Quality Time

Greetings in Jesus' name. It's a blessing to be here with everybody again. It's a beautiful day to gather and we have much to be thankful for. Why don't we stand for a reading of a scripture and a prayer. I'm going to read a portion of Ephesians 5. Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all godliness and righteousness and truth. Trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, and do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation. But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and in hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father, and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Let's pray. Oh Father, help us and guide us and direct us, and we thank you for all your mercies and your goodness and kindness, and for the Lord Jesus who is light, and for bringing light to us, and for exposing all darkness, and we pray that you would do that in our lives and in our midst, here in the congregation, and in each of us, that you would expose those things which are darkness, so that we could turn from them, and be pleasing to you, and bring glory to your name. We pray that you would help us to be careful how we walk, as wise men, and to make the most of our time here, recognizing that the days are evil. We just pray for your blessing on the remainder of this day, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. I had a few, just some thoughts I'd like to share for the opening here this morning, and this passage here in Ephesians had several thoughts in it that Paul conveyed that are fitting to my thoughts. I have, especially verse 15 and 16 there, where he says, Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Probably all of us know, have had experience and know what it's like, know the frustration of a poor quality tool, or a poor quality service that somebody gives you, or just a poor quality thing that you make. You quickly slap something together to function for the immediate purpose, you know, the next rain, the next wind, the next whatever, you have to do it again and again, and we kind of all know the frustration about something like that, the dissatisfaction. We also probably know, can relate, or know the satisfaction about a good quality tool, or once we've done this over and over again, once we take the time and the effort to do it right, there's something really satisfying, something really rewarding. You soon forget the hurt of spending the extra money or spending the extra effort or time that it took to get that. I'm sure in one way or another, probably all of you can know what it's like, whether it's a tool, whether it's something you make, whether it's a service somebody gives you or you give, whether it's clothes, whatever, there's something extra frustrating about real poor quality, and there's something really satisfying about real good quality. I have a feeling that God knows that same feeling. I have a feeling that he knows the displeasure of his people doing poor quality service, whittling away their time unwisely, casually, hastily, cheaply. I think he probably understands the pleasure of his people being careful and diligent, offering him high quality service or time. It's mostly that quality time that I want to talk about today. We've probably all heard that time, quality time. There's one thing we all have equal of. We don't all have equal strength, we don't all have equal gifts, we don't all have equal resources. There's so much things we don't all have equal of, and we don't necessarily all have an equal span of life in a lifetime, but we all have 24 hours in a day. We all have that equally. Some people may require more sleep than others or their health. It's not like we all have the same amount of time that we can even be active in those 24 hours, but we still have that equally. But there's something about just using that limited resource that we have, that thing that we have, and using it wisely, or just squandering it. We can be together, but not spend our time in a quality way. All of you that are married, I'm sure you know that there's one thing to just be with your wife, there's another thing to be with her in a way that you're actually spending quality time with each other. You're actually giving each other attention. You probably all know that if you don't have that at all, your wife will suffer, your children will suffer, regardless how many hours of the day you're in their presence. If you're not ever really giving them attention, and they're giving you attention, and you're interacting purposefully, meaningfully, about substantial things, it's just cheap time. And I feel like this quality time that we strive for, and need for, and ought to work for, it has far less to do with a special event, or having a date, or a recreational thing. Those things can have their appropriate places, but it has far less to do with that, and it has so much to do with our devotion, what's going on between our ears during this time, and in our hearts. It can happen at the table where we sit three times a day, or at least once or twice a day with everybody. It can happen the first hours in the morning that we all get up, or before we go to bed, or throughout the day at work, and it doesn't have to be some special event that we set aside. Okay, now we're going