PM Mark 15:33-39; John 19:28-30 More Sayings of Jesus on the Cross

[0:00] Our readings come as we have them. First of all in Mark chapter 15, and we're going to read from verse 33 down to the verse Mark 39. So Mark chapter 15, reading at verse 33.

[0:15] And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land. This is midday in our time, until the ninth hour, which is three o'clock in the afternoon. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, Lema sabachthani, which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[0:36] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, Behold, he's calling Elijah. And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.

[0:51] And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, Truly, this man was the Son of God.

[1:10] And then, reading in John, and chapter 19, the Gospel of John, chapter 19, and picking up from our reading this morning, we're going to read from verse 28.

[1:23] Just a few verses down, a couple of verses to verse 33 verses. John chapter 19, and reading in verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, To fulfill the scriptures, I thirst.

[1:39] A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch, and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.

[1:53] And he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. Amen. And may God bless to us the reading of his own holy word. Our next item that we looked at this morning, the sayings of Jesus on the cross.

[2:09] And tonight we come to the time when it was midday for us on the Friday. And Jesus has now been on the cross since nine o'clock in the morning.

[2:23] Mark 15, 33 tells us, as we read, And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

[2:34] So, this seems quite strange in the fact that darkness came over the sky at this time. But in many ways, we are used to something like that here in Scotland, where severe storms can bring darkness in many ways, even at midday, and cause darkness.

[2:54] Also, we recently have had a few eclipses, and that causes darkness. But the thing is, it seldom rains in Israel and in Jerusalem like it does here.

[3:06] So, it's very unlikely that this is what happened in regards to that. And there was not an eclipse, because this took place. This took place. An eclipse lasts only moments, really.

[3:18] And this took place for three hours. The crucifixion took place during Passover time. And that is round about March, April.

[3:29] And Passover is usually the time of full moon. And you do not get an eclipse when there is a full moon. There was an Egyptian, they claim, writer, that said during this time and during this darkness, that he wrote, deity itself must be suffering.

[3:48] If not, he is empathizing with someone who is. Deity itself must be suffering. If not, he is empathizing with someone who is.

[4:01] You know what is interesting about these hours of darkness is that there was utter silence on the cross. It brought this eerie silence as darkness fell.

[4:14] Because previous to this, that is what we saw that took place before this darkness fell. The three sayings of Jesus. The first of all, the saying he said to the soldiers on the cross, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

[4:30] This took place before the darkness. He also gave the assurance to the criminal who was dying beside him. Truly, you will be with me today in paradise.

[4:41] That took place before the darkness. And also, remember when he turned to his mother and said, Woman, behold your son. And then said to John, the beloved disciple, Behold your mother.

[4:54] All of these expressions of love that took place even in the pain. The pain that he was going through. And the ordeal of dying on the cross.

[5:07] There was no thought of himself. He was thinking of others. And I'm sure that as Isaiah said in 53, That Jesus saw the travel of his soul.

[5:18] And he was satisfied. Satisfied in what he was seeing. Because this really, as we saw today, It was necessary for him to go to the cross.

[5:29] Because God so loved the world. And this is basically an expression of that love. Of course, there were the chief priests, And the teachers, And the elders that taunted Jesus.

[5:41] But the descent of darkness all seems to suggest That all narrative ceased. It ended as if a veil had been put over the situation And on Mount Calvary at that time.

[5:58] Drawing over a veil of unspeakable suffering That Christ was going through. So, when we think about that, Is there anything that points us in scripture To tell us or to give us an idea What took place during this and these dark hours?

[6:19] The three hours. Do we have any idea? Well, of course, we do have scripture Where scripture points to the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the sacraments and everything That we have in the Old Testament.

[6:30] And what took place in the temple over the years. So, we can look at that to see Is there any significance in regards to the darkness Of these three hours?

[6:41] And what were the significance of this time on the cross? So, we need to understand something in regards To the temple, how it was designed. And we do know that the temple was designed With a series of courts.

[6:55] There was the court of Gentiles. That's us. We would be on the outskirts of the court. Then in from that, there would be the Jewish women. They were a step further in than the Gentiles.

