[0:00] We are going to begin our service singing to God's praise from Psalm 27. Psalm 27 and we are going to sing the first five stanzas.
[0:18] Psalm 27 and we are going to sing the first five stanzas.
[0:48] Psalm 27 and we are going to sing the first five stanzas.
[1:18] And so we are going to sing these verses, Psalm 27, five stanzas from the beginning. The Lord's my light and saving earth, who shall make me dismayed.
[1:32] The Lord's my light and saving earth, who shall make me dismayed.
[1:54] My God's faithful, Lord of all, then shall I be your friend.
[2:12] When does my enemy stand for? Most great if I am so.
[2:30] To be my flesh against me, Lord.
[2:40] They shall love and live on. Against me no one would have come.
[2:59] My heart and fear message. No one I am here, I shy with.
[3:17] One thing I hope the Lord be shy.
[3:36] And will see to all day. That on this all my life I may.
[3:53] When will see to all day. When will see to all day. When will see to all day. The Lord's my life I may. The Lord's my life. The Lord's my life.
[4:07] The Lord's my life. Behold, they are my life.
[4:20] And will see to all day. And will see to all day.
[4:38] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Oh Lord, help God. As we come before you with praise on our lips.
[4:52] We would ask that we would have some sense of the true meaning of these words.
[5:03] Ask ourselves the question concerning them. Is it true of us that the Lord is our light and our saving health.
[5:18] We give thanks for every person who has come to a measure of understanding concerning these words. And what they mean.
[5:29] And who they speak of. And we give thanks for every person that bears your name. Here in this place and throughout the land.
[5:43] And that you have many souls who own you as their God. And however it may appear on the surface to the natural eye.
[5:59] There are always men and women of every age who will do you service. Notwithstanding the many that will not acknowledge you.
[6:13] We think of your servant who looked about him. And who mistakenly thought that he alone had not bowed the knee to Baal.
[6:30] And yet there were many unbeknown to him. In that very place. Who owed allegiance to God.
[6:43] And who served you with diligence. Even putting their very life in jeopardy. Our faithfulness to God. Whose place. And the world and the world and the world.
[6:55] We give thanks that this is true. Not only in the past, but in the present. And until the end of time.
[7:06] We acknowledge that while we live in a nation that pays little homage to God.
[7:17] that there are places and peoples and nations who have within them those who are persecuted for your name's sake and yet who, in the face of such adversity, are strong in the faith and are willing to stand up and be counted as those who love the Lord and who are loved by you in return.
[7:52] We pray that you would remind us of the unchanging nature of this world that it is a world that lies in sin and ever since sin entered into this world it has demonstrated its capacity to impact upon lives and to destroy life, destroy homes and families and create barriers and make enmity be the prevalent feature of that society.
[8:35] And yet we have within your word the truth that tells us that there was one born into it whose sole purpose was to deal with that enmity and to take it away and to ensure that peace between God and those who were united by faith to him would prevail.
