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The Gathered Church (7) - Gathered for Travel · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship now. We're singing firstly today in Psalm 96.
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Psalm 96, that's in the Scottish Psalter, page 358.
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Sing to the tune of St. Magnus, verses 1 to 6.
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Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing all the earth to God. To God sing. Bless His name.
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Show still His saving health abroad. Among the heathen nations His glory do declare.
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And unto all the people show His works that wondrous are.
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If you're able to stand, we'll stand to sing these verses, Psalm 96.
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Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing all the earth to God.
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To God sing. Bless His name.
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Sing all the earth to God.
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Sing all the earth to God.
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Sing all the earth to God.
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Sing all the earth to God.
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Among the heathen nations His glory do declare.
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And unto all the people show His works that wondrous are.
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For Christ the Lord.
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For Christ the Lord, not greatly be.
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Is to be magnified.
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Yea, worthy to be feared.
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Is he above all those beside.
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For all those beside.
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For all the gods are idols found,
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Which blinded nations fear.
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A Seventh the land of the Hajnnej.
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100%.
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A se glass may be imantizized.
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The way of your grave, the Mary masters fear.
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With
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يرon most.
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The Lord by you, the heavens be interweb.
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With honour is the Lord is face, and majesty divine.
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Strength is within his holy place, and there the beauty shines.
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Let's call upon the Lord now in prayer briefly.
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Our gracious God, we give thanks today that we are gathered here in your name.
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That we do so under your own promise that you will be with your people as they gather.
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And we thank you that we come together of all ages and all backgrounds,
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and that we are welcome in your presence.
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We give thanks, Lord, for the provision you have made for us to enable us to come
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through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again from the dead,
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and is today seated at the right hand of glory on high.
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And we thank you that he reigns over us, and that we expect him to come back to this world
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at the day that you have appointed.
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We pray, Lord, today that we may be still in your presence,
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that we may know your blessing as we come together.
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Bless the children today, we pray.
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Bless them in all their activities, not only today, but as we anticipate that throughout this week.
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Lord, we thank you for all our children, for our young families belonging to the congregation.
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For we give thanks to you, O Lord, for the way in which we are so encouraged and so often given to rejoice
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in seeing so many young lives coming to be taught the things of God.
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Bless them, we pray today, and all who teach them and all who belong to them as parents and relatives.
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Be with us in all our homes.
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Grant us your blessing throughout this day.
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For Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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Now, I know you're going to be looking at Gideon again today in Sunday School Lessons,
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and today you're looking at Gideon's victory, or Gideon victorious.
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And in Judges chapter 7, I'm not sure if you're going to be looking at that chapter or not,
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but Judges chapter 7 records a great victory that Gideon achieved by God's help over the Midianites.
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And there's something quite amazing in the chapter as you read through it.
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And it's this, that Gideon was told by God that he had too many people with him,
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and he had to reduce that number until eventually he just had 300 out of 24,000 men that he began with.
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Now, that's very strange because when you read in verse 12 there,
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the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley like locusts in abundance,
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and their camels were without number as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.
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Why would God tell Gideon, you've got too many people,
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when there were thousands and thousands and thousands of the Midianites and the Amalekites also that they were going to fight against?
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Well, the reason was that Gideon was going to manage victory with God's help with the 300,
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and that was going to give glory to God.
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It was going to show Gideon that the power, the victory, belonged to God, not to themselves.
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It was God helping them, enabling them, that gave them that victory.
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And it was showing them that the power that gives us victory belongs to God alone,
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and obviously from that they were being taught to depend on God and not on themselves,
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not on anything that they had by way of their own gifts.
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And so I want you today, young folks, to pray for God's power in your lives.
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We all need God's power, and whatever age we are, we need God's power working in our lives today.
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And what that means is that we need to pray for God's help and for God's power to work in our lives.
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It doesn't matter what we're facing.
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It doesn't matter how much bigger that may seem than ourselves.
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It's important that we depend on God to give us the ability.
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The second thing I want you to remember is that when we are given help by God, we need immediately to thank Him.
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It's very interesting here in this chapter that you'll find in verse 15 that after Gideon,
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you can look at the incident later yourselves, but he went down to the camp of the Amalekites.
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He was told a dream had taken place.
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One of these men of the Amalekites had had a dream, and another one was telling the story, the meaning of the dream.
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And it was going to be a victory for Gideon and for his people.
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And as soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped.
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Isn't that important?
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As soon as he heard what that dream meant and realized that it meant victory for them, he worshipped the Lord.
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And for us too, that's important.
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We're here today to worship God, and you young lives, you children as well are part of that.
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And we're here to give thanks to God as well as to pray to God for His help.
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So remember, pray for His power in your life.
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And always give Him thanks.
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Whatever He gives you at any time, give Him the thanks.
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Give Him the glory just as Gideon did.
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Well, let's say the Lord's prayer again together.
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Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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We're going to sing some more verses now, this time in Psalm 119.
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In the same Psalms, page 159, verses 33 to 40.
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And the tune is Finart.
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Teach me to follow your decrees, then I will keep them to the end.
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Give insight, and I'll keep your law with all my heart to it attend.
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That section of Psalm 119.
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That section of Psalm 119.
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To God's praise.
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Teach me to follow your decrees, then I will keep them to the end.
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With this sight of that dear pure law with all my heart to it attend.
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We feed me in your commandment's path.
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For then, O Lord, delight thy mind.
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They provide my heart to the Lord's new laws.
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Come, selfish King, descend my life.
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Oh, God, my heart to the Lord's new laws.
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Oh, God, my heart to the Lord's new laws.
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Come, selfish King, descend my heart to the Lord's new laws.
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Give life according to your word.
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To lead your servant, keep your place.
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So that you may be here, O Lord's new laws.
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Be good from me, the shame I get.
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Your laws accept and unrighteousness.
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O how I long for your redeeming.
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Please bear me in your righteousness.
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A reading of God's word today is from the book of Numbers.
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The book of Numbers.
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And we're reading in chapter 10.
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We'll begin reading at verse 11.
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So Numbers chapter 10 at verse 11.
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In the second year and the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony.
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And the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai.
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And the clouds settled down in the wilderness of Paran.
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They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses.
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The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies.
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And over their company was Nashon, the son of Amminadab.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel, the son of Zuar.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab, the son of Helon.
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And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out.
