Running to Win — Santosh Poonen

I've never had the privilege of doing this. I'm going to be introducing in a second my brother, my younger brother Santosh. And as many of you know, we have four boys in our family. I'm the oldest of four.

My name is Sanjay. I'm one of the elders of this church. My second brother is Santosh. He's three and a half years younger than me, and I'll tell you a little bit more about him in a second. My third brother is Sandeep.

He was also here at this church and now has started a church in Milpitas. And my youngest brother is Sunil. And there'll be a test on all of our four names at the end of this. But how my mother put up with four boys is a miracle in itself.

She's also here and deserves a gold medal, I'm sure, for that. We grew up in India, and I think when we crossed the age of 18 and finally left home, our neighbors prayed a big sigh of relief because there were all kinds of cricket balls that broke their windows and lots of disputes in the field about soccer and so on and so forth.

But I've said here before at this pulpit that although I'm the oldest, I've had so much to learn from my younger brothers. In the kingdom of God, the last will be first, the first will be last. And in many cases here, I have learned from my younger brother, Santosh.

He was actually the first person, and we were both roommates here in the 1990s when we moved here after college. In 1999, he told me about this church that was meeting, I think at the time in Cumberley, but a little later after at O 'Brien named Abundant Life.

And we both started going here as single men. Loved the church. This was the closest we had found to what we had heard in our own home growing up. We loved Pastor Paul's teaching and the music and the fellowship and the diversity of this church, which was very much how we grew up in.

So he actually is responsible for bringing me here, okay? Which I'm very, very grateful for, of course, because now for the last 15 years, this has become my church and my home. He has since then moved to Colorado.

I think his wife is also here. Is Megan here? There she is. Okay, she's in the back. Can you have her stand up? She's got four children. They're all standing back there. They're wonderful children, and we can welcome them too in a second.

But they moved to Colorado, and Santosh is co-leader of a church. And check this out, brothers and sisters. The name of the church is River of Life Christian Fellowship Center. They've got the LCF correct, okay?

I told them, if you ever want to change your name to Abundant Life Christian Fellowship Center, that's okay. We won't. They got the RLCF. So we are very, very grateful today. But I'll say there's two things about Santosh to me that has been, that I have been blessed the most.

And one is, he'll talk about that today. I've known this man to only run in one gear, and that's fast, okay? He runs fast, and he runs passionate. But what I saw on the sports field was what I also saw in his Christian life.

And that's what we're going to hear about today, how we can work, what walks around. But the other thing that to me is just as important, if you ever needed help any time of the day or night, two o 'clock in the morning, he'd be one of the first to come and help you.

He has made the people of God his people. So with that, let's join me in giving a warm Abundant.

Life welcome to my brother Santosh. You know, one of the things that I've looked forward to about being here was hearing that. Because I remember, I remember when I first started going to Abundant Life, it was in 1996.

And I still remember, it was actually Ed O 'Brien walking in those doors and hearing those words. And what I think of when I think of those words is Abundant Life has always been to me an example of a group of people that were excited about being together with God's people.

And I believe that's true about this church, and that's why it's been used by so many, used by the Lord for so many years to touch the lives of so many. I owe a lot to this church family. I was a committed part of this church for about 10 or 11 years until I moved to Colorado.

And I think about those years often, and what the Lord did in my life through you all. And some of you maybe have weren't here at that time, but I know this this church family. And I know you all have been through a lot of ups and downs.

I was thinking about this, you know, as I was thinking about what it means to go through ups and downs in our life. And the Lord spoke this word to me clearly just yesterday afternoon as I was thinking about ups and downs.

And this is the word he spoke to me. I believe it's for my own life. If it resonates with you, take it and make it life in your own life as well. With the Lord, even the downs are ups. Did you get that?

With the Lord, even the downs are ups. This is how great he is. This is how awesome he is. We sang about that awesome God. And so what we think of as ups and downs, the Lord says, I know those times when you think you are in the valley, I will have done something through you, something in that low point in your life.

Now my life, if you could see everything that I've been through, and most of it's been cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ by the grace of God, I'm thankful for that. But you would know this, that even though I was raised in a Christian home and I was raised knowing the things of God, there were downs in my life.

