The Day of Pentecost (2)

[0:00] But if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, this morning if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read, the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2, and if we read again at verse 37, Acts 2 at verse 37.

[0:24] Now when they, that is the crowd, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

[0:36] And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[0:54] Now whenever you watch a TV program of your, well that you watch, maybe a favorite TV program that you watch every week, isn't it the case that an episode, it usually begins with what happened on the previous episode.

[1:10] Where the new episode, it will always begin with the statement, previously on, and whatever the program is. Previously on, and then it will recap, and it will, there's this summary of what's been happening in the storyline up until this point.

[1:26] And everything, maybe if you've missed a week, anything that you've missed, will bring you right up to date. Well, that's how I want to begin this morning. I want to begin by just saying, previously, in the book of Acts.

[1:41] Previously in the book of Acts, Jesus promised his disciples in chapter 1 that when the Holy Spirit comes upon the church in power, they will be witnesses, they will be his witnesses, in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

[1:58] And then last week, as we began looking at the first half of chapter 2, we saw that the promise that Jesus made in chapter 1, it was fulfilled.

[2:08] Because the Holy Spirit came upon the church in power. And he came, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. And we noted that the day of Pentecost, it was a Jewish feast that was celebrated in the city of Jerusalem.

[2:23] And it was celebrated 50 days after the festival of Passover. And that's what the word Pentecost means. It means 50 days. And so, the day of Pentecost took place 50 days after Passover.

[2:39] And you remember that we said that the Passover was a day of salvation. And Pentecost was a day of service. Passover was a day of salvation because it was during the feast of Passover that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners.

[2:55] But Pentecost, 50 days later, Pentecost was a day of service. Because it was on the day of Pentecost that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon the church.

[3:06] And so, previously in the book of Acts, last week we were asking, what kind of day was the day of Pentecost? And we said that the day of Pentecost was a day of drama.

[3:18] Where the Holy Spirit came upon the church with this, like this mighty rushing wind. And the Spirit filled the church with power and enabled the church to serve God and spread the gospel.

[3:31] The day of Pentecost was a day of drama. But the day of Pentecost, we said, was also a day of diversity. Because as there were many Jews gathered there for the day of Pentecost.

[3:42] They were gathered there from all these different nations. They were from north, south, east and west. And they had come to celebrate a feast. But what was amazing was that they all heard the gospel in their own language.

[3:56] They all spoke different languages. And yet they heard the good news of Jesus Christ in their native tongue. And as you would expect, that whenever the gospel is preached, whenever the good news of Jesus Christ is made known, it requires a response.

[4:12] And that's what the day of Pentecost was. It was a day of decision. So it was a day of drama. It was a day of diversity. And it was a day of decision. Because as Peter affirmed to the multitudes who were present on the day of Pentecost and to us, Peter says, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

[4:34] And so previously in the book of Acts, we asked what kind of day was the day of Pentecost. We said that the day of Pentecost was a day of drama, a day of diversity and a day of decision.

[4:47] But that was only the first half of the chapter. Because as we said, this chapter deserves our attention. Because next to the day that Jesus died, this day in the history of the church, it's one of the most important days.

[5:04] And so I want us to ask for a second time, what kind of day was the day of Pentecost? We've said that the day of Pentecost was a day of drama, diversity and decision. But as we consider the second half of this chapter, I want us to see that the day of Pentecost was also a day of declaration, a day of dedication and a day of devotion.

[5:32] So what kind of day was the day of Pentecost? First of all, it was a day of declaration, a day of declaration. Look at verse 14. It says, And at that moment, the apostolic church was given the gift of speaking other languages.

[6:20] They were given the gift of speaking in tongues in order to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. And all those who were gathered in the city of Jerusalem, all these people who were there from different nations, they were there for the feast of Pentecost.

[6:36] But, you know, they had the privilege of hearing the gospel in their own language. And they were completely amazed as to how this was possible, to hear Galileans speaking their language.

[6:49] But as we read, and as you'd expect, what always happens when the gospel is making progress, when the gospel is moving forward, there are always those who mock it.

[6:59] But when the church is mocked because of the method they use and the message they preach, we see here in verse 14 that the apostle Peter stands up.

