I'll just say, particularly for
the benefit of those listening online this evening, that if
the Lord will, there will be a baptising service here on Saturday
afternoon at 2.30 p.m. when we hope our dear pastor
will be enabled to take that service. We commence our service
this evening by singing hymn number 966, the tune is Eventide,
number 140. Happy are they to whom the Lord his gracious name
makes known. and by His Spirit and His Word
adopts them for His own. He calls them to a mercy seat
and hears their humble prayer, and when within His house they
meet, they find His presence near. Hymn number 966, tune Eventide
number 140. ? Give our thanks to the Lord ?
? His gracious aim makes known ? ? And by His grace we are healed
? winter and his brood adopts him
for his own. He calls him to ? The mercy seat ? ? And tears
of the crown ? ? When repentance thou say'st me ? ? May guide it presently ? ? And hold so high ? ? In art it prides ? There can
no witchcraft For Jesus helps them from the strife By His almighty
hand. O say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? That springs ? ? In genius ?
? In praise it brings ? ? Each troubled comfort brings ? In the mortals' fears and souls
to bear, The dead dog remains beyond. Let me enjoy the coastal way,
attempting unbeknown. May the Lord help us in reading
from his most holy word. The first epistle of Peter, chapter
two. First epistle of Peter, the second
chapter. Wherefore, laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may
grow thereby. If so be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious, to whom cometh unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone,
elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe
he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling and
a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word. being
disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,
that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light, which in time
past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved,
I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold
glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king or supreme
or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evil doers. and for the praise of them that
do well. For so is the will of God that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men, as free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the King. Servants, be subject to your
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also
to the froward. For this is thank worthy, if
a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when
ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if when ye do well and suffer
for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Who, his own self, bare our sins
in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. for ye were a sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop or overseer
of your souls. May the Lord bless that portion
of his holy word and help us as we come before him in prayer. Most holy, almighty Lord God. It is in thy providence that
we are found before thee and before the friends tonight in
the pulpit here. And we do pray, Lord, that it
may prove to be of thee. Thy ways are past finding out. We cannot comprehend or understand
the will of God. But we know this, Lord, that
we are rightly advised in thy word to say, if the Lord will,
this or that. And so it should be with every
step of our life that we consider what the will of the Lord is
and that we are subject to that divine holy will in all our movements
and in all our affairs and concerns. And so, Lord, as we stand here,
we do desire to plead for the dear pastor of this people. And
we do pray, Lord, that thou will draw near and be with him even
this evening, as, Lord, no doubt he will listen in if he's able
to do so. And we do pray, Lord, that thou
will graciously raise him up and strengthen him, Lord, for
the service which, if the Lord will, is to be held on the coming
Saturday. Lord, we do pray that this season
of rest may be for a purpose. This season of being upon his
bed and, Lord, of contemplation and consideration of many things,
we have no doubt, is in the purposes of God. and that there may be,
as it were, we might put it the right way, good coming out of
seeming evil. Oh Lord, we do pray for it. We
pray for thy blessing upon him. We do thank thee, Lord, for that
great encouragement to him as the pastor of this flock, that
great encouragement to the church and the deacons and the congregation
in that a dear friend has been constrained, Lord, to tell out
of what the Lord has done for her soul. And Lord, we do beg
and plead that thou wilt be with Lydia as she ventures again,
Lord, and we must say it, if it is thy will, on the Saturday
coming. And Lord, we do pray that thou
wilt, as our dear friend prayed in the vestry, keep the enemy
at bay. How active he is in times of
blessing in the church. How active he is, Lord, when
thy favour is known, how active he is when the presence of the
Lord is felt in a church and people. Lord, because there's
hatred, and there's dislike, and Lord, there's, well, we feel
like this, the devil is venomous against the work of God. But
Lord, what a mercy that he does not call the tune. What a mercy
that thou art in control. And so we do pray for Lydia,
Lord, that thou would hold her up and hold her on and bless
her indeed in her soul as Lord, as she comes through the waters
and Lord, be with them here. We do thank thee, Lord, from
a full heart that thou has heard and answered many prayers this
year that they would be favoured. And Lord, it is in thy mercy
that a poor, wretched, soul has come forward. And Lord, we're
sure she feels that. And Lord, those rightly drawn
by the cause of a man, the love of the man, Christ Jesus, feel that very much. Their sinfulness,
their wretchedness, their lack of faith, and all these things.
