Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/stornowayfc/sermons/63976/the-lord-is-near-to-save/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Let's turn for a little to the chapter we read in Book of Psalms, Psalm number 34. Book of Psalms, Psalm number 34, and reading at verses 17 and 18.

[0:16] When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

[0:30] Now, people who go through very difficult times, times of real hardship, the way they come through, the way they survive, is often a great encouragement and inspiration to other people.

[0:47] And that is certainly true with regard to David, the great soldier king, the great psalmist. Because while he, there's no question whatever, as king he enjoyed, many of the great, I suppose, the trappings that go with such an honor.

[1:06] We know that the road to the kingdom, and even his life as king, was full of difficulties and problems and trials. But he came through them all, and he came through them victorious, even although sometimes they were hard and difficult.

[1:21] And sometimes he himself, through some of what he did, which wasn't good, yet the Lord is so true that God works all things together for good.

[1:34] Now, David, in his life, shows how the Lord is able to sanctify the experience that we go through to us. And in this psalm, we're told about David's brush with death.

[1:48] We find this in the book of Samuel. If we go to Samuel, you'll find the narrative about it. But this psalm comes from David's brush with death.

[1:58] It tells us at the beginning, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went away. You remember how David was being chased by Saul for years.

[2:10] David, of course, had become the great champion in killing Goliath and causing the rout of the Philistines. And David, after that, remember how the women sang, Saul is slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.

[2:26] And from that moment, Saul became consumed by jealousy. He became intensely jealous of David. And that jealousy, in the end, wanted to kill.

[2:39] That's what jealousy, we've often said that envy is murderous in its intent. That is why so often in the Bible there are warnings against jealousy and envy. Because it makes a person who is jealous incapable of seeing good in the person they're jealous of.

[2:57] And it brings, it begins, it works like a cancer away in them so that there is a desire to murder. And we've mentioned it often enough before. But you go through the Bible and you will see so many instances of where envy has ended in murder.

[3:12] Like where Cain murdered Abel because he was jealous because God had accepted his Abel sacrifice and not his. And we saw how, although Daniel survived in the den of lions, he was in that den of lions being put to death because the other leaders were jealous of him because of the prominence that the king had given to him.

[3:36] Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery because they wanted to kill him. And if it hadn't been for the elder brother, that's what would have happened.

[3:48] But they sold him into slavery because they were jealous of him. Because of that he seemed to be the father's favorite. The Lord Jesus was put to death. Pilate says that he knew that because for envy they had delivered him up.

[4:02] So you see, envy, that's the way it works out. It wants to kill. It wants to destroy. And so Saul had become so jealous of David.

[4:13] And he had become an outlaw. He was public enemy number one with a price in his head so that anybody who killed David was actually doing Saul. Would have been rewarded by Saul. And it had become so intense for David in the land of Israel.

[4:29] And he was just surviving by the skin of his teeth. We use that expression over and over again. That he felt in the end that there was nowhere left for him to hide in Israel.

[4:41] So what he had done was he had gone over into the land of the Philistines. Which of course was putting himself also in danger because he had been the one who had championed Israel against the Philistines.

[4:53] And of course it wasn't long until he was recognized. And he was taken. And he was brought before the king of the Philistines. And David realized at that point that his life was in mortal danger.

[5:08] While Saul was wanting to kill him. There is no question whatever but that the king of the Philistines would want to kill him as well. He was the one who had killed Goliath and had led the charge against the Philistines.

[5:19] So we find that David decided. And again we've got to remember that when your life is on the line you're liable to do anything.

[5:33] And what David did was he pretended that he was a madman. He had pretended that he was mad.

[5:44] And he put in an Oscar winning performance. Because it tells us that he was scratching the doors. And he was letting his spittle dribble down his beard.

[5:55] And he was acting like he was crazy. And the king was completely taken in by it. And he said to his men what have you brought that man here for? You can see that man is mad.

[6:05] Get him out of here. And so David was put out. He was free. Now that's what David did. And we're told about that in the book of Samuel.

[6:18] But you know when we come here to Psalm 34. It tells us the other side of what David was doing. And that's how we are to be in life. We're to do our part.

