It's good to see you all again.
Peter sends his regards and he sends his thanks for the kind
gift that we all sent him. I was going to look at Romans
16 because I think one of the things that we are encouraged
in the Scriptures to treasure is the communion of the saints,
the fellowship of believers. I like how Romans 1, if you turn
to Romans 1, I'm just going to speak a little bit and pray and
then we'll have a look at Romans 16. Romans 1 starts amazingly
talking about the gospel of God, isn't it? It begins for the servant
of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle. Not something that
he was called of men, or by himself as we know. He was called of
God to be an apostle. And to make it more clear, he
was separated unto the gospel of God. And then he describes
this gospel. It's a gospel which is promised
afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. And of course
the Holy Scriptures that he's referring to are the Old Testament. And the gospel is a person. The gospel is concerning his
son. It's a promised son and a promised
work. concerning His Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made at the seed of David according to the
flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power according
to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead."
What a remarkable statement. He's declared to be the Son of
God with power. Power over all things. Our God
reigns. I love what Peter said in Acts
2 about the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this, that same
Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He is Lord and He is the Christ,
this Jesus. by whom we have received grace
and apostleship for obedience to the faith, the obedience of
the faith, it might be rendered, among all nations for his name. Among whom you also, you also
the called of Jesus Christ to all that be in Rome, and this
is a great description of the saints of God, beloved of God,
called to be saints, called to be holy ones, called to be in
the presence of God as holy as God is holy, called by Him into
His presence. by Him as His children. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the effect, isn't
it, of the Gospel in the lives of people. Why don't we pray
as we come to the Scriptures. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you. We thank you for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
thank you that we read the words that you have led the Apostle
Paul to write. We praise you, Heavenly Father,
for that Gospel, that everlasting Gospel that proclaims the promised
one, the promised keeping one, the covenant-making, covenant-establishing
God and our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father,
we have so many reasons to thank you for effectual grace in the
lives of all of your people. Like Noah, to be saved from this
decaying and condemned world, Noah found grace in the sight
of God. Heavenly Father, we do pray that
you continue to open our eyes to see again and again the wonders
of this grace, the amazing, amazing privilege that we have to be
called the children of God. welcomed into your presence,
not because of anything that we have done, but purely on the
merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank you
for the reminders that we've had over these past few weeks
of the fellowship of the saints, the fellowship that we have with
your brothers and sisters, the children that you have given
to the Lord Jesus Christ. your blessed gift to him, the
purchase of his blood, those who are his jewels. And we praise
you, Heavenly Father, that there is a family of God throughout
this world, and there is a family of God that meets in little congregations
and scattered. We praise you, Heavenly Father,
that you've brought so many of them to our knowledge, and you
have brought your servants to us to remind us of your goodness
and your grace and your mercy in our lives. We commit ourselves
into your hands. We thank you for the visit of
Peter and Jill and we do pray your blessing on them and the
people in Montana and the people in England they leave behind.
And we thank you again, Heavenly Father, for the refreshing and
encouraging times that you bring into the lives of your people,
as we are caused again and again to look away from ourselves and
look to Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. May that be our portion this
evening, our Father. For we pray these things in His
name and for His glory. Amen. I promise not to keep you
too long, because I'm struggling, as no doubt some of you are.
I wanted to read Romans 16, but I wanted to start a little bit
further back in Romans chapter 15. And Paul has reminded us
through this letter of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
also at the end of this letter he reminds us and shows us the
power of this Gospel as it's revealed in this world. And I
love how Ephesians describes that the place where God the
Father has promised to get glory for His dear Son on this earth
is in the church, in the gathering of His people, And back to Romans
14, 17 is that amazing verse, isn't it? For the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, it's not things you do and things
you don't do. But listen to these amazing words,
that righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ, perfect and complete and free justification by grace,
through faith. Peace with God. Peace with God
and joy in the Holy Ghost. Over to Romans chapter 15. We
then that are strong are to bear with the infirmities of the weak
and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell
on me. For whatsoever things were written
aforetime, all of the Old Testament scriptures, were written for
our learning, that through patience and comfort of the scriptures,
we might have hope. Through patience and comfort
of the scriptures, the scriptures that were written over that extraordinary
long period and detailed the lives of God's people and detailed
the lives of the grace of God in their lives, over time they
waited. Daniel waited. Noah waited. 120 years waiting and preaching
for a promise. Abraham made to wait 25 years
before that promised child would come. We've prayed patience. Our God is faithful. All of what
is written is true. All of what is promised is true. And we might have to wait, and
we might have to wait what seems to us a long time, but all through
that time God's perfect purposes are being fulfilled. And it's
the comfort of the scriptures. Do you find comfort in the scriptures?
