‘He has done it!'

[0:00] Good morning and a warm welcome to church this morning. A special welcome to those who are visiting with us.

[0:11] It's good to see you. Please stay if you're able to. And there's tea and coffee served at the close of the service. All are welcome to join with us for that time. The evening service will be conducted this evening at 6pm by the Reverend Donald MacLeod, my father, as you know from the last commune.

[0:33] The Ladies Bible Study meets at 8pm on Monday. The First Truth Fellowship meets at Tuesday at half past 7 in the Church of Scotland Hall. Road to Recovery meets on Tuesday at 8 in the Community Centre here.

[0:47] And the prayer meeting will be on Wednesday at half past 7 in Kilda Cruises. And this Wednesday the prayer meeting will be led by Duncan McPherson Session-Clark.

[0:59] The reason for that is the induction in Stornoway. And I'll just read out the intimation via presbytery. The induction of Reverend James McKeever to the congregation of Stornoway, Kenneth Street will take place at Stornoway Free Church, Kenneth Street at 7pm with the reception at the M.A. MacLeod Memorial Hall afterwards.

[1:20] God willing, Andrew Coggle will preach and preside on the evening. And all are welcome to come. So the invitation is open for that. And the prayer meeting will happen here as usual.

[1:33] But will be led by Duncan in my absence. The services next Sunday will be at 11am. And that will be taken, God willing, by myself. And 6pm will be a Gaelic service that will be led by Farrakhan MacLeod.

[1:49] The English Praise Evening Fellowship will be at 8pm as usual. Annual subscriptions for the record are now due. The Deacons Court has agreed to cover at the cost of postage.

[2:02] So the cost for the whole of 2016 is £18. Existing subscribers are asked to pay by imposing the sum in an envelope with their name and marked record subscription in the offering plate.

[2:15] If you'd like to start receiving the Church magazine, please speak to Callum McKinnon. And finally, the soup and pudding cafe to raise funds for WFM projects has been rescheduled for Saturday 26th March from 11 till 3 in the community room of the community centre.

[2:33] Donations of baking, crafts, etc. Which can be sold would be very welcome. And these, I think, are all of the intimations.

[2:43] We're going to worship God now and sing to his praise. We sing, first of all, from Mission Praise 560. Mission Praise 560.

[2:58] And the words you'll find there on the wall also. Praise my soul, the King of heaven, to his feet, thy tribute bring. Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven.

[3:10] Who like thee his praise should sing. Praise him, praise him. Praise the everlasting King. One further information, Ashley, that I should have clarified. Next Sunday, the service in the morning will be a family service.

[3:25] Next Sunday is Easter Sunday and there will be a family service. So the children will be in with us for the duration of the service. But as you know, it's a service which will hopefully be for all ages.

[3:40] So that's next Sunday at 11 o'clock, Easter family service. Good opportunity for those who maybe want to invite a friend to come along to church for the first time. It would be a good Sunday to do so.

[3:52] So let's now worship God and sing to his praise for Mission Praise 560. Let's unite our hearts and pray to that next prayer.

[4:12] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you once more for this day when we gather together in your name. In this place where you promised that you will gather with us and meet with us.

[4:26] As always, Lord, when we come together in the name of Jesus, we come with a sense of expectation. You have promised us in your word that when we seek to draw near to you, you will draw near to us.

[4:41] And Lord, when we come together in the name of Christ, even if you're just two or three, we have that promise that you will meet with us. And so we pray that as we believe the promise that you would make yourself known to us by your presence.

[4:56] We pray that in the stillness of this hour where we stop work and where we open your word. And when we unite our hearts together in prayer.

[5:10] We ask, Lord, that you would still our hearts. We pray that you would clear our minds. And we ask that we would know that we are meeting together with the one, true and living God.

[5:27] So we ask, Lord, that we would know your presence. That we would sense that stillness where you are at work. And Lord, that we would have that freedom of thought and of word that comes from the evidence of your Holy Spirit who is working.

[5:51] And Lord, whenever the Spirit is at work, we know that Jesus is lifted up. And that was our prayer for this time this morning, that Christ would be lifted up.

[6:01] And each one of us would be drawn to him or drawn closer to him. We thank you that you are the God who knows our hearts. And we pray that you would meet with each one who is here this morning.

[6:13] There are some perhaps here this morning who have never trusted Christ. Who have never yet seen their need of Jesus as Saviour. And we pray that even in this hour that you would open eyes that are blind.

[6:26] Unblock ears that have been deaf. And enable us, we pray, to see and to hear the words of Jesus. The one who calls us to come to him and find salvation and find eternal life.

[6:40] We thank you for the words that we have sung. That in Christ we are ransomed and we are healed. And we are restored and we are forgiven.

[6:52] Lord, what amazing good news we are given in the Gospel. We thank you for our Saviour who came from glory to this world.

[7:02] And who lived as we live. Except he was without sin. We thank you that he went to that cross willingly. That cross that we have been focused on in past weeks.

[7:15] And Lord, we pray that as we can look there today. That you would enable us to see the depth and the vastness of the love of God for us. That he would send his son to die so that we might live.

