Trusting that the Lord will hear
and answer our prayers, I'd ask you to turn back to the epistle
to the Galatians, the epistle to the Galatians, but this time
chapter one. And I'll read verses 15 and 16. The epistle to the Galatians,
chapter one, verses 15 and 16. But it's really just the first
part of verse 16 that I want to try to speak from. Galatians
chapter 1, 15 and 16. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace
to reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. I'll read on. Neither went I
up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but
I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus. Well, this morning, we looked
at a part of the verse in chapter two, verse 20. We only looked
at the last part of the verse. And in a sense, this evening,
we may be looking at really what it speaks about in the first
part of the verse, which is Christ living in the apostle or the
Christ living in his people. But I have the words that especially
are on my mind are at the beginning of verse 16, this to reveal his
son in me, to reveal his son in me. When I read these chapters
as I was seeking to prepare for the services today, I was very
struck by that. This is the Apostle Paul really
speaking of his conversion, perhaps on the road to Damascus. But
this language that he uses to reveal his son in me, perhaps
it made me stop and made me think really. He speaks of how looking back
that it was all of God when it pleased God who separated me
from my mother's womb or appointed me from my mother's womb and
called me by his grace. And we know his calling. We have
the record of that on the road to Damascus. But this is then
what he says to reveal his son in me that I might preach him
among the heathen. The more I thought about this,
really, the more challenging, in one sense, I have found it. Because what Paul is speaking
of here is that there has been that work of grace in his heart. It was the Lord Jesus Christ
who spoke to him on that road to Damascus. I think there had
been that work before then when he was kicking against the pricks,
but it was especially that. having there having been that
work, then he puts it this way, that God would then reveal Jesus
in him. And as I thought about this,
I realized that this isn't really just the Apostle Paul that has
been spoken of here. It is really, I believe, all
of the Lord's people. And this made me think, if the Lord has
worked in us, if the Lord has worked in me and you, Do we reveal
the Lord Jesus Christ to others in the way that we speak, in
the way that we behave? When they look at us, do they
see the Lord Jesus Christ? Is Jesus Christ revealed in us,
in our lives? And so that's really what I want
to try to speak about this evening. And may the Lord help me, may
the Lord help each of us to consider this, this revelation of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there's a few things I want
to say to begin with, really. First of all, this word reveal.
It's not when something is revealed, it means to uncover, really.
It's as if something is hidden, and then the covering is drawn
apart, or the lid is taken off, if you like, or the doors are
opened, and then you can see the real thing inside. That's
when something is revealed. It's there, but not visible,
but then, if you like, the covering is taken off and it becomes visible.
It's not a copy of the real thing. It's not a photo or a picture
of the real thing, if you like. It is the real thing itself.
And of course, in this case, it is Jesus Christ. And we're
not talking, as it were, about behaving like Jesus. or imitating
Jesus, but it is, do people see Jesus? Is Jesus himself revealed
in us? Is Jesus himself revealed in
us? As I said, a very searching and
challenging question if we have made a profession that we are
one of the Lord's people. This is what Paul said. It was
pleased God to reveal his son in me. Now the second thing that
I wanted to say really by way of introduction is just turning
back to the really the Gospel of John Chapter 14 and just to
remind ourselves of that promise of the Lord Jesus Christ and
in Chapter 14 there Jesus shortly before his crucifixion was speaking
to the disciples but not just to the disciples to all of to
all of his people and speaking about the comforter but he also
mentions he also speaks of how he will make his dwelling and
God will make his dwelling in his people. John chapter 14 and
verse 23, Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love
me, he will keep my words and my father will love him and we
will come unto him and make our abode with him. And there is
the promise. If the Lord has given us that
love of him, and if that is evident in our obedience to his commands,
not obeying in our own strength, but obeying out of love that
God has given, then here is the promise that Jesus and God will
dwell in our hearts, will dwell within us. This is something
