Being a Spirit-Filled Church (Part 2)

I was telling Kevin and a couple of folks that I chatted with earlier,

this feels like a really good church.

I'm not just saying that because I want to be polite.

I'm here and I want to say nice things.

But when I was looking at faces earlier,

and we were looking at certain texts,

I could see some of your faces were lit up

as those texts were being explained.

And that is always a wonderful sign

that people are responding to the Word of God.

And just observing you guys praying together,

that was a beautiful sign, really.

I can really tell that the Holy Spirit is at work here.

So if you're expecting the Holy Spirit to be only at work

when you see very spectacular signs,

that often would be the wrong expectation.

He is at work in your hearts, changing life.

And one of the sheer signs of a church that is filled by the Holy Spirit

is a church that loves each other.

It's a church that loves each other.

By this, they will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

It's the Word of Jesus.

And I have just been, what's the word?

Flawed by the hospitality here.

Every person that I experience is so warm, so welcoming, so loving.

And looking at how you guys interact with each other,

the Spirit of God is at work in this place.

So Watermark Church, please don't take this for granted at all.

This is the grace of God given to you.

Let's continue to guard this and build this.

I'm going to continue from the first topic by talking about missions.

Missions and purpose.

The Holy Spirit doesn't just come so that we enjoy a life of comfort and convenience

for the rest of our time on earth,

but we experience a life that is purposeful,

energized by Him, sent by Him to be a blessing in this world.

So earlier, I mentioned about fire.

Fire coming upon every person.

Do you remember that account where Moses experienced a burning bush?

The holiness of God.

A fire that cannot be quenched.

And what was the burning bush about?

The presence of God.

Moses was told that this is holy ground.

As he stepped into the presence of God.

And now in the book of Acts,

every believer, you and I,

we are burning bushes.

Do you know what that means?

Let's pause for a while.

Just to indulge in the awe,

the profound truth of what it means.

It means that the way the world comes to know who God is,

is through an experience with you and I.

You God's people.

We are sent out into the world,

filled by His Spirit,

to testify,

to proclaim,

that we belong to Jesus,

and Jesus is good.

So,

as we go along,

in the book of Acts,

let's turn back to Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and read with me,

from verse 5 onward.

Are we there?

Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2:5

verse 5.

I'll try to keep this to half an hour,

so that you don't end up,

have to wait for your lunch for too long.

Verse 5.

Let me read for us,

from verse 5 onward.

Wow.

So those tongues

were language that could be understood.

And they were amazed and astonished,

saying,

Are not all these who are speaking Galilean?

And how is it that we hear each of us

in its own native language?

Pathians and Midas and Elamites

and residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea, Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia,

Pergia,

Pamphylia,

Egypt,

and the parts of Libya

belonging to Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome,

both Jews and proselytes,

Cretans and Arabians.

We hear them telling in our own tongues

the mighty works of God.

And all were amazed and perplexed.

They were perplexed.

They were saying to one another,

What does this mean?

But others mocking said,

They were filled with new wines.

So here is Peter,

Peter coming into the stage

to explain this.

Peter standing with the eleven,

he lifted up his voice

and addressed them,

Men of Judea and all who do in Jerusalem,

let this be known to you

and give ear to my words.

For these people are not drunk,

as you suppose,

since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is what was uttered

through the prophet Job.

Verse 17,

In the last days it shall be,

God declares,

I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.

And your sons and your daughters

shall prophesy.

Your young men shall see visions.

Your old men shall dream dreams.

Even on my male servants

and female servants,

in those days I will pour out my spirit

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders

in the heavens above

and signs on earth below.

Blood, fire, vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness

and moon to blood

before the day of the Lord comes,

the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass

that everyone who calls

upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

Now what does this mean?

Do you see some Old Testament reference here?

They are not that obvious.

The obvious one would be

the book of Job.

This is a fulfillment

of the prophet Job,

declaring that the spirit

will be poured out on all men.

Every person will now be filled

by the Holy Spirit.

The contrast is this.

In the Old Testament,

we see God's presence dwelling.

Often in the place,

we see that in the ark,

we see that in the temple,

we see that in specific men.

