March 12, 2025 • 26 mins
Prayer isn't optional but foundational to spiritual growth, requiring us to recognize it as a consistent discipline rather than an occasional practice. Jesus provides both a model and mindset for effective prayer that transforms our relationship with God and others.
• The ACTS prayer framework (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) offers a simple structure for balanced prayer
• Jesus consistently said "when you pray" not "if you pray," establishing prayer as expected Christian behavior
• Prayer should acknowledge God as Father while respecting His sovereignty and kingship
• Forgiveness isn't optional—we must forgive others if we expect God's forgiveness
• Fasting means denying our flesh something it wants to focus on seeking God
• Romans 12 calls us to be "living sacrifices," allowing God to transform us
• Spiritual growth requires letting go of self and surrendering to God's work
• Heaven must be in us before we can be in heaven
For more information about Heed the Word, log on to heedtheword.org where you can find contact information, podcast subscription links and request a free CD of today's message in its unedited form.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro, located in Burleson,Texas.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled the Foundations
of Faith.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We begin our prayer with adoration we adore God, we
worship God.
C.
We move on to confession,confessing our sins before him
and asking his forgiveness.
T we give thanks to God for allof the blessings of our life.
And S supplication, we bringour requests to him and ask him
both to bless us and to blessthose around us, moving into
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intercession followingintersupplication.
So ACTS, that's an easy formatto remember if you need a
formula when you pray.
But can I tell you you don'thave to pray by formulas, you
just need to pray, you just needto talk to God.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Even if you're not handy, you know that when it's
time to build a house, thefoundation must be the first
thing that's addressed, and itmust be done right the first
time.
Our relationship with God is nodifferent.
We must have a firm foundationin the Word of God that's rooted
in a deep and lasting faith inJesus.
That's why Pastor Ken chose toshare with you our series
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entitled the Foundations of theFaith ACTS.
This acronym is a great way toremember how to pray.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
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more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, please open yourBibles and let's join Pastor Ken
with part two of our messageentitled Not If, but when, and
several other important things.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I think, as a new believer, as you come to Christ,
or as you're maybe, an olderbeliever who's continuing to
walk in Christ, sometimes we cutourselves off from growing in
the Lord because we refuse togive to the work of the Lord and
we refuse to give of ourselvesto what the Lord is doing.
If you want to grow, give.
I encourage you to do that, totest the Lord and see what he
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will do for you and through you.
Moving on verse 5 of Matthew,chapter 6.
Jesus goes on and he says andwhen you pray, you notice he
doesn't say if you pray, he sayswhen you pray, you shall not be
like the hypocrites, for theylove to pray, standing in the
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synagogues and on the corners ofthe streets, that they may be
seen by men, assuredly, I say toyou, they have their reward.
But when you pray, again thesecond time, he said when you
pray, go into your room and whenyou have shut your door, pray
to your father, who is in thesecret place, and your father,
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who sees in secret, will rewardyou openly.
And when you pray, do not usevain repetitions, as the heathen
do, for they think that theywill be heard for their many
words.
Therefore, do not be like them,for your father knows the
things you have need of beforeyou ask him In this manner.
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Therefore, pray, and we'll talkabout that in a moment.
Now, my goal today is not togive you an exhaustive message
on prayer.
If I were going to stretch thisout into six or seven or eight
lessons, then today's messagewould be on praying.
If you want an in-depth studyon prayer, I'm going to refer
you again to the book room.
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You can order the series thatwe did not long ago.
Jesus Prayed.
It's a three-part series.
You can get that for free ifyou want it and learn all about
prayer and why it's important topray and how Jesus gave us an
example of prayer.
But the bottom line is this asa believer in Jesus Christ, if
you want to grow, you need to bepraying.
In fact, all of us, whetheryou're a new believer or not, we
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need to be praying.
I encourage you today to examineyour prayer life and ask
yourself if you've been faithfulin this discipline.
You know, maybe you would sayyou know I don't know how to
pray.
Well, you know what guys.
Praying is just talking to God.
You can do it anytime, you cando it anywhere.
You don't have to use floweryspeech, you don't have to have
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all the these thous and thuses,and you know you can pray when
you're walking down the road.
You can pray when you'redriving in your car.
You can pray when you'recooking or washing dishes.
You can pray anywhere andanytime.
Now I would encourage you thatyou do set aside a specific
regular time to pray and I wouldencourage you that that time be
early, that it be in themorning, that it be one of the
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first priorities of your day.
I would encourage you to dothat.
I think that if you do that andyou develop what I like to call
a good devo time, a gooddevotional time, a time when
you're in the word of God andyou're prayerfully reading it
and you're talking to God aboutwhat you've read and you're
laying your day before him, ifyou develop that strong devo
time, you're going to be doingyourself a great favor in your
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walk with the Lord.
That's something that we needto be doing.
But, as we read here, whenJesus said, when you pray, pray
in this manner.
Let's look, at least briefly, atthis example of prayer that
he's given us in the Lord'sprayer.
There are at least six elementsin this prayer that we need to
take note of.
And let's read the whole thing,and then we'll go back and
break it down a little bit.
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In verse nine, jesus said inthis manner therefore, pray our
father in heaven, hallowed beyour name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth asit is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors, anddo not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and
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the power and the glory forever.
