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[0:00] A warm welcome to our service this evening and a special welcome to our young people.

[0:12] It's very nice to see you all here under the sound of God's word and as we come together to hear the word of God we pray that he would bless it to us.

[0:23] We can begin by singing from Psalm 102, the second version of the psalm and we're singing from verse 11 down to verse 18.

[0:39] Psalm 102, the second version of verse 11. My days are like a shade always, which does declining swiftly pass.

[0:52] And I am withered away, much like unto the fading grass. But thou, O Lord, shalt still endure from change and from all mutation free.

[1:05] To all generations sure shall thy remembrance ever be. Thou shalt arise and mercy yet thou to my science shalt extend. Her time of our favour which was set, behold, is now come to an end.

[1:21] Thy saints take pleasure in her stones. Her very dust to them is dear. All heathen lands and kingly thrones on earth thy glorious name shall fear.

[1:35] God in his glory shall appear when Zion he builds and repairs. He shall regard and lend his ear unto the needy's humble prayer.

[1:46] The afflicted's prayer he will not scorn. All times this shall be on record. And generations yet unborn shall praise and magnify the Lord.

[2:00] And so on. We can sing these verses. Psalm 102, the second version. From verse 11. My days are like a shade of wave which does declining swiftly pass.

[2:12] My days are like a shade of wave which does declining swiftly pass.

[2:33] And I am withered in the way. But I can take the fading grass.

[2:53] But thou, O Lord, shall still endure from change and all mutation free.

[3:13] Until your generation's share.

[3:24] Shall thy remembrance ever be. Thou shalt arise, unmercing yet.

[3:45] The timid's silence shalt extend.

[3:55] Thy sin for favor which was set.

[4:06] Behold is now come to the end.

[4:16] Thy sin for love. Thy sins for power. Thy sins for иногда Shiite and German-C może pur Zachariah.

[4:28] Thy sins for example всюだsh. Thy sin for sonst her wrath. Thy sins for четыылGL Heath voz. Ganondbaぜ kное to other tomorrow sin ointura.

[4:38] That hopefully lysate with"; Thy sins for nonoter incorrectly siren però. And the kingly thrones On earth thy glory His name shall appear God in his glory Shall appear When Zion he builds And reverts He shall regard And lend his ear Until the knee These humble prayers

[5:40] The afflicted spirit He will not storm All times this shall be All record And generations Yet and born Shall praise and magnify The Lord Let us join together in prayer Let us pray O Lord our God As we come before you At this time of worship We give thanks For the opportunity to do so And that there is no prohibition

[6:42] That forbids us From gathering in public For the worship of your great name And that we are not forbidden By providence In the sense that Many are tonight Denied The opportunity To worship God With others Because of their own Ailments Or because of Duties that are theirs In connection with those Who are unwell There are reminders To us Of how quickly Our lives can be changed When these opportunities Evaporate And when the door Of opportunity Is shut To us And we Think that we Are in control Of these things When in reality We are not

[7:43] We pray that you would Remind us Of the wisdom In availing ourselves Of the opportunity So that We would not let slip The message Of the gospel That is proclaimed In our hearing Even writ large On the pages Of holy scripture And we Bless your name For the way That you magnify The name of Christ To us As the alone Saviour of sinners We pray for your Blessing upon all Gatherings of your People this evening We pray that you Would bless the message That has gone out Already this day For every Congregation Of our island Community And beyond We pray that the Message of Jesus Christ And him Crucified

[8:43] Would have Been heard And would have Been declared Freely and Fully And the Implications Of Not embracing The provision Made by him For sin Brought Home To those Who have yet To Put their Trust in him We pray Lord that you Would remember All the nations Of the earth To that end And we pray For the Missionary Activities Of the church That they Would prosper And that they Would secure A hearing Ear On the part Of those That they Proclaim Christ to Different Places That Perhaps to us Might appear Places that Are barren Spiritually But the Reality is The ground Is fertile And The

[9:44] Harvest Is Plentiful Whereas the Labourers Are few Our prayer is That you would Send forth Labourers Into your Harvest And that even In our own Barrenness We would see The windows Of heaven Opened Out And Blessing Poured So that Our labours Would not Prove to be In vain As indeed You have Promised All that is Done in your Name Is not Vain Or foolish We pray For your Blessing Upon Your people That you would Strengthen Their faith And encourage Them To go on With the Lord That you Would Enable them To have Their eye Fixed Upon The one Who Has revealed Himself to Us as the Rock of Ages The one To whom

