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You Go and Do Likewise · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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And we're going to begin our worship singing Psalm 122, Psalm 122 in the Scottish Psalter.
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And that's from page 416, the tune is Free Church.
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I joyed when to the house of God go up, they said to me, Jerusalem within thy gates, our
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feet shall standing be. Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together, and to that place
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the tribes go up, the tribes of God go thither. A psalm that celebrates, sings praise in regard to
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coming to be together to worship the Lord, but also speaks of the unity that God's people enjoy
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as represented there by Jerusalem, the city of the Old Testament times. So let's sing through
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these verses, the whole psalm. We'll stand to sing, I Joyed Went to the House of God.
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I Joyed Went to the House of God, O what they said to me. Jerusalem when in thy gates, our
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peace shall stand outside me in thee.
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Burst the Alejandro Magdalene Paulin and the Church of Jesus' fire to the Lord and the
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arching is strong to swan out and be blessed.
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We'll be right back.
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To God's name thanks to him.
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For thrones of judgment,
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King the thrones of David's house,
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The host does keep me selected,
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roughest day.
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Free,
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but Jerusalem,
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leah,
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peace of
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Happy City.
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Let them that love me and my peace have still prosperity.
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Therefore I wish that peace may still within thy woes remain.
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And ever may thy policies prosperity retain.
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Now for my friends and brethren saints,
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Please be in me, I say.
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And for the hearts of God our Lord,
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I'll see thy good always.
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Let's again join together in prayer.
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Let's call upon the Lord now in prayer.
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Almighty and gracious God,
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help us, we pray, to draw near to you once again
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as a gathered people.
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And enable us to do so, O Lord, in due dependence upon you.
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We know what it is, O Lord, to gather together so frequently.
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We know what it is to read your word,
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to sing these psalms of praise.
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And yet again, O Lord, we confess
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our need of your own application
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of all of these privileges to us.
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And we pray that you would help us, O Lord,
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as we interact with your word once again this evening,
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to receive it as your word,
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to receive it in such a way
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that we will hear your voice speaking to us through it.
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We thank you, O Lord, for that privilege that we have
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of gathering together once again
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at the end of,
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approaching the end of this Lord's day.
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And we pray that it may always be our delight
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to gather together in such a way as we do now.
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We have been singing of these words of the psalmist
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from so long ago.
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And they are still redolent, O Lord,
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in the experience of your people.
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And they live with us as an expression
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of the excitement and the joy
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that was given to him and to his people
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as he went with them to join with them
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in the worship of God.
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And Lord, we pray that it will always be
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our joy to gather together as we do now
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in order to praise the Lord,
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in order to manifest his praises
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to the world in which we live.
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And we ask that you would make us conscious, O Lord,
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of the privilege we have in doing so.
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And we pray that as we gather here tonight,
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your blessing will rest upon us.
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We give thanks, O Lord, for the guidance
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your word gives us in respect to our drawing near to you.
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O you are God, and we know that we need to respect you
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in every way.
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And that as we draw near to you in worship,
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so also we need to come with reverence,
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with godly fear,
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even along with our joy and rejoicing in you.
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And we thank you, Lord, that you have combined
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these elements in the experience of your people
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in their hearts and minds,
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so that they themselves are pleased, O Lord,
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to come to seek to draw near to you in this way.
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Help us to exalt you in our thoughts,
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in our consideration this evening of your word.
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Enable us, we pray, to lift up your holy name
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as we worship you,
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but to do so in a way that would willingly
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and consciously ascribe all glory
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and honor and praise to you.
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And we pray, O Lord, that your blessing
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will be with us as a congregation
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of your people during these days.
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We give thanks for the gospel amongst us.
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We give thanks for the support of your people
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of the gospel.
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We give thanks, O Lord,
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in times of difficulty,
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financially and economically,
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that your people still support your cause
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financially as well as prayerfully.
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We thank you for this,
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and it encourages our hearts, O Lord,
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when we see people committing themselves
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to the further support of your cause in this way.
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We thank you tonight for those who pray
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for the advance of your cause,
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for the advance of your cause in this congregation,
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as well as in every other congregation of your people.
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We thank you for the remembrance
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that they have in prayer
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of the preaching of your word
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and of the preachers of your word,
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and of those who are elected to leadership
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in your church,
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for those who rule in your church as elders,
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for those who give of their time as deacons,
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for those, Lord, who come to support the prayer meetings,
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and for every way in which your people,
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O Lord, show their support for your cause
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and their concern that you be glorified,
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that your cause be advanced.
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We ask, Lord, tonight, too,
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that you would bless us in all our activities
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in relation to the gospel itself,
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along with the services of worship.
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We thank you for the many ways
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in which people have come to commit themselves
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to meetings that involve our young people
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and our older age people as well.
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And we ask, O Lord,
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that you would bless every effort made
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to the well-being of people to be advanced.
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And we pray that especially under the gospel's teaching,
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that we will come together as a people
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to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ,
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and that it may be our concern daily
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to see ourselves advancing in this way.
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We pray your blessing for the forthcoming
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Over 55 Club.
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We pray for Duncan Norman
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as he heads up the organizing of it.
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We pray, Lord, that you would continue
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to own and acknowledge the club
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as it meets together.
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We pray that there may be that
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mutual support of each other
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by those who attend.
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We thank you for the encouragement
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from the last meeting.
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We pray that that will continue.
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We ask your blessing for the anticipated
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presbytery camp as well
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for our young people.
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Lord, remember them, Lord,
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as we pray for them
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and pray for their own further establishment
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in the things of grace,
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in the ways of the gospel,
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in the ways of following the Lord.
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Gracious Lord, protect them,
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keep them, guide them in your ways.
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I give them not to turn aside
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through temptation from the world
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to those things which would make them
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depart from following the Lord
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and following his teaching.
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And remember,
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any who have gone aside, O Lord,
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in recent times or recent years
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from the teachings of Christ.
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Oh, remember them, Lord, we pray,
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who once frequented the services
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of your church and no longer do so.
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Oh, gracious God, remember them,
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we pray, in your pity and mercy.
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And show to them, O Lord,
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that they're still welcome
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to come to join with your people
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wherever that may be.
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Grant that you would graciously
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work in their hearts
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so as to reignite and renew in them
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that desire after yourself.
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Remember, we pray to those tonight
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who have various troubles in their lives,
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socially and morally and in family life.
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Oh, remember them, we pray as well.
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We commit to you, too,
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those who are mourning the loss of loved ones
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during these days.
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We ask that you would bless them
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with your comfort
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and grant to them, Lord,
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that you would make them conscious
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of how near you are
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to those who call upon you in truth,
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that you have made yourself available
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through the gospel
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so that we might come
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and draw our strength
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and our encouragement from you.
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We ask, O Lord,
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that your blessing will reach out
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into the world in which we live,
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that you would use ourselves
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and give us the further desire
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to be used by you
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as a people who would communicate
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the love of Christ
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to this generation we belong to.
