Hymn number 1048. The tune is
Keeble number 357. We've no abiding city here. This may
distress the worldling's mind, but should not cost the saint
at here who hopes a better rest to find. We've no abiding city
here. Sad truth were this to be our
home. But let the thought our spirits
cheer, we seek a city yet to come. Hymn number 1048, tune
keyboard number 357. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O come ye, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ? Hush little baby ? ? Sleep little
baby ? ? Little baby ? ? I'll rest you tonight ? In the mighty city of heaven
Shepherds I wish to be a part O come, O come, all ye faithful
joyful and triumphant O come, O come, all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant Keep the land of the free and
the home of the brave. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? We'll see her standing as the
sun shines ? ? Silent night, holy night ? ? His will be surely done ? ? On
earth as it is in heaven ? ? His will be surely done ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? While reading from God's word
this afternoon, Let us turn firstly to the Book
of Romans and read chapter 12 and then some verses from Hebrews
chapter 11. Firstly we'll turn to the Book
of Romans and read chapter 12. I beseech you therefore Brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. For I say, through the grace
given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in
one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being
many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another. Having then gifts differing according
to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us
prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, Let us
wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or
he that exhorteth on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence. He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. abhor that which is evil, cleave
to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another,
not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant
in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to
hospitality. Bless them which persecute you,
bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one toward
another. Mine not, high things, but condescends
to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits
or opinions. Recompense to no man evil for
evil. Provide things honest in the
sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as
lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved,
avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it
is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger,
feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil. with good. Now we'll turn to
Hebrews chapter 11 and we will read the first 16 verses. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for the evidence of things not seen for by it
the elders obtained a good report Through faith, we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things
which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By
faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts, and by it, he being dead, yet speaketh. By faith,
Enoch was translated or taken up to heaven, that he should
not see death, and was not found because God had translated him.
For before his translation, he had this testimony, that he pleased
God. But without faith, it is impossible
to please him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him. By faith, Noah, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith. By faith, Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing
whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the
land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a
child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful
who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of
one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky
in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith. Not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they
had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they
might have had opportunity to have returned. But now, they
desire a better country, that is, an heavenly. Wherefore God
is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for
them a city. We'll leave the reading of God's
precious word there, and may it indeed be made precious unto
us each, and may he help every one of us now to truly pray. O Most Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, blessed Trinity. We come and we thank thee, Lord,
for thy word, that we can turn to it, that we can read it, and that thou dost from time
to time seal it by thy spirit to our hearts, so that it is
more than just words on a page, but that it is a living word
that has meaning, that has depth, that gives us hope. And Lord, we thank thee that
there are many here this afternoon who, look forward and away from
the things of this life and look forward to eternity
that is to come. And yet Lord give each that sweet
assurance that it will be an eternity in singing God is love, that it will be an eternity full
of praise and glory, and not an eternity full of misery and
despair. For most holy God, that is clearly
what we deserve, thy righteous wrath and anger. Yet before time that is chooser
people, to be called Thy people. Thou didst choose a people to
draw unto Thee. Lord, we thank Thee that we do
not have to work ourselves up to Thee as so many other religions
of this world profess to work their way up to their God. But
Thou didst come down to this earth as a man, the man Christ
Jesus. And so that through that perfect
sin atoning sacrifice, we can come boldly unto thee. So those that feel they cannot
pray this afternoon, oh may they see, they do not come pleading
their own merits, but they come through the precious name of
Jesus. Lord, what a mercy. And may that be the theme of
our song. And yet how frequently we find
our mouths taken up with foolish words. How often we find our lips speaking
that which we should not. full of complainings, full of
a lot. Find out, may we be, Lord, in
the lines of that hymn, while half our breath thus vainly sent
to heaven in supplication sent, our cheerful song would often
be, hear what the Lord has done for me. So whatever our need is this
afternoon, may we lay it at the mercy seat. And Lord, hear and
answer prayer, if it be thy will. But help us indeed to pray according
to thy word, pleading thy promises. For Lord, if we plead thy promises,
those prayers must be answered. And yet, Lord, there are those
times where we have to ask for varying matters. There are those
times where we have to ask for providential things, but in all
these things, may we never forget to say, if it be thy will. For Lord, we come, and we do
with an honest heart from time to time, come and pray for what
we think is best for us, and what is needful for us, and may
be needful to draw us nearer to thee, and yet, Lord, we don't
know. We see what has taken place in the past week of our lives.
