Good morning once again to what may not be the last of
our live stream services, but it will be the last one we have
without having some more extra people here. And so we're looking
forward to the government removing the restrictions on our meeting
face to face. So welcome. I thought it might
be wonderful if we read one of Ben's favourite psalms this morning,
seeing he's outside listening in, and we're going to join with
me in reading Psalm 46. It's the psalm that Martin Luther
used to write that great hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Let's read the word of God together. Psalm 46. is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though
the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof."
Selah, and Selah is a musical punctuation, it means to pause
and to ponder. the God who moves the earth and
is unmoved, the unmovable God. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall
help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, The kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth
melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Sela. Pause and think. The heathen rage and the kingdoms
are moved. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come! Behold the works of the
Lord, what desolation he hath made in the earth. He maketh
wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow
and cutteth the spear asunder. He burneth the chariot in the
fire." And this is the response, isn't it? Be still and know that
I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the refuge that you are, that we can hide ourselves,
Heavenly Father, in the Lord Jesus Christ and be as safe and
secure as heaven itself. We do pray, Heavenly Father,
that you might bless us and your people throughout this world,
Heavenly Father, as you minister to the hearts of your people
in these times where, for many of us, it's been difficult to
meet together. We thank you for the restrictions easing and we
long for our fellowship in church as we had grown so accustomed
to. We thank you, Heavenly Father,
that you disturbed the things of this world, that your people
might find their refuge and their safety in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank you, Heavenly Father, that we can come to you knowing
your presence, your promises, and your almighty power to us
who believe. And we thank you, Heavenly Father,
that we can come and present ourselves and present our request
to you. Pray, Heavenly Father, for the
proclamation of your dear and precious Son throughout this
world. You will be exalted. You will be magnified. And we
pray, Heavenly Father, that you would grant us some small portion
of that that we might see the Lord Jesus Christ high and lifted
up. We do pray for people in our church. We think of Meryn
at this time, Heavenly Father, and pray that you would bring
comfort to her and healing to her. shoulder which was operated
on last week and we do pray for Lisa's mum who is ailing in so
many ways at this time and we thank you heavenly father we
thank you that the lives of all people are in your hands and
we now heavenly father commit our time together into your sovereign
good and loving and merciful care our father for we pray in
jesus name amen I want us to continue our journey
in Acts. In Acts chapter 23 there's a
remarkable promise and a remarkable presence of the Lord Jesus Christ
as he comes to visit Paul. Paul in prison in Jerusalem. Paul about to be removed from
Jerusalem for the last time. Paul a prisoner. Paul, a prisoner. Verse 23 of
Acts, verse 11 of Acts 23, In the night following the Lord
stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou
hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also
at Rome. As we just read in Psalm 46 and
we read throughout the scriptures, our God reigns absolutely. And here Paul remarkably stands
as a man against all the might of Rome, all the might of all
that religious world that stood opposed to him, a man on his
own, but a man not on his own at all." It is the great comfort
of the Lord's people, isn't it? It's the great comfort of Paul
at the end of his life in 2 Timothy chapter 4, when all had deserted
him, he said, but the Lord stood by my side. He says to Paul,
be of good cheer, be of good courage, be of good confidence,
be comforted, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem
he's testified of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ he's testified
of him who met him and met him to reveal who he is and to reveal
how he saves sinners by pure and sovereign grace he testified
to me before these people and so must it's one of the things
I want us to as to ponder and think as we read through these
next chapter and a half in the scriptures. There is this glorious
must about all the things of our sovereign God. That word
must means to bind, to fasten with chains, to put under obligation. It's the word that's used of
the Lord Jesus Christ coming and binding the strong man, Satan. and he robs his palace of all
of his goods. It means that there is a necessity,
there is a need of it, to achieve some required ends. Our God is a God of sovereign
purpose. One of the things that's fascinating
as we read the history of the early church and we now come
towards the end of it in many ways, that we have in these next
several chapters through to chapter 28, we have in a sense a history,
a history of the events and very little of opportunity from the
writer of Holy Scripture to give us accounts of Paul's preaching. A little bit in Rome, a couple
of messages down in Caesarea Philippi. And as we saw in these
last few weeks, this is in a sense the last apostolic witness and
testimony to that church in Jerusalem that
the Lord Jesus Christ said was going to be left under them desolate. And one of the things that's
glorious about And I think incredibly instructive about the fact that
30% and certainly much more of the Book of Acts is a book of
history, of journeys, journeys at sea, journeys on land, journeys
with people. And one of the things I want
us to note is that we are inclined to think that super spiritual
things happen to super spiritual people. at super spiritual times
and there are times when the Lord moves powerfully and comes
as he's done here with Paul. But there are no ordinary times
and there are no ordinary unspiritual times for the children of God. Our God, our Saviour is with
us ever. His great promise is that he
never ever leaves us nor forsakes us. And so what might seem ordinary
in our eyes and what might seem extraordinarily ordinary in the
eyes of this world are necessarily the musts of our great God fulfilling
his divine purposes. The other thing to note of course
is that scripture is littered with the musts and the promises
of God to reign and rule over all events with absolute sovereignty
for his glory and for the good of his people. But this never,
ever, ever leads to fatalism. It never leads to fatalism. We
aren't fatalistic. The children of God are moved
and they move in the midst of these circumstances. And they
are brought by the circumstances of their lives to be utterly
and totally dependent upon the Lord at all times. But there
is No fatalism. We don't believe in blind fate. We have a sovereign God, and
that sovereign God works in the hearts of his people, as he's
done in Paul, to raise him up as a witness. It's wonderful
to think of the sovereignty, the absolute sovereignty of God,
as we read these chapters and we see the scheming and the plans
of men. We see a sovereign hand revealed
to us, as we will in the rest of our journey through Acts.
