Well, we're going to begin our worship now, and our first psalm of praise is Psalm 68.
Psalm 68, that's in the Scottish Psalter, page 301.
Tune is St Andrew.
We're singing verses 1 to 5.
Let God arise, and scattered let all his enemies be,
and let all those that do him hate before his presence flee.
As smoke is driven, so drive thou them, as fire melts, walks away.
Before God's face, let wicked men so perish and decay, but let the righteous be glad.
Let them before God's sight be very joyful.
Yea, let them rejoice with all their might.
Verses 1 to 5 in Psalm 68.
Let God arise.
For Christ unscathed him, let all his enemies be,
and let all those that do him hate before his presence flee.
Let them rejoice with all their might.
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and let all those to Oliver Walsh are given from their lives from their estaba biomarked.
Should every time be king, let them grow with all our might.
God's side, in many joy, who yield and can rejoice with all their minds.
We all sing to His names in praise, extraordinary when your voice
and lies on Him by His name John, before His face rejoice.
Because the Lord the Father is, until the Father rests.
For this the way, O stars within, is grace of holiness.
Let's unite now our hearts in prayer. We're going to call upon the Lord in prayer.
Amen. Gracious and Almighty God, we give thanks that we tonight are appearing
before this God of whom we have been singing.
God who is so immense in His might and power, in His authority, in all aspects of His being.
We thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being able to draw near to you
and to do so in a way that is not intimidated by your greatness.
And for we have come, O Lord, before you tonight to use that new and living way that you have opened up for us,
that we may have access into your presence, that we may come even with boldness to the throne of grace,
so that we may receive grace and mercy in our time of need.
Lord, bless us, we pray, as we come together in this way and as we together call upon your name
and sing your praises and dwell our mind upon your word.
We ask again that you would draw near to us and by your Holy Spirit bless us
so that your word may find lodgment in our hearts.
Give us, Lord, we pray, to increase in our knowledge of you and our commitment to you
in all aspects of what we ought to be in love and in belief, in faith, in hope.
We ask that all of these and all our other graces that come from your Spirit might be multiplied in our hearts.
We thank you, Lord, for the life we enjoy as a congregation of your people,
for the way that we are enabled together to progress those matters that are on our weekly bulletin sheet,
not only in the worship services of the congregation,
but also, Lord, in the many other activities that we engage in
and that we seek from you, your blessing, that they may be blessed to us.
We ask again, O Lord, for this coming week
that you would be with us in all that we anticipate taking part in.
We thank you for the facility of being able to draw near to you
and draw together from those privileges that we have.
We pray that you would bless us, Lord, as we set out these gatherings and groups of various kinds.
We ask your blessing for our children, for our young people.
We pray that you would continue, Lord, to bless them in Sunday School and Bible class
and also in Twinnies and in Cresce,
in all the activities that take place relating to them from week to week.
Bless them, Lord, we pray, and bless their homes and families.
Be pleased, we pray, to strengthen them in these difficult days
against all the attempts that are made to take our mind away from the principles of the Gospel
and from those ways of life that are pleasing to you.
And we ask, Lord, that you would provide us with further help in teaching our young people in Sunday School.
We pray that you would move some in the congregation to offer themselves for that work
and give them, Lord, we pray, a burden for these young souls.
We pray that you would grant us that provision, O Lord, at this time,
for we would want to see your own cause advance amongst our young people and children.
And we pray, to that end, that you would provide us, Lord, with that help.
We pray, too, for all other meetings anticipated this week,
for the prayer meetings, for the annual meeting, for the 55-plus fellowship.
Lord, we ask that all of these might be blessed by you
and may be of benefit to all who attend.
We thank you again for your upholding of us through this year
as we reflect upon another year and find another report
of the year's life in the congregation.
We ask, O Lord, that we may continue to depend upon you.
And as we face various restrictions and challenges,
both financially and in other ways,
in such times as we live in, Lord, we give thanks
for those who uphold your cause financially,
for those who pray for the ministry of the gospel,
for those, O Lord, who themselves would want to see your cause flourish.
We pray that you would continue to provide for us with these resources,
and that you would help us in all the activities of the congregation
to see that growth that we pray for and yearn for.
Remember those of particular responsibilities in the congregation.
Help those who are in office, both as elders and deacons.
We commit the life of the session and the deacon's court to you.
We ask, O Lord, as we set about our tasks from month to month,
that you'd be pleased to bless us.
Give to us the guidance of your Holy Spirit.
Bless those who are involved, Lord, in leading the congregation in praise.
We thank you for all of them, both in English and Gaelic.
We pray that you would provide us with further resources in that regard as well.
