Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/callanish/sermons/25624/according-to-his-mercy-he-saved-us/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Be thy whistle, O Lord, thy apostle teach thou me, and do thou lead me in thy youth, that in mighty chair be.

[0:30] For thou art God, thou art just to me salvation, saint, and die upon thee all the day, excepting do attend.

[1:01] Thy tender mercy is, Lord, I pray thee to remember.

[1:15] And loving kindness is for thee, having a bold forever.

[1:32] My sins and faults on you, do thou, O Lord, forgive?

[1:48] After thy mercy, take on me, and for thy goodness be.

[2:05] God, good and upright is the way he'll send us your own.

[2:22] The making judgment he will guide, and make his path to you.

[2:38] The whole past of the Lord, our truth and mercy is here.

[2:54] To those now do is come and keep, and test him on his view.

[3:11] Let's join together in prayer. Amen. Heavenly blessed God, as we come before you at this evening hour, we give thanks for the opportunity that you have given to us to meet together, and to call upon your name, and to call upon your name, to read your word, and to do it in company with others.

[3:41] Something that is exceedingly precious to your people in particular. For it is not something that any one of us can take for granted.

[3:55] That we can go out and about and enjoy the freedoms and the liberties that we enjoy at this time.

[4:09] Because we know that from our number you have taken some who are confined to their homes, some to care homes, some to hospital, and they would dearly desire to be where we are.

[4:28] Others, we understand that they have no sense of the privilege of being able to worship in the fellowship of believers.

[4:47] We do not appreciate the blessing that is conferred upon your people when they come before you as a collective body.

[5:02] You would counsel us in your word not to leave aside these things, but rather to be diligent in attending to the matter at hand, so that we would derive benefit from sharing in the spiritual companionship of your people, even as they engage in worship.

[5:33] May each of us have a sense of what it means, and may we derive comfort and consolation and confirmation even from the fact that we are in such an exalted body.

[5:52] We know that there are other gatherings taking place at this time of the year especially. Where no sense of God's presence is given to those who are found there.

[6:06] And that to their detriment. And we pray that you would remind us afresh of the many good things that we have from your hand that could so easily be taken from us.

[6:22] When we read your word and when we read of the places that your word speaks of, historically places that the name of Christ was frequently on the lips of the peoples that are represented there, and yet through the erosion of the passage of time, these very places are now left devoid of the witness of God's church.

[6:53] And that is the way you have ordained things, and it may soon be true of these pastures that we frequent.

[7:04] When we are able to look back upon our short history as island communities associated with the propagation of the gospel, there are so many changes that have been wrought, some for good and many for evil.

[7:21] And these changes cannot be affected by any one of us in many respects. But it is the counsel of your word to avail ourselves of the day of opportunity.

[7:36] We recognize that while the opportunity is afforded us that we should make your calling and election sure. We ask that your blessing would be upon the proclamation of truth.

[7:50] We are thankful that we are able to sit under the word, and we cannot but petition the heavens that that world would be blessed, and would not return unto the God who gave it empty.

[8:06] You have so promised, and we hold you to your promise. We know that you will hold us to account for the way that we have broken promises and neglected the things that you have left us to do.

[8:23] We pray then your blessing upon the proclamation of truth, not only in this place, but in the surrounding villages and throughout our island community. Even the nation that is our nation, we bring before you and ask for mercy and grace, even help in time of need.

[8:45] We pray for our parliaments, whether it is in Westminster or Holyrood. We pray for the members of parliament and the various bodies, representative of the people, remembering our local council and the elected representatives there.

[9:04] We pray for our king and his family, as we are duty bound to do, however much we see of them as being devoid of true spiritual worth, in the sense that they are disinclined to live their lives in a God-honoring way.

[9:28] Nevertheless, it is still our duty to pray for them, that they would repent of that neglect, and that they would turn to God as the God who is God over all.

