[0:00] again in psalm 107 psalm 107 and we're going to sing from verse 26 to 31 psalm 107 from verse 26 and this is from sorry from the scottish psalter to 31 it's on page 384 they amount to heaven then to the depths they do go down again their soul doth faint and melt away with trouble and with pain they reel and stagger like one drunk at their woods end they be then they to god and trouble cry who them from straits doth free the storm is changed into a calm at his command and will so the waves which raged before now quiet are and still then are they glad because at rest and quiet now they be so to the haven he brings which they desired to see oh that men to the lord would give praise for his goodness then and for his works of wonder done unto the sons of men psalm 107 verses 26 to 31 they mount to heaven they mount to heaven then to the depths they do go down again their soul doth faint and melt away and melt away with trouble and within
[1:52] The real and starved I won't drown and there was sending me Then they to God in troubled pride Who then from states are free The storm is changed into account At its command and will So that the ways which reach before The quiet and still
[2:57] Then are they not because of rest And quiet now they be So to the heaven heaven brings Which they desire to see So that men to the Lord would give Praise for His goodness there And for His works of wonder down And to the sons of men
[4:03] God's word in the epistle to the Hebrews And chapter 13 Hebrews chapter 13 Hebrews 13 That's on page 1213 Let a brotherly love continue Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers For thereby some have entertained angels unawares Remember those who are in prison Though in prison with them And those who are mistreated Since you also are in the body Let marriage be held in honour among all And let the marriage bed be undefiled For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous Keep your life free from love of money And be content with what you have
[5:05] For He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you So we can confidently say The Lord is my helper I will not fear what man can do to me Remember your leaders Those who spoke to you the word of God Consider the outcome of their way of life And imitate their faith Jesus Christ is the same yesterday And today and forever Do not be led away by Diverse and strange teachings For it is good for the heart To be strengthened by grace Not by foods which have not benefited Those devoted to them We have an altar from which those Who serve the tent have no right to eat For the bodies of those animals Whose blood is brought into the holy places By the high priest as a sacrifice for sin Are burned outside the camp So Jesus also suffered outside the gate
[6:06] In order to sanctify the people Through His own blood Therefore let us go to Him Outside the camp And bear the reproach He endured For here we have no lasting city But we seek the city that is to come Through Him then let us continually Offer up a sacrifice of praise to God That is the fruit of lips That acknowledge His name Do not neglect to do good And to share what you have For such sacrifices are pleasing to God Obey your leaders and submit to them For they are keeping watch over your souls As those who will have to give an account Let them do this with joy And not with groaning For that would be of no advantage to you Pray for us For we are sure that we have a clear conscience Desiring to act honorably in all things I urge you the more earnestly
[7:07] To do this in order That I may be restored to you the sooner Now may the God of peace Who brought again from the dead Our Lord Jesus The great shepherd of the sheep By the blood of the eternal covenant Equip you with everything good That you may do His will Working in us that which is pleasing in His sight Through Jesus Christ To whom be glory forever and ever Amen I appeal to you brothers Bear with my word of exhortation For I have written to you briefly You should know that our brother Timothy Has been released With whom I shall see you If he comes soon Greet all your leaders And all the saints Those who come from Italy Send you greetings Grace be with you all Amen And may God bless to us This reading of His own holy word I'm going to sing again From Psalm number 16 This is in Sing Psalms And it's Psalm 16
[8:10] From Sing Psalms And so on page 17 From verse 6 To the end of the psalm The land allotted me Is in a pleasant sight And surely my inheritance To me is a delight I'll praise the Lord my God Whose counsel guides my choice And even in the night My heart recalls Instruction's voice Before me constantly I set the Lord alone Because He is at my right hand I'll not be overthrown Therefore my heart is glad My tongue with joy will sing My body too will rest secure In hope unwavering For you will not allow My soul and death to stay Nor will you leave your Holy One To see the tombs decay You have made known to me The path of life divine Bliss shall I know At your right hand Joy from your face will shine
[9:12] Psalm 16 Six to the end And the tune is Golden Hill The land allotted me The land allotted me Is in a pleasant sight And surely my inheritance To me is a delight I'll praise the Lord my God Whose counsel guides my choice And even in the night
[10:15] My heart recalls Instruction's voice Before me constantly I set the Lord alone Because He is at my right hand I'll not be overthrown There for my heart is glad My tongue with joy will sing My body too will rest secure