[7:07] Then there was the court of the Israelites. That means Jewish men. They were separate from the women. They were in an inner court from then. And of course, they were the inner part of the court Of the temple.

[7:21] The courts. The two courts. There was the holy place. And there was the most holy place. In the holy place, that is where the table was With the showbread.

[7:31] And there was the large seven-branch candlestick. And of course, in the most holy place, Another place that was separated with a veil. The thickness of a hand.

[7:42] Can I imagine the material that took to make that? And that was separated. That was separated from the court of Israel. The men. And then the court of priests. Then the court.

[7:53] The holy place. And there was the most holy place. And before the destruction of the temple By the Babylonians, The most holy place held.

[8:04] What was in there was the Ark of the Covenant. This was a box shaped. A box basically with the law in it. And it had a lid on it. Called the mercy seat.

[8:16] And on both sides of this box, There were two cherubim angels With their wings pointing like that. And where they near met. As one was facing the other.

[8:28] And basically what they're doing, They are there ready. With the beckoning of God. To come with God's judgment upon the people. Because what God looks down on.

[8:39] Is he finds that the law That is carried in the Ark of the Covenant Has been broken by the people. But by God's grace, God has covered that with a mercy seat.

[8:52] And once a year, The priest would come in With the blood of a sacrifice. And would sprinkle the mercy seat. So as to take away God's wrath From the people.

[9:04] So that the people would be forgiven again. And we're told that As the cherubims were there, As if pointing, Symbolizing, That they were ready at God's beck and call.

[9:15] And ready to destroy. Just like the angel came. The angel of death. As we saw in Exodus. Where the children of Israel were saved.

[9:28] Remember the angel went round To look for the blood. And they are in a similar fashion Waiting for God's call To destroy the people. And we're told Between these two angels And above that, Looking down over that, We are told that That is where God's presence was.

[9:45] With his people In the most holy place. So the picture as this Is quite incredible. You're thinking of God Being a God of judgment Ready to destroy the people.

[9:58] But what the Jewish people Called God in the most holy place Was that it was his Shekinah glory That was there. Now that's not a biblical word. It is a Jewish word.

[10:08] But what the word simply means Is that God's light is there. So it was the light of God That's looking down Onto the mercy seat Knowing fine That the law is broken underneath.

[10:22] And then the priest comes in To sprinkle the blood Of the substitute animal That was sacrificed For the sins of the people. Then this veil Remember what is telling us That the priest used to go in Once a year Beyond this veil To sprinkle the blood On the inside.

[10:42] But the people were separated From God By that veil. And it was saying In this sense Was saying You can come this far And you can't go any further Other than the priest That is going to come Into my presence.

[10:59] The veil is there To protect If you may To protect God From the sins of the people Who are on the outside. But the representatives Of the people Going on the inside With the blood of sacrifice.

[11:13] And only once a year Was he allowed To do this To pass the veil. Why? To make atonement With the blood Of the animal The substitute.

[11:24] Well The ark as we said Is a picture Of judgment But God As we said Looking down But when he sees The law What does that When he sees the blood Sprinkled on the mercy seat What does that stir In God's heart And in God's being?

[11:41] It is mercy. God gives mercy And it indicates That torment Has been made And what this illustrates Is that God's grace Is to be showered On the people Once more.

[11:55] An innocent victim The animal Has died In the people's place. Well This is what Was taking place In the darkness Of Calvary.

[12:07] We can only Read back Into this To understand What is going on In the darkness Of Calvary. You see Christ The high priest Went behind The veil And the veil It was darkened This had to be darkened Because of what Was taking place Christ entering The presence Of our holy God And he does so Remember With our sins He has sacrificed In our place Remember the lamb The priest Used to put his hand On the sacrificial lamb So that the lamb Took the sins Of the people The lamb Was sacrificed And that is the blood That the high priest Carried into God's presence But in the darkness Of Calvary That is what Christ was doing It wasn't the blood Of an animal That was killed Outside in one Of the courts No He was carrying His own blood To To A propitiate God

