[0:00] I apologize, there's one announcement I should have said in the morning. My apologies, I announced on Thursday but it escaped my mind this morning, of course, this Tuesday at 7.30, Leslie Sankster speaking on the mercy ships.
[0:15] So women from Mission, again, if you're able to go along, please do. Leslie Sankster speaking about mercy ships, 7.30 in the hall. We are here, of course, to worship God. Let's carry on that public worship of God by singing to us praise.
[0:28] From Sing Psalms and Psalm 61. Sing Psalms, Psalm 61, on page 78 of the psalm books.
[0:39] Sing Psalms, Psalm 61, on page 78. You can sing verses 1 down to verse 6.
[0:49] O hear my urgent cry, my God, and listen to my plea. From earth's remotest bounds I call when my heart faints in me. O God, conduct me to the rock that's higher far than I.
[1:01] For you're my refuge from the foe, my tower of strength on high. Psalm 61, verse 1 to 6. To God's praise. O hear my urge, my heart, and listen to my plea.
[1:25] Psalm 61, verse 1 to 6. Psalm 61, verse 1 to 6. And listen to my plea. Let's preach this song.
[1:59] For you, my red, which of the fold, my God, I'll stand for high.
[2:17] O let me dwell within your name, forever led to him.
[2:34] O for the shelter of your kings, the refuge will take him.
[2:51] For you, my God, so hard, my gift have given me.
[3:10] The heritage of those who are here, the holy, my God, I'll stand for you.
[3:28] Through long-murved days, the King will be sovereign, the holy, my God, I'll stand for you.
[3:48] Amen. Let's join together in a word of prayer.
[4:07] Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you once more. You've given us the opportunity this evening to gather together. As we come just now, we come aware that we are before you, a God that is holy, holy, holy.
[4:24] You are perfect in all of your ways. Help us, we ask, to come just now in a mindset of our hearts and minds, ready for worship. We confess that we often come to times of worship.
[4:37] We often come to gather together to worship you, and we have our minds and our hearts so distracted. All the cares and worries and concerns and thoughts of this world crowd in us, Lord, we confess.
[4:51] We ask for a short time this evening, the short time of worship, the short time around your word, meeting together as brothers and sisters, seeking to grow in our love and knowledge of who you are.
[5:02] Lord, help us, we ask, to lay aside the many worries and burdens and cares and concerns. Lord, we confess that we come to you this evening. In our own lives, we have many worries, perhaps many concerns here this evening, many burdens.
[5:17] Perhaps there's some here this evening, and they are facing grim situations, dark providences. They're facing pain and sadness. Lord, you know the exact circumstances of those who gather here this evening.
[5:31] Lord, for those who cannot be here, but who would long to be here, brothers and sisters, but also friends who once attended this place, but through age or illness, for various other reasons, cannot gather together as often as they wish.
[5:48] Lord, we ask you, be with them wherever they are this evening. We pray now, Lord, for again your people, those of us who know you and who love you. We pray, Lord, for those of us who are yours, but who perhaps have been wondering for hours, if not days, if not weeks, if not years.
[6:07] We ask you to bring them back, as we heard this morning, bring them back to your fold. For you are the good shepherd who has found the fold, who has gone out to find your good sheep.
[6:17] And you found us, Lord, in the moors, and you found us lost, and you found us anything else other than good. But you call us your own, and you gathered us in, and you made us good, not because of our own efforts, but you made us good, because when we come to you, we find ourselves cleansed and made perfect in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:41] It's in his name we gather this evening. Help us to have this time of worship set aside for him. We spend time this evening considering just how much love and how much care and how much protection he has for his precious sheep. We pray once more for our boys and girls.
[7:00] We thank you, Lord, for the gift of having boys and girls, of having children, of having a Sunday school. We thank you for their commitment this past session. We do ask if it's your will we would see perhaps more joy in the number, and more boys and more girls that come to know Jesus, that come to understand and come to learn what it is you're saying to them in your word.
[7:23] That there is no barrier to coming to you, not age. Where there is no one too young to come to know Jesus as their Saviour. Indeed, there is none here this evening too old. There is no one here too far gone. There is no one here who has used up their last chance. But you're a God of mercy, and you show mercy upon mercy.
