Leonard Ravenhill emphasizes the profound truth that believers are spiritually raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places, highlighting the transformative power of God's mercy and grace. He reflects on the significance of being quickened from spiritual death and the importance of living in the reality of our identity in Christ. Ravenhill urges the congregation to recognize their position in Christ and to walk in the fullness of that truth, rather than being bound by earthly concerns. He passionately calls for a deeper understanding of the riches of God's grace and the call to good works as a response to this divine gift. Ultimately, he encourages believers to live with the awareness of their heavenly citizenship and the joy that comes from it.

And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in the past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. But God, two greatest words in the Bible, but God, God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace he saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I suppose there are times when the scripture seizes us like somebody's springing out of an ambush. We don't panic, we're not periled by it, but we're startled, we're amazed. And this scripture seemed to do that to me this week. I think it's about the most profound thing that Paul has ever written. Let me read it to you this way, he hath quickened us together, he has raised us together, and he's made us sit together. And if you want more than that you won't get it anyhow, because that's a sum total of redemption. That explains all the work that Jesus Christ came to do. The scripture says in essence that Christ hath appeared, we know that. 300 million letters will be written tomorrow, in America alone. And if they're written by Jews, or Greeks, or Barbarians, they'll, they'll sign the birthday of Jesus. They'll sign 1976. The world's older than that. I feel nearly as old as I am today, but the world's older than 1976. And so the world was divided, time was divided by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the scripture says he hath appeared, it says he doth appear in heaven for us, and he will yet appear. You hear over and over and over again on the radio, tv and elsewhere, you know Jesus may come today. Jesus is coming, he's coming for us, he's coming for us. Get all goose pimples about it, he's coming for us. Gonna get us out of our tribulation, and our distresses, and our problems, he's gonna rapture us all away. Boy it's gonna be great. He's coming for us. I never thought of it like this, nobody else has ever told me that he took us with him. Because this scripture says he's seated in heaven, and we're seated with him. So the thought that tells us he's coming for us, are a little bit late. He's already taken us up there. Now if I were to put a title on this, on this scripture today. I think one title for it would be this, seated with him. And then the other rather mischievous title would be this, have you taken your seat? This is what it says, I didn't make it up in case you think I did. No I didn't make it up. It says that Jesus Christ by his death hath raised us together, and made us sit together with him in heavenly places. Now there's nothing greater than that. You know Paul has a tremendous love for his children. There's a hymn that says, can the mother's tender care cease toward the child she bear? Yes she may forgetful be, but I will remember thee. And that's based on Isaiah. That's not a guesswork, that's what Isaiah says. A mother can forget her sucking child. Often they abandon their children. But God never, never, never forgets it. We think he does. You can't see the sun, doesn't mean the sun isn't there. Just means there's a lot of cloud in between. They used to tell the story in England of a little boy living down a back alley, and poor kid hadn't many toys. So one day he made a kite for himself. The wind was blowing pretty good, and it went over the rooftops. And he let the string out, you know, he let it go out, and he kept pulling, and there it was pulling. And a man came down the street, a very learned man, said what are you doing? Flying my kite. Flying your kite. Flying your kite. I can't feel it. See it. He said I can't miss it, but I can feel it. And there are times when I can't see him. He seems further off some days than others. But I'll tell you what, I can feel him. And I'd rather feel him, and I can't see him, than see him and not feel him. I think if you had to come to that. But it doesn't have to come to that. It seems to me that the apostle here takes a bushel basket of jewels, and he bangs them all at the feet of these wonderful people. He's so thrilled with them. If you go into the first chapter, excuse me, let me tell you some things he says. In the first chapter, in the first verse, he says this, that Paul is the apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. And he's writing to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and all the faithful people in Seguin. That's what he says. It's very small print, you may not see it. But my, my, I have trifocals, I can see it. Because that's what it implies. Says to the faithful saints, now if you're not faithful, well cheer up and get straightened out with the Lord, and you'll be included in the text before we finish. But this is what he says. He's writing not merely to those people at Ephesus, as though they're getting a slice out of the pie, that nobody else can enjoy. As though he's giving them some private revelation, they can say, you know the apostle gave it to us, and it's for nobody else. He says forget it. This is something to the whole body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice what he finishes verse three with. He talks about heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And you know he talks about the heavenly places, because you see we're all so earthbound. I'm getting more and more conscious that we as people, we interpret the message of Jesus Christ on the earth level. It's all subjective. Do you know what he's come to do for us, redeem us, do this. I don't believe that's God's purpose at all. I'll prove that to you later. That's a fringe benefit. Now will you notice what he says in verse seven, in whom we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. I like that. I've always wanted to be rich. And at last I've made it. I'm rich in his grace. And in the second chapter verse seven, he goes better than that. Do you know what he says there? That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace. My he's getting more extravagant. The riches of his grace, the exceeding riches of his grace. And he goes on and five times he mentions in this, in this one constitution. If you had a good one physically, maybe you don't have a good constitution. If you had a good one, you'd choose this attitude. If he could physically, you'd choose this attitude. If he could have a good attitude, you'd choose this attitude. If he could have a rich IQ by choice, we'd all be geniuses. Now it's not sensible to say that all men are born equal, they're not. But I'll tell you what, if you're poor spiritually, you're poor because you want to be. You're not poor because you have to be. The possibilities of grace are as great to you, if you have any understanding at all, at 12 or 13 or 14 years of age. The door is open and God says, go explore it. And I said to you repeatedly, no man had ever lived. And you can take some of these spiritual giants like that, perhaps greatest evangelist, I don't know, one of the greatest evangelists America ever had was of course Mr. Finney, a brilliant lawyer. If there was one more powerful, it was a