[0:00] So we have the evening service at 6 and we'll finish a little before 7, so those who want to go to the tent mission have the opportunity to do that this evening.
[0:13] In the course of the week as usual, the Ladies' Fellowship, Little Fishes, Road to Recovery, Care Meeting, all usual times and the usual places. There's some details there of the Lewis branch of the Lord's Day Observing Society.
[0:29] 10th of June 7.30, that's us coming again for those that are able to attend that. And services next Sunday will be taken in the morning by Donny Faith Mission, Donny MacLeod.
[0:42] And in the evening it will be taken by Phil Pickett who is a Minister in Training over in Carly. I have to teach over in North East next weekend.
[0:55] So I appreciate your prayers for that. The various ministers in the presidency will have to go over. Now the combination is vacant. So I've been away from Saturday through to Monday morning.
[1:07] The last thing to say is that on Sunday morning, after the morning service, there is somebody called Pam Burtill of Cornerstone Adoption and Fostering who is going to be in the service.
[1:22] And then at the end she'll speak for five minutes for those who are able to see. We sing from Psalm 98, Psalm 98 verses 1 to verse 4.
[1:35] Psalm 98 verses 1 to verse 5.
[1:47] O sing a new song to the Lord for wonders he hath done his right hand and his holy arm and victory at one.
[1:59] Sonic that'm at least let him out must certainly. O sing a new song to the Lord, for others he hath found.
[2:17] His right hand and his holy arm in victory hath won.
[2:30] And the Lord brought this our way. Amen.
[3:30] Amen. Amen. When trumpets horned, gladly sung, before the Lord again.
[4:12] Amen. I'm doing quite well today, I only forgot one information.
[4:22] So thank you to all of those who helped or contributed. On Friday there was a jubilee tea party thing. And there was a lot of people who came along, a lot of people who worked hard to make it possible, and there was a sum of about a thousand pounds raised for cancer research and for crossroads care.
[4:45] So thank you to all those who contributed to help and who attended. And just on that note, I'm going to read just a few verses. Bearing in mind that this has been the week of the Queen's Jubilee, let's read the verses from the beginning of 1 Timothy chapter 2, where we're encouraged to pray for those whom the Lord has set in authority over us.
[5:13] So the Apostle Paul speaks, the Timothy God speaks to us through this letter and says, I urge them first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone.
[5:28] For kings, or queens we could say, and those, all those in authority. That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
[5:39] This is good and pleases God our Saviour. He wants all people to be saved and to come to our knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people, the testimony given in its proper time.
[6:02] And for this purpose I am appointed a herald and an apostle. I am telling the truth, I am not lying. I am a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
[6:13] I want people everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or dispute. And we'll pray that in that as well, as we're encouraged to endure.
[6:26] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. And we thank you for the gift and the responsibility and the instruction that we are given to come to you in prayer.
[6:39] in prayer. And we thank you for the wonder of the fact that we can come to you in prayer. We look around at this time on a day like this where we see such dazzling majesty in your creation, which is just a shadow of what we see as we look to you, our creator God.
[7:05] And we thank you, Lord God, that you have revealed yourself to us. We thank you that we are able to know the one who made us. And we thank you that you're told in scripture that you have made us for yourself. We hear the call all the way through the Bible to come to you and to know that rest and that joy and that wonder of relationship between God and man.
[7:49] We thank you that Jesus we thank you that Jesus rose from the dead. We remember that each Lord's day that we meet.
[8:03] And we thank you that Jesus has promised that he is coming back soon and that we are to be prepared for that day. So help us, Lord, we pray, in the time that we have in this world to be wise in the way that we use our time.
[8:22] We thank you for those whom you have allowed to be an authority over us. We thank you for the steadiness that we have seen in her over many decades.
[8:41] We thank you for that poise, for that calmness that we believe comes from a relationship that she has with you. And we thank you that when she has been given opportunity, she has spoken to point us to Jesus.
[8:58] So we pray that you would bless her. We pray for her family. It saddens us when we see so little of the Christian witness that was in her coming through to the rest of her family.
[9:12] But we pray, Lord, that you would reach them. That as she shares something of her faith in the home and in her duties as queen, we pray that they, through the power of the Holy Spirit, would see so that those who follow her would not lead us away from God, but would point us to Jesus.
