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[0:00] Hello and welcome to our service this evening as we come together before God in worship we pray his blessing upon our time under his word.

[0:18] We're going to begin by singing some verses from Psalm 116. Psalm 116, we're singing from the beginning of the psalm.

[0:30] Down to verse 8, 6 stanzas. I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear. I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear.

[0:43] Of death accords and sorrows did about me compass round. The pains of hell took hold on me, my grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I do thee humbly pray.

[1:02] God merciful and righteous is, yea gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek. I was brought low, he did me help afford. O thou my soul, do thou return unto thy quiet rest.

[1:16] For largely lo, the Lord to thee his bounty hath expressed. For my distressed soul from death delivered was by thee. Thou didst my mourning eyes from tears, my feet from falling free.

[1:32] And so on. And sing from the beginning of Psalm 116. I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear.

[1:42] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear.

[2:00] Thy voice and prayer she did hear. Thy voice and prayer she did hear. Thy voice and prayer she did hear.

[2:15] Often the no shrill it is on earth. Obt, death, and sorrow sieve. Thy voice and sorrow sieve, Thy voice and sorrow sieve about.

[2:29] Here is a song for she to do. A pastor and a man who let of me know how she did hear it. O morning I dream and travel around Upon the name of God the Lord And in my call and say Delivered of my soul, O Lord I do thee humbly pray God's merciful and bright touches In which was his Lord

[3:30] Crosses the weak I was brought No, he did me help afford O thou my shoulders of the earth Unto thy quiet rest For our hearts behold the Lord To thee is brought me of distress For my distress and sorrow To heaven, in the earth For my heart be

[4:32] Thou is my pouring eyes from tears My feet from pouring rain Let us join together in prayer Let us pray Gracious and ever-blessed God As we come before you This evening hour we pray for your blessing To be upon our time together Around your word We pray to you The God who is The one who has given to us this word A word of life A word which your people have discovered Again and again To be appropriate to their need Sometimes it comes to them As a word in season When they are in need of being lifted up

[5:36] When they are downcast When they are in despair Or in the brink of that very experience A word comes from the Almighty And it is a living word And it is used by thee for their good For their good For their enlivening For their quickening It is a word that has come into their experience As they were blind and indifferent to the truth that it contained When they were strangers to grace and to God When they lived in this world And the world was all to them And they did not know anything better than that They did not think that there was anything better than that And yet in your appointed time You brought this world to bear upon their lives

[6:42] Upon their hearts Upon their minds And you reminded them that they were but creatures of the dust Who owed their very existence to the God Who is God over all As you remind us this evening Even in this world that truth Help us to take it to heart Not to be lofty in our thinking Thinking Thinking that we are better than what this word has to say about us Thinking that we are better than God Thinking that we are wiser than God Thinking that we have a greater power of reason Than is to be found within the scriptures That remind us of what we are by nature That reminds us of our direction by nature Which is always away from God

[7:46] And we give thanks that you have brought that truth To bear upon the lives and the hearts and the minds Of many in this place And we pray that that would be the case even this evening Whoever it is that is the furthest removed from you Not just with regard to their relationship with you Or lack of it Sometimes we have only the ability to look upon the outward man And what we see might give us cause to be hopeful with regard to some But the reality is that in the depths of their being They are far removed from God Sometimes we look on the degenerate On the renegade On the lawbreaker On those who are in the grip of some form of vice

[8:47] As being those who are in need of the gospel And to a degree we are right That is true But there are also those who may be outwardly moral Conforming to the law of God Even as far as they are able outwardly And yet they are so far from you Help us to overcome any thoughts that we may have That we are above the law Beyond the need for salvation Help us to acknowledge that The very reason for the coming of the Son of Man into the world Was to deal with the fact of sin And to deal with all kinds of sinners There is none who has not succumbed to sin In some form There is no prospect of life apart from Christ

[9:50] And we pray that that would be forcibly brought home to us even now So remember the preaching of the gospel to that end Not only in this place But in the congregations of our island As we may take time to think about these congregations Perhaps navigating our way through the townships and the villages of our community Thinking of the pulpit of our island Thinking of the pulpit of our island Thinking of the preachers of the world Thinking of the congregations of our island community We give thanks for each one of them We give thanks for the communities that are represented there For all kinds of people, young and old Those who have experienced the power of Christ in the gospel for themselves We pray for your blessing to be the experience of one and all We do not selfishly want to restrict our prayers to our island