that I have to confess I don't think enough of, especially when
perhaps we may feel to be distant from the Lord but there is a
promise here we will come unto him and make our abode with him
and I do want to of course point out that to make our abode as
it says here make our abode doesn't just mean to visit it doesn't
mean to come and to stay for a little while to make our abode
is to come and live it is to come and that's that's that's
to settle as it were and we will come and settle we will we will
live in the each each believer and that is the promise that
we have if a man loved me and he will keep my words and my
father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode
with him there is that promise And really, there are other things
that we can mention. We think of John chapter seven,
the Jesus there in the feast on that last day of the feast,
saying he that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, because Jesus
Christ, the source, if you like, of that water of life dwelling
within him. I thought also going back to
The Gospel of Matthew, the last words of Jesus that are recorded
there in that Matthew 28 verse 20. If we read that and don't
think about the others, it is as if Jesus is by our side. But if we think that, we are
forgetting that it is a far closer union than that. The promise
is that Jesus is within us, that he has made his abode within
us. I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world. So just a reminder really of
that promise that Jesus made, that he will dwell in the hearts
of those who are his. We think of the Apostle Paul
writing about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Ghost. The temple is the place where
God dwells. It is the house for God, if you like, putting it
on its most simple terms. Again, it speaks of the Lord
living, dwelling within his people. Some ways, I hope you don't mind
me putting it in simple language, but almost the mind boggles at
this, doesn't it? The thought of God. the creator
of the heaven and the earth, God, that holy, holy, holy God
dwelling within his people. But that is not my words. It's
not my fancy or my imagination. They are the words of the Bible.
And that is the promise that we have. And as the apostle,
when he wrote those words to reveal his son in me, then behind
that is this promise that Jesus Christ was in the Apostle Paul. I want to look at it really through
his preaching and then not just through the behavior of the Apostle
Paul, but through the actions of some of those laid before
us in the Bible as well, through our behavior, that revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I just want to look at it simply
really, in one sense. If we have a light in a lantern,
if the glass is covered with dust or dirt or if it's got paint
on it or something like that, you can light the lantern and
it doesn't shine through. There's nothing wrong with the
light that's inside it, but it can't go through because the
glass is dirty, because the glass is painted or the glass has become
opaque or whatever it is. The glass needs to be clean.
The glass needs to be transparent. May the Lord give us, make us,
as it were, transparent in that way, that if we are his, that
the Lord Jesus Christ might shine through. Now, I want then to
just seek to look at the Apostle Paul, perhaps first
of all then, to see how this, how Jesus Christ was revealed
in him. The one mention of that comes
in the last two verses of this chapter one. I'll just read those
again, verses 23 and 24. And Paul has said that quite
interesting, really, again, I hadn't really thought about this before,
but he says the churches of Judea didn't know him. They hadn't
met him. They hadn't put a face to a name,
but they'd heard of him. They'd heard of the Apostle Paul
but they didn't actually know him. He hadn't been to visit
them yet. And this is what they had heard. That he which persecuted
us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed
and they glorified God in me. And so that seemed like a good
place to start really. How was Jesus Christ revealed
in the Apostle Paul? Well it was that change in his
life and Perhaps with the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest changes,
perhaps, or the most evident changes that are recorded for
us in the Bible. I haven't thought about that
exhaustively, so I might be wrong, but as you know, he went from
actively persecuting and very actively, zealously persecuting
those who called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, those
who put their faith in Jesus and who prayed to him, He went
overnight, we might almost say, to seeking to torture and kill
those. He was changed to preaching that
this same Jesus that he had been persecuting, that this same Jesus
truly was the son of God. And that was visible to others.
And it was that change in his life, that change in his life.
