[0:00] I've been in the Static Star Room, the Upper Room. After the last time I was here, we were dealing with Mephibosheth and the love of David to the house of Jonathan.
[0:14] And I went home and, you know how the devil gets at you at times and he says, you didn't really bring the love of Christ into it. And then I thought, well, if I have an opportunity of coming again, we'll go to the Upper Room.
[0:28] And I went to the Upper Room and I sank in it. To be quite honest with you, I started studying in it and I've been studying it for a while.
[0:40] And even today, this morning I got up early and I had to change altogether because I was on the wrong tack. I thought I was. I'm not going to say that I'm on the right tack tonight. Far from it. Far, far from it.
[0:54] But there is a depth in here, folks. A depth of when Christ comes to the Upper Room that I felt that I was just waiting in it.
[1:06] But tonight, hopefully, we can get a little bit of entrance. I was in the company of a hundred-year-old woman this week. A wonderful woman.
[1:21] You're but a chicken, you know, compared to this woman. This woman could get in and out of her car. She was in quite easily. I'm not saying that you can't. But this woman was amazing.
[1:32] And her mind was amazing. And her spirituality was amazing. But her grievance was, in all her days, and she had been a Christian for a long, long time, is that she wasn't serving Christ as she should.
[1:48] And isn't that our complaint? Every one of us. So I told her that, you pray. And she said she did. And I said, you pray for your family.
[1:59] And your family's family and family and so on. And she said, I did. Well, I said, that is service to Christ. And friends, if you think that you're not serving Christ, remember to pray.
[2:12] Pray. And pray on. I was telling other people this week, I was taking a walk through Col, our neighbouring village. I've known Col for over 40 years.
[2:23] Used to remember many godly men and women in Col. Used to go from house to house in Col. You didn't need to go far. As I was walking down, I could count the homes.
[2:34] And I was asking, is Christ honoured? Is Christ worshipped in this home? And you know, I came to the end of the village, down to the main road. Like it hardly turned five or six.
[2:49] Well, friends, that's the day we're in, isn't it? It's the day of small things. But we're not to despise the day of small things.
[3:00] Christ is still working. And he will still work. And he will have a people. Because he is the good shepherd. And he does say that other sheep I have that are not of this flow, I, them also I, must bring in.
[3:18] And he's bringing them in. And we pray and hope that he'll bring them in in our own families. Brothers and sisters. Relatives.
[3:30] Daughters. Sons. Grandchildren. Whatever. We pray. And we won't give up hope. We won't give up hope. We're going to read. We're going to look here.
[3:40] If I was going to choose a text here, it probably would come from Luke's Gospel. What we read there. Where Christ says there in verse 14.
[3:54] And when the hour was come. We'll be doing something about this. He sat down and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them. With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
[4:08] For I say unto you. I will not any more eat thereof. Until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ.
[4:21] The Son of God. He took upon himself the form of man. For the express purpose. Of what John the Baptist said.
[4:34] Remember when John the Baptist saw him. When he was baptising in the Jordan. He saw Jesus coming towards him. And he said to him. Behold.
[4:45] Behold. The Lamb of God. Who taketh away. The sin of the world. In other words. What he was saying here. Was that this Jesus.
[4:57] Of Nazareth. This Jesus was going to die. For sinners. That was it. But before that death. I was thinking of that as well.
[5:08] When a sinner. Without Christ. Dies. He or she. Enters into eternal.
[5:19] Eternity. The great eternity. Without hope. It's an awful thought. Isn't it? And without Christ. There to suffer.
[5:31] The wrath of God. That's. That's what my Bible tells me. If we die without Christ. We go to a lost eternity.
[5:42] To suffer the wrath of God. Christ came into the world. To bear that wrath. Therefore. Before. He died. He bore the wrath of God.
[5:54] Wasn't after. It was before. And with this prospect. That lay ahead of him. In the chapters. That we write here. In the prospect.
[6:05] That he had there. He was looking forward. To this occasion. When he would meet. His disciples. In the upper room. Knowing.
