[0:00] おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。おはようございます。1A.
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[4:16] 1A.1A.お祈りしますお祈りしますお祈りしますお祈りしますお祈りします
[8:21] because He has become our propitiation
[9:26] He became sin on that cross for us so that we may be covered by His righteousness Lord help that not just to be a theological fact for your people here today but help that to be a reality as we look to begin this new week as we seek to serve you in our homes in our village in our places of work as we seek to be witnesses to our Saviour help us to do so understanding that we are doing it knowing and being able to say for certain that we are loved and kept and known by Jesus Himself the Lord the Saviour the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep for we ask that we are known by your people here today we thank you for our gathering this gathering of brothers and sisters and sons and daughters seeking to worship you here help us Lord we ask for this short time together to lay aside the many worries and concerns and burdens we bring to this place we confess that week by week we have so many things in our minds so many burdens that many here must carry we ask that for this short time we would take those burdens and lay them at the fruit of the throne of grace that place where you promise mercy and grace to help in time of need
[10:52] I pray just now for your people here who are downcast in spirit and in heart your people here who are facing hard days and dark days health worries money worries family worries personal varied worries Lord you alone know their stories any here who are going through things and only they and you know about it Lord we ask you to come alongside them and remind them once more of your love and care towards them I pray just now for those who know you and who love you who are part of our number here but who are not with us today we pray Lord for the few who are on holiday just now we ask you give them a time of rest a time of peace that they would enjoy their time away just now pray also for the boys and the girls of our Sunday school and pray for them and for their parents they spend their time beginning of their time of holiday Lord we ask for those who have gone away to keep them safe and help them to enjoy themselves we do thank you once more for our Sunday school for a gathering of boys and girls who are so eager to learn about the word who are so eager to interact and to discuss and to think about who you are and what it means to know you and to even begin to think about following you we pray also
[12:09] Lord once more for Sunday school teachers and those who work so hard behind the scenes to serve the boys and girls week after week we give you praise Lord for all that we've seen the last few weeks for our boys and girls for the fun day and the family service we ask that these things would not just be fun but that these things would have had a gospel impact not just on our children but also on the wider community we do pray just now for our wider community for the many homes in this area many people here who have no gospel interest and many people here who do not and who would never think of praying for themselves who don't know the danger they are currently in Lord we ask you to help us to remember them help us to be faithful in praying for our dear friends and family those who we love so much those who we care for so much help us to remember neighbours that we know and neighbours we're yet to meet properly help us to be in constant prayer for this district help us
[13:14] Lord to love Tolstah North Tolstah enough to be able to pray for this place to be able to pray for the people of this place we'd see days of refreshing and days of renewal and days of revival as we pray that for ourselves we pray the same of course as always for our brothers and sisters next door pray for them once more in their time of vacancy Lord you would lead them and guide them and keep them united in the meantime as the years seem I'm sure for them to grow longer we ask you would provide for them if it's your will one to lead them and one to guide them one to be an under shepherd over them until we see Lord these days of revival and days of renewal and days of blessing in this area we ask us you'd make us faithful in the day of small things that we have help us to be faithful in the day of blessings you've given us help us to be faithful witnesses in our homes and our families our places of work our places of study help us in all we seek to say and do and even the things we think to be faithful witnesses help our conduct to reflect that of those who know and who love you we come just now acknowledging the many privileges you've given us over the years that we are part of a gospel community that's been in this place for many years as we worship in a building that is safe and comfortable we remember just now as always our brothers and sisters who love you as we love you and who seek to worship you as we seek to worship you but who must do so in circumstances so far removed from ours but our brothers and sisters who at this moment are in hiding for fear of imprisonment and torture simply for daring to share the good news simply for daring to share the news that
