[0:00] We can resume our public worship of God by singing to his praise from Psalm 25.
[0:12] Psalm 25, the singing from the first version and from verse 4 to verse 10. Psalm 25 from verse 4.
[0:30] Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy path so teach thou me, and do thou lead me in thy truth, therein my teacher be.
[0:40] For thou art God that does, to me salvation send, and I upon thee all the day expecting to attend. Thy tender mercies, Lord, I pray thee to remember, and lovingkindnesses, for they have been of old forever.
[0:57] My sins and faults of youth do thou, O Lord, forget, after thy mercy think on me, and for thy goodness great.
[1:10] God good and upright is, the way he'll sinners show, the meek in judgment he will guide, and make his path to know. The whole paths of the Lord are truth and mercy sure to those that do his covenant keep and testimonies pure.
[1:31] And so on. We can sing from verse 4 down to verse 10 of the first version of Psalm 25. Psalm 25, the singing from verse 5.
[2:10] Psalm 25, verse 10.
[2:40] Psalm 25, verse 10.
[3:10] Psalm 25, verse 10.
[3:40] Psalm 26, verse 10.
[4:10] In judgment he will guide, and make his path to know. In judgment he will guide, and make his path to know.
[4:24] The whole paths of the Lord are truth and mercy sure to those that do his covenant keep and testimonies pure. The whole paths of the Lord are truth and truth and truth and mercy sure to those that do his covenant keep and testimonies pure.
[4:56] Let us join together in prayer. Gracious God, as we come into your presence, we give thanks for the words that we have been singing that remind us of the God that you are, that you are a God that has come close to us and has spoken to the children of men.
[5:36] You have not remained remote from us, even though we have, by reason of our sinfulness, we have distanced ourselves from you.
[5:53] The psalmist sought to be directed by your word. Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy path, so teach thou me.
[6:08] Words that are indicative of the desire that is in the heart of your true people to be led by the Spirit of God, to be guided by God through the means that you have ordained by which this is possible.
[6:33] You have not allowed us to believe that our inclinations are sufficient to ensure that we would follow a path that will glorify your name.
[6:49] There are many who believe that that is adequate. They enter into contemplations, meditations, reflections upon one that they believe to be God.
[7:12] And on the basis of these times spent where their own powers of reasoning and their intellectual capacity such as they are, are the ground upon which they govern their actions.
[7:36] We see the foolishness of that when we contemplate our own inclinations such as they are.
[7:48] And if they are not fed into by the truth of the God that you are, then we will follow wayward paths that do not lead us to you but away from you.
[8:07] So help us to remember that we have your word not simply upon our lips in order to sing your praises but in order to fill our hearts and minds with the truth that bears your name.
[8:24] Help us to reflect upon the word in a meaningful way so that even as we sit under the word this evening that wherever we are spiritually that your word would speak to us there.
[8:44] We give thanks for the opportunity to be met here in this place a place that was appointed for the worship of God built to that end. And we give thanks that the glory is huge for every way that such gatherings have been blessed in times past.
[9:03] It is our fervent desire that such blessing would be once again much in evidence in our own day and generation.
[9:16] May we come with empty hands seeking that you would fill them from on high not just with the wherewithal by which to execute the act of worship that you have entrusted to us but to seek the blessing of heaven upon our activities here on earth that our gathering would be a profitable one that our fellowship would be one that would remind us of the wonder of the triune God Father, Son and Holy Spirit who are one but three and whose fellowship is of the intimacy that defies our understanding and yet we are invited to partake of it to share in it.