[10:55] But go beyond it To the island that we belong to The nation that we belong to We pray for the peoples represented there The United Kingdom And all who are within its borders And beyond that To the European continent To all the nations of the earth We give thanks that we have the promise of God That the gospel would be preached and proclaimed to all And that Christ in his ascent into glory Gave that mandate to those he left behind To go to the four corners of the earth And to preach the gospel To make known the salvation that Christ has to offer And we pray that that would be an ongoing evidence Of what he has promised to secure by way of Of mere creatures such as we are

[11:59] Who are without power of their own But empowered and enabled as we are by him We ask that we would hear of others coming to know that Christ for themselves We pray for all the needs of our community We remember the sick, the suffering, the aged, the inferior Those confined to their homes Those who are in need of being cared for by others in hospital or care homes Remember the terminally ill Whether they are in the hospice or being cared for by others in their own home And violence We pray that your blessing would be upon them in their time of urgent need That while it is not wise for any to leave the affairs of their soul to the eleventh hour You are still able to reach out to them through the gospel And we pray that even those who have lived their lives with no thought of their never dying soul

[13:00] Even as they are approaching, breathing their lust That they may reach out to Christ And know that their soul is safe in his hands We pray for the medical professions And all engaged in that work Nurses and doctors and carers of all descriptions Remember those who serve the communities that we belong to Those who form the part of the ambulance service The fire service All other caring professions Those who have burdens of care Those who have responsibilities The forces of law and order We pray for the armed forces We remember the world in which we live Where there are so many dangers brought to our attention We think of the theatres of war We think again of the Ukraine And those who have been displaced by reason of the enmity That is shown to that nation by their neighbours

[14:01] We pray for those who are grieving and sorrowing Because of the effects of war Those who have suffered loss of life And those who have suffered loss of property And have been driven from their homes And we see on our TVs The destruction that man is capable of Lord, hear our prayers Mercifully undertake for us in such places Remember the places in the world Where there is hunger Where there is thirst Lack of water Where there is disease And all other kinds of things That jeopardise the life of man A world that is so rich in resources And yet there are parts of it And there are those who are in want Oh Lord, have mercy upon us For the wanton destruction of our own environments We pray for those who are suffering

[15:03] Because of man's inhumanity to man We pray for your blessing on the word of truth That it may go out with power That it may touch the lives of those who are seeking For good for their soul May they have their answer May their cry be heard May mercy be afforded them As you are a God of mercy As you have shown yourself to us in times past So may you do so now Go before us, we pray In the preaching of the word Bless your word of truth to us As we read it As we hear it read As we think on what these words are saying May they find a lodging in our heart That it may penetrate Even the hardest of hearts That it may make sense to us That it may be applied by us To all the areas of our life That need to take on board the truth Go before us Go before us Cleanse from sin In Jesus name we ask it

[16:04] Forgiveness of sin in heaven Amen I'm going to read from the scriptures of the New Testament Reading from Paul's epistle to the Romans And we're reading from chapter 8 And we can read from verse 18 to the end of the chapter Paul's epistle to the Romans Chapter 8 taking up the reading At verse 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time Are not worthy to be compared With the glory which shall be revealed in us For the earnest expectation of the creature Waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God For the creature was made subject to vanity Not willingly but by reason of him

[17:05] Who hath subjected the same in hope Because the creature itself also shall be delivered From the bondage of corruption Into the glorious liberty of the children of God For we know that the whole creation Groweth and travaileth in pain Together until now And not only they but ourselves also Which have the firstfruits of the Spirit Even we ourselves groan within ourselves Waiting for the adoption To with the redemption of our body For we are saved by hope But hope that is seen is not hope For what a man seeth Why doth he yet hope for?

[17:52] But if we hope for that we see not Then do we with patience wait for it Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities For we know not what we should pray for As we ought But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us With groanings which cannot be uttered And he that searcheth the hearts Knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit Because he maketh intercession for the saints According to the will of God And we know that all things work together for good To them that love God To them who are the called according to his purpose For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate To be conformed to the image of his Son That he might be the firstborn among many brethren Moreover whom he did predestinate Them he also called And whom he called them he also justified

[18:56] And whom he justified them he also glorified What shall we then say to these things If God be for us who can be against us He that spared not his own Son But delivered him up for us all How shall he not with him also freely give us All things Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died Yea rather that is risen again Who is even at the right hand of God Who also maketh intercession for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine Or nakedness or peril or sword As it is written For thy sake we are killed all the day long We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter

