I'd like to give you all a warm welcome to our worship here this morning, the first Lord's Day meeting for another year. We met, of course, on Thursday, but may the Lord be with us as we gather in his name on his day. And let us come before him in prayer. Let's ask his blessing. O Lord God of heaven and of earth, Lord, thou hast brought us to see another Lord's Day in another year. And Lord, we do seek Thy blessing as we gather together. O Lord, do come with the power of Thy Spirit. Help us to worship Thee in spirit and in truth. And do grant, Lord, that this year there might unfold to us blessings, blessings for our souls, blessings for the Church of God. that we might see thy offspring come, that we might see thy people blessed. So Lord, do be with us, be with us this morning. We ask this through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 499. Tune, Augustine 3. Let us read together from the Holy Word of God, the Book of Deuteronomy, and Chapter 1. We have one of our free Bibles, the Ruby Bible, page 119. Deuteronomy, Chapter 1. These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel, On this side, Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain, over against the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazaroth and Izahab. There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh Barneum. And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them. After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and of the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Ashtoreth in Endri, on this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount, Turn you and take your journey, and go to the Mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the seaside, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone, The Lord your God hath multiplied you and behold ye are this day as the stars of heaven full multitude. The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are and bless you as he hath promised you. How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance and your burden and your strife. Take you wise men and understanding and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.' And he answered me and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. You shall not respect persons in judgment, but you shall hear the small as well as the great. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, For the judgment is God's, and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do. And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us, and we came to Kadesh Barnea. And I said unto you, ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee. Go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee. Fear not, neither be discouraged. And he came near unto me, every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land. and bring us word again by what way we must go up and into what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased me well, and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe. And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eskol and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding, ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God. And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is greater and taller than we. The cities are great and walled up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I said unto you, dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes. And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee as a man doth his son in all the way that ye went until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night to show you by the what way you should go and in a cloud by day. And the Lord heard the voice of your words and was wroth and swear saying, surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I swear to give unto your fathers. Save Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua, the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit him. Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it. and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.' Then he answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when he had girded on every man his weapons of war, he were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither find, for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies. So I swear unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Mount Insia, even unto Hormat. And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there. Thus, Father, reading of God's holy word, may he bless it to us and help us now in prayer. Let us pray. Our loving and heavenly Father, we do seek, Lord, that we might be found accepted in thy beloved Son, in whose name we come, in the name of Jesus. O Lord, do grant unto us that we might know thee as our Lord and our God. And as we begin another year in thine earthly courts, Lord, may it be a precious thing to us that it is our God that hath made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. And thou hast quickened us into divine life, and we are but what we are by thy grace, and thou hast maintained us up until this present time. Lord, we have not kept ourselves, we have not been able to continue, by reason of our own strength or ability or wisdom, but thou has brought us to see another here. And we do seek, Lord, that thou would remember us and grant us, Lord, to be revived in our souls, to live close to thee and in the fear of the Lord, and that we might be more and more looking for that desired haven. Lord, we are very mindful that one day that this mortal, this body must return to the dust as it was. And Lord, that our souls, they shall not go down to the grave, but they shall return unto Thee. who gave them. And O Lord, do prepare us for that great eternal day. O Lord, let not the trifles of a day, let not the sins of this world and the corruptions of our nature rob us of that eternal repose and eternal hope. Leave us not to lose sight of that end in view. That Lord, in all that we walk through, may that be our longing