The pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Mr. Roland Wheatley will preach
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock and there will be a prayer
meeting here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence
our services today by singing together hymn number 592 to the
tune Praise 720. Mighty to save is Christ the
Lamb. Let all the saints adore his
name and make his goodness known. With one accord proclaim abroad
the wonders of their Saviour God, whose blood did once atone. Hymn 592. Tune praise 720. I, Peter, say this, Christ the
Lord, O let all the saints adore his name, and praise to his name. In honor proclaimeth both the
wonders of the Savior God, Whose blood defends that tower? Whose blood defends that tower? There's no news of her safe return. There's nothing more to say. I need to save the lost in time
And all the sinner in that time When he tells who ought them
now. Normer'st this village, I am from, When we have journeyed
so far from home, When the said time is come. When the said time is come. And loses with desire, ? And that our time is nigh ? Mighty to save, he saved from
death, the mighty Saviour stood in death. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? Which sinner cares by no competent,
If not the people next to stand, The way from wrong to right? ? As the dark night descends ?
? As the dark night descends ? ? As the dark night descends
? ? As the dark night descends ? ? As the dark night descends
? ? As the dark night descends ? ? As the dark night descends
? ? As the dark night descends ? ? As the dark night descends
? Why's he to say he's dead? ? Age old fair ? ? But may I bid
my greatest prayer ? ? Beside thee far away ? His sinners lost and rejected,
He came to change the world's last youth, and mighty is His
name. and mighty is his name. He came to save such worlds as
we, and mighty is his name. ? Mighty to save ? ? Expired to
save ? ? King of the stars above ? With cheerful heart and cheerful
voice, and rejoice, and sing His praise
with love. and sing His praise below. Hail, hail our God, sing in the
highest. Hail in the mighty God with voice. And sing His praise And when the icy hand of death Shall still a ray of golden breath
At your right hand send him peace. This with an all-immortal song,
Israel and Christ shall be our song, in realms of endless bliss. In realms of endless peace. We'll
sing and cry, shall we and song, In realms of endless Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter
8. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 8. When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a
leper and worshipped him. saying, Lord, if thou wilt thou
canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, see
thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto
them. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him and
saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof,
but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For
I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say,
to this man go, and he goeth, and to another come, and he cometh,
and to my servant do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard
it, he marveled and said to them that followed, verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you that many
shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness,
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto
the centurion, go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be
it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in
the south same hour. And when Jesus was come unto
Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and
the fever left, and she arose and ministered unto them. When
the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed
with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word, and
he healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities
and bear our sicknesses. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes
about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
And a certain scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will
follow thee with us wherever thou goest. And Jesus said unto
him, The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. And another
of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and
bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, follow
me, and let the dead bury the dead. And when he was entered
into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose
a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves, but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him
and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are
ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying,
what manner of man is this? that even the winds and the sea
obey him. And when he was come to the other
side, into the country of the Girgashins, there met him two
possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
so that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they cried
out, saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son
of God? Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time? And there was a good way off
from them, and heard of many swine feeding. So the devils
besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go
away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And
when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine.
And behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep
place into the sea and perished in the waters. And they that
kept them fled and went their ways into the city and told everything
that was befallen to the possessed of devils. And behold, the whole
city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they besought
him that he would depart out of their coasts. May the Lord
bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto
us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty
and to call upon thy great and holy name. We do pray that today
as we gather round thy word that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of
the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us, that we may worship
thee in spirit and in truth, for Lord, without thee we can
do nothing. We desire to bow, O Lord, before
thee as poor sinners For each one of us, O Lord, is one of
the fallen sons or daughters of Adam, born in sin, shapen
in iniquity, unrighteous altogether. So we desire to humble ourselves
before them. We come like the publican of
old, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. We come, most gracious
Lord, with that desire that we might see Jesus. Oh, we do pray
that we may behold him as our prophet, our priest, and our
king. We come like that dear woman of old, she pressed through
the crowd, saying, if I might but touch the hem of his garment,
I should be made whole. Gracious God, and we've read
together in thy word of those wonderful cases that thou didst
meet with when thou was here upon earth, and thy love and
thy kindness and thy compassion thou did show. We pray that today
thou wouldst look upon each one that has gathered here in the
sanctuary, that thou wouldst graciously pour forth thy blessed
spirit, that it may be with us here today as it was with the
dear apostle at Thessalonica when he could testify For our
gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy
Ghost, and with much assurance. We pray, Lord, that it may be
so. May the power that brings salvation be exerted in the word. May it please thee, Lord, to
quicken souls and make them cry, give me Christ or else I die.
