Turn again in your Bibles to Galatians 5. Galatians 5, and particularly verses 19-21, where Paul catalogs the works of the flesh, and in cataloging the works of the flesh, condemns the works of the flesh, indeed condemns all those who live in the works of the flesh and who live in the flesh. Paul has told us that Christ purchased our freedom, our freedom from sin, our freedom from the curse against sin, the curse of the law, even death itself. And Paul tells us that we are to live in that freedom. We are to exercise that freedom. In fact, we have been called by God. We have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ by the working of the Spirit. And we are called then, as he says in verse 13 of chapter 5, for freedom. And he helps us to understand what that looks like by telling us that we are not to use that freedom as an occasion to the flesh, but that that freedom is truly exercised as we are servants one of another through love. As Paul goes on then to speak of this freedom, as he goes on to speak of what it means to exercise that freedom, not in the way of license, but in the way of love, He tells us that we are to walk by the Spirit. If we walk by the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the lust or the desires of the flesh. And that's significant because there is within us, he goes on to say, this war, this struggle, this contest between these two contrary principles, the flesh on the one hand and the Spirit on the other. Now, He has every confidence that we, who are believers, are led by the Spirit, even as Israel was led in her wilderness wanderings by the Spirit in the form of that pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, even as Israel was led in that way. So we are led by the Spirit. We are under His governing influence, and yet, There is corruption that remains, there is sin that yet clings to us, and there is the flesh that in and by the sanctifying influence of the Spirit we must put to death. Now that Paul would have us further understand what it means to walk by the Spirit, and what it means to have within us this contest, this struggle, between the flesh and the spirit, and the spirit and the flesh. He goes on, again, to catalogue, on the one hand, the works of the flesh, and on the other hand, the fruit of the spirit. And we have begun to consider Paul's teaching in this regard. We have looked at the fruit of the Spirit generally, making several observations, most recently discovering that Paul is not inventing any new doctrine here. but instead he is drawing upon the promises and the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding the fruitfulness of Christ, regarding the fruitfulness of the Spirit at work among Christ's people. He has told us then clearly that this fruit of the Spirit is the fulfillment of God's promises towards us in Jesus Christ. And that's important to remember. It's important to remember because even as we look at these lists, these catalogs, if you will, of vice on the one hand and virtue on the other, or the works of the flesh on the one hand and the fruit of the Spirit on the other, we must remember that this is not simply a list of do's and don'ts. We must be careful that we do not turn Paul's instruction into a kind of moralism. into a kind of legalism in which we think that we, by our own strength, by our own efforts, can fulfill and produce the fruit of the Spirit. We must not think for a moment, in fact, that what Paul is teaching us here is that we are somehow responsible for making ourselves right with God. Paul is not here taking away with the left hand what he's given with the right. That is, he's not undermining that blessed gospel truth which he is eager to defend, the truth that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone. No, instead, he is here reminding us of what is ours in Christ Jesus. And he is exhorting us to pursue that which is ours in Christ Jesus in utter and complete dependence upon the spirit whom Christ has given to us as the sum and the crown of all of his gifts. Now with this in mind, we need to understand what Paul says specifically regarding the works of the flesh as they provide for us a very clear contrast with the fruit of the Spirit. And Paul's intent here as he speaks of the works of the flesh is to warn us, to warn us concerning the corruption that yet remains within us, and to warn us in such a way that we would flee from the works of the flesh, that we would indeed, by the strength of the spirit, crucify the flesh with its desires and with its passions. He wants us to consider what it means to put these things to death, to flee from them, and to pursue that blessed fruit of the Spirit. Indeed, if we are to walk in the Spirit and not give occasion to the flesh, we must know the works of the flesh. We must flee from them. We must crucify them indeed under the sanctifying influence of the Spirit himself. And so to understand this, we want to consider this morning what Paul here says, the works of the flesh. Again, keeping in mind that all of these works stand in stark contrast to the fruit of the flesh. of the Spirit. And Paul says three particular things regarding the works of the flesh in verses 19 through 21. He first of all speaks of the character or the condition of the works of the flesh. He says, now the works of the flesh are manifest. Why is that important for Paul to say? That the works of the flesh are manifest. That