Questioner 2. Let's commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 366. The tune is St. Fulbert, 221. The Lord in Zion
placed his name. His ark was settled there. to
Zion the whole nation came to worship thrice a year. Hymn 366. ? Zion is Israel ? ? Is our poster
child ? ? Desire your own eternal rest
? ? Ever in thy turning ? O'er all the land of the free
and the home of the brave? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? And to thee, O thy glorious tree,
Thy spirit and thy will, Who from the earthly mounts contained
the nursed and raised Greatly strength. Bless the provisions
of thy hand. ? Give thanks for the strength
to carry on ? ? The morning star ? ? Justice
and truth is what they tell you ? ? With love and love you'll
be free ? ? In earth we know that Thou sleep'st
on ? ? And that's which we remember ? ? Praise to Thee shall evermore be true
? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the first epistle of John and chapter 2. The second chapter of the first epistle
of John. My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not, And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And
he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world. Hereby, we do know
that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith,
I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and
the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in
him verily is the love of God perfected, hereby know we that
we are in him. He that saith, he abideth in
him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walks, Brethren,
I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment,
which ye have from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment
I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because
the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that
saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness
even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth
in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in
darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven you, for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because
ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto
you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers,
because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have
written unto you young men, because ye are strong, and the word of
God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, And the pride
of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the
will of God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last
time, and as you have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now,
are there many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. but ye have an unction from the
Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because
ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is
of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth
the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you,
which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have
heard from the beginning shall remain in you, it also shall
continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise
that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have
I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye
need not that any man teach you. But as the same anointing teacheth
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, you shall abide in him. And now, little children,
abide in him, that when he shall appear, you may have confidence
and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that
he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness
is born of him. May the Lord bless the reading
of his most precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Gracious, merciful and eternal
God, we do desire that thou wouldst graciously draw us now to thy
mercy seat. that we may know the Father and
the Son, and the sweet influence of the Holy Ghost in our hearts,
and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God our Father, and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit
may rest and abide upon us, that we may truly worship thee, that
we read in thy word that none can accept the Father draw, O
that this evening hour thou wouldst warm our cold hearts with heavenly
heat, and that thou wouldst draw us unto Jesus Christ, thine only
begotten Son, that we may have a sacred glimpse of his glory,
of his love, of his mercy, and of his grace. We do humbly beseech
thee that we may have a sacred realisation sweetly in our hearts,
this man receive his sinners and eateth with them. We pray,
most gracious Lord, for the sweet influence, for
the divine power of the Spirit of God to open the word, to open
our hearts, to open our eyes, to open our ears, that we may
receive the word of the Lord. For where the spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty. May we know that liberty tonight.
We do humbly beseech thee. For we pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by thee. O Lord God, we read in thy word
that as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons
of or that that could be the sweet witness in our hearts tonight
that we are indeed the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. And that we might know that sweet
spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. And that, Lord, we pray that
thou would come, Lord Jesus, and stand in our midst. We often
think, O Lord, of those dear disciples as they met together
after the death and sufferings of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the doors being locked in fear of the Jews. O
most gracious Lord, and Jesus himself came and stood in the
midst and said, peace be unto you. But what unspeakable mercy,
O Lord, if it may please Thee to come and stand in our midst,
to come and speak to our hearts, to come and guide us by Thy counsel,
to come and grant that Thy Word may be a lamp unto our feet and
a light unto our path. We do humbly beseech of Thee. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that there was truly exercises as a church and as a congregation
in the things of God. We pray for that spirit of travail
that we read on. And as soon as Zion traveled,
she brought forth her children. And we pray that there may be
a bringing forth of spiritual children. that poor sinners may
be brought from darkness into light, from bondage into liberty,
from being far off to be made nigh by the precious blood of
the Lamb. We pray for our brethren, the
deacons, that needed grace, wisdom and help may be given them in
all their responsibilities. Each one of our brethren and
sisters in church fellowship, remember each one for good. Remember
us each, O Lord. Help us to pray for one another,
serve one another, bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. O most gracious Lord, we pray
that it may be so. We know that declares thy word,
we know that we are passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren, Oh, for that true love to the brethren. We pray
that the love of our Lord Jesus Christ may be shed abroad in
our hearts this night, that dying love of our precious Redeemer,
and that we may know him in the power of his resurrection, in
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death, O Lord, we come like the dear apostle of hope, that I
may know him, and that, Lord, is our desire, to know my Jesus
crucified by far excels all things beside. Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst remember those in any particular trouble or trial
or perplexity or sorrow or sadness or bereavement, and undertake
for each O that thou wouldst be gracious, and that those that
feel to be sinking under the weight of bereavement, or under
the weight of sin, or under the weight of temptation, that may
those blessed words be a reality. The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. Envelop them, O Lord, in
those everlasting And oh most gracious Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst graciously guide us into thy word, and open thy
word to our heart. For Lord, it's with the heart
that man believeth unto righteousness, and we desire that heart work.
Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously oh thou great Jehovah
pilgrims in this barren land Lord this world is a wilderness
where no water is but thou has promised that when the poor and
needy seek water and there is none but I the Lord will hear
them I will open rivers in high places and streams in the desert
gracious God be so gracious unto us at this evening hour that
this little house of prayer may be like an oasis in the desert,
where we come to drink of those rivers of pleasure, those rivers
of thy grace, those rivers of thy everlasting love, all that
we may drink, and that we may eat of the bread of life, and
that the blessed spirit may dwell in our hearts as a a spring,
a fountain, ever rising, ever fresh and ever new, or that that
may be so, we do beseech Thee. Lord, we come to confess our
sins and our wanderings and our backslidings. Lord, we are sinners,
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. prone to leave the God I
love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and
seal it, seal it from thy courts above. Deliver us from the snare
of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. O Lord, we do beseech
thee for thy great namesake. For we find, O Lord, that at
times the battle is intense and there's a great warfare that
goes on within. And we prove what the dear apostle
says, that which I would, I do not, and that which I would not,
I do. I find a law within my members that when I would do
good, then evil is present with me. Oh, but we pray that thou
wouldst come and shed abroad thy love in our hearts. And Lord,
the conflict will cease when we catch a glimpse of yon lovely
man, when we touch the hem of his garment, when we draw from
that sacred fullness that there is in Jesus Christ, that we may
drink of those blessed truths of the everlasting gospel, and
that our souls may be confirmed in the faith, we do humbly beseech
of thee. And O Lord God, we do pray for
each one present in the sanctuary tonight, and we think also of
those that listen online, be gracious unto each one, and have
mercy upon them, O Lord, we do beseech thee, and that our souls
may be fed with that living bread that cometh down from heaven.
O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously blow with
the wind of thy Spirit among us. We think of the little ones
and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary, that thy
blessing may rest upon them. We think of the young friends
in all the things that concern them, bring them each to living
faith in Jesus Christ, and make them true followers of thee,
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Gracious God, do bless them,
grant that there may be a generation that shall be raised up to call
thee the Redeemer blessed, Grant the fulfilling of that precious
word, instead of thy father shall be thy children, whom thou mayest
make princes in all the earth. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Lord, we remember the prodigals
and pray that they may return and that we may see them. We read in thy word and they
shall come from the north and from the south and from the east
and from the west. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee. Bring them, gather them, gather
them unto thyself in the sanctuary. Make them monuments of thy glorious
grace, O Lord, we do beseech thee. And that we may look on
and wonder at the amazing grace of our God. And O Lord God, we
do pray that the glory and light of the gospel may shine into
this village. Many, many, many precious souls may yet be gathered
in from the village and from the surrounding area. As promised,
O Lord, that my word shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish the thing whereto I sent it. And O Lord, we think
of thy word that has been distributed. and we pray that it may be blessed
of them, that abundant harvest may be brought forth in due season. Turn us again, O God of hosts,
and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Let thy
hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou
madest strong for thyself, so will not we go back from thee. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life, in all their concerns, in all their burdens,
graciously undertake for them, O Lord, we do beseech of Thee. Remember those that are drawing
near to the end of the journey, and at the appointed time grant
them an abundant entrance into Thy heavenly kingdom. And O Lord
God, we do pray that Thou, in Thy precious mercy, Remember
those who walk the path of temptation. We pray that when the enemy comes
in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord may lift up a standard
against him. Remember those in the evening
time of life journey. Lord, we pray to be prepared,
to be made ready, for sometimes shorts the warning, Sometimes
there's no warning. And that when we shall soar through
tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne, rock of
ages, cleft of thee, let me hide myself in thee. We do humbly beseech thee. We thank thee for all thy tender
mercies. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank Thee for the supply
of all our many returning needs. We thank Thee that Thou art God
over all and blessed for evermore. We thank Thee for the eternal
love of our Eternal Father in sending forth His Son, made of