Maintain us, Lord, we pray, in a way that would, in a healthy fashion,
reach forward in witnessing and testifying to you
in the community we belong to.
We remember, Lord, also all others who help in the congregation.
Remember the various groups that meet from time to time,
and we ask that you would continue to bless them too.
And be with Marianne and with Roddy and with Lizzie as well in their tasks,
and with all who help with the live stream and with the IT system that we have.
We thank you for them, and we pray that you would grant us, Lord,
that we may continue to have these resources provided for us
and people who are sufficiently active and interested in them.
Bless, we pray, all the congregations of the town.
We thank you for the ongoing witness of your people in different denominations,
and we pray that you would continue to bless us, Lord, in our generation
with people who will take up the burden and the responsibility
and the privilege of serving you openly and testifying to your grace.
And we ask, O God, that you would continue to hear our prayers
for your cause in our midst, in our locality.
Bless those who are involved in various activities in our community as well.
We thank you, Lord, of those who provide us with nursing care and expertise
in our hospital and hospice, in our care homes, in our surgeries and in our clinics.
We ask, O Lord, that all of these will continue to be blessed to us
and that you'd bless those who are actively involved in them.
We pray that you would grant blessing to those who help us
in our times of bereavement and sorrow.
Bless the undertakers who so willingly give of their time and of their gifts.
And we thank you for their demeanor and the way in which they so willingly help
bereaved families virtually every week of life.
Bless those, Lord, in the congregation who are bereaved in these days.
And we ask that you bless them as they experience the pain of loss.
Grant to comfort them, we pray, and guide them in your way
and draw them to yourself and speak to them, we pray, and to their pain
so that by your own comfort they may advance from day to day.
And so be pleased to bless us now as we further wait upon you here.
And in all of these things, we ask, O Lord, that you would forgive our sins
that we now confess before you.
And we pray that you would cleanse us from our iniquity.
Wash us freely, we pray, and present us before you
as clean in your sight.
Grant all these mercies to us, we pray.
In Jesus' name and for his sake.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise.
This time our psalm is Psalm 130.
130.
That's on page 421.
The tune is Martyrdom.
Lord, from the depths to thee I cried.
My voice, Lord, do thou hear, and to my supplications voice
give an attentive ear.
Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity?
But yet with thee forgiveness is, that feared thou mayest be.
We're thankful to God for all these great contrasts that he brings us in his word.
The contrast here in Psalm 130 between what would be the case
if God were to hold our iniquity against us
and mark them against us forever on our account.
The contrast between that and the wonder of his forgiveness
that he so freely bestows.
So Psalm 130, the whole psalm.
Lord, from the depths to thee I cried.
Amen.
To thee I cried.
My voice, Lord, do thou hear.
Unto my soul, the gracious voice
And the gospel voice
And the glory of God, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity?
Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity?
I can't with thee forgiveness is that near the mercy.
I wait for God, my soul not wait, my hope is in His word.
For that may die, for glory watch, my soul rich for the Lord.
I say, Lord, I may come to watch the morning light to see.
Let Israel hold with the Lord, for with Him ever cease to be.
Thank Jesus' redemption, it's ever come with Him.
And from all His daily riches, He is the child redeemed.
Now let's turn to read God's word now.
Our reading this evening is from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4.
And we'll read from the beginning of chapter 4, down as far as verse 16.
Ephesians chapter 4, from the beginning.
I, therefore a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness and patience, bading with one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says, when He ascended on high, He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.
In saying He ascended, what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.
And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head into Christ,
from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,
when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Amen. And may God again bless to us, reading that portion of His Word.
We'll sing again in Psalm 76 this time.
Psalm 76, that's on page 99 to a tune martyrs.
And we're singing verses 1 to 7.
In Judah's land, God's name is known.
In Israel, He is great.
In Salem, He has pitched His tent.
His home in Zion set.
He broke the fiery arrows there, the military might of those who with their swords and shields against us came to fight.
Your splendor is more glorious than hillsides rich with prey.
Brave men were stripped of all their spoil.
Asleep in death they lay.
Not one of those great warriors could lift his hands to kill.
At your rebuke, O Jacob's God, rider and horse lay still.
For you alone are to be feared.
Before you, who can stand?
Who can endure your anger, Lord?
The judgments you command.
These verses then to the tune martyrs in Judah's land.
God's name is known.
He is great.
