Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / Life of Faith and The Reconciling Grace of God
Transcript
- 0:00Let's turn together to the prophecy of Isaiah to chapter number 6 and we can read at the beginning of the chapter.
- 0:08! Isaiah chapter 6 and at verse 1.
- 0:14In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
- 0:25And so on down through the following verses.
- 0:30I guess the best thing that we can spend our time studying in life is how to become a Christian and how to live as a Christian.
- 0:42And I want us in the weeks that are to come and the times that we are together to look at something of what Isaiah has to say about becoming a Christian and being a Christian.
- 0:52I think it's fair to say when we read our Bibles, there are three particular things that are repeated throughout the whole of the Bible.
- 1:03And the first of these is that the Bible speaks about our personal condition.
- 1:09Where are we? What are we like?
- 1:12The Bible speaks about our personal condition.
- 1:14That's what happens here.
- 1:17The second thing the Bible does, it compares what we are like now to what we should be.
- 1:24And God has made us for himself.
- 1:27And when he tells us what we're like now, the Bible compares that to what we should be, what God has made us for.
- 1:34And the third thing is that there is always a remedy.
- 1:39So that if what I am does not correspond to what I should be, then there's a remedy.
- 1:45And of course we know the remedy is the Lord Jesus.
- 1:49These three things are crucial.
- 1:51As you read our Bibles, what does God say about me where I am?
- 1:56What does God say about where I should be?
- 1:58And what does God say about getting me from where I am to where I should be?
- 2:05And that's exactly what we have in this prophecy of Isaiah.
- 2:09There's a story here about people.
- 2:11God describes them in chapter 1 as his own children.
- 2:14And he raised up children and they rebelled against him.
- 2:18They are not what they should have been.
- 2:21And down through these first chapters, there is the sense of God reminding them of that.
- 2:26And there is also the sense of God drawing their attention to the remedy that he will provide.
- 2:33That there is a new norm that he will create because of his love and because of his grace.
- 2:41And in many ways, chapter 6 sets the scene for us as we look at what God has to say through Isaiah.
- 2:49And when you read this chapter, we can see it as a sign of the times.
- 2:57Uzziah is a sign of the times.
- 3:01King Uzziah died.
- 3:03He started off well as a king.
- 3:06God blessed him as a king.
- 3:08But later on, he grew proud and unfaithful.
- 3:11And he died a leper.
- 3:14He is a sign of the times.
- 3:16He started well.
- 3:17He finished badly.
- 3:20And Isaiah is brought before us here as a person through whom God is going to show how he's going to change the condition of the people.
- 3:30So as surely as Uzziah is a sign of the times, Isaiah is a sign of the grace of God in our lives.
- 3:39And bearing that in mind, I want to think today of the life of faith and the reconciling grace of God.
- 3:48I want to think first of all of the revelation.
- 3:52And clearly, that's what we have here.
- 3:56Something is made known that was not previously known and not being known by the people.
- 4:02In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
- 4:13I saw the Lord.
- 4:15I saw the Lord.
- 4:17In this case, not the Lord who is the covenant savior of the people of God.
- 4:21In this case, it is Adonai, the Lord who has sovereignty over the whole of creation.
- 4:27The vision that he sees, the revelation that is given to him, is the revelation of the sovereign God of the universe who sits upon his throne and who is there for the purpose of judging the peoples of the earth.
- 4:42And whatever norm Isaiah had before all of this, suddenly his horizons change and suddenly there is a channel open and he is face to face with the Lord, the sovereign God who sits upon the throne.
- 5:03And as the God sits upon the throne, there is that sense of his glorious presence because we see in version number four that the house was filled with smoke.
- 5:19And when I read that in the Old Testament, I see God reconnecting with the world.
- 5:27I see Mount Sinai where God came down to speak to Moses.
- 5:31There is a reconnection.
- 5:33The mountain was wrapped in smoke.
- 5:36God is reconnecting.
- 5:39I see it in the life of Solomon when he builds the temple in all of its glory and he prays and God comes down and fills the temple with his glory.
- 5:50God is reconnecting with his people in the days of Solomon.
- 5:54And then we come into the New Testament and we see the same thing happening in the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 6:02John tells us that we have seen his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father.
- 6:09God is reconnecting with our world through the passion of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 6:16And that's where we're at today.
- 6:18However marvelous it was that God reconnected with Israel in the days of Moses and with Israel in the days of Solomon,
- 6:29God has reconnected with us, with our world, by sending his Son to be our Savior.
- 6:38And there is that sense in this picture of reconnection in the midst of the chaos of the days of Isaiah.
