[0:00] Let us begin our worship of God by singing to his praise in Psalm 100 of the Scottish Sing Psalms.
[0:12] Psalm 100 in the Sing Psalms. That's on page 131 of the Blue Books.
[0:24] Shout to the Lord with joy. All who to the earth belong, adore the Lord with joyful hearts and come to him in song.
[0:35] Know that the Lord is God. He made us as his own. We are the sheep of whom he cares, his people, his alone. Enter his gates with praise, his courts with thankfulness.
[0:49] Your praises gladly sing to him, his name forever bless. For God the Lord is good, his love is ever sure, his constant truth and faithfulness through every age and year.
[1:04] We'll stand and we'll sing these verses to God's praise. Shout to the Lord with joy. Shout to the Lord with joy.
[1:20] All who to earth belong. Adore the Lord with joyful heart.
[1:37] And come to him in song. Know that the Lord is God.
[1:53] He made us as his own. We are the sheep for whom he cares, his people, his alone.
[2:17] Enter his gates with praise, his courts with thankfulness.
[2:34] His grace with praise, his grace with thankfulness. Your praises gladly sing to him, his name forever bless.
[2:52] For God the Lord is good, his love is ever sure.
[3:07] His grace with thankfulness. His grace with thankfulness. His grace with thankfulness. His grace with thankfulness. His grace with thankfulness. May we join together in prayer.
[3:33] We pray to your God. Our heavenly Father. We thank you for this time that you have set aside for us on your day.
[3:46] And we pray that you would still our hearts as we gather under your word. To sit at your feet. To hear what you shall say to us.
[3:58] And Lord may your word come with power upon us. May your spirit be ever with us. And pray that you would keep the evil one from us. Lord that we would know the treasures of your blessing.
[4:13] And the riches of your grace. That the believer in Christ Jesus receives. Through trusting in what he has done for him. At the cross at Calvary.
[4:25] A payment for sin. A just payment before God. What we could never do. It is not of our works at all.
[4:36] It is all of what Christ has done. So open our eyes tonight. To see the beauty of Christ. The love that he displayed to us.
[4:51] As a people and a nation. A nation that God set promises before. In the Old Testament.
[5:04] As a hope that they would look forward. To this land that they would receive. To this king that would come. Not what they expected.
[5:15] But one. That was. Worthy. To be called a king. A king over all kings.
[5:27] A king over heaven. A king over earth. Lord. We pray. That we would see him. As a king tonight.
[5:38] And honour. And praise. His name. As we gather together. And Lord. We thank you. For all the privileges.
[5:49] That you have given to us this day. We thank you for our homes. We thank you for the shelter. That we have. The food that is given to us. We thank you for each other.
[6:00] We thank you for the encouragement. We are to each other. The help. And the support. And we pray. That we would value one another.
[6:12] That often we are guilty of not appreciating one another. So Lord open our eyes also. To see the beauty in each other.
[6:24] The beauty of Christ Jesus. In dwelling within the believer. And pray that we would be mindful. Of the needs of each other.
[6:35] As a church. And as a nation. And that we as a church. Would be an example. Working together. In one mind. Directed. By our Lord.
[6:46] Jesus Christ. Doing good. To one another. And. Seeking to build one another up. Lord. Lord. We know that there is no perfect church.
[6:58] But we are told. Of a perfect gathering. That shall be. Beyond. This land. That we dwell in. Towards the heavenly land.
[7:10] That you have promised for us. There will be no strife. Between us. There will be just love. And there will be no more pains. Nor sorrows. So Lord.
[7:24] We do not know. Truly. What that will be like. But we know a measure of it. By what dwells within us. And our eyes.
[7:37] Are drawn. To see. The beauty of Christ. And we say in ourselves. That it is not of us. That it is something.
[7:48] That is put in us. It is not. My sinful self. That desires. To read God's word. It is your spirit.
[7:59] Working in us. And so Lord. We pray. Work in us. This night. And we pray for our time. We pray for our island. As a whole. As a gospel message.