[9:35] We pray for all whom you have set in authority over us, the prime minister, the prime minister, the prime minister, those in government, local and national and international.
[9:47] We sometimes are saddened, even despairing of the decisions they make. We recognize again, Lord, that we as a nation are far from you.
[10:01] But we pray that you would draw us back, that you would call us again in a way that we will hear, to repent and to believe.
[10:12] Even as we think back over the extraordinary events of the last couple of years, we thought that perhaps as a nation we would look back to God.
[10:23] But we confess that things have gone on as they always were. But we pray, Lord, that you would break through, that we would know once more times of refreshing, times of revival.
[10:36] So hear our prayers and help us on this day. We pray that you would minister to us, speak to us at the point of our need. We think again, Lord, of those who are grieving.
[10:48] We think especially of Donald Murray and his family, having lost a wife and a mother this week past. And we pray that you would comfort those who grieve. We pray on for those who are sick, who would desire to be with us today, but who are struggling with different ailments.
[11:05] And we ask that you would touch them, that they would know the healing touch of the great physician. And we pray for those who may feel down, who may be anxious, who may be consumed with the anxieties of this life.
[11:23] We ask that you would help them, Lord, and help us clear our minds even now from all that would distract us. And help us, we pray, to look to, to trust in, and to worship the Lord Jesus.
[11:37] So hear our prayers. Take away our sin. We confess, Lord, that we are sinners. We have no right to come into your presence using our name. We have no right to make an approach on the basis of the lives that we try to live.
[11:52] We come in the name of Jesus. We come acknowledging that we fall far short. But we thank you that Jesus has done everything to make it possible for us to come to you and to know you as our Father.
[12:06] So give us faith, we pray in Christ. Cleanse us from sin. Enable us to fix our eyes on Jesus. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[12:17] Boys and girls, would you like to come out, please? How are you all today?
[12:41] So, have you had a good week? Yeah? Anything different about this week? Okay. It's warm. It's warm, yeah?
[12:54] Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely warm. And we're thankful for that. John Roddy? It was the Queen's Jubilee. So what does that mean?
[13:07] Yeah? John Roddy? For 70 years, he's been on the throne. Yeah. So did you do anything special that marked the Queen's Jubilee?
[13:20] Anybody? A party? When? Here, I can still see you've got the Union Jack on your cheek. When I sat down for two seconds, Michael had managed to slap a Union Jack onto my cheek as well, which I hadn't realised properly until people were looking at me strangely.
[13:40] And what about, were you not in school on Friday? No, you've got a day off. So, tell me about the party. What happened on Friday? What did we do?
[13:51] Well, first of all, before we get there, why would we celebrate 70 years? Michael. She's the oldest person to be on the throne.
[14:07] I think that's probably true. I don't know for sure. But yeah, she's certainly been on the throne for a long, long time. So we celebrate that she's been on the throne for a long time. Why else do we celebrate?
[14:19] Has she been good or has she been bad? Yeah, she's been a good... She's been going to all these things that are expected of her.
[14:37] She's gone to, even though she's getting older and it's harder for her, she's there and she does her duty very attentively, doesn't she? And has she been bad-tempered over the years?
[14:50] You know, some leaders in some countries are bad-tempered and they fly off the handle and they get wild and they say things to the TV news cameras that are sometimes unwise because they're in a bad temper.
[15:04] Has the Queen been like that? No, she's been very steady, hasn't she? She's not really changed over the year.
[15:19] She's always been... She might have got angry when no one was looking, yeah. But she's been very calm. When we've seen her and when she's spoken on TV cameras and when she's given Christmas messages and all that stuff, she's been very calm.
[15:35] And she's taken a chance, hasn't she, at Christmas time to speak about Jesus. When lots of other people who are in positions of power never speak about Jesus.
[15:46] Did we ever hear the First Minister speaking about Jesus? Through the whole pandemic? Not once. But the Queen, she's done a good job in speaking about Jesus.
[15:59] And when things have been hard in her family as well, she's been very steady. So, she's been a good leader. She's been a perfect leader.
[16:13] No. Like Michael said, when the cameras weren't on her, if we were to see when no one else was looking, I know that she's not perfect.
[16:25] There's times that she'd have been wild, even though she's calm on the screen. Because, I mean, what does the Queen suffer from that we all suffer from? Sin, yeah.
[16:38] So, she's been a good leader, but she's not the perfect leader. Is there any perfect Queen or perfect King in this world?