Amen and the power and theglory forever Amen.
You know, the first thing thatwe need to notice as we look at
this prayer is that this prayerspeaks to us of the person, of
God, because when we pray, wepray our Father, which art in
heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
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We're beginning with praise,we're beginning with an
awareness of who it is thatwe're addressing, and this, when
Jesus gave it, was a departurefrom what they were used to.
You don't really see Godreferred to as Father too much
in the Old Testament.
You see him referred to asElohim or Yahweh, which speaks
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of his omnipotence and theunspeakable glory of his name.
And yet Jesus is sitting heresaying, when you pray, say
Father, abba, daddy, our Dad,who is in heaven.
You know, you can tell a lotabout a person's walk with the
Lord and how close theirrelationship is to him, kind of
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by how they pray.
Sometimes, you know, if youlisten to someone praying and
you're there with them andthey're like, oh, majestic God,
who created all that is and everwas, and you know all this
other stuff, it's as thoughwe're addressing this God who's
way out there in the distance,right.
And while that's notinappropriate, how much closer
does that relationship seem whenwe come to him and we say, dad,
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abba, father, we need you.
You know, there's thatfamiliarity that's there.
That's that closeness that doesnot lose respect.
It still acknowledges who Godis, but it also acknowledges the
relationship that we have withhim.
What did John write in 1 John 1,verse 12?
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He says but as many as receivedhim to them, he gave the right
to become children of God tothose who believe in his name.
So if we are those who believein his name, if we belong to him
, if we've been given the rightto become his children, then
when we approach him we need torecognize that we're approaching
our father, a God who loves us.
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Now you might say, look, I hadan earthly father and I don't
really think he loved me thatmuch.
Well, guess what?
Your heavenly Father is aperfect Father.
He's the Father you wish youhad, the father perhaps that you
wish you could be.
He's a perfect father and heloves you with a perfect love.
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And so when we pray, the firstthing we need to recognize is
that we are addressing ourfather.
What's the second aspect of theLord's Prayer?
Here we see thy kingdom, come,thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven.
When we pray, we need toacknowledge that we are praying
according to God's purpose, thatwe aren't going to God to get
our will done, but that we'regoing to God to see his purposes
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accomplished in and through ourlives.
What we're saying is our father, who art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
We're saying, lord, make me aninstrument of your divine
providence, use me to bringabout your kingdom.
Let me partner with you, god,in the accomplishing of your
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purposes.
The third part is for God'sprovision.
Give us this day our dailybread.
Lord, give us this day ourdaily bread.
That encompasses our needs.
Whatever you have need of,whatever your supplication is,
take that to the Lord.
The Bible tells us that youhave not because you ask not, or
that if you ask and you don'tget it, it's because you asked
it the wrong way.
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Can I tell you that Godunderstands that you need your
daily bread.
He understands that you need acertain amount of resources in
order to live and he'll providethose.
He will provide those order tolive and he'll provide those.
He will provide those.
The Bible tells us that my Godshall supply all your needs
according to his riches in gloryin Christ Jesus.
But you know what that's allyour needs, not all your greeds.
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He'll provide what you haveneed of, not necessarily
everything you want, becausesometimes what you want isn't
particularly good for you.
That's why it says here give usthis day our daily bread.
It doesn't say, lord, give usthis week our weekly bread, or
give us this month our monthlybread, or give us this year our
yearly bread.
Why does it say that?
Because God knows us and heknows that if he doesn't require
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us to come to him daily, wewon't If all we needed to do is
say Lord, give us this month ourmonthly bread.
How often do you think we wouldpray Monthly?
We would pray monthly, but Goddoesn't want us to pray monthly.
He wants us to pray daily.
He wants us to pray regularly.
He wants us to pray withoutceasing.
Why?
Because he needs our worshipand adoration?
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No, but because he knows thatwhen we spend time talking to
him, we get closer to him and weget to know him better.
Isn't that how it is with thepeople that you love in your
life?
You love to spend time withthem, you love to talk with them
.
Why?
Because you enjoy their companyand you want to know them
better.
Prayer should be the same way.
It should be the same way.
Fourthly, forgive us our debtsas we forgive our debtors.
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We are praying for God's pardonand in that we are also
acknowledging the fact that wehave no right to hold anything
against anyone else.
The fifth part and lead us notinto temptation, but deliver us
from evil.
We're praying there for God'sprotection.
Now, does God lead us to sin?
No, but he does lead us throughperiods in our life where we
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will go through various trials,and we need to ask him not to
lead us there in a sense.
Well, why should we not wantGod to lead us there?
Why should we not want God tolead us through trials?
And why should we ask the Lordlead us, not into testing or
into temptation.
Why should we ask him that, iftemptation and testing actually
builds up our faith, it's aquestion of humility?
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What kind of attitude would webe exhibiting if we said, oh
yeah, lord, I can take it, bringit on, bring on the testing, I
can pass, I can make it.
Who are we having confidence in, in ourselves?
But if we pray, lord, lead usnot into temptation, but deliver
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us from evil, then when testingcomes, we can know that it was
of God because we've asked himto keep us from it.
And so when that testing comes,we know that it's for our good
and that he'll make a way ofescape from the temptation that
has come our way.
Lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.
We're praying for God'sprotection.