[6:28] But we're also to cry to the Lord. And trust the Lord. And depend upon the Lord. Because David tells us exactly what was going on. And David says in verse 4. I sought the Lord and he answered me.

[6:41] And he delivered me from all my fears. And I'm telling you there were some fears going on in David's heart. When he was brought before the king. And then it says in verse 6.

[6:52] This poor man cried. And the Lord heard him. And saved him out of all his troubles. So that's what was going on in David's heart.

[7:04] At the same time as he was pretending to be mad. In the presence of Abimelech the king. And so while David did his part.

[7:17] God was the one who overruled everything. Because you've got to remember what the Bible tells us. That the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And he will turn it whichever way he will. So you see how the Lord influenced Abimelech to say.

[7:31] Okay just get that man out of here. Because it would have been very easy for Abimelech to say. Alright kill him. But no he drove David out. And so this is what we have here.

[7:44] And in a sense following on from these earlier verses. We find in verse 17. David using quite similar language. Where he says when the righteous cry for help.

[7:55] The Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. And we really need to take hold upon what is being said here. Because this is one of the great truths in life.

[8:10] That the Lord is always there for his people. And see what it says. When the righteous cry for help. The Lord hears and delivers them.

[8:20] Now it's important to notice the word cry. And when you cry for something. It's not a whisper. It's a cry. It's loud.

[8:31] And a cry speaks of urgency and need. And that is something that the Lord will always respond to. Because you know so often we can come to the Lord.

[8:42] And our prayers are lukewarm. They're indifferent. Our hearts not in it. We can be kind of cold and remote and distant. Well yes we're praying. But it's not the cry.

[8:56] It's not the urgent prayer. It's not the cry of the needy. And the Lord knows when we're real. And when we're just going through the motions. And there's a huge difference. Because you know we can go through day after day after day.

[9:10] And if somebody said to you. Are you praying to the Lord? You say oh yeah I'm praying to the Lord. I pray to the Lord every day. But are we really praying? Is this prayer coming?

[9:21] Is it coming from our heart? Is there an urgency? Are we meaning business? If you went to somebody. And you had something really important. You knew that this person alone.

[9:34] Has the ability to give you what you want. You wouldn't go in a kind of half-hearted way. Saying ah well if they're up to it. I, I, I, I. So you would go there pleading your cause.

[9:47] You would be really genuinely with an urgency in your heart. Bringing your case to them. So it should be when we come to the Lord. And that's what we're told.

[9:57] That's the kind of prayer that the Lord hears. When the righteous cry for help. That's what we're told. When the righteous cry for help. The Lord hears.

[10:08] And delivers them. So we're then told that the, the, the, the, the, the, the. Prior to that. The eyes of the Lord are towards the righteous.

[10:19] So. We tie these two verses in together. When the righteous cry for help. The Lord hears. And he's ready to hear. Because verse 15 tells us.

[10:30] That the eyes of the Lord are towards the righteous. And his ears toward their cry. Isn't that lovely? You know how a parent. They, their eyes are always on their little children.

[10:44] You won't find parents sort of wandering away. And leaving their little ones there. And going away. And an hour later. Oh I wonder. Where are they? I wonder how they're doing. No. When they're wee. You're watching their every move.

[10:55] You're there to help them. If anything should happen. Your ear is ready for their cry. For their shout. You recognize straight away. If that's a call of distress. How much more.

[11:06] Our heavenly father. His eye is upon us. All the time. And his ear is open to our cries. Isn't that lovely? All the time. This is how he is.

[11:17] As our heavenly father. So that's one of the great. The great blessings. That we have in life. His eye is always upon us. And his ear to our cry.

[11:28] Have you really thought about that? That's how it is right now. This moment. Every moment. That God the father in heaven. That his eye is upon you.

[11:38] He's watching you. And he's watching you. With a good eye. He's watching you. Because he loves you. He's watching you. Because he cares for you. And his ear is open.

[11:50] His ear is ready. He's waiting for you. He's waiting for you to cry to him. All the time. So there's this activity. As it were. An active awareness.

