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[0:00] Well, welcome to our service. It's good to be back together to worship God. And we tell! God bless our time of worship together. We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's! Psalm 103 and at the beginning of the psalm. Psalm 103 and at the beginning of the psalm.

[0:20] And the presenter will be pleased to note that we won't be singing down to verse 11, but we'll be singing down to verse number 7. So that's my mistake. So we are going to sing from verse 1 to the verse of Acts 7. O thou, my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless. Bless, O my soul, the Lord thy God, and not forgetful thee of all his gracious benefits he hath bestowed on thee. From the beginning of the psalm to the verse 1 to verse 1 to the verse of Acts 7.

[0:56] O thou, my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to my God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to my divine name to my divine name.

[1:31] O thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy God bless you.

[2:31] Jesus, all of us will, God bless you.

[3:01] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[3:13] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[3:25] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[3:37] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[3:49] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[4:01] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. For all, O blessed ones His wisdom, Moses Thee, His heart Victorn to His well sons Let's join together in prayer, let's pray Most gracious and ever-blessed God Rejoice once more in the worship of your name Help us to continue to think about the words that we sang together And give to us a sense in our hearts of thankfulness to you

[5:04] With a real desire to praise and to magnify your great and holy name You are a great God You are the giver of every good and perfect gift And like the psalmist helped us this evening To recognise the gifts that come from you And especially the gifts of your grace and salvation That we may rejoice in the knowledge of our sins forgiven That we may rejoice in the knowledge of having peace with God Through our Lord Jesus Christ May we rejoice in the knowledge that You are the God who is faithful to your people That down through the generations you have met with their every need You have satisfied them You have filled them with the good things of your kingdom And in the midst of every difficulty and trial

[6:06] You are the God who has proved yourself to be More than enough for them And we are thankful tonight before you That so is your grace It is sufficient for us in all of our needs And we rejoice in the knowledge that As we journey on in life Not knowing what a day or an hour will bring to us We rejoice in the knowledge that You will not leave your people alone That you are committed to them And that you will bring them at last Savly into that haven Which they desired to see We give thanks to you Once more for your Son, our Saviour The Lord Jesus Christ We give thanks to you for his obedience For his suffering in our place And your word reminds us In that great Psalm, Psalm number 22 When he cried to you from the cross

[7:10] Why have you forsaken me? We are thankful tonight for The way in which he was ready to Descend into the abyss of The darkness of The overshadowing of His relationship with you Because he was bearing our sin And because he Bore your wrath against Our sin And did so Willingly and readily In order that Your wrath might be turned away And in order that we might become The children of God Help us in The step that we take in life And especially in Every time that we worship you together Help us to Glorify your name Through Jesus Christ Your Son Who is our Saviour and Lord Who loved us And gave himself for us Who died the righteous For the unrighteous In order to bring us to God

[8:12] And may all of us in our hearts Together this evening Know that great change That bringing to you That drawing by you That sense of being chosen by you And someone to Pay attention to your word And someone to Follow the Lord Jesus Christ As our Saviour in life Being disciples of your word And learning day by day What obedience means And what the life of faith means And learning day by day More and more of How great your love is How marvellous your Commitment to your people is And how reassuring it is To know That you are the God Who made promises to Abraham And the God who Commit yourself so Hold heartily to him And that so you do For your people In every generation Bless every heart

[9:12] Before you hear This evening Bless the hearts Where faith is to be found We thank you O Lord our God For the gift of faith For grace In the hearts of sinners A wonderful transformation Undertaken By you And by your power Brought to pass By the power Of your spirit To bring people Alive to you To bring people To be sensitive To your presence With them And to find Their joy in you I want to give thanks To you for every heart Here this evening That has discovered that That has come to know you And that has come To learn more and more About you Day by day Growing in grace And to knowledge Of the Lord Jesus Christ Bless all such hearts We pray Encourage people In their faith Continue to strengthen And to build up And grant that

