I Have Kept the Faith Bro. Jack Evans Jr.

I'm not going to hold you a long time because we all have different things to do but I do want to share something that I think would be of intrinsic value to all of us you had a great lineup this week Marcus Barnum and BB Gatson and John Tillman and these all my friends you know and so and then and then I'm here too at the end here and I'm glad to just kind of easy in and ease out yeah but this ain't the Olympics the Olympics but listen this is what I do want to do this morning I want you to go in your Bible and turn to 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and it's a very familiar block of Scripture but I preach it now with a different fervor and I'm going to tell you why and I think as we close this month of love explosion I'm going to show you how this fits into God's scheme of redemption and what he expects from us as is as his children second Timothy that before there's just one phrase that I'm gonna live from it's contextual setting and use this morning but I want to read all of this so that you'll know where we are in life we we are in some very perilous times and brother Glen was talking about that this morning in his message and and we've got to open our eyes we've got to be ready for the days of here cuz it's not gonna get better it's going to get worse and we've got to stand boldly listen to what Paul said to his son in the gospel if you have it in your Bibles stand and give reverence to the text as we read this and then I'll make some application Paul said I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom preach the word the instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine is that in your Bible well the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and Paul says here they shall be turned unto fables but watch thou in all things endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist make full proof of thy ministry I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing you may be seated last year January February 2013 I got on the plane I left Dallas I flew to Los Angeles it was an emergency flight I went out there to support a grieving family I went out there to pay my respects to one of my fellow comrades fellow pulpit Aryan who was a preacher of the gospel and so I flew out there because this young man was part of our spiritual Rat Pack we all started preaching about the same time and we're about the same age and so I went out there to support this family and this great preacher in this great church he preached for he reached for the Alondra Church of Christ out in Compton his name was James Kevin Murray he was vice principal at a school and the school loved him and so on the day of his service they had over 2000 from all over the country and especially the Los Angeles area they descended on the high school campus they packed out the gym beautiful service beautiful singing beautiful eulogy and I remember brother Glenn sitting there looking at the program and I saw his face on the program he's 51 years old he's he's preacher for a church he had preached that morning preached that evening he went home because he was an avid runner put on his running clothes went out ran 3.1 miles and came back home had some complications they rushed him to the hospital before he got there he had a massive heart attack and he died 51 so I'm reading through this program in so many memories of flying through my mind and I never forget long as I live when I flipped over to the back page the back page said in ball print I have kept the faith I've been preaching this for years but when I came back home I had to relook at this text it was more personal more meaningful now and I and I came to the conclusion how many of us literally live in such a way and when life comes to an e and we can say just as Paul said I have kept the faith and I could preach one hour just on the word kept the word kept comes from the word nod on and it literally means whether Glenn - to protect it means to to to to take care of to to to envelop within yourself and hold it dearly and and really what Paul was saying is I have protected I have got it the faith and as I told the Sunday School this morning God wants every one of us to put our faith in the face I don't care how well you sing I don't care how well you preach I don't care how good you think you look sometimes we get so beside ourselves we think we are all that and a bag of chips with a hot sauce on it you know we we got a new outfit on god I had done nails that we got it going on doesn't matter to God if you have not put your faith in BP you can come Sunday morning Sunday night being all the Bible classes beyond all the programs but if you have not put your faith in the Word of God and demonstrated by the way you live everything you're doing is in vain it's in vain and you should live in such a way that when you have come to life in you can say just like Paul and like my friend Kevin Murray I have protected and guarded I have kept the faith the faith is the word of God the authority of God the gospel of Jesus Christ the power of God unto salvation D faith is keeping what God has communicated with us and done for us your image it said in Jude 3 contending for the faith once delivered unto the Saints am I right about it in John in Revelation chapter what is that 14 verse number 13 we know verse 13 verse 13 says blessing of the day they died in the Lord but you before you get the 13 you got to read 12 