There were times when I was resentful towards God. There were times when I wasn't sure why he was allowing me to go through what I was going through. I look back on those times even now in this lifetime and I see what the Lord was able to do through that and I'm so grateful for it.

And I think how much more in eternity when we will be able to look back and see what God was able to do through those down times, through those times that I'm embarrassed of, or ashamed of, or confused about, or perplexed about.

So may the Lord give us faith for that. The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that, you know, we live in a Christendom that makes a lot of preachers. Preachers are exalted and it is true that the Word of God says that it's good to recognize and to give honor to those who preach the Word of God.

And thank you for the welcome. It felt like being back home. But you know, when I thought about what it means to be a preacher, really I see my job as this. I'm like a waiter in a restaurant. I'm a waiter in a restaurant that's going into the kitchen and bringing out a plate of food and I'm placing it in front of you and I pray, you know, if the food tastes good and you appreciate it and you eat it and digest it and you decide to live off of that, you say thank you for it, I'll say give your compliments to the chef.

But what I'm more interested in is getting to know the chef who's in the kitchen. Because if I'm cooking the food, you will die. Any word, any word that begins with me is death. But any word that I have brought faithfully out of the kitchen and set in front of you, you will live.

Heaven and earth will pass away, Jesus said. But my words will never pass away. The words of Jesus Christ will never pass away. So I see myself going in and out of the kitchen, bringing plates of food and placing them in front of people.

Not just here, maybe on BART. Now yeah, they need them there. Maybe on Caltrain, maybe in your workplace, maybe in that cubicle next to you. They need plates of food. And I hope that in the little bit of time that I share God's word with you and encourage you and strengthen you, that you will say this, this is my ultimate goal, is that I will get you excited about going into the kitchen and meeting the chef himself.

That you will be more taken up with who is cooking the food than even the food itself. That you will go away saying, wow, I listened to a great sermon today. And if that impresses you, that's great. But more importantly than that, that you will go in and say, I serve a great God.

And you'll walk and you'll say, I want to go into the kitchen too. I want to know who is this God who can cook me such wonderful food that tomorrow or on Tuesday or on Wednesday when you need food and there is no church service here at that time, you will know that he will cook you a plate of food that is for you, yourself.

Do you believe it? I hope you will be excited about Jesus today, because that's really what it means to run to win. This is the essence. Before I get to the end of my message or anything like that, let me tell you the end of the story.

Who is it that we are running to win? It's not that I want a crown. Yes, the Bible talks about having a crown. And I know the Lord will give me a crown, but I'll lay it right back at his feet. And I'll tell you who I want.

What am I running to win, church? I'm running to win Jesus. Because he could give me a billion dollars. He could give me a golden crown and seat me on a throne. But if I don't have him, I have missed the most valuable thing in life.

And this is what it means to run to win. It means that we go through our lives now with that determination. I want Jesus. I don't want ministry. I don't want to make it to the top of my company. I don't want this bigger house, or the other car, or that beautiful girl, or that handsome guy, or whatever.

I want Jesus. Because if I get him, I have everything. If I have Jesus, I have everything. So that's my goal. I'm going in and out of the kitchen and I'm seeking to impress people with Jesus more and more, so that they will want to go into the kitchen and get a plate of food for themselves.

Let's get into the Word. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 is the text of my message. One of the great examples that I have, perhaps the greatest example that I think of after Jesus. Jesus is my greatest example.

But after Jesus, the example that has challenged me the most is the Apostle Paul. Because Paul had this mentality. He was excited about getting people to be excited about Jesus. He wasn't interested in making a name for himself.

He wasn't interested in bragging about all the things he had done. He was humble. He was broken. But he said, I will be spent in order to get people excited about Jesus. He was one who ran as if to win.

And look at what he says here. Let's begin reading in 1 Corinthians 9 verse 24. And like Pastor Paul would say, if you have it, say I got it. Remember that? How many of you remember that? That's the first time I heard it was at a point in life.

And I loved it. Because he was, he waited for us to get there. Now you can't cheat if it's on there on the screen. Okay, 1 Corinthians 9 verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run?

