Encouragement in the Lord

Well, please turn back with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 32.

2 Chronicles 32 · chapter mention

! And particularly this evening, our text is from verse 6 down to verse 8.

! Towards the beginning of that little section we read of King Hezekiah,

! that he gathered the people together to him in the square at the gate of the city

and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, Be strong and courageous.

You know, one of the greatest needs of the church today is encouragement.

Encouragement from the Lord, encouragement from the Word of God,

encouragement that's, you know, rooted in the Word of God itself,

encouragement that we see in every part, every section of God's Word.

We need to drink that in and be nourished by the very encouragement that the Word gives the church

to give the church courage, to give the church that strength to, well, yes, to face the enemies of our soul,

to face all that is there that seeks to undermine and destroy our confidence in the Lord.

The church needs encouragement.

You need encouragement.

Encouragement as a congregation.

You need encouragement as individuals.

I need encouragement.

We all need encouragement from the very Word of God.

And whether it's in this congregation or elsewhere,

the church as a whole needs to be absorbed in the encouragement that the Word of God gives.

And, of course, we need that encouragement for our daily walk with the Lord,

for the strength that God's Word gives us to fight that good fight of faith,

to fight even the sins within our own hearts.

We need encouragement to be strong, to be courageous,

to trust in the Lord, to have faith in all that God has promised to give to His people.

So we need encouragement because there is that war, that spiritual warfare against the world,

against the flesh, against the devil.

And, you know, these times when we lose encouragement from the Word of God,

when we maybe even seek courage in ourselves,

when we fail to see the Word that God gives us by His infallible Word,

we lose heart.

We lose that strength.

And we're so prone to discouragement.

We can even discourage one another when we turn away from the Word of God

that enlightens us, that directs our hearts.

And we can easily lose that zeal for the Lord

when we're not absorbed in the Word of God constantly.

We lose that courage to face the enemies of our souls.

You know, we're to be foot soldiers in the Lord's army.

But so often when we fail to be encouraged by the Word of God,

we can actually be deserters.

We can shy away from the conflict that the Lord gives to us as soldiers,

soldiers in the Lord Jesus.

We can be deserters when we should be in the front line.

So seek encouragement from the Word of God.

Even seek encouragement this evening as we turn to this particular passage.

Because we all need, as we said, we all need encouragement.

You know, even when you look through Scripture,

you see time and time again the Lord's people needing that encouragement from the Lord,

needing to be strengthened.

When their hearts were low, when they had so much doubt,

even within their own selves,

the Lord's people needing to come before God

and God addressing them with that promise

that He's with them always.

We'll come back to that promise in a moment.

But you know, even when you think of the Lord Jesus,

think of Jesus in His earthly ministry.

He needed encouragement.

The Son of God, the sinless Son of God,

needed encouragement.

He needed the encouragement of His Father.

He needed the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

And yes, even on those moments before going to the cross,

even there in Gethsemane,

He needed the encouragement of His closest disciples.

If that's the case with the Lord Jesus,

how much more ourselves when we need the encouragement of God's Word.

And you know, there are many, many, as I said,

many examples in Scripture of the Lord's people

needing encouragement, the Word of God entering their hearts.

But I want to turn to this particular section

that perhaps maybe immediately doesn't resonate

with this theme of encouragement for the Lord's people.

But the more we look at it,

I actually will see that this passage

actually speaks volumes to help you,

to help each one of us to be strengthened in the Lord.

It's a great passage.

It's a passage that helps you in whatever circumstances

you might find yourselves in.

And it's a clear message

that, you know, in so many circumstances of life

that the Word of God comes to us

and gives that courage.

It may be that your faith is struggling.

It may be that your faith is even the size

of a tiny grain of mustard seed.

But you need that encouragement from the Lord

to deal with that issue of faith.

It might be the besetting sins of your heart.

You need that courage to come before the Lord

and seek His mercy and seek His forgiveness.

It may be the, well, we might say,

the aggravation of the world

that seeks so often to disrupt and destroy

the witness of the church.

We need that encouragement to stand strong,

to be courageous in that battle,

in that spiritual warfare.

And yes, this is the Old Testament.

This is a passage from the Old Testament.