As I said, it was a very dramatic one. I can put it that way in
the case of the Apostle Paul, a complete, almost a complete
about turn. In Acts chapter 13, we have a
record of one of the sermons of the Apostle Paul. I had thought
about reading that, but and perhaps we could have done. But that
is about the that Jesus is Christ. The heading at the top of my
Bible says, Paul preacheth at Antioch that Jesus is Christ. And as he goes back to the Bible
to speak about the prophecies of the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ, he then goes on to speak of how they have been fulfilled
in the Lord Jesus. So verse 33 or 32, we declare
unto you glad tidings how that the promise which is made unto
the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children,
in that he hath raised up Jesus again. And there is the apostle
clearly saying, perhaps it didn't need to be stated really, but
there it is, the apostle clearly stating that you can see that
this man that was crucified was raised again from the dead and
is now alive. He rose again, and that is the
evidence, if you like, that he was indeed the son of God. He
hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second
Psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And
again, going back to the Old Testament or the Bible as they
had it then, looking at that and seeing how that foretold
not just the coming of the Messiah, but how that related to the Lord
Jesus Christ. What a change this was in the
apostle. But you notice that the emphasis
wasn't on Paul, but Paul is then putting the emphasis on the Lord
Jesus Christ in his preaching. And he is directing them to the
Lord Jesus Christ towards the end. Verse 38, Be it known unto
you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins, the forgiveness of sins, and
by him all that believe are justified from all things from which he
could not be justified by the law of Moses. I do just want
to emphasizes it were the little
word all in that verse there. May that be an encouragement,
perhaps all that believe, all that believe. There are none
that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and who call upon his
name, who will not be saved. And then it goes on to say, and
by him, all that believed are justified, made righteous from
all things. It's the same as that verse in
John's first epistle, isn't it? The blood of Jesus Christ, the
son of God, cleanseth us from all sin. Not a single sin will
be left. And again, if there are any that
are tempted, perhaps, or try that there's a sin that hasn't
been forgiven or can't be forgiven, then this verse says all that
believe are justified from all things through the Lord Jesus
Christ. from which he could not be justified
by the law of Moses. And then he speaks about the
dangers of unbelief that Jesus Christ, that he is now preaching,
that Jesus Christ, that they should ignore that. Beware, therefore,
lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets.
Behold, ye despises and wonder and perish. For I work a work
in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though
a man declare it unto you. And how solemn is that word,
isn't it? He was the man declaring it unto
them even then. Standing there in the synagogue,
he'd been invited to speak, but standing there in the synagogue,
declaring it to them. But there were those who did
not believe. Why may we not be like that? As we come to the services, Then
we have the Lord Jesus Christ declared unto us what the Lord
has done. The Jesus Christ, the way of
salvation, the only way of salvation, that through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, all that believe shall be justified from all things. Is there unbelief in our heart?
Are we like these despisers, wonder and perish? Or I work
a work in your days, a work which you shall in no wise believe,
though a man declare it unto you. I may the Lord take away
our unbelief. So again, going back to our text,
then the book the apostle wrote through the Holy Spirit, writing
God's purpose to reveal his son in me. It was through his change
in lifestyle. It was through through word of
mouth that those churches that were in Judea heard of the Apostle
and they believed that it was that work of Christ they glorified
God because of the change that they had seen that he now preached
Christ. We looked in this morning we
were speaking about more generally about the epistle to the Galatians
and how in this epistle, Paul is really writing to them to
bring them back to that trust and that faith in the Lord Jesus
alone, not in the Lord Jesus, but also you must do this or
you must do that, otherwise you can't be saved. He was bringing
them back to trust in the Lord Jesus alone. And in that way
also, the Son of God was revealed in him. As I was thinking about
the ministry and what a challenge this is to not just to those
who preach, because perhaps it will be incumbent upon each of
us at times to speak of others about what we believe. May the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be revealed in us as we
speak on those occasions. That was what really led me to
read that passage in Acts chapter eight. And I won't say much about
it because it is very well known. But of course, Philip, through
his preaching, he, the son of God, was revealed through him.
It is revealed through him as the eunuch reading that passage
from Isaiah. Realizing that it didn't really
make sense if it was just written about the man Isaiah himself
so it must be someone else. As it were it's almost to me
like he senses as it were the Lord Jesus Christ there but cannot
see him clearly enough or cannot really see him clearly. It's
almost as if like looking at someone through frosted glass.
There's somebody there, but you can't see their features. You
don't know who it is. And it was almost it felt like to me,
it feels like that. So it was to that eunuch. But
what a wonder it was that there was that the Holy Spirit knew
that that eunuch was reading that and not as it were only
seeing Jesus through the frosted glass, if you don't mind me putting
it that way. And I've often found that a comfort
because I don't know about you, but there are those times when
we We read the Bible and perhaps there's bits we don't understand.
