I'm Mommy? No. Okay. The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Mr Graham Tutor will preach here
next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. There will be no service
this week on Thursday evening as it is Cranbrook anniversary
services when Mr Matthew Hyde is expected to preach at 3.30
and 6.30. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 480. The tune is Adoration
276. Up to the fields where angels
lie, and living waters gently roll, fain would my thoughts
leap out and fly. but sin hangs heavy on my soul. And these hymns are chosen, this
is a memorial service to our late dear sister, Ina Field,
and the thought that she is now with Christ, which is far better. Hymn 480, tune Adoration 276. How to live in the future, angel
child? And live in awe, to strength
be found? They heard my told, leap out
and fly, That stiff and heavy are my soul. ? Thy wondrous love ? ? With flying
light ? ? And make this world ? ? A better place ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? How little things these flowers
could be! How despicable were my cries! I have longed for thee, my God,
England and men who have left you. When it shall say, Praise to
all their God, Let a deep candle light at noon, ? Where they might find a manger
made ? ? I shall perceive a nicer home ? ? And we can hear the shaking waves
? ? Far back in time, but now much more ? ? Great God in all eternity ? ?
Let me love Thee ? ? I love Thee dearly ? ? And all my powers shall bow and
swing ? ? The endless river will run like
a stream ? read together from the Holy Word
of God in Paul's Epistle to the Philippians in Chapter 1. The Epistle to the Philippians,
Chapter 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants
of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at
Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, Grace be unto you and
peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer
of mine for you, all making requests with joy. For your fellowship
in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Even as it is
for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart,
inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation
of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record,
how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
And this, I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more
in knowledge and in all judgment, that you may approve things that
are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offence till
the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
But you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened
unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel,
so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and
in all other places. And many of the brethren in the
Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to
speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even
of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one preach
Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to
my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the
defense of the gospel. What then, notwithstanding every
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and
I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that
this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to my earnest expectation
and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that
with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified
in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh,
this is the fruit of my labour, yet what I shall choose I want
not. For I am in a straight betwixt
two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which
is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all in your furtherance
and joy of faith. that your rejoicing may be more
abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and
see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you
stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for
the faith of the gospel, and in nothing terrified by your
adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition,
but to you of salvation and that of God. For unto you it is given
in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also
to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which he saw
in me, and now hear it to be in me. 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 desire to bow before thy great
majesty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We desire 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. We do humbly beseech thee. We pray that thou would be with
us in this service, that thou would open thy precious word
to our heart and to our understanding and guide us into thy truth.
And O Lord God, we do pray that we may be enabled to delve into
the deep that couches beneath in thy word. Blessed, holy, divine
spirit, we pray for thy enlightening and the opening of the word of
God, that we might behold something of the glory of the Lord and
the wonders of redeeming love and the fullness of that salvation
that is in Christ Jesus. Do hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee, and be with us, we do beseech thee. We pray, most gracious
Lord, for the sacred presence of the eternal Father. We think of those wonderful words,
for God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. All that we may be favoured to
know and to feel those wonderful words of grace, for the Father
himself loveth you. Gracious God, we pray that we
may enjoy that wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ and
that thou wouldst guide us into thy truth and open our hearts
to receive thy word. We come as poor sinners before
thee and we desire a spirit of true confession. For Lord, we
all have sinned, and come short of thy glory. We do come, most
gracious Lord, in confession and pray to be delivered from
sin and Satan's power and that we might know the sacred reality
of grace, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, known and felt
in our hearts, that we might know the preciousness of those
words The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from
all sin. Gracious God, do incline thine
ear, we do humbly beseech thee, and show us thy ways and teach
us thy paths, and grant thy sacred presence here in the sanctuary
today. And Lord, we remember today our
late beloved sister, a member here for so many, many years,
a faithful member of the church, and the wife of the late pastor. And Lord, we thank thee for the
