[0:00] I shall resume public worship of God by singing to his praise from Psalm 107.
[0:12] Psalm 107, and we're singing from the beginning of the psalm. Psalm 107, and we're singing from the psalm.
[0:48] Psalm 107, and we're singing from the psalm.
[1:18] Psalm 107, and we're singing from the psalm.
[1:48] His mercy's last name be. Let God redeem this over me.
[2:06] From the end of the psalm. And gather them all the lots.
[2:24] From north the east of rest. This great in desert college way.
[2:42] No sin in heart who rest. Our thirst and wonder in every.
[3:00] May their soul and strength embrace. May their soul and strength.
[3:19] And please know in every. And please know in every. And please know in every. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.
[3:32] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. He did die, Thou did my pure city go, When it came I arrived.
[4:06] O Thine great good the Lord would give, Rich for His goodness gave, And for His words of wonder, And goodness does all end.
[4:42] For He is a soul that longeth, Thou glory is not his light, With goodness gave a hungry soul, Im de la Multidae, Let us join together in prayer.
[5:27] Gracious and ever-blessed God, as we draw near in this act of worship, we give thanks for the assistance that you promised us, even from the hand of your own spirit, that you have not left us to your devices, to our devices, but that we are able to seek your help and that you are willing to give it to us.
[6:00] Open your mouth, you say, and I will fill it. And we pray that the wisdom that is from on high will be what fills our mouth, even as we petition for your mercies.
[6:20] They are new each morning, and we acknowledge as your servant of old that your faithfulness is meeting us whichever way we turn.
[6:32] We are guilty often of breach of covenant. We do not abide by our own promises, promises that are freely given, undertakings that we willingly enter into.
[6:57] And perhaps it is true of us that at the moment that they are entered into, that we are consciously seeking to fulfill that which we have promised to do.
[7:16] And yet such is the damage that sin has wrought in us that we come so short of your glory. And we confess that.
[7:29] And that while the spirit may be willing, the flesh is weak. Just as it was in the experience of the close acquaintance you call disciples that followed you into many of the experiences that were used in the passion of Jesus Christ when it approached the hour of your greatest need and you sought from them.
[8:02] And you sought from them that they would enter into the darkness of trial and wrestling alongside you.
[8:16] And yet they failed and did not keep their part of the bargain. And is that not what is true of us?
[8:28] When we believe ourselves to be strong, then we are at almost weak. You remind us so often in your word of the need we have to rely not on our own resources, but to trust rather more in the provision that you make for us.
[8:51] and that you invite us to depend upon. We pray that your blessing upon us this evening as we gather in your name.
[9:05] We pray for your blessing upon those present and those who have a desire to meet with you and you with them. That they would have the desire of their heart made.
[9:21] And that they would be conscious of God's favour and God's blessing. That they may see the face of Jesus Christ as he has revealed to them in the Gospel.
[9:37] Even as we proclaim his name, may we be conscious of that very truth. And we ask that you would unveil your face in our presence so that we would be submissive to the God that is God over all and that we would desire above all else that your glory would be at the forefront of our petitions.
[10:05] Lord, we commit to your care and keeping those of our number who are unable to be present for whatever reason. Especially those who are laid aside, those who are confined to their homes by reason of their own health, being indifferent.
[10:28] We pray for their recovery. We pray for those who are frail and elderly and ask that you, Lord, would minister to them. That they would have at the family altar an experience of the near presence of God.
[10:43] Even as they come to read your word and pray as your people do, that they would know that the Spirit of the Most High God is their portion.
[10:58] And we bless you and thank you for the proof that your word gives to them, that that is what is true of your people. And that they can sing as the psalmist sought to sing, thou my sure portion art alone.
[11:15] And we pray that you would remind each one of us of the truly privileged possession that we have if the Lord is our portion.
[11:29] We pray for your blessing upon those in hospital, those who are cared for in their own homes by medical professionals. We remember the grieving and the sorrowful amongst us as death has intervened in their journey through life and taken from them loved ones.
[11:50] As hearts are sore, we pray for the balm of your own presence above all else to make known to them that you know them and know their loved in life.