In satisfaction from the Great Lakes
Is the Son of God
The Holy Child
The will and dirty might of those who with their swords and shields
And his love came to light Your splendor is more glorious
On hillsides rich with rain They've been western of all their spoils
Our sweet red dead they live
No one of those great warriors To lift his hands to kill
And you renew, O Jacob's God
My God and heart stay still
For you alone are to be feared Before you who can stand
Who can endure you and the Lord The judgment you've all done
If you turn with me please now to the book of Psalms and Psalm 68
Tonight we're going to look mainly at verse 18
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train
And receiving gifts among men
Even among the rebellious that the Lord may dwell there
Blessed be the Lord who daily bears us up
God is our salvation
Our God is a God of salvation
And to God the Lord belong deliverances from death
Well it's no accident that you find the words of verse 18
Coupled with verses 19 and 20
Verses 19 and 20 that speak of the Lord
Who upholds his people
Who is a God of salvation
And to him belong deliverances from death
It's no accident that that is closely related to
What you find in verse 18
The Lord ascending on high
Leading a host of captives in his train
And as we read in Ephesians chapter 4
As you well know these words are taken by the Apostle Paul
And quoted in Ephesians chapter 4
To fit in with the emphasis that he's giving there
Of the Lord and his church
And the provision he has made for his church
He's especially concerned to emphasize there in Ephesians 4
The various gifts that Christ has bestowed upon his church
To endow his church for the work that he has given his church in this world
And on into the next
And in this psalm we find a wonderful emphasis all the way through
It's really in a sense a military psalm
A military type psalm
Which speaks of the exploits of God
As he goes before his people
And as he gives them the capacity and the power to overcome their enemies
We need the Old Testament here and the New Testament
To fully explore the contents of this psalm
But especially where we come to Jesus
Where we come to his death and resurrection
And as we're looking at tonight
His ascension to the throne of God on high
To the Father's right hand
And so the psalm really begins with that great cry
God shall arise or let God arise
Let his enemies be scattered
And these words were in Numbers chapter 10
They were associated with the carrying of the ark forward
Chapter 10 verse 35 I think it is
They were carrying the ark forward
And whenever the ark was to move forward
The people were to cry
Let God arise
And let his enemies be scattered
Because the ark of caution in itself represented
The dwelling of God amongst his people
So that as the ark moved
It was symbolical of the Lord being with his people
Moving with his people
And setting out as it were ahead of his people
To lead them against whatever difficulties and enmity
They met with on the way
But then the psalm moves on
To speak about a battle scene
And a victory scene
And a procession of victory
As you find here in verse 18 especially
And ending with the Lord on his hill
Near the end of the psalm
But also an emphasis on dispensing the spoils
As we'll see the spoils of victory
As these are dispensed to his people
Fitting in with what you find in Ephesians Chapter 4
The Lord dispensing the various gifts
That he has actually obtained for his church
As a consequence of his own great work of redemption in Christ
And so as we look at these
We can see tonight that these are emphasizing
The privilege that God's people have
Of having this God not only in their midst
But going before them
Because the same principle follows through
From what you find in the psalm
And in the Old Testament
And Ephesians Chapter 4
That same principle remains for us today
That God goes before us
That God is with us
That God in our midst is mighty
That none of his enemies will overcome him
And therefore none of the enemies of his church
Will overcome them either
Because they are led by him
And they are safe in him
You know that in some church calendars
Some denominations
Anglicans for example
And others
They have what's known as
An ecclesiastical calendar
There are certain days appointed through the year
That they in a rota year by year
Actually associate with certain aspects of biblical truth
And apparently we don't follow that
Not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with it
But last Thursday was what's known as Ascension Day
A day that's focused on the ascension of Jesus
To the right hand of the throne of God on high
And although we don't mark that as a day
The ascension of the Lord is really hugely important for us
It's something perhaps we don't give as much attention to as we should
We do give attention more to the resurrection of Christ
The death of Christ
The resurrection of Christ
Perhaps even the intercession of Jesus at the right hand of God
But the ascension in itself is also critically important
To our understanding of what really forms the basis of our redemption in Christ
Because the ascension of Jesus is something that sets out the Father's acceptance of him
And of his work beginning with his resurrection from the dead
And then that moving into his ascension
Where he is taken from earth to heaven
And now sits at the right hand of the throne of God
And so thinking of the ascension
Tonight we're looking at that in the light of these words in verse 18
But also of course as we said taking account of the fact that
That is all fitting into the New Testament emphasis too
So we're looking firstly at the Lord's ascension in victory
And then secondly at the Lord's distribution of gifts to his church
In consequence of what he has done and of the ascension itself
And of course Ephesians 4 reminded us that you cannot think of the ascension
Without thinking first of the incarnation of the descent of the Lord of Jesus
Of Christ the second person of the Trinity