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And the standard of the camp of Rehuban set out by their companies.
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And over their company was Elisur, the son of Shedur.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelamiel, the son of Zerushaddai.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Elisaph, the son of Deuel.
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Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things.
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And the tabernacle was set up before their arrival.
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And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies.
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And over their company was Elisamah, the son of Ammihud.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel, the son of Pedasur.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abaddon, the son of Gedeoni.
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Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies.
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And over their company was Ahiezer, the son of Amishaddai.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel, the son of Ochran.
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And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira, the son of Inan.
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This was the order of the march of the people of Israel by their companies when they set out.
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And Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law,
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We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, I will give it to you.
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Come with us. We will do good to you.
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For the Lord has promised good to Israel.
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But he said to him, I will not go.
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I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.
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And he said, Please do not leave us.
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For you know where we would camp in the wilderness.
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And you will serve as eyes for us.
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And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.
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So they set out from the mount of the Lord for three days' journey.
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And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for three days' journey to seek out a resting place for them.
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And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day whenever they set out from the camp.
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And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered.
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And let those who hate you flee before you.
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And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, to the ten thousands of Israel.
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Amen. May God bless to us reading that portion of his word.
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Let's join together again in prayer.
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Lord, our God, these words that we have read cause us to reflect upon our need for your guidance.
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And the need for order in the way that we set about our lives.
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And we give thanks that you are the God of order and of guidance.
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That you are the one who gives counsel to your people, even as they travel through on their journey through this world.
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Lord, we bless you that like Moses, we too can say that you have given us an account of what the journey will involve and where we are going to as we come to trust in you and look forward to that eternity you promised to your people.
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We thank you today, Lord, that we gather as a joint company of people whose will it is that we should know you and that you should reveal yourself again to us.
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So, Lord, bless us.
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So, Lord, bless to us your word, we pray.
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And enable us as we look upon this passage together that we will do so conscious of our need to truly belong to the company of your believing people.
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To belong to those who are traveling in their own way by faith and relying upon the Lord himself and not on anything with which you may have endowed us.
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So, bless us, we pray, as a congregation today.
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Oh, Lord, we thank you for all the encouragement you give us.
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We thank you for the many activities that we already heard of and read through as we anticipate in this coming week.
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The various types of meetings and of worship services that we engage in as a people.
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And we thank you, Lord, that you enable us to have the resources that we have for these activities and events.
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And we thank you for them.
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We thank you, Lord, that you continue to provide for us against our need.
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We bless you that your promise is that you will at all times look to the need of your people.
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And we pray for the confidence that your servant Paul had long ago when he could say of himself that he was confident that God would supply all the need of the Philippian church according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.
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So, help us, we pray, today as we worship you.
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And help us by your Holy Spirit, Lord, to lay to heart the things that you teach us in your word.
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Bless us, we pray, as a congregation continue to bestow upon us the blessings of the gospel, the blessings of your Holy Spirit,
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so that we may progress spiritually and morally and grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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O Lord, our God, we today give thanks that the promise you give to your church in all ages is that you will never depart from them,
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that you will never forsake them, even in the difficulties of life.
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Yet we acknowledge, Lord, that we, by our own sin, cause the times that you face may be hidden from us.
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And we will not have the comfort that we ought to have in our hearts.
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We know that it is our sin that causes such times in our lives.
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Lord, we ask that whenever we are conscious of being at a distance from you,
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whenever we are conscious that in our hearts we have backslidden,
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that we have become cold, that our love is not as it once was and should be.
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Lord, help us, we pray, to return to you.
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Enable us to heed your voice and your appeal to us in the word.
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And Lord, help us today, if that be our condition,
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that we may be drawn by your Holy Spirit again,
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that we may come to appreciate anew the warmth and the benefit of fellowship with you.
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Bless any today, we pray, who are still unsaved,
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and who have not come to rest upon the Lord Jesus Christ for time and for eternity.
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Bless them, we pray, under your word today.
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Be near to them, Lord, to open their hearts and give them the mind and the wherewithal to embrace you
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as you offer yourself in your word to us.
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And we pray that we may know of many during our own days here and elsewhere coming to know the Lord.
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Bless, we pray again, those who have particular needs in our midst today.
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Again, we remember those who mourn the passing of loved ones.
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We know in this past week, O Lord, again, we've had two funerals, two families involved in times of sorrow and loss.
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We pray for them and we pray that you would bless them even in the times that they find most acutely the pain of departure from loved ones.
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Gracious one, we ask that you would be pleased to bestow your comfort upon them.
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And remember all others who reflect upon times gone by and people who are no longer with them in this world.
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O Lord, in all our bereavements and our sorrows, be our comforter, we pray.
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Be our God to guide us and to counsel us that we may be able to say with the psalmist long ago that you hold us by your right hand and that you guide us with your counsel.
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And afterwards that you will receive us to your glory.
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Bless the world in which we live in these troublous days, O Lord.
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We pray especially for places where there is violence and war, terror, famine, neglect.
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Be pleased we pray in all these places in the world to remember them who suffer adversity at this time.
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Be with the situation in the Middle East.
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Lord, we ask that through your blessing, even though it may seem to us hardly possible, bring about, we pray, a lasting peace between the warring peoples.
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Remember the situation also in Ukraine.
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Again, we continue to pray for your people there.
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We ask, O Lord, that you would bring deliverance from the oppression and from the violence that is carried out against your people there.
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Lord, we ask that you would bless your church there.
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Bless those who continue faithful to you.
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Be pleased in all other places of the world, Lord, to create peace where there is strife and war.
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Make us thankful that we have such a level of peace and security in our own circumstances.
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But bless us, we pray, as a nation, as a people.
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For we know, Lord, that there is much evidence every day we live of a departure from you and from your ways and from your values, from your commands.
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Turn us, we pray, to yourself as a people.
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And to that end, bless those who are ruling over us.
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And grant them, Lord, that they may trust in you, that they may look to you and realize their accountability to you.
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And that they may come by your grace to rule wisely and to exercise wisdom and judgment.
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Hear us now, we pray, and continue with us here, pardoning all our sin, washing us freely, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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Let's sing once again before we turn to Numbers chapter 10.
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We're singing this time Psalm 84.
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84, that's on page 112.
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Sing to Tune Ottawa, verses 1 to 7.
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How delightful are your dwellings, O Almighty Lord, to me!