- 6:51That there is this reconnection in the midst of that chaos to reverse the decline and to bring about change.
- 6:59We are here to worship God.
- 7:05We are here to have a sense of where we are and what we are doing.
- 7:12We are here to discover, perhaps for the first time,
- 7:16that the God who is far above what we are and can even begin to think about
- 7:21is also the God who is here with us.
- 7:25He shall be called Emmanuel, God with us.
- 7:30God is here.
- 7:34And God wants us today to look through the furnishings and to look through the buildings
- 7:39and to look through everything that is around us
- 7:41and to recognize that we are in the presence of God.
- 7:47And as you read on in version number two, the sense of the glory of God
- 7:54and this revelation is filled with movement, with a dynamic that speaks of an activity around the throne of God
- 8:03that is engaged in the reconnection process.
- 8:07And we see that the seraphim, in version number two,
- 8:12above him stood the seraphim, each hath six wings, with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
- 8:21They are the burning ones.
- 8:23They are the ones who are protecting the throne of God.
- 8:27There is reverence.
- 8:28They cover their faces.
- 8:30There is a sense of unworthiness.
- 8:32They cover their feet.
- 8:33There is a sense of submission to God in the same way they are covering their feet.
- 8:39And there is that sense of readiness to go and do what God wants them to do.
- 8:45With two, they were going to fly.
- 8:50There is a movement that brings about an expectation here around the throne of God.
- 8:59And they are a heavenly choir.
- 9:01They are singing in the presence of God.
- 9:06They are calling out to one another,
- 9:08Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
- 9:11The whole earth is filled with his glory.
- 9:16God is everywhere.
- 9:19And that is the message that God is giving to Isaiah.
- 9:23God is in the worship of God.
- 9:27God is in our everyday lives.
- 9:29God is in our homes, in our families, in our workplaces, in our school.
- 9:34Wherever we go, God is everywhere.
- 9:38And I may have mentioned it before, but there is a picture of what Isaiah's world was like and what our world is like.
- 9:51And it's taken from a book called Rewind Sinners to Reclaim.
- 9:55And there is a picture of life living in a house or a home where there are no skylights.
- 10:03And all the light that I get into this home is from the windows in the side.
- 10:09It's all horizontal.
- 10:11So everything arriving in this house comes from what's out there.
- 10:14And because there is no skylight, there's nothing comes from above.
- 10:19And through this revelation given to Isaiah, that's how the people of God were in the days of Isaiah.
- 10:27They were listening to what was out there in the world.
- 10:30They were conforming to what was out there in the world.
- 10:33And they weren't receiving anything from God, the God who was their God, who was their covenant Lord and covenant Savior.
- 10:41Heaven was closed and their hearts were wide open to the world in which they lived.
- 10:49And here now, God is reopening that channel.
- 10:53He's recreating that channel of communication.
- 10:56He's reconnecting with Isaiah and with the people in order to speak into their everyday experience.
- 11:02And how like my life and how like your life is that picture?
- 11:14Even when we come to worship God, how keenly are we aware that there is a channel from God's throne that speaks to us?
- 11:24How much do we spend worship and life thinking horizontally and not connecting with God?
- 11:35And God today wants to show us that he wants to break through this windowless roof of our lives
- 11:43and to cause his light to shine down so that we will hear from him.
- 11:49The revelation.
- 11:53We are coming to worship God, to see what God is like, and so that God will show us what he is like.
- 12:04Secondly, there is reconciliation.
- 12:11And the revelation creates two responses.
- 12:16And the first response is one of crisis.
- 12:19And the crisis is on the side of Isaiah.
- 12:23And we hear him crying out in verse number five,
- 12:27Woe is me, for I am lost.
- 12:30When I read the words, woe is me, it speaks of the judgment of God coming.
- 12:36We read the previous chapter and the words I use time after time to show the way in which God was coming to judge the people.
- 12:45And the first thing that Isaiah is conscious of.
- 12:46And the first thing that Isaiah is conscious of in the revelation given to him is that God is coming to judge him.
- 12:54And because of that, that he is actually lost.
- 12:57As if he was saying, I am already as good as dead.
- 13:05The revelation of the glory of God.
- 13:07The revelation of the glory of God.
- 13:10Floored Isaiah completely.
- 13:12And more or less took away his whole sense of life and of living.
- 13:18And that was the case simply because his eyes had seen the king, the Lord of hosts.
- 13:28You and I can look at an object.
- 13:35As I look at the clock right now, I'm just a glancing look.
- 13:38And that's a done.
- 13:40And we spend so much of life doing that.
- 13:42We glance at the Bible.
