Okay, I want to turn your attention
to the Acts of the Apostles in Chapter 9, in the first half
of this chapter this morning, and look at the conversion of
the Apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was at this stage.
Now, this must have been preached on many, many times, and you
might wonder, what on earth can be added to that? Well, the Word
of God is ever new, the Word is fresh, it's new every morning,
and so I think we can see some things here that are for our
good. We live in an age of great apathy. I think we're all aware
of this. The people of God in these days
are aware that there's such tremendous apathy, there's such tremendous
skepticism. It's not as if there hasn't been
skepticism and apathy before, but the skepticism is on an unprecedented
scale. There's such intellectual opposition
to the things of God, to the gospel of his grace, to the very
being of God, the person of God. We find all around in the media,
comic blasphemy is the entertainment of the age. Comic blasphemy.
And it's outrageous, and it's terrible. And we get very, very
frustrated with the lack of interest that there is amongst the people
around us. Those that we count as friends in the world, and
good friends in the world. And yet, there is such apathy,
and scepticism, and lack of interest. And we start to think, how can
we make something happen? What can we do? We must be able
to do... I mean, look at us here, such a tiny number. All right,
it's a freezing cold morning, but nevertheless, what a tiny
number. How can we make something happen?
What can we do to get people interested in the Gospel? And
I'll tell you what the answer to that question is. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Oh, you say,
that's awfully fatalistic, isn't it? No, in reality, in reality,
we We, human beings, can do nothing. We can't. Not a solitary thing.
Well, what about giving out leaflets? What about personal testimony
and witness? Can't we do it? Yes, of course
we can do those things, but don't think that what we do makes anybody
become a believer. It doesn't work like that. We
could arrange talks on popular philosophy to try and get people
interested. You know, we could ask them,
what are the things that stop you coming to church? Well, there's
this thing and that thing. All right, well, we'll have some
talks to try and calm your fears about those things, to try and
answer your objections. We'll have special events, we'll
get special speakers. don't think for one minute I'm
not saying it's a good thing that it's not a good thing to
have special speakers if they're worth listening to I'm not saying
that I'm just saying the things we do can do nothing actually
to speak to the darkened hearts and minds of men and women all
around us. We could modernize our services,
say some. We could bring in all sorts of
gimmicks. We could get rid of this old-fashioned language in
this King James Bible. We could do all sorts of things.
We could sing modern songs and not the traditional hymns. We
could skip and dance in the aisle and make people feel good that
way. We could even, ah, now then, let's get a bit more spiritual.
We could have days of prayer. That would twist God's arm right
up his back, wouldn't it? He'd have to answer that, wouldn't
he? If we had a day of prayer, wouldn't he be forced to do it?
Let's go one better! I tell you what, let's not have
a whole day of prayer, let's stop up all night long. Wow,
that would make him change his mind and bring people in, wouldn't
it? No. Nothing that we do. Nothing that
we do. You see, we can do nothing. But,
but, this is the confidence of Scripture. God will save His
elect. He will save everyone that the
Father gave to the Son from before the beginning of time. He will
save them. In heaven there will not be one
missing from the ranks of God's people. All of them. What did
Jesus say? John 17 and verse 2. The Lord
Jesus Christ, I'm paraphrasing into His words, The Lord Jesus
Christ has power to give eternal life to all those that God the
Father has given to Him. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
He's given Christ all power to give eternal life to all that
the Father has given to the Son. What do we need to do then? we
need to be faithful to what he's told us to do. What has he told
us to do? He's told us to pray, he's told us to preach, he's
told us to witness, but of ourselves to realize that we can do nothing. You know what did Paul say? Apollos
watered, somebody sowed, Paul sowed, Apollos watered, but who
gave the increase? God gave the increase. It's God
that gives the increase. Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9,
here's a prayer that was prayed from a very dank and wet and
horrible place, the belly of the whale, in the book of Jonah,
in which he confessed, he saw, salvation is of the Lord. It is. Salvation is not of education. It's not of standing. It's not
of your public reputation. It's not of the tradition of
your family or of your father's. Salvation is of the Lord. Psalm
49, I love these verses, Psalm 49, 6 to 9, says this, They that trust in their wealth
and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, they rely on
these things to achieve things for them. None of them can by
any means redeem his brother. None of them can by any means
redeem his brother. It doesn't care how rich you
are, how possessed you are of the intellect of this age and
of the wherewithal to do things in the world. None of them can
by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for
him, that he should still live forever and not see corruption.