[7:12] And he stands up to give his first sermon. And what a sermon it was. Because nearly 3,000 souls are saved.

[7:22] But, you know, what we ought to marvel at is who stands up. Because we're told Peter stands up. Peter stands up.

[7:33] And what's remarkable about this is that only 50 days earlier, you could say seven weeks earlier, during the festival of Passover, 50 days earlier, Peter was denying that he knew anything about Jesus.

[7:50] 50 days earlier, when Jesus was arrested and put on trial, Peter had run for his life. 50 days earlier, Peter was warming himself by the campfire of the world, denying that he ever knew Jesus.

[8:05] 50 days earlier, Jesus was being publicly offered as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. And yet Peter was in hiding. 50 days earlier, Peter was affirming to everyone around him, I do not know the man.

[8:23] I do not know the man, he said. I do not know the man. And now 50 days later, on the day of Pentecost, that same Peter is publicly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[8:36] And he's calling thousands of people to repent and believe in the gospel. And we may well ask, well, what's going on? 50 days earlier, Peter is denying Jesus in private.

[8:50] 50 days later, Peter is declaring Jesus in public. And what's going on? What's changed here? Why has Peter gone from denying Jesus in private to declaring Jesus in public?

[9:04] And the answer, my friend, is forgiveness. Forgiveness. In his commentary, Al Molar, he says, The presence of Peter on the day of Pentecost is testament of the willingness of Christ to forgive even the worst of sinners.

[9:24] The presence of Peter on the day of Pentecost is testament of the willingness, the willingness of Christ to forgive even the worst of sinners.

[9:36] My friend, Peter's experience, that 50 day experience, it should give to you the greatest hope of forgiveness. That whether you're a Christian today or not a Christian, this Jesus, this Jesus who's presented to you on the pages of Scripture, he's willing to forgive you.

[9:57] He's willing to cleanse you. He's willing to make you his if you come to him. This Jesus is willing to forgive every denial. He's willing to forgive every blasphemy.

[10:08] He's willing to forgive every sinful action, every sinful thought, every even missed opportunity. Jesus is willing to forgive you if you come to him.

[10:21] And you know, you know, my unconverted friend, the sad thing is, you deny yourself joy when you deny Jesus as your Savior.

[10:33] You deny yourself joy when you deny Jesus as your Savior. And the question I have in my mind is, why do you do that to yourself?

[10:47] Why do you deny yourself joy by denying Jesus as your Savior? Why do you still deny that you know this Jesus? Why are you still saying, after all these years of coming to church and hearing the gospel, why are you still saying, I do not know the man?

[11:04] I do not know the man. I do not know this Jesus. But you know, the thing about Peter, and the thing about many of you, is that you do know this man.

[11:20] You do know him. You know this Jesus. You know that he's the Savior of sinners. Some of you even know him as your Savior. Some of you might even love him as your Savior.

[11:35] And maybe the issue for you today is not denying Jesus in private. Maybe the issue is declaring Jesus in public. Because maybe your issue is that you don't deny him in private.

[11:48] You love this Jesus in private. And you want, in many ways, you want to keep it private. But you do deny him in public. That's not allowed.

[12:02] Is it not about time that you stopped denying Jesus and started declaring him in public? Make today your day of declaration.

[12:14] Make today your day of declaration. Because that's what we see Peter doing. He had denied Jesus in public for long enough. But in verse 14, we're told that Peter, standing with the eleven.

[12:29] Peter was, and when it says standing, he's not just talking about Peter standing up from a sitting position. The word standing means that he made a stand for Jesus.

[12:41] Peter is standing up with the other eleven disciples. He's standing up and being counted as a follower of Jesus. He's making a stand as a Christian.

[12:52] And you know the wonderful thing is, Peter is no longer denying Jesus in private. He's declaring Jesus in public. And my friend, that's what you need to do. It's about time that you started declaring Jesus in public.

[13:09] You need to make a stand for Jesus. You need to stand up and be counted as a Christian. You need to stop denying this Jesus in private.

[13:21] And start declaring him in public. That he is mine. And I am his. You need to start declaring Jesus. Make today your day of declaration.