[15:10] Jesus is Lord and there is salvation to be found in him and in him alone we do pray once more for our persecuted brothers and sisters we also pray once more Lord for the area of northern India again Lord you know the details of that story for those who are still facing great persecution those in recent months who have lost homes lost whole villages lost churches lost their livelihoods for simply being and claiming to be yours Lord we ask that you would reward them in ways beyond our understanding Lord not the physical Lord with the spiritual blessings they've lost all they ever had physically in this world but we give you praise that they have been and remain to be faithful faithful witnesses of you Lord we do pray as they begin to as they begin to rebuild their homes and rebuild their lives you would keep them safe in the weeks and months ahead Lord help us to have the wisdom we ask to make the most of the freedom you allow us in this country whilst you still give it to us we know that this freedom will not last forever it was not always here and it won't always be here
[16:17] Lord until the days of persecution return help us to serve you well when these days perhaps do begin to come back help us to serve you well regardless help us to be found putting you first above all other things I pray just now once more for our congregation I pray just now especially for those who are mourning today those who hearts are heavy today in our community Lord of mourning recent loss we ask you be with them Lord and comfort them we also remember just now those who are mourning a loss of perhaps many years ago as seasons pass and as anniversaries come and go we know that grief still remains pray Lord for those who are broken hearted that you would tenderly as we know you do bind them and tenderly look after them Lord give us wisdom we ask and how to relate to those who are mourning and those who are suffering those who are in great pain help us to bring the gospel carefully and lovingly to them help us both practically and in our actions and in our words and in our prayers to remember them and to care for them as best we can help us today we ask to listen carefully to your word to listen carefully as you tell us once more from it the great many promises you give us the hopes you give us the assurances you give us
[17:44] I pray once more also for our friends here today perhaps some here who as of yet don't know you Lord we know that we hope that they know our care for them and our love for them as we see them week after week our dear friends who come to this place who have come here perhaps for many years or that they would be reminded that our care for them is real we ask once more that they would leave this place this day not having known just our care for them but more than that we would leave this place having known your care for their souls your care for their lives they leave this place today having perhaps encountered or met the first time the living Lord Jesus as he has found in your word leave these things or we leave that hope that reality in your hands we know that as a word goes out it does not return to you void you always has the impact that you wish it to have we ask Lord your word today would go out and would touch souls encourage your people and bring to faith those who as of yet cannot say they have a true faith in
[18:56] Jesus forgive us our sins Lord we ask we come today confessing sin this past week this past day this past hour we know we are so prone in our thoughts and our words our actions to go against your holy ways and your holy nature forgive us for sins as we cling on to our Saviour we know that he holds eternally on to us asking all these things in and through and for his precious name's sake amen let's turn to reading God's word and turn to the book of Isaiah Isaiah chapter 55 that well-known chapter Isaiah 55 that's on page 576 of the church bibles page 576 let's hear the word of God come everyone who thirsts come to the waters and he who has no money come buy and eat come by wine and milk without money and without price why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food incline your ear and come to me hear that your soul may live and I will make with you an everlasting covenant my steadfast sure love for David behold I made him a witness to the peoples a leader and commander for the peoples behold you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you because of the Lord your
[21:02] God and of the Holy One of Israel for he has glorified you seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed.
[22:05] in the thing for which I sent it for you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle and it shall make a name for the Lord an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
[22:34] Amen and then we give praise to God for his holy and his perfect word. Let's sing once more this time from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 89.
[22:46] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 89. That's on page 344 of the blue psalm books. Page 344 of the psalm books.
[22:58] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 89. We can sing verses 1 down to verse 5 of the psalm. God's mercies I will ever sing. And with my mouth I shall thy faithfulness make to be known to generations all.
[23:15] Psalm 89 verses 1 to 5. To God's praise. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[23:32] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[23:43] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[23:55] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[24:08] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[24:21] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[24:41] God's mercies I will ever sing. God's mercies I will ever sing.
[25:15] I seeIt shall, it shallForever to remainI'm built to generateIt shall, it shallThy throneTill thouMainTheBraisesThyBondE'erSoreYetDon'tC MerseyiesSoYou
[26:28] BondYet5節 guru forward to part of the phrase 3 based on page 42 a church 19 4232.8 As we begin to, with the Lord's help, reach out to our community, as we begin to see how we can share the gospel, we're seeing some of the invitations in Scripture, some of the ways that God invites his people to come and serve him, come and worship him, come and join in as part of his family.
