Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 06 26 2025 Cyrus, the Anointed

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06 26 2025 Cyrus, the Anointed · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,
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  Speaker 1: because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for
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  Speaker 1: today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect yesterday's
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  Speaker 1: portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to keep
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  Speaker 1: us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going
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  Speaker 1: to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today
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  Speaker 1: and receive the power we need to live healthy.
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  Speaker 2: Vibrant lives.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker,
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  Speaker 1: Elle David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Thursday, the
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  Speaker 2: twenty sixth day of June and twenty twenty five. Hello.
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  Speaker 2: My name is El David Harris. I am your host,
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  Speaker 2: and this is your Daily Portion where we give you
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  Speaker 2: God's Word every single day, and today is no exception.
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  Speaker 2: We are continuing with just a couple of days left
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  Speaker 2: in our lesson study series how to study Bible Prophecy,
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  Speaker 2: and today we are covering Cyrus the Anointed, Oh, Cyrus
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  Speaker 2: the Anointed. We'll get into that in just a moment,
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  Speaker 2: but first I like to say welcome to everyone joining us,
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  Speaker 2: especially those joining us for the very first time. Please
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  Speaker 2: go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join
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  Speaker 2: our online community. Please pick up the Your Daily Portion
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  Speaker 2: Life Application Guide. You'll want to pick up the one
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  Speaker 2: for this quarter, even though it's done. The quarter is done,
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  Speaker 2: but it's something you can use when you're studying the
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  Speaker 2: same concepts over the next few years, if you choose.
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  Speaker 2: And also the new one that's coming out in a
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  Speaker 2: couple of days is right there, right there at your
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  Speaker 2: Daily Portion dot com. This is one of the ways
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  Speaker 2: that we continue to build faith and fellowship. Let's go
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  Speaker 2: ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father,
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  Speaker 2: We thank you for giving us the privilege of being
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  Speaker 2: a called and that you've decided that we should be saved.
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  Speaker 2: Please help us to cooperate with you. Please help us
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  Speaker 2: to be a foreshadowing of Christ in our spheres of influence.
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  Speaker 2: In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again. Now
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  Speaker 2: somebody might be wondering, why would you say be a
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  Speaker 2: foreshadow of Christ? You know, or you could use reflection
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  Speaker 2: if that makes you more, you know, if you feel
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  Speaker 2: better about that. But the fact is, when people see me,
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  Speaker 2: when people see you, I think the Bible text says,
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  Speaker 2: let your light so shine before humans that when they
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  Speaker 2: see your good works, they glorify your Father, which is
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  Speaker 2: in heaven. And so God's intent for our lives is
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  Speaker 2: that we so model the life of Jesus Christ that
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  Speaker 2: when people see us, they see God. When they see us,
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  Speaker 2: they see how the character of God is manifest in
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  Speaker 2: the world through our lives. And there are times that
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  Speaker 2: people God uses people in ways that we don't even
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  Speaker 2: really know that He's using us. So what better way
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  Speaker 2: to be connected to God than to allow him actively
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  Speaker 2: and intentionally to use us. And so the lesson writer says,
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  Speaker 2: when Cyrus sacked the city of Babylon, the years of
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  Speaker 2: captivity for God's people were over, and the Persians permitted
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  Speaker 2: them to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple.
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  Speaker 2: Under Cyrus, the Persian Empire became the largest in history,
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  Speaker 2: with what historian Tom Holland calls the largest agglomeration of
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  Speaker 2: territories that the world had ever seen. And that comes
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  Speaker 2: from Dominion Basic Books, and that comes from the Kindle Edition,
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  Speaker 2: page twenty five. And so, continuing as was the custom
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  Speaker 2: among the Persians, Cyrus was even called the Great King
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  Speaker 2: in air quotes, or the King of kings. Isn't it
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  Speaker 2: interesting that the one who was called God's anointed really
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  Speaker 2: did a lot of the work that Jesus was to
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  Speaker 2: come and do in the future. In Isaiah chapter forty
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  Speaker 2: five and verse one, God refers to Cyrus as his anointed. Now,
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  Speaker 2: before we get too far afield, I want to see
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  Speaker 2: if we can make application, and then I'll come back
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  Speaker 2: with some lessons for us. Okay, we're going to use
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  Speaker 2: our Relationships application from the Life Application Guide on Let's
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  Speaker 2: see what page is this two hundred and thirty four.
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  Speaker 2: What is important now? We are using the acronym win win.
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  Speaker 2: What is in important? Important? Now? God placed Cyrus in
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  Speaker 2: history not only for God's people. I need you to listen.