[7:45] We ask that mercy would be known even this evening by some here, even by one here. One here who as of yet has not listened, who as of yet has not accepted the gospel call. The gospel is free for all who will take it up. The gospel is offered, is given to all who will listen.
[8:06] The life-giving gospel can transform the life of all who will come. All who will come and declare Jesus their Saviour. Have them as Lord. Confess their sin and come and admit that they are nothing, but in Jesus they are everything. We pray once more, Lord, for our gathering. We thank you for it. We pray just now especially for our brothers and sisters who love you as we love you and who worship you and seek to serve you as we do, but who are doing so in circumstances so far removed from our own. We pray just now, Lord, for our persecuted brothers, our persecuted sisters. Dear brothers and sisters who are willing to lay even their livelihoods and their lives on the line for the sake of the gospel. Lord, you alone know the details in particular, but we do pray, Lord, for your church in northern India just now. We pray for the ongoing issues there, or as the very state itself and the area itself seems to have waged, begun to wage war on your people.
[9:12] As we hear, Lord, of churches being burnt down and of families losing their homes to fire and being attacked simply for dating to share the gospel. Or we ask for these brothers and sisters in that part of the world, brothers and sisters who at this very moment are fleeing from their homes, who at this very moment cannot worship in buildings, because their buildings have been burnt down in this past few weeks. Lord, we ask you to be with them and comfort them. We give you praise that you do not reside in buildings made of stone and brick, built by human hands. Lord, this building will come and go, but you will never change. Lord, you will have your church here with or without a building. We pray that it be known to your beloved people in India, those who are suffering just now.
[10:00] We pray, Lord, for those who have lost loved ones, those who have faced injuries because of the persecution there just now. Lord, you would comfort them and you would bring some fruit out of their suffering. Lord, help us not to forget these dear brothers and sisters as we find ourselves in such luxury and such comfort week by week, as we have no fear of gospel persecution in our country.
[10:22] Help us, Lord, give us the wisdom to make the full use of the freedom we have whilst you still afford it to us. For we know what we come, Lord, knowing that the freedom we have is not guaranteed. Indeed, the freedom we have will not last forever, but the days are coming when we will begin to lose these freedoms. When these days come, Lord, help us to still serve you faithfully. Help us to count the cost of serving you. Help us to be willing to be faithful servants. Help us to be gentle as doves, we ask, to be gracious and careful in our words, but to be bold in gospel proclamation, to find no backing away in sharing the gospel truths. Help us to share the gospel in love. Lord, we love our community. We love the village and the area you've placed us in, those of us who are born and brought up here, and those of us us who have moved in since. Lord, we give you thanks for this community where there's still evidence of your gospel power. I pray once more for both congregations, ourselves and our brothers and sisters next door. Pray for them in their service and pray for them again in their vacancy.
[11:31] Lord, we ask once more, knowing it's beyond our understanding and beyond our power, but we ask we would see days of gospel renewal and gospel revival in North Tulsa. We would see days of refreshing for this area. We would see hearts and minds of stone being turned to hearts of flesh.
[11:50] We would hear the glorious news of some coming to know and love and serve you for the first time. While we pray for ourselves, we also pray for every congregation across our island, and across our nation today. Every congregation across the denominations that seek to worship you in spirit and in truth. Lord, we ask you to bless these gatherings and bless your people.
[12:14] Lord, we ask you to cleanse us this evening from sin. We come just now before you confessing sin this week, confessing waywardness to our shame, confessing willing sin, confessing also unwilling sin, unknowing sin, unknowing sin. Lord, you know the extent to which we have rebelled against you.
[12:32] We come this evening finding no help and no hope in ourselves. We come this evening finding all our hope in the risen Lord Jesus, who is at your right hand at this very moment, who is making constant intercession for his people, who as aware has our very names on his lips at all times as he brings us to you. Lord, help these things not just to be a theological fact, but help them to be the very joy, the very basis of our praise towards you, for we have a savior who has done all things for the salvation of his people, who will lead us through all the days of our lives and eventually lead us home to be with himself. Until that day comes, help us to serve him well, to serve him faithfully. I ask all these things, Lord, remembering once more our community, remembering just now once more those who are mourning. We pray just now especially for those who are grieving a recent loss. I pray for the family there, Lord. We ask you would comfort and draw alongside.
