A priest in the order of Melchizedek
[0:00] Well, good morning everybody and welcome to this pre-recorded morning service here at Calvary! Church in Brighton. And a very warm welcome to you whether you are a regular viewer or! just dropping in on this occasion. My name is Philip Wells. I work for the church as pastor elder and have done for quite a number of years. And our church here in Brighton, as I say, is a church we used to be 75 or 80 people meeting back in former times and we're still continuing by Zoom and YouTube at the moment. We are a small independent, smallish independent Baptist church on the south coast of England. That's my usual introduction and I'll just say that today we're carrying on looking really in the letter to the Hebrews. But we're looking at what is said in the Bible in Psalm 110 which is picked up in the letter to the Hebrews. And Psalm 110 is seen as being a key to the understanding of who Jesus is and what benefits he offers and what glory he has and how he is our saviour. So that's a wonderful subject to think about so please follow through as that will be our theme for today. We're also going to come back to this little topic of forgiveness. Actually I say little topic, it's a very important topic and we're just going to spend a few minutes on that as we go through. So let me click and show you the plan.
[1:45] It's up there on the screen by my head. This is the introduction and let me pray and then we'll sing something. Lord we always need to be refocused, recalibrated as we fix our eyes on Jesus.
[2:06] And whatever sort of week we've had and whatever sort of emotions have gone through our minds, whatever sort of mood we're in today, we pray that you would fix us on the Lord Jesus Christ so that we may consider him and draw near to him and hear from him and know his touch upon our lives and his changing us for his name's sake. Amen.
[2:36] Amen. The psalm that I referred to, Psalm 110, is the one that says of David, a psalm, the Lord says to my Lord, that's the Lord God says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
[2:58] And we're going to sing praise number 495, Rejoice the Lord is King. Rejoice the Lord is King, your Lord and King adore.
[3:25] Lord, I say rejoice. Mortals give thanks and sing and triumph evermore.
[3:35] Lift up your heart, lift up your voice, rejoice, how can I say rejoice?
[3:47] Jesus the Savior reigns, the God of truth and love.
[3:57] When he had purged our stains, he took his seat above. Lift up your heart, lift up your voice, rejoice again, I say.
[4:17] Rejoice the Lord is King, your Lord and King adore. His kingdom cannot fail, he rules both earth and heaven.
[4:29] The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus' skin. Lift up your heart, lift up your voice, rejoice again, I say.
[4:45] Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. He sits at God's right hand till all his foes submit.
[5:01] And bow to his command and fall beneath his feet. Lift up your heart, lift up your heart, lift up your voice.
[5:16] Rejoice again, I say, rejoice. Rejoice in glorious hope.
[5:27] Jesus the judge shall come and take his servants up to their eternal home.
[5:41] We soon shall hear the archangel's voice. God's trumpet call shall sound, rejoice.
[5:53] Rejoice in glorious hope. Now we're going to come and pray. And we're going to, as we've become accustomed to doing, say the Lord's Prayer along with our praying.
[6:09] After I've led in prayer. And let's come now to pray. Lord God, we lift our hearts to you this morning. From this world of confusion, sin, dysfunction, trouble.
[6:29] We lift our hearts to you. We lift our hearts to you where the almighty Father is upon the throne. Where the lamb sits enthroned.
[6:41] Where the Holy Spirit is before the throne. Lord God, we lift our hearts to you. And we worship the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We come confessing our sins and our need of you.
[6:54] We come considering that there is a high priest upon the throne in the order of Melchizedek. And we thank you so much that before the throne of God above I have a strong, a perfect plea.
[7:09] A great high priest whose name is love, whoever lives and pleads for me. And we thank you that we have an advocate in heaven. And as we come this morning, we pray that his advocacy may over trump our many sins, faults and failures.
[7:30] And we thank you for the power of his cross, the power of his intercession, the power of his blood to speak better things than the blood of Abel. And that we can come wonderfully accepted, adopted, ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven into the presence of almighty God.
[7:51] So we lift our hearts to you in thankfulness and praise. We ask of you that you will advance the purposes of Jesus Christ. That many people will see him as being great and glorious and worthy of all praise and worship.
[8:09] Pray that many people will bow down before him, crying out, just Jesus help me. And looking away from their sin and their need to the one who can save them to the uttermost.
[8:24] We pray that this would be the case. We pray, Lord Jesus, you would extend the scepter of your kingdom, extend the extent of your reign, so that more men and women and boys and girls come to be your subjects.