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For your courts my soul is yearning, in your house I long to be.
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Heart and flesh cry out aloud, for the true and living God.
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And verse 5 to 7, which speaks about the journey, as we'll see in Numbers.
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We're thinking today of God's people, ourselves being gathered together for travel, on a journey on into eternity.
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Blessed are those whose strength is in you, those who have a pilgrim's mind.
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Pools from autumn rains refresh them, springs and bakers veil they find.
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Strength increasing, Zionward, they go on their way to God.
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So we'll sing these verses, Psalm 84, to God's praise.
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Amen.
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Ro
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Your force my soul is bearing, in your hearts I long to thee.
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I can pledge thy love for the true and living love.
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Even sorrows find their dwellings, and thus follow hills and airs.
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Near here, altar, Lord Almighty, where the offspring may have rest.
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Blessed are those who strengthens in you, those who have a wilderness mind.
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Who strong autumn waves refresh their strings and make us live behind.
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Strength and peace inside of the world, they go on their way to God.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Please turn with me now to Numbers chapter 10.
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And today we're looking at verses 29 to 32.
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And Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are setting
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out for the place of which the Lord said, I will give it to you.
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Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.
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But he said to him, I will not go.
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I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.
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And he said, please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness,
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and you will serve as eyes for us.
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And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same we will do to you.
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Well, as we continue to look at the theme of the gathered church, gathered for various reasons,
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gathered in different circumstances, today we're looking at the gathered church in terms
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of the church on a journey or the church traveling onwards.
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And we'll see something of what comes across in this part of the book of Numbers, these verses
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we've read especially.
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Because Numbers really is about this journey of the people of Israel on towards the promised
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land of Canaan, as the Lord had promised to them, and as Moses here said to Chobab.
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In fact, that's in the Hebrew text, which is what the Old Testament was written in.
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This book is not called Numbers.
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That came about by it being translated firstly into Greek and then all the other various languages
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into which it was translated.
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But the book that we know is the book of Numbers.
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The title in the Hebrew text is In the Wilderness.
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In the Wilderness.
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Because it's talking, telling about this journey of the people in the wilderness, through the
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wilderness, on towards the land that God had promised them.
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God had said to them through Moses in Exodus chapter 8 that he had heard their groanings.
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He was coming out.
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He had come down to rescue them out of the hand of the Egyptians, to take them out of that
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land, and to take them into a land that flows with milk and honey.
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Where God takes us out of, He also takes us into.
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He doesn't take us out of our state of being lost, our deadness and sin.
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He doesn't take us out of that without taking us into its wonderful replacement in the salvation
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that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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We are either in one or the other today.
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And the Lord is teaching us here the importance of traveling together with the mind of pilgrims
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on towards the land that God has promised His people.
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Now, not all the people of Israel would actually enter the land of Canaan.
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Sadly, many, many of them died in the wilderness.
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And when you go to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Hebrews actually tells us that
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the reason so many of them fell in the wilderness was due to their unbelief.
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Their unbelief, their lack of faith.
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The word that God sent to them was not actually received by them in faith.
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And because of unbelief, they did not enter into the land of Canaan.
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In other words, it's the same that you find with the church throughout all the generations,
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throughout all the time of history and on to the end of the world.
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There will always be a mixed multitude.
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There will always be people who have received the word of the Lord believingly,
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and therefore are in a relationship with himself where they are saved,
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where they are secure in Christ.
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And there are others who have not come to place their trust in the Lord,
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who are traveling with those who believe, with those who come to trust,
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whose place in the church is valued,
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but who have not yet come to place their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
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and receive Him as their Savior.
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So we remember that that's the case today as we look at this passage,
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that the way we're traveling together,
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it's important for us to remember that traveling together in that sense
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doesn't guarantee automatically that we will enter into heaven.
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We need to have Jesus for ourselves.
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We need to receive Jesus as He's offered to us in the gospel.
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We need to have Him as our King and as our Lord.
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So let's look at these verses as we see them setting out,
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the traveling together of the people.
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They set out from the mount of the Lord for three days' journey.
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Now Moses gives Hobab, first of all, an explanation
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before he gives them the invitation to actually come to travel with them.
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He gave them, first of all, the explanation of their journey,
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where they were going to, where they were journeying on to.
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And then having given them that explanation,
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he gave them this invitation,
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come with us and we will do good to you.
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And then after the explanation and the invitation,
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when Hobab refused and preferred to go back to his own people,
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he then exhorted him,
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please come with us.
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And he explained to him,
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any good that the Lord will do,
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all the good the Lord will do to us,
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we will also do to you.
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So you have these three things,
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this explanation,
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this invitation,
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and this exhortation,
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all built into this short passage
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describing the travels that Moses anticipated
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towards the promised land.
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So it's important that he began with,
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we note that he began with this explanation of the journey.
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We are traveling,
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we are setting out for the place of which the Lord said,
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I will give it to you.
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He began with that statement.
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That's really, in a sense,
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what we do with the gospel as well.
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We don't just come and look at the invitations
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without something of what lies behind it,
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without something of the statements
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of the truth of God,
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as he gives it to us,
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on which the invitation is built.
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We don't just appeal to people
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in preaching the gospel
33:02
so that all you have is just a set of appeals
33:05
or maybe some nice stories or illustrations,
33:08
good though these are,
33:09
and important though the appeal is.
33:11
Every time you come in the Bible
33:13
to God's appeal,
33:15
to come to himself,
33:16
to follow him,
33:17
to trust in him,
33:18
and so on,
33:19
you always come to find
33:20
certain truths along with that,
33:23
certain truths on which the invitation
33:25
and the appeal is based.
33:27
And it's the same here.
33:28
In summary,
33:29
you find Moses here saying,
33:30
we are traveling to this place
33:32
of which the Lord said,
33:34
I will give it to you.
33:35
He's saying,
33:36
here is a place
33:37
the Lord has actually assured us
33:39
that he's giving us this place,
33:41
that he's made it ours,
33:42
and we're on the way to it.
33:44
So on the basis of that truth,
33:45
he's then inviting him to come and join them.
33:49
And you notice,
33:51
he is saying,
33:52
we're traveling to the place
33:53
of which the Lord said,
33:56
I will give it to you,
33:58
or I'm giving it to you.