[13:37] Help us, we ask as a community, to draw alongside. Lord, we know that our words fall so short, our words spoken, our words written, our comfort feels at times so small. Help us to rely on the Holy Spirit as he gives his ultimate comfort, as he is able to comfort those who need that eternal comfort. Lord, we ask that eternal comfort will be known even this evening. I ask all these things in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. His name's sake. Amen.
[14:08] Let's read in God's word. Turn to the book of Job. The book of Job in chapter 19.
[14:20] That's on page 400 of the Pew Bibles. The book of Job in chapter 19. And Job, of course, has been facing years, a good amount of time of trial, and here he is crying out at the pinnacle of his trial, and he is speaking here, and Job says, let's hear the word of God once more.
[14:51] Then Job answered and said, how long will you torment me and break me in pieces of words? These ten times you have cast reproach upon me. Are you not ashamed to wrong me? And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains of myself. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my disgrace an argument against me, know then that God has put me in the wrong, and closed his net about me.
[15:20] Behold, I cry out violence, but I am not answered. I call for help, but there is no justice. He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths.
[15:34] He has stripped from me my glory, and taken the crown from my head. He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
[15:47] He has kindled his wrath against me, and counts me as adversary. His troops come on together. They have cast up their siege ramp against me, and encamp around my tent.
[15:59] He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me. My close friends have forgotten me.
[16:11] The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger. I become a foreigner in their eyes. I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer. I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
[16:26] My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. Even young children despise me. When I rise, they talk against me. All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I have loved have turned against me.
[16:42] My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have mercy on me. Have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me.
[16:56] Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? O that my words were written. O that they were inscribed in a book.
[17:07] O that with iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever. For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
[17:19] And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself. And my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me.
[17:34] If you say, how will we pursue him, and the root of the matter is found in him, be afraid of the sword. For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, and you may know there is a judgment.
[17:49] Amen. We give praise to God for his holy and his perfect word. As I turn to the Scottish Psalter and Psalm 40. Scottish Psalter, Psalm 40.
[18:01] That's on page 259 of the Psalm books. Scottish Psalter, Psalm 40, on page 259.
[18:15] You can sing verses 1 to the double marked verse 5, just over the page. Psalm 40. I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear.
[18:26] At length to me did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit, and from the miry clay. On a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.
[18:38] Psalm 40, verses 1 to 5. To God's praise. I waited for the Lord my God.
[18:53] Psalm 40, verses 1 to 5.
[19:14] Amen. He said mighty, he established in my grave.
[19:57] He said mighty, he established in my grave.
[20:27] And on the glory night, O blessed is the man who's out.
[20:47] And on the glory night, we stand in awe, the proud Lord's son.
[21:06] I stand outside to die. O Lord, my Lord, O many are the wonders of our Son.
[21:35] Thy gracious love to us were thou.
[21:47] I stand outside to die. Lord, my God, I recommend to thee, and let me dare.
[22:15] And speak of them, I hold them o'er.
[22:27] Thy kingdom, my Lord, O God. Psalm 23, on page 4 to 8.
[23:00] Just read the whole psalm again together. Looking at verse 4, in particular, this evening. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
[23:11] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
[23:23] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
[23:33] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
[23:47] And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I said last week we looked at verses 1 down to verse 3, and we saw in summary a shepherd that gives rest.
[24:02] How we saw that Psalm 23, as King David wrote the psalm, of course, King David himself, a shepherd. King David, a man who before he was made king, anointed king, before that phase of his life began, that his whole life was one of shepherding.
[24:22] In fact, I'm sure as a young man, a teenager, as he looked forward to the years ahead of him, probably quite content being a shepherd, we assume. He was good at it. He seemed to excel in being a shepherd.
[24:34] So as King David, all these years on, writes down this psalm, we see, of course, a shepherd talking about what it is to be a good shepherd. We touched on last week that really this psalm draws on plenty of Old Testament illustrations and Old Testament examples where God is called the shepherd of Israel.
