The Mighty Works of God

We're going to read together in God's Word. Now we've got two readings this morning. Our first

in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. We're reading in Genesis chapter 11,

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

and then our second reading is in the book of Acts. So our first reading in Genesis chapter 11.

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

We're going to read from verse 1 to verse 9, where you see here God sending the people into

confusion with different languages that they couldn't understand each other and then being

sent out to all different parts of the world. So Genesis chapter 11, verse 1. Now the whole earth

Genesis 11:1

had one language and the same words. And as the people migrated from the east, they found a plain

in the land of Shina and settled there. And they said to one another, come, let us make bricks and

burn them thoroughly. And they had bricks for stone and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, come,

let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. And let us make a name for

ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the

city and the tower which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, behold, they are one

people and they have all one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing

that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down. And there confuse their

language so that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord dispersed them from

there over the face of all the earth. And they left off building the city. Therefore, its name was

called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there, the Lord

dispersed them over the face of all the earth. And our second reading is in the book of Acts.

Acts chapter 2. And we're going to read from verse 1 down to verse 13. Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention Acts 2:1

verse 1. So we're into the New Testament.

Here we read of this day when the Lord came down by the power of His Spirit into the midst of His people.

And the gathering of His people is what we see here. So Acts chapter 2 at verse 1.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind. And it filled the entire house

where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave

them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

And at this sound the multitude came together. And they were bewildered because each one was hearing

them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying,

Are not all these who are speaking? Galileans. And how is it that we hear each of us in his own

native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites. And residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene.

And visitors from Rome, both Jews and Proselytes, Cretans and Arabians. We hear them telling in our own

tongue the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

What does this mean? But others, mocking, said, They are filled with new wine.

And so on. And may God bless that reading from his word. Let's again come to God in prayer. Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and how it reminds us that it is a word that

goes out to all ends of the earth. And we thank you that that is true today in our day and age,

that your word, perhaps like at no other time, is able to find and cross boundaries like never before.

That there is access to so many people and places. That your word is powerful and mighty. And it tells

us of the mighty works of God, of what you have done for your people down through all the generations.

Even as we have read in our two passages together, a time so far apart and yet the same

God. The same God who was able to throw people in all different directions and into the confusion of

different languages. So that instead of bringing glory to themselves, that they would seek you with

all their heart. We thank you that that is what we have read in Genesis and that we are reminded then

as we come into the New Testament that you are a God of mission. A God who is calling a people to

himself from all ends of the earth, that your gospel would be heard and understood and received with

great gladness and wonder. And we know, Lord, too, that there are many challenges to your gospel.

There are many who will dismiss it, that there are many who abandon it. There are many who receive it

with gladness for a time, but are so distracted by the things of this world that it falls away from

them. But we thank you, Lord, that you are the one who is able to prepare the ground, that you are the

one who is able to give the increase and the blessing, that you are the one who has given the power of your

Holy Spirit. As we will read of and see more of this morning, we thank you that we have the Spirit

promised with us. And we thank you that it is not through our power or strength, but through the power of

your Spirit that your Word is blessed. And so we pray that for ourselves here and for all your people who

gather today, and for your Word as it goes out, that it will go out with the power of your Holy Spirit, that it

will accomplish great things, and that we would rejoice and delight in your Word, being received with gladness,

being heard with joy, a Word that brings a sense of joy into the lives of so many broken people.

