The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven
o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 143, to the tune Wells, 507. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Cleanse
me from its guilt and power. Hymn number 143, tune Wells 507. Though your hate has left for
me, left behind myself in thee, take their water and their blood
from thy riven side, because we have seen the death The girl cares me from each year
and month. ? Lord, the labor of my hands ?
? Can fulfill thy vows renounced ? ? Good-bye, still dark ? ? Lord, my tears forever flow ?
? Thou, O symbol of the town ? I'll sing in my hand my ring. ? Thy cross I claim ? ? Make it
now to thee, forest ? ? Thou blest work of my hands ? journey for grace. Foul lies
did the fountain plow, Watch me, Saviour, Lord, I die. All I draw this weekly
prayer, When my eyes stray from Thee, When my soul's dread grasp
of Thine, ? See thee how thy God can thrive
? ? God of ages ever be ? ? Left behind ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the first epistle of John and chapters
one and two. The first epistle of John, chapters
one and two. That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word
of life. For the life was manifested and
we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also
may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is
the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you,
that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we
say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we
lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood
of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar and his word is not in us. My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not, And if any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. And he is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not
in him. Whoso keepeth his word, in him
verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in
him. He that saith, he abideth in
him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment
unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the
beginning. Again, a new commandment I write
unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the
darkness is past and the true light now shineth. He that saith
he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even
until now. He that loveth his brother abideth
in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in
darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven you for His namesake. I write
unto you, fathers, because you have known Him that is from the
beginning. I write unto you, young men,
because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you,
little children, because you have known the Father. I have
written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him that is from
the beginning. I have written unto you, young
men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in
you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but
he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Little children,
it is the last time, and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall
come, even now are there many Antichrists whereby we know that
it is the last time. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would have no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But
ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because
ye know not the truth, but because ye know it. and that no lie is
of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth
the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth the
Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you
which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have
heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall
continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise
that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have
I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. but the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. And ye
need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children,
abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence
and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that
he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness
is born of him. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty. Thou art the high and lofty one
that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. And as we come
and bow before thee, we would seek the spirit of true reverence
and godly fear. for the Lord is to be had in
reverence of all them that are about him. And grant to us this
day, Lord, as we gather round thy word, that spirit of true
worship. They that worship thee must worship
thee in spirit and in truth. Oh, do grant, O Lord, that true
spiritual worship unto us as we gather around thy word. and grant that the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us. Oh, we do pray that we may feel
the divine presence and power of the Holy Ghost as we gather
around thy word this day. and that we may know that divine
anointing of the Spirit in the pulpit and in the pew. For without
thy heavenly power, O Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford,
no drops of heavenly love will fall. We pray for that heavenly
power. We pray that it may be with us
as it was with the apostle when he was at Thessalonica, when
he could declare Our gospel came unto you not in word only, but
in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. We pray,
O Lord, that it may be so today, that we may truly worship thee.
Blessed divine Spirit of truth, we pray that thou would convince
us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes
reveal the secret love of God. We pray that we may be favoured
with those divine drawings of our eternal Father. For thy word
declares, none come except the Father draw, or to be drawn into
spiritual things unto Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord Jesus, that thou
wouldst come and stand in our midst, Or that there may be one
and another here today, like that dear woman that we read
of, when she pressed through the crowd, saying, if I might
but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole. Gracious
God. Or that there might be those
hungry, thirsty souls that have come here into this sanctuary
today, seeking something for their souls. O gracious God,
do hear us, we humbly beseech thee. Remember us as a church
and as a congregation. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and give them needed grace, wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities,
not only here, but among the churches of God in those many
things that they are involved in. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that those bless each one of our brethren and sisters in church
fellowship. those here and those not able
to be here. Lord, we commend each one to
thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to build them up
and to grant them an inheritance among them that are sanctified.