[10:13] Through every test Through which Faith is being purified That they may Remain loyal to you And walk in your paths And so come out In the beauty Of the refined gold That your word speaks of When your people Will at last Leave this world And leave their trials Behind And enter into The throne And the judgement Seat of Christ Bless those tonight Who may be with us Who do not yet Know faith in their hearts Who haven't yet Discovered what it means To know peace with you To understand What it means That Christ died For them That your wrath Is turned away From them Help them Oh Lord God By taking the veil From their minds By opening their eyes And their ears And giving them To see and to know Their sinnership Before you And come through Knowing their sinnership To appreciate The great a saviour Your son is And that they will

[11:15] Come therefore To seek him With all of their hearts Until they find him And put their trust In him We pray your blessing Even this evening The power of your Holy Spirit To work in the lives Of all such And to bring them To that place Where they give their hearts And their lives to you Bless the gospel Here in this community To that great end Lord's day After Lord's day And the prayers Of your people And the Bible study And prayer meeting During the week May all of these Beings together Be blessed by you May you hear the cries Of your people Who reach out to you And to long to See your power Working once more We pray blessing And we pray Your grace To be evident Across this community In its homes And in its families And we do thanks to you For every encouragement Given to them That you are the God Who is still working And we pray that you will Add to the number Of those Who are being saved By coming with your power

[12:17] To bring people alive For yourself We continue to pray For those belonging To the community Who are confined In their homes Who are isolated Who through affliction Are separated From the means of grace And from the public Worship of your name Be near to them Who do pray And sustain them And uphold them And give strength To them Day by day As we commit them to you Have mercy O Lord God We do ask And bless them With your grace We pray for your blessing To be upon all those Who mourn and grieve Around us Here and in our Neighbouring community Here and also Across our Island communities But even on this Day itself Since we met here This morning The sudden passing Of a young life From time to eternity Lord our God Help us to be still To know that That you are God And bless A mother who has Lost her son Bless brothers

[13:17] Who have lost her brother Bless families As we commit them To your care And I pray Your grace for them In this time of Sorrow and grief We commit them To your care And bless all such Across the world We know that we are A broken world Because of sin And we know that You are a great healer And a great physician And we pray you to work Mightily in every corner Of this world To bind your broken hearts To help people Repair broken communities To bring an end To conflict and strife And to establish Righteousness and justice In the world As we even sang together We pray for your blessing And your blessing To be upon all the nations Of the earth And cause people To turn around And to put their trust In you And so we pray for your blessing To be upon every aspect Of the mission And work of your church Across the world And all who have called To go to such places With the gospel We give thanks to you For them And pray that you will Protect and keep them And sustain them In every trial

[14:18] And protect them In every danger We commit them To your care Oh Lord of God Bless your church Across the world We continue to pray For your people Pray for their faithfulness Pray for devotion to you Pray for the grace To remain faithful to you Amidst the challenges Of the modern world Of which we live We pray your blessing And your grace Oh Lord of God We pray that you will Provide for this congregation As we commit them To your care And pray that you will Bring to them Your provision In ministry That you will guide them In their prayers Into their hearts In the days that are to come So that once more They may have A settled ministry here A man sent by you Prepared by you To lead and to pastor Your people here We pray that you will Hear their prayers And provide for them And give that continuity Of gospel ministry In this congregation In the days that are to come We commit all of these things To you

[15:18] And so we pray that you will Hear us in these prayers We pray that you will Go before us And continue to watch over us In this time of worship together Guard us and keep us From any distraction Give us peace In waking upon you And have mercy upon us Forgive us We pray all of these things For Jesus' sake Amen We will turn to praise God This is from Psalm number 21 And at the beginning of the Psalm Psalm 21 And at verse 1 The King In thy great strength O Lord Shall very joyful be In thy salvation rejoice How vehemently Shall he That hast bestowed upon him All that his heart would have And thou from him Didst not withhold Whatever his lips Did crave Psalm 21 From verse 1 To the verse of Mark 5 To God's praise Amen The King in thy grace, Lord Lord, shall set me joyfully.

[16:35] In thy love, in your hungry Christ, I will give and reach out ye.

[16:54] The King in thy grace, O Lord, shall be upon him.

[17:06] All that is heart, O Lord, and as of heaven, is the Lord with all that is blessed with him.

[17:34] For thou with all that is in the presence of goodness I need for.

[17:52] And now I'll stand upon this day, a girl of purest Lord.

