[0:00] Well, we're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 1 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 1, page 200 of the psalm books.
[0:11] We're seeing the whole of this psalm. The tune is Amazing Grace. That man of perfect blessedness who walketh not astray in counsel of ungodly men nor stands in sinners' way.
[0:23] We'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise. That man of perfect blessedness who walketh not astray in counsel of ungodly men.
[1:00] Nor stands in sinners' way. Nor sits a thin the sorrows' chair, but grace and grace delight upon God's long and majesties.
[1:37] On heaven, all day and night. We shall be like a king that rose, near-founded by our river.
[2:03] And all he does shall prosper. And all he does shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper. We shall prosper.
[2:17] I am not so, but like they are unto the child, which when I do am low, and God, and therefore shall not stand such as a God.
[3:16] I am not so, but like they are, and therefore shall not stand such as a God.
[3:58] Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.
[4:25] Amen. Our Father in heaven, we do thank you for this, your day. We thank you for the great privilege and joy it is to come and gather together in worship.
[4:37] Lord, we pray that you will bless us and watch over us today in all our different needs. We thank you for everyone who has come out here and also everyone who is tuning in as well.
[4:47] And wherever we are today, Lord, we pray that you will surround us with your grace, with your mercy, with your peace. We do thank you for all our young people here today.
[4:58] We thank you for our Sunday school, the creche, the tweenies, the Bible class. We thank you for the great encouragement that there is in seeing young people coming. And just together we will know your blessing on us.
[5:11] That as they learn today from your word of the wonderful way that you are able to help people. As we think of that passage that we'll be studying today about Bartimaeus, we thank you for the way that he cried out to you.
[5:25] A reminder to us all that that is what we need to do today as well. That we would call upon you and cry out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And that you would help us to see you through every one of us, Lord.
[5:39] That we would come to see you and to know you more and more. And to love you with all our hearts and follow you all the days of our lives. So continue with us, watch over us, Lord.
[5:51] Hear our prayers and pardon us. And that's all we ask. We ask in Jesus' precious name. Amen. But before the young people, I just want to mention the passage that you're going to be looking at today in Sunday school and Bible class and tweenies.
[6:09] And it's a wonderful, it's actually one of my favorite passages about a man called Bartimaeus. And you're going to learn about him and how Jesus helped him today.
[6:20] And there's a number of different reasons why I love this story. Bartimaeus was someone who just was ignored by many people. And they looked at him and just thought he was just not to be spoken to even.
[6:32] They told him to be quiet. But Jesus was passing by. And that's what was important for him. He cried out as he heard that Jesus was passing by. He said, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
[6:47] And it's a reminder to us of what Jesus can do for all of us. But Jesus had a question for him. As he came to Jesus, Jesus asked him a question.
[6:58] And it's there in verse 51 of Mark 10. And it says, what do you want me to do for you? Jesus is asking, what do you want me to do for you?
[7:09] What would you say to that question if Jesus asked you? What do you want me to do for you? There might be many different things that come to mind. Maybe you're wanting something new.
[7:21] You want a new bike. You're saying to himself, Jesus, can you help me? Can you get me a new bike or just a new toy or a new friend? We might ask for many different things if Jesus gives us that question.
[7:34] But aren't there good things to ask? I want to ask for these things of Jesus in prayer. But that question is a special question. What do you want me to do for you?
[7:46] Because it's asking, what's the greatest thing I could do for you? And what's interesting about Bartimaeus is that just before Jesus met Bartimaeus, he'd actually asked this question of two of his disciples, James and John.
[7:59] They'd come to Jesus making demands. And Jesus had said, what do you want me to do for you? And that answer was, we want one of us to sit on your right and one on your left in glory.
[8:12] They were looking for something special, something special for themselves, glory for themselves. And Jesus said, that's not what's important.
[8:23] That's not what you should really be asking for. And what we learn then is as he comes to meet with Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus' reply is what is important. Jesus said to him, what do you want me to do for you?
[8:35] And Bartimaeus said, Rabbi, that's teacher. He said, let me recover my sight. Let me see. And that's the greatest thing we can ask Jesus for.
[8:46] Lord, Jesus, let me see you. Let me know you in that way. Let me love you with all my heart. So there's many things that we could ask of Jesus.
