Thank you very much indeed, Callum, and it's a great privilege to be here with you this evening.
It's lovely to see you all again, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to help Callum out and to be with you tonight.
When I mentioned to Carloway this morning that I was preaching in Stornoway tonight, somebody said to me,
are you preaching James McKeever out?
And I hadn't really thought of that.
No, I'm not really here to do that, but I do want to take the opportunity to give my very, very best wishes to James and Donna
and to express my sincere thanks for all that he's done for the congregation here,
but also for the church more widely in many, many years of faithful service to the Lord.
Well, we're here to worship God together, and we rejoice that we come together in the name of our risen Saviour, Jesus.
And we're going to sing to his praise from Psalm 95 in the Scottish Psalter on page 357.
Psalm 95 in the Scottish Psalter, page 357, singing verses 1 to 6.
O come, let us sing to the Lord.
Come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation.
And that's the amazing privilege that we have as we gather to worship again this evening.
We are coming together.
We are singing to the Lord.
We are bringing our joyful noise before him.
So we'll do that as we stand and sing together.
O come, let us sing to the Lord.
Come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation.
Let us, everyone, a joyful noise.
Make a joyful noise.
For God, a great God and great King, above all gods he is.
The Lord, a great God and great King, above all gods he is.
Yes, God.
Together you more, a brings ofこの zeal.
At Christ, Peter.
You know a gráfic illustrator.
It sing to this church.
You may what?
O come, please, all thoughts it suaắtest.
O come and let us worship him, let us bow down with all.
And honor it before the Lord, our maker let us call.
Let's pray together.
Father, we are so thankful that we can come to you this evening, that we can come and gather together publicly,
that we can meet together in the name of your son, Jesus, and that we can come together knowing that you've promised to be here.
And as we come into your presence, we come to worship you.
We come before you, our maker.
We come to bow down before you.
And we are so, so thankful that we have this privilege.
It's such a brilliant way for us to start a new week, to come together morning and evening on the first day of the week,
to rejoice in the reality of Jesus's resurrection,
to come together and to be renewed and refreshed in the joy and peace and hope of the gospel,
and to be reminded of everything that you have done for us through your son.
We're so thankful that we can come here to worship you, knowing that you're present with us,
that by your spirit you are always with us, that you've promised to never leave us nor forsake us.
You've promised to be with us all the days to the very end of the age.
And Father, we just thank you for that so much because we acknowledge before you tonight that we need you so, so much.
And so often we wonder and we go our own way and we come tonight confessing our sin before you.
We come acknowledging that our thoughts and our words and our actions are so often short of what your word commands.
So often we do stuff that we should not do and we fail to do the things that we should.
And we're frustrated and disappointed in ourselves.
And we come to you with repentant hearts, confessing our sins.
But we also come on the, we come standing not on our own strength,
but we come standing on the promises of the gospel,
that the blood of Jesus Christ washes away every sin.
And that in you we can have perfect redemption.
And in you we can have healing and cleansing and restoration.
And so we come so thankful that the gospel gives us hope.
And we come, Father, and you to be,
to be, for our hearts to be cleansed and renewed and refreshed
in the truth and the joy of the gospel of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And so we come to worship you and we come also to hear your voice.
And we pray, Father, that you'd be preparing our hearts to hear your word.
We pray that we would be receptive to it, that our minds would be attentive,
that we would have understanding, that we'd be able to see how we can apply your word to our lives.
And we pray that your word would be pressed right into our hearts
so that it would shape the way that we think and the way that we speak and the way we react
and the things that we aim for and the things that we long for would all be shaped by your word.
And so we pray that you would speak to every single one of us
and that your word would be reaching each one of us
and we know that your word will not return to you empty.
We thank you for everybody who's here tonight.
We pray, Father, that your blessing would be upon each one.
And we come all from very different circumstances.
And we come with just this week will have been different for all of us.
For some, it might have been a really good week.
For some, a really hard week.
For some, maybe a mixture of joys and sorrows.
And we come to you with different burdens and different fears, different doubts, different anxieties.
And we just come and lay it all before you.
And, Father, we don't want to hide anything from you.
We know that we can't and we don't want to.
We just want to lay our hearts open before you.
And we pray for every single person here that every single one would hear your voice speaking to them
and would know the nearness of your presence.
And that you would draw us all closer to you.
That for all of us who are following you, that we would be renewed and refreshed in our walk as disciples.
For those who have maybe wandered from you or feel that their faith is fading
or that their love is growing cold.
We pray that you would renew them and refresh them and wrap your arms around them and you tonight.
And for any here who maybe do not yet know you, for those who are seeking you,
or for those who are maybe just really not sure at all.
We pray, Father, that you would open our eyes and reveal yourself to us
in the most powerful way that we've ever experienced.
And that your word would just press into all of our hearts
and that you would meet with us and speak to us and draw us closer to you.
We pray for the congregation here that you would bless them in all the work that they are doing.
And as they reach such a significant milestone with James retiring,
we pray for the congregation that they would be so aware that pastors are always only ever under shepherds,
that the great shepherd is Jesus Christ and he is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And may they know the stability of your promises and your presence.
