New Perceptions

Song of Exiles: ‘Goin’ Home, Goin’ Home, I’M A Goi

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants:

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Series Code: NP

Program Code: NP190810A


00:10 Good morning, and happy Sabbath.
00:14 Is it not a blessing to be in the house of the Lord
00:16 this Sabbath morning?
00:18 I'd like to not only welcome you
00:20 but to welcome our pathfinders who are visiting.
00:23 If you see a pathfinder next to you,
00:25 put a hand upon them and say,
00:26 "Happy Sabbath and safe journey."
00:34 As we worship
00:35 our Father and King this morning,
00:37 I pray that we sing out to our Redeemer,
00:39 The One Who sustains,
00:41 The One Who loves,
00:42 And the One Who cares.
00:44 Please join us as we sing.
00:46 "I will sing of my Redeemer."
00:54 I will sing...
00:55 I will sing of my Redeemer
00:59 He who took the nails for me
01:03 I've been purchased
01:05 I've been pardoned Bound to Him
01:08 I'm truly free
01:11 I will sing of my Redeemer
01:15 How He sought me while a slave
01:19 Loosed me from the curse of sin
01:22 And from the power of the grave
01:27 I will sing of my Redeemer
01:31 Lift my voice to praise my Lord
01:35 Ransomed by His blood and mercy
01:38 I am His forevermore
01:48 I will sing
01:49 I will sing of my Redeemer
01:53 He who bore my cross, my curse
01:57 Came a servant, chose to suffer
02:01 Lifted up and cast from earth
02:05 I will sing of my Redeemer
02:09 Lift my voice to praise my Lord
02:13 Ransomed by His blood and mercy
02:17 I am His forevermore
02:26 I will sing
02:28 I will sing of my Redeemer
02:32 Tell about the grace I've known
02:36 Here on earth
02:37 With those forgiven
02:40 And one day around His throne
02:44 I will sing of my Redeemer
02:48 Lift my voice to praise my Lord
02:52 Ransomed by His blood and mercy
02:56 I am His forevermore
03:03 I am His forevermore
03:17 Amen.
03:19 And as we continue to worship, may our sounds,
03:22 may our words be a sweet sound unto His ears
03:27 and may they draw us closer to Him.
03:30 Amen.
03:32 Join us as we sing, "Come Thou fount."
03:38 Come, Thou fount
03:40 Of every blessing
03:43 Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
03:47 Streams of mercy, never ceasing
03:52 Call for songs
03:54 Of loudest praise
03:57 Teach me some melodious sonnet
04:02 Sung by flaming tongues above
04:07 Praise the mount
04:08 I'm fixed upon it
04:12 Mount of Thy redeeming love
04:22 Here I raise...
04:23 Here I raise my Ebenezer
04:28 Hither by Thy help I'm come
04:33 And I hope by Thy good pleasure
04:37 Safely to arrive at home
04:42 Jesus sought me when a stranger
04:47 Wandering from the fold of God
04:52 He to rescue me from danger
04:56 Interposed His precious blood
05:12 Oh, to grace how great a debtor
05:17 Daily I'm constrained to be
05:22 Let Thy grace Lord
05:24 Like a fetter
05:27 Bind my wandering heart to Thee
05:31 Prone to wander,
05:34 Lord, I feel it
05:36 Prone to leave the God I love
05:41 Here's my heart,
05:43 Lord, take and seal it
05:46 Seal it for Thy courts above
05:49 Prone to wander
05:50 Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
05:55 Prone to leave the God I love
06:00 Here's my heart
06:02 Lord, take and seal it
06:06 Seal it for Thy courts above
06:43 You were the Word...
06:45 You were the Word
06:47 At the beginning
06:51 One with God
06:53 The Lord Most High
06:58 Your hidden glory
07:00 Your hidden glory in creation
07:06 Now revealed in You Our Christ
07:12 What a beautiful Name it is
07:16 What a beautiful Name it is
07:19 The Name of
07:21 Jesus Christ my King
07:27 What a beautiful Name it is
07:31 Nothing compares to this
07:34 What a beautiful Name it is
07:38 The Name of Jesus
07:45 You didn't want heaven
07:47 Without us
07:50 So, Jesus
07:51 You brought heaven down
07:59 My sin was great
08:01 Your love was greater
08:04 What could separate us now
08:10 What a wonderful Name it is
08:14 What a wonderful Name it is
08:17 The Name of
08:19 Jesus Christ my King
08:24 What a wonderful Name it is
08:28 Nothing compares to this
08:31 What a wonderful Name it is
08:34 The Name of Jesus
08:41 And as we declare this bridge, I'm gonna ask you to stand,
08:44 I'm gonna ask you to stand
08:46 as we claim the words of this promise.
08:48 Please stand with me as we sing.
08:54 Death could not
08:55 Death could not hold You
08:58 The veil tore before You
09:02 You silence
09:03 The boast of sin and grave
09:08 The heavens are roaring
09:12 the praise of Your glory
09:15 For You are raised
09:18 To life again
09:21 You have no rival
09:25 You have no equal
09:28 Now and forever
09:31 God You reign
09:34 Yours is the Kingdom
09:38 Yours is the glory
09:41 Yours is the Name
09:43 Above all names
09:47 What a powerful Name it is
09:50 What a powerful Name it is
09:53 The Name of
09:55 Jesus Christ my King
10:00 What a powerful Name it is
10:03 Nothing can stand against
10:06 What a powerful Name it is
10:09 The Name of Jesus
10:13 Death could not hold You
10:16 The veil tore before You
10:19 You silence
10:21 The boast of sin and grave
10:26 The heavens are roaring
10:29 The praise of Your glory
10:32 For You are raised
10:35 To life again
10:38 You have no rival
10:42 You have no equal
10:45 Now and forever
10:48 God you reign
10:51 Yours is the kingdom
10:54 Yours is the glory
10:57 Yours is the Name
11:00 Above all names
11:04 What a powerful Name it is
11:07 What a powerful Name it is
11:10 The Name
11:12 Of Jesus Christ my King
11:17 What a powerful Name it is
11:21 Nothing can stand against
11:24 What a powerful Name it is
11:27 The Name of Jesus
11:39 Good morning, boys and girls. How are you?
11:41 Nice to have you here today.
11:43 Glad you've come.
11:45 This is the last summer.