Lord, so bless us here Even today, we humbly beseech them. Remember
our brethren, the deacons, and give needed grace, wisdom, and
help in all their responsibilities. Remember our dear brother at
Tunbridge Wells, today helping them there, and pray that thou
would be with him as he reads a sermon. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy, Remember the dear children,
the little ones and the children. Put thy holy fear in their hearts
in their very young and tenting years. Remember our dear young
friends as they stand on the threshold of life's journey.
Bless them with living, vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ,
that they may become true followers of thee and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises Lord, remember parents
and give wisdom and grace that they may bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Gracious God, do
bless us with thy presence. Lord Jesus, come and stand in
our midst. Grant that we may hear thy voice,
that we may follow thee. Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth where thou feedest, where thou causest thy flock to rest
at noon. Lord Jesus come, we do humbly
beseech thee, and grant that we may behold thee. We pray that
we may be favoured to feel the divine love of our eternal Father,
that blessed spirit of adoption, that we may be enabled to say,
Abba Father, my God, my Father, blissful name, O may I call thee
mine. Lord, we pray that it may be
so with us here today, that we may feel that we are the children
of the living God. Lord, do hear us, we humbly pray
thee. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life and graciously undertake for each one. Deliver
us from temptation, deliver us from the enemy, whether he comes
as a roaring lion to devour or whether he comes as an angel
of light to deceive. We pray to be delivered from
his power and from his influence. Lord, we pray that thou would
bless those that are visiting with us today. We lovingly commend
each one to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to
build them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that
are sanctified. And oh Lord, we do pray that
thou would remember All of us in the evening time of life's
journey, we pray to be prepared for that great change which must
come. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy precious mercy would remember this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets, and that thou would send out thy light
and thy truth, and that thou would pull down the strongholds
of Satan, and set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. Fulfil those
wonderful gospel promises, O bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters
from the ends of the earth, and they shall come from the north
and from the south, and from the east and from the west. O
gracious God, let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory
unto their children. We do humbly beseech of thee.
We pray for all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
today, that thou would set them free and at liberty, that thou
would grant that they may dip their foot in oil and be made
acceptable unto the brethren, and that the word preached may
be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. We do
humbly beseech of thee. Lord, we We do thank Thee for
our house of prayer. We do thank Thee for every mercy
of Thy kind providence, which I knew every morning. We thank
Thee for the word of God. This is the word by which the
gospel is preached unto you. We thank Thee for the incarnation
of the Son of God and that profound glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for the holy life
he lived as a man when he was made of woman, made under the
law that he might redeem them that are under the law. We thank
thee that in that holy life of our Lord Jesus Christ is the
righteousness of the church. And we thank thee that he suffered
and bled and died on Calvary to redeem his people. He poured
out his soul unto death He was numbered among the transgressors,
and He bared the sin of many. Oh, we thank Thee for Calvary,
where the Lamb was slain, for that precious blood of Jesus
Christ that cleanses from all sin. We thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, that He is the altogether lovely One, the chiefest among
10,000. We thank Thee that He died for
our sins, and rose again for our justification, and is now
bodily ascended into heaven. For such an high priest have
we, who is passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, O gracious
God, fill our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving for all thy
tender mercies. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn
to thy holy word. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 603. The tune is Beamsley, number
five. Faith is a grace divine, a gift
both rich and free. It was grace that made this blessing
mine, from guilt to set me free. Hymn 603, tune Beamsley, number
five. Is the richly white, And in the
green and green. ? God's grace on them, His mercy
mild, ? ? How beautiful to see Him there. ? And where'er ye go, God be with
you, With patience, love, and faith, ? In each hour of his design ?
? The world's and people's delight. ? ? In Jesus' blood is born ? ? Rebirth
of life pervading ? ? Rebirth of life pervading ? ? Rebirth
of life pervading ? O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. We sing of you, Christmas We
give thanks for your strength ? He gives his sight to them ?
? And when the sun goes down ?
