In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul the apostle spoke in some detail about these gifts of the Spirit. This passage of scripture clearly defines what these gifts are and how they are given by the Holy Spirit. Although the subject of our study is not on the actual Gifts of the Spirit, we will take a brief look at what these gifts are and more importantly, what they mean. It is clear however that these gifts are given to the Church for her benefit:

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. – 1 Corinthians 12:7

We understand from the scripture passage in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Holy Spirit is the one that gives out these gifts. We also understand that they are given to every believer as he (the Holy Spirit) desires (1 Cor 12:11). Lastly, we also understand that there are different gifts, administrations or dimensions (or levels of operation) of these gifts as well as different operations of the gifts. However, throughout this variety, it is the same Holy Spirit that works or activates and utilizes the gifts in the life of a believer;

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he wills. – 1 Corinthians 12:11

Hence, the Holy Spirit not only gives the gifts to us as children of God, he operates them in cooperation with us. Hence, the key to operating these gifts is learning to work with the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus and profit the Church (John 16:14, 1 Cor12:7).

Before we take a look at the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, I find it necessary to re-emphasize that even though the Holy Spirit gives us these gifts, they are worked or operated by him. This means that they are manifested at his discretion and operated in conjunction with him. This also means that we can have the gifts but never see it manifest if we fail to learn how to work with him or if we fail in our relationship with him. We are admonished several times in scriptures not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thes 5:19).

We shall now use the remainder of this part of the message to take a brief look at the gifts of the Spirit and then consider in detail how to operate the gifts in the second part of this message.

1. The Gift of the Word of Wisdom: This gift comes into operation when a “word” of Gods wisdom is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The term word of Wisdom implies that it is only a part of the complete wisdom of God regarding an issue. In its operation, this gift requires that we act or speak in faith what we have heard from the Lord even though it may seem incomplete. As we act in obedience on what we have heard, more of the wisdom of God is revealed (Isaiah 28:13). The Word of Wisdom is also usually a revelation of Gods wisdom regarding a situation that is yet to happen; a dimension of its operation is in foretelling the future (Acts 21:10-11). Another dimension of this gift is seen in supernatural wisdom to handle unusually tough situations immediately. An example of this is seen when Jesus was asked the question about the paying of taxes to Ceasar (Mark 12:13-17).
2. The Gift of the Word of Knowledge: Like the gift of the Word of Wisdom, this gift is a revelation given by the Holy Spirit of a part of God’s knowledge concerning a situation or event. Like all the gifts of the Spirit, it requires that the one through whom it is operating acts on what has been received in order to receive more. An example of this gift in operation is seen when Jesus spoke with the woman of Samaria and supernaturally knew that she had 5 husbands (John 4:15-19). When this gift is in operation, a piece of Gods knowledge about a situation as it has been in the past or as it is in the present is revealed. This is different from the Word of Wisdom in which the future is revealed by the Holy Spirit. This gift operated heavily in the life of Elisha the Prophet.
3. The Gift of Faith: The bible refers to several types of faith; great faith, the faith of God, weak faith, little faith, no faith, etc. However, the gift of Faith is a temporary impartation of Faith into the one through whom it is operating to believe God for a divine act. Like all the other gifts, it is operated at the will of the Holy Spirit and is in operation for a brief period and then removed. Once the impartation of this gift is lifted however, the person through whom it operates cannot believe God with his “regular” faith for the same manifestations.
4. The Gifts of Healing: There was nobody in scripture through whom this gift operated in its full form than in our Lord Jesus Christ. Several times, it is recorded in scripture that he “healed them all” (Matthew 12:15). Unlike the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, this gift is called the “Gifts of healing” because there are several sicknesses and diseases. Likewise, there are several gifts of healing; the gift of healing of blindness for example or the gift of healing of cancer or deafness, etc.
5. The Working of Miracles: This gift which is quite similar to the Gifts of healing is operated by the Holy Spirit for the suspension of natural laws for the glory of God. An example of this is found is Acts 8:39-40, when Phillip was supernturally transported from one location to another and in John 6:16-21 when the boat in which Jesus and the disciples were in supernaturally came to lad immediately Jesus stepped into the boat.
6. The Gift of Prophecy: Unlike prophecy as recorded in the old testament, the Gift of Prophecy as given by the Holy Spirit is for three purposes; for edification, exhortation and comfort. It is not the foretelling of the future (which is displayed in the Word of Wisdom), rather it is inspired utterance given through the Holy Spirit for the building up, uplifting and comfort of Gods people. This gift is very vital for the building of the body of Christ and strengthening of the inner man especially during times of difficulty. The bible refers to the four daughters of Phillip the Evangelist “which did prophesy” (Acts 21:8-9).
7. The Gift of Discerning of Spirits: The Gift of Discerning of Spirits is a gift operated through the Holy Spirit that uncovers the spirit behind the actions of men. Through this wonderful gift, the Holy Spirit is able to reveal if a person, group of people, etc is motivated by the Spirit of God, a demonic spirit or by their own self. This is important in order to weed out the lambs from goats in the church of God or in negotiating business deals, etc. An example of the operation of this gift is seen in the life of Paul, when a young girl with the spirit of divination followed them around (Acts 16-16-18). She did this for many days till the Holy Spirit exposed her; Paul became grieved in his spirit and cast out the evil spirit from the girl. It is worth mentioning here also that visions, dreams, trances, and supernatural visitations of the Spirit which are frequent in the lives of a lot of believers also fall under this class of the gifts of the Spirit.
8. The Gift of Tongues: This gift and the gift of Interpretation of Tongues are the only gifts not recorded in manifestation in the Old testament. Jesus himself said this would be one of the signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of the believer. However, this gift is not to be mistaken for the ability to pray in tongues after one is baptized in the Holy Spirit. This gift is for ministry to the body of Christ and should always operate along with the gift or Interpretation of Tongues so that those who listen can understand the message. When this gift operates with the Interpretation of Tongues, it has the equivalent effect as the effect produced by the operation of the gift of Prophecy. The bible also makes us understand in 1 Corinthians 13 that there are tongues of angels and tongues of men. One operation of this gift is to supernaturally give an inspired message by the Holy Spirit in a language completely unknown by the speaker. This gift both glorifies Jesus and calls the sinner to salvation.
9. The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues: As mentioned earlier, this gift is a sister gift to the gift or Tongues and when in operation with it, has the effect of edification, exhortation and comfort to the believer.

