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I remember a time, years ago, when I

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was teaching an institute on revival, on a

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Tuesday evening, to a group of pastors at

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Oldford Ministries in Memphis.

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God was pleased to work in our midst

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that particular evening, as I was preaching out

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of John chapter 15, from a message I

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entitled, The Divine Pruning Knife.

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And as I opened my subject and expounded

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upon it, that God has a divine pruning

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knife, and he will sharpen it and cut

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deeply with it, upon those individuals who desire

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deeper usefulness to him, as he prunes back

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the branch for greater fruitfulness to his vineyard.

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And in the middle of my message, the

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faces of the ministers became altered, as they

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were gripped by a deep solemnity, and when

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I was through speaking, a line formed to

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speak to me.

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And an elderly black pastor put his arms

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around me, as he hugged me, and with

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tears in his eyes, he said, I've been

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a pastor for 40 years, but tonight I'm

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going home, and when I get there, I'm

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going to kneel by my bed and ask

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the Lord to get out his pruning knife

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on me and my ministry.

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Well, that pastor was willing to submit to

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God for deeper usefulness to him.

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My text today, friends, can be found in

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the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, and

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in verse 1.

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Here now is the word of God, and

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may the Spirit of the Lord attend the

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reading of his holy word.

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I am the true vine, and my Father

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is the husbandman.

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Let me pause here to say that Christ,

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in this striking passage of Scripture, is distinguishing

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himself as the true vine that is unlike

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any other, and he refers to the Father

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as the husbandman.

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In the original Greek language, the wording goes

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like this.

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In contradistinction to anyone else, I am the

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genuine vine, and my Father is the tiller

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of the soil.

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And that's the title of my message today,

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friends, the tiller of the soil.

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I want to explore this aspect of God

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as the tiller of the soil, God as

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the master craftsman, God as the refiner of

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silver.

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I believe God is on the lookout for

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the man or woman who is willing to

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risk all for him.

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I believe he is continually on the search

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for the person who is willing to lose

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his life so he can find it.

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I believe God is looking for someone whom

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he can do wonders through for his glory.

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In 2 Chronicles 16 9 we read, for

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the eyes of the Lord run to and

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fro throughout the whole earth to show himself

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strong in the behalf of them whose heart

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is perfect toward him.

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With that thought in mind, friends, this message

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is on usefulness to God, and it is

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about how God deals with those individuals who

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desire greater usefulness to him.

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How about you, friend?

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Does this describe you?

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Do you desire greater usefulness to God?

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Do you want God to do something deep

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in your life for the good of his

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people and for his glory?

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Are you willing to gamble your life away

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for Christ and the sake of the gospel?

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This is a very serious matter, and God

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will only take serious those who are serious

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with him.

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Mere lip service won't cut the mustard.

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God wants a full surrender to him.

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There are some hard questions that need to

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be addressed by the individual who desires greater

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usefulness to God.

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There must be transparency before God and honesty

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with oneself.

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I've discipled men for years who said with

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their lips they were willing to go all

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out for God, but inwardly their heart was

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divided.

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It was divided by this world.

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It was divided by their loved ones.

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It was divided by material possessions.

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They were willing to go only so far

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with God, so long as it didn't cost

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them anything.

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God does not work that way, for it

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cost him his beloved son to suffer and

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die on a bloody cross for the sins

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of man.

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This is where many part company with God,

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because they are fearful of what God will

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do with them.

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They want to be useful in his hands,

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but they shrink back from being handled by

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his hands.

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They don't want to submit to the pruning

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knife or the refiner's fire.

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They still want self to be in control,

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so they limit what God can do with

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them.

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They choose to live a life of self

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-preservation while they serve at church in capacities

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of their own choosing and fail to leave

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a mark on the world for God's kingdom.

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I recall a time in my own life

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where I got serious with God and he

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got serious with me.

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Every day I cried out to him with

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tears running down my face to be more

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useful to him.

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One day in my quiet time he spoke

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to me, not in an audible voice, but

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in the small still voice of my heart.

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He said, If I am to use you

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like few other men, then you will have

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to live like few men do.

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This was the final battleground between self and

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the cross.

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It was either future usefulness to God or

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a life of uselessness for me.

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Self had to be willingly annihilated daily on

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the cross, and there had to be a

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full surrender to his lordship in consecration from

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that point forward until he came or called.

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There was no turning back.

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From that point in my life, God began

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to work as the tiller of the soil.

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The furrows he cut were deep.

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The ground had to be laid bare, turned

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up and turned over for the planting he

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desired to do, to reap a harvest for

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his glory.

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I didn't know the cost at the time.

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Years have transpired, and he has been faithful

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throughout, as he has placed me beneath his

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divine pruning knife, held me under his refiner's

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fire, pruning me and purging me and stripping

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me and emptying me.

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Let me say this, friend.

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If you are sincere with God in regard

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to your deeper usefulness to God, then there

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has to be a willingness to be placed

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in the palms of God, the master craftsman,

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to be molded by him and handled by

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him.

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The greater usefulness, the greater the drastic handling

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by a sovereign who strips and prunes and

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purges those who are useful to him.

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There has to be a surrendered life under

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the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

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There has to be a preparation for a

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daily dine of self.

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There must be a deep desire for usefulness

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to God that runs so deep that one

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is willing to lose all so he may

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be gained.

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Are you willing to lose your reputation?

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Are you willing to lose your earthly goods?

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Are you willing to lose yourself by gambling

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your life away on a bloodstained Christ for

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the sake of the gospel and the souls

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of men?

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How serious are you?

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God will take no half-hearted surrender.

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He will not accept a partial commitment.

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It's all or nothing, or nothing at all.

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Christ held nothing back at Calvary.

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How can we hold anything back from him?

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His disciples grew to spiritual maturity and great

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usefulness, but they had to lay down their

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very lives to do so.

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Are you willing to lay down your life,

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if necessary, for Christ Jesus?

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Are you willing to lose everything for him?

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Are you willing to give God complete control

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over all you have that is dear to

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you?

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Are you willing to give all you are

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to all he is, the tiller of the

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soul, may have chosen you for something more?

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But the greater usefulness, the greater the suffering.

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Are you willing still?

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May God grant you the grace to go

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all out for him.

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Let us pray.