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We pray, Lord,
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that all who do serve you in this way
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and seek to act as witnesses
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to you in the world,
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in their homes,
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in their places of work,
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wherever they may be.
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We ask your blessing
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to follow every instance
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of witnessing to you
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and of seeking to commend you
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to this lost world
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in which we live.
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We thank you that
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in saving ourselves,
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your people always,
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Lord, look to that as evidence
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that you are able to do for others
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what you have done for them.
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And this is our prayer tonight,
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O Lord.
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Reach out your hand, we pray,
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and take those
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who are presently living
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without a care for eternity
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and without trust in the Lord.
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Oh, bring them, we pray,
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to realize their spiritual state
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and grant that you would,
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even tonight,
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reach out and work in hearts
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around us in our communities
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so that they may come
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to realize their need
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of the Lord himself.
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Remember any tonight
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who hear the gospel
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but are not yet saved,
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whether it be in this building
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or in other gatherings
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of your church,
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we pray, O Lord,
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that your Holy Spirit
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will tonight work creatively
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in the hearts of those
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who are still not saved.
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We pray that their familiarity
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with the gospel
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may not itself prove
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to be a barrier
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to the reception of the Lord.
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Grant that you would overcome
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whatever obstacles
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they themselves may place
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in the way,
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in the way of turning to Christ,
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in the way of receiving him gladly,
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in the way of turning
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to follow him in this world.
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We pray your blessing too
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for those, Lord,
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who are caught in various addictions,
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also working with them.
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We remember Davy
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and his work with Road to Recovery
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and every other related work
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that deals with such social problems
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during these days.
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O Lord, remember them, we pray,
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and grant that all efforts
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made to be of help
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to those who have such difficulties
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and trials in life,
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that you would be pleased
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to bless them
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and bless the efforts, O Lord,
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that those who sincerely seek
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to bring the power of the gospel
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to bear upon such lives.
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Remember us now,
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we pray too,
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as a nation.
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Remember our government
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here in Scotland.
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Remember the government
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in Westminster.
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Remember them, Lord,
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at this time
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when there's so much uncertainty,
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so much turmoil
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in the political system.
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We pray for our Prime Minister,
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whatever people may think
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of her election
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or of herself.
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We pray for her,
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we pray for the new Chancellor.
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We pray that there may be stability
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in the days to come,
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not only economically,
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but what we would love to see,
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O Lord,
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would be stability
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morally and spiritually.
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And we ask that you would turn us
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as a people to yourself,
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that you would graciously
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bless the witness
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and testimony of your people,
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especially those of them
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who serve in the parliaments
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of our nation
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and who bear testimony
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to Jesus,
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to the Lord
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and to his law,
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before their fellow
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members of Parliament.
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O Lord,
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bless them, we pray.
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Hear their prayers
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as they pray to you
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for direction.
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We ask that
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in all of these ways
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you would grant
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to hear our prayers
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this evening.
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Do for us, Lord,
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we pray more
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than we can ask or think.
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For this is how you describe yourself
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as God
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in your word.
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We pray that it may be
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our experience likewise
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of the Lord's ways
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with ourselves.
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Hear us now,
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we pray.
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Cleanse us,
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pardon us,
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accept us.
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For Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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We're going to praise
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the Lord again this time.
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We're praising him
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from Psalm 25.
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In Sing Psalms
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this time
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on page 29,
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the tune is rocking him.
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Psalm 25
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and verses
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8 to 15.
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Because the Lord
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is just and good,
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he shows his path
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to all who stray.
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He guides the meek
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in what is right
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and teaches them
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his holy way.
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To those who keep
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his covenant laws,
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he shows his love
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consistently.
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For your name's sake,
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O Lord my God,
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forgive my great
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iniquity.
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Psalm 25
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is verses 8 to 15
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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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Because the Lord
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is just and good,
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he shows his path
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to all who stray.
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He guides the meek
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in what is right
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and teaches them
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his holy way.
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To those who keep
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his crown and cross,
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he shows his love,
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consistently.
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For your name's sake,
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O Lord my God,
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forgive my great
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iniquity.
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who then are those
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who fear the Lord.
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He'll teach to them
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the chosen way,
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God's praise.
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The king may prosper
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all their life,
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their children in the land
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will stay.
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God's praise.
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God's friends are those
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to fear his name.
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With them his
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covenant he will share.
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my eyes,
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my eyes,
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the only
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saw the Lord.
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He'll free
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my feet
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from
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every
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seer.
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Let's turn now to read the Word
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of God.
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Tonight's reading is from Luke's Gospel,
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chapter 10.
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The Gospel of Luke,
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chapter 10,
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reading from verse 25.
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Luke 10,
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at verse 25.
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And behold,
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a lawyer stood up to put Jesus
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to the test,
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saying,
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Teacher,
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what shall I do to inherit
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eternal life?
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He said to him,
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What is written in the law?
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How do you read it?
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And he answered,
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You shall love the Lord your God
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with all your heart
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and with all your soul,
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with all your strength
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and with all your mind,
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and your neighbor as yourself.
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And he said to him,
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You have answered correctly.
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Do this,
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and you will live.
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But he,
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desiring to justify himself,
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said to Jesus,
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And who is my neighbor?
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Jesus answered,
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A man was going down
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from Jerusalem to Jericho,
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and he fell among robbers
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who stripped him
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and beat him
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and departed,
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leaving him half dead.
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Now by chance,
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a priest was going down that road,
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and when he saw him,
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he passed by on the other side.
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So likewise,
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a Levite,
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when he came to the place
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and saw him,
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passed by on the other side.
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But a Samaritan,
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as he journeyed,
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came to where he was,
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and when he saw him,
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he had compassion.
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He went to him
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and bound up his wounds,
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pouring on oil and wine.
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Then he set him
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on his own animal
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and brought him to an inn
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and took care of him.
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And the next day
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he took out two denarii
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and gave them to the innkeeper,
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saying,
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Take care of him,
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and whatever more you spend,
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I will repay you
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when I come back.
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Which of these three
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do you think
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proved to be a neighbor
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to the man
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who fell among the robbers?
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He said,
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The one who showed him mercy.
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And Jesus said to him,
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You go
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and do likewise.
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Now as they went on their way,
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Jesus entered a village,
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and a woman named Martha
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welcomed him into her house.
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And she had a sister
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called Mary
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who sat at the Lord's feet
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and listened to his teaching.
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But Martha was distracted
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with much serving.
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And she went up to him
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and said,
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Lord,
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do you not care
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that my sister
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has left me
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to serve alone?
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Tell her then to help me.
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But the Lord answered her,
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Martha,
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Martha,
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you are anxious
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and troubled
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about many things,
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but one thing
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is necessary.
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Mary has chosen
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the good portion
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which will not
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be taken away
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from her.
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Again,
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we pray God
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will bless to us
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that reading
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of his word
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this evening.
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Let's sing now
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to his praise further
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in Psalm 113.
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Again,
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it's from the Scottish Psalter.
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Psalm 113.
