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Give Us A Vision · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Let's begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 121, in the Scottish
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Psalter version, Psalm 121, page 416 of the Psalm books.
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I'm going to sing the whole of this Psalm.
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The tune is The Bees of Harris.
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We'll sing from verse 1, I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
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From whence doth come my need?
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My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.
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We'll sing the whole of this Psalm.
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To God's praise we stand to sing.
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I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
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From whence doth come my need?
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My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.
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Thy foot he'll not bless, lie nor will, his number that he keeps.
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Behold, he that keeps Israel, he slumbers no more sleep.
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The Lord, the gate, the Lord, thy chief.
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On thy bright hand doth stay.
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The moon, thy night, he shall not smile, nor yet the sun hide him.
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The Lord shall keep thy soul, he shall preserve thee from all ill.
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Hent for thy going out and in.
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God keep forever will.
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Let's join our hearts together in prayer.
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Let us pray.
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Amen.
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Lord, our gracious God, we come singing praise to you.
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Thankful for these words that we have sung, words that we may be very familiar with,
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and yet words that remind us of just how great and an awesome God you are.
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We thank you that we come to you in the midst of all our different needs.
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We can come wondering where we can turn to, where we can look for help in all our different circumstances.
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But we come reminded in this psalm that we can lift up our eyes to you.
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That we can look to you as the one who is able to give us that safety, that security in all our different needs.
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The one who has made the heaven and the earth and all that is contained in them.
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We thank you for the wonder of these words.
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That you have power over all things.
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In all the questions that this world so often asks.
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In all the information that is put out in so many different ways.
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With people telling us how we came to be.
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How we are formed in this world.
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People telling us the different purposes we have.
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But all of them focused on self.
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We thank you that your word reminds us of where we are from.
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Who has made us and who has made all things.
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And the more we see you, the more we recognize how frail we are.
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The more we see that your ways are above our ways.
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Your thoughts so far above ours.
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That there is none who compares to you.
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The greatest wisdom and intelligence among men in this world.
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Is so minute in comparison to you.
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But we recognize too Lord.
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That in the smallness that we see ourselves in.
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That that is not how you see us.
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You see each of us formed by you.
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Made in your image.
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And made with that purpose.
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Made with that shape in our heart.
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That so often we lack.
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So often we do not see.
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That God shaped void as is so often spoken about.
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Nothing else in this world can fill and satisfy our hearts.
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And until we come and see you.
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As Lord and God of all.
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And Lord and God for us.
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Then there is always that void.
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There is always that one thing missing.
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In our life.
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And so we pray and thank you for the way.
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That you have made yourself known to all people.
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We thank you that down through all the generations.
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Of mankind.
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That you have revealed yourself to us.
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That you have spoken to us.
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And through your word.
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That you have spoken.
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In times past.
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As the word says.
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Through prophets.
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Throughout the Old Testament.
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We see.
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How that was.
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The way that you spoke.
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To so many different people.
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But we see too Lord.
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That your word reminds us.
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That in these days.
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You have spoken to us.
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Through your son.
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Christ Jesus.
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And we thank you.
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That we continue to hear.
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What he is saying to us.
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Through your word.
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And by your spirit.
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And yet our ears are so often deaf.
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To what you are saying.
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So often we just listen to our own hearts.
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We listen to our own thoughts.
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But may you give us.
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Ears to hear.
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And hearts to understand.
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All that you are saying to us.
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Even in the days in which we live.
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Days which we despair of so often.
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But yet days that we can rejoice.
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In your goodness.
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That you are still the same.
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That you are the same yesterday.
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Today and forever.
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And that even as in the days of old.
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And we see it so often in your scriptures.
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When people had wandered away from you.
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That there is a promise.
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That if we return.
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That you are able to bless.
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And so we pray that you will help us.
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Individually and collectively.
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As a nation.
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And as nations of this world.
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To recognize who you are.
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To turn to you.
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To seek you with all our hearts.
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To look to you.
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And to recognize.
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That you are the one.
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Who is able to keep us.
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That you are the one.
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With whom.