[12:04] We seek your blessing upon proclamation of the Gospel in our hearing and throughout the length and breadth of the island to which we belong.
[12:17] We pray for our nation and those who seek to stand out in the communities that they are called to serve in and those who seek to proclaim the testimony of Christ as the lone saviour of sinners in our cities, in our towns, in our villages, in our villages, in our communities, in our communities, in our communities, in our communities, in our communities, of our nation.
[12:45] We are under a cloud in many respects as far as the Gospel provision is concerned. If you do not build a house, the labourers labour in vain.
[12:59] And so it is with regard to your kingdom, we know that for years the labour of this vineyard has prospered and we have seen congregations sustained and maintained and the testimony of the saints upheld.
[13:22] But we have no right to believe that this would continue even in these parts of you have endured that we love so much.
[13:36] The great fear is that your candlestick will be removed from our midst and that just as other parts of this world have experienced.
[13:49] The testimony of God's name is no longer to be witness to in these places. And we marvel at your forbearance that you have maintained the witness of the Gospel in our midst for so long.
[14:07] We do not deserve the least of your measures. enable us to cry out and to seek your face and to do so with the urgent desire of hearts that have been pierced even as our Saviour's hands and feet and side was pierced.
[14:30] We might understand the significance of it is. The weight of sin is upon our own hearts and minds and convincing us of the desperate need of our nation so that we cry out to God.
[14:49] O Lord, hear our prayers and bless the nations of the earth even those places that are at enmity with you. They are rent asunder at this present time in various quarters wars and with all kinds of frictions that are ongoing and have been ongoing for so long.
[15:15] With Western eyes we do not understand what takes place in the Middle East or in other parts of the world where there are various idolatrous practices that are to the fore and while they embrace the frills and the fancies of Western life they are still embroiled in the darkness of their own vain religions.
[15:49] And unless the God of heaven and earth break into their darkness this is how it must remain for it is only by virtue of your own iron being bared and your grace being shown that these things can be changed.
[16:08] So enable us to seek your blessing. Continue to watch over us the short time we're together and remember all that we would desire to be with us but that are not.
[16:20] May we carry them on the shoulders of prayer for giving sin in Jesus name. Amen. Let us sing to God's praise verses from Psalm 119 Psalm 119 and verse 33 and we'll sing this section of the psalm Teach me O Lord the perfect way of thy precepts divine and to observe it to the end I shall my heart incline to understanding unto me so keep thy law shall I yea even with my whole heart I shall observe it carefully in thy lost path make me to go for I delight therein my heart unto thy testimonies and not to greet incline turn turn thou away my sight and eyes from viewing vanity and in thy good and holy way be pleased to quicken me confirm to me thy gracious word which I did gladly hear even to thy servant
[17:32] Lord who is devoted to thy fear turn thou away my feared reproach for good thy judgments be lo for thy precepts I have longed in thy truth quicken me and so on these words Psalm 119 verse 33 teach me O Lord the perfect way of thy precepts divine it's me O Lord the perfect way of thy graces divine and whom all dare it to the end I shall my heart in thine give wonder standing unto me so give thy glory shall
[18:50] I give hear with my whole heart I shall all share with their glory in thy love son make me to go shall So In the early days My heart unto thy testimony I'll know to thee in line Turn thou away my sight and eyes
[19:58] From you in the sea And in thy good and holy way Be pleased to quen to me Confirm to me Thy gracious word Which I did not lead In turn I serve my glory Who is devoted to thy hear
[21:01] Turn thou away my feared revolts Harder thy judgment be Lo for thy places I have longed And lighter with them I am We are going to hear God's word This evening as we find it in Paul's epistle to the Galatians And chapter 1 Paul's epistle to the Galatians The first chapter Paul an apostle
[22:04] Not of men Neither by man But by Jesus Christ And God the Father Who raised him from the dead And all the brethren Which are with me And to the churches of Galatia Grace be to you And peace From God the Father And from our Lord Jesus Christ Who gave himself for our sins That he might deliver us From this present evil world According to the will of God And our Father To whom be glory forever and ever Amen I marvel that ye Are so soon removed from him That called you Into the grace of Christ And to another gospel Which is not another But there be some That trouble you And would pervert The gospel of Christ But though we Are an angel from heaven Preach any other gospel Unto you