We pray for grace to love one another, to serve one another,
to bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. Lord, we pray for the whole of
our congregation, Oh, that thou wast richly blessed. Bless us
with those sacred spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. Remember the little ones and
the children as they're brought into the sanctuary. Grant, Lord,
that the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, may
be given unto them. We often know Lord encouraged
with those lovely words, suffer little children to come unto
me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And we think of that wonderful
promise, instead of thy father shall be thy children, whom thou
mayest make princes in all the earth. Lord, we do pray that
thou has blessed the young friends, on the threshold of life journey,
and that we lovingly commend them to thee and to the word
of thy grace, and that we pray that thou wouldst bring them
to living faith in Jesus Christ, and make them true followers
of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. Graciously guide and direct them
in all the ways of providence, in their education, in any employment,
a partner in life journey, Lord, we lovingly commend them to Thee.
Oh, that Thou wouldst bless them indeed. Remember, all in the
midst of the journey of life, we think also of parents, that
Thou wouldst give wisdom and grace to bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Bless the families,
O Lord, in their family worship. Gracious God, hear us, we pray
thee. Make us more spiritually minded.
Set our affections on things above. Each one of us, O Lord,
are poor sinners, born in sin and shapen in iniquity. And as
the prophet himself declares, from the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot, wounds and bruises and putrefying sores,
there is no soundness in my flesh. And Lord, we feel it to be so,
and we pray to be washed in the precious blood of Jesus Christ
to cleanse us from all sin. Oh, we pray, most gracious Lord,
for that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ day by day. We thank thee
that he is full of grace and truth, that there is a never-ending
supply. We thank thee for those lovely
words, and he giveth more grace. For, Lord, we feel to need thee.
Lord, we pray that thou would deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, whether he comes as a roaring lion to devour or whether
he comes as an angel of light to deceive. We pray to be delivered
from him and from his power and influence. We pray to be delivered
from an evil heart of unbelief and from the power and dominion
of sin No, Lord, we do pray that thou in thy precious mercy would
graciously remember those of us that are now in the evening
time of life journey. And we pray that as the outward
man perishes, the inward man may be renewed day by day. We
pray for dear Mrs Field in her great age. Be with her, Lord,
and bless her and undertake for her Guide us safely unto thy
heavenly kingdom, we do humbly beseech of thee. We pray that
the prodigals may return, those that have wandered away from
the ways of truth and righteousness, that thou wouldst cause them
to return. Oh, that we might have that joy to see them return. Hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee. Send out the light and truth
and power of the gospel into this village. and the surrounding
villages and hamlets. Arise, O Lord, we do beseech
thee. Arise, arise, O God of grace. Into thy rest descend thou and
the ark of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with
salvation, and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Abundantly
bless the provision of thy house. We think of those wonderful promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech thee. And graciously appear. Remember
all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the
walls of Zion today. Set them free, set them at liberty. Graciously arise, O Lord, we
pray thee, in thy church, and rebuild and renew and revive
thy people for thy great namesake. Lord, there is nothing too hard
for thee. We do pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, Remember thy Zion in the sending forth of ministers
to stand upon the walls of Zion and grant the settlement of pastors.
Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst remember our nation, that thou wouldst
turn back the tides of iniquity and ungodliness and the spirit
of antichrist that is so prevalent May we see thy power and thy
glory in the gospel. May we see the pulling down of
the strongholds of Satan and the setting up of the kingdom
of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Hear us, O Lord,
we humbly pray thee. Give wisdom unto our leaders
and guidance and direction in all matters. Bless our king and
the royal household, O Lord, we do beseech thee. We do pray
thee, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember those that
go out from among us, that labour among the nations of the earth.
We think of Ian Sadler and that great work that he does in so
many different countries, in the distribution and exposition
of the word, supply all his need. We do humbly beseech thee, remember
the Mombasa mission and graciously bless them there and thy servant
there. And remember the Savannah Education
Trust in Ghana, and grant thy rich blessing upon them there.
O Lord, we do humbly beseech of thee. But we pray, most gracious
God, that thou, in thy great mercy, would hear us in heaven,
thy holy dwelling place. And when thou hearest, O Lord,
forgive. For we are very conscious, O
Lord, that even in our petition There is sin mixed in everything
that we do. And Lord, we're very painfully
aware of it. We do thank Thee. Thank Thee
for the Word of God. Thank Thee for Thy holy day.