[10:12] We pray that you would bless us this evening as a congregation those who are present within these walls whatever their need may be you know that better than any one of us even with regard to our own personal circumstances you know our need better than ourselves to that end we pray that you would speak into our need and remind us of the great provision that you have made for the greatest need that we ever experienced when we were born into this world as sinners in need of a saviour and that you have brought that saviour to our attention through the scripture and we pray that it may yield fruit in our lives we pray for those unable to be here but whose hearts are present whose prayers surround us and who undergird the world with with the wrestlings at the throne of grace and seek that the God of heaven would hear and answer and bless we pray for the gatherings of your people throughout our island and beyond and ask that every saint that bears your name would be enriched even in meeting with fellow saints here in the world and knowing that while the world may despise because of fewness of number that the God of heaven is greater is greater than all and that you will receive the glory whether it is in the elevation of those who bear your name to the glory that is yours and even the destruction of those who have despised the day of grace we pray for the congregations of our presbytery and we give thanks for the filling of a vacancy within its bounds once again at your servant that has been placed in the congregation of North
[12:23] Tolstair that he would know blessing from on high and that preacher and hearer alike would know that God is willing and able to bless the labour of those who are sent out to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ we remember that congregation before you and pray that your blessing would be upon all our congregations all the missionary activity of the church those who labour in cities those who labour in towns and in villages we were recently reminded of parts of the world where itinerant preachers travel sometimes on foot sometimes on the back of motorcycles or in vehicles that are barely able to navigate the roads of these cities and towns and villages that they are called to speak of
[13:39] Christ in and we pray that you would remember them in their labour preserve their life from the hostility that is manifest in many of these places we give thanks for the creature comforts that we enjoy here in this country but do not allow us to believe that that is indicative of your spiritual blessing that they will disclose what is true and what is not what is right and what is wrong what is God's grace and God's gift and we give thanks that you are able to use the many things that are in your hands for the glory that the Lord is yours your glory you will give to no other you are a jealous God and you will prove that to be the case we remember before you at this evening hour the places in the world where hardship is much in evidence we think of the places where war is rampant but we do remember that land of Turkey and Syria where devastation has been wrought with the loss of many lives we cannot comprehend the destruction that such powers of nature bring to bear upon man's endeavours to raise up buildings that they believe will outlast them but in one fell swoop they are reduced to dust and as that is true of the creation of man so it is true of man himself that however mighty they are however strong we may be that the day will come when in one fell swoop we will return to the dust from hence we came we pray for your blessing on the grieving and the sorrowful even those of that number amongst us we know that your voice is often heard may we heed it and take to heart that we are but a short step behind those who have gone before soon the place that knows us will know us no longer what evidence we leave behind of the knowledge of
[16:17] God in our lives is something that is all too wise to consider that we would know that our time here has been spent purposely and fruitfully so continue to bless your world amongst us continue to bless the gatherings of your people here in this world the day is fast coming when our role in it will be at an end and yet you tell us and remind us that provision has been made for all yet there is room and we pray that you would encourage us to avail ourselves of the invitations of Christ Jesus hear our prayers partner sins in Jesus name Amen we're going to sing now to