[8:10] As preached to the people. And amongst the villages. Of our island. That it would have gone with power. And go with power. And that your spirit. Would be restraining.
[8:20] And arresting souls. That still lie in sin. Lord. We know there are many. Who do not care for your word. Or even know the true value of it.
[8:32] We pray. That even if you use us. In some measure. To deliver your message. Give us willing hearts. To do so.
[8:44] Give us willing hearts. To share the gospel. Of what Christ has done for me. And how we seek his guidance. Every day. We pray.
[8:56] As we begin each day. We would be pleased. To say. To our master. Be pleased. To go with us. Go with us.
[9:07] Through all. Our experiences. Even. In the mundane tasks. Of life. We ask Jesus. That you would be with us. Be with us.
[9:19] In the big decisions. Of life. In the big moments. Of life. The scary moments. Of life. Moments that bring fear. Before us. Pray that you would go with us.
[9:31] In these too. Lord. We pray for our nation. As a whole. A land. That once knew you. By the book. Knew who God was.
[9:45] We pray that you would restore us. To that again. It seems. So far away from us. But we are not.
[9:58] To be scared. To bring big requests. Before you. Oh Lord. You have the power. To do so. But first. We as a nation. Must be brought to our knees.
[10:09] To see our need. Many of us. Many of our nation. Live in pride. They live by their own rules. I'll do it my way. Lord.
[10:21] You know how to humble us. And you must humble us. If we are to rid of any pride. That lies within our hearts. Lord.
[10:33] That is hard to pray for. And ask for at times. But you know what is best for us. You are a loving father. Who loves his people.
[10:46] And Lord. Lord. We pray that you would restore us. And bring us back. To you again. Lord. We ask. That you be with us. In this time. This time.
[10:56] As we gather. May we know your word. And value it. In the hearts. Of each person. That is here. You know them. Yourself.
[11:07] You know. The difficulties. That each. One. Is going through. Here. In this gathering. And we pray. That you would. Be with them. And that they would ask.
[11:20] That you be with them too. So Lord. Be with us. As we concentrate on your word. Open our eyes. And our minds. And we pray.
[11:31] As Mary sat at your feet. That we would feel that want. To hear. What you shall speak. To us. And not a mind.
[11:42] To do anything else. So be with us. We pray. Forgive us. Our sins. And all we ask. Is this. In the name. And power. Of our saviour.
[11:53] The Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. If we could turn. To the word of God. To the book of Deuteronomy.
[12:04] The book of Deuteronomy. Chapter 34. We'll read the whole chapter.
[12:31] Deuteronomy 34. May we have an ear. To hear God's word. Then Moses. Went up. From the plains of Moab.
[12:43] To Mount Nebo. To the top of Pisgah. Which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord. Showed him all the land. Gilead.
[12:53] As far as Dan. All of Naphtali. The land of Ephraim. And Manasseh. And the land of Judah.
[13:04] As far as the western sea. The Negev. And the plain. That is the valley of Jericho. The city of Pampers. As far as Zohar.
[13:16] And the Lord said to him. This is the land. Which I swore to Abraham. To Isaac. And to Jacob. I will give it to your offspring. I have let you see it with your eyes.
[13:29] But you shall not go over there. So Moses. The servant of the Lord. Died there in the land of Moab. According to the word of the Lord.
[13:40] And he buried him in the valley. In the land of Moab. Opposite Beth-Piar. But no one knows the place of his burial. To this day. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old.
[13:52] When he died. His eye was undimmed. And his vigour unabated. And the people of Israel. Wept for Moses. In the plains of Moab.
[14:03] For thirty days. Then the days of weeping. And mourning for Moses. Were ended. And Joshua. The son of Nun. Was full of the spirit of wisdom.
[14:14] For Moses had laid his hands. On him. So the people of Israel. Obeyed him. And did as the Lord. Had commanded Moses. And there has not arisen.