And then for the last part, thesixth part, for thine is the
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kingdom and the power and theglory forever.
Amen.
We're acknowledging in thatverse God's preeminence, god's
majesty, the fact that he is theking of the universe.
Yes, he's our dad, but he'salso the king of all the
universe.
We're acknowledging that inthat prayer.
And so, as we look at theLord's prayer here really the
disciples prayer is a betterterm for it we see that we're
praying regarding God's person,regarding his purpose and his
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provision, regarding God'spardon, and we're asking his
protection and we'reacknowledging his preeminence.
I like the an acronym, acts,A-C-T-S as a good model for
prayer and it incorporates allof these same things A we begin
our prayer with adoration.
We adore God, we worship God.
C we move on to confession,confessing our sins before him
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and asking his forgiveness.
T we give thanks to God for allof the blessings of our life.
And S supplication we bring ourrequests to him and ask him
both to bless us and to blessthose around us, moving into
intercession, fallingsupplication.
We bring our requests to himand ask him both to bless us and
to bless those around us,moving into intercession,
falling under supplication.
So ACTS, that's an easy formatto remember if you need a
formula when you pray.
But can I tell you you don'thave to pray by formulas, you
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just need to pray, you just needto talk to God.
Colossians 4.2, just to add tothat thought says that we are to
continue earnestly in prayer,being vigilant in it, with
thanksgiving.
You know, there's one moreaspect of the Lord's prayer that
I really want us to focus onfor just a moment, and that is
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that it's all in the plural.
Did you notice that we aren'tsaying my father, who is in
heaven?
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give me this day my daily breadand forgive me my trespasses.
It's corporate.
It's understanding that as weare praying for ourselves, we
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are also praying for others.
When you pray, don't just prayfor your own needs, but pray for
the needs of the body aroundyou.
Pray for those other peoplethat God has brought you into
contact with.
In verse 14, I want to continuethe thought that Jesus has here
when he says for if you forgivemen their trespasses, your
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heavenly father will alsoforgive you.
But for if you forgive mentheir trespasses, your heavenly
father will also forgive you,but if you do not forgive men
their trespasses, neither willyour father forgive your
trespasses.
We as Christians should not haveto ask that question am I going
to forgive someone?
We are required to forgive themif we ourselves want
forgiveness.
That's not an easy thing to do.
You might ask how do I forgivesomeone whom my heart has no
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forgiveness for?
This person hurt me, thisperson wronged me.
They haven't repented.
Why should I forgive them?
Well, you know what.
You should forgive them becauseGod has commanded you to
forgive them.
And forgiveness, friends, is nota feeling.
Forgiveness is a choice.
You choose to release someonefrom that obligation.
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You choose not to judge them orto hate them in your heart, and
you choose to ask God to helpyou to love them, because you
know what God loves us, in spiteof ourselves, in spite of the
things we do, in spite of ourfailings.
Aren't you glad today that youhave a God who forgives you?
And would you be willing tohold a grudge against someone
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else so long and so strong as tosay, lord, I don't care if you
don't forgive me.
Could you imagine doing that?
Some people do, they do, but asa Christian, we don't have that
option.
We must forgive.
Moving on to verse 16.
Moreover, when you fast, do notbe like the hypocrites with a
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sad countenance, for theydisfigure their faces that they
may appear to men to be fastingAssuredly.
I say to you, they have theirreward.
But you, when you fast, itdoesn't say if you fast, does it
.
It says when you fast.
It doesn't say if you fast doesit.
It says when you fast, anointyour head and wash your face so
that you do not appear to men tobe fasting, but to your father,
who is in heaven, in the secretplace, and your father, who
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sees in secret, will reward youopenly.
What is he talking about there?
Do you have to fast?
As a Christian, yes, you do.
What do I mean by that?
Do I mean you have to abstainfrom food for a period of time?
No, I don't mean that at all,though that is the definition of
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fasting that you will see there.
What is fasting really?
Fasting is denying your fleshsomething that it wants, and as
a Christian, you have to denyyour flesh some things that it
wants, don't you?
If we, as Christians, say thatwe're going to go out and we're
going to indulge our flesh andwe're going to give our flesh
whatever we want, then we arenot living a life yielded to the
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Lord or following his spirit.
So, in the broader sense, areyou to fast?
Absolutely, you're to fast inthat you are to deny your flesh
the things that sometimes itwants, that are in contradiction
to God's will and his purpose.
I also agree that, asChristians, it's a good idea for
us to fast in a literal sense,because it's good for us
spiritually.
Of course, there are medicalthings that we have to take into
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consideration, but there arealso other kinds of fasts.
You can fast from television,you can fast from the radio.
You can fast from television.
You can fast from the radio.
You can fast from you knowmedia of any kind.
You can fast from particularactivities.
The purpose of a fast is simplythis to say that I am going to
deny my flesh something that itwants, that I might dedicate
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myself to seeking God's face.
That's the purpose of it.
If we fast without prayer, thenwe're just on a diet.
Do you understand what I'msaying?
It is to be accompanied withprayer, and denying our flesh is
definitely something that weare to do.
Now, there's been a themethrough the three things that
we've seen here, and that themehas been this what you're doing,
don't do it unto men, that youmight be seen by men and receive
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a reward from men, but do itunto the Lord, that you might be
seen by men and receive areward from men, but do it unto
the Lord, that you might be seenby the Lord and he will reward
you openly.
