And we want to commence reading at the verse 36. Matthew chapter 26, and we'll break in on the story at the verse 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tore ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as Thy wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What? could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my father, this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it. Thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples and saith unto them, Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. While he at spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same as he they hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him." And we'll end our reading at verse 50. And we know that God will bless the reading of His own Word to all of our hearts. I want to say a word of thanks again to the Word of Life or Word of Truth singers for coming along and being a real blessing to us. We had them recently in the church and we really enjoyed them. And the people are looking forward to them coming back again. And I don't know what to say about Mr. Mullen and all the things that he says about you and even before the meeting. You know, in Ulster, the way that you show that you're a real good friend is that you insult your friends. and you say the worst possible things about them. I was just saying how much I enjoyed Friday night and everybody took part. It was a great meeting, a lovely meal, and it was a real blessed time of fellowship and we really enjoyed Dr. Paisley as he preached the word. And I was saying I really enjoyed Trevor talking about Christmas when he was a wee boy. He says he's still a wee boy. But he said how much he enjoyed going to a particular home, and he was enjoying Christmas. And you know what Philip Millington said? He said, I just wondered about that. And he says, I was wondering was Mr. Barnes doing Santa Claus at the party. And you know, I was really wounded and hurt. But however, I'm a very forgiving person. And I am going to forgive Philip today. But it is a joy to be here and to have the opportunity of being with you. on this very special occasion on the 50th anniversary of your church. And cold rain has proved the promise that I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And our cry to the Lord is that He will build on and build up, and He will strengthen the work here in cold rain. Now, as I was thinking of the meeting, my mind was drawn to the story that we read together Gospel of Matthew chapter 26. And here we have Matthew's account and an eyewitness account of the Garden Examinee experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you read this story, you'll find that the Lord said to his disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And then he took a little further into the garden along with himself, Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. Then the Lord began to pray. And as you come to this portion of the Word of God, we're upon holy ground. There are things here hard to be understood. We're in the holiest of all. We're beginning to see something now of the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, as he comes to this place where he's praying now. I believe for grace as he has got to drink the awful bitter cup in Gethsemane and submit to the Father's will and to go to the cross and there his soul being made an offering for sin. And I think the depth of that cup is expressed in the cry of the cross when the Lord cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And that was really the the awful darkness and bitterness of the cup, that the Lord dreaded that moment when the Father would turn away His face, but not His heart, and the Lord Jesus would be forsaken by His Father. It was said by Martin Luther, the Reformer, that when he read these words, My God, My God, Why has Thou forsaken me?" That He just simply said, God forsaken by God, who can understand it? And who really could understand the depths of the Saviour's love when He was willing to go to that cross, be forsaken by the Father, that you and I might be forgiven and brought into the Father's house of many mansions? But you know, as I was thinking of this service, there was one question that you'll find there in the verse 50. And it's part of the story of the betrayal of Judas. And that psychological moment when Jesus comes into the garden And that Judas is now going to betray his Saviour with a kiss. And you can use your imagination. You can visualize the scene in verse 49. And here Judas steps out of the crowd. He's been along. with those who have been the enemies of Christ. And he comes and he shouts, Hail Master! And the Bible says, And he kissed him. Then if you look at verse 50, it says, And Jesus said unto him, Friend, Wherefore art thy come? And can you imagine this scene with Judas as he's portraying the Son of God with a kiss, as he's kissing the very bloody sweat of the Saviour's face, that blood that was going to be shed on the cross for his sin, that the Lord Jesus looks at Judas and He says, Friend, wherefore art thy come? And that word friend is a very strong word It means a friend who has been a close companion. And of course, for three and a half years, along with the other disciples, Peter, James, and John, and the others, Judas had that privilege of being in close friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He chose twelve, says the Word of God, that they might be with Him. And this friend, this one who was one of that inner band of disciples of the Lord Jesus, the twelve, was now the one who was going to betray his Saviour. And these words, Friend, wherefore art thy come? My, they must have burned like a live coal from the altar of the lips of the Saviour into the soul of Judas when the Lord stabbed him in his tracks. And he says, Judas, Pray, and wherefore art thou come? Judas, are you really going to pursue and fulfill your evil intent? Are you going now to betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Perhaps this is the question that the Lord would put into your heart this afternoon on the 50th anniversary of this church. Over the years, like Judas, you've had the privilege of coming to this