11:46 Last Sabbath of the summer vacation, so...
11:49 A bunch of little friends are away today,
11:52 but we have a whole new houseful of visitors.
11:55 Anybody here from...
11:57 Anybody here going to Oshkosh?
11:59 Anybody here? Oh, good!
12:01 I think this is a Pathfinder children's story.
12:06 Yeah.
12:09 Oh, good for you.
12:11 You're gonna have a wonderful time,
12:12 I tell you, I know the team
12:14 that's been preparing for you for five years.
12:16 And they have been really working hard lately.
12:19 They're so excited about you coming.
12:20 Safe travels to you.
12:22 But here's a story
12:23 from my friend Melchizedek Ponniah.
12:25 He was born in India, he live here now.
12:26 He's one of our communication specialists
12:29 here in Andrew's and at Pioneer.
12:31 But he spotted this story just last week.
12:33 It's about a little boy, three years old.
12:35 Anybody here, three?
12:37 No, you're all older than three.
12:39 Woke up one morning with a toothache.
12:40 Have you ever had a toothache?
12:42 Ooh.
12:43 He just put his hand to his...
12:44 Oh, I didn't feel good.
12:46 So Mommy and Daddy took little three-year-old
12:50 Sameer into the hospital.
12:53 They wondered...
12:54 The doctors came near him
12:56 and he was so shy and afraid at three
12:58 that he wouldn't let them touch him.
12:59 "No, no, no, no, no!
13:01 I'm not gonna open my mouth. I'm not gonna open my mouth.
13:02 I'm not gonna do it."
13:04 All right, the doctor said,
13:05 "Well, you have to take your boy home.
13:06 If it gets worse, let us know."
13:08 Four years later, that would be just last week,
13:10 four years later, he's seven years old now,
13:12 and it really is hurting him, it's hurting him.
13:15 His jaw is just... Oh!
13:18 Have you ever had a toothache?
13:19 I'm so glad you haven't.
13:21 You don't want to have one.
13:22 It just hurt.
13:23 And the doctor said,
13:25 "All right now, we're look inside.
13:26 Will that be okay if we just look inside?"
13:27 Ah!
13:29 His mouth went open, and they looked.
13:30 "Mmm."
13:32 And when the doctor says, "Mmm," you better watch out.
13:36 Mmm.
13:37 He said, "Hey, come over here, come over here."
13:39 So he called another one of his associates.
13:41 She came over to the doctor, she said, "Hmm,
13:45 boy, I tell you, this here,
13:47 we're gonna have to do surgery."
13:49 So they went in.
13:50 And for five hours, they were in surgery.
13:53 That's a long time to have a surgery.
13:55 Five hours.
13:56 Finally, the boy groggy after surgery, he woke up,
14:02 "What happened? Where am I?
14:04 What happened?"
14:05 They said, "Oh, Sameer, you're doing fine.
14:08 You're gonna do fine.
14:10 We'll tell you about it in just a moment."
14:11 And even though Sameer was fine,
14:13 it took a couple hours for him just to wake back up.
14:15 But when he waked back up, when he woke up,
14:18 here is what they said, "We found a little bag
14:22 inside your mouth right here by the jaw,
14:25 weighed about a half a pound.
14:28 That's a lot of bag to have in your mouth.
14:30 It weighed about half a pound.
14:32 So we took the bad out and we put it on a table
14:36 and we cut that bag open
14:38 and we found 526 extra teeth
14:44 in your mouth."
14:46 "Extra teeth!
14:48 Oh, my goodness. Is this true?
14:49 Pastor, did you make that up?
14:50 Come on, let's put an x-ray on the screen
14:52 of that young boy's mouth.
14:53 That's what happens
14:54 when you don't brush your teeth, boys and girls.
14:56 That's what happens.
14:57 I'm telling you.
14:59 You got to obey Mommy, obey Daddy.
15:03 Look at all those teeth.
15:04 And that's just the start of it
15:06 because they found the bag down deep
15:08 where those little teeth were waiting.
15:11 They got them all out.
15:13 I mean, wouldn't you be smiling
15:14 if they did something that wonderful for you?
15:16 Took away something you didn't want
15:18 and made you feel good again?
15:21 You think Sameer isn't telling everybody
15:23 what happened to him?
15:24 He's telling everybody
15:26 because when good news happens to you,
15:27 that's what you do.
15:29 And when Jesus is you best friend
15:30 and he's taking something away,
15:32 "Oh, I didn't want that naughtiness in my heart.
15:34 Oh, I didn't want that naughtiness in my mind."
15:37 When Jesus takes it away,
15:38 He says, I'll be your Friend and Savior."
15:41 It doesn't get any better than that, boys and girls.
15:44 Hey listen, a lot of your hands went up,
15:46 which means you're not from around here.
15:47 Do you have anybody that lives next door to you
15:49 where you live?
15:51 Anybody that lives nearby you?
15:52 You have any young friends about your age?
15:54 If you have little young friends
15:56 about your age, you need to be...
15:58 please tell them about the good news
16:00 about your forever dearest Friend Jesus.
16:03 You just tell.
16:05 That's not hard to do.
16:06 We're doing that around here.
16:08 In fact, in three weeks,
16:09 we're gonna bring our friends to church.
16:10 You know the people that live next door,
16:12 little girls and boys that live next door and say,
16:13 "Hey, you got to come to our new church.
16:14 We got it all spiff and spanned up.
16:17 You got to come."
16:18 And we're gonna invite them, three weeks from today.
16:21 And you can invite them where you live.
16:23 Just say, "Hey, come to church.
16:25 I have a wonderful friend named Jesus.
16:28 And I want you to meet Him."
16:29 How many want to do that?
16:31 How many want to just say,
16:32 "Listen, I'm not gonna be embarrassed
16:33 about being a pathfinder and being a friend of Jesus.
16:35 Let me see the hands of those who are not embarrassed
16:37 about being a pathfinder or a friend of Jesus.
16:41 Yup.
16:43 That's all of us.
16:44 Let's just thank Jesus.
16:45 Let's thank Jesus for being that kind of good news Friend
16:48 that we can tell our friends about.
16:49 Come on, where is that microphone?
16:50 Here it is. Thank you, Uncle Ned.
16:52 Who would like... Thank you.
16:53 Who would like to thank Jesus for us today
16:57 and just say, "Thank you, Jesus.
