[0:00] The opening sound will be in Calig from verse 3. The sasgach feran ysgach cheer to chrwnys i gat lesh.
[0:14] The opening sound will be in Calig from verse 4.
[0:44] Thank you.
[1:14] Thank you.
[1:44] Thank you.
[2:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[3:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[4:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[5:14] Thank you. Thank you.
[5:46] Thank you. Thank you.
[6:16] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:54] Thank you.
[7:24] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[7:36] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[7:48] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We bless you and thank you that you are a God who is always ready to hear the petitions of your people, and in particular, the praises that come from our mouth.
[8:12] Not as the hypocrite would come, but as those who are coming wholeheartedly wanting to magnify the name of our God and our Saviour.
[8:26] We bless you and thank you that we can sing such a song of praise and that we can understand something of the sentiments expressed that were on the lips of your servant as he anticipated the journey's end, a journey that all your people are on, be it long or short, be it ever so difficult or reasonably free from the challenges that many have to encounter.
[9:04] When we measure our lives against some in this world, we may be grateful that we don't have to deal with some of the things that others have to deal with.
[9:20] And it may be that they too have had that measure of thankfulness that what you have apportioned them as a rod for their back or a burden to be carried is made suitable for them by your own grace.
[9:38] There is a mystery attached to the way you deal with your people here in this world, but you have promised that grace to help in time of need, whatever that need may be.
[9:50] So here is on behalf of those who have these needs tonight, whatever they may be, those who are broken in body or in mind, those whose affliction are spiritual, who are the target of the tormentor, who constantly find themselves bombarded from all sides of the enemy of the enemy of their soul.
[10:22] Surround them with a sense of your presence. Reflect these shafts, we pray, and that they may not penetrate to do harm.
[10:34] We grant to them a sense of the one who was in this world for a time, and who had to deal with much worse, and that on behalf of his own people.
[10:46] So we pray that you would remember your people this evening in all their different circumstances. We remember those in the congregation here, some who are housebound, some who are in hospital, some confined to homes for the elderly.
[11:08] We pray that you would bless them wherever they are. Remember those who have sorrows to deal with as a result of bereavement, or even sorrows that are the accompaniment of life in this world, where there is so little relief from the trials that life brings.
[11:34] So here are petitions on their behalf, even when they are unable to pray for themselves. We bring before you the needs of the congregation this time, remembering us as we meet together in this fashion.
[11:52] There is much to be said for it, but we know what we would much rather, to be met in public with your people, and to be gathered under the sound of your word, sharing with others under the ministration of the Spirit.
[12:08] And we pray that you would bless that to us. We pray that you would bless the service on the Lord's Day, as we hope to meet in public for the first time in a long time.
[12:21] We pray that you would keep us mindful of the need that we have for your blessing. It's one thing to enjoy these privileges, but it is a greater privilege by far to know the blessing of God upon the word that is preached and that is heard.
[12:39] We pray that you would draw men and women here and all to you, that they may see their need of Christ, and that that Christ would be precious to your own people in particular.
[12:51] Remember all the congregations of our presbytery. We pray for the congregation of Carlow, that will shortly be inducting the minister over them.
[13:05] We pray that this new phase of ministry would be blessed, even though it was only a broken phase in the sense that it is a resumption of ministry, whatever you would mind concerning them as a congregation as a minister, that you would bless that to one and all.
[13:31] Remember also the congregation of Bach, that will themselves be shortly gathering as a congregation to seek, that you would set over them, one who would take responsibility of their pastoral care.
[13:49] May the mind of the Lord be theirs. We pray for all our congregations. We pray that you would bless your word amongst us, that we would know a day of power.
[14:01] We much need that power, an outpouring of your own spirit, that we would have a sense of our need and that your grace would be imparted to us as an island and as a nation.
[14:13] And remember Lord, those who govern us, who are so intent on doing evil, whether they realise it to be so, they are wise in their own eyes.
