Sunday Service

Well, thank you worship team this morning. Good good to see you today.

You have a Bible this morning or electronic device or in the wonderful Book of Jonah. The Book of Jonah for very short small chapters in the life of a man who has sold out to God at least at the beginning and then kind of slipped and there's a lot of application from this book besides. It's so prophetic. It is here that Jesus said the sign of his confirmation that he was indeed the price because he rose from the dead he was in the grave for three days and three nights and rose again is confirmed by what happened to Jonah that he had the auspicious opportunity to hitchhike in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights how many would like that and that's just a wonderful thing to all of us Isaiah says that we all are like sheep who go astray and want her own way. And so there are times in our life where we may be really Walking with God and on fire with a lardon. There may be times of our life where we've drifted away. The Lord doesn't give up on us. He's always drawing its back and that was true of Jonah who in this case. Totally missed the boat. He's no longer in the boat. There's a statement that I want to read. I think it's going to be coming up here this morning and I are a couple of years ago were in Branson. And while we were there in Branson, we took in the drama musikal of Jonah's life. You see some years ago a guy back East was doing this for Matic presentation of biblical stories and scripture and he present the gospel in each of those and so he wanted to expand it and so he built this multi-million dollar theater in Branson. How many of you have been to Branson and taking into the shows and so forth It's a clean cut. City it doesn't want to be like Las Vegas or anything like that. And so that we had a chance to go to this show on Jonah and I guess we don't have that this morning, but in in the production of that these words were written when we are running from something. We often end up running towards something else. That's something else can be worse than what we've been running from. We run away from something. We're running toward something else and the something else can always and often is worse. That was true of Jonah. He ran away from the Lord. There it is. When we're running from something we often and running towards something else that something else can be worse. We've been running from and Jonah found that he finds himself in this situation. Where is it at the bottom of the ocean to the bottom of the fish and he is crying out to God even though he's been disobedient absolutely disobedient wanting his own way last week. We looked at that if you weren't here last week Jonah was asked by God to go to a place called Nineveh Nineveh is a wicked City in Assyria the enemy of Israel and they were people that the Israelites despised because they were always conquering them and killing them in and it is at this moment. There was a kind of peace I was going on but God called Jonah to go to that City the surrounding area about a million people which was an incredible amount of people in that day in that part of the region. It was a city of great cameras. It was a city that became the capital of Assyria eventually and so it was a major megatropolis in that region and God sent Jonah there and Jonah did not want to go he didn't want to go primarily because he didn't want God to forgive those people because he knew God was a god of Grace. And it's interesting. Now that God of Grace comes through for Jonah's. Well, he pours out his grace towards him. He didn't want it for the ninevites because I know if he did go there and do what God wanted and preached judgment and repentance that the people if they did repents God would forgive them and he didn't want that. If God would have told you're going to go there for the health and watch me wipe them out Jonah. What is that? All right. I'm ready. You'd be ready to do that cuz he would love to have them judged. So we're in the second chapter of Jonah. Love to have you a pack of Bible. If you don't there's always Bibles available. I think it helps an awful lot to have the scriptures open. So Jonah prayed verse 1 from inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God now that's significant. He prayed to his God. Do you remember the first chapter where the boat was rocking and they Sailors were afraid and scared because they never been in a storm that God had prepared like this and they thought they were going to die. They threw everything over the side of the ship and they're praying and they're praying all their Idol gods and their Idol gods don't answer them. And here's Jonah sleeping in the bottom of the boat is so incredible. It's a nasty storm, but he's so happy about it.