[9:41] We remember the nations of the earth, and ask Lord that this last Lord's Day of the year, that the year that beckons would be a year of blessing, that you would in mercy pour out your Spirit upon this world of ours, that you would bring peace where there is war, that you would reconcile those who are hostile one to the other, that you would enable us to share liberally the goods of this world.

[10:17] We are so often presented with facts concerning the damage that is wrought by reason of the elements being turned upside down, that man is guilty of many things concerning the effect wrought by man's hand on the environment.

[10:42] And yet little is said about the iniquity that lies at man's door, where the plenty that is in the world that is disproportionately shared out, so that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

[11:04] Those who are suffering are suffering want because there are many even who are able to impart to them from their plenty, who refuse to do so, and they fill their own barns and build bigger barns, and refuse to believe that the day will come when they will be brought to answer for their selfishness and for their self-indulgence.

[11:38] Hear our prayers, answer our prayers in accordance with wisdom that is divine. Visit the sick in mercy. Heal their hurts, we pray.

[11:50] Guide the hands of those entrusted with their care. We pray for the grieving and the sorrowful amongst us. Your voice is heard again and again reminding us that death is not a stranger, and that sooner or later it will be at our door.

[12:08] We distance ourselves from that visitation, and we say that this is somebody else's grief, but that grief can so easily become ours.

[12:22] Preserve us from it, enable us to be ready, for in such an hour as we know not the Son of Man will come. And that is true at the level of being brought to give account to Him when death closes our eyes, as well as in coming in His greater glory, when He will bring the world to account, and all will answer to Him at the throne of judgment.

[12:54] Be near to us, we pray. Sanctify your word to us this evening, cleanse from sin. In the Redeemer's name we ask it, with forgiveness of sin in Him. Amen.

[13:05] Our second singing is from Psalm 145. Psalm 145, the first version of the psalm, and we're singing from the beginning to verse 8.

[13:22] Psalm 145 from the beginning. I'll thee extol my God, O King, I'll bless thy name always.

[13:36] Thee will I bless each day, and will thy name forever praise. Great is the Lord, much to be praised as greatness such exceeds.

[13:47] Race unto race shall praise thy works, and show thy mighty deeds. I, of thy glorious majesty, the honour will record.

[13:58] I'll speak of all thy mighty works, which wondrous are, O Lord. Men of thine acts the might shall show, thine acts that dreadful are, and I thy glory to advance, thy greatness will declare.

[14:16] The memory of thy goodness great, thy glory to the Lord. The Lord is very gracious, in Him compassion flow, in mercy He is very great, and is to anger slow.

[14:38] And so on. You can sing verses 1 to 8 of Psalm 145, the first verse. I'll thee extol my God, O King, I'll bless thy name always.

[14:51] I'll thee extol my God, O King, I'll bless thy name always.

[15:10] He will, I bless each day, and will thy name forever praise.

[15:25] Greatest the Lord, much to thee praise, His greatness such exceeds.

[15:41] risen to the rich shall praise, thy works, and show thy mighty deeds.

[15:58] High of thy glorious majesty, the honor of will be part.

[16:14] I speak of all thy mighty words, which wondrous are, O Lord.

[16:30] O Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. So on. Fortune 3해야 a new bishop.

[16:42] H supports peace with Muslims and Vatican Dioble. own government and Hebrews who.... And back to heaven, Lord. Jesus Amen.

[16:53] Phi три forte vai пять long. The greatness will be clear. The memory of thy goodness gave.

[17:11] In our sweetest express. With songs of privilege.

[17:23] Let's do thy perfect righteousness. The Lord is very courageous.

[17:42] In him are同じ bounds. In heaven as he is.

[17:55] Very great and guessing. If truly is true.

[18:06] Let us hear God's word as we have it in the New Testament scriptures, the epistle of Paul to Titus, and reading the final chapter, Titus chapter 3, Paul's epistle to Titus chapter 3.

[18:31] Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through

[19:37] Jesus Christ our Saviour. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.

[20:00] These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable unto men. A man that is unheretic after the first and second admonition reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinned.