[18:11] When he decided to lie for thee, thou liest to heaven's gift.

[18:30] In such a land, all is the deep forevermore children.

[18:48] In thy salvation brought by thee, his glory is paid.

[19:07] O God, O God, in my majesty, thou hast upon his name.

[19:27] Let us hear the word of God.

[19:57] I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season.

[20:11] Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itchy ears.

[20:25] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

[20:38] For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.

[20:50] Henceforth there is laid up for me a crowd of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

[21:03] Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. For demons have forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed unto Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, Titus, and to Dalmatia.

[21:18] Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Typhicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest to bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

[21:36] Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him according to his works. Of whom be thou also, for he hath greatly withstood our words.

[21:47] At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, that all the Gentiles might hear.

[22:04] And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

[22:17] It is the word of God. We are blessed to us for that reading from it. We turn to praise God in Psalm 26.

[22:39] And at the beginning of that psalm, Psalm 26. A psalm that speaks to us of the need to be examined and to examine ourselves, as we consider approaching God's house and God's worship and even God's judgment.

[22:54] Psalm 26. A psalm that speaks to us of the need to be examined and to examine ourselves, as we consider approaching God's house and God's worship and even God's judgment.

[23:08] Psalm 26. At the beginning, At the beginning, Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity. I trust it also in the Lord. Sly therefore shall not I.

[23:19] Now we sing from verse 1 to the verse of Mark 7 to God's praise. Please. Please. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity.

[23:42] I trust it also in the Lord. Sly therefore shall not die.

[23:59] Examine me unto thee, Thy heart and grace, O God.

[24:15] For thy love is before. In my life is thy truth, As I have thrown.

[24:32] With her strength be thy love. Zim, O Lord, for thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy thy Satsang with Mooji

[25:40] Satsang with Mooji We'll start together to Paul's 2 Timothy and chapter number 4 and we can read at verse 5.

[26:19] 2 Timothy 4 and at verse 5. 2 Timothy 5 and at verse 6.

[26:30] 2 Timothy 5 and at verse 6.

[27:09] We wish Timothy to succeed him as the apostle, as the servant of Jesus Christ and we notice the importance of succession planning as we see it here and the way in which God has his own succession plan in his church.

[27:26] That one generation passes the message, the good news, the teaching of the Bible to the following generation. And so in our communities we have a generation passing on but also a generation that is now rising who embrace the same truths and to look to the same faithfulness to the gospel and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[27:49] And we saw the way in which Paul is very close to Timothy. He sees him at the beginning of the first chapter as his own son.

[28:00] And as somebody with whom he is close, he desires to instruct him and to guide him so that he will not fear what it means to follow Paul and what it means to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

[28:14] And we saw the way in which he is concerned, especially because Timothy was very timid. He was afraid of what it might mean to follow in Paul's footsteps.

[28:28] And we come to the close of the letter and we see this chapter itself, the way in which Paul is encouraging Timothy to follow his example.

[28:40] And we want this evening to reflect on these words and to reflect on them and see the way in which Paul wants to encourage Timothy by explaining to him and by revealing to him his own very personal thoughts about where he is in life.

[29:01] Dr. Sinclair Ferguson tells a story.

[29:31] To write what they think what they think what they would like to be said about themselves at the end of their lives.

[29:43] It's a strange exercise, but a really important one. Because it places our lives tonight in the context of what we will be when we leave this world.

[29:56] And that's really important for us to recognise that. Instead of living for today, we live for that day. Because that's the day when we will leave the world.

[30:07] And for the people of God, it's a great day. But for those who are not the people of God, it's a sad day when they will fall into the judgement of God. And putting that in mind, we want to think this evening of the motivation of our final testimony.

[30:27] I want to notice first of all that we see realisation in these verses. Paul is very sensitive in his relationship with God.

[30:38] We may walk with people along life's way and perhaps not be able to take anything of what's going on in their lives. If we are close to somebody, that will not be the case.

[30:53] We will be sensitive to their needs. Sensitive to things that change. Sensitive to their needs, especially if they are particular needs or in particular dangers.

[31:03] We realise we are sensitive to that. There is that connection with them. That in a sense communicates all of these things back and forth between us.