[9:04] So hear us, O Lord, on behalf of your people hear us on behalf of those that are yet to be numbered amongst them It is our jealous desire that you would take from that number those who will belong to you and who will serve you and follow you and make known the difference that Christ has wrought in their lives we pray that you would, through the gospel impact upon homes and families and communities and nations give the prayer to your people that you would rend the heavens and come down and that you would pour out the Spirit upon us that we would truly repent of our sins and cry out for mercy not just for ourselves but for our for our children and their children's children
[10:15] Lord hear our prayers and grant to us the spirit of prayer that we would be recognised as a praying people and that the very doors of heaven would open in response to the petitions of the saints remember this community where we reside remember the homes and the families within it we pray Lord that you would remember the villages the townships that we represent within which reside your people and their families their children their loved ones their neighbours their friends for every soul that there is we believe that there are those who pray for them even when they neglect prayer for themselves may we be marked out as those who have a care and a concern for the souls of others even when they neglect their own souls we pray for those amongst us who need to be prayed for in a special way those who have those who have illnesses to contend with the frailties of the body of the mind those who are suffering from the fragility of the travel of this world impacting upon them so that they they are fearful for their own well-being there are others who because of the passage of time are confronting the reality of what this sojourn in this world means that we will ultimately each one who survives to old age have to yield to its ravages we remember all such and commit them to your care thankful for any needful of care that they have care bestowed upon them by loved ones or by agencies dedicated to that end we pray for our hospitals and those who work within them remembering the care homes and those who are part of our community have to spend their last days and care for within these care homes we think of the hospice and the work it does and we're thankful for those who have endured their last days in this world being cared for by hands that were tender and loving we pray Lord that you would remember all the needs that are before you they are many they are varied and yet you know every need that is here every person be they young or old there is nothing going on in our lives unbeknown to you you all seeing eye of the God with whom we have to do is upon us we give thanks for the fact that it is a merciful eye that there is tenderness and there is recognition of the fragility of those who are before you so we pray that you would remember us accordingly bless the word of truth as it is proclaimed in our hearing we are thankful for every medium that you have acknowledged and owned as being in accordance with your own provision the public means of grace services of your house we give thanks for everyone present we have a desire to be present we pray for them in their homes and families
[14:15] pray for the Sunday school the work carried out there we are thankful for the thought that is put into caring for the souls of the young we pray that you would bless the word to them as they hear it in their youth even in their infancy we crave your blessing upon all that is done in your name here in our midst we remember before you those who are grieving and sorrowful the voice of death is heard yet again within our community and we pray for those who are sorrowful and grieving we pray that you would watch over us continue to bless us together around and under your word pardon the sin in Jesus amen we are going to hear God's word we're going to read from the gospel of
[15:19] Matthew chapter 15 and we're going to read from the beginning down to verse 20 Matthew chapter 15 from the beginning of the chapter then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem saying why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders for they wash not their hands when they eat bread but he answered and said unto them why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition for God commanded saying honour thy father and mother and he that curses father or mother let him die the death but ye say whosoever shall say to his father or his mother it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me and honour not his father or his mother he shall be free thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition ye hypocrites where did the highest prophesy of you say this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips but their heart is far from me but in vain they do worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men and he called a multitude and said unto them hear and understand not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man but that which cometh out of the mouth this defileth a man then came his disciples and said unto him knowest thou that the pharisees were offended after they heard this saying but he answered and said every plant which my heavenly father hath not planted shall be rooted out let them alone they be blind leaders of the blind and if the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch then answered
[17:45] Peter and said unto him declare unto us this parable and Jesus said are ye also yet without understanding do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies these are the things which defile a man but to eat with unwashing hands defileth not a man and so on may the Lord be pleased to add his blessing to this reading of his word upon his name be the praise just a word to the boys and girls today when you when you go in your way somewhere when you are going to school in the morning how do you say ta-ta to your nuns and dads is that what you say ta-ta or goodbye do they see you later that's what they say
