You Have a Purpose! // Pastor Drew Milliken

we opened up a new series called love

into the light and the whole series is

about having one person in your life

that you've got a keychain you wrote

their name on this keychain up

here and you got one person and we got

can we get I don't know where the extra

key chains are can we make sure we get

extra keychains and uh and markers here

for that um but I I want to make sure

that we can get those set up there so

that if you still have if you missed it

last week or if you got someone that

you're like I'm not really sure and now

I know who it is and now I know who I

want to pray for to be to to come into

the light of Christ and that God would

so Bless Me by using me in that

process and uh and that's that's the

prayer that we would see people move

from Darkness into light move from

hopelessness into hope move from death

into life and that's that's the reality

of of the world that is within and

around all of us now we don't always see

it because we see physical death and

physical life but there are dead people

walking all around us that have no life

within their soul that are

destined towards dark darkness and

towards

death and we were

created with the very

message that every single one of us

needs and you were appointed with the

very message that the people around you

need and that's what I want to talk

about

today as we as we talk about today we're

talking the the the message is titled

you have a

purpose you you have a purpose so many

times we question and we wonder and we

we try to seek out what is this Divine

especially young adults what is God's

purpose for my life I will tell you I

already know 98% of

it we already do in fact it's going to

come from you're going to find more and

more of who God's created and called you

to be from this

series then you will from

workshops and and experts and YouTube

videos if we walk this out this is what

we're going to

experience and so we've added names and

to to keychains and hung them up on here

and I want to celebrate as we get to

move some of these over so if you have

someone that you're praying for and they

come to Collective church and or or or

they start they give their life to

Christ I want I want to make sure that

we are together when we move this

keychain over and we get a celebrate on

this but first this week we just said

all we're doing all we're doing this

last week is we want to pray every day

for our one by

name that God would move in them that

God would move to them that they would

experience just something a draw towards

him and so I got to I got to ask this

was designed the whole series is

designed after Jesus parable of the

shepherd who leaves the 99 to go after

the one and last week we mentioned how

if you don't have a heart for the Lost

then you are missing the heart of God

himself and so I want to ask as praying

this week who here saw God move in your

relationship with your one go aad and

throw your hand up if you saw something

come on look at this if you st there you

go a little bit kind of maybe if you did

you're ahead of the game

that was not even the goal for this week

do you want to know what the goal for

this last week is what the first goal is

it's not even necessarily A change in

relationship it is really just a change

within my heart

first that's why we say God I want you

to I want to capture your heart for the

lost that is why we it always always

always starts with

prayer and this week for for me what did

it look like this week for me I had I

had a a a a conversation just totally

average conversation with one of my ones

uh another one I literally haven't even

seen I think maybe I saw his car one

time he's a neighbor of mine and maybe I

saw but but you know what I did do I I I

was researching and one of my ones is a

Muslim and I was researching and I

realized where in the middle of

Ramadan and all around the world when

you are a global worker working amongst

Muslim people and you're trying to bring

Christ to them these relationships that

you have that you have made all this

this traction with usually during

Ramadan it then there starts to be

darkness and there's nightmares and and

there becomes distance and the the enemy

begins

working and so my prayer every day is

that God would begin to move and man God

has been moving my heart for the Muslim

people this last week like he hasn't

been doing in some

time this is the testimony I want for us

this week Carly mentioned it in in slack

our team's

communication she said as Morgan shared

her story about crying in prayer over

her hairdresser I was thinking and I was

praying it's been so long since I've

felt so burdened that I've cried for the

loss to be

found and God answered as I cried and I

prayed for my one God's already doing

something in my heart and I can't wait

to see what comes from all of us

following Jesus's example to pursue the

one that's the

goal immediately right now my goal is

not to see the world changed my goal is

to see me

changed so now I got a question for this

week did you experience something stir

in your heart for your for the lost or

for your won throw your hand up if

that's something that you experienced

this week as you prayed every day come

on there we go that that's what we're

seeing that's what we're looking for God

change my heart that's a win can we give

a hand to the Lord that's

it he needs to change the things in

inside of me that I canot

change and then one