- 13:43We glance at things happening around us.
- 13:46But the seeing here is one of being captivated.
- 13:50It's one of being engrossed.
- 13:52It's one of having our eyes fixed entirely.
- 13:55Of being aware that this is the most important thing around me.
- 14:00And that everything else is forgotten about.
- 14:03That's where Isaiah found himself.
- 14:06He was alone with his God.
- 14:09And he sensed that he was alone with his God.
- 14:12And he could see no one but God.
- 14:15And in that moment of being captured by the glory of God,
- 14:19he found himself lost.
- 14:23Because of his sin.
- 14:24I am a man of unclean lips.
- 14:27For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts.
- 14:32He was unfit to sing with the heavenly choir.
- 14:39Later on in this prophecy,
- 14:42and Jesus quotes these words in the Gospels,
- 14:45that God was angry with his people
- 14:47because they were drawing near to him with their lips.
- 14:50But their hearts were far away.
- 14:52And suddenly, in this moment,
- 14:58Isaiah discovers his own personal sin
- 15:01as well as the sin of the people of God.
- 15:06He, in other words, comes to confess his sin.
- 15:12It's the sense of having my conscience awakened in such a way
- 15:20that I sense that what I've done wrong against God
- 15:24deserves the wrath of God.
- 15:26It's a light bulb moment because it's something that comes only when we see the glory of God.
- 15:34And we can go through life with any troubled conscience in any way,
- 15:39and we journey on day by day,
- 15:41and life is plain sailing.
- 15:42But when we are in the presence of God,
- 15:46it's not so.
- 15:49Because my sin deserves his judgment.
- 15:53When I see his light,
- 15:55my conscience tells me I'm guilty.
- 15:58And the first thing I'm going to do is to
- 16:00confess my sin to this God.
- 16:02And today,
- 16:05God wants you to have that response.
- 16:11He wants you to let his light
- 16:14shine not around you,
- 16:18but in your conscience.
- 16:20And in shining into your conscience,
- 16:22to let you see
- 16:23where you do go wrong.
- 16:25And to let you see that that wrongdoing
- 16:28is sin against God.
- 16:31And to bring you to the place
- 16:33where,
- 16:34as a sinner against God,
- 16:36you confess your sin.
- 16:39Because you know God knows it.
- 16:41And you take God's view of your sin.
- 16:44What is your condition?
- 16:47The condition is that we are sinners.
- 16:50That God says so.
- 16:51And when I come to confess my sin,
- 16:53I'm taking God's view of me
- 16:56and making it my own
- 16:57and saying to God,
- 16:59yes,
- 17:00you say I'm a sinner.
- 17:02I'm acknowledging before you
- 17:03that that's exactly what I am.
- 17:08And that's a huge first step
- 17:12on the pathway
- 17:13to becoming a Christian,
- 17:15to becoming the child of God.
- 17:19And reconnecting once more
- 17:21with the picture of the house
- 17:24without skylights.
- 17:26In that same book,
- 17:27there's the sense of
- 17:28two things happening.
- 17:31And that is
- 17:32that sin is being redefined
- 17:35by the world out there.
- 17:38And the world out there
- 17:39may speak about sin
- 17:40without any reference to God.
- 17:43And when I do wrong to my neighbor
- 17:45or wrong to the person next to me,
- 17:47then the world will say
- 17:49that's sin.
- 17:50I've wronged my neighbor
- 17:51without any reference to God.
- 17:54And of course,
- 17:54that is a sin
- 17:55to wrong my neighbor.
- 17:56But if I am no other reference
- 17:58but the person next to me,
- 18:00then I've excluded God
- 18:01from the picture.
- 18:04And that's what you and I
- 18:05must ensure that never happens.
- 18:08We want to take this image here
- 18:10and to let the light
- 18:12of the holiness of God
- 18:14shine into our hearts
- 18:15and to shine upon our sin
- 18:17and to understand that
- 18:18what we have done wrong
- 18:20is against the Holy God
- 18:23who is our creator.
- 18:26And that is alongside of that
- 18:28the whole cultural movement
- 18:31to eliminate sin
- 18:33from our vocabulary altogether.
- 18:35So that you and I
- 18:37can go and live life
- 18:39today and tomorrow
- 18:40and why should we worry about sin?
- 18:42It's removed from the vocabulary
- 18:44of the society around us
- 18:46and that society
- 18:49wants to remove it
- 18:50from our vocabulary as well.
- 18:53And we need to retain
- 18:55that sense of sin,
- 18:56that sense of sinfulness
- 18:58and that sense of sinnership
- 19:00with reference to God.
