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[0:01] Good morning and a warm welcome to the service this morning. Those who are visiting with us, there's a few familiar faces who've been away a while on our backs, so it's good to see those who are returning and those who are visiting with us as well today. It's good for us to come together and to worship God. The service this morning, after the service this morning, there is, is it tea and coffee or are we going straight into lunch? We're going straight into lunch.

[0:32] There might be a chance for a cup of tea or coffee, but we're going from coffee into soup and sandwich and put a lunch. So everyone is welcome to come together for lunch this morning.

[0:47] John and Alice and Doogie and Fingal are heading away today back to Edinburgh. So they were going to come up for their lunch to the manse, but people kept asking about wanting to spend a wee bit of time with them. So we decided to have a wee lunch here so we can get the chance to have a bit of time together before they head off. It's not goodbye, it's just farewell.

[1:10] Sometimes you have to go back to Edinburgh for a wee while to realise how much you need to be back in Harris. So please stay behind after the service if you're able to. I don't have, there's been so many additions to the notes as shown. If you'll go through these, you can keep me right. Evening service tonight is at six o'clock. It's a monthly Gaelic service.

[1:34] It will be taken by the Reverend Dolan, Dolan, as we know him, and then an English fellowship at half past seven. Peggy is going to be sharing a wee bit with us about her recent trip to Romania, so we look forward to that. And also we've got Mackenzie's dad here with us this morning, Rick, somewhere. I can't spot him just now, over there. So Rick will be with us in the evening fellowship too, and he'll share a short word of encouragement from the Bible. So be encouraged to come along to the fellowship this evening. Ladies' fellowship as usual. I'll just go through the ones that are week by week. You've got details there. Keep on going. And Little Fishers on Tuesday in the morning and Road to Recovery on Tuesday in the evening. Prayer meeting on Wednesday night at half past seven. This week we've got Blytheswood with us at the prayer meeting.

[2:34] Charlie Nicholson and Elmer Morrison will be speaking about the ongoing ministry of Blytheswood care. So please come along to the prayer meeting. Connect Club, as we move back towards the kids' clubs, there's a bit of planning to do. So Connect Club planning meeting, short meeting immediately after the prayer meeting on Wednesday. So please help us. Could you be there? And those who are, there may be those who haven't helped yet for Jam or Connect or Rooted, but who would like to help.

[3:08] It doesn't mean you've got to be standing up, taking a group and speaking. There's a whole lot of jobs that need to be done, and we could really deal with a few more helpers. So if you haven't come yet to help, be encouraged to step forward and to do that. I tidy up in the church outside and inside, 4.30 onwards on Friday. John Angus is the boss, and the services next Sunday will be taken by myself morning and evening, God willing. And again, in connection with Rooted, there's a pre, there's a meeting to organise next term. So if you're able to help with that work, then there is the chance to get involved. We're hoping to begin, I'm just going to read it out, I can't scan it and go through it quick enough. We're hoping to begin Rooted in the coming weeks, so before we arrange a pre-meet to discuss the session, we wanted to be at the offer for any volunteers.

[4:08] So you have got the opportunity for that, so prayerfully consider that, please. And just a notice for the future weeks, the communion weekend is approaching, and please put in your diary the 16th to the 18th of September. Pray for Ian McCritchie, who will be taking most of the services in English, and the Reverend Dolan, who will be taking the Gaelic service. And those who may be thinking about coming forward for the first time, please feel free to come and speak to myself or any of the elders about that.

[4:46] And there's details there on defibrillator training, and there's quite a lot there which you've had the chance to look through before the service. Cam is your man if you want to follow up on that one.

[4:58] And that's us. So let's worship God and let's sing to his praise from Mission Praise 708, Mission Praise 708, the words on the screen. To God be the glory, great things he hath done.

[5:14] To God be the glory, great things he hath done. So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, who yielded his life, and opened the life gate that all may go in.

[5:55] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.

[6:08] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

[6:22] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer, the promise of God, the blightest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus the pardon receives.

[6:48] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.

[7:02] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

[7:15] Great things he hath done. And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son.

[7:28] But purer and higher and greater will be, our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

[7:41] Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice.

[7:54] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done.

[8:08] O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Let's unite our hearts and let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this new morning.

[8:26] We thank you for this, your day. This gift that you have given to us, where we are commanded to stop work and to spend time in your presence to wait upon you.

[8:38] And we thank you, Lord, that as we come together to wait upon you as a congregation, we find that your promise is true. That our strength is renewed, that we are encouraged as we spend time together as believers in the Lord Jesus.

[8:56] Those who are following him through life, who have the promise that we will follow him through death into life that's everlasting.

[9:08] So we thank you, Lord God, for all that we have sung of in that hymn. We thank you for the work of Jesus. We thank you for the good news of the gospel.