But Lord, we pray that thou wilt be with her. And Lord, indeed,
she shall prove that when thou passest through the waters, I
will be with thee. Lord, do indeed bless her indeed
then, and the flock here, remember them each, and Lord, may it be
a true encouragement for them to go on, to pray on and to plead
on, that Lord, it must be said that yet there is room, and that
Lord, others looking on, Lord, may find that exercise and burden
in their own hearts, regarding following the Lord. Lord, we
remember it ourselves. When a friend at Staplehurst
was baptized, and it was so clear to us that the time must come
when we would have to follow Thee, because Lord, such was
the feeling of love in our hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. We
cannot be held back. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Lord, they're the days we desire,
the day of thy power. So Lord, bless the dear friends
here, we do pray. We pray for the friends, Lord,
that are over from Holland, and we plead for them, Lord, that
we'll bless them and be with them in their visit here. And
Lord, in their support, of this cause of truth, and Lord, in
their own personal lives and faith, Lord, do go before them,
watch over them, hold them up, and hold them on, we do plead.
And we do pray for any that are not able to be with us tonight,
and perhaps we're listening instead. They'll know us, Lord, the weeknight
service, those busy things to attend to, and sometimes, Lord,
prevent us from getting to the courts of God in the week. And
Lord, what a mercy that thou art a kind God and understandest
that, even as we have ourself proved on many occasions. And
what a favor it is, Lord, that we have the word that can be
extended via the internet these days. And Lord, what a favor
has come out of the to some degree from the coronavirus
in that way, but also with some of the churches that already
had moved in that way. Lord, we thank thee for the good
use of modern technology, and we pray for thy blessing upon
it. We know thy blessing has been upon it, Lord. We believe
we have proved it, and we pray, Lord, that thou will continue
to bless the word. In all this, Lord, and in our
meeting tonight, We need the Holy Spirit to go up and down
the pews, to be with those listening in, and to grant the blessing.
Oh Lord, may we worship thee in spirit and in truth. Lord, we do plead that it may
be an occasion to remember. We do pray, Lord, that the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ will be upon us. We do plead that,
Lord, there shall be a portion for seven and also for eight. We do beg that thou would dispense
those portions from heaven above, Lord, and thou would open the
windows of heaven and pour out a blessing such as there may
not be room enough to receive it. Oh, what do we know of the
soul being too full almost with the blessing of the Lord Jesus
Christ? that we cannot contain Him. O
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt come this night, and Lord, may
there be a crumb even. O, a crumb will do for those
hungry souls. Lord, we pray for it. A crumb
of mercy, Lord, I crave, unworthy to be fed. Yes, with dainties
such as angels have, or with the living bread. But Lord, grant
that crumb to a poor soul this night. Perhaps a poor soul has
been on the stretch. A poor soul, Lord, has been seeking
Thee earnestly throughout the day, that Thou wouldst come and
give them a touch, a one-touch, Lord, to help them on their way
with the journey of life and the journey of faith. Oh Lord
we do pray then thou would remember a few poor sinners gathered in
thy court here tonight and Lord we would not forget those servants
that are serving thee this night upon the walls of Zion and we
pray for them Lord and plead that thou will give them that
which they need in the hour and that Lord thou will bless them
also the prayer meetings that are being held And Lord, again,
we look to the list, there was a prayer meeting due here tonight.
Lord, may it be a prayer meeting, in that sense, that we are where
prayer was wont to be made, even tonight, even though it's a preaching
service, that there will be much prayer in the pew. And Lord,
that consequently, that power in the pulpit, given of the Holy
Spirit. Lord, hear the prayers, that
the poor friends have offered up, both, Lord, that they might
desire that personal benefit, but also prayer for collective
worship, that, Lord, thou would be amongst us. Oh, Lord, perhaps
once come in, show me a token, a token, Lord, for good, some
token of thy special love. Show me a token, as the psalmist
says, that they that hate me may see it. Yes, Lord, do truly
show us a token. Lord, is it wrong to ask for
one more token? Is it wrong to ask for one more
blessing? Well, we know thou canst dispense
them. Endless blessings are with and
upon the Lamb. Broken hearts repeat the same. Oh, Lord, may those blessings
then be dispensed this night. Christ has blessings to impart,
the hymn writer says. Sinner, wipe away thy tears,
yes. Oh Lord, do bring those blessings
upon us. We'll wipe away our tears then,
tears over sin, tears over our wretchedness, tears over our
lack of faith. Oh Lord, do bring us them, we
pray. So do remember the dear deacons
here and encourage and help them, Lord. in the diaconate and their
duties here. We pray that thou will be with
each member of the church and we pray, Lord, that thou would
favour them with thy presence that is coming a Saturday. We pray thou would be with the
congregation, the children, Lord, those that are too young to be