[20:00] Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors Through him that loved us For I am persuaded that neither death nor life Nor angels nor principalities nor powers Nor things present nor things to come Nor height nor depth Nor any other creature Shall be able to separate us From the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Amen and may the Lord add his blessing To this reading of his word and to his name be the praise We can sing now some verses from Psalm 102 The second version of the psalm And we are singing from verse 13 to verse 22 Psalm 102 the second version of the psalm Verse 13

[21:01] Thou shalt arise and mercy yet Thou to Mount Zion shalt extend Her time for favour which was set Behold is now come to an end 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 God in his glory shall appear When Zion he builds and repairs He shall regard and lend his ear unto the needy's humble prayers 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 He from his holy place looked down The earth he viewed from heaven on high To hear the prisoners mourning groan And free them that are doomed to die

[22:05] That Zion and Jerusalem too His name and praise may well record When people and the kingdoms do Assemble all to praise the Lord And so on Verse 13 to 22 Thou shalt arise and mercy yet Thou to Mount Zion shalt extend Thou shalt arise and mercy yet Thou shalt arise and mercy yet The doom that's lying on Charlotte's end Her time forgiven The praise was said The whole is now come to an end.

[23:06] Thy saints take pleasure in thy souls. Her very heart to them is dear.

[23:23] All heathen lands and vivid roots on earth. Thy glorious name shall appear.

[23:42] God in his glory shall appear. When Zion he will suffer revere.

[23:58] He shall regard a deathless year. A journey is a low prayer.

[24:14] The affleckish fear he will not scorn. All times shall be of record.

[24:32] And generations, generations more. Shall praise and love in life the Lord.

[24:51] He from his holy wisdom done. The earth he viewed from heaven on high.

[25:09] To hear the British morning grow. And he will not be of record.

[25:27] The Zion of Jerusalem too. Whose name and grace may well record.

[25:44] When he will not be of record. When he will not be of record. The Zion of Jerusalem. The Zion of Jerusalem.

[25:55] month life the Lord. God in all commission are blessed. The Zion of Jerusalemites. The Zion of Jerusalem. We can turn now for a short time to the chapter that we read together, Romans chapter 8, and we can read again at verse 26.

[26:17] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.

[26:29] But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God.

[26:49] We know that the Apostle Paul, when he writes his second epistle to Timothy, he tells us that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

[27:19] And the reason for that is that a man of God, he says, may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

[27:31] And no Christian doubts the truth of that. They take the whole counsel of God, the whole of God's word, and they treat it the same.

[27:44] They believe that the whole of God's word is meant to be treated in that way. They can't elevate one part of it over against another part.

[27:58] But the same Christian who believes that may also favour parts of the Scripture. They may have favourite parts of the Scripture.

[28:11] You may think that's not a proper way to be. That's not a correct thing to do. But by nature, that's what we do.

[28:23] Some of us, we may read the Gospels. And I hope we all read the Gospels, but some of us may prefer what the Apostle John has written more than we would give a place to any of the other Gospel writers.

[28:42] For no other reason than that we find that perhaps what John has to say has more to say to our heart than perhaps what Mark says.

[28:55] But that's a personal opinion. That's a personal experience. And the whole of the Scripture can be a bit like that. We may prefer the writings of Isaiah to the writings of Ezekiel.

[29:07] The reason I'm mentioning that is because many people look at the writings of the Apostle Paul and they think that Paul is the theologian par excellence.

[29:23] And as such that what he has to say needs to be weighed heavily, more weight given to it than perhaps what some of the other Apostles have to say.

[29:39] But again, that is not consistent with what Paul himself teaches. Because the Scripture is of equal worth.

[29:50] But when we look at the epistles, even the epistles of the Apostle Paul, some gravity towards this one more than others.

[30:01] Because of the truth that it contains. Because of the way that it touches every area of our life at some point.

[30:13] If you were interested in the various biographies of the saints of God that are very famous, renowned saints like Augustine or Luther or John Wesley.

[30:33] Perhaps even more recent saints could be included among that list. And they would mention this epistle above all others as an epistle that God used mightily in their experience.

[30:49] To bring home to them a truth that they needed to come face to face with. And that God needed to apply to their minds and their hearts.

[31:02] And when you look at the way logically Paul works through this epistle. He describes to us why there is a need for a saviour.

[31:15] Why there is a need for salvation. The need of man is brought home to us at the very outset. And how God is going to deal with that.

[31:27] And how God is going to meet that need. Through the justification by faith of the sinner. And he works his way through the every conceivable situation that the Christian may have.

[31:45] Thinking about salvation. Thinking about salvation. Thinking about the need of it. The manner in which it is carried out. How God applies the salvation that Christ has secured to the life of the believer.