[8:40] We pray that your kingdom would come and your will be done on earth. And we pray too that in our own hearts and lives and across this world, glory would be given to you.
[8:52] That you would have the acclaim you deserve. Your people would be made suitable to express your glory.
[9:04] We pray that your church may be transformed to be an instrument that shows your glory in this world. We pray that missionaries would be empowered to speak boldly the true things of Jesus Christ.
[9:19] And that the Holy Spirit would work in people's hearts and lives so that they come to accept that and agree with it and be convinced of it. So hear all our prayers and glorify your name and advance your kingdom.
[9:34] And so we pray this Lord's Prayer together. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.
[9:45] Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
[9:58] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever.
[10:09] Amen. Amen. We're going to have a few more thoughts on forgiveness. You notice this leads on from the Lord's Prayer where it says, Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
[10:23] And in praying, of course, there is a very strong link between the forgiveness that we are seeking to receive, or the forgiven state in which we are seeking to stand, and the way we stand with regard to other people in regard to forgiving them.
[10:39] You get the same thing in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 35, where Paul is talking to the church and saying, this is the sort of community you should be.
[10:50] And he says, And he says, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
[11:02] This is one of these one another type passages. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other. And linking that back to what God has done in Christ because God forgave us.
[11:17] So we've seen so far that forgiveness is to relinquish the right to use the offence as a weapon or to bring this up again. That's what forgiveness is. And we talked about the costly nature of forgiveness.
[11:31] It's a merciful thing. It's not a negotiation where the other person pays you something and you give them this. It is a gift. And it's a gift of mercy. So we talked about that the other week.
[11:44] And that led to quite a bit of discussion, I know, amongst one or two people. And one of the questions that came up was this. What happens when the other person doesn't say they're sorry?
[11:55] The text that we looked at last time was, if my brother sins against me and repents, how many times should I forgive him? And it was onwards and onwards.
[12:06] But what happens when the other person doesn't say they're sorry? And that's worth thinking about. I'm not sure that I've got a definitive answer to this. But it is a real question, isn't it?
[12:17] So, for example, in this day and age, it's not out of this world to think of the situation. The situation of having an abusive parent who has now died, for example.
[12:32] What do you do about the offence that you feel that's been inflicted upon you by this person? And they can no longer say they're sorry because they're not there to say so.
[12:45] And I observe that the absence of forgiveness, that is to keep this thing going, that I ought to be forgiven.
[12:56] But I ought to receive an apology, but I'm not going to. It is a terrible thing. I've put there keeping a grudge.
[13:08] Is it keeping a grudge? I mean, it might feel a little bit more righteous than that. But it's doing something. It's hanging on to an offence in perpetuity.
[13:20] And it's a burdensome thing. Because to hang on to offence is part of one's agenda. And it hangs on one's life.
[13:31] And it actually affects the person who is not doing the forgiving. And as I've just commented, it is spiritually dangerous to not forgive others.
[13:45] Because it affects the sense in which we are being forgiven. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. So there is something quite important about being able to forgive.
[13:56] And the question here, what happens when the other person doesn't say they're sorry? So you might have some wisdom on this yourself. But I do observe that in the story of Joseph and his brothers, that's to say Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat Joseph, the Joseph who was put in a hole and left to die or sold off to be a slave by his own brothers.
[14:21] In that story, as we follow Joseph through, he does, he shows no trace of unforgiveness. So as his life develops, he isn't permanently blighted by the bitterness of thinking, this is how my brothers treated me.
[14:40] And I suppose it also shows that being brought up in a dysfunctional family does not forever imprison you to your life being blighted and spoiled by the sins of others.
[14:54] So it is definitely spiritually possible to forgive people who haven't said sorry, because Joseph was in a state of forgiveness towards his brothers. And they had no opportunity to say they were sorry, because they were thousands of miles apart.
[15:08] And when I'm saying that, I'm saying that if you read the story of Joseph, there's no sense in which he has got this agenda all the way through, I'm going to get equal with those rotten people that sold me as a slave.
[15:20] And he does meet up with his brothers again, but you get no sense that he's, now I can get equal with them. That is something that he has dealt with long ago.
[15:34] Now, how did he deal with it? Now, how did he deal with it? And we're not told in the text. But we are given a little bit of a clue in the things that Joseph says later on. He says to his brothers, you meant it for harm, but God meant it for good, for the saving of many lives.
