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Walking With God · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Our opening psalm tonight, psalm of praise, is psalm 30.
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Psalm number 30, that's in the Scottish Psalter.
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You'll find that on page 239.
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Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me on high,
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and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.
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For thou who art the Lord my God, I in distress to thee,
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with loud cries lifted up my voice, and thou hast healed me.
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Down to verse 5, for but a moment lasts his wrath, life in his favor lies.
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Weeping may for a night endure, at morn doth joy arise.
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Words that are so full, vibrantly full of life,
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and full of thanksgiving to God for his salvation,
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and call upon us as God's people to sing praise to him in accordance with that.
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Psalm 30 then, verses 1 to 5.
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Lord, I will thee extol.
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Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me on high,
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and over me thou to rejoice, may it's not mine enemy.
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O thou who art the Lord my God, I in distress to thee,
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with thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
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I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
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O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou Christ, may it's not mine.
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And love, and still let me be.
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O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me.
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O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me, with thou hast lifted me.
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O Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast ing it, with thou hast magnetic收 syste.
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O Lord, I will thee extol, ye socher!
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O O Lord, ye that high this holy one, sing praise unto the Lord.
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Son to the Lord, and give unto him thanks when ye his holiness reward.
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For God's hope and last is right, like in his favor lies.
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We've been before a night endured, a thorn of joy arise.
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Now we're going to engage in prayer, let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
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Amen.
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We pray that that may be the experience of each one of us here in this building tonight.
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That we can meaningfully and joyfully sing praises to you, knowing you as the rescuer who has brought us from death.
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Who has brought us life in its abundance, in the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.
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Lord, we give thanks that we are here once again, gathered in this building to worship you.
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We are conscious of drawing near to you, even though we cannot see you.
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And we nevertheless know that you are here.
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And we know that we consciously come into your presence as we come to worship you, whether collectively, with others or privately for ourselves.
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And we give thanks for the privilege we have of being able to draw near to God.
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And help us, we pray, to do so with faith and with longing.
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Enable us to draw near to you, believing that you are indeed a rewarder of those who seek you diligently.
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And we ask tonight, Lord, that as we gather together, so your word once again will be impressed upon our minds and hearts.
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Feed our minds, we pray, so that we will grow in our understanding of your truth.
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And of the great things that are revealed in your truth.
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When you reveal to us yourself, your ways and ourselves and the world in which we live.
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When you bring before us things of eternity and of time.
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We give thanks that you set out for us, especially the way of life against the way of death.
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Help us, we pray, as we become familiar with these things week by week.
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That our concern will be, Lord, to grow in our understanding and our appreciation of them.
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We come before you, Lord, as those who also need to come with our confession of our sin.
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We pray, Lord, that you would enable us to do so meaningfully.
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To come before you, even though we have maybe expressed our sin to you penitently before many times.
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Yet, O Lord, it is appropriate for us, indeed, as you taught your disciples,
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to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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To forgive our sins, to cleanse us from our iniquity.
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We come with that confession, O Lord.
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We have sinned against you even since we met here this morning.
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And our sins, we know, are sins of our mind as well as of our outward actions.
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And we ask your forgiveness.
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We ask your restoration whenever we have gone aside from your ways.
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We ask that you would give us tonight that sense of assurance
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that our sins are truly forgiven in Christ when we come to place our trust in him.
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And we pray, gracious one, that our thankfulness may truly extend to include the fact that our sins,
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when forgiven, will never return to us again accusingly.
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We pray that you would grant to us, each of us here, O Lord,
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that such may be our relationship with you.
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And that our concern will be not only to know that for ourselves,
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but to commend it as an experience we have come to know to those around us, too.
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Bless us, Lord, we pray tonight in our homes and our families,
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in the circumstances of life we find ourselves in.
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We pray that your blessing will be with us in all that we do and wherever we appear.
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And we ask as we were dwelling our minds this morning, O Lord,
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upon the importance of revealing by our way of life
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that you are our covenant God, that we are your people.
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And we pray that that will be a burden on our hearts,
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that we will be concerned, O Lord, to show that
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wherever we have the opportunity to do so in the world and conditions of our day.
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Remember us, Lord.
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Lord, we pray in all our activities as well as once again we bring before you
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all that we seek to partake of in this coming week.
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Lord, we are conscious every time we come each Lord's Day to open our bulletin sheet
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how much, O Lord, you enable us to engage in
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how many different types of activities we find ourselves involved with.
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And we pray that these will again be blessed,
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that we will be thankful that we are able to carry out these activities in your name
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and seeking the advance of your kingdom in them.
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And we pray, Lord, that you would grant always your blessing to accompany
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all that we seek to do in your name.
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For without you, where can we be?
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Without you, we cannot know that effective blessing of the gospel
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that our hearts desire.
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We pray again for your Holy Spirit
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to continue to guide us and to bless us as a people.
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Remember those of our number again tonight who are ill.
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We think tonight, Lord, of those in hospital,
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those who are recovering from illness,
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those recovering from surgery, from treatment,
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those who are still engaged in such treatment,
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we ask that you would bless them,
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bless those who watch over them and care for them
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in their own homes and families and may be anxious over them.
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Lord, we pray that you would still all our anxieties,
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whatever they may be and whatever they may be related to.
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We pray that you would help us to follow the direction of your word,
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to be not over-anxious about anything,
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but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
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to make our requests known to God,
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that we may know the peace of God
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that passes all understanding,
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that is able to garrison our hearts and minds
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through Christ Jesus.
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We ask, O Lord, too, that you would bless our young folks.
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We bring our young people before you.
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Bless them, Lord, in their youngest days
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through to their adolescence and up into adulthood.
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We pray that your blessing will follow all that's done
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in your name toward them,
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to teach them the things of God,
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to hold out for them the word of life.
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We pray your blessing, too, tonight
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for those who continue to mourn over the passing of loved ones,
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either recently or in times gone by.
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We know, Lord, how fresh these things can be in our memory,
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even though the event may be long in the past.
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We seek your peace.
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We seek your stilling of our hearts, O Lord.