to have quality time here this week, on this day, we're going to do something real special. Years ago, an Amish bishop gave me some advice, some counsel, and I recognized it when he said it, as just, here is some really sound advice. We were, at the time, I was milking cows, and I was devoting a lot of time to that, I was spending a lot of time to that. But, I think right at the time, my wife and I were going through some struggles, and we asked this man for some counsel, and I was in the ministry, there was just a lot of things that I was trying to do, some of which were necessary, some of them were probably just my own problems, or my own interests, but one of the complaints was, or is, I don't spend time, I don't spend time with my wife, I don't give her the time that she needs, and the children, and so forth. And she had young children, there was a time when we would have had like four children at one time, that were maybe four and under, with the twins in there. Anyway, she had her load, she had a big load. Anyway, this Amish man that we asked for some counsel, I don't know if he told me this when we were together, or if he told me this privately later, he said, you know, there are things you have to take care of. You're a deacon in the church, you're taking care of your farm, you can't just decide you can just always spend your time in the house, but here's one thing you can do, while you're in the house, leave that other stuff outside, and be devoted to your wife's needs, and to your children's needs, and that's something I just recognized, like I can sit there and I can eat a whole meal with my family, and my mind can be totally somewhere else. And as good and as sound as that advice is, I still struggle with it to this day. I struggle with not just having my mind completely on other things, while I'm in the presence of my wife, my children, you all. And so, I just recognized, like, oh yeah, if I would just take the amount of time that I do have in the house, that I do have with my wife and my children, if that time was quality time, this lack that we're sensing would probably not even be there. It's not like I have to figure out how to create more days in an hour, how to get less sleep, so I can be awake more, all these things. I need to figure out how to make time, quality time. Recently, I was remembering that again, what that man had told me, and I thought about how that principle applies to us, and to our gatherings. You know, we talk about fellowshipping, we talk about sharing together, about brotherhood, about being our brother's keepers, and one-anothering, and all those things. We've talked about those things a lot. It's a necessary and vital part of the Christian walk. It's why we are here today. It's why we have fellowship meetings, meals through the week. It's why some people live communally, and live their days, day in and day out with each other, is because there is something necessary about that. There is something good about fellowshipping. But sometimes I think we can get off track, and we think, OK, well, if this is a good thing, the more the merrier. If it's good to be together several times a week, it must be good to be together all week. The answer is to just be together as much as possible. But I think we should consider the advice that Amish man gave me for my marriage. And instead of thinking that the answer is that we should have more quantity time together, we should recognize that we need more quality time together. And we'd be doing things that are important, and things that bring God's glory, things that help us and make us fit for the temple of God, things that shape us. You know, when Solomon's temple was being built, there was no chisel, no hammer, no saw heard on the building site. All these stones came in, and they fit perfectly together. When they were brought on the building site, they could stack them. There was no chiseling, no nothing needed. Why? That was all done out at the quarry. The guys out at the quarry who whittled out these stones, they whittled them out, they probably fit them together, they stacked a few together, made sure they fit, and those they took in, they were ready to go. So all that was done off the building site, out in the quarry. And sometimes I feel like we are here, we're in the quarry right now. God is wanting to build this eternal temple, and he wants stone, and we are stones. And he wants stone that fit together, and someday they're all going to fit together for a visible, beautiful, glorious temple. But here we are, we're in the quarry, we're being chiseled, we're being chipped, we're being rubbed against each other, and we need to be, and this is good, we're being made fit and shaped to someday be brought into that place where God is building this eternal temple and just fit right in. Because what we become now, that's who we're going to be in eternity. We're not going to be, what's the term the Hindus use for their belief of reincarnation? We're not going to be reincarnated. The revelation says, the time has come, let him that is holy be holy still, let him that is pure be pure still, let him that is filthy be filthy still. Something like that. And so let's use this time that we have for that purpose, and let's be intentional about it, so that when that glorious day