[0:00] Let us sing to God's praise, verses from Psalm 119, Psalm 119 and verse 129. 129.
[0:14] Thy statutes, Lord, are wonderful. My soul then keeps with care. The entrance of thy words gives light, makes wise, who simple out.
[0:26] My mouth I have wide opened and panted earnestly, while after thy commandments I longed exceedingly. Look on me, Lord, and merciful do thou unto me prove, as thou art wont to do to those thy name who truly love.
[0:45] O let my footsteps in thy word arise, the Lord would be. Let no iniquity obtain dominion over me. From man's oppression save thou me.
[0:57] So keep thy laws, thy will. Thy face make on thy servant shine. Teach me thy statutes still. Rivers of waters from mine eyes did run down when I saw.
[1:11] How wicked men run on in sin. And do not keep thy law. The section of Psalm 119. Thy statutes, Lord, are wonderful.
[1:22] My soul then keeps with care. Thy statutes, Lord, are wonderful.
[1:34] My soul then keeps with care. The entrance of thy words gives light, makes wise to simple light.
[1:57] My mouth I have wide opened and panted earnestly.
[2:12] While after thy commandments I longed exceedingly.
[2:28] Look on me, Lord, and merciful do thou unto me prove, as thou art wont to do to those thy name who prove.
[2:58] O let my footsteps in thy word arise, the Lord would be.
[3:17] Let no iniquity obtain dominion over me.
[3:33] From man's oppression save thou me. From man's oppression save thou me. So keep thy laws, I will.
[3:50] Thy face make on thy servant shine. Teach me thy satude still.
[4:07] Rivers of waters from mine eyes did run down when I saw.
[4:24] How wicked men run down in sin. And do not keep thy law.
[4:40] I would like us to turn for a short while to the passage read, Colossians chapter 1.
[4:51] We can read at verse 12. Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
[5:06] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
[5:45] And do not keep thy life. And do not keep thy life. And do not keep thy life. And do not keep thy life. And do not keep thy life. And do not keep thy life. When he writes his epistles. I know that instinctively we search out the doctrines and the theologies that are important.
[6:04] And which he is responsible for proclaiming. He is wanting to proclaim the gospel after all. And in so doing he wants those that he is proclaiming the gospel to.
[6:17] To be instructed and informed. In all the matters that pertain to their salvation.
[6:29] But we also notice that the apostle has an interest. That is clearly an interest in the people that he is addressing his letter to.
[6:46] We know that the theology is important. We know that he himself is steeped in the theology of the Old Testament.
[6:59] And the theology that he constructs. And the tutelage of the Holy Spirit is the theology of the New Testament. But we have to remember that he is applying that doctrine to the lives of men and women.
[7:19] The judgment of all descriptions. I think we noticed recently. And again last evening I was considering it. When you look at the writings of the apostle.
[7:32] He begins this epistle. Mentioning two fellow laborers in the gospel. But then he concludes the epistle. If you remember the last chapter.
[7:43] He mentions individuals. Onesimus. A faithful and beloved brother. Aristarchus. My fellow prisoner. Marcus.
[7:54] Barnabas. And so on. Epaphras. They are not names. They are names. But they are not just names. They are people that are important in the life of the apostle.
[8:08] They are people that labor with them in the gospel. And people that have had their lives touched through the gospel.
[8:19] And we have to remember that when Paul preaches. He is preaching. He is preaching. Not to a vacuum into a vacuum. He is preaching to men and women.
[8:31] Boys and girls. Who have never dying souls. Read again. The final chapter. In the epistle to the Romans. There are a whole list of people.
[8:42] Mentioned by him there. And some. That are not identified. And yet they are special to Paul. And Paul remembers them. Because his ministry is to people.
[8:55] And he is bringing God's word to people. With the ultimate end. That these people that the word is being brought to. That their lives are enriched by it.
[9:08] In other words. When you hear God's word. Through God's word. You need to remember yourself. That you are being addressed. As an individual.
[9:20] Through God's word. According to the need that you have. And that word. Is relevant to you. And important to you.
[9:31] And it. Either encourages you in the Lord. It builds you up in your faith. Sometimes it chastises you. Sometimes it.
[9:42] It informs you. Sometimes it takes away. Any. Misconceptions that you may have. That may destabilize your faith. Sometimes.
[9:53] It. Cements you. In the truth. That is relevant. For living out your life in the world. And that's the gospel. That's the preaching that Paul is engaged in.
