[0:00] Good evening, a warm welcome to the service this evening. Good to see all of you, good to see some visitors with us as well from different congregations and different places. You're especially welcome and if you're able to stay behind, there's a fellowship at the end of this.
[0:15] There'll be tea and there's coffee served in here and then we'll hear from John Angus. I'm not sure exactly what he'll share, he'll have left it to himself as to what he'll share this evening.
[0:27] But just on your behalf, I want to say thank you for your ministry and the fellowship we've enjoyed over the weekend. It's been a real blessing and we thank God for you and we look forward to hearing the voice of God through you again.
[0:44] So thank you for your ministry and we pray on that you'll know God's blessing with us this evening. Thank you. It's a privilege to be here, more than you imagine actually.
[1:01] It really is wonderful. Let's begin tonight by praising God by singing in Gaelic from Psalm 4. Psalm 4 verses 1 to 3.
[1:13] 1st 1 O psalm 4 four to God's praise.
[1:56] Thank you.
[2:26] Thank you.
[2:56] Thank you. Thank you.
[3:56] Thank you. Thank you.
[4:56] Thank you. Thank you.
[5:56] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:08] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:20] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:32] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:44] You know a lifetime of sin. Even as believers, Lord, we have constantly failed to live up to our testimony.
[6:57] Lord, we are not proud of ourselves. We're not arrogant before you. We can't have our head held up high.
[7:07] We feel, Lord, as if you know so much about us that would bring shame were it to be known further. And we cannot, Lord, but come to you conscious of our need daily to have our fellowship with you, with you renewed through Jesus Christ.
[7:32] You tell us to confess our sins as believers. And you ask us, Lord, to believe in you, that you are the one who is able to forgive our sins as believers.
[7:49] And to cleanse us as believers from all unrighteousness. Lord, we want to walk closely with you.
[8:00] We want that perhaps more than ever before. And we want to be able to commune with you day by day. We want, Lord, to be able to take your word and read it and think about it, meditate upon it in our hearts and how we might apply it to our lives.
[8:21] We want, Lord, that you would give us opportunities so that we might be able to speak a word in season for your glory. We ask that you would give us wisdom, that we might know what to say, to whom to say it, how to say it.
[8:39] We ask, Lord, that you would be pleased even to open doors so that we might be able to speak to our own families, to our own loved ones, to those who may be hardened, those whose hearts are desperately wicked, those, Lord, who are turned away from you and who are like the prodigal son so far away.
[9:05] And the only difference is that they seem perhaps to be happy. Lord, in your mercy, as you have done in the past, we pray that you would bring them to a place where they know something of that misery of those who are unforgiven, who are lost and who are hopeless and who are Christless and who are ready, ready in a moment perhaps to be taken away.
[9:42] Oh, Father, we pray that you would have mercy and ask, Lord, that you would please give us opportunities to speak to them in time before eternity takes them away.
[9:58] Lord, we would thank you for the time of fellowship together over this communion season in North Harris. What a privilege, Lord, to see the way in which you have built up the congregation.
[10:12] You've gathered the young. You've gathered the old. You've gathered others. You've gathered parents. You are, Lord, one who's been at work in so many ways.
[10:22] And the beauty is that so many treasures are in this hall itself tonight. And the arrogance isn't there.
[10:33] And the glory seems to be addressed to you in everything. Lord, will you look after David? Will you look after him in his own life, in his own walk?
[10:45] Will you help him, Lord, to meditate upon your word? May it fill his own heart so that when he comes to the people that he would come with that freshness where grace is never old or stale but so, so fresh that when he speaks of it, it is obvious that people know that this is something that is true not only for him but relevant to all.
[11:16] And we pray that for everyone who preaches in this pulpit. For those who are learning to preach and for those, Lord, who are putting their toes in the water.
[11:27] Those who are asking that you would show them the way ahead. What you want them to do with their lives. Lord, we pray in these situations that you'd give them courage to ask you, what will you have me to do?
[11:45] Just the way in which Saul, on the day when he was converted, what will you have me to do? Oh, Lord, what a life he would have thereafter.
[11:58] Filled with blessings and gospel blessings that would make his heart radiate with joy. And yet, where he would suffer so much, shipwreck after shipwreck, nights in the deep, cold, unable to sleep, being whipped and lashed, and yet not a word of bitterness towards you.
[12:26] Lord, will you raise people to engage in a ministry like Saul? Because he wouldn't want to be one of a kind. Though we cannot be apostles, we do want to have the same passion and enthusiasm as he did to see Christ preached in the most virgin of all territories.