[10:44] Your people Can go For he Has provided A cleft In the Rock Where we Can shelter And where We are Assured That the Enemy Of our Soul That is Always Industrious In seeking The souls Of those Who are Indifferent To the Care thereof That you Would remind Us that There is One to Whom we Can turn As we Read in Your word The enemy Of our Soul Is as a Roaring lion Going about Seeking whom He may Devour But there Is one Greater Than he That we Can rely On Who will Turn him From his Purposes So hear Our prayers To that End And enable Us to Wait upon You The short Time we Met together In your House This evening

[11:45] Bless those Who commit To your Care and Keeping Those who Have need Of your Own Special Attention Reminding Them of Your Knowledge Of them And That you Are indeed A god Who is The great Physician of Souls Those whose Hearts are Heavy And those Who are Grieving The loss Of loved Ones May You Assuage That grief By Applying The balm Of your Own tender Love We pray For those Who are Currently Looking at Empty Places That were Once so Full to Them And now They are Destitute Because of The way It has Impacted Upon Their lives We remember Those who Are struggling With various Illnesses Some

[12:45] That we Know of Are Housebound Some Are hospitalised Some Even Within Hospices Enduring Care And it is Endurance To them Because Such is The nature Of the Illness That they Need To be Sustained By your Own hand Upon them We pray For the Caring Professions We pray For all Who are Engaged In remembering The needs Of society As a Whole Whatever Calling They have Whether it Is to Support Government By Ensuring That That there Is The Peace Of Men And women Secured Through Through The legal Harm Of Police

[13:46] Some Who are Ensuring Peace And safety In the Armed Forces Various Bodies That they Represent We pray Lord That you Would Remember The way That we Take so Much For granted Do not Allow us Or to Do To the Dereliction Of our Duty To pray Earnestly That peace May remain And that You may Continue to Bless us With that With that Privilege That we So often Are guilty Of Overlooking Remember Lord The world Of this Peace The various Parts Of the World That Are Constantly Engaged In Warfare Sometimes In Their Own Locality Sometimes It Is Civil War Sometimes It

[14:46] Is Nations That Are At War Sometimes There Are Peoples That Should Be Brothers And Yet They Are At Each Other's Throats And This Is Ongoing This Something That Is Often Overlooked By us And we Confess Our Ignorance And we Pray For Wisdom To Bear One Another's Burdens Remember Us Then This Evening As we Turn To Your Word As we Continue To Lift Our Voices In The Singing Of Your Praise May We Magnify Your Name And May We Wait Upon You To Hear What You Have To Say To Us Through Your Word May We Be Attentive And May All that Is Done In Our Midst Redone To Your Glory So Speak Peaceably To Us Young And Old Alike Grant Mercy For Our Sins In Jesus Name

[15:46] Amen I'm Going to Sing to God's Praise From Psalm 32 Psalm 32 From Verse 7 To The End Thou Art Thou Thou Thou Thou Shalt From Trouble Keep Me Free Thou With Songs Of Deliverance About Shall Compass Me I Will Instruct The And Teach The Way That Thou Shalt Go And With Mine Eye Upon Thou Thou Thou Will Direction Show Then Be Not Like The Harsh Or Mule Which Do Not Understand Whose Mouth Lest They Come Near To The A Bridal Must Command And To The Man That Wicked Is His Sorrows Shall Abound But Him That Trusteth In The Lord Mercy Shall Compass Round Ye Righteous In The Lord Be Glad In Him Do

[16:46] Ye Rejoice All Ye That Upright Are In Heart For Joy Lift Up Your Voice These Five Stanzas To God's Praise Thou Art My Hiding Place Thou Shalt From Trouble Keep Me Free Thou Art My Hiding Place Thou Shalt From Trouble Keep Me Me Free Thou Will Songs Of Heal In The Rounds A Park Shall Compass Me I Will Instruct The Teach The Way The Earth

