All right, if you take your bulletin,
we'll turn to the hymn on the back, But Though I Cannot Break
My Chains, a tune of over 4,000 tunes. Let's stand together and
sing it. What though I cannot break my
chain or air throw off my load, the things impossible to men
are possible to God. Who shall in thy presence stand,
or match omnipotence? Unfold the grasp of thy right
hand, and what the sinner thinks. Faith to be healed thy fame would
have, O might it now be given, Thou canst, Thou canst the sinner
save, And make me meet for heaven. Thou, Thou with twice ten thousand
tithes, Yet let me hear Thy call, My soul in confidence shall rise,
shall rise and break through all. Thou canst overcome this
heart of mine. Thou wilt victorious through
all. for everlasting strength is thine
and everlasting love. Thank you. You may be seated. When peace like a river attendeth
my way, When sorrows like sea billows
roll. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught
me to say. It is will, it is will with my
soul. Though Satan should bump it,
though trials should come, Let this blissed assurance control
That Christ hath regarded ? And hath shed his own blood for
my soul ? ? Here is where ? ? With my soul ? It is well with my soul. My sin, though the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin not in part, but the whole. It's nailed to the cross, and
I'm buried. No more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. And Lord, haste the day when my pain shall The crowds shall throw back their
scrolls. The trumpets shall sound. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. I told Kevin how blessed he was
to have Ann to sing before he did. And then I've got to sing
before I break it. It just don't seem fair. But it's not about being fair. You know, when you preach the
gospel sometimes, folks will say, well, that's not fair. When
they talk about the Lord's mercy and grace, the sinners, He chooses,
He determines who to save. That's not fair. It doesn't have
anything to do with being fair. It has everything to do with
being just. Everything to do with being right.
And God's right. It doesn't matter if it's fair. I want to ask you a couple questions
before we begin. Did we accept Jesus or are we
accepted in the Beloved? That's something most of you
that sit under the gospel for some time know. But it's amazing how many people
don't. Do sinners come to Christ to receive life or are they dead? Dead and trespasses and sin and
can't come. The Lord was very specific when
He said, no man can come to Me except See, the exception is
God. No man can come to Me except
the Father which sent Me. Draw him. What about man's will? No man will come. You will not
come to Me that you might have life. Unless God makes us willing
in the day of His power, we will not come. What about this one? Did I find Jesus? Have you found
Jesus? Well, I don't think He was lost. I was. Did He affectionately call me
by His grace? Turn to John chapter 11 with
me if you would. I want us to consider ten words
here, really, beginning with the last three
words in verse 43, and then the next seven in the next verse,
verse 44. Let me give you a moment to get
there. John chapter 11. Very, very familiar
passage of Scripture. One of my favorite. We as preachers
say that a lot. We've got a lot of favorite passages.
But this is one of the most amazing stories in all the Scripture. John chapter 11, verse 43. Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth. And though this passage is familiar
and we all know the ending, we must not let that dull the weight
and the impact of what actually took place here. There was a
man who was dead. Four days dead. Back where I
was raised, we call it graveyard dead. Or stinking dead. Four days dead. And I want you
to picture the scene. The Lord Jesus approaches the
throne where His friend lies. The body of Lazarus is already
decaying within. The Lord gives the instructions
to take away the stone, and the sister of that corrupt body,
who stands at the side of the tomb, says, Lord, by this time,
he's stinking. He's been dead for four days.
What's the significance of Lazarus being dead for four days? Well,
if you recall, the Lord intentionally delayed two days before going
to Bethany after hearing of Lazarus' death. And here's what I believe
is the significance. After researching a little bit,
Jewish tradition superstitiously taught that the soul of a dead
person hovered over the body for three days after death, seeking
an opportunity to return. And you might say, well, that's
ridiculous. Let me tell you, religion preaches a lot more
ridiculous stuff than that. By the fourth day, the soul was
believed to have been permanently departed. Decomposition had set
in. After four days, the individual's
death was considered final and irreversible. No one could claim
that Lazarus was merely unconscious. Well, he really wasn't dead. After four days, Lazarus is stinking
dead. Martha's concern about the stench
of decay is valid. The Lord Jesus is commanding life
to come into a decomposing corpse. This was not a resuscitation. This was a resurrection. Big
difference. Raising someone dead for four
days wasn't something impressive. It was something impossible by
human or natural means. Something only God could do.