I don't find much comfort in the rest of this world. I pray
that God wouldn't let us find comfort in all those things,
that we'd be led again and again to find comfort, to find our
rest in the scriptures. Not only will we look back and
we'll see patience and we'll have comfort, we will have hope. We look forward, aren't we? God's
children are hopeful children. But who and how does all this
come to us? Verse 5, now the God of patience. He's the God of patience and
He's the God of consolation. He consoles His children, grant
you. He gives it, doesn't He? To be
like-minded one toward another according to Jesus Christ. And this is the result of His
work, isn't it? This is the result of that grant.
that activity of God, that you may with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God's
servants, as we know, we read that verse in Isaiah 52, God's
servants, they lift up the voice, they lift up the Word of God
and with the voice together, with God together, they shall
sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring
back Zion. And what do they say? Isaiah 52.7 says, they publish
salvation, they proclaim salvation, and they say unto Zion, they
say unto the Church of God, no matter what you see with your
human eyes, no matter what you reason with human reason, Thy
God reigneth. The E.T.H. ending is lovely,
isn't it? He reigned in eternity. He reigned
in time. He reigns right now. and with one mind and one mouth
glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, verse 7 of chapter
15, receive ye one another as Christ also received us. Receive ye one another as Christ
received us to the glory of God the Father. I love that verse
in Colossians 2.6. It says, As you have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, how did you receive him? With nothing in my hand
I bring, simply to the cross I cling. We receive him as broken-hearted,
helpless sinners. Letters. We receive him as those
people in the Gospels received him. The ones that are helpless
and hopeless and infirm. The ones who have nothing to
offer God. What is a leper that can offer
God? To this world he just says, unclean,
unclean, don't touch me. Excluded from religion, excluded
from society. Accepted by the Lord. If you are willing, If ye be willing ye can make
me whole. He made them whole. Therefore, as ye have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Receive one another,
as Christ also received us to the glory of God. I say that
Jesus Christ was the minister of the circumcision for the truth
of God to confirm the promises made unto the Father, and that
the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written,
for this cause will I confess thee among the Gentiles and sing
unto thy name. And again he says, rejoice ye
Gentiles with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all
ye Gentiles, and Lord him, all ye people. And verse 13, and
now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing
that you may abound in hope. through the power of the Holy
Ghost. You might have bound in hope.
You see, at the end of this epistle we come to see practically what
the Gospel that's proclaimed so magnificently in chapter 1
and then explained so gloriously in the rest of the scriptures
actually comes to work out in the lives of people. I love what
verse 29 of chapter 15 says, Paul is anxious to come to them. And I'm sure that, this is his
confidence, isn't it, as an apostle, because he's writing to people
to whom the Gospel has come and has come with power. I'm sure
that when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing
of the Gospel of Christ. Isn't that a great description
of the Gospel? The fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of
Christ. If you want to know what that
fullness is, you can just read about it in Ephesians chapter
1. We are blessed, brothers and
sisters, with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, lacking nothing, lacking absolutely nothing, complete
in Him, accepted in Him. And then he calls on them to
pray for him. I beseech you, brethren, for
the Lord Jesus Christ's sake and for the love of the Spirit,
that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for
me, that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea. What remarkable deliverance it
was from them that didn't believe. He was writing this from Corinth
on his way back to Jerusalem, and there he was to be arrested
and sent to Rome. that my service which I have
for Jerusalem may be accepted for the saints, that I may come
unto you with joy by the will of God, and may be with you May
with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with
you. Amen. And we are inclined when
we read over these lists, I'd like to just read with us in
Chapter 16, we're inclined to sort of read them, I don't know
about you, but I often read those ones in Leviticus, try and speed
read them, because they are just lists. But these are not just
lists. This is God's list, and this
is God's declaration of his people. This is what the Gospel does. This is what, just as I read
through it, just listen to the adjectives. Paul extends the
language as much as possible to encompass as many adjectives
to describe the saints of God through Minister Whitney. And I'll read chapter 16 and
then we'll just have a brief discussion about the Gospel.