That's the theme, and in doingthat, then, we will accomplish
what Jesus is referring to herein verses 19, 20, and 21, where
he says do not lay up foryourselves treasures on earth
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where moth and rust destroy andwhere thieves break in and steal
, but lay up for yourselvestreasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust destroyand where thieves do not break
in and steal, for where yourtreasure is there, your heart
will be also.
As Christians, if we want togrow, we have to recognize that
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our perspective must be aheavenly perspective, that we
need to look to the things thatare above, not to the things
that are below, that God, yes,will reward us openly, but that
the vast majority of that rewardwill not be received in this
life though I'm sure some willbe but that our reward comes in
heaven.
And let's go to Romans, chapter12.
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We've been here many timesbefore, but I want to talk about
a few more things that arereally not optional for the
Christian, but are things that,as believers, we really are
called to do and that if we dothese things, we are assured
that we're going to grow inChrist, because that's really
our goal, isn't?
It Isn't our goal here todaythat we want to grow in Christ,
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that we don't want to staylittle baby Christians all our
lives, who can't handle anythingbut milk, who can't get a hold
of the meat of God's word andchew it and digest it and let it
have an effect on our lives andon the world around us?
Isn't that what we want?
Isn't that what you want?
I know it's what I want.
I spent too much of myChristian life as a young
believer not growing to wasteany more of it.
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I hope you agree with me.
I want to grow in Christ.
I want to be more tomorrow thanI am today.
By his grace, amen.
How do you do that?
Well, you get your eyes offyourself.
Get your eyes off yourself.
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Chapter 12, verse 1,.
I beseech you therefore,brethren you know Paul is
begging them.
I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies aliving sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is yourreasonable service, and do not
be conformed to this world, butbe transformed by the renewing
of your mind that you may provewhat is that good and acceptable
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and perfect will of God.
You know, when we withholdourselves from God and we refuse
to become a sacrifice, thatcrawls up on that altar and says
I'm going to die to myself, I'mgoing to get my eyes off of
myself and I'm going to givemyself to the Lord completely,
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then we deny the work of God inour lives, don't we?
Then what's different about us?
What am I trying to say?
If we refuse to give the Spiritof God His way in our hearts and
in our lives, if we refuse tosay no to our flesh, if we
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refuse to die to ourselves andto live for Christ, then we are
denying the very mercy by whichwe were saved.
We are saying that the factthat I've become a Christian
doesn't make a difference in mylife.
It's just a card that I gotpunched, so now I can go to
heaven.
Right, how can we think we'llgo to heaven and be there in
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heaven with God if heavendoesn't dwell in us first?
I really believe that for us tobe in heaven, heaven must be in
us.
Does that make sense?
For us to be in Christ, christmust be in us and in order for
Christ to be in us, we have tobe willing to die to ourselves.
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I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God
not by your own efforts, not byyour own strength, not by the
force of your own will, but bythe mercies of God that you
present your bodies a livingsacrifice holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonableservice, and do not be conformed
to this world, but betransformed by the renewing of
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your mind.
That is a passive thing.
Be transformed.
Be being transformed Meaninglet God work in you.
You can't transform yourself,but you can let God transform
you.
And if, as God is transformingyou, you keep saying to yourself
I'm not willing to let go ofthese things, then you're
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resisting the work of God inyour life.
So what I'm saying, christian,is this If you want to grow in
grace, don't resist the work ofGod in your life, but give
yourself over to the work of Godin your life.
But give yourself over to thework of God in your life by
putting yourself in a placewhere God can speak to you and
where his spirit can lead you,and that is in prayer and in his
word.
Do not be conformed to thisworld but be transformed by the
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renewing of your mind, that youmay prove what is the good and
acceptable and perfect will ofGod.
For I say, through the gracegiven to me, to everyone who is
among you, not to think ofhimself more highly than he
ought to think, but to thinksoberly, as God has dealt to
each one a measure of faith.
For as we have many members inone body, but all the members do
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not have the same function, sowe, being many, are one body in
Christ and individually membersof one another.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the radio ministry of
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro,located in Burleson, Texas.
As you likely gathered, PastorKen Davis is currently sharing
our series entitled theFoundations of the Faith.
Pastor Ken will be coveringmany topics about how we can be
(24:33):
founded in the fundamentaltruths of the Word of God.
If you were with us at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
you know we mentioned that we'dbe giving additional information
about Heed the Word and how toget a free copy of this message.
For additional informationabout Heed the Word and how to
get a free copy of this message,For more information about Heed
the Word, log on toheedthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
At the website, you'll findeverything you need our contact
(24:57):
information, podcastsubscription link and a link to
our online order form, whichwill allow you to place an order
for a CD in today's message inits unedited form.
Since all of our materials arefree of charge, supplies are
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order today.
As we close today, we want toencourage you to not only be a
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listener of Heed the Word, butto truly apply what you're
learning.
Take the Word of God and beginapplying it to your life every
day.
Well, that's all the time thatwe have for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time as Pastor
Ken continues with our seriesentitled the Foundations of the
(25:41):
faith.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro, located in Burleson,Texas.