? In the ages gone past ? ? In
the ages gone past ? ? O'er the land of endless night
? ? And the home of the brave ? ? We have our weary years ? ? Have
never died ? ? And our hearts are bare and fragile ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the gospel according to Matthew chapter eight, and
we'll read verse 27 for our text. Matthew chapter eight, verse
27. But the men marveled, saying,
what manner of man is this? that even the winds and the sea
obey him. One of the godly old Puritans, he said, I need the pillow of
Christ's omnipotence to sleep on. And you know, friends, it's
a wonderful thing when we have a clear view of the glory of
Christ, of the fullness of Christ, of who he is, the Eternal Son
of the Eternal Father, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father
and with the Holy Ghost. He said to the disciples as he
was about to ascend into glory, all power, not some power, all
power, given unto me in heaven and in earth. He's an omnipotent
Saviour, an omnipotent Redeemer and the disciples here they had
a glimpse of his omnipotence but the men marveled saying what
manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him
You see, my beloved friends, Jesus Christ is not just a man. He's not just a good man. He's
not just a righteous man. He's the holy God man. Great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. And that is what we see in Jesus
Christ. God manifest in the flesh. The
apostle, when he writes the epistle to the Hebrews in the 13th chapter,
It is actually, it's a paraphrase of the name Jehovah. Jesus Christ,
the same, yesterday and today and forever. That is yesterday
eternal and forever. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. Now, this is a foundation that
we need to belay. One hymn writer says, concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, thou art coming to a King. Large petitions
with thee bring, for his grace and power are such, none can
ever ask too much. He's the almighty King of glory.
We have the rhetorical question put to us in Psalm 24, who is
this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty,
this is the King of glory. It's none other than the glorious
person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has made flesh for us. Think
of that lovely word, I often quote it, don't I? In John chapter
1, and the Word. The term the Word, written with
a capital W, refers to the divine nature of the Son of God, the
Word. Listen carefully to what it says,
and the Word, was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. And the men marveled, saying,
what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey
him? With heaven and earth at his
command, he waits to answer There's nothing too big and there's nothing
too small to take to Jesus Christ. He is the great King and Head
of the Church. He is the only Saviour of sinners. The Word of God clearly speaks
to us. There is none other name given
under heaven whereby you must be saved but the name of Jesus
Christ. And it's through the preaching
in his name. And that is the principle means
that the God of heaven uses to gather poor sinners unto Christ.
It's through the preaching of the everlasting gospel. It's
what is called the primacy of preaching. You know, and this
is reflected. We have what is called a puritanical
form of worship. have the pulpit and you have
the bible prominent on the pulpit and that is the center and you
might say well what what are the things well you can have
an altar you can have incense or all manner of things but they
all deflect from the glory of God whereas the preaching of
the word and this is the exhortation of the apostle Paul to Timothy
preach the word be instant in season and out of season It's
the preaching of the Word, the Word of God. I want to come more
closely here to the context. In the previous three chapters
is the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon that was ever
preached on earth. In chapters five, six, and seven
is that wonderful sermon of our Lord Jesus Christ. I would advise
you to study it, to read it, and may it read you as well as
you study it and read it. You'll have a clear understanding
of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Holy Ghost
may be pleased to open your eyes and your understanding. We read,
do we not, then open to their understanding that they might
understand the Scriptures. Joseph Hart, in one of his hymns,
Speaking of the Word of God, he says, join prayer with each
inspection. When you come to the Word of
God, come prayerfully, carefully, seeking understanding and guidance
and direction. May it please the Lord that you
might be given, you know, this is one of the marks of a true
conversion, a true conversion to Jesus Christ, one of the clear
marks is that person searches the scriptures. That's a very
clear mark. Christ himself says, didn't he?
Search the scriptures, for these are they that testify of me. And where there is that true
work of the Spirit of God in the heart, a person brought to
feel their lost condition, brought to feel their sinfulness, their
wretchedness, their undone state and condition, brought to feel
that they're falling in Adam, and that we're born in sin and
shaped in iniquity. You know, that brings us to the
first miracle. See, we have those wonderful
teachings of Christ in chapters five, six, and seven. And then
we come into chapter eight, and we see the practical work of
Christ. When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a
leper, and worship him. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. In scripture, leprosy, and it
speaks a lot of it in the book of Leviticus, leprosy was of
course an incurable disease. A person with leprosy in biblical
days was counted among the living that were dead. It was an incurable
disease. and that they had to carry something
to make a sound so that nobody would come near them. Leprosy
is highly infectious and there was very clear commandments
concerning the law of leprosy but leprosy in a spiritual sense
of the word represents sin and you know friends We're all
lepers, spiritually. You might say, what do you mean?
