Well, good morning and welcome back or welcome if you're joining us for Church Online this
morning.
As it happens, this is the last time we will be coming from my house.
Next week, we look forward to being back in the building for some of us, live streaming
the service all being well.
Today, we're going to begin a new series about thinking about spirituality in the Psalms,
how to live as the people of God, how to grow in our love and our obedience, how to respond
to God in our Christian lives.
And then in the evening and for the next six weeks, we're doing a thing called Questioning
Christianity, where we're tackling or at least beginning to tackle some of the big questions
about the Christian faith that you or perhaps some of your friends might have tonight thinking
about the question, can I trust the Bible?
So it's great to be able to share with you again.
I hope that God will speak to each one of us as we hear from him and his word today.
I'm going to begin with some words from Jesus.
Today, we're setting the scene for a Christian spirituality by reminding ourselves from the
word of God that the goal of life and the Christian life is to enjoy friendship with God.
So here in John chapter 14, as Jesus is anticipating the cross, he says this to his disciples,
do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me.
My father's house has many rooms.
If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for
you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that
you also may be where I am.
So there's that great promise.
Jesus has come to make peace between sinful people like ourselves and a holy God so that
one day he'll come back and take us to be with him forever.
That's our hope.
Now let's sing as we begin our time together the hymn Across the Lands and then after that
we'll pray.
God bless you.
You're the word of God the Father from before the world began.
Every star and every planet has been fashioned by your hand.
All creation holds together by the power of your voice.
Let the skies declare your glory.
Let the land that sea rejoice.
You're the author of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
And your cry of love rings out across the land.
Yet you left the gaze of angels, came to seek and save the lost, and exchanged the joy of
heaven for the anguish of a cross.
With the prayer you fed the hungry.
With the word you calmed the sea.
Yet how silently you suffered that the guilty may go free.
You're the author of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
And your cry of love rings out across the land.
With the sound of creation.
You're the Lord of every man.
Now you stand before the Father.
Interceding for your own
From each tribe and tongue and nation
You are leading sinners home
You're the author of creation
You're the Lord of every man
And your cry of love rings out across the land
You're the author of creation
You're the Lord of every man
And your cry of love rings out across the land
Let's pray together
Lord God we thank you that we come before you
As Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Thank you for the privilege of calling you our Father in Heaven
For being able to pray in the name of Jesus
Our Saviour and the one who mediates for us
And who prays for us
Thank you for the help of your Holy Spirit
As we seek to pray
Lord we thank you for inviting us to know and enjoy your love
We recognise that you are an eternal fellowship of perfect love
And we thank you that you have made us as people in your image
To enjoy the overflow of that love you have eternally shared
Lord thank you for what we heard from the words of Jesus
A reminder of the journey that he went on
Believing the glory of Heaven
In order to become one of us
To perfectly represent us
To perfectly obey the law that each one of us has broken
And then to go to the cross
In the place of sinners
In order to take the punishment that we deserve
So that by faith in Jesus
We might be reconciled and have peace
With our God
We might enjoy friendship with God
So that in the end
We can look forward to eternity
With our Saviour
In a world made new and perfect
Lord we thank you
For the grace
That you have shown to us
In our lives as your people
Thank you for the grace
That we have enjoyed in this past week
For all your goodness and kindness
And preserving and caring of us
And we pray that you'd help us to be a people
Who would learn more and more to trust you
As we find you to be faithful
As we recognise your love
Both in your word and in our experience
May you help us to trust you
To trust your promises
So that for today and tomorrow
And for whatever this week holds
We would know that you will be with us
And you will supply what we need
In ways that will be for our good
And for your glory
Thank you that we have a chance together
To read the Bible
Thank you for the Bible as the word of God
Thank you that it is your wisdom for us
That when there are so many voices
Competing for our attention
Thank you that we have revelation
From the true and the living God
And so we pray that your spirit
Would help us to hear
To understand
To obey
To respond
Towards you
From what we hear
In your word today
And we pray it in Jesus' name
Amen
So we are going to
Read together
From Psalm 25
And we are going to think in particular
About verse 14
