Well, we're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.
We're going to sing in Psalm 1 in the Scottish Psalter.
Psalm 1, page 200 of the psalm books.
We're seeing the whole of this psalm.
The tune is Amazing Grace.
That man of perfect blessedness who walketh not astray
in counsel of ungodly men nor stands in sinners' way.
We'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise.
That man of perfect blessedness who walketh not astray
in counsel of ungodly men.
Nor stands in sinners' way.
Nor sits a thin the sorrows' chair,
but grace and grace delight upon God's long and majesties.
On heaven, all day and night.
We shall be like a king that rose,
near-founded by our river.
And all he does shall prosper.
We shall prosper.
I am not so, but like they are unto the child,
which when I do am low, and God,
and therefore shall not stand such as a God.
I am not so, but like they are,
and therefore shall not stand such as a God.
Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you for this, your day.
We thank you for the great privilege and joy it is to come and gather together in worship.
Lord, we pray that you will bless us and watch over us today in all our different needs.
We thank you for everyone who has come out here and also everyone who is tuning in as well.
And wherever we are today, Lord, we pray that you will surround us with your grace,
with your mercy, with your peace.
We do thank you for all our young people here today.
We thank you for our Sunday school, the creche, the tweenies, the Bible class.
We thank you for the great encouragement that there is in seeing young people coming.
And just together we will know your blessing on us.
That as they learn today from your word of the wonderful way that you are able to help people.
As we think of that passage that we'll be studying today about Bartimaeus,
we thank you for the way that he cried out to you.
A reminder to us all that that is what we need to do today as well.
That we would call upon you and cry out,
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
And that you would help us to see you through every one of us, Lord.
That we would come to see you and to know you more and more.
And to love you with all our hearts and follow you all the days of our lives.
So continue with us, watch over us, Lord.
Hear our prayers and pardon us.
And that's all we ask.
We ask in Jesus' precious name.
Amen.
But before the young people,
I just want to mention the passage that you're going to be looking at today
in Sunday school and Bible class and tweenies.
And it's a wonderful, it's actually one of my favorite passages
about a man called Bartimaeus.
And you're going to learn about him and how Jesus helped him today.
And there's a number of different reasons why I love this story.
Bartimaeus was someone who just was ignored by many people.
And they looked at him and just thought he was just not to be spoken to even.
They told him to be quiet.
But Jesus was passing by.
And that's what was important for him.
He cried out as he heard that Jesus was passing by.
He said, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
And it's a reminder to us of what Jesus can do for all of us.
But Jesus had a question for him.
As he came to Jesus, Jesus asked him a question.
And it's there in verse 51 of Mark 10.
And it says, what do you want me to do for you?
Jesus is asking, what do you want me to do for you?
What would you say to that question if Jesus asked you?
What do you want me to do for you?
There might be many different things that come to mind.
Maybe you're wanting something new.
You want a new bike.
You're saying to himself, Jesus, can you help me?
Can you get me a new bike or just a new toy or a new friend?
We might ask for many different things if Jesus gives us that question.
But aren't there good things to ask?
I want to ask for these things of Jesus in prayer.
But that question is a special question.
What do you want me to do for you?
Because it's asking, what's the greatest thing I could do for you?
And what's interesting about Bartimaeus is that just before Jesus met Bartimaeus,
he'd actually asked this question of two of his disciples, James and John.
They'd come to Jesus making demands.
And Jesus had said, what do you want me to do for you?
And that answer was, we want one of us to sit on your right and one on your left in glory.
They were looking for something special, something special for themselves, glory for themselves.
And Jesus said, that's not what's important.
That's not what you should really be asking for.
And what we learn then is as he comes to meet with Bartimaeus,
Bartimaeus' reply is what is important.
Jesus said to him, what do you want me to do for you?
And Bartimaeus said, Rabbi, that's teacher.
He said, let me recover my sight.
Let me see.
And that's the greatest thing we can ask Jesus for.
Lord, Jesus, let me see you.