[20:31] When I shall send Artemis unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis, for I have determined there to winter. Bring Samos, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey diligently.

[20:47] Let nothing be wanting unto them. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for the necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

[20:58] All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

[21:11] May the Lord add his blessing to our reading of his word. In Jesus' name be the praise. Let us sing now from Psalm 85. Psalm 85, from verse 5 to 13.

[21:29] From verse 5 to the end of the psalm. Shall I displeasure thus endure against us without end? Wilt thou to generations all thine anger forth extend?

[21:44] That in thee may thy people joy, wilt thou not us revive? Shows thy mercy. Lord, to us do thy salvation give. I'll hear what God the Lord will speak. To his folk he'll speak peace.

[22:01] And to his saints, but let them not return to foolishness. To them that fear him, surely near is his salvation. That glory in our land may have her habitation.

[22:15] Truth met with mercy, righteousness and peace kissed mutually. Truth springs from earth and righteousness looks down from heaven high.

[22:27] Ye what is good the Lord shall give. Our land shall yield increase. Justice to set us in his steps shall go before his face.

[22:39] We can sing these verses of Psalm 85 from verse 5 to the end. Shall I displeasure thus endure against us without end?

[22:53] Shall I displeasure thus endure against us without end?

[23:14] Will thou to generations all thine anger forth extend?

[23:32] That in thee may thy evil joy, wilt thou not us revive?

[23:50] Show us thy mercy, Lord, to us. Give thy salvation and give.

[24:08] I'll hear what God the Lord will speak. To his folk he'll speak peace.

[24:27] God the Lord will speak. To his saints, but let them not return to foolishness.

[24:45] To them that fear Him surely near is His salvation.

[25:02] The glory in our love may have our habitation.

[25:20] Truth met with mercy, righteousness, and peace is mutual.

[25:38] Truth spring from earth and righteousness looks down from heaven high.

[25:59] If what is good the Lord shall give, our land shall yield in Christ.

[26:17] Justice to set us in his steps, shall the people be his.

[26:37] Shall we turn to the passage that we were reading together from Paul's epistle to Titus chapter 3.

[26:55] And we can read at verse 3. Titus chapter 3, reading at verse 3. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

[27:20] But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

[27:40] According to His mercy He saved us. In the Psalms you'll find the psalmist often speaks about God's mercy.

[27:59] Psalm 89 for example begins with that statement, God's mercy I will ever sing.

[28:10] And with my mouth I shall thy faithfulness make to be known to generations all. For mercy He says shall be built. And said I forever to endure thy faithfulness even in the heavens thou wilt establish sure.

[28:30] God's mercy God's mercy. It's a favourite subject for the psalmist. And anybody who has experienced the mercy of God, surely that is true of them.

[28:46] It is something that never ceases to amaze them. That they encountered God's mercy. That they encountered God's mercy.

[28:57] That they experienced it. And that they still experience it as they go on living out their life here in this world. That psalm that we refer to Psalm 89 is a covenant psalm.

[29:15] It speaks of the Davidic covenant in particular. It speaks about God's promises to David to establish his throne forever.

[29:26] And that itself is something, whatever the psalm contains. It is a wonder that a person such as David with his jacquard background and his departure from the path of righteousness.

[29:47] And yet recovery was his by reason of God's mercy. Now God ordained that the throne of David would survive in the sense that somebody would occupy that throne.

[30:07] It is a psalm of praise because of that. I would imagine that is something that is at the heart of it. Now here it is not a psalm.

[30:20] It is an epistle written by the Apostle Paul. One of the collection of epistles that are called Pastoral Epistles.

[30:31] And Paul is writing to Titus. And while there might be several possibilities that could be stated as relevant for the relationship that exists between the epistles writer and the one who is named as its recipient, I think possibly Titus was somebody who encountered Paul when he was himself ignorant and dark in spirit.

