Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 742. The tune is
Beulah 446. He that trusts in his own heart,
acts a raw and foolish part, base it is and full of guile,
brooding mischief in a smile. Hymn 742, tune Beulah, Four hundred and forty-six. In
the cost of years gone by ? At her o'er and through this
path ? ? Gratitude is ever in mind ? ? With dignity in a smile
? Does it boast of God within? Shall we fey and yet make sin? Eternal gift of the world, Yet
alone in Peterham. Does it feel a mountain frame? David also felt the same. Let me make the world go to rest,
And perceive His man-made strength. But it took a great sacrifice,
May brown feathers mulch us first Let me now, my heart, believe
Twice he has denied his son Every prophet, past or last,
Sing for Him, our Jesus Christ. Unleash your foundation stone, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 24. Luke's Gospel, chapter 24. We'll commence our reading at
verse 13. And behold, two of them went
that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem
but three score furlongs. And they talked together of all
these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while
they communed together, and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. But their eyes were holden, that
they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner
of communication are these that ye have one to another, as ye
walk and are sad? And one of them, whose name was
Cleopas, answering, said unto him, Art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to
pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things?
And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was
a prophet, mighty indeed, and word before God, and all the
people. And how the chief priests and
their rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have
crucified him. But we trusted that it had been
he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this,
today is the third day since these things were done. Yea,
and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulchre. And when they found not his body,
They came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was a lion. And certain of them which were
with us went to the sepulcher and found it even so as the women
had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
his glory? And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village,
whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone
further. But they constrained him, saying,
Abide with us, For it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.
And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as
he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and
break, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and
they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they
said one to another, did not our heart burn within us? While
he talked with us by the way, while he opened to us the scriptures.
And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem and
found the 11 gathered together and them that were with them,
saying, the Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon and
they told what things were done in the way and how he was known
of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them and saith unto them, Peace
be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them,
Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself, handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy, and wonder, he said unto them, Have ye here
any meat? And they gave him a piece of
a broad fish and of a honeycomb, and he took it and did eat before
them. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses, and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it behove Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. and ye are witnesses of these
things. And behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
you be endued with power from on high. And he led them out
as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them, and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted
from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continuing
in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. May the Lord bless
the reading of his own precious word. Grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Gracious, merciful and eternal
God. We do desire to bow before Thee,
the only true God. We desire to come unto Thee in
that precious name of Jesus Christ. We pray that we may be enabled
this afternoon to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to
feel His saving grace in our hearts. to feel his delivering
mercy in our souls. And thy word declares to whom
coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God and precious. We pray that the Lord Jesus may
be exalted here this afternoon, that he may be lifted on the
gospel pole, and that poor sinners may look and live that those
in darkness may be brought into light, and those in bondage may
be brought into liberty, and those that are far off may be
made nigh. Lord, do so bless us. We humbly
beseech thee. Thou didst promise thy disciples
when sent forth that there would be signs that would follow the
preaching of the word. May we see signs following the
preaching of the word. And we're exhorted in thy word
to be thankful. And so, as we come into the sanctuary,
we would come with the voice of praise and of thanksgiving.
Thankful for all thy tender mercies, thy loving kindnesses, which
are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness in spite
of our unfaithfulness. Yet thou remainest, and thy faithfulness
remains, and thy unchanging grace is always the same. Oh, we do
pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst fill our hearts
with gratitude for thy eternal love. We thank thee for those
lovely words. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee May we be drawn. May the love of Christ be shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. May the spirit of truth
be present in our assembly and the word of truth find a place
in our hearts, sealed there by the Holy Ghost. We thank thee
for the Holy Ghost. We thank thee for his divine
power, his heavenly unction, that he's able to open our understanding,
that we might understand the scriptures. We thank thee, O
Lord, that we can and we do know the love of our eternal Father.