16:58 Thank you for being our Friend?"
17:02 Well, since all the regulars have gone
17:03 and all the visitors are here...
17:07 I'm not gonna pick on anybody.
17:09 But would any of you
17:10 like to say prayer and thank Jesus?
17:12 'Cause all our kids are used to doing this.
17:15 You know what I'm gonna do?
17:17 Will it be okay if I pray for you?
17:19 Yeah. Let me pray for you.
17:21 Was there a hand up. Sissy, come on here.
17:23 Bless your heart.
17:24 All right. What's your name?
17:26 Zianna. Pardon me?
17:28 Zianna. Zianna.
17:29 Let's bow our heads as Zianna thanks Jesus
17:32 for being the good news best Friend we have.
17:36 "Thank you, Jesus, for helping us
17:39 and please make sure everybody is okay
17:43 and help us all to be friends.
17:48 And thank you, Jesus.
17:50 Amen." Amen.
17:51 Zianna, that was a beautiful prayer.
17:53 As you all go quietly back to your seats,
17:55 watch your step going down those stairs
17:58 and have a blessed time in Oshkash
18:01 or wherever you spend this next week.
18:03 Happy Sabbath to you.
19:20 I'm a pilgrim
19:23 And I'm a stranger
19:29 I can tarry
19:33 I can tarry but a night
19:40 Do not detain me
19:45 For I am going
19:51 To where the fountains
19:56 Are ever flowing
20:05 There the glory
20:08 Is ever shining
20:15 Oh, my longing
20:19 Heart is there
20:28 Here in this country
20:32 So dark and dreary
20:37 I long have wandered
20:45 Forlorn and weary
20:59 There's the city
21:02 To which I journey
21:07 My Redeemer
21:12 Is its light
21:19 There is no sorrow
21:24 Nor any sighing
21:29 Nor any tears
21:36 Nor any dying
21:45 I'm a pilgrim
21:49 And I'm a stranger
22:12 Thank you, friends. Bless you.
22:15 Thank you, Megan and Josh and Kenneth,
22:19 the keyboard, our minster of music Ken Logan.
22:22 Takes a month off every summer
22:24 to go up to the beautiful climbs of British Columbia.
22:30 He spends time outdoors
22:33 just kind of musing and brooding
22:36 and just wrote this three, four weeks ago.
22:40 And so Josh and Megan singing those words, "
22:43 I am a pilgrim, I'm a stranger."
22:47 We all are.
22:49 But here we are from all over the world,
22:51 met a club from Hong Kong halfway around the world.
22:55 So you're here
22:57 and we're delighted to have you in the seminary chapel,
22:59 at the youth chapel as well.
23:01 I want to pray with you
23:02 and then plunge into our teaching today.
23:04 Father, thank you for this fellowship.
23:06 What a fellowship, what a joy divine.
23:08 We're all pilgrims,
23:09 we're exiles, we're strangers here.
23:12 This was never to have been quite like this
23:14 but here we are, give us hope, give courage,
23:17 give us joy today, in Jesus' name.
23:20 Amen.
23:21 Because you see, I'm saying joy
23:23 because I have great news for you this morning.
23:25 In two weeks, the exiles are going home.
23:27 Can I have an amen for that?
23:29 Amen. In two weeks...
23:30 That doesn't sound very good to me.
23:32 In two weeks, the exiles are going home.
23:33 Can I have an amen for that?
23:35 Amen!
23:36 Amen.
23:37 You know what?
23:39 It's hard to believe
23:40 this beautiful performing arts
23:43 centre
23:47 has been our home for these weeks,
23:49 but in our hearts,
23:51 there's a little something that says, "We got to get back,
23:52 we got to get back."
23:54 And I can hardly wait for you to see
23:55 'cause some of you have not been keeping up on it.
23:57 Wait for you to see that home that's waiting for you.
24:00 Although I have to tell you this...
24:01 And by the way,
24:02 we need to be sure and thank our president
24:04 who will be here with us next Sabbath,
24:07 how grateful we are for Andrew's University's
24:09 kindness in providing this space at no charge.
24:14 But I'm gonna miss this place to be honest with you
24:17 because of the communication that happens here.
24:19 I call it kind of up close and personal.
24:22 That's a euphemism for up close and in your face.
24:26 And I just love being able to preach that way,
24:28 and I'm gonna miss that
24:29 because there will be a few extra feet
24:30 between us and that front row.
24:32 But it's gonna be beautiful,
24:34 the time has come and God has been good.
24:37 You know what?
24:38 It's time for the exiles to go home.
24:40 And speaking about the civilization,
24:42 look at the civilization.
24:44 Can you believe what happened in the last seven days?
24:46 What is it? Three, four, or five?
24:47 They're not quite sure now.
24:49 How do you define a mass killing
24:51 in the United States?
24:52 But whatever it is,
24:53 we've had three, four, or five of them
24:55 in the last seven days.
24:57 That old hymn,
24:58 "Lift up the trumpet and loud, let it ring."
25:00 Remember that hymn?
25:01 "Nations are angry.
25:02 By this we do know, Jesus is coming again."
25:04 Amen. You know what, folks?
25:06 I believe Jesus is coming soon.
25:08 Now I know that there are people
25:10 in this circle right now
25:11 who are a little bit uncomfortable with that kind
25:13 of, "You know, I don't want to say that
25:14 Jesus is coming soon
25:15 because I might set somebody up for disappointment.
25:20 Get their hopes up." Do you know what?
25:21 After all the bad news,
25:23 it is high time we get our hopes up, up again.
25:27 Jesus is coming again.
25:29 And we have some very, very good news
25:31 to tell to the world.
25:32 That's why God invented Exiles
25:34 so that He could get the Word out.
25:36 We've come to our last Exile today.
25:39 You know what?
25:40 We've read this story so many times,
25:42 we had no idea that this person is an Exile but he is.
25:45 Put it on the screen, please, the last piece,
25:47 "Song of Exiles: Going home, Going home, I'm a Going Home"
25:53 You say, how so you know he's an Exile?
25:55 Well, let me remind you the definition of an Exile.
25:57 What's an Exile?
25:58 Someone who has been forcefully removed
26:00 from his or her home and homeland,
26:03 which is a perfect descriptor
26:04 for the last exile in our series,
26:07 who happens to be the very first exile
26:09 in all the Bible.
