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[0:00] I want to extend a very warm welcome to everybody this morning and to us that we'll know God's blessing as we seek to worship him. It's very good that wherever you are you're able to join in with us today and we pray that God will use this technology that is provided for us to the blessing of many souls and the extension of his kingdom.

[0:24] We're going to begin by reading from Psalm 103 and sing Psalms, verses 1 to 7. And so on.

[1:18] May God bless this psalm to our hearts. Let us now bow in prayer. Amen. Lord of God, as we gather before you this morning, we give thanks for another day.

[1:31] We give thanks for what this day reminds us of, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead. And that this very day is tied into the dynamic of Christ's resurrection.

[1:47] And it's a wonderful thought, a wonderful aspect of our Christian life to know that the head of our church, the one whom we love and serve, is risen today, is exalted today at the right hand of the Father in glory and majesty, ruling and reigning.

[2:05] And so we pray that our hearts today will be filled with praise and adoration for our Lord and King. And that sense of praise might be an integral part of our lives, recognizing and realizing that you are worthy of our honor and praise and glory.

[2:24] Indeed, when we go to your word, indeed, when we read, for instance, in the book of Revelation, it is one of the pictures that is given to us over and over again of the great praise and honor that is given to your great name.

[2:37] So we pray that here on earth, by faith, that we will offer that praise to you and recognize that through this, that you inhabit the praises of your people.

[2:49] What a wonderful thought. We pray that you will bless every single one of us with health and strength and body, mind and soul. We recognize, Lord, our dependence upon you, for it is in you that we live and move and have a being.

[3:03] Our days are fleeting and they're short. And even although, as when we were younger and looked ahead, we seem to have many, many years.

[3:14] But the years have flown by. And when we look out, we know that we don't have so many years. But we pray that however long or however short we have in this world, that we might live them well.

[3:27] And that we might spend our days in a way that is pleasing to you. Not living to self because we're so prone to do that. We're selfish by nature. We're self-interested.

[3:39] We have egos. We have pride. It is at the very center of what we are. And it is all distorted by sin. And we seek to take glory to ourselves rather than giving glory to you.

[3:52] And so we ask, Lord, that you would forgive us. Forgive us what we are. Forgive us what we do. Forgive us, Lord, for what we say. Because so often, Lord, our thoughts are vanity.

[4:05] And our speech is imperfect. And our actions are not in keeping with the actions of those who serve and love the Lord. So we pray that you would forgive us.

[4:16] And give us tender consciences before you. So that we might walk worthy of the high calling to which we have been called. Bless us then, we pray. And cleanse us from our sin.

[4:28] We pray that for ourselves individually. And we pray it collectively. We pray to bless us as a congregation. And bless your people wherever they are. Bless your people whoever today may tune in with us.

[4:43] And be part of this worship. We pray that you would bless every home. Every family. Those near and far. We commit them to your care and keeping.

[4:54] And ask your blessing upon them. Your protective blessing. Your blessing of enriching. Blessing in every area and aspect of life.

[5:07] We live, Lord, in difficult times. And as we find restrictions coming in upon us again. And that is going to be so difficult in so many different ways.

[5:18] We pray, Lord, that you will watch over us and provide for us in our need. We pray, Lord, for all those who are going through specially difficult times. We pray for those who are seriously ill.

[5:32] Prepare the dying for death. And we pray, Lord, for those who are undergoing treatment. That that might be effective. And we pray, Lord, for those who are housebound at this time.

[5:44] We commit them to your care. Those who maybe feel frightened and vulnerable. Due not only to the situation that they're in. But with the added threat of the coronavirus. And we ask, Lord, that a vaccine will soon be found.

[5:58] That proves really safe and effective. Lord, our God, we pray that as the numbers seem to be increasing day by day. And the threat of a second wave seems all the more likely.

[6:13] We pray that it might be so that it might not reach that. Although there are times, we think, that we have to go down a good deal yet. Because often we feel we have not truly cried to you as a nation.