But let's be reminded that Old Testament examples

are New Testament instructions.

Because what we find even here

in this Old Testament passage,

well, it's fulfillment's found in the New Testament.

You see it in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus.

And again, we'll come back to that in a moment.

But for this evening,

we seek to look at this passage

for our own encouragement.

We're going to see three things

that the Lord's people there in Judea,

there in the capital, Jerusalem,

three things that we find.

We see in verse 6, the speech,

the speech of encouragement.

And then verse 7 to the first part of verse 8,

the strength of encouragement.

And then verse 8, the second part of verse 8,

the significance of encouragement,

the speech, the strength,

the significance of encouragement.

Let's look at verse 6 again.

And he said,

this is King Hezekiah said,

Come back, commanders, over the people

and gather them together,

tomb in the square at the gate of the city

and spoke encouragingly to them.

Now, let's get the context.

Let's get the background to this.

Jerusalem, the capital city

of the southern kingdom of Judea,

Jerusalem's facing a mighty warrior.

It's facing this king of Assyria,

this man, Sennacherib.

And this king's a fierce king.

He's a fierce king of a worrying nation,

a nation that likes to express its power

by war.

And the king of Assyria,

he's in an expansion.

He intends to conquer the whole of Judah.

He intends to capture Judah's capital.

He intends to capture Jerusalem.

He intends to extend his power.

He's one of these kings

that we find in the Old Testament

and find even leaders up to this present day.

Kings who have no love for the Lord,

no obedience to the one true God.

And against him is King Hezekiah.

In fact, you know, of all the kings of Judah,

he's one of the more faithful kings,

kings of that southern kingdom.

Anyway, what do we find?

We find King Hezekiah exercising wisdom.

He knows that the king of Assyria is out

to take his capital.

So what do we find?

We see that he reorganizes the defenses of Jerusalem.

We see that at the beginning of chapter 32,

as we read there.

He cuts off the water supply

that doesn't want the king of Assyria

and his army to be, you know,

refreshed by the water outside the city.

And he strengthens the defenses of the city,

ensures that more weapons are going to be made

in the event of warfare, battle.

And this is, of course, wisdom.

This is sound human responsibility.

There's a real enemy out there.

There's got to be that preparation for battle.

But together with all these practical aspects

of the preparation, what does he do?

He uses words.

He knows that all these practical preparations,

the strengthening of the Milo,

the strengthening of the city defenses,

all the weapons that are going to be made.

He knows that that's not going to be enough.

Because he's got to strengthen

the hearts of the people.

There's a real enemy out there.

The people are afraid.

And the people need to be strengthened in their hearts.

And that's what we see in verse 6.

He does something that has such a profound effect,

a strengthening effect on the people of Jerusalem.

As we read there,

he speaks words of encouragement.

And he speaks directly to the people.

I mean, this is leadership.

This is leadership that, you know,

is showing so much wisdom, so much power.

This is wisdom in a leader of a people.

I mean, the people themselves,

they would have known about this king,

King Assyria,

this King Assyria of Assyria,

this King Sennacherib.

He's already shown his power.

He's already shown his power in the kingdom of Judah.

He's already captured a number of cities.

In fact, we're told elsewhere

that he'd taken 46 of Judah's fortified cities.

He's already captured 200,000 inhabitants.

But Hezekiah is not going to let the people,

you know,

suffer in fear.

He's going to encourage them.

But, you know,

before we see exactly what the king,

what King Hezekiah says to the people,

let's just pause.

Let's just pause here

and just assess what's happening.

You see,

the Hebrew word for encourage,

it's a word that speaks of the mind.

It speaks of you're engaging your mind.

Because in the mind,

there's strength.

Strength and courage.

All the weapons in Jerusalem,

all the fortified structures

in that great city,

well,

wouldn't win the battle

unless the people themselves,

unless their minds were strong in the Lord,

unless their hearts were so strong

in trusting in the one true God.

That's what we see,

we're going to see.

We're going to see that

their minds strengthened

in the knowledge

that the Lord was with them.

And, you know,

we can say this surely,

say this certainly

for our own encouragement.

There's that spiritual warfare

that exists every single day of your life.

If you're a Christian,

you're engaged in spiritual warfare.