And we thank thee for that love. We think of those lovely words,
for the Father himself loveth you. We thank thee for Jesus
Christ. all the fullness that dwells
in him. What a treasure house he is,
full of grace and truth. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Oh, we thank thee for the glory
of his person. We thank thee that he is now
in heaven, sitting at thy right hand. We have an advocate with
the Father. We have a great high priest.
Lord, we would come with gratitude, with joy we meditate the grace
of our high priest above. His heart is made of tenderness,
his bowels melt with love. We thank thee for that wonderful
glory of the incarnation, made of a woman, made under the law.
We thank thee for that. and the law has been fulfilled
in his glorious person, honoured and magnified. The opposite to
what we do. O Lord God, we thank thee for
Jesus Christ, for the law fulfilled, for everlasting righteousness
brought in. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the lamb was slain. He took our sins and he nailed
them to his cross. Oh, the wonderful glories of
Jesus Christ. We thank thee that he satisfied
all the demands of divine justice against his bride, his spouse. He redeemed her. And he entered
into death itself and swallowed up death in victory. We thank
thee that he has indeed swallowed up death in victory. and brought
life and immortality to life, risen from the grave. He rose
again for our justification. We thank thee that he bodily
ascended into heaven. Oh, the wonder, Lord, the wonder
and the glory that dwells in Jesus, the Son of God. We pray
that thou would bless us as a church and as a congregation. We come
as poor, wretched sinners, undeserving the least of thy mercies. We
all have sinned and come short of thy glory and we come to confess
our sins and our wanderings and our backslidings and pray that
thou wouldst forgive us of all our sins and wash us in that
precious blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin and
clothe us in that glorious everlasting robe of his righteousness We
echo in our hearts the language of the spouse, my beloved is
white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. Oh, we do pray that they will remember
our deacons and bless them with needed grace, wisdom and help.
Remember our dear brother and sister away at this time and
may they find rest and change and be profited today in the
sanctuary. And oh Lord, we do pray to bring
them home in peace and safety at the appointed time. Any others
are not able to come out today, we pray for them. We pray for
our dear brother and sister in Holland and seek that thou would
bless them indeed. And we pray for dear Ina and
that thou would richly bless her in her great age. We do humbly
pray this. And we pray that thou was drawn
near to her in her lonely hours. She may be able to cast all her
cares upon thee. We think of any in the path of
affliction and trouble and trial and perplexity and pray that
thou was undertake for them. Remember the little ones and
the children, bless them indeed. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou was Bless them in their young and tender years with the
fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. We pray that those blessed parents,
as they seek to bring up their children, may they be enabled
to do so in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Remember the young
friends. Remember them for good. Bring
them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Gracious God, Bless them
with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus, and bore their
ears to the doorposts of thy house. And, Lord, we pray that
thou would remember the prodigals that have wandered away. Stretch
out thy almighty arm, cause them to be in one, cause them to return. Lord, what rejoicing there would
be, O Lord, to see Zion's offspring The prodigal is returning. Send
out the light and truth of the gospel into this village and
the surrounding villages and hamlets. Bring our sons from
far and our daughters from the ends of the earth and pull down
the strongholds of Satan. Set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. Oh, put forth that strength and
power in the day in which we live. Oh, to see the fulfilling
of that precious word, for I am returned unto Jerusalem with
mercies. Lord, bless thy word and bless
thy people. Bless the assemblies of thy saints.
Bless thy servants this day as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion. Set them free. Set them at liberty,
we do humbly beseech of them. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech thee. Send out thy light and thy truth. O Lord, we do beseech you. We
live in a very dark day, Lord, where iniquity abounds on every
hand. And the love of many waxes cold,
and Zion is minished and brought low, and the boar out of the
wood doth waste her. We see wicked men in power, and
immorality and unrighteousness abounding, running down our streets. O Lord, do hear us, we pray Thee,
and have mercy upon us, we beseech Thee, as a nation. and send out the light and glory
of thy gospel, of thy word, and of thy grace. In the day in which
we live, we do humbly beseech of thee, wilt thou not revive
us again, O Lord? And thou hast exhorted us to
pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May we see Zion's prosperity. May we see thy power and thy
glory in the gospel. We do humbly beseech of thee.