[6:15] What was coming. The Bible tells us. That his face. Was set. Towards Jerusalem. For the week before. Or maybe for the weeks before.
[6:27] His one. Aim. Was to go to Jerusalem. And to suffer there. And. When we turn. To chapter. To the 13th verse.
[6:38] Of John. To the 13th chapter of John. If you can turn to it. You can see here. Look at what it says there. In the first verse. Now before the feast.
[6:49] Of the Passover. When Jesus knew. That his hour. Was come. That he should depart. Out of the world. Into the father.
[7:01] Having loved his own. Which were in the world. He loved them. Into the end. Notice. What he says there. He says.
[7:12] When Jesus knew. That his hour. Was come. We see that in Luke's gospel. As well. When he said. When the hour was come. When the hour was come. Remember that.
[7:22] When the Savior. Came into the world. It says there. That. In the fullness. Of time. Christ. Came. In the fullness. Of time. So Christ.
[7:34] Came. Into the world. In Bethlehem. At an appointed. Time. There was. An hour set. It's as if. In the. In the.
[7:44] In the. In eternity. Pastor. We can look at it. That way. God had set. A time. That Christ. Jesus. Would come into the world. In Bethlehem. The fullness.
[7:56] Of time. It says there. Well friends. The fullness. Of time. Was also. Coming. For his. Death. Not in Bethlehem. But in Jerusalem.
[8:08] And the time. Was set. Now. Coming to that. As we're coming. In the 22nd. Chapter of Luke. And the 13th. Chapter of John. The time. Was coming. When he.
[8:19] Was going to come out. Of when he was going. Back. To the father. When he had. To depart. You see friends. There are no chance. Happenings. In God's providence.
[8:30] We often think that. Oh. You know. If they hadn't done this. Or they hadn't done that. If they went before this time. If they went. If. If for instance. You have had an accident. Many of them have an accident.
[8:42] And we have the accident. And they say. Oh. It was by chance. In God's. Provision. There is no such thing. As chance. Happenings.
[8:53] Because our Bible tells us. He has. Forordained. Whatsoever. Comes to pass. So Jesus. Although he was. Threading the prospect.
[9:04] And. Let's face it. Let's be quite. True about it. He. Was dreading the prospect. Of what was before him. There was this.
[9:15] In him. There was definitely. He. He wasn't. Blase. As we call it. About going. To. To. To. To. To. To Calvary. To. He knew. He knew. That he had to.
[9:26] Suffer. Abandonment. The abandonment. Of his father. Which he never had before. But he was coming. To the stage. Where this was becoming.
[9:37] A real. Real thing. And yet. Yet. His joy. His desire was. To stay. To be with his disciples.
[9:50] Friends. This is when Jesus. Was looking at. He was looking at. What was going to come. After the upper room. That was in his mind.
[10:01] But first of all. He was focusing. On the upper room. What was going to happen. In the upper room. So knowing that this time.
[10:12] Was coming. Knowing what he did know. What was going to happen. That what he was going to go through. We find. The emphasis. On here.
[10:22] In the first verse. Of John. He knew. That this hour. Was coming. He departed. To his own. Look at what he says there. The last. The last phrase there.
[10:32] Of John. He was going into the world. Having loved his own. That were in the world. He loved them. To. The end. So.
[10:43] That was the first thing. That he did. He was loving. His. He loved. His. His. The emphasis. Is on. The love. Of Christ.
[10:55] That is what it's on. Here. So this. The first instance. Here is. His appointed time. This was the appointed time. And he was looking forward.
[11:06] To that. But upon. In that. There was this love. His love. Look at. Look at what. First of all. He says. Look at. It's. What he says. What it says there. Having.
[11:16] Loved. His own. Let's look at. Two things. That he. Brings. Brings out of this. First of all. This love. That he had. To his own. Were a.
[11:27] Definite. Precise. Number. Of people. Because. It. Categorically. States there. He loved.
[11:38] His. Own. It doesn't say. That he loved. Everybody. In that sense. He loves. The world. And he would want.
