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GOD'S
GUARANTEE
To
Answer
PRAYERS
By:
Pastor Max Solbrekken
Jesus
said, "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly
Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask Him"? (Luke 11:13)
DOES
GOD ANSWER PRAYERS ?
We can come to God in prayer anytime,
anywhere, and we can expect to
receive any answer from God.
God's
Word says, "Call unto Me, and I
will answer thee, and shew thee great
and mighty things, which thou knowest
not." (Jeremiah 33:3)
IF
WE WANT ANSWERS FROM GOD, WE
MUST CALL
UPON HIS NAME
But
if we want God to answer us, we must
call upon His Name!
Jesus
said, "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him"? (Luke
11:13)
"Come
unto Me all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." (Matthew 11:28)
"And
him that cometh unto Me, I shall in no
wise cast out." (John 6:37)
"Ask
and it shall be given you, seek and ye
shall find. Knock and it shall be
opened unto you. For everyone that
asketh receiveth, he that seeketh
findeth and to him that knocketh it
shall be opened." (Matthew
7:7-8)
"Behold
I stand at the door and knock. If any
man hear My voice and open the door, I
will come into him and will sup with
him and he with Me." (Revelation
3:20)
"Call
unto Me, and I will answer thee, and
show thee great and mighty things
which thou knowest not."
(Jeremiah 33:3)
"I
will never leave thee nor forsake
thee." (Hebrews 13:5)
--JESUS CHRIST
GOD'S
GUARANTEE TO ANSWER PRAYERS
The
Bible is the authoritative, divinely
inspired and perfect WORD OF GOD!
God's signature is on the original
autographs, written by holy men as
they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
St.
Peter emphasized, "Knowing this
first, that no prophecy of the
scripture is of any private
interpretation."
"For
the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man; but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost." (2 Peter 1:20-21)
MARTIN
LUTHER DID NOT SEE A BIBLE
UNTIL HE WS
OVER 20 YEARS OF AGE
Martin
Luther had not seen a Bible until he
was more than 20 years old and his
colleague Dr. Carlstadt had received
his doctorate in theology from a
prestigious Roman Catholic Seminary
without ever reading the Bible!
THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH REFUSED
CHRISTIAN LAYMAN TO STUDY AND READ THE
HOLY SCRIPTURES FOR 100's OF YEARS
For
hundreds of years the Roman Catholic
Church refused Christian laymen the
right to read and study the Holy
Scriptures. They claimed that it was
too deep. "Only an educated priest
or theologian could understand God's
Word", they pontificated! This of
course, was a trick of the devil!
THIS
WAS A TRICK OF THE DEVIL - SATAN
KNOWS THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD
Satan
knows how powerful God's Word is and
so was using this deceptive tactic to
keep people in bondage. Jesus said,
"Ye shall know the truth and the
truth shall make you free." (John
8:32)
No
wonder Martin Luther stated, "The
papacy is a general chase (hunting
expedition) in which the Bishop of
Rome is seeking to capture and bring
to hell as many unsuspecting people as
he can."
Sadly,
Roman Catholic Theologians put their
own private interpretation on God's
Word, as do The Mormons, Jehovah
Witnesses and other religious cults
today.
When
St. Peter said, "No prophecy of
the scripture is of any private
interpretation...." What did he
mean?
St.
Paul was simply saying:: God
interprets the Scripture, Himself.
The
message God wants you to receive is
not what a certain sect or
denomination reads into the scripture,
but what He (God) is communicating!
HOW
DOES GOD INTERPRET THE
SCRIPTURES ?
How
does God interpret the scriptures? By
using other scriptures which the Holy
Spirit has anointed! Scripture
interprets scripture and God does not
contradict His Word. When taken in
context, you will find that there are
NO contradictions in The Holy Bible!
THE
HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORD OF GOD AGREE
TOTALLY
The
Holy Spirit and the Word of God agree
totally, for the Holy Spirit anointed
holy men to write the scripture, and
God has no mental block or speech
impediment!
GOD
SAID WHAT HE MEANT AND MEANT
WHAT HE SAID
God
honours His Word today with all power
and authority.
JESUS
CHRIST HIMSELF IS THE LIVING
WORD OF GOD
Jesus
Christ Himself is the Living Word of
God while the Holy canon of scripture,
the Bible, is the written Word of God.
Therefore, if you will believe the
Word of God and appropriate it for
yourself, Jesus Christ will come out
of the pages of this holy book and
come into your heart. This offer from
Christ is open to every person in the
entire world, regardless of age, race
or color. This offer is
worldwide and has no strings attached.