Let me know you in that way.
Let me love you with all my heart.
So there's many things that we could ask of Jesus.
If he was to ask us that question, what do you want me to do for you?
But the greatest response we could give is what Bartimaeus says.
Lord, let me see.
Let me see you.
And as he sees Jesus, what does he do?
He follows him on the way.
So today that that would be our cry to Jesus.
Let us see.
Let us see Jesus.
We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.
Amen.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise.
And the young ones go out.
During the singing through the door to my left here, we're going to sing in Psalm 25.
In the sing-sign portion, page 29 of the psalm books.
Psalm 25.
We're going to sing from verse 9.
Down to verse 9, and the tune is Herongate.
And here, David in this psalm asks the Lord for help to direct him in all the ways that he should go.
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
I trust in you continually.
Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my foes gloat over me.
We stand to sing verse 1 to 9 to God's praise.
Amen.
To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
I trust in you continually.
Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my foes gloat over me.
No one who sends his hope in you will ever suffer such as grace.
But those who act with treachery
Your maliancy shame will face
O Lord, be built to me your way
And all your past and all things you know
Thy elect and guide me in your truth
And trust me in the way to go
You are my Savior and my Lord
All day I know in you alone
Remember, Lord, your love and grace
With strong passages you have shown
Do not be of my sins of you
For my rebellious evil ways
Remember me in your grace
For you, O Lord, are good always
Because the Lord is just and true
He shows His path to all who stray
He guides the maiden waters wide
And teachers, then His holy way
We were getting a big wave from one of the wee boys going out there
I wasn't sure, was it me he was waving at?
Or was it his dad, Ali?
But it made me smile as he was going out giving a big wave
We're going to turn and read God's word together now
We're going to read in Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6
We're going to take up our reading at verse 19
Reading down to the end of the chapter
Matthew chapter 6 and at verse 19
You'll find it around page 978 of the church Bibles
Matthew chapter 6
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth
Where moth and rust destroy
And where thieves break in and steal
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven
Where neither moth nor rust destroys
And where thieves do not break in and steal
But where your treasure is
There your heart will be also
The eye is the lamp of the body
So if your eye is healthy
Your whole body will be full of light
If your eye is bad
Your whole body will be full of darkness
If then the light in you is darkness
How great is the darkness
No one can serve two masters
For either he will hate the one and love the other
Or he will be devoted to one and despise the other
You cannot serve God and money
Therefore I tell you
Do not be anxious about your life
What you will eat or what you will drink
Nor about your body
What you will put on
Is not life more than food
And the body more than clothing
Look at the birds of the air
They neither sow nor reap
Nor gather into barns
And yet your heavenly Father feeds them
Are you not of more value than they
And which of you by being anxious
Can add a single hour to his span of life
And why are you anxious about clothing
Consider the lilies of the field
How they grow
They neither toil nor spin
Yet I tell you
Even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed like one of these
But if God so clothes the grass of the field
Which today is alive
And tomorrow is thrown into the oven
Will he not much more clothe you
O you of little faith
Therefore do not be anxious
Saying what shall we eat
Or what shall we drink
Or what shall we wear
For the Gentiles seek after all things
And your heavenly Father knows
That you need them all
But seek first the kingdom of God
And his righteousness
And all these things will be added to you
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow
For tomorrow will be anxious for itself
Sufficient for the day
Is its own trouble
Amen
And may God bless that reading
From his word
Again just bow our heads
In a word of prayer
Let us pray
Our gracious Father in heaven
As we continue studying your word together this day
We thank you for it
We thank you for the truths it contains
That it is not man's word
But your word to man
And we thank you that it speaks to everyone of us
Young and old alike
It reminds us of everything that we need to know for life
And especially as we read in this passage together this morning
We see Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
Where he was preaching to a large crowd
About the important things of life
And so often it's the case that what we see as important
As what we put our priorities in
Is the secondary issues
But Jesus here reminds us of what is of first importance
And that is to seek first
The kingdom of God
To seek the Lord while he may be found
To call upon him while he is near
And that in so doing then