[6:27] That we seem to be stuck still in our own ways of ignoring you. And we pray that nationally. That there might be a heart that will begin to seek for the living and through God.

[6:40] In some ways, we almost see that as impossible. But you are the God of the impossible. And that you're able to do in our society, just as you have done in previous generations.

[6:50] For you have, by your Spirit, swept through the nation. And turned hearts that were in absolute enmity and hard against you.

[7:02] To become willing and soft before you. Oh, Lord, we pray then that you'll be with our leaders and those in authority. And ask, Lord, that you'll grant them wisdom from above.

[7:14] Because we seem to be going from one thing to another. And often there seems to be an element of confusion and misunderstanding. And often we just wonder what is happening. Oh, Lord, grant clarity.

[7:26] So that we will know what is happening. And so we pray protection on those who are on the front line of all the different services. We commit them to you. We give thanks for our NHS.

[7:37] We give thanks for our carers. We give thanks, Lord, for all who have devoted themselves unselfishly over this period.

[7:47] And indeed over the years. And pray that you will bless each and every one of them. Bless those who more, Lord. Remember, again, the McLean family who had the funeral at the end of last week.

[7:59] And remember the Morrison family as well. We commit to your care and keeping. And we ask your blessing upon all whose hearts are sore and broken. Death is something we never, ever get used to.

[8:12] And death changes our circumstances within the home. And it changes our circumstances within our family circles and amongst our friends. And so, Lord, we pray that where the hearts are seared and where the pain is sharp, that you will bring comfort and peace.

[8:30] As we come to your word, we pray that that word will prove a source of light and life to us. That it will be a means of blessing. That you will open our eyes to see wonderful things out of your love.

[8:43] Grant us your grace in every situation that we're in. And watch over us and do us. Be with our young people. Thanks, Lord, for our Sunday school teachers and their commitment to the young people.

[8:54] Pray, Lord, that the work that is given to our young will be a blessing to them, to the parents. And we give thanks, Lord, for all that has been done. So we remember our young people.

[9:06] Remember our young people who are going off to university and have just started. And things are so difficult and different to what they were. We remember, Lord, those who have finished work and are now finished universities and colleges and trainings.

[9:20] And they're looking for work in the most difficult climate. And we pray, Lord, for a young generation that are facing the most amazing and difficult challenges.

[9:33] Lord, help them, we pray. Watch over us and take away from us our every sin. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Amen. Just a wee word to the young folk.

[9:49] You know, one of the most annoying things, it's annoying for everybody concerned, is when you either put your hand or your foot in wet cement.

[10:01] I've done both. And it's an annoying thing. I remember leaning my hand on a wall that I hadn't known. I didn't realise it had just been cemented. And you go, oh, no.

[10:13] But I remember as a boy, I hadn't realised that just in the evening, the back pavement, just when I was a young boy, it had been cemented.

[10:24] And I didn't realise that. And I had stepped out into it. And I went, oh. And because I was afraid I was going to get into trouble, I did the worst thing possible.

[10:36] I didn't tell. I didn't let on. And, of course, what happened was that the cement dried and my footprint was left there.

[10:49] In fact, my footprint was there for years and years and years until that part of the pavement was broken up and it was re-cemented.

[10:59] But the thing is that once the cement dries, that's it. The print is there forever. Or for years and years and years.

[11:12] And that's why sometimes you'll see on a pavement, you'll see the prints of a dog. You'll see the paw print of a dog.

[11:24] Because a dog has run along the pavement before it has dried. So it's not only annoying for the person who does that, it's also very, very annoying for the person who has done the cementing and who's made a lovely job smoothing everything over and then comes back and finds that some person has gone and clunked their foot or even just a dog run.

[11:47] You know, when you go to a beach, you have a fair idea. You don't know actually who's there, but you have a fair idea whether they're grown-ups or whether they're children or on the beach because you see the footprint in the sand.

