The notice for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Matthew Hyde will preach here
on Thursday evening at seven o'clock. There'll be a prayer
meeting here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence
our services today by singing together hymn number 871 to the
tune Tudor 252. Happy the man that bears the
stroke of his chastising God, nor stubbornly rejects his yoke,
nor faints beneath his rod. Hymn 871, tune Tudor 252. A man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a
man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man, a man to paint beneath his crown. They heard the Lord's correction
share the favor in his eyes. as guidance for the people who
will grant it justice. I look for nothing but knowledge,
I, for my reasons, can see. The cross, the center, Lord, I thank Thee, Lord, I thank
Thee, For this correction rendered
me, His Spirit taught my goodness, That I should see Him, And be
raised henceforth again in His love. Thou whom the God the Saviour
was, and also the King was, he takes me here, and sets And he turned to me first. Then kissed the sunlight of sin's
confines, His shadow blessed me through. Let us read together
from the holy word of God in Paul's epistle to the Hebrews
and chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. for consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied
and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him, For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers
of our flesh, which corrected us, and that we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the father of spirits and live? For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But he for
our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now
no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous,
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the
hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight
paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of
the way, but let it rather be healed. follow peace with all
men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Look
indiligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any
root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many
be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator
or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright, For ye know how that afterward, when he would have
inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place
of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For
ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that
burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest, and
the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which voice they
that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to
them any more. For they could not endure that
which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touch
the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart.
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly
fear and quake. but ye are come unto Mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than
that of Abel, see that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if
they escape not who refused him that spake on earth, how much
more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh
from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, but now He hath
promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only, but
also heaven. And this word, yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of
things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken
may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, Let us have grace whereby we may serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is
a consuming fire. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which
is an art, an art to come. We bow before thy eternal majesty. We desire a spirit of true worship. And we desire, O Lord, that spirit
of faith that we've read on together in thy word. And that we pray
for that spirit of real repentance and godly sorrow for our sin,
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We desire grace that we may lay
aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us
and that we might run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame thereof, and is now sat down at the right hand of
God. We come to thee in his holy name.
Lord, we have to say with the prophet of old, all our righteousnesses
are as filthy racks. We are all as an unclean thing.
And we go forth when the wounds speak in lies and hypocrisy.
There is no soundness in my flesh, from the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot, wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. And Lord, we daily prove it to
be so. The heart of man is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. We painfully feel it
to be so and it is our desire as we bow before thy glorious
and holy majesty that we may be given that spirit of true
confession. Our sins, our wanderings, our
backslidings. We leave undone things that we
ought to do and we do things that we ought not to do and we
find a law within our members that when we would do good then
evil is present with And often, Lord, we have to say, O wretched
man, that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this dead? For all we thank Thee that we
can come to Thee in that glorious name of Jesus Christ. And we come to plead His precious
blood and righteousness that we think of those wonderful words
of grace for such an high priest have we who is passed into the
heavens Jesus the son of God and this is our only hope my
hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness
oh gracious God we pray to be led and taught and guided and
directed by thy spirit and that thy word may be a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. And we pray that this day as
we gather round thy word that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of
the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us all to be led and
taught and directed by thee. Thy word declares unto us that
none come except the Father draw. So we pray that today we may
know those sacred divine drawings of our Heavenly Father, drawing
us unto His Son, Jesus Christ, that the Lord Jesus may be made
especially precious unto us today. Dear Saviour, let Thy beauties
be, my soul's eternal food, and grace command my heart away from
all created good. Lord, set our affections on things
above and not on things of the earth. Lord, again we read in
thy word that no man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but
by the Holy Ghost. So we pray, most blessed Spirit
of truth, that thou wouldst graciously grant thy heavenly and thy divine
unction this day, and that the word of the Lord may have free
course, and that the name of our God may be glorified, and
that the Lord Jesus Christ might be exalted as a Prince and as
a Saviour, for to give faith and repentance and remission
of sins. Oh, do grant thy rich blessing
to rest upon us, for without thee we can do nothing. Without
thy heavenly power, O Lord, no sweets the gospel will afford,
no drops of heavenly love will fall, and we pray that those
drops of heavenly love, the dew of heaven upon our branch, may
it be so, Lord, we pray today, that we may truly worship thee
unworthy as we are. Lord Jesus, do make thyself a
living bright reality unto us. for thou art the altogether lovely
one. Thou art the chiefest among 10,000.