Please join us as we study ourseries entitled the Foundations
of Faith.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
We begin our prayer with adoration we adore God, we
worship God.
C.
We move on to confession,confessing our sins before him
and asking his forgiveness.
T we give thanks to God for allof the blessings of our life.
And S supplication, we bringour requests to him and ask him
both to bless us and to blessthose around us, moving into
(00:39):
intercession followingintersupplication.
So ACTS, that's an easy formatto remember if you need a
formula when you pray.
But can I tell you you don'thave to pray by formulas, you
just need to pray, you just needto talk to God.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Even if you're not handy, you know that when it's
time to build a house, thefoundation must be the first
thing that's addressed, and itmust be done right the first
time.
Our relationship with God is nodifferent.
We must have a firm foundationin the Word of God that's rooted
in a deep and lasting faith inJesus.
That's why Pastor Ken chose toshare with you our series
(01:14):
entitled the Foundations of theFaith ACTS.
This acronym is a great way toremember how to pray.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
(01:47):
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, please open yourBibles and let's join Pastor Ken
with part two of our messageentitled Not If, but when, and
several other important things.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
I think, as a new believer, as you come to Christ,
or as you're maybe, an olderbeliever who's continuing to
walk in Christ, sometimes we cutourselves off from growing in
the Lord because we refuse togive to the work of the Lord and
we refuse to give of ourselvesto what the Lord is doing.
If you want to grow, give.
I encourage you to do that, totest the Lord and see what he
(02:22):
will do for you and through you.
Moving on verse 5 of Matthew,chapter 6.
Jesus goes on and he says andwhen you pray, you notice he
doesn't say if you pray, he sayswhen you pray, you shall not be
like the hypocrites, for theylove to pray, standing in the
(02:44):
synagogues and on the corners ofthe streets, that they may be
seen by men, assuredly, I say toyou, they have their reward.
But when you pray, again thesecond time, he said when you
pray, go into your room and whenyou have shut your door, pray
to your father, who is in thesecret place, and your father,
(03:04):
who sees in secret, will rewardyou openly.
And when you pray, do not usevain repetitions, as the heathen
do, for they think that theywill be heard for their many
words.
Therefore, do not be like them,for your father knows the
things you have need of beforeyou ask him In this manner.
(03:25):
Therefore, pray, and we'll talkabout that in a moment.
Now, my goal today is not togive you an exhaustive message
on prayer.
If I were going to stretch thisout into six or seven or eight
lessons, then today's messagewould be on praying.
If you want an in-depth studyon prayer, I'm going to refer
you again to the book room.
(03:46):
You can order the series thatwe did not long ago.
Jesus Prayed.
It's a three-part series.
You can get that for free ifyou want it and learn all about
prayer and why it's important topray and how Jesus gave us an
example of prayer.
But the bottom line is this asa believer in Jesus Christ, if
you want to grow, you need to bepraying.
In fact, all of us, whetheryou're a new believer or not, we
(04:10):
need to be praying.
I encourage you today to examineyour prayer life and ask
yourself if you've been faithfulin this discipline.
You know, maybe you would sayyou know I don't know how to
pray.
Well, you know what guys.
Praying is just talking to God.
You can do it anytime, you cando it anywhere.
You don't have to use floweryspeech, you don't have to have
(04:32):
all the these thous and thuses,and you know you can pray when
you're walking down the road.
You can pray when you'redriving in your car.
You can pray when you'recooking or washing dishes.
You can pray anywhere andanytime.
Now I would encourage you thatyou do set aside a specific
regular time to pray and I wouldencourage you that that time be
early, that it be in themorning, that it be one of the
(04:54):
first priorities of your day.
I would encourage you to dothat.
I think that if you do that andyou develop what I like to call
a good devo time, a gooddevotional time, a time when
you're in the word of God andyou're prayerfully reading it
and you're talking to God aboutwhat you've read and you're
laying your day before him, ifyou develop that strong devo
time, you're going to be doingyourself a great favor in your
(05:16):
walk with the Lord.
That's something that we needto be doing.
But, as we read here, whenJesus said, when you pray, pray
in this manner.
Let's look, at least briefly, atthis example of prayer that
he's given us in the Lord'sprayer.
There are at least six elementsin this prayer that we need to
take note of.
And let's read the whole thing,and then we'll go back and
break it down a little bit.
(05:37):
In verse nine, jesus said inthis manner therefore, pray our
father in heaven, hallowed beyour name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth asit is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors, anddo not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and
(06:00):
the power and the glory forever.
Amen and the power and theglory forever Amen.
You know, the first thing thatwe need to notice as we look at
this prayer is that this prayerspeaks to us of the person, of
God, because when we pray, wepray our Father, which art in
heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
(06:20):
We're beginning with praise,we're beginning with an
awareness of who it is thatwe're addressing, and this, when
Jesus gave it, was a departurefrom what they were used to.
You don't really see Godreferred to as Father too much
in the Old Testament.
You see him referred to asElohim or Yahweh, which speaks
(06:41):
of his omnipotence and theunspeakable glory of his name.
And yet Jesus is sitting heresaying, when you pray, say
Father, abba, daddy, our Dad,who is in heaven.
You know, you can tell a lotabout a person's walk with the
Lord and how close theirrelationship is to him, kind of
(07:01):
by how they pray.
