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We Do Not Lose Heart · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship now by singing to God's praise in Psalm 116.
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We're singing on the Scottish Psalter version, page 395, singing from verse 1 to verse 8.
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The tune is Coals Hill.
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I love the Lord because my voice and prayers heeded here, I while I live will call on him
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who bowed to me his ear.
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We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to God's praise.
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I love the Lord because my voice and prayers heeded here,
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I while I live will call on him
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who are to be this year.
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O let the wars and sorrows hear about me,
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I will sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to verse 8.
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I belong to the Lord as if his actions duperule so.
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I تم me in mode of silence.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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I lift my morning, my strong tears, my feet from falling free.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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I will come to God in a short word of prayer.
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Let us pray.
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Let us pray.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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we do to come together as a people here, meeting and greeting one another, enjoying to see each
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other and enjoy each other's company. But we thank you above all that we come, not with each other
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in mind in particular, but with you in mind. We come thankful that you call us to yourself,
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that you encourage us, that you are the one who strengthens us day by day. And we thank you that
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you have promised to be with us as we do come together. And we pray your blessing on this day
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and upon all that we do in our worship and in our times at home, in our times of fellowship and in
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Sunday school and creche and tweenies and all that goes on today, Lord. We thank you for everyone who
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is involved and who is here, but remembering those unable to be with us, even tuning in online as well,
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and thankful that together we can come and praise your name. So may you be with us, Lord, and lead
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us in all that we do. Bless your word to us. We thank you for it, that we can open up your word and
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read of the wonders of who you are and all that you have done for us. And so teach us through your word,
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Lord. May we learn from it and not just for today, but for every day of our lives, that we would live
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by your word and by your truth. So bless us all together, we pray, and go before us,
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pardoning us in all our sins as we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Well, before the young ones go out to the Sunday school, I just want to share a few words with you.
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I'm sure you all have different interests, things that you enjoy doing day to day, and maybe you're
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a big fan of people or teams or things like that. People like to follow football teams,
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people like to follow bands or singers, people like to follow film stars and things like that,
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people who are important and who we hear a lot about. And if I was to ask everyone to put up their
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hands, who here supports the greatest Scottish football team, Aberdeen? I'm sure everyone would
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be putting up their hands. Maybe not. Well, other teams will have lots of followers as well, but there's
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a difference between being a follower and being a fan. So what's the difference? Well, if you think of
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some football teams or you think of some pop stars or bands or film stars, they maybe have fans and
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they'll have followers. So take, for example, a team, a football team like Manchester City.
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A long time ago, many years ago, they maybe didn't have so many fans and followers because
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they weren't successful. But in these last few years when they've been winning everything,
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a lot of people have started to be fans of them and to follow them. So all around the world now,
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they've got people who take an interest in how their results are going and how they're getting on.
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But the difference between a fan and a follower is a fan may be only there while the things are going
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well, while the team is winning. There'll be a lot of fans who will follow at that point. But when
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things start getting hard, when the results don't go their way, these fans, they just go to another
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team, another team who's maybe successful and winning. But those who are real followers of the team,
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they'll stick with them through the ups and downs. And they are the people who are really committed.
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And when we look at the Bible, it reminds us that when we look at the life of Jesus,
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there was times in his life when a lot of people were interested in him. As he was going about
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day-to-day life, people were hearing his teaching. They were seeing him do miracles,
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things that were impossible. Jesus did like walking on water, feeding the 5,000. There was all kinds of
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miracles that Jesus did. And people were really interested in this. There were many fans, if you
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like, following him, thousands of people following him. But when things started getting more difficult,
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when Jesus started to teach them about things being hard and life not always being easy and
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trials will come, he found that many of these fans, as it were, turned away. They didn't want to know.
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This sounded too difficult. And there was one point in Jesus's life when, as he was teaching and he was
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seeing people turning away, he was saying to some of the disciples who were with him,
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will you also go away? But their response was this, to whom else can we go? You alone have the words
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of eternal life. They were followers of Jesus. Not just fans who were there for the good times when
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everything was going well, but who stuck with him, who stayed with him, who followed him.
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And that's a reminder to ourselves today as well. Ask yourself, are you a fan or a follower of Jesus?
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Are you only here to hear about the good things and to enjoy the good times? Or will you truly follow
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Jesus? Follow him, especially maybe when things get hard and difficult, because he promises to be
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faithful to us, to be with us each and every day. So don't just be a fan who's there when things are good.
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Be a follower and know that Jesus is with us through the ups and downs of all our lives.
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So may God bless these thoughts to us. We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Our Father, we chart in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth
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as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
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debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,
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the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
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We're going to sing again to God's praise this time in Psalm 70. Again, it's in the Scottish Psalter
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version, and the first version of the Psalm on page 309 of the Psalm books. Psalm 70, the first version.
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Lord, haste me to deliver with speed. Lord, succor me. Let them that for my soul do seek shame
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unconfounded be. We'll sing the whole of this psalm to the tune dense, and we stand to sing.