[13:08] Now what does that mean? It means to take away The wrath Of God Against sin God rightly sees As he looks down That the law Has been broken By us But yet in God's mercy He covers it With a mercy seat And now Christ Comes in And he sprinkles That mercy seat And God Has been Propitiated God's wrath Has been Taken away Because of the blood Of sacrifice Do you know When the high priest Used to go behind The veil What used to happen To the others Who were out In all the courts That were out with Everything became Silent And it was like Everything was done Like it was In the darkness Of Calvary There is no word Spoken Or mentioned In that time Because of the act Of the sacrificial lamb Being taken And the blood

[14:08] Of that lamb Being taken Behind The veil People stood Outside In silence Waiting To see the outcome And you know They say Whether this is true Or not But what Scholars say Today is That the high priest Used to have Their garment There used to be Bells on the bottom Of the garment And what is interesting Is this That the high priest In this world Never sits down But when Christ Went home The high priest This is just a point To note When he went home Remember he sat down Because the work Was complete And finished But the high priest Here Had to walk And he is walking In the presence Of God And the people Outside would be Listening To hear If the bells Were ringing On his garment Because that indicated God did not kill The high priest In his presence And it meant That God Accepted the sacrifice

[15:09] Before him Once more For another year And some claim That because No one Could have Entered Into that Tent In the most Holy place That they used To put a rope Round the ankle Of the high priest So if it were That he was To die In God's presence That they could Haul him out Without being In the very Presence of God Because they were Not allowed To be there That is the Holy presence Of God And I want us To think To think Of that How holy That place Is And in the Darkness of Calvary When we think Of it The horrid scene Of Calvary Of what it was Like But in that Horrid scene Of Christ God's son Dying on the cross Symbolically We find That he is Entering The most holy Place And it is

[16:09] The very Presence Of his Father And he Does so Carrying His own Blood So as to Be sprinkled On the Mercy seat For your Sins And mine Is God Going to Accept The sacrifice Of his Own son Is this Enough To satisfy Divine Justice Has Christ Done enough For us In our Place And in Our stead Is God The Father Going to Be a Propitiated Is this Going to Be the Means Of turning God's Wrath Away From us Well For three Hours There was Silence On Mount Calvary This wasn't Going to Happen In just A moment No This was Going to Take time Because when You think Of your Own sins And as I Think of My sins Oh You would Think You know What I feel It would Take more Than three Hours To forgive

[17:10] My sins Alone But what He did Was the Purity of Christ Going into The presence Of God As filth Because he Carried our Sins in God's presence And got the Father willing To forgive us Because of what He did for us He was punished For our sins In our place The innocent The innocent Victim The Lamb Of God Who takes Away the Sins of The world The sins Of his People Were placed On him And this Took place In the Silence Of the Darkness Of Calvary And then We read That in The ninth Hour Just as we Sung in Psalm 22 And that is Why it's so Important for us To remember That at the Ninth hour Being three O'clock in the Afternoon Can you imagine The pain And the agony That he was In in regards To that period Of time Carrying our Sins and our

[18:11] Burdens and all The filth Was placed on Him It was Jesus Himself Who broke The silence In the Darkness Where he cried When he quoted Psalm 22 My God My God Why have you Forsaken And abandoned Me Well this is Quite amazing To think that Jesus who is Spoken of By Paul Has been the Very source Of life And that source Of life Was abandoned On the cross At Calvary The giver Of love Is alone And he feels Very much Alone As he cried Out And to think Also That the father Was isolated From his son Because the Father couldn't Go to him Because of What he Was doing So what Is all Of this What does All this Mean for Us How can Deity Feel

[19:11] Abandoned Well He's abandoned Because he Is there As a criminal And he is Suffering as a Criminal In our Place This was Where vile Criminals Were dealt With I remember Years ago Hearing Someone Said Imagine People Families Coming Coming Into Jerusalem To come For the Feast Of Passover A great Event In the Lives Of the Children Of Israel Jewish People And gentiles All over Who came Throughout The world And they Would have Passed Mount Calvary To come Into The city For this Holy Time And if It were The children As children Who ask Question Always What is This What is That for What do You think That is Happening And a Child Asking The mother What are These men Doing On the Cross And as If a Mother Said This is What Happens To you If you're Bad And you Know Christ