But only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win. I'd like to read that again. Please listen carefully. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run? But only one receives the prize.

Run in such a way that you may win. And I'd like to skip down to verse 27. So knowing what Paul has just said. Paul said, knowing that I am running as if to win. What do I do? I discipline my body and make it my slave.

So that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. I'd like to read 24 and 27 together. Let's listen to it again. Verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run?

But only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win. Which means I discipline my body and make it my slave. So that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. This is what Paul is saying.

He's saying that if I finish second. Listen to this carefully church. I believe this with all of my heart. And I'll tell you this. The faith that I have received from these words, from the word of Christ and from the example of Jesus and Paul and many others who have gone ahead of us.

I believe this to be absolutely true for my own life. This is what Paul is saying. If I finish second, I will be disqualified. Have you heard that before? If I finish second, I will be disqualified. That's exactly what he says.

This person who has preached to others, who has done miracles, who has taken up into the third heaven and seen the heavenlies and done. I mean, I think Paul preached to way more people than anybody that I've ever heard of.

This same Paul says, it doesn't matter what God has done for me up to this point. It doesn't matter how much he's used me up to this point. If I get to the point where I'm not running as if to win, I will be disqualified.

See those kinds of races we don't have on this earth. If you finish and win the silver medal in the Olympics, you can come home and brag about it. But I believe we're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven.

And there will be those who finish second, who will be disqualified. Now, I don't know what that means. God knows. I'm not here to say what that means in terms of eternity. Will you spend eternity in hell?

Will you spend eternity in heaven? I know this. I don't want to finish second. Because Paul says, if you finish second, you will be disqualified. Now, let me say this also. This isn't a race between you and I.

We're not competing against each other. So what does it mean then when we say, I'm running as if to win? This is what I believe it means. I'm running as if to win Jesus. I'm running in such a way that if Jesus finishes second in my life to anything else.

Let's say, I made it my goal to accomplish something on this earth. But I also had Jesus. So my goal was, I got to get a certain amount of money in my bank account by a certain amount of time. And I got to retire by such and such an age.

And I brought Jesus along with my goal. And he finished second. My real goal in life was to do this, to start a company, or to do that other thing, or to get a ministry, or to become the pastor of a church, or have my name, have so many Facebook likes, or so many YouTube hits, and all this stuff.

If that was my goal, and Jesus finished second in my life, I will be disqualified. So now when I run, and when I'm used by the Lord, or the Lord uses me in different ways, or in my workplace, and I work at an IT company, or I'm playing soccer, or I'm playing football, or we're doing whatever.

In the midst of all of that, I'm enjoying that. I'm pouring my life into it. But the focus of my life is this, Jesus must win in my life. Jesus must win in my life. That's the attitude that Paul had. Because he goes on to say then, now who is this message for?

It's not for the world. The world that rejects Jesus Christ, they don't need us. This is a message for us who are Christians, who have accepted Jesus. But in whose life Jesus is in danger of finishing second, or third, or fourth.

It's for us who are in danger, who are in need of this message. Run in such a way that Jesus will be the one who wins in your life. That he will be the only one that matters. He says, chapter 10, he goes on to say, because, you know, whenever you see that word, because, you understand that he's going on and continuing the same thought.

So he says in chapter 10, verse 1, why should you run as if to win? And why should you remember that you could be disqualified if you finish second? Because I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed under the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.

In other words, they all had Jesus. They all had Christ in some sense. He's speaking to church folk. Nevertheless, and this is a sad word in verse 5, nevertheless to these people who were under the cloud, who saw the miracle, who saw the waters parted, who drank from the same rock which was Christ, nevertheless, some of the saddest words in the Bible, with most of them God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness.

So he gives us the, now he says later on, these things are written to us for an example, verse 11. This is an example for us when you read the story of the Israelites who saw the miracles, and there was a few million of them, 600 ,000 men plus women and children, being led by a pillar of cloud, and a pillar of fire, seeing miracles.

I mean, if we saw the kind of miracles they saw, we'd be talking about it for years. And they saw water come out of a rock. There was bitter water, and they couldn't drink it, so they put a tree into it, and it became sweet, and they could drink it.

