Christian Priesthood - Our responsibility - Part 2

So let's look then at priesthood in practice and the things that we would be called to do in going in. Number one here, care for God's sanctuary is just kind of an overall picture of the basic responsibilities of the care that ought to be manifested for the place of God's dwelling. First Corinthians three reminds us that the assembly is the assembly is temple like presence of God, not that the building where we meet is the sanctuary.

We should have respect for the place where we're meeting. It's only fitting, but it's the idea of care for the assembly itself and those who make up a part of the assembly. Yeah, it is interesting that the reference that you have to Leviticus 10, which I take it what occurred on the eighth day, we thought about the seven days of consecration.

And then there was the eighth day in chapter nine. And I take it chapter 10 is the same day as you move on through. So the fire from the Lord had come out and burned upon that altar.

But then there's two men that present strange fire to the Lord and the same kind of fire comes up from the Lord and consumes them. Why? Because they were corrupting the pattern that God had given. So Paul takes out that very metaphor of a sanctuary, the inner side, the holy of holies and applies it to the assembly, says you're the holy of holies.

If any man corrupt the temple of God, him will God corrupt. We see it illustrated in Leviticus 10 and likely in Leviticus 10, there was the background of intoxication because there's the prohibition that follows of wine and strong drink and attending to the things of the Lord. And in Corinthians, the assembly had been corrupted because they were mistreating the Lord's supper and some of them were drunken.

So there's similarities there between the two. I hesitate to raise this. And if you think this is too much of a tangent, feel free to say so.

But one of the things that we haven't mentioned in the whole wider subject of priesthood is that revelation. We've been to Revelation chapter one today, but that revelation scene that John saw, we see Christ moving amongst the lampstands and we're really there seeing Christ in a priestly role as he tends to the assemblies so that as far as the churches of God are concerned, there is a there's a priestly role of Christ in caring for them. And then we have a priestly role as we seek to serve God in that context.

Yes. Yeah, we might I might say a little more about that when we get when we get to the lampstand and just why that figure is used. So twice over then, David, as you know, first Corinthians three, the temple of God is used and first Corinthians six, the temple of God is used.

And of course, there's a slight distinction between that. Isn't that correct? You've pointed out the care for God's sanctuary here when it comes to the local assembly. But there should also be another care.

Isn't that right? The spirit of God in first Corinthians six dwells amongst the believers personally, individually, individually. And so there is also care there that we've got to take care how we live for the Lord, because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. And so that impacts we touched yesterday, the blood on the ear and the blood on the hand and the blood on the toe.

And we're learning now this is one of the reasons for it. We are not absolved from service for the Lord because this body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Now, moving past the overall care for the sanctuary itself, then, of course, leaving the altar, I didn't put that on there.

I don't want to emphasize going to the brazen altar again, but leaving the altar that there would be the daily need to visit the labor. Right. The daily need for cleansing.

Any help could be offered on that. Isn't there, you touched John 13 yesterday, isn't it true in John 13 that there's three aspects that the Lord Jesus introduces of that cleansing? So what I'm thinking about is this, the Lord says in John 13, verse number eight, if I wash thee not, so there's the action of the Savior himself. And then in John 13, verse 10, the Savior says, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet.

So we've got the action of the Lord Jesus. Then we've got the action of an individual. He's responsible for his own cleansing.

And then he says, the Lord Jesus says that they're to wash one another's feet. And so there's three things going on with this practical cleansing from the scriptures. The Savior will wash us through the word of God.

We ourselves are duty bound to take what God has in his word and to use it for our own practical cleansing. And then there's times like this when we gather together with God's people and through the application of the scriptures, we are washing one another's feet. So how is the how is the reading of the scriptures? It's kind of a leading question.

How does this bring about the cleansing that we need to serve? It's not just the reading of the scriptures. Well, verse 10 there of John 13, Jesus says to him, he that is bathed or bathed, I talk, I took it that that equated with salvation. The washing of regeneration needeth not save to wash his feet only the daily need for confession.

So, yes, that would certainly be part of it. But your point is, there has to be a practical application of that. Yeah.

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? Right. By taking heed thereto according to thy word. We might tend to think that we've read the Bible today, then we're in good standing with the Lord and we haven't obeyed what it says.

And we and there may the Bible is a mirror. We open it up. It puts it shows us what we're like.

It shows us the contamination that we have, things that were sin that maybe we hadn't thought about. And bringing that to light, we make things right with the Lord. But it's but it's by taking heed to the word that we find the cleansing that we need.

Right. So the priest was not to just go to the labor and look at it or look into it. The water had to be taken out and had to be applied.

Sure. And sometimes that is, as you say, that's a step that we miss. And we think that reading is sufficient, whereas it's the response, the obedience to the word of God that will accomplish the cleansing.

So what does the labor like to in the sense that it shows? Yeah, yeah. They were to wash their hands and they were to wash their feet. So everywhere they went was to be governed.

Everywhere a Christian goes is to be governed by the word of God. Everything a Christian does is to be governed by the word of God that will keep them clean. So so that's true.

And I do take out of what you said. There is the other thing that some Christians read their Bible every day and sometimes having read, you wonder what you've got from reading. But don't forget, it has the power to accomplish cleansing as we are reading.

So even apart from the taking, he should by all means. That's something we should have a yieldedness of spirit and there should be action in our lives to put into practice what the scripture says. But it does also have a cleansing effect.

It's wholesome. It's healthy. That's right.

James speaks of receiving with neatness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. And then, of course, he says, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. And of course, it will maybe be emphasizing this as we move through.

But the importance of having clean hands and clean feet is absolutely essential. I'm thinking of First Timothy chapter two. Men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands.

So there needs to be that cleansing for our service to be acceptable to God. And that's coming from the Lord Jesus himself, isn't it? Psalm two. He that has clean hands and a pure heart.

So after he would wash in the labor, obviously would go in to the holy place. And one of the things that would be done with a daily basis was the lighting of the lamps. Right.

We're purposely trying to bring in some assembly teaching here, too. And the importance of making sure that we're burning brightly for the Lord as an assembly. Any help that can be offered here? Can I ask you who lights the lamp? That'll bring you to your Revelation one, but maybe you don't want to go there just now.

