Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 567. The tune is
Hellborough, 157. Jesus the Lord, my saviour is,
my shepherd and my God, my light, my strength, my joy, my bliss,
and I his grace record. Hymn 566. ? Listen, O my Saviour, listen,
O my Saviour, listen, O my Saviour. Thy light's ray, thy joy my peace,
and all its grace. I give you, dear Jesus, rest, and then make rest for
me. Tis Thine, Thine alone, the Blessed
Pilgrim, Which blesses the pure and free, Mercy and truth and righteousness, all these most richly meet. Jesus Christ, the King of Praise,
in whom I stand humbly. After this wilderness may I know
His mercy's power proclaim. I say, free me, my God, I say,
free me, my God, Where did the Lamb shall be my
Star? For me, for me He was slain. And with me o'er the heavenly
throng Shall joyfully say, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Epistle to the Colossians, chapter one. The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians,
chapter one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, and Timotheus, our brother, to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ Jesus, in Christ which are at Colossae.
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which he
have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you
in heaven, whereof we heard before in the word of the truth of the
gospel, which is come unto you as it is in all the world, and
bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you, since the day ye
heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth. As ye also learned
of Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful
minister of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in
the Spirit. For this cause we also, since
the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire
that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in
all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all
might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and
long-suffering with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of every creature, for by him all things created that are in
heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. And you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death,
to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have
heard, and which was preached to every creature who is under
heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister, who now rejoice in my sufferings
for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions
of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church,
whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation
of God, which is given to me for you to fulfil the word of
God. Even the mystery which has been
hid from ages and generations but now is made manifest to his
saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man
and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every
man perfect in Christ Jesus, whereunto I also labour, striving
according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own word, grant to us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we bow before thy great, thy
glorious, and thy eternal majesty. We bow as poor sinners, thankful
to find thee at his room before the throne of grace, thankful
to know that this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Lord Jesus, we do thank thee. that thou art the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by thee. But we thank thee, Lord Jesus,
that thou hast made a new and living way into the holy place,
and we come to thee in all our need as poor sinners. We come
to confess our sins, and thou hast said, if ye confess your
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do be gracious and do have mercy
upon us. O Lord, we do beseech Thee. Show
us Thy ways. Teach us Thy paths. Grant that
Thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Grant that we may be led and taught and guided by the Spirit
of God. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. O let there be a spirit
of power in our midst this afternoon, that we may truly worship them,
that the Lord Jesus may be exalted as a Prince and as a Saviour,
for to give faith and repentance and remission of sins. Lord,
we do pray that at this season of the year, as many of us gather
together as families, we pray that we may not lose sight of
why we keep Christmas, and the wonderful and sacred glory of
the incarnation of the Son of God. Oh, that we could truly,
truly enter in like the dear hymn writer, my God, manifest in the flesh, contracted to a span for me. Gracious God, this is beyond
our comprehension. that the eternal son of the eternal
father came as a man here upon earth, born of a virgin, living
a life of purity and holiness under the law as a man, fulfilling,
honoring, magnifying that righteous law of our God. Oh, it is indeed
beyond our comprehension. and by living that holy life,
bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people. We thank thee
that one of thy names, Lord Jesus, is Jehovah Sidkenia, the Lord,
our righteousness. We thank thee, Lord Jesus, Son
of God Most High, for what thou hast done in living and suffering
and bleeding and dying for thy people, all that wonderful, sacred,
profound glory of a crucified Saviour, our sins laid upon Him,
and that sacred atonement made, reconciliation and peace through