Be with us now, Lord, as we turn to thy word. Come and open thy
word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and touch
one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 744. The tune is Gieson 906. No awful sense we find of sin,
the sinful life and sinful heart. No loathing of the plague within
until the Lord that feel impart. But when the spirit of truth
is come, A sinner trembles at his doom. Hymn 744, tune Gieson
906. ? Hosanna in the highest ? ? Hosanna
in the highest ? ? Day long the road he brings me
? ? Until you come to me in thought ? ? But when the tears are drenched
? God shed His light on earth as
it is in heaven. Omniscient being, secure and
free, Refugee's shadow, blotchy energy, And God put just on her His own
righteous word. Mercy is the word of wisdom in me. ? To preach their song each day
? O come, O come, all ye faithful
joyful and triumphant O come, O come, all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant The land of Israel, the King
of Glory, the home of the brave, the home of the brave. The moon is full of benedictions,
And God has been patient with me just. ? All your wealth and hands and
hands ? ? And all of my wealth ? ? Hear Jesus sing ? ? Lord
bring me thy good ? Christ is born of the Virgin,
Christ is born of the Virgin, Greatly feeling the need, the
Lord's gracious help, I direct your attention to Luke chapter
24, And we will read verse 25 and
26 for our text. Luke chapter 24, verses 25 and
26. Then he said unto them, O fools,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
ought not Christ to have suffered these things? and to enter into
his glory. The Lord speaks these things
to two of his disciples, O fools and slow of heart to believe. And you know, isn't it true? how slow of heart we are to believe
and what evidence does he have in the scripture of the same
spirit. We find it in the Lord's immediate
disciples and Thomas in John chapter 20, how the Lord reproved
Thomas for his spirit that he had and the Lord appeared to
them when Thomas wasn't with them.
And Thomas said to them, except I put my finger in the print
of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. You see, it says in John 20 verse
24, but Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with
them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore
said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them,
Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put
my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into
his side, I will not believe. What a solemn spirit Thomas was
on. And yet we find this spirit common
among the disciples. The Lord Jesus reproved them.
So we read here in John 20, and after eight days, again, his
disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace be
unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, notice it directly speaks to
Thomas, reach hither thy finger and behold my hands and reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and be not faithless
but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, my Lord and my God. And here is the reproof. Jesus
saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed. Blessed are they that have not
seen and yet believed. You see, we walk by faith, not
by sight. Are we walking by faith? And do we hear the word of the
Lord? And do we hear the Lord's servants
when they preach? Many years ago now, preaching
at a place and preaching on a certain doctrine. And I tried to lay
out that doctrine of truth. And the deacon said to me afterwards,
I hear what you say, friend, but the Lord hasn't shown me
So he didn't hear at all, not believingly. He wanted a special
revelation. He didn't listen to the minister.