[31:16] And that's the kind of relationship that Paul had with the Lord Jesus Christ. From the day in which he met him, he was sensitive to the words of the Lord Jesus.

[31:28] To the presence of the Lord Jesus. And looked in life really as if the Lord Jesus was not only his saviour. But he was also his best friend.

[31:40] He was sensitive to what God was doing in his life. And here we see that he is already being poured out as an offering.

[31:52] In verse number 6. For I am now ready to be offered. That is the sense of pouring out as we would pour out a sacrifice in the Old Testament.

[32:04] And there were sacrifices in the Old Testament. Some of them were to take away sin. Some of them were for purification. There were other sacrifices like the drink offering.

[32:16] That were offered alongside of the atonement offerings. And they were in a sense accompanying the sacrifices. But also showing thankfulness.

[32:28] But they didn't carry the message of sin. They carried the message of accompanying the sacrifice that made all of the difference. And Paul sees himself being poured out like that.

[32:42] He lives his life trusting in the Lord Jesus who gave the great sacrifice. Who gave himself as a sin offering.

[32:53] Who atoned for our sin. Paul recognises that. That's the great sacrifice. But he sees his experience at this time as being poured out alongside of that.

[33:06] Reminding us that not only did Paul never see a distinction between his own life and that of Christ's life. But even in this moment in his experience.

[33:18] He recognises that the sacrifice of Jesus is the great sacrifice. But he is coming alongside. At this time in his life.

[33:28] As the kind of drink offering that accompanies that sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. And in many ways that's what faith does.

[33:41] We come alongside the Lord Jesus. We trust in his name. We believe in his name. And we have peace with God through him. And we recognise the importance of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

[33:56] We are saved on that basis alone. But as soon as we understand that. Our own lives become a sacrifice. We spend it like a living sacrifice to God.

[34:09] We give ourselves up. To God all of our lives. Alongside and because of the great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

[34:20] But when we read these words here. We do recognise. That Paul is referring to. A sacrifice. An offering. That is taking place.

[34:32] At the end of his life. I am already. Being poured out. He recognises. That a process.

[34:43] That a process. Has already begun. And it is. That process of. Of his life being poured out into death. He recognises that. As he has journeyed on through life.

[34:55] Being protected by. By the Lord Jesus. As we see in this chapter itself. Protected and kept. In the fulfilment of his ministry. Protected and kept even. In his repeated imprisonments.

[35:06] In Rome. But here he is now. He is. At the end of his life. And there is. This new process. Of which he is.

[35:18] Aware. The time. Of his departure. Has come. And imagine tonight. Being so sensitive.

[35:31] To what God is doing. In your life. That you know. What stage you are at in life. That you know. Where you have come from. That you know.

[35:41] Where you are going. And if it were the case. As it was for Paul here. To be even sensitive. At that stage. In your life. That God is going.

[35:54] To come for you. That Christ Jesus. Your saviour. Will come soon. And that he will take you away. Being sensitive.

[36:05] To a relationship. With the Lord Jesus. How much. Do we live our lives. On the Lord's day. How much. Do we live our lives. On the weekly. So aware.

[36:18] Of the presence of God. And of the work of God. Realising. What stage we are at. In God's great plan. For our lives. As we journey on.

[36:29] Through life. With him. And as he. Goes on. In the rest of that verse. There is. It's the time. Of his exodus. From this world. The time.

[36:40] Of my departure. Is at hand. And there are two images. In the picture. That Paul gives us. To here. With regard to. To the departure.

[36:52] First of all. There is. The marine image. It's an image. From sea going. And it's the image. That speaks of. Of loosening the ship's moorings.

[37:02] And allowing the. Preparing the boat. To depart. From the port. It's loosening. All the connections.

[37:13] With that port. In which the ship. Is found. Because. There is. Another destination. The ship. Has been here. Long enough. There is now.

[37:24] The plans. To go somewhere else. And the other image. Comes. From the military. It's a picture. Of soldiers.

[37:35] In a camp. Like they would be. In the Old Testament. And the time. Comes. To. To break up. The camp. And to move. And to camp.

