7
And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
Rom 11:9
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PRAY
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Intro:
Last week we considered these beautiful and powerful words from the end of chapter 10. They were revolutionary words… They were game changing. They caused many to gasp in offense. They ripped down the walls of religious understanding and showed the reader that grace reaches farther than the eye can see...
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Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame… There is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord of all.
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It doesn’t matter what family you were born into… what profession you chose… what your nationality is… or the color of your skin… - God will bestow riches on all… upon EVERYONE.. who call upon Him.
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The key word… the theme… in these previous verses… is summed up in the word, “Everyone”.
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Paul now has the undivided attention of both Jew and Gentile. The Gentile feels pretty good about himself, because of what Paul said in verse 20. “God found those who did not seek Him.” - When this was read in their meeting, some of the Gentiles looked at each other and smiled… mouthing the words… “That’s us!”
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Earlier in … and later, in verse 11, we are given a secondary purpose for the salvation of the Gentiles. The primary purpose of salvation for them, and for anyone… is to simply fulfill God’s desire in showing opulent grace to save those whom He loves… who hear and believe…
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but, as an added bonus… The salvation of the Gentiles serves the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy.
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So, Paul now that Paul has the attention… of those in Rome, who are both Jew and Gentile. This message pertained to both groups…
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This was revolutionary stuff to the Jews. They didn’t grow up with this kind of teaching. They were taught to lean heavily upon their lineage… to lean heavy upon their adherence to the law… to lean heavy upon their traditions…
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And now… in this new era of grace… after Jesus has risen from the dead and His apostles are teaching the new believers about this new aspect of faith in light of the Law and Prophets… They are seeing Gentiles entering into the family of the church… in great numbers…
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But… the few who came from a Jewish background were still wondering… Why were the bulk of their own people, still holding onto the old ways? Why did so many reject Jesus as Messiah… For the most part, the guys who led the synagogue 5, 10, 15 years ago… are still there.
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They are still hoping to find righteousness in the works of the law. They are still looking forward to a different Messiah. They have rejected this faith that Paul is teaching them about.
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At the end of chapter 10, Paul quotes . - The Lord has found those who did not seek Him… God showed Himself to those who did not ask for Him… to a people who had no history or heritage with God… He revealed Himself.
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But concerning Israel it says… - “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
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The believers in this new church in Rome look around, and they see Judaism alive and well, as if it hasn’t even been phased by the appearance of Jesus on the scene. It’s still going strong. It seems like nothing has changed amongst the Jews because of what Jesus has done.
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So, because of what they observe… they might wonder: (SLIDE 8) “HAS GOD REJECTED HIS PEOPLE?”
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Paul knows what QUESTIONS his arguments will provoke. He knows that each level of explanation, leads to a new level of mystery…
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The mystery now… after talking about the salvation of the Gentiles… is this: “Well, what about the Jews?”
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Paul answers the question he also states in verse one… by emphatically declaring: “By no means!”
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What we have here, is the conflict between human perspective, and God’s perspective.
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God has brought the message of the Gospel to Gentiles. Gentiles are coming to faith like crazy… Yes, Jews are being saved also… but the bulk of Judaism is still rejecting Jesus… Does this mean that God has given up on one group in favor of the next group?
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We ask these kinds of question. We make these kinds of observations. We suffer the same form of limited perspective.
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Christianity is on the decline in our country… We as a nation, follow in the footsteps of many European countries that are now considered to be, ‘post Christian’. And yet… we look at places like China… even in some of the Muslim countries like Iran… there is revival going on.
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Where is our revival? We haven’t seen one in the states since the early 70’s… and before that… in the 40’s.
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Has God rejected the people of the United States? Has God rejected Europe?
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I think Paul answers that question for us in verse one… BY NO MEANS!!!
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Why? - Well, in verse 1, Paul goes on to give himself as an example. Has God rejected Israel? No way! Look at me. I am of the tribe of Benjamin, and God has saved me.
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We are a capitalistic and market driven people… we deem success on the terms of growth and numbers. We then, bring that thinking into the church and try to measure a spiritual thing, with a secular measuring rod.
