The notices for the week. If the Lord will, Mr. Paul Austin
will preach here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Mr. Paul Tyler will preach on
Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. And there will be a prayer meeting
on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. May the Lord help us to commence
our worship today with hymn number 1139, the tune Anne's 89. O God, our help in ages past, our hope
for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our
eternal home. Hymn 1139. ? The heav'nly host accompanies
him now ? A voice sheltered from the stormy
blasts, let her eternal rest. O shadow of thy birth, thy saints
and their Saviour, Our mission is by our own, and
nothing will take you. In golden hymns we all assume,
Our earth praising the fame. From everlost sea, Thou art gone,
Till then let Israel sing. ? Thy word, O God, hath fleshed
in us ? ? Written in sons of men ? ? O nations, rise from
earth and dust ? At times you have to wait. A thousand ages in thy sight,
And I have living God. Sure as the ocean gives her light
Before the rising sun, I'm like an ever-growing tree,
Let all its stones away. Thy pride, O God, so vast and
free, Vast and deep, unlimited, O God, our help in ages past,
Heaven, all is divine. Be thou of the poor, righteous,
and of the weak. May the Lord instruct us from
his word this morning as we turn to the first epistle of Peter
and chapter two. The first epistle of Peter and
chapter two. Wherefore, laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may
grow thereby, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the scripture Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect
precious and He that believeth on him shall not be confounded Unto you therefore which believe
he is precious But unto them which be disobedient the stone
which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of
the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar or purchased
people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light, which in time
past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you,
as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war
against the soul. Having your conversation or behavior
honest among the Gentiles, that Whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme
or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do
well. For so is the will of God, that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men. As free, and not using your liberty
for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honour the King. Servants, be subject to your
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also
to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a
man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when
ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But
if, when ye do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. For even here unto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose
stripes ye were healed. For ye were a sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Leave the reading of God's holy
word there, and may we be instructed from the reading of it and now
be given that help each of us to truly pray. Oh most holy and almighty God. One that lives and reigns over
all. And as we gather this morning, we do so under the knowledge that thou seest all things. For man looketh on the outward
appearance, but thou lookest upon our hearts. And we can hide so much from
our family, from those that we gather with to worship, from
those that we meet with in our day-to-day lives. But nothing
is heard from Thine all-seeing eye. So humble us, Almighty God, as
we come before Thee this morning with that right understanding
of who Thou art and who we are. And may we cry with the hymn
writer Jesus cast a look on me, give me sweet simplicity, cast
me down and keep me low, seeking only thee to know. And we gather this morning with sadness in our hearts, for
as a nation Our Queen has been removed from
us by the hand of death. And Lord, how we have to prove
that we know what not what a day or an hour will bring forth.
And as we look back at the momentous events of this past week, where
we have had Our Queen installing a new Prime Minister. And now
that Queen taken from us. Oh Lord, we are at a time of
crisis in our nation. A time of great change. A time
of great uncertainty. For Lord, we have seen thy hand
upon our nation. over these past few years. Thou hast seen fit to touch the
health of our nation and brought great fear into the hearts of
many. Thou hast now seen fit to touch the wealth of our nation
with rising inflation and such like. Thou hast now removed our
Prime Minister and our Queen from reigning over us. And yet,
Lord, where is the heart of man? Oh, have mercy upon this nation
still, we beg. For, Lord, we are ripe for thy
judgment. We have become cold and perverse
and far off from thee, ignoring who thou art, neglecting thy
holy day, removing from the laws of this land, that which is compatible
with thy word. O Lord, have mercy still. And yet, Lord, we must give thanks,
for despite the sins of this nation, despite the coldness
and hardness of the hearts of the men and women in this nation,
thou has been truly gracious unto us. We have had a stable
queen over us for many, many decades. We have lived through
a time of peace in this land. We have lived in a day and are
living in a day at this moment where there is great prosperity,
naturally speaking. We live in a nation where we
have a healthcare system. We have education. We have those
to turn to when we are in need. Lord, we have so much. And yet
where has it led us? O Lord, we fear, Lord, it has
led us further from Thee. And Lord, should Thy judgments
grow severe, we are condemned, but Thou art clear. O how have