[8:59] If he was to ask us that question, what do you want me to do for you? But the greatest response we could give is what Bartimaeus says. Lord, let me see.
[9:11] Let me see you. And as he sees Jesus, what does he do? He follows him on the way. So today that that would be our cry to Jesus. Let us see.
[9:23] Let us see Jesus. We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now. Amen. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[9:36] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
[9:49] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. We're going to sing again to God's praise.
[10:02] And the young ones go out. During the singing through the door to my left here, we're going to sing in Psalm 25. In the sing-sign portion, page 29 of the psalm books.
[10:15] Psalm 25. We're going to sing from verse 9. Down to verse 9, and the tune is Herongate. And here, David in this psalm asks the Lord for help to direct him in all the ways that he should go.
[10:29] To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. I trust in you continually. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my foes gloat over me. We stand to sing verse 1 to 9 to God's praise.
[10:41] Amen. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
[10:54] I trust in you continually. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my foes gloat over me.
[11:17] No one who sends his hope in you will ever suffer such as grace.
[11:39] But those who act with treachery Your maliancy shame will face O Lord, be built to me your way And all your past and all things you know Thy elect and guide me in your truth And trust me in the way to go You are my Savior and my Lord
[12:42] All day I know in you alone Remember, Lord, your love and grace With strong passages you have shown Do not be of my sins of you For my rebellious evil ways Remember me in your grace For you, O Lord, are good always
[13:45] Because the Lord is just and true He shows His path to all who stray He guides the maiden waters wide And teachers, then His holy way We were getting a big wave from one of the wee boys going out there I wasn't sure, was it me he was waving at?
[14:32] Or was it his dad, Ali? But it made me smile as he was going out giving a big wave We're going to turn and read God's word together now We're going to read in Matthew The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6 We're going to take up our reading at verse 19 Reading down to the end of the chapter Matthew chapter 6 and at verse 19 You'll find it around page 978 of the church Bibles Matthew chapter 6 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth Where moth and rust destroy And where thieves break in and steal But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven Where neither moth nor rust destroys And where thieves do not break in and steal But where your treasure is There your heart will be also The eye is the lamp of the body
[15:34] So if your eye is healthy Your whole body will be full of light If your eye is bad Your whole body will be full of darkness If then the light in you is darkness How great is the darkness No one can serve two masters For either he will hate the one and love the other Or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and money Therefore I tell you Do not be anxious about your life What you will eat or what you will drink Nor about your body What you will put on Is not life more than food And the body more than clothing Look at the birds of the air They neither sow nor reap Nor gather into barns And yet your heavenly Father feeds them Are you not of more value than they And which of you by being anxious Can add a single hour to his span of life And why are you anxious about clothing Consider the lilies of the field
[16:34] How they grow They neither toil nor spin Yet I tell you Even Solomon in all his glory Was not arrayed like one of these But if God so clothes the grass of the field Which today is alive And tomorrow is thrown into the oven Will he not much more clothe you O you of little faith Therefore do not be anxious Saying what shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear For the Gentiles seek after all things And your heavenly Father knows That you need them all But seek first the kingdom of God And his righteousness And all these things will be added to you Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow For tomorrow will be anxious for itself Sufficient for the day Is its own trouble Amen And may God bless that reading From his word Again just bow our heads In a word of prayer Let us pray Our gracious Father in heaven
[17:38] As we continue studying your word together this day We thank you for it We thank you for the truths it contains That it is not man's word But your word to man And we thank you that it speaks to everyone of us Young and old alike It reminds us of everything that we need to know for life And especially as we read in this passage together this morning We see Jesus' Sermon on the Mount Where he was preaching to a large crowd About the important things of life And so often it's the case that what we see as important As what we put our priorities in Is the secondary issues But Jesus here reminds us of what is of first importance And that is to seek first The kingdom of God To seek the Lord while he may be found To call upon him while he is near And that in so doing then We will see all other things added to us