You cannot think of his ascension without as Paul saying
First of all thinking of his descending
He descended into the lower depths of the earth
By which he meant his death
He came into the world specifically to give himself as a ransom in his death for his people
And that precedes logically
It precedes not just logical but theologically
It precedes his ascension
It's only as he has died and then risen from the dead
Or been raised from the dead
It's only then that you can think of his ascension
But his ascension to the throne of God on high
As it logically follows his death and resurrection
So it also theologically follows
Because the Lord's approval, the Father's approval of him
Is set out and approval of his death
As fully sufficient for the salvation of his people
Is set out and everything that follows on
And then they come to the gifts that he bestows upon his church as well
So the incarnation is an important fact that precedes the ascension of the Lord
But as you look at the ascension
You ascended on high
Leading a host of captives in your train
The first step towards the ascension
As we said is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead
We have to take these things as factually and literally correct
These are not the Bible setting out things symbolically
As if there was no actual physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead
That's a popular opinion
That's something that we find difficult to accept
Until the Lord lays it upon our hearts
And opens our minds
And opens our heart to the fact of that
That if there's no actual resurrection
It's not all that long ago
We took some time to go through 1 Corinthians 15
Where Paul very emphatically says
If there has been no resurrection from the dead
On the part of Jesus
Then there is no point to the gospel
There's no salvation for us
There's nothing of the kind of life
That Jesus in the Bible has said to bring to us
The eternal life
Everything stops
If Jesus has not been raised from the dead
It ends with his death
That's it
Finished
So there's no resurrection for us afterwards either
Life is done
When you die
When your body is laid into the grave
That's it
Paul is saying
If that's our opinion
If that's what we think
We are of all people most to be pitied
Our faith is in vain
Our preaching is in vain
There is no point to anything of what we're doing tonight
If Jesus isn't at the right hand of God tonight
If Jesus hasn't in fact literally
Risen from the dead
And been raised from the dead by the Father
You know that yourselves
But Paul saw fit to emphasize it
For the church at Corinth
And we need to re-emphasize it for ourselves
That our salvation deals with facts
The fact of the incarnation
The fact of the death of the cross
The fact of Christ's burial
The fact of his resurrection
And now the fact of his ascension
To the right hand of God
And it's important that
What's important certainly
In the theology that we follow
As Reformed theology
It's important that we
Think particularly of the continuity
Of the person of Christ
All the way through
That this is not a different person
Who ascended on high
After he died on the cross
It's the same Jesus
The same person
And the same person of the Godhead
As well
Second person of the Trinity
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Which we use in our church
And have been using
Ever since we were established
As a church
It says in chapter 8 verse 4
On the third day
He rose from the dead
With the same body
In which he suffered
And that's an important emphasis
He rose from the dead
With the same body
In which he suffered
With which also
He ascended into heaven
And there sitteth
At the right hand
Of his Father
Why is that important?
Because the continuity
Of his person
Is important for yourself
And myself
That we can see
That in this one person
Of Jesus Christ
All the way through
From the incarnation
To the death of the cross
The resurrection
On to ascension
It's the same person
Death has not interfered
With his person
Death hasn't done anything
To stop that whole process
Of incarnation
Death
Resurrection
Ascension to glory
And that's part of
What lies for us tonight
As the basis of our hope
Our hope
For eternal life
And remember
Philippians 2
Verses 11 to 9
Tells us
How high Jesus
Has been set
In his exaltation
His ascension to heaven
And his exaltation
And session
At the right hand of God
God has highly
Exalted him
How highly
Is Jesus exalted
How highly
Is the saviour
Tonight
Whom we worship
In our worship service
How high is he
He's at the right hand
Of God
What does that mean
It means he's as high
As you can possibly
Conceive of
And indeed
If you followed
Professor John Murray
In one of his comments
In his volume
One of his volumes
Not even God
He says
Could conceive
Of a higher
Than the position
That Jesus occupies
Because it's
Deserving of
The highest
Possible place
That God
Could give him
In consequence
Of all that he has done
And that's where he is
Until he returns
To earth
But that is his position
That's his status
That is the saviour
You believe in
That's the saviour
We worship
That's the saviour
We expect to come back
To this world
Not some puny figure
And not even
The son of God
In the incarnation
As he came
In the form
Of humanity
Bearing the sin
Of his people
He will come
As he now is
The glorious
Exalted
Ascended
Son of God
And that's what we
Hold out
As part of
What we hope
Towards
On the day
That Jesus returns
But there's a procession
Here is the Lord's
Ascension and victory
Incarnation
Followed by ascension
But there's a procession
Mentioned here
And it's picked up again
In Ephesians
Quoting this verse
You ascended on high
Leading a host
Of captives
In your train
When you go to the older
Authorized version
The way that's
Translated there
He
Leading captivity
Captive
And possibly
That's a better way
Of translating
What you have
In the text
Of the psalm
You ascended up on high
Leading captivity
Captive
Or you led
Captivity
Captive
What does that
Actually mean?
