I commence our service this afternoon
by singing hymn number 918. The tune is Olfa, number 693. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
who their native violins see. They are all taught sin's demerit,
gladly own salvation free, and from Sinai to the wounds of Jesus
flee. Stripped of all their fancied
meekness, To approach the dread I am, Thou led to see all fitness,
Centering in the worthy Lamb, And adoring, seeing His Godhead,
blood and name. In number 918, tune Alpha, number
693. ? Blessed are the poor in sin ?
? Who wait in the mercy of God ? ["Ode to Joy"] ? And the Son of Man ? ? Sitteth
in the midst of Israel ? O come, O come, Thou Son of God,
O come, Thou Son of God, They are here to see your fearless
spirit fill that holy land. And their glory ? Celebrant in praise reviving
? ? Hail to salvation Christ the Lord ? When she spoke then, Moses, I
will know, How sweet their songs are. Come, come, O Jesus Christ, Come,
please come, never to separate us. ? And it always seems so messy
? ? From which it may well impress ? ? We give glory ? ? As we praise
him ? ? Who is heaven and earth ? ? And day and night ? ? And
give glory ? ? To him ? From the word of God, we will
read three portions this afternoon. Firstly, the book of the Exodus,
chapter 14, beginning at verse 13, followed by Joshua, chapter
3, and then finally, Matthew 14, beginning at verse But firstly,
Exodus chapter 14, beginning at verse 13. Exodus 14, beginning at verse 13. And Moses said unto the people,
fear ye not. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians
whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses,
wherefore Christ thou unto me? speak unto the children of israel
that they go forward but lift thou up thy rod and stretch out
thine hand over the sea and divide it and the children of israel
shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea and i behold
i will harden the hearts of the egyptians and they shall follow
them and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his
host, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen, and the Egyptians
shall know that I am the Lord. When I have gotten me honor upon
Pharaoh, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen, and the angel
of God which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went
behind them. And the pillar of the cloud went
from before their face and stood behind them. And it came between
the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and it was
a cloud and darkness to them. But it gave light by night to
these, so that the one came not near the other all the night.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord caused
the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and
made the sea dry land and the waters were divided. And the
children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the
dry ground and the waters were a wall unto them on their right
hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and
went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass
that in the morning watch, the Lord looked unto the host of
the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and
troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels,
that they drove them heavily, so that the Egyptians said, let
us flee from the face of Israel. the Lord fighteth for them against
the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses,
stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come
again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their
horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared, and
the Egyptians fled against it. and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered
the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that
came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as
one of them. But the children of Israel walked
upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were
a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that
day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord
and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. We now turn to
Joshua chapter three. the book of Joshua chapter three.
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and they removed from
Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel,
and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three
days that the officers went through the host, and when they had commanded
the people, saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of
the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites bearing it. Then
ye shall remove from your place and go after it. Yet there shall
be a space between you and it, about 2,000 cubits, by measure. Come not near unto it that ye
may know the way by which ye must go, for ye have not passed
this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people,
sanctify yourselves, But tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among
you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the
ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they
took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. And
the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was
with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command
the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When
ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand
still in Jordan. And Joshua said unto the children
of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.
Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among
you, and that he will without Drive out from before you the
Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites,
and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord, of all the earth,
passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you
twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe
a man, It shall come to pass, as soon as the souls of the feet
of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of
all the earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters
of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from
above. And they shall stand upon an
heap. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their
tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of
the governor before the people. And as they that bear the ark
were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear
the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, for Jordan overfloweth
all his banks all the time of harvest, that the waters which
came down from above stood and rose up, Upon an heap very far
from the city, Adam, that is, beside Zaretan, and those that
came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed
and were cut off, and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bear the
ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground, in
the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on
dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. Finally, we turn to the gospel
as recorded by Matthew, chapter 14, and we read from verse 22
to the end of the chapter. And straightway, Jesus constrained
his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the
other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he
had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart
to pray. And when the evening was come,
he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst
of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And
in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking
on the sea. And when the disciples saw him
walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer.