young man by the name of Tennant, who was converted during the days of George Whitefield. George Whitefield came like this country to a cyclone. Did you hear Billy Graham on the 4th of July? He was real good, he spoke about England about 80% of the time. But he spoke about George Whitefield, a young man of 22 years of age, that when there were no good roads, and there were no buses, and no ways of getting there, and the population of Boston was only 12,000. And he drew 14,000 people a night to hear him, and sometimes in snow. But one day the spark of fire. You know it's amazing, to digress a moment, if you light a candle, you could possibly light 10,000 candles from that one candle, and not diminish its light. And that's exactly what George Whitefield did. A young man 22, 23, 24, he came back a number of times to this country, and men began to light their candle at the light he was carrying. And one was a young man by the name of Gilbert Tennant. I'm not sure if Gilbert was the father, but there were three Tennants, the father and two sons. They became about the mightiest trinity of men this country has ever had. They blazed with holy fire. You know why? They said, we saw the riches that there are in Jesus Christ. One of our most embarrassing moments in eternity, will be when God has tried us, and judged us, and given us our rewards, and our graduation diplomas, if we get any. And he's going to say, look here, you see this room, this is full of all the riches there were in Jesus Christ. I not only gave him to rescue you from hell, I gave you Jesus Christ, that with him you may freely have all things. That's what he says, all things are yours, and you Christ, and Christ is God's. As I prayed earlier today, God keeps bringing this to me, stir up the gift of God that's in you. You say, Lord don't let me be so lazy. Well get out of your lousy laziness. People say, you know, I believe the promises of God, so do I. But I'll tell you what, if you lay in bed in the morning, and quote that scripture that says, open my mouth wide and I will fill it. Gabriel won't bring you any cereal. You see, you can take texts out of context, and they become a pretext. But remember this, that this is your inheritance and mine. He's given us with Jesus Christ. There's nothing that Jesus can do now to redeem the world. He did it all. Jesus paid it all. He finished it all. He said it all. He did it all. But the lazy church hasn't wakened up to its potential yet in Jesus Christ. So five times he talks about riches. Look in verse nine of this first chapter, having made known unto us the mystery of his will. He talks about the mystery six times. Now a mystery is not something that cannot be known. A mystery to me is something that can be known only by revelation. And I want to tell you something, God doesn't shout revelation from the housetop. One of the most amazing things in the life of any man that God raised up, I think, was in the life of Paul. A man to me of a colossal intellect, a gentleman of scholarly pedigree, everything that was going for him. And then God took him and very kindly dumped him back in the, in the wilderness for about three years. Now, now when he talks about here, as he did in the second verse, and I say it's mentioned four times in this epistle. He talks about the heavenlies. It says in heavenly places, it really is in the heavenlies. Do you remember he says he was caught up into the third heaven. Well the first heaven is where the clouds are. We don't have them often in this country, but I mean in Texas. But anyhow, in other parts they do. And they're nice and shady, but that's where the clouds are. The first, the second heaven is that wonderful carpet of jewels, the stars, the planets, the sun, the moon. That's the second heaven. The third heaven is the, is the habitation of God. You see God's never behind anybody. Men say, do you know the first man to ride in a submarine? Yes, Jonah. Think God's ever behind anybody. He was the first man to ride in a submarine. Do you know the first man that went up into the heavenlies? Do you remember the date in America? Friend, you're two thousand years behind. But a few fellows went up. One man went up and found it so nice, he didn't come back. Elijah, and one or two others. But this man, Moses, this man went up and didn't come back. This amazing man, the apostle, he says, I was caught up into the third heaven. Do you know what God did? He taped my mouth. You see, if I began to tell you all the amazing things I saw in that revelation, you might want to go there just to get what there is. And God says, you're going to go there by faith. Not by all the stories that this amazing man can tell. And he said, he shut me up, he sealed my mouth. As I said, the Lord would never put that incumbents on a woman, but he did it on him. All right. And then all the other things in this amazing book, but they'll take too much time. Let me run through this second chapter, will you? A in trespasses and in sins. Now look what it says in verse two, if you want to make a note of this, it's, you can work on it after. In verse two he says, knowing in time past, he's talking about our past. And then he says in verse four, but God who is rich in mercy, pardon me, he says at the end of verse three, that we have desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature the wrath. I'm beginning to think as Christians, we've lost our sense of awe. We've lost our sense of awe. Do you have to come to church to get stood up, and sing how great thou art? Have you ever sit by yourself, and survey the majesty of God? The psalmist says, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no, there is no sphere or language, where their voice is not heard. Their cry has gone to the ends of the earth. God has testified of his greatness, even through the very firmament, through the stars ascend the moon. How majestic he is! But isn't it awesome to look at that bunch that will be on TV in a few days, that cannibal feast they're going to have in Kansas, political cannibals eating each other, and think that almost every man from the president down to the last man is lost. Conley may go with his millions, some little aspiring politician may dare, but outside of Jesus Christ they're lost. They're not just in bad shape, they're doomed. They're not just without knowledge, they're without God. I saw a man walking on the street feeling his way, poor man, poor man, he's lost his sight. Does he deserve my compassion? Yes. Is he the greatest tragedy? No. We took our friends to the airport the other day, and Martha wanted to go to a shop, and as I waited for her in the mall, there was a man with a boy who was obviously deranged. He did the most amazing things, and the father held on to him like a chain, and the boy broke loose, and almost dived into that one of those water displays, and the father got him and held on to him. Poor little guy, oh a sweet little fellow, lovely cheeks, lovely hair, but deranged. Who deserves my compassion the most? The blind man? The deranged child? The man that, well he's a man without a country? The man whose material empire has collapsed? No, no, no, no, they need him. But maybe the man who needs me most is the man who's the best dressed man, and the best dressed woman, and the best intellectual around. Because they've got everything of God, and if you've everything of God, you've nothing. So at the end of this verse he shows us our peril, we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. And in verse 4 he shows us our pardon. Then he shows of course the work of redemption, and then he comes down to verse 10, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, that's our production. In