[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10, page 946 in the Pew Bible, and if we read again at verse 13, Romans 10 at verse 13.
[0:24] For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
[0:36] And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
[0:48] As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?
[0:59] So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. And so on. As you know, this evening we're continuing our short series entitled Vision 2024.
[1:16] Vision 2024. Vision 2024. Because as we said, as we go into 2024, we need a vision for 2024 and also beyond. Because without vision, the people perish.
[1:28] Therefore, we need a gospel vision for 2024. And we need a development plan for that vision, for Vision 2024. And as we've seen our vision over the past few weeks, we've seen that our vision, it must begin always with the glory of God.
[1:46] Because the glory of God is our chief end. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Therefore, we need to plead and we need to pray with Moses.
[1:59] Show me your glory. Show me your glory. That the glory of God will be displayed and demonstrated in our lives as we live in this community. But as we saw last week, Vision 2024 must also include the gospel of God.
[2:15] The gospel of God. Because the gospel, it's not just a proclamation. We're not proclaiming something. We're actually proclaiming someone. We're proclaiming a person.
[2:26] The gospel is Jesus Christ. Because as Thomas Boston reminded us, Christ is to be offered to everyone, everywhere, without exception or qualification.
[2:36] Christ is to be offered to everyone, everywhere, without exception or qualification. So in order to possess and put into practice Vision 2024, we need to have a passionate pursuit for the glory of God, the gospel of God, and tonight, the goal of God.
[3:00] The goal of God. In order to possess and put into practice Vision 2024, we need to have a passionate pursuit for the glory of God, the gospel of God, and the goal of God.
[3:12] And what I mean by the goal of God is the goal in the Great Commission. Where it says there at the end of Mark's gospel, where he says, go into all the world and preach the gospel.
[3:23] Go into all the world and preach the gospel. But what we see here in Romans chapter 10 from Paul's pastoral experience as a preacher and as a pastor, Paul reminds us that we need to have a passionate pursuit for the go of God.
[3:41] And we need to have a passionate pursuit for the go of God by possessing a compassion for the lost, by seeking a confession from the lost, and remembering we have a commission to the lost.
[3:58] Paul teaches us that we need to have a passionate pursuit for the go of God by possessing a compassion for the lost, a confession from the lost, and a commission to the lost.
[4:12] And there are three headings this evening. A compassion for the lost, a confession from the lost, and a commission to the lost. So first of all, Paul teaches us about this compassion, a compassion for the lost, a compassion for the lost.
[4:30] Look at what he says there in verse 1. He says, Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
[4:41] Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Paul begins this chapter by reminding the church at Rome that he has a compassion for the lost.
[4:53] He has a compassion for the lost. He says, Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them, whether you read in the authorized version and it says Israel, whatever he's talking about, he's talking about lost people, for them.
[5:06] That my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. And you know, as a preacher and as a pastor of the gospel, Paul's passion is lost souls.
[5:18] Paul's heart, you could say, it beats and it breaks for the lost. Paul has this care, this compassion, this concern for lost souls.
[5:28] He has a love and a longing to see lost souls saved by grace. Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they will be saved.
[5:40] But you know, the thing is, Paul doesn't just want this to be his heart's desire and his determination. No, Paul wants the Christians in Rome and throughout the whole of Christendom, Paul wants them to have the same desire and the same determination to see lost souls saved by grace.
[6:01] You know, Paul wants all Christians everywhere to have a passion for lost souls in their community. Paul wants all Christians everywhere to have a heart that's beating and a heart that's breaking for the lost.
[6:17] Paul wants all Christians everywhere to have a care and a compassion and a concern for lost souls. He wants all Christians everywhere in every generation to have a love and a longing to see lost souls saved.
[6:32] Brothers, sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they will be saved. But you know, what's remarkable about Paul's heartfelt desire is that he longs for people to be saved, which he's writing to the Romans.
[6:50] He's speaking about people here that he's never even met because Paul, he didn't plant the church in Rome. He doesn't even know anyone in Rome by that point, by the time of writing this letter.
[7:01] He doesn't know anybody in Rome personally because, as you know, Paul, he didn't reach Rome as a preacher of the gospel. He reached Rome as a prisoner for the gospel.
[7:13] And yet, Paul's desire, his longing, his love is to see lost souls saved. Because Paul himself, he had come to experience and enjoy this gospel.