[13:35] Make today your day of declaration. But you know Peter, he not only declared Jesus to be his personal saviour. Peter also declared that Jesus is the saviour of everyone who calls upon his name.

[13:52] Because as Peter explains, he explains from the words of the prophet Joel, that the day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, that was all promised and prophesied way back in the Old Testament.

[14:04] But as Peter emphasises, the purpose of the Spirit coming in power was so that, as he says in verse 21, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

[14:19] Whosoever, he says, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then Peter, he carries on in verse 22.

[14:29] He goes on to explain who this Lord is. And that everyone should call upon him to be saved. He says in verse 22, he says, Men of Israel, hear these words.

[14:43] Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

[14:53] this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

[15:05] God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Peter explains that this Jesus who is able to save sinners, he was crucified.

[15:19] He was delivered up to be crucified according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. And you know, this is the wonder of salvation.

[15:31] That God the Father, he delivered up his own beloved son to be crucified. He delivered up his own son so that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord would be saved.

[15:44] He delivered him up so that you could be saved. And you know, I love what the 19th century preacher and writer Octavius Winslow, I love what he says about the death of Jesus.

[15:59] He asks the question, Octavius Winslow asks, who delivered Jesus up to die? Who delivered Jesus up to die? And he says, it was not Judas for money or Pilate for fear or the Jews for envy, but the Father for love.

[16:21] This is the wonder of it. God the Father so loved the world that he gave. He delivered up. He sent his only begotten son to the horrors of Calvary.

[16:34] Why? So that whosoever believes in him, whosoever will call upon his name, will not perish, but have eternal life.

[16:46] This is the wonder of wonders. That despite all the attempts of man and Satan to get rid of Jesus, and yet it wasn't Judas for money, the Pilate for fear, the Jews for envy, or even the Romans for the hardness of their heart.

[17:02] No, it was the Father out of love for lost sinners like you and me. This is the wonder of it. And my friend, what message is better than this message?

[17:14] What declaration is better than this declaration? That this Jesus is able to save sinners, and that whosoever will call upon his name shall be saved.

[17:30] But you know, that's not where Peter leaves this day of declaration. Because Peter, he not only declares that Jesus was delivered up to be crucified, he also declares that Jesus was raised from the dead.

[17:44] And we can see that in verses 25 to 28. Peter, he's quoting Psalm 16, which we were singing earlier. He's quoting the Psalm of the empty tomb, a Messianic Psalm that speaks so clearly about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

[18:00] And Peter, he even explains Psalm 16. He explains it with clarity and with confidence. Because he says in verse 29, he says, Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day, being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to hell, nor did his flesh see corruption.

[18:36] This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. And you know, my friend, what Peter's doing here as he preaches to the multitudes that are before him is that Peter is declaring to them that Jesus Christ is the only saviour of sinners.

[18:55] That's why the day of Pentecost was a day of declaration. Peter is declaring loudly and clearly that Jesus is the only way to be saved.

[19:09] But Peter doesn't leave it there. Because it wasn't enough for Peter just to declare that Jesus is the only saviour of sinners. No, Peter's declaration, it demands a response.

[19:24] Peter demanded dedication to Jesus. He demanded those who are in the hearing to dedicate their life to Jesus Christ. And that's always the case every time the gospel is preached.

[19:37] The declaration of the gospel goes out, but it always goes out with a demand. the demand for dedication. And that's why the day of Pentecost was more than just a day of declaration.

[19:51] It was also a day of dedication. That's what we see secondly. A day of dedication. We're told in verse 33, Peter says, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

[20:13] For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

[20:36] And so on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the church in power and Peter stood up to preach this wonderful gospel message, Peter declared the message of a crucified and risen saviour.

[20:51] And you know, what Peter goes on to explain in these verses is that Jesus is a crucified Christ and he's also a risen Lord. That's what he says in verse 36. God has made him both Lord and Christ.

[21:04] He's a crucified Christ and a risen Lord. And Peter emphasises this because he wants people to respond to the gospel. He wants them to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ because he, Jesus, is both Lord and Christ.

