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An Ordinary Man Used By God · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.
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We're singing in Psalm 34 in the Scottish Psalter, page 246 of the Psalm book.
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Psalm 34, the beginning of the Psalm.
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We're going to sing down to verse 8.
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It's a psalm that reminds us of coming to worship God and knowing the blessing of that.
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God, will I bless all times.
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His praise my mouth shall still express.
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My soul shall boast in God.
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The meek shall hear with joyfulness.
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We'll sing from verse 1 down to verse 8 to God's praise.
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God, will I bless all times.
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His praise my mouth shall still express.
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My soul shall boast in God.
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The meek shall hear with joyfulness.
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Exol the Lord with me.
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Let us exalt his name together.
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I sought the Lord.
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He heard and did me from all fears deliver.
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They looked to him and lightened were.
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Not shame it were their faces.
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This poor man cry.
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God heard and saved him from all his distresses.
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The angel of the Lord.
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The angel of the Lord encamps.
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And run encampasses.
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All those of the Lord.
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All those of the Lord.
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God, will I bless you.
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God, will I bless you.
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God, will I bless you.
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God, will I bless you.
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God, will I bless you.
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Fear God, his saints, none that impere shall be with one oppressed.
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We unite our hearts together now in prayer. Let us pray.
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Amen.
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We thank you for your day in the week, the Lord's Day. We thank you for the day of rest, a day to worship you, a day to spend in this way.
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And we pray that in everything that we do today, that you would refresh us in it.
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We thank you for the young ones here today with us. We thank you for all who help over the summer holidays just now with Twinnies and Cresce.
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And we do pray, Lord, that as they go through to the hall in a few moments, that you'll be with them there, that they will enjoy learning from your word together.
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And help us to be prayerful for one another, remembering to the holiday club as it comes up this week.
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Thank you for all the children who have signed up for it.
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Lord, we look forward to it. We pray that you will bless it each and every day, that you will bless all that we do, take care of us.
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Lord, even as we travel to and from the holiday club and all that we do in the club, Lord, we pray for you to be with us, that you will speak to us, that you will help us to rejoice in your goodness to us.
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So, Lord, continue to watch over us and all our loved ones, families and friends, neighbours, all our communities, day after day.
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We will know your goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life.
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So we ask all these things, looking to you, asking in Jesus' name, the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
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It's good to see you today. Was anybody through in the hall already?
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Hands up if you were through in the hall already. A few of you have already been in the hall.
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Some others will go through in a moment.
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Now, those who are in the hall, just don't say anything for a minute, because I'm going to ask those who haven't been in the hall,
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when you were coming up to the church today, did you notice anything that was different?
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Possibly not.
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Maybe as you were walking up through the gates, coming towards the church, everything just looked the same.
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Maybe the fact that the sun shining is maybe a difference that we don't see so often.
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But everything kind of looks the same.
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You see the church, or maybe you see the hall.
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Perhaps you didn't notice anything that was different.
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But if you've been into the hall, well, then you'll see that things are different.
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Because when you go into the hall, as soon as you open the door, things are very different.
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You're entering into what looks like a jungle.
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There's banners hanging, and there's things up on the wall.
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It's very different to what it normally is.
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There's all kinds of things that unless you go into the hall, you won't see them.
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So today, I hope that many of you will come into the hall after the service, when there's tea and coffee served.
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Go and see for yourselves how the hall has been transformed.
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It's been transformed for the holiday club that's taking place this coming week.
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So inside is very different to what it normally is.
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But outside, it all looks the same.
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But it reminded me of how that is the way we are as Christians too.
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How can you look at someone today and say that they're a Christian?
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If you look around the church, who is a Christian here?
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Can you tell just by looking on the outside, a person's a Christian?
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No.
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Not really.
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Sometimes you can think, well, they look very happy, but all kinds of different people can look happy.
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Sometimes you think, well, they look very sad.
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They can't be Christians, but sometimes Christians can be sad as well.
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Maybe on the outside, nothing changes.
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But inside, things change.
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The Bible tells us again and again that the Lord doesn't look on the things on the outside,
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but he looks on what's on the inside, in the heart, which is the very being of the person.
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And that's what he changes.
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Because inside, he changes us to know that whatever is going on outside of us,
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things can look the same.
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We go through times of joy and sadness.
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But what we know is that he is with us and that we are trusting him.
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We have faith in him.
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He changes us inside to be maybe people who aren't trusting,
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who are not looking to God,
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instead to look to him and to trust in him.
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People have worked very hard to change the inside of the hall.
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And God has done so much to change us inside as well,
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so that we can come and trust in him.
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We look the same on the outside, but inside we are trusting him.
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So if you can, all children and adults,
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come through to the hall after the service and see the hall for yourselves.
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We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together.
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Let's say the Lord's Prayer.
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Our Father, which art in heaven,
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hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread,
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and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation,
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but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom,
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the power and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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Well, we'll again sing to God's praise.
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This time we're singing in Psalm 63 in the Sing Psalms.
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It's on page 80 of the psalm books.
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Psalm 63.
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We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 8.
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O God, you are my God alone.
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I seek your face with eagerness.
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My soul and body thirst for you in this dry weary wilderness.
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We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to God's praise.
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O God, you are my God alone.
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I seek your face with eagerness.
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My soul and body thirst for you in this dry weary wilderness.
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I've seen you in your holy place.
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Your pardon and glory held my gaze.
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For better is your love than life.
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And so my lips will sing your praise.
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I'll bless you, Lord, throughout my life.
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And raise my hands to you in prayer.
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My joyful lips will sing your praise.
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My soul is fed with riches fair.
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Upon my bed I lie awake.
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And in my thoughts remember you.
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I meditate throughout the night.
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And keep your constant love in you.
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Because you are my help alone.
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In shadow of your wings I'll sing.
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You hold me up with your right hand.
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And to you, O God, my soul will cling.
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Amen.
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We turn to read in God's word together now in the Old Testament.
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Reading in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
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Reading in chapter 26.
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Genesis chapter 26. We're going to read from the beginning of the chapter down to verse 25.
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Here we see a little insight into the life of Isaac. So Genesis chapter 26 at verse 1.
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Now there was a famine in the land besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham.
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And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech, king of the Philistines.
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And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell you.
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Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you.
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For to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands.
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And I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
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I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.
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And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
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Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge and commandments, my statutes and my laws.
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So Isaac settled in Gerar.
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When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, She is my sister.
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For he feared to say, My wife.
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Thinking lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebecca, because she was attractive in appearance.
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When he had been there a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebecca, his wife.
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So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife.
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How then could you say she is my sister?
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Isaac said to him, Because I thought lest I die because of her.
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Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us?
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One of the people might easily have lain with your wife and you would have brought guilt upon us.
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So Abimelech warned all the people saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
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And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.
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The Lord blessed him.
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And the man became rich and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.
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He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants.
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So the Philistines envied him.
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Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abram, his father.
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And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.
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So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerah and settled there.
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And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abram, his father,
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which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abram.
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And he gave them the names that his father had given them.
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But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,
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the herdsmen of Gerah quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, The water is ours.
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So he called the name of the well Essek because they contended with him.