[7:25] He had come to experience and enjoy Jesus Christ. He had met with him personally on the road to Damascus. And now, Paul, as a Christian, his heart's desire is that other people will be saved.
[7:38] Other people will have a personal relationship with Jesus and a personal encounter with Jesus. And you know, you look at what Paul is saying and you have to see that that's why our heart's desire should be that other people will be saved.
[7:55] As Christians, we have had a personal encounter with Jesus. We have a personal relationship with Jesus. Therefore, our heart's desire should be for other people to be saved.
[8:09] And you know, Paul here, as we said, he had never met the people in Rome. He didn't know the unconverted people in the city of Rome. But the thing is, we know the unconverted people in our community.
[8:23] we know the lost souls in our congregation. We know the lost souls in our own homes and in our own families. And we know the lost souls who are our friends and our neighbors and our work colleagues.
[8:39] We know them. We're aware of them. We long for them to be saved. And what Paul is reminding us this evening is that as Christians, we need to have a compassion for the lost.
[8:50] And I'm not saying you don't have one. But I'm saying we always need to remember to have one. A compassion for the lost. If we're going to possess and put into practice Vision 2024, then we need a compassion for the lost.
[9:06] We need a compassion for the lost. We need to be stressing and saying to one another, brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God is that they will be saved.
[9:17] We need to be talking to one another about the lost souls in our homes and in our families. You know, we need to be sharing the burdens with one another and saying, you know, my husband who's out of Christ, he really burdens me.
[9:32] My wife who is still not committed, it weighs me down at night. I can't sleep at night. My children, the worries I have for my children, these things weigh me down.
[9:43] We need to be sharing that. Paul is reminding us that this is what we should be doing. This is what he's doing here. Brothers, sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God is that they will be saved.
[9:58] And you know, I emphasize that we need a compassion for the lost. And when I say this, I say this to myself. We need a compassion for the lost because sometimes as Christians, we can be saved but become stale and stuck and satisfied.
[10:20] We can just roll on. We're the frozen chosen, so we just get on with it. Sometimes as Christians, we can be saved but become stale, stuck, and satisfied. We can become comfortable Christians who are complacent and then content with the way things are.
[10:37] But Paul says, no. No, no, no, no, no. Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God is that they will be saved. He has a compassion for the lost.
[10:48] His heart's desire is to compel and convince and communicate and convey the gospel to lost souls. And this is what Paul has emphasized from the outset of his letter.
[10:59] He has said this right at the beginning of his letter to the Romans. He said to the Christians in Rome, he says, I am eager to preach the gospel because I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
[11:10] It's the power of God unto salvation. Paul has this firm belief in the power of the gospel that he says, I am not ashamed of it.
[11:21] I'm not ashamed to own Jesus. I'm not ashamed to make Jesus known because Jesus is the power of God unto salvation. But you know, my Christian friend, I sometimes wonder and I say to myself, I sometimes wonder, is the reason we don't compel people or convince them or communicate to them or convey to them the gospel, is the reason we hold back because we're ashamed of the gospel?
[11:56] Is it because we're ashamed to stand up and speak out as a Christian? Is it because we're ashamed of knowing Christ and making Christ known, whether it's in our home, or it's in our workplace?
[12:10] Are we ashamed of the gospel because, well, we'd rather blend in than be bold and stand out in our faith? But you know, the words of Jesus, the words of Jesus that often convict me and challenge me to say something rather than stay silent, the words that often convict and challenge me is when Jesus said, whosoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of his holy angels.
[12:49] Words that often challenge me. Murdo, don't stay silent. Speak. And yes, there's a time to speak and a time to be silent, but more often we're silent than speaking.
[13:03] And yet Jesus says, whosoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed. My friend, as challenging as it is, and I'm challenging myself and however much it takes us out of our comfort zone, because I'm always out of my comfort zone.
[13:20] You might think, well, it's easy for you, Murdo. You're a preacher. This is what you do. This is your living. I live outside my comfort zone. As challenging as it is, we should never be ashamed of Jesus Christ, because he is the gospel.
[13:37] He is the gospel. And as Paul reminds us, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. You know, sometimes I think we've lost sight of the power.
[13:49] We've lost sight of the power of the gospel. We rely, and too many people, they rely upon gimmicks rather than grace. We forget and we fail to remember that Jesus is the gospel.
