[0:00] Well, let's turn once more this evening to Luke and the passage we read in chapter 22, from verse 47 down to verse 62.
[0:13] And as you can see, there are two events that are recorded for us there that run very closely together, so we're going to look at them together this evening.
[0:24] The first is the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, and the second is the denial by Peter of Jesus as he was challenged regarding his association with him.
[0:40] We've seen a number of times as we've gone through Luke how Jesus was very used to interruptions. And he is here also interrupted, as we read there at verse 47, while he was still speaking, there came a crowd and the man called Judas.
[0:58] As he was speaking to the disciples, having just emerged from the experience of Gethsemane and the agony that he himself went through in Gethsemane, just as he was then addressing the disciples afterwards, as you find there in verse 46, and giving them some advice and counsel regarding how they should watch and pray so that they enter not into temptation.
[1:23] While he was still speaking, this crowd came, led by Judas Iscariot, who drew near to Jesus to kiss him. And that itself, of course, is a point that we've seen, as we've seen these interruptions, as we've seen how little time Jesus had to himself, as we've seen the number of occasions where the crowd pressed on him, where he couldn't even find for a time to pray without being interrupted.
[1:55] It really does tell us very powerfully how the life of Jesus Christ in his ministry on earth was just crowded ceaselessly with troubles, with interruptions, with calls made upon him, on his time, on his power, on his powers of speech.
[2:17] And as you read that, it tells you such a lot about what Jesus committed himself to in order to save his people. He didn't just put himself out, he just gave himself to what Hebrews actually calls the contradiction of sinners against himself.
[2:39] And here is yet another example of that. Before he's even finished speaking, here's this crowd coming to arrest him, and the betrayer guiding them to him.
[2:52] So let's look at this betrayal, first of all, and the arrest of Jesus. We're not going to look at the personality of Judas Iscariot. We've already dealt with that in the early part of chapter 22, from verse 3 to verse 6.
[3:08] But he comes here to betray Jesus to the group here that have come from the authorities that sent them to actually bring him into custody. And very tellingly and very solemnly, Judas drew near to Jesus to kiss him.
[3:24] You know very well yourselves that a kiss is an outward sign of affection. Or it could be when you come to think of a king, and that you come to show your homage, your allegiance to a king.
[3:41] In times past, at least, it was the case that you showed your allegiance to a king by kissing his outstretched hand, showing that your allegiance was firmly to that monarch.
[3:52] And I think it's here better taking it as a sign of affection, rather than the one where the allegiance to a monarch is included, although that could also be included in it.
[4:04] In any case, it's ironic, isn't it, that Judas, by this, was giving a signal to those that he was here leading to Jesus.
[4:15] And this was Judas' way of showing this party that were with him who Jesus was, just to make sure that they didn't arrest the wrong man.
[4:28] Judas had made an arrangement with them, obviously, that whoever he kissed, whichever one of these people he kissed, that would be the one that they should arrest.
[4:41] It doesn't seem that he managed to complete his kiss of Jesus. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
[5:00] How telling it is that Jesus put it in these words. Because this great act of treachery and betrayal on the part of one of the twelve that Jesus had had with him during these years of ministry, how telling that Jesus should have to say this about him, that the very sign of deep affection is being used as a means of betrayal.
[5:26] It tells you, doesn't it, the falseness, the hypocrisy of Judas' heart, that he could go so far as to use this sign of affection, this kiss that is normally associated with the deepest affection and love, that he could use such a thing to actually betray the Savior, to betray this Master that he had been with all of these years.
[5:56] But that's what he did. And how ironic that he did. And Jesus left these words forever to be inscribed on that moment.
[6:08] Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Well, it's a question that you and I have to put to each other as well to ourselves.
[6:20] Would we betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Would we betray the Son of Man at all? There are ways in which, with a pretended allegiance to Christ, we are actually not serving him at all.
[6:39] We are playing into the hand of our enemies. And you can work that through yourselves in different ways that that's possible. We won't spend time on it, but let's beware in case we are actually imagining that we are in fact Christ when we're not.
[6:56] So, Jesus, when he had said this, one of those, and this was Peter we learned from John's Gospel, when he saw what was going to happen, he said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword?
[7:07] And one of them, this is Peter, one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. Well, you can tell he wasn't a very experienced guard, that he wasn't really much good as a bodyguard, because here he is taking his sword and swiping out at this servant of the high priest, and all he managed to do is cut off his ear.