[23:04] Than that which we have Preached unto you Let him be accursed As we said before So say I now again If any man preach Any other gospel unto you Than that ye have received Let him be accursed For do I now persuade men Or God Or do I seek to please men For if I yet pleased men I should not be the servant of Christ But I certify you brethren That the gospel which was preached of me Is not after man For I neither received it of man Neither was I taught it But by the revelation of Jesus Christ For ye have heard Of my conversation In time past In the Jewish religion How that beyond measure I persecuted The church of God And wasted it And profited
[24:04] In the Jewish religion Above many my equals In mine own nation Being more exceedingly Sealous of the tradition Of my fathers But when it pleased God Who separated me From my mother's womb And called me By his grace To reveal his son In me That I might preach him Among the heathen Immediately I conferred Not with flesh and blood Neither went I up to Jerusalem To them which were Apostles before me But I went into Arabia And returned again And to Damascus Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem To see Peter And abode with him Fifteen days But other of the apostles Saw I none Save James The Lord's brother Now the things Which I write unto you Behold Before God
[25:05] I lie not Afterwards I came Into the regions Of Syria And Cilicia And was unknown By faith unto the churches Of Judea Which were in Christ But they had heard only That he which persecuted us In times past Now preacheth the faith Which once he destroyed And they glorified God in me Amen And may the Lord That his blessing To this reading Of his word And to his name Be the praise Let us sing Now verses From Psalm 69 Psalm 69 And from Verse 30 Psalm 69 From verse 30 The name of God I with a song Most cheerfully Will praise And I in giving
[26:05] Thanks to him His name Shall highly Raise This to the Lord A sacrifice More gracious Shall prove Than bullock Ox Or any beast That hath Both horn And hoof When this The humble men Shall see The joy To them Shall give O all ye That do seek The Lord Your hearts Shall ever live For God The poor Hear And will not His prisoners Condemn Let heaven And earth And seas And praise And all that Move in them For God Will Judah Siddhis build And he Will Zion Save That they May dwell Therein And it Ensure Possession Have And they That are His servant Seed Inherit Shall the same So shall They have Their dwelling There That love His blessed Name Let us sing
[27:06] These verses Psalm 69 From verse 30 To the end The name Of God I with A song Most cheerfully Will praise And I am giving creatively More Herz presupued I am giving donation This Ji-ifique,
[28:15] So you may haveotti cách to use these longévо'd.
[28:34] Is the heart of men shall see, a joy to men shall give, O walk in and seek the Lord, your heart shall ever end.
[29:10] For God the blood is found with God, is prisoner from death.
[29:30] Let heaven and earth and season grace, and all love move in them.
[29:50] For God will do the cities' will, and He will die on sale, and they make well there in our head, and to possess your heart.
[30:29] And they in our day's ceremony, in heaven and earth and season grace, so shall they how they dwell in them.
[30:58] And we turn back now to the passage that we were reading together.
[31:19] Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, in chapter 1, and reading from the beginning.
[31:30] Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with me, and to the churches of Galatia.
[31:48] Grace be to you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to him to whom be glory forever and ever.
[32:10] Amen. This evening we're going to look at these opening words of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, but it is my hope that we can look at this Epistle, as far as we're able to do so, with God's help.
[32:34] The Epistle itself has been given a title by many, and they've looked at the Epistle, and for example, it is considered to be a letter of the Apostles that focuses on the Gospel.
[33:03] and the way the Gospel works, or is expected to work, in the life of Christian people.
[33:18] It is, somebody gave it the title, the Magna Carta of Christian Liberty.
[33:29] and probably because it deals with situations in which the liberty that Christ has brought into the experience of Christians is overlooked and denied.
[33:49] and for that reason, the place that belongs to it in the Epistle is highlighted. But it's not just an Epistle about Christian liberty, it's an Epistle about Christian living and Christian life, and the effect the Gospel ought to have on Christian believers.
[34:16] and while we could spend, it's inevitable, if you're going to look at a passage, or passages, or a part of Scripture in its entirety, you're liable to put that part into some kind of historical context, or explain the principles and regarding the teaching that the Apostles have at that time.
