Good morning everyone and welcome to our worship service this morning and especially this special morning when we remember those who gave their lives for our religious and political freedom and remembering Sunday. You're very welcome and it's good to have you with us. Just to explain to you what's going to happen now in the next moments, I'm going to be asking you to stand in a few moments and we're going to stand and receive the colours. And then we're going to have our opening hymn, which is number 70 in the hymn book, Oh God, Our Help and Age is Past. And then the last verse of that opening hymn, there'll be some wreath laying at the front of the church here. And then we'll continue to stand for a moment of silence, which will conclude with the last post, which will come over the sound equipment in the church. So just to let you know, the congregation are going to stand in a moment when we see the colors. And then we're going to sing our opening song, Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past, and we'll remain standing for the minute's silence, and then that will be finished with the last post, and then I'll ask you to be seated. So we'll ask the congregation to please stand. Now let's all sing together our opening hymn, which is number 70, Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past. Oh God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy floods and our eternal home. Beneath the shadows of Thy throne, my saints and well-singers, The mission is thy harm alone, and our defense is sure. We tore the hills in order straight, for earth received her praise. Come everlasting, Thou our God, To endless years sustain. Have a gentle angel in Thy sight, For like the evening dawn, Born as the one that ends the night, before the rising sun. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away. They fly forgotten as the dream dies at the opening day. O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years the world's last, and our eternal home. ["Taps"] The End Congregation may be seated. We want to, at this stage, just bow our heads and our hearts in prayer, and let's bow together in prayer, please. There are some empty seats at the front of the church here. If there are folks standing, there's loads of seats at the front here, please use all. And if there are any empty seats in the inside, would you please fill up the inside and leave the empty seats on the outside, please? Let's bow together in prayer, and let's pray. And as we're praying, we want to remember those who gave their lives for our religious, political, and spiritual freedom. We want to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice through either life or limb. And there are families who've paid the sacrifice in that they have now loved ones that are missing as a consequence of these wars and conflicts, the First and the Second World War, and even subsequent conflicts that have been around our world, and we enjoy freedom because of those who endured the conflict on our behalf. And so we want to give God thanks for those who gave their lives for us, but ultimately want to give God thanks for the fact that he, his son, gave his life, that we might have freedom from sin and the penalty and the curse, and enjoy eternal life. with Christ in heaven, and ultimately, that's the freedom we ought to seek. Let's pray together. Our Father, we do want to bow in humble adoration and praise and thanksgiving before the God of heaven, before the God of glory, and before the God of grace. Lord, we are very mindful today, this specific and special day that's set aside to remember those who gave their lives, who paid the ultimate sacrifice that we may indeed know freedom in this part of the world. We thank you for their courage, their commitment, their dedication. Lord, we thank you for their selfless acts and their selfless lives. And oh God, we want to thank you that we today enjoy this freedom because they endured such pain and such terror. Lord, we do remember those families who have been bereaved as a consequence of war. Remember those who miss loved ones, and Father, who have had to endure time and days without those loved ones, and so we want to lift up those before you and pray that God in heaven will minister to their hearts and bring comfort to their every need. Remember, Lord, those who are suffering disability as a consequence of these wars, those who've lost limbs and those who've lost who've been handicapped as a consequence. And we pray, Father, that you'll minister to them and give them great grace as they face the many obstacles and challenges of life. We thank you, Lord, and most importantly, for your son, the Lord Jesus. Thank you that he made the ultimate sacrifice, and Lord, he made that sacrifice not when we were friends, not when we were just members of his family. Lord, as Paul says, while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. And thank you, Lord, that we can know