He wanted a special revelation. You see, that's the pride of
our heart. And we should listen to what
the Lord says. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
his glory. Don't we have to confess that
we are guilty in these things? And that we come short in these
things? My mind, it goes to the, I believe
it's the, those that have witnessed the Lord Jesus being crucified. and they went to Pilate and they
asked for a watch to watch over because they said this deceiver
said that he would rise from the dead after three days. Yet
the disciples didn't believe him. But the wicked, the unrighteous,
they heard what he said. They believed what he said and
yet the poor disciples they couldn't understand it. You see my beloved
friends these things are written for our instruction in the way
of righteousness and of truth. We read in Mark when the Lord
appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and indeed it's recorded
in Mark in the 16th chapter the same just briefly what we have
in this chapter in Luke. And you look at Mark 16 and verse
9. Now when Jesus was written early
the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told
them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. And they
said when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen
of her, believe not. They believe not. Even though
she'd actually, Christ had appeared to her and she'd seen him, yet
they refused to believe. After this he appeared, and this
is the road to Emmaus, after that he appeared in another form
unto two of them as they walked and went into the country. And
they went and told it unto the rest of you, neither believed
they then. Afterward he appeared unto the
eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief
and hardness of heart. because they believed not them
which had seen him after he was risen. Now it is these same doubting
disciples that he immediately said, and he said unto them,
go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. What a solemn thought that is,
isn't it? And may the Lord give us clear,
believing views of the truth. And not, we've got to have a
special revelation. That's nothing more than the
pride of our heart. Of course, real religion is a
revealed thing. Real religion is the work of
the spirit in the heart and it's very personal. But to say that
we need a special revelation, You know, these things are written
for our instruction. And Christ said to them, be not
faithless, but believe it. It's in Matthew chapter 27 and
from verse 62. And we have the chief priests,
et cetera. Now the next day that followed
the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came
together unto Pilate saying, sir, We remember that that deceiver
said, while he was yet alive, after three days I will rise
again. Command therefore that the sepulchre
be made sure until the third day, till his disciples come
by night, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away. And say unto the people, he is
risen from the dead, so the last error shall be worse than the
first. Pilate said unto them, You have a watch, go your way,
make it as sure as you can. So they went and made the sepulchre
sure, sealing the stone, setting a watch. You see, they'd heard
what he said. They believed what he said in
a sense, but the disciples didn't. And yet there are numerous occasions
in the Gospels when Christ actually warned the disciples. He foretold
them what was going to happen. that he would be taken by the
hands of wicked men and be crucified, and on the third day he would
rise again. And yet they didn't believe. Are you, and am I, any better? Oh, that the Lord would give
us clear, believing views, and that we might hear what the Word
of God says, hear what the Lord's servant says, You see, except
ye become as a little child. A little child holds its parents'
hands. It trusts them. It confides in
them. And the Lord Jesus said, except
ye become as a little child. Trusting, believing. Be not faithless. but believing. Then he said unto
them, O fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets
have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and to enter into his glory? You know, just this
verse following, verse 27, And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the things
concerning himself. And he says, as it goes on in
verse, later on, verse 44, he said unto them, these are the
words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that
all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms, in other words,
the complete Word of God concerning me, then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it behove Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day, that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. or that the Lord may do the same
for us. I constantly feel the need of
it when I come before you continually to minister, that the Lord should
open my understanding. And not only that, to give the
ability to try and preach what the truth is. O fools and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken. Christ himself said. Also, it's recorded in Ezekiel. We have piped unto you. We have
played music unto you. You have not danced. Christ preached
to them the gospel of the kingdom, the very king of kings himself.
They would not believe. He was despised and he was rejected
of men. And you know, friends, may the
Lord give us and deliver us from this spirit of unbelief. And that we may not come under
this condemnation of fools and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter into his glory? You know, right through
these scriptures It says here in verse 27, that must have been
a remarkable time when he expounded unto them in all the scriptures,
the things concerning himself. When he opened to them the wonderful
prophecies in Isaiah. Especially you think of Isaiah
53, how beautifully it prophesies of the sufferings of Christ. of what he passed through. And
in Psalm 22, how it speaks so sacredly of the innermost feelings
of Christ. Christ himself is speaking in
Psalm 22. And he's speaking of the awful
sufferings that he passed through as a man on the cross of Calvary. And he poured out his soul unto
death. see as Isaiah said he was wounded
for our transgressions and it's when our eyes are opened you
know for years read I've read Psalm 53 and of course believed
it spoke of the sufferings of Christ but I remember one occasion
sitting and reading and that seemed to stand out so vividly
a man of sorrows all the It was so vivid, and I can understand
what is meant, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened,
there was such a clear, vivid view of the man Christ Jesus,
the holy God man, who suffered and bled and died for the sins
of his people. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter into his glory? It was, the Lord Jesus
said, To this end was I born. For this cause came I into the
world. When did he speak it? When he
was about to suffer, bleed and die. To this end was I born. To suffer, to bleed and die.