[7:30] So Lord, for those who have not yet seen Christ. Open eyes, we pray. And bring salvation. And Lord, for those of us who are following you.

[7:41] We pray that even as we meditate upon your word today. That our hearts would be revived. And that we would follow you closer. We pray for those who are not present this morning.

[7:53] Some who are still in hospital. And Lord, we bring them to you in prayer. Asking that you would continue to heal. Hear our prayers for their healing. We ask that you would grant that they would come back to full health and strength.

[8:09] And be able to return to Harris and worship here with us again. We pray in particular for Dunda. And we ask that you would be near to him. Increase his strength, we pray.

[8:22] And give him to know that you are close with him. We pray for Margaret also. And ask that you would be near to her in hospital. And have your hand upon her and all who care for her. We leave her in your tender care.

[8:36] Others who are in the homes today who are not able to come out. We commit them to you also. Thankful for the fact that you are the God who is not confined to any four walls.

[8:46] But as we pray for them. You are able to minister to them where they are. In the power of the Holy Spirit. So for all, Father, who are absent. We pray that you would bless them.

[8:58] And that you would minister to them where they are. We pray that you would continue with us now. That you would lead us and guide us in this service.

[9:08] We pray that our worship would be acceptable. And spirit filled. And we pray that you would meet us at the point of our need. As we pray that you would meet all those across the nation and across the world.

[9:21] Who are at the point of their need. We see our world that is so broken in so many ways. But we thank you that Jesus is the blessed Redeemer. And we pray that more and more eyes would be opened to see him.

[9:34] And more and more would be given faith. That they may be able to trust him. So hear our prayers. Take away, Lord, our sin. We confess that we fall far short of your standards.

[9:49] We confess, Lord, that we have no right to come into your presence. In our own name. But we thank you again for the name of Jesus. And Lord, we pray that you would receive us in Jesus.

[10:04] And bless us in this time that we have together. We thank you for some who are back with us today for the first time in a long time. After being in hospital for a period. And we ask that you would bless them especially.

[10:17] And draw them here to yourself. Hear our prayers. And continue with us in Jesus' name. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please?

[10:30] Uh-huh. How are we all today? All fine today, yeah? You see when somebody's speaking to you.

[10:40] Do you know where you should be looking? You should be looking at their eyes. And not at their bag of goodies. Just to put your minds at rest.

[10:51] So you can take your eyes off this. And put your eyes on here. You're not going to get any of these just now. But, there's good news. When you go through to Sunday school this morning.

[11:06] There is going to be an Easter egg hunt. Okay? So, don't be sad about this. There's more where this came from.

[11:16] And I'm told. Some of them might be in the disabled shop garden. Anyway. Who was here yesterday?

[11:28] Who was doing the Easter egg hunt yesterday? Put your hands up, yeah? Pretty much all of you. Not quite all of you. But pretty much all of you.

[11:39] Well, this is where this came from, isn't it? Tell me what happened at the Easter egg hunt. How did it work? Okay. You come and tell us.

[11:52] Well, you just stand there and tell us how it goes. How does an Easter egg hunt work? Because some people had to hide the Easter eggs.

[12:04] So, some people had to hide the Easter eggs. And then you had to find. Were you at the hunt yesterday? Yeah. Did you get any eggs? About that much. About that much?

[12:17] That's quite good. That's quite good. I saw some people who had a bag full. I saw some people who had a bag full as well. Maybe you had a bag full. Yeah, yeah.

[12:28] We had some. This is maybe too sore a point to raise. But some people had such a massive bag full that the bag burst.

[12:41] There was more than Darren. There was more than Darren, yeah. Some people have got very sad faces down here just now. Bag burst. And in an act of no compassion whatsoever, there was a scramble of children.

[12:56] And as one bag dissolved and one smile dissolved, many bags were filled and many smiles were noted on the faces of some. But Alistair, you got some in the end, didn't you?

[13:08] Yes, you'll probably get some more. That's another children's talk for another day. What about all the people over here? Put up your hands if you...

[13:20] How many Easter eggs did you get yesterday from the hunt? None? So you got that many.

[13:32] Alistair had about that many and then that many. How many did you have, Jono? About that many, yeah.

[13:45] And what about Ailey? How many did you have? Quite a lot, yeah. And yourself? Yeah, you had about that much. So you all did well.

[13:57] So in the garden, there was Easter eggs, 2,000 Easter eggs. And you went with your bags and you filled them up. And you got different amounts of Easter eggs when you were searching. What's wrong with you people?

[14:10] How come they've got no eggs? Tell me, how come they've got no eggs? Because only the wee ones were doing it.

[14:22] Because they weren't doing it. Because only the wee ones were doing it. Because only the wee ones were doing it. Yeah. But the big ones...

[14:34] The big ones were helping the babies. And maybe having an egg or two on the way, weren't they? Yeah. They had baby blocks, yeah.

[14:44] But most of the people here have no eggs. And do you know why? Because they didn't search. They didn't search the garden of the hotel.