we forsaken to truly pray for our nation? Is it a burden to
us that we are a part of this nation? We plead that we may
yet see thy hand, Lord, upon this nation, turning it again
unto thee. Cause that repentance to fall
upon this land and many to look unto thee, the only true God
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Yet, Lord, as we pray for
a revival, as we pray once more that there will be that deliverance
from the evil one, Lord, may we be mindful what we are praying
for, because we look back through thy word, we look back through
history, we look back through various revivals in centuries
past, and it is more often than not accompanied by great hardship. Yet, Lord, if that be thy will,
Lord, give thy people submission, give thy people that willingness
for it to happen, for thine honour and glory. Oh Lord, we pray and
we plead that we may see thy hand, Lord, working mightily
in our day. Lord, may we see it in the churches
that we are connected with. Lord, we are brought low. Lord,
we tremble, Lord, at the state of our churches. And yet, Lord,
it is not just our denomination. It is many places of worship
where thy word is faithfully preached. where there is a great
shifting and moving and a decline. Oh Lord, we pray that thy people
may be given more zeal, that thy people may be more in prayer,
that we may look upon our land, we may look upon this village
of Lamberhurst and the surrounding towns in which our places of
worship are situated. And Lord, be filled with that
solemn realization that all are on the road to hell unless thou
dost meet us here below. Lord, and there may be these
even here this morning who are on that road to eternal damnation. Lord, may the work of thy spirit
be known and felt truly at this time, in this place, in this
village, in the surrounding villages, and in this country, that thy
name may be honored and glorified. and that we may build once again
upon the foundation of thy word. Lord, we look to the developed
West, so-called, and we see confusion. We see, Lord, so much which is
against thy word. We see man doing that which is
right in his own eyes. We see these perverse pursuits
of gender ideology and various sexualities and the abhorrence
of it. Lord, Thou didst create man and
woman to be man and woman, and to be in that one true state
together of marriage as Thou hast ordained. Help Thy people
to stand for the truth, Lord, and may we see again the laws
of this land returning to that which is in Thy word. O Lord,
we are in a low state, yet may we know and trust that the Lord
God omnipotent that thou art King of kings and Lord of lords,
over all, and we must give thanks that thy word is still going
forth throughout the nations of the earth. Has there ever
been a time in the history of this world where thy church is
growing as it is at this time? Lord, we tremble at this land,
but thy work goes on in many nations of the earth for which
we truly thank thee. But Lord, it is often where there
is great persecution So we pray for those brothers and sisters
in Christ today that meet in fear of their lives, that assemble,
Lord, with that great concern as to what may come through their
doors. Yet, Lord, is it our concern here? How many would be here,
Lord, if in a few months' time this place was to be under fierce
persecution? Lord, may we not think these
things are an impossibility, for we know not, Lord, what these
next few months will Yet, Lord, may we know that nearness with
thee. May we say with the hymn writer,
now I see whate'er betide. All is well if Christ is mine. Lord, if we are part of that
great heavenly kingdom, Lord, what do we have to fear here
below? So, Lord, impress upon the hearts
of all, any that gather here this morning, cold and dead in
trespasses and sins. We pray do come and touch them,
we beg. Lord, we pray if there are those
here seeking for a word of direction and encouragement, that they
may get it through thy word. Lord, or whatever the need and
care and case is of any before us, Lord, we don't know, but
thou knowest, and that is where we rest. And may we prove this
morning to be this only, thy messenger with thy message. Lord, we pray for this congregation
here. We pray for the children gathered
with us this morning. Help them each. Those very young
in years, Lord, we are pleased to see them here. Those that
may understand so little, may there be something that they
can understand today as they gather for worship. And those
older in years, in school or in home education, we pray to
help them. Lord, may they try hard in all
they do We pray as they go through those various stages of education
where there may be those new schools that are being gone to
or those colleges or whatever it may be, we pray they may be
given that help to stand for that which is right and to be
kept from the many temptations of this world. We pray for those
in employment, seeking employment and in business where there is
so much to occupy their minds day by day. Lord, do draw near
and give that help and may we not forsake the means of grace,
the reading of thy word, the study of it, that communion with
thee in prayer. Lord, may we not be too busy
for thee. Lord, we pray for parents here. Help them in the day in which
we live. Lord, we live in a day of distractions. We live in a day of temptations
which are so easily accessible. Lord, keep us, we pray, and give
wisdom to parents as we Seek to bring up our children in that
right way. And Lord, be with those older
in years too, those who feel their strength beginning to fail
and know that it cannot be many years or decades that they have
upon this earth. Lord, give them that sweet understanding
and knowledge that it is well with them and will be well when
called to die. We pray for the church here.