and our desire. And Lord, when trials come, as we know they shall, do grant that thou would sanctify them and make them work together for good, loosening our hold upon this world. and causing us to give more diligence to how our soul's state is before Thee. O Lord, wash and cleanse us from our sin, and when Thou art pleased to answer our prayers, that Thou hast made us more like Thee, and that Thou hast given us repentance, Lord, leave us not to faint, and our hearts to faint, when Thou dost bring things into our lives to this end. O Lord, do be pleased to grant us to see a father's hand, a father's rod. And Lord, though painful to us, O Lord, do make it to be amongst those things that work together for good unto our souls. O Lord, we pray that we might be prepared for heaven, prepared for the grave, prepared for this mortal to put on immortality. O Lord, save us from ourselves. We do not deserve to be saved. Lord, we are so often dull of hearing, rebellious, disobedient. Lord, we go our own way. We limit Thee. We do those things that are displeasing to Thee. O Lord, have mercy upon us, to remember us in our Saviour, in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to renew us again. We do plead that as He is exalted, to give repentance and remission of sins unto Israel, that we might be granted that blessing, and that we might be made to be what Thou hast have us to be. Lord, again we do thank Thee for Thy goodness and mercies in the past year, and we do commit our souls unto Thee for this year. We commit this church and congregation unto Thee, and that Thou hast grant, Lord, that Thou hast bless us and make us a blessing to the people of Cranbrook. Do bless also those who join with us online, and do bless those that listen to the ministry here. Oh Lord, we do seek thy word to have free course and thou be glorified. Lord, if it could please thee to raise up those that shall be a strength and a help to us here week by week. Lord, we do pray for this. We thank thee for all thy kind provision, Lord, where thou hast opened their hearts of those who hear thy word to minister here and to supply the needs of us as a church. We thank thee where thou hast given us an open door to send forth thy word throughout this land and we do pray that that door might remain open and that thou hast direct where thy word goes and that thou hast find out thy people. Remember that thou hast said that the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And so, O Lord, do send thy word to thy people, and send thy people to thy word, and send them to us. And Lord, those that we've directed to other churches, may they go, and may they be blessed and be made a blessing. We pray then for our churches in this land, that do be with them each, remember those thy servants laid aside today, grant thy kind healing hand, do remember those churches that do not have a pastor or minister, and do supply their needs and send forth more labourers into the harvest. Be thou churches in Australia, Canada, America, and do bless each of our loved ones where they gather in the house of God. We pray for our dear friends in Holland, we thank thee for them. We see that those be with them and the churches in that land. Lord, do be with those in bereavement and comfort them, passing from one year to another, how many memories it brings, what a sense of loss is felt. And we pray, Lord, as we gather for a funeral tomorrow, that thou hast helped each of the family and help thy servant in conducting that funeral. Now, Lord, be pleased to be with us on that occasion. Now, Lord, we do see that we might be blessed with thy guidance through the year, thy kind provision, with being able to see thy hand, to be granted to believe, and that our teachers be not removed into a corner anymore, that we might hear Thy voice, see our teachers, and that Thou hast made Thy Word to be meat and drink to our souls. That Thou hast keep us from evil, keep us from entering into temptation and entering into the path of sin. And do grant, Lord, that we might be made to walk godly, upright lives in the fear of the Lord. O Lord, those things that are too hard for us, help us to bring them to Thee, to leave them with Thee, and to trust in Thee. O Lord, we do commit the ear unto Thee. O Lord, we do seek that Thou wouldst help us in every changing scene of life. O Lord, those things that are sudden or unlookful, Lord, do grant us that grace to turn unto thee in them all. O Lord, we do thank thee for providential mercies. We do thank thee for spiritual ones, for the blessings of God, for the blessings in thy word. And we do pray for that endurance and help. For thou hast said, he that endureth unto the end shall be saved. We pray for our dear friends in the pilgrim home to be with us this afternoon, help in ministering to them. And Lord, may thy blessing be upon those in the even tide of their lives, many of them very long lives, useful lives, lives in mission fields, lives in ministry. Oh Lord, help them and be with them. We do seek, Lord, that we also might be help to continue, and at thy appointed time, brought willingly to, as the Apostle was, to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Be with each that are in affliction. Lord, be with the children, the young people, the rising generation. Be with the mothers that are with child and bring forth healthy living children in due time. and do be pleased to grant that those that are seeking thee, those awaiting upon thee, might be brought to sweet liberty and enjoyment of the gospel. And Lord, do bring forth those that shall put thee on in open profession, those that shall confess thy name, be added visibly to the church of God. walking in obedience. O Lord, we do pray for these things. Be pleased to bless us here again and open our baptismal pool again. And may we see thine offspring come and hear their testimony to thy honour and glory. O Lord, help us now as we turn to thy word and do bless us. Forgive our many sins. We ask these things through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing, I'm expected to preach here this evening at 6.30pm. On Thursday at 7 o'clock, our next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. The collections taken during December for the Cause of Truth, £821.36, for the Bible Fund, Free Bible Fund, £48.50, and the collection last Lord's Day for the Christian Institute, was £112.37. The Lord bless you in your giving. We thank you for your kindness and for other gifts that have been given during this last month. We sincerely thank you for them. Hymn, 247. Tune, St Stephen 229. Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayer for attention to Deuteronomy 1, and reading from our text, verse 17, the last clause of that verse. And the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. The whole verse reads, You shall not respect persons in judgment, but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. Ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's, and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 17. In this chapter, we have the arrangement that God had made with Israel and through Moses to judge between one person and another and the matters that concerned them as a nation. And we may rightly be able to apply a principle here where the cases, the causes that were too hard for the judges that had been appointed, that they were to bring them unto Moses. Now we know that it is through everything in prayer and supplication we are to make our requests unto God. In these gospel days we are to be men and women of prayer. And yet, there are those things that, though we might pray over all things, there are some things that we just cannot deal with ourselves. And it's good to be able to see that though God had an arrangement here with Israel, He does also have an arrangement, appointment of how things are dealt with in a gospel day as well. We don't just, as it were, walk by prayer and do nothing ourselves. It's not a situation where we just are helpless. God has not given us any means to deal with something. He has. But there are those things still, in the gospel church and in our lives, that there is no possibility that we can manage or know what to do. And we are, like the children of Israel, those judges there, we are to take those things not to Moses, but the one of what Moses said, that one shall be raised up. like unto me of your brethren, him shall ye hear, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our advocate with the Father. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it. So I want to look first at God's appointment in Israel, the situation that is here, and then apply it to us in a gospel day. Deuteronomy is the second giving of the law. We read in the very first part of this chapter of the time when Moses is speaking in, it is after they had dealt with the king of Sihon, and Og, the king of Bashan, and it is just before they are then to go into the promised land. They had been for 40 years in the wilderness as God's punishment and dealing with them because they wouldn't at the first go into the promised land. Moses then is going back over the way and what had been done and appointed and he will cover the law given at Mount Sinai and all many other laws he'll reiterate throughout this book. But he begins where they were sent back into the wilderness and he begins with that arrangement that God had given to them. And while it is on my mind, in relation to the word that is before us, the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me. We think of why did they go into the wilderness? Why were they sent back? And really, it all hinged on this. They had A cause that was too hard for them, they viewed the Anakims, they viewed the promised land, they said it was a good land, but they said they couldn't go in. They wouldn't manage to cast out the inhabitants. Instead of trusting in the Lord, instead of leaning on Him, instead of going according to how He bid them, They looked ahead and they said, we can't do this. We're not even going to try. We're not even going to venture. We're not going to trust thy word. We're not going to trust what thou hast bidden us to do. And so they refused to go. They spoke of stoning Moses and Caleb and Joshua, who had brought the good report and were Sure, the Lord would be able to drive out the inhabitants of that land. And it is good for us to think of that setting of this whole chapter and of our text, the Course, it is too hard for you, bring it unto me and I will hear it. Because we have a most solemn example of those that virtually said it's too hard for us and it's too hard for the Lord, we're not even going to try. We're not going to trust the Lord. We're not going to do what he bids us to do. We're not going to walk in his way. And 40 years in the wilderness resulted. So it is a most solemn background to our text and a real incentive that when we have and we will have those hard cases that come before us, that we must bring it to the Lord, we must listen to Him, we must not despair, we must not say what the children of Israel said to the Lord, that He hated them, He didn't like them, and that the reason why He brought them here was to slay them. They felt that the Lord was really against them and not for them. And the things that they said were most solemn things, saying against the Lord. And so we are to learn from that. The Apostle Paul, he warns us of the lessons that were taught through the children of Israel, that we also should not make the same mistakes as them. So what was then the background which in this first part of this chapter that Moses speaks of? Well, we need to go back to Exodus 18 and to see where this arrangement was instituted. And it was when Jethro, the priest of Midian, who was Moses' father-in-law, he came out to see Moses, and he brought his wife, Zipporah, after Moses had sent her back, and her two sons as well, and he goes to see Moses. And Moses, great man though he was, He went out to meet his father-in-law and did obeisance and kissed him. Remarkable how Moses