Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/ubc/sermons/52169/a-cheerful-heart/. 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] Well, welcome everybody this evening. It's great to see you all. I feel like saying, why don't you all move up to the front? However, be comfortable in God's presence. [0:14] We come together to worship Him tonight and to hear His Word, to sing praises, to pray, and to focus our minds, our thoughts, and our hearts on what we'll be honoring to God. [0:32] So, welcome. We've gathered here from all various homes, families, different backgrounds. Everybody's welcome to join us in worship this evening, singing His praise, learning from His Word, united in prayer, and then joining together at the end in fellowship around the Lord's table. [0:56] So, it's going to be a lovely evening, focusing on our Father in heaven and on our faith in Him. Let me read some encouraging verses from Psalm 72. [1:11] He, the Lord, will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. [1:28] For He will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no one to help them. May His name endure forever. May it continue as long as the sun. [1:44] Praise to His glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His glory. We lift our hearts and voices in praise of our wonderful God, who is all in all, and come into His presence by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. [2:07] We're going to sing two songs now. The first one, Jesus Shall Reign, and then we're going to move straight through to the second one, Come People of the Risen King. [2:19] So let us stand and praise God together. Amen. Jesus Shall Reign, where'er the sun Does His successive journeys run His kingdom stretch from shore to shore Till sun shall rise and set no more Blessings are bound where'er He reigns The prisoner leaps to loose his chains [3:23] Though we'll refine the eternal rest And all the songs of want are blessed To our King be highest praise Rising through eternal days Just and faithful He shall reign Jesus shall reign People and realms of every tongue Dwell on His love with sweetest song And infant voices shall reign Thoroughly blessings on His name [4:25] To our King be highest praise Rising through eternal days Cast and faithful He shall reign Jesus shall reign Jesus shall reign Let every creature rise and bring Every creature rise and bring An honour to our King Ascent with songs of the King Ascent with songs again Repeat the name of the King Repeat the loud Amen To our God Christ and faithful He shall To our King be highest praise Rising through eternal days [5:25] Just and faithful He shall reign Just and faithful He shall reign Jesus shall reign shall reign. [5:40] To our King be highest praise rising through eternal days. [5:53] Just and faithful he shall reign. Jesus shall reign. [6:04] And the and king who delight to bring him praise come on and tune your hearts to sing to the morning star of grace from the shifting shadows of the earth we will lift our eyes to him where steady arms of mercy reach to god rejoice let every tongue rejoice one heart one voice oh church of christ rejoice come those who tell of battles won and the struggling in the fight his perfect love will never change and his mercies never cease [7:57] All our days with a certain hope of peace. Rejoice, rejoice, let every tongue rejoice. [8:11] One heart, one voice, O Church of Christ, rejoice. Come young and old from every land, men and women of the faith. [8:34] Come those with full or empty hands, find the riches of His grace. Over all the world His people sing, store to shore we hear them call. [8:52] The truth that Christ through every age, our God is all in all. Rejoice, rejoice, let every tongue rejoice. [9:09] Rejoice, rejoice, let every tongue rejoice. [9:26] One heart, one voice, O Church of Christ, rejoice. We come to our prayers for others. [9:50] Let us pray. There are going to be times of pausing where we can lift people known to us in our hearts to the Lord. [10:02] Lord, we come before your throne of grace. In your presence, we find fullness of joy. [10:16] You are our faithful God. And we give thanks that you delight in us and long for us to come before you to bring our joys and sorrows, our petitions. [10:29] Creator God, you made all things good. But our world, your world, is full of people and nations who are hurting. [10:44] We pray for protection, comfort and healing for the children, the women and the men whose lives are being torn apart by war and violence. [10:56] We pray for protection, the women and the women who are hurting us and who face unspeakable loss and profound emotional and physical challenges. We give thanks for all who are involved in helping to bring relief and hope to troubled regions. [11:23] Guide them in their efforts, we pray. Grant wisdom to those leaders who have power to influence or make decisions. Unite us all in pursuing a world where everyone can thrive in your peace, knowing your mercy and abundance. [11:42] Lord of mercy, you hear our cries. [11:55] Through the storms of life, you are our beacon, our song in the night. We pray for those who are fearful and all who are anxious about the circumstances they find