Good morning again. Let's open
this second hour with the hymn that's on the back of your bulletin.
Hymn that's on the back of your bulletin. Let's all stand together. My times are in thy hand. My God, I wish them there. My life, my friends, my soul
I leave entirely to thy care. My times are in thy hand, whatever
they may be, pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem
to thee. My times are in Thy hand, why
should I doubt or fear? My Father's hand will never cause
His child a needless tear. My times are in thy hand, Jesus
the crucified. Those hands my cruel sins had
pierced are now my guard and guide. My times are in thy hand,
Jesus my advocate, nor shall thine hand be stretched in vain
for me to supplicate. My times are in thy hand. I'll always trust in thee. And after death, at thy right
hand, I shall forever be. Please be seated. Good morning. I'd like to read
2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 1. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. But having
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid from them that are lost, and whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken.
Cast down, but not destroyed. always bearing about in the body
of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh
in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of
faith according as it is written, I believed and therefore I have
spoken. we also believe and therefore
speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall
raise us also by Jesus and shall present us with you, for all
things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through
the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God, for which
cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet inward
man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which
are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. Dear Heavenly Father, we pray
that you bless our worship today and let the light of your truth
on our hearts shine. We pray for all those that you've
called to stand this morning and declare your truth and your
word. We pray for our loved ones who
are sick and afflicted this morning that you give them strength and
your rest. And we pray for our children
that you may cause them to Believe your word. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Number 236, let's all stand together. 236 in your hardback. Yeah. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see. ? It was grace that taught my
heart to fear ? And grace my fears relieved ? How precious
did that grace appear ? The hour I first believed Through many
dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. When we've been there
10,000 years, bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's
praise than when we'd first begun. Please be seated. Aren't you thankful to be able
to sing that hymn with some understanding? We hear probably, I guess, the most
popular gospel hymn in the world and so many people sing it and
they don't believe themselves to be wretches and they don't
believe that their salvation is all of grace. They believe
they've done something to earn it. And we know that by grace,
by grace we're saved through faith and that not of ourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works. No man should boast. We have
nothing to boast in, do we? He gets all the glory. you'd like to turn with me in
your Bible to the Gospel of John. We're going to look at the first
few verses here. And I've titled this message, Grace
and Truth. Grace and Truth. You'll notice in verse 14 that
the Word, the living Word, the Lord Jesus himself, was made
flesh and he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as the glory
of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. And then in verse 17, for the
law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Twice in these few verses though
our Lord is referred to as full of grace and grace coming by
Him and full of truth and truth coming by Him. John tells us in verse 14 that
we beheld His glory, we beheld His glory and we know that there
is coming a day, if you believe God's word, you know this is
true. Robert and I were talking this
morning and we both agreed that we wished and hoped that it might
be today. And I really do believe that.
When the trump of God shall sound, the dead in Christ shall be raised,
those of us who are alive be caught up together, the Lord
Jesus, the scripture says is going to burst out of heaven
and he's going to reveal his glory to all of creation. Every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Let me ask you a question. Is he any less glorious right
now than he will be in that day when all men are faced with the
realization of who he is? Is he any less glorious? No. No. You see, faith doesn't wait
for that day. Faith looks through the revelation
that God has given of Christ in his word and believes on him
now and beholds his glory now. The truth is that that day is
not gonna come until the very last of God's elect are called
to salvation in Christ. And so there's
no purgatory after that moment of truth in the great and glorious
day of the Lord when Christ reveals his magnificent glory to all
of creation. There's no rapture and seven
years of persecution whereby you might be able to save yourself
by dying for Christ as it's taught in so many churches today. The rapture and the period of
purgatory, that's just Baptist purgatory is all that is. It's
just another way of man saving himself. No, when the Lord Jesus
comes, it'll be in one moment of glory. And it will not happen until
the last of God's elect is called into faith with Christ. And so
after that, Men will see his glory. They'll bow to him. They'll confess that he's Lord.