Thank Thee for our house of prayer. Thank Thee, O Lord, that Thy
mercies to us are new every morning and great is Thy faithfulness.
We thank Thee above all for Jesus Christ, the King of glory, Oh,
we do thank Thee that the Eternal Son was made flesh and dwelt
among us. We thank Thee that He was made
of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that
are under the law. We thank Thee in that holy life
He lived as a man, that the law has been fulfilled and honoured
and magnified on the behalf of Thy people. the bringing in of
everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the lamb was slain. Oh, we thank thee for the precious
blood of the lamb, that sin has been put away, that God and sinners
are reconciled, that he died for our sins and rose again for
our justification. and is now bodily ascended into
heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. Oh, we do thank thee that
we have an advocate with the Father, for such an high priest
have we who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. We thank thee for the glory of
his name, for the fullness of his grace, for the wonder of
his love. We thank thee that in him we
know the love of our eternal Father, and through him we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. Do make up in giving where we
do so fail in asking. Remember all in affliction, trouble,
trial, perplexity, sorrow, sadness, and bereavement. And remember
us now, Lord, as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open thy
word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and touch
one's lips with the live coal from off the heavenly altar.
We ask for Jesus Christ saved. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 755. The tune is Luton, 363. Forgiveness, tis a joyful sound,
To malefactors doomed to die. Lord, may this bliss in me be
found, May I, redeeming grace, enjoy. Hymn 755, tune Luton 363. ? To heaven and high above ? ?
To heaven and high above ? ? Away this rush, fear not ? ? May your high redeeming grace
endure ? ? Till earth receive her King ? ? We serve our God with every pride
? ? Our God is sure, is sure, is sure ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? All their spite ? ? As feet of
suffering ? ? Rise again ? ? As feet of suffering ? ? Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there ? Amen. Amen. the feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help. I direct your attention to the
first epistle of John and chapter one, and we will read verses
seven and eight for our text. First epistle of John, chapter
one, verses seven and eight. If we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, We have fellowship one with another and the blood
of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. How often We read in the word
of God concerning light and darkness. We read concerning God that God
is light and in him is no darkness at all. He dwelleth in light
inaccessible unto which no man can approach unto. That's the
holy, the eternal, the almighty God of heaven. And it's set before
us in the word of God, in the gospel of John in chapter eight,
Christ himself says, I am the light of the world. I am the
light of the world. And we read those that are brought
from darkness into light. If we look at things in the broad
sense of the word, Satan is called the prince of darkness. And we
read in scripture of the powers of darkness. The prince of darkness
and the powers of darkness. And it's only Jesus Christ that
can deliver us from the power of darkness. from the power and
dominion of sin. And fundamentally, in the word
of God, from Genesis to Revelation, there are two things that are
set before us, and that is sin and salvation. And the word of
God is exceedingly clear. Every one of us is born in sin. We're shapen in iniquity. Each
one of us is the son or daughter of Adam. And we're born in sin. As in the word of God says, as
in Adam, all die. And what does the word of God
declare? The wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. And
then that word, we all have sin. And then here it's so clear in
the second part of our text, if we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. The Lord Jesus Christ in his
teachings, especially in John chapter 16, he speaks very clearly
there, when he the spirit of truth is come, he's speaking
of the Holy Ghost, Of course, there is a primary
meaning, and when he is come, that is the outpouring of the
Spirit on the day of Pentecost. But there's a far deeper meaning
than that. When he is come to our hearts. When he, the Spirit
of truth, is come. The apostle, he says in Ephesians
chapter two, You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and
in sins. When he is come, it says he will reprove the world
of sin, of righteousness. I've often said it, and some
people think it's a strange way to put it, but it is still very
true. If you have no sin in your religion, I couldn't give you anything
for it. You might say, what do you mean? I mean that if you
and I are quickened by the Holy Ghost, as the Lord Jesus Christ
himself said to Nicodemus, you must be born again, except a
man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of heaven. But when that blessed spirit
comes, The text of scripture, it says, we prove the world of
sin. The margin, it says, convince the world of sin when he has
come. Where the Holy Spirit dwells
in the heart. These things are very vital for
us to know. That we're quickened. That's an old English word which
means to give life. You hath he quickened who were
dead? Has he quickened you? Does the
Holy Spirit dwell in your heart? These are very vital questions.
Speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter
eight, he says, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he
means the Holy Ghost. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. He is none of his. Oh, my beloved
friends, these are vital, fundamental truths of our most holy faith. And that is one of them. Ye must
be born again. You know, we can fill our head
alive with religion and yet not have the Holy Ghost. You look
at the Lord Jesus and the way he deals with the, particularly
the Pharisees when he was here upon earth. He upbraided them
many, many times. He exposed their self-righteousness. They depended on their own righteousness. And he said, except your righteousness
exceed the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom
of heaven. The scribes and Pharisees had their own righteousness. What it means if it doesn't exceed
their righteousness, you can't enter the kingdom of heaven.
We need a righteousness not of our own. I think it's Joseph
Hart in one of his hymns, he said, of all the creatures God
has made, it is but man alone has need of a covering not his
own. To cover his nakedness, to cover
his sin, to cover his iniquity. Now when the spirit of truth
is come, he will convince of sin. That's what I mean when
I say I couldn't give you anything for your religion if it has no
sin in it. Because if the Holy Spirit truly
dwells in your heart, he'll show you your sinfulness. He will
show you your emptiness, your poverty. He'll make you feel
to be hungry and thirsty. We looked on Thursday evening
at Psalm 107, and what does it say there? Of the Lord's people,
hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them. How many of us that have come
here today are hungry for spiritual things, thirsty for spiritual
things? The Lord Jesus Christ, he said,
blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. You know, we live in a day when
often the gospel that is preached from many pulpits is what they
call a social gospel. And when they interpret the words
of Christ, hungry and thirsty, as somebody literally hungry
and thirsty, of course it doesn't mean that. It says hungry and
thirsty after righteousness. Why does a person hunger and
thirst after righteousness? Because they've got no righteousness
of their own. And that is what the Holy Ghost
teaches. We've got no righteousness of our own. If the light of truth
is burning in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, You know, we've mentioned the
word convince. To me, it was a much better word
than reprove. It actually means that person
doesn't just think they're a sinner, they know, they feel it. They feel it. You don't need
anyone else to tell them, they feel it. And therefore, they
long and they hunger and they thirst for deliverance. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. You see, we read here in the
previous verse to our text, if we say that we have fellowship
with him, that's with Christ, and walk in darkness, We lie
and do not the truth. And walk in darkness. What does
it mean to walk in sin? To walk in unrighteousness? To
walk in uncleanness? To walk in darkness? and a person
that says that they love the Lord Jesus Christ and they follow
the Lord Jesus Christ and et cetera, and then to walk in sin
and unrighteousness in an open way. It's a very certain word,
isn't it? If we say that we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light,
That's in the light of Christ, to walk in his light. The psalmist,
he says, we see light in thy light. We see light in thy light. And it's as the Holy Spirit enters
the heart and that we see light in his light. It says in 2 Corinthians
chapter four and verse six, for God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. God who commanded the light,
God the creator of the heavens and the earth, it is he that
hath made us and not we ourselves, for God who commanded the light
to shine. As in his son, Jesus Christ,
has shined in our hearts. That's where the gospel is received. It's received in our heart. The
apostle, when he writes to the Romans, he says, they're concerning
the light shining. And he says this, it is with
the heart. that man believeth unto righteousness. Why is he emphasizing the heart? Because the other is the head.
Real religion is not intellectual. It's in the heart. It's with
the heart that man believeth unto righteousness. is that work in the heart. The
spirit of God dwells in the heart. The heart means our innermost
being. And the spirit of God dwells
in the heart of the true believer, in their innermost being. And
he brings them from darkness into light. That God who commanded
the light to shine, he shines into our hearts. If we walk in
the light, as He is in the light. That, of course, is our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is in the light. You know,
we have that, I often draw your attention to it, in the first
chapter of John, how Christ is spoken of there as being the
light, and the light that shineth in darkness. We must remember
who Jesus Christ is. He's the eternal son of the eternal
father. He's the only begotten son of
God. And as it says in our text, the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. cleanseth us from all sin. Now we read in the beginning
of John's Gospel, in the beginning was the Word. The term the Word,
it means the Son of God, it's divine nature, the Son of God.