[14:25] And yet your word contradicts their wisdom and shows it to be foolishness. And where that is detrimental to the spiritual wellbeing of those that have been entrusted to their care, may they be brought forcibly to understand that, that they may repent as we must all, turn from sin to Christ.
[14:48] We pray for the governments of the day. We pray for the nations of the earth and all their different needs. Remembering where there is discord, where there is war, where there is civil strife, where there is famine and want.
[15:04] We pray Lord that you would overrule for good in all these things. Remembering the current pandemic that seems to be abating in a measure here.
[15:16] And yet at the same time, it is a specter over us that could easily overtake us once again. In your goodness, preserve us from that.
[15:27] Remember all suffering from Covid and all entrusted with caring for such. Keep them safe also. So continue to watch over us, we pray.
[15:39] Blessing your word as we read it, and opening your mind's eye that we may discern the truth for what it is. The word of God to us at this particular time, cleanse from sin and go before us in Jesus' name. Amen.
[15:55] I am going to read from the epistle of Paul to the Romans in chapter 8 and at verse 18.
[16:07] Romans chapter 8 and verse 18. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3.
[16:18] 4. 4. 5. 5. 5. 5. 6. 6. 6. 7. 7.
[16:29] 7. 8. 8. 9. 9. 9. 10. 10. 10. 10. 10.
[16:40] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption and to the glorious liberty of the children of God. 10.
[16:51] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together until now, and not only they but ourselves also which are the firstfruits of the spirit.
[17:03] 11. 12. 11. 12. 12. the adoption toward the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he get hope for? But if we hope for that, we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
[17:54] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren.
[18:15] Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things?
[18:31] If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, he rather that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God? Who also maketh intercession for us?
[19:07] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
[19:29] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[19:59] Amen, and may the Lord at his blessing to this reading of his word and to his name be the praise. Amen, and may the Lord at his blessing to this reading of his word and to his name be the Lord.
[20:38] Amen, and may the Lord at his blessing to this reading of his book and to his death. That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. As you know we've been looking at this first chapter of Paul's epistle and we've seen how the opening part of it is one long sentence from verse 3 to verse 14 and that makes it difficult for us to to break down I suppose when we're reading it or when we're trying to interpret it where to break off and where to start again when I was preparing this today I was thinking of our grandson who is now beginning to enjoy his solids and enjoy is the operative word it's one thing to to give him food and to allow himself to put it in his mouth but sometimes he doesn't know what is a chewable portion sometimes a whole rust disappears into his mouth and you have to watch very carefully and I was thinking well in a sense that is a bit like we are when it comes to God's Word there are passages of the scripture that we look at and we need to understand that they're best handled in bite-sized proportions there's no doubt that when we read the scripture we have to remember that the scripture is a whole organic unity from the beginning the beginning to the end from Genesis to Revelation it's one whole part but clearly we understand that there's books of the Bible and so on and then within these books there are portions sections that that come together as a unit and when we study them closely we can subdivide them and we can understand them better when we do that and it's it's useful for us to take larger portions of time in order to get a sense of the teaching and at other times the focus there must be narrower and more intense now in essence when you look at this passage of the Apostle the Apostle there's very much there's a lot of doctrine in it there's there's much teaching in it and while we cannot overlook the the the the centrality of the message that he wants us to understand there is also benefit from looking at it minutely now that's not my excuse for for you know I do have this dilemma I've said it often when I'm looking at passages how much do you take with you how much do you do you leave for another occasion especially when you're working consecutively through a chapter as we are here now if we have a narrow focus we may lose sight of the context the context in the context in this case is all important Paul is wanting to take the believers on a journey so that they understand the place that they have within the scheme of God's