[7:29] Not much use if you really put your life in the hands of someone like Peter, who doesn't know how to use a sword properly. But he jumped to the defense of Christ. And Jesus immediately said, No more of this.
[7:45] These words have a meaning that's just more than just Jesus saying, Stop this. What he's really saying is, essentially, is let them do what they've come to do.
[7:59] That's really built into the meaning of the words that Jesus uses here. He knows what the occasion is about. He knows why they're here. He knows that he must give himself into their hands.
[8:12] He knows that they must take him away for his trial. He's already forewarned and taught the disciples of what's going to happen to him. And this is the moment. This is the hour. This is the exact time.
[8:23] And Jesus knows that this is the exact time. What he's really saying is, No more of this. Just let things progress. Let these people do what they've come to do.
[8:34] This is how it has to be. And you see, from that, Luke is conveying to us, That even here, at this time of extremity, At this serious moment, When this crowd have come to arrest him, And when there is no other outcome, But that he will be taken with them, He's in charge.
[8:57] When Jesus is saying, No more of this. Let them just have their way. What he's saying is, I'm actually in control of this situation.
[9:09] I know what's happening. I know why it's happening. I must give myself into the hand of them. They don't have any power over Christ. Christ himself, you see, Is in charge of the situation.
[9:21] Christ himself is giving himself To be arrested by them. That's such a hugely important point to remember. Every single action of the Lord, Is by his own dynamic power.
[9:34] By his own authority. By the way that he himself acts, As the Lord. As the Son of God. As the Saviour, Who has come into the world, To do the will of the Father.
[9:45] Every single step of his journey, He dictates it. He dictates the time. He actually knows the circumstances. He lets himself be arrested.
[9:56] And when it comes even, To the laying down of his life, On the cross. When it comes to the moment of his death itself. It is he, Who dismisses his soul. Nobody can say, To this Jesus, Ah, but I got one over you.
[10:11] I actually arrested you. Judas cannot leave. This solemn sin. And say, That he actually managed, To outwit Christ. To deliver Christ.
[10:23] Yes, he betrayed him. But Christ gave himself, To the hands, Of Judas' accomplices. Remember that, When your life is so oppressed.
[10:36] Remember that, When you are in circumstances, That cause you difficulty, And trial, When you are under temptation. When all kinds of questions, Are crowding in upon your mind, As to what is happening in your life.
[10:49] Don't, Don't, Don't, For a single moment, Lose sight of the fact, That Christ is in control, Of the life of his people. That the powers, That meet you, As part of, Spiritual warfare, As a Christian, Don't have, Ultimate power, Over your life.
[11:07] They are not the ones, Controlling your life. However much damage, They are out to do, Remember your Lord, Remember your Lord, Is the master, Of every situation. That's not going to change, It didn't change here, And it's not going to change, In the circumstances, That meet every single one, Of God's believing people.
[11:31] And so Jesus, To show that, This in fact is not his way, The way that Peter is here, Trying to set up, Jesus healed, This servant's ear, That too, Is important, Because it fits in with, What Jesus is saying, About letting them, Just have their way, Knowing that this is how it must be, And incidentally, There is just in passing, A point to mention, And it's a very important point, In itself, And that is this, That we do not, Advance the kingdom, Of Christ, We do not, Advance the gospel, By violence, We do not, Advance the gospel, Even by, Forcing people's minds, That is not how, God works, That is not how, We ourselves, Would serve the Lord, Peter here, Is an example, Of trying to defend, As Lord, Of trying to,
[12:32] Advance, Christ, Caused by, The use of this, Means of, Of violence, God is, Really saying to us, Through this, That's not, My kingdom is advanced, This is not, Militant Islam, This is not, The kind of thing, That you find, When, Such religions, Try to, Advance their cause, By violent means, This is not, The Boko Haram, Crowd, In, In, Nigeria, Or any such, Group in the world, That are, Devastatingly, Ruthless, In trying to, Advance, What they themselves, Believe is right, Our savior, Is the prince of peace, We bring the truth, Before people's minds, We don't force them, Into a way of thinking, That they themselves, Are not willing to accept, That's damaging,
