[0:01] We shall resume the public worship of God by singing to his praise Psalm 122. Psalm 122, and we'll sing the whole psalm.
[0:16] I joyed when to the house of God go up, they said to me, Jerusalem within thy gates our feet shall standing be. Jerusalem as a city is compactly built together, and to that place the tribes go up, the tribes of God go thither.
[0:37] To Israel's testimony, there to God's name thanks to pay. For thrones of judgment, even the thrones of David's house, their stay.
[0:49] Pray that Jerusalem may have peace and felicity. Let them that love thee and thy peace have still prosperity. Therefore I wish that peace may still within thy walls remain, and ever may thy palaces prosperity retain.
[1:08] Now for my friends and brethren's sakes, peace be in thee, I'll say, and for the house of God, O Lord, I'll seek thy good all way.
[1:20] We shall sing these verses, Psalm 122. I joyed when to the house of God go up, they said to me.
[1:30] I joyed when to the house of God go up, they said to me.
[1:47] In the night of He'se, Hebrews 4.
[1:59] Basically, passer- to my east, through the house of Jesus Christ will be eternal, a maidenly join, and ever may He at be here.
[2:11] The years of my people together Unto the place that Christ was The Christ of God's holy land To Israel's cheskevonite To God's death and to pay For God's love can't be The truths of the Jesus mercy Lungerak
[3:13] That the Lord's humanity Is. SONG CONTINUES Still within thy walls remain.
[4:00] And ever may thy promises prosperity retain.
[4:15] Thou for thy friends and brethren say, Peace be with thee I am saved.
[4:33] And for thy house of God our Lord, I will seek thy good always.
[4:54] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord, we give thanks that we can call upon your name and that we can do so in this act of worship and that we are engaged in an activity that many have followed over countless decades, centuries, over even thousands of years, and right back to the beginning.
[5:34] Because when we think about mankind, as your word teaches, we are created in your image, with the express purpose of engaging in worship.
[5:50] Man's chief aim is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. It's a man's substance of of a reason for existence.
[6:03] Even though man found other outlets and other expressions of existence or further existence, your word determines who we are and what we are for.
[6:20] And when we do meet and when we do express ourselves as we were created to do, there is that sense of joy. There is that delight delight in coming before God and praising your holy name.
[6:43] So may we do so with a sense of pleasure in what we are doing, magnifying your name by your praise and acknowledging your need of you and in so doing bringing to attention the fact that you are God and we have put the work of your hand.
[7:09] We bless you and thank you that you are the one who has brought a sense of purpose into the life of so many. Many lived in this world and were listless and purposeless until you came to make yourself known to them.
[7:29] And they found out for themselves that there was more to life than what they were doing. Some spending and misspending their days.
[7:42] Wishing away their days. Years even. And not seeing value at the end of their their meditations or contemplations of what life was about.
[7:57] when we read the book of your servant in the Old Testament scriptures where your servant there questions the purpose of his existence.
[8:17] that he thinks that he has no real value in his own being or in the reason for being even.
[8:33] he saw himself as being involved in a vanity of vanities.
[8:46] All is vanity. what profit as a man for all his labor under the sun and yet you in your mercy has made known to us that if we do enjoy you and live to your glory then we truly are able to take delight in life and in the living of it.
[9:17] We pray for your blessing upon the church of God here in the world the family that be your name you are their father you have sent the older brother to to save them from sin we give thanks for the way in which he came in which he gave his life a ransom for many and as such he is able to to bring to himself all who would be his not only for time but for eternity.
[10:02] We give thanks that you are the one that the prophet spoke of in the Old Testament and that bridge figure in the New Testament John the Baptist as he spoke of of one who was to come after him who is preferred before him and whose shoe latched he was not worthy to unloose.
[10:31] we give thanks for the way your word speaks of this one and that not only does your word declare him but those who have come to know him have pleasure in making him known to others.
[10:48] So as his word goes out today we pray your blessing upon it those who would hear it may it be blessed to their soul those who preach it and proclaim it those who are under it may they be blessed by it.
[11:01] pray for our congregations throughout the island for every vacant congregation we bring their chaos to you and give thanks for the prospect that is in store for our neighbouring congregation of Carlewy who do have a ministry settled there in a short time.
[11:24] Remember back and we pray that your blessing would be upon them and for the various congregations that see ministries drawing to our close we remember these congregations also.