And there can be, there can be no worship of a God who is not
absolutely sovereign over everything in this universe. Nothing wriggles
anywhere in this universe. Nothing moves without the sovereign
hand and ordination of our God. The must that the Lord Jesus
spoke to Paul is a must that has overrule all the events of
time and history. You can't trust, you can't worship
a God who is not absolutely sovereign. You can't trust a God who is
not absolutely sovereign. There is no true faith in a God
who is not absolutely sovereign. He says to Paul, be of good cheer,
be of good comfort. There is no comfort There is
no peace, there is no rest for your eternal soul if your God
is not seen to be absolutely sovereign. Our Lord Jesus Christ
right now reigns over all this universe and he reigns on the
throne and he's pictured in the heavens as seated. He stands,
he stands to visit with Paul He stood by him. He stood to
welcome Stephen into heaven's glories. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is a great and mighty sovereign God. So here we have this religious
crowd, this zealous religious crowd, who in all sorts of ways
are plotting the murder of Paul. They're plotting the murder of
Paul. They desire his death. They desire
his death to stop his testimony. Nothing is going to stop the
testimony of our great God. I thought I might read to you
that famous hymn of Mr. Cooper's. I think if I'm correct,
the story was that he was a man who suffered from Great Depression
and that particular evening he'd hired a carriage to take him
to a place where he could commit suicide. and the carriage got
lost in the heavy fog and ended up back outside Mr Cooper's house.
And I believe, if I'm correct, that this is the hymn that he
wrote. God moves in a mysterious way,
his wonders to perform. He plants his footstep in the
sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, he treasures up his bright design and works
his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take, the clouds ye so much dread, are big with mercy and shall
break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his grace, behind a frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter, and
he will make it plain. So with some of those thoughts
in mind, I'd like us to just follow through this history and
we will come back at the end and look a little more closely
at the glorious promises in that verse. Acts 23, 11, the Lord
stood by him and said, Be a good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast
testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also
at Rome. So let's read verse 12 of Acts
23. And when it was day, certain
of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse,
saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed
Paul. And they were more than 40 which
had made this conspiracy. See, the zeal of men, the zeal
of men and the zeal of religious men is not going to stop the
musts of our great God. And they came to the chief priests
and the elders and said, we have bound ourselves under a great
curse that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. It's extraordinary, isn't it?
You read the New Testament accounts and you have the Jews plotting
and scheming again and again and again. What an extraordinarily
frustrating thing it must be to be scheming against Almighty
God, who sees absolutely everything. This might have been hidden from
Paul and might have been hidden from so many, many people in
Jerusalem and hidden from the Romans because they don't own
up to this one little tiny bit later on. But all things are
open and naked to Him with whom we must do. Now therefore, verse
15, now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief
captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though
you would inquire something more perfectly concerning him. We want you to go down a lie.