[21:23] And as Peter explains in verse 33, that Jesus, he says that he was not only resurrected from the dead, he was also exalted to the right hand of God the Father.

[21:35] When Jesus finished the work of redemption, he says, the work that the Father had given him to do, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father and he put all his enemies under his feet.

[21:48] And that's why Peter, he quotes the opening words of Psalm 110 in verse 34. David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself, Jesus himself, says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.

[22:07] So Psalm 110, it's another messianic psalm that speaks clearly of this crucified, risen, and exalted Lord, which is why Peter calls him and says that he is both Lord and Christ.

[22:24] And you know, this is what Paul actually speaks about in his letter to the Philippians. When Paul talks about the humiliation and the exaltation of Jesus, Paul says about Jesus that he made himself of no reputation.

[22:40] He took upon himself the form of a servant. He was made in the likeness of men. He humbled himself and became obedient even unto death, the death of the cross. Paul says that Jesus went from the crown to the cradle to the cross, but that's not the end of the story, he says.

[22:57] No, God the Father highly exalted him. God raised him from the dead. The Father didn't leave his Holy One to see corruption in the grave.

[23:08] No, God opened the tomb. Jesus gloriously ascended up on high, leading the captives free. God the Father exalted his beloved Son and he restored to him all that was rightfully his, which is all authority in heaven and on earth.

[23:28] And you know, Paul reminds us that when Jesus was exalted, when Jesus was sat down at the right hand of the Father, he was given a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and in hell and they will all confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[23:55] And you know, my friend, what Peter was declaring on the day of Pentecost is that Jesus, this Jesus is both Lord and Christ. He was crucified for sin.

[24:06] He was raised for our justification. He has been enthroned on high and he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And it's because all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to this risen and exalted Jesus.

[24:24] Do you know what he does? He commands everyone everywhere to repent. This Jesus commands everyone to repent.

[24:38] Oh my friend, this Jesus, he's both Lord and Christ and he demands a response from you. He demands a response from you. He demands dedication and commitment to him.

[24:53] Because look how the multitudes responded on the day of Pentecost. Look how they responded when they heard the message of the gospel for the first time. They'd never heard it before and yet they heard it for the first time.

[25:06] I don't know how many times you've heard the gospel. But when they heard the gospel for the first time we're told in verse 37, now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and they said to Peter and the apostles, brothers, what shall we do?

[25:24] When the multitudes heard the gospel for the first time they were cut to the heart. Oh, I love that phrase. Because it emphasizes that they came under a conviction of sin.

[25:36] The word of God which Peter was preaching it penetrated their hearts because it caused them to see their sin and their desperate need of a saviour. They were cut right to the heart and they came to know that they needed to be saved.

[25:54] And they're asking with this genuine desire, they come to the apostles and they ask, what shall we do? What shall we do? How are we to deal with this problem of sin?

[26:06] How are we to respond to what we've heard? How are we to know that this Jesus is the saviour and how can we know him for ourselves? And you know, Peter's answer is so simple.

[26:17] He says in verse 38, repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[26:29] I love Peter's response. He has this boldness because he goes right to the heart of the problem, which as you know is the problem of the heart.

[26:42] And all Peter says is repent. You want to know what you need to do? Repent, he says. Repent. One commentator, he says, with this response, Peter shows us how to rightly respond to the gospel.

[27:03] And my unconverted friend, you need to listen to this. You need to listen to this quote. You need to hear what's being said because it's of eternal importance to you.

[27:15] Al Mohler says, with this response, Peter shows us how to rightly respond to the gospel. First, we forsake sin. And repent.

[27:26] Sin demands repentance, he says, because sin is a violation of God's commands. Mentally assenting to the wrongness of sin is not enough, he says.

[27:37] That's not repentance. Feeling sad about the consequences of sin, it's not sufficient. That's just regret. No, he says, we demonstrate through repentance by a genuine hatred of sin, a desire never to engage in that sin again and a determination to obey Jesus and follow him.

[28:00] That's true repentance. Mentally assenting to the wrongness of sin, that's not enough. Feeling sad about sin, that's not enough.