a woman made under the law, that He might redeem them that are
under the law. Oh, we thank Thee for the glory
of His person, the wonder of His grace, fullness of his salvation. We thank thee for the precious
blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only hope
of salvation. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has now bodily
ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. For such an
high priest have we, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God. Lord, be with us as we turn to
thy word. 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 676. The tune is Mansfield 181. Oh
could I lift this heart of mine Above these creature things I
fly and leave this world below, as though on eagle's wings, hymn
676. No. O Lamb of God, who takest away
the sins of the world, Alleluia. Alleluia. to shine like the glory of the
world. I shall rise. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? And search to the land ? ? O'er
the land of the living ? ? O'er the land of the living ? ? O'er
the land of the living ? ? O'er the land of the
living ? Swaying in the precious light
of His eyes, Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the second
chapter of the first epistle of John, and we will read verse
17 for our text. First epistle of John, chapter
two, verse 17. And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. The Apostle John, this is a general
epistle, so it was written not to a specific church, that is
why it's called the Epistle of John. It was written to the churches,
the Christian churches and he felt the need to warn them and
to speak to them about them that seduce you. The church of God has always
been a mixed multitude and you find that my beloved friends
in the teachings of Christ especially when we think of the parable
of the tares There was the true wheat and
there were the tares among them. And the Lord Jesus said in that
parable, the devil hath done this, he sows tares. Where? In the Church of God,
among the people of God. You know, the characteristic
of a tare, before it brings forth fruit,
it doesn't look any different to the true wheat. It's only
when the fruit comes, then you can see the distinction between
the tares and the wheat. And the other thing in that parable,
again it's sacred teaching to the Church of God, And the disciples
said, shall we go and pull the tares up? And the Lord said,
no. Let them both grow together until
the harvest. So we need to be very careful. Some people are always ready
to jump in and say, well, that's wrong and that's wrong and that's
wrong. We've got to get rid of this, we've got to get rid of
that. Well, such a spirit, my beloved friends, would destroy
the Church of God. We need to take heed to the teachings
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let them both grow together until
the harvest. And then in the harvest, there'll
be a separation between the tares and It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? There's various points that John
brings out in this epistle. He says here in very
searching things, verse 9, he that saith he is in the light,
that's in the light of Christ, and hateth his brother, is in
darkness even until now. the evidence is he's still in
darkness because he hates his brother he that loveth his brother
abideth in light and there is none occasion of stumbling in
him but he that hateth his brother
is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither
he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. You see my beloved friend, he's
writing to the church. Very searching things he writes.
And in this context here, in verse 15, love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. Isn't that a searching
word? Isn't that a separating word?
Sometimes in the experience of the living child of God there's
a deep sense of that sin and iniquity that dwells within you. There's a great conflict goes
on because of it. And there is within our old man
a love of the world, let us be honest. love of the world we
love the things of the world our old man we're taught very
clearly in holy scriptures that there's the old man and there's
a new man the old man the old man which is corrupt with his
desires always will be corrupt always will be unclean the lusts
of the flesh and it's a great trial to the
living child of God when they feel the rising up of the lusts
of the flesh and it says here in verse 16
for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father
but is of the world you know sometimes friends and
that this is how fickle we are sometimes you can be spiritually
minded and you can have some sweet thoughts on spiritual things
and then there's something catches your eye and immediately your
heart is gone after that which has caught your eye and it's
such a powerful thing and it's very trying and it's
very perplexing to the true child of God and it's like the Apostle Paul
when he writes to the Galatians he says the flesh lusteth against
the Spirit and in that word Spirit is written with a capital S because
it's speaking of the Holy Ghost The Holy Ghost dwells in every
true believer. He dwells in our hearts. He lives
there. You see, and the flesh, our flesh,
lusteth against the spirit. And the spirit against the flesh.
For the one is contrary to the other. So there's a conflict.