We will see all other things added to us
We would see things in a different order
And with different eyes
And see that you are what is the most precious thing of all
You know as we think of Bartimaeus
And how he cried out as Jesus passed by
Jesus son of David have mercy on me
His need was maybe food
As he was blind and begging by the side of the road
His greatest need was help though
And Jesus showed him what he really needed help with
And we thank you for the faith
That made Bartimaeus well
Your faith has made you well
Jesus said to him
And his sight was restored
And he followed Jesus
And so we pray
That as we see what is important in life
As we see what our priorities should be
That you would open our eyes to see
And to see Jesus
And to follow him
And we pray that you will bless your word to us
As we study it together this morning
As we look at the word before us
Lord may you help us by your spirit
To understand it
To receive it
To hear it
And to do as it says
To believe it with all our hearts
And to recognize its ultimate authority
Authority for life
And for death
And for eternity
For all of these things that are before us
For we are told in your word
That there is a time to live
And so a time to die
And that is the reality
That we all have to face up to
In this world
And yet we thank you
That the gospel is still good news
In a world that perishes
To a people who are perished
That the gospel is the great news
That there is salvation in Jesus Christ
And that he has come
That we might have life
And have it for all eternity
Teach us
Teach us through your word
To number our days
And to apply our minds to wisdom
And to the wisdom of your word
And your truth
Help us then we pray
And help us in our homes
In our families
In our congregation here
Lord
That you would look down upon us
And help us
Help those who are going through
Difficult times
Of ill health
Infirmity
Of uncertainty in life
Even the anxieties
That we have read of in this passage
We can all have anxious hearts
And yet we pray Lord
That you will come
And help us
To be still in your presence
To know
That you are God
And that you are there for us
Help those who go through
Times of grief
We pray Lord
That you will
Bind up the broken hearts
As your word says
And that you will help us
Even in our understanding
Of certain things
To still have faith in you
As the one who does things
Lord
There are so many aspects of life
That we find difficult and hard
Answers that we do not have
Answers that we feel so helpless
Even to give to those
Who ask these questions
But Lord
We thank you that
Through wisdom
Is found with you
That the hidden things
Belong to you
And that we can leave them with you
And that the day will come
Lord
When you unravel
The pattern of our lives
And explain to us
The reasons why
And that we can just
In this time
Lord
Know
That you are the one
Who holds us
You are the one
Who keeps us
So we pray Lord
Blessing upon
Your people
And upon the word
That goes out
Even today
Throughout
Our communities here
We thank you
For our communion season
And we pray
For those who gather
Around the Lord's table
And the sacrament
Of the Lord's supper
We pray for the congregation
In Nessus
They meet
We pray for them
In North Harris
In Scalpe
We thank you
For the preaching
Of your word
There today
And pray that there
Be a movement
Of your spirit
That there will be
Rejoicing over
Sinners being saved
That there will be
A fellowship of believers
Gathered
To encourage
One another
And build one another up
We thank you Lord
For these seasons
Of refreshing
And pray
For the services
In the week ahead
As well
God willing
As we see
The congregations
That will gather
Around your word
As well
Where ministers
Will preach
Where people
Will gather
We ask that your spirit
Will be present
In all of these days
To bless
And to show us
Lord
From heaven
With your blessing
So Lord
Hear our prayers
Continue with us
As a people
Continue with us
In a world
That seems so full
Of chaos
In so many different ways
And so many
Different parts
Of the world
With our troubles
And fears
And worries
With our war
With our natural disasters
With so many things
Going on Lord
Beyond our control
But we thank you
That the world
Belongs to the Lord
And all
That it contains
That everything
Is yours
And Lord
We pray
That you'll remember us
And that you'll have
Continue with us
Throughout the day
Refresh us
In our worship
And also in our rest
And our time
Out from the usual
Activities of the week
Lord
That you'll refresh us
In body
Mind
And soul
Hear our prayers
And as we come
We confess our sins
Anew
Seeking mercy
And forgiveness
That's all we ask
We ask in Jesus
Precious name
Amen
Before we turn back
To look at
This passage in Matthew
We're going to sing again
In Psalm 125
Psalm 125
Page 419
We sing the whole of this psalm
The tune is Huddersfield
Then the Lord
That firmly thrust
Shall be like Sion Hill
Which at no time
Can be removed
But standeth ever still
We sing the whole of this psalm
To God's praise
Amen
In the Lord
That firmly must
Shall be like Sion Hill
Which at no time
Can be removed
What standeth ever still
At found upon Jerusalem
The mountain
Stand away
That voyque
Let's walk upon the Lord, for just men shall not die, lest righteous men stretch forth their hearts unto their liquidy.
