[0:00] We're going to begin our service this evening singing to God's praise from Psalm 98.
[0:17] Psalm 98, we can sing the whole psalm. Psalm 98, we sing the whole psalm. O sing a new song to the Lord.
[0:55] Let all the earth unto the Lord send forth a joyful noise. Lift up your voice aloud to him. Sing praises and rejoice. And so on, we'll sing the whole of the psalm to God's praise.
[1:08] O sing a new song to the Lord. O sing a new song to the Lord.
[1:23] For wonders he hath done. His rise and yon.
[1:36] His holy land. In victory he hath won.
[1:47] The Lord, your salvation.
[1:58] I've lost it to be known. When Jesus rides in the literacy he openly hath shown.
[2:24] He mindful of his grace and good to his hands are free.
[2:42] Unless I wish you know the hands of earth's land.
[2:54] Let all the earth unto the Lord Then pour the joy for life Lift up your voice of love to Him Sing graces and rejoice With heart, with heart, by voice, O God And hear Jehovah's name When trumpets, hornets, godly fly
[3:58] Before the Lord again Let seas and all their fullness Look the world that dwells there And floods among some greats They'll live together Joyly air Before the Lord Before He comes To judge the earth And the earth And the earth
[5:00] In the earth The world With light And the earth And the earth Through heaven мал lately Let us join together in prayer.
[5:25] Ever blessed God, we give thanks for the encouragement that your word gives to us to come with the words of the psalmist upon our lips, praising you for your salvation brought by your own hand, praising you for the fact that you have not kept that hidden, but that you have declared it abroad, even in the eyes of the heathen and those who are in the world at any given time.
[6:05] They know that there is a God in heaven to whom we are all answerable. And we bless you and thank you that by reason of the gospel, we are encouraged to put our trust in God, because you are the one who has made provision for us in all our varying needs, whatever they may be at any given moment, be they temporal or spiritual.
[6:37] We give thanks that your people, even when they are confronted with temporal needs, they know that these needs have a spiritual dimension.
[6:49] It is never simply something that they have to contend with, with no ramifications to their spiritual life.
[7:04] But they understand that the journey that we are on in this world, you have given to us many privileges and many encouragements, and even such as know the Lord, understand that, when they are subject to the rod of discipline, that through that experience that they have discovered greater truths concerning the God who is their God.
[7:40] We give thanks for your patience and for your long-suffering, for your kindness and for your continued presence with us, even though there are times when we must acknowledge that you keep yourself hidden from view.
[8:00] The eye of faith may search and seek and yet cannot discern the faith of the God who is their God.
[8:13] They seek you high and low as others before us, and they cannot discover your presence, and yet it is in the seeking that blessing becomes their portion.
[8:31] We are encouraged to believe that those who seek the Lord early will find him, and that all of your people will at some point in their experience be involved in such exercises, because you have so deigned in order to confirm them in that relationship that is of your making, and for the greatness of your name, and for the extension of your kingdom, and the building up thereof.
[9:08] Lord, help us then to come and worship this evening, seeking your face and the face of Christ at your right hand, seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit amongst us.
[9:22] May we be the means by which it is encouraged rather than discouraged. May we be united as one in your own hand, so that we would enjoy blessing for ourselves, as well as blessing for others who are with us in this act of worship.
[9:45] We pray for your kingdom here on earth. We have the prayer given to us by the one at your right hand that asks that your kingdom would come, that it would be extended, and that souls would be added to it, that would acknowledge the King of Kings as their King, and that their service would be one of delight.
[10:16] We pray for the preaching of the Gospel to that end. Whoever is involved in proclamation of truth this evening with an eye, may they prosper in their endeavours, and may they receive souls for their hire, wherever they are in the world, and we give thanks that there are men and women of various ages who would seek to serve the Lord, and while they may be in places that that it might seem to us that it is an unlikely place where your people would survive or prosper.
[11:03] Yet these very places are the places where you have ordained that you would have your witnesses. And you will always have your witnesses here in this world you have so promised that you will not leave yourself without them.
[11:19] And we give thanks that just as surely as there are ocean dwellers that inhabit the depths, so there are believers who may in the darkest regions of this world and who are often under threat and who are constantly in the gaze of the enemy of their souls, that there they are found and there they prosper.
