Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 516, the tune is Hope
Street, 745. The triune Jehovah we praise,
in essence eternally one, who has by the word of his grace,
his counsels eternal made known, the father, the spirit, and word,
as three in one God and no more, in Zion's salvation accord, then
let us this one God adore. Hymn 516, tune Hope Street, 745. Triumph in your holy grace, In
excelsis Deo nobis. And by the work of His grace,
His help shall be evermore. And by the Spirit of God, As we one go in the world, It's
our God's salvation and hope, When in our hearts He is one,
Lord of all. No change can take place in this
life. It has grown so simple. Desire never dies. ? And to heaven is glory of God
? ? And heaven's cheer and heaven's pure light ? to drive the believers ahead.
Together we'll walk hand in hand, and science shall surely prevail. In Jesus, and Jesus alone, Precious
and forevermore be, There must be revenge over time
We will not fail, we can't forget That he is our child, and we'll
be his and with Him in glory shall be
the triumph to come to pass. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to John, chapter 10. John's Gospel, chapter 10. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, The same is a thief and a robber, but he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and
he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when
he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the
sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will
they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the
voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto
them, but they understood not what things they were which he
spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep, All
that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. The thief cometh not but for
to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have
light. and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the
good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,
but he that is unheiling and not the shepherd, whose own the
sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep
and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he
is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life,
that I may take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. There was a division therefore
again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said,
he hath a devil and is mad. Why hear ye him? Others said,
these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil
open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the
feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked
in the temple in Solomon's porch. And came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt if
thou be the Christ? Tell us plainly. Jesus answered
them, I told you, and you believe not. the works that i do in my
father's name they bear witness of me but you believe not because
you are not of my sheep as i said unto you my sheep hear my voice
and i know them and they follow me and i give unto them eternal
life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand My Father which gave them thee is greater than
all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good
works have I shown you from my Father. For which of those works
do you stone me? The Jews answered him saying,
for a good work we stony thee not, but for blasphemy, because
that thou being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them,
is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto
whom the word of God came and the scriptures cannot be broken,
say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into
the world, thou blasphemest? Because I said, I am the Son
of God, if I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
But if I do, though you believe me not, not me, Believe the works
that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and
I in him. Therefore they sought again to
take him but he escaped out of their hand and went away again
beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized
and there he abode and many resorted unto him. and said John did no
miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true,
and many believed on him there. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and gracious God
of heaven, We pray for grace to bow before thee and to call
upon thy great and holy name. And we pray for grace to follow
thee and to serve thee in our day and in our generation. Over a closer walk with God,
a calmer heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road that leads
me to the Lamb. We pray to be delivered from
an evil heart of unbelief. We pray to be delivered from
sin and Satan's power. As promised, Lord, in thy word
that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the
Lord will lift up a standard against him, that glorious standard
of our Lord Jesus Christ. of the precious blood and righteousness
of Jesus. For this, O Lord, is our only
hope. And we read in thy word that the Lord Jesus came to destroy
the works of the devil. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst make the crooked things straight and the rough
places plain, that thou wouldst guide us each safely unto thy
heavenly kingdom. and deliver us from all evil.
Deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome
pestilence. Gracious God, do incline thine
ear, we do pray thee. Help us to fight the good fight
of faith, to lay hold of eternal life. Help us to lay aside every
weight and the sin that does so easily beset us. to run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking on to Jesus. May we put away the old man and
put on the new man, the old man which is corrupt, the new man
of grace. Lord, we do pray that we may
be clothed upon with that new man of grace, that we may be
washed in the precious blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all
our sins and all our backslidings and all our heart wanderings.