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We find all that we need.
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And so we pray.
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Even in our midst this evening.
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That if there are any.
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Who do not know you in that way.
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If there are any.
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Who do not know you.
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As a very personal savior.
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That Lord you would speak to us.
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That you will help us to see.
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That Jesus calling.
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We pray too Lord.
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That as a church.
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You would give us a burden.
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That you would give us a burden.
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For all around us.
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That you would give us.
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In the midst of a burden.
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A vision.
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To be a church.
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That serves you.
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To all ends.
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Of the earth.
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That we would look beyond.
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Our walls here.
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That we would look beyond.
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The walls of our own homes.
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But that we would look.
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With eyes of faith.
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To all we see around us.
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That you would help us.
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Oh Lord.
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To see.
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Through eyes of faith.
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A people perishing.
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A world that is lost.
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And in turmoil.
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A world that does not know.
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Where to turn.
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Or where to look.
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And we pray.
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Oh Lord.
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That you will help us.
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As a people here.
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That you will help us.
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To serve you.
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To honor your word.
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To fulfill your call.
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Upon your church.
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For these days.
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To be a people.
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Who show forth.
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The wonders.
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Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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To be a people.
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Who.
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From our own doorstep.
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To wherever you will take us.
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That we would take the wonder.
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Of your gospel.
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The truth contained therein.
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And that you would make us.
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Lord your disciples.
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That you will make us.
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Your servants.
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For all the different tasks.
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That are involved.
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In your church.
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We pray oh Lord.
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That you will burden us.
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With a vision.
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A vision for people.
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A vision for God.
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And a vision to trust you.
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And so we pray Lord.
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For your church today.
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Here in our town.
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We pray for all your people.
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That you will encourage us.
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And build us up in our faith.
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That you will enable us.
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To know.
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The wonder of your gospel.
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That you will enable us.
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To know the wonder of your truth.
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More and more.
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We thank you for every opportunity.
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That we have.
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To learn from you.
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We thank you for the.
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Conference that took place.
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Yesterday in Inverness.
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And for the many women.
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Who were there.
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Sharing in fellowship.
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And around your word.
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We pray that they would have been.
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Inspired and blessed by you.
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That in the midst of praise.
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And worship.
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That they would feel.
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In their own hearts.
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Your nearness.
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And your presence with them.
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We thank you for these occasions.
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That so often.
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Stir us up in our hearts.
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To serve you more and more.
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And we pray Lord.
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That each and every one of us.
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Even today.
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As we have worshipped you.
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And this evening anew.
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That your word.
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Will stir us up in our hearts.
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All the more.
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To go into the week ahead.
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Delighting and rejoicing in you.
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And seeking to serve you.
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With all our hearts.
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We pray for all that the week.
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May entail for us.
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We thank you for.
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Opportunities of worship.
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And bible study.
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We pray for the.
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The Wednesday evening.
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As a more informal.
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Bible study resumes.
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We ask for.
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Encouragement around your word.
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There.
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And blessing to flow from it.
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We thank you too Lord.
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For a communion season.
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In our midst.
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We thank you for our own.
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Communion services last week.
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And for new members.
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In our midst.
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We pray blessing to follow.
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All that was done in your name.
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And to continue to.
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Bless the communion season.
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Throughout.
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Our town and villages.
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At this time.
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That there will be days.
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Of great encouragement.
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Great days of refreshing.
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And blessing from you.
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We pray for those.
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With different needs.
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Today as well.
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We are reminded.
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Day after day.
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Lord.
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How quickly.
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Our life circumstances.
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Can change.
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We are reminded today.
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That there are always.
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Those who mourn.
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Around the world.
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And in our own communities.
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And sometimes.
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It comes closer to home.
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Than at other times.
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But we thank you.
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That in the midst.
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Of sorrow and sadness.
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That you are the one.
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Who is able to comfort.
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To comfort.
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Beyond all the comfort.
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That we can offer.
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And we pray Lord.
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For those who are broken hearted.
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Those who are grieving.
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The loss of loved ones.
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At this time.