I mean,

King Hezekiah,

He spoke words of encouragement.

He encouraged them.

He spoke words to them.

He did so to strengthen their minds

so that they had that resolve

and commitment to trust,

trust in the one true God.

So there's the king

speaking to the people directly.

And of course,

we have another king.

We have another king

who speaks words directly to us,

words of encouragement,

words that strengthen your mind

in every situation of life.

When you hear the words of Jesus say to you,

come unto me,

all you who labor,

come unto me,

all you who are heavy laden,

and I'll give you rest.

You know,

the words of Jesus

are such words of encouragement

because it's the voice of grace,

it's the voice of love,

it's the voice of mercy,

it's the voice of power,

it's the voice we trust.

It's no artificial intelligence.

This is the supreme intelligence

of the one true God,

the one true Savior speaking,

and speaking

through the power of the Holy Spirit

that heals a broken heart

by the word of God.

It's the word that soothes

a troubled mind

when your minds are troubled

by this and by that.

It's that word of encouragement

that strengthens you

for the battles ahead.

It's that word,

as we say,

that's spoken to you in love

by a loving Savior.

Well, listen to these words.

I'm going to read some of the words

that Jesus uttered,

words of encouragement,

and I pray that

as these words are spoken,

that you'll engage your minds

to absorb them,

not just absorb them,

but apply them

in your own situation.

Because,

think of the words of encouragement

that Jesus spoke to his disciples.

You know,

if you're suffering,

maybe you're suffering

for being a Christian,

maybe you're getting assaults

for following the Lord Jesus.

Will you listen to the voice of Jesus

speak to you,

encouraging you

for your stand for the truth?

Listen to the words

that Jesus spoke

in the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew 5.

Blessed are those

who are persecuted

for righteousness,

for righteousness' sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Maybe you're anxious

about something in the future.

Maybe you're anxious

about will God provide for you.

Will you listen to the voice

of Jesus encouraging you?

Matthew 6,

again,

Sermon on the Mount.

If God so clothes the grass

of the field

at which today is alive

and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven,

will he not much more

clothe you,

O you of little faith?

when you come before God

in prayer,

when you make your petitions

before him,

you hear the voice of Jesus

speak encouragingly to you.

Again,

Sermon on the Mount,

ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and it will be opened to you

for everyone who asks,

receives.

And the one who seeks,

finds.

And to the one who knocks,

it will be opened.

You see,

when we absorb

the truth of Jesus' words

and apply that truth,

the word of God,

the word of the Savior,

it does calm fears.

It allays doubts.

It speaks to heart and mind

that receives the word

with gladness,

that receives the word

by faith

and puts that word

into practice

so that you are encouraged

that you are strengthened.

So you're given that courage

to face

what the Lord

and his providence

has given you.

And you know that

he's with you.

With you to strengthen you.

With you to give you

that courage.

And it's that strength

that, you know,

really we want to look at

in relation to King Hezekiah

and the people

that we turn to.

These great words,

these great words of strength,

the strength of encouragement

that we see in verse 7

to the first part of verse 8.

Again, let's read these words.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid

or dismayed

before the king of Assyria

and all the horde

that is with him.

For there are more with us

than with him.

With him

is an arm of flesh,

but with us

is the Lord our God

to help us

and to fight our battles.

I've read these words already.

I've read these words twice.

Because these are words of power.

Because these words,

if we listen to them,

if we apply them,

you'll know that these words

speak to your very heart.

They speak to your heart.

They speak to your mind.

Now, of course,

these aren't the first time,

this isn't the first time

that these particular words

are read in Scripture,

heard in Scripture.

You know the time

when Joshua was about

to succeed Moses

to take the people,

the people of Israel

into the promised land.

Remember,

Moses was dying.

He knew that he himself

wouldn't enter

the promised land,

but his successor,

Joshua,

would.

Joshua,

being a relatively young man,

afraid of leading

that large number

of Israelites.

And what does

Moses say to Joshua?

He says to Joshua,

as we read in

the Deuteronomy,

beginning of Joshua,

Joshua,

be strong and courageous.

Be strong and courageous.

But it wasn't simply

that command

to be strong and courageous.

It wasn't just

be strong and courageous

full stop.