The run from what God has called him to do and he's totally happy about it. He's contended sometimes when you walk away from God you can be pretty happy with being selfish. You think you got the World by the tail that was true of Jonah. And so Jonah is in a predicament here. He's been thrown over God prepared a fish is in the belly of that fish and from that fish. He cries out to God any praise. It says here to the Lord his God the Lord. He is Jehovah. He is a creator of all things. He knows that he knows. He's talking to a God who listens to him when we pray. That's an awesome thing to remember when we pray that the god of the universe who created all things as listening to us over the first time. I actually thought about that. I've been raised in a Christian home. I'd learn how to pray my folks brought me to prayer meeting. I learned a lot of things about praying I knew how to pray nice work. Turn all those kind of things, but I'd never thought very much about the fact that when I pray the god of the universe who created all things is listening to my words now that blew me away when I really got serious about prayer and praise to his God and His God hears him. He listens in the distress. I called to the Lord and he answered me from the depths of the Grave. I called for help and you listen to My Cry. He's in distress in my distress. I called the Lord and he answered me. He responded to me is he when we have genuine faith and prayer and prayer is the greatest opportunity to exercise faith in God because her speaking to a God we cannot see who are believing is going to hear us and is going to answer it. God answers prayer until he comes to the Lord and God answers him and he's in distress. And then he says from the depths of the Grave maybe your translation. She says she'll she'll is the Old Testament word. It's equivalent to the word Hades in the New Testament. It literally means the grave where where the body is placed. And so we're pretty sure that that Jonah and the bottom of the fish is thinking his dying. Probably for 3 days, he wishes he would die and God has protected and miraculously there and so he's in she'll he's in the grave. Can you imagine what it would be? Like, I just thought about this to try to prepare this message to think about what that might feel like, you're the bottom of the ocean. You're the bottom of the belly of a fish.

And it's totally dark.

And there is a whole lot of Hope. The only thing he knew is a God would listen to a life, right? And you got to feel like this is your coffin.

Is got2b horrible cough. He's he's to the point of dying and there's no way out. Yesterday I was here and I just thought about this what it feels like when you're in despair. I was in one of the classrooms doing something and I heard a cat meow and I realize it was probably just outside the door and I went around it on the back side and we have a little bit over there with some greats about and there was a catted falling in little tiny spot and I don't know how long that cat had been there, but that cat was in Despair and was in there for a long time open up the great and somehow she got out of there and she never stops a thank you.

But she was in despair. She was in prison. That's the way it was with Jonah. He was in a situation where he was captive the God's presence and he cried out and the Lord answered him and then it said you listen to My Cry, you know often in the Psalms. We find that phrase you listen to My Cry of Psalm 34. David said, I cried to the Lord they heard me and delivered me from all my fears and I think that happened with Jonah you listen to me. You answered me. I know the answers and you and he literally may have been crying out to the Lord verse 3. You hurled me into the deep into the very Heart Of The Seas and the currents swirled about me and all your waves and Breakers swept over me.

You hurled me under the seats. No, wait a minute the got it revealed to him. That's how he's going to call him to see so they threw him over and they did everything they could not to throw him over cuz they didn't want to be held accountable to it. And Jonah said I know God that you did what I deserved. I'm at fault. I'm guilty and then he says something interesting here. The waves and the breakers rolled over me. Do you know these exact words are in Psalm 42 verse 7 David who made that song and composed it before? What's was a song that evidently Jonah had learned? We know that Jonah was raised in a Godly home. And if you're raised in a Godly Hebrew Home, one of the things you do for your kiddos is that you teach them scripture you do a dig in like we do here on Wednesday nights and that meant since everybody didn't have a copy of the scripture. You taught taught your kids by rote memory. You'll learn to memorize and maybe he learned at the feet of his parents to memorize Psalm 42. I remember some of the verses I memorized as a kid. They still stick with me to this day and is he is drowning in the waves in the breakers are coming over him and then he gets swallowed by a fish and it hangs out there for three days in this slimy mess and he cries out to God. He remembers that song. That he memorizes a kid your waves in your Breakers overwhelm. Me and you remembered the Lord now notice verse the next verse verse for I said, I have been banished from your site yet. I will look again toward your Holy Temple. Here's an interesting thing that goes back to his childhood again. You've banished me from your presence, but really wasn't the case. He was banished from God's perfect will and blessing for his life. But here's what's interesting about this last part of this verse. I will look again toward your Holy Temple. You see when they came together as a people for worship. They came into the temple. They must have had some pretty spirited worship. If you know anything about the Tea Brew worship and the music that the Jewish people like it's pretty staccato and pretty Lively and and there must have been some wonderful times of worship and they would come together and pray to God and worship of him but also in prayer and there was The Fellowship of coming together with God's people as David said I was glad when they said to me, let's go into the house of the Lord. Now a Godly person who loves the lord loves to hang out with God's people likes to come to worship just enjoys it and and is a part of their life and it's just what they just don't want to miss for any reason cuz they're walking with the Lord and when Jonah began to say I need to get back in a relationship to the Lord. He looked to see what he remembered about going to worship in the temple where he would go as a young boy, and that was a very special time in his life. And he remembers what it was to be in fellowship with the Lord verse 5 the engulfing water. Threaten me. The Deep surrounded me weed was wrapped around my head.