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We'll sing the whole psalm.
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It's on page 393.
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The tune this time
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is Argyle.
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Praise God,
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ye servants of the Lord.
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O praise,
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the Lord's name praise.
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Yea,
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blessed be the name of God.
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From this time
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forth always.
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From rising sun
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to where it sets,
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God's name
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is to be praised.
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Above all nations,
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God is high.
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Above heavens,
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his glory raise.
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Psalm 113.
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To God's praise.
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Praise God,
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ye servants of the Lord.
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O praise the Lord.
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O praise the Lord.
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Say praise.
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Yea, blessed be the name of God.
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From this time forth always.
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From rising sun to where it is set,
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God's name is to be praised.
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upon upon nations,
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upon nations,
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God is high.
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Upon nations,
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God is high.
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Of hence,
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his glory raise.
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unto the Lord.
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unto the Lord,
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the Lord,
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the Lord,
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that dwells,
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on high,
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who can't compare,
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himself that come,
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and the Lord.
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He will be the name of God.
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He will be the name of God.
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He will be the name of God.
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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CHOIR SINGS
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Singeth man to thee, of Sam's hammer, where full of joy, praise to the Lord give thee.
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Let's turn for a short time this evening now again to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10, and we're going to look at this passage from verse 25 down as far as verse 37. It's entitled there, The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
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It's very obvious from reading the Gospels that Jesus was a very great observer of the world around him, an observer of the creation, an observer of the natural world.
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You see how many times as you read the Gospels he drew from what he found in the natural world to illustrate his teaching.
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But he was also a great observer of human beings, of human nature, of human tendencies, of human actions and human words.
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And he wasn't just an observer. He was an observer that was able instantly to just weigh up what he was seeing and bring pronouncements in regard to it.
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And as you find in this passage here, I think you can say that we could say that if it is a parable, it's entitled a parable, but there's nothing in the text itself that says it was a parable.
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The characters and the characters and the actions and the thoughts as they were indeed set out here by Jesus were things which undoubtedly happened in the world of his day.
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And it may very well be that he had seen something like this himself or been told of this as an actual event.
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But in any case, it does show us that his observation of human nature, of human tendencies, was very much behind what he said here in regard to the way that he answered this lawyer and got this lawyer to think deeply about what he was really saying.
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And you can see that verse 25 there,
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And when that word appears in the text of Scripture, it's there as a kind of spotlight to just say, well, here's something really important coming.
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But I think it's also indicative of how the Lord was constantly being sought by various people, how he didn't have much time to rest as he went about from place to place.
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And here we find that it came soon after he had expressed his joy, having sent out the disciples.
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The 72 returned with joy, and Jesus himself rejoiced in spirit as he heard the report of the blessing of God through them.
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But he didn't have time to rest after that.
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It's indicative of much of his life.
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He really was hard-pressed so often by various needs, by things that were brought to him, people that were brought to him, descriptions made to him about people.
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And tonight we can be greatly thankful that we have a Savior who appreciates what it is to hear about people's problems and to give his full attention to them,
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even when he was tired, even when he was tired, even when he didn't have time to rest.
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It is the kind of Savior that he is, the kind of person he is, the kind of Redeemer God has provided for us,
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one whose interest in our well-being is so tremendous that it really overtook anything that he had with regard to himself and his own peace.
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And so tonight, as we look at these verses and see that they fit into that category of people just pressing Jesus for reactions to what they were going to say to him,
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look first of all at the lawyer as he questions Jesus.
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I'll give some time to that, and then we'll look secondly at how Jesus reverses the lawyer's question in order to correct his thinking.
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And in fact, he doesn't just correct it.
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He turns it completely the other way around, and there's so much that we can learn from that as well.
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But here is, first of all, this lawyer who stood up and put Jesus to the test saying,
30:58
Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
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Now, a lawyer here wasn't the kind of person that nowadays we describe as a lawyer,
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not a solicitor or a defense lawyer or prosecutor or something like that.
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This would have been probably a scribe, one of the scribes who belonged to the teaching element of God's people in those times,
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who would teach the people regarding the laws of God, and very often, of course,
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the laws that had been added to the law of God by the scribes, the Pharisees.
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And here was somebody who was himself a religious man, a religious man as far as his own official place in the system was concerned.
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And so he knew his Scripture, the Old Testament, of course, at that time.
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And he came with this question to Jesus,
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What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
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Now, as far as a reference to eternal life is concerned, this is an important question for him.
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What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
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Although, of course, the emphasis on his doing is something that we note just in passing,
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that we don't do things in order to inherit eternal life,
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and yet there are things that are required of us that we may come to possess eternal life.
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We need to have placed our trust in Jesus, to accept him, to receive him, as he's offered in the gospel,
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so that we come, therefore, to possess through the Lord's blessing that eternal life.
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But anyway, here is this lawyer, this scribe.
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Let's take it, he's a scribe.
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But you can see he's not coming with a real desire and a thirst to learn.
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He's come to Jesus to try and catch him out.
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He's come to Jesus to see how he will answer this question.
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He's come really, as we say, as it's put there in verse 25, he came to put him to the test.
32:54
You see, here is this crowd listening to Jesus.
32:57
Here is this man.
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He stands up all of a sudden and he says,
32:59
What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
33:03
And he thinks he's going to catch Jesus out.
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He's really taken with how Jesus is going to answer this question,
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and he's going to assess Jesus on the basis of how he answers his question.
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Of course, Jesus knows that very well.
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So, he's not sincere in the way that he puts the question or the reason he puts the question to the Lord.
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Now, it's always a very dangerous thing to think that you can somehow get one over the Lord,
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that somehow you can actually do things in a way that just overcomes his ability or his word.
33:40
Here's a man who's in a very dangerous position.
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He's religious.
33:44
He knows his Old Testament.
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He knows his Bible at the time.
33:49
But he doesn't love the Lord in his heart.
33:54
He has no love for Jesus.
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He has no commitment whatsoever to him.
33:59
He's just come to test him.
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There's always a very dangerous thing for us to have a lot of head knowledge which is good in itself.
34:09
But then to think somehow that we can arrange our own lives,
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that we can somehow just sidestep the demands, the requirements that Jesus lays before us
34:20
and the things that he requires of us,
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and somehow think that, as it were, we're going to then manage by ourselves
34:29
or manage in a different way to the way that Christ's demands are set out before us.
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You know tonight that that's not going to work.
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And as you go through this passage tonight,
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we'll see that more and more this man is being boxed into a corner
34:44
and eventually comes into a cul-de-sac, a theological cul-de-sac,
34:49
where Jesus actually forces him or brings him to just completely reverse his thinking.
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We'll see that in a moment how he does it.
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But you see what Jesus does.
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He says, what is written in the law?
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How do you read it?
35:04
And he answered, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
35:08
with all your soul, with all your strength,
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with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
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And it's important to notice that Jesus actually sent him to the Word of God.
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Here was the man coming.
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What must I do to inherit eternal life?
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What does Jesus say?
