Come, desire of nations, come,
fix in me your humble home. The woman's conquering seed,
now come, bruise in me the serpent's head. The fact is many women everywhere
are confronted with the fact that Jesus Christ came into this
world. But the fact that he came into
this world will have no effect at all on anyone's life until
they wake up in hell unless he comes to you in the blessed personal
experience of his omnipotent saving grace. Unless he comes
to you in mighty power, the woman's conquering seed, to crush in
you the serpent's head. The whole history of our Lord's
incarnation, his life on earth, his death at Calvary, and his
ascension is utterly meaningless until you wake up in hell. Oh,
then I pray he will come and conquer in you, crush in you
the serpent's head. Turn with me, if you will, to
Isaiah, the ninth chapter. Isaiah chapter six, which Brother
Larry just read to us, describes for us our savior's exaltation
and glory as the result of his incarnation and his obedience
unto death, having accomplished redemption for us. Isaiah gives
us in very figurative, symbolic language, the picture of our
savior seated on his throne, exactly as John describes it
in Revelation chapters four and five. We know that this is what
Isaiah saw. And we know that this is what
he spoke of because our Lord tells us in John chapter 12 that
Isaiah saw him and spoke of him in this passage. What Isaiah
saw was Christ, the incarnate God seated on his throne as the
lamb that had been slain in and by whom the glory of God is revealed
and redemption is bestowed upon us by him who obtained eternal
redemption for us. In Isaiah chapter 7, the prophet
moves back in time. He moves back in time to the
actual incarnation of Christ, our blessed Savior, and describes
for us the Savior's virgin birth, his coming into this world in
human flesh. Then in the 8th chapter, Isaiah
describes a time of judgment, great judgment. and yet a time
of judgment in which grace and mercy is revealed. It is described
as that time when Emmanuel came for the land where he comes is
called Emmanuel's land in verse 8. And we're told in verse 10
that God is with us. We're told that God will be our
sanctuary and we're called to make God our fear and our dread
that we might worship Him. But then the prophet speaks of
judgment, all the judgment that comes upon those who believe
not. The Lord Jesus this day, in this his day, brings judgment
upon those who refuse to hear his voice. And that judgment
is vividly set before us in the casting away of the nation of
Israel. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. They turned to wizards, it turned
to soothsayers and palm readers. And he mockingly asked, should
not a people seek their God? And the word God there, I believe,
really should be written in with a little G. He's speaking mockingly. It's right for people to seek
their God, the living to the dead. They go and look at the
palm readers and folks who read their Pharaoh cards and read
the horoscope and the paper every morning and they seek to their
God. Religious superstitious idolaters
and the Lord cast them off. And it says because of their
unbelief, He'll send them a time of terrible famine. Not just
a famine of bread, but a famine of the hearing of the Word of
God. A famine that will cause terrible disturbance in the land. A famine that will cause constant
disruption. So that people will revolt against
authority and they will look to heaven and curse and blaspheme
the God of heaven because of the trouble they're in. And yet,
never recognize the trouble lies at their own door. And then the
ninth chapter begins with a marvelous, marvelous word. What a great
word. What a huge word. Nevertheless, when the Lord God is talking
here about well-deserved judgment and wrath, how I love to hear
him say, nevertheless, Whenever God says, nevertheless, this
is what he's saying. Judgment is sure. Wrath is certain. God almighty will punish the
wicked. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. Nevertheless, there's still hope. Nevertheless, I will yet be merciful. Nevertheless, I will in wrath
still remember mercy. Matthew Henry wrote. In the worst
of times, God's people have a nevertheless to comfort themselves, something
to allay and balance their troubles. I rejoice to say with David,
when I have behaved as a brute, as a beast before my God, as
often as I do, nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou
hast hold me by my right hand. Whenever my soul is smarting
under God's chastening rod, I'm thankful to remember that my
heavenly father has declared, nevertheless, my loving kindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. Though like the nation of Israel,
we often provoke the Lord to wrath. It is written, nevertheless,
he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry. Though,
how terribly it is true, we often believe not. Still, nevertheless,
the foundation of God stand assured. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. And though we see all things
here in this time world dissolving and coming to an end, nevertheless,
we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a
new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Oh, I'm thankful for that huge
word of comfort. Nevertheless, nevertheless, the
dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation. When at
the first, he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land
