[0:00] We're going to begin ourselves with singing from Psalm 116. Psalm 116 from the beginning down to verse 6, 4 stanzas.
[0:14] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear. I while I live will call on him who bowed to me his ear. Of death accords and sorrows stood about me compass round.
[0:28] The pains of hell took cold on me, my grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I do thee humbly pray.
[0:43] God merciful and righteous is, yea gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek. I was brought low, he did me help afford.
[0:54] And so on these four stanzas from the beginning of Psalm 116. I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear.
[1:05] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer she did hear.
[1:22] I will never call on him who bowed to me his ear.
[1:38] Of death the cards and sorrows shape. The heart may compass round.
[1:54] The pains of hell took for long me, I grief and trouble found.
[2:10] Upon the name of God the Lord then did I call and say, God merciful and righteous is, yea gracious is, yea gracious is, yea gracious is, yea gracious is, yea gracious is, yea.
[2:57] Jesus is our Lord, God says the meek I was, yea gracious is, yea glorious is, lit ai meat ba tipo Sydn, he did me help afford.
[3:20] Let us join together in prayer. Eternal, blessed God, we give thanks for these words that we have been singing and that are a reminder to us of our indebtedness to the God of heaven and earth, that you are a God of mercy, you are a God of grace, a God who encourages and inspires love on the part of your own people who can testify to the hearing ear of God when they were in the depths, when they were in the grip of despair, when they knew not where to turn, you enabled them to turn to yourself.
[4:20] And as another of your servants declared out of the depths to thee, I cried. And we marvel at how it is often the case that this is where we must find ourselves before we discover the wisdom of turning our face to the God of all grace.
[4:51] We foolishly think that we can manage by ourselves and that we are able to live in this world that is so affected by sinfulness that we can navigate our way through all the evils that we encounter.
[5:17] The things that are a consequence of sin, whether we attribute it to sin or not, that is the way it is, even when it comes to our physical and mental well-being.
[5:29] when we are assailed by illness, when our bodies fail. This is a direct consequence of the fall of man and your word declares it as such.
[5:47] And yet we think that we can encounter these situations in our own strength. And all we have to do is listen to our news broadcasts and listen to their repeated cries that come from the mouths of so many.
[6:11] Those who are afflicted, those who are troubled by their own circumstances and the circumstances of others.
[6:23] Those who live in our cities and in our towns and in our villages and often find themselves despairing because they are not able to cope with the events that have overtaken them.
[6:40] We hear much of the mental well-being of so many being affected. And yet in the midst of all these things things, the true remedy and the source of all good is forgotten.
[6:59] And this is how we are by nature. Our forgetfulness follows us all the days of our life. Even with your own people, we acknowledge that we often forget our God.
[7:13] we see the illustrations in plenty in scripture of our people who were redeemed by the mighty arm of God and very quickly they fell into the kind of lifestyle that spoke of godlessness, that spoke of idolatry, gods of their own making, and if not their making, the hands of others have made them for them.
[7:49] There is but one God, the only living and true God, and your word lifts you up before us and enables us to see you even today.
[8:01] Remember our gathering, and those who see fit to presence themselves in God's house, we give thanks for every living soul, and we pray that you would bless them in accordance with the need that they have.
[8:18] We give thanks for the children that are brought to Sunday school, and we pray that you would touch their young lives with the healing, powerful hand of a saviour God, that their eyes would be directed to Christ, and that they would see in Christ, but even those who have achieved adulthood, who have followed the path of life into maturity, and yet who have not seen Christ as he is to be seen, we pray, Lord, for your help, that all of us might see the beauty of that saviour, that redeemer, that son of the most high God, who came from on high to engage with this world in its poverty, forsaking the riches of glory for a time, experiencing the humiliation of a fallen race, even though he himself was without sin.
[9:31] He was one with us in nature, and we give thanks that he did so, in order to encounter the penalty for our sinfulness on our behalf, bearing our sins in his body to the cross of Calvary, open our eyes to see the marvel of that, and put our trust in him.
[9:56] So bless us as individuals, we pray, bless every home and family represented, remembered all who would desire to be here, but who are unable because of their own peculiar circumstances, some housebound because of illness and the frailties of old age, some confined to hospital or beds for the elderly.
[10:26] These care homes we commit to your blessing. We also once again remember those who are currently in the hospice experiencing care for the term in ill.
[10:39] We bless you and thank you for the foresight of those who saw the need and who suffered to endeavour to provide what would meet that need, even though we see in our generation those who think that the needs of the terminally ill are to be met by hastening their end so that they would not have to engage with any of the sufferings that the gravity of our humanity would involve us in.