So that is Psalm 25
And I will read
The whole Psalm for us
In you Lord my God
I put my trust
I trust in you
Do not let me be put to shame
Nor let my enemies triumph over me
No one who hopes in you
Will ever be put to shame
But shame will come on those
Who are treacherous without cause
Show me your ways Lord
Teach me your paths
Guide me in your truth
And teach me
For you are God my Saviour
And my hope is in you all day long
Remember Lord
Your great mercy and love
For they are from of old
Do not remember the sins of my youth
And my rebellious ways
According to your love remember me
For you Lord are good
Good and upright is the Lord
Therefore he instructs sinners in his ways
He guides the humble in what is right
And teaches them his way
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
Towards those who keep the demands of his covenant
For the sake of your name Lord
Forgive my iniquity
Though it is great
Who then are those who fear the Lord
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose
They will spend their days in prosperity
And their descendants will inherit the land
The Lord confides in those who fear him
He makes his covenant known to them
My eyes are ever on the Lord
For only he will release my feet from the snare
Turn to me and be gracious to me
For I am lonely and afflicted
Relieve the troubles of my heart
And free me from my anguish
Look on my affliction and my distress
And take away all my sins
See how numerous are my enemies
And how fiercely they hate me
Guard my life and rescue me
Do not let me be put to shame
For I take refuge in you
May integrity and uprightness protect me
Because my hope Lord is in you
Deliver Israel O God
From all their troubles
So as I said earlier
We're going to use the book of Psalms
To explore together
Christian spirituality
What does it look like to live in relationship
With the living God
And how do we develop and grow
In that relationship
But today
Almost by way of introduction
I want to remind us of the goal
Which is friendship with God
But I guess we're maybe aware of
The rise, the growing interest
In spirituality in our days
You know, the growing number of people
Who identify themselves as spiritual
But not religious
People who want to connect with the other
Recognize that there is something more
And they're trying to find various ways
To make that connection
Well, the God of the Bible
Very directly and personally
Answers that longing
We're going to see in this psalm
That the Lord offers friendship
But there are also
And maybe this is especially true
In the church
People who are
Perhaps religious
But not spiritual
In the sense that maybe
There's a going through the motions
Where perhaps Christianity can feel fairly
Lifeless and flat
And perhaps in that case
It's because we've lost sight of the centre
Which is to know and enjoy God himself
But then I imagine there are others
Who are listening
And you're exploring Christianity
Wondering what's it about
Is this something that I really need?
Is it an optional extra?
Is it something that's fundamental?
And the message of the Bible
Is that we are made for God
We're made in the image of God
To know and enjoy him
And that through Jesus
Sort of the barrier of sin is broken down
So that friendship
Relationship with God
Is now possible
And that stands at the heart
Of the Christian message
And the longing of every heart
Others of us I know
Are growing Christians
And again for us to persevere with joy
To have hope for the journey of life
With all its highs and lows
What we need is to cultivate
And to enjoy that friendship with our God
So I hope this will be helpful for you
Whoever you are today
And that over the course of these next eight weeks
We'll see the Psalms as a really useful guide
For our spiritual life
Spiritual wisdom for how to relate to our God
So over the weeks we'll think about
Praise and thanksgiving
And confession
And honest lament
And a variety of different things
But here I want us to focus on the goal of all
Which is friendship with God
Enjoyment of the God who made us
So we're going to focus our time
On Psalm 25 verse 14
Asking three very basic questions
First of all
What is friendship with God?
Who gets it?
And how do we get it?
So first of all
What is it?
Well
I read from the NIV
So let me read it again
Verse 14 says
The Lord confides
In those who fear him
He makes his covenant known to them
Now another English translation
The ESV says this
The friendship of the Lord
Is for those who fear him
And he makes known to them his covenant
Now can we see how those two things are related
The Lord confides in
And the friendship of the Lord is for
Think about your own experience
Who is it that we share our secrets with?
Who is it that we confide in?
Who is it that we as it were let all the way in?
Well it's not just anybody is it?
We don't just walk up to strangers
And share our secrets
No it's with our close friends
Those that we have an intimate connection with
Those are the ones that we choose to confide in
Friendship and confidence
Derek Kidner
An Old Testament commentator
Who's got really helpful books on the Psalms
Talks about God's counsel
As his circle of close associates
But also God's counsel
God's counsel
Those matters that get discussed
With close associates
What is Psalm 25 verse 14 reminding us of?