[37:45] Somewhere else. It's all about. Tidying up. And loosening the connections. With where. We are right now. Because we. We are moving to.

[37:56] Another place. And Paul. Is. Is deeply moved. At this stage. In his life. To recognize that. That in this.

[38:06] Prison house. In Rome. That the time. Has come. To loose. To loosen his ties. And to cut his ties. With this world. We understand.

[38:18] From. His own testimony. In Philippians. Chapter 1. For example. He didn't. He wasn't sure. He was pressed. Between two things. To want to stay.

[38:30] In the world. Or to want to. Depart. And. To be with Christ. But he comes down. At last. To say. That to decide. And to depart. With. To be with Christ.

[38:41] Is better. By far. For him. To live with Christ. But to depart. And to be with Christ. Was. The best. Thing. That.

[38:51] Could happen. To him. And having. Desired that. In the. Prison in Rome. As he wrote. To the Philippians. He is now. At the stage.

[39:01] Where. He knows. That's what's going. To happen. And ultimately. The greatest. The greatest. Desire. Of his soul. Of his heart. Is now. Going to be. Realized. Because.

[39:13] He is. Going. To be. With. Christ. The realization. In the same. Paul. Speaks. In Romans 8.

[39:23] And 2 Corinthians 5. About. Groaning. And. In 2 Corinthians 5. He speaks. Why we are in this tent. We groan.

[39:33] It's. It's the same image. It's kind of repeated. There is. There's a temporary residence. In this world. And there we are groaning. And groaning. Not in the sense of. Complaining. But groaning.

[39:44] Realizing. There are better things. Prepared for us. And. Our experience. Now. Doesn't correspond. To that. And there is. The longing. To. Have a whole experience.

[39:56] Aligned. With. The purposes. Of God. For us. The realization. Of being ready. To move on.

[40:08] And to. To leave. This world. There was a song. Written. In 1991. By. Kingsman. Court. It is.

[40:18] The text. Of the song is. Wish. You were here. And it's. A song. About. Heaven. And. I'll read. A couple of verses.

[40:29] On it. I can just. See them. Walking. On the shores. Together. They're talking. With Jesus. Safe. And secure. In his love. Friends. And loved ones.

[40:40] Walking. In heavenly peace. And I know. If they could. Talk to me now. Then. Hearest. What they would say to me. Wish you were here. At such. A beautiful place.

[40:51] It gives us. The image. Of another shore. Paul is leaving. At the shore. Of time. And of this world. but he's heading for another shore and it's a far more glorious and beautiful and peaceful place the storms of life will be changed into a calm and they will enter into the glory of the paradise of God what a realisation and how comforting and reassuring it would be for all of us together this evening that we would realise that realise where we are realise that God is working in our lives realising that he will take us to a better place and realising that we're ready to go when he comes what do you think do you realise the closeness of God's work and are you aware of where he is taking you or perhaps you should be aware that he's not taking you anywhere at all because you haven't put your trust in him the importance of faith to be on this journey that Paul was on to have this realisation to be ready to depart the realisation secondly there is a reflection and as as soon as he makes this statement he reflects upon the whole of his own life he looks back on on on his ministry and of his service to the Lord Jesus and when he does so we see three particular things he reflects first of all on his engagement in following the Lord Jesus there was a time in which he became involved in God's kingdom and from then on he has continued to do so and that's what we see in version number 7

[43:06] I have fought a good fight and fights are a doll's good we are taught in in school and in our playtime that it's not good to fight George Foreman the great boxer passed away this week he loved to fight he made a lot of money out of fighting but this fight is a good fight and it is a good fight in the sense that God has put this fight in place in his purpose and in his design so that those who come to serve the Lord that they do so participating in this good fight and through that whole process to prove themselves in their relationship with him and to confirm that indeed they have been saved by him it's a good fight and he is saying that he has fought the good fight he has been engaged in a struggle and tonight if you love the

[44:26] Lord if you're following the Lord Jesus if you want to decide to follow the Lord Jesus you are going to be in a struggle that's the necessary part of being engaged with him that that struggle begins which you knew nothing of before but which you will walk through and in which you will fight every step that you will take along life's way at the end of his life Paul is saying that he has fought a good fight or fought the good fight and his very grammar and terminology describes to us someone who from the beginning embraced the whole of his life that he has been devoted to the Lord Jesus that no matter how intense the struggle that he fought to the very end and in the prisoners in Rome now recognising and realising what's happened to him that he is able to give thanks to