If Christ had not suffered and bled and died, there would be
no salvation. There would be no hope. There
would be no mercy. There would be no grace. There
would be no salvation. It's only through Jesus, the
Son of God, suffering, bleeding, dying on the cross of Calvary. That's how salvation came. That's how salvation was accomplished
by Jesus, the Son of God. And it had to be Jesus, the Son
of God, that suffered and bled and died on the behalf of his
people. Number one, he was holy. He was
pure, he was righteous, as we commented this morning in our
text, the holy one of Israel. He's holy. He was born holy into
this world. He lived a holy, pure, and spotless
life as a man here upon earth. And in that holy life of Jesus
Christ, the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, is our
righteousness. His obedience is ours. His righteousness is ours by
faith. This is what the poor sinner
receives. You know, it's so lovely. It
has been of late to me, those words in Solomon's song in the
fifth chapter, my beloved is white and ruddy. It's what the spouse saw in Christ. He's white, he's pure, he's holy,
he's righteous. He's the Holy One of Israel. Get a sight of that, the perfections
of Christ and the law fulfilled. I think the apostle brings it
out so clearly and so emphatically in Galatians 4, made of a woman,
made under the law. Christ was. The Son of God was
made of a woman. And because He was made of a
woman, He was made under the law. The Bible states clearly
the law was made for man. So when the Son of God became
a man, He came under the law. And He lived under the law, here
as a man upon earth. It's a profound mystery. The
Son of God, who gave the law, came and lived under the law
as a man. And he did that on the behalf
of his people. Oh fools and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory. What a wonderful thing that he
enters into his glory, having redeemed his people. or having
lived for them, having become their sin bearer. You know, as we've often explained
to you, Gethsemane is where the sin of the church was laid on
Christ. He became our sin bearer. And that is why it's recorded
that he being in agony, it's here in Luke's gospel, he being
in agony, sweat as it were, great drops of blood falling down to
the ground. Why? Because our sins were laid
on him. You think of the whole church
of God, from Adam right to the end of time, millions, and all
their sins were laid on him. and he, being in agony, swept,
as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Oh,
fools and slow of heart to believe. Oh, may the Lord give us clearer,
believing views of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God manifested in the flesh. Clearer, believing
views of his holy life, clearer, believe in views of his sufferings,
his sorrows, and how he did this on the behalf of his people,
wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The
chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed. May the Lord give us a clear
view of that. Jesus in our wretched, rude place
instead. Oh that we may have clear believing
views. When you believe, it's an act
of appropriation. You lay hold of something. And
that something is Christ. And some aspect of what he's
done. One aspect we've already spoken of, the fulfilling of
the law. The other aspect, suffering, bleeding, dying, to redeem us. Think on these things. Think
on these things. Or meditate on these things. Or, you know, meditation is a
spiritual exercise and it can only be done with the power the
Holy Ghost, same as prayer is a spiritual exercise and the
hymn writer's prayer indicted by thy spirit and how we need
the Holy Spirit to give us real prayer and having real prayer,
believe in views, believe in views of the precious blood of
the Lamb that cleanses from all sin, believe in views of the
glorious everlasting righteousness but Having a believing view,
it's laying hold of it. Believing it, personally, in
our own souls. Not for this one, that one, another
one, but for us personally. Real religion is a personal thing. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things? and to enter into
His glory. You see, He suffered. He bled. He died. He died. But He rose again. But He rose
again. And it's clearly stated in Holy
Scripture, He rose again for our justification. that we might
be declared without sin. That's what justification means.