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Lord, haste me to deliver with speed. Lord, succor me. Let them that for my soul do seek,
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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And we can read the whole of this chapter together.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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So we see coming into chapter 4, we have the word, therefore, for, so Paul here is continuing,
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the writer of the letter, Paul is continuing to explain what it is to know the glory of
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God as he speaks about it there, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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So we pick up our reading in chapter 4.
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Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have
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renounced disgraceful underhanded ways.
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We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the
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truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
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And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
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In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from
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seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
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And for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your
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servants for Jesus' sake.
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For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of
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the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God
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and not to us.
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We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.
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Perplexed, but not driven to despair.
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Persecuted, but not forsaken.
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Struck down, but not destroyed.
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Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus.
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So the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
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For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake.
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So the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
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So death is at work in us, but life in you.
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Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written,
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I believed and so I spoke.
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We also believe and so we also speak.
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Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
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For it is all for your sake.
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So that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.
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So we do not lose heart.
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Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
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For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
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As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.
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For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
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We ask that God would bless that word to us.
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Let us again just join together in a word of prayer.
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Our Father in heaven, we give you thanks that we are able to call upon your name.
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That in prayer we have that great assurance that we are not just speaking words to ourselves or to those who are gathered around us.
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But that we offer up our prayers to you as the Lord and God who has made the heaven and the earth and all that we see around us.
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As God who has made us for a purpose.
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As the one who is God over all.
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And the one who, as we have been reminded in our reading here, has given his son.
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We thank you that you did indeed not spare your son, but that you sent him into this world and sent him with a real purpose.
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Your love was shown to us in the very fact that Jesus was born in this world.
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That he came and lived here among the people of this world.
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And that he taught and showed himself not just as an ordinary man, but as the son of God.
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And we thank you that the Bible reminds us of his power.
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And his power not just in the miracles that he did around his people then.
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Showing them things that were so impossible to do.
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But above all, the power that he had to give life.
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And not just life in a way in this world, but eternal life.
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The greatest gift of all.
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And so we thank you that we have your word.
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And may it help us in every circumstance.
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That whatever we are going through in life.
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Whatever our past experience or present experience.
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That we would realize that your word gives us such great hope.
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A future to look forward to.
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That as we put our trust in you.
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That you are the one who is able to heal hurts.
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And to help us in times of anxiety and fear.
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The one who is able to guide us when we feel lost in this world.
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The one who is able to give us strength when we feel weak.
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We thank you for everything that you do for your people.
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Everything that you do as we come calling upon you.
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And so we pray, Lord, that you will bless your word to us today.
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And bless all that we do in your name.
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We thank you, Lord, that the gospel is full of good news.
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In the midst of all the bad news that we see around us and hear around us.
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And how we all need to hear your gospel.
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How we need to hear this good news.
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And to all the ends of the earth, Lord.
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People need to hear about Jesus and the goodness and mercy that he is able to show.
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And we pray, Lord, that around the world today.
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In the midst of times of terror and war and conflicts near and far.
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We thank you that you are a God of peace.
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And we pray, Lord, to have mercy.
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To have mercy in the midst of all that's happening in our world.
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And to turn the angry hearts, the sinful hearts, the wicked hearts.
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To turn them from their evil ways.
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And to turn them to following the paths of goodness and righteousness.
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As you teach us in your word.
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So we pray, Lord, that you will look down upon us this day.
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Look down upon our world and upon your people.
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To all ends of the earth.
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And hear the prayers of your people.
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That you will transform our lives and our hearts.
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And all our nations, O Lord.
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To know your blessing and your peace.
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We thank you for our people here as a congregation.
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For our town.
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For our islands around us, Lord.
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And we pray for all our people, Lord, today.
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That you will draw near to all who need you in different ways.
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As we think of those who are mourning and grieving at this time.
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Even in this past week.
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As we think of the Mackenzie family following the passing of Alistair.
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So suddenly this week, Lord.
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We pray for your comfort to them.
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Your help to them.
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Especially as they prepare for the funeral tomorrow, Lord.
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We pray that you will surround them and uphold them.
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And be their refuge and their strength.
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We pray for those who are in hospital.
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For those who are in homes.
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Those who are confined to their own homes as well, Lord.
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Going through different experiences and times of ill health.
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Or different needs, Lord.
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We pray that you will bless them.
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And surround them with your goodness and your mercy as well.
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We ask, oh Lord, for our young people.
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That you will watch over them.
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Thankful for all who come so regularly, week by week.
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Looking ahead to this week even.
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And this evening we thank you for the youth fellowship.
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At Jonathan and Allison's house this evening.
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We pray for that time.
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And for Hannah as she comes to speak.
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May you bless that.
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May you bless the Presbytery camp this coming weekend as well, Lord.
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We thank you for all who have signed up for that.
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And may it be a time of real encouragement and blessing.
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As the children and the leaders gather together over this weekend, Lord.
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We pray for protection and for your blessing on them.
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We pray for the Christmas club coming up as well.
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As invitations are sent out.
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That we would see a good response to it.
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And that you will help us to again remind ourselves and remind others of the gospel.