other I didn't get to have this

conversation Morgan stole this

conversation she had a conversation with

one of my ones that she knew I was

praying for and the and and and she got

to see her this week I didn't get to see

her this week and invited her to

Extravaganza and so I want to tell you

guys this is the perfect perfect

opportunity we've got an egg hunt if

your if your one has kids they don't got

to get saved they don't got to go to

church they don't got to repent they

don't got to do all this stuff they

don't even got to feel comfortable with

any of it but just go hey do your kids

want to go to an egg hunt that has

Inflatables and food and a bunny and

like all this I already know the answer

to that yes right do your kids want free

candy yes yes they do and so it becomes

these opportunities to invite and that's

the whole purpose of this we don't do

Extravaganza for

Collective and a lot of what we do on

Easter isn't even for Collective for the

people that never step foot in a church

outside of when they're forced to on

each Easter because their mom their

Grandma their family member someone

drags them into church or they just feel

like they need

to and so I want to I I want to

encourage us to be part of the mission

and on your way out you're going to see

in the door in in between the entryway

doors you're going to see a whole bunch

of invites we've got

4,000 I want to run out of these suckers

I want to need to print some more

off I want to see us giving these away

like it's candy and like it's the very

salvation that people are needing and so

I want you guys grab a stack on your way

out for extra travaganza or for Easter

Sunday write your name we got some blank

space on it so you can write your name

you can write your phone number you can

write a little message and you can give

some to co-workers to your one things

like that so I want to encourage you

guys to do that can we do that can we do

that all right so as we talk about

loving and chasing after your one

sometimes it's hard to know exactly what

this looks like but Jesus gives a ton of

examples of

this if you look at the life of Jesus

Jesus you will see him leaving the 99

for the one again and again and again

and again and this time I want to open

up to Mark chapter 2 starting in verse

Mark 2 · chapter mention

13 if you guys can grab your Bibles open

up there and what happens if you look

right before in your Bibles you are

going to find that it's talking about

Jesus healing the paralic which this is

the story of the paralyzed man that had

four friends or acquaintances or just

people guys around him that said I think

this guy that's in town this Rabbi he

does amazing things I think he could

heal you I think you could experience

this let's go to the house he's in this

house it is packed full there's no way

to get through there and they got a guy

on a stretcher so I don't know how we're

going to get him in let's go in these

are all like mud Huts that got sticks

and straw and mud for so what do they do

they literally dig through the

roof and they get this paralyzed man man

down to the feet of Jesus this man is

healed and there's so many people

surrounding that they can't even they

they can't move no one can get in around

him and so Jesus leaves this where he's

surrounded by so many people and this is

where we find him in verse

13 and it says Jesus went out to the lak

shore again and taught the crowds that

were coming to

him and as he walked along he saw Levi

son of

alfus sitting at his Tax Collector's

Booth so he's walking along and he sees

this tax collector's Booth who works at

a tax collector's Booth the Jews that

are working with the oppressors the

Roman government to ask for the Jews to

give more money to the Roman government

that has plenty of money that is

collecting the taxes and they take

whatever off the top that they want to

take off

they are the most hated people they

belong nowhere the Romans don't care for

them the Jews hate them because they

have they have rejected and are going

against their own people so Jesus leaves

this crowd of people that are hungry and

are seeking him and are looking to see

this next Miracle he walks out of this

crowd and he sees out of all these

people

Levi he's better known as the disciple

Matthew sitting at his Tax Collector's

booth and out of everybody he says I

want

you follow

me and be my

disciple now I don't know what Jesus saw

in all of his

disciples I believe that there was a

hunger I believe that there was a

teachability I believe that there there

that there's some things that you can

see that that he got introduced to these

disciples in kind of unique ways and he

saw them around the synagogues and in

the temple place and and and they were

asking questions to his teachings and I

don't really know exactly but he saw

something in Matthew that he decided to

go to the most

despicable most shamed the most Outcast

of everybody in the whole crowd that was

the one th had been gone from the 99

that had left them

all I think the nicest way you could

describe Matthew is very morally

ambiguous right like if I'm around the

Romans I'm going to do what the Romans

say when I'm around the Jews I'm like

Hey we're buddies right we're friends

right by the way I need to collect a

little bit of money from

you I don't I don't know what he what he

was like or what Jesus saw but Jesus saw

Matthew he saw Levi and he said follow

me and be my

disciple so Levi got

up and followed

