[0:00] Good evening, a warm welcome to the service this evening. We're going to start this time of worship by singing to God's praise from Psalm 116, Psalm 116 verses 1 to 4 in Gaelic.
[0:20] And I'll just read the verses in English. I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear. I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear. Of death the cords and sorrows did about me compass round.
[0:33] The pains of hell took hold of me, a grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord, then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I do thee humbly pray.
[0:46] We'll sing these three stanzas in Gaelic to God's praise. Tell me, dear.
[1:01] Thank you.
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[14:31] Amen.
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[19:01] If you could turn.
[19:31] And we're going to read.
[20:01] I think you're going to see.
[20:31] in the book, found at the end of the book, to translate the Bible.
[22:01] And it's the fact that, it should be out.
[23:01] And you say, what things you have to say, and the glory, we'll get there, but I'll say, and I would say, it's the Bible, but it's still a Bible, but I'll say, so, and I'll say, and I'll say,
[27:31] and I'll say, for the truth.
[28:03] And I'll say, that my God, the ancient, the ancient, and the ancient, and the above, and before Him, and before Him, and I'll say, For His throne, it shall remain and never stand.
[28:26] All the power, all the glory, I will trust in His name. For my God is the Ancient of Days.
[28:41] Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul, He is here with me, I am not alone.
[28:55] For His love is sure, and He knows my name. For my God is the Ancient of Days.
[29:09] None above Him, none before Him, all time in His hands. For His throne, it shall remain and never stand.
[29:23] All the power, all the glory, I will trust in His name. For my God is the Ancient of Days.
[29:35] Though I may not see what the future brings, I will watch and wait for the Saviour King.
[29:50] When my joy complete, standing face to face, In the presence of the Ancient of Days.
[30:04] None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands. For His throne, it shall remain and never stand.
[30:17] All the power, all the glory, I will trust in His name. For my God is the Ancient of Days.
[30:31] For my God is the Ancient of Days. Now let's pray as we turn back to God's Word.
[30:51] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to be able to come to the God who is the Ancient of Days in prayer.
[31:04] Knowing that you hear our prayers, knowing that you answer our prayers. Knowing, Lord, that your desire is that we would come and pray. We thank you for the awesome privilege also of having Jesus Christ, your Son, our Saviour, as our Teacher in prayer.
[31:27] So help us, Lord, as we think through the words of Jesus, to be given understanding, to once more know the help of the Holy Spirit, and to be guided and directed in our own prayer lives, so that what we hear, we wouldn't just understand in our heads, but we would practice in our lives.
[31:50] That we would be not just hearers of the Word, but that we would be doers of the Word, and be those who are much in prayer. And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[32:01] A common cry of protest in most houses where there are children is the cry, mine.
[32:22] That's mine. You know, in the early years, children, if there's two or three in the house, will maybe fight over things like sweets and toys.
[32:37] And then as the years roll on, one might think that the fights would stop, but the reality is, people tell me, that the fights, they just continue, but they fight over different things.
[32:50] It used to be toys and sweets. Now it's things like shoes and clothes and shampoo and conditioner and face creams, etc.
[33:02] You'll hear the protests from the bathroom. Put that down, that's mine. But it's not just young people. We shouldn't. We shouldn't just pick on them.
[33:13] Older people continue throughout the course of life to cry out, that's mine. I mean, when we think about our community, villages and islands, I mean, how many disputes can we think of that are ongoing?
[33:32] Because two guys are standing over the same square yard of land, saying through solicitors' letters, that's mine. And then if we widen the angle of the camera a bit more, and think even about the international level, how many wars have been fought?
[33:55] Because two countries are looking at the same strip of land, the same natural resources, and they're both saying, that's mine. And our default setting, because of our sin and our self, is to think in terms of mine.
[34:18] We look at things and we think, mine. But Scripture as a whole, and this phrase in particular that we're focusing on tonight, it calls us to think, not in terms of what's mine, but it calls us to think in terms of what is thine.