[18:38] We would see things in a different order And with different eyes And see that you are what is the most precious thing of all You know as we think of Bartimaeus And how he cried out as Jesus passed by Jesus son of David have mercy on me His need was maybe food As he was blind and begging by the side of the road His greatest need was help though And Jesus showed him what he really needed help with And we thank you for the faith That made Bartimaeus well Your faith has made you well Jesus said to him And his sight was restored And he followed Jesus And so we pray That as we see what is important in life As we see what our priorities should be That you would open our eyes to see And to see Jesus And to follow him And we pray that you will bless your word to us As we study it together this morning As we look at the word before us
[19:39] Lord may you help us by your spirit To understand it To receive it To hear it And to do as it says To believe it with all our hearts And to recognize its ultimate authority Authority for life And for death And for eternity For all of these things that are before us For we are told in your word That there is a time to live And so a time to die And that is the reality That we all have to face up to In this world And yet we thank you That the gospel is still good news In a world that perishes To a people who are perished That the gospel is the great news That there is salvation in Jesus Christ And that he has come That we might have life And have it for all eternity Teach us Teach us through your word To number our days And to apply our minds to wisdom And to the wisdom of your word And your truth
[20:39] Help us then we pray And help us in our homes In our families In our congregation here Lord That you would look down upon us And help us Help those who are going through Difficult times Of ill health Infirmity Of uncertainty in life Even the anxieties That we have read of in this passage We can all have anxious hearts And yet we pray Lord That you will come And help us To be still in your presence To know That you are God And that you are there for us Help those who go through Times of grief We pray Lord That you will Bind up the broken hearts As your word says And that you will help us Even in our understanding Of certain things To still have faith in you As the one who does things Lord There are so many aspects of life That we find difficult and hard Answers that we do not have Answers that we feel so helpless Even to give to those Who ask these questions But Lord We thank you that
[21:39] Through wisdom Is found with you That the hidden things Belong to you And that we can leave them with you And that the day will come Lord When you unravel The pattern of our lives And explain to us The reasons why And that we can just In this time Lord Know That you are the one Who holds us You are the one Who keeps us So we pray Lord Blessing upon Your people And upon the word That goes out Even today Throughout Our communities here We thank you For our communion season And we pray For those who gather Around the Lord's table And the sacrament Of the Lord's supper We pray for the congregation In Nessus They meet We pray for them In North Harris In Scalpe We thank you For the preaching Of your word There today And pray that there Be a movement Of your spirit That there will be Rejoicing over Sinners being saved That there will be A fellowship of believers Gathered To encourage One another And build one another up
[22:40] We thank you Lord For these seasons Of refreshing And pray For the services In the week ahead As well God willing As we see The congregations That will gather Around your word As well Where ministers Will preach Where people Will gather We ask that your spirit Will be present In all of these days To bless And to show us Lord From heaven With your blessing So Lord Hear our prayers Continue with us As a people Continue with us In a world That seems so full Of chaos In so many different ways And so many Different parts Of the world With our troubles And fears And worries With our war With our natural disasters With so many things Going on Lord Beyond our control But we thank you That the world Belongs to the Lord And all That it contains That everything Is yours And Lord We pray That you'll remember us And that you'll have
[23:40] Continue with us Throughout the day Refresh us In our worship And also in our rest And our time Out from the usual Activities of the week Lord That you'll refresh us In body Mind And soul Hear our prayers And as we come We confess our sins Anew Seeking mercy And forgiveness That's all we ask We ask in Jesus Precious name Amen Before we turn back To look at This passage in Matthew We're going to sing again In Psalm 125 Psalm 125 Page 419 We sing the whole of this psalm The tune is Huddersfield Then the Lord That firmly thrust Shall be like Sion Hill Which at no time Can be removed But standeth ever still We sing the whole of this psalm To God's praise Amen In the Lord
[24:45] That firmly must Shall be like Sion Hill Which at no time Can be removed What standeth ever still At found upon Jerusalem The mountain Stand away That voyque
[25:48] Let's walk upon the Lord, for just men shall not die, lest righteous men stretch forth their hearts unto their liquidy.
[26:18] Do bow to all those that be good, I will my sword impart, and do our good to those that have a pride.
[26:46] And within their hearts, but as for such a star night, a light of love and truth that we all shall lead forth with wicked men, all is shall we shall see.
[27:24] Amen.
[28:24] That word's a word that maybe you use often or you hear often being used. There's so much talk about change in our world and in our lives.
[28:34] Every day we hear something about it because nothing stands still. There's always change. But is change something that scares you or is it something that you see a need of?
[28:50] Is it something that scares you or is it something that you see a need of? It depends how we're looking at it, of course. There are many things that we want to keep as they are.