[11:53] And their testimony is far more precious than any that we could offer. They are highly esteemed by the God who has placed them in these places and granted to them.
[12:07] His very grace is necessary not just to survive but to thrive. We pray then your blessing upon your church, upon all who form part of it, those who are suffering persecution, those who are suffering because of illness and temptation, various sorts.
[12:30] We remember our own congregation, those who belong to it, who are unwell, those who have succumbed to old age and are denied access to the public means of grace, be with them where they are.
[12:47] Remember any who may be in hospital or awaiting results of various tests, we know that there are various experiences that you people have from time to time.
[13:02] that we give thanks that you are the one who is in control of all the events that surround us here in this world and that form part of our earthly journey.
[13:17] You are telling us again and again that that journey is short and that however long we may have in the world that when we look behind us and we look before us that we should find the God of heaven always there to be our support and stay and to be the one who will fulfill all promises that are ye and even in Christ for his own people.
[13:47] Visit the sick then in mercy. Be they in hospital, care homes, the hospice, places set aside for the care of the sick.
[13:59] We give thanks for them and those engaged in their care. We pray for those who are grieving, whose hearts are heavy. Their voice speaks to us repeatedly, bringing to our attention the fact that we are but sojourners.
[14:14] in this world of ours. We may find ourselves deeply rooted and yet soon these roots will be plucked up. Soon the boughs will shake and the leaves that are our glory will just like the trees in the winter time they will they will be shaken to the ground and they will just add to what nature tells us is the ongoing process of the passage of time.
[14:51] For your people they are not mere creatures but those who belong to you and who will bring the glory to your name once their journey is done in the world.
[15:04] they will await that appointment with delight and we give thanks for the grace necessary and that they enjoy that enables them so to do.
[15:19] Continue to watch over the world of ours remember the parts of it that are suffering affliction those places where war is ongoing those places where there are terrible tragedies by reason of earthly calamities be it from wind or rain or storm we acknowledge that these things must come and we remember those who suffer and pray with them and for them and seek that you would show mercy we do not deserve the least of these mercies but we are indebted to you for the ability that we are given to gather around a throne of grace and seek the mercy of God for our fellows as we seek it for ourselves continue to watch over us this evening remembering all that we leave in your care whether it is our own family or the families of others round about that we pray for the royal family parliaments represented of the same hear our prayers for our
[16:28] God's cleansing from sin in Jesus name Amen We are going to sing again to God's praise verses from Psalm 103 Psalm 103 at verse 8 and singing to verse 15 The Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious long suffering and slow to wrath and mercy plenteous he will not chide continually nor keep his anger still with us he dare not as we sinned nor did requite our will for us the heavens in its height the earth surmounted far so great to those that do him fear his tender mercy are as far as east is distant from the west so far hath he from us removed in his love all our iniquity down to verse 15 from verse 8 the Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious the Lord our God is and he is gracious long suffering and slow to wrath in mercy he cleansed in us he will not shine content by nor keep his anger still with us he dealt on us we sin nor did require doubt him for us the heaven in his eye the earth surmount death heart so we could do but we do with oagen this protective
[19:23] From the west, O far, I see.
[19:34] From us, we move in His love. All our renequity.
[19:50] Sant'Ve Dias, the Father, unto His children, Like they chose the Lord to start us worshiping in Him.
[20:26] For He remembers without us, And He our dream well known.
[20:44] Rale man his gaze are like the grass, As the red field He grows.
[21:02] Rale man his gaze is like the grass, And the first three verses of chapter 3.
[21:35] My little children, these things write I unto you, That ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
[21:49] And He is the propitiation for our sins, And not for us only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, If we keep His commandments.
[22:05] He that saith, I know Him, And keepeth not His commandments, Is a liar, And the truth is not in Him. But whoso keepeth His word, In Him verily is the love of God perfected.
[22:19] Hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith, He abideth in Him, Ought himself also so to walk, Even as he walked.
[22:32] Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, But an old commandment, Of which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word, Which ye have heard from the beginning.
[22:44] Again a new commandment I write unto you, Which thing is true in him, And in you, Because the darkness is past, And the true light that now shineth.
