[0:00] this morning and we pray that we might all know God's blessing. Special welcome to any who are visiting with us and also to those who are joining with us online. The first thing I have to do is to read this edict in connection with the call to the Reverend Callum Murdoch Smith and this has to be read this morning and tonight as well. In name and by appointment of the free presbytery of the Western Isles, I hereby intimate that in consequence of an application from this congregation, the said presbytery have agreed to meet at Stornway Free Church on Wednesday 20th April at 7pm for the purpose of moderating in a closed call to Reverend Callum Murdoch Smith to be the assistant minister of this congregation. Reverend Callum MacLeod will preach and preside. Now you should have the bulletin so just take your time going through it. Of course as you know the school, because of the school holidays, the Sunday school is closed and starts again on the 24th of April.
[1:06] Deacon's Court meeting tomorrow evening by Zoom and then you have a list of the meetings throughout the week and again if we could maybe highlight with regard to the call to the Reverend Callum Murdoch who just read the edict. But it is important that as many people as possible could attend in person on Wednesday to Wednesday the 20th to sign the call so that the presbytery can ascertain the level of support for the calling of Mr. Smith. And then it says, if you are unable to be present you can sign a form known as a mandate authorising one of the elders to add your name to the call. Separate mandate forms are used for communicant members and for regular hearers who are not communicants. For all who are housebound or just not likely to attend the meeting, your district elder will contact you and encourage for you to sign the relevant mandate form.
[2:06] Please contact your district elder if you wish to sign a mandate form or are unsure about any of these matters. And the deadline for completing the mandates is Friday, 15th, that's this Friday.
[2:22] So take your time reading through all the items in the bulletin. We'll begin our worship singing to God's praise from Psalm 1A. Psalm 1A. And sing psalms.
[2:40] Psalm 1A. Sing the whole psalm. Blessed is the one who turns away from where the wicked walk, who does not stand in sinish paths or sit with those who mock. Instead he finds God's holy law, his joy and great delight.
[3:02] He makes the precept of the Lord his study day and night. He prospers ever like a tree that's planted by a stream. And in due season yields its fruit, its leaves are always green.
[3:16] Not so the wicked. They are like the chaff that's blown away. They will not stand when judgment comes or with a righteous stay. It is the Lord who sees and knows the way the righteous go.
[3:28] But those who live an evil life, the Lord will overthrow. Psalm 1A. The whole psalm. Blessed is the one who turns away. Amen. Blessed is the one who turns away.
[3:49] Blessed is the one who insights 보지거나. generating números and eternal victory.
[4:12] Blessed is of course Ta Sekad evasり. They are notetas ни atặng withños in the water. His joy and great delight.
[4:25] He makes the peace of the Lord. His star he gave and died.
[4:39] He was forever like a king. He was planted by a seed.
[4:54] And then you see some hills and strut. His things are always green.
[5:09] Not so the wicked lay our mind. The child that's gone away.
[5:22] He will not stand when judgment comes. Or with the righteous day.
[5:36] It is the Lord who seeks and knows. The way the righteous goes.
[5:50] But those who live an evil life. The Lord will overthrow.
[6:04] O Lord as we bow before you today. We pray that we may indeed be made wise by the words that we sing.
[6:17] We give thanks for your word. That it is a word that makes wise for salvation. It's a word that sheds a light on our path. It's a word that encourages in the way that we should go.
[6:31] And that helps us to understand really why we're here. So many people are grappling with just even these big questions. What's the purpose of my existence?
[6:43] Why am I here? But you have shown us in your word that it's very clear that we are here for your glory's sake. And that it is our great purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
[6:58] And it's only as we come into your word that we're able to understand that. And you have made this possible for us in and through your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks, O Lord, that you've shown us a way of salvation.
[7:11] Because otherwise we couldn't work it out ourselves. We give thanks, O Lord, for the fact that you are the great, majestic, glorious God. The God whose knowledge is beyond our understanding.
[7:24] The God whose ways are beyond our understanding. Because I'm sure every single one of us here at some point or another, we have to say that we're confused and baffled by the providence of God.