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We pray oh Lord.
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For you to surround them.
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To uphold them.
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To be near to them.
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In a special way.
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We pray too.
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For those who are unwell.
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Those who are laid aside.
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At this time Lord.
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Those who have concerns.
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And anxieties.
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Over health.
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Or over loved ones.
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Or different addictions.
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And different problems.
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We face in life.
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We pray oh Lord.
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Your encouragement.
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Your help to us.
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We remember our world as well.
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We have seen so much.
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In these.
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Even these last few weeks.
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Of natural disasters.
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And ongoing conflicts.
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And all that.
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Seems to be coming.
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More and more regular.
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In our world.
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We pray oh Lord.
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That you will awaken us.
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That you will stir us up.
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That in the midst of all that goes on.
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That your voice is speaking to us.
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And yet.
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So often we seem deaf to it.
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We pray oh Lord.
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That from our leaders.
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Down through governments.
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And parliaments.
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And all who rule over us.
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Lord.
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That you will come in your power.
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That you will open their hearts.
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To receive your word.
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And receive it gladly.
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We know that you can change.
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Even the hardest.
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The cruelest of hearts.
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And so we look to you Lord.
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To have mercy upon us.
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We ask oh Lord.
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Lacking faith.
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So often even in our own hearts.
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In our own prayers.
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We often ask oh Lord.
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Do we believe.
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In all that we're asking.
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And Lord you see.
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Even if you have faith.
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The size of a mustard seed.
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That we can overcome.
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And so we pray Lord.
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That you will give us faith.
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That you will help us.
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To pray earnestly.
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And to pray believing.
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That all that we ask.
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Or imagine.
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You can do so much more.
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Lord hear our prayers.
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Pardon all our sin.
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And continue with us now.
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As we keep worshipping you.
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In praise.
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In your word being read.
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And sharing together around it.
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Bless us.
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Help us to lift our hearts to you.
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In all that we do.
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As we ask it in Jesus name.
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Amen.
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We'll again sing to God's praise.
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This time in Psalm 37.
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In the Scottish Psalter version.
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Psalm 37.
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Page 252.
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We'll sing from verse 1.
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Down to verse 7.
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And the tune is Denfield.
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Psalm 37 at verse 1.
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For evildoers.
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Fret thou not.
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Thyself unquietly.
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Nor do thou envy.
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Bear to those.
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That work.
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Iniquity.
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Verse 4 says.
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Delight thyself in God.
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He'll give thine heart's desire to thee.
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Thy way to God commit.
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Him trust.
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It bring to pass.
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Shall he.
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We'll sing from verse 1 to 7.
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To God's praise.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Eat.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Even the obedSniff Theatrelyn.
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amanhe salads interval.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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washed.
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Amen.
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Unlike the green and tender hair, they withers shall await.
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Set thou thy trust upon the Lord, and be thou doing good.
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And so the wind, the land shall dwell, and verily have been.
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Delight thyself in God he'll give, thine heart's desire to thee.
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Thy way to God, commit in trust, faith bring to pass shall be.
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And like unto the plight he shall thy righteousness display.
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And he thy judgments shall bring forth, like noontide of the day.
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Raised in the Lord, and patiently, we hold him, do not pray.
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For him who bows clean in his way, sucks their sins in the gates.
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Amen.
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We turn to read God's word in the Old Testament and in the book of Nehemiah.
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Reading in chapter 1.
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Nehemiah chapter 1.
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And we're going to read the whole of this chapter together.
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And indeed our focus this evening is going to be on what we see here in this first chapter of Nehemiah.
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Nehemiah chapter 1.
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The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hakaliah.
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Now it happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa, the capital,
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that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah.
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And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.
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And they said to me,
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The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
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The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.
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As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and mourned for days.
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And I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
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And I said,
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Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night.
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For the people of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you.
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Even I and my father's house have sinned.
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We have acted very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.
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Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying,
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If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.
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But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them,
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though you are dispersed and under the farthest skies,
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I will gather them from there and bring them to the place that I have chosen to make my name dwell there.