[14:58] And so they didn't get any eggs. But if you search the garden, you got eggs, didn't you? Tell me, what's this?

[15:12] This is the Bible. And tell me, what kind of things do we find in the Bible? Well, I tell you one word that we could say that the Bible is full of.

[15:26] It's full of riches. It's full of the best goodies that you could ever have. We're not talking chocolate eggs. But the Bible is full of amazingly good things for our hearts and for our souls.

[15:40] And you know what we're told to do in the Bible? We're told to search for them. Now, you guys, you search for eggs.

[15:52] Goodies. Did you get some? You people, you didn't search. Did you get any? They got none.

[16:04] So do you know what I want to say to you today, boys and girls? I say it to me as well. And I say it to all of us. Search your Bibles.

[16:16] Remember how fast you were running around that garden? Looking and looking and looking for goodies and stuff from the Easter eggs. Where are these Easter eggs? All this good stuff. Sometimes people come to the Bible and they're just reading where they're not really searching.

[16:33] Sometimes we might feel sad. When we read the Bible. We get given great words from God. That make us happy.

[16:45] Give us comfort. Sometimes we're going through something and we're feeling a bit scared. And the worry is starting to boil up from in our tummies. And it's getting higher and higher and higher.

[16:56] And we read the Bible and God says to us, do not be afraid. I'm with you. And the worry goes back down and peace comes up. And sometimes we're wondering, am I going to be okay in the end?

[17:12] In this world and in the world to come. You know the only place that we can find out how we can be okay forever? In here. There's one day when people were listening to Jesus.

[17:28] And some people started to walk away from Jesus. And Jesus spoke to his disciples. Like a wee child like this. And he said, are you all going to go away too? Do you know what they said to him?

[17:41] Where will we go? Only you have the words of everlasting life. And we get that everlasting life as we trust Jesus.

[17:54] And we learn how to trust Jesus. And we see Jesus for who he is. When we search the Bible. So. Search the Bible.

[18:06] Let's pray. Heavenly Father. We thank you that you have given us the Bible. We thank you that as we search the scriptures.

[18:18] We see clearly who you are. We see that you are the God who is full of grace and favour. That you love us. That you tell us the truth about ourselves. And about who you are.

[18:29] And we thank you that as we trust you. And as we put our faith in Jesus. We are promised that we will be given life that is everlasting. We thank you that as we search the scriptures.

[18:42] And as we read the verses. That we get joy. And we get peace. And we get courage. And we get all kinds of riches.

[18:53] That we would never find. If we would never open our Bibles. And some of us here today probably don't open our Bibles very much. Apart from in church. And if that's the case.

[19:04] We're sorry. And we pray that you would help us to open our Bibles more. So that you would give us all the things that you would desire to give us. So hear our prayers.

[19:15] And continue with us now. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you boys and girls for listening so well. We're going to sing now about the Father's love.

[19:25] You can sit and stay sitting for one more minute. And we sing for a mission praise. 988 sorry. And the words again are on the wall.

[19:38] 988 and the words on the wall. How deep the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. That he should give his only son. To make a wretch his treasure.

[19:51] How do we know all that stuff? You know it. Because we find it in the Bible. Let's stand in a second. He searches on already. He's fine. That time every week.

[20:02] Where we take 30 to 60 seconds. To wait for the noise to go down. Remember that's not dead time. Remember that's prayer time. Pray for them.

[20:13] Keep praying for them. We're going to turn to Psalm 22. Psalm 22.

[20:41] Psalm 22. And we will read again from the beginning of Psalm.

[20:54] I'm reading today from the ESV. Psalm 23.

[21:30] To you they cried and were restored. And rescued. And you they trusted. And were not put to shame. But I'm a worm. And not a man.

[21:41] Scorned by mankind. And despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They make mouths at me. They wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord.

[21:53] Let him deliver. Let him rescue him. For he delights in him. Yet you are he who took me. From the womb. You made me trust at my mother's breasts.

[22:05] On you was I cast from my birth. And from my mother's womb. You have been my God. Be not far from me. For trouble is near.

[22:16] And there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me. Strong bulls with patience surround me. They open wide their mouths at me. Like a ravening and roaring lion.

[22:28] I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joy. My heart is like wax. It is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potion.

[22:43] And my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me.

[22:55] They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing they cast lots.

[23:08] But you, O Lord, do not be far off. O you, my help, come quickly to my aid. Deliver my soul from the sword. My precious life from the power of the dog.

[23:22] Save me from the mouth of the lion. You have rescued me. From the horns of the wild oxen. I will tell of your name, my brothers.

[23:34] In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him. All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him and stand north of him. All you offspring of Israel.

[23:47] For he is not despised or aboard the affliction of the afflicted. And he has not hidden his face from him, but is heard when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation.

[23:59] My vows, I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

[24:09] May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. And all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

[24:20] For kingship belongs to the Lord. And he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship. Before him shall bow all who go down to the dust.

[24:35] Even the one who could not keep himself alive. Forsterity shall serve him. It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They shall come and proclaim his righteousness.

[24:48] To a people yet unborn. For he has done. That he has done. Amen. And may God bless that day of his word to us.