[12:03] And you can see if it's a big print, you'll say whether it's a grown-up. If it's small print, you know that it's children. And sometimes you'll see the dog prints, the paw prints, and sometimes you say, well, there's been a horse on the beach because you can see the print of the hooves of the horses.

[12:20] Sometimes when the sand is very firm, you'll be able to say, oh, I can see that birds were walking there. And we can see maybe it's a seagull. Some people are able to work out just what kind of prints that are left there.

[12:34] But the thing about the sand is that the water comes in and washes over it all, and that's it cleaned again. So the prints are all gone until the next day. But that doesn't happen with the cement.

[12:45] It's there. It stays there. So that print is left, and it's left for years and years. I've been told that down in England, I can't remember exactly where, but it's a discovery of going back to the Roman times, which was probably 2,000 years ago, and that there are tiles that were made by the Romans, and that on one of the tiles, if you look closely, you can see the print of a dog, because obviously as this tile was laid out in the sun to dry, a dog ran over it 2,000 years ago, you can still see the print of the paw on the tiles.

[13:27] You see, it lasts. And you know, in a sense, that's very like life, because we leave behind us, not just our footprints and our fingerprints, but we leave behind us a print on people's lives, because we are either making people happy or sad.

[13:51] We either leave behind us where people might not feel good, we might have hurt people, and when we go away, people don't feel so good, or when we go away, people feel better having met us.

[14:05] We hope that that's how it will be, but we leave a mark. And often as we go through life, we don't realise just how deep that mark can go, because sometimes we can hurt people without realising, sometimes we can hurt people, and this is the worst of it, where we mean to, where we say things that are really nasty.

[14:28] And you know, there was a rhyme, I used to hear this rhyme when I was wee. And actually, it's true and it's rubbish. It says, Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you.

[14:44] Well, names will never break your bones, but you know, they hurt you. And they can hurt you really, really badly, because some things can be said that are really hurtful and really cruel.

[14:56] And you know, it doesn't go away. And sometimes you can still remember, years and years later, some of the horrible things that were said. I know that many people look back, years and years later, and they remember bullying in school and some of the horrible things that were done to them, and some of the horrible things that were said to them.

[15:20] And it stuck with them. The mark is still there. And so it's important that we watch what we say, that we're careful with what we say, because it's not only people that we leave the mark with, but we also leave the mark with God.

[15:39] Because God is taking note of every single thing that we say, and every single thing that we do, and indeed every single thing that we think, he's taking note of it.

[15:51] And that's why it's so important that we come to Jesus and ask Jesus to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all our sins, so that he cleanses all the things that we've done wrong, just as the water washes away all the prints in the sand.

[16:06] That Jesus will do that for us. And you know, at the end of the day, if we are trusting in Jesus, and if we have lived well in this life, doing as Jesus wants us to do, you know what Jesus says?

[16:21] Come, blessed of my Father, enter into the joy of the Lord. He says, when I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.

[16:33] When I was homeless, you took me into your home. And so on. People say, when did we do that to you? Well, he said, as much as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, the least of my people, you did it to me.

[16:48] So the Lord is taking note. And I would say the important thing is this. If you've done wrong to somebody, if you've said things that you know are wrong, and are hurtful, and are cruel, do you know what you should do?

[17:04] Go to that version and say, sorry, and go to Jesus and say sorry, and ask that that mark will be wiped clean. Otherwise, it's not a good thing to have.

[17:16] It spoils friendships, it spoils families, and most of all, it spoils our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us now say the Lord's Prayer.

[17:29] Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

[17:44] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Let us read God's Word now.

[17:59] In John's Gospel, John chapter 6, and we're going to read from the beginning to verse 24. John chapter 6, reading from the beginning.

[18:09] After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

[18:25] Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?

[18:44] He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.

[18:57] One of his disciples, Simon Peter's brother Andrew, said to him, There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they for so many?

[19:09] Jesus said, Make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.

[19:27] So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.

[19:39] So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the disciples saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.

[19:55] Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum.

[20:13] It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had roared about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.