And the reason? For the redemption of their soul
is precious, and it ceaseth forever. Meaning, it's way beyond the
ability of man to do it. Man cannot redeem his brother. Man cannot pay the penalty that
God must have. The justice of God must have
this penalty. that he should still live forever
and not seek corruption you see it's the work of God now this
is illustrated in the conversion of the Apostle Paul as I'll call
him or Saul of Tarsus as he was at this stage now why do I say
that well if you were to look in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
16 which we read earlier 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 16 we read
this Paul's testimony when he was Paul the Apostle his testimony
was this for this cause I obtained mercy he's an object of mercy
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to everlasting
life he's saying his conversion is a pattern to those who after
him would believe Saul is a pattern He's generally not thought of
as a pattern of conversion, is he? It's regarded that Saul's
was the most amazing, different conversion of anybody's that
has ever been. But Paul says, no, it's a pattern.
His conversion is a pattern, a pattern, to them which should
hereafter believe. Generally thought of as most
untypical, you know, people don't come to be believers in Christ,
because a light shines from heaven and they drop down as dead in
the street. It doesn't happen like that. Well, there are all
sorts of things that do. You know, that phrase, the Damascus
Road experience, has fallen into common usage in our language.
I've heard it many times in business. Say, for example, the company
policies such and such a thing, and then there's a radical change.
Something completely different happens. And people are talking,
they say, what happened? Oh, the managing director had
a Damascus Road experience. It was like a light shone into
him and he suddenly changed his mind so completely. Fallen into
common language. As opposed to a gradual dawn
that such and such a thing is the case. But no, this conversion
of Saul is a pattern because there are three common factors
to it that apply to all conversions. The first one is this. the opposition
of the old man the people that we are by nature in our flesh
the opposition of that old man now look in the first two verses
of Acts chapter 9 this is the man that stood and held the coats
while they stoned Stephen to death and Saul yet breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord you know he was vehemently zealous with anger against the
Christians he was furious with them and he was so angry he was
on a mission to destroy them I'm not gonna rest until every
last one of them you know if he'd had some nukes and some
missiles and these disciples were hiding in the mountains
of Pakistan he'd be firing missiles in there to get rid of them he
really would he was mad he was an angry man He was breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord and he goes to the high priest to get letters of introduction
to the authorities in Damascus in the synagogues to say give
this man Saul all the support you can in his mission of stamping
out this Christian, this Jesus way and if they found any in
the way whether they were men or women no thought for the frailty
of human form whether they were men or women he might bring them
bound unto Jerusalem he was an angry man look over at Acts chapter
26 you'll see his own testimony of these days in his later life
Acts chapter 26 this is not us making it up this is not us embroidering
what we think Saul might have been like this is him saying
himself he's in front of King Agrippa and verse 9 he says this
I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things
contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth which thing I also
did in Jerusalem and many of the saints did I shut up in prison
having received authority from the chief priests, and when they
were put to death, I gave my voice against them, and I punished
them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme,
and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them, even
unto strange cities." You see? The opposition of the old man.
Now you say, well, that's not men and women today, by nature. Us, as we are, Oh yes it is,
apart from the physical outworking of things. Do you know what we
are by nature? It says, when did Christ die for his people?
When did Christ die for them? Romans chapter 5 and verse 10
says, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by
the death of his son, much more being reconciled we shall be
saved by his life. We were enemies when he died
for us. If when we were enemies. Look
at Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse
18 this talking about the people in general having the understanding
darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, do
you see that? alienated enemies is what that
word means enemies alienated from the life of God This is
the men and women outside of Christ that we come across every
day. This is you and me without Christ. Alienated. You know,
it's not God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,
which is what you will hear all over the world as the evangelical
Christian message. It's a lie. The Bible nowhere
says that. The Bible says that you're enemies.