The Gospel is the thing that binds them together. The Gospel
is the thing that joins them together. The Gospel is the thing
that creates family. The Gospel is the thing that
creates churches. The Gospel is the person, I should
say, I'm sorry. The Gospel is the person. Verse
25 of chapter 16, now to Him. That is the power, that is our
power to establish you according to my Gospel and the preaching
of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery.
So this is the practical way of working, isn't it? So often
we hear about practical Christianity. Well here is practical Christianity.
Here is the Gospel at work amongst the children of God. Here is
Him at work amongst them. I'll read them and I'll make
brief comments as we go, but I just love his description of
these saints, some of whom he hasn't met and maybe has just
heard about, some he knows. But they are the family of God
and Peter's visit to us is a reminder, isn't it, that there is a family
in Montana, there are families in England, there are scattered
families of God throughout this world. They are precious. They are precious to God. They are precious to the Lord
Jesus Christ. They are blood-born children
of His. They ought to be precious to
us, if God would allow it. You see, he commends, verse 1,
I commend unto you Phoebe. What's he described her? Part
of his family, our sister. which is a servant of the Church,
which is Sincreia. that you receive her in the Lord
as becometh saints. She's not only a sister, but
she's a fellow saint with Him. And that you assist her in whatsoever
business she has need of of you, for she has been a succorer. She has nourished and nurtured
and cared for many. and of I and of myself also."
One of the things you need to know is how often women are mentioned
in this extraordinary situation. She has been a sufferer of many.
Great Priscilla McQuillan, my helpers in Jesus Christ. who have for my life laid down
their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also
all the churches of the Gentiles." We read about them in Acts chapter
16. Obviously they moved around and
they had a special place in the hearts of many of the Lord's
saints in those days. Likewise greet the church that
is in their house, Salute my well-beloved Eponatus, who is
the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ, the first believer in
that region of Achaia. Greet Mary, who bestowed much
labour on us. Salute, Andronicus and Junia,
my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners who are of note among the apostles,
who also were in Christ before me. They were saved in those
very early days of the church before Paul was saved. Greet
Amplius, my beloved, my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbain, our
helper in Christ, and Stachius, my beloved. Salute Apelles, approved
in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus'
household. Salute Herodian, my kinsmen. Greet them that are of the household
of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. Salute Trifina and Trifosa. I think they might have been
twins, if not triplets. Trifina and Trifosa, who labour
in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which
laboured much in the Lord. Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord
and his mother and mine. Obviously she was like a mother
to Paul and caring for him. Salute Asynchritus, Philegion,
Hermas, Patrobus, Hermes and the brethren which are with them.