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They are your servants and your people,
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whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.
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O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant
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and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name
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and give success to your servant today
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and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
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Now I was a cupbearer to the king.
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And so on.
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And may God bless that reading from his word.
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Before we turn back to look at this passage, we'll sing in Psalm 40.
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Again, Scottish Psalter version, Psalm 40.
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We'll sing down from verse 1 to the end of the double, verse 5.
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I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear at length.
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To me he did incline my voice and cry to hear.
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The tune is Balerma and we'll sing from 1 to double, verse 5.
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I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear at length to me.
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He did incline my voice and cry to hear.
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He put anew of the fearful pain and from the mighty clay.
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And on a rock he set my feet.
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He established in my way.
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He put a new song in my mouth.
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Our God to magnify.
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Many shall see it and shall fear.
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And on the Lord rely.
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O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord rely.
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He put a new song in my mouth.
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The wonders love has done
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Thy gracious thoughts to us were far
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Above all thoughts are gone
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In order none can record them
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To Thee if them declare
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And speak of them
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I would be more than can be
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And can be number one
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We can turn back to our reading in Nehemiah chapter 1.
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As we look at this chapter together this evening, Nehemiah chapter 1.
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We look at this chapter 2.
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We look at the world together and how they come to a point where at the end they are worshipping and praising God.
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They are disastrous in their midst to something wonderful taking place.
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There is devastation in Jerusalem as you read here and the walls are broken down.
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You think of our own last few weeks and how we have seen so much devastation around the world in different places.
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So much devastation caused by fire in different places.
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So much devastation caused by flooding in other places.
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In other places there have been hurricanes leaving places devastated.
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Almost destroyed by the power of destruction involved in these things.
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And often the question when you see these kinds of situations is how can things possibly get back to where they once were.
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How they once were.
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But what it takes is a people to see the need for restoration.
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The need for rebuilding.
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The need for getting back on their feet again.
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And not just wallowing in the circumstances that they are in.
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Well as you look at Nehemiah here.
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What we see is a situation of devastation in Jerusalem.
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Walls broken down by fire.
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Much that would leave a people feeling despondent.
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But then as we said at the end of the book there is a situation of praise.
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Worshipping God.
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And so the question we ask is how do they go from one situation to another?
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Well they themselves needed a vision restored.
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They needed their hearts encouraged for the work that lay ahead of them.
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They needed someone to come in with a vision to help them go forward.
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And the restoration work to begin.
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We have a lot of buzz words in our society.
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Sometimes they are words that we have been familiar with for maybe a long time.
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But they are maybe used in a new way.
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And they mean something new.
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Buzz words that people like to use.
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For example.
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You think of people speaking about climate change and all these things just now.
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A buzz word is net zero.
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When people are talking about net zero they are meaning we need to get the balance right.
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If we are using fossil fuel in so much quantity.
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We need to offset it by using renewables.
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So you have this net zero.
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In the world of technology just now the buzz word is artificial intelligence.
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So much is being said about this artificial intelligence that is going to be able to do so much for us.
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And yet there is so much fear around it as well that it could potentially take over.
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In the world of sport as well you get buzz words from time to time.
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One just now is on a journey.
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How different teams or different groups are on a journey.
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And all of these buzz words they call something to mind.
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Many of them speak into a situation that needs to change.
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And they also speak about how that change is going to come about.
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And they are connected so often to another buzz word.
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And that buzz word is vision.
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A people of vision.
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It is spoken so much of in the world around us.
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But how much does it impact us here in the church?
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Maybe we don't like buzz words in the church.
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Buzz words like change so often fill us with fear.
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And yet when we think of the word vision.
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It is a word that we all need to have when it comes to church.
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When it comes to looking at what is going on around us.
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When it identifies and sees a need for something to happen.
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When it looks at how we are going to go about doing that.
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When it looks ahead.
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When it looks forward to what we would hope would come from it.
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Vision is something that we always have to have.
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And what we see in Nehemiah is a man of vision.
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A man who was burdened and who had a vision.
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A man whose whole life changed with a simple question.