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We ask that your comfort will be extended
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to those who know the pain of bereavement
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and of the sorrow of part and from loved ones.
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Grant your blessing to them all, we pray.
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Throughout the world, Lord, tonight,
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we pray that your kingdom will extend
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and that your people will be blessed.
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We bring before you the conditions we know
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of the world's activities.
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As we find them, Lord, brought before us in news reports,
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we pray especially for those places
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where tonight there is war, terror, strife,
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anger and conflict and hatred.
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And we ask, gracious one,
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that through the gospel you would bring about
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a lasting peace in all of these situations.
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We remember, particularly at this time,
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the situation, Lord, affecting Israel and the Middle East.
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We pray that in those situations, Lord,
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peace may prevail.
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And we ask that you would help people
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to lay down their arms in the aggression
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that we know of, Lord,
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as that has taken place now over many months.
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We pray that you bless the situation too in Ukraine.
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Oh, help them, Lord, we pray,
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as they seek to advance
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and come to gain victory over an aggressor
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that has sought to displace them
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and sought and brought much devastation
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into their nation.
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Oh, Lord, our God, bring peace about, we pray,
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and grant, we pray,
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wherever such aggression happens
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from time to time in the world,
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Lord, we pray that you would grant
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by your own blessing that it may be stilled
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and that you would bring about conditions of peace
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throughout the world.
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We pray that your blessing now will be with us here.
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Bless us in this, our own community as well.
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Bless, Lord, all that is available to us
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to our advantage
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in the way that we find so much to help us,
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whether it be through ill health,
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through mental health provisions,
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physical ill health,
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all, Lord, else who help us from time to time
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with counseling,
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with various ways in which we find our lives benefited.
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Bless them.
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We pray who have the skills to impart to us
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such treatment and such help at these times.
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We pray your blessing to be with Muriel tonight
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as she speaks about her work.
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Lord, we ask that as she spends time with us
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during these days,
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that you will bless her,
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that you continue to bless the loved ones
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she's left behind for a time in Cambodia.
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We ask that they too will be kept
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during the time that she's absent.
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And we pray that you would continue
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to bless her work there
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and enable us to continue prayerfully
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and practically to support her
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through her time of service there.
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Continue to bless all efforts throughout the world,
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whether it be through charitable agencies
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or through the work of missionary activity.
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Oh, Lord, extend your kingdom, we pray,
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through all of these means.
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Hear us now, we pray.
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Accept us freely and all for Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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We're going to again sing to God's praise.
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This time we're singing in Psalm 34.
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Psalm 34, and it's in the St. Sam's version.
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And the verses we find from verse 15.
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From verse 15 to the end of the Psalm,
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verse 22, that's page 41.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
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He listens to their plea.
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The wicked he rejects
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and blots from earth their memory.
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The righteous cry.
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The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
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The Lord draws near the broken heart
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and rescues the depressed.
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These verses 15 to 22.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
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He listens to their plea.
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The wicked he rejects and blots from earth their memory.
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The righteous cry.
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The righteous cry.
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The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
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The Lord draws near the broken heart.
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The broken heart and rescues the depressed.
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From all the troubles of the just.
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The Lord will set him free.
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The Lord protects his death.
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The broken heart and broken heart will be.
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The wicked are condemned to death.
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All those who hate the just.
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God saves his death.
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The broken heart and broken heart will be.
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The broken heart and broken heart will be.
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For in the Lord they trust.
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Amen.
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Let's turn now to read and to hear God's word.
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We're reading tonight from the epistle to the Hebrews.
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The letter to the Hebrews.
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Chapter 11.
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And we're reading from the beginning down as far as verse 16.
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As you know this is a great chapter dealing with faith.
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But faith as it becomes visible in the life of God's people.
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So that each of those instances and examples of faith.
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Faith involves something that they did or achieved through faith.
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And we'll take your reading down to verse 16.
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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for.
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The conviction of things not seen.
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For by it the people of old received their commendation.
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By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God.
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So that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
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By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.
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Through which he was commended as righteous.
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God commending him by accepting his gifts.
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And through his faith although he died he still speaks.
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By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.
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And he was not found because God had taken him.
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Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
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For without faith it is impossible to please him.
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For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists.
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And that he rewards those who seek him.
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By faith Noah being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen.
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In reverent faith constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
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By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
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By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.
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And he went out not knowing where he was going.
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By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land.
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Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.
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Heirs with him of the same promise.
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For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations.
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Whose designer and builder is God.
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By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive.
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Even when she was past the age.
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Since she considered him faithful who had promised.
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Therefore from one man and him as good as dead.
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Were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven.
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And as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
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These all died in faith.
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Not having received the things promised.
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But having seen them and greeted them from afar.
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And having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
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For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
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If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out.
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They would have had opportunity to return.
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But as it is.
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They desire a better country.
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That is a heavenly one.
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Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.
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For he has prepared for them a city.
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And may God again follow with this blessing.
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A reading of that portion of his own word.
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Now before we turn to a couple of verses in this chapter.
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We'll sing again.
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This time we're singing Psalm 73.
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And that's on page 316.
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Psalm 73 and verses 23 to 28.
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And these verses comprise one of the most wonderful testimonies and convictions.
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Anywhere we find in the Bible.
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The psalmist here having begun to.
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At the beginning to confess how very near he was to slipping away.
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How he had become envious.
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At what he thought was the life of the wicked.
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That didn't as far as he was concerned.
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Then have much by way of difficulty.
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In contrast to himself as a believer.
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But then when he went into the temple of God.
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To the house of God.
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He actually then he says understood their end.
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And surely he said in verse 18.
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They are actually in very slippery places.
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And suddenly brought to ruin.
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And so he continues now in verse 23.
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Nevertheless continually.
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O Lord I am with thee.
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Thou dost me hold by my right hand.
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And still upholdest me.
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Thou with thy counsel while I live.
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Wilt me conduct and guide.
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And to thy glory afterwards.
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Receive me to abide.
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So from verse 23 to the end of the psalm.
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Nevertheless continually.
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O Lord I am with thee.
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that thou dost iç for me.