life and witness of Ina Field. And pray, most gracious Lord,
that we may be comforted. We sorrow not as others are without
hope. We have that sacred confidence
that she is with thee, which is far better. to be with Christ. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy great mercy would remember the family, each one of them
at this time, and draw near and comfort their hearts. We do humbly
beseech them and bless them each with those rich spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Lord, we do pray that
thou in thy great mercy would graciously fill up the gap that
has been made among us as a church and as a congregation, and gather
others also. We long to see them come. We
pray that thou wouldst cause the prodigals to return, and
that thou wouldst graciously grant thy constraining grace
in love to return to the house of God, to the ways of God, to
the truth of God. Nothing is beyond thy power,
the power of thy grace and of thy love. Oh, we do pray, most
gracious Lord, that thou would send out thy light and thy truth,
cause prodigals to return, cause the light and power and glory
of the gospel to shine into this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, O Lord, we do beseech
thee. Let us see thy goings in the
sanctuary. Let us see thy power and thy
glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. We think of the
in-gathering of our late dear sister in that wonderful sovereign
world. have there to bring her and her
dear husband to unite with this church. Gracious God, the wonders
of redeeming love, the power of thy love and of thy grace,
seen and manifested. So remember us as a church and
as a congregation. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and give wisdom, grace, and help in all their responsibilities,
not only here, but among the churches. Be with our dear brother
this morning at Tunbridge Wells, reading a sermon, and help him. And graciously bless the friends
there. Remember thy servant not able
to preach at this time. Be Jehovah Rophi. I am the Lord
that healeth thee. May he feel and know thy healing
mercy and thy upholding grace. And O Lord God, we do pray. that
thou wouldst remember each one of our brethren and sisters in
church fellowship. We do humbly pray thee, give
us that grace to love each other, to serve each other, to bear
each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ.
Remember the little ones and the children that are brought
into the sanctuary. Graciously remember those little
ones and put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom, into their hearts, an unctuous light to all that's
right and a bar to all that's wrong. Remember the dear young
friends, each one. Visit them with thy great salvation. Bring them to saving faith in
Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee
and of those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.
Hear us, O Lord, we pray thee. Grant that there may be a seed
that shall be raised up to follow on to know the Lord. We think
of that wonderful word. Instead of thy father shall be
thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
May that word be fulfilled here at Lambethurst, we do humbly
pray thee. And O Lord, we do pray for parents
that they may be given wisdom to bring up their children, the
nurture and admonition of the Lord, that was blessed the families
as they gather for divine worship in the home, for the reading
of the word and for prayer, for all things are sanctified by
the word of God and prayer. And Lord, we pray for all in
the midst of the journey of life, bless them and undertake for
them. Deliver us from the temptations of Satan, whether he comes as
a roaring lion to devour or as an angel of light to deceive.
We pray to be delivered for his power and from his influence. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou and thy great mercy would remember us as a church and as
a congregation, and work mightily and powerfully and effectually.
Remember those of us in the evening time of life's journey, and that
Lord, prepare us for that great change which must come. And as
the outward man perishes, may the inward man be renewed day
by day. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we do pray, Thou always
remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion. The grant that they may dip their
foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren, and that the
word preached may be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much
assurance, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for signs to follow
the preaching of the word. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. And
we pray for those that go out from among us, among the nations
of the earth. We think of Ian Sadler as he
labours in so many different countries in the distribution
of the word of God and the exposition of it, supply all his needs,
we do pray thee. Remember the Savannah Education
Trust in Ghana and that great work that they are doing in the
Christian schools. Lord, supply all their needs
and greatly bless that which is being done. Remember thy servant
in the Mombasa Mission in Kenya. Help him to preach the word and
be instant in season and out of season and grant signs to
follow the preaching of the word. Oh Lord, we do pray. Remember
our nation. Remember the little hills of
Zion up and down the nation. Wherever thy people gather, wherever
thy servants stand, grant thy rich blessing. We do humbly beseech
them. Remember each one of thy servants
laid aside at this time, and graciously bless and restore,
if it could but please them. Remember our government and give
wisdom and guidance unto our leaders, especially in these
solemn days. There are wars and rumours of
wars, and we pray that thou would put a stop to war and bring to
naught the counsels of the ungodly. We do humbly beseech thee, O
Lord God of heaven. We thank thee that thou art God
over all and blessed for evermore, and that there is nothing too
hard for thee. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible.
We thank thee for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank thee
for the glory of his person and the fullness of his grace. We
thank thee for that profound mystery of God manifest in the
flesh. Oh, we do pray. for truly thankful
hearts, for that holy life he lived as a man under the holy
law of God. He fulfilled and honoured and
magnified it, bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people.