I don't know you maybe don't find that humorous. It just gives you an absolute picture of what it was like to be sloshing around in the bottom of a prepared fish. A lot of times people thought it was a whale Perhaps I'll say more about that in a moment. We we don't know what kind of fish it was. A lot of people tried to argue back and forth how a man could be in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. Anyway, it's possible. It was a miracle of God now. If you don't believe in miracles, you don't like the Book of Jonah very well. Is a whole book is about the miraculous a whole book is about the supernatural about a God. We cannot see who responds to those who believe in trust him even when we run from him. And so if you don't like Miracles if you don't believe in the Supernatural and there are a lot of the churches today who don't believe the book and if they do they certainly don't believe about Jonah and I told this story but I want to tell it again today. I was going to the YMCA And when do the directors there knew that I was on radio and he'd listen to my show in the morning 5 minutes show that I had and so he he knew that I did a lot of questions and answers and he said to me that's occurred. The most important thing I believe is that you got to have Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. He went to a Mainline church, and I thought that was good because I don't always emphasized that Testament stories by well, I would believe that And I said you chose the worst one you possibly could because you just undermine what you said in your first statement. You said you believe that is important to Believe In Christ and accept him as your savior. And if you're going to do that, you got to believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that he rose from the dead and Jesus are the picture that he rose from the dead was assigned based on what happened to Jonah. I said Jesus confirm Joseph Jonas experienced. It literally happened.

Oh, so the Old Testament is full of God working Supernatural through his people and drawing people from all backgrounds all over the world. He's continuing to do that and it only happens by a supernatural power. And it happens because he confirms himself and his own Sovereign will buy his power Jonah said I'm laying the bottom of this fishing or seed weed all wrapped around me. I can't get my arms up to pull it away. I'm just hanging around there. What a miserable experience. He was going through and the Lord allow that to happen cuz I've caused him to come back to focus on the Lord verse 6. Did the writs of the mountains I sank down and the Earth beneath me Baird me in forever, but you brought my life out from the pit. Oh Lord my God now. What's Happening Here is Jonah wrote a song this turns out to be a poetic Hebrew parallelism song That can be some. Just like all the songs we have were there worship books from the Old Testament time when they came together for worship at the temple. They sang the song. The songs are always reminder of God's Deliverance. And now he's going to be delivered in after he gets out of this mess. He writes down this poem that he probably composed in the bottom of a fish and a cries out to the Lord in prayer in other a lot of different places. People can pray he prays at the bottom of the fish Moses prays that a Mountaintop Joseph prayed in a pit his brother threw him in David braids in a cave when he was running from God Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before I went to the cross. Elijah prayed at a dried-up Brook and later in a Widow's house when everybody was starving to death because of famine John Newton trade. Out in the ocean as he was drowning and God spared him.