out in the week. Remember them. Those, Lord, that
have their burdens and cares in daily life. Lord, they need
thee. to go before them, to watch over
them, to guide them, to direct them. We pray, Lord, that they
might keep their eyes on Jesus fixed and there their hopes to
stay. We pray, Lord, that they would
be with any that have a particularly tried and troubled pathway at
this time, that they might feel that all these things are against
them. Oh, Lord, we pray in such a case. that Thou wilt appear and show
them that Thou art in their pathway. Thou wilt watch over them in
it. Lord, Thou dost not necessarily
remove the troubles and the burdens, but Thou dost show them the sweetness
of Thy presence and that Thou wilt be with them. And so Lord,
we do pray for those in difficult providential pathways, those
that have things before them, perhaps in the weeks ahead. O
Lord, do appear, do watch over them, we plead, and do grant
them that word, even as Saul spoke unto David, Go, and the
Lord be with thee. Go, and the Lord be with thee. And David went, and the Lord
was with him. And so, Lord, we plead that thou
would remember us in the nation, I know we do pray, Lord, that
they will turn us again and we shall be turned. We need it,
Lord. We do need turning. We are a sinful, wretched nation
that has turned from God and that loves the minority groups,
Lord, that come up with all these anti-biblical things, Lord, and
very core of the family is being removed. And Lord, we have seen
that progressive decline since the 60s really, and Lord, how
it is that there is that lack of respect for authority, for
parents. There is that world that we live
in that is, Lord, in a state of control really by the devil
and how solemn these things O Lord, protect thy people, be a hedge
and a wall round about them, and help them, Lord, in these
concerns and cares, we do pray. And we do plead that thou wilt
yet turn us as a nation. We pray for our Prime Minister
and leaders as we are exhorted to do, even in the reading we
read, honour the King. And so, Lord, we do pray that
we might pray for the King too, and that thou would remember
him. Lord, we have much to pray for. We plead also for the wars in
the earth. We pray for the war in Ukraine,
that yet, Lord, if it could be thy will, thou would bring it
to an end. And Lord, that the oppressor
will turn away and back to their own land. We also pray, Lord,
that thou would put thy finger upon the situation in the Middle
East and how solemn it is, Lord, in the Gaza Strip. We do pray,
Lord, that that terrible terrorist organization Hamas will yet be
destroyed, Lord, and we seek, Lord, that thou would, as it
were, help to root out the anti-Christian part, Lord, there in the Palestinian
situation. But we do pray, Lord. We do pray
for those caught up, those innocent civilians caught up on both sides. Lord, remember them, we pray.
But oh, what terrible atrocities this terrorist group brought
to pass. And yet, so solemnly, Lord, there
are those in our nation in high places and even in the media
that cannot call them or name them as a terrorist group. We live in an age where that
which is good is considered evil, and that which is evil is considered
good. How solemn it is, and it speaks,
Lord, to us of the last days. Lord, may our eyes, may we be
watching for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Well, Lord, we come
to thy word. We do need thee, Lord, to Graciously
help us, we are dependent upon thee, and we pray that, Lord,
it may be the word that is the right word for tonight. We pray
for thy blessing upon it, Lord, and we pray for thy favour in
these things. Do help our friend at the organ
as well, and, Lord, we pray that thou would remember our friend
at the desk tonight, and, Lord, bless the hymns, we do pray.
O Lord, May we seek with that true contrite heart, that feeling
of desire, Lord, that thou will cleanse us from all our uncleanness. Oh, Lord, we are vile. We can
have to say with Job, behold, I am vile, but Lord, wash us,
cleanse us, make us whole, we do pray. And finally, Lord, we
would pray that we would seek in everything, we would seek
these things, our petitions with that spirit of praise and thanksgiving
to thee for all thy mercies, for all thy favours extended
to us. Lord, we have much to be thankful
for. Help us to bless thee for thy
many favours. We seek all these things, the
forgiveness of our sins for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Continue our service by singing
hymn number 994. The tune is St Giles number 60. From sin's dark thorny maze to
Canaan's fertile plains, a travelling fair one in distress on her beloved
leans. Through fire and flood she goes,
a weakling more than strong, vents in his bosom all her woes,
and, leaning, moves along. Which didst thou to me place,
Here in this certain place? And earth and heaven in its peace,
O come ye, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. ? The Lord and Lord she was ? ?
The living hope that shone ? ? Faced in her trials and tribulations
? O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us
adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore
Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let
us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, And darkness fills the skies. She leaps upon it's cry, Justness,
truth, and self-surprise. When you turn mighty proud, that
heavenly conscience fails, He took you in, but he took it
there on his. He gives a covenant sure, ? Perhaps a centurion ? ? And to his personage secure ?