Do bow to all those that be good, I will my sword impart, and do our good to those that have a pride.
And within their hearts, but as for such a star night,
a light of love and truth that we all shall lead forth with wicked men, all is shall we shall see.
Amen.
That word's a word that maybe you use often or you hear often being used.
There's so much talk about change in our world and in our lives.
Every day we hear something about it because nothing stands still.
There's always change.
But is change something that scares you or is it something that you see a need of?
Is it something that scares you or is it something that you see a need of?
It depends how we're looking at it, of course.
There are many things that we want to keep as they are.
But there are other things that we want to change and it depends just what we're looking at.
And as we look at the gospel, we're always thinking about the gospel as a gospel that never changes.
It's the same word today, yesterday, forever.
It's the same word.
The word doesn't change.
And yet the gospel itself is all about change because it's a gospel with a power to change us, to bring us from darkness to light.
And so it does depend how we're looking at that word, change.
And as Jesus preaches here in Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, as it's so often called,
is Jesus preaching to a crowd who he longs that they would be changed.
Changed in a sense of growing in their knowledge and understanding of who he is and what their greatest need in life is.
And as we look at our lives ourselves, as we look at our own days, and as we look at our days, our weeks, our months, our years,
as it quickly passes by, there are so often many things that we see change.
Things that we see change in ourselves or things that we would like to see change around us.
As we think of the world in which we live in today, we want to see change.
We want to see change in so many different ways.
Where there's war, we want that changed to peace.
Where there's people who are hungry and thirsty, suffering, we want to see them fed.
Where there's natural disasters that have caused terrible devastation, we want to see change and things rebuilt.
We look around us and we see that there's so much need for change.
We see it in lives around us, of individual lives or our own lives,
where we want to see change in terms of things being better for people.
Whether it's health, we want to see change.
Whether it's financial insecurity or loss of jobs, we want to see change so that people are more secure in so many different ways.
There's things that we want in our own lives to change too, I'm sure.
As we look at ourselves, we want things to change for us, for the better.
We often learn through experience in life that often the way that we see change coming about or the plans that we make for ourselves,
we are vulnerable to change.
And that's why it's important that we hear what Jesus is saying to us here.
And we apply our hearts to wisdom.
As one of the Psalms says, the wisdom of which Jesus is teaching us here.
about is it their own plans that are important or is it the Lord's plans?
In the book of Proverbs, chapter 16, verse 9, there we see wisdom.
The heart of man plans his ways, it says.
Our own hearts, we make our plans.
We have our desired plans that we might think about.
This is the change that needs to happen in my life.
But it goes on to say, but the Lord establishes his steps.
It's not just change in ourselves that we want ourselves,
but what does the Lord want for you, what does the Lord want for me?
What are our priorities in life?
So as we look at our lives, we have a sense of a need of change
in so many different ways of putting our house in order, if you like.
And we can often view it as a kind of setting priority and goals in life,
but I wanted to look at it today under a kind of DIY project.
A DIY project.
But in the sense of asking, is it a do-it-yourself plan?
Is it something you're going to sort out all by yourself?
A DIY project.
Or is it going to be a DIY disaster?