26:11 The very first.
26:13 We're talking about the young Joseph.
26:15 Ever heard of Joseph?
26:17 Perfect illustration of someone who's been forcefully removed
26:20 from his home and homeland.
26:23 Joseph, everybody loves the story of Joseph.
26:26 I got to put that picture on the screen.
26:27 I grew up with this picture of Joseph.
26:28 There he is. I just love that picture.
26:30 That is no filled with emotion for a kid who grew up in Japan
26:33 and had to leave home at the age of 14
26:35 and never came home again.
26:37 I can identify with this picture.
26:38 He's 17 right there, and he's looking back
26:41 at his father's tents
26:43 and saying, "I'm never gonna see him again.
26:45 I'm never gonna see them again."
26:47 That's an exile for you.
26:49 Yup, that's an exile.
26:52 Joseph, well, we know the story of Joseph...
26:54 In fact, we did a five part series here
26:56 once upon a time called, "Joseph
26:57 and the amazing technicolor dream coach."
27:00 Remember that?
27:02 You can go to our website,
27:03 flip it up a little later in the...
27:06 in our time together,
27:07 and you can just binge watch that.
27:10 It's one of the greatest stories
27:11 in human literature.
27:12 We're talking about the...
27:14 This is the Joseph who had the coat of many colors,
27:16 produced by his doting and aging father,
27:19 "Big mistake, Dad, to single out
27:20 one of your boys and say."
27:22 This is my favorite."
27:23 You just don't want to do that.
27:24 You don't want to do it as a parent.
27:26 You don't want to do it ever as a teacher.
27:27 You don't want to do it as a Pathfinder club leader.
27:29 You don't single kids out
27:30 and say, "This is my favorite one."
27:32 Now she may be performing in a way that makes you happy,
27:35 just honor that quietly.
27:37 That's all you have to do because it created,
27:39 obviously, intense jealousy
27:42 on the part of his step brothers.
27:45 And they're the ones that took that boy
27:47 and saw some pagan slave traders riding
27:49 by on their camels and said, "Yo, we got a deal for you.
27:52 How much will you give us? 30 pieces of silver?
27:54 We'll take it."
27:55 The story of Joseph
27:57 is the story of Jesus writ large.
27:59 The details are just stunning,
28:01 the parallels between Joseph and Jesus.
28:04 He is the Jesus of the Old Testament.
28:06 He's taken, you saw the picture of Harry Anderson.
28:08 He ends up on the salve block in Egypt.
28:10 A general named Potiphar says, "I'll take that boy.
28:12 He looks strong and healthy.
28:14 He'll come be my slave."
28:15 He became his slave
28:16 and he soar to the top of slave hood
28:19 in Potiphar's house, yup.
28:22 Unsuccessful Mrs. Potiphar
28:23 was in trying to seduce that boy,
28:26 he ends up throw
28:27 in a subterranean dungeon to rot,
28:29 "We'll never see you again."
28:31 But what does he do there?
28:32 He rises back up like a good pathfinder.
28:34 He just rises back up to the top again.
28:39 And somewhere along the way,
28:40 it becomes clear that this boy can interpret dreams.
28:43 And that mighty king named Pharaoh
28:46 hears about the boy.
28:48 And when the boy warns him,
28:49 that ominous dream you've had is bad news for the world.
28:54 "Pharaoh says, "We've got nobody like this Pathfinder,
28:57 let's take him."
28:59 And they took the exile, and they elevated him,
29:04 talking about a meteoric rise, elevator to the top.
29:09 Power, prestige, prominence, he had it all.
29:12 But you know what,
29:14 that's what God does with exiles.
29:15 You remember Daniel?
29:17 We've been to Daniel already this summer.
29:18 You remember Ester?
29:20 We've been to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
29:21 How about Nehemiah?
29:22 When God invents an exile, what God wants to do is move
29:26 that exile into circles he would never be in otherwise,
29:30 and sometimes it's the three Ps,
29:33 position, power, and prominence.
29:35 Makes me look at you and wonder,
29:37 I wonder what God is gonna do in your life.
29:39 I wonder what dream Jesus has for you?
29:42 You're just a young Pathfinder, are you?
29:44 You're an aged citizen?
29:46 Senior citizen they call you?
29:47 Are you kidding?
29:49 Moses is 80 years old when the dream comes true.
29:51 Don't you ever give up God.
29:52 He will never give up on you.
29:54 You can't give up on Him.
29:56 You cannot.
29:58 Well, we know the story of Joseph?
29:59 He goes... takes that elevator to the top.
30:04 He's become the prime minister of Egypt.
30:06 Along the way, he gets to marry the daughter of the numero uno
30:12 religious leader in the entire empire,
30:15 the high priest's daughter.
30:16 Oh, my!
30:18 What a deal.
30:20 Yup, that's the story of Joseph.
30:23 And then that...
30:24 Seven years of plenty, but then those ominous years of dry,
30:29 dusty famine and they show up,
30:32 Joseph's step brothers
30:34 who betrayed him as dead to daddy.
30:36 They show up, all of them.
30:38 And they bow down at the feet of the keeper of the grain
30:41 who happens to be the prime minister,
30:42 who happens to be their betrayed brother.
30:45 Twice they come to Egypt.
30:46 Joseph is testing them every single time.
30:49 He's got to find out
30:50 has there been any change in these boys.
30:52 And when he insists that they bring the youngest
30:55 of the litter, Benjamin, "You bring Benjamin,
30:59 and I'll believe you."
31:01 Over the protest of daddy.
31:05 Joseph realizes the men have changed.
31:10 They are not the same brothers I once knew.
31:12 And so we come to this precious...
31:15 this kind of...
31:16 The music is louder
31:19 as the scene cuts to Genesis 45.
31:21 This is great heart of the story of Joseph.
31:25 As I say one of the great stories
31:26 of all literature, certainly sacred literature.
31:28 I want you to come to the moment
31:30 when he discloses who he is.
31:31 All right, so Genesis 45, please.
31:33 Genesis 45.
31:34 I put the NIV on the screen for you.
31:36 "Then Joseph could no longer control himself
31:40 before all his attendants and he cried out,
31:42 'Have one leave my presence!'
31:43 That means all the Egyptians in the room.
31:45 "So there was no one with Joseph,
31:47 when he made himself known to his brothers."