[28:14] Not enough. we have to demonstrate through repentance by turning away from sin and turning to Jesus.

[28:27] And you know, this is what Peter is saying, my friend, you must repent. You must repent. He says, repent and be baptized, but the thing is, for many of you, you don't need to be baptized.

[28:41] baptized. This was the beginning of the New Testament church. They had never been baptized in their life. You don't need to be baptized. You're already baptized, many of you. Most of you were baptized as children.

[28:55] And you were baptized as a child because you had the covenant promise of salvation. It says there, to you and to your children. That's what Peter says in verse 39. The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

[29:12] The purpose of baptism in the New Testament church was to emphasize that the promise of salvation is to us and to our children. And as a child, you received the promise.

[29:25] Your parents, when they were alive, they promised to bring you into the visible church. They vowed to follow what they vowed to do.

[29:36] They promised to do it. They vowed to pray for you, to be a Christian example for you. They vowed to send you to Sunday school. They vowed to bring you to church.

[29:49] And some of you have been sitting in church longer than I've been alive. My friend, you're already baptized. And because of your baptism, you have had all these privileges. All these privileges, all these blessings poured out upon you, all these opportunities.

[30:05] opportunities. But there's one thing you still don't have. And it's the one thing that's needful. You need to be saved.

[30:19] You need to be saved. And you're not saved because you need to repent. repent. This is the thing. You need to repent.

[30:30] You need to turn away from your sin. And turn to the Savior. You need to do it. And you have to do it genuinely, wholeheartedly.

[30:45] My friend, this Jesus, he is both Lord and Christ. Christ. And he demands that you respond to him. He demands that you dedicate your life to him. And you know, the day of Pentecost, it was a day of dedication.

[30:59] We're told in verse 40, with many other words, Peter bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and they were added that day about 3,000 souls.

[31:18] On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls dedicated their lives to Jesus. What about today? What about today?

[31:31] What about you? How many souls in here are going to dedicate their life to Jesus Christ today? Will you?

[31:44] Will you? What kind of day? Was a day of Pentecost. The time has gone. But we're going to see that the day of Pentecost was a day of declaration, a day of dedication, and lastly, a day of devotion.

[32:04] A day of devotion. Look at verse 42. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

[32:19] And all who believed were together, and they had all things in common. So when the Holy Spirit came upon the church on this historic day, the church not only declared the name of Jesus, and the church witnessed people dedicating their lives to Jesus, but the church also devoted themselves to Jesus Christ.

[32:42] the day of Pentecost was a day of devotion. And what the church devoted themselves to do was teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

[32:53] And these four things, they became the marks of a New Testament church. Because a New Testament church, and that's what we are meant to be, a New Testament church will emphasize the importance of teaching, having fellowship with one another around God's word, breaking of bread in the Lord's Supper.

[33:13] A New Testament church will focus upon prayer. These are the marks of the church, and these should be the marks of our church. And if they're not, then we need to question ourselves, and seek to rectify where we've gone wrong.

[33:26] But you know, although fellowship and breaking bread and prayer is very important, the first thing Peter highlights, and I just want to draw attention to this very briefly, the first thing Peter highlights here should be our priority.

[33:39] It was his priority. Because the New Testament church, he says, will prioritize the preaching and teaching of God's word. And I say that preaching is a priority for the New Testament church because when you read through the book of Acts, the book of Acts is made up primarily of sermons.

[33:59] That's all it is. 25% of the book of Acts is sermons. So we as a New Testament church, we must prioritize the preaching and teaching of God's word.

[34:13] I always remember Professor Donald McLeod, he would always emphasize that preaching is the primary means of pastoral care for a congregation. And he would say to us in class, he would say, prepare your sermons for the Lord's day so as to pastor your people.

[34:33] Prepare your sermons for the Lord's day so as to pastor your people. And you know, when we look at Peter's sermon here in Acts chapter 2, you know, this sermon was preaching at its best.

[34:46] It was pastoral care for lost souls and it was carried out by lifting Jesus up before their eyes. And you know, Peter's sermon, it wasn't fancy in any way.

[34:59] He didn't have screens, he didn't have PowerPoint presentations, he didn't have pictures or videos. No, Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost was simply just taking a text.