Salute Philodulus, and Julia, and Nereus, and his sister, and
Olympus, and all the saints which are with them. Salute one another
with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute
you. Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the
doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. You mark them
on account of their behaviour with regard to the Gospel and
avoid them. You don't have to enter into
debates and discussions. remain half gone. For they that
are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and
by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
It's a shocking indictment, isn't
it, that they take the simple and the childlike and those who
are vulnerable You can read about them in 2nd Timothy. What a shocking
thing it is to deceive the hearts of the simple by good words and
fair speeches. Peter was telling me yesterday
that one of his friends who is a pastor in London, and Peter's
been down there to preach for him, Yesterday I think it was,
I'm waiting to hear the results of it, we've actually been called
before this denomination for, and to show a cause for the things
that he's written and the things that he's preached concerning
the Gospel for the Insight and Grace. We live in a world where so much
is compromised. and the Gospel is promised to
bring division and promised to bring calm. So we need to pray
for our brothers and sisters in that situation that this,
like the trials that we've been through, be a cause for him to
be made to stand for the Gospel, stand for the truth that's in
the Lord Jesus Christ. stand to defend the character
of our God. And let them have their associations,
and let them have their denominations, and let them have their organisations. Isn't it lovely what the Lord
Jesus says, when you are before the magistrates, and they were
religious magistrates in those days, you don't have to worry
about what you're saying. because God will give you the
words to say. I'm waiting expectantly to hear
a report on how the Lord has led this brother of Peter's through
this trial. Verse 19, for your obedience
is come abroad unto old men. If you doubt and question what
obedience is, you can look down to verse 26 and you'll see it
very clearly there. The epistle begins with a declaration
of the obedience of faith and like bookends on this amazing
epistle from God. It's the obedience of faith. Your obedience has come abroad
unto all men, and I am glad therefore on your behalf. But yet I would
have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning
evil. and the God of Peace shall bruise
Satan under your feet shortly." None of this nonsense that the
Pentecostals used to go on about and probably still do that they
can go out and do battle with Satan and demons. It's the God
of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Timotheus, my fellow
worker, and Lucius and Jason and Sospiter, my kinsmen, salute
you. And I, Tertius, Tertius was the
scribe who wrote this letter. who wrote this epistle, Paul
dictated it, led by the Holy Spirit, and Tertius wrote it
down. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle,
salute you in the Lord. Gaius, my host in the whole church,
salute you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the
city, salute you. That's the chamberlain of the
city of Corinth, salute you. And Quartus, a brother. They
found a stone in their archaeological diggings in Corum some years
ago, and on the stone had the title and the name of this man,
Erastus. They're dealing with real truth,
a real living truthful word from God, true in history, true spiritually,
true in every sense whatsoever. Gaius, my host, arrest us a chamber,
and court us a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. And now, like the end of
Jude, isn't it? Now to him that is of power to
establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus
Christ. according to the revelation. See, the Gospel is a revelation. It was kept secret since the
world began, but it's revealed. The Gospel comes with power as
God reveals it to people. He creates life. He creates the
ears to hear. He creates the eyes to see. He
creates the heart to believe. but now to him that is of power
to establish you according to my gospel." One of the things
that warms my heart most about the church that we have, and
the church the true Church of God, wherever it is around this
world, it's something that God has begun. It's something that
God is committed to. It's something that God has purposed
for a time, for a particular time and a particular group of
people. It's God's. That's why I love
a great comfort for someone who struggles with so many things
as I do, is that God has made a promise. He's the one who will
establish you. He's the one in whom all of His
family is gathered as one and He carries them close to His
heart. No one is ever going to harm
them in any way spiritually. What does Paul rest his confidence
to their church in Philippi? He's being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, and
the word you is in plural there. He's gathered a group of people
together. He's begun a good work in you individually, but he's
begun a good work in you collectively. He which hath begun a good work
in you. I love that preposition in, isn't
it lovely? It's the work that's begun in
people. We'll perform it. He, as our
verse there in Romans 16.25 says, He is the one that is of power
to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ. according to the revelation of
mystery which was kept secret since the world began. The Gentile
worlds were in darkness, strangers from the covenants of promise,
strangers in this world without God and without hope in this
world. In this day, in this Gospel age,
it's being revealed. It's the revelation. God reveals
Himself. He reveals Himself in His dear
and precious Son. He reveals Himself in the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. All of the attributes. all of
the glorious attributes of this amazing God who rules this universe,
who creates the universe by speaking the word, all of those attributes,
as it were, will reach their most amazing fulfilment in their
most amazing life when you look at Jesus Christ on the cross. If you want to know about the
holiness of God, go over to Jesus Christ on the cross and you'll
see what holiness must do when it meets sin. If you want to
know about the sovereignty of God, what remarkable sovereign
hand ordained wrote, promised and fulfilled all of those remarkable
things. Yet all of the Lord Jesus Christ's
life, but particularly on that day, if you want to know about
the love of God, if you want to know about the love of God
which is in the Lord Jesus Christ, we go to the cross of the Lord
Jesus. If we want to know about grace,
we must go and see Him hanging there on that tree. We want to
know about the righteousness and the justice and the mercy. You think of every attribute
of God and you take them to the cross and they shine there in
all of their glory. It's a revelation, isn't it?