Thou art the very center sum and substance of all our hopes
and all our desires. Oh, we come to thee, Lord Jesus,
poor, guilty, wretched sinners, and we pray for faith to lay
hold of them, to lay hold of that hope that is set before
us in the gospel. we seek thy blessing upon us
as a church and as a congregation, that thou wouldst work mightily,
powerfully, and effectually among us, and that we might see thy
work and thy power and thy glory in the gospel, precious souls
brought into union and communion with Jesus Christ. Oh, we do
pray that thou wouldst let thy work appear unto thy servants
and thy glory unto their children. We think, O Lord, of that wonderful
word, instead of thy father shall be thy children, whom thou mayest
make princes in all the earth. And we pray that it may be so
among us here. O Lord, we do pray for our brethren,
the deacons, that needed grace, wisdom, and help may be given
to them in all their responsibilities here and elsewhere among the
churches. We pray, most gracious Lord,
for each one of our brethren and sisters in Christ in church
fellowship. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. By this shall they know that
ye are my disciples because ye have love one to another. Lord,
increase our faith. increase our love, we do humbly
beseech of thee. And O Lord God, we do pray that
thou, in thy great mercy, would remember the little ones, the
children, and that thou wouldst grant the fear of the Lord that
as the beginning of wisdom may be given unto them in their young
and tender years, that they may become followers of thee, O most
gracious Lord, cause thy word to take deep root in their hearts. We do humbly beseech of thee.
Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst bless the young friends on the
threshold of life's journey and guide them and direct them and
teach them and lead them. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Remember them in all the paths
of providence and undertake for them those that would seek a
partner in life journey. Be gracious unto them, O Lord,
we do beseech thee and grant that rich blessing unto them.
And Lord, remember parents and give them grace and wisdom and
help to bring up their children, the nurture and admonition of
the Lord. And, O Lord, we do pray that Thou, in Thy great
mercy, would remember all in the midst of the journey of life.
And, Lord, we pray for those that wander, wander away. O Lord, we do pray that Thou
would cause them to hear Thy voice and cause them to return
O hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. We read of that wonderful
example, Lord Jesus in the prodigal son. And thou didst cause him
to be in want, and he returned. Let me return unto my father's
house. May it be our great blessing,
O Lord, to see the prodigals return, and thy mighty power
to be seen in bringing them to living faith in Jesus Christ. May the light and glory and power
of the gospel shine into this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets. May precious souls be gathered
in. May the strongholds of Satan
be pulled down. And the word of the Lord as it
goes forth on the internet, may it be greatly used of thee. And
may thy rich blessing rest Upon the word, we do humbly pray thee
for thy great namesake. And O Lord God, we do pray that
thou in thy great and precious mercy would remember those of
us in the evening time of life's journey. And remember us, O Lord,
for that great change which must come. Prepare me, gracious God,
to stand before thy face Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. We thank thee for that glorious
hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank
thee, O Lord, for that wonderful word. I go to prepare a place
for you. O most gracious Lord, may we
ever be looking to that place, looking and hasting unto that
great day of the Lord. Hear us, Lord. humbly beseech
thee and have mercy upon us for thy great name's sake. Be walled
in affliction, trouble, trial, perplexity, sorrow, sadness,
bereavement, Lord, temptation. Undertake for each one and graciously
grant this day that the Lord Jesus may be present among that
we may behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. Lord, we do pray that
Thou in Thy great mercy would remember all Thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine today, that Thou would grant
them that fresh anointing of Thy Spirit, that Thou would grant
mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the Word. May
the power that brings salvation be exerted in the Lord, we pray Thee, the great
Lord of the harvest, yet send more labourers into the harvest,
for the harvest is great and the labourers are few. We think
of those that expect to begin pastorates in this coming year
and we lovingly commend them to Thee and pray that Thy rich
blessing may rest upon them. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou in thy infinite love and mercy would remember thy Zion
up and down the nation, that thou would return to Jerusalem
with mercies, that thou would fulfil those wonderful gospel
promises. I will 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 God of Israel,
O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let
Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom
Thou madest strong for Thyself. So will not we go back from Thee? Help us to cleave to Thee, to
look to Thee, to love Thee, to serve Thee, and to follow Thee
in our day and in our generation. Lord, we pray for the work of
the Trinitarian Bible Society in the distribution of thy word
both here and among the nations of the earth. We pray that thou
would supply all their needs. Pray for those that labour in
word and doctrine among the nations of the earth. We think of those
that go out from among us as a group of churches. We commend
them to thee. We think of thy servant Ian Sadler
and that great work that he does, O that thou wouldst graciously
bless him and his, and supply all his needs, and remember them
for good. Remember this Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they're doing in Ghana. And O
Lord our God, remember we do beseech of thee the Mombasa mission,
and thy servant that labours there, O do grant thy rich blessings,
we humbly beseech thee. And Lord, remember our nation
at this time. Raise up in our Parliament those
that fear thy name, those that are faithful to thee and to thy
truth and to thy word. Raise up men of integrity and
uprightness. Give wisdom and understanding
to our leaders. Remember our King, and the royal
household and grant thy richest blessing upon them. Hear us,
O Lord, we humbly beseech them. Remember those in the nations
of the earth where thy name is hated and thy people are persecuted,
imprisoned and even unto death. Lord, remember them and send
them help from the sanctuary and strengthen them out of Zion
and bring to naught the counsels of the ungodly in the terrible
wars and the thousands that are being launched from time into
eternity in Ukraine and in Israel. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
bring to naught the counsels of these ungodly. We do humbly
beseech thee. We thank thee for thy house. We thank thee for thy holy day.