31:49 Watch this, verse 3,
31:51 "Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph!
31:55 Is my father still living?
31:58 But the brothers were not able to answer him,"
32:00 because all they could do was...
32:06 nothing came out.
32:13 "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
32:16 And now..."
32:17 Listen, listen, "Do not be distressed
32:19 and do not be angry with your selves
32:20 for selling me here because it was to save lives
32:22 that God sent me ahead of you.
32:24 For two..."
32:25 Keep reading, "For two years now
32:27 there's been a famine in the land.
32:28 And for the next five years,
32:30 there's not gonna be any plowing and reaping.
32:31 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you
32:35 a remnant on earth and to save your lives
32:38 by a great deliverance."
32:41 Man, that's exactly.
32:44 Exile, Joe, you could not have gotten that more clearly.
32:49 That is the precise purpose that God invents exiles.
32:54 Put that line on the screen, please.
32:55 Let's see it again."
32:57 It was to save lives
32:58 that God turned me into an exile,
33:00 to preserve a remnant on earth."
33:03 The very reason you and I are exiles right now,
33:06 there is somebody on this planet
33:08 that you are perfectly positioned
33:10 to reach for the kingdom of heaven.
33:13 Just like Joseph.
33:14 Wow!
33:16 So he spoke to the very first exile,
33:18 "So he must live the last exiles
33:20 in the long anguish history of earth."
33:22 Now here's a question.
33:23 Yeah, but did God really accomplish
33:25 his mission for Joseph?
33:26 Did he save people?
33:28 Did he reach people for the kingdom of heaven?
33:30 I got five fingers to prove it.
33:33 Finger number one.
33:34 These will be all Joseph's bosses.
33:35 You think about them, first's there's Potiphar.
33:37 These are people that Joseph reached for God.
33:39 Potiphar, then the prison warden,
33:41 and then the mighty Pharaoh himself.
33:42 So that's finger number one.
33:45 Finger number two, Joseph's associates,
33:47 all the people in Potiphar's house,
33:49 all the people in the prison subterranean dungeon,
33:51 all the courtiers in the king's court,
33:54 Joseph reached, touched them all for God.
33:57 How about category number three?
33:59 Joseph's wife.
34:00 That pretty little girl that he married,
34:01 she's the daughter, remember,
34:03 of the high priest, the highest.
34:06 So he not only influences her, but he influences her daddy,
34:09 he influences her mommy,
34:11 he influences the entire family tree.
34:13 Finger number four,
34:14 the citizens of the empire of Egypt
34:17 who now come to the keeper of the grain himself.
34:20 And plead, "Help us.
34:22 Stop this famine, don't let us starve."
34:25 Oh, my.
34:27 Is he having influence with the human race?
34:29 And number five, come on, on one more finger left,
34:32 the dignitaries from nations all over around Egypt
34:35 who are desperate to find food.
34:37 They too come to Joseph.
34:39 Do you understand that
34:40 when God gets a hold of an exile,
34:41 who's willing to be gotten a hold of as you are,
34:44 he can move you anywhere on earth.
34:46 You have no idea where you're gonna end up.
34:49 And remember, your age doesn't matter.
34:52 He'll move you when He needs you.
34:55 Oh, my, wow.
35:00 No wonder God invented exiles.
35:02 All for the sake of them sharing their contagious faith
35:06 with those who do not yet believe.
35:08 Sounds a lot like your mission and mine, doesn't it?
35:10 So I'm doing some reading over the summer,
35:12 I'm studying up on Generation Z.
35:14 And by the way, we just got infused
35:15 with a lot of Generation Z,
35:17 and it's not even school time yet
35:18 because Generation Z is anybody born between 1996 and 2005.
35:22 So that's the dominant group of our mission field here
35:26 at Andrew's University for every professor,
35:29 every staff member.
35:31 We'll talk much more about that next week
35:33 'cause I want to share some fascinating discoveries
35:35 about Generation Z.
35:36 Next week when we have the big faculty staff
35:38 dedication service, before the students arrive,
35:41 our last time in the X pack.
35:44 But I was doing some reading this summer,
35:46 I'm reading a James Emery White's book,
35:47 "Meet Generation Z."
35:50 And he tells about George Barna,
35:51 the evangelical researcher and demographer
35:53 who has studies Generation Z.
35:56 And you got to see this
35:57 because it is huge corroboration
36:00 for our bring a friend to church event.
36:05 It comes on August 31.
36:07 I want you to see. Let's put it on the screen.
36:08 James Emery White in his book meets the Generation Z,
36:11 "According..."
36:12 He reports to us,
36:14 "According to the research of the Barna Group,
36:15 the unchurched continue to be the most open,"
36:19 watch this, "Most open to the..."
36:21 And here's a direct quote from the survey,
36:23 "A friend of yours inviting you to attend a local church."
36:26 Who's most open to that?
36:28 Unchurched people are most open to your invitation.
36:30 "With one-fifth of the unchurched
36:33 expressing strong interest..."
36:35 In that little statement,
36:36 "And nearly a half willing to consider a church
36:39 based on this factor."
36:40 Can you believe that?
36:42 Bring a friend to church.
36:44 That is the most successful method
36:45 you can use to reach unchurched.
36:49 But he goes on. Now he's quoting Barna.
36:50 He's quoting George Barna,
36:52 "It's the top-rated way churches
36:55 can establish connections with the unchurched."
36:58 Oh, and by the way, Barna is still talking,
37:00 "With Generation Z,
37:01 this approach can be especially effective
37:04 with 28 percent
37:06 Of Generation Zers placing emphasis
37:08 on their personal relationships
37:10 compared to millennials at 20 percent."
37:12 So this group is even more than millennials
37:14 saying relationships are big to us.
37:17 And what is this little series that we're gonna have
37:19 and we're bringing friends to church for?
37:21 What's the title of it again? What is it?
37:22 Roommates, Bad Dates, and Soul Mates.
37:26 And what's the theme?
37:27 It's all about what every human heart
37:30 on the planet from Hong Kong to Singapore
37:33 to Africa to America,
37:35 every human being on the planet has a longing to accentuate,
37:40 to grow, to better their relationships.
37:44 That what we're gonna do?
37:47 The most effective way George Barna is telling us
37:49 to reach out to secular people
37:51 and say, "Hey, come to church with me."