[34:50] And there's a lot of mileage, I suppose, in the way that various theologians have looked at this passage, and they've asked the question, well, who was the letter to?
[35:03] When was it written? What was the purpose behind it? And who were these Galatians in particular? Where were they? And there's a division of opinion as to where they were located.
[35:20] And there's a whole host of material that you could gather from the Scripture just discussing that very matter. But I'm going to overlook that just to for the sake of argument.
[35:35] This is an epistle written by an apostle. That apostle is Paul and it is written to a Christian people who belong to a church or churches in Galatia, whatever that refers to, wherever that is.
[35:55] It is considered to be the body of people that we are most related to because the Galatians were Celts or so some believe anyway.
[36:10] But we're looking at these words tonight and it is an introduction to the epistle. An introduction first of all to the apostle.
[36:23] He describes who he is in terms of his apostolic authority. He is writing this letter and wanting the recipients of the letter to receive it, understanding that what he has to say to them is worthy of reception.
[36:47] It is something that's important to him that when he talks to them, when he writes to them, when he presents them with various theological arguments and pronouncements and corrects their behavior where it is considered to be wrong, that they recognize that the person writing to them has authority to do so.
[37:11] And sometimes the apostle has to do that in defense of his apostleship because there are those who have purposely set out to undermine his ministry and making arguments that suggest that he has no right to speak to anyone because he has no authority from God or from the church.
[37:38] But here as we find elsewhere Paul establishes his credentials. Secondly he describes who it is that the epistle is from and why it is written.
[37:55] It's not quite the same thing but I suppose it comes alongside it. Thirdly we have the foundation of the gospel declared by Paul.
[38:10] He is an apostle he comes with the gospel and he then establishes what that gospel is. You've all heard about the gospel.
[38:23] Sure you know what the gospel is but Paul writing to people who belong to a church who are recipients of the gospel feels the need under God's leading by the hand of the spirit to establish what the gospel is.
[38:40] To tell them what it's all about. To remind them this really is at the heart of the gospel. Anything else is a distraction. Anything else should be put to one side. The gospel of Jesus Christ is what he is there to proclaim.
[38:57] And finally just for this evening the ultimate end of that gospel as Paul describes it here. He establishes the fact that that gospel is for the glory of God.
[39:16] It's a doxology that he ends his first five verses with. But it's not just a doxology. It's a reminder to us that at the heart of the gospel at the heart of the reason for the gospel is the glory of God.
[39:33] That God is the one who is glorified by the gospel being proclaimed, by the gospel being blessed, by the gospel being believed.
[39:46] While the beneficiaries we might look to are such as ourselves, those who are blessed by it, those who are blessed because of it, but to God be the glory.
[40:00] And that is what needs to be remembered. Well, first of all is apostleship. And I'm sure we've mentioned it before, we couldn't but mention it before because almost every letter that the apostle writes, he begins his letters with this declaration of apostleship.
[40:25] He tells the recipients of the letter that he is an apostle.
[40:35] read Romans, read the epistle to the Corinthians, read the epistle to Timothy, Titus, you'll also find the apostle Peter doing the same thing, declaring their apostleship.
[40:58] it means in the first instance that he is one who is sent. He is not there on his own behalf, he is not there to share with them his own opinions, he is not there as many in his own day who are philosophers, sharing their own wisdom with others.
[41:20] No, he is sent by God to present the gospel, to declare a message of God's interest in fallen man.
[41:31] And Paul understands by this that he has been commissioned by the king of kings to declare that interest to all who will receive from his hand.
[41:50] It's amazing. Commissioned by the king of kings. That's what Paul is saying. He's not doing that, he's not saying that in order to elevate himself in their sight, to give himself a better standing, it's just simply reminding them of a truth, that this is what he is about.
[42:11] He is sent by God. I was thinking of this very often, I don't know if it's still the case, but very often certain commodities would have the seal of royalty on it by appointment to her majesty the queen, whether it was making jam or making biscuits or whatever.
[42:40] There was this special seal that belonged to those that the queen favoured, or the queen mother favoured, and possibly today, I'm not sure, King Charles III.