[34:42] It calls us to think about what belongs to God. And we read in the verse, the second half of verse 13, thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
[35:00] Amen. And in this final phrase, in the Lord's Prayer, as we know it, our focus is once more taken off ourselves, and it's placed back on God.
[35:16] And in this final phrase, in the Lord's Prayer, we're reminded of who we're praying to. The last section, this verse, thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, this is not a petition, this is not a request, where we're asking that the kingdom, and the power, and the glory should be granted to God, as if he didn't already own it.
[35:44] Now this is a statement of faith. It's a proclamation of worship, and it's an expression of truth about God.
[35:58] We're saying to him, in prayer, thine is the kingdom, thine is the power, thine is the glory, and not just today, but forever.
[36:11] So be it. Amen. And when we think about that, and when we think about that, that truth, it brings confidence to our prayers.
[36:25] Montgomery Boyce, the commentator, says, all too often, we find ourselves doubting, that God really is able, to take care of us. And we worry about, our own little kingdoms, our power, and our glory.
[36:39] How foolish, when we know that, his kingdom is certain, his power is sufficient, for all situations, and his glory, ultimately, will prevail.
[36:55] So as we focus, on the God, whom we, come before, in prayer once more, as we see the nature, and the attributes of God, in this verse, we're reminded, of why we pray, and we're reminded, of how right, and how fitting, and how effective, prayer is.
[37:19] I was listening to, to George Barney, as he preached here, last Sunday. I think he said, in the morning, and the evening, that in every passage, that we come to in scripture, we should be asking the question, what is this telling me, about God?
[37:37] And in this, half verse, that we're looking at, we, we see, that, God is king. It's the first point.
[37:50] And God is powerful, that's the second point. And God is glorious. And finally, God is eternal. So let's think, through these, four things, just briefly.
[38:06] First of all, God is king. For thine, is the kingdom, we are taught, to pray. So, who is God? He is king. He is the ultimate sovereign.
[38:20] He reigns, he rules, over all, not over just some, not over, some small pockets of land, like a monarch, might do in, in a country, but he is the ultimate sovereign.
[38:33] He is the ruler, over all things, and all people. R.C. Sproul says, the kingdom of God, is not my kingdom, or your kingdom.
[38:45] It's his kingdom, his sovereign rule. He reigns supreme, over all things, and his kingdom, shall have no end. And that's what we sang, just a few minutes ago, in the hymn, that we had, just a moment ago.
[39:01] We sang these words, though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall, there is still one king, ruling over all. So I will not fear, for this truth remains, that my God is the ancient of days.
[39:16] None above him, none before him, all of time in his hands, for his throne, it shall remain, and ever stand.
[39:31] Who is God? Who is the one that we come to in prayer? He is king. And we hear that truth, also coming through, at high volume, in Psalm 24.
[39:46] We sang the first part, of Psalm 24, we'll come to the last part, at the end of the service. And the Psalm begins, with that assertion, that God is king, he's owner, over all.
[39:59] The earth belongs unto the Lord, and all that it contains, the world that is inhabited, and all that there remains. And then as the Psalm, comes to a climax, there is, that response, to the sovereign, rule, and reign of God.
[40:19] We have it in verses 7, to 10 of the Psalm. Ye gates lift up your heads, on high ye doors, that last foray, be lifted up, that so the king, of glory enter me.
[40:33] But who of glory is the king? The mighty Lord, is this, even that same Lord, that great in might, and strong in battle is.
[40:45] And so the Psalm goes on, with that, strong, powerful, declaration, in praise, that God is king. And that's something, I think that we, we need to, we need to constantly have, in our, in our vision.
[41:06] God is king. In a world that's so, full of chaos, in a, in a world where, experiences sometimes, can cause us, to, to feel, anxious.
[41:21] it's a, it's a great thing, to remember, God is king. Who is ruling over us?