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He says, go to the law.
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Go to the Word of God.
35:28
Go to God's revelation.
35:29
That's where you'll find an answer to your question.
35:34
And that's again an important matter for ourselves.
35:38
One of the things that distinguishes us as a Reformed church,
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a church that really prizes Reformed theology,
35:46
that goes back to the Reformation,
35:48
that goes back beyond that,
35:49
to the apostles indeed,
35:51
and to the teaching that arises out of the New Testament.
35:55
And as a Reformed church,
35:58
one of the central planks of our well-being
36:02
and our being as a church
36:03
is the truth of God
36:06
as we have it in a way that
36:08
here we're giving some,
36:12
the centrality to the gospel
36:14
that the gospel requires.
36:15
The Word of God is basic in our understanding,
36:19
basic in our thinking,
36:21
basic in our application to what life is
36:23
and what life is about.
36:25
That's how you must always think about yourself
36:29
and answering questions regarding yourself
36:31
or questions from others.
36:33
What do you think?
36:33
The first thing you think of is,
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now how am I going to deal with this?
36:36
The first thing you think of is,
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what does the Bible say?
36:40
Not what does the minister say?
36:41
What does the kirk session say?
36:43
Or what does such and such a church say?
36:45
What does any of those say?
36:50
Even if they're very sound
36:52
in what their thinking is about.
36:54
First thing you say is,
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what does God say?
36:56
What does the Bible say?
36:59
And that means,
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how is it written?
37:02
What is it written?
37:03
What is written there?
37:04
Jesus is saying,
37:05
what is written in the law?
37:07
And His response is correct.
37:09
His response is correct
37:11
up to the point of answering the question.
37:14
He says,
37:14
you shall love the Lord your God
37:16
with all your heart,
37:17
with all your soul,
37:18
with all your strength,
37:19
with all your mind,
37:20
and your neighbor as yourself.
37:23
In other words,
37:23
He went back to the law,
37:25
to the likes of Deuteronomy chapter 6,
37:27
where God had said to Israel,
37:29
hear, O Israel,
37:31
the Lord your God is one.
37:32
You shall love Him with all your heart,
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with all your soul,
37:35
with all your might.
37:37
And you could add to that
37:37
the likes of Leviticus chapter 19,
37:40
where responsibility to your neighbor
37:42
is in different categories
37:44
set out there in Leviticus 16.
37:46
So, you could say that this man,
37:48
the scribe,
37:48
was really answering very accurately
37:50
and very knowledgeably
37:51
from the Scriptures
37:53
that he knew probably so well.
37:56
And Jesus is saying to him,
37:58
you have answered correctly,
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do this and you will live.
38:05
Is Jesus saying to this man,
38:08
you've asked about how,
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what you will do
38:11
to inherit eternal life,
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and now I'm saying to you,
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do what is written in the law
38:16
and you will have eternal life,
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you will live.
38:18
Well, Jesus is not actually commending
38:20
salvation by works.
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Jesus knew very, very well
38:25
that this man was not able
38:26
to keep the law
38:27
any more than anybody else,
38:29
apart from Jesus himself,
38:30
to the perfection that was required
38:32
if he was going to be saved
38:33
by his own works.
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There's nothing wrong
38:35
in the principle that says,
38:38
if I was able to actually
38:39
observe the law of God
38:41
in all its requirements,
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all the time,
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every moment of my life,
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for as long as I live,
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then salvation would be
38:48
on that basis.
38:51
But we can't.
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We're disqualified.
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We're disqualified very obviously.
38:57
because it don't take long
39:00
from the time you get up
39:01
in the morning
39:01
to realize that you haven't
39:03
gone very far into the day
39:05
before you've sinned
39:07
in your thoughts
39:08
or in your actions,
39:09
in your speech.
39:10
And we confess our sins,
39:12
therefore,
39:12
on a daily basis,
39:13
as Jesus taught
39:14
in the Lord's Prayer.
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Forgive us our trespasses,
39:19
our debts,
39:20
as we forgive our debtors.
39:23
In any case,
39:24
this is what Jesus said to him.
39:25
You have spoken correctly.
39:28
Do this,
39:30
and you will live.
39:32
And then the next thing you find is
39:34
the man actually replies,
39:37
desiring to justify himself.
39:40
You see,
39:40
you can see a lot about
39:41
the character of this man,
39:43
first of all,
39:44
from the fact that he's putting
39:45
Jesus to the test,
39:47
that he thinks he's going to
39:48
outsmart Jesus
39:49
or catch him out.
39:51
And then you can see more
39:52
about his character
39:53
in verse 29,
39:54
but he,
39:55
desiring to justify himself,
40:00
desiring to justify himself,
40:02
standing in the presence
40:03
of the Son of God,
40:04
thinking he's going to
40:05
catch Jesus out.
40:07
So he says,
40:08
well,
40:08
who is my neighbor?
40:12
Well,
40:14
none of us
40:16
is going to be able
40:16
to justify ourselves
40:19
in the presence
40:19
of the Lord.
40:22
And this man
40:23
is a telling example
40:24
to us of
40:24
how we are not
40:26
to conduct ourselves
40:27
in the presence
40:28
of God.
40:29
You're not going
40:30
to outsmart the Lord.
40:32
You're not going
40:32
to catch him out.
40:34
You're not going
40:34
to box him into a corner.
40:36
It'll be the other way about,
40:37
as we'll see
40:37
with this man.
40:40
So tonight,
40:41
don't argue
40:43
in your own heart
40:44
against the Word
40:45
of God.
40:45
Don't argue
40:47
against it
40:48
when it tells you
40:49
things that you need
40:50
to know
40:51
and are required
40:52
to do
40:52
in order to come
40:54
to possess life.
40:56
Even though it is true
40:57
that you're not
40:58
going to be able
40:58
to produce
41:00
that eternal life
41:01
by your own
41:02
obedience
41:02
to the Word of God,
41:04
to the law of God,
41:05
there are many,
41:06
many things,
41:06
of course,
41:07
that Jesus,
41:07
as the Lord says to you,
41:09
are required of you
41:10
that require you
41:12
to alter your thinking,
41:14
that require you
41:15
to alter your way
41:16
of life,
41:18
the way that you go
41:19
about seeing yourself
41:20
and seeing the world
41:21
and seeing eternity.
41:23
And you know,
41:23
sometimes,
41:24
indeed,
41:25
until the Lord Himself
41:26
changes us,
41:27
until we have our minds
41:28
changed,
41:29
we're going to argue
41:30
against that.
41:31
We're going to argue
41:32
against the Scripture
41:33
that tells us,
41:35
that insists,
41:35
that today is the day
41:37
of salvation.
41:38
Today,
41:39
if you hear His voice,
41:40
don't harden your heart.
41:41
But,
41:42
and yet,
41:43
we'll still say,
41:44
no,
41:44
I'll leave it tonight.
41:47
There'll be other times.
41:49
That's arguing against God.
41:51
That's arguing against
41:52
the wisdom of God.