It was be strong

in the Lord.

Be strong in the Lord

and in the power

of his might.

Because any time

we're called

to be strong and courageous,

it's always,

always

in connection

with the one true God.

Always

before the one

who promises

to be with you always.

And you know,

when Hezekiah

gives that command

to the people,

to the,

well certainly

in the first instance

to the leaders,

he tells them

to be strong

and courageous.

And again,

as we said,

it's always

an association

with the one true God.

Because we're told

of,

well,

the king of,

king Hezekiah,

with him,

with Sennacherib

is an arm of flesh.

But with us

is the Lord our God

to help us

and to fight

our battles.

Now you might say,

why do the people

need to hear these words,

these particular words?

What did Hezekiah say

that actually

calmed the people?

And

what can we learn

for ourselves

when we have

so many fears,

so many issues

in our own lives?

What do these words

speak to us?

Or how do these words

speak to us

this evening?

Well,

let's look at the people

first of all.

These people,

they had real fears.

I mean,

as we said,

the king of Assyria,

the Assyrian nation,

they were known,

they had a reputation.

They had a reputation

for just sheer destruction,

throwing no mercy

to their enemies.

And,

you know,

they'd already

exercised that ruthlessness

in so many previous battles.

They'd already

conquered the northern

kingdom of Israel.

That happened

some 20 years before.

20 years,

not a long time.

The people of

Judah,

they'd still know

of what happened

to their northern neighbors.

The people of Israel

were carried off

to the land of Assyria.

As we know now,

it's the northern

Iraq,

southern Turkey,

I suppose,

we could say.

Well,

that army was fierce.

King Hezekiah

had a knowledge

of that people.

The people themselves

of Judah

had that knowledge

of this ruthless army.

in fact,

go to the start

of Isaiah chapter 36.

Isaiah 36 · chapter mention

And we read there

of what we mentioned earlier,

the king of Assyria.

He'd taken

so many fortified

cities of Judah

and now he's

at the walls

of Jerusalem.

The people there,

they're in Jerusalem.

They can look over

the walls.

They can see

that mighty army

in front of them.

They could see

it's a mighty force.

Tens of thousands

of highly equipped

soldiers

and they're just

about to attack.

And there was

obviously real fear

in the city.

The city that's

been besieged.

Real fear.

Are they going

to suffer the same

way that their

fellow Judeans

suffered?

Are they going

to be taken

to Assyria

like their northern

neighbors in Israel?

Are they ever going

to see their

beloved Jerusalem

again if they're

taken away

as captors?

The enemy's real.

The danger's real.

And their fears,

they were real.

And we know

of course ourselves,

the enemy of our

souls, that enemy's

real.

Satan's real.

The demons are real.

The danger of

satanic attack

every day of our

lives, that's real.

The danger of

leading, being led

to places of

we might say

satanic reality,

that's real.

you face a real

foe, you face a

real enemy.

And therefore, we

need to hear the

words of encouragement

that God gives us

in his word to be

strong in the Lord

and the power of

his might.

We need to be

given the word of

God into our

hearts so that we

are strong in the

Lord, so that we

are courageous.

Remember the words

that Paul spoke to

the Philippians,

Philippians chapter

four.

The people in that

church, they were

anxious.

But Paul wrote to

the church there when

he said, the Lord is

at hand.

And I pray that you'll

know that this evening,

even for yourselves

individually or as a

family or as couples

or as a congregation.

The Lord is at hand.

The Lord is near.

You know, the people

all these many years

ago, they had real

fears.

But they also had a

real God.

The real God is we

have a real God, the

one true God whose

power is real.

Whose power is greater

than all our enemies.

And that's what

Hezekiah knows.

That's what he assures

the people with.

For there are more

with us than with

him.

You know, the people

there, as I said,

they're looking out to

this vast army outside

Jerusalem.

It's certainly greater

than size and the

population in that

city itself.

Certainly greater than

the armed men of

Jerusalem.

But Hezekiah knows

his God.

The more who are

with us.

The more who are

with the people of

Jerusalem.

And when Hezekiah

tells that the more

who are with us,

he's telling of

Almighty God.

He's telling of the

Lord of hosts,

the Lord of armies.