We know where we are now. We know where we expect to be
in a week's time. But Lord, we are not certain. In thee and in thy sight, all
things are known. So we pray that today and every
step of our lives, we may be given that which is needful to
encourage us to carry on in this journey. And Lord, we come this
afternoon with that true confession. Or we look back through the past
week, we mourn over our sin. Whether it be as we grade sin,
a big sin or a little sin, it is all wrong in thy sight. How
many moments we have wasted. How much time we have spent vainly.
How many words we have said which would have been best off kept
in our mouths. How many thoughts have gone through
our mind which should never have been? Lord, we have to come,
knowing we are unworthy. Yet, Lord, help us to come, knowing
that if we confess our sins, thou art faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So grant that true heart of confession so that we can indeed know that
we are freed from sin's guilt. and its power. May there be that
twofold deliverance in the lives of thy people. May there be that
work of justification where we are freed from that guilt and
that work of sanctification where we are freed from its power. Lord, we pray for a closer walk
with God, a calm and heavenly frame. And Lord, if we pray for
that, it will be not the pathway of the world, for the pathway,
the straight, the narrow way that leads to life eternal. Lord,
we thank thee for the weather that we have at this time. Although
it may be uncomfortable for us, yet Lord, the winter will soon
be here if we are spared. And as we have this late summer
heat, Lord, may we not be too oppressed by it, but may we be
thankful for the warmth that we feel. We will soon feel the
cold. We will soon see the frost upon
the ground. And with it, we are reminded that there will be that
seed time, that harvest, that summer, that winter, that cold
and that heat. So as we are reminded of that,
may we remember all thy promises, thy covenant promises, which
cannot be broken. Lord, we live in a changing world
where our leaders may promise this and promise that and promise
the other. They have no power, but thou
art the all-powerful God. So Lord, we thank thee for all
that we have. We are living in a land of prosperity. We have had many decades of peace. Few of us know real hardship,
and yet many of us know hardness of heart. And, Lord, should thy judgments
grow severe upon this land, and thou wilt pour out thy judgments
upon us, may thy people plead, Lord, that thou wilt do so, if
it be for the turning of this land again. Lord, we do not look,
and we would plead, Lord, in wrath, remember mercy. But, Lord,
we would plead more so that all things may be done for thine
honour and glory. And as we look to many nations
of the earth, we thank thee that there are and is such a hunger
for thy word and a real seeking after thee in many nations of
the earth. But Lord, it's the places where there's persecution,
the places where there is so little outwardly. Oh Lord, we
are rich, but are we poor? So Lord, may it be that we plead
for heavenly riches. We may not seek to lay up those
treasures on this earth where moth and dust can corrupt and
thieves break through and steal. But we may lay up those heavenly
treasures which can never be taken. So we pray for the persecuted
church, we pray for the many that will be worshipping today
with real fear of what man can do to them. Or may it be the
case that they do not fear what man can do. knowing that they
are in their control. And if there be those that even
lay down their lives for thy name today, Lord, may they be
like Stephen and look up and behold thy glory, knowing that
in death there is certain victory. Lord, so be with those brothers
and sisters in great need and those organizations that seek
to do such good for thy people in other lands. Lord, we pray
once more for the pastor of this place. Bring him home again in
peace and safety, and one that has taken him there too, Lord.