We thank thee for Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where sin
was put away, where divine justice was satisfied, where God and
sinners are reconciled. We thank thee for the precious
blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin. We thank thee that
he died for our sins and rose again for our justification,
has now bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right
hand. Gracious God, oh, fill our hearts
with gratitude, with thanksgiving, with adoration and praise for
the fullness of that grace that is in Jesus Christ. Come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and open thy word to our
heart and to our understanding. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 481. The tune is David's Harp, 321. Descend
from heaven, immortal dove, stoop down and take us on thy wings,
and mount and bear us far above the reach of these inferior things. The title at the top of the hymn
says, the sight of God and Christ in heaven. Hymn 481, tune David's
harp, 321. O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
O come, Emmanuel, In God, in God, he shall reign. ? Through the ages gone ? ? By
stormy passage ? ? Death hath died ? ? When Christ the Lord
was born ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? Yes, it's our Savior's love we
find, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave I see it all every, every day. Amen. Amen. Amen. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the chapter that
we read the first chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians,
and we will read verse six for our text. The Epistle to the Philippians,
chapter one, reading verse six. Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. Being confident of this very
thing. This was a very special word
to our late sister, Ina Field. She was baptized here in May
1963 by Mr. Reuben Mercer, And at the baptistry pool, it's
customary to give a word unto the person being baptised. And
this was the word that Mr Mercer gave to her, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And then on
the first Sunday in June, Mr. George Rose, who was then
pastor at Providence Chapel, Cranbrook. He took the ordinance
that afternoon. And again, it is customary for
the minister, when he receives a person into the church, to
give them a word. And it was this verse. He wouldn't
have known that Mr. Mercer had given her that verse
at the baptistry. But he gave me this same word
at the ordinance, being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. Mr. Robert Field, the pastor
at the Dicker Chapel, was then a member here at Lambethurst.
And he rang me this week, he's just had open heart surgery,
so he wasn't able to come to the funeral. And he told me that,
He said it was quite remarkable those two ministers gave her
the same word at her baptism and then at the first Lord's
Supper that she attended, being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ. I remember preaching from this
word here, and Ina, she said to me, After the service, she
said, that is such a special word to me. She said, I believe
the Lord sealed it into my heart. And this is what really guided
me to take this word this morning as a memorial unto our late sister,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing that when
the Lord puts his hand to the work of grace in the heart of
a sinner, he never withdraws his hand.
That work is eternal. The Apostle He speaks of it in
the 8th chapter of the Romans and of that wonderful confidence
that he had. He said that he was persuaded.
He was completely persuaded concerning the eternal welfare. This is the wonderful thing as
we come together today. though our late dear sister,
Ina, was the subject of many doubts and many fears, many troubles
and many trials. And yet she could come back constantly
to Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. And it says in Romans chapter
eight, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect
It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation. You know,
our late dear sister was the subject of much tribulation and
much temptation. shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword,
as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long,
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded, it's a good thing to have a good persuasion, For
I am persuaded, that's really the meaning of the beginning
of our text, being confident in this very thing. For I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, being
confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing if you
and I have that inward spiritual witness of the Holy Ghost that
the Lord has begun a good work in your heart, that the Holy
Spirit has entered your soul. In meditation yesterday, my mind
was much drawn to those lovely words of our Lord Jesus Christ
at the Jacob's Well, where he met the woman of Samaria. And
I was thinking much of our late sister, how the Lord brought
her in, among the churches of God. It was very strange to her
to start, which we would be. It was very different to Church
of England worship. And there was a different emphasis. And she found it quite difficult,
she told me that herself. And yet the Lord began to work
in her heart. The Lord began to give her to
realize that she was a sinner. The Lord began to give her to
feel that she had spiritual needs. And at the same time, he did
the same with her husband, Jabez. See, it was the Lord's work in
her heart. He that hath begun a good work
in you. Now, we have the woman by the
well of Samaria, Jacob's well, and she's in her 30s. It says
here, and he must needs go through Samaria. That is, Jesus Christ
must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria,
which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus,
therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the
well, and it was about the sixth hour, and there cometh a woman
of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said unto her, Give me
to drink. For his disciples were gone away
unto the city by me. Then saith the woman of Samaria
unto him, How is it that thou, the Samaritans, the Jews had
nothing to do with the Samaritans, How is it that thou, being a
Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.' Jesus answered and said unto
her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and
he would give him thee living water. The woman saith unto him,
Sir, immediately misunderstanding, looking at it in a natural light,
which we would do, wouldn't we? The woman saith unto him, Sir,
thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence
then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and
his children and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto
her, whosoever drinketh of this water, that's natural water,
shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst. but the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. The Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture
is often likened to water, living water. John, he had a sight,
didn't he, of the throne of God and he saw a river proceeding
from beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb. God is the Father,
the Lamb is the Son, and the river proceeding from them is