In the Solomon's Song, we read, Behold the Shulamite. Of course,
it's speaking of the true believer. Behold the Shulamite, in whom
there is, as it were, a company of two armies. There's a conflict
between the flesh and the spirit. Do you find it to be so? There are things that your flesh
wants to do. There are ways that your flesh
would love to walk in. And things in this world that
attract you, that are drawn to you. Let us be clear friends,
what is attractive to you may not be to me, and the other way
around equally so. let us not be censorious in condemning this and condemning
that something in your heart will be very attractive to you
in the world may not be to me or anyone else but it is to you
it's what the apostle calls in the epistle to the Hebrews besetting sins besetting sins
sins that are pleasing to your flesh and your heart goes after
them and you're tempted and you're drawn aside and uh it's exceedingly
painful surely that is what Paul is driving at when he writes
um Romans chapter 7 when he speaks there of the the flesh and the
conflict, that which I would, I do not. That which I would
not, I do. I find a law within my members
that when I would do good, then evil is present with me. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride
of life, I take that to mean desiring in an ambitious way
to go after this, after that, and after something else, to
have a better status, the pride of life, to be looked up to in
this world. I believe that's what I meant
by the pride of life. You want to be elevated to a
better position. all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. The Lord Jesus himself,
he speaks of the lust of the flesh, doesn't he? Very pointedly,
very clearly. You know, he speaks of the spiritual aspect
of the law. He quotes the law, he says, that
the law saith thou shalt not commit adultery but then he goes on to say but
I say unto you these are the words of Christ he that looketh
upon a woman and lusteth after in his heart hath committed adultery
already in his heart in his mind you see my beloved friends and
that is what is meant by the lust of the flesh and the lust
of the eyes You're drawn aside. It's a temptation. It's something
your flesh loves. And he writes in our text, and
the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth
the will of God abideth forever. Just look at the wonderful fear
of the Lord in his servant Joseph and the temptations that he was
put in. Could you have stood? Potiphar's wife, the way that she allured him
and she was so angry and bitter at him when he said, how can
I do this thing and sin against God? My master has put all things
into my hands. How can I do this? You see, the
fear of the Lord, that is the beginning of wisdom, that was
in the heart of the Lord's servant Joseph. What a godly man he was,
wasn't he? And how the Lord kept him, and
how he suffered for it. The bitter enmity of Potiphar's
wife against him, because he would not lay with her. You see,
my beloved friends, all that the Lord would give us, Fear
of the Lord. The Lord's servant, Nehemiah.
And he says, so did not I, because of the fear of the Lord. There's
something that stopped him. It's the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom. It's that spiritual life in the
heart, put there and maintained there by the Holy Ghost. and the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. You see, the Lord Jesus said,
didn't he, this is the will of him that sent me. Is it our chief concern to walk
in the will of God? and to do the will of God. What God has placed in your heart,
if indeed you have the fear of the Lord, and those things that
the Lord has placed there, that we might do those things that
please Him. You see, the world passes away, and the lust thereof. but he
that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Oh, that it may be our
great concern that we might do the will of God, that we might
live according to his holy word, that we might do that which is
right in his sight, that we might be tender in the fear of the
Lord, so that you don't want to do
those things that are rising in your heart. There's some resistance
there against him. I should never forget years ago
reading in one of Philpott's portions when he speaks of the
temptations of Satan and the lusts of our flesh. I felt it was a very wise thing
that he said. He said, if there is a temptation
put in front of you that your flesh loves and goes after, he
said, then that is usually the lusts of the flesh. Some people
blame everything onto the devil, saying the devil tempts you,
your flesh, your heart, We looked recently in Jeremiah, didn't
we? The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
It is, it's desperately wicked. And the more the Holy Spirit
opens up and teaches you something of the inner corruption of your
heart, you'll realize it's desperately wicked. It really is. And it's gone in a moment. It is. After the things of this
world. Or the pleasures of sin for a
season. And sometimes those temptations
are so powerful it pushes everything else out of the way. You don't
want to, there's something your heart wants, something that you
desire, something that you're seeking for. Now, it may of course
be the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes, It may be the
pride of life, it may be because you want to get on and you want
to do well and you want to do this and you want to do that.
It's all the things in the world. My beloved friends, we're to
be in the world but not of the world. We live in this world. And we cannot but live in this
world. That is where we are born and
that is where we live. You think of the that wonderful
prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17 and in that prayer
he speaks of the world and he says in in verse 6 in that prayer I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out
of the world thine they were and thou gavest them me, and
they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all
things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given
unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received
them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they
have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them, I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. For
they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine,
and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world,
but these are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one as We are, while I was with them in the world,
I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I've
kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that's
Judas Iscariot, that the scripture might be fulfilled. Now I come
to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might
have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I've given them thy word, And
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but thou should keep them from the
evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. You see how the Lord Jesus so
clearly speaks there of that separating work of the Spirit
of God. The world passeth away, and the
lust thereof. As the Lord, the Holy Ghost,
teaches you and deepens that work of grace in your heart,
I think of the words of John the Baptist, I must decrease,
he must increase. I must decrease. You have to
decrease in the estimation of yourself. You have to be brought to realise
just what a sinner you are. And just how corrupt your nature
is. Just how unclean you are. Just how unrighteous you are.