[16:50] No? No? No? Not in this world. Not right now. There was. Yeah? Tell me, Michael, what? There was Jesus.
[17:03] And he is he's the perfect King. The Bible describes him as the King of Kings. And he is the he's the perfect King.
[17:13] How many times did Jesus sin? Not once. He was perfect in every way. Now, tell me this.
[17:24] On Friday, what did we do to celebrate the Queen's thing? There was a party, yeah? But what did we do at the party? We should maybe ask some of them folks over there, too.
[17:37] Because they were doing a fair bit of this, weren't they? Yeah? Jono? We ate food, didn't we? We had sandwiches. We had sandwiches. We had cakes.
[17:48] And we had cakes. And we had cakes. And we and and we had more cakes. We had cupcakes. And we cut cakes. Yeah? We cut the big, huge cake.
[18:00] So we we drank tea and we we ate cakes. And we joined together and we we had a we had a laugh, as I said.
[18:12] We enjoyed each other's company and we we said we're thankful for the Queen in all these years. Now think about this one just before we we finish.
[18:23] That's how we celebrated the the Queen. We drank tea and we ate cake. How do we celebrate and be thankful for the fact that Jesus is our King?
[18:38] We pray. Yep. We share the good news. Yep. It might take you a wee minute to get here but we're going to get there. So we pray. We speak to Jesus.
[18:49] We we tell people about Jesus. Ailey's got her hand up. We read the Bible because we hear Jesus speak to us through the Bible. What else do we do to remember and to be thankful for Jesus?
[19:06] I'll give you a clue. There's something that we eat. There's something that we drink. Katie. We don't eat cake do we?
[19:18] But we eat bread. And we don't drink tea do we? But we drink we drink the wine. And what does that help us to remember? The bread helps us to remember Lois the well the bread helps us to remember the body of Jesus and the wine Miriam helps us to remember the blood of Jesus and that takes us to the cross where we see how much Jesus loved us.
[19:46] He's the perfect king. He's the one who laid down his life so that we could be his children forever. So that we could be saved. So we can trust him and we're thankful for him.
[19:58] And we're going to pray now. Lord we thank you for this day and we thank you for the Lord Jesus your son and our saviour.
[20:09] We thank you for all that Jesus did to make it possible for us to be saved. We thank you for the love of Jesus that he laid down his life that we could be forgiven our sin.
[20:22] And we thank you that Jesus he never sinned he was the perfect king. He is the one who lived perfectly because we couldn't. And he's the one who died in our place so that we wouldn't have to.
[20:37] So help us to be trusting and to be thankful and to live our lives for the Lord Jesus as we think about all these things. And again we pray that you would be with the boys and girls as they head to Sunday school and that you would bless them and that you would help them to understand more and more of the Bible.
[20:59] We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. We're going to sing now and we're going to sing Mission Praise 1116. It's speaking about a throne a higher throne than the throne that any king or queen sits on in this world and it's the throne that's in heaven.
[21:18] So there is a higher throne than all this world is known and we'll stand to sing in a second to God's praise. Amen. There is a higher throne than all this world has known where faithful ones from every tongue will one day come.
[22:01] Before the sun we stand made faultless through the love believe in hearts like all his grace.
[22:14] Salvation come. We'll bless you about this and keep it up for a song and the ė§ģ will see you about it.