[12:01] All the time. Of our heavenly father. And yet it couldn't be more different. To his reaction to those who do evil. Because it tells us in verse 16.

[12:13] That the face of the Lord. Is against. That's what it tells us. The face of the Lord. Is against those. Who do evil. Now that's a thought. The face of the Lord.

[12:24] Is against those who do evil. It's not a solemn thought. That God's face. Is against them. For his people.

[12:34] His eye is upon them. In love. His ear is open to their cry. And when a person's face is against. You have the idea of. Almost a hardness. It's like a.

[12:46] A granite like look. It's not that. It's not. It's. It couldn't be more different. To the reaction of the face. Of love. And.

[12:59] It's a very. It's a very. Very solemn. The face of the Lord. Is against those. Who do evil. There are many today. Who will be doing evil.

[13:09] In the sight of the Lord. That. Their. Their life. Is towards evil. And they care not. A jot. About the Lord. Who is the Lord. That I should know. Somebody said in the Bible.

[13:20] They live their life like that. Don't care about God. No intention of caring about God. They're ready to trample. His name into the dust. But. Let me say one thing. This face of God.

[13:31] That is against them. Unless God. Has mercy upon them. One day. They will see that face. Against them. That face. At their death.

[13:42] Will loom large. And that face. Throughout eternity. Will always be against them. And it's a solemn thought. Because that's what. That's what the Bible tells us. But the.

[13:54] The. And then it says. To cut off. The memory. Of those. That's what it says. To cut off the memory. Of them. From the earth. And again. That's solemn. That means. To turn their name. Into. Into a curse.

[14:05] Or to. To blot out. Their memory. But then. Verse 18. The Lord is near. Very often you find that. In the Psalms. That there's a. There's a. An alternating.

[14:15] Between two different. Takes on things. There's life. And there's this type. And there's that. It often moves from. One situation. Into another. And David often does that. In his. In his writing.

[14:26] You have the righteous. And the unrighteous. And so he says. Now the Lord is near. To the broken hearted. And saves. The crushed. In spirit. And this very much. Is a description.

[14:37] Of the Lord's people. The broken hearted. And the crushed spirit. That doesn't mean. That those who. Aren't believers. Don't have crushed. Spirits. And broken hearts. Of course they do. But what is spoken of here.

[14:48] Is in. Is in spiritual terms. This is speaking of. The experience. Of those who. Who. Love. The Lord. And.

[14:59] This. Brokenness. And crushing. Comes about. When we begin. To follow the Lord. Jesus Christ. That's what happened. At the very beginning. You put your mind back.

[15:11] There came a point. When you got. Your will was broken. And your spirit was crushed. That's how God. Began to work. Within you. Prior to that. You thought you were. All right. In yourself.

[15:21] You didn't need God. And you were saying. To yourself. All right. I can. Yeah. I know. I know. There's these things. And we can get them sorted out. And have a wee bit of interest. Maybe you thought like that. But there came a time.

[15:33] When that changed. And when God began to work in your heart. That's what he did. He broke you. He broke your will. And he crushed your spirit. So that.

[15:45] You were brought all of a sudden. To realize. Of how you were offending him. And you became so aware that. That you were a sinner. You know.

[15:58] Beforehand. There were certain things in life. You said. Oh well. That's a sin. And that's a sin. But you never really thought of yourself. In terms of being. In the sight of God.

[16:08] A sinner. And you're saying. A sinner. You thought. A sinner is somebody who's really evil. A sinner is somebody who's. Who's really. Their whole life is just. It's going down. Everybody.

[16:19] You can look around. And say. Oh look at that person. He's a sinner. She's a sinner because of the particular way they live. Their life is awful. No. That's not what a sinner is. Bible tells us what sin is.

[16:33] Sin is coming short. Of the glory of God. Wow. And that means. There's not one of us can attain to that. Because the glory of God.

[16:44] Demands perfection. There's none of us. It doesn't matter how. How good we may appear to be in life. We still come short. And it's only when God's spirit.

[16:55] Comes into our life. Into our heart. That we. We recognize that. That we see sin. As for what it is. And we see its. Offensiveness. Before God.