Only God can do that. It's the same spiritually. And I love how the Lord responded
here to Martha. always gracious and always kind. He was always direct and to the
point. With such compassion and yet
disappointment. He looked to Martha and he said,
Martha, didn't I tell you, didn't I tell you that if you would
believe that you'd see the glory of God, And with that same small,
still voice, the Lord spoke in those same words to me so many
times. To my cold, unbelieving heart,
David, David, didn't I tell you that if you'd
believe, you'd see God's glory? I can't be too hard on Martha. This miracle was not just to
raise Lazarus, but it was to reveal the Lord Jesus as God. To reveal the Lord Jesus as the
Messiah. He was the one sent from heaven
to give life to chosen but dead sinners. Only He could. This
prayer is not only for the sake of Lazarus, it's for the sake
of those that were present. Christ wasn't asking for power
from God. He was exercising His power as
God. And then in verse 43, Our Lord
cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And if I may be blunt,
this call was directed, as I said, at a corpse that was already
rotting. And this call was effectual. Effective. That's what effectual
is. Effective. We read, and he that was dead came forth. He's not dead anymore. Lazarus rose and lived because
only God, only one who is God can give life. And He did, effectual
calling is God's work, and it's God's work alone. That's what
Paul said in Romans 8, 30. And those whom He, God, predestinated,
He, God, also called. And those whom He, God, called,
He, God, also justified. Rejoice! Rejoice, dead sinner. All that are called are justified. God's call is always irresistible
and always effective. Christ said so himself. He said,
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. All of them. All is all, isn't
it? No man can come to me except
the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up
at the last day, John 6, verse 44. I will. No ifs, ands, and
buts. Death silences the strongest. Death humbles the proudest. And when the Lord Jesus arrived
at the tomb of Lazarus, He stands face to face with you and I,
our greatest enemy, death. But unlike us, He doesn't stand
there in helpless grief. He stands as the resurrection
and the life. That's my God. Back in verse
22, Martha said, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had
not died. But I know that even now whatsoever
you will ask of God, God will give it to thee. And then in
verse 23, Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again.
And Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day. And Jesus said unto her, I am
the resurrection. in the life, and he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Aren't you glad
He said that? If you're dead, you are. If you're
dead in trespasses and sin, you're glad He said that. Now the Lord
wasn't simply raising the dead. When the Lord said, I am the
resurrection and the life, what He's saying is, I'm God. Only I can give life, physical
or spiritual. Nobody can give this life but
Me. Verse 26, And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die. And then He asks this question. It's a question that I ask you
today. Believe us now, Ben? Do you believe that? If you today believe this life-giving
truth, The Lord Jesus is the resurrection
and the life. The ten words of our text record,
I think, one of the most shocking and glorious moments in all the
scripture. And you might say, yeah, preacher,
I know a man four days dead comes to Christ, he hears and he's
brought back to life. No, that's not right. That's
not what I'm saying. A man four days dead is given
life. And then he hears the voice of
Christ, And then He comes forth. We can't get the cart before
the horse. That just won't roll, will it?
And I think, you know, the scripture you read in the beginning, and
you alluded to it in your message, is that life's got to come first. Someone dead cannot hear nor
come to Christ until they are first made alive, right? That's why works religion's all
wrong. It's all wrong. They preach that
a dead man comes and then he hears, and then he's given life. That's impossible. I've got a six-year-old granddaughter
that knows better than that. She may be seven now. A dead man cannot hear, a dead
man cannot come. And yet that's what works religion
preaches. You know, you move from your
pew or wherever you're sitting to the front of the church, and
then you say a sinner's prayer, and then God saves you. Well, if a dead man can take
the first step, he can come all the way, but taking that first
step's the issue, right? Life's got to be given for one
dead to do either of those things. So let's just quickly make some
glorious observations from this passage. First we see that this
is a command of Christ. Did Christ go to that tomb? Was
this an invitation? Lazarus? Now won't you please
turn down the lights. Let's play some soft music. And
let's sing a few verses of Just As I Am. And then, Lazarus, would
you? Somebody, won't you just come?