Unusual places where people pray you can pray everywhere. He's always available and you can pray everywhere doesn't matter and even if you've run from God and you're desperate God will answer you and I bet some of you could tell some stories today that would identify this church about how In the same situation when you were in despair, you pray to God in some unusual places. You don't stop and pick people up on the interstate. Do you? Don't worry about it one day or driving along and say always reminds me is if there's a gal that's changing a tire. We're stopping to help her. She always stands up for the gals that are all by themselves. So we stopped the number of times but you don't stop on the interstate in traveling along and there's a car pulled off to the side. You see that all the time right? You don't think about that. Everybody's got a cell phone is called the record comes and get you for some reason. The Lord said to me pull over and help those people. There were a couple people sitting inside. I couldn't tell her men or women or anything. Nobody was outside. The hood wasn't up. There were just sitting there. So we pulled over I got out of the car, which is unlikely walked around. And she rolls the window down. And she said thank you for stopping. We just pray that the Lord would stop the next car. I said I just happened to be a pastor told her to church is that that's fine. We're Catholic. That's okay, but we just prayed. And I said, how can I help you? And she said it just was becoming dark and we were scared out of our wits to be out here in the interstate when it's dark. We've been sitting here for two hours. Nobody's come to help us. What happened? I know you didn't have a cell phone with them. And she prayed out of the interstate I can tell you a lot of stories about people have shared with me where they prayed and God answered that prayer. And so we got them back got the car taken care of and secured got them back home actually gave them a ride and it was interesting how God answered that prayer. You can pray in any fashion and here is here's David praying. that he's at the roots of the mountains now. That's an interesting phrase. And as I thought about that, I've thought about what I've observed evidently. This is an expression of what it's like to be at the very bottom of the ocean in the Mediterranean. We don't know how far it was on his way to tarshis. Maybe he's outside of Sicily or something like that. And anyway this fish evidently the bottom of the ocean you said where the mountains form? Have you ever been to Mount Rushmore raise your hands if you have most of you have have you ever noticed when you're looking at those faces at to the left side is a lot of the raw rock that they made those faces out of butt to that which is to the left is not usable for that. But at the bottom of that in the last time I was there I noticed this cheer Rock was forced up out of the ground and twisted and I don't know where that happened. But if you'll look at what Mount Rushmore describes as being the uplift that they recognize this came up from someplace and pushed up your rock. A lot of force had to be some major catastrophe some people believe that happened in the After the flood that caused the waters to recede. I don't know. But wherever it happened, it's obvious to everyone that they're forced up and that's kind of the expression. He uses here to the roots of the mountains. They were pushed from something some right out of the ocean and that's an interesting phrase and the Earth between beanies Bard me in forever, but you brought my life up from the pit. Oh Lord my God, the word pits is descriptive of being in the bottom of your life a synonym to the grave, but it's also used of where demons are or sent to when they're cast out when Jesus cast out the demons eat. They prayed that he would allow them to go into the pig rather than to the pit. So he's in the pits. Ever been in the pit. If you ever been in the pits of your life, somebody said if life is a Bowl of Cherries, what am I doing down here in the pit?

Life isn't a Bowl of Cherries sometimes. Life, sometimes it's very difficult and cruel and hard. That's why it's so important to know the Lord and know you can talk to him and I live for him 100% and that's what he's doing here verse 7 when my life was ebbing away. I remembered you Lord in my prayer Rose to you to your Holy Temple again. He talks about his holy Temple and returning to the Lord my life is ebbing away. Evidently, this is towards the end of his three days and three nights. He's very very close to death. But he's crying out to the Lord verse 8 those who cling to worthless Idols forfeit the grace that could be there's not a great verse think about it for a moment the Nineveh where everybody worship idols. He said those people who have a prayer to a worthless. Idols will never experience any Grace from those gods.

Tom Osborne wrote a book a number of years ago as he studied all the religions of the world. He said Christianity is the only one with Grace involved and that's so wonderful. Where's Jonah?

God hasn't given up on him is about dead. And they realize God was his salvation.

Any realize that God was going to pour out his grace to him. He's going to rescue him how he didn't know how you going to get out of a fish at the bottom of the ocean when you're almost dead. God has a plan and he's thinking that God is going to spare him. But he's also kidding all those Sailors that just were converted because of his Disobedience who had been praying to their gods and their gods didn't answer. But John Is God dead. And then versus nine. What I vowed I will make good or before but I would a song of Thanksgiving will sacrifice to you what I have out. I will make good salvation comes from the Lord is my salvation comes from the Lord. I'm going to renew my commitments your member. He was a prophet that meant he was trained. He was called he had a good home life at all the places in the world get made a vow to the Lord. I will go wherever you want me to go.

I need it. Until God said go to Nineveh and he said no way. And now God's calling him back here renewed his vows and his commitment to the Lord and he serves him. Now we look at God salvation and the Lord commanded the fish. Headed vomited Jonah on the dry ground now. This is interesting, isn't it? I think about it. If it was a whale. We know in in our world at whales Beach themselves once in a while and when that happens they died. So if that was the case or this great fish ever going to get Jonah up on dry ground.