[17:06] And that's what makes us cry out. Like the publican did. Lord. Be merciful to me. A sinner. Because. It. All of a sudden. We see sin. For. What it really is.

[17:17] And of course. Part of the. The. Holy Spirit's work. Is to. Convict us of our sin. And that is ongoing in life.

[17:31] You will find that. You might say to yourself. Oh well. Once. Once I've started following the Lord. And the years go on. I won't know this. Sense of sin. Oh yeah. We were singing Psalm 51 there.

[17:43] That is. A Davidic Psalm. One of David's Psalms. That he wrote. Years after he became king. And it is probably. The most powerful Psalm.

[17:54] That deals with the discovery of sin. And the need. Of God. Dealing with sin. That there is in the Bible. Came on the back of David's. Murder of one of his best friends.

[18:05] In order. To try and hide. His adulterous relationship. With Uriah's wife. Bathsheba. What David did. Was horrendous. God forgave him.

[18:16] But remember. God put a warning to David. He said to him. Yes. Because David. David sinned. You know. There was a while. David. David thought he had got away with it. And he had.

[18:29] Uriah killed. In order to try. And so Uriah wouldn't discover. That. That. That Bathsheba. Had become pregnant. Through this adulterous relationship. And so he thought. He had got away with it.

[18:40] And David was in a. Backslidden condition. At that time. Because what he had done. Didn't trouble him. Until one day. The prophet Nathan. Came to him. And he said to Nathan. He said to. Remember how Nathan.

[18:51] Told the story. About the. The man who had. One little lamb. One little. Just at the one sheep. One lamb. And next door. There was a rich man. Who had loads of sheep.

[19:02] Loads of. Lambs. And a friend. Came to. Visit. The rich man. And what did the rich man do. Rather than taking. One of his own flock.

[19:13] He jumped over the fence. And took the one little lamb. That. His poor friend had. Killed the lamb. And used that. For the dinner. He told this story. To David.

[19:24] David was. Absolutely. Incensed. He was so angry. When he heard that story. Oh. He said. That's an awful thing. He said. You know this. That man's worthy. Of death. That's so awful. That man has to restore.

[19:36] Give back. Loads of. And Nathan said to him. David. You're that person. That's what you did. God put you on the throne. He gave you everything. But that wasn't enough for you.

[19:48] Went over the wall. As it were. And took. Uriah's wife. And had Uriah killed. And it was like. An arrow went into David's heart. And he just.

[19:59] He was broken. As a result of it. And he realized. The absolute enormity. Of what he had done. And he saw that. What he had done.

[20:11] Was. Because of what was down in here. Within his heart. Deep down. Things that he had never really discovered before. That that. There's this perverseness. There was this twistedness.

[20:22] That lurked. Way down deep. That enabled. Anybody. To do the worst. And so he goes to God. And he. Now. We know the Lord.

[20:33] Forgave him his sin. But the Lord said to him. Because of what you've done. The sword won't leave your house. And we know that. That's what happened. Because. Sadly. Within David's family.

[20:44] It. It. It really disintegrated. The family. There was. There was all kinds of. Wrongdoings. And murders. And all kinds of things. Going on. Within his family. Painful. Something to read.

[20:55] You know. It's. If there was one thing. That you could say. Was wrong. In David's life. He was not a good father. He might have given instruction. To Solomon. But when you look at.

[21:06] When you look at. At David. David's family. You realize that. His. His fatherly instruction. Obviously. Was not the best. David's life.

[21:17] In some ways. Although he was a man. After God's own heart. There were aspects. To David's life. That. That weren't. What should have been followed. And.

[21:28] It's. It's very interesting. When you really go in depth. And look at. Look at people's lives. There is. Even although God said of David. He's a man. After my own heart. Yet. There was still so much. In David's life.

[21:38] That. That. That was wrong. So. There is this discovery. Of sin. That even the best of people. That there is still this sin. And that's what God does. He. He. He. Shows us.

[21:50] And when he shows us that. I'll tell you something. It humbles us. You know. There might be times. As you go along. And you might even congratulate yourself. From time to time. You might say. Ah. You know this. I'm not too bad.