But it was there in the Old Testament. That's right. It was a matter of who was used to light the lamp.

Right. But the fuel, the fuel that is behind it is the Holy Spirit. That's right.

Right. So just to get the picture now from the tabernacle in the evening, the lamps were lit for the hours of the darkness in the morning. They were dressed.

The dross was removed. Interesting that coinciding with that, the instructions are given for the burning of incense upon the golden altar. So it's interesting that in our lives, when God is purging us of dross, that we might shine the brighter.

That is something that he just, that is something that is not just negative, but there is at the same time the bringing out not only of a brighter light, but the fragrance of Christ, the incense at the same time. So so when we are subject to discipline for the time, it seems grievous. It's not joyous, but it is profitable.

If it's the figure of the light, we shine the brighter. If it's the figure of incense, there's more fragrance of Christ from our life. And this this context brings us back again to the word of God, doesn't it? Because when in Revelation chapter one, we see the Savior who moves and who tends the lamps, there's a sharp sword that goes out of his mouth.

And in the chapters that follow, I take it that sword will be used for precisely that purpose. It will be used to dress the lamp and to clear the dross. And it's a solemn thing to think of the sharp sword.

But on the other hand, if you're going to trim a lamp, it's much better to have a sharp sword that will do it with precision and that will do it with accuracy. If you try to do it with a butter knife, you'd make an awful mess. And I think as we see the Savior speaking to each of those churches and saying, I know, I know, and coming down with laser accuracy on what the problem was and what the issue was, we're seeing the sharp sword being applied, unpleasant though it might be, as you say, with the end result that testimony would be maintained and that the light would shine more brightly.

So from time to time in the life of an assembly, there is a need for discipline. There's a need for the authority of the Lord to be carried out. And that's the solemn side of assembly life.

We are responsible for what we do. So let's think a little bit more than that figure, the metaphor of the assembly as a lampstand. We're told specifically at the end of chapter one in Revelation, right, that the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

So we have reason to believe each of these lamps, each of these assemblies is a lampstand. What is the purpose of the lampstand? What is the purpose of an assembly then as a lampstand? It doesn't help us to appreciate, first of all, that these were golden lampstands. And so that tells us something of their value, of course.

And I think, you know, for those of us who are from small assemblies, it's worth remembering that as far as we're concerned, we're golden lampstands. There's a value. But there's also we've been thinking about gold as manifesting divine character and divine righteousness.

So a golden lampstand is going to tell us, it's going to anyone who sees that lampstand is going to tell us something about the character of God. So that's one of the things that an assembly should be. And all seven of them are golden.

Not just the ones that were, you know, Philadelphia, we say a golden lampstand. All seven were golden. And he was in the midst of them.

And he wasn't closer to some than he was to others. That's a good point as well. But we should not we we could tend to look at vibrant, growing assemblies, large assemblies and say, wow, well, you're you're in a golden lampstand.

Every lampstand is precious to God. But each each lampstand, though, is seen on the ground of responsibility toward Christ. Right.

He's in the midst. He's in the midst. That's clear.

So we still get we got to get to the purpose. Right. What is the main purpose? It exists for his pleasure, first of all.

Yeah. But the figure of a lampstand is something that gives light. OK, so we have changed to I'm going to give you can I give you a tangent before we go on the light thing? Or it's not a candlestick.

You've changed the authorized rendering. Right. I'm happy.

I didn't change it. OK. Well, it's called candlestick in the authorized.

But a candlestick is self-consuming. The figure of a lampstand is something that is used, it has a base, it has a column and it gives light, but it's fed by oil, which is not not part of itself. Now, one of the things that's unique to the seven churches is each one of them hears.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what God says to the churches. No, he that hath an ear, let him hear what Christ says to the church. No, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirits have to the churches.

So it's being fed by the spirit of God. Right. One of the interesting things about our statements that are made about the lampstand in the tabernacle was it was to give light over against itself.

That's interesting. It itself was producing light, but it was to give light over against itself. It was illuminated.

The gold was seen in all its brilliance and glory by the light that was produced. It's interesting to notice as well that Paul writes to the Corinthians and he calls the assemblies the glory of Christ, the glory of Christ. And that's the purpose of an assembly in a locality, isn't it? To bear glory.

That's what I was hoping to emphasize. So in Revelation one, you know, a lot of things are not said that could be taken from the tabernacle. But we do know that Christ is in the midst so that they're shining a light upon Christ.

An assembly bears the privilege as each that make up a part of it. Are yielded to the fuel of the Holy Spirit to burn brightly for Christ so that people in that in this community can see Christ here. That's right.

And that's a glory to him in the assembly. Yes. In the assembly, the testimony of that summit is Christ like so that everything that takes place in the assembly, the preaching glorifies Christ is honoring.

It's it's shining a light on Christ. Does our preaching do that? Does our gospel preaching do that? Do our does our breaking of bread do that? Do all of our activities shine a light on Christ so that when others would come, they could say, I see Christ here. That's the purpose.

That's it. So we get that out of balance, don't we? Because frequently we think the assembly exists as a testimony, too. But it exists as a testimony primarily for for Christ, who is in the midst, but that others will see that and be drawn to him.

So then it's not so much a question of what I get out of the assembly. That's not really the purpose of the assembly, but it is something I will get something if Christ is getting his portion, his people will be fed, too. Is it is it is it confusing the image to see at least a resonance here with with first Timothy chapter three, the pillar and ground of truth so that there's truth being being displayed in the assembly.

But again, what is the truth without controversy? Great is the mystery of godliness. We go into that great statement of Christological truth because that's really the core. That's the what is it? The what's Kelly says, the sum and the center of all that we hope.

So that compares with the figure that I use, because I said it had a base and had a column that it gave light. First Timothy three. It has a ground.

It has a pillar and it disseminates truth. Very good. We hold it fast and we hold it forth.

All right. This imagery of the lampstand, I know we're taking a lot of time on it, but I think it is helpful. There was, of course, a warning to one of the assemblies about the lampstand being removed.

Ephesus, right. So what what was the warning? Why was the warning given? What can we learn from it today? If we're bearing testimony for God, we want to we want to have that privilege. We would we would it would be devastating to think that that lampstand could be removed.