- 19:03It is the God who is holy
- 19:04that shows me my sin.
- 19:07And it is to him I must say,
- 19:09yes, I'm a sinner.
- 19:10I do confess my sin.
- 19:14That was the response of Isaiah.
- 19:21But thankfully,
- 19:24that wasn't the only response.
- 19:27There is the movement
- 19:30at God's throne.
- 19:33That imagery following
- 19:35the confession of Isaiah,
- 19:37the seraphim are flying around
- 19:40in submission to God,
- 19:43humble before God,
- 19:44waiting to fly out
- 19:46at God's command
- 19:47and suddenly the command
- 19:49comes from the throne of God
- 19:50and there is a seraphim
- 19:52that moves into action.
- 19:55And that's what we have
- 19:57in verse number six.
- 19:58Then one of the seraphim
- 19:59flew to me,
- 20:01having in his hand
- 20:02a burning coal
- 20:03that he had taken
- 20:04with tongues
- 20:04from the altar.
- 20:08The seraphim
- 20:09with the burning coal
- 20:12taken from the altar
- 20:13and making his journey
- 20:15towards Isaiah.
- 20:18We don't know exactly
- 20:19what the image was
- 20:20or what the coal was,
- 20:22but we do know this much
- 20:24that in God's temple
- 20:26there is an altar
- 20:27where sacrifice
- 20:28is made to take away sin
- 20:30and there is an altar
- 20:31where there is
- 20:32prayer offered to God
- 20:34on the basis
- 20:35of sin being taken away.
- 20:38So there is
- 20:38death for sin,
- 20:41the punishment of sin,
- 20:42and then there is a place
- 20:43where we have peace
- 20:45with God.
- 20:46And when I see this image
- 20:48in the temple
- 20:49before Isaiah
- 20:50and the seraphim
- 20:51comes to take
- 20:51a coal of the altar,
- 20:53he's not taking
- 20:54the coal of the altar
- 20:55where sacrifice
- 20:56was made.
- 20:57He's taking the coal
- 20:58of the altar
- 20:59where peace is declared
- 21:00and where God
- 21:01is reconciled
- 21:02to the people.
- 21:04And that's a crucial difference
- 21:06when I see this
- 21:07seraphim coming
- 21:08towards Isaiah.
- 21:10It's not to condemn him
- 21:11for his sin,
- 21:13it's to bring him
- 21:13the good news
- 21:14that sin has been removed
- 21:16and that there is now
- 21:17peace with God.
- 21:21What a journey.
- 21:23That in the invisible realm
- 21:25of heaven
- 21:25there is this moment
- 21:27in the invisible world
- 21:28of Isaiah himself
- 21:29that then there is heaven
- 21:31moving towards him
- 21:32with the seraphim
- 21:33to come
- 21:34to where he is found.
- 21:38And the journey
- 21:40is one
- 21:42for the purpose
- 21:44of reconnection,
- 21:46of reconciliation.
- 21:48He touched my mouth
- 21:51and said,
- 21:52Behold,
- 21:52this has touched
- 21:53your lips.
- 21:54Your guilt is taken away
- 21:56and your sin
- 21:57is
- 21:57atoned for.
- 22:01This
- 22:01has touched
- 22:03your lips.
- 22:04I can touch
- 22:07something
- 22:08with a hard touch.
- 22:12I can touch
- 22:13something
- 22:14with a gentle touch.
- 22:16I can touch
- 22:17my children
- 22:18when I sleep
- 22:18to comfort them
- 22:21and to encourage
- 22:22them to go to sleep.
- 22:23It's the gentle touch.
- 22:26And when I read
- 22:27touch here,
- 22:28it's not the hard touch.
- 22:30It's the gentle touch
- 22:33of a heavenly father.
- 22:36And the gentle touch
- 22:37of a heavenly father
- 22:38is the touch
- 22:39through which
- 22:40there is
- 22:41forgiveness
- 22:42and there is
- 22:44reconciliation.
- 22:47We can remind ourselves
- 22:49of the story
- 22:50of the woman
- 22:51who came to Jesus
- 22:52in Luke chapter 8.
- 22:54She was in the crowd
- 22:55and she came
- 22:57believing firmly
- 22:59that if she touched
- 23:00with the garment
- 23:01of Jesus,
- 23:02she would be healed.
- 23:03And she came
- 23:04and touched him.
- 23:05Nobody knew that.
- 23:07And Jesus
- 23:08stops the conversation,
- 23:10someone has touched me.
- 23:12Who has touched me?
- 23:15And of course
- 23:15the disciples
- 23:15are saying,
- 23:16how can you ask
- 23:18that question?