[11:49] That the world. Would know him. And would come. To a knowledge of him. And would come. To love him. And to trust in him. But in this instance. Friends. There is an emphasis. On. Having loved.
[12:00] His. Own. Not all people. Not all mankind. Not. Just. The Jews. Not. Just. God's. Chosen. People. That's not.
[12:11] What his emphasis. Here. Not. His own. Countrymen. And countrywomen. It was his own. And what do we know. About that.
[12:22] It was his own. By choice. Because. He chose them. Indeed. We can say. They were chosen. By the father. Weren't they?
[12:33] They were chosen. By the father. As a gift. To him. They were. But because. He said later on. As I priestly fear. Those whom. Thou hast. Given me. Be with me.
[12:43] Where I am. That they may behold. My glory. Watch it. So the father. Has gifted. This people. To him. He has. Because of what.
[12:54] He was going to suffer. So. He loved his own. These are. That's a precise one. The other one is. Second thing. That we have. Before we go on. To that friend. If you are in Christ.
[13:05] And I trust. That everyone here. Is in Christ. You are his. By choice. The choice. Of him. He chose you.
[13:17] Not friends. That there was any good in you. If you're honest. About yourself. Here tonight. You would say to yourself. Why on earth. Would he choose me?
[13:28] What on earth. Good did he ever see? I can't understand it. Can you? It is. But yet. That you are a chosen people. That's what he says.
[13:40] About his own people. And what a marvel that is. Is it not? And it's a marvel to you. And to me tonight. They're his. His own. But that is the second thing. About this.
[13:50] He says here. That. Look what he says to them. The zone. Which were. In the world. In the. Which were. In the world.
[14:04] Now what does he mean by that? Well. If you go to. If you turn to. To. To. First Corinthians 6. First Corinthians 6. Paul. Is describing. To the Corinthians. The type of people.
[14:17] God's chosen people were. Listen to what he says. About them there. What type of people. Were they in the world? Well you notice. They were fornicators. If you go to.
[14:28] First Corinthians chapter 6. At verse. Verse. I think it's. It's. Culminates at verse 11. First Corinthians chapter 6. A few verses before. Verse.
[14:39] 11. It says there. Know ye not. That the unrighteous. Shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators. Nor idolaters. Nor adulterers. Nor effeminate.
[14:51] Nor abusers of themselves. With mankind. Nor thieves. Nor covetous. Nor drunkards. Nor revilers. Nor extortioners. Shall inherit the kingdom of God.
[15:03] And such. Were some of you. Imagine. And such were some of you. But. Ye are washed.
[15:13] But ye are sanctified. But ye are justified. In the name of the Lord Jesus. And by the spirit of our God. Such were some of you. Liars.
[15:24] Extortioners. Thieves. Thunkards. Yes friends. That's what we were. If we're honest with you. And sometimes I wonder. Sometimes. But we are. Don't we?
[15:35] I watch up just think. You know. I see this. I'm some. This is something. This is found in my heart. Some of these sins. That's why I have got to come. Every day. To the blood of Jesus Christ.
[15:47] To cleanse me from again. From the sins. That I entered into. That I thought I was cleansed from. 20. 30. 40 years ago nearly. And yet. We've got to come. To the fountain.
[15:58] The fountain that was open. For sin and for uncleanness. That's the fountain. That we come to. And that's. That's what he says here. This is. So. That's what these people were. You and I.
[16:08] That's what we were. Covetous. And yet. He says. They were in the world. Were in the world. And he loved them. And he loved them.
[16:19] And the third thing. And the final thing. That he says. Here. He loved them. To the end. Now. That means more. As I was reading this.
[16:30] And seeing some of the commentators. In here. That means more than. It was to the end. In other words. To the next day. That is. When Christ would. Would die.
[16:43] It means this. It means to the end. Of their lives. Yes. But. It goes on. It's endless.
[16:53] Bless. That's what it means. His love. His love. Is not. It doesn't. Doesn't finish with you. Dear friend. The day that he started.
[17:04] It took you out of. Out of the fearful pit. Which. Which you were. He goes on. Why does. How does he go on? What is his work today? What is he doing today?