So how can we keep that from happening where we gather locally? Well, how they were to keep it from happening in Ephesus was that they were to repent so that there was something of which they of which they needed to repent. And and it was this solemn charge in the epistle to this epistle to Ephesus is a very solemn one because there was so much that was right and there was so much that was commendable. But the Savior says you left your first love and I think that should cause us all to feel a little bit uncomfortable.

We would reading the descriptions and the letters to each of the seven taking out the threats to them. We might not have put that one in Ephesus. Ephesus may have been doing everything right on the exterior and everything looks right outwardly.

But inwardly, things were gone terribly wrong. They had waned in their affection. And who's their first love? Well, it's hard to think it's anyone other than the Lord Jesus.

Right. But how is that? How is love to Christ usually manifested? By love to his people, right. And when we fail in our love for Christ, it will be evident because we won't love one another and other people will see that they won't see Christ because they don't see that we love one another.

And that's something that can easily happen anywhere. We can go through the forum, we can have all the meetings that we're supposed to have and participate in them. But if we lose love for Christ, then we fall under this warning.

And I think that God's gracious. I do. It's possible that we can carry on for quite a while with cold hearts and God is gracious in giving us opportunity to repent.

We can be thankful for that. But we can make things right today. And that one seems to be put first, David, because the rest, the other six, it has been suggested, and I tend to think this, that it was the temperature of love that's being diminished as you move through the other six.

I thought it was because we were in the apostolic. No, I didn't really. Uh-oh.

If you're going back to Ireland tomorrow or something. He wrote a book about Ammon. So maybe we can move into number four, the feeding on the bread.

And I know some of this has been discussed already, enjoying Christ. God wants us to enjoy what he enjoys, doesn't he? The bread sat on the table for six days, basically without being touched by the priest. But then on the seventh day, it was to be their bread.

So it was before God for six days. So whenever we are enjoying Christ, we must always remember that God enjoys far more than we could ever enjoy of him. And there wasn't just one loaf, the showbread, the bread of faces.

And there was a portion linked with each of the tribes. And I think there's a vitally important thing that our feeding on Christ should be done for ourselves. We're very good at sort of being parasites on the spiritual experience of others.

And that's not really what we should be doing. And that's not what the priests were doing. It was a provision for that which spoke of Christ.

And it was for all the people of God. Now, John, you know that there are five different expressions given for the bread. Could you elaborate on that? No, William, I have one.

You know, I think I'll let you tell us what they are. Well, one has been touched on already, the bread of the faces, and you've emphasized communion. I'm being a good boy today, by the way.

All right. The bread of the faces, which speak of communion, you've just emphasized that. Then there is the continual bread, numbers four and seven.

It's the communion of Christ, the constancy of Christ, the continual bread. Then you have the punctured cakes, Leviticus 24 and five. The word is used and reminding us again of the crucifixion of Christ, perhaps.

Then you have the bread of remembrance in Leviticus 24 again, verse seven, as the contemplation of Christ, as we remember him. And then the hallowed bread of First Samuel 21 and four, the consecration of Christ to God. Good.

So sometimes we've heard it said, and it's actually a misstatement, as you say, we wouldn't. But people say that that bread was the food of God. But that's not correct.

That's not what we're learning here. God did not feed on that bread. There is something in the book of Leviticus called the food of God, Leviticus 21.

That was on the brazen altar. God fed on what was placed on the brazen altar. This was food for the priests.

And we're learning, aren't we learning again? And I know we're going over things, but part of the reason why this bread was given to them was for sustenance. It was not it was to sustain their service that God let them feed on that bread. And are we learning that our service, our priestly service will be sustained through feeding on the scriptures and on the person of the Lord Jesus? Well, finally, we have nothing to give if we're not feeding on Christ.

And a priest could could maybe have gone for a little while without eating from the bread, but eventually he would just he would just run out of steam. Be evident to all. Yeah.

So this the cleanse. So therefore, the the number two and number four, washing in the labor and feeding on the bread, both in their application involve the word of God. Right.

One is the word of God and his commands. You know, we we we're obedient to the commands of the word. But the other is the enjoyment of Christ in the word.

And when we're reading, we ought we ought to be looking for and enjoying both. And it's it's it's very solemn to realize just how much you can read of scripture and not do either of those things. You know, you can your eyes can pass over the page.

You can understand the measure of what you read. But it's possible to read a great deal of the word of God and neither to yield to its commands or to enjoy Christ in it. So I think it is important for us as we as we come to scripture to make sure we're doing both those things.

So this being food for the priests, it energize them, enable them to serve. Right. And in all of our service, we need to be feeding on Christ to make it effective.

Can I just say this, too, as far as what we're feeding on in the word, that's important, too. It might be that we'll make statements like that and people are saying, well, I'm reading it. I'm going through my reading.

I started in Genesis. I'm going to end in Revelation and I'm in First Chronicles, Chapter three. I have no idea what's going on.

There's lists of names. We have to also think of the word of God as portions appropriate for the ability to digest. Those of you that have children, you're not going to put it, you know, you got a five month old sitting in the high chair.

You're not going to give them a T-bone steak and expect them to get through it and to get anything from it whatsoever, apart from maybe the salt that's on the top of it or that we have to make sure that especially as we're guiding young believers to direct them to portions of the word to study that will be appropriate for their diet, because otherwise it's it's like a child and I was going to be very frustrated that can't get any of this in to do any good. So that's just a word for those of us that might be seeking to be a help to our own children or to younger believers and directing them to places in the word that that would be good for them. I'm not saying don't read the whole Bible, but don't get frustrated if you don't understand something.

There may be some other places where you could spend some time right now. There was, of course, frankincense, which was placed upon the bread and that was taken and burned. So there was something associated with the bread that God appreciated.

And then the priest, the priest, that fragrance that God appreciated, frankincense, of course, speaks of the spotlessness of the Lord Jesus and the beauty and holiness of his person. And God received that. And then the priests, they would be feeding also on his person as they're standing in the sanctuary.

But wasn't there the idea of something that was, say, brought to the door of the tabernacle and we apply it. It was for the eye of God and so on. There is an expression that's used in relation to the bread that it should be before me always.