[7:38] Sometimes we would say it doesn't make sense to us. And yet help us to have the faith to look beyond this. And to know that you know even when we don't.
[7:50] And that there is a purpose behind everything. We're told that there is a purpose in everything under heaven. And we give thanks, Lord, that you are able to turn the things which are so bad and painful.
[8:03] And the things which are so disappointing and hurtful. And that you're able to bring good out of it. Not that there's good sometimes. Often there's no good in and of itself.
[8:14] In what the experience is that we may go through. But, Lord, you're able afterwards to bring something out of it. And so we pray that we may indeed realize that you work in ways that are mysterious.
[8:30] And grant us the faith to see it. I'm sure that many, when they looked on Jesus on the cross, they saw that as the end of everything they had hoped in and believed in. And yet his very death was to lead on to the resurrection.
[8:44] It was to lead on into the breaking forth of the massive movement of the Christian faith. And so we pray that we may see from these things the way, the mysterious way that so often you work.
[8:59] We pray that you'll bless us all here today. We all need you. We're all here with our own variety of needs. Sometimes these needs are physical. Sometimes they're mental. Sometimes they're spiritual.
[9:10] Sometimes they're a collection of all. Sometimes they're emotional. And we pray in all the different situations that people go through with regard to relationship, with regard to work.
[9:23] Pray for those maybe who have lost work or can't find work just now. We pray, Lord, that you'll open doors for them. We pray especially for our young people in a very challenging time.
[9:35] Not so long ago it seemed a time where there were so many opportunities. Yet everything has changed. We live in a world that is forever changing. And often we cannot keep up with the change that is taking place.
[9:50] And there is such a degree of uncertainty about everything and with everything just now. It's a hard time. So we pray especially for our young people that you will be with them. And that you will grant them a peace in their mind.
[10:02] There's so many people filled with anxiety and uncertainty. And we pray that into all of this that your peace will come. And that you'll grant a sense of your sovereign control even in what looks to be out of control.
[10:19] Lord, we pray for every age group. For all the different age groups in life. And we ask, Lord, that you'll be with them. Be with the elderly and those who no longer have the ability to get around and about.
[10:33] And who are maybe housebound. We pray for them. And we give thanks, Lord, for all the care. We give thanks for our care homes and the caring in our communities.
[10:44] And we are so privileged to have these blessings. And we pray for our elderly. And we ask, Lord, that you will be with them. Prepare them for the great change that will take place, I say, near the end of life.
[11:00] We remember those who have experienced sorrow and pain through bereavement and loss. Death is never far away. It hits our homes.
[11:10] It hits our families. It hits our communities. Pray for the family of the Lady and Campbell funeral we've had this weekend. We pray for Amanda and all the family.
[11:21] Lord, we commit them to your care and keeping. And ask that you will bind up their broken hearts and that you will help them to be able to deal with the empty place and the silent voice.
[11:34] Oh, Lord, our God, we realize that death is a great enemy. We pray for the family of D.R. McLeod. And we pray for Maggie and all the family just now as they mourn his passing.
[11:47] And we pray for all families just now who are mourning the loss of loved ones. We ask, Lord, for those who are ill. We again remember Duncan McLean and Danny MacArthur.
[11:58] And there are many, Lord, that we know are laid aside. We pray that your gracious hand will be upon them, that you'll draw close to them and reveal yourself to them. Oh, Lord, we pray that you will bless us as a nation.
[12:12] Bless us, Lord, in all our leadership, whether it be in Westminster or in Holyrood or here locally in the council. Grant wisdom and guidance to our leaders.
[12:23] Oh, Lord, we pray that you will instill something of your wisdom and grace into their hearts to lead in the right way. Lord, we remember the situation in Ukraine and the horrors that are unfolding before us.
[12:36] And there are no words to describe some of what we hear and what we see. And probably we've only seen a fraction of what has actually taken place. Oh, Lord, we pray that you will bring peace and that you will halt the oppressor.