We thank thee for the word of God. We thank Thee for the glories
of Christ. We thank Thee that the Son of
God was made flesh and dwelt among us. We thank Thee for that
holy life He lived and that holy law He fulfilled on the behalf
of His people and bringing in everlasting righteousness. We
thank Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for our justification. He was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities. And we desire a spirit of gratitude
and of thanksgiving for the wonderful glory of the person of Christ,
who is now bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right
hand. Lord, we pray that thou would
fill our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving, with praise
unto thee, For thy mercies are new every morning, and great
is thy faithfulness. Touch one's lips with a live
coal from off the heavenly altar, we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 282 and the tune is Elijah 881. Tis my happiness below,
not to live without the cross, but the Saviour's power to know,
sanctifying every loss. Hymn 282 tune Elijah 881. Peace, joy, and liberty, all,
Now to thee, great and lowly host, ? Take what I give and every loss
? ? I close myself and bear me whole ? ? How great Thou art, great is
She ? ? How great Thou art, how great Thou art ? ? How great Thou art, how great
Thou art ? ? Triumphs they were from this
day ? ? Triumphs in their righteousness ? ? Triumphs in their righteousness
? In Thee alone, we pray. ? Did my weeper joyful stay ? ?
And her stripes like thine away? ? ? Like thine away? ? ? I shall be an altar bearer ?
? As the day is nearer ? ? So are the days of old ? Where the tree of Jerusalem was
not too heavy Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the twelfth chapter of Paul's
epistle to the Hebrews, and we'll read verses five and six for
our text. Hebrews chapter 12, verses five
and six. Then ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." This
is a This exhortation is a direct quotation from Proverbs chapter
3. My son, despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord. He commences this chapter with
the words, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses. Now what what is he referring
to and what is he speaking of as this great cloud of witnesses. And that, of course, is from
the previous chapter, chapter 11, where we have that great
cloud of witnesses and he goes through the Old Testament and
he speaks of the spirit of faith and he speaks of those that have
faith and he tells us and the Holy
Spirit of course tells us with without any doubt whatsoever
but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must
believe and that is the essence of faith is believing if we have
faith we believe for he that cometh to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
seek Him. Now, something vital here, my
beloved friends, to ask personally, do you have faith? It's a very personal question. Do you have faith? Do you believe? It's a vital
question. Without faith, it is impossible
to please Him. Oh, my beloved friends, may the
Lord search each one of our hearts to see if we indeed have faith. The psalmist, he says, search
me, O God, and try my ways, and see if there be any wicked way
in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. All that we may
have that evidence that we indeed have faith. He says here in the
beginning of chapter 11, now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. the substance of things
hoped for. Do you have hope? It's a wonderful grace, hope. Hope in what Jesus Christ has
done. Hope that eternal life that is
in Jesus Christ. God so loved the world he gave
his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved. It's the substance of things
hoped for and the evidence of things not
seen. What a mercy if we have this
hope The Apostle says, does he, which hope we have as an anchor
for the soul, both sure and steadfast. A hope anchored in Christ, anchored
in his finished work, anchored in his precious blood, anchored
in his glorious righteousness. Which hope we have as an anchor. Is your anchor cast within the
veil in Christ? What a mercy. if we indeed have
faith. And he says here, for by it the
elders, now he's going back into the Old Testament, the elders
obtained a good report. And then this point here, which
is a very important point, when all around are denying the creation
of God and saying it all happened by evolution and it all happened
by some wonderful way that there's a massive bang and the world
just formed itself and all the intricacies of creation just
happened. Why, my beloved friends, that
doctrine or theory of evolution comes from the very pit of hell.