[22:33] All glory, wisdom, power Strength, thanks and honour Our two God, our King Will reigns our life forevermore And there we'll find our hope Our life before the throne Will honour Him in perfect song Where we belong He'll wipe each piercing eye As thirst and hunger die The Lamb becomes a shepherding We'll reign with Him Hear heaven's voices sing
[23:35] Their thunderous anthem rings Through emerald courts and summer skies Their praises rise All glory, wisdom, power Strength, thanks and honour Our two God, our King Will reigns on high forevermore Okay boys and girls If you head to Sunday school And pray for them as they go It's great to see them all
[24:41] And it's great to see And hear the hiccups of the wee babies So we pray for them We're in Luke chapter 21 We've been studying Luke for a while For those who are visiting And we've reached verse 20 So Jesus is speaking to His disciples About what's to come in the future The immediate future The next two, three decades And the future in terms of The end of the age So Jesus is Having spoken to them About some of the things they can expect He continues at verse 20 Speaking to His disciples And Jesus says When you see Jerusalem Being surrounded by armies You will know that its desolation Is near Previously He'd been speaking About the temple The temple was going to fall
[25:42] Which was inconceivable to them And now Jesus explains The whole of Jerusalem Is going to fall When you see Jerusalem Being surrounded by armies You will know that its desolation Is near Then let those who are in Judea Flee to the mountains Let those in the city get out And let those in the country Not enter the city For this is the time of punishment And fulfilment Of all that has been written How dreadful it will be In those days For pregnant women And nursing mothers There will be Great distress in the land And wrath Against this people They will fall by the sword And will be taken as prisoners To all the nations Jerusalem will be trampled On by the Gentiles Until the times Of the Gentiles are fulfilled There will be signs In the sun Moon and stars On the earth Nations will be in anguish And perplexity At the roaring And the tossing of the sea Men will faint from terror Apprehensive of what is coming
[26:42] On the world For the heavenly bodies Will be shaken At that time They will see the Son of Man Coming in a cloud With power And great glory When these things Begin to take place Stand up And lift up your heads Because your redemption Is drawing near He told them this parable Look at the fig tree And all the trees When they sprout leaves You can see for yourselves And know that summer is near Even so When you see these things happening You know the kingdom of God Is near I tell you the truth This generation Will certainly not pass away Until all these things Have happened Heaven and earth Will pass away But my words Will never pass away Be careful Or your hearts Will be weighed down With dissipation Drunkenness And the anxieties of life And that day Will close on you Unexpectedly Like a trap But it will come Upon all those Who live on the face Of the whole earth Be always on the watch
[27:44] And pray that you May be able to escape All that is about to happen And that you may be able To stand before The Son of Man Each day Jesus Was teaching at the temple And each evening He went out To spend the night On the hill Called the Mount of Olives And all the people Came early in the morning To hear him At the temple Amen And may God bless That reading Of his word To us We're going to sing again Now to God's praise The last two stanzas Of Psalm 98 The last two stanzas Of Psalm 98 In Gaelic It says there In English Let seas And all their fullness Roar The world And dwellers there Let floods clap hands And let the hills Together joy declare Before the Lord Because he comes To judge the earth Comes he He'll judge the world With righteousness His folks With equity These two stanzas Of Psalm 98
[28:45] Will remain seated To sing in Gaelic Amen Thank you.
[29:45] Thank you.
[30:15] Thank you.
[30:45] Thank you.
[31:15] Thank you.
[31:45] Thank you.
[32:15] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[32:29] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[33:06] Thank you. Thank you.
[33:17] Thank you. Thank you.
[33:48] I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In this chapter that, well, in this section of the chapter that we come to, the great concern of the disciples, actually, as Jesus speaks to them about what was to happen, it was time.
[34:13] The disciples are focused on time. Jesus, he's been speaking about the fact that the temple, which dominated the whole of Jerusalem, it was going to fall.
[34:25] And that was unthinkable for them. So they want to know when will this happen. And Jesus has been speaking about the end of the age and some of the signs that will accompany the coming of the end of the age.
[34:39] And the disciples, they want to know when will these things that Jesus has been speaking about, when are these things going to happen? And so Jesus, in this chapter, he addresses some of their questions, and he gives the disciples some direction on how they, back then, and equally how we, here now, are to live wisely in time.
[35:07] So the first thing Jesus says to his disciples is, there is a time to flee. He's speaking about things that were serious and they were alarming.
[35:22] And Jesus says, as these things approach, there is a time to flee. Verse 20 and verse 21, Jesus says, when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.
[35:40] Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those in the city get out. And let those in the country not enter the city.
[35:56] And I was in Edinburgh last week, one day, or one evening later on, when I was walking back to the place I was staying, just about 40, 50 yards ahead of me, on the pavement, walking down Dandas Street, I think it was, a fight broke out.
[36:12] There must have been about 10 guys in their late teens. And they all seemed to know each other. But they went from speaking enthusiastically to losing the cool.
[36:25] And punches were flying. They were clearly on something because they were just in a state of mania. And so as I was approaching this scene, I was thinking, what do I do?
[36:38] Do I carry on walking into the middle of the thing and try and break it up? An old man with 10 teenagers all around me? Or do I negotiate a safe distance and pass by?