John said in verse 12 he said here is the patience of the saints here are they who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ then he said I heard a voice from heaven say right and blessed are the Dead that die in the Lord yea saith the spirit they shall rest from their Labour's and their works do follow them and if you don't many thing else I say today I want you to remember that God wants you wherever you are in life to put your face in VV have you ever wondered why you believe the Bible and I know where y'all want me but yeah I'm getting a little bit older now but then I just slowed down take my time I take my time because I'm trying to leave you with something that you can chew on tomorrow well why do you believe in the Bible the the Sunday school class told me they believe in it because it's inspired and that's right it is inspired but it's deeper than that not only is the word of God inspired it is the evidence of eyewitnesses and so when you read what they wrote they're writing what they actually saw they saw God do this and so because he did it over there he'll do the same thing for us over here and so you do well to put your faith in word because it came directly from God and he had men write down what they saw him do that's the sound points you missed it there's nothing you can go through that God has not addressed in one way or another and assured us he has the power to help us will we got for right now that fight Jesus they say Jesus is not God they're people out there in the religious world that say he did not go to Calvary that he did not die on the cross and if you did that and they buried it you unrest erected but I'm here to tell you my faith is in God Christ and the Holy Spirit and all three bad racket in heaven as one and all three have different manifestations and all three have different roles in my life and so I do well when I put my faith in God Christ and the Holy Spirit because the Bible has instructed me and given me evidence of how he they worked over in the lives of people over there when you read Matthew Mark and Luke they talk about the life and teachings of Christ John is my favorite book John like me he cuts straight across the field he says I know Jesus is God he said I know he's gone you're my mortise and john 1:1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was with God in the beginning verse 14 and the word became flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth and we beheld his glory Johnson I know Jesus is gone he said and so I'm gonna give you evidence I saw him Meier and do God stuff John said I saw him in the wedding of Cana Chin's jugs of water in the wine god stuff I saw and take two fish and five biscuits and open a buffet out on the mountainside God stuff I saw a man with a withered hand walked up and he straightened he did some bad stuff he's Johnson I know he's girl I saw her at the midnight hour we want a boat it was time we left him on shore I saw him walk off in the wilderness when I looked up he come walking on water he was doing God stuff I said he was doing God's stuff I saw a woman we waited a cloud John said we were in a crowd vote where everywhere pushing and shoving and all of a sudden somebody touched the back of his garment and she's to stop me said hey somebody touched me and we said master so many everybody's wishin oh no I fell back to leave my bye somebody touched me and a woman who was dying from bleeding to death had touched the hem of his gun Johnson I saw and do God's stuff I know Jesus is gone he said I was with his mama we saw him a little town across from Calvary's Hill he died on that cross they took him down from there cost they buried him in a barrack too a few days later I was with the other brethren we were in a room they'd lock the door nobody open the door no knock on the door all of a sudden I looked up he come walking through the door he said I saw him do God's stuff he said if that ain't enough we standing outside the heels of Jerusalem and in the Lottery Commission us we looked up he's boarding clouds he went back up into the heavens I know Jesus is God some of y'all kids figure where I'm going with this I'm here to tell you if Jesus is gone you do well to put your faith in what Jesus said while he was here because that's the faith that's the faith Paul said listen then let me get to where you want me Paul said listen I have come to the end I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith but then I often wondered what made Paul peep the vain maybe it was Romans 5:8 but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us maybe it was Romans 6:1 what shall we say then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound god forbid how can we that are dead to sin live any longer than him maybe it was Romans 8:28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called according to his purpose maybe it was Romans 8:31 if God be for us who can be against us maybe it was Romans 8:35 who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus maybe those Romans 8:39 there ain't nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus maybe it was secondary things time one for we know they differ at the house of this Tabernacle be bizarre we have a building or God house not made with hands eternal in the heavens maybe it was second Corinthians 5:7 we walk by faith and not by cro miami quoting scripture do you I'm trying to figure out what made Paul keep the faith maybe was 2nd Corinthians 5:17 