[25:03] Call him. And then his name is John. Come lead us in prayer in Galilee. Come lead us in prayer in Galilee. Come lead us in prayer.

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[26:50] Why do you find people on your mind? A good piece of clothing to your face and when your life is very입니다 and food your planet is very enough to follow around you.

[27:09] You know what is life and life and life and life겠� a very much more time on that ageospherry you as soon as you go Kiyana your visa the other reasonable as Festival consider the leaves we had all those dishes that they would do.

[28:23] the sacrifice for many maya do many acres. 11 acres, 23 acres to kant 4ants 4, 3 strictly together Amen.

[29:20] Amen. And to the Lord it shall be for a generation reckoned in ages all. They shall come and they shall declare his truth and righteousness unto a people yet unborn, and that he hath done this.

[30:06] Each two standards in Galilee to God's praise. Amen.

[30:50] Amen. Amen.

[31:50] Amen. Amen.

[32:50] Amen. Amen.

[33:50] Amen. Amen. Now if you'd open your bibles please in Psalm 22. Amen. Just as we come to study, again let's pause for a moment to pray.

[34:14] Amen. Heavenly Father we thank you for the word that we have in front of us just now.

[34:26] And we acknowledge that we believe this is to be your word, it's the word of God that was inspired by the Holy Spirit and has been preserved for us over the generations.

[34:37] We believe that your word is living and active and sharper than the two-edged sword. And we pray that you would penetrate our lives, our hearts, our minds with the truth of scripture just now.

[34:52] We thank you for that last section that we sang and we read, that acknowledgement that he has done. And we pray that as we meditate upon this sound, as we look to the cross of Christ, we would be enabled to see through your spirit's revelation that Jesus has indeed done it all.

[35:17] And we ask the word that each one of us who receive the grace that has been purchased for us through his blood. So clear our minds, we pray from all distraction, create that expectation that you will speak to us as individuals and enable us to respond in the faith that we pray for, that you will give us in Jesus name.

[35:43] Amen. Let's begin with the question to you as you're sitting here this morning.

[36:02] When you look to the cross, and Christianity is a religion where the cross is the emblem, and the cross is the place of God.

[36:14] that we keep returning to and returning to and returning to. When you look to the cross, what is it that you see? Does the cross to you seem to be a place of dark, foreboding grimness?

[36:35] As we speak about the cross, does it cause your heart to sink? Or as you look at the cross, do you see the light of the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ streaming through?

[36:55] The cross is very much a polarizing emblem, it always has been, and it remains that way today. Paul, when he wrote 1 Corinthians 1, in verse 18, he said, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

[37:22] Does the cross seem foolishness to you, to study this morning? Or is it the thing that gives you and I assurance of the power of God that can be at work in our lives?

[37:39] Last week, we were studying Psalm 22, and we were looking at the sufferings that Jesus endured on the cross. We looked at what our sin caused.

[37:54] And I think it's fair to say that as we studied and progressed to the opening part of this chapter, it was dark. It was dark in terms of a study, as we thought about the fact that Jesus suffered so intensely for us.

[38:10] In the Gospels, we noted that the whole account of the crucifixion is reported as, and they crucified him. But in this Psalm, we are given this insight into the mind of Christ, and the experiences of Christ, and the intensity of what he endured for us.

[38:29] And it was dark. We considered how Jesus was deserted on the cross. Absolutely deserted.

[38:40] And alone. That was the sensation. That was the testimony. That was the reality. We considered how Jesus was despised. And he was mocked.

[38:52] And he was ridiculed. And people pointing their fingers, and they shoot their heads. And we considered how Jesus came under an attack that was diabolical.

[39:08] Do you remember when the mob came for Christ? In Gethsemane. In the garden. They approached him with clubs.

[39:21] And as a menacing mob. And Jesus said to them, This is your hour. When darkness reigns. And Jesus.

[39:35] Came under that dark. Diabolical attack. In the hours prior. And the hours on. The cross. So it was dark.

[39:48] In terms of a study. Necessarily dark. As we're confronted with our sin. And what our sin did. This week. We move from the darkness. Of our sin.

[39:59] And its effect. To the light of the salvation. That Jesus worked out. For those who are trusting in him. And everything changes in this psalm.

[40:11] In the matter of our verse. And I read from the ESV. This morning. Because it's much clearer. In that verse. Where things change. And where the balance shifts.

[40:22] And where we go from darkness. To light. If you look at verse 19. Of the psalm. Would you see them. From verse 19. And note the key change.

[40:34] The tone change. Of the psalm. As the suffering is ensured. We have these words. In verse 19. But you oh Lord. Do not be far off.

[40:45] Or you. My help. Come quickly. To my aid. Deliver my soul. From the sword. My precious life. From the power of the dog. Save me. From the mouth. Of the lion.

[40:56] It's all building. In terms of a crime. In such. Acute persecution. And suffering. And then. There's a change. You.

[41:09] Have. Rescued me. From the horns. Of the wild oxen. And that's the moment. That everything changes. Not just.