The above are the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit as detailed by Apostle Paul. The central theme to note is that they are given by the Holy Spirit and also operated by him and at his discretion. Hence the need to learn how to walk with the Holy Spirit and understand how he leads us in the operation of these gifts. Its also worth noting that God desires for all the gifts of the Spirit to be in operation in our lives. However, the Holy Spirit usually operates certain gifts in each believer’s life in more frequency than others.

To move on to the second part of this message and learn how to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, please click here. To view other messages on how to be led by the Holy Spirit, click here.

“Bless the Lord oh my Soul and all that is within me bless his Holy Name. Bless the Lord oh my Soul and forget not all his benefits”.

However, what happens when we allow our knowledge of God’s Word and nature to slip? What happens when we allow the cares of this world or the simple distractions of over-activity to cloud our minds and blind our hearts from those intimate times of fellowship we always cherished and eagerly looked forward to in our walk with the Lord?

Paul knew of this danger and spoke to the Hebrews about it in ever so keen words:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1

There is the danger that we may let the treasures we have gleaned from the Word of God and hidden in our hearts to slip if we are careless. Nevertheless, the question still remains, “What do we do IF we forget?” or perhaps if you are currently in that state of “forgetfulness”, what do you do. Perhaps you have forgotten the silent whisper of his sweet voice, leading and directing you on what steps to take, or you have forgotten Why our worship of the Lord is extremely important or Why we must continually dwell in the Word of God and in communion with our fellow believers…

If we do forget, there are dangerous risks; we risk missing out on the things God would have us do, say, or places he would have us go or things he would have us speak to his people. If we forget, we risk  losing out on the presence of the Lord and the joys of daily and even continuous intimacy with him. We risk forgetting the might and willingness of our Lord to fight on our behalf or the fact that he healed us many many years ago and we do not need to live in sickness, pain or financial lack. Worst of all, we risk returning to our vomit like the proverbial dog or pig who returns to ingest its own vomit after spewing it up; we risk falling back into sin and into those things from which the Lord delivered us.