[12:53] Where we see evil at work. And where we see nations that do not know the truth. Where the truth is hidden from them. Lord, we pray for nations that are suffering real oppression.
[13:08] And we pray for your people there. We pray for the church in Ukraine. And we pray for the church in Russia as well. Because we know that there are many in Russia who do know the truth.
[13:19] And many indeed who have protested against what is happening. Oh, Lord, our God, we pray that into this world where there is so much unsettledness.
[13:30] And where there is so much conflict. We pray for the Yemen. Lord, we pray for your people throughout this world. Particularly in the dark areas. Your word tells us that there is cruelty in the dark places of the earth.
[13:44] Oh, Lord, we pray that the light of your gospel will shine into places and into people's hearts. Do us good then, we pray, and cleanse us from our sin. In Jesus' name we ask it.
[13:55] Amen. I was going to say a wee word to the young folk. There's no Sunday school just now. But there's some young folk out today. And I may have mentioned this, but I was just reflecting on it yesterday.
[14:14] Many years ago, I think Norman would probably just have been about five. And maybe what, but maybe he would be about seven. We were on holiday in Scalpy at the time. We were in doubt fishing with our granduncle, Donald.
[14:29] And after going out for a wee bit, we all had lines. We let down the lines with half a dozen hooks on the lines. And it was great because there was quite a lot of mackerel to be caught.
[14:40] There was saith and mackerel. And of course, as you know, the mackerel gave a big kick. And sometimes, Maria and Norman were struggling with the lines because there would be half a dozen mackerel on them.
[14:52] And then all of a sudden, Norman gave out this shout and he said, help. And there were two or three mackerel, but there was a huge lice on the end, on the last line.
[15:03] So when we were pulling it in, he was screaming, it's a salmon, it's a salmon. No, I said, it's not a salmon, I'm afraid. It's a lice. And Marie caught a lice. It was great fishing.
[15:14] Marie caught a lice as well. And she gave it to her grandant because I remember when we went, she said, I'll get you a fish. I'll get you a good fish. So she gave the fish to the grandant.
[15:24] But what I'm coming to is this. And I'll have to stress that he doesn't do this now. But he was telling everybody, Norman was telling everybody about the fish that he got.
[15:37] And that fish, every time he told, grew. So that first it was this size. And then, of course, it was this size. And I saw him out in the garden.
[15:47] There were another couple of young people. And I saw his hands out like that. But so when he came in, I said, were you telling them about the fish? Oh, yes. And I thought, so often in life, we do that sort of thing where we sort of exaggerate just to make it a little better.
[16:04] We like to make the story. We maybe add a little on just to make the story a little more exciting. Or what we would think would add a little bit of shine to the story.
[16:16] But, you know, there's one story that we don't ever, ever need to exaggerate in any shape or form. And that is a great gospel story.
[16:27] Because we couldn't add anything to it. It is perfect. What Jesus did when he came into this world to die for us in our place.
[16:40] And to take our sin upon himself. And to give us forgiveness and peace with God. And give us a sense of God's love. And God's purpose in our heart.
[16:53] You know, that's the greatest thing that could ever be done in the world. And we can't make that story any better. It's the greatest story in the world.
[17:04] So we can't exaggerate it. Can't make it any bigger than it is. And Jesus tells us that if we believe in him. Then that he will take us home to heaven with himself.
[17:16] And that is beyond our understanding. We couldn't even begin. We can't exaggerate about heaven. Because it is so extraordinary that it is beyond our understanding.
[17:31] In fact, the Bible kind of says, I hasn't seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for his people. It is so incredible that it is beyond our senses.
[17:44] It's beyond our mind. Beyond our understanding. So let us give thanks to God for what he has done for us. And let us remember that this is what we have here in the gospel.
[17:58] We don't need to add anything to it. We can't make it any better than it is. It's the most wonderful, wonderful story. The most wonderful gift the world has ever known.
[18:11] Let's say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[18:22] Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
[18:34] For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen. We're going to read God's word now in the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 1.