[41:22] In Jesus experience. But in our age. That's the moment. Where. Salvation. Began to. To break through. That's the moment.

[41:32] Where we. Go from a testimony. Of darkness. And sin. To light. And salvation. One commentator. Weerspie says. We move now. From suffering.

[41:43] To glory. From prayer. To praise. In verse 1. To 21. Jesus endured. The cross. But now. He enters.

[41:54] Into the joy. That was set. Before him. And it's all. So instantaneous. It's all. So abrupt. In terms. Of a turnaround. Read a story.

[42:05] In one of the. The commentaries. On this passage. One of the commentators. Tells a. A story. About a. A small.

[42:16] Steamer boat. Called. The flickster. And this little. Steamer boat. You can imagine. It was. Making its way up. The English Channel. And on. The boat.

[42:26] There was a lookout man. Obviously. It was in the days. Of war. A ship. And. And. He was surveying. The ocean. And looking around them. And. What he saw. Was the thing.

[42:37] He never wanted to see. He looked out. And he saw this. White line. Rapidly. Approaching the ship. He recognized it. Instantly. As a. A German.

[42:48] Torpedo. Rising to the surface. In its approach. Of the ship. The lookout. Shouted out. As he was called to do. But. In a shout. He knew it was too late. There was no way.

[42:59] This ship. Could maneuver. And. Get out of the. The way of this. Torpedo. That was approaching. And so the crew. Looked out.

[43:10] They saw. They braced themselves. And they waited for the impact. And then just a few yards. Before impact. Something went wrong.

[43:21] With the mechanism. Of the torpedo. And they watched the thing. Come up. And the nose. Come out of the water. It turned. 180 degrees. And before.

[43:33] The crew. Of the flikston. Could. Take in. What was. Actually happening. They saw the torpedo. Head back. In the direction. Of the sub. And fired. Explosion.

[43:44] And the sub. Went down. They were to come back up. There's something. Of that pattern. In this time. That dramatic. Turn around. From darkness.

[43:56] To light. From sin. To salvation. We see it. And the turnaround. Occurs. In the second half. Of verse 21. So I want to just go from.

[44:08] Verse 21. The second half. Through. To the end of the psalm. Very briefly. And. As we think about the salvation. That breaks through. And. The appropriate response.

[44:19] To it. There's four words. To highlight. I spend much more time. On the first two words. The first word. Is propitiation. And it isn't a word.

[44:30] That we use every day. It's not a word. That I've. Heard in the shop. Or in conversation. Anytime over the last. Week. Or a month. Or probably six months. It's not a word.

[44:41] That actually. Is making it through. To some of the more. Modern Bible translations. Sadly as well. But it's an important word. Because it encapsulates. And as much as we can. Encaptuate. What Jesus did.

[44:53] We have it in that word. Propitiation. That's what's being worked out. On the cross. We want to understand. What's going on. In the cross. That's the word. That we go to.

[45:04] And that's what we see. In this psalm. And the summary phrase. That we walk onto. In this psalm. If you're going to take. One phrase. And take it home. And chew over. Over the next week. Take the one.

[45:15] At the end of verse 31. He has done it. He. Has done it. And that's the gospel summary.

[45:35] We ask the question. What has he done? What is it that he has done? As we look at this psalm. And the answer is. That Jesus. Has done everything.

[45:46] That was necessary. To bring many. Sons. Or many souls. To glory. As we say. And he did it on the cross. If we had time.

[45:58] If you go to Hebrews 2. You can do that. When you go home. It's one of the keys. To understanding. Psalm 22. It's quoting. Psalm 22. And it's. Unlocking the word.

[46:10] On the cross. From Psalm 22. And it says. In verse 17. Of Hebrews 2. That Jesus. Was making. Propitiation. For the sins. Of the people. Now what does the word mean?

[46:23] Propitiation. We're told. In one. Of the notes. In my Bible. Conveys. The sense. Of an atoning. Sacrifice. That puts.

[46:35] That puts away sin. And satisfies. God's wrath. And that is what Jesus was doing. And that is what Jesus.

[46:47] Has done. He has put. Away our sin. And he has satisfied. God's wrath.

[46:59] His right anger. Against our sin. And he did it all on cross. Which is why it's so ugly. And it's so intense.

[47:13] Think about your sin. As I think about mine. The shame of it. And the. The vast. Volume of it.

[47:26] On that cross. Jesus was paying the penalty. For our sin. Thought. Word. Deed. Everything. Jesus.

[47:38] Jesus. Was taking it upon himself. In order. That he could put it away from us. And on that cross. Jesus. Was.

[47:49] Satisfying. The just. Right anger. Of God. Because. Sin cannot go. Unpunished. It can't go. Just swept aside. A just God. As he sees.

[48:00] All this wrongness. It has to be dealt with. But rather than. Crushing us. Under the weight of our sin.

[48:12] Which would be justice. He has taken it. Upon himself. In Christ. He sang of it at all. It was my sin.

[48:25] That held him there. Until it was accomplished. The work. The propitiation work. His dying breath.

[48:36] Has brought me life. I know. That it is finished. Or in other words. I know. That he.