[27:47] And in Psalm 23 and verse 5, we do find an invitation of sorts. Let's read the verse together. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.
[28:06] Of course, last week we left verse 4. We found ourselves in the middle of a valley. And we're saying, of course, about Psalm 23.
[28:17] Psalm 23 of Jesus as our good shepherd. Psalm 23 is just almost a summary of Christian experience. A summary of the Christian's life.
[28:28] And we saw that last week in verse 4, we saw that the Scriptures are honest. That God talks quite simply. That God talks quite honestly.
[28:40] Now that God is clear that there are times in life when life is hard. There are times in life when life is complicated. When it feels like there's no way forward.
[28:52] When it feels like we are in the valley of the shadow of death. We covered that last Lord's Day. And we did say at the end of last week's sermon.
[29:04] That although we are in a time of valley sometimes. The Christians hope is the valley will end at some point. We'll see that more today.
[29:16] Both this morning and, God willing, this evening. Because here in verse 5, we see the valley is over, isn't it? Verse 4. But now the valley is finished.
[29:35] We've come up out of the valley. And we're somewhere now completely different. Last week the landscape was darkness and sadness and worry and pain and anxiety and depression and fear and death.
[29:52] Well, the landscape now in verse 5 is completely different. We go from a valley now to a place that is peaceful, that is joyful.
[30:05] We go from a valley to a banqueting table. We'll see that in a second. And that's why, just for a short time today, we can look at verse 5.
[30:16] As we think behind the scenes as to the invitations God gives us in his word to come and to follow him, to come and to trust in him, we find one of these invitations here in verse 5 today.
[30:30] It's taking verse 5 under just four very broad headings. First of all, we can see the preparation. Preparation. The preparation that's been made.
[30:43] We then see the peace that is offered. Then we see the presence of our host. And then finally the provision he gives us.
[30:55] So preparation, peace, presence and provision. First of all, preparation. You prepare a table before me.
[31:11] Last week we saw the good shepherd become not just generally God, but we saw the good shepherd become close. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.
[31:25] And we saw last week, the good shepherd is not just leading from a distance. He leads his people close to us. Like any good crofter does, he walks beside his sheep.
[31:38] He cares for his sheep well enough. He looks after them properly. And we see that close one-to-one connection. That close personal connection carry on in our verse today.
[31:51] You prepare a table before me. And here the image of Jesus as good shepherd, it changes now. He's no longer just a good shepherd.
[32:03] He's also now Jesus, the gracious host. As we come to spend time in this verse today, we have to have in the back of our minds, at this point of our journey, we're now being ushered into a banqueting hall.
[32:19] Jesus has led us through the valley. And he's led us to this hall, this banquet, this feast. And he is no longer just good shepherd.
[32:31] He is now also a host who has prepared, spread this incredible banquet before us. Brothers and sisters, the good shepherd does not just protect us as if that's a small thing.
[32:47] He doesn't just lead us. He doesn't just look after us. The good shepherd, as verse 5 tells us, he loves us. The good shepherd loves his people.
[33:01] The good shepherd loves his precious sheep. As we come here, we do see that prepared before us is this table. And the wording here is that of a feast.
[33:15] The good shepherd knows his people go through times of valley, times of sadness, times of darkness, times of great trial and distress.
[33:26] And the Christians here who know and who love your Lord, you know yourself and I with you. We know that very often after times of great suffering, times of great trial, times of great distress, the good shepherd then gently takes us and he leads us.
[33:46] And he reminds us through his people, through his word, through prayer, through various means. He reminds us as to his care, his provision, his love for us.
[33:58] This is an invitation here. I think sometimes as Christians we think that the good shepherd is just somehow just tolerating us.
[34:12] He is leading us, looking after us somehow because he has to or he does it grudgingly. And perhaps we wouldn't say that, but we might think it. Brothers and sisters, the good shepherd doesn't just tolerate the sheep.