[18:47] Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1. Revelation 1.
[19:01] Last book in the Bible. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.
[19:11] He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
[19:24] Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. And blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John, to the seven churches at Aranasia.
[19:38] Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings on earth.
[19:54] Amen. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. And made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
[20:07] Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds. And every eye will see him. Even those who pushed him and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
[20:20] Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
[20:32] I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
[20:45] I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, Write what you have seen in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
[21:07] Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash round his chest.
[21:25] The hairs on his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace.
[21:38] And his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. And his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
[21:53] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one.
[22:04] I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and haze. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
[22:17] As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
[22:33] Amen. And may God bless to us this reading of his own holy word. We're going to sing again from Psalm 96. Again, let's sing Psalms. Psalm 96. We're going to sing verses 1 to 9.
[22:45] Psalm 96. And sing Psalms. That's on page 1 to 6. We sing verses 1 to 9. Oh, sing a new song to the Lord.
[23:00] Sing praises to his name. And his salvation day by day let all the earth proclaim. His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare.
[23:11] How great and awesome is the Lord, with whom no gods compare. For other gods are wood and stone. The Lord made heaven's height.
[23:22] All power and majesty are his. He dwells in glorious light. All nations to the Lord ascribe the glory that is due. Glory and strength ascribe to God and praise his name anew.
[23:36] Enter his courts with joy and bring an offering with you. Worship the Lord in holy fear. All earth before him bow. Psalm 96. 1 to 9.
[23:46] From Sing Psalms. So sing a new song to the Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[23:57] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[24:09] Amen. Amen.
[24:37] Amen. Every land declare Our great and awesome is the Lord Within no gods compare For other rocks and wood and stone The Lord made heaven's pride Of power and majesty are his He dwells in glorious light All nations do
[25:40] The Lord has pride The glory that is due Glory and strength Has tried to walk And praise his name And you Encouraged his course With joy and bring And offering with you Worship the Lord In holy field All earth before him
[26:41] Let's turn now to the chapter we read in Revelation chapter 1 And reading again at verse 7 Behold he is coming with the clouds And every eye will see him Even those who pushed him And all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him Even so Amen The book of Revelation is quite an extraordinary book It's full of great visual imagery In many ways things terrible and great Sometimes when you read it You're left completely baffled by it Because of all the imagery that's in it But it's a very powerful book
[27:42] Because it shows us That God is actually in control of everything That's one of the great features that comes through From this book as you read it and study it Is that you see the control of God Over all the nations Over all history Over all events And that God is actually working everything To a predetermined end And that's something we mustn't lose sight of It's quite an extraordinary thing To lay hold upon And I suppose one of the great questions We have to ask Because this book The book of Revelation Deals a lot with the future And people often have a fascination With the future I suppose they have a fascination With the good things of the future We obviously wouldn't want to know If we wanted to know what the future held And it was full of bad things We wouldn't want to know it But there is a kind of a fascination With people with regard to What is the future?
[28:43] What does the future hold? For me But I would turn it this way And say it's very important To find out where you stand With regard to Jesus Christ Because as we read this book He is at the very centre of it It is a book about Christ The book of Revelation And it is so important That we are with Jesus Because when you read through the book The blessings That come to those who are with Jesus Are great Whereas if we are out of Jesus It is not too good And that is why it is so important That we examine Where we stand even right now Is our future As we journey on in life Is our future rooted in Jesus?