And I know that there's been many passages that I have read,
and yes, perhaps understood the words, they're not always even
that, but missed, as it were, what it was saying about the
Lord. And then there have been times when the Spirit has opened
it up and I've then seen, oh yes, I see now how that speaks
of the Lord Jesus, but I need the Spirit to do that. I've often
been encouraged by this, the thought that God knew about that
eunuch. He wasn't by himself, even when
he was not understanding the word, even when he did not know
who Jesus was, even when he'd gone up to worship, he'd gone
to the service, if you like, and he'd come away again, and
he hadn't got what he wanted. He was still reading the prophet
Isaiah, and he wasn't rejoicing at that stage, because he knew
there was something he hadn't got. He hadn't got that salvation
that clearly he wanted. And so he's coming back, but
God knew about him. And I think of, if I can put
it this way, pardon me, it's a bit of a clumsy way of putting
it, but the effort that God went to, to reveal and open up the
scriptures to that eunuch in that chariot on his way home
again. Where we started reading, the angel of the Lord spake unto
Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, unto the way
that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And
although it's not mentioned, but I don't want to pass over
this, the obedience of Philip. And he arose and went. It was
the spirit of God working in him that made him obedient to
that, to go down to the desert, to go. The Lord had a purpose
in the desert, not in the towns or the cities as he went afterwards.
That was the time for preaching in cities afterwards, but this
time to go down to the desert. But he went and then In verse
29, we read, don't we? The Spirit said unto Philip,
go near and join thyself to this chariot. And again, then the
Lord sending the Holy Spirit, that message to that man, go
to that chariot. And I'm sure he wasn't by himself.
Well, I presume it wouldn't have just been one chariot. I imagine
it would have been a number of chariots. It says he was a eunuch
of great authority, had charge of all her treasure. So that
chariot, go near to that chariot. And again, what obedience there
was in Philip. I know when we read it in the
Bible, it seems really obvious, doesn't it? The Spirit said unto
Philip, go near and join thyself to this chariot. But we don't
know how Philip heard that, whether it was an audible voice or whether
it was that sometimes the Lord puts that impulse as it were
in our heart, doesn't he? But Philip obeyed that. And then
when he was up in the chariot, the spirit helped him to ask
that question, understandest thou what thou readest? That
was the right question, wasn't it? How can I, except some man
should guide me? And then the spirit helped Philip. He opened his mouth and began
at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. That wasn't a
premeditated sermon, was it? But it was because Within Philip,
there was that spirit. There was, if you like, Jesus
dwelling within him. And when Philip spoke, Jesus
was revealed. And for me, there is a, if you
like, an acid test that this is the work of God, or two really
at the end. First of all, there's the baptism.
If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered
and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. But
also this. We read verse 39, the Lord caught
away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more. But the eunuch went
on his way rejoicing. He wasn't looking at Philip.
He didn't. I'm sure he felt he owed Philip
the debt in one sense, but Philip wasn't there, but Jesus was there.
Jesus was with him and Jesus had been revealed unto him and
that was why he was rejoicing. He didn't need Philip, he'd been
left by Philip, but Jesus was with him. Again, how wonderful
that is, isn't it? The Apostle Paul, as it were,
through his preaching, through the letters that have been preserved
for us, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we see Jesus through
those. We see the Apostle Paul, but we look to Jesus. Now, something
else that we, I'm not just touching on this, and do forgive me for
that, Something else we see in the, as we look at the Apostle
Paul, now again, how is Jesus revealed in him? Now, my mind
went to one of the other epistles, especially the epistle to the
Philippians chapter two. And yes, the Holy Spirit was
guiding Paul in how he wrote and what to write as he wrote
these epistles. It was and is the inspired word
of God. But it wasn't as it were the
Apostle Paul writing in a trance not knowing what he wrote. You
look at Philippians chapter 2. What a glimpse the Apostle was
given of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ revealed in the
Apostle Paul, in his writings, in his letter to the Philippians,
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And, being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
that things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. what glimpses the Apostle was
given of the Lord Jesus, which have then been transferred to