[11:17] Would thou not in mercy turn us to yourself? Would you not in mercy open the eyes of our understanding to understand that not only do we have complex needs as far as our ability to understand our humanity is concerned but also that as you created us you create us in your own image and that image consists of many things not least of which is our spirituality you endowed us with a living soul and because that soul is seen as distinct from all other creatures that when we depart this world we will either go to be with the Lord which is far better or we will be ushered into the place prepared for the devil and his angels you have so ordained and there is no escaping that no matter the wisdom of man the foolishness that he portrays in pouring scorn on the word of truth it is the truth that will stand and we give thanks for that in every way that you have persuaded of the truth and every way we have discovered for ourselves that it is the truth alone that we set us free so remember all the needs that are before you here remember our communities those who are careless about their their own souls we pray for them and ask that they would be drawn to you that your spirit would work amongst us that the heavens would be rent asunder and that you would come down there are times wrote large in the pages of our histories where you are said to have worked even amongst those slumbering sleeping bodies of those who bore your name and lived with only your name to suggest that they had life but you stirred up the embers of that fire you lit within their heart and you kindled it into flame by blowing upon them with the spirit of life and you brought to fresh knowledge of Christ those who had previously forgotten the way that you had touched their lives but not only that you touched the lives of those who were dead in trespasses and sins we marvel at your forbearance at one level we marvel at your forgiveness at another and we pray Lord that you would exercise such to us even in our own day bless our nation turn us once again to yourself bless our king his family those who rule in his name we pray that you would remember the nations of the earth all the places that we know of that are involved and broiled in the evils of war we see so many souls cast headlong into eternity you alone know what that eternity will be for them but amongst those who are ushered hurriedly to meet
[15:05] God at the throne of judgment are your own people and even though their end is an end that was uninvited they will not grieve over what they enjoy by way of blessing now but there are others and their sorrows such as they were in this world will be multiplied oh Lord hear our prayer bless your name amongst all the nations of the earth lift your name up so that the eyes of men can see that God alone is the God to whom they must turn hear our prayers and pardon our sins in Jesus name we would ask it amen boys and girls before you go out to Sunday school I believe today that you're going to be talking about the tabernacle in the
[16:08] Old Testament it's not an easy subject but I thought well where do I begin with such a topic the first thing I would say to you is that when sin came into the world it brought many things into the world and we can think of any number of things but one thing that sin took into the world was forgetfulness memories failures and that was probably one of the first things that affected our first parents they forgot who God was imagine that having lived with God having worshipped freely God having daily talks with God God with them and they with God and when sin came into their experience they forgot what that was like and I think that is shown by the way God had to show to them who he was and what he was like that's an amazing thing but one of the things that he did to remind them of the things that they had forgotten was he used many ways of bringing himself to the remembrance and throughout their lifetime and throughout the lifetime of the world
[17:41] God from time to time used various ways by which he showed the kind of God that he was and the kind of people that they were and what needed to happen in their life before they could live once again with him so he used various ways and one of these ways was the types things that spoke about God in language or using signs and symbols and pictures that they could look at and think of that reminded them of who God was and one of these pictures was the picture that we find in the ark of the tabernacle which contained the ark of the covenant now all of these things are themselves they're things that would need separate explanation but when when God took the people of his own name out of
[18:55] Egypt he gave Moses instructions and he told Moses I want you to build a tabernacle a tent and when you build this tent you will build it according to the plan that I give to you so that you won't build it according to the way you want to build it you will build it the way I want you to build it and every part of it will remind you and teach you something about me and something about yourself it will teach you how you are to worship me how you are to come near to me and how I am going to be near to you so one thing that is true about the tabernacle was it was a message a picture that God gave to them this tent that they would build was going to be set in the middle in the midst of
[20:05] God's people wherever they were wherever they went they would put up the tent and the tent would say to them God is in this place and there are many interesting parts to it how it was built the various bits and pieces that the tent was made of its coverings its dimensions how big it was and how it was laid out all of that was done according to the teaching that Moses received from God and
[22:11] I am your God wherever you are I am there and I am there most specially in the person of Jesus Christ and I have shown you that by sending my son Jesus Christ into the world he was born as a baby he grew up into manhood and he lived in this world and he died in this world but he rose again from the dead all of that because God in his mercy was showing not only what he was to do he was showing his mercy in revealing that to us but showing his mercy in doing it for us in the person of Jesus Christ the tabernacle is an interesting study for God's people and even for those who aren't God's people but it shows you I think
[23:11] I'm not I was never good at a technical drawing I couldn't suppose you put a drawing of a building in front of me I wouldn't know which end was up without a great deal of study but God shows to us that there is not one thing concerning the person of Jesus Christ our need of him and the way that he meets these needs that isn't made known to us through his word and through what he uses to help us understand and I hope that your teachers will help you understand some of the marvels of the tabernacle as it is in the Old Testament and how the New Testament explains it to us what we're going to sing now as you go out to Sunday school from Psalm 9 Psalm 9 and at verse 7 God shall endure for a he doth for judgment set his throne in righteousness to judge the world justice to give each one
[24:22] God also will a refuge be for those that are oppressed a refuge will he be in times of trouble to distress and they that know thy name in thee their confidence will place for thou hast not forsaken them that truly seek thy face O sing he praises to the Lord that dwells in Sion Hill and all the nations among his deeds record he still we'll sing from verse 7 to 13 God shall endure for a he doth for judgment set his throne heart o shall in giĆ for any God our judgments set his stone and righteousness to judge the world, justice to give each one.