[12:50] Lord, we pray that hardened hearts would soften under the showers of your grace. You have power, mighty, mighty power.
[13:03] You are God on the throne. You are the Lamb. You are the one who has the seven horns. You are the one who is able to reach down and penetrate.
[13:16] Lord, we pray that you will do so and that you will build your church here in Harris and in Lewis and in the Highlands and in Cateness and in Sutherland and in Scotland and in the UK and throughout the continents of the world.
[13:37] Lord, will you bless, will you add to your kingdom, even today, people who will sing a new song in their hearts. Lord, we pray that you would draw near to us here tonight.
[13:52] Close in with us yourself so that your word would be a blessing to us. May your Holy Spirit, may the sevenfold spirit, may the eyes come close to us and speak to our hearts.
[14:09] Lord, reign tonight. The government is on your shoulders. O Lord Jesus, your God has granted you that and we pray that you would reign tonight to save.
[14:26] We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's sing again now from Psalm 11. Psalm 11 and the Sing Psalms version.
[14:39] And we're seeing there verses 4 to 7. Psalm 11 from verse 4. The Lord is in his holy place.
[14:51] The Lord is on his heavenly throne. His eyes observe the human race and in his sight each one is known.
[15:02] Isn't that solemn? Isn't that solemn? The Lord examines all the just. The righteous ones he proves and tests.
[15:15] Isn't that solemn? Even the righteous he proves and tests. But all those who love wickedness and violence, his soul detests.
[15:28] Do you love wickedness and violence? Is that your default position? Is that your default position? That that's your greatest love? His soul detests that.
[15:41] Let's sing verses 4 to 7 to God's praise. Stand to sing. The Lord is on his heavenly throne.
[16:11] His eyes observe the human race. And in his sight each one is known.
[16:30] The Lord examines all the just. The righteous one is known. The righteous one is known. The righteous one is known.
[16:44] He proves and tests. But all those who love wickedness and violence, his soul detests.
[17:05] Upon the wicked he will reign, His pily coals and sulfur horn.
[17:22] A scorching wind will beat on them. Such punishment will be their law.
[17:39] For God the Lord is righteous still. In righteousness he takes delight.
[17:56] But they alone will see his face. Who are in heart and life of pride.
[18:14] Amen. Let's read the word of God now from 2 Thessalonians and chapter 1.
[18:32] 2 Thessalonians and chapter 1. Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[18:46] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers.
[19:00] Because your faith is growing abundantly. And the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
[19:23] This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God. That you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are also suffering.
[19:36] Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you. And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us.
[19:51] When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire. Inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God.
[20:03] And on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction.
[20:15] Away from the presence of the Lord. And from the glory of his might. When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints.
[20:28] And to be marveled at among all who have believed. Because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you.
[20:42] That our God may make you worthy of his calling. And may fulfill every resolve for good. And every work of faith by his power.
[20:55] So that the name of our Lord Jesus. May be glorified in you. And you in him. According to the grace of our God.
[21:08] And the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. And may the Lord bless to us. That reading of his own holy inspired word. Let's sing further now from Psalm 17.
[21:23] Psalm 17. We'll sing verses 1 to 6. And we sing Psalms version. Lord, hear my righteous plea.
[21:39] And listen to my cry. It does not rise deceitfully. Or come from lips that lie. Declare me innocent.
[21:50] And vindicate my name. Lord, may your eyes see what is right. And free me from all blame.
[22:03] Though you examine me. And probe my heart and mind. And though you test me in the night. Yet nothing you will find.
[22:14] And so on. How we can sing these words. We need grace to sing them. And mean them. Psalm 17. Verses 1 to 6.
[22:25] To God's praise. Psalm 17. Psalm 17. Lord, hear my righteous plea.
[22:39] And listen to my cry. It does not rise deceitfully.