freedom, freedom not only from the tyranny of men, but, oh God, we can know freedom from the tyranny of sin. And we thank you for Jesus who made a way back to God and re-instigated, reconnected us with God. And we know that fellowship that's full and sweet and free. And oh God, we can not only know him with us in life, Lord, we can know him with us in death. We can know him with us in eternity because he gave his life. And dear Father, we pray that you'll solemnize us in this service. We pray, Lord, that you'll enable us to value our liberty and our opportunities in God. We pray, O God, that you will communicate your truth to young and old. And Father, bless us abundantly, we pray. We want to remember, Lord, May Robinson this morning and the passing of her brother. And we ask, Lord, that she will be very conscious of your loving arms right around her. And may she know your peace in her heart and for the Martin family, Lord, we pray. that Desi's family, Lord, will be comforted at this time. We do pray, Lord, too, for your blessing upon us. Thank you for seeing Jim Moore back amongst us this morning, and we thank you for a very definite answer to prayer. Our Father, we want to bless you and thank you for your goodness. Pray that you'll continue with us in Jesus' lovely and mighty name. Amen. Amen. We're going to get you to stand and sing again. We're going to sing number 180, How Deep the Father's Love for Us, How Vast Beyond All Measure. And after we sing this hymn, I'm going to ask Billy Annette if he'll come and bring the announcements. Billy's our church secretary. 180, please, we'll stand and sing. ♪ The Father's love for us ♪ ♪ Are vast beyond all measure ♪ ♪ That He should give His only Son ♪ ♪ To make a wretch His friend ♪ I'll break the veil of searing thorns The Father turns His face away As losers are the chosen ones With many sons to glory ♪ Rising upon His shoulders ♪ ♪ Ashamed I hear my walking voice ♪ ♪ Oh, I am undiscovered ♪ ♪ It was my sin that held Him there ♪ ♪ Until it was accomplished ♪ ♪ His dying breath has brought me life ♪ ♪ I know that it is finished ♪ ♪ I will not boast in any way ♪ But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? ♪ I cannot give an answer ♪ ♪ But this I know with all my heart ♪ ♪ His words have made my ransom ♪ ♪ He had me stranded on this road ♪ ♪ All pronged to glory ♪ ♪ Cry hallelujah to the Lord God ♪ ♪ And sing redemption's story ♪ ♪ And all creation bow before Him ♪ Oh Well, if you've got a Bible, I want you to turn with me, please, to Luke's gospel in chapter 11. Luke's gospel in chapter 11. And we're going to read from verse 11 down to verse... Sorry, Luke's gospel chapter 17. Luke's gospel chapter 17. And we're going to read from verse 11 down to verse 19. And just in case that you're maybe been sitting too long, you didn't get an opportunity there to stand during the last verse, perhaps we will stand for the reading of God's word. It's not something that we always do here, but it's not wrong to do it. And so if you wouldn't mind, we'll stand to read God's word. Luke chapter 17, verses 11 to verse 19. Luke gospel chapter 17, verse 11 down to verse 19. And it came to pass, as Jesus went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God. And he fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, were there not 10 cleansed, but where are the nine? There are not found that return to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Amen, and we trust the Lord will bless that reading of his word. You may be seated. As I was reading the scriptures, you probably want to walk us through a pastor or preacher's mind when he's reading the scriptures. Well, I'll tell you something that came to my mind, and that was, we forgot to mention Bill Bigger, who's in hospital and still recovering from sickness as well. And so would you please continue to remember Bill? as he recovers from his sickness. And I know that he's listening online here this morning. It's still morning. Let me tell you a wee story. There was a man sitting on a train with his children. And the children, he seemed totally distracted, but he also seemed totally disinterested in the behavior of his children on this train. They were quite unsettled and were rowdy and bickering and the other passengers that were watching on became a little irate and began to demonstrate and remonstrate. In fact, they actually began to complain. And of course, one of the passengers demanded then to the father of these children, you would think that you would keep your children under control. Do you not see them disturbing the rest of the passengers? What kind of a father are you anyway? that would allow your children to so misbehave. And the man began to apologize frantically. He said, oh, I'm so sorry I wasn't aware. She says, that's just it, you weren't aware of your children. You're so distracted. He says, if you'd give me a little opportunity. He said, I was distracted because we're