So the eye of God was, it wasn't literally eating it, right? The priest did that. But in the sense that God was looking on it, there was an appreciation for Christ by the eye of God. And it reminds us that, you know, there's nothing that we can grasp of Christ, as you were saying, I think that has not already been appreciated by the father.

And then let's move to number five, then one of the other things that the priest would do when they were going in is they would stop at the golden altar of incense, they would offer their incense and we make the application because of various texts that seem to do that for us, that that our prayer life is really a priestly function and our prayers are seen as ascending to God as a as a saver that he will that he will receive. And in receiving, it's the picture of hearing our prayers and respond and answering our prayers that he's going to do that. I didn't put on the outline.

Brother William pointed this out to me that this is where I would have typed in. And I don't know why I didn't type it in here. First Timothy chapter two, because that involves the the idea of also the assembly praying together is a priestly function, isn't it? Does the priest in his function, he he acted on behalf of the whole company, right? And as well as well as his own individual prayers.

Yeah, but so I think Mark was bringing that out earlier, too. Yes, you're right. So it's an intercessionary role.

That's what you're saying. Wayne, the priest functioned in that way. And yes, a mediating role, a mediating role.

So then pray for other people. Right. That's the exhortation of First Timothy two.

And it's addressing the assembly prayer meeting and First Timothy two so that Timothy would know how to behave himself in the house of God. These instructions are given. And it is worth maybe just mentioning in relation to that, that it's very clear that we're dealing here with an assembly context where I said I will let men pray everywhere, which is really an expression that indicates everywhere where there is an assembly gathered.

The males. Right. Must be an assembly setting.

Right. Now, just. I don't want to give my whole spiel on some of these things, but I can't help myself sometimes.

But the assembly prayer meeting, then maybe you've never thought of it in that respect, that you come to function as a priest. It's a privilege to do this. And in some ways, this this will lead us into the next idea of offering sacrifices because prayer is very sacrificial, isn't it? It involves a sacrifice to think about other people than yourself.

And at a very basic level, I know people talk about the prayer being our weeknight prayer meeting, the brethren get up, men get up and they pray for five, 10 minutes. Well, that ought to tell you something. And they can actually think of that many people that have needs that they've obviously been praying for.

But at the very basic level, a prayer meeting is a place where you can go and think about someone other than yourself for 30 minutes or so. And it's kind of telling about our own spiritual condition. If we would think that it's not worth doing 10 minute prayers, 10 minutes, I was I don't know.

I was in a place recently. I shouldn't tell you where. Brother prayed for 21 minutes.

Wow. Someone text my wife after it and said he broke his personal vest. The problem is, though, that you do sometimes find that, you know, it's it's easy.

It's easy to go. I think that emphasizing that the assembly prayer meeting is part of our priestly exercise which would remind us that it's something that we need to take seriously and it's something that we need to prepare for. And sometimes the long prayers don't actually involve that much thought because it's just the same thing from last week.

You go on the tour of the world. Bless this country, bless that country, bless the other country. And I think nothing will help the spiritual life of an assembly like brethren appreciating the privilege of acting as priests in public prayer, putting a bit of thought into it.

So we have a question here. Is it this is just something that I was thinking about two weeks ago. Is it wrong to have maybe a list that of like at the back of the hall where you could put people that you want to pray for, that the whole assembly could be praying for making maybe a photocopy of it.

They take home and pray for people. Is that something that would be taking it too far? Can't see any reason why you wouldn't want to do that. It's not much different to the man standing up and saying, we remember that, but at least you can remember it if it's written down.

We all have pens and paper, don't we? If we really want to take our prayer life seriously, we will take the steps necessary to remember those that we want to remember. And sometimes we'll tell people, oh, yeah, I'll remember you in prayer. Really? Hmm.

So could I ask then, what should be prayed for in the prayer meeting, in the public prayer meeting? What about the breaking of bread, too? Let's expand that. Let's make this as practical as possible. I mean, what about someone praying and praying for his neighbor's dog? It's at the vet in the breaking of bread.

Are those things appropriate? Well, we'll do first of all with a prayer meeting. Well, if you had 30 minutes, a lot of places, we do at home. If you had 30 minutes, I would think you'd want to make the best use of those 30 minutes.

I could maybe think of something better than the neighbor's dog. I could think of the neighbor, maybe. Yeah.

You see, I've noticed that there's certainly this is our experience. There's a great contrast between the midweek prayer meeting and the prayer meeting before the gospel meeting. You go to the prayer meeting before the gospel meeting.

There's quite a number of brethren there that all pray. In your assembly? Yes. Yeah, yeah.

Good. Good. Yeah.

Yeah. Surprised. I'm not sure it belongs to him.

I was just clarifying the point. Sorry. Did I say something that I usually very hard on that? No, not on that point.

The fact that there were many men at your prayer meeting before the gospel meeting. That's excellent. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, you know, as many are there. But the point is this, they turn up, they speak up and they shut up.

It's everyone prays and they pray specific pointed prayers. And that, to me, is what every prayer meeting should be like, rather than a few brethren going on world tours, mentioning everything that they can that they can occur. And covering all the grounds that the next brother has no choice but to follow the rules.

All of the above. I think, practically speaking, the gospel prayer meeting has a focus to it. And because our general prayer meeting has a very large sphere of need, you know, that's probably why that happened.

Right. But what kinds of things are appropriate? Should we be focused on mostly assembly needs and people within the assembly? I mean, sometimes I've gone to a prayer meeting of an assembly. It's an assembly prayer meeting for the company.

And no one is prayed for that's actually in that assembly. That seems to be very strange. Like we're praying for missionaries and preachers and people that are sick and all other places.

And that that's fine. But none of the it's almost as if they don't know one another. And that's pretty telling also.

Sorry, go ahead. Don't we get a lesson sometimes as we analyze some of the prayers of some of the people in the New Testament? For example, look at some of the prayers of Paul. And if we analyze some of those prayers, we'll maybe just not pray the way we do when we come corporately together.

He's praying for the expansion of gospel work at times. He's praying for the expansion of the saints spiritually at times. And sometimes I think one of the factors that we miss out is that corporately that we do not pray to the Lord for expansion of our own ground, not just gospel, but even privately our own expansion spiritually as an assembly, as the people of God.