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And what I love is to be.
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Thank you.
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That thou dost be whole.
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I am still a bolder's feet.
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With my power, still while I live, will be called that and guide.
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Until thy glory afterward receive me to abide.
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In heaven, I am the heaven's high, but thee, O Lord, alone.
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And in the air whom I desire, besides thee there is none.
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My flesh and heart, the pit and fail, but God, the fail me never.
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For all my heart, God is the strength and ocean forever.
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For all my heart, I fall from thee forever perish shall.
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Then that powering from me go, thou hast destroyed all.
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But surely it is good for me that I draw near to God.
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In God I trust that all thy works I may declare abroad.
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Well, for our time this evening, we're going to look at a couple of verses in Hebrews chapter 11, especially verses 5 and 6.
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By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.
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And he was not found because God had taken him.
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Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
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And without faith it is impossible to please him.
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For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
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And the corresponding words we find in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 5 are as follows in verse 21.
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When Enoch had lived for 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.
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Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah for 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
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Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
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Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
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So the words of Hebrews are based very much on that reference in Genesis chapter 5.
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Now we know that there can be many differences, indeed contrasts, between one believing life and another.
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And within the experiences of the people of God, there are some very contrasting experiences and situations.
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So that, in matter of fact, there are times when we may be not able to follow to any great extent that which others are going through.
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Or the experience they've had as people who have followed the Lord and believe in him.
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And when you look at these two people here, Abel in verse 4, followed by Enoch, they're obviously held in contrast.
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They both lived by faith.
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But in the one case, Abel, through faith, offered this more acceptable sacrifice.
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But he ended his life in this world by being put to death.
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He became a martyr.
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And yet, in contrast, you find, and I think it's for that reason that these verses are held one after another,
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Enoch, who lived by faith just as Abel did, but his days ended in this world by being taken away without seeing death.
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There's the one person living by faith and he's put to death for his faith, if you like.
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And there's the other one living by faith and he doesn't see death because God takes him away without ever having to pass through death.
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And so it is in our lives as believers.
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There are so many contrasts that we may not be able to follow as we think of the experiences of other people.
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And that should not disturb us because when we come to know of the ways of God,
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he deals differently with every individual as he sees fit and he knows exactly what we need at any given time,
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even if that may be very different to the way that he deals with others.
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So the fact that we differ, sometimes maybe markedly in our experience,
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from what other believers experience,
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we should never conclude from that, that we therefore must not have faith
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or that our faith cannot be genuine.
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When you go through this chapter, there's such a great variety of experiences,
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but all the way through there is one common feature,
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one thing that they all have in common, and that's faith in God.
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And in the case of Abel and of Enoch,
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they both had the same testimony that they pleased God,
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that they lived by faith in God through living,
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living through faith in God,
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they actually had this testimony that they pleased God.
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So we're looking first of all tonight at the facts concerning Enoch that are actually revealed here,
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the facts about Enoch that we find in verse 5.
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And then secondly, we look at the faith that Enoch lived by,
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because there are a number of aspects of his faith actually revealed to us in these verses.
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So the facts that are given, there are two facts especially in regard to Enoch as a person,
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and the first fact is that he was taken up so that he would not see death,
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and the second fact is that he pleased God.
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Before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
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These two great facts,
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the fact that he was taken up by God without seeing death,
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and the fact that he pleased God prior to that,
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living through faith or by faith.
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And when you see here that he was taken up so that he should not see death,
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that's literally what we understand.
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This is not something that's given us by way of just an imaginary type of person or situation.
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From the Old Testament passage, Genesis 5,
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and from this he was taken away by God.
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He was not found.
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He was taken up, and he was not found,
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because God had taken him.
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Now when it says he was not found,
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that I think implies that there was a search made for him.
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There was a day when his relatives,
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people who knew him, his friends,
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expected to see him,
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and there was no sign of him.
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And there was no sign of him,
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because God had chosen to take him away.
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And just as the language is very abrupt,
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so that whole incident,
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in the case of Enoch,
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would have been a very abrupt taking.
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God took him,
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and he was not found.
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It's not that he died overnight,
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and was found by his relatives to have died,
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and passed away quickly,
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as happens to some.
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Here is somebody who wasn't found.
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Somebody who could not be located.
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Somebody who was well known,
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but he was not found,
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because God took him.
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And we believe these words literally,
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for what they say.
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This is God telling us through his word,
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this is exactly how it was.
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This is what happened.
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He did not die.
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He was taken away bodily.
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And that's not just a matter of fact sort of thing
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that's mentioned.
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It really indicates that there's such a thing
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as victory over death.
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Death did not claim Enoch.
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Death did not take him away.
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He was taken away so that he was above death.
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He was taken away,
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but he didn't see death.
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Not by death,
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but without seeing death,
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victory over it.
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A sudden change.
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And you notice,
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if you go through this passage in Genesis chapter 5,
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this great list that you find there
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of the generations of Adam,
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a series recording the people who came from Adam
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all the way down
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until you reach the end of the chapter,
33:26
which speaks about Noah.
33:28
And then you're into chapter 6,
33:30
giving more details about Noah.
33:31
But all the way through,
33:33
you find all of these people marked by these words,
33:37
and he died,
33:39
and he died,
33:40
and he died.
33:42
You follow it right through,
33:43
and he died,
33:44
all the way through
33:46
until you come to verse 21.
33:49
And then you come to verse 24.
33:51
Enoch walked with God,
33:53
and he died.
33:55
No, he was taken.
33:57
He was not found,
33:58
for he was taken.
33:59
And there you see a wonderful demonstration,
34:02
really,
34:02
in words,
34:04
of how different it was
34:06
in the case of Enoch,
34:07
that he walked with God
34:09
all the days of his life,
34:11
and then he was not,
34:12
for God took him.
34:15
He demonstrated,
34:16
God demonstrated through him,
34:18
that death did not have the last word
34:21
in human experience.
34:23
That there was such a thing
34:25
in the hand of God
34:26
as victory over death.
