WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.040 Let's read God's word together from the Old Testament, from the prophet Haggai, chapter 2, verses 10 to 19, and we'll read God's word. 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:20.019 On the 24th day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ask the priests about the law. 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:29.719 If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy? 00:00:30.579 --> 00:00:39.600 The priest answered and said, no. Then Haggai said, if someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:48.359 The priest answered and said, it does become unclean. Then Haggai answered and said, so it is with this people and with this nation before me, declares the Lord. 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:59.120 And so with every work of their hands and what they offer there is unclean. Now then consider from this day onward before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord. 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:09.200 How did you fare? When one came to a heap of 20 measures, there were but 10. When one came to the wine vat to draw 50 measures, there were but 20. 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:18.320 I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail. Yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:22.359 Consider this, consider from this day onward. 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:36.459 From the 24th day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider is the seed yet in the barn. Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have yielded nothing. 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:44.319 But from this day on, I will bless you. This is God's holy word. 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:51.939 We turn this evening to that passage that Corey read for us, Haggai chapter 2, verses 10 through 19. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:02:03.079 It used to be said that the manoeuvre most likely to fail those sitting their driving test was the three-point turn. 00:02:04.259 --> 00:02:13.280 One of my brothers, who is a driving instructor, tells me that the three-point turn is, however, no longer part of the test. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:21.539 I'm not sure of the rationale behind its removal, but I think it was included because of many roads in the UK. 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:27.680 It's just not possible to do a UE, a U-turn, and just wheel the car around. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:34.500 In some circumstances, because of the narrowness of the road, a three-point turn. 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:39.060 Sometimes it can be a four-point turn, a five-point turn, a seven-point turn. 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:51.120 It needs to be attempted. And it's a manoeuvre, if you're a driver, that you'll know requires a degree of precision, patience, to accomplish it successfully. 00:02:51.879 --> 00:03:01.819 And if you're driving, I know a lot of people drive an automatic, but if you're driving a manual, you've really got to work hard not to stall the car. 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:11.560 And here in the book of Haggai, we've seen that the prophet has been encouraging the leaders and the people to kind of make a turnaround. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:19.840 Through the prophet, God is seeking to restore the glory of His name in the midst of His people. 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:23.159 And He's urged them on a path of repentance. 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:32.919 But if I can put it this way, this process has turned out to be more of a three-point turn than a simple U-turn. 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:42.939 And that turning around, if you've been here with us over the last few weeks, began with Haggai's sermon on the first day of the sixth month, 520 BC. 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:50.019 And in that sermon, the Word of God really stopped the people in their tracks. 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:51.780 And God challenged them. 00:03:51.880 --> 00:04:00.580 He convicted them of their apathy and their indifference, in particular to the rebuilding and the reestablishing of God's temple. 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:08.300 And the people were stirred up to recommit themselves to that important work. 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:15.080 However, just a few weeks of starting that work, discouragement set in. 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:20.000 And again, Haggai came to the people with the Word of God. 00:04:20.460 --> 00:04:23.759 This time, the 21st day of the seventh month. 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:27.540 And that occasion, he brought a message of encouragement. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.900 He assured them that the Lord was with them. 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:37.220 And he shared with them a vision of future glory and peace. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:42.920 He wanted them to press on in the work and not to throw in the towel. 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:53.780 And this evening, we turn to the third of Haggai's sermons that are recorded for us, given on the 24th day of the ninth month. 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:55.220 We read of that in verse 10. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:01.180 The date is calculated, the 18th of December, 520 BC. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:11.439 And twice in this section, you'll notice that the prophet uses the phrase, consider, or some translations, give careful thought. 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:14.319 We have that in verse 15 and 18. 00:05:14.400 --> 00:05:20.639 And it's a phrase that's already been used in chapter 1, verse 5, and verse 7. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:30.199 And it's clear that Haggai wants the people to stop and to think about how they're living their lives. 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:36.819 He doesn't want this repentance, this turnaround, to stall. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:48.180 He wants the people to move forward in faith, in the right direction, towards the rich blessing that God has in store for them. 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:59.120 And so, in order for that to happen, the prophet in this sermon highlights, I think, three things that he wants them to give careful thought to. 00:05:59.840 --> 00:06:04.079 And the first of these is to do, once again, with worship. 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:09.819 Consider the worship that God requires of His people. 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:13.720 We have that in verses, really, verses 11 through 14. 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:25.200 The previous weeks, the people had been working on the temple, seeking to put public worship back at the center of their lives and their community. 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:27.380 A noble enterprise. 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:28.940 A good thing. 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:32.640 And yet, there were dangers associated with it. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:41.760 And one of the dangers was that they were engaged in this work without them, in their hearts, being really given over to God. 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:46.719 There was a lot of hard work, but not much real worship. 00:06:47.099 --> 00:06:50.039 They were just going through the motions. 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:55.939 They were not yet focused on what it meant to be a holy people. 00:06:56.219 --> 00:07:00.560 The Holy One of Israel was not at the center of their lives. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:16.280 And so, we discover Haggai, in this oracle, in this sermon, in this address, he begins really with a kind of, I suppose, a bit like a Q&A with the priests who were teachers of the law. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.720 And so, he says, 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:23.779 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ask the priests about the law. 00:07:23.779 --> 00:07:29.339 And so, what he's doing is directing the people back to the law of God, back to the Word of God. 00:07:30.179 --> 00:07:35.719 And many of the laws were taken up with issues of holiness and purity. 00:07:36.659 --> 00:07:42.519 These were indicators to the people that, you know, God could not just be approached in any old way. 00:07:42.859 --> 00:07:44.199 Worship is a serious matter. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:45.699 It's a serious business. 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:51.560 God is holy, and His people are called to holiness also. 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.120 You shall be holy, for I am holy. 00:07:56.039 --> 00:08:01.000 And in the Old Testament, these holiness regulations that had to be adhered to, 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:08.259 well, Haggai asks a question about them, and we have it in verse 12. 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:16.939 If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, touches with his fold, bread or stew, wine, oil, any kind of food, does it become holy? 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.339 And the priests answer, no. 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:22.300 They don't hesitate. 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:23.560 There's not any debate. 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:24.439 There's not any discussion. 00:08:24.599 --> 00:08:24.839 No. 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:34.799 And the point that Haggai appears to be making here is that holiness is not contagious. 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:37.279 It's not transferable. 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:50.220 If we had a, I don't know, a primary four class full of healthy children, and into that class we placed another child who had, for example, chicken pox. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:09:00.059 Would the child with the chicken pox become healthy and well because of their contact with the healthy, uninfected children? 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:01.759 No. 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:02.600 Of course not. 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:09.259 He or she would not become well through contact with others who are well. 00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:11.840 And that's kind of the point that he's making here. 00:09:12.560 --> 00:09:24.840 Placing unconsecrated, uncommitted people in an environment where they will come into contact with others who are committed to God will automatically make them committed to God. 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:28.759 Holiness and consecration to God is not contagious in that sense. 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:36.639 And then Haggai said in verse 13, if someone who's unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.480 The priest answers and said, it does become unclean. 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:46.100 And Haggai answered and said, so it is with this people and with this nation before me, declares the Lord. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:51.740 And so with every work of their hands and what they offer there is unclean. 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:56.799 So another question about uncleanness and defilement. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:00.080 And once again, it's a question about the ritual law. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:03.399 Holiness, consecration is not contagious. 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:06.259 Defilement and uncleanness is. 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:12.360 Again, the example of a child with chicken pox going into the classroom of healthy children. 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:13.100 What happens? 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:19.680 Of course, the infected child does not pick up the health of others, but they pick up the infection from the child with the chicken pox. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:20.739 It's the same principle. 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:25.199 We sometimes talk about one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel. 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:27.519 The rottenness, the decay is contagious. 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:31.579 And this appears to have been the situation in Haggai's day. 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:39.239 The fact that the people's hearts were not fully given to the Lord meant all that they did was in some sense defiled. 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:45.819 They were defiling the temple with unclean hearts and minds because their hearts were far away from God. 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:50.400 Their religious worship was infected with that same kind of spirit. 00:10:51.420 --> 00:10:58.940 Yes, they may well have been doing the right kinds of things, but what they were offering to God was not acceptable worship. 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:01.420 Their heart wasn't in it. 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:09.279 There's a famous passage in the opening chapter of Isaiah where God says, 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:11.279 Stop bringing meaningless offerings. 00:11:11.539 --> 00:11:13.839 Your incense is detestable to me. 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:16.599 New moon Sabbaths and convocations. 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:18.879 I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:23.439 Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. 00:11:23.779 --> 00:11:25.299 They've become a burden to me. 00:11:25.819 --> 00:11:27.199 I am weary of bearing them. 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:31.040 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. 00:11:31.160 --> 00:11:33.700 Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:39.600 So there's the worship that God cannot bear to witness or hear. 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:45.700 Perfectly possible to have the right forms and phrases and words, 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:49.840 and yet our hearts can be given over to idols. 00:11:51.180 --> 00:11:54.100 We can have lively and engaging worship, 00:11:54.660 --> 00:11:56.340 tremendous singing, great enthusiasm, 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:02.500 and yet in our hearts we can be living in a way that is disobedient to God, 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:06.240 that disregards His law and His commandments and His word. 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:10.680 And so God is speaking to the people through Haggai 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:15.259 and pointing out to them that the fact that they were trying to rebuild the temple 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:18.920 wasn't actually transforming them into a holy people. 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:21.620 You know, there's an old saying, you know, 00:12:21.660 --> 00:12:24.920 being brought up in a garage doesn't make you a mechanic. 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:27.360 One doesn't follow the other. 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:31.699 And here the people's worship was unclean. 00:12:31.819 --> 00:12:32.559 It was defiled. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.219 Their misplaced priorities infected everything that they were doing. 