37:54 "Hey, we've got a new church.
37:56 We're so excited.
37:57 Can you come? Can you come?"
37:59 And by the way, you can do this anywhere on the planet.
38:01 You don't have to have a redone church.
38:03 You just say, "Come to church with me."
38:06 Roommates, Bad Dates, and Soul Mates,
38:08 doesn't matter your age, it doesn't matter
38:09 whether you're married or single.
38:11 That doesn't matter at all.
38:13 This series is for everyone.
38:15 Now I know what you're saying.
38:20 Are you sure?
38:21 I mean, are you really sure?
38:23 Hey, did you read the blog?
38:24 My blog for today?
38:26 Let's put that website up please newpreceptions.tv/blog
38:29 and you can read this blog
38:31 anywhere in the world if you wish.
38:32 But the blog for today,
38:34 I read a piece by Kim Johnson, the writer.
38:36 inspectormagazine.com or .org rather.
38:40 And he's talking about a fascinating subject.
38:43 He's making a defense for Christ-like love
38:46 for friendship making as the most effective strategy
38:49 of all for reaching people for Jesus.
38:53 I want you to read that blog.
38:55 Just go there, it'll pop up
38:56 and then you can read it for yourself.
38:58 Three weeks from today,
39:01 we are having our bring a friend
39:03 to our brand newly
39:05 renovated church day, August 31.
39:10 I invite you to take advantage of it.
39:11 You say, "I don't know what I'm gonna say."
39:13 Okay, at the very end of my blog,
39:15 I have this little sample.
39:17 You can do this.
39:18 Trust me you can do this with your eyes blindfolded.
39:20 Put it on the screen, please.
39:22 Here's a sample invitation.
39:23 You say, "Hey, yo, we're pretty excited
39:25 about the summer-long renovation
39:26 of our Pioneer church."
39:28 And they're gonna say, "Yeah, what'd you do?"
39:29 "Well that's number one, we had replace the roof.
39:31 That was a huge project.
39:32 You ought to see it inside though."
39:33 So you can shoot off this at any point you wish.
39:35 "But we're pretty excited
39:36 about the summer-long renovation
39:38 of our Pioneer church.
39:39 We're celebrating the new season
39:40 with a new series of presentations
39:42 of our pastor's having."
39:43 "Oh, yeah? What are they about?"
39:44 "Well, they're all about growing
39:46 the most important relationship in our lives.
39:47 It's called, "Roommates, Bad Dates, and Soul Mates."
39:50 "You serious!
39:51 "Yeah, here's a card and this is the key."
39:53 Here's a card.
39:54 So when you came in today,
39:55 you should have received a bunch of these cards.
39:57 You didn't get a card, then you got left out.
39:58 Make sure that when you leave, you get this card
40:01 because you're gonna hand this card.
40:02 You just say, "Hey, here's a card.
40:03 It tells all about it."
40:05 They take the card, they read it,
40:06 and then you say, "Oh, by the way,
40:07 I'd be glad to pick you up
40:09 by Saturday morning, August 31."
40:10 That's it.
40:11 Is that rocket science?
40:13 No.
40:14 If it's a person who you are going with,
40:16 they live next door.
40:17 It's a piece of cake.
40:18 Karen and I are already putting,
40:20 we got our separate lists,
40:21 we put it together because they're people we know.
40:22 We are on a friendly basis with them.
40:24 We say, "Hey listen, come on, come on.
40:25 Here's a card, take a look at this.
40:27 Look I'll come and pick you up, August 31."
40:29 You can do it, we can all do it.
40:31 That's what exiles do.
40:33 They live out their faith in their Lord and God.
40:34 That's what Joseph did.
40:37 And by the way, let's fast forward now
40:38 to the end of the story.
40:40 It's a sad ending because there are two death bed scenes.
40:42 And we're gonna go to them both.
40:44 Let's go to first the father's death bed.
40:48 Seventeen years was all Jacob had of Joseph,
40:53 but God is good,
40:54 and when Jacob comes to Egypt,
40:56 God says, "I'm gonna give you 17 more years
40:58 with that boy of yours."
40:59 Ain't God good?
41:01 But all good things must come to an end.
41:02 Now I want to go to the death bed of Jacob.
41:04 So okay, turn your page to 45, go to chapter, what is it, 49.
41:10 This is fascinating.
41:11 Watch this, Genesis 49:29, "Then Jacob gave them..."
41:15 These are all his boys now standing in his bedroom,
41:18 "Gave them these instructions:
41:19 'I am about to be gathered to my people.
41:23 Bury me with my fathers in the cave
41:26 in the field of Ephron the Hittite,'"
41:28 It's back in the Promised Land.
41:30 "The cave in the field of Machpelah,
41:31 near Mamre in Canaan,
41:33 which Abraham brought along with the field
41:36 as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite."
41:38 Therefore Jacob still talking, boys, I want you to remember,
41:41 "Abraham and his wife were buried,
41:44 there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried,
41:47 and there I buried Leah.
41:49 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites."
41:51 It's our land.
41:53 "And when Jacob had finished
41:54 giving instructions to his sons,
41:56 he drew his feet up off the floor and into the bed
41:58 and he breathed his last
42:00 and was gathered to his people."
42:02 To attend the moment,
42:03 it's a death bed last will and testament.
42:08 "Bury me, bury me back in the Promise Land."
42:10 But you know what's so challenging?
42:13 I mean, you think about it.
42:15 The only piece of real estate the exiles own
42:18 in a Promised Land is a graveyard.
42:20 That's all they have.
42:22 They are exiles in Egypt.
42:23 "We have nowhere back there, but there is a graveyard.
42:26 And would you please bury me there?"
42:29 Oh, my!
42:31 Wow.
42:33 That's the death scene of Father Jacob.
42:34 Now let's go to the death scene of Joseph.
42:36 Wrapping it up right here, death scene of Joseph,
42:39 go to chapter 50,
42:40 the last words of the book of Genesis.
42:43 Here we go on verse 22, "And Joseph stayed in Egypt,
42:45 along with all his father's family.
42:47 He lived 110 years and he saw the third generation
42:51 of his boy Ephraim's children.
42:53 And he saw the children of Makir,
42:55 the son of his other boy Manasseh,
42:57 they were placed at birth on Joseph's knees."