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The good news of Jesus coming into this world.
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And we pray that you will help in all of these things.
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That your blessing will be upon it.
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So Lord, may you continue with us throughout this day.
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Bless us in homes and families.
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Lord, look after us and all our loved ones as we commit ourselves into your hands.
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Take care of us and pardon us in all our sins.
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As we think of things that we say and do that we shouldn't.
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And the things that we don't do that we should.
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We pray, Lord, that you will help us.
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To know that you are a God of forgiveness and help in our every need.
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So hear our prayers as we ask them.
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In the name of Jesus.
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For his sake and glory.
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Amen.
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Let us again sing to God's praise.
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Before we turn back to look at the passage that we read.
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We're going to sing in Psalm 146.
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Page 191.
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Psalm 146.
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We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 10.
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The end of the psalm.
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The tune is Sussex.
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Blessed is the one who truly looks for help to Jacob's God.
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Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
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We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 10.
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To God's praise.
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Amen.
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Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
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Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
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He who made the earth and heaven and the seas with all their sword.
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스� McMahon's prayer.
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Blessed is the one who believes foe as if the fisherman will ever changeost Him in a traumatizing land.
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Chapel is the one who пока about theundenys
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and heavenly celestial prays.
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He releases those in prison, to oblige the Lord his side.
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For tomorrow, by God he races all delights in righteousness.
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He protects and cares for strangers when it will stand the forest.
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He trusts the wicked girls, so the Lord to endless days reigns to every generation.
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Praise to God, O Zion, praise.
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Well, let's turn back to our reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
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And you notice at the beginning of the chapter, chapter 4, in verse 1, there it says,
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Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
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And then if you go down to verse 16, that phrase is repeated.
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We do not lose heart.
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So there's this phrase that we have in this chapter.
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And I want to focus on that phrase, we do not lose heart, but looking at it particularly from verse 7 down to the end of the chapter.
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There's an American painter who was called John Sargent.
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He lived in the late 1800s and died in the early 1900s.
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He was a famous painter in his day.
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And he once painted a picture, a painting of roses.
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It was just a small painting, but it became very precious to him, became very important to him.
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It was a painting that was praised by art critics as something that was so beautiful and so delicate in so many ways.
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And he had offers, large offers from people to buy the painting, but he never sold it.
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He considered it his best work.
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And he was proud of it.
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But the reason that he kept it was this, that whenever he felt discouraged as an artist,
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whenever he felt that he was losing his focus or felt that he was a failure as an artist and just couldn't paint anything,
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he said he would look at that painting and remind himself that I painted that.
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And very often that would take him back to his focus on the gifts that he had,
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the gift that he had as an artist, and he would continue to paint very beautiful paintings.
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In a sense, maybe that's how we are with God's Word.
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There's a temptation for us at times when, as I was saying with the young ones,
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when we're fans or followers, when the going gets hard,
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when things are difficult, that we can look at God's Word and think,
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there's nothing there for me.
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That doesn't make any sense to me.
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And the temptation is to turn away from it.
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When the reality is that by having God's Word, it should be the opposite.
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So that when there are times when we are feeling discouraged,
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when we are feeling downcast or disheartened and things that are going on,
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that we recognize that God has given us this Word.
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That we recognize what he has done for us, what he tells us in this Word,
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that he gave his Son.
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And we recognize, God did that for me.
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So we are to come back to God's Word again and again,
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and here to find encouragement in our lives, strength in our lives.
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This passage, chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians, as we look at this chapter,
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it reminds us not to lose heart, not to turn away from God's Word,
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but indeed to come closer to him day by day, even in the most difficult circumstances.
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And we all know the kind of days that we live, that we live in.
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And it's so easy to lose heart, so easy to be dismayed in all that we see going on around us,
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or even in our own lives and experiences too.
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And above all, we see people and nations all over the world turning away from God,
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saying there is no God, we don't need God, God isn't real.
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People are not interested in the things of God,
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and so we can lose heart and think what we are doing,
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whether it's preaching or evangelism or just living our lives in our communities among people,
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we can lose heart as if nothing is happening, nothing is changing.
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But this passage reminds us what we have,
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that we have a treasure.
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We have something that is priceless,
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something that is precious,
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something that we need to hold on to firmly for ourselves,
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but also to show to others as well.
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And that's exactly what Paul was doing in this city of Corinth.
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You're going back 2,000 years here to the city of Corinth,
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a place that was in many ways a new city,
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a city that had been built only about eight years before this.
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It was a Roman city occupied by Romans,
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soldiers and authorities,
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and to be a Christian in this city was a challenge
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because the Romans hated the Christians.
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And if they tried to do anything that was putting the Lord up before people,
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they were very often persecuted or worse,
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they were put to death.
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So it wasn't an easy place to live in,
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and so people could have easily lost heart.
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But Paul comes to them,
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the apostle sent by God to come to this city,
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he comes saying to them,
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do not lose heart.
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And he goes on to tell them why.
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We see Paul reminding them here as to reasons
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for them not to lose heart
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and for ourselves not to lose heart today.
