Six Strange Things About People

Introduction

This afternoon at 4 p.m., a day in the life of Jesus, we’re going to go to the book of Mark in Mark chapter 3, and we’re going to see four things that happened to the Lord in that day and four reactions to the ministry of Jesus. It’s a study that you do not want to miss. But I want to begin this morning by asking you a question. Are you ever amazed at some of the creatures that you see? Maybe you watch Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. It’s fascinating to see some of the strange creatures with whom we share this planet. And I would ask you a question what is the strangest of all creatures on the earth? May I say to you that it is not a python, a pole cat, a porcupine, a piranha, or a pelican, but rather the strangest of all creatures on the earth, people.

People are the strangest things that you’ll ever see. And it’s not that people look strange, though there are plenty of those. It has nothing to do with the strange and unusual names that people may have. It doesn’t have to do with the weird places that some people may live. But rather it has to do with the strange things that people do. People act in strange ways and they do strange things. This morning in our study, we’re going to talk about six strange things regarding people. Some of the strange things we do are against our own best interest. And that’s what makes them strange. We’ve got six things we’re going to put on the slide as we begin this morning, and we’re going to cover each of these points in the next few moments.

1. Strange Regarding Youth and Old Age

Follow along with me. And if you’re not able to keep up with all the verses, you can pick up an outline. We’ve made outlines of all the lessons that we’ll be doing in the course of this week. But you can pick up an outline after the lesson is over this morning. Let’s begin by talking about youth and old age. What is it that’s so strange about people in regard to youth and old age? Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen. We grow impatient with being young, and we are in a rush to grow older. And then when we get older, we long to be young again. When we were young, when we’re young, we think of all the privilege and the freedom that age will bring.

You know, here’s a young fella in junior high school, and he says, I can’t wait until I’m 14 when I can go to high school. I I just can’t wait. He gets in high school, he says, I can’t wait until I’m 16 when I can drive a car. And then he says, I can’t wait until I’m 18 when I’m out of high school. It’s interesting. He couldn’t wait to get in, and now I can’t wait to get out. I can’t wait until I’m 21 when I can do this. I can’t wait until I’m 25. And then when we get older, what do we do? When you get to be my age, you look back at the youth and uh that you once had the strength and the vitality that you had in your body, and while you say, I wouldn’t want to be 18 again.

We sure would like to have the body of an 18-year-old. One person, not quite sure where to stand on this matter, said, I’m too old to be young, but on the other hand, I’m too young to be old. It’s strange the way we look at youth and old age. The problem is, you see, we always think that the best part of life is somewhere else, somewhere else different than where we are right now. When we’re young, we think that life is going to be better when we’re older. And one of the reasons we think that is because while we’re young, we don’t have much respect. People don’t look up to us and give us very much honor. They may disrespect us, may look down upon us because of our youth.

That’s the way it was with David. Remember David the shepherd boy? Go to your old testament for for a moment to 1 Samuel chapter 17. 1 Samuel chapter 17. I want to read a few verses from this passage, and you’ll see what I mean here. This is the issue where David is eventually going to go out and meet Goliath, but he first goes out and talks to his brothers. In 1 Samuel chapter 17, verse 28, it says, Now Eliad, David’s oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you’ve come down to see the battle.

And David said, What have I done now? And it seems like that that’s the way it was for David. No matter what he did, someone in his family was criticizing him. Then Saul, then David went to King Saul, and he told him he was going to go out and fight the Philistine. In verse 33, Saul said to David, You’re not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, but he is a man of war from his youth. And then, of course, you know the rest of the story when David went out to meet the Philistine in verse 42. The Philistine looked about and saw David, and he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and good looking.

And so the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And so whether it was the Philistine, whether it was King Saul or whether it was David’s own brothers, David, because of his youth, was not respected. We learn from this story that it’s not one’s age that gains respect, but it’s one’s conduct. David, by his trust in God and doing the will of God, wound up being respected by all those who were concerned in this place. And so we can learn from this that it’s possible, possible to be young and to be respected. It’s also possible to be old and respected. But at the same time, just because you’re old doesn’t mean you will be respected.

Look with me in the book of Proverbs. I’m looking at Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 31. It says, The silver haired head is a crown of glory if it is found in the way of righteousness. There are some people who get older and they’re not respected like they should be because of their conduct, because they do not live righteous lives. And so when we’re young, we think that life is going to be better when we’re older because we’ll have more privilege and we’ll be more respected. But folks, when we get older, what do we think? When we get older, we think that life was better when we were young. Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 10. That’s the passage I want to read. Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 10.