Well it's this remarkable truth
That the Lord of the universe
Invites you and me
Into his circle
That by faith in the Lord Jesus
We're called all the way in
To share intimate loving friendship
That's been God's intention
God's heart from the beginning
When you read the story of Adam and Eve
In the Garden of Eden
We discover that God walked and talked with them
In the garden
That as image bearers of God
It stands to reason
That we are made for friendship
We are made with withness
Because God isn't solitary
God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit
This eternal friendship
God is friendship
And so we are made for friendship
And especially friendship with God
So that we are truly ourselves
When we come to know him
And we grow to be more like Jesus
So spirituality and connecting with the divine
In Christianity becomes really personal
Because we are invited into friendship
With our God
Now what does this say about God?
What does this say then about our spiritual lives?
Well first of all it reminds us
That God is a personal relating God
Who draws near
He's not distant
He's not unconcerned and uninvolved
In the world that he made
In fact the whole history of redemption
And salvation that we find in the Bible
We can describe as God's great act of friendship
Having made people for relationship
To glorify him, to enjoy him
Adam and Eve and everybody since
We have rebelled against God
We have turned our backs on God
We have rejected friendship with God
In favour of setting our own course
That is sin
But in response to our sin
What has God done?
God in love has pursued his people
He has established covenants
Covenants of grace with people
And ultimately he would send his own son
Jesus
In order to save us
In order to restore us
To peace
To reconcile us
To give us friendship with God
And to provide for us the hope
Not just for this life
But for all eternity
Of being united
With God
Of being made like Jesus
And being with Jesus
In a world made new
So the whole of history of redemption
Is God's act of friendship
Secondly it reminds us
That God offers us
What our hearts long for
Who doesn't want to know love?
Who doesn't want to have
Close friendships?
People that will receive us
And love us
And welcome us
And be with us
And for us
And the Bible says
God offers a real connection
With the divine
Something that's personal
Not vague
That the God of the Bible
Offers secure
And lasting friendship
That God in covenant
Actually chooses to bind himself
To us
So here is the friendship
That you're looking for
From God
It also reminds us too
That knowing
And enjoying God
Is the goal
Of our faith
Sometimes we can lose sight of that
But it's so important
For us to remember
When we read our Bibles
It's not just so we can
Tick a box and say
I've performed my religious duty
No we read the Bible
To hear from God
He wants to speak to us
And relate to us
Who he is
And how we should live
In response to him
So every time we read
We're being invited
Into friendship
And likewise
To pray
Is for us to respond
God speaks as we read the Bible
And we respond as we pray
There's no higher privilege
Than this relationship
This friendship with God
That as we come
To church
As we think about
Meeting together
Physically as we used to
In the past
Some of us will do next week
God says he is
Particularly present
To bless his people
As we gather together
To remind us once again
Of his goodness
His love
His faithfulness
His gospel
So the goal of our faith
Is God himself
The greatest gift
God could give us
Is himself
He wants to relate to us
He wants us to grow
In our friendship
And so we have the Bible
We have prayer
We have church
We have other things
To help us
In that
So that's just a little bit
On friendship with God
Now the next question
To think about
Is who gets
That friendship
And again
We turn to Psalm 25
Verse 14
To help us here
So it says
The Lord confides in
Those who fear him
So there is that condition
Attached to friendship
Those who fear him
Now what does that mean?
I was listening to a talk
From a pastor in the States
Tim Keller
Many of you will perhaps
Have heard of him
And he reminded me there
That with true friendship
There is always transparency
By which we mean
Each friend is allowed to be
Who they truly are
That the other is accepted
On their own terms
It's true friendship isn't it?