Knit them together, Lord, we pray, more and more with that
true love. O Lord, may they grow, Lord,
we pray. Add many to the church, Lord,
we beg, as is right and commanded in thy word, that it may be strengthened
for thine honour and glory. Be with those in positions of
authority in the church, Lord. Whatever that may be, thou knowest
the cares and concerns that the deacons and others, all church
members, have here for the congregation. Lord, may there be much prayer
and encouragement and help granted to all those, Lord, in need. We pray for the pastor here.
Oh, Lord, do be with him. Help him as he preaches to the
friends that sways you today. Give him that power, that zeal,
that unction to lay clearly thy word before them, Lord, and that
thy spirit may work thereto. Help him, we pray, in his lonely
pathway now with the loss of his dear one from the last time
we were here. Lord, do help him and comfort
him still. Give him that strength in all
things. And we will pray also for the
children and their grandchildren with the loss of their father,
their grandmother and their mother. Oh Lord, we know what these things
mean and we know the sadness that it can bring at times. Do
give them that comfort still. Lord, and give them that sweet
hope that she is now with thee in glory. So Lord, help the church
here to help one another, that they may rejoice with those that
rejoice and weep with those that weep. But Lord, as we gather
together this morning, help us in all aspects of our worship,
whether it be the reading of thy word, give us that understanding
as we search the scriptures. Help us in prayer. May it not
just be me praying here, but may there be much prayer in the
seats too. that our cry may be one today. Help us in the singing of the
hymns that we may realise what we are singing and what we are
praying for as we sing. O Lord, we pray, help us as we
preach the word to. Lord, we need thee today. We
all need thee as we live in this time of great change, but may
it be a change for good. Lord, impress upon our hearts
the brevity of time on this earth, and Lord, do instil in all of
us here that greater zeal to know more of Thee. Lord, give,
we pray, a crumb for one another today, that we may feast on Thy
Word. Lord, may we be instructed from
it this morning, and may we be strengthened from it Yet, Lord,
for that we need thee. Be with the people. Give them
those true ears to hear. Prepare the hearts to receive
thy word. O Lord, we beg that they may
be a true praying people before us this morning. And Lord, do
help us. Give us every word to speak. O Lord, we need it. Lord, may
we not put our own wisdom upon thy word, but preach thy word
alone. Help us to rightly divide it
for the people and seal it by thy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit,
come. Let thy bright beams arise. Dispel
the darkness from our minds and open all our eyes. So be with
us, we pray. Forgive all that we have asked
of this and that which we have forgotten to pray for. Lord,
may our prayers be as one this morning. And Lord, Dear Lord
Jesus, do intercede for us, we beg. For we ask all these things
in thy precious name. Amen. Let us now sing hymn 1145, When Abram, full of sacred awe,
before Jehovah stood, and with a humble, fervent prayer
for guilty Sodom sued, with what success, what wondrous grace
was his petition crowned, the Lord would spare if in the place
ten righteous men be found. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? O'er empty silence shed ? ? It was just a moment's grace
? ? Whose broad stripes and bright
stars ? ? Through the perilous fight ? ? O'er the ramparts we
watched, were so gallantly streaming? ? Interest in your family's soul
shall reach a brim of day. Praise God and show thy goodness,
Christ, and lead with me in faith. Eternal beauty flourishes, Her
separate aims manifest, And now I've found a friend,
I say, I cannot wait any longer. ? I just live to be ? ? Thus in
ancient times ? ? God was built in the Red Sea ? ? The Lord of all is risen ? ?