[17:47] Shall Go And With Mine Eye Upon The Shade I Will Direction Show Then Be Then Be Not Like The Horse Or Mule Which Do Not Understand Whose Mind Bless They Come Here To The A Praise The Must Command Until The Man That Is

[18:48] His Sorrows Shall Abound But In The Thou Shade In The Lord Mercy Shall Come Past Round Ye Righteous In The Lord Be Glad In Him Do Ye Rejoice All Ye That Have Pride Had In Heart For Joy Lift Up Your Voice We're

[19:50] Going To Hear God's Word As We Have The Gospel Of Jesus Christ According To John Chapter 16 John Chapter 16 From The Beginning These Things Have I Spoken Unto You That Ye Should Not Be Offended They Shall Put You Out Of The Sin To You Because They But These Things Have I Told You

[20:51] That When The Time Shall Come Ye May Remember That I Told You And These Things I Said Not Unto You At The Beginning But Things Unto You Sorrow Hath Filled Your Heart Nevertheless I Tell You The Truth It Is Expedient For You That I Go Away For If I Go Not Away For If I Go Not Away The Christ Of In The Of Sin Because They Believe

[21:52] Of Righteousness Because I Go To My Father And You See Me No More To To To Say To Say To You But You To You To You To You To You To You To To You To You To You All Things That The Father Hath Are Mine Therefore Said I That He Shall Take Of Mine And You To You

[22:53] A Little While And Ye Shall See Me Because I Go To The Father And So On May The Lord Add His Blessing To A Little While And To To To Psalm 73 Verse 23 Nevertheless Continually O Lord I Am With Thee Thou Dost Me Thou With Thy Counsel While I Will To Thy Glory Afterward Whom Have I In The Heavens High But Thee O

[23:54] Lord Alone And In The Earth My Desire Besides Thee There Is None My Flesh And Heart Doth Faint And Fail But God Doth Fail Me Never For Of My Heart God Is The Strength And Portion Forever For Lo They That Are Far From Thee Forever Perish And That Are And That Are Whoring From Thee Go Thou Hath Destroyed All But Surely It Is Good For Me That I Draw Near To God In God I Trust That All Thy Works I May Declare Abroad We Can Sing Thee Verses Of Psalm 73 Verse 23 To The End Nevertheless Continually O Lord I Am With Thee O Lord I Am With Thee

[25:05] Thou Just Behold Thine Right Hand And Still Appornest Me Though With Thy Combs Answer While I Live With Thee Conduct And Guide And To Thy Glowing Afterward Receive Me To Abide Receive Me To Abide Whom Have I In The Heavens High

[26:11] But Thee O Lord Alone And In Thee And In Thee Who My Desire Besides Thee There Is None My Flesh And Heart Not Flesh And Heart My flesh and heart, nothing can fail, but God does fail me never.

[26:59] For of my heart, God is the strength and proportion forever.

[27:18] For, Lord, they that are far from thee forever perish shall.

[27:38] Them that have walking from thee go, thou hast destroyed it all.

[27:58] But surely it is good for me that I draw near to God.

[28:17] In God I trust that all thy works I may declare abroad.

[28:36] Can we turn to the passage that we read together?

[28:50] The New Testament Scriptures, Gospel of John chapter 16. And we can read again at verse 5.

[29:02] But now I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me, whither goest thou?

[29:17] Whither goest thou? Or where are you going? A number of years ago I was given a tract.

[29:30] And the title of the tract was, Where Will You Spend Eternity? Where Will You Spend Eternity? And the author of the tract lived, well, he died nearly a hundred years ago.

[29:51] He was a minister of religion whose labors were mostly spent in America. Although he did have a ministry that extended beyond that, a man by Dr. R.A. Torrey.

[30:08] But what reminded me of it was that the text that he chose as a basis for his sermon from which that tract was taken is actually the text that we're looking at this evening.

[30:30] And the question that Jesus alerts us to, whither goest thou?

[30:43] Or where are you going? And because of the importance of the question, it is clear that whether we refer back to a sermon that was preached a hundred years ago, or directly to the source of these words, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the question is an important one.

[31:12] Where are you going? And I suppose you could say there are many ways of answering such a question.

[31:23] But I want us, without spending too much time, by way of introduction, I want us, first of all, to describe the setting out of which these words come.