[15:49] So there's no doubt that he says you did mean it for harm. I mean, that's an insputable fact. But there is a bigger fact that God meant it for good, that God was gracious.
[16:03] And it seems to me that part of the key to this, the answer to this, what happens when the other person doesn't say they're sorry, is actually to relate the whole situation to God. Certainly that's what Joseph was doing.
[16:15] He says, that's what you meant, but I put it in the context of what God meant. And you get the same sort of thing in the text that we read at the beginning. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other.
[16:29] Well, why? Because of a larger context. Because in Christ, God forgave you. And I think there's also a helpful distinction to be made between forgiving and rebuilding the relationship.
[16:45] Now, when God forgives us, he certainly rebuilds the relationship as well. But I think it's a helpful distinction to make, perhaps in our human relationships particularly.
[16:57] In the story of Joseph, Joseph does put his brothers through a remarkable sequence of sort of tests. And I think it might be worth going back and rereading that story and see what Joseph is doing.
[17:13] It seems to me that he is putting his brothers into a sort of repeat situation just to see where they're at. So, silver was an issue. They wanted money for their brother whom they sold.
[17:25] So, silver becomes an issue in the new story. The spoilt brother, the favourite brother was an issue in the past. And Joseph recreates a situation of a favourite, a brother receiving favouritism to see where they're at.
[17:42] And the thing about how they thought of their father was a thing back there in the past. And he sets up a situation regarding the father.
[17:53] And you get the very moving speech by Joseph, not Joseph, by Judah saying, If you do this to my brother, my father, it'll kill him.
[18:07] And it's a very moving, compassionate speech. So, things have moved on. And I think this is really testing how far can we rebuild this relationship? How far have these people changed?
[18:19] How far is there any sort of repentance? How far is there, you know, can I trust them? So, I think there's a helpful distinction between forgiving and rebuilding the relationship.
[18:31] You can't rebuild a relationship with somebody who's passed away. But you can say, well, you know, considering everything, considering the way God's forgiven me, considering what sort of a person I have been and I've been forgiven, that somewhere in that, in praying and asking and seeking the Lord, knowing how he's treated us, that there is the embryo there for forgiving other people, even when they don't say they're sorry.
[18:59] See what you think about that, those thoughts. Before I go on, I'm going to say that God's forgiveness is not content just to write off sin without rebuilding the relationship.
[19:16] In becoming a Christian, those things are inseparably linked. God forgives our sins and puts in our hearts a new attitude and a new relationship.
[19:30] And the rebuilding of that relationship and the moulding of our characters, making us into a different sort of person, is exactly what God is intending to do. He doesn't just stop and say you're forgiven, but he brings us on in relationship and transformation.
[19:46] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. I pray, may your church, Lord Jesus, be a community of forgiving and restoring, forgiven and restored relationships.
[20:09] May that be the sort of church we are. For your name's sake. Amen. Well, I hope those thoughts are helpful and be very willing to receive feedback on those thoughts.
[20:22] We're now going to have read to us Acts chapter 2, verses 22 to 41. And Ray's going to read. This is a sparkling passage from Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.
[20:39] And it's a remarkable exposition and argumentation for the status of Jesus Christ as Lord and Christ. He does it by quoting Old Testament passages.
[20:52] And I invite you, as Ray reads this, to spot the references to the right hand and to spot the quote from Psalm 110. And to see what Peter does with this and how he deploys these texts in his exposition and argumentation as to who Jesus is and what the implication of that is for his hearers on that day of Pentecost.
[21:17] So thank you, Ray, for reading to us. The reading is taken from Acts chapter 2, verses 22 to 41. Men of Israel, listen to this.
[21:32] Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
[21:45] This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge. And you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
[21:57] But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
[22:08] David said about him, I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.
[22:22] My body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life.
[22:35] You fill me with joy in your presence. Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
[22:50] But he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised him, on oath, that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
[23:10] God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. God has raised this Jesus to life, and he was not abandoned to the grave, and he was not abandoned to the grave.
[23:29] And here. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
[23:45] Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
[24:00] When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent, and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.
[24:23] And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call.
[24:36] With many other words, he warned them, and he pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.
[24:55] Amen. So as that was read, you will have noticed how the resurrection was a key part of his argument. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
[25:11] God has raised this Jesus to life. And the resurrection is a crucial and splendid and glorious part of this narrative and this understanding of Jesus.