[29:00] But there are other things that we want to change and it depends just what we're looking at. And as we look at the gospel, we're always thinking about the gospel as a gospel that never changes.
[29:11] It's the same word today, yesterday, forever. It's the same word. The word doesn't change. And yet the gospel itself is all about change because it's a gospel with a power to change us, to bring us from darkness to light.
[29:30] And so it does depend how we're looking at that word, change. And as Jesus preaches here in Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, as it's so often called, is Jesus preaching to a crowd who he longs that they would be changed.
[29:46] Changed in a sense of growing in their knowledge and understanding of who he is and what their greatest need in life is. And as we look at our lives ourselves, as we look at our own days, and as we look at our days, our weeks, our months, our years, as it quickly passes by, there are so often many things that we see change.
[30:12] Things that we see change in ourselves or things that we would like to see change around us. As we think of the world in which we live in today, we want to see change.
[30:24] We want to see change in so many different ways. Where there's war, we want that changed to peace. Where there's people who are hungry and thirsty, suffering, we want to see them fed.
[30:34] Where there's natural disasters that have caused terrible devastation, we want to see change and things rebuilt. We look around us and we see that there's so much need for change.
[30:48] We see it in lives around us, of individual lives or our own lives, where we want to see change in terms of things being better for people. Whether it's health, we want to see change.
[31:01] Whether it's financial insecurity or loss of jobs, we want to see change so that people are more secure in so many different ways. There's things that we want in our own lives to change too, I'm sure.
[31:13] As we look at ourselves, we want things to change for us, for the better. We often learn through experience in life that often the way that we see change coming about or the plans that we make for ourselves, we are vulnerable to change.
[31:32] And that's why it's important that we hear what Jesus is saying to us here. And we apply our hearts to wisdom. As one of the Psalms says, the wisdom of which Jesus is teaching us here.
[31:43] about is it their own plans that are important or is it the Lord's plans? In the book of Proverbs, chapter 16, verse 9, there we see wisdom.
[31:56] The heart of man plans his ways, it says. Our own hearts, we make our plans. We have our desired plans that we might think about. This is the change that needs to happen in my life.
[32:08] But it goes on to say, but the Lord establishes his steps. It's not just change in ourselves that we want ourselves, but what does the Lord want for you, what does the Lord want for me?
[32:22] What are our priorities in life? So as we look at our lives, we have a sense of a need of change in so many different ways of putting our house in order, if you like.
[32:36] And we can often view it as a kind of setting priority and goals in life, but I wanted to look at it today under a kind of DIY project.
[32:48] A DIY project. But in the sense of asking, is it a do-it-yourself plan? Is it something you're going to sort out all by yourself?
[33:00] A DIY project. Or is it going to be a DIY disaster? In trying to do it yourself, it's only going to end in disaster. And where does the Lord fit into all these plans?
[33:17] We often have DIY projects on the go. I'm sure many of us like to tinker with little projects. Perhaps it's around the house. You go through the winter months and it's maybe an inside project.
[33:31] Painting and decorating a room. Making some changes inside. Or as the spring comes, as the days get longer, the weather gets better. It's the outside jobs. You want to change things.
[33:43] Improve things. But how do they turn out? Are you good at DIY? Or have you ever had a DIY disaster?
[33:54] Have you ever been working on a project where I just have lost my way? I just don't know what I'm doing here. It's time to call in the experts.
[34:05] There's a program on television called DIY SOS. And it used to be more so in the past. There would be programs about people who have started DIY projects.
[34:16] It's all gone wrong for them. And they have to call in this DIY SOS team who come in to put things right. Or people who have looked at projects and they're just too big.
[34:28] And the DIY SOS come in to help them through it. Well, as you see in this passage in Matthew 6, it's very much Jesus speaking to a people who have their own DIY plans.
[34:41] We're going to do it this way. We're going to live our lives in this way. We're going to find our way through life, through death, into eternity. We're going to do it all by ourselves.
[34:53] It's a DIY project. But Jesus so often shows us that doing it by ourselves is only going to end in disaster. And instead that we are to see, as he is teaching here, that it's first to put him as the first priority in our lives.
[35:12] That he is the one who has come to right our DIY disaster. That we cannot save ourselves. And this is closely connected to what we've been looking at in our Wednesday Bible studies.
