[0:00] On behalf of Stornoway Free Church, I wish to extend a very warm welcome to everybody this evening. I trust that we'll know God's blessing in our worship again as last week.
[0:13] I have to read out a wee intimation beforehand regarding a congregational meeting tomorrow evening. This is always required for the two previous Lord's Days.
[0:26] And it is as follows.
[0:56] It is important that there will be sufficient attendance at the meeting to make approval of the schedule realistic. So your cooperation in this will be much appreciated.
[1:11] If you already join the Wednesday evening Zoom meetings, Zoom love in details will be emailed to you. Otherwise, please contact Marianne for this. We're going to begin our service singing from Psalm 125, Psalm 125, and this is in the Scottish Psalter.
[1:32] Psalm 125, we're going to sing the whole psalm. Psalm 125, we sing the whole psalm.
[1:58] Lay in the Lord that firmly trust. Lay in the Lord that firmly trust.
[2:08] I'll be like Zion, which at no time can be removed, but standeth they were still.
[2:25] As round about Jerusalem, the mountains and away.
[2:37] The Lord is spoke doth compass so from men's poor and folly.
[2:50] For ill men's wrong upon the lot of just men shall not lie.
[3:04] Lest righteous men stretch forth the heavens unto illiquity.
[3:16] Do thou to all those that be good thy goodness, Lord, impart.
[3:30] And do thou good to those that have a pride within their heart.
[3:43] But as for such as turn aside after the crooked way.
[3:56] God shall lead forth with wicked men. All his threat peace shall stay.
[4:10] There is no bow and prayer. Lord, we look to you and ask that you will help us again today as we come into your presence. We give thanks, Lord, for these wonderful words that lay in the Lord that firmly trust.
[4:26] Shall be like Zion Hill, which at no time can be removed, but standeth ever still. What an encouragement that is to us because we feel so often so frail, so weak.
[4:40] We feel unstable. We feel unstable. And so often we feel we will be removed. We feel that our feet will stumble one day into a way of no recovery.
[4:52] And yet your word assuring us that you have us in your hand. And that although your people fall, they won't be utterly cast down because the Lord upholds them with his hand.
[5:04] And verses like these are really music to our ears. Because it assures us of your ever-present help and of the hand that is firm and strong.
[5:17] The hand that is eternal in its purposes. The hand that will never let go. And we pray that every one of us tonight may make sure that by faith our hand is in your hand.
[5:32] And that we will know what it is to be led by the shepherd. The shepherd who in the first place seeks us out. And the shepherd whose eye is always upon us.
[5:43] And the shepherd whose hand is always holding us and feeding us and guiding us and directing us. And indeed pulls us back to himself when we wander.
[5:57] And so we give thanks for all that you are to us as we wait upon you this evening. We give thanks, O Lord, for your day. Day, of course, which is a great reminder to us of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:12] And it's a day that's precious to the people of God. And so we give thanks for it. We give thanks for the rest of body and mind. But particularly an opportunity to be quiet and to fellowship with you.
[6:25] And that in the silence that we do enjoy. That we're able to meet with the living and through God. We give thanks, Lord, for the fact that as things stand next Lord's Day, we will have our first Lord's Day meeting of spared in the seminary.
[6:46] And we rejoice at that fact in the morning service. We rejoice, Lord, that that opportunity has been opened up. And we pray that it will continue to be opened.
[6:58] And that we will be able to go on little by little. And we pray, Lord, that you will help us. You have been so good to us over this last year. Despite all that has happened.
[7:08] Despite the incredible trauma. The way that this whole world has been turned upside down. And yet we give thanks that this was not something that took you by surprise.
[7:22] But that you rule and overrule all things. And that you knew this from all eternity. These thoughts are too big for us. Too hard for us to understand.
[7:34] And yet we know it is true. And so we pray, Lord, that we may be able to give you thanks. For the way that you continue to sustain us and to provide for us. We give thanks at the point of history where we're at.
[7:46] That the means of technology is such that we can worship collectively together in our own homes. It's an amazing thing. And we give thanks, Lord, for the technology that brings your word into the homes and lives of people.