May we be led and guided and directed by Thee and not be overwhelmed
with the power of the enemy and with an evil heart of unbelief
as Thy people in ancient times were. We pray, most gracious
Lord, Thou wouldst graciously bless us as a church and as a
congregation, and work mightily, powerfully and effectually among
us, that we may see Thy work and Thy power as Thou usest to
be in the sanctuary. We have read together in Thy
word, other sheep have I, which are not of this fold. Them I
must bring. We pray that it may be so in
our day and in our generation. that we may see an ingathering,
that we may see a building of the wall. O most gracious Lord,
we long to see Zion's offspring come, come from this village,
the surrounded villages and hamlets. We think of those wonderful expansive
promises in thy word, O bring thy sons from far. and thy daughters
from the ends of the earth, and they shall come from the north
and from the south and from the east and from the west. O Lord
of hosts, O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth,
we do humbly beseech thee, and let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. Grant that we may see
the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan. and the setting up
of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Hear
us, O Lord, we humbly pray thee, and have mercy upon us. We live
in a day, O Lord, when it is indeed a day of small things,
and we would not despise that day of small things, but we look
for greater things. We look for thine arm to be made
bare, the Lord Jesus to be exalted, We look for the sending forth
of faithful ministers, with feet to run where thou descend, determined
to know nothing among men, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Oh, do grant these rich blessings,
we do humbly pray them. And that we do pray that most
gracious Lord, that thou would grant the settlement of pastors
among the churches. Oh, do hear us in heaven, thy
holy dwelling place. And when thou hearest, O Lord,
forgive. Forgive all our backslidings, all our wanderings. And renew
thy mercy and thy grace in our hearts. That we may have communion
with thee, Lord Jesus. That we may have the mind of
Christ. that we may have the Spirit of
God in exercise in our hearts, that we might see the fulfilling
of those wonderful promises unto Zion. Lord, remember our brethren,
the deacons, and give them needed grace, wisdom, and help. Remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship.
Lord, we do pray that thou would remember our dear brother and
sister in Holland to grant thy rich blessing upon them. And
we do pray, O Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy, would
graciously grant thy richest blessing upon the little ones
and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary, that a seed
may be raised up to call thee the Redeemer blessing. Bless
the young friends. Bless them with that rich grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Bless them with light and understanding
in thy word. Bless them with thy Holy Spirit.
We do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake. Bless them in all the paths of
providence. Make a way where there seems
no way. And, O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst cause the prodigals
to return and we may have great rejoicing in this. to see those
prodigals returning, to see thy wonderful power in the gospel. Lord, bless parents with wisdom
and grace to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And that Lord graciously be with the families as they
gather in family worship and grant thy spirit to be there
and thy power to be there. We read of thy servant Timothy,
O Lord, that he knew the scriptures from his youth. And we pray,
Lord, that our young friends here, not only just to know the
scriptures, but the power of it in their hearts. Lord, we
pray that thou would remember all in the midst of the journey
of life, and be gracious, O Lord, and grant thy divine help and
blessing. Those that wander, do graciously
guide them. We do humbly beseech thee for
thy great namesake. Put thy hand a second time to
the work. We do humbly pray thee. And oh
Lord, we pray that thou in thy precious mercy Remember the dear
friends at charge at this time, and the young man with a serious
accident, and Lord, in a very precarious condition in hospital. We commend the family to thee,
and that young man, and pray that he may be blessed of thee.
Lord, we do pray. Remember all in trouble, trial,
perplexity, sorrow, sadness, bereavement, and undertake for
each one. Remember those of us, O Lord,
that are in the evening time of life's journey, and that we
pray that we maybe have our heart and our
affection set on things of earth, not on things of the earth. Hear
us, O Lord, we pray thee. Guide us each safely unto thy
heavenly kingdom, We live in very dark and solemn days when
Zion is minished and brought low. But Lord, thou art able
to revive, that thou art able to renew, and hast thou not promised
to do so? And we plead those precious promises. Lord, we pray that thou in thy
great mercy would remember our little group of churches Remember
all thy servants that labour among us, and those of thy servants
elsewhere also, and graciously send out thy light and thy truth
again. We do humbly beseech of thee.