In trying to do it yourself, it's only going to end in disaster.
And where does the Lord fit into all these plans?
We often have DIY projects on the go.
I'm sure many of us like to tinker with little projects.
Perhaps it's around the house.
You go through the winter months and it's maybe an inside project.
Painting and decorating a room.
Making some changes inside.
Or as the spring comes, as the days get longer, the weather gets better.
It's the outside jobs.
You want to change things.
Improve things.
But how do they turn out?
Are you good at DIY?
Or have you ever had a DIY disaster?
Have you ever been working on a project where I just have lost my way?
I just don't know what I'm doing here.
It's time to call in the experts.
There's a program on television called DIY SOS.
And it used to be more so in the past.
There would be programs about people who have started DIY projects.
It's all gone wrong for them.
And they have to call in this DIY SOS team who come in to put things right.
Or people who have looked at projects and they're just too big.
And the DIY SOS come in to help them through it.
Well, as you see in this passage in Matthew 6,
it's very much Jesus speaking to a people who have their own DIY plans.
We're going to do it this way.
We're going to live our lives in this way.
We're going to find our way through life, through death, into eternity.
We're going to do it all by ourselves.
It's a DIY project.
But Jesus so often shows us that doing it by ourselves is only going to end in disaster.
And instead that we are to see, as he is teaching here,
that it's first to put him as the first priority in our lives.
That he is the one who has come to right our DIY disaster.
That we cannot save ourselves.
And this is closely connected to what we've been looking at in our Wednesday Bible studies.
Looking at the truths of the Reformation.
That we cannot save ourselves by our own works.
It's not a project we try and do ourselves.
By his word alone.
By grace alone.
Through faith alone.
It's all of these things.
Because if we do it apart from him, it ends in disaster.
So as you look at your own life today.
As you look at your past.
As you look at your present.
As you even look to the future.
Ask yourself, is my house in order?
Is my life, my project, this is a DIY project.
I'm going to do it all myself.
Or are you living, looking to the Lord and his help?
But we see in this passage.
An SOS.
The way the Lord comes to his people.
And we're going to look at it under that three heads.
That SOS.
And the first thing is savings.
And the second thing is observations.
And then the third thing is security.
Three things that make up SOS.
By savings, observations, and security.
And Jesus begins in the verses that we read by speaking about savings.
In the beginning of the chapter, in the previous verses, he's spoken about the Lord's prayer.
He's taught them how to pray.
And he's talked about fasting.
And from there, he moves on to possessions.
To money.
To savings.
And in many ways, it can seem like just a random jump.
Just going from one random thing to another throughout the Sermon on the Mount.
But it's actually, it's tying everything together.
It's tying our lives together in how we look at things.
If our focus is right towards God.
So we think of prayer and fasting.
That was important to the people.
If we get these things in order and get these things right.
Well then, there's a better chance of everything else flowing from rightly from that.
So that when he comes down to verse 33.
And he's sort of summarizing it there.
Seek for the kingdom of God.
It's taking us right back to prayer and fasting.
It's taking us back to putting things in that right order.
Because from there, everything falls into place.
If our focus is right towards God and towards Christ, then other things have a right focus too.
Because you see in verse 24, he makes that point follows.
He says,
No one can serve two masters.
You cannot have these two as your master.
You cannot serve God and money.
Who is your master?
That's what he's saying here.
So the first thing he speaks about here is savings.
And when you think of a DIY project, it's always going to need funding.
It's going to need input.
It's going to need money to make that project become a reality.
Jesus is saying here is, let's get that right as well.
And what he says then is in verse 19, verse 20.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So it's about not having this divided loyalty.
Trying to serve God and money.
No, where is your treasure?
What is important in your life?
Is it God or is it money?
You cannot serve both.
And much of what we invest in putting into our homes,
into our lives in this world,
is good in so many ways.
It's important.
But what Jesus reminds us of,
if that is all the treasure that you're laying up,
then it's worthless because it's going to be destroyed.