[20:31] But he said to them, It is I, do not be afraid. Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. On the next day, the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

[20:56] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

[21:15] Amen, and may God bless to us this reading of his own Holy Word. And I want us this morning to consider verse 24 of John chapter 6.

[21:26] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

[21:39] The chapter that we have here highlights for us what we would definitely say is the high point of Jesus' popularity in this world. It was a period when the crowd just couldn't get enough of him.

[21:53] And they so wanted him and they were beginning to so elevate him and they believed he was so special that they actually wanted to take him and to make him a king.

[22:05] But the amazing thing is that before the second day was out, so many who were one day, the day before, were wanting to make him king had actually turned against him.

[22:20] They began to stop following him. In fact, by the end, the time we come to the end of this chapter, it's telling us in verse 66 there, many of his followers went back and walked no more with him.

[22:32] That's extraordinary, isn't it? Isn't that sad? One day the king, next day he don't want to know you. One day I will do anything with this man.

[22:45] Next day I'm going somewhere else. And does that not show us just the absolute fickleness of human nature, of how we can just turn on a woman.

[22:56] And we see it all the time. It's happening all the time. One day a person is elevated, next day that I've put down on the dust as a villain.

[23:07] Heroes, villains. Heroes, villains. It's happening all the time. It's happening in the media. It's happening in society. It's happening in our community. And it just shows, just in a whim, all of a sudden, people can turn against it.

[23:23] And it's a sad reflection upon the human heart and upon human nature. And that's why the Bible says, don't put your trust in people.

[23:36] There's warnings right through the Bible. Don't put your trust in man. Don't put your trust in woman. Don't put your trust in people. Don't put your trust in man. They will let you down.

[23:48] They all have the possibility or they have the potential of really letting you down. And you know, it's one of the saddest things to see where you see it sometimes in families.

[24:00] You see it in churches. You see it in friends. You see it in communities. You see it in society. You see it in all walks of life where people who work together got on together and all of a sudden have fallen out.

[24:12] You know, loyalty is one of the one of the great, great virtues of life. That stickability, when you will stick with people through thick and thin.

[24:24] That doesn't matter what you stick with that person. And that's really what love is about. And that is God's love to us. God's love is the kind of love that has stickability written all over it.

[24:40] There's a loyalty in God that is absolutely phenomenal. His love doesn't give up. And if God was to deal with us in the same way that we deal with one another long ago, he would have washed his hands of us and given up.

[24:56] Because we've let him down so often. We've hurt him so often. We've betrayed him so often. We have done so much against him. And yet he sticks with us.

[25:06] And that love, that loyalty that God has, has been so foundational in many people's lives. Particularly as their world has crashed around them.

[25:21] And all the things that they love and are precious and dear to them, that these things have fallen. And yet here, here's the wonderful thing, here's the beauty that the Lord continues.

[25:35] The Lord is gracious. The Lord is faithful in everything. He, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Now, as we said, at this particular moment in time, as we begin the chapter here, we find that Jesus has performed this great miracle.

[25:53] Now, it's not the miracle that we're going to look at today, but I want to just say one thing about it before we pass on. Because the feeding of the 5,000, of course, or feeding of the thousands, is one that has caught our attention.

[26:08] And the only thing that I'm going to say about it is this. You remember how there were these thousands of people following Jesus. And they were in a place where there was no shops, there was no provision to be made.

[26:21] And there was a great question, where are they going to get food to eat? Where is food to be provided for? And remember how Andrew, Peter's brother, he came to Jesus and he said, well, there's a boy here and he's got five barley loaves and two fish.

[26:37] But he said, what are they for so many? And we know that Jesus ordered that the people would sit down and he fed them. Remarkable.

[26:47] He fed them. Fed them all. And there was plenty left over. And the one thing that I want to highlight is this. In relation to the vast number of people that were there, what that young boy brought was next to nothing.

[27:04] And yet, because that young boy gave to Jesus all that he had, Jesus was able to do and satisfy the thousands who were there.