There, Solomon says this, do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. You see, what Solomon is talking about is the good old days. We look back and we say, Oh, I remember when I was young how good life was and how sweet things were for me and how wonderful everything was. We quickly forget all the hardships and the difficulties that we incurred while we were young. We think life was better long, long ago. And Solomon says, if you think that you’re not very wise. The truth is, whether we are young or whether we’re old, we ought to count every day as a blessing from God. I’m turning to the book of Psalms, Psalm number 90.

I’m reading from Moses here in Psalm 90. Psalm 90, beginning at verse number 10. Here, Moses said, The days of our years, the days of our lives are seventy years, and if by reason of strength they’re 80 years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of your anger? For as the fear of you, so is your wrath. So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Ladies and gentlemen, whether we’re young or old, we ought to count every day as a blessing from God and use our days wisely because our the number of our days on this earth is limited. You only have so much time here, and you’re not going to be here forever.

2. Strange Regarding Health and Money

Oh, yes, we’re strange regarding youth and old age. We’re impatient with being young. We’re in a rush to grow older, but as we grow older, we long to be young again. And then we’re also strange regarding health and money. You see, there are many people who lose their health in order to gain money, and then we lose our money to try to regain our health. You know anyone who grabs for all the overtime he can get? Let me tell you about a friend of mine named Don. He lives in Beaumont, Texas. Don thinks that life is about money. He works every hour that he possibly can and then even takes a second job. A second job to gain more money. He doesn’t get good exercise, he doesn’t eat right, he doesn’t get enough rest, but he’ll work sixteen to eighteen hours a day because money is so important to him.

Now look, he only has a wife and one daughter. They’re both in good health. It’s not a case that he has to work, it’s a case of want to.

And now as Don is getting older, his health is beginning to fail him. And I can see the day coming when Don will have to spend all of his money trying to regain the health that he lost to the pursuit of money. And what an irony that is. The problem here is that Don has a distorted view of life. He thinks that life is about money. The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, life is not about money and how much of it you can amass. Look with me to the story in Luke chapter 12, beginning at verse 15. This is Jesus speaking, Luke twelve, beginning at verse 15. And this ought to settle the matter once and for all. You see, here’s a man who comes to Jesus, and he’s going to ask Jesus.

He’s going to ask Jesus to make his brother give him some money. In fact, let’s start at Luke 12, verse 13. It says, Someone from the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide his inheritance with me. And Jesus said to the man, he said, Listen, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you? And then Jesus said to them in verse 15, take heed, beware of covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses. That’s one of our problems in America today. We think whoever gets the most stuff, that’s the person who’s winning. I saw a bumper sticker on a fellow’s new truck. It was a new Chevy Salvarado. Beautiful truck. But he had a bumper sticker on the back of his truck that said, Whoever dies with the most toys wins.

No, you don’t win, mister. Because everything that you have amassed in life, you will leave it all behind. I remember the story of one of the Vanderbilts in an East Coast University Hospital back at the turn of the last century, almost a hundred years ago. This old man was one of the richest men in America, and he was about to die. And the people had gathered there, and his family and friends and reporters from the newspapers. They were all there waiting for the old gentleman to die. And finally, finally the moment came.

The doctor spoke to the family for a moment, and then as he was leaving to walk down the hall, he overheard one of the members of the family say to another, I wonder, how much did he leave?

And the doctor, overhearing that, stopped and turned and said, Why, don’t you know? He left it all. He didn’t take any of it with him. Whoever dies with the most toys wins. Whoever amasses the most money wins. Read the rest of the story with me. Beginning in verse 16, Jesus spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully, and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? And so he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and I will build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods, and I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years.

Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, Fool, fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then who will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Was it wrong for this man to have barns? Was it wrong for him to have many goods? Was it wrong for him to build greater barns? No, the problem was he left God out of his life. He thought, like my friend Don back in Beaumont, he thought that life was about money and amassing things. However much stuff you can get, that’s what you ought to do with your life. Life is not about money. And while we prefer health over money, life is not about health either.

Both health and money are things that everybody will lose sooner or later. Not me. I don’t plan on losing my money. Yes, you’ll lose it all. I don’t plan on losing my health. I’m going to eat right and I’m going to exercise. You’re going to lose your health, mister. Everybody does. Because something is going to cause you to die. Folks, the only things that last, and listen carefully, the only things that last are spiritual things. And these are things that are available to everybody, whether you’re rich or whether you’re poor, whether you have good health or not. In Matthew 6 and verse 33, our Lord Jesus said, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. It’s a matter of our priorities in life.