the things which the flesh, that is, the corruption of the human soul produces, Why is it important to say that they are manifest? Well, the flesh is hidden. The flesh itself is invisible. Remember that as Paul is contrasting the flesh and the spirit here, he is speaking of ultimate realities. He is speaking of spiritual realities. He is speaking of the old man on the one hand and the new creature in Christ. He is speaking of the unregenerate man versus the regenerate man. He is speaking of the flesh and the spirit in ultimate, even eschatological terms, The flesh stands for that which belongs to this passing, this corrupt, this present evil age. And the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who defines by His presence the new creation in Christ Jesus. And so Paul is here contrasting ultimate realities, spiritual realities, and even how those spiritual realities mark the present condition of the believer, of the one who is fully and completely justified in and through Jesus Christ, and who is yet being sanctified by the Spirit. of Christ. And the fact of the matter is, again, that these ultimate, these spiritual realities are not evident to the naked eye. You and I cannot peer into one another's hearts and see what is there. We cannot see the soul. We cannot see the corruption of the soul. We cannot see the corruption of the powers of the soul. We cannot see that great regenerating work of the Spirit of Christ. We cannot see the change itself within the soul and the renewing of the powers of the soul, the renewing of the mind and the heart and the will and the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. We cannot see those things, but as they are made manifest, as they are made evident, and these great spiritual realities, these ultimate realities are made evident in what the flesh produces in contrast to what the spirit produces. Just as a tree is made known whether it's healthy or not by its fruit, so the human soul is made known in its fruit, in what it bears, in what it shows. And Paul then says that the works of the flesh are manifest, though the flesh itself is hidden from our eyes. He says the works of the flesh are manifest. The works of the flesh are evident. The corruption of the flesh is made known in what it produces. And this is significant. for a number of reasons. It's significant in light of the context of the book of Galatians. Remember that Paul has said consistently that there is no ground for confidence in the flesh. The Judaizers had put confidence in the flesh quite literally. in their demand that God's people be circumcised in order to be made right with God, in order to be justified or perfected, they were claiming that though we begin in the spirit, we're perfected in the flesh. And Paul has for several chapters dismantled that whole notion. And he's told us so clearly that no flesh is just before God. No man is right with God. No man can be justified by the works of the law. No man can be justified by the works of the flesh. And even more than Paul is simply here saying, if you want to put confidence in the flesh, well notice what the flesh really is. And take note of what the flesh really and truly and spiritually produces. So Paul is here advancing his polemic against the Judaizers. But he's also advancing the believer's understanding, the believer's knowledge, which will be unto fruitfulness and holiness. For you see, as He says that the works of the flesh are manifest, that the condition of the flesh is made known by the character of its works, He would that we, believers in Jesus Christ, would identify our own evil works. Remember again the contest between the flesh and the spirit, the contest, the struggle that marks the believer's life. We must remember the constant and irreconcilable war that defines our lives. And as we see the works of the flesh in our own life, Paul would that we would repent, that we would mortify the works of the flesh, and so walk in the Spirit. We must know the works of the flesh in order to identify the works of the flesh so that we would not use our freedom in Christ as an occasion to the flesh, but instead that we would be servants of one another through love. We must know the flesh. We must know the works of the flesh in order to turn from them. and to the mercy of God and Jesus Christ. Paul would then advance his polemic against the Judaizers. He would advance our own pursuit of holiness and Christ-likeness. But he would also advance that word of condemnation that stands against those who remain in the flesh, who remain in a spiritual state and condition of sin apart from Jesus Christ. For you see, when He says that the works of the flesh are manifest, that they are evident, He is telling us that there is in fact sufficient evidence, even before the eyes of men, to condemn us before God. There is sufficient evidence, the works of our sinful flesh testify that we are corrupt. They testify that we are in need of Jesus Christ. They testify that we are in need of His righteousness. And so Paul's intent here is a gospel intent, even in his warning that comes in verse 21. Paul is intent on reminding us, on reminding even the sinner, who knows his unrighteousness, but suppresses the truth of his unrighteousness. He would have us to know that we are sinners in need of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is intent then on reminding us in all these ways that our