[31:59] How it results in sanctification. How it brings home to them the relationship that they have to God by way of Christ. The doctrine of adoption.

[32:10] How they will ultimately experience glorification at the hand of Christ. And the presence and the company of Christ awaiting them.

[32:22] So all of these things are brought home to us in some measure throughout this epistle. So for that reason some are drawn to it. Now in this particular chapter.

[32:34] What we are reminded of by the apostle is. How the believer. Even though they are now believers.

[32:49] Even though they are now in a place of safety. Even though they are now experiencing. The fullness of what it means to be one of God's redeemed.

[33:03] That having had that experience. They are still going to need the direct ministry.

[33:14] Administration of God in their lives. When various theologians work their way through this. They see the logic of the apostle.

[33:26] For example. We see how some identify chapter 6. As speaking about. The various needs that the believer has.

[33:39] Moving on to chapter 7. And again chapter 8. And the processes they have brought home to us. But when we get to chapter 8 here.

[33:49] What we find is that the apostle. Is still aware of the need that the believer has to be encouraged.

[34:00] To be comforted by the fact that. God has not. Brought them into a relationship with himself.

[34:11] Simply to abandon them. Once that relationship is established. They are encouraged to believe. That he has secured them.

[34:26] Into that relationship. In a way where their security. Is such that nothing.

[34:37] Will harm them. Nothing will intrude upon it. Now. That does not mean. That they. They will not.

[34:48] Feel. Insecure. That's I suppose. Where the difficulty. Lies. For the believer. God's word. Tells them. That they are secure.

[35:00] But there are times. When they will feel. Insecure. And part of the reason. For their insecurity. Is. That though.

[35:11] They are saved. By the grace of God. Though the word of God. Tells them. That they are now justified. By faith. In Jesus Christ. In other words.

[35:21] That doctrine. That brings home to us. The fact that. These. Sinners. Who were once. Guilty. Before God. Are now justified.

[35:33] It is. It is. As if. They stand. Before a holy. Just. A holy. And just. God. And that. God. Looks upon them.

[35:44] And sees. No sin. In them. They are never. Again. Going to find. Themselves. Condemned. By reason. Of their sin.

[35:56] They are. Without sin. As far as God. Is concerned. Why? Because. They have. By faith. Put their trust. In Christ. And that Christ.

[36:07] Covers their sin. That Christ. Has removed. Their sin. Because. When he went. To the cross. That is what he was doing. He was.

[36:17] Carrying. Their sin. Away. He was. Carrying it. In his own body. He was. Answering. To the charges. That they were guilty. Of. Their sins. Became his sins.

[36:29] And he suffered. The penalty. For their sins. Now that's what. Paul declares. That's what he preaches. That's what God. Through Paul. Tells us. But what does the believer.

[36:40] Feel. At times. They feel insecure. Because their sin. Still meets them. They still find. Themselves. Facing up.

[36:52] To the fact. That they are. A child of Adam. That they have. Sin in their heart. That they have. At times. Succumb to. Unbelief.

[37:03] That they are. Victims. Of their own. Of their own. Waywardness. And so on. And so forth. Now. What God.

[37:14] Does. For them. Is what. We find. In this chapter. A description. Given to us. Of what. God. Does. To encourage.

[37:26] Them. In the face. Of feelings. Things. Which. Go against. The truth. That is. That is. Without question.

[37:39] When God. Says. That they are. Without sin. In the sense. In which. That sin. Will never again. Be brought. To their account. When.

[37:51] Their heart. Condemns. Them. When. Their. Life. Sometimes. Contradicts. Their profession. When.

[38:02] Their experiences. In the world. Because. Of the enmity. That is in the world. And the hostility. That is. Directed against them.

[38:13] Within the world. Is. Something. That brings them. Down. God. Has a way. Of. Encouraging them.

[38:24] Through that. And this is what. These verses. Of the apostle Paul. Are all about. They are. Words. Which he gives. To us.

[38:35] To ensure. That we understand. That God. Is true. To his word. And the safety. And the security. Of the believer.

[38:46] Is. Regardless. Of experience. Something. That. Will not. Fail. That will not. Be challenged. By.

[38:57] Anything. That they. Encountered. So. From. From. Verse 15. Onwards. We find. Paul. Saying to them.

[39:08] You have not. Received. The spirit. Of bondage. Again. To fear. But you have. Received. The spirit. Of adoption. Whereby. We cry. Abba.