[14:25] A prophet since. In Israel. Like Moses. Whom the Lord knew. Face to face. None like him. For all the signs. And the wonders.
[14:35] That the Lord sent him. To do in the land of Egypt. To Pharaoh. And to all his servants. And to all his land. And for all the mighty power. And all the great deeds.
[14:47] Of terror. That Moses did. In the sight. Of all Israel. Amen. May the reading of God's word. Be blessed to us. We'll continue in our praise.
[14:59] By singing. In the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 90. Scottish Psalter.
[15:11] Psalm 90. From midway through. Verse 12. That's on page 350. Of the blue book. And so to count our days.
[15:26] That we at hearts. May still apply. To learn thy wisdom. And thy truth. That we may live thereby. Turn yet again.
[15:37] To us. O Lord. How long thus shall it be. Let it repent. Thee now for those. That servants are to thee. O with thy tender.
[15:48] Mercy's Lord. As early satisfy. So we rejoice. Shall all our days. And still be glad. In thee. According as the days have been.
[16:01] Wherein we grief have had. And years. Wherein we ill have seen. So do thou. Make us glad. We'll stand. And we'll sing these verses.
[16:12] To God's praise. And so to count our days. Amen. Amen. And so to count our days.
[16:27] That we. Our hearts may still apply. To learn thy wisdom and thy truth, that we may live thereby.
[16:54] Turn yet again to us, O Lord, how long the child be?
[17:12] Let it repent thee now for those that servants are to thee.
[17:31] O with thy tender mercies, Lord, us early satisfied.
[17:48] So we rejoice, shall all our days, and still be glad in thee.
[18:07] According as the days have been, wherein we grieve apart, And years wherein we ill have seen, So do thou make us glad.
[18:44] If I can turn back together to the passage we read in the book of Deuteronomy.
[18:58] And we'll take us our text tonight, what's written there in verse 5. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.
[19:14] Eternity has been put into the heart of every man. Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11. And the thought of heaven is attractive to us.
[19:26] It is a desire, it is an ultimate desire, even amongst people who do not believe in Christ. And the truth that has been adopted and twisted by them, is almost an expectation to those who live a good life.
[19:43] There is almost a popular belief among the people, assuming that we just go to heaven when we die. And as comforting as that sounds, it's just not true.
[19:56] It is only the promise to the believer in Jesus Christ. And that man's desire is actually fulfilled in what Christ promises.
[20:15] Eternal life. In a new body. A new life without sorrow. A life of enjoyment. A life in heaven.
[20:25] But we know that the Christian doesn't become a Christian purely because he can get a ticket into heaven. Any ideals of heaven without a life that loves Christ and trusts in Christ and relies upon Christ are false proposal that the devil will put in your hand to appease our conscience.
[20:55] I want you to imagine that you're sitting in the departure lounge of the airport. You have a ticket in your hand and it proves that you have paid and purchased a seat on the plane.
[21:07] It has all your essential information on it. And it proves that you are justifiably valid to be allowed entry by the man or machine nowadays that would verify your ticket.
[21:23] And I want you to see a ticket in your hand as you sit here tonight. Not a ticket for a plane, but a ticket for eternity. A ticket for eternity in your hand and in a very real sense, we actually do have it.
[21:43] And I want you to look at this and go through the details that are written on it. Your name will be on it. Your date of birth will be on it.
[21:56] And it might say something like, issued by. Well, that would be God. He gives all life. Date of travel, to be confirmed.
[22:12] Destination. What goes in that box? Two choices. It's heaven or hell. And this is your ticket.
[22:24] And I want you to be honest about this ticket tonight as you sit here. Not honest with me, nor the person that sits next to you, but I want you to be honest with God. After all, it's God who prints the ticket for you.
[22:40] What is going in the destination box for you tonight? And there may be another box that will have something along the lines of payment method.
[22:52] And it's going to completely depend on the destination. If it's hell, it's going to be something along the lines of wages of sin. And if it's heaven, it will be Christ's blood that has bought that space for you.