works avail for nothing but for our condemnation. We must, as sinners, as unrighteous, have the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And as believers, we must have the promised spirit And by His strength, we must put these works of the flesh to death. So we see the character, the condition of the works of the flesh. They are manifest. And they are manifest in such a way that we would know our need for the Gospel, that we would know our need for the sanctifying influence of the Spirit, that we would know then what it is to mortify these works and indeed to put to death the flesh. But the second thing we notice is In the majority of these verses, we have simply, or what appears to be simply, a catalogue of the works of the flesh. Paul moves from speaking of the condition and the character of the works of the flesh to actually catalogue some of the works of the flesh. He says, now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these? And then he goes on. for the remainder of verse 19 through verse 20 and even into verse 21 to give us a catalog of these works. This is not the only time in Paul's letters that he gives to us this kind of list. In fact, we find it in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Corinthians chapter 5, as well as chapter 6, 2 Corinthians 12 and verses 20 and following, We have a similar list as well in Romans 1 and verses 29 through 31, Romans 13 and verse 13, Colossians 3 and verses 5 and 8, and as well in texts in Ephesians 4 and Ephesians 5. And in each case, Paul has a specific intent defined by the context in giving us such lists. And here, again, he is intent on speaking to our sanctification, speaking to the need we have of the Spirit to put these works of the flesh to death. He wants us again to understand what it is not to use our freedom for an occasion to these very things, to these very works. Now, as we look at this list, this catalog, it first appears as if it were a little more than, again, a list of known vices, as if Paul is sort of piling up terms that were well known to describe sinfulness and corruption in the world. But I think we can categorize this catalog. That is, we can see that there are at least four types, at least four kinds of vices or works of the flesh that Paul mentions here. Now, we should say that in looking at these four kinds or four types, that all of them are the works of the flesh. All of them are, in and of themselves, evil. And evil is but the privation or perversion of that which is good. Evil is either the absence of good, or the twisting of that which is good, or true, or beautiful. It is the perversion of, in fact, the goodness of God himself. It is the privation of the moral attributes of God himself. God is good. God is holy. God is righteous. In fact, He's the very definition of good. He's the very definition of righteous. The very definition of holiness. And all of these works are the twisting of those attributes. The absence of such holiness and righteousness and Christ-likeness. And so we have here four kinds, four types of evil. Four types of that which is contrary to God and contrary to Christ. And the first type, the first category, are what we might call works contrary to purity. Works that are against, as William Perkins noted, chastity. Fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. In a narrow sense, fornication referred to trafficking with harlots, trafficking with prostitutes. In a broader sense, in the New Testament, it refers to any kind of sexual perversion, any kind of sexual relation that is contrary to that which God has ordained. Fornication then would refer to so many different types of sexual immorality, of sexual impurity. Not just lying with a prostitute, but even such things that are so grotesque they ought not to be named among men." Paul amplifies upon this as well in the second term, uncleanness, impurity. Here is a term that has a wider range of meaning than the term fornication. But it really refers to anything that is against nature. And what is nature? Well, it's that which God has created. It's that which God has ordained. And what has he created? What has he ordained? One man, one woman, in the context of marriage. Anything and everything else besides that is uncleanness. is impurity. Now some have tried to evade that understanding of the term that Paul uses here by saying that uncleanness is a ritual term. That uncleanness is a term that refers to pagan worship. But remember that pagan worship in the first century that the rituals of the temples of the gods and the goddesses entailed not simply the false worship of a false god, but there was sexual perversion that was attendant to it. You had all kinds of not only ritual uncleanness, but ethical and sexual impurity that marked the temples of the pagan gods. And so we cannot avoid, we cannot evade the very clear meaning that Paul intends here. No matter how much the culture around us shouts that certain perversions are normal, we must say with the Apostle Paul that they are the works of the flesh. Now, as we go on to discover from the fruit of the Spirit, We maintain that truth in such a way that would adorn the gospel, that would adorn the truth of God. We do so in meekness, we do so with patience, we do so with forbearance. We're not nasty, we're not mean, we're not impatient, we're not angry, but we are committed to the truth. that uncleanness is a work against that