the Holy Ghost, living water. And it's when the Holy Ghost
enters into the heart of a sinner that that sinner begins to drink
living water. Now, just listen to what it says
here in this verse, whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him, that of course is the Holy Ghost, shall never
thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water. When the Holy Spirit enters
in, quickens the soul. It's a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. You see, being confident of this
very thing that he that hath begun a good work in you shall
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. A well of water springing
up Our dear sister, she knew that. She experienced it. She experienced it day by day,
week by week. There were times when she used
to get very down and very troubled and very tried and very perplexed
about her standing in Christ. But then other times, she knew
such sweet confidence and peace in him, he that had begun a good
work in her. He was performing it. Where it
says here, a well of water springing up into everlasting life. My dear beloved friends, you
think of that lovely promise that we have in Isaiah, fear
not, fear thou not for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am
thy God. I will help thee, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness. I am with them. See, being confident
of this very thing. It says in Hebrews chapter, in
the last chapter, the 13th chapter of the Hebrews, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. And the Lord, he said to his
disciples, when he was about to ascend into heaven, he took,
it says he led them out as far as unto Bethany, lift up his
hands and bless them. And they beheld him in a cloud
ascending into heaven, bodily, the son of God, bodily ascending
into heaven itself. But he said unto them, all power
is given unto me in heaven and in earth. so that they could
have every confidence that that work that had begun in them,
he would perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And the
other thing that he said unto them at the time, lo, I am with
you all the way, even unto the end of the world. That's where
Christ comes, at the end of the world, being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He will perform that
work in your heart, just as he did in our late dear sister who
now enjoys that wonderful presence in heaven, in glory. We read it here in this, This chapter together, the dear
apostle, he says in verse 21, for me to live is Christ, but
to die is gain. It's an eternal gain, it's eternal
glory. But if I live in the flesh, this
is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose I want
not, for I am in a great strait betwixt two, having a desire
to depart. and to be with Christ, which
is far better. My late brother, it would have
been about 15 years ago now, he'd had major surgery at Adam
Brooks Hospital on his spine, and he was recovering. And I
went to see him, and he could only talk in the faintest whisper. And I put my ear right down to
his mouth and asked him how he was, And he quoted this verse,
for I am in a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better. What a wonderful
hope, isn't it? To be with Christ, which is far
better. It's like those words we spoke
from on Thursday, let not your heart You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my father's house are many
mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for
you, I will come again, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself, that where I am, there ye may be also, to be with Christ. which is far better. And that
is the wonderful hope of the people of God. And we have that
wonderful hope as we gather today. We read in the first of the Thessalonians
chapter 13, chapter four and verse 13, but I would not have
you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep. These
are wonderful words of grace to those that have lost a loved
one. who's now gone to eternal glory, and we're very confident
of that with our late dear sister. But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not even as others which have no hope. The wonderful thing
is we have a hope, a hope of eternal life in and through our
Lord Jesus Christ. I give unto my sheep eternal
life. For if we believe, and we do,
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him. Our dear sister sleeps in
Jesus. She now beholds him face to face. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which were alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the
Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words. these wonderful words of grace,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Now when Enoch and Javis Field
moved over to Lambethurst for him to be the head stockman at
Scotley Castle, the Lord had begun to work. But as far as
I can see, from all that Ina told me, is that the first time
that the Lord really spoke to her was that time which we mentioned
at her funeral, when they lived at Scotley Farm,
and she was in the woodshed, and the Lord spoke to her those
lovely words from Deuteronomy chapter eight, And as far as
I could gather from her, in talking to her, that this was the first
time that the Lord had spoken to her. Deuteronomy chapter 8
and verse 3. And he humbled thee. You see
in the previous verses it says, all the commandment which I command
thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply
and go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your
fathers. And this is something else we
need to remember. And thou shalt remember all the
way the Lord thy God led thee these 40 years in the wilderness
to humble thee and to prove thee to know what was in thine heart,
whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not, to humble
thee and to prove thee. Many things that she passed through,
many things that we pass through, have passed through, and we look
back and remember the way that he has led us and how he humbled
us. You know, the Lord's work in
the heart is a humbling work. The Lord's work in the life of
a true believer is a humbling work. There are many things that
you have to come into that humble you. He humbled thee and suffered
thee to hunger and fed thee with manna. This is the children of
Israel in the wilderness, of course, and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not. That was something that God created
for the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness journey. and fed thee with manna that
thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know. And it was
this part of the verse that was made so special to thee that
he might make thee to know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. every word that proceeded. I've
always felt there's an emphasis there that he might make you
to know that man does not live by bread only. That is natural
bread. And the point that has been made,
man cannot spiritually live because, you know, we're born in sin,
we're shaped in iniquity, we're unrighteous and sinful. by our very nature. And we're dead spiritually. The
dead know not anything. And if we're spiritually dead,
we don't understand that we're lost and wounded and we're sinners. Has the Lord made you to live?