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That we have this ministry,
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this gospel,
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this treasure in jars of clay,
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as he says in verse 7.
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So that verse itself reminds us
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we have a great treasure,
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the good news of Jesus,
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but he says in jars of clay.
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So there's something fragile there as well,
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and we are indeed a fragile people.
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This chapter is kind of marked in three stages.
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We do not lose heart,
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he says in verse 1,
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because of this powerful word of God that we have.
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Then in verse 7,
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we don't lose heart,
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even though that we are weak.
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And then in verse 16,
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we don't lose heart,
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because we have something precious
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to look forward to as well.
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So we're going to focus just for a time
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on verse 7,
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down to the end of the chapter.
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And there's three things that we've given here
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to remind us why we shouldn't lose heart.
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And the first is,
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in our weakness,
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we can know strength.
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Secondly, we see in our pains,
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we can know his protection.
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And then thirdly,
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we'll see that though,
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as it describes here,
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we are wasting away,
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we too are watching for something better.
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So the first thing we want to see here is,
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though we feel weak,
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there is still a strength for us.
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We're reminded here of our own weaknesses,
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first and foremost.
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How do we go on in hard times?
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How do we go on when the going is tough?
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And especially as Paul is here speaking about
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showing forth the glory of God,
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telling others of the good news of the gospel.
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That was what the church in Corinth was there for,
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to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
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the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
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And yet there was times when they found it difficult.
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There was times in their own experience
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when they felt weak,
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just as we all do at times.
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We are just jars of clay.
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So we have a treasure in jars of clay.
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So we think of ourselves as those jars of clay.
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What kind of image does that bring to mind?
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Jars of clay in these days in Corinth were important.
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Jars of clay were used for carrying all kinds of things,
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water, wine, important things for their lives from day to day.
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But it wasn't like they were just mass produced.
36:14
If you broke one, you just got another one.
36:17
It wasn't quite that easy.
36:19
So very often you would see jars that were chipped and fragile and cracked and very easily broken.
36:28
So these jars, it's not an image of strength but of weakness.
36:35
And every day that goes by for ourselves,
36:38
we are reminded that that is what we are like too.
36:41
We are a fragile people.
36:44
We have our own chips and cracks.
36:48
We're very fragile in so many ways.
36:53
We sort of go on in life in that way.
36:57
So we feel our own sense of weakness.
37:03
But yet what Paul says to them here is,
37:06
but we have this treasure in jars of clay
37:11
to show the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
37:16
So Paul and those who are with them,
37:20
they've known their own fragility.
37:22
They've known their own weaknesses.
37:24
They've known their own challenges.
37:26
They too are jars of clay.
37:30
But he says we have this surpassing power that belongs to God.
37:36
So he's reminding the people in his day and himself too
37:40
and ourselves today as well
37:42
that we can have courage and perseverance
37:46
in the midst of everything that comes our way.
37:51
That is how we should feel ourselves.
37:54
Even when we are discouraged, we don't lose heart.
37:59
Even when we're disappointed, we don't lose heart.
38:04
Even when we're wanting to quit, we don't lose heart.
38:09
There are so many challenges for you.
38:12
And for me.
38:16
And Paul was coming to them with this message.
38:21
This message of hope.
38:24
Do not lose heart.
38:27
Has anyone come here today saying,
38:30
you know what?
38:32
I really hope today that the minister preaches a word
38:36
that will leave me feeling downcast.
38:39
That will help me to lose heart.
38:44
I really want to be discouraged this morning.
38:48
I'm sure no one has come feeling like that.
38:51
You come here to see that no matter what is going on,
38:54
that there is good news.
38:57
To come here feeling that you want to be discouraged
39:00
or leave feeling downhearted.
39:03
It would be like going out to eat in a restaurant
39:05
and going with the approach,
39:06
I want to go to this restaurant so I get food poisoning.
39:10
Or I want to go to this restaurant
39:12
because I've heard the food they serve is rubbish.
39:16
You don't go with that in mind.
39:19
You go to eat and be satisfied and be filled.
39:25
And that's why we should come here today as well.
39:27
That's why we come to God's word,
39:29
to recognize that we don't lose heart in his word.
39:33
We don't turn away from it
39:34
because here we have something that fills us up
39:37
and leaves us feeling a sense of hope and encouragement.
39:42
that we have a treasure for ourselves,
39:46
this hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
39:50
the one who gives life to us,
39:53
even as jars of clay,
39:56
fragile, cracked, chipped as we are.
40:02
Despite all that is wrong and weak about us,
40:06
we have one who is powerful and able to help.
40:11
And he reminds us of that later on
40:14
in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
40:19
That great verse that says,
40:21
but he said to me, this was to Paul himself,
40:26
in his own weakness, he said,
40:28
God said to him,
40:29
my grace is sufficient for you
40:31
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
40:36
Paul, we often think of as the great apostle,
40:41
such a strong faith,
40:43
yet he too was just a jar of clay,
40:46
fragile, weak at times,
40:49
and needed the grace of God.