themselves in due to financial matters, work situations, troubles in relationships or family concerns. [12:20] We pray for those who are depressed, struggling with health conditions or anxious about impending results. [12:33] We pray for those who are ill or suffering in any way. We pray for those who are ill or suffering. [13:20] Loving God, hear our prayers for those we have named in our hearts. May they rest in the shelter of your wings, trusting in your promises and in the hope which you give to those who look to you. [13:36] Comfort them with the comfort that only you can give. May they experience the light of your love shining through the darkness. And know your presence with them, that you are their strength, their healing and their salvation. [13:55] Father God, we pray for our church here at Union Baptist. As we seek as a community of Christians to serve you and see our town transformed by you. [14:10] In the various groups and activities which take place within our fellowship, help all who are leaders and volunteers to be people who live out their love for you. [14:21] As they follow Jesus and share the hope they have in him. We pray, Lord, for the hub administration team. [14:35] For all involved in life groups and home groups. For the CAP Job Club team. For those who work with the children and young people on Friday evenings and on Sunday mornings. [14:57] For those who run the Babies and Toddlers group. For the staff of the Plugin. And for all who go to the Christianity Explored course. [15:15] Lord, we pray your blessing on the plans for the church weekend at home. And holiday club at Easter time. Lord, we pray that these will be times of fun and fellowship. [15:26] And learning from you and about you. Lord Jesus, we know that you equip us through your divine power. With everything we need for a godly life. [15:39] Give us courage as we share the hope we have in you. And as we encourage others to follow you in their lives. You are a faithful God. [15:54] And we know that you hear and answer our prayers. Grant your peace. And strengthen each of us with power according to your glorious might. So that we might have great endurance and patience. [16:08] And tell of your great love as we serve you. Through our words, our actions and our prayers. Amen. And now we're going to sing again. [16:22] Lord, I come before your throne of grace. Please stand. Amen. Lord, I come before your throne of grace. [16:50] I find rest in your presence. And fullness of joy. In worship and wonder I behold your face. [17:04] Singing, what a faithful God have I. What a faithful God am I. [17:16] What a faithful God. What a faithful God. What a faithful God am I. [17:30] Faithful in every way. Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. [17:43] You have heard my cry. Through the storm you're the beacon. My song in the night. [17:54] In the shelter of your wings. Hear my heart's reply. Singing, what a faithful God. [18:05] What a faithful God have I. What a faithful God have I. What a faithful God. [18:18] What a faithful God have I. Faithful in every way. [18:32] Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. Lord of mercy. All of mercy. Granting peace from man. [18:43] Let me comfort those who suffer. With the comfort you have given. I will tell of your great love. [18:53] For as long as I live. Singing, what a faithful God have I. [19:04] What a faithful God have I. What a faithful God. [19:15] What a faithful God have I. Faithful in every way. [19:28] Faithful in every way. Faithful in every way. And through thé „. [19:50] can see on the screen there are three short readings. If you want to look up Philippians chapter 4 verse 8 and put your finger in the place. It's page 1181. So Proverbs chapter 15 verses 13 to 15. A happy heart makes the face cheerful but heartache crushes the spirit. [20:17] The discerning heart seeks knowledge but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. All the days of the oppressed are wretched but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. And chapter 17 verse 22. A cheerful heart is a good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. [20:47] And then Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. [21:09] I've got this one on anyway. Are we okay Mark? Good. This evening we are starting a, well I think it's a short series, I don't know how long it's going to go on for but I know there's at least three in the series. From our Sunday evening services entitled From the Heart. Looking at some of the sayings from the book of Proverbs. And this evening we are looking at a cheerful heart. I have to confess this has not been a great week for myself or for Karen. And in the middle of the week Karen and I had some bad news about our daughter's treatment. And to be honest that's hit us both very hard. So I have to admit that this week I've been trying to prepare for this evening and talk about a cheerful heart with a heart that has been very far from cheerful. I hope therefore that what comes out this evening is really a message to us from God about what a cheerful heart really means. The other thing I have to note is I don't think I've ever preached on a passage from Proverbs. Nor do I remember well or