Sometimes, you know, if youlisten to someone praying and
you're there with them andthey're like, oh, majestic God,
who created all that is and everwas, and you know all this
other stuff, it's as thoughwe're addressing this God who's
way out there in the distance,right.
And while that's notinappropriate, how much closer
does that relationship seem whenwe come to him and we say, dad,
(07:24):
abba, father, we need you.
You know, there's thatfamiliarity that's there.
That's that closeness that doesnot lose respect.
It still acknowledges who Godis, but it also acknowledges the
relationship that we have withhim.
What did John write in 1 John 1,verse 12?
(07:46):
He says but as many as receivedhim to them, he gave the right
to become children of God tothose who believe in his name.
So if we are those who believein his name, if we belong to him
, if we've been given the rightto become his children, then
when we approach him we need torecognize that we're approaching
our father, a God who loves us.
(08:06):
Now you might say, look, I hadan earthly father and I don't
really think he loved me thatmuch.
Well, guess what?
Your heavenly Father is aperfect Father.
He's the Father you wish youhad, the father perhaps that you
wish you could be.
He's a perfect father and heloves you with a perfect love.
(08:27):
And so when we pray, the firstthing we need to recognize is
that we are addressing ourfather.
What's the second aspect of theLord's Prayer?
Here we see thy kingdom, come,thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven.
When we pray, we need toacknowledge that we are praying
according to God's purpose, thatwe aren't going to God to get
our will done, but that we'regoing to God to see his purposes
(08:50):
accomplished in and through ourlives.
What we're saying is our father, who art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
We're saying, lord, make me aninstrument of your divine
providence, use me to bringabout your kingdom.
Let me partner with you, god,in the accomplishing of your
(09:11):
purposes.
The third part is for God'sprovision.
Give us this day our dailybread.
Lord, give us this day ourdaily bread.
That encompasses our needs.
Whatever you have need of,whatever your supplication is,
take that to the Lord.
The Bible tells us that youhave not because you ask not, or
that if you ask and you don'tget it, it's because you asked
it the wrong way.
(09:32):
Can I tell you that Godunderstands that you need your
daily bread.
He understands that you need acertain amount of resources in
order to live and he'll providethose.
He will provide those order tolive and he'll provide those.
He will provide those.
The Bible tells us that my Godshall supply all your needs
according to his riches in gloryin Christ Jesus.
But you know what that's allyour needs, not all your greeds.
(09:52):
He'll provide what you haveneed of, not necessarily
everything you want, becausesometimes what you want isn't
particularly good for you.
That's why it says here give usthis day our daily bread.
It doesn't say, lord, give usthis week our weekly bread, or
give us this month our monthlybread, or give us this year our
yearly bread.
Why does it say that?
Because God knows us and heknows that if he doesn't require
(10:15):
us to come to him daily, wewon't If all we needed to do is
say Lord, give us this month ourmonthly bread.
How often do you think we wouldpray Monthly?
We would pray monthly, but Goddoesn't want us to pray monthly.
He wants us to pray daily.
He wants us to pray regularly.
He wants us to pray withoutceasing.
Why?
Because he needs our worshipand adoration?
(10:35):
No, but because he knows thatwhen we spend time talking to
him, we get closer to him and weget to know him better.
Isn't that how it is with thepeople that you love in your
life?
You love to spend time withthem, you love to talk with them
.
Why?
Because you enjoy their companyand you want to know them
better.
Prayer should be the same way.
It should be the same way.
Fourthly, forgive us our debtsas we forgive our debtors.
(11:01):
We are praying for God's pardonand in that we are also
acknowledging the fact that wehave no right to hold anything
against anyone else.
The fifth part and lead us notinto temptation, but deliver us
from evil.
We're praying there for God'sprotection.
Now, does God lead us to sin?
No, but he does lead us throughperiods in our life where we
(11:21):
will go through various trials,and we need to ask him not to
lead us there in a sense.
Well, why should we not wantGod to lead us there?
Why should we not want God tolead us through trials?
And why should we ask the Lordlead us, not into testing or
into temptation.
Why should we ask him that, iftemptation and testing actually
builds up our faith, it's aquestion of humility?
(11:43):
What kind of attitude would webe exhibiting if we said, oh
yeah, lord, I can take it, bringit on, bring on the testing, I
can pass, I can make it.
Who are we having confidence in, in ourselves?
But if we pray, lord, lead usnot into temptation, but deliver
(12:04):
us from evil, then when testingcomes, we can know that it was
of God because we've asked himto keep us from it.
And so when that testing comes,we know that it's for our good
and that he'll make a way ofescape from the temptation that
has come our way.
Lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.
We're praying for God'sprotection.
And then for the last part, thesixth part, for thine is the
(12:27):
kingdom and the power and theglory forever.
Amen.
We're acknowledging in thatverse God's preeminence, god's
majesty, the fact that he is theking of the universe.
Yes, he's our dad, but he'salso the king of all the
universe.
We're acknowledging that inthat prayer.
And so, as we look at theLord's prayer here really the
disciples prayer is a betterterm for it we see that we're
praying regarding God's person,regarding his purpose and his
(12:49):
provision, regarding God'spardon, and we're asking his
protection and we'reacknowledging his preeminence.