St.
Paul said, "For what if some did
not believe? shall their unbelief make
the faith of God without effect? God
forbid: yea, let God be true, but
every man a liar..." (Romans
3:3-4)
There
are more than 33,000 promises of
blessings in the Bible and they all
have to do with God's dealings with
mankind! His promises are not for
angelic beings, but for lost, sinful,
sick and fallen man. His
promises are for you and me!
1)
CHRIST'S INVITATION IS GENUINE
Jesus
invited, "Come unto Me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest." (Matthew
11:28)
The
most beautiful word in any language is
'Come'. This is a word of invitation
and when Jesus calls, we must always
be ready to answer His call!
CHRIST
SAID "COME UNTO ME" - HE IS
INVITING YOU TO COME TO HIM IN PRAYER
He
said, "Come unto Me". He is
the only one with solutions to our
problems and answers to our
questions! How do we come
unto God? The only way we can
respond to His invitation of
"Come Unto Me", in through
Prayer. Prayer is our direct
communication with God.
PRAYER
IS OUR DIRECT COMMUNICATION
WITH THE ALMIGHTY GOD
While
on a visit to the USA several years
ago, the then Soviet Union's communist
president Mikhail Gorbachev stated,
"Only Jesus Christ had the
solutions to every problem. I don't
possess that skill."
When
asked by US reporters, the reason for
glasnost, perestroika and the new
freedom of religion which was
happening in his country, Gorbachev
replied: "JESUS CHRIST"!
As
startled reporters asked him to repeat
his answer, he stated without
hesitation: "JESUS CHRIST".
Then, as if realizing what he had just
said, Gorbachev quickly changed the
subject.
GORBACHEV
STATED: "ONLY JESUS CHRIST HAS THE
SOLUTION TO EVERY PROBLEM"
Christ's
invitation is to "all who labour
and are heavy laden", and that
takes us all in. Gorbachev was right:
Only Jesus Christ has the solution to
every problem!
In
The Bible, which is the Word of God,
our LORD promises rest and peace to
all the world, to anyone who responds
to His Invitation. We all need a
new meeting with Jesus. No one
in this world is exempt from the
cares, burdens, frustrations,
temptations, pressures, sicknesses and
other pitfalls of Satan. These are all
of the world and of the flesh.
But God promises that prayer can
change all this.
WE
ARE ALL CONSTANTLY FACING TRIALS
& TEMPTATIONS
We
are all constantly facing testing,
temptations and trials in various
forms and fashions. The ability
to pay our debts - due to
unemployment, unreasonable taxation or
sickness - are some of the biggest
stress producers in this generation.
OUR
FAITH IN SORELY TRIED AS WE DEAL
WITH THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE
Our
faith is sorely tried as we deal with
things like family break-up among
children, grandchildren, relatives and
friends. But Christ Jesus has promised
us total victory, a release from
tension and an abiding peace as we
look to Him alone and keep our trust
in His Word.
Hear
His Word again: "Come unto Me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." (Matthew
11:28)
If
you will notice, Christ
didn't say Come to a certain religious
body or embrace a certain philosophy,
ideology or theology...but He said,
"Come unto Me", and every
person in this world is included in
this offer.
Jesus
didn't mention His mother Mary or His
inner circle disciples Peter, James or
John or His half-brother James who
became the first authority as Pastor
of the world's first Pentecostal
Church (the church was born on the day
of Pentecost and exhibited
supernatural signs and wonders) in
Jerusalem!
CHRIST
DIDN'T TELL US TO GO TO A HIGH
PRIEST, RABBI OR PASTOR - HE SAID,
"COME
UNTO ME"
JESUS
CHRIST
didn't say come to the high priest or
rabbi or pastor, evangelist, apostle
or prophet! He said, "Come unto
Me"!
You
will not find a single account in the
Bible, of Jesus Christ ever turning
anyone away. Jesus met the needs
of every person who asked Him for
help.
JESUS
MET THE NEEDS OF EVERY PERSON
WHO ASKED HIM FOR HELP
What
a reassuring feeling it is to know
that Jesus Christ honours His
Word. When you are in need or a
miracle healing or are in danger and
must have an answer to your prayers,
you can depend on the LORD Jesus
Christ. He has given us the
Invitation, "Come Unto Me",
it is up to us to respond to His
invitation, through prayer.
MY
OWN TESTIMONY OF GOD ANSWERING
PRAYER
I
can verify that God is a "God at
hand and not a God afar off".
(Jeremiah 23:23) I can confirm
that God answers prayer, through my
own personal testimony.