of Naphtali. He's talking here about lightly
afflicting them under Tiglath-Pileser. And if you think that was a light
thing, go back and read 2 Kings 15. But compared with the affliction
of God's judgment spiritually, it was a light thing. and afterward
did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea under Shalmaneser
in 2 Kings 17, that which is beyond the Jordan and Galilee
of the nations. The prophet of God has been describing
God's judgments, those things that were come upon apostate
Israel and those things that actually came upon apostate Israel
after our Lord's coming and his being despised, rejected, and
crucified by them. That nation, he says, would be
engulfed in spiritual blindness, cut off, left desolate, shut
up in unbelief and hardness of heart. Yet, as he pronounces
God's judgment upon the apostate nation, the prophet faithfully
takes great care to comfort and cheer God's elect remnant. And
this ninth chapter is all about that comfort which Christ gives
when he comes to his own. The fact that this chapter is
describing Israel's time of great darkness and desolation is the
same chapter in which he describes God's greatest blessing and his
abundant grace to his people. And throughout the scriptures,
because I suppose of our indolence, because of our inability to perceive
things as we ought, because of our terrible tendency to presumption,
the Lord God sets the marvelous wonder of His grace against the
backdrop of judgment. He sets mercy against the backdrop
of wrath. He sets his goodness against
the backdrop of his terror. And here he does just that. The
times which the prophet speaks of here are the times of Christ
coming to redeem and save his people. They are these gospel
days in which we live, in which God, though he cast off the nation
physically, yet is gathering his elect from the four corners
of the earth and declares that all Israel, all the true Israel
of God must be saved. Now we know that this is the
proper interpretation of the chapter. Before we look at our
text, turn to Matthew chapter four. Let me show you. Matthew
chapter four. The Holy Spirit tells us plainly
that this is a passage describing the days of our Lord Jesus Christ
in which we now live. These last days that began with
the coming of the son of God, Matthew four, verse 12. Now,
when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed
into Galilee and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,
which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zabulon and Nephilim,
that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet
saying. Now, right here is what we just
read. The land of Zabulon and the land of Naphtalem, by the
way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The
people that sat in darkness saw great light and to them which
sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. From that time, Jesus began to
preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Isaiah chapter 9 verses 1 through 5 speaks of that which Christ
does when he comes to sinners in the mighty saving operations
of his grace. Has he come to you? If he has, this is what he is
doing for you. This is what he has done and
this is what he's doing. Oh, if he comes to you now, this
is what he will do in you, for you and with you. Let me show
you five things. We'll begin in verse two. The Lord Jesus comes to give
light to those who sit in darkness. That's a pretty good description
of man. We sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death. That's where we were when he
found us. And that's where some of you
are sitting now in darkness. Verse two, the people that walked
in darkness have seen great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death upon them hath the light shine. The fact
is all men and women by nature live in total spiritual darkness. I keep emphasizing this. I keep
laying stress upon this. And I keep doing so because we're
not really convinced that it's so. We got pretty good up here,
but we somehow, somehow it just doesn't come out down here. And
then I deal with folks, all men and women by nature. live in
total abject darkness and have absolutely no light spiritually. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them. They're
foolishness to him. Neither can he know them because
they're spiritually discerned. You cannot grasp what God has
written in this book by merely me telling you what it says,
or by you reading what it says, or by getting your books and
dictionaries and commentaries and concordances and studying
the words out. The only way you will ever understand
what this book says is if God the Holy Spirit steps it on your
heart in the blessed experience of grace. The natural man. cannot understand anything spiritual. Every thought, every natural
man has of everything spiritual. Every thought he has of God,
every thought he has of Christ, every thought he has of himself,
every thought he has about the Bible, every thought he has about
religion, every thought he has about grace, every thought he
has about salvation, every thought he has about eternity, every
thought is utter foolishness. He doesn't understand. Now, if
you ever really get hold of that, you'll quit arguing with him
about it. There's just no point in arguing with it. Well, shouldn't
we witness to folks? There's a big difference between
witnessing to folks and arguing with them. There's a big difference.