He's telling of the

God whose greatness

is greater than any

human might,

any human power.

And of course,

we know that

ourselves.

I hope we know that

ourselves.

Old Testament

examples, as we

said, New Testament

instructions.

Remember what John

wrote to his readers,

John the Apostle,

when those in the

church were facing

the enemy of their

souls.

1 John 4, verse 4,

1 John 4:4

more.

He who is in you

is greater than he

who is in the

world.

You're not alone.

You're not alone.

There are more with

us than with Him.

More.

More in terms of

power.

More in terms of

might.

More in terms of

greatness.

More in terms of the

one who's already won

that victory over sin,

over Satan, over

death itself.

And if you know the

Lord, you're God.

You have that

assurance.

You have that

promise that the

Lord gives you when

He says, I am with

you.

Because you have

with you the

Lord of glory.

Jesus.

Jesus has conquered

sin.

He's conquered

Satan.

He did that on the

cross of Calvary.

He's conquered death

itself when He rose

from the grave.

And so you have

that assurance that

you're not alone in

that good fight of

faith.

As has been said

before, one plus

God is a majority.

You feel alone when

you feel as if maybe

there's no one else

to help.

You remember, one

plus God is a

majority.

You've got that

victory in your

heart.

You've got that

assurance of, well,

of victory in the

Lord Jesus.

He's already faced

the enemy of your

soul.

He's won that

victory.

So listen to the

words of encouragement

that the Lord Jesus

gives you.

There are more

with us than

with him.

More with us than

with the enemy of

our souls.

Well, you act upon

these words.

You act upon the

words that Hezekiah

gave to the people

to encourage them.

Because these

words, of course,

were ultimately

given to Hezekiah

by the word of

truth, by the

very Lord our

Savior.

Because whatever

language you read

these words in,

if you read them

in English,

Gaelic, Hebrew,

all the same,

they tell of the

greatness of God

in contrast to the

weakness of the

enemy of our

souls.

With Him is an

arm of flesh,

but with us is the

Lord our God to

help us and to

fight our

battles.

You see the

contrast?

On the one

hand, there's

the king of

Assyria.

There's the

vast horde of

army that he's

got before him.

They look

powerful, but

they're of minimal

power, minimal

force.

As Hezekiah calls

them, he calls

them a single

arm of flesh.

Just a single

arm, a weak

human individual's

arm.

But opposed to

that human

weakness is

Almighty God.

Almighty God,

the Lord God

of Israel, the

Lord God of

His people, the

Lord God of

His church.

You know, think

of an arm of

flesh.

It tells of

weakness.

I mean, no

power, the most

powerful human

being in the

world still has

that arm of

flesh.

That arm of

flesh in

relation to the

God of all

power.

I mean, the

contrast couldn't

be greater.

Assyria there,

yes, it's a

great nation,

it's a powerful

nation, but it's

been compared

to that arm

of flesh.

And the

people of

Jerusalem, they

have the

Lord, their

God.

Don't ever

forget that.

Don't ever

forget that

truth.

The Lord

God is

with you.

It's that

little preposition,

that little

word with.

It's a little

word in any

language.

You can, if

you've got

Gaelic Bibles,

a little word

there, English

Bibles, whatever.

But notice it's

mentioned twice,

even twice in

verse 8.

It's that little

word with, it's

actually a bit

like a stick of

dynamite.

It's a little

thing that's got

so much power.

Well, that's

what this word

with is in

relation to

God and

ourselves.

The promise

that God

gives to be

with his

people.

The promise

that our

faithful God

gives.

You know, in

so many

examples, this

morning in the

High Free,

Hugh Ferrier,

the minister

was preaching

on the

encounter that

Moses had

with God

and God

assuring Moses

when Moses was

about to lead

the children

of Israel

towards the

promised land,

God saying

to a very

reluctant

Moses,

God saying

to him,

I am with

you.

And you know,

the more we

see this

expression, I

am with

you, or the

Lord with

us, we see

the greatness

of that

little

preposition

that connects

God with

us.

Even before

Jesus was

born, we

read in

Matthew's

Gospel that

they shall

call his

name Emmanuel,

which means

God with

us.