[22:57] He that saith, He is in the light, And hateth his brother, Is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother, Abideth in the light, And there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
[23:11] But he that hateth his brother, Is in darkness, And walketh in darkness, And knoweth not whither he goeth, Because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
[23:22] I write unto you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you, For his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, Because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
[23:35] I write unto you, young men, Because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, Because ye have known the Father, I have written unto you, fathers, Because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
[23:49] I have written unto you, young men, Because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, And ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, Neither the things that are in the world.
[24:04] If any man love the world, The love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, The lust of the flesh, And the lust of the eyes, And the pride of life, Is not of the Father, But is of the world.
[24:20] And the world passes away, And the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God, Abideth forever. Little children, It is the last time.
[24:31] And as ye have heard, That antichrists shall come even now, Are there many antichrists, Whereby we know that it is the last time.
[24:43] They were doubt from us, But they were not of us. For if they had been of us, They would no doubt have continued with us. But they were doubt, That they might be made manifest, That they were not all of us.
[24:57] But ye have an unction from the Holy One, And you know all things. I have not written unto you, Because ye know not the truth, But because ye know it, And that no lie is of the truth.
[25:14] Who is a liar, But he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, That denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, The same hath not the Father, But he that acknowledges the Son, Hath the Father also.
[25:33] Let that therefore abide in you, Which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning, Shall remain in you, Ye also shall continue in the Son, And in the Father.
[25:46] And this is the promise, That he hath promised us, Even eternal life. These things have I written unto you, Concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him, Abideth in you.
[26:01] And ye need not that any man teach you, But as the same anointing teaches you of all things, And is truth, And is no lie, And even as it hath taught you, Ye shall abide in him.
[26:15] And now little children abide in him, That when he shall appear, We may have confidence, And not be ashamed, Before him at his coming.
[26:26] If ye know that he is righteous, Ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness, Is born of him. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, That we should be called the sons of God.
[26:40] Therefore the world knoweth us not, Because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, And it does not yet appear what we shall be, But we know that, When he shall appear, We shall be like him, For we shall see him as he is.
[27:00] And every man that hath this hope in him Purifies himself, Even as he is pure. Amen. And may the Lord, That his blessing, Through this reading of his word, And to his name be the praise.
[27:19] We can sing now from Psalm 31. Psalm 31. And we're going to sing from verse 19 To the end of the psalm.
[27:32] How great's the goodness, though, For them that fear thee, Keep'st in store. And wrought'st for them that trust in thee, The sons of men before.
[27:43] In secret of thy presence thou shalt hide them From man's pride. From strife of tongues thou closely shalt As in her tent them hide.
[27:54] All praise and thanks be to the Lord, For he hath magnified his wondrous love To me within a city fortified. For from thine eyes cut off I am.
[28:07] I in my haste hath said, My voice yet heardst thou When to thee with cries My moan I made. O love the Lord, All ye who sins, Because the Lord doth guard the faithful, And he plenteously proud doers Be of good courage, Be of good courage, That his strength unto your heart Shall ascend, All ye whose hope and confidence Doth on the Lord depend.
[28:34] Let us sing these verses, Psalm 31, From verse 19 to the end, How great's the goodness, Thou for them that fear thee keepst in store.
[28:45] O great's the goodness, Thou for them that fear thee keepst in store, And what for them that fear thee keep the sons of men behold.
[29:24] And see, In all thy presence of child's heart, In all thy presence of child's heart, From all thy presence of child's heart, From all thy presence of glory, Father, Is in the midstem wide, I have no know to me withmptons, I shall be part of high.
[30:33] Far from thy eyes, but go by now, I am a hill that's dead.
[30:51] My heart yet hurts, though, when you think, which I am, I am a hill that's dead.
[31:09] O love, O Lord, O Lord, He is, because the Lord, O Lord, of His holy family, and you are never in awe.
[31:45] The old good of his land He sang, unto you, O Lord, O Lord, of His holy hand.
[32:00] O ye little woman, O ye days, God, O Lord, O Lord, of His holy hand.
[32:18] Amen. I'd like us to turn back to the passage that we read together, the first epistle general of John, whom we can read at the beginning of chapter 3.