We want you to go down a lie to the captain. And we, wherever he come near,
are ready to kill him. Verse 16, And when Paul's sister's
son heard their lying in wait, isn't this glorious? We didn't
have any idea that Paul had a sister, nor that he had a sister in Jerusalem,
nor that he had a nephew in Jerusalem. This son, this young man, he
went and entered into the castle and told Paul, Then Paul called
one of the centurions unto him and said, Bring this young man
unto the chief captain for he has a certain thing to tell him. So he took him and brought him
to the chief captain and said, Paul the prisoner came unto me
and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee who has something
to say unto thee. Then the chief captain took him
by the hand and went with him aside privately, and asked him,
What is that thou hast to tell me? And he said, The Jews have
agreed to desire thee that thou wouldst bring down Paul to-morrow
into the council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him
more perfectly. But do not thou yield unto them. Here's this captain, this Roman
captain, having a young boy to give him advice. For there lie
in wait for him more than forty men which have bound themselves
with the oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they
have killed him. And now they are ready, looking
for a promise from thee. So the chief captain then let
the young man depart and charged him, See thou tell no man that
thou has showed these things to me.' And he called unto him
two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to
go to Caesarea, and horsemen three score and ten, and spearmen
two hundred at the third hour of the night. In the middle of
this night you've got to take, get together, four hundred and
seventy soldiers to take Paul. And provide them beasts they
may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix, the governor. Oh, the schemes of man. The schemes
of man opposed to our glorious God. How futile, how weak and
pathetic they are. Why do the nations rage? Why do the nations conspire?
Psalm 2 is a glorious psalm that the early church preached on
from so often. The one that's in the heavens
laughs. He mocks. He mocks the schemes of men.
And he wrote a letter, this captain. Claudius Lysias, under the most
excellent Governor Felix, sendeth greeting. This man was taken
of the Jews and should have been killed of them. Then I came with
an army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
He's prepared. He's prepared and moved by God
to rescue Paul at the instructions of a young man, but he's also
there to protect his own skin and to boost his own esteem,
isn't it? That's not what happened. And
when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I
brought him forth into their council, whom I perceived to
be accused of questions of their law, but have nothing laid to
his charge worthy of death or bonds. And when it was told me
how the Jews laid in wait for the man, I sent straightway to
thee and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before
thee what they had against him. Farewell. Then the soldiers,
as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night
to Antipatrus. On the morrow they left the horsemen
to go with him and returned to the castle, who when they came
to Caesarea delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul
also before him. And when the governor had read
the letter, he asked of what province he was, and when he
understood that he was of Cilicia, I will hear thee, he said, when
thine accusers also come. And he commanded him to be kept
in Herod's judgment hall. And after five days, Ananias
the high priest, descended with the elders, and with a certain
orator named Tertullius." Isn't it extraordinary? These religious
fellows can't rely on the base facts. They have to bring this
Tertullius, and he's very much an orator. Very much an orator. Just listen
to this flowery speech which butters up other men. You'd be
weary of people who butter you up with with lovely compliments
about who you are and how wonderful you are. Verse 2 of chapter 24,
when he was called forth to Tullius, began to accuse him, saying,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very
worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence. Isn't
it extraordinary, this chief priest and all this religious
nobility The representatives of the Sanhedrin, they can't
even acknowledge this by the providence of God, that they
enjoy all of these things. They can't acknowledge him at
all. We accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix,
with all thankfulness, notwithstanding that I would be not further tedious
unto thee. I pray thee that thou wouldst
hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found this
man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among the Jews throughout
the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. who hath also gone about to profane
the temple whom we took, and would have judged according to
our law. But the chief captain Lysias
came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of
our hands, commanding his accusers to come unto thee, by examining
of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof
we accuse him. And the Jews also assented, saying
that these things were so. Now we know that none of that
is true. Some of it is, isn't it? He is the ringleader of the
sect of the Nazarenes. But as to being pestilent, as
to being a mover of sedition through the Jews, as for profaning
the temple, none of it was true. May it be so with us, brothers
and sisters, that the accusations of this religious world, the
accusations of the enemies of the gospel, fall in such a way
that they are seen by anyone who cares to examine it as lies. What a terrible conspiracy, what
a terrible conglomerate, what a terrible coalition there was
in Jerusalem amongst these religious people. It is so typical, isn't it, of
the religion of man. It seeks the honour of man, it
seeks the praise of man, it seeks the glory of man, it seeks the
power of man, it seeks the esteem of man. And there's nothing,
there's nothing in it that honours God at all. Verse 10, Acts 24,
Then Paul, after the governor had beckoned unto him to speak,
answered, For as much as I know that thou hast been of many years
a judge under this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for
myself, because that thou mayest understand that there are yet
but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any
man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor
in the city. Neither can they prove these
things, whereof they now accuse me." So none of the accusers,
none of the witnesses were there. It was just this religious crowd
listening. This is a verse that I just love.