In the same passage of Hebrews chapter 2, Paul however admonishes that if we do forget, we should remember that we can place our trust in the Lord; not trust in our strength to hold on to him but rather that he will hold onto us and preserve us (Vs 13). Paul admonishes that we remember that the Lord died so that he might save us completely and “destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil”  so that we can live our lives without fear(Vs 14-15). Paul also admonishes that we remember that because we have a Savior who went through the same challenges we face in our daily lives, he is able to understand what we face when we are tempted and thus be merciful and give us all we need to be fully delivered from those temptations (Vs 18).

The great apostle Paul finally admonishes that despite our shortcomings and failures, we should come boldly before his heavenly throne to obtain mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

It is  therefore my humble desire to encourage you to come before the Lord right now, despite the depths you may seem to have fallen to, and ask for his mercy, for the forgiveness and cleansing only his blood can bring and grace to stand in that hour of temptation, knowing and trusting him to make a way of escape for you from those temptations.

Let us pray:

Dear Father, we acknowledge our inabilities of our own selves. We know that we are unable to walk with you except you engrace us to do so. We ask for your mercy wherever we have failed you. We ask that your Blood will cleanse us from all our hidden and secret sins. We ask boldly because you said we should do so. We also ask for your grace; your ability to live for you, to walk with you and to have a tangible relationship with you. We trust that you will not fail us or leave us naked of your grace because you went through the same temptations and overcame. We thank you for your mercy, the cleansing of your blood and for bringing us back into fellowship with you. Blessed be your most Holy name Lord…In Jesus name, Amen.

Hebrews 4:16 - Click to Read

It has always been my deep conviction that the prayer for help; the “Lord, help me” prayer is one of the greatest prayers that can be prayed. Sadly, it is also a prayer prayed only by a humble few. Pride and Self confidence are usually vices that stand in the way of the believer and prevent him from reaching out to the Lord for their much needed help.

Where I come from, there is a proverb which says “It is only when a child willingly lifts its hands up to its parents that it is carried.” For us to receive the help of God, we must show willingness to be helped by him, for “the Lord resists the proud but gives his grace to the humble.”

Crying those three simple words: Lord help me, in earnest and simple faith acknowledges our challenge and also expresses our confidence in Gods ability to save and deliver us; regardless of the circumstance. I am reminded of Peter and how as he began to sink in the turmoil and waves of the sea, he cried out these same words. Immediately, the Lord reached out to him and delivered him. It is also important to note here that it was only after the Lord delivered him that he scolded him for his lack of faith.

If we will cry to the Lord in our distress, we are assured that the Lord will immediately reach out to us with the help we need. It is my sincere prayer that we will not let sin, guilt or pride keep us from receiving Gods help. We however have to humbly ourselves and ask him for it.

In conclusion, we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews to boldly come before the Lord’s throne to seek his mercy from our sins and shortcomings and also to seek his grace (divine ability) in such times of need so we can overcome. I am confident that as we humbly ourselves and cry out for his help, he will come swiftly to our aid.

Pray this prayer, asking for his help:

Lord, I need you. I need your help, mercy and grace to live my life for you. Help me Lord. Just as Peter did, I reach out for your help. Please rescue me so I can live a life pleasing and joyful to you. Thank you for hearing and answering, In Jesus Name. Amen

We live in a busy world. A world ruled by the quest to attain success and superiority; almost at all costs. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is sometimes easy to get carried away with the hustle and bustle of the affairs of life and forget the true purpose of our presence on this earth; to do and accomplish the will of the Lord for our lives.

It is also quite easy to “wax cold” in our love for the Lord and for his work. Almost unconsciously, we begin to place work, family and in general things that actually are important before He that is most important. I believe that the Lord is calling us back to him; to his feet. I believe he is calling us to spend time before him in worship and loving adoration, forgetting the cares and troubles of the world. It is time for us to heed that call.