The moth is going to eat it.
The rust is going to destroy it.
The thieves are going to break in and steal it.
It's vulnerable.
And that's what our lives are if that's what our focus is on.
Our lives are vulnerable.
But he says instead,
lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven
where nothing can touch it,
nothing can destroy it,
nothing can steal it.
You know, we can live our lives with ourselves as our priority,
our own DIY project,
where I'm going to enjoy my life.
I'm going to make the money.
I'm going to buy my car.
I'm going to do all of these things.
But ultimately, it's worthless.
It'll rust.
It'll fade away.
We can do all of these projects,
and yet we have nothing at the end of the day.
So where are you to invest?
Where are you to invest in me?
Your security is in me.
Your works, you're living your life in this way.
It's not going to help you eternally.
Christ alone is the only way to salvation.
Christ alone is the only way to save up for an eternity that is before all.
So we look to Jesus.
We see what his preaching is here.
Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven.
How do we do this?
Well, it's not in him.
Because Jesus has a building project going on us.
That he is preparing for his people.
A place in glory.
In John 14, verse 2 and 3, it says,
He has a project.
He has a better place for us all.
That he has prepared by going to the cross for us,
and is even preparing for us now.
That, as he goes on to say,
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself.
That where I am, you may be also.
A place that is secure and a security for his people.
So what's your saving plan for getting your house in order?
Is it a DIY job?
You're trying to do it yourself.
It will only end in disaster.
The only security, the only saving plan you need
is that finished work of Christ.
Christ has done it.
It's finished, he said, on the cross.
And he has gone to prepare a place for his people.
So it's about our treasure in heaven.
That that is what we're to look to.
So we have our savings plan.
When we see our observations,
observations, if you're looking at DIY projects,
it's because you're observing, you're seeing,
that there is a need, that there's a project
that needs your attention.
And as Jesus goes on here,
he speaks about how we look around us
and how we see our lives
and how much anxiety it brings to us.
And in verse 25, he starts to say,
therefore, I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
not about your body,
what you will put on.
And he's saying this for a reason.
He's saying this because
that is what people are troubled by,
that these are big issues
in our lives then
and as they are now in our day as well.
We are afraid.
We're anxious about so many different things.
Jesus speaks about anxiety here,
not in a way of saying,
just pull yourself together.
Come on, get on with your life.
But he does it in a way
where he's teaching us,
where he's teaching us what's important,
where he's teaching us that
he knows about our anxieties.
He knows the worries and the fears
that we have.
And life often makes us think about
these things,
the things that he speaks about,
whether it's food or clothing,
you know, what our health,
all these different things
that make us anxious,
all these different things that, again,
we can so often make a priority for ourselves.
But ultimately he's saying,
look at these things,
observe these things,
and put in it all,
see how quickly your life is passing by
and that these are not your priorities either.
What does he say in verse 27?
Each of you, by being anxious,
can add a single hour to his span of life.
Our lives go past.
A new year comes,
and here we are already into March 2025.
We think about how a birthday comes,
another milestone arrives,
or a major event comes in our lives.
They make us think about the passing of time.
So often, all the time,
we're reminded of the years going past
and how uncertain our time span here is.
We observe all of these things.
We see it all around us,
whether it's locally, nationally,
or internationally.
How quick circumstances are we?
How quickly our lives go by.
We've observed it.
Even just looking back over these last few years,
it's just about five years now
since the pandemic came.
Our lives were turned upside down.
We've not really recovered fully from it
in so many different ways.
Things that we could never see coming,
and yet all of a sudden,
it turned our lives upside down.
And we've seen natural disasters.
We've seen wars.
We've seen it going on all the time.
And these things.
Think.
Think even for ourselves,
as we look at our lives,
lives but a breath
and an eternity before us.
We cannot add a single hour
to the span of our life
by just being anxious
about all of these things.
There has to be more.
And what does it say to us?
Well, it's teaching us
that the priority
is not about food
and the body
and clothing
and all of these things.