[25:39] God also will a refuge be for those that are oppressed.
[25:57] A refuge will he be in times of trouble through distress.
[26:14] And they that know thy name in thee, their confidence will place.
[26:33] For thou hast not forsaken them that fully seek thy face.
[26:51] O sing ye praises to the Lord that dwells in Zion, on earth and all the nations among his feet, for be still, when he inquireth of God's blood.
[27:39] He then remembers them, the heaven of the Lord.
[27:53] Be not the gates that fall upon his name.
[28:06] Lord, pity me, behold the grief which I from falsehoods gain.
[28:25] Give thou who from the gates of death does raise me up again.
[28:47] I'm going to read in the New Testament scriptures Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 15. And we'll read verses 1 to 11.
[29:00] First Corinthians chapter 15, from the beginning. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
[29:32] For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.
[29:53] After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
[30:05] After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
[30:18] For I am the least of the apostles, that am not me to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all.
[30:40] Yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
[30:53] and so on, may the Lord be pleased to add his blessing to this reading of the sword, in his name, and the prayer. We're going to a signal from Psalm 118, at verse 17, to verse 26.
[31:11] Psalm 118, at verse 17. I shall not die, but live, and shall the works of God discover.
[31:27] The Lord hath me chastised sword, but not to death given over. O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness, then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.
[31:42] This is the gate of God, by it the just shall enter in, ye will I praise, for thou me heardst, and hast my safety been. That stone is made head cornerstone, which builders did despise.
[31:59] This is the doing of the Lord, and wondrous in our eyes. This is the day God made. In it will joy triumphantly.
[32:10] Save now, I pray. Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he in God's great name, there cometh us to save. We from the house which to the Lord pertains, you blessed have.
[32:27] These verses of Psalm 118, verse 17 to 26. I shall not die, but live, and shall the works of God discover.
[32:37] I shall not die, but live, and shall the words of God discover.
[32:54] The Lord hath me trust, I said S ĻĪ±Ļ, but O to death turn over, O set ye open unto me, the gates of righteousness.
[33:24] Then will I enter into them and I the Lord will bless.
[33:41] This is the gate of God by it that just shall enter in.
[33:57] Then will I praise for thy me, her child has my share of the pain.
[34:13] That stone is made a cornerstone which filled earth's empty spice.
[34:29] This is the doing of the Lord and wondrous in her eyes.
[34:47] This is the day God made in it, bring your joy triumphantly.
[35:01] Save now I pray thee, Lord I pray, send now prosperity.
[35:17] Blessed is he in God's name that cometh us to save.
[35:34] We from the house which to the Lord pertains you, blessed have.
[35:55] We turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And we can read again at the beginning of the chapter. It's a great blessing for every one of us to be where the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached.
[36:57] Maybe we don't consider it to be a blessing. But it is. And it is a blessing because it is the means that God has ordained by which blessing comes to a people who are removed from him because of sin.
[37:25] And what I want to do with you very briefly is just look at these words of the apostles. And ask the question, first of all, what is the gospel?
[37:41] Secondly, what does the gospel do? And thirdly, what must be true of that gospel before it does that?
[37:54] It must be preached and it must be believed. So these simple thoughts, and I'll try to frame my own thoughts around these headings.
[38:14] What is the gospel? Do you have an answer to the question if you were to be asked? What do you think the gospel is? What do you think it means?