[20:11] Was seen As being Bad Because he Carried Your sins And mine In our Place Oh It's Criminals That die On the Cross Cursed Are those Who die On the Tree God's Own Son Is being Dealt With By God Himself In a Way That sin Deserves To be Dealt With This was All poured On him In one Horrific Moment But the Moment Lasted For three Hours He cried To God But there Was no Answer There Seemed To be A sense That he Lost His Sense Of Sonship Remember He didn't Say Father He said My God My God Why Have you Forsaken Me Don McLeod In his Book On the Death Of Christ He said This He was At this Point No longer Son But Sin He was

[21:13] No longer Son But Sin The Beloved One In whom God Was Pleased Had Become The Cursed One The Cursed One In our Place No one Was less Prepared For this Abandonment Than Jesus Was Oh Remember What he Said In the Garden Of Gethsemane As the Time Came Closer For it Father If it Is Your Will If it Is Possible That Your Will Not To Let This Happen To Me But Not My Will But Yours Be Done For Our Salvation This Had To Happen There Is No Other Way You See For Us To Be Saved And It Had To Be This Way You Know You Often Think Of People Say In Their Day And Age If They Do Believe At All And They Say Well All I Have To Do Is To Be Good To Other People So Why Do You Think God Let His Son Die Is

[22:14] It All In Vain Why Do That Why Did He Have To Suffer In The Eternal Word Dying In Such A Way Well It's Interesting When You Think That Here God Was Pleased To Deal With Him As Cursed And Jesus Being So Less Prepared Than Anyone For This Because They Were Always Together For A Whole Eternity Past We've Seen We've Been Looking At That Recently In The King In The New Testament In Our Own Church This Was A Time Where There Was Just God Father Son And Holy Spirit And That Is Where We Get This Picture This Beautiful Picture We Have A Family And That Is What The Picture We Have The Family Of The Church Where We Should Love One Another We Love Each Other As Families And Everything Where Do We Get That We Get It From God For A Whole Eternity There Was Nothing But God Father Son And Holy Spirit Some Folks Say There's No There's No Three Persons In The God Head Well How Could God

[23:14] Be Love If There's No Three Persons Who Was He Able To Love If There's Only God Other Loving Each Other And Content But There Was Never A Moment Where They Were Apart There Was Never A Moment They Were Apart Where Christ Was Here In The Second Person Of The God Head In Our Flesh Never A Moment Together They Went Up To Calvary But Now In That Moment In A Sacrificial Office And Where He Is Dying For Us There Is A Moment That The Father Can't Look At Him The Father Is Dealing With Him In A Way That He Curses His Son In This Way And For Three Hours Of His Greatest Need The Father Is Not There It Is

[24:14] Like Remember The Prodigal Son As His Prodigal Son Thinks Of His Father In The Far Away Country And As He Comes Home Yes Of Course The Father Is There And He's Thinking Of His Father's House Jesus Even Couldn't Do That Because He Lost All Sense Of Sonship But He Didn't Lose His Faith My God My God Why Have You Forsaken Me But You Know In That Cry As We Cry From The Far Country And Angels Think of Angels Looking Into Our Way Of Salvation They Love To Look Into Our Salvation Don't They And Spurgeon Said When I Go To Heaven I'll Be Preaching Do You Know That I'm Preaching In Heaven Well What Do You Mean No I'm Going To Be Preaching To The Angels Because They Desire To Look Into The Things Of Our Salvation Telling Them What It's Like What It Means To Have A Lord And

[25:14] Saviour Because They Didn't They Don't Need A Saviour Like We Do And They Want To Know All About It What It's Like What's The Experience Like To Be Saved And You Know In That Moment I Remember Someone Saying In The Fact That We Cry And The Angels Looking Into To Help Him And God Doesn't Go To Help Him But Yet The Angels See Us Sinners Helpless Sinners And We Come To The Father And We Say Lord From The Far Country Will You Help Us And The Angels Thinking Well If He Doesn't Help His Own Son What Chance Have They Got No Chance But To Their Amazement They Find God Coming As We Come To Him From The Far Country Coming To Our Need And To Support Us And To Help Us That Is The Amazement Of God's