[11:22] In hope unwavering For you will not allow My soul in death to stay Nor will you leave your Holy One To see the tombs decay You have made known to me The path of life divine This shall I know At your right hand
[12:26] Joy from your face will shine Let's turn a little to the chapter we read In Hebrews Hebrews chapter 13 We look at verse 14 Hebrews 13 verse 14 For here we have no lasting city But we seek the city But we seek the city that is to come As we are very well aware We are all on a journey in life And different people deal with that in different ways Some people are always looking back That's their nature As they journey through life They are constantly living in a kind of reflective mood They are thinking back
[13:28] Or thinking about what has gone in the past And thinking about it in relation to where they are right now There are other people who just live for the moment The past is past And they are just living at this moment And like just living, enjoying, and taking as much as they can from that particular time There are other people There are other people and they are always living in the future They are always looking at what's the next thing Whenever they arrive at one place It's always what's next I had a nephew who was like that Not now But when he was a little boy He used to drive his parents nuts Because whenever they did anything He would always say And what's next And whenever, even when they were going on holiday They would arrive somewhere Where are we going next And it was this constant For the next moment Whenever you got to there What's next And some people live like that That always looking to the future Now, I suppose As Christians to a certain extent
[14:31] We have to embrace all three Because It's very important to look back Not to live in the past But it's important to remember Remember a lot of what has gone in the past Because we are where we are Because of what has happened in the past It's one of the things we do When we come to the Lord's table We're remembering That is at the very focus The very centre of the whole Coming together at communion time Is remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross So, what is in the past The past With regard to our Christian life Is very, very important And we must never forget So, the past Plays an important part of where we are But as Christians It's also very important for us To be living in the present Because this is where we are And each day is a day that is set aside for us To live in as right a way as we can Seeking to glorify God
[15:34] And to find fulfilment in him As we live out our days here So, it's very important that each day is a day that we We live in its fullness But we're also as Christians to be looking ahead We're told that And this verse highlights this very thing That we're being reminded that here We don't have a lasting city But we seek the city that is to come So, this involves actively doing something With regard to the future So, the Christian life is taken up with a mixture of all three We're remembering a lot of what has been in the past Helping us with regard to where we are here in the present Living each day to the full But also looking ahead Now, in this chapter In this epistle as we know Chapter 11 is the great chapter on faith And we've been shown many examples of great people of faith
[16:36] Many of the great stalwarts, great men and women Who lived in the past And who did things by faith Great names Names that we grew up familiar with The Abrahams And the Moseses And the Samsons Rahabs Davids All these characters And they all lived by faith They died in faith They were great people of faith And in chapter 12 We have an encouragement for ourselves to live by faith Having shown and having highlighted this great cloud of witnesses All these great people who lived by faith And showing that how they lived by faith We ourselves are to live by faith Looking to Jesus That's what it tells us Looking unto Jesus Remember how the apostle tells us That we are to run the race that is set before us Looking to Jesus
[17:38] The founder and perfecter of faith And then moving on from that Into this chapter As is often the case Following on from showing us how we are to go by faith It gives many practical exhortations regarding the faith On how we are actually to work out that faith as we live out our days Now one of the things that it highlights is how identified we are with Jesus As Christians As Christians we identify ourselves with Jesus And that involves bearing his reproach in this world That's one of the things it tells us And then going on from that The apostle is highlighting here How temporary our life here is But that there is a permanent one to come So I want us just to think for a little this morning
[18:41] About that great truth That great fact Here we have no lasting city But we seek the city that is to come Here, right here we have no lasting city Here where we are right now Where we are living out our days Here it doesn't last Nothing about it lasts And that's one of the things so often we forget That this world and everything in it is passing away So often the world appears so that it's Everything is going to go on as always But it isn't When you speak to anybody who reaches what we term the allotted span You know how it says in the Bible that if we reach 70 Or if by old that sometimes we can reach 80 But we use the expression the allotted span As 70 years of age
[19:42] That comes from Psalm 90 Of course everybody doesn't reach the allotted span But talking about that as a kind of a Sort of a bridge in life 70 You ask any 70 year old Did it take a long time to get to 70?