If we get carried away with the affairs of this life; which are important but not to be placed before our God, there is the tendency for us to believe we have all we need. We begin to say in our hearts: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”, without realizing that there is nothing we have received that was not given to us by the Lord in the first place (1 Corinthians 4:7). In Revelations chapter 3, the Lord called this mindset and spiritual attitude an attitude of being lukewarm (vs. 16). He also went on to point out to the Church of the Laodiceans that not only were they not rich and in lack of nothing but that they were infact wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked! What a most pitiable state to ignorantly live in.

Today, as the Lord did about two thousand years ago through John the Apostle, I perceive that the Lord would counsel us to buy from him Gold that has been tried in the fire, i.e. the Word of God revealed by his Spirit, white raiment for clothing and to cover our nakedness i.e. the righteousness that comes through faith in him and not by our works or self righteousness and for us to anoint our eyes with eye ointment so we can see i.e. surrender to him and to his corrections so we can see our wrongs, be washed by his blood and receive his direction (vs. 18).

We must repent from the pride of our hearts. We must repent of this pride and self righteousness and cry unto the Lord for forgiveness; then the Lord will have mercy on us (Joel 2:17-18). Regardless of who we are, our social or economic positions or even the level of our education, we must come before his presence in humility and reverence of his person. Only then will he accept us into his presence (Isaiah 57:15).

We must never become so proud as to think that we have all we need, wanting nothing. If we have everything else in the world and do not have him, we have nothing. Please say this prayer of repentance with me:

Dear Lord, I see my fault. I see how I have sought to live my life without you and the leading of your Spirit. I am sorry for thinking in my heart that I am in need of nothing when in fact I was wretched. I ask for your forgiveness and the cleansing of your blood. Help me buy the pure Gold of your Word, tried in the fire. Help me buy white clothing to cover my nakedness and anoint my eyes with eye ointment that my eyes may be open indeed to your Word and direction. I ask this humbly, in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen

Confession:

Lord, I believe this Word you have spoken to me today. I believe that a New Season begins for me today. Therefore, I step out in faith in that area I am looking to you for help. I know I will not lack, I know I will be promoted at my place of work, I know I shall walk in financial abundance in this new season, I know my walk with you will take on a new dimension, in Jesus Name. I believe and therefore I will act in obedience and I know the results shall come speedily in Jesus Name, Amen.

LESSON 4:

Praise is capable of moving God in ways that nothing else can. Time and time again across the pages of scripture, we see how God was moved to do literally mind boggling things simply because man worshipped or praised him. Psalm 22:3 further buttresses this point by explaining how God literally inhabits the praises of Israel; “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”.

It is important for us to note this because although the entire Chapter 2 of Jonah is devoted to the Prophet’s prayer in the belly of the fish, God only commanded the fish to throw Jonah upon the land when he promised to pay his vows of thanksgiving and praise. God is not moved by our tears, complaints or even our well thought out arguments. However, when we engage the power of praise in our petitions to God, he attends to our requests personally because he inhabits i.e. literally lives in our praise.

Another lesson we learn from Jonah is that there is no situation too devastating or problematic that can deny God of the praise and worship he deserves. We do not thank God for bad things that happen to us; rather, we thank God despite the bad things that happen. We must make the choice to follow the admonition given in scriptures: “In everything, give thanks.”Notice however, that it doesn’t say for everything. So we thank God in the good and not so good times. And when there seems to be nothing to thank God for, we can thank him for who he is. This is the very definition of worship.

I also strongly believe that this work of salvation mentioned here is beyond what today’s Christianity and Churchianity (as my friend and mentor put it in his work, check it out on http://calabarboy.com/) . It is the great work that transformed Paul from being just one of the great lawyers in the Mid-East at his time, to a man known to have affected millions around the world across timelines. This work has re-created many great minds in the world, enabling them to accomplish great feats, greater than they would have been able to achieve on their own. This is why I believe sufficient justice is not done in church gatherings around the world today, as the truth is not given in its totality. This is not the purpose for my discuss in this writing, but I believe that at the end of this, my position will be clear.