therefore if any man be in Christ he's a new creature old things have passed away behold all things to do maybe it was 2nd Timothy 1:7 God had not given us the spirit of fear but a power of love in a sound man maybe 2nd Timothy 1:12 I know whom I have believed and am persuaded he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day may be useful it is 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who can spend how now what made him keep it but it was something in the white of God then made him keep his feet firmly planted on this word and see Paul knew about trouble this is how are y'all - wake up now coz when I start talking my trouble folks know about trouble you ain't got to go looking for trouble trouble will fine you I said trouble will fine you storm will fine you that's why I tell the Lord all the time don't just be a fence behind me be a fence around me laughs at time I look up I see trouble coming seemed like that once I get something under control I look up here comes something else and before I can deal with this real good I get blindsided by some blips so I said Lord be a fence all around me in but I'm gonna tell you something I'm gonna tell you some the Lord allows trouble he allows storms to come into your life for a reason let's go help somebody red glare somebody in here needs to realize why are you struggling so why are you having such a rough time and see I'm not a preacher preacher I'm a preacher for the person in the pew I'm trying to help somebody in here who came in here with a heavy heart this morning who came in here with a broken heart this one somebody came in here this morning trying to figure out how you gonna make it and I'm trying to help you understand that if you put your faith in deep faith he will not invite not maybe he will come to your rescue and as they say he's not he's not he's an old-time God that's what I'm trying to say he may not come when you wanted me he's always right on time Paul knew about trouble if you don't believe me go read second Corinthians 11 when you have time Paul gave us the whole litany of things that he in do it but he says through it all have kept delay they stone me but I kept the faith they ran me out of town but I kept the faith they be bad with rods but I kept the faith he said he said he said I was in perils in the sea in perils in the wilderness in perils of false brethren I wish I could camp out right there Brooklyn in powers of false raspberry in perils in the city he said but I kept the faith I kept the faith he said in Masada and I was hungry I was cold I was naked I was fast at times but I have kept the faith and then not only that I had to care of all the churches but I kept the faith I kept the faith and you know what he didn't just talk to total Paul demonstrated his faith y'all got time let me let me show you a demonstration at 1625 Bible says Paul and Silas then sing Paul and Silas he they prayed and they sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them this thing messes me up here are two gospel preachers shackle locked up lockdown locked away now for those of you they're not familiar with this it was customary when they incarcerated the prisoners they put shackles on their wrists shackles on their ankles there was a chain that ran from one shackle to the other shackle but he went through a hoop on the back of a wooden stock on their neck the wooden stock was like what you used to control oxen so the prisoner is sitting in his jail cell like this they're not walking around and I stretched out sleeping like they do nowadays they are sitting down shackled with a chain through a wooden stock that holds their neck like that shackles on their feet and looks it at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto go see I could camp out just so midnight because he seemed like stuff best I've always happy when they gets dog when it gets tough anyway here they are locked up lockdown locked away praying singing praising God see y'all to miss the good shouting porn because you know the rest of the story the rest of the stories that God is gonna shake it up here many times you hear preachers preach as they call it a jailhouse rock so I often wonder when I wonder what Paul was preaching I wonder one I wonder what he was praying he might have been saying Lord you know Here I am I'm locked up locked down locked away and lord do you remember I was Saul of Tarsus I was persecuting the church I was I was breathing out threatenings against them I got levers and all kind of stuff and I was ostracizing and criticizing and he said but Lord you know you blinded me on the road to Damascus you sent me to Ananias I stared there for a while then he came he said Saul Saul why tarriest thou arise and be baptized calling on the name of the Lord and Lord you know I did just that and ever since then I've been preaching this whole time gospel I don't mind the situation I'm in right now I just want to praise your name he could have been saying something like I have not seen ya I had not heard neither have been imagined in the hearts of me and the things that God has prepared for them that love him maybe maybe it was something like when this mortal shall have put on immortality and when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption then shall come to pass to say dad just swallowed up in victory Oh dad where is that sting o grave where is thy victory well maybe he said something like absent from the body yet present with the look