[24:42] plan and the importance of that is should not be lost sight of because he wants the believer to understand whatever it is that you're involved in whatever it is that you you are encountering at the present God has a plan for you from even before the beginning of time until the end of time he is the executor of that plan he is responsible for bringing to fruition all that he has purposed for you and for his own glory and someone was saying really it's not you that's important that's all alluded to in this passage as you read it it's all to do with Christ and the glory of Christ and in a sense that's quite true Christ in his glory is brought home to us here but it's always the glory of Christ cannot be overlooked if his own people are not part of it because you remember that he is coming back again and again to this in Christ relationship that his people have so his glory and their glory are is inextricably linked it is indivisible and we saw how the apostle began with with the doctrine of election he wanted us to understand that this was something God did in eternity before the world was but it it was election of his own people and it was an election to sanctification to salvation first of all an election to sonship as we saw the doctrine of adoption an election to sanctification the end product a people prepared to spend eternity with himself and Paul speaks of the liberty of God's people and that liberty secured for that people through the blood of Jesus Christ the sacrifice offered by his son as one writer explains it our relationship with God is always the result of God's initiative not ours and we often forget that because we put so much stress on what is important to ourselves and our relationship with God if we look at Titus chapter 2 and verse 11 there Paul again stresses this this fact for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people sellers of good works now you'll see there an echo of what Paul is bringing to our attention here in Ephesians salvation is all of grace the purpose of God is set out before us there that he might have a people for himself
[28:44] who are the sellers of good works who are who are living their life for the glory of God while looking at these two verses that we're considering this evening there's four things there that I want us to think about very briefly four headings I've used alliteration just for simplicity there's provision made there is predestination there is purpose and there is praise these four things that we see brought to our attention in the verses they're all things that that he's mentioned before but that he wants to impress upon us God's provision and that provision is spoken of here as the inheritance that belongs to his people in whom also we have obtained an inheritance that inheritance that inheritance is is in Christ Jesus that is something that he has provided for us and it's a in a way it's very strange the way he speaks about it because he speaks about it using the the present tense and when we usually think about an inheritance we might know of an inheritance but that inheritance is always is always something that awaits us in the future and yet Paul is speaking about it here as a present reality reality now that's important for us to realize not only is the inheritance something that you are conscious of as being something that belongs to you but it should already impact upon our lives here in this world it's not that someday soon or someday in the future this inheritance will become ours we are already the possessors of this inheritance in the promise that God has given the proper meaning of the word
[31:17] I would imagine requires us to think of a future possession and in yet Paul frequently makes mention of it in the passage we read in Romans 8 we read there the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and if children then heirs heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ the apostle Peter in 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 3 and 4 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you so the apostles are conscious of this reality the inheritance that awaits them in Christ Jesus but the effect of it the relationship that we have with Christ ensures that we live as those who understand the value of it and the nature of it in the here and now
[32:47] I want to underline that and I think it's very much in the mind of the apostle based on what he has already said your inheritance is sure just as sure as if it was already in your hand and perhaps in a sense we are afraid to speak like that as if we were guilty of an unholy boldness by saying that this is already our possession and yet Paul gives us the word of God gives us that right to speak of ourselves in this way and the in Christ relationship requires that we do think of it like that and we quote to you the words of Paul David Tripp he's talking about the benefits of the salvation that belongs to the believer and this is what he says salvation does not hang on our strength but on his we have hope because the doll comes from him and rests on him elsewhere he writes he takes us he justifies us he cleanses us he transforms us he empowers us he infuses us with eternal hope he makes us his people none of these things would happen to us if he had not willingly given himself for us because we had no inclination or ability to do them on our own now that is very very much a a strong belief in the believers status in Christ that we are as believers in Christ in possession of a hope that cannot be challenged that cannot be in any way undermined even by our circumstances and very often these are the very things that we allow to intrude into our thinking when events in our life turn us upside down or when things work against us we doubt the truth of what Paul David Tripp was saying there he speaks with certainty certainty that comes from the world that Paul speaks there are present day advantages which we cannot ignore advantages that belong to us as Christian believers that's what Paul is saying in whom we also have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will look at where it is it's where it cannot be touched it is within the will of God this is what God as we will see has purposed for the believer and because it is within the will of God and the purposes of God the believer will not be deprived of it by anything or anyone all things belong to you Paul says you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God the second thing we have here is the word predestinate we've already seen this word in this passage before