3. Strange Regarding the Present and the Future

Seeking first the kingdom of God. Spiritual things are things that you can have. You can have a right relationship with God. Yes, we’re strange with respect to health and money. So many of us lose our health to gain money. Then we’re willing to lose all of our money to try to regain our health. But we’re also strange regarding the present and the future. We neglect the present because we worry so much about the future. I hope you can be here. I hope you can be here on Friday night of this week. If the Lord wills and the world stands that long and we’re all still alive, we intend on gathering here to have a lesson about fearless living in fearful times. And we’ll talk about the worries that we have about the future.

But for today, let me say this. We neglect. We neglect the present because we worry so much about the future, and as a result, we live neither for the present or the future. People worry about the future of their health. They worry about the future of their money, their job, their family, and a host of other things. And while all of those things may be maybe legitimate concerns, to be consumed in worry doesn’t really do any good. I heard a silly story about a man who counted how many times he tied his shoes every day. And he figured that he had to tie his shoes at least twice a day. That was fourteen times in a week. And to begin to think that if he if he lived over the rest of his life, he just seven hundred times a year, he’s got to tie his shoes, and for the rest of his life, it come out to about thirty thousand times.

He’s got to tie his shoes. And he said, Listen, nobody can be expected to tie their shoes that many times. And so he went barefoot.

Lost his family and lost his job. Everybody thought he was a nut. And that’s a silly story. And we laugh at that story, but is it any different than the student in high school or maybe a first-year student at one of the universities in Florida? Is it any different than the student who worries about all the school days that are yet in the future and all the term papers and all the reports that are yet due? And just gives up. Is it any different than the man who works in the factory? Or the man who works in the office, and he’s thinking about all the years he has left until retirement, and it weighs so heavy upon him. You see, he’s worried so much about the future.

The thing that is overlooked in these cases is that these things, whether it’s tying your shoes, whether it’s going to work, whether it’s going off to class at school, these things need to be done only one day at a time. You don’t have to tie your shoes 30,000 times at once, but only one time. One day at a time. Jesus discussed this very issue in Matthew. Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew the sixth chapter, verses 25 to 34. I’m reading Matthew 6, beginning at verse 25. Jesus talked about this business of worry. And he talked about the same kind of things that you worry about and that I worry about. Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither soul nor reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now, if God, if God, Jesus says, so clothes, the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Jesus says, Don’t be consumed in worry about the future. Don’t be consumed in fretting and being all upset about, oh, what’s going to happen next month and next year, and so on. Jesus says, Do what you’re supposed to do today, whether it’s on the job in the home or at the school, wherever it may be.

4. Strange Regarding Wounds and Healings

Listen, if you don’t do today’s work, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do today, that’s when you’re going to be in trouble tomorrow. That’s when you’re going to be in trouble next month and next year, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do now. But we’re strange regarding the present and the future. We neglect the present because we worry so much about the future, and as a result, we live neither for the present nor for the future. And that causes all sorts of problems in our lives. But then we’re also strange regarding wounds and healings. And let me suggest why. It takes only seconds to open profound wounds in those that we love. And then we expect those wounds to heal as quickly as we make them.

You know, even if we wounded another person by our words and we’ve been forgiven, don’t be surprised that there’s not a very sensitive spot where the wound was. It’s much like in your body when it’s been wounded. You may receive a wound in your body that takes years to heal. Even though the wound is closed, there’s still some pain and sensitivity left there. We argue that it’s not fair that it should take so long for a wound in another person to heal. One lady said this, she said, people ought to know how I am. People ought to know that I’m quick with my tongue. People ought to know that I’m careless sometimes in my speech, but they ought to know I don’t mean it. And I don’t know why people have all this against me after I say something against them.

Why is it that they can’t get over it? Well, I want to ask you a question, lady. Why do you why are you so careless with your tongue in the first place? That’s the problem. You see, it takes only seconds to open profound wounds in those that we love, and it’s because we are careless in our speech. Go with me to the book of Proverbs. I’m looking at Proverbs chapter 12 and beginning at verse number 18. Why are we careless with our tongues? Because we can be. Because we can. Well, I’m an outspoken person. I just say whatever I think. Some of the things you think you shouldn’t say. If you can learn not to say them, maybe you can get to the point where you don’t have to think those things.