And we pray that as they look ahead to the future, as they seek your guidance,
we pray that they will be renewed and energized and strengthened for the work that you've given them to do.
And we pray for all the work of the gospel here,
that this congregation would continue to be a beacon of hope and light and joy to the town of Stornoway.
And we pray that the years to come would be years of great renewal and refreshing for this congregation
and for the whole town, that there would be spiritual awakening
and that the reality of eternity would be pressed onto people's hearts
and that people would come to hear the good news of Jesus
and come to find the hope and the peace and security that only he can give.
And so please bless the work of the gospel here.
We pray for James and Donna, that you would bless them abundantly as they move into this new chapter.
And we pray that their retirement would be a refreshing time,
but also a very, very fruitful time as they continue to serve you.
And we pray too for Colm and for Joanne as they serve you here,
that they would be upheld and strengthened by you
and that you'd bless all the work that they're doing for you.
And everybody else involved in the congregation, the elders and deacons,
everybody involved in the different activities that happen each week,
we pray that they'd be renewed, encouraged, energized and strengthened by you
as they continue the work of the gospel here.
And what we pray for this congregation, we pray for the church worldwide.
And we thank you that as we gather this evening,
we gather as part of a family of believers that extends all across the world.
And we pray that you would build up your church all across the nations.
And we pray that you would especially help those who are facing opposition and persecution,
but also maybe help those churches in areas where they've maybe felt things declining over recent years.
We pray for renewal and we pray that your church would just thrive this week and in all the weeks that lie ahead.
We pray all of these things, Father, so that your name would be glorified.
And we pray that this week and every week of our lives would be lived for you.
And we ask that you would bless us anew and have mercy on us in our time together just now.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing again this time from the Sing Psalms version of Psalm 57,
and that's on page 75.
Sing Psalms version of Psalm 57, and we're going to sing from verse 7 to the end of the psalm.
My heart is steadfast, Lord, with music I will sing.
Awake, my soul, wake harp and lyre, my song the dawn will bring.
If you know Psalm 57, you'll know the early part of it speaks a lot about being in distress and calling out to God for help.
And then these last verses just speak of the assurance and stability that God gives us in his great love.
So we'll stand and sing verses 7 to 11 to God's praise.
My heart is steadfast, Lord, with music I will sing.
Awake, my soul, wake harp and lyre, my song the dawn will bring.
Among the nations, Lord, to you I will give praise.
Among the peoples of the earth, my songs of you I'll raise.
Great is your steadfast love, which reaches to the sky.
Your constant faithfulness, O Lord, extends to heaven high.
Above the highest ends, O God, exalted thee.
And over all the earth, the hope, display your majesty.
Reading this evening is from Matthew chapter 11.
Thank you.
Matthew 11, and we'll read the whole chapter together.
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
Now, when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him,
Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?
And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.
And the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John.
What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken by the wind?
What then did you go out to see?
A man dressed in soft clothing?
Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses.
What then did you go out to see?
A prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,
and the violent take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John,
and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
But to what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates.
We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he is a demon.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, look at him,
a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done,
because they did not repent.
Woe to you, Chorazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?
You will be brought down to Hades.
For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment
for the land of Sodom than for you.
At that time, Jesus declared,
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding
and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father,
and no one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son,
and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Amen.
May God add his blessing to the reading of his word.
Well, before we come back to that chapter,
we're going to sing again,
this time from Psalm 36 in the Scottish Psalter
on page 251.
Psalm 36 on page 251,
singing from verse 5.
Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens.
Thy truth doth reach the clouds.
Thy justice is like mountains great.
Thy judgments deep as floods.
Five to nine,
and we'll stand and sing together to God's praise.
Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens.
Thy truth doth reach the clouds.
Thy justice is like mountains great.
Thy judgments deep as floods.
Lord, thou preservest man and beast.
How precious is thy grace.
Therefore, in shadow of thy wings,
and sons their trust shall place.
They with the badness of thy heart
shall be well satisfied.
From rivers of thy pleasures,
the will drink to them provide.
Because of life,
the fountain pure
remains alone with thee.
And in that purest light of thine,
we clearly light shall see.
Amen.
Just as we turn to God's word,
let's pray for a moment.
Father, we pray that as your word is open before us,
that we will be open before you.
Please give us ears to hear.
Please give us minds that understand.
And please give us hearts that burn with love for you
and for one another.
Amen.
Well, I'd like us to turn together to Matthew chapter 11.
And I want us to look at the whole chapter.
So as we start,
perhaps we can read again the very first verse
and then the last couple of verses as well.
So starting at verse 1, we read,
when Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples,
he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
And then going all the way down to verse 28,
we hear the very famous words that Jesus said,
Come to me,
all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
At this time in Jesus' ministry,
he has sent his disciples out
to go proclaiming the message of the kingdom of God.
And you see in the previous chapter
that Jesus spends a lot of time
preparing his disciples for that work.
They are to go out as his messengers.