They saw food come out of heaven every day. I mean, if I saw food come out of heaven once, I'd write a book about it, and I'd make sure that I was on television talking about it. They saw it every day.

They could brag about it. And they had quail come down and say, eat me. That's the kind of miracles that God did for them. And yet, with most of them, God was not well pleased, and they perished in the wilderness.

Now, the reason Paul, I believe, ran as if to win, and Paul gives us this encouragement and this challenge, run as if to win, is because he saw the finish line. He says in the previous verse, in verse 26, 1 Corinthians 9, 26, therefore I run in such a way as not without aim.

The reason Paul was running as if to win was because he saw the finish line very clearly. And that's the question I have for you, my dear brothers, dear sisters, dear friends. I don't care where you've been in your life, how much you feel like God has let you down, or you've let the Lord down, or how much you have failed.

I have one question that I want you to leave this room with. Have you seen the finish line? Have you seen the finish line? Because, imagine this. Imagine that we lined up a bunch. You went to the Olympics, and it's the 100 meters dash.

That's one of my favorite events in the Olympics. It's the 100 meters dash, and everybody's lined up there at the start, and the gun goes off, and then everybody runs in different directions. One guy's going this way.

The other guy's going this way. She's going the other way. Somebody's running backwards, thinking that's the way I'm supposed to run. Now, you'd think something's not wrong. They weren't shown where the finish line was.

The sad thing, as I look at Christians today, many Christians today, and I know this is true because that was true about my own life for many years, I ran not having seen the finish line. So, I was running.

Oh, my legs were moving fast, but I was running in the wrong direction. I was running after other things, running this Christian life, thinking I was doing well because I was running. Yes, Lord, look at my life.

I go to church every Sunday. I pay my tithes. I have devotions. I'm raising a godly home. All of these things. I was running, running, running, running, running without aim, running in the wrong direction.

So, the question is not whether you are running, because a lot of people are running in this world. All run, he says in verse 24, but only one receives the prize. It's the one who is running in the right direction, who has seen the finish line clearly, who will win the prize.

Run in such a way that you may win. So, Paul saw his destination very clearly. What is that destination? Let me show you a verse in Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, so important for us to know the finish line, and the reason this is important, because we could go through the end, spend many years in our life running, thinking that I ran, and be satisfied with the fact that I ran, and never reach the finish line.

And I'm thankful that the Lord opened the eyes of my heart to see that, to see what the finish line was. Ephesians 1 verse 18, I pray, this is the same Paul writing now to the church in Ephesus, writing to a group of believers who are serious about following the Lord, who call themselves Christians.

He says, this is my prayer, and I believe this is the prayer of the Holy Spirit for us as well today, for us church. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. Let me pause there for a moment.

Do you know that your heart has eyes? See, we know what the eyes of our body is. We know what the eyes of the eyes that we talk about. You can see my eyes. I can see that you have eyes. But these eyes that I have, that we all have, are eyes of the mind.

They're eyes of the body, but they're eyes that are the gateway to the mind. So when I read something, for example, those very words that I read, or the words that I said earlier, run as if to win. When you read it, it will enter into your mind, and you can say, okay, I understand that.

But it's a completely different thing when the eyes of my heart are opened. And I for many years, the eyes of my mind were opened to read this. I knew this. I could win scripture memory contests. I knew where different verses were, but the eyes of my heart had not been enlightened.

See, the difference is what? About a foot. But it's all the difference. That makes all the difference between whether I understand with my mind, and I can say the verse, oh yeah, I know that's Ephesians 1 verse 18, and whether the eyes of my heart are opened, so that it transforms my life.

This is what, in another place, Jesus calls revelation. Revelation, my dear brothers and sisters, think about this, dear friends. Revelation will make the difference in your life. Understanding, you'll get it.

And you'll be able to quote the verse, and you'll be able to recite the reference. But revelation will change your life. Revelation is when the eyes of your heart are opened, and you make it personal, and you make it practical, and you're implementing it in your life.