[39:18] Father. They are. Recipients. Of God's. Own. Holy Spirit. They are now. The temple. Of the spirit. They are now.

[39:30] The possessors. Of the ministrations. Of the spirit. Which enables. Them. To experience. The. Felt.

[39:40] Presence. Of God. Without. Hindrance. The spirit. The spirit. Himself. Beareth. Witness. Without spirit. He says. That we are. The children. Of God. Confluence.

[39:52] Then. In that. Relationship. God. Is their father. In heaven. They are his children. Here. And so on. And. All of that.

[40:02] Is to. Help them. Encounter. And overcome. The challenges. That are made. To their. Never dying. Faith. He encourages.

[40:12] Them. By way. Of the hope. Of the gospel. In the verses. Leading up. To the verse. That we're looking. At here. We find. That. Paul.

[40:24] Says. We are saved. By hope. But hope. That is seen. Is not hope. But. For the man. Seeth. Why do they get. Hope for him. But if we hope. For what we see not. Then do we.

[40:35] With patience. Wait for it. They have. The hope. Of the gospel. They have this. Grace. Of God. A lively. Hope. That they possess. Which enables them. To look beyond.

[40:46] The present. Into a future. That is certain. Where the promises. Of God. For his people. Are to be realized. In all their fullness.

[40:58] Nothing. Will prevent that. From happening. Now. He follows that. With this. Second thing. If you like.

[41:08] Not only. Is the spirit. Ministering to them. Opening out. God's word. To them. Directing. To a channel. That is theirs. As. Father in heaven.

[41:21] Allows them. Access to him. And. Gives them. His ear. So too. He gives them. The assurance. That. They have.

[41:31] His spirit. To enable them. To speak. To him. In prayer. When they are troubled. So.

[41:42] From verse 26. And verse 27. We have this. Likewise. The spirit. Also. Along with. The provision. That God. Has made.

[41:53] Of the grace. Of hope. He supplies. Them. With the further. Assistance. The personal. Assistance. Of his holy spirit. In their life.

[42:04] But in particular. In the realm. Of prayer. The spirit. Also. Helps. Our. Infirmities. He gives.

[42:16] The believer. The ability. To pray. And. Not just. The ability. To pray. But. Help. In order. To pray. For the things.

[42:27] That they need. To pray for. When they do not know. What that is. To pray. To pray. To pray. So. We cannot.

[42:38] And we should not. Belittle. What the apostle. Is bringing. To. To our attention. Here. Sometimes. We think that. We think that.

[42:50] Prayer. Is something. That is. Of little. Consequence. But if you. Pray. And as a believer. We are taught. We are told.

[43:00] We are encouraged. To believe. That it is. The very sign. Of life. And the experience. Of a person. That they pray.

[43:13] If you remember. What was said. About the apostle Paul. When Saul. Was the persecutor. Of God's people. Going about.

[43:25] Breathing. Threatening. Sent. All manner. Of evil. Against the church. Of God. All who knew. Saul. Knew him. To be an enemy.

[43:36] Of the church. And yet. When God. Came into his experience. And when he was. Introduced. To that church. What identified.

[43:47] Him. To them. Most particularly. Behold. He prays. Behold. He prays. And Saul.

[43:57] And every other. Individual. A sign. Of their. Being. Quickened. By God's. Spirit. Is not just.

[44:08] The. The ability. To pray. But the desire. To pray. The want. That we have. To. Be found. Before God. And to.

[44:20] To. Seek his face. At. Our throne. Of grace. I'm not saying. That is something. That any. Believer.

[44:31] Is happy with. In this sense. That. When we pray. I doubt. If we get up. From our knees. Content. And.

[44:43] Believing. Well. I've done something. There. I've accomplished. Much. There. God. But. If you're anything. Like me. You probably think.

[44:54] Well. Have I prayed. Was that a prayer. There was. There were. There were words. And plenty of them. At times. But was it prayer.

[45:06] Is it really. What God. Calls prayer. Is God. The recipient. Of. My prayer. Is he. The hearer.

[45:17] Of my prayer. Is he. The answerer. Of my prayer. B.B. Warfield. The theologian. Has written. The following. Evil.

[45:29] May be. Entrenched. In our. Members. But the. Power. Of God. Unto. Salvation. Has. Entered. Our. Hearts. By the. Holy Ghost.

[45:41] And. By the. Prevalent. Working. Of. That. Holy Spirit. In us. We. Are. Enabled. To cry. Abba. Father. That's.

[45:53] The first. Evidence. If you like. When we cry. Out. To our. Heavenly. Father. Lord. Help me. Whatever it is.