[17:14] In glory. He is. Interceded. For you. And for me. You know. There are times. That old lady. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Telling me. I shouldn't be calling her old lady.
[17:25] Should I? I should. A gracious lady. I should say to her. That lady was telling me. How much. She hadn't got this. The prayer. She didn't have. Had the prayer. How often do you feel that friends?
[17:37] When you go on your knees. I. I go to. To the secret of my old woman. I go into my own woman. I go down on my knees sometimes. Something.
[17:48] Something that I did here. Half an hour ago comes to me. Do you ever find that? And then. Then I think of. Maybe. What's going to happen tomorrow. Goes to me. And I try to. I try to pray there.
[17:59] Do you find often that. Sometimes you go into a secret place. That the heavens are as brass to you. Sometimes. Other times. They may open up. And all friends. If they're opening up to you. Stay there.
[18:10] Stay there. Stay in the secret place. If they do. Try to stay there. But I tell you something else. Even if they don't stay there. Because the devil is desperate.
[18:21] Till you get away from there. Till you do. Go and open. Go and open the curtain. Or something. No. Something so. So simple. As that. He'll take you away. From.
[18:31] From prayer. Do you find that? Private prayer. I find it. And she was. She was lamenting the fact. That she finds it difficult. As well. Probably about 80. 80 years. Following.
[18:42] The Lord. My friends. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's where we are. Yes. He says here. He loved them. Until the end.
[18:52] All their days. All their time. All your days. All your days. Christ will stay with you. But.
[19:04] What was he talking about here? He wasn't only talking about his disciples. He was talking about you and me. Down through the ages. But just if we could confide him.
[19:15] Confide him to the disciples. He loved Peter. He knew that Peter was going to deny him three times. Within 24 hours. Didn't he? Yet he loved him.
[19:26] He knew that every one of them. Would go. Would turn their backs on him. And leave him on. On his own. Yet he loved him. And he knows friend.
[19:37] When you turn your back on him. From time to time. And you regret it so often. Wish you had spoken to somebody. Do you ever find that when you're witnessing to somebody. You wish you had witnessed. Better to that person.
[19:48] And sometimes you're afraid to say to. In case. You offend them. Oh. Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it? I find that. And I. And when I'm waking up at night. And I say to myself.
[19:59] What have I done to my saviour? When I'm offending this person. Or that person. And I haven't spoken about it. But I've spoken about Christ to them. Well. There was. First of all.
[20:09] There was an appointed time. Secondly. There was a command given. Let's go back to Luke. Luke chapter 22. I'm sorry. I'm going from the 13th.
[20:21] Chapter of John. And then we're going back to Luke. But it's trying to find. As I said to you. This is. This is on. On. The upper room. But I can only tell you that. It's only an introduction to the upper room. It's only the prelude in the upper room.
[20:33] Because there is so much. And we go back to. To. Luke chapter 22. We find there. In. At verse. Verse 8. See. Luke.
[20:43] He's. There. There. There. There. There. There. It's. It's. In chapter 22. You have the feast of an arame and bread. Beginning. Number. At. The beginning of. Of. 20. Chapter 22.
[20:55] You. You have. At. The. The. Satan entering into Judas. Judas. I think that is. When they were in Bethany. Remember when they were in Bethany. There. And then they're making their way.
[21:06] Two days later. To. To. Jerusalem. So. The. The intervening time between Bethany. And. Jerusalem. I think that. That. Reading between all this here.
[21:18] I think that was the time that Judas. Actually. Went to speak to the. The scribes and the Pharisees. And. Because we have that sort of. He. He went his way. Entered. Judas Iscariot. Being of the number of the twelve.
[21:29] I think it was. At that period. Between. Bethany. And Simon's house. Remember when he was. He was offered. Dinner there. And then two days later.
[21:40] He's. Going. Making his way. To. To. To. Jerusalem. To the feast. Of the Passover. The unleavened bread. So anyway. That's. That's an aside. Anyway. He goes. He goes there. At verse. Verse 8. And he says this to them.