We're born in sin. We're lepers. We have an incurable
disease. But we have this wonderful instance
of our Lord. What we see in this chapter,
in these things that he did, the kindness, the compassion,
the love of Jesus Christ. That was the mark of Jesus Christ,
his kindness, his love, and his compassion. And if you and I
are truly the children of God, if you and I are born again of
the Spirit and brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ, that will
be the mark of our lives. It's very searching, isn't it?
How does our life measure to the life of Jesus? I often think
of that word in the epistle of John and a very searching word
in the first epistle of John and the second chapter and verse
six, he that said, he abideth in him that is in Christ, ought
himself also so to walk even as he walks. You know, friends, that's a searching
word, isn't it? How does our life measure to
the life of Jesus? Jesus was full of love. I think
it's Joseph Hart in one of his hymns on Gethsemane. Full of
love to man's lost race. Speaking of Christ, full of love. Or that we might have this spirit
of love I shall never forget the first revelation of Christ
that I had. And I've been for two years what
we call under conviction of sin, what we call under the law. And
it was utter darkness and bondage. And I was on the verge of despair. And I picked a book off my father's
bookshelf. I'd never read a sermon before.
I didn't have any delight. and feeling this terrible sense
of being lost. I opened that book of Psalms,
it happened to be J.C. Philpott's, and the text was,
and ye shall be rooted and grounded in love, and know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, its length, its breadth, its
depth. And you know, friends, the love
of Christ was shed abroad in my heart, and such light flowed
into my soul, and such peace, such consolation, something I'd
never known before. I went literally from darkness
to light, from bondage to liberty, from torment to peace. That is
the effect of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, when Christ
is revealed and made precious unto your soul. And you see the
Lord Jesus here, and behold, there came a leper and worshipped
him saying, Lord, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. What made him say that? Faith. Faith. Faith is the gift of God. We've sung it in our second hymn. Faith is the gift of God. It's
given in Ephesians chapter two. The
apostle speaks of faith being the gift of God. Some people
say it's your duty to believe. It's a grace, it's not a duty. It's given by the Holy Ghost.
Faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost. And what does
faith do? It looks to Jesus. It casts all
its care upon Jesus Christ. It sees him as the way, the truth
and the light. our eyes are open, the eyes of
faith are open, the eyes of your understanding being opened. You know friends, what is so
clear in the teachings of Christ, we can go an awful long way in
religion and be a very religious person and you may be very sound
in your views, you may be Calvinistic and you may have clear views
of the sovereignty of God, but you can have all those things
and be void of life. And be void of life. You can
be very sound in your views. You can probably even correct
the minister when he makes a mistake. But do you have life? Has your
soul, the Lord Jesus made that great emphasis, didn't he? You
must be born again. Accept a man be born of water
and of the spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven You can be very religious all your life You can be a chapel
whenever the doors are open and you can be morally upright in
your life And I will always encourage that to be so but you can be
all those things and still be lost. I Never forget that solemn word
that Christ speaks to the church at Sardis and Thou hast a name
that thou livest and yet art dead. Just think of that. What does he mean, thou hast
a name that thou livest and yet art dead? They had the name of
a Christian. They were professing believers
in Jesus Christ. Thou hast a name that thou livest.
But they only had a name, they didn't in reality live. Thou
hast a name that thou livest and yet art dead. You know friends, these things
are written for our instruction in the way of righteousness and
of truth. But this spirit of faith, he
worshipped him saying, Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me
clean. Now we're instructed in Romans
chapter 10 in particular that the spirit of faith faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of the lord faith cometh by hearing as you hear
the word of the lord as the holy spirit you see this man he'd
heard of jesus christ and that is why he uses this language
he heard that jesus had healed the poor the blind the death
he made the dumb to speak he'd heard that he cast out devils
Faith cometh by hearing. So in his helplessness, he comes
to the Lord Jesus. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. You know, if you look at this
in the spiritual sense of the word and the leprosy, there's only one thing that can
take away the stain of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. That's the only thing that can
cleanse sin, is the blood of Jesus Christ. You think of those
beautiful words in the service of the Passover, when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. And that, of course, speaks of
the blood of Jesus Christ. And Isaac Watts, in that lovely
hymn, he says, not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain
could give the guilty conscience peace or take away the stain,
but Christ, the heavenly lamb, blares all our sins away, a sacrifice
of nobler name and richer blood than they. Oh, that precious
blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin. The apostle Peter
says in his epistle, doesn't he, for as much as you're not
redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but
with the precious blood of Christ. as of a lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world, the precious blood of Christ,
that redeems a poor sinner. Nothing else can. This is an
absolutely unique way of salvation. There is no other way. Jesus
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And Jesus put forth
his hand and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately, his leprosy
was cleansed. And we have the words of our
text, what manner of man is this? That even the winds and the sea
obey him. What manner of man is this? You
see, Jesus can do anything. Jesus can do anything. And then
we have been, from verse five onwards, the centurion. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, that there came unto him a centurion beseeching him.