And as Jesus gets them ready,
and as he prepares them to go out as his messengers,
he warns them that as they go out
with the message of the gospel,
there's one thing that they and we
are guaranteed to find
in the mission field that we go into.
They're going to find obstacles.
Now, when we think about obstacles to Christianity,
we can immediately think of opposition.
So we think of people who are opposed to the gospel,
people who are hostile to the church,
and people who will deliberately try to hinder
and oppress the work that Jesus
has given his people to do.
And that is a reality.
That does happen.
Jesus himself experienced it.
The early church experienced it.
And many Christians today around the world
also experience it.
But opposition, external opposition to the gospel
is not the only obstacle that Christianity faces.
And I think we can maybe even say
that external opposition
is not the biggest obstacle that we face.
And I think one of the reasons we can say that
is because if you look at the history of the church,
one thing that you'll discover
that's very, very true again and again
is that when the church is oppressed,
it actually grows.
And the efforts to stop the advance of the kingdom
has never, ever stopped Jesus
from building his church.
And so if we're thinking about obstacles
in front of the gospel,
stuff that happens out there
and particularly hostility and opposition
towards the gospel
is not necessarily the biggest problem.
And that's because there's other obstacles
that can get away of the gospel.
And that's exactly what we find
in Matthew chapter 11.
We read that Jesus goes out preaching and teaching
and as he does so,
he encounters three big hurdles.
And I want us to think about these together
because we encounter exactly the same thing.
We see these hurdles in the people around us
and we also see them in our own hearts.
And these are obstacles
that will either stop us from coming to Jesus
or if we are following Jesus,
they will hinder us as we try to walk with him.
What are they?
Well, the three big obstacles
we're going to think about tonight are
being unsure,
being unfust,
and being unteachable.
Unsure,
unfust,
unteachable.
We see all of these in this chapter
and so I'll explain a little bit more
about what they mean
to begin with
and then we'll see what lessons
we can learn from them.
So number one,
being unsure.
We see that at the very beginning of the chapter.
If you look again at verse two,
we see,
when John the Baptist heard in prison
about the deeds of the Christ,
he sent word by his disciples
and said to him,
are you the one who is to come
or shall we look for another?
John the Baptist is one of the most important figures
in the Bible
and it's important to remember
that even though we read about John the Baptist
in the early chapters of the New Testament,
really John is the last of the Old Testament prophets.
And as Jesus explains in this chapter,
he is the messenger that is sent to announce
that the Messiah is coming.
And if you know about the story of John the Baptist,
you'll know that he preached in the middle of nowhere
but crowds flocked to hear him.
He called people to repentance.
He challenged the authorities
who were oppressing people at that time.
He baptized Jesus.
He saw the Holy Spirit descend on him like a dove
and he pointed people to Jesus saying,
that's him.
Behold,
the Lamb of God.
And so in terms of the Bible
and in terms of theology,
John the Baptist is a giant
and yet here we find him doubting.
He's unsure.
Despite all that he saw,
despite all that he experienced,
now he's in prison
and he's just not sure.
And that obstacle of being unsure
has been a huge challenge for the church ever since.
It affects us as Christians so often.
And so although I'm sure every believer in here
can think of moments where things felt great,
think of high moments in their experience
when they felt confident and strong
and so assured
and so certain that God was there
and so aware of his love.
There's maybe times when you can think of that
and yet I'm sure there's been many times
when you thought,
is this real?
Can I be sure about this?
Am I a Christian?
Does God ever actually hear me?
Is he even there?
And for people who aren't yet Christians,
I'm fairly confident
that there are very few people,
if anybody in here tonight,
who says,
I am philosophically hostile to Christianity.
I object to it on philosophical grounds.
I am opposed to that message
and I am not willing to consider it.
I doubt anybody in here is thinking like that
but I am sure that there are people in here tonight
or people watching online
and they're saying,
I'm just not sure.
I'm not opposed to Christianity.
In fact, I respect it.
But I'm just not convinced.
So often we face that obstacle of being unsure.
Second obstacle Jesus encountered
is the obstacle of people being unfussed.
You see that in verse 16 and 17.
Jesus says,
But to what shall I compare this generation?
It's like children sitting in the marketplaces
and calling to their playmates,
We played the flute for you
and you did not dance.
We sang a dirge
and you did not mourn.
Here, Jesus is describing the general public,
the people that he has been encountering,
this generation as he calls them,
in verse 16.
And then in verse 20 to 24,
he talks about the towns
where he has visited
and where he's preached.
And in describing these places,
he doesn't say that they're hostile.
He doesn't say that they're aggressive.
He doesn't say that they're atheists.
None of these are the problem.
The big problem
is that people just aren't bothered.
So if a flute is played,
they don't dance.
If a dirge is sung,
they don't mourn.
In other words,
the general public
is just not that fussed.
And that numbness
in the public
that means that
the stuff that should make them
either dance for joy
or mourn
just bounces off them.
They're not interested.
They're not fussed.
They're not bothered.
And instead,
people are distracted,
uninterested,
indifferent.
And of course,
you can see straight away
that it's exactly the same today.
Don't ever think
that Jesus lived
in a different world
from the world
that we live in.