treated his father-in-law, even though Moses was in such a position of authority and of power, and yet there is an obvious respect and that love to him. He did, Abasin's kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent. Then we read how Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh, to the Egyptians, for Israel saying, all the travail that had come upon them by the way, how the Lord delivered them. Good thing, isn't it? Here is a son-in-law. And he's telling his father-in-law all about the way, all that had been done to them. And Jethro, he rejoices in what he's hearing of the goodness of the Lord. And he blesses the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. And then he sees the next day what Moses is doing. Moses sits to judge the people. And from morning until evening, the people are lining up at the tent, not the tabernacle this time, but lining up at the tent and Moses is passing judgment upon them. And his father-in-law sees what he is doing. And he says that it is not good. What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone? All the people stand by thee from morning unto evening. Now, of course, it was very wearing for the people. having to line up and to wait and wait for their cause to be heard and for Moses to decide what should be done on any matter, and very wearing for Moses. And Jethro, he saw this. He saw this. And so he gives advice to Moses. Moses tells him the situation, Jethro, he says, the thing that thou doest is not good. Now Moses, he doesn't rise up against Jethro. Jethro, very clear in what the things that he says to him. He says, hearken now unto my voice. I will give thee counsel and God shall be with thee. For thou be thou for the people to God would that thou mayest bring the causes unto God. Thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt teach them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens. Let them judge the people at all seasons. It shall be that every great matter, or as in our text, the cause that is too hard for them, they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. So it shall be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. Now he says, if thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so. And it's so interesting here, we might say Moses has been raised up by God for this position. Surely Moses should have wisdom to decide to do this thing himself? But he didn't. And Jethro, he sees it, and he gives advice. But he doesn't say, you just take my advice and it's going to be separate from the Lord, and the Lord has nothing to do with that. He says, if thou do this thing, and God command thee so. God is using Jethro. He's using him to advise Moses and Moses takes that advice. And later on in the portion that we read, it's obvious he also brought it before the children of Israel, because they agreed with it. They wanted to do it. So the whole arrangement, it was approved by Israel. They wanted to see that take place as well. So then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. And so we read that arrangement, how he chose out those able men, made them rulers. The hard causes they brought unto Moses, Every small matter they judged themselves. Moses let his father-in-law depart, he went his way into his own land. So that was when it was instituted, that was the arrangement which was then followed right through for those 40 years, and no doubt right through Israel as well. And in one sense, We have it in our land. We have the arrangement where we have a family and the parents are dealing with the matters of that family. And then there might be other matters that we go then to council officers or then to the police, or we might go to a judge of the land There's lots and lots of different stages. And when we think of with the schools, you've got those that head over the schools or those that head over a firm or over an area of land, a county or a state, as in Australia. And there is a delegation of ruling and of ordering. It's not all just one man. trying to do the whole lot. So the principle of this, if someone has something to go before the law in our land, they might go to a magistrate's court first. And then it'll go from that to a crown court. And then if it's not done there, then it'll go to the Supreme Court. And when we're in the European Union, if it wasn't settled there, then it'd go to the European Court. And there's those, Those stages where simple matters are dealt on a local level, on those that are not so qualified in law, and then as it gets harder and harder, then it goes up the scale, as it were. So we know something of this, even in a natural sense, in our land. But it's very interesting to see how. It came about with Israel, how God used Moses' father-in-law, how that advice was joined with what the Lord commanded Moses, how the people were agreeable to him, and how beneficial it was to be then for the people. But it is the way that we may apply this in a spiritual way and apply this in the things that come before us in our lives. And I want to look at them this morning. So, applied to our day, we said at the outset that in everything, by prayer and supplication, to make our requests known unto God. And of course, in the bringing to Moses here, the one like unto Moses unto the Lord, we are bringing our hard cases to the Lord. And the way that we bring them to him is in prayer. That is how it is to be done today. And we think of the Psalms. cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. And that is Psalm 55. We think of the exhortations to continue in prayer, watch in the same, and our Lord Jesus Christ giving the example of constantly in prayer with his Father and the people of God. bring their causes, their cases to the Lord in prayer, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. So what's the difference? And I believe it is important to notice these, the differences that is put here, the cause that is too hard for you, Bring it unto me, and I will hear it. Though the Lord hears prayer in the most