just coming from their mother's funeral. We've just buried her. She was killed in an accident. I don't really know how to bring comfort to their hearts. I really don't know, but I was thinking about all the events that happened in there, happy moments, and I was totally unaware of what was going on in this train. Of course, the complainer had nothing to say. As I thought of that little story, I'm not sure if it's true. I'm sure it is true in many circumstances in life. You see, we, whatever is going on in our lives, or whatever is troubling us, or whatever is of interest to us, that is what will take up most of our energies and our thinking. It will also determine our actions and activities. It will even determine how we plan out our day. And it'll take up our thinking as to how we're going to handle certain situations. And in fact, it might even seem that we're distracted from the things that are important. We're gonna play the same rule to business and busyness. We're gonna play the same rule to family issues and troubles. Whatever is in our thoughts, whatever is troubling us, or whatever's exciting us. I mean, I've tried to get through Belfast a couple of times this last while when I go and visit in the hospitals, and I have never seen as many people out shopping for Christmas already. And it seems as if there's no end to the need for Christmas. And so everybody's thoughts are now turned towards Christmas, or the young bride-to-be, her thoughts are towards her wedding day. And for a year or for 18 months, she's taken up with the preparations and plans. Whatever's troubling us or whatever's exciting us is that which takes up our thoughts. What was it that motivated Jesus? What was it that took up his thoughts? What was the one most prominent thought in his mind? What was the prominent thought of those that gave their lives in the war fields of the world? Was it not for religious and political freedom? Was it not for the well-being of their family and friends at home? What was in the thoughts of Jesus? Well, The one thought was the well-being of you and I. He says the Son of Man has not come to be served, but to give his life a ransom for many. His energies were taking up seeking ruined lives that needed his grace. He knew that he had within himself the power and the ability and the total will to change and transform every life that he came across. And any life that allowed him access into their lives. And I believe that we will see in this story, I believe it with all of my heart, if we see what's really happening in this event, in the life of these 10 lepers, your life will be changed also. Your life will be transformed. And so whilst we live in a relatively free politically world, and relatively free spiritually speaking, there could perhaps be those who are not free from sin and habits. and most definitely are not free from the penalty of sin that lays before every unredeemed individual. So I want to look at this little story, this encounter, this event that happened in the life of 10 men, or at least 10 lepers, and see what the Lord has to say to us on this Remembrance Sunday. I want you to notice first of all this approach that was planned. It says in verse 11 that Jesus went through, and I only noticed it today, not only did he go through Samaria, but he went through Galilee. Samaria had a political problem, or Jews had a political problem with the Samaritans in their past, and they would always avoid going through Samaria. But when it speaks about Galilee, Galileans were of the most poor and unnoticeable people. They were third and fourth rate citizens who hardly anyone ever took note of them or notice of them. And so what we see in this story, now think about it for a wee minute and don't wander for a wee while please. Think about this story, think about what's going on. Jesus went through Samaria and Galilee. He came to those who were opposed to everything that he stood for, and he came to those who were of the poorest of the poor. He went out of his way to meet the people of this particular place. When others would have been avoiding them, the religious leaders of their day would have avoided Galilee. The Jews of their day would have avoided Samaria. And yet it was in his heart to go a certain direction, to be in a certain place, because he had an appointment that he wanted to make with those 10 lepers. They didn't know it, but he knew it. And in this church today, there may be those who, for whatever reason, you've got a grievance or a grudge against God. Some happening, some event that happened in your life and you're bitter towards him. Something that took place and you've never forgiven God for the early death of a loved one or a family member. Or perhaps that you've never had the successes and the promotions that you've sought for, and all the while you've blamed God. And just like the Samaritans and the Jews, you've something against the Lord. Isn't it wonderfully gracious