It's exactly the same
just now.
Today,
we are surrounded
by a general public
that is just not that fussed.
that numbness.
And that numbness
is a huge,
huge obstacle
to the gospel.
And so often we see that,
that the life-changing message
of Jesus,
the best news
that the world
has ever heard
is just lost
in a fog
created by,
I don't know,
the latest big celebrity news
that's come out
or the latest thing
that we need to buy
or the latest video
that you need to see
on TikTok
or whatever it might be.
It's so easy
for us to stumble
at the obstacle
of being unfussed.
And then the third obstacle
that Jesus encountered
in this chapter
is people
who were unteachable.
You see that
in verses 25 to 26.
At that time,
Jesus declared,
I thank you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
that you've hidden
these things
from the wise
and understanding
and revealed them
to little children.
Yes, Father,
for such
was your gracious will.
In summing up everything
in this chapter,
Jesus gives this
beautiful description
of how God
does not choose
the intellectual elite
of the day.
He doesn't choose
the experts
to be the first recipients
of the gospel.
And as he does that,
he insists
that instead
the gospel
is being revealed
to people
who are like
little children.
It's not for the big,
important,
know-it-alls.
It's for the people
who will come
like a child.
And there's loads
that we could say
about that.
I want to focus
on the fact
that these verses
are revealing
and reinforcing
another massive obstacle
to the gospel,
the obstacle
of being unteachable.
For the religious leaders,
for the intellectual elite,
the fact that they were wise
and understanding
was not actually
an advantage.
It was an obstacle
because it meant
that they were
unteachable.
They thought they knew it all
and so they weren't
willing to listen.
Jesus went to preach
and teach
in their cities.
People ignored him
because they didn't think
that they needed
to learn anything.
And again,
that's still a massive obstacle
that we face today.
Many people resist
the teaching of Jesus
not because they're
aggressive and hostile
but because
when it comes to
the big questions of life,
they're already confident
in their own answers.
They're settled in their mind
and they do not feel
that they need to be taught
by Jesus.
And yet,
the whole concept
of being teachable
is fundamental
to being a disciple of Jesus.
That's what the word
disciple means.
It means to be a learner.
And that's exactly
what we have to do
in order to become disciples
and in order to live
as disciples.
We need to learn
from Jesus.
But in order to learn,
we need to be teachable.
In order to be teachable,
we need to acknowledge
that there's stuff
that we don't know.
In order to acknowledge
that there's stuff
that we don't know,
we have to admit
our weaknesses.
And that's maybe
the hardest thing of all.
So often,
we're held back
by the obstacle
of being unteachable.
And so these are
the three big obstacles
that you see in this chapter.
Being unsure,
being unfust,
being unteachable.
What's all of that
teaching us tonight?
Well, looking at
these three categories,
the obvious question
that you can start with
is saying,
well, which one are you?
Are you unsure?
Or are you unfust?
Or are you unteachable?
And thinking,
well, which one of these
categories do I fall into?
Am I like John the Baptist?
Am I like the crowds
that weren't responding?
Am I like the religious
elite that refused
to listen?
And we might think,
well, maybe I'm more
in this category.
You might think of other people
and think, well,
they're definitely
in that category.
Do you know
what the truth is?
I think the truth is
that rather than
picking one,
I think that
in lots of different ways,
we are all of them.
These are traps
that we all fall into.
These are obstacles
that we all trip up over.
And that's true
whether you're a Christian
or whether you're not sure yet
if you're a Christian
or not.
We all have times
when we're unsure.
John the Baptist had doubts.
We're the same.
We all have areas
of our lives
that are important to God
but we're just not
that fussed about.
Things that we just
try not to think about
that we'd rather
just stay numb to.
And we all have ways
in which we're unteachable.
We've all got ways
in which we'd far rather
people listen to us
than we would listen
to them.
And these obstacles
are serious
because they will
prevent you
from becoming a Christian
if you're not yet a Christian.
And they will hinder you
in your walk with Jesus
if you are already
a believer.
They'll spoil your relationship
with your Savior.
So what's the answer?
What do we do?
Well, when we talk
about stuff like this
it's very easy
to start saying
well, you need to
rid your life
of obstacles
and you need
to come to Jesus.
And in many ways
you think
well that's maybe
what the pattern
of the chapter
is saying
because you've got
that great call
at the end
where Jesus asks us
to come to him
and we're thinking
okay, right
I can see these hurdles
in my life
I need to overcome them
and get back to Jesus.
And so
you kind of almost imagine
you're on a journey
home
and you're crossing
maybe you're going
across the moor
or something
maybe it's just because
I've driven from Carly
I'm thinking in these terms
but you've got to
climb over
all sorts of obstacles
you've got to get over
fences and ditches
and walls
and you'll get there.
And so
I could say to you
if you can
jump over the ditch
of being unsure
if you can push
through the bog
of being unfussed
if you can break
down the wall
of being unteachable
then you'll get
to Jesus
and then everything
will be fine.
I could stand here
and say
you need to overcome
the obstacles
and come to Jesus.