We thank you that it is a power to heal and to heal to the utmost. So we pray, Lord, that you would

continue to pour out your blessing on us, to be with us as a people, as homes, as families, as a

congregation. We ask, Lord, that you will direct us in all our ways, that you will help us even in this

coming week, that we would go into it with a sense of anticipation, that we would rejoice that you

are the God who hears us, that you are the God who is able to answer prayer. And as we look ahead to a

day of prayer for our denomination, we pray that our times together will not be times that we enter into

without prayer, but that today and in the days leading up to it, we will draw near to you, that we will

commit ourselves and our church and our denomination as a whole, all your people far and wide, Lord,

that we would come praying for one another, praying for your blessing on us, praying humbly as sinners

such as we are, confessing our sins, but thankful for the forgiveness that you have shared upon us

through your Son, Christ Jesus. And so we come, Lord, seeking your face, asking as the psalmist,

Lord, bless and pity us, shine on us with your face, that the earth, thy ways, and nations all

may know your saving grace. We ask these things humbly before you. And we pray too, Lord, for our

communion weekend ahead as well, Lord, that you will prepare our hearts for that, that you will encourage

us, Lord, and strengthen us as a people, that you will increase our faith. Lord, we may become here

today with our faith seeming so small, but we thank you that your word says that even if our faith is

like a grain of mustard seed, so small and insignificant in many ways in our eyes, and yet able to flourish and

blossom into the greatest tree in the garden, we thank you that you are the one who is able to make our

faith flourish, that you are the one who is able to give it the increase and help us, Lord, to lean

upon and look to you in each and every day. So we ask your blessing upon us in all of these things, and we

ask your blessing on our homes and families and our different needs at this time as well. Those who are

mourning and grieving, Lord, we commit to you, asking for your comfort, your grace, and your blessing to

them. Praying for those who are unwell, those who are in hospital and homes, those who have

anticipating hospital visits even in the coming weeks ahead as well. And we do remember in that

mind, Lord, we pray for Donna and James just now. We commit them to you, Lord, asking for your

grace and your peace towards them, that as Donna will await surgery in these coming weeks, Lord, that you

will still our heart and give our calm and help us all to surround them with prayer at all times.

So, Lord, we commit them to you and all others like them, Lord, who have times of anxiety and worries

just now, Lord, that you will shower your blessing upon them, that you will bring comfort and help in all

different times of need. We pray too, Lord, for Reverend Ian Morrison in Oban. We know he's been unwell this

week and is in hospital just now, and we pray for him in his recovery, Lord, that you will strengthen him

and uphold him, Lord, and that you will restore him in health. We pray, Lord, for the wider denomination

too, Lord, that you will guide us and help us as a people, as a denomination that seeks to reach out

with the gospel, that you will direct our steps and our paths and help us to do all for your glory.

So, remember us, we pray, Lord. Remember all your people, all our loved ones, near and far,

those who serve you in the gospel around us here and throughout all ends of the earth, Lord, that we

would see that the harvest is great, but that we are praying to the Lord of the harvest to provide in

every way. So, may you shower us with your blessings and pardon us in all our sin. That's all we ask. We ask in

Jesus' precious name and for his glory. Amen.

Well, again, sing to God's praise. This time we're singing in Psalm 85 in the Scottish Psalter.

Psalm 85 and at verse 6, page 340 of the Psalm books.

We'll sing from verse 6 down to the end of the Psalm.

That in thee may thy people joy, wilt thou not us revive? Show us thy mercy, Lord, to us do thy salvation give.

We'll sing from verse 6 down to verse 13 and the tune is Denfield.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God, in thee may thy people joy, wilt thou not us revive? Show us thy mercy, Lord, to us do thy salvation give.

I'll hear what the Lord will see. To his hope he'll seek peace.

And to his sins, but let them not return to foolishness.

Good, then, not fear him, surely near him, is his salvation.

But glory in her loving heart, her habitation.

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Amen.

Hash Messiah, O valor, to the關 capitalism, Lord, to us dev one of his wounded children.

Amen.

Can glory in his knees be his mercy become the лучше of God.

That in Editionposts, upon his true life of the death, deliver him good to us weel hisinction and being Reynolds.

Amen.

Amen.

Jesus, I, means, our frase豈 ego, to us in sic死, son of Gleich cai.

Amen.

Thank you, O also, to the end of thisakukan block on earth, that is over met colourful BeWorld,

Нам Captain, to us write.

For this good the Lord shall build, our land shall yield in peace.