Declared to be without sin. Why? Because Jesus suffered and
bled and died for our sins. And then he rose again. Doesn't the Apostle say in Romans
8, and he speaks of the suffering and death of Christ, and then
he says, and yea, rather is risen again. rather has risen again. In the Acts of the Apostles,
it says death could not hold him. You know, on the glorious
person of Christ, death had no hold at all. He died on the behalf
of his people, for the sins of his people. Death had no claim
on Jesus Christ, he did no sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth. He was perfect, he was righteous, altogether. So he voluntarily entered into
death. It was a voluntary act of the
son of God to enter into death itself on the behalf of his people. And as it says in scripture,
that he might destroy death and him that had the power of death,
that is the devil. And that's exactly what he's
done. and he's done it on behalf of poor sinners, poor, wretched,
ruined, hopeless sinners. When the Philippian jailer said
to Paul, what must I do to be saved? What did Paul say? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And thou
shalt be saved. There's a clear, Pattern laid
out in Holy Scripture. Now this belief in this faith
Is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost It's given the Apostle
says in I believe it's Ephesians chapter 2 Faith is the gift of
God It's a divine gift which the Holy Spirit gives Which he works in the heart That's
a term that is often used by the Puritans, especially when
speaking of faith, he works it in the heart, the spirit of faith. And when that spirit of faith
is worked in the heart, Christ is revealed. And you're then
enabled to see Jesus by faith, to look to Jesus. But it's not
only that act, of believing, it's the light and the life and
the power of faith in the heart. Christ revealed, Christ made
precious. His love shed abroad in your
heart. See, it says in scripture, faith that worketh by love and
the affection and the love that goes out to Christ, to his glorious
person for what he has done. On such love my heart still ponders. Love so rich, so full, so free. You know, or that we may take
heed here. Doesn't the Apostle Paul, when
he writes his epistle to the Hebrews and in speaking to them,
He describes what he calls an evil heart of unbelief. An evil heart of unbelief. And
he warns, doesn't he? Be careful lest there be any
of us, this evil heart of unbelief. In Hebrews chapter 3. He quotes from the Psalms and
he says, indeed, if you look at the previous
verses, he says verse six, but Christ is a son over his own
house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and
rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore as the Holy
Ghost saith today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts. As in the provocation in the
day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me,
proved me and saw my works forty years, wherefore I was grieved
with that generation. And so they do always err in
their heart. And they have not known my ways.
So I swear in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest.
It's a solemn thought, my beloved friends. But there was only three men
that entered who were of majority age into the land of Kenya. That was Caleb, one of the spies that spied out
the land, gave a believing report, Joshua, the only man. And we're told the rest died
in the wilderness. The Lord led them around in that wilderness
until they were all gone. And this is exactly the illustration
that the Apostle is using here of this spirit of unbelief that
was in the children of Israel in the wilderness. Harden not your hearts as in
the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness
when your fathers tempted me, proved me and saw my works forty
years Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said
they do always err in their heart, and they have not known my way,
so I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest that was
into the land of Canaan, which in this sense is a type of heaven.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief in departing from the living God. and exhort one
another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. You see, he speaks in verse
eight of the hardness of the heart, and he tells us how it
comes about. The deceitfulness of sin. The deceitfulness of sin. For
we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end? While it is said, today,
if you would hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in
the provocation. For some, when they had heard,
did provoke, albeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But
with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that
had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter in to his rest, but to
them that believe not. So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief. And he goes on in exhortation
in chapter four. Let us therefore fear, lest the
promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. My friends, I'd be failing in
my duty as a minister if I didn't bring these things before you.