And it's

that abiding

presence of

our Lord and

Saviour when

Jesus was

with his

disciples, when

Jesus, you

know, declared

to them,

behold, I am

with you

always, even

to the end

of the age.

God's

love.

And it's

that promise

of God's

abiding

presence with

you, the

promise of

the abiding

presence of

the Holy

Spirit within

the heart of

every believer

in the Lord

Jesus.

Remember what

Jesus said to

his disciples

as he says

to us,

John 14,

I will ask

the Father

and he will

give you

another helper

to be with

you forever,

even the

Spirit of

Truth, whom

the world

cannot receive

because it

neither sees

him nor

knows him,

you know

him for

he dwells

with you

and will

be in

you.

The Lord

with you.

I mean,

that's the

greatest of

intimacy.

That's the

greatest

closeness that

we can ever

have in our

lives experience.

The Lord

with you.

And when

you take

that to

heart, when

you absorb

that in

your mind,

you're

given that

strength for

the battle,

you're given

that encouragement

of faith to

trust in God

in every

single aspect

of your

lives.

You'll be

able to

stand strong

in the face

of all that

opposition that

seeks to

distance you

from your

Lord and

Saviour.

And that

knowledge that

the Lord is

with you

enables you to

have that

strength,

to face

the present,

to face

the future

knowing that

he'll never

leave you

because he's

with you

always.

Yes, we're

weak in

ourselves.

We need that

strengthening.

I'm weak.

We're all

weak.

But know

that you're

given that

strength.

His word,

his strength

is made

perfect in

our weakness.

The strength

of his word,

the strength

of his

encouragement.

And that

gives you

that confidence.

That confidence

to know that

you're not

on your own.

And that's

the confidence

that the

people were

given.

They were

given to

know that

they weren't

on their

own,

that the

Lord was

with them.

And that's

what we see

finally in the

significance of

encouragement that

we read there in

the second part of

verse 8.

And the people

took confidence

from the words

of Hezekiah,

king of Judah.

The people

took confidence

from the words

of Hezekiah,

king of Judah.

You know,

this expression

took confidence.

The word in the

original language

just sort of

speaks of

support.

The people

were supported

in their hearts,

they were supported

in their minds,

they were

strengthened.

So the words

that Hezekiah

gave to the

people,

that was

sufficient.

That transformed

the real fear

that the people

had to real

faith,

that they could

trust in the

Lord despite

the outward

evidence of

the greater

power of

opposition.

That was the

outer evidence.

but the

reality was

so different.

And,

well,

what did we

read there?

The knock-on

effect of

these words

of Hezekiah.

The people

didn't lose

heart.

Their confidence

wasn't placed

even in the

weapons that

had been

formed,

but the

very word

of God.

You know,

in Hezekiah's

case,

only a man

of faith

could have

pronounced

these words.

Only a man

of true faith

could have

that confidence

that what

the Lord

had said

to him

was true

would be

applied.

And in the

confidence of

the Lord,

what do we

find?

The people,

they've got

confidence in

the Lord.

They're not

going to be

overcome when

the enemy's

at the gate.

And you read

on, if you

were to have

read on in

the passage

in chapter

32,

we see there

the confidence

of the people

is rewarded.

King Hezekiah

didn't prevail

even though

he sought

to overcome

Jerusalem.

Yes, he was

terrifying the

people at one

stage, but the

people would

not be overcome.

The king

had taunted

the people.

King Sinacharab

said to the

people,

you know,

your God's

just another

one of the

many gods.

But God

had the last

word, the one

true God

had the last

word and not

King Sinacharab.

God had the

victory over

the arm of

flesh.

And you

know, as you

dwell in that

truth, dwell in

the confidence

that the people

had at that

time, the

people that

had in the

one true

God.

Let's be

clear about

that word

confidence,

that word

support.

It wasn't

self-confidence.

I mean, the

king of Assyria,

he had self-confidence.

And it wasn't

even confidence in

their own

abilities and

their own

equipment.

It wasn't

that that

enabled them to

stand against

the enemy.

It was

confidence in

God the

Lord.

It was

their absolute

assurance that

these words that

Hezekiah had

spoken were

true.

The confidence

that God would

not abandon

his people.

He was with

them to

deliver them

from that

powerful enemy.