It does. Through faith we understand that
the world were framed by the word of God so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear. It's what we
believe because God has revealed it in his word. In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without
form and void. Darkness was upon the face of
the deep and the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the
waters. He brought order out of chaos. Through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear. The true meaning
is often used in a very loose way today But the true meaning
of create is to make something out of nothing. And in that true
sense of the word, there's only one that can create, and that
is God. That is God. And I think you'll
find in Genesis chapter 1, 11 times it says, and God said. You see, where the word of a
king is, there is power. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. An exceptory,
go right through that chapter. And God said, it was a divine
act of the eternal God, the creator of the heavens and the earth.
Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed.
Now, He goes through this great cloud of witnesses, Abel, Enoch,
Noah. These all died in faith. Noah
is a wonderful example of faith. By faith, being warned of God,
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to
the saving of the world and became the heir the heir of the righteousness
which is by faith. You see, by the witch he condemned
the world and became the heir of the righteousness which is
by faith. We're told in the word of God
that there seems to be an intimation in the word of God that Noah
was 120 years building the ark. And that is quite feasible. and he did it by faith and we're
told in the word that he was a preacher of righteousness.
He warned and warned and warned men and women that he was building
this ark because God was going to destroy this world with a
flood and they laughed him to school and they mocked him. They
did. And would you have been any better
than anyone else if you was here upon earth at that time? But he did it by faith. He believed
God. He believed the warning. Now
my beloved friends, the time is coming, fast approaching,
when God will destroy this world by fire. And the elements shall
mount with fervent heat. well the end of the world is
coming and we must warn you of that
end of the world which is coming because if we're not prepared
for that time see the Lord Jesus in his teachings
he speaks of those that are ready those that are ready They go in to the marriage supper
of the Lamb. But those that were not ready,
the door was shut and they were shut out. And we read of Noah's Ark that
the door was shut. Nobody else could get in. And then the floods descended.
The rains and the great depths from beneath opened and the whole
earth was flooded with water. The only people that were safe
and saved was Noah and his family in the ark. Everyone else was
utterly destroyed. That ark is a beautiful type
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And unless you and I are sheltering
in the ark of Jesus Christ, we shall be destroyed and utterly
lost and go to that place of eternal punishment. where hope and mercy can never
come, where the fire is not quenched. You know, it's a very solemn
thought, isn't it? The fire in hell, it burns intensely. You know, if you and I were to
fall in a fire, it would burn intensely and the pain and the
agony would be so great, but very shortly that fire would
take our life. but the fire in hell never consumes. It burns and it burns and it
burns forever, but it never consumes what it's burning. It's eternal
torment and eternal punishment. What an unspeakably solemn thought,
isn't it? Oh, that it may be impressed
upon each one of our hearts and minds. It's a great need. being prepared and now my God
prepare my soul for that great day and wash me in thy precious
blood take all my sins away. And so we have then this great
cloud of witnesses one of the great of course is Abraham and
in verse 8 we read by faith Abraham when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance
obeyed. He went out not knowing whether
he went. In other words, he walked by
faith. But he was divinely called to do so. God called him out of Earl of
the Chaldees. And he went out not knowing whether
he went. He walked. By faith he sojourned in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
as Isaac and Jacob. The heirs with him had the same
promise, for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. Are you looking for a city which
hath foundations? That eternal city, that eternal
glory, that eternal place of happiness where Jesus sits upon
the throne. To be with Christ, which is far
better. What a thought, what a sacred
thing when made precious. I remember when I was brought
into Gospel Liberty, and walked in it for many, many months.
I remember driving the truck over Cobra Cross and all the
blessedness I felt in my soul, union with Christ. I had a heavenly
Father, I had a precious Saviour. The Holy Spirit dwelt in my heart.