that whilst you are opposed to God, that God would want to meet with you here? In fact, he'd go out of his way to meet with you in this church and forever, we'll never know, but perhaps in eternity we'll know the lengths to which God went to get you here today. And then perhaps there are those. Like the Galileans, those poverty stricken, ignored and overlooked individuals that nobody cared for, not even the religious men of their day. Perhaps there's somebody who feels so low about themselves, who feels as if they're so unfair, you're unworthy. who are the lowest of the low, perhaps because of some action or activity, some sin in your life, or some neglect in your life, or something has taken place, and you would say, preacher, if you knew my heart, if you knew my past, you wouldn't look the side of the road that I walk on. And yet he'd meet with you today. When I think of the allied forces and those that gave their lives, they scarcely knew. They knew that they were giving their lives for family and loved ones. And they were paying the ultimate sacrifice. But I like what Paul says about Jesus, while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. And it doesn't matter the amount of arguing, the amount of debate, or the amount of ignorance. You'll never, never discount what Christ has done for you. But I want you to know, he came a greater distance than that. He came from the ivory palaces of heaven. Christ knew because the way back in the islands of eternity, that in the beginning which never began, God in his great omniscience, omnipotence, came with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they knew the fall of man, they knew the state that man would get into, and Christ offered himself a lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. He came from the ivory palaces of heaven. He was the subject of glory, and he was the subject of worship, and he was the object of praise in the ivory palaces, and yet he came from those ivory palaces to the sin-cursed earth so that he could take upon himself the form of man. Because God could not die, but Christ became a man so that he could die. He came, listen, listen, he came to this world to die for you and I. Do you think that heaven was thrown into disarray whenever man fell in sin? Do you think that God threw his hands up in despair, not knowing what to do? Way before you and I were ever created, God set in motion the greatest plan that the world has ever known. God shall provide himself for them. Now don't you think for one minute that you're going to escape the wrath to come if you've neglected the son of his love. God's plan was salvation through Christ alone. Whenever I lived in Monaghan, I can remember, that's where I'm from, if you don't already know by the accent. Our minister used to take me out for little outreach activities around the streets of Monaghan. I've maybe told you this story before, but there's a street in Monaghan called Glassloch Street. You've heard of that castle? Some of you stayed in that hotel that used to be a castle. I don't even know the name of it myself, but you've probably been there. And so there's a place called Glassloch, but there's also a place called Glassloch Street. And I can remember David Hillen and I were going up this narrow street, giving out invitations and giving out tracts to people, and we were giving them out, and people were taking them fairly readily. But then we noticed a few of our own church members saw these pair of Holy Joes coming up Glasgow Street. And we could see them, men, elderly men, ducking and diving into this shop and that shop. I even saw one going into a lingerie shop, trying to escape us. Now, I don't know what they were looking for, but they weren't going to find it in there. But their purpose was to escape what we were going to give them. And Esther and I worked down in Cork, in a place called Drimley. They knew that if I went to the door, what I was going to be talking about. Remember going to this house of a particular family? Well, I don't mind telling you, the family name was Kingston's. But see then, everybody in Cork is Kingston, if you know anything about Cork. I made the mistake of going to the front door. Now you might say, if you come to my house, please come to the front door. But you don't go to the front door in the South of Ireland, especially down there, especially in that part of the world. You go to the back door. Or if you're a plain country man, you go to the back door. When I went to the front door and I knocked, and I could see the curtains move a little bit, and they saw it was me with my face missing, garb on me, and my handful of tracks, and of course I heard the back door slamming. And I said, I know what's happened here. These people are trying to escape. And so I ran round the back, just enough time to see one man diving over a six foot hedge. And not only that, the other side of the yard, I saw another guy scurrying