Justice to set us in his steps shall go before his grace.

We can turn back to our reading in the book of Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We can just read again at verse 11.

Where we see a reminder of how the people are hearing each other speaking.

Although they would not normally understand, they were understanding one another.

And it says there, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians.

We hear them telling in our own tongue the mighty works of God.

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, what does this mean?

So they were hearing about the mighty works of God.

As we begin this new week, we look ahead in many ways to the week ahead and what lies before us.

And it is a time of national prayer as a denomination.

We have the National Day of Prayer on Wednesday.

It's a time of thanksgiving.

It's a time of year when we look back over the year with much thanksgiving to God.

And then we look ahead to the end of the week.

We would, God willing, come together around the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

When we come to remember the Lord's death and all that he has done for us there.

So how do we go into the week ahead?

Are we going in our own strength?

Are we looking to ourselves?

Or are we looking to God, thankful for the mighty works of God?

And who is with us as we go into the week ahead?

That we do not go alone, but that we have the Lord with us.

And especially as we will see in this passage that we have the promise of the Holy Spirit with us.

And that it is through him and his strength that we seek to do all things to his glory.

Now as you look at the book of Acts in this chapter here, chapter 2 or chapter 1 and 2 really,

you could take together.

You see what the people have witnessed of the power of God.

The mighty works of God that they have already seen.

They have been three years with Jesus and his public ministry, seeing his miracles,

seeing all that he was doing, hearing his teachings and everything that they had

over these last number of years together.

They had enjoyed a real time of blessing.

But then you think of what they'd seen in just the previous few days to this.

How they'd seen the Lord crucified, put to death on the cross.

How they'd heard about the resurrection.

How they'd seen the risen Lord.

And then as chapter 1 shows us how they'd seen his ascension.

How they'd seen him go up to glory to be with the Father.

And you think to yourself the wonder of all that they had seen,

the amazement of all that they had seen,

that this would be enough for anyone's lifetime to see all of this

and to try and understand it.

Where do you begin?

But what we see here in chapter 2 is that God still had a purpose and a plan for his people

and to see and continue to see the mighty works of God

and to show the mighty works of God to others as well.

There's more to come.

This is just the beginning.

In chapter 1 and verse 8,

the people had been reminded as they were gathered together,

just a small number of them.

They were told that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria

and to the end of the earth.

That God was going to continue to send his people out on this journey,

this journey that takes the gospel to all ends of the earth.

So they were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit

and they didn't have to wait long.

They have been waiting as instructed by Jesus,

waiting with a sense of anticipation as to what was to come.

Not thinking, well, we've got to take things into our own hands,

we've got to do something about this ourselves.

No, they had been given instruction by God

and they were waiting on his coming,

on the Holy Spirit coming and seeing what God would do in their midst.

But they haven't just been waiting without doing anything.

They've been waiting in prayer.

They've been waiting and looking to God's Word.

They've been waiting together as well.

There's this sense of unity and oneness as they are together waiting on the Lord's coming in this way

through the Holy Spirit.

And then the day comes when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them.

That's what we've read of here in the beginning of chapter 2.

There's this sense of amazement and wonder among all the people there as to what's happening.

And they're left with this question in verse 12,

when they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

what does this mean?

And that's the question that so often is asked today as well.

What does all this mean?

What does this pouring out of the Spirit mean for us as a people?

What does it mean for the church today?

And so many people look at this seeking the same kind of experience once again,

seeking another day of Pentecost as it is,

a pouring out of the Spirit that we have to wait again for another day

of the Holy Spirit being poured out,

or that we are to come and speak in tongues to one another.

But that's not what this is about.

This is not about waiting for another time,

but looking and seeing that God has given His Spirit,

that He has poured out His Spirit on His people

to be His witnesses to all the ends of the earth.