house, you've had any presence of the Lord, because where two or three are gathered together in my name, saith the Lord, there am I in the midst And you have been in the midst, you have known the presence of the Lord, as the Lord has been here, and others have been saved. And now the summer has ended and the harvest has passed, and we've come to fifty year celebrations, and we can say you're still not saved. I just want to take this text this evening, this question that the Lord placed to Judas, And I want to pose that question to your heart for a short time this afternoon. Friend, wherefore art thou come? Why have you come even to this anniversary service this afternoon? First of all, could I ask the question, have you come to receive Him? Have you come to receive Him? You know, there is much prayer has went into these anniversary services, and we have enjoyed the Lord's blessing. But you know, the greatest blessing of all that could come to this 50th anniversary service would be the blessing of your salvation, if you came today to know Jesus Christ, whom to know is life's eternal friend. Wherefore art thy come to us? Tell me, have you come to receive Him? Have you come to acknowledge Him as your Saviour and Lord? I can thank God in my own life that one time I had this experience of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. You know, as a little boy I was brought up and not a Christian home, although my folks were associated with the Salvation Army, but we were sent along to a little mission hall across the street where we heard of the gospel, and we were sent along to the Sunday school. I can remember as a boy going to the Sunday school and faithful Sunday school teachers pleading with me to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my own and personal Saviour. And I've no doubt that those teachers who pleaded for me to get saved were also teachers who had prayed that Stanley Barnes as an individual would come to trust the Saviour. not enough to know the gospel, not enough to come and to go from the house of God, but eternal life is to know Jesus Christ personally and to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. But you know, prayer is never in vain. I think back to the year 1959, that was the year of the anniversary of the 1859 revival. Churches throughout the province, including Coleraine here, were having great anniversary services to celebrate the outpouring of God's Spirit in what was came to be known as the year of grace when over 100,000 souls were swept into the kingdom of God. And in the providence of God, in the street where I live, in that mission hall that I attended, as a boy they were having special services in the form of an evangelistic service. Now, I went out of the house that night, no intention of going to the Mission Hall to get saved. As a matter of fact, I crossed the street, knocked on the door of a friend, and his mother came out, a Christian lady, and she said, I'm sorry, Jim has already gone out. And that night, I was intent on going to the cinema, because I loved the Cowboys, I loved John Wayne films. I was a real John Wayne fanatic. You see, I thought John Wayne, according to my father, John Wayne and my father won the war between them. At least that's his account. And I remember that night as I was out in the street and I didn't want to go to the cinema on my own, that God spoke to my heart, go to the Mission Hall. That night I went then to the Mission Hall, sat at the back, Heard the old, old story of Jesus and His love, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And how did it please the Lord to bruise Him and to make His soul an offering for sin, that I, a poor, ill, deserving sinner, could be saved. And thank God that night as they were singing the invitation, Him just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. And as a teenager of seventeen years of age, I walked the aisle and I found Jesus Christ as my Saviour. And an old Sunday school teacher, Mr. Phillips, John Phillips, He came forward and knelt down with me. Open up God's Word at John 3 and 16. For God so loved the world, He said, that if Stanley Barnes would believe in Him, he would not perish but have everlasting life. He said, Son, put your name in there and claim God's salvation as your very own. And that night I arose a new creature in Christ. The old things were passed away. And thank God all things become you. Oh, tell me, friend, wherefore art thou come? Have you come to receive Him? Are you willing tonight to put down the arms of rebellion and say, Lord, just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me? O Lord, I come. Remember, the promise of God's Word is this in 1 John, but to as many as receive Him, to them give ye the power or the authority or the right to become the sons of God. Mr. Nicholson used to say in his great missions, in life you have many take-ins. But the greatest take-in of all is when Jesus takes you in and you come as a sinner to Jesus. Thank God the door of mercy is still open! And God is offering you the opportunity to get saved. And today you can receive Him and know that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Wherefore hast thou come? Have you come to receive Him today? But then could I put this question in another way? Friend, wherefore art thou come? Tell me, have you come to reclaim Him? Have you come to reclaim Him? You see, possibly in this service this afternoon, there's someone and you've come in and you're a backslider. There was a time when you walked with the Lord and you could say, it is well, it is well with my soul. But now you've lost the joy of God's salvation, and like Peter you're following afar off, and there's a great distance between you and the Lord Jesus Christ, and you've lost out in the joy of God's salvation. You know, sad to say, the churches in Ulster are full of people in that position. People who used to run well, but somehow Satan hindered them, has knocked the breath out of them spiritually. And today they're no longer running the race with patience that is set before them. You know, there's a tremendous picture of the backslider in Luke's Gospel, chapter 2. And you remember the Lord's first visit to the temple when