[31:18] When Paul writes this letter in verse 4, he says, To Titus, mine own son after the common faith. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

[31:34] My son after the faith. A suggestion, at least by some, that he is a convert of the apostle. And Paul writes to Titus, but to the church in Crete, and gives instruction concerning the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

[32:04] He wants the church there to be built up for the establishment of good order to continue and to go on apace.

[32:18] He also wants the Christian believers to grow and to be established in their faith. So these are the things that lie at the heart of the letter that is written.

[32:35] He wants to reinforce their obligations as Christians. And wants them to be witnesses to the truth that has laid claim upon their lives.

[32:52] But looking at these words, in particular the words of verse 5, there are three or four things that we can focus upon.

[33:08] The first thing that we can see is that when Paul is writing this epistle, he is writing using the language that he does as somebody who is speaking from experience.

[33:25] He is not a theologian simply because he has taken the word of God, understood what the word of God is saying, and then as a preacher, teacher, apostle, set out to apply what he understands from a purely intellectual perspective.

[33:46] Because Paul is able to speak here from experience. And that's the first thing when we read verse 3. He says, The second thing that we notice is that as a recipient of God's grace in salvation, he is able to describe himself in that light.

[34:46] Because he is not what he was, but he is now something else. He has experienced the power of God in the gospel.

[35:21] Personally, personally, translating him from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's marvelous light. The third thing that we have here is that he can categorically assert that this was something that God did and not something that Paul can lay claim to about himself.

[35:51] Even when he speaks of Titus being his son, according to the common faith, he is not really saying there, Titus, you are a convert by reason of my gifts and my powers and my expertise.

[36:11] He recognizes that God has used him mightily in bringing the gospel to bear upon the life of others.

[36:23] But that doesn't mean that God's word is nullified if a person responds to it.

[36:36] It doesn't mean that when Paul came to faith, that he came to faith because he was somebody who was halfway there already, or that he had gifts and graces and abilities that enabled him to embrace the truth.

[36:52] This was something that God enabled him to do. Not, he says, by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his measure.

[37:08] He saved us. And that's something that we need to remind ourselves of. We need to remind ourselves of the way God, in Christ, saves sinners.

[37:25] And the final thing that is said, the fourth thing that we have here, the result of what God did, is mentioned in two ways. He says, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, this is God's way of salvation.

[37:43] This is what God does. This is how the Spirit applies the finished work of Jesus Christ. The washing of regeneration. The washing of being born again.

[37:56] The washing. It's interesting that he uses the word washing. When we think of something being washed, we think of something that takes place externally. But the word regeneration requires us to think of something that takes place internally.

[38:13] Something that God does in us, not out of us, by the way of the Spirit. Renewing of the Holy Ghost. So these four things we can say our word about.

[38:26] I said that Paul was speaking from experience. And it doesn't require us to believe that everything that is said here was true about Paul.

[38:41] Because, you know, what we know about Paul was that he was somebody who was living a very good life in many respects.

[38:58] You know, he was diligent and scrupulously so in observing God's word and living the life of a good person.

[39:09] But, he says, that he was foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

[39:29] It doesn't necessarily have to be the case that Paul could enumerate each one of these particular shortcomings and say, I find this in my life.

[39:43] But it could be that he, with the perception that he has of what sin does in the life of a person, he could identify every single one of them as being sins that were obviously so to him, with the light that God's Spirit gave to him.

[40:04] Now that's the thing that we need to bear in mind. That Paul lived his life as somebody who thought himself to be perfectly consistent, as far as God was concerned, perfectly holy, that he believed himself capable of a righteousness based upon works that he himself accomplished that would exonerate him from any guilt.

[40:36] yet in another way, when God began to work in Paul's life, Paul discovered many things about himself that he was unaware of.

[40:52] Some of the commentators say that this, along with other passages in the Bible, are of such a truth that it goes to the core of our being, as it were.

[41:14] It describes to us the true nature of our sinful and our fallenness, our sinful condition before God.

