now once again we'll turn to
the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians and the first chapter and we'll
read verses 13 and 14 the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians chapter
1 and reading verses 13 and 14 in whom ye also trusted after
that ye heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation
in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
his glory." Well, the Apostle Paul is speaking
here, of course, to the the saints at Ephesus, and to the faithful
in Christ Jesus, and therefore it really applies to all those
who are born again by the Spirit of God. And it is therefore true,
as we read here, in whom ye also trusted. And if we are blessed
to be among the saints of God, then we also will have trusted
in the Lord. And it won't be something which
will just be a mere harsh truth as it were, but it's going to
emanate from our very hearts, because we have trusted. And what a blessing it is if
we have trusted. And we're told then what occurred
after we trusted, after that we heard the Word of Truth, the
Gospel of Your Salvation. That really means when the Word
of God, the truth of God's Word, penetrated into our hearts. Whereas previously we had been
spiritually dead, lifeless, but now through the grace of God
and the Word of Truth has come into our hearts and given us
that wonderful light of the Gospel, so as the Apostle goes on to
say, the Gospel of your salvation. And that's what God's word reveals
to those whom he has called with an everlasting love, called our
darkness into the glorious light of the gospel, the gospel of
your salvation. And so when we understand the
wonderful blessing from God, that we've heard his word, there
was a time when we didn't hear his word. We might have heard
it just with our natural mind. What a blessing when the word
enters into our heart and it is then that we have heard the
word of truth and as such it directs us to the glorious gospel
of our salvation. And of course that gospel of
our salvation comes only to us through what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done for us on the cross at Calvary. So it means, therefore,
that if we are found trusting in Him, it is because we have
been directed to Calvary, to a suffering Saviour. And we see
there all our hope of salvation. Because without the Lord Jesus
Christ and Him crucified, there would be no hope for us. So how
wonderful it is tonight if we are found trusting in him who
has done such great things for us, in granting us to hear his
word and to know the great and glorious gospel of our salvation. And then he goes on to say, in
whom also after that ye believed. All these things flow together. And God gives us then grace to
believe these things, that which he has done for us in our hearts. The beginning of wisdom, the
fear of the Lord, what a blessing it is to be under that and to
rejoice in God's work in our heart. And so it is indeed, in
whom also, after that ye believed." When we believed, what do we
then receive? Well, the apostle goes on to
say, after that ye believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. See, God seals his promises in
our heart. And that's a very wonderful thing,
and it's a very real evidence of God's grace, when His Word,
His promises are applied to our heart and they are sealed there. We know naturally, I'm sure,
what a seal is used for. It's usually used for two things
in a natural way. First of all, to seal something
so that it can't be opened, so that it's secure. And this really
is the truth with regard to God's work in our soul. This Holy Spirit
of promise seals to our heart His truth. And what a blessing
it is to know that. So we have that realisation that
between our soul and God there's been that sealing. As it were,
the promises of God have been locked into our heart They've
been sealed there because He's done it, not anything that you
and I could have done ourselves. What a mercy it is to have this
great blessing. And then also this sealing is
sometimes can be viewed as a certificate, an evidence for what God has
done. A seal, a certificate, showing
to us that the Lord has done these things for us. They're
not something we've imagined. It's sealed in our heart. And
so we have this great truth, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. So we have some great truths
here. If we only ponder them more, as we see, we've trusted
after that we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation,
in whom also, after that we believed, we were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. And that which God does, that
which God seals, is done. It can't be taken away. It's closed. It's finished. It's
final. Bless God for it. And then he
says in verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of
his glory. This earnest really is a confirmation
of the agreement that God has conferred upon us that we are
his children. And because of that, We have
this wonderful realisation that we have an inheritance. An inheritance given to us by
our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's something to look forward
to, isn't it? As you and I travel through this world with many
things to distress us, but here we have this earnest, yes, this
agreement that our souls are secure and therefore we can look
forward to the inheritance which we will have when we leave this
earth, that which is incorruptible and undefiled and it's reserved
for us in glory. this inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession and to the praise of His glory."