That's the point I was going to make. And I think you have to be careful just how how direct a line you draw between the prayers of the apostle that he records in his epistles and the public prayer meeting. But if you looked, if you listed the priorities as you've identified them.

And I mean, what do we pray about? We pray for the sick people that they'll get better. We pray for the unsaved people that we get saved. Not many examples of that in the prayer life of the apostle.

Which is not to say that we shouldn't pray for those things. We shouldn't only pray for those things. We don't have a lot of texts to work with as far as things that we're actually prayed for, even in gospel work.

We pray that. I don't know if you ever find yourself wondering about some of the things you're asking for the Lord to do to make people believe the gospel and the things that we might say to the Lord. We can certainly pray for boldness.

They did that, didn't they, in the Acts as they're moving forward with the gospel, praying for boldness. I think we do that when we when we pray before a gospel, we can give our brothers help as they preach, but there's not a lot to go on. But isn't it good that we have a great high priest who has a golden plate that says holiness unto the Lord and that deals with the defect in what we pray.

Yeah, I like that. Yes, but we are to pray for kings and for all that are in authority. I take it that would come right down to even policemen.

All men, isn't it? There's all men. It starts with all men, for kings, for all that are in authority. That we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

David, can I ask you to expand? I did raise the breaking of bread there. It's different from the prayer meeting. But what should our focus be as brethren come to participate? The breaking of bread, right.

And we don't really have a we don't really have a very definite example of an actual breaking of bread meeting taking place, right? You might be able to say that in First Corinthians 14, some of what is going on there would be could be happening at a Lord's Supper. You have singing with the spirit, but you have blessing with the spirit, right? To speak well of. And who would they have been speaking well of in a gathering? Hebrews 13 would help us, wouldn't it? That would help us as well.

Sacrifices of praise. Right. And we've got the order of Hebrews.

Can I go there now? Is that all right? Yeah, we'll touch on some of these in the offerings, but go ahead. Sure. The order of Hebrews 13 is let us go forth.

Yeah. So they have left something. They have been called out and they have gone on to him because they have gone on to have then by him.

Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Then there's a communication. I take it that that would include what we did this morning in the offering which was given.

There's fellowship. So there's the three principles. We go forth.

Then there's the offering of praise. And then there's even the physical thing of the offering given to the Lord. And a very simple practical point is that this.

We need to be we need to be careful that the hymns we give out are appropriate. Right. And in a morning meeting once for someone, give out what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.

And we didn't actually sing it. And we need to think I think the point is we need to think about the significance of what we're doing. Yes.

And the purpose of what we're doing and what is involved in remembering which is part of what we're doing, remembering him and showing forth his death. And if we kept it in mind that those are really that is what we are doing when we break bread. I think it would it would be a good guy that wouldn't pray about the neighbor's dog which is nothing to do either with remembering him.

We can we can draw up great lists of rules. But perhaps the best thing to do is to go to scripture and to go to the Psalms and to see the way that God was worshipped there. And the sort of things he was worshipped for.

And I think that can inform and illuminate our own worship. So our focus is the person of the Lord Jesus. Paul says it's his death and he says it's until he comes.

And so there's there's various things that we can draw even from that. Certainly I would I got no problem if a brother goes beyond you know the resurrection ascension of Christ. But it's the focus is the person of the Lord Jesus.

Are we just just a quick question. Are we instructed in relation to the remembrance meeting to worship. Well I'm glad you called it a remembrance meeting.

I can't imagine ever meeting with the Lord's people as a temple like and not be worshipped no matter what meeting it is. I hope there's worship in this one. I think there is.

There is. Yeah. The reason I'm asking that as John knows some dear brethren at least we used to hear that worship is not connected with the breaking of bread specifically it's not a word that's labeled on the breaking of bread even though we call it the worship meeting sometimes.

But it is the remembrance meeting and how could you possibly remember him without worship emanating from your heart. So what really is worship. Well there's a man here who wrote a book on it.

Oh better let him answer. I'm trying to remember what I said. Well you know in the Old Testament the word that's used for worship it's really a postural term.

And the first usage is not in connection with Mount Moriah as we said it's the first in our King James certainly but it's Abraham when he was in the door of the tent and the visitors came and he bowed himself to them and that's the idea of worship. So I think implicit certainly defining these things is not always as easy as you might think when you set out to do it especially if you're doing it on paper but certainly implicit in the idea of worship is recognizing that there is one who is greater than we are. And so worship is not about us.

Worship is not about me and how I feel and Lord I'm feeling this and I'd like to feel more like that. Because if I'm the focus then it's not worship because worship is the acknowledgement of someone who is greater than I am. And one of the things that we do find in some of the music that we might listen to perhaps is that worship seems to have been redefined as something very subjective where it's about us and what we feel rather than about God and our acknowledgement our humble lowly acknowledgement of his greatness and his superiority to us.

That's not a definition but it's so submission to God submission to his word is worship that's worshipful service isn't it. So sisters even in their place in the in the assembly that God has given by assuming that role they are worshiping God. So Brother David has given us a very comprehensive list here A through to F and I think everything on that list and it's not exclusive but everything on this is worship is exactly right.

And that's one of the dangers of of labeling a meeting a meeting like the breaking of bread meeting as a worship meeting is that it will lead people to think that that's the only thing that's worship right. And that is the only time we worship. I would I would really want to avoid that altogether because of all of these activities that and more that are referred to as worship.

So if we go to the Genesis 22 passage it involves sacrifice and for every breaking of bread there should be sacrifice which is made sacrifice of time so that there's proper adequate preparation made that we come into the Lord's presence to give him something and we'll maybe get to that when we think of some of the perils. The danger is that we try to offer worship where there have offer unto the Lord that which cost me nothing. There's too many Lord's Day mornings that we'd have to confess that we do that.

You know let go ahead or even a weekly at our remembrance meeting we pass the bag around. I mean that's an act of our putting our contribution into that as an act of our worship an aspect of our worship and in a sense that's already happened. Right.

And you've already given it. And I think actually I was just thinking of it as it was because we have a box in the back and I really like what you do here because it links the beginning with the worship. It reminds us that it's not sort of you know it's not an optional sort of stuff at the back but it's it's an it's an it's integral to the worship that we offer.