like a rat through a wee hole in the shed. And the only reason that they were scurrying and jumping by, I tell you, they would have won the Olympics. The only reason that they were scurrying was because they didn't want to talk to me about their soul. Now you might not go to the lengths that those people went to. You might not dive into some lingerie shop. You might clear some six or seven foot hedge. Or you might not even dive into some hole in the shed. But you buried your head in the sand. Ignored your need of Christ. How would it have been, how would it have been if Christ had have taken the opportunity to be made king without the cross? How would it have been if he had been allowed himself to become the top rabbi in one of the temples which was, seems to have been one of the offers that he was made by the Greeks? But the son of man was fixated, listen. The son of man was fixated. His decisions and his direction was determined, not for his own benefit or well-being. He was directed and determined that you might be saved. And by the way, by the way, if you don't need to be saved, then God made an awful mistake. The approach that was planned. Oh, heaven knew that you would need a salvation. Heaven knew you'd need a savior. Because there's none righteous, no not one. Notice very quickly the second thing that I want to bring from this passage in verse 11, the audience that was pitiful. Do you think he was surprised that he met these 10 lepers? Absolutely not. It was for them that he came. It was for them that he went out of his way. Now who do these 10 lepers represent? They represent you and me. It was as good as all of humanity standing before the Lord. We were represented in those 10 lepers. And I believe with all of my heart that he chose 10 lepers because they're significant and they're very, very similar to how God views you and I in our sin. Oh, it was pitiful, all right. Pitiful because of their detestation. You see, the law in those days where it was if you were a leper, you were cast out of the city, you were made to live in a colony, and you dare not seem to be amongst the people who didn't have leprosy. Because if you were, you were destined to die. You'd pay for it with your life. You'd be stoned to death. Now this law tells us something about the attitude of the people. They were detested at leprosy. They had wrong ideas, by the way. Leprosy cannot be transmitted from one person to another. They've discovered. And the reason that their limbs and fingers would be missing is because the rats and the mice would eat them because they had no feeling. They had the loss of feeling of their limbs. And that's what they say. I'm not an expert. You need to ask Bill Woods, Dr. Bill Woods, he will tell us. But for the normal citizens, it was a scene of detestation. But here, why did Jesus choose these 10 lepers to let us see how detestable our sin is in the eyes of God? We can look good. We can sound good. We can even pretend we're good. And we can play at church. We can dress ourselves up with good works and self-righteousness. But God sees the heart. He knows what your heart is like. Now, I'm sure, I'm sure you can think of something in already this day that you knew was sinful in the eyes of God. Well, God views it as leprosy. Not only was it pitiful because of his detestation, but also it was pitiful because of their devastation. Make no mistake about it, there was a compassion of Christ that brought them across these people's paths. Their condition robbed them of normal life, like those of their neighbors. Think of the effect that it had on them when they discovered that they were lepers. They would have become frantic, fearful, angry, confused, a sense of despair, hopelessness, misery, and sadness. Do you know what amazes me about this? It's Jesus' intent. He chose these 10 lepers because he knew what he could do for them. He knew what he could do in them. He knew that he could change their lives and so transform them that would be absolutely, completely changed. That's why he chose them. You know what? Jesus sees what you can become if you trust Christ. I'm gonna say that again. I want you to hear it. I might do a wee quiz at the end of the service. Jesus sees what you can become if you trust him. By the way, the devil knows what you can become if you trust Christ as well, and he doesn't like it. You see, he sees your potential. He sees what he can make of a life that will yield to him and receive his forgiveness. And you're valuable not because of what you've achieved, You're valuable to him for what you can become in him. I'm sure you've heard me tell this story before, those of you who come to the church. I love reading some of Max Lucado's stuff. It's nice and light, and I enjoy it, and you get some illustrations. And I've told you the story about his jumper, or his cardigan. He had an old, faded cardigan that was out of shape. It was pulled, it was torn. Some of the buttons were