- 23:19With the crowds
- 23:20around us,
- 23:20how can you ask
- 23:21who touched me?
- 23:22Everyone is touching you.
- 23:24But Jesus said,
- 23:26I recognize
- 23:27that power has gone
- 23:29out from me.
- 23:32That's the reconnection.
- 23:34That's the reconciliation.
- 23:36That's the peace
- 23:37with God
- 23:38through our Lord
- 23:39Jesus Christ.
- 23:43And in this moment
- 23:44today,
- 23:45as we reflect
- 23:46upon this revelation
- 23:48and where God's
- 23:50word finds us
- 23:51and where God
- 23:52wants to take us,
- 23:54here we see
- 23:55Isaiah
- 23:56taken from
- 23:58the place
- 23:58of condemnation
- 24:00and taken
- 24:01to a place
- 24:01of reconciliation,
- 24:03of peace
- 24:03with God
- 24:04through this
- 24:05dynamic movement
- 24:06from the throne
- 24:06of God
- 24:07that touches
- 24:09his lips
- 24:09and his sin
- 24:11is taken away.
- 24:14We can
- 24:15perhaps begin
- 24:16to imagine
- 24:17something of
- 24:18the transformation
- 24:19in Isaiah's
- 24:21experience
- 24:22and we'll see
- 24:22as we read on.
- 24:24But in that
- 24:25moment of
- 24:25touching,
- 24:27power has gone
- 24:28out from God,
- 24:29from Jesus,
- 24:30through Jesus,
- 24:31by the Spirit
- 24:32of God
- 24:32and our sin
- 24:35is taken
- 24:36away.
- 24:40And today
- 24:41we are thankful
- 24:42that in the Lord
- 24:43Jesus
- 24:44our sin
- 24:45is taken away.
- 24:47Isaiah speaks
- 24:48powerfully
- 24:48in chapter 53
- 24:49of the very way
- 24:51in which the
- 24:52Son of God,
- 24:52the servant
- 24:53of Jehovah
- 24:54is coming
- 24:54to suffer
- 24:55in our place,
- 24:56to bear our sins,
- 24:58to be a sacrifice
- 24:59for our sins
- 25:00and to raise us
- 25:02up into newness
- 25:03of life.
- 25:06And we come
- 25:07today with
- 25:08the guilt
- 25:08of our sin
- 25:09and with our
- 25:11sense of being
- 25:12condemned
- 25:12because of our sin.
- 25:14We come to put
- 25:15our trust
- 25:16in the Lord Jesus
- 25:16where Paul
- 25:18tells us
- 25:18there is
- 25:19therefore
- 25:19now no
- 25:20condemnation
- 25:21to those
- 25:22who are in
- 25:23Christ Jesus.
- 25:25The great
- 25:26reconnecting
- 25:28grace
- 25:29of God.
- 25:33And in the
- 25:34invisible world
- 25:35of your
- 25:36heart and life,
- 25:39perhaps in this
- 25:40very moment,
- 25:42heaven's
- 25:42dynamic power
- 25:44is moving
- 25:45toward you
- 25:46to place
- 25:47the hand
- 25:49of God
- 25:49upon your
- 25:50heart,
- 25:51to wash
- 25:51away your
- 25:52sin and
- 25:53to give you
- 25:53peace with
- 25:54him through
- 25:55the Lord
- 25:55Jesus Christ.
- 25:57You cannot
- 25:58invite that.
- 26:00You cannot
- 26:01demand that.
- 26:03But the
- 26:03Lord who sits
- 26:04upon his
- 26:05throne,
- 26:06that's how he
- 26:07works,
- 26:08to save people
- 26:09like you and
- 26:10like me.
- 26:10he comes
- 26:11in this
- 26:12invisible way
- 26:13to change
- 26:15us in our
- 26:15hearts,
- 26:16take away
- 26:17our guilty
- 26:17conscience
- 26:18and give us
- 26:20a sense of
- 26:21his peace.
- 26:23The
- 26:24reconciliation,
- 26:25fundamental,
- 26:27basic to
- 26:28being a
- 26:29Christian and
- 26:30from there
- 26:31we go to
- 26:32live life
- 26:33as a
- 26:34Christian.
- 26:36So we
- 26:37have
- 26:38revelation,
- 26:40we have
- 26:41reconciliation
- 26:42and thirdly
- 26:43and finally
- 26:43we have
- 26:44responsibility
- 26:47and Isaiah
- 26:50did not
- 26:51shy away
- 26:52from the
- 26:53responsibility
- 26:54that God
- 26:55called him
- 26:56to.