Just how carnal you are. How carnal. We are carnal. What does Paul say in Romans
8 of the carnal mind? The carnal mind is enmity to
God. is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. That's our carnal mind. It's
unruly, it's unrighteous. One of the ways that the Lord
teaches us is to show us our sinfulness, show us our wretchedness,
show us what the inclination of our carnal nature is, show us like Paul says in Romans
chapter 7 that which I would I do not that which I would not
I do how that we're so soon taken up with this or taken up with
that and sometimes we get taken up
with things so deeply that we grieve the Spirit of God just
what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians Grieve not the Holy
Spirit of promise whereby ye are sealed unto the day of salvation,
of redemption. When we grieve Him. You know, what the hymn writer
says, I always think it explains very truly what is meant by grieving
the Spirit. Because the Spirit then withholds
His power. And the hymn writer says, no
longer burns our love. Our faith and patience fail. Why? Because the spirit is grieved. When the spirit is lively within,
then faith becomes lively. Then you love the Lord, then
you love his people, then you love his ways, you love his truth.
But when we become worldly and carnal, that then, you see, we
get taken up with the things of this world. The pleasures
of sin for a season, we get taken up with it. But when the love
of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts, you think of Moses, he
had all the pleasures of the house of Egypt, of the son of
a princess. He had everything he could need
in Egypt. But what happened to Moses, the
Lord called him. The Lord called him. And as it says in the Hebrews,
he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
dwell in the tents of wickedness. He chose rather. What a mercy. If we are enabled by divine grace
to choose that better path, And when we become very carnal, and
then we're made aware of it, because of our spiritual coldness
and hardness, when we grieve the spirit and we're carnally
minded, you come backwards and forwards to the house of God,
like the door upon its hinges. No concern, no burden, no exercise. But when the spirit works, then
there's a burden, then there's an exercise, then there's a concern,
then there's a desire, a desire to love the Lord, a desire to
follow Him, a desire to serve Him, a desire to keep His commandments. When the love of Christ is shed
abroad in our hearts, what does it say? If ye love me, keep my
commandments. If ye love me, keep my commandments. You think of that word of our
Lord Jesus Christ, this is the will of him that sent me. That
you believe on him. You believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. In the sixth chapter of the gospel
according to John. It speaks of that believing and
those commandments. And doing that which is right
in his sight. And we read in verse 40 in John
chapter 6. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the sun and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. You see, this is the will of
him that sent me. he might bring our wills into
subjection to his, that we may desire, yea, long, to do the
will of God. To do the will of God. You know
this, as the Apostle Paul opens it in Romans, and I think particularly
of Romans chapter eight, and he speaks of them that are in
Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. That's the curse and condemnation
of the law. For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh. We must have a right understanding. There's no weakness in the law.
The weakness is in your flesh and my flesh. That's where the
weakness is. In our utter inability to keep
its holy commandments. For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sended his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in
the flesh. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the spirit,
the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind, just think of this friends, the carnal mind
is enmity against God. There's a hatred in the carnal
mind to God, to holiness, to righteousness, to truth. That's
all in our carnal mind. For to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. It is not subject to the law
of God. Neither indeed can be. So then
there that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in
the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. You see, this is the root of
godliness. That the Spirit of God dwell
in you. If Christ be in you, the body
is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. You notice, That is a capital
S, Holy Ghost. But if the spirit of him that
raised up Christ from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his spirit that dwelleth in you. He goes on, therefore brethren
we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh. For
if ye live after the flesh ye shall die. But if ye through
the Spirit do mortify, that is, kill the deeds of the body, ye
shall live. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Do we know, my beloved
friends, what it is to be led by the Spirit of God? Do we know
what it is to be brought as a poor, penitent sinner unto Christ?