No! Lazarus, come forth! It was a command! A command from
God Almighty. Our Lord doesn't speak with a
whisper, but with a loud voice. It's a voice of authority. The
voice that said in the beginning, let there be light, and there
was light. This is the same voice that says,
Lazarus come forth, and he that was dead, was dead, came forth. Our Lord is not pleading with
death, He is commanding it. This command is specific, and
this command is personal. The Lord calls for Lazarus. He
doesn't call out all the dead. He calls one man by name, Lazarus. You know, if He hadn't, every
corpse in that graveyard would have come forth. Every single
one of them. If He had just said, come forth, they'd all come out
of the grave. But He didn't. He called a specific
man. And have I told you that His
voice is always affectionate? He said so himself, he said,
so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,
Isaiah 55, 11. God's word may convict, God's
word may comfort, judge, call, save. But I'll tell you something
it won't do, it'll never fail. God's Word never fails, never
falls short of its intended purpose. Christ's command, His Word has
power over death. Physical death, spiritual death. Death which holds every man and
woman in chains has to release, excuse me, I'll get it out in
a minute, release its grip when Christ commands. Spiritual application,
just as Lazarus heard Christ's voice and lived, so too every
called, chosen sinner be given life, made alive, and hear the
gospel. It's God's doing. It's God's
doing. Ephesians 2.1 says we were dead
in our trespasses, but Ephesians 2.5 says God made us alive together
with Christ. Don't leave that part out. in
Christ, with Christ, through Christ, by Christ. It's all about
Him. All about what He does. Well, did I tell you what our
church is doing? I don't care. Tell me about what
God's doing for sinners. That's the gospel, isn't it? Secondly, we see that the miracle
of God's... This is a miracle of God's. Word. What was this miracle? Life.
Life. He who was dead came forth. And this is time to once again
reveal the bankrupts of religion. It's based on works. This is the time to expose the
lie of man's personal righteousness. So I have to ask, was Lazarus
given life when he came forth? No, he was dead. He couldn't
come. And neither can we. We're dead in trespasses and
sin. He was dead, and he was given
life, and then he came forth. That just seems so elementary.
But it's obviously not. Well, I guess it's like anything
else. It's easy if you know it. But if you don't, it's got to
be revealed to you. And it's amazing that the smartest,
most intelligent, brilliant people in the world don't see it. A dead man or woman can do nothing. Nothing. That's what the Lord
Jesus said. He said, without me, you can
do nothing. Branches without the vine have
no life. No man can come to me. No man
has the ability to come to me, except, again, the divine exception,
unless the Father has sent me. And here we see the condition
of the one that was called. He didn't have any ability to
come. He was dead. Now listen, Lazarus was not sick. He was not unconscious. He was
not weak. He was dead. The Gospel declares
the same words today. When the Gospel is preached,
when you preach the Gospel, when you preach the Gospel, Brother
Todd, when you preach the Gospel, the Gospel cries, Come forth. It's not an invitation, it's
a command. Come forth, bow to Christ, or
you're going to die and you'll sin. It's a command. Come forth. And this command
is still effectual. You see, if God Almighty sovereignly
and powerfully calls, we who were dead, dead before the call, we too
will come forth. Lazarus didn't help himself.
The miracle of life by the Lord was not just an act of compassion
to a friend. It was a preview of what was
to come. The Lord Jesus said in John chapter
5 verse 25, the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall
live. Isn't that good news? Isn't that what the gospel is?
It's good news, isn't it? Who's going to hear? Those who
God has given life. Those who are dead. Time and
time again the Lord said, if any man have ears to hear, let
him hear. Any man have ears to hear, let
him hear. And hearing ears are much more
than these little appendages on the side of our head. They are instruments to the heart.