simplest things, and we should bring all things before him, yet there are those cases that we know, and Moses here, it was acknowledged, there would be cases too hard for these judges, though they were appointed. over their hundreds and over their thousands. God knew there would be cases too hard for them, and He knows with us there will be causes that are too hard for us. We cannot manage them, we cannot deal with them. But He has given that which is appointed to the Church of God. He has given pastors after his own heart. He has given those that shall be under shepherds. One of the principal things that they will do is to bring the people to the Word of God, to actually advise them through the Scriptures and through the Word of God. He'll be also joined with prayer. And the Lord appoints those that we are to go to, you might say, with Moses himself and his father-in-law, those of our relatives, those of our loved ones, certainly parents or fathers and mothers. We think of how Ruth was advised by Naomi to go and present her case to Boaz. and various other things that she said to her. Sit still my daughter, the man will not be in rest till he have finished the thing this day. Many things, many words of advice were given. And it's good for us to notice the same as God instituted these judges and in our land the various stages that we may go to for advice, to notice what those are, how they relate to us, and how they relate to us in a spiritual way as well. Do not to think, well, we don't need to seek anyone else. We've got enough wisdom and help in ourselves. Moses didn't take that view at all. And so we are to use the means that God has given us. We have in these Gospel days His Word, and it is through His Word that He speaks to us. Again, there will be those things that we are able to discern what is the will of God, what we should do directly from the Word of God, comparing Scripture to Scripture, patterning our lives, upon that word. Sometimes it may be that we cannot rightly discern from Scripture, and the Scriptures cannot deal with every case. If someone was to say, well, is it right for me to go in an aeroplane and to fly over to Australia, should I do that? Or should I, as the Scriptures only speak of sailing ships, stick with them? No, we could. think of that that it's not going to apply to directly and to name things that we have today. But the principles will be there. And it is by that we are to be guided and directed by the word of God and in making these things a matter of prayer. And maybe Through that way, directly ourselves, or through taking advice of pastors or parents or those in the Church of God, we may discern what way we are to go. It struck me, I was looking at the case of the apostles, when the Gentiles had believed the Lord, you read it in Acts 15, and they came to discuss and decide on the matter should the Gentiles be compelled to be circumcised, those that were believed, should they fulfill the law of Moses just like the Jews. And I expected as I read that account that there'd be much prayer put up, but you don't read it in that chapter. I've no doubt that they did, but what seemed to be so emphasized that they were all gathered together for that matter, the apostles, and they paid great heed to Peter, how Peter had been used as a, when he preached the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given, and Peter had been used when the Holy Spirit, ten years later, was given in Cornelius' household, and that God made no difference between Jew and Gentile, and their discernment and how they dealt with the matter, going back through the Scriptures and feeling that That burden was not to be laid upon them and they made that decree as gathered together and to decide what to do. So it was a good pattern for us, though we would make prayer in such a gathering, yet the idea, the example is God does give grace, he does give wisdom, he does give understanding to men like he did to Jethro there. And the others are to listen. And yet, it's not to be such an easy thing. You know, in the actual accounts, it's put in such a way that there was There was much disputing, so it was not a straightforward, easy matter at all. And considering it, so they can't see exactly where it says, but there was a lot of disputing and many things that were said. And it wasn't just a, or in verse two, where when, therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension, disputation with them. They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go to Jerusalem and to the apostles and elders about this question. And so they go and they speak Concerning this matter, when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto their men and brethren, and then he speaks of how God had made choice that the Gentiles through his mouth should hear the gospel. And so there is that precedent for gathering together In the multitude of counselors there is safety. There is seeing the Lord speaking to us like he spoke to Moses through the mouth of a man. God giving that wisdom and where it is from the Lord, you see Moses fell in with it, the people of God, the children of Israel fell in with it. They saw that it was right. It wasn't, as it were, imposed upon them. Where something is of the Lord, then the Lord's people will often, they see that it is right, they fall in with it, they go along with it. But the point here is that cause that is too hard for you. Those things that that just cannot be managed, cannot be done. Now, we think of in these scriptures, where we have the case of Asa in 2 Chronicles, he had the Ethiopians come, a great multitude come before him, and we read that Asa, he cried unto the Lord, cried for help, and the Lord helped him and delivered him. that well-known verse with Jehoshaphat, when those of Moab and Ammonites and Mount Seir come up against them. He said, we have no might, we have no power against this multitude, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And that is in that same spirit, the cause that is too hard. If