41:53
That's taking the mind
41:55
of Jesus
41:55
and saying,
41:56
no,
41:56
that's fine,
41:58
that's okay,
41:58
that's you saying that,
41:59
but at the moment,
42:01
I'll do it this way.
42:03
I'll do it my way.
42:05
I'll follow the path
42:06
I'm on.
42:06
And,
42:07
please look at yourself
42:10
tonight if you're here
42:12
and you're not yet
42:12
in Christ,
42:13
you're not saved.
42:15
I'm not saying this
42:17
accusingly to you.
42:19
I'm not,
42:20
I hope,
42:20
presenting the truth
42:21
to you tonight
42:22
in a way that
42:23
seeks to be judgmental.
42:24
That's not my business.
42:26
That's not my place.
42:27
That's not my right.
42:28
That's the Lord's business.
42:31
But I am seriously saying,
42:33
if you find yourself tonight
42:35
in your own heart,
42:36
secretly,
42:37
just arguing against
42:38
the argument of God Himself,
42:41
the requirements of Scripture,
42:42
the requirements of Jesus,
42:44
just think about
42:45
what that is saying.
42:47
It's really effectively
42:48
trying to justify yourself
42:51
against what the Lord
42:53
is telling you.
42:55
And that's really
42:56
what this man was doing.
42:57
He,
42:58
desiring to justify himself,
43:00
said to Jesus,
43:00
and who is my neighbor?
43:04
You see,
43:04
he's walking into
43:05
a theological cul-de-sac.
43:08
There's only going to be
43:08
one winner here
43:09
in this confrontation,
43:11
and it's not going to be
43:12
this man.
43:14
It never is.
43:15
Whenever you have
43:16
a contest
43:17
between
43:18
any of us
43:19
and Jesus Himself,
43:20
there's only going to be
43:21
one winner.
43:22
And it won't be you,
43:23
and it won't be me.
43:25
It will always be Him.
43:28
He's the Master.
43:29
He will always
43:30
come out on top.
43:31
He will always
43:33
have the last word.
43:35
His word will always
43:36
prove to be true.
43:39
So, there's the lawyer
43:40
questioning Jesus.
43:44
He's sent to the Bible.
43:45
He's sent to the Scripture.
43:47
He comes back
43:47
seeking to justify himself
43:49
with another question,
43:51
and who is my neighbor?
43:54
So, how does Jesus
43:55
then deal with that?
43:56
How does He answer
43:57
the second question
43:58
of the man?
44:00
Well, He does so
44:00
by effectively
44:02
reversing
44:03
the lawyer's question
44:04
and turning it
44:05
against Himself.
44:07
See how He does that.
44:08
He told them,
44:09
first of all,
44:09
about these three men.
44:13
Jesus said
44:13
about a man,
44:16
rather,
44:16
and three others
44:17
in the story as well.
44:19
A man went down
44:20
to Jericho
44:20
from Jerusalem,
44:22
and he fell among robbers.
44:23
He stripped him.
44:24
They beat him.
44:25
They departed,
44:25
leaving him half dead.
44:27
And then along
44:28
came a priest.
44:29
He was going down
44:30
that road.
44:30
When he saw him,
44:31
he passed by
44:32
on the other side.
44:34
So likewise,
44:34
a Levite,
44:35
when he came,
44:36
he saw him,
44:37
passed by on the other side.
44:38
It wasn't that
44:38
they didn't notice him,
44:40
but they just decided,
44:41
that's not for me.
44:42
I'm going to just pretend
44:43
I didn't see that.
44:44
I'll walk past,
44:45
go to the other side
44:46
of the road
44:46
and just make my way
44:47
that way.
44:48
And isn't it interesting
44:49
how language
44:51
that the Bible uses
44:53
has made its way
44:55
into our ordinary
44:56
everyday language
44:58
and expressions.
44:59
You know the expression
45:00
to pass by
45:01
on the other side.
45:02
Well,
45:02
this is where it comes from.
45:04
You pass by
45:05
on the other side,
45:06
you notice something
45:06
that really requires
45:08
your attention,
45:09
and you pretend
45:09
you didn't see it
45:10
unless you've seen it,
45:11
and you say,
45:11
well,
45:12
that's somebody else's business.
45:13
I'll just keep going.
45:14
I'll just mind
45:15
my own business.
45:16
I won't stop over that.
45:18
That's where it came from.
45:20
And it's here
45:22
given by Jesus
45:23
these three passers-by,
45:26
and the first two
45:27
very deliberately
45:28
by Jesus,
45:29
described in the way
45:30
He does,
45:31
you'd expect
45:32
the first two,
45:33
one of them
45:34
or other of both of them,
45:36
to have stopped
45:36
and attended
45:37
to this man.
45:38
After all,
45:39
the first person
45:39
going by
45:40
was a priest,
45:42
a religious man,
45:44
somebody who actually
45:45
had business
45:46
with the temple of God,
45:48
with the worship of God,
45:49
with the sacrificial system
45:50
of God.
45:51
He passed by
45:53
on the other side.
45:54
And then there's a Levite,
45:57
the tribe that were given
45:58
particular authority
46:00
to be in charge
46:01
of the worship system
46:03
of the temple,
46:06
passed by
46:06
on the other side.
46:08
Didn't stop,
46:09
pretended he didn't see.
46:11
And then
46:12
came a Samaritan.
46:16
Of course,
46:16
Jesus knows very well
46:18
that many of His listeners,
46:20
many of the Jews
46:21
of the time,
46:22
despised Samaritans.
46:25
And to actually hear
46:26
Jesus saying,
46:28
a priest passed by
46:29
without stopping,
46:30
a Levite passed by
46:31
without stopping,
46:32
but a Samaritan
46:33
passed by
46:34
and he stopped
46:35
and he looked
46:36
to this man
46:36
and he attended
46:37
to him in his need.
46:38
That would have been
46:39
grossly offensive,
46:41
speaking about
46:42
a Samaritan
46:43
in that way
46:44
to the Jews
46:45
of Christ's day.
46:46
And so,
46:49
Jesus is aiming
46:51
at the prejudice
46:52
against the Samaritans,
46:55
but He's using this,
46:57
He's observed this
46:58
obviously many times,
46:59
I'm sure,
47:00
in His own daily experience.
47:01
So, He's using this
47:02
in order to get
47:04
to the point
47:05
that this man,
47:05
this lawyer,
47:06
was asking this question
47:07
and to respond
47:09
to the question,
47:10
who then
47:11
is my neighbor?
47:12
And when Jesus
47:14
responded after
47:15
telling him
47:16
the story about
47:17
these three men,
47:19
these three different people,
47:21
this is what He describes.
47:23
He describes a Samaritan
47:24
as giving of his time,
47:26
of his money,
47:28
in order to care
47:29
for this poor man
47:30
who had been left
47:32
half dead
47:32
by the roadside,
47:34
having been mugged
47:35
on the way
47:36
as he went
47:37
towards Jericho.