And so that as we come together in His name here today,

as we go into the week ahead in all that we do,

whether it's in our own homes, in our workplaces,

as we come together for prayer on the National Day of Prayer,

as we look ahead to a communion weekend,

that whatever we are doing,

we are doing it knowing that we have the promise of the Holy Spirit,

that He is with us,

and that He is the one who is able to bless.

You see, Acts chapter 2 must be understood

Acts 2 · chapter mention

in light of what was said in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1:4

verse 4 to verse 8.

Well, there it's going through that He has told them

to wait on the promise of the Father which He said,

that the Holy Spirit, not many days from now,

will come upon you.

So they were waiting for it,

and that after that,

that they were to be witnesses to all the ends of the earth.

That is what we see being accomplished and done

in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And if you go on in Acts chapter 3 from verse 14,

Acts 3 · chapter mention

you have that great sermon,

at Pentecost of Peter,

which again explains it more clearly for us too.

But what we want to think about just now

is just the sense of wonder of the Holy Spirit,

of the power that we have as a people,

the power that we should depend on

and look to in all that we do.

And so we want to think of three things for ourselves

as we look to all that's ahead of us,

thankful for God's past faithfulness and goodness

and looking ahead in God's sense of anticipation to God.

So three things I want us to take from this passage.

As we think of the day of Pentecost

in the light of their experience then

and ourselves today,

first of all,

that it was something that it was anticipated.

The second thing,

it was something that was amazing.

And the third thing is,

it was something that was awakening.

And as we look to God,

these are three things

that we should have in our own hearts as well.

A sense of anticipation,

what God can do in our midst,

what God can do for us and others.

A sense of amazement

as to who God is,

the wonder of what he has done for us through Christ,

which is what Peter goes on to preach

in that sermon in Acts chapter 2 later on.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

How the Lord Jesus died for our sins.

The sense of amazement.

And then thirdly,

the sense of awakening.

That he would stir us up in our hearts.

That in our deadness of our hearts,

that we would see the Holy Spirit

as the one who gives life to us

and to all that we do.

So the first thing we want to see

is the sense of anticipation.

The point of Pentecost here is mission.

Mission.

That the gospel would go out

to all ends of the earth.

Because what is the goal of mission?

Mission.

It is what Habakkuk spoke of

in the Old Testament

in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 14,

Habakkuk 2:14

where it says,

That the earth be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

That is the sense and power of mission.

That the earth be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Just like Psalm 67 says to us,

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with your face.

That the earth thy ways

and nations all may know your saving grace.

There is a sense of anticipation

that God is blessing his church

to all ends of the earth.

And so to understand what Pentecost means

here in Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

we have to think of it in light

of what it meant in the Old Testament.

And Pentecost was all to do

with the harvest time.

Pentecost, which means 50th,

refers to 50 days after the Passover festival.

And it's called different things.

In the Old Testament,

it's called the Feast of Wicks

or the Feast of Harvest.

It's known as these things.

But very much it is a harvest theme behind it.

Because at the Feast of Pentecost

would be when the first fruits of the harvest

were brought and offered up to the Lord.

And so there was a sense of thanksgiving

and anticipation.

The people would bring the first part of the harvest,

but it would be an anticipation of more to come.

So there would be a sense of thanksgiving to God,

but also looking to God

and trusting Him that the full harvest would come in

and that it would be successful.

Remember what we were looking at last week

in Matthew chapter 9,

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

where Jesus was looking on the people with compassion

and He saw the fields white to harvest.

And He says,

The harvest is plentiful,

and the laborers are few.

Pray to the Lord of the harvest.

So the harvest anticipated in the Old Testament

is now being signified here on this Pentecost

as the harvest of God's people

that is to come in.

And so behind that is a sense of anticipation

that God is able to save

and save to all ends of the earth.

That He is sending out His gospel

to all people everywhere

that they may be gathered in

as part of the harvest.

that they might hear and understand the gospel

and receive it with gladness

and rejoice in the Lord.

And we ask ourselves,

is that how we come to worship God today?