[36:54] Do I get involved or do I flee? Was the question. And Jesus says to the disciples, when you see trouble up ahead of you in Jerusalem, when you see the city being surrounded by armies, get out of there.
[37:14] Don't get involved. Get out of there. Flee. Jesus has already said to his disciples, I have a job for you to do, and it's not to fight for the bricks and the mortar of the city.
[37:27] It's to fight against the kingdom of darkness with the light of the gospel. So get out of the city, says Jesus. Do not enter the city, says Jesus, when you see these things coming.
[37:41] So there was a time to flee. We should ask the question, why was this awful thing coming to Jerusalem?
[37:53] Why was this desolation coming to Jerusalem? What was the reason for its fault? And Jesus makes very clear, the reason these things were coming to Jerusalem was because it was judgment.
[38:11] Punishment was coming upon Jerusalem. Verse 22, for this is the time, this is the time of punishment and fulfillment of all that has been written.
[38:28] And we're given in verse 23 and 24 some of the horror that will fill that place. And as we read this, and you can actually go into the history books and read people like Josephus, who writes about what happened in Jerusalem, and it's horrendous.
[38:53] What Jesus warned of came to pass. The concern that Jesus had for the pregnant woman, for the people who were in that city, when this storm was coming, was real.
[39:09] That's why he says to them, it's time to flee. You've got to flee what's coming. Trust my words. Because it's judgment that was coming.
[39:24] And it's never nice to read about judgment, but then why would it be nice to read about judgment? Judgment is not a pleasant thing. A punishment is not something that we like to have to give as parents.
[39:40] And punishment is never something that we like to have to receive. But we recognize that it is sometimes necessary. You know, if we were to pick up the newspaper and read the story of a horrendous attack that happened, and the attacker was caught, there was just, you know, no action taken.
[40:02] We would say that's not right. There needs to be punishment in accordance with the crime that was committed. And in terms of Jerusalem, why were they being punished?
[40:15] Well, they were being punished for rejecting Jesus. They were being punished for not believing in Jesus. They were being punished for not receiving the grace that Jesus was offering.
[40:32] God the Son had come from heaven to earth on this mission of salvation. He was reaching out to the people. He was pleading with the people to trust them, to receive salvation, and they kept pushing them away.
[40:48] The theology professors, the biblical experts, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, those who were experts in recognizing the coming Messiah, when he came, they would not have him.
[41:03] In fact, at this moment, they were plotting the execution of Jesus. And so for that reason, punishment was coming.
[41:17] The salvation that was being offered would not be received. The sins that Jesus was offering to take away, they would not hand over.
[41:30] So they had to be punished. The people of Jerusalem, not the faculty of divinity, but all these people who heard God the Son speak to them day after day after day, so plainly, and so simply, and so powerfully, they heard God speak.
[41:54] They witnessed these miracles of Jesus before their very eyes. They had so many evidences of the fact that Jesus was the Savior, but they would not believe.
[42:08] So if you push away the Savior, you push away salvation, and judgment comes. So what's this got to do with us?
[42:22] I mean, Jerusalem is far from here, but Jerusalem teaches us a lesson, and that is, if we reject Jesus, if we reject such great salvation as he offers to us today, there will be judgment.
[42:44] Every one of us sins. Every one of us needs a Savior. And the Savior comes to us, and he says, I will forgive your sin if you believe in me.
[43:01] But if you push me away, you must pay for your sin and that judgment. I mean, we can look at the people of Jerusalem and say, how could they do what they did?
[43:20] But we've actually had more sermons over the years than they ever did. We have a Bible, New Testament, that they never have.
[43:38] Some of us have gone to Sunday school and YF, and we've had faithful preaching for many years, long before I ever came here. We are without excuse.
[43:57] So the message is, flee from the punishment for sin and flee into the arms of the Savior as he calls them and calls us.
[44:15] So first of all, a time to flee. Secondly, there's a time to stand up. And in verse 25 to verse 28, Jesus, he widens the angle of the lens.
[44:29] He's been speaking about the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of the temple. And now he speaks more widely and he starts to shift the focus from Jerusalem to the whole world, the whole cosmos.
[44:42] And he's speaking about the signs of the end of the age. In verse 25, Jesus says, there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars.
[44:53] On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and the tossing of the sea. So what is Jesus speaking about as he gives an indication, a further indication of the signs that will accompany the end of the age?
[45:08] Well, what he's speaking about in verse 25, I believe, is environmental crisis. The sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea, turmoil.