I like the an acronym, acts,A-C-T-S as a good model for
prayer and it incorporates allof these same things A we begin
our prayer with adoration.
We adore God, we worship God.
C we move on to confession,confessing our sins before him
(13:13):
and asking his forgiveness.
T we give thanks to God for allof the blessings of our life.
And S supplication we bring ourrequests to him and ask him
both to bless us and to blessthose around us, moving into
intercession, fallingsupplication.
We bring our requests to himand ask him both to bless us and
to bless those around us,moving into intercession,
falling under supplication.
So ACTS, that's an easy formatto remember if you need a
formula when you pray.
But can I tell you you don'thave to pray by formulas, you
(13:35):
just need to pray, you just needto talk to God.
Colossians 4.2, just to add tothat thought says that we are to
continue earnestly in prayer,being vigilant in it, with
thanksgiving.
You know, there's one moreaspect of the Lord's prayer that
I really want us to focus onfor just a moment, and that is
(13:59):
that it's all in the plural.
Did you notice that we aren'tsaying my father, who is in
heaven?
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as itis in heaven.
Give me this day my daily breadand forgive me my trespasses.
It's corporate.
It's understanding that as weare praying for ourselves, we
(14:22):
are also praying for others.
When you pray, don't just prayfor your own needs, but pray for
the needs of the body aroundyou.
Pray for those other peoplethat God has brought you into
contact with.
In verse 14, I want to continuethe thought that Jesus has here
when he says for if you forgivemen their trespasses, your
(14:42):
heavenly father will alsoforgive you.
But for if you forgive mentheir trespasses, your heavenly
father will also forgive you,but if you do not forgive men
their trespasses, neither willyour father forgive your
trespasses.
We as Christians should not haveto ask that question am I going
to forgive someone?
We are required to forgive themif we ourselves want
forgiveness.
That's not an easy thing to do.
You might ask how do I forgivesomeone whom my heart has no
(15:05):
forgiveness for?
This person hurt me, thisperson wronged me.
They haven't repented.
Why should I forgive them?
Well, you know what.
You should forgive them becauseGod has commanded you to
forgive them.
And forgiveness, friends, is nota feeling.
Forgiveness is a choice.
You choose to release someonefrom that obligation.
(15:26):
You choose not to judge them orto hate them in your heart, and
you choose to ask God to helpyou to love them, because you
know what God loves us, in spiteof ourselves, in spite of the
things we do, in spite of ourfailings.
Aren't you glad today that youhave a God who forgives you?
And would you be willing tohold a grudge against someone
(15:51):
else so long and so strong as tosay, lord, I don't care if you
don't forgive me.
Could you imagine doing that?
Some people do, they do, but asa Christian, we don't have that
option.
We must forgive.
Moving on to verse 16.
Moreover, when you fast, do notbe like the hypocrites with a
(16:11):
sad countenance, for theydisfigure their faces that they
may appear to men to be fastingAssuredly.
I say to you, they have theirreward.
But you, when you fast, itdoesn't say if you fast, does it
.
It says when you fast.
It doesn't say if you fast doesit.
It says when you fast, anointyour head and wash your face so
that you do not appear to men tobe fasting, but to your father,
who is in heaven, in the secretplace, and your father, who
(16:33):
sees in secret, will reward youopenly.
What is he talking about there?
Do you have to fast?
As a Christian, yes, you do.
What do I mean by that?
Do I mean you have to abstainfrom food for a period of time?
No, I don't mean that at all,though that is the definition of
(16:54):
fasting that you will see there.
What is fasting really?
Fasting is denying your fleshsomething that it wants, and as
a Christian, you have to denyyour flesh some things that it
wants, don't you?
If we, as Christians, say thatwe're going to go out and we're
going to indulge our flesh andwe're going to give our flesh
whatever we want, then we arenot living a life yielded to the
(17:16):
Lord or following his spirit.
So, in the broader sense, areyou to fast?
Absolutely, you're to fast inthat you are to deny your flesh
the things that sometimes itwants, that are in contradiction
to God's will and his purpose.
I also agree that, asChristians, it's a good idea for
us to fast in a literal sense,because it's good for us
spiritually.
Of course, there are medicalthings that we have to take into
(17:38):
consideration, but there arealso other kinds of fasts.
You can fast from television,you can fast from the radio.
You can fast from television.
You can fast from the radio.
You can fast from you knowmedia of any kind.
You can fast from particularactivities.
The purpose of a fast is simplythis to say that I am going to
deny my flesh something that itwants, that I might dedicate
(17:59):
myself to seeking God's face.
That's the purpose of it.
If we fast without prayer, thenwe're just on a diet.
Do you understand what I'msaying?
It is to be accompanied withprayer, and denying our flesh is
definitely something that weare to do.
Now, there's been a themethrough the three things that
we've seen here, and that themehas been this what you're doing,
don't do it unto men, that youmight be seen by men and receive
(18:23):
a reward from men, but do itunto the Lord, that you might be
seen by men and receive areward from men, but do it unto
the Lord, that you might be seenby the Lord and he will reward
you openly.
That's the theme, and in doingthat, then, we will accomplish
what Jesus is referring to herein verses 19, 20, and 21, where
he says do not lay up foryourselves treasures on earth
(18:44):
where moth and rust destroy andwhere thieves break in and steal
, but lay up for yourselvestreasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust destroyand where thieves do not break
in and steal, for where yourtreasure is there, your heart
will be also.