[19:09] I remember somebody telling me once that I don't know if it was when I was visiting them as a minister they were staying in one of the care homes shall we say in Storleby and they said to me as I left cheerio and when I had gone this lady got a row from her neighbour because she used this farewell cheerio it wasn't appropriate for a Christian to part from another Christian saying cheerio and I think that person who did that and really the truth is that she very much hurt she was this person was very much hurt by this word of rebuke and it's probably that this person was very like the person that Jesus is critical of here but it's important for us and this is how I was thinking
[20:15] I was thinking how often have we said goodbye to somebody without really thinking about whether this person is going to be there for us to come home to or to meet again sometimes we go on a long journey and we're not sure if we'll see them again so when we part from them we're not really thinking about that very closely and there are many things that many people have regretted when they said cheerio to somebody and that was the last time they saw them again they didn't see them again and they were never able they probably said well I wish I had said something more important but I wish I had said I had been more careful when I was leaving then and I remember reading about a minister who had suffered a fall and he was concursed and I think he thought things were much more serious than they were and he was lifted into the ambulance and as he was taken into the ambulance he called his son and he says tell your mother that
[21:35] I love her very much I wonder if your dad would say that to your mum that the last thing they would want they would really want to tell mum that they loved her very much they probably don't say that often enough but that person thought well this is serious I might not come back and this is what I want you to tell this patient who is very important to me and I remember myself as a 17 year old a neighbour who I grew up knowing and was very fond of and doubtless they were fond of me and they were taken into an ambulance and I didn't know how serious that was but he did something very embarrassing to me he called me over and he kissed me and as a 17 year old for a man to kiss you that was very embarrassing to me but I didn't know that was the last time I was going to see him and I wasn't wondering if he knew that was the last time he was going to see me or not but when we see
[22:42] Jesus there were words that came from his mouth that he knew were going to be his last words and they were very important to the church and they were very important to God's people and because they were his last words when he was dying on the cross Jesus was concerned about his people and amongst the things he he said from the cross which may amaze some people he says father father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing he said many very special things in his life but this was in his death and even though he knew that he was going to die soon this was a prayer that came from his mouth and many people wondered about it but it tells us the kind of person he was and what he wanted to say before he left this world that it was going to be something of worth something of weight something of import and it is to the people of God to this day so I think what I would want you to think about is that we're often told we should never say something in haste you should never say something that you would regret because very often if we say something hurriedly and in the wrong spirit it might be something that we can never get back we can't unsay it so we should always watch what we say and always be mindful that what we do say who knows we might not be able to say it again or to say it to these people that are dear to us and
[24:50] Jesus tells us that we are to guard our mouth and to watch our words and I hope that every day that you're with your mums and dads you'll always remember to tell them that they're special to you and that you love them and that you think a lot of them well as you go out to Sunday school now we're going to sing again from psalm 27 psalm 27 and we're going to sing from the middle of verse 9 to the end of the psalm O God of my salvation leave me not nor forsake though me my parents both should leave the Lord will me uptake O Lord instruct me in thy way to me a leader be in a plain path because of those that hatred bear to me give me not to mine enemies with for witnesses that lie against me risen are and such as breathe out cruelty
[26:03] I fainted had unless that I believed had to see the Lord's own goodness in the land of them that living be wait on the Lord and be thou strong and he shall strength afford unto thine heart yea do thou wait I say upon the Lord these verses verse 27 the last five stands as O God of my salvation leave me not not forsake O God O God O my salvation leave me heart for forsake though me my my parents for journey the
[27:05] Lord with me of day O Lord and strong me in thy way promise me God, a children's lesson learned to me Give me nokel my alright Ladies are with� najisstvotest
[28:08] Against me risen I am still a peace of glory.
[28:24] I can't give out the best of God, He did not choose me.
[28:44] The Lord's glory is yet to the Lord, all the men that may flee.
[29:01] When I am Lord and be the strong, and he must stand the Lord, I am good, I am hard, yea, do the wind, I say, O Lord, all the Lord.
[29:40] I would like us to turn again to the chapter that we read in the New Testament Scriptures, Matthew chapter 15, and we can read again verse 13.
[29:57] But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.
[30:11] Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. If we read our Bible at all, then it shouldn't be difficult for us to remember that there are many instances that we find recorded there, where the Lord Jesus is dealing with those who believe themselves to know better than others.
[30:53] Not just know better than others, but believe themselves to be better than others. And from that superior position, they are critical of others.
[31:05] On the basis of what they believe about themselves, they think that they have the right to condemn others who think that they are not as good as they are.
[31:24] Now, it's one such situation we have here, where the scribes and the Pharisees come to Jesus and they are critical of the disciples of Jesus.
[31:38] But in reality, they are critical of Jesus himself. Because of what they believe to be behaviour that Jesus permits or encourages.