[25:24] So let's sing a resurrection song, 458. Christ the Lord is risen today, Hallelujah! All creation joined to say, Hallelujah!
[25:36] Raise your joys and triumphs high! Sing you heavens and earth reply! So a song of exaltation about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[25:47] And we'll follow straight on with Psalm 110, just to remind us of that wonderful psalm. It's always good to sing psalms. So let's sing those two back to back now.
[26:00] Christ the Lord is risen today, Hallelujah!
[26:15] All creation joined to say, Hallelujah! Raise your joys and triumphs high! Hallelujah!
[26:36] Till you hence and earth reply! Hallelujah! Love's redeeming work is done, Hallelujah!
[27:01] For the fight, the battle won, Hallelujah! See our sun's eclipse has passed, Hallelujah!
[27:21] See the light returns at last, Hallelujah! desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde Christ has opened paradise lives again our glorious King
[28:26] Hallelujah where all death is now your sting Hallelujah once he died our souls to sing Hallelujah where's your victory though sting great Hallelujah So we know where Christ has led Hallelujah following our exalted head Hallelujah
[29:27] Made like him like him we rise Hallelujah As across the grave the skies Hallelujah Hail the Lord of earth and heaven Hallelujah Praise to you by those begin Hallelujah Every knee to you shall bow Hallelujah Risen Christ Triumphant now
[30:28] Hallelujah The Lord said to my Lord Don't sit here at my right hand Until your foes before you fall And my command From Zion's throne he gave you power to rule the land And when the day of battle comes your troops will fight
[31:36] And you in holy majesty from day's first light With you the nointed as with you will rise in might The Lord himself hath swore and none his oath can shape That you forever in his name should Should priesthood take Some seating in the line of peace desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde!
[32:32] desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde desde your feet renown and glory crown your head your word complete well as we come to God's word let's pray Lord help us to see wonderful things out of your law by your grace by your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Amen as we come to this subject let's just ask this question to set us going what's the difference between a life insurance policy and Weetabix what's the difference between a life insurance policy and Weetabix well I suppose the answer is many things really but the bit I was thinking of was a life insurance policy is fine, tucked away in a drawer and only ever looked at a few times in your life that's fine for a life insurance policy that's only there for certain times of life however Weetabix is completely different it's something you get out of the cupboard every day and you need it every day and you eat it every day and it does you good every day and I'd like to say that Psalm 110 is like Weetabix it is a very relevant piece of scripture
[34:22] I want to try and prove that to us there's a picture of Weetabix in case you wanted to know what it looked like we've been following a mysterious trail thinking is there a key a key to life a key to salvation and these sort of secrets and mysteries that fascinate us like Indiana Jones who followed the trail starting with his father's little book and leading all the way to well there's the trail past the Eiffel Tower through the mountains across the desert and X marks the spot so if we follow this trail can we get eternal life and in the Bible the answer is yes and if you follow the trail you get somewhere and you find a person and that's what we're going to do that's what we've been doing these last few weeks and we followed from the Genesis story the reference to Melchizedek and we looked at Melchizedek as he was there in the Genesis story and we followed through to the Song of David the psalm in which prophetically he looks back to Melchizedek as being his sort of forerunner and the ideal king and the ideal priest and also sees somebody who is not himself but is his Lord in the future and we're going to follow from that onwards into the new covenant which I like to say is the explosive fulfilment of everything in Jesus so the psalm said this it had one half which says the Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet and we looked at that it ended up with refreshment in a watery way and I put that arrow it's a right hand arrow to remind us of the significance of the right hand
[36:17] I haven't done a thing about the footstool for the feet but that's important too and then the second half the Lord has sworn that you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek so and then that ended up with refreshment in a watery way and I put another right hand because that says the Lord is at your right hand so that was just to remind us of the psalm I'm not going to go over that if you really are completely lost on that go back and look on YouTube for last week's session and you may remember that last time I tried to hang it on these hooks number one that ultimate power and authority belong to the person spoken of in the psalm number two the precious union of king and priest number three the seamless closeness of this person and the Lord himself number four this time span or time scale until forever and then number five the supernatural reviving and restoring of this person and remember these key points which I mentioned already but I'm going to flag them up this person is at the right hand of the majesty on high at the right hand of God he waits till his enemies are made a footstool for his feet and he is a king and priest forever so there I've just put it symbolically