34:00
It's really a matter of the Lord's gift to them,
34:08
so that the main feature in the passage really,
34:11
and through the whole of this book of Numbers,
34:13
though it's describing the journey of the people of Israel,
34:16
the main feature of it is the Lord's presence with them,
34:19
the Lord's guidance,
34:20
the Lord being their God as he goes before them,
34:24
as represented here by the ark being with them,
34:27
being in their midst,
34:28
and the cloud that's over them by day,
34:31
and all that's associated with that,
34:33
the Lord is with them,
34:34
the Lord is guiding them,
34:35
the Lord is in their midst,
34:36
and it's that Lord who has given them this land
34:39
that they're traveling towards.
34:43
You see, salvation,
34:45
the journey of salvation,
34:46
the journey through this world
34:48
onto the promised land of Canaan,
34:51
we didn't devise that journey.
34:53
It's not something that we invent.
34:54
It's not something that's arisen out of our own idea.
34:57
It's not something that's just grown in people's minds
35:00
and gradually built up momentum over the years
35:03
until we're at the stage that we're at today.
35:05
This is actually the same for us.
35:07
Salvation is God's deliverance from sin
35:11
and setting us on a journey that terminates in heaven,
35:14
and it's the Lord's doing.
35:15
It's the Lord's doing.
35:16
From beginning to end.
35:19
You know, we're so used, aren't we,
35:21
in the world in which we live,
35:25
the circumstances,
35:26
the situation we have in the world.
35:28
We're often told
35:29
that we don't really have a monopoly of the truth as Christians,
35:35
that we need to actually listen
35:37
and give due place to other faiths so-called,
35:41
that we need to combine together
35:43
all the accumulated wisdom of pagan writers,
35:47
of other faiths, of other religions,
35:49
and that is as you put them all together in a multi-faith,
35:53
including even the likes of secularists or scientific discoveries,
35:57
that then you're in a position to ask,
35:59
well, where can I get the truth amongst all of that?
36:02
Is it really as I put all of that together
36:04
that I come to some idea or semblance of where the truth lies?
36:08
No, God is saying,
36:08
I have given you my truth.
36:11
I have given you my word.
36:12
I have given you this revelation of myself.
36:15
I have given you this explanation of where the world came from,
36:19
who created it,
36:20
what is it like,
36:21
why is it in a state it's in?
36:23
I have given you this record of my Son coming into the world,
36:27
of His death on the cross,
36:28
of His resurrection from the dead,
36:30
of His ascension to glory,
36:32
of His return on the last day.
36:34
You have all of that.
36:34
That's the truth.
36:38
We're not traveling together without knowing where we're going.
36:43
We're not traveling on a journey,
36:45
on a path,
36:46
on a road that we've devised for ourselves.
36:50
We're not actually traveling
36:51
in what's just an accumulation of different ideas
36:55
that began with different philosophies of human beings.
37:01
It's exactly as Moses put it here.
37:02
We are on this journey.
37:05
We're setting out for the place of which the Lord said,
37:09
I will give it to you.
37:12
And you see,
37:12
there's a definite terminus as well,
37:14
isn't there,
37:15
for these people.
37:16
And Moses is reminding Hobab here,
37:18
this is where they're going to.
37:19
He's not just saying,
37:20
we're on a journey.
37:21
I'm not sure where it's going to end.
37:24
He's saying,
37:24
we are on this journey to this place
37:27
of which the Lord said,
37:29
I'm giving it to you.
37:30
There's a definite terminus in view.
37:33
And so you don't go along with current ideas,
37:35
really,
37:36
that says that you can't really be certain
37:38
about what the truth is
37:40
or can't really be certain
37:41
about things in the future.
37:44
Life is evolving.
37:46
We are evolving with it
37:48
as we go on in our human experience.
37:53
Uncertainties,
37:53
but life evolves as you go on.
37:56
So you can't really be sure
37:58
where it's going to terminate at all.
38:00
No,
38:01
that's not what God is saying.
38:03
You're on a journey to eternity.
38:07
And when you get to eternity,
38:08
there's only two possibilities,
38:11
two realities,
38:13
two certainties.
38:15
The eternity of the lost
38:16
or the eternity of the saved.
38:17
And the eternity of the saved
38:20
is this place
38:21
that the Lord has promised to His people
38:25
and Christ has prepared for them
38:27
as He taught His disciples
38:30
in the Gospel of John in chapter 14,
38:32
that wonderful chapter
38:33
that we so often read,
38:35
especially at times of loss,
38:37
of bereavement,
38:38
of sorrow.
38:39
Don't let your hearts be troubled.
38:41
I'm going to prepare a place for you.
38:47
If that were not the case,
38:48
would I have told you so?
38:51
It's the same as Moses here
38:53
saying to Hobab,
38:54
we are traveling.
38:56
We're setting out for this place
38:58
of which the Lord said,
38:59
I'm giving it to you.
39:02
You remember in Hebrews,
39:04
chapter 11,
39:05
that great list
39:06
of people who lived by faith.
39:10
And in the middle of that,
39:12
we have a statement
39:12
that fits in with the point
39:13
we've just made
39:15
that life's journey,
39:17
while it is full of uncertainties
39:19
in terms of what will happen to us
39:20
on the journey,
39:21
that's in God's hands,
39:23
but we know where the journey ends
39:24
and we know what the journey is about.
39:27
Here in the middle of this,
39:28
chapter 11 of Hebrews,
39:30
at verse 13,
39:31
you find a little summary
39:33
and then it moves on
39:35
to a list of further names.
39:37
And the summary goes like this.
39:38
These all died in faith,
39:41
not having received
39:42
the things promised,
39:44
but having seen them
39:45
and greeted them from afar,
39:47
having acknowledged
39:47
that they were strangers
39:49
and exiles on the earth.
39:51
For people who speak thus
39:53
make it clear
39:54
that they are seeking
39:55
a homeland.
39:58
And if they had been thinking
39:59
of that land
40:00
from which they had gone out,
40:01
they would have had opportunity
40:03
to return.
40:04
But as it is,
40:06
they desire
40:07
a better country,
40:09
that is,
40:10
a heavenly one.
40:11
Therefore,
40:12
God is not ashamed
40:13
to be called
40:14
their God.
40:16
Why?
40:17
For He has prepared
40:18
for them
40:19
a city.
40:21
It's been prepared.
40:23
It's ready.
40:25
Partly occupied already
40:27
by those who have gone
40:29
before us.