[31:49] And it has to do with the criticism that the disciples do not practice ceremonial cleanliness.
[32:05] And without going into too much detail, the scribes and the Pharisees practiced a ritual cleansing. It wasn't just the fact that, you know, the way we are more conscious of passing germs on to each other by not shaking hands or making sure that our hands have been put under the viral spray or soap.
[32:38] That's not what the Pharisees were concerned about. It wasn't the fact that they were concerned about eating food with their hands clean and practicing what you would call ordinary cleansing.
[32:58] But a ritual cleansing which they practiced where they would put their hands under running water and the water was applied to their hands and it would cover all their hands and the water would run off.
[33:17] In fact, some of the commentators would say that they were so extreme in the way that they practiced this that if the water actually ran back onto their hands after them sprinkling it, they would have to redo it because the water had been polluted and it had to come right away from their hands and the cleansing had to be complete.
[33:47] And if you were really good, if you were really a holy person, you would do that at every, not just at every meal, but at every, if you were going to have soup, you would do the same thing again after your soup before you had the main course.
[34:06] And then after you had the main course, you would go through it all again. So there was a ritual cleansing and an extreme form of ritual cleansing.
[34:18] And they were looking at the disciples and they were saying to them, well, you're not doing this. And because you're not doing this, you're not really one of God's people.
[34:31] And how does Jesus challenge such an opinion? Well, Jesus says to them that what matters and is much more important is not the external cleansing that they are so obsessed with, but the cleansing of the inner person, the inner man, the heart and the soul.
[34:57] And if you are outwardly, apparently conforming, and your insides are polluted, that's what God is concerned with.
[35:13] That's what matters. And when Jesus is dealing with them here, he quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. And he quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 29.
[35:28] And the teaching, it's interesting that what Isaiah said so many years ago, Jesus takes and applies to a modern context, his own context.
[35:42] And he sees, or Isaiah foresaw, that this was going to be highlighted.
[35:53] The need for true cleansing, not outward conformity, although he wasn't saying that's not necessary. But over and above the outward conformity, there was a need for the inner man, the heart and the soul to be right with God.
[36:15] And in John L. Mackay's comments on this in the book of Isaiah, he writes this, His inner motives can be concealed from other people, but they can't be concealed from God.
[36:30] The fear demonstrated towards him was a response they had learned. They knew it was the correct way to behave, but it was not spontaneous.
[36:45] It was not the spontaneous respect welling up from within, and translated into transformed lives.
[36:56] And I think we're all in that kind of danger. Whoever we are, we're quite happy to make sure that those who see us, that as long as what they see is all there is to it.
[37:15] And as long as we keep people, and people who know us, thinking that we're all right, in private we can't be the way we want, in private we can't behave the way we want, as long as it's behind closed doors, and nobody can see us, we can do what we like.
[37:38] But that forgets what the Bible tells us constantly, that God's eye is upon us, and God sees what we are like, not just externally, but internally.
[37:52] He knows the thoughts that we have. He knows the feelings that are ours. So at the heart of what Jesus has to say, is the understanding, that one day, and that day soon, God will expose what is false, and confirm what is genuine.
[38:15] And I want us to look specifically at the words of our text, with that thought in mind. First of all, we are reminded that Jesus is speaking here, about what God has not planted.
[38:33] what God has not planted. And if he speaks about what God has not planted, alongside that must be the thought, that there must be what God has planted.
[38:52] You know, it would be strange to talk about something that isn't there, because, obviously, the thing that isn't there, tells us that there must be something missing, that there must be something that you're looking for.
[39:10] And God has planted something, just as surely as he has not planted something. And then the third thing that Jesus tells us, that there is a day coming.
[39:26] Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted, will be rooted up. They shall be rooted up, he says.