do I recall very many servants preached on Proverbs. True, verses from Proverbs are often quoted in sermons to make or reinforce a point that fits into the context of a wider sermon. I think that's probably due to how we think of Proverbs. We are, we're used to wise sayings that being short and pointed statements, whether it's a stitch in time saving nine, watched pots never boiling, you know hundreds of them. You know hundreds of them, don't you? You could carry on. And the book of Proverbs is written as a large collection of short statements and in our modern Bibles each statement is recorded as a separate verse. And that tends to make us read Proverbs exactly as that, a collection of short statements. Actually reading one or more chapters of Proverbs in one go is actually quite difficult. I mean I looked up, even the Bible reading plans, you know those ones that you get that so you can read the Bible in the course of the year, they tend to take Psalms and Proverbs and split them up into short sections so you get a little, a proverb for the day. You don't want to get too bogged down in five chapters of Proverbs in one go. So five chapters of Chronicles is equally bad. But that of course is not how Proverbs was written. Now it's not very clear who wrote Proverbs or even when. Chapter one verse one indicates that these are the sayings of Solomon but later chapters include sayings from other wise men, particularly a guy called Agur and a guy called [25:12] Emmanuel. So what we have is probably a collection of Proverbs and sayings compiled over a period of time. [25:25] And the purpose of those who compiled these sayings was to bring knowledge or wisdom. Indeed Proverbs is considered as part of the wisdom books of the Bible along with Ecclesiastes and Psalms and several others. [25:46] Including interestingly James. Won't go in there. That one this evening is why James is considered wisdom and not an epistle. There we go. Proverbs covers a wide range of topics from daily life. [26:02] Diligence and laziness. Friendship. Speech. Marriage. Child rearing. Getting along and good manners. Eternity. And so much more. [26:15] It shows that godliness is of value in every way. And it holds out the promise for not only our present lives but for the life to come. [26:28] Paul writing to Timothy says godliness has value for all things. Holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. And Proverbs is there to try and point us to godliness. [26:45] And godliness is trying to follow god's will. And proverbs has a number of themes within it. And it demonstrates first of all that god's will is intensely practical. [27:00] And applies to every aspect of his people's lives. The proper relationship god involves trying to understand his truth. And then obeying what you understand. [27:15] Proverbs tries to demonstrate that a life lived by god's will is a happy life. And we'll come back to that obviously in a minute. It also goes on to say that a life lived by god's will is a useful life. [27:31] That our life has a purpose. And god has a purpose for us. It goes on to say that a life lived by god's will does not just happen. [27:44] It has to be sought. Living by god's, to god's, in god's way and obeying god's will is something that doesn't come naturally. It's something we have to work at. [27:56] But it also has a great promise in it that such a life is available to all who go after it. So although it is a collection of sayings that are intended to be memorised, there are themes that run through the thoughts. [28:17] They are not just a random collection. Even though sometimes if you sit down and try reading them, you might have had difficulty trying to work out what the connection is between some of them. [28:27] I know that because I've read quite a few commentaries and not all the commentators can quite understand the connection between all of them. But that's the purpose. The purpose is to show these things to us. [28:41] And so as we come to these sayings that we're looking at this evening, we need to see the context of this section of Proverbs. If you've got the Bible there, your Bibles there, please, just turn back, if you will, to chapter 15 and verse 3, which we didn't have this evening, but is a key part of this section that we're looking at. [29:07] Verse 3 says, The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. We need to remember that God knows everything. [29:22] Everything that is going on with everyone. We perhaps sometimes boggle at that thought. How can God know everything that's going on with all the billions of people there are in the world? [29:37] Well, if we struggle with that thought, it probably means that we just don't have a big enough view of God, and perhaps as human we can't. You see, this scene is not an intrusion or is it voyeurism, but is the basis of his care and provision for his whole creation. [30:02] Of course, we need to confess our sins, not because he needs to know them. He already does. But we need to confess them so that we might know his forgiveness. [30:16] That's why we confess sins, not to tell him what's going on, but to show him that we realize what's going on, and we want to do something about it. [30:28] And