Still there on earth, still in my head ? ? Gives his light ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of great need of the Lord to help
us each this morning both in the preaching and the hearing
of the word I'll ask you to turn to the chapter that we read the
first epistle of Peter chapter 2 and verse 17. The first epistle of Peter chapter
2 and verse 17. Honor All men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honour the King. But I'll read the preceding verses
from verse 13. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the King as Supreme,
or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do
well. For so is the will of God, that
with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men, as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,
but as the servants of God. Honor all men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honour the king, and then it goes on to speak of servants
being in subjection to their masters, wives to their husbands,
and so on and so forth. But dear friends, we gather this
morning at a time of crisis in our nation. I have lived all my life under
the reign of our Queen, as indeed the majority of you have here
this morning. And in one week, we have had
a change of prime minister and a change of monarch. And whatever your views may be
on these matters, we cannot deny, as a nation, that the Lord has
been very gracious unto us, despite our sins. What peace we have all pretty
much grown up in. No major conflicts. We have lived in a time of prosperity. Yes, we all have different levels
of wealth. But really, can any of us say
we know what it is to be poor? We lived in a time of freedom. We can come and we can go, we
can worship, we can do all these things. We have had much to be
thankful for. And as we have considered the
events of this past week, we have felt led to speak from this
verse this morning. And it is a chapter in which
there is much instruction for the Lord's people. And you may think, well, this
is going to be a poor, cold sermon this morning, speaking about
what we should do as people. But dear friends, what we do
as the Lord's people brings honour and glory to him. Yes, we need the work of the
Spirit within our hearts. But when we have looked at the
reign of our Queen, we may say, she was a good Queen. Why do
we say that? Because we have seen outwardly
what she has done. And the world look upon me, and
they look upon you, they see us coming and going, and what
do they see? Do they see hypocrites or do
they see those that live by the word of God as directed by him? So as we examine this together
this morning, we do so with thankfulness to God for his mercy unto us
thus far, but we plead that he may continue to be with us. So this text really breaks up
into four points, doesn't it? Honor all men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, and honor the king. Peter was writing here to the
scattered church. Peter was writing here to the
persecuted church. We have this in the early verses
of the first chapter. that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This epistle was written during
the time of the Emperor Nero, and if any of you have ever looked
back to that period in history, you will know that he was one
of the most brutal, savage, and depraved leaders that this earth
has ever known. And yet, Peter writes in this
context, honour the king. So let us, as the Lord may help
us, walk through this verse and the surrounding verses. And although
it may be a practical sermon this morning, May we know that
we can only truly do these things to the Lord's honour and glory
if the Lord has only first worked in our hearts. Honour all men. How do we measure up against
that standard? And whenever we get these statements
in the word of God, Yes, we believe that the word of God, all of
it is inspired. But so is the order of it. Honor
all men is the first point that he brings forth here. And rightly
so, because we come into contact with all sorts of men and women
in our daily lives, whether it be Children at school in their
daily lives or those that you may meet up with we are meeting
men and women boys and girls every day And if we are Christians And profess to be Christians
We follow Christ he should be our example and We should bestow
give that right honor to all men We should value all people,
whatever they are. We shouldn't just value those
of our family. We shouldn't just value those
that we gather with in our churches. Honor all men. Why? Because they are created
in the image of God. What would your response have
been this morning? If, as you walked up the chapel
steps, there was a homeless person asleep at the top, would we have shown them honour,
respected them for what they were, or would we have told them
to clear off because you're disturbing our Sunday? What makes you and I any different from the homeless person? From the drug addict? From that
person who is at the brink of taking their own life? The grace
of God, that's the only thing. And if you truly know who you