I am of the opinion that many have substituted times of deep reflection and meditation for several activities in our activity-oriented world today. Many times we wake up with our schedule for the new day already set in our minds before the dawning of the new day. So, we really don’t have the 5-15 minutes to reflect or meditate on words that will make the day refreshing and productive. Over the years, work-rate has increased to 16-hours a day, many parents don’t have the time to give their children proper training, they are left at the mercy of nannies, who most of the time don’t know how to take care of themselves in the first place.

Many of us have not realized the power in meditation; let me help you with a little perspective, if you know yoga, it works on the principle of meditation, and try to find out what people have been able to achieve just taking yoga lessons. The law of gravity, we understand to be a product of meditation; the civil right movement lead by Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and many others who have made marks in the world all started from times of deep reflection.

A man I deeply respect, when asked by the press of what he does with his time; he answered, “I read and think.” He has so much to show for that today, after many years of diligently attending to reading and thinking. I took cue from history, understanding purpose and the demand of destiny; I sort for lessons in the ‘school of meditation’ to understand the times, and know what I and my country men must do at certain times to be distinguished among many.

Now I know that for every glitter, a great price has been paid. You’ll only be able to understand the depth of this truth on your knees.

People say it’s difficult, I can’t try it, just because they know what to do, but can’t come to terms with it. So, it’s safer to say “you can’t understand” “I’m going through a lot, just about now” This is better than say “I’ll find a solution” “I must get out of this, and I’ll do that with my head up”
It’s easier to say “I can’t” than to say “I’ll equip myself to face this challenge, because I know I’ve got what it takes inside me.”

Many believe that you are weak to believe that your life is controlled by a high power, and when you say it’s God, they say you’re dumb. But are fast to admit when they lose a bet, I ran out of luck or I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning; think of this why must I set an alarm to wake, can’t I be in control of my body? I guess not, because if you can, then you can command your body to sleep right now and it’ll do just that. If it won’t, then I guess it’s not wise to think that the natural is controlled by the supernatural, much more the spiritual based on scriptural truths.

I learnt that life is what it is, just as it presents itself. But to face its complexities, you have to understand certain truths that can’t be learnt in movies, stories or picture. These truths are discovered in the place of deep meditation. Meditating on the words that refine, “the good news about Christ” that Paul – that blessed Patriarch mention in the passage I quoted in my opening. You meditation on this word refines the heart, enlightens the mind and empowers the brain to direct the body in the right path for development and generational impact.

You can do beyond what you are doing now, you best days are yet to come; the good you have seen is not still as good as the deposit you’ve got inside of you. Get the thinking cap on, get His word, speak it as written in the Holy Scripture, believe it, reflect on it, then take appropriate action in the right direction and you’ll not be able to compare your yesterday with toady and your tomorrow will be greater than today.

We have the deposit for the change the world is desperately in need of. He believes in you! And He wants to speak with you and teach you great and marvellous things….give him a place.

Heavy Weights
Imagine for a moment that you are watching a game of ‘throw and catch’ between a grown man and a four year old and the object they are throwing happens to be a bag of cement. For the grown man, catching the bag of cement will be possible because he can handle the weight of the bag. However, for the four year old, it will be a different story because he cannot handle the weight of the bag of cement. If the four year old in his naivety tries to catch the bag of cement, he is most likely to get injured in the process.

Relating this to thoughts, ideas and the mind, the adult player is the person with a strong developed mind while the four year old is the person with a weak undeveloped mind and the bag of cement represents ideas. Grand ideas are everywhere. The only reason why they appear to be in short supply is because weak minds cannot retain grand ideas/thoughts. When great ideas breeze into the thoughts of people with weak undeveloped minds, it flows right through because they don’t have the capacity to retain such thoughts for their lives. This is a reason why people settle for less than they should.

The Creator of the universe is liberal with great ideas and He longs to drop them in our minds. However, as long as we remain weak in our minds big ideas will always appear weak and great thoughts will be alien to us. So how can you make a weak mind become a strong one – able to retain great thoughts and ideas? The answer is in lifting heavy weights.