[29:32] And it will only be rooted in Jesus If we are with Jesus right now In the present And there is always an opportunity Wherever we gather together like this To ask Jesus to be Lord And to be King King of our lives Because that is absolute key To life as it were itself Now this word revelation Means very simply An unveiling To take the veil away And that is what the Lord has done Where the veil is opened somewhat And we are given little insights Little glimpses And the book of Revelation While it deals with the future It also deals with history There is a merging Of things that have been With a merging of things That are yet to be And so as we read this book As I said It gives us great comfort To know that God Is in absolute control of everything
[30:32] Now the person who was given This revelation of course Was the Apostle John And we know that John Was a great favourite of Jesus Remember that Jesus had 12 disciples And there was an inner three Of Peter, James and John And of that three John seemed to Be Jesus' favourite Because it tells us It's John himself Who talks about it He talks about the disciple Whom Jesus loved Of course Jesus loved All the disciples But it would appear That Jesus and John Had a closer relationship Than any of the others And we often think of John As the disciple of love But he wasn't always Because the young John He both himself And James Were termed The sons of thunder And that was probably A quite an apt description Of the kind of people That they were It would appear to me
[31:32] That the like of John Was quite a Quite a volatile character Maybe quite an angry man And we have a description An example of John When he asked Jesus If he would call down fire On the Samaritans In the same way as Elijah had called down fire And Jesus rebuked John And he said You don't know what you're asking So we see that Here's this man This disciple The apostle of love That early on He was quite happy That a group of Samaritans Would be consumed by fire And again John would have been One of the disciples Who tried to chase The women away Who came with The little children The babies And of course Jesus again Rebuked the disciples So John wasn't always This great man of love That he later became But as you read through
[32:33] The Bible And as you come to John's letters First, second, third John We find there that These letters Are full of love Of God's love to us And our love to and for God And our love for one another And how key to life Love is Very different To the early John And that's how it should be In the Christian life Because the Christian Is somebody who should be Developing And maturing And we shouldn't remain Exactly the same As we always were There will always be I suppose Flashes of the old Will manifest itself But there should be A greater movement Towards a resemblance Of Jesus Christ It's the same with Peter Peter was the impetuous Peter He's always in a rush He would always speak Before he actually thought Of what he should say Used to get us Sometimes in trouble Sometimes great things
[33:34] Came out of his mouth But sometimes Wrong things came out And yet when you come To read Peter's writings Later on He seems to be Almost There's an incredible Patience in his life Where he's extolling The virtues of being Patient Under trial And under suffering So different To the earlier Peter And so it should be In our case as well That we should be Developing And maturing As we go on Often we don't see it Sometimes we see it The very reverse As we look at our own lives We sometimes think You know I think I was more patient I think I was more loving I think I had more faith And all these things But that's Very often how it is As we go on In the Christian life That As we see more As we get more light We see more of Really what's inside
[34:34] Ourselves And the more we see Of what's actually With inside ourselves The worse often It is And so We find here That Jesus Has given The Lord has given These This great Revelation to John Where there's this Unveiling And it's interesting In the Bible How often you will find That those who walk Closest to the Lord Are given the greatest Insight And given the greatest Revelation You have for instance The life of Enoch Way back One of the first Enoch we're told Walked with God In other words His life Was a life of Communion with God He really Made it The goal of his life To walk closely With God And remember What it tells us He was not For God Took him One day God just took him Enoch never died God just took him Straight To heaven So here is