He went along with Mary and with Joseph, His father. Then the Lord had been there, and Mary and Joseph made their way back. And at the end of the day, they discovered that Christ wasn't in the company. The Bible says that He returned as opposing Him to be in the company. Now, you would wonder how a mother and father could go a day and not miss their 12-year-old son. Well, the explanation is very simple. In those days, pilgrims, when they came to Jerusalem, because of the thieves and the robbers and the gangs of bandits that were on the roads, they would travel in groups together. And the men would walk together And the women would walk together. And possibly what happened was this, that Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph, along with the men. And that Joseph thought that Jesus was with Mary, along with the women. And it was only when they made camp at the end of the day, and they looked, they discovered that they had travelled without the Lord. and that the Lord was not there. And you know, sometimes that's what happens in the life of a believer. We take the Lord for granted, supposing Him to be in the company. We have no time to pray. We have no time to read His Word. We have hardly a time to go to the meetings. And gradually, the world gets in and the Saviour is crowded out. Do you remember when Mary I came along with Joseph to the temple, and after three days they found him. That Mary said in verse 48 of Luke chapter 2, Behold thy father, and I have sought thee sorrowing. Behold thy father, and I have sought thee sorrowing. That word sorrowing is the same word that is used of the rich man in hell when it says that he lifted up his eyes in hell being in torment. And you know the nearest thing to hell for a Christian is to lose the sense of the Lord's presence and the joy of His so great salvation. A genuine believer when he backslides is miserable. absolutely miserable, because he's spoilt for the world, and he's also spoilt for God. But you know, the Bible tells how they retraced their steps, and they found Him, and they were able to return home with the Saviour. Maybe I'm talking to someone here this afternoon, and you're backslidden, you've got away from the Lord. I want to tell you, the Lord can restore the years that the locusts have eaten, and the Lord can give you back the joy of his salvation. I remember some years ago getting a call to go to a mental hospital to see a lady that had been taken in. I'd known her for several years. She went to one of our other works, and it was a new work at that time, and I'd got to know her, formed a friendship. And eventually, when I went to the mental hospital and I was taken to the room and these people were under lock and key, there she was sitting and she was absolutely demented. And she was pulling at her cheeks and she was pulling at her hair and her mind was totally gone. And I went in and I sat down and tried to talk to her, but she didn't know who I was from Adam. She was so mentally disarranged. And I remember just sitting there and I said, Lord, I don't understand what's happening. But Lord, an enemy has done this. This is not your will for your child. Lord, I plead the power of the precious blood of Jesus against us. And I just pleaded the power of the blood. I went on to visit her for several weeks after that, and she was under treatment and so on, and we were praying for her. And then one day I went in and she opened up and she said to me, you know, Mr. Barnes, the reason why I'm in this hospital is because God has forsaken me. God has turned his back on me. And I looked at her and I said, what on earth, dear, makes you think that God has turned his back on you as his child? And she broke down and she told me a sad story of a lapse into sin. Only happened once. But it broke her heart, brought disgrace to the Lord, and dishonored the Lord's name. And I sat down with her and opened up God's Word to this dear woman in a backslidden state. And I opened up at 1 John chapter 1, and we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. They said, dear, dear, as a backslider, are you willing to confess it as a sin? Ask God to forgive you. And the promise is that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. There, with tears, she confessed. She wept her way back to the cross. And, friend, you could just see the burden of guilt and of shame being lifted from her. And she discovered the joy of God's salvation once again. Oh thank God, God can make the bones which is broken rejoice and the sinner, the backslider like Jonah can look again and he can come back to the Lord and be taken up and be used by the Lord. Friend, wherefore Art thou come? Have you come to reclaim them today? Maybe you're a backslider, miserable in sin, and today you want to get back to the cross. Thank God failure's not final. There's always a new beginning with the Lord. Friend, wherefore art thou come? Could I ask you today? Friend, have you come to release them? What do you mean? have come to release him. This is what Pilate did. Do you remember Pilate with all his antics? He tried to get out of answering the question, what then shall I do with Jesus which is called the Christ? And he tried to send him to Herod and that didn't work. And eventually he was faced by the crowd again. And he let the crowd make the decision. And he said to the crowd, what then shall I do with Jesus which is called the Christ? Whom will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called Christ?" And let me say, in many ways, Pilate was a coward. He knew the truth. He said, this man has done nothing amiss. And if he had been doing what was right, my, he would have set Christ free. For he knew that every one of them were false witnesses against him. But you know, Pilate didn't want to do what was right. He hadn't the courage of his convictions. He hadn't the backbone to stand and to step out before the crowd and to do what's right with Christ. And so he looks to the crowd and he says, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus, which is called to Christ. And in unison the crowd cried out, Not this man barabbas! And the Son of God was condemned to death." I wonder, is that what you're going to