[37:40] I think the more ridiculous the drawings are the less you'll think that they're supposed to be realistic they're just to flag things up for our memory the king on the throne his enemies are footstool for his feet at the right hand of God there's a little picture so asking the question is this psalm ever mentioned in the New Testament is it ever mentioned at all does Jesus himself ever refer to it and the answer is yes does he find it to be a powerful key to his self-understanding and his revelation of who he is to everybody else and the answer is yes do his apostles ever mention it and the answer is yes do they ever treat it as significant and important and the answer is yes it is a key it is of great significance and importance and what is the significance of this psalm so I want to try and do that just this morning in this way to say there are four uses of this key text four locks that this key undoes if you like and they are evidential assurance number two providential confidence number three substantial patience and number four spiritual focus you see I'll try to put an AL at the front of each of those
[39:07] I don't flatter myself that people remember all the points that I make but you might find it an interesting exercise after lunch to see if you can remember those and what they meant evidential assurance providential confidence substantial patience spiritual focus here we go number one evidential assurance and I'm referring to Acts chapter 2 verses 29 to 36 it's the bit where Peter says David was a prophet verse 29 and verse 30 and he knew that God had promised him on oath notice that emphatic God had promised on oath this is something that will definitely happen that he would place one of his descendants on his throne notice the throne seeing what was ahead he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ that he was not abandoned to the grave his body did not see decay and God has raised this Jesus to life now the next bit we are witnesses of the fact exalted to the right hand of God he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear so I notice there's a very concentrated chain of thoughts there from David and his prophecy the everlasting nature of the promised king the right hand destination of the promised king and the resurrection of Jesus the pouring out of the Holy Spirit the resurrection of the Jesus which is seen by witnesses the pouring out of the Spirit which the witnesses there on the day of Pentecost were trying to come to terms with at that very moment and then he quotes
[41:05] Psalm 110 how do we know this what does this all fit in with it fits in exactly with Psalm 110 for David did not ascend to heaven and yet he said the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet that's the destination that's the promise that must take place not for David but for someone else and here's the someone else therefore let all Israel be assured of this that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ so I'm saying there is evidential assurance that's what he says isn't it because of this the evidence put together here the scriptures these events you can be sure who Jesus is you can be sure of his significance and his greatness and in particular that he is Lord and Christ and whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved so I don't know whether you ever have a gas engineer come to visit mend the central heating something like that there's a promised date of the visit the engineer will be with you between the hours of 8 o'clock in the morning and 12 midday we promise he will come when he comes he will have his tools in the van you'll be able to see the
[42:37] British gas van or whatever it is and when he turns up he will have some ID that he will show you and if you take a look at him he'll be wearing British gas overalls and he will ask for you by name Mr. Wells I've been asked to call on you today I'm the engineer and I know for sure that this is the gas engineer because it all fits and there's the evidence and here in in here in Acts all the facts all the evidence is put together to make us sure that Jesus is Lord and Christ God's promise of a non-decaying king on the throne the resurrection that is witnessed by reliable witnesses the pouring out of the spirit which the crowd there in Jerusalem saw and which in a sense we benefit from now in terms of changed personalities and the work of the Holy Spirit inside people and he says put this all together here is evidential assurance know for sure that Jesus is the total
[43:50] Lord the promised Messiah if you call on his name you will be saved those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved evidential assurance if you call out Jesus save me he will hear he has the power he is the right person and the only person evidential assurance call on him the right response to this evidential assurance is to call on the name of the Lord Lord Jesus save me number one evidential assurance number two providential confidence so now I'm going to go to Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 22 2 and verse which says God placed all things under his feet and gave him to be head over everything for the church which is his body the fullness of him who feels everything in every way and you notice the reference to Psalm 110 of placing all things under his feet and here
[45:01] I'm saying is providential assurance all things under his feet all things under his feet the big things the small things the places the times the circumstances the past the present and as it unwraps the future all things under his feet and it's they're all things under his feet for his church notice that for God is for us and not against us he's working things for us he's on our side I don't mean that in a partisan sense but he's for us he wants to support us he wants to bless us he wants to change us he wants to bring us safely home he's not trying to trip us up he's not trying to mess us up he wants to grow us and build us and bless us for the church now have you ever missed a train have you ever got breathlessly onto the platform just as that train eases away and you have this sinking feeling