[32:35] Beginning of chapter 3. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
[32:51] Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.
[33:04] While us with most of the epistles, while theologians may debate and dispute the authorship of these letters, and try and prove or disprove the right that the lecters have to bear that name, we're fairly confident that John, the apostle, did indeed write this series of letters in the same manner in which he wrote the gospel that bears his name.
[33:44] And while theologians can engage in these debates, it doesn't necessarily mean that there is any mileage in doing that.
[34:05] Then again, that's the work of the theologian. If you remember, this first epistle begins with the words, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life, and so on.
[34:29] You compare that to the beginning of the gospel of John. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
[34:41] The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. If you think about the mindset of the author, it seems fairly obvious that it was the same person that wrote that this epistle, and these epistles, that gospel, and as well what we have in the book of the Revelation.
[35:12] But the reason why I mention that is simply because one of the arguments that is made about the authorship of some of these writings has really boiled down to the language that is used and the emphasis that is placed within these gospels or within these epistles.
[35:36] Where it is unclear, in the sense that the author has not put his name to it, some of the epistles do not have that luxury of beginning with the writer's name on it, or even having the epistle, the writer's name contained within it.
[36:02] But the language and the emphasis that is contained within this book certainly convinces us that John the Apostle, the beloved disciple, is the author of this epistle.
[36:23] We can also, with a fair amount of certainty, appreciate that what lies behind the writing of the epistle is to encourage God's people in a world that is full of discouragement for them.
[36:45] And clearly, the John that writes this epistle is the John that writes the gospel because his interest is on the building up of the body of Christ.
[37:02] Ensuring that those who belong to the church are encouraged in their life of faith, encouraged in a face of discouragement, encouraged when their faith is in jeopardy.
[37:19] And we, just for the sake of argument and for the sake of brevity more than anything else, what is true about this epistle, I'm sure when you work your way through it, and we find threads of arguments that recur.
[37:45] And John's method of writing is to return, perhaps again and again, to a theme that he touches on. He doesn't, he doesn't, he preaches, teaches or writes thematically, but not with a view to finally declaring his mind on something and then abandoning it and not returning to it again.
[38:12] He will pursue a theme, seemingly exhaustively, move on, and then at some point later on he will return to the same topic again.
[38:24] Not to repeat the same truth, but to re-emphasize that truth with a different perspective. And one of the main things that John has in mind is to encourage the child of God, the believer in Jesus Christ, so that they have an assurance of faith.
[38:46] And understanding that the faith that they have is a genuine faith, and that that faith is capable of growing and experiencing development.
[39:00] And it is interesting that John has that desire. Because remember, he's writing at the very beginning of the New Testament era, and he sees this need.
[39:19] Of course, he's led by the Spirit to write this epistle. But it is still something that the Holy Spirit works with, his own, he creates in the mind of John an understanding that this is something that the people of God need to hear in that day and generation.
[39:41] They need to hear in that day and generation.
[40:11] He sees the need for that at the very outset of the New Testament era. Something that is still the case. I would very much doubt it if there is any Christian today that does not need to be encouraged.
[40:27] That does not need to hear words of Scripture that would make them more assured of their faith, being a genuine faith, and their relationship with Christ being of the right sort, and their experiences being the experiences of the Christian, so that they can identify them and associate themselves with it.
[40:54] There is an article written about five years ago by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. He was writing in the Banner of Truth magazine.
[41:07] And he was talking about this topic of assurance. And this is what he said. Assurance is the conscious confidence that we are in a right relationship with God through Christ.
[41:23] It is the confidence that we have been justified and accepted by God in Christ, regenerated by his spirit and adopted into his family.
[41:36] And that through faith in him we will be kept for the day where our justification and adoption are consummated in the regeneration of all things.
[41:50] Now, this is a modern day theologian talking about the reality of assurance and the necessity for assurance.
[42:04] The description that he gives of what assurance involves is surely a description that you find conforming to the endeavours of John as he composes this epistle, which is a general epistle meant for the whole church, that we may be encouraged, if we are Christians, to recognise our Christianity as being of the genuine sort, and our relationship with Christ to be as it should be, or lacking, if that is the case.