[13:34] That's not what the gospel, Is about, And, That's important, For us to remember, Because, While we ourselves, Would love to see people, Following the lord, Coming to commit, Their lives to christ, We can never do that, By, Forcing their minds, Our, Our catechisms, And these, Creeds, And statements, From long ago, Are brilliant summaries, Of, Of bible doctrine, Bible truth, And one of the things, That, We are reminded of, Is, When god, Effectually, Calls us, That's to say, When, When by the gospel, And by the holy spirit, We are, Brought to christ, And united to christ, In our effectual calling, One of the things, That that involves, One of the main things, Is that he, Renews, Our, Will, You don't come to christ, Unwillingly, You come to christ,
[14:35] Because god, Has renewed, Your will, And made you willing, Because the holy spirit, Comes to occupy, Comes to occupy, Your mind, And your heart, And comes to change, You from within, In such a way, That makes you willing, As the catechism, There puts it, And so, We are persuaded, And enabled, To embrace, Jesus christ, As he's offered, To us in the gospel, You don't come, Unwillingly, It's the very opposite, You throw your arms, Around this christ, Because the lord, By his spirit, Makes you willing, We don't, Force the issue, God wins, Our hearts, And then jesus, Says to them, Have you come out, Against, As against a robber, With swords, And clubs, He was really, Striking at their conscience, They had come out, During the night, Because they were afraid, Of the people, In verse one,
[15:36] And verse two, Of this chapter, They were seeking, How to put him to death, For they feared the people, They dared not do it, In broad daylight, They knew that, They'd be in trouble, With so many people, So they came, Under the cover of darkness, They came at this, Opportun moment, For them, And jesus is, Really picking up, That point, He's saying, Why didn't you come, And do this, In broad daylight, Why didn't you do it, When I was with you, Am I a robber, Am I the kind of person, That needs swords, And clubs, Is that the kind of person, You've seen me to be, Why is it you've come out, In the way you have against me, And then he comes, To this great statement, But this is your hour, And the power, Of darkness, And in that, He's referring to, Much more than, The natural darkness, Of the night,
[16:36] They've come, To him under the cloak, Of darkness, But what he is saying, To them is, Yes, This is your hour, And the power, Of darkness, From all eternity, This hour, Was set, In God's timetable, When his son, Would come, To be taken, Into the custody, Of these people, Leading up to his death, In this world, That's the hour, That's the critical moment, In Christ's diary, And it's here, It's arrived, He knows, What it's about, He knows, That's what this is about, He knows, That's why they've come, And he knows, That although, He is the son of God, Yet, He must, In fulfilling, The father's will, In fulfilling, And accomplishing, The work of redemption, He must go through, With this, He must give himself, To them, They must take him, Into custody, He must give himself,
[17:38] To their abuse, Physically, Mentally, He must give himself, To the wrongful, Accusations, Against him, He must give himself, To everything, Including the death, Of the cross, He cannot, But go through with it, That's how he came out, Of Gethsemane, This cup, The father, Had given him, That he had wrestled over, And prayed over, As John records it for us, The cup, Which my father, Has given me, To drink, Shall I not drink it, That's what he said, In response to, Peter's, Action with the sword, And now, He's really saying, To these people, Who have come, To take him into custody, This is your hour, I'm handing myself, Over to you, This is how it must be, And the power, Of darkness, It's not just human beings,
[18:40] That are in this event, This is a cosmic battle, This is a battle, That involves, The powers, Of the spirits, In the unseen world, This is a power, That has entered, Into Judas Iscariot, As you read there, In verse 3, Satan entered into, Judas called Iscariot, And when you come, To this arrest of Jesus, Jesus puts his finger, On the source, That is moving, Judas Iscariot, To actually lead the way, To Jesus, For his arrest, This is your hour, And the power, Of darkness, The power of darkness, Must for this moment, Have its way, With Jesus, He must actually, Give himself into, The hands of darkness, And the power, Of darkness, Satan must have, His way with him, To the extent, That he must suffer, The depths of suffering,