us, as it were, through this wonderful part of the Lord's
Word. And there are many other parts that you can look at in
his letters and see what the Apostle was taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ. In one sense, the hymn that we
have just sung, based on 1 Corinthians chapter 13 about love, it was
That was revealed to the apostle through how he was treated by
the Lord Jesus, how the Lord loved him, even though he fought
so hard against him. And again, there was a revelation
of the love of God through that. And again, you could go through
his life. But I wanted then to, just before
we leave that, may the Lord help us, as I said, those who preach,
May the Lord help us to set forth the Lord Jesus Christ and may,
as it were, we see no man save Jesus. But also those who witness
to others, perhaps informally, as I said in these different
times, perhaps it may be that somebody suddenly stops and asks
you about something you've known for a while. Sometimes we don't
know what's going on, do we, in the hearts and minds of those
that we work with or that we live with or whatever. And sometimes
it comes bubbling out. May the Lord give us much grace
then. May Jesus be revealed in us if we are his. But now I want you then to speak
of how Jesus was revealed or should be revealed in the Lord's
people in another way. And that is especially in our
behaviour. That was really why I read that
passage in 1 Peter chapter 2. It does speak there about the
way of life And it does specifically set the Lord Jesus up as our
example. And I was thinking about this,
and this is really my thoughts. In the way that the Lord has
put us, in the things that he has given us to bear, the things
that he has given us to walk through, in the way that we react,
in the way that we behave, Do we show the Lord Jesus Christ? Is the Lord Jesus Christ revealed
in us? Is it clear to others that there
is no way we could behave like this in our own strength or of
our own accord? It must be the Lord Jesus Christ
working within us. I said at the outset that this
is a challenging word, and I especially find this very challenging. May
the Lord help me to really ponder it further. How do we walk in
the pathway that the Lord has set before us? Does it reveal
the Lord Jesus Christ within us? Just to look at some of the things
that I mentioned in this chapter in Peter, 1 Peter chapter 2. And I wanted especially to speak
about endearing suffering, endearing
pain, grief, endearing what the Lord brings upon us. And in Peter
writing this epistle is using the example of servants and what
he is writing directly to them, he's speaking directly to them.
And he makes this this point that to serve all masters with
all fear, not just those who are kind and gentle and good
and likable, the ones that inspire service, if you like, but also
the ones that are froward or the ones that are hard to serve,
that are difficult. Even in those circumstances,
we are not to react, as it were, to how people treat us. But that is irrelevant to how
they treat us, as it were, how our masters treat us. We are
to serve them with all fear. And then he goes on to read to
make this point a bit further. This is thankworthy if a man
for conscience toward God and do a grief suffering wrongfully. And what he is saying is that
If we do something wrong, and we are punished for it, and we
take that, then there's no merit, if you like, in taking that patiently,
as the apostle puts it. We deserved it, we might say.
I deserved that telling off, I deserved that punishment, and
I accept that. He said there's no merit, what
glory is it? If when you're buffeted for your faults, you shall take
it patiently. But then there's the other side.
But if, when you do well, and suffer for it. You take it patiently.
This is acceptable with God. And that's really when it's difficult,
isn't it? My mind went to Job, and really that is central in
many ways to Job. The way that what happened to
Job is presented to us, it makes it very clear that Job was not
being chastened for his sins. He, as God himself, in the conversation
with Satan, says that he's perfect. It doesn't mean that he was sinless,
but he was walking uprightly. There was not, as it were, anything
in his life, outwardly, that needed to be corrected. And Satan
was given that liberty because Satan said to God that Job only
serves you, he only loves you, because everything is going well
for him. And that was the test for Job, when Job felt the injustice
of what had happened. He felt deeply, as it were, that
all these things had happened to him. But he had been seeking
to walk righteously and follow his God. It did not seem to be
just. And he wanted to ask the Lord. He speaks about putting
his case before the Lord. And that is what he is speaking
about. He wants to put his case to God. Why have these things
happened when I was walking righteously, when I was seeking to serve thee
with all my heart? That was the test. of Job's faith. And that was the trial, if you like.
That was when Job was buffeted for doing well. Not chastened. That's what's clear about that.