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When you read here in the middle of verse 2.
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Hanani, one of his brothers, had come to him.
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And it says there,
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And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped.
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Who had survived the exile.
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And concerning Jerusalem.
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Asking, how are they?
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And they said to me,
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The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
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The wall of Jerusalem is broken down.
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And its gates are destroyed by fire.
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As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days.
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A simple question.
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How are they?
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Leads to this huge change in Nehemiah's life.
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But also this vision.
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And this visionary that you see throughout the rest of the book of Nehemiah.
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It sounds as if he's despondent.
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He's dismayed.
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And there is a time for that.
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A time to weep and to mourn.
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But what you see as you go on is that he was encouraged.
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And that then he was an encourager.
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He was given a vision.
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And he shared this vision with others.
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George Barna is an American writer.
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You may read some of his material.
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You might agree with some of it or disagree with some of it.
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But he has this idea of seeking to encourage, especially churches,
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how to look at themselves and their situations and think,
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how can we improve?
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How can we be better?
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And so much of what he says is about having a vision.
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Having a burden.
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And in one place he says this.
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Vision is the ability to understand the history, the present condition, and the potential of the church.
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And to conceive a plan for action that will maximize the ministry potential.
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More often than not, vision is a result of having spent much time absorbing the facts about the community.
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Knowing the resources upon which the church can call.
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People, funding, facilities, equipment, etc.
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And devising sound but creative strategies for moving forward.
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Vision always entails progress.
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It is never satisfied with the status quo.
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He is speaking there of the church and the journey it should be on.
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Not happy, not satisfied with the status quo.
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But vision always entails progress.
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Nehemiah was a visionary.
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He wasn't happy with how things were in Jerusalem.
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But instead of just talking about it or moaning about it, he took action.
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And through his vision, he led the people of God and inspired them in the work, in the Lord's work.
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And if we were to capture this vision too, this burden too, it would help keep driving us forward in the Lord's work as well.
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And in chapter 1, I want us to see three aspects of the vision that Nehemiah has.
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They appear in this chapter.
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We're not looking at them in the order of importance, but just the order that they come in the chapter itself.
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And the three aspects of the vision that Nehemiah has is this.
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First of all, his vision for the people.
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The second thing you see is his vision of God.
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And the third thing you have is his vision of trust.
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So first of all, you have his vision for a people.
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At the very end of this chapter, you have almost like a throwaway remark.
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The last words of chapter 1.
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Now I was cupbearer to the king.
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This is Nehemiah.
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I was cupbearer to the king.
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It just seems to be thrown in there.
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But why is it there?
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What's important about this?
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Well, it helps us to tie things together.
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Now I was a cupbearer for the king.
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A cupbearer was one who spent his life working beside the king at that time.
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A cupbearer would test everything that the king was going to eat or to drink to make sure that it was safe for the king to consume.
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He lived in the palace.
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He lived alongside the king.
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In many ways, he lived a good life.
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He had everything that he needed here.
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Maybe the last thing he thought he needed was change or something more challenging or something more difficult.
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So him being a cupbearer to the king shows that he was well off.
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That he was in a very comfortable position.
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But the danger with being in that kind of situation in life, the danger of having the good life is that it's so easy to become complacent.
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It's so easy to take things for granted.
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And Nehemiah here in the midst of his good life.
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His world is shaken.
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And he's about to become unsettled in so many ways.
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And this comes through Hanani, a news that he brings of Jerusalem.
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This simple question that Nehemiah asks about those who had returned from exile, those who had gone back to Jerusalem, those who were very far away from where he was.
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This question is about to turn his world upside down.
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When you meet up with friends and family, it's one of the most natural questions to ask, especially if you haven't seen them for a while or if there's others you're concerned about.
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It's a most natural question in the world to ask, how are they?
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To ask after people.
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It's something we do on a very regular basis.
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And this can lead to sometimes hearing good news.
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Perhaps you've not heard that so-and-so got married or so-and-so's had a child.
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Sometimes we hear things we hadn't heard and we're delighted to hear good news.
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But other times we hear sad news.