[24:57] How God carefully but purposefully leads his sheep step by step all the way through to their eventual salvation and rescue time after time after time.
[25:10] We also saw that, of course, as we know and as we heard this morning, Psalm 23, of course, points forward. It paints a picture of the perfect shepherd.
[25:23] We saw that last week. But really, this is talking about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we saw last week that the good shepherd, he gives his people rest.
[25:37] Like any good crofter, he knows his sheep. He understands his sheep. And because he knows them and understands them, he looks after them well. Well, this evening we come to verse 4.
[25:51] We come this evening, the time of rest is over. And we come this evening to a valley. We come this evening, spend some time together in a place that's not pleasant.
[26:04] And to an experience that's not pleasant for the sheep. As we come to look at verse 4 together this evening, The truth is, this will be a verse that speaks to everyone here.
[26:18] In some way. To those of us here who are Christians, who know the Lord, who love the Lord, we all know what it is to have dark days, long days, long weeks, long years perhaps.
[26:31] Dark years perhaps. You know your own stories. Those days, those months, those years when life is just hard. When, as we read in Job, when you think, even the Lord himself, what is going on?
[26:47] Even the Lord himself feels as if he's abandoned me here. And like Job, perhaps you can say, Lord, it feels as if you have just closed up heaven against me.
[27:02] But as of yet, this verse applies to everyone. Those here, and as of yet, you can't say you love the Lord. As of yet, you can't say you're a Christian. You also know what it is to have dark days.
[27:14] And long days. And dark months. And dark years. And long days. And long years. The truth is, it's one thing which unites Christian and not yet Christian. Is that we all experience life in a world that has been so affected and destroyed by sin.
[27:29] We all have family worries and money worries and health worries and so on and so on and so on. And here this evening we come to a valley. We come to dealing with the reality that there are indeed dark days.
[27:46] Just three very broad headings for verse 4. First of all, we see pain in the valley. Then peace in the valley. Then protection in the valley.
[27:58] So pain, peace and protection in the valley. There's one major point we must look at together. First, before we look in more detail in verse 4.
[28:09] If you look with me please to verses 1 to verse 3. Last week's section. We can see how the Lord's addressed. Yahweh is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down. He leads me.
[28:20] He restores my soul. He leads me. Look what takes place in verse 4. As we approach this time, this place of sadness, of darkness, of worry, of death.
[28:34] Look what changes in verse 4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me.
[28:45] Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Last week the good shepherd was being talked about. As David thought about the goodness of God towards his people, he was praising the good shepherd of how good God is.
[29:01] But now as he deals with the reality of the dark times of life and the painful days of life, the good shepherd is no longer just out there somewhere.
[29:13] He is now close and he is personal. You are with me. The good shepherd isn't just there somewhere close by. He is right beside us in these dark days.
[29:27] Dear brother, dear sister, this is what we have in our mind as we begin to look at these verses. The good shepherd, if we are honest, when things are hard, when life feels grim, how often and how far perhaps we feel from the Lord.
[29:40] We wonder like job, like poor job. We wonder and we question perhaps. We say, Lord, how is this taking place? How can this be happening? Or why is this happening?
[29:51] I can understand it and I feel like the very ground beneath my feet is giving way. Everything I once knew is gone and so on and so on. It's at these times when the Lord is close to us.
[30:03] The Lord is always close to his people. But these times we feel as if he's not. He truly is. He is carrying us. He is with us. First of all, pain in the valley.
[30:15] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Even though. It begins with, we could say, the inevitability of this valley.
[30:26] The psalmist, David, he is clear. And God's word is always honest. God's word is always honest. It doesn't pull any punches, we could say. We'll see this more as we go on perhaps in later series.
[30:40] As we look at the judges perhaps in a few weeks. If the Lord helps us. Because God's word at times feels uncomfortably honest. Because God's word and God in his word shows us the reality of humanity.
[30:55] He shows us ourselves and our sin and our depravity and our falling away. And our violence and our hatred towards one another and towards him. He makes that clear to us. And here we see in verse 4.
[31:07] For God is honest. He is clear to his people. There are times when life will feel dark. There's no if here.