And the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and
without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life. And the life was the light of
men. And the light shineth in darkness.
And the darkness comprehended him not. There was a man sent
from God whose name was John. The same came for witness to
bear witness of the light. You notice it's written with
a capital L. It's referring to Jesus, the
son of God. to bear witness of the light
that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, that is
John the Baptist, but was sent to bear witness of that light,
that was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world. He, that is Christ, was in the
world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him
not. He came unto his own, that's the Jews, and his own received
him not. But as many as received him,
to them gave he power. If you look at the margin, it
says, right or privilege to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name. And then it tells us why they
believed, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man. but of God, you see, to
be born again. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And friends, Jesus Christ is
always full of grace. and truth if we walk in the light
as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and
the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all The hymn writer says, the blood
of Christ, a precious blood, cleanses from all sin, doubt
it not. The blood of Jesus Christ. This
is the very center, the heart, the substance of the gospel.
That the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us from
all sin. And you know, this word has been
a divine cordial to the Lord's people. Under the Levitical dispensation,
there was the constant shedding of blood. So when the believing
Israelite went up to the tabernacle or to the temple to worship,
they saw the altar They saw the sacrifice on the
altar. They saw blood running all down
the sides of the altar. They saw blood on the priest's
hands. They saw blood in the basins
that were there. And that blood was taken on the
day of atonement and taken into the holy place and sprinkled
before the golden mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. and that
these things are teaching us something. What is it that the
Israelite was taught when they came to the tabernacle worship
and when they saw all that blood? Shed blood of those sacrifices. Without the shedding of blood,
there can be no remission of sins. And what did that point the ancient
Israelite to? To Jesus Christ. His precious blood. Isaac Watts
says in that lovely well-known hymn, not all the blood of beasts
on Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace
or wash away the stain, but Christ, the heavenly lamb, bears all
our sins away, a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood
than they. precious sin atoning blood and
in those sacrifices that were offered under the law none of
them could take away sins I believe the Apostle in Hebrews chapter
10 he brings out this very point He says in the beginning of that
chapter, for the law, having a shadow of good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never, with those
sacrifices offered year by year continually, make the comers
thereunto perfect. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered. because that the worshippers
once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But
in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins
every year. Now listen, this needs to be
taken very much into account, for it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when
he, that is Christ, cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice,
and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou. Prepared for me and in that previous
chapter 9 in Hebrews and verse 14. Well, in fact just before
He says verse 11 But Christ being common high priest of good things
to come by greater and more perfect tabernacle Not made with hands
that is say not of this building neither by the blood of goats
and of cars But by his own blood He entered in once into the holy
place having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkleth,
sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh,
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience? from dead works to serve the
living God. For this cause, he is the mediator
of the New Testament. But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all
sin. We always have that lovely word
on the institution of the Passover, and the reason it was called
the Passover, that the children of Israel, they slew the Paschal
Lamb, and they painted the blood upon the lintel and side posts
of the doors, and then they entered into the with the sacrifice into
the house and they roasted it with fire. But the Lord said
that when the destroying angel came through the land of Egypt,
he said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And that blood of the Paschal
Lamb, represents the blood of Christ. The apostle says in the
Corinthians 4, Christ our Passover, Christ our Passover, when I see
the blood. You know, it is often a point
of great exercise and burden to the true child of God as to
whether they're really in Christ or not, or they may be You've
had some blessings, but you say you long to have the blood applied.
You long to feel your sins are all forgiven. You long to know
that and experience that. And when I was brought into Gospel
Liberty, I was greatly blessed. But the next day, I remember
it so distinctly, the devil came to me and tempted me that I'd
never known the blood of Christ applied. And the devil said to me, he
said, this is not real. You've never had the blood applied. And you know, friends, that caused
me great soul exercise. In fact, quite soul trouble.