Well it means
Essentially
That
Those who held
Us the powers
That held
Us captive
The powers
Of sin
The power
Of satan
By the death
Of jesus
By his resurrection
By his ascension
The picture you have
Here is of these
Great powers
Greater than
Ourselves
These powers
Being vanquished
These powers
Now being overcome
By the lord
He has as it were
Led them away
In triumphant
Procession
Displaying them
As defeated enemies
In ancient times
That would have
Been the practice
If a general
Went out
With his army
Against enemies
And overcame
The enemies
The Romans
Especially
Were very much
This was very much
Their practice
Though it wasn't
Confined to them
If the general
Came back
If he had been
Victorious in battle
And he made his way
Back to his homeland
It was often
The practice
That those
That he had defeated
Or a great selection
Of them anyway
Would actually be dragged
Usually behind his chariot
Brought back
To be put on display
As defeated enemies
So that everyone
Could see
That this general
Had been successful
And victorious
In battle
And these
His enemies
That had
Fought against him
Were now completely
And utterly overcome
They were chained
They were made
Slaves behind him
That's
Our Jesus
That's the Lord
In his ascension
To glory
That's the position
He occupied
That's what was put
On display
The principalities
And powers
As Paul calls them
These great
Spiritual forces
Of darkness
That held us
Captive
They were put
To flight
They were overcome
By the Lord
When you think
Of Jesus
Ascending up
On high
Here is what you find
Spiritually
And theologically
True
About that
Great procession
You think of Jesus
Just imagine him
Ascending up
On high
You couldn't see
This necessarily
For yourself
Of course
But spiritually
And in the unseen world
This is what was
Taking place
His enemies
Were being dragged
Behind his chariot
Of triumph
As he went
To take his place
At the right hand
Of God
And isn't that
Why so often
The psalmist
Himself says
In regard to
God being
His salvation
And his salvation
Being in God
Whom shall I fear
And that's why
Paul in Romans 8
Echoes that same
Emphasis
That same
Sentiment as well
Who shall separate us
From the love of God
In Christ Jesus
Not even death
He says
Nor principalities
Nor powers
Things present
Things to come
Not even death
Because death
Has been overcome
Death is dragged
By Jesus
As he rose
From the grave
As he ascended
To glory
There you see
Death as the wages
Of sin overcome
And there is death
Defeated
For us
Tonight
Are you still
Detached
As it were
From Jesus
Is your life
Tonight
Lived by faith
In him
Through trusting
In him
Is your life
Joined to his
And is your life
Joined to him
In victory
Over death
And over all his
And your enemies
Is the triumph
Of Jesus
Your triumph
Tonight
Not unless
Your trust
Is in him
Not unless
You've put
Your life
In his hands
Not unless
You're joined
To him
In such a way
That his victory
Becomes your victory
And his ascension
Becomes your ascension
When it comes
That's the great privilege
Friends we have
This is what the gospel
Sets out for us
This is what we seek
To emphasize
In the preaching
Of the gospel
That we worship
A victorious
Savior
An ascended
Savior
A savior
Who has dragged
Behind him
Victoriously
All that stood
In enmity
Against him
And against his people
You ascended
On high
Leading captivity
Captive
Remember how Paul
Again put this
Very similarly
At least in
His letter
To the Colossian church
The Colossians
Were facing
All kinds of
False teaching
That sought
To draw them
Away from
Jesus being
Fully complete
And sufficient
As their savior
That they had
Many things
To do themselves
By which they reached
Step by step
By their own efforts
Towards final victory
Well
In the Colossians
Paul in chapter 2
Of Colossians
In verses 13 to 15
Was teaching them
And is teaching us here
As we read it
Where he speaks of
Being buried with him
In baptism
Raised with him
Through faith
In the powerful
Working of God
Who raised him
From the dead
And you
Who were dead
In your trespasses
And in the uncircumcision
Of your flesh
God made alive
Together
Or in union
With him
Having forgiven us
All trespasses
By cancelling
The record of debt
That stood against us
With its legal demands
This he set aside
Nailing it to his cross
And then listen
To what's next
He disarmed
The rulers
And authorities
And put them
To unopened shame
By triumphing
Over them
In him
You see
That's Psalm 68
He put them
To unopened shame
These powers
These spiritual forces
Of darkness
He put them
To unopened shame
Triumphing over them
In the Lord
And in the cross
And his resurrection
And all that followed
Putting them on display
And really that's part
Of the gospel call
As well isn't it
That we emphasize
Your need
And my need
To come to Jesus
Because the Bible
Presents us
As in enmity
Against God
That's our natural
State
Our natural state
Of mind
Our natural bias
Of soul
That we are in enmity
Against God
But God has come
To provide
Reconciliation
For us in Christ
In other words
When the Bible
Calls us to come
To Jesus
When he gives us
That invitation
And call
Come to me