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Then they dug another well and they quarreled over that also.
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So he called its name Sitna.
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And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it.
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So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, For now the Lord has made room for us,
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and we shall be fruitful in the land.
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From there he went up to Beersheba.
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And the Lord appeared to him that same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father.
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Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.
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So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there.
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And there Isaac's servants dug a well.
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And so on.
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May God bless that reading from his word.
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Let's again just unite our hearts in a word of prayer.
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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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O Lord, our gracious God, we continue in worship of you, thankful for the privilege of prayer,
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thankful for the privilege of hearing your word, thankful for the privilege of being able to sing praise to you.
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For these are many things that we could so easily take for granted.
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They are freedoms that we have enjoyed many, probably all the days of our lives.
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But they are freedoms that in so many other parts of the world, that people, your people, they do not have.
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And yet we thank you that throughout the world, that your people praise you.
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For you are the God who has spoken down through all the generations.
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You are the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, as your word tells us so often.
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You are the God of promise, of covenant.
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And you have promised to your people that you will be their God and they will be your people.
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And so we thank you that you have your people here.
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You have your people throughout our islands, throughout our nation, and throughout the world.
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And that even when we feel few in number, your word reminds us, even as we have read with the promise to Abraham and to Isaac,
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that your people will be a great multitude.
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So many that, even like the stars, they cannot be numbered, or the grains of sand, they cannot be numbered by us.
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But they are known unto you, each one.
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And so we thank you that you are a God who knows his people, a God who cares for his people,
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a God who sees us in all our different needs, that you saw Isaac in all his need,
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and you met him in it, in every way you provided for him,
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in every way you told him to not be afraid, but to trust in you.
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And so we pray for ourselves as a people today,
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that in all our fears, in all our anxieties, in all that goes on in our own personal lives,
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in our family lives, in our community life, in our nation, in the world,
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when there are so many things that cause us fear, that cause us worry and anxiety,
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that we would hear your word to us, not to be afraid, but to trust in you.
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Help us, Lord, if that is our situation today, when we have much to maybe tremble about,
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that we'll be able to find you as the one who is near, the one who we can call upon,
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the one who is there for us in all our different needs.
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We do thank you, Lord, that you remember us in every way,
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that you are the one who is able to do so much more than we ask or imagine.
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And yet, so often we neglect you.
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We feel that we can do things in our own strength and in our own ways.
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But, Lord, you remind us, too, again, so often,
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that we're apart from you, that we can do nothing.
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And so, Lord, help us. Help us in our faith.
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That we come today maybe with little faith.
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We come maybe some with maybe no faith.
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That we come maybe some who have had faith for a very long time,
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but a faith that is now being tested.
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And we thank you, Lord, that it is not about the size of our faith,
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but the one in whom our faith is placed.
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We put our faith in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
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We thank you for all that you have done for us in and through him.
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And so we pray in his name today that you will draw us close to yourself.
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That you will draw us even under the shadow of your wings,
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as the psalmist so often describes.
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We pray that we will know your peace,
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a peace that passes all understanding.
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We pray that we will know your blessing on us,
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so that in all that we do, it will give glory to your name.
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And we think of all that goes on even this coming week.
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And again, we think of the holiday club as it begins tomorrow.
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And we do seek your blessing on it.
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We thank you for all the work that has gone into preparing for it.
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We thank you for all that has been done,
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both in terms of practical ways,
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but also in terms of preparing prayerfully
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and according to your word,
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as well as we seek to bring the message of the gospel,
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the good news of Jesus to all who will come in through the doors.
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We pray for your help and your blessing in that.
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We pray for all the children who will come,
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and parents and families associated with them.
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We thank you for these opportunities to give the gospel to them,
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to send it home with them,
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to invite them along, not just to the holiday club,
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but to the services of the church as well.
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And we pray for your hand to be upon us for good in all of these things.
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We pray to, Lord, your blessing on your people near and far.
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We thank you for the means of communication that exists in our day.
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Communication means that are so often abused in many ways,
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but yet that allow us to keep in touch with your people near and far.
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And we thank you for opportunities to meet with them.
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And we pray for the Zoom meeting on Tuesday with Muriel.
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We thank you again for her heart,
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for serving you over these last many years.
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And we pray that you will continue to bless her,
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to watch over her,
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to encourage her,
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that our prayers for her will be heard by you.
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And we thank you for many more, Lord,
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who go out in that way as well,
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throughout all ends of the earth,
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that you send your people far and wide,
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some into very difficult places,
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some into places where their names cannot even be mentioned
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for fear for their lives.
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And so we thank you that your gospel is one that goes out with power.
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Behind it is your spirit.
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And we thank you for the power that is in that,
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in your spirit,
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in your word,
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that your truth will reach out to all ends of the earth,
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to change our world,
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to transform us away from the paths that we are going,
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paths that lead us away from you and your truth,
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to once again turn us towards you,
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to recognize,
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oh Lord,
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that you are not one to be,
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not one to be put away,
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not one to be mocked,
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not one to be made into some kind of joke,
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or fairy tale,
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as so many people would call it,
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but one who we are to fear in the right sense,
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to know that we can bow before you as Lord and God,
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to know forgiveness,
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to know your blessing on us.
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We pray that, Lord,
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throughout the ends of the earth,
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that you will shine your light upon us,
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that you will turn us again towards you,
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that you will make us to walk in your ways.
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So Lord,
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humble us before you even anew today,
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in our prayers,
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in our praise,
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in all that we do,
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may it be for your glory,
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may we offer it all up,
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as a sacrifice to you,
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that we would pour ourselves out before you,
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in body,
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soul,
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mind,
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and heart.
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Lord,
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hear our prayers,
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and continue with us throughout this day.
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Bless your word to us as we turn to it.
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Give us ears to hear what you are saying to us.
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And all we ask,
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we ask the forgiveness of all our sins,
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in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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We'll again sing to God's praise in Psalm 60,
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in the Scottish Psalter.
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Psalm 60,
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page 292.
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We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 5.
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Psalm 60,
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on page 292.
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The psalmist speaks here about a people,
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his people being,
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God's people being rejected,
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and scattered,
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and scattered abroad,
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because the Lord has been displeased with them.
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But there is also the plea,
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from the psalmist to God,
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that God would return,
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return to his people.
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And in verse 4,
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in the midst of all the difficulties
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that have come upon the people of God,
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there is these words,
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And yet a banner thou hast given
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to them who thee do fear,
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that it by them,
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because of truth displayed,
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may appear,
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that thy beloved people may,
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delivered be from thrall,
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save with the power of thy right hand,
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and hear me when I call.
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That we would know his banner over us,
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as his people.
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We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5,
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to God's praise.
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Amen.
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O Lord, thou hast rejected us,
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and scattered us abroad,
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thou justly hast displeased,
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be returned to us, O God.
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The earth to tremble,
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thou hast made,
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where in this preaches make,
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do thou thereof the breaches heal,
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because the land doth shake.
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And to thy people
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thou heartthinks hast showed,
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and all them said,
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and thou hast caused us to drink wine,
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O astondish men.