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. We do thank Thee, O Lord,
for these wonderful things. We thank Thee, O Lord, for our
little house of prayer, We thank Thee for all Thy tender mercies
toward us, supplying all our many returning needs. We thank
Thee, O Lord, that Thou hast maintained us, Thou hast blessed
us. Bless us still. Grant that the
word of the Lord may have free course and Thy name be honoured
and glorified. We do humbly beseech of Thee,
we pray, that Thou wouldst hear the prayers of thy little ones. For, Lord, there are some little
ones here amongst us that pray unto thee, that call upon thy
name, that wait upon thee. And thou hast said, but they
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall
mount upon wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. Grant that it may be so. Dearest
Lord, we humbly beseech thee. Grant, O Lord, we pray, that
thou wouldst graciously speak to the hearts of thy little ones,
guide them in thy way, in the way that thou wouldst have them
to go, that put thy tender, holy filial fear in their hearts,
an unctuous light to all that's right and a bar to all that's
Deliver them from the temptations of the wicked one. Deliver them
from the power and the dominion of sin. Gracious God, do incline
thine ear, and where there is that battle that goes on between
the flesh and the spirit, between that which is wrong and that
which is right, that which is good and that which is evil,
we pray that thou wouldst graciously fight for them, and bring them
forth into the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the liberty
of the children of God, and that they may be able to come and
testify of the wonders of redeeming love, of the fullness of that
wonderful salvation that is in Christ Jesus. Lord, how many
millions will gather together at this Christmas time, not knowing
the true meaning of Christmas? Oh, we pray that thou wouldst
work. We think of that precious word,
I will work, and who shall let it? Gather in, build up, renew,
revive thy church in this day in which we live. Return unto
Jerusalem with mercies. Grant thy spirit to rest upon
thy servants, and mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching
of the word. Lord, thou alone art able, to
do these things, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts, grant that it may be so, in the day
in which we live. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou, in thy precious mercy, would remember each one gathered
in the sanctuary here this afternoon, grant thy blessing, grant thy
favour, grant thy quickening word, grant a reviving word,
grant a comforting word, grant that the word may be in power
in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance, grant signs to follow
the preaching of the word. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy precious mercy would graciously hear our entreaties, send real
prosperity, bless our brethren the deacons, help them support
them, sustain them, now and then, as to all their responsibilities,
both among us and among the churches. We pray that thou wouldst guard
them with all sufficient grace. That we pray, dear Lord, for
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship,
that thy blessing may rest upon us. We may be united together. We think of our dear beloved
sister in Surrey, pray for her and our brother and sister in
Holland, all that thou wouldst bless them indeed. Make us of
one heart, of one mind, and that we may truly, truly follow them,
and love each other, and serve each other, and bear each other's
burdens. Help us to present our bodies
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto thee, which is
our reasonable service. and that we be not conformed
to this world, but may we be transformed by the renewing of
our mind, that we might know what that good and perfect and
acceptable will of the Lord is. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst hear us in heaven, thy holy and thy blessed
dwelling place, that thou wouldst send real prosperity, bless the
little ones and the children We thank thee for them, we love
to see them, we love to hear them. Oh, that thou wouldst bless
them indeed. Bless the dear young friends
on the threshold of life's journey. Bring them to living, vital,
saving faith in Jesus Christ. Bring them to seek first the
kingdom of heaven and thy righteousness, and all these things shall be
added unto them. Gracious God. So work in the
hearts of our young friends that there may be a seed that shall
be raised up to call thee the Redeemer, bless him, that we
may see the fulfilling of that sacred promise. Instead of thy
father shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst take us the foxes, those little foxes that do so spoil
the vines, for our vines have tender We pray for parents that
wisdom, grace, and help might be given to them in all their
responsibilities. We pray for the family ought
to be raised and maintained among the families. The word of God
read and prayer made, for all things are sanctified by the
word of God and prayer. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst hearken to our entreaties and remember us
for good. Do give parents that wisdom and
guidance and direction in all matters. We seek thy blessing
upon all in the midst of the journey of life, that thou wouldst
graciously preserve and keep us from the temptations of the