[34:25] The good shepherd, he truly loves the sheep. And verse 5 reminds us of that. He is the gracious host who prepares the table before us, who begins to feed us, who begins to look after us.
[34:44] He eternally cares for us as he begins to spread this feast before us. As we come to Jesus once more, if after a time of valley, a time of sadness, a time of whatever your story might be, dear brother or sister, we all know that we might know quite a bit of each other's lives, but we also know that, as it were, behind closed doors, we all have our own stories, our own lives, our own situations.
[35:14] And perhaps only you and the Lord know what the struggle has been this past week, this past day, this hour just now, this past year, whatever your story might be.
[35:27] You know, I don't know it. Your friends perhaps don't know it. Your family perhaps don't know it. But dear brother or dear sister, you know the Lord knows it. And as you emerge perhaps from this time of valley wandering, never forget you emerge with a good shepherd who has prepared a feast of his love before you, a feast of his care before you, who welcomes you in, who prepares everything for you.
[35:58] And you bring nothing to this feast. You can't. You come crawling in from the valley of the shadow of death. And he sits you down. And as we see in Song of Solomon, there's a sermon for a different week.
[36:09] His banner over you is love. He looks after his precious sheep. He cares for you. He feeds you. That is the preparation our Savior has made for his people.
[36:23] We'll see that this evening, that same preparation follows us to eternity. But we know as Christians that for all the goodness and love we are shown by our Savior just now, that is even just a small taste as to the goodness and love and care we will experience for all time, time without end, in eternity future.
[36:50] We also see the peace here. Perhaps lack of peace. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
[37:02] So we sit to dine. The Good Shepherd's prepared this feast for us. But as we sit to dine, the enemies are still around us. The enemies didn't stop in the valley in verse 4.
[37:15] The pain and trouble of life, the devil and his armies are still trying, as it were, to attack us and assail us and distress and distract us.
[37:28] As we sit to dine in this hall, we could say, the enemy is still clawing at the door. And brothers and sisters, we know this, don't we?
[37:39] Even in times of God's mercy, even at times when spiritually or practically life is going well, we still see our own sin, the sin of others.
[37:50] We still see the evil in the world around us. We're still very much conscious that the world, the devil, our own sin, our own flesh, is still very much there.
[38:05] Even as we find ourselves beginning to relax into God's goodness and God's mercy, the truth is, we're doing so in the presence of enemies. And the first thing we should do is, we do acknowledge these enemies.
[38:21] We know, and we said this before, some Christians, to our detriment, we like to pretend somehow that there is no enemy. Or that the devil is there.
[38:32] We believe theologically he is, but we don't believe he actually has an impact on our lives, on our community, on our family. We don't believe that his work has anything to do with what we see or experience.
[38:48] But we know that's wrong. Biblically, we know that's wrong. And those of us who have been Christians for a while, we know ourselves just how wrong that is. The enemy is there.
[38:59] And very often, we experience God's blessings very much in the presence of our enemies. But there's actually real beauty in this verse. There's real beauty here.
[39:11] As the enemy seeks to distress and disrupt us, as the enemy is there clawing on the walls of this banqueting house, we are there, seated down, enjoying the feast our good shepherd has prepared for us.
[39:28] Almost in complete defiance of the evil one, the Lord feeds his people. The Lord looks after his people. In the presence of my enemies, the table is prepared before us.
[39:44] If we're being honest, is that not how we live our lives often as Christians? Even in days of blessing, we're so aware of the evil one, it is not far away. Even in days when things are going well for us, spiritually, we know our sin is not far away.
[40:00] The evil one is not far away, but yet God keeps us and blesses us and feeds us and looks after us. The enemy is there to distress and to disrupt.
[40:15] But the enemy does not, in this verse, get to ruin this time of peace. See, the banquet the Lord here makes for his people, it's a banquet, it's a sign of victory.
[40:32] Yes, the enemies are there, but they want to get in and you can see them outside trying desperately to get in and disrupt, but the Lord keeps them away from his people. I think, and we covered this before in our prayer meetings looking at spiritual warfare, we don't understand and we never will understand, but biblically we do see some evidence and we know ourselves, we discussed before, there are layers and levels to the evil one.