It is I, be not afraid. Peter answered him and said,
Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he
said, come. And when Peter was come down
out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning
to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him,
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they
were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were
in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth, thou
art the Son of God. When they were gone over, they
came into the land of Genesaret. And when the men of that place
had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round
about, and brought unto him all that were diseased, and besought
him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as
many as touched were made perfectly whole. May the Lord bless the
reading of his word to us, and help us to come before him once
again in prayer. O thou most mighty, ever-blessed
and ever-gracious, Lord God Almighty. Praise and thanks be unto thee,
Lord, that we are able to attend thy house of prayer once again
in this afternoon hour, on another of thy Sabbath days. Lord, we
give thee thanks for the food and drink and the rest we've
had, and we pray, O Lord, that thou art now Pour into our hearts
spiritual food, we pray thee. Feed thy flock here at Lamberhurst
and do bless them as a church and people. We thank thee, O
Lord, for the news that yesterday there was another come forward
to give testimony of the love of Christ to her. O Lord, do be gracious to her
and to all the church here and to the people, be they in membership
Just here as Lord do we pray, bless each and every one of us
here to build up this cause of truth we pray for thine honour
and glory alone. Lord, we think of those that
pass by on the streets walking or driving past, those in their
houses doing whatever seems normal to them. Lord, we pray have mercy.
May they look on this place May they see the text on the outside
of the chapel. For unto us a son is born. Unto
us a child is given, Christ the Lord. O Lord, that they may hasten
after Christ as the saviour of sinners, the saviour of the world,
the light of the world. For O Lord, Christ is the one
thing needful, and ought to be given that desire for the one
thing needful, as Mary was given. not to be feverishly taken up
with other things which can wait. Oh, Lord, thou art needful. Without
thee we soon perish. How long, how solemn, Lord, if
we are found not having called upon thee in
too busy with the scenes of life that we've forgotten about our
own souls. May it not be so. May we be given, each and every
one of us, that God-given concern to hunger and thirst after righteousness,
that we may feast upon Christ, the living bread, and that we
may taste those sweet streams of mercy that nourish the soul.
O Lord, that we may taste of the living water which springeth
up into eternal life. May we find those wells of salvation
here this afternoon, we pray. to bless thy word to us and all
that we have read. O Lord, much encouragement, much
comfort, much teaching can be found within thy word. And we
pray, O Lord, thou would teach us these things. May they not
be just stories we've been brought up with from our youth. Lord,
may there be something more to us from them than that. May we
understand their spiritual meanings. May we understand their applications. to our life, to our pathways
here below, that we may find encouragement in what thou hast
written, in thy word for the good of thy people. And we do pray, O Lord, that
thou help us to worship thee in spirit and in truth. Let not
our hearts wander, let not our minds wander to the things of
this life, the things we've been dealing with during the week,
and other things that we anticipate in the coming work days. Lord,
we pray, please, grant us hearts open to receive thy word. May
we be found this afternoon hour with our minds firmly fixed upon
a precious Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. And we do pray, O Lord, as we
have prayed for the building up of this cause, we pray for
our beloved land, Lord, it is a dark and evil day. We have
turned our backs upon thy word. We have forsaken thy statutes.
We have passed wickedness upon wickedness on our own statutes. Lord, in wrath remember mercy.
We have allowed the enemy to dwell among us as though they
were brethren, the enemies of God. Lord, do be merciful and
do turn Britain around to hasten after God and not after the things
of the devil. that, O Lord, a good gospel day
may be seen in this our land, that we may fear Thee once more,
that Thy places of worship, Thy courts may be filled with Thy
people, we do humbly pray. And, O Lord, that we may not
seek persecution, could it please Thee? Lord, we pray, maintain
our Protestant constitution and heritage and our liberties of
worship unto us. There are those who would seek
to take them away, and yet, O Lord, we find comfort in the Acts of
the Apostles, where we read, though Herod put James to death
with a sword, and though he tried to do so with Peter, the angel
came and released Peter, and the word of God grew and multiplied. We thank Thee, O Lord, that whilst
man and Satan may be mighty, Thou art almighty. Thou art all-knowing. Thou canst thwart the schemes
of Antichrist. Thou canst do all these things,
and we pray that we may see it for the honour and glory of Thy
great and holy name. May Thy glory be our desire,
that we may sing songs of praise unto Thee, O Lord. for all the
wonders which thou canst do. And do remember each and every
one of us here, Lord, thou knowest all about every one of us. Cases
are individual, they are different one from another. And yet, O
Lord, how they need to be brought to thy dear feet. We pray thou
help us to do so, to cast all upon thee, for thou dost care
for thy people. And O Lord, we may commit all unto thee.