But it'll be too late for salvation. Our hope is that God the Holy
Spirit would come in power and that he would give us faith to
set our affections right now on things above where Christ
is seated at the right hand of God. and that we will set our
hopes that we can say with John we beheld his glory. Now perhaps
John was thinking when he wrote these words about that experience
that he and Peter and James had on the Mount of Transfiguration
when our Lord's glory shined forth and they were forced to
the ground. But John would No, the same thing
is true that Peter said. When Peter referring to that
experience said, we did not bring to you cunningly devised fables,
but we handled the word of God and we saw his glory. When the
father spoke from heaven audibly and said, this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased. We were there, Peter was there,
John was there, James was there. And they saw his glory. Say, well, I've not had an experience
like that. Is that what it is to see God's
glory? I'm so thankful that the Holy Spirit led Peter to write
the next verse. But we have a more sure word
of testimony. We have the written word of God,
whereby the Lord has revealed his glory. So that we need not wait for
a mountaintop experience. We need not wait for a feeling.
We come to Christ right now, look to him. What is it to see
the glory of Christ? What is it to see his glory?
Well, that question is answered very simply in the next chapter.
If you'll turn with me in your Bibles to chapter two at verse
11. after the Lord had turned the
water into wine, showing that he had come not to destroy the
law, but to fulfill it. They filled up the six water
pots to the brim. The servants went and got water.
The water was turned to the best wine. And the Lord Jesus is showing
in that miracle that he came to fulfill the law. and to bring
in new life in himself and the shedding of his blood. And no
one at that wedding knew what was happening. The butler didn't
know, the master of the wedding didn't know, the groom didn't
know, but look at verse 11. This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory and
his disciples believed on Him. What is it to see His glory?
It's to believe on Him. That's simple. It's to rest all the hope of
your salvation on Him. It's to look to Him in faith
for all your righteousness before God. It's to look to His shed
blood on Calvary's cross as the only hope of your justification
and covering for your sin. Turn with me in John chapter
20, and look with me at verse 31. But these are written, these
are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His
name. Faith does not wait. for that
time when God sends forth his angels and reaps his harvest
into the barn and takes the chaff and cast it into the fire. Faith
believes what God has revealed about Christ and believes on
him, rests in him, depends upon him, and believes on him as the truth. The word truth is a noun. And the word truths is an adjective. We say, well, we speak of things
that are truth. We use that as an adjective,
but here the Lord Jesus is saying that he is the one that's full
of truth. And no lie is of the truth. I am the way, the truth,
and the life. And so faith believes on Christ
as the whole truth. Not looking to doctrinal truths. for the hope of one's salvation.
In John chapter 11, Martha believed in the resurrection, it was taught
clearly in scripture, and she believed that in the resurrection
her brother would rise from the dead. And the Lord looked at
Martha and said, oh Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he be dead, yet shall he live. And he that liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? And what
did Martha say? Yea, Lord, yea, Lord, I believe
that thou art the Christ that is to come into the world. I'm
resting all my hopes on you. In John chapter 2, when Philip
went to his brother Nathanael, Philip, you remember, is the
one that the Lord said, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. And Philip said, Lord, how do
you know me? Oh, when you were under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Philip was asking the Lord to reveal himself to him. in prayer
and the Lord heard that prayer and now he's answering that prayer
and revealing himself. And Philip bowed before Christ
and said, thou art the Christ. And then Philip goes to get his
brother Nathanael. And what does he say to Nathanael?