[23:08] But maybe the most scary thing of this ticket of all is that it is a one-way ticket. There's no going back with this ticket. And there's no denying that this ticket must be used.
[23:23] Death is a certainty to us all. So, if you need to change your ticket, if you're not happy with your destination, you kind of have two choices in a way.
[23:40] What would you do in reality with the ticket if you weren't happy with it? You would take it back to the one who issued it. And it is only the issuer of the ticket that can make changes to it with any validity, anything that will stand.
[23:56] And sometimes this change would cost you. But the change for the man that has a destination, change to heaven, it means giving up all the baggage of life.
[24:12] everything you have with you is handed over to the issuer. Things that you have become invaluable to you.
[24:24] Not completely invaluable, but Christ becomes more valuable of all. And you confess within your heart that you need Christ.
[24:35] You need a change. You can see the plight of your current condition and you need a change. And if you come to him pleading with him like that, I believe he will issue you a new ticket.
[24:49] And it will be a comforting assurance for you. But the world has found a funny way of dealing with it. They are not happy with the costs associated with the change. And someone else comes along to them and says, well, come with me, there's another way.
[25:07] show me your ticket, what you have in your hand. And he will look at it and he will say, ah, yes, I see the problem that you have. And he strokes out the word hell in the destination box.
[25:22] And he asks you, well, is it heaven you would like? And you might say, yes, please. That would be nice. And he writes heaven on the box.
[25:34] That's what the world's doing. They're saying, we go to heaven when we die. Just like that. And the devil will say, the man that took the ticket, the payment method, it says here that it is the wages of sin.
[25:51] We need to get rid of that too. We don't want to see the sight of sin or be reminded of it. And that will be changed to something along the lines of your own good works.
[26:04] You know, and you might think yourself, well, it doesn't quite sound right. But this man assures you, it's good. It stands. I'll put my name to it myself as a signature.
[26:18] And the master of the doubt, he will comfort you and reassure you that there is nothing wrong and there is nothing to worry about. And keep telling you, look at the ticket, that says heaven, what more do you want?
[26:31] And all that he is doing is appeasing your conscience. Because what is going to happen when you take that ticket on the day of departure? He would say to you, this is not valid.
[26:46] This has been written. You know, it would be laughable if it were not such a serious matter. And you could see, you could create it and imagine whatever you like.
[26:59] But the truth of God still stands. People imagine whatever they want in this world. And they come up with all sorts of philosophies and all sorts of ideas and all sorts of theories.
[27:10] But the truth of God still stands. And you see, the words that are printed on the ticket is the truth and it still stands.
[27:23] Your ticket will be no valid and you can do no good to purchase it. It is only by coming to the issuer and trusting in the blood of Christ as a payment that it will be valid.
[27:39] The truth will be evident to you. But the truth will be that the devil has fooled you if you do not come to Christ and have your ticket changed.
[27:53] And we do not like to speak of our own latter days. Whenever that may be, the date is not confirmed. But it has no benefit of us to ignore it or not to consider it scripture again tells us to teach us to number our days that we gain a heart of wisdom.
[28:13] There you have it. If you want to be wise, realise our days are numbered. These taken from the psalm written by Moses, Psalm 90. And you may be here feeling rather young but in reality you have just as much to consider as the eldest that is sat here.
[28:31] As we said, dates are not confirmed. We pray that the Lord will make us wise today looking at the departure of Moses on Mount Nebo to a greater destination than the one that he saw and consider our own destination.
[28:50] A time that will surely provoke an element of hindsight looking back and foresight looking forward. Two points that we can take when we look at this account.
[29:02] Hindsight and foresight. Before we consider the text we must consider Deuteronomy as a whole.
[29:13] The context of the book. It sets the scene for the passage that we have read together here. This book is the last recordings of Moses written as the children of Israel are gathered before the river Jordan preparing to enter into this land Canaan.