Somebody witness to God opens a door, you bear witness to them,
and God takes the witness home to them. Arguing with folks,
you're just trying to prove how smart you are, and God's not
honored, and man's not helped. The natural man does not understand. The Jews, they were God's professed
people. But they lived in total darkness.
They had the law. They had the prophets. They had
the ceremonies. They had the priesthood. They
had the tabernacle. They had the temple. They had
the altar. They had the mercy seat. They had it all. To them
alone, God said his word. To them alone, God gave the light
of divine revelation. And the Jews were as ignorant
of things spiritual, as ignorant of Christ, as ignorant of God,
as ignorant of salvation when our Lord came on this earth as
any heathen who lived in Africa. just as ignorant. Oh, but they
were religious. What difference does that make?
The fellow eating his neighbor, running around with a bone through
his nose in Africa was religious too. That's exactly right. Just as religious. Both ignorant. Ignorant of God. They studied
the word of God. They memorized the law. The Pharisees
could quote it for you. They didn't have to turn to the
page in the verse. They could quote you the page
in the verse. They knew the law, knew it inside and out and didn't
know a thing about the law. Didn't know one thing about the
law. The apostle Paul writes of his experience. He said, uh,
I was alive without the law. But Larry, he lived under the
law. He lived by the law all his life. From his youth up,
he lived as a Pharisee. A Pharisee of the Pharisees.
He kept the Sabbath day and didn't have a clue what Sabbath was
all about. He paid tithes and didn't have a clue what tithe
was all about. He observed ceremonies and didn't have a clue what ceremonies
were about. He kept the Feast of the Tabernacles
and the Feast of Passover and did not have a clue what he was
doing. And when the commandment came,
when God pierced his heart, sin revived and he died. and we were
in the same boat. The Lord Jesus said to those
Jews, and he says to you and me, to all men by nature, you
do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. Ye were
sometimes darkness, Paul says, but now are ye light in the Lord. When Christ came to us, We were
in darkness, like fish hatched in a cave where there's no light,
without eyes, no ability to perceive light, though light shone all
around us. You take a blind man, take him
out in the noonday sun and turn his face right directly toward
the sun. And I don't care how bright the
sun is. I don't care how hot the day is. I don't care how
cloudless the sky is. He can't see. He can't see. No point in getting mad at him,
he can't see. No point in fussing with him. He can't see. He can't
see. Well, what do you do? You pray
for God to give him light. Light from the inside. Then he
can see the light outside. But until the light shines on
the inside, he can't see it on the outside. I'm not talking
about illiterate, unsophisticated men and women. I'm talking about
all men and women by nature. You, me, our sons and daughters,
our moms and dads, our brothers and sisters. It is utterly impossible
for a natural man to see the kingdom of God. Impossible to
see anything spiritual, to understand anything of a spiritual nature.
It's totally blind. Men and women are blind. Because
since the sin and fall of our father Adam, we dwell in the
land of the shadow of death. We live in this valley of dry
bones. In this land where we are dying
and everything around us is but the shadow of death. the shadow
of temporal death, the shadow of spiritual death, and the shadow
of eternal death. We live in a world where men
are separated from God, which is just the foretaste of being
forever separated from God, alienated from God, but just the foretaste
of forever being alienated from God, utterly helpless, but just
the foretaste of helpless damnation forever, totally Brother Don, that's not very
complimentary of men. I didn't mean for it to be. I'm
not here like a politician. I'm not looking for your vote
for anything. I'm here to speak to your soul. You need light. Light that only God can give.
Light that comes only by Him who is the light of the world.