We have found him of whom Moses spoke in the law and the prophets
spoke. The Christ, we found him. Come and meet a man. Oh, the
woman at the well in John chapter four, when the Lord, when she
said, I know that when Messiah comes, which is the Christ, he
will lead us into all truth. And the Lord Jesus said to that
woman at the well, I am speaketh unto thee. That's
the literal translation of that verse. I am speaketh unto thee. She went back down into Sychar
and though she was ashamed to have to go to the well in the
middle of the day, having been an outcast of society, married
five times, and the man she was living with was not her husband,
she went back and boldly declared to all of her neighbors, come
and meet a man who told me everything I ever did. Is not this the Christ? And they came and they heard
and they believed. You see, to behold his glory,
yes, Peter, James, and John saw the magnificence of his deity
on that mountain. We look now, we look now by the
God-given eyes of faith, the gift of faith, and we hang all
the hopes of our immortal soul, all the hopes of our salvation
on the one who is himself full of grace and full of truth. We come in faith to Christ with
nothing but our sin. We depend upon him for all of
our salvation. We trust him for all of our righteousness
before God. We look in faith to his shed
blood as the only hope of being justified in the presence of
a holy God and having our sins put away. This is what it is
to see the glory of God. John saw, John said, we beheld
his glory. as the glory of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and full of truth. And the Lord
Jesus said to Philip, O Philip, have I been with you so long
that if you've not seen me, if you've seen me, you've seen the
Father? I and the Father are one. He's the fullness of the
Godhead bodily, and we have our completeness in him. We're complete in Christ. He's
all of our salvation. If you and I are to be saved, we must be saved by the free
and sovereign grace of God in the glorious person and accomplished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the only way to be saved.
No other name has been given among men under heaven whereby
we must be saved. His name is Jesus for He saved
His people from their sins. John says, we beheld His glory.
This is what it is to behold His glory. To behold His glory
is to give Him all the glory. Give Him all the praise. It's
not of Him that willeth nor of Him that runneth. It's of God
that showeth mercy. My salvation is all of Him and
He gets all the glory. Just as notice in our, go back
with me to our text in John chapter one. And the word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. And he still dwells among us.
He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. He said, where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the
midst of you. Oh, how we need to be reminded
of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ among his people when
they gather together for worship. He's here. This is the place where he's
pleased to manifest his grace and his glory through public
worship. Yes, he does it in private worship
and prayer, but there's something very special about public worship,
isn't there? Sometimes you are forced by sickness
or some other inconvenience to have to watch the service online. It's not the same, is it? It's
just not the same. And people say, well, I've heard
believers say, well, you know, I miss the fellowship. You miss
more than that. You miss more than that. If you're not part
of public worship, there's a blessing that God has given of His presence
that you're not going to have anywhere else. Now, I'm very
sympathetic toward those who are not able to get to a gospel
church. And we've got people that watch
us every week that live in places where they can't. They can't. I mean, I looked the other day
on our on our sermon audio, and literally there's people all
over the world, places I never even dreamed there would be people
listening in third world countries. And I'm sympathetic for them,
but well, believers you know. There is any way you can be at
the place where God's people gather together. Oh, the blessing
cannot be replicated anywhere else. We beheld His glory as the glory
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace. I love the way the Holy Spirit
tells us about the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ when he
refers to him as being full of grace. If something's full you
can't put anything else in it, he's full of grace. For his children,
that's all he has for his children, those who he manifest forth his
glory. Now there's a There's the judgment
of God for the reprobate, but for his children, for those who
behold his glory and believe on him, he has nothing for them
but grace. He's full of grace. And you hold
that in contrast to what the Bible teaches about you and me.
When the Lord performed that miracle in the presence of Peter,
what did Peter say? Depart from me, Lord. I am a
sinful man. We often speak of being sinners,
and I hope by God's grace we understand what that means. If
you're a sinner, it doesn't mean you've got some sins in your
life. It means everything about you
is sinful. But I love when Peter said, I am sinful. And when you fill something up,
you can't put anything in it. Everything about me, Peter's
saying, in the presence of God is sinful. I have nothing to
claim. I have no place to stand. no
glory to glory in. I'm full of sin and he's full
of grace. He's full of grace. This grace can only come by him. Notice in verse 16, or 17, the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. This fullness of grace
can only come to us by Him. And He said, and I, if I be lifted
up, will draw all men to myself. So we preach Christ and Him crucified. And we determine not to know
anything save Christ and Him crucified. And our hope and prayer
is that he will draw our hearts to himself and that we will be
able to say with John, we beheld his glory. We believed on him. He is the resurrection. He is
the life. He is the fulfillment of the
law. It's not by our efforts or by our law keeping. It is
not of him that willeth. not by our free will. It is not
of him that runneth, not by our efforts, but it's of God that
showeth mercy. The only reason for our salvation
is his will and his work, not our will. Our will will do nothing
but hinder us from being saved. Our will will accomplish nothing
but keep us from being saved. It is his will. I will have mercy
upon whom I will have mercy. Oh, that's what it is to behold
his glory, is to believe that our lives, as we sang the hymn
a few moments ago, are in thy hands. Lord, you, You'll do with
me whatsoever you will and whatever you do will be right. It'll be
right, it'll be good. The truth concerning the nature
of God is that God saves sinners only
by Jesus Christ. who himself is the truth. And just as being full of grace
is in contrast to us being full of sin, so he being full of truth
is set in contrast to all men being liars. The scripture says
that our throat is an open sepulcher. When God looks down from heaven
through our throats into our hearts, he sees that every thought
and imagination of the heart is only evil, that continually,
and how we ought to choose our words carefully. Don't be proud
of the fact that, well, I just am what I am, and you're going
to have to deal with me, and be rude about it. I've met people
that are just, they're rude, they don't have a filter between
their brain and their mouth, they say things they ought not
to say. We've all done it, but they pride themselves in it.