[39:37] So that, again, when Jesus is dealing with these people, who are so much an annoyance to him, a grief to him, people who are constantly on the back, of those that he is committed to, and loves, and who are committed to him, and love him, and they are being tirelessly persecuted, by those who live by their own rules, and condemn others because they don't keep to these rules, there is an anger in his heart, an annoyance in his heart, that must be, that must be revealed for, what it really is all about.
[40:27] Now, how can I begin to apply this to ourselves today? First of all, let's think of the church. We understand what the church is, and there's many opinions about the church, and how it functions.
[40:46] But we, we belong to the church here, and everyone who is in this building, belongs to the church, in one way or another. And the church exists within, what we are told, is a multi-faith society.
[41:01] That is, those who are not of the church, but they belong to faiths, other than the Christian faith. The church is made up of, those who are Christians.
[41:14] There are faiths that are not Christian, and other faiths, multi-faiths. There's Buddhists, there's Islam, there's, all kinds of, of, Eastern, Eastern, faiths, that have come into, our society.
[41:36] And they exist, and they exist alongside, the Christian faith. And then, there's no faith at all. There are those who, clearly, believe that, their atheism, or their agnosticism, is a relevant, and, a legitimate, position to hold.
[42:00] And, within, our society, we are told, almost, daily, that our society, is no longer, Christian. Not only, is it, sufficient to say, that it is multi-faith.
[42:18] It is, considered to be, secular. That there is no, God at all, at the, heart of this society. And that, is something, that you are hearing, constantly, and you are being told, that, our society, has so, gone away, from its, Christian, roots, that it no longer, has a right, to call itself, a Christian society.
[42:46] Now, whether, you agree, with that, position, or belief, or not, whether, whether, you believe, that, we are, currently, in a, post-Christian, secular society, or not, there is, a, clear, understanding, within, the scripture, that, within, our society, at any, given time, there will, always be, those, who, expose, the Christian, faith, alongside, these, other, faiths, and, alongside, those, who, are, of, no, faith, and, that, is, always, going, to, be, the, case, however, many, or, however, few, belong, to, that, Christian, faith, they, will, always, be, there, God, has, decreed, it, as, such, that, there, will, never, be, an, occasion, in, the, experience, of, this, world, when, he, will, leave, himself, without, witnesses, now, it doesn't mean, that, there, be, many, doesn't mean, that, there, be, greater, in, number, than, those, who, are, antagonistic, to, him, but, he, will, always, have, that, testimony, to, who, he, is, and, to, who, his, son, is, might, be, very, in, number, it, is, clearly, the, case, that, within, that, number, who, espouse, the,
[44:18] Christian, tradition, as, their, tradition, there, is, any, number, of, of, sub, categories, you, could, call, you, know, you, know, that, there, is, a, Protestant, tradition, that, there, is, a, Roman, Catholic, tradition, you, know, that, within, the, Protestant, tradition, you, will, have, Baptists, and, Pedo-Baptists, you, will, have, liberal, theology, and, you, will, have, reformed, theology, there, is, always, going, to, be, divisions, and, subdivisions, within, that, Christian, faith, here, in, this, place, today, what, do we, have, we, have, Christians, perhaps, it, would, be, safer, to, say, Christians, with, a, C, because, amongst, those, who, are, here, who, would, certainly, defy, anybody, to, say, that, they, were, anything, other, than, Christian, there, are, those, who, are, professing,
[45:20] Christians, who, have, made, a, public, declaration, of, their, allegiance, to, Christ, and, others, who, have, made, a, declaration, by, virtue, of, baptism, that, they, have, an, interest, in, Christ, maybe, not, the, interest, of, the, the, person, who, has, confirmed, their, their, union, with, Christ, by, faith, whether, that, have you, agree, with, that, difference, or not, it's there, and, then, you, would, have, those, who, who, are, nominally, Christian, although, without, having, committed, themselves, in, any, way, shape, or, form, to, Christianity, now, when we think about, why, any one of us, are in church today, and what we expect, to, to find, by being in church, we, may, outwardly, call forward, so that, if I were to start up, in the corner there, and run down the seats, there's no difference, at all, from what I see, before me, there's men, and women, and there's young, and old, and, outwardly, you're here, in the, house of God, you're here, with Christians, perhaps, as a Christian, big C, small C, you're not antagonistic, to what is believed, but, what, what, what, what, what, what I can see,