We thank thee for that loving service in that too. And do be
with Jabez as he seeks to go to America on Tuesday, we believe. Give him those safe and scheduled
flights. And may his time over there be
of real profit and help to the people there. Lord, they are
a people in great need, and we thank thee that they are a hungry
and appreciative and loving people. And Lord, may that hunger be
satisfied through the preached word in the coming weeks. We
pray for the church here as their pastor is away from them for
a season. Those that stand in this place
and fill the gap, as it were, may they truly know that they
are in their right place, and the people here know too, likewise.
that this is ordered by thee. So do be with him, help him in
his lonely pathway now, Lord, do bless him and comfort him,
especially in the winter months where there are those many hours
alone. And we'll pray for his children too, with the loss of
their mother too. Lord, thou knowest how hard it
can be with the loss of one that is near and dear. So do help
them to carry on, we beg. Pray for The Gypsum family, as they expect
to gather round the grave of their dear son later on this
week, do draw near and comfort. Lord, for only thou canst do
it. Lord, we may say words, cards may be written, messages sent,
but Lord, only thou canst lay thy hand upon them. May it be
so in their great trial at this time. And Lord, may it be a stark
and solemn reminder unto us all, none of us know. Lord, may we
lay these things to heart. Whatever our age, Lord, we lay
down and we may not get up. But Lord, when we lay down, Lord,
may it be with that hope that if we do not get up physically,
we will be raised to heaven. Lord, that's what we need. Give
us that sweet assurance. Lord, and to be with all those
that grieve and mourn at this time. But Lord, we are favoured
and privileged to gather once again round thy word. We thank
thee for the flowing together that there was this morning with
the hymns and the sermon. Lord, we thank thee for it. Lord,
when thou dost work, Lord, we marvel. But Lord, there are many
times where we do not see it, at the time, but may see it later. So, Lord, encourage the deacons
here in their many concerns, Lord, for there are many and
there is much to cast us all down. We pray for our churches
that we are connected with. Lord, we are really brought low.
There is a reason behind it. Give us eyes to see it and give
us grace to act upon it so that we may not be afraid of man.
but that we may be looking to thy word alone for guidance and
instruction, and that, Lord, we may once again see thy smiling
face, may see a real growth in grace, a growth in congregations,
and, Lord, a true spirituality in our churches. We need thy
work, Lord. We need the power of thy spirit
known and felt. Stir us up, we pray, Snap us
out of this lethargy and lukewarmness and legality, and pour thy spirit
upon us, so that we may be fervent and full of zeal and passionate
about the God whom we love. So Lord, as we gather round thy
word once again this afternoon, give us eyes to see what thy
word says, give us ears to hear, give us hearts to accept it. And Lord, may we go home and
not leave it, but look at it, ponder it, pray over it, meditate
upon it, be taught by it, and act upon it. By thy grace, Lord,
help us, we beg. Forgive all that we have asked
wrongly this afternoon, and make up in giving where we fail, for
we ask all for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Continue our service by singing
hymn number 747. The tune is Heap, number 156. How hard and rugged is the way
to some poor pilgrim's feet! In all they do, or think, or
say, they opposition meet. Others again more smoothly go,
secured from hurts and harms. their Saviour leads them gently
through, or bears them in His arms. Hymn number 747, tune Heep
number 156. O come, O come, O come, O come, 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 say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ? In heaven's glorious light ?