him when

we when we think about ourselves as

Believers when we think about ourselves

as just people I think a lot of times we

think who's given that Divine Purpose

that's like written on the wall oh man I

know I know who those people are those

people are the ones who like it's it's

they literally they get it written on

the wall they have this encounter with

they're way holier than me they're way

more special than me they probably pray

a lot more than me they probably have

gone to church for a lot longer than me

and here's the reality Jesus goes to the

man who was the least expected to be a

disciple of his and he says I want you

and he's doing that in this room to

every single one of

you said will you follow

me and will you be my

disciple I don't care what your past

looks like I don't care what you're

living in right

now I don't care the sins that you

committed last night or on the way here

I don't care if you're hung over right

now I'm asking you would you follow

me would you be my

disciple we we can work on the rest

later would you follow

me and he

initiates this

Divine

Purpose it's this this

Revelation that we all need and we all

Ren we need to get it again that you

have been given a

Divine Purpose that's bigger than you

you you have it set before you it has

been gifted to

you and too often we just don't even

live like it we don't act like it

because I don't think we truly believe

it and your

purpose your purpose is different than

your identity can we clarify that your

ident

is found and expressed here through

praise through worship through the

Gathering of the body through our

Brothers and Sisters in Christ right

this is who I am I'm a Child of God I am

loved by God that is who I am there is

nothing that anyone can say or do to

change this you cannot steal that from

me that is who I am oh I get to

experience the call that God has on me

to be his child a part of this Divine

family

right

here but your

purpose is not found inside of these

walls nearly as much as it is found

outside that is why second

Corinthians

5

17 this is what it says therefore if

anyone is in Christ he is a new creation

the old is gone the old has passed away

the the new has come we know this verse

right many of us know this verse I love

that verse what does it mean what is the

new life what is the new creation what

is the Drew is dead now there's a new

Drew here what does that mean all of

this is from God who through Christ

reconciled us to himself reconcile means

to take to to move from a bad

relationship and move into a good

relationship into right standing move

it's different than righteousness it's

literally taking out of a darkness and

bring into so we our sin had us

separated Christ reconciled us to God

the father and gave us this same

Ministry of

what reconciliation that's a big word

that's a churchy word I believe it's

important for us to know what this means

this is the ministry of reconciliation

of I get to play a part and you being a

being someone who is in opposition to

God by the way we live by the way we act

and by the Pursuits that we have to be

reconciled into a right relationship

with God God said my purpose for you is

for you to be actively every single one

of us if you have been reconciled you

now have been given a Ministry of

reconciliation that is in Christ God was

reconciling the world to himself not

counting all their trespasses against

him and entrusting to us the message of

reconciliation therefore we are

ambassadors for Christ we are

Representatives when a king when a

president cannot be somewhere he sends

someone and what they speak are the

words of the

president they carry the same

Authority this is this is so powerful I

don't think we always get this it is you

are ambassadors we are ambassadors for

Christ God making his appeal to the

Lost through

us I beg you I implore you on behalf of

Jesus Christ himself be reconciled to

God that is God's cry to the world

through us and I live like God designed

me to go to church on

Sundays do you see the dichotomy here do

you see how separated and how hollow

that gets guys church is great we got to

come here every single week guys I am

not ever going to be the person that

says Ah don't need to we were created to

be part of the body of

Christ but we were created to be filled

and

sent our purpose our identity is found

here our purpose is found outside of

here do we see the depths of this what

this passage is

saying in in our Discover class we we

say every single one of us gets to make

the Declaration I I am a

missionary I'm a missionary I've been

given a purpose I've got a sphere of

influence that's around me that no one

else gets to minister to in the way that

God has called me to minister to them

that people will experience Christ

through me in a unique way because I've

got a unique piece of the image of God

on

me and I've got a unique

testimony I've got a unique

expression and some people may not

hear may not hear the good news through

me I may be too much I may be too little

I may be too loud I may be too quiet I

may to be be too black I may be too

white I may be to all these other things

but guess what some people are going to

capture a message from me that they

wouldn't listen to from someone else

that's

you that is your story that is your

call and then this is this is the the

the purpose why are we doing love into

the light it's

because you have a purpose I was given a

purpose and it's way bigger than me and