[8:02] Particularly we think of areas of this world where it is forbidden to meet in the way that we normally do. And where the church is in secret. Where they meet in fear of their lives.
[8:14] And yet you are able to bring the word to bear into their situation. And we give thanks for that. Oh, Lord, encourage your persecuted people throughout this world.
[8:26] And we know that there are so many various levels of persecution. Or, Lord, we think of areas where there is bloodshed, where there is cruelty that is beyond anything that we can understand.
[8:39] Where people are, even children, are being executed because of our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot even begin to get our head around that.
[8:52] How barbaric and how fired by the powers of hell that people are to do things like that. But we pray, oh, Lord, for deliverance for your people.
[9:03] We pray that you will halt the persecution. And that your church will flourish and grow. And that you will open the doors for those who are bound and those who are imprisoned.
[9:15] For their faith. And so that they will come to a greater joy in the Lord. That they'll be able to experience your hand in a wonderful way in their lives.
[9:26] We pray, Lord, then that you will bless us as we come under your word today. May it be power to our soul. May it nourish us. May we be strengthened by it. May we be challenged by it. Lord, we need to be challenged.
[9:39] Because so often we have our own ideas of how things are. But your word is very clear. You speak to us in ways that we couldn't work out ourselves. Because what is highly esteemed amongst ourselves can be an abomination in your sight.
[9:55] Help us, Lord, to remember that. And that your word alone will declare your mind to us. And sometimes we're pulled up short and we think, Oh my, I didn't realise that this is how God views things.
[10:09] And so we pray that we might have sensitive spirits. And teachable spirits. And that we might be willing to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, bless our homes and our families.
[10:22] Bless all whom we love. We commit them to your care and keeping. Bless those who mourn, whose hearts are heavy and sore. Though broken-hearted, Lord. So broken-hearted are everywhere.
[10:32] And we ask, Lord, that you will dry the tears. And that you will uphold those who are in most need. We pray for those who are in beds of sickness. And maybe in a bed where they will never rise again.
[10:44] Lord, we pray that you will be with them there. And those who love them and tend to them. Lord, may you grant them comfort. And may your presence be with them. And for any who maybe as yet don't know you.
[10:57] Even in this stage of life. May you reveal yourself to them so that they'll be able to close in with Christ. We pray, Lord, that you will bless us as a nation.
[11:09] As we have just gone through a year of lockdown. And it's been an amazing year. There has been so much heartache. So much, so many broken hearts.
[11:21] And particularly with the restrictions that this pandemic has caused. So that we're not able to get together. And families have been separated in the worst of times.
[11:32] Lord, we pray for every broken heart. But Lord, in the midst of that, we give thanks for the vaccine. For medical science. For the brilliance of minds that have been able to work together.
[11:46] To produce this vaccine. But we know that above it all, you are the God who has made this provision. And we give thanks. This is often the case that when medical science works and great projects like this.
[11:59] That there are often offshoots which again will be to the benefit of others. That other things will be discovered through this. And that even out of this awful sorrow, that blessings will come.
[12:11] Pray for our young people. As we come to the Easter holidays. And we pray, Lord, that you will bless them. It's been a tough time for our youngsters. It's been a tough time for our parents as well.
[12:21] And having to adjust a tough time for teachers. And we pray, Lord, that you will bless them all. We bless your thanks for our Sunday schools. And all the tremendous work that has gone on.
[12:32] Lord, encourage them, we pray. Watch over us and do us good. And cleanse us from their every sin, we pray. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.
[12:42] Amen. Just a wee word to the young folk. Now I think I've maybe talked a wee bit about this before. I'm not sure because I have such a bad memory.
[12:56] But I'm sure a lot of you at some time or another have been to a circus. I remember the very first circus I was at. And it was in Stornoway.
[13:07] I wasn't living in Stornoway then. But I was on holiday because one of my grannies and grandpas lived in Stornoway. The other granny and grandpa lived in Carloway.
[13:19] So I always came on holiday. And this was, I don't know how old I was, maybe about nine, ten, something like that. But I remember going, somebody took me to the circus.