And when He comes, listen to this, Upon them hath the light shined. The light has shined on me and
now I see. I, who could not see, had no
ability to see. Not only had no spiritual ability,
But it was manifest, had no natural ability that anyone would look
and say, well, we would expect the God to see that after all
he's smarter than the rest of us. No. The light shined on me and
now I see clearly. If you see these things and rejoice
in them, blessed are your eyes for they see. The fact is God
doesn't allow all men and women to hear the gospel. And it doesn't
cause many who hear it to understand it. It is written, many are called,
but few are chosen. But he says to you, his disciples.
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and therefore the
light shines on you. He cried to his father in Matthew
chapter 11 after speaking of condemnation upon those who would
not believe. those who would not hear his
word, those to whom he came and they stuck their fingers in their
ears and said, we won't hear him. And he said, I think the
old father, Lord of heaven and earth for thou has hidden these
things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Now look at verse three. Here's
the second thing. When the Lord Jesus comes in
saving power, he multiplies the citizens of the holy nation,
the Israel of God. Thou hast multiplied the nation
and not increased joy. And the prophet here is talking
about a time when God diminished the physical nation He brought
the physical nation of Israel low, very low. And yet, though
he destroyed the physical nation, he gave no joy to the physical
seed of Israel. He multiplied the holy nation
of his elect. Hold your hands here and turn
to 1 Peter 2. The holy nation that he's talking
about here is the church of God, the holy nation of his elect.
the Israel of God. This is exactly how Peter describes
it in first Peter chapter 2 and verse 9. It's the same thing
Isaiah is talking about here in Isaiah 9. Ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people,
that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now Peter's
clearly referring to Isaiah chapter 9. He's talking about this holy
nation of God's elect. In both places, 1 Peter 2 and
Isaiah 9, the Holy Spirit is telling us that Christ has enlarged
the borders of Zion to include the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
It was always His intent. to have a people out of every
nation, kindred, tribe and tongue. It was never his intent to have
a Jewish kingdom and him sit on a Jewish throne and have everybody
serving the Jews in some imaginary millennial kingdom. I'm fully
aware that the number of God's elect never increases and it
never diminishes. God chose his own elect in Christ
before the world began. Their number can never be changed. It is always 144,000. It is never
143,999. And it is never 144,001. It's
144,000. You mean exactly that literal number? Well, of course
not. Nobody but those idiots out in Utah believe that nonsense.
No. Well, what's it talking about? all of Israel, 12,000 times 12
out of each tribe, 144,000. The whole Israel of God shall
be saved. All whose names were inscribed
in the book of life before the world began shall be saved. And yet the scripture speaks
here of him multiplying the holy nation. What's he talking about?
God's elect are not known by us or known to themselves until
they're called out of darkness into his marvelous light by his
grace. And then as God gives you faith in Christ, we can say
as Paul did in the passage you read in office, Rod, we know
your election brethren beloved, because God gave you faith. If you believe the son of God,
it's because your name was written in the book of life before the
world began. We know God's elect. And he calls
his elect to life and faith by the gospel that we preach to
him. And he never sends his servants to preach the gospel in vain. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void.
It shall accomplish that which I intend. It shall prosper in
the thing whereto I send it. Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I kept telling Brother
Clay Curtis while we were in Mexico this week how excited
I am for him. Full of expectation I am for
that congregation in Princeton. Now listen to me. I'm just excited
for me. I'm just that full of expectation
here. I fully expect God to save sinners
when I preach the gospel. I fully expect him to increase
his kingdom, to multiply his holy nation. And we see it every
day, every day. God doesn't send his servants
to preach for nothing. Wherever he sends the gospel,
he sends his son. And wherever he sends his son,
it is that he may multiply the nation of his elect. And what
he does, when he multiplies the nation of his elect, is just
exactly the opposite of what everybody thinks is going on.