[10:04] And. He wants. As he states here. He wants the Christians. In Colossae. To walk worthy of God. In all pleasing.
[10:16] He is at the very least concerned. That their life. And the life that they live. Is conformed. To the word of God.
[10:27] And that. Their life is glorifying to God. And. To God. And. Uh. Uh. Uh. I think.
[10:38] That's a simple truth. I would hope. A basic truth. And if we're engaged in anything. That is meaningful. We have to remember that. That we're just. Never just going through the motions.
[10:51] We come to worship God. We come. To worship God. Together. We come. To wait upon. God.
[11:02] So that by his spirit. His word. Becomes meaningful to us. And. Applicable to us. In. In whatever way.
[11:13] He means it. To. To work. To work. Now. Why do I. I mention that. Because. Paul. Is confronted. By.
[11:24] The harsh realities. Of what it is. To. To live. Their life. Here. In this world. Whatever. It is. Whether it's in Colossae.
[11:35] Or Philippi. Or Rome. Or whatever it is. The Lord's people. They. Confront. Issues. That will. Be.
[11:46] A. A. Hindrance. To their. Faith. And they need to be reminded. Of. What they are. Who they are. How they came.
[11:58] To be. What they are. And. These things. May. Seem obvious. To us. But. There are so many distractions.
[12:09] That we encounter. That. We. Let. Slip. To. The essential truth. That we ought to. Lay. Hold.
[12:20] Of. So looking at. At. This verse. That's before us. The. It's just a reminder to us. These words. I'm sure. Are familiar to you.
[12:31] When I was thinking of these words. I think. They're words that. We frequently. Heard. Cited. As a foundation truth. On a question day. Because.
[12:42] They were so appropriate. Words that. Allowed a person. To reflect upon. Where they once were. And where they. Now are.
[12:53] And how. That came about. And the difference. That God has made. To their lives. So. Looking at these words. We.
[13:04] Want to focus on. The words. Who have delivered us. From the power of darkness. And have. Translated us. Into the kingdom. Of. His.
[13:15] Dear son. There is. Deliverance. There is. Darkness. And there. Is.
[13:26] The certainty. Of where they have. Been delivered. To. Deliverance. And darkness. It's just. Thinking about. The order.
[13:37] Maybe darkness. Should come first. And then deliverance. From darkness. But this is the order. That I chose. Deliverance. Darkness. And where to. Who has delivered us.
[13:50] Would be the question. That would. Be. Probably. At the forefront. Of our. Thinking. But the context. Insists.
[14:01] That we understand. It. Right away. We. Read there. Giving thanks. Unto the father. Which hath. Made us. Meet. To be partakers.
[14:12] Of the inheritance. Of the saints. In light. So the deliverance. Of which he speaks. Is. Achieved. Or accomplished. By the father. And.
[14:23] While. The father. Accomplishes. Deliverance. By this. Son. It is still. This. The father's. Deliverance. Of which he speaks.
[14:34] And. We notice. In verse 12. What he has done. And. We. Notice also. That. It is. As an act.
[14:45] Of. Deliverance. Many. People. Prefer. The word. Rescue. That he has. Rescued us. From. Darkness.
[14:56] But. Deliverance. In the sense. Of rescue. Is. What is. Meant. By it. And. This. Was.
[15:07] Done. By them. Because. Their. Circumstances. Required. It. They. Required. To be. Delivered.
[15:18] And. If. We. Don. To. He. Consistently. On. What. The. The.
[15:29] By. Means. Of. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. On. Their. For. For.
[15:41] It. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and so on.
[15:58] God has done this, and we are told how he has done it, and we are not only told how he has done it, we are told why he has done it. And I don't think that anything could be plainer to God's people than that they are a rescued people, that they are a people who have experienced deliverance at God's hands.
[16:27] Because those who are delivered by the hand of God are fully persuaded that they could not deliver themselves. The word rescue, you know, almost has at its heart somebody else's involvement.
[16:46] It's not, you can't rescue yourself, it's somebody else that does it. It's as simple as that. Deliverance by your own hand is not really an option, and it's certainly not an option when it comes to salvation.
[17:02] And the redeemed people of God know that it is God that was responsible for it. They are also informed and instructed that it is by means of Christ.
[17:17] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. The dear son of which he speaks is the one who is instrumental, or that God uses to fulfill this redemption that God brings to himself.