[9:19] We thank you, Father, that you sent your son into this world. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. And we thank you that he is the one who laid down his life, who yielded his life in atonement for sin.

[9:36] And we recognize that we are those whom Jesus laid down his life for. We are those who are sinners. We sin in our hearts, in our thoughts. We sin in our minds.

[9:50] And in the words that we say, in the silences sometimes that we do not break. And we recognize, Lord, even as you look back over the past few days, that we have disappointed ourselves.

[10:02] And we know that your standard is far above our standard. We know that we have often aggrieved the Holy Spirit who lives within us if we are Christians.

[10:14] And we pray for that forgiveness. We pray that once more the blood of Jesus would cleanse us from all sin. We pray, Lord, that you would once more take us from any distance that we may have drifted away from you.

[10:29] Back to that place where we are close to God. And we thank you, Lord, for the promise that when we listen, when we believe, when we act upon the gospel message, you will never drive us away.

[10:44] We thank you that as we seek to draw near to Jesus, as we do so in this hour, we never find that we are pushed away. But we thank you that you are the God who draws us close, who cleanses us, who receives us, who blesses us, who gives to us that contentment that we can find in no other place as we journey through this life, and who gives to us that promise of life that is eternal, that heavenly home that is prepared for all who are in Christ.

[11:20] We pray for anyone today who may be here or who may be watching at a distance who is not yet in Christ. We pray for anyone today who may be here or who may be here or who may be here or who may be here or who may be here.

[11:58] Outside of Christ, even in these moments, we pray and find that they are brought into that place of eternal security, which is in Christ.

[12:10] We think of the thief on the cross who knew so little in terms of theology or biblical knowledge, who had had no time to do good works, who perhaps had never been to services in the way that we attend services, but who recognized that Jesus was the Savior, that he was a sinner and simply cried out, remember me.

[12:35] So hear our prayers, Lord, as we would say in these moments. Remember us, receive us, cleanse us, make us new. And give us, Lord, we pray, that grace that is sufficient for each day and each situation that we find ourselves in.

[12:52] We pray for those who are struggling today, those who are recovering from illness or from procedures in the hospital. We think of Ina Glenn in particular.

[13:04] And we thank you for the surgery that she had this week, which went well. We pray that as she recovers from that operation, that your hand of healing would be upon her and that you would draw near to her at this time.

[13:18] We pray for others who may be processing news this week, which has been difficult to hear. And we think of Neil Cameron especially as he struggles with illness and as he awaits for some direction on the course of things for the future.

[13:35] We pray that you would guide him and lead him, that your hand would be upon all those who care for him. We ask, Lord, that you would draw near to him.

[13:45] And if it's your will, you would lay your hand of healing upon him also. We thank you for the encouragement that he is to us so often. And we pray for your blessing to be upon him.

[13:58] We pray, Lord, for those who are preparing to leave us today and head back to Edinburgh. We think of John and Alice and Dougie and Fingal. We thank you for the time that they've had in Harris and in the congregation here.

[14:13] And we ask, Lord, that you would bless them as they head back to Edinburgh. We ask that you would settle them back in to their home and the work and help them as they look for a place to come together, a church family to join as they seek to worship you.

[14:31] So hear our prayers. Cleanse us from our sin. Lead us and guide us in all that we do. And we pray that in all that we do in this service, that the glory would be given to you.

[14:42] You are the God who is deserving of all glory, of all praise, of all worship. So enable us in our thoughts, in our words, and in everything, to give you the glory for all that you have done for us and all that you are in yourself.

[14:58] And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please? How are you all today?

[15:21] You're a bit quiet today. How are you all today? All good. Good stuff. Well, I wanted to show you a few pictures today. I was away last week for two or three days, two and a half days in Edinburgh.

[15:37] This wasn't planned for you guys to try and dissuade you from going. It just happened to be the case. So I was in Edinburgh. Put your hand up if you've been in Edinburgh before. So what did you find when you were in Edinburgh?

[15:47] What was it like? Tell me a wee bit about Edinburgh. Lewis? It was busy, yeah? What did you see when you were in Edinburgh? Castle, maybe?

[16:00] Yeah? Johnny? Cars, yeah? Yeah? In the castle? Pardon? See? Queen. The Queen? You saw the Queen when she was in Edinburgh? You just made that up, didn't you?

[16:14] Yeah. But she's been in Edinburgh, so it's possible, Michael, you might have seen the Queen. Well, I've seen the Queen in London. You've seen the Queen in London? Good stuff. Now, Edinburgh, would you say it's a beautiful city or would you say it's a bit ugly?

[16:33] And the right answer is beautiful. What would you say? It's a beautiful city or it's a bit ugly? What do you think? They're a bit quiet today. It's a beautiful city.

[16:46] So many big statues and monuments and beautiful architecture. And there's the green and the gardens and all that kind of thing. So it is. It's a beautiful city. But this week when I was in Edinburgh, it wasn't all that beautiful.