[21:53] Go. And prepare. Go. And prepare. As the Passover. That we may eat. It was a Thursday. Like today.
[22:06] The day. The Passover lamb. Had to be sacrificed. In order to keep the meal. The Passover meal. They had to purchase. A number of things. They had to get a lamb. More than likely.
[22:17] They could get a lamb. Quite easily. At the temple. Because. That was. Would be on sale. It was. It was. This was leading up to the Passover. Jerusalem would be busy. Would be heaving. So.
[22:27] They had to. They had to prepare. They had to get the stuff. For the meal. They had to purchase. The lamb. They had to get. For instance. They had to get. The unleavened bread. The spices.
[22:38] The herbs. The wine. And so on. So they would have to go. So it would appear. That in the morning. Jesus said to the disciples. And I think he did. He picked out.
[22:48] Peter and John. And he said to Peter and John. Go and prepare the Passover. So he said to the two of them. The rest of them would be. Would be. Listening to it. And you know this.
[22:59] That was. A remarkable. Command. Why? Jesus didn't have a house. In Jerusalem. He didn't have an apartment.
[23:11] He didn't have a house in Bethany. He had no house. He had sent. Foxes of holes. Birds of the air of nest. But the son of man. Has nowhere to lay his head. The creator had nowhere.
[23:23] And he says to them. Go and prepare the Passover. They had to get the stuff. They could get the stuff. But they had no room. They had no house. And then. And then. They turned to the question. And they said to him.
[23:35] Where. Where. Where. Where will thou. That we prepare the Passover. Then he gives directions. You see the directions. Notice. When he said to them. You see a man carrying a pitcher.
[23:46] A pitcher of water. That did not happen. In Israel. Men. Did not carry. Pitchers of water. You remember.
[23:59] I'm trying to remember. When. The servant. Let me right here. Was going to find. A. A. A. A. A. A. A.
[24:10] A. A. Wife. For Isaac. Wasn't it? The servant found. They went to the well. Who was there? Women.
[24:22] Is that right? When they came. When Jesus came through Sychar. It was. A woman. That was at the well. With her pitcher. Is that right? It was women.
[24:34] That would be. Taking the water. And he said to them. You'll see a man. Once you get into. The. Inside the gates of Jerusalem. You see a man. Bearing a pitcher of water. Notice.
[24:44] Not one of them. Asked him. Rabbi. They don't do that. But they went. They went. Without saying a word. Peter and John.
[24:55] Went to one. None of the other disciples. Said. Said anything. And they found. Just as he said. And. You've got. The story there. They got. They went to the upper room. And they prepared.
[25:06] The Passover. Didn't say a word. You see. Jesus knew. The exact. Street.
[25:18] And the exact. House. And the exact. Room. That he was going to. Have the Passover in. But he didn't. Tell the disciples.
[25:30] He led the disciples. To exercise. Faith in him. In his word. Friends. Isn't. Faith. Can it be simple. It's taking.
[25:42] Christ. At his word. Told him. And they went. And they found. And they went. To. To. To. To. To. To. The home. Now. Why did he not.
[25:54] Tell them. It's down there. At. 23. Bethlehem Road. Because the traitor. Was there. Judas.
[26:06] Was there. And you see. Christ. Jesus. Had to. Observe. Observe. Observe. Observe. Observe. He had to. Observe. The Passover. With his disciples.
[26:17] Because he had to. Initiate. The Lord's Supper. And if he had told them. If he had told them. Judas was there. The traitor.
[26:27] Would might have gone. To the scribes and Pharisees. And before they got a chance. Of when they were. In the upper room. The scribes and the Pharisees. Would come to the soldiers. And take them away.
[26:38] Before that. Maybe. Maybe. More than likely. That is why. He didn't tell them. He didn't tell. The disciples.
[26:48] The whole other disciple. Because the traitor was there. Could you. Could you. Could make. Could be logical. Couldn't it. Maybe it's not. As logical. As that. But. But it's a logical. Argument.
[27:02] So. There. Because he had to have. A number of things. He had to. Observe. The Passover. He had to. Institute. The Lord's Supper.