We ought to. We ought to filter our words.
We ought to be careful what we say. And we ought to weigh our
words carefully. And generally we do in order
to present ourselves as best we can. And to present ourselves
in the best light that we can. We want other people to think
well of us. And so we have to do that. We have to be careful
about how we speak. The Lord Jesus just speaks. He speaks his heart. He speaks
his mind. And what he speaks is truth. He doesn't have to weigh his
words. He doesn't have to be like us and be careful not to
say something that he ought not to say. Because he did it, it's right.
Because he said it, it's right. Because he willed it, it's right.
He's full of grace and full of truth. He's not like us at all. How glorious, how glorious He
is. The word was made flesh. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, He did not cease to be what he eternally was. He became something that he never
had been. And that's so important. He's the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. He is the second person of the
triune Godhead. He's the son of God with all
the characteristics of God. the eternal, omniscient, immutable,
sovereign, holy God. He was that before his incarnation.
He was that during his incarnation. And he returned to his glory
when he ascended back into heaven. He never ceased being God. And he that knew no sin was made
sin. He was imputed with the sins
of his people on Calvary's cross and rejected of his father, forsaken
of his father on the cross, having been made sin, suffering all
the shame and penalty and separation from God for the sins of his
people. And that's the reason why he
had to be made flesh. He became something that he had
never been before. He became a man. And the Lord
tells us without controversy, without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is
godliness. And so here he tells us in 1
Timothy, great is the mystery of godliness without controversy.
What is a mystery? A mystery is not something strange
or mysterious. A mystery is something that has
to be revealed. And a mystery, when revealed, is believed. It's
believed. It's not understood. We don't
understand anything that we believe. But the Lord has revealed to
us the mystery of godliness. What is it? Christ was manifested
in the flesh. That's the rest of that verse.
That's the mystery of godliness. That God became a man. And he
dwelt among us as the God-man, fully God and fully man. Galatians chapter 4 verse 4 says
in the fullness of time, in the fullness of time from eternity
past to the creation of Adam and Eve all the way up to the
time when the Lord Jesus Christ was conceived of Mary and given
birth to in Nazareth. That was the fullness of time.
The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is what time is all about. People
worry about what's the purpose of life. There's the purpose
of life, Christ. And everything that happened
before Him and everything that's happening since Him points back
to the fullness of time. The fullness of time, this is
the moment that God purposed everything for, the glory of
His Son. when God would leave the glories
of heaven and come into this world and be made in the likeness
of sinful flesh. And that's what that verse says.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son made of a
woman, made under the law to redeem them who were under the
law. Turn with me to Romans chapter
eight. Was he successful? You see, this
is why, listen to me just for a moment carefully please, this
is why the Free Will Works Gospel is so blasphemous. It robs Christ
of being full of glory. It robs God of his glory. And it shares what only God has
with sinful men. It's the fulfillment of what
the serpent said to Eve in the garden. When he said, God didn't
want you to eat the tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good
and evil, because he knows in the day in which you eat of it, your
eyes will be opened and you become like God. Sometimes we talk about,
you know, proud physicians. And I'm thankful for physicians.