[41:27] If you go to Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, and he describes there again what he himself was, along with others, until God made himself known to them.

[41:41] And this is what Paul is getting at, really. He wants to get to this point, but he cannot get to this point without, first of all, explaining and elaborating on the fact that he really was somebody who needed to be saved.

[42:02] And until God made that known to him, he was perfectly content the way he was. Perhaps to a degree oblivious of his sins, or content to live with him.

[42:20] I was preparing this story of, Michael Cate came to mind. Most of you will know that story. But Michael Cate was a woman who lived in the 18th century, towards the end of the 18th century.

[42:40] And she was well known in her community, well known, that's a wrong description. She was somebody who lived a life where she had no respect for the word of God, or the people of God.

[42:59] And she just did what she chose to do, without any care or concern about her soul. And she lived pretty close by to the minister of the community, a minister by the name of Lachlan Mackenzie.

[43:20] And he knew her well, and he spoke often to her according to the story that's told. And yet, to no avail. And she was quite elderly.

[43:34] I think she was in her 80s, possibly even as old as her 90s. And yet, her favourite pastime was attending Caelis. And if not to attend them, organising them, so that they would have them in her home.

[43:48] And the minister decided to deal with her in this way. He composed a song. And in the song, he enumerated all the sins that he knew of, that were prevalent in the life of this woman.

[44:08] And according to legend, those who knew her, believed her guilty of every sin apart from murder.

[44:20] Maybe that's an exaggeration, but it tells you what kind of person she was. But the minister composed a song. And then having composed the song, and set it to music, he asked one of those that he knew would frequent, Akele, to sing the song in her hearing.

[44:44] And that's what happened. The song was sung. And under God's hand, the more detail was presented to the mind of this woman, she saw herself for what she was.

[45:01] And we are told that she wept, herself blind. Her sins were brought home to her with such power, that she wept herself blind.

[45:17] And it wasn't until, I think it was a good while after that, that she really came to experience the God of Meshi, and discover that God for herself.

[45:34] So that before she died, she was able to present herself in the church, as a witness to the truth of God, and the truth of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.

[45:47] This isn't something that happens ordinarily. But it does happen. It doesn't happen at such a scale.

[46:00] But it does happen to everyone. However blind they are because of their sin, when God intervenes, and presents to them their heart, as he sees it.

[46:18] That's what happens. When God presents the heart of a sinner, to that sinner, as he sees it, it's not a pretty sight.

[46:29] And it broke this woman's heart. And in many respects, that's what Paul understood as well. But he says, After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.

[46:48] The wonder and the awe of God's grace in Christ Jesus. A change was wrought in Paul's life.

[47:01] Most of, you see, most of that is hidden from sight, because God is dealing personally with every individual that encountered him in his grace.

[47:15] And you may not know what's going on in a person's life. You may not see it. It will come to fruition, no doubt, and people will recognize it for what it is.

[47:30] But when God works, he works in the heart. And he deals with the sin of the heart.

[47:40] Not just the ones that are known, but the ones that are hidden. And while some of you have experienced this for yourselves, some of you have had this encounter with God.

[47:59] And some of you know exactly what I'm saying. That the day came when the chief of sinners came to realize that that is exactly what you were.

[48:14] You became a chief of sinners. It didn't matter about any other person's sin. It's your sin that concerned you.

[48:25] And God brought them home to you. And God put them in the light of his judgment, of his displeasure.

[48:37] And the grief that you felt was entirely something that you could not measure or bring to others to explain it.

[48:50] And so it was with Paul. Whether you are somebody, a lost sheep, that was once a lost sheep, who was found by the shepherd.

[49:01] Somebody who, it's all manner of descriptions of the kind of sinners that we are, and grace finds us in all kinds of different ways.

[49:12] I try and think today, what is the great sin that many have succumbed to in our young generation?

[49:31] And, you know, it could be any one sin. It could be many. But I think one thing that God is pointing out to us as a generation is that we have so much.