As Christians, if we want togrow, we have to recognize that
(19:06):
our perspective must be aheavenly perspective, that we
need to look to the things thatare above, not to the things
that are below, that God, yes,will reward us openly, but that
the vast majority of that rewardwill not be received in this
life though I'm sure some willbe but that our reward comes in
heaven.
And let's go to Romans, chapter12.
(19:28):
We've been here many timesbefore, but I want to talk about
a few more things that arereally not optional for the
Christian, but are things that,as believers, we really are
called to do and that if we dothese things, we are assured
that we're going to grow inChrist, because that's really
our goal, isn't?
It Isn't our goal here todaythat we want to grow in Christ,
(19:51):
that we don't want to staylittle baby Christians all our
lives, who can't handle anythingbut milk, who can't get a hold
of the meat of God's word andchew it and digest it and let it
have an effect on our lives andon the world around us?
Isn't that what we want?
Isn't that what you want?
I know it's what I want.
I spent too much of myChristian life as a young
believer not growing to wasteany more of it.
(20:12):
I hope you agree with me.
I want to grow in Christ.
I want to be more tomorrow thanI am today.
By his grace, amen.
How do you do that?
Well, you get your eyes offyourself.
Get your eyes off yourself.
(20:33):
Chapter 12, verse 1,.
I beseech you therefore,brethren you know Paul is
begging them.
I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies aliving sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is yourreasonable service, and do not
be conformed to this world, butbe transformed by the renewing
of your mind that you may provewhat is that good and acceptable
(20:57):
and perfect will of God.
You know, when we withholdourselves from God and we refuse
to become a sacrifice, thatcrawls up on that altar and says
I'm going to die to myself, I'mgoing to get my eyes off of
myself and I'm going to givemyself to the Lord completely,
(21:20):
then we deny the work of God inour lives, don't we?
Then what's different about us?
What am I trying to say?
If we refuse to give the Spiritof God His way in our hearts and
in our lives, if we refuse tosay no to our flesh, if we
(21:42):
refuse to die to ourselves andto live for Christ, then we are
denying the very mercy by whichwe were saved.
We are saying that the factthat I've become a Christian
doesn't make a difference in mylife.
It's just a card that I gotpunched, so now I can go to
heaven.
Right, how can we think we'llgo to heaven and be there in
(22:05):
heaven with God if heavendoesn't dwell in us first?
I really believe that for us tobe in heaven, heaven must be in
us.
Does that make sense?
For us to be in Christ, christmust be in us and in order for
Christ to be in us, we have tobe willing to die to ourselves.
(22:31):
I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God
not by your own efforts, not byyour own strength, not by the
force of your own will, but bythe mercies of God that you
present your bodies a livingsacrifice holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonableservice, and do not be conformed
to this world, but betransformed by the renewing of
(22:53):
your mind.
That is a passive thing.
Be transformed.
Be being transformed Meaninglet God work in you.
You can't transform yourself,but you can let God transform
you.
And if, as God is transformingyou, you keep saying to yourself
I'm not willing to let go ofthese things, then you're
(23:13):
resisting the work of God inyour life.
So what I'm saying, christian,is this If you want to grow in
grace, don't resist the work ofGod in your life, but give
yourself over to the work of Godin your life.
But give yourself over to thework of God in your life by
putting yourself in a placewhere God can speak to you and
where his spirit can lead you,and that is in prayer and in his
word.
Do not be conformed to thisworld but be transformed by the
(23:37):
renewing of your mind, that youmay prove what is the good and
acceptable and perfect will ofGod.
For I say, through the gracegiven to me, to everyone who is
among you, not to think ofhimself more highly than he
ought to think, but to thinksoberly, as God has dealt to
each one a measure of faith.
For as we have many members inone body, but all the members do
(24:01):
not have the same function, sowe, being many, are one body in
Christ and individually membersof one another.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Well, that's all the time we have for today.
You've been listening to Heedthe Word, the radio ministry of
Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro,located in Burleson, Texas.
As you likely gathered, PastorKen Davis is currently sharing
our series entitled theFoundations of the Faith.
Pastor Ken will be coveringmany topics about how we can be
(24:33):
founded in the fundamentaltruths of the Word of God.
If you were with us at thebeginning of today's broadcast,
you know we mentioned that we'dbe giving additional information
about Heed the Word and how toget a free copy of this message.
For additional informationabout Heed the Word and how to
get a free copy of this message,For more information about Heed
the Word, log on toheedthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
At the website, you'll findeverything you need our contact
(24:57):
information, podcastsubscription link and a link to
our online order form, whichwill allow you to place an order
for a CD in today's message inits unedited form.
Since all of our materials arefree of charge, supplies are
limited, so log on toheedthewordorg and place your
order today.
As we close today, we want toencourage you to not only be a
(25:20):
listener of Heed the Word, butto truly apply what you're
learning.
Take the Word of God and beginapplying it to your life every
day.
Well, that's all the time thatwe have for this edition of Heed
the Word with Pastor Ken Davis.
Place a marker in your Biblesand join us next time as Pastor
Ken continues with our seriesentitled the Foundations of the
(25:41):
faith.
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