The priority is
seek first
the kingdom of God.
Seek first
the kingdom of God
that we observe
all these things
in light of eternity,
and we seek first
the kingdom of God
because that
is what is important.
You can chase after
these things
all your days.
You can be anxious
about your clothing,
your food,
all of these things.
And there's a time
that we are
afraid and anxious
but we come to God
with it.
That's the key.
We observe
and we come to God
and seek
his kingdom.
And he says
then all these
other things
will be added to you.
They will fall
into place
for you.
Not in the sense
where we'll be
millionaires
or anything like that.
There may be still
times when we're hungry
and we don't have money
but yet we have
that assurance
in God
that the grace
of God
is with us.
The comedy show
Only Fools and Horses
I'm sure many of you
have seen it
over the years
and it's that story
of two brothers
who are always
searching after that goal.
This time next year
we're going to be
millionaires.
That's what they're
always looking at.
They're dealing with
all kinds of
different deals
and items
and trying to sell
and all of these things.
Delboy and Rodney
they're going to be
millionaires next year.
And then the day comes
where they find
a watch
in their garage
what they think
is just something
worthless.
It turns out to be
what changes
their lives
that's worth millions.
And all of a sudden
they are millionaires.
But what happens
at the end
of one of the episodes
that's then changed
is to
say this time next year
we're going to be millionaires.
Rodney,
this time next year
we're going to be
billionaires.
There's always
this searching
after more.
And that's the sad
truth in this world
where it's never
enough.
we're always
wanting more.
But as we observe
life today
is that our goal?
That we want
more of this world?
More of what the world
gives us
as happiness?
No,
it's about seeking
first
the kingdom
of God.
Observe these things
and see them
in light of
eternity
where they're
worthless
compared to the
riches
of knowing
Jesus
as Lord.
By his grace
alone
we are saved.
The grace of God
that rescues us
from a
DIY disaster
of doing it
ourselves
to instead
being relying
on the grace
of God
for our salvation.
And that leads us
to the last thing
I want us to see here.
we've had savings
we've had observations
and the last thing
S
is security.
Security.
When you're looking
at a project
a DIY project
what's the reason
for it?
It's something
that makes us
feel more secure
in life.
Maybe something
that's needed
repaired
or needed doing
for our own safety.
Maybe your car
is getting
to an old age
and you want
a newer one
to be safer.
Maybe your house
is needing
new windows
so you put them
in in order
to be warmer.
All these things
are just about
our own personal
kind of security.
But what Jesus
gets at here
ultimately
is our security
in him.
The foundation
on which
we're building.
And that's what
he comes to
as you read on
down through
this Sermon on the Mount.
We looked at it
actually at the end
we looked at it
in the Gospel
of Luke
but it comes
to the same
conclusion here
in Matthew 7.
The security
of the two
different houses
being built.
One being built
upon the sand
and one being built
upon the rock.
Everyone who hears
these words
of mine
and does them
will be like
the wise man
who built his house
on the rock.
That's at the end
of this sermon
in Matthew 7.24.
We looked at it
just a few weeks ago.
The wise man
built his house
on the rock
who hears
these words
of mine
and does them.
So think back
two weeks ago.
You heard
these words
in the Gospel
of Luke.
You heard
these words
and you heard
them before.
Are you wise?
Are you building
on the rock?
You heard them
two weeks ago
but did you do them?
Did you do
these words?
Are you building
your house
on the rock
that is Christ?
We listen
to his word.
We hear it
but do we do it?
Jesus is here
speaking to us
again.
Speaking about
what is important
in life
what our priorities
are.
Are we doing it
ourselves
or are we
listening
to him?
Two things
to say
in conclusion.
The first thing
is
God doesn't
give us
everything we want
and for that
we should be
glad
because if he gave us
everything we wanted
where would we be?
We would ask
for the wrong
things.
There was a note
that had been
written by
a confederate
soldier during
the civil war
and he wrote
these words.