[35:36] Somebody who Walked with God Again we find Noah Noah In his generation We're told Was a man Who found Grace In the eyes Of the Lord Noah was a Really Really Close Walking Believer With the Lord And of course We know How God Delivered Noah In the flood Again we find The like of Abraham Abraham was Termed the Friend of God Because again Abraham walked Very closely With God And we find That God Gave him Great revelation Of the future And in fact From Abraham He became The father Of the Jewish race And God Said that Through him The nations All the nations Of the world Would be blessed Which of course Was talking About the coming Of the Lord Jesus Christ Moses was Another man Of God He walked Closely With God Moses was Given insights Into the glory Of God That probably
[36:37] Possibly nobody Else Or very Very Very few Were ever Given to see Remember how When Moses Came back Down from The mountain His face Shone So brightly From having Been in the Presence of God For 40 days That the Israelites Couldn't look on him He had to put A veil over his face Because he was Shining so brightly From having been In the presence Of the Lord You think of Elijah Elijah was another Man who Walked so close To God And God gave Elijah great Insights And great Revelation And again Honored Elijah Just like Enoch By taking him Straight to glory Without going Through death Again Daniel Daniel was a man We're told Was beloved Of God And what did God do for Daniel Well he gave Him great Honour But he also Gave him Great revelation And in fact There's no other Book in the Bible so closely Ressembling the
[37:37] Book of Revelation As the book Of Daniel And there's a Lot of things Actually tie in Together As God gave Daniel Great revelations Regarding The future And there is No doubt Whatever That the Closer That you Walk With God The more Light You will Get The clearer Your vision Will be Of the Lord The more That you Will see Him And then We find Here that This verse Speaks very Much about The return Of the Lord Jesus Christ And of course The return Of Jesus Christ is at The very Heart of Everything Even the Lord's Supper You know In the Lord's Supper We remember The death Of Jesus But we Always do So in The light Of his Coming Again Because it Says when We have The When we Eat this Bread And drink This wine You show For the Lord's Death Till he Come Because he's
[38:38] Coming Again So part Of what We're Doing At the Supper Is not Only Reminding Ourselves Of what Jesus Has done But of What Jesus Is yet Going to Do And he's Going to Return Again And so This verse Begins Very simply By saying Behold Or look It's a word That we often Find in The bible And the Lord is Saying here Look Look Closely Not a Passing Glance But really Study Look at This This is Something That is Going to Happen And It's One of The things That we Really have To lay Hold upon Is the Fact that Jesus Is coming Again And one Of the Things Or one Of the Reasons Why so Often We Maybe don't Think so Much about It Is because Of the Delay In his Coming You know When there's A long Delay In something Happening
[39:38] Initially When you're Told something Is going To happen You're All kind Of Fired Up And keyed Up And you're All kind Of On Almost like A high Alert Ready For But then When Whenever Whatever It is There's a Delay We We sort We lose We lose That edge And we Become Maybe More Complacent And we Lose The urgency We lose The edge And we Just Sometimes Maybe even Forget about It And that is Certainly True with Regard To the Coming Again Of the Lord Jesus Christ Because I Know that There will be Many times As a Christian You will Think about It but There's Many times Probably we Don't You know Back in the Early church For instance In the church In Thessalonica They were So convinced Of the Return of Jesus Any day That some Of them Had stopped Working And they Said you Know Jesus Is coming He's probably Going to Come today And the Next day They'd say Oh I Believe he's Going to Come today And so They said There's no Point in Us working
[40:38] They had Given up Paul told Them no No Keep working Until he Comes We don't Know when He's Coming So It's There's This idea Now There's been Various Periods Within the Church Back in the Late 1800s Or the Times When like For instance The Boner Brothers Horatio Andrew Boner They lived The church For a Period They lived Very much In the Light of The return Of the Lord Jesus Christ And it's Good that We should We should Have our Focus There Because one Day He is Of course Going to Come But the Delay of Caution is Coming Can make People very Cynical And many People Dismiss It And in Fact Peter Talks About that He says In the Last days There will Be mockers Saying where Is the Return of Jesus And they'll Say they Dismiss all These things Where is the Promise of His coming Well the