of the Lord appears, we will fit and not be unshaped. Just an abundance of time for us to be together is not the answer to that. In fact, I feel like I've observed when I've visited communities where they really do spend a lot of time with each other, I don't necessarily always get the impression that it's for the good. It seems there's a tendency, naturally, that when we spend a lot of time with each other, we become light with each other, and we start joking with each other, we give each other a rough time, we're just kind of light with the people that we're around all the time. Now some of that is just, we don't do that with a stranger, right? Because we don't know this guy. But the people we work with every day, we kind of know them, we know how much we can joke with each other. I don't think we should be strangers to each other, and be like, oh, I don't know how far I can go with this guy, but I'm just saying the natural man does not necessarily benefit for the good just by being around each other a lot. There's got to be intentional, purposeful, deciding to make this limited, precious little time that we have, quality time. Quality time when we are together should be discussing things that matter, discussing scriptures, singing hymns, praising God, thanking God, working together, helping each other with their work, and yes, even talking about everyday things in life. But to what end? To what end do we talk about those things? Is it just to pass the time, shoot the breeze, we don't have anything spiritual to talk about? It shouldn't be for that, but it's those everyday things in life that educate us. It is the daily tasks that we can learn godly lessons from, and we can help each other, we can teach each other. We must read the scripture, we must be familiar with them, and reading scriptures, and getting out the concordances, and going back to the Greek, and all those things have their place. But there's something about real life experience that does something more than all of that. It's valuable, beyond even valuable, when we can talk about how these things in scripture work, how they are applied, how they become fruitful, what the effects of them are, why they're even written there, and all those things. I sometimes think, if all we do, if we have a brother among us, and he's facing complicated situation in life, or something, he has questions, he's read the scriptures, and he has questions about his situation, and all we do is just read the scriptures to him, and we quote the scriptures to him, and he's already read them, and he's already studied them, and he's already looked at the Greek, but he still is not quite sure what to do in this particular situation. There's things we can do that are so much more valuable than that. If that's all we do, is just quote the scripture, and read the scripture, it's kind of like going to Lowe's, and you're checking out a new product, a new tool, or a new piece of material, and you're wondering, is this going to work for my application, and you read all the labels, and you read all the instructions, and you check out as much as you can read there, and you're still not sure. You'd so much like to ask someone who has used the product, who has some real experience using it, and so you ask one of these Lowe's attendants, and they come over, and they read the label to you that you just got done reading three times. It's so unhelpful. Anyway, I guess my encouragement is that we use this time when we get together as quality time, and that we focus more on that than figuring out how we can spend more together. Let's be like the House of Stephanas that Paul talked about to the Corinthians. He said they devoted themselves for the ministry of the saints. The King James says they addicted themselves. Can you imagine having that reputation that we were addicted to ministering to each other? There's nothing wrong with being an addict if we're addicted to the right thing. No one from little children to aged people are necessarily or naturally just become better merely by spending an abundance of time with other children and other people. It just doesn't work that way. But everyone from children to the aged benefit from quality time together. That's what I just want to encourage us in. Good quality things take effort. All good things take effort and devotion and dedication, and all bad things just naturally happen. So the only way that we can have this and we can improve it is if we put forth the effort for it. And I believe the one will bring God this satisfaction, the same feeling that we get when we finally took the effort to do this flimsy thing right so that it will withstand whatever it's not been withstanding. Or once we finally break down and we pay the extra dollars for a tool that's going to last and not break the second time you use it. That same satisfaction, I think God will feel that. And if we don't, I think that same... I don't know if I want to say God gets frustrated, but I think the same frustration or disappointment like, these guys, this tool, it just doesn't work. I think that's what he feels like if we just whittle our time away together and we just miss all that opportunity that we have. Let me just close with the words of Jesus in John 9. We must work the works of him who sent