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and yet a banner thou hast given,
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to them who thee do fear,
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that it by them he calls,
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for fruitless may he appear,
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that thy beloved people may deliver me from thrall,
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save with the power of thy fright,
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and hear me when I call.
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Amen.
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Now we can turn back to our reading in the book of Genesis,
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chapter 26.
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I'm going to look at the beginning of this chapter,
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from verse 1 down to verse 7 in particular.
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But in this chapter we have much told to us of Isaac,
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and the different things that he went through in life.
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When you pick up your Bible to read it,
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what do you think it is about?
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I'm sure there's many things that maybe come to mind
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as you lift your Bible and think,
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well, what is this Bible all about?
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It's about theology.
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It's about God.
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It's about worship.
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It's about Jesus.
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It's about salvation.
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All of these things maybe come to mind
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when we think,
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what is the Bible all about?
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These things are important things.
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But there's one thing that we can often miss
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when we pick up our Bibles to read them,
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and it's something we mustn't forget
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that the Bible is about too,
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and that is that it is about people.
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It is written to people,
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and it's written for people.
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And it's written not just to the people of that age
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when it was written,
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it's written to people and for people
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down through every generation,
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so that we learn all about theology,
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we learn all about God,
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we learn all about worship,
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we learn all about Jesus,
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we learn all about salvation,
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but we learn it in a way that we recognize
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it's not just something away or apart from us,
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but it's something that is to us.
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It's speaking to us as a people.
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God has spoken to his people
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down through every generation.
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And so we thank God
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that he has given his word to us in this way,
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so that as a people,
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we come to hear a message that is personal.
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It's to all of us here today,
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to all who hear God's word today,
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it's a personal message to us as individuals.
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And as you read through your Bible,
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there is a phrase that we're seeing
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or looking into today,
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in part at least,
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that appears in both the Old Testament
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and the New Testament.
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And it's a phrase that speaks of people,
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three people in particular.
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In the Bible, you read the phrase,
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I am the God of Abraham,
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of Isaac,
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and of Jacob.
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It's something that you hear very often
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throughout both the Old and the New Testament.
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It's got a common occurrence.
33:00
And at the heart of that phrase,
33:02
as God is saying it,
33:03
I am the God of Abraham,
33:05
I am the God of Isaac,
33:06
I am the God of Jacob.
33:08
At the heart of that is covenant,
33:10
God's promise to his people.
33:14
He made a covenant with Abraham,
33:16
he shared it with Isaac,
33:18
and he shared it with Jacob,
33:20
and it was a covenant,
33:21
a promise for all of God's people.
33:24
A God who will bless,
33:27
and a God who will provide.
33:30
So as we hear these three names,
33:33
Abraham,
33:34
Isaac,
33:35
Jacob,
33:36
we maybe often think of them on a pedestal.
33:39
They weren't ordinary people.
33:42
They were people who God blessed in a special way,
33:45
and yes,
33:46
God did.
33:47
But on the same way,
33:50
they were ordinary people
33:51
that God was speaking to
33:53
in an extraordinary way.
33:55
In the same way as we are ordinary people
33:58
who God is speaking to
33:59
in an extraordinary way
34:01
through his word,
34:03
the word of God
34:04
that speaks to us of salvation.
34:08
But when you look at these three,
34:10
Abraham,
34:11
Isaac,
34:11
and Jacob,
34:12
as you find them in God's word,
34:15
what you find is that Abraham,
34:18
we learn a lot about him.
34:20
A lot has gone into,
34:22
into the life of Abraham.
34:24
And maybe the same is true with Jacob.
34:28
Jacob is spoken about throughout Scripture.
34:31
We learn a lot about Jacob.
34:35
But what of Isaac?
34:39
What do you know of Isaac?
34:41
Well,
34:42
if you've heard of Isaac before,
34:44
I'm sure you've heard a little about his childhood,
34:47
perhaps in particular.
34:49
He was the son of Abraham.
34:52
And he was a child of promise.
34:55
Abraham and Sarah,
34:56
his wife,
34:57
were in old age,
34:58
and they felt that they couldn't bear a son.
35:01
But God blessed them with a son,
35:04
Isaac.
35:06
And then Isaac
35:07
was taken by Abraham
35:09
and was on the point of being sacrificed,
35:12
put to death
35:13
until the Lord stopped him.
35:17
So yes,
35:17
there is this
35:18
account of Isaac
35:20
in that way.
35:21
The focus is maybe more so
35:22
on Abraham there,
35:24
though.
35:24
But when you look at Isaac
35:26
into his adulthood,
35:28
there's not much said.
35:30
In fact,
35:31
pretty much
35:32
all that's said of Isaac
35:33
we have here
35:34
in chapter 26
35:36
of Genesis.
35:37
And yet he's used
35:40
in that phrase
35:41
the God of Abraham,
35:42
the God of Isaac,
35:43
the God of Jacob.
35:46
But I want us to look at
35:47
Isaac
35:48
in this chapter
35:49
and what we see
35:52
about him.
35:55
Commentators
35:55
have written about him
35:57
and too have described
35:58
Isaac
35:58
in this way.
36:00
Isaac
36:01
was an ordinary son
36:02
of a famous father
36:04
and an ordinary father
36:06
of a famous son.
36:10
Emphasizing
36:10
the
36:10
much being said
36:13
about Abraham
36:13
and Jacob
36:14
but little
36:15
about Isaac.
36:17
Another one said
36:18
Isaac was a man
36:19
who lived in the shadows.
36:21
He lived his life
36:22
first under the shadow
36:23
of his great father Abraham
36:24
and then he lived his life
36:26
in the shadow
36:26
of his great son Jacob.
36:29
But would that be fair
36:31
to say
36:32
well
36:34
in terms of content
36:36
and quantity
36:37
of content
36:38
maybe yes
36:39
but not maybe
36:41
in the life lived
36:42
because
36:43
Isaac
36:44
was a child
36:45
of promise
36:46
and he was
36:47
a man
36:48
who grew
36:49
to know
36:49
the promises
36:50
of God
36:51
in a special way.
36:52
But as we see
36:55
with all three
36:55
in their lives
36:56
they were ordinary men.
36:59
And like any
37:00
ordinary man
37:00
or woman
37:01
they had their failings.
37:03
They had their weaknesses.
37:05
They had things
37:05
in their lives
37:06
that maybe
37:07
if we keep them
37:08
on a pedestal
37:09
you wouldn't expect
37:10
these things
37:11
to happen to them
37:12
but they did.
37:14
God allowed
37:15
things in their life
37:16
that were difficult.
37:18
And so much
37:19
of what we learn
37:19
in their lives
37:21
is about that.
37:22
Just the ordinary
37:23
things
37:24
in their lives
37:25
too
37:26
but the extraordinary
37:26
power
37:27
of God.
37:30
So we're going
37:31
to look at
37:32
Isaac just now
37:33
and we're going
37:34
to think about him
37:35
in this way
37:36
an ordinary man
37:38
but an ordinary man
37:40
who was used
37:42
by God.
37:44
And that's what we see
37:45
here for ourselves.
37:47
We too
37:48
are ordinary men
37:49
and women
37:50
ordinary boys
37:51
and girls
37:52
but ones
37:54
who God
37:55
can use
37:55
as we put
37:57
our trust
37:57
in him.