[45:38] God that he fought the good fight that he engaged in the struggle and that he continued in faithfulness through that what of yourself this evening Christ is coming he's coming for us either in our death or in our judge for our judgment what do you think tonight are you able to say that Christ has engaged your heart and your life are you able to say that you have engaged with him and are able to say that this is a good fight because you see that God is with you in it and you're learning about God through it have you engaged in such a way with Jesus Christ as your Saviour the reflection you reflect on your life and let

[46:41] Paul's testimony inform the reflection and think about whether you're engaged with the Lord Jesus or not there is also the reflection that speaks of direction and that is I have finished my kush or I have finished the race it is the theatre of where the games are played and there is a kush as well as a struggle and the kush is a race and the writer of the Hebrews speaks in chapter 12 of running that race with patients looking to Jesus Paul knows where he has come from he knows that he was a great Pharisee trying to destroy the Christians after the resurrection of Christ he knows that but he knows that the time came that when he was engaged his life took a new direction he knew where the finishing line was he knew that the kush might take turnings that he did not expect but he knew where the finishing line was and now he is able to say to

[47:58] Timothy to encourage Timothy I have finished my kush I have reached the goal that tells I have finished my kush and when we hear Paul saying that I think it suggests at least that he was hearing that same word used by someone else that he was hearing that word used by the Lord Jesus on the cross at Calvary when he said finished Jesus had finished his race his kush and now he was departing into death and resurrection and to be with the father and it gives a sense of resounding in his mind Jesus said it is finished and he gave up the ghost now

[48:59] I have finished my kush and I go to be with my saviour I have finished my kush there is that sense of direction and the telling sign of your engagement and mine tonight is the direction that our lives take where do we come from even in this past week what are being ports of call which direction is life taking us in is it taking us on a detour or taking us away from the gospel and from the Christ who can be your saviour or is it taking us further and further down the highway that will bring us at last to the glory of God the direction the confirmation of engagement whatever is in your heart this evening with regard to the

[50:09] Lord Jesus Christ will determine how you live your life and what direction you will take as you return to the normality of weekday tomorrow the reflection and the direction and there is also the reflection and the devotion I have kept the faith he has remained faithful it's more than the fact that he hasn't lost his faith but it's faith in the sense of all that the Bible says it stortles his teachings!

[50:49] his instructions he has received all of that and all of that he has kept and he has remained faithful to it he has kept the faith what devotion how many of us tonight can can say what what Paul is saying the standard that he sets but the standard that he sets in order to encourage too many to follow his example having been engaged through his faith to have the same direction and the same devotion in serving the Lord Jesus and to watch out for in all things to endure afflictions to do the work of an evangelist to make full proof of your ministry the reflection what is your devotion like how committed are you to the truths of the gospel how aligned is your life with the teaching of the

[52:05] Lord Jesus how close do you walk to the path that the Bible speaks of that single path that takes us from this world into the presence of the glory of God the path concerning him Jesus himself says I am the way and the truth and the life the reflection on life God wants us tonight to press the pause for to think about where we have come from and where we are going and to think about that in relation to the first coming of the Lord Jesus and the second coming of the Lord Jesus and the way in which between these events his life there will be times when he will come to take his people from this world to his glory to be with them as he awaits and as the world awaits his return realization reflection and finally and closing reception it's great to get every reception we may go somewhere and we walk into a room and there's a sense of coolness and we didn't feel welcome there that can happen in different places in different circumstances but when you open a door and at the minute you do so there's a sense of being in the right place a sense of being comfortable where you are when we visited