[16:59] So look at the screen for some of the pictures. I've seen it on Newsround. You've seen it on Newsround? So that's just one picture. That's on the grass market.

[17:11] Look at that one. Look at that. And that was one that I took when I got off the bus, just outside the bus stop.

[17:22] And then there's one more, I think. Is there? So that's all the pictures.

[17:32] So what's going on there? Why is there all the rubbish on the streets? There's a strike. Yeah, Katie? The rubbish people are going on strike.

[17:48] They're saying they're not getting paid enough. They're not very happy. So they've said they're not emptying the bins. And so they were having a bit of a fight over that.

[17:58] And they said, right, we're not doing it. And so the streets in Edinburgh are absolutely covered in rubbish. Whenever you go in Edinburgh, there's rubbish. I was walking along with my suitcase when I came off the tram after being on the plane.

[18:13] And there was plastic bottles getting stuck under the case when I was trying to pull it along. Everywhere you went, and when there was the wind, there was papers and rubbish flying absolutely everywhere.

[18:26] Pardon? Went from the tram, the plane to the tram to the city centre. But what's the tram? The tram. It's another story I'll tell you after the service. It's a train.

[18:38] It's a kind of posh train. Yeah, but they stop trains as well. Yeah. So now, when I was walking around and I saw all the rubbish, what do you think that reminded me of?

[18:54] All that rubbish is on the outside. But what do you think that reminded me of? Michael? Michael?

[19:05] Yeah. Yeah. Not that I'm saying you're all rubbish. But Katie. Yeah. So sin. It reminded me of what's in my heart.

[19:21] Because the Bible tells us that in our hearts, there's sin. And the sin that's in my heart, it doesn't just stay in my heart, but it spills out.

[19:34] It's like the streets in Edinburgh. The rubbish that I might let into my mind that's in my heart, it spills out. And it can be sometimes in the things I do, or the things I say, or the things I think.

[19:48] And so, the picture of the streets on the outside, I thought, you know, in some ways it's a bit like the picture of my heart on the inside. And it's not just me.

[19:59] Because the Bible tells us that we're all sinners. So we all have sin in our hearts. So that's the bad news. What do you think the good news is?

[20:10] Who can cleanse? Who can clean a sinful heart? William? Jesus.

[20:22] And how does he clean our hearts? All the sin that's in us. How do we get it taken away? That's it.

[20:36] Spot on, Michael. We ask him. That's all we do. We pray. Well, what did Jesus do to clean our sin? He died on the cross.

[20:48] So it's his blood that makes our hearts clean. But if we want our hearts to be clean, all we have to do is ask him.

[21:00] And how do we ask him? We pray. Does Jesus ever go and strike? Does he ever say, I've had enough of your prayers.

[21:12] I'm not listening anymore. I've done so much cleaning of your heart, McLeod. No more it's done. No, no, no, no, no. He never goes on strike.

[21:23] He always listens to us. And he will always cleanse our hearts. When we come to him and we ask him. So, will we do that?

[21:34] And ask him. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you love us. And we thank you that we can see how much you love us when we look at the cross.

[21:46] We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you went to the cross. And that your blood was shed. It was poured out. So that our sins could be forgiven.

[21:57] We thank you, Lord Jesus, that you went to the cross to pay the price for our sin. And we thank you that if we want to have our hearts cleaned, all we have to do is ask you.

[22:10] We know that there are some people who get angry when they hear what you say to us in the Bible. And we know there are some people who say, I'm not a sinner.

[22:21] Don't tell me that I'm a sinner. But, Lord, we want to say to you this morning that we know that we are sinners. We sin in our thoughts and in our words and in the things we do.

[22:34] And we pray that you would cleanse our hearts. That you would cleanse our lives. That you would wash us in the blood of Jesus. And that you would make us clean. That you would make us your children.

[22:46] And we thank you that you promised to hear our prayers and to answer our prayers when we pray in faith. So we ask, Lord, that you would hear our prayers. That you would answer us. That you would make us your children.

[22:59] And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to sing now about that. And we're going to sing the hymn on the screen. What can wash away my sin? Nothing. But the blood of Jesus.

[23:10] But the blood of Jesus. But the blood of Jesus. What can wash away my sin? What can wash away my sin?

[23:24] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[23:37] Oh, precious is the flow. Oh, precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other fount I know.

[23:51] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow. Oh, precious is the flow.

[24:08] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow. Oh, precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow.