[27:16] What a lesson to us. Because it's far too often we say, oh, it's only poor me. What can I do for Jesus? Where I am, what I am doing.

[27:28] I'm not in a place, I'm not in a situation. I don't have the gifts, I don't have the abilities, I don't have the talents. You leave that to the Lord. You give yourself.

[27:39] Let me give myself to the Lord completely. Give all that we are and all that we have. You know something? You'll be amazed at what Jesus can do with you and through you.

[27:53] Even although you don't think much of yourself and you don't think that you have many gifts and you don't think that you have many abilities, give yourself. Not just give a little bit, but give all of yourself.

[28:04] And the Lord can perform wonders through you and with you. Just as he did with what that little boy there brought and gave to Jesus.

[28:17] And we've got to remember that Jesus, Jesus uses people in many, many different ways. And sometimes the most effective lives lived for Jesus in this world are lives that are lived not saying a lot, but lived being someone.

[28:35] And you and I know that there are men and women and boys and girls, there are people who have lived for Jesus in this world and their impact has been huge. They might not have said an awful lot, but their life was a living testimony and witness and was powerful.

[28:54] It spoke to people. There was something about their life that impacted everybody for good. these are people who had been used to have given entirely to the Lord.

[29:06] Now we read in verse 15 how the crowd were so impressed they wanted to make Jesus king. And it's at this point that Jesus left them. He had to go away because the kingdom, God's kingdom, will grow in God's way and Jesus as king and head of the church will be king and head of the church in God's way not the world's way.

[29:34] And that's something that we need to learn. We've always got to remember that this is the way it is. Anybody can put a human crown on a person's head.

[29:46] A human crown will always just be that, a human crown. The crown that we're to look for is the crown that God gives. And God gives the moment that we come to faith in Jesus Christ we receive the crown of life.

[30:00] And then in glory we will receive the crown of glory. The crown of life will give way to the crown of glory. It's not a wonderful prospect. It's an eternal crown.

[30:12] Human crowns are only for a time. And the world we're wanting to put for a wee while a human crown on Jesus. And Jesus said no. That's not the way.

[30:23] This is not how it's to be done. And Jesus knew that the only way that he was to get the crown was by the way of the cross. No other way. And there was no other way that we could win the crown of life but by going the way of the cross.

[30:38] Let us remember that. It is the only way that we can get the crown of life is by going the way of the cross. Going in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed we must also remember that in order to follow Jesus Jesus said this if you're to be my disciple if you're to follow me what are we to do?

[30:58] We have to take up our cross. We have to deny ourselves and we are to follow him. So Jesus is not going to let them make him king. Of course Jesus Christ is the greatest king ever.

[31:11] And Jesus Christ in all his glory and in all his majesty and all his kingship is an everlasting king. And yet he laid aside his royalty for us in order to come into this world to be one with us to represent us and to do for us what we couldn't do ourselves.

[31:34] Now of course he is crowned with honour and with glory because he is a great king. Now I'm quite sure that at this point Satan would be whispering in Jesus' ear because Satan was always tempting Jesus and he would be saying take the crown there's a far easier road you don't want to go the way of the cross the curse the pain the sorrow the shame you've got the adulation of the people take it take it and all these things will be used just take it Satan is always trying to get us to compromise and to take another way to take the easier path but we notice what Jesus did that Jesus went out from them he just he went away he wasn't even going to debate it or argue the point with them and we see now that Jesus has gone from them and we find that the people now are wanting again to find

[32:36] Jesus and although the motive as we discover may not have been all together with many of them correct I want us to focus upon these words which are very special words that we have in verse 24 because it tells us very simply there that they went to Capernaum seeking Jesus so the question is who were they seeking?