[47:06] God can, what God, sees, is that, in this place, there are those, who are, of his planting, and, there are those, who are not, of his planting, and, however, we can, differentiate, and, we may, be just, as guilty, as the scribes, and the Pharisees, of judging others, on the basis, of, X, Y, or Z, and say, well, this person, doesn't really deserve, to be considered, a big C Christian, he is no better, than a small C Christian, if anything at all, and we make, that analysis, and we make, that, conclusion, and it's ours, but we're not, really in the best place, to do that, for us, God is, and God does not, and God, is interested, in what is going on, in our heart,
[48:13] God is interested, interested, in what is going on, in our lives, that is, the product, of what is going on, in our heart, and that is, what is important, for us to recognize, that here, now Jesus, is speaking, to our people, on the grounds, of a particular, experience, that he has, at that moment, it's not, you know, he's not, he's not, dealing with, every area, of their, their life, simply, at this point, where they have, where they have, attacked, the disciples, because, they have not, conformed, to what they believe, would mark out, the believer, as a believer, and Jesus, deals, and Jesus, deals, with that, and says, look, you may be satisfied, with, with this ritual cleansing, but you've got to understand, that true religion, is more than that, genuine faith, in Christ, is more than, conforming, outwardly, although, you would expect, a person, who has genuine faith, in Christ, to conform, outwardly, and you would be surprised, if they did not, but it is not, the last word, what has God done, when we are told, or we, we can conclude, that he has planted,
[49:54] I want you to, every one of you, I want you to do, some homework, for yourselves, good Sunday afternoon, to do this, read the gospels, and find out, for yourself, how often, Jesus had to, and there's ample, opportunity, you won't have to, go very far, in any one of the gospels, before you find, Jesus Christ, having to deal, with individuals, who, who believed, that, what they were doing, was of the Lord, and that they were, persuaded, that what they were, was, was, from God, and that, he wanted, us to understand, he wanted, his disciples, to understand, he wanted, his hearers, to understand, that, this was something, that, every person, could be careful of, that, they understood, that, even belonging, to the number, was not, certain, was not a certain, something, it wasn't something, that, confirmed, to them, that, what they were, was, what they ought to be, for example, you will have, just to help you, you will have, parables, taught, by Jesus, where, he describes, to us, a field, of wheat, and in that, field, growing along, with the wheat, are tears, and Jesus, wants us, to understand, that, this, can happen, that, this, other plant, grows, alongside, that, which is, supposed, to be there, it's, alongside it, and it's, indiscernible, from it, you can't, tell it apart, and, there are, there are, well, another example, just for you, he talks about, the church, as the true vine, and he says, on the branches, of that vine, there is fruit, fruit, but there are, branches, that are not, bearing fruit, who are not, of the true vine, so he's saying, as far as the eye, can see, that is a vine, and that vine, is supposed, to bear fruit, but the proof, of it being, a true vine, or part of the, true vine, belonging to the vineyard, is its fruit bearing, capacity, so again, and again,
[53:00] Jesus, reminds us, it's not enough, for you, if you're a professing, Christian, to understand, that your professing, is enough, to testify, because it's, professing is something, you do outwardly, and it's not enough, for you, who are a professor, to do that, outwardly, and believe, that that is sufficient, there's more to it, and, this, the other side, of this is, that I would be surprised, if, if you are a, a person today, who looks at the church, and who says, well, who would want to be part, of that church anyway, it's full of, hypocrites, it's full of people, who, who lay claim, to be something, that they are not, and, very often, I would be surprised, if, if you are not, if you are not a Christian, and, you, you've got, a, a whole battery, of reasons, for not being a Christian, you've got a whole list, of reasons, for not being a Christian, and amongst, these reasons,
