WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 We are going to have reading from the Gospel, Matthew 25 by Hamish Alexander. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:14.000 This is Matthew 25, the first 13 verses. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.000 It's the parable of the 10 virgins. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:26.000 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.000 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.000 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:43.000 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:49.000 But at midnight there was a cry, here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:55.000 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said to the wise, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.000 give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:04.000 But the wise answered, saying, since there will not be enough for us and for you, 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:15.000 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.000 and the door was shut. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:23.000 Afterwards the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:30.000 But he answered, truly I say to you, I do not know you, watch therefore, 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.000 for you know neither the day nor the hour. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:40.000 This is the word of the Lord. Amen. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:47.000 It's good to be with you tonight and looking forward to the rest of the evening past this bit for me anyway. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.000 And before we go back to this, look at this parable, we'll pray, let's pray together. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:58.000 Father God, we ask and pray that your spirit would guide and keep and protect us this evening. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:06.000 We thank you for this occasion, and we pray that your name would be held high and honored as we worship you, 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:10.000 and as we induct Corey later on. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:17.000 And we thank you for this part of the Bible, and we pray that we would remind ourselves that is your living word, 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:23.000 that we would have open ears spiritually to what it has to say to us, for everyone here, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:26.000 from the youngest to the oldest. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.000 And we thank you that such a great span of ages here this evening. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:36.000 So we pray for your Holy Spirit to guide and to direct us for a few moments together. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.000 We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.000 Okay, so for a little while this evening we're going to look at this part. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:51.000 You might wonder whether this is an appropriate text for a passage, for an induction, 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:56.000 but I hope you'll see it is. I'm not going to speak a lot about wise and foolish virgins, 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:00.000 or wise and foolish bridesmaids, whoever you want to describe them. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:12.000 But I think the theme of this passage is really important, and it's important for us as you enter a new chapter of the congregational life. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:17.000 And it's important to recognize it in the context in which Jesus is giving it. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:23.000 He's speaking a lot about his second coming in the parables. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:31.000 There's three parables, this parable is in the middle, and they all have the same kind of theme in terms of being ready for his return. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:37.000 So what Jesus is doing shortly before he goes to the cross is he's giving the big picture, 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:46.000 the macro picture of the cosmos and the significance and the importance of what he's doing in the light of that. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:55.000 And the place of God's kingdom within the cosmos, between his first coming, the significance of that, which was about to happen, 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 and his second coming. And we're in between that time. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:07.000 So it engulfs us, obviously, it would anyway, but it engulfs us absolutely speaking about his kingdom coming. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:17.000 And there are three parables, the first one in chapter 24 is about the wise servant who made good use of his master's time and leadership when the master was away. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 Then there's the ten virgins of the ten bridesmaids. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:30.000 And then the next one in the next section is the wise and foolish servants who are given money to invest in some use it wisely and some use it foolishly. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:39.000 But they all are related to the return of the master, the return or the coming of the bridegroom. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:42.000 Now, interestingly, isn't it? 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:53.000 Our micro lives, our day-to-day lives are governed by being ready, by deadlines, by being prepared, aren't they? 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:58.000 Lots of people have spent a lot of time preparing for this evening. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:08.000 There's people here be preparing for exams, for going on holiday, for a wedding, for a presentation at work, 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 for sermons, for inductions, for your dinner tonight. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:20.000 You would have prepared for your dinner and got ready for your dinner, or it would have burnt. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:32.000 But the brutal and paradoxical genius of sin and rebellion is that we tend to ignore the importance of spiritual readiness, 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:38.000 being ready spiritually and being prepared for Christ's return. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.000 It's interesting, isn't it? 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.000 We're as sharp as tax in the everyday things of life. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:55.000 But spiritually, it's so often the case, isn't it, for us, that we're immediately wrestling with a lack of energy, 00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:03.000 a lack of urgency, a lack of motivation and desire and preparation in our spiritual lives. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:12.000 It's the black wisdom of the enemy, is that we so easily fall prey to our sinful inclinations 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:21.000 to ignore the big picture of life and focus our attention on the minutiae, on the day-to-day, the micro things, 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:27.000 which I'm not saying are unimportant, but must be seen in the light of the bigger picture for us. 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.000 Isn't that why Christ had to come? 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:37.000 He had to come because we can't see, because we're blind, because we focus on the material in the everyday, 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:41.000 at the expense of a spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:45.000 Now, I'm not going to go into this parable, we don't have time tonight, and it's a story. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.000 It's a story, you all understood it. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:53.000 It's very simple, it's a very simple message, and I'm not going to spend time on it, 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:59.000 but just for a moment to put it into its own context, what would have happened, 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.000 because Jesus uses the story of the wedding or the bridegroom, 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.000 because what would have happened, usually the bride and the bridegroom lived close together, fairly close together, 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.000 most marriages were fairly local. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:15.000 So the bridegroom, in the morning of the wedding, would leave his house and go to the bride's house 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.000 and spend most of the day in the bride's house, various rituals and things were going on. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:26.000 And then later in the day, he would take his bride with him back to his home, to the family home, 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.000 where she would live, and that would usually happen later in the day. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:34.000 Now, usually the sun sets about six o'clock, but it was obviously there was a bit of discussion going on 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:41.000 at this particular marriage ritual, because it wasn't until midnight that the bridegroom was taking his bride back. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:46.000 And the bride's, the virgins here, would have been people who were invited to the wedding 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:54.000 and would have had torches ready to align the procession from the bride's house to the bridegroom's house. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:58.000 And there are, you know, the rest is history. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:04.000 The rest is easy to understand, because some were ready for the bridegroom coming and some weren't. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.000 Now, it's not an allegory. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:14.000 It's not a story where everything in the story represents a corresponding spiritual reality. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:18.000 So we're not going to go into lots of detail about what this might symbolise and that might symbolise. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.000 It's just a story. It's a parable. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.000 Because Jesus is wanting to get across one very important truth. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:35.000 And in this case, it's how to live in the light of Christ's return, that Christ is coming back. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.000 And I think that's important tonight. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:45.000 It's important tonight, as you start a new chapter, to recalibrate our lives a little bit towards that, 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.000 if they need calibrating in such a way. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.000 Briefly. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:53.000 What is Christ calling His disciples and you and I? 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.000 What's He calling us to do? 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:02.000 Well, the first place, I think, is encouraging us to think about our perspective in life. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:10.000 And He wants us to have a perspective in life which takes into account that Christ, in the future, Christ is coming back. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.000 Every time we take the sacrament, we're remembering that's these significant truths. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.000 Christ came and died in the cross and Christ is coming back. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:23.000 Christ rose again, ascended and Christ is coming back until He comes. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:33.000 And that's to be the perspective that governs and that embraces and envelops everything that we are and everything we do. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:42.000 He's staking here the bigness of His claims about who He is and about why He is at the center of the universe 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.000 and at the center of the future of the cosmos. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:57.000 Everything, everything in this world is gravitating magnetically towards that momentous event, Jesus coming back. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:07.000 And He wants us to lift our eyes above the merely physical and the merely material experiences of this life. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:13.000 And rather to look at them, it's not that we ignore them or reject them or regard them as meaningless, 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:16.000 they're not their good, they're important, God gave us them. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:24.000 But to look at them through a spiritual prism and through a spiritual time, time scale 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:31.000 and a spiritual understanding of God's calendar which is so important. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.000 And that's what He wants us to do in our lives. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:40.000 He wants us not to forget that significant reality and to have that perspective. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:48.000 So in the context of tonight, in the context of an induction, everything should be looked at through that prism. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.000 Induction is not an end in itself. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.000 Our lives here are not an end in themselves. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:11:00.000 We're all moving towards that day when Jesus Christ returns, whether it be in our lifetime or not beyond that. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:13.000 So your involvement in the church has this... it's called to have this perspective in it and it's called to have this directional focus in everything. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:18.000 Corey's leadership is to have that focus and that reality. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:24.000 Your life as you leave the building, as you leave on a Sunday, as you live out your life, 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:35.000 is to have that perspective of living in the light of Christ's return and the glory that He deserves because of that. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.000 The church's strategy of the leadership should bear that in mind. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:44.000 We should be governed by that perspective, governed by that urgency. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.000 There's a day of reckoning coming. There's a day of glory. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:52.000 There's a breathtaking future for us as believers that we can be excited about. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:12:03.000 But we're to recognize and know that and live with that spirit, that invisible spiritual direction in our lives that Christ is coming back. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:10.000 That's primarily the perspective that Jesus is wanting to instill within His disciples through these parables. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:16.000 Now, you've often heard this from me and it might be the last time you'll hear it from me, from the pulpit here. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:31.000 But your life and my life, however short or however long it is, is really just the first line on the first page of the introduction of the rest of your existence. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Remember that because that perspective changes everything about who we are and what we do in our joys, in our sorrows, in our gains, in our losses, in our youth, in our aging. 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:55.000 Whatever it is, this perspective of recognizing God and Christ's return should transform how we live and how we think. 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.000 That's the first thing. The second, I've only got two things. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:05.000 So, I'm not like Cody, he's 27 things. He says he's only got three things, but there's usually at least 27 within that three. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:08.000 We know that. He knows that himself. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:14.000 But secondly, and I've only got 15 sub points here, so you're all right. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:23.000 Not only are we to have that perspective, but we're to understand the implications of having that perspective. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:34.000 The implications, not just of this parable, but of the two surrounding parables, the sandwich as it were, with the parable of bridesmaids in the middle. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:41.000 We have to understand the implications of this perspective to our day-to-day Christian life. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:45.000 That's what I want to leave you with. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:54.000 There's one major implication. There's one main implication that Jesus wants to get across from that perspective, and that is be prepared. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.000 Be prepared. Be ready. Be prepared. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:04.000 I've made it longer, really, than Jesus. That's typical, isn't it? 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:12.000 He says, you know, truly I truly say to the last verses, watch therefore. Be prepared. Keep watch, could be translated. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.000 For you do not know the day nor the hour. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:23.000 But what I'm saying, as you unfold these, the emphasis of these parables is that be prepared for a long delay, 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:29.000 and yet be ready if Christ returns in the morning. That's the kind of paradox that Christ is getting across here. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:39.000 You're saying, be prepared for the long haul as a Christian, but be ready every day just as if Christ will return in the morning. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:48.000 And that's the kind of paradoxical truth that He wants us to have from this truth that He's sharing with us. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:57.000 So to Corry and to the elders specifically as leaders in the church, you have to keep watch. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:03.000 That's your calling. That's what you have to do. You have to keep watch. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:10.000 Now, I'm broadening the kind of application here because the New Testament speaks a lot about keeping watch, 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:17.000 and it's all related to this spiritual and invisible reality of Christ's return and of our accountability to Christ. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:21.000 Different verbs are used in the New Testament to convey the same idea. 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:26.000 But in Acts 20, 28, we have these words, keep for the leadership. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:37.000 Paul gives this to the Ephesian elders. He says, keep watch over yourselves and the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:44.000 Be shepherds of the church of God which He bought with His own blood. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:51.000 So to Corry and the elders, what I say tonight is that you have this great responsibility in the light of Christ's return to yourselves. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:54.000 Keep watch in all that you do. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 Guard your own hearts. That's tremendously important. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:04.000 No point leading others if your own heart is far away and distant from the living God. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:15.000 Be ready. Be ready for every eventuality in the spiritual life. Be alert. Be watchful against it. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:25.000 And remember that you'll be under specific, often special attack because you're leaders in the kingdom of God in the local church. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Not saying that it's any easier or any harder being a leader and the attacks will be different, but there are attacks on those who are leading. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:38.000 So guard your own hearts. Remember that you're bought with a price. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:44.000 And remember that you are accountable, doubly accountable to the living God. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000 And in your leadership strategy, remember this truth as well. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.000 Remember to keep the main thing, the main thing. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:58.000 Remember that. Keep the main thing, the main thing. That's Christ. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:02.000 Christ is the main thing. Knowing Christ is the main thing. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.000 Spiritual alertness is the main thing. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:13.000 Reminder people that they're in for the long haul. It's a marathon. It's not a sprint. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:18.000 We're there to persevere. And I'll say a little bit more about that to the congregation. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:26.000 So there's a, in your spiritual leadership, you have to teach perseverance, but you also have to teach a paradoxical urgency. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.000 There's nothing like it, the Christian message, is it? 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:33.000 You're saying, stick by, keep going, don't give up. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.000 And that's usually a recipe for just plodding on. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:44.000 But he says, no, you've also to be urgent every day. There's to be a freshness and a vibrancy. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.000 And that's the beautiful, invisible impossibility of the gospel, isn't it? 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.000 That it asks us to do two contrary things. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:00.000 To persevere, to keep going, to plod on, but also to be urgent and to be fresh and to be vibrant. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:06.000 And we can't do it unless you're pointing them to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.000 and to the newness only He can bring. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:18.000 And in your worship focus as leaders, especially the Sunday worship, inspire people. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:22.000 Inspire them to Jesus Christ, to the message of Christ. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Lift them up. It's a hard week we're in. It's a hard, miserable week. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.000 People need lifted up on the Lord's Day. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.000 You don't need bound down. They don't need punched in the face or the guts, metaphorically. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:41.000 They need to be built up. They need to be encouraged. They need to be challenged about the perspective of eternity. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.000 The shortness of time, a life passing swifter than a weaver shuttle. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:53.000 We need to point them to the Holy Spirit and to the strength and the courage that He alone can bring. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.000 And we need to be praying, praying, praying. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.000 So in the worship focus, keep the main thing, the main thing. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.000 Don't get sidetracked to anything else. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.000 So that's what I say to Corey and the elders. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:11.000 And to the St. C's church family and indeed to all of us who may be some visiting here this evening as well. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.000 And obviously there's some members of Presbytery. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:21.000 What is Christ saying to us as we understand the implications of being prepared for the long haul 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:25.000 and yet ready if Christ returns in the morning? 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:27.000 What's really significant? 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:32.000 Knowing Christ in your heart is what it's all about. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.000 That's what it's all about. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:42.000 We recognize that, or Jesus when He's talking about this parable towards the end, 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.000 they say, Lord, Lord, open to us. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:48.000 He answered, truly I say to you, I do not know you. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.000 I do not know you. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.000 I don't know you. 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.000 That's the most significant reality that Jesus is getting across you. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.000 There'll be a day when Jesus will say to people, I didn't know you. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.000 I didn't know you. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:04.000 You didn't come to me for salvation. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.000 It's not good enough looking like a Christian. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:13.000 You can't tell the difference between the 10 bright groom, bridesmaids or the 10 virgins. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:15.000 There's no way of telling the differences. 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.000 Wasn't it some of them wearing black and some of them wearing white? 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:20.000 Or some of them were, you know, whatever. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.000 They all look the same. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.000 And it's no good looking like a Christian from the outside, 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.000 speaking like a Christian on the outside. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:33.000 It's who owns your heart and your desires depart from you. 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.000 I didn't know you as the great cry. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 And within that, surely there's for not only a guarding of our own hearts, 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:46.000 but a missional burden there, an urgency that we all recognize. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.000 Because we know people who don't know Jesus Christ. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 You might know about Him, but don't know Him. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.000 And so there's this recognition that knowing Jesus in your heart is what it's all about. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:02.000 That's what Jesus is getting across, because when He comes back, 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.000 we want Him to welcome us as brothers and sisters. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.000 And then I think, obviously, significantly, 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.000 prepare for the long haul with Christ. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.000 I think that's very much part of what Jesus is saying here. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:24.000 In chapter 24 and verse 48, which is the first parable, 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.000 He says, my master is delayed. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:29.000 He's been gone a long, long time. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:35.000 And in verse 5 of the passage we read, we're told that the Brigham was delayed. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.000 It's a long time before he came, much longer than they expected. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:43.000 And then in verse 19 of the third parable, 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.000 he says, now, after a long time, the master of these servants came and settled their account. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.000 So there's this great sense in which Jesus is wanting to take across 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:58.000 that there's not an imminent return for His disciples to consider, 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:01.000 and yet to be ready every day. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:05.000 And just to recognize that as believers, 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.000 maybe especially young, the young people here tonight, 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:13.000 that Jesus wants you to follow Him for the long haul, 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.000 mentally that you're going to be His for the rest of your life. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:20.000 However long or short that we are, or if Christ returns tomorrow, 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.000 nonetheless, it's the mentality that He wants us to have 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:27.000 that we're in a battle now until He returns. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:31.000 And He wants us to have a persevering spirit. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:35.000 He wants us constantly to recognize that we hold on to Him, 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.000 whatever's happening in our lives, 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.000 whatever battles and struggles we face, it's not a quick fix. 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:43.000 There will be struggles, there will be battles. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:47.000 And again, when Jesus is expressing what He wants to get across, 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:54.000 He speaks about it in verse 45 of the previous chapter on this parable. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:58.000 He says, who then is the faithful and wise servant? 00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.000 That's what He's wanting us to be. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:03.000 He's wanting us to be full of faith and to be wise, 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:08.000 recognizing the struggles and the battles of following Jesus. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:10.000 And it's for the long haul. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.000 Don't give up the minute things go badly. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.000 Don't go up when someone speaks badly to you, 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:16.000 or things aren't good in church. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:19.000 Keep on going and persevering, not just with Christ's people, 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:21.000 but also with Christ. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:23.000 Don't shake your fist at Him and say, 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.000 you don't know what I'm going through, 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:27.000 or I wish you could answer my prayers the way I want, 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:29.000 and walk away from Him. 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:33.000 We're called to remain faithful and to be wise 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.000 and to be in it for the long haul. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:42.000 That means that you need to embrace the spiritual disciplines. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.000 You need to be repenting daily, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.000 and you need to be reading God's Word and praying 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.000 and fellowship with Christ. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:50.000 We need Him every day. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.000 If you go into a day, say, I don't need Christ today, 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:55.000 I'll be the first chink in the armor. 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.000 Be expectant as we serve Him, serve with the gifts you've been given. 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.000 Pray daily for the lost, 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000 especially those God has got in your life and in your focus. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.000 Don't focus as we start in the new chapter of the church. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.000 Don't focus on a chaff of church life. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.000 Oh, there's plenty of chaff in church life. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:16.000 But don't focus on that. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.000 Love Christ deeply. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.000 Love one another with all your hearts. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.000 Go to Christ for forgiveness daily, 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.000 and forgive other people daily. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.000 Listen well. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.000 Speak thoughtfully. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.000 Be at the means of grace. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:34.000 Come to church. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.000 It's a place that you'll be uplifted and built 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:38.000 and encouraged. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.000 Prioritize Sunday worship together with one another. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.000 Keep each other spiritually sharp. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.000 Spiritually sharp. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:50.000 Pray with and for one another. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.000 Recognize that it's a struggle. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.000 That's why we're called to persevere. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.000 But remember He's returning. 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:58.000 He's victorious. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.000 He's already victorious. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.000 And He's coming to take you home. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.000 You've got to have that perspective. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:09.000 He's coming to take you home. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.000 He's not abandoned or left or ignored you. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.000 He'll come and take you home. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.000 And so lastly, very briefly, within this, 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.000 for the church family, 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.000 remember your partnership tonight. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.000 Remember your partnership within this congregation. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.000 Again, in Hebrews 13, 17, 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:30.000 there's have confidence in your leaders 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.000 submit to their authority. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:38.000 Because they keep watch over you. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.000 As one who must give account. 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:45.000 Do this so that their work will be a joy, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.000 not a burden, 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.000 for that would be of no benefit for you. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.000 So that's the call in the light of Christ's second coming. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.000 In the light of these passages, 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:58.000 in the light of this induction is, 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:00.000 support Corey to the hill. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.000 Support him. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:02.000 And your elders. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.000 Keep them accountable. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:06.000 Pray for them. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.000 Hold them in the deepest love 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.000 and in absolute confidence. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.000 Remember the burden that Corey will bear now 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:19.000 and make his work a joy. 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Make a joy. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:29.000 You've done it before, for me. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.000 Now pray for Corey. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:36.000 That he will receive a double portion 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.000 of the Lord's blessing. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:42.000 And joy in his ministry here, 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.000 because all of you will benefit 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:46.000 in that sick case. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.000 Let's pray. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.000 Father God, we thank you for your goodness and grace. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.000 And we rejoice in this evening 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.000 and we thank you for your word. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:00.000 And we give thanks for the power of the gospel 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:03.000 and for the wonder of Jesus. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:07.000 So calmly before his own crucifixion, 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:10.000 speaking about his own future. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:13.000 Even though he is the son 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:16.000 who had emptied himself of his glory, 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:18.000 didn't know the day or the hour. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:23.000 And yet he was assured of the purpose and plan 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:28.000 of God from all eternity 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.000 to return in glory and in victory 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.000 to usher in the new heavens and the new earth, 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.000 within dwells righteousness. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:41.000 It couldn't be a better theme for an induction 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:44.000 as we consider a new chapter 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.000 in the life of the church here. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:51.000 And so we pray for Corey and Heather. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.000 And all the children. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:02.000 And we pray for all the congregation, 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:06.000 for the elders, the deacons, the women's pastoral team, 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.000 every member, every team, 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:10.000 everyone who's part of the congregation, 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.000 would connect themselves with St. Columbus. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:17.000 We pray, Lord God, that you would bless them mightily 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.000 and that the congregation would flourish 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:25.000 and grow spiritually and grow in every other way 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.000 and that Christ would be honored and held high. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.000 And we rejoice in the swiftness of these days 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:37.000 of bringing Corey into the position he is. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000 And we pray, Lord God, that you would continue to bless us 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.000 and watch over us as we sing, as we fellowship, 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:46.000 as we proceed with the induction, 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.000 the formalities of the induction, 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:50.000 which are not just formalities, 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.000 but are really important in the life of the church. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:29:08.000 In Jesus' name, amen.