[41:03] There's whole structures, as it were, almost army-like structures as to his work. We covered that before. We have no reality, no understanding as to the truth of what is seeking to assail and attack the Lord's people at all times.
[41:24] Of course, every so often as the Lord's people, we do feel the enemy attack us. Some here have been Christians for a while. We have faced, I'm sure, and you have faced times of spiritual oppression and spiritual attack, but that's only the smallest reality as to the enemy that is truly out there and truly against us.
[41:43] But the Lord keeps his people safe. The Lord looks after us and he gives us blessing after blessing after blessing.
[41:57] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Satan might well knock on the door, claw at the windows. He might well try and grab our ankles, as it were, from under the door.
[42:09] He might disrupt our joy and ruin our peace. But dear brother, dear sister, we are safe in the presence of the Lord. We are safe, as it were, in the banqueting house of God.
[42:25] Yes, we know and we feel in ourselves, we feel in our spirits and we experience, I'm sure, many of us, times of spiritual oppression, spiritual attack. But they do not last forever.
[42:37] And we follow a good shepherd who has won the fight, who has trampled on the head of the serpent and who prepares for us the reality of spiritual feast.
[42:52] Presence. You anoint my head with oil. You anoint my head with oil. There's real importance in this.
[43:03] We might read past this, but there's something beautiful taking place here as we begin to enjoy this time of banqueting with the good shepherd. We've actually read before Luke chapter 7 where we see Mary and Martha, they serve Jesus and they, something incredible takes place there.
[43:24] We see that the head of Jesus is anointed with oil. Why did we do that? Well, we did that because that was the practice, of course.
[43:36] When a guest would come to your house, when an honoured guest would come to your house, you would take your precious oil, which cost a fortune, and anoint the guest's head to show that they are worth this precious perfume, this perfumed oil, that they are worth this precious perfume, that they are worth you breaking open, perhaps, this extremely expensive clay pot, or vial, at times, of oil.
[44:06] You'd anoint your guest and you'd sit them down in the place of glory on the table, the top of the table. And here we see something amazing taking place.
[44:21] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. Dear brother, dear sister, we're not just some passing guest in this banquet.
[44:38] We are a treasured and deeply important, an eternally known, eternally valued guest. And here we see the good shepherd anointing, as it were, our heads with the oil of companionship, the oil which was reserved for the important guests.
[45:03] We think, well, that's a bit too much. I'm happy to be let into the banqueting house of God. I'm happy that God takes me in at all. I'm happy to sit at the back door and to be fed some crusts if there's anything left on the table.
[45:16] I'm happy just to be here. I'm happy that God just knows my name. I'm happy that God just has some time for me. That's enough for me. I'm happy that God just keeps me safe from the enemies.
[45:28] That's enough for me. But no. The good shepherd who led you this far then takes you into his banqueting house, takes you into his home and he anoints the head of you to your brother, dear sister, his precious, a precious child.
[45:50] You are anointed with oil. And we're saying well, this feels the wrong way around, doesn't it? It feels like we should be having him as the important guest in our home.
[46:03] It feels like we should be saying to him, sit down and let us serve you. But what do we serve him? What do we bring him?
[46:15] what can we do for him? Nothing. So because we can do nothing for him, he sets us down at this feast. He anoints our head with oil.
[46:27] A shining face covered in oil was the sign of a friend. If you walked into someone's house in this feast, this time and this day, you walked into a feast and you saw those sitting there with glowing faces, smelling of fragrant oil, you knew they were close, beloved friends of the host of that feast.
[46:53] And the good shepherd says to those he brings through the valley, you are my friends. I have died for you. I rose again for you.
[47:06] I live eternally as fully man, fully God for you. I remain eternally with the evidence of my love for you in my body. I will lead you forever, look after you forever, love you forever.
[47:23] Because a good shepherd loves his people, dear brother or sister, because a good shepherd loves us, he anoints our head with oil. That sign that he calls us, not just calls us, that he regards us, but he holds us as his precious beloved friends.