Tuned by God's Spirit to discern His voice. You know, oftentimes,
you know, when doing a special, and I'm sure as beautifully as
Ann plays and sings, and Jonathan, you know, sometimes I say as
a piano player, I play on the cracks of the keys. We don't
hit the right key and it's playing in between the cracks. And oftentimes,
you know, we're very apologetic. Oh, I'm sorry. And a lot of times,
folks will just say, well, I didn't notice it at all. but to a tuned ear. Has God tuned your ears? Do you
hear God's command? Sinner, come forth. Come forth,
or you're going to die in your sin. And you know, I hear folks
today talk about God's general call versus God's effectual call. And I understand what they're
talking about. Many are called generally, but
few are chosen effectually. And we preach the gospel to every
creature because as men, we don't know who God's chosen are. I
believe it wasn't Mr. Spurgeon that said one time,
why don't you just preach to the elect, Mr. Spurgeon? Well,
he said stick a red tag on them and that's who I'll preach to.
We don't know who God's elect are. We preach the gospel to
every creature. But I will say this, what good
does a general call do without an effectual call? Without the
effectual call, the general call is ineffective to say. Unless
God calls me by name, like He did Lazarus, I'm going to remain
in my sin. A general call informs, but it
cannot transform. It's like offering food to a
dead man. How ridiculous would it have
been if the Lord said, open up the tomb, open up and give him
a Big Mac. A dead corpse can't eat. You've
got to be giving life. You've got to be giving life.
Judas heard every word that Christ spoke with these physical ears. And yet, without the Spirit's
life-giving work, he perished in his sin. The effectual call
raises us to walk in newness of life, the Scripture says.
I'm pretty convinced that a lot of folks don't know what that
is. Newness of life is not talking about self-help. We've got self-help
books on everything anymore, especially in religion. Newness
of life is not turning over a new leaf. All you need to turn over
a new leaf. It's not, if you do this, God
will do that. I remember in Sunday school one
time in that Freewill Baptist Church I was telling you about
last night, they had a sign on the wall that said, directions
to heaven, turn right and go straight. Well, that's cute and
everything, but only two problems with that. I can't turn right
and I can't go straight. My mother used to tell me all
the time, you better straighten up and fly right. I'm like, I
can't straighten up and I sure can't fly right. It's not within
us to do so. We're dead. Newness of life is
being made a new creation. Old things are passed away, all
things have become new. It's a present tense walk. It's
daily, step by step, not under the dominion of sin, but under
the reign of grace. And Christ were dead to sin and
alive unto God, transformed and conformed to Christ's image. I believe you said that. So powerful. Herein is our love
made perfect, complete, entire, that we may have boldness in
the day of judgment, because as He is, now hold on to your
seat. As He is, so are we in this world. Did you hear that? As He is,
so are we in this world. This is how our love is made
perfect. This is how we have boldness
in the day of judgment. And as He is, present tense. As He is right now. Not as He
was referring to His earthly life, but as He is right now. How is He right now? Glorified. Seated at the right hand of God.
Victorious. Righteous. Beloved and accepted. as He is. I am saved. I love those words. Don't you?