are, If the Lord has ever revealed to you a little of what you are
and what you will be left to yourself, you will have that respect for
all people because you know that you would be far worse left to
yourself. And why have we got what we've
got? Why have we been brought up the
majority of us, to attend a place of worship all our life. What
have you done to deserve that? Nothing. It's the grace of God. Dear friends, all that we have
in this earth is lent us, is given us. And that's why we should
have that respect for our fellow mankind. And you know, it was only recently
when I was visiting my mother in hospital and as I was leaving
the wing that she was on, outside the door there were,
as there often is in the psychiatric hospitals, there are those that
gather outside to smoke and to have that bit of freedom and
you can be intimidated by them. But as I was leaving a few weeks
ago, I got speaking to one of those
men. And when they pour out their
life story to you, when you see how because of various
circumstances in their life, they have been brought down to
the lowest level, and you then examine your life in the mirror
of that person, And you think in your situation,
I was at that crossroads, I could have gone left, I could have
gone right. You went one way, you could have easily gone the
other, but you didn't. The Lord kept you. And yet other
people take the wrong, in inverted commas, way. And then another
wrong way, and another wrong way, and before they know it,
they are in great trouble. When we see that could have been
us, Dear friends, we should honour all men. That's Jesus' example,
isn't it? We have so much of that in the
Gospels, don't we? Of how Jesus cared for people. We have the parable of the Samaritans,
don't we? What happened there? Who was
his true friend? Who was his true friend? It was those that should have
been his enemy, as we would look upon it. It wasn't, was it, the priest
that helped him? It wasn't the Levite that helped
him. It was the Samaritan. The Samaritan. That was the one
that helped him. The foreigner. The despised one. It was him that helped that man. That's the instruction of the
gospel for us this morning. To help those in need, even if
we don't want to. Even if they are, in inverted
commas, our enemies. We are told to love our enemies. We are told to love them. Maybe we should look at the account
of Lazarus and the rich man. Which are we? Are we the rich
man? Or are we the Lazarus? Beggar Lazarus laid at his gate
full of sores. Nothing, he was in need, great
need. The rich man had no time for
him. Do we have time for those in need? Not just for those that
we know, but those that we don't know. The filthy, the stinking,
the unlovable. And dear friends, that's where
the gospel searches us, isn't it? Because it's easy to love the
lovely, It's easy to love our loved ones. It's very hard to love our enemies
and those that despitefully use us and those that we see no goodness
in. But if we do this in the context
of the gospel, if we see this from the viewpoint
of Christ. What have you done to deserve
his mercy? What have you done to deserve
his love? What have you done to deserve
his compassion this morning? For him to look upon you, nothing,
nothing at all. What we need to know more of,
dear friends, and I feel this greatly in our churches, is what
sinners we are. I fear there is much of the Pharisee
in my own heart and in the hearts of others. We need to know what
sinners we are before a holy God. Then that will bring humility. Then that will bring us low.
Then that will bring us more in prayer. Then that will bring
more of the fruit of the Spirit. Because we know what we are.
We know who a holy God is. And we know how undeserving we
are of that mercy, that compassion, and that love. And when we feel
that truly in our own hearts, then it will, it must, it flow
forth from us. Because it will be the fruit
of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit that flows forth. Honor. All men. But let us move on. Love the brotherhood. Love the
brotherhood. What does it mean by that you
may say? Well, it means those who are our brothers. But we
read that in the context of the church. Those of us in the church. There should be that love. And
we read in Romans chapter 12, And verse 10, be kindly affectioned
one to another with brotherly love in honour preferring one
another. That, dear friends, is brotherly
love. That is more of the love that
we need in our churches. And I was reading something only
in the past few weeks and it annoys me because I can't remember
where I read it because I would like to reread it. but it was
speaking about unity in the churches. And it was saying what we need
is unity. And not uniformity. And I thought how well put that
is. Because what is the church? It
is a collection of sinners who realize they are sinners. And
You in this church, no doubt. Us in our church at Heathfield.
Any true church in the earth is comprised of different members. We are all different. We all
have different gifts. We all have different characters.