[22:52] Or come from lips that lie Declare me innocent And vindict in my name Lord, may your eyes see what is right And free me from all blame Though you examine me And probe my heart and mine And though you test me in the night Yet nothing you will find I said I will not say
[23:55] In anything I say From those who practice violence I have kept far away From every evil path By your word I'm preserved My feet upheld to all your ways From them I have not swerved I call on you, O God For you will answer me O turn your ear towards my prayer
[24:58] And hear my earnest plea From every evil path By your word I'm preserved My feet have held to all your ways From them I have not swerved Of whom is that true In this church tonight My feet have held to all your ways From them I have not swerved None of us can say that In the sense of perfection And yet I believe that The Lord's people Can actually sing that
[25:59] And pray that See for the Lord's people There's been a change They're not the people who are In love with sin The way they once were There's been an amazing change The direction of their life Has turned around They're looking in a different direction Instead of running from God They're now always running towards him And they're ashamed of themselves Should they find at times That they are not living In their new default way The Lord has changed his people Make no mistake about it You and I can talk about A lifetime of sin As Christians But there has been a change I was lying in my bed In Thurshall
[26:59] Reading the biography Of Moody Stewart Who is a minister In St Luke's in Edinburgh In the 19th century He had a long ministry A godly ministry And reading it late one night I came across that phrase Worthy is the lamb that was slain And he said Is there ever a season in life When the Christian cannot say Worthy is the lamb that was slain And he said no For the Christian Every day Whatever the situation Whether he's walking Holy with the Lord Or whether he finds himself Weeping over his sin He still says Worthy is the lamb That was slain
[28:01] I read that And I thought of Harris North Harris Free Church And I thought Of the unworthy prodigal Then of the worthy God Then of the worthy lamb And tonight Here in this chapter 2 Thessalonians Read first of all What you find there In verse 5 This is evidence Of the righteous judgment Of God That you may be considered Worthy Of the kingdom of God For which you are also suffering Christians There was a time When you were unworthy To call yourself a son And that's still the case This is not talking About your evaluation Of yourself
[29:01] This is talking About God's evaluation Of you in Christ And he says God is the one Who considers you Worthy of the kingdom Of God That's the first thing And then in verse 11 To this end We always pray for you That our God May make you worthy Of his calling And may fulfill Every resolve for good And every work of faith By his power Again It's not that you will ever say You are worthy of his calling But amazingly He counts you He considers you He evaluates you And he considers you Worthy of his calling So two things tonight
[30:03] Briefly God counts you Worthy of the kingdom Once you're in Christ And God counts you Worthy of his calling In 1 Thessalonians 1, 2 and verse 12 This is what Paul says For you know how Like a father With his children We exhorted Each one of you Encouraged you Charged you To walk in a manner Worthy of God Who calls you Into his own kingdom And glory That's what Paul Wrote in his letter To this young Fledgling church In Thessalonica They were going through Difficult times And he says See when I was with you I wasn't just like a pastor Like a teacher I was like a father With his children And I was exhorting you
[31:04] Like a father Each one of you So personal So individual I was exhorting Each one of you Encouraging each one of you Charging Each one of you Notice how it increases You exhort You encourage You charge This is stern stuff We mustn't play easy With those who are professing The name of our Lord Jesus Those of us who care For others Whether we be ministers Elders Deacons Mothers in Israel Fellow believers Mentors To those who have begun Following And to one another We must exhort Encourage And charge people To walk worthy Of God Who calls them Into his own kingdom And glory Well so wrote Paul
[32:05] Not that long before And now Here He sees the answer To that prayer He sees that they are Indeed considered Worthy of the kingdom Of God For which they are suffering He sees That they are worthy Of his calling Two things Than tonight Could it possibly Be the case That God Considers You My Christian friend Worthy Of his kingdom That he Considers you If God Looks on you With these Penetrating eyes That we thought of In the psalms That we were singing What is it that he Sees in you And while I'm Talking to Christians I want those of you Who are still Seeking
