Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Are Raised Hands in Worship Just Showing Off?

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Are Raised Hands in Worship Just Showing Off? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Well, if you lift your hands in church during musical worship,
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  Speaker 1: are you just showing off, acting all extra spiritual for
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  Speaker 1: others to take notice, doing the exact thing Jesus told
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  Speaker 1: us not to do. Maybe? Maybe not. This week we
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  Speaker 1: read Matthew six, and I know is a chapter that
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  Speaker 1: stands out to you, Pastor John, as we discern the
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  Speaker 1: heart motives of why we do religious things so important,
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  Speaker 1: such an important text, and so this is a very
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  Speaker 1: relevant and timely question today from Ryan. Dear Pastor John,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for this podcast. I'm writing because in Matthew
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  Speaker 1: six' to, One jesus warns us not to practice our
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  Speaker 1: righteousness to be seen by. Others he then applies this
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  Speaker 1: to prayer into, giving saying that when we do these
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  Speaker 1: things publicly for human, praise we've already received our reward in.
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  Speaker 1: FULL i understand the danger of hypocrisy and seeking man's
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  Speaker 1: approval in our spiritual, practices BUT i wonder how far
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  Speaker 1: this principle extends into other areas of The christian. Life for,
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  Speaker 1: example how does this teaching apply to gathered? Worship Should
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  Speaker 1: christians ever be concerned that lifting, hands closing, eyes or
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  Speaker 1: expressing emotion and worship might cross the line into practicing
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  Speaker 1: our righteousness before others or does worship fall into a different?
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  Speaker 1: Category what about praying before meals and, restaurants wearing, crosses
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  Speaker 1: sharing our testimony, online or even posting scripture on social?
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  Speaker 1: Media when does public faithfulness become public?
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  Speaker 2: PERFORMANCE i love this section Of Scripture Matthew six's one to.
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  Speaker 2: Eighteen there aren't many other passages that have driven me
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  Speaker 2: more deeply into a sense Of god's personal reality in
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  Speaker 2: my life and a sense of the preciousness Of his
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  Speaker 2: fatherhood and the realness of his. REMINDS i think that's
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  Speaker 2: the main Thing jesus is concerned with. Here these three
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  Speaker 2: tests almsgiving and praying and fasting are really ways for
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  Speaker 2: each one of us to have a serious reckoning with
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  Speaker 2: the authenticity of our own heart and the reality Of
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  Speaker 2: god in our. Lives Is god a real person to?
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  Speaker 2: US i think That's jesus. Question Is he a real
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  Speaker 2: father to? Us Is he a real precious treasure to
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  Speaker 2: us when he promises to reward? Us every one of
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  Speaker 2: these tests is basically, saying do you Want god more
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  Speaker 2: than you want? Anything Is he real to? You you
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  Speaker 2: know how good it feels when other people praise. You,
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  Speaker 2: now here's the. Test does it feel that good to
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  Speaker 2: you to know that in your giving and praying and
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  Speaker 2: festing The father is? Pleased does the approval Of god well,
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  Speaker 2: done good and faithful servant feel to you as good
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  Speaker 2: as the praise of man. Feels that's what these verses
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  Speaker 2: are urging and. Testing jesus wants us to know his
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  Speaker 2: father as our, father and to be, deeply deeply happy
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  Speaker 2: and satisfied with The father's eyes upon, us and his
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  Speaker 2: approval of our behaviors and the rewards of his promises
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  Speaker 2: and his. Presence that's What jesus wants know your, Father
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  Speaker 2: enjoy the fellowship of your. Father walk in the smile
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  Speaker 2: of your, father be amazed and happy that he is your. Rewarder,
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  Speaker 2: now the Way jesus helps us get real With god
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  Speaker 2: is by asking us three times what our motives are
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  Speaker 2: in giving and praying and. Fasting verse, two do you
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  Speaker 2: give to the? Poor quote that you may be praised by?
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  Speaker 2: Others verse? Five do you pray in public that you
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  Speaker 2: may be seen by? Others verse, sixteen do you let
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  Speaker 2: your fasting be? Known that you may be seen by?
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  Speaker 2: Others and verse one he sums it up whole. Unit
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  Speaker 2: beware of practicing your righteousness in order to be seen by.
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  Speaker 2: Others so four times in this, text the question is our,
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  Speaker 2: motive not first our. Action the point is not that
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  Speaker 2: nobody should ever know you're a generous. Person that's not the.
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  Speaker 2: Point nobody should ever know that you, pray nobody should
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  Speaker 2: ever know that you fast from time to. Time that's
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  Speaker 2: just not the. Point in, fact that's not, workable, RIGHT i,
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  Speaker 2: mean this is and it's just totally contrary to. Scripture
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  Speaker 2: you can't live The christian life and not be known
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  Speaker 2: for being a godly. Person you. Can't paul, says we
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  Speaker 2: are supposed to adorn the gospel with visible. Goodness our
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  Speaker 2: life is. Adornment it's not. Invisible in, Fact jesus said
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  Speaker 2: In matthew five, sixteen let your light so shine before,
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  Speaker 2: men that that they may see like, what that they
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  Speaker 2: may see your good works and give glory to Your
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  Speaker 2: father who is in. Heaven so sometimes there are good
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  Speaker 2: deeds that people ought to. See and sometimes our good
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  Speaker 2: deeds should be so quiet that our left hand doesn't
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  Speaker 2: know what our right hand is. Doing and the issue
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  Speaker 2: is your. Heart do we crave the approval and praise
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  Speaker 2: of other. People is that the satisfying food for our?