[31:19] This is implied. That this will be the reality for all of the Lord's people. There will be dark days. There will be times when we walk through the valley.
[31:31] We covered before in part next door in a permitting. Over the years. Some of the dangers we find in some of the false gospels we encounter.
[31:42] But I say personally. What I think is one of the most dangerous gospels. False gospels. Is that of the health and wealth prosperity gospel. And we see the big examples.
[31:53] You know. Love the Lord and get a boat. Follow Jesus and have a full bank account. That's kind of obvious. But the dangerous health and wealth prosperity gospel.
[32:03] The false gospel teaches. Believe in Jesus. Follow Jesus. Love Jesus. And never have a bad day again. Love Jesus.
[32:15] Follow Jesus. Have him as Lord and Saviour. Have your life transformed by him. And have no more worries ever again. Have no more stresses and strains. And dark nights and dark weeks and dark years ever again.
[32:28] And we know there are some Christians and some believers who believe that. And they will hear that being taught. And they believe it.
[32:39] What happens when life hits? What happens when that loved one passes away? Or when something happens financially or for health? When life becomes real once more.
[32:49] What takes place? Their faith is shaken. Because they were told if you love Jesus. Nothing bad will ever happen again. That's not what Jesus himself says in scripture.
[33:01] In fact quite the opposite. Jesus told his disciples. He tells us. That if we follow him. If we love him. If we serve him. That he faced such mockery and such pain.
[33:13] Then we too should expect just the same in our lives as Christians. The gospel is not follow Jesus and have a happy life. Follow Jesus and have an always easy life.
[33:27] The gospel is follow Jesus. Love Jesus. Serve Jesus. And when you find yourself in the verse 4 here. When you find yourself in dark days and in hard days.
[33:38] Know for certain. That you are walking alongside the Lord. Who made and created you. The Lord who is the Lord over time and creation. And self.
[33:48] Who will never leave. Nor forsake his precious people. That's the hope we have of verse 4. Even though I walk. In one sense there is a loneliness in the valley.
[34:02] Samus is aware that he alone must walk the valley. And we know this ourselves. If you have been through sad circumstances. Loved ones and family members are good.
[34:13] And they try their best. And they love us dearly. But if you have been through something. You know that there are times you alone must walk that path. In a sense on your own.
[34:24] You are dealing with a situation. And loved ones help you. And they care for you. But you alone are facing that situation. Again God's word is honest. It's clear. Even though I must walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
[34:39] The valley of the shadow of death. There's several understandings. But there's two main ones we can look at just briefly this evening. We can ever look at this in terms of just the pain and the sin we face in this world.
[34:56] We know that the reality of the shadow of death. This looming presence of terror. It hangs over us from time to time.
[35:07] And situations come and situations go. We know that. There's also the more literal sense that we can equally look at here. When we talk about the valley of the shadow of death.
[35:20] There's also talking of course of the literal reality of death. It's the same wording that we all have hanging over us. The reality of death.
[35:30] And we've touched on this before. Again next door in the primitings. There's no shame dear brother, dear sister. In us saying that we are scared of dying. There's no shame in being scared perhaps of the physical pain of it.
[35:43] Of the physical reality of it. But as Christians we should not be scared of death itself. And if we are, can I very gently suggest and very lovingly carefully suggest.
[35:56] And I know it's a fear that some Christians have. Do you remember dear sister, if you this evening find yourself scared. Not of the process of dying. That's a valid worry to have.
[36:07] You know there's pain involved and there's sadness involved. But of death itself. If you are scared of death itself. Of will I actually make it to heaven? Will I really get there?
[36:18] Will you really take me in? But I suggest perhaps you, if you have time. Look back over what we saw the last few weeks. And even if you've been next door in the primitings.
[36:28] Look back and read again Ephesians 1. And remind yourself. That the good shepherd who walks you and leads you through all this life. He knew you from before time itself.
[36:40] He set his love on you from before time itself. He set his love on you. And he determined to come in time and in space. To save you. To rescue you.
[36:51] To call you his own. To bring you to himself. Have no worries. At the end he will look after you. He will look after you. But there's still great fear.