Is that the sense in which we go into the week ahead

as we anticipate a day of special focus on prayer

in our national day of prayer?

As we have a day of thanksgiving?

As we have a weekend of communion?

In all of these things,

are we going into it with a sense of anticipation?

That God has been good to us.

That God has been rich to us through Christ.

That God can bless us as we go forward as a people.

That the harvest is there,

but God is in the business of gathering in His harvest.

That the earth be filled with the knowledge

of the glory of the Lord.

That that is what we would see in our midst.

Anticipate as a people

and seek and long to go out from here with it as well.

So the people here,

they were gathered in one place.

It says that in verse 1 for us.

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

they were all together in one place.

They had that sense of anticipation.

Prayer of expectation, of faith,

and the wonderful things that God can do.

And shouldn't we be like that as well?

Shouldn't we have that sense of anticipation?

What God can do for us.

The second thing we see here,

it was something that was amazing.

You get the sense in which Luke is almost struggling

for words at times to describe

what he is seeing in their midst here.

In verse 2 it says,

Suddenly there came from heaven a sound

like a mighty rushing wind.

And it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as or like fire

appeared to them and rested in each one of them.

There was this sense of amazement at what was happening.

The sense of, what is this?

This is the mighty works of God.

This is what God has promised for his people.

That he would pour out his spirit upon them.

And God showed himself to them in this way

that just left them with this sense of wonder.

There was this mighty rushing wind

like a spirit had come in.

There was this fire that came down.

And all of these things that are mentioned,

we think of how it relates to the Old Testament.

And how God so often shows his presence in these amazing ways.

When you read through the Old Testament,

you find places where you think,

that's only possible by God.

And that's the whole point of the gospel.

Salvation is only possible through God.

Life eternal is only possible through our Lord Jesus Christ.

You think here how it speaks of this sound,

like a mighty rushing wind.

The sound that came into their midst,

this presence of God.

It's so often how we see the presence of God

in the Old Testament.

In the book of Ezekiel chapter 37,

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

where God commanded the prophet to prophesy

in the valley of dry bones.

He said, prophesy.

And it brought life.

The breath of life came upon these dry bones.

And it brought life to them.

And that's exactly what we're seeing here as well.

That the Lord, through his Holy Spirit,

is able to give life to what is dead.

And that's how we are described.

We are dead in our trespasses and sins.

But he is able to give life.

And he's able to give life to his church,

to his people.

And it's amazing how he does it.

How even when we seem so far from God

and so distant from God,

that God in a moment can come and revive

and quicken his people.

And so here they were waiting in a sense of anticipation.

And then they see these amazing things taking place.

The tongues of fire coming down upon them.

And you think of fire in the Old Testament,

how again it symbolized the presence of God.

Moses in the wilderness,

he saw the burning bush.

It wasn't consumed because God was in the midst of it.

And God spoke to him there.

And you think how God led his people

through the wilderness journey.

How did he do it?

He guided them by a pillar of fire.

He was with them.

He was guiding them at all times.

And so there's this sense of God with us here

through his Holy Spirit.

He will be with us.

And then you think back to a reading

in Genesis chapter 11.

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

What happened there when there was so much confusion

that people were cast into chaos?

They'd all been speaking one language,

but God confused them

so that there would be a multitude of languages

so they couldn't understand one another.

Well, what we see here is

that there will be a language

that everyone can understand.

That God is bringing his people back together.

You look at the list of all the different people

and places mentioned here.

Between verse 7 down to verse 11 there,

there's a number of different places.

And the question is,

how are all these people understanding?

They have their own language.

Well, because God is restoring

and bringing his people back together.

You see, in Genesis,

they had been building this tower

for their own glory,

their own mighty works.

But now they are talking about

the mighty works of God

in a language they can all understand.

And that is the language of the gospel.

That as the gospel goes out,

it goes out with power.

And it leaves a sense of amazement

at what God is able to do.

That he is able to bring people back together.