[33:02] well they were seeking Jesus you see after Jesus had gone up into the mountain himself the disciples were still there before they went off in the boat the crowd had an opportunity to speak to the disciples about Jesus but that no it wasn't the disciples they were wanting it was Jesus himself and that's one of the things that we have to come to grasp that it's not people but Jesus that we need I remember a time way way back it was a Saturday night and I was as I was then very sometimes quite stupid and foolish and I really got hit all of a sudden where I was I was with a crowd of folk and all of a sudden I just got hit with this you're a lost soul and it was one of these awful moments where I felt myself going down that I was going down into hell as I was and I got up from where I was and I went out onto the street and I said

[34:06] I need to see a minister and I went up the road and I went to the manse and Mr. McCritchie the late Reverend Murdo McCritchie was the minister at the time I knocked the door he came and I said come on in and he was so nice with me and he sat with me and I somehow thought that a minister even although I grew up in a manse my father was a minister and although I knew the way of salvation I knew all these things I somehow thought a minister would release me from deliver me from the sense of going down into hell and that everything would be alright and all he could do and the right thing that he did was he pointed me to Jesus pointed me to Jesus as a light as a door as a way of salvation as the only hope and he prayed with me and I went away but you know that feeling that I had didn't last that long there came a day when it wasn't even a minister that I needed but I needed the man the Christ

[35:12] Jesus I needed the one that Mr. McCritchie would be pointing to me all that time ago I needed Jesus himself and you know that's that's a big difference that there comes a time when it's not other people and however helpful they may be and however necessary at times but you have to learn that lesson that you have to go all the way to Jesus and that's what I will say here even although the motive might have been wrong they wanted Jesus not the disciples but Jesus and that's important and let me also say that a needy soul a soul that discovers their need will always seek Jesus if you find somebody who's truly seeking Jesus that person has a need has a sense of need you won't find somebody seeking who has no sense of their need of their lostness of their need of salvation they won't be seeking today there are many people who are not seeking Jesus because they have no sense of their need of salvation

[36:18] I'm not going to say they have no need of salvation they do it's just that they have no sense of their need of salvation big difference many people live just for this world for what the world will give them and for what the world will offer them and there are many people today who are satisfied right now with what the world is giving but that satisfaction won't last because ultimately the world has a zero for our souls the world has zero for our time of dying in it the world does not equip you for death and for what follows so don't live all your days living simply for this world for what it gives because whatever it gives you it takes everything back and strips you of everything only Jesus will give you the fulfilment and give you that which death itself cannot take away as a

[37:19] Christian you would die happy although you have to go through all the process of death and all the difficulties that death brings nobody looks forward or wants that but we will have Jesus and death which makes a world of difference but that's what the Lord does he brings us to see the emptiness of this world but he also brings us to see the fulfilment that is in him and to see that he is the one who will satisfy us like nobody else can but you'll also notice it's very interesting how providence often helps in the search for Christ because when the people had discovered that Jesus wasn't there and that he was away on the other side they said we've got to get over to the other side and verse 23 shows us that boats had just come from Tiberias and so all the people just got down to these little boats and they headed back across over the water just when they needed a way opened up and you know that is so often the case in our experience as well because very often the seeking soul just at that point where they're really really needing something the Lord would provide someone or something and maybe now I said before that

[38:47] I went to the minister because I was needing but that was a fleeting moment sadly that moment passed in my experience but when there is a real work going on it's amazing how often the Lord will provide just what you need and he puts somebody in your way who will really open up things for you or will give you a maybe a pre-recorded sermon and give you a book or give you something that really throws light upon where you are just like remember Philip the Holy Spirit influenced Philip to go out into the wilderness and he had no idea why am I going here but remember the Ethiopian who was travelling through and he was reading the scriptures and he was reading from Isaiah and he couldn't understand what he was reading and he was wanting to understand it and the chariot where he was in stopped where Philip was Philip got up and explained everything to him and the light broke in on this