47:40
Then Jesus,
47:41
you see,
47:41
comes and says,
47:43
Now then,
47:44
which of these three
47:46
do you think
47:48
proved to be a neighbor
47:50
to the man
47:52
who fell
47:52
among the robbers?
47:54
Now,
47:55
there are a number
47:55
of things in that
47:56
that I can just try
47:57
and highlight briefly.
48:00
There is,
48:00
first of all,
48:01
very much an emphasis
48:02
on you think.
48:05
Which of these
48:06
do you think
48:08
proved to be a neighbor
48:10
to the man
48:11
who fell
48:11
among the robbers?
48:13
And you see,
48:13
what Jesus is saying there
48:14
is,
48:15
never mind what
48:15
your contemporaries think,
48:17
never mind what
48:18
your peers think,
48:19
never mind for
48:20
those who actually
48:21
share your present views,
48:23
what they think,
48:24
and how much you may be
48:25
in the majority
48:25
with regard to these things.
48:27
Jesus is saying,
48:28
I'm asking you,
48:29
what do you think?
48:30
And you see,
48:32
that's so important
48:33
too under the gospel,
48:34
isn't it?
48:35
Because we're often
48:36
carried along
48:37
by what our peers think,
48:39
what our fellow age group think.
48:45
And of course,
48:46
that's true of all ages,
48:48
but our concern particularly
48:49
is for our young people,
48:51
the pressure that our young people
48:53
are under to conform
48:54
to worldly teaching,
48:56
to immoral teaching,
48:59
the peer group pressure,
49:01
the social media presence,
49:03
and pressure
49:04
that they're put under,
49:06
all of that,
49:07
you see,
49:07
has an effect.
49:08
And our prayer for them
49:09
to be established
49:10
in the ways of God
49:11
is taking account of that,
49:13
is for that very reason.
49:16
Because so many of them,
49:18
sadly,
49:19
are carried along
49:20
by whatever
49:20
the present thinking is
49:22
with regard to
49:23
how you treat people,
49:25
what you say
49:25
about people's condition,
49:27
people's illnesses,
49:29
people's mental health,
49:30
whatever else,
49:32
are carried along
49:32
in the tide of
49:33
peer opinion
49:35
and peer pressure.
49:37
But for us as Christians,
49:40
for all who are God's people,
49:42
it really comes down to this.
49:45
What is your thought?
49:46
What do you think?
49:49
What's your mind on this?
49:51
You can cast your mind
49:53
back over history
49:53
and right through
49:55
in the Middle Ages
49:56
from the earliest,
49:58
well,
49:58
from way back
49:59
before the Middle Ages
50:00
themselves,
50:01
right through to
50:01
the 1500s.
50:03
What did you find?
50:04
You found the church
50:04
throughout Europe
50:05
and the peer pressure
50:07
of Roman Catholic theology
50:08
and the Pope especially
50:10
heading up the system
50:11
where the pressure was
50:13
for people just to conform
50:15
to that
50:15
and just to accept that.
50:17
That's what the kind of life
50:18
that you're required to live.
50:20
That's what God is doing,
50:21
speaking through the church.
50:22
The church is saying this,
50:23
therefore it must be true.
50:26
Until you find
50:27
Reformers standing up
50:29
here and there,
50:29
culminating, I'm sure,
50:31
with Martin Luther
50:32
who stood up
50:33
and very bravely said,
50:35
no, that's not true.
50:37
People are not saved
50:38
by indulgences,
50:40
by the prayers
50:41
of priests
50:43
or whoever.
50:44
People are saved
50:45
through faith in Christ.
50:46
People are justified
50:47
in receiving,
50:48
by receiving Christ
50:49
as their Savior.
50:51
They are justified
50:51
by the grace of God,
50:53
not by the excellence
50:55
of human works.
50:58
Peer pressure
50:59
is shattered
51:01
once the truth
51:02
really comes
51:02
to engage
51:03
with people's minds.
51:06
Here's this man
51:07
and Jesus is saying to him,
51:09
which of these three
51:10
do you think
51:12
prove to be a neighbor?
51:14
And that's really
51:15
addressing me
51:16
and is addressing you tonight.
51:19
Because the Bible
51:19
and the Lord
51:20
through the Scripture
51:21
and through the preaching
51:22
of the Gospel
51:23
is not really asking tonight
51:24
about you,
51:25
asking you about
51:27
what does your
51:29
peer group think,
51:30
what does your neighbor think,
51:31
what does your family think,
51:33
what does the majority
51:34
of people in our society
51:35
think about these issues.
51:37
The Lord is concerned
51:38
to know what do I think.
51:40
What am I making
51:41
of his Gospel?
51:43
What are my opinions
51:44
about who Jesus is
51:45
and what a good,
51:48
sound,
51:48
moral,
51:49
believing life
51:49
should look like?
51:52
That's what he's saying
51:53
to us tonight.
51:53
What do you think?
51:55
You give me,
51:57
God is saying,
51:58
your opinion.
52:00
How are you using
52:01
my truth?
52:03
But you see
52:04
what he's doing.
52:05
Secondly,
52:05
he's not just saying,
52:06
what do you think?
52:08
But you see the way
52:09
he's reversed the question.
52:10
Here's the man who came,
52:11
who is my neighbor?
52:13
In other words,
52:14
he's saying to Jesus,
52:15
you tell me who my neighbor is.
52:17
You tell me who I should love.
52:19
You tell me who I should not love.
52:21
You make the differentiation.
52:22
You make the distinctions.
52:24
Then leave me to choose
52:25
who my neighbor is.
52:26
Then I will know
52:27
who I should regard as my neighbor
52:29
and who I should regard
52:30
as not my neighbor.
52:31
And therefore,
52:31
I don't need to bother with them.
52:33
That's his mind.
52:34
That's his thinking.
52:35
And what Jesus is doing
52:36
is completely reversing that
52:38
and is saying,
52:38
it's not a matter of working out
52:40
who your neighbor is,
52:41
but who you are going
52:43
to be a neighbor to.
52:46
He's not saying to,
52:47
Jesus is not saying to him,
52:49
look,
52:49
you've got to just pick
52:50
and choose
52:51
who your neighbor's going to be.
52:52
That's not the primary point at all.
52:55
Before you start thinking
52:56
of who your neighbor is,
52:57
you have to start thinking
52:58
of yourself,
52:59
who am I going to be
53:00
a neighbor to?
53:02
Wherever I find need
53:04
in the world,
53:05
how can I be a neighbor
53:06
to that person?
53:07
How can I be a help
53:09
to that person?
53:10
How can I come alongside
53:11
that person,
53:13
get down alongside
53:14
to where he or she is
53:15
and try to help them
53:16
in their predicament?
53:18
That's essentially
53:19
what Jesus is saying.
53:20
And you see how
53:21
that's completely changed
53:22
the tenor,
53:23
the thinking,
53:24
the direction
53:25
of this man's thoughts.
53:28
Who do you think
53:29
proved to be a neighbor
53:32
to the man who fell
53:34
among the robbers?