[37:03] Still great fear. As we said. Trusting in the good shepherd does not always take away the worry of physical death. But we need never as Christians.
[37:15] Indeed we should never as Christians fear what takes place after death. That is assured and reassured to us. Again and again. In scripture. So there is real pain in the valley. That much we know.
[37:26] But also we see. There is also real peace. In the valley. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil.
[37:37] For you are with me. I will fear no evil. For you are with me. The previous I. The I walk.
[37:48] Quite literally it's I will walk. That previous I will walk through the valley. That reminded us of our loneliness. In pain and in sadness. It reminded us of the reality.
[37:59] That we will face pain and sadness. The second I. The second I will hear. Is one of great hope. Isn't it? It reminds us.
[38:09] That those of us who know the Lord. Are not left on our own. Are not left without peace. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
[38:20] I will fear. No evil. I will fear. No evil. No evil. This needs to be our first thought.
[38:32] When we see. And when we experience. The darkness. And the pain. And the sadness. And the worry in our lives. If we are being very honest. When we find ourselves in times of suffering.
[38:42] And times of worry. As Christians. Brothers and sisters. When we find ourselves in situations. Too big for us. Too. Too terrifying for us. And so on. How often do we turn to ourselves.
[38:54] We say. I can't do this. Do you know what? I can't do this. I don't know how to work out the situation. I don't know what to say in this situation. I don't know what to do in this situation.
[39:06] I can't do it. I've got no idea what I'm supposed to be doing here. And we forget. The truth. Of. This. Glorious reminder.
[39:19] Our minds should come. Back to verse 4 here. When we face. The valley of the shadow of death. We should be able to say. Yes. This is real. And yes.
[39:30] This is terrifying. And yes. This is uncomfortable. But do you know what? I will fear. No evil. Yes. I will experience it. Yes. I must go through it.
[39:40] But I will not fear it. Why? There's much evil to fear. We know that. There's many things in this world. And in ourselves. That we should fear.
[39:52] There's people and places and things. Which will do us harm in this world. We know that. We do ourselves harm in various ways. We know that. King David himself. When he writes.
[40:03] I will fear no evil. King David himself. We know. Lived a life of constant enemy attack. Physical attack. Spiritual attack. He had armies at the gate so often in his life.
[40:14] He was on the run so often in his life. His own family betraying him. We know the stories. He was a man of war. A king who led wars. Who fought in battle. He was no stranger to the reality of evil.
[40:29] And of death. And of those wanting to kill him. But dear brother and sister. As Christians. With King David. Because the good shepherd.
[40:39] Is truly the one. Who knows us. And who keeps us. We can say. Even though I walk through the valley. I will fear. No evil. I will fear.
[40:50] No evil. Quite simply why. Well it's the final phrase. Of this section here. I will fear no evil. For you are with me. I will fear no evil.
[41:03] For you are with me. Who is with me? Well the Lord. In verse 1. Yahweh. I am but I am. The covenant keeping God. Who needs nothing.
[41:14] And needs no one. Who is entirely. Eternally. Self-sustaining. In all his ways. Who makes. And sustains. All of creation.
[41:25] Every atom. Every molecule. Belongs to him. As in full control. By him. All time. And space. All things. Are his.
[41:36] He has eternal. Unmatched power. Yahweh. Who needs nothing. And no one. Yahweh. Is my shepherd. And who is with us.
[41:49] The Lord eternal. Is with us. And because that is the case. We can say. I will fear no evil. For Yahweh. Is with me. Dear Christian.
[42:00] You can say that with full hope. And full confidence. And you can say it with more hope. And more confidence. When you feel less confident. In yourself. Because the truth is.
[42:10] The less confident you feel in yourself. The better it is. Because you rely on his strength. More. And more. And more. And the Christians here. Who have gone through hard days. And hard situations.
[42:21] You know this. So when you come to an end of yourself. You say. Lord. Lord. I can't do it. I've tried. And I've failed. I've tried. I can't do this. It's too much for me. It's all yours.
[42:34] And you pray that prayer. However you word it. In tears. And sobbing. And silently. You come to that place. And you say. Lord. It's yours. You are Yahweh.