[17:18] God's praise from Psalm 119 Psalm 119 at verse 9 by what means shall a young man learn his way to purify if he according to thy word thereto attempt to be and faintly thee have I sought with all my soul and heart O let me not from the right path of thy commands depart thy word in my heart have hid that I offend not thee O Lord thou ever blessed art thy statutes teach thou me the judgments of thy mouth each one my lips declared have more joy thy testimonies weigh than riches all me gave I will thy holy precepts make my meditation and carefully I'll have respect unto thy ways each one upon thy statutes my delight shall constantly be said by thy grace
[18:27] I never will thy holy word forget seals andGo und He according to thy word There to attempt to be Unfaithedly be how thy song With all my soul and heart
[19:31] O let me not from the right path Of thy commands depart Thy word I in my heart have hid That I open not thee O Lord, thou ever blessed art Thy statutes deserve me The judgments of thy love each one
[20:32] My lips be clear enough More joy thy testimony's way Than riches on me gave I will thy holy presence And make my meditation And carefully I'll have respect And to thy ways it's wrong Upon thy statutes my delight
[21:40] Shall constantly be set And by thy grace I never will Thy holy word forget Let us hear God's word As we have it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ According to John And we're reading chapter 17 Gospel of John Chapter 17 We'll read the whole chapter These words These words Spake Jesus And lifted up his eyes to heaven And said
[22:41] Father The hour is come Glorify thy son That thy son Also may glorify thee As thou hast given him power Over all flesh That he should give eternal life To as many as thou hast given him And this is life eternal That they might know thee The only through God And Jesus Christ And thou hast sent I have glorified thee on the earth I have finished the work Which thou gavest me to do And now O Father Glorify thou me with thine own self With the glory which I had with thee Before the world was I have manifested thy name Unto the men Which thou gavest me Out of the world Thine they were And thou gavest them me And they have kept thy word Now they have known That all things Whatsoever thou hast given me Are of thee
[23:43] For I have given unto them The words Which thou gavest me And they have received them And have known surely That I came out from thee And they have believed That thou didst send me I pray for them I pray not for the world But for them Which thou hast given me For they are thine And all mine are thine And thine are mine And I am glorified in them And now I am no more in the world But these are in the world And I come to thee Holy Father Keep through thine own name Those whom thou hast given me That they may be one as we are While I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name Those that thou gavest me I have kept And none of them is lost But the son of perdition
[24:43] That the scripture Might be fulfilled And now come I to thee And these things I speak In the world That they might have my joy Fulfilled in themselves I have given them thy word And the world Hath hated them Because they are not of the world Even as I Am not of the world I pray not That thou shouldest Take them out of the world But that thou shouldest Keep them from evil They are not of the world Even as I am not of the world Sanctify them Through thy truth Thy word is truth As thou hast sent me Into the world Even so Have I also sent them Into the world And for their sakes I sanctify myself That they also Might be sanctified Through the truth
[25:44] Neither pray I For these alone But for them also Which shall believe On me through their word That they all May be one As thou Father Art in me And I in thee That they also May be one in us That the world May believe That thou hast sent me And the glory Which thou gavest me I have given them That they may be one Even as we are one I in them And thou in me That they may be Made perfect in one And that the world May know That thou hast sent me And hast loved them As thou hast loved me Father I will That they also Whom thou hast given me Be with me Where I am That they may behold My glory Which thou hast given me For thou lovest me Before the foundation Of the world O righteous Father The world Hath not known thee
[26:45] But I have known thee And these have known That thou hast sent me And I have declared Unto them Thy name And will declare it That the love For which thou hast loved me May be in them And I And them Amen And may the Lord That is blessing To the reading of this word That to his name Be the praise We can sing now Some verses From Psalm 89 Psalm 89 At verse 13 Psalm 89 At verse 13 Thou hast an arm That is full of power Thy hand is great in might And thy right hand Exceedingly exalted Is in height Justice and judgment Of thy throne Have made the dwelling place Mercy accompanied with truth