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:40.699 Their focus was all wrong. 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:44.159 And sometimes if something's off, even just a little, 00:12:44.579 --> 00:12:47.959 it can cause hugely destructive problems. 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:51.480 You know, it can happen with a car. 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:54.420 It's a problem, just a little thing, you know, 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.019 maybe a bearing or something. 00:12:56.660 --> 00:13:00.480 Yet that can have a profound effect on how well the car drives. 00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:02.379 It can affect the safety of the passengers. 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:04.879 One thing, little thing is wrong. 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:06.580 You know, I attempt to play golf. 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:08.900 Well, one little thing wrong in that golf swing. 00:13:09.420 --> 00:13:12.220 Well, in my case, there's a lot of things wrong in my golf swing, 00:13:12.280 --> 00:13:13.080 but that's another matter. 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:15.220 But it only takes one little thing. 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:17.320 Sometimes you see the top golfers in the world, 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:19.600 one little thing, and yet the ball's going everywhere. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:24.620 And it's the same in the life of faith. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.080 If worshiping God isn't our delight, our pleasure, 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:34.659 if God's not number one, if we're not enjoying Him, 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:39.720 everything else is going to be off, out of kilter. 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:44.300 I think from a New Testament perspective, 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:50.639 this is why our union with Jesus Christ is so vitally important, 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.699 because He alone is the truly Holy One. 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:59.659 The incarnate Son of God is the only absolutely holy person 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:01.339 to ever walk this earth. 00:14:02.079 --> 00:14:05.759 And in the gospel, God calls us into union with Him. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.079 And therefore, it's only out of that relationship 00:14:09.079 --> 00:14:12.099 that a likeness to Christ and a life of holiness 00:14:12.099 --> 00:14:14.240 can even begin to emerge. 00:14:15.219 --> 00:14:18.099 And the laws, these Old Testament laws and regulations, 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:21.359 all of these were pointing towards Him. 00:14:22.699 --> 00:14:25.740 After His appearing, they became redundant and obsolete. 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:29.659 You see, there is no holiness 00:14:29.659 --> 00:14:33.379 apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:14:34.459 --> 00:14:38.259 I came across this passage in, pardon me, J.C. Ryle. 00:14:39.459 --> 00:14:40.120 He says this, 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.699 I pity those who try to be holy without Christ. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:45.740 Your labor is all in vain. 00:14:46.060 --> 00:14:48.020 You're putting money in a bag with holes. 00:14:48.140 --> 00:14:49.860 You're pouring water into a sieve. 00:14:50.140 --> 00:14:53.420 You are rolling a huge round stone uphill. 00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:56.360 You're building up a wall with untempered mortar. 00:14:57.280 --> 00:14:59.600 Believe me, you're beginning at the wrong end. 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.040 You must come to Christ first, 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:05.899 and He shall give you His sanctifying Spirit. 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:08.980 Let me ask you tonight, 00:15:09.099 --> 00:15:13.879 do you know anything of the work of the sanctifying Spirit in your heart? 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:16.980 Are you worshiping the Lord? 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:20.299 Have you an appetite for God? 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:24.479 Are you happy to spread out your needs before Him in prayer? 00:15:26.479 --> 00:15:30.899 How much does public worship matter to you? 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:35.699 Sometimes it astonishes me at how casual and dismissive 00:15:35.699 --> 00:15:39.079 some professing Christians are to the means of grace. 00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:42.419 A take-it-or-leave-it attitude 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:46.959 is often a sign of deep spiritual malaise. 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:51.500 Yes, the worship of God involves outward form and ritual, 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:54.620 but true worship involves more than that. 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:55.919 It's an all-consuming thing. 00:15:56.740 --> 00:15:59.199 It's always a matter of the heart and soul. 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:03.419 It's internal as well as external. 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:05.860 Consider your ways. 00:16:05.959 --> 00:16:07.299 Don't just go through the motions. 00:16:08.459 --> 00:16:11.319 Consider the worship that God is looking for. 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.960 And then secondly here, 00:16:14.680 --> 00:16:18.600 consider the discipline that God sends in verses 15 through 17. 00:16:19.400 --> 00:16:22.360 Now then, consider from this day onward, 00:16:22.900 --> 00:16:25.580 before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:26.340 how did you fare? 00:16:26.800 --> 00:16:28.980 When one came to a heap of twenty measures, 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:29.920 there were but ten. 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:34.020 When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:35.120 there were but twenty. 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:35.980 I struck you. 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:38.820 And all the products of your toil, 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:40.900 with blight, with mildew, 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:42.139 and with hail. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.720 And yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.899 So, hi guys, asking the people to consider 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:51.620 how things have been for them in the land. 00:16:52.439 --> 00:16:55.919 It's not a story of abundant blessing and fruitfulness. 00:16:56.079 --> 00:16:56.919 It's quite the reverse. 00:16:57.819 --> 00:17:00.100 Life has been hard for these returning exiles. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.279 Poor harvest, crop failures, extreme weather, 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:09.240 all had contributed to economic hardship. 00:17:09.879 --> 00:17:11.200 Hard times for all. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:16.940 And we noted previously that these hardships should have been assigned to the people 00:17:16.940 --> 00:17:19.019 that there was something wrong. 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:20.200 Deuteronomy 28. 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:25.340 And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:28.319 being careful to do all His commandments that I command you today, 00:17:28.600 --> 00:17:31.779 the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:35.840 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, 00:17:36.100 --> 00:17:38.580 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:43.039 And that chapter then continues in verse 15. 