? His trembles beg for help ? Needing the help of the dear
Lord in speaking and you, dear friends, in hearing, I would
direct your prayerful attention to the first epistle of Peter,
chapter two, and the first clause in verse seven. First epistle of Peter, chapter
two, verse seven, the first clause. Unto you, therefore, which believe
he is precious, unto you therefore which believe he is precious.
And the verse reads on, but unto them which be disobedient, the
stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. It's a beautiful word before
us, friends. And I do desire, as help of the
Lord, firstly, to speak a little of the earlier part of this chapter,
really, as background, to speak of the cornerstone, the Lord
Jesus Christ himself, chosen of God, as we read in verse four,
and precious. and then has helped to consider
what indeed it is to believe. And then having that belief given
of God, truly how precious he is to those that believe. But before we come there, friends,
as with all parts of scripture, there are two sides to this,
aren't there? Unto you which believe he is
precious, But unto them which be disobedient, he is not precious. And it's the key word in our
text, really, that preciousness of Christ to those that are his. So may we come to a little of
the background. Simon Peter, he's a fisherman,
friends. He's not a learned man. in terms
of academia, called to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
indeed Peter we hear much of, more really than any other disciple,
possibly John, we know the disciple whom Jesus loved, but we read
much of Simon Peter, he was often the spokesperson, spokesman for
the disciples. But Peter, with all his perpetuosity,
with all that that he would jump in and quickly answer and speak
to the Lord. Underneath it all, he lived very
close to the Lord. And under the work of the Spirit
in him, he penned these two epistles. They were penned to the churches
in Asia Minor, which today would be in Turkey. They were penned
there to the churches which Paul had established. And they were
penned for specific reasons, because those churches need to
be strengthened in the faith. And they needed to be strengthened
particularly against persecution. In the first epistle the persecution
that was external persecution And I just want to say this friends If we don't know what persecution
is And we never have known any persecution. We we are not walking
in the pathway to glory The biggest persecutor and adversary
of the Christian believer is the devil. And friends, he is
very active, as no doubt some of you know, where the Lord is
working. And therefore he is active in
the child of God, insinuations in the mind, probings, thoughts
that come upon you, feelings sometimes, which is why there
is much to tempt and to try the poor believer. These things make
Christ all the more precious when we come to that part of
the text but you see persecution And he speaks of this in that
external persecution, and I believe if you read, which you can at
your leisure, the second epistle of Peter, you will find that
he talks much there of internal, as we might call it, in the church
persecution. Chapter two, there are false
prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you. How searching these things are.
how we need to search our own hearts, that we are not false
prophets, that we are not false teachers, but that we are those
that the Lord has taught to teach others, particularly those of
us that are older, those that are older in age and we look
to the young to guide and direct them in the right way, what wisdom
we need. Well, so Simon Peter, he writes
as under the direction of the Holy Spirit, these words to encourage. And therefore coming to this
chapter, he says, wherefore laying aside all malice, all guile,
those things, friends, that are in our hearts, if we're honest
before God, to lay them aside, evil speakings, and that we may
be as newborn babes a desire the sincere milk of the word
to grow by it to grow in grace and if so be ye have tasted that
the lord is gracious and then it says this and this is where
we wanted to come first of all to whom coming as unto a living
stone disallowed indeed of men now this stone this stone the
cornerstone of which we read in verse 6, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone elect and precious. This is Jesus Christ himself,
who is the cornerstone in the building, who was sacrificed
upon the cross for his dear people. He was chosen of God and made
precious unto those that are chosen of God. and he is the
intercessor between man, sinful fallen man, and the God in heaven. But friends, we first read in
Psalm 118 of this precious cornerstone, the stone which the builders
refused. It's become the headstone of
the corner, Psalm 118 verse 22. Now, who are the builders? Who's refused this stone? I believe,
friends, in the thoughts that I, as I pondered this, and friends,
I'm sure you'll have your own thoughts. In the Old Testament,
there was a Babylonish captivity. The empire of Babylon was huge. There were the Assyrians, again,
a huge empire. And there were many smaller empires,
but they opposed the Israelites. And I also thought of this in
the Old Testament. There were many, the Ammonites
and the Moabites, that opposed the children of God. These, not
all of these had their own All of these had their own idols,
their own gods to go to. They rejected the cornerstone. You know, even in Isaiah, we
read of this cornerstone. And it is integral to our text
before we come to it, friends. And I know I'm speaking of the
background here, but we read, we read, Behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation of stone, a tried stone. a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation. And it says this, he that believeth
shall not make haste. They're the believers that we
seek, that they will not make haste in their own flesh, but
they're drawn of the Lord, drawn in the day of his power. But
let us come to this. You see, this cornerstone, the
Lord Jesus Christ given that those lively stones, which is
the church, are built up, as we read in verse five, a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood to offer up sacrifices acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ or through Jesus Christ. Friends, how beautiful
is the work of the Trinity that we can clearly see in the background
here that Peter speaks of, the work of God in choosing a one
that is precious, his own son, to be the chief cornerstone. And then the work of the spirit
in drawing souls to have a love and a desire to be stones in
that building. Yes. So friends, in the Old Testament,
we spoke of those Babylonians and the Assyrians, et cetera,
who rejected the builder. In the New Testament, they rejected
him. They rejected Jesus when he was
in front of them, and he spoke to the scribes, and he spoke
to the Pharisees, and he spoke in front of them, didn't he?