- 26:57And we
- 26:58see the
- 26:58responsibility
- 26:59because God
- 27:00has a
- 27:01mission
- 27:02and God's
- 27:04mission is
- 27:04for this
- 27:05people,
- 27:06his own
- 27:06people.
- 27:07He has a
- 27:08ministry,
- 27:08he has a
- 27:09message for
- 27:09them.
- 27:10And we
- 27:11hear this
- 27:12message coming
- 27:13out in
- 27:13verse number
- 27:14eight.
- 27:15I heard
- 27:16the voice
- 27:16of the
- 27:16Lord saying
- 27:17whom shall
- 27:18I send
- 27:19and who
- 27:20will go
- 27:20for us?
- 27:22One
- 27:22becomes
- 27:23three.
- 27:24And the
- 27:25God who is
- 27:25speaking,
- 27:26suddenly there
- 27:26are three
- 27:27people,
- 27:28there is
- 27:28God,
- 27:29Father,
- 27:29Son and
- 27:29Holy Spirit
- 27:30who will
- 27:31go for
- 27:32us?
- 27:33We have
- 27:34this mission
- 27:35to save
- 27:35the world.
- 27:37We have
- 27:37this mission
- 27:38to save the
- 27:38people in
- 27:39the days
- 27:39of Isaiah.
- 27:41After all
- 27:42that God
- 27:42has done
- 27:42for Isaiah,
- 27:43who now
- 27:44is going
- 27:44to go
- 27:45for us?
- 27:48The sound
- 27:48of the
- 27:49voice of
- 27:50God
- 27:50because of
- 27:52the mission
- 27:53of God
- 27:53and because
- 27:54of those
- 27:55who have
- 27:55not yet
- 27:56experienced
- 27:58what Isaiah
- 27:59experienced.
- 28:01Who will
- 28:02go for
- 28:04us?
- 28:08And for
- 28:09every person
- 28:10who becomes
- 28:11a Christian,
- 28:12for every person
- 28:13who becomes
- 28:13the child
- 28:14of God,
- 28:15it's the
- 28:16moment of
- 28:16beginning to
- 28:17serve.
- 28:19It's the
- 28:20moment of
- 28:21God calling
- 28:22us to
- 28:23himself to
- 28:23be at
- 28:24peace with
- 28:24him and
- 28:25from that
- 28:26peace to
- 28:27be ready
- 28:28to go
- 28:28and serve.
- 28:29And of
- 28:31course,
- 28:31there is a
- 28:32central element
- 28:33to our
- 28:34salvation,
- 28:35to us
- 28:35becoming
- 28:36Christians,
- 28:36that is
- 28:37very
- 28:37personal.
- 28:39It changes
- 28:40who we
- 28:40are and
- 28:41we have
- 28:41the joy
- 28:42of the
- 28:42Spirit of
- 28:43God because
- 28:44of our
- 28:44new
- 28:44relationship
- 28:45with God.
- 28:47But that
- 28:48moment,
- 28:49as
- 28:49personal as
- 28:50it is,
- 28:50it is
- 28:51preparation,
- 28:52it is
- 28:52equipping,
- 28:53it is
- 28:53getting us
- 28:56ready
- 28:56to serve
- 28:58God.
- 28:59and to
- 29:00be his
- 29:00disciples.
- 29:02And we
- 29:03see the
- 29:03immediate
- 29:04response
- 29:04from Isaiah
- 29:06when the
- 29:07voice goes
- 29:07out,
- 29:08who will
- 29:08go for
- 29:09us?
- 29:10Then I
- 29:10said,
- 29:11look at
- 29:12me,
- 29:12here am
- 29:13I,
- 29:14don't look
- 29:15any further,
- 29:17send
- 29:18me.
- 29:20I will
- 29:21go wherever
- 29:21you want
- 29:22me to
- 29:22go.
- 29:23Jesus
- 29:24said to
- 29:24the
- 29:24disciples,
- 29:25as the
- 29:25Father has
- 29:26sent me,
- 29:27so I
- 29:27send you.
- 29:29God is
- 29:31calling us
- 29:32today to
- 29:32the
- 29:33revelation
- 29:33of his
- 29:34glory in
- 29:35the
- 29:36gospel and
- 29:36the
- 29:37passion of
- 29:37Jesus
- 29:37Christ.
- 29:39He is
- 29:39calling us
- 29:40to embrace
- 29:40the
- 29:41reconciliation
- 29:42that we
- 29:42have in
- 29:43the gospel,
- 29:44and having
- 29:44done so,
- 29:46he is
- 29:46calling us
- 29:47to serve
- 29:49him,
- 29:50to be the
- 29:51light of
- 29:51the world,
- 29:52to be the
- 29:53salt of
- 29:53the earth.