Do be merciful to those, Lord, who have sadly forsaken and fallen
away from the things which they were taught from their youth,
who care nothing now for the house of God, the ways of God,
the word of God, and the people of God. Do, O Lord, prick their
hearts and consciences, and bring to their remembrance the things
which they attended to in days gone by. Do be with those who
pray after the prodigals, Lord, who weep after them, who pray
after them, and so far it seems see no answers, see no change. Truly, Lord, these things seem
a folly to the natural eye, but oh, Lord, that's not faith. Oh,
Lord, we thank Thee that the father of the prodigal son, he
waited and watched in faith, and he didn't wait in vain. His
faith was rewarded. His dear son came back, feeling
his need of mercy, feeling his need of a saviour, knowing he
was a sinner. He was no longer worthy to be
called his father's son. Lord, bring many such moments
to pass, we pray thee, for the building up of thy church and
people throughout our land and indeed throughout the earth.
And oh Lord, what a dark day it is in the earth also. For
as we have said, we have many liberties, and we thank thee
for them. O Lord, there are those that
are persecuted in other lands where the word of God is despised,
trodden underfoot, and burned and attempted to do away with.
Those who hate thy word, Lord, do be with thy people wherever
they meet, perhaps not in a literal chapel building as we are favoured
to, but, O Lord, perhaps gathering in a cave or some open outdoor
place in the wilderness, or wherever thy people need, do bless them
and be with them. And we pray for the persecutors.
Lord, our old natures would cry out for their removal from this
time state, but that is not what we're commanded to pray for. We are told, love your enemies.
As hard as that may be, Lord, we confess. But we do pray, O
Lord, that there may be many Saul of Tarsus conversions, that
they who once persecuted the church of Christ may become followers
of Christ, that they may be turned around and have their eyes open
to their sin, to their wickedness and their spiritual poverty,
that they may hunger and thirst after thee, the living God, and
that they may cry after thee, O Lord of hosts, that they may
be given that blessed spirit of humility as the Apostle Paul
did upon his conversion. Lord, what wilt thou have me
to do? Truly, O Lord, that takes grace
and submission to say that. We, O Lord, as poor rebels do
not want to hear what thou wilt have us to do. We want to do
this, we want to do that. And yet, Lord, how often we have
to learn painfully sometimes that thy way is better. Thy way
is the way by which we must go, whether we have passed theretofore
or not. Lord, we must walk in thy ways,
not our own. Our ways are within the broad
way which leadeth to destruction. And we pray, O Lord, thou wilt
grant us wisdom and discernment to see which things are in accordance
with thy word and that which is not. That we may, O Lord, follow after Thee, and hasten
after Thee, that we may flee unto Thee from refuge. Lord,
we pray, grant us hearts for Thee, as Thou didst give to David,
willing to be used of Thee in the purposes of grace. Do soften
our hard hearts, we pray. Be merciful to us. And may we
know Thy quickening power within this day. Bless us each, O Lord,
we pray. Be with us each, we pray thee.