? God shed his grace on thee this day ? ? And give thee thanks
for evermore to come ? ? To the nation's glory be ? ? Son of God, we praise
thee ? ? And praise thee we ? That day may be said to be the day
when all shall be one. ? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? ? Gave proof through the night that
our flag was still there. ? Take me with you to San Diego. ? The King and Lord always shall
adore you ? ? His love for you is true ? ? And ever shall be
true ? To help us each once again this
afternoon as we turn to his word, I'll ask you to turn to the chapter
that we read in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 12 and once more
three words that you'll find at the beginning of verse 12. Romans chapter 12 and the first
three words in verse 12. Rejoicing in hope. in hope this book of Romans I don't think it is wrong to
say we may have a favorite book in the Word of God and this book of Romans is so
full of truth so full of teaching and sets before us beautifully
the way of salvation really the whole gospel it sets before us
as he says in the first chapter so as much as is in me i am ready
to preach the gospel to you that are at rome also for i am not
ashamed of the gospel of christ For it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth. But as Paul in these first really
10, 11 chapters sets before us doctrine, teaching, sin, justification
through faith, sanctification, all these other long words are
set before us. And we come to this 12th chapter
and it moves really from the teaching to the practice it's
like that as you'll probably notice and have noticed in most
of Paul's letters really because of what Christ has done therefore
as Christ's people this is the way and so we come to this twelfth
chapter and these verses in particular from verse nine onwards we have
these short sentences, these short points where Paul exhorts
the believer. Let love be without dissimulation,
abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, be kindly
affection one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring
one another, one after another, after another, after another,
until he comes to this one, rejoicing in hope. And it follows on really from
our sermon this morning. And it follows on from the last
hymn that we sung together. Faith believes it, hope expects
it. And so as the Lord may help us
this afternoon, to look at this hope, look at
this rejoicing, and what it is that we have to rejoice in. Paul says, doesn't he, and now
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three. But the greatest
of these is charity. We see them combined so frequently
together. faith, hope and love. And we cannot separate them. Rejoicing in hope. Paul frequently issues this command,
we could say, in many of his epistles. to rejoice. He seems to be constantly setting
it before them. Finally, my brethren, he writes
to the Philippians, rejoice in the Lord. Later on in the same
letter, chapter 4, verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always. And again
I say, rejoice. The same I believe in the letter
to the Thessalonians, that telling them to rejoice. And so why do you think he's
doing that? Because we're prone not to. The church at Philippi, the church
at Rome, the church at Thessalonica, were all prone not to rejoice. and in writing to the Hebrews
like we preached this morning. Why is that? Because we are sinful
and because we're constantly bowed down with these weights
and those sins which do so easily beset us. And because of that
being bowed down we can't rejoice. We can't. We're crushed under
everything because we're not looking unto Jesus with hope. That cloud has come between and
we cannot see the sun of righteousness. So where are we this afternoon? We are to rejoice in hope. But I feel I must just touch,
as I often do, You focus on a word and then you focus on the opposite
of that word. What's the opposite, we could
say, of rejoicing? We could say, couldn't we, it's
mourning. And yet we read in the Beatitudes, don't we, blessed
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. So hang on,
have we not got a contradiction here? Paul is saying rejoice
and Jesus is saying, blessed are they that mourn. Who's right?
Can they both be right? Yes, they can. And there must be a mourning
before there's rejoicing. So let us try and explain that.
Blessed are they that mourn over sin. My thoughts just go to that hymn
that we have just sung together. Their pardon some receive at
first, and then compelled to fight, they feel their latter
stages worse, and travel much by night. But be our conflict
short or long, this commonly is true, that wheresoever faith
is strong, repentance is so too. For there to be repentance, a
turning away from sin, a turning from one thing to another, there
must be a realization of sin, and therefore there must be a
mourning. You cannot understand that you're a sinner, if you
haven't mourned, really, over sin. And that is in degrees,
as we set forth beautifully in that hymn, some more than others.