You're enemies of God. Enemies of God. Not his friends.
His enemies. he doesn't love everybody with
the same love enemies of God is what the Word of God says
quite clearly Colossians chapter 1 and verse 21 and you that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works it worked out in wicked
works it wasn't just in your thoughts by wicked works yet
now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death
you he's talking to believers who once were alienated and enemies
this is us all by nature this was Paul the Apostle by nature
this was Saul of Tarsus And with the restraint of God removed,
we saw the lengths to which this man went. And this is what we
must understand. There are not those who are more
likely to believe if we persuade them in a particular way. We're
all, by nature, enemies of God. We're all, by nature, dead in
trespasses and sins. With no thought for spiritual
things, with no respect for the living God, no thought for any
of these things we treat the things of eternity the death
which we all must face with a complete flippancy until the second thing
happens you see there he was in his opposition the opposition
of the old man and be in no doubt when the light shines and you
become a Christian and you go on that old man is still there
isn't it? That old man is still there.
You still have those days and moments when that old man rises
up in unbelief and doubts and fears and has all of those characteristics
still within him. But then what happens is there's
a shining light, a shining light. Look at verse 3 of chapter 9,
and as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly there shined
round about him a light from heaven. A dramatic thing happened. A light shined from heaven. It was dramatic in the case of
us all, and it may not be dramatic in the case of you and me, in
the sense of light shining from heaven. But nevertheless, nevertheless,
the drastic change that happens, there must be that causes rethinking,
you know, that's what the word repentance means, re-pent, pensée,
French, rethink, rethinking, turning around, going one way
and turning around, however dramatic or undramatic, there must be
rethinking, repentance, there must be a change, and the light
shines in, and the light shined into Saul, now remember what
he was embarked upon, He was embarked upon a mission to destroy
this belief, this faith, this following of Jesus Christ. He
was absolutely determined. If you'd looked around the world
and said, well, let's preach to those who look likely to believe,
you know, those that are of such and such a disposition, those
who are of such and such a nature, those who've got these particular
characteristics, they'll be inclined to listen, they'll be much more
inclined, you know, so we won't distribute leaflets to that part
of town, we'll only distribute... of town, where there are nice
respectable people who believe the gospel, you know? You couldn't
have got anybody more opposed than the Apostle Paul or Saul
of Tarsus at this stage. Breathing out fire and threatenings
against the disciples. He was furious and he was absolutely
stopped in his tracks. When did that light shine? When
did that light shine? Turn to Galatians chapter 1.
It's so important that we see these things. Galatians chapter
1 and verse 15 well I'll read verse 14 as well
Paul saying that he profited in the Jews religion above many
my equals in mine own nation being more exceedingly zealous
of the traditions of my father's but but but when it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace
to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the
heathen immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood when
did the light shine? when it pleased God that's when
the light shined not when the apostles in Jerusalem persuaded
him not when other disciples persuaded him when it pleased
God that's when the into the darkened hearts of men
all around us. If he doesn't do it, it doesn't
matter how persuasive we are. in the terms of the world, in
the things of the world. They're nice, respectable people
in society. They will never believe unless
God, by His Spirit, shines that light into their hearts. And
what was that light? You know it. You don't need to
turn it up. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6. The God who caused
light to shine in the darkness when He said, let there be light
at creation, has shined into our hearts to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God and people say yes I approach
God through this way and I approach God through that way and oh yes
we can all come to the light of God we'll all come different
ways at the different sides of the mountain but we'll all get
to the same top no that light is only seen in one place do
you know where it is? it's in the face of Jesus Christ
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ This was what shined in to this man, breathing
out threatenings against this sect, against these people. The
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ was what shined into him, what he was shown. It was a revelation
to him of who Christ is. It was a revelation of Christ
that he could never have got by himself. Look at verse 5. You see, he falls to the earth
and he hears a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? Just note in passing that Jesus
says, all of your threatenings and your murderings of my believing
people, you're persecuting me. You know, when the finger and
the thumb and the toe and the knee get hurt, The head knows
about it. Christ is the head of his church.