[13:33] And I think it was down out in Bayhead, if I remember rightly. And I remember going in the big top and then there.
[13:43] And I've got to remember that when I was nine, ten, we didn't have telly. Yes, there were tellys, but we didn't have telly.
[13:54] I had never seen television. So everything that you see, like as a young boy going to a circus, was amazing. It's different for you today because you've grown up and you can see amazing things.
[14:09] In fact, when you watch films and watch events, and there's what we call special effects and all that, it makes it so dramatic and wonderful that maybe for a lot of people looking at a circus nowadays, they think, ah, no big deal.
[14:24] But a circus still is a big deal. It's amazing all the skill that is involved and the balance and all the different things. And there's a circus that take place.
[14:35] You have the clowns and people that are really quite athletic. But what really struck with me was the trapeze artists, the acrobats or the trapeze artists.
[14:49] These people were the swings way up on the ceiling. Oh, no, it's not the ceiling, up on the roof, up on the top of the big top, way up high. Probably, I don't know, 30 foot, 25 foot, 30 foot high.
[15:03] And up they go, up the rope. And they grab hold of this swing, the bottom of the swing, which is just a wee pull.
[15:13] And they're swinging back and forth, about 30 foot up. And you're looking up at them. And it's amazing. And then they start doing things.
[15:24] And they swing one. I'll be swinging this way and that way and another. And then one of them jumps through the air. And the other one catches. And they swing on. Sometimes there's two.
[15:35] Sometimes there's three up there. And I remember as a young boy looking up and I was holding my breath going, oh, I just couldn't get over it. It's one of these pictures that has stuck in my mind since I was a wee boy.
[15:50] Because I had never seen anything like it. You've grown up as young boys and girls seeing things on telly. And it's not so wonderful. But when you've never seen anything like that, as wonderful as that, it's still stuck in my mind.
[16:03] But, you know, there are three things that are absolutely important if you're going to be a really good therapist.
[16:15] First of all, there's the word we would call technique. Where you have to be able to do the thing. You've got to have an ability to do. That's the first thing.
[16:26] If somebody was naturally clumsy or naturally very stiff, forget it. So it's somebody who has an ability to begin with.
[16:40] And then they have to learn what to do. And then they have to practice. Even if you have loads of ability, you have to practice and practice and practice and practice.
[16:53] You know what I'm saying? Practice makes perfect. If you follow football and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, he, I've read this at one time, he was often the first person into training every day.
[17:11] And after everybody had gone, he would stay behind and he would practice and practice and practice free kicks. Sometimes in games he scores the most incredible free kicks.
[17:23] And people say, oh, what ability? Yes, he's got ability. Yes, he's got ability. But he works at it. He practices. He keeps on to be the best. So technique is very, very important.
[17:35] Then timing. Because even if you've got all the ability, but your timing is out by half a second, you've had it.
[17:46] Because if you're swinging this way, these trapeze artists have worked out exactly at what point the one lets go, lets go, and the other catches.
[17:59] And if you're going through the air and all of a sudden say, oh, hold on a second now. The one says, my nose is itchy. Suddenly I've got to scratch my ear. And he's hanging on.
[18:11] And he's hanging on. Can't do that. The other one goes straight to the ground. It's got to be perfect timing. And then the third thing is trust. You have to trust completely the other person.
[18:25] If you didn't, you would never let go of that pole that you're holding as you swing across through the air. If you weren't too sure that that man or that woman was going to catch you, you wouldn't ever let go.
[18:42] So you need the technique. You need the timing. And you need the trust. And you know, the same thing is true for us with regard to following the Lord.
[18:53] And I'll put trust first. That is the most important thing of all. That we trust the Lord Jesus with all our heart, with all our life. That we let go of our own life.
[19:04] And ask Jesus to take our life. And there's nobody greater that we could trust than Jesus. Lord, take my life. The next thing is, in a sense, I would say, is technique.
[19:20] And remember what the technique is that once you find what you do, is you keep practicing it. And that means that we are to practice being Christians.
[19:32] Now, it's not that we'll say, well, today I'm going to start being a Christian. I'm going to practice being a Christian. The Bible, Paul often talks about this. And he talks about those who practice wrong things.