[41:34] Is it, is it the prime minister? Is it the first minister? Is it, is it the queen we ask? Well, you know, ultimately we're taught, as the Lord's prayer, comes to an end, that the one, ruling over us, is God, he is our king.
[41:52] And as we pray, I think, our prayer should, reflect that, we, we don't pray, as if God was at our service, you know, ready to attend, to our every whim.
[42:07] Sometimes, people, speak about prayer, almost, as if, it's like a, a magic lantern. And we come to God, with a shopping list, and we just say, I need this, that, and the next thing.
[42:20] And yes, there are arrow prayers, that we can shoot up, when we're, in, in times of, of great alarm, but, when we come, before God in prayer, when we close the door, we go to the quiet place, and we come to God in prayer, we, we have to remember, that we are speaking to the king.
[42:43] we bow reverently, before, the king. And then, as we rise from prayer, and as we set priorities, for our lives, as we live out our lives, we, we are to live remembering, that we are, we are subjects, of the king.
[43:10] we are servants, of the king. So as we pray, thine be the kingdom, we're, we're seeking, first, the kingdom of God, and we want to live, to, to glorify him.
[43:32] You know, I wonder, if we just take a second, to think very, searchingly, and practically, I wonder, if, if our diaries, were to be opened, by a stranger, and, the way, we use, our time, was examined, would they, would they be able to see, that Jesus is our king?
[44:00] Or if our, bank accounts, were, were to be audited, and the way that our, our money was used, was, was examined, would people be able to see, that Jesus is our king? If our devices, were to be, opened up, and, the apps, and the websites, that we're regularly, in and out of, were, were to be checked, would it be, apparent to the person, looking, that Jesus, is, our king?
[44:31] Are we living, our lives, seeking, first, his kingdom? God is king, that's the first, point. The second point, is, is God is powerful, and just following, the thread of the verse, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the Greek word there, that's, that's, used for power, is the, is the word, dynamis, no Greek expert, but it's, it's the word, dynamis, that the commentators, tell us, and, that's the word, from which we get, our word, dynamite.
[45:12] So, as we pray, this concluding verse, we're being taught, that the one, that we come to, in prayer, he is powerful, he is the source, of all power, and his power, is like dynamite, it's not some, low charge, power, that might go through, a cable, it's dynamite power, explosive, power, and I think, probably most of us, haven't seen, dynamite, or felt, the force of dynamite, up close, you know, but if we go to a quarry, up the road, or the other way, we see the evidence, of it, we see the blasts, of dynamite, and, and how they, how they blast, through rock faces, and, and that's just, a pure illustration, of the fact, that, that God is powerful, he is dynamite, and, if we really want, to see, the power of God, and evidence, then, we're to look to Jesus, open the gospels again, you know, read through, the gospels, these eyewitness accounts, of the, the life and ministry, of Jesus, he is the, the one, he's the only one, who had the, the power, to, to drive back illness, and disease, and, and make people, who were, terminally ill, well, he's the, the one, who was able, to, to cast out demons, when, when no one else, was able, to touch them, and bring peace, to souls, that were deeply troubled, he's the one, remember, who, who in the midst, of the storm, is able, to speak a word, and calm everything, and he's the one, who, who went to the cross, and had the power, to overcome, sin, and Satan, and death, and hell, no one else could, but the God, who is powerful, he could, and he did, so anyone, looking at the, the, the life, and the death, and the resurrection, of Jesus, could plainly see, that, that in him, was ultimate, dynamite, power, that was used, for good, and not for evil, that was used, for salvation, and not for, exploitation, and when, we see that, when we, are reminded, of the, the fact, that God is powerful, what an encouragement, there is to pray, that we can, connect, in prayer, and speak, to the God, who is all powerful, and say, help me, my weakness,