[24:21] No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Nothing can for sin atone Nothing but the blood of Jesus Not of good that I have done Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my hope and peace Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my righteousness Nothing but the blood of Jesus

[25:23] Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Okay boys and girls If you head to Sunday school And remember to pray for them as they go Even the big ones at the end And we'll turn in our Bibles To Luke chapter 22 Luke 22

[26:32] And we'll read from Verse 1 to Verse 23 Now the feast of unleavened bread Called the Passover Was approaching And the chief priests And the teachers of the law Were looking for some way To get rid of Jesus For they were afraid of the people Then Satan entered Judas Called Iscariot One of the twelve And Judas went to the chief priests And the officers of the temple guard And discussed with them How he might betray Jesus They were delighted And agreed to give him money He consented And watched for an opportunity To hand Jesus over to them When no crowd was present Then came the day of unleavened bread In which the Passover lamb Had to be sacrificed Jesus sent Peter and John Saying go and make preparations For us to eat the Passover Where do you want us to prepare for it They asked He replied As you enter the city

[27:33] A man carrying a jar of water Will meet you Follow him to the house That he enters And say to the owner of the house The teacher asks Where is the guest room Where I may eat the Passover With the disciples He will show you A large upper room All furnished Make preparations there They left and found things Just as Jesus had told them So they prepared the Passover When the hour came Jesus and his apostles Reclined at the table And he said to them I have eagerly desired To eat this Passover with you Before I suffer For I tell you I will not eat it again Until it finds fulfillment In the kingdom of God After taking the cup He gave thanks And said Take this and divide it among you For I tell you I will not drink again Of the fruit of the vine Until the kingdom of God comes And he took bread Gave thanks and broke it And gave it to them Saying this is my body Given for you

[28:33] Do this in remembrance of me In the same way After the supper He took the cup Saying this cup Is the new covenant in my blood Which is poured out for you But the hand of him Who is going to betray me Is with mine on the table The son of man will go As it has been decreed But woe to that man Who betrays him They began to question Among themselves Which of them It might be Who would do this Amen And may God bless that reading Of his word to us We're going to sing again To God's praise We'll sing from Psalm 130 Psalm 130 And I'll read the first Three stanzas of the psalm And we'll maybe just sing The first two Lord from the depths To thee I cried My voice Lord Do thy hear And to my supplications

[29:33] Voice give an attentive ear Lord who shall stand If thy will Lord Shots mark iniquity But yet with thee Forgivenesses That feared Thou mayest be I wait for God My soul doth wait My hope Is in his word More than may that For morning watch My soul Waits for the Lord We'll sing the first Two stanzas Of this psalm In Gaelic And we'll remain Seated to sing The first one Except he ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶

[33:34] ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ Thank you.

[34:36] Thank you.

[35:06] Thank you.

[35:36] Thank you. Thank you.

[36:36] Amen. Amen. Thank you, Rick. If you could turn, please, with me to Luke chapter 22.

[36:50] Luke chapter 22. We've been going through Luke for a while.

[37:01] We've picked back up where we left off for a while. And as we re-enter at this point in the gospel, the story as Luke tells it is gripping.

[37:15] The plot line is gripping. In the background, we could say that we see the crowds. And the crowds are still gathering around Jesus.

[37:28] We're told that at the end of chapter 1. We see how the people were coming to hear Jesus each day in the morning at the temple.

[37:40] The crowds were very much hanging on the words of Jesus. Jesus is very popular with the crowds, but it's evident that he is not popular with the religious leaders.

[37:51] And for a while now, they have been conspiring as to how they could kill Jesus. They were trying to figure out how they could get to Jesus without the crowds seeing, without the crowds knowing.

[38:05] Because if the crowds found out what they were doing, the crowds would turn against the religious leaders and there would be a riot. So they're struggling to know how to get to Jesus.

[38:20] But then one day, Judas came to them. And Judas began to speak to them about a deal whereby he hands over Jesus and they hand over some money.

[38:33] And so we thought about this last week that they now have a deal. Jesus will be handed over by Judas. And Judas, for a mere 30 pieces of silver, will throw away his eternal security.

[38:53] Which is a travesty. The worst deal ever recorded. 30 pieces of silver in his hand. Which are hardly in his hand before they're gone.

[39:07] And forever in hell. So all that is going on in the background. That's what's going on, we could say, out in the streets. But then, look, he takes the camera.

[39:22] And he zooms in. He takes us into this upper room. And he zooms in to this situation where Jesus has prepared this upper room where he can be with his disciples.

[39:35] And we're taken into this very intimate setting. Where Jesus is with the disciples. And he is speaking with them.

[39:47] He's teaching them. He's spending time with them. And what I'd like to do today is simply focus on Jesus. It's what we should do every day.

[39:59] But let's look very keenly at the character and the attributes of Jesus.

[40:11] There's a lot going on in the plot line. But let's watch Jesus. And we see him. We see his character.

[40:22] We see his attributes. As we listen in to this conversation that he has with his disciples. We learn a lot about each other. As we watch and listen how we deal with each other. You can say, I'm a very kind person.

[40:37] But as we listen to how we deal with the people around us, we'll find out whether we are kind or not. And so we see Jesus here.