[19:46] And those who practice what is right. In other words, that becomes your life. That's the way you live your life. That's what you do. And if you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, it means that you must read his word all the time.
[20:00] You must be praying to him so that you'll become a greater Christian. And that you will live in such a way that everybody will see Jesus in you. And that comes in to the technique, to the practice.
[20:16] And then the timing. In other words, make time every day. Make time to be alone with Jesus. And the timing is supported. Make a little time every morning.
[20:27] After you get it. It's beautiful to start the day with Jesus. See, I'll ask the Lord to help you. And to forgive you. And to keep you. Every step that you take throughout the day.
[20:39] And that he'll be your Lord and your God. Very important. So remember the timing. The thrust. And the technique. And that you will be.
[20:52] And I will be. And all of us will be. Shining lights for Jesus in this world. We're going to say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[21:02] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts. As we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation.
[21:14] But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Forever. Amen. We're going to read now from Luke's Gospel. Luke chapter 16.
[21:25] Luke chapter 16. He also said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had a manager.
[21:37] And charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management.
[21:48] For you can no longer be manager. The manager said to himself, What shall I do? Since my master is taking the management away from me. I'm not strong enough to dig.
[21:59] And I'm ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do. So that when I am removed from management, People may receive me into their houses. So, summoning his master's debtors, One by one, He said to the first, How much do you owe my master?
[22:16] He said, A hundred measures of oil. He said to him, Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures of wheat.
[22:28] He said to him, Take your bill and write eighty. The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
[22:42] And I tell you, Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, So that when it fails, They may receive you into eternal dwellings.
[22:54] One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much. And one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful with the unrighteous wealth, Who will entrust you the true riches?
[23:11] And if you have not been faithful with that which is another, Who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters.
[23:22] For either he will hate the one and love the other, Or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, Heard all these things and they ridiculed him.
[23:38] He said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men. But God knows your hearts. For what is exhorted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
[23:48] The law and the prophets were until John. Since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, And everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, Than for one dot of the law to become void.
[24:06] For everyone who devotes his wife and marries another commits adultery, And he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, And who feasted sumptuously every day.
[24:23] And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, Covered with sores, Who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked a sores.
[24:36] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in haze being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, And saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus at his side.
[24:53] And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And sent Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water, And cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.
[25:04] But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things. And Lazarus and like man had bad things. But now he is comforted here.
[25:16] You are in anguish. And besides all this, Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, In order that those who would pass from here to you may not do so, And none may cross from there to us.
[25:31] And he said, Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers, So that he may warn them, Lest they also come into this place of torment.
[25:43] But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham, But if someone goes to them from the dead, They will repent. He said to them, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, Neither will they be convinced, If someone should rise from the dead.
[26:02] Amen. And may God bless to us this reading of his own holy word. And I want us this evening to focus on the words that we find in verse 13, Where Jesus says, No servant can serve two masters.
[26:17] For either he will hate the one and love the other, Or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Now, Jesus never set out to deliberately upset people.
[26:34] But he often did upset people. And we know the old adage, Truth hurts. And because Jesus always spoke the truth, It means that often he hurt people.
[26:48] And you and I know that when our lives are coming short of what they should, But that it should bother us. If it doesn't, it should.
[26:59] And you notice the reaction of the Pharisees to what Jesus said in verse 14. It says that they ridiculed him. They made fun of him. They mocked him. And it's quite an interesting thing that's stated here.
[27:13] That the truth that Jesus spoke so got into them, That the way they reacted to it was they made fun of him. They ridiculed him. And does that not make me stop and think, Is that not the reaction so often to people against Christianity?
[27:32] That they ridiculed, That they sneered, They mock, They bully, They get angry against. And do you know why? Because deep down, Our raw nervous system, They might not realise that, They might not own up to it, They might not understand it.
[27:49] But that's exactly what's happening. That it provokes a reaction within them. And sometimes the angriest people that you've come across are atheists, Against Christianity, Against God, Against all, They have an unreasonable rage.
[28:05] And I believe it is because deep down within themselves, There is something provoking a reaction. And that's what we're finding here.