[46:10] I've had this when I was in Oxford actually I'm not going to get home tonight because that was the train and I am because of the traffic jam I am that number of seconds late and the train's gone on I've missed it with the hundreds of passengers on it you can imagine it can't you with the 500 passengers or if you like 499 because you're left on the platform now imagine as you see the train go off into the distance your heart sinks and then it slows down and then you hear a sort of clanking of gears and then what's happening it's coming back it's reversing and it pulls up to the platform in front of you and the door opens and you say what's going on and the guard says oh we've come back and you say why have you come back and the guard says we've come back for you there's an example of something amazing that would be done not for us for our benefit and you'd think that would be just you know so brilliant that's not going to happen is it well probably not actually but I want to make that as an illustration to say that God works things for us well it says for his church so it's a global thing but if we're part of his church we're included in that he works all things for us the promise that perhaps not in such a crude way as my illustration but in perhaps a mysterious way but a genuine way nevertheless
[47:58] God is arranging things moving things forwards or reversing things backwards or moving things round for his church and it's for his church because all things are under his feet Christ's feet that's Psalm 110 because of Psalm 110 we have providential confidence providence meaning the way God runs things and confidence meaning that we can be confident that God is doing these things not against us not to trip us up not to mess us about but for our good for our blessing for us and let's include in that the losses the things that hurt because we lost them the crosses where we think God ought to take us that way and he sends us a different way when providence goes across what we were thinking the joys the good things and the disappointments
[48:59] Christ is working all things they're all under his feet for the church and that includes the good actions by grace the mercies the kindnesses the blessings and it even includes the bad things the evil actions of evil people he they none of them come except under the rule of the king who has all things under his feet in that sense he works all things for his people so there number two is providential confidence brothers and sisters let's be providentially confident I know things upset us I know things cross us I know we have losses but let's not make that the bottom line let's make the bottom line that Christ is ruling all these things and he means it for good and he will certainly do us good and one day maybe we won't understand everything but one day we will surely look back and say thank you lord for what you were doing didn't understand it at the time but you had a good purpose in it number two providential confidence number three substantial patience number three substantial patience so now I'm going to go to 1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 is the great chapter of resurrection isn't it and I'm going to go to verse 25 where it says for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy to be destroyed is death that's 1 Corinthians 15 verse 26 25 26 he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy to be destroyed is death that's from from Psalm 110 isn't it and this one is looking forward in the light of the future resurrection of his people so the substance of this is the strong substance of Christ's resurrection betokening future resurrection or let me put it around the other way because he has all enemies under his feet he will destroy the last enemy which is death he will destroy and we need to be patient he will reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy to be destroyed is death when you were a kid did you ever plant seeds beans peas little seeds that's a wonderful thing for kids to do to plant seeds this time of year
[51:49] I think is probably good isn't it what you don't want to do is plant the seed mummy's helped plant the seed this morning and then little one says has it grown yet let's go back and dig it up and see whether it's grown this afternoon unlikely to and it probably doesn't help does it digging them up every afternoon to see no you say leave it alone we've planted the seed it's got the right conditions all being well we just have to wait and when we wait this new life will spring up for sure it will spring up it's just a matter of waiting trust me on this have faith and here's my third thing that as we wait for the Lord he will bring this substantial thing to pass but we need to have patience so we've had funerals in the last months in the life of the church we haven't had funerals that I can remember or many funerals for quite a while but a funeral is a thing isn't it and a funeral of a believing person someone united to Christ we experience the awfulness and the sadness of somebody being struck down by this horrid and ugly intruder into human experience because we weren't built to die even though evolutionists would tell us that that's inevitable it's not that's not how we were made it's an enemy and we say will this enemy ever be defeated and will his work ever be undone and you see the answer is yes he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet and that includes death the last enemy to be destroyed is death death has been defeated his work will be undone it is just a matter of time and we need patience for this substantial thing to happen substantial patience let me read you from revelation 21 what will happen one day and I heard says John sort of looking forward into the future this is what he's going to hear
[54:27] I heard a loud voice from the throne saying now the dwelling of God is with men he will live with them they will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God he will wipe every tear from their eyes there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away and he who was seated on the throne said behold I am making all things new because of Psalm 110 we have a substantial hope we wait for it patiently so my point number three was substantial patience until he makes all things new number four spiritual focus now we're going to go to Colossians 3