40:30
But Moses is saying,
40:33
we are traveling
40:34
to this place.
40:37
That's the reality
40:38
of the gospel.
40:39
That's what the gospel
40:40
is setting out
40:41
for you and for me today.
40:43
That God has prepared
40:45
an inheritance,
40:48
an eternal dwelling place
40:49
for His people.
40:50
And so,
40:53
the invitation
40:53
is based on that.
40:55
Come with us
40:56
and we will do
40:58
good to you.
41:00
So,
41:00
that's the second thing.
41:01
The explanation
41:02
is followed
41:02
by this invitation.
41:04
Come with us.
41:06
Following the explanation,
41:07
you have this invitation.
41:09
Hobab's here
41:09
with them
41:10
at Mount Sinai.
41:11
Hobab,
41:12
or Rauel,
41:13
as he's also called,
41:14
Moses'
41:15
father-in-law.
41:16
He wasn't a Hebrew.
41:18
He belonged to
41:19
the place
41:20
that he mentions himself
41:21
to his father's house,
41:23
his kindred,
41:23
the Midianite.
41:24
And he knew
41:25
the wilderness
41:26
very well,
41:27
as we'll see.
41:28
But he is
41:29
invited here
41:31
to stay with them,
41:32
to join with them,
41:33
to travel with them now.
41:35
And that's really
41:36
exactly what we do
41:37
in the gospel.
41:40
That's exactly
41:41
how we set about
41:42
not just the preaching
41:43
of the gospel,
41:44
but our evangelism,
41:46
which presents
41:47
the gospel
41:48
to the world.
41:49
It doesn't just say
41:51
statement-wise,
41:52
we are traveling
41:53
as Christians,
41:54
we're traveling
41:55
to a certain place,
41:57
a terminus
41:58
that God has prepared
41:59
for us.
41:59
We also say,
42:00
will you come with us?
42:01
Please join us.
42:03
Come with us
42:04
and we will do good
42:05
to you
42:06
out of whatever good
42:07
the Lord
42:08
will do to us.
42:12
And that's the promise.
42:14
We will
42:15
do good to you.
42:17
We will do good
42:20
to you
42:20
for the Lord
42:21
has promised good
42:22
to Israel.
42:24
In other words,
42:26
despite what you often
42:27
hear to be the case
42:29
that our interest
42:30
really in
42:31
being the church
42:33
together,
42:33
that our interest
42:34
is just self-interest,
42:35
that we're not really
42:36
interested in people
42:38
at all to an extent.
42:39
All we're interested
42:39
in is preserving
42:40
what we have,
42:42
preserving the church,
42:43
preserving our own
42:43
interests in it.
42:44
that's not what
42:46
we're saying.
42:47
This is so important
42:48
that people actually
42:50
see that our interest
42:51
in them,
42:53
that our interest
42:53
in them as people
42:54
we invite to join
42:55
with us on the journey
42:56
is not self-interest,
42:58
that it's genuine.
43:00
It's something that
43:01
has the best
43:02
motives in it.
43:04
That, of course,
43:05
means that our own
43:06
conduct,
43:07
our own behavior,
43:08
how people see us
43:09
is important.
43:10
because sadly,
43:12
some of the time,
43:14
we don't accompany
43:15
the invitation
43:16
by the kind
43:17
of conduct
43:19
that would really
43:20
draw people
43:21
to study
43:22
and to listen
43:22
to the statements
43:24
we make about
43:25
our traveling
43:25
on to the place
43:26
that God
43:26
has provided for us.
43:31
But we have
43:32
the best motives.
43:34
We have the best
43:35
intentions
43:36
for people to come
43:37
and become travelers
43:39
with us
43:40
on the way
43:41
to eternity.
43:44
Christianity
43:44
has always had
43:46
its share
43:47
of hypocrites,
43:50
charlatans,
43:51
people who are
43:52
not genuine,
43:54
people who have
43:55
simply attached
43:56
themselves
43:56
for whatever reason
43:57
to the church
43:59
visibly.
44:00
But we're concerned
44:01
with genuine
44:02
love,
44:04
genuine
44:04
intentions,
44:06
genuine motives,
44:07
genuine compassion,
44:09
genuine concern.
44:10
As we come to
44:11
say to people
44:12
through reaching
44:14
out with the gospel,
44:15
come and join us.
44:17
Come with us
44:17
because it's good
44:18
that we have
44:19
promised by the Lord.
44:21
Here is one of
44:21
the definite things
44:22
you can say to people
44:23
as you pray
44:25
that God will
44:26
bless them
44:26
and bless His word
44:27
to them.
44:28
We have to say
44:29
to them,
44:30
the Lord has promised
44:31
good to Israel.
44:32
We don't have
44:33
any doubts
44:34
about that.
44:35
Even if people
44:35
find it difficult
44:36
to understand,
44:37
this is the reality
44:38
of it,
44:39
that God for us
44:40
today has promised
44:41
good as we travel
44:43
on together,
44:44
as He gathers us
44:45
together,
44:46
especially as we
44:46
come to place
44:47
our trust in Him.
44:48
It is good,
44:49
good, good
44:50
that the Lord
44:51
has promised.
44:53
As the psalmist
44:53
put it,
44:54
how great
44:54
is the goodness
44:56
which you keep
44:58
in store
44:59
for them
45:00
that fear you,
45:02
for those
45:02
who honor you,
45:04
for those
45:04
who trust in you.
45:05
you see,
45:07
for you
45:07
as a Christian
45:08
today,
45:09
and for us
45:10
together,
45:11
as we join
45:12
together here,
45:13
is God's
45:14
assurance to us.
45:16
He isn't just
45:17
inviting us
45:18
to come
45:19
and meaningfully
45:20
be part of
45:21
His traveling
45:22
people,
45:23
and inviting us
45:24
to place
45:25
our trust in Him,
45:26
our confidence
45:27
in Him,
45:27
to believe in Him,
45:28
to receive Him,
45:29
all of what's
45:30
included in that.
45:30
God,
45:32
but He's
45:32
saying,
45:33
everything that's
45:34
going before you
45:35
as a Christian
45:36
is good.
45:40
Everything.