It would be so easy
to say that
but I don't think
that's what this chapter
is saying
and I don't think
that that's what
the gospel
is telling us to do.
the gospel
is not saying
overcome the obstacles
and get to Jesus.
The gospel
is saying
come to Jesus
and the obstacles
will disappear.
And that's summed up
in the amazing words
that Jesus makes
at the end
of the chapter
in verse 28.
Come to me
all who labor
and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me
for I am gentle
and lowly in heart
and you will find
rest for your souls.
Jesus is saying
come to me
and learn from me.
And that's what
we need to do
when we face
these obstacles
we need to go
straight to Jesus
and learn from him.
And these obstacles
will disappear.
So that means
when you are unsure
come to Jesus
and learn from him.
You see something
so amazing
in this chapter
that when John's message
of uncertainty
comes to Jesus
Jesus gives him
such a brilliant reply.
He says to them
in verse 4
go and tell John
what you hear
and see.
The blind receive
their sight
and the lame walk.
Lepers are cleansed
and the deaf hear
and the dead are raised up
and the poor have good news
preached to them
and blessed is the one
who is not offended
by me.
The key words are these
go and tell them
what you see
and hear.
In other words
Jesus points
the unsure person
to objective
verifiable truth.
Now this is
incredibly important
in terms of
our understanding
of Christianity
and our whole
view of the gospel
because so many people
get this wrong.
So many people
think that faith
is believing
in something
that's vague
and mystical
and something
that doesn't
necessarily tie in
with the facts
so we think
well yes
I've got facts
over here
but I've got
my faith
over here
and I'm just
going to hold
on to that
even though
it doesn't
align with the facts.
That's not the gospel.
That is not the gospel.
That's not the way
Christianity works.
In fact
if you want
the best example
of that kind
of separation
between faith
and facts
one place
where you see it
quite tragically
is in secular
humanism's
approach to death
because you will see
people who are
humanists
whose world view
is saying
that there is no God
that there is nothing
supernatural
that there is nothing
beyond this life
and yet when someone
they love dies
they will say
that they're with us
that they're watching
over us
that we'll meet again
and I can completely
understand why people
are saying that
because a cold
harsh
consistently secular
view of death
is something that
very few people
can actually live with
but that idea
that there's something
that idea
that we'll meet again
that idea
that there's
another side
that's not faith
that's guessing
faith in terms
of how the Bible
understands it
is not guesswork
it's not vague
it's not blind
it is grounded
on objective
verifiable truth
and that's why
when John comes
with his doubts
Jesus doesn't say
to him
keep the faith
feel the energy
be true to yourself
and everything
will be fine
he doesn't talk
like that
instead Jesus
says to the messenger
go and tell John
the facts
about what you've
seen
and heard
real blind people
have received
their sight
real lame people
walk
real people
who are lepers
have been cleansed
and it's all
reminding us
that the gospel
is grounded
on objective
verifiable truth
in other words
it's grounded
on stuff
that's real
the miracles
of Jesus
really happened
the ministry
of Jesus
really happened
the betrayal
arrest
and crucifixion
of Jesus
really happened
and most importantly
of all the resurrection
of Jesus
really happened
these are
objective truths
they're real events
that really happened
and they're verifiable
through the historical record
that the Bible gives us
and that's why
eyewitness testimony
is at the heart
of the gospel
it's the heart
at the heart
of the New Testament's message
the New Testament
is not a collection
of religious meditations
it's an eyewitness record
Christianity
is not grounded
on stuff
that we hope
is true
it's grounded
on stuff
that is
true
and you might
be skeptical
of that
maybe you do
reject it
maybe you know
people
who reject it
if that's the case
I want you to imagine
that Matthew
was sitting next to you
right now
that he was sitting
in the pew next to you
and if you're watching
at home
sitting on the sofa
beside you
and you could turn
to him and say
Matthew
see all this stuff
you wrote
it didn't happen
you were wrong
I think if you said that
Matthew would say to you
hold on a minute
I was there
and I saw it
and when John
comes to Jesus
with his doubts
and his uncertainty
that's what Jesus
is pointing him towards
verifiable
objective
truth
and the amazing
thing about this
you might think
why is Thomas
going on about this
the thing that's so
important about this
about objective
verifiable truth
is that it means
that no matter
how much you doubt
that has absolutely
no bearing
whatsoever
on the fact
that it's true
doubts don't
change facts
doubts don't
change the truth
some facts
are hard
to believe
I find it
hard to believe
that my heart
beats every single
second of my life
since my mother's womb
I find it hard
to believe that
that it's just
beating
when you're standing
here it's beating
more like this
and your heart
is beating
and beating
I find it hard
to believe
that in the last
80 odd years
there's been
7 billion