And I will give you rest
What he's really saying
Following the military language
If you like
Of this Psalm
Is lay down
Your arms
Of rebellion
Don't keep them up
Against the Lord
Lay down
These arms
Lay them at his feet
And say
Lord you
Who defeated sin
Who defeated the devil
Who defeated
These forces of darkness
I give myself
To you
I lay down
My rebellion
I lay down
My arms
Of rebellion
Against you
And I place them
Here before you
And I want you
To rule over me
And not them
You led captivity captive
He ascended on high
Leading a host
Of captives
In your train
The Lord's ascension
In victory
And how it's
Very much related
Practically
To our salvation
And our experience
Of salvation
And our comfort
Indeed
In salvation
That this is
Our God
Our Saviour
The Lord Jesus Christ
And then the Lord's
Distribution of gifts
To his church
You notice what it then says
Receiving gifts
Among men
Even among the rebellious
That the Lord
May dwell there
There's a difference
Really
In
A difference of emphasis
In the Ephesian text
To what you find here
In the psalm
The psalm says
You received gifts
Among men
Or for men
Whereas Ephesians
Speaks about
He gave gifts
To men
But there's
There's no
Contradiction there
What it's really saying
Is when you take
Both together
The Lord received
By virtue of
His resurrection
And ascension
He received gifts
In order to
Dispense them
To his church
So he's giving them out
After receiving them
By way of
A reward
If you like
For
What he has done
And it's distribution
Dividing the spoil
Was a practice
When armies
Came back
Victorious
Very often
They brought back
The spoils
Of war
These would be
Distributed
Amongst the people
That they themselves
Belonged to
And different kinds
Of spoils
If you like
And in verses
11 and 12
In the psalm
You find
The same thing
Emphasized there
Or similarly
There's the picture there
The Lord gives
The word
The women
Who announce
The news
Are a great host
The kings
Of the armies
They flee
The women
At home
Divide the spoil
And so on
You find the emphasis
There
What happened
Literally
As you think
About it
Spiritually
God
Jesus
Dispenses
The gifts
That
Ephesians 4
And let me just
Remind you
Around ourselves
Of what it says
Where Ephesians
There
Speaks about
The dispensing
Of the gifts
That Jesus
Has obtained
For his church
In saying
He ascended
He descended
First of all
Far above now
All heavens
He's ascended
And he gave
The apostles
The prophets
The evangelists
The pastors
And teachers
There are his gifts
That's what he bestows
In consequence
Of obtaining them
For him
By his death
And resurrection
And ascension
And
To equip
The saints
For the work
Of ministry
That work
Of ministry
Is not just
The ministry
Of the gospel
And preaching
The gospel
It's ministry
That's carried out
In a wider sense
By the Lord's people
And the Lord
Has gifted
His people
He's gifted
Especially as we'll see
The Holy Spirit
To his church
But all of this
Is so that
His church
Will grow
That we may
No longer be
Tossed to and fro
Carried about
By every wind
Of doctrine
And so on
Speaking the truth
In love
All of that passage
Really speaks
About God
Jesus dispensing
The gifts
To his church
To enable them
To grow
Towards
Final maturity
That's a great
Privilege
Tonight
You know
There are many
People throughout
The world
Tonight
Who would
Dearly love
To have a
Regular ministry
Of the gospel
Who would
Dearly love
To have
The bible
Explained
To them
Preached
But they don't
Have that
They don't have
Access to that
They're dependent
On books
Good books
And so on
They're dependent
On hearing
From time to time
Somebody coming
To explain
The bible
To them
And here we are
In this community
What a great
Privilege
There is
That there's
A free access
To the gospel
And to the preaching
Of the gospel
And to the worship
Of God
And yet all these
Pews are empty
Last week we heard
Derek Maxwell
Reverend Derek Maxwell
Speak about
Work of SGA
In Ukraine
And other places
In Central Europe
He spoke especially
About Ukraine
And the effects
Of the terrible war
That still rages
In Ukraine
But one of the things
He did say
And make clear
And he was very
Moving in saying
So
How the church
Has grown
How people
Are pressing
Into places
Of worship
Because they see
That the devastation
Of this war
Has really taught
Them and shown
Them the things
Of this world
Are essentially
Valueless
Compared to
The salvation
And compared
To eternity
And these people
Are coming
And saying
Well
These things
That we've lost
They're earthly
Things
They're precious
Things
But they're gone
But we want
Something that
Cannot be taken
From us
We want the life
That God promises
In Jesus Christ
And there was a
Wonderful story
He told about
A count of
A seminary
Or college
There
Which had been
Hit by a Russian
Missile
And virtually
All destroyed
And gone up
In flames
Apart from
The library
Which held
Many irreplaceable
Books
That library
Was untouched
While the rest
Of the building
Went up in flames
Not only untouched
But he said
There wasn't even
The smell of smoke
From any of the books
Contained in that library
Why was that?