me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. May the Lord help us. Open it up for comments. Yeah, I appreciate the reminder and the encouragement to have quality time, even though probably all of us knew that and deserve that. We just... And I always have to also say that I know I don't... Nearly all the time, I'm just not able to keep that in perspective. I really appreciate it. And the thought about being together and more together. I was going to read a little part of a letter I received of somebody in a group that is together all the time. They live very close. I haven't been there, but we really communally. And he says, I'm suffering greatly. I guess that's why I made an effort to contact you. But I am suffering a lot at the understanding that you could not understand. I have other brothers the same. We cannot trust each other here. No one can talk amongst each other. People have died here. Other people, ex-members, have not been allowed to attend funerals of loved ones here. I cannot over the internet explain the merciless of some people, but we are indeed missing it. Missing it is in meaning the love and unity you brethren have. He listens to us and he thinks there's this great unity and love we have for each other. This is what we endeavor to do, but this is what this looks like from another part of the world. I want peace among us. That is why I guess I call this page Brother of Peace. That is why I also contacted you to maybe get some help and support. I cannot turn to the Brotherhood in here for help or support as we don't have a Brotherhood. We, though we have lived together for years, are still like strangers at heart. We don't have a bound of Brotherhood and trust the same way. Love is void and very shallow. Based on works, more. Brotherhood without love, grace, and mercy for one another is very hard. I thought of that when Dwayne was sharing about not having quality time. These people are suffering from not having quality time. We will suffer the same way if we try to somehow prop up things that are not stemming from the love of Christ and because we honor Him and want to bring Him glory. It's not that I don't think it's wrong for these people to live together, but it is not the answer. Anyways, I was encouraged. May God bless us. I'm glad I'm back here today, but that was actually... I think it's pretty appropriate to say that spending all of your time with everybody is definitely not that great, but sometimes it's something you almost have to force through if you're not really feeling like it. And I kind of feel like after my exposure to spending so much time with Tyler's family over the last week and just being on the road and being kind of weary that I really didn't want to come here today. But I weighed that out and I felt like I should, so I came, and I'm glad that I did. So I do think that there is a difference in quality time, and maybe that's the reason why people who do not have a whole lot of fellowship, when they finally find it, it is a true encouragement and blessing to them where if we always have fellowship, then we take advantage of it and we cannot appreciate it. But anyways, God bless everybody. Thank you, Brother Duane. I guess it's different for each brother and sister. I remember years ago when I listened to the radio, they used the term, well, it was 20 years ago, but quality education, that was the buzzword. I remember a senator from my home state, and he passed away, Ted Kennedy, but he used to say we need quality education for all American citizens, quality education. And as we talked in the prayer meeting this morning before the prayer meeting, be angry and sin not. Nothing would boil me up more than listening to that buzzword, quality education in public schools, which basically is everything that's ungodly, quality education. Quality time, I appreciate your comments, Walter. Yours too, Rob, it's different. I think if we set some goals, it may help in finding that quality time, and from a Bible perspective, I think Acts 2 would be quality time. Devoted themselves to prayer, fellowship, apostolic teaching, and what am I missing? Prayer, apostolic teaching, and a breaking of bread, and a breaking of bread. And if we can add one to that today, I think it would be evangelism. I mean, you could add that was just the early church, the birth year of the church, and we could add that, and how to space that in. Make some goals, set some goals for our own life. Harvey and Lloyd, they went out in Honduras. They have goals. Paul was in prison, and yet he was rejoicing in Philippi. We talked to people, I think of people that are blind, and if only, if only, Dijon was in prison five years. If only he had freedom, what we can do. And, you know, a common thing is, I don't know if I shared it with you yesterday, Will, but is work. I think the devil has used a good deception or lie to make like that work is just, because of the curse, because of Adam and Eve's sin, we have to work. Well, if they didn't fall, how empty our lives would be without work. Work is a blessing. Work is a prayer. And we should redeem the time, whatever we do, do it with our strength and might, but the curse of today is, ah, damn it, 25 more years and you'll, you get Social Security, then you retire, and you sit back and kick back and do your thing, and