enemy, even Satan. Preserve and keep us and deliver
us from the allurements of this vain world that has the death
and thousands hurled. And gracious God, work in us
mightily, and graciously go before us in each untrodden step. O
most gracious God. We read of that one in the prophecy
of Ezekiel, and he passed by and bid me live, but we pray
that it may be so among us here, and that it may be the exercise
of each heart. Lord, do not pass me by. Lord,
we do pray that thou in thy great mercy would remember those of
us in the evening time of life's journey, that we may know thy
divine support and blessing and guidance and teaching, that we
may be preserved unto thy heavenly kingdom, kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. We remember all that are not
able to be with us here this afternoon, and that we pray that
thou would be with them where they are and undertake for them. We seek thy blessing, dearest
Lord, that it may rest upon us, upon this village. May the light
and the power of the gospel go into this village and into the
surrounding villages and hamlets and farmsteads. Precious souls
may be gathered in. This coming year may be a year
of jubilee. a year when we shall see thy
power and thy glory as though useless to be in the sanctuary,
a year when there will be an ingathering, a building up, a
reviving, a renewing. Lord, only thou art able to do
these things, for thy word declares, not by might nor by power, but
by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. And thou hast said,
I will work, and who shall let it? Lord, we pray that thou would
remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion today. Be with them, Lord, in the ministry
of the word. Grant signs to follow the preaching
of the word. Some of them, Lord, have long
journeys. Watch over them, keep them, preserve them. We do beseech
thee. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou would be gracious and have mercy upon thy Zion. and return
to Jerusalem with mercies, and build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Lord, thou art indeed able to
do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. We thank thee
for the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee
for the eternal love of our eternal Father, which we know in his
Son, Jesus Christ. We thank thee for the glorious
person, power, and grace of the Holy Ghost. O most gracious Lord,
fill our hearts with gratitude of what thou art and who thou
art, thankful for every mercy of thy kind providence. Lord,
be with us now as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open
thy word to our heart and to our understanding. We ask with
the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 569. The tune is New Arabia, 759. The Father in eternal love, His
heart upon Zion descend, Her name He enrolled above, Nor will
He fair Zion forget, He chose her in Jesus' Son, and gave her
to him for a wife, who freely accepted the same, though knowing
she'd cost him his life. Hymn 569. Amen. Amen. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the first chapter in Paul's epistle to the Colossians,
and we will read the last two verses. verses 28 and 29. Colossians chapter 1 verses 28
and 29 whom we preach warning every man and teaching every
man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in
Christ where unto I also labour, striving according to his working,
which worketh in me mightily. Whom we preach. You notice in the previous verse
it said, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in
you, the hope of glory. We preach. In the beginning of
the epistle to the Colossians, the apostle says, we preach Christ
crucified. We preach Christ crucified. And he says that the preaching
of Christ crucified is to the Jews a stumbling block. They
stumbled at it, they could not receive the Lord Jesus Christ
as being the eternal Son of God, as being the promised Messiah. And in that first chapter of
the first epistle to the Corinthians, the dear apostle, he says in
verse 18, for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
It is the power of God, the preaching of the cross. And he goes on,
and he says in the second chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians,
and verse two, for I determine not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Notice the emphasis that he lays
Not just Jesus Christ, who is himself the eternal son of the
eternal father, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. It's a very
important emphasis that is being laid there. And him crucified. That glorious sacrifice. And that is what we desire to
preach. Because it's there that salvation is found. is there
that redemption is. And here in this chapter that
we've read together, there's an emphasis that is laid, isn't
there, on the person of Christ. And I always rather admire this
first chapter of the Colossians because of the tremendous weight
that there is laid upon the person of Jesus Christ. It tells us
who he is. It tells us what he has done.
And it says from verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father which
has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light. How? By what means? Jesus Christ and him crucified. the cross of Christ. The apostle
says in the epistle to the Galatians, God forbid that I should glory
saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we
should glory in. We shouldn't glory in ourselves.