Do bless thy word, do bless the pastor of this place and the
neighboring cause at Tunbridge Wells. Do bless what thou wilt
have him preach there. Bless that which has already
been attended to and help him in the evening hour. And do,
O Lord, return him to his church and people in peace and safety,
the safeties of thee. We bless all thy servants, wherever
they speak, upon the walls of Zion. Truly, O Lord, without
thee we can do nothing. Do, Lord, grant thy Holy Spirit's
door of utterance to be given that power from on high, to speak
as we could never speak in and of ourselves. O Lord, there may
be a day of Pentecost day, where many may be pricked in their
hearts and consciences, saying, men and brethren, what shall
we do? that they may receive the gift of God, which is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord, and that they may repent,
believe the gospel, and be baptized. By thy known Holy Spirit's working
and power and love we pray, be with thy people wherever they
meet, and may this be a day of grace and blessing, where many
of us may say truly we've been with Jesus, But, O Lord, we may
give thee all the honour and all the glory. May there be much
spiritual food for us today, we pray. Truly, we are dogs begging
for crumbs from the master's table. And, O Lord, we do not
deserve. But, O Lord, do crown thy gospel
with success and empty. Send us not away. Lord, we pray,
remember us each. Remember us in mercy. Do bless
us, we pray. Do bless our young and rising
generation, the young children here. Do be gracious and merciful
to them. Do, O Lord, grant them thy fear
in the days of their youth, that they may remember thee, thy creator,
in the days of their youth, that they may flee away from the things
of this world, the darkness of this world, which seeks to drag
away many to destruction. that they may walk in the paths
of righteousness, in gospel ways, and that, O Lord, thou wilt raise
up more from the younger generation to faithfully proclaim thy gospel. To the honour and glory of thy
name we pray. Be with those in the midst of
life, Lord, with all that they have to bear and attend to, Do
grant them thy strength, do grant them thy help and wisdom. And
O Lord, that there may be more glory yet for thee, because thou
hast helped them and given them wisdom in the things which they
must do. And do be with those in the evening time of life also
as we pray this morning. Lord, be merciful to them and
grant them continual reassurances of a good hope through grace
of that heavenly country, that better country. which is yet
to come, where no sin, no pain, no suffering, no anguish, no
manner of evil can be found. Pure, holy, righteous perfection. All thy saints clothed in white,
standing around the throne, singing songs of praises to the Lamb
who once was slain. For sin, the blood of Christ,
for poor needy sinners, shed for man's sin. May that be made
precious to us, we pray. That they be with us each day
and pardon and forgive our every sin of thought, word and deed.
Wash us and cleanse us daily, O Lord, in that precious open
fountain for sin and uncleanness. And impute to us that righteousness
that we need. We ask these things for Jesus
Christ's sake alone. Amen. The good hand of God has brought
us again, A favour bestowed we hope not in vain, To hear from
our Saviour the word of his grace, Then be our behaviour becoming
the place. Remember the ends for which we are met, Alas, my dear friends, we're
apt to forget. The motives that brought us,
the Lord only sees. But if he has taught us, our
ends should be these. In number 456, Tune St. Clement,
number 813. ? Oh, say can you see by the dawn's
early light ? ? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming ? Thee alone, O Savior, and all
that dwells. ? Evermore, evermore be loved. ? ? Evermore, evermore be loved. ? ? Let us find it ready ? ? Let
us do the rest ? ? Let us make some progress ? ? Let all hope
be ceased ? ? God bless our ancient native
land ? ? God bless our ancient native land ? Lord, we praise
and give thanks to that Jesus Christ, our Saviour. ? Till the reclamation ? ? Of Israel
come ? ? And take the repression ? ? Of Israel's soul ? Christ, the Spirit of God, is
there for us now, Christ, heaven and earth, spirit, speech, wisdom,
teach us. ? And send us thy passion ? ? To
teach us to live ? ? And touch with compassion ? ? And strengthen with love ? Seeking the Lord's very much
needed help and your very prayerful attention, I'll direct your thoughts
this afternoon hour to Paul's epistle to the Philippians, chapter
four, and we take by way of text the 13th verse. Paul's epistle to the Philippians,
chapter four, reading verse 13. I can do all things through Christ,
which strengtheneth me. A different part of scripture,
a different text, but alas, the same subject as this morning.