Do we know what it is to repent of our sins and grieve over our
sins? A godly sorrow that worketh repentance. Do we know what it is to look
to Jesus and come in all our wretchedness, sinfulness and
helplessness and look in alone unto Christ? Lord save me or
I perish. That's how you feel. You feel so deeply that sinfulness
that is within you. You long to know that salvation
that is in Jesus Christ. And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. You see, doing the will of God,
walking in his holy commandments, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ,
It's the only way that we can keep His commandments. It's when
we believe. And as the Word of God says,
it's a faith that worketh by love. It's when we believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, when we love Him, and then we desire
to follow Him, and then we desire to serve Him. And then we desire
to let all fruitless searches go, which perplexing teases.
Why? Because you love the Lord Jesus
Christ. When you're brought to see what
he done for you, how he suffered and bled and died for your sins.
When you see that my sins were the nails and the spear. You
know, friends, if ever we know true sanctification, it's not
under the thunders of the law. It's under the gospel of Jesus
Christ. When we realise how He suffered
and bled and died for our sins, to deliver us from the curse
of the law, when He was made a curse for us, His love fills our heart. We
long to do that which is right in His sight. You long to do
the will of the Lord. You know, The secret of true
godliness is in a closer walk with Jesus Christ. That's the secret of true godliness.
It's where the love of Christ is shed abroad in your heart.
Christ is made precious to your soul. And then, as one hymn writer
says, I hate the sins that made them all. Those sins. that corruption within
the heart. But in Jesus Christ, there's
the blood of Christ that cleanses, that sanctifies, that separates
from this world. That is what will separate you
from the world. You can set about like the Pharisees to make yourself
better and to be so serious and to be so heavy, but it doesn't
make you any better. In actual fact, it'll make you
worse. It'll make you proud of yourself. It is when you're brought
to the feet of Jesus, when Christ is made precious, when Christ
becomes the altogether lovely one, when his precious blood,
an application of it to your soul, taking away all sin and
all iniquity, that sanctifies. Oh, you so love him then. You
desire to serve him, you desire to follow him, you desire to
do his will. That's the desire of a living
soul. And that's the only way you and
I will ever perform His commandments. And it's that way that His commandments
are not grievous when Christ is made precious. When He becomes
the altogether lovely one, that truly sanctifies the soul, separates
the sinner from everything here below, so that they're brought
to see, to feel, and to realize, I could, from all things parted
be, but never, never Lord from Thee. Oh, you see, everything
that you stand need of, in the glorious person of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, He becomes everything to you. Everything
to you. And so that you let everything
else go. Riches, honour, power, wealth,
just as He describes it here, all that is in the world. You
see there's that spirit of covetousness which the Apostle explains elsewhere. It's a root evil that is in every
one of our hearts. We want this, we want that, we
want something else. And before long our heart is
so set on it. You see, but the Apostle says,
covet earnestly the best. And what does he say about the
best gifts? Faith, hope and charity. Faith in the bleeding lamb. Faith in the glorious person
of Christ. Faith in his precious blood.
Faith in his glorious righteousness. It's then that the person of
Christ, the Son of God manifest in the flesh becomes so precious
to your soul It's then that he is the altogether lovely one.
That is what sanctifies us. That is what separates us. When
you see the riches of his grace and the fullness of his salvation,
that when you feel that this salvation is mine, it separates
you. Then you're brought to see the
emptiness of everything here below. and the fullness of everything
that is to come, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof,
but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. I was thinking of this when it
says, and abideth forever, of those lovely words of our Lord
Jesus Christ in that valedictory discourse of John 14, 15, and
16. Speaking of the divine person
of the Holy Ghost, He will abide with you forever. You think of those words, I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee. He will abide with you
forever. What a wonderful thought, isn't
it? And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof, but He that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 181 The tune is St Stephen, 229. Believers own they are but blind. They know themselves unwise. but wisdom in the Lord they find
who opens all their eyes. Hymn 181. ? My peace I give to thee, O my
God ? ? And the power of the Holy Ghost ? In Jesus they are justified As
Christ was crucified. Lord, we're unholy, we tell the
truth, we solely feel the truth, Lord. Lord Christ, as holy as
we love, to sanctify us all. Expose my sin, dear God, just
for me, ? Freedom to Christ and King ? ? Redemption is done by
faith ? ? And no redemption still ? Some this, some that, word that
you teach to rectify the soul. But we first love death, Jesus, preach and prosper above. To Jesus joined we all that's
good, ? From Him a deadly fire ? ? Beneath
His flesh shall ? ? Drink His blood ? ? And I am with Him ? 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.