[42:45] You alone are holy. You alone are God. It is. I trust it all to you. It's all yours anyway. So then you can say. Truly. I will fear no evil.
[42:55] For you. Are with me. This. Is the foundation. Dear brother. Dear sister. Of all our hope. It's not. I will fear no evil. Because of my own great learning.
[43:07] My own great strength. My own. Strong faith. These things will fail us. They certainly will. But no. I will fear no evil. For you are with me. And note the.
[43:17] The closeness. And the personal nature of that. This is. Again. You heard last week. I've got no love of sheep.
[43:28] But I say this gently. This is the useless sheep. Caught on a fence somewhere. Completely helpless. Useless. Stuck. On its own. Got no hope. Got no chance of escape. Its horns are all caught up.
[43:39] But it's been kicking in the fence. Legs caught. It can't do anything for itself. But God. Yahweh. The eternal God. I will fear no evil.
[43:50] Because a good shepherd will come. And will rescue me. It's that. Genial hope. That gentle hope. As we covered this a few weeks ago. Again next door. Of. In 1st John.
[44:01] We're seeing in evenings here too. That. That we address God. We do so. As a loving father. And even God addresses his people. He does so. As his beloved children.
[44:12] And the wording that 1st John uses. Is that. Of a father. To his beloved children. There's a lack of formality there. It is genuine love. From father to child.
[44:23] And the father and child. The father says to the child. Fear no evil. Because I. Am. With you. As if to kind of drive that home for us. We see. As we come to a conclusion here.
[44:34] We see the. The protection in the valley. We see. Just two more examples. Of God's love. And God's care. For us. I will fear no evil.
[44:45] Why? For you are with me. Your rod. And your staff. They comfort me. David.
[44:56] Just. Uses the. Imagery. And the implements. Of a shepherd. To try. And to. To bring. To the fore. Just. The active. Love.
[45:07] And the active. Protection. That God shows. Towards. His people. The good shepherd. Uses. Towards his people. I will fear no evil. Fear with me. Your rod. And your staff. They comfort me.
[45:18] Your rod. This is the solid. Piece of wood. Literally. It's your club. This is the solid. Piece of wood. And again. If you have time. It's. Google it. If you still use it.
[45:29] Some. Shepherds. In the Middle East. It's a lump of wood. Sometimes they'll stick nails. And put some metal into it. This is a club. A giant club. They'll use. To batter.
[45:40] To destroy. To attack. Any animals. Or wolves. That come near. Of their sheep. I will fear. No evil. Because. The Lord.
[45:50] Our God. Is one. Who protects. His people. The earthly shepherds. Use a club. The Lord. Our God. Uses. His eternal power. Your club.
[46:03] Your rod. Will keep us safe. But also. We see. Your staff. Here we see. The two contrasts. Of God's care. The club is there. Reminding us. As the power.
[46:13] Of the Lord of hosts. The Lord of the armies. Who has. Full. Control. Of angelic armies. Who has full control. Of. Of matter. And time. Itself. But also. We see.
[46:24] The staff. The other side of things. This is. Of course. The. The stick. That even our own crofters use. That stick. Which is gently. If I could crofter.
[46:35] Gently. Leads. And guides. And gently. Keeps the sheep. Going the right way. Which holds the gates open. To the sheep. Which guides them. Off the road. Which keeps them.
[46:45] Away from the ditches. Which gently leads them. And guides them. Which time is also used. Of course. We turn around. To hook a sheep's. Horns. Or its neck. And take them aside. To look after them.
[46:56] And to care for them. Properly. God on one side. Is Lord of the armies. Lord of the hosts. Who is king. And reign supreme. But at the same time.
[47:06] The good shepherd. Is the one. Who is close to his people. Who loves his people. Who is the Jesus. Who is gentle. And lowly. Who is Jesus.
[47:17] Who is close. Who is Jesus. Who will not put out. That burning wick. Who will not bend. And break. That bent reed. Dear brothers and sisters.
[47:29] We have a good shepherd. Who is with us. Every step. Of the way. Who loves us. Who cares for us. And the truth is.
[47:40] We've come to a conclusion. Of course. All of us. Tonight. Was for those of us here. Who know Jesus. And who love Jesus. But the truth is. And if you've been listening at all. You know yourself.