[42:41] Now, in the context where our text is found, John had challenged the believers to remain in Jesus Christ. No matter what, he says, no matter what they encounter, that may be a challenge to that, they are to pursue the life of faith, and they are to further their relationship with Christ, through whatever it is that they are brought to face.
[43:16] And the challenge that John brings to bear upon their thinking, as they are brought face to face with some of the things that are part and partial of their engagement with society, as John lived in it, and as the church lived in his day.
[43:47] He further emphasises the need for them to be engaged in that activity, because they have to bear in mind that Jesus Christ is going to come again.
[44:01] And that is found in the immediate context here. That they are to be industrious, that they are to be fully engaged in this activity, knowing the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come again.
[44:20] And if you notice, at the end of chapter 2 there, he says, Now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
[44:42] Abide in him, continue in him. Go on with him, go on with him, so that when the word that he uses is the word parousia, when he comes, when his presence is in the world, as we would expect it to be, and as he promises to be present in the world.
[45:05] You know, some people have a wonderful mistaken notion of the coming of Christ, that when he comes again, that it will be something so distorted, in the sense that when he returns, that it will be quite different to anything that is known about the Son of God.
[45:36] But we cannot allow ourselves to enter into that kind of thinking, because the Jesus Christ that will return again, is the same Christ that left this world.
[45:49] However he returns, he will return in a glorified form, whatever that may be. But it is still the same Christ, it is not an apparition, not a spirit, not a ghost, but the second person of the Trinity returning to his own church to bring that church home to be with himself, and to conclude the business the Father has entrusted to him, which is the judgment of this world.
[46:23] One of the commentators, Michael Eaton, makes this observation. One day he says, Jesus will come a second time, suddenly, unexpectedly, literally, visibly, passionately, gloriously, triumphantly.
[46:42] Couldn't use any more adjectives to describe his coming. All of these things would be true of him. But there's no question, but that he will come again.
[46:54] And that gives impetus to what John is stating here. He wants to encourage God's people so that when he comes, they will be the way they should be, that they will be built up in their faith, that they will be demonstrating who they are, and what they are, and why they are what they are.
[47:16] So I want us to consider the words that are opening the third chapter here, in light of all that has been said.
[47:29] I want us to think of, first of all, of this invitation that is given. And I look at it like an invitation. He says, behold, behold.
[47:41] And when he is saying that to the church, he is saying to the church, look at this. And what is he saying to us?
[47:52] What does he want us to look at? Well, he wants us to look at this. What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us? That's what he wants to fix our attention on, so that we can, by so doing, be assured that our relationship with him is as it ought to be, that our faith is of a genuine sort, that our destiny is confident because of the relationship that we have with Christ, and so on.
[48:30] Whereas, when he says to them, or to us, rather, behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.
[48:44] Where are we to find that love? Because it is not something that is outside of us. He has bestowed it. He has bestowed that love upon us.
[48:58] So, where can we recognize it? Where is it to be found? And how is it to be recognized? So, we'll work our way through these few thoughts.
[49:11] Just try and look at it so that we benefit from it. The invitation to behold. When I was trying to work my way through this, I was thinking of this word, behold.
[49:25] It's not a modern word. It's an old word. We don't use it often. You know, if you're standing outside and you see something strange on the horizon or something strange out at sea, if you stood there and said to somebody, behold, you would think that you were somebody from the dark ages.
[49:51] But some of the modern translations, they just simply have the word sea. Sea. But that again, I think, while it is probably accurate, it is slightly tame.
[50:12] It's probably more accurate, the word behold, but it's integrated. And what John is saying, this is what I want you to see.
[50:24] This is what I want you to look at. I don't want you just to look at it superficially. I don't want you to consider it as if it is something that is less than extraordinary.
[50:38] I want you to fix your eyes upon this, to fix your gaze upon this, because it is all important. Remember, remember, the purpose of John is to encourage the believer, to bring an assurance into the heart of the believer that they are what they believe themselves to be.
[51:05] And if he is fixing your eyes on something, by directing your gaze to that something, you will know at that moment that that something that your eye is fixed upon is important or not.
[51:21] If it's of no interest to you, then you'll know that pretty quickly. You know, we've all encountered men and women who have this certain expertise, certain interest perhaps, or perhaps they're involved in in some activity that they do for their leisure.