[26:14] Salvation For Sinners And The Angels Desiring To Look Into These Things What An Encouragement For Us When He Needed Encouragement There Is No Voice To Say This Is My Beloved Son There Was No Voice Like That As He Came Out Of Baptism And As He Was On The Mount Of Transfiguration This Is My Son Listen To Him There Was Nothing Like That At Calvary Nothing When He Cried Calvin John Calvin Said This He Was Suffering In His Soul The Terrible Torments Of A Condemned And Forsaken Man Christ Dying In Our Place He Was Outside In Outer Darkness We Read Christ's Next Saying And We Read It In John Chapter 19 And Verse 28 And Now Reading Tonight After This

[27:15] Jesus Knowing That All Was Now Finished Said To Fulfill The Scripture I Thirst I Thirst What Does He Mean By This Well In Christ's Own Teaching Remember The Story Of The Rich Man And Lazarus Which We Have In Luke Chapter 16 Remember They Both Died Lazarus Was Carried Into Heaven Into Abraham's Bosom And The Rich Man Opened His Eyes In Torment We Read In Chapter 16 And There In Verse 24 This Is The Rich Man He Called Out Father Abraham Have Mercy On Me And Send Lazarus To Dip The End Of His Finger In Water And Cool My Tongue For I Am In Anguish In This Flame What Does Christ Do At Calvary He Cries I

[28:15] Thirst Why Is That Because He Was In Torment For Us He Was In Torment And Even The Drop Of Water On His Tongue He Was Looking For Something You See What This Means Is That In This Sense Where There Is Thirst Spoken About In The Old Testament It Speaks About God's Judgment Against His People God Judged His Son On Calvary To The Point That He Cried I Thirst Do You See The Picture That Is Painted Here That He Suffers In The Darkness Alienated From God The Father And Thirst He Suffered Hell In Our Place On The Cross Of Calvary But Then We Read In John Chapter 19 And In Verse 30

[29:16] Of The Chapter What We Read In One Of Our Readings When Jesus Had Received The Sour Wine There Was Sour Wine There And They Put A Sponge And Put To His Lips He Said It Is Finished And He Bowed His Head And Gave Up His Spirit Jesus Said It Is Finished In The Greek There's Only One Word Tetelestai It Is Finished This Is The Most Momentous Word In The Whole Of History The Greek Verb In The Original Language Is In The Perfect Tense Which Indicates A Past Achievement Which Has Lasting Results It Is Finished A Past Achievement Which Has Lasting Results This Is What John Stott Said It Could Be Translated It Has Been And Remains Forever Accomplished It Has Been And Remains

[30:16] Forever Accomplished That's The Finished Work Of Christ That Is What We Cling To That Is What Our Faith Is In In The 21st Century It Is A Work That's Been Completed And It Is A Work That Remains Forever Accomplished Christ Had Made A Full And Sufficient Sacrifice For The Sins Of The People And Because He Had Finished It This Is What Is Encouraged For Us There's Nothing Left To Do We Don't Have To Do Anything There's Nothing Required Of Us To Do Because The Salvation Is Complete And To Prove This What Does God Do He Shows A Sign Of The Old Order Of The Temple That We're Looking At And We Have It In Luke Chapter 23 And In Verse 46 Luke 23 46 Then Jesus Calling Out

[31:17] With A Loud Voice Said Father Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit And Having Said This He Breathed This Last Remember The Centurion And All Of That Watching It This Work This Work This Work Is Complete This Is Not Jesus Dying Because Of His Of All That Happened To Him On The Cross And People Did Die Through Asphyxiation No He's Doing This Sovereingly I Am Dying Of My Accord And I'm Doing It In My Time And Not In Others Do It In My Time And You Know What Is Interesting In Regards To The Old Order As Said Was In Mark Chapter Fifteen Thirty That The Curtain Was Torn In Two Remember Nobody But The High Priest At The Fist Of Kabur Was Able To Go Through Once A Year Behind The Curtain And