[27:47] Shall go before thy face O greatly blessed The people are The joyful sound That know In brightness of thy face O Lord They ever on shall go They in thy name Shall all the day Rejoice exceedingly And in thy righteousness Shall they exalted Be on high Because the glory Of their strength Doth only stand in thee And in thy favour Shall our horn And power exalted be For God is our defence And he to us Doth safety bring The Holy One of Israel Is our almighty King Let us sing these verses Psalm 89 Verses 13 to 18 Thou hast an arm That's full of power Thy hand is great in might And thy right hand And thy right hand exceedingly
[29:01] Exalted is in height Justice and judgment Of thy throne Amid the dwelling place Where the holy sin O glory above sin O glory above glory O glory above sin O glory above sin Your King above your The love, the joyful sound that know In brightness of thy face, O Lord
[30:06] They ever all shall go Then thy name shall all the day Rejoice exceedingly And in thy righteousness Shall they exalted be on high Because the glory of their strength Thou only stand in thee And in thy favor shall
[31:07] Our horn and power exalted be For God is our defense And he to us doth safety bring The Holy One of Israel Is our almighty King Like us for the short time That we are together this evening Turn to the Gospel of John chapter 17 And we can read verse 17 John chapter 17 at verse 17
[32:12] Sanctify them through thy truth Thy word is truth As thou hast sent me into the world Even so have I also sent them Into the world And for their sakes I sanctify myself That they also might be sanctified Through the truth Sanctify them through thy truth Thy word is truth Like many we consider the words of chapter 17 To be a prayer Words of a prayer That's fairly obvious The words addressed by Jesus To his heavenly father But it's not a prayer Like we understand prayer
[33:14] It's a different prayer Because normally if we pray And when we pray We pray to God In and through the person Of the Lord Jesus Christ So when Jesus is praying himself He doesn't have that mediation He himself has direct access To the presence of his heavenly father But while it may be a prayer That's different to any prayer That we know And for that reason It's not an ordinary prayer Many consider it to be a prayer That bears the name The high priestly prayer And they call it the high priestly prayer Because of the one Who is actually praying
[34:15] There are a number of reasons Probably arising out of the content Of the prayer That makes that title suitable Or appropriate For example If you read carefully Through the prayer His role as mediator Of his own people Comes to light He is the one that God Has appointed That will stand between himself And his people And his role as mediator If we know If we know our shorter catechism Shows them to fulfil Different roles Necessary for That role to be Executed In the manner that Is God glorifying And for the good of the people
[35:17] That he represents As a mediator He occupies the offices Of a prophet Of a priest And of a king Distinct roles But nevertheless They are contained Within the one mediator As his function And with regard to The function Of his mediatorial role As priest We can see that Come to light In the words Of this Prayer Because We see That he prays For his people And As the writer To the Hebrew states It corresponds With How he prays For his people He In Hebrews
[36:18] Speaks of Of the Great high priest As Making Intercession He ever Liveth To make Intercession For his people So here We see His focus Being on Not just The disciples Although They Immediately Come to mind When you See The attention That he gives To them But it Is beyond The disciples To all Who bear His name In the world So his Prayer Is For them He has Given To those Who are his Disciples The words Of his Father They in Turn Believe him To have Come from The father Now he Says They have Known That all Things Whatsoever Thou Has Given Me Are
[37:18] Of thee For I Have Given unto Them The words Which Thou Gavest Me And they Have Received Them And have Known Surely That I Came Out From Thee And they Have Believed That thou Did send Me I pray For them I pray Not for The world But for Them Which thou Hast Given Me For They Are Thine So you See There is The The Relationship That Is The Beneficiary Or the Relationship That exists That ensures That the Beneficiaries Of His Mediatorial Work Of his Intercession Of his Prayer Of intercession Are not Just the Disciples But those Who Are God's People Who Are In the World Now his
[38:18] Prayer for The disciples And we Believe the Church Are the Words Of our Text And If you Believe That these Words are The words Of Christ And you Should And that Christ is Praying to His Father And he Is And his Prayer to The Father is This That he Sanctify You Who Are One Of his People That is His Prayer His Prayer For his People Is that God The Father Would Sanctify You What Do you What do You Think of When That Comes To Light That God Would Make You Holy I Want us To Think about What that Word Sanctify