37:59
The first thing
38:00
we see about
38:01
Isaac
38:02
as an ordinary man
38:03
is that he had
38:05
his trials.
38:07
Isaac had trials
38:09
like ordinary
38:10
people do.
38:12
Abraham,
38:14
Isaac
38:14
and Jacob.
38:16
The God of Abraham
38:17
and Isaac
38:17
and Jacob.
38:18
we hear that
38:19
we hear that
38:19
phrase
38:19
but it doesn't
38:21
mean that
38:22
they never went
38:23
through trials
38:25
themselves.
38:26
And the very
38:27
outset of this
38:28
chapter we are
38:28
told of one
38:30
of the first
38:30
trials that
38:31
Isaac has
38:33
here.
38:33
It says
38:33
now there was a
38:34
famine
38:35
in the land.
38:38
Isaac
38:38
was living
38:40
in this place
38:41
in this land
38:42
of promise
38:42
the place
38:43
where God
38:43
had placed
38:44
him
38:44
and yet
38:46
in the midst
38:47
of this
38:47
the land
38:49
that he was in
38:49
a famine
38:50
came in the land.
38:53
Which land
38:54
was it?
38:57
Well it was the
38:57
land of promise.
38:59
The place that God
39:00
had promised to
39:01
Abraham
39:01
to his descendants
39:03
a place later on
39:04
described as a
39:05
place flowing
39:06
with milk
39:07
and honey.
39:08
And yet at this
39:09
time
39:09
there is famine
39:11
in this land
39:12
and you notice
39:13
too that it's
39:14
something that
39:15
Abraham experienced
39:16
himself as well.
39:19
Besides the
39:20
former famine
39:21
it says
39:21
that was in the
39:22
days of Abraham.
39:24
Abraham had
39:24
suffered this
39:25
too.
39:27
Ordinary people
39:28
go through
39:29
trials
39:30
as well.
39:32
God could
39:33
easily have
39:33
supplied
39:34
the needs
39:35
of Isaac
39:36
here.
39:37
He could have
39:37
protected him
39:38
in the midst
39:39
of the famine
39:39
and given
39:40
to him
39:41
the needs
39:42
that he
39:42
needed for
39:43
getting through
39:43
this famine
39:44
and yet
39:46
he didn't.
39:48
God's
39:48
chosen man
39:50
he had to
39:51
suffer alongside
39:52
the others
39:53
in this land
39:54
as well.
39:55
Many others
39:56
in this land
39:56
were pagans
39:57
who had
39:57
turned against
39:59
God
39:59
but Isaac
40:00
was trusting
40:01
God along
40:02
with others
40:02
of God's
40:03
people and yet
40:03
they suffered
40:04
in this famine.
40:07
Trials
40:08
are the
40:09
ordinary
40:09
lot of
40:10
God's
40:10
people.
40:12
They
40:12
always have
40:13
been
40:14
and they
40:14
always will
40:15
be
40:16
until the
40:17
Lord
40:17
returns.
40:19
We are
40:20
reminded of
40:20
that so
40:21
often
40:21
throughout the
40:22
scriptures.
40:24
God's
40:24
people
40:25
going
40:26
through
40:26
difficult
40:27
times.
40:29
And yet
40:29
here was
40:30
Isaac.
40:31
He was
40:31
in the
40:32
place that
40:33
God wanted
40:34
him to be
40:34
and yet
40:36
there was
40:36
trouble.
40:39
That's a
40:40
reminder to
40:40
ourselves.
40:43
We seek
40:43
God's
40:44
will.
40:45
We do
40:46
things
40:46
prayerfully.
40:48
We can
40:49
pray for
40:49
God to
40:50
guide us
40:51
into the
40:51
place that
40:52
we should
40:52
work.
40:53
We can
40:54
pray for
40:54
God to
40:55
guide us
40:56
into the
40:56
place that
40:56
we should
40:57
live.
40:58
We can
40:58
pray for
40:59
God to
40:59
lead us
41:00
to the
41:00
place that
41:00
we should
41:01
worship.
41:01
all of
41:03
these
41:03
things we
41:03
can pray
41:04
about and
41:04
God can
41:05
show us
41:06
the way and
41:06
open all
41:07
the doors
41:07
for us
41:08
and yet
41:10
there can
41:10
still be
41:11
troubles.
41:13
There can
41:14
still be
41:15
problems.
41:17
And
41:17
sometimes it
41:18
can even
41:18
feel like
41:18
it's just
41:19
one problem
41:20
after another.
41:24
Because
41:25
somehow we've
41:25
picked up
41:26
this notion,
41:27
this idea
41:28
that because
41:29
God has
41:30
called us to
41:31
a particular
41:31
place or
41:33
to a
41:33
particular
41:34
work or
41:35
to a
41:35
particular
41:35
ministry,
41:37
that everything
41:37
is going to
41:38
go smoothly,
41:39
that everything
41:40
is going to
41:41
go right for
41:42
us, that we
41:42
won't encounter
41:43
any problems
41:45
at all, that
41:45
everything is
41:46
going to be
41:46
just milk and
41:48
honey all
41:49
the time.
41:50
So when the
41:51
way gets hard
41:51
we think,
41:52
well maybe I'm
41:53
not in God's
41:54
will, maybe
41:56
I'm not where
41:57
God wants me
41:58
to be.
41:59
And we can
42:00
be serving
42:01
God in a
42:02
position that
42:03
we felt led
42:04
by him
42:04
to.
42:05
It could be
42:05
a minister,
42:07
an elder or
42:07
a deacon,
42:08
it could be
42:09
a missionary,
42:10
it could be
42:10
serving in
42:10
the Sunday
42:11
school, as
42:12
a teacher,
42:13
it can be
42:13
serving God
42:15
in any
42:16
end of
42:17
means, in
42:18
our community,
42:19
in our
42:19
workplace, in
42:20
all of these
42:21
things.
42:21
And we think,
42:22
yes, this is
42:23
where God
42:24
wants me to
42:24
be to serve
42:25
him, and
42:26
yet it's
42:27
still just one
42:27
problem after
42:29
another.
42:31
And the
42:31
danger there
42:32
is that we
42:33
start to
42:33
think, I'll
42:34
just take
42:35
things into
42:35
my own
42:36
hands.
42:38
Isaac, like
42:39
every ordinary
42:40
person, he
42:41
had ordinary
42:42
trials.
42:43
Here was a
42:45
famine.
42:46
Abraham had
42:47
suffered famine,
42:48
and you see it
42:49
throughout the
42:50
scriptures, again
42:51
and again, God's
42:52
people going
42:53
through trials,
42:55
but it's not
42:56
the time to
42:58
take things
42:58
into our
42:59
own hands.
43:01
Isaac wanted
43:02
to do
43:03
that.
43:05
He went
43:06
to Abimelech,
43:08
and he was
43:09
going to go
43:09
down to
43:10
Egypt, we
43:11
are told,
43:12
here, and
43:13
yet God
43:14
stopped him.