Now centurion, of course, was Italian, so he was a Gentile. He wasn't a Jew. And saying,
Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. Jesus saith unto him. Look at
the willingness and the kindness of Jesus. Jesus saith unto him,
I will come and heal him. Immediately, I will come and
heal him. You know, Jesus hears prayer. He even hears the prayers
of little children. He does. He hears prayer. And not only does he hear prayer,
but he answers prayer. Jesus said unto him, I will come
and heal him. Now we see this wonderful instance
of faith in this Italian centurion. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy. You know, friends, always with
the true spirit of faith, there is humility. Pride and self is brought down.
You know, by nature we are very proud, but where there is that
true work of the Spirit in the heart, true conviction of sin,
a true sense of our unworthiness, to send you in answer and say,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof,
but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. What
faith, wasn't it? The Lord Jesus, he said, I have
not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. Not even on
the, what were the chosen people of God. And yet here we have
this centurion comes to him. And the Lord Jesus, he spoke
the word. I have not found so great faith. no not in Israel if you compare
that with the verse before our text verse 26 and he's speaking
here to his own disciples he saith unto them why are ye fearful
oh ye of little faith and yet the gentile centurion comes to
him verily i say unto you i have not found so great faith no not
in Israel. You know it's a very wonderful
thing when the Lord gives us that grace to trust and obey,
to trust Him, to trust Him for everything. Sometimes we're so
full of unbelief, we're so full of doubts and fears and we say
because of this or because of that, this can't be done or that
can't be done. With God nothing shall be impossible. Nothing. You may have come to
chapel this morning and there may be those things in your life
that are very troubling and very trying and very perplexing and
very hard and very difficult. You might say, but why is it
that we have to walk a pathway of such difficulty and such trial
and such perplexity? Well, just listen to the words
of Jesus. It is through much tribulation that ye shall enter
the kingdom. And that tribulation comes in
various ways in the life of every true believer. The apostle Peter, in his epistle,
he says, the trial of your faith being much more precious than
gold and silver that perish it. The trial of your faith. Do you
have a trial of faith at this time? Things that really perplex
you? But you know, one of the purposes
that the Lord brings his children into these times of trial and
perplexity and sorrow and sadness and losses and crosses, the purpose
is to bring us to his feet in prayer. You know, if you didn't
have any troubles and trials, the Lord would not hear much
from you. And the purpose of these trials
and these perplexities is to bring you in prayer to the Lord. We wouldn't go very often if
we didn't have trials and perplexities. You think of that word of the
apostle, he actually quotes to us in Hebrews concerning, in
Hebrews chapter 12. Whom the Lord loveth. He's actually
quoting from Proverbs chapter 3. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. And he goes on
to say, no chastening, for the presence seemed joyous but grievous. What does it mean when it says
chastening? Discipline. It's to discipline us. You know,
some people think chastening and they think of a great big
stick and a big thrashing. It doesn't mean that. Whom the
Lord loveth, he chasteneth. And the things that you come
into, he brings you into them so that you go to him in prayer
and you seek him in prayer. And it's those chastenings. It
says in Isaiah, doesn't it, neither shall your teachers be removed
into a corner anymore. The teachers that the Lord gives
us are the things that we pass through in providence, in the
things that come into your pathway, the perplexities and the difficulties.