[35:10] That's what he does. He preaches from Joel, Psalm 16 and Psalm 110. He takes a text, he explains a text, he applies the text, and then he calls for a response to the text.

[35:22] It was biblical preaching at its best. And according to the Bible, that's how it should be done. That's how it should be done. We should believe in the power of the word.

[35:33] God, because it's living and active, and it's able to save souls. You know, the other day I was listening to Dr. Steve Lawson.

[35:44] He was talking about the devaluing of preaching. And he said that in the 21st century church, exposition has been replaced with entertainment.

[35:56] Theology has been replaced with theatrics. Sound doctrine has been replaced with sound checks. sadly, he says, God-exalting, sin-exposing, conscience-awakening expositions are out.

[36:10] But casual, comfortable, pacifying talks are in. Sadly, he says, transcendent, majestic worship services are out. But trendy hip-hop gatherings are in.

[36:23] But this movement, says Lawson, has completely devalued the wonder and glory of preaching the gospel. And that's what we see Peter doing.

[36:34] He's just preaching the gospel. And you know, when we look at the New Testament church in the book of Acts, we see a church that was devoted to the exposition of scripture and not the entertainment of sinners.

[36:47] And that's how we ought to be as a church. We're to be devoted to teaching, to fellowship, the Lord's Supper, and to prayer. We're to be a devoted church. A devoted church.

[36:59] Devoted to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Time has gone. But as we've considered this important day in the history of the church, we've been asking what kind of day was the day of Pentecost?

[37:16] We've discovered, if you want all six headings, the day of Pentecost was a day of drama, a day of diversity, a day of decision. It was a day of declaration. It was a day of dedication.

[37:30] And it was a day of devotion. But you know, and I always want to conclude by speaking to my unconverted friend. Today is another day.

[37:44] The day of Pentecost was a historic day, but today is another day. Today is another opportunity for you to commit your life to Jesus Christ.

[37:55] And you know, when I say this, I say it with all sincerity, with genuineness, with a desire for you to be saved and a burden for your soul. I wonder, I really do wonder, just how many more opportunities you will be given.

[38:14] How many more will you have? Make your opportunities count. make today your day of salvation. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us.

[38:27] Let us pray. O Lord our God, we thank thee for a wonderful saviour. At this Jesus, he is both Lord and Christ.

[38:39] And we thank thee that he is risen and exalted. He is ruling and reigning. But help us, Lord, as sinners, all to bow before him, to confess him as our Lord, to acknowledge him as our king, and to live for him, knowing that he is our friend, a friend that sticks closer than any brother, one who will be faithful throughout life, and even through the valley of the shadow of death.

[39:07] Lord, bless thy truth to us today. Speak to us, we ask. Apply it by thy spirit, for thy glory and for the extension of thy kingdom. Keep us then, we ask.

[39:18] Bless this day to us, the Lord's day. Help us, all to exalt the Lord in it, and to give him all the glory. Cleanse us, we pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

[39:32] We're going to bring our service to a conclusion by singing the words of Psalm 68. Psalm 68. It's on page 303 in the blue psalm book.

[39:46] Psalm 68 in the Scottish Psalter. We're singing from verse 18 down to the verse mark 20. And these verses, they remind us that Jesus is not only a crucified and risen, but he's also the exalted reigning king who has ascended up on high.

[40:06] Psalm 68 from verse 18. Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious, ascended up on high, and in triumph victorious led, captive, captivity. Thou hast received gifts for men, for such as did rebel, yea, e'en for them that God the Lord in the midst of them might dwell.

[40:23] I'm going to sing on down to the verse mark 20 of Psalm 68 to God's praise. Thou hast, O Lord, most glorious, ascended upon high, and in triumph victorious led, captive, captive, thee.

[40:52] Thou hast received gifts for men, for such as did rebel, yea, e'en for them that all the Lord in midst of them might dwell.

[41:19] Let be the Lord who is to us of our salvation God, who daily with his benefits us plenteously doth load.

[41:44] He of salvation is the God who is the God most strong, and unto God the Lord from death the issues to belong.

[42:09] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.