And there's no trouble like soul trouble. And I was so burdened,
but it was the, it was the words of the hymn writer that completely
delivered me from that snare of Satan. And it was this, every
favor, every blessing freely flows through Jesus' precious
blood. And you know that snare was completely
broken. I could see that the blessings
that I was then experiencing in my soul, came through the
blood of Christ, came through the sacrifice of Christ, through
what he had done for me. He lived for me, he suffered
for me, he bare my sins for me, and it was that precious sin
atoning blood of Christ that reconciled me unto God. One hymn writer says, concerning
the blood of Christ, till Jordan's icy waves divide and land my
soul above. You know, there's that word in
Revelation chapter seven. These are they that have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
notice the connection. The only reason that you and
I will ever get to heaven is because of the blood of Christ.
The only reason or way that you and I can ever be delivered from
the curse of the law is through the precious blood of Christ. It cleanses from all sin, it
does. It cleanses from all sin. If
we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another. and the blood of Jesus Christ,
his son, cleanseth us from all sin. From all sin. I know I've often told you of
Martin Luther. And there was a time when Martin
Luther was greatly tried and tempted by Satan. And he said
that Satan brought all his sins before him. And he said they
were so long and such a great catalogue. He said it was long
enough to stretch around the world and back. And Luther said to Satan, is
that all my sins? Are you sure it's all my sins?
And Satan said, yes. He said, then sign the bottom
of it. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. cleanseth us from
all sin. He said, and the devil was gone.
He was defeated. You see, the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses from all sin. That precious blood of Christ
has satisfied all the demands of divine justice. You and I
are under the curse by nature. But the blood of Christ has taken
away the curse. The blood of Christ has satisfied
the demands of divine justice. You might say, what did divine
justice demand? Divine justice demanded the soul
that sinneth it shall die. The wages of sin is death, that's
what divine justice demanded. But in the person of God's Son,
Jesus Christ, we see those demands met. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
suffering and bleeding and dying for the sins of his people. And that precious blood of Christ, it reconciles us, it sanctifies
us, it separates us. The more we know of that rich
atoning blood, the more We have union and communion with God. It's as we taste and
handle and feel, just as it says in the beginning of this chapter,
that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands
have handled of the word of life, that's Christ. For the life was
manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto
you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested
unto us. That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and
truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. And it's through that precious
sin atoning blood that a poor sinner has union and communion
and peace with God. Peace by his cross has Jesus
made the church's ever-living head. Oh, the precious sacrifice,
that precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we walk
in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship. It's a wonderful thing to have
true Christian fellowship. Fellowship with Christ. Fellowship
with the Father in Christ. Fellowship with our fellow believers. That precious fellowship. It
speaks of it really in a most beautiful way in the epistle
to the Ephesians, where it speaks there of coming together, coming
together. It says in the Ephesians chapter
two, in verse four, but God who is
rich in mercy for his great love where they loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, had quickened us together with Christ, by grace
ye are saved. And this fellowship we see, and
has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might
show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of
works, lest any man should boast. Not of works, it's the gift of
God. But this together, this reconciling
grace, you know, in that same chapter, second chapter of the
Ephesians, those lovely, beautiful words in verse 18, for through
him, that's Christ, We both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father. See how it unites the Trinity
together. Through Him, that's the Son of
God manifest in the flesh. We both have access by one Spirit
unto the Father. Now therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints.