And now,

the fulfillment of the promise of God

in the Old Testament

is that it shall now be poured

upon all flesh.

The Holy Spirit

coming upon all of us.

Now,

in Pentecost,

what was unique

is they were uttering

in different tongues,

in languages

that could be understood.

And each man

were giving praise

and glory to God

in their own language.

And everyone could understand.

Let me just,

I know that there are many ways

that we can look at this text, right?

Does that mean that

the feeling of the Holy Spirit

will lead to us

breaking out in tongues

and languages?

It's 1 Corinthians 12-14

that talks about tongues

and prophecy,

language of angels,

and how,

when the church gathered,

Paul encouraged us

to prophesy

so that it can build up,

edify the church.

And there's a place

for tongues

in 1 Corinthians 12-14

which was implied there

and in fact written there

quite clearly.

in this text,

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

there are reasons,

there are levels of clarity.

Again,

it just describes to us

what happened.

But I found it very,

very interesting

that this seems to

in some ways

paint a contrast

to another incident

in the Old Testament.

In the book of

Genesis,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11,

there was a verse

that says,

the Lord came down.

Genesis 11,

Genesis 11:5

verse 5.

And when that verse

talked about

the Lord came down,

it was not a good thing.

It was not in a good way.

Let me share with you

the context.

The Lord came down

to see the city

and the tower

which the children

of man had built.

That's the famous story

of the Tower of Babel.

The Lord came down.

The transcendent

supreme God

of the universe

descended

to take a look.

And there's some kind

of a condescension

in the language.

It's almost like,

wow,

these folks,

they were trying to build

a tower to reach me.

Let me come down

to look at how tiny it is

because I actually

have to come down

in order to see it.

They think they can build

this tower to reach me.

I had to come down

to take a look at that.

The Lord came down.

It was a form of

mocking in some ways,

saying that there's

no way men

can reach God

by their own efforts.

So let's contrast that

to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

This time,

when the Lord

came down,

it is good news.

Holy God

who made a way

so that sinful men

can now reach Him.

Not by their own efforts,

but by what He has done

for them

through Jesus Christ.

And now,

as a sign of that,

the Spirit being poured out

upon every believer.

Now,

often we look at Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and we get distracted

by the signs

of the tongues,

right?

But again,

recall

Genesis 11,

that building

of the tower

when God came down

and He exercised

some form of judgment

upon them

by scattering them

through

the different languages,

confusing the languages,

dividing them.

Friends,

this is a form of grace.

What do I mean by that?

Remember in the book

of Genesis,

in I think

chapter 6 or 7,

you have God

having to destroy

the earth

because the earth

was filled with

pride and evil

and wickedness

that the Lord

almost pressed

a reset button,

a great flood

and only Noah

and his household

were saved.

And now,

just five or six chapters

after that,

we see that humanity

once again

fall back into sin

and evil

and pride.

And when God

dispelled men,

it is actually saying

that I'm going to

control that evil.

I'm going to control

those evil

by scattering them

so that they cannot

do further

atrocities

and commit further

sins

against me.

So in Genesis 11,

the Lord came down

to judge

and to scatter.

In Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

he comes to restore

and to unite.

Now there are many ways

that the Lord

could have done this, right?

He could have come

among the people

and unite them

back to one language.

But no,

something far more

beautiful is happening here.

In the book of Revelations,

you have almost like

a picture of

Watermark Church.

Different nations,

different tribes,

different people group,

gathering.

I think right now

we have the English language

that unites us.

We all understand each other

because of that one language

that we are using.

But I so look forward

to the day

that will come

when we will hear

the multitudes singing

in different languages,

different tongues.

I often enjoy

attending Mandarin services

and singing Mandarin

worship songs.

For some reasons,

because I speak two languages,

English and Mandarin,

there's something

about the power of language

where it brings out

certain things

more beautifully, right?

So if you have,

if you speak more

than one language,

I assume most of you are,

and worshipping God

and reading about Him

in your other language

often brings about

different kind of emotions

and understanding.

That's something beautiful.

That is something

that God has gifted us.

and we see here

in this text,

in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

there is a picture

that points us forward

that when God

redeemed and saved the world,

it is not just

to reunite us

back to what it was,

but to point us

in a new direction

so that everything

that is broken

will not just be restored,

but be turned

into something

far more beautiful.