[19:42] That he must go through, For his people, It is their hour, And the power of darkness, Interestingly, When Paul wrote to, The Colossian, Christians, He used exactly, The same words, As Jesus here used, As he was being arrested, Colossians 1, And verse 13, Where Jesus, Where Paul is, Probably referring to, This incident, Where Jesus, Was arrested, In any case, He is using the same language, Because he is saying here, In giving thanks, To the father, This is really, What the passage is about, A great passage, Of giving thanks, To the father, Who has qualified you, To share, In the inheritance, Of the saints, In light, He has delivered, From the domain, The word is power, Or authority, The domain, The power of darkness, And transferred us, To the kingdom, Of his beloved son, In whom we have redemption,
[20:44] The forgiveness of sins, In order to deliver us, From the power of darkness, Jesus gave himself to it, He gave himself to it, So that he would overcome it, By the death, Which he died, And in overcoming it, By that death, And resurrection, He has pioneered the way, For our deliverance, From its power, This is not, A feeble Christ, This is not, Jesus running out of power, This is not, Jesus coming to the end, Of his resources, And being forced, To actually give himself, Into the hand of these people, Who have come to arrest him, This is Jesus, At the height of his power, This is Jesus, As powerful he as he ever was, Giving himself, Into the hand of these people, This is Jesus,
[21:44] With the power of his own mind, Stating categorically, That this hour, Is the hour, When the power of darkness, Must do its work, Because his purpose, Is to undo it, By giving himself to it, Tonight, Nothing should fill us, With thankfulness, More than this, When we sing, The likes of Psalm 30, That we sang earlier, Where the psalmist, Was expressing his thanks, To God, That he saved him, From going down, To the grave, To the pit, You saved my soul, From death, This is how he did it, Through the power of Christ, Overcoming the power of darkness, But by giving himself to it, First of all, To do so, How precious,
[22:44] How precious, Is Jesus, How precious is Christ, When you think of, The powers that are against you, When you think of, Satan's accusations, When you think of, The way that he tempts you, When you think of, All the other powers, That are against you, As you, As you actually, Serve Christ, In the world, How thankful you are, That Christ has been, Before you, At every step, Of the way, That he's been, Through everything there, So that he, Will accompany you, Through your experiences too, Remember the power of darkness, Is what you've been delivered from, As a Christian, However much you may feel, Its attacks, You don't feel its attacks, As if it was in control of your life, That's been taken away, That's been dealt with, That's in the hand of Christ, And there's a great, A great phrase there, In the same,
[23:45] Letter of Paul, To the Colossians, Where he talks about, Jesus having led, These principalities, And powers, As he calls them, There in chapter 2, Where he, Leads them, And has disarmed them, These authorities, Rulers and powers, And put them, To an open shame, By triumphing over them, Nailing that record, That was against us, To the cross, And he disarmed, The rulers, And authorities, These are the same, Spiritual powers, That were, Holding us, To ransom, And, Put them, To an open shame, By triumphing over them, The picture there, Is of a Roman general, Dragging back, Those that he's defeated, In battle, Dragging them back, To his home, He has chained them, To his chariot, He's pulling them, Behind him, They're being put, To an open shame, The procession, Through which he goes, On the way back, As he comes into,
[24:46] His native city, You can picture it there, The people are thronging, On each side of the road, They're seeing, These prisoners chained, Behind him, And they're able to say, Of this general, That he has conquered them, And, Here they are, And they are triumphing, As he is over them, That's a picture of Christ, Psalm 68, You find, That emphasized, In these memorable words, When he ascended, Up on high, He led, He led, Captivity captive, That's to say, He led the powers, That held us captive, He led them, As his captives, Why?
[25:33] So that God, The Lord, Would come, To dwell amongst us, That we would have, The Lord, In residence, In our lives, That we would be, His saved people, The place he calls home, How great is Jesus, How, Indescribably great, As he comes, To give himself, To the power, Of darkness, Well there's, The betrayal, And the arrest, And now we come, To the denial, Of Jesus, By Peter, And the first thing, That you remember, Is that Jesus gave him, And other disciples, Some very telling advice, Verses 40 and 46, Watch and pray, That you may not, Enter into temptation, Why are you sleeping?