But I've met some physicians that had a God complex. You met
them? OK. We've all got a God complex.
By nature, all men have a God complex. And that's what God
has to break and show us that there's nothing in us like him. He's holy. He's undefiled. He's separate from sinners. He's
higher than the heavens. And we bow to him and give to
him all the glory. That's faith. That's what it
is to see, to behold his glory, is to give him all the glory
in your salvation, to believe on him. The natural man won't
do it apart from God's grace. He doesn't believe himself to
be a sinner. Romans chapter eight, you have
your Bibles open there? Look with me at verse three.
For what? Remember our text? The law was
given by Moses God gave the law, but grace and truth came by the
Lord Jesus Christ. And now the Lord is gonna compare
what the law could not do in that it was weak through the
flesh. Nothing wrong with the law. The
law is holy, the law is just, the law is good. Paul said, I
know the commandment is spiritual, but I'm carnal, sold under sin,
I'm a sinner. I can't achieve obedience to
any part of God's law. Everything I do has my sinful
nature involved in it. I need a sinless one. who can
be the end of the law for my righteousness, one who can satisfy
what God requires. And so what the law was unable
to do because of the weakness of the flesh, God sending His
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Where was made flesh?
Men looked at the Lord Jesus Christ all His life, they didn't. Remember when the Lord said before Abraham was, I am,
and they said you're not yet 50 years old. You ever thought
about that? He was only 30. Those people
didn't know who he was. I wonder if he looked 50. If living under the the weight
of sinful people, the stress. He's a man of sorrows. If the life that he lived was
such that he prematurely aged, though he was 30, he looked 50. Born in the likeness of sinful
flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Here's why
God had to be made flesh. He had to bear our sins in his
body upon that tree. He had to put them away. God
required a perfect sacrifice to accomplish his righteousness. And for sin, he condemned sin
in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. What is it to walk after the
spirit? It's to look to Christ for all my righteousness. You
see, the circumcision of the heart Cutting away of that useless
flesh is what the Spirit of God does when he brings us to faith
in Christ. What does that mean, the circumcision
of the heart? Does that mean that God cuts out all my fleshly
desires and I'm no longer driven by or influenced by my flesh
or by the fleshly world anymore? I'm living this spiritual life
of, no, no. If that's it, I'm not saved.
He cuts away from you any hope of your salvation based upon
your flesh. That's the circumcision of the
heart. We worship God in the spirit. We rejoice in Christ
Jesus and we have no confidence in the flesh. That's what it
means to glory in Christ. That's what it means to believe
upon him. I can't find anything in me to glory in. I must walk after the spirit.
I must walk by faith, looking to Christ for my salvation. If I walk after my sight and
after my flesh, I'm going to deny Christ his glory and salvation. This is why the Lord Jesus came. He had to satisfy divine justice. He had to bear our sins. He had
to put them away by the sacrifice of himself. And child of God,
we have a high priest who sympathizes, sympathizes with the weakness
of our flesh. For he was in all ways tempted
as we are, yet he was without sin. He knew the full darkness and
the full temptation of sin. When he bore our sins in his
body, nothing about your sin that he doesn't sympathize with,
nothing about your sin that he doesn't understand, nothing about
your sin that you have to be that you have to think, well,
you know, he could never forgive me of that. Turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 2. Look with me at verse 14 of Hebrews
chapter 2. For as much then as the children
are partakers flesh and blood, that's us. We came into this
world flesh and blood. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you
they are spirit and they are life. It's the spirit that quickeneth. Our flesh cannot save us, the
law cannot save us. The law came by Moses, was given
by Moses. And as we, as children, are partakers
of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same. The Word
was made flesh. He did not cease to be what he
was. He became something he never
was. That through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is the devil. He defeated
Satan, he defeated the grave, he put away sin. This is why
God was made a man. And deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
The man's ever honest, the man's ever honest is a, there's a,
There's a realization to death, I've got a God with whom I must