[38:29] Sadly, many people today have no idea about the gospel. They wouldn't know what it is. They wouldn't know what it was for.
[38:40] They wouldn't know how to go and find out about it. It's surprising how ignorant, and I mean that, and how lacking in knowledge many of our present generation in our nation are about the books of the Bible.
[39:01] Something that many of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the books of the Old Testament as opposed to the books of the New Testament. And if our knowledge or memory is limited, at least most of us would remember that.
[39:20] The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we remember that. But some people in modern Britain have no knowledge of that.
[39:32] And you would think, well, that's a sad state of affairs. But, well, that's the way it is. And if they have no knowledge of the basic truth concerning the location of the gospel, where they have to find out what the gospel means, then they have a grave situation confronting them.
[40:02] I think that's probably how many preachers of the gospel today find themselves.
[40:12] I think that I think over the last generation, the starting point for many preachers has altered severely.
[40:26] that in this sense that you cannot assume knowledge. You cannot assume that people actually know what you're talking about when you're talking to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[40:44] And that makes it difficult, I suppose, from the point of view of knowing where to begin. Assuming a total lack of knowledge would probably leave most of you on the threshold of boredom if you're not already there.
[41:03] Because the truth that you would need to hear. You're so familiar with. But I think it has to be the case that we need to remind ourselves or refresh ourselves of what the gospel actually means to us.
[41:21] And here when we look at the way Paul deals with it, remember, he's speaking to a believing people.
[41:36] He's speaking to the church in Corinth. And it's clear these words are spoken to people who know the gospel and who've heard the gospel. I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.
[41:50] They've heard it before. You have received. And wherein you stand. Obviously he's speaking to them about something that they've come across before.
[42:04] They've experienced before. They're not ignorant. They're not totally oblivious to what the gospel is saying.
[42:16] But at times you find the apostle having to retrace his steps and restate the truth. That should be indelibly imprinted, ingrained into the heart and mind of those who have already come face to face with the gospel.
[42:37] So that they don't lose sight of what is obvious. And you can see what he considers important from what he says here.
[42:48] He gives us a description of his own part as a preacher. But essentially what we have is a summary of what the gospel is.
[43:00] That's a fundamental belief.
[43:15] It's a fundamental truth. Christ died for our sins according to the scripture. And you can dissect that statement to the nth degree.
[43:31] But the main elements of it involve in understanding that the person of whom the gospel speaks is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[43:47] The name that Paul uses here is God's anointed. This is the person that God means to save sinners by.
[44:00] The God of heaven. The son of his bosom. Christ. His anointed. Is the one that lies at the heart of the gospel.
[44:11] Now, if anything is to give significance to the gospel. You know, we could simply say the gospel is good news to all men.
[44:22] But why is it good news to all men? What is the substance of the good news? Well, it is good news because it speaks of salvation. And salvation.
[44:33] Not by the hand of Paul. Not by the hand of Matthew or Luke or John. Not by the hand of Isaiah. But by the hand of his solely begotten son, Christ Jesus.
[44:48] The one dedicated to the redemption of a fallen world. And that is where the gospel begins. That is where our understanding must lay hold of a truth concerning God's way of salvation.
[45:06] Christ is the one that is the saviour. Secondly, you see there he says, he died for our sins.
[45:18] Now, we could stop at the word died. And we know he died. And we know that in 2024 there is no man who was alive in the day that Christ lived in the earth is still living.
[45:38] Humanly speaking, it's impossible. That is not possible for a person who was living in the day that Christ was on the earth for them still to live.
[45:52] So to say that he died is just, well, just a simple thing that anybody can believe. But the Christ who died is the son of the living God.
[46:09] The son of God. And as the God who is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. He has no point at which you can speak of that he did not exist.
[46:27] I mean, it's not a philosophical concept that we're talking about. It's a statement of fact. If Christ, as his name suggests, is the son of God.
[46:39] And if he is the anointed of God. And if he experienced death. Then that itself is something that we cannot just speak of without asking the question.
[46:53] What is the significance of his death? Why did he die? What does this death mean? And the gospel is what speaks to us of the death of Jesus Christ.
[47:05] He died. Not just the way you and I die. We could say we died for our sins. Theologically that's quite true.
[47:18] You and I will die. And the reason we will die is not because we get old. Or because somebody knocks us down with a car. Or we suffer from a disease that brings an early death or whatever.
[47:32] However, the death that we die will be as a consequence of the fact that God in his wisdom has seen fit to condemn us as sinners.