[46:04] Lord. Open my mouth. That I may sing. Your praises. That I may. Magnify. Your name. By. Words. That mean. Something. To you. Let alone.

[46:15] To myself. Warfield. Goes on. The Christian. Life. Is not. A life. Of ease. A pilgrimage. To be. Endured.

[46:26] A journey. To be. Accomplished. A fight. To be run. To be won. And the reason. He says that. Is. Because. There is.

[46:37] This. Thought. That. Has. A place. In the. Heart. Of. Many. That once. We become. Christians. That it is. From that. Moment.

[46:47] On. That it is. All. Downhill. From that. Moment. On. In the sense. Of. Having. Having. Overcome. The worst. And now.

[46:59] We can. Free sale. Or free. Wheel. Home. Everything. Has been. Done. For us. We've. We've. Closed in. With Christ. And it's all. Easy.

[47:10] O. See. From. Now. On. I was reading. This morning. I don't know who it was. That was saying. There is.

[47:21] This. Adage. Let go. And let Christ. As much as to suggest. That this is what the believer. Is all about. Just let him.

[47:32] Do everything. Well. According to Warfield. The Christian. Is somebody. Who is engaged. In a struggle. They are wrestling.

[47:42] They are wrestling. With. With. With. With. Powers. That are not of this world. They are constantly. On the field of battle. They are. Overcoming.

[47:53] All kinds. Of resistance. To what they would want. Themselves to be. Let alone. Resisting. Those who. Are trying to defy that.

[48:06] In their lives. And this is. Surely the point. Of what the apostle. Has to say here. Having earlier. Stated that. The believer. Needs to be.

[48:17] Sustained. By the help. And by the hand. Of God. They grow. And they suffer. In the world. And by the spirit.

[48:28] They are directed. To the hope. Of the gospel. As they are also. Encouraged. To believe. That the spirit of God. Is there for them. To.

[48:40] To help them. In this. Most important. Of areas. Where they wrestle. With God. In prayer. The spirit.

[48:53] Helps. Our infirmities. And it's strange. How he. Follows that statement.

[49:03] With this statement. Our infirmities. He says. For. We know not. What we should pray for us.

[49:14] We ought. We. This is a weakness. That marks us out. If we pray. Or when we pray.

[49:24] Or. As we ought to pray. This is our first. Obstacle. This is our first difficulty. That the Christian. Needs the spirit's.

[49:36] Help. In order to pray. Properly. In order to pray. What is. For the advantage. Of the Christian.

[49:48] And for the glory. Of their God. God's grace. We know. Enables us. To persevere. In all.

[49:59] Manner. Of. Places. But. In addition. This. Infirmity. Is. Highlighted. Which. Is.

[50:09] All. Pervasive. That. Is. Where. We. Need. The spirit's help. Not the only place. Of course. But. We need. God's help.

[50:20] By means of the spirit. In this way. Now. Have you ever. Thought of that. How much thought. Have you given to it. If we. Are a praying people. As we should be.

[50:31] If. As a congregation. We have. Praying people. Here. Do we. Collectively. Acknowledge.

[50:44] The need. That we have. For God's help. To know. What to pray for. You know. And you've heard. I'm sure. Often.

[50:55] How. C.H. Spurgeon. Is preaching. Alluded. To the fact. That he had. A. Group of. Women.

[51:06] In the congregation. Who were his. Prayer warriors. Who went before him. Into the pulpit. Not physically. Not literally. But in prayer.

[51:18] So that. Emboldened him. To preach the gospel. Because he knew. That there were those. Praying people. Who. Prayed.

[51:28] To God. For the help. That he needed. To preach the word. Now. How. Mindful. Are we.

[51:38] Are. Of the need. That we have. For God's help. In order. To know. What to pray for. As we ought. How can we.

[51:49] When we do not. Know. Know. What to pray. We don't know. What to. What to pray for. Or. How to pray. Is what Paul is saying. Have you ever.

[52:01] Experienced that. Have you ever. Experienced a situation. Where you know. That you need to pray. But you don't know. Where to begin. And this is what Paul is saying.

[52:15] We are weak. We are struggling. We are. Striving. Against all kinds.

[52:26] Of resistance. To our Christian life. Which is partly made up. Of being. People. Of prayer. And in order to even.

[52:38] Take this step. Of praying. As we ought. We need God's help. For that. But this is what Paul is saying. You know.

[52:49] Your weakness. You've. Addressed. Your need. By coming to God. And acknowledging it. You know. You've heard the saying.