[33:05] At best Who are still Looking for salvation I want you to Listen in And listen to What it's like For believers What is it That's true Of these people So that God Considers him Worthy Of the kingdom Three things And then an Additional thing First of all They have faith Secondly They have love Thirdly They have hope And in the midst Of it all They suffer Terribly You believe He says You notice what It says there In verse Three We ought Always to Give thanks To God For you Brothers As is Right Literally Actually there It's as is Worthy Because your Faith is Growing abundantly See when somebody
[34:06] Becomes a Christian They begin To believe But that Faith Should grow That faith Should not Be stunted And even Though this Church has Not been in Existence Terribly Long at all Probably North Harris Free Church Was in Existence Much longer Than this Church here Yet he Says About them Your faith Is growing Abundantly It's obvious To me He says That you Are believers That you Have faith In God Faith In the Lord Jesus Christ Faith In the Message You Believe And your Faith Is growing Abundantly These are People who Heard the Gospel Message What did They do With the Message They Believed The Message I asked
[35:07] Somebody Close to Me Recently Do you Believe What God Says in The Bible Every word He says Do you Believe in The promises Yes Here's a Promise I said Whoever Comes to Me I will In no Wise Cast out I said Do you Believe It Yes He says Then I Said Well why Don't You Obey It Because If you Don't Obey It You Can't Tell me You Believe It But These People They Obeyed The Message The Gospel Is not Only To be Proclaimed And Heard It's To be Responded To With Faith And Faith Comes By Hearing You're Hearing The Message You may Have Heard It A Hundred Times A Thousand Times But You Hear It This Day And You Hear It With New Ears With A New Heart And You Find Yourself
[36:08] Believing You You You Obey The Gospel You Respond To The King You Respond To The Message Of The Kingdom Of God You Say This Is For Me Now Those Of Us Who Are Christians We Know What It's Like To Have That Message Of The Gospel And We Know It's For Us We Know It Has Our Name On It And We Have Taken That Message Unworthy As We Are And We Have Believed It That's The Beginning We Then Grow In Our Faith Abundantly How How Does Your Faith Grow You Continue In Obedience No Matter The Circumstances You Keep On
[37:08] Obeying In Every Area Of Life Whatever The Company Whatever The Situation However Dark The Day You Keep On Believing Your Faith Is Growing Abundantly Second Thing Which Shows That They Are Worthy Of This Kingdom In God's Eyes They Love The Love Of Every One Of You For One Another Is Increasing When You Become A Believer When You Obey The Gospel You Actually Find Yourself In A New Family And If There Was A Time When You Said I Don't Want To Go Out To Church I Don't Want To Fellowship With Those Christians A Time Comes When You Obey And You Say That's Where Home Is That's Where I Want To Be I Want To Be Among These People I Want To Have Them In My Home
[38:08] I Want To Be In Touch With Them These These Are My Family I Love Them This Is Not To Do With Feelings Of Love That May Well Be There Not To Do With Affections Which May Come And Go At Times But It's More Than That There Is Common In Modern Parlance Today There Is A Connection And You Know It There Is Love There And You Know It You Are Meshed Together What Do I Love About North Harris Free Church I Love The Spread Of Ages I Love Seeing Young Children I Love Seeing Middle Children I See Older People I See Very Old People But Here You All Are Those If You Are In Christ You Are Mesh Together And I Can't Help But Seeing Love Increasing
[39:10] It's Being Tested Of Course And Every Time It's Tested You Have To Exercise The Choice Will I Love In Action Yes You Will And When You Do Your Love Increases Every One Of You For Another We All Have Our Favorites But The Christian You See He Will Be Careful She Will Be Careful Not To Have Her Time Dominated By Favorites I Love Love The Kind The Kind of Christian Who Looks Out For The Person Sitting Alone The One Who's Awkward The One That People Can't Always Relate To The Christian Gravitates There They're Not Just Meeting With People Who Make Them Feel Good
[40:10] No They Have Love The Kind Of Love That God Has That Reaches Out To Those Who Seem To Be So Difficult To Love Love Thirdly There's Hope Hope Interesting When you Read in Verse 6 We'll Come Back To It This Is Evidence Of The Righteous Judgment Of God That You May Be Considered Worthy Of The Kingdom Of God For Which You Are Also Suffering Since Indeed God Considers It Just To Repay With Affliction Though Those Who Have Afflicted You And Then He Goes On To Grant Relief To You Who Are Afflicted As Well As To Us When The Lord Jesus