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  Speaker 2: Souls or does that pleasure of other people's approval pale
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  Speaker 2: in comparison with the approving smiles of our Heavenly. Father
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  Speaker 2: SO i would Answer ryan's question like, This, yes the
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  Speaker 2: teaching Of jesus In matthew six one to eighteen applies
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  Speaker 2: to all of, life not just, giving praying and. Fasting,
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  Speaker 2: yes lifting of hands in, worship closing the, eyes expressions of, emotion,
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  Speaker 2: Preaching bible, reading church, attendants mercy ministries in the, neighborhood
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  Speaker 2: praying before meals or, anywhere wearing crosses or, tattoos all
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  Speaker 2: kinds of online expressions of compassion or indignation or, piety
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  Speaker 2: including tweeting scriptures its LIKE i, do or helping a
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  Speaker 2: person change his flat tire on a cold winter, night or,
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  Speaker 2: tithing or all charitable, giving or every expression of kindness
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  Speaker 2: in your family or in the neighborhood or at. Work
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  Speaker 2: all of, it all of, it no, exceptions can be
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  Speaker 2: done in order to be praised by. People there are
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  Speaker 2: no safe. Spaces there are no safe behaviors in this. World.
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  Speaker 2: None our human hearts are infected with indwelling sin and
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  Speaker 2: are capable of being proud of the most, humble, kind generous.
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  Speaker 2: Behaviors you can be as boastful about keeping your hands
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  Speaker 2: down in worship as lifting them. Up you can be
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  Speaker 2: as boastful about keeping your voice silent in prayer meeting
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  Speaker 2: as you can about praying out. Loud the solution is
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  Speaker 2: not in the. Behavior the solution is in the. Heart
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  Speaker 2: So ryan, asks when does public faithfulness become public? Performance
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  Speaker 2: and who who has done anything in the presence of
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  Speaker 2: two other people has not asked that, question? RIGHT i,
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  Speaker 2: mean if they care about their own heart and what
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  Speaker 2: condition it's. IN i think it comes down to three.
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  Speaker 2: Things Number, one public faithfulness becomes public performance when it
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  Speaker 2: is motivated by a craving for the praise of man
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  Speaker 2: more than the approval Of. God we must seek to
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  Speaker 2: know our. Hearts that's number. One Number, two public faithfulness
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  Speaker 2: becomes public performance when it fails the test of loving other,
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  Speaker 2: people seeking their, good not just our. Freedom for, exact
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  Speaker 2: suppose you find yourself worshiping with a thousand. People i've
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  Speaker 2: been in these. Situations suppose you find yourself worshiping with
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  Speaker 2: a thousand, people none of whom is raising his, hands not.
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  Speaker 2: One so the question you face as one who like,
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  Speaker 2: me very naturally and freely and regularly raises your hands in. Worship,
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  Speaker 2: question does this people need to be jostled out of
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  Speaker 2: their limitations or does this people need to be humbly
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  Speaker 2: respected and not? Offended and that's Why paul prayed that
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  Speaker 2: our love may abound more and more with knowledge and all. Discernment,
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  Speaker 2: finally number, three public faithfulness becomes public performance when we
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  Speaker 2: fail to hope That god will be glorified more than
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  Speaker 2: we will be. Glorified we just fai to want. THAT
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  Speaker 2: i don't want. It that's a failure which brings us
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  Speaker 2: back to where we. Started Is god real for? Us
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  Speaker 2: is he a precious father to? Us is the promise
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  Speaker 2: of his reward far more desirable to us than the
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  Speaker 2: rewards of human? Admiration?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah deep motive stuff. Here relevant also to everything that
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  Speaker 1: we post on social media, Too like we talked about
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  Speaker 1: posting script reverses on On twitter as you do daily Pastor.
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  Speaker 1: John it reminds me of the question SHOULD i instagram
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  Speaker 1: my good works in order to Magnify. Christ that's a
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  Speaker 1: question where these same exact texts came to bear and
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  Speaker 1: discerning why we share things online or why we shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: share certain things, online and the motive behind why we
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  Speaker 1: do what we. Do you can see a digest of
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  Speaker 1: those episodes in the Ass Pastor john book on pages
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  Speaker 1: two seventy seven to two Ninety that section on, smartphone
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  Speaker 1: social media and selfie sticks really helpful comp of episodes
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  Speaker 1: where we talk about the motives that drive us, online
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  Speaker 1: which is just a really helpful topic as we look
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  Speaker 1: at motives in. General out of the sanctuary into the,
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  Speaker 1: gym do you worry that your pursuit of physical fitness
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  Speaker 1: is feeding your pride instead of Honoring. God there are
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  Speaker 1: three metrics to watch in untangling your body, image, motivations
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  Speaker 1: and ensuring that our exercise exists to Magnify him and
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  Speaker 1: to Make god look. Strong Pastor john shares those three
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  Speaker 1: metrics next, Time I'm Tony. Rank we'll see you back
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  Speaker 1: here On. Thursday