It's one of my favorite verses in the scriptures. That's something
that I want to, if the Lord will allow us next week, to look at
more closely. We have a confession. You have
a confession. Everyone has a confession. This
is the confession of the Apostle to the Gentiles, our friend Paul. But this I confess unto thee. that after the way which they
call heresy, that word heresy means to take for oneself, it
means to choose, to prefer the way they call heresy, so worship
I, the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in
the law and in the prophets. and have hope toward God, which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. And herein do
I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence
toward God and toward man." That's one of the glories of the shed
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ apply to the hearts of God's
people, isn't it? We have consciences washed clean,
but that cleansing of the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't lead to
us living lives of licentiousness and wickedness. The exercised heart of the newfound
child of God is one that desires to live in such a way that he
will be honoured in all the things that we do. Verse 17, Now after
many years I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings, whereupon
certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither
with the multitude nor with the tumult, who ought to have been
here before thee. There are going to be witnesses
according to Roman law. There has to be witnesses. Why
didn't they bring those witnesses down? and object if they had
aught against me, or else let these same here say if they have
found any evil doing in me while I stood before the council, except
it be for this one voice that I cried standing among them,
touching the resurrection of the dead, I am called into question
by you this day. And when Felix heard these things,
having a more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them
and said, when Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will
know the uttermost of your matter. And he commanded a centurion
to keep Paul and let him have liberty, and that he should forbid
none of his acquaintance to minister or come to him. You might recall
in Acts chapter 21, Paul had been to Caesarea and who did
he meet with in Caesarea? He met with Philip, one of those
deacons in that early church. Philip and his four daughters
and that church. Paul was placed in a place of
security and he was placed in a place where he could be ministered
to by his brothers and sisters in Christ. And that's all we
hear of it, because this goes on for two years plus. Let's just read to the end of
the chapter. And after certain days, when Felix came with his
wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him
concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered and
said, Go thou away for this time, when I have a convenient season,
I will call for thee. And he hoped also that money
should have been given him of Paul, that he might lose him. Wherefore he sent for him the
offner, and communed with him. But after two years, Porcius
Fester came into Felix's room, and Felix, willing to show the
Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. Our God. Our God reigns. Our God rules. I want us to, in light of all
that we've just read, to contemplate that glorious promise that the
Lord made to the Apostle Paul It's a promise that he makes,
not just to him, he makes in large measure to all of his people,
a promise to stand by him, a promise to comfort him, a promise that
he has a purpose for his life in this world. The living, resurrected Lord
Jesus Christ, The very one who met Saul of Tarsus on the road
to Damascus, the one who came and stood in his way and blocked
Paul on that religious journey of his with all of that zeal,
with all of that murder in his heart, and he stopped him. That
Paul might be a pattern, an epitome of what it is for God to save
sinners like us, wretched sinners. Who in our hearts, as children
of Adam, have nothing but enmity. The natural man cannot receive
the things of God. They are foolishness to him.
What a glorious picture Paul is of the sovereign grace of
God. What a glorious pattern he is. This one, when this Lord Jesus
Christ comes, And he appears and he makes himself known through
the preaching of the gospel. And he reveals himself to people
and then he reveals himself in people. He raises a testimony for himself
in the hearts of his people. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter what the world says and does. It doesn't matter what
the religious world says and does. He who began that good
work will continue it. He who bore witness to himself
in the witness that he appeared to Paul in is the same one that
will continue to bear witness and carry his people. This same
Jesus. I love that phrase in the early
chapters of Acts. This same Jesus. This same Jesus. They might be considered by the
religious world as apostles were in Acts chapter 4 as ignorant
and unlearned men. But they took note, didn't they,
those Pharisees? They took note that they had
been with the Lord Jesus Christ. The same Jesus. The same Jesus
spoke to him in Jerusalem. The same Jesus said to Paul,
and Paul then relayed this witness of him. Those words that they
found offensive, isn't it? They will not receive thy testimony
concerning me. I'm sending you to the Gentiles. Here we have a glorious picture
of divine sovereignty. And we have, once again, a very
sobering reality of the hardness and the deadness of the hearts
of men. People seem to have difficulties
at times trying to reconcile divine sovereignty and human
responsibility. I don't think it's a problem
in the scriptures, and I don't think it's a problem in the hearts
of God's children who have met the sovereign God. Our God is
absolutely sovereign over all the free and uncoerced actions
of men. Let me say that again. God is
absolutely sovereign over all the free and uncoerced actions
of men. All of these men, whether it's
the chief captain, whether it's Felix, Whether it's all of that
religious crowd in Jerusalem, whether it's Ananias and all
the others, they did exactly as they wanted to do. They did
exactly as they wanted to do. They did exactly as what they
saw was right in their religious world. They even thought that
they were worshipping and serving God in these activities. As they
did, when they had the Lord Jesus Christ crucified. Man is absolutely responsible. He's absolutely responsible for
all of his activities. And that's the glory of the gospel,
isn't it? It's the glory of our sovereign God who shows so clearly
here his reign and his rule over all things. for the glory of
his name and for the good of his people. He takes responsibility. Paul
has twice and will continue to say that he lives free. His conscience
is clear because the Lord Jesus Christ in that covenant of grace
before the foundation of the world took absolute and full
responsibility for all of Paul's sin and for all of his walk in
this world. We read it in Psalm 46.1, didn't
we? God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. As Psalm 109.31 says, he shall
stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from those that
condemn his soul. The Lord stood by him. The Lord stood with me, Paul
says in 2nd Timothy 4, 16. He says the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me. That by me the preaching might
be fully known, that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall
deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me. See when
he stands by he preserves. unto his heavenly kingdom, to
whom be glory for ever and ever. We worship a God of sovereign
rule and control of all things. And the glory of our great God
is that he uses the enemies of the gospel to teach his people. And the only people that ever
will learn a lesson from this are the people taught of God.