[42:54] By appointment, this is what they are about, but this is what Paul is saying. This is not just any king, this is the king of kings, and this is my role, and this is what I'm called to do.
[43:10] It is my honour to speak on his behalf, and not only does he have that privilege, he has that authority.
[43:23] And I suppose that goes without saying. I think, well, if you remind yourself, Paul, I think, when he was writing his epistle to the Corinthians, he said to them, this is halfway through his epistle, the first epistle, he says, am I not an apostle?
[43:50] Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you, for the seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord.
[44:07] It's a very interesting aside. Paul is there, halfway through writing his letter to the Corinthian church, he is reminding them that his very role is given a seal of approval in the blessing that God brings to bear upon his ministry amongst them.
[44:36] And it's important to Paul, it's important that not only he is confident enough to assert this, but that they realize that the blessing of God upon his ministry is the seal of approval upon his apostleship.
[44:58] Now an apostle, we understand, is somebody who has physically seen the risen Christ. And not everybody was an apostle.
[45:11] They had seen the Lord Jesus following on from his resurrection. And Paul will insist that this was what was true of him, even though he says in one place that it was true of him as one that was born out of time, out of sequence, as it were.
[45:33] Remember, his encounter with the risen Christ did not appear, as far as we know, he had no personal encounters with Christ before Christ was crucified.
[45:46] And yet when he was on the road to Damascus, he is convinced, and he believes that to be the case, that it was the risen Christ that met with him.
[45:58] Charles Hodge, the theologian, adds to this the fact that his knowledge of Christ, the risen saviour, was something that was also witness and testament, testimony to his apostleship.
[46:20] That the knowledge that he had of Christ was knowledge that only could have come from Christ, by an immediate revelation from Christ.
[46:32] And that is something again that marked out the apostles' apostleship. So he confidently asserts that not in order to blow his trump, but not in order to highlight anything personal about himself, but in order to remind them who are the recipients of his epistle, that this is who is writing to them.
[46:57] This is where his starting point is, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now the second thing follows closely onto that.
[47:09] This epistle may appear bearing his name, but it is by Jesus Christ and God the Father. Their name is significant in his reckoning.
[47:30] Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. And while you'll notice the ministry is not the same as the apostleship, because he mentions in verse 2, all the brethren which are with me and to the churches of Galatia.
[47:55] They too are sharing with him in bearing testimony to Christ, but they are not apostles, whereas he is. But it's the same Christ, the same God, that they bear testimony to, that they speak of, that they want to make known.
[48:15] And Paul's apostleship and those that he lists alongside him, they are all charged with bearing witness to the passion of Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.
[48:35] Their calling is a direct consequence of the activity of the divine passions. It must be considered to be of supernatural origin, and that is why Paul lays such significance on it.
[48:57] it is important to him to know this and to be aware of this, and it is the very thing that sustains him when he is troubled, when he is tried, when he is tested.
[49:09] And that is true, I think, about any minister of the gospel. If they are not convinced that their calling is of God, then it will surely be the case that when they are tested and tried, one of two things will happen.
[49:27] They will backtrack on their calling, or they will do something which is out of keeping with their calling in order to sustain it.
[49:41] And it's happened too often to say otherwise. but when you are convinced that your calling is of God, no matter how it is tried and tried it will be, you are still enabled with God's help to persevere and fulfil that calling.
[50:04] Now I've got several books in the study that we were encouraged to read as students. And one of them was a book by an American theologian, a lecturer, a professor in one of the American colleges, I think a southern Presbyterian called R.L.
[50:25] Dabney. And Dabney was speaking to the students that were under his care. And he was speaking about words which may be familiar to you, the words that were spoken to Jonah.
[50:41] when God sent Jonah, the prophet, he said, Arise, go to Nineveh and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
[50:55] Arise and go to Nineveh and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. There were two things to it. You know, his calling was from God to go and preach, but not just preach anything, but preach what he told them to preach.
[51:16] And Dabney explains this in this way. He says, the task of the preacher is to form the image of Christ upon the soul of men.
[51:27] The plastic substance is the human heart. The dye that is provided for the workman is the revealed world. The impression to be formed is the divine image of knowledge and true holiness.