they had a big enough army, They wouldn't have had to come in that way. They said, we know what to do. We set the battle in array and we go out against them. But they're in such a situation, they did not have power. They did not have the ability. And so they come and they lay it before the Lord. This is too hard for us. You think of how it was with Elijah. The Lord had provided for him at the brook Cherith, and then with the widow woman, there's Zarephath, and then her son died. And she came to Elijah and said that the Lord has slain her son, brought her sin to remembrance in slaying her son. And Elijah, he goes up into the loft, he cries unto the Lord, how there is brought evil upon this woman in whom he dwells in slaying her son. And he lays it before the Lord, and the Lord works that miracle and brings the son to life again. And Elisha had a similar case with the Shunammite son, who died of heat stroke. And again, he puts them out, he shuts the door, he stretches himself upon the child, he lays it before the Lord, Elijah didn't have power to raise the dead, nor did Elijah. Elisha, we read, he fell sick of the sickness, whereof he died. He couldn't heal himself, he couldn't make himself immortal. It is the Lord that is the sovereign that reveals to his people what he will reveal. that he gives them their abilities, or what he will give them, but there are those things that they have no mind, they have no power, no ability, and they must solely depend upon the Lord to appear in a matter. And so it is in that way, and I think of soul matters, and I hope that is the case with us, that we are really concerned about our souls, how we stand for eternity. Are we called? Are we really quickened? Are we really the Lord's people? And really the only one that can really settle this is the Lord, is the Lord blessing the ministry, blessing our souls, assuring our souls of our interest in Him, the Spirit giving witness, bearing witness with our spirit that we are born of God, giving us the spirit of adoption, making us truly to know that we hear the voice of the Lord, that we are His people. The way the Lord dealt with Israel, they had no doubt the Lord was their God, and that included He's chastening with them. He's dealing with them for their sins. And in Hebrews, we have that great mark that every single one of God's children, he receives that he chastens, he corrects them as a father, his children. And so those, our soul matters, those things that are the greatest import. We all must return to dust. We all must return to the earth. how many funerals we may have attended this last year and some of us attending one tomorrow. And to think there's the bodies of those that we've known, we've walked with, we've heard them, we've spoken with them, and those bodies are laid in the cold tomb. They return to dust. They're not there. I always remember years ago visiting The Grave of Dear Sister in Faith by Alice Robinson. And the Lord so speaking as I drove around looking for her grave, why seek ye the living among the dead? And the beautiful view I had that this was just her mortal remains, but her spirit was with the Lord. The apostle is very clear, absent from the body, present with the Lord. But it's a great thing. The context here in Deuteronomy 1, they'd come to the end of their wilderness journey, and they were about to enter into Canaan. It's a type of heaven, Jordan, a river, death like a river, a narrow stream, that divides that heavenly land from ours. how close we are each to Him or how far away, we do not know that the matters of eternity are too great to not take tremendously seriously and to lay it before the Lord, bring it before the Lord, a matter too hard for ourselves, we want that witness from heaven, we want that assurance that we are the Lord's, and that it is well with us. We think of the salvation of others. We know that no man can keep alive his own soul, and those that are born, they are not born of the flesh, nor of the will of the flesh. It's not possible for a father to give eternal life to his children. Many years ago in Tasmania, before I was called by grace, I answered the door to a man that we called the Pea Man, because my father did contract work for a pea company. And my father took a little while to be able to come to the door, so he spoke to me. And this man was a professed Christian. And he knew my father was. So he asked me, was I saved? Well, at that point, I wasn't. No, I wasn't. Is your mother saved? Are your brothers saved? No. And when my father came to the door, this man launched at him. He said, you, he said, you call yourself a Christian, and you've not made sure that your children and your wife, that they are saved? And the way that he spoke to him, it was all in my father's power. And he should have made sure that we were all safe. The scriptures are very clear. My father did not have power. He could pray for us, he could lay our cases, and he did before the Lord, and instruct us, and teach us, and bring us up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But to give eternal life, to give saving faith, it was caused too hard for him. And all of us that are parents or grandparents, We look upon our children and grandchildren, and that is a case that's too hard for us. We don't neglect the means. We don't neglect to teach and instruct. We do it to all our ability. But we realize that this must be the work of God. This is the work of God that ye believe on him whom God has sent. And that cause then that is too hard for us, and as we begin this year, Only think of that. Think of our loved ones. Think of those courses too hard for us. They're not too hard for the Lord. That is what is implied here, isn't it? It wouldn't be too hard for Moses. Moses had direct access to God. That which we bring to the Lord Jesus Christ. You think of how many times through the scripture you see Abraham speaking, God speaking to him about Isaac being born. Sarah laughs in the tent. The Lord says that the thing that is impossible with man is not