[27:13] He must. Instruct. The disciples. In the upper room. The discourse. In the upper room. From chapter 14. If you read. From chapter 14. Of John.
[27:24] Right through. To chapter 16. That was. Instructions. To the disciples. By this time. By the time. 14 has come. Judas is away. Judas is gone.
[27:37] Judas is gone. That's. That's my interpretation. Of it. By the way. Judas is gone. I think he had gone. At the Lord. At the. He had partaken. Of the Lord's Supper. Would you agree? Because. He says to.
[27:48] He says there. The person. Who is eating. With me. At the table. And I think. He went. And Hendrickson. Goes along.
[27:59] With that as well. And I think. When I go along. With Hendrickson. Shouldn't be saying. That I. Hendrickson goes along. With me. But I go along. With Hendrickson. And say that. Because the more. You read it. He was. He was there. So. Once he finished.
[28:10] That. He then. Gave the instructions. You have the upper room discourse. 14 to 16. And then. In 17. John 17. You've got the high priestly prayer. Haven't you?
[28:22] And then. After then. They're going down to. To. To get seven. And this is. That was John. So. In all of these. Nothing. Was to distract him. From that.
[28:32] He. Had to. Have that. With his people. With his. With his disciples. He had to keep. These. Oh friends. What wonderful timings. In God's word.
[28:42] God has. For. In his purposes. Even today. Friends. We see chaos. Don't we? There's chaos. In parliament.
[28:52] Chaos. In church. Chaos. Around us. Everything. Seems to be in chaos. And we're tempted. To ask. Where is God. In it? And sometimes.
[29:04] God's people. Can ask that. As a matter of fact. I was in conversation. Just last week. With a woman. Whose husband. Is in hospital. And the husband. The husband.
[29:14] Has got to. There's a possibility. That he has to go. Go to a care room. And she's distraught. As she would be. Her husband.
[29:25] Who was with her. For 50. 60 years. Is now. Got to go. Possibly to a care room. And she was. And she almost said. As she said it. She did say. Why is God.
[29:37] Allowing this to me. And you know friends. We can. We can see that. When we're down. Can't we? Why is God. Allowing this. And then she's. Oh she says. I shouldn't.
[29:48] She catches herself. And friends. I know. That that's the case. You know it. When you're down. You're saying to yourself. If we're honest. With ourselves. Why am I thus? Why am I so lonely?
[30:01] Why am I. I. I'm left alone. Why is. Why is. Why is this happening to me? Yeah. Look what he said there. Don't know if I can find it. Yet a little while.
[30:13] You know not now. You know not now. You know. What's happening now. But yet a little while. And all will be revealed. All that was to be with them.
[30:24] That was to be with them. Them. Them. Them. Here. They hear it here. They would be. It would be revealed to the disciples. Later on. What was going to happen. So for us.
[30:35] So for us. Friends. If we're going through suffering. If we're going through loneliness. If we're finding things difficult. There will come a time. When. He.
[30:46] Everything. Will be really. Revealed. In the hereafter. Hereafter. Everything will be revealed. So that was. The command given. They're now.
[30:56] In the upper room. And we have now. Thirdly. His desire. Is to be fulfilled. We read it in. Luke's gospel here.
[31:07] Chapter 16. Verse 16. He says. Verse 15. With desire. He says. I have. I have. I have.
[31:17] I have. I have. That's what he was going to do. This is where. This is what. We're going to. You know. I was looking back. In. In. In. In verse 14.
[31:28] We find it. And when the hour was come. He sat down. And the 12 apostles with him. In Luke. In Luke 22. At verse 14. But Marcus. Puts it.
[31:39] Love. Love. In a lovely way. He says in Mark chapter 14. At verse 17. He says there. He puts it like this. And in the evening. He cometh.
[31:50] With his disciples. It's as if he's taken the disciples. By the hand. And he's taking them. And he says. Come on boys. Come on.
[32:01] Let's go. Let's go to the Passover. Let's go to the supper. He's taking them. He cometh. With his disciples. That struck me.