purity which God has ordained. The third term that Paul uses here, lasciviousness, amplifies to a certain extent on the previous two terms. And it refers to a kind of wantonness that would throw off any and all restraint that would in fact flaunt itself. One author speaks of the attitude here, or the work here, as that of being unawed by shame or fear. The pursuit of sin, not in a dark place, not hiding, but out in the open, blatantly, as if This kind of wickedness was something to be flaunted and celebrated. Here we have a term which speaks of the pursuit of sin with blatant impudence and insolence, with no regard to self, with no regard for others, with no regard even for a kind of civil or public decency. All of these are works that are contrary to purity. Purity as it is in God Himself. Purity as it is revealed in nature. Purity as it is even revealed in the Holy Scriptures. And even as we speak of these three terms and this type of impurity, we must remember the warning that comes at the end of verse 21. The warning that comes against those who live in these sins, who live in these works, who live yet in the flesh and produce such wickedness. Here is a warning of judgment against such sin. And it's a warning that is given that unbelievers who are yet in the flesh might turn and flee to Jesus Christ. But it is a warning as well that is intended, as we'll see, to admonish believers to flee these things. To confess these sins and to plead with God for the forgiveness of these sins. Here we are admonished as well to mortify any sort of inordinate desire or inclination to such vices. And we are instructed to do so by fearing God, by learning His Word, by understanding what God loves and what God hates. And so by the strength of the Spirit, fleeing any occasion of such vices. Indeed, any occasion of such sin must be cut off within us." There are some authors who go to great lengths to speak of the kinds of occasions that are rife for indulging in these kinds of works of the flesh. And one such author mentions idleness. And he appeals to the example of David. who in his adultery with Bathsheba first saw her and desired her as he was on his rooftop. And what was he doing on his rooftop? Well, he was reclining and he was taking care of his body and enjoying a kind of idleness. that gave him occasion for such sin. And think of all of the occasions that present themselves to us in the day and age in which we live for this kind of impurity, for fornication. All we have to do is open a computer. All we have to do is hold in our hands a so-called smartphone. And it's there. And the temptation is real. Now, it's not the fault of computers. It's not the fault of the technology that we have. But we need to be wise and careful. Understanding the occasions for these sins and understanding the corruption that remains within us where we can so easily pursue such works that are contrary to purity. The second category that we have here are what we might call works that are contrary to piety, works that are contrary to religion, contrary to godliness. Paul mentions two here, idolatry and sorcery. He makes mention of the worship of idols, the worship of any substitute for the true and living God. Idolatry is when we establish something that is not God to be God. Idolatry takes place when deity is attributed to any creature. or when any attribute of God is attributed to the creature, and also when the affections of our hearts are given to the creature. We commit idolatry when we worship the true God, says Perkins, with devised worship, worship that is of our own devising, when we set up something in the place of God and give honor to that thing in the place of God, in the place of honoring God. And we do so even when we establish ways and forms of worship that are contrary to the word of God, contrary to the will of God. We may have good intentions here. But as Perkins notes, it is not man's intention, but God's will that makes God's worship. Idolatry, the worship of another God. The worship of a creature as if the creature were the true and the living God. Worshiping God contrary to his will. And we must remember that even though this is a work of the flesh that is evident, that is manifest, that is, in a sense, outward, We must be on guard against that inward idolatry of the heart. Perkins says, by this we see that many of us are very carnal. For though we detest outward idolatry, yet the inward idolatry of the heart abounds among us. For look where the heart is, and there is the God. Now the hearts of men are upon the world, and upon the riches and the pleasures thereof. For them we take the most care, and in them we place our chief delight, whereas God in Christ should have all the affections of our hearts." What is it that we enjoy chief among anything else? Where is it that our affections, that our loves, that our desires are set? There you will find your God. Here then we are warned to flee from all of the corrupt affections of the heart as they would be placed upon the things of this world. And to have all of our affections set upon Christ who is seated at God's right hand. The second term that Paul uses here is sorcery. The term that he uses is the same word from which we get the English word pharmacy. And it refers more widely beyond this context to the use of drugs. It could be used to refer to drugs that were used as medicine, but in a negative sense, and Paul is using