[20:02] And they'll say straight away No Can't believe where the years have gone As the Bible says Our years are spent like a A tale that's told Just like a story That's what life is That's what life is You pick up a book And that's what it is It's chapters with stories And the chapters link one with another And that's so often what our life is like It's a series of chapters And one flows into the other And there are parts of our life we can look at And they are definite chapters But every story reaches an end And that's what our life is like Told in James Our life is like the morning mist It's like the morning mist That rises up And then vanishes away It's there for a while It's thick mist And then it just It's like it evaporates As the heat of the day comes That's just what our life is like So we're told here We have no lasting city Now again From the Old Testament
[21:05] This city was always a place A big place where loads of people lived And it was always held As a contrast To the wilderness Or to the desert Or to the restlessness The city was looked as a place of permanence A place of safety A place of security A place where people lived together As opposed to the dangers of the wilderness And the desert Psalm 107 we were singing About that very thing That they strayed in deserts Pathless way No city found to rest And again That they might too A city go Wherein they might abide So there was this idea Of the city Being the place you wanted to go into Where everybody dwelt together It was a place that gave this Form of security and safety But we're now told here That the city is not lasting The place where we live Doesn't continue forever And that sometimes is difficult for us
[22:07] To lay hold upon Now we all know It's not going to stay And last forever But is it not true That we often live As if it was going to last forever We live out our days As if it was always just going to go on And go on and go on We know it's not Every one of us knows it's not But when we look at how we live out our days We often live them out As if it was always going to go on Because we don't reflect We don't So often we don't There are times we do But so often we live out We plan We work We go on just day after day And week after week And month after month As if this was to be the place We were going to live forever But it's not Here, right here We have no lasting city Everything is going to break up Our homes will break up Our families will break up Our church circle breaks up We're all aware of it Every year brings its changes
[23:10] Every year with different families Are mourning and grieving Because the family circle has been broken up Because loved ones have been taken away That's the nature of this world It's part of what makes this world so sad But it's always reminding us That here we have no lasting city And nothing can prevent death coming All the wisdom of the world All the power of the world All the money in the world Can't stop it Death will take its course It is appointed And to all Once to die And after death The judgment As we know Death is not the end So death Is relentless In its march And will take away The prince and the beggar Just the very same We are all To succumb Unless the Lord comes first To the power of death
[24:12] But you know Death doesn't just affect the human race It's not just Humanity That has to succumb to death Because the whole As we know And as we've heard The whole creation Is groaning And we know that even this world Is to pass away There's nothing lasting Not only does our life not last here Not only are we not enduring in this world But the very world that seems to be forever Is also going to go We're told that And that time is going to come It's going to come upon us Almost in a way The Lord is talking In the scripture About his return Talking about end times As a thief in the night And the one thing a thief Doesn't do Is announce His arrival No thief will say Excuse me I'm just coming to rob your house A thief doesn't give advance notice A thief comes suddenly And silently And when it's unexpected
[25:14] And the Lord Jesus is saying This is how it's going to be at the end There's not going to be fire warning There's not going to be an announcement From heaven Saying oh well In so many days There are signs The Lord gives indications Of things that are going to be happening But in such an hour as you think not The son of man will return But we're also told of The huge turmoil That's going to take place To take place At the end Because we're told in scripture That the heaven will pass away With a great noise And that the elements Will melt That is this world With a fervent heat And the earth also And the works in them Shall be burned up That's extraordinary All these great cities of the world The great oceans The Atlantic The Pacific It's all It's all like as if it's going to go As it were Into A melting pot