[51:40] And this is what he goes on to say, the preacher's business is to take what is given him and to endeavor to impute it or input it into the soul of men.
[51:58] Everything else, all else is God's doing. This is what you do, and this is what you must do. But beyond that, you have no right to do anything.
[52:15] And Paul was of the impression, he was confident that what was given him to do, that God had given it to him, and that as long as he pursued that end, then his ministry would prosper, and his apostleship would be born witness to, as he saw happen in Corinth.
[52:43] But Luke, he doesn't. He wants us to go into this letter and to understand the substance of the letter and the purpose for the letter, and it all points us in one direction, and that direction is in the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[53:05] He says in verse four, well he says in verse three, grace be to you, and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Just an emphasis, if you like, on the fact that I'm coming to you, not on my own behalf, but on behalf of God who called me and sent me and gave me this ministry.
[53:32] And what is it that he has to say? Well, this is what he says, from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.
[53:52] Don't you wish that you could compose a sentence as succinctly as that, that describes in a nutshell what the gospel is all about.
[54:07] Have you ever tried to explain to somebody what Christ means to you? Has anybody ever asked you, what is it your faith is all about?
[54:18] What is it that makes you different to me when I am not a Christian and you are? And Paul brings it all down to this.
[54:30] It's all to do with Christ Jesus. First and foremost, it is all about Christ. And, you know, I think one of the devil's instruments is to get you so distracted that you talk about anything and everything but Christ.
[54:53] You know, it's a fact that, you know, people come to you and they'll ask. They'll ask about your faith and you start talking about church.
[55:07] They'll ask about your faith and you'll start talking about personalities. They'll ask about your faith and they'll hear you speak about personal experience.
[55:23] All of these things are important in their own place. But preeminent in your thinking and your explanation of what you are by reason of your knowledge of what you are as a sinner, at the head of all you have to say is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[55:43] What he means to you and why he means what he does to you. Look at what he says. he gave himself for our sins. Where does he take you when he says that?
[55:55] He takes you to the cross. He takes you to the very place that the Lord Jesus Christ was dealing with the sins of this world. He takes you to the foot of the cross.
[56:09] He gave himself for our sins. It's good news you have, you say. Oh yes, it's good news about him. And if that is not too obvious, then follow it through to its logical conclusion.
[56:29] One of the commentators talks about the way we are when we're speaking about the need that there is for a saviour.
[56:41] It's as if we want to we want to make it as simple as possible. But in so doing we move away from what is really the core matter.
[56:58] And he uses this illustration. He says if you see a drowning person, a drowning man or woman, what do you do? Do you say to them, well I have this manual that will help you learn to swim?
[57:12] Or I can teach you from here how to do a few strokes, a back stroke, the firm stroke, the crawl, whatever you want to call it. I'll teach you from the boat.
[57:23] That's not what a drowning man wants to hear. That's not what somebody whose hands are stretching out and swallowing water wants to hear. They want somebody to take their hand and take them from the water lest they drown.
[57:37] They want somebody to save them from their predicament. And the only way you can do that is by presenting Christ Jesus to them. You throw them a rope and the only rope that can save a drowning sinner is the rope that God has provided that ensures that their feet will find themselves on ground that will not move beneath them.
[58:05] Look in verse 4. what is descriptive of the redemptive work of Christ. The word that's used there, we've used it recently a few months ago speaks of the rescue work of Jesus Christ.
[58:21] He tells us he gave himself. He gave himself for our sins. It was entirely voluntary. This was something that he came to do. Not because he had to do it other than the compunction and the compelling that came from within as he conformed to the will of his father and the will that existed within the triune Godhead.
[58:48] Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One will, one purpose, one desire to see sinners heading for a lost eternity saved from the sins that were destined to bring them to that.
[59:03] end. Somebody gave me a book recently and I was reading through that book and it was describing the situation that was in Ugg before the gospel penetrated the darkness that was in there when Alexander McLeod came there and he said there was an elder there an elder mind and he was praying and he referred in his prayer to the death of Jesus Christ as a misfortune and he used in his language expressions that deprecated all that happened to that poor son of God.