And you know, friends, that hymn, so beautiful and so sacred, Yes,
I shall soon be landed. And do you know, friends, it
seemed at that time, if I was to live a hundred years, it was
nothing compared to eternity. Yes, I shall soon be landed on
yonder shores of bliss. And there, with all my powers
expanded, shall dwell where Jesus is. That's the spirit of faith. It's the city that hath foundation,
for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and Maker is God, is God. So we have then this great cloud
of witnesses. Even it adds in here that Rahab
in verse 31, Rahab by faith, the harlot Rahab, perished not
with them that believed not when she had received the spies. wonderful thing she was a harlot
but she was called by divine grace and she believed she believed
what a wonderful thing that the vilest sinner out of hell that
lives to feel his need is welcomed to the throne of grace the Saviour's
blood to plead and it says and of Samson Now look at the life
of Samson. We know he was a man of faith. It says so here. These all died
in faith. But look at his life. Look at
what he did. Look at the way he lived at different
times. But he was a child of God. And
he was eternally saved. He was. These things are written
our instruction, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised
to life again, this was all by faith, And others were tortured,
not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others had trial of cruel mockings
and scourgings, yet moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They
were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with
the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins
and goatskins, being destitute and afflicted, tormented, of
whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and
in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth, these all
having obtained a good report through faith, receive not the
promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that
they without us should not be made perfect." The perfect Church
of God is the believers of the Old and New Testaments That's
why they were not perfect without us. So we have this exhortation,
wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us. Let us, oh that the Lord would
give us grace to lay aside every way and the sin that does so
easily beset us. And he gives us a word of instruction
here, the Holy Spirit gives us a clear word of instruction of
how we're to run this race, looking on to Jesus. See, these people
that have faith have been born again. They have a new life. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things become new. They've been born again of the
Spirit of God. Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Looking unto Jesus, you might
say, but the way is so great and rough and painful and trying
and perplexing. No, it is. This is the way, walking
in it. You say, how? Looking unto Jesus,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That's the very essence of the
spirit of faith, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. And then we have this wonderful
example in the person of Christ, the Son of God manifest in the
flesh. who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God. That's our example, and the Apostle
he says here, for consider him, who Jesus Christ, for consider
him that endured such contradiction of sins against himself lest
ye be faint and weary and faint in your minds consider him ye
have not yet resisted unto blood Christ did Christ did he resisted
unto blood he died for our sins you have not yet resisted unto
blood striving against sin and ye have forgotten. How many times we forget and
ye have forgotten. I found when I was just looking
at this such a well-known text but I found it seemed to stand
out to me yesterday when I was seeking to meditate and ye have
forgotten. What have you forgotten? What
do we forget? One thing we can forget It's
like when Daniel came in before Nebuchadnezzar. But there's a
God in heaven. That's the words of Daniel to
Nebuchadnezzar. But there's a God in heaven.
Have you forgotten that? A God who is God over all and
blesses forevermore. A God who is able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. Is there anything too
hard for the Lord? For with God nothing shall be
impossible, nothing. It is with us but it is not with
your God. Or that we might be brought to
really truly see that. You know in the prophecy of Isaiah
in chapter 14 and we read there concerning this great God, this
almighty God. And it says in verse 12, Who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted
out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit
of the Lord, or being his counsel hath taught him? With whom took
he counsel? who instructed him and taught
him in the path of judgment and taught him knowledge and showed
him the way of understanding behold the nations are as a drop
of a bucket and are counted as a small dust of the balance see
this great god to whom then will he liken god and then says in
verse 21 have you not known have you not heard has it not been
told you from the beginning have you not understood from the foundation
of the earth it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth
and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers that stretcheth
out the heavens as a curtain and spreads them as a tent to
dwell in that bringeth the princes to nothing he maketh the judges
of the earth as vanity this is that great god who is God over
all and blessed for evermore. He says in verse 25, to whom
then will he liken me? Or shall I be equal, saith the
Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high. It's
to look. You know, when you look up into
the stars of heaven, when there's no light here on earth and you
look up to the heavens, and the millions of stars, the planets,