[48:21] I remember, back, in the days, before we had, an expert, BT, engineer, in Harris, when you had, problems, with BT, there were, severe problems, and, we had a problem, in, in Kylos, we could not, get a, a phone line, and the internet, connected, and, for months, and months, and months, we tried, and we tried, and we tried, to get this, this line active, I lost count, of how many people, I spoke to in BT, when I told them, the same story, over and over again, and I seemed, to get nowhere, and then one day, I can't remember, who gave me this number, but somebody gave me, the number, of some, man, in a head office, so I phoned this man, a liver puddling man, answered the phone, I told him the problem, he listened to the problem, and within a few hours, everything was sorted, because he had, the power to help, and he was willing to help, and when we pray, we come to the God, who is powerful, the God who listens, the God who cares, the God who is able, and willing to help us, that's why the psalmist, said in Psalm 116, which we sang,
[49:47] I love the Lord, because my voice, and prayers he did hear, I while I live, will call on him, who bowed to me, his ear, or think of the apostle Paul, in Ephesians chapter 3, he's separated, from the Ephesians, but he's praying for them, and listen to the prayer, that he shares, with them, I won't direct you to there, I've got watch time here, but listen to this prayer, that Paul prays, he says, for this reason, I kneel before the father, from whom every family, in heaven and on earth, derives its name, I pray, that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you, with power, through his spirit, and your inner being, so that Christ may dwell, in your hearts, through faith, and I pray, that you being rooted, and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep, is the love of Christ, and to know this love, that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled, to the measure, of all the fullness of God, now says Paul, to him, who is able to do, immeasurably more, than all we ask, or imagine, according to his power, that is at work within us, to him be glory, in the church, and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever, and ever, amen, see the apostle Paul, even though he's not able, to get to Ephesus, at this point, even though he's not able, to rub shoulders with them, he brings them, to the throne of grace, he comes to the God, who is powerful, and he prays,
[51:30] David the psalmist, he has many problems, in his experience in life, but time and time again, he's found, in the place of prayer, because he knows, God is powerful, and when we, know and believe, that God is powerful, that's fuel for our prayers, you were encouraged to pray, when we forget this, we tend, to be reliant, on our methods, and our meetings, and our programs, and our techniques, and we might have, intimation sheets, that are rammed full, of a thousand different things, that we're trying to do, and the prayer meeting is empty, but when we remember, that God is powerful, yes we use methods, yes we use techniques, yes we are active, in God's service, but we saturate, everything in prayer, knowing that the God, who is powerful, is able to work, so God is king,
[52:49] God is powerful, thirdly, God is glorious, and we haven't, got much to say, in the last two points, I'll be brief, thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now when do we use, the word glorious, glorious, the kids were here, they would tell me, but it would take too long, when do we use the word, glorious, well actually not that often, you think about it, I don't think I use the word, glorious very often, you know occasionally, you open the curtains, the sun's streaming in, you know it's an amazing sunrise, it's a crisp, clear day, and we might say, what a glorious day it is, or some nights, we look up, and it's clear, and the moon is bright, and the stars are twinkling, and we say that, the sky is so full of glory, it's glorious tonight, the atheist looks up, at these things, and there's a suppressed, kind of frustration, because they don't know, where to direct their praise, they're moved within themselves, but they don't know, what to do with it, but here as we come to the end, of this prayer, we're taught that, the glory of creation, the glory that we, see in the creation, around us, it abides within the creator, it comes from the creator, we learn, as this prayer comes to an end, that God is glorious, and all we see around us, is testimony to that, and if we want a clearer, evidence of the glory of God, we look to Jesus,
[54:50] John 1 14, you can check it later, speaks about the glory of Christ, we see glory, in the person of Christ, go to John 17 later, and read that, and as Jesus advances, towards the cross, he speaks about, the glory that will be seen in him, as he lays down his life, for our salvation, God is glorious, and the staggering thing, is that in prayer, we get to meet with him, we get to speak to him, we get to listen to him, we get to connect with him, we get to abide in his presence, and when we remember that, it transforms our prayers, our prayers go from, from being a tick box exercise, of I must get this done today, to, to, to being filled with awe, because, we remember we are meeting with God,