Made me to live? You know, we have that word in
John's gospel, concerning the work of the Holy
Ghost in the heart. The Lord Jesus Christ, he says
in that beautiful discourse, John 14, 15, and 16, what is
called the valedictory discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
he spoke to the disciples before he was to suffer, bleed, and
die. And what did he say to them? Well, he was saying that, behold,
I send the promise of my Father upon you. That is the promise
of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. And he says when he, and notice
he calls him a divine person, the Holy Ghost is not just an
emanation from the Godhead or an influence from the Godhead,
he is a divine person. We have the person of the Father,
the person of the Son, and the person of the Holy Ghost. These
three are one. one blessed infinite almighty
and eternal God. These three are one. So Christ
says to his disciples that when he was to leave them, that he would send the Holy Ghost.
But what did he say of the Holy Ghost? That when he the spirit
of truth is come, Now it's true when he comes into
the world and sent in that special effusion on the day of Pentecost. But he comes to each one of his
children's heart. What makes a believer? It's the
Holy Ghost entering the heart and quickening the soul. And
bringing to faith in Jesus Christ, that's what makes a believer.
You hath he quickened who were dead. Have you been quickened? Has your soul been quickened?
It's an old English word which means to give life. Has it given
you spiritual life? You has he quickened who were
dead? Man shall not live by bread only. The Lord Jesus made that
great emphasis to Nicodemus. He must be born again, except
a man be born of water and of the spirit. He cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven. Have you been born again? These
are not things that you can take or leave. They are vital, fundamental
doctrines of our most holy faith. When he, the spirit of truth
is calm, it's something that is very personal. When he comes
to your heart, when he quickens your soul, when he makes you
feel your lost condition, It makes you feel your need of salvation and gives you then a spiritual
appetite. Man shall not live. I remember
Ina telling me that when these words were breathed into her
heart when she was in the woodshed at Scotney Farm, He said, I went
three days, I've done all my work, but he said, I don't remember
any of it. He said, I was so full of the
love of Christ. And all the power of that love,
it was overwhelming. It's a wonderful thing. You see, man shall not live by
bread only, but by every word. When God's word is breathed into
the heart by the Holy Ghost, by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Unless the word
of the Lord has entered into your heart, by the power of the
Holy Ghost, you have no life. In the first epistle of Peter,
Peter, he deals with these very things. about what it is to be
given life in the first chapter of the first epistle. It says
from verse 18, for as much as ye know, do you know this? For as much as ye know that you
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ. as of a lamb, without
blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before
the foundation of the world, manifesting these last times
for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from
the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might
be in God. Seeing you have purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love
of the brethren, See that ye love one another with a pure
heart fervently. Then he tells us why we love
one another. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. That living word, the word of
God. breathed into the heart, breathed
into the very soul. See, once the Holy Spirit has
quickened a person into life, they're given spiritual life,
and they have that inward power and teaching of the Holy Spirit
in their hearts. On the one side, teaching them
that they're sinners, and on the other side showing them that
Jesus is the way to God. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And that's
what the Holy Spirit teaches. In the Epistle of James, in the
first chapter of the Epistle of James, it speaks there of
the quickening work of the Holy Spirit. It says in verse 17 of
the first chapter of James, that every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variable and has neither shadow of turning.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear and slow to
speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh
not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness
and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. but be ye doers of the word and
not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if we be hearers
of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself and
goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man
he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect
law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed. Oh, my dear beloved friends,
has the Lord begun that good work of grace in your heart,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ in the
gospel according to John, he portrayed there as the shepherd
of the sheep, the great shepherd of the sheep.