the perfect order, the sun rises, the sun goes down, the moon comes,
the moon controlling the seasons of the earth, all these things
were created by God. Lift up your eyes on high and
behold, who has created these things? That bringeth out their
hosts, that's a host of stars, by number, he calleth them all
by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong
in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou? O Jacob, and
speakest thou Israel? Who are these, Jacob and Israel,
the Lord's people? Why sayest thou? You see, all
these wonderful things of creation. We read in Psalm 19 that the
concerning the heavens declared the glory of God and day unto
day utter his speech and night unto night uttereth knowledge
their line is gone through all the earth. Why say is that? O Jacob and speakest thou Israel
my way is hid from the Lord. and my judgment is passed over
from my God. What have you forgotten? As we have in our text, you have
forgotten. There's a God in heaven. He's
almighty. He created this earth and the
heavens and everything that therein is. and he sustains it. He sustains it. Says there, for
that he is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and
speakest thou Israel, my way is hid from the Lord and my judgment
is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? This is
a word of reproof to those that have faith Hast thou not known,
hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not? Listen to what
they were saying, my way is hid from the Lord, hast thou not
heard? I do not faint, I'm not weary,
there is no searching of his understanding, he giveth power
to the faint, And to them that have no might increases strength,
even the youth shall faint and be weary. Where? In this pathway, here upon earth. In the world
you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world. Now the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young
men shall utterly fall, But, this wonderful but, but they
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk
and not faint. It's like the widow woman who
the Lord had commanded to feed the prophet of the Lord And when Elijah came to her,
she was destitute. You would have thought the way
that our mind works that he would send to someone who was very
wealthy and with an abundance of the things of this life. No,
she was a widow woman. She was destitute. And she said, that she had a
little meal in a barrel, a little oil in a cruise, and she was going to bake a cake
and they would die because the famine was so great in the land. She couldn't get any more provisions.
It had all dried up. It had all come to nothing. And
Elijah, he said to her, go, and bake me a cake first. You think of that. She'd got
to the end. And after that little cake had
been made, there was nothing left. Go and bake me a cake first. What a trial of faith, wasn't
it? It really was. the trial of your faith being
much more precious than gold and silver that perisheth. And she went because the prophet
had spoken to her and he said the barrel of meal shall not
waste, the cruise of oil shall not fail until the Lord send
rain upon the earth. And she went and she made him
a king and he lived with her Many months. And the barrel of
oil did not, the barrel of meal did not waste. We're not told
the Lord filled it up. But every time she went, there
was a handful of meal. And there was a little oil in
the cruise. And it did not deplete. No. It did not deplete. You know, the God of Israel,
He's the mighty God. With heaven and earth at his
command, he waits to answer prayer. You might be saying, well, why
do I have to walk this pathway? Why do I have to live like this,
hand to mouth? Maybe there's a sense of rebellion
in your heart. It's a form of divine justice. is to bring you dependent upon
the God of heaven. And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. You know, friends, it took me
years to learn this truth. What happens, I speak now from
my own personal experience, what happens is we come into these
troubles and trials, perplexities, afflictions and we wonder sometimes
where the scene will end and we feel to be so confused as
to why we should walk this pathway. And also that there rises up
in our hearts a spirit of rebellion. Why have I got to do this? And
so anger rises up in our heart. And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. Despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord. I don't know where you are. I
don't know the pathway you're walking in. The Lord does. And nothing happens by chance.
It's all divinely ordered. Your pathway is all divinely
ordered by God. Now it may be at this time that
you're passing through troubles and trials and afflictions, perplexities. We're not to despise the chastening
of the Lord. Despise not thou the chastening
of the Lord, nor faint. This is what we're apt to do.
We faint, we give up. We're ready to turn back. My
son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked of him. This is what took me so long
to learn because the devil used to say well the Lord's angry
with you, the Lord has a controversy with you, therefore you're walking
in this path of trouble and trial and need and perplexity and affliction
and you wonder where the scene's going to end and you say the
Lord has gone out against me. No, it's absolutely wrong. You might say, what do you mean?
Whom the Lord loveth. It's the very opposite to what
you're thinking. Whom the Lord loveth, he chases. Not because he's angry with you.
Not because he's going to destroy you. Not because he's going to
bring you absolutely to nothing. And that'll be the end, no. It's
because he loves you. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee, my son. Despise not thou the chasing
of the Lord. Your heavenly Father loves you
with an everlasting love, and therefore he's chasing thee.