[56:06] God is glorious, and the final thing, in just a word, is God is eternal, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, amen, Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11, says that God has put, eternity, into, the hearts of men, and women, and boys, and girls, the eternal God, has put, that eternal dimension, into our, into our hearts, and that's what makes us, different from the animals, that's what makes us, ask these questions, about where we've come from, and where we're going, and what we're here for, it's God that's, that's planted all these questions, deep within our hearts, so, so what do we do, with these questions, where do we, go with these questions, how do we process them, and the answer is, in prayer, these questions, that are, deep within us, are questions, that we can think through, and work through, in prayer, because it's, in prayer, that we, who are in time, are able to meet, with, and commune with, the God, who is eternal, it's in prayer, that we enter, into, this relationship, with, the eternal God, a relationship, which begins, here in time, and knows no end, and how was that, relationship made possible, well not because, of anything in us, it was made possible, through Jesus, he, came, from, eternity, into time, to deal, with our sin, to close the gap, between man, and God, so that we, can know, the eternal God, and that relationship, actually begins, when we call upon his name, and we do that, in prayer, so let's be encouraged, this evening, to pray, you know, maybe there's someone here, or somebody watching, who, who is not yet, in relationship, with, with this God, who is eternal, and who is powerful, and who is glorious, and who is king, how can that change, it can change, in, three seconds, through one prayer, we look to Christ, we believe, that he is God the son, we confess our sin, we trust in him, we say to him,
[59:34] Lord Jesus, take my sin away, come into my life, save me, and if we mean that, from our hearts, that prayer, brings us into, a relationship, with, the God, who is eternal, the God, who is glorious, the God, who is powerful, the God, who is king, so be encouraged, to pray, I'm going to ask Jim, to come, and close, in a word of prayer, please, let's pray together, our loving father, we, bow before your holy throne, at this time, and we thank you, for what we have heard tonight, we thank you, our God, for what you are, thine indeed, is the kingdom, yours is all the power, yours is all the glory,
[60:53] I pray Lord, that as we leave, this place tonight, that your holy spirit, might accompany, each one of us, and in each of our hearts, Lord, we might indeed, enthrone you, and we might leave, this place knowing, that we are in your hand, and that we have committed, our lives completely, to you, we pray Lord, that in this place tonight, that not one will be lost, in our first singing Lord, we spoke about the pains of hell, we ask our God tonight, and for each person here, and for our families, and our loved ones, and those we care about, that they will not experience that, but they will indeed, walk with Jesus, and know that there is a place, prepared, for each one of us, thank you for Calvary, tonight again Lord, thank you, for the sacrifice, that you made, the great king, the creator, bowed, the knee, was humiliated, and beaten, and put upon a cross, shamed, he took my sin, he took our sin, and he offers us tonight, pardon, peace, redemption, so we ask tonight, our father, as we leave, that his kingdom, might increase, and his name indeed, might be glorified, in Jesus name,
[62:29] Amen, Amen, Amen, we're going to, close by saying, the last few verses, of Psalm 24, Psalm 24, verses 7 to 10, four stanzas there, ye gates lift up, your heads on high, ye doors that last foray, be lifted up, that so the king, of glory enter, may, we stand to sing, and we'll sing, to God's praise, ye gates lift up, your heads on high, ye doors that last foray, be lifted up, that so the king, of glory enter, the king, the mighty Lord, is this, he that same Lord, that great in might, and song in battle is, he gates lift up, your heads, ye doors, those that do last foray, be lifted up, that so the king, of glory enter, may, but who is he, that is the king, of glory, who is this, the Lord of hosts, and none but he, the king of glory is.
[64:40] and I may the grace, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love, of God the Father, and the fellowship, of God the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and forevermore, Amen.