[45:26] And we're living through this. Taylor Ralph Davis, the commentator, speaks, giving a comment to you on this verse. He describes this as what we might call natural disturbances, which along with a maritime upheaval will bring on international dismay.
[45:47] And that's what we're living in. The climate crisis we keep on hearing about and we need to hear about it because it's real. World leaders are constantly talking about the environmental crisis and the need to take action at this stage.
[46:07] COP26 conferences, G8 summits, leaders coming together to sign statements where they work towards carbon zero or all these different standards.
[46:19] but there is an environmental crisis which has been recognized at this time. And in verse 26, Jesus speaks about an increasing sense of panic as people realize this.
[46:33] Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And again, that's what we're living in. there is a climate of absolute fear and terror in relation to the environment.
[46:55] And that makes sense because if we have no if we have no confidence in the sovereignty of God and we see the world decay as we see the heavenly bodies, as Jesus says there in the solar system shaken, there is a sense of fear and there's a sense of alarm.
[47:25] And then people like the young girl, Greta Thunberg, come on stage and they tell us that we're the ones who have to save the world. There's crisis, there's fear, there's alarm.
[47:37] We have to save the world, she says. And there's mass panic. And in the panic we forget to follow the signs in the sun and the moon and the stars and the sea which actually lead us not to us being the saviour but to the fact that the saviour of the world is coming.
[47:59] And he said this is the kind of thing you're going to have to look out for. That will precede my return. And he said this is the sun and at that time they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
[48:19] I just wonder how that makes us all feel. How do you respond when you think about the fact that one day soon, maybe today, Jesus is coming back.
[48:39] does that cause a thrill, a longing, an excitement or is there fear?
[48:53] Because these are the two reasonable positions to hold. I'm going to give you two quotes from J.C. Ryle because he can say it quicker than I can.
[49:04] he says in relation to those who don't believe, the thoughtless and impenitent man may well tremble when he hears of the second advent of Christ.
[49:18] What will he do when his worldly business is suddenly stopped and the precious things of the world are made worthless? What will he do when the graves on every side are opening judgment?
[49:34] And the trumpet is summoning men to judgment. What will he do when that same Jesus whose gospel he has so shamefully neglected shall appear in the clouds of heaven?
[49:51] See, for those who cannot or who will not read the signs of the end of the age and have no thought of Jesus or are determined to reject Jesus, of course you'll be fearful.
[50:12] But for the believer who knows Jesus as their personal savior, there's no need for fear.
[50:24] When we see the signs, when we live through the stuff we're living through, there's no need for fear. It's like an alert that tells us it's coming close.
[50:43] Ryle says, however to the impenitent, they need not strike fear into the heart of the true believer. They ought rather to fill him with joy.
[50:56] They ought to remind him that his complete deliverance from sin, the world and the devil, is close at hand and that he shall soon bid an eternal farewell to sickness, sorrow, death, and temptation.
[51:15] The very day when the unconverted man shall lose everything shall be the day when the believer shall enter on his eternal reward.
[51:28] The very hour when the worldly man's hopes shall perish shall be the hour when the believer's hope shall be exchanged for joyful certainty and full possession.
[51:46] Two polar extremes. Now where are we in this? When we hear the trumpet call and we see the Lord in the clouds, what will we do?
[52:02] How will it be for us? If we're Christians then, and we're living in this age, and we're seeing more and more of these signs come to pass, the question I want to ask now is, how are we to live?
[52:28] And Jesus tells us in verse 28, he says, when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
[52:46] So for the Christian, there's two things that Jesus calls us to do when we see and sense that his approach is coming near.
[52:58] And the first thing is to stand up for him. And the second thing is we're to lift up our heads.
[53:12] So Christian, stand up for Jesus. Are we standing up for Jesus? The world tells us to sit down, and keep our faith in some back cupboard.
[53:33] And the world tells us to shut up when we start to speak about the name of Jesus. But Jesus says, when you see these signs coming to pass, when you come to realize that the time is coming close, stand up.
[53:48] Don't shut up. stand up. And that will likely cause antagonism, and Jesus has spoken about that in the previous verses.
[54:00] It may well draw persecution in our direction, and yet Jesus still says, if you are my disciple, stand up. Don't hide, and speak up.