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People who are unwell.
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People who have passed away.
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People who are struggling in different ways.
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Maybe we've not heard it.
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We've asked, how are they?
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And it leaves us then feeling down.
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Feeling a sense of maybe burden for them.
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But it's in asking that question, how are they?
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And hearing perhaps someone struggling, someone's lost a loved one, someone is unwell, all of these things.
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The question is, does it leave a lasting impression?
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Does it stay with us as a lasting concern?
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When you look at verse 2 here as he asks about them.
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I ask them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile and concerning Jerusalem.
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As he's asking this question, he is concerned for the people.
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And as he's asking this question, he's asking about those who have escaped, those who have survived the exile.
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The remnant it uses in verse 3.
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These kinds of words that are thrown in here.
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But behind this question is so much meaning.
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When you see that word, escaped or remnant, there's so much meaning behind it.
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In Isaiah chapter 10, it speaks there in verse 20 about a remnant.
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The remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob.
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And it speaks there that they will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
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There is this question behind Nehemiah's, what he's saying here as well.
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It's not just how are they in a general sense, but how are they in a spiritual sense?
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And who are they leaning on?
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Who are they finding help with?
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Are they finding their help in the Lord?
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And what he hears is this, in verse 3.
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They said to me, the remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
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And this is what unsettles Nehemiah.
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This is what deeply concerns Nehemiah.
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He has been complacent.
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He has been getting on well.
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But unbeknown to him, there are many who are struggling.
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Many who are in despair.
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And the hearing of this, it says, as soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept.
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He has this vision for a people.
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He has this burden for a people.
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And when we think for ourselves today, even of the town in which we're living in, do we have a vision and a burden for those who are around us?
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Do we just ask in a general way, how is so-and-so doing?
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And we hear they're struggling and do nothing about it.
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Are we asking these questions?
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Are we praying these prayers?
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You think of how often we pray to see these pews filled.
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Is it a real burden for us?
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Or is it a throwaway prayer?
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Who do we want to see in these pews?
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Are we praying for a certain kind of person to come in?
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Those just like ourselves?
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Would we mind who came in through our doors?
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Do we have a vision for the people around us?
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All the people.
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We hear so many problems in our town, in our island.
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And those who have these problems, would we welcome them through the door?
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Would we welcome them and say, come, take a seat and hear of the gospel?
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Come, take a seat.
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What can I do to help you?
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When was the last time we wept and mourned over the people of this town?
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Nehemiah here, his vision begins with the people.
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A simple question.
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How are they?
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They are in trouble and in great shame.
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And he weeps and mourns.
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For ourselves as a church, when we think of the troubles around us, are we concerned?
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Do we have a vision?
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Do we have a burden?
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And where does that lead us?
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Well, for Nehemiah, there is this powerful vision, this powerful burden for the people.
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And where you see it leads him is to our second point, his vision of God.
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His vision of God.
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The people are in trouble, he hears.
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And where does it take him?
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It takes him to God.
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You see that as he sat and wept in verse 4.
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He mourned for days and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
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Before the God of heaven.
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I'm not just going to move on quickly, he's saying.
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I haven't just asked that question.
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And I'm going to forget I asked.
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I forget the response I heard.
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I am taking this to the Lord.
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And I am not going to just take it to the Lord for a time.
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I'm going to keep praying.
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Day and night.
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Crying out to the Lord until something happens.
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Our greatest help in our greatest need is always our great God.
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And that's what Nehemiah reminds us of here.
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Again and again throughout scripture we're reminded that there is no one who can help us like God.
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You think of the disciples in John chapter 6.
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There were many who were finding Jesus' teaching too difficult.
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They turned away.
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And Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them,
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Do you want to go away as well?
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Well Peter responded for them and said,
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Lord, to whom shall we go?
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You have the words of eternal life.
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And so where can we go?
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With a burden for a people who are perishing, where can we go?
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We go to the Lord who has the words of eternal life.
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He turns to God in prayer.
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And as you read through his prayer here, it reminds us of the power that there is in prayer.