Well, we shall be shown that we are amongst those who are
redeemed. We're purchased. The Blessed
Saviour has bought us and He's bought us and the cost of that
purchase is His own precious blood. Wonderful, isn't it, to
think that the Lord Almighty Jesus Christ should be so wonderfully
gracious and kind and willing to shed his precious blood to
die in our place so that we might be purchased. He's purchased
us. It's an amazing thought, isn't
it, to ponder these things, unto the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory. Well surely there
is much cause, is there not, to praise God and to bring glory
to his great and holy name through our praise, recognising what
he's done, his great work in our hearts, the wonder of it
and the prospect of this glorious inheritance. So these truths
are very real and may they be very precious to us. We read
that chapter in the Gospel of John, the third chapter, in verse
33 we're told this. He that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal that God is true. We receive it. God gives it to us, we receive
it, and the evidence is that this seal which we possess, given
to us, is that God is true. So what a mercy it is that tonight
we come to that God who never lies in this world of deceit. We face day by day, all around
us, but here we have a God who is ever true. and His Word, that
you and I can totally rely upon it. May we praise and bless God
for this great, wonderful favour. And so, as the Apostle said,
in whom ye also trusted, and may we all have the evidence
that we have, after we heard the Word of Truth, that we have
heard the Word of Truth in our heart, the Gospel, the great
and glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for our salvation,
in whom also after ye believed, when we had grace to believe,
and needful it is that we do believe, we were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance,
until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
his glory. Amen. May the Lord help our brethren
to come in prayer. Tom will you pray please? O Lord, great God, our Heavenly
Father, we seek to come and bow before Thee once more. Lord,
we thank Thee for this way of prayer. Lord, we thank Thee that
we can approach unto Thee through Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, we thank Thee for what He has done. And Lord, we thank
Thee that He rose again. And Lord, sits at Thy right hand
to intercede for us. And Lord, we have no ground to
come of our own, Lord. Seek only to plead the name and
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray, O Lord, that thou
will have mercy. O Lord, for his sake, look upon
us and hear us. O Lord, as we have gathered once
more in this house, O Lord, to come before thee and to seek
thee. O Lord, to I ask, Lord, that thou will send down a blessing,
Lord, to lift up the brethren, Lord, to thee, Lord, to lay those
burdens, the sin, Lord, that is on our backs, Lord, at thy
feet, to plead that thou will Lord, do all that we cannot do
for us. Lord, we do thank Thee, Lord,
for Thy Word and the things that we have had open to us tonight.
Lord, we thank Thee for the Gospel. Lord, we thank Thee that, Lord,
Thou hast given us faith to believe. Lord, we pray for those that
Lord long for. that understanding, Lord, that
faith, who seek, truly seek Thee. We pray, Lord, that as Thou has
promised, they will truly find, Lord, that they might know that
sealing in their hearts, Lord, the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. We pray, O Lord, that Thou wilt
be with each one that, Lord, seeks to know Thee. Lord, every
one that has come to know Thee, Lord, in their walk before Thee.
Lord, how we each need Thy help, Lord, in every step. Lord, to
profess thy name wherever we go. Lord, not to be ashamed of
Jesus. Lord, we pray thou help us then,
Lord, to speak well of Christ. Lord, we do pray then, Lord,
for each one here tonight. Those too, also, who have not
been able to join tonight, Lord, we pray for them too. Those who
may be away, Lord, those children who are on holiday, Lord, Pray
thou will bless the families, Lord, with time from school and
for those who sit exams at this time. We remember and pray for
each one, Lord, that thou will open up the way for them, O Lord,
that they might see thy hand going before them. O Lord, do
give them help and knowledge, O Lord, those things that they
need. O Lord, that they might come
to the end of this time and be able to say that, O Lord, they
knew thy help. Lord, we pray for those that
seek the next step in their education. Lord, for a place to work. Lord, we pray they'll open doors
for them. Lord, that they might know. Lord,
thy will for them. Lord, and those who face trouble
and Lord, perhaps ill health. Lord, we remember Matthew Hyde
and we pray for him, O Lord, that thou will go with him, be
near to him as he goes into that operation, Lord. Pray he might
know thy presence, O Lord, that he might feel that calm, O Lord,
that those that operate on him, Lord, will be given that help,
Lord, too. successfully carry out that operation. Lord, we pray that, Lord, he
will once again stand to profess thy name to preach the gospel,
Lord, to those in Brighton, Lord. We do pray and remember, Lord,
thy servants, and we pray for Lord, for Paul as he goes out
and preaches around the churches, Lord, we pray for him and Lord,
we pray thou would encourage him. Lord, we pray that thou
would bless his ministry. Lord, we pray also for James
Taylor, Lord, and Lord, we pray thou be with him, our Lord, in
his church, and Lord, with the people there at Guildford. Lord,
we pray for each one in this church, Lord. We pray thou bless
their pastor's ministry to them. Lord, we pray that thou will
help them in the things that they seek to do in thy name. Lord, those Bibles that have
gone into schools, those Bibles and thy word that has gone abroad,
Lord. Lord, the market stall in Redhill.
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt use these things for the fervorance
of the Gospel. Lord, we pray, Lord, for the
meeting here on Friday. We pray, Lord, Thou wilt come
up with Mr. Buss and help him to preach,
help those to hear, Lord, that gather here. Oh Lord, that it
might be a blessing to them. And Lord God, we pray thou will
gather us with us each. Lord, on the coming Lord's Day,
we pray that thou will be in the midst. Lord, that we might
see Jesus. And Lord, we Do ask these things
then, Lord, seeking that Thou will truly answer our prayers,
forgive us our sins, we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.