Give him a word on that when you get high. I've tried. In the Old Testament in the Old Testament as a as a person in Israel you could hardly do anything for God without involving a priest.

And in the New Testament all that we do for God is because we are a priesthood and it all involves worship. What we do for God is worship. I would even take it back further than that.

But God sought to speak to Adam in a garden that was a communication that was broken by sin and the priesthood that you see Abraham to Joe. Joe is behaving properly as a priest through the through the priesthood that we're looking at now to our priesthood is always God seeking to communicate with us. And there were different times where there had to be a specific mediator.

That's what you have in what we've covered in the last few days. And now we have the privilege of being able to come back and really our relationship is better than what Abraham or what Adam had because we've been redeemed and we've been made and we're operating in the priesthood because of the Lord Jesus Christ. All right.

We've got 25 minutes and we've got a bit of ground to cover here. Let's get to the offering then of the sacrifices which is and it's interesting that just you know as in the Old Covenant right there was a variety of sacrifices that could be brought whether it was a burnt offering or meal meal cereal offering or sin offering trespass of peace offerings. These are there are a variety of offerings by a variety of sacrifices that we can bring as priests.

Let's look at the first Peter two and five speaks about offering up spiritual sacrifices. They're spiritual in nature because you're a spiritual house. It's consistent that we would offer spiritual sacrifices.

Those are two key words that are linked with priesthood offering up and sacrifice. So wherever you get those words occurring you have priesthood involved. So if we look at the first one in particular on the outline here we read it Romans chapter 12.

It's interesting. Aaron and his sons were presented to the Lord. Right.

And maybe there's there's a parallel there with Romans 12. It's the Lord's intention that we present ourselves. How would we do that.

Well we embody the idea of a complete offering of ourselves to the Lord to be used for his service. It was mentioned last night at the same that the offering to the as a mind is a living offering not a dead animal upon an altar but a living offering a voluntary offering that you present a complete offering your body a part of the body but the whole and one that the Lord will accept as a sacrifice. So one of the keys for this is that it touches the believers will because Paul does not say as an apostle he could have commanded.

This is what you're going to do. Yeah he could have done that but he doesn't open Romans 12 like that. He beseeches them by the mercies of God.

Now the mercies of God has been established in the epistle and from what he's already established in the epistle. Now he says on this basis I beseech you and he doesn't he doesn't actually exactly say I beseech you by the mercies of God. He says I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God.

I think that exactly to stress the point that you're making that cast us back over it's the it's the logical consequence of the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans not just what we have when he deals with our salvation and our justification and so on. But even when we come to those dispensational chapters and we think of the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Well as a consequence of that not emphasizes that this is an act of worship.

We appreciate how great God is. We appreciate the depth of his wisdom and we think well what could we do with a God so great but just give all we have. They happen a number of times right.

I wouldn't want to limit it to any particular number of times. But as we as we think of our lives before the Lord and as we spend time in his word and think of the demands of his word and his call upon us in our lives and what we ought to be for him. There may be a number of times when we will we will act as Romans 12.

So it's like an act of surrender. Sorry. It's like an act of surrender isn't it.

Lord I'm your I'm yours. Right. I'm all yours.

Now use me. Right. There's no withdrawing from that.

There's no holding back when you surrender. You're done with you. Right.

But you still have this old flesh within us still rises up and we might have to come back to that. But every time it's as though this is surrender. Heard someone say once that the problem with a living sacrifice is that sometimes it gets up and walks off the altar.

And that's what can happen. But the tense here is that this is the point you're making William that each time we do it it's an act complete in itself. Right.

And that doesn't mean that it will never need to be repeated. But when we do it it's complete through our failure through our wandering off we may need to come back. But it's a complete surrender each time as though it never needs to be repeated.

And the closest we get to this in the Old Testament is that wave offering of the priest taking the place of the firstborn. Because people have all always said well this is a living sacrifice in contrast to a dead sacrifice whether it's a bullock. I don't think that's the picture.

I think the picture is as you've drawn is these priests waved in the presence of who would then go forth to serve. The priests themselves. The priests themselves.

The priests themselves was to wave to wave them. Yeah. Right.

And that's true. To emphasize that the point that we've been making about worship touching every aspect of our life. You say well OK Paul you know what does it look like when you've got a presented body as a living sacrifice.

When you go down through the verses of the chapter it controls how we think about ourselves. It controls how we exercise gifts and how we think about others. It'll even presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to him will even control our attitude to the state and to the powers that exist.

So this this this chapter makes it very clear that that worship really that everything that we do can be an act of worship. Herbert said who sweeps a room as for thy sake makes that on the action fine and the most menial of the aspects of our life is done in this state of presentation to him. They become acts of worship.

Let's join together then B and C under number six here. Deeds performed and praises proclaimed are both found there in Hebrews 13. To do good and to communicate.

Forget not for with such sacrifices God as well please. And then the continual offering of the sacrifice of praise to God the fruit of our lips. Is he here as well.

I think that you were suggesting that brother John in the communication that's the that's the financial. Yeah. Emphasize that later also for the sake of completeness.

Yes. So is it fitting that verse 15 should be for the before verse 16. Here in Hebrews 13.

What do you mean. Well you're saying that the verses got reversed. No I'm saying that the CT the order in which they're found in my Bible is by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.

That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks in his name. And then there follows but to do good and to communicate forget not. So you have that which is Godward first and then you have that which is manward.

So that brings us back to what we were saying. Somebody said yesterday that a priest blesses God. And as a result men are blessed and the order is important for more reason than one.

But that that what we do manward shows the relationship that we have God. You can't get around that. That's the other comment.

The other way. Yes. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples that we love one another.

That's correct. It was an example of that. And again just you know in confirmation of the point that were made it doesn't say you know by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God between 11 and 12 on a Lord's Day morning.

This is a continual this is an ongoing thing. And just to hit that point again again about manward and Godward. I say that for this reason.

They were often and we can find ourselves saying this. Well I love the Lord and I serve the Lord and I love for the Lord's people. There's no service toward the Lord's people.

Those are just empty words. If we're not if we don't do this for one another we're not right with God period. So let's get them to be sold one.