What do you think of when you think about revival? You see
the sign out in the churchyard, revival this week. Strange, they
have them every fall and every spring. Revival this week. We're going to pull God down
this week and have a revival. That means we're going to have
a whooping good time. And they're going to have some folks walk
down in front of the church and get saved and come in sad and
go out glad. Not according to this book. More
than likely, they'll come in glad and go out sad. You see,
he says he's multiplied the nation. And then he says, thou hast not
increased joy. Well, I believe on Jesus. Everything
will be fine. Oh, life will be better now.
He'll heal your marriage and heal your bank account and heal
your body. He might destroy them all. He
might destroy them all. What's he talking about? Thou
hast not increased the joy. Our Lord's first works of grace
in our souls are painful, sorrowful works. but they're necessary. He works conviction in us that
he might work repentance in us. He breaks our hearts that he
might bring us humble before him and lift us by his grace,
squeezing from us the contrite confession of sin. Conversion
is a painful process. Oh, it is joyous in the end.
Don't misunderstand me. But it's sometimes very painful
in the process. Christ sends His Spirit. Brother Lindsey was teaching
about the rich young ruler this morning. But what did our Lord
do with that young man? He stripped away his righteousness
from him. Just rip it off. You ever rip your britches in
public? I have. It's embarrassing. Cover
yourself up. Let me tell you something. If God Almighty ever rips away
your facade of righteousness, you're going to stand like Adam
and Eve naked before him with your nakedness exposed. And you've
never known the blush. You've never known the blush.
He strips us of our righteousness, that he might clothe us with
his righteousness. He condemns us by his holy law. People tell me, I never was under
the law. I've been there. I've been there. Condemned. Guilty. The law sentencing me to death
in my soul. The law telling me I must die. The law screaming in my soul
and my conscience agreeing hell is what I deserve. It condemns
us that he might speak peace and pardon. He humbles us that
he may exalt us. He causes us to hunger and thirst
after righteousness that he might fill us and satisfy us with his
grace. He causes our souls to be weary. and heavy laden, that we might
come to Him for rest, that He causes our spirits to be poor. Poor in spirit. Not spiritually
poor, everybody's that. There's a difference between
being spiritually poor and being poor in spirit. About everybody
who's spiritually poor thinks he's rich and increased with
goods. Oh, but if Christ ever comes to you, You'll find out
you've got nothing. Poor in spirit. Those he makes
rich. Then blessed be his name. The savior brings joy to those
whom he breaks. Look at verse three again. The
brokenness, the contrition, the hunger. These things sometimes
looked upon by men as conditions of grace. Darvid, they're not
conditions to be met by us. These are the first fruits of
grace. These are not things where I've got to beat myself down
to get humble. If the Lord gets hold of you, He'll do the beating.
He'll bring you down. He knows how to get Saul off
his horse. They're not conditions of grace.
These are works of grace. Look at verse 3. Thou hast multiplied
the nation and hast not increased joy. They joy before thee according
to the joy of the harvest. And as men rejoice when they
divide the spoil. Well, what a contradiction. To folks who walk in darkness
and have no light, it's a contradiction. No contradiction here. No contradiction
here. If God graciously breaks your
heart in repentance, he will cause your heart to rejoice in
faith. And there is no joy in this world. There's no joy in this world
like the joy of faith. All other imaginary joys are
but fleeting dreams because their joy is based upon nothing. Ah, but the joy of faith! The
joy of faith looks in here and sees nothing! And joy is in hell. The joy of faith stands empty-handed,
naked, bankrupt before God and joy in Christ the full and complete
Savior. It's like the joy of a full harvest
after a long summer's drought. It's like the joy of victory
with complete, bounteous spoils over an enemy who has been whipping
us all our lives. But it's the joy of a harvest
for which someone else did all the labor. and a victory that
somebody else won. And the laborer and the conqueror
is Christ the Lord. The joy of faith, that which
God gives to his elect, it's the joy of a sinner who's nothing but sin. from the crown of his head to
the sole of his feet. Nothing but sin. Confident that
his sins fully forgiven and taken away. It's the joy of a debtor. A debtor headed for prison because
his head over heels in debt and he's got nothing to pay. And
the debt is fully satisfied. It's the joy of one who has every
reason to recognize God is just to send him to hell. One who
recognizes that God has every reason to be angry with him.