Far more beautiful.

Can you imagine?

Can you see

this picture,

this image here?

huge sin

and transgression.

Genesis 11.

Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Redemption and restoration.

And the outcome,

the angle of that

redemption and restoration

is something

far more beautiful

than the original picture.

Friends,

that is the gospel.

That is the good news

of Jesus Christ.

Let me just

pause for a moment

to say this.

One implication

of understanding

God's redemption power

through the good news

of Jesus coming

and the Holy Spirit

dwelling among us

is that your scars

will be turned

into glory.

I can probably guess

just now

when some of you

are gathered

to pray,

gathered as you

long for

God's intervention

in your life,

God's presence

in your life,

as you long

for restoration,

healing,

breaking of bondages,

there is a sense

of pain, right?

I noticed

some of you,

you had a very

serious expression.

A couple of you,

you were tearing up

as you were praying.

I don't mean

to use this phrase

in a loose way

when I say

your scars

will be turned

into glory,

just as some kind

of Bible plaster

over your wounds.

That's not the intention.

But I just want

to remind you

that you have

a wounded Savior.

Notice that

when Jesus

appeared before

his disciples,

this is the Lord God

that we are talking

about, right?

He could have

restored his

nail pierced wounds,

but that was not

the case.

That was his way

of identifying himself

as the Lord

who went to the cross

for his people,

that they could

verify and see

that his hands

were scarred.

And you know

how that's going

to be turned

into glory?

We see in the

book of Revelations

when the tribes,

the nations,

the people from

different tongues

gathered to worship

him.

If you go to

the book of Revelations,

this is the way

they describe Jesus,

the Lamb that was

slain.

They were looking

at him

and they knew

from how he looked

like that this

was the Lamb

that was slain

for us.

And therefore,

he is worthy

of all praise

and glory.

Now what it means

for you and I

is that if you are

part of this

redemptive story,

restoration will

come not in a

way that simply

return you

to what you

have lost.

But because of

what you have

lost,

because of the

scars and losses

in this world,

what you will

receive will be

far more glorious.

Now this is

another topic

that we can go

into,

but I really

want to honor

our time and

not dwell here

for too long.

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

gives us a picture

of the multitudes,

of what is to

come.

And then we

have verse 22.

Let me continue

reading.

This is what

Peter said.

Man of Israel,

hear these

words.

Verse 22.

Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested

to you by God

with mighty works

and wonders

and signs that

God did through

him in your midst.

You yourself know

this Jesus

deliver up according

to the definite

plan and foreknowledge

of God.

You crucified

and killed

by the hands

of lawless men.

And God raised

him up,

losing the

pain of death

because it was

not possible

for him to be

helped by it.

So,

Peter,

filled by the

Holy Spirit

in the context

where the Spirit

was being poured

out upon every

flesh,

notice that this

is his message.

Jesus crucified.

Jesus

raising from

the grave.

Jesus,

Jesus,

Jesus.

And if you

were there

as one of those

receiving this

message of

so-called good

news,

it really isn't

that pleasant

to receive that,

to be honest.

Because look at

the language here.

You crucified

and killed

him.

He is

revealing

that when God

came down

this time,

instead of

honoring him,

instead of

worshiping him,

we nailed him

on the cross.

Now,

I don't know

how much you

want to cover

that in your

workshop later

on reform and

charismatic,

because this

verse,

if you just

came on

verse 23,

according to

the definite

plan and

form knowledge

of God,

and the next

time you

crucify and

kill him.

So the

question is

who killed

Jesus?

According to

the plan of

God,

definite plan,

you know,

and the

form knowledge

of God.

God actually

planned for this

to happen,

but look at

the responsibility.

He fell on

you.

You

crucified him.

Okay,

we are not

going to take

five minutes

to resolve

this,

and I don't

think the

workshop is

going to

resolve this

for you.

What it

means that

God is

completely

sovereign,

understanding

him and

appreciating

reformed

theology,

and then

that active

participation,

that active

yearning,

that active

walking in

the spirit

of what the

charismatic

churches are

really good

and strong

at.

And I

think it's

not either

or.