But there will be a mourning over sin. And that is the work
of the Holy Spirit. It's the work of the Holy Spirit
to convict sinners and to make them mourn over that sin. In John's Gospel, chapter 16
we read about the Holy Spirit when he has come he will reprove
the world of sin or convict the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment and when the Holy Spirit begins that work
in the heart of one of his people there will be a morning because
they will see that they have sinned they will see a little
of God's righteousness and they will see the judgment that they
deserve. That's the work of the Holy Spirit
to convict. But there is a purpose in that
work of conviction. The purpose is to bring repentance. The purpose is to turn that one
from the hateful ways of sin to turn to the fold and enter
in, to turn to Christ. And the Holy Spirit will then
reveal a precious Savior, will then reveal the beauties and
glory of Christ, will then will show a little of Himself to them. And that's when the rejoicing
comes. That's when the sinner who mourns,
cries, why me, why me? Oh, blessed God, why such a wretch
as me, who must forever lie in hell, were not salvation free? There is a mourning, and there's
a right mourning, but we should not go mourning all our days. There should be a rejoicing. And dear friends, if you've never
rejoiced, in the finished work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ upon Calvary, if you've never truly rejoiced in Him,
is there any hope? Is there any hope at all? The
Holy Spirit convicts. When He has come, He will reprove
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin. Because
they believe not on me. There we have it again, don't
we? That sin of unbelief. Of righteousness, because I go
to my father, you see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince
of this world is judged. What are we aware of? The righteousness
of God. Are you aware that all have sinned
and come short of that glory? And does it concern you? Does
it concern you? Are you concerned at the righteous
judgment of God? Should sudden vengeance seize
my breath, I must pronounce thee just in death. And if my soul
were sent to hell, thy righteous law approves it well. But that morning, for all the
Lord's people, will turn to joy. It will turn. It must turn. My thoughts go to another hymn
earlier on in the book. Hymn number 24. Why should the
children of a king go mourning all their days? Great comforter,
descend and bring some tokens of thy grace. And it's that,
isn't it? It's that which turns the mourning
to joy. Assure my conscience of her part
in the Redeemer's blood, and bear thy witness with my heart
that I am born of God. Thou art the earnest of his love,
the pledge of joys to come, and thy soft wings, celestial dove,
will safe convey me home. Rejoice in hope. It's an important point I want
to bring out here. We cannot always rejoice in possession. We may not always feel that we
possess what we desire to possess. But we can always rejoice in
hope. And we need to lay this point
clearly before you as well. This is where we must understand
that language changes. And that where we use the word
hope now is not really the way that hope was used in the Bible.
Hope in the Bible doesn't refer to something which could or could
not happen. Not like we would use the word
hope where we would say, I hope it's going to be a little cooler
tomorrow or I hope it's not going to rain on Saturday where we
have no control over it. Biblical hope is an outcome that
is sure. Biblical hope is certain. Because the object of that hope
is unchanging. It is and has substance. Confidence. That's what we read.
And that's why we read those first few verses in Hebrews.
Now faith is the substance. of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. It may seem an obvious thing
to say, but we will say it as it comes to my mind. None of
us have seen Jesus, and yet our text this morning was looking
unto Jesus, And how do we look? With hope. With hope. With a solid expectation, through
what he has worked within his people by his spirit, that his
word is truth. That his word cannot fail. Rejoice. in hope. Paul speaks much of that hope
with regard to Abraham doesn't he in Romans chapter 8. We read in there don't we and in those surrounding chapters
so much that can comfort the believer Not the verse that I
was thinking of, but we have in the middle of that chapter,
we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not
hope. For what a man seeth, why doth
he yet hope for? We're saved by hope, dear friends. But what is our hope built upon?