53:38
Jesus, you see,
53:39
is not allowing us
53:39
to think,
53:41
let me just think
53:42
for a moment,
53:43
Lord,
53:44
and work out
53:45
who my neighbor is,
53:47
who there is
53:47
that I need to attend to
53:49
and who it is
53:50
I need not.
53:52
The Lord is saying
53:53
to you,
53:54
to me tonight,
53:55
I need you
53:56
to be a neighbor,
53:58
to be a helper,
53:59
to be somebody
54:01
who ministers
54:02
to the need of others
54:03
irrespective of
54:05
who they are.
54:06
It doesn't matter
54:07
the color of their skin,
54:09
it doesn't matter
54:09
their background,
54:11
it doesn't matter
54:11
where they've come from
54:12
or what they've fallen into
54:14
by way of lapses
54:16
in their life.
54:18
To be a neighbor
54:19
means to take account
54:21
of human need
54:22
and to do everything
54:24
that we have open to us
54:26
to actually seek to help
54:28
in that situation.
54:30
Of course,
54:31
that is a massive challenge.
54:35
But the church's,
54:37
the application to that,
54:39
well, let's look at the,
54:40
before we come to the application,
54:41
let's look at the response
54:43
of the lawyer himself.
54:45
He said,
54:47
the one who showed him mercy.
54:49
In fact,
54:49
the older translation
54:50
is,
54:51
I suppose,
54:52
the one who showed him mercy
54:53
as if it's very reluctantly
54:55
coming to the acknowledgement
54:57
that Christ has caught him out
54:59
instead of him
55:00
catching Jesus out.
55:04
The one who showed him mercy.
55:05
Isn't it interesting?
55:07
Jesus had mentioned
55:08
the priest,
55:09
the Levite,
55:11
Samaritan.
55:12
He mentioned the Samaritan
55:13
by name,
55:13
the Samaritan,
55:14
gave him that label.
55:17
But interestingly,
55:18
when the lawyer replied,
55:20
he didn't say,
55:20
well,
55:21
it must have been
55:21
the Samaritan.
55:22
He just can't bring himself
55:25
to use the word.
55:27
He's got that much prejudice
55:28
in his mind
55:29
against the idea
55:30
of a Samaritan
55:31
actually coming to outdo
55:33
a priest and a Levite.
55:35
So he just says,
55:35
well,
55:36
the one who showed him mercy.
55:38
No,
55:38
Jesus didn't take him up
55:39
on the fact that he didn't
55:40
use the word Samaritan.
55:42
He simply said to him,
55:43
well,
55:44
you go
55:45
and do likewise.
55:47
Now you can trace
55:51
the thought patterns
55:53
of the Lord
55:54
and of this lawyer
55:56
all the way
55:57
through the passage.
55:59
And as you reach
56:00
the conclusion of it,
56:02
it's obvious,
56:03
isn't it,
56:03
that Christ is the master
56:05
of the situation.
56:07
That this man,
56:08
for all that he tried
56:09
his best to outdo Jesus
56:11
and to try and box him
56:13
into a corner,
56:15
he must actually come
56:16
to acknowledge
56:18
that Christ was right
56:19
and he was wrong.
56:22
And Jesus says to him,
56:23
well,
56:24
now you've said that,
56:26
you go
56:26
and do likewise.
56:31
He has to actually become,
56:33
if you like,
56:34
a Samaritan in practice
56:36
as described
56:37
in what Jesus
56:38
had said to him.
56:40
Now the application
56:41
of that is obviously
56:42
to us individually,
56:45
but it's also important
56:46
to us
56:47
in terms of
56:48
the church's
56:49
ministry of mercy,
56:51
ministry of doing
56:52
practical good
56:53
wherever the Lord
56:54
has set us.
56:56
And it's certainly
56:57
something we need
56:59
constantly to be
57:00
bearing in mind
57:00
and reviewing
57:01
as a congregation.
57:04
That we give ourselves
57:05
to mercy ministries
57:08
to help in every way
57:09
in which we find
57:10
people in need,
57:11
in need of our help.
57:12
God,
57:13
and whatever that help
57:14
will be
57:15
and however we
57:15
can contribute to it
57:17
practically,
57:18
financially,
57:19
prayerfully,
57:20
the Lord is saying to us,
57:21
well,
57:21
you go
57:22
and do likewise.
57:24
Don't leave it to others.
57:26
Don't pass by
57:26
on the other side.
57:27
Don't let us be
57:28
a congregation
57:29
that I know we're not,
57:30
but we have to remind
57:31
ourselves of how
57:32
important it is
57:33
that we don't
57:35
pass by on the other
57:36
side and simply say,
57:37
well,
57:38
it's a large congregation,
57:39
I'll just leave that
57:40
to somebody else
57:40
or somebody else
57:41
is more qualified.
57:44
No,
57:44
we should say,
57:46
well,
57:46
this is what my Lord
57:48
requires of me.
57:51
How can I actually
57:52
help with this?
57:54
How can I contribute
57:56
to meeting the need
57:58
that I see,
57:59
whether it's in my
58:00
congregation
58:01
or in my community,
58:02
wherever it is?
58:06
Mercy ministry
58:07
is part of the church's
58:09
work and witness
58:13
in the world.
58:15
Somebody once
58:15
went to Africa
58:17
as a missionary
58:18
and kept stressing
58:21
theology all the time.
58:23
Of course,
58:23
nothing at all wrong
58:24
with that.
58:25
Theology is a great thing
58:27
and we can't do
58:27
without it.
58:28
But one of the people
58:29
said,
58:31
well,
58:31
you know,
58:32
actually,
58:33
sir,
58:34
our people
58:35
listen with their stomach.
58:37
Our people
58:40
listen
58:40
with their stomachs.
58:43
In other words,
58:44
he was saying to them,
58:45
he was saying to the
58:46
missionary,
58:47
look,
58:48
it's fine to give us
58:49
this fine theological
58:50
teaching
58:51
and all that you're
58:52
setting out
58:53
by way of teaching,
58:54
but the practicalities
58:55
must not be neglected.
58:58
Give our people
58:58
the food.
59:00
Try and actually
59:01
arrange food for them.
59:02
Then they'll listen
59:03
better.
59:04
They listen with
59:05
their stomachs.
59:05
And that's
59:06
practically
59:07
how we have to
59:07
regard the world
59:08
out there.
59:08
The world out there
59:09
is not going to
59:10
listen to you
59:11
and to me
59:11
spouting theology,
59:12
not at least
59:13
for a start.
59:15
But they listen
59:16
to acts of mercy,
59:18
acts of kindness,
59:21
acts where we see
59:22
people in need
59:23
and that whatever
59:24
we open to us,
59:25
we actually then
59:26
seek to alleviate
59:27
that need
59:28
for that person.
59:29
There are many ways,
59:30
of course,
59:31
that we can do that.