[26:20] Rise and pray, That you may not, Enter into temptation, And when you come, To think of Peter, In this incident, You contrast him, With Jesus himself, There is Jesus, In Gethsemane, And he is praying, About this cup, That the father, Has given him, The sufferings, That he must suffer, The death, He must die, He's wrestling, With God, And setting out, Against the, The forces, That are trying, To get him, To just give away, That cup, And not to go through, With it, And he prevails, And he comes through, And he conquers them, And the contrast, Here with Peter, Why didn't he take, In the advice, Of his Lord, Because he was sleeping, Because he was sleeping, A sleepy soul, Is always a soul, In danger, A soul,
[27:21] That is spiritually, Drowsy, Whatever we are, Physically, Spiritually drowsy, Not really listening, To the voice, Of God, Not really taking in, What God is telling us, Through his word, That's a soul, In danger, That's a soul, That has started out, On a slippery slope, And maybe, Even been on it, For some time, But here is what, Jesus said to him, Why are you sleeping, Rise and pray, That you enter, Not into temptation, Peter wasn't listening, Peter was drowsy, Peter couldn't stay awake, And he paid the price, If you want to protect, Your life, And not be, Open and vulnerable, To Satan's attack, Watch and pray, Jesus is saying, Don't neglect, Your prayer, Don't neglect, Your praying, Don't neglect, Your being watchful, Don't neglect, Being on guard, Over your life, And accompanying that, With prayer to God, Every single day,
[28:23] That we live, We need to pray, We need to pray, Because we are, Vulnerable people, And Peter, Because he didn't do that, When he came to be challenged, He very quickly, Capitulated and gave in, Notice how it happened, The challenges that came, There were three specifically, First of all, A servant girl said, Looked at him closely, And said, This man was also with him, But he denied, It said, Woman I don't know him, I don't know him, How could he say that, I don't know him, A man for whom, The Lord, Had done so much, A man for whom, The Lord, Previously, Was someone, That he had, He had looked to, As the son of God,
[29:24] Who was to come, Into the world, A man that, Had confessed, This Jesus, As, The Christ, The son of the living God, A man, He says, I don't know him, See how quickly, We capitulate, When we're not protected, When we neglected prayer, When we've ceased, To be watchful, He capitulated, He gave in, It was just a young woman, A servant girl, And Peter just collapses, Into a pile of denials, You, Be careful, When you hear a voice, Say to him, Don't need to go, To the prayer meeting, Tonight, Or, I don't need to go, To church today, I can skip a morning, Or two, Or an evening, Or two, I don't really, Need,
[30:25] To be there, Absolutely, All the time, You and I, Needed more, Than we can appreciate, This is a man, Who paid the price, Of not, Being watchful, And prayerful, And, There was a period, Between each of these, Temptations, These, Challenges, In fact, One of them, We're reading there, Before the third one, Something like an hour, Had intervened, After an interval, But an hour, Still another, Insisted, Certainly this man, Was also with him, For he too, Is a Galilean, Now why is there, That reference, To these, Gaps between, The challenges, Well, Not just because, That's how it happened, Obviously it was, But Luke is telling us here, Something important, Peter had, Opportunity to think, About what he had done, The three challenges, Did not come, One after another, Very abruptly, Very quickly, There was a space, In between, God was giving him,
[31:25] A space, To think about, What he had said, To think about, What he had done, To reflect, Upon what he had done, And perhaps come, To repent of it, And to say, He was sorry, And to seek, The strength that he needed, And to begin to pray, When he had been so, Neglectful of it, Up to now, But he didn't do that, And you see, What is, What it's telling us, Is also this, Not only did he not, Do that, But because, He didn't do that, The next challenge, That came, Peter was even less, Ready than ever before, To meet it, And to stand, He gave him very easily, The first time, And the second time, It was almost, Inevitable, That he would do the same, The third time, Because he had just, Weakened himself further, By just, Not taking opportunity, To think, About what he had done, The previous two times, And do something about it,
[32:26] If your life is, Somewhat decayed, Spiritually tonight, Don't leave it, Don't let Satan, Actually say to you, It's alright, It'll work out, Everything will be alright, Just leave it, Just leave it alone, Don't bother, Don't be too, Taken up with it, Don't think too much, About it, Just leave it, And it'll work itself out, No, Deal with it now, Take it to the Lord, If there's something, To repent of, Repent of it now, If there's something, As we said this morning, Between you and the Lord, Do it now, Peter lost his opportunities, People didn't, Peter didn't use, His opportunities, Peter had the opportunities, But he failed, To take advantage of it, Learn from that, Don't let neglect, Fester away, In your soul, Because the next challenge,
[33:28] That comes, You're inevitably, Going to capitulate, All the more easily, To it, And you'll end up, Just giving in, All the time, Even to the least, Challenge that comes, Your way, Strengthen yourself, By prayer, And watchfulness, By remaining, Close to Christ, Don't let anyone, Interrupt, That relationship, Because that's, Where your strength, And my strength, Inevitably lies, Every denial, Weakens you, For the next challenge, Every unattended, Neglect, Actually makes it, More inevitable, That your next challenge, Will be one, That you give in to, As well, There's how he, Didn't actually, Heed the advice, And he didn't take advantage, Of the pauses, Between them, And then you read something, And we'll, Make this our final point, After this third denial,
[34:30] The Lord turned, Well the cock crew, The cock crowed there, As Jesus had predicted, And the Lord looked, Turned and looked, At Peter, There are a few, Sentences, In the Bible, More precious, Than that, Peter is in trouble, Peter is in a, Predicament, Of his own making, Peter has weakened, To spiritual resolve, And resistance, He is now just, Completely open, To further assaults, From his enemy, From the enemy, Of his soul, He has given in, These three times, He's in real danger, Of sliding away, Altogether, And the Lord, Turns, And looks, Directly, At him, And into him, Why?