34:29
And in fact,
34:30
you could say that that,
34:31
for the Old Testament church,
34:33
for the people of faith
34:34
in the Old Testament,
34:36
the likes of what happened to Enoch,
34:38
and their knowledge as that
34:39
was passed on to them,
34:40
and came eventually to be written
34:42
in the book of Genesis,
34:44
that held out for him
34:45
the prospect of victory over death.
34:49
The assurance that death
34:50
was not the great victor after all,
34:53
but that God was.
34:54
That God had something
34:56
by which death would be overcome,
34:58
and was overcome.
35:00
Interesting,
35:00
in the psalm,
35:01
we sang Psalm 73,
35:04
where the psalmist,
35:06
in such a wonderful way
35:07
of expressing it,
35:08
said,
35:09
You shall guide me
35:10
with your counsel.
35:13
I am continually with you.
35:14
You will guide me
35:15
with your counsel,
35:17
and afterwards,
35:18
you will receive me
35:20
into glory.
35:21
Now, literally,
35:22
the word receive
35:23
is actually the word take.
35:26
Afterwards,
35:27
you will take me
35:28
into glory.
35:30
That's exactly the same word
35:31
that's used in Genesis 5
35:33
to do with Enoch.
35:35
Enoch was taken.
35:37
The psalmist in Psalm 73
35:38
is saying,
35:39
Afterwards,
35:40
you will take me
35:41
into glory.
35:42
You will take me
35:43
above death.
35:44
You will take me
35:45
so that death
35:45
will not actually
35:47
have victory over me.
35:49
What a wonderful testimony,
35:51
all the way through
35:52
the Old Testament days,
35:53
that he could go
35:54
to such words as these,
35:56
and such events as,
35:57
in the case of Enoch,
35:59
and to the testimony
35:59
of the psalmist,
36:00
and be able to say,
36:02
by faith in God,
36:03
Lord, thank you
36:04
that death is not final,
36:07
that death is not
36:08
the final victor,
36:10
but that life is,
36:11
the life that you give.
36:14
You will receive me
36:15
into glory.
36:17
And in fact,
36:17
you could say,
36:18
that it's an indicator
36:20
of resurrection
36:21
from the dead.
36:23
In the case of Enoch,
36:24
and in the words
36:25
of the psalmist,
36:26
now I'm not saying
36:26
by that,
36:27
that they understood
36:28
resurrection the way
36:29
in the New Testament
36:30
it came to be revealed,
36:32
and especially following
36:33
the resurrection of Christ.
36:35
It was really
36:36
a dim reflection
36:39
of life
36:39
by resurrection
36:41
compared to
36:42
what came to be revealed
36:43
in the New Testament.
36:44
But essentially,
36:45
it is exactly the same.
36:47
essentially,
36:48
it is holding out
36:49
before us
36:50
victory over death.
36:52
And where is victory
36:53
over death
36:54
rooted?
36:55
Where is your own
36:56
victory over death?
36:57
Why is it that you
36:59
as a believer
37:00
tonight
37:00
are conscious of
37:02
and confident
37:02
that death
37:03
will not be
37:04
the final victor
37:05
in your life?
37:06
Because you're united
37:07
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
37:08
And who is he?
37:10
He's the one who died
37:10
and rose again
37:12
from the dead.
37:13
And united to him
37:14
and united to him
37:15
in his resurrection.
37:17
You can say
37:17
like the psalmist,
37:18
you can say
37:19
as was true of Enoch,
37:21
nevertheless,
37:21
I am continually
37:22
with you.
37:24
You hold me
37:24
by the right hand.
37:26
You guide me
37:27
with your counsel
37:28
and afterwards
37:29
you will take me.
37:31
You will take me
37:31
up from the grave.
37:33
You will take me
37:33
to be with yourself.
37:37
He was taken,
37:38
Hebrews 11 says,
37:40
taken up
37:41
that should not
37:42
see death.
37:44
In other words,
37:45
the word taken up
37:46
there,
37:46
the words taken up
37:47
you could say
37:48
are maybe better
37:49
translated,
37:51
well,
37:52
maybe better,
37:53
the rendering
37:53
might be better
37:54
using the word
37:55
translated.
37:56
When you translate
37:57
someone from
37:58
one situation
37:59
to another,
38:00
you're moving them
38:01
on from one state
38:02
to another,
38:03
from one situation
38:05
to another.
38:06
And what's really
38:06
said here about
38:07
Enoch is
38:08
God translated him.
38:10
He took him
38:10
out of one
38:11
set of circumstances.
38:13
He took him
38:14
out of one
38:15
situation
38:16
to a better one.
38:18
He took him
38:19
out from a situation
38:20
where normally
38:21
you would see death
38:22
and he took him
38:23
above death
38:24
and he took him
38:25
beyond death
38:26
and he took him
38:27
in a way that
38:28
could reflect on
38:30
how God
38:31
had overcome
38:32
death in his
38:33
experience.
38:34
Now tonight
38:35
that's important
38:36
to yourself
38:36
because the
38:38
same faith
38:39
that Enoch
38:40
had
38:41
is the faith
38:42
that every
38:42
true believer
38:43
has had
38:44
all the way
38:44
down through
38:45
history.
38:46
And you
38:47
tonight as a
38:48
believer in
38:48
Christ,
38:49
even if your
38:49
faith you might
38:50
complain,
38:51
well,
38:51
it's very weak,
38:52
it's a faith
38:53
that you don't
38:53
see in any
38:54
way as robust
38:55
compared to
38:56
others.
38:57
It's something
38:58
that you're
38:58
conscious of,
38:59
maybe fluctuates
38:59
from one day
39:00
to the next
39:01
in a way that
39:02
you maybe don't
39:03
have such great
39:04
assurance and
39:04
yet you would
39:05
never say you're
39:06
not actually a
39:06
believer in
39:07
Christ.
39:08
Well,
39:08
it doesn't
39:08
matter whether
39:09
it's small
39:09
faith or
39:10
large faith or
39:11
strong faith or
39:12
robust faith.
39:13
Here is what
39:14
it's attached
39:15
to.
39:16
It's connected
39:17
to this person
39:18
of Jesus.