[22:00] A. A person. And you might have moments. Where you judge yourself. Against other people. And the Bible says. Don't do that. Don't ever do that. Don't judge anyone. Lest you be judged.

[22:12] But sometimes. We make comparisons. And we say. You know. I'm doing all right. Well the moment we say to ourselves. You know. I'm doing all right. It won't be long. Until the Lord. Will allow something.

[22:24] That will bring you down. And all of a sudden. Instead of congratulating yourself. You're in the dust again. And you're saying. Oh woe is me. For I am undone.

[22:34] And the Lord will keep us there. So that our eye. Will discover more and more. Of who he is. Because that's. That's part of what he wants us to do.

[22:46] We see. When the spirit convicts us of our sin. We see of how we have. We have grieved the spirit. We have violated his law. We have trampled his word under foot.

[22:57] That's what we do. When we sin. We trample God's word under foot. When you get a proper glimpse of. Of who the Lord is. Any sense of flippancy.

[23:09] That we might have in the presence of the Lord. Goes like that. You know. That's one of the dangers. Is that we. We sometimes bring God down. In our thinking.

[23:20] To our own level. And that's a sin. Part of our problem. Is because. And this is a wonder. This is a mystery of who God is. In the sense.

[23:31] To set the second person of the God. Had his son. Jesus Christ. Into this world. To become one with us. And yes. Jesus. Became one with us.

[23:43] God. With us. Emmanuel. God with us. Which is. It's a great mystery. But what we've got to always remember. Is that God. Is different to us.

[23:55] And in Psalm 50. We find the Lord. Bringing this accusation. Against. The Israelites. Because. That's. That's one of the. One of the things. That they had actually said.

[24:07] They took God down. It says. These things. You have done. And I have been silent. You thought. That I was one. Like yourself. But now.

[24:17] I rebuke you. And lay the charge. Before you. And prior to that. You see that. God. There's a list. Of the things. That they were doing wrong.

[24:27] And what they were. Actually. Their sin was. They thought. Oh. They said. God doesn't mind. And their thinking was. That the Lord is. He thinks the way I do.

[24:40] The Lord looks at things. The way I do. And they were thinking. Oh. It's not too bad. He'll overlook it. Lord says. No. I don't. You don't understand.

[24:51] Who I am. I am altogether. Different to you. I am altogether. Holy and just. And righteous. And pure. I'm not like you. And we've got to remember that. That just as the heavens.

[25:02] Are high above the earth. And so are God's ways. And thoughts. And so. That is. Often what the Lord does. When. When he. When our heart is broken. And our spirit is crushed.

[25:13] We're brought. To get an awesome view. Of who God is. And. Very often. We. You know. As we look to the Lord. We see how just he is.

[25:25] And how unjust we are. How consistent he is. And how inconsistent we are. How weak we are. And how strong he is. But you know.

[25:39] Again. When we look at our own lives. So often. One of the things. That discourages us. Is. That we see how. How useless.

[25:50] We really are. Now. We like to think. That we're in control. Of everything. It's human nature. We often use the expressions. We're masters of your own destiny. Great idea.

[26:00] Isn't it? Now. We love to have the. The reins in our hands. And we're. We're in control. We like to think that. Every single person.

[26:11] At one stage or other. In their life. Will discover they're not. And you know. It's a very difficult thing. When you don't feel in control. We use the expression. Oh. He's a control freak. Or she's a control freak.

[26:23] But. Whether you are a control freak. Or not. Everybody likes to be in control. Of their own life. But sometimes. You've all. We've all felt it. And you say. You know this.

[26:34] I feel utterly. And all together. Out of control. In my life. I really don't feel. That I'm in control. Of anything. And you know. That's a horrible place to be.

[26:45] But you know. Again. The Lord. Will bring us sometimes. There to discover. I'm in control. Hand your life. Over to me. Give your life.

[26:55] To me. And I'll. Lead you. In the right way. To go. And again. This is why. It's so difficult. For us. Because it goes against. Human nature. It goes against. All that we are.

[27:06] That's where the Lord. Wants to take us. To this place. We are not in control. You know. That's. And with regard to. Another aspect of it. That is often true. With regard to finding.