[60:03] Imagine the blindness ignorance imagine how a person who had read of the gospel had read of the cross had understood the way that Christ willingly went to death and yet didn't understand it didn't appreciate it didn't see that there the son of God went willingly to his death to offer himself a sacrifice for sin for others a vicarious sacrifice in our place he died for us on our behalf why did he do that well Paul tells us there's much in this verse but I'm thankful when you go through this epistle he's not going to leave it there he's not going to abandon this most important teaching there he's going to return to it again and again and again because the Christian believer needs to be reminded of why they are
[61:09] Christian what it means to them to be Christian how they go on being Christians in this world that is in the grip of sin and of death Christians need to understand that this world is a hostile environment Christians need to be reminded that they have been saved from something to something else why did God do this well Paul I think hits the nail on the head in verse 4 he says that he might deliver us from this present evil world that he might deliver us from it think think about it we are being delivered if we are Christians from the world yes you have to live in the world but living in the world does not mean that you are of the world you are being saved from it you are being delivered from it so that as little of the world as possible impacts influences exerts authority over your life it's a great thing to understand that this is what the gospel does he did something for us that we couldn't do for ourselves and how often have you found out for yourself much as you've been presented with something that would be desirable something that you consider to be laudable you know you'd like to be something or you'd like to be able to do something you'd like to be able to pray more you'd like to be able to pray more effectively you'd like to be able to spend more time in the scripture you'd like to be more attentive to the word of
[63:25] God and more able to present it in a tangible way in your life to others how often have you thought these thoughts and tried to do these things in your own strength without recourse to God without looking to Christ without seeking his help I think very often that's where we get it so wrong but the key here is this what Jesus did he gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world not that he might enable you to deliver yourself not that he might empower you to deliver yourself but that he is going to do it and he is doing it and it would not be possible if he had not ransomed our souls if the father in heaven hadn't given him this role this task that he willingly engaged in and this as far as
[64:47] Paul is concerned is the will of the father the obedience of the son is because it is the father's will and it is the delight of the son to do the will of the father now Paul writing to the Romans he says he that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things the father's desire the father's will the father's purposes all bound up in the son's activity on the cross and that's where Paul begins that's where Paul establishes as it were the ground rules for what he has to say he's going to tackle head on people who have got it so wrong people who say they're
[65:49] Christians but they want to add to their Christianity by doing what they think will do that additional work and he corrects that by bringing them where to Christ the concluding doxology to whom be glory forever and ever amen to whom else to whom else does glory belong but to God God God alone is the one who is worthy of our praises for what he initiated what he established what he continues to sustain it's all his doing and he is a jealous God who will not give his glory to another and we need to bear that in mind and I hope that we'll learn more from the apostles thinking as he goes on as God leads him to teach us that let us pray oh Lord of God we give thanks for the way that you used your servant the apostle someone you took from darkness someone as we read even in this opening chapter someone who was an appointed enemy of your chosen people and of your son
[67:18] Christ Jesus and yet that is the very one you made your own and took to be a shining example to what Christianity is all about help us to see that in him guide us in the truth we pray for your sin in Jesus name Amen we're closing Psalm 84 Psalm 84 and we're going to sing the last four verses of the psalm Lord God of hosts my prayer hear O Jacob's God give ear O God O shield look on the face of thine anointed dear for in thy coats when they excels a thousand rather in my God's house will I keep a door and dwell in tents of sin for God the Lord the son and shield will grace and glory give and will withhold no good from them that rightly do live
[68:20] O thou that art the Lord of hosts that man is truly blessed who by assured confidence on thee alone doth rest these precious Lord God of hosts my prayer hear O Jacob's God give a hand Lord God of hosts my prayer hear O Jacob's God give hear sing thy For in thy course one day exhaled a thousand rye in.
[69:33] My God's house will I keep on all. Thine well and hands chosen.
[69:53] For God the Lord's Son now yield. Hail, praise, and glory, and will when, when, when, oh, no good from there.
[70:20] Not a bright future day. O now, now Lord, Lord, O Lord, that man is truly blessed.
[70:47] Who by your children are dead. inequality ram Cola my hands on the young, May we bless, mercy, and peace from God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all now and always. Amen.