Why would the Lord
Protect these books?
Well because
As he showed
In his next slide
That place
Has 880 students
Studying
The word
Of God
You see
When war comes
Terrible as it is
Devastating as it is
We'd never want
To see it
But one thing
The Lord
Teaches his people
Is
The value
Of what's precious
And what is not precious
And the importance
Of things
That are his gift
To the church
Rather than
What we might say
Are our contribution
And these material
Things especially
You received
Gifts
For men
Or amongst men
Gifts purchased
Procured
Given out
By Jesus
And the one
Grand objective
You see
That's mentioned here
Above the rest
You see
He's mentioning
It's for the rebellious
Even for the rebellious
That's you and I
But even for the likes
Of us
God has done this
Jesus has ascended
Up on high
For the benefit
Of rebellious
Sinners
Who come through
Salvation
To enjoy
The gifts
That God
Dispenses to his church
Does that not amaze
You tonight
Does it not amaze
You that
You and I
Who are naturally
At enmity with God
Are the very people
The very kind of people
That he died for
And rose from the dead for
And ascended up to glory
For
To dispense gifts to us
That we would enjoy
In this life
And enjoy throughout eternity
What a great God
How different
In his mercy
In his grace
In his forbearance
In his love
To what you and I are
By nature ourselves
This is the grand objective
That God has
That the Lord God
May dwell there
Or dwell amongst them
The presence of God
The gift of the Holy Spirit
Through which God comes
To inhabit his church
That's the great objective
In the exaltation
And ascension
Of Jesus
Because after he had sat
At the right hand
Of God on high
As Acts chapter 2
Demonstrates for us
Verses 32 to 33
As Peter spoke
And preached
As to what had happened
In the coming of the Spirit
This Jesus
He says
Who was crucified
He has poured this out
Which you now see
And hear
You see it's Jesus
Dispensing the gift
Of the Holy Spirit
Upon his church
In Eden
We were driven out
Of the garden
Where God dwelt
With us
Mankind
Rebelled against God
And rightly
And justly
God closed the gates
Of Eden
And said
No you can't
Go back there
And he placed
A flaming sword
And cherubim
To keep
The way it says
Of the tree of life
There was no going back
That way
And it's even more amazing
That God provided
Another way
That he opened up
A new and living way
As Hebrews 10 puts it
That is through the flesh
Through the person
Through the incarnation
The death
The resurrection
The ascension
Of Jesus
And where
You might say
That
On the gates
Of
Just imagine
On the gates
Of Eden
It's as if God
Had placed a sign
Saying
Here God
Once lived
But he's no longer
Here
He's gone
He's deserted
The place
And the man
The mankind
That lived here
With him
There now
Outside
But then
When you take that
Forward into the
New Testament
You find something
Amazing taking place
The crisis
Of Eden
Is answered
In the crisis
Of the cross
And the resurrection
And the ascension
Of the Lord
Because when you
Come to Calvary
It's Jesus
That's outside
It's Jesus
That's taking
The curse
It's Jesus
That's going to die
In the place
Of his people
And having risen
From the dead
And overcome
Death
And ascended
To glory
He dispenses
The gifts
That he purchased
To his people
And they are
Still being
Distributed
The gifts
That God
Gives
To his people
Not just
Endowments
The spirit
Of God
And so on
Of course
Central to it
But there are
Various gifts
That he gives
To his people
In the work
Of the gospel
In the work
Of the church
There are
Some that are
Given
Gifts
In order
To be
Elders
In the church
Gifts
To be
Deacons
In the church
Gifts
To work
Amongst
Young people
Gifts
To work
With older
People
All kinds
Of gifts
They all
Flow
From the
Ascended
Lord
They all
Come from
His
Wonderful
Position
At the
Right hand
Of the throne
On high
And they're
All preparing
Us
Those of us
Who trust
In the Lord
Tonight
They're preparing
Us
These gifts
Are part of
The way
God's
Preparing
Us
For our
Final state
In glory
With him
Remember how
It is with
Revelation
At the end
Of the Bible
The Revelation
Chapter 21
Verses 1
To 4
And I saw
A new heaven
And a new earth
For the first
Heaven and the
First earth
Had passed away
And the sea
Was no more
And I saw
The holy city
New Jerusalem