This morning, we read as told by the Savior how without him
we can do nothing. And this afternoon, now we see
that through Christ, We can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth us. Notice in our three readings
there is one thing in common which binds all the three of
them together inextricably. That is the help of God to his
people. We have never experienced, I
trust, the challenge, naturally speaking, of having to pass through
a great water or walk upon water, literally speaking. But yet,
we are called to walk through deep waters spiritually if we
are the people of God, and to walk upon the water if we are
God's chosen people. The natural mind wanders and
thinks, how can I possibly do this? But we can do all things
through Christ, which strengthens me. This is a verse of a chapter
which is a much-loved chapter. In a providential sense, it is
much-loved, and rightly so, but there is one thing that stands
out above all others, one thing that stands above all others,
one need that is greater than all others, and that is mercy. mercy of God, a need for something
which we cannot get in and of ourselves, a divine favour bestowed
by God himself to poor and needy sinners needing mercy. And it
is with the help of a precious Christ that we walk the way by
which we must go, the way of salvation, the way of Christ,
unto that heavenly country which awaits the Lord's people. I can
do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. The worldlings
sadly don't harbor this, they cry out, I can do everything
fine on my own. But old friends, if we are self-confident,
as we said this morning, we're in a dangerous place. We need
to be taught dependence, dependence upon God. I was saying to the
friends at lunchtime sometimes a child doesn't wish to heed
the words of its parents and thinks that they can do without.
And how true it is of a child of God that we have to sometimes
experience the hard way, the painful way at times. That we need to depend upon Christ,
to depend upon God who knows that which we do not know and
see that which we do not see and can do that which we cannot
do. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. What a challenge, what a obstacle
stood in front of the people of Israel. A great Red Sea is
in front of them. The armies of the enemy, the
Egyptians, are coming after them. It seems as though they're leaving
Egypt. Their departure from Egypt was
all for nothing. Not so. When the Lord has a purpose,
he will fulfill it. I will work, and who shall met
him? Says the Lord in his word. Any who dare to stand in the
way of God's people, who dare to stand in the way of God himself,
who try to obstruct his purposes of grace, they shall be dealt
with, and it was exceedingly solemnly so with the Egyptians.
The Red Sea was parted for the children of Israel, They need
not fear, the Lord fought for them, that they may hold their
peace. They were enabled to walk on
dry land. They did it because of the power
of God. The power of God helped them
to walk through. They were able to do that which
was impossible because the Lord was with them. And then of course, so many years
later, as we read in Joshua chapter three, Another body of water
stands in front of them, the River Jordan, the last great
obstacle before they enter the promised land, the last thing
that stands in their way. Jordan, at that time of the year,
having overflowed its banks, they were hoping perhaps that
the river would not quite be as high as it usually was, maybe
halfway full, perhaps, but no. It had overflowed its banks.
What an obstacle to them, but yet they had a good God to go
to. What does the Lord say to Joshua?
The way by which he must go. For ye have not passed this way
heretofore. This is the only way, the way
to the promised land. And for us here today, what is
our way for salvation? It is Christ. It is to walk in
Christ, the way truth and the life. Notice the word the, at
the beginning of that verse in John chapter 14, I believe it
is, may the Lord pardon me if I'm mistaken. The way, the word
the implying one, meaning the only. To say a way would imply
one of many ways with no certain guarantee, which is why the saviour
says he is the way, the truth, the life, guarantee, guarantee
through him, through his redeeming shed blood, to walk in the straight
and narrow way, to head toward the heavenly city, the rest of
the children of God, walking in Christ and doing all things
through Christ which strengtheneth them. I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me and yet, Note this, we have our
natural wisdom, and of course we should be thankful to that.
The law gives us men wisdom, natural wisdom, for after all,
we would never get from one day to the next without it. It is
God-given, but it's only a measure of wisdom. And that is because
we must depend upon Him, to depend on a precious Christ, and do
things through Christ which strengthens His people. We're only given
a measure so that we may lean unto Christ and look unto Christ,
the author and finisher of our faith. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. How often in our natural minds
and through our natural eyes we fear and tremble when we look
at the tempest. How we suddenly become distrusting
We fear the enemy, the forces which we face will overwhelm
us. Oh, may we not be left to be
like Peter. Though we should not despise
him, he was a sinner needing mercy the same as us. We're no
better. We are commanded to trust in
him at all times, ye people, for God is a refuge for us, see
that. How often in fear and unbelief
we start to sink, we start to sink. where we should be walking
on the water, and we should walk in faith toward a precious Christ. How do we need keeping grace?