[41:11] Is Revealed From Heaven With His Mighty Angels Relief Is Coming Literally It's Rest Is Coming Being a Christian Is Actually Hard Hard Work Believing Is Hard Work Loving Is Hard Work But There Will Be a Time When We Will Have That Rest That Relief When The Lord Jesus Christ Returns We'll Come Back To That Are Are You Looking Forward To That Rest Isn't That The Way Some Folks Used To Talk Perhaps More In The Past Than In The Present They've Gone Gone To To Their Rest They've Gone To Their Rest It's
[42:12] True It's True My Mother Was In A Car Going To The Doctor Just An Ordinary Appointment Though She Hadn't Been Well And This Taxi Driver In Ness A Christian Man My Own Age Took Her And They Were Talking They Were Talking Together About The Things Of The Lord And He Enjoyed The Conversation And He Was Driving Looking Right Ahead And He Continued To Talk And She Stopped Talking She Just Died Just Like That How Quick How Quick But She Went To Rest And That's The Reality See That The Lord Knows The Lord Knows That He Knows The Time
[43:12] And Then He Gives His People That Rest Either When The Lord Returns To Them Or When They Go To Be With The Lord They Believe They Love They Look Forward To The Future Of Rest And Glory We'll Come Back To That The Fourth Thing Though The Fourth Thing That Shows In God's Eyes That They Are Considered Worthy Of The Kingdom Is They Don't Give Up They Don't Give Up Notice What's Verse Four There Therefore He Says Talking About Their Faith And Their Love Increasing And Growing Therefore We Ourselves Boast About You In The Churches Of God For Your Steadfulness And Faith
[44:12] In All Your Persecutions And In The Afflictions You Are Enduring You Think Becoming A Christian Gives You An Easy Life Thereafter You Think That Somehow Once You Enter Into The Family Of God Just Like The Prodigal Son Coming Home Being Clothed Given The Ring Given The Sandals Celebration Time And You Would Think That Beyond That Moment It's Just All Celebration And It Is But Yet Our Heavenly Father Allows His People To Suffer He Allows His People To Suffer But It's Never Ever Without A Reason He Will Take Precious Things Away From Them He Will Put Them Through Times When There Is Real Pain Enduring Pain Things That Are Difficult To Bear
[45:12] Things That Cut Right Through To Our Heart When We Have To Have People Around Us Who Weep With Those Who Weep Who Mourn With Those Who Mourn And In That Situation We Say Who Brought This Into Our Lives Are We Can Say It's The Enemy The Enemy Of Our Souls Yes He's Been Permitted To Do It We Could Say It's People Who Don't Obey The Gospel Of Our Lord Jesus Christ And There Are Plenty Of Them Who Would Want The Church And The Christians To Be Exterminated From This World But Ultimately Who Is It That Allows Christians To Suffer It's None Other Than Their Heavenly Father And He Will Do It And He Will Do It In Greater Or Smaller Measure With Every Single One Of His People
[46:12] This Is What The Lord Does And As They Continue To Believe And As They Continue To Love And As They Continue To Long For Rest Even In The midst Of Persecution And Affliction And Times Of Difficulty As They Continue To Do That God Looks At Them And He Says My How Right I Was How Right I Was To Choose You How Right I Was To Call You How Right I Was To Send My Son As King In The Kingdom Of God To Rescue You You Obeyed The Message Of Brothers Brothers And
[47:12] Sisters In The Kingdom And You Keep On Going Despite All The Difficulties I Know That I Chose Right See In Verse Five This Is Evidence Of The Righteous Judgment Of God That You May Be Considered Worthy Of The Kingdom Of God For Which You Are Also Suffering Yes He Considered It He Is Righteous Today I was In Conversation Listening To Believers And A Believer Who Went Through Terrible Terrible Difficult Times And I Asked This Believer Were You Bitter Against God Then And At That Time That Person Wasn't A Christian And He Says Even Then I
[48:13] Wasn't Bitter Against God And The Time Came When He Came To Know The Lord As A Saviour Was He Bitter Then Knowing That The Lord Was His Father And Would Allow Him To Go Through Such Suffering Not A Bit Of It And It This Beautiful Picture Of The Rolling Faith The Rolling Love That Just Keeps On Going You Don't Give Up You Are Considered Worthy Of The Kingdom Of God For Which You Are Also Suffering Indeed God Considered It Just To Repay With Affliction Those Who Afflict You A Time Will Come When God Will Afflict Those Who Afflict Us And That Will Include Satan