In
1984, my team and I were conducting a
crusade in Northern India, when a
staggering miracle occurred. I
had planned to have a very large
crusade in the South, where nearly all
visiting evangelists go.
Previously
I had been in the South and Central
parts of India, but had not ventured
into the North where the zealous,
devout and often fanatical Brahmin
Hindus have almost total power.
In fact, for the previous twenty
years, the number of Christians had
declined there each year!
Thousands
of pastors were ready to embrace our
ministry in the South, and we were
expecting 100,000 persons on the
opening night, with prospects of
larger crowds as the crusade
progressed. And I was excited
about going!
GOD
CHANGED MY PLANS AND I WAS
CHALLENGED TO GO TO NORTH INDIA
Then
God changed my plans and I was
challenged to go to North India, to a
very intellectual city of Brahmin
Hindus and Moslems.
The
Hindus had just completed a ten day
revival, in preparation for our
coming..iin order to rejuvenate the
people in their beliefs. This was also
done to warn the people of the gospel!
On
the first night of our crusade, 1/4
million Moslems were in the streets in
a gigantic parade, to start 21 days of
fasting in a celebration called
Ramadan!
We
started with 3,000 people on the
opening night, backed by two Methodist
churches and about 120 zealous young
people, from across Asia, working with
a group called "Christ is the
Answer".
MY
MESSAGE WAS TITLED, "JESUS
CHRIST
THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER"
My
message was entitled, "Jesus
Christ the same Yesterday, Today and
Forever"! I declared the gospel
of Christ according to St. Peter:
"Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." (Acts
4:12)
I
PRESENTED THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST, "I
AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE"
Without
fear of contradiction I presented the
claims of Christ where He stated:
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the
Life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by Me". (John 14:6) "I
am the door: by Me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and shall go in
and out, and find pasture. The thief
cometh not, but for to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy: I am come that
they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly."
(John 10:9-10)
I
quoted St. Paul: "For this is
good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour: Who will have all men
to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth. For there is
one God, and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who
gave Himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time." (1
Timothy 2:3-6)
I
declared that Jesus Christ was the
only begotten Son of God - that He
was born of a virgin, His sinless
less, His miracle ministry, His
victorious death and His glorious
resurrection.
LESS
THAN 100 PEOPLE CAME FORWARD
TO ACCEPT SALVATION
Less
than 100 came forward for salvation in
the first service, but God performed
several miracles of healing in answer
to my prayer!
THE
NEXT EVENING I CHOSE TO PREACH
THE MESSAGE "THE UNKNOWN
GOD"
The
next evening there were 6,000 in
attendance. Again I shared the Word of
God. I chose for my text Acts 17:18-32
where St. Paul preached his famous
Mars Hill message, "The Unknown
God".
I
SAID, "I SAW YOUR IMAGES, IDOLS
&
GODS MADE OF WOOD & STONE - THEY ARE
DEAD AND LIFELESS"
I
said, "I entered your city last
evening and beheld your temples and
places of worship - I saw your images,
idols and gods! Idols that are made of
wood, stone, plaster of paris and
plastic; gods that have eyes that see
not, ears that hear not, mouths that
cannot speak, hands that have never
helped anyone and feet that are
stationary"!
I
continued, "They are dead and
lifeless, and so ignorant that if I
were to slap their faces, they
wouldn't have enough sense to move out
of the way or say ouch."
I
THEN PRESENTED JESUS CHRIST, THE
ONLY TRUE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD
Then
I presented Jesus Christ, the only
true Saviour of the world and the Son
of the Living God.
At
precisely 9:00 PM as I was making the
altar call, suddenly loud speakers
began blaring out an opposing message
- in the Hindi language - in the very
same venue which we were using!
THE
HINDU RELIGIOUS LEADERS WANTED
TO STOP THE WORD OF GOD BEING TOLD
HINDU
RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAD CALLED A MEETING
AND DECIDED TO CONDUCT ANOTHER 10 DAY
REVIVAL OF THEIR OWN, IN THE SAME PARK
WE HAD PERMISSION TO USE.
THEY
HAD ALREADY ALERTED THE POLICE THAT
THERE WOULD BE A RIOT ON THE CRUSADE
GROUNDS. AND 50 FANATICS WITH STONES
& STICKS WERE ON THEIR WAY TO
START AN UPROAR, STOP THE CRUSADE AND
KILL ME, IF NECESSARY!
On
those same grounds, two years
previously, the Moslems had started a
riot in a Christian crusade, in order
to stop the meetings. Moslem fanatics
had overturned a bus with 17 men,
women and children, poured gasoline on
it, setting it ablaze and killing them
all! Of course, everyone fled
and the crusade was history!