And the lawyers. And they questioned him. Yes,
my friends, they did. And we read there that He said
to them, did you never read in the scriptures, a stone which
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? They rejected the stone, the
chief corner stone. Well, that's two groups that
have rejected him, Old Testament and New Testament. What about
the third group? All mankind in sinful flesh has
rejected the chief cornerstone. You and I, in our sinful flesh,
reject this man. Release unto us Barabbas, we
say. My friends, we do. In our flesh,
with the wickedness of our heart, is that vile that we will not
have this man to reign over us. until and unless there is that
vital change. And we are made to see the preciousness
of Christ as the chief cornerstone. Then there's a change when he
works in the heart to show us our vileness and our wretchedness.
But friends, we have rejected. We are like the builders that
have rejected him in our flesh. in our flesh. And this is why,
friends, in and of ourselves, we can do nothing in the work
of salvation. And I know there are those that
will tell you, otherwise all you've got to do is believe.
No, my friends, we find, like the hymn writer says, oh, could
I but believe, then all would easy be. And so it would. trying to think of the rest of
the lines in that hymn a bit if I can find that. I would but
cannot. Lord relieve my help must come
from thee. Yes we can only believe. And
you know, there's such a change. Instead of, I will not have this
man to reign over me. When the Lord works in our heart,
shows us our sinnership, brings us to repent before him, brings
us to desire his salvation, gives us a hope in his dear son, in
this cornerstone, then my friends, then my friends, it's this, reign
over us at will, reign over us, accomplish thy will, and powerfully
bring us forth from all or ill. There is that complete change. What a mercy, the work of salvation
is his. Now let us come then to this
word, unto you therefore which believe. What does it mean to
believe? To believe is to accept that
something is truth. If somebody makes a statement,
if we believe they're telling the truth, we believe what they've
said. A believer is one that believes
the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth in the Bible, the truths
entirely. Friends, and it means that we
don't believe in part of it and eradicate the parts that we don't
want to have. But the question is, Are we believers? Do we believe that this chief
cornerstone is the rock on which salvation is founded? The rock
of ages. Our firmer foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is built for your faith in his excellent word,
the word of the Lord that standeth for all eternity. Now friends,
this is it tonight. Are you, am I, believers? Do we believe it is truth, that
the Word of God is truth? And do we believe that Jesus
is the Son of God? Do we believe in the glorious
work of grace, the electing love of the Father who chose a people
before the foundation of the earth? You know, friends, belief
is something, again, that we need to be given of the Lord. I think of that man who came. He had a son who was dumb, but
he had a dumb spirit, and he foameth at the mouth and teareth
around. And, you know, friends, Jesus
didn't immediately heal him. He asked his father, how long
is it since he's been like this? And he said, of a child. And
you know, Jesus said this, if thou canst believe, all things
are possible to him that believeth. And we read this straightway,
the father of the child cried out and said with tears, with
tears, friends, you see, that's the contrition, that's the spirit,
working in the shop with tears, with tears. He said this, Lord
I believe, Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief. One of the
things with a true believer is the fact that they will be concerned
about their lack of belief. They will desire that they will
be, as it were, stronger believers. that their belief will be more
established. Friends, those in their full
confidence, I believe once. You know, there are those that
I've known and they've said this, well I believed, I committed
myself unto the Lord, that's it. Through the life, that's
it, I believe and therefore I'm a believer. My friends, they
that have no changes fear not God and you will know, you will
know at times That unbelief rising in your heart and it will be
a sadness and a sorrow to you, but you're a believer. You're
a believer if it's a concern to you, my dear friends. It's
a very sign of it that you believe in him because you desire this.