[35:24] Looking at the truths of the Reformation. That we cannot save ourselves by our own works. It's not a project we try and do ourselves. By his word alone.
[35:37] By grace alone. Through faith alone. It's all of these things. Because if we do it apart from him, it ends in disaster. So as you look at your own life today.
[35:49] As you look at your past. As you look at your present. As you even look to the future. Ask yourself, is my house in order? Is my life, my project, this is a DIY project.
[36:03] I'm going to do it all myself. Or are you living, looking to the Lord and his help? But we see in this passage. An SOS.
[36:15] The way the Lord comes to his people. And we're going to look at it under that three heads. That SOS. And the first thing is savings. And the second thing is observations.
[36:28] And then the third thing is security. Three things that make up SOS. By savings, observations, and security. And Jesus begins in the verses that we read by speaking about savings.
[36:43] In the beginning of the chapter, in the previous verses, he's spoken about the Lord's prayer. He's taught them how to pray. And he's talked about fasting.
[36:54] And from there, he moves on to possessions. To money. To savings. And in many ways, it can seem like just a random jump. Just going from one random thing to another throughout the Sermon on the Mount.
[37:09] But it's actually, it's tying everything together. It's tying our lives together in how we look at things. If our focus is right towards God.
[37:20] So we think of prayer and fasting. That was important to the people. If we get these things in order and get these things right. Well then, there's a better chance of everything else flowing from rightly from that.
[37:34] So that when he comes down to verse 33. And he's sort of summarizing it there. Seek for the kingdom of God. It's taking us right back to prayer and fasting.
[37:45] It's taking us back to putting things in that right order. Because from there, everything falls into place. If our focus is right towards God and towards Christ, then other things have a right focus too.
[38:02] Because you see in verse 24, he makes that point follows. He says, No one can serve two masters. You cannot have these two as your master.
[38:13] You cannot serve God and money. Who is your master? That's what he's saying here. So the first thing he speaks about here is savings.
[38:27] And when you think of a DIY project, it's always going to need funding. It's going to need input. It's going to need money to make that project become a reality.
[38:39] Jesus is saying here is, let's get that right as well. And what he says then is in verse 19, verse 20. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
[38:57] But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[39:12] So it's about not having this divided loyalty. Trying to serve God and money. No, where is your treasure? What is important in your life?
[39:25] Is it God or is it money? You cannot serve both. And much of what we invest in putting into our homes, into our lives in this world, is good in so many ways.
[39:44] It's important. But what Jesus reminds us of, if that is all the treasure that you're laying up, then it's worthless because it's going to be destroyed.
[39:57] The moth is going to eat it. The rust is going to destroy it. The thieves are going to break in and steal it. It's vulnerable. And that's what our lives are if that's what our focus is on.
[40:09] Our lives are vulnerable. But he says instead, lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven where nothing can touch it, nothing can destroy it, nothing can steal it.
[40:22] You know, we can live our lives with ourselves as our priority, our own DIY project, where I'm going to enjoy my life. I'm going to make the money.
[40:34] I'm going to buy my car. I'm going to do all of these things. But ultimately, it's worthless. It'll rust. It'll fade away. We can do all of these projects, and yet we have nothing at the end of the day.
[40:50] So where are you to invest? Where are you to invest in me? Your security is in me.
[41:02] Your works, you're living your life in this way. It's not going to help you eternally. Christ alone is the only way to salvation. Christ alone is the only way to save up for an eternity that is before all.
[41:19] So we look to Jesus. We see what his preaching is here. Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. How do we do this?
[41:30] Well, it's not in him. Because Jesus has a building project going on us. That he is preparing for his people.
[41:42] A place in glory. In John 14, verse 2 and 3, it says, He has a project.
[41:55] He has a project. He has a better place for us all. That he has prepared by going to the cross for us, and is even preparing for us now. That, as he goes on to say, If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself.
[42:13] That where I am, you may be also. A place that is secure and a security for his people. So what's your saving plan for getting your house in order?
[42:25] Is it a DIY job? You're trying to do it yourself. It will only end in disaster. The only security, the only saving plan you need is that finished work of Christ.
[42:40] Christ has done it. It's finished, he said, on the cross. And he has gone to prepare a place for his people. So it's about our treasure in heaven.