[55:30] Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 and here is Psalm 110 popping up chapter 3 verse 1 since then you have been raised with Christ set your hearts on or seek things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your minds on things above not on earthly things since you've been raised with Christ seek things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God there's Psalm 110 set your minds on things above not on earthly things and he goes on to describe what earthly things are he says things of this nature sexual immorality impurity lust evil desires sorry about the spelling and greed these are the sorts of things that belong on earth and have not been touched touched by the realm and rule of the heavenly things where
[56:38] Christ is at the right hand of God and he says that's where you should be setting your hearts setting your minds that's where you should be recalibrating that's where you should be focusing that's your spiritual focus now it's a little while since I went to the optician maybe you're fortunate enough that you never have to go to the optician a lot of people do and I don't know whether your optician does the same sort of things as my optician sit in a chair look into the distance please I'm just going to put these weird things on you and all that sort of stuff and please look at the red light in the distance while I put these things on you and put lens changes and contraptions and blow things into your eyes and say you know is that better than that or is that better than that just focus on the red light in the distance and that's what you need to focus on while all these distracting and therapeutic but distracting strange things happen well spiritual focus this Psalm 110 based text says that's your focus don't lose that focus hang on to that focus seek set your hearts and minds focus on the things above where Christ is at the right hand of God that's the focus of hearts and minds there's all sorts of distractions that goes on around us all sorts of things that we could be looking at concentrating on focusing on ourselves our pleasure the random emotions the lockdown madness all these things that we could be distracted by but he says no look at that seek the things that belong where Christ is exalted at the right hand of God set your hearts and minds on those things
[58:36] I'm not saying that the things of this life are wrong you know the things that pertain to being human food friendships work marriage and family mending the roof getting an MOT for the car knitting the clothes darning socks all the things that you have to do they're not wrong but do them in the right focus don't let them be the focus themselves but focus if we may if we can please God on Jesus at the right hand of God and then everything else falls into its right place so those were the four things the key thought that the Messiah is at the right hand of God he's waiting for his enemies to be made a footstool for his feet and he's a king and priest ruling forever and the four things that I said number one was evidential assurance know for sure because of Psalm 110 that Jesus is Lord and Christ and you can cry
[59:40] Jesus save me and that is a strong rightly aimed prayer number two providential confidence all things come to us from the Christ who rules for his church number three substantial patience we're waiting until the last enemy is destroyed number four spiritual focus focus then not on the distracting things which can be so powerful and pull us off course so easily but focus on where Christ is at the right hand of God set our hearts and minds our affections on those things by God's grace and I'm saying then because of these things this psalm and its thoughts its very powerful connections shouldn't be left in a dusty cupboard like an insurance policy but brought out and fed on every day like wheat a bix so let's
[60:42] Psalm 110 be our wheat a bix and there we finish Amen so we've heard God's word together and thought about Jesus at the right hand of the throne on high right hand of the majesty on high in that place of power and intercession for us and we'll sing 879 about trouble about sin but but God stands at his people's side but God sending his son to save raising him from the grave but God sets all his people free opens their eyes to see wonders of love in Jesus above he's sitting enthroned on high for you and me so that's 879 trouble may break with the dawn trouble may break with the dawn and evil may come and darkness will fall clouds will appear in the sky and tears in our eyes and pain in the soul but
[62:24] God stands at his people's side gives them a place to hide rescues and saves them takes them to heaven and in his own his son he brings them home!
[62:49] sin sin may take hold in our lives! and Satan draw near to fill us with fear!
[63:06] ! conscience! conscience accuse and condemn for things we've done wrong and silence our soul God God sending his son to save raising him from the grave pardons our sins bring years to swimming and gives us a course to sing to sing again so join in this new song today rejoice in the Lord and come and adore this glorious
[64:11] God of all grace look into his face and worship him more for God sets all his people free opens their eyes to see wonders of love in Jesus above he's sitting enthroned on high for you and me!
[64:51] for God sets all his people free opens their eyes to see wonders of love in Jesus above he's sitting enthroned on high for you and me well in a with the doxology which was sung by Ruth at the funeral of Colleen earlier this week. Beautiful song and very fitting to close our meeting. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[65:46] So let me pray and then it'll be the doxology. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. May the God of peace who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep equip you with everything good for doing his will and may he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
[66:20] Amen. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That's what we'll sing and I'll say goodbye until we meet again. Goodbye.
[66:35] Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below.
[66:50] Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[67:13] praise him above you heavenly host. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[67:43] praise him above you heavenly host. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him above you heavenly host. Praise God from whom all those brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers brothers Amen.