We shouldn't glory in what we have done. We shouldn't glory
in what anyone else has done. We should glory in what Christ
has done and what Christ has fulfilled. Just consider how
he's fulfilled that holy righteous law in his holy life. And just
consider how that when he offered that sacrifice on the cross of
Calvary, it was a pure, a holy, a righteous sacrifice that was
acceptable unto God. Now he says here in verse 14,
in whom we have redemption. See who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, Now translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son, in whom we have redemption. Notice that joined together here,
when it speaks of redemption, it speaks of his blood. And in
speaking of those two things, it speaks of the forgiveness
of sins. The forgiveness of sins. How
many times the Pharisees opposed the Lord Jesus when he
spoke of forgiving sins. They didn't accept Christ as
being the eternal son of God. And he said to them on one occasion
when he healed many people, and he says, is it easier to say,
arise, take up thy bed and walk, or thy sins are all forgiven
thee? Thy sins are all forgiven thee.
You know, friends, there's only one place of forgiveness with
God, and that is in the person of his son, Jesus Christ. And though spoken in a derogatory
way, they are beautiful words of grace. This man, it was spoken
by the Pharisees, but it is so full of truth. This man, speaking
of Christ, receiveth sinners and eateth with them. My dear
beloved friends, this man, this glorious holy God man, receiveth
sinners and eateth with them, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Now, he goes on here,
he speaks there, of course, of the benefits of salvation, but
in verse 15 and onwards he speaks of the divine person of the Son
of God manifest in the flesh Jesus Christ He who is the image
of the invisible God? The Son of God you see the image
of the invisible of God the firstborn of every creature For by him
And this speaks of the wonderful glory sovereignty power eternity
of our Lord Jesus Christ. For by him were all things created. Who? Our Lord Jesus Christ. By
him were all things created. That are in heaven and that are
in earth. Visible and invisible. Those things that can be seen,
those things that are not seen. Whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. And it gives another dimension
to that word that the Apostle speaks in the epistle to the
Romans when he says the powers that be are ordained of God.
Just remember that when he wrote that and spoke that the powers
that be were not Christian powers, they were heathen powers, they
were mainly pagan religions But he said they're ordained of God. And it says here that they were
created by Jesus Christ, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or palace, all things were created by him
and for him. In another place, he says, speaking
of Christ, he is God over all. and blessed for evermore. How
he speaks here of the glorious person, for all that that may
be your, our desire, that you might know the person of Christ,
that you might worship the person of Christ, that you may not worship
him purely and simply for what you can get from him, the benefits
of salvation, redemption, etc. But that you may be led of the
spirit to worship him for what he is, the eternal sovereign
ruler of the skies. With heaven and earth at his
command he waits to answer prayer. That there may be begotten in
your heart by the Holy Ghost that desire to actually worship
his person. There's something so glorious
in the person Christ and and this is what the Apostle is setting
before us here now he goes on in verse 17 and he says he is
before all things I've often told you of that wonderful time
when under great temptation I was reading Proverbs chapter 8 the
temptation I had was that Jesus was not the Son of God And as
I was reading through Proverbs chapter 8 in the early hours
of one morning, those words were made so powerful, I saw so clearly
it was the person of Christ that was speaking there in Proverbs
8. I was set up from everlasting,
or wherever the earth was, I was set up from everlasting, or wherever
the earth was. And in that wonderful prayer
of Jesus Christ in John 17, he speaks to his father and he speaks
of the glory that I had with thee before the world began.