do. And we understand the consequences
of this thing. And it's that that causes us
to flee to Christ. We don't live in denial of that. For verily, he took on him not the nature of angels, but he
took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things, in
all things, child of God, in all of your troubles, in all
of your struggles, in all of your sin, in all things, it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. Why? That he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Oh, how oftentimes we feel like
our prayers are so ineffectual. They're so full of our sin and
Lord, I need I need an advocate. I need one who can take my feeble,
sinful pleas and bring them to the Father in a way that will
be acceptable to God. And only the Lord Jesus can do
that. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the
righteous one. And in all ways, it behooved
Him to be made like unto His brethren, He might be a faithful. and merciful high priest, for
that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is also able
to succor or help those that are tempted. In all of our temptations,
in all of our trials, in all of our troubles, we have an advocate
who is full of grace. He has nothing but grace. Nothing
but grace. And full of truth. He is nothing
but the truth. There is no, nothing in him but
truth. We come to him by grace for grace. Notice in our text, go back with
me to John chapter 1 in verse 16. And of his fullness have
we also received. The first hour when David took
those 400 men and went after the Amalekites, that was Christ
defeating the enemy. And all 200 that were left behind
with the stuff is the church. That's the children of God. And
when the Lord Jesus ascended into glory, he left his people
behind with the stuff. And we wait now for him. And he says here, and of his
fullness, the fullness of his righteousness, the fullness of
his life, the fullness of his resurrection, the fullness God
has made him to be our wisdom, the fullness of our understanding.
God has made him to be our redemption, the fullness of our redemption,
the fullness of our sanctification, being kept by the grace of God,
the fullness of our glorification. He must keep us and bring us
faithfully. And there he gets all the glory
from beginning to end. And of his fullness, we have
all received from grace to grace. You see that in verse six? From
grace to grace. Brethren, we never, ever graduate
from the school of grace. Never. The more we grow in his
grace and the knowledge of Christ, the more grace we need. The more
we understand our dependence upon Him and His grace, from
grace to grace, never, never beyond that, always dependent,
always right there, looking to Him, seeking more of His glory. Christ is all, and He's in all. He's in all our salvation. From
election, before time ever was, to glorification when time will
never cease, Christ is all. From grace to grace. Not by merit, not by anything
we've done. Why? That He might get all the
glory, all the glory. We're going to share the Lord's
table together. Before we do, I think, Tom, you're
going to come and lead us in a hymn, two hymns. Shall we stand
for the first hymn? Let's stand together. Number 29 in the Spiral Hymnbook. I was lost and did not know it,
rushing madly to my end. But my God, who's rich in mercy,
would not let me die in sin. Hallelujah, God has saved me,
Saved me by His sovereign grace. Jesus died, the Spirit called
me, I am saved by sovereign grace. Chosen by my Heavenly Father
and redeemed by Jesus' blood, I am justified, forgiven, and
accepted by my God. Hallelujah, God has saved me,
Saved me by His sovereign grace. Jesus died, the Spirit called
me, I am saved by sovereign grace. God the Spirit came in power,
gave me life and set me free. He revealed my blessed Savior
and created faith in me. Hallelujah, God has saved me,
Saved me by His sovereign grace. Jesus died, the Spirit called
me, I am saved by sovereign grace. ? God has saved me and will keep
me ? By the power of his grace ? He will guide, guard and protect
me ? Till I see my savior's face ? Hallelujah, God has saved me
Save me by His sovereign grace. Jesus died, the Spirit called
me. I am saved by sovereign grace. Please be seated. I'll turn over
to hymn number 17 in the same hymn book, familiar tune. you. See the table spread before you,
see the feast of bread and wine. These are symbols of our Savior,
tokens of His love divine. Bread that's broken is his body,
crushed beneath the wrath of God. Wine poured out is a reminder
of our Savior's precious blood. ? Children of our God remember
? How he bought your soul and mine ? In remembrance of our
Savior ? Eat the bread and drink the wine ? Jesus came the God
incarnate ? To fulfill God's holy law ? On the cross he made
atonement ? And retrieved us from the fall