[27:16] Jesus Christ. As our Savior. How many people. Think that they're in control. Of that. And they say. I'll sort that out. When I choose. A lot of people. Think like that. A lot of people. Come to church.

[27:27] And say. They hear the gospel. The invitation of the gospel. The message of salvation. They're challenged. And they say. Oh yeah. You know this. I need to get it sorted out. With the Lord. But I'm not ready. To do that yet.

[27:38] I'll leave. I'll leave it till next year. I'll leave it till I finish. This work I'm on. I'll leave. It's not suitable for me. Just now. But later on. I'll deal with that. When I retire. I'll sort that. You're not in control.

[27:50] King Agrippa. Thought he was like that. He thought. Remember when Saul. Was reasoning. About righteousness. And temperance. And judgment. To come. And we find. The trembling there. And we find.

[28:00] Of Agrippa. Saying. When I have a more. Convenient season. I'll call for you. You know. We never read. That he ever called. For Paul again. Thought he was in control. People think. They're in control.

[28:11] They're not. And that's why. The Bible says. Seek the Lord. While he is to be found. Call upon him. While he is near. When it is. The day.

[28:21] Of salvation. And so. We find that. Here we have. As I say. This description. Time is going. I'll have to. Move on. There's a few more things.

[28:31] I was going to say. There. The Lord is near. To the broken hearted. And saves. The Christian spirit. And. Although you might be saying. This is. This is. This is very heavy. What you're saying.

[28:42] We know. That the Christian rejoices. We have a joy. We have a joy. As to who we are. An identity. Of who we are. We know. Who we belong to. And where we're going. But.

[28:54] It's. It's. It's. It's the sin. That brings us down. That's what. What brings us down. So. The second thing. And just. In a few words. What it says here. The Lord is near.

[29:06] To the broken hearted. And he saves. The crushed. In spirit. He's near. Isn't that beautiful? He's near. All the time. He's near. But he's especially.

[29:17] Near. To those who are broken. In their heart. And crushed. In their spirit. And we've always got to remember. We've got to take God's word. We mustn't just go on how we feel. Because today.

[29:28] You. As a believer. The Lord is near to you. Whether you feel it or not. Sometimes we're conscious of it. Sometimes we're not. Even when.

[29:40] We feel far away. The Lord is still near. But he. There are times. When he. Will make his presence. Really known. And we've got to be careful. In saying. That the Lord is.

[29:52] The Lord isn't here. Very often. The Lord is present. And we don't know it. For instance. When. When Jacob ran away from home. And when he. Lay down under the stars.

[30:02] That night. He felt so isolated. And lonely. And he probably never felt. More bereft of God. And bereft of. Anything. Remember how he had to run from home.

[30:13] But the Lord revealed himself. That night. And the Lord was showing to Jacob. I'm here. Right beside you. And it's not just. I've just come. Remember the ladder.

[30:25] The vision that he saw. Of the ladder. Going up. And to heaven. And the. The angels. Ascending. And descending. And as has often been highlighted.

[30:36] The particular order. That they first were ascending the ladder. And then descending. We would expect them to be. When he saw that ladder. That they would be descending.

[30:48] First. That coming down. There. I won't coming down to see you Jacob. I'm going to. The Lord sent me down to surround you. No. They were first of all. Ascending. Why?

[30:59] Because they were already there. Jacob didn't know that. But the angelic presence. Ministering spirits. To the ears of salvation. The angels were already present.

[31:10] Even although Jacob felt. That he was all alone. But at that moment. He discovered. He was never less alone. So we must be careful. In saying. Oh the Lord is not near.

[31:22] The Lord. Is often much nearer. Than ever. We realize. So the Lord is. The Lord is always. With his people. And.

[31:34] The wonderful thing is. That the Lord. While the Lord is near. With us here. In this. In this world. It's not only here. He's going to be near. He's going to be near. With us forever.

[31:45] And ever. And he's going to be nearer. As in glory. Than ever. He was with us here. In this sense. Is that in this world. Sadly. There are other.