[40:49] We see the person, the character, the attributes of Jesus as he gathers this group of disciples around him.

[41:00] For the final time, really. Before he goes to the cross. So the first thing I'd like us to see this morning is the sovereign timing of Jesus.

[41:14] The sovereign timing of Jesus. Look at verse 14. It says, When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.

[41:26] So Jesus has a very clear sense of time. You know, we are people, as I take my watch off and this clock faces me, we are people who are so often under the pressure of time.

[41:40] You know, there never seems to be enough time to get through the things we want to do. There never seems to be enough time for me to get through the points that I put on the page. We are always running out of time.

[41:51] We are always losing track of time. Which kind of throws us into a panic. But as we look at Jesus here, and as we look at Jesus in the Gospels generally, he's never in a panic.

[42:05] He moves from place to place with great purpose. But he's never running.

[42:18] He's never in a flat. He's never behind schedule. He's always in time. So what was the time?

[42:30] Now Luke tells us in verse 7 that it was the day of unleavened bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So in terms of the calendar, it was Passover time.

[42:45] Lambs were being sacrificed at this time as they remembered the Passover. And that was no coincidence. That was part of the plan.

[42:56] That was carefully timed by Jesus. But now here in verse 14, we're told by Luke that the hour had come.

[43:08] And this was the hour where Jesus would show his disciples. Through the Passover meal, which became the communion meal, this was the hour when Jesus would show his disciples that he was the Passover lamb.

[43:27] That every Passover lamb that had ever been sacrificed was pointing forward to this ultimate, perfect sacrifice where the Passover lamb, the lamb of God, would be sacrificed on the cross.

[43:43] And Jesus will explain to the disciples with words and pictures that he was the Passover lamb. That everything that was happening around him was pointing to him and his death.

[44:02] So as we stand back from this for a moment, the first thing we could say by way of application is don't ever think that the death of Jesus was some kind of tragic accident.

[44:17] Sometimes we hear that. Sometimes people will say, well, you know, evil men got hold of Jesus and they cut his ministry short and they overpowered him and they overtook him.

[44:31] But that's false. The death of Jesus was always the plan of God to save us. And yes, evil men were used.

[44:44] And yes, they will be held accountable for what they did. But this was part of the mysterious plan of God to save us. Our salvation was designed in eternity.

[44:58] But now the time had come for Jesus to work out that salvation on the cross. And Jesus knows that. And in the upper room, Jesus is telling the disciples what's to come.

[45:17] The sovereign timing of Jesus. The cross was not surprising him. It was not overtaking him.

[45:29] He was going there as had been planned. And perhaps one final thing I could say just by way of passing application. It's just the details of our own lives.

[45:43] If we can look at this Savior and see the sovereign, majestic power that he yielded, even in terms of his impending death, surely we can trust him with our lives.

[46:02] And the details, the small details of our lives. The things that do worry us. Things that trouble us.

[46:14] The things that keep us up at night. The God that we pray to. The Lord Jesus whom we trust and whom we follow.

[46:25] He is sovereign over all things. There's not an inch of this world that is not his. There's not a situation that we'll encounter that he is not sovereign over.

[46:40] So one way that we can respond day by day is in the words of the hymn writer who says, My times are in thy hand.

[46:52] My God, I wish them there. My life, my friends, my soul, I leave. I leave entirely to thy care. My times are in thy hand, whatever they may be, pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem to thee.

[47:08] My times are in thy hand. Why should I doubt or fear? My Father's hand will never cause his child a needless tear.

[47:18] My times are in thy hand. Jesus the crucified. Those hands my cruel sins had pierced are now my guard and guide.

[47:32] My times are in thy hand. I'll always trust in thee. And after death, at thy right hand, I shall forever be.

[47:43] The sovereign timing of Jesus in terms of his life and his death and also ours. The second point is the earnest desire of Jesus.

[47:55] Look at verses 15 and verse 16. And he, Jesus, said to them, the disciples, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

[48:10] And the English doesn't really do justice to the statement there. Literally it reads, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

[48:24] For I tell you I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. And it's, on the one hand, a very simple statement.

[48:36] But it's a remarkable statement that Jesus makes there. That he desired to be with his disciples. And not just a little bit.

[48:49] He eagerly, he intensely desires to be with his disciples. Even though they're so flawed and they're so messed up. And the whole gospel gives us the picture of that.

[49:01] Even though they keep failing him. Even though he knows they're going to fail him even more in the next few days. And yet he says, With desire, earnestly, I am overwhelmed with desire to eat this Passover with you.

[49:23] Jesus wanted the disciples to sit around the table with him. He wanted them to be close to him. He wanted them to be together so that he could speak to them about his deep, deep love for them.

[49:39] I love that it would be so powerfully demonstrated in his suffering. And what Jesus said on that day is still true on this day.

[49:55] If you're here this morning and you're not a Christian. Jesus earnestly desires that you come to him.