We need that God-given faith, do we not? To know that we can
do all things through Christ which strengthens me, and that
includes the things which are extraordinary, the things which
we could never do in and of ourselves. The Savior told his disciples,
did he not, Say unto this mountain, depart, and it shall be cast
into the sea. For it to depart, an extraordinary
thing. But you see, if the Lord is with
you, you shall do all things through Christ which strengthens
you. Who gives you that power? And indeed, that power, that
power to speak in his name as was given to Peter on the day
of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. The Lord had promised his
disciples that he would come again and give them that power
which they had not in and of themselves to speak as the spirit
would give them utterance. And there came that power from
on high as the sound of a rushing mighty wind. And so Peter in
boldness, he lifts up his voice and speaks to the people, many
of whom had played an active part in our Lord's crucifixion.
And what happens? Then, brethren, what shall we
do? Repent, therefore, and believe
the gospel. Be baptized. There were 3,000
souls added to the church of God that day. I'm thankful to
hear that there was one yesterday constrained by God's grace to
come forward and give testimony of a dear savior that they had
found. And I hope and pray that it will
continue to be the case. As I'm sure it will, for you
know the world, it shall not come to an end until the very
last one of God's people has been called. All of God's people
shall be called by his grace. Every single one, not one will
be left out. And yet, dear soul, this afternoon,
does it concern you that you might be left out? Do you perhaps
fear you're not in the secret of the love of Christ as you
believe some are? Oh, blessed be God if you feel
that way. May you be pausing and asking the question, are
you ready to meet God? Are you made a real Christian
washed in the Redeemer's blood? Have you union to the church's
living head, Christ? Do you know him for yourself?
You cannot give that relationship and knowledge to yourself, you
know. You need that saving soul knowledge of Christ. to walk
in him and to trust in him, to go unto him, the living God,
for all your help, for all your help in life, that you may find
in him a good and worthy friend, a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother, who adds that strength to his poor people,
who endure not the same extent that he endured on the cross,
For you and I, we could never bear that ourselves, that was
the punishment due to us. But the God-man, Christ Jesus
the Lord, he bore the shame, he bore the guilt, and because
he did so, you can be sure that as we walk through this wilderness
here below, God's promise is our stay, and his goodness he
will make to pass before us in the way. I can do all things
through Christ, which strengtheneth me. I want to know that strengthening,
those blessed encouragements to the people of God. Those encouragements. When we get so low in and of
ourselves, we wonder, can we go on any further? When things
seem so hard, when we feel we can go on walking in the way,
we can no longer go walking in the way. by which we must go. And Christ comes and gives strength
to his people. Not one of his people will be
allowed to go back into the ways of the world. And they will be
reminded of this, because turning back means a forsaking. To hasten
after the things of this world means destruction, but the children
of God will never be allowed to do that. He will keep every
single one of his sheep, though the devil tried to take them
out of his hand. As you can be sure, the devil
hates the work of salvation and has tried to undo it ever since
that solemn day at Calvary. No, the Lord will hold his people
fast. He will keep them within the
veil. You shall hold your peace, poor soul, this afternoon. The
Lord will fight for you in the battle. He will destroy Satan
and you, his soldiers that go on in the way. He will grant
strength. He will enable you to go forward
with the shield of faith and the sword of the word, that you
may bat away the devil's fiery darts and thrust forward the
sword of the word that may rebuke the devil. You think of how Christ
in the wilderness rebuked the devil again and again with the
word of God, that man should not live by bread alone, but
by the very word of God. You know, the devil is a crafty
foe to you and I. He'll often quote scripture to
you and I to trick us into sin. But when the Lord is on our side,
when we are given that God-given ability to do these things through
Christ, which strengthens us, then we are able to resist and
rebuke him, to say, get thee behind me, Satan. For it is written
in the word of God, man shall not live by bread alone, but
by the power of God. but by the word of God, and that
this world is not our rest. We do not seek after earthly
joys and glories, no. Not if we're children of God.