[29:30] And the book consists of a collection of speeches by Moses during this time. Lessons to the people. The new generation. The giving of the law again to this nation.
[29:45] So essentially what we have here is the last words of Moses. Words of advice to the people. Advice in hindsight as he looks back over his experiences in anticipation of this great change that is about to take place for them of this long awaited hope of entering into this land.
[30:09] And if there were ever a word of a man to be held in high regard surely it must be someone's dying words. But more so as a man of God.
[30:23] Moses pleads with the people in this book and he tells him to listen to what I'm saying. He says Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one.
[30:37] You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your might. This is the most important thing of all. Put God first.
[30:49] And give to him all your strength. And as their leader he feels an accountability towards it. And he calls for the whole earth to witness to his words in chapter 30.
[31:04] It says I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death blessing and accursed and he says to them therefore choose life.
[31:19] He has seen first hand the disobedience of the nation and how God has exercised punishment over them. So he sets this truth before them clearly.
[31:33] He says it's up to you now choose life trust in God it's life or death are you devoting your heart your souls and all your strength to God it's a blessing not a curse but he also goes on and he says and these words which I command you today shall be on your heart you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house when you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates he says to the people of God teach your children these things set the things of God before your mind constantly when you speak to one another when you work when you rest never let the Lord fall out of your sight always have him over your household is that not a challenge for us as a people of God and especially for us today as a nation our nation has largely forgotten these things we forget the importance of trusting in God and relying upon him and we need to hear them again we need to hear these things that Moses spoke to the people as a nation we need to hear them again do we as a church live like that speaking of our Lord all the time and all that we do it's a challenge to me maybe the generation before us did more so than we do and Moses just warns them do not forget
[33:45] God this is a matter of a blessing or a curse do not forget God do not expect blessing if you do but also for the people there is a promise in the passage referred to by God in verse 4 and the Lord said to him this is the land which I swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob God is saying to Moses himself look back remember my promise that I would raise a great nation and I would provide for them a land as I spoke to Abraham well now this is the land here and the nation are there before you as you see them the day has come that they will see my faithfulness to them they will know that my word is sure and I am trustworthy but so also he speaks to Moses which I change from the people to the person of Moses he says
[34:54] I have let you see it with your eyes but you shall not go over there a reminder of his own disobedience when he struck the rock at Meribah with his staff against God's word he told him to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water he acted in his own way and he did not honour God before the people and God for this refused him access into the land of Canaan that you can see referred to in the book of Numbers at the end of chapter 32 and we have no words recorded by Moses before God in this final moment no complaint no excuses no doubts he is completely acceptant of God's word and submitted submission to God's will yes there was words for his people but silence before God death humbles us before God we are powerless and surely himself he would have thought back upon these failings that were mentioned to but also to the faithfulness of God in his own life possibly even back to his first appearing at the burning bush and recalling the Lord's words
[36:30] I will be with you and he stands now here at the top of this mountain in these final moments looking back over every blessing and every difficulty it took for him to stand here to reach this point I will be with you God but reassured that knowing to the very end God has been true to that word and now more than ever maybe these words were sweet medicine to his heart and we can look back over our lives and recall the workings of the Lord in it you remember the words that came with clarity before your mind words that moved us in our beginnings mindfully even though that we were so stubborn we have been so rebellious but the
[37:32] Lord has never failed us and these things are not just an encouragement to yourself they're an encouragement to each other for each other to hear of these experiences these blessings are healthy to recall not only was my Lord my encourager and fruitful days but often they were solemn and sad days and maybe more so days where I disobeyed him and I learned a lesson maybe to our own shame but even these things recalled in our own experiences in hindsight they are good instruction for us Moses leaves good instruction for the people as he looks back and looking back we are strengthened and encouraged to go forward whatever forward means for us today let us look now at the foresight that we see here