missing. It was past its sell by date and it had long since fitted him. Like some of us who've got stuff in our wardrobes, it's a long time since it fitted. It's not right. Is this true? But you keep it in the wardrobe because one day you hope to be able to fit into it again. Not right. That'll be a miracle. It's unsightly, it's got buttons missing, it doesn't fit him, it's of no use anymore, but it's precious to him. And why is it precious to him? It's precious to him because it wasn't made by some faceless individual working in a sweatshop factory somewhere in China. It's precious to him because it was his mother made it lovingly. As she sat on the armchair knitting together something that would display and manifest her love. You see it was made by his loving mother. You and I are fearfully and wonderfully made. We're made by a loving heavenly father and he's even put his own image in us that we can communicate with him. And we were created for his glory. And when he looks at your life sitting in this church, in this Remembrance Day service, he knows what he wants to make of you and he can make you a vessel of honor for his glory once again. I've got a pair of glasses and I thank the Lord for these glasses. Now the man that made these glasses, wouldn't he be awfully disappointed if we were not using them for the purpose for which they are created, isn't that right? I've got a pen here, I have to hang on to my pens. I have an awful habit of losing expensive pens. I started now, I'm starting to carry cheap pens with me now. I don't mind if I lose them. But that pen, wouldn't that man, wouldn't it be an awful strange thing if we were using them as darts? Wouldn't it? The man that made that pen made it for a purpose. That we can write down our memoirs or our thoughts or whatever, we can communicate or we can remind ourselves with little notes. And God made you and I for a purpose. And that purpose wasn't that we would satisfy ourselves and live for self and live for the world. That purpose was that we might live to the glory of God. And that was the purpose for which Christ died on the cross. Pitiful because of their devastation, pitiful because of their deprivation, starved of the life that they should have enjoyed. It was a pitiful scene. Notice in closing, the anxiety that was present. Are these people content? Certainly not. They cry on to him. Lord, have mercy on us. Do you think they're happy in the state? Of course not. Do you think they're content in the situation they find themselves? Absolutely not. Oh, that we became as aware of our sin as they did of their leprosy. We would cry on to God. but we're too comfortable, too self-satisfied, or maybe too ignorant, we're not one bit interested. They're united in their call. You see, the law condemned them and they knew it, and there was no hope for them. They knew their fate and they knew their state. Therefore, they are without doubt as to their request, they want life, and only Christ can give them this life. I wonder if there's someone would cry, Lord, I want to know this life. I sense this awful conviction of my sin. I know I'm condemned, but I want to be forgiven. I want to tell you, you reach out to him, he'll reach out to you, and you'll never be the same again. He's a wonderfully merciful savior, isn't he? Is that your cry? God, I want to know you. I'm conscious of my failures, I'm conscious of my fear, I'm conscious of all the weaknesses, I'm conscious of the things that I do that must offend you, but oh God, I want your help. united in their call, they're unrelenting in their cry. They're not debating, they're not stalling. These people have accepted exactly where they're at, and they don't want a temporary remedy. They don't want them to get involved in government affairs. They're not asking them to start walking up and down the streets with placards. They say, Lord, have mercy on us. Have mercy. Isn't that what we all need, the mercy of God? God's not under any duty or obligation, but Jesus Christ, God in Christ, tasted death for every man that we might have the freedom and liberty, the forgiveness that he wants to pour out on every man. Here's what Paul says to Titus, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved it by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. They are unrelenting in their cry. They're unlimited in their cure. All 10 were cleansed, all 10. There's grace sufficient for your need here today. After the wars that our world has endured, men have flung again into conflict after conflict. Though many men have sacrificed their lives, paying the ultimate sacrifice, but I want to tell you there's sufficient grace in Christ and his salvation that will save you not only for time but for eternity. Sufficient for every man that ye need not fear death will ever again. Unlimited in their cure. Notice a few things about this cure. Notice the direction, go and show yourselves to the priest. It was the