[11:40] We pray that you would continue to bless your own word that it may go out with power and that those who would hear of Christ that they would be drawn to him not that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
[12:00] Remember before you all who are under your hand in sickness we give thanks for the inroads that have been made concerning the pandemic we give thanks for the vaccines that appear to be working we pray for the explanations that are still in its grip and we pray that you would continue to keep us safe and add to the numbers that are making a recovery and that you would preserve life and encourage those who are engaged in creating new new new cure for the virus we pray that you would bless the nations of the earth that are struggling at this time even in India where lack of oxygen is a major problem we think of other problems throughout the world and we pray for poverty to be alleviated for disease to be dealt with and that men and women would be endowed with wherewithal by which to visit the sick and do all in their power to ensure that healing comes bind up the wounds of the afflicted minister to those who are grieving and sorrowful within our villages and our towns and cities and we bring before you our majesty the queen and her family as they continue to mourn our consort we pray that you would sanctify the voice of death to whosoever it comes to you watch over us and now as we turn to your word blessed to us we pray pardon sin in the redeemers name we would ask it amen we're going to read from the gospel of john the first chapter reading from verse 29 and we read here where john the baptist is bearing witness to the lord jesus the next day john seeth jesus coming unto him and saith behold the lamb of god which taketh away the sin of the world this is he of whom i said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me for he was before me and i knew him not but that he should be made manifest to israel therefore am i come baptizing with water and john bare records saying i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon me and i knew him not but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him the same as he which baptizes with the holy ghost and i saw and bare record that this is the son of god again the next day after john stood and two of his disciples and looking upon jesus as he walked he saith behold the lamb of god and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed jesus then jesus turned and saw them following and he saith unto them what seek he they said unto him rabbi which is to say interpreted master where dwellest thou he saith unto them come and see they they came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him
[16:00] that day for it was about the tenth hour one of the two of which heard john speak and followed him was andrew simon peter's brother he first findeth his own brother simon and saith unto him we have found the messiahs which is being interpreted the christ and he brought him to jesus and when jesus beheld him he said thou art simon the son of jonah thou shalt be called cephas which is by interpretation a stone the day following jesus would go forth into galilee and findeth philip and saith unto him follow me and now philip was of pithsaida the city of andrew and peter philip findeth nathaniel and saith unto him we have found him of whom moses in the law and the prophet stood right jesus of nazareth the son of joseph and nathaniel said unto him can there any good thing come out of nazareth philip saith unto him come and see jesus saw nathaniel coming to him and said behold an israelite indeed in whom is no guile nathaniel saith unto him whence knowest thou me jesus answered and said unto him before that philip called thee when thou wast under the fig tree i saw thee nathaniel answered and saith unto him rabbi thou art the son of god thou art the king of israel jesus answered and said unto him because i said unto thee i saw thee under the fig tree believest thou thou shalt see greater things than these and he saith unto him verily verily i say unto you hereafter ye shall see heaven open and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man amen may the lord at his blessing to a reading of his word and to his name be the praise when we think about christianity and its enduring power there are many things that we could attribute that to and the possibility is that many or much of our reckoning would be at fault we know that it does not depend upon human resources although human resources are used of god to to ensure to ensure that the word is promoted and propagated and humanly speaking we gravitate towards skilled orators and those who have gifts of personality gifts of of promoting the gospel in a winsome and attractive way and we reckon that these are the things that are surefire guarantees for the gospel to endure
[20:03] now these are things that can be used of god and very often are but they are not the infallible guarantee that we would imagine that they would be we know that the word of god is central to the salvation of sinners it is by way of the word that men and women are confronted by Christ Jesus they are directed by the spirit to him and they are encouraged to put their trust in him through the agency of the spirit they come to put their faith in Christ so we know that the word of
[21:04] God is something that is central to the cause of Christ its promotion its propagation its preaching and as the apostle Paul tells us that there must be a preacher in order for the word to be preached and in order for the word to be preached by a preacher the preacher has to be called and if he is called God is the one who must do the calling and so on but however important it is that the word of God be proclaimed we dare not undermine the import of the testimony of the saints themselves those who have experienced a life changing encounter with
[22:10] Christ are best able to describe the experience to others and encourage others to get to know that Christ for themselves in this short passage that we read we see that there are some introduced to Christ through preaching Jesus as he walked is speaking the truth and John the Baptist as he is walking he is preaching the truth behold the lamb of God he says which taketh away the sin of the world and when he speaks of Jesus in this fashion men are drawn to hear what he has to say don't believe that this is all he said but this is the message that grabbed their attention and those who were hearers of this word and persuaded of its veracity shared that with others