[28:15] Although these are religious people, The Pharisees, They ridiculed the Lord Jesus. So what provoked such a reaction from the Pharisees? Well, We see about what's happening here, That Jesus has been talking about wealth, And about what our attitude to wealth should really be.
[28:36] Now, As we all know, Money is an essential ingredient of life. We can't live life without money. Money is essential for eating, For drinking, For clothing, For homes, For getting about, For every aspect of life.
[28:51] Money is good. Money is an essential. So, This is something that, The Bible is very clear on. That money in and of itself, Is a good thing. It's an important thing.
[29:02] It's a vital part of life. But like everything else, Things in life, Can either be used for good, Or for bad.
[29:14] As we say, A coin or a note, In and of itself, Is of no harm. It is possibly a good thing. And you say, Well, That's great.
[29:25] But it's what you do with it. It's your attitude to it. That's what's important. And that's what Jesus is getting at here. It's people's attitude to wealth.
[29:36] It's people's attitude to money. Where, What position does it have, In your life, In my life? What is on a chief, What's a chief part of our life?
[29:49] What, What is it that makes us tick? We're told in scripture, That the love of money, Is the root of all evil. Not money itself, But the love of money.
[30:00] And when you think about it, How many, How much heartache, How many tears, How much brokenness, Has been caused, Because of people's love of money. The love of money, Very often, Makes people greedy.
[30:14] It makes them power hungry. And, When that happens, When a person has greed, And the love of power, Operating in their heart, They will dominate, They will do, Whatever it takes, In order, To get on.
[30:30] And if that means, Exploiting people, If it means hurting people, If it means, Ruining people, Then so be it. And so we know that, As you look around this world, So many people today, Are suffering, Because, Of people's love of money.
[30:48] You look at many other countries, In this world, Where there is, Abject poverty. Look at some of the, The countries, Where the people, Are starving. And the, The rulers, Are, Are the most, Massive bank account.
[31:03] All the wealth, Of the nation, Which should be dispersed, Is being hoarded up. It's not, You know, There are resources, To go around this world, And to feed everybody.
[31:14] But it is a mismanagement. And very often, From sheer greed, That, That so many, Lives, It's catastrophic, What is happening. And so, The, The, It's so vital, That we have this, Right to balance, With regard to money, With regard to wealth.
[31:33] Many a soul, Has been lost eternally, Because, Of a person's love of money. In fact, Jesus goes on, To talk about that. That's, That's why he tells the story, Of the rich man, And Lazarus.
[31:45] We're not going to look, At that story just now, But, That's the very point, That Jesus is making. That here is a man, Doesn't say that he was a bad man, A rich man. But he was like, These Pharisees, Who was obsessed, With wealth.
[32:00] He was a greedy man, And he cared nothing, For the beggar, That was at his door. It was the dogs, Who were looking after the beggar. They were licking the sword. And the beggar, Lazarus, Would eat anything, Any of the crumbs, That would fall, From his table.
[32:15] But he was oblivious, To the pain, And to the hurt, Of this poor man. This poor man, Was a good man, And of course, When he died, He went to heaven. The rich man, Was lost. He went to hell.
[32:26] Not, He didn't go to hell, Because he was rich. He went to hell, Because, He had made a God, Of money. God meant nothing to him. God, God may have meant, Something in his life, But the chief, What he was, Gave his whole heart, And to his life, And to everything, Was to money.
[32:45] He was lost. And that, That, It's a really, Really solemn warning. Now, In the story, Jesus, Beforehand, At the very beginning, He talks about, The dishonest manager.
[32:56] And I'm not going to look at this, Except to pick out, What Jesus is saying, In verse 8. For the sons, Of this world, Are more shrewd, In their dealing, With their own generation, And the sons of light.
[33:10] Now, There's a lot of things, That we could say out of that. And I suppose, At one level, You could say, Of course they are. Because, The, The children of light, Are so taken up, With the things of God, And so they should be.
[33:24] That they're not as, Maybe caught up, Or as, Worldly wise, As maybe people are, In the world. But I think, There are many angles, That you could take this at.