We come to Romans 15 and Paul speaks about the offering up of the Gentiles as a sacrifice. So does this tell us then that when we're witnessing and we're seeking to reach others with the gospel we're actually we're functioning as priests. Who's the who's doing the offering up of the Gentiles.

Good question. So Paul says that I should be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering the gospel and then he changes that word ministering. That word has changed.

It's ministering as a priest the gospel of God that the offering up of the Gentiles might be accepted acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So who is doing this offering up of the Gentiles. Did I say you haven't yet.

I'm waiting waiting. I'll wait for help. Baited breath.

I don't think the Gentiles they're offering themselves. And that is that we're not so they're offering themselves but that they hear the gospel they get saved. They are brought into a position where they are able to function as priests.

It might be that it might not be the offering of themselves but all the sacrifices that they will offer. Well Paul has already set out as we've just been reminded in the epistle what is required of the Christian in Romans 12 and 1. So Paul is working in the gospel in order that the Gentiles will be brought to a place where they're offering themselves to God without reserve as Romans 12 1. Now the question is is that going to be acceptable. These Gentiles will God accept that.

Well yes it is acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. So then let's get to E. Our finances our money that we get when we give to others. That's obviously viewed then as also another way of a sack way we can sacrifice and that God will accept it.

There may be those here and you say well I don't really have much to give and I don't really have God's God's scales are different than our scales right. God weighs not to not to determine the amount of currency but he weighs to determine the amount of sacrifice and for some a little amount currency wise might be a tremendous amount in way of sacrifice. I'm sure we've all heard.

I think it's helpful. We think of the widow with the two mice. We look at how much we give and God looks at how much we've got left after we've given.

She's given all that she had. She had nothing at home. Do you do you want to give us a conscious that time is pressing.

When does this when does this giving happen. How does this giving happen. I mean there's certainly giving as it relates to the assembly and but there's also the doing good to all men to do good and communicate.

Forget not. I don't know necessarily what he's emphasizing there but there is the assembly activity isn't there. What's that.

Philippians 4. Yes. Is the exam assembly activity. Yes.

But Galatians 6 is the individual activity. So tell us what those verses are. Let him that is taught in the word communicate.

And that is the idea that he has received teaching from a brother. And so he in turn will physically meet the need of that brother and have fellowship with him. So we've got in one side we've got the Philippians passage and here's an assembly meeting the need of Paul.

And in the other passage Galatians 6 we have an individual meeting the need of another individual. That's as we as we have opportunity. That's right.

Can you give some anybody give some practical help on how do I go about this giving and who do I give to and how when do I set it aside. We know that's on the front. There's an aspect of our giving which is on the first day of the week and we've we've thought of that already and how appropriate it is associated with what we've done.

That's that's according as the Lord prospered him. So there's a proportionality about it and there's a preparation with it and a few peas of my own. There's a preparation that's low level.

At this stage it's all I'm capable of. He's to he's to he's to make preparation in advance. You know it's not nothing Paul necessarily had in mind swinging by the ATM on the way to the meeting on Sunday morning to get the offering out.

So so that's one aspect of it I think and it's important to emphasize the necessity for that consistent regular thoughtful sacrificial giving as being an element of the worship that we carry it. So we as individuals do that and then that by the logistical way enables the assembly as a whole to function in a priestly way corporately. That's Philippines for as they met Paul's need and brothers emphasize that that would be an order of us of a sweet smile.

Well pleasing unto the Lord. The assembly acting priestly. Let's finish the sacrifices then with faith being exercised.

What does he have in mind there. Philippians 2 about Mingle. It's his own sacrifice right.

He's ready to be offered himself and to be mingled together with the sacrifice of their faith. In what sense can faith be a sacrifice. Sacrifice and public service isn't it.

And so what he what he's doing is he's really taking a picture from the Old Testament and the picture from the Old Testament is the burnt offering. And along with the burnt offering there were other things which were offered and one of them was a small offering a hint of wine which was a drink offering and it was poured out upon the larger offering. Now he says the sacrifice of your faith your public ministry is the large thing he says what I'm doing is just a small thing that accompanies it.

So faith how is faith the public ministry. Why would he turn. Why would he word it that way.

Well is it not the idea of the sacrifice and the service that is produced by faith. Right. Yes.

So but but is is there not an element as well that faith itself can be very costly faith in Christ. There's people here in this room I'm sure that faith in Christ has been costly for them and what the price that they've had to pay. I was wondering if the if the faith being exercised that not seeing a need and and purposing in our heart to help to meet that need.

Understanding that I mean it's going to could possibly leave me short. My faith is in the Lord that he's going to be my need in the end. And it's not just the conversion either that faith in Christ can be costly but faith and dependence on on him even in the Christian life may may involve a measure of cost.

But the sacrifice and service of your faith it's your the assembly. So as a company in the context. Yeah I know you're applying it personally but but in the context it's the assembly and Paul would find delight if the drink offering speaks of joy.

In his service he would find it maximum joy to pour himself out so that the assembly could serve God. Now 10 minutes we're going to just generally speak of some of these other things. You can feel free to comment on any of them now in the practices now of going out declaring God's truth.

We read here in Colossians 3 about teaching and admonishing one another. But first let the word of Christ dwell in you richly proclaiming the excellencies of Christ from first Peter to serving one another blessing one another. Feel free to comment on any of these and talk about some of the relationships that we have as a priest going out now to the people to one another or to even the lost.

Do you want to help us with just the distinction of first Peter to before we do that because you've touched and emphasize a holy priesthood. You want to emphasize now and help us with a royal priesthood and maybe the distinction between the two just before we touch some of these things. No the royal priesthood says something about the character of the priesthood right.

Holy priesthood says something just about the set apart nature that we have. But then there is the distinction of what we're told about both also. So the holy priesthood is to offer up spiritual sacrifice to offer up when it's the the royal priesthood is that you should show for the praises of him.

So that supports that at this point now we are going out and on the basis of what we have done offering up now as part of our worship we go forth. I just want to say that we have not ever to compare ourselves to anyone who's in any other form of worship or belief system because we are not like I've been in my hand stretching that one priesthood is a proof of that. Oh yes well just as you've said it's not our business to deal with other people but it is our business to implement the word of God as it's found here and the royal priesthood will show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light that holy priesthood is the basis by which the royal priesthood is from.