you see, unbelievers can find this idea of a God that knows everything can be quite terrifying. But to those of us who know him, it should be a great comfort. [30:42] You see, he knows everything. He knows all our thoughts. And he still loves us. That should be wonderful comfort to us. [30:56] He's not keeping watch to catch us out, but because he wants to protect us and constantly bring us back to himself. [31:07] And if you look on a little bit longer, just before the verses that Elaine read to us, you find verse 11. [31:19] Death and destruction lie open before the Lord. How much more to human hearts? You see, this all-seeing God, it's not just about our actions and our thoughts. [31:39] God is seeing what is going on in our hearts, in the very centre of our being, if you want to put it that way. Of course, as you know, in Scripture, the word heart doesn't necessarily mean the physical bit of flesh that's going bump, bump, bump, in there. [31:57] But it means the centre of you. What makes you, you? And God is seeing that. God is looking at what makes us tick. [32:09] What's at the very centre of our being, that's what God is seeing. And this whole chapter, of which these verses we're looking at fit, is talking about what it means to live our lives in the light of the fact that we've got this all-seeing God. [32:29] Because of verse 3, it starts there, the eyes of the Lord are everywhere. Well, because of that, we should be seen. We should be thinking about what it is he's seeing. [32:46] But what we also see in these verses, 13 to 15, and indeed others, including the one we had from chapter 17, is that this all-knowing God also shares in our emotions. [33:02] God knows how we are feeling. God sees how we feel. Now, on the surface, these verses do seem to fly so much against our experience and makes us maybe feel anxious. [33:26] Certainly made me feel anxious in the middle of the week when I started to try and sit down and make sense of this. Verse 13, which is the one that Elaine started with this evening, A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. [33:47] A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Well, we can relate to that, can't we? Yes, of course, we can all understand that when we are happy, it shows on our faces, doesn't it? [34:05] We smile and those kind of things. And how when we are worried or upset, it can feel as if our heart is breaking. [34:19] It's real heartache. Our spirit is being crushed. And then, kind of, verse 15, kind of kicks it again, doesn't it? [34:32] All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. I don't know about you, but I confess I do not feel as if I am having a continual feast. [34:48] Do you? Don't answer that at the moment. See, the more I've thought about this, the more I've come to realise what the problem is, is this word cheerful. [35:04] Because we have an idea about what cheerful is. We relate cheerful to, perhaps, and because the words are also there, about a happy heart making the face cheerful. [35:17] We think of cheerfulness as the same thing as being happiness. See, the basic problem is that we've been lied to about what happiness is. We've probably been lied to about happiness most of our lives by the people around us, and certainly by the society around us. [35:37] See, we have been told, and most of us still cling to the idea, that happiness is when we get our perfect little world assembled around us just the way we want it. [35:51] When we've got the world the way we want it, then we'll be happy. We'll be cheerful, won't we? There won't be any problems. We'll have plenty of the things that we need. [36:04] That's so much the picture that cheerfulness is kind of screamed at us, I suppose, even from when in our childhood. [36:17] You know, kind of a child's upset. Here, have a toy. Have a toy. Have something you want. Stop your crying. Stop your crying. Let's be clear. [36:32] That is not what the Bible means here. For many years, I've struggled with the words of a hymn. [36:45] Some of you may know the hymn. I'm sure all the older ones do. My song is love unknown. My song is love unknown. My saviour is love to me. [36:57] In the middle, there's a verse that goes, They rise and needs will have my dear Lord made away. A murderer they save, the prince of life they slay. [37:10] Yet cheerful he to suffering goes, that he his foes from thence might free. Cheerful. Cheerful he. [37:21] See, I could not get my mind around that Jesus went to the cross cheerfully. So, if we want to see what a cheerful heart looks like, then of course we need to look at Jesus. [37:42] And Jesus came to show us how to live, including how to handle our emotions. Perhaps we don't think of it this way, but God is emotional. [37:56] Jesus came to show us that the Father, and therefore Jesus, was emotional. He was involved in life. Back in the time when these proverbs were probably written, and indeed later on in Greek culture, one gets it a lot, there's these ideas of the Stoics. [38:21] And the Stoics, from which we get the word Stoical, was a freedom from the turbulence of emotion. Now, some of the Puritans in later centuries adopted the same approach. [38:37] You mustn't let emotion show. Emotion