And I hope

and I trust

and I pray that

that's an

encouragement for

you this

evening.

That you can

and must depend

on God in

all your

ways in

every aspect

of your

life.

To have

that trust,

that full

trust that

He'll never

leave you,

never desert

you.

Even in the

most hostile

and difficult

of situations

that we all

face in our

lives, whether

individually as I

said or even

as congregations,

God is with

you always.

You might have

at times in

your life the

dark night of

your soul.

The psalmist of

Psalm 88 had

that experience.

And yet we

know even

from that

psalm that

he had not

lost all

hope.

God was

still his

Lord.

And maybe

you have

trials for

a season but

they're only

for a season.

The Lord's

with you.

Even when you

have to face

particular decisions

even this week,

important decisions,

know that the

Lord is with

you to lead

you and guide

you to give

you that wisdom

from above.

And yes,

even as we

had even for

so many in

the latter

years of our

lives, have

that confidence

to know that

the Lord is

with you.

He's with you

that his rod

and staff

comfort you.

So be

encouraged then

in the word

that the Lord

has given us

this evening.

Be encouraged

even as you

leave this

building, as

you go back

to your homes,

knowing that

as you have

met with the

Lord and his

word, you've

been given

that encouragement

to fight

that good

fight of

faith.

There's all

that contrast

in the world

between the

believer who

trusts in the

Lord and

even the

believer who

at times

lacks faith.

But of course

the greatest

contrast of

all is the

one who has

even that

faith the

size of a

mustard seed

to the one

who has no

faith at all.

If there's

anyone here

this evening

and you

don't have

that faith

in the one

true God

will remember

this.

Are you

trusting in

the arm of

flesh?

Are you

trusting in

the one who

will never

leave you,

never forsake

you?

The one who

promises to

be with you

always, even

to the very

end of the

age?

Will you

trust in the

God who

supports or

the gods

who disappoint?

May you have

your faith

not in the

arm of

flesh,

the God,

the one

true God

who knows

you, who

sees you,

and who

loves you.

May God

bless to us

his word.

Let's join

together now

in prayer.

Let us

pray.

Our

Lord, our

God, our

Heavenly

Father, you

who are the

God of

power and

might, and

you who

have already

shown your

power and

might in

the defeat

of Satan

and the

cross, in

the triumph

of Jesus

over death,

faith.

And may

we all

know that

triumph in

our own

lives.

May we

go forward

in faith,

beholding

our God,

not trusting

in the

arm of

flesh that

so often

we lean

on, but

trusting in

the one

true Lord

and Savior

who gives

us that

support, who

will never

disown us,

never leave

those who

are his.

So hear

us, Lord,

as we commit

to you,

even the rest

of the service.

Help us to

sing words of

praise and

thanksgiving,

as we seek

to honour

you, even

towards the

end of this

service.

Hear us,

Lord, as we

commit these

things to

you now,

as we pray

your blessing

upon us,

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Well, let's

close in

Psalm 31.

Sing

Psalms,

page 37.

Psalm 31,

singing from

verse 19

down to

verse 24.

Five

stanzas.

Page 37,

verse 19,

Your goodness,

Lord, is very

great, prepared

for those who

fear your name.

You show your

goodness openly

to all who

your protection

claim.

19 to 24,

to God's

praise.

Amen.

Amen.

Your goodness,

Lord, is very

great, prepared

for those who

fear your name.

you show your

goodness openly

to all who

your protection

claim.

Your presence

hides and

shelters them

from those

who plot

to take

their life.

And in

your tent

you keep

them safe

from evil

tongues

that stir

up

strife.

The Lord

be praised

because

he showed

the wonder

of

his love

to me

when

in

a

city

I

was

trapped

surrounded

by

the

enemy

in

my

alarm

I

rashly

said

that

I

was

hidden

from

your

eyes

but

when

I

to

you

for

help

grace

you

listen

to

my

cries

O

love

the

Lord

all

his

saints

the

faithful

will

be

kept

by

God

!

But

he

will

give

the

proud

their

due

be

strong

take

heart

open

the

Lord

and

now

may

grace

mercy

and

from

Father

Son

Spirit

Father

and

Holy Spirit

rest

upon

and

forever

Amen

Amen