[50:10] Not just that you come in the door of the church. But he desires that you come to him. That you trust him.

[50:20] That you give your life to him. He went to the cross to remove all the barriers that were there.

[50:31] That separated sinners from this holy God. Jesus came. He lived. He died. He rose. So that we who were far away. Who were enemies of God. Could come close and be called friends of God.

[50:44] Jesus earnestly desires that you trust him. That you seek forgiveness. That you commit your life to him.

[50:59] And for those who are Christians and who are here this morning. Jesus desires earnestly. That we will spend time with him.

[51:11] That we will be in the word of God. Not just for this hour.

[51:23] But all the time. That we will be in prayer. Constantly. That we will live close to him.

[51:33] You know it's so simple. And yet it's so hard for us to actually believe. Because I think many of us have this idea.

[51:49] That Jesus. You know he puts up with us. But he. He can't really love us. Because we see the darkness of our hearts.

[52:00] And so we think well. We understand the cross. We understand what he did. We're thankful for that. But surely Jesus can't earnestly desire. For me to spend time with him. Surely.

[52:13] Surely that's not what he's saying. But that is what he's saying. And for some here. I believe Jesus' earnest desire.

[52:27] Is that you come. And you sit around the table with him. As the disciples. As the disciples did. There are some who are here.

[52:41] And I believe. You are disciples of Jesus. But you don't want to come to the table. Or perhaps you don't feel worthy.

[52:53] To come to the table. And so you stand back. You're on the other side of the door. Of the upper room. You're at a distance from the table. Because you think well.

[53:04] He can't mean me. But take a look at the disciples. Were they perfect? They were a shambles.

[53:18] They were far from perfect. And yet the earnest desire of Jesus. Was that they would be close to him. So we see the sovereign timing of Jesus.

[53:32] The sovereign power of Jesus. As his death approaches. We see the earnest desire of Jesus. As he calls the disciples to come close to him. To gather around him.

[53:44] Around that table. The third point here. Is the last wish of Jesus. Which is maybe not the best phraseology of it.

[53:55] But it's the best I could do. In the time I had. The last wish of Jesus. And we're familiar with the whole idea. Of a last wish.

[54:07] As people come towards the end. Of their lives. They gather their loved ones around them. As Jesus did here. And invariably.

[54:18] They tell their loved ones. Their last wishes. They share with their loved ones. What they want to happen. After they're gone. And that's what Jesus does here.

[54:32] He has his loved ones around him. And he shares with them. His wishes. He tells the disciples. What he wants them to do. After he goes from this world.

[54:45] We read about that. In verses 17 to 20. After taking the cup. Says Jesus. Remember he's. He's serving them the Passover meal.

[54:57] After taking the cup. He gave thanks. And said. Take this. And divide it. Among you. For I tell you. I will not drink again. Of the fruit of the vine. Until the kingdom of God comes.

[55:09] And he took bread. Gave thanks. And broke it. And gave it to them. Saying. This is my body. Given for you.

[55:22] Do this. The literal is. Keep on doing this. In remembrance. Of me. And in the same way. He. After supper.

[55:33] He took the cup. Saying this cup. Is the new covenant. In my blood. Which is poured. Out for you. So these were the wishes of Jesus.

[55:46] Here's some of the last words of Jesus. As he has his disciples. All around him. And his wishes instruction. To his disciples. Is he wants them.

[55:58] And he wants us. To keep on remembering his death. He wants us to remember.

[56:09] That his body was given for us. He wants us to remember. That his blood was. Was poured out for us. He wants us to remember. To keep on remembering.

[56:20] To never forget. To never drift. From the cross. To day by day. Keep journeying back. To that place. Where we remember his death.

[56:31] Now. You know. We can read many biographies. Of many different people. And different walks of life. And the focus of the book. When the. When the author writes.

[56:43] The desire of the author. When they set out. To describe the life of a person. Is they'll remember the life of the person. So we'll hear all about achievements.

[56:53] We'll hear about family. We'll hear about relationships. We'll hear about all kinds of things. And the emphasis. And the emphasis. Will be massively. On the life of the person.

[57:04] And very rarely in a biography. Will we hear anything. About the death of the person. But as we look at Matthew.

[57:15] And Mark. And Luke. And Luke. And John. As they tell us about Jesus. As the Holy Spirit inspires them. There is a huge amount.

[57:26] Of time. Spent. Focusing. On the death of Jesus. Why is that? Well the answer is.

[57:39] Because. Through. That sacrificial death. Of Jesus. We are saved. Through the death of Jesus.

[57:52] And no other way. We can live eternally. If we believe. We often sing the.

[58:04] The words in the. In the. Before the hope. Throne of God. At him. Because the sinless. Savior died. My guilty soul. Is counted free. For God the just.

[58:15] Is satisfied. To look. On him. And pardon. Me. So. As we remember. The death of Jesus. Jesus. We remember.