It's by His finished work. We're accepted in Him. God's
beloved. It's by our union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. We have boldness and judgment
because of our oneness with Him. We've talked about that since
we started this meeting. Being one with Christ. Our union
with Christ. I've heard the word over and
over. union, at-one-ment, one with Him. As He is, so are we,
dear believer. We stand boldly, not arrogantly,
not proudly, but boldly because we're covered in His perfect
righteousness to see no judgment. Literally, when God looks at
me, He sees the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when I look at me and when
I look within, I see all the corruption. I see four days dead. Stinking dead corruption is what
I see. But when God looks at me and
the Lord Jesus Christ, He sees perfection. Isn't that good news? That's
the gospel. Now to omit the remainder of
verse 44, and our text would be a failure on my part to faithfully
preach the whole counsel of the gospel. Look at it again with
me, John 11, 44. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound
about with a napkin. And Jesus saith unto them, Loose
him, and let him go. Now what is that telling us? Well, I think a few things. Verse
44 shows us first that the power of Christ to call the dead to
life. That's what we see. God has the
power to call the dead to life. The gospel is not making bad
people better. It's about making particular
dead people alive. Preaching Christ without preaching
His power to raise the dead is to strip the gospel of its essence. Verse 44 shows us, secondly,
that salvation is entirely the work of Christ. Salvation is
of the Lord. Period. We've already established
that Lazarus contributed nothing to his resurrection. No sinner
can believe before being made alive. God affectionately calls
and the dead soul comes forth. The gospel is not an invitation
for the sick to get well. The gospel is a command for the
dead to rise. Christ's word accomplishes what
it commands. And verse 44 also shows us, thirdly,
that when God gives us life, we've got to be made free. Lazarus come forth, he was alive,
but he was still bound. The Lord Jesus said, loose him
and let him go. The gospel doesn't just raise
us, friends, it frees us from being bound, binding us in death. That being sin, in verse 44,
grave clothes symbolize death and decay. Grave clothes are
the wrappings of a dead and decaying body in the same way that you
and I are daily decaying under sin's corruption. Before Christ
saved us, we stink in the nostrils of God. Like Lazarus physically
stank after four days, our souls reek from sin's rot. Well, you know, I believe in
the doctrines of grace, but that total depravity I've got a problem
with. Listen. And you've got a problem
with all of it. Because no man will ever come
to Christ until first he sees his need of Christ. And that's
because he's totally depraved. He's dead and he's rotting. He's
a stench in God's nostrils. We have no life, we have no righteousness,
therefore we have no hope. Only the stench of separation
from God. And in verse 44, grave clothes
represent and symbolize bondage. Grave clothes bind the hands
and the feet, picturing spiritual bondage. We're unable to walk
with God. We're unable to work righteousness
with our hands. Unable to free ourselves. Unable
to walk right and straight. Before God called us out, we
were all wrapped up, bound by sins, affliction, shame, and
guilt. Bound and wrapped in self-righteousness. We're in total rebellion. No
freedom, no movement, no spiritual life. Whosoever committeth sin
is a servant of sin, John said. The law is spiritual, and we're
carnal souls under sin, Paul said in Romans 7. The wicked
are holden with the cords of sin, said the wise man Solomon
in Proverbs 5.22. And in verse 44, we see the identity
of the old man. Well, I'm not even going to go
there. I was going to say something about the two natures. Listen.
There's no other excuse of why we're the way we are if there
are not two natures. If that ain't what Paul's talking
about in Romans chapter 7, I don't know what else he could be talking
about. I'll leave it at that. I'll let Brother Todd deal with
that. When Christ Raises us to new
life. That identity of the old man
is no longer ours. To wear grave clothes after resurrection
would be to live like we were still dead. It would be as though
Christ had never raised us. When raised in newness of life,
our grave clothes are removed, giving visible testimony that
new life has truly come. We don't just pass from death
to life. We just don't hear a call. We
walk in total and complete freedom. Now, shall we continue in sin?