[35:30] Not just, Accusingly, Although inevitably, That would have been, A note of accusation, In the eye, Of Jesus, As it caught, As he caught, Peter's eye, As he turned, And looked upon him, Luke is very deliberate, In the language, That he uses, The Lord, Turned, And looked at Peter, As he was being, Led away, By those who had come, To arrest him, He found this time, He made this time, He deliberately, Made this moment, A very important moment, In the life, Of his disciple, He turned, And he looked, At Peter, You know, It's almost as if, There was nobody else, In the whole world, At that moment, As a disciple, But Peter, Because the Lord's concern, Is that Peter, Will deal with, What's happened properly, That was a Luke, Full of, Disappointment,
[36:33] A Luke, That spoke truth, To him, A Luke, That grieved him, But it was above, Everything else, A Luke of love, A Luke of love, Reaching out, To a disciple, Who had lost his way, And a love, That will not let him go, Is determined, To put it right, That's going to hurt him, It's going to cause some pain, Jesus, Jesus is just like, A physician, A doctor, A surgeon, Consultant, Coming to reset, A dislocated joint, It hurts, But it needs to hurt, Before it's fixed, Or putting his finger, On something, That's really a serious, Sore, Or something, That's in your body,
[37:35] That is really hurting, And when you press it, The pain is sometimes, Almost unbearable, But in order to assess it properly, To find out, What's really going on there, The consultant, The doctor, Need to press it, With his thumb, With his finger, Whatever it is, And that really hurts, That's what the Lord, Is doing, Spiritually, To Peter, With his Luke, He's really pressing, This really sore point, In Peter's person, In his soul, The Lord's Luke, Is just, Hitting him, In the most painful way, But his purpose, Is healing, Peter went out, And wept bitterly, One might say, That although Peter, Did great things, After this, After being restored,
[38:36] By Jesus, And the things you read about, In the Acts of the Apostles, Where his leadership, Of the church, Is so dynamic, One might still say, That this was Peter's, Finest hour, The moment, That he realized, How much he needed Christ, And how much he meant, To Christ, That's what it meant, For Peter, The Lord, With that look, Brought it home to him, Have you felt it yourself, Have you felt in your soul, The Lord looking in on your life, Through this word of Christ, Through this word, Preached to you through this word, As you read it for yourself, Have you been, On any occasion yet, In a situation,
[39:37] Where you knew, That the Lord was looking in, On your fault, And really pressing his finger, On that sore point, So as to bring you, To weep, To cry out the sin, That was in your life, There's something wrong with us, If we've never wept a tear, Over sin, We've never felt, The Lord's healing touch, Unless we felt, Firstly, Something of the touch, That causes us pain, Be thankful, Be thankful tonight, That this is who Jesus is, That this is what Jesus is like, That even for a disciple, Who has denied him three times, And done all of this, And left himself so open, To further attack, The Lord turns,
[40:40] And looks upon him, Be thankful tonight, That that Lord, Is your Lord, And if he's not yet you Lord, Doesn't everything, We've thought about tonight, Cry out to you, In a way that says, Will you not have this man, To rule over you?
[41:06] Let's pray, Our gracious God, And saviour, We cast ourselves, Before you this evening, As one who knows, All about us, And as one who knows us, Not only in a way that, From your own perfect knowledge, Is aware of everything, In our lives, But your knowledge, Of your people, Is one that, Has come to, Enter into their situation, With them, To assure them, O Lord, That you are, By their side, That you will never leave them, Or forsake them, That your love, Is a rescuing love, A love that hurts, In order to heal, A love that will continue, To guide your people, Homewards, Lord, We pray that you would make us, To be receivers, Of that love, Gladly, Enable us, Day by day, To look to you,
[42:07] And to be like, The psalmist, Who thanked you, As we have been singing, O thou my soul, Bless God the Lord, And all that in me is, Be stirred up, His holy name, To magnify, And bless, We pray that your blessing, We pray that your blessing, That your spirit, Will seal it to our hearts, That you would be with, The team this evening, As they now meet shortly, With those who will be, Helping them, During the week, Be with them Lord, And guide, And teach them, In your own way, We pray for Jesus' sake, Amen, Thank you, Thank you,