[39:19] Means And Then I Want us To think About How That is To take Place Just two Thoughts Really What do We Understand By God Sanctifying Us And What do We Understand Are the Means That he Uses For our Sanctification Many Many of You Will Know The Name Robert Murray McJaden And McJaden Is Reputed Once To Have Said Lord Make Me As Holy As A Pardoned Sinner Can Be Make Me As Holy As A Pardoned Sinner Can Be And I've Often Wondered At
[40:20] The The Faith That was Necessary For such A prayer To be Offered Earnestly Because Of this Reason Not That I Personally Do not Desire To be Sanctified Or That I do Not Desire To Be Made Holy But I Fear The Path That God May Take In Order For That To Happen And That's A Genuine Confession And Yet I Believe That Robert Murray McJaden Was Honest And Earnest In His Prayer I Think Also That Although There's A Degree Of Reticence And
[41:20] Fear On The Part Of The Christian That They May Be Understanding What May Be In God Working In Our Lives In Order To Make Us Holy That We Also Understand That We Cannot Without We Cannot Be Without It I Think Also Whether It Is True Or Not It Is Reputedly Said Of Augustine In His Unconverted Days Now Remember Augustine Was Somebody Who Was Raised With The Teachings Of Scripture And Yet Who Kicked Over The Traces As Far As They Were Concerned He Ran From God He Didn't Want God In His Life And It Is Said Of Him That His Prayer Was Make
[42:21] Me Holy But Not Yet Make Me Holy But Allow Me Free From Holiness Words Similar To That Make Me Chaste But Not Yet Now The Christian Cannot Afford To Live With Such A Prayer In Their Life The Words That Christ Offers By Way Of Prayer Are Words That Tell Us Of The Burning Necessity That There Is For Every Child Of God To Be Holy And We Need To Understand That So I Suppose A Question For Yourself And Myself Where On The Spectrum Do We Appear Are We At The McChain End Of The Spectrum Which Understands The Need That There Is For Holiness Here And Now And
[43:22] As Holy As Possible Or Are We On The Other End Of The Scale Saying Well Sometime But Not Yet What Jesus Is Praying For He Is Praying For His People's Sanctification Now We Know That That Word Carries With It The I Think I Would Describe It As This It Carries With It The Fragrance Of Heaven Itself Because It Comes From God There Is None Holy As God Is Holy He Is Holiness He Is The Holy Other One He Is Different In Every Respect Of The Use Of That Word But
[44:23] We Still Have To Remind Ourselves That When Man Was Created By God He Was Created In God's Image And Again Referring To The Shorter Catechism The Shorter Catechism Reminds Us That The Image Of God In Man And Some Are Quite Confident That It's An Abbreviated Understanding Of What The Image Of God Is That It's Not Just Limited To That But That God Created Man In His Own Image In Knowledge In Righteousness And Holiness With Dominion Over The Creatures And Some Believe You Know They've Drawn That Description From The Word Of God So That The Clear And Stated Image Of God In Man Consists
[45:23] Of These Things Maybe There Are Other Things That We Should Consider But The Scripture Do Not Explicitly Declare Them To Be Part Of The Image Of God But You'll Notice For Our Purposes This Evening That Holiness Is Part Of The Image Of God In Man And That Image Was Lost In The Fall Because Of Sin And That Image I Believe Is To Be Restored When A Person Experiences New Regeneration When The Holy Spirit Of God Begins To Work In That Person What The Spirit Begins Is The Work Of Of Making An Unholy Person Holy Again And In The Understanding That
[46:24] We Are Given From The New Testament Particularly You'll Find This In The Teachings Of John Murray He Says That When The Holy Spirit Comes To Work In The Life Of A Believer The Holy Spirit Instigates Holiness Within The Individual He Talks About The Sanctification The Making Holy Of A Person As Something That Is In The First Instance Definitive The Person The Person Who is Regenerated Becomes Holy At the Point of Regeneration Just as Surely As They are Justified They are Born Again By the Spirit And Sanctified Through The Presence Of Christ In Them I was Reminded
[47:24] Of This The Other Evening In Our Meeting As Office Beaders Or Prospective Office Beaders One of The Things Professor John Angus MacLeod Said Was The Importance Of Reminding Ourselves As Christians Of The Union That Exists Between The Believer And Christ Dwells In The Believer Now That Is Not A Progressive Thing That Is Something That Takes Place At The Point Of Regeneration They Are United To Christ By Faith And In That Sense They Are Consecrated They Are Made Holy But Of Course There's Another Side To This That Although They Are In