I do love quoting those verses that Lord Jesus spoke to a crowd
that was about to leave him. They followed him for the things
that they could see in their fleshly eyes. And when he declared
who he was in John chapter 6 and spoke of his absolute sovereignty
and who he was and who his father was and he spoke of divine election
and and predestination and the fact that his words are spirit
and life and they can only be ever heard and understood as
he gives them life in the life and the hearts of his people. Everyone of his will be taught
of God. Paul was going to be taught and
like Paul in this jail in Jerusalem, the Lord comes again and comes
again and teaches us, reminding us that the Lord stands by us. The Lord has a purpose in all
of this, and he will teach his people. The Lord Jesus Christ
said in John 6.45, It is written in the prophets, And they shall
all be taught of God. And every man, therefore, that
has heard and hath learned of the Father cometh to me. Come to me. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Whosoever will call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. His people come. His people come. He says in verse 47 of John 6,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath
everlasting life. To be taught of God is to come
to Him. His salvation is coming to a
person. The resurrection is a person. The Pharisees in the Sanhedrin
could have given you chapter and verse and lectures on the
wonders of resurrection. But when he who was the resurrection
stood before him, all they wanted to do was have him removed from
their presence. The Lord stood by him. The Lord stands by his people
to teach his people, because only his people will ever be
taught of him. Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians of that comfort
that he has. The comfort that God comforts
his people with is a comfort that we then can comfort others
with, because we've seen the hand of the Lord, we've witnessed
his promises true. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1,
verse 8, the sentence of death. We had the sentence of death
in ourselves. And there was a purpose in it,
wasn't it? That we would not trust in ourselves, but in God
that raises the dead. The Lord says twice in the Old
Testament, you touch not my anointed, you do my prophets no harm. He makes his servants to stand. Paul stood against all of that
religious crowd and he stood on his own. He stood by himself
and he was never by himself. I love what Paul, our God, said
to Jeremiah in 15 verse 20. He said, I will make thee under
this people a fenced brazen wall and they shall fight against
thee, but they shall not prevail against thee. For I am with thee,
to save thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Jeremiah and
Ezekiel are the great prophets of the destruction of Jerusalem
500 years before these events. And the tragedy of the destruction
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was going to be repeated in just
a few short years from now. None of the warnings heeded.
In fact, the Jews flocked back to Jerusalem thinking that Jerusalem
was the safest place in the world. But as close to the temple as
they could get, the safer they were. And you read the account
of Josephus and the death of that million people plus in that
city. And these people in this Sanhedrin
fought against themselves. There were factions in Jerusalem,
and when they weren't fighting the Romans, they were at enmity
against each other. And it's a horrible, horrible
account. But the Lord had sent his people. The Lord had made
his promises. The Lord Jesus Christ said, your
house will be left unto you desolate. Left unto you desolate. And he'd
sent his people, and he'd sent his prophets, and he'd sent his
warning. And the people of this world
will never heed the warnings of our God. God will cause his
servants, I love the the commissioning of Ezekiel and the commissioning
of Jeremiah in the scriptures as they were to stand and to
warn and to comfort the children of God about the destruction
of that place and the destruction of that religion of man which
honored him with their lips and their hearts were far from me.