[33:35] And I believe, That one of the things, That Jesus is, Is maybe highlighting here, Is that, The unbeliever, Is often, Much more astute, Much, More, Shrewder, As a, Greater savvy, About him, And, What he's doing.
[33:54] And, That not, Should not always, Be the case. Yes, I know that the Christian, Is first and foremost, Taken up for the things of God. But of all people, The Christian is somebody, Who should have their wits, About them.
[34:08] Because, As, As we, As we engage, In life, When you think about it, The Christian, The Christian should be the most passionate, Enthusiastic, Person in this world.
[34:23] Because, We know, Why we're here. We know that God has put us here, For a purpose. We know that God has a plan, For our lives.
[34:35] We know that God has, Got a, A destiny for us. That we belong to God. Everything fits into place, When God is at the centre of our lives.
[34:45] And that shouldn't make it, That the Christian is somebody, Who embraces society, And is involved in society, And imparts good to society, Because, We have everything.
[34:57] And we have the greatest news, In the whole wide world. There are people, Out there, Who, That are filled with fear, And anxiety, And uncertainty, And they're asking, What's life all about?
[35:08] Why? Where? When? The Christian, We don't know the answers to everything. But we have the main answers, To the main purpose of, What life is.
[35:20] The whole, Purpose of a direction in life. And it's found in the word. And so as we live out our lives, In a generation that, Has, By and large, Abandoned God.
[35:33] We should be, Looking to him, And seeking him, Above all. And so, Again, It's very important, That the Christian, Does the right things, As well as say the right things.
[35:50] You know, What I mean by that is, A Christian can say, All the right things. A Christian can, A Christian can, Can share the gospel, And be involved with the gospel, Can preach the gospel, Can teach the gospel, And yet their life doesn't match up.
[36:08] And a watching world will say, You know, It's all very well that, He and she are saying these things. But their life is a contradiction, To what they believe. And we can do so much harm, You know, I find that incredibly challenging, To myself.
[36:23] That I say, Do I practice what I preach? And sometimes I have to say, Put my head in my hands, And bow my heart before the Lord, And say, Forgive me Lord, I'm not practicing what I preach.
[36:37] Help me Lord, To walk according to your ways. So, What Jesus has been saying, Is very challenging. But then in verse 13, Jesus is very explicit, In what he says.
[36:49] And he says, No servant can serve two masters, For either he will hate the one, And love the other, Or he will be devoted to the one, And despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
[37:01] You know what it's like trying to do, Two things or a few things at the one time. It is well nigh impossible. Now I know that, Some people are excellent at multitasking.
[37:15] And from what I see in life, Women seem to be far better, At multitasking than men. Maybe I'm, I believe in what I have observed of life.
[37:28] They seem to be. In fact, I can't multitask at all. In fact, I struggle with one task. But multitask is absolutely beyond me.
[37:41] But with all due respect, To the best multitaskers going, You cannot do two things, Brilliantly at the same time. Something that is going to take up your heart, Your focus, Your energy, You can't do it two ways at the same time.
[37:59] You can do two things pretty well, But you can't do them brilliantly. You can't give your everything, To two things at the same time. It's impossible.
[38:09] That's what Jesus is saying. And the question that we have to ask ourselves, Is who is chief seat in our heart? Who is it that has the main residences, So to speak?
[38:22] What motivates you? What's your life about? What drives you on? What pushes you on? So when you get up in the day, What are your thoughts about? It's very important.
[38:34] Remember the Bible says, As a person thinks in his heart. That's the real passion. When you get up, And when you catch your thoughts, What is it that's the main thought of your life?
[38:46] Because what do you think? That's you. And so, Here we have Jesus making a very challenging statement here. Now, Wealth, as we know, Well, wealth is a great thing, In and of itself.
[39:03] We as a society have kind of lost the plot. Because we have almost this obsession, Of having to make it big in life. And, There is an obsession in society today, With celebrity status.
[39:19] People have become almost obsessed, With what, People who have made it in whatever different line, What they eat, What they drink, What they wear, Where they go, What their likes and dislikes are in life.