child births
on planet earth
but it's true
I find it hard
to believe
that there's
this thing
that I can't
taste
I can't see
I can't smell
I can't touch
I can't feel
and it keeps
all of us
on the ground
and in fact
it holds
the universe
and the orbiting
of planets
and everything
together
gravity
I find it hard
to sometimes
believe
that there's
this thing
that I can't
feel
that it can
still pull
me to the
ground
but my
doubts
have no
effect
whatsoever
on the fact
that these
things are
true
and that's
so true
about the
gospel
because your
doubts
which we
all have
your doubts
have no
effect
whatsoever
on the fact
that all of
this is
true
and that's
why if
you're unsure
Jesus is
saying come
to me
and learn
from me
learn the
facts
from me
everyone
doubts
the greatest
doubt
John the
Baptist
doubted
and he was
fulfilling
the prophetic
appearance
of Elijah
Elijah
doubted
as well
if you look
at his
life
these guys
all had
incredible
experiences
and you
have maybe
had incredible
experiences
but the
certainty
and the
high of
those
incredible
experiences
don't always
last the
distance
but what
will last
is objective
truth
the fact
that you
are safe
and the
fact that if
you're trusting
in Jesus
he is
everything
that you
need
often we
are plagued
by the
same question
as John
that question
shall I
look for
another
shall I
look for
another
so some
people find
that Jesus
is too
much for
them
and they're
like I
don't really
want to
know about
Jesus
and they
just
kind of
push him
away
I think
more
people
find that
Jesus is
not enough
for them
and that's
true for
Christians
and it's
true for
unbelievers
and we
feel this
need to
look for
another
we think
yes I've
got Jesus
but should
I look
for another
and so we
look for
security
in our
health
or in
our
possessions
we look
for a
sense of
self-worth
and identity
in what
other people
think of
us
we look
for attention
and affirmation
on social
media
we look
for hope
in politics
we look
for joy
in sport
and
if we are
doing that
if we are
looking for
meaning and
security and
hope and
peace in
another
it's because
we're looking
at Jesus
and we're
unsure
we're unsure
that he's
enough
and we
all do
that from
time to
time we
all struggle
with doubts
but if
you are
struggling
with doubts
if you're
a Christian
who is
struggling
with doubts
I want
you to
imagine
that right
now you
could do
what John
the Baptist
did
remember John
the Baptist
got one of
his friends
to say go
and ask
him
go and ask
him
and so I
want you to
imagine that
you can do
the same
imagine that
right now you
could send a
messenger to
Jesus in
heaven and
say are you
the saviour
who is to
come or
should I look
for another
am I really
safe and
secure with
you and
I think that
if you did
that Jesus
would say to
your messenger
go and tell
them what
you see and
hear and
your friend
would come
back saying
I saw
Jesus at
the right
hand of the
father and
I heard him
praying to
the father and
he mentioned
your name
loads of
times and
I saw your
name written
in permanent
ink in his
book of
life and
I saw
God the
father smile
when I
mentioned your
name and
I saw that
they were
preparing a
place for
you and
when you
think about
all that you
realize I
don't need to
look for
another in
Jesus I
have everything
that I
need
another way to
think about
it is to
ask the
question where
do you feel
you're most
special what
when I ask
that question
what pops
into your
head where
do you feel
that you're
most special
now there's
lots of
things that
make us
feel special
but where
do you feel
at your
most special
is it with
another so
is it when
you do well
at work and
you come on
thinking I've
done really
well at work
today is it
when you get
really good
results in
school is it
when you're
getting on
really well
with your
friends is it
when you go
and get
some exercise
is it when
you get lots
of attention
on social
media if
it is then
it means that
even if you're
a Christian you
don't understand
Christianity
well enough
yet because
the place
where you are
at your
most special
is when
Jesus is
looking at
you
that is
when you
are at
your
most
special
most
precious
because
you are
never
as special
anywhere
else
as you
are to
him
and all
of this
is reminding
us that
when we
are unsure
when we
feel like
our faith
is wobbling
we don't
need to
fix those
doubts
in order
to get
back to
Jesus
we just
need to
get back
to
Jesus
and come
to him
and learn
from him
and he
will take
all those
doubts
away
that's such
an important
reminder for
us as
Christians
and if
someone's
not yet
a Christian
when you
doubt
where do
you go
where do
you go
when you're
unsure
when you're
unsure
about life
and death
and time
and eternity
and life
and meaning
and purpose
and who
you really
are
if you are
unsure
about that
stuff
where do
you go
when you're
unfussed
is our
second hurdle
the second
ones are
much quicker
I won't be
as long
with these
when you're
unfussed
what do
you do
you come
straight to
Jesus
and learn
from him
now this
obstacle again
confronts us
as Christians
and it
confronts us
if we're
not yet
a Christian
and a good
way of
diagnosing
this question
of being
unfussed
is to
ask yourself
what makes
you mourn
and what
makes you
dance
what makes
you mourn
and what
makes you
dance
and all
too often
the answer
to those
two questions
is that
it's stuff