39:20
And because
39:20
it is connected
39:21
to him,
39:23
you're assured
39:24
that death
39:26
will not claim
39:26
you, even if
39:27
your body and
39:28
soul are
39:29
separated in
39:29
physical death.
39:31
That's not
39:32
death's victory
39:33
when you're
39:34
united to
39:34
Christ.
39:36
Because in
39:37
Christ you
39:38
have victory
39:38
over death.
39:41
And the day
39:41
will come when
39:43
your body will
39:43
be raised from
39:45
the grave and
39:46
reunited with
39:47
your soul.
39:50
And bodily
39:51
and spiritually
39:52
as a complete
39:53
person, you
39:55
will share in
39:56
the victory of
39:57
God's people as
39:58
they're united to
39:59
the victory of
40:01
Christ.
40:02
What a wonderful
40:02
concept.
40:03
God's people as
40:04
a great
40:05
man.
40:06
And how
40:07
marvelous that even
40:07
in the Old Testament
40:09
days, even though not as fully revealed by any means, and it couldn't be really in a sense,
40:10
till Jesus himself rose from the dead.
40:13
But it's there.
40:14
It's there so that you can see it in root form or embryonic form, if you like, in the revelation of God then.
40:22
And then comes to a more full light in the New Testament age.
40:27
So that's first of all, he was taken up by God. He was translated from one state to a better state.
40:35
The second fact is that he pleased God. Before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
40:45
Again, it's maybe better to just have a different form of words there.
40:55
He was commended as having pleased God, is what we read here. But you could translate it, he had it testified of him that he pleased God.
41:06
And why does that make a little difference? Just a nuance, really, of meaning? Well, it makes a difference when you think of it this way.
41:13
He had it testified of him that he pleased God. It wasn't something just private to himself.
41:20
It wasn't something that was true of him as an individual that nobody actually saw but himself, that nobody was aware of but himself.
41:28
When you say he had it testified of him, it means this was how he was known publicly.
41:35
This was how people knew him.
41:37
This was the kind of lifestyle that he showed as he went about his business in the world.
41:44
He was known as a God pleaser.
41:47
He was known as somebody who lived specifically to please God.
41:52
He gave off this testimony.
41:54
He had it testified about him by others that he was a pleaser of God.
42:01
In other words, that his life was one that sought to gain the approval of God.
42:09
And that's how it is with faith, isn't it?
42:13
Your concern as a believer tonight is that you will have God's approval.
42:20
Because unless we have God's approval, what does it matter?
42:24
It doesn't matter what that world out there thinks about you if you don't have the approval of God.
42:30
It doesn't really matter what approval the world might give you or anybody might give you.
42:35
It all comes to nothing at the end of the day unless our life is right with God and God approves of us through faith in Christ.
42:43
What does it matter?
42:45
And the opposite is also true.
42:48
If our faith is in Christ, if we have our trust in God, if our trust is located there,
42:55
if our life is handed over to him and we live by faith in him, what does it matter what the world thinks of that?
43:03
What does it matter if our testimony to the world is that we live to please God?
43:10
The world may not accept that.
43:11
The world may laugh at that.
43:13
The world may find that just ridiculous.
43:14
The world may think, well, surely you're not living by such outmoded ideas of what a life and a lifestyle should be.
43:22
But you know, faith does not change down through the generations.
43:27
Faith is essentially trusting in God.
43:32
And trusting in God carries with it God's approval of that life.
43:38
Not for anything we've done, but by virtue of what Jesus has done.
43:44
And our union with him brings us into the approval of God.
43:51
He had this testimony.
43:54
He had this said of him, testified of him, that he approved, that he pleased God.
44:01
And there's something else about it as well.
44:03
When you go to the Genesis passage, as we read it there,
44:09
Enoch walked with God, and he was not or was not found because God took him.
44:18
He walked with God.
44:21
It was an aspect of his life of faith.
44:24
He lived a life of communion with God.
44:28
Every day for Enoch was a life where he walked with God,
44:33
where his path through life had God with him, and he was with God.
44:39
He was his companion.
44:40
He was his friend.
44:42
He was the one he shared things with.
44:44
He was the one he trusted in.
44:47
You know, in the court of session in Edinburgh,
44:50
there's a large hallway there.
44:52
And in that hallway, QCs or KCs, as they are now,
44:58
actually sometimes meet with their clients,
45:00
maybe in between sessions of a case being heard in the court of session.
45:06
And that large hall, it's a large hall,
45:09
and what happens is when a KC wants to have some words with the client,
45:15
he takes them into the hall,
45:16
he stands at one end of it, and off he goes.
45:19
Or she goes.
45:20
And they walk together from one end of the hall,
45:23
discussing things, or maybe the KC asking for certain things,
45:27
certain details.
45:29
And back they come again,
45:31
and they do that until the KC has more information,
45:34
or whatever it is he's seeking.
45:36
The point is this.
45:37
They're walking together in conversation.
45:41
They're walking together in the business that they have together.
45:45
And not until that business is finished
45:47
Do they then depart?
45:49
The KC, the court case resumes.
45:52
The KC goes back to his place,
45:54
and so does the client.
45:56
That's really what happens ordinarily,
46:01
but in terms of a spiritual situation,
46:04
that is what a Christian life is about.
46:07
Enoch walked with God.
46:09
God was his chief advisor.
46:15
God was the one who looked after his life.
46:18
God was the one he conversed with.
46:21
God was the one he gave his life over to.
46:24
He walked with God.
46:27
And he was not found because God took him.
46:31
And in that very close friendship,
46:36
so many things were shared together.
46:40
Now, we don't have any record of,
46:42
but inevitably that would be the case.
46:44
When you go, for example, to Psalm 25,
46:47
I like the way it's translated here in the ESV,
46:52
Psalm 25,
46:53
where you find at verse 14,
46:57
these words,
46:58
The friendship of the Lord
46:59
is with those who fear him,
47:03
and he makes known to them his covenant.
47:07
The friendship of the Lord
47:08
is with those who fear him.