wasn't real. Well, it's quite clear to me that Jesus was not a Stoic. [38:54] Isaiah says about him, surely he has borne griefs and carried our sorrows. We have to look at Jesus. Jesus was human. [39:05] He had emotions. And he shows us what perfect emotions look like. Now, the first thing we have to see is that Christ's emotions were driven by compassion. [39:18] Just think of some of the stories. He looked at a rich young man and loved him. He was moved with pity for a leper. He wept over Lazarus. [39:31] He wailed over Jerusalem. He sighed over a deaf man. Jesus cared deeply. And today, the emotions of the risen Christ have to flow into the world through us. [39:48] As we humble ourselves, as we get involved in the world, one of the things we have to do is to show the emotion that Christ would have had for those people to them. We have to cry with them. [40:02] We have to wail over them. Jesus wailed over Jerusalem. Do we wail over Wickham? If we want to create a gospel culture in our church, then we have to allow our emotions to get involved so that people can feel the compassion that comes from God in Christ. [40:28] Perhaps we're all too sometimes too stoical. Or do I mean puritanical? I don't know. But we shouldn't get this strange idea that Jesus' emotions were meek and mild. [40:41] Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Look upon me as a child or whatever it was. He got angry with the Pharisees. He was irritated when the disciples turned the children away. [40:54] He was offended by death when he stood at the grave of a friend. He drove out the money changers in the temple with a whip. A whip incidentally that he made himself. [41:07] So we must get rid of the idea that this was a spur of the moment, suddenly he kind of lost his rag kind of moment. This was real emotion. He called people pigs. [41:20] He called people hypocrites. He called people wolves. See, he never wavered in openly resenting what is wrong with the world. So we mustn't get the strange idea that somehow those emotions are necessarily wrong. [41:36] Jesus showed them. Now you might say it was a righteous anger and it was. And John records that his heart was troubled and he said that his soul was sorrowful even to death. [41:53] Perhaps sometimes when next you think your heart is breaking, remember that. Jesus said his soul was sorrowful even to death. Psalm 45 verse 7 says, you love righteousness and hate wickedness. [42:14] Therefore God your God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. The psalmist was talking about Jesus, about Christ. [42:24] Christ. And you couldn't read those words to say, we've got to understand that Jesus was actually the happiest man of all. See, Jesus did not come to show us an emotionless ethic. [42:45] He told us that he came to give us his joy. joy. Jesus came with a purpose, a mission, and he lived in close relationship with God all the way through his mission. [43:00] When you think of it that way, how could Jesus not be a happy man? God's will. So maybe the hymn writer was right. He did go to the cross cheerfully, but not in the sense that we might use the word cheerful. [43:19] See, I don't think he went up the hill to Calvary laughing and cracking jokes, which is maybe what we think of when we use the word cheerful. But he went up that hill because he knew what he was doing was in perfect step with God's will. [43:36] And when he was in perfect step with God's will, he was cheerful. Despite the suffering, despite the agony, despite the bleeding forehead, he was doing God's will. [43:54] And doing God's will is what made him cheerful. And what this proverb is telling us is that what God wants us to have is a cheerful heart. [44:07] But the external things cannot satisfy our internal longings. It really means that when life is hard, even when a real cheerfulness, even then a real cheerfulness, can still treat us to a feast deep within. [44:36] Because the feast is the love of God for us in Christ. Yes, life might be hard. Yes, things might not be going the way we want them. Yes, our hearts can be breaking. [44:49] But deep inside us, if we're in step with God's will, we can have a cheerful heart like Christ had a cheerful heart. heart. And that is like a feast. [45:02] The feast is the love that God has for us. That says, the proverb, is not something the unbeliever can have. That is why their days are wretched. [45:15] They cannot have that. Because without knowing the love of God, you cannot have a cheerful heart. [45:26] and there's one last point I want to make. How does this cheerfulness show itself? [45:42] This happy heart makes the face cheerful. Now, in Hebrew, the cheerful look, which is used here, reads as light in the eye. [45:53] you see, without that internal longing being satisfied by God and by his love alone, then our spirit would be crushed. [46:07] We have no hope. When we have no hope, that is really what crushes people that do not believe. But we have a hope. [46:18] we have a hope that comes from the love that we have from God, and that hope gives us a light in the eye. The other proverb that Elaine read to us earlier on was from chapter 17, verse 22. [46:38] A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. A