He's going to have to beat himself cuz it said he vomit him out. And he landed on dry ground. He didn't even have to swim to Shore or even walk and Shallowater. He popped him out and dry ground. So in a sense if that happened the fish sacrifice his life for Jonah which would be a type of what Christ has done for us. Or let's say that the fish vomited him out with a rather a major amount of force. And all Jonah you can see him flying through the air. You probably had kind of a hard Landing. Bible doesn't tell us about that, but you can imagine what's going on your how did he get under a ground? Either the fish died or Jonah became a missile. and the Lord allow them to kind of get up and start over you certainly got his attention now, didn't he? It's interesting how God worked in such a marvelous way. You know, there's seven miracles that are listed in this chapter and Jonah. The first one is a violent storm that God created second that the lot Fell In Jonah third that God, the sea number for is he prepared a fish to swallow a man? You remain to lie for three days and three nights and then he commanded to the fish to spit him out and dry ground. However, that happened. And then the greatest Miracle of all it's a miracle of our Salvation. God changed the human heart. God changed their human heart to see Jonah missed the boat of God's perfect will but God gave him a second chance. I remember the rebellious times in my life when I was 19 years old. I was angry about some things and God did some great things in my life that night where there was a battle of whether taking my life or getting my life in order and stopping my rebelling and angry at other people and blaming everybody else for my problems and I went and knocked on the door of the dean. Hood kind of despise me because of my rebellious spirit. I drove him crazy. Don't tell you all the things I did to drive him crazy, and he wasn't too happy to Hear Me Knocking on his door late at night. And I said would you go play with me? Is that I need to change some things. They knew I was distressed and she went back to her dormitory in a bible college and had to hold dorm full of girls praying for me. How can you avoid that? It's pretty hard to fight against that. And where did we pray right by the furnace down in the furnace room of that old castle? That we lived in. You pray anywhere? And God turn my life. What a what a sense of Peace overcame my life at that point. And it's so wonderful that God was a god of Second Chances. He doesn't let us go. You know, there's only one way to live as a Christian life is really fulfilling see when God called us to himself. He calls us to serve him they love him and appreciate him and it gives us so many days to to serve him in this way. Well, you know, what could have been different think about this.

let's say since God wants us to be with him and he saved his for eternity that when a person is saved in the first moment. He comes to Christ. The lord translates him home is in the presence of the Lord. I'd be kind of interesting with it. What happened to Kurt he got saved last night all these people disappearing that will happen in the Rapture. But if that was God's will will God's will is the cause after we've come to faith in Christ to live for him to use our gifts to serve him to see how he uses us and that's what he was doing with Jonah. That's why I wanted him to do this task and he was the perfect man for it. He had the ability to it in next week's chapter. He goes to Nineveh The Hold Steady repents. He must have been some preacher. God has laid his hand on this man for a task.

It's all God has for all of us a plan and purpose and the days he gives us our deliver his glory. And so if we live at like 50% for the Lord and 50% for ourselves and our desire, it's never going to be fully satisfying. The most miserable people in the world are Christians who? Who aren't fully committed to Christ remember visiting a man in the hospital one time have been very successful lived in Europe made a lots of money and come back to our community had got a very good job ended up in the hospital on his back facing God in a very serious matter in his life and he confessed to me said there's a lot of my life I've wasted because I've been living for the wrong reason that I'm going to turn that around. God was a god of second chances for him. Perhaps you've noticed something about my style. and I want to tell you why I do this. I usually use stories and illustrations to try to show how this really works in a person's life. I think that's helpful. I do that for two reasons one Jesus did that if you look at the life of Jesus, he was constantly telling stories and music on chick lessons to teach and I think that's a pretty good example to use the other reason I do it is because it brings it right where we live on our own life where it's working. I'm going to tell your stories we conclude this morning of of a man. Some of you are aware of because he's the head football coach of Clemson University who just won a football national championship for those of you who don't have interest in sports. You can still appreciate. The story and how God has used to evidently came from a very difficult home life and background you overcame that when he came to Christ as his personal Savior and so he gave his life to the Lord in for somewhere along the line. He decided to live a hundred percent for the Lord. Just what I'm talking about. Not not a halfway not the kind of coasting through life know that you're a Christian Got Your Divine seatbelts on and you're going to live for sale it wasn't that way at all and so the thing that got it called. Dabo Swinney to was to be a football coach that was having to be his platform. And so he's coaching at Clemson University and I don't remember the circumstances but somewhere along the line that the other coaches gone. They need an interim coach to finish the season and so they hire him for 48 days. And so he is able to come in and assume that position. He is also aware of the fact that maybe he'll be a candidate to be the head coach at Clemson University. He says here on Tuesday morning. And this was back in 2008 on Tuesday morning of the week leading up to South Carolina game quote as I knew the thing was coming to an end that meeting his internship not knowing what was going to happen. Sweeney said he received an email devotional from which included a scriptural reference to Revelation 3:4. I know what you have done Sweeney said recalling the verse from memory and I have opened the door for you that no one can shut Sweeney said that when the same email showed up two days later. I just had a real piece about this whole thing you decided to share the verse with his players at a Thanksgiving service that morning. And later on he was hired as head coach back in 2008, but another man who met him and saw his commitment to Christ and living full-bore for the Lord indicated that this is what he saw. I have heard Dabo swinney's story and it's inspiring said pastor gray who experienced this he said he experienced personal pain and adverse family circumstances while growing up but came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that turned his life around his enthusiasm and energy are obvious. He will now have a tremendous platform through which he can honor Christ and what he does and how he lives.