He said
I asked God
for strength
that I might
achieve.
I was made
weak that I
might learn
humbly
to obey.
I asked
God for
health
that I
might do
greater
things.
I was given
infirmity
that I
might do
better
things.
I asked
for riches
that I
might be
happy.
I was given
poverty
that I
might be
wise.
I asked
for power
that I
might have
the praise
of men.
I was given
weakness
that I
feel the
need of
God.
I asked
for all
things
that I
might enjoy
life.
I was given
life
that I
might enjoy
all things.
I got
nothing
that I
asked for
but everything
I had
hoped for.
He didn't
get what he
asked
but he
realized
there was
everything
that he
needed.
It was
those words
I asked
for
things
that I
might enjoy
life.
That's the
natural
conclusion
that we
might come
to.
Give me
all these
things
that I
might enjoy
life.
But the
right way
of looking
at it
was I
was given
life
that I
might enjoy
all things.
And that's
really what
Jesus is
saying here.
It's not
about getting
all these
things that
we might
enjoy life
but that
finding that
life is
in him
that we
might enjoy
all things.
Seek
first
the kingdom
of God.
God
doesn't
always give
us what
we want
but he
does
certainly
give us
everything
that we
need.
He has
given us
everything
that we
need
that we
should
rejoice
in him
and it
never has
been more
true in
our security
that we
think of
all that
he has
given to
us
in Christ.
We have
had a
DIY
disaster.
We have
tried to
do it
ourselves
and that
has led
to sin
in our
life.
A DIY
disaster is
sin in
our life.
We could
never
sort it
but the
SOS
went out
and he
came to
save us
from our
sin.
He paid
the price
and therefore
as we seek
to put our
house in
order
as we
seek to
find the
way to
enjoy life.
How is
it going
to be?
Is it
going to
be in
your own
DIY
project?
Do it
yourself?
Or is it
to come
back and
see that
will end
in disaster
and instead
trust in
the Lord
Jesus?
Faith
alone is
the way
to live.
I asked
for all
things that
I might
enjoy life.
That's not
the way.
But Jesus
will give you
life that
you may
enjoy all
things.
May you
find that
life in
him.
Let us
pray.
Our
gracious and
eternal God,
we thank you
for your
wisdom that's
above ours,
that you do
not give us
all that we
want, but
you do give
all that we
need.
And we
thank you
for every
good and
perfect gift
that you
have given,
all that
comes from
your hand.
We thank
you for
your word.
We thank
you for
your spirit.
We thank
you for
your son.
And we
thank you
for the
salvation
that has
been bought
for us.
We thank
you for
faith and
hope.
We thank
you for
grace.
We thank
you for
us so
liberally.
And we
pray,
Lord,
that we
will see
that life
in you
is to
be able
to enjoy
all things.
So teach
us, Lord,
that we
would seek
first the
kingdom of
God.
So we
ask it in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're
going to
conclude by
singing to
God's
praise in
Psalm 127
in the
Sing
Psalms.
Page
171.
We'll
sing
first two
verses,
verse 1
and 2.
Reminder to
us that
we don't
build our
own house
in that
security.
Unless the
Lord builds
the house,
its builders
toil in vain.
Unless he
keeps the
city safe,
they vainly
watch,
maintain.
We're going
to sing
verse 1
and 2
in the
tune as
Covenanters.
We sing
to God's
praise.
voy voy
voy
What maintain
They
Vainly
What maintain
They
Vainly
What maintain
Unless
He keeps
Selties
They
Vainly
What maintain
When you rise
Before the dawn
And lay
Our shady
Keep
That you may
Toil for
Food to me
He gives
Selt
One
Sleeve
He gives
Selt
One
Sleeve
That you
Toil for
Food to me
He gives
One
Sleeve
After the benediction
I'll go to the main door.
Now may grace, mercy and peace
From God, Father, Son
And Holy Spirit rest upon
And abide with you all
Now and forevermore. Amen.
Please
!
Please
Thank you.