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He is the God of heaven.
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The great and awesome God it says in verse 5.
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There is none like him.
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There is none like him.
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He praises God for who he is.
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And when we think ourselves of our prayers, do we recognize who it is we are praying to?
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Every week we repeat the Lord's prayer here.
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Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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We can so easily repeat these words, but do we realize what the words mean?
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Who it is we are speaking about?
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Our Father who art in heaven.
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The God of heaven, as Nehemiah says here.
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The great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him.
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The one who remembers his people.
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Nehemiah prays to the God of heaven.
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And that's the God we look to too.
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His vision is towards God.
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His perseverance, his prayer is there for us to see as well.
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Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel.
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You see his burden for the people still there as he looks to God day and night.
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He speaks about repentance.
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Again, when we look to God, we have to acknowledge how we can so easily turn away from him.
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And our need of repentance.
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When you read these verses here of the sins of the people.
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It says there in the middle of verse 6.
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I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel which they have sinned against you.
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You know, we look at the state of Jerusalem here.
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How they'd lost hope.
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They were despairing.
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They turned away from God.
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We look at our own world, our own situation today.
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And the church and where we find ourselves in.
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What is our repentance like?
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When you read these verses, do you look away from yourself first?
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Think the situation in the church is because of what's going on away from myself.
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Or do you look within?
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When you look at Nehemiah here, he's praying in a way, he says, which we have sinned against you.
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Even I and my father's house have sinned.
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Repentance begins with ourselves.
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Not blaming someone else for the state of the church.
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But looking at ourselves and our own heart before God.
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We have to ask ourselves, do we need to repent?
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How we become complacent like Nehemiah?
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Comfortable in our circumstances, in our situation.
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Like he was as a cup bader to the king.
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He was away from his home.
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Away from his people.
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Was he serving God as he should?
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No.
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But he's looking to God.
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And his vision is towards God.
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And what you see too is, he is looking at God in this way, where he is grasping the promises of God.
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In verse 8, remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses saying, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.
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But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though you are dispersed and under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there.
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He is grasping the promises of God.
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His vision for the people who are perishing leads him to the vision of God and grasping all of his promises.
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Are we grasping the promises of God ourselves?
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Are we pleading the promises of God before him?
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Maybe our desires are not fulfilled because we fail to see the greatness of God in what we ask.
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What we need, as well as a vision for the people, is a vision for God who has promised to abundantly bless when we come in faith.
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That leads us to our third and final point.
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His vision of trust.
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Trusting in God who was able to make things happen.
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The closing verses, they show us a vision of God.
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Because he knows no matter how much he has a burning desire in his heart to help the people, that apart from God, he can do nothing.
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But God has a purpose for him.
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And what he does is he puts himself into God's hands.
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He pleads to God to let his servant prosper.
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In verse 11.
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In verse 11.
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Oh Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name.
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And give success to your servant today.
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Grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
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He was open to change in his life.
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His journey was about to take a very different direction.
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From the comfort of being alongside a king who could provide everything for him.
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He was about to return to Jerusalem.
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A place where there was much despair and despondency.
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Where the wall was broken down.
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Where there was much work to be done.
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And yet his vision, his burden, could allow him to do nothing else.
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When you're driving, or when you're learning to drive, one of the things we're often told is to anticipate the road ahead.
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Not just to look directly in front of us.
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In the here and now.
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But to look further on.
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And to see what dangers there may be in the road ahead.
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Well, Nehemiah's vision of trust is anticipating the road ahead.
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Knowing that there's going to be many different challenges along the way.
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But seeing God who is able to help.
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When we look at ourselves as a congregation.
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When we look at our town.
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When we look at the church throughout our land today.
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What are we anticipating on the road ahead?
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What do we see that lies ahead for us?
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Are our eyes open?
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Or are we just looking at the here and now?
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Is our faith for today?
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Or are we looking further ahead?
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Are we ready for the journey that we're on?
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Are we ready in the midst of all the challenges that are around us?
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Are people who are perishing?
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Do we have a vision for them?
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Do we have a vision of God?