See, he's Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. He's eternal in his person. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. There's something very precious
in the eternity of Jesus Christ that he is indeed Jehovah Jesus
and he is before all things and not only that he's sovereign
and by him all things consist everything in this world consists
in the hands of Jesus Christ he holdeth the world in his hands
he does everything your life, my life. There's a time to be
born, there's a time to die. It's all held in the hands of
Jesus Christ. Or that we may be brought to
see just how great he is. And then he speaks of the church
in verse 18, and he is the head of the body, the church, who
is the beginning. That word, the beginning, means
from everlasting. If you go back to the commencement
of Holy Scripture, it says, in the beginning God. What it means
is before all things. It's not just a time of a beginning. It means in the beginning, before
all things, in eternity past, God. I am God and there is none
else. It is he that hath made us and
not we ourselves. Now this glorious person of Jesus
Christ is the great king and head of the church. He is the
head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead. As we know, he died for our sins
and rose again for our justification, the firstborn from the dead. And he said, because I live,
ye shall live also. They're the words of Christ himself,
the firstborn from the dead. And it says here in the New Testament,
in the epistles, how that he destroyed death. And he had the
power of death, that is the devil. Christ has destroyed the works
of the devil. He's destroyed death, how? By
rising from the grave. He destroyed death and him had
the power of God. You see, O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
This glorious person, the great king and head of the church,
many times in scripture he's called the king. The word, the king, the name
I should say, the king, it actually means one of supreme power. And in the, word of God is called
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Again we go back to
Proverbs chapter 8, by me kings reign and princes decree justice. It's Christ that is speaking.
You see he has all things in his hand and we read in the prophet
Daniel how that he setteth up one and he put it down another. he can do it in a moment. You
know when Balthazar the son of Nebuchadnezzar held his impious
feast and he was deposed from his throne immediately, literally
immediately. Daniel was brought in to give
an interpretation of the writing on the wall that was written
by a disembodied hand and Part of that writing said, and it
was to the king, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. And when Daniel spoke to the
king, he said how his father Nebuchadnezzar had been greatly
humbled by the God of heaven, and he was driven from among
men, he was like a madman, and then the Lord restored him to
his kingdom when he was humbled. when he saw that God ruled in
heaven and in earth. That's what it says in scripture.
And the Lord restored him. And Daniel says to his son that you knew all this and here you
are holding this impious feast with all your lords and ladies
and worshipping your idols of heathen gods and yet you're using
the holy vessels of the sanctuary from Jerusalem. And the Lord
said, through Daniel, thy kingdom is numbered. And that night,
the Medes and the Persians overrun the city of Babylon. And the
king, Belteshazzar, was slain, just as Daniel said. Literally
within hours of Daniel speaking that, the very things happened.
and the Medes and the Persians overran the city of Babylon. But the point is that God rules. He put it down one and he set
it up another. You see, he is the head of the
body of the church. In the Old Testament it speaks
of the children of Israel that the nations of the earth were,
as it were, ordered by God according to the number of the children
of Israel. There's a lot of teaching there. The church of God who
now mingles among all the nations of the earth. God is in heaven. He watches over his church. He
keeps his church. He paid a very high price for
his church. He became a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. He lived here upon earth, made
of a woman, made under the law, He was set at nought by all those
around him. And then he laid down that perfect,
holy, sacred sacrifice, that body and soul he offered unto
his father as a sin atoning sacrifice for the church, to deliver the
church from our sins. He is the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he, that is Christ, might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. Oh, my beloved friends, there
is an inexhaustible fullness in the person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. There's a fullness of salvation.
There's a fullness of redemption. There's a fullness of light.
There's a fullness of power in the Lord Jesus Christ. Power
to save, power to deliver. Power to guide, power to direct. For it pleased the Father that
in him should all fullness dwell. Here again in the Colossians,
it says in him, that's in the person of Christ, dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. in him. He's God over all and
blessed forevermore. In the first chapter of the John's
Gospel, it says he is full of grace and truth. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is full. Now, the idea being conveyed
to our mind is an inexhaustible fullness that is in his person.
There's a fullness in Christ. that will never be exhausted.
It's that lovely word, it's been very special to me over the years.