[23:36] Peter was touched by the witness of his brother one was a member of his own family Philip was spoken to directly by Jesus but then he spoke to his friend Nathaniel and it is on that particular encounter that we would like to see a little today the first thing that we can notice is the privilege that we have to evangelize at a personal level there's no doubt and as a preacher I would say this I'm sure you would say this anyway as a preacher you want people to come and hear the word of God preached but not everybody will hear the word of God preached but those who do hear it can speak to others about what they have heard preached and that widens the field and here we have someone who is the product of personal evangelism when we think about what is valid and what is not we are in danger of our times anyway assessing the value of something by its success and if it is successful then we do it again and if it is not we stop doing it and that's something that we can all hold up our hands to even within the cause of
[25:42] Christ when we witness there are no guarantees that their testimony will be listened to but that should not deter us it is worth the hassle of rejection and there's no reason for shame we're also to remember that when we introduce the Lord Jesus to anyone that he meets everyone on the same terms everybody is in the same boat when they meet Christ for the first time they have the same need they have the same emptiness that needs to be filled they have the same sins that need to be addressed and those who do engage in the personal evangelism that we see alluded to here will never regret doing that very thing we need notice then for the first part the agency of
[27:05] Philip it was not Philip that converted but it was Philip that came with the message and it's only God's spirit that quickens and that makes alive but we never know when that will happen or what it will take we never know when we preach the word what word will be prosperous what word will prosper and what word will not who knows what will prosper this or that they're calling us to sow the seed not to make the seed grow or make the seed bear fruit and if we know Christ and if we have a measure of understanding of the influence for good that he had on our lives then there should be no hesitation on our part to speak to others about that
[28:14] Christ I often go back to my early years in the workplace and I was a stranger to Christ then but I worked with several Christians and many of them were prepared to bear testimony to Christ many of them had a completely different experience to any that I could understand but they still didn't mind sharing that with me and with others some had come from a completely different background if you like but they still had come to this place where they had come to know
[29:15] Christ for themselves someone once said that Christ saved him and I'm not going to let him forget it he will hear my praises without end and there is nothing more pleasing to God than to hear one of his own sing his praises not just in the company of saints who do that but also speak to others often God are and we're grateful to God that that is the case because there are many things that we heard while they may not have been the means by which conversion came about there were certainly things that remained with us there are many Christian denominations who carry out service to find out the most potent method of evangelism and our own denomination would be one that would have an interest in that to find out what is the most potent, what is the most powerful, what is the most prosperous in the sense of securing the end for which the witness of the churches is fulfilled sometimes it's just a simple matter of neighbours or friends or workmates speaking when the opportunity arises to those that they have the ear of and I suppose that's a work that has to go on something that happens repeatedly something that it's not nobody's going to listen to you if you just appear before them and give them a broad blast of the gospel or the law and think that's going to win them over to what you believe
[31:47] God can bless any number of of things but very often the most effective is those who speak to you because they have a genuine interest in your soul and that's what you should cultivate an interest in the souls of those who are in the world with you believing the truth concerning them that if they live on in this world without Christ their life spent in the world will be misspent and they expose themselves to the eternal danger of a lost eternity and anybody who believes that will find impetus for their testimony the second thing we can see is even if we are industrious and if we are prayerful and if we are engaged in this
[32:59] God-honouring activity it does not necessarily mean that those we speak to will pay heed to what we have to say many people spoke to me as I said and maybe they didn't get the thanks that they deserved for doing it God must bless it he will own and honour it as his but not necessarily the way he would like some have mentioned the desire of Augustine's mother for his conversion and she wanted and she prayed to God that when Augustine was intent on travelling to an idolatrous city that God would prevent him from going there and she misread the situation it was that very place that he was going to that was going to the place where God would meet him sometimes we think we know what God is going to do and where and how and if that governs our thinking then we run the risk of getting things wrong
[34:21] Moses was sent to Pharaoh and he had the full weight of God's authority behind him and yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and you would think that that wasn't that was a fruitless exercise and yet that was what was ordained by God what God does with your testimony with your witness is not really the concern of any one of us the response to Philip could also have been so different verse 46 Nathaniel said unto him can there any good thing come out of Nazareth it's a clear case of prejudice and there are prejudices in the heart of every one of us and we could find ourselves despising the message because of the messenger because we think that somebody different would be more acceptable to us
[35:38] I've told the story often of someone from this country who went over to America at the turn of last century and he had left East Shore having been raised in a Christian home having heard the gospel but still in the darkness of ignorance and when he arrived on the shores there of America he was confronted by an African American who bore testimony to his Lord and this man from this country was offended offended because this man deigned to speak to him about the gospel somebody who knew more about the gospel perhaps than he did in his own opinion anyway that's the way we can be prejudicial
[36:38] Nathaniel thought that the scriptures testified against the people of Nazareth and there are preconceptions that often shut the door to salvation if it were possible that that salvation could be turned away from them some people have actually prolonged their time in ignorance we can look at it from God's perspective but the reality is that many people who, because of their attitude, turn the gospel away from themselves.