work, that's the devil's thing. We should work while we have the time, and not work for our self-enjoyment. Work is not a curse. Work is a blessing. Even if we didn't fall, Adam and Eve, right, we would be a work to do. There's a work for us to do. And the quality time is to, my quality time is to be with you brethren, to have devotions, I'm not pushing myself, have my devotions early in the morning, have devotions with my wife, go to work, try to be a blessing, but most of all to be with you brethren. I think of, what can I say during the week, or how can it, to edify them, how can they edify me? My big problem is I should listen rather than talk. Listen, buddy got a problem, let me listen to his problem, and tell him about my things and that. And so, there's so many things, how we can redeem the time. Young people, single people, you can redeem the time, I mean, you have, like Duane said, there's only 24 hours in a day, but you have so much opportunity to reach out to certain people that the married people can't. Especially the ones that have 9, 10, 11 children, I mean, you know, they have things like that, but anyway, the Lord be magnified, we all, let's just set some goals and redeem the time. And we are redeeming the time right now here. Because if we think of others as more important than ourselves, it's a blessing to God. The Lord be magnified. Praise the Lord. There's something about spending time together that, I remember when Peter was in front of that girl, and he said, you're also one of the disciples of Jesus, because even the way you talk is reporting you. And they spent only three years together. And he was part of that close, I don't know how to explain it, but like Jesus had the 70, then He had the 12, and then He had the three that He would always bring into places with Him, like the transfiguration. There is John, Peter, and James. When the girl is dead, they're also present there. I guess that those three years of quality time with Jesus shaped them in a way that even the way they spoke. I think the high priests also, or the Pharisees, had seen that the disciples had been with Jesus in the book of Acts. It's in the Didache they say we should seek the face of the saints. We were talking about how important it is to... I think it was Walter and I talking this week about how important... I lost my train of thought here. We'll come back. Every day it says. In Brazil, I heard many years ago, I heard that this... I can't stand this person, I can't stand that person, I don't like the way they think, I don't like the way they react, or something like that. How can you expect to spend eternity with that person when you cannot stand being with that person now in this short time of life that we have here? This relationship thing is so important for us. Many years ago I heard about this study, I would call it a wicked study, because they got this baby and they put the baby isolated in this island. The mother was allowed to come and breastfeed the baby, but she was not allowed to exchange any kind of conversation, baby talk. She was not allowed to do anything but feed the baby. And the baby died. Because there is a need we're created to be together. It's a household of faith. It's the family. The Portuguese say it's the domestics of faith. Domestic means they're part of a house, they belong in there. And when we don't have that, I'm kind of biased to say that, because my wife and I live kind of isolated in that mountain in California. I don't know who just said it, it's when we don't have it, we try to, we appreciate when we find a place that we can have it. I think that's what, I don't think, I'm sure, that's what keeps me coming back here. I just want to finish with what Paul said in Romans 16, verse 19. He said that we have to be, there are two things we have to do. Dwayne said something similar and that made me think about this verse. He says, For your obedience has come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf, but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil. And in Portuguese, the Bible in Portuguese, it says I want to have you excellent in that which is good and innocent in that which is evil. And if we're able to apply that to our relationships with each other too, it will be very profitable. I just have some thoughts on quality time. I know at home, just everyday Christian life, one prayer that I do pray is that all the brothers and sisters everyday may bear fruit unto the Lord and to sincerely follow Him. And having true undefiled faith that we do have eternity to look forward to. And what that looks like is just, it's mind-blowing. But it's kind of like seeking the Lord is like a really big adventure. I think about it sometimes and it's really a privilege to seek the Lord and to follow Him. Instead of taking it day by day, lately I've been thinking of taking it second by second with the Lord. Constantly having Him on my mind. And also living for others. I think we can give each other a drink of water, you know, which would be encouragement. So I try to figure out when days go by, how to do that in my daily life. And witness to people with full compassion. Because there is, I mean, there's so much hope in Christ. Like what we have in Him. It's really amazing. Sometimes I'm at home and I get encouraged. It's