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:45.519 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.559 or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you, 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:53.639 then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.439 Cursed shall you be in the city, 00:17:56.819 --> 00:17:59.279 and cursed shall you be in the field. 00:18:00.679 --> 00:18:03.919 You see, the hardship of the people that they were experiencing 00:18:03.919 --> 00:18:07.720 was not to be understood as a kind of accident of nature. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:11.839 They were to understand it as a judgment, as a discipline of God. 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:15.740 God was seeking to discipline His people, to waken them up. 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:20.519 And He'd spelled out to His people in Deuteronomy 28, 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.839 the dire consequences of unbelief. 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:28.279 God had done that because He wanted them to be faithful and obedient to them. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.319 He desired their love and affection. 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:36.920 Now, of course, we need to be careful with any text like this. 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:42.580 Not all hardship or difficulty can be attributed to God's disciplining of His people. 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:45.160 Take the example of persecution. 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:49.200 The hardships, the privations associated with it. 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:53.340 They often come upon believers not as the result of unfaithfulness, 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.000 but rather faithfulness to the Lord. 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.440 And similarly, when bad things happen in our lives, 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.420 it's not necessarily down to sinful rebellion. 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:04.279 We have to be very careful. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:10.080 Hugely dangerous to attribute all illness or hardship or difficulty 00:19:10.080 --> 00:19:15.680 that people come to experience as being due to a sin or a lack of faith. 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:22.100 Beware those who so easily and readily make such claims. 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:24.480 Very dangerous. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:28.180 There is often a mystery to the providence of God, 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:32.380 and discipline is not God's only purpose in adversity. 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:37.960 But that being said, sometimes God does bring hard things into our lives 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:40.799 to wake us up from our spiritual slumbers. 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:43.640 C.S. Lewis famously wrote, 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:57.000 Suffering is God's warning signal to us. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:59.680 It reminds us that this life isn't everything. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:04.020 Suffering and hardship encourage us to look to the living God 00:20:04.020 --> 00:20:06.259 and to put our faith and trust in Him. 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:09.380 He is the one from whom our help comes. 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:12.740 I've noticed that over the years, 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:18.180 suffering and painful experiences tend to have two effects. 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:23.000 Either hearts become hard and brittle 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.760 and seemingly impervious to God's Word 00:20:26.760 --> 00:20:30.020 as people turn away from God, reject Him, 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:36.820 or hearts are softened and become sensitive and receptive to God's Word. 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:41.259 Either these things you see are driving us closer to God, 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:43.519 or they are moving us further away. 00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:46.279 So let me ask you tonight, 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:49.359 if you are going through a hard time, 00:20:49.899 --> 00:20:53.859 what is actually going on in your heart? 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:57.879 Are you being drawn closer to the Lord, 00:20:58.439 --> 00:21:02.899 or are you actually drifting away from Him? 00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.720 What have you given your heart to? 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:07.780 Proverbs 4.23, 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:09.720 Above all else, guard your heart, 00:21:09.860 --> 00:21:12.259 for it is the wellspring of life. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:14.860 Jesus said, 00:21:15.060 --> 00:21:18.280 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:21:19.320 --> 00:21:20.240 Where is your treasure? 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:25.120 If suffering comes, if hardship comes, 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:29.820 that's a call to consider our ways. 00:21:29.819 --> 00:21:33.259 So, consider the worship that God requires, 00:21:33.419 --> 00:21:35.399 consider the discipline that God sends. 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.500 Thirdly here, consider the hope that God brings in verses 18 and 19. 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:43.519 Consider, from this day onward, 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:45.460 from the 24th day of the ninth month, 00:21:45.740 --> 00:21:48.480 since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.319 consider, is the seed yet in the barn? 00:21:51.639 --> 00:21:54.279 Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:57.519 and the olive tree have yielded nothing. 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:02.599 But from this day on, I will bless you. 00:22:03.879 --> 00:22:07.579 Here again is God's gracious promise to His people, 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:08.960 I'm going to bless you. 00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:11.500 I'm going to turn this situation around. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:15.420 Now, obviously, this promise is given to the people 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:17.559 in a very specific situation. 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:21.759 God very directly promises to bless them. 00:22:22.159 --> 00:22:25.159 They had previously been under a curse. 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:28.700 Now, blessing was on its way for sure. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:32.460 And so, He's giving to the people hope for the future. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.480 The seed had been sown to little effect. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.179 Vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive, 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:43.000 these things, these fruits, they'd yielded not little. 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:45.379 Actually, He says, they'd yielded nothing. 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:47.980 It was a dire situation. 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:55.740 But it's at this low point that God speaks, 00:22:56.100 --> 00:22:58.860 that God moves, that God intervenes. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:04.660 It's often when things are at their darkest 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:07.220 that He shines His light. 