[37:58] They have some notion of God and his Christ. They have some idea of his people and they do not want to listen. It's amazing how often you see caricatures of the Christian presented on the television.
[38:17] Or in film. And they clearly are caricatures whether they're purposely like that or if they are simply a misrepresentation arising out of people's own take on what Christianity is all about.
[38:35] But the fact is that we are still to speak the truth in love to all and whosoever would hear it.
[38:50] Whoever they may be. What you have to say is worth listening to. And you can prove it. As could Philip.
[39:01] Come and see. See for yourself. Bring them to Christ. And who knows. But that they may see in him what you see.
[39:14] They have already seen him in the scriptures. Some have. Some people have been raised in the church and have been under the word of God.
[39:27] They know what this prophet says and the psalm says. They know what they say about this person. That is the altogether lovely one. And whatever Nathaniel expected to see is reflected in his exclamation.
[39:44] But what prompted that? Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said to him. Behold an Israelite indeed in which there is no guile.
[39:58] Nathaniel saith unto him. Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him. Before that Philip called thee when thou wast under the fig tree I saw thee.
[40:09] Whatever that meant did Jesus see him at prayer? Did he see him meditating under the fig tree?
[40:24] Don't mistake what Jesus said. He was not saying he was without sin. But rather a man of integrity and honesty. Perhaps a genuine seeker.
[40:35] Whatever was true of him. We know that Christ had seen this passion.
[40:45] And had knowledge of him that only the Son of God could have. So unrighteous put to the penetrating eye of the Master. Had entered even the sanctuary of his inner devotions.
[40:57] It seems that Jesus himself was meditating on the Persian and history of Israel. Hence the expression and the reference to Genesis 28 and verse 10.
[41:14] It was also the basis of his words of comfort. A promise to Nathaniel following his profession of faith. Nathaniel answered and said unto him.
[41:26] Rabbi thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him. Because I saw thee unto the fig tree believeth thou.
[41:38] Thou shalt see greater things than these. What do we make of that confession? Certainly it's a genuine confession based on a face-to-face encounter with the Saviour of his soul.
[41:54] Rabbi, Son of God, King of Israel. Does that mean that from that moment that Nathaniel preached theological perfection?
[42:07] No, he did not. He believed he was the Messiah, certainly. The statement was such that it brought a question from Jesus. Was he really seeing the link between a fallen world and a holy God?
[42:22] That was in effect what he was. The only Saviour. If you meet him as Nathaniel met him, then you too will conclude the same.
[42:35] We read in the Scripture. As many as received them. To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Another said, Come see a man which told me all things I ever did.
[42:53] Is not this the Christ? Don't despair of speaking about Christ to the Christless.
[43:08] Don't despise the testimony of those who are witnesses to Christ. Whichever camp you are in, if you are witness to or if you are doing the witnessing, and pray that whatever you are doing, being it a speaker or a hearer, that God would own what you have said and done, and that it will be blessed to you, and to whoever it is that you spoke to.
[43:47] May God encourage us to use the opportunity that is afforded us. Much to our despair, we have little contact with others at the present.
[44:02] But what we do have, we could use better, no doubt. We could use more effectively. May God open the eyes of our mind to see these opportunities for what they are.
[44:18] Let us pray. Lord, be merciful to us. In the way that we come short, in bearing witness to Christ, in public and in private, may your people have open mouths, and a willing heart, and a longing to see still others come to know Christ for themselves.
[44:49] Grant mercy for our sins, guide us in all truth, and now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all now and always.
[45:01] Amen. Amen. Amen.