Monday night after he won a national championship knocking off Alabama who's been the absolute best team in the last 10 years in college football. A microphone was stuck in his face. And if you watch that and I want to go out to watch the end of that interview because we're in an elder meeting Monday night. But the interview repeatedly he gave glory to the Lord and he said and I I remember listening to this when I got home. He said the only way this is possible that a guy like me could be experiencing what I do and what I've been able to do with God's help is because he orchestrated it he brought it about

But that God used him and that platform of his life because he wasn't running away from God's will he was seeking God's will in his life. Not a perfect man. No one is but it worked in his life to sell out to the Lord totally absolute and complete and is interesting in the scriptures that Athletics is used a great deal as an example and a challenge to us like an athlete has to be at his very best to compete with a very best in order to do that. You have to be very very discipline and the Christian Life is a challenge to us since we have Christ in our life. It is going to take that Reliance and that discipline to trust the Lord all of these things were in place as far as I'll go anywhere we want. I'll do anything you want me to do he committed to that. But when God asked him to do something that he was very uncomfortable to do. He said no way Jose. I'm out of here. And he went to tarshis didn't get their God gave him a second chance and next week. We'll we'll look at how God used him in ways far beyond we could ever imagine life is Christian. There's always a challenge and is always that tension that there is between selfishness and service between serving God with all of our heart and say whatever you want hands off. I'm going to trust you. You've got me in this position. I want to make this work for me that tensions always there even is a Christian and it's want to challenge all of us including me this morning. It's the best thing is to be 100% for the Lord. Holy discipline walking with him growing in that. Putting self aside to serve him in an inch of Our Lives God has a plan and how he wants to use us until he takes us to Eternity Don't Be Afraid Preston it spring father God. A lot of us think about what we want to accomplish in our life, what are goals and purposes and desires desires and seeking pleasure more than anything else, but John is a great example to all of us of how he missed the boat. He really did and having some incredible blessing. God doesn't call us to be a missionary hasn't called all of us to be pastors. Hasn't called all of us to various very Ministries. He's called us each. The bloom where you're planted to be what you call this to be. Perhaps are some here today that are struggling in the job. They're in or their position. They're in or their status in life and may be struggling with it. Help them just the Castor Care on you and Taylor. You got a plan for why I'm here. I don't want to be selfish. I want not to be like Jonah. I want to serve you. I want you to use my life the way you want to do it. Lord that somehow satisfying way to live absolutely and you bring blessing An ups and downs and difficulties you bring it to our life. So challenged us to the serve you not only is individual but as a church family that we desire not to be contented but be there where you want us to because they're so many hurting people that that we may be the love agent to those who need to know you and maybe there's some here this morning carrying a burden too big for them to carry. I don't know who they are, but you do and I lift them to you today. A touch from Heaven couragement to know that you love them that they can cry out to you that you'll answer your god of Grace. You're not a meaningless Idol your God who responds your God who is an answer and I just pray for folk here today may be struggling in some areas of their life. May they cry out to you. May they find strength in you? May they find a willingness to serve you we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.

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