00:23:08.100 --> 00:23:10.940 He speaks and brings to His despairing people 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:13.540 this word of hope and blessing. 00:23:13.539 --> 00:23:17.700 Often, it's when people have given up on themselves 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:19.519 or reached that point of desperation 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.460 that they discover that their only help 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:24.139 is in the name of the Lord. 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:28.899 It's here when things seemingly cannot get any worse 00:23:28.899 --> 00:23:33.379 that God's grace meets and restores them. 00:23:34.779 --> 00:23:35.980 Reminder of a story 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:39.899 Martin Lloyd-Jones recounts 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:42.060 in his book on preaching, 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:44.000 preaching and preachers, a great book. 00:23:45.040 --> 00:23:46.680 And through the book, 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.920 he tells some stories and anecdotes 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:51.100 of his life and ministry. 00:23:51.320 --> 00:23:52.280 And there's one where he, 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:54.259 I could have paraphrased it, 00:23:54.300 --> 00:23:55.460 but I'll just read it, I think. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:57.180 He says this, 00:23:57.180 --> 00:24:00.019 I knew a poor man being converted 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:01.720 from a terrible life and sin 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:03.240 who'd become a fine Christian. 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:06.060 That was when I was in South Wales. 00:24:06.820 --> 00:24:08.299 But afterwards, unfortunately, 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:09.360 for various reasons, 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:11.620 this poor fellow had become a backslider, 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:13.480 fallen very deeply into sin, 00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:15.860 run away from his wife and children 00:24:15.860 --> 00:24:17.539 to live with another woman. 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:18.440 They'd come to London, 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:19.980 and there he'd lived in sin, 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:21.500 squandered his money. 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:22.779 He'd actually gone home 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:24.100 and told his wife a lie 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:26.939 in order to get further money out of her. 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:28.279 The house in which they lived 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:29.459 was in their joint names, 00:24:29.679 --> 00:24:30.859 but he got this changed, 00:24:31.159 --> 00:24:32.139 put into his name. 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.699 Then he sold it in order to get the money. 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:39.000 He'd gone very, thus very, very far 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:40.679 into the far country, 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:42.079 sinned terribly. 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:44.000 Now the money had finished. 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:45.619 The woman had deserted him. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:48.179 He was utterly miserable and ashamed. 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:50.359 And so he solemnly decided 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:51.519 to commit suicide, 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:54.339 feeling that in his deep state of repentance, 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:55.779 God would forgive him. 00:24:56.639 --> 00:24:58.220 But he could not forgive himself. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:00.480 He felt that he had no right 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:02.220 ever to approach his family again. 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:04.359 And so he decided to walk 00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:05.480 to Westminster Bridge, 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.119 throw himself into the Thames. 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.119 And he was actually on his way to do this. 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:12.940 And just as the poor soul 00:25:12.940 --> 00:25:13.859 arrived at the bridge, 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:17.319 Big Ben struck half past six, 6.30. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.339 And suddenly a thought 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:20.359 flashed into his mind. 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:20.980 He said to himself, 00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:22.599 referring to me, 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:24.640 he will now just be entering 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:26.759 his pulpit for the evening service. 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:28.759 And so he decided that he would come 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:30.140 and listen to me once more 00:25:30.140 --> 00:25:31.599 before he put an end to his life. 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:34.019 He made his way into Westminster Chapel 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:35.079 in about six minutes, 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:36.700 got through the front door, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:37.839 walked up the stairs, 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:39.720 was just entering the gallery 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:41.200 when he heard these words, 00:25:42.120 --> 00:25:45.039 God have mercy on the backslider. 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:47.839 I uttered that petition in my prayer. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.179 And they were literally the first words he heard. 00:25:52.679 --> 00:25:55.139 Everything was put right immediately. 00:25:55.619 --> 00:25:58.779 And he was restored. 00:26:00.459 --> 00:26:02.319 Friends, there is hope. 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:06.699 There is blessing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:09.059 even for the vilest of offenders. 00:26:09.860 --> 00:26:12.160 None are too far gone 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.559 that his arm cannot reach. 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:16.220 And so tonight, 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:18.240 whoever you are 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:18.700 and whenever, 00:26:18.860 --> 00:26:20.420 whatever you find yourself, 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:22.220 let me tell you, 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.920 there is hope. 00:26:24.580 --> 00:26:26.059 There is hope in the gospel. 00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:27.679 There is hope in Christ. 00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:29.200 There is hope for sinners. 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:32.599 And sometimes people can get 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:34.240 in a very low place indeed, 00:26:35.059 --> 00:26:38.039 submerged in guilt and shame and fear, 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:41.299 and there appears to be absolutely no way out, 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:42.799 no hope. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:46.639 And yet it's often here at the very bottom 00:26:46.639 --> 00:26:49.419 when folks can get no lower, 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.639 that God in his grace reaches out 00:26:52.639 --> 00:26:53.980 his hand of mercy. 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:57.880 I recall the story of Corrie Ten Boom 00:26:57.880 --> 00:26:58.620 in the Netherlands, 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:00.140 Second World War. 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:01.720 She and her sister Betsy, 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:03.220 prisoned by the Nazis, 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:05.559 trying to rescue Jewish citizens, 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:07.200 eventually incarcerated 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:10.140 in the Ravensbrook concentration camp. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:11.799 Brutal conditions, 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:14.000 abusive guards, 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:16.700 murder of fellow prisoners. 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:19.220 And yet these two sisters 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:21.500 ministered to others 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:22.519 and shared the gospel. 00:27:22.620 --> 00:27:23.120 They had a little, 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:25.400 small, smuggled Bible 00:27:25.400 --> 00:27:27.080 in the camp. 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.019 And yet as many prisoners 00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:31.259 came to Christ, 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:34.259 Corrie's sister Betsy fell ill. 00:27:35.259 --> 00:27:36.620 And in her great frailty 00:27:36.620 --> 00:27:37.180 and weakness, 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:38.220 and on her deathbed, 00:27:38.340 --> 00:27:39.799 she took her sister Corrie 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:40.539 by the hand, 00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:41.880 and she told her this, 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:45.900 tell people what we have learned here. 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:51.820 There is no pit so deep 00:27:51.820 --> 00:27:55.680 that Christ is not deeper still. 00:27:58.380 --> 00:27:59.680 Friends, maybe that's a word 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:00.680 for someone here tonight. 00:28:01.780 --> 00:28:03.060 Perhaps you've dug a pit 00:28:03.060 --> 00:28:03.920 of your own making 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:06.000 through your sinfulness 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.240 and selfishness. 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:09.460 Or maybe someone else 00:28:09.460 --> 00:28:10.440 has dug that pit 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:12.819 and cast you into it. 00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:16.200 Yet remember this tonight. 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:18.339 There is no pit, 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:19.940 no sin, 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:21.640 no situation, 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:24.640 no hole so deep 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.819 that Christ is not deeper still. 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:31.059 Maybe this evening 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:31.839 God is speaking 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:34.220 into the apparent hopelessness, 00:28:34.339 --> 00:28:34.980 despair even, 00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:36.019 of your own situation. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:37.960 And he's saying, 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:38.680 I will bless you 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:40.460 and I will use you 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.420 and we're to restore you. 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:44.740 Because here's the God 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:45.400 who brings hope 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.160 even to his faithless people. 00:28:49.539 --> 00:28:50.319 Here's the God 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:51.759 who removes the curse 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:54.099 to bring abundant blessings. 00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:56.519 Indeed, 00:28:56.579 --> 00:28:57.160 is this not what 00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:58.880 the Lord's table proclaims to us? 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:01.339 That the great curse of sin 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:02.160 has been lifted 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:03.660 through Jesus' death 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:04.519 on the cross, 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:05.420 that we might come 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:06.319 to know God 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.240 and enjoy his blessings 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:09.419 forevermore. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.879 And so there's hope here 00:29:11.879 --> 00:29:13.439 wrapped up in this prophecy, 00:29:13.879 --> 00:29:15.379 ancient prophecy of Haggai, 00:29:15.679 --> 00:29:17.960 given the 18th of December, 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:19.619 520 B.C. 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:21.819 And the prophecy 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:22.839 is a bit like 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:23.740 an engagement ring. 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:24.619 It's a pledge 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:27.019 of all that is to come. 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:28.679 And the blessing, 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:29.720 you'll notice it here, 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:31.119 promised to those 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:32.139 of Haggai's days, 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:34.220 was an unashamedly 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:35.160 material one. 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:36.519 The seeds, 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:37.120 the vines, 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:38.539 the trees that brought forth 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:39.720 nothing were going 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:40.799 to be fruitful again. 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:42.839 God was going to turn 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:43.420 what had become 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.120 a wilderness 00:29:44.120 --> 00:29:47.539 into a veritable garden. 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:50.640 That's an important thing 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:51.660 for us to underline. 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:54.640 Corey was reminding of us 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:56.519 of this this morning. 00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:58.879 The Christian hope 00:29:58.879 --> 00:30:00.379 is unashamedly 00:30:00.379 --> 00:30:01.819 physical and material. 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:03.539 It's not something 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:04.839 vague and ethereal. 00:30:05.139 --> 00:30:07.059 It's not clouds and harps. 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:08.440 It's not insubstantial. 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:10.879 It's something real 00:30:10.879 --> 00:30:11.879 and tangible. 