[13:59] He's able to change hearts. He's able to transform lives, which is why we need to be more intentional. We need to be more honest in our evangelism. We need to be more intentional and honest in our evangelism.
[14:16] And I've mentioned to you before a book by the evangelist, Rico Tice. He's the man who does Christianity Explored and Discipleship Explored and Hope Explored. It's a book that every Christian needs to read.
[14:28] If you've never read it, read it. Honest evangelism. Honest evangelism. Rico Tice says, I love what he says, as an evangelist, a paid evangelist in London, he writes, I find evangelism hard.
[14:47] If you're going to talk to people about Jesus, there's a pain line that needs to be crossed. But the thing is, he says, we all want to stay on the comfortable side of the pain line.
[15:00] That's the main reason we don't do evangelism. That's the main reason we leave it to other people and push them to the fore. But Rico Tice says, I want to be honest. If you tell non-Christians about Jesus, you have to cross the pain line and it will be painful.
[15:18] You have to cross the pain line and it will be painful because there might be rejection, there might be ridicule, there might be resentment, they might say no. Whatever it is, you have to cross the pain line and it will be painful.
[15:35] And my Christian friend, it's not easy to speak about Jesus, it's not easy to share your faith. I don't find it easy. But what Rico Tice shows us is the honesty of evangelism.
[15:47] And he shows us that it's not only hard, but we also have to be honest with people in our evangelism. And you know, what I often find so helpful in evangelism, like when I'm talking about evangelism, speaking to people, sharing with people, inviting them to church, inviting them to Christianity Explored.
[16:09] What I find helpful in evangelism is not telling them, oh, you're lost, you're going to hell, you're condemned. That's not the gospel. The gospel is, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
[16:20] That's the good news. And what's often helpful in evangelism is when you're just honest with people. You're just honest with them. I'm a sinner like you.
[16:33] And you tell them the reason why you're speaking to them in the first place. Because you care about them. You have a genuine concern for them. You have a compassion for their soul.
[16:47] And you often find that when you're honest with someone, they're honest with you. They're honest and they're receptive and they're responsive to what you have to say. And you know, when you look at Jesus, there was no one who spoke to lost souls like Jesus did.
[17:05] Jesus had a compassion for the lost. In fact, as you know, Jesus is repeatedly shown to us in the gospel as someone who moved with compassion.
[17:16] He moved with compassion. Jesus oozed compassion for lost souls. When he saw the multitudes, Matthew tells us in chapter 9, when he saw the multitudes, he saw them.
[17:27] How did he see them? He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He saw them as lost sheep, wandering aimlessly. And what did he do? He moved with compassion towards them.
[17:39] And throughout his life, you read of Jesus and he's moving with compassion. He moves with compassion towards the sick. And he moves with compassion towards the sinner. He moves with compassion towards the suffering, towards the sorrowing.
[17:52] He moves with compassion and he's the perfect example for us. We need to do the same. We need to move with compassion towards the lost. We always need to be ready to give an answer for the reason, for the hope that is within us.
[18:07] Because as we move with compassion towards the lost, what are we looking for? What are we longing for? We want a confession from the lost.
[18:20] That's what Paul talks about. We need to move with compassion towards the lost, looking for a confession from the lost.
[18:31] That's what we see. Secondly, a confession from the lost. A confession from the lost. Look at verse 8. Paul says, but what does it say, talking about the Bible?
[18:45] What does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we proclaim. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
[19:00] For with the heart one believes and is justified. And with the mouth one confesses and is saved. You know, in these verses and the verses leading up to it from verse 1 down to verse 10, Paul emphasizes and he explains that the only way for a lost sinner to be saved is by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.
[19:22] The only way for a lost sinner to be saved is by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. Or as my good friend J.C. Ryle says, without confession there's no salvation.
[19:36] Without confession there's no salvation. But of course the call of the gospel, as you know, the call of the gospel is to believe. That's what Paul talks about here. We are to believe in Jesus Christ.
[19:48] And when Jesus began his public ministry the first thing Mark records for us in his gospel is that Jesus proclaimed the time is at hand, the kingdom of God has come, repent and believe in the gospel.
[20:04] Repent and believe in the gospel. And throughout his ministry Jesus repeatedly reminded and reaffirmed to people that they need to believe in him. They need to believe upon him.