47:10
Those who fear the Lord,
47:11
those who trust in the Lord,
47:13
those whose lives are in the hands of the Lord,
47:15
those who have given over their life to him,
47:17
however you think about it as faith,
47:20
those who live by faith,
47:23
the Lord reveals to them his covenant.
47:26
They converse with each other.
47:29
God reveals things to them
47:31
from his word,
47:33
through his spirit,
47:35
things that belong to them as his people,
47:38
things that are true of their relationship with him.
47:41
He reveals to them his covenant.
47:47
Is that so of your own life tonight?
47:49
Is it as true of you
47:54
that you're walking with God?
47:56
I'm not asking you
47:57
to what extent you're assured of this,
47:59
not asking how much can you explain of this.
48:04
Is it true that you're walking with God?
48:07
That your life in this world
48:10
as a life of faith
48:11
is as it was for Enoch,
48:13
a life in which you walk with God?
48:17
Is that what characterizes your life?
48:20
Is that your testimony?
48:22
Is that how it is with yourselves,
48:25
with us as individuals?
48:28
Am I tonight
48:29
walking with God?
48:32
Am I in conversation with God regularly?
48:35
Am I praying to him as I should?
48:39
Am I worshipping him?
48:42
Am I putting him out foremost in my life
48:45
as my great advisor,
48:49
my KC, if you like,
48:51
in representing me
48:53
in his own presence?
48:56
Enoch walked with God.
48:59
He had this testimony
49:00
before he was taken
49:01
as having pleased God.
49:06
The facts about Enoch then,
49:07
very briefly,
49:09
the faith that Enoch lived by.
49:11
He was taken,
49:12
in verse 6 here,
49:13
without faith it is impossible
49:15
to please God,
49:17
and so on.
49:18
It wasn't because of his faith
49:20
that Enoch was taken by God
49:22
so as not to see death.
49:24
It was by faith that he lived.
49:26
It wasn't his faith itself
49:28
that provided the grounds
49:29
of his acceptance with God.
49:31
But it was through faith
49:33
that he came to be accepted
49:35
by God
49:36
and into friendship with God.
49:38
And what a marvelous thought
49:40
and concept that is,
49:41
isn't it?
49:42
That through faith in God,
49:45
through the exercise of faith,
49:46
through trusting in God,
49:48
we actually come into
49:50
real, spiritual,
49:52
lasting friendship with God.
49:55
The Bible tells us that
49:56
as sinners we are enemies,
49:58
that we are at enmity with God.
50:00
But through Christ,
50:03
through what God has done
50:04
in Christ,
50:04
when we come to trust in him,
50:07
then we come into the possession
50:09
of something quite remarkable,
50:11
something amazing,
50:12
the friendship of God.
50:15
We come to actually walk with him.
50:18
We come to know him
50:19
as our great friend.
50:21
And that's why he says here
50:22
that without faith,
50:23
it is impossible to please God.
50:26
It's not possible to please God
50:29
without this faith.
50:31
We can try it,
50:32
but it just will not work.
50:33
And I think in the passage itself here,
50:36
we find some evidence of that.
50:39
Cain, for example,
50:41
tried,
50:42
it's not mentioned in the passage,
50:43
but Abel's brother,
50:44
you remember Cain,
50:45
who murdered him,
50:47
and he brought an offering to God.
50:51
Cain brought of the flock,
50:53
the animals of the flock,
50:55
a sacrifice.
50:57
Cain brought the fruit of the ground.
50:59
And some people think
51:00
that he was refused acceptance
51:02
because he didn't bring an animal.
51:04
But I don't think that's
51:05
what the passage actually is meaning at all.
51:08
Cain took off something
51:10
that belonged to his own way of life
51:14
in the world.
51:14
His employment was in tilling the ground
51:17
and looking after the crops and so on.
51:19
And he brought something of that
51:21
to offer it to God.
51:23
Whereas Abel brought of the flocks
51:25
that he looked after.
51:27
The problem's not what they gave,
51:30
but the spirit in which it was offered.
51:34
Cain couldn't care less
51:36
what God thought of him.
51:40
He just went through the motions,
51:42
almost as it were,
51:43
just throwing a few vegetables together
51:45
to bring to God.
51:46
Whereas Abel, by faith,
51:50
came to offer to God
51:51
a more acceptable sacrifice
51:54
than Cain, it says in verse 4.
51:57
It wasn't what he brought
51:58
as a sacrifice that condemned Cain,
52:01
but the manner in which he brought it.
52:04
It wasn't by faith.
52:06
It wasn't in a love for God
52:08
as his life afterwards showed.
52:10
Whereas Abel did.
52:13
And so you find as well
52:15
with the Egyptians.
52:16
If you go through the chapter,
52:19
you'll find that eventually
52:20
you come to the people of Israel,
52:22
verse 29.
52:23
The people crossed the Red Sea
52:25
as if on dry land,
52:26
but the Egyptians,
52:28
when they attempted to do the same,
52:30
were drowned.
52:32
That, I think, is telling us
52:34
that there's something
52:35
in the Egyptians
52:36
that sought to follow the ways
52:38
of the people of Israel
52:40
who lived,
52:40
who by faith,
52:42
entered into the Red Sea
52:43
and went through to the other side,
52:45
whereas the Egyptians,
52:46
attempting to do the same,
52:49
came to disaster.
52:52
You know, we can try
52:53
and copy faith.
52:55
We can try and imitate faith.
52:58
We can try and pass ourselves off
53:01
as believers,
53:02
but it's not really from the heart.
53:05
We can try outwardly
53:06
to live a life of faith
53:08
that tries to copy the lifestyle
53:10
of somebody we know
53:11
as a genuine believer.
53:13
Friends, tonight,
53:15
trying to imitate faith,
53:17
trying to copy faith,
53:18
without genuine faith,
53:20
is a disaster.
53:22
It will not work.
53:24
It leads to death.
53:26
It's not approved of by God.
53:29
But by faith,
53:31
we are guaranteed
53:32
God's acceptance of us in Christ.
53:35
By faith,
53:37
this was how Enoch lived.