like, man, I'm ready to go. And encourage the brothers. You know, I'm having these amazing thoughts. And I get here and it's like, I forgot it all, you know. I forgot it all. And it's a blessing to be here with everyone. Just encourage. We do and strive to perfection. Now what perfection looks like, the world doesn't have it right. But what true holiness and perfection looks like with the Lord is priceless. And that we keep pressing forward. Hebrews says we have a more abounding home. Like a home to look forward to with Christ. And I'm really sure it's going to be really amazing. So that's all I had to say. Quick comment. Thank you, brother. I appreciate that. It's edifying. I was thinking, the ones who bygone, Joe Bede. Look at the ones who went before bygone. Look at the old patriarchs. Look at the Hebrews 11. I'm sorry. Well, I appreciate brother Darren's testimony. I'm having a junior moment here. I can't remember what I said. But maybe we'll come back. You got it, Dijon? You heard what I said? Yes. Bless you. It is. It is to hear that. It's edifying. Yes. Edifying. Perhaps. It's very good. And I was thinking of 2 Maccabees chapter 7, brother Delmo. 2 Maccabees 7. Just think of it. All of her children were martyred. And then she pleads with the youngest one. Be faithful. Be like your brothers. Go through it. And then he goes through it. And then he's going to get her. He's going to get the mom. After seeing her seven children getting... I forget how they killed them. The seven children. Probably with the sword or whatever. Or the fire. They burnt them. After that, then they call her in. And I could just see her saying, Thank you, Lord. I'm going to go with them. She was probably thrilled about going to martyrdom. Saying, I just can't wait to go. And if something happened to Joel down in Haiti, and Seth, and Harvey, and Lord, if they got killed, I think some of us would say, Hey, I want to go there. I want to join them. I want to be with them. Let them get me, too. I think if we have that love... I'm not saying that martyrdom is our goal. But if someone really has that love for someone else... I know Elizabeth Elliot, right? When Jim Elliot died, he'll get martyred. She went back to Ecuador, right? She wanted to go back. And we should have that. This has absolutely nothing to do with quality time. But anyway, I was thinking it. The Lord be magnified. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord. Forever I will sing of the mercies of the Lord. Countless the Lord. All ye servants of the Lord. All ye servants of the Lord. Who stand by night. Who stand by night. In the house of the Lord. In the house of the Lord. Lift up your head. Lift up your head. In the holy place. In the holy place. Countless the Lord. Countless the Lord. All ye servants of the Lord. Who stand by night. Who stand by night. In the house of the Lord. In the house of the Lord. Lift up your head. Lift up your head. In the holy place. In the holy place. O heavenly Father. And merciful Lord. We come to you now in. Warm mind and accord. We are so undeserving. To make this request. But with your sweet spirit. Your love's deepest. Open the windows. And pour out a blessing. Shower your power. Upon us we pray. Send such a blessing. We cannot contain it. Lord open the windows. Of heaven to gain. There's so many living. In darkness and sin. They know not the Savior. Have no peace within. But we know you're not willing. That any should die. But all come repenting. For this through in Christ. Open the windows. And pour out a blessing. Shower your power. Upon us we pray. Send such a blessing. We cannot contain it. Lord open the windows. Of heaven to gain. Sometimes I am weary. And heavy and worn. I'm crushed by the tempter. And bleeding and worn. Then I go back to Jesus. With tears on my face. And cry out for mercy. His love and his grace. Open the windows. And pour out a blessing. Shower your power. Upon us we pray. Send such a blessing. We cannot contain it. Lord open the windows. Of heaven to gain. So often we witness. Your power so strong. But yesterday's blessings. Are all has and gone. Once again we turn to you. And humbly we pray. And that's why we lift up. Our voices to you say. Open the windows. And pour out a blessing. Shower your power. Upon us we pray. Send such a blessing. We cannot contain it. Lord open the windows. Of heaven to gain. There are many today. Who have wandered away. They are out in the field of sin. Once they walked in the light. Now they crawl through the night. Oh Lord give us faithful men. Faithful men. Faithful men. To recapture the vision again. Give us men who are true. And loyal through and through. Oh Lord give us faithful men. Give us men who are strong. When the battle is won. Give us men with the will to win. Men courageous and true. Though their number be few. Oh Lord give us faithful men. Faithful men. Faithful men. To recapture the vision again. Give us men who are true. And loyal through and through. Oh Lord give us faithful men. There's no time for delaying. Men are needed today. Men persistent until the end. Men whose feet are secure. On the rock that is sure. Oh Lord give us faithful men. Faithful men. Faithful men. To recapture the vision again. Give us men who are true. And loyal through and through. Oh Lord give us faithful men.