We all have different needs. And what we need so much more
is that true unity. We read, don't we, in the latter
part of the psalm, Psalm 133, is it? How good it is for brethren
to work that short psalm, Psalm 133. Behold how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's like the precious ointment
upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard
that went down to the skirts of his garments. It's good to
dwell together in unity. But as I was saying, it's unity
and not uniformity, because we are made up of those different
parts. Last Lord's Day, I had the pleasure
of receiving one into the church, transferring from one church
to another last Lord's Day, and I tried to speak to the church
there. on the importance of that unity. And as the Apostle Paul
lays before us in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the body is not one
member, but many. If the foot shall say, because
I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not
of the body? And if the ear shall say, because
I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not
of the body? And so on. But now are they many members
and yet but one body. Dear friends, that's the church. That's the church. Made up of
hands and feet and noses and ears and eyes and arms and legs
and hearts and every part of the body. And it is only as that
is knit together in one, in love, knit together in love, will it
truly function? We don't need a church of hands. We don't need a church of feet,
a church of head. We need a church of unity and
not uniformity. We need a church that loves the
brotherhood. It's a point for us each to consider.
You know, I was speaking with a few people this week who go
to different churches. And at this moment, they go into
two different churches in a similar area to where I live. And they're
confronted with the same problems that we are. There seems to be, at this time,
those on this earth trying to find the perfect church, flitting
from one place to another, moving here, moving there, and moving
everywhere. trying to find the perfect church
and the perfect people. I don't want to disappoint you,
dear friends. You won't find it. You won't find it. All the best you can hope to
find is a church full of sinners, but are united round the word
of God, looking to the word of God and pleading that the Lord
will appear for them. increase them and bless them. And on this point of loving the
brotherhood, I will just stress this to you, the importance of
being a member of a church. The importance of putting on
that profession of faith. It should not be viewed as a
bolt-on to our religion. It is important. It is integral
to being a follower of Christ, that we may love the brotherhood. And where there is that true
love to the brotherhood, to the church, there will be that desire
to join with them. We see that in the account of
Saul, don't we? in his conversion. And as we
read in those chapters, what was his desire? His chief desire,
wasn't it? In chapter nine and verse 26
was this. When Saul was come to Jerusalem,
he assayed, or he tried, he attempted to do what? Join himself to the
disciples. That was what he wanted to do.
When he had seen the power of God, when he knew that the Lord
was at work in his heart, When those scales fell off his eyes,
he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptized. Baptism is not essential for
our salvation, but it's essential for our obedience. Joining ourselves
to the brotherhood, loving the brotherhood is what the word
of God has commanded. We cannot love the brotherhood
at a distance. We need to be united together. But with that loving the brotherhood,
one final point before I move on. That doesn't mean brushing
over everything. That doesn't mean ignoring where
there are errors and faults in one another. Loving the brotherhood
means discipline too. Loving the brotherhood means
communion one with another, fellowship one with another, and disciplining
one another too. I need it. You need it. We need to pray one for another,
look upon one another, chasten one another lovingly, that together
we may grow, loving the brotherhood. But let us move on. Honour all
men, love the brotherhood, fear God. My thoughts go quickly before
we move on to that verse in John's epistle. We know when we have
passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. And where
there is that love to the brethren, that will stem from a right fear
of God. Once more I fear that is something
lacking in our day. That's trying to bring God down to our
level. We don't read that in scripture.
In the word of God, wherever there are those that have had
those close encounters with God, There wasn't a chummy irreverence. There was an awe and there was
a fear. We think of Isaiah's vision in
Isaiah chapter six. What did he see there? He saw
the seraphims, didn't he? Flying one to another, crying,
holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is
full of his glory. That's what we need to understand,
dear friends. who God is, who God is watching
over everything in our lives, seeing who we are. Nothing is
hidden from him. Understanding how he despises
sin. Oh, that will then send us to
Christ. When we have a true conviction
of who we are because of his holiness, what will our cry be?