[31:43] And if we understand something of the setting, then the importance that Christ gives to the world will become more evident. And I want us, secondly, to understand why we are to give importance to supplying the right answer.

[32:03] If we were asked such a question, where are you going? What kind of answer would you give tonight? Where are you going? Thirdly, we must understand that there is one destination that awaits all of us.

[32:23] So, even if you are looking at me, and you might suggest that where I am going is different to where you are going, there is a point at which all our lives will intersect.

[32:39] We all come to the one place. And we will all, however our paths deviate in the sense of what these paths contain, what we do and what we say and the way we get there, we all get to this one place.

[32:58] And because of the importance of that, then the question itself becomes even more important. And the answer even more so.

[33:11] And I think, finally, I don't want anyone to be of any doubt that every one of us is capable of seeing where we are going right now.

[33:29] We have an answer. We have an answer. We might say, no, it's uncertain. It's vague. It's hidden. No, that's not right.

[33:40] You know perfectly well just now where you're going. Because of where you are now. And because of the nature of the destination that awaits you on the basis of where you are now.

[33:59] It may change, but it can only change if your relationship with Christ changes for the good or for the better.

[34:13] If it is not to be, it ought to be already. So let's work our way through these four headings, if you like. The setting is an interesting one.

[34:26] Because we can only imagine what great comfort the disciples derived from the company of the Lord Jesus.

[34:37] I think I've said probably very often, it's always good for us to think about the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the experience of those who shared their life with him, even for the short time that he was in the world, in our nature, in their company.

[35:05] I know that Christ is, by way of the Spirit in the world at all times, and that he makes himself, as he demonstrates even in the teaching that he gives the disciples here, that he has promised, and that promise has been fulfilled, that those of you who are the Lord's people are never without Christ in your company.

[35:26] He has promised his own people, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. So there's a sense in which Christ is always with us.

[35:39] But during his earthly years, he was with the disciples physically, and they were in the same way as you are sitting in the company of whoever sharing the pew with you tonight, those who share your home with you.

[36:01] He was in the company of the disciples and many others, and he spoke with them, he ate with them, he prayed with them, he talked with them, probably very deep, meaningful conversations, and maybe even lighter conversations to do with whatever encounter they had that day with various providences.

[36:27] And I would imagine that the disciples really, really enjoyed his company. They probably looked for him more than they looked for anyone else.

[36:46] And because of the time that he spent with them, they trusted in him, and they wanted him to be near them, and they drew a lot of comfort from that presence.

[37:04] Even though, when he began to minister to them, when he began to share his life with them, as his disciples, he drew them to himself, and he gave them a ministry to fulfill, and he gave them instruction as to how they were to do that.

[37:35] And all of these things are important for us to realize. If you remember, I was thinking about various examples that we could find from God's Word, when he called the disciples to himself.

[37:49] He went to Peter and Andrew, and there were fishermen, and they were doing what fishermen do, perhaps they were mending their nets, whatever it was they were doing.

[38:00] He called them away from their work. And he told them, come with me, I am going to make you fishers of men, but give you a new job.

[38:11] You're going to be with me. I will make you fishers of men. Just come after me. Yet the same Peter that he called to make a fisher of men, he afterwards said, perhaps in a boastful way, perhaps in a complaining way, he said, we have forsaken all and followed you.

[38:37] And I think Jesus, when he recognizes the tone that is in Peter's voice, there's an element of rebuke in it.

[38:49] You remember what he said. He instructed Peter in the same way that he instructs others. Everyone that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or fathers, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my name's sake, shall receive and hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life.

[39:14] In other words, Peter was put in his place. We have forsaken all, but Jesus reminds them, I called you to be a fisher of men with me, and now you must remember that you will not lose out in doing that.

[39:34] Jesus did not hide from anybody what it involved for them to be followers of him.

[39:45] He didn't hide from them the fact that they would encounter difficulties, hardships, trials, and that sometimes they would receive a hostile look, sometimes they would be the focus of attention that was very much one that they would shun.

[40:06] In Matthew 8 and verse 19, a certain scribe came and said unto Jesus, Master, I will follow you whithersoever you go, wherever you go, I will follow you.

[40:20] And Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.