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  Speaker 2: If you're one of God's people, understand it wasn't only
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  Speaker 2: for the people of God in that time, but for
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  Speaker 2: the world to know who really is in control. You
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  Speaker 2: see Babylon under under Nebuchadnezzar and then subsequently under Belshazzar. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: they thought that they would always be in control. I
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  Speaker 2: am that head of gold. Well, God said of Nebuchadnezzer,
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  Speaker 2: you are that head of gold. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar. Eventually Belshazzar,
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  Speaker 2: he just thought that he would be in power forever until,
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  Speaker 2: of course God gave the blueprint. Really, God gave the
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  Speaker 2: blueprint to the enemies of Babylon and how to lay
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  Speaker 2: siege and to take over Babylon. And so God is
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  Speaker 2: the one that's in control. Whatever country you're in, whatever
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  Speaker 2: kingdom you are now in, understand that God literally is
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  Speaker 2: the one under control. Even when things seem to be
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  Speaker 2: really completely creepy and crazy. There were some of you
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  Speaker 2: that could raise your hands right now and say that
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  Speaker 2: the way your countries are being led you're confused about
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  Speaker 2: and you're wondering, God, how could you be in control
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  Speaker 2: of this? Well, just know, based on this experience that
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  Speaker 2: God really is the one that is in control. I
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  Speaker 2: wish I had the time to deal with the details.
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  Speaker 2: But your influence could be someone else's turning point. Your
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  Speaker 2: influence could become someone else's turning point. Cyrus's influence was
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  Speaker 2: the turning point of history as we know it. It
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  Speaker 2: was the turning point of God's people. It was the
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  Speaker 2: turning point of history as we know it. And then
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  Speaker 2: for the eye, internalize the insight. You don't have to
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  Speaker 2: be perfect, and I need you to hold on. Do
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  Speaker 2: not shut this broadcast off here because you'll get the
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  Speaker 2: wrong idea if you do. You do not have to
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  Speaker 2: be perfect to be used by God. Now, don't turn
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  Speaker 2: it off. Neither did Cyrus. Availability is more important than ability.
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  Speaker 2: I said availability is more important than ability. Now, the
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  Speaker 2: Bible does very clearly say that we should be perfect
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  Speaker 2: for the Lord. Our God is perfect. But God didn't
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  Speaker 2: say that we needed to tidy our own lives up
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  Speaker 2: so that we could come into His presence as tidy
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  Speaker 2: people that need no more work from God. And then
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  Speaker 2: he would use us. No, we come to God as
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  Speaker 2: we are. He uses us and sanctifies and purifies us.
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  Speaker 2: But along the process, God is really about availability more
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  Speaker 2: than he is about ability. He will equipped equip the called.
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  Speaker 2: And then, and what is the next best move? Encourage
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  Speaker 2: someone with doubts about whether they're worthy or not, whether
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  Speaker 2: they're worthy to be used by God or not. I
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  Speaker 2: need you to encourage them. That might be you. You
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  Speaker 2: may need to encourage yourself. Remind them of Cyrus and
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  Speaker 2: how God always writes better stories than we can expect.
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  Speaker 2: And so there were some more lessons that we we
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  Speaker 2: needed to glean from this story. And the first one
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  Speaker 2: would be God can use anyone willing or not to
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  Speaker 2: fulfill his will. I didn't say that we needed to
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  Speaker 2: be unwilling or stubborn and then God would just use anything.
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  Speaker 2: That's not what I just said. But God has a
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  Speaker 2: way of using people. Cyrus didn't know what God was doing.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't know personally that God was going to use
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  Speaker 2: him as a symbol of Christ as in Isaiah chapter
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  Speaker 2: forty four. He didn't know all the way to forty five.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't know his decree. Through though political fulfilled this
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  Speaker 2: divine prophecy, he had no idea how God was using him.
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  Speaker 2: And so right now we need to choose not to
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  Speaker 2: underestimate who God might use in my story in your story,
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  Speaker 2: do not underestimate whom God might use in our story.
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  Speaker 2: Pray for discernment to recognize the unlikely life the instruments
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  Speaker 2: of God's deliverance. Let's see if we can get a
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  Speaker 2: couple more lessons in here. Liberation always begins with a
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  Speaker 2: word from the Lord. You see the decree in Second Chronicles,
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  Speaker 2: chapter thirty six and verse twenty two is that the
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  Speaker 2: Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. The word opened
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  Speaker 2: the path for God's people to go home and to
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  Speaker 2: rebuild and So liberation always begins with the word from
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  Speaker 2: the Lord. So meditate on one promise from the scriptures
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  Speaker 2: this week, as if it were your personal liberation decree.
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  Speaker 2: Now write it out and post it where you can
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  Speaker 2: see it daily. Make it a great day. Peace.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening.
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  Speaker 2: Friends.
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  Speaker 1: Always remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by
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  Speaker 1: every word that comes from the mouth of God. This
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  Speaker 1: has been your daily portion with El David Harris. Make
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  Speaker 1: it a great day. Yeah.