Like dear Newton of old, be gone unbelief. Be gone unbelief. My savior is near and for my
relief will surely appear. Believe. Belief. If thou canst
believe, all things are possible. So we come to our word, you see,
unto you therefore which believe. You believe the truth, you believe
that the Lord has done these things and he gives you a hope
in your own soul that he's done it for you. And friends, that belief, It's like
this, you see, without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Lord, give me more faith, more solid faith, more confidence
indeed. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is God and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. Must believe that He is, that
He is God. Oh, you see those believers,
And we need the Lord to show us that we are believers, true
believers, like those and others. You see, again, he spoke to his
disciples, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God,
believe also in me, in my father's house and many mansions and so
on and so forth, but believe also in me. I am the way, the
truth, the truth, you see, and the life. And I believe that
it was, that he also says this when he sent his 11 to go and
preach. He go into the world and preach.
He said this, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth. Yes, we believe
the word is truth. The Lord has showed us it's truth.
Our heart's been alien to the truth, but he's turned us, he's
softened us, he's worked in us to look to him who is truth. The way, the truth, the life,
and we've come to Jesus. He's drawn us. But you see, that,
and that baptism there, let me just clarify where it says he
that believeth and he's baptized, shall be saved. That's the baptism,
I believe, of the Holy Spirit, friends, in the soul. But that
baptism of the Holy Spirit in changing the heart in that it's
like Nicodemus, he must be born again. That's the baptism of
the Holy Spirit being born again when we're shown our need of
the Savior. Well, Therefore we become a believer
in that way, in the Lord Jesus Christ. In some it's a gradual
work, in others it's very sudden. I spoke to someone, and I hadn't
intended of saying this, one of the deacons in Australia. He had left the courts of God
for over 20 years, and at a funeral which he attended, that my dear
father took. That man was both convicted of
sin and given a hope of glory within 15 minutes in the same
service. And he hadn't attended the house
of prayer for 20 years. And he was right out there in
the world, friends. That's the wonders of redeeming
love. But you see, friends, with others,
they creep on for many years. how individual it is, the pathway. But in all, in all I believe
this, he will be precious to all these believers. And to you
which believe, which believe, well we haven't got much beyond
that, but you see this, he that believeth shall not be damned.
Yes, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Well,
you see that baptism of the Holy Spirit, It does bring in an exercised
soul that time when they do desire, as I believe a dear friend here
has desired, to be baptized in water. Friends, that following
the Lord Jesus in that way which he set down, and it is our desire
and prayer that the Lord will be amongst you on this coming
Saturday, if it be his will. But you see, this then, to move
on to this last part, this beautiful word precious. What does it mean? What does the word precious mean? It means, friends, of great value. What a question for you and me
tonight. Is the Lord Jesus of great value? Another question,
is he of the greatest value of anything in our life? What do we value most? It's a question for us because
I'll tell you this, friends. One of the clever tricks of the
enemy is that he has set up idols. You know, even it can be those
near and dear to us. He has set up idols or he set
up those which stand, things that stand in the way of God. And you might say to me, well,
hold on a minute, that's perhaps going a little bit too far. He
doesn't, he hates, he hates the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And honestly, friends, if he can work and set something up
as an idol, anything that you become really interested in,
it draws you aside. And we're all got a body of sin
and flesh ever to be on the watch that he is the most thing, the
thing most precious to us. I could from all things parted
be, but never ever Lord from thee. He's precious. He's most
valuable to us. We cannot, friends, I'm going
to put this in a nutshell. You cannot live through tomorrow
without him. You cannot go through Saturday,
Sunday coming without him. You need him. I need thee every
hour, most gracious Lord, no tender voice like thine can peace
afford, goes the hymn. That's living on Christ. That's
leaning upon our beloved like we've just sung in the hymn.
That will make him precious to you. Yes, he is your beloved. Therefore, because you believe
in him and you cannot live without him, you cannot go a day without
him, You have to plead over your sins, you have to seek after
an absent God, you mourn an absent God. My friends, this, this is
how precious He is to you. And, you know, this preciousness
of Christ. It's so solemn in Matthew's Gospel
because we read there of the woman that came with the precious
ointment. The word is the same, precious,
so very valuable, costly ointment. And of course, she poured it
on his head as he sat at night. And of course,
they felt, the disciples, the ointment was valuable and it
could have been given to the poor. Jesus said, She had poor
disointment on my body. She did it for my burial. You
always had the poor with you. Why trouble you, the woman?"
And so on and so forth. But you know, immediately after
that, we read this. One of the twelve, Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priest and said unto them, what will you
give me? What will you give me? And I
will deliver him unto you. and they covenanted with him.
They made a promise therefore for 30 pieces of silver. Friends,
it comes so close because Judas Iscariot was a close follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave every indication of being
a real believer. He even preached the word in
his name as the others had done. He went about with the disciples.
They were a close group. He would have suffered persecution.