[17:42] The payment of the ransom is something that he goes on to elaborate on. The price of the deliverance is a redemption price.
[17:58] A cost is involved, payment is made, and redemption is the result. And if you read, for example, in the various passages that are concerned with the work of salvation through Christ Jesus, you'll see that emphasis coming to the fore again and again.
[18:22] An insistence that the redemption, the deliverance was something that God did by way of Christ Jesus.
[18:33] In Galatians 4, I think, just for example, we read there, when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
[18:56] And so on. But there are countless passages that speak of God's work, God's initiative, God's doing.
[19:08] But then you know that. But it does no harm to be reminded of it. It does no harm for you to be fixed in your mind that the deliverance that you experienced is God's doing, and that it is necessary.
[19:28] Otherwise, it would not have had to be carried out. If there was no need for a deliverance, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, and God delivered them from slavery.
[19:41] You didn't need to tell the Israelites in Egypt that they were slaves. They knew it. Every one of them understood that they were slaves.
[19:54] Nobody needed to convince them of the slavery and the bondage that they were found in. So to say to them, oh, you have to learn, you have to be taught, you have to be instructed, that when you left Egypt, you were being delivered.
[20:14] And why should it be true of any one of you that this simple statement is overlooked at times? Overlooked because sometimes the teaching is to the fore that in some way you can deliver yourself, you can redeem yourself, you can save yourself, by whichever way.
[20:40] But we are told specifically that this redemption of which he speaks, this deliverance is a deliverance from darkness.
[20:52] Not just darkness, but the power of darkness. And only those who have been delivered from that darkness fully understand what that darkness was.
[21:08] Those who are in darkness tonight don't know that they're in darkness. However much you tell them about the darkness that is pervasive, and it is pervasive.
[21:21] It covers the mind, it covers the heart, it covers the soul. Everything that is of spiritual worth is in darkness.
[21:35] And that is not able to be penetrated by anything other than the light that God brings. And that was the way it was for you.
[21:48] It is the power of darkness from which we have been delivered. And perhaps the most extensive discussion of this power is another passage that we frequently go to on a question day, even though the question day may have seen its day.
[22:07] Still a passage that we're familiar with in that context. Ephesians chapter 2 You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and that by nature the children of wrath even are selfish.
[22:47] Towards the end of the epistle in chapter 6, Paul again returns to this theme. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
[23:01] Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[23:20] Wherefore, taken to you the whole armour of God. The darkness is a real darkness.
[23:32] It's a power that grips this world and those who are in the world until that power is broken.
[23:46] Some of you will remember what it is like. Some of you will be familiar with that darkness even today. When you encounter it, you know what it is. You understand what it is.
[23:59] You understand how pervasive it is. I've told you often of my own most severe encounter with the darkness that is in the spiritual realm.
[24:16] I don't want to go into it, but I still remember it vividly. I haven't since come across anything like it.
[24:27] I understand how it was. I understand why it was. But when you come face to face with the power of darkness unleashed in its fullness, the horror of it is barely something you can stand against if you can.
[24:51] Only by prayer can the Lord's people have any kind of resistance to it. Now, Paul understands this.
[25:01] He understands what the power of darkness is. and he understands what it means to be delivered from it. William Hendricks, in the commentator, speaks of the domain of darkness as the sphere in which Satan works.
[25:24] He exerts what he calls his usurped jurisdiction. He maybe not necessarily personally works, but he has many emissaries who will work for him.
[25:42] It's interesting that Martin Lloyd-Jones, in his own discussion of this topic, he says that he probably uses similar words to William Hendricks and he says the devil is a usurper.
[26:00] a rebel, one who has taken authority to himself. And he says he was never given that authority. That's how he calls him a usurper.
[26:14] He has power, but it is stolen power. But he refuses to call the sphere of darkness in which he is working his kingdom.
[26:29] now, I question that because I believe the Lord Jesus speaks of the kingdom of darkness and the prince of this world being the ruler of the kingdom of darkness.
[26:46] He certainly works in it freely. We know that in the natural realm there are beasts that their habitat is the darkness.
[27:02] But so is the darkness the habitat of the devil and his spirits. As Paul described, they freely work within that well and doing their utmost to suppress any life that is spiritual and to ensure that any signs of it are thwarted and suppressed if they can.
[27:28] It is the power of darkness that is being dealt with but Paul says we are delivered from it and it is through Christ Jesus who has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son having delivered us from the power of darkness.