He feels every pain. He feels every sorrow. Why persecutest
thou me? We're one flesh with him. His
people, his church, are one flesh with him. Those who persecute
his church, persecute him. Because we're one flesh with
him. Those are the sufferings that Paul talked about filling
up. in this flesh, the sufferings of Christ that we're filling
up, because we're one flesh with Him. Why persecutest thou me?
And what does Saul say? He wants to know this. You see,
he's been stopped dead in his tracks. Who art thou, Lord? This
is the question. Who art thou, Lord? Who art thou?
There's another question that Jesus put to the Pharisees. What
think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Crucial question. Absolutely vital question. What
do you think of the Christ? You see, the very heresy that
Saul sought to stamp out, which was these people claiming that
God had saved his people through this man, Jesus of Nazareth,
who was himself, indeed, God. And that's what made him so mad.
You know, the thing that made the Jews More angry than anything
else in a legalistic term was people blaspheming, people claiming
to be God. Think of the times when Jesus
in his ministry said things that only God can say, I forgive you
of your sins, and they picked up stones to throw at him. They
picked up stones because they were so mad. Only God can forgive
sins, and here is a man who's saying, I forgive you, therefore
he's blaspheming. He's claiming to be God again
and again. They were so angry with him.
And Saul was at the head of them, he says. He was the most vehement,
breathing out these threatenings against them. He sought to stamp
it out. And that very thing, in a moment,
became his core belief. Isn't that amazing? the grace
of God, the power of the enlightenment, that light shining in, of the
glory, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
that very thing, that very heresy as he believed it to be, that
Jesus was God, it became his core belief, absolutely fundamental. Look at verse 20, he's met with
Ananias, he's received his sight, and straightway he preached Christ
in the synagogues. he didn't mess about with other
things straight away as soon as he was physically able he
preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God what's
that say? you know we need to read these
right what that verse is saying is he preached Christ in the
synagogues that he is very God of very God that this man that
they crucified was God on a mission say unto the cities of Judah
behold your God the one that promised he would come God who
promised he would come as a savior you have crucified him Jesus
Christ, He is the Son of God, He is very God, come as a man,
that's what it is, the Son of God, come as a man, that we might
see Him. And he went on, verse 22, he
increased more and more, and he confounded the Jews which
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ, the suffering
servant, the promised one, the prince, the saviour, the one
who would come, we'll look at this more later on today when
we have the Lord's table together in Isaiah chapter 40 but that's
what he did he proved these things he saw, just turn to Isaiah 43 Isaiah 43 and how do you read
these things how do you read these Old Testament scriptures
how do you interpret them and in 43 and verse 3 we have a clear
statement from the God of heaven that all the Jews would have
listened to he says for I am the Lord thy God the Holy One
of Israel thy Saviour I gave Egypt for thy ransom Ethiopia
and Seba for thee you see I am the Lord thy God the Holy One
of Israel thy Saviour who is the Saviour of his people? God!
clear the Old Testament is absolutely clear Paul became conscious he
knew by the shining of this light that this was Jesus it was Jesus
who is the Lord thy God the Holy One of Israel thy Saviour Him
look at Hosea well you don't need to turn to it I've got it
written down here I'll read it out to you Hosea chapter 13 and
verse 4 yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt and
thou shalt know no God but me for there is no Saviour beside
me there are those who turn up on your doorstep quite regularly
who will tell you that Jesus is their Savior but that he's
not God they will tell you that quite vehemently quite aggressively
these scriptures show absolutely clearly that God the Lord is
our Savior and that there is no other Savior and Jesus is
our Savior and therefore Jesus must be God We already read a
few weeks ago, Acts chapter 5 verse 31, Him, Jesus, hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour. This Jesus is
our saviour. Titus chapter 1 and verse 4 says
this, this is Paul, Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle. In Titus chapter
1 and verse 4, in his greetings, grace, mercy and peace from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour what he knew
was that this Jesus was his God and his Saviour that was the
dawning light that was the shining light look at one now I want
you to turn to this with me the passage that we read earlier
1 Timothy chapter 1 let's just read these verses from 11 to
17 according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust and I thank
Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me for that he counted
me faithful putting me into the ministry that doesn't mean that
God is the most faithful one and he awarded the prize of being
a preacher to the one who is the most faithful one We so often
interpret the scriptures like that. That's not what it means
at all. He counted me faithful. He made him faithful. Saul of
Tarsus was not faithful so that he was made a preacher. He was
breathing out threatenings against them. It was God that did it.