That's the question, isn't it? Do we come in with the lines
of that hymn? Do we have hope in Christ? Hymn
1106, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And that can be what so troubles
the sinner, so troubles the believer. Because we look at ourselves, we see we are not what we want
to be. We are troubled by who we are and we forget that it's not our perfection that a holy God is looking to. But it is our faith in Him. We're saved by faith alone. Rejoicing in hope. In Hebrews we read, don't we,
about, and I'll come back to the same verse as it comes to
my mind once more, faith is the substance of things hopeful. The evidence of things not seen,
it may be unseen, but to the Lord's people it is not unknown. It is not unknown because it
is applied to their hearts with power. It is not unknown because
that which is unseen is true and living to them. Because the
Lord has revealed it. Because he has come to them. Because he has shown them his
truth. Rejoicing in hope. In the early chapters of Romans,
we read so much about how we've all sinned and come short of
the glory of God. The righteousness of God, which
none of us can meet, which is by faith of Jesus Christ
unto all and upon all them that believe. All have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. That's what we all have in common
this afternoon. We've all sinned, all come short
of the glory of God. Some have been brought to mourn
over that sin, and some, therefore, have been brought to rejoice
in hope. But as we Try and open this text
up a little bit more. That hope, dear friends, to the
believer is an anger. That hope to the believer is
something that fixes them and keeps them going. It is, indeed,
something which stops them from crashing upon the rocks of this
life. Paul mentions it in Hebrews,
doesn't he? About it being that anchor. Which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Oh, what an anchor that hope
is for the soul. What an anchor it is when the
sinner flees for refuge and lays hold upon the hope set before
us. It is a blessed hope. And all those dear souls that
we read of in the Old Testament, in Hebrews 11, they all died
in faith. They hadn't received the promises,
but they'd seen them with the eyes of faith. They were persuaded
of them. They embraced them. And what
does that really mean? They hoped in them. They were
fixed upon them. They looked to them. And I don't know where you are
this afternoon. And what stage you are at in
your spiritual journey. But one thing I do know from
time to time, our faith can be shaken. And we may feel that we, as it were, even the foundations
have been removed from underneath us. But if that is the case, where else can we turn? The unbeliever will turn away
from God. The believer will say, Lord,
you may have stripped me of this. You may have stripped me of that.
You may have shaken me in this regard and that regard, and yet,
my hope is in thee. I've got nothing else to look
to, nothing else to turn to. My hope is in thee, and therefore,
I rejoice in that hope. But what is that final hope for
the soul? It's that hope of heaven, isn't
it? That's the hope. That hope where
we be taken from all the troubles and trials of this life. For
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard
before in the word of the truth of the gospel, the hope laid
up in heaven. That's the glorious prospect,
isn't it? That's the hope indeed, that hope in heaven. And for the believer, there's
that hope in death. There's that hope in death as
well. That last great enemy, death. And why is there that
hope? because there are so many promises
about it in the Word of God. Hope in death, when we will be
with him. That's something for the believer
to hope in this afternoon. Hope in heaven. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him. in glory. It doesn't say we may, it doesn't
say we could, it doesn't say we might. Then shall ye also
appear with him in glory. That's the hope, that's the hope
when our days on this earth are ended. Be with Christ, which
we're told and which we believe is far better. The sting of death
has been overcome through Christ Jesus. He shall appear, then
shall his people be with him in glory. But more than that,
not only will we be with him, what else can we hope in? We
will be like him. who shall change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself. Be with him, but be like him. We may pray and we should pray
to be more Christ-like, and the sinner greatly feels his need
of that. Because we see how far off we
are. How muddled we are. And yeah, that time will come,
dear soul. It will come. Where he shall
change our body. It will be like his glorious
body. We'll be with him. We will be
like him. And we read much of heaven, don't
we? The believer's eternal hope in the book of Revelation. Read
much of it. But we read also quite frequently in that
book of what heaven will not be. Or what there will not be
there. God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. There'll be no more crying. No
more death. Neither sorrow nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain. For the former things are passed
away. That's the believer's hope. That
is, dear soul. That's the hope. Whatever's troubling
you here now, it'll be gone. We'll be with him. We'll be like
him. Rejoice in hope. Rejoice in hope. There'll be no night. We'll need
no candle or the light of the sun. The Lord will give us light
and rain forever and ever. That's the hope. That's the solid
assurance that the word of God lays before us. Heaven above. Rejoice in it. But what are you rejoicing in? rejoicing in your abilities, rejoicing in your
possessions, rejoicing in your future of this life, or rejoicing in hope. Once again, we come back to the
sermon this morning. Where there is true rejoicing,
our eyes will be drawn away and we will be again looking unto
Jesus. Rejoicing in what He has done.