I don't know what he's praying the Bible says he was praying and they were singing you hit admire and they were singing praises in a bad situation and if you don't learn anything else learn this when you're in trouble when storms come home when he gets bad praise God and watch what he does for you what were they singing it could have been something like my hope is we all know nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness dad I trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name on Christ the solid rock I stand all of the ground is sinking sand well maybe brother clean it was something like that sac assurance Jesus is mine oh what a foretaste of glory did that I'm an heir of salvation purchase of God born of his spirit Washington is not this is my story this is my song praising my Savior all the deal well maybe it was something what a fellowship why the chart event leaving only everlasting on but maybe it was something like what a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and griefs to bear what a privilege to carry everything to God and I mean it was something like I was sinking deep in sin far from the deep peaceful sure very deeply stained with him sinking to rise no more by the master but she heard my despairing cry from the waters he lifted me now safe I said I'm safe now safe am i all I know is I heard that when praise goes up say wha when praise goes up blessings come now they were praising God in this bad situation and God with his Big O hands reached out of heaven he didn't shake the whole riders he just shook what was holding his preaches he shook the jailhouse gate swing open shackles fellows y'all mister good shouting born right there see when you quit your faith in the faith God will shake up some stuff and it doesn't matter how bad it gets sometimes sometimes and this is gonna help somebody uh sometimes you get a little bit off come on in come on you ain't always headed together sometimes you get a little sidetrack how many times has God got something for us to do we take out running the other way see that's like me Frank you say you preacher you've been doing that 35 yeah there times when I took off going the wrong direction and go ahead to come fetch me I said he had to confess you remember Jonah some of y'all can identify with Jonah God told Jonah I want to go down to Nunavut I want you to tell me if they don't repent I'm going to do straw those cities stab each other going to nineveh jonah took off headed the other way he's going to Joppa went down to the shipyard got him a ticket down then they gave him a ticket and he got a little old boat and he's headed toward Tosh's and he lays down in the back part of the ship and he's asleep he's in the honda partnership and so while he's sleeping God looking right at him he didn't bother he's looking right at him but while he's looking at him he told the Thunder go ahead and beat your drum looking right at him he told a wind blow real huh looking right and told away real torture looking right at in the wind start bro and then he didn't bother and the captain got nervous he said brethren hey we never had a situation like this yo yo y'all y'all better call on your gun we gotta have some divine help out here and they said well wait a minute this one mo man he's not up here he's amazing he's in the Hana publisher till the captain went down he said Charlie wake up Jonah got up from his nap he said how can you sleep with the storm brewing like this out here he said genre you gonna have to call when you say matter fact who is your God he said my God is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob he said you better call on him cuz we got the coating he already knows I'm trying to run and I'm trying to hide cuz I'm gonna show you what you don't usually see in this text in the meantime Jonah says if you want peace on your ship you're gonna have to throw me overboard well while all that's going on God is talking to a fish and say listen here look look I want you to swim around up under this boat in a few minutes I got a servant coming overboard I don't want you to nibble on him don't you chew on him don't you bind him I just want you to swallow them up hold and I want you to let him slide that onto your belly and then I want you to swim as fast as you can all the way down to the bottom of the sea and wait till you hear from man so they threw Jonah overboard the fish is swimming around looking waiting and he sees Jonah coming through the water swallows him up whole didn't bite him didn't chew on him didn't never want him swallowed him up Oh Jonah slid down to his belly went down to the bottom of the sea three days pays Jonah got his man right now Jonah turn back to God's holy hill he repented of his sins God talked to the fish saying all right spit him up he got his man right now but this is where I identify with Jonah brother Glen Jonah was in the belly of a fish he had fish guts all around him he's in the bottom of his valley on the bottom of the sea you know what they tell me my my god it does not matter to God how low you get him eyes it doesn't matter what you've done you may have turned your back on God you may have backslidden you may have fallen away it doesn't matter as long as you turn back to him he can always use him he's a good dog dog and nearly total fish so the fish swam up to the shore spit Jonah up on dry land now Jonah was standing with fish guts all around him he took all going to Nineveh it was three