The book

of Acts

shows us

it's both

trusting in

the sovereign

plan of

God and

knowing that

the spirit

of God

dwell and

abide in

us and

us pursuing

him.

So the

spirit power,

as is revealed,

point us to

the word of

God.

And as the

word of God

is preached,

the spirit

exercises his

power,

demonstrate his

power to the

conviction of

hearts.

A few verses

later on,

they were cut

to the flesh.

The spirit

convicted their

heart.

And more

than 3,000

souls were

added to

the kingdom

that day.

And it

became a

faith community.

Now let me

just pause

here.

You don't

have to go

back to

John 14,

but I'm

just going

to read

out a few

more verses

from John

14 and

tell us

his implication.

I started

at John

14.

I'm going

to read

selected

verses from

John 14,

15,

and 16.

John 14,

John 14:26

verse 26.

The helper,

the Holy

Spirit,

whom the

Father will

send in

my name,

he will

teach you

all things

and bring

to remembrance

all that I've

said to you.

So the

Spirit's role

is to take

whatever that

you know

and have it

to remember

and apply.

Friends,

why do we

need that?

Because you and I,

we are forgetful.

You're forgetful this

morning that you are

loved by God,

that He speak,

that your sins

are forgiven.

I pray,

I hope,

that by now

you're reminded

of that

and you will

continue to

forget and

you need

reminder.

That's why

we need

one another.

But the

Spirit is

the one

that helps

us to

do that.

John 15,

26.

When the

Spirit comes,

whom I

send to you

from the

Father,

the Spirit

of truth

who proceeds

from the

Father,

He will

bear witness

about me.

The Spirit

bear witness

about whom?

Jesus.

Jesus.

The Spirit

make much

of Jesus.

John 16,

John 16:13–15

verse 13 to 15.

When the

Spirit of truth

comes,

He will

guide you

into all

the truth,

all the

truth,

the full

truth,

for He

will not

speak

on His

own

authority,

or whenever

He hears,

He will

speak,

and He

will declare

to you

the things

that are

to come.

He will

glorify me,

me referring

to Jesus.

Wow.

When the

auditions,

the Spirit

will glorify

me,

Jesus

declaring that.

They are

equal.

For He

will take

what is

mine and

declare it

to you.

All that

the Father

has is

mine,

and therefore,

I say that

He will

take what

is mine

and declare

it to you.

Whatever

the Father

has belongs

to Jesus,

and the

Spirit will

take what

is Jesus

and declare

it to us.

Now,

I'm just

building a

case for

us to

see,

very simply,

that the

Spirit

serves to

magnify,

to point

to Jesus.

And you

and I,

going back

to the

image in

Acts 2,

little burning

bushes,

right?

The fire

of the

Holy Spirit

now rests

upon all

of us.

You are

filled by

the Spirit

as God's

holy

temple.

And our

role is

to go out

into the

world to

keep pointing

to Jesus,

to keep

proclaiming to

the world

about the

redemptive,

powerful,

wonderful,

marvelous story

of Jesus

Christ.

Now,

what it

means is

that a

Spirit-filled

church will

never get

bought of

Jesus.

We must

never get

bought of

Jesus.

The cross,

the good

news of

who Christ

is,

it is always

real,

it is always

relevant,

it always

speaks,

it always

ministers

to us.

Whenever I

hear any

kind of

notions that

we have

to go

beyond

Jesus,

to go

into

something

greater,

I often

feel a

little bit

discouraged

in comments

like that,

because what

can be

greater than

the most

precious gift

of Jesus

himself?

The Spirit

points to

Christ.

Friends,

do you have

the Holy

Spirit in

you?

If you

have two

monks that

we will

see,

even from

the text

that we

have been

going through

so far,

a high

view of

Jesus,

deep

appreciation

of

him,

we keep

going

back to

him again

and again.

It means

we belong

to Jesus

forever.

Now,

Acts chapter

Acts 2 · chapter mention

2 is the

biggest

miracle,

because God

pours his

Spirit upon

us.

Because you

and I,

unworthy of

who God

is,

now is

able to

receive the

Spirit.

And the

agenda of

the Holy

Spirit is

to keep

reminding us

of that.