[41:38] Thing is he Is coming Again And one Day he's Just going To return All of a Sudden Because that's What the Bible tells Us It's going To be a Sudden Return And it's a Question you And I have To ask Ourselves How will It be If Jesus Returns Today Jesus Returns Tonight Am I Ready To meet With him Well if You're not Thank the Lord that You've been Spared To be Ready So he Gives you This Opportunity Again To get Ready To meet With Himself Because he Is as we Say he's Coming Again And it Says behold He is Coming And the Language actually Speaks of an Event that Has already Started So that Everything that Is happening In this World is a Build up To the Return of The Lord Jesus All that's Happening just Now You know
[42:39] Sometimes we Look at this World and We just look And we say My word We're living In a World of Chaos A world Of incredible Uncertainty We just Don't know What's Happening Our world In the last Three years Has really Turned upside Down And in Some ways We think Maybe it'll Never be Quite the Same as It was Pre-COVID But between COVID and The war in Ukraine and All these Things we're Seeing an Ever-changing World and There's all Kinds of Things and There's all Financial pressures Have started to Bear down on us And all kinds Of things And we're Saying what's Going on But you know Over and above All this All the events That are taking Place is all Part of the The fulfillment The climactic Event which Is going to be The return of The Lord Jesus Christ And you know There has to be A return of Jesus Jesus
[43:39] Because one Of the Things that Jesus is Going to Do is He's going To set Up a Judgment And there Has to Be The world Cries out For judgment Because there Are so many Issues to be Addressed When you Look at All the Injustices That have Taken place In this World That are Taking place Right now When you Think of All that is Wrong In this World It cannot Go Just And Ignored And the Fact that God Maybe isn't Intervening Just now Doesn't mean That he's Not taking Note But one Day There is To be A judgment Of all And it's A solemn Thought But that's That is What is Going to Happen And then We see The manner Of his Coming It tells Us Behold He is Coming With the Clouds And it's Going to Be very Obvious That Jesus Is coming This time Is going
[44:39] To be Very Very Different To his Coming Last time Because when He came Last time It's as if He just Slipped in His glory Was veiled And he came As a babe Of Bethlehem And very Few Understood Or grasped Actually who He was This time It couldn't Be more Different Because he Is not Coming as A suffering Servant But he Is coming As the Sovereign Lord And king Of kings And he's Coming in The clouds Of heaven And of course The clouds Of heaven Are his Chariot And the Clouds Of heaven Are always Symbolic It's always Symbolic Of the glory And presence Of God Any time Or very Often when There's a Manifestation Of God There is A Company Of clouds You have It at Sinai And the Giving Of the law Remember When Israel Journeyed Through the Promised Land And they Were going Through the Desert There was The pillar Of cloud By day
[45:40] And the Pillar Of fire By night A pillar Of protection And a Pillar To guide Them When the Temple When the Temple was Dedicated And Solomon Dedicated Remember You read About it There The amazing Dedication Of the Temple It then Tells us That the Temple Filled With clouds With the Weight The presence Of the Glory of God The Mount Of transfiguration Remember Again They were Enveloped In the Cloud Which again Speaks of The Manifestation And the Presence And the Glory of God And so In the End times Jesus Himself Said You will See the Son of Man Coming In a Cloud With power And great Glory So the Clouds Really are His chariot And as we Say it's Going to be So different To when He came Before Because it's Going to be Sudden It'll be Just like Lightning That's Again what Jesus Tells us Very simply That it's
[46:40] Going to Take people By surprise Jesus Tells us When they Ask him You know When What's It's Going to Be like Well he Said it's Going to Be like The days Of Noah And the Flood And what Happened There Well he Said they Were eating And they Were drinking And they Were Marrying And given In marriage And what Did that Mean It meant It Couldn't Be more Normal It's the Everyday Things Things That happen All the Time There was Nothing Unusual About the Day When the Flood Started It was A normal Day And Jesus Is saying It's going To be Just like That When I Return It will Be a Day of Normality People Won't get Up in The morning If it's Up in The morning And say Oh look It's Death and Death This is Going To be The day All of A sudden He's Going To Return That's What he Keeps Saying And that's Why he Keeps Saying Jesus Said it Often In his Time Here Watch For you Do not Know In what A day Nor an hour The son Of man Will return