days journey he got there a daddy hey y'all mr. Jonah was right when it came out of this fish and I'm here to tell you when God gives you another chance you need to keep your faith in Him and let him use let him use you we serve a God who gives second chances can I call the roll up in here Adam and Eve disobeyed God God gave him a second chance Noah and they lived in the days of the answer diluvian we're home and God said I'm gonna destroy everything I made but God gave Noah and his wife and their three sons and three wives eight Souls a second chance total I went and said his wife was his sister God gave him a second chance Sarah laughs when the Lord said you will have a baby at 90 years old Jacob was a sweater stole his brothers birthright God gave him I said I thought you said I could recall the role in here Moses was a Madurai God gave him a second chance David was an adulterer and a murderer God gave him a second Peter denied the Lord not once not twice but three times God gave him a second chance POW persecuted the church God gave him a second chance Lazarus was dead God gave him a second chance we serve a God who gives second chances and I'm here to tell you I'm here to tell you that it does not matter how low you get in life how far you fall it away even if the members won't treat you right God will I said God will I don't care if you was strong I don't cry I don't cap you an alcoholic I don't care if you were running the streets when you come back he's looking for you I said he's looking for you is that all right I wish I had time to finish this thing but let me give you just a little taste of what I did in Fort Lauderdale to see what folks don't realize about the goodness of God the kindness of God is that God when he extends grace he is looking for us yeah y'all missing is see a lot of folks say when I went looking for God and I became and I got some grace y'all hold on just hold on hold on hold on hold on hold on we are a duck they know what I'm doing yeah they know what I'm doing here God is looking let me give you a perfect example sermon this morning but I'm give it to you in five minutes snippet listen when I went to Fort Lauderdale they gave me the text second Samuel nine I knew what they were doing - they were gonna see how I gonna make this fit grace what they didn't realize it was a perfect example of New Testament grace in the Old Testament for those of you that don't remember second Samuel 9-second 79 is King David he is he is now one of the greatest monarchs on the earth he's not just king of Judah he's king of all Israel he comes back and he asked is there yet any left of the house of song that I might show kindness to therefore those of you that don't understand what's happening here Saul tried to kill David he chased him through caves and cities and valleys and mounts as he was trying to kill he loved David at first drew me in had him playing music before him but then he got jealous of David trying to kill him David could have killed song several times he tried to kill him and David could have killed him but you know what he wouldn't do it because he did not want to harm the Lord's anointed well I wish I could stop right there Church be careful don't you ever try to fight God by messing with his anointed I wish I could step out there because see a lot of that folks in the futile realize you got to leave that man of God alone when the Lord has laid hands on him chosen him as a leader you better not try to rise up against him I see y'all getting quiet but I want you to be careful for messing with the Lord's anointed but anyway he could have killed saw but he didn't kill him anyway he comes to the end of time Saul he's been killed he and his three sons were killed at the Battle of Mount Gilboa and so David has taken over he comes back he says is there anybody yet left then I might show kindness to of the house or so one man comes forward who's part of the remnant of salt his name is ziba and he says zebra is anybody laugh I said yeah well that was a son of Jonathan he said David and Jonathan were good friends and they had made a covenant made a covenant and he said well there's a son his name is mephibosheth but he's lame in his feet woman trying to escape dropped him at five years old he's crippling both of his feet he said well where is he where is he he said he's living down in the house of Baker at lo debar lo debar was a horrible place when you define lo debar lo means no de bah means pasture land there was no pasture land and devar lo debar there was no oh hope no anticipation of a better life he's hiding out in lo debar he says bring him to me they bring mephibosheth before David and David says to him listen from now you will eat at my table you will live in my house no longer will you stay in the house of maker in Lodi bah from now on you will sit at my table what don't understand about that is that was a microcosmic theological perspective of the attitude of God when he extends grace to us Mephibosheth was not looking for David David came looking for him when we are saying it is because God and His grace came looking for us because of what Jesus did on cow brazier he's looking he's looking and I'm glad he found me I was 9 years old December 1969 my daddy took me down in a pool and brought me up in the law and added me to the body and the call because grace came looking for me now you're saying nine years old yeah I was old enough to lie cheat steal I needed Jesus you were too