[53:00] I'm sure. That. Nothing. Terrifies. The enemy.

[53:10] Of your soul. Than seeing. The church. On its knees. Seeing. The church. Of God. On its knees.

[53:22] Why. Would that. Be a challenge. To the enemy. Of your soul. For the simple reason. That he knows. That at that moment.

[53:33] You are not resorting. To your own strength. You are applying. To a greater source. A greater power. For the one. And only God.

[53:43] Who is able. To answer your prayer. For whatever. You are praying for. And if we are on our knees. Calling to God. Then.

[53:55] We are. We are departing. You know. We. We live in a generation. And there are. Every. Every. Reasons. Every reason. To be thankful.

[54:05] For the industry. That there is. Within our churches. And within our congregations. To ensure. That the gospel. Is proclaimed. And that men.

[54:16] And women. Young and old. Get to hear that gospel. But if we neglect. To begin with prayer. And to ensure that.

[54:26] Whatever it is. That we do. That God owns it. And that God. Wishes it. To be. The way it is. Then. We put ourselves.

[54:37] In danger. Of not. Doing. What. We should. So we need to begin. With prayer. And we need to begin.

[54:49] With God's assistance. Even in. Allowing us. To pray for what we should. You know. I have to stand here.

[55:00] Every Lord's Day. And. I remember. Being told. And it was probably. Advice.

[55:11] That was sound. And I read. All kinds of books. About ministry. And. The need. That there is. To. To fulfill. All the areas.

[55:21] Of. Of pastoral ministry. But. You know. The advice is given. Before you pray. Before you pray.

[55:32] Make sure. That you're equipped. With. The material. You need to pray. Make sure. That. You've prepared.

[55:42] You're. I need to pray. So that. In your mind. You're asking. Publicly. Remember. When I pray. Here. I'm leading you.

[55:54] In prayer. It's not a private. Exercise. It's not something. I'm doing. In secret. I'm doing it publicly. But I'm leading you.

[56:05] Publicly. In prayer. So the advice is. Make sure. That when you do that. That you're properly prepared. That your mouth.

[56:16] Is. Full of matter. That is relevant. To the people. That you're praying with. It's that you're informed. That you know.

[56:26] What to pray for. But then again. I say to myself. Is that sufficient? What I want. Most of all. Is not that.

[56:37] My preparation. Is. All of my own. But. That what God.

[56:47] Wants me to pray for. Would come from himself. And I can tell you. It's a very naked. Place to be in. It's a very. Very.

[57:00] Harrowing place to be in. To stand there. And say to God. Well. I have nothing. Fill me. From on high. And. Yet.

[57:11] It's the most. Safe place. For us to be. Public prayer. Those of you who are. Engaged in public prayer. You know that. There's no.

[57:22] Point in coming. Having. Learned. By rote. Verses of scripture. That you tie together. Yes. It's good. That you're not. Left there. Silent.

[57:34] That you're not. Left there. Embarrassed. By silence. But I'm sure. Every single. One of you. Who. Who is. Publicly.

[57:44] Calling upon. The name of God. In prayer. That what you would want. Most of all. Is that God. Would fill your mouth. That God. Would give you something.

[57:55] And that what you're. I don't care about. The length of prayer. I don't care about. Their duration. Supposing you said. Three sentences. That were full of matter.

[58:05] From God. Sufficient. Is there. Now. What we have here. Is. The promise.

[58:16] Or the. The assurance. Given to us. That. When we don't know. And. We don't know.

[58:27] At any time. I don't suppose. What we should pray for us. We ought. We have the spirit. Making intercession. For us.

[58:40] This morning. We spoke about. The person of the Lord. Jesus Christ. The mediator. Of God's people. The great intercessor. The great high priest. Of his people. And he.

[58:52] Intercedes. So where is the need. For a. A second intercessor. Why is this here. Brought to our attention. When. Jesus Christ. The son of God.

[59:03] Is already. Interceding. In heaven. Well. John Murray. Answers that question. In his own commentary. He says. The children of God.

[59:13] Have two. Divine. Intercessors. Christ. Is their intercessor. In the court. Of heaven. The Holy Spirit. Is their intercessor.

[59:24] In the theater. Of their own hearts. The glory. Of Christ's intercession. Should not be allowed. To place. The spirit's intercession. In eclipse.

[59:39] Christ. Has given to us. A spirit. Remember. He left. This world. To go. To glory. He ascended. To the right. Hand of glory. But. He said. To his father.

[59:49] I pray you. That they may have. The comforter. That he may. Fulfill. This role. For them. And with them. And that he may. Actively.