[32:13] It's not that he just came. In the evening. It's in the evening time. He knew that they would have prepared the past. That the whole room would have been prepared. And he says. Come on. Let's go.
[32:24] Let's go. Let's go now. Everything will be ready. And he takes them. And he said. And there you have. You have him there. He leads them. Into the upper room. And then. These wonderful words. In verse 15.
[32:35] You've got him almost. Sitting back. Leaning back. With the disciples. Around the table. And he said. With desire. He says. I have desired.
[32:46] To eat this Passover with you. Before I suffer. Notice what he says there. Time is running. He puts. He puts. A double. Emphasis. On the word desire.
[32:58] Watch it. With desire. I have desired. Amazing isn't it? In other words. This is the emphatic.
[33:09] I earnestly. Desired. It's not a case of. I just. I want to do. Oh friends. This is the heart. Of Jesus.
[33:19] Coming out. One of the commentators. Says in the upper room. He says. You find. Jesus's. Heart. Going out. To his disciples. And to his people. And I think.
[33:30] This encapsulated. Encapsulates his heart. I have desired. To eat this. Passover. With you. Before I suffer. He wanted. To sit down.
[33:41] With. Those. Whom he loved. The end was coming. The suffering. The intense suffering. That was going to come.
[33:52] Beginning in Gethsemane. Was going to come. And it was drawing closer. Drawing closer. By the hour. By the hour. And he knew it. And he knew it. And he knew.
[34:04] That he was going to his end. And what did he want? He wanted the company. Of his own people. Remember when. He was.
[34:15] He was preaching there. To them on the bread of life. When he says to them. I am the bread of life. Which cometh down from heaven. Remember. What they were saying there. And some of them.
[34:25] Were his own disciples. His own followers. Remember. Because he was left with twelve. They went away. They turned back. They turned back on him.
[34:36] When he said that. And you get this. And I. You know. Sometimes. You know. When you're studying God's word. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
[34:46] Stop. Stop. Stop. You know what he said to them. Turn to them. Will you also go away?
[34:59] Oh my. The heart of Jesus. Coming out to them that night. Will you also go away? Will you also go away?
[35:09] That's what he said. It's a pleading voice. He doesn't say. Will you go away? No. No. No. That's not our saviour.
[35:20] Will you also go away? And he's saying to them tonight. He's saying to them at their bed. With desire. Earnestly I have desired to eat this Passover with you.
[35:37] Oh friends. If we're thinking ever. Ever. Of going away. And forbid it that any of us do. From this wonderful redeemer. Forbid it.
[35:48] Because I'll tell you. There's sometimes we do. I have to confess. And probably use the same. You enter into sin sometimes. You ever find yourself on a television programme.
[35:59] You get caught up with it. Then you say to yourself. Why? Did I spend such an hour. Watching rubbish. Total rubbish.
[36:11] And you're saying to yourself. What I could have used my time with. With my saviour. In his world. Or listening to his world. Or meditating upon his world.
[36:22] But we do it friends. Don't we? It happens to us. We get caught up in it. We get caught up in the world with us. Well. This is what to hear he is. It's to have the company of his people.
[36:35] You know I was thinking that. Number of years ago. Probably 13 years. 14 years ago. My mother passed away.
[36:47] And. I have to say this. She was a godly woman. But. And. I was at her deathbed.
[37:00] And she had. She had. A stroke at last. You know. And I was holding her hand. She was passing into eternity. And when she passed into eternity.
[37:12] I was saying to her. Who are you speaking with now? She was. She saw Syria. Yeah. But you know this. She was.
[37:23] I was holding onto my hand. She rolled onto my hand. And friends. Isn't that the case. With us. When we come to the end. We want to be with those we love.
[37:37] That's who we want to be with. And when we know. When we've. When loved ones have passed away. It's. It's the last moment. And said. This is what this. Covid thing has destroyed on us.
[37:49] Taking. Taking away the humanity. When we weren't allowed to see our. Our dying relatives. But that's what. And it's as if Christ is. Giving us an example. Isn't it?