that actually
doesn't matter
very much
so if I
ask myself
the question
what makes
me dance
the answer
the instinctive
answer is
sport
so I
I was
hoping
that I'd
be dancing
on Friday
night
I was
actually
it was
a dirge
on Friday
night
when Scotland
played
Germany
but if Scotland
win if they can
get something
against Switzerland
and if they can
beat Hungary
I'll be dancing
in my heart
with joy
and it's the same
with lots of other
sporting things
I'm sure loads of
people here are the same
but you know
it doesn't really
matter does it
it's not really
that important
and the same
same thing happens
in terms of mourning
except the other
way around
every day the news
is singing dirges
to us
of all sorts of
stuff that's going
on in the world
we see suffering
and injustice
and oppression
and yet I ask
myself
do I really mourn
when I see that
or does it just
bounce off me
I just
see it
again and again
and it just
bounces off me
and sometimes
I realise that
I dance about
things that don't
really matter
and I fail to mourn
about things that do
Jesus responds
to that obstacle
of being unfussed
by talking about
a crucial
but probably
a surprising topic
he talks about
judgement
and so
if you are
unfussed
Jesus is saying
come to me
and learn
about judgement
now
you hear that
and you think
oh man
that sounds a bit
heavy
and we kind of
recoil from that
idea of judgement
and you know
when you look at
Matthew 11
you have these
beautiful words
at the end
where Jesus is saying
come to me
all who labour
and are heavy laden
and then you just
look a few verses
back and he's talking
about all sorts
of judgement
and you think
how can these
things go together
but we mustn't
come to that
conclusion
we mustn't
think that
these things
are incompatible
what we have
to remember
is judgement
is actually
an incredibly
precious thing
and I think
that we can
prove that
I think we can
prove that
judgement is
a very precious
thing
when we see
something that
is seriously
wrong in life
we don't hear
people say
we demand
judgement
people don't
tend to say
I want judgement
I need judgement
I long
for judgement
people don't
tend to say
that
instead they
say something
else
they say
we demand
justice
people see
something that's
seriously wrong
and they demand
justice
they crave
justice
they want
the wrong
to be put
right
but look at
those two
phrases
we demand
judgement
we demand
justice
what's the
difference
nothing
it's talking
about the
same thing
it's talking
about exactly
the same
thing
that means
that when
Jesus responds
to our
unfussedness
by teaching
about judgement
he's not
being harsh
or heavy
he's actually
talking about
something
that every
human heart
craves
humanity
shouts
we demand
justice
when we
see something
that's wrong
do you know
who demands
justice
most of
all
God
and that's
why the
day of
judgement
that this
chapter
speaks
about
is not
a day
of fire
and brimstone
and divine
brutality
it is a
day of
impeccable
justice
it's a
day when
everything
that's wrong
will be
called
to account
and all
of that
makes perfect
sense
what is the
one thing
that oppression
and injustice
need in order
to thrive
if you think
about a
society where
corruption
oppression
injustice
thrives
what's the
one thing
that's
needed for
that to
happen
you need
a society
where people
aren't
fussed
and they
just turn
a blind
eye
while all
these things
begin to
emerge
weeds
don't get
very far
in a
garden
if the
gardener
is very
fussy
but they'll
thrive
if he's
not bothered
and that's
why Jesus
responds to
the not
botheredness
of this
generation
by talking
about
judgement
and at
the heart
of that
is the
fact that
the
judgement
of God
is going
to put
right the
things
that are
wrong
that's
why God's
judgement
is such
a wonderful
thing
it's putting
right everything
that's wrong
and that's
why Jesus
is calling
these towns
and these
cities
and us
to repent
because repentance
is a turning
away from
injustice
it's a turning
away from
what's wrong
it's a turning
towards
Jesus
towards the
one who is
righteous
to his
very core
and it's all
reminding us
that to Jesus
right and wrong
matter
injustice and
oppression
matter
discrimination
and prejudice
matter
exploitation
and abuse
matter
if there's
one thing
that's true
about Jesus
it's that he
is never
ever
unfussed
and that's
why we need
to be so
careful
about finding
a false
security
in indifference
it's so easy
to think that
in terms of
what's true
and false
and right
and wrong
we're safer
to be unfussed
and maybe
there's people
in here
who are like
that
you've been
raised
to know
the gospel
you've been
raised to
think about
all of this
stuff
and you
think
yeah but
it's safer
I'm just
I'm not
going to
make a
conclusion
I'm not
going to
make a
judgment
I'm going
to stay
on middle
ground
we think
that's
safe
it's not
safe
it's not
safe
because right
and wrong
do matter
and the tragic
thing is that
being unfussed
is not simply
saying you know
I'm not going
to enforce
what I think
is right
being unfussed
is also
saying I'm
going to
turn a blind
eye
to stuff
that I
know
is wrong
and
we have
to apply
the same
kind of
consistency
to a
religious
position
as we
would
to the
ethical
situations
that we
see
in the
world
around
us
it's
so
easy
to
think
that
it's
safer
to be
indifferent
that
it's
better
to be
unfussed
it's
not
true
if you