Weight Lifting is designed to increases the body mass, the muscle size, and ultimately, the physical strength of a person. Likewise, weight lifting done to the mind will increase the strength of the mind. When I say weight lifting, I am referring to the quality of materials you lift into your mind.

If It Must Be, It Must Be Read!

It has been said that two things determine the difference between a person today and five years from now – the people he meets and the books he reads. Don’t let anyone deceive you: edifying books have power! One person I have come to respect and admire in my life is John C. Maxwell. I have read a number of his books and one thing I have come to observe is how often he quotes other authors. He can hardly write two pages in his books without quoting something from a book he read sometime or something he heard someone say. If you are looking for someone with a blessed mind, John C. Maxwell certainly fits the bill on every count!

In his book, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires, Brian Tracy made a comment about the power of learning continually as it relates to having an edge over your peers. This made me realize a fundamental truth about being preferred in any field of endeavor: having a mind that has been developed makes you retain big thoughts; big thoughts birth big ideas; big ideas make you a big shot, and being a big shot makes you a person to be sought after. This is evident when organizations want to hire new hands. I have observed that the hiring process is categorized into two. One category is when there is a notice put out by the hiring company for interested and qualified applicant to submit CV’s and application letter. The other category is when the organization does what is called ‘strategic employment.’ This kind of employment is done when the company has targeted a particular individual from another company to fill the position they have an opening in. Most of the time this kind of hiring is done when the organization intends to move to another level hence they seek and individual who has what it takes to take them to that level. This individual is the preferred person and he will never have to pick up his pen to write an application letter. Why? You are right! He is a big shot! I am sure you can relate with this analogy and even mention some of these big shots yourself. One common trait they all have is that they are all passionate about books.

It is my prayer that you get sick and tired of being counted as one of the many that make up the numbers, wallowing in the class of the majority. If your mind is weak and undeveloped, this is where you stand but changing that is just a decision away – change your attitude to books and you will see how easily your worth can increase simply by reading a few books.

Now on to Brian Tracy’s comment:

“There are three keys to lifelong learning. The first key is to read in your field for at least 30 to 60 minutes each day. Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body. Reading for an hour each day will translate into about a book per week. One book per week will translate into 50 books per year. 50 books per year will translate into 500 books over the next ten years…” this part alone made me see just how powerful our minds can get having been exposed to over 500 books in a short time of 10 years! A man having this kind of exposed mind will definitely become preferred above his peers because, continuing with Brain Tracy’s comment, “…the average adult reads less than one book per year. When you begin reading one hour per day, one book per week, this alone will give you an INCREDIBLE edge in your field. You WILL become one of the smartest, most competent, and HIGHEST PAID people in your profession by simply reading one hour a days.”

The Pain of a Nation

I was at the National Youth Service Corps camp in Umudi, Imo state last year to fellowship with Corpers under the Winners’ Corpers Fellowship where I had served as President of the fellowship during my service year. When giving my address, I asked that those who had finished reading a motivational or self-development book since they graduated to put up their hands. Less than 2% of a class of about 60 graduates put up their hands. These were the people who would take our nation to the next level. It pained my heart and I say this not to spite them but to share with you how mediocrity is thriving among the youths of the nation.

It is common place in Nigeria to believe that who you know will get you to the top. Connections and networking with people does have its advantages, if it is for the right reasons and not corrupt reasons, but even if who you know gets you to the top, at the end of the day, it is what you know that will keep you at the top!

The attitude of the average Nigerian to reading is nothing short of upsetting. The number of books authored by Nigerian that have made the Best-seller list is very few. It is not that these books are not good or well written rather it’s that the numbers of people needed to make it a best seller are not interested in the book! Hence the majority non-reading population misses out on the goldmines hidden in such books.

Highest paid people are not paid as such because they execute small, mediocre ideas. On the contrary, they are paid as such because they execute excellent ideas; excellent ideas stemming from great thoughts; great thoughts stemming from developed minds; developed minds stemming from exposure to mind-building books.

In concluding this chapter, I bring to your notice these truths that will remain as long as the earth remains:

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