[49:13] It Will Include All Those Who Don't Obey The Gospel Of Our Lord Jesus Christ They Will Suffer We're Told In Verse Nine The Punishment Of Eternal Destruction Notice How This Eternal Destruction Is Described Imagine If This Is You You're Not A Christian You've Not Obeyed The Gospel You Don't Know God They Will Suffer The Punishment Of Eternal Destruction Away From The Presence Of The Lord Away From The Glory Of His Might Pushed Away From God Pushed Away From The Presence Of God Pushed Outside Into The Darkness Pushed Outside
[50:14] The Door For How Long Eternal Destruction It Never Ends Never Stops I Mean Those Of Those Of Those Who Are Christians We Say That Could Have Been Us And Why Shouldn't It Have Been Us We Were The Prodigals We Dishonored Him We Dishonored God We Rejected God We Didn't Give Him The Time Of Day We Wanted To Forget Him Get Away Live A Life Without Him Gospel Would Mean Nothing And Yet Every Decision We Make Always Has Repercussions And A Day Will Come When
[51:14] Christ Returns And When He Returns There Will Be Affliction For Those Who Have Afflicted Christians And For Those Who Don't Know God Haven't Obeyed The Gospel Of God They Will Suffer Eternal Destruction Away Away From The Presence Of The Lord Away From The Glory Of His Might Never Ever Again Will They Be Able To Experience The Might Of God To Help Them They Will Never Receive Any Help From That Moment On But The Christians The Christians Who Go Through Life Suffering Something From People Like That And Sometimes From Satan
[52:15] Themself We Will Receive Rest Suffering Is The Lot Of Everyone Can I Ask If You Had Known The Suffering That You Would Have Endured Having Followed Christ Having Responded To To The Gospel Would You Have Followed Christ If You Knew The Things That He Would Bring Into Your Life If You Knew The Anguish The Hurts The Pain The Sleepless Nights If You Knew For A Moment What It Was To Fear All Sorts Of Things Because Suffering Was Just Like The Billows Coming Over You And It Wasn't Just One Day
[53:15] But Day After Day After Day Ready To Overwhelm You If You Knew That That Was What The Lord Had Planned For You Would You Have Followed Him Would You Have Obeyed The Gospel See I Think The Christian Says Undoubtedly Yes Yes I Would Elizabeth Elliot Was Very Fond Of Quoting The Phrase Suffering Is Never For Nothing Suffering Is Never For Nothing God Has Suffering For His People But Not An Ounce Of That Suffering Will Be Wasted Not An Ounce Of It None Of It Every Precious Moment Every Precious Teardrop Every
[54:15] Painful Anguish In The Heart As You Long For The Lord To Give Ease And Relief And Rest All Of That Is Known To God His Eyes Penetrate And And He Knows And When He Sees His People Believing When He Sees His People Loving And When He Sees His People Longing For Rest He Even He He He He He He Says I Was Right I Was Right I'm Vindicated In Bringing You Into The Kingdom And Counting You Worthy Of The Blessings Of The Kingdom For Which You Are Suffering The Second Thing God
[55:16] Counts You Worthy Of His Calling Verse 11 To This End We Always Pray For You That Our God May Make You Worthy Of His Calling And May Fulfill Every Resolve For Good And Every Work Of Faith By His Power Here's Paul Picturing The Christian Life And What's The Christian Life Filled With It's Filled With Decisions Every Day Christians Make Decisions Every Hour They Make Decisions What Do I Watch What Do I Not Watch What Do I Say How Do I Keep Silent Will I Lose My Temper Or Will I Hold It Back Will I Reach Out To Somebody With A Gospel Or Will I Keep Quiet
[56:17] In Case They Mock Me At School How Am I Going To Live How Will I Make My Life Meaningful This Is What Paul Says We Pray For You We Pray This That God May Fulfill Every Resolve For Good Every Resolve For Good Resolution When you Resolve To Do Something You Choose To Do Something The Christian Life Doesn't Just Happen It's Filled With Choices If Any Man Follow Me Says Jesus Let Him Take Up His Cross Let Him Deny Himself Take Up His Cross And Follow Me What's The Hardest Part There Is It Following Jesus No Is It Taking Up The Cross Strangely No But
[57:18] Denying Yourself Is By Far The Hardest And It Takes Resolve To Deny Yourself Is The 21st Century Church Filled With Christians Who Are Resolving On A Daily On An Hourly Basis That They Will Resolve To Do Good Every Resolve For Good Every Work Of Faith We Pray He Says For Every Work Of Faith May Be Fulfilled Every Work Of Faith When You Have Faith You Work When You Are A Believer It Translates Into Activity Don't Tell Me You're A Believer And It Hasn't Changed Anything You Do I Won't Believe That You're A Believer But If You're A Believer You Work There's That Work
[58:18] That Flows From Faith Once You Believe Him Once You Believe That Message Then You Do Differently You Work Differently Your Priorities Change Well Paul Says I Am Praying I Am Praying That God Will Fulfill Every Work Of Faith By His Power You Need I Need The Power Of God To Live The Christian Life For Every Decision That Is Made We Need The Resolve On A Moment By Moment Basis And We Need The Work Of Faith In Which God's Power Is At Work Doesn't This Make The Christian Life Meaningful Is The Christian Life About Public Worship