- 29:54God
- 29:55calls us
- 30:00to serve.
- 30:03It may
- 30:03simply be
- 30:04going back
- 30:06to school
- 30:07this week,
- 30:07somebody who
- 30:08has learned
- 30:08about Jesus,
- 30:11and who
- 30:11goes to
- 30:12school serving
- 30:13the Lord
- 30:13Jesus,
- 30:14sharing what
- 30:15you have
- 30:15learned about
- 30:16the Lord
- 30:17Jesus.
- 30:18That's what
- 30:18God,
- 30:19that's what
- 30:20Jesus calls
- 30:21you to do.
- 30:22If you
- 30:23have received
- 30:23the blessing,
- 30:25then you
- 30:25are to
- 30:25share it
- 30:26with those
- 30:27who are
- 30:27in school
- 30:28with you.
- 30:30You go
- 30:30back to
- 30:31studying at
- 30:32university or
- 30:33college,
- 30:34go back to
- 30:34the workplace,
- 30:36we are
- 30:37here to
- 30:37serve.
- 30:39We are
- 30:39called upon
- 30:40to show
- 30:41our appreciation
- 30:43of what God
- 30:43has done by
- 30:44being just
- 30:45like Isaiah,
- 30:46here am I,
- 30:48send me.
- 30:52And so
- 30:52that with
- 30:53the spirit
- 30:53of Isaiah,
- 30:55with the
- 30:56spirit of
- 30:56the gospel,
- 30:58with the
- 30:58spirit of
- 30:59the discipleship,
- 31:01whatever there
- 31:01is a need,
- 31:03God is
- 31:04calling you
- 31:05and me to
- 31:06fill that
- 31:07gap and
- 31:08to fill that
- 31:09space and
- 31:10to ensure
- 31:11that we
- 31:12are serving
- 31:13God in
- 31:14accordance with
- 31:15God's call
- 31:16upon us.
- 31:19And the
- 31:19call can be,
- 31:20as I said,
- 31:20something very
- 31:21local and
- 31:23something that
- 31:23perhaps we
- 31:24would dismiss.
- 31:25But the
- 31:26call may
- 31:26also be to
- 31:28a more
- 31:28full-time
- 31:29focused service
- 31:30in the
- 31:31church of
- 31:32Christ.
- 31:34And God
- 31:34may call us
- 31:35to serve in
- 31:36school and
- 31:37to serve in
- 31:37university and
- 31:38college and
- 31:39to serve in
- 31:39a workplace.
- 31:41But God
- 31:42may also
- 31:42call you,
- 31:43even today,
- 31:44to serve
- 31:45him in the
- 31:46full-time
- 31:47ministry of
- 31:48the gospel
- 31:48where there
- 31:49is a need.
- 31:51And wherever
- 31:52God has a
- 31:53claim upon
- 31:53our lives,
- 31:54then here is
- 31:55the response
- 31:56of discipleship.
- 31:58Here am I.
- 31:59Send me.
- 32:01Are you
- 32:01willing to
- 32:02go for
- 32:02Jesus,
- 32:03to speak
- 32:04for Jesus,
- 32:05to serve
- 32:06Jesus,
- 32:06and to
- 32:07show your
- 32:07appreciation
- 32:08of all that
- 32:10God has
- 32:10done for
- 32:11you in
- 32:11Jesus by
- 32:12reconnecting
- 32:13with you and
- 32:14by giving
- 32:15you that
- 32:16peace of
- 32:16God to
- 32:17dwell in
- 32:18your heart.
- 32:19May God
- 32:19bless his
- 32:20word.
- 32:20Let us
- 32:20pray.
- 32:22Most
- 32:22gracious
- 32:23God, we
- 32:23rejoice in
- 32:24you.
- 32:25You are
- 32:25the God
- 32:26and Father
- 32:26of our
- 32:27Lord Jesus
- 32:27Christ.
- 32:28You have
- 32:29given your
- 32:29Son to
- 32:30be our
- 32:30Saviour.
- 32:32You have
- 32:32made yourself
- 32:32known to
- 32:33us,
- 32:33especially
- 32:34in him
- 32:34and through
- 32:35him.
- 32:36And we
- 32:36pray that
- 32:37you will
- 32:37bless our
- 32:37hearts
- 32:38today with
- 32:39a sense
- 32:39of the
- 32:40revelation
- 32:41that you
- 32:41have given
- 32:42to us
- 32:42in the
- 32:43Lord Jesus,
- 32:44with a
- 32:44sense of
- 32:45having peace
- 32:46with you
- 32:46through your
- 32:47saving grace
- 32:48and with a
- 32:49sense of
- 32:50being ready
- 32:50to follow
- 32:51you and
- 32:51to serve
- 32:52you all
- 32:52the days
- 32:53of our
- 32:53lives.