[47:40] You know It's a It's a Secret in Heaven Because not Even the Angels Know Jesus Said That Even The angels Don't Know When the Son of Man Is going To Return But it Is an Event That is Going To Happen So We're Told To Be Prepared For it And he Says Behold He is Coming With The Clouds And Every Eye Will See Him We read About Things That Have A Global Significance Well This Is Going To Be The Ultimate Global Significance That's Going To Affect Every Single Passion Because Every Eye Is Going To See Him Everybody Will See Him Every Eye Will See Him Even Those Who And all The tribes Of the Earth Will Will Wail On Account Of Him Now When It Says Here That It Says Those Who Pushed Him We Know That When Only One Soldier Actually Pushed The Side Of Christ But In A Sense The Pushing Of Christ Was Symbolic
[48:41] Of What Israel Did To Jesus Remember What It Tells Us He Came To His Own And His Own Received Him Not And Those Who Should Have Known Best Or Responsible For Putting Him To Death But It Also Talks About All The Tribes Of The Earth And What's Going To Happen On That Day It's Really Quite An Extraordinary Thing Is That At That Moment Everybody Will Be Utterly And Altogether Convinced Of The Reality Of Jesus Christ There Won't Be One Sceptic Or Atheist Or Agnostic Or Humanist Or Doubter At That Moment Everybody Will See Everybody Is Going To Acknowledge That Jesus Christ Is Lord And That Is To The Glory Of God The Father There's Never Going To Have Been An Event Ever In The Like Of It And So That's Why Jesus Keeps Telling Us In The Bible You Know You Got To Get Ready For This Event It's
[49:41] Going To Happen And You Know When You Go Through The Book Of Revelation And You Come To The End Of The Book It's Beautiful The Way That The Book Finishes Because It Tells Probably One Of The Great Invitations In The Bible Where We're Told The Spirit And The Bride Say Come And I Tell That Heareth Say Come There's An Invitation In Revelation 22 Verse 17 Read It Your Shales Where The Most Beautiful Invitation Given To Each And Every One In Light Of The Coming Of Jesus And The Book Of Revelation Finishes Saying That He Comes That He's Going To Come Quickly He's Going To Come Very Very Soon That's What It Says At The Very End Of The Book He Who Testifies To These Things Says Surely I Am Coming Soon And The Church Says Come Lord Jesus Jesus
[50:42] Is Saying To Us Today I'm Coming Soon And You Know In A Sense When We Look At The World We're Living In Have You Said I'm Sure You Have It Can't Go On Like This The Way Things Are Going We Sometimes Say That You Know It Can't Go On Like This The World Is Changing At Such A Speed Yes There Are Many Great Things In The World But There Many Things Are Terrible And It's Like It's Going Almost Out Of Control But We've Got To Remember That Above It All God Rules And God Reigns And One Day Jesus Is Coming Back Are You Able To Say Today Lord Yeah Great Come Quickly I'm Ready Or Are You Say Not Just Now Lord I Need Time To Get Ready Well Today Is An Opportunity To Be Ready Ask Jesus Into Your Heart Let Us Pray Lord Our God We Pray To Help Us As We
[51:42] Wait Upon You Help Us Lord To Take Your Word To Heart Take It Seriously We Pray That It Will Make An Impression For Good Upon Us And That We Will Be Indeed taught Of The Lord Our Days Are Fleeting They're Short It's Soon Going To Be Over When We Were Young We Looked Out And We Thought We Have Many Years But The Thing Is We Know That Every Age Group Are Being Taken Young Middle Aged Elderly One Day It'll Be Our Turn Help Us Lord To Be Ready For That Time Watch Over Us We Pray And Do Us Good Bless Our Young Folk Those In The Cresh And Those The Twinnies And We We
[52:54] To Him Sing Praises And Rejoice With Harp With Harp And Voice Of Psalms And To Jehovah Sing With Trumpets Cornets Gladly Sound Before The Lord The King Let Seas And All Their Fulness Roar The World And Dwellers There Let Floods Clap Hands And Let The Hills Together Joy Declare Before The Lord Because He Comes To Judge The Earth Comes He He He He Judged The World With Righteousness His Folk With Equity Psalm 98 Verses 4 To The End Let All The Earth Unto The Lord The Lord Stand For The Joyful Night Lift Up Your
[53:55] Voice prageline độ areas Ve'er 12x��x Ger hè di Mass H하' Let the priests, hornets, and the priests sound before the Lord the King.
[54:39] Let's keep stand all their foolish soul, the mountain where it's there.
[54:55] Let the priests, hornets, and the priests together join in the.
[55:11] For the Lord, because He comes to justly and come to Him, He'll judge the world with righteousness, His hope with equity.
[55:45] May the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you, now and forevermore. Amen.