[32:17] The Curtain Being Torn From Top To Bottom God Tearing It It Wasn't From Bottom To Top And Is That Torn From Top To Bottom God Indicating The Way Of Access Has Been Laid Open By Christ Into My Presence Because I Accept His Finished Work Once And For All Well As We Said The Last Words Of Jesus They Are Recorded For Us As We Read In Luke 23 46 Let's Read This Again In Regards To What It Says Then Jesus Calling Out With A Loud Voice Father Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit It's Not My God Anymore It Is Father You See He Had Finished The Work That Is Complete Now God Is Satisfied With That And Now The Recognition Is Sonship Again

[33:17] I Have Done This For My People Now It Is Sonship Remember In Philippians Chapter 2 Where God Where He Said That He Died And Then God Highly Exalted Him That Happened At The Cross At The Moment Where He Was Able To Say Father Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit And What A Lovely Thought Where Would You Commit Your Spirit Where Else Would You Love To Commit This Is The God Who Punished Him For Our Sins But Here He Is Saying Oh I Wouldn't Wish My Spirit To Be In Any Others But In Your Hands Father In Your Hands We Have Dealt With The Wrath Of God It Is Finished But Now I Am Being Ushered Into Your Presence And Into Your Beloved Hands What Is Interesting Is This In John 19 30 As

[34:18] We Read That He Bowed His Head And Give Up His Spirit The Order Is Remarkable Bowing In A Final Act Of Surrender Usually You're Dying And Then Your Head Bowes But No While He Was Still Alive He Bowed His Head Because He's Entering The Presence Of His Father In Heaven And He's Doing It As The Servant Of God The Servant To The Very Very End And He Bowed In His Final Act Of Surrender To The Will Of His Father Well Going back To Proof Our Time Is Passing In Mark 15 38 Of The Curtain The Significance Yes We Spoke About That There Is Now No More Need For Sacrifices And The Way To God Is Laid Open Isn't It To Put Our Trust In Jesus And You Know

[35:18] It's Interesting When Was Torn At Three O'Clock In The Afternoon That Is The Time Of The Evening Sacrifice The Priests Were Getting Ready In The Temple While The Greatest Sacrifice Ever Had Taken Place They With Their Petty Sacrifice Are Getting Ready And It Is During That Time That The Drama Of The Curtain Was Torn From Top To Bottom Signifying That Your Work Is Not Needed Anymore It Has Been Completed In Jesus The Significance Of The Torn Curtain They Would Have Witnessed This And They Would Have Seen Right Into The Most Holy Place And I'm Quite Sure That They Bowed Their Heads And Thinking We Can't Look At That But God Did It From Top To Bottom And God Wanted Them To Know That By The Broken Body Of Jesus And By Shed Blood

[36:18] We Have Access To The Father And You Know What Is Interesting In Regards To This Of Some Of The Priests That Were Working In The Temples Only The Priests That Work In The Temples There Was Levites Doing Other Kind Of Work But The Priests Were Only Remember There Was A Court Of Priests But This Is What We're Told In Acts Chapter 6 7 When Word Of God Priests Became Obedient To The Faith They Witnessed You See What Happened They Knew That The Old Order Was Finished And Now What They Have Is The New Order That We Have In Christ The Old System Of Offering Sacrifices Was Over But You Can Be Guaranteed This That Some Priest Would Have Been Out With A Needle And Thread And Would Have Been Sewing The

[37:19] Curtain To Make Sure That They Would Continue With The Old Order But God Was Torn From The Top To Bottom Jesus Offered Himself So No More Needs To Be Done For Salvation And Because Of Christ's Work It Is Now Possible To Approach God Directly One Of My Dear Ones Lost Her Car Keys One Day In School And Someone Suggested Oh Saint Christopher Is Really Good At Finding Keys And She Says Oh I Don't Bother I Go Straight To The Top I Go God God Has Given The Opportunity To Go Straight To The Top Are You Doing That Tonight Do You Just Go And Pour Your Heart Out To Him And Just Tell Him How Things Are Well He's Opened