[59:18] Yes Is It Only About Public Worship You Are Here At 11 O'Clock You Are Here At Six O'Clock Will You Be Here Next Week I Trust So What About Between Nine O'Clock Tonight And Ten O'Clock Tonight What Will You Resolve To Do What Work Of Faith Will You Be Fulfilling What About Tomorrow When You're At Work How Will You Resolve To Live For The Lord Then How Will You Conduct Yourself With Your Friends At School Will You Be Will You Every Moment Of The Day To Take Significant Decisions Because Every Moment Is Significant It
[60:19] Is Most Exciting Life When You Think Of It Like This It's Moment By Moment By Moment Decisions Of Thinking Decisions Of Speaking Decisions Of Walking Decisions To Engage In This Or Not To Engage In This So How Have You Chosen To Exercise Your Faith To Rest On His Power Even While You're Living As A Christian And Especially When You're Suffering As A Christian God He Is Being Prayed To By Paul May God Make You Worthy Of His Calling May God
[61:19] Consider You Worthy Of His Calling And Fulfill Every Resolve For Good Every Work Of Faith By His Power Worthy Of His Calling See When God Calls You When You Become A Christian You Respond To That Call That's The First Hour Of Your Christian Life Then You're Responding To His Call Moment By Moment Day By Day He's Calling You Calling You Calling You He's Not Sending You He's Calling You First And Foremost To Yourself He's Beckoning You He's Calling You He's Calling You To His Service
[62:19] To Himself To His Kingdom He Calls You And You Mustn't Stop Short To Hear Some Other Call That Distracts You Some Of You Are Very Very Gifted All Of You Are Gifted In Christ If You're Believers You Must Use Everything The Lord Has Given To You You Must Do It Every Decision Is Important So If You're A Christian None Of This Talk About The Easy Life Be Ready Be Ready To Deny Yourself Take Up The Cross And Follow The Lord Jesus And The Strange Thing Is That Then
[63:19] When You Meet Jesus Something Wonderful Will Happen It's Mentioned Twice Here Actually First Of All It's Mentioned In Verse 10 When He Comes On That Day To Be Glorified In His Saints To Be Marvelled At Among All Who Have Believed See When Jesus Comes He Will Be Glorified In His Holy People He Will Be Marvelled At By All Those Who Have Believed It's As If We've Been Longing For That Day We've Been Living For The Lord Living For God Living For The Lord Jesus Waiting For Him Every Moment Is Significant We Don't Know The Day Or The Time But Every Decision We Take It's For Him It's For God's Glory In Christ And We're Waiting
[64:19] And Then He Comes And When He Comes He Will Be Glorified In His Saints Will That Mean He'll Be Glorified In You Will His Glory Be Seen In Your Life When He Comes Or Will You Want To Hide Behind The Christian Crowd On That Day And Hope That Somehow Christ's Glory Will Be Seen In The Church Generally But Not In Your Life Particularly Oh No No Paul Won't Have That He Wants Individuals To Be Ready For The Return Of The Lord For Their Meeting With The Lord So That He Will Be Glorified In Them And He Will Be Marveled At By
[65:20] All Who Believed I Have Never Seen Jesus In The Flesh Never Seen Never Been To Heaven Never Been There Do I Believe There's A Heaven Yes Do I Believe There Is A Jesus Yes Do I Believe There's A God Yes Does It Affect How I Live Yes Does It Make Every Moment Meaningful I Wish It Did But I Try To But I Know That A Day Will Come When I Will See Him And I Want Him To Be Glorified In My Life On That Day Because He Was Glorified In My Life In 2023 In Harris I Want Him To
[66:21] Be Glorified Do You Love The Glory Of The Lord Jesus Do You Love The Glory Of The Lamb Do You Love The Glory Of God If You Do Live In Such A Way Use Your Gifts Become A Servant Become A Preacher Become An Elder Become A Deacon Use All Your Gifts As Men And Women In Every Way Possible Whether You're A Single Person Or A Parent Or A Sibling Or A Child At School Or A Widower Use Every Day Every Moment Now Ensuring That Christ Will Be Honored In Your Life So That Then When You Meet Him It Will Be The Day Of Days You
[67:22] Won't Be The Fraud You Won't Be The Fraud Same Thing Is Picked Up Finally In Verse Twelve To This End He Says In Verse 11 We Always Pray For You That Our God May Make You Worthy Of His Calling May Fulfill Every Resolve For Good Every Work Of Faith By His Power Why So That The Name Of Our Lord Jesus May Be Glorified In You Saying The Same Thing Again We Want You To Use Every Time Of Day Every Decision So That The Name All That The Lord Jesus Stands For Will Be Glorified In You That Your Life Is Like A Revelation Of The Impressiveness Of Christ Nothing Less Than That The Christian Life Is So Weighty So Important And If We