Coming down
Out of heaven
From God
Prepared as a bride
Adorned for her
Husband
And I heard
A loud voice
From the throne
Saying
Behold
A dwelling
Place of God
Is with man
He will dwell
With them
And they will
Be his people
And God
Himself
Will be with them
As their God
He will wipe
Away every tear
From their eyes
And death
Shall be no more
Neither shall
There be mourning
Nor crying
Nor pain
Anymore
For the former
Things
Have passed away
It's as if
Jesus is saying
To us tonight
Don't cry
Not that there's
Anything wrong
With weeping
And there are times
When we need
To weep
Weep
But we don't
Weep
In despair
When our trust
Is in him
Instead we say
And we hear him
Saying
Weep no more
For he has
Prevailed
He has ascended
On high
Everything we need
Is already in himself
As the psalmist
Said in psalm 23
Surely goodness
And mercy
Will follow me
All the days
Of my life
And I will dwell
In the house
Of the Lord
Forever
And as Jesus
Said in John 14
Where he spoke
About going to
Prepare a place
For them
Where he actually
Drew the mind
Of the disciples
As to where
He was heading
What would happen
After the cross
If I go
To prepare
A place for you
I will come again
And receive you
Unto myself
That where I am
There you
May also be
And the Lord
In his ascended
Glory tonight
Through the gospel
Is assuring you
And assuring me
Assuring us together
That when our trust
Is in him
When we live
Through faith in him
When we accept him
As he is
In all his fullness
For us as saviour
This is our future
What a glorious future
It is
Is it your future?
Is it my future?
Well your relationship
To Jesus
Is what establishes
That for you
Let's pray
We thank you
Lord tonight
That we
Know that you are
Set at the right hand
Of the Father
On high
We thank you
Father
That you sent
The Son
Into the world
That he came
To give his life
A ransom
For his people
We thank you
That all he did
Was acceptable
In your holy sight
And that you come
To give to us
In your word
That record
Of his death
And resurrection
And ascension
To glory
And Lord we pray
That you would
Grant us faith
To anticipate
His return
So that we may be
Ready to receive him
In his glory
When he comes
Make us ready
Lord we pray
For that great day
For your word
Encourages us
To prepare
By using the means
That you have given us
Help us to be thankful
As we look out
Over this fallen world
As we see the devastation
Of this world
As we see the enmity
In men's hearts
Being carried out
In atrocities
And terrible situations
Against each other
O Lord
Point us
We pray
To that great fact
That remains
That you are set
Above all these things
That you preside over them
In your sovereign power
And that you have ascended
To the throne on high
To assure your people
That you continue to reign
And that your will is best
Hear us we pray now
For Jesus' sake
Amen
Well let's conclude tonight
By singing in Psalm 110
It's one of the great
Messianic Psalms
As they're called
Psalm 110
On page 149
We're singing to the tune
Dennis
Verses 1 to 4
And of course
Jesus himself
In the Gospels
Quoted from this psalm
To set forth
His own
Authority and status
As he spoke
To the people
The Lord said
To my Lord
Sit here
At my right hand
Until I make
Your foes a stool
On which your feet
May stand
The Lord
Will make your reign
Extend from
Sion's hill
With royal power
Your rule among
Those who oppose
Your will
When you display
Your power
Your people
Flock to you
At dawn
Arrayed in holiness
Your youth
Will come like dew
Unchangeably
The Lord
With solemn purpose
Swore
Just like Melchizedek
You are a priest
Forevermore
These verses
The Lord said
To my Lord
Sit here
At my right hand
Until I make
Your foes a stool
On which your feet
May stand
The Lord
Will make your reign
Exceed from
Sion's hill
With royal power
Beautiful and high
Those who oppose
Your will
When you display
Your power
Your people
Fall to you
At dawn
The great
In holiness
Your youth
Will come
Like dew
And change
And lead
The Lord
With solemn
Power
The storm
Just like Melchizedek
In holiness
That make
You are
A priest
Forevermore
I'll go to the main door
After the benediction
Now may the grace
Of the Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God the Father
And the communion
Of the Holy Spirit
Be with you now
And evermore
Amen
Ihnen
Well
Amen
Now
Amen