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth into an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are
builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. What a wonderful bringing together
there is. in our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we walk in the light,
are we walking in the light? Have we been delivered from sin
and Satan's power? Do we love the Lord? David, he
says, I love the Lord because he heard my voice, the voice
of my supplications. It's a precious thing, you know,
when we love the Lord. It's a precious thing when the
love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts, and we feel a
union to Him and communion with Him. And then coming with that
is a union and communion with the people of God. But if we walk in the light,
if you love me, keep my commandment, let's walk in the light. As He is in the light. You know,
I find it a very searching word, but we read it together in the
second chapter, and in verse six, he that saith he abideth
in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked, that's
Christ. And the Lord Jesus, he says,
if any man will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow me, or that we might be among those that
are truly following our Lord Jesus Christ. And the blood of
Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. And then we have this word, if
we say that we have no sin. Some people, you know, When you
speak of sin, they get bitterly offended. I'm not a sinner. I don't do things wrong. They're
absolutely horrified when you call them a sinner. They say,
well, I haven't got any sin. But you just think of this solemn
word. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. Truth is not in us. That's a
very searching thought, isn't it? If we confess our sins, what
a wonderful thing it is if we confess our sins. There's a wonderful
illustration of this in Psalm 51. And Martin Luther, he calls
it one of the favorite of his Psalms. He calls them the Pauline
Psalms. and because the doctrine of faith
and repentance is found in them. And in that Psalm 51, we have
a beautiful illustration of David, the man after God's own heart,
when he fell into sin with Bathsheba. And Nathan the prophet came to
him and he was convinced of his sin by the spirit through Nathan
the prophet. But where did it bring him, David,
the man after God's own heart? Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness, not anything in himself. According to the multitude of
thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins. For I acknowledge
my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Notice there's
no excuses against thee. Thee only have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest, and know he
confesses his original sin. Behold, I was shaping in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me. See, there was a true confession. We tend to make excuses. You've
only got to look at the Garden of Eden for that. And Adam, when
the Lord God came, he said, the woman whom thou gavest
me. Immediately shift the blame, the woman whom thou gavest me.
And she, when the Lord spoke to her, The serpent, the serpent. You see, my beloved friends,
the woman whom thou gavest me, the serpent, he deceived me. They didn't acknowledge their
own sin. They passed it on to somebody else. They made an excuse.
And that's what we do. Left to ourselves, we make an
excuse. But we notice in this clear confession
of David, there was no excuses. Creating me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. You see,
the confession of his sin, it had brought separation between
him and his God. And that's what sin does. It
causes separation between our soul and God. But when we're
brought to acknowledge it, there are no excuses against thee and
the only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. I've
done this evil in thy sight. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. And then as if to emphasize the
matter, He says, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him
a liar, and his word is not in us. What a separated word. And it continues, my little children,
these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man
sin, we have an advocate. An advocate is one that stands
between. We have an advocate with the
Father. Jesus Christ the righteous. He pleads for his people. We can't stand in our own person,
in the presence of Almighty God, because we're sinners. God is
holy and righteous altogether. We need a mediator. We need one
to stand between. We need an advocate with the
Father, and there is one, my beloved friends. in the glorious
person of Jesus Christ. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The righteous. He did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth. Jesus Christ the righteous. The righteous advocate of his
people. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. who gave his life
a ransom for all to be testified in due time. And he is the propitiation,
that means atonement. Understand in the original, the
word propitiation, it means the wrath-ending sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. In other words, the atonement.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world, What does he mean
there? It doesn't mean, as some would
tell us, that because the whole world has been saved, it means
that there's only one saviour. It doesn't matter where you live,
who you are, what tribe or what people you belong to, there's
only one saviour, Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter where you are
on this globe, there's only one saviour. but also for the sins
of the whole world. Oh, my beloved friends, may this
gospel be poured into our hearts. May this precious saviour be
revealed unto our souls. May the spirit of faith be given
by the Holy Ghost and you may lay hold of that hope that is
set before us in the gospel. Think of those lovely verses
of John Hart when he speaks of Christ in heaven, our great high
priest, our mediator, our advocate. He says, come then, repenting
sinner, come, and trust upon his grace, oh, what thou wilt. The total psalm is cancelled
by his death. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 858. The tune is Mariton 366. Backsliding souls, return to
God. Your faithful God is gracious
still. Leave the false ways ye long
have trod. For God were your backslidings
healed. Hymn 858. Tune Mariton 366. ? The Maker of His creation still
? ? In the most mystic form of life ? Of us the spouse of God divine. Thanks I meet you in the early
glen, ? In sings where'er ? ? Men have
a shame ? ? We'll be gracious ? ? Of the Lord ? O'er the land
of the free and the home of the brave? of faithless love is true. ? The blood of Christ ? ? The precious
blood ? ? Cleanses from all ? ? Thick, doubted blood ? ? And reconciles
? Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.