[27:54] Translation means he has brought us from darkness its power and its influence to a kingdom.
[28:06] Now it is not using the future tense here he is using the aorist tense it is a tense in the Greek that means this has already taken place and its effect is ongoing.
[28:22] Something would say that the power of the gospel against the power of darkness will ultimately be fully realized the day we leave this world but no that is not true for the believer.
[28:36] you are now in the kingdom of God you are now under the sway of the power of the kingdom of God you are no longer under the influence of the power of darkness.
[28:52] That is not to say that you won't encounter it that is not to say that you will not be tempted or that you will not find times when you will come face to face with it.
[29:06] You are taken from a power to a kingdom. Do you not think that shall deliberate use of these words there? Read it again. Who have delivered us from the power of darkness.
[29:19] Paul could easily have used the words kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son but he doesn't do that. He talks about power but he talks about a kingdom.
[29:32] Power can diminish unless it's the power of God which is everlasting which is inexhaustible and it's not.
[29:42] The power of darkness the power that the devil possesses is not one that can be recharged. His dear son or others prefer the translation the son of his love.
[30:02] Do you remember the words of the apostle Paul? He was telling his testimony to Agrippa in Acts 26. Tells Agrippa what he encountered when he met the Lord on the way to Damascus and the Lord spoke to him and he was told the Lord gave him a task and gave him a ministry.
[30:35] Rise and stand upon my feet for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light from the power of Satan unto God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
[31:10] That's what he has been given to do. That's what the gospel does. Deliverance from the power of darkness by the hand of God into the kingdom of his dear son.
[31:27] He speaks of the Lord's words to himself and to others and is that not what we have here? A statement of what God has done for us and what God continues to do.
[31:42] How he has done it, why he has done it and what the outcome will be. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
[31:58] I was reading a sermon by John McSween, the last book that contained this sermon. He has a sermon on this topic, on this verse, which you would do well to read.
[32:15] But it makes two interesting observations about this. He says there are two kinds of darkness. One darkness is the absence of light and the other darkness is the darkness that has in it the element of the wrath of God, the curse.
[32:42] The darkness darkness that was in the world before the sun shone, when God said, let there be light, was the darkness that had the absence of light.
[32:57] darkness is the result of God's wrath. But contrasting that with the two kinds of light, he says the light that God is and the light that God creates.
[33:21] Again, there are two different kinds. and he says, here it is God himself that shines in the heart. It is God himself that shines in the heart, that brings you into his kingdom and he says that light will never go out because God himself is the light.
[33:43] And it's an interesting thought, an interesting if not a thought that we need to grip because he goes on to speak about it. and the certainty that belongs to the people of God who have been taken out of darkness, taken from the power of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son.
[34:08] Is it not good for you and for myself to be able to think of that tonight? And to remember that there are so many who are still in its power, but that power can be broken through the gospel of his grace.
[34:27] And that is the only thing we can use to break that power. Nothing else. Nothing else will break it. Power of darkness. If you think otherwise, then I'm afraid you've got it wrong.
[34:43] The power of darkness can only be broken by God himself, and that through his son, the son of his bosom, the son of his love.
[34:56] I recommend that love to you this night. Let us pray. Lord of God, we bless you and thank you that there are some here, if not many, who know of the darkness and its power that was an exercise in their lives, how wrong they were in their thinking and how perverse they were in their activities until you brought them into the kingdom of the marvelous light of your grace.
[35:27] we bless you for all that you are and all that you reveal yourself to be in and through the passion of your son Jesus Christ. Bless us in his name, forgive us our sins in him.
[35:40] Amen. We're going to conclude singing in Gaelic from Psalm 62. Psalm 62 and at verse 5.
[35:57] O man m fhegw ffyrdianoch rydio yfain marchlach or awns yn hamol fynhw fynh rhen s'mog o'f sfein gwybiach s'efain ys carrig gil s'fwnc s'efain mo ffant ys moher mhant ail mifffar rhen mersyn chagwbos ych mis.
[36:17] O man m fhegw ffyrdianoch rydio yfain marchlach O man man m fhegw ffyrdianoch o in india rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio rydio
[38:16] Oh, je vais me voir tu es. Oh, je vais me voir tu es.
[38:39] Oh, je vais me voir tu es.
[39:09] Oh, je vais me voir tu es.
[39:39] Amen.