verse 12 he shows us our poverty, that we were without hope, and we're without God in the world. In verse 14 he says he is our peace, so there you've got a simple p, there he is our peace. In verse 18 he shows us through him we have access by one spirit unto the father, that's our privilege. In verse 19 he says we're no longer strangers and fathers, but fellow citizens. You know little phrases catch on. Somebody recently said you know, I'm a tramp for the Lord. Well be a bum if you want, I'm not, I'm a pilgrim. A tramp doesn't know where he's going. He's got no boss, he's got no laws. He's bumming it down the road, anywhere, anytime, anyhow, that's all. But we're not bums, we're pilgrims. We're marching to Zion, the beautiful city of God. We're going to a city that will make like the hanging gardens of Babylon, look like the back streets of Brooklyn. We're going to a glory and an ecstasy, that if you put all the orchestras in the world together, and all the banquets that all the kings have ever had, they look like the dishes in the kitchen sink. And you know what? I've got a reserved seat. You don't look at me, as though you have, but I have hallelujah, I've got mine, Martha's got her. Because it says in first Peter doesn't it, there's a place reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God. And when you get under the weather and the world topples in, just push the curtains on one side you know. That's what John did in the revelation, he says in chapter four, I saw a door in heaven. You know sometimes it's good to go through that door. You go squinting through other doors some of you, so why not go squinting through that door. And just look up the aisle there, and there you'll see my name written, nice big letters, reserved for Leonard Ravenhill, a prince of the house of God. There's a bigger seat because Herb needs a bigger one. There's a big seat there, and it has Herb's name on it. The little tiny one there has Bobby's name on it. That's all right, we're going to, there's a place reserved in heaven for you. Isn't that wonderful? All because Jesus was wounded for me. Now I can remember as a boy, we went late to church one night, there was a man David Matthews, he'd come out of the Welsh revival in 1904, he was the first man I heard sing wounded for me. And he sang it with his rich Welsh voice, wounded for me, wounded for me, there on the cross he was wounded for me. Gone my transgressions and now I am free, all because Jesus was wounded for me. Then he sang dying for me, and then he sang risen for me, and then he let it all go, and he says risen for me. Man alive I almost shouted hallelujah, I was only about 10 years of age, but I got the wavelength. And that's all that's been talked about in this amazing chapter. All right, this letter to the Ephesians. The church at Ephesus, I never thought of this till this week, was about the most favoured church that we ever had in the world. You know why? Because they had two epistles written to them. Well you say, so are the Corinthians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and Peter, 1st and 2nd Peter, and well wait a minute, the difference with the church at Ephesus is this, they had two epistles written by two different men. The apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Ephesians, and then you remember the seven letters, and one of the letters was written by John. Now to whom much is given, much shall be demanded. Let God fill this house every day with his glory and majesty, if he doesn't, I don't want to count. But if he does, we'll be more responsible than the folk up the street that don't get that blessing, and that revelation, and that quickening, and that urging by the Spirit of God. They had Paul the apostle for a pastor, that must have been something. He had been preceded by a very brilliant auditor by the name of Paulus. He was trained in the University of Alexandria, smart guy, came with his B.A.D. and D.D. I don't know what that means, double dip or something. But anyhow he came along with his, with his credentials, and he stirred them mightily. So they had two epistles written to them, they had at least two apostles, the apostle Paul and the apostle John, and they had this brilliant wonderful man by the name of Paulus. An auditor, he was mighty in the scriptures, man he stirred your flesh, he moved your heart, and yet he only knew John's baptism. I ask you a revelant being God's name, what would he have said if he'd been baptized with the Holy Ghost then? He just about burned the church down and stirred all the house, and he only knew half the story. Isn't that wonderful? We know it all, look how dumb we are. But anyhow, the thing is he was mighty in the scriptures. Now this was some city. It was a favored city because it was the chief city in Asia Minor. In the days of the apostle it was not only a capital city, but it was a seaport. It isn't a seaport anymore. The city's way up the road a couple of miles. Did they move it? No, no, no, no. But you see when spiritual life ebbs, everything ebbs. Do you know what happened? The city began to die, die, die, and the river filled up with silt. And now there is no river there. To whom much is given much privilege. They had who? They had two epistles written to them. They had Paul as a pastor. Yes. They had John as a pastor, a teacher. Yes. They had Apollos. Yes. And what happened? God removed their candlestick. People go to Israel. Everybody's flying to Israel. Not many going to Calvary, but there's a lot going to Israel. Do you see anybody saying we're taking a pilgrimage from our church to see the seven churches? I don't see anybody saying that. They stand as a permanent rebuke to those who have received so much revelation. Now Paul preached. What was it one great man said? The three things you would like to have seen in history. I forget what they were. One I think the hanging gardens of Babylon. Two Caesar when he came down the Appian way with his captives chained to the wheels of his chariot. And three he said I'd like to have heard the apostle Paul preach. Man I would. If I had to walk 500 miles, I'd walk 500 miles to hear Paul preach. And if I could, I'd like to have gotten a backroom somewhere and heard him pray. That must have been something. Oh man, this man didn't have a heart. He just had a volcano inside of him. He didn't have natural genius man. He had that wisdom that comes from above. He puts his seven league boots on as Kipling would say. And he strives over Asia Minor. Think of those three journeys he established this church I think on the third one. Just take a map and consider his journey. Consider the mileage. Without a car. Without planes. Rotten old boats that he went on. But there he was you see. Why? He said this one thing I do. He had a zeal. He had a passion. He had a fire. They tried to whip it out of him. You may as well try and get the return ticket on the Titanic. Whip it out of him. They starved him. You can't starve it out of him. They threaten him. You can't threaten it out of him. Put him in a prison. You can't scare him. And when he goes into the city, he did what he always did. He got into trouble. The great thing when the church is in trouble. He had gone, pardon me, the real introduction is the 18th chapter. To skip over it quickly, the 18th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Paul had taken with him a wonderful couple. Everybody talks about Ananias and Sapphira. Not many people talk about Priscilla and Aquila. Funny names, but lovely people. Some people have lovely names, they're funny people. But these were well just lovely people with funny names. And of course they understood. They were on the wavelength