He would have suffered the taunts of the scribes and the Sadducees. Friends, how close it is. I don't
know that we really always consider this in its full depth. We don't
want to be a Judas. 30 pieces of silver. That was
the value. That's how precious the Lord
Jesus Christ was to him. 30 pieces of silver. How precious
is he to you and me? You know, friends, the most costly
metal upon the earth, Precious metal is rhodium, it's more valuable
than gold. And I understand that an ounce
of rhodium is worth something like 13,000 US dollars, just
an ounce. What is it compared to the love
of the Lord Jesus Christ in a sinner's soul? What is it compared to the preciousness
of His blood at which Peter again, you know interestingly Peter
in his epistles uses this word precious more than any other
book that is recorded in scripture because he knew it, he was a
close follower of the Lord and he says in the previous chapter
verse 19 or 18, we were not redeemed with corruptible things that
we've been talking about as silver and gold from your vain conversation,
but this, friends, but with the precious blood of Christ. As
of a lamb without blemish and without spot, that precious blood. You see, friends, he's precious
to you. If you know something of his
blood being shed for you, that'll make him precious. Oh, it will,
yes. Oh that you could sing what voice
is that which speaks for me in heaven's high court for good
and from the curse has set me free tis Jesus precious blood
he's precious in his precious blood oh that value then valueless
you can't put a value on it all the gold all the rhodium
All the blue diamonds, which is the most expensive pearl or
diamond you can get in the world. Again, I think I read somewhere
not so long ago that some of those are worth something like
$35,000 a carat. And people will go after those
things. They will desire to steal it
or accrue it. What shall it profit a man? if
he gained the whole world and lose his own soul, but those
that desire the Lord Jesus Christ that are drawn. Friends, I hope
you have been, and I really do, that we find him precious. And
you know, what are these signs that we find him precious? It's
the softened heart. It's the tears of contrition
over sin. Because he's precious, it hurts
us that we sin. You know, we don't want to hurt
those that we love. And so it is with the Lord Jesus
Christ, we love him whom we've not seen. And therefore, there
is that which makes him so precious. He's precious to us because he's
answered our prayers. He's precious because he's a
prayer hearing God. He's precious because he can
do far more exceeding abundantly for us above all we can ask or
think. He's precious because he can
make a way where there seems to be no way, and that includes
a way of salvation. He's precious because there are
those times when we believe he's drawn near and we felt a little
of the love shed abroad in our heart. He's precious because
despite our sins, despite our lack of faith, despite our distance
from God, He does not cut us off, but rather He's long-suffering
and kind and gracious. Friends, He's precious. Oh, we
can't really speak of this. I believe the hymn writer sums
it up beautifully. And he says this, Jesus is precious,
says the word. What comfort does this truth
afford? And those who in his name believe
with joy this precious truth received, to them he is more
precious far than life and all its comforts are, more precious
than their daily food, more precious than their vital blood, more
precious. And we read later on in Peter
that he says this, He speaks of precious faith,
precious faith. Second Epistle, first verse,
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them
that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God. And he goes on again to speak
of exceeding great and precious promises. You see, all these
things, all these precious aspects then, of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, this time of year we
have that Bible reading often read in Isaiah 9, which I think
it's Isaiah 9, yes, where it speaks that unto us a child is
born. And it goes on to use those,
well I was going to say superlatives, because that's what they are
regarding his name. Wonderful! Counselor! the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace, all of those things, you know,
will make him precious to the poor sinner. Precious because
they need him. Precious because they cannot
do without him. Precious because they cannot
continue in the journey of life without continual prayer towards
him. You know, Often, the Lord is
precious. When we're in times of trouble,
friends, soul trouble, providential trouble, he makes himself precious. I've been reading recently about
one of the men that went to preach in Australia, And because
we've been there, as you know, and he went to Sydney Chapel,
and his name escaped me for the moment, but this man was preached
firstly in Melbourne, and then he went up to Sydney, and he
was much concerned about his son but after a period he felt
his son was following the Lord and walking closely with the
Lord and he was thankful for that but one day there was a
terrible disaster and this was in 1888 and I think if I remember
rightly and the father was in his late 60s and he was pastor
of a chapel there in Sydney and the son, his life was taken,
he was He was thrown overboard and he knocked his head on a
rock and died some 11 hours later. But he spoke like this, how precious
the Lord Jesus Christ was to him in that 11 hours. In clearly
revealing that his son that he'd had concerns about but then had
turned back to the Lord was in fact a chosen vessel unto honour. And he felt He said he felt the
Lord draw near and was so precious to me in that time of loss. And he speak the words of that
hymn to his heart. God shall alone the refuge be
and comfort of my mind. Too wise to be mistaken he, too
good to be unkind. And he said it was such a help
to him. But this you see, I will have mercy. The Lord spoke that
word with power regarding his son. I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy. My friends, those on whom he
will have mercy, they will prove him to be precious. And I thought
also of dear Mr. Wood, you know. There he was
in 1991 needing a triple bypass. which he didn't know when he
went into hospital. The Lord had blessed him under
Mr. Ramsbottom's preaching before he went in, but he didn't know
he'd have to have this triple bypass. And yet on the Monday
morning as he's waiting before he goes down, he had such a precious
time and he speaks of it. When, if I can find the word,
the Lord spoke to him from the Song of Solomon, his left hand. He's under my head and his right
hand doth embrace me. But he saw each of the fingers
of the Lord and was so led out in his thoughts regarding the
fingers and hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he said this,
how precious Christ was to him in that time of trouble with
that mountain before him. Friends, he is, I believe we
prove it at times, in deep trouble, the preciousness of Christ. And
we have to then come away from man, don't we, to see how precious
he is. Oh, my friends, you see, to be
believers. You know, we were so, speaking
of the enemy, I felt nearly every service I took in Australia,
the enemy was on my back before the service, friends. Like I've
never known it before, we hope that it may be for the blessing
of the gospel over there but there was one occasion when this
word I preached from this I think the second week I was over there
I can't quite remember but I was so tried. What do you know of
him that's being precious? How can you speak of this one
that you don't know anything about? You've trampled all over him.