young but he found me Here I am at 53 years old been preaching the gospel for almost 36 years now I know why grace was looking for me been through so God can get glory out of my life and look at me now you know I'm sitting at the table I said I'm sitting at the table I'm in the house now the house that Jesus built ain't but one in the Bible and it's the house that he built bought and purchased with his own blood it's blood bought rock bottom hell proof Holy Spirit filled bound for the promised land and it's gone back to glory I'm in the house show and I'm at the table because grace came looking for me and grace is looking today for somebody in this house don't look in the light he's too wonderful for you to look in the light but grace is looking for somebody this morning I'm glad he found Frank Milton Frank was in loaded by but he brought him out of there I'm glad he found Robert he found James clean Byron Hooper I'm glad grace came looking and I'm here to tell you this morning he's looking for somebody he's looking for somebody in this house and I really I got to quit cuz I got to get out of here but I want you to understand something today when you come to the end of life's journey and you don't know where it's gonna be you've got to be able to say I have kept the faith kept the faith and if there's no other reason it ought to be because he came looking for you he's looking today he's looking right now nobody is worthy nobody's deserving nobody has earned it but he's looking right now to extend kindness that word in the original Ascari's the kindness of God and he's looking right now now I'm old school and I believe in giving the plan of salvation somebody in here needs to know right now what to do to be saying grace is looking for you right now and all you have to do to accept the call is hear the word believe it repent of your sins confess Christ to be the son of God and the Lord of your life and then be baptized in the watery grave of baptism according to the scriptures and you'll be answering the call grace will have found you and led you into the to the throne room will you come to him this morning somebody's almost persuaded some folk can't get happy during a sermon because you know you've been living like a rascal or we see I preached for the same church for 23 years and I know how people are in the church and when I see folk who just can't get happy and don't ever the only smile or nothing I'm wonder what's going on in your life because when you know God has been good somebody talking about how good he bit you can't help your getting excited you get a happy you know you have access to him anytime you want him so that's what I love about the Lord so much he says in Matthew 11:28 come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest God is not just accessible he gives us an invitation let me give you a practical example then I'm gonna quit with this if I can talk James Lynaugh into getting dressed and say come on dark get your best suit on we're gonna put our church shoes on we're gonna get flying we're gonna get in socks yeah get there now get the mother Hannah sockdoc hey and come on Doc we're going out here we're going out here too and Houston Intercontinental Airport we're gonna get on a plane we going all the way to Washington DC we're gonna get off their plane we're gonna get in a cab I'm gonna tell the man take us to 1600 Pennsylvania when we get there I'm gonna knock on the door because see behind that White House that door is the 44th President of the United States of America Barack Hussein Obama he is the President of the United States of America we are african-american it's granted we Americans we African Americans he's our president so we gonna go up there and we're not gonna do I'm gonna let Glenn do all the talking and catch y'all here Glenn when you get up there in nothing on there doing it they open it oh say what y'all want yeah man look here check this out yeah man I'm James Glenn I'm pastor for the bell for church there in Houston Texas man and look at me is the present in here today and they say they say they say they say yeah he's here no man no plana is he back there is he showing up back there look man look I got Jack Jack come from behind that thing come here come here I got Jack here and he's a preacher the gospel we want to have prayer with our president man would that be all right James Glenn now look look man when that peace he's back there can we talk to him just have prayer with y'all know what happened us sisty clean get a good look at him cuz you ain't gonna see him no mo me and me would and hold us oh we don't have access to the president ah when it comes to Jesus I said when it comes to Jesus not only do we have access but he gives us an invitation and now I come when you get lonely when do I come when you get frustrated when do I come when you lose your mama when you lose your daddy when your heart is broken he said come unto me I will give you rest and I'm here to Tahlia church we are blessed people because we have access to the Father and he invites us to come to him and right now right now right now he's inviting somebody he's looking he's looking will you accept the call stand on your feet stand on your feet he's calling he's calling it he's calling it he's calling

Channel: Bellfort Church of Christ

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Id: xyhfCHVT0BA

Length: 43min 43sec (2623 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 24 2014