of the apostle. Hey that must have been something to travel with him. You know I get letters from guys who say, my wife and I, one fellow said not long ago, my wife and I talked till three o'clock this morning. We're willing to sell the house. She'll go back with her, her mother, if I can travel with you for a year. If I took all those guys, I'd need a 60-seater bus. And I'm afraid they'd all be disappointed, but not so with Paul. Priscilla and Aquila going all the way they went. On what? I don't know, back of a mule, walking, fording rivers. And they kept up with the old apostle. And they knew exactly, they got indoctrinated. And when Paul was out of town, and this brilliant young preacher preached. Oh they said you know, he's wonderful. I think he must have felt a bit like Moody, when he'd had a marvelous time one morning, and a little lady came up to him afterwards and said, you know Mr. Moody, you preach well. And I don't know what you'd do if you got the Holy Ghost. What did you say? I say you, you preach very well, but you just don't have the Holy Ghost do you? He was pretty mad. It's like somebody coming to say, you're a nice man, you run business, but you've no sense. You're all very flattery. But you see it got to him. If I remember right, it was Jonathan Goforth. It was either Jonathan Goforth or Praying Hyde, I think it was Goforth, who went into the state room after he'd waved goodbye, and there was a note on his desk. He opened it and somebody had sent a note, my dear brother, we love you, you've a lot of promise, we're just praying you'll get filled with the Holy Ghost. Isn't that nice? Some old fogey staying at home, and me a young man going to turn the world upside down, they're telling me how to do it. But you know, the more he tried to get away from it, it's like trying to run from your shadow, you just somehow you can't do it. And it got to him, and before he got off that boat, he was filled with the Holy Ghost. Now Priscilla and Aquila were not afraid to go to the big brilliant preacher. I guess they took him home to dinner, gave him a good meal, and talked with him, you know, and said, you know, do you understand this business really? Do you understand the way of God? And then Paul took up the issue a bit later in the 19th chapter, and he said, did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed? He says since in the authorised, but that's not really in the original. Did you receive the Holy Ghost when you, we didn't hear about the Holy Spirit, we heard about John's baptism, we heard about forgiveness, and so on they go. Oh yes, they had a riot. The old Vagabond Jews there, and they stirred up the opposition. I think these people must have sat down and said, hey just a minute pastor, just just a minute. That Paul was hard to listen to, but just let me get my breath in there. Would you read that first part of the second chapter again? He raises up together, and we're seated together, and we're living together. Would you read that? You see, the background in the city where they lived was this. It was not merely a great commercial city, it was a great religious city. If you were taught, you may not be in these days, I don't know, but in the old days, we're supposed to learn what the seven wonders of the world were. I can't remember them all myself. One was the hanging gardens of Babylon, the other was that mighty statue outside of the harbour at Alexandria, and one of course was the temple of Diana, or Diana at Ephesus. To the Greeks, she was Artemis. To the Romans, Diana. She was a god, or a goddess. She was a goddess of the moon. She was a goddess of all the plants of the earth. She's the one who gave special benedictions to expectant mothers. She was a multi-breasted goddess. And if you went to the sanctuary, there were areas where people sat, there were distinctions. And the goddess herself was up there, exalted in her majesty. And there were people, silversmiths, who made little images and sold them like souvenirs, and they got exceedingly rich because they were all made of silver. And when Paul came in, he smashed that idolatry. When Paul came in, he broke up the demon power that was there. You see, sometimes we think we need a multitude to do it. God invested this man, the Apostle Paul. On the Damascus road, he said, he revealed himself to me, but when I went in the wilderness, he revealed himself in me. And that's why he says triumphantly in Galatians 2.20, I don't live, I can take you to a place where I died. You see, regeneration is a birth, sanctification is a death. The man he's talking about here, is dead in trespasses and sins. And when he's dead in sin, he's dead to God. And when he's alive to God, he's dead to sin. Sin has no dominion over him. Sin has no power over him. Sin has no attraction. He's alive to God. Have you noticed some flowers in your garden don't open if the sun doesn't come out? Sleep all day. I think we all should. Heavy weather, so that little flower keeps closed up. And you say, oh oh, must have died. Next morning the sun goes, oh out it comes. Why? It's alive to the sun. It won't respond to anything but the sun. And you can push the believer and coax the believer, he says, listen unless God knows, I don't know. I'm alive to God. I don't respond to the world. I don't respond to all its charms. I don't respond to financial success. I don't respond to the idolatry of the world. I don't respond to the customs of the world. The world, he says, we were subject. He says in this second chapter here, in time past he walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. If you talk to somebody about being saved, the fellow says, listen I'm going to run my own life. Well I've got news for you. If you're not saved, you don't run your own life. Satan runs it. You say I'm demon possessed. I did not say that. I don't believe everybody has to be demon possessed for Satan to run their lives. They're in the custom of this world. They're in the habits of this world. They're in the bondage of this world. They dress by the style of the world. They talk the language of the world. Their aspirations are the aspirations of the world. But Paul remembered when with all his brilliance and culture of the tribe of Benjamin, he got everything going for him. I don't think I ever sing Isaac Watts's lovely hymn, my richest gain I count but lost. But what I think of the apostle Paul. But he not only sang it, he did it. He said what things were gained to me, I counted them but done that I might win Christ and be found in him, never having any righteousness of my own. He'd come alive in God. All right, we better get into this chapter a little here. I say he talks about riches. What, five times is it or four times? Four times he talks about heavenly places. Five times he talks about riches. Six times he talks about mysteries. Eight times he says to them that you ought to walk, walk, walk, walk. Oh, it's exciting to run. It's delightful to mount up with wings as eagles but walking suggests the monotony. The everyday walk that we have to have on our pilgrim journey and that is not too easy and too thrilling. The desires of the flesh and of the mind, he says in verse three, and we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others but God. My, my, my, my, my. Those are wonderful words aren't they? But God. The devil thought he got you all tied up, you got a place reserved in hell, but God. Satan says everything's going well, I'm going to damn this race and this people and suddenly there's a spark of revival, but God comes in. But God who is rich in mercy. You know the greatest words in our vocabulary are all bunched in together, we kind of miss them, he says, but God