Woe is me, for I am undone. because I am a man of unclean
lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for
mine eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts. By faith dear friends when we
have a glimpse of the holiness of God we have a right understanding
of who we are there will be a fear of God but to explain this to
you children and young people so you don't misunderstand. There are two types of fear. There is fear in what the Puritans
used to describe, there is that servile fear, that fear that
a prisoner would have to an executioner. There is that type of fear. But
then there is what they call that filial fear, or that fear
that you would have in a family, like a child should have to their
father. That reverence, that respect,
and that love. And that is the fear that all
of God's children should have. That reverence, that respect,
because of who he is. And you know, we've each had
parents. And as we look back through our
childhood, we all have that right respect for our parents, or we
should do. And as fathers, and indeed mothers,
we should consider what we do and how we act. And if our children feel any
fear, It should be because they know it is done in love. And it should be the same with
our God, knowing that whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. We need that correction in our
lives. We need that right fear of God. We need to understand,
don't we, as we read in Romans chapter six and verse 23, that
the wages of sin is death, The gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. We need that right fear of death,
but we need that loving fear of God, knowing that there is
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. But the point I wanted
to dwell on more this morning, in the light of our nation, is
this final point. Honour the King. We now have a new king. We now have one, and you know
there may be those that think, well, what power does the king
really have? And you may be right in saying
that. But we have those that are placed in authority over
us. You may say this morning, well,
does he deserve our honour? Isn't the king that we now have,
isn't he divorced? Does he deserve our honour? We read, don't we, in verse 13
of our chapter, Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for
the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto
governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment
of evildoers. and for the praise of them that
do well. Once again, context is key in
this passage. Peter was telling them to honour one of the worst leaders there
ever was. Honour one who was fiercely persecuting
Christians. who was abusing Christians in
the most barbaric way, as history tells us. Awful, awful person. And yet, we are to honour them. We are to be submissive to them.
But that doesn't mean submissive in everything, in everything
at all. Because we read in Acts chapter
5, don't we? And verse 29. Peter and the other
apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than
men. It was the time, wasn't it? Where
they were being brought before the council. And they said that
yes, we ought to honor God rather than men. And this is where the
two points come together. We must do whatsoever our leaders
command us to do, unless the word of God forbids it. We must
do whatsoever they command us to do, unless the word of God
forbids it. And that's hard, isn't it? Because
we live in a day where Freedom of expression. Freedom of speech. Freedom in everything is said
as being what it is. It is very important, don't get
me wrong. But it doesn't overrule the word
of God. Because he is our king. He is
our lord. He is overruled. So unless they command us to
do something the word of God forbids, or forbid us to do something
the word of God commands, there should be that honor and that
submission to those in authority. And you know where we draw that
line? There may be those disagreements. That's where we need to search
the scriptures and be given that wisdom. But there should be that
honor to the king. But you say, well, you've laid
all these things before us this morning, but how are we to do
that? How can we do that? How can we
honour all men? How can we love the brother?
How can we fear God? How can we honour the king? There is only one way the child
of God can truly do that. When we have in our mind that
kingdom to come. when we look for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That's what
we need to be looking for. To realise that we have no continuing
city here, but we seek one to come. That we may plead with
the Lord, that we may have more of a knowledge that we are one
of his kingdom. that he is our prophet, priest
and king, that he above all rules and reigns over every event in
our lives. And it is only then that true
submission can be given to whatever may come upon us. It is only
then that we can truly act rightly when we know that sweet knowledge
that we are one of the Lord's people. Only then. And you know, I often think of
dear Stephen as he was being stoned to death. As he was that perfect example
of submission against those that were doing harm to him. How could he do it? How could
he stand calmly in the face of imminent death? How have the
martyrs been able to have been tied to the stake? Had that wood
bundled against them? Had that flame put to that feet? How can they do it? And how can
you and I do what Peter commands us in that letter? Being full of the Holy Ghost.
That's what Stephen was. He looked up steadfastly into
heaven. and saw the glory of God and
Jesus standing on the right hand of God. He saw the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Oh, and
if by faith we can have a glimpse of that too, if we can have a
glimpse of a holy God and Jesus standing on his right hand, that
great mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, that
one who wept and bled and died for you. Oh, then, and only then,
only then can we go on, honour all men and love the brotherhood,
fear God and honour the King, when Christ is in our view and
not ourselves. Dear friends, that's what Stephen
saw. And we can only, dear friends,
honour all men, love the brotherhood, fear God and honour the King,
knowing that whatever the Lord brings in our lives, it is for
our good. It is for our good. And to know
this, that all kingdoms fall, except his kingdom. Where's the
great kingdom of Egypt now? Where's the great kingdom of
Babylon? Where's the great kingdom of
Rome? All gone, all gone. The West, the developed West
has been all powerful in this world now for two or three, maybe
more centuries. Is our power starting to fail?