The grace may abound, God forbid, but we have freedom. The Lord Jesus didn't just call
Lazarus out. He made sure he walked out free. Our effectual call strips away
every remnant of death. The results of gospel preaching
and full salvation is that you no longer live in the wrappings
of who you once were. I fail miserably at it. But in
Christ, I'm perfect. Doesn't even sound right to say,
does it? The Lord Himself said in John
8, 36, If the Son therefore make you free, you shall be free indeed. That's what He said. It's the
preaching of the Gospel, the knowing of truth that makes us
what? Free. John 8, 32. In verse 44 we see
the need of discipleship. I believe we do. The Lord didn't
remove the grave clothes Himself. He told others to do it. That's
the church's role in helping new believers to walk in freedom. That's another reason that we
preach. That's another reason God ordained
preachers. I'm so thankful for the men that
went before me and preached the gospel to me. They'll always
hold a special place in my heart and my mind. My pastor, Maurice
Montgomery, Brother Mahan, Brother Fortner, Brother Shanks. Richardson,
Robbins, Groover, Cody and Walter both, Joe Terrell, and others,
and many that are still with us today. Thank God for these
men. How beautiful, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and glad
tidings of good things. Hadn't we heard some good things? Verse 44, we're reminded of the
stark contrast between our grave clothes and the ones of Christ
our Lord. Now in closing, turn over just
a few pages with me to John chapter 20 and I'll try to finish up. You lose track of time when you're
up here, don't you? Sometimes I preach and I'm like,
well, that was about 20 minutes and it was almost 50. Used to, I did good to preach
15 minutes, and now I can't keep it under 40. Okay, let's see, where did I
tell you? John chapter 20, verse 6. Then
cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher,
the tomb of the Lord Jesus, and seeth the linen clothes lie. and the napkin that was about
his head, not lined with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. Our Lord's grave clothes here
are neatly folded. To me, this just shows His calm
victory over death. Unlike Lazarus, the Lord Jesus
didn't need help being unbound. Why? Because He conquered death
by Himself. Lazarus, along with you and I,
are made alive, but we're still bound with grave clothes. But
the Lord Jesus came out of that tomb completely free. He no longer
wore what belonged to the dead. With Christ as our Lord, our
grave clothes are removed. Our Lord defeated death fully
and finally, and His grave clothes lying empty. Well, they preach
a silent sermon. His tomb was not abandoned in
fear. He left in victory. Our Lord's
grave clothes were left behind. He left behind what He no longer
needed. The Jewish leaders believed that
our Lord's resurrection was faked or that His body was stolen.
But every affectionately called believer knows that it was an
act of divine triumph over death. I love that phrase there in verse
6, it says, Peter saw the linen clothes lie. They weren't torn or tossed,
they were gently folded and laid there. They lay undisturbed. They pointed to a calm and a
deliberate resurrection. Our Lord didn't escape death
in a frenzy. Our Lord calmly conquered death
with confidence. The folded napkin was separate
and folded, a clear act of determined intention. It's believed by some,
though there's no proven documentation, the Jewish tradition teaches
that a master folded his napkin, dining cloth it was called, to
show that he was coming back. But listen, a child of God, a
true believer, doesn't need Jewish tradition in order to know that
our Lord Jesus will return. He said so Himself. He said,
I go prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place
for you, I'll come again and receive you unto Myself. That
where I am, there you may be also. Listen, that's all the
proof I need. How sweet is that? The empty
linens declare the work's finished. Death and the grave are defeated. The Savior's risen. The promise
of resurrection is sure. And I'll leave you with the most
familiar words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8. For whom He
did foreknow, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called. Effectually so. And whom He called,
them He also justified. in whom He justified, them He
also glorified. That's what we got waiting for.
Glorified bodies without sin. Wonder what that would be like. I can't even imagine. I can't
even imagine. What shall we say then to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Friends, our God is effective. Effective. Everything he does,
he does effectively. What a God. He's my God. Legend does have a backwoods.
All together backwoods. You come and then you leave. And then when they got a proselyte,
they tried to put the grave clothes on him. Take the log and wrap
him up. Not for us. Paul said, who saved us and called
us with a holy, It's called purpose. Not according to hope. According to his own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ before the world began
but now is made manifest. Have you seen that? Have you seen
that? Everyone in this building sees
it. I hope you see this. I hope you
do. I want you to know it. It's okay. I hope the stand will be dismissed
and pray we have fellowship, food ready, everybody invited.
Please come and we'll prepare the tables. The table will be
prepared over here. So if you get here healthy enough, grab
some tables, grab some tables and help out and put them up
over here. I think we'll put a couple here. When you see that,
ladies say, come on, just go get in line. I think we'll have
plenty. I have plenty. Just get in line
and go. Let's, uh, beat it, Mr. Frayer. Todd, would you, please?
I'm merciful. Thank you for taking us all here. I appreciate it. All of you folks. You did a great job. I know what you're asking.
Let all the conscience of each person speak for themselves.
We ask that you will share with
each one of us the life of your conscience. Now we thank you, who you are,
for all your glorious actions. Now we thank you for the revelation
of your church. Now we thank you for the transition
of your life. Q. May I ask a question?