Rejoicing in what He is doing and rejoicing in what He will
yet do. Rejoicing in hope. Once more, a lot of hymns keep
on coming to me this afternoon, and do excuse me, but we have
in hymn 242, good hope. Through grace, the saints possess
the fruit of Jesus' righteousness, and how is it? By his spirit
given. Faith eyes the promise, firm
and sure, and hope expects forevermore. What is it, hope? To dwell. with Christ in heaven. All through the wilderness below,
good hope expects more good to know, and thus is kept alive. That's the Christian's pathway,
isn't it? The soul that many a trial bears, and conflicts
hard with doubts and fears, till joy and peace arrive. When gloomy death in dread array
appears to call the saint away, Faith looks beyond the flood,
and when the soul to march prepares, good hope sends out her fervent
prayers and dies in peace with God. Yes, that is just a hymn,
but it is a hymn that is built upon what the Word of God says. Does it give you hope? Those
who may be fearful of death, and we all are, but what is it
we're fearful of? Are we fearful of death or are
we fearful of how we may die? And there is a difference there.
I don't think there is anybody that is not fearful of how they
may die, what may bring them to their end, what terrible disease
may come upon them, however it may be. But the true believer that's
rejoicing in hope. will not be fearful of going
from this life to be with Christ in glory. So yes, we may fear
how we may die, but may we not fear death itself? There's only
one way that can be. We need to cry with a prayer
of the disciples, Lord, increase my faith so that I can rejoice
in hope, so that I can rest in and find comfort in thee. And I think of those verses in
Romans 15, 13. Now the God of hope fill you. That's what we need, isn't it?
To be filled. Now the God of hope fill you,
what? With all joy and peace in believing. that ye may abound in hope. How? Through the power of the
Holy Ghost. That's what we need more, isn't
it? The power of the Holy Ghost upon us to enable us and to fill
us with joy and peace in believing that we may abound in hope. That's where the Psalmist was.
David in Psalm 23, wasn't it? Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? For
thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over." Abounding
in hope, the psalmist was there. His cup was running over because
his eyes were looking unto Jesus and not looking to everything
about. May that be us. May we be brought
there. Heaven. You know, I don't preach
about it enough. We preach maybe too much on Providence. We preach about salvation, but
do we preach about that which is to come? For this life is
but a blip on the radar. It is but a speck of dust compared
to eternity. And we need those eyes that are
looking heavenward. May it be our prayer, O Lord,
help me more and to rejoice in hope. Amen. So it's this afternoon by singing
hymn number 760, All sufficient is our Jesus,
though our sins are black as hell. From pollution he can raise
us, or from nature's deepest cell. He on Calvary cancelled
all his people's sin. Weeping saint, forget thy mourning. Why cast down all troubled souls? To the cross thy eyes be turning,
see what healing virtues flow. Christ exalted is the hope of
Israel now. Hymn number 760, tune Calverdon
number 676. ? Hosanna in the highest ? ? Hosanna
in the highest ? ? Hosanna in the highest ? In excelsis Deo. ? I sing to thee, sing of thee
? ? Precious mother of mine ? ? I send to thee, I send to thee ? O most holy Lord God, may that
be where our eyes are turned to the cross of Jesus, where indeed our sins are washed away and
we are reconciled with thee. O may that be our hope and may
we go on rejoicing in that hope. Oh Lord Thou Knowest the way
the devil works he knows that he cannot rob us of our salvation
but he knows he can try to rob us of the joy of it and the hope
of it. Lord keep him from us so that
we can not presumptuously but boldly and reverently rejoice
in hope, that hope which is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness. Lord, we thank Thee for Thy Word. We thank Thee for all aspects
of our worship, the hymns that we have sung together. And Lord,
now we pray, For the important part of this day, that we may
pray over thy word, so that it may not be snatched
by the fowls of the air and choked by the thorns of life. Therefore, that it may bring
forth fruit with the reason for thine honour and glory. So be
with each of the dear people here now. And Lord, we think it may be another year before
we are here again and all that will take place in that time. Lord, none of us know, but as
we carry on, help us to number our days, to be looking unto
Jesus and to rejoice in hope. Forgive everything that we have
spoken wrongly today. But Lord, that which has been
of Thee, may it be owned and applied and sealed by Thy blessed
Spirit. Convict and reveal Christ and
help each and every one to be true followers of Thee. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us each. Amen.