[40:33] Now that's the kind of life that Jesus lived. That's the kind of life that the disciples gladly lived with him. He was with them, and they were prepared to go through these difficulties because he was with them, because they were comforted by his presence.

[40:55] They were encouraged to believe that as long as he was there, then it didn't matter what they would have to face up to. But, all that is about to change.

[41:13] And that's what we find here in this chapter. Jesus tells them that he is going to go away. Jesus tells them that their life will no longer go on in the way that they have been accustomed to.

[41:34] He was with them in all their best moments. He was with them in all their trials. He was with them when things were good and when things were bad and as long as that was so, they were able to put up with it and to enjoy it.

[41:52] But now he says, I'm going to leave you. And, you know, it wasn't foisted on them, certainly. It didn't come as a surprise.

[42:04] Well, it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but it did. earlier on in John chapter 14, he tells them, let not your heart be troubled.

[42:15] You believe in God, believe also in me. My father's house had many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

[42:26] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there he may be also.

[42:38] So what are you saying to them? They're probably saying, aye, aye, that's good. You're going. But you can see that they're trying to process these words of warning that he gives to them periodically and they're not able to process it in the way that you would want them to.

[43:05] Because in their mind and to their way of thinking, Jesus is going to be with them. The Messiah, if they understand him at this point, to be the Messiah is not someone who will come and then go.

[43:20] He's going to function in their midst in a very pointed way and a very clear way. But Jesus has another message for them.

[43:32] So in chapter 16, that's what we have. In verse 10, we have of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more.

[43:47] In verse 17, then said some of his disciples among themselves, what is this that he saith unto us a little while and ye shall not see me and again a little while and you shall see me and because I go to the Father and so on.

[44:03] He is repeating this truth and they are uncomfortable with it. They are unsettled by it.

[44:15] Peter and Thomas had beforehand asked the question, where are you going? and Jesus gave them the answer and yet, as I said, they could not begin to understand what Jesus was telling them.

[44:31] now, not only did he tell them that he had to go, he told them that he was going to suffer and that he was going to die and so on, but here he tells them that because his suffering is because of who he is, they will suffer because of who he is.

[44:59] these things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. Where is the offense? Well, the offense comes when they deny the Lord, when they treat the Lord as if he is God's enemy, when they treat Christ as if he is someone who is wicked and deserving of all the horrible things that are done to him.

[45:27] They shall put you out of the synagogue, the time cometh that whosoever kills you will think that he doth God's service. And these things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father or me.

[45:46] So on. So the disciples are confronting a truth that they are almost incapable of embracing or believing.

[46:04] Now there is the crux of the matter. The hard part for them was him not being there with them.

[46:17] All the rest they could put up with. but him not being there was the difficulty.

[46:32] And this is where the question arises. Jesus says, and he clearly points itself to them. They have neglected to ask him what seems to be the obvious question.

[46:52] Notice what he says in verse 5. None of you ask me where are you going. Not one of you have asked me where am I going.

[47:06] Because you're concerned about your concerns. What worries you is how you're going to cope without him. How you're going to manage without him being there.

[47:18] what will that mean to me? Jesus not being in my company. You haven't once asked him where are you going.

[47:32] And I think at the heart of that question is this. Something that often is the case with regard to our understanding of what Christ is doing and why he is doing it that we miss the obvious.

[47:56] That we get things wrong. We miss the point. Listen again to what Jesus is saying. And he has to say it and it's almost as if it's passing them by.

[48:11] One thing after the other and they're not hearing. I am going to the one that sent me, he says. I am going because I must go.

[48:22] If I do not go, the Comforter will not come. And if he does not come, then you really will be on your own.

[48:34] But I am going to be with my father. And you would have thought everything there is so important that they would latch on to it and believe in it and say, really?

[48:48] Is that the case? But no, they're demoralized. They're downcast. Their heart is broken. Jesus is going and he's leaving us by ourselves.

[49:06] But would you not say that all of these things that Jesus is telling him about where he is going is important? would you not think that it was important for Jesus to go back to be with his father?

[49:23] Would you not think it important when he said to them, I go and prepare a place for you. I go to the house of many mansions so that there's a place for you to go.

[49:36] You would think that would be impressed upon their heart. heart. But no, they're missing the point. They're not understanding the significance of what Jesus has to say and he highlights that to us.