Well with God
To accept God on his terms
Means that we live
In relationship to him
Acknowledging that he is
Our creator
He is our king
He is our judge
He is our lord
And saviour
So to allow him
To be who he truly is
Therefore is to fear him
In the sense of honouring
And respecting
Of showing him awe
Of showing obedience
To what he commands
Now psalm 25
Now psalm 25 gives us
Some helpful pointers
To flesh out
What it means
To fear God
One aspect that comes out here
Is it involves trust
So the psalm begins
In you lord God
I put my trust
I trust in you
Do not let me
Be put to shame
There is
Aseemращ
fundamentally relying on God, making him the foundation upon which your life is built,
allowing God to set the direction that your life will follow. So when the Bible sets the pattern
for the people of God that there is suffering first with glory to follow, that the cross comes
before the crown, we're willing to receive that and we will trust God in that. So there is trust as part
of fearing God. There is also teaching. There's an emphasis on teaching in this psalm, by which we
mean letting God be our teacher and guide. So verses four and five, show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God, my saviour.
Then verse 12, who then are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways that they
should choose. So to fear the Lord is to receive his teaching, to be instructed by it, to allow
God's teaching to guide us. Which means for us we need to be immersed in the word of God,
to recognise it as ultimate truth. One of the reasons our series this evening begins with,
can I trust the Bible, is because the Bible is so foundational to our faith.
That to fear the Lord is to be guided by the Bible for right thinking, to recognise the Bible as a
reliable guide for us as to what God's will is for our lives, for how we are to obey, for the ethics and
the morality that we are to follow, to allow it to govern our speech and our actions and for the word of God
to reveal to us the way of salvation. Not through our own efforts at getting up to God, but recognising
that God has sent Jesus to come down to us so that through his grace we might be saved, and not by our
works, but by trusting in Jesus and the forgiveness and the new life that he secures. Fundamentally then,
we want God to be the one voice we choose to listen to. When we hear so many different alternatives for
how we are to live and how we are to direct our lives, we want to be guided by God's teaching if we
are to fear the Lord. So there is trust and there is teaching and there's also a turning that we find
here in Psalm 25, turning from sin to God. So verses 6 and 7, remember Lord your great mercy and love for
they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth in my rebellious ways. According to your love
remember me, for you Lord are good. The psalmist has a healthy spiritual life where he is honest about
his sin. And what does he do with the sin? He confesses it to his God. He has that humility
that recognises his own moral and spiritual failure that comes confessing his need before his holy God.
Notice too that the psalmist David here was quick to acknowledge when he has broken friendship with God,
when he has broken trust with God and he contrasts that with God's steadfast love.
We let our friends down and we have to deal with the pain and the guilt that we feel because of that.
God never lets his friends down. So David prays for forgiveness and a restored sense of fellowship
asking God to not remember his sin but to remember his love and his mercy. To fear the Lord is to
recognise our sin and our need of his mercy and forgiveness and to ask for it. So when it comes to
the question, do I fear the Lord? Ask yourself questions like this. In my day-to-day life, who do I trust in?
Really? Am I trusting in God or am I trusting in myself, my resources and my abilities? Who do I listen to?
Am I being guided daily by the word of God or is it the voices of my friends or my family or my culture?
What moral standard do I live by? Is it what God teaches in his word or is it the wisdom of the age in which we live?
As we think about the fear of the Lord, it's really important that we see Jesus as the perfect example
of what it looks like to live with the fear of the Lord. You can go to the point in Jesus' life at the
beginning of his public ministry where he's being tempted by the devil and Jesus will say,
man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Jesus' intention was to live in perfect obedience to God's word.
And again as he was tempted, he said, worship
the Lord and serve him only.
God is foundation. God is guide.
God is Lord and King. God is the one he would live to please.
God is the one he would live to please.
God is the one he would live to live to live to live to live to live to live to live to live.
And yet Jesus was willing to die in our place for our sins
to experience in his physical body a sense of abandonment
so that he would cry out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
as he lost a sense of the Father's love for him
as he took on himself for us.
The Father's just and holy anger against sin.
As we look at the cross, we see that the Father did not spare him,
did not spare Jesus so that he might save us.
Making that choice so that, by faith in Jesus,
we might enjoy the Father's love and the Father's friendship.
He supplies grace to help
so that we can live with the fear of the Lord.
Now, the last thing for us to think about is this.
How do we get it?
How do we get to enjoy friendship with God?
And again, verse 14 helps supply the answer.
The Lord confides in those who fear him.