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Do we have a vision to trust him for the way ahead?
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Do we have a vision for the way ahead?
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Do we have a vision for the way ahead?
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Nehemiah was given a position.
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He was given resources.
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He was given opportunity.
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But for anything to happen, he needed a vision of trust for God.
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Do we want to be like that ourselves?
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that ourselves. I was once on a train journey to Glasgow and as we were making our way along,
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we were stopping in different stations and at one station this woman came on in the same carriage
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as I was sitting in. I was sitting at a table on one side of the carriage and she sat on the other
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side of the carriage of the table. The train hadn't long moved off when she got up from the
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seat that she'd sat in and swapped sides. She went to sit on the other side of the table
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and as she sat down, she noticed that I was looking at her, possibly wondering why she'd moved
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and she said to me, I'd rather see where I'm going than where I've been. And that always stuck with me.
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I thought there's a lesson in that for us all. Are we a people who rather looking back to the past
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or are we a people who enjoy or want to look forward to where we're going?
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Do any of us need to change seat tonight? In our vision for our church, for our people,
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for our community, are we a people who only look back? And look back in the sense of the days of
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old when things were better. Or do we look forward with our burden? What do we want in the future?
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What do we want for our church in the years ahead? What do we want for this town in 10, 20, 30 years' time?
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What do we see? What's our vision for this place? The church in Jerusalem was in trouble.
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And there was great shame. Our town is in trouble and great shame. There is perishing all around us.
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But are we just looking back? Or are we looking forward? The church is in trouble. Do we want
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to see it restored? Do we have vision? And what is our vision? Is it for self or is it for others?
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Is it towards God? And are we trusting in him? About 350 years ago, a shipload of travelers
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left the United Kingdom. And they made their way to the northeast coast of America.
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And there they came ashore and established a town on the shores there.
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In the first year, they elected a town government. In the second year, the town government planned
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to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the third year, the people of the town
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tried to impeach the government, take over the government because they thought these plans
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were a waste of public money. To build a road five years into the wilderness, five miles into the
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wilderness. Just seemed such a waste. Who needed to go there anyway? Here were a people who had
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traveled 3,000 miles across an ocean and all the dangers that that contained. In a few years,
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they were not able to see five miles past their own town. They had lost their vision. They had lost their
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pioneering vision. Where are we with our vision? How we become complacent with where we are? Complacent
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with what we have. As George Barnas said, vision always entails progress.
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Do we want progress? A vision is never satisfied with the status quo. Are we satisfied with the status quo?
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vision entails moving forward, seeing a need, and looking to how that need can be met.
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So instead of status quo, may we always pray for the vision of Nehemiah, a vision for the people,
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a vision of God, a vision that trusts in him. Let us pray.
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Lord our God, our Father in heaven, we thank you for the burdens that you lay upon the hearts of your
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people. And may we, O Lord, have a burden in our own hearts, have a burden for the place where you have
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placed us, and for the people we see around us, and have a burden for the gospel, and for the good news of
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Jesus. We pray, Lord, that you will give us a vision for our people, and a vision even greater of God,
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and that you will enable us, through eyes of faith, to trust in him, as we seek to do all for your glory. Amen.
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We're going to conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 37.
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We're singing from verse 23 down to verse 27.
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Psalm 37 at verse 23, the tune is Kilmarnock.
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A good man's footsteps by the Lord, I order it aright, and in the way wherein he walks, he greatly doth delight.
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We'll sing from verse 23 to 27 to God's praise.
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Amen.
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A good man's footsteps by the Lord, I order it aright, and in the way wherein he walks, he will be the Lord.
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He greatly doth delight.
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Although he fall, yet shall he, Lord, be cast down utterly.
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Because the Lord with his own hand, opposed him mightily.
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I have been your hand of a mole, yet have I never seen.
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The just man left, nor left his seat, or break the man's been.
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He's ever merciful and lends his seat, his place, therefore.
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Depart from evil and do good and well forevermore.
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After the benediction, I'll go to the door to my left.
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We'll close with a benediction.
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Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
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Amen.