That he is able to restore and heal

in a way that we cannot do.

Because it's all about the mighty works of God.

It's all about the power of his Holy Spirit.

We cannot do it ourselves.

We look to him.

And that's the way that they were to go on

from this Pentecost day.

And to go out to all ends of the earth.

That is the way that we are to go on

in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.

Albert Einstein once said,

He who can no longer pause to wonder

is as good as dead.

And how easy it is for us

to lose our wonder of God.

Our amazement of God

and his mighty works.

Imagine coming to look

to the Lord's death on the cross

and to feel nothing.

We have done it ourselves in the past.

Perhaps we're doing it even now.

We're looking at the cross

and hearing of the cross

where Christ died for sinners

and nothing.

There's no wonder.

There's no awe and amazement

because we're dead.

But

the mighty works of God

are that he brings life

through his Spirit.

That the Holy Spirit

is what revives us in our hearts.

What quickens us to see

the cross of Christ

for what it is.

That Christ

died for my sin.

That he gave his life

as a ransom

for me.

And when the Holy Spirit

awakens us

and breathes life

into our hearts.

No longer

do we dead to that.

But we are made alive

to Christ.

We weep

over our sin.

And we rejoice

that Christ died

for our sins.

And we marvel

at the mighty works

of God.

That is how

we should be.

But are we dead?

Have we lost

that sense

of awe

and amazement?

Well we need

the mighty works

of God

through his Spirit

to revive us

and to bless us.

So the third thing

we see here is

it's awakening.

This is awakening.

And this is

what we want

in our own hearts

as well.

We see here

the church

awakening.

We see here

the people of God

awakening.

When they're asking

these questions

in amazement

and perplexity

in verse 12

saying

what does this mean?

We ask ourselves

that question today.

What does this mean?

When you see

all these places

and people

mentioned

what does this mean?

It means that

there's good news

for all.

For everyone

and for all

the nations.

And this is

what awakens

the church

of Christ.

The Holy Spirit

bringing life

and to see

and know

that Christ

died

for all.

In the book

of Revelation

Revelation 5:9

chapter 5

verse 9

John is there

proclaiming

to us

what Jesus

has done.

that Jesus

has purchased

it for God

with his blood.

Men from

every tribe

and tongue

and people

and nation.

That there is

a mission

for the church

today as well.

That we are

awakened

to this end

to bring the gospel

to all ends

of the earth.

And the people

in this day

of Pentecost

and Acts

here

have been asking

well how is it

possible?

How can we be

your witnesses

in Jerusalem?

Far less

Judea

and even more

so the ends

of all the earth.

How is it

going to be

possible?

We have the

great commission

of the Lord

Jesus

and he says

go to all

ends of the earth.

He says go

but what else

does he say?

He says

I am with you.

I am with you.

And that's

the great question

that we have

for ourselves

as well.

How can we

so small

and insignificant

a people

here?

How can we

possibly go?

Well it's

to be awakened

and to know

the power

of the Holy

Spirit

with us.

It says

in the Old

Testament

it's not

by might

nor by power

but by my

Spirit

says the

Lord.

That is

how we

are to go.

He has

poured out

his Spirit

upon us.

He has

given the

Spirit

to his

church.

Pentecost

was about

mission

and empowering

because we

are powerless

without the

Holy Spirit

but we have

him promised

with us.

So let us

look to

him.

Let us

pray

to God

our Father.

Pray

through our

Lord Jesus

Christ

and pray

for the

Holy Spirit

with us.

When you

go back

to verse

1 of

chapter 2

here it

gives us

a reminder

of the

starting point

of this

journey

and the

starting point

for ours

as well.

When the

day of

Pentecost

arrived

they were

all together

in one

place.

They were

all together

in one

place.

They were

all tuned

in to

God.

It was

A.W.

Tozer

who once

said

a hundred

pianos

all tuned

to the

same

fork

are

automatically

tuned

to each

other.