42:59 Because when we put a baby on the knees
43:01 of a great grandfather,
43:03 you're saying, "Great grandpa, your DNA, you claim these,
43:06 these are you children,"
43:10 when you put that child on the knees
43:13 of the great grandpa.
43:14 "Then..."
43:16 verse 24 "Joseph said to his brothers,
43:18 'I'm about to die.
43:19 But God will surely come to your aid
43:21 and take you up out of this lands
43:23 to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.'
43:28 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath
43:31 and said, 'God will surely come to your aid
43:33 and then you must carry my...'" What?
43:35 You must carry my what?
43:37 "You must carry my bones."
43:39 You got to carry them back to the Promised Land.
43:42 And so Joseph died, final verse 26,
43:44 "At the age of 110, and after they embalmed him,
43:49 he was placed in the coffin in Egypt."
43:55 Note carefully, he is not placed in a grave,
43:58 he is placed in a coffin,
43:59 and it's a movable coffin as all coffins are.
44:02 Why Joseph?
44:04 Because I want you to bury me
44:05 in the only piece of real estate we own
44:06 in the Promised Land, the family graveyard.
44:08 You bury my bones there, do you understand?
44:10 "We swear it, we will do it."
44:14 Something is going on here, folks.
44:17 This isn't just a little death bed scene.
44:19 The writer of Genesis whom I happen to believe
44:21 is Moses is making a huge point for his readers.
44:27 This isn't just about a graveyard
44:30 in the Promised Land.
44:31 It's about the Promised Land one day without a graveyard.
44:35 Amen.
44:36 A Promised Land with zero, nada, no graveyard.
44:41 That's what it is about.
44:42 Zondervan, my friend, in his Magnum Opus says,
44:45 his commentary in the book of Genesis,
44:48 I learnt this from him, I never heard this before.
44:51 Let me run it by you.
44:52 Isn't it something?
44:54 Jacob, okay, so we have Father Jacob right here,
44:55 Jacob ends in a grave with no coffin, right?
45:01 Joseph, his boy,
45:03 ends in a coffin with no grave.
45:09 What's going on here?
45:11 There's something trying to be said,
45:12 there's something we are supposed to be hearing
45:14 because as it turns out, the book of Genesis ends
45:17 the very same way the Pentateuch ends.
45:21 The book of Deuteronomy, both heroes die.
45:24 Joseph dies in Genesis, Moses dies in Deuteronomy.
45:29 Both heroes die, but for both of them,
45:32 it is death without a grave.
45:37 Hmm.
45:38 Why?
45:40 Because there is embedded in these endings
45:41 the promise of another Promised Land,
45:43 that's why.
45:44 There is the embedded in these endings
45:46 the promise of a Promised Land one day
45:47 in which they will never,
45:48 ever, ever, ever, ever be a graveyard.
45:51 What do you say? Amen.
45:52 Not a graveyard in the Promised Land
45:54 that God's promising.
45:57 Look at Hebrews 11:22.
45:59 This is the Bible hall of faith chapter,
46:02 it's amazing to me.
46:03 They could have picked anyone
46:04 of the great moments in Joseph's life.
46:06 They don't pick any of them, they skip over them all,
46:07 here's Joseph's little corner in the hall of fame.
46:10 Put it on the screen please.
46:12 Hebrews 11:22, there he is, "By faith Joseph,
46:17 when his end was near,
46:18 spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt
46:22 and gave instructions
46:24 concerning the burial of his bones."
46:26 Come on, why are we talking about bones?
46:28 What's so by faith about that?
46:31 What so by faith about picking a place
46:33 where want your bones to be buried
46:34 if you're never coming up again?
46:36 Why would you care where your bones are buried?
46:38 Unless you believe by faith.
46:41 You'll be coming up again, you'll be coming up again.
46:45 And when you come up,
46:46 it will be a Promised Land with no graveyard in it.
46:50 Hallelujah.
46:51 That's what's going on.
46:55 Moses, before he dies is embedding this
47:00 in the psyche of every reader.
47:04 There's another Promised Land, what is it saying?
47:06 Hebrews 11, "They look for a city
47:08 whose builder and maker is God."
47:09 It's not the one you're living in.
47:12 They are looking for another Promised Land.
47:15 How can that be?
47:17 I'll tell you how, because if you could...
47:18 Listen, if you could find the Cave of Machpelah today,
47:21 any archaeologist here?
47:22 If you could find the Cave of Machpelah today,
47:25 that graveyard of saints still bares
47:27 the dusty DNA of Abraham and Sara,
47:30 of Isaac and Rebecca, of Jacob and Leah, and Joseph.
47:34 Dusty DNA is there,
47:36 but there is another grave outside the ancient Jerusalem,
47:41 where also a Jew without a coffin was buried.
47:47 But for you to go to that grave today,
47:49 you would not find a scintilla of dusty DNA
47:53 belonging to Jesus of Nazareth.
47:54 Do you know why?
47:56 Because He is not here.
47:58 He is risen.
48:00 He is risen.
48:06 That's the point.
48:09 And because He lives, this crucified, buried, risen,
48:12 ascendant, and soon coming Savior.
48:15 Because He lives, we shall live also.
48:18 Hallelujah. Amen.
48:20 Yeah, that's the hope. That's the hope.
48:22 Going home, going home,
48:26 I'm going home.
48:29 Antonin Dvorak composed the great New World Symphony,
48:34 whose Largo has become globally renowned.
48:36 You know the Largo.
48:39 Goin' home, goin' home
48:42 I'm just goin' home
48:46 Goin' home, goin' home
48:50 I'm just goin' home
48:52 The whole world loves the Largo.
48:54 But you understand of course Dvorak never wrote words.
48:57 You don't write words to a symphony.
48:58 But a student of his, listen to this,
49:00 a student of his named William Arms Fisher decided
49:02 to write lyrics that would match the tune
49:04 of that beloved melody in the Largo.
49:07 Goin' home, goin' home
49:09 I am goin' home
49:11 Quite like some still day
49:14 I'm just goin' home
49:17 In a few days, the Pioneer Memorial Church
49:19 on the campus of Andrews University
49:20 will go home to the home that we belong in.
49:24 And some day, sooner than any of us here realizes,
49:29 we will all be going home.
49:32 Going home, going home.
49:35 I am going home.