[20:15] They need to rest their whole life in Jesus' hands in order to be saved. And you know John as a gospel writer he emphasized this again and again and again throughout his gospel.
[20:29] The need to believe. He wrote all these memorable statements about Jesus. The one we know so well. John 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
[20:51] In John 6 Jesus says I am the bread of life. Whosoever comes to me shall not hunger. Whosoever believes in me shall never thirst. In John 11 Jesus asserts at the grave of Lazarus I am the resurrection and the life.
[21:07] Whosoever believes in me though he die yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. And Jesus asks do you believe this? In fact at the end of his gospel John tells us why he wrote his gospel.
[21:22] And John says he wrote his gospel that you may believe. That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.
[21:35] So the call of the gospel is for lost sinners to believe. To believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. And as a pastor as a preacher of the gospel Paul is fully aware of the need to call sinners to repent.
[21:49] That's his heart's desire that they will be saved that they will believe in the gospel. And we see that even in Paul's experience. Do you remember the Philippian jailer?
[22:02] What's the first thing Paul says to the Philippian jailer? When the Philippian jailer asks him that great question that great gospel question what must I do to be saved?
[22:14] I long for more people to ask me that question. What must I do to be saved? Paul says to him believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
[22:27] But as Paul emphasizes and even explains here in Romans 10 he actually says it's not enough just to believe. it's not enough just to believe.
[22:39] Because the gospel doesn't call us to believe in rules. It doesn't call us to believe in rituals. It doesn't call us to believe in a religious pattern. No, the gospel calls us to believe in a royal person.
[22:52] The gospel calls us to believe in Jesus Christ the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But as Paul says here it's not enough to believe. There needs to be a confession.
[23:06] You must believe in your heart that's what he says and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. because it was always the confession right from the beginning of the church it was always your confession that distinguished you as a Christian.
[23:23] It was always your confession that distinguished you as a Christian. In the first century everyone as you know they were all being persecuted. The Christian church was being persecuted. Everyone was being made to confess Kaiser Curios Caesar is Lord.
[23:39] They were all made to bow down to the statues of Caesar and confess Kaiser Curios Caesar is Lord. But the Christian their belief was different.
[23:51] Their confession was different. And sometimes their confession came at a cost to their livelihood and even to their lives. Because the Christian confession was not Kaiser Curios Caesar is Lord.
[24:03] The Christian confessed Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. And so for Paul it's not enough to say I believe.
[24:17] It's not enough to say I believe in God. It's not enough to say I believe in Jesus Christ. It's not enough to simply say I believe the Bible. I believe what it teaches about God and man.
[24:29] I believe what it teaches about sin and salvation. About life and death and heaven and hell. It's not enough just to say I believe it all. Because as James says in his letter remember what James says in his letter you say that you believe you do well.
[24:47] You do well. Even the demons of hell believe and they tremble. Even the demons of hell believe and they tremble.
[24:59] That's why it's not enough just to believe. You must as Paul says confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[25:11] My friend for Paul confessing Jesus Christ as Lord over your life was important and integral to salvation. Because there were so many people in Paul's day and even in our day who thought and who still think that by believing in the simple existence of God and by believing in a historical account of Jesus Christ in the gospel then that's enough to be saved.
[25:40] But as Paul emphasizes and explains and stresses this point it's not enough. It's not enough. Because it's not enough to believe in the existence of God.
[25:51] It's not enough simply to believe in the accounts of Jesus Christ in the gospel. It's not enough to say that you're a Christian because you're a good person with good morals. It's not enough to think that you're saved because you help the church with your time and your talents and your tithing.
[26:10] Paul explains no, no, no. Paul even says in this passage you're being ignorant of the righteousness of God. You're seeking to establish your own righteousness by what you do by being a good person with good morals.
[26:27] But Paul says God isn't interested in your being a good person with good morals. God is only interested in what Jesus Christ has done for you. God is only interested in you standing in Christ and in Christ alone.
[26:40] Therefore, Paul says you need to submit to God's righteousness. You need to submit to the Son of Righteousness. You need to submit and surrender your life to the one who is described as Jehovah Sikkenu, the Lord our righteousness.
[26:55] Because it's only when you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved.