[47:45] All our sins are directed against God. And as such, we are deserving of dying for these sins. God has made that abundantly plain in different ways.
[47:59] But he declared it first and foremost in the experience of our first parents. He said, the day that you sin will be the day that you die.
[48:10] The day that you depart from my revealed will for you will be the day that my just, holy displeasure will burn against you and you will die.
[48:22] And from that point on, death has been in the world. And every person who descended from Adam have entered into the experience of death. And you and I will suffer the same.
[48:37] But that's not what is true about Christ. It doesn't say he died for his son. No, he died for our sins, he says. He didn't die for his sins because he is God.
[48:52] He is the son of God. He is without sin. Death has no hold on him. If sin is the consequence or the reason why death is in the experience of men, how can Christ possibly die if he is holy?
[49:06] And the scripture repeatedly says to us about him that he is the holy, harmless, undefiled, one separate from sinners, and yet he dies. Why would he die?
[49:18] Well, he dies because, Paul says, he died for our sins. He died and the gospel tells us that the message of the gospel, the message of the scripture in various ways tells us that Christ died in the place of his own people.
[49:47] Without going into great detail what you find, and there's always a hint for you there when you read the Bible, note what the Bible says.
[50:02] And it would be enough for you to understand that the Bible says something once. If the Bible says something once, it's true. It's not something it says without reason.
[50:14] But if it says it repeatedly, then your ears should prick up and you say to yourself, why is it telling me this again and again and again?
[50:27] Why? Because it's important. And it's important because we are to understand that when Christ died, he died for sin.
[50:38] Not just for sin, but for our sin. And for our sin means that he was dying in the room and in the place instead of as a substitute, as somebody that God had set aside in order to die for others.
[50:58] And that's what the cross is all about. That's what the gospel tells us. That the person of Christ is a person who came to die on the cross in our place.
[51:14] He didn't die as a martyr. There are many martyrs who died because of the gospel. They died because they believed the gospel.
[51:24] But their death was not the gospel. And there are those who died alongside Jesus on the cross. It wasn't the fact that he was crucified that makes his death significant in that respect.
[51:40] It's not the gospel of the penitent thief. It is not the gospel of the thief who refused to believe. It's the gospel of a crucified saviour.
[51:55] And he died on the cross for sin. Not just for sin, but for my sin. And that is what the gospel tells us.
[52:08] Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, at the point at which he's talking here, he is deeply saddened by those who associate themselves with the church.
[52:21] And not just the church, but the supposedly evangelical church. And they have difficulty, if not an impossible understanding of what the gospel is saying.
[52:40] And he is saying, well, whatever they believe, or why they believe what they believe, this is what he says, the atonement of Jesus Christ in his death.
[52:52] That is the means that God used to reconcile fallen sinners with himself.
[53:02] To bring them back to a relationship that is viable, that is God-honoring. That is the atonement. And this, he says, lies at the heart of the gospel message.
[53:18] It lies more than that. It lies at the heart of the whole of the Bible message. From Genesis to Revelation, you're going to come across this. At the center of the message of the Bible is Christ dying for sin.
[53:35] And for the sinner who believes in him. Even when you get to the book of Revelation. And the book of Revelation, you find taking you into heaven.
[53:48] And when it takes you into heaven, who do you find in heaven? Well, you find many, many things in heaven, as the book of Revelation describes it to you. But one thing it says to you, that at the center of the throne is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[54:04] And how is he to be recognized as the one sitting on the throne in heaven? Oh, there he is, as a lamb that is slain. He is the lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.
[54:20] And in heaven, there he is described in this way. Paul says he was buried and rose again. According to the scriptures, I think that's important.
[54:34] It was all in God's plan. We spoke about the tabernacle to the children. I was just given that topic because the children are going to learn something about it in the Sunday school.
[54:52] It's a very interesting, as I said, topic. But it's very complicated in many respects because of the truths that it communicates. But Christ died according to the scriptures.
[55:07] And that means that when the scriptures describe to us the need of man and the way that God is to meet the need of man, it describes the passion of Jesus Christ and the part that he plays in the salvation of sinners.
[55:27] You know, the passage we read in Isaiah 53. The Lord laid upon him the iniquity of his whole.
[55:39] Years before it happened, this was how the prophet Isaiah was given the truth from God. This is the plan. This is how I am going to achieve salvation through the Redeemer.
[55:51] This is the gospel in the Old Testament. God was laying upon him the iniquity of his whole. And the Son of God, as he is spoken of here, is the very one who is at the heart of the gospel.