[39:34] There's this obsession, There's loads of magazines, Celebrity magazines, About this, That, And the next thing. And, Without maybe realising it, People are worshipping celebrity.
[39:46] People are caught up in it. And we find it in so many areas of life. I mean, I have to confess, I still like football. I used to be passionate about it.
[39:57] I used to be almost obsessive. And, My team as an Aberdeen supporter, Which they lost regularly growing up, Until the days of Ferdy, It would spoil my weekend.
[40:08] That's how obsessed I was with it. I used to know, I remember my father used to say, When I couldn't remember a text, How come you know, You know the position of every team in the division, And you can't remember a version?
[40:22] Because that's where my heart was. My heart was given to that. Nowadays, It doesn't mean a thing to me. I still have a passing indian, Of course I do. But you see, It's where, Where your heart lies.
[40:34] But that's idolatry. Where you give over. And you see it, You see it in so many different areas of life. Where people, Give their heart to worshipping, Adulation that God deserves.
[40:48] Because if we're not worshipping God, We're worshipping someone else. It might even be saved. And so this is why it is so important, That we do what is right, And that the word of God directs us.
[41:01] Because, What we think is good, God often thinks is terrible. Because that's what we're told, In verse 15, What is exalted among men, Is an abomination in the sight of God.
[41:15] And that word, Abomination, It can be translated, Stench in the nostrils of God. And that's why it's so important for us, To know exactly, What God is saying.
[41:28] Because you see, As we live out our lives, With sinful hearts, Which are so deceitful and twisted, That we will call what is bad, Good. We will call what is evil, Good.
[41:40] We become complacent, And we begin to accept as normal, Things into our life, That God condemns, That God has pronounced, His judgment against, Which is an abomination, In the sight of God.
[41:53] And we say, Oh, it's beautiful, It's wonderful, Isn't it lovely? This is life, This is what life's about, And God says, No, it's not. In fact, It's not just, It is a stench, Before me.
[42:06] That's what it is. And that's why it is so important, That we find out God's view, And God's, Verdict on life. What is it that is pleasing to God, What is God wanting?
[42:20] And we need to pray that, God will give us a desire, To want what he wants. But as we said, The love of money, Can ruin, And has ruined many a soul.
[42:32] There's a very interesting commentary, In Psalm 49, On this. It says here, Be not afraid, When a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house, Increases.
[42:45] For though he lives, For though while he lives, He counts himself blessed, And though you get praise, When you do well for yourself, When he dies, He will carry nothing away, His glory, Will not go down after.
[43:04] That's, That's really solemn, That. Here's this man, And he's, He's going on really, Really well in life. He's actually mega chucked with himself. He's going to say, Why, I'm really doing well.
[43:18] And, At one level, There's nothing wrong with that. But you see what it says, His glory will not go down after. All the wealth, That he has accumulated, That bulging bank account, Is to leave it all behind.
[43:36] So what's the point, In spending all your life on this, On something that's, Going to leave it all? As they used to say, There's no pockets in a shroud. Can't take a penny with you. Why give your heart, Your whole life, To what you, What's going to pass with the using, Which you have to leave behind you here.
[43:55] Back in chapter 12, Jesus is following on, To this very theme, What he tells us, This rich farmer, Who again was prospering, And he, He said to himself, You know this, I'm getting on so well, I'm going to knock down the barns I have, And I'm going to build even bigger ones.
[44:10] I'm planning for the future, And you know what I'm going to do? I am, I'm going to have such a, A wonderful time, I'm going to have a retirement, Because I'm going to take, Take my ease.
[44:24] I'm getting on so well now, Don't get me wrong, Jesus is not condemning, Prospering. He's not condemning hard work, He's not condemning, Making plans for the future.
[44:37] You know, Sometimes people lay hold upon, When Jesus says, Not to think about tomorrow. There's enough going on in the day. He doesn't mean that, In that particular context, That we're never to think about ahead.
[44:54] Of course we're to make plans, But we're also going to be, Ready to discover, If it is the case that God's plans, Are different to our plans, And submit to the plans, And purposes of God.