40:51
So do we.
40:53
But we have that promise,
40:54
my grace is sufficient for you
40:57
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
41:00
So we do not lose heart because we are weak,
41:05
because we have the power of God.
41:10
The second thing we see here is
41:12
we have pains, but we're protected.
41:17
Paul describes here the reality
41:19
of the Christian life in verse 8 down to verse 12.
41:26
He speaks there of different things,
41:30
and it's quite a vivid picture, isn't it?
41:32
He says, we are afflicted in every way,
41:34
but not crushed.
41:36
Perplexed, but not driven to despair.
41:39
Persecuted, but not forsaken.
41:41
Struck down, but not destroyed.
41:46
There is pain even in following Jesus.
41:49
When you think everything is going to be
41:51
well and good for us,
41:52
there is still times of pain
41:55
and many different kinds.
41:58
And imagine you were to take these words
42:01
as a job description
42:03
and to think this is what your job
42:06
is going to entail.
42:08
And you look at the kind of words
42:10
that Paul is using here.
42:12
He describes being afflicted,
42:15
squeezed, and under pressure all the time.
42:18
He describes this as coming from every side,
42:23
so from every way, direction, and place, and occasion.
42:27
This is ongoing.
42:30
He then says perplexed.
42:33
It's almost to be lost.
42:34
You don't know which way to turn.
42:36
You don't know which way to go.
42:39
Persecuted.
42:40
The idea behind persecuted
42:42
is almost being hunted like an animal
42:45
where people are out to get you.
42:48
You're struck down.
42:51
It's almost like you're just feeling
42:52
as if everyone is on top of you,
42:55
beating you down.
42:57
So there's a very vivid picture for us here.
43:01
And it's apparent to us
43:03
that this is what Paul himself
43:05
had suffered on many occasions
43:07
and why he's writing to the church at Corinth
43:09
as the people there
43:10
are suffering these things as well.
43:13
But perhaps today,
43:16
these words describe you
43:18
and your own situation.
43:21
All of these things,
43:23
afflicted, perplexed,
43:26
persecuted,
43:27
struck down.
43:29
You feel at a loss at times.
43:31
Don't know where to turn.
43:33
Don't know where to go
43:34
as everything is on top of you.
43:37
Well, we have these words here
43:41
to remind us today,
43:43
you're not alone
43:44
and you're not the first
43:46
and you won't be the last.
43:49
This is the experience
43:51
of many people down
43:53
through every generation.
43:56
And perhaps you're saying to yourself now,
43:58
well, maybe the minister is here
44:00
to leave me feeling hopeless
44:02
and to lose heart
44:03
and to feel discouraged.
44:05
But as we come to the Word,
44:07
we see that
44:08
although there are all these difficulties,
44:12
although there are all these challenges,
44:14
many of them,
44:16
we see too that there is hope in them.
44:21
We are pained in many ways,
44:23
but what he reminds us of here
44:25
is we are protected.
44:28
That the Lord is with us.
44:31
Because you notice
44:32
as Paul goes through this list,
44:35
afflicted,
44:37
crushed,
44:39
perplexed,
44:40
persecuted.
44:41
You see all of these things,
44:43
but there's another word with them.
44:47
He says,
44:47
we are afflicted in every way,
44:49
but not crushed.
44:55
We are perplexed,
44:57
but not driven to despair.
45:01
We are persecuted,
45:03
but not forsaken.
45:05
Struck down,
45:07
but not destroyed.
45:10
And so what's the answer
45:11
in all of these situations?
45:13
It's to remember God with us.
45:18
Yes, there are times
45:19
when we feel afflicted in every way,
45:22
but we're not crushed
45:24
because the Lord gives us strength.
45:26
There are times
45:28
when we are perplexed,
45:29
we don't know which way to go,
45:31
but we don't despair
45:33
because God can guide us.
45:37
We can feel persecuted.
45:39
That's people against us
45:41
in so many ways,
45:42
but not forsaken.
45:43
That's God is with us.
45:46
Struck down,
45:47
but not destroyed.
45:50
And never will be
45:51
because God is for us.
45:54
So what Paul is saying
45:56
to us here is that
45:57
throughout all our different trials,
45:59
throughout all of these
46:00
different experiences,
46:02
we may have pains,
46:04
but we are protected.
46:06
He is with us.
46:09
There's a story of a young missionary.
46:12
His name was William Borden.
46:14
He grew up in America
46:17
and he was an heir
46:18
to a great fortune.
46:21
A millionaire.
46:22
His family was rich.
46:25
He graduated in college
46:26
and could have done
46:27
pretty much anything in his life.
46:31
But he was converted
46:32
at a young age.
46:34
And from a very early age
46:36
in his life,
46:37
what he wanted to do
46:38
was serve the Lord.
46:40
And he got a particular interest
46:42
in foreign mission.
46:43
And so,
46:45
he turned his back
46:47
on his wealth.
46:48
He left that life behind.
46:50
And he went to Egypt,
46:52
to Cairo initially,
46:53
in the hope of going on then
46:55
to China as a missionary.