How can you call him a chief cornerstone in the building in
which you're a stone? Friends, do you know the accusations
that I'm talking of? You don't really believe. It's
just a perfunctory, outward performance. You know, friends, I had to begger
the Lord that he might confirm that I could take this Well,
in the providence of God, we had two days away, right out
in the bush, as they call it, some 50 miles north of Melbourne. And they took us away, the friends
there, and you know, so tired I was. Can I take this, Lord,
how can I do it? Well, on the side, and I didn't
notice this till after we'd given Hoping that it was a right text
to the and reading to the friends They wanted the hymns as well
the night before but then I glanced on the side There was like a
table sideboard really to the table in the place and there
was a stone And there was a picture of a butterfly, but it wasn't
that next to it. There was one word believe My
friends it broke my heart There was their God the Lord Jesus
was precious to me because he confirmed that that was the word
that I should take, and also to believe. Yes, to believe in
him, not to hear the taunts of the enemy, not to listen to his
accusations and all those things that he puts in our mind. Dear
soul, if you've been besieged, if you know a little of what
I'm talking about, beg and plead to the Lord that with you can
say like I believe I had to say then, get thee behind me, Satan. because you know this, he is
precious, the Lord is precious, Satan's not precious, never can
be precious, but the Lord, he softens our heart and then we
feel he is precious. Well, friends, we've scratched,
haven't we? And we'll only ever scratch at
this word to speak of the preciousness of Christ, but he's all important. He's everything to you, isn't
he, poor sinner? Well then, he's precious, he's
precious, and I know you will feel your unbelief like dear
John Newton. Yes, yes, I believe that other
hymn on conflict is a John Newton hymn as well. You look it up
afterwards, 278. Yes, it is. The dear man knew
what it was to have that conflict, but could I but believe. Well,
friends, beg on that the Lord would help you. and that you
might have that prayer of that dear man that had his son healed
of the Lord, that help thou mine unbelief. Unto you therefore
which believe, he is precious. Amen. to our service this evening by
singing hymn number 86, the Juniors Thetford number 72. The covenant of free grace as
made with Christ our head is stored with precious promises
by which our souls are fed. Hence all our comforts flow and
balm for every fear may we by a sweet experience know how choice
how rich they are in number 86 June Thetford number 72 to free grace. It's made with Christ ahead. It's stored with precious promises
O righteous souls of faith! Now solemn earth of God, Confirms
each promise true, And Jesus, with his precious blood, Blessed
the covenanter. ? Fuller comforts flow ? ? And
balm for every fear ? ? May we thy sweet experience know ? Lord, we do thank Thee for the
hymn that we have just sung, The Precious Blood of Christ.
And we do thank Thee, Lord, that we have that hope that Thou art
precious to us, Lord, we pray we might desire like dear Calper
of old that closer walk with thee, that calm and heavenly
frame. We do beg and plead thou would
be with this dear people if it be thy will on the coming Saturday. Remember Lydia, remember the
dear pastor, Lord, give him strength and help, give him a word, Lord,
to bring, Oh, may it be a blessed occasion, and keep the enemy
away, Lord, and bless them indeed. Yes, that we can say the Lord
himself be amongst them, we do plead. And we pray, Lord, that
thou would grant that encouragement to go on in these things. Now may the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Ghost be with you all. um