[38:34] Moses is on the top of this mountain looking out over this favourable land and it was a land that was not for him it was for the people and Moses knew himself it wouldn't be perfection he pleaded with the people to obey the Lord their God and it says in chapter 31 that he knew how much more rebellious and stubborn they would be after his death this land was not a paradise this land was not perfection and as he stands on top of Mount Nebo it would never be the restoration of an Eden like dwelling no doubt considering what lay ahead for the people as a whole and a worry for the people's faithfulness or faithlessness before God how was
[39:37] God going to punish them when they rebelled against his name but as he looked out he sees the different places and as far as he could see it says the last of what is listed there was Zohar now Zohar would have been memories of a place of grace where Lot went to in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah the angels came and told him to run to the mountains but Lot came to the angels and asked can I go to Zohar he didn't fully obey the words of the angels but it was still granted to him a grace where he could go to but he would be safe there and Moses as far as he could see there was the land of Sodom and for him as a leader of the people seen as far as I could see this place of grace surely it was a comfort to him knowing that God's grace would be there
[40:54] God would not utterly destroy the people in this land and also for the people as they would have begun to settle in the land there would have been one everlasting reminder for them to see and that would have been Nebo itself you know you could have gone see that hill in the distance that's where Moses died that's where the man died but pleaded with us to trust in the Lord there was none like him who knew God face to face and he spoke on our behalf and he led us into this land and his last words to us were that we should be faithful and trusting to God and his body was taken by God to be buried by him where no one would know so Nebo itself would have stood for a memorial for the people to see and Christ is the equivalent of that memorial for you today the tomb is empty there is no body there was none like him who knows
[42:19] God face to face who spoke on behalf of you who will lead you to a land if you trust in him he is the one that has risen there is no body there secured by God that was the nation but what about personally for Moses in his foresight he wished to continue into the land it says it in chapter 3 of Deuteronomy but he must leave them he had given his life for this nation they were essentially his family but now personally and privately anticipates a land that exceeds the promise to Israel a better land that his eyes could see a heavenly land of his master and restored
[43:20] Eden to dwell with God and the long awaited sight of the one who will once again illuminate his face and radiate his glory upon him as he did at Mount Sinai but now it will be upon him forever Moses knew his day and most likely we do not know what tomorrow shall bring for us other than to gain the wisdom of trusting in his word and that often means silence when our appointed time draws near we can find it most difficult to leave the ones that we have in a sense given our lives for in every good effort that we have done for them the family that we know so well they will continue on in this land and we have been refused to go with them maybe hopeful of so many better things that they will experience even desiring a better life with God maybe with a concern for their faithfulness to God regardless we are all we are mindful that there is a separation to be made and there is a story I want to tell you it is recorded in the book
[44:53] Billy Bray very briefly it's a good wee book if you ever come across it there's lots of wee stories and maybe some of you have read it I want to tell the story Billy had gone one day to visit a man who lay sick in his bed who became remarkably happy and expressed a hope that the Lord would take him to heaven there and then as he felt quite ready for the change and should not then grieve his best friend Christ again by carelessness or his unbelief his wife who was standing by the side of his bed turned away her eyes filled with tears to Billy immediately turned and said so would you not have your husband promoted then and then he took up the story don't you think that your eyes ought to be as much upon the
[45:55] Lord Jesus Christ as the eye of a worldly woman is to be on a queen now if the queen was to send for the brother a son or even a husband would she not say I am sorry to part with him but it may be the making of him I must let him go it is a queen who has sent for him and yet you know he continued that it might be a great expense to prepare him to go or the queen might soon die or maybe he offends her and then he would be as bad off as ever but the Lord Jesus Christ is at all the expense of the foot out he has provided the robe which your husband will be clothed the crown that he will wear the palm that he will wave in his hand the Lord Jesus Christ will never die and your husband wants to go because he knows he will never offend him again now ought you not to be willing he said the distressed wife now smiling through her tears she said she was willing but she did not want to lose him just yet and do you think said bully that you would ever be willing we read and know the words of Paul that says for the