49:40 Going home, going home
49:43 to that one Promised Land
49:47 where there is no graveyard.
49:51 Hallelujah.
49:53 That's the home I'm going to.
49:55 How about you? Amen.
49:56 Hmm?
49:58 You going home?
49:59 Some of you right now
50:00 when I say, "You're going home?"
50:02 You know what, your mind just jumps
50:03 to start thinking quickly, "Am I going home?"
50:06 And you're thinking of something
50:07 that's between you and Jesus right now.
50:09 Now you've been Pathfinders for years,
50:12 you've been a Pathfinder leader.
50:14 But something is in your life that you realize,
50:17 "Oh my, if Jesus came tonight,
50:19 I'd have to deal with some heavy baggage."
50:25 You know what, my friend,
50:26 it's as simple as you saying Jesus.
50:29 You see that baggage?
50:31 I can't take that to heaven, I can't take it home with me.
50:36 I'm leaving it.
50:38 I'm leaving it in your nail scarred hands.
50:41 If it's physical or material, if you want me to have it back,
50:44 you give it back to me.
50:46 If it's dark and immoral, never let me see that again.
50:51 Take it away, Jesus.
50:54 You can go home, my friend.
50:56 You can go home.
50:58 It's as simple as that.
51:00 He just needs you to say, "Be my Savior,
51:04 be my forever Savior and friend, please.
51:08 I can't get home without you."
51:11 Do you understand He's dying for you to come home?
51:12 He's already died for you to get you home.
51:15 And He's dying for you to come home.
51:18 We got to go home together.
51:20 There's nothing in your life that Jesus can't handle.
51:23 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus.
51:25 Together.
51:43 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
51:48 Sing His mercy and His grace
51:53 In the mansions
51:55 Bright and blessed
51:58 He'll prepare for us a place
52:02 When we all get to heaven
52:07 What a day of rejoicing
52:10 That will be
52:12 When we all see Jesus
52:17 We'll sing
52:19 And shout the victory
52:23 While we walk
52:25 The pilgrim pathway
52:28 Clouds will overspread the sky
52:33 But when traveling days
52:37 Are over
52:38 Not a shadow, not a sigh
52:43 When we all get to heaven
52:48 What a day of rejoicing
52:51 That will be
52:53 When we all see Jesus
52:58 We'll sing
53:00 And shout the victory
53:02 All right, ladies alone.
53:04 Sing that third stanza, ladies alone.
53:06 Come on, ladies.
53:08 Let us
53:10 Then be true and faithful
53:13 Trusting, serving every day
53:18 Just one glimpse
53:20 Of Him in glory
53:23 Will the toils of life repay
53:28 When we all get to heaven
53:33 What a day of rejoicing
53:36 That will be
53:38 When we all see Jesus
53:44 We'll sing
53:45 And shout the victory
53:49 Stand, everybody.
53:51 Onward to the prize before us
53:55 Soon his beauty we'll behold
54:00 Soon the pearly gates will open
54:06 We shall tread
54:08 He streets of gold
54:11 When we all get to heaven
54:16 What a day of rejoicing
54:18 That will be
54:21 When we all see Jesus
54:26 We'll sing
54:28 And shout the victory
54:34 Ah, let's do it again.
54:36 When we all get to heaven
54:41 What a day of rejoicing
54:43 That will be
54:46 When we all see Jesus
54:52 We'll sing
54:53 And shout the victory
54:58 We got to pray right now.
54:59 But we have a prayer team here, some of you have maybe brought
55:03 something you'd be great to have, a partner,
55:05 just lift up to Jesus on my behalf.
55:07 We have husband and wife, Donnie and Trudi Starlin.
55:11 And so one is going to be on the other side
55:13 and the other is going to be right here.
55:14 And you see the little dangle around their necks?
55:18 They are here to pray with you if you'd like somebody to pray.
55:20 Let's pray together.
55:22 Oh, God, when we all get to heaven,
55:24 oh, can you imagine it, Father,
55:26 going home, going home, we're just going home.
55:31 Not to a little church across the campus,
55:35 as joyful as that would be,
55:37 but oh, no, when you throw the floodgates
55:42 and the 12 gates of heaven wide open,
55:45 we wanna be in that homecoming.
55:48 There's a man here who's saying,
55:50 "Oh, Lord, I need help, be merciful to me, a sinner."
55:53 I want that man to know that Justice Jesus said,
55:56 "You can go home safe today."
55:58 You just say, "Be merciful to me, the sinner."
56:01 And He'll save you.
56:02 And if we can help you write the next chapter,
56:04 you let u know.
56:06 There's a women here who says, "I don't wanna go home alone,
56:10 I want my children to go home with me."
56:12 Father, keep that mother praying.
56:14 Keep that grandmother on her knees.
56:16 We can't give up.
56:18 You're not giving up.
56:20 You want to bring every man women and child alive
56:22 if you possibly can to that homecoming.
56:25 So, Jesus, Your mighty spirit will do it.
56:28 And then I'm gonna say a special prayer
56:30 for these OshKosh bound pathfinders and their leaders.
56:33 God bless them all.
56:35 Thank you for every club.
56:36 Thank you for every partner in ministry
56:40 that each club represents.
56:42 Go with them, protect them on the road and in the air,
56:46 and one day when we get to the big OshKosh
56:49 in the sky in heaven,
56:51 when we've gone home,
56:53 yeah, we will be together forever and ever.
56:56 In Jesus' name, we thank You that all the people say amen.
57:01 Amen.
57:13 I want to take an extra moment to thank you
57:15 for joining us in worship today.
57:16 It's by the continuous support from viewers like you
57:18 that we are able to bring you this program.
57:20 Today, I wanna invite you though to share with us
57:22 how this ministry has blessed you.
57:25 I get inspiring notes, emails from viewers,
57:27 literally all over the world telling me,
57:29 "Look, Dwight, God has been blessing me this way.
57:31 He's been doing this."
57:32 I would love to hear from you as well.
57:33 Just visit our website, you know it.
57:35 NePerceptions.tv
57:37 and click on the contact link at the top of the page.
57:40 Send me a note, let me know what God has been doing
57:43 right now in your life.
57:44 Once again, thank you for being with us today.
57:47 I hope you join us right here next time,
57:49 and until then,
57:51 may the God of grace journey with you every step of the way.


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Revised 2019-09-10