high priest that declared them unclean, and so they have to go and satisfy the law. Now think of this, they were told to go. The word obedience comes to mind. What shall be then them that obey not the gospel of Christ? You have to do something about it. You have to respond to his command, to his demand. Come on to me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. Look on to me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth. For I am God and there is none other. You have to obey, you have to take him at his word. That means that you have to relinquish your own selfish opinions. You must come the way that he describes. You cannot change God's plan of salvation. Obedience. Well, the second thing here is I see them leaving and they're still lepers. As they leave the Saviour, they've still got leprosy. As they were going, they were healed. I'm going to show you a silly little illustration here. It's not silly because it is actually quite... I don't know how I'm going to work this. Cameras, you can keep up on me here. You don't mind men on the camera? There's a chair. That's the only way I can get everybody to see it. Now the people up in the balcony can't see it. You can stand up. Oh, there we go. There's the answer. I should have stayed up there and you put on the cameras. See that chair? I have all the knowledge that I have about that chair. I know that chair was made actually quite comfortable. We paid dear for them chairs. And they were made locally in Carrickfergus. And so we were trying to support our own industry here. And it's made in some very good... Tommy, come over here. Feel this chair. Take a good look at that chair. What do you say is a good solid chair? Turn around there and face the camera. What do you say? Just anyone at all. Make sure they get their best side. Right, you say that's well made? You say it's good and sturdy? You know plenty. Take a wee look at it there, Tommy. See, it's good strength. You'd need to be fairly hefty on that one, wouldn't you? You'd pay a pound. Cheap, cheap. You know the thing is, we can discuss all day how wonderful this chair is. And we can examine it, and we can look at it, and we can say, boy, that's a great chair. We can play with it. But you and me still standing. Not right. So what we have to do is, we have to take what we know about this chair and put it into action. Now tell me, I'm inviting you. Put all you know about that chair into action. Right. Stay there while you wait. In other words, he had faith in what he knew. He had faith in what he knew. And here in Northern Ireland, just stay where you are, Tommy. Here in Northern Ireland, we know that Christ died on the cross. We know that he gave his life. We know that he paid the full penalty for our sin. And we know that he paid the full debt for our sin, that we might be forgiven. We know the gospel. We don't need to be preached at here in church these days. We know it, we know that Christ, that's why we're here today. That's why we're at church on a Sunday. That's why we go to girls' brigade and boys' brigade, and you put the girls in the boys' brigade, and you put the boys in the girls' brigade. That's why we believe the gospel. We're in Bible Belt, Northern Ireland. We stand up for our flag. And when you're standing up for your flag, you're standing up for your religious liberty. And what is our religious liberty? Our religious liberty is that Christ died for the ungodly. So we know the gospel. But there's a lot of people, and they're still like me, standing, when all the time Tommy's trusting. There's a big thing, big difference, and you come this evening, you're going to see the difference. You're going to see that just because you believe something doesn't make it the truth. Pray about that service. I have a wee experiment to try and fail three times out of ten. So if you want to see me fail, come this evening. But listen folks, this is serious. This is serious. We know in Northern Ireland that the gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ that he saves. In fact, some of you went to Sunday school. Some of you heard your mother and father praying. Some of you know all about the gospel, but you're still like me, you're standing because you have never trusted in what Christ has done, because you're afraid. Right, Tommy, thanks. Please, can I go? Ah, you can. Go and sit down. You're afraid. Afraid of somebody laughing at you, or somebody making fun of you, or afraid of maybe what God will do with your life. Or afraid of having to live a godly, holy life, a righteous life, because you love your sin far too much. Listen, if you take him at his word, and you trust him, he'll satisfy the deepest recesses of your heart. As they were going, they were cleansed. That's faith. Some of you are looking for signs and waiting for sounds. Some of you are looking for all kinds of evidence. Well, nobody's ever come back to tell us Jesus came back. Jesus came back. Oh, I