But he's fully reconciled to God and knows God is reconciled
to him. It's the joy of adoption. by grace as the sons of God,
the joy of a good hope through grace in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Look at verse four. When Christ comes in saving grace,
when the incarnate God, our Savior, comes by the power of his spirit,
he gives liberty to those who are in bondage. For thou hast
broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Gideon delivered Israel from
the Midianites, not by might nor by power, but by the power
of God's spirit. And so it is that our Lord Jesus
without our aid brings us into the glorious liberty of the sons
of God by the irresistible power and grace of His Spirit. If the
Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed,
free from the curse, dominion, and terror of God's law, free
from the torments of a guilty conscience, because the blood
of Christ sprinkled upon the conscience, purges the conscience
from dead works, free from the dominion of sin, free from the
fear of death, accepted in Christ the beloved, having free access
to God Almighty on his home throne. Let us draw near with the full
assurance How dares Larry Brown come into the holy presence of
God Almighty with confidence? How dare you? How dare you? How dare you? There's no dare
to it. There's no dare to it. I'm worthy
to be there. Did you hear me? I'm worthy! If I weren't worthy, I couldn't
get in. Worthy because of the blood and righteousness of my
substitute and my union with him. And I have no reason to
even think God might not receive me. Called the full assurance
of faith. Look at verse five. For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise, and the garments rolled in blood." He's
talking now about this victory, the spoil. He said, now for men,
the battle of the warrior, confused noise. Some of you fellows have
seen conflict. Oh, what confusion the battle
is. And the garments rolled in blood. Men come away from the
battle, the victors. but bloody. Not this one. But this shall be with the burning
and fuel of fire. What's he talking about? With
the burning of conviction and the fuel of the fire of the gospel
by which that conviction comes. Again, like Gideon, how was it
How was it they conquered the Midianites? By the power of God's Spirit.
And that's how God conquers sinners. By His grace. And gives them
peace. We just blow the trumpet. Just
blow the trumpet. And the walls fall down. What
are you talking about? when God came to you and called
you to hear the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation
is all over. It's all over. Victory won. Our
Lord saves his elect by the light of revealed truth, by the blast
of the gospel trumpet, and the work is altogether his. The victory is ours, but the
battle The victory is ours, but won by Him. And now in Christ,
we are made more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Because
greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Now, turn to Romans chapter 8. I'll wrap this up. Romans chapter 8. Oh, I pray the Son of God will
come to you by His grace and give you the light and the liberty
and the joy and the victory and the spoils of His salvation. And I pray that He will give
you grace, my brother and my sister, to walk before Him in
the full assurance This is what that means, Rex
Bartley. If you're in Christ and I'm in Him, if we believe
the Son of God, we have no reason not to speak with the same confidence
as Paul does when he raises these five bold challenges of faith. Look at verse 31. If God be for us, Who can be against us? Who did
you say I was supposed to be afraid of? Who was I supposed
to watch out for? How was I supposed to take care
of myself? If God be for us, who can be
against us? Verse 32. He that spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, if God gave his
son for me, how shall he not with him also freely give us
all things? Now, But what is it I'm supposed to do for myself?
Verse 33, who should lay anything to the charge of God's elect? I know this surprise you, but
every now and then I get things thrown my way. I get a few charges
thrown my way. And you know what to do with
them? You know what to do about them? Ignore them. Well, don't
you think I ought to answer them? I'm not a politician. I don't
have to. What are you doing? Ignore them. Just ignore them.
Who's going to lay anything to my charge? Who? It is God that justifies. If He justifies me, I don't need
to justify myself. And if He doesn't justify me,
all the justifying I do won't do any good. Verse 34. Who is He that condemneth? In
heaven, earth, or hell, who's going to condemn me? It's Christ
that died, yea rather, that's risen again, who's even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Number five. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? I'm persuaded nothing and nobody
now or ever. Amen.