were to
ask a
reporter
who is
in
Gaza
what do
you
think
of
everything
that's
going
on
here
would
you
want
their
answer
to
be
I'm
indifferent
and
on
the
day
of
judgment
if
God
asks
you
what
do
you
think
of
my
son's
death
do
you
want
your
answer
to
be
I'm
indifferent
there are
times when
we are
all far
too
unfussed
Jesus is
saying
come to
me
and learn
and then
last of
all
when we
are
unteachable
Jesus is
saying
come to
me
and learn
from
me
I'll be
very very
brief here
because
time
is
running
out
Jesus
is
telling
us
here
something
that's
so
important
he's
telling
us
that
the
answer
to
unteachableness
is to
come to
him
not to
stay away
from him
but to
come to
him
we must
come to
him
but if
we come
to him
we have
to come
to him
in a
certain
way
we have
to come
to him
like
children
that's
what
he's
saying
there
in
verse
25
you've
hidden
these
things
from the
wise
and
understanding
you've
revealed
them
to
little
children
now we
can easily
think that
that's a bit
humiliating
and so
often
that's part of the
reason why we're
unteachable
because we
don't want
our insecurities
exposed
but the
truth is
coming to
Jesus
with a
childlike
teachableness
is not
humiliating
it is
liberating
because it
frees us
from feeling
like we need
to impress
it frees us
from the
pressure of
having all
the answers
it frees us
from the
feeling that
we have to
prove ourselves
and put on
this good
outward show
that makes
it look like
we understand
and look like
we're sorted
and it's all
amazing
it's all an
amazing reminder
that in order
to come to
Jesus you don't
need to know
everything about
the Bible
you don't need
to have all
sorts of
abilities
and skills
you don't need
to have some
kind of
amazing
experience
and you
definitely
don't need
to get
yourself up
to some
kind of
elite
standard
you just
need to
know
that you
need him
and then
you can
come to
him as
you are
in many
ways that's
the defining
characteristic
of a
child
it's that
they're
dependent
and that's
exactly how
we come
to Jesus
that's
exactly how
we live
our lives
as followers
of Jesus
we come
to him
as children
we come
with a
childlike
faith
and we
learn
from him
what's the
key difference
between a
child and
an adult
the key
difference
is that
children
grow
adults
don't
and that's
that's part
of what that
image of
coming to
Jesus as
a child
is teaching
us
we'll come
to him
come to him
in order to
learn
in order to
grow
in order to
never stop
growing
under his
care
and his
protection
so these
are three
big
obstacles
being unsure
being unfust
being unteachable
these are
obstacles that
we have to
be aware
of
and the
truth is
all three
of them
are
exhausting
being
unsure
is exhausting
always
worrying
always
doubting
always
uncertain
being
unfust
is exhausting
constantly
trying to
find a
distraction
to fill
our minds
so that we
don't have
to think
about the
big questions
of life
so that we
don't have
to be
confronted
by the
stuff that
really
matters
and being
unteachable
is exhausting
because we
have to
constantly
try and give
this impression
that we
know it
all
that we're
not silly
and that
we're not
going to
make a
mistake
and we've
got to
keep up
this big
wonderful
outward
appearance
of being
competent
and capable
and sorted
it's all
exhausting
and yet in
the face of
all of
these
Jesus
says
come to
me
and learn
from
me
and the
result
is that
you will
find
rest
you will
find
rest
for your
souls
if you
are
recognizing
the fact
tonight
that there
are times
and ways
that you're
unsure
unfust
and
unteachable
Jesus
is not
saying
sort
yourself
out
he's
saying
come
to
me
learn
from
me
and I
will
give you
rest
may God
grant that
we'd all
come to
him
amen
let's
pray
Lord
Jesus
we
acknowledge
that there's
times that
we're
unsure
and there's
times when
we're
unfust
and there's
lots of
times when
we're
unteachable
and we
just thank
you so
much that
you are
calling us
all to
come to
you
and so we
do that
together
just now
laying all
of these
obstacles
before you
and laying
our burdens
at your
feet
and we
rest in
you
in your
wisdom
your
goodness
and
your
indescribable
love
we thank
you so
much and
we pray
that every
one of
us would
be drawn
closer to
you tonight
and we
pray that as
we go into
a new
week we
be able
to live
every day
of that
week with
our eyes
fixed on
you
amen
we're going
to close
with sing
psalms
34
singing from
verse 8
that's on
page 40
come taste
and see
the lord
is good
who
trusts
in him
is
blessed
oh fear
the lord
you his
saints
with need
you will
not be
oppressed
we'll sing
8 to
14
and we'll
stand and
sing together
to god's
praise
come taste
and see
the lord
is good
who
trusts
in him
is
blessed
oh fear
the lord
you
saints
with need
you
will
not
be
oppressed
young
lions
may
grow
weak
and faint
and hunger
for their
food
but
those
who
wait
upon
the lord
will
not
lack
any
good
come
hear
my
children
gather
round
and
listen
to
my
word
and
i
will
help
you
understand
how
you
may
fear
the
lord
does
anyone
delight
in life
and long
to see
good
days
then
keep
your
tongue
from
evil
speech
your
lips
from
lying
ways
depart
and
turn
from
evil
paths
and
practice
what
is
right
desire
to
know
the
way
of
peace
pursue
it
with
your
might
as
you
go
into
a
new
week
together
may
the
grace
of
our
lord
jesus
christ
the
love
of
god
and
the
fellowship
of
the
holy
spirit
be
with
you
all
amen
he