It's the revelation that establishes this church. This is what God
is doing amongst His people. He did it in Paul's day. He's
been doing it for the last 2000 years. He'll do it until He comes
home. He comes home to gather His people
to Himself and take them to Himself in the new creation. It's now
made manifest. made manifest, and by the Scriptures
of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. To God only wise, be glory through
Jesus Christ forever. Amen. The Gospel in Romans 1
reaches its fulfilment in the lives of God's people. Paul calls this gospel, my gospel. I just want to say a few things,
you've heard them several times before. Paul describes this gospel
as my gospel. To him it is of power to establish
you according to my gospel. As we go through this world,
we need again and again, as we live with the struggles of our
own lives, we have just one foundation and one point that we keep coming
back to. The revelation of who the Lord
Jesus Christ is and what He did on the cross. Paul calls it My
gospel, He calls it God's gospel. It's God's gospel because God
promised it, God planned it, God purchased it, God applies
it to the hearts of His people. God preserves it and protects
it. It reveals His Son. It reveals
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's God. I love saying that. I hope you like hearing it. I
hope you like repeating it. Jesus Christ is God. The Gospel declares Him, who
is our righteousness, declares Him in His eternality. It declares Him in His Incarnation. It declares Him in that perfect
life, live before man, before God. It declares Him in His substitutionary
sacrifice. It declares Him in His burial
and His resurrection and His exaltation. It declares Him in
what He's doing for us now. He's interceding at this very
moment, interceding on the basis of His finished work and His
blood. And God is well pleased. He's well pleased with His Son
and He's well pleased with all who are in Him. Do you notice
how many times when we've read through Romans 16 He talks about
those who are in Christ? And Paul spoke of them as family,
sisters, brothers, labourers together, chosen, and again and
again beloved. The Gospel declares His return
in glory. The Gospel declares His Church,
His chosen, His redeemed, His glorified ones, those that are
conformed, being conformed by God to the image of His dear
and precious Son. How do we know How do we know
that the Gospel that we proclaim here, how do we know that the
Gospel that Peter proclaims, how do we know that the Gospel
that our brothers and sisters around the world are either struggling
with or rejoicing under, how do we know it's the true Gospel?
How do we know it's that Gospel that establishes you? How do
we know it's that Gospel that is a revelation of a mystery? And I'll just run through six
or eight points very briefly. You've heard them before, and
I trust that we've proclaimed them again and again. We've heard
Peter faithfully proclaiming them. But our Gospel is a Gospel
where God gets all the glory in salvation. God gets all of
the glory for everything He does in the lives of all of His people.
Our Gospel is a Gospel that gives all the pre-eminence to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Someone wonderfully criticised
us a few years ago. All they ever do is talk about
the Lord Jesus. Isn't that a wonderful thing?
A wonderful thing to be criticised by. The Gospel, the true Gospel,
is a Gospel that's true to all the Old Testament Scriptures.