[39:48] Ethiopian's heart and he understood and he believed and he accepted God so often does that in our experience brings in his providence grace and providence come together although there are periods when there's opposition when Satan gets involved and tries to tries to interrupt and to stop somebody who wants to see Jesus actually seeing Jesus but a seeking soul will always be where Jesus is to be found if a person says I'm really seeking the Lord and doesn't pray doesn't often open their Bible doesn't listen to sermons doesn't watch sermons doesn't go to church when churches are there you say that's a contradiction a seeking soul will seek Jesus where Jesus is to be found Jesus will be found in his word amongst his people in the church in sermons on these places in good books and in the Bible you will be where

[40:51] Jesus is to be found and again seeking Jesus requires effort you know some people have this philosophy and they say well you know this if I want to be saved I'll be saved anyway and there's nothing really I can do about it you to show me where in scripture it says that at no point does it say in scripture in order to be saved do nothing all was attached is the word seeking searching striving asking knocking calling crying doing words doing doing yeah yes the doing has been done in making the salvation possible but our duty is to seek and to search and to call and the wonderful thing is for you and for me if you today are seeking the Lord you don't have to get into a boat and cross to the other side in order to find

[41:52] Jesus Jesus is just a prayer away Jesus is here today wherever you are watching this listening to this Jesus is present and all you have to do is ask him ask him into your heart in the quietness of your own just say Lord will you come in and be king and lord of my heart please and we see that in this chapter if we carried on Jesus says that he is the bread of life in other words Jesus is everything that we need for life bread is an absolute necessity in many parts of this world it's not a luxury it's a necessity and right throughout this world there are people who are living and they're depending purely on bread bread for life Jesus is an absolute necessity for life that is one of the reasons why he calls himself the bread of life but you know it's not enough to know that there's bread there you have to actually go and take it there could be you're somewhere in this world and people are starving and all of a sudden there's news bread has arrived wonderful news but it's not enough just to know that bread has arrived that's not going to help you're starving you have to go and get it and take it and so it is with the gospel it's not enough to know that

[43:21] Jesus is saved not enough to know that Jesus saves the important and all that that is you actually have to go and take Jesus and ask Jesus to come into your heart to receive Jesus and the wonderful thing is that this bread is free isn't that great you don't have to pay anything for it it's given to you all you have to do is receive because the price has already been paid for and this bread is available 24 7 the gospel door is always open right now it's open remember what it says yet there is room room for you today one day the gospel door will be closed but right now it isn't one day the day of opportunity will be gone Jesus shows us very clearly that one day the bridegroom will return and he will take all those who are waiting for him he will take them to be with him and then the door will be closed and the opportunity will be no more but today that door is open and yet there is room room for you so I would urge you that even today that you will say to Jesus

[44:42] Lord I want you there's lots of things I don't understand but the one thing I do know I need you for my life will you come into my heart ask him that you will receive him even today Lord bless us bless your word to our souls do us good continue with us throughout this day deep throughout this weekend all the days of our life but giving us our sin in Jesus name Amen we're going to conclude saying from Psalm 145 the second version of the psalm Psalm 145 second version from verse 8 the Lord our God is gracious compassionate is he also in mercy he is plenteous but unto wrath and anger slow who done to all men is the Lord over all his works his mercy is thy works all praise to thee afford thy saints O Lord thy name will bless the glory of thy kingdom show shall they and of thy power tell that so men's sons his deeds may know this kingdom's grace that doth excel thy kingdom hath none end at all doth through ages all remain the Lord upholdeth all that fall the cast down raiser up again we'll sing these verses of Psalm 145 the Scottish

[46:07] Psalter and the Second Depression the Lord our God is gracious compassion make this be also in mercy he is good men he is man unto blood and under soul good unto all dead is the Lord for all his works his mercy is thy works all praise to thee afford thy saints

[47:10] O Lord thy name shall bless the glory of thy kingdom show shall they and love thy power tell land so men sad test his trade o his kingdom's grace hath hath excel thy kingdom hath hath hath hath all in the through ages all remain thy lord upholdeth all that fall thy custom raiser thou again thou may the grace mercy and peace of

[48:26]  God the Father Son and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forever more amen as and share and see