[49:53] In this he says you did not ask me where I was going. now, this is really important.

[50:10] If the question was asked you, where are you going? Or if somebody, even the Lord, asked you the question, where are you going?

[50:25] What would your answer be? How would you answer such a question? Jesus knew all these things.

[50:38] They did not and yet they did not ask. Jesus knows where you're going and where I'm going. But do you really ask yourself the question where?

[50:58] Where am I going? have I got the certainty of going to a place? In the same way that Jesus had a certainty of going to the Father, of going to the place prepared for his people, of going to a place where Jesus was at home?

[51:19] home. So the question, where are you going? I remember as a young person going out in an evening and my mother would cry out before I went out the door, where are you going?

[51:38] and the smart answer was out. A smart answer. It was true, but it was a smart answer.

[51:52] It's as if I'm saying that's all you need to know. But a smart answer is not very informative. and a smart answer will not do when there's a big question.

[52:09] And if the big question is where are you going? Not what are you going to do tomorrow or where are you going to be tomorrow, but where are you going with regard to your future eternal destiny?

[52:26] And that question is the big question. And that answer that you give cannot be a smart answer. It will have to be an answer that takes account of how you believe what you believe, or why you believe what you believe.

[52:49] I know that my life and your life are very much the same in the sense that it is made up of ups and downs, of disappointments and sadnesses and sorrows, celebrations and joys.

[53:06] And sometimes if you look at your life and you speculate as to what the future may hold for you, you may say to yourself, well, there's a good chance that there'll be a fair distribution of these things.

[53:23] Fair chance. I'll have good times and bad times. I'll have happy moments and sad moments. But I would think, if I'm not mistaken, that the scales would be more heavily weighted to the good things, to the happy times, to all the good things that you think life has to offer to you.

[53:52] And then again, which one of us has any warrant for believing that? I was thinking on a verse of scripture and that verse was from the book of Psalms or from the Psalms, I shall not die but live and shall the works of God discover.

[54:20] And I was thinking of these words. And two things came to mind. First of all, I was reminded of this, that that was a title that was given to a documentary that was composed many years ago that followed the impact of the gospel on young people in the island of Lewis in the 1970s and 1980s, I think.

[54:52] a lot of young people had come to faith in Jesus Christ at that time. And there was a curiosity value in it and cameras came and interviews were carried out.

[55:06] But the thought I had was, I wonder where all these young people are today. How many of them have gone on with the Lord and how many of them have not?

[55:18] at the time, the prospect was so optimistic and their lives were so fixed and they had a certainty about their faith and everything that went with it.

[55:37] And the verse was appropriate, I shall not die but live. sometimes it works out like that and sometimes it doesn't.

[55:52] But I also remember these words. I read them recently, it was in a book of testimonies and the testimony of the late Professor Douglas Macmillan.

[56:04] And as he told his story, he remembered how he was in his young days. As a teenager, he had gone with his brother to play at a Kaley dance.

[56:16] Similarly, he was able to play the accordion. And they were playing together. And they came from that dance. The village that they were performing in was a considerable distance from where he lived.

[56:30] And he arrived home in the early hours of the morning, he tells. And when he came into the house, he heard singing. And the singing was coming from his parents' bedroom, very early in the morning.

[56:48] And they were singing the words of Psalm 118. He stretched out his hand to go in, but he stopped. And he knew his mother at that time was suffering from cancer and that she was dying.

[57:05] And he was overwhelmed at the thought of this woman who was so fragile and so ill, singing these words, I shall not die but live. And it overwhelmed and they went out into the moor to cry.

[57:22] And it goes on to tell, if you ever get the chance to read his testimony, it's worth reading. It goes on to tell a few weeks after what he asked her, she asked him to come and read the scripture to him.

[57:34] and the verses she asked for were John chapter 14. And he began to read the chapter for her. He was not a believer, he wasn't a Christian, he had no interest in the things of God, but he was quite happy to read the scripture to his mother.

[57:54] And she stopped him after a few verses and she said, that's enough. But then she said, Douglas, I want to ask you a question. I know, she said, I'm going to heaven.

[58:08] And I know that I'm soon going to be in heaven. The question I have for you is, will you be there with me?