[38:19] Up The Way To The Father We Come What Right Do You Have To Come I Come In The Broken Body Of Jesus Into Your Presence Father And I Know That You Accept Me If I Come In Him God Was Sent God Sent His Son Into The World So As To Save Sinners And It's Interesting That The Apostle Paul Said Of Whom I Am Chief But I Received Mercy I Received Mercy You Know The Other Day I Was Thinking Last Sunday Evening I Think Or Whenever Time Is Just Passing And I Get These Senior Moments And We Were Just Looking At Paul When When He Was On About His You Know The Time My The Time Of My Departure Is At Hand And Remember He Spoke About His Finish The Work Is Finished But You Know What Often Think When Was That

[39:19] Work Finished For Paul It Was The Moment That He Shut His Eyes In This World And Opened Them In Glory But You See What He Lived His Life On Was This On The Strength Of The Finished Work Of Christ And He Couldn't But Live His Life For Jesus For To Me To Live Is Christ And To Die Is Gain Well My Dear Friends I Hope As We A Fellowship Today At The Cross Of Calvary I'm Sure That We're Not There As Often As We Ought To Be Because There's So Much There For Us To Learn And There's So Sometimes You Know There's A Danger Of Us Becoming Familiar With It All And Sometimes Human Stories Are Better At Drawing Our Attention But You Know For The Moments That We've Spent An Hour Tonight And An Hour Today Jesus Spent

[40:19] Another Hour Beyond That In Torment Plus The Other Three Hours That He Was In Pain Bodily Pain On The Cross To Win Us Back For Himself To To To Be To Be To Be Of The Family Of God Tonight Because What's He Doing Now He's Not Idle Although He's Sat Down As High Priest At The Right Hand Of God But We're Also Told That He's Busy What's He Doing He's Preparing A Place For You So As When You Come Home That Place Will Be Perfect Perfectly Ready For You And I As We Entered Into The Glories We Lost A Dear Friend Recently And It's Amazing He Just Six Months Ago They Lost Their Daughter Of 36 Years Of Age She Was With Us In Glasgow And We Knew Them They Were From Carlyway In Their Previous Congregation And

[41:20] Jackie Came And She Asked If We Would Marry Her She Got Married To A Polish Lad And Then She Came For Baptism Is To Have A Profession Of Faith And She Said I've Got Loads Of Questions And I've Got A Long Way To Go But I Know That I Love Jesus And She Got A Brain Hemorrhage And After A Year She Died And During That Time Her Dad Was A Christian Amazing Story How He Came To Faith He Wasn't Coming To Church When We Went But Came To Faith And To Come To Christian Export He Was A Crofter And He Said I Don't Know If I Can Come Desperately Wanting To Come And He Didn't Come The First Night But He Was Telling Our Son You Know He Said The Next Day I Was Going After The Sheep I Had My Walking Stick And I Was Spinning It Like That So Happy That

[42:20] I Got Asked To Go To Christianity Explored He Came To Faith He Got Cancer And Died Just Two Weeks Ago Only 59 60 But What Is Amazing Is Thomas Davis Who Is The Minister There Now He Went Round Just Days Before Before Choppy We Called Him Died And Thomas Said Right He Says I Pray For You He Was With Him For An Hour Praying For You And After Praying He Left He Was Leaving And He Said Sit Down Man He Said To Him And Thomas Sat Down What Is It Oh He Said You Prayed For Me I Am Now Going To Pray For You And A few Days He Saw The Face Of Jesus In Glory These Are The Stories They're Questions We Don't Understand But The Security Of Knowing That We're Dying In Jesus There's Nothing Like It You Know

[43:20] It's Heart Breaking Weird This Afternoon We spent Time Going Round And Free Them All These Cars And Wondering Do They Know About Jesus It's The Same Everywhere It's So Sad That We Would Love Them And Love Us To Be Able To Tell Them So Please Keep On Keep On Doing And Keep On Keeping On In The Faith Of The Lord Jesus Christ That Who Knows That He That You Pray But Help Us To Be Welcoming And Welcome These Sinners As Jesus Was Father Forgive Them For They Do Not Know What They Are Doing May God Bless His Word We're Going To Close With The Words Of Psalm 24 This Is The Psalm Of Victory Really Of Christ Being Ushered Into Glory