So he says, I pray you Ephesians, or he would say, you Christians here at Abundant Life, who know that Jesus Christ has saved you, and you've decided that you want to give your life to Jesus, and you want to be his, you ones who understand with your mind, I have this prayer, that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling.

This is what Paul was saying. I have seen the hope. I have seen the finish line. I have seen the direction in which I'm running. I pray that you will as well. Because you Christians, my fear for you is that you might run in all these other directions without having, without running in the direction in which God called you, without seeing clearly the hope of his calling.

The hope of his calling. In another passage he says, let me show you this verse in Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3 verse 12. Paul says, not that I have already obtained. Now the book of Philippians, the letter to the church in Philippi, he wrote towards the end of his life.

This is Paul, who ran as if to win, who later on tells Timothy in 2nd Timothy 4, I am finished. I finished the course. I've run the race. The prize is waiting for me. He says to the church in Philippi, I haven't obtained it yet.

I am also running this race with you as if to win. Not that I have already obtained it or I have already become perfect, but I press on. I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold off by Jesus Christ.

So that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold off by Christ Jesus. Have you thought about those words? Listen to it carefully. That I may lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold off by Christ Jesus.

I lived for many years just thinking my goal was to get to the end of my life and get to heaven. And that's why I didn't run as if to win. That's why I just went through the motions. I showed up on Sunday and if there was something to do, I did it.

And if there was a certain amount of money to give, I did it. I calculated my 10 carefully and gave it to God. The calculating mentality towards God. Paul lived a completely different life. And that's why I believe he won.

He won his race. And my goal, my dear brothers, dear sisters, is to run this race and win. And to encourage as many people along this journey that they too will win. To realize that it doesn't matter what you do in your life, it doesn't matter what God calls you to do, where you work, how much money you make or don't make, who you're married to or where you live, what church you go to or how you feel, what your upbringing was like.

None of those things are as important as this. As that you see the hope of your calling. That God laid a hold of you. Listen to this carefully because this has changed my life. I look at myself when he says that I may lay hold of that for which Christ laid a hold of me.

See Christ began the work. He got the ball rolling. He, I picture it like this. There I was in the gutter, in the muck, just a complete mess of my life. And this person, this king rode by on his horse.

And he could have just gone along on his way, but he stopped. Something caught his eye. And you know what that something was? That was me. In all my filth, in all my wretchedness, there in that muck, he stopped and looked at me.

And he said, he took me, got a hold of me by the shoulders, looked me in the eye and said, I want to get you out of this mess. But I'm not just going to clean you up and then send you along your way so that you can end up in another mess.

I want you to come and live with me. I want you to come and live in my palace. I want you to be my son. I want you to be my younger brother, Jesus said to me. That's what he laid a hold of me for. Do you believe that?

That's, oh, he's worthy of praise. Give him praise. But it wasn't just that he cleaned me up and says, okay, you used to be this, you used to be that. And I, I cleaned you up and go along on your merry way.

No, he looked me in the eye. He says, Santosh, I am laying a hold of you for a purpose. Don't get to the end of your life and just say, well, thank you, Lord. You cleansed all my sins. Blank slate. Here it is back to you.

And I've made it the goal of my life for the past few years, by God's grace, to comprehend fully in my heart why Jesus stopped on that day on Calvary when he hung on the cross and thought of me. He says, I have a purpose for you.

Don't just live. It's like I heard this saying, I'm not, I don't want to die old. I want to die empty. I don't want to die old. See, the world is interested in living a long life. If you live till you're 90, 95 years old, they'll be like, wow, he lived a long life.

He died old. I don't care if the Lord takes me home tomorrow, but I want this to be able to say, to be able to be said at the end of my life, it is finished. Jesus said it about his life. He lived here on this earth for 33 and a half years.

That's less than I'm living. I'm older than Jesus was when he died, but Jesus lived. He's the greatest example of that, that he said, Father, I have one life to live. It is yours completely from start to finish.

And that's why he's our perfect example. Now it wasn't just him. Paul said the same thing too. He said, it is finished. Read it in second Timothy chapter four. I have finished the course. My job, my goal, my hope is that I will get to the end of my life and I will be able to say as I stand before God, it is finished.