[68:23] Choose To Surf Along The Waves Of This World And Still Expect Great Things To Happen We Kidding Ourselves No We Touch Base Moment By Moment Assess Am I Doing This Right Am I Serving Right Am I Hiding My Gifts Or Using My Gifts And Don't Say Don't Say Ah Not Today But Tomorrow I'll Do It Tomorrow Don't Don't Do That My Mother Passed Away Mid Sentence You You Cannot You Cannot Say Tomorrow Will Do The Christian Life Is Full Of Todays Todays Todays So
[69:24] He Prays That The Name Of Our Lord Jesus May Be Glorified In You And You Glorified In Him Wow What a Day That Will Be When We Will Be Seen In Our Glory Oh That That's That's The Day Of Days At The Moment You You Are Unworthy I'm Unworthy But We Believe In This Worthy God We Accepted The Lamb Who Was Slain For Us We've Listened To The Message Of The Kingdom We've Obeyed It We've Heard The Call And We've Accepted It And We're Seeking To Live Every Day Meaningful For Him And Then When We See Him Not Only Will We See His Glory But Our
[70:26] Glory Our Preciousness Our Christ Likeness Will Be Obvious For All To See Ah Listen My Friend I Know That You're Thinking You're The Exception Here And That This Won't Be True Of You As A Believer Listen You're Here Tonight And You Know What To Do With Your Sins As A Christian You Confess Them And He Is Faithful And Just To Forgive Your Sins And To Cleanse You From All Unrighteousness You're Not Sinless But You Are A Praying Person And You Go To Him On A Daily Basis And Even The Way In Which You Deal With Your Sins Is
[71:27] Part Of Living The Christian Life Significantly Where Every Moment Matters Not Only When You Do Good But When You Repent Of Evil And Confess Your Sins Unimaginable Glory Awaits All Of Us See When I See My Loved Ones In Glory Question Was Raised Will I Know Them Of Course I'll Know Them But I'll Know Them Like I Never Knew Them Before I'll Know Them With A Christ Likeness I'll Know Them With A Glory That Will Be Just Beautiful To Behold And Remarkably By Grace I Will Be Glorious In Their Eyes And Then Both
[72:28] Of Us Together And All Of Us Together We'll Just Take Our Crowns Off And We'll Just Say Worthy Is The Lamb This Is The Real Life We're Talking About This Is Real Hope God God considers Us Worthy And That's Why He Saved Us Because He Knows We'll Make It To The End So Abolish Bitterness Abolish Bitterness Abolish Laziness For Yourself Abolish All Of The Things That Are Hindering You In The Way And Choose Moment By Moment To Follow The Lord And Those Of You Aren't Christians Maybe I Haven't Made The Christian Life Very
[73:28] Attractive For You Tonight Whatever Whatever Suffering There Is It Will Never Be For Nothing God Will Use It And The Best Is Always Yet To Come Because Sure As Anything There's No Eye Looking At Me Just Now That Won't Look At Jesus Christ When He Comes Let's Pray Our Heavenly Father We Bless
[74:29] You For The Opportunity To Share Your Word To To Just Spend A Few Moments Bathing In The Most Wonderful Realities Of What A Life We Understand A Little Of What Paul Said In Such A Pithy Way For Me To Live As Christ To Die As Gain Every Day Meaningful By The Grace Of God I Am What I Am Chief Of Sinners Yes But Oh Lord What You Do Even For The Chiefs Of Sinners How Wonderful All Continue To Love Us As Those Who Have Returned From Our Prodigal Life Continue To Draw Us And Call
[75:29] Us Continue To Shape Us Open Our Eyes To See The Glory Of God On The Throne To See The Glory Of Your Lamb You Are Proud Of Him We Are Proud Of Him And One Day You Will See Us Reflecting His Glory And His Likeness Lord Oh What Eyes Will Look Upon Us Then Lord Lead Us We Pray To Keep That Vision Before Us For We Ask It In The Name Of Jesus Amen Let's Close Now By Singing From Psalm 122 Psalm 122 From The Last Three Verses In The Scottish Psalter Pray That Jerusalem That's The People Of God In This Context Pray That Jerusalem May
[76:30] Have Peace And Felicity Let Them That Love Thee And Thy Peace Have Still Prosperity Therefore I Wish That Peace May Still Within Thy Walls Remain And Ever May Thy Palaces Prosperity Retain Now For My Friends And Brethren Sakes Peace Be In Thee I'll Say And For The House Of God Our Lord What a Commitment Here Now Be Careful I'll Seek Thy Good Always These Three Verses To God's Praise Snow Ch telef lên With the Jerusalem may have peace and felicity, let death and love thee and thy peace have still prosperity.
[77:47] Therefore I wish that peace may still within thy walls remain, and ever may thy policies prosperity retain.
[78:19] Now for my friends and brethren say, peace be in thee I'll stay, and for the house of God our Lord I seek thy good always.
[78:52] Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[79:12] Amen.