[53:57] Hollywood Palace last year and we had luncheon with Prince Edward and everybody in the room walking on eggshells waiting for him to come in but he walked in the door and simply rubbed his hands and how are you all today my friends it was a warm reception we felt at home with them immediately there's more on that here but the point is that the reception that Paul is looking forward to it has a great welcome and the great welcome is given expression in the way in which at the beginning of verse 80 he says henceforth there there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness this has been laid up for him the crown in Paul's day it would be a wreath made up of flowers that would be given to the person who triumphed in the games and those who were out playing in the games and who had finished the courses and finished the competitions their names would be recorded in the annals of the city and when they would come back to the city to the award ceremony when they came back their names were already written and based on the names that were written in the annals each would be summoned and each would be given this crown the victor's crown the crown of flowers the wreath that would be placed on their heads and

[55:49] Paul is now using that whole picture that whole image to speak of the reception that he expects on the basis of the fact that his name is written in the Lamb's book of life and that his life has been lived in a way that is corresponding to his name being written there he's at the end of his course and because he has done all that he has done in the service of God because of that his name is written there and when at last Paul is called in this world and he passes from time into eternity and enters into the glory of Christ there is that sense here is the apostle Paul here is his name in the annals of the kingdom of God this is what Paul has done and on that basis this crown of righteousness will be placed upon his head the crown of righteousness the crown is the righteousness it's a symbolic way of speaking of in that moment when he stands before the judgment seat of

[57:13] Christ that there will be that declaration of his righteousness that is a life that has been lived in faith in Jesus Christ a life that has been lived committed to the teaching of the Bible a life that has been lived righteously in the service of Christ and now on the basis of that that he is now crowned and clothed and declared to be righteous at the throne room of God and that's a wonderful welcome that we can anticipate this evening if we are engaged by faith in the Lord Jesus and following him that tonight your name may be in the Lamb's book of life and that when the time of your departure comes here comes

[58:18] John or Norman or or whatever the name is here comes such and such whose names are written here who kept themselves pure who were loyal to the Lord Jesus welcomed them into the kingdom given to them this righteousness that declares that they are accepted in heaven into the paradise of God in the new heavens and the new earth that God has prepared for his people and that's how Paul closes this part of the chapter whom the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing it's for you tonight if you have the love that Paul had the love for the Lord Jesus the love that he speaks of in 2

[59:19] Corinthians 5 the love of Christ constrains us it's that sense of being drawn that sense of being in a magnetic way finding the Lord Jesus irresistible to all those who love his appearing whom says Peter have him though you have not seen him you love him and though now you do not see him you rejoice with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and where that love is that is the desire and the longing at last for us to see him as he is for us to be before him and to see him face to face and to recognize that he is our God that he is our Savior and more importantly that he recognizes!

[60:20] us as his own children so that we will have the same welcome and so that we will not hear the words that Jesus speaks of in the Gospels depart from me I never knew you let's realize what God is in our lives let's reflect on the direction of our lives and let's think of the reward of the people of God and let's ensure that we spend out energy seeking the Lord while he is to be found and calling upon whom whilst he is near the motivation of a final testimony and may Paul's final testimony motivate us and energize us and encourage us to seek the Lord follow the Lord and to remain loyal to him no matter what Amen the God is word let us pray most gracious God we rejoice in you and in your unfailing grace and for the way which your word speaks of a grace that enables your people to persevere that those who are loyal to you and those who persevere to the end that they will be saved and we pray tonight that we may all have faith that we may all know the grace of perseverance and we all know what it is to persevere to the very end and know the final salvation into which you call your people and which you are preparing for them in that new heavens and that new earth where righteousness will dwell so bless your word to us and encourage us in our hearts and hear our prayer having mercy we ask these things for

[62:07] Jesus sake Amen the closed psalm is psalm 73 and verse 23 psalm 73 and verse 23 nevertheless continually O Lord I am with thee who dost me hold by my right hand and still uphold me the psalmist was aware of the same direction and the same experience as Paul was aware of and we sing these words from verse 23 to verse 26 reflecting on Paul and reflecting on the experience of the psalmist from verse 23 to 26 to God's praise!

[63:07] Oh Lord I am with me Thou guide me hold my life and I still I hold the stream!

[63:32] Who is the world so wide I live with me all dark and I until thy glory after earth receive thee do I whom I like in the heaven Let your heart be unveiled, but God shall still be known.

[64:58] For all in my heart, God is the same, and my worship forever.

[65:17]  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore. Amen.