second what did Jesus say to Matthew he

said what does he say follow me

right we have this ministry of

reconciliation on behalf of Christ we

and all this this this common trend is

that it's not just us

going it is actually us joining in Jesus

mission that he is on himself can we

keep reading in Matthew 2 Mar sorry Mark

2 verse1 15 Mark 2 vers 15 it says later

Levi invited Jesus and his disciples the

brand new disciple says hey how about

you come over to my

house as dinner guests and I'm going to

invite all of my

friends guess who's friends with tax

collectors other rejected

people and so so many tax collectors and

other disreputable Sinners right these

are the same type of people that are

like oh I they're they're like they're

Next Level sinner right like they are a

practiced sinner they are borderline

professional sinner right like the those

people that maybe you look in the mirror

and you go yep that's me right like I am

the whole the whole idea is that these

people are disreputable everybody knows

who these people

are this is what we talked about last

week that the Pharisees are like ah stay

away from them don't do that there are

many people of this kind among Jesus

followers but when the teachers of

religious law who were Pharisees saw

Jesus eating with tax collectors and

other Sinners they asked his disciples

why why does he

eat with such

scum now I don't know if you guys have

ever experienced this when something

comes out of my mouth that I didn't

realize how sick my heart

was I kind of hope that's what the

Pharisees experienced here like that's

what I'm thinking and then that's what

comes out and like oo that that was

probably harsher than I wanted it to be

but that's the reality of how they

felt that's the reality of how they

perceived these people when Jesus heard

this he turned to them he told them

healthy people don't need a

doctor sick people do I have come not to

call those who

think they are righteous I believe it

doesn't say the gestures that Jesus laid

right there but I believe he goes I came

not to call the people who think they're

righteous but those who know they are

sinners

Jesus came with the purpose of loving

the

lost so deeply so

well so

frequently that he was called a glutton

he was called a drunkard he was called

all these things because you what do you

who do you hang out with you hang out

with these party people you hang out

with these Sinners so you got to be like

sneaking in some of this sin yourself

right the reality is that Jesus was so

frequently amongst the lost because

that's who he came

for here's what I want us to know

there's this the the CS Lewis is this

profound author wrote a book called Mere

Christianity he wrote A series called

The Chronicles of Narnia uh in it and

the whole thing is this powerful picture

of of the kingdom and in the book uh The

Lion The Witch in the wardrobe there's

been movies made maybe you've seen it

maybe you've read the books but there's

this key line that this this evil witch

has been moving and darkness is over the

whole land and then they say

asan have you heard this lion that

represents Jesus he

says asan's on the

Move God's on the Move did you hear he's

doing

something and it's this picture that

like something's stirring God is moving

when I look at Christ when I look at the

example of God I got to recognize that

he is moving and I cannot remain still

and remain in Christ he says abide in

me but if I stand still I will not

remain in Christ because Christ is

always

moving he is always advancing I go I

want to have intimacy with the Lord I

want to get to know him I want to get to

know him the way I see other people get

to know him you can't do that sitting on

your butt doing your own little thing

and he says I've called you to your your

people you will experience my spirit

when you

go you will

encounter

me

only on the front

lines that's where the supernatural

happens why do I not see the Miracles

that I want to see when I'm praying with

my own little Christian friends and my

own little Christian

huddle he's like I don't you guys are

you already got the

message I need you to go out and pray

for people that don't have the

message I need you to go out and keep

going I need you to go out and build

your faith I need you to go out and

reach the loss because I'm already over

there you will find when you start to

take bold Steps of Faith towards your

one when you start to reach out when you

start to bring up church when you start

to bring up Jesus when you start to

bring up prayer things like

that when that starts to

happen you'll find that Jesus was

actually already there guys I cannot

count the number of times that I've

started and I'm just like oh man I just

feel like something's in my spirit

saying I need to start talking about

church I need to start talking about

faith I need to start talking about fear

I need to start talking about whatever

it may be like that that I that oh this

is awkward and it's just switching from

a really casual conversation into like

this like deep like spiritual thing and

I don't know what they're going to think

and and I get nervous and I feel it I

think everybody does if you you don't

it's probably not a good thing right

like you need to you need to probably

feel a little bit of that because I'm

feeling empathy but then when I step in

guys every single time I find that God

was already there I was just asking God

I was just praying for the first time in