it in this way here, to refer to a kind of black magic, a kind of witchcraft, by which we would seek to do harm to others. Could be used for drugs that were used for poisoning, but again, the main intention here is drugs for witchcraft. Paul even perhaps has in the back of his mind here the magicians that are mentioned in Exodus chapter 7, the magicians of Egypt. This was their work, sorcery. witchcraft. Perhaps he has as well in view the wise men of Babylon who sought to use curious arts in order to divine, in order to make known the will or what they believe to be the will of God. But this sorcery, is a work of the flesh. This sorcery, this witchcraft, is that which comes from the workings of the evil one himself. And it's interesting that Paul would use this term here when he has said to the Galatians in chapter 3, who has bewitched you? Who has drugged you? Who has poisoned you? who has brought you under some kind of superstitious spell that you would believe the false gospel, that we are justified in part by our works? Sorcery, witchcraft is the work of the flesh. So there are these works. of darkness, these works of impiety, these works of false worship. But there are then also works that are contrary to charity, works that are contrary to love. And the list here is the longest of all the three types. Paul speaks of enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, The word enmity has in view not only hostile actions, but hostile attitudes. Hostile towards one another, towards our fellow man, towards even perhaps our brethren in the church. One with whom we are at enmity with is our enemy. And the Lord Jesus Christ instructed us to love our enemies. The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12 instructs us to give bread even to our enemies. Enmity then, as one author put it, is neutralized by love. Strife, as Paul uses it here, refers to quarrelsomeness. It's interesting that in some ancient literature, the god Eris, and the term that Paul uses here is derived from that, the goddess Eris was one whose malignant influence produced war and produced destruction. This is the very antithesis then of peace. And it's a kind of strife that is shown even when we contend with one another in words, when we contend with one another having no respect for justice, having no respect for truth. Have you ever been in an argument with someone in which you're so dead set on winning that you give no regard to the factuality of what you're saying? You give no regard to whether it's true or not, to whether it's right or not. There is strife. There is contention. There is a work of the flesh. Jealousies. The term is rather intuitive, is it not? We see a man who excels in something and we're envious. We ourselves, perhaps, excel in something. And we would that no one rise to our level, let alone exceed us. There is jealousy. This is the very contradiction of what John the Baptist said with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. I must decrease. He must increase. Anger. or the term that Paul uses here, wraths, outbursts of rage, outbursts of anger. I was telling my family last night at dinner about something that I saw in the grocery store where a mother was berating her child. We see these things. The works of the flesh are manifest. Anger, fits of rage. Now there is such thing as lawful anger. There is anger without sin. Christ was angry without sin when He overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. When there is offense against God and the conscience is grieved and angered, there's a just cause for anger. Though we do not want to go beyond measure in expressing such anger, for then we would be guilty of the very thing Paul condemns here, enmities. Hatred, strife, contention in words, contention without regard to truth or justice, jealousies, envying those who excel us, wanting no one to excel us, wraths, fits of rage, anger, factions. Paul speaks of that which is a form of this kind of hatred and contention. Factions are essentially the result of selfish ambition. It's the rivalry and the contention that rises from selfish ambition. Paul speaks here as well of divisions, dissensions. This very division was evident in the churches of Galatia as they were being ripped apart by legalism and a false gospel. Parties. Here we have the selfish ambition which Paul decries and the divisions that mark them. giving rise to separate and distinct groups, cliques, if you will. In fact, the word that he uses here for parties derives from the New Testament word for heresy. These parties form around the teachings of men, false teachings. And everything that marks a kind of party spirit is in view here. Anger. Jealousy. But Paul is not done here. He speaks of envying. The word that he uses here is a word that describes the grudging spirit that cannot bear to contemplate the prosperity of anyone else. Envying goes beyond jealousies, if you will, because it is marked by a hatred, by a detestation, of anything and everything that is good. In some ways, Envene's is the crown of all of these works that are against charity, against love. We have then works against purity, works against piety, works against charity, but works, fourthly, that are contrary to what we might call simplicity, works that are contrary to self-control. And Paul mentions two specifically, drunkenness and revelings. Drunkenness is drinking beyond measure, drinking beyond what