We thank thee. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. May it be made to us an oasis
in this desert world. We thank thee, O Lord, for the
word of God, for the promises of God. We thank Thee for every
mercy of Thy kind providence and all Thy goodness that has
passed before us in the way. We thank Thee, most gracious
God, above all for the glories of Christ, for that wonderful
profound truth of God manifest in the flesh, the eternal word
that was made flesh and dwelt among Oh, we thank thee for the
glory of his name and the fullness of his grace and the wonders
of redeeming love that we see in him. Oh, we do pray that we
may catch a glimpse of yon lovely man at this evening hour as we
gather round thy word. Oh, Lord, we do beseech of thee. We thank thee for that holy life
and in that holy life of Jesus, the law has been fulfilled and
honoured and magnified on the behalf of thy people, and everlasting
righteousness has been brought in. We thank thee for that precious
blood that he shed. He laid down his life for his friends. We do thank
thee for that life. the life of Jesus. We thank Thee
for that sacrifice, that sin atoning sacrifice on Calvary. We thank Thee that He died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has now bodily
ascended into heaven and sitteth at Thy right hand. Gracious God,
O do hear us, we pray. Do have mercy upon us, we beseech
and do be with us as we turn to thy holy word. We ask all,
with the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 525, The tune is Viator 428. What joyful news the gospel is
to guilty sinners in distress. It speaks of mercy rich and free
for such polluted words as we. Hymn 525, tune Viator 428. ? I'm going to tell you a story
? The foundation of the universe
Which is of God's divine will ? Christ was born in Bethlehem
? ? And the sound of grace that saved a wretch like me ? ? Be
as I am, God of all creation ? O praise ye the Lord, O praise
ye the Lord, O praise ye the Lord, O praise ye the Lord, O
praise ye the Lord, O praise ye the Lord. ? We may not deny
the hope of day ? ? And life forever blest and free ? God be with us all the day, All
the night and all the day. ? Blessed be the day ? ? The dawn
of the new age ? ? The day when all is calm ? O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, ? Gracious Queen of peace to all
? ? Redeeming grace, holy beauty divine ? Greatly feelings need the Lord's
gracious help. I would direct your attention
to the chapter that we read, the 10th chapter in the gospel
according to John. And we'll read verse 36 for our
text. John's gospel. Chapter 10, reading
verse 36, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and
sent into the world, thou blasphemist, because I said, I am the Son
of God. The Lord Jesus was constantly
challenged on this point by the unbelieving Jews, and the Pharisees
in particular. And you notice here in verse
33, the Jews all answered him saying, for a good work we stoned
thee not, but for blasphemy, because that thou, being a man,
makest thyself God. You know, that's a very beautiful
passage in Philippians chapter 2, where the Apostle Paul, speaking
of the divine person of Jesus, the Son of God, He exhorts the brethren to let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, in verse five. And then he goes on, who being
in the form of God, and thought it not proper 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, of things
in heaven and 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. Say ye of him whom the Father
hath sanctified. In a sense the word sanctified The Father sanctified. Sanctified
by the divine anointing of the Holy Ghost. Christ, when he was in the synagogue
in Dazareth, he read Isaiah 61, the first three verses. Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me, for he hath anointed me. We are told in John chapter 3
that he was anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure. And
in that sense, and in that way, he was sanctified by God the
Father. Say, ye of him whom the Father
hath sanctified. In another sense of that word,
he was set apart by the Father before the foundation of the
world. He himself says in Proverbs 8, I was set up from everlasting. The glorious person of Jesus,
the Son of God, set up from everlasting. He's Jesus Christ the same yesterday
and today and forever. He's eternally the same. Now
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,
all the fullness of grace, all the fullness of salvation, all
the fullness of redemption in the glorious person. And the
Father sanctified him, separated him by the Spirit's holy anointing. on the human nature, the divine
nature of the Son of God needed no anointing. He's co-equal and
co-eternal with the Father and with the Holy Ghost. But that
sacred, holy human nature that he assumed in the womb of the
Virgin Mary was divinely anointed of the
Holy Ghost without measure. Every believer knows the anointing
of the Spirit, the indwelling of the Spirit, and the Lord's
servants probably in a greater measure know more of that divine
anointing and indwelling of the Spirit. But it's all in measure,
but with our Lord Jesus Christ it was without measure. He said
to me, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, to preach. He preached under
the divine power and authority of the Holy Ghost. So that divine
power and authority of the Holy Ghost sealed his words into the
hearts of poor sinners. He wrought miracles under the
divine power of the Holy Ghost. But why was this? Because he
was sanctified by the Father for that very purpose. And you know, he raised people
from the dead. He caused the deaf to hear, the
blind to see, the lame to walk, the dumb to speak. No man spake
like this man. When he spake, there was power.
Power to raise the dead, power to heal the sick, power to make
the lame to walk. Christ said himself on one occasion,
if I by the finger of God cast out devils, and by saying the
finger of God, it means the Holy Ghost. save him whom the Father has
sanctified and sent into the world. And you know that these
unbelieving Jews that constantly caviled at the Lord Jesus Christ,
my mind went today in the thinking of this word and to that exceedingly
well-known word that we have in in John chapter 3 and from
verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so the Son of Man, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but
have eternal life. For God so loved the world. That's
God, our eternal Father. For God so loved the world. that
He gave. You see, this is the one that
the Father has sanctified. He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved. And then he goes on and he says,
he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that
believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. He that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God. What a wonderful miracle to be
made a believer in Jesus Christ. This is something that is divinely
done. It's divinely done. The Lord Jesus in the beginning
of this chapter says, verily, verily, that means certainly,
certainly, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door
into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way, the same as
a thief and a robber, but he that entereth in by the door
is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and
the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out. What a mercy, if we know this
voice. When he put forth his own sheep,
he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know
his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. See, my beloved friends, the
Lord Jesus says in verse 9, I am the door. By me, if any man enter
in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.