And because

of Jesus,

we belong

to God

and we

are now

developed

by him.

I know

I'm

repeating

myself

a lot

here,

but repetition

is part

of

communication.

I'm just

repeating

to you

the same

things in

different ways

so that

it gets

true.

The Spirit

dwells in

you because

of what

Christ has

done for

you and

the Spirit

will compel

you to

keep talking

about Jesus.

I never

get bored.

I'm tired

of that.

We can

never get

bored and

tired of

that.

Now,

one thing

to say is,

I don't

know how

common

it is

in Hong

Kong,

but in

Singapore,

where I

come from,

many Christians

use a

language that

needs to

be a

balance

between

the Word

and the

Spirit.

I really

find that

to be an

unhelpful

false

dichotomy.

We really

don't see

the Bible

talking about

that.

Because I

mentioned

that we

are a

church

that is

big on

doctrines

and theology

and gospel

centeredness,

sometimes I

get folks

giving

suggestions

like,

can we

maybe

move on

from that

a little

bit?

Because keep

going back

to doctrine

and theology

is really

dry.

It's dry

and it

gets boring

if we just

keep going

to the Word

and keep

teaching and

making clear

about theology

and so on.

And I

just want to

present a

thought experiment

here.

If you have

this idea

that there

shouldn't be

too much

Word,

we need to

have more

spirit and

we need to

have that

balance,

try going

without the

Word for

a season.

Don't read

your Bible,

drop that

from the

radar and

try going

without

reading the

Word for

a season.

And you

realize that

the dryness,

the sense

of not

walking

closely with

God,

it's not a

problem of

having too

much Word

in your

life,

really.

It's actually

an issue

of sin.

It's actually

an issue

of us

constantly

straying

away from

God because

our hearts

gravitate away

from Him.

And the

thing that

is surest

and clearest

that speaks

to us all

the time is

the Word of

God.

And when we

go to His

Word,

the Spirit

of God

uses the

Word to

convict us

and point us

back to

Him again

and again.

I'm going to

close with

this.

In your

witnessing,

the Spirit

is going to

move powerfully

through

Watermark Church

by helping us

to move

in the

supernatural.

Kevin is

like,

wow,

what am I?

Supernatural.

No,

I'm completely

serious here.

You should

expect the

supernatural

in our

midst as

the Holy

Spirit

work in

us.

Let me

explain what

I mean by

that,

just so that

we can

build up

some context

instead of

just applying

that without

clarity of

what I mean

to the Word.

I'll use

this testimony

of someone

that I've

been pastoring

for the

past few

years as

an example

and also

many other

folks back

in Singapore

that I

walk with.

I wish I

can use

some examples

here.

Normally,

when I

preach at

Redemption

Hill Church,

I would

mention

things that

the Spirit

of God

is doing

in the

life of

the

members.

Anonymously,

of course,

especially if

it's something

that's

uncomfortable

for them

to share

and just

highlight and

encourage the

church that

God is

with us

and doing

His work.

And over

the years,

I've had

the privilege

working with

many folks in

how God

has been

working in

their life.

Just before

the lockdown,

that was early

2020,

I had the

privilege of

marrying a

couple in

my church.

And that

was during

the time

that she

was diagnosed

with stage

4 cancer.

Stage 4

cancer.

That was

very serious.

So in

their marriage

preparation,

in the build-up

towards the

wedding,

there was

always a

lingering

thoughts of

how long

she would

live.

And it

was the

most moving

wedding ever

because when

he came to

the part of

in sickness

and in health

and pledging

his love

to her,

all eyes

were wet

at the

point of

time.

That was

just before

the lockdown,

early 2020,

when the

wedding happened.

And I

remember

experiencing

at that

point of

time,

seeing up

front in

front of

me,

how is it

possible to

have a

couple

who is

going

through

such

trials

and

difficulty

and

they

were

constantly

praising

God.

They were

constantly

making much

of him.

When they

were making

the covenant

before us

and before

God,

their focus

is we

want to

glorify God.

Even if

this marriage

lasts for

three months,

let's use

three months

to make much

of God

through this

precious

covenant

that he

has given

to us

in the

picture of

marriage.