[49:48] We live in the material world of plenty. And yet, the truth of the matter is that we're really running on empty.

[50:01] That's what so many people are discovering. They have everything that they can lay their hands to. And stretching their hands to these things, they think, this is the thing that will give me satisfaction.

[50:17] This is the thing that will fill my life, fill my heart. And yet they find that one after another, all of these things they've tried, they've failed to satisfy.

[50:36] But the thing is that whoever it is, whether the person who's a lost sheep, whether it's somebody who's running on empty, whether it's a rebel shaking a puny fist at the heavens, because God is not the way God should be to him or to her.

[50:56] The thing is this, that we need to experience for ourselves God's grace in Christ Jesus. Because that is what we need.

[51:10] In verse 11 of the second chapter, he says, The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. And that is what has been presented to us.

[51:25] God's grace in Christ Jesus is a saving grace and every person without exception needs to experience that for themselves, not for anybody else, but for themselves in particular.

[51:41] And God will have all men to be saved. not by his own hand, but by God's hand.

[51:52] For there is no salvation in anyone else. And this is what Paul discovered. And this is why Paul is reminding them of this.

[52:02] Somebody has said, and I think it's quite true, that, you know, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers to obey magistrate to be ready to every good work to speak evil of no man to be no brawlers but gentle showing all meekness unto all men.

[52:25] And somebody says about these words, you know, that sometimes the Christian can be critical of where non-Christians are.

[52:38] Forgetting that they themselves wherein they that very place until God's grace took them out of it. Have you ever felt yourself like that?

[52:52] That you were looking at somebody and their life was at turmoil and their behavior was reprobated and you were saying you were tut-tut-tutting as you looked at their life and the same person who was doing that was the same person who in their lives had gone down that very road done the very same thing that you were looking down your nose at others for.

[53:21] And Paul is concerned that that should not happen because he reminds the Christian look this is what you once were.

[53:33] This is now what you are and what you are now is because of God's grace. After the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared.

[53:49] Not he says by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us. It wouldn't surprise me if Paul was here thinking more of himself as he spoke to them because you know how Paul was.

[54:10] You know how he behaved before God came into his life in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul knew better than most.

[54:21] You remember looking at the words of his epistle to the Philippians and in that epistle he describes not only the person of the Lord Jesus Christ how he experienced the humbling of taking out humanity to himself but it's a wonderful epistle.

[54:50] Take your time and read it for yourself and you will see in that epistle not only marvellous descriptions of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ but also descriptions of the apostle himself and what was true of him.

[55:09] We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. And he says oh I might also have confidence in the flesh.

[55:24] If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh I more and he lists all the things that were true of him circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of Hebrews as touching the law of Pharisee concerning seal persecuting the church touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.

[55:50] you can almost see him with his with his wee notebook and his ticking the boxes all of the things that he once believed were the things that God would be pleased with and they were all there and more besides but now he says what things were gained to me those I counted lost for Christ how did that happen well he knows how it happened God changed him and is it not God that saves just as surely as he saves the apostle Paul he saves every other sinner that needs salvation and which sinner does not need salvation preacher and teacher

[56:51] B.B. Warfield wrote the following the roots of his saving mercy are set deep in his memory of God's mercy if we are saved at all it is because not that we have worked not that we have believed but that God has manifested his kindly favor and philanthropy in saving us out of his mercy 것 he this passage he says empties man of all glory in the matter of salvation and reserves all the glory to God the description that we have here is the description of the result of what

[57:51] God does surely emphasizing the fact that this is God's doing the spirit of God in regeneration cleansing us from all sin by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost washed, renewed, born again whatever however we choose to understand it and God allows us in his word to elaborate on these very things I remember reading a sermon by Big Macrae as he was called and he was preaching on Revelations chapter 1 and verse 5 and he was talking there about unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood he was talking about everything that comes from that washing of the Lord Jesus Christ and he presents a whole long list of everything that follows on from what takes place there is cleansing there is refreshing there is