43:18
If you are
43:19
in a
43:19
trial, if
43:21
you feel
43:21
that you
43:21
are in the
43:22
place that
43:22
God wants
43:23
you to be,
43:23
and yet
43:24
you're still
43:25
feeling that
43:25
it's just
43:25
one problem
43:27
after another,
43:29
maybe God
43:29
is saying,
43:30
stay.
43:32
Stay.
43:35
I have a
43:36
purpose.
43:38
I have a
43:38
plan.
43:39
You have
43:40
to trust
43:40
me in
43:41
this.
43:42
You need
43:43
faith.
43:44
We are
43:44
not immune
43:46
to trials.
43:48
Isaac,
43:49
this one
43:50
who was
43:51
so close
43:52
to God,
43:52
the God
43:53
of Isaac,
43:54
yet he
43:55
was someone
43:56
who knew
43:57
his trials,
43:58
and so
43:59
will we.
44:02
The second
44:02
thing here
44:03
is that
44:04
Isaac had
44:06
fears,
44:07
like every
44:09
ordinary
44:09
person has
44:10
fears.
44:13
What do
44:13
ordinary people
44:14
do when
44:15
trials hit?
44:16
very often
44:18
we panic.
44:20
We go
44:21
into a
44:22
fear mode,
44:23
and that's
44:24
exactly what
44:25
Isaac did
44:25
as well when
44:26
this famine
44:27
hit.
44:28
There was a
44:28
famine in the
44:29
land,
44:30
and you would
44:31
love to read
44:31
here,
44:32
there was a
44:33
famine in the
44:34
land,
44:35
and Isaac
44:35
sought the
44:36
Lord.
44:38
But it's not
44:39
what we read.
44:41
There was a
44:41
famine in the
44:42
land, it says
44:43
in verse 1,
44:44
and Isaac
44:45
went to
44:46
Gerar, to
44:47
Abimelech,
44:48
king of the
44:49
Philistines.
44:51
He went to
44:52
completely the
44:53
wrong place.
44:56
He wasn't
44:56
planning to
44:57
stop there
44:58
either,
44:59
because the
45:01
plan was that
45:01
he would go
45:02
all the way
45:02
down to
45:03
Egypt, as
45:04
verse 2
45:04
makes clear
45:05
for us.
45:06
He was
45:06
heading towards
45:07
Egypt until
45:09
the Lord
45:10
intervened.
45:12
The Lord
45:13
stopped him.
45:15
Isaac was
45:17
afraid.
45:18
It's a
45:19
natural reaction
45:20
in this
45:20
situation.
45:21
A famine
45:22
has come.
45:23
He's afraid.
45:25
And you
45:26
see it again
45:27
in verse
45:29
6 and 7
45:30
as well,
45:32
where there's
45:32
a fear
45:33
about his
45:33
wife,
45:34
Rebekah.
45:36
He says
45:37
she is my
45:38
sister.
45:39
In verse
45:40
6,
45:41
for he
45:41
feared to
45:42
say my
45:42
wife,
45:43
thinking lest
45:44
the men of
45:45
the place
45:45
should kill
45:46
me because
45:47
of Rebekah.
45:48
He was
45:49
afraid.
45:53
And that's
45:54
our own
45:54
natural reaction
45:56
too in so
45:57
many situations
45:58
we find
45:59
ourselves.
46:00
This reaction
46:01
of fear,
46:02
there are so
46:02
many things
46:03
that make
46:04
us afraid.
46:07
But what
46:07
does the
46:08
Lord
46:08
do here
46:09
in the
46:10
midst
46:10
of Isaac's
46:12
fear?
46:13
He
46:14
intervenes.
46:17
It says
46:18
there that
46:19
the Lord
46:19
appeared to
46:20
him in
46:20
verse 2
46:21
and said,
46:22
do not
46:23
go down
46:23
to Egypt.
46:25
Dwell
46:25
in the
46:26
land
46:26
for which
46:27
I will
46:28
tell you.
46:29
God
46:30
intervenes.
46:32
God
46:33
speaks.
46:33
God
46:34
says,
46:36
do not
46:39
fear
46:39
unless a
46:42
person is
46:42
afraid.
46:44
And yet
46:44
when you go
46:45
through the
46:45
scriptures,
46:46
you see him
46:47
saying it to
46:47
so many
46:48
people,
46:49
to Joshua,
46:51
to David.
46:52
You can
46:53
carry on and
46:53
go through the
46:54
scriptures and
46:54
find so many
46:56
people who
46:56
are afraid,
46:57
and yet the
46:57
Lord says,
46:59
do not be
47:00
afraid,
47:00
afraid.
47:01
Because he
47:02
knows the
47:03
fear that his
47:04
people have.
47:06
And so we
47:07
too, we
47:07
will have
47:08
fears.
47:09
And how do
47:10
we react
47:11
in fear?
47:12
We take
47:13
things into
47:13
our own
47:13
hands,
47:14
just like
47:14
Isaac.
47:16
We seek
47:17
to do
47:17
things our
47:18
own way.
47:19
We sometimes
47:19
maybe even
47:20
tell lies,
47:21
like Isaac
47:22
did about
47:23
his wife
47:23
Rebecca.
47:24
We react
47:25
in all
47:25
these different
47:26
kinds of
47:26
ways in
47:27
the midst
47:27
of our
47:28
fear,
47:29
instead of
47:30
turning to
47:31
God.
47:34
We ought
47:35
to take
47:36
our fears
47:37
to the
47:38
Lord,
47:39
take it
47:40
to him
47:40
in prayer.
47:42
Isaac
47:42
didn't do
47:43
it because
47:44
he was an
47:45
ordinary
47:45
person like
47:46
you and
47:46
I.
47:48
He reacted
47:48
in the
47:49
same way
47:49
we do
47:50
so often.
47:51
Instead of
47:52
turning to
47:52
God,
47:53
we'll sort
47:53
it out
47:54
ourselves.
47:57
But he
47:57
says,
47:59
do not
47:59
be afraid.
48:02
We looked
48:02
at the
48:03
passage
48:03
John 14
48:04
a few
48:04
weeks ago.
48:06
A passage
48:07
that speaks
48:07
to Jesus
48:08
speaking to
48:09
his disciples
48:09
about their
48:10
fears.
48:11
He's saying,
48:11
let not
48:12
your hearts
48:12
be troubled.
48:14
He tells
48:15
them,
48:16
do not
48:16
be afraid
48:17
because
48:18
they are.
48:19
They're afraid
48:20
of what the
48:20
future holds.
48:21
They're afraid
48:22
of everything
48:23
that's happening
48:23
in their lives
48:24
at that point.
48:25
But Jesus
48:25
says,
48:26
do not
48:27
be afraid.
48:28
We have
48:30
to turn
48:30
to God
48:31
and his
48:31
promises.
48:32
So often
48:33
he says,
48:33
do not
48:33
be afraid
48:34
for I
48:35
am with
48:36
you.
48:38
The
48:39
comforter
48:40
comes
48:40
alongside.
48:42
We have
48:43
our fears
48:44
but how
48:44
do we
48:45
respond
48:46
in them?
48:47
Take
48:48
them
48:48
to God.