[51:49] You know, a bird watcher, for example, or somebody involved in the study of plants or the study of insects.
[52:00] And they're taken up with that interest. And if they come across something that is rare or unexpected, they're full of what they see. And they'll tell you, if you're with them, look at this.
[52:13] And all you're seeing is just a leaf or a plant or a flower or whatever it is. It doesn't mean anything to you. But when the apostle is saying to us, behold, look at this, see what this is, you are to understand that whatever it is that you're being directed to has got significance.
[52:40] And when you do look at it, when you do see it, you understand how significant it is. You know, there's another passage which I thought of at the time which you find in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45.
[52:58] And the prophet there invites those who are in the world to know the passage. Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.
[53:12] Now that looking is probably the same intensity but it is the look of a person to the Christ who is a saviour in order to be saved.
[53:25] But what John is wanting here to emphasise is that you are to see with your eyes, gaze upon this, what he is saying to you so that you recognise the importance of your relationship with him and the reality of it, the veracity of it, the purpose of it, the aftermath of it, the continued experience of it.
[53:52] They are invited to look upon what? the manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us.
[54:06] That's the invitation. you are to look at how God the Father loves his people.
[54:19] You are encouraged to think about it, to look at it and to discover afresh the implications of it. the love of God the Father exercised towards sinful men and women.
[54:40] To understand that you, the believer, if that's what you are, are the object of that love. You know, there are people that have always been there and they go around with the evangelical seal and they say to the person, whoever that person is, wherever they meet them, God loves you.
[55:05] God loves you. Maybe you've met one of them. Now, is that what the apostle is doing here? I think we have to, we have to watch because you can't say that indiscriminately.
[55:24] you can't say that God loves oppression without establishing how God loves oppression. Such a statement must always be accompanied with some explanation and the passage here does come with an explanation.
[55:45] It tells us that such a love must result in the recipient being brought into the family of God. That's the thing. The passion that God loves as a result of that love is brought into God's family.
[56:06] And you can't just say without discrimination that everybody is loved by God because everybody is not brought into God's family. And that's where the emphasis of this passage lies.
[56:20] The relationship of faith that results in a person experience the grace of adoption where they are able to call upon their heavenly father as their heavenly father.
[56:35] The first part of it emphasizes the awesome magnitude of that love. It can't be anything else because of its source.
[56:48] God is the source. and what flows from him has the potential to overwhelm everything that it encounters. I was reading the opinion of John Murray and John Murray very often is very helpful in his explanations and he's very good at getting to the heart of the matter as it were.
[57:22] but he handles this from the point of view of the difference that there is between the child of God and the child of the devil or child of Satan.
[57:40] And he says this word tells us clearly that there is a cleavage. The word cleavage is what he uses. Let me paraphrase what he says.
[57:52] There is an absolute cleavage between the believer and the unbeliever. Again the first part of well the last part of this one there.
[58:07] Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. This is the difference. There are those who do not know the Lord and who do not identify with the Lord and there are those who do know the Lord and identify with him.
[58:34] The children of God he says by reason of the dignity belonging to their station and by reason of the divine love of which they are the object are incomprehensible to the world.
[58:49] They are hated however much the world may attempt to conceal that fact. But what the apostle is stressing in particular is this marvel of the father's love by which the cleavage is instituted.
[59:06] And he is overwhelmed with the greatness the wonder and the grandeur of the father's love that we should be called the children of God.
[59:20] You know he's saying and he's seeing this is the way it is in the world. Believer you are the focus the object of the love of God and as the object of the love of God you are the beneficiary of all the aspects that manifest themselves as that love comes to bear upon your life.