[58:26] How much. God loves us. When the devil. Comes to us. And tells us. He can't love you. He doesn't want to spend time. With you. When the devil. Comes in. And points out.

[58:36] All the sin. That's in our lives. And. And that sense. Of God's love. Drains from us. As we go back. To the cross. As we remember. Again. The death of Jesus. We remember. How much. God loves us.

[58:49] And we need. That reminder. Every day. As we remember. The death of Jesus. We are. We are given. Assurance. And reassurance. And more reassurance.

[59:00] That we are saved. That we are. Eternally. Secure. That we are forgiven. That we are heaven bound. If we believe. If we believe in him.

[59:13] So Jesus. Gathers his disciples. Around him. In a wee room. Away from the world. And he says to them.

[59:24] I want you. To keep on remembering. My death. And that was a word for them. And that was a word for us.

[59:40] How tragic. It would be. How wrong it would be. For any of us. Not to. Respect. And obey.

[59:51] The last wish of Jesus. How wrong. It would be. For us. To follow Jesus.

[60:02] At a distance. To have received. Forgiveness. For sin. And yet. To refuse. To remember. His death. To refuse.

[60:15] To come. To the table. Where he. Reminds us. And tells us. Again. And again. And again. Of his wondrous.

[60:26] Love for us. So let me. Encourage. All of us. Those who have never. Been to the table.

[60:38] If you are. Followers of Jesus. If you are. Forgiven. His command is to be there. And let me say a word.

[60:51] Also. Perhaps. To those who have been there. A thousand times. And he sits there. And the bread and the wine. Passes. And your minds are. At the fishing.

[61:03] Or at the football. Or at the shops. Or at next week's work. Our calling.

[61:14] As we gather. Around that table. Is to remember. The death. Of Jesus. Until he comes. The last wish of Jesus.

[61:27] The final thing here. Is the amazing. Grace of Jesus. And we. We both see. The amazing grace of Jesus. In the institution.

[61:37] Of the Lord's Supper. As Jesus sets it out here. For the first time. And we. Hear the amazing. Grace of Jesus. As he extends. One final invitation. To Judas.

[61:49] Of all people. So first of all. Look at the institution. Of Jesus. In verses. 17 to 20. In these verses. As we've glanced at them already.

[62:00] Jesus. Institutes. The Lord's Supper. Before this point. The Lord's Supper. Did not exist. Before this point. As the. The people of God.

[62:10] Came together. At Passover. They were looking back. To Exodus 12. They were looking back. To one. Particular situation. Where. Where God. By his grace. Unlocked.

[62:21] The doors of Egypt. And spared them. From physical death. Through the. The shedding of the blood. Of the Passover lamb. You can go to Exodus 12. And read about yourselves. Later. But they were.

[62:32] Thinking. Way back. To one day. One time. When God. You could say. Showed them his grace. In low definition. Just a few pixels.

[62:45] But on this day. As Jesus gathers. His disciples around them. He's not looking back. In fact. He's pointing them forward. To the cross.

[62:56] Where the grace of God. Would be seen in high definition. On this day. Jesus. Is taking his disciples. By the hand. And he's pointing them forward.

[63:07] To that day. Which was almost upon them. Where the. The body of the lamb of God. Would be given. And the blood of the lamb of God. Would be poured out. So that we could be saved.

[63:18] From eternal death. And given. Eternal life. So as we're taken to that place. We see.

[63:33] The amazing. Grace. Of the Lord Jesus. In these pictures. Of the Passover. And the body.

[63:44] And the blood. That was given. So that we could be. Saved. Do you see it?

[63:59] Do you see the grace of Jesus? And have we received. The gift of the grace. Of Jesus. When God the Holy Spirit.

[64:13] Is working. He opens our eyes to see. What we could never see before. He takes our mind. And he fixes our minds.

[64:24] On what was no interest. To us before. So. Can you see. The grace. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you see. That on the cross. His body was given for you.

[64:35] His blood was shed for you. So that you could be saved. Because. If you can see that. God is. Inviting you to receive it. To receive Jesus. And to receive eternal life.

[64:50] If you can't see it. You won't be. Hearing this. But if you're still hearing this.

[65:02] You can see what Jesus did. He's holding his hand out to you. And saying. Do you want to be saved? Do you want to be forgiven?

[65:14] Do you want my grace? It's free. It's not cheap.

[65:26] It's paid for by Jesus' blood. God. But it's free. It's offered to you. So we see the amazing grace of Jesus.

[65:39] In picture form. As the Passover meal. Is begun. And it. It develops into the communion meal. And finally.

[65:53] We hear. The grace of Jesus. In the invitation. Of Jesus. Jesus. For. For Judas to be saved. I think one of the most surprising things.

[66:06] That we see. As we look into this upper room. Is that Judas Iscariot is there. He's done the deal.