And it's in those times when you are brought to pray unto
the Lord in your trouble and in your trial, like the centurion
was, that you'll find delivering grace. And Christ will be made
so exceedingly precious unto you. And you'll bless the Lord
for this chastening hand, because it brought you to the feet of
Jesus. When Jesus heard it, he marveled
and said to them that followed, verily, I say unto you, I have
not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. And he speaks, of course, so
solemnly here of the Jews of that generation who rejected
Christ. And I say unto you that many
shall come from the east. He's now speaking of the call
of the Gentiles. Many shall come from the east
and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom,
that's the Jewish people, children of the kingdom shall be cast
out into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.' And then he says, And Jesus said unto the centurion,
Go thy way, as thou hast believed, so shall it be done unto thee.
And his servant was healed in the south same hour. You see
he says here and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
the Lord's, the patriarchs of the Jewish people. They would
reach heaven. They would be with the patriarchs
in heaven. But the present generation of
the Jews in the day of Christ, they rejected Christ. They said they would have reached
the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
were cast out. You might say, what relevance
does this have for us today? I go back to what I was mentioning
just earlier. You can be a very religious person. You know, the Pharisees were
the most religious people among the Jews. The Lord Jesus Christ
speaks more solemn woes against the Pharisees than any other
group of people. They were self-righteous. They
had need of nothing. When the two men went up into
the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a scribe. One prayed for mercy. The other thanked God that he
was not like other men are. In actual fact there's no prayer. It says, the Lord Jesus says
there, he praying with himself. He thanked God that he was not
as other man, I fast, I do this, I do that, I do something else. And when the publican came, he
couldn't lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven. And he said,
God be merciful to me a sinner. And the Lord Jesus said, this
man, went down to his house justified rather than the other. You know
we can understand that when you see the teachings of Christ and
at the end of that sermon in the last verses of chapter 7,
and it came to pass when Jesus had ended these saints, the people
were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one have
an authority and not as the scribes. They were astonished. And if
you and I are brought to truly hear the word of God in his living
power in our hearts, we shall be astonished. If the Holy Spirit
really convicts and convinces us of sin, you'll be astonished.
You'll be astonished that you're such a sinner, that you're so
wretched. And you'll be even more astonished
When faith is given and Christ is revealed and made so precious
unto you, you'll be astonished at the mercy and the grace of
God in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the men marveled,
saying, what manner of man is this, that even the winds and
the sea obey him? And then we read here, in verses
14 and 15, and when Jesus was coming to Peter's house, he saw
his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever, and he touched her
hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered
unto them. The wonderful grace, love, and
kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. The compassion of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And then we read that many were
brought unto him, having devils, possessed with devils. And he
cast out the spirits with his word, that it might be fulfilled,
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, himself took
our infirmities and there our sicknesses. My beloved friends,
we worship the same Jesus. Now sitting at the right hand
of the Father, It says in one of the hymns, that human heart
he still retains, so thrown in highest bliss, he feels each
tempted member's pains, for our afflictions his. He feels for
his people. The hymn writer says, doesn't
he, it's actually from the scripture in the epistle to the Hebrews,
that he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin.
touch with the sympathy within, he knows our feeble frame, he
knows what sore temptations mean, for he has felt the same. I always
feel that that is one of the most profound scriptures. He
was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin. There's nothing that the child
of God can come into, no trial, no temptation, that Jesus does
not fully, completely understand and empathizes and sympathizes
with his people in all their troubles and in all their trials. Now we have this narrative here
from verse 18 and he gave commandment to depart
onto the other side, that's the other side of the Sea of Galilee
And a certain scribe came and said unto him, Master, I will
follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Now the Lord Jesus here,
he cautions him. Jesus saith unto him, The foxes
have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son
of Man hath not where to lay his head. There's a caution there. He said,
I will follow thee with us wherever thou goest. The Lord Jesus, he
says, it will cost you something. It will cost you something. Are
you prepared to pay that cost of what it is to be a true believer
and a true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ? The foxes have
holes. The birds of the air have nests. but the son of man hath not where
to lay his head. And if we're followers of Jesus
Christ, you know, real religion costs you something.
It does. And we're to count the cost.
Peter, when he was speaking with the Lord just before his sufferings,
and he said to the Lord, I will go with thee even unto death.
He vowed that he would go with him even unto death. Lord, nothing
will keep thee from me. And the Lord cautioned him. He
said, Peter, before the cock crow thrice, thou shalt deny
me thrice. And Peter protested. But he proved
it was true. Three times he denied his Lord
and Master and the last time he denied him with oaths and
curses. The Lord was teaching Peter.