If you read those first couple of chapters of Ezekiel's first
three chapters are just remarkable. I love reading them again and
again to hear of the commissioning of Ezekiel. And he says in chapter
3 verse 8, Behold, I have made thy face strong against their
faces. Ezekiel 3, 8. And thy forehead
strong against their forehead, as an adamite harder than flint
have I made thy forehead. Fear them not, neither be dismayed
at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover,
he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak
unto thee, receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears, and
go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people,
and speak unto them, and tell them, thus saith the Lord God,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. The Lord will strengthen his
people. He'll strengthen his witnesses
that they will stand against this world. They'll stand against
this religious crowd. Paul was going to Rome. He was
going to Rome because of a must from our God. He was going to
Rome and he was going to suffer in all sorts of ways on that
journey. And the Lord's promising him this must come to pass. You
will be my witness and my people will be saved. Our God, in the midst of all
of the trials and all the stirrings in this world, calls on his people
to be of good cheer. As he says to Jeremiah in that
famous verse 29-11, I know the thoughts that I have toward you,
thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you an expected end. He has these thoughts. and he has this power that his
thoughts will be fulfilled. The Lord uses the enemies of
the gospel to teach his people. The Lord used the enemies of
the gospel to reinvigorate Paul in his witness to the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the witness to the resurrection of the Lord, that
there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust, that
our God reigns over all things, that the Lord Jesus Christ is
a successful reigning saviour, his blood wasn't spilt in vain,
So the Lord saves sinners, that other sinners might be saved.
The Lord saves the chief of sinners, so that all the whosoevers, all
the whosoevers who have seen themselves to be sinners in the
light of who the Savior is, will find the gospel of free and sovereign
grace in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. the
balm to their souls. The Lord saves sinners, that
other sinners may be saved. The Lord comforts believers,
that other believers might be comforted. Paul had written to
the Corinthians, hadn't he? I mentioned earlier those verses
in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. It begins in a glorious way,
2 Corinthians chapter 1, isn't it? after his introduction and
call for grace and peace from our God. He said, blessed be
the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and the God of all comfort. He's saying to Paul,
you be of good cheer, you be comforted, Paul. Who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them
which are in any trouble. by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God. Why the trials brothers and sisters? One of the great reasons for
the trial is that the Lord in the midst of the trial and through
the trial and at the end of the trial will be able to cause you
to say my God reigns, my God's present with me, my God never
never leaves nor forsakes his people. Verse five, for as the
sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth
by Christ. He's able to comfort you, brothers
and sisters. Paul and Silas were put in jail
in Philippi, you might recall. What were they doing at midnight?
They were singing hymns to God. The Lord saved sinners that other
sinners might be saved. Why were they in that jail? Why
were they singing those songs? The Lord had a person there,
didn't he? He had a jailer and a family of a jailer that he
must save. Why was Paul off to Rome? There's
a must about Paul going to Rome. Quite simply, the Lord had much,
much people in this city. That's what he promised Paul
in Corinth, didn't he? When there was opposition. He says, preach
on Paul. So I have, I have, I have them
already. They are mine in eternity. They
are mine by creation. They are mine by redemption.
They are mine. And the blessed Holy Spirit will
come in the preaching of the gospel and reveal the depth of
my ownership and my love in eternity for them. I have much people
in this city. Paul is off to the center of
all earthly power. Rome, which is the epitome of
man in this world, man in his power and man in his strength.
And now Rome hosts that city, which is that little country,
which is the smallest country in the world and the most devious
and deceitful and powerful country in the world, that Vatican. Paul
was there to go to that place and give a testimony of the Lord
Jesus Christ. There is a glorious must that
we spoke of earlier. Let me remind you what that word
means. It means to bind. It means to fasten with chains,
to put under obligation. It has the connotations of necessity. There is a need, a need and there
is some required end. There is a divine must over all
of God's works. We speak often and we need to
remind ourselves again and again of the wonder of the absolute
sovereignty of our God in all things. So many, so many remarkable
scriptures that describe God's sovereignty. One of my favourite
ones is in Isaiah 46 verse 10 declaring the end from the beginning
he says you remember verse 9 remember the former things of old for
I am God and there is none else I am God and there is none like
me you can't compare God to anything or anyone I am God declaring
the end from the beginning what is the end he declared the end
at the beginning the end is a resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ,
a multitude beyond number. The righteous, the saints, the
Holy One of God in resurrected bodies in a new creation, where
every thought and every turning of their minds and actions will
reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the end,
brothers and sisters. He declared the end from the
beginning. God begins, as we do, don't we, when we plan to
build something, we have in our minds and we have on paper, we
have a picture of what it's going to be like. And then we begin
with how it's going to come to pass. Our God is the author and
the finisher of faith. He declared from the end. declared
the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. What's happening in this world
right now? My counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. What's happening if we can't
see it? What's happening if we doubt it? My counsel shall stand. and I will do all my pleasure. Calling, verse 11, a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far
country. Yea, I have spoken it. I also, I will also bring it