[42:53] That that is what we're to look to. So we have our savings plan. When we see our observations, observations, if you're looking at DIY projects, it's because you're observing, you're seeing, that there is a need, that there's a project that needs your attention.
[43:12] And as Jesus goes on here, he speaks about how we look around us and how we see our lives and how much anxiety it brings to us.
[43:23] And in verse 25, he starts to say, therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. And he's saying this for a reason.
[43:35] He's saying this because that is what people are troubled by, that these are big issues in our lives then and as they are now in our day as well. We are afraid.
[43:48] We're anxious about so many different things. Jesus speaks about anxiety here, not in a way of saying, just pull yourself together.
[43:58] Come on, get on with your life. But he does it in a way where he's teaching us, where he's teaching us what's important, where he's teaching us that he knows about our anxieties.
[44:11] He knows the worries and the fears that we have. And life often makes us think about these things, the things that he speaks about, whether it's food or clothing, you know, what our health, all these different things that make us anxious, all these different things that, again, we can so often make a priority for ourselves.
[44:36] But ultimately he's saying, look at these things, observe these things, and put in it all, see how quickly your life is passing by and that these are not your priorities either.
[44:52] What does he say in verse 27? Each of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life. Our lives go past.
[45:03] A new year comes, and here we are already into March 2025. We think about how a birthday comes, another milestone arrives, or a major event comes in our lives.
[45:19] They make us think about the passing of time. So often, all the time, we're reminded of the years going past and how uncertain our time span here is.
[45:29] We observe all of these things. We see it all around us, whether it's locally, nationally, or internationally. How quick circumstances are we?
[45:42] How quickly our lives go by. We've observed it. Even just looking back over these last few years, it's just about five years now since the pandemic came.
[45:55] Our lives were turned upside down. We've not really recovered fully from it in so many different ways. Things that we could never see coming, and yet all of a sudden, it turned our lives upside down.
[46:11] And we've seen natural disasters. We've seen wars. We've seen it going on all the time. And these things. Think.
[46:24] Think even for ourselves, as we look at our lives, lives but a breath and an eternity before us. We cannot add a single hour to the span of our life by just being anxious about all of these things.
[46:44] There has to be more. And what does it say to us? Well, it's teaching us that the priority is not about food and the body and clothing and all of these things.
[47:00] The priority is seek first the kingdom of God. Seek first the kingdom of God that we observe all these things in light of eternity, and we seek first the kingdom of God because that is what is important.
[47:18] You can chase after these things all your days. You can be anxious about your clothing, your food, all of these things. And there's a time that we are afraid and anxious but we come to God with it.
[47:31] That's the key. We observe and we come to God and seek his kingdom. And he says then all these other things will be added to you. They will fall into place for you.
[47:45] Not in the sense where we'll be millionaires or anything like that. There may be still times when we're hungry and we don't have money but yet we have that assurance in God that the grace of God is with us.
[48:01] The comedy show Only Fools and Horses I'm sure many of you have seen it over the years and it's that story of two brothers who are always searching after that goal.
[48:13] This time next year we're going to be millionaires. That's what they're always looking at. They're dealing with all kinds of different deals and items and trying to sell and all of these things.
[48:25] Delboy and Rodney they're going to be millionaires next year. And then the day comes where they find a watch in their garage what they think is just something worthless.
[48:35] It turns out to be what changes their lives that's worth millions. And all of a sudden they are millionaires. But what happens at the end of one of the episodes that's then changed is to say this time next year we're going to be millionaires.
[48:51] Rodney, this time next year we're going to be billionaires. There's always this searching after more. And that's the sad truth in this world where it's never enough.
[49:03] we're always wanting more. But as we observe life today is that our goal? That we want more of this world? More of what the world gives us as happiness?
[49:16] No, it's about seeking first the kingdom of God. Observe these things and see them in light of eternity where they're worthless compared to the riches of knowing Jesus as Lord.
[49:33] By his grace alone we are saved. The grace of God that rescues us from a DIY disaster of doing it ourselves to instead being relying on the grace of God for our salvation.
[49:51] And that leads us to the last thing I want us to see here. we've had savings we've had observations and the last thing S is security. Security.
[50:03] When you're looking at a project a DIY project what's the reason for it? It's something that makes us feel more secure in life.