[47:50] The truth is. Everyone. Everyone here. Minister. To elders. To everyone else included. Christian. Or not yet Christian.
[48:00] Everyone in this village. In our community here. All know. The reality of sadness. Of worry. Of pain. Family worries. Personal worries. Health worries.
[48:10] And so on. And so on. And so on. What's the difference this evening? What's the difference this evening? Between the Christian. And the non-Christian. When facing the valley. Of the shadow of death.
[48:22] Are the Christians more. Somehow. Better equipped. Because of our great holiness. And our great intellect. No. Not at all. What's the difference?
[48:33] Back to that phrase we saw. For you. Are. With me. The Christians here this evening. Yes. We will face sadness. And worry.
[48:44] And pain. But we do so. Relying on. And following. And being led by. The good shepherd. Who loves his sheep. Who cares for his sheep. As we'll see next week.
[48:55] The good shepherd. Who promises. To take us home. To be. With himself. For all time. Time. Without end. That is our hope. That's our sure hope.
[49:06] That's our confidence this evening. Yes. Life is hard. And life is complicated. And we're not saying. Come and believe in Jesus. And never face complications again.
[49:17] The gospel is. Come and follow Jesus. And when life does get hard. And does get complicated. Know that he is not just beside you. He's also before you.
[49:28] Making the way. He's behind you. As we're keeping you safe. And he is alongside you. Taking you all the way home. Until you reach that time. And that place. Where you go home to be.
[49:38] With him. Let's bow our heads now. A word of prayer. Lord God. We thank you. Once more. With the gift of your word. Help us to leave this place.
[49:49] Not just. Lord had time together. Help us leave this place. Having grown. In our understanding. But also we ask. In our love. For Jesus. We pray once more. For any here this evening.
[50:00] Who as of yet. Don't know him. That they would hear. The call of a good shepherd. As he. As he tells us. Once more. In his word. That he leads. And guides his people. That he leads.
[50:10] And guides him. Even through times. Of great sadness. And great pain. That they need not be alone. Ever again. If only they would come. And trust. And come. And put their faith.
[50:20] And their hope in him. The one who promises. Never to leave. And nor forsake. His precious people. Help us to come to sing. Our final item of praise. And do so of hearts. And minds. Full of understanding.
[50:31] Thank you once more. Lord. For the ones. Who lead the praise. Thank you Lord. For the gift of praise. As we sing praises. To you. From your word. Help us to do. With understanding.
[50:42] Knowing that as we do so. Lord. Our voices are lifted up. In a pleasing sound to you. With that in mind. Help us Lord. To praise you. Of all our hearts. Knowing that you see the heart.
[50:54] And not listen to the voice. Ask all these things. In and through. And for Jesus. In his name's sake. Amen. Let's see. Conclusion.
[51:04] Turn back to the psalm we had. Psalm 40. Psalm 40. We sing verses 6. Down to verse 9. On page 260.
[51:16] Psalm 40. On page 260. We can sing verses 6. Down to verse 9. No sacrifice nor offering. Didst thou at all desire. Mine ears.
[51:26] Thou bored sin offering. Thou. And burnt didst not require. Then to the Lord. These were my words. I come behold and see. Within the volume of the book. It written is.
[51:37] Of me. Psalm 40. rally. Verse 69. It goes please.tal. podeetherite .
[51:50] Through. All. Sometimes. There. Over. There. TV. Times.BR est. FAMja? surround. their. The.
[52:01] Can. Over. AMY. England. in. Oh, he does, now my kiss on me, I hear.
[52:17] Then to the Lord is at my heart, I come, babe, oh, not still.
[52:35] We'll bend upon you all the new, the wilderness of me.
[52:53] To the Lord is at my heart, I come, babe, oh, not still.
[53:05] Oh, that night, Lord, Adam, hear that most holy home.
[53:19] Oh, that night I have written in my heart.
[53:31] Within the congregation, may thy righteousness be rich.
[53:51] No, that night I have no more than I will give you my life.
[54:10] Amen. In the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, both you now and forevermore. Amen.
[54:21] Peterற intended nonsense. Howevermore, Amen. .