[54:12] I would be surprised, if this wasn't one of them, that you see the church, and you see, who belong to the church, and who are professing, members of the church, and you say, look at that person, they say they're members, and they say they're Christians, and they say they're believers, and they say they love Christ, and look at the way they behave, and that's one of the reasons, you have, for not believing yourself, well, is that a reason, for not believing, is that the reason, you're going to give God, at the last judgment, I didn't believe, because, my good neighbor, who made such a, song and dance, about believing, but he wasn't really, a good neighbor at all, and that's why, I didn't believe, that's why, I didn't go to Christ, and why, I didn't follow Christ, you, remind yourself, of this, if, that is a reason, you have, for not believing, if you can find, a place in the Bible, that tells you, that, the church, is made up, of, perfect, people, that's, one thing, people will say, often, they believe, themselves, to be perfect, they profess, perfection, they declare, themselves, to be free, from sin,
[55:46] I, I can't, I can't, for the life of me, understand, why, any, person, who's a Christian, would believe, himself, to be free, from sin, free, from, the corruptions, that sin, has brought, into their heart, and Christ, nowhere says, that his church, is perfect, he came, into the world, to seek, and to save, the lost, he, his ultimate aim, is, to make the sinner, perfect, but until, such time, as he takes them, out of this sinful world, that sinner, even on his deathbed, will find, evidence, of sin, in their lives, it is their grief, and their sorrow, that it's there, they would wish, above anything, to be rid of it, but it's there, what is it, that surprises you, most about Jesus, well, there may be, many things,
[56:52] Jesus chose, twelve disciples, do you know that, don't you, he chose, twelve disciples, and you think, well, he was a poor, judge of man, because, one of these, men that he chose, was, a man called, Judas Iscariot, you'll say, well, why on earth, did he choose, Judas Iscariot, because he said, of Judas Iscariot, I have chosen, twelve, and one of them, is a devil, that's what he said, why did he do that, why did he allow, somebody, who was not, clearly, a believer, to, walk with those, who were believers, to be in fellowship, with those, who were believers, to sit with them, at his table, to share, with them, in fellowship, and probably, because he knew, and we would have, to understand, that that is, the very nature, of man, that amongst, those who are, in this world, you will find, people who, for one reason, or another, want to associate, themselves, with Christ, without wanting, to associate, themselves, in the way, that they must, associate with them, in order, to be saved, you remember, when the spirit, was poured out, on Pentecost,
[58:30] I often, think about it, what would happen, if the spirit, came down, on this congregation, and you were, bathed in the spirit, in the moment, and you would think, every person, here would then, believe, you would be convicted, they would rejoice, because the spirit, touched them, and yet, very early on, in the experience, of the church, there were those, who saw, all of these things, happening, who were present, when these things, happened, yet remained, untouched, by it themselves, one of the, preachers, looking at, the day of Pentecost, and looking at, the aftermath, of that day, he saw, her, and he wondered, perhaps, like many others, did, how, how, was it, that, the likes of,
[59:37] Ananias, and, Zaphira, who saw much, and who, who probably, understood, better than most, what was involved, in faith, he calls them, pious frauds, pious frauds, and there they were, if you looked at them, if you watched, their behaviour, they would be, no different, to those, who were professing, Christians, now Jesus, is saying, here, there are those, who are, not of God's, planting, there are those, who are of God's, planting, and, again and again, he reminds us, they grow, up together, they are side, by side, and, despite, being found, where you would, expect, to find, the Lord's people, does not, make them, one of that number, and it is, the life business, of the Christian, to ensure, that, they prove, to themselves, first and foremost, that they have, the root of the matter, in themselves, that they have, evidence, that is, proof positive, of a, change, brought, in their life, many