More
than thirty years earlier, a well
known American evangelist was
conducting a successful crusade in
North India. Fanatics began a riot and
he had to leave.
The
Indian government then declared him
non-grata-persona, effectively barring
him from the country since his
crusades were dangerous and prone to
violence and riots. In this
manner the bigots had stopped one of
the world's greatest soul winners from
preaching in that nation for more than
3 decades!
THE
FANATICS WANTED ME STOPPED FROM
PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, BUT
GOD INTERVENED
Just
as the fanatics were entering the
grounds, I was making the altar call.
More than 500 people were so gripped
by the message and by the Holy Spirit,
that they rushed forward to accept
Christ.
I
PRAYED A POWERFUL PRAYER, REBUKING
THE DEVIL AND CALLING UPON GOD
Then
as I prayed a powerful prayer,
rebuking the devil and calling upon
God - in Jesus' Name - for miracles
among the people, a 6 year old boy who
was lame in one leg from birth was
instantly healed!
His
parents who were Brahmin Hindus rushed
forward to testify, along with their
healed son. Upon hearing the
commotion and the testimony, the
fanatics asked, "Who is that man?
Is he a prophet?" Those
around them in the crowd said, "Yes, he is a prophet from
Canada".
THEY
THEN DROPPED THEIR STONES AND STICKS
SAYING, "WE'LL GIVE HIM ANOTHER
DAY", AND PULLED DOWN THEIR LOUD
SPEAKERS.
THE
NEXT EVENING I PREACHED ON "GOD'S
LOVE AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS"
The
next evening the crowd grew to 10,000
and I preached on "God's Love and
the Blood of Jesus"! The
fanatics who had previously wanted to
hurt me, now wanted to kiss my feet...
And the revival continued with the
crowd growing to approximately 40,000
persons.
And
according to the last reports we have
had, the Christian community was not
only strengthened but also is growing!
Thousands enrolled in the New Converts
Class, by mail. And hundreds took
special courses for Christian
Ministry! To God be the glory!
At
the time of this writing (December,
1992), we have just heard the sad news
that another well known American
evangelist has very recently been
banned from India for the same reason.
Hindu fanatics took over his crusade
declaring that he was fabricating
lying testimonies of people who
claimed to be healed!
WE
CAN COME TO GOD ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
AND EXPECT TO RECEIVE AN ANSWER
God's
Word says, "Call unto Me, and I
will answer thee, and shew thee great
and mighty things, which thou knowest
not." (Jeremiah 33:3)
GOD'S
WORD SAYS, "CALL UNTO ME, AND I
WILL ANSWER THEE...AND SHOW YOU GREAT
AND MIGHTY THINGS"
All
of us have times of difficulty and
trouble, and God is more willing to
give than we are to ask. In
fact, Jesus said, "Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and
ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full." (John 16:24)
GOD'S
INVITATION IS "COME UNTO ME"
AND
"CALL UPON HIS NAME"
We
are invited to call upon Him in the
day of trouble and He will deliver us
and show us His mighty arm
outstretched, in signs, wonders and
miracles!
All
we must do is call, and He will
answer! It is humbling for us to
acknowledge our weakness and need for
help. It is humbling for us to request
assistance from an outside force in
this proud, efficient and
materialistic world, in which we live.
IF
WE WANT ANSWERS TO PRAYER, WE
MUST CALL UPON GOD
Jesus
said, "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him"? (Luke
11:13)
Again
our Lord stated, "Come now, and
let us reason together, saith the
Lord: though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they shall
be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
Jesus
invited, "Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto
you: For every one that asketh
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;
and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)
WE
MUST SPEND TIME IN PRAYER AND
LEARN TO PRAY
The
simplest thing in the world for anyone
to do is to ask for something. And
yet, it can be the most difficult! We
must spend time in prayer, learn to
pray.
WE
MUST ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENESS OF
SINS, FOR STRENGTH AND GUIDANCE
TO
ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENESS, WE MUST
ACKNOWLEDGE OUR FAILINGS AND SINS. TO
ASK GOD FOR GUIDANCE, WHICH ROAD TO
TAKE OR FOR STRENGTH, WE ACKNOWLEDGE
OUR WEAKNESS. AND TO ASK GOD FOR
DIVINE HEALING, WE ADMIT THAT WE ARE
SICK AND NEED HELP!
But
Jesus made it so easy! He said, we
must become like little children and
ask with child-like faith and
expectation. And His promise is
sure and guaranteed to work. He will
keep His Word!