[38:01] He wanted to be with his disciples. Before. Before I suffered. He adds that. That's what he says. My desire is to be with you.
[38:12] He says. I have desired to be with you. Before I suffer. Before I enter into. The abandonment. Of. Of. Of. Gethsemane.
[38:22] And Calvary. And the church went tall. And what comes with it. And that's what he wants. And friends. That's what he wants with you. Oh. He wanted to be with his disciples.
[38:34] And he still wants to be with his people. Tonight. Fine. I'll give you an example. You know what he says in Song of Solomon. I'll read Song of Solomon. It's a wonderful. It's a wonderful book.
[38:45] It says there in chapter 7 verse 6. You know what he calls his people. How fair he says. And how pleasant. Imagine. How fair and how pleasant art thou.
[38:56] O love for delights. Imagine. Oh friends. This is going above. What anything we can. Are you lost in it? In the love of Christ.
[39:06] In the wonder of the love of God. Of Christ. And then he says in the next chapter. Thou that dwellest in the gardens. The companions. Harken to thy voice.
[39:18] You're talking. In the gardens. Of the church. You're talking. And it's good for you to talk. He's not. He's not saying. It's good to a fellowship. It's good to a fellowship. In the church. Good to attend.
[39:28] But he says there. The companions. Listen. Thou that dwellest in the garden. The companions. Listen to thy voice. Cause me to hear it.
[39:41] Cause. Let me hear it. As well. Ah friends. We're going to end there. Let me hear it. And you. Make sure that.
[39:52] You. That he hears your voice as well. Because. I'll tell you what. He delights in it. Never for one minute. For one second. Ever think.
[40:03] That he doesn't. Delight. In. Hearing your voice. You may be sick of it. But he doesn't. He wants you. To just. Come to him.
[40:14] Ah friends. That's a saviour we are. Who's like him. Who's like him. And that's a saviour we worship. And may each one of us. Know him. For what he is. And for what he has done for us. Because.
[40:25] I'll tell you. There's none like him. Is there? None like him. Oh Lord our God. We come. This evening. To thee. Acknowledge. We know. Need of thee. Because we.
[40:36] Delve into things. Maybe that. We bring. Humanity into it. When we talk about. Spiritual things. And. Spiritual. Especially concerning.
[40:49] Our saviour. Jesus Christ. But we bless thee. Oh Lord. He does say to us. Each one of us here. In Tolstor tonight. Companions. Listen to your voice.
[41:00] Cause me to hear it. Oh blessed one. Be your thanks. But that is so. We have the same Jesus. Same Jesus. That was there. In the upper room. Is the same Jesus.
[41:11] That's in the meeting house. In Tolstor. We bless thee for. And go with us. As we part one from another. We pardon sin. For Jesus sake. Amen. We'll conclude by singing. That wonderful psalm.
[41:22] In Psalm 45. At verse. Verse. Psalm 45. The first version. At verse 13. Three verses in conclusion. Behold the daughter of the king.
[41:41] All glorious ways within. And with embroideries of gold. Her garments rot have been. She shall be brought. Unto the king. In robes with needle rod.
[41:52] Her fellow virgins following. Shall unto thee be brought. They shall be brought. With gladness great. And mirth on every side. Into the palace of the king.
[42:03] And there. They shall abide. We'll sing these three verses. In conclusion. Behold the daughter of the king.
[42:20] All glorious is within. And with embroideries of gold.
[42:34] Her garments rot have been. She shall be brought.
[42:46] Unto the king. In robes with needle rod.
[42:57] And fellow virgins following. Shall and to thee be brought.
[43:12] He shall be brought. With gladness great. And mirth on every side.
[43:28] Into the palace of the king. And then they shall abide.
[43:44] Amen. Amen. O Lord. As we part one from another. We ask that you would keep us. Keep us from falling. Keep us from erring.
[43:55] And be with us. Your promise is that you will. Keep those whose mind is stayed upon thee. And we ask that the Lord bless us. And keep us. As we part one from another.
[44:07] And wash our many sins away. We ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.