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But Paul is showing us in this chapter… (SLIDE 9) - that sometimes, God’s plan is not fulfilled with the masses… but rather, it is fulfilled with the remnant.
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Has God rejected an entire nation? Paul’s answer is this: “No. I am a member of that nation, and I have been saved. In fact, God taught this very same lesson to Elijah.
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SLIDE 10
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God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
Romans 11:
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SLIDE 11
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But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
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In 1st Samuel chapter 8… the people of Israel proved themselves unfaithful by demanding a king like the other nations had. In , they are convicted of this sin and Samuel calls them to repent.
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He tells Israel: “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart… and then… this beautiful promise:
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SLIDE 12
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For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.
1 Sam 12
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In , the people are suffering under the oppression of evil kings… and in the midst of this difficulty, the Psalmist tells them:
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SLIDE 13
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For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
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Paul echoes these promises. In fact, as Paul writes this letter in the Greek, he quotes ‘word for word’, the Greek translation of the OT (called the Septuagint)… from these two passages. THE LORD WILL NOT FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE.
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And then… he reminds them of Elijah’s story.
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After his great victory against the prophets of Baal… Elijah comes down from this great high… and suffers a great low. He is a hunted man, and in what seems like a fit of depression, I gives this fatalistic cry to the Lord… “I am all that is left. There are no other believers… just me. “
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To which God replies… “I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
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Now, if we don’t stop and think… we might brush over that and think that God still has A LOT of believers… -But, amongst an entire nation, 7,000 isn’t a lot. And due to the fact that this great prophet Elijah was unaware of them… it seems that they were a scattered and quiet group.
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With this lesson in hand… Paul tells those who might think that God has forsaken Israel… not to worry. There is at this present time, a remnant....
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And then, at the end of verse 5… there are three words you should underline.
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SLIDE 14
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CHOSEN BY GRACE
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it goes on to say:
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SLIDE 15
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But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
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In verse 6, the Holy Spirit has allowed Paul to be a smart aleck.
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To those who would say: “I’m chosen because: I’m good… I’m better… I exert great devotion… I pray more than other people… I’ve never done anything bad… I’m good looking… and I smell like cookies… “ - Paul responds…
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No, you’re not. If you are chosen because of your good works and your cookie smell… then GRACE IS NOT GRACE.
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Consider this: The best law firms an the best hospitals go to the top universities and recruit the students who are at the top of their class, to come and work for them. They want the best of the best, and they will compete with other law firms and hospitals to get the best lawyers and doctors that they can find.
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That’s not how God does it. -He choses His followers… not on their merit, but rather… He choses them, on grace.
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So… back to the context of this message… - The believers in Rome… specifically those of Hebrew heritage, are looking around at their old religion… and they are wondering if God has forsaken Israel.
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Israel is still doing what they have always done. The Rabbis are still teaching the same stuff… they are still offering the same offerings, (at least up until the destruction of the temple), and they are still seeking to attain righteousness through the works of the law.
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Those people are so devoted… - and yet, here we are, a bunch of Christians with diverse history… a rag tag ragamuffin group of people who may or may not have a history of great religious devotion… We haven’t shown that level of devotion… and for some reason, God has saved us.
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And Paul tells them… “YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY GRACE.”
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Sometimes I hear people make mention of the religious gathering that happens across the street from us. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they are a completely different religion… though they might use some of the same terms as we do and read a Bible that is similar to ours… - THEY ARE NOT, A CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
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Their idea of God is different. Their Jesus is different. Their means of gaining access to eternal life is different.
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We believe that Jesus is God… but they believe that Jesus is a creation of God… and Angel named Michael who became Jesus.
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We believe that we are saved by grace… but they believe that salvation is fully dependent upon your membership, your devotion to learn and practice their principles, and your continuation in the works of the church.
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They believe that our religion is demonically inspired, that guys like me… who pastor non JW churches… are anti-Christs.
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They are obsessed with the idea of Armageddon coming at any moment.. and use that as a tool to intimidate believers into being obedient and having clean thoughts as often as possible… otherwise, you will die when Armageddon comes, and you will not go to heaven.
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Their views on heaven and eternal life are quite different… but for the most part, it’s important to understand...
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That they are living under an isolated belief system which is driven by legalistic fear and intimidation.