For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the
word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it. For we which have believed do
enter into rest. As he said, as I've sworn in
my role, they shall not enter into my rest. although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. Goes on, he says
in verse 11, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest. That
rest is Christ, is a suffering savior, is the precious blood
of the lamb, is the sacrifice of Calvary. That's the rest of
faith. Let us labor therefore to enter
into that rest. lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. Goes on in that same chapter,
and he says in verse 16, it speaks previously of the glorious person
of Christ. He says in verse 14, seeing then
that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For
we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we
are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
His glory? See, that precious Saviour that
has redeemed His people, that has shed His precious blood,
that has brought in everlasting righteousness, that has swallowed
up death in victory, He's made a new and living way into the
holy place. as it says in our text, and to
enter into His glory. Now what does Christ say? I am
the way, the truth, and the life. To enter into glory, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Oh, my dear, beloved friends,
I am the way. Christ is the way. Jesus is the
living way. He is. And it's in Him that we
shall enter into our glory. When He rose from the dead, He
said, because I live, ye shall live also. When they came to
the sepulcher, it's recorded here in the beginning of this
chapter, and it says in Mark as well, come, see the place
where the Lord lay. He is not here. Why? Because
He's risen from the grave. He is not here. No, that grave is empty, the
empty tomb, the risen Saviour. Why seek ye the living among
the dead? And now the exalted Saviour,
for such an high priest have we, who is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, to enter into His glory. You see, there's a glory. Emmanuel's
all the glory in Emmanuel's land. Those words based on Rutherford's
last words, I will not gaze on glory, but on my king of grace. Not on the crown he giveth, but
on those pierced hands where glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. What did Christ himself say? Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. See that, to enter into his glory.
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again. and receive you unto myself that
where I am, there ye may be also. You see, unto them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Never forget reading the Puritan
Thomas Goodwin. And he quoted that text. And
especially that, where he shall appear without sin. And he made
this comment, there is your justification, child of God. What did he mean when he said
that, there is your justification? Your sins have been put away.
Your sins were laid on Christ in Gethsemane. And he purged
those sins away in his sufferings and sorrows on the cross. And
he died for our sins. And He rose again for our justification
to declare us to be without sin. And when He comes a second time
to receive His people unto Himself, He will come without sin. Those
sins are all atoned for. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. As far as the east is from the
west, so far have I removed thy sins from thee, O Israel. Justified
in Christ. or to have a clear view by faith
of the justifying righteousness of Christ, of the being justified
in that suffering Saviour who suffered and bled and died for
our sins, who was wounded for our transgressions, who was bruised
for our iniquities, and now he's ascended into heaven. Heaven
was shot when Adam fell. It speaks of it in Genesis, that
fiery sword that turned every way, that kept the way of the
tree of life, so that man could not enter anymore into the presence
of God. But Jesus has made a new and
a living way into the holy place. There's that lovely Psalm 24,
Christ ascended into heaven. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
but ye lift up ye everlasting doors. Those gates are shut when
Adam fell, but lo, the second Adam comes, the Lord from heaven,
the Christ of God, and he ascends into heaven. And those heavenly
gates, they lift their heads. They're opened. The King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? It's
Christ. It's Jesus himself. As it says
in our text, to enter into glory. You see, what a wonderful door
of hope is open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. Oh fools,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into
his glory. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 789 to the tune Everlasting Love 942. O ye sons of God, be wise. Trust no longer dreams and lies. Out of Christ almighty power
can do nothing but devour. God, you say, is good, is true,
but he's pure and holy too. Just and jealous is his ire,
burning with vindictive fire. Hymn 789. tune Everlasting Love
942. The Lord be with you. Amen. ? That the Christ, the mighty One
? ? Can live long in earthly life ? ? Lord, He's coming, His
truth is coming ? ? There's a truth to be found ?
? You will be dignified ? ? Peace of mind, peace of being
? Israel tell, O men, they have come to fruit, a fruit indeed. His peace and His Son to free. Ever glad St. Jesus died, God
was with me justified. Since to come ever in his nature stood. Worship God, then in his sight,
there he thought, ? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting
in air, ? Louder than any other ray, Hear
that star, Prince of all growth, Planting growth in sweat and
blood. evermore and ever be, and not
for ages have sinned. Be ye glad, see their full souls, In the rain, as the past does,
There is clemency, sir, We can never trust too much. Be that man, ten worse than me,
Bids us now, dear Jesus, flee. On we take him at his word, And
your soul 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, both now
and forevermore. Amen.