I am the door. Christ is the door. I am the
way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Verse 11 he says, I am the Good
Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. Christ
the Great King and Head of the Church. In verse 14 he says,
I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known Do we know
this Good Shepherd? Do we know the voice of this
Good Shepherd? And then there are these wonderful
words. As the Father, verse 15, as the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. and these encouraging words to
the church today of the sheep I have which are not of this
fold them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and
there shall be one fold and one shepherd therefore doth my father
love me because I lay down my life I
might take it again. This is the reason the Father
sanctified the Son. He came to live on behalf of
his people. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out. Therefore doth my father love
me because I lay down my life. What life? We must define this,
friends, because it's very important. It can't be the life of the Son
of God in his divine person. God cannot die. It's an absolute
impossibility. It's the sacred, holy, human
life that the Son of God assumed and took into union with his
divine nature. in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
That's the life he's speaking of. Because I lay down my life, that
I might take it again. No man taking it from me. You
know, we've often pointed out to you how the Lord Jesus voluntarily
went to Calvary, to the judgment hall, to be condemned of man. When Peter cut off the ear of
Malchus, the servant of the high priest, what did the Lord Jesus
say? Put up thy sword. The cup that
my father had given me, shall I not drink it? Could I not have
called on 12 legions of angels? No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself, as the Son of God speaketh. lay it down
of myself, I have power to lay it down, I have power to take
it again, this commandment have I received of my Father. Say ye of him whom the Father
hath sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous,
because I said, I am the Son See, he was constantly speaking
of the work of his father. He spoke openly to the Jews and
to the disciples about the work of his father and how he came
to do the will of him that sent him. It's quoted several times
in the New Testament from Psalm 40. There's Christ that is speaking. I delight to do thy will, O God,
yea, thy law is within my heart. As the glorious person of the
Son of God, and that he came to do the will of his Father,
saying of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into
the world, thou blasphemest. Because I said, I am the Son
of God. Jesus, one of the chief accusations
written against our Lord Jesus Christ when he was condemned
to die by the Jewish elders. He made himself the Son of God. That was their chief accusation
against him. He made himself the Son of God. Oh my dear beloved friends, they
could not receive him. they rejected him. He was despised
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. You know in John 14, the disciples, they couldn't
grasp this truth. We read Thomas who says in verse
5, Thomas saith unto the Lord, We know not whither thou goest,
and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. If ye had known me, ye should
have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him,
and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
show us the Father, and it sufficeth. Jesus saith unto him, Have I
been so long time with you? And he hathst thou not known
me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me. He doeth the works. Verily I say unto you, he that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater
works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything
in my name, What's the inference that we ask his eternal father? Whatsoever he ask in my name?
There's a strange notion and it comes from Satan. There's
no doubt why the disciples themselves were so confused on this very
issue. Satan puts suggestions into the
mind. One of them is you can't pray
to the father. He's too holy, He's too high. You can't approach unto the Father.
Whereas the Gospel says that we can approach unto the Father
in the name of the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my
name, I will do it. You see, may the Lord give us
grace to approach unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he speaks
here in chapter 14 of the gift of the Holy Ghost. In verse 16,
he says, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit
of truth, whom the world cannot receive. Because it seeth him
not, neither knoweth him, But ye know him, for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you. And because of this, he says,
I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. 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. How? How does the Father and
the Son make their abode in a poor sinner's heart? By the Holy Ghost. You know, friends, I know it's
a deep mystery, but if we have the Spirit of God, we have the
Father and the Son, because these three are one. one glorious eternal
Lord Jehovah. You can't have the one without
the other. And that is the direct inference of those words. If
a man loved me, he will keep my words and my father will love
him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.
You see, when we are brought by God's grace to believe, When
we're given faith in the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God,
and we believe, it's with love. Faith that worketh by love is
a love to Christ. It's not some cold intellectual
thing. It's a love to the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We love him. Because He first
loved us. He first loved us. What a mercy
if you and I know that love of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost. And if we do love Him, again
we look at John 14, 21, He that hath my commandments and keepeth
them, He it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself
unto him. You think of those lovely words
of grace that we often refer you to in John 17, and the connections
here. Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy
son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. The only true God. And he goes
on, doesn't he? He says, in verse 9, I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine, and all
mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And then he says, doesn't he,
in verse 21, that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art
in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me. What a wonderful thing. And the glory which thou gavest
me, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one.