45:42
The goodness
45:42
of God,
45:44
even at the
45:44
most difficult
45:45
of times,
45:46
even those
45:47
incidents where
45:48
we're hurt,
45:50
where the
45:50
providence of
45:51
God is
45:51
challenging,
45:53
where we
45:53
would prefer
45:54
it to be
45:54
some other
45:55
way,
45:57
we would
45:57
prefer that
45:58
the way we're
45:59
traveling on
46:00
is just too
46:01
hard,
46:02
we'd prefer
46:02
it to be
46:03
easier.
46:04
Why does it
46:04
have to be
46:05
this hard?
46:06
Why does it
46:06
have to hurt
46:07
so badly?
46:09
Why can't it
46:10
just be a
46:11
little bit
46:11
easier,
46:12
a little bit
46:13
less challenging?
46:15
Well,
46:16
because the
46:17
Lord is
46:18
assuring us
46:19
that He
46:20
knows what
46:20
He's doing.
46:22
And He
46:22
knows what
46:23
He's doing
46:23
because He's
46:24
the good
46:24
God.
46:25
He's good
46:26
and He
46:26
does good.
46:28
Millions of
46:29
people today
46:29
are thanking
46:30
God.
46:32
That the
46:32
troubles that
46:33
came their
46:33
way in the
46:34
providence and
46:35
the appointment
46:35
of God
46:36
were a
46:37
framework or
46:38
a means by
46:39
the blessing
46:39
of God
46:40
out of which
46:41
so much
46:41
good came
46:42
flowing into
46:44
their lives.
46:46
And so He's
46:47
assuring us
46:47
today, as the
46:49
Lord has
46:49
promised good,
46:50
He's assuring
46:51
us that when
46:52
we have our
46:53
place along
46:54
with His
46:54
people,
46:56
then we
46:58
will do good
46:58
to each
46:59
other out
47:00
of the
47:00
good that
47:02
the Lord
47:03
has done
47:05
and is
47:05
doing to
47:06
us.
47:07
In other
47:07
words,
47:07
Moses is
47:08
saying,
47:09
Hobab,
47:09
you will
47:10
share in
47:11
the goodness
47:11
of God
47:12
to us
47:12
if you
47:14
come and
47:15
travel with
47:16
us.
47:17
Genuinely,
47:18
this will be
47:19
your experience.
47:22
The
47:22
explanation
47:23
invitation
47:25
is based
47:26
upon that.
47:28
But let me
47:28
just pause
47:29
and pose
47:30
the question
47:31
today.
47:32
We're all
47:32
here together
47:33
as the
47:33
gathered
47:34
church at
47:35
worship.
47:36
We're all
47:36
here together
47:37
as people
47:37
who are
47:38
traveling on
47:38
through time
47:40
on into
47:41
eternity.
47:42
We all have
47:42
different
47:43
experiences in
47:44
that journey,
47:45
but we're in
47:45
it together.
47:47
Here is the
47:48
important question
47:49
though.
47:50
What is your
47:51
relationship with
47:52
the Lord as
47:53
we travel on
47:54
together as
47:55
a people?
47:57
Is it
47:57
indeed your
47:58
expectation
47:59
that the
48:01
Lord will
48:01
continue to
48:03
do you
48:03
good?
48:04
Is it
48:05
goodness that's
48:06
waiting for
48:06
you when
48:07
your life is
48:08
over in
48:09
this world?
48:11
Will the
48:11
goodness of
48:12
God then be
48:13
a goodness
48:14
that you will
48:14
enjoy for
48:15
all eternity
48:16
because that's
48:16
what heaven
48:17
is about?
48:19
Enjoying the
48:19
goodness of
48:20
God.
48:22
Or are you
48:22
still not
48:23
saved?
48:29
In a
48:29
relationship
48:30
with God
48:31
that assures
48:32
you of the
48:34
place you
48:34
are going
48:35
to and
48:36
that it's
48:37
yours in
48:38
Christ,
48:40
please don't
48:41
journey along
48:43
with God's
48:44
people and
48:45
miss out
48:45
on the
48:47
core issue,
48:48
the eternal
48:49
life.
48:50
life.
48:51
And if
48:51
you're here
48:52
today and
48:52
not saved,
48:55
surely this
48:56
is giving you
48:56
pause for
48:57
thought,
48:58
that you're
48:59
traveling in
49:00
the company
49:00
of people
49:02
who know
49:02
the promise
49:03
of God,
49:05
the promise
49:05
that you
49:05
know yourself
49:06
in the
49:06
gospel.
49:08
And we
49:09
say to you
49:09
today,
49:10
you come
49:11
with us
49:12
spiritually,
49:12
you come
49:14
with us
49:15
intentionally,
49:16
you come
49:17
with us
49:17
believingly and
49:19
trustingly in
49:20
the Lord,
49:21
and goodness
49:22
will be the
49:22
result.
49:24
God's goodness
49:24
will be shared
49:25
as we travel
49:27
together.
49:29
And thirdly,
49:29
there's an
49:29
exhortation that
49:30
follows on the
49:32
invitation and
49:32
the previous
49:33
explanation.
49:34
because Hobab
49:36
said,
49:37
I will not
49:37
go,
49:38
I will
49:39
depart to
49:39
my own
49:40
land and
49:41
to my
49:42
kindred.
49:43
And then
49:43
Moses said,
49:44
as he
49:45
exhorted him,
49:45
please do
49:46
not leave
49:47
us,
49:47
for you know
49:48
where we
49:48
should camp
49:49
in the
49:49
wilderness,
49:50
and you
49:50
will serve
49:51
as eyes
49:51
for us.
49:53
And if you
49:53
do go with
49:54
us,
49:54
whatever good
49:54
the Lord
49:55
will do
49:55
to us,
49:56
the same
49:57
we will
49:57
do to
49:58
you.
49:59
In other
50:02
words,
50:02
Moses is
50:03
pleading with
50:03
him,
50:04
please don't
50:05
go back,
50:06
please stay
50:06
with us,
50:07
because you
50:08
are gifted
50:09
in a particular
50:10
way to
50:11
help us on
50:12
our journey
50:13
through the
50:13
wilderness.
50:14
You will
50:15
be eyes
50:15
for us,
50:16
you know
50:16
the wilderness,
50:18
you're
50:18
experienced in
50:19
the wilderness,
50:19
you know
50:20
the place as
50:21
we seek a
50:22
resting place
50:23
for us,
50:24
you know
50:24
where we
50:25
should stop,
50:25
where we
50:26
should go,
50:26
where we
50:26
should avoid,
50:28
you will
50:29
be as eyes
50:29
to us.