[60:00] Engage. With them. As they pray. Which is. What we have. He is. The one. Who groans. Or causes us. To groan. Which is it?

[60:12] There's a question. For the theologians. Amongst you. Here again. A mystery. But there is. No mystery. In the fact. That this. Is his doing.

[60:24] Christ. The Lord. Bequeathed him. To his people. So that. His help. Is sure. His help. Is real. It is genuine.

[60:36] It is constantly. Available. How does he help you? If you are a Christian. How does the spirit of God. Help you?

[60:47] When you are on your knees. When you are wanting. Him to direct you. To the best of your ability. In asking the things. That you most need to ask for.

[60:58] Not just selfishly. For yourself. But for others. For your family. For your friends. For your neighbours. For your congregation. For those who are without Christ.

[61:10] How does he do it? Well according to. Matthew Henry. For example. He dictates. Our requests.

[61:22] He indicts. Our petitions. He draws up. Our pleas. For us. Without question. There is.

[61:33] Language. That he alone. Knows. How to use. Because he knows. As one. With the father. And the son. How to. Ask God.

[61:44] For the things. That are according. To the mind of God. Is that not what he says? He that searches the hearts. Knows what is the mind. Of the spirit. Who searches the hearts?

[61:56] Who do you think. Searches the heart? Some say Christ. Some say God. The father. We know that. The God of heaven. Is the searcher. Of the hearts.

[62:07] He. He divides. He. He. He. According to the psalmist. Go to Psalm 139. He is someone.

[62:17] Who is able. To probe. The innermost workings. Of our being. Because he has a knowledge. Of us. That is unequaled. And this is what he does.

[62:31] But when you go. I hope you never have to. But if you appear. In a court of law. The judge doesn't say to you. Defend yourself.

[62:43] He will ask you a question. Perhaps. Have you. A defence. Have you. Have you. Acquired a defence counsel. Do you have somebody. Depending on the seriousness.

[62:53] Of the charge. Have you got an advocate. Have you got somebody. Who will deal with the matters. Of law. At hand. He will know. How to answer the questions. On your behalf.

[63:04] He will know. How to. Direct. The questions. That are most pertinent. To your circumstances. This is the way. The spirit works. He never.

[63:16] Speaks. A word. That contradicts. The scripture. Because he knows. The mind of God. He knows. The heart of God.

[63:27] The mind of God. I read. Once Octavius Winslow. And he says something. And you may be.

[63:39] Someone who disagrees with him. But he said this. And you can think about it. A child of God. May ask for a wise.

[63:50] And a good thing. In a wrong way. if it is good and if it is wise how can it be wrong well his opinion and he was not reluctant to offer it so we can ask God for all the right things but for selfish reasons for vainglory for self glory for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with the glory of God the spirit helps us he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God he knows what the will of God is he knows what the mind of God is he knows what is good for our souls, what is good for our spiritual lives and are we willing to trust in him to that end it's a wonderful text a wonderful passage a wonderful word of encouragement to you if you're a Christian that you know to pray to God and when you don't that he is able to help you and sometimes all you have is silence are you pleased with your silence well if that is all that the spirit has given to you the ooch which comes from our heart the sigh that comes from our boots the spirit has given us that it may be enough it may be all that is required but may God enable us to persevere at a throne of grace given that he has given us this ability to do just that let us call upon his name in prayer oh Lord oh God as we pray we do confess our sin even in our prayers cleanse us from these sins and direct us to the one that you have given to us who makes groanings and utterings in our behalf we bless you for him and ask you a blessing in his name in Jesus name we ask

[66:25] Amen we're closing Psalm 66 Psalm 66 verse 16 all that fear God come hear I'll tell what he did for my soul I with my mouth unto him cried my tongue did him extol if in my heart I sin regard the Lord me will not hear but surely God me heard and to my prayer's voice gave ear oh let the Lord our gracious God forever blessed be who turned not my prayer from him nor yet his grace from me these verses all that fear God come hear I'll tell what he did for my soul O God dear God come hear

[67:30] I'll tell what he did for my soul I with my mouth unto him hone In my heart thy sin regard, the Lord beware the fear.

[68:11] But surely for the earth unto my prayer's voice in me.

[68:27] O let the Lord of nations come, O let the pleasure be.

[68:44] O let the Lord beware the fear of me. O let the Lord beware the fear of me.

[69:01] Amen. We praise the mercy and peace from God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Rest and abide with you all, never and always. Amen. Amen.

[69:13]  Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.