tell you, I said at the beginning of this message that if you get the full import and the impact of what's happening here, you'll not leave this service the same. The demand was, the direction was obedience, the demand was faith, and the design was transformation. Have you noticed, in this passage, there's only one comes back? Have you noticed that? There's only one. I'm gonna let you into a secret. I know I've preached a message like this or something on these boys before here. I think I have, I'm not sure, doesn't matter. But I've noticed there's nine of them had a religious experience and there was one of them had a saving experience. And the difference between a religious experience and a saving experience is this man came back to live the purpose for which he was created. He came back to give glory to God. That's the difference. I have known people that have been healed physically and never trusted Christ as Savior. Oh, I have. Let me say this again. There was nine of these people had a religious experience. And one of them had a saving experience. And the saving experience will always make you and bring you to a place where you'll live for his glory. And he came back to glorify him. And it's all to do with faith. Now, if you don't remember what I've said, remember what Tommy did. He took what he knew and he applied it and be trusted in the chair. And by the way, Tommy, when you were sitting in that chair, were you holding it up or was it holding you? It was holding you. When you come to Christ, he'll hold you. You think I couldn't live this Christian life? Oh, I couldn't manage it. If you went to my school, you'd know what I'm talking about, Pastor. If you worked in the place that I work in, you'd know all about it, Pastor. I want to tell you, do you think God's a coward, and do you think he has no power? He keeps us, and if he can keep Trevor Galanders, he can keep you. Now start to live for His glory. Start to live for Christ, this moment. Otherwise, the religious freedom that was bought for us in the world wars and the conflicts of this world will have been wasted when you die. Let's pray together. Now Father, we do pray that as we Bring this remembrance service to a conclusion, Lord, that we will humble ourselves in God's presence, that we'll yield to the claims of Christ upon our lives. And our Father, we pray that just now some soul will invite Christ into their heart, just now. Dear folks, it's so easy, isn't it? Lord, come into my life, I repent of my sin. I'm like a leper. Maybe not so obvious to people around me, but I know my heart, and I want your forgiveness, I want your cleansing, I want your mercy. Oh, if you say that, folks, he'll do it for you. Young people, he'll do it for you, but your life will be preserved from an awful lot of trouble that you don't even see is in your way already. Father, we pray that whatever you've been saying, whatever you've been doing, will bring glory and honor to your name. We ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Now I'm gonna tell you exactly what was gonna happen now. We're going to sing our closing hymn. And when the hymn is sang, then we will return the colors back to the various officers. Then we'll ask you to remain standing for the national anthem and the benediction. And remain standing and please remain in the church for the marching off of the colors and the organizations as they leave the church as well. So the congregation, please stay in your seats, and everything will work out according to how it's planned. So we're gonna have our closing hymn 262, and we're gonna remain standing when we have that hymn sang. We're gonna return the colors, and then we're going to sing and stand for our national anthem. and then we'll have the benediction, and then the march off of the colors, please. Thank you so much. ♪ We shall live with smile and care ♪ ♪ Hearts that are we and free ♪ ♪ Burdens are lifted counterweight ♪ Jesus is marrying him. Burdens are lifted and crowned for me. Crowned for me, crowned for me. Burdens are lifted and crowned for me. Jesus is marrying him. Ask your prayer from Jesus today, free through worry and fear. Burdens are lifted and crowned for thee, Jesus is very near. Burdens are lifted and crowned for thee, Calvary, Calvary, burdens are heavy and flowery, Jesus is very near. Love of soul, the Savior can see, every heart aches and tears. Burdens are heavy like Calvary Jesus is very near Burdens are heavy like Calvary Calvary, Calvary Burdens are heavy like Calvary Jesus is very near Hold it for me. Turn around. About turn. God give our noble Queen God save our Queen Let's pray. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, our heavenly Father, and the help, inspiration, comfort, and blessing of the Holy Spirit rest and abide and remain with us now and until we meet again or until Jesus comes or calls. We ask it in the Savior's name and for his sake and glory. Amen. By the way, slow march.