50:31
In other
50:32
words,
50:33
Moses knows
50:34
the gift
50:35
that Hobab
50:36
has.
50:38
And that's
50:38
an important
50:39
feature of
50:39
the appeal
50:40
the Lord
50:41
sets out
50:41
in the
50:42
gospel,
50:43
that he
50:43
knows that
50:44
each one
50:44
of us
50:44
is gifted
50:45
in a
50:46
particular
50:46
way,
50:47
in such
50:48
a way
50:48
that would
50:48
actually
50:49
add that
50:50
gift,
50:50
whatever it
50:50
is,
50:51
to the
50:51
overall
50:52
equipment
50:53
of the
50:53
church
50:54
as it
50:54
travels
50:55
on
50:55
through
50:56
time.
50:58
And
50:58
whatever
50:58
gift you
50:59
have
50:59
today may
50:59
be very,
51:00
very different
51:01
from anybody
51:02
else's
51:03
gift.
51:04
God has
51:05
given you
51:06
that gift
51:06
to use
51:06
it,
51:08
to be a
51:09
doer of
51:10
the Word
51:10
and not
51:10
just a
51:11
hearer only,
51:12
as James
51:12
put it.
51:14
And that
51:15
gift is
51:16
not for
51:16
you to
51:17
just hold
51:17
on to
51:18
for
51:19
yourself.
51:21
It's
51:21
to use
51:22
in the
51:23
accumulation
51:23
of gifts
51:24
that the
51:25
Lord has
51:25
given to
51:26
His
51:26
people,
51:26
so that
51:28
as you
51:28
travel with
51:29
them,
51:29
as we
51:29
travel
51:30
together,
51:31
whatever way
51:31
the Lord
51:32
has endowed
51:32
us and
51:33
gifted us,
51:34
maybe it's
51:34
working with
51:35
young folks,
51:36
maybe it's
51:36
working with
51:36
older folks,
51:38
maybe it's
51:38
looking after
51:39
a creche,
51:40
maybe it's
51:41
in reaching out
51:42
to people and
51:43
speaking to
51:43
them.
51:44
Not all of us
51:45
are gifted
51:45
that way,
51:46
but we're
51:46
gifted in
51:47
some way or
51:47
other.
51:48
And as
51:49
Moses says to
51:49
Hobab,
51:50
you know,
51:50
we can
51:51
really use
51:52
your gifts.
51:53
So,
51:54
the gospel,
51:55
so the
51:55
preaching of
51:56
the gospel,
51:56
so the
51:57
voice of
51:58
God's
51:58
people,
51:58
if you
51:58
like,
51:59
and the
51:59
voice of
51:59
God
52:00
Himself is
52:00
saying to
52:00
you and
52:01
to me
52:01
today,
52:02
we can
52:03
use your
52:03
gifts.
52:04
We need
52:04
you.
52:06
We need
52:06
you to
52:07
be part
52:07
of this
52:08
gathered
52:09
church
52:10
together
52:10
as we
52:11
travel onwards
52:12
together,
52:14
serving the
52:14
Lord,
52:15
the service
52:16
that we
52:17
owe to
52:19
God and
52:19
the service
52:20
that we
52:20
give in
52:21
return for
52:21
all that
52:22
He has
52:23
done for
52:24
us.
52:25
Well,
52:25
the church
52:26
is not so
52:27
much about
52:28
what you
52:28
get from
52:29
it.
52:30
It's much
52:30
more indeed
52:31
about what
52:32
you give.
52:33
We all
52:34
get so much
52:35
from being
52:35
together.
52:36
We all
52:37
get so much
52:37
individually
52:38
from that.
52:39
We serve
52:40
each other,
52:41
but we
52:42
give,
52:43
in a sense,
52:43
more than
52:44
we actually
52:44
receive.
52:47
And,
52:48
you know,
52:50
the
52:51
gifts that
52:53
God has
52:54
given to
52:54
His
52:54
church,
52:56
while they
52:56
vary,
52:57
yet
52:57
accumulatively,
52:59
they all
52:59
fit together
53:00
in God's
53:00
way.
53:02
And
53:02
serving the
53:03
Lord
53:04
through using
53:06
these gifts
53:06
is so
53:07
important.
53:08
Let me just
53:09
conclude by
53:09
a quotation
53:11
from a book
53:12
by Sinclair
53:12
Ferguson,
53:14
a book
53:14
called
53:14
Devoted to
53:15
God's
53:16
Church.
53:17
Please read
53:18
through it.
53:18
It's a
53:18
wonderful
53:19
book.
53:20
And in
53:21
describing
53:22
the service
53:23
we owe
53:24
to God,
53:24
he gives
53:25
certain
53:26
principles,
53:26
negatives and
53:27
positives
53:28
together.
53:29
And I'll
53:29
finish with
53:30
that.
53:30
He says,
53:31
service to
53:31
God,
53:32
first of
53:33
all,
53:33
it's not
53:33
a matter
53:34
of others
53:35
recognizing
53:36
our gifts,
53:37
but it
53:38
is a matter
53:39
of us
53:39
recognizing
53:40
others'
53:41
needs.
53:42
It's not
53:43
a matter
53:43
of others
53:44
recognizing
53:45
our gifts,
53:46
it is a
53:47
matter of
53:47
us recognizing
53:49
the needs
53:50
of others.
53:52
Secondly,
53:52
it's not a
53:53
matter of
53:53
doing things
53:54
for others
53:55
at our
53:55
own
53:56
convenience,
53:57
it is a
53:58
matter of
53:58
our helping
53:59
others when
54:00
they are
54:01
inconvenienced.
54:03
It's not a
54:03
matter of
54:04
doing things
54:05
for others
54:06
at our
54:06
own
54:06
convenience,
54:08
without
54:08
putting
54:08
ourselves
54:09
out,
54:10
but he
54:10
says it
54:11
is a
54:11
matter of
54:12
our helping
54:13
others when
54:14
they are
54:14
inconvenienced.
54:16
And thirdly,
54:17
he says,
54:17
it's not a
54:18
matter of
54:18
feeling that
54:19
we have
54:19
special gifts,
54:21
but it is a
54:22
matter of
54:22
us seeing
54:23
that others
54:23
have very
54:24
special needs.
54:26
And fourthly,
54:28
it's not an
54:28
optional extra
54:29
for a member
54:31
of the church.