is necessary, and drinking or drinking beyond what is proper even for delight. God gave wine to gladden the heart of man. There's nothing inherently wicked about alcohol. But drunkenness is the work of, a work of the flesh. Overindulgence in such a thing, which leads to intoxication. And why is this a work of the flesh? Why is this so to be detested? Because what happens when a man drinks too much, when a man becomes intoxicated? We often use a simple phrase, something like, he loses his mind. The powers of his soul are distempered, if you will. in such a way that he himself goes beyond the order of nature. Think of a beast. A beast only drinks what is necessary. But a drunken man can't even live up to the level of a beast because he drinks too much in such a way that he loses his mind. William Perkins said, the horse and the donkey may be schoolmasters to many of us. And he's right. Revelings is a term that is broad, but it can be exemplified not only in drink, but in eating as well. And so gluttony is in view here. Overindulgence in food. Overindulgence in wine. And what does Paul say of these things elsewhere? He refers to them as the unfruitful works of darkness. Here we have then these works, these works against purity, these works against piety, these works against charity, these works against the simplicity of life that is self-controlled. But why again list all of these things? Notice thirdly, the curse that Paul pronounces against the works of the flesh. Of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul here speaks to the punishment that belongs properly to the works of the flesh. Punishment of not inheriting the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God is Heaven itself, where God is present. And where Christ the Mediator is present in His glorious rule. That is the kingdom of God. And that kingdom has gone in the coming of Jesus Christ. And that kingdom is bestowed freely upon sinners. But that kingdom is not inherited. by those who practice the works of the flesh. And who are those who practice the works of the flesh? But those who live in the works of the flesh. Those whose lives are defined by the works of the flesh. We can understand Paul's intention here when we bear in mind the opposite of the kingdom of God. If the kingdom of God is in short, heaven, the opposite of the kingdom of God is hell. And what he is saying here is that those who live in the flesh and those who produce the works of the flesh, they shall not inherit the kingdom of God, but they shall inherit, they shall come into possession of hell. and the punishment of their sins. And Paul has said, I've told you this before, and I'm telling you again. And he's told them before, and he's telling us as well, even here. So that we might, above all other things, seek the Kingdom of God. That we might have the Kingdom of God established in our hearts. And how is it that we have the Kingdom of God established in our hearts? It is by grace. Notice that Paul says, he speaks here of the inheritance of the kingdom. The kingdom is not earned. He is not saying, well, avoid the works of the flesh and you will earn the kingdom of heaven. No, the kingdom of God is given. The kingdom of God and your right entitled to it is a gift of grace through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. But if we are those who are defined by the works of the flesh, if this is our present and continued condition, if this is our state, then we are outside the kingdom of God and we have no inheritance of it. And if we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, if we are heirs of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, do we not see how unbecoming it is for us to engage the works of the flesh, to produce the works of the flesh? There is a warning here for us. to turn away from the works of the flesh. If we are those who possess the kingdom of God in and by Jesus Christ and through the working of the Spirit, then we must hate the works of the flesh and flee the works of the flesh. And not just one, but all. All the works of the flesh. We must then know ourselves. We must know our sins. And brethren, we must forsake them. For if we be found, Perkins says, doers of these things, there is no hope for us. We must remember that the only way to be in the kingdom is to be in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit. And if we are citizens of that kingdom, if we are heirs of the kingdom, then it is unbecoming of us to live in the works of the flesh. Now, we cannot turn the gospel here into a new law. As Benjamin Keats wrote, we do not tell you you must be holy and then believe in Jesus Christ, but that you must believe in Him that you may be holy. You must first have union with Him before you can bring forth fruit unto God. You must act from life and not for life. We hate the works of the flesh. We turn away from the works of the flesh because we are joined first to Jesus Christ. And if we are joined to Jesus Christ, we will not practice such things. We must diligently flee from them. and seek first the kingdom of God. May God establish His kingdom in our hearts. May He give us a love for that kingdom such that we would hate the works of the flesh. And not the works of the flesh as we see them out there, but the works of the flesh as they continue to plague us this side of heaven in our own hearts. in our own minds. May God grant us that grace. Let's pray.