59:32
I was just going to mention
59:33
one thing you're going
59:35
to hear about
59:35
more in days to come
59:37
and that is that
59:39
the charity
59:40
called Safe Families UK
59:43
are now established
59:44
in Stornoway.
59:46
Safe Families UK
59:47
do a tremendous work
59:50
throughout the whole
59:50
of the UK.
59:53
We have some
59:54
personal knowledge
59:54
of their work
59:56
in Scotland
59:56
through our son-in-law,
59:58
Andy Murray,
59:58
who is a manager
1:00:00
in the Lothian area
1:00:02
of Safe Families UK.
1:00:04
I'm not mentioning it
1:00:05
for that reason.
1:00:06
I'm mentioning it
1:00:07
because I met
1:00:08
just the other day
1:00:09
with the volunteer manager,
1:00:11
Catherine MacDonald,
1:00:12
who's been appointed
1:00:13
a volunteer manager
1:00:14
here in Stornoway
1:00:16
of Safe Families UK,
1:00:19
the Scottish branch of it.
1:00:20
And what is very obvious
1:00:24
is that
1:00:25
by and large,
1:00:27
people like myself,
1:00:29
and I'm sure
1:00:29
maybe many of yourselves,
1:00:31
are sheltered
1:00:32
in some way
1:00:33
from the plight
1:00:35
of people
1:00:36
who are indeed
1:00:37
in dire straits
1:00:39
financially
1:00:39
or materially
1:00:41
in our community,
1:00:42
who have
1:00:44
and do experience
1:00:46
poverty,
1:00:48
lack of resources,
1:00:49
lack of help,
1:00:51
lack of encouragement,
1:00:55
lack of support
1:00:56
even in a physical way.
1:00:59
And Safe Families
1:00:59
are concerned,
1:01:01
there'll be more publicity
1:01:03
given to this
1:01:04
in these weeks ahead,
1:01:04
I'm sure,
1:01:05
but Safe Families
1:01:06
are concerned
1:01:06
to engage volunteers
1:01:08
to come alongside,
1:01:10
to be trained by them.
1:01:11
It doesn't cost anything.
1:01:13
It doesn't cost
1:01:13
a congregation anything
1:01:14
or an individual anything,
1:01:16
just some time.
1:01:17
And some time
1:01:19
to get alongside
1:01:20
people
1:01:21
who maybe don't see
1:01:22
anybody else
1:01:23
from day to day.
1:01:25
Young single mothers
1:01:26
struggling with children
1:01:27
or people with other
1:01:29
different needs
1:01:31
to them,
1:01:32
but that's the kind
1:01:32
of world we live in.
1:01:33
That's the kind of
1:01:34
community difficulties
1:01:37
that we have.
1:01:39
And I'll just mention
1:01:41
it just now,
1:01:42
but if you're in a position
1:01:44
to be a volunteer
1:01:45
for Safe Families,
1:01:47
I really would commend
1:01:48
that to you.
1:01:50
And please don't think
1:01:51
that this is
1:01:52
in some way
1:01:53
contrary to the preaching
1:01:55
of the gospel
1:01:56
because the passage
1:01:57
we've got before us
1:01:58
lends itself very much
1:02:00
to me asking myself
1:02:02
and you asking yourself,
1:02:04
well, how can I fit into that?
1:02:06
How can I actually help
1:02:07
in my own community
1:02:08
with those people
1:02:10
who are in need
1:02:10
if I don't have access
1:02:11
to them personally,
1:02:12
myself through my own
1:02:13
personal direct intervention?
1:02:16
Can I do it
1:02:16
through the likes
1:02:17
of Safe Families?
1:02:18
The answer to that is yes.
1:02:21
And so let's really regard
1:02:22
that as a great opportunity
1:02:24
as it opens up for us
1:02:25
and as it opens up for us
1:02:27
that we too can go
1:02:29
and do likewise
1:02:31
as Jesus said
1:02:33
to this individual.
1:02:36
And may God bless
1:02:37
his truth to us then
1:02:39
to that end.
1:02:41
We're going to conclude
1:02:42
this evening
1:02:43
by praising God.
1:02:45
Psalm 112.
1:02:48
112 in sing-sams.
1:02:49
That's from page 151.
1:02:53
And we're singing
1:02:54
verses 5 to 10.
1:02:58
A tune is Highland Cathedral.
1:03:01
Good is the man
1:03:02
who gives and freely lends
1:03:03
to his affairs
1:03:05
with justice he attends.
1:03:07
Surely a righteous man
1:03:08
will stand secure.
1:03:09
His memory forever
1:03:10
will endure.
1:03:12
Though bad news comes
1:03:13
he will not be afraid.
1:03:15
His heart is firm.
1:03:16
He trusts the Lord for aid.
1:03:17
He will not be alarmed.
1:03:18
His heart holds fast.
1:03:20
He'll view his force
1:03:21
in triumph at the last.
1:03:22
He freely shares
1:03:24
his riches with the poor.
1:03:26
His righteousness
1:03:27
forever will endure.
1:03:29
And so on.
1:03:30
Due to the end of the psalm,
1:03:31
these four stands.
1:03:32
As good is the man
1:03:33
who gives and freely lends.
1:03:36
Amen.
1:03:37
Good is the man
1:03:43
who gives and freely lends.
1:03:48
To his affairs
1:03:52
with justice
1:03:53
he attends.
1:03:57
Surely a righteous man
1:04:01
will stand secure.
1:04:05
His memory forever will endure.
1:04:12
His memory forever will endure.
1:04:15
Though bad news comes
1:04:18
he will not be proudly.
1:04:24
His heart is firm
1:04:27
He will not be alarmed.
1:04:32
He will not be alarmed.
1:04:37
His heart will fast.
1:04:41
He will be his force
1:04:45
in triumph at the last.
1:04:50
He freely shares
1:04:54
his riches with the poor.
1:04:59
His righteousness
1:05:02
forever will endure.
1:05:08
The Lord himself
1:05:11
makes all his ceremony
1:05:15
He gives the strength
1:05:20
and he pray
1:05:22
and he pray
1:05:22
and he pray
1:05:23
and he
1:05:24
and him
1:05:26
The wicked see
1:05:29
in this world
1:05:31
feel this pain
1:05:35
He'll majesty
1:05:38
thou soon
1:05:39
will waste
1:05:41
the way
1:05:43
The wicked
1:05:46
and their grace
1:05:48
will come
1:05:50
to turn off
1:05:52
They
1:05:53
ever will
1:05:55
enjoy
1:05:56
what they
1:05:58
have
1:05:59
sold
1:06:00
This evening I'll go to the door
1:06:03
to my right
1:06:04
after the benediction.
1:06:06
Now may grace
1:06:07
and mercy
1:06:07
and peace
1:06:08
from God the Father
1:06:09
the Son
1:06:09
and the Holy Spirit
1:06:10
be your portion
1:06:12
now and evermore.
1:06:14
Amen.
1:06:14
Amen.
1:06:14
Amen.
1:06:14
Amen.
1:06:20
pers hal