[47:49] Guests of honour in his home. Dear Christian, and we'll see this with the Lord's help this evening, when we find ourselves as it were going, the final days, entering into this eternal feast, we find ourselves in glory, we're not there by accident, we're not there just sneaking in and no more, we are there as invited, loved, eternally loved, guests of honour.
[48:24] The good shepherd has called us, has led us, has looked after us, and now promises to be with us, to keep us, to feed us, to hold on to us.
[48:37] It's the final wee phrase here, my cup overflows, provision, just ongoing provision, eternal provision.
[48:55] We think, Lord, there's some days I can't serve you well, or some weeks, or some months, or some years, we say, Lord, I can't serve you well, I can't serve the brothers and sisters well, I'm failing as a witness, I'm failing as a sister, as a brother in Christ, I'm not doing well, and yet we see provision from the good shepherd, ongoing, overflowing provision, my cup overflows.
[49:26] We fall so short, we fail, we feel so small, we feel so weak, we feel so useless, physically, mentally, spiritually, he is able to keep us going, to provide for us again and again, without stop, without end, our cup overflows, because he is the one who is the gracious good shepherd, who becomes good host, who looks after his precious people.
[49:59] Despite the attacks of the enemy, despite the ongoing spiritual attacks we face as Christians, despite our own sin, there are some things and many things that Satan doesn't need to take credit for, we ourselves are quite able of messing things up enough ourselves spiritually, despite our own sin, our own backsliding, despite our own poorness spiritually, despite our own waywardness, despite how we might feel about things, how we see things, despite how we experience things, if we know and love the good shepherd, our cup overflows.
[50:38] Why? Because he's the one who's pouring the cup for us. He's the one who ensures our cup is overflowing. The cup is overflowing because of our efforts, because of our spiritual wellness.
[50:53] If it was, we'd have no cup, as few dregs on even a good day, but no, because he feeds us, because he looks after us, our cup overflows. We read, of course, in Isaiah 55, that famous chapter, that beautiful chapter, that is the call of God to all who will listen.
[51:16] Come. Who? Everyone who firsts. Everyone. There's no qualification given other than, are you hungry, are you thirsty, then come.
[51:31] As we come to the end of verse five, we have to acknowledge a sad reality, but it has to be said. All we said today is for the Christians here, for those who know and who love Jesus, that this feast is for them, this place with Jesus is for them, that this overflowing cup is for them, that they are anointed with the oil of friendship and love, that's all fine and well.
[52:05] Of course, the question remains, what about those who are not at this feast? Well, dear friends, you're still outside this banqueting hall.
[52:19] And you're outside, and you have no access to it. you don't get to experience the love and the joy and the peace of sitting at the table of Jesus.
[52:33] You aren't getting just now to experience the hope and the knowledge that he anoints your head with that oil of love and friendship. And you're saying, perhaps, I hope you're saying at least, perhaps I want to experience that.
[52:52] And the good news is that because you're here and because we're still here, because the Lord has not yet returned, the good news is that when we come to talk about this great banquet that Jesus gives, you say, well, how do we come into this great banquet?
[53:10] How do we become invited guests? What's the payment to join such an incredible experience?
[53:22] What's the requirements? We read the requirements in Isaiah chapter 55. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty?
[53:36] And I've said this before, and do you know what, I'll say it again. And the truth is, as long as I'm here, I'll probably keep saying it until my last term. What is the qualifications for coming to Jesus?
[53:49] What's the qualifications, as I were, for coming and taking part and sitting down at this banqueting table? Will you be rejected because you don't know your Bible well enough?
[54:02] Will you be rejected because you don't know about Jesus enough about who he is? Enough of the theology? Will you be rejected because you've tried for years and you don't quite believe enough yet?
[54:20] Will you be rejected because you've just done too many bad things in life? You've gone too far. You've ignored God for too long. What's the qualification for coming to the feast?