Is our kingdom starting to fall? And you know, I don't want to
be full of doom and gloom, but as you look at our land, there
is no doubt in my mind anyway, that we are past our peak. We
are in decline. Our power has gone or is going
Our wealth is going, society is falling apart. We have forsaken
the word of God. But you young people, and I know
it used to annoy me a little sometimes when ministers used
to preach and say, oh, you know, it's so terrible, everything's
so bad, so on and so forth. Yes, it may be, but this is the
era that you are in. This is the era that you have
been placed upon this earth. And whatever era we are in, we
are to be faithful, we are to serve the Lord, we are to do
as he has commanded. Then and only then, as faith
is given, can we walk in that right way. Honour all men, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honour the King. And this is something that I
have come far short in my prayers, both in public and in private,
is praying for our Queen, or now our King. You can, left to yourselves,
think, well, it'll all work out. What can I do? It's all planned
out, there'll be this, that and the other. You know, it was going
to be the Queen, then it was going to be Prince Charles, then
it'll be Prince William, then it'll be Prince George. That's looking through man's
eyes, not looking through God's eyes. At the moment, in these
days that we're in, and in the coming week, there'll probably
be much quiet and unity in a nation. But it won't be long before the
Republicans will start speaking. It won't be long before the nationalists
will start speaking. It won't be long before all those
strikes that have been cancelled are now back in place. This could
be a winter, a season of real trouble in our land. The signs are there. It could
be. You know, we follow on in verse
18 of this chapter. Servants, be subject to your
masters with all fear, Well, what are we seeing? Strikes here,
there, and everywhere. The exact opposite of this verse
18. We could be, dear friends, at the brink of something in
this land and in the West. We don't know. We don't know. So we need to be much in prayer,
much in prayer. for our King. You may say he doesn't deserve
it. Do you deserve the prayer of other people? You may think, what can my prayers
do? Prayer can force a passage through iron bars and brazen
gates. Pray on, dear friends, pray on. And whatever comes upon us in
these coming years, And in the rest of the years of our life,
may we be given grace to walk as Peter commanded the early
church, to honour all men, to love the brotherhood, to fear
God, and to honour the King. For what purpose? Because this
brings glory to God. This brings glory to God. Because, as we have in this latter
part of this chapter, Christ. Because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps. Are we following in his steps?
Are we praying to be more Christ-like? Are we praying to be more humble,
to be more obedient? to be more loving than one who did no sin. Neither
was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness,
by whose stripes ye were healed. So, dear soul, this morning,
it's the only way we can carry on. It's the only way we can
carry on to remember Christ, who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree. If our eyes are unto Christ,
his people can walk on in the way which he has commanded. But
when our eyes begin to falter, we will begin to fail. May the
Lord graciously help us all at this time in our land to do what
the Lord has commanded and instructed us in through his word. Amen. We'll close this morning with
hymn 1039, the tune Mylon 189. Lord, we adore thy boundless
grace, the heights and depths unknown,
of pardon, life and joy and peace in thy beloved Son. Hymn 1039
? Christ the lifted high ? ? Lord
of life and joy and peace ? ? In my beloved song ? O wondrous gifts of love divine,
This whole soul and great heart, Gives us in vain all nourishment,
? Come Holy Night ? ? Come Holy
Night ? ? Come Holy Night ? ? There for an ever reeling storm ? ?
For ev'rywhere we've been ? ? We wish now your return ? God's
works may seem afraid, but most of all, it has a name. Oh dear Lord, do we pray. Bless thy word
unto us each. and help thy people to walk in
that right way in our short time that we are here upon this earth.
So that as all thy people have done throughout the periods of
history, through that faithful conduct, have brought that honour
and glory to thee. O dear Lord, we are not saved
by our works, but may that loving, good heart flow from thy salvation
seeking ever to do that which brings thee honour and glory. So Lord help us now as we leave
thy house come up again this afternoon give much prayer that
help will be given to everyone here and forgive all that we
have spoken about for that which has been of thee
do truly bless and seal by thy Spirit. Now, may the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us each. Amen.