[47:33] Christian sting has no death and for those who remain that can be something that we find hard to say but certainly the sting may be felt with bitter tears and the scarring of it may remain forever more with us it can surely be said that there is no venom to infiltrate your body or your mind but with rather but rather with a foresight in Christ Jesus and the good medicine from the good physician we are administered peace and comfort for the believer that dies in Christ Jesus for they know that the venom of sin the potency of death has been absolved by Christ at Calvary's hill he made atonement for those who confess him as their Lord that death for the believer who parts is their personal great inheritance they are ones who shall be clothed again with robes of righteousness at the expense of Christ but also for those of who remain of the family it is the greatest of all consolations knowing that their beloved now knows unspeakable glories in themselves of the heavenly city that has been prepared for them glories of the almighty king that is before them and who they likewise know as the heavenly hosts who are recorded as singing holy holy holy lord god almighty who was and is and who is to come see in creation there was evening and there was morning and through the days of our wanderings there are many evenings and many mornings and we look over our lives and we see that there is no city found to rest here and we await the seventh day that shall come in perfection what shall be a blessed rest for the people of god secured by god and known only unto him like moses was buried and secured and known only unto him but it will be a restored land a heavenly land like a restored eden where we shall dwell with god the faithful christian in life has a deep rooted beauty in them and in a sense it increases in death yes we look back over their life but they are witness always points us forward as they would want it to pointing us always towards their savior christ jesus there's a quote that i read that as the candle of life burns away slowly death is not the extinguishing of the light it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come the dawn comes for the believer
[51:33] in christ jesus the candle is burnt out but there are glories that are unspeakable for those who depart from us and trust in christ jesus so what is your destination tonight what is written on your ticket do you have a comfort in christ jesus indeed shall you leave a comfort for those that remain pray that you do i pray that each of you knows christ jesus and there will be a comfort to me knowing your destination and you knowing your destination this night pray these thoughts be blessed to us i'll conclude i'll have to say a word of prayer now father in heaven still us before you this night mindful that we are not here forever mindful that we as grass grows and the flower does fade but that you are faithful to us you are the one who has promised to redeem us that we would be fully trusting in you and lord we admit that there are many failings in our hearts that draw us and lead us and tempt us to the left and to the right of the narrow path that leads to life lord we pray you keep us you sustain us that we must choose life refute anything else that is put before us and desire the heavenly land the man that died on the cross and has purchased that for us and that we shall be greatly comforted in knowing what he has done for us the king has prepared a place for those who believe in christ jesus amen conclude by singing to god's praise in psalm 23 psalm 23 in the scottish psalter it's on page 229 the lord's my shepherd i shall i the lord's my shepherd i'll not want he makes me down to lie in pastures green he leadeth me the quiet waters by my soul he doth restore again and me to walk doth make within the paths of righteousness even for his own name's sake yea though i walk in death's dark veil yet will i fear none other for thou art with me and thy rod and staff me comfort still my table thou hast furnished in presence of my foes my head thy dust with oil anoint and my cup overflows goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in god's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be may we sing these words to god's praise the lord's my shepherd the lord's my shepherd i'll not want he makes me down to hide in pastures
[55:35] clean he leadeth me the quiet waters by my soul he doth restore again and he to walk doth me within the paths of righteousness he for his soul him sick yea though I walk in death's dark will yet will
[56:41] I fear not ill for thou art with me on thy road and staff me comfort still my table thou hast furnished in in presence of my foes my head the dust with oil anoint and my cup overflows goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in
[58:08] God's house forever more my dwelling place shall be conclude in prayer that heavenly father we thank you for this time and we ask that you would be with us as we part may we know the riches of christ jesus found in your word and the presence of your spirit leading and guiding us with every step that we take in the days ahead be with us throughout all our experiences whatever has gone before us and whatever lies in front of us and that we would trust in the one who does not leave us nor forsake us let us hold to that promise as believers in the lord jesus christ by his name and by his name and by his power we ask these things amen