And what

was the

point that

he was

making

there?

Well he

was making

you could

try and

tune

your own

piano

and somebody

else could

tune

their own

and everyone

could just

go ahead

and tune

their own

piano

but they're

not going

to be

in tune

because they're

all individual

but tune

it to one

tuning fork

and they're

automatically

playing the

same tune

the same

note.

The point

he's making

is this

that when

we all

tune in

to God

first and

foremost

then we

are all

in tune

with one

another.

That is

what makes

things possible

to be in

tune

with God

to be

together

in one

place

with God

in our

hearts.

knowing

the blessing

of the

Holy Spirit

with us.

So as we

go into

this week

ahead

may we

go with

a sense

of

anticipation

of what

God can

do for

us.

May we

go with

a sense

of amazement

at what

God has

done for

us.

And may

we go

with a

sense

of awakening

knowing

the life

giving

power

of the

Holy Spirit

of God

that we

would see

his mighty

works

in our

midst.

We will

at the

end of

this week

we will

be focusing

on the

Lord's

death.

And that

is our

focus

in all

that we

do

that Christ

died

for us

that we

might have

life.

And the

more we

look to

that

the more

we are in

tune with

that the

more we

are in

tune with

one another

the more

we are in

tune with

all that

is around

us.

And the

words on

your notice

sheet this

week with

regards to

the communion

the words

that Matthew

Henry had

I want to

leave you

with these

words because

they remind

us of

what it

means to

come.

Come to

the Lord's

Supper.

It says

let us

come to

the Lord's

Supper with

rejoicing and

thanksgiving.

these two

must go

together for

whatever is

the matter

of our

rejoicing

must be

the matter

of our

thanksgiving.

Holy joy

is the

heart of

our

thankful

praise and

thankful

praise is

the language

of holy

joy.

Both

these are

very seasonable

when we

are coming

to this

ordinance

which is

instituted

both for

the honor

of the

Redeemer

and for

the comfort

of the

redeemed.

Isn't it

a wonderful

way of

putting it?

It is

both for

the honor

of the

Redeemer

for the

honor of

Christ we

do it

but it is

for the

comfort

of the

redeemed.

The comfort

of doing

it in

remembrance

of him.

May we

come into

this week

with a

sense of

knowing the

Holy Spirit's

leading and

guiding and

blessing in

all that

we do

and knowing

the mighty

work of

God in

our midst.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven we

give you

thanks for

your goodness

to us as a

people and

deserving as

we are

Lord we

thank you

for the

blessings that

are ours in

Christ and

for the

blessing that

we have in

the comfort

of the

Holy Spirit

with us.

And we

pray Lord to

know his

mighty work

in our

midst in

all that

we do

and there

will be

for your

glory and

yours alone.

So we

ask it in

the name

of Jesus.

Amen.

We're going

to conclude

by singing

to God's

praise in

Psalm 104

Psalm 104

page 138

of the

psalm

books.

Psalm 104

we'll sing

from verse

31 down

to the

end of

the psalm

and the

tune is

Hifredal.

Psalm 104

Psalms 104:31

verse 31

May the

Lord's

majestic

glory always

last and

never fade.

May the

Lord rejoice

and triumph

in the

works that

he has

made.

We'll sing

these

verses to

God's

praise.

May the

Lord

majestic

glory

always

last and

never

fade.

May the

Lord

rejoice

and triumph

in the

works that

he has

made.

When

he

gives

his

song

creation

earth

begins

to shake

and

fear

as

it

touched

the

mountains

tremble

smoke

and flames

of fire

appear.

to the

Lord

throughout

my

lifetime

to

my

God

I

will

sing

praise.

May

my

meditation

be

said

as to

him

my

song

I

raise.

but

with

sinners

free

before

and

the

wicked

be

no

more.

Praise

to

the

Lord

almighty

O

my

soul

the

Lord

adore.

After the

benediction I'll go to the door to my left.

We'll close with the benediction.

Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.