But look at this in Proverbs chapter 12, verse 18. Solomon says, There is one that speaks like the piercings of a sword. There are people that cut you to pieces. There are husbands who cut their wives to pieces. There are wives when the husband comes home, they slash the husband with a sword with the tongue. There are people in the church backbiting and tailbearing who cut other people down and leave the wounded in their path. Look at Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 20. Proverbs chapter 29 and verse 20. There Solomon said, Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? You see, here’s the fellow who’s quick to speak. Here’s the man who’s hasty in his words. There’s more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs chapter 30, verse 14. Proverbs chapter 30, verse 14. There’s a generation whose teeth, whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives. There are people described in this text who are like fangs. They have like the vicious wolf. And the sharp, like knives, they cut people. One of the problems that so many young people have is that of cutting others down. And being too quick to speak. And while the person you’re cutting down may try to laugh as they stand there in the middle of the crowd, there are wounds oftentimes left inside that may take a long, long time to heal. Why, oh why, can’t we learn to control our speech? Listen, if you can’t learn to control your speech, I’m just afraid that you are not going to make it to heaven.

5. Strange Regarding Honor and Dishonor

We may argue that it’s not so that it’s not fair that a wound should take so long to heal. But again, it’s much like your body. You know what takes only two seconds, takes only two seconds for someone to stick a knife in your body? It may take two years for that wound to heal. Yes, regarding wounds and healing, we’re strange. It takes only seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love. Then we expect those wounds to heal as quickly as we make them. Then we’re strange regarding honor and dishonor. You see, we want others to think that we’re honorable people. Oh, yes, upstanding, honorable people. To achieve that, we compare ourselves to dishonorable people. How many times have you heard others say, or maybe you’ve even said this yourself?

Well, uh, Brother Dawson, I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not as bad as Sister So-and-so who sits over on that side of the building. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not as bad as that man who’s running around on his wife. I know I’m not I’m not the best person in the world, but uh at least I’m not an adult uh a drunken adulterer like that woman down the street. What in the world are we thinking when we do that? That’s going to make us honorable people, that’s gonna make other people think that we’re noble. I’ll tell you what you don’t hear. Maybe I’m not the worst person in the world, but I’m sure not as good as Sister Jones. I I I’m trying to emulate the character of Sister Johnson.

Wish I could be the man that Brother Smith is. See, we don’t pick other people who are better than us to compare ourselves to. No, you see, we’re strange. We want others to think that we’re honorable people, and to achieve that, we keep comparing ourselves to dishonorable people. And what does that even mean when we say that we’re not as bad as other people? What in the world are we thinking? Listen, would you like that said at your funeral? Here’s Brother Harkwriter stands up at your funeral and said, Well, here’s Sister, and I won’t fill in the last name. Here’s Sister So and so, and you know, she wasn’t as bad as some people in this community. She wasn’t the drunken adulteress. And she wasn’t the gossip and the backbiter.

Yes, my friends, she wasn’t nearly as bad as some people we know. How would you left that on your gravestone? Here lies John Smith. He wasn’t the worst guy in town. And yet that’s what people are saying about themselves every day. Don’t you say that ever again. If you want to be honorable, and if you want other people to think you’re honorable, then compare yourself to honorable people, imitate their character. Listen, our Lord Jesus is the perfect example of honor. And the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 21 that he left us an example that we should follow in his steps. He becomes our role model, the one we emulate. Listen, I can tell you this morning that while I may not be as bad as I used to be, I have not yet attained to the character of my Lord Jesus.

6. Strange Regarding Living and Dying

I’ve got a ways to go, folks. And I trust that you do too. We’re strange, though, in that regard, aren’t we? About honor and dishonor. And then finally, we’re strange with respect to living and dying. You see, as human beings, we live as as though we will never die. And then we die as if we had never lived. And don’t you agree that most people live as if they’ll never die? We are a death-denying culture. We don’t even like to talk about death. And yet somehow we think it’s not going to happen to us. And that’s especially true while we’re young. As young people, we take unnecessary chances and risks because I just can’t envision myself dying. You know, here I am, a young person. I think I’m invincible.

I’m invulnerable. I can’t be touched. And we take all sorts of chances. We speed in our cars, especially when we’re young. I remember driving a 55 Chevy. This is 19. The years escaped me. 1963, I believe it was. A friend of mine had just bought a 55 Chevy, had a really hot engine in it. And we took that thing out on the interstate highway and drove it 135 miles an hour. Any thought of death? Not at all. Any thought of the wheels coming off at that speed? Not at all. Because you see, I was only 19 years of age, and people who are 19 don’t die. And so I can live as though I will never die. But may I remind you folks that the very first, very first funeral I ever preached after I’ve after I became a preacher, was in Noblesville, Indiana.