[58:19] Will you be there with me? And that's the question you see, that is at the heart of what Jesus is saying.

[58:30] He knows where he is going. He knows why he is going there. His work, his activity, his role, is the great sin bearer.

[58:42] He is the one who is God's servant, who comes to seek and to save the lost. His going to the Father is a shorthand for him dying on the cross.

[58:56] He knows that. The disciples don't. They don't understand it. I am going to my father as if he was going out the door and round the back of the house.

[59:08] But no, he's going to the father by way of Gethsemane, by way of Calvary, by way of all the sufferings that he had to endure. But he is going there not for his own benefit, but for his church, for his people.

[59:27] And he knows that. And he knows what that means. So if you ask the question, where are you going?

[59:41] What certainty do you have? Certainty do you have about your destiny? Does it include heaven? heaven? Well, I can tell you this for every one of you, without exception.

[59:58] Those of you who are here who have been at the Youth Fellowship weekend, those of you are here whose hairs are grey and old.

[60:11] I don't know which one of you will be in this place, or who will be there first. but I know we all will be at the judgment seat of Christ.

[60:26] And there Christ will meet us, and there Christ will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will go to the good shepherd, and the goats will go elsewhere.

[60:41] Jesus calls it everlasting punishment. life eternal and everlasting punishment. That awaits every one of us, either one or the other.

[61:00] There's no question, there's no doubting, there's no but, if, why, for nothing. This is certain, because God has decreed it, Christ has declared it, and he's gone to prepare the place for his people, just as surely as God has prepared a place for the devil and his angels.

[61:21] you cannot know what awaits you. Well, let me tell you that you know what awaits you on the basis of where you stand with Christ tonight.

[61:36] Where you are with Christ tonight or without Christ tonight determines where you will spend your eternity. If you are outside of Christ, if you are a stranger to Christ, if you are not trusting in Christ, you can be persuaded that where you will be, will be a lost eternity.

[62:00] And that has to change, and if it doesn't change, that is where you will be. No doubt about it. And those who are in Christ already, the answer for them is this, that they will be where he is, the place prepared for you by him is waiting.

[62:25] In Christ, by faith, thrusting your soul to his safekeeping. There's no question, there's no doubting, there's that assurance given to all his people.

[62:39] Eternal life is in Christ, out of Christ it is lost eternity. None of you asketh me, where are you going?

[62:55] Maybe we don't ask ourselves that question, where am I going? Maybe you're afraid of the answer, because you know the answer too well.

[63:08] May God give you and me the grace to trust in Christ, so that the assurance, the blessed assurance will be ours, that we are where he is and where his people will be.

[63:21] Let us pray. O Lord, our God, our words are words that must be anointed from on high, and we trust that you will so fulfill your own promise, that your word will not return to you without fully accomplishing by it what you intend for it.

[63:41] we ask that you would bless each one of us here, from those who are regular attenders here, those who are visitors with us, we give thanks for them, for their presence, and for all that is done with them, we pray that it would prosper to the glory of your name, and to the good of their never-dying souls.

[64:07] Watch over all our homes and our families, loved ones, young and old, pardon sin in Jesus. Amen. We're going to sing in conclusion the words that we were referring to, Psalm 118 and verse 17, we'll sing to verse 23.

[64:31] I shall not die but live, and shall the works of God discover, the Lord hath me chastised sword, but not to death given over. O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness, then will I enter into them, thy the Lord will bless, this is the gate of God, by it the just shall enter in, thee will I praise, for thou me hast, and hast my safety been.

[64:57] That stone is made head cornerstone, which builders did despise, this is the doing of the Lord, and wondrous, in our eyes, these verses, I shall not die but live, and shall the works of God discover.

[65:13] I shall not die but live, and shall the works of God discover.

[65:29] The Lord hath me just die sent soul back not to death to no hour.

[65:46] O set it open out to me the gifts of righteousness and will I enter into them and I the Lord will bless.

[66:18] This is the kingdom caught by it the just shall end the end.

[66:34] Thee where I praise for the me hurt and dust my city peeing.

[66:51] that stone is made a cornerstone which builders shed his face.

[67:07] This is the king of the Lord and wonders in her eyes.

[67:27]  May grace, mercy, and peace in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all and always. Amen.