of those, who, who, look at, this planting, of the Lord, they, they use the word, they, they're quickening, that, you know, we spoke, recently, about, you must be born again, the planting, of the Lord, is the regeneration, that God, creates, within the heart, and the soul, of man, and, we, as Christians, if we are Christians, we must, always, continue, to establish, for ourselves, that, what is going on, in our life, is going on, because, of what Christ, and God, has done, in our life, that's not slavery, but prudence, and a prudence, that will be rewarded, because, on the day, of judgment, if you are going, to appear, before God, and who isn't, if you are going, to stand, before God, at the last, and there's not, a living soul, that will not, have to give account, to God, and, or for you have, to do, on that day, is to declare, well,
[62:25] I, I presumed, I presumed, that because, I attended, the canonish, church, and you had, the best minister, in the world, who preached, the clearest gospel, in the world, that that makes, you all right, I don't care, who the preacher is, I don't care, what you attract, attribute, to your salvation, to, I've heard Christians, tell, about, their coming, to faith, and they'll say, oh, I came to faith, and there's such, and such a preacher, and he's a renowned, preacher, a great preacher, a preacher, that many, came to faith, under this preaching, but that doesn't matter, really, how you came to faith, or where you came to faith, or which means, God used to bring you to faith, is that, you need to be, a man, or a woman, of faith, somebody was talking, recently, and I've heard it, and read it, so often, about famous preachers, and, they've been confronted, by men, under the influence, of drink, and, they said,
[63:33] I'm one of your converts, I'm one of your converts, I came to faith, and to your preaching, and the preacher said, without hesitation, you look like my work, because it's not, who the preacher is, but whether, you are of God's planting, and if you are not, of God's planting, then it's misery for you, a Baptist preacher, of a past generation, wrote the following, let hypocrites, or those, insincere, who are planted, in gospel churches, tremble, for since God, did not plant them there, they must, and shall, in a short time, be rooted up, if God, did not plant you, then, he will, root you up, but remember, those, who are planted, by God, will never, be rooted up, we're going, to finish our service, with the words, of Fasan, as we sing the song,
[64:52] I want you to think, of what these words mean, and they mean, just exactly, what Christ, is teaching here, in Psalms 92, we read, those, those, that within, the house of God, are planted, by his grace, they shall, grow up, and flourish all, in our God's, holy place, and in old age, when others, fade, the fruit, still forth, shall bring, they shall, be fat, and full of sap, and I, be flourishing, as you sing, these words, as we sing, ask yourself, if you can tell, the difference, between what God, has planted, and what he has not, and if you can tell, if you yourself, are of God's planting, and if you are not, of God's planting, what does that, mean for you, what does it mean, for you, if the day, will come, where he will root up, what he has not, what will it mean, for you, on that day, let's pray,
[66:06] Lord help us, to believe, that there is, a God in heaven, whose eye, is searching, this way, and that, and he knows, everything, to do with us, what is in our heart, what is in our life, what is in public, what is in private, the day will come, when our relationship, with Christ, will be proved, as genuine, or less so, it will be proved, as that, which you have, brought us, into, or what we have, imagined, as being, something, that, is not real, go before us, we pray, blessing, your word, to all, who would be, entered today, and mercy upon us, in Jesus name, Amen, and as I said, we're going to sing, these words, of Psalm 92, Psalm 92, from verse 12, but like, the palm tree flourishing, shall be, the righteous one, he shall like, to the cedar grow, that is, in Lebanon, and we can sing, to the end of the sound, but like, the palm tree flourishing, but like, the palm tree flourishing, shall be, the righteous one, he shall like, through the cedar grow, that is, in Lebanon, though, that when, in the house, don't know, are hunted by his grave, they shall number, from the fire.
[68:19] may flow in 우리�SHE, in thereros holy place, and in all days, when others with Le McConnellANG, Thank you.
[69:12] Thank you.
[69:42] May the grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all, ever and always. Amen.