We seek the love of God. We seek the kingdom of God. To
the child of God, the kingdom of God is our one true desire. We want to see glory. We want
to enter that blessed heavenly country where sin and temptation
and tribulation are no more. who want to be delivered from
the things of this world. And yet, how often we fall when
the things become hard, and we need strength, do we not, to
go on? We need the Lord's help. And
indeed, you can be sure the Lord will give it. For later on in
the chapter, we are told that my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory. By Christ Jesus. By Christ Jesus, our Lord. You
notice that the word all is in both verses. I can do all things
through Christ which strengthen me, but my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory. By Christ Jesus. Now
there's something in common again with this morning's text. We
read of the word nothing this morning, and this afternoon we
read of the word all. Both those words mean entirety. Nothing is left out. All your
sin washed away by the precious redeeming blood of the Lamb.
Not one spot or tittle or mark is left. Though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow. Though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool. You sit there perhaps thinking,
what about this or that? This or that sins I've committed?
Yes, dear soul, that one as well. That will be removed. Do you
think we are born in sin, shape and iniquity? Within our hearts,
within us is the red house of sin. Red, sinful. And yet when the white house
of righteousness under the reign of King Jesus, that new nature,
that God-given nature enters, dear friends, red washes away
red. and turns it white as snow. Christ
himself was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration when
he was bathed in shining white, symbolizing his holy perfection
and righteousness. Red shall wash away red and turn
it white as snow. That is what we want. That is
the one thing needful. And oh, dear friends, whilst
you walk in perhaps difficult circumstances. May the Lord through
his Holy Spirit be continually teaching you of your need of
mercy, of the state of your sinnership. That you may learn that true
religion is not of works, lest a man should boast. Oh no. That you may plead unto the living
God. That you may seek a precious Christ and not trust in your
own righteousness which is as filthy rags. that you may go
in the strength of the Lord God in your pathway, that you will
make mention of his righteousness, even of his only. I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me. A blessed word, like that this
morning. Without me you can do nothing,
as we read this morning. We can die very peaceably if
we are one of the Lord's people. For the poor worldling's death
is a terrifying thing. But to the child of God, it is
but a gateway, a doorway to eternal life in Jesus Christ. If you turn to the book of the
Revelation, you read there in chapter 14, the 13th verse, blessed
are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest, yea, saith
the Spirit, for they rest from their labours. And you know,
as we said this morning and we would say so again, those that
seek to do things in the Lord, who feel a dependence upon him,
they are humble, they are given that spirit of humility, humility
Being the very hallmark of a child of God for humility is of Christ. Christ made himself of no reputation
when he was born here upon earth, not in a grand magnificent palace,
but in a poor and lowly stable. Though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor. For your sakes he laid down his
life and he was humble and still is humble. and therefore they
which die in the Lord are humbled under his mighty hand. It doesn't
say blessed are the proud for they die in the Lord, no. They
that are proud are not blessed, they die in their sins. They
die in arrogance. They do not feel their need of
a precious Christ. I know of one case of a lady
who was rather fond of sheepdog trialing. She died of cancer
not long ago, and apparently She wanted a dog guard of honor
outside the crematorium, and I understand that she and another
lady who I also knew of, they're very proud people, feeling that,
well, they didn't feel any regrets, and how very solemn. If you and
I, when we come to our dying day, do not feel our need of
mercy, feeling that we've done well, feeling that we've lived
a good life, Oh, dear friends, if you're a child of God, you
won't think like that. You'll know your need of mercy,
first and foremost. You'll need, you'll know your
desire of love, the everlasting love of God. You'll seek him,
and because you seek him, precious in the eyes of the Lord is the
death of his saints. He draws near. He enables you
to pass through time into eternity. to be with a precious Christ,
which is far better than remaining here below. I can do all things
through Christ, which strengthens me. It does not say cannot, it
says can do. Can do all things through Christ. You notice there the connection
with this morning's text, where the Savior told us, without me
he can do nothing, but with him, with Christ, we can do all things,
and we need that spirit of humble humility to depend on Him, the
living God, for our help and our strength whilst walking in
the way here below, the way by which we must go. I do feel very sorry for the poor
worldlings, you know, when I see them rolling in the things of
this world. trying to live their best life