[48:47] Has. Done. Arthur Pink. The commentator. Tells a story. About.

[48:59] A carpenter. And a farmer. Farmer. And the farmer. Was a Christian. The carpenter. Wasn't. And the farmer. Felt burden. For his friend.

[49:09] The carpenter. And he was trying. To share the gospel message. With his friend. The carpenter. And he was trying. To tell him. That everything. That was needed. For his friend. This carpenter. To be saved.

[49:20] And to get eternal life. Everything. That was needed. For him to receive it. Jesus has done it all. And like so many. The carpenter. Was scratching his head. And saying. It can't be as easy.

[49:30] As that. Surely. Jesus hasn't done it all. Surely. I must have to do something. And away he walked. Unconversed.

[49:41] Shortly afterwards. The farmer. Asked his friend. The carpenter. To make him a gate. And so. On the croft. As we can imagine. The place where the gate.

[49:53] Was set. When the gate. Was spinning. He got the message. To come and collect it. He collected it. He hung it. In the field. And when he hung it. He asked his friend.

[50:04] The carpenter. To come down. And check the gate. And make sure. That he hung it properly. He was very happy. To do that. So along came the carpenter. On the aforementioned day.

[50:15] And when he arrived. At the field. And he saw his friend. The farmer. Standing at the gate. He was surprised. To see him with an axe. And he was even more. Surprised.

[50:25] When he saw. The farmer. Swinging his axe. At his beautifully crafted gate. He charged his way up. To the farmer. He says. What are you doing?

[50:37] The farmer says. I'm just adding. A few finishing touches. To your gate. He says. There's no need to add. Any finishing touches. To the gate. The gate's finished. I've done it all. It's perfect. Don't you touch it.

[50:48] You're just ruining it. And the farmer stepped back. And said. You're right. The gate's finished.

[51:01] I shouldn't have touched it. This is in Christ's work. For you. To be saved. It's finished. You can't add to it.

[51:12] You can't take away from it. You simply have to believe. And that's what he did. On that day. And he was saved.

[51:24] It's a lesson for him. And it's a lesson. For us. Jesus was. Jesus is. The propitiation.

[51:34] For the sins. Of the people. That's us. He. Has. Done. All.

[51:45] Of the work. Of salvation. Taking our sins away. Satisfied. God's wrath. He's done.

[51:56] Everything. That was necessary. For us to be saved. And what we. Read in prophecy. The sound. He has done it. We hear in proclamation.

[52:09] From the. Words of Jesus. On the cross. As he hung there. In John 19. In verse 30. Jesus. Shouted out. With a loud voice. It is finished. And the work.

[52:22] Of salvation. Was complete. And the curtain. Remember. At that moment. Tore. From top. To bottom. From heaven. To earth. Showing that the way.

[52:33] Was now clear. Our sin. That was blocking. Our way. Into the presence of God. Had been taken away. And now the way. Was open. Salvation. Was there. For anyone. Who would deceive.

[52:46] Sinners. To be saved. And not perish. Through. All that Jesus. Had done. So here's the question.

[52:57] For you. And for all of us. What. Must we do. To be saved. Answer.

[53:10] Believe. Believe. Believe. That he. Jesus. Has done it. And I.

[53:20] Must deceive it. Not add to it. Not take away from it. But simply by faith.

[53:31] Receive the gift. Of salvation. That was so. Dearly purchased. Jesus. So that's the first word. It's propitiation.

[53:42] It's the longest point. The second word. Is praise. And that. Is simply. The only. Appropriate.

[53:52] Response. As we see. What Jesus. Has done. For us. And. Meditate. Upon. As we.

[54:04] Reflect. Upon. The fact. That he. Has done it all. The only. Appropriate. Response. Is praise. Praise.

[54:16] My soul. The king. Of heaven. To thy feet. To his feet. I tribute. Prince. Ransomed.

[54:28] Healed. Restored. Forgiven. him. Who. Who. Like thee. Is praise.

[54:39] Should sin. Praise him. If you are one. This morning. Who knows. That you benefit. From the. Propitiating.

[54:50] Word. Of Christ. If you know. Through faith. That you are. Ransom. That you are. Free. From your sin. That you are. Healed.

[55:00] In your soul. That you are. Restored. That you are. Forgiven. Surely. We want to. Praise the Lord. John.

[55:12] Chapter 12. Remember. The passage. For. Mary. Is. At the. Feet of Jesus. And she takes. The. Expensive. Nard.

[55:22] Perfume. And she. Annoyed. Jesus. Feet. And she. Dries his feet. With his hair. In this. Extravagant. Act. Of praise. Why was she.

[55:33] Praising. Well. She was. Praising. Because. She. Realised. How much. She had been. Forgiven. She. Realised. That. She.

[55:43] A sinner. Was being. Received. By Christ. And so. She didn't. Have to. But she. Wanted to. From her heart. Do this.

[55:54] Amazing. Extravagant. Act. Of praise. And worship. And the. Psalmist. Here. As we go through. This. Psalm. Even with his.