53:39
And so,
53:40
whoever comes to God,
53:41
it's saying,
53:42
whoever would draw near to God,
53:44
must believe that he exists,
53:46
or that he is,
53:48
as the old AV has it.
53:49
By whoever draws near to God,
53:51
must believe that he is.
53:54
And that means more than just
53:55
believing in a bare existence of God.
53:59
You come to draw near to God,
54:01
and that's really the language
54:02
of worship,
54:04
primarily.
54:05
You draw near to God.
54:06
That's what we're doing tonight
54:07
in worship together.
54:09
We're drawing near to God.
54:10
When you go on your knees,
54:12
or however you pray to God,
54:13
you're drawing near to God.
54:15
And what it's telling us here
54:18
is that drawing near
54:19
has that purpose of
54:21
worshiping and pleasing God.
54:24
And it's believing
54:25
that God is
54:26
as he has revealed himself to be.
54:30
It's all too easy.
54:31
Nowadays, I'm afraid,
54:33
to find people just taking,
54:35
saying,
54:35
well, I'm actually an evangelical.
54:37
I believe in the Bible.
54:39
I believe that I'm a Christian.
54:41
But I don't believe
54:42
such things as
54:43
that the death of Christ
54:45
on the cross
54:45
was a propitiation for sin.
54:48
That there was anything there
54:49
to do with seeking
54:50
to pacify the anger of God.
54:52
I don't believe
54:52
any of these things at all.
54:54
I'm not saying you can't be a Christian
54:55
without believing that.
54:56
But what I'm saying is
54:58
that if we cut out
55:00
and excise or delete things
55:02
in the Bible that we've got
55:04
and say,
55:05
that's not appropriate
55:05
for today's generation.
55:07
That's kind of
55:08
really Old Testament stuff
55:09
we've long since
55:10
moved away from that.
55:12
Well, that's not a sign
55:13
of a believer.
55:16
And if we believe things
55:17
about God
55:18
different to what's revealed
55:19
in his word,
55:20
that's not a sign
55:21
of a believer either.
55:22
we believe
55:24
that he is.
55:27
And that he is
55:28
as he has revealed himself
55:30
to be
55:31
as recorded
55:32
in his word.
55:34
You know,
55:35
this is so important
55:36
for us, friends,
55:37
to have confidence
55:38
in this Bible
55:40
as the word of God.
55:42
If we don't have confidence
55:43
that it is
55:44
the word of God,
55:46
that it has
55:47
God's own authority
55:48
and imprint
55:49
on it,
55:49
then everything else
55:51
we believe
55:52
is liable
55:53
or can at some time
55:54
just be dismissed
55:55
by us.
55:58
It's on the basis
55:59
of this
55:59
being the word
56:00
of God
56:01
that we actually
56:04
believe
56:04
things about Jesus,
56:06
about his death,
56:07
about his resurrection.
56:10
And that's why
56:10
we believe too
56:11
that God is
56:13
as he has revealed
56:14
himself to be.
56:16
Those who draw near
56:17
to God
56:18
must believe
56:19
that he is
56:19
in other words,
56:20
we come to him
56:20
tonight,
56:21
for example,
56:22
as we've gathered here,
56:23
we've drawn near
56:24
to God
56:25
believing that he is,
56:28
believing that he
56:29
receives us
56:29
in the name of Christ,
56:32
believing that he's
56:32
pleased with us
56:33
when our faith
56:34
and confidence
56:35
is placed in Christ,
56:37
believing that he
56:37
will never leave us
56:38
or forsake us
56:39
as we place
56:40
our trust in him.
56:42
All of these things
56:43
and many, many more
56:43
are revealed by God
56:45
to be true of himself.
56:46
That's who he is.
56:48
That's how he is.
56:49
And we draw near
56:51
to him believing
56:52
that he is that.
56:56
And that he is too
56:57
a rewarder
56:58
of those
56:59
who seek him.
57:01
That he rewards
57:03
those who seek him.
57:04
Really literally,
57:05
again,
57:06
that he is
57:06
a rewarder.
57:07
Even more literally,
57:09
what it says
57:09
is that
57:10
he becomes
57:12
a rewarder.
57:13
And what difference
57:14
does that make?
57:16
It makes a difference
57:17
from the perspective
57:18
of the believer
57:19
or the person
57:20
that's drawing near
57:21
to God.
57:22
When it's saying
57:23
God becomes
57:24
a rewarder
57:26
of those
57:26
who seek him,
57:27
what it's really saying
57:28
is this is what
57:29
we find out
57:30
when we draw near
57:30
to him in faith.
57:32
He becomes then,
57:33
as far as our experience
57:34
is concerned,
57:36
he becomes
57:36
a rewarder.
57:38
He becomes one
57:39
who dispenses
57:40
blessings to us.
57:42
You don't find that out
57:44
unless you've come
57:45
to believe.
57:47
Unless you've placed
57:48
your trust in him.
57:50
Then he becomes
57:51
a rewarder
57:52
in your case,
57:53
in my case,
57:55
and of all those
57:55
who actually
57:56
seek him
57:57
or seek him
57:58
diligently.
58:02
So the seeking,
58:04
what does it mean?
58:05
Well, we use the word
58:06
seeking
58:07
sometimes
58:08
for those
58:09
who have not yet come
58:10
perhaps to assurance
58:11
that they're saved.
58:13
You have not come
58:13
to make a confession
58:14
of their faith
58:15
in a public way.
58:17
And we might say,
58:18
well, they're seeking.
58:19
They're seeking the Lord.
58:20
Or people who maybe
58:21
have some thoughts
58:24
that they didn't have before
58:25
and begin to attend church
58:27
or whatever.
58:28
And we say about
58:29
these people,
58:30
sometimes we say,
58:30
well, they're seeking God.
58:32
They're seekers.
58:32
They're seeking after him.
58:33
And it's not wrong
58:34
at all to say that.
58:37
But if you look
58:38
at the Bible,
58:39
most of the cases
58:40
that you find
58:41
of people
58:42
who are seeking
58:43
the Lord
58:44
are already believers.
58:47
Because seeking
58:48
means
58:49
drawing near to him
58:50
and seeking
58:51
are very closely
58:52
connected together,
58:53
virtually the same thing.