[48:24] Christ They Are Still Having Within Them The Remnants Of Sin Sin Dwells In Them Just As Surely As They Dwell In Christ Sin Is Part Of Their Experience So There Is A Progressive Part To The Work Of The Holy Spirit In The Life Of The Believer Where That Sin Is Being Dealt With And The Sinner Saved By Grace With The Help Of God's Spirit Deals With The Consequences Of Sin In Their Life And You Find The Bible Without Going Into The Detail That Is In The Bible And There's A Lot Of It We Find The Bible Speak To us Of The Washing Of Regeneration Washing Washing In The Sense Of Our Sins Being Removed Washing In The
[49:24] Sense Of The Role Of The Spirit In Our Life Being Enforced By His Actions In Bringing Christ To Focus In Our Minds And In Our Lives But The Work Of The Spirit Is Also Something That Is Ongoing And I Think Here In This Passage When Jesus Is Praying For The Church When He Is Praying For The Disciples He Is Praying For Them To To Progress He Is Praying For Already Born Again People Already Regenerate People Already Possessively Of The Spirit Already By Faith In Union With Christ That They Be Made Holy So There Is Clearly A Need For What Has Begun To Continue And To Continue
[50:24] Until That Day When They Will Achieve The End That Christ Has In View For His People So I Said John Murray Makes The Distinction Whereby The Spirit That Is Active In Regeneration Justification And Adoption Is Also Active In The Progressive Role That He Has In Sanctify The Believer Now What I Want You To Understand Is This This Is Jesus Christ The Lord Of Glory The Mediator The Intercessor At The Right Hand Of God That Is Praying His Father That This Go On In Your Life And My Life If We Have Made A Conviction A Profession Of Our Relationship With Christ Being What It Should Be So
[51:27] What Does It Say To Us Is It Something That We Can Opt Out Of Is It Something That We As Christians Can Say To Be A Holy Christian Is Optional To Be A Holy Christian Is Something That Is For A Hierarchy Of Believers Something That The Puritans Would Hold Out As Being Something To Aspire To But Not Necessary But That's Not What Jesus Is Saying Jesus Is Here Praying For Something That Is Not Optional But Necessary If You Go Back To Chapter 15 And He Is There Describing The Relationship That Exists Between The
[52:27] Church And Himself And He Says This Now He Says Well Go Write it Back To The Front I Am The True Vine And My Father Is The Husband Man Every Branch In Me That Beareth Not Fruit He Take It Away Every Branch That Beareth Fruit He Purchases It That It May Bring forth More Fruit Now You Are Clean Through The Word Which I Have Spoken Unto You Abide In Me And I In You As The Branch Cannot Bear Fruit Of It Except It Abide In The Vine No More Can You Except You Abide In Me Now Jesus Is There Saying That Fruitfulness Is The Thing For Which He Has Brought Them Into Into That Relationship Such Fruitfulness Is Not Possible
[53:28] Separate From Himself Apart From Himself And The Fruitfulness That He Envisages Here In This Prayer Is The Fruit Of Holiness It Is Not Something That That Grows On A Different Branch If You Have A Tree And There Are Probably Trees In Our Gardens Today That Can Have Two Kinds Of Fruit On Them But When Jesus Is Speaking Here About His Body As The Vine And The Branches In That Body As His Church The Fruit That He Expects His Church To Bear Is Uniform It Is It Might Have Different Expressions Different Forums But
[54:28] It Is Still The Fruit Of The Vine It Is Still The Fruit That Is The Result Of Union With Christ By Faith Sanctification Jesus Expects Us To Understand Will Continue Will Progress And How Can Such A Person Ever Be Sure That They Are Part Of The Vine How Can Such A Person Be Sure That They Are Part Of The Body How Can Such A Person Believe Themselves To Be Included In The Prayer Of Christ To God For His Church If There Is Not Evidence That Accords With That How Can They Conclude That They Are In The Right Path How Can They Believe That
[55:28] Jesus Has Actually Began A Good Work In Them I Am Not Talking About You Being Satisfied With Your Holiness I Am Not Talking About Your Contentment I Am Not Talking About The Level Of Satisfaction That You Have With Your Own Personal Attainment In Respect Of Your Consecration To God And Your You're The Level At Which You Operate Where Your Worldliness Has Been Expunged Almost Totally Because I don't Think There's A Christian Present Here Who Can Smugly Declare That Christ's Prayer On Their Behalf Has Been Answered Look At Verse 24