[56:04] Limited. Vision. Into the. Workings. Of salvation. From. Before the. Cross. He leads us. Into praise. To verse 22. I will tell.

[56:16] Of your name. To my brothers. In the midst. Of the congregation. I will praise you. You who fear. The Lord. Praise him. All you.

[56:27] Offspring. Of Jacob. Glorify him. And stand. In awe. Of him. All you. Offspring. Of Israel.

[56:38] Are they in awe? All. Just now. Are we in awe? Of the God.

[56:48] Who has done all this for us? For he. Verse 24. Has not despised. Or abhorred. The affliction.

[56:59] Of the afflicted. He is not. Hedden his face from. But has heard. When he cried. Then. From you.

[57:09] Comes. My. Praise. In the decommission. My vows. I will perform. Before. Those who fear him. The afflicted. Shall eat. And be satisfied.

[57:21] Those. Who seek him. Verse 26. Shall. Praise the Lord. May your hearts. Live forever. Some of you.

[57:34] Perhaps. Are wondering. Am I Christian? Am I not? Probably. One of the. Clearest. Tests. Of whether. Or not. We have accepted.

[57:46] Christ. Is heard. In our praise. Or our lack of. Remember.

[57:56] John 12. We have Mary. On the one hand. She's pouring out. The perfume. In this act. Of praise. And worship. She's drying. Jesus hair. And then.

[58:07] Just beside her. Same scene. Same situation. We have Judas. And he's.

[58:18] Perplexed. In fact. He's annoyed. By this act. Of devotion. But then. Judas. Had never seen. Jesus. The saviour. And that's a sermon.

[58:30] On the self. One. That Farrah. Preached. Just a few weeks ago. That we can get so close. To Jesus. That we can learn. So much. And retain it.

[58:40] In our heads. And never. Actually see. And accept him. As our saviour. But when we see.

[58:51] Jesus. As our saviour. Our saviour. When we see. Our sins. There. Being carried away. At such great cost.

[59:01] We will want to. We will determine. To praise him. When we consider. Verse 20. And 21. How Jesus has. Forgiven.

[59:12] And delivered us. Surely. We want to praise him. When we consider. Verse 26. The soul satisfaction.

[59:22] That is found. Only in Christ. Surely. We want to praise him. When we remember. Verse 28. That Jesus is king.

[59:33] And he rules over all. Surely. We want to praise him. When we remember. Verse 31.

[59:44] That he has done it. And. Surely. We want to praise him. When we consider. Looking back.

[59:55] Last week. To the cost. And the terror. And the forsakenness. That he went through. For our salvation. Surely.

[60:05] We want to praise him. Surely. We want to sing. At the end of the service. Today. What a love. What a cost.

[60:19] We stand. Forgiving. At the cross. There's a story. About a visitor.

[60:30] In a congregation. And. The visitor. Wasn't from the area. That the congregation. Usually met him. And he was. Full of zeal.

[60:41] For the Lord. But. Probably. Slightly. Slightly. Eccentric. In the way. That he would express. His zeal. And so. He sat in a congregation. Much like ours. Presbyterian congregation.

[60:52] In Scotland. I think it was. And the teacher. Was preaching. Through the text. And the teacher. Got to. A particularly high point. Within the sermon. A glorious point. Within the sermon.

[61:03] And. The visitor. Just couldn't. Contain himself. And. He felt it. Bubbling up. Within him. And he just shouted out. Praise the Lord. Lord. Gasp.

[61:15] The congregation. And the sermon continued. One of the elders. Call her. The visit the door. And just a reword. Is here.

[61:26] We don't pray the Lord here. We should. Be. I'm not. Recommending. That we all have.

[61:38] Outbursts. In the middle. Of the sermon. But we can be. Praising. The Lord. In the hush. Of this place. In the sanity. Of our hearts.

[61:49] We should be. We should be. Praising the Lord. With all. Our hearts. And not just. Standing with that. In before. Looking at the words. On the screen. And as we live.

[62:02] And as we work. And as we play. As we do. Whatever it is. That we're doing. Nine to five. Day by day. We should be doing it. As unto the Lord. Praising the Lord. For all.

[62:14] He has. And all he has done. I often think. About Brendan. Latham. And he's studying. All kinds of bugs. And creatures. And for me. I would be repulsed. By such things.

[62:24] For Brendan. He tells me. The more he studies. Of these bugs. And beetles. The more he praises. The Lord. For the design. Of the creator. That's the way. That we should be living.

[62:35] Whatever it is. We're doing. Praising the Lord. Propetiation. Praise and response. Third point. Profession.

[62:46] Just want to take a moment. To draw a distinction here. Because there will always be those. Who say. Yes. I'm praising the Lord. Deep within my heart. But it's deep within my heart. And it's very. Very. Very private.

[62:58] Yes. I'm a believer. But I praise the Lord. In the privacy of my own home. I praise the Lord. In the privacy of my own church. Share. I love the Lord. I trust him. But it's private.

[63:08] Leave me. You notice the psalmist. Never said that. In his response. A praise. His praise.