And he says, my sheep, they know my voice. and they follow me,
John chapter 10. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that entereth not by the door, Christ is 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. And 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. They know not the voice of strangers.
You know, he goes on in this chapter, and he says in verse
27, my sheep, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me. Are you following Christ? Is Christ the center, the sum,
and the substance of all your hopes and all your desires? My
sheep, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give
unto them eternal life. He that hath begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 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
me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of my Father's hand. I and my father are one. One
of the hymn writers, he says, does Satan tempt thee to give
up? No more in Jesus' name to trust. Oh, that you and I, we may have
that gracious persuasion, being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ. What is the day of Jesus Christ? There are essentially two times
that Christ comes to this earth. He came the first time as the
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He came the first time to walk
a path of humiliation. and sorrow and grief and agony. He came the first time to redeem
his people. So he lived a life on the behalf
of his people, a life that was holy. Jesus Christ is holy. He's righteous. And in that holiness
of the holy God man, the law is fulfilled. It says in Isaiah,
he will magnify the law and make it honorable, and that is what
Christ has done. He makes his people righteous in his holy
life, in what he has done. His perfect obedience becomes
theirs. One hymn writer, he says, "'Tis
he instead of me is seen when I approach to God." Christ. We have an advocate with the
Father. We have a great high priest who is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God. We have one to whom we can confess
our sins and our wanderings and our backslidings. And as the
hymn writer takes up that verse that is in the Hebrews that he
was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin, Christ knows what temptation
is. The temptations of Satan. He knows what it is. He knows
what sore temptations mean, for he has felt the same. He has. Joseph Hart, the hymn writer,
he says, come then, repenting sinner, come. and trust upon
his grace, or what thou wilt, the total sum is cancelled by
his death. Everything you need, poor sinner,
is in Christ. There's salvation in Christ.
And as the apostles said in their teachings, there is salvation
in none other. For there is none other name
that is given unto heaven whereby you must be saved, but the name
of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son that was manifest in the
flesh. It's through the precious blood and righteousness of Jesus,
our great high priest, that we shall ever enter heaven. You
know, it says in Revelation chapter 7, speaks there, it's a wonderful
precious truth that is set before us there. And John, he says in
Revelation 7 verse 13, and one of the elders answered, saying
unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and
whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are
they which come out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
notice the connecting word. They have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, if you
and I reach heaven, it will be for only one reason, the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanses us from all sin, that
reconciles us unto God. Therefore, are they before the
throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. No more tears, no more sorrows,
no. Peace. peace by his cross as
Jesus may. We have a revelation given to
us in the fifth chapter of the revelation of our Lord Jesus
Christ in the midst of the throne. And it says in verse six, and
I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had
been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. which are the
seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came
and took the book. as the book of the eternal decrees
of salvation. And he took the book out of the
right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken
the book, the four beasts and the four and 20 elders fell down
before the lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they
sung a new song saying, thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof. for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And behold, I heard
the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts
and the elders, and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000,
and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is
the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature
which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such
as are in the sea and all that are in them, heard I say, blessing
and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Be in confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 339, and the tune is Indulgence, 547. O my distrustful heart, how small
thy faith appears, but greater, Lord, thou art than all my doubts
and fears. Did Jesus once upon me shine,
then Jesus is forever mine. Hymn 339, tune indulgence 547.
? Christ the Lord. ? ? Christ the
Lord. ? ? Christ the Lord. ? Through Jesus Christ our Lord
we shine, Then Jesus is forever mine. Come, drink above it well, Whatever be my frame, His loving conquester, eternal
bidder, stay. I saw through many changes close,
years of average patience. The Lord will carry on and perfectly
perform the works Has begun in me a sinful birth. Mist all my fear and sin and
woe, Thy Spirit will not let me go. The bounteous love thy grace,
that first did freely flow, I still shall see thy face, and
feel that the Lord is love. My soul into thy arms I cast,
I cast I shall be. 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. Amen.