[66:23] He knows what he's about to do. And he's in the room. Still. So in this moment.

[66:33] Of remarkable. Blessing. And intimacy. With Jesus. Judas Iscariot is in the room. In fact. He's even sitting at the table. In fact.

[66:46] He's even served the bread. And the wine. How do we know that? Well we know that. Because Jesus tells us that. He says in verse 21.

[66:57] But the hand of him. Who's going to betray me. Is with mine on the table. The son of man will go. As it has been decreed. But woe to that man. Who betrays him. They began to question.

[67:10] Among themselves. Which of them. It might be. Who would do this. No one suspected Judas.

[67:25] They examined themselves. At the table. But no one suspected Judas. But Jesus knew. And Judas knew.

[67:37] What he had done. And this was Judas's final chance. To repent. Warren Weerspey says.

[67:48] Jesus has already hinted. To his disciples. That one of their number. Was not truly with him. But now he openly spoke. About a traitor. In their midst. However.

[67:59] He did not do this. Just for the sake of. The disciples. But more for the sake of Judas. Jesus. Had kissed Judas. And washed his feet.

[68:10] John tells us that. In verse. John 13. And now. He was giving Judas. Another. Opportunity. A final opportunity.

[68:22] To repent. So even at this stage. Jesus. Is reaching out in love. He's reaching out.

[68:35] In mercy. He is reaching out. In amazing grace. To Judas. And if Judas. Had responded.

[68:46] In repentance. He could have been forgiven. Yes. It had been decreed. That Jesus. Had to die. But Judas. Did not have to hand him over.

[69:01] If Judas. At this stage. Even had. Repented. He would have been saved. As the hymn.

[69:15] That we sang. Says. The vilest. Defender. Who truly. Believes. That moment. From Jesus. A pardon. Receives.

[69:27] Even Judas. And I think. To see Judas. Where. Where he is. And yet. Still not. Trusting Jesus.

[69:38] It's meant. To shock us. It's meant. To wake. Some of us up. It's meant. To. Disturb us.

[69:50] Dale Ralph Davis. Says. Luke. Wants. To show us. It is possible. To be one. Who preached. In Jesus name. Who in his name.

[70:02] Cast out demons. Who healed. The sick. Who saw. For three plus years. Perfect consistency. In the life. Of the son of God. That it is possible. To be in Christ's.

[70:12] Intimate group. And to have no part in him. Luke. Means to unsettle us. Says Davis. He wants to inject.

[70:23] Some horror. And dread. Into us. Lest we too. Commit treachery. Against Jesus. He wants me. To see. That unless. Upheld by grace.

[70:34] There is no depth. To which. I could not plunge. And no vice. Which I could not. Practice. And no treachery. That I.

[70:45] Am not. Capable of. The picture of Judas. In that upper room. Is a dark.

[70:56] Sinister picture. But the darkness. Of Judas. Of Judas. Serves only to. Intensify. The grace. Of Jesus.

[71:07] In this final invitation. For Judas. To be saved. If Judas. Had confessed. His sin. If he had asked. For forgiveness. Even at this stage. He could have been saved.

[71:24] And if he could. We all can. So the invitation of Jesus. Comes out to. All of us today.

[71:35] No matter how. Dark. And bad. And depraved. We may. Feel that we are. No matter how far down. The wrong road. We may be. The amazing.

[71:46] Grace. Of Jesus. Is enough. To save us. And that. Grace is offered. To us. Today. So will we receive it? Will we receive him?

[72:01] As he calls us. To come. To him. And we can respond. In the last hymn. Just. As I am. Without one plea. But that thy blood. Was shed for me.

[72:12] And that thou bidst me. Come to thee. O Lamb. Of God. I come. I come. Just as I am.

[72:25] Without one plea. Just as I am. Just as I am.

[72:38] Without one plea. But that thy blood. Was shed for me.

[72:49] To me. And that thou bidst me. To thee. O Lamb. Of God. Of God. I come.

[73:01] I come. I come. Just as I am. And that thou. I come.

[73:12] And that thou. I come. And that thou. O Lord. O Lord. O Lord. I come. I come. With many. I come.

[73:23] I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come.

[73:34] I come. Just as I am. Lord. Lost about. With many a conflict.

[73:46] Many a doubt. My chains within. And fears without. I come.

[73:57] And that thou. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. I come. Just as I am.

[74:08] For wretched mind. Sight, richness. He lay off the mind.

[74:21] May all I need. In fear. In fear. In fear. To find. O Lamb. Of God. I come.

[74:32] I come. I come. Just as I am. The wilt receive.

[74:45] We'll dwell. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord. I come. The Lord. The Lord.

[74:56] I come. O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

[75:08] Just as I am, thy love unknown has broken every higher death, and to be thine, may thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

[75:41]  And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit be with us all now and forevermore. Amen.