[63:19] Is very public. There's nothing. Private about it. Verse. 22. I will tell. Of your name. To my brothers. And sisters. In the midst.

[63:31] Of the congregation. I will praise you. Verse 25. From you. Comes my praise. In the great congregation.

[63:42] My vows. I will perform. Before those. Who fear him. So here's. A simple question. Are you willing to do that.

[63:54] If you're a believer. And as the communion season. Approaches. And the table. Will be set.

[64:04] If you're spared. To see that time. And as we remember. All that the Lord. Has done for us. Are we willing to do this for him? Are we willing to tell.

[64:16] Our brothers. And our sisters. Of the faith. That we have. In the name. Of Jesus. Are we willing. To praise. Openly. His name.

[64:27] In the midst. Of the congregation. Are we willing. To perform our vows. Are we willing. To do this. To take the bread. And to take the.

[64:38] The wine. In remembrance of him. As he has called us to. Surely. When we consider.

[64:48] All that. He did for us. We're willing. To do this for him. Propitiation.

[65:02] Traits. Profession. And finally. There's the word. Proclamation. The gospel. The good news.

[65:13] About Jesus. And all that he has done. To save us. Is not to be horny. It's not for some. Secret little. Huddle. One preacher.

[65:24] I listen to. Sometimes. Talks about. Some churches. And it's. Us four. No more. Close the door. It's not the way we could be. The gospel.

[65:36] Is not to be horny. It's not exclusive. It's not. Secret. It's to be proclaimed. It's a lesson. Jonah had to learn. The hard way.

[65:46] To the memory. Who is the gospel. To be proclaimed to. Well. Look at verse 27. It's to be proclaimed. To all.

[65:57] Nations. All the ends. Of the earth. What age group. Should the gospel. Be proclaimed to. Is it just for the young. Or just for the old. No. It's to be for.

[66:08] All generations. The coming generation. The coming generation. In the coming. Generation. And what is it. We proclaim. Some of these four words.

[66:24] He has done. Jesus. Has. Done. That salvation. Is not something.

[66:34] That we. Attain. That it's something. That he. Has already. Attained. And he. Does. To all.

[66:46] Who will come to. And search. For. And seek. That salvation. He. Has. Done.

[66:56] It. The question. Is. Will you. Receive. And not. Neglect. Such.

[67:08] Great salvation. And having. Received it. Will you. Proffess. Will you.

[67:18] Proclaim. That. What we. Could never. Do. For ourselves. He. Has. Done. For us. And.

[67:29] What he. Has. Done. For us. He. Can do. For any. And. For all. He. Will simply. Look. To. Let's.

[67:39] Pray. Heavenly. Father. We. Thank you. For the. Simplicity. Of.

[67:50] The. Gospel. Message. Jesus. Has. Done. It. All. And. We. Are. Called. Simply. To. Receive. The. Forgiveness. Of. Sin. And.

[68:00] The. Eternal. Life. That. He. Has. Paid. For. With. His. Own. Blood. We. Ask. Lord. That. We. Would. Not. Neglect. Such. Expensive. Such. Great. Salvation.

[68:12] We. Pray. That. There. Would. Be. No. One. Here. This. Morning. Who. Walks. Out. The. Door. Saying. Another. Time. We. Ask. Lord. That. We. Would. As.

[68:23] We. See. Our. Sin. As. We. See. Our. Saviour. And. As. We. See. His. Suffering. For. Us. We. Pray. That. We. Would. Trust. And. Having.

[68:34] Trusted. That. We. Would. Not. Hide. That. Faith. But. That. We. Proclaim. That. Jesus. Is. Our. Saviour. And. What. He. Has. Done. For. Us. You.

[68:44] Can. Do. For. Any. To. Hear. Our. Prayers. And. Enable. Us. As. We. Go. From. Here. To. Glorify. You. In. The. Way. That. We. Live. And. To. Proclaim.

[68:54] The. Gospel. To. All. That. You. Give. Us. Opportunity. To. Share. With. And. We. Pray. This. In. Jesus. Name. Amen. We.

[69:05] Sing. To. Finish. Mission. Phase. 1,217. As. We. Think. On.

[69:16] The. Cross. And. All. That. Jesus. Did. For. Us. We. Sing. In. Praise. Oh.

[69:27] To. See. The. Dawn. Of. The. Darkest. Day. Christ. On. The. Road. To. Calgary. Tried. By. Sinful. Men. Torn. And. Beaten. Then. Kneeled. To. A. Cross. Of. Wood. This. The.

[69:37] Power. Of. The. Cross. Christ. Became. Sin. For. Us. Took. The. Blame. Bore. The. Wrath. We. Stand. For. Given. At. The. Cross. Heavenly.

[69:47] Father. We. Thank. You. For. Your. Grace. God's. Riches. At. Christ's. Expense. And. Now. We. Pray. That. The. Grace. Of. Our. Lord. Jesus. Christ. And. The. Love. Of. God. The. Father.

[69:58] And. The. Fellowship. Of. God. The. Holy. Spirit. Will. Be. With. Us. All. Both. Now. And. Forever. More. Amen.