[54:17] don't go silent. And you know, if we were to take this very literally, every time we hear the name of Jesus taken in vain, we have an opportunity to stand up.
[54:38] Not that we kind of publicly rant and rage against people so that they're humiliated, because they've let out a swear that they never thought about.
[54:52] But when you're in the workplace, when you're standing at the side of the football pitch, when we're in a home, when we're wherever we are, and we hear God's name being taken in vain, we can pray for an opportunity to quietly take somebody aside, and very respectfully say, the one you're speaking against is the one that I trust, the one that I love, the one who died for me.
[55:34] Stand up for Jesus. and the second thing Jesus says is lift your heads up. And we're going to finish with this today.
[55:52] Lift up your heads, says Jesus. When you see bad things happen, when the reality of these impending signs come to pass, and people are in terror and panic and dismay, because the sea levels are going up, and the climates are changing, and the environment is crumbling, when heads are falling, Jesus says, lift up your heads.
[56:22] Don't do what the world does and go into a state of despair and despondency. Lift up your heads. remember how we saw that during COVID.
[56:37] The reaction of those who had no faith in the middle of a pandemic was to go into terror, panic, dismay. Our heads went so far down.
[56:52] Mental health was in such a low place. But we're called by Jesus here to lift up our heads.
[57:07] And even in the storm of environmental crisis, even as we hear about and live through climate change, even when there is such a state of alarm as we see targets being missed, Jesus says don't drop your heads.
[57:32] Lift up your heads and remember that God is still in control. And if we did that, the world would notice.
[57:50] If we lifted up our heads and remembered the fact that whatever we are going through, God is still in control, if we had that poise and that faith, the world would notice and we would be the witnesses that we are called to be as the time for Jesus return comes closer.
[58:16] to be together. And I'll give you an illustration just to finish. An illustration of what it looks like and sounds like to stand up.
[58:30] It comes from a primary school class in Harris. I won't name any names, but two of our young ones and they were sitting in the class and there was a lengthy sermon being preached about climate change.
[58:49] There was videos and there was various things that were being spoken about and the whole tone of the materials that comes through is very alarming.
[59:02] And so as this message was being spoken and as this long lecture was going forth, one little boy turns to one little girl and says, I know this is important, but I don't understand why they have to keep on talking about this all the time.
[59:22] Because the world is not going to end until God says it's going to end. And that's what it sounds like to be a little boy whose head is lifted up.
[59:41] doesn't give us license to trust the planet. Doesn't give us license to be irresponsible. But as we hear and see and witness an environment and a world that crumbles, as we see the unfolding signs of the end of the age, lift up your head.
[60:14] Remember, Jesus is coming. Stand up for him and trust him so that on the day that the heavens and the earth dissolve and the son of man is seen.
[60:38] We are ready. Are you ready? We'll pray.
[60:55] Our heavenly father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the honesty and the clarity with which Jesus speaks about the signs of the coming of the end of the age and we see them and we recognize that these things are all like reminders that cause us to lift up our heads and to anticipate the coming of Jesus.
[61:30] we pray that on the day that the trumpet call is sounded on the day that Christ returns we would be found ready and we know that we are made ready by calling upon the name of the Lord by trusting in the Lord Jesus not by ignoring him as some in Jerusalem did or pushing him back, pushing him away as many in Jerusalem did.
[62:03] Help us we pray to recognize that Jesus is the Savior and to ask him to be our Savior, to take our sin away and to make us those who are his children and ready to receive a welcome from him when he returns.
[62:25] So hear our prayers and help us, we ask to act. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We'll sing to finish Mission Praise 506, that great hymn, How Great Thou Art.
[62:41] O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made.
[63:19] I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, the power throughout the universe displayed.
[63:38] And sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[63:55] And sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[64:12] When through the woods, the forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
[64:29] When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the room, and feel the gentle breeze, then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[65:04] Blessings my soul, my Savior, Lord, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[65:21] And when I say that God is Son, not sparing, sent him to die, I scarce can't take it in, that on the cross my burden gladly bearing, he be glad and guide to take away my sin.
[65:57] That stings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art, that stings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[66:30] When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart, then shall I bow in humble adoration, and there proclaim my God, how great thou art.
[67:03] that sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art, that sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art.
[67:39] 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 forever more. Amen. him.
[67:51] Amen. God, he is above theƵe, you I may the joy, how great he is above God, how great thou art, who is boldly