And he giveth more grace. There's more grace there. Sometimes
when you feel really defiled, when you're defiled with sin,
when you come into a sad spiritual place, where you're in darkness
and bondage because of your sin, because of your waywardness,
but there's still that fullness in Christ. That's the wonderful
truth that is being conveyed to us. There's always a fullness
of Christ. And he is always full of grace
and truth. That inexhaustible supply. For
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of his cross. See this
is the centre, the sum and the substance of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. and have him make peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself by him I say whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven and then he speaks here in verse 21 of where we
were and where sometimes we get to but just listen to what he
says and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. There's reconciliation
between God and man in the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal
Son of God. Yet now hath he reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death to present you. And this is the wonderful grace
of God to present you. There's something here that is
so profound to present you holy. You might say, how can that be?
I'm unholy, I'm unclean, I'm unrighteous, I'm a sinner. But
in Christ, he will present you. It's a wonderful thought, isn't
it? He'll present you holy. You think of all your sins and
all your waywardness. and unblameable. You say how can this be? And
unreprovable in his sight. Why? Because their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. Unblameable, unreprovable
in his sight. Precious truth isn't it? If you continue in the faith,
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope
of the gospel, which ye have heard and which was preached
to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made
a minister. You see this, he says in verse
26, even the mystery, which hath been hid from ages and from generations,
but now is manifest to his saints, the mystery, The mystery of salvation,
the mystery of redemption, the mystery of reconciliation unto
God, it's now brought forth and seen openly and clearly, and
Christ is preached by his servants, to whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. You know, friends,
we do not want a detached religion. You might say, what do you mean
by a detached religion? A religion that is just in your
head, just in your imagination, just perhaps what you've been
brought up to believe, and the word of God in the letter of
it, but it's detached. In this sense, it's not Christ
in you. You know all about Christ. You
know all about his gospel. You know all about the truth
that is in Christ. You know about the electing love
of the Father. You know about the redeeming
love of the Son. You know about the divine work
of the Holy Ghost. You know about it in an intellectual
way. But what do you know in a spiritual
way? What do you know in a personal
way? Real religion is very personal. What do you know personally? Christ in you not in this detached
way out of you in you in your heart Christ in your heart a
Christ that you love a Christ that you worship a Christ that
you adore a Christ that you desire that you desire to follow and
to serve you know it says here we preach warning whom we preach
warning every man and it's part of my office as a minister of
the gospel, and my duty, to warn you. To warn you of the wrath
which is to come. To warn you, like the word of
God does, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereof is death. There's a religion that sounds
right, looks right, passes current among men as being right, but
it's wrong. Thou hast a name that thou livest, That's the
name of Christ. He's the living one. In Him is
life. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Christ in you. That is what is so vital. To
have a living Christ in your heart. It says in another place,
Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith. Whom we preach warning. every man teaching, every man
in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labour, striving
according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. You know, it does, it works in
us mightily. My mind, it just goes to the
dear apostle in the epistle to the Galatians and in that epistle
to the Galatians he speaks there of this wonderful presence of
Christ and how that the children of God receive it by faith, by
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And in my mind it really just
goes to Galatians chapter 2, he speaks of the law and the
gospel And it says in verse 19, for
I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto
God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. There were those in the church
at Corinth that were teaching, false teachers they were, but
they were teaching that after you became a Christian believer
and a follower of Christ, you then had the grace sufficient
to fulfill the law and to live in accordance with the law because
you had the grace to do so. The apostle immediately saw that
this self-righteousness was completely wrong. He says in the beginning
of chapter 3, O foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you, that
you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ
hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. This only
would I learn of you, receive you the Spirit by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith. Are you so foolish, Having
begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have
ye suffered so many things in vain, if it be yet in vain? He
therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles
among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith? You see, my beloved friends,
how vital it is. And as it says in that verse
20 of chapter 2, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live
Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now
live in the flesh. I live by faith of the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me. By faith of the Son of
God. Faith in his perfections. Faith in his holiness. Faith
in his fulfilling of the holy law of God. in what Christ has
done. Not what you can do, not what
you have done, not what you can do. It's absolutely entirely
in what Christ has done. Nothing else. That's surely wonderful
what Top Lady says. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply
to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Saviour, or I die. Nothing in my hand I bring. To thee I come, a sinner vile,
nothing, but in him everything. Which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every
man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labour, striving,
and working, striving according to his working, which worketh
in me mightily. Doesn't the apostle in the fifth chapter of the Ephesians,
he speaks of the union between Christ and the church, likening
it to a marriage, and he gives us various precepts in that fifth
chapter of the Ephesians, that these are fundamental Christian
precepts of the gospel. He says in verse 20, giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves one to another in
the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. Look
at the illustration, even as Christ is the head of the church,
and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands. See, you often hear about that
precept about the wife being subject to the husband, But there's
ignoring of this precept, which is a profound precept. I have to say with David, it
is high, I cannot attain unto it. Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. That is how a husband is to love
his wife. You see, it's not an unbalanced
thing that is in Scripture. that he might sanctify and cleanse
it, this is Christ, with the washing of water by the word.