[31:58] Competitors. For the number. One place. In our heart. Other than the Lord. It shouldn't be. But it's a fact. We have our idols. In glory. There will be.

[32:08] No competition. The Lord. Will have central. Place. As he should. And as he does. Here. But there are all. These other. Distractions.

[32:19] In glory. There will be none. And that's why. Jesus said. To the father. Before. In this great. Prayer. He said. Father. I will. That all. Those that you have.

[32:29] Given me. Be with me. Where I am. That I may be. That I may show them. My glory. Which you have. Given to me. Isn't that wonderful.

[32:42] You know. We miss. And. Our hearts break. When our loved ones. Are taken home. But if we could see. The home. They'd gone to. That would change.

[32:52] Everything. And. They're going home. Is as an answer. To that prayer. Father. I will. I'm praying. Right now. I'm praying. I'm looking.

[33:03] Forward. To the day. When. They're all. Going to come home. To be with me. That's. That's what. What the Lord is saying. So there. This great idea.

[33:15] Of nearness. And. Because of. What the Lord. Has done for us. And given to us. And his love. Is so great. He tells us.

[33:26] I give them eternal life. And. None of. Not one shall perish. Neither shall anyone. Pluck them. Out of my hand. And the Lord. Saves us. He saves us.

[33:37] Throughout life. He saved us. First of all. In taking us. Into his kingdom. He saves us. Through many toils. And dangers. He saves us. And you know. There's.

[33:48] We haven't. We have no idea. How often. He has actually. Delivered us. And saved us. In this life. From tragedy. From things. That. We don't know. The deliverances. That are going on.

[33:58] Day by day. Sometimes we say. Whoa. That was close. Poo. That could have been bad. Could have been a lot worse. But there might be. Loads of things.

[34:09] And you have no idea. Because there are. Forces at work. We can't see. He delivers us. In temptation. Of course. We're tempted. Of course.

[34:19] Sometimes we give in. To temptation. But you know. So often. What the Lord does. Is. Although the temptation. Is there. He removes. The opportunity. From us. In order to give in.

[34:30] To the temptation. The opportunity. Is taken away. Temptation. Is powerful. The opportunity. Is gone. And sometimes. The opportunity. Is there. But the desire. To yield.

[34:40] Has been taken away. So often. The Lord. Delivers us. From the ruin. To which we could come. And again. The Lord. Saves us. From. Just so many. Of the enemies.

[34:51] That are around. And about. And he saves us. Ultimately. From death. Oh yes. We will die. The process of death. Is something. We cannot avoid. But he has promised. That he will be with us.

[35:02] In death. Even in death's dark veil. He says. He will lead us. His rod. And his staff. Will be there. That last journey. The very last journey. The last thing we do.

[35:12] In this life. That momentous time. Not on our own. That's a great thing. Of having the Lord. Because if you don't have the Lord. You're on your own.

[35:24] Family. Friends. They can go. All the way. Through life. With you. But they can't go. Through death. With you. That's where you come. That's where you're.

[35:34] On. Your own. But the Lord says. No you're not. I'm with you. All the way. To the. And I will take you up. On the other side.

[35:45] That's at the heart. Of the great Christian faith. The resurrection. The resurrection. The resurrection. The resurrection. Power of Jesus. First bringing life. Into our soul. And then knowing that.

[35:57] In due time. Although the body. Rests in the grave. There will be a reunion. Of body and soul. In glory forever. May we all know. This. For our own selves.

[36:07] That we might all. Have this peace. This assurance. Of the nearness of God. In our own lives. Let us pray. Lord we pray today. To. Guard us.

[36:18] And keep us. And guide us. And uphold us. And bless us. Lord we need you. All the time. And we discover this. More and more. Of how. Just how much. We do need you. Forgive us Lord.

[36:29] For when we. Disobey you. Forgive us Lord. For when we don't. Lean upon you. Forgive us Lord. For how hard hearted. We can be so often. Forgive us Lord.

[36:41] For. Our self interest. Help us Lord. To always be looking to you. Guide us. And keep us. And bless us. And part us. With your blessing. Do us all good.

[36:51]  And bless all whom we love. And take away our sin. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.