to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. I will also do it. We know the
end from the beginning. How does Acts finish? Paul in Rome, verse 30 of Acts
28. Paul dwelt two whole years in
his own hired house and received all that came unto him, preaching
the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the
Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. No man forbidding him. That's our God. That's our must. And I'd like to go back as we
close our time together to think about the good cheer. What brings you good cheer? What
causes your courage, your confidence, your comfort? Be a good Cheer. Be of good cheer. I am with you. I'm standing by your side. I've given you the words of my
testimony. I've upheld you with my powerful
arm. I have directed all of your steps
for my glory. I have set limits over your compromise,
the compromise of your flesh. I've said thus far you'll go
and no further. I've hedged your way in with thorns. All the circumstances
and even the most ordinary circumstances of this world, every little tiny
part of it is in my hands. Comfort. Be of good cheer. This particular word is used
just eight times in the New Testament. It's repeated in some of the
stories and you know the stories well. I thought we'd finish by
going and looking at these examples and trust the Lord might comfort
your hearts and give you great encouragement. There is a great story in Matthew
chapter 9 and it's repeated in Mark chapter 2 of the man with
the palsy, the paralyzed man that's brought into the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew declares, he says, be
of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. Let's turn to Mark chapter
2 and read the story. It's a glorious story, isn't
it? This is what it is to be of good cheer. They came to him,
verse 3, bringing one sick of a palsy, which is born of the
four. And when they could not come
nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where
he was, and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay. And when Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee." Matthew adds that, be of good cheer, be of
good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain
of the scribes sitting there reasoning in their hearts. The
Lord Jesus Christ saw every single thing that happened in their
hearts. Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins but God alone? And immediately, when Jesus perceived
in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto
them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? I've seen what
you've actually been thinking. Whether it is easy to say unto
the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or say, Arise
and take up thy bed and walk, But that thou may know that the
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to
the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, take up thy
bed, and go thy way into thine own house. Be of good cheer. Be of good cheer. The Lord have
glory. has revealed himself to one of
his own. Thy sins be forgiven thee. Oh, brothers and sisters, if
the Lord might show us those wounds and that shed blood, we
might know something of the wonder of sins forgiven. We might know
something of the completeness of sins forgiven. we might know
something of him speaking those words to our hearts yet again. The sins that we're so readily
able to see, and only as God's children see them, they're sins
that wounded our glorious Saviour. We might know something of the
wonder of that comfort. Be of good cheer, thy sins be
forgiven thee. In the same chapter, we have
In verse 22, the Lord Jesus Christ says to that lady that came to
him with the issue of blood. In 9 verse 22, she said, to go
back a little bit to verse 21, for she said within herself,
if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned
him about And when he saw her, he said, daughter, be of good
comfort, be of good cheer. Thy faith has made thee whole. And the woman was whole from
that hour. Be of good cheer. Your sins are
forgiven you. Be of good cheer. Thy faith has
made you whole. That word whole is the word for
saving. I love Mark's account of it. In verse 29 of Mark chapter 5
he says, and straightway, straightway the fountain of her blood was
dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of that
plague. And Jesus immediately knowing
in himself that virtue had gone out of him. turned him about
in the press and said, who touched my clothes? One of the glories
of the presence, the reality of the living presence of our
resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, is that if you imagine this situation,
Jairus was desperate about his dying, maybe dead daughter. That
crowd were anxious to see these things. And there was a personal,
secret communication of virtue between the Lord Jesus Christ,
between the Saviour and His Saint. The apostles couldn't see it.
Jairus couldn't see it. The crowd couldn't see it. Virtue
has gone out of me. Be of good cheer. Thy faith hath
made thee whole. And as I remind you, when the
Lord Jesus Christ gives faith, it's our faith. It's the gift
of God. And when God gives, the recipients
receive the gift. And you can well imagine that
that lady, that lady who now, now was able to be about in society
without shame, without having to hide herself, without having
to bear the mockery of others when she went home to her family
and her loved ones that day to proclaim her freedom, to proclaim
her healing. What would she have said? My
faith has made me whole today. No, brothers and sisters in Christ,
she would have said the Lord Jesus Christ made me whole today. My faith has made me whole. Faith's object is the comfort
of believers. The other time this phrase, be
of good cheer, is used is in Matthew chapter 14. You know the story, Matthew 14
is the Lord Jesus Christ walking on the sea in the fourth watch of the night
Verse 24, The ship was now in the midst of the sea, in the
midst of the sea of Galilee, tossed with waves, for the wind
was contrary, the wind was against it. And in the fourth watch of
the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when
the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It's a spirit. And they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, It is I. Be of good cheer, be not afraid,
in the storms and tempests of life, in the storms and tempests
of life, when things are contrary to you. It is I, he says, be
of good cheer. He'll come, he'll come at a time
of his choosing and a time of his love. and he'll remind you
that he's always been there and that no harm, no harm ever befalls
the righteous in this world. If you turn with me to Mark chapter
10 verse 49, there's another one of these glorious words of
comfort. The Lord Jesus Christ is on his
way to Jerusalem. He's on his way to Jerusalem.