46:58
But he hadn't been in Egypt long,
47:01
where he was sharing the gospel
47:03
with the Muslims
47:05
in that city.
47:07
And after about four months there,
47:09
he became ill.
47:10
And he had developed
47:13
a spinal form of meningitis.
47:16
And after only four months,
47:18
he passed away
47:19
at the age of 25.
47:23
Many people would say,
47:25
hey,
47:25
what was the point
47:27
in that?
47:30
Such a waste
47:31
in so many ways.
47:32
And yet,
47:34
if you go
47:34
to Egypt,
47:36
to Cairo,
47:36
there's a graveyard,
47:38
a cemetery there
47:39
for our missionaries
47:40
who had passed away.
47:42
There's a gravestone
47:43
for William Borden.
47:46
And on it
47:46
are the words,
47:48
apart from faith
47:50
in Christ,
47:51
there is no explanation
47:53
for a life
47:54
as this.
47:55
Apart from
47:58
faith in Christ,
48:00
there is no explanation
48:01
for such
48:02
a life
48:03
as this.
48:04
What does that say?
48:07
Well,
48:07
it says to us
48:08
that he lived
48:09
for Christ.
48:12
His faith
48:12
was so strong,
48:14
he was called
48:14
by the Lord
48:15
to do that,
48:16
even though
48:16
it was for a short time.
48:20
The Lord
48:21
used him.
48:22
We do not
48:26
lose heart.
48:28
Though there are
48:28
times of pain,
48:31
the Lord
48:31
always has a purpose
48:33
and is always
48:34
there
48:35
for his people.
48:37
And we conclude
48:38
by seeing that
48:39
as you come
48:40
to the end
48:41
of this chapter,
48:42
we see that
48:43
there is the great
48:44
hope
48:44
for all
48:45
of God's people.
48:48
In verse 16
48:49
down to the end
48:50
it says,
48:50
so we do not
48:53
lose heart.
48:54
In the midst
48:55
of everything
48:57
that's going on
48:57
around us
48:58
and as he says here,
48:59
all that's going
49:00
on within us,
49:01
though we,
49:02
our outer nature
49:03
is wasting away,
49:05
our inner nature
49:06
is being renewed
49:07
day by day.
49:10
So Paul
49:11
is saying
49:11
these great words
49:12
for us,
49:14
do not
49:14
lose heart.
49:17
If these
49:17
were the only words
49:18
you take today,
49:19
rejoice
49:21
in them
49:21
and the one
49:23
who is behind
49:24
them,
49:25
our Lord
49:25
Jesus Christ,
49:26
do not lose
49:27
heart
49:28
because he is
49:29
there
49:29
for us.
49:32
And he
49:32
wants us
49:34
or his people
49:34
here on ourselves
49:35
today
49:36
to go on
49:37
with this sense
49:37
of a vision
49:38
of God
49:39
to remind
49:41
us
49:41
that yes,
49:42
we will have
49:43
pains in this
49:44
world,
49:45
but that there
49:46
is greater
49:47
to come.
49:49
Now he
49:49
says it in a
49:50
way that we
49:50
could think,
49:51
what does he
49:52
know of
49:53
suffering?
49:53
When he
49:54
describes it
49:54
there in
49:55
verse 17
49:56
as this
49:56
slight
49:57
momentary
49:58
affliction
49:58
is preparing
50:00
us for an
50:00
eternal weight
50:01
of glory
50:02
beyond all
50:03
comparison.
50:05
So we look
50:05
not to the
50:06
things that are
50:06
seen,
50:07
but to the
50:07
things that
50:08
are unseen.
50:09
For the
50:10
things that
50:10
are seen
50:10
are transient,
50:11
that's temporary,
50:12
but the
50:14
things that
50:14
are unseen
50:15
are eternal.
50:19
It's hard
50:19
for us to
50:20
understand
50:21
all the
50:22
different things
50:23
that go on
50:23
in this
50:24
world and
50:25
Paul isn't
50:26
just putting
50:27
down on it
50:28
here by
50:28
describing them
50:29
as momentary
50:30
afflictions.
50:33
He says
50:33
that so we
50:34
will see the
50:35
greater purpose
50:36
of God in
50:37
our lives
50:38
as we put
50:38
our trust
50:39
in him.
50:41
It's a
50:41
great example
50:42
for us
50:42
from the
50:43
Old Testament.
50:44
In the
50:44
book of
50:44
Genesis,
50:45
it's the
50:45
life of
50:46
Joseph.
50:48
Joseph,
50:49
who had
50:49
many brothers
50:50
who were
50:50
jealous of
50:51
him.
50:52
He was
50:52
his father's
50:54
favorite.
50:55
And his
50:56
brothers didn't
50:57
like this,
50:57
so they
50:58
sold him,
50:59
and he
50:59
became a
51:00
slave in
51:00
Egypt.
51:02
In Egypt,
51:03
he was falsely
51:03
accused of
51:04
things and
51:05
cast into
51:06
prison.