cheerful heart is good medicine. Now, that does not mean that if we have a cheerful heart, we are always going to be, we're never going to be ill. [46:57] But it does mean that we will live good lives full of purpose. See, people who do not have the cheerful heart that God gives us will find that this life is meaningless, no sense of purpose, trusting only in temporal things that one day you know are going to pass away. [47:18] And that's what crushes the person's spirit. I don't suppose Karen will mind her brother, my brother-in-law. [47:30] We've had many conversations. There's nothing. There's nothing. There's nothing. This is just, we're just living this big accident. There is no God. There's no purpose. [47:42] And you say, well, what have you been doing all your life? There's no purpose. I think now as he's getting older, he's suddenly starting to ask himself that question. What's it all been about? [47:55] You see, that's what crushes people's spirit. They are literally dried up because they do not know the springs of living water that we know. The basic cause of the crushed spirit is separation from God who gives all life purpose. [48:16] That's what these proverbs are pointing out to us. What do people do who feel this? [48:26] Well, we're back to the beginning again. They seek to find the solution in external things. They look for things to make them happy. And then they don't. [48:39] Because deep down they know those things are going to pass away. Unfortunately, too many people, like my brother-in-law, just get rid of this worry by claiming that this world is all there is. [48:50] That's it. We're just an accident of science or something. What meanness and that makes me feel, I don't know. See, the writer of the proverbs, of course, has nothing of this. [49:07] God wants to see in us a cheerful heart. We're going to come now to a time when we have a chance to respond. And I'm going to suggest we're going to have a few minutes of quiet before we come to communion. [49:26] And we, in this time, take the space, perhaps, to ask God, how is my heart? heart. What we have not touched on, maybe, is how we make our hearts more cheerful. [49:44] Well, Elaine read a verse to us that comes from Philippians, and this is what Paul says. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. [50:06] See, those are the things we need to think about if we want to have a cheerful heart. Because what's true? Well, it's God's word. What is right? [50:18] Well, it's God. Whatever is pure, it's God. Whatever is lovely, it's God. Whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, well, that's Christ. [50:30] You see, think about these things, says Paul. So, we're going to have this time, it's just a few moments. If the technology works, we're going to hear a song as we sit and listen. [50:48] And some of you will know this. It's a hymn that was written, and it is about it is well, with my soul. [51:02] I'm sure many of you know it. But it's just to help us to think, is it well with our soul? Christ has regarded my helpless estate and gave his own life for my soul. [51:20] It is well with my soul. so let's just sit quietly and think. and peace like a river attend my way, when sorrows like sea billows grow, through With my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul. [52:33] Though Satan should love it, though triumph should come, let this blessed assurance control. [52:55] That Christ hath begun my helpless estate, that can share his own blood for my soul. [53:14] It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. [53:33] I sing for the bliss of his glorious Lord. [53:46] I sing not in part, but the whole. It is well, it is well with my soul. [54:01] And I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, all my soul. [54:14] It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. [54:34] For me, be it Christ, be it Christ, thanks to live. [54:49] In Jordan above we shall go. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ. [55:09] And I pray, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ, be it Christ But God is calling me For thy coming we wait The sign of the grave is our call The trump of the angel The voice of the Lord [56:12] Blessed hope, blessed rest Of thy soul It is well With thy soul It is well It is well In my soul And Paul said in the reading from Philippians, The peace of God Which transcends all understanding Will guard your hearts and your minds In Christ Jesus. [57:04] Now before we come to the communion table And Andrew leads us in a time of communion We're going to ask musicians to come again And we're going to sing The perfect wisdom of our God And we're going to sing The perfect wisdom of our God [58:08] Revealed in all the universe All things created by his hand And held together at his command He knows the mysteries of the seas The secrets of the stars are his He guides the planets on their way And turns the earth through another day The matchless wisdom of his ways That mark the path of righteousness [59:13] His word a lamp unto my feet His spirit teaching and guiding me And all the mystery of the cross That God should suffer for the lost So that the fool might shame the wise And all the