when it's all going to perish. They don't want to walk the paths
of righteousness. They don't think that they'll
enjoy it as much, which is exceedingly sad and solemn. They do not embrace
their need of mercy. They do not embrace the truth
that there is a more blessed, more eternal, more wonderful,
eternal life to come to the people of God. They live for the moment. which is very sad and very solemn. They don't want to know about
a precious Christ. They don't want to do all things
through Christ. They're content with their lot
in life. And I pray, as I'm sure you do, that many will be brought
from this surrounding neighborhood and village to fill these pews,
realizing that without Him, they can do nothing. All that they
have, all that you and I have is God-given. And he is worthy
of all the glory and praise for it. That we may be able to do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I remember a year ago sitting
in my local cathedral for a carol service, and to my astonishment
the place was packed to sing the carols, the much-loved Christmas
carols which we love so much. And I remember thinking to myself,
if only this place, and indeed all cathedrals, churches, and
chapels, were filled with hungering and thirsting, seeking souls,
embracing these precious truths, you think of all they that were
on the Mount of Transfiguration, sorry, the Sermon on the Mount,
the Mount, to hear the Sermon of Christ, surely the most wonderful
sermon that has ever been preached Many there were, eager to listen
and hear to what Jesus Christ had to say. And through his servants,
he says this, through his word, he says this, I can do all things
through Christ, which strengtheneth me. He is our strength. And those
blessed tithes have renewed, are blessed indeed, when the
Lord comes in mercy. and injects more and more of
his love into the hearts of his sheep, that we may love him because
he first loved us, and gives us that encouragement
to give us that faith's eye view of what is not seen with our
natural eye, but the substance of something yet hopeful. And you know faith is at the
very essence of this, our text, faith in Christ. I think of poor
doubting Thomas, He more than not said, except he would only
believe unless he saw, unless he saw the imprint of the nails
and put his hand into the wound in Christ's side, he would not
believe. And you know, friends, we say
such things like that where we do not believe something, where
we do not trust natural men to do as they've said. And that
is not faith. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for. the evidence of things not seen. Faith is to walk on the water. Faith is to walk in Christ. Faith
is to let go in Christ, to trust in him and flee unto him into
the cleft of the rock, the rock Christ Jesus, and trust him for
our salvation. And you can be certain of this,
thou shalt not seek his face in vain. they that trust in him
for their salvation shall be rewarded. Come in thou, blessed
of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without? They receive their
mercy. And you know it's wonderful if
on a dying bed you hear those words sung to you from the heavenly
host. Mercy's full power I then shall
prove. Loved with an everlasting love,
I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. May the
Lord bless all that has been of himself and forgive anything
that I have said amiss. I apologise for the early finish,
but I feel we must come to the close. The Lord have his blessing
and forgive all amiss. Amen. We conclude our service this
afternoon by singing hymn number 724. The tune is Evening Hymn
number 709. How vast the sufferings who can
tell when Jesus fought sin, death, and hell, and was in battle slain. How great the triumph who can
sing when from the grave the immortal King triumphant rose
again. Yet we'll attempt his name to
bless while we pass through the wilderness to Canaan's happy
shore. But when we reach the plains
above, and every breath we draw his love, we'll sing his glories
more. Hymn number 724. Tune Evening Hymn number 709.
? The Son of Man's creation ? ?
And Jesus, in heaven and earth ? ? And God, in heav'n and earth
? ? To make the Jordan blue and free
? ? And over me give glory ? ? I am not worthy ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? In which the praise of God
? ? And heaven prepared ? ? The glory of God ? ? Is given to His children
? O Lord, in thy infinite love
and mercy, pardon and forgive all that has been amiss this
day. Bless all that has been of thyself and do bless this
people here, and do continue to add unto them lords such as
shall be saved, for the building up of thy church and for thine
own honour and glory. We humbly pray. Do bless us as we separate and
do move with us during the coming week. Do help us to believe and
trust, O Lord, that we can face and do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth us, and to trust in Thee and Thee alone,
not in our natural wisdom, not in our own understanding, but
to trust in Thee, the living God, from whence cometh our help,
O Lord of hosts. Be with thy, be with the pastor
as he prepares for the evening service at Tunbridge. You bless
him and help him there, and to enable him to speak as thou art
having, to the good of each soul, and to the honor and glory of
thy great and holy name. Now may the grace of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, fellowship
and communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each,
both now and forevermore. Amen.