[56:29] Father I Will That They Also Whom Thou Hast Given Me Be With Me Where I Am That They May Behold My Glory Which Thou Hast Given Me For Thou Lovest Me Before The Foundation Of The World Now If I Were To Ask A Christian Do You Believe That Holiness Is Optional And If The Answered In The Affirmative Do You Believe That The Presence Of The Believer In Heaven Is Optional Would They Answer In The Affirmative Surely It Can't Be That Jesus Is His Whole Race And Death Is That His People Be Where He Is That His People Be Like He Is That His People Will See His Glory As
[57:29] It Is Bishop Ryle In Comments That He Has Made About The Holiness Of God And The Holiness Of People He Says It Is Expressly Written That The People Of God Are Elect Through Sanctification Men And Women May Be Known By The Holy Lives They Lead He Says Well How How Can You How Can I Expect To Be Holy Well His Prayer To God Is This Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth And He Makes It Explicit He Makes It Plain He Makes It Clear The Truth That I Mean Is Your Truth The Word That Is The Truth And
[58:31] It's So Interesting Reading Through This Prayer How Much That He Himself Has Consecrated His Life To God To The To The Calling That God Has Given To Him To The Ministry That Has Been Entrusted To Him As The Redeemer Of God's People For Their Sakes He Says I Sanctify Myself For Their Sakes I Sanctify Myself How Is Jesus Going To Do What You Are Meant To Do Does It Mean The Same Thing Well It Doesn't And It Does Jesus Is Holy As God The Second Passion He Is Holy There Is No Evidence Of Sin In His Life There Is No Evidence Of Disobedience
[59:31] In Any Area Of His Life From Birth To Death He Was Obedient To The Will Of His Heavenly Father He Fulfilled All Righteousness He Is The Holy Harmless Undefiled Son Of The Most High God So Why Is His Prayer Inclusive Of Consecration Because He Is Teaching Us Something Teaching His Disciples Something Teaching Us That His Consecration Is A Consecration To The Role That He Is Sent Into The World To Fulfill That He Will Not Deviate From The Truth That His Life Is An Outworking Of The Truth That The Truth Will Be Spoken By Him And Lived Out By Him In His Life The
[60:33] Truth Of God Is What Will Enable His People To Follow In The Footsteps Of Christ In Consecration To The Will Of God Now God's Word Speaks To Us As Christ Being The Word Made Flesh And The Theologian Don Carson Writes No One Can Be Sanctified Or Set Apart For The Lord's Use Without Learning To Think God's Thoughts After Him Now I must Say When I Read That I was Saying To Myself That Really Is So Simple But Too Simple To Be True Let me Repeat It No One Can Be Sanctified Or Set Apart For The Lord's Use Without Learning To Think God's Thoughts After Him And
[61:37] You're Asking Yourself The Question How Can Anyone Think The Thoughts Of God After Him And What He Meant Was That God's Thoughts God's Thinking God's Word Is The Means By Which He Communicates To Us His Thoughts His Words The Bible The Truth That You Have Before You Is The Word By Which You Know What God Thought What God Thinks What His Thoughts Will Mean For You In The Present In The Past In The Future The Mind Of God Has Been Revealed To You In So Various As He Is Prepared To Reveal It In His Word Without Learning To Live In Conformity To The Word He Has
[62:37] Graciously Given To Us In The Words Of Carson There Is The Essential If Remarkable Relationship To Christ Through His Word What We Are What He Is What He Is To Us Who Believe In Him Is It Not The Role Of The Holy Spirit To Reveal Christ To Us And To Reveal Christ In Us And To Equip Us So That We Might Be The Channels Of Communication To Others Who See Christ In Us Is That Not The Calling Of The Believer The Word Of God Enlivened In Their Lives Living Proof They You
[63:37] Are Living Impistles You Are The Handwriting Of God To The World In Which You Live And That's Why There Is Burning Need For You To Live In The Light Of This World For Me To Live In The Light Of This World So That What Is Read On The Pages That Are Lives Conform To The Holiness Of God There's Always A Shame That Is Always My Shame If I Fail To Live Up To My Calling To What I Profess To Believe In To The Testimony Of My Mouth When It Is Not The Testimony Of My Life And It Is The Role Of The Holy Spirit To Guide You In The Truth So You Know How To Live That Truth
[64:37] Out In Your Life Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth As You Have Sent Me Into The World Even So Have I Also Sent Them Into The World For Their Sakes I Sanctify Myself That They Also Might Be Sanctified Through The Truth For Their Sakes The Self Denial Of Christ He Is God He Is God Man He Is Holy And Yet His Holiness Does Not Forbidden From A Perfect Obedience A Conformity To The World A Submission To The World To The Word That Teaches Us That He Is There Willingly As A Servant So The