58:55
And tonight,
58:56
as a believer,
58:57
you're seeking God.
58:59
You want to meet
58:59
with God.
59:00
You want God
59:01
to speak to you
59:01
through his word.
59:03
In so many ways,
59:04
you're seeking
59:05
the Lord.
59:06
Lord.
59:07
And that's why
59:07
he rewards
59:09
those who seek him.
59:11
Seeking,
59:12
not trying somehow
59:14
or other
59:14
to find God,
59:17
but also,
59:18
but rather,
59:19
having found God
59:20
or being found
59:22
by God
59:23
more accurately.
59:25
We seek after him.
59:27
We seek to follow him.
59:29
We seek him
59:30
in the Bible.
59:31
We seek him
59:31
in these means
59:32
of grace
59:33
and church services
59:35
and so on.
59:36
We seek him
59:36
as we come
59:37
ourselves
59:37
privately
59:38
and individually
59:39
to worship him.
59:42
So Enoch's life
59:43
was all about
59:45
seeking God,
59:47
really.
59:47
It was all about
59:48
a life that
59:49
was devoted to God
59:51
in such a way
59:52
that he received
59:53
testimony that
59:54
he was,
59:57
in fact,
59:57
a God-pleaser.
1:00:00
He was taken up
1:00:01
by God
1:00:01
not because of
1:00:03
his faith,
1:00:03
but through his faith
1:00:04
he had this testimony,
1:00:06
he had it said of him
1:00:07
that he pleased God
1:00:09
and he drew near
1:00:11
to God
1:00:11
believing
1:00:12
that God is.
1:00:16
And so again,
1:00:17
I have to ask myself,
1:00:20
where am I
1:00:21
in all of this?
1:00:23
Is it enough for me
1:00:24
that I attend church?
1:00:27
Is it enough for me
1:00:28
that I preach
1:00:29
from a pulpit
1:00:29
or try to preach?
1:00:30
Is it enough
1:00:32
that I've spent
1:00:33
these 37 years
1:00:35
creating sermons,
1:00:37
delivering sermons,
1:00:38
having a place
1:00:39
in the church
1:00:40
as a minister?
1:00:41
Is that enough for me?
1:00:43
Will that give me
1:00:44
a place of God's approval?
1:00:46
Will that provide
1:00:47
a ground of acceptance?
1:00:48
No.
1:00:50
I need Christ.
1:00:52
I need the Jesus
1:00:53
I preach.
1:00:55
I need to live
1:00:56
by faith in him.
1:00:57
I need to accept
1:01:00
that God is
1:01:01
and deliver my life
1:01:03
over to him.
1:01:05
So I just looked
1:01:06
after by him
1:01:07
that I become
1:01:09
a pleasing
1:01:10
individual to God
1:01:12
and that I come
1:01:14
at last
1:01:16
when this life
1:01:18
is over
1:01:18
to be taken
1:01:20
by him
1:01:21
and to be taken
1:01:23
into his glory.
1:01:25
May God bless
1:01:27
these words
1:01:27
to us this evening.
1:01:29
Let's conclude
1:01:30
our service now
1:01:30
singing in Psalm 119.
1:01:35
Psalm 119,
1:01:36
that's on page 157,
1:01:39
verses 1 to 8,
1:01:42
the first section
1:01:43
of the psalm.
1:01:45
Blessed are those
1:01:46
of blameless ways
1:01:47
who live according
1:01:48
to God's word.
1:01:50
Blessed are those
1:01:50
who keep his laws,
1:01:52
who with their whole heart
1:01:53
seek the Lord.
1:01:54
They keep themselves
1:01:56
from doing wrong
1:01:56
by walking
1:01:57
in his perfect ways.
1:02:00
You have established
1:02:01
laws for us
1:02:02
that are to be
1:02:03
obeyed
1:02:04
always.
1:02:05
These verses
1:02:05
at the beginning
1:02:06
of the psalm
1:02:07
to God's praise.
1:02:08
blessed are those
1:02:15
of blameless ways
1:02:19
who live according
1:02:23
to God's word.
1:02:28
Blessed are those
1:02:32
who keep his laws,
1:02:36
who with their whole hearts
1:02:42
seek the Lord.
1:02:45
They keep themselves
1:02:48
from doing wrong
1:02:53
by walking in his perfect ways.
1:03:02
You have established
1:03:06
laws for us
1:03:10
that are to be
1:03:14
obey your ways.
1:03:19
O that my ways
1:03:23
were steadfast, Lord,
1:03:28
and making you
1:03:32
decrees my name.
1:03:36
So when I think
1:03:40
of your commands,
1:03:44
I would not feel
1:03:48
this place for shame.
1:03:53
I'll preach you
1:03:56
with an upright heart
1:04:01
as your just laws
1:04:06
are learned by me.
1:04:10
All your decrees
1:04:13
I will obey.
1:04:18
Do not forsake me
1:04:23
after thee.
1:04:27
I'll go to the main door
1:04:28
after the benediction
1:04:29
this evening.
1:04:31
Lord our God,
1:04:32
we ask that you would
1:04:33
receive all that we
1:04:34
had offered to you
1:04:35
in worship.
1:04:36
We pray that you would
1:04:37
bless what is prepared
1:04:38
for us for our bodily
1:04:39
needs in the hall.
1:04:41
We ask again that you
1:04:42
would bless Muriel
1:04:43
as she comes to speak to us.
1:04:45
And now we pray
1:04:45
that the grace of the
1:04:46
Lord Jesus Christ,
1:04:48
the love of God the Father,
1:04:49
and the communion
1:04:50
of the Holy Spirit
1:04:51
will be with us now
1:04:52
and evermore.
1:04:54
Amen.
1:05:01
The Lord Jesus Christ,
1:05:07
the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:05:07
the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:05:07
always beCould have a
1:05:09
народ and forever
1:05:09
as I worship what is
1:05:10
you know,
1:05:14
make sure you
1:05:15
go to war.
1:05:16
But that's what
1:05:24
His record is