probably four years I was just I was

just seeking him for the first

time I knew there was something

different about you you always make me

curious as to what this thing is there's

always you see God was there so much so

that even if I don't hear it I go man I

don't know what happened but I know that

God's been he does it every single time

so even if I don't hear it I know that

there was something that they that they

had within their own soul that was like

oh that's weird how did he know that why

did that happen right

now why is this stirring up inside of

like okay thanks and that's all you get

you find that Christ is

moving and he was already there before

you Jesus is already on the mission and

we join him when we go to the front

lines and if I choose to stay still I'm

not going to experience the abiding in

Christ that I'm created

for so first why do we do this it's

because you have a purpose second is

because we get to join Jesus on this

Mission and the third part if the band

can keys can come up here it is actually

for my own

discipleship it's

actually here's the thing that I found

when I step out and when I take Faith

steps and when I try to reach the lost

and when I try to see God move through

me and I just try to like take a little

step of boldness 20 seconds of Courage

that kind of thing I find that even if

it falls

flat pathetically flat

FL God did

something and the biggest thing that he

did usually is right

here see as soon as I've said this

before as soon as you're

saved there's new life that's born

inside of you and I believe there's also

a little Pharisee that's born inside of

you and I've said this the the whole

idea that that I get this little thing

in me that I'm like oh my goodness this

is great and I'm found truth and then

pretty soon I go I got truth you don't

got truth I'm right you're wrong let me

teach you how to be as great as I am

right as soon as you start to get this

then you start to look at people it

doesn't take long for this little

Pharisee to start building inside of you

and pretty soon you start to find people

these are the people these are the

Christians that just rub us the wrong

way right it's the ones that are like oh

man and they're just so like I can never

be good enough like I I say hi to them

wrong I feel feel like right like I I I

I walk through good times and bad times

and I just feel guilty and ashamed every

time I walk away from like man I'm just

not good enough man they just they think

like that's that's a Pharisee that's

when you know you got and I I'll tell

you this when when I get Pharisee

questions and conversations I love it

when people love to like I love asking

tough deep hard questions theology

questions but when it's coming with like

a corrective attitude we's coming with a

prideful position things like that I

already know who I'm talking

to well what's your stance on the trans

substantiative power of the the

Eucharist and I'm like okay chill out

bro I can give you my stance on that but

I already know exactly what's going on

you tell me right now who is your

one never

once have I found a fair see someone

with the Pharisee spirit that has a one

that they are on mission to love and to

reach and to come into the light of

Christ because guess what a lot of those

little gray area things suddenly don't

seem like a huge massive deal that I

need to bring up and correct my pastor

or whatever it may be and we need to fix

this thing usually it's when I'm like oh

my goodness do you know all the lost

people around me when I catch that

mission suddenly

the the the the

premillennial perspective of the

tribulation and all that stuff like

those are fun things to talk about but

they just don't carry a burden in my

soul because the lost people around me

are still destined for hell and I've got

the greatest thing in the entire world

living inside of me and I want to give

it to him and that's the big deal

when I capture this I find that

sometimes I feel like I'm the one who's

the most blessed by

it I've had times where I've gone and

I've intentionally tried to minister in

places like Walmart and just public

places and man I remember one of the

first times I did this and uh I I I had

all these different words and pictures

and images and I was like hey you with a

striped red shirt like I just believe

that God wants to tell you that like

he's with you in this divorced and

they're like I've um 14 I've never been

like I don't I'm confused right like it

wasn't quite that bad but it was like

fall flat on your face fall flat on your

face like it was bad after bad it was

just it everything flopped everything

flopped it was the worst case

scenario nothing landed and I left and I

go that was

it that's what I was afraid of

I encouraged people I got to pray for

people I looked a little bit like an

idiot a couple times but that was not

near as bad as I had built it up to

be and I found that what actually was

happening is God was teaching me there

maybe some of those things landed and

they weren't saying anything but man I

really felt like I just walked out and

God taught me how to be more like

him if we can stand in here

I want to I want to challenge

us our our key application for

today this last week is just pray for

your one just keep praying just keep

praying today this week I want us to

intentionally love our

one one

action of Love of care of compassion of

kindness maybe it's a gift maybe it's a

note maybe it's an