[56:11] He is, as Paul says elsewhere, he is declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.
[56:23] And he goes on to enter into this important doctrine of the resurrection. And notice the way he describes himself.
[56:35] We were speaking about it on Thursday evening. I'm going to come back to it again this evening. How Paul saw the risen Christ. But he didn't see him alone.
[56:48] He wasn't alone in seeing him, is what I mean. Other of the disciples saw him. But 500 saw him altogether. Witnesses, you see, some of them are still living. And they all saw him.
[57:01] That very Christ who died on the cross. That very Christ who was laid in a tomb. That very Christ who was sealed in the tomb. Risen and on the earth.
[57:12] With their own eyes they saw him and they knew him to be the one who died on the cross. And he goes on here to say, It is the living Lord that reveals himself in that way.
[57:28] What does the gospel then do? If this is the gospel, what does it do? Well, in a sense, we have to understand that Paul is saying here, This is the gospel by which you are saved.
[57:44] This is the gospel by which you are saved. Is that not strange? You would think that Paul, knowing the scripture as he does, Would have been more careful in what he says here.
[58:00] He would have said, This is the Christ by which you are saved. He would have been much more pointed in the statement that he makes.
[58:13] Rather than say the gospel saves. No, he says, Rather than say Christ saves. He says it is the gospel that saves. But we have to understand the role that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to play in the salvation of sinners.
[58:35] Because this is what God has ordained to be the instrument by which sinners in need of salvation, Notice the context.
[58:53] It is by this gospel that salvation is possible. It is by this gospel and believing in it, as we shall see, that salvation is definite.
[59:08] Everyone here hears the gospel today. This is, you're here today where the gospel is being preached. Nobody excluded.
[59:19] I've explained to you what the gospel is. Jesus Christ dying on the cross for sinners, bearing the sins of others on the cross. That is the gospel.
[59:31] Now, do you believe that? Do you believe that salvation is possible because of that? Well, I suppose when it comes to salvation, there is a problem that many of you have.
[59:48] You don't think that you need to be saved. For whatever reason, you do not think that you need to be saved.
[60:00] And how do I say that? Well, if I thought, or if you thought, let me put it like that. If you thought that you need to be saved, then whatever it is that would bring salvation to you, you would take it.
[60:23] You would take it. If you thought, if you were cast adrift on an ocean, and you were clinging for dear life to a plank, and your strength was ebbing, and alongside you came a boat, whoever was in it, and they stretched out their hand to you.
[60:55] Would you not take that hand? Well, I believe you would, because you knew that if you refused the hand, then you would probably drown.
[61:07] Your strength was ebbing. Your strength was ebbing. Your life was, it was something that was, you knew that there was only a hairspray between you and death.
[61:21] And I believe at that moment, whoever the hand was, whatever the hand was, you would take it.
[61:32] Even your bitterest enemy, if he held out their hand to you at that moment, you would take it. Because you were staring death in the face.
[61:43] The person who makes use of the saviour's hand in the gospel is the person who understands that there is no other saviour.
[62:00] That there is no other salvation. That there is no other hand. And maybe, up until now, you've been kidding yourself on that the opportunity will become yours when it suits yourself to take a hold of the hand of Christ in the gospel.
[62:25] Maybe that's the way you think. Or maybe you're thinking, well, minister, whatever you believe, I don't believe what you believe. I believe that I'm as good as the next person.
[62:38] As far as salvation is concerned, it's poppycock. It means nothing. Well, you may believe that, but you believe something that the Bible contradicts repeatedly.
[62:52] Paul says to those who are recipients of this letter that they know exactly what the gospel is.
[63:06] And that they have believed that gospel. They know the Christ of whom the gospel speaks. And because they do, they have embraced all that is true of them.
[63:20] But you see, there are those who have an intellectual awareness of what the Bible is saying. What the claims of Christ are.
[63:31] And what the Bible is saying about them. But they do not accept them. And this is the thing.
[63:44] This is where the difference is. Those who believe are saved. Those who do not are lost. The Bible makes it as simple for you.
[63:56] You don't have to go anywhere else. The Bible says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The obvious of that is, don't believe and you will be lost.
[64:11] And the scripture places the onus entirely upon you. Not what God is doing. Or what God has done. Because God has done everything he is to do for the salvation of sinners.
[64:26] He's already done it. If you are not saved today is because you have not believed the gospel. Do you think I'm going too far?
[64:38] Well, no. That's what the Bible tells you. If you do not believe the gospel. Then you are not saved. And if you have not believed the gospel.