Not chastened for wrongdoing, but being buffeted for well-doing. What happened to Job? Did his
faith survive that? Did he take it well? We see,
don't we, that we read that in all this Job did not... So the first time we read, in
all this did not Job sin. And then when the second wave
of calamities came upon them, we read, in all this did not
Job sin with his lips. But one thing we see about Job,
and especially in connection with this, is Job's
faith. Job's faith is perhaps some of
the most amazing faith in the Bible. And you think about those
passages where he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And
I know that after, although worms after my skin destroy his body,
I shall see him and I shall see him with my own eyes. When he
spoke of that, speaking of the Redeemer, of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who hadn't yet been born, the faith that there was in Job,
it is amazing faith, isn't it? And that faith in God remained
in Job. He didn't give up, as it were. Although he felt that the Lord
had brought this on him unfairly, he did not give up on the Lord.
The other remarkable thing that is so telling in the Book of
Job is he said, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Though
the worst thing possible, as it were, in my life here could
happen to me, yet I will still trust that what the Lord does
is right. Though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. And Job said that. That was before
the Lord restored to him threefold of what he had before. And that
was Job's faith shining out. When Job was buffeted for his
faults, then yes, he felt he wanted God to answer his queries.
That changed when God appeared to him, didn't it? He said, I
abhor myself. And he didn't do that before.
But he felt that he wanted to ask the Lord about it. But his
faith in God didn't waver, and neither did he curse God and
die, which is what Satan was trying him to do, even when his
wife said what Satan said, really fell in with Satan's camp and
said exactly what Satan wanted him to do. He did not curse God
and die. He still expressed his faith
in God. I think we could say, or I feel
that I can say that the Son of God is revealed in Job. I've never really thought about
that before, but I believe he was. He was revealed in Job because
Job couldn't have done that by himself. It wasn't, if you like,
Job in his own strength saying that. It was God, having given
that faith, now trying it and testing it. And it was faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that my Redeemer liveth. And then we have the example,
don't we, of the Lord Jesus. And again, still thinking really
about this, this thought of when it seems that we are either treated
unfairly by others, or perhaps when we think, and forgive me
for saying it, when we are perhaps a little bit like Job, think
that God is treating us unfairly. These are difficult things to
speak of. We wouldn't perhaps want to say it like that to anybody
else, but it can be in our heart sometimes that the Lord is treating
us unfairly. And it's almost as if we have
a slight grudge against the Lord. And if we look at the, we have
the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is specifically
mentioned in this chapter. Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. And
then in Peter, then he writes, doesn't
he, about this, the greatest injustice that there has ever
been or ever will be in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ, who did
no sin, neither was Kyle found, that's deceit, found in his mouth. He never spoke deceitfully. He
never spoke untruth. He never did any sin, either
by doing something wrong or by not doing something that he should
have done. None of that took place in his life. He was then
on trial, and on trial again falsely accused. But he did not
justify himself. He did not answer back. Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered,
he threatened not. But he committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously. What an amazing example that
is, isn't it? And whatever may be in our lives
and whatever pain and whatever suffering there may be, it is
nothing compared to what the Lord Jesus went through. And
especially it is that aspect that it was Jesus, it was so
unjust, his sufferings. I hope I'm getting that across
as it were. I hope you understand it better
than I can put it. That there can be no greater example of
a miscarriage of justice or being treated unfairly than the Lord
Jesus Christ when he was in front of Pilate or in front of the
priests. Even in the details, he was treated
unfairly, if you look at them. But he never answered. As a lamb
before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He
never justified himself. He could have said, I have never
sinned in my life. He could have said to Pilate,
yes, I'm standing before you. I'm letting this happen. God
is letting this happen. One day you will stand before
me to answer for your sins, of which there are many. I'm standing
before you and you are falsely accusing me because I have no
sin. But he never said any of that.
And he suffered it and he never opened his mouth. How hard that
is, isn't it? When not as it were, we sometimes
when the Lord chastens us, We know that it's for a sin, and
we have to acknowledge it, and that can be hard, but it hurts
our pride. But those times when we do not
understand why the Lord has treated us this way, and perhaps there
may be that resentment, as it were, deep in our hearts that
we don't really feel we want to talk about to anybody else
because we know it's not right, but it's still there. May the
Lord, in his mercy, take it away as we look at the Lord Jesus
Christ and what he suffered For what glory is it if when you
be buffeted for your faults, you should take it patiently?
But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently.
This is acceptable with God. And again, then we come back
to that witness. Is the Lord Jesus Christ revealed
in us? If. And this is this is searching.