Now this is the point that drew me to it, that he might present
it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. But then just in case we forget
the precept, he says, to love their own wives as their own
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. There's a balance in all these
things. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth even as the Lord the
Church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they
too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let
every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself,
and the wife see that she reverence her husband, whom we preach,
warning every man. and teaching every man in all
wisdom. As I was looking at this word
yesterday, warning every man, my mind was very much drawn to
the first and second chapters of Paul's epistle to the Romans
and in those chapters he speaks so solemnly, warning every man. It says in verse 16, for I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the
just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. You see, the wrath of God goes
on. I won't go through the whole
of that first chapter. It speaks of the wickedness and
of the sin of men. And then it goes on in chapter
two, therefore thou inexcusable O man, whosoever thou art that
judgest. Inexcusable O man. But go on
there in chapter two. And it speaks of the wrath of
God. It says in verse 16, in the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. Behold,
thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast
of God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that
are more excellent being instructed out of the law, and art confident
that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them
which are in darkness. an instructor of the foolish,
a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge, and of
the truth in the law. You see, you think of this in
our days. We're not Jews, in that sense. We're strict Baptists. You've
been brought up a strict Baptist. You think of the way the Lord
speaks there to the Jews, who thought they were the only right
ones. that they knew the law, that
you've been brought up. Most of you here have been brought
up under the sound of the truth. But what do you know of the living
power of that truth in your heart? This is the vital thing. It's
Christ in you. What do you know of that? It's
so vital, Christ in you. Not the Christ you just hear
about, in what I said, a detached way. Christ in you, personal,
a personal salvation, a personal union, a personal communion with
Jesus Christ. Christ in you, whom we preach,
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that
we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I
also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh
in me. mightily. You see, friends, may
the Lord seal these things into your hearts, that you might know
the truth in its living power in your soul, that you might
have a personal Christ who is yours by faith, that you know
He's yours, that you might have that desire after Him and long
to lay hold of Him. May that be your cry What the
hymn writer says, give me Christ or else I die. There's salvation
in none other but in the glorious person of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks that we have made. Let us now sing together hymn
number 626. The tune is Dijon 460. Sinners
who in Jesus rest must eternally be blessed, all
Jehovah's love can give, they from Jesus shall receive. Hymn 626. ? Holy infant so tender and mild
? ? Give us this day our daily bread ? In the premises of heaven,
they abode with love divine. And they must They are Jesus Christ and mine. Love from Him shall never be
torn. Can a part be sent to hell? and the power in Jesus Christ. Now we bless the Lord our God, now
to sing No joint can bow. Every member lives in fear. We shall find the memory near. Thee, our Christ, the divine,
Let this righteous glory shine, All creation has been praised,
Jail is the gate of disgrace. ? That Jesus may repay you ? ?
O we take a look within you ? ? And we live within you ? 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.