Everything that the Lord Jesus did was a perfect fulfilment
of what was written in the Old Testament Scriptures. The Old
Testament Scriptures, wherever you go, they speak of the Lord
Jesus and Him crucified. so gloriously in the garden,
so gloriously in the picture of Noah and the redemption and
rescue by grace of God's people at the time of the flood, so
gloriously pictured in Abraham and the sacrifice of his son,
so gloriously pictured in the high priest and the tabernacle
and the temple and all of the pictures of God revealed in the
Old Testament. The Gospel also declares and
faithfully declares all the attributes of God. And most of all it gives
preeminence, the real Gospel gives preeminence to the holiness
of God. It enables God to maintain all
of His revealed attributes in all of the Old Testament without
any embarrassment but comfort to the people of God. It enables
God to be holy, to be holy and save my soul. We have an Advocate
of the Father. The true Gospel is a Gospel that
honours the Law of God. by faith, Romans 3, it says,
we establish the law of God. Those who turn to the law for
any purpose at any time have no idea what the law is saying
and have no idea of what they are apart from the grace of God. saves and redeems and sanctifies
and glorifies the saints of God by sovereign grace. And there
are no strings attached. It's none of this nonsense that
God will do it if you do something for Him. If you respond in some
way, He will respond in grace. It's a gospel that saves a thief
on the cross. It's a gospel for the helpless,
a gospel for the hopeless, a gospel for those who have nothing in
their hands to bring. It's a gospel that saves, as
Paul describes himself, the chief of sinners. And as I said earlier
in Romans 16.25 says, it's the Gospel that keeps us safe. I love the fact that the Gospel
comes with power and it is a work of God in the lives of His people
to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus. We will go through
trials, deep and serious trials, and many of those trials cause
us sadly in our flesh to turn away from Him. But what does,
along with the Old Testament, people said, turn me and I will
be turned. God will not allow His little
ones to ever slip away from Him. That's why the real Gospel gives
us assurance and peace. Any Gospel that says, do, there
must be some questions asked. How much must you do? How good must the doing be? How long must you do the good
doing for? Our Gospel gives assurance and
peace because it declares as the Lord Jesus did, it is finished. And our Gospel makes a sinner
where he is at. It makes us in our helplessness,
not in our abilities. And our Gospel enables the children
of God to meet death and judgment and to be accepted. Accepted. The saints of God longed for
their meeting with God. You know that verse in 1 John
chapter 4, I'm about to close because the weather's wearing
us, but in 1 John chapter 4, Paul says that he has boldness,
boldness on the Day of Judgment. He has confidence on the Day
of Judgment. Assurance. And our Gospel declares the eternal
and infinite and unchangeable union of all of the family of
God with the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, in Romans 16, we saw
it again and again, they are in Christ. Everybody in Christ
shall be, must be, made alive with Him, one with Him. That's the glory of the Gospel.
God's children are one with the Lord Jesus. When he lived, we
were all one with him. When he died, we were all one
with him. When he was raised, we were all
raised with him. This is our life before God. It's all of our life, isn't it? We have never, ever, children
of God, been separated from Him. Not for a millisecond, in all
time and for all of what eternity is. Never, ever separated from
Him. That's why our Gospel declares
a covenant of grace, an eternal covenant of grace, an eternal
covenant of peace, a covenant made by a sovereign God, a covenant whose focus and essence is He
who has made the covenant for us. What a remarkable thing. No separation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father we
do again thank you. for the creation and the sustaining
and the fellowship that you bring into the lives of your people.
And Heavenly Father, we pray like Paul that we might long
to be with our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. We might think
highly of them for Christ's sake, that we might be led with one
voice and one mind to exalt your dear and precious Son. Heavenly
Father, we do pray for your blessing upon our friend Peter and his
dear wife Jill as they go back to England and back to America
and to the places that you would have them minister your Word.
And we thank you, Heavenly Father, that in your sovereign and eternal
purposes for the good of your people and for your glory, brought
them into our lives yet again and caused us to be close to
them in the Gospel of Your dear and precious Son. And Heavenly
Father, we do pray for that brother that we spoke of in England.
We pray, Heavenly Father, that Your work in his life will cause
him to not just know the truth, but to be in love with the truth,
because the truth is the person, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank
you, Heavenly Father, for your love for your people, your eternal,
infinite and unchangeable love. We praise you, Heavenly Father,
for the magnificent attributes of your character which we see
again and again in the Gospel and see most clearly by the death,
the life and death and resurrection of your dear and precious Son.
He is our God and our Saviour and because of Him we can call
you Abba Father. Help us to call on you Father
in all the situations of our lives. that we might find grace
and peace and comfort and mercy flowing to us because of the
work of your dear and darling son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless
us for his sake, our Father. Amen.