who is rich in mercy. Do you know what mercy is? Well I'll tell you what the Lord told me the other morning, it was dark and I was thinking about you all. You were all snoring but it doesn't matter, I was praying for you. And the Lord just said to me this, you know what love is? You know what mercy is? It's love in action. Mercy is love in action. It's mercy doing something, it's mercy demonstrating. Do you remember when that great brilliant poet, hymn writer for the Jewish church, David in Psalm 51, oh he was in a mess. He was blessed, you know I was blessed because he couldn't sleep. You know I was blessed because every time he heard a baby cry, he remembered the child he fathered. You know why? Every time he saw a soldier, he remembered the soldier that he put to death in order to cover up his sin. Because usually when you've sinned, you lie to cover up the other sin. But do you remember what he comes with? He doesn't say I'm a king. He isn't worried here that absolutely he's trying to pull the throne from underneath him and steal a crown off his head. He isn't worried the philistines are at the gate. He says have mercy upon me oh God. The apostle uses the same word himself with all his aristocracy and brilliance. And he writes to Timothy doesn't he, and he says but God who is rich in mercy, in his great love wherein he loved us, even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he has loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are ye saved. Now can you find three bigger words than those? Mercy, and love, and grace. And he took mercy, and love, and grace to save you, to redeem you, to redeem me. In his infinite mercy, his infinite love God, mercy is what? Love is what? Mercy is love in action. God so loved the world, he was so merciful that when there was no offering, he gave his only begotten son to die for us. One of the hymns we sang struck me very forcibly this afternoon. The love that drew salvation's plan, the grace that brought it down to man. See Jesus Christ isn't a saviour, he's a thee saviour. He's not a competitor, he is the only saviour. Acts 4.12 puts a pencil right through every other religion in the world, and it says there is none other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved. It doesn't matter how good they are, it doesn't matter how virtuous they are, it doesn't matter whether you shut yourself into monastery, it doesn't matter whether you fast, and pray, and do things, there's no virtue in them. Otherwise God will be on the side of big bank books, and big brains, and big organizations. He says no you come there and you receive mercy, or there is no hope for you. God who is rich in mercy, hath raised us up together. You know it's lovely reading this verse, because it's all in the past tense. It says that in time past he walked. You don't walk that way anymore. You don't enjoy the gutters, either gutter living, or gutter language, or any other gutter thing. You cease walking now, you're walking this way now. Now again, I don't know whether you can really say this afternoon, I remember the day when he came and he touched me. That's a nice song to sing, I like it, it's wonderful. He touched me, oh he touched me. And in that one split second, man, man, we're going to find some very fine timing when we get to eternity. A boy lost a race in the Olympics about three weeks ago, by a hundredth part of a second. You couldn't sneeze in that time. A hundredth part of a second, and God is going to show me somewhere, somewhere in his register in eternity, that in one hundredth part of a second, that Leonard Raveney, Lord Charlie Jones, or who in the world you are, in that moment that you, you bent there, repentance and sorrow for your sin, but God came in mercy. And he took every sin you'd ever committed, of the flesh, of the spirit, vile sins, not so vile sins, acceptable, not acceptable. In that one split second, he took every sin and cast it behind his back, never to be remembered against you anymore, forever. Brother, if that isn't mercy, what is? He could have strung us all up in hell, and watched us roast, but somebody came and did something for us. His great love, he loved us even when we were dead in sins. A quickened us together, and raised us up together, and made us sit together. Ah well excuse your tired, you could have said hallelujah, but that's all right. You don't owe it to me, you owe it to the Lord, so you missed it. He quickened us together, he raised us together, he made us sit together in heavenly places. Where are you sitting this afternoon? You say I'm sitting down in a little chapel, well forget it, that's your fault if you are. You should be sitting in heavenly places. Well if you're sitting in heavenly places, the only thing you can do is look down. There's no way to look up when you're sitting with him. Now if this miracle of grace has been brought in our lives, what are the proofs of this? Let me read some of them to you quickly. He's dealing with what? He's dealing with our sins, and he's dealing with our sin. We were dead. You can talk to a dead man, you get no response. God can talk to a dead man, he gets no response. Again, the man who is dead in sins, has no response to God, until God quickens him. He'll quicken his conscience, he'll stir him, he'll move on him, even before he's born again. Otherwise there's no chance of coming into a relationship with God. But once that miracle of conversion takes place, and then God begins to deal with him, something else happens. Listen what it says Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? That grace may abound. All right, verse 4. Now if you've been raised together with Christ, you'll never have to say, I don't know. If you were carrying a load on your back, 150 pounds, and I came along and said, hey I don't want you to do that, give it to me. And I took it, do you think you'd know if you lost 150 pound weight off your back? Hmm? I think you would. Well if you lost all your lousy sins at the cross, do you think you'd know about it? If I were going down the street, and I owed a man 500 dollars, and Brother Herb came along and said, what are you looking downcast for? I said, I owe that man 500 dollars. He said, oh wait a minute, wait a minute. And he says, well there you are, there's a check. And I say, but I owe, I owe him 500, he'd give me a thousand. He says, well you see, that wipes out the 500, you need something to live on. Huh? Do you think I'd forget the place? Well isn't that what I exactly were? We were debtors to mercy. Jesus paid it all, he took the whole of our debt. You say, I don't think I was in debt much. It all depends on the value you put on sin, and what God puts on sin. Maybe you were a thousand million dollars in debt to God, and you'd have a thousand million judgments in hell to bear for it. You see, we swallow the whole thing. Yes I got saved one day, and then it's all forgiven. Praise the Lord, my name's in heaven, I'm all right. Hmm? The sense of awe, the awesomeness of redemption, the vastness of redemption, become commonplace. We have newness of life. Verse 6 he says, knowing this, that our old man, our old life was crucified with him, that henceforth, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth, we should not serve sin. And verse 7 is wonderful, he says, he that is dead is freed from sin. And verse 11 is beautiful, he says, likewise reckon also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So now I'm alive to the things I was dead to, and I'm dead to the things I used to be alive to. The things that didn't fascinate me now, they allure me, they grip me, they stir me, they move me. And the things that excite me, brother they're dust, they're