48:50
That is
48:51
what we're
48:51
learning here
48:52
from Isaac.
48:53
Our first
48:54
port of call,
48:55
even before
48:55
God has
48:56
to stop
48:56
us in
48:57
our tracks
48:57
should be
48:58
to take
48:59
everything
48:59
to the
49:00
Lord
49:00
in prayer.
49:03
Third thing
49:03
we see here
49:04
about Isaac
49:05
is,
49:06
Isaac had
49:07
sinned
49:08
like ordinary
49:09
people.
49:10
When you
49:11
hear the
49:11
phrase
49:11
of God
49:12
of Abraham,
49:13
Isaac,
49:13
and Jacob,
49:14
you almost
49:15
think,
49:15
well they
49:15
must have
49:16
been a
49:16
class above
49:17
everybody
49:17
else.
49:18
They
49:18
must have
49:18
been without
49:19
sin.
49:21
But no
49:21
one is
49:22
without sin.
49:23
They are
49:24
sinners like
49:25
you and
49:25
I.
49:27
We are
49:28
all
49:28
sinners
49:29
before
49:30
God.
49:33
And you
49:33
see the
49:34
sin of
49:35
Isaac here,
49:36
the sin
49:36
of disobedience,
49:37
the sin
49:38
of doing
49:38
things in
49:39
his own
49:39
way,
49:40
the sin
49:40
of telling
49:41
lies to
49:42
those around
49:43
him.
49:44
You see
49:45
it here
49:45
again and
49:46
again.
49:48
And
49:48
sometimes
49:49
the enemy
49:51
gets us
49:52
thinking that
49:53
God cannot
49:54
use us
49:54
if this
49:55
is the
49:55
way we
49:56
are.
49:57
My
49:58
life just
49:58
seems to
49:59
be full
49:59
of sin.
50:01
Just one
50:02
sin after
50:03
another.
50:04
And yet
50:05
here and
50:05
so often
50:06
through
50:06
scripture you
50:07
see God
50:08
using people,
50:09
ordinary
50:10
people,
50:11
whose lives
50:13
have so many
50:14
sins and
50:14
yet God
50:15
can use
50:16
them.
50:17
One minute
50:18
you can be
50:18
sitting in
50:19
church,
50:21
you're
50:21
listening to
50:21
God's
50:22
word and
50:22
you're
50:22
singing
50:23
God's
50:24
praise.
50:26
And the
50:26
next minute
50:27
some kind
50:28
of horrible
50:29
thought comes
50:29
into your
50:30
mind.
50:31
And you're
50:32
thinking to
50:32
yourself,
50:33
I can't
50:35
be holy.
50:36
There's just
50:37
so much
50:37
sin in my
50:38
life,
50:39
in my
50:39
heart.
50:40
God
50:40
can't use
50:41
me to
50:42
do anything
50:43
for him.
50:44
I have
50:45
to purify
50:47
myself,
50:47
I have to
50:47
be perfect
50:49
before God
50:49
before I
50:50
can possibly
50:50
be used
50:51
by him.
50:53
Perfect
50:53
just like
50:54
Abraham,
50:55
Isaac and
50:56
Jacob were.
50:57
But they
50:58
weren't.
51:00
And neither
51:01
will you
51:01
or I
51:02
be perfect,
51:03
but it
51:04
doesn't mean
51:04
God can't
51:05
use us.
51:06
It doesn't
51:07
mean God
51:07
can't bless
51:08
us.
51:11
Isaac
51:12
was an
51:13
ordinary man
51:13
who had
51:14
sin in
51:14
his life.
51:16
You and
51:16
I are
51:17
ordinary
51:17
people who
51:18
have sin
51:19
in our
51:19
lives too.
51:20
God
51:21
is
51:22
perfect.
51:23
And you
51:23
look through
51:24
Scripture and
51:24
that's what
51:25
you see
51:25
again and
51:27
again.
51:29
Remember the
51:30
Bible is
51:31
about people.
51:33
It's showing
51:34
us people
51:35
in all the
51:36
realities of
51:37
life,
51:38
in all the
51:38
different
51:39
experiences of
51:40
life.
51:41
There is no
51:42
one perfect
51:43
because
51:45
Christ alone
51:47
is perfect.
51:48
perfect.
51:49
And we
51:50
all need
51:50
Christ for
51:52
our sin.
51:53
And that's
51:54
what we
51:54
are learning.
51:56
Isaac had
51:58
to depend
51:59
on God.
52:00
In the
52:01
midst of his
52:01
disobedience,
52:02
in the
52:03
midst of his
52:03
sin, he
52:04
is called
52:05
back to
52:06
God.
52:08
The Lord
52:09
appeared to
52:10
him and
52:10
says in
52:10
verse 2,
52:10
Do not
52:11
go down
52:11
to Egypt.
52:12
Dwell in
52:13
the land
52:13
which I
52:14
shall tell
52:15
you.
52:16
Listen to
52:17
the Lord,
52:18
he is
52:18
saying.
52:19
And that's
52:19
what God
52:20
says to
52:21
us as
52:21
well.
52:23
Let us
52:23
listen to
52:24
what God
52:25
is saying.
52:25
Let us
52:26
stop what
52:27
we are
52:27
doing and
52:28
trying to
52:28
do things
52:29
ourselves to
52:30
sort our
52:31
own sin
52:31
out because
52:33
we cannot.
52:35
Instead,
52:36
we have to
52:36
listen to
52:38
God.
52:38
we all
52:40
have sin
52:42
in our
52:42
lives.
52:44
That leads
52:45
us to the
52:46
fourth thing
52:47
and the
52:47
final thing
52:48
here.
52:49
Everyone
52:50
can have
52:51
hope.
52:53
Isaac
52:54
had hope
52:55
like ordinary
52:56
people too.
52:58
And that's
52:59
the wonder
53:00
of God's
53:01
word.
53:02
It reminds
53:03
us of
53:04
the fact
53:05
that we're
53:06
sinners,
53:07
the fact
53:08
that we
53:09
will have
53:09
trials,
53:10
the fact
53:11
that we
53:11
are
53:11
disobedient.
53:12
It reminds
53:12
us of
53:13
all of
53:14
these
53:14
things.
53:15
But it
53:16
speaks to
53:17
us as
53:17
an ordinary
53:18
people who
53:19
need an
53:20
extraordinary
53:20
God.
53:23
We need
53:23
him in
53:24
our lives.
53:26
Claire Booth,
53:27
an author
53:28
in America,
53:28
she once
53:29
said,
53:30
there are
53:30
no hopeless
53:31
situations.
53:33
There are
53:33
only people
53:34
who have
53:35
grown hopeless
53:36
about
53:36
them.
53:39
But we
53:39
can say
53:40
to ourselves,
53:41
but how
53:42
can anybody
53:42
say that
53:43
there is
53:44
no hopeless
53:45
situation?
53:47
Because so
53:48
many of our
53:49
situations in
53:50
life,
53:51
they seem
53:52
hopeless.
53:53
They seem
53:54
like nothing
53:55
is going to
53:56
change our
53:57
situation.
53:58
but no
54:01
situation is
54:02
hopeless
54:03
with God.