51:08
And so here
51:08
he was,
51:09
going through
51:10
all these
51:11
times of
51:11
hardship and
51:12
challenges.
51:14
His own
51:14
family had
51:15
turned against
51:16
him, and
51:16
yet many
51:17
years later,
51:19
that whole
51:20
experience was
51:21
used for
51:22
good.
51:23
His own
51:23
brothers had
51:24
to come to
51:25
Egypt for
51:26
help, and
51:26
he had been
51:27
restored in a
51:28
prominent position
51:29
in Egypt,
51:30
almost like
51:30
prime minister,
51:31
as we would
51:32
call it today.
51:33
And he was
51:34
able to show
51:35
mercy to his
51:36
brothers and
51:37
to his family
51:38
and to help
51:38
them in a
51:39
time of
51:40
famine.
51:41
And as
51:41
Joseph looked
51:42
back on
51:43
his life,
51:45
as he saw
51:45
all that had
51:46
happened in
51:47
his life,
51:48
his brothers
51:49
turning against
51:50
him, being
51:50
put in prison
51:51
in Egypt,
51:52
all these
51:52
hardships,
51:54
he was able
51:54
to look back
51:55
and say to
51:56
his own
51:56
brothers,
51:58
you meant
51:58
it for
51:59
evil, but
52:01
God meant
52:01
it for
52:02
good.
52:03
So he could
52:04
see that in
52:05
the midst of
52:05
everything that
52:06
happened,
52:07
God still
52:08
had good
52:09
in the midst
52:10
of it.
52:10
And that is
52:11
hard for us
52:12
to understand
52:13
at times.
52:14
But it's by
52:15
seeing the
52:16
eternal weight
52:17
of glory,
52:19
as he
52:19
describes it
52:20
here, to
52:20
see that
52:21
everything in
52:22
this world,
52:23
it's temporary.
52:25
And that's
52:25
not what we
52:26
are to chase
52:27
after, the
52:28
things of
52:28
this world
52:29
that will
52:29
satisfy us,
52:30
but only for
52:31
a short
52:32
time.
52:32
but we
52:34
are to
52:35
look to
52:35
the things
52:36
that are
52:36
unseen in
52:37
many ways
52:38
for us.
52:39
But by
52:40
faith we
52:41
look to
52:41
Jesus, and
52:43
there find
52:44
the things
52:44
that are
52:45
eternal, the
52:47
things that
52:47
are permanent,
52:48
the things
52:49
that God
52:50
has prepared
52:51
for all
52:52
his people.
52:55
And that
52:56
is the
52:56
hope that
52:57
the Lord
52:58
Jesus gives
52:59
to us.
53:02
the things
53:03
in this
53:04
world will
53:05
pass away.
53:08
But the
53:08
things of
53:09
God are
53:09
permanent and
53:11
eternal.
53:13
And that
53:13
should give
53:14
us hope.
53:15
That's what
53:16
helps us to
53:17
not lose
53:18
heart in
53:19
the midst
53:19
of all that
53:20
goes on in
53:22
this life.
53:24
People in
53:24
this world,
53:25
they seek
53:26
after their
53:27
treasure.
53:28
You've seen
53:29
it over
53:29
generations.
53:31
You think
53:31
of the
53:31
race and
53:33
space for
53:33
people to
53:34
find their
53:35
way to
53:36
the roots
53:37
of creation
53:38
and all
53:38
that's behind
53:39
it.
53:39
People are
53:40
looking for
53:40
answers in
53:41
so many
53:41
places that
53:42
are just
53:43
temporary,
53:43
that are
53:44
passing
53:44
away.
53:46
You think
53:46
of people
53:47
in the
53:48
gold rush
53:49
or the
53:50
oil rush
53:51
where people
53:51
are looking
53:51
to make
53:52
their fortune
53:52
in these
53:53
things.
53:55
Again,
53:55
things that
53:56
will pass
53:57
away.
53:59
You think
53:59
of people
54:00
on a
54:01
smaller scale
54:01
today who
54:02
pin their
54:03
hopes on
54:03
winning the
54:04
lottery or
54:05
something like
54:06
that.
54:07
It'll be
54:08
life-changing,
54:09
yes, in
54:09
many ways,
54:10
but is it
54:11
for the
54:11
better?
54:12
It's only
54:13
temporary.
54:15
We're looking
54:16
for treasure
54:17
in the wrong
54:18
place.
54:20
But here
54:21
Paul reminds
54:22
us that we
54:22
have a
54:23
great treasure,
54:25
the glory
54:26
of God in
54:27
the face
54:27
of Jesus
54:29
Christ,
54:30
something so
54:31
precious,
54:32
so powerful
54:33
that makes
54:34
us rich
54:35
beyond everything
54:37
else that this
54:37
world can
54:38
offer us.
54:40
We are in
54:41
jars of
54:42
clay ourselves,
54:44
we're brittle
54:44
and fragile
54:45
in so many
54:46
ways.