[26:16] See the human race We've seen this so often Saw it last week The human race Because of the fall Under There isn't a great You cannot have a greater description Of what happened at Eden Than that A fall From a great high point Bang Everything Has gone And you cannot get back to where The human race can't get back Of their own The world itself The creation Can't get back It's all Fallen It's broken And that's why There's all This whole creation is groaning It's bubbling Paul talks about our shells We in this body He says groan Because of sin But the creation is groaning But the great thing I'm going to look at that in a moment Is that That's not the end You know this If that's all That this world was about That we've fallen That we're broken
[27:17] That the creation is in turmoil Everything What despair And no wonder There's so much despair See when you take God Out of the picture Life becomes Quite meaningless Yes I know a lot of people There's a lot I know quite a lot of people Who do not believe in God And as far as human beings Are concerned They're very very nice people And they bring a lot of good Into people's lives Not in any way saying That that's not the case But there's a fearful emptiness And there's no hope With regard to a future You've only got this world For a wee while And you're not living in the fullness Of what God has intended for us As we've said before When you become a Christian You move into 3D Three dimension You're seeing into a new dimension It brings you to another level You see life in a different way In a different way People outside Christ Who have
[28:18] They're limited In their vision I'm not saying that they're limited In what they do in this world Because we know that there are many people Outside Christ Who do an amazing amount That's not what we're talking about But it's what we see What we Where we're at What we What this What we have And to live without hope Of a future It's really an awful place That's why the Bible says Outside Christ They have no Without God And without hope In this world But we see here that That's going to change But you see it's not only the human But the whole world And there is going to be new heavens And a new earth The Lord is going to have the ultimate victory When Jesus Christ came into this world He came to save Yes our soul But also our body
[29:20] Our body will die But it will rise again Some to honour And some to dishonour The grave As we often see it As only a temporary Dwelling place for the body So here We have No lasting city But we're told then But we seek the city That is to come That's the place Of permanence And again scripture tells us Many things about this city As we're told that this city The builder and the maker is God We're told of this city That the foundation of this city Are precious stones And the gates are pearls We are told of this city That there is The streets are gold And that there's a river Proceeding from the throne A river That's flowing through it It's a city that needs no sun or moon Because of the glory of God
[30:23] Shining and lighting it up And the wonderful thing is That it is forever That it is forever And the citizens of that city Are going to be flourishing All the time The city shall be flourishing Its citizens abound A number shall Like to the word That's what we're going to sing at the end And this city is a place And this city is a place Where all the residents Will be there forever It's a place where We will feel eternally At home There's no place like home We often say it There's something about home It doesn't matter where you are You say to yourself It's good to get home Home It's just that That sense of belonging And that's how it will be When we get to an eternal home Ah, we'll say This is it I feel so at home Forever and ever and ever
[31:26] And we'll never be cast out of the place Isn't that a wonderful thought See in this world There's always this uncertainty It began in the fall Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden That beautiful place God had prepared for them They were thrown out And ever since There's been that restlessness And even although we may make for ourselves A good place in this earth We're going to have to leave it Nothing here is forever But there it's forever We'll never be cast out Nobody will ever be missing We'll never ever say I haven't seen so and so for a long time We'll never hear of anybody dying It will never be said As we say here so often from Psalm 103 The place that once knew him Will know him no more Or know her no more Never say that again A permanent residence Forever and ever and ever in glory
[32:30] Isn't that a wonderful thought And the blessings will continue forever And everything in this world That has caused hurt Will be removed Because there will be no sin There will be no pain No anxiety No fear Just think of that We can't imagine that Because all our life We've always at one point or another Experienced what pain is like We've all experienced anxiety In one form or another We've all experienced uncertainty There will be no anger No bitterness No resentment No gossiping No judgment No putting down on one another There will be no frustrations No criticisms Of perfect harmony Of perfect love Of perfect togetherness And it's going to be forever
[33:32] And ever and ever With overflowing Everlasting peace And it's no wonder that we talk of the gospel As being good news Because you go out into the world today And tell people Have you got an equivalent?