[36:42] I think it's in verse 5 having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will God has predestinated his children to enjoy these benefits and we saw it also in Romans 8 now the word in the original Greek is in two parts as you sometimes the Greek language and I'm by no means any kind of expert but sometimes you have words that are composite they're made up of two parts and as you can see predestined in English it is made up of two parts and the two words in Greek word pre or pro and the word in the Greek which is the word from which the English word horizon comes and the first part is beforehand and the second part is the word horizon well we get the word horizon from it but it's the idea of division separation before separation before division and when you think of what the horizon does when you're looking towards the horizon when you get to the point at which the horizon is the horizon what you see is the earth and the sky meeting as it were on a line and the word that the apostle is using is looking towards this horizon as it were looking towards what God has purposed for his own people and we've already quoted the words of Paul Tripp who emphasised the preeminence of God in salvation he takes the initiative in salvation and he brings the people that are going to be his people to himself sometimes when when we think of the work of salvation as it is relevant to ourselves experientially we may have a different understanding of it we don't look at the God of heaven as the God who initiates it sometimes we can only experience it as we understand it taking place in our own lives but that's completely wrong remember what God is saying here is said for our encouragement
[39:50] I remember and I probably still experience that to this day the temptation that there is to believe that this is something that I have done myself you know if if the moment was right then I believed and I understood and I saw and I heard and so on and you forget that these eyes were blind and these ears were deaf and the capacity to understand was not there so what changed well you changed and you didn't change yourself I didn't change myself it was God that opened my eyes to see things that nobody could see unless their eyes were opened by God and yet we have this awful habit of thinking it's all down to me and when things go wrong we we blame ourselves and say well maybe I didn't
[41:05] I didn't see this or I didn't hear this or I I don't understand this the truth is that none of these things were possible if God had not taken the initiative in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will he works and the basis the the source of that work is the heart of God and we can't delve into the heart of God many ask the question well why why did God do this in my experience why did he not do it in the experience of somebody else why did he do it in this way and these are questions that we we have no right to ask God unless he chooses in his wisdom to reveal them to it Charles Hodge writes the following summarizing I suppose what I've tried to say there everything is comprehended in his purpose and everything is ordered by his efficient control and then he says this a control that does no violence to the constitution of the believer you know this is something that however we understand the work that God does in the believer there's always this wrestling in what God did and what I did but at the same time it is always God that does and we respond to what God is doing with God's help by God's grace with the spirit acting as agent we see we hear we do and we could not without the spirit being involved in it and that is what Paul wants us to understand that's what he wants us to appreciate when you as a believer are wrestling with the issues of your own life the world in which we live the current pandemic the reason for it the earth come all of these things may be a mystery to us but they must be contained within the purposes of God for ourselves as individuals for the world as a whole for the cause of Christ for the glory of Christ and without that there is nothing that we can make sense of the purpose that's what the third thing is here we already touched on this word earlier when we looked at verse 6 verse 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have redemption through the blood forgiveness of sins and so on perhaps that very thought is carried forward by the apostle to verse 12 this is what God means to the believer this is what God means for the believer
[44:23] God never does anything without a reason he never he never leaves anything undone that is meant to be done for his own glory and we we think that we know better than God sometimes when we think of what he's doing or not doing in Romans 8 we know all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose for whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren a familiar text to us all and yet sometimes we lose sight of what it means that when it comes to the salvation of sinners at the heart of what God is doing is the purpose that he has the glory of his name and the Christ who is who is his only begotten whose glory is inextricably tied up with his own glory as the triune God the truth of his own glory like David we might at times say