I preached a funeral for a young man who was 18 years of age. Had been killed on a motorcycle. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

He came to an intersection, he had the right of way, and someone ran, of all people, a preacher, a preacher ran the stop sign and killed this 18-year-old boy on a motorcycle. But see, at 18, we can’t die. We’re invulnerable, aren’t we? And so while we’re young, we think that we’ll never die. And yet it’s also true with older folks. Because how many older folks are really making preparation for death? They too live as though they will never die. And then maybe if death is in sight, maybe they’ve got an illness and the doctor says you’ve got pancreatic cancer and you have six months to live at the most. What do we do when death is in sight? We fight it and we fight it with our last ounce of strength, as though we’ve got something in life that we must yet do.

Folks, think about it. If I’m 70 or 80 years of age and I’m facing death, and something is really, something is really important that I accomplish in my life, you would have thought I would have gotten it done by now. If I’ve been on this earth for 80 years, it seems like I would have accomplished that. But no. I’m going to act like I’ve never lived and that I haven’t had enough time. And what if I’m 80 years of age and facing death, and someone says, I have the power to give you five more years on this earth? What will I do with those five years? What will I do with those five years that I didn’t do with the previous five years? If there was something really important for me to do, it seems like I would have gotten it done by now.

You see, we live as if we’ll never die, and then we die as if we’ve never lived. And folks, what we need to do is whenever we die, we need to have lived in such a way that we’ve accomplished what we wanted in life, and that forces us to ask a question that we don’t like to face, and that is, what is it that we really want to do in life? I mean, surely your life is about more than just sitting in front of the television set with a coke in one hand or a beer in one hand, maybe, and eating potato chips with the other. Your life is about more than that. And yet, if that’s what a lot of people are doing, they’re just sitting in front of the television, wasting away, not doing anything really important with their life.

Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, and we’re about to close. Give me three more minutes, and the lesson is yours. Philippians chapter 3, verse 7. Here’s a man who knows what he wants to do with his life. Philippians 3, verse 7. Paul says, What things were gained to me, these I’ve counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed I count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I’ve suffered the loss of all things. I count them as rummish, rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.

Paul says, I want to be in Christ. I want to be found in Him, and I want to attain to the resurrection on the last day. Paul was thinking beyond this life, and that’s what you need to do. You need to think beyond this life and prepare for that eventuality. Because you are not going to stay on this earth forever. I don’t care what kind of illusions you’ve got in your mind about how invincible and how invulnerable you are, you will not stay on this earth forever. Indeed, folks, we’re strange regarding living and dying. We live as if we’ll never die, and then we die as if we had never lived. Considering these six things, we conclude that people are strange. How strange are you? But I’ve got to give you one more strange, one more strange thing.

Conclusion

I’m going to change it to seven strange things about people, and it has to do with sowing and reaping. A verse, Galatians chapter 6, verse 7 and 8. It says, Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. You see, we think we can sow one thing and then reap another. We think we can live one way, we can live our life however we want, live outside the will of God, but on the last day we’ll be able to fast talk God and somehow slip into heaven. You can fast talk your principal at school, you can fast talk your parents, you can fast talk your husband or your wife, but nobody’s going to fast talk God and somehow slip into heaven. The way you’ve been living your life is going to determine what happens to you on the last day.

Don’t think that you can sow one thing and then reap another, because it will not happen. And yet that’s what a majority of people in America are doing even to this very hour. They think that somehow they’re going to make it into heaven anyway, even though they don’t live their lives for God. I’m asking you this morning as we conclude this study: are you living your life for the Lord? Are you living your life for God? Are you seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? If not, why not? And if you’re not, why not make a change today? If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and you’ve never obeyed Him, why not be baptized into Christ this very hour?

Turn from sins, confess the wonderful and worthy name of the Lord Jesus and be baptized into Him for the remission of your sins. Rise to walk in newness of life and help in the cause of God, seeking the souls of others that are lost. Or maybe you’ve done that in the past. That is, you’ve been baptized, but you’ve wandered away from the Lord and you’ve been away. Mister, it is time for you to come back home. Ma’am, it’s time for you to find your first love again. To come back to the Lord and be restored to fellowship. If you’ve wandered away from the Lord, it’s time to come back and be a part of God’s family once again. If that’s what you would do, if you need to respond to the invitation, we want you to come right now as we stand and sing the song that’s been so likely.

Come now, please.