He makes his covenant known to them.
So covenant, God's covenant with his people,
is the basis for us receiving friendship with God.
God, out of sheer grace in response to our sin,
God, in his great mercy in response to the human misery caused by sin,
established a covenant with his people.
The theme of the covenant is everywhere in the Bible
and it's closely tied up with the theme of friendship.
That here is the God of the universe
and he chooses to establish these covenant relationships.
So he binds himself to individuals and he binds himself to families
and then he commits himself to the nation of Israel
and ultimately he commits himself in loving relationship to the church
through Jesus, committed to loving, saving, blessing, protecting, guiding them.
And as you look in the Bible,
you think about each stage of the covenant that you see,
especially in the Old Testament,
all the key figures, what we see is they enjoy a special relationship,
a special friendship with God.
So we thought about Adam, Adam and Eve,
walking and talking with God in the garden
and from the beginning established in friendship
and even when they fell into sin
and everything was broken,
God still came,
where are you, Adam?
And he established that promise
that one of their seed would crush the serpent
and that the forces of evil would be destroyed ultimately by Jesus.
Then we think about Noah,
at a time in the world when the whole world was full of evil,
what happens in the story of Noah is that Noah finds favour,
Noah finds grace,
Noah enjoys friendship with God.
Abraham, likewise,
when the whole world it seems is filled with the worship of idols,
what happens?
Abraham is called by God by grace.
God reveals his plans and his heart to Abraham.
What about Moses?
We're told that Moses spoke to God face to face,
just like a man talks with his friend.
Or David, God's chosen king,
he was the man after God's own heart.
And then we see Jesus,
the last great,
the ultimate covenant figure.
He is the one who establishes the new covenant.
He is the son of God
who represents,
reflects the glory of God,
who enjoys eternal friendship with God
and he becomes the way for us
to know that friendship ourselves.
His body is broken,
his blood is shed,
as we remember when we share the Lord's Supper,
as our substitute,
as our sacrifice,
to satisfy God's justice,
to show God's love,
to bring us back
into that friendship with God
that was lost in the Garden of Eden,
that through Jesus we are reconciled,
through Jesus we have peace.
Jesus, shortly before going to the cross,
said to his disciples,
greater love has no one than this,
to lay down his life for his friends.
And that's exactly what Jesus would do
for his disciples
and for the church.
And here is the goal
for our lives.
Friendship with God
through Jesus.
Here is the heart of
true spirituality.
Not to know a vague sense of the other,
but to know God as our Father,
to know Jesus as our Saviour,
to know the Spirit living in us,
to enjoy friendship with God.
And Jesus, the Son of God,
opens up the way
for us to enjoy friendship with God.
So for the next seven weeks after this,
we're going to think about
how do I respond to that?
How can we grow in that friendship?
But today,
are you enjoying a living
and a growing friendship with God?
That's what God, through Jesus,
graciously offers to each one of us.
Now let's pray together in response.
Lord, as we think about your great offer
of friendship,
we pray that you would help us
to set the course of our lives
towards pursuing friendship with you.
Thank you for all the means
that you have given to us
to enable us to develop that friendship,
to have the Bible that we can read,
to have the gift of prayer,
to have fellowship,
and to have a church to belong to
so that we might grow in our relationship.
Give us that desire to meet with you,
to grow.
For those of us who aren't Christians,
help us to see
how fundamental to our true self it is
to be in relationship with the God who made us.
To be so thankful to Jesus
for coming to deal with the sin
that separates and spoils that relationship
so that we might all be trusting and believing.
Lord, we thank you that one of the ways
that we can grow in our friendship
is through church.
We thank you for the church
that you've purchased with your blood.
Thank you for the precious privilege
of being able to gather to worship.
We felt it as we've not been able to meet together.
Thank you that at least some of us
will be able to do that again as of next week.
Lord, we pray that you'd give us wisdom
and all the arrangements that need to be made.
We pray your mercy that you'd keep us safe.
We pray that we'd be sensitive towards one another,
knowing that some people will be anxious
and will not be keen for health reasons
and other reasons not to meet just yet.
Lord, we pray it'd be a time of unity and peace
and of knowing much of your blessing.