[33:48] Have you got something as good as this? And they have to say no It doesn't matter supposing a patient Gains the whole world And accumulates riches That are beyond calculation That patient does not have What is offered here What is guaranteed here And it's a place where our work And our service will be perfect We will never again Look at our work And say to ourselves Oh That was poor That was poor service I didn't do a good job there I could have done that so much better No You know And we will never be tired There will be a constant being energized I do not know There are many things we don't know I have no idea Whether we will sleep in heaven I just don't I don't know
[34:49] I would imagine That there will be times Where we will rest We have this idea Of perpetual energy And that may be true But there is something beautiful In slumbering In sleeping And we see that very idea That God himself Will rest it on the seventh day So that there is this idea There will be rest But whether we are sleeping I believe that there will be All these things Certainly we will be resting But we will be serving We will be working We will be fellowshipping We will be interacting There is new heavens And a new earth But there will never be a sense of failure Or a sense of frustration Or a sense of disappointment In ourselves And so we seek That is what we are told We seek the city that is to come That is what we are doing That is what we are doing We are seeking it That is what we are starting You know when a person becomes like When you become interested When you think back And the very first time
[35:50] You became interested In Jesus The first time you became concerned About your soul That is what you began to do To seek this city That was not what you were saying To yourself Oh I must seek this city But when the moment you begin To seek Jesus That is what you are doing And that encapsulates everything By seeking him Because the Lord has prepared All this for us We are told how he has prepared I go to prepare a place for you Well this is part of it It is within this city The house of many mansions Is within this city It is to be our eternal residence The question I have to ask you today is Are you seeking it?
[36:34] Are you seeking it? Are you seeking it? Are you a place there? Are you there? Is there a place reserved for you? If you today are a believer There is That is what we are told in Peter Remember how Peter is talking about A place reserved in heaven for you Your name is there It is guaranteed That name can't be taken out Your place It is guaranteed When you die You go there Today If you are without Jesus Right now You cannot say My place is guaranteed in heaven But you make sure What you are asked to do What the Lord is saying to you Today Is seek that city And if you find the king of the city Then you will be guaranteed a place He will come And he will take you To be with himself And I cannot think of any greater way Of starting another year Than saying to yourself
[37:36] Okay there are all these other things in life But this is the chief priority This is number one Whatever else I have or don't have Whatever else I do or don't do This one thing I must do I must get right with God In Jesus Christ And if you get right with God In Jesus Then you Have a place Guaranteed for you In this city Where you will be there Forever and ever Our prayer is that none of us Will be separated But that we will all Be together In the presence of the Lord Forever Let us pray O Lord our gracious God We ask that you will indeed bless us And encourage us As we go forward in life We give thanks for the great hope of the gospel And what has been prepared for us May there be a spiritual appetite Within our hearts Where we will desire to be with Christ forever
[38:39] O Lord watch over us we pray And we pray to bless the cup of tea in the hall afterwards And watch over us in all that we are about Do us good we pray And cleanse us from our every sin In Jesus name we ask it Amen Our final singing is Psalm 72 From the Scottish Psalter And my apologies In omitting a Gaelic singing today I had forgotten that To arrange that So my apologies Psalm 72 from the Scottish Psalter And the tune is Ephingham Psalm 72 And the tune is Ephingham Psalm 72 And the tune is Ephingham And the tune is Ephingham And it's from the middle of verse 16 The city shall be flourishing Her citizens abound In number shall Like to the grass that grows upon the ground His name forever shall endure Last like the sun it shall Men shall be blessed in him
[39:41] And blessed all nations shall him call Now blessed be the Lord our God The God of Israel For he alone doth wondrous works In glory that excel And blessed be his glorious name To all eternity The whole earth Let his glory fill Amen So let it be Psalm 72 from the middle of verse 16 The city shall be flourishing The city shall be flourishing Her citizens abound In love her shop Like to the grass Another shall like to the grass that grows upon the ground.
[40:41] Its name forever shall endure, last like the sun it shall.
[40:57] Men shall be blessed in heaven and blessed, all nations shall be born.
[41:13] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel.
[41:28] For he alone thou wondrous works in glory thou art excel.
[41:44] And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity.
[42:00] The whole that is glory filled. Amen.
[42:13] So let it be. 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.