[64:50] Nobody believes for you. Nobody can believe for you. This is something you do of your own volition. This is something that you exercise. The power that God gave you to reason.
[65:02] And when presented with the truth of Christ as the redeemer of sinners. Then you have to think for yourself and say, well, is this true or is it not?
[65:16] If you believe, then the whole of your life is changed by reason of what you believe. That's what Paul means when he says that it is in the gospel that those he is addressing are now standing.
[65:34] And that's why the apostle feels compelled to preach the gospel. Can you see that? That's where his compunction comes. That's where his desire comes from.
[65:47] You know, even those who are hearers of the gospel may not understand their own jeopardy. Because maybe you haven't fully considered the consequences of remaining.
[66:00] You are as you are without Christ. With asking yourself the question, what if I got this wrong? What if the Bible is even half right?
[66:14] What if the life that I'm living just now is sufficient to condemn me to God's just condemnation for all eternity?
[66:24] And Paul is saying to himself, I can't live with myself as somebody who knows what it is to live Christless.
[66:38] To live as his enemy. To live as one who was intent on the destruction of those who were the believers of God. Look at how he says it.
[67:04] I declare. I preached. I delivered. I received. All of these things are true of the apostle.
[67:15] He believes that the gospel he preaches is a gospel that was given to him by God. He believes that this is the gospel that he has to make known to others.
[67:25] This is how he must be. A preacher of the gospel. This is how he must go with his word. Wherever his lot is cast unto whom ever. You know, the pieces that Paul preached would amaze you.
[67:41] You're a very benign people. You're very friendly towards me. You're very accepting of my word. That didn't affect Paul's preaching. Whether they liked his message or not.
[67:53] Whether they were friendly or not. Whether they were hospitable or not. Whether they were kind to him or not. His message didn't change. He was on the same level.
[68:05] Always. Jesus Christ and him crucified. This is the one you must believe in. Believe in him to the saving of your soul. Fail to believe and you will be lost.
[68:19] How often did he say that? If I fail to preach this message. If I fail to bring this Christ before you. Then I'm miserable. Remember elsewhere he writes.
[68:33] The gospel is foolishness. The message of the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
[68:47] And you see that's key. In the understanding of Paul. He is preaching to those who are still in this world.
[68:58] But are perishing. They're not dead yet. But they are perishing. As long as you don't believe.
[69:10] You are perishing. Dying in your sins. And that's why he must preach. That's why he must bring Christ to their attention. That's why he must lift Christ up before them.
[69:23] So that their eye will be turned towards them. In some way. That his word would be heard. And what he has done. Would impress itself upon them. You know we as a church.
[69:39] Those of you who are members of the church. You read. You hear. You hear. About all the ways in which we can. We can bring the word of God.
[69:53] To influence. And affect. The lives. Of those around about us. Who are not believers. But I think that we've lost sight of one thing.
[70:10] That makes us so different. To the apostle Paul. And that is. That Paul. Was preaching the gospel. To perishing sinners. That he was preaching the gospel.
[70:24] To those who were. Intent on a lost eternity. That he knew. That if they did not believe that gospel. They would die in their sins.
[70:37] And we've lost sight of that. As a church. That the unbeliever is perishing. We have also I believe.
[70:48] Lost confidence. In the power of the gospel. To save. You know we want to find out. Why the gospel is not. Being blessed today.
[71:01] If the church are not fully convinced. Of what the gospel is there for. If the gospel is not something. That is. Heart and soul. Concerned with the salvation of sinners.
[71:14] From a never dying. Eternal destruction. If we've lost sight of that. It's no wonder the gospel is not.
[71:26] Being effective. You're all preachers. Who are believers. You're all.
[71:37] Sent out to the world. Around about you. To share the gospel. With those. With whom you live. In the world. And how do you share it?
[71:48] Is there a burning urgency. In your heart. In your mind. To bring Christ. To their attention. I remember. Hearing people. Asking a question.
[72:02] And you know. They were from a different background. To myself. And they would ask a question. Friend. Are you saved? Are you saved?
[72:13] What a stupid question. What a stupid question. But. It wasn't stupid at all. These people.
[72:24] Had a concern. For the salvation. Of those. That they were speaking to. And the fact. Of the matter was. This was the thing.
[72:34] Whatever was true of them. Whether they were rich. Or poor. Great or small. Whether they were destitute. Or. Occupying. The palaces. Of kings. Are you saved?