[59:51] You will notice that that passage we refer to the age of John Murray he uses the word children in the passage that we have here that is that we should be called the sons of God not the children of God modern versions use the word children the original Greek uses the word children the context requires us to understand that he is referring to children what's the difference and it's hard to explain the difference between what it is to be a son of God and a child of God because in the modern day if you're not dotting the eyes and stroking the teeth and including women along with men boys along with girls and vice versa then you're going to be accused of sexism but that's nothing to do with what the apostles say here he's talking about the family of
[60:56] God the child of God the nature of the child of God the difference that exists between the one who was once a stranger to God and to grace and the person who now enjoys the privilege of being a beneficiary of that grace and that love if we go back to the end of chapter two now he says little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have a confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming if you know that he is righteous you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him what does that remind you of well it instantly reminded me of the words that we have in John's gospel his gospel where he teaches the child of
[61:59] God of the importance of that relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not he came unto his own and his own received him not but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God again the relationship is what's critical to what he is saying here John in order to encourage the believer he lays emphasis on where they have come from to where they have come to to and he says no we are the children it's not something that probably he had to contend with this in his theology that all that the believer was going to be was future and there was nothing that would benefit them for the present but that was something that was wrong that was an emphasis that was not filled in the scripture it's not a future designation we are indeed adopted into the family of
[63:43] God and as such we know the privileges of belonging to the family of God that we should be called the sons of God therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not then he goes on to further that elaboration of what is involved in it when we read passages like this we need to understand the purpose behind them they're not just words they're words written for a reason they're words that are projected into a mind in order to enable us to deal with the kind of world in which we live you know in the previous chapter that chapter we read what was what was the ominous background to what he had to say well there was constant opposition to the word of
[64:47] God brought to bear upon the hearts and the minds of those who believed in God the Antichrist he says was in the world many Antichrists many who denied what Christ had done who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is Christ he is Antichrist that denieth the father and the son whosoever denieth the son the same hath not the father but he that acknowledges the son hath the father also that tells us what John is about why he is endeavouring to encourage us in the face of the opposition that we we encounter every day of our life and Martin Lloyd Jones explains in his opinion anyway and it's not an explanation that that's easy to follow but he insists on it anyway child he says always puts the emphasis on the common nature that the child derived from the parents and shares the nature and the blood of the parent it emphasises the internal vital organic aspect of the relationship rather than the legal position
[66:20] I think that demonstrates to us the importance why John is saying behold look at this look at the love the father has given to you has bestowed upon you has allowed you to come into possession of through your knowledge of his son Jesus Christ be encouraged by that see greater deeper knowledge offered that the world in which you live that you know is opposed to what you believe if you believe in Christ that what you believe will stand the test of time we read to this to the end here that we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is do you know these words do you know what they mean well
[67:24] I'm not sure if I do know what they mean I know that God in Christ Jesus will take his people to be with him and that they are going to be like him however extensive that likeness will be there will be no lack in it nobody will stand in the presence of Christ and say I'm not like him at all because his purpose in the gospel is making us like him a like not like not love in the sense of like but like him in the sense of all the moral attributes that we can possibly possess through grace and we will who are his be like that may you be one of the greatest pray oh lord oh god help us to appreciate the need that there is to possess the assurance of faith the god who has loved us loved us with a love that has no equal you loved the world we are told that whosoever believes in you should not perish but have everlasting life you loved us in giving the son to the world that he might give of his own soul so that those who would believe in him should not perish we give thanks for the way that love has been revealed to us by the son and that greater knowledge of it is something we progress towards help us so to do cleanse from every sin in
[69:08] Jesus name Amen We're closing Psalm 27 Psalm 27 We're going to sing verses 7 to 10 O Lord give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee upon me also mercy have or do thou answer me when thou did say seek ye my face then unto thee reply thou stood my heart above all things thy face lord seek will I far from me hide not thou thy face put not away from thee thy servant in thy wrath thou hast unhelped but been to me O God of my salvation leave me not nor forsake though me my parents both should leave the lord will me uptake these verses 7 to 10 of psalm 27
[70:12] O Lord give it unto my voice O Lord give me a round to my heart when I do cry to thee despair hear and they He gave my faith, and I could He reply.
[71:08] Thus did my heart not only. Thy faith, Lord, seek with I.
[71:25] I from the height, nor the light, nor the way from Thee.
[71:43] Thy sermon in Thy heart of heart, and have buried it to me.
[72:01] O God of my salvation, live me not nor for shame.
[72:19] Though in my pain and boyhood live, the Lord will hear our name.
[72:37] Amen. May grace and mercy and peace from God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest, and abide with you all, never mind always. Amen. Amen.
[72:56] Amen.