Lord, we also are aware
that there are so many around us who are suffering.
There's so many who are anxious,
so many who are grieving.
We pray that for your people,
they would know your friendship in a special way,
that they would appreciate your love
and your peace being poured out on them.
Lord, we think about suffering that we see
all around the world.
Lord, we pray thinking about the tragic accident
outside of Stonehaven.
We pray for the different families
who have been affected,
who have lost loved ones,
who are grieving.
Lord, we pray for your comfort and healing.
Lord, we pray for Beirut
and the nation of Lebanon
with the various problems that it is facing.
We think of Belarus.
We think of nations like India.
We pray for Myanmar
with internal fighting
and the impact on the Chin people
and Christians there.
Lord, we recognise so much suffering
and we pray for your comfort and your mercy.
And ultimately, we pray
for the hope of the gospel,
the light of Jesus to break through,
that people in darkness
and in desperation and in danger
would turn to Jesus
and find life in him.
We pray these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now, we'll sing together.
We'll sing, first of all,
a section of Psalm 16
and then we'll sing the hymn
Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me.
I'll praise the Lord my God
Whose counsel guides my choice
And even in the night
My heart recalls instructions voice
Before me constantly
I set the Lord alone
Because He is at my right hand
I'll not be overthrown
Therefore my heart is glad
My tongue with joy will sing
My body too will rest secure
In hope unwavering
For you will not allow
My soul in death to stay
Nor will you leave
Your Holy One
To see the tombs decay
You have made known to me
The path of life divine
Bliss shall I know
At your right hand
Joy from your face
Will shine
What gift of grace
Is Jesus my Redeemer
There is no more
For heaven now to give
He is my joy
My righteousness and freedom
My steadfast love
My deep and boundless peace
To this I hold
My hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to His
Oh how strange and divine
I can sing
All is mine
Yet not I
But through Christ in me
The night is dark
But I am not forsaken
For by my side
The Savior He will stay
I labor on
In weakness and rejoicing
For in my need
His power is displayed
To this I hold
My shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley
He will lead
All the night has been won
And I shall overcome
Yet not I
But through Christ in me
No fate I dread
I know I am forgiven
The future sure
The price it has been paid
For Jesus bled
And suffered for my pardon
And He was raised
To overthrow the grave
To this I hold
My sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
O'er the chains are released
I can sing
I am free
Yet not I
But through Christ in me
With every breath
I long to follow Jesus
For He has said
That He will bring me home
And day by day
I know He will renew me
Until I stand
With joy before the throne
To this I hold
My hope is only Jesus
All the glory
Evermore
To Him
When the race is complete
Still my lips
Shall repeat
Yet not I
But through Christ in me
When the race is complete
Still my lips
Shall repeat
Yet not I
But through Christ in me
And let's close
Praying
Using words
Of Jesus' prayer
For His church
That we find
In John chapter 17
Jesus prayed
Father
I want those
You have given me
To be with me
Where I am
And to see my glory
The glory
You have given me
Because you loved me
Before the creation
Of the world
I have made you known
To them
And will continue
To make you known
In order that the love
You have for me
May be in them
And that I myself
May be in them
Lord God
We thank you
That Jesus came
To offer this
Richest of relationships
To see His glory
To know your love
To know your presence
In our lives
Not just for today
And tomorrow
But for all eternity
Lord we pray
That you would
Strengthen our hope
Strengthen our joy
And we pray
That the grace
And the mercy
And the peace
From our God
Who is Father, Son
And Holy Spirit
Would rest on
And be with each one of us
Amen
Now just a reminder again
That Digital Tea and Coffee
Will be on at 12
As usual
And then we're back
Tonight at 5.30
And just to say
If you have people
Who you know
Who maybe have a lot
Of questions about the Christian faith
It might be helpful
To invite them
To listen in
And then
The one other thing
Is that we have
A time of prayer
Still on Wednesday
At 8pm
With a special focus
On returning to church
Praying for ourselves
As a church
As well as
Some other things
So again
It was good to share
And really looking forward
To seeing some of you
In person
In church
Next week
But for all of us
May we know
God's love
And God's care
In this coming week
Okay bye for now