God put him into the ministry. Who was before a blasphemer,
and a persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief. and the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am
chief how be it for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first
Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern
to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting
Now unto the King Eternal, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords,
Immortal, Invisible, the only Wise God. And what's he thinking
of? I wouldn't be surprised if he was thinking of Isaiah chapter
9 and verse 6. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Unto the only
wise God be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. to be a good guy when there's
so many around who are so naturally inclined to be bad he was saved
because as Jesus said to Ananias look in verse 15 Ananias quite
understandably is very fearful you know go to this man the Lord
appears to him and says go to this man who is breathing out
threatenings against the people of God and go to him and that
he might receive his sight because he's praying and the Lord and
he says what I've heard of all the evil that he's done and he's
come here with nothing other than bad intent but the Lord
said unto him go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me
a chosen vessel unto me I tell you on the strength of the scriptures
all of God's people are saved because they are chosen vessels
unto Him for His purposes, for His purposes, for the glory of
His grace, that we should be to the praise of the glory of
His grace. He was one of all of God's elect. He said in writing to the Ephesians,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He's writing to believers,
blessed us with every spiritual. He's not writing to mankind as
a whole. Paul the Apostle is writing to believers. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him from before the beginning of time,
before the beginning of the world. It's on the basis of an everlasting
covenant. Psalm 105 verse 10 says the everlasting
covenant. This is the basis of all salvation.
You could look also at Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20. That benediction that is so often
uttered, the God of peace who brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the everlasting covenant. The everlasting covenant
of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit to save a
people for the glory of the Godhead is on the basis of the blood
of the everlasting covenant. The price that was necessary
to make it happen. And when was this man Saul justified? When? Galatians 4 verse 4. He wrote this himself in later
years. Galatians 4 verse 4. When the fullness of the time
was come in history, God sent forth his son, born of a woman,
that he might be a prophet. His own law, that he might redeem
those. God became a man that he might
walk, subject to his own law, and thereby redeem. Buy back.
from the slavery of sin those who are his people that's when
that's when he was saved because he was chosen in eternity he
was justified on the cross of Calvary but do you know something
and this is this is the next characteristic he knew nothing
of God's purposes for him when he was breathing out all those
threatenings when he was being so opposed to the gospel of Christ
and the way of Christ and the people of Christ He knew nothing
of those things until God's Spirit shined that light into his heart
and made him a new creature. And so that's the third characteristic.
Firstly, is the state that we are by nature. Secondly, is the
shining of the light and the repentance, the rethinking. And
then thirdly, the new creation that results as a consequence
of the Holy Spirit coming. And look in verse 11 of Acts
chapter 9. the Lord says to Ananias arise
and go into the street which is called straight and inquire
in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus for behold
he prayeth you know anybody's been close to a birth
I know some of you ladies have been very very close to a birth
but you know the thing that tells you that new life has arrived
is that scream of the baby you know that first cry You know,
we don't like to hear babies cry, but boy, I can tell you,
when a newborn baby's born, you want to hear that baby cry, because
it's the sign of life. It's the breath of life in that
child. And so it is spiritually. What was the sign that Saul had
seen the light? Behold, he prayeth. There's a
new man in. There's a new man inside. Alongside
that old man, which will be there till the day his physical body
dies, there's a new man there. When it pleased God at that moment,
he was regenerated. He who, as Ephesians 2 verse
1 says, was like all the rest, dead in trespasses and sins. He was dead in trespasses and
sins, but at that time, when that light shined, when it pleased
God, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb he was made alive and a new man was born within if any man
is in Christ Jesus 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 any man in
Christ Jesus he is a new creation a new creature there's a new
person within and he's given faith to see that which the natural
man cannot see for the things of God the things of the Spirit
of God the natural man can't see them or know them they're
spiritually discerned and he has spiritual understanding so