impossible with God. And the same was said to Mary, to Elizabeth as well. Nothing with God, nothing shall be impossible. And so it is a great encouragement that which is too hard for us and we feel and know it, bring it to the Lord, especially with salvation of others and our own soul. What about relationship with others as well? How much of the Word of God speaks of that, the relation of one church member with another, bearing one another in love or bearing one another in love? all the time in the account that we've got here. Moses, his father-in-law, his wife, his children, the children of Israel, with the apostles, the other apostles as they're gathering together, all the time there is interaction, one with another. And how vital it is that that is brought before the Lord. We should make every effort that we can make and right way, that we live in harmony and love one to another. But the Lord alone has the control of men's hearts. And when you think of Jacob coming back to Isaac, and there is Esau coming with 400 men, and if ever there was a case, you might say, that is too hard for Jacob. Jacob, how are you gonna pacify Esau? Well, how he did it, he took, as much natural way as possible, he sent presence before him, he tried to pacify him in that way, but he didn't rest solely in that. He wrestled with the Lord, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And when he saw Esau, and he saw him, and there was love one to another, he said that he saw his face, as the face of an angel. He saw the answer to his prayer. God has the hearts of all men in his hand. And in those cases, we might have an adversary, might have one that we have hard to get on with or struggle with. It is the Lord that can break down those barriers and bring together and embrace Those causes, they're too hard for us, but not too hard for the Lord. What about in Providence? Knowing the things of our life, how many things come before us. We can't force an employer to take us on. We can't force that we be able to do this or that. We're told very clearly when we're deciding to go into this city or that, If the Lord will, we will do this or that. The blessing of children, of giving conception. All of that is beyond, right through scripture, we read again and again, the Lord gave her conception. That is the Lord is beyond us. We might take steps and write to, but in the end, it is the Lord that gives that life. And whether it be buying a home, whether it be moving from one place to another, all the things that in providence is many things that are out of our hand. We cannot touch them. It needs the Lord to touch someone else's heart, to move something. When we think of the book of Esther and we read again and again of the providences of God, what God is doing, when we think of Ruth that we mentioned, Her hat was to light on the field, belonging unto Boaz, God directing her, unknown to her. And Naomi's able to then say he is a near kinsman unto us. He's not a man to direct his steps. Through the wilderness journey, it was through the fiery, cloudy pillar that they knew which way they should go. They could not bring themselves out of Egypt. They could not release themselves from Pharaoh's bondage. They could not bring themselves through the Red Sea. They could not give themselves food in the wilderness. God gave them manna. They could not give themselves water. God gave them water out of the rock. Those things that the children of Israel had, impossible, impossible again and again. And the Lord provided. The Lord went before them. The Lord chose the way, and there's a reason why they went through the wilderness and not through the land of the Philistines, though it was near. There's great encouragement as we enter upon another year, and no doubt we'll come on many situations. We'll be tempted, like the children of Israel, throw up our hands. We can't do it. We can't go that way. We can't endure. The Lord speak thinking hard things against us. He hates us. Verse 27 in Deuteronomy 1. He murmured in your tents and said, because the Lord hated us, he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. That's what they're saying, the Lord. tempted to do the same, say the same. May we think of the children of Israel here and think of this provision. We will have causes too hard for us. We can't manage it. We can't touch it. We don't know what to do, like Jehoshaphat. But may our eyes be up unto the Lord. May we be much in prayer. May we be much laying it before the Lord, casting our burden upon the Lord. May we remember this verse and this account and all around it. The Lord's arrangement with how we should go through life. We always have this. We have an advocate with the Father. We have the Lord that appears in the presence of God for us. We have one to go to. One who bore our sin on Calvary's tree. One who shed his precious blood there. one who redeemed us with that blood, who set us free from this world and the ways of it, and from those things that are of the prince of this world, and has given us to know him, whom to know is life eternal. And he has given himself as the head of the church, assured us in his death, his sufferings, his rising, of His love toward us, God commendeth His love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He has given us every evidence, every token, that He careth for us. He careth for you. May we then be held to, not unbelieving, but in believing way, to bring these hard causes to the Lord and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me and I will hear it. Bring it unto me, your Redeemer, your Saviour, your hope for eternity, your God, the one who has begun with you, the one who will carry on and support and help you all the way through life's journey. The cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it, and implied there, not only hear it, but manage it, deal with it, help in that matter. May the Lord bless this word. Amen. Hymn, 633. Tune, Salvator 431. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all now and evermore. Amen.