sawdust, heavenly sunshine, they're not worth even looking at. Now another thing he says we do, if we're really born again of God, we don't yield ourselves, verse 13, as instruments of unrighteousness. But unto God as those who are alive from the dead. And then go through that chapter, and see how many times he talks about righteousness. And then leap over to chapter 8 verse 1, and then he says, he says about those who have been redeemed, he says there is therefore now no condemnation to those of us who are in Christ Jesus. Isn't that great? No it isn't. All right, be miserable. I think it is. There is no condemnation. How are we condemned? My conscience condemned me, the devil condemned me, people condemned me, God condemned me. I'm a prisoner of condemnation. And the man that's condemned is going to die. But it says in this verse, there is no, therefore now, no condemnation to those of us who are in Christ Jesus. If you're a good Methodist, I'd ask you to sing. But oh, and there's a lovely old Methodist hymn that says, no condemnation now I dread, Jesus and all in him is mine, alive in him my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine, bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown through Christ my own. Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night, thine eye diffused the quickening ray. I woke, the dungeon flamed with light, my chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed thee. Because he says, if we're alive unto God, we're free from condemnation, we're free from bondage, we're free from judgment. You talk about freedom, whom the son sets free is free. He doesn't just reckon, as make belief, he knows it's done in Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, Leonard Ravenhill died on the cross, Herb Schumer died on the cross, Betty Schumer died on the cross, Nana died on the cross, Martha died on the cross, little redhead there died on the cross. When he died, I died with him. That's great. There's only one thing better than that, when he rose, I rose with him. Because he said, he raised us together, isn't that wonderful. Hallelujah, we're not in the grave. We might look about like it sometimes, but we ain't really there, you know. We're not in the grave, there is no condemnation, we're free as a bird. There's nothing the devil can scrape up against, there's nothing men can scrape up against us. Judgment's already passed. Oh, there's a lot in this chapter, I haven't got to the text yet, but let me tell you. This chapter is really great, this eighth chapter, because you know, he says there's no condemnation. What he says, he says, if we're born again, that the child of God does the witness of the spirit. Oh that's beautiful isn't it. You know, since the spirit of truth, the spirit of God is truth, and he tells you the truth, the spirit of a lie will never get through to you. Because the spirit of truth will drown the voice of the liar. Whether it's a man, who's trying to deceive you, or it's a demon, or it's the devil, he'll drown that voice. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. The way is external, the truth is internal, the life is internal. He is the way and without him there is no going. He is the truth and without him there is no knowing. He is the life and without him there is no growing. That's why I say, he isn't a saviour, he's the saviour. He took the total sum, total of human sin and depravity upon himself, and he took it there to the cross, and it was known to the cross. I like that hymn, one of the great hymns written in America, when peace like a river attendeth my way. The verse says, my sin, all the bliss of this glorious thought. Do you know what bliss means? It's an old-fashioned word, it means joy, ecstasy, all the thrill of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, was nailed to his cross. Man if he'd taken half of it, I couldn't have touched the other half, it would have killed me. If he'd taken nine tenths, it would have been too much. But my sin, all the bliss of it, says Spafford, my sin not in part, but the whole is nailed to his cross, and I bear it no more. Bless the Lord, bless the Lord oh my soul. So we have the witness of the spirit. Romans 7 is a funeral march. Romans 8 is a wedding march. Romans 7, we've got the grave clothes out. Romans 7, 19 times you'll find the eye, eye, eye, eye. Got more eye than a potato. I do this, I can't do that, I want to do that, I'm in bondage. Hey, it's eye, it's sin having dominion over me. And I'm in bondage to that sin. But there's no mention of the Holy Spirit in the seventh chapter. And you go to the bridge, over the bridge, there is therefore now no condemnation. Why? Well in the last chapter, chapter 7, it tells you again, you see, you could put him on a cross like a letter T, you could put him on a traditional cross, you could put him on a cross like a letter X, stretch his members out, crucify him. You could put him on a cross that was just a tree with a big spike through it, and you pushed his body on, and twisted him round, and let him hang for the birds to eat. But the worst death wasn't even crucifixion. The worst death was taking the man that you'd killed, and tying you to that man, and standing you up, and then saying, go on, get moving. And you carried the cross, the corpse with you, till he killed you. You tried to lay down with a corpse tied to you, you woke up with a stinking corpse. You woke up with those glassy eyes looking at you. And you staggered on with death gradually working out of that corpse into you. And you go down the road and say, hey look at me, I'm a wretched man, can you deliver me? And the Apostle says, the law couldn't do that. And your own self-will couldn't do that, and no human virtue could do that. Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me? Muhammad he couldn't deliver himself, Buddha no, Confucius no. What about the law? Oh yes we're still under law. You can't commit adultery because you're a Christian, other men are doing it. But they go to hell for it as far as I'm concerned. You're still under law as a Christian, sure you are, but you see it's not the law of a judge, it's a law of a human, it's a law of a divine relationship. I don't obey God's laws now because I have to, I obey them because I want to. He's turned the have to into want to. He's turned the bondage into freedom. Oh wretched man that I am, will you deliver me? And I'm carrying my corpse and I see brother Joe and I say, Joe deliver me from this old body, stinking carcass, I've carried it for four days and it smells, it's putrid, I'm dying from it. And he says, wait a minute Len, let me see, there's nobody coming. All right and he takes a knife and he cuts the ropes and as he's going to cut one up, comes the sheriff and says, what are you doing? Well I was just freeing my friend here. Is it against the law? No. All right, wait, wait, wait, wait, just before you cut the last rope from that carcass, you can do it, on one condition. What's the condition? That we tie the carcass to you. I say, do it Joe. He says, no thanks, see you later. Paul says, I'm carrying the, the wretchedness of my own self, my corrupt anger, my corrupt lusts, my sinful wretchedness. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Nobody. Do you know what he says? I thank God through Jesus Christ. Huh? Why? Well that's exactly what Jesus did. He says, give me the old carcass, the old self-life of Leonard Raimond and I'll take it to the cross. Nail it to me and I'll nail it to the cross and it's done with. And it stays done with, as long as I stay in subjection, obedience. I don't become a saint right away. Most of you know that. But I'll show you, I don't have wings, you see. And I haven't left my halo at home. But I'll tell you what, I'm pressing on the upward way. Like that song says, new heights I'm gaining every day. I've made up my mind, you can do as you like. You can live in the basement if you want. Do you know what I'm going to live after this? I'm going to be seated with him every day. I'm going to get up every morning and say, Len you're right on top of the pile here. You're seated with him. Above principalities, above doubts, above fears, above all the world systems, you're seated with him. Not when you die, but now. Do you remember that hymn that says, come ye that love the Lord. It says the hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred streets, before we reach the heavenly fields. Huh? What do you live on potato chips for every day you folk, as Christians. Why didn't you sit down and, and banquet with him. He brought me into his banqueting house and his banner over me is love. He's raised us up together and made us sit together. So what we've got to do is believe it and behave it. Huh? When the enemy comes to assail me, say listen you're just a bit too late. Do you know where I am? I'm seated with him right up there. He's raised me up. I'm forgiven. I'm justified. I'm sanctified. Soon I'm going to be glorified. But right now I'm going to tell you something. I'm enjoying the life that is to come, right now, here, while in the flesh. Because that's what Paul said. And the life which I now live in the flesh. You see a lot of people think you'll stop being a Christian once you slip inside the pearly gates. Oh won't it be wonderful. Well if you want to wait there it's up to you. But I ain't going to stay that way. Brother I'm going to get my bucket filled every day. I'm going to tell myself Len you're living with Jesus in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It doesn't mean there won't be darkness sometimes. It doesn't mean there won't be temptation. Now what's it all done for? Well he says we're created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Which God hath before ordained of him. Now let's skip over to the third chapter. Paul says how by revelation he made known unto me the mystery. You see these are only mysteries to the uninitiated. They're not mysteries if you want to walk in the light. They're not mysteries if you want to get into, into that limited area where sanctified people live. Whereby when you read, you read, pardon me, you may understand my knowledge, my knowledge. Now listen, listen, listen. This is what he said. He says I've solved those mysteries. Now see how generous he is. In this next verse he says whereby when you read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Come down to verse 8. Unto me who am the least of all saints. Isn't it wonderful he never got swell headed. All the churches he established, all the things he suffered in, it never moved him one bit. You know why? Because he says you may say that's the most brilliant preacher I've ever heard. He's the greatest apostle and he says you know what? I would have been conceited but it just so happens that I have nothing I didn't receive. Isn't that rough on you? I mean when you can't get a bit of credit for all you've done. You've been so good this week and so sweet and so prayerful and so nice and the Lord says so what? I gave you all I have. So don't get too stuffy will you? I know you're a bit stuffy but don't get too stuffy. Oh yes thank God from the pit from which you've been lifted. But remember it's all of his grace. It's all of his mercy we're not consumed. It's all of his love that he took us to the cross and then we died with him and then he raised us up and then he lifted us up and now we're seated in heavenly places. The end of verse 8. I'll read verse 8. Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well that's a bit ridiculous when the guy likes me is trying to preach and Paul couldn't preach it. So how in the world can I preach it? He says these riches are unsearchable. These riches are unfathomable. You see his love for this people is such you know what? It's to this people remember he says be filled with the spirit. It's to this people he says previously that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Huh? You know when we get up in the morning you should never mind if your voice is rusty. Lord won't take any notice of that. I think we should stand there and say here's my cup Lord fill it up Lord. Now what do you want me filling with it? Oh I need extra patience today. All right I'll load it. What do you need today? I need extra love today. Okay. What do you need? I need extra strength today. Huh? He wants these people to know the height and the depth. And which way do you go now? The length and the breadth of the love of God. And then he says it passes knowledge. Isn't that beautiful? Oh my my my my again again again I say why do we stay in waters to the ankles? Huh? Are you still in waters to the ankles? Or have you got up to the knees? Or have you got up to the loin? Or have you got? So if you're, if the waters to your ankles or your knees or your loins, you've still got your feet on the bottom. That doesn't take much faith. It's when the Lord says here are you ready? Yes well the next step is launch out into the deep. Huh? We used to sing a song I used to teach the team challenge staff for two mornings a week. And I love to go not just to teach but we used to sing a song there. Oh deeper yet I pray and higher every day. Deeper deeper in the love of Jesus daily let me grow. Higher higher in the school of wisdom more of grace to know. Deeper higher every day with Jesus. That should be my first aspiration. Not to make an extra dollar today. Not that somebody may write me a nice letter. My first desire when I get up may to say Lord Jesus let me live higher today than I lived yesterday. I sang it in church the other day Lord I wasn't too serious. But I'm pressing on the upward way. I want to scale the utmost height and capture gleam of glory bright. Still praying as I onward bound. You know it doesn't matter how high you are today there'll be, you'll be higher next week if you obey God. There's a lot of heights for us to possess. Now look at verse nine. This is something of this third chapter. And to make all men see. Did you notice that? Did you notice it? It didn't say to make all the preachers see. It didn't make, it didn't say to make all saints see. It says to make all saints see. Verse nine of chapter three. What is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God who created all things in Jesus Christ. The mystery is still hidden God to a degree. And he's going to break it open so the church can see it. No he's not he's going to break it open so the world can see it. To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now this is it. To the intent that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Do you get what God's saying there? All that I've ever been doing since creation in making apostles and prophets and those staggering Old Testament men like Elijah and Isaiah and Jeremiah. And these men that you look at and say oh that great apostle Paul and that mysterious mystical man called John. Do you know what I'm going to do one day? I'm going to break this thing wide open. I'm going to take all the covers off and I'm going to have an exhibition in eternity. And every man from Adam till the final trumpet blast. He's going to stand in awe around the rim of eternity and I'm going to put on exhibition all these men they have my workmanship they created in Christ Jesus for my glory. I didn't save you for to escape hell I saved you for my glory. I didn't sanctify you so you'd