[27:07] You will be saved. Verse 10, he says, for with the heart one believes and is justified. You're made righteous and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
[27:22] Therefore, we're made righteous before a holy God not by what we do, and we need to tell people that. It's not by what you do, but by simply believing and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, as Lord over our life, as Lord of all.
[27:42] Because if he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. And this is why Vision 2024 needs a confession from the lost, where they believe in their heart and confess with their mouth Jesus, Jesus is Lord.
[28:03] But you know, as Christians, and I say it to myself, how do we make sure that there's a confession from the lost? There's to be a compassion to the lost, a confession from the lost, but how do we make sure that there's a confession from the lost?
[28:21] we must always have in our mind that we have a commission to the lost. We have a commission to the lost, which is what we see lastly and briefly, a commission to the lost.
[28:35] Vision 2024 reminds us that we need a passionate pursuit for the go of God by possessing a compassion for the lost, a confession from the lost, and a commission to the lost.
[28:50] A commission to the lost. Look at verse 11. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.
[29:01] For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For everyone who calls in the name of the Lord will be saved.
[29:14] How then will they believe on Him in whom they have not, how then will they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
[29:27] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. As Paul expresses here, he expresses his compassion for the lost.
[29:43] Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God is that they be saved. Then he explains the need for a saving confession from the lost. They need to believe in their heart and confess with their mouth.
[29:54] But now Paul emphasizes and he reminds us we have a commission to the lost. Because the gospel is, as Paul says again and again, he says, everyone or whosoever, the gospel is to whosoever.
[30:12] Paul says, whosoever believes shall not be put to shame. Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So the gospel is to whosoever because it's a commission to the lost.
[30:26] It's a commission to the lost. But you know, as reformed Calvinist Presbyterians, I think we often give our unconverted friends a hard time for hiding behind the doctrine of election.
[30:44] where we claim that many of them will say, and they do say it, don't get me wrong, they do say it, but we might give them too hard a time. They say, if I'm going to be saved, I'll be saved and there's nothing I can do about it.
[30:58] They just hide behind the doctrine of election. But the truth is, and I think as reformed Calvinist Presbyterians, I think we are just as guilty for hiding behind the doctrine of election.
[31:15] Where we say about the unconverted friend, if they're going to be saved, they'll be saved. There's nothing I can do about it. They'll come in God's time when God's spirit moves them.
[31:27] So I don't need to say anything to them. Don't need to speak to them. Don't need to encourage them. Don't need to invite them to church. And in many ways that's true.
[31:39] But if Paul has taught us anything from this passage, it's that our heart's desire and our prayer should be for lost sinners to be saved. And that despite the doctrine of election, which is absolutely God's business, not our business, we have a role.
[31:57] we have a responsibility. We have a commission to the lost. Because Jesus Christ must be offered to all men, all women, everywhere, without exception or qualification.
[32:12] And so we need to have a passion for lost souls in our community. And if we don't have a passion for them, we need to pray for a passion for them. If we don't have a burden for them, we need to pray for a burden for them.
[32:24] That we're praying for lost souls at our prayer meeting. That that's the first thing that comes to our mind, lost souls. Lost souls.
[32:35] That our heart is beating for them, our heart is breaking for them, that they'll be saved. To have a care and a compassion and a concern for lost souls. That we have a love for them, a longing for them.
[32:48] That our development plan is not some bit of paper that's going to sit in our rooms or in our houses somewhere, but this plan is actually going to be, well, I need to do something. Lord, here am I.
[33:02] Send me. Use me. That's why Paul questions how lost sinners are going to be saved. If we don't obey our commission to go to them, he says, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
[33:17] How are they going to believe in him whom they've never heard? How are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they're sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news.
[33:29] They've not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he's heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. And you know it links in a chain. Paul follows this train of thought, and he emphasizes, and he explains, sinners will not be saved.
[33:46] The lost will not be found. Those in darkness will not be brought into light. The dead will not be raised to newness of life. People will not believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord unless, unless, unless, unless we go to them with the gospel.
[34:06] You know, gone are the days of opening the church on a Sunday morning and expecting the community to flow in here and fill this place.
[34:18] the gospel is not sit and wait. The gospel, as Jesus says to even the disciples at the empty tomb, come, see, go, tell.
[34:31] Come, see, go, tell. Go into all the world, preach the gospel. Make it known to them. Tell them to come.