00:30:12.019 --> 00:30:12.619 As Christians, 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:14.460 we believe in what? 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:15.960 We believe in the 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:18.279 resurrection of the body. 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:20.339 The Christian hope 00:30:20.339 --> 00:30:21.059 is not to die 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:21.720 and go to heaven, 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:22.680 but to die 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:24.000 and be with the Lord. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.900 Our hope is in Him. 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:27.799 Our hope is not 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.599 for some vague 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.079 disembodied existence. 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:31.339 It's for new 00:30:31.339 --> 00:30:32.640 resurrection bodies. 00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:33.259 Our hope is for 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:34.339 a new heavens 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:35.339 and a new earth 00:30:35.339 --> 00:30:36.940 in which righteousness dwells. 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:39.099 And so, 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:40.380 these material blessings 00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:40.880 and hope 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:41.819 given to the people 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:43.539 of Haggai's day 00:30:43.539 --> 00:30:44.559 are really a pledge 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:45.200 of what God 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:46.019 will one day do 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:46.779 when the curse 00:30:46.779 --> 00:30:47.740 is finally lifted. 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:49.380 He's going to usher 00:30:49.380 --> 00:30:50.519 a new world 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:51.460 in a new world. 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:53.299 Revelation 22. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:55.420 John writes, 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:56.599 No longer will there 00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:57.940 be anything accursed, 00:30:58.660 --> 00:30:59.900 but the throne of God 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:00.619 and of the Lamb 00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:01.279 will be in it, 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:02.200 and His servants 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:03.180 will worship Him. 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:04.619 They will see His face, 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:05.480 His name will be 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:06.619 on their foreheads, 00:31:07.180 --> 00:31:08.400 and night will be no more. 00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:10.400 They will need no light 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:11.259 of lamp or sun, 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:12.140 for the Lord God 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:13.059 will be their light, 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:14.740 and they will reign 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:16.220 forever and ever. 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:17.759 It's a picture 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:18.480 of a new Eden. 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:20.240 The curse gone, 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.339 God's throne established 00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:22.220 for all to see, 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:23.240 abundant life 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:23.660 and healing 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:25.440 for the nations 00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:26.599 now flourishes, 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:27.519 where before there was 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.259 only death, 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:29.660 decay, frustration. 00:31:30.579 --> 00:31:31.700 Before there was rebellion, 00:31:31.819 --> 00:31:32.779 now there's worship 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:33.440 and service. 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:35.120 Before people could not 00:31:35.120 --> 00:31:36.259 see God's face 00:31:36.259 --> 00:31:36.900 and live, 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:37.759 now they can, 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:40.740 His face can be seen, 00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:42.839 and His face 00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:43.839 can be gazed at 00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:44.420 in wonder, 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:45.039 love, 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:46.000 and praise. 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:48.640 We sometimes sing, 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:48.920 don't we, 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:50.019 that hymn, 00:31:50.480 --> 00:31:51.400 Joy to the World. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:53.200 We usually sing it 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:53.940 in Advent. 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:55.160 Actually, 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:56.200 it's about a hymn 00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:57.300 about the second coming. 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:00.340 What will happen 00:32:00.340 --> 00:32:01.560 when the Messiah comes 00:32:01.560 --> 00:32:02.700 in power and majesty 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:03.300 and glory? 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:05.660 No more let sins 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:06.900 and sorrows grow, 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:08.920 nor thorns infest 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:09.560 the ground. 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:11.640 He comes to make 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:13.080 His blessings flow, 00:32:13.560 --> 00:32:15.000 far as the curse 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:15.519 is found. 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:18.019 There's the hope 00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:19.160 that God brings to us 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:20.299 through the prophet Haggai. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.720 It's something so real 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:24.279 that one day 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:24.920 you'll be able 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:25.940 to touch it 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:27.400 and smell it 00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:28.359 and taste it. 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:30.579 In keeping 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:31.940 with His promise, 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:33.039 we are looking forward 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:34.639 to a new heaven 00:32:34.639 --> 00:32:35.680 and a new earth, 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:36.720 the home of righteousness, 00:32:36.940 --> 00:32:37.400 says Peter. 