[45:45] I wish I had the wings of a dove and I would flee because at that moment we want away from whatever it is that is in our cup and yet the only thing that can give us comfort in that situation is to know that this is God's will for us and if it wasn't like that then we really do have difficulties and we do have problems and yet God includes it in all our purposes and in all our lives the ultimate end is his praise all will return to his praise and that's the third the fourth and final thing we have here when you see what he's doing that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ it's not that we should ascribe to his glory and I suppose when I was thinking of it
[46:52] I was reminded of something that the late Callum Matheson used to say to us how do you glorify the all-glorious God how can you give glory to the God who is who is all-glorious he says you can't but you can ascribe to his glory and you ascribe to his glory by acknowledging in this instance that his purposes are being fulfilled when we're thinking of the pandemic we're thinking of well not a random event that has affected the world and with no rhyme or reason but something that God has seen fit to to expose the world to and for him to work in it in whatever way that may never be made known to us in this world but it is part of his purposes whatever they may be and everything at the end of the day it will be to his glory that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ that you and every one of us that when God works in our lives what he is doing in our life this adding to his glory adding to his praise adding to to the wonder and awe that we should look at him with the prophet Isaiah looking at the people of God gave this promise this people he says who I formed for myself they shall declare my glory they shall declare my praise and that is that is the whole purpose the reason death if you like of what God is doing that the day will come when there'll be a united front in praising God when when those who are his benefactors will come into the full realization of the inheritance that awaits them they always used to tell us about the heading girls who began their work at the heading with a foretaste of the wage that they were going to get they were given
[49:36] I can't remember the word escapes which is known they were given an initial payment before they earned anything and that initial payment was a sort of guarantee that what they got then they would get the whole sum at the end of it and those who are saints those who are believers those who are in Christ while they anticipate a greater measure of the glory that is awaiting them you have every right to appreciate it in the here and now as those who are are worthy recipients in Christ well may God bless to us these few thoughts I'm now going to ask Ian Hector to to read us in prayer you can unmute yourself
[50:38] Ian r İyi signs Thank you.
[51:13] Our hearts are glad because, Lord, you have made us glad. There was a day when you met with us, when you opened our eyes, and we saw that we were on a slippery slope, because we saw that you had your hand around us, and as the psalmist said that you took us from a fearful pit, and you put our fruit on a rock, and that rock is Christ.
[52:05] Gracious God, we thank thee for all that you have done for us, down through the many years that you have given us.
[52:17] You have been around us. You have spared us. And we thank thee, Lord, as we are found this evening here.
[52:35] We pray for all that you have done for us over the months that have gone by. You have kept us safe in this corner of thy vineyard.
[52:54] We thank thee, O Lord, for your faith, people. And we thank thee, as we are now coming to a stage when we are preparing to meet, as we used to in the church.
[53:19] We pray, Lord, that you would keep us safe when we meet there, and above all that we would sense thy presence with us.
[53:35] For you are with the ones and twos that are gathered in your name. And we thank thee, Lord, that you hear the cries of your people, your praying people.
[53:55] Lord, Lord, be with them. Be with us, brothers and sisters. And the Lord, wherever they are, O Lord, we thank thee that you are around with them.
[54:17] And we pray, Lord, for all those that are laid aside, some in hospitals, and others in their own homes, and others in their own homes, with the frailty of our life.
[54:37] Lord, we thank thee that you are around, for our own people. and we pray, Lord, and we pray, Lord, for all those that are still outside the fort, those, O Lord, that know thee not.
[55:05] We pray for them, remember them every day, and pray, that we would see some of them turning with us to the church.
[55:22] And, O Lord, it is our desire for that you would provide thy work among us as you did and taken years from that that we would see a young and old coming to faith.
[55:45] Gracious Lord, as the Apostle said, to whom else can we go, we cannot go to anyone else except thyself.
[55:59] We thank thee, O God, for the promise that you are preparing your people. And I would thank thee for the words of the Sampsonist when you said that you were taken into a safe haven.
[56:18] O Lord, we thank thee for the promise we have that awaits your own child and children and hear.
[56:32] O God, be with us. Be with thy servant over us this evening. And may the... O Lord, may the words that you have given us this evening be sweet to our hearts and O God, take care of your servants and pray for them that you would uphold them and be with us now in our homes.
[57:11] O Lord, surround us with the great hand that is around your own children and I fear till that great day comes when you gather us all to the wicked and we ask all these things in Jesus' precious name.
[57:40] Amen.