[34:42] That there's a Christ who has died for sinners. It's a commission to the lost. We're to go with the gospel because the gospel, it is Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation.
[34:57] And so, just in a word, we are to be intentional in our evangelism. We're to think of ways in order to be a Christian witness in our community.
[35:10] We're to build friendships. We're to cultivate relationships. We're to create contacts. We're to get involved in our community. We're to be purposeful.
[35:22] We're to be practical. We're to be prayerful. We're to be a light in darkness. We're to be in the world but not of the world because separation is not isolation. It's contact without contamination.
[35:34] My friend, we have a commission and it's to lost souls. A commission to lost souls. And so in order to put into practice Vision 2024, we need to have a passionate pursuit for the glory of God.
[35:51] It's all to His glory. The gospel of God, it's all about the person of Jesus and the goal of God. We need to make Jesus known. We need to make Him known.
[36:02] We need a compassion for the lost and seek a confession from the lost. And we need to remember day by day, we have a commission as the church of Jesus Christ.
[36:12] we have a great commission to lost souls. Because the wonder is someone once spoke to us about our soul and our lost state.
[36:27] So we need to remember to speak to other people about their soul and their lost state. Lord, bless these thoughts to us.
[36:40] Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we thank Thee for the beauty of the gospel. It reminds us, Lord, that there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned.
[36:54] And so, Lord, we pray that we would have a passion, a passion for lost souls, that our longing would be to see sinners won to Christ, and Lord, we know that salvation alone is of Thee.
[37:08] But Lord, help us, help us to be burdened, help us, we pray, to have a passion for those who are in our homes and in our families, those in our workplaces, those in our community, that we would be willing to speak to them, ready to speak to them, wanting to speak to them, knowing, Lord, that we have been placed there in the providence of God for Thy glory and ultimately for the furtherance of Thy kingdom, or that we would live lives with an eternal perspective, seeing that Thou art the God who is working all things together for good to those who are the called, according to Thine own purpose.
[37:49] Lord, bless Thy truth to us, we pray. Give to us, we ask, to know Thy blessing, and Lord, that Thou wouldest lead us and guide us into a new week, that Thou wouldest go before us in everything, and keep us, we ask, by Thy grace and by Thy power, for we ask it in Jesus' name, and for His sake.
[38:08] Amen. We're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening. We're going to sing to God's praise in Psalm 40. Psalm 40 in the Scottish Psalter.
[38:24] Psalm 40. We're singing from verse 6 down to the verse marked 9. It's on page 260 in the blue psalm book.
[38:38] Psalm 40. But before we sing, we have four questions.
[38:52] Are you ready? No. Question one, what is the desire of Paul's heart for people to be saved?
[39:04] It's our heart's desire. If we're ashamed of the gospel, Jesus is ashamed of us. It's quite a warning. Question three, in order to be saved, we must believe in our heart and confess with our mouth.
[39:23] And question four, what do we need to confess with our mouth? Jesus is Lord. Lord over our life.
[39:34] Yeah? Okay? So I hope we will all do that. Believe in our heart and confess with our mouth. So Psalm 40, we're singing in verse 6.
[39:47] Psalm 40, it's the first few verses describe the confession of the Christian. And then from verse 6 to 9, you have the confession of the Christ. Where Jesus is speaking, he's describing his experience, but then he's talking about preaching.
[40:03] In verse 9, as we mentioned all of our Psalms, they focus upon the theme of preaching. And it's Jesus who preaches. It's not man who preaches. It's Jesus who preaches.
[40:15] He preaches in the congregation. It's the word, as Paul said there in Romans 10, faith comes by hearing, hearing through the word of Christ. As it says there in verse 9, within the congregation great, I righteousness did preach.
[40:31] Lo, thou dost know, Lord, that I refrained, not my speech. So tonight, Jesus has been preaching to you. Jesus has been preaching. And I suppose the question is, have we been listening?
[40:47] Psalm 40 from verse 6 down to the verse 9. We'll stand to sing, if you're able, to God's praise. Amen. in heaven, And verice.
[41:24] his heart is No Dicted видео on His blood him the God will the and are Do the God Within the volume of the moon It witted his song me To do thy will I take delight I know thy might for the start In a true story, Lord
[42:34] I have within my heart Within the calm we care or gain By my chastis and bridge Though thy God's love O Lord, that I Refrain my speech 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 Amen