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:38.139 Paul says, 00:32:38.220 --> 00:32:38.920 no eye has seen, 00:32:39.019 --> 00:32:39.680 nor ear heard, 00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:40.879 nor the heart of man 00:32:40.879 --> 00:32:41.920 imagined what God 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:42.500 has prepared 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:43.940 for those who love Him. 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:46.220 And so friends, 00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:46.879 through faith 00:32:46.879 --> 00:32:48.039 in Jesus Christ, 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:50.299 we have a truth 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:51.920 that towers 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:54.019 above all the wickedness 00:32:54.019 --> 00:32:55.099 and evil in this world. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:56.859 We have a hope 00:32:56.859 --> 00:32:57.859 that has swallowed up 00:32:57.859 --> 00:32:58.940 all our sins 00:32:58.940 --> 00:33:01.319 and drawn even death sting. 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:04.559 Martin Luther famously 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:06.519 called the Christian life 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:07.619 a life of repentance. 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:09.000 And with the Spirit's help, 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:10.879 it is a life 00:33:10.879 --> 00:33:12.139 of constantly turning 00:33:12.139 --> 00:33:13.160 from self and sin 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:14.059 and turning to God. 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:16.500 it is one big U-turn. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:19.460 Repentance is not simply 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:20.500 a one-off action. 00:33:21.139 --> 00:33:21.779 It's a way of life. 00:33:21.859 --> 00:33:22.419 It's a mindset. 00:33:23.619 --> 00:33:24.919 And as Corey reminded us 00:33:24.919 --> 00:33:25.419 this morning, 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:26.000 our repentance 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:27.259 is never perfect. 00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:28.359 It's never complete. 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:30.859 But it can be real. 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:32.339 It can be genuine. 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:34.960 That's why the Lord's Supper 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:35.759 is so vital 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:37.279 to the health 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:37.879 and well-being 00:33:37.879 --> 00:33:38.679 of God's people. 00:33:39.179 --> 00:33:40.159 Because here we meet 00:33:40.159 --> 00:33:40.720 with Jesus. 00:33:41.659 --> 00:33:42.659 Here our eyes are opened. 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:44.040 Here at the Lord's table, 00:33:44.200 --> 00:33:45.180 Christ himself 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:46.120 draws near 00:33:46.120 --> 00:33:47.220 to woo us 00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:48.300 back to himself. 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:51.340 And here's the reason 00:33:51.340 --> 00:33:52.259 that defiled, 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:53.440 unclean sinners 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:54.279 like us 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:56.519 can come into the presence 00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:57.360 of a holy God. 00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.460 We have a crucified 00:33:58.460 --> 00:33:59.940 and risen Savior. 00:34:01.360 --> 00:34:01.880 And tonight, 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:03.000 we come to the table 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:03.519 of the one 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:04.440 who has borne 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:06.240 the curse of our sin. 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:08.500 We come to the one 00:34:08.500 --> 00:34:09.639 in whom there is 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:10.619 the promise 00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:12.759 of untold blessing. 00:34:14.759 --> 00:34:15.960 As Corey was preaching 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.539 this morning, 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:17.879 I was thinking of that 00:34:17.879 --> 00:34:19.559 great communion hymn 00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:20.759 of Horatius Bonner. 00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:23.299 Here, O my Lord, 00:34:23.379 --> 00:34:25.199 I see thee face to face. 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:27.039 Here would we touch 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:28.699 and handle things unseen. 00:34:29.059 --> 00:34:31.420 Here grasp with firmer hand 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:32.779 eternal grace. 00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:35.100 And all my weariness 00:34:35.100 --> 00:34:37.220 upon thee lean. 00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:40.180 The worship God requires, 00:34:41.080 --> 00:34:42.400 may he be first 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:43.660 in our affections. 00:34:44.180 --> 00:34:45.680 The discipline God sends, 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:46.300 may it 00:34:46.300 --> 00:34:48.480 soften our hearts. 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:50.120 The hope God brings, 00:34:51.240 --> 00:34:52.420 may he prepare us 00:34:52.420 --> 00:34:54.019 for that great tomorrow 00:34:54.019 --> 00:34:55.700 when in Christ 00:34:55.700 --> 00:34:57.240 all things 00:34:57.240 --> 00:34:58.920 shall be made new. 00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:00.059 Let's pray. 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:03.900 Lord, we thank you 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.360 that 00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:06.539 though you are a God 00:35:06.539 --> 00:35:08.340 of holiness 00:35:08.340 --> 00:35:09.680 and perfection, 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:12.680 a God whose eyes 00:35:12.680 --> 00:35:13.720 are purer 00:35:13.720 --> 00:35:14.960 than to behold iniquity, 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:17.059 yet you have provided 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:17.980 a way for us 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:19.720 through your Son, 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:21.000 our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:23.240 that we might meet with you, 00:35:24.099 --> 00:35:25.680 that we might encounter you, 00:35:26.119 --> 00:35:27.840 and that we might be changed 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:28.760 by you. 00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:30.700 And by your Holy Spirit. 00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:32.920 Lord, bless us 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:33.920 and encourage us. 00:35:34.539 --> 00:35:35.240 Meet with us 00:35:35.240 --> 00:35:36.320 and speak to us 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:38.119 as we turn from 00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:39.880 your written word 00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:43.240 to the sacrament 00:35:43.240 --> 00:35:44.119 of the Lord's Supper. 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:46.619 Meet with us there 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:47.659 around this table 00:35:47.659 --> 00:35:49.500 and do us good, we pray. 00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:50.800 In Jesus' name. 00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:51.300 Amen.