Jesus
said, "If ye abide in Me, and My
words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto
you." (John 15:7)
Again
He stated, "Ye have not chosen
Me, but I have chosen you and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should
remain:"
"That
whatsoever ye ask of the Father in My
name, He may give it you." (John
15:16)
WITHOUT
CHRIST, WE ARE HOPELESS LOST
AND WE ARE POWERLESS AGAINST SATAN
We
must remember Who our Source is. Jesus
Christ is our Redeemer and the Holy
Spirit gives us the power to function
by His grace. And the Word of God is
Supreme, that God may be all in all!
Jesus
promised, "But ye shall receive
power after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you and ye shall be
witnesses unto Me..." (Acts 1:8)
Again our Master stated, "Without
Me, ye can do nothing"! (John
15:5)
And
our Lord said, "I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. I will
be with you until the end of the
world." (Hebrews 13:5)
2)
PRAYER REQUESTS SHOULD BE
SPECIFIC AND WELL
NEEDED - WE MUST
ASK IN FAITH
When
we approach God's Throne of Grace,
we must ask specifically for what we
need or desire! We must be specific so
that we can prioritize our request and
focus on our needs, or the needs of
others all over the world.
Prayer requests should be specific and
well needed.
It
is important to lay out our needs in a
definite request, believing that He
hears us and will keep His promise!
FAITH
IS EXPECTING AN ANSWER WHEN
YOU PRAY - FAITH IS TRUSTING GOD
Faith
is expecting an answer when you pray.
Faith is trusting God so implicitly,
that when you have met the conditions
He has set forth in His GREAT
DOCUMENT, the Bible, He will respond
favorably!
The
Bible says, "Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1)
Here
is Moffat's translation of this verse:
FAITH
MEANS WE ARE CONFIDENT OF WHAT
WE HOPE FOR
"Faith
means we are confident of what we hope
for; convinced of what we do not
see."
Faith
is like the title deed to a property
you own but have never seen. You know
it is yours because it has been
bequeathed to you in a will or it has
been given to you as a gift - possibly
in another part of the world, and you
still haven't received it or seen it.
That
is how faith works. You have God's
promises regarding prayer and His
desire to answer, but the things you
prayed for haven't happened yet!
YOU
MUST KEEP TRUSTING, BELIEVING AND
EXPECTING THE ANSWER WILL COME
Keep
on trusting, expecting and believing
and the answer will come. Loved ones
will come to Christ, sicknesses will
he healed by God's power and your many
prayer requests will be answered when
you pray in the Name of Jesus!
COMMIT
THY WAYS UNTO THE LORD, TRUST
IN HIM AND HE WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS
The
Bible says, "Commit thy way unto
the Lord; trust also in Him; and He
shall bring it to pass." (Psalms
37:5) Jesus showed us how faith works
in Mark 11:22-24:
"And
Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God. For verily I say unto
you, that whosoever shall say unto
this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not
doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he saith shall
come to pass; he shall have whatsoever
he saith. Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive them,
and ye shall have them."
In
my opinion, Hebrews 11:1 is a
theologian's definition of faith. The
layman's definition of faith is found
in verse 6.
"But
without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he that cometh to God
must believe that He is, and that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him." (Hebrews 1:6)
WHAT
IS FAITH? FAITH IS 3 VITAL
THINGS:
Faith
is coming to God with your needs and
making your requests known to Him.
By
asking God for help you are exhibiting
faith! This proves that you believe He
is greater than yourself and your
need!
You
are in fact saying: "Lord you are
bigger than I am and more powerful and
that is why I am approaching you for
help"!
You
wouldn't come to God for help if you
didn't believe He could help you!
FAITH
IS BELIEVING THAT GOD EXISTS
Faith
is believing that God is real, that He
is eternally existent in three
persons: God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit! And that He
is omnipotent, omnipresent and
eternal!
FAITH
IS BELIEVING THAT JESUS CHRIST
IS THE SON OF GOD
Faith
is believing that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, that He died on the cross
for our sins and arose from the dead
for our justification.
FAITH
IS BELIEVING IN THE GOD OF THE
BIBLE
The
Bible says, "Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1) Faith is a reality!
WITHOUT
FAITH WORKS IS DEAD
Faith
is a fact and also action, because
"faith without works is dead,
being alone." (James 2:26)
FAITH
IS NOW
Faith
is now! And faith is a present day
reality and faith gets the job done -
Faith Works Miracles!
FAITH
IS BELIEVING AND EXPECTING
Faith
is expecting a miracle when we pray!
Here
is our Lord's invitation to you:
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." (Matthew 11:28)
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