54:05
Because as
54:06
we look to
54:07
God's word,
54:08
to the
54:08
gospel,
54:09
it gives
54:10
us hope.
54:12
And it's
54:12
not just a
54:13
hope for
54:14
now.
54:15
Because we
54:16
need a
54:16
greater
54:17
perspective
54:17
of who
54:18
God is
54:19
and what
54:19
the plans
54:20
are for
54:21
his people.
54:22
We need
54:23
to look
54:23
at things
54:24
in an
54:25
eternal
54:25
perspective.
54:28
that all
54:28
of God's
54:29
people have
54:30
hope.
54:32
Our
54:32
situation
54:33
today may
54:34
not change.
54:36
It may
54:37
not go
54:37
the way
54:38
that we
54:38
want it
54:39
to go.
54:40
And the
54:41
greatest
54:41
fear we
54:42
have in
54:43
life,
54:43
the greatest
54:43
pain that
54:45
we have
54:45
in life,
54:46
is a fear
54:47
and the
54:47
pain of
54:48
death.
54:50
But God's
54:51
people have
54:52
hope in
54:54
that.
54:55
And that
54:56
is what we
54:56
have to
54:57
look to.
54:58
hope in
55:00
God.
55:02
We have
55:03
ordinary
55:04
fears in
55:05
life.
55:07
We have
55:08
ordinary
55:09
sins in
55:10
our life.
55:11
All ordinary
55:11
people have
55:12
all of
55:13
these things.
55:15
But as we
55:16
look to
55:16
God's
55:17
word, we
55:17
have hope.
55:19
And that
55:19
is what
55:19
God offered
55:20
to Isaac.
55:22
And it's
55:22
what God
55:23
offers to
55:24
all of
55:24
his people.
55:25
hope.
55:25
Because he
55:26
says that
55:28
he will
55:28
give him
55:29
a land
55:29
to dwell
55:30
in.
55:31
He says
55:31
he will
55:32
give him
55:33
a place
55:33
of promise.
55:35
He will
55:35
promise him
55:37
that he
55:37
will be
55:37
with him
55:38
in all
55:39
of these
55:39
things.
55:42
But above
55:43
all, he
55:44
promises him
55:44
this,
55:46
life
55:46
eternal.
55:48
will
55:48
be
55:50
a
55:50
gospel.
55:51
It's
55:51
a word
55:52
of hope.
55:53
A word
55:54
that we
55:54
find so
55:55
often
55:55
throughout
55:56
the
55:56
scriptures.
55:57
Psalm
55:57
130
55:58
verse 5
55:59
says,
55:59
I wait
56:00
for the
56:00
Lord,
56:01
my soul
56:01
waits,
56:02
and in
56:02
his
56:02
word,
56:03
I
56:03
hope
56:04
that
56:06
all
56:07
his
56:07
word
56:07
will
56:07
be
56:08
fulfilled.
56:09
Jeremiah
56:10
29
56:10
verse 11,
56:11
I know
56:11
the plans
56:12
I have
56:12
for you,
56:13
declares
56:13
the Lord.
56:14
Plans
56:15
for welfare
56:15
and not
56:16
for evil,
56:16
to give
56:16
you a
56:17
future
56:17
and a
56:18
hope.
56:21
Paul,
56:21
in 1
56:22
Corinthians
56:22
chapter 2,
56:23
speaks about
56:24
the hope
56:25
that we
56:25
look to.
56:26
He says,
56:26
but as it
56:26
is written,
56:27
what no eye
56:28
has seen,
56:29
nor ear
56:29
heard,
56:30
nor the
56:30
heart of
56:31
man
56:31
imagined,
56:32
what God
56:33
has prepared
56:33
for those
56:34
who love
56:34
him.
56:35
What we
56:36
have to
56:37
hope for
56:38
in
56:38
eternity.
56:39
Titus
56:40
1
56:40
verse 2,
56:41
in hope
56:42
of eternal
56:43
life,
56:44
which God
56:45
who never
56:45
lies,
56:46
promised
56:47
before
56:47
the
56:47
ages
56:48
began.
56:50
There
56:50
is hope
56:51
found
56:52
in the
56:52
gospel.
56:54
Hope
56:54
not just
56:54
for today,
56:56
but for
56:56
all
56:57
eternity.
56:58
Isaac
56:59
was stopped
57:00
by God.
57:01
He remained
57:01
in Gerard.
57:03
He was
57:03
faithful to
57:04
God,
57:05
even in
57:05
his ongoing
57:06
faults.
57:08
But this
57:08
ordinary man
57:09
knew the
57:10
blessings of
57:11
an
57:11
extraordinary
57:11
God.
57:15
And when
57:15
you read
57:16
of him
57:16
in the
57:17
New
57:17
Testament,
57:18
when you
57:19
read that
57:20
phrase in
57:20
the New
57:21
Testament,
57:22
the Lord,
57:23
the God
57:23
of Abraham,
57:24
the God
57:24
of Isaac,
57:24
and the
57:25
God of
57:25
Jacob,
57:26
listen to
57:27
this as
57:27
it says
57:28
in Luke
57:29
20 verse
57:30
37,
57:32
where it
57:33
is speaking
57:33
about the
57:34
resurrection.
57:35
but that
57:36
the dead
57:37
are raised,
57:38
even Moses
57:39
showed in
57:40
the passage
57:40
about the
57:41
bush,
57:41
where he
57:41
calls the
57:42
Lord,
57:43
the God
57:43
of Abraham,
57:44
the God
57:44
of Isaac,
57:45
and the
57:45
God of
57:46
Jacob.
57:47
Now he
57:47
is not
57:48
the God
57:49
of the
57:49
dead,
57:50
but of
57:51
the living,
57:52
and for
57:52
all to
57:54
live to
57:54
him.
57:57
Isaac
57:57
had died,
57:59
and yet
58:00
he is
58:01
described
58:01
there as
58:02
the son
58:04
of the
58:04
living God,
58:05
but also
58:06
alive in
58:08
him.
58:09
And that
58:10
is the
58:10
hope that
58:11
the Christian
58:12
has.
58:14
Hope not
58:15
just for
58:16
now,
58:17
when everything
58:18
seems hopeless
58:19
in our eyes,
58:20
but hope
58:21
for all
58:22
eternity.
58:25
In God's
58:25
wisdom,
58:26
sometimes he
58:27
doesn't change
58:28
the situation
58:29
that we're
58:30
in,
58:30
but he
58:31
gives us
58:32
a different
58:32
perspective.
58:35
And that's
58:35
what we
58:35
find as
58:36
we look
58:37
to God's
58:38
word,
58:39
as we
58:39
look to
58:40
Abraham
58:40
and Isaac
58:41
and Jacob,
58:41
as we
58:42
look to
58:42
Isaac here
58:43
in this
58:44
passage,
58:45
one who
58:46
had his
58:46
faults,
58:47
who had
58:47
his fears,
58:48
who had
58:49
his sins,
58:51
and yet
58:51
had hope.
58:54
Isaac
58:54
Watts
58:55
says in
58:56
the hymn,
58:57
O God,
58:57
our help
58:58
of ages
58:58
past.