Yes John has said first of all we go in the holy priesthood link with the sanctuary. It's our God word ministry if you will. And then as a result it's the same pattern that we've had blessing God and then blessing man the royal priesthood goes out to men and when function properly this one thing when function properly we then naturally display.

I was just going to say before we get into the priesthood perils and we only have a few minutes I'm just going to make a general comment about all four of these going out functions and say that I've witnessed all of these this weekend the declaring of God's truth that was something the priest were to do and were to teach the word teach the law read it they were to proclaim well we are to proclaim Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ's excellencies I've heard much about Christ this weekend not only in the gospel and all of the meetings I've seen believers serving one another we benefited from the service of the Lord's people here and I've even heard people blessing one another speaking well of one another we all have maybe a little bit more of speaking evil of one another then we care to admit but I've heard people speak very highly of other people here. We've we've seen priesthood function. I've seen priesthood function this weekend.

Thank God for it. So we'll get into the some of the perils then. And we've made comments on some of them.

But let's look at the first the defiling of the sanctuary. What are some ways in which that can happen and that we we need to avoid? Just thinking initially in in the immediate context because we often apply this to what comes up later in the epistle. Just taking it where it sits here in chapter 3 thinking about the what we've had the emphasis on the building in and so on.

Is what is primarily by way of interpretation of the passage is what is primarily in view here defiling the temple by false teaching. Yes. Certainly we can apply it in relation to the moral evil and as we were hearing from William in relation to the the shocking behavior that was taking place at the Lord's Supper.

But but really here the finger is being pointed up at the teaching of false doctrine. Preserving of the of the testimony of that entering in. That's one way in which division would take place.

And in the overall context, again, backing up further, that's what he's dealing with. The problem of division in Corinth. There's also the fear of that sacrifices.

Some of these sacrifices that we would love to offer to the Lord or that we seek to offer to the Lord may not be received. And I put on here Matthew chapter five, the Lord Jesus talking about our relationships, one with another. I know it's a it's a different time period speaking there, but leaving your gift at the altar and making things right with your brother.

Or the implication is, I don't want the offering. I don't want the sacrifice because there's another sacrifice he's looking for first. It's the sacrifice of a broken spirit to make things right with his brother.

And you've referenced Malachi there and we can dip back into the Old Testament. I think this is a teaching of Malachi is very challenging and very solemn. And the problem was that the children of Israel were giving to God what they would never have given to a human ruler.

Yeah. Would we do that? Would would we give to God just what's left over of our time and our energy and our talents? And we'd never think of giving our earthly employer that. We'd never think of giving our human and those that were in human relationship, but we'd never think of treating them like that.

But yet that'll do for God. And then in Malachi's day, they've got the whole thing upside down. And sometimes we have to acknowledge that that's just where we are.

Every sacrifice was to be salted with salt. And with none of the sacrifices could leaven be offered. So I think if we're lacking in salt or if we're leavened, the sacrifice will be rejected.

Now, we've already said something about the removal of the lampstand and how that could take place. We have about two minutes. We've talked about some of these discussion questions, but there are maybe one or two that I think would be would be helpful.

I was thinking of number three, how might the exercise and of assembly discipline fit into the practice of Christian priesthood based on what we what we've just been talking about. So it doesn't remove that brother as a brother or sister. It does not mean that they are not a priest.

What it does mean is if it's a brother, it removes him from the privilege of functioning as a priest when the Lord's people gather together. He's still a priest before God in his own individual life. Sure.

What was one of one of the duties of the priest under the old covenant was that it was to determine the clean and the unclean and to act accordingly to purge out what was unclean. So in that sense, you might say, yes, the removal of of of sin and the assembly is a priestly function. So so in protecting and safeguarding the sanctity of the sanctuary, if you can use that expression, the holiness of the temple, that's that's one way in which it's a priestly function.

But do we also need to remember that that that discipline always has the purpose of restoration in mind? So in a sense, that discipline is also a priestly function to that believer because it is for his. Ultimately, it might not seem like it, but the end in view should not be vengeance or retribution. It should be his recovery and his blessing in the cleansing of the temple under Hezekiah.

They carried out the defilement and as part of that process of restoration to keep it to make the temple clean, to purge the temple. Now, if that clock will stop for another minute, we can finish and take maybe two minutes. But I was thinking of number four, then should our should we consider the public reading of God's word to be our priestly duty? Because, again, one of the things that the priest did when all Israel is to appear before the Lord, thy God, thou shalt read this law.

Right. So and that takes us to the first Timothy four. Until I come, give attention to the public reading is the idea.

So we get up to to speak. I have no problem with someone carefully, articulately reading from the word of God. I know some would be a little hard on men that were reading 30 different places and hardly say a comment about them.

But we thank God we have the privilege of getting up to read that there's benefit in standing up and simply reading what the word of God has to say. Ezra did that. And he was a priest acting in a priestly capacity.

He also expounded. He did. You need to understand that.

That's right. So the last question we'll look at then is just number five. We've answered number six, I think.

But our believers baptism in the Lord's Supper related to our Christian priesthood. First, believers baptism. Is it related? Obedient service.

Reasonable service. Some would see the I've read some books about the washing and trying to link that with the ordination of believers as priests that at baptism now we're entering into the priesthood. I don't see it.

No, I don't think so. No, I'm believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That's the anointing.

I think we've established that baptism is not the Lord's Supper. However, it's something else. We do need to be careful, very, very careful here.

Don't be because there's there's in Christendom more widely, in particular, some parts of the Lord's Supper is seen as a sacrifice. And there is no sacrifice offered. It's a memorial, only bread and only wine.

And so we're certainly not offering. We're not repeating. We're not reenacting.

We're not replicating the sacrifice of Christ when we gather on the Lord's Day morning. There will be sacrifices of praise. And there will also be one of the priestly functions of blessing.

We speak well of now we're speaking well of Christ. But yeah, we do need to make a careful distinction there. Otherwise, we'd be getting in trouble with some of what we were thinking about for Hebrews about the sacrifice being over and finished.

Oh, yes. Once for all. Exactly.

Well, the time has passed. And I thank you all for your help.