Father, you were able to squeeze every last bit out of my life. Not just, well, Lord, I was a part of a good church and I gave my money to that orphanage over there and I did this other good thing and I gave a few gospel tracts to a few people.

That's all wonderful. But is Jesus getting everything out of your life? That's what it means to run as if to win. That means in everything I'm doing, whether it is giving a tract to somebody or I'm spending some time in the homeless shelter, that's actually the ministry that I started with here in Abundant Life with Pastor Toby.

Is Pastor Toby here? Oh, he is. Okay. Well, I was looking forward to saying hello to him, but he is the one that introduced me to, he was the first pastor that I worked with here in ministry. We used to go to the homeless shelters and various other recovery ministries.

I really enjoyed working with him. But no matter what we are doing, if it's not Jesus who's motivating me, I'm doing it because I want Jesus to win in my life, all of it will be empty. So running as if to win.

So he says that we may have the, Philippians 3 verse 12, that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid a hold of by Christ Jesus. Not interested in dying old. Paul died, they say when he was about 60, 60 plus years old, beheaded as a martyr.

He met an end that, I mean, imagine he could have lived for 20, 30 more years and written more, more epistles and planted more churches, but the Lord called him home and the Lord had a destination that Paul was, that he was interested in Paul reaching and Paul reached that destination.

Why? Now here's the thing about Paul as well, because Paul for the first half of his life, Paul didn't know that he was going to die at the age of 60, 60 plus, but for the first 30 years or so of his life, he was the enemy of Jesus.

This gives me hope. Paul was the exact opposite. If you were interested, I mean, Paul was the Isis of his day. Do you know that? Paul was the Isis of his day. He was the one going out there and killing Christians and beheading them and sending people to persecute the Christians and throw them in jail.

And God could take him, God could take him who was the enemy of Jesus and turn his life around and say, you too can finish. Oh, does that give you hope? You too can finish. You, you too can reach the end of your life and say it is finished.

This is great news for me. See the hope, 1 John chapter 3. Let me show you this verse. Yeah, we get that from my dad. We use a lot of scripture. If you've listened to Brother Zach, you know that we use a lot of scripture because I'd rather your confidence rest on the word of God than in something I'm saying.

Like I said earlier, if it's a cute idea that I gave you and came up with, it'll die with me and probably die at the end of this sermon. But if it's the word of God, it will change your life. The word of God, these verses that I'm hoping to show you, I hope that you will take it and it will be food that will be meaningful and a help to you on Wednesday afternoon when you're going to face that trial that you know is waiting for you coming this week or the month to come.

So 1 John chapter 3. Let's begin in verse 1. 1 John chapter 3 verse 1. See how great when he says, actually in some translations it says behold. Behold is, I like a, I like that word better than see. Behold means, see, see.

When I think see, I think okay just see. Yeah, see is very casual. Behold is something different. Behold means if you really want to get this, you need to be sitting down. You know, it's like they say, I hope you're sitting down.

That's what John is saying. I hope you're sitting down. Stop, pause, and behold how great a love the Father has bestowed on you. Let me say that again. Behold. Sit down and meditate on how great a love the Father has bestowed on you.

See, I know the John 3 .16 love. You know John 3 .16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes on him should not perish but have eternal life. This is how great a love the Father had for the world.

But then he's talking to children who have already understood this love of God and they understand that it's a great love. But he's saying you Christians who have understood that God loved you so much and loved the world so much that he sent his only begotten son.

Do you know that God's love is greater than that yet? Have you sat down long enough to meditate that God loves you in a deeper way? What way, John? Tell me. That we should be called children of God. And such we are.

For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know him. And then he explains what it means to be a child of God. Behold now we are children of God and it has not yet appeared what we will be.

Now we are children of God. Listen to that carefully. Now we are children of God and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. But we know this that when he appears we will be like him because we will see him just as he is.

Now for years I just read through that verse. You know how you can read the Bible just because you're interested in doing the check mark. I read the Bible in a year and I'm on this reading plan so I get to, I move past verse two very quickly because I'm interested in getting to verse three because I got to get to verse four so that I get to the end of the chapter so that I can say finished August 16th Bible reading plan.