[50:14] Maybe something that's needed repaired or needed doing for our own safety. Maybe your car is getting to an old age and you want a newer one to be safer. Maybe your house is needing new windows so you put them in in order to be warmer.
[50:28] All these things are just about our own personal kind of security. But what Jesus gets at here ultimately is our security in him.
[50:40] The foundation on which we're building. And that's what he comes to as you read on down through this Sermon on the Mount. We looked at it actually at the end we looked at it in the Gospel of Luke but it comes to the same conclusion here in Matthew 7.
[50:57] The security of the two different houses being built. One being built upon the sand and one being built upon the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
[51:14] That's at the end of this sermon in Matthew 7.24. We looked at it just a few weeks ago. The wise man built his house on the rock who hears these words of mine and does them.
[51:29] So think back two weeks ago. You heard these words in the Gospel of Luke. You heard these words and you heard them before.
[51:41] Are you wise? Are you building on the rock? You heard them two weeks ago but did you do them? Did you do these words?
[51:54] Are you building your house on the rock that is Christ? We listen to his word. We hear it but do we do it?
[52:10] Jesus is here speaking to us again. Speaking about what is important in life what our priorities are. Are we doing it ourselves or are we listening to him?
[52:25] Two things to say in conclusion. The first thing is God doesn't give us everything we want and for that we should be glad because if he gave us everything we wanted where would we be?
[52:44] We would ask for the wrong things. There was a note that had been written by a confederate soldier during the civil war and he wrote these words.
[52:57] He said I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked God for health that I might do greater things.
[53:11] I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise.
[53:24] I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
[53:39] I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
[53:51] He didn't get what he asked but he realized there was everything that he needed. It was those words I asked for things that I might enjoy life.
[54:05] That's the natural conclusion that we might come to. Give me all these things that I might enjoy life. But the right way of looking at it was I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
[54:20] And that's really what Jesus is saying here. It's not about getting all these things that we might enjoy life but that finding that life is in him that we might enjoy all things.
[54:35] Seek first the kingdom of God. God doesn't always give us what we want but he does certainly give us everything that we need.
[54:50] He has given us everything that we need that we should rejoice in him and it never has been more true in our security that we think of all that he has given to us in Christ.
[55:06] We have had a DIY disaster. We have tried to do it ourselves and that has led to sin in our life.
[55:19] A DIY disaster is sin in our life. We could never sort it but the SOS went out and he came to save us from our sin.
[55:33] He paid the price and therefore as we seek to put our house in order as we seek to find the way to enjoy life.
[55:48] How is it going to be? Is it going to be in your own DIY project? Do it yourself? Or is it to come back and see that will end in disaster and instead trust in the Lord Jesus?
[56:05] Faith alone is the way to live. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. That's not the way. But Jesus will give you life that you may enjoy all things.
[56:22] May you find that life in him. Let us pray. Our gracious and eternal God, we thank you for your wisdom that's above ours, that you do not give us all that we want, but you do give all that we need.
[56:38] And we thank you for every good and perfect gift that you have given, all that comes from your hand. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit. We thank you for your son.
[56:50] And we thank you for the salvation that has been bought for us. We thank you for faith and hope. We thank you for grace. We thank you for us so liberally.
[57:03] And we pray, Lord, that we will see that life in you is to be able to enjoy all things. So teach us, Lord, that we would seek first the kingdom of God.
[57:15] So we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 127 in the Sing Psalms.
[57:30] Page 171. We'll sing first two verses, verse 1 and 2. Reminder to us that we don't build our own house in that security.
[57:42] Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders toil in vain. Unless he keeps the city safe, they vainly watch, maintain. We're going to sing verse 1 and 2 in the tune as Covenanters.
[57:54] We sing to God's praise. voy voy voy What maintain They Vainly What maintain They Vainly What maintain Unless He keeps Selties They Vainly What maintain When you rise Before the dawn And lay Our shady Keep
[58:54] That you may Toil for Food to me He gives Selt One Sleeve He gives Selt One Sleeve That you Toil for Food to me He gives One Sleeve After the benediction I'll go to the main door.
[59:32] Now may grace, mercy and peace From God, Father, Son And Holy Spirit rest upon And abide with you all Now and forevermore. Amen. Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please Please!
[60:03] Please Thank you.