glory might go to Christ O grant me wisdom from above To pray for peace and cling to love And teach me humbly to receive [60:13] The sun and rain of your sovereignty Each strand of sorrow has a place Within this tapestry of grace So through the trials I choose to say Your perfect will in your perfect way Each strand of sorrow has a place Within this tapestry of grace So through the trials I choose to say Your perfect will in your perfect way And if I can ask Ian and Judy [61:17] Who are going to help serving If you can come and join me here That would be wonderful So as we come to this communion table What we're doing here is Responding to an invitation From Jesus who said I am the bread of life Whoever comes to me Will never be hungry And whoever believes in me Will never be thirsty So as we come to the table Let's remind ourselves What it is that we remember As we come to take the bread And the wine So I'm going to read from 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 Beginning at verse 23 For I received from the Lord What I also passed on to you The Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed Took bread And when he'd given thanks He broke it and said This is my body Which is for you Do this in remembrance of me [62:18] In the same way After supper He took the cup saying This cup is the new covenant In my blood Do this whenever you drink it In remembrance of me For whenever you eat This bread and drink this cup You proclaim the Lord's death Until he comes So then Whoever eats the bread Or drinks the cup of the Lord In an unworthy manner Will be guilty of sinning Against the body and blood Of the Lord Everybody ought to examine Themselves before they eat Of the bread and drink From the cup For those who eat and drink Without discerning the body Of Christ Eat and drink judgment On themselves So with that in mind Let's take a moment Just to Continue to Examine ourselves Examine our own hearts As we have been doing And to have a time To confess to God The ways that we've Let him down And the ways in which The thoughts of our heart Have not been worthy [63:19] Of him And we'll do that Before we come to share In this meal So I'll lead us in a prayer As we do that Lord Our hearts are restless Until they find rest in you But we confess That often we've had Restless hearts Because We've been seeking The satisfaction The joy The happiness The purpose And the security That only you can give us But we've been looking In the wrong places We've been looking Within us We've been looking To others Or we've looked To temporary things When we should have Come straight to you Our loving Eternal Father We are sorry That often our hearts Are turned away From you But we thank you For sending Jesus To die for us So that we can be forgiven In Jesus name Amen This meal is a celebration [64:22] Of the fact That we can have A close relationship With God Our sins are no longer Counted against us Because of what Jesus Has done for us And we could be United together As one body Because of what Jesus has done for us What we're doing In a moment Is we'll pass around The plates of bread And we'll eat it As we receive it Reminding Ourselves That Jesus died For each one of us As individuals As the plate comes around There's a smaller dish Which has got Gluten free bread in it So do use that one If that's appropriate For you Afterwards we'll pass around The trays With the little cups Of non-alcoholic wine And when you receive The cup Please just hold on to it Don't drink it yet Because we'll wait Until everybody's served And then we'll drink together As a reminder That God has saved us Not just as individuals But also Into a new family His family Sharing this meal Holy communion Is something that we [65:23] Partake in as individuals Who've decided to follow Jesus As our Lord and Saviour And if that's something That you don't feel ready for Tonight Then do feel free Just to let the trays Pass you by But just to take the time To observe and to listen To what God might be saying To you Let's pray To give thanks to God For what we celebrate here Father God We thank you For revealing your heart To us In your son Jesus Thank you That his body Was broken And his heart Was broken So that our broken heart Can be put right So that it can be Put right with you Thank you For this small meal Which is An amazing reminder Of what you've done For us Through this meal May we be Filled with a knowledge And an assurance Of your love That you came All the way from heaven To earth To save us Thank you for the reminder [66:24] Of Jesus' body Broken for us And his blood Shed for us We thank you For these reminders That you give to each one of us Amen So Jesus took the bread And he said This is my body Which is for you Do this in remembrance And the appearance Of me And the appearance Of me And the appearance Thank you. [67:34] Thank you. [68:04] Thank you. [68:34] Thank you. [69:04] Thank you. [69:34] Thank you. [70:04] Thank you. [70:34] Thank you. [71:04] Thank you. [71:34] Thank you. [72:04] Thank you. [72:34] Thank you. [73:04] Thank you. [73:34] Thank you. [74:04] Thank you. [74:34] Thank you. [75:04] Thank you. [75:34] Thank you. [76:04] Thank you. [76:34] Thank you. [77:04] Thank you.