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and thus love
them. as thou hast loved me. Say ye of him whom the Father
hath sanctified, and send into the world thou blasphemous, because
I said, I am the Son of God. I think it's the Apostle Paul,
when he writes his epistle to the Romans, and he speaks there
to the Romans that Christ is declared to be the Son of God
with power, in Romans chapter 1. And is Paul a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of
God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the
Son of God with power. Notice the distinction between
the divine and human nature. which was made of 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, glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ,
declared to be the Son of God with power, because I said, I
am the Son of God. He's the only begotten, of the
Father, the only begotten of the Father, the only Son of the Father, and
was so from everlasting, the Son of the Father, and will be
so for eternity to come, the Son of the Father. That's who our Lord Jesus Christ
is, and is declared to be the Son of God with power. Power to save, power to redeem,
power to deliver, power to deliver from the temptations of satan,
power to deliver from the workings of sin with their own wicked
evil natures. He has power to deliver from
these things. He does. And hence he says to
his poor children, come unto me, because you know that the
Lord's people, they are fearful people. They are people that labor under
the temptations of Satan. We read in scripture that when
the enemy comes in like a flood, the enemy is Satan. The spirit
of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. And we are instructed
in Peter's epistle that the enemy comes in two very different and
distinct ways. He comes as an angel of light
to deceive us, and he comes as a roaring lion
to devour us. And whichever way he comes, we
need the Lord Jesus to deliver us from his power. This is one
of the reasons that the Father sanctified him. He has power to say, he has power
to deliver. He has destroyed the works of
the devil. We're told that in John's first
epistle, that the Son of God was manifested to destroy the
works of the devil. And whether he comes as an angel
of light to deceive, and principally what is meant there is that The
Apostle is speaking of ministers, when he writes to the Corinthians, speaking of false prophets. And he says, marvel not, for
even Satan himself is changed into an angel of light. Oh, my
beloved friends, we need the Lord to deliver us from Satan's
power. whether he comes as an angel
of light or whether he comes as a roaring lion, to devour
us. We need the Lord himself to deliver
us, to lift up that glorious standard, and that standard is
Christ. Son of God. You know the Lord
Jesus in his discourses when he was here upon earth and my
mind in particular now just goes to John chapter 5 and verse 17 but Jesus answered
them my father worketh hitherto and I work Therefore the Jews
sought the Moor to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but said also that God was his father, making himself equal
with God. You see, this was a constant
thing with the Jews, especially the
Pharisees. Then answered Jesus and said
unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do. For what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father
loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth,
and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may
marvel. For as the Father raiseth up
the dead, and quickneth them even so the Son quickneth whom
he will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth
not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
hear. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so he hath given to the Son to have life in himself,
and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because
he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour
is coming in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his
voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the
resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation. You see, my beloved friends,
I can of mine own self do nothing, As I hear, I judge, and my judgment
is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which has sent me." The will of the Father which has
sent me. I come not to do mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. And what was the will of the
Father to redeem the church? the church that was chosen before
the foundation of the world. The Son of God was to shed his
own precious blood on the cross of Calvary, and that blood would
redeem the church. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleansed us from all sin. It says in the Acts of the Apostles,
which he purchased with his own blood, who? He speaks of God
and they said, whom he purchased with his own blood. Jesus, the
son of God. But all the worth and power,
efficacy, that is in the blood and the
sufferings and sacrifice and righteousness of Christ is in
this, he's the son of God. He's declared to be the son of
God with power. And that gives all the efficacy
and power of redeeming love. in his sacrifice to redeem the
whole church. He will bear the sin of many. You see, those that the Father
has given him, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Oh, that some poor trembling
sinner may be enabled to come. Come unto me, all ye that labour,
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. I am meek and lowly in heart.
You see, there's salvation here. And there's this lovely word
in Isaiah 45. And it's Jesus that is speaking. Look unto me.
all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God, and
there is none else, and there is none else. Say of him whom
the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemest,
because I said, I am the Son of God. May the Lord have his
blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 557. The tune is Astley Park, 705. How sweet and precious is the
name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Lamb, to sinners in distress,
a name just suited to their case, pregnant with mercy, truth, and
grace, with strength. and righteousness. Hymn 557 to
N'asli Park, 705. Shepherds, shepherds, shepherds,
shepherds, to the place where you'll be
facing to embrace this stream of bright suns. He has used his wisdom and his
wisdom and his wisdom and his wisdom and his wisdom and his
wisdom O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, ? Give them the righteousness they
crave ? ? For all the ages to know ? ? And all the years to
know ? The most illustrious gifts of
His, The top of precious hiding place, His keepsake. it is. In heaven above the world so
high above the sky, ? The angels sing alleluia ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us. both now and for
evermore. Amen.