[72:47] Do you know the Lord? Have you believed in him. To the saving of your soul? If not. Whatever you have. Whatever's going on. In your life. Whatever. Is the burning issue.
[72:58] Of the day. As far as you're concerned. These things. Must. Pare. Into. Insignificance. Because. What matters is. The salvation. Of your soul.
[73:09] And Christ. Came into the world. To save sinners. Don't separate yourself. From them. Whatever you do. Don't separate yourself.
[73:21] From them. Whatever you do. Because. He didn't come. To save the righteous. He came. To save sinners. He says. To the church here. By which also ye.
[73:32] Are saved. If you keep in memory. What I preached unto. Unless you have believed. In vain. It's a question. For you. Is Paul there.
[73:44] Is he. Suggesting. That what he has preached. Is vanity. Is vanity. Or is there.
[73:55] Belief. In what he has preached. Vanity. Maybe. Maybe it's an open question. For you. The truth is.
[74:06] Is that. Paul preached. The gospel. Those who believed. The gospel. That he preached. Were assured. Of salvation. Because the gospel.
[74:18] Spoke to them. Of Jesus Christ. And him crucified. Dying. In their room. And in their stead. For their sins. There's just simplicity there.
[74:30] Isn't it? It's not complicated. Let me quote. Don Carson. The gospel. He says. Is not simply.
[74:40] Good advice. Nor is it. Good news. About God's power. It is. God's power. To those. Who believe.
[74:53] Read on. In Paul's epistles. To the Corinthians. And you'll find. What he believes himself. About what he preaches. And about the burning. Need that he has.
[75:04] To preach. What he does. In chapter 4. Of the second epistle. Therefore. Seeing we have the ministry. This ministry. As we have received. Mercy. We faint not. Having renounced.
[75:15] The hidden things. Of dishonesty. Not walking. Craftiness. Not handling. The word of God. Deceitful. But by manifestation. Of the truth. Commending. Oselves. To every man's conscience. In the sight of God.
[75:26] But if our gospel be hid. It is hid. To them. That are lost. To whom the God. Of this world. Hath blinded. The minds. Of them. Which believe. Not.
[75:38] Lest the light. Of the glorious. Gospel. Of Christ. Who is the image. Of God. Should shine. Unto them. For we preach. Not ourselves.
[75:48] But Christ. Jesus. The Lord. Well. May God. In his mercy. Enable you. To think. About the gospel.
[75:59] What it means. What it means. To you. What does Christ. Mean to you. If he means. Anything. To you. Surely. He should. Mean this. That he is God's.
[76:11] He is God's. Means. Of salvation. To the sinner. The only. Way. By which. Sinners. Can be saved. Let us pray. The Lord.
[76:22] Of God. We depend. Upon you. To open. A mind. Side. Whatever. It is. That we are. Seeking. To look upon. In your mercy.
[76:33] Enable us. To gaze. With awe. And with wonder. On the provision. That you have made. For this sinner. In the person. Of Jesus Christ. We pray.
[76:44] For your blessing. Upon your own word. Ask forgiveness. For every. Shortcoming. In Jesus name. Amen. The last.
[76:55] Verses. Of Psalm 16. That reminds us. In prophecy. Of. The death. Of Jesus Christ. And the resurrection.
[77:06] Of Jesus Christ. And the glory. That belongs. To those. Who have a part. In that. Psalm 16. Before me still.
[77:16] The Lord. I said. So if it is so. That he doth ever stand. At my right hand. I shall not move it be. Because of this. My heart is glad.
[77:27] And joy shall be expressed. Even by my glory. And my flesh. In confidence. Shall rest. Because my soul. In grave to dwell. Shall not be left.
[77:37] By thee. Nor wilt thou. Give thine holy one. Corruption to see. Thou wilt me show. The path of life. Of joy is the restful store. Before thy face.
[77:48] At thy right hand. Are pleasures evermore. These verses. Psalm 16. From verse 8. To the end. Before me still. The Lord. I said.
[77:58] Before me still. The Lord.
[78:09] I said. Said. It is so. That he.
[78:20] That he.
[78:32] I saw. Lord, I love thee. Because of this my heart is glad and joy shall be expressed in by my glory and my place.
[79:12] In call to death shall rest because my soul and grave to dwell shall not be left by thee.
[79:40] Not will thou give thine Holy One and all have a chance to see.
[80:03] Thy will be sure the path of life of joy there is full shore before thy face hath thine brightened.
[80:35] Thy will be sure the Lord may we praise, mercy and peace from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all now and always.
[80:53] Amen. Amen.