[54:37] What's the qualification for following the good shepherd? What's the qualification for being fed by the good shepherd? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? We saw last week, didn't we, in the morning, the excuses, week before it was, the excuses that some use, the excuses that people use why they don't come to Jesus.
[55:04] And these excuses often sound good. They might feel good and sound good but they mean nothing in the end. Are you hungry?
[55:16] Are you thirsty? Are you hungry in terms of saying there must be more to life? We live, we die, we're forgotten in 50 years if we're lucky, it'll last that long.
[55:33] Living in a cold, meaningless planet, flying through space for no apparent reason. Just cling on to this rock, living and dying and that's it.
[55:47] All for nothing. There must be something in life. If you have these big questions, then come to Jesus.
[56:00] If you're thirsty saying I know, I know I need something. I know I feel lost perhaps or I do believe in Jesus but I don't believe that he really wants me to come to him.
[56:15] You're adding qualifications that Jesus himself does not. Do not place yourself in a place of higher authority than him. He says come. The good shepherd says come, follow me.
[56:28] We saw that last week. He says come, follow me. Come to the feast. Come, eat and drink without money, without price, free of charge.
[56:40] Dear friends, as you perhaps spend one more day not coming to the good shepherd, there is nothing and no one keeping you back but yourself. And that is the sad gospel truth.
[56:55] When it comes to the final day, these excuses you use which sound so good, which perhaps feel so meaningful, you and I will know that truly they mean nothing at the end.
[57:09] As you think back to all the invitations you have had, including today, to come to the good shepherd, come and sit at this feast, come and dine with him.
[57:20] As he says to you once more, come, eat and drink with me. The offer is open, the offer is free, the conditions are clear.
[57:32] It is for those who think they need it and those who think they don't. It is for those who feel weak and who feel strong perhaps. It is for everyone.
[57:44] All who will hear and receive to them. He gave the right to become children of God. Dear friends, you have heard it before.
[57:57] As we come this evening to the end of looking at the good shepherd, please don't waste any more time. The good shepherd has done all the work for you. All you need to do is come.
[58:08] Cry out for forgiveness. Come to him crying out for that forgiveness that he would remove from you, the wrath which hangs over you. You can do nothing for yourself, but he can do it all.
[58:21] Come and find peace for your soul. Come and find rest in him for your soul. Come and join the brothers and sisters here at this feast, this table beside our good shepherd.
[58:36] Let's bow our heads now, a word of prayer. Lord God, we thank you, Lord, for the gift of your word. Thank you for the promises we find in it. Thank you today especially for the great glorious image you have given us in that psalm, that you are the good shepherd, but also the good host who feeds your precious people.
[59:01] Lord, help us, we ask as we spend time this afternoon thinking on your word, and that we understand that you invite all who will listen to come and to take part in that feast.
[59:14] Lord, you forgive anything that was said not in accordance to your word. We give you praise as always that the power is not in the jars of clay who stand here, Lord, the power is in you and in your living word as you work through it.
[59:28] We ask that even this day that some here would come and know what it is to follow, perhaps the first time, the good shepherd for themselves. We ask these things, asking once more, Lord, you'll be with our presenter daily.
[59:41] We thank you, Lord, for the gifts you've given those who lead us in sung worship as we sing your word to you. We give you praise for it. Let's call these things in and through Jesus' precious name's sake.
[59:55] Amen. We can conclude by singing to God's praise from Sing Psalms and Psalm 126. Sing Psalms, Psalm 126.
[60:10] That's on page 171 of the Blue Psalm books. Sing Psalms, Psalm 126. When Zion's fortunes God restored, it was a dream come through.
[60:23] Our mouths were then with laughter filled, our tongues with songs anew. Psalm 126, a whole psalm to God's praise. Amen. When Zion's fortune for grace was a dream come through.
[60:50] attaches, in pray, we'll custodian and an稱 what you are in want Спасибо and the Dinica pedal inющira.
[61:07] キノラの聖法の多く、日本人は弟子供にある自信 bak、ノ力でPeople,バーテンスマジオにお祈りしますお祈りしますお祈りしますお祈りします