do? God has spoken to your heart. You know you need to be saved. But you know you have discovered how true it is, like Pilate, the fear of man. bringeth a snare. And maybe it's the fear of man that's holding you back today in this jubilee service from being released from your sin and knowing the joy of sins forgiven. Let me tell you, friend, if you Let the crowd make the decision. The crowd will always say, not this man, but Barabbas. The crowd will always say, we will not have this man to rule over us. And the crowd will always condemn the Saviour to the cross. You know D. L. Moody, on one occasion, he was preaching at a great evangelistic campaign, and the words of, we have just quoted, what then shall I do with Jesus, which is called the Christ. And as he came to the end of the service, as his custom was, he made a very powerful appeal for men and women to step out and to receive Christ as their Saviour. Give one invitation, the second invitation. And he thought, under the guidance of the Spirit of God, he was compelled to do it again. Is there someone here tonight? And you're going to answer the question, what then shall I do with Jesus, which is called the Christ? And suddenly an old man stepped out into the aisle and ran up to the front. And he took Mr. Moody's hand and he said, Mr. Moody, I'll take him home with me. I'll take him home with me. And the old man got saved. He came to know Christ as his Saviour. Friend, wherefore art thou come? I want to tell you, you can find Christ as your Saviour. Don't let the crowd make the decision for you. But you say today, I'm going to take him home with me. I'm going to accept him as my Savior and Lord. But finally, as we look at these words, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Let me ask you the question, have you come to resell him? Have you come to resell them? You see, Judas goes down in history as the man who sold his Lord for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave in those days. And the sad thing is this, that Judas sold his Saviour because of his love for money. If you read the history of Judas, in the Word of God, you will find that Judas had been appointed to be the treasurer of the disciples. He looked after their money, but he was a thief even in those days. And we read, you remember, when Mary came and she did that wonderful act of anointing the Saviour's feet in John chapter 12. And we're told, as she took the pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." These are the only recorded words of Judas. the first recorded words of Judas. And it says, Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which had betrayed him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein, even already. Judas was betraying his Lord. He was a thief. And now we find for 30 pieces of silver, Judas is betraying his Saviour. The sin of covetousness, in the end, found him out. And the Bible says, be sure your sin will find you out. And that secret sin blossomed into this terrible act of finally betraying the Saviour for the thirty pieces of silver. You know, history very often repeats itself. I think of a great evangelistic campaign that was held in the city of Belfast and God's Spirit was moving and many precious souls were being saved. And into the meeting there came one night this lady, she was a well-known woman in the business world, had her own business and shop and so on. And she was very well known and and throughout society. And she came into the service and she heard the message of the Gospel. And she was challenged. She was moved by what she heard. And she stayed behind. And she asked, could you speak to the preacher? And could you have a word with him? And the preacher agreed and she came into the room. And she said, you know, I have a question to ask you and I'd like you to answer it honestly. She says, I have my own business. And she says, sometimes I do things to make money that are not strictly honest. And the question is this, that if I become a Christian, will I have to stop doing that? Because I make a lot of money dishonestly. And the preacher looked at her and he was putting her under the pressure. And he said to her, dear, you're standing in the shoes of Judas Iscariot, and you've got to decide on the one hand between the Savior and the silver, what's it going to be, money or the master? And the woman got very indignant, and she looked into the face of the preacher, and she says, if I have to make a choice, it's the money. And she went out into the night, rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. You know, the Bible says after Judas had betrayed the Saviour and committed this horrible crime, the Bible says he went out and it was night. And he eventually ended up as a suicide. Took his own life. Tried to hang himself. And the branch broke and he bodied Christ down under the ground, under the rocks. The Bible says his bowels gushed out. They went to a lost eternity. Judas never lived to spend one piece of the pieces of silver. And tonight, or this afternoon, there's a cry from the past and from the grave in the hail of Judas that says, What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world? and lose his own soul. Friend, wherefore art thou come? Are you going to resell him? Are you going to do exactly what Judas did almost 2,000 years ago and betray the Son of Man with a kiss? And go out and betray him for the pieces of silver? Friend, it doesn't have to be That way, today you can come, you can kneel at the foot of the old rugged cross before the Lamb of God, and you can cry out, God, be merciful to me, this sinner. And you can go home today knowing that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You're a child of God. And you can sing and say with a hymn writer, it is well, it is well my soul." Old John Bunyan, the Puritan preacher, when he was preaching, he would often end by saying, come, come today, and a thousand welcomes to Jesus. Oh, we welcome you to the cross today. Meet with Christ. Put your hand in the nail-pierced hand of the Savior. Say like that old man, preacher, I'm going to take Jesus home with me. I'm going to get saved. today. May the Lord write His Word upon our hearts. Let's just bow together.