This is challenging. If what we walk through, how
have we behaved in the eyes of other people? How have we, in
the way that we have behaved, have people seen the Lord Jesus
Christ in us? Or have they seen, as it were,
ourselves? Have they seen distrust, anger, rebellion? All these things the Lord knows. May the Lord help us to consider
these things and may the Lord help us to pray to him for that
spirit of grace to be poured out. Now, we have that promise,
don't we, that the Lord will give grace and the Lord will
give more grace. And I know that there is enough grace,
as it were, within the Lord for all of those things that we pass
through, even for us. Remember, that was the promise
to the Apostle Paul when he had that thorn in the flesh. It wasn't
that my strength is sufficient for thee, it was that my grace
is sufficient for thee. And that makes me think that
there's perhaps much more behind the scenes really there. in the
way that what the Apostle Paul wrote there, that thorn in the
flesh. My grace, my undeserved favor, it is sufficient for thee.
And I'm so thankful for that, because that is what we need,
isn't it? As we are brought to see the
depths of sin that there is in our heart, perhaps through something
like this, when we feel that perhaps something has happened
and we don't feel that we deserve it, as it were, and then the
Lord shows us what we're really like in our behavior. And then we think, well, can
the Lord still love me then? Have I fallen out of grace? And
then we come back to that. My grace is sufficient for thee. My grace is sufficient for thee. My grace is sufficient even for
me. My grace is efficient. The Lord's grace is efficient
even for you. Even at those times, those times when we do complain,
when we do want the Lord to take it away, when we don't want to
go through with it, when we do rebel against it, My grace is
sufficient for thee. And that's something to come
back to, to ask the Lord for more grace. Well, the time has
gone and I have to leave it, but I may the Lord help us to
meditate on these things. And. As we come back to to that
thought to reveal his son in me, oh, may the Lord help us
that it all might be to the honour and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I often think of that, even just in coming to the services, you
know, as we wear a suit and look smart and that. And I sometimes
think, what does that speak to others sometimes? And a friend
said to me once that a chapel is the place, it's the hospital
for sick souls. And he's right. But do we always
show that? Do people look at us? Do people
look at me? If I dress up smart, does that
give the impression that there's a certain standard that has to
be met before we can come and pray to the Lord and worship
him? I'm not condemning it at all, but just mentioning that.
Do people look at me? Do people look at us, as it were,
and through us, do they see if that man can be saved, then there's
hope for me? That man, there's no way he could
have saved himself. It must be through the Lord.
Do they look at us and see that salvation by grace? Is that shine
from us? It did through the Apostle Paul.
It did through them, those churches that heard of Paul, heard of
what he was doing. They glorified God. God has done
that. That's what they could see. Is
that apparent in our lives? Well, I'll leave it with you
and with me. to reveal his Son in me. Amen. Let us sing our final hymn from
Gatsby's 340 to the tune 737. 340 A desert of mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing, Nor fear, with thy righteousness
on, My person and offerings to bring. The terrors of law and
of God with me can have nothing to do. My Saviour's obedience
and blood hide all my transgressions from view. 340. The debtor to mercy alone, Of
covenant mercy I sing, Nor fear with thy righteousness born,
My person and offerings to bring. of law and of God, with me can
learn nothing to do. My Saviour's obedience and love
hide all my transgressions from view. ? At which His goodness began ?
? The arm of His strength will complete ? ? His promise is yea
and amen ? ? And never was forfeited yet ? ? Things future nor things
that are now ? Not all things below nor above Can make him
his purposeful girl, Or sever my soul from his love. Thy name from the palms of His
hands Eternity will not erase Impressed on His heart it remains
In marks of indelible grace Yes, I to thee end shall endure, As
sure as the anesthes give, O happy, but not more secure, The glorified
spirits in heaven. Dear Lord, we do thank Thee for
the truths contained in that hymn, that we owe everything
unto Thee, but that Thou wilt help us each to persevere unto
the end. Great is Thy faithfulness. Dear
Lord, once again we do pray that Thou wouldst bless all that has
been from Thee, but that Thou wouldst forgive and take from
our minds anything else. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you
all. Amen.