you could turn to Hebrews chapter 11 that chapter of faith and
see what difference it makes how differently he's think be
ye transformed in the renewing of your minds and he has been
transformed because the Spirit of God has come and so in Hebrews
chapter 11 and verses 1 and 2 and 3 talking about the people of
faith he starts out by talking about the change that this faith,
this gift of God, not of yourselves, it's the gift of God that it
brings. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen, for by it the elders obtain a good report.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the
Word of God. I just want to stop there and
point this out. It's that light of the Spirit of God that makes
men and women see things differently. How do we understand that the
worlds were framed by the Word of God how do we who believe
understand that? Oh somebody would say Well, by
science, but we live in such a difficult day that we have
to pull out every big gun that we can to try and counteract
the fact that Richard Dawkins is on the warpath and telling
us that we're all idiots for believing that God created the
Earth. And we have to line up against him and really oppose
him, and then when we've convinced people's minds, they will understand
by science that it isn't necessarily so, and that the worlds were
framed by God. I'm sorry, no, it's not what the scriptures
say. By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed Everything
that I believe about God creating the Earth, I believe is totally
consistent with science. I believe that there's lots of
quack science out there that flies in the face of the evidence
because it doesn't like the consequences. It doesn't like accountability
to God. But nevertheless, it's not by science that I understand
those things. It's by faith that we understand those things. And
I could go on, but I won't for the sake of time. It affects
every aspect of life. There's a complete new purpose
Faith is that sight that is given, that sight of the things of God,
who Christ is, what He is, what He came for, to do. Remember
what I said, that which Paul saw regarded as heresy that must
be stamped out became his absolutely core belief. And it was for a
new purpose, we read in Galatians 1.16, that He might reveal His
Son in me. When it pleased God to reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him to the Gentiles. changed
him that he might preach this message to the Gentiles. You
see? So there's these three things.
What he was, the light that shined, and the new creation that became.
Remember what I'm saying. We live in days of great skepticism
and apathy. But it's the Spirit of God who
will save his people. And so what about us? I've got
two so-whats just to finish with. What for us who believe? if we
believe the Gospel of Grace? Well, I would say this, stop
trying to think up every means that we possibly can to persuade
people to believe. Stop just trying to do tricks
to try and make people believe, because it won't work. Do you
know the best that we'll do? We'll gather a load of proselytes.
The Jews did that. There were people that came from
all over the place. They knew that there was something in it
at Jerusalem, so they came and they became proselytes. Rather,
this is what we must do. Preach that God in Christ has
satisfied justice for all his people, an innumerable multitude
from all humanity that the Father gave him before the beginning
of time, for whom he lived, he died, and rose, and whom the
Holy Spirit makes to live and believe, and announce it as Scripture
reveals it. Do you remember a few weeks ago
we looked at that verse, let your light so shine. This is
what it is. Preach that gospel, preach the
truth of Scripture as it is, and don't try and amend it to
make it fit with what men and women think is fair as opposed
to unfair. Preach it the way it is, and
do it by preaching, by leaflet distribution, yes, by personal
witness to friends that we come across, and also pray pray that
God will use and bless why do we pray that God will use and
bless and call out his people because he's promised to my word
he says Isaiah 55 verse 11 will not return to me void it will
accomplish the purpose for which I send it and we leave the rest
to him whether he saves none or whether he saves hundreds
we leave the rest to him so what for unbelievers what if there's
anybody listening to this who's not a believer and you're saying
this sounds very exclusive this sounds like it shuts me out well
the scripture says that God delights in mercy that God is a God who
delights in mercy so plead to him for mercy the verses that
we read right at the start of the service were Psalm 106 and
verse 4 and 5 where a sinner says this remember me O Lord,
with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people." It's the people
of God that are favoured. He's elect people. And here's
a sinner going, remember me, O Lord, with the favour that
Thou bearest unto Thy people. Visit me with Thy salvation.
Pass me not, O gracious Saviour. Hear my humble cry. While on
others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Verse 5, that I may
see the good of Thy chosen. that I may rejoice in the gladness
of thine nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance." Oh,
that's what I want to do, isn't it? To glory with thine inheritance. Amen. Our closing hymn is 752. 752. Okay.