- 32:53Help us
- 32:54to have
- 32:54that humble
- 32:55obedience
- 32:56in response
- 32:57to your
- 32:57saving grace.
- 32:59Guide us
- 32:59and bless
- 32:59your word
- 32:59as we
- 33:00pray.
- 33:00We pray
- 33:01these things
- 33:01for Jesus
- 33:01sake.
- 33:03Amen.
- 33:07So
- 33:08closing
- 33:08psalm is
- 33:09psalm number
- 33:0924 of
- 33:11the Scottish
- 33:11Psalter.
- 33:13It's on
- 33:13page 230.
- 33:14And we're
- 33:16going to
- 33:16sing from
- 33:17verse 7
- 33:17to the
- 33:18end of
- 33:18the psalm.
- 33:20It's a
- 33:20great psalm
- 33:21about the
- 33:21glory of
- 33:22the king.
- 33:23And we
- 33:23want to
- 33:24sing these
- 33:24verses
- 33:25together.
- 33:26And the
- 33:26tune is
- 33:26St.
- 33:27George's
- 33:27Edinburgh.
- 33:29And
- 33:30verse number
- 33:307.
- 33:31Ye gates
- 33:31lift up
- 33:32your heads
- 33:32on high.
- 33:33Ye doors
- 33:34that last
- 33:34foray
- 33:35be lifted
- 33:35up that
- 33:36so the
- 33:36king
- 33:37of glory
- 33:38enter
- 33:38may.
- 33:39We
- 33:39stand to
- 33:40sing from
- 33:40verse 7
- 33:40to the
- 33:41end of
- 33:41the psalm
- 33:41to God's
- 33:42praise.
- 33:42Amen.
- 33:42Amen.
- 33:43Amen.
- 33:43Ye gates
- 33:50lift up
- 33:52your heads
- 33:54on high.
- 33:58Ye doors
- 34:00that last
- 34:01foray
- 34:03be lifted
- 34:06up that
- 34:08so the
- 34:10king of
- 34:12glory
- 34:13enter
- 34:15me.
- 34:17But
- 34:18who
- 34:20of
- 34:22glory
- 34:23is
- 34:24the
- 34:25king?
- 34:27The
- 34:28mighty
- 34:29Lord
- 34:30is
- 34:32this.
- 34:34In
- 34:34!
- 34:35He
- 34:48in
- 34:50that
- 34:50same
- 34:51Lord
- 34:52that
- 34:53great
- 34:54in
- 34:55might
- 34:56and
- 34:58strong
- 34:59in
- 35:00heart
- 35:01in
- 35:01live.
- 35:03Ye gates
- 35:07lift up
- 35:09!
- 35:09He
- 35:09is
- 35:12that
- 35:13to
- 35:14last
- 35:15foray
- 35:18be
- 35:19up
- 35:21that
- 35:22saw
- 35:23the
- 35:24king
- 35:25of
- 35:26glory
- 35:27enter
- 35:29me.
- 35:31me.
- 35:32But
- 35:35who
- 35:35is he
- 35:38that
- 35:39is
- 35:40the
- 35:40king
- 35:42of
- 35:44glory?
- 35:45Who
- 35:46is
- 35:47this?
- 35:49The
- 35:50Lord
- 35:51of
- 35:52hosts
- 35:52and
- 35:54none
- 35:55but
- 35:56he
- 35:56the
- 35:58king
- 35:59of
- 36:00glory
- 36:01is
- 36:03the
- 36:05Lord
- 36:06of
- 36:07hosts
- 36:07and
- 36:09none
- 36:10but
- 36:10he
- 36:11the
- 36:13king
- 36:14of
- 36:15glory
- 36:16is
- 36:19hallelujah
- 36:22hallelujah
- 36:25hallelujah
- 36:27Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen, Amen, Amen.
- 36:57I'll go to the main door after the benediction.
- 37:01The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore. Amen.
- 37:27Amen.
- 37:28Amen.
- 37:29Amen.
- 37:30Amen.
- 37:31Amen.
- 37:32Amen.
- 37:33Amen.
- 37:34Amen.
- 37:35Amen.
- 37:36Amen.
- 37:37Amen.
- 37:38Amen.
- 37:39Amen.
- 37:40Amen.
- 37:41Amen.
- 37:42Amen.