be nice and sweet and you wouldn't spit on the rug I mean I saved you for my glory. I didn't save you for 25, 30, 45 years to live in Texas. I saved you, I redeemed you, your grace worked in your life so that I can put you on exhibition for a thousand billion years when the stars burn out. To the intent that now on to principalities and powers. Oh brother I'm going to walk down the reds there and edge there and say hey aren't you Mussolini? Huh? You look awfully like Napoleon to me. Hmm? Are you Alexander the Great? I think you're Philip of Macedon. I think you used to be the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great. All principalities and all powers, all the rulers of the world, all the princes, all the potentates. And if you're saved he's going to put you on exhibition and say look there's the greatest miracle you ever saw in your life. The redemptive power of Jesus Christ redeemed that man, redeemed that woman who lived in Seguin or Austin wherever you live. And I put them on exhibition to the world and now I'm displaying my glory in them. We're not saved just that we may be nice people. We're not saved just that we may escape our fat ways. Saved to the praise of his glory. He's going to let every demon in hell keep looking in and say you see you thought you you had that sister keen didn't you? You thought you got her in your grip. But I want to tell you that I redeemed Kay so I could put her on exhibition in Seguin and I put her on exhibition so all the angels can look at her and everybody in hell can look on her. And that goes for every one of us who are here this afternoon who are redeemed. Man alive that ought to put 40 inches on your chest and make you feel 50 feet tall. I mean morally and spiritually. A bunch of stupid guys will be nearly killing each other to get a bit of honor and the label stuck on them at the convention during this week and it won't last 10 seconds after God blows the whistle and blows the lights out and the world is ended. Most of them will have eternal hell to live in afterwards anyhow. I tell you it does you good sometimes to well keep your feet on the earth but look a bit higher up. Let me read you a nice little thing I found today. I saw another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that was sealed and their number was 144,000 and so forth And verse 9 he says behold there was a great multitude which no man could number. I like that. Everything in the book of Revelation is numbered. There were seven churches everything's seven. There are 52 sevens in the book. Count them if you don't believe me. It's a wonderful book. The number of perfection seven. And there's a multitude which no man can number. Out of all nations and kindreds and people and texts and tongues stood before the throne and the lamb and they'd white robes and palms in their hands and they were shouting. Hey they shouted. No they whispered. No no they didn't whisper. They'd been whisperinging all their lives. So they found it's time they made up for it and they shouted with a loud voice. Do you know they shouted. Salvation to our God which sitted upon the throne and unto the lamb. And all the angels round about the throne and the four and the elders and the four beasts they fell before the throne on their faces and they worshipped God saying amen glory and blessing and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. And one of the elders say hey tell me this who are these in white robes and whence came they? And I said sir thou knowest. And he said well who are they? He said these are they that never had any problems. The Lord pulled all the hills down and he gave them soothing syrup every day. And when satan was going to attack them he says leave your hands off my darling child. And they never had any problems never any heartaches they're a very choice bunch that I had. Do you know what he says? These are they which came out of tribulation. No. He says these are they that came out of great tribulation and they've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God. Huh? You don't have to be an apostle. You don't have to be a preacher or a miracle worker or speak in tongues or stand on your head. All you have to do every day is get victory over sin through the blood of the lamb and the indwelling spirit of God and the promises of God. And he says you've washed your robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they're before the throne of God. And they serve him day and night in the temple. Isn't that beautiful? But here's the best bit. And he shall dwell with them. Eh? Isn't that lovely? We're already seated with him in heavenly places but boy it's going to be little one day they're going to sit down with a multitude which no man can number. Wouldn't that be great? You'll be able to sit down with Paul and say hey Paul I want to ask you a question. Now I was always puzzled over that middle verse there in Romans 7. Now could you take the next 10,000 years to explain it? Hmm? He'd say son no sister you were dull on earth it won't take 10,000 years. You see you've got a glorified mind now. I can explain it in 10 seconds. This is what I mean. Oh hallelujah! There'll be a yell go through heaven and somebody say what happened? Somebody arrived? No they're all here that's ever coming in here. But somebody just discovered a little bit more about redemption. And did you hear the news? No. Well tonight we're going to have a celebration. They're bringing 144,000 people with hearts. And they're bringing so many angels you can't count them. And we're going to have a great hallelujah praise offering tonight. And we're going to sing unto him that has loved us and loosed us from our sins in his own blood unto him be praise and glory. He shall sit on the throne and dwell with them. And they won't often be hungry. And they won't often be thirsty. And not many people get some stroke up there. He doesn't say, you know he says they shall hunger no more. Will not be wonderful? And they'll thirst never never thirst again. Neither shall the sunlight on them. There's no sunlight in heaven. Because the light of the world is the light of heaven. Isn't that beautiful? Oh now. And the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them. Now you can't get more than that. I don't care where you go. You can't get more than that. That's all he's going to do forever. He's going to lead us and feed us. Bless God forever and ever. Oh yes sir. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. What are you going to do next week? Live in heavenly places? Or what are you going to do? Live in Seguin? Live in San Antonio? Funny little town called Austin? Where are you going to live? It's up to you. Where are you going to be seated? Oh let's take advantage of it even now. We shall be the most joyful people. I don't mean you have a grin as big as Tedford. I as Texas I get suspicious of folk are always grinning. There's something more than a grin. There's a deep, deep inward joy. The fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering. And as much as I've taken, I've only nibbled a little bit you know. One day I'm going to take a real bite out of it. As much as I've ever been to meetings that sometimes thrill me, I've been no place yet you know. And with all you've been, those banquets you paid so much to get to and came away disappointed. But anyhow, all those places you've been to you know, we haven't touched the fringe, the fringe, the fringe, the fringe of what it's going to be like when we get there. When we've been there ten thousand, ten million, ten billion, ten trillion, ten quadrillion years, bright shining as the sun. Well there'll still be endless days to sing this praise.