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So… sometimes I hear people say… “Why are there so many people over there, and so few people over here?”
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It’s merely an impression.... a skewed perspective. That is the only JW building around, so it gets used heavily… in comparison… there are a bunch of Bible believing churches in the community,
so our numbers are spread out..… -so even as it appears as if there’s a disparity… there’s not.
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But it does pose a similar perspective to what Paul is talking about.
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Look at all those people… who are striving to gain eternal life by way of works and law… -And here we are… well, we aren’t showing that kind of fervent devotion. We aren’t reading all those books… we aren’t knocking on all those doors… we aren’t attending daily meetings. To our human rational and logic… something seems wrong here.
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Here’s the difference. We aren’t living in daily fear that we might miss out on eternal life, if Armageddon hits, and in that moment,
-we are having an unclean thought…
-or on that day, we missed a set obligation…
-or on that week, we didn’t attend every meeting…
-or on that month, we didn’t knock on enough doors.
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The believers in Rome looked at Israel… and wondered if God had rejected them… They were still pressing on in their fervent devotion to the law… and yet: in spite of all that devotion… God was choosing people, according to grace, and not according to their fervent devotion to the law.
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Paul’s explanation continues in verse 7
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SLIDE 16
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What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,
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When Paul says ‘Israel’… he’s speaking generally… - for he has already clarified that he himself is of Israel… and that there is definitely a remnant of redeemed believers who are from Israel… - But on a national level… for the most part… - There is a rejection to the Gospel.
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SLIDE 17
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Romans 11:
as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”
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SLIDE 18
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And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
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This first quotation is a combination of and .
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Isaiah says… “God gave them a spirit of stupor”… which is translated in … “the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep” -It goes on to say that God has also closed the eyes of the prophets. - Why would God do this? Because, leading up to this... the people have been exhibiting failure and unbelief… -
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The second half is from Moses’ final sermon to Israel… in fact, he begins his message with this truth… They had seen with their own eyes the grace and rescue of God from Egypt and Pharaoh… -They saw… AMAZING SIGNS AND GREAT WONDERS… - And yet, having lived it and seen it… they had unchanged hearts.
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IN both cases… God brought them slumber, blindness and deafness… because they had been walking in slumber, blindness and deafness for so long, even in spite of God’s many miraculous works in their midst.
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The second quote if from where David is praying for deliverance from his enemies… and in this section, he lays out the judgements God will visit upon those who reject His anointed King. -
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In all of this… Paul is telling his readers… that stubbornness has great consequences.
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If you dig your heels in and reject something long enough… it will become a part of you. It will become wired into your thinking, your identity… your very dna…
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And… there’s a challenge in this, even for the Christian.
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If you dig your heels in, and reject the things that God has called you to walk in… in your Christian life… and you do it long enough… Chances are, those deeds of unwillingness and disobedience will be affirmed in you..
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To what end? Well, God doesn’t call us to serve, to pray, to study, to give, to fellowship, to worship… so we can suffer in the sacrifice of religious devotion.
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God calls us to do these things… so that we can experience His presence, and enjoy the blessing of being involved.
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Stubborn people… miss out on so much of what God has for them. Israel watched God feed them every day… their clothing… their sandals and their water skins were daily miracles… for God preserved them for 40 years… Every day was a miracle… and even as they benefited from it… they didn’t really experience it.
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God did great things in their midst… but they were unbelieving bystanders.
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Family, God wants to do great things in your midst… But if your Christian life is demonstrated by little more than church attendance… then you are missing out.
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He doesn’t want you to do anything, out of a sense of obligation, or fear, or guilt… But He wants you to walk with Him, and serve Him, because you recognize His grace and love for you.
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The stubborn miss out. They are bystanders in the midst of God’s wonderful work, and over time, stubbornness has a way of engraining itself into your identity.
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That’s what happened to
I want you to experience God… by believing in His promises… by worshipping Him, with your life, with your songs, with your money, with your labor, with your heart… by opening the channels of communication… by hearing His still small voice, and responding to it.
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As we partake in communion today… let’s ponder these truths, and consider how we might apply, and engage the conviction of the H.S.
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Close.