Now you just think and wonder where you would be if you didn't
have this chastity. You'd be worldly, calm. You would. You're taken up with
the things of this life. The pleasures of sin for a season,
that's what you'd be taken up with. But when the Lord chastens
us, lovingly chastening us, the Heavenly Father chastening us, then, my beloved friends, it's
His love. He sent it in His love. Whom
the Lord loveth, He chasteneth. You see, it's just the opposite,
isn't it? to what you're thinking, to the
way the carnal mind works. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth and scourgeth. Scourging is an exceedingly painful
thing. And scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. It may be you're walking at this
time in some very painful things. Very trying things. It's because
your Heavenly Father loves you. And there's a solemn word here,
if ye endure chastening God dearly through the earth with sons,
for what son is he who the father chasteneth not? Now this is the
solemn word, but if ye be without chastisement, what this word
chastisement means is divine discipline. It's to bring you
and me into a place of dependence upon God. Trusting and looking
alone unto the Lord for help, and for strength, and for wisdom,
and for guidance. If the Lord didn't lay his chastening
hand on you, you'd never go to him, you'd never ask him, you'd
never hear from you, because you'd be self-sufficient. But
that is not the way the Lord intends his people to live. He
intends them to live by faith. Trusting, looking, watching,
believing, knowing that he doesn't make any mistakes. No, but the
solemn thing here is friends, but if you'd be without justicemen,
where of all, that is all the people of God are partakers,
then are you bastards and not sons. What a terrible thing,
isn't it? We know what a bastard is.
He's a child born out of wedlock. then are you bastards? Will you
transfer that, which is what the apostle is doing here, into the spiritual realm? A spiritual bastard. Not a true son. Not a true daughter. No. That's a very solemn thought,
isn't it? He says, furthermore, we had
fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the father of spirits and live? I preached
from this word many years ago now at the Dicker Chapel, one
Thursday evening. I actually felt really bound
when I preached. But some weeks later, a woman
came to me and told me that her husband had been brought into
sweet gospel liberty under that sermon. And apparently, as I preached,
I went through the inward experiences of the child of God, the felt
sense of need And he was a man that had, he
actually lived in London all his life. Had a business, prospered. And he was greatly tried. Because,
he said, he didn't have outward trials. He prospered and everything
went smoothly in his business. But apparently under that, and
it greatly tried him. He thought, well I'm not a true
child of God. And under that sermon, he was
brought to see that all the inward temptations and trials that he
had had, that was the Lord's chastising hand. You see, we
all have chastising in some way or another. Now nobody else could
see that, it looked as though he was just such a prosperous
man, but he had great conflicts, battles going on in his heart,
in his soul. Maybe that is so with you. You
may not have outward affliction and things that can be seen outwardly,
but you have something inwardly. That's exactly what the Apostle
Paul had. He said, lest I should be exalted
above measure, I had a thorn in the flesh. Yeah. Festered. Every day it was there. He said, I asked the Lord three
times to remove him. Lord, we do not read the Lord
ever did remove that thorn in the flesh that Paul had. But he spoke to him, my grace
is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness. You see that was the Lord's chastise
in hand upon the great apostle to the Gentiles. and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. You see, It says in verse 11,
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous,
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them that were exercised thereby. I was in Hayward Heath
Hospital and my brother came to see me. I'd been ill for months
in and out of hospital. My brother Joe came one afternoon
on his way to preach somewhere and he just dropped in to see
me. And as he was leaving, he just said to me, I've had a word
of my spirit, Jay. Nevertheless, afterwards. And
he was gone. Do you know, friends, that was
such a divine cordial to me. That morning, I'd had several
seizures. I felt very ill. And I really
felt it was the end of my ministry. and I would never preach again.
Everything seemed to crowd in on me. But those two little words,
nevertheless afterwards, it was just as if the little hand of
faith stretched out, afterwards. There will be an afterwards. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number seven. The tune is Hensbury 161. God shall alone the refuge be
and comfort of my mind, too wise to be mistaken he, too good to
be unkind. Hymn number seven. The tune is
Hensbury 161. you. Through our journey this we can
be, Through our journey far and wide, ? In the day of night ? ? The only
child in the world ? True voice to make this day complete. O Lord, to Thee I cry, to Thee I cry. ? Great and new ? ? Tis God's work,
O Thine own ? ? To Thyself, in His name enthroned ? Dear God, to Thee I cry. Dear God, to Thee I cry. and of the earth. ? To Christ, to Him be shame and
pain ? ? I come to Thee, O God ? ? To Thee, O God ? O come, O come, O come, O come,
to Bethlehem, Tonight may we sing of thee.
Farewell to thee, Hong Kong. Farewell to thee, Hong Kong. He will break me now, and I shall
surely die. He was dear, wise, pure, and kind. 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 each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.