One

man,

one

woman

committing

themselves

to each

other.

That's a

picture of

Christ and

the church.

I thought

that was

pretty

supernatural.

I was

praying and

knowing very

clearly this

cannot be

natural.

This cannot

be assumed.

This cannot

be taken

for granted.

The Holy

Spirit

accomplished

something

supernatural

in their

life.

At the

same time,

we as

a church

were praying

for them.

The way

I was

praying for

them is

this,

that God,

disease and

sickness,

they are

part of

the fall.

God,

you are

not

pleased

with

that.

Every

time

someone

is

sick,

every

time

someone

enters

the

grave,

it's a

reminder

for us

that this

word is

separated

from God.

It's a

reminder

for us

that this

word is

broken

and

fallen

away

from

God.

This

is not

something

that God

is

pleased.

In

fact,

he sent

Jesus

to

address

that,

to

redeem

that,

to

restore

that.

So God

is not

pleased

with

that.

I

remember

when we

were praying

for her,

often my

language of

prayer is

I am

full of

faith in

asking God

to heal

her.

Even

though the

doctor

is not

giving

very hopeful

signs,

we are

trusting

God,

that he

alone

has

the power

to heal

her.

And

every time

I pray

for her,

I remember

I'm often

asking God

for this

appetizer.

What do I

mean by

that?

So this

is my

theology.

I'm

just going

to review

a little

bit of

what I

believe

about

signs and

wonders

and

healings.

I

believe

that

in the

end,

all of

us

will

be

healed.

We

will

be

healed.

Every

affliction,

every

brokenness,

every

scars,

every

wounds,

every

illness,

we will

be

finally

healed.

The

day

when we

are

glorified

fully

in the

presence

of God.

In the

here and

now,

even if

you experience

a miracle

like Lazarus,

you know what

happened to

Lazarus after

that?

He went

back to

the grave,

right?

He was

resurrected

from the

tomb and

he went

back into

the grave.

So even

that those

signs and

wonders,

divine

healings,

resurrection,

at the

end of

the day,

we still

have to

go to

the grave

of physical

death in

order to

experience

the true

resurrection,

which is

the good

news that

we're

declaring to

the world,

applying to

ourselves and

declaring to

the world.

So each

time I

ask for

divine

power and

healing and

intervention and

miraculous healing,

I often ask

God to show

us that

appetizer.

We are

going to

enter into a

great feast

in the book

of revelations

where there

will be no

more tears,

no more

sorrows in

the here and

now God,

give me the

appetizer.

It's like if

you have

attended a

Chinese banquet,

you know,

the iPhone

serves like

those peanuts,

right?

Braised peanuts

or pickles,

it's not really

enough to fill

your tummy,

right?

But when you're

famished,

you're hungry,

what do you

do?

You eat them.

It becomes

really enjoyable.

But what you're

waiting for is

not those peanuts.

If you attend a

banquet and those

peanuts are the

main dish,

then you're

missing a point

there,

right?

They are not

the main deal.

You don't go

there for those

peanuts.

You eat them

as appetizer in

anticipation of

a greater feast

to come.

I'm pleased to

announce that

for Vinolia and

Jun Yu,

these are real

persons,

God has healed

her miraculously.

She has been

healed and we

saw through

this couple's

testimonies that

there are two

supernatural things

that happen.

One is their

heart and their

faith.

As we pray for

God, the Holy

Spirit,

to move in

the supernatural

in their

life through

science and

wonder.

One area that

we mustn't

take for

granted is

that their

faith was

strengthened as

a result of

the trials

instead of

falling away.

Have you ever

seen people

going through

real difficulties

and instead

of holding

on to God,

they begin to

fall away?

And there are

folks who go

through similar

things, maybe

even worse

things, and

their faith

strengthened.

that was a

real miracle

there.

As if that

is not

enough, I

think for

this case,

God has

exceeded my

expectation by

granting us

that appetizer,

that healing

that we're

looking for.

Two weeks

ago when I

saw her in

church, I

asked her

about how

are you.

She's been

going through

remissions for

the past few

years, looking

really good,

healthy,

radiant.

And he,

the husband,

joked that

the last time

when they

went for

the appointment

maybe a