[65:37] Scripture Describes Them To Us Who Said It Was Easy To Be A Christian It Isn't Because The Word Of God Makes Demands Upon Us To Live Our Lives In Conformity To The Truth Of God But Is That A Bad Thing When We Read In Paul's Epistle To The Ephesians Describes To Us The Fruit Of The Spirit He Says You Were Sometimes Darkness But Now Are You Light In The Lord Walk He Says As Children Of Light For The Fruit Of The Spirit Is In All Goodness And Righteous Truth Proving What Is Acceptable And To The Lord And
[66:37] Have No Fellowship With The Unfruitful Works Of Darkness But Rather Reprove Them For It Is A Shame Even To Speak Of Those Things Which Are Done Of Them In Secret So On God Calls Us To Holiness God Calls Us Calls Us To A Life Where The World Is At The Heart Of Our Walk The Light Of The World Radiating Into Our Hearts Out Of Our Lives And Being Being a Blessing To Ourselves And To Others Remind Yourself Of That That Jesus Christ Was Praying How Often How Often Do We Think About The Importance Of Prayer How
[67:38] Much Are We In All Of Ourselves In Need And The Thought That Somebody Somewhere Is Praying For Us Do We Not Ask For Others To Pray For Us When There's A Need In Our Lives And We're Glad That There Are Christians We Can Go To Who Pray For Us But Think Of The Son Of Man Praying For His Own People And His Prayer For His Own People Is That God Would Make Them Holy That God Would Consecrate Their Lives And Is It Not A Wonderful Thing That He Understands The Need For It And That's What We Need Our Life To Be Shaped Around God's Word God's Word In Us Making Us Also Conform
[68:39] To Christ Because That's What We Expect To Be Isn't It Every One Of You Who Is A Christian Here Tonight You Expect Yourself One Day To Be Like Christ To Be Like Him To Be With Him To Be Where He Is You Expect It And You Would Rather It Happen In A Flash You Would Rather Happen In The Twinkling Of An Eye Because You Know As I Said At The Outset There Are Times When For God To Be Sanctify You And To Sanctify Me There Are Times He Must Apply The Chisel To The Granite That Is Before Him There Are Times When He Might Need To Use The Hammer And The Sandpaper On Our Lives To
[69:39] Make Us Conform To What We Should Be And Not One Of Us Wants That But That's What Being Made Holy Is All About Those Of You Who Are Joyner Those Of You Who Have Joyner Work In Your Homes You Would Much Rather Your Home To Be Polished And Varnished And Knit Together In Perfect Order Than To Be Rough And Ready Why Would You Think That God Would Want Anything Less Than You You Want In Your Homes He Has Gone To Prepare A Place For Us We Are Told We're Happy To Accept That And A People Prepared For That Place We Believe That But We Must Remind Ourselves That That Preparation Can Sometimes Be A Costly One And That We Need To Understand
[70:39] What It Costs But God Be Praise That He Is Wiser Than Anyone Of Us Let Us Pray Lord Help Us To Believe That Your People Are An Exclusive Group Of People You Have Made Them What They Are When You Brought Them To Yourself There Are Others That You Rise Upon And You Will Bring Them To Yourself And You Will Make Them What Others Are And You Will Be For Them What No Other Can Be Help Us To Understand That Your People Will Stand Out In This World That They Will Be Different In This World That They Will Be Separate From This World That It Is Not Conformity To The World That You Have Set Before Us In Your Word We We We We Pray For Grace To Help Us Understand That Grace To Be Resolved In Our Submission To Your Will As It
[71:39] Is Revealed In Your Word Forgive us Every Transgression In Jesus Name Amen Concluding Psalm 43 Psalm 43 We're Singing From Verse 3 To The End O Send Thy Life For Thy Truth And Let Them Be Guides To Me Bring Me To Thine Holy Hill Even Where Thy Dwellings Be Then Will I To God's altar Go To God My Chief Joy May God My God Thy Name To Praise My Heart I Will Employ Why Art Thou Then Cast Down My Soul What Should Discourage Thee Why With Vexing Thoughts Are Thou Disguited In Me Still Trust In God For Him To Praise Good God Good Cause I Yet Shall Have He Of My Count
[72:39] Is The Health My God That Doth Me Save Send Thy Light For Thou Truth Let Them Be Guides To Me Send Thy Light For Thou Truth Let Them Be Guides To Me And Bring Me To Thine God Holy Hell In Where Thy Dwellings Be Then Will I To God's altar Go To God My Chiefest Joy Yea God
[73:40] My God Thy Name To Praise My Harp I Will Employ Why Art Thou Then Cast Out My Soul For To Discourage Thee And Why Will Be Safe Thoughts Art Thou Disquieted In Me Still Trust In God For Him To Praise Good Cause I
[74:41] Yet Shall Have He Of My Count Is The Health My God Blood Doth Me Save May Grace Mercy And Peace The Father The Son Of The Holy Spirit Rest And Abide With You All Now And Always Amen