54:48
But to
54:49
know this
54:49
treasure,
54:50
to love
54:50
this treasure,
54:52
to love
54:52
the Lord
54:53
with all
54:54
our hearts
54:55
is to
54:56
know
54:56
something
54:57
that's
54:57
not
54:57
temporary
54:58
or just
54:59
for a
55:00
moment,
55:01
but something
55:02
eternal
55:02
and forever.
55:07
Yes,
55:07
we'll have
55:08
our pains,
55:09
yes,
55:10
we are
55:11
wasting
55:11
away,
55:13
but we
55:13
have a
55:14
hope in
55:14
Jesus
55:15
Christ
55:16
that's
55:17
secure
55:18
for all
55:19
eternity.
55:22
Do you
55:22
know it?
55:24
Are you
55:25
a fan
55:27
or a
55:28
follower?
55:30
Are you
55:30
only there
55:31
when the
55:31
going's
55:32
good,
55:33
when things
55:33
are going
55:34
well,
55:34
but when
55:35
the rubber
55:35
hits the
55:36
road,
55:37
I don't
55:37
need God.
55:38
He's not
55:39
there for
55:40
me,
55:40
I'll just
55:41
turn away
55:42
and find
55:43
my treasure
55:43
in something
55:44
else.
55:46
It won't
55:47
help.
55:48
It may
55:49
help for a
55:50
time,
55:50
but it's
55:51
ever only
55:52
temporary.
55:54
It's to
55:54
be a
55:55
follower,
55:56
to know
55:57
that the
55:58
Lord will
55:58
hold you
55:59
and support
56:01
you and
56:01
give you
56:01
that sufficient
56:02
grace day
56:03
by day
56:04
as you
56:05
put your
56:05
trust in
56:07
him.
56:09
We are
56:09
weak,
56:10
but he
56:11
gives
56:11
strength.
56:13
We are
56:13
pained,
56:14
but he
56:15
gives
56:15
protection.
56:17
We are
56:17
wasting
56:18
away,
56:20
but may
56:20
the Lord
56:20
help us
56:21
to watch
56:22
and look
56:23
to him
56:23
for the
56:24
things that
56:26
are eternal.
56:27
Let us
56:27
pray.
56:29
Our
56:30
Father in
56:31
heaven,
56:31
we praise
56:32
you for
56:33
your goodness
56:33
to us,
56:34
that you
56:34
are the
56:35
God who
56:35
has promised
56:36
always to
56:37
be with
56:37
us,
56:38
never to
56:38
leave us.
56:39
And may
56:40
all your
56:40
people,
56:41
Lord,
56:41
even today
56:42
who are
56:42
feeling
56:42
crushed
56:43
and
56:43
perplexed,
56:45
persecuted
56:46
and afflicted
56:47
in so
56:47
many
56:47
different
56:48
ways.
56:49
May your
56:50
people know
56:50
your great
56:51
presence and
56:52
power with
56:53
them,
56:54
that they
56:54
would know,
56:55
Lord,
56:56
that things
56:56
in this
56:57
world,
56:57
no matter
56:58
how hard
56:59
they are,
57:00
are passing
57:00
by,
57:02
but that we
57:02
have something
57:03
precious to
57:04
look forward
57:05
to.
57:05
The treasure
57:06
we have
57:06
now is
57:07
what we
57:08
look to
57:08
for eternity
57:09
and that
57:10
hope of
57:11
life with
57:12
our Lord
57:12
Jesus.
57:13
So may
57:14
you bless
57:14
your word
57:15
and bless
57:15
us and
57:16
continue
57:16
with us
57:17
now in
57:17
Jesus'
57:18
name.
57:18
Amen.
57:23
We'll
57:23
conclude by
57:24
singing to
57:25
God's
57:26
praise in
57:26
Psalm 134.
57:29
This is
57:29
in the
57:29
Sing
57:30
Psalms
57:31
version,
57:32
page 175,
57:34
Psalm 134,
57:36
the first
57:37
version,
57:38
Psalm 134a.
57:40
And we'll
57:41
sing the
57:41
whole of
57:41
this psalm.
57:42
Praise the
57:42
Lord,
57:43
all you
57:43
as servants
57:44
as you
57:45
serve with
57:45
one accord.
57:47
Praise the
57:47
Lord,
57:47
and your
57:48
night watches
57:48
in the
57:49
temple of
57:50
the Lord.
57:51
The tune
57:51
of Stuttgart
57:52
and we'll
57:52
sing the
57:53
whole of
57:53
this psalm.
57:54
Amen.
57:58
Praise the
58:02
Lord,
58:03
all you
58:04
are
58:05
as
58:05
you
58:06
serve
58:10
with
58:10
one
58:11
praise the
58:16
Now or
58:20
Lord.
58:22
The temple of the Lord.
58:29
Raise your hands with endless temple.
58:35
To the Lord your broken ways.
58:41
He who made the earth and heavens
58:48
bless you from this holy grace.
58:56
After the benediction I'll go to the main door.
59:00
Now may grace, mercy and peace from God,
59:03
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
59:05
rest upon and abide with you all
59:07
now and forevermore. Amen.
59:18
Amen.