and he comes to Jericho, and we have this wonderful story
of Bartimaeus crying out. He sat, verse 46, he sat by the
highway begging, and when he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. And many charged him that he
should hold his peace, but he cried the more a great deal,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still. Isn't that remarkable? God Almighty. at the cries of his child stand
still stand still and he commanded him to be called and they called
the blind man saying unto him be of good comfort rise he calleth
me he calleth thee be of good comfort rise up he
calleth you Oh, the mighty, omnipotent call of our great God. And he,
verse 50, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto
thee? The blind man said unto him,
Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him,
Go thy way. my glorious comfort. Go thy way,
thy faith has made thee whole. And what do you do when you go
your way, when you've been called of the Lord, when you go your
way? He received his sight and he followed Jesus in the way. Be of good cheer, thy sins are
forgiven thee. Be of good cheer, thy faith has
made thee whole. Be of good cheer in his eye,
be not afraid. Be of good cheer, be of good
comfort. Rise, he calleth thee. And the Lord, on the night he
was to be betrayed, the evening before he was crucified, comforted
his disciples. In John chapter 16, he says, And he asks that question
in verse 31. Do you believe? Do you believe? I came forth from the Father,
verse 28, and have come into the world again. I leave the
world and go to the Father. And they say in verse 30, Now
we are sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not any
man should ask of thee. By this we believe that thou
camest forth from God. Jesus answered, do you now believe? Behold, the hour cometh. Yea,
is now come. So you do believe. You believe
because of the faith that I've given you, but your faith is
going to be tried and tested in ways that you have never ever
imagined. You're going into darkness. Days
of darkness and despair. The hour cometh and now is that
you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave
me alone, yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. I have overcome the world. In all of your trials and tribulations,
as Romans 8.37 promises, You're more than conquerors, brothers
and sisters. You're more than conquerors because
the risen Lord Jesus Christ comes and dwells by His Spirit within
you. And John can say in 1 John 4,
for greater is He that is in you than is in the world. Our
great and sovereign resurrected Savior. In Revelation 5, He took
that book. He took the book of all of God's
purposes. All of God's providences, all
of God's decrees. He took that book, that book's
in his hand. I've overcome the world. I've overcome the world. No matter what you see in this
world that brings you trouble, remember, I've overcome the world. Be of good cheer. Find your courage. Find your confidence. Find your
comfort. in me standing beside you, in my promise of your future,
that my purposes will be fulfilled. He cannot fail. He will not fail. Our great God
will have his people with him in glory. with him in this world. Be of good cheer. Be of good
cheer. I just pray the Lord might use
his words, his promises, the glory of his person and the wonder
of his presence. to comfort your hearts, my brothers
and sisters in Christ. The command of God in Isaiah
40, which we read so often, is comfort ye, comfort ye my people. I love what the psalmist said
in Psalm 16. It's the first message I ever
brought to this church all those many years ago. There's a lovely
description, lovely declaration, of our great God. And he says
in verse six, the lines, the lines have fallen to me in pleasant
places. Yay, I have a goodly heritage. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ,
you have him all. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ,
you have all need. Be of good cheer, my brothers
and sisters in Christ. Be of good cheer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you.
We thank you for your presence. We thank you for your promise. We thank you that your eternal
purposes are coming to pass and they're unfolding. The great
wheels that Ezekiel saw are rolling out in all of your omniscient
and omnipotent presence throughout this world, Heavenly Father,
our God reigns. He shall not fail. He shall not
fail and he shall not be discouraged. We thank you, Heavenly Father,
that you cause us to know something again and again of the weakness
and the frailty of our flesh, the wonder of your presence,
the wonder of sins forgiven, the glory of a resurrected Saviour,
and the promise of a glorious resurrection to come. We pray,
Heavenly Father, that you might comfort our hearts, that you
might knit our hearts together, that we might be caused to simply
look to your Son, the author and finisher of faith, that we
might find ourselves rejoicing and comforted again and again
by his presence, his promise, and the glory of his overriding
providence that he's working all things together for the good
of those, the good of those who are loved, the good of those
who are called according to his purpose. Bless your word to the
hearts of your people, our Father, We pray in Jesus' name and for
his glory. Amen.