[45:05] Because God has plans. God has plans for your life, For my life. He has plans for this world. So it's wrong to say, God doesn't want us to have plans.
[45:15] Of course he does. But we must always seek, That our plans are in keeping, With his way. With his way. But this man, This farmer, He was building up, And as he was saying there, You know, The future is rosy.
[45:30] I've got it all sussed out. God is saying, Oh look, You fool. This night, Your soul is required of you. And then, To whom?
[45:42] Who will get all these things? See the big problem with that fellow, Was not having got on well. It's that God was out of the picture. All he could think of, Was his wealth, And his prosperity, And how well he was doing, And his retirement plan, And all these things.
[46:00] And God is saying, Wake up. In fact he's saying, This is your last night on earth, And you're not right with me. See this is what, What is so essential in life.
[46:12] As we said, Becoming wealthy is not the sin. It's what we do with the wealth. It's our attitude to wealth. And this of course, A great warning to us all. Because Jesus has reminded us, That our soul is more precious, Than anything else.
[46:28] Remember the words, What shall it profit a man, If he gain the whole world, And lose his own soul. In other words, Jesus is saying, Supposing you have all the wealth, Of this world accumulated.
[46:44] Can you imagine, What we get, I don't know if there's a calculator, To work that out. Can you think of all the resources, Of this world, And turn that into, Into actual wealth. Supposing you have everything, In this world.
[46:56] Jesus says, Your soul, Is more precious than that. That is quite a statement. And that is why, We have to come, To God's verdict, And understand, What God is saying to us.
[47:07] And that, That exactly what it is. But I remember that, Some of the wealthiest people, In the Old Testament, Were great saints, Like Abraham was very wealthy, David was extremely wealthy, Solomon was wealthy, But they used their wealth wisely, They used their wealth well, They used it to the glory of God, And there's so much, Of today's wealth, That's been used wisely, And it's wonderful, To see some of the, People like Bill Gates, One of the richest, People in this whole wide world, As a philanthropist, And the tremendous, Work that he's doing, Through the foundations, That he's set up, And that is to be admired, But you know, At the end of the day, Where's your heart?
[47:54] Where does your heart lie? And it, Although Jesus is specific here, About money, It could be something else, It may not be money, What is the God of your life, If it's not the living, And through God?
[48:07] If you have somebody, Or something else, On the throne of your heart, Ask God, That that will be relegated, So that it won't take the chief place, Ask the Lord that, He will have chief place in your heart, That he will be the one, That will rule, Because, Nothing is more precious, Than your soul, Tend to your soul, Look after your soul, Put your soul, Into the care of the Lord, And all, Will be well with you, Let's pray Lord, We pray that you would bless this word, To our hearts, To our souls, This evening, Watch over us, And keep us, And forgive us our sin, In Jesus name, We ask you, Amen, We're going to conclude, By singing in Psalm 139, In from the Scottish Psalter, And we remember, That the Lord is the one, Who understands, All our thoughts, And everything about us, And he knows,
[49:09] What we're thinking, What motivates our lives, O Lord, Thou hast me searched unknown, Thou know'st my sitting down, And rising up, Ye all my thoughts, Are far too near known, My footsteps, And my lying down, Thou compassest always, Thou also most entirely art, Acquaint with all my ways, But in my tongue, Before I speak, Not any word can be, But altogether, O Lord, It is well known to me, Verses 1 to 6, Forrest answer, Psalm 139, O Lord, Thou hast me searched unknown, O Lord, Thou hast me searched and known, Thou know'st my sitting down, And rising up, Yea, all my thoughts,
[50:11] Afar to thee, Our Lord, My footsteps, And my lying down, Thou compassest always, Thou also most, Entirely art, Backwind with all my ways, For in my tongue, Before I speak, Not any word can be, But altogether,
[51:17] O Lord, It is well known to thee, Behind me, Before thou hast me set, And laid on me thy hand, Such knowledge is too strange for me, Too high, Too high, Too high, Too high, Too high, Too high, Too high, To understand, Now 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.
[52:16] Thank you very much for joining in with our service this evening, May God bless you, And keep you safe throughout this coming week. Thank you.
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