What was he teaching him? That he's got no strength in
himself. Got no strength in himself. We've
got no wisdom of our own. Everything that we stand in need
of is stored in Jesus Christ. you know when when Peter denied
him the third time we read Jesus in the judgment hall he turned
and looked upon Peter and Peter went out and wept bitterly. You know that look of Christ
was not a look of anger, it was a look of love, it was a look
of compassion, of kindness, Peter's fault. And it was that look of
love and kindness and compassion that broke the heart of Peter.
It did. It broke his heart. He went out
and wept bitterly. And the Lord had said, and when
thou art converted, what he means is when you're brought to repentance
and godly sorrow for denying your Lord and Master, go and
strengthen thy brethren. Because Peter, you'll then know
your own weakness. You then know your own emptiness,
you then know your own poverty, you then know your own insufficiency.
And it's a mercy, my beloved friends, when the Lord is painful
to our flesh, but when the Lord does teach us of our emptiness
and our poverty and our insufficiency, because it's then that we lean
hard upon Jesus Christ. It's then that we look to Jesus
Christ. It's then that we cast all our
cares upon Jesus Christ. Now we read here from verse 23,
and when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed
him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch
that the ship was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. You know, friends, this shows
to us the true humanity of Jesus Christ. And in the same way, What manner
of man is this? The true humanity of Christ.
He was asleep. He had a real true human nature.
He was a real man. He knew what tiredness was. He
knew what weakness was. Christ did. And here he was asleep. We read
elsewhere that he spent whole nights in prayer. And behold, there arose a great
tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves, but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him
and awoke him saying, Lord, save us, we perish. The Lord was there
with them in the ship. O ye of little faith. How little
our faith is sometimes. But never forget that word, the
little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of
many wicked. The little that a righteous man
hath is better than the riches of many wicked. O ye of little
faith. How many of us here feel you
have such a little faith? It's like the Lady Lucy Smith,
she was a from the aristocratic society
back in the 1700s. She was in the connection of
the Countess of Huntingdon, a very godly, very rich, very godly
lady who supported and built many chapels. And somebody was introduced to
Lady Lucy Smith and she was introduced, oh you're that woman of great
faith. Oh no, she said. I have a little
faith in a great God. What a wonderful way of putting
it. I have a little faith in a great God. Christ said, if
ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this
mountain, be thou moved into the midst of the sea, and it
will be moved into the midst of the sea. What a mercy if we
do indeed have a little faith. And his disciples came to him
and awoke him saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he said unto
them, why are ye fearful? O ye of little faith. Then he
arose. You see, on the one hand, he
was asleep and we see his humanity. And on the other hand, he arose
and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. There we see his divinity. So
we see in that one glorious person of Jesus Christ, the divine and
the human, united in one person, the eternal son of the eternal
father that was made flesh, as the apostle says, made of a woman,
made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the
law. Christ was a real man, was a
real man. O ye of little faith. Then he
arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great
calm. But the men marveled, saying,
What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey
him? This is the holy God-man. This is the eternal Son of the
eternal Father. This is who is speaking in Proverbs
chapter eight, I was set up from everlasting, wherever the earth
was, Christ was, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. Oh, the Lord may give you that
little faith to believe in this great God and to believe in this
almighty Savior And to believe in this one, the apostle says
in Hebrews chapter seven, wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth. Oh, my beloved friends, may the
Lord enable you to come and to look. I want to look at this
latter part of this chapter this afternoon, from verse 28 to the
end, where it speaks of the mad Gadarene and the wonderful power
of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord enable us to, and
may he add his blessing. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 56. The tune is Farningham 141, Let every open ear attend and
broken heart rejoice. The trumpet of the gospel sounds
with an inviting voice. Hymn 56, tune Farningham 141. ? The gentle morn is near again
? ? And we'll never get old ? ? Never get old ? with an inviting bite. The lonely, hungry, starving
souls that heed upon the hymn. And make this life with love
rejoice, Till heav'n and earth divine. Eternal wisdom has given us holy,
holy peace. I hear the cross, I hear the
cross. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of ? These flames that never die ?
? Ripples of love that never die ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, like clouds of milk and wine. He perished O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, ? For I the headless of this land
? ? And I in praise of God ? ? Take all the treasures of the world
? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? Let us offer praise ? ? The heavenly
rage of gospel praise ? ? Shall o'er the night and day ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ The love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen. Okay.