54:32
Service to
54:33
God is not
54:34
an optional
54:35
extra,
54:35
he says.
54:37
It's written
54:37
into the
54:38
definition of
54:40
being a member
54:40
of the church,
54:41
or you might
54:41
say even
54:42
being a
54:42
Christian.
54:44
It's written
54:44
into the
54:45
definition of
54:46
that.
54:48
As we
54:48
travel together
54:49
that each
54:49
of us
54:50
will say
54:51
of ourselves,
54:53
saving the
54:54
Lord,
54:56
saving the
54:56
church,
54:57
it's not an
54:57
optional extra.
55:00
It's a
55:00
delight,
55:02
as well as
55:03
a responsibility,
55:05
because all
55:06
that the
55:07
Lord has
55:07
done for
55:08
us,
55:09
calls upon
55:10
us to do
55:11
as much
55:12
as we can
55:13
for him.
55:15
We are
55:16
traveling to
55:17
the place
55:18
of which the
55:18
Lord has
55:19
said,
55:19
I will
55:19
give it
55:20
to you.
55:21
Come with
55:22
us.
55:23
We will
55:23
do good
55:24
to you,
55:24
for the
55:24
Lord has
55:25
spoken good
55:26
concerning
55:27
his people.
55:28
Whatever
55:29
good the
55:29
Lord will
55:30
do to
55:30
us,
55:31
the same
55:32
we will
55:32
do to
55:33
you,
55:34
as God
55:35
has
55:36
promised.
55:37
Let's
55:37
pray.
55:42
Almighty
55:43
God,
55:43
we give
55:44
thanks that
55:44
you are
55:44
the God
55:45
that keeps
55:47
company with
55:47
your people
55:48
and that
55:49
has set
55:50
them on
55:50
the journey
55:51
which you
55:51
yourself is
55:53
also on
55:53
with them.
55:55
Your
55:55
presence,
55:56
Lord,
55:56
is promised
55:56
to your
55:57
people.
55:58
We pray
55:59
that your
55:59
presence will
56:00
be out
56:00
portioned
56:00
daily.
56:02
We ask
56:02
that you
56:02
would enable
56:03
us,
56:03
Lord,
56:03
as we look
56:04
at the
56:05
ways in
56:05
which you
56:06
have gifted
56:06
us.
56:08
Help us,
56:08
we pray,
56:09
to use these
56:09
to your
56:09
service and
56:10
to your
56:10
glory in
56:11
your service.
56:12
and we
56:14
give thanks,
56:14
O Lord,
56:15
that while we
56:15
don't boast
56:16
about our
56:16
gifts,
56:17
why we
56:18
would never
56:18
see ourselves
56:19
as better
56:20
than others
56:20
or better
56:21
endowed,
56:22
we ask,
56:23
Lord,
56:23
that you
56:23
would help
56:24
us in
56:25
true gratitude
56:26
and humble
56:26
service to
56:28
extend all
56:29
that we
56:30
can by way
56:30
of our
56:31
using our
56:33
gifts to
56:34
the furtherance
56:35
of your
56:35
church.
56:36
Lord,
56:37
help us,
56:37
we pray,
56:38
as we
56:38
consider the
56:40
wonderful
56:41
truth about
56:42
your people
56:43
and their
56:43
traveling,
56:45
and the
56:45
invitation that
56:46
you send to
56:46
us through
56:46
the gospel.
56:48
Help us to
56:48
know that you
56:49
are also
56:49
exhorting us
56:51
through that
56:51
gospel to
56:53
cast our
56:53
lot in with
56:54
your people
56:54
and to come
56:56
to serve you
56:56
while we
56:57
have the
56:58
opportunity.
56:59
Hear us
56:59
now, we pray,
57:00
and receive us
57:01
graciously for
57:02
Jesus' sake.
57:03
Amen.
57:07
Well, we're
57:07
singing finally
57:08
in Psalm 107.
57:10
Psalm 107,
57:11
this time it's
57:12
in the Scottish
57:12
Psalter.
57:14
June is
57:14
Newington,
57:15
we're singing
57:16
verses 1 to
57:17
8.
57:20
Praise God,
57:21
for he is
57:22
good, for
57:23
still his
57:23
mercy's
57:24
lasting be.
57:25
Let God's
57:26
redeemed say
57:27
so whom he
57:28
from the
57:28
enemies handed
57:29
free and
57:30
gathered them
57:30
out of the
57:31
lands from
57:32
north,
57:32
south,
57:32
east,
57:33
and west.
57:34
They strayed
57:34
in deserts
57:35
pathless way,
57:36
no city
57:36
found to
57:37
rest.
57:38
For thirst
57:39
and hunger
57:39
in them
57:39
faints
57:40
their soul.
57:41
When
57:41
straits
57:42
them
57:42
press,
57:42
they cry
57:43
unto the
57:43
Lord,
57:44
and he
57:44
them
57:44
frees
57:45
from
57:45
their
57:45
distress.
57:46
Them also
57:47
in a way
57:48
to walk,
57:49
that right
57:49
is he did
57:50
guide,
57:51
that they
57:52
might to
57:52
a city
57:52
go,
57:53
wherein
57:54
they
57:54
might
57:55
abide.
57:56
Oh,
57:56
that men
57:57
to the
57:57
Lord
57:57
would give
57:58
praise for
57:59
his goodness
58:00
then,
58:01
and for
58:01
his works
58:02
of wonder
58:02
done unto
58:04
the sons
58:04
of men.
58:05
To the
58:05
tune
58:05
Newington
58:06
these
58:06
verses.
58:08
Amen.
58:08
Thank you.
58:38
And gather them out of the lands from north, south, east and west.
58:53
This great desert's pathless way, no city come to rest.
59:08
For thirst and hunger in their face, their soul west, west and west.
59:22
They cry out to the Lord and He, then preach from their distress.
59:36
Then also in our way to walk, that righteous be denied.
59:52
That they might do a city, O where they might abide.
1:00:07
O that men to the Lord would give praise for His goodness name.
1:00:22
And for His works of wonder, O where they might be.
1:00:39
After the bendiction, I'll go to the door to my left.
1:00:42
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,
1:00:46
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.
1:00:51
Amen.
1:00:51
Amen.
1:00:52
Amen.
1:00:53
Amen.
1:00:55
Amen.
1:00:56
Thank you.