encouragement but I want for us to give

one have one practical actual thing that

we do for our

one and I want to think about and just

this is just a random act of

kindness if you

want at some point in this journey you

can 100% blame me as the bad guy in this

hey my pastor is making making me like

uh give give a gift to someone and so

I've got let I banked you some brownies

and uh what no they're not that kind of

brownie the these are just like normal

brownies right like I don't know what

kind of people you're reaching out to

but here's the here's the

reality I want for you to just love

them just

intentionally give with no expectation

of

return serve him in some capacity

help them when you've clocked out

whatever it may be some Act of love for

them and I know that you're going to

find your purpose through this and

you're going to find Christ in this

you're going to find that he was there

before you ever

were and then I for those of you in this

room that you're like man I I hear all

this that's good pastor

Drew but I think I relate less to the

person that's going out for the one I

think I I relate more to the the

one I think I'm the person that Jesus is

saying I want you I think I'm Levi

sitting on the side with a tax

collector's booth and all of my sin and

all of my mess and I just I don't got it

all together and I don't got it all

figured out and I've kind of feel

honestly a little bit embarrassed and a

little bit outside of

my my comfort zone being

here

but I think God's pointing at my

heart and he's saying I want

you I want you to follow me and I want

you to be my

disciple and if that's you could you

just throw your hand up for

me cuz I know you're not alone in

this if that's you

going I'm the one that Jesus is saying

come on follow

me and what I want to do is I want to

take a moment and I just want to pray

with you and I want to pray for

you I don't see a hand if you can throw

it up if that's you if not I may be

missing it and but but I believe that

there's someone in this room that God is

calling come on I see it I see it three

here we go we got four five let's go

God's responding God's doing things

inside of your heart thank you thank you

thank you you can put your hands down I

see you guys I see you guys but he saw

you

first this was

never this is not Pastor Drew

highlighting you this is God saying you

are the one I'm asking to follow me so

can we if if you're around and just

throw a hand on the shoulder of someone

who put their hand

up and I want I I want to pray this

prayer together and I want us to know

that we're not in this alone and then I

want to I want to invite you even up

over to the prayer Banner over here and

uh as as I pray here if you've got a one

that you want to write down their name

and hang it Russ can we move that back

in here uh if if you've got someone that

you're like I know who I got to put

their name on a keychain and I got to

put it on there then you can do that if

not I just want I want to pray with you

guys here so heavenly father I thank you

I thank you that you have highlighted

people that we could never have imagined

could never have fixed could never have

worked out ourselves Lord I pray right

now for those that raised their hand in

this

room I pray for every single one of them

God I pray for our hearts and that all

of us would Echo the same prayer I say

yes I will follow

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you and all you got to do just loud

enough for you to hear it if you put

your hand up you just tell Jesus yes

I'll follow you and he'll work out the

rest there's a lot of steps that are

going to be taken but you you're not in

it

alone so father God I thank

you that this

moment is changing

eternity I thank you that this

moment is shifting a

life and we're never again going to be

okay with our

sin you'll find after this moment if

you're saying yes I will follow you you

will find after this moment that

suddenly your sin is just not okay

anymore you may still sin but it just

doesn't set sit well

anymore and you'll find this peace more

acess

accessible heavenly father I pray that

you would Minister to each person here

and I

pray that every every single one of us

that you would send us and as we choose

to boldly follow you as we choose to

boldly love

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radically would you go before

us and would we find you find you on the

other side of loving our one we pray

these things we ask these things by your

Authority not by Ours by your name not

by ours in the mighty name of Jesus all

God's people said amen come on can I

hear real quick can we give a hand for

the word of the Lord

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amen hey thanks so much for watching

today's message our prayer is more than

the words that were spoken in the

message that you would remember the

things that God spoke to your heart yeah

and no matter what it was that God spoke

to you I know that part of your journey

is other people being in a community

because we are better together so if you

made a decision to follow Jesus today

would you click the link below and fill

out the form this is going to help us so

that we can celebrate with you and equip

you with some tools so that your next

steps are great steps yeah thanks so

much for watching we're praying for you

we're cheering you on we believe that

the best days are ahead of you

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