58:59
He
58:59
says,
59:00
O God,
59:00
our help
59:01
of ages
59:01
past,
59:02
our hope
59:03
for years
59:04
to come.
59:05
Be thou
59:06
our guide
59:07
while life
59:07
shall last
59:08
and our
59:09
eternal
59:11
home.
59:12
The hope
59:13
of the
59:14
Christian
59:15
that despite
59:16
our fears,
59:18
despite
59:18
our sins,
59:20
that in
59:21
Christ we
59:21
are one
59:22
who has
59:23
promised
59:23
eternal
59:24
life,
59:25
who gives
59:26
us hope,
59:28
but we
59:28
have to
59:28
heed his
59:29
word.
59:30
God's
59:31
word is
59:32
before us
59:33
today.
59:34
It's a
59:34
book of
59:35
theology.
59:36
It's a
59:36
book all
59:37
about God,
59:38
all about
59:39
Jesus,
59:40
all about
59:40
salvation,
59:41
about all
59:42
of these
59:42
things.
59:44
But it's a
59:45
book about
59:45
ordinary
59:45
people.
59:47
It's a
59:47
book for
59:48
ordinary
59:49
people,
59:50
like you
59:50
and me,
59:51
to hear
59:52
what God
59:53
is saying
59:54
to us,
59:55
that we
59:56
have all
59:56
of these
59:57
ordinary
59:57
things in
59:58
our
59:58
experience.
1:00:00
Ordinary
1:00:01
trials,
1:00:02
ordinary
1:00:02
fears,
1:00:03
sins of
1:00:04
ordinary
1:00:04
people.
1:00:06
But it
1:00:06
reminds us
1:00:07
that as
1:00:08
ordinary
1:00:08
people,
1:00:09
we have
1:00:10
hope,
1:00:11
and that
1:00:11
that hope
1:00:12
is in
1:00:12
God and
1:00:13
in Christ
1:00:14
Jesus.
1:00:15
May we
1:00:16
know that
1:00:17
hope
1:00:17
ourselves,
1:00:18
and come,
1:00:19
and in all
1:00:20
our circumstances,
1:00:22
lean on
1:00:23
God's word
1:00:24
for us.
1:00:25
He knows
1:00:26
every one
1:00:27
of us.
1:00:28
He speaks
1:00:29
to us
1:00:29
individually
1:00:31
about a
1:00:32
Saviour
1:00:33
for us
1:00:34
all.
1:00:35
Let us
1:00:35
pray.
1:00:37
Our
1:00:38
Father in
1:00:39
heaven,
1:00:39
we bless
1:00:40
you for
1:00:40
your word.
1:00:41
It speaks
1:00:42
to us,
1:00:42
and we
1:00:43
pray today,
1:00:44
Lord,
1:00:44
that we
1:00:45
will hear
1:00:45
what you
1:00:45
say to
1:00:46
us,
1:00:47
that we
1:00:47
will
1:00:47
experience
1:00:48
the
1:00:48
goodness
1:00:49
of God,
1:00:50
that we
1:00:50
will
1:00:50
experience
1:00:51
that
1:00:52
blessing
1:00:52
of knowing
1:00:53
Christ
1:00:54
Jesus
1:00:54
as our
1:00:55
Lord,
1:00:56
that you
1:00:56
will
1:00:57
still
1:00:57
our
1:00:57
fears
1:00:58
and help
1:00:58
us to
1:00:59
bring them
1:01:00
to you,
1:01:01
and that we
1:01:01
would know
1:01:02
your peace
1:01:03
upon us,
1:01:04
as we ask
1:01:04
it all in
1:01:05
Jesus' name.
1:01:06
Amen.
1:01:10
We'll
1:01:10
conclude by
1:01:11
singing to
1:01:12
God's praise
1:01:13
in Psalm
1:01:13
10,
1:01:14
in the
1:01:15
Sing
1:01:15
Psalms
1:01:15
version.
1:01:18
Psalm
1:01:19
10,
1:01:19
on page
1:01:20
12 of
1:01:21
the
1:01:21
Psalm
1:01:21
books.
1:01:22
We're
1:01:25
going to
1:01:25
sing from
1:01:26
verse 16
1:01:27
down to
1:01:27
the end
1:01:28
of the
1:01:29
Psalm.
1:01:31
Psalm
1:01:32
10 at
1:01:32
verse 16,
1:01:33
The Lord
1:01:33
will ever
1:01:34
reign as
1:01:34
king,
1:01:35
his throne
1:01:35
will always
1:01:36
stand,
1:01:37
for he,
1:01:38
the nations
1:01:38
of the
1:01:39
world,
1:01:39
will perish
1:01:40
from his
1:01:41
hand.
1:01:41
O Lord,
1:01:42
the needy
1:01:42
ones desire,
1:01:43
you answer
1:01:44
from on
1:01:45
high,
1:01:45
you give
1:01:46
encouragement
1:01:46
to them
1:01:47
and listen
1:01:48
to their
1:01:48
cry.
1:01:49
We'll
1:01:49
sing from
1:01:49
verse 16
1:01:50
to the
1:01:51
end of
1:01:51
the
1:01:51
psalm,
1:01:52
to God's
1:01:52
praise.
1:01:56
The
1:01:57
Lord
1:01:58
will
1:01:59
ever
1:02:00
reign
1:02:02
as
1:02:03
king,
1:02:04
his
1:02:05
throne
1:02:06
will
1:02:07
always
1:02:09
stand,
1:02:11
the
1:02:12
he,
1:02:14
the
1:02:14
nations
1:02:16
of
1:02:18
the
1:02:18
world,
1:02:19
will
1:02:21
perish
1:02:23
from
1:02:24
his
1:02:25
land.
1:02:27
O
1:02:29
Lord,
1:02:30
the
1:02:31
needy
1:02:33
ones
1:02:34
desire,
1:02:36
you
1:02:37
answer
1:02:39
from
1:02:40
on
1:02:42
high,
1:02:44
you
1:02:45
give
1:02:46
encouragement
1:02:48
to
1:02:51
them
1:02:52
and
1:02:53
listen
1:02:55
to
1:02:56
their
1:02:57
cry.
1:03:01
For
1:03:02
you
1:03:02
defend
1:03:04
the
1:03:06
fatherless
1:03:09
and
1:03:10
those
1:03:11
who
1:03:12
are
1:03:13
oppressed,
1:03:15
so
1:03:18
that
1:03:19
from
1:03:20
fear
1:03:21
of
1:03:22
mortal
1:03:23
man
1:03:25
help
1:03:27
and
1:03:28
sing
1:03:30
the
1:03:30
rest.
1:03:34
After the
1:03:35
benediction,
1:03:35
I'll go to the door to my left.
1:03:37
We'll close with the benediction.
1:03:38
Now may grace,
1:03:40
mercy,
1:03:40
and peace from God,
1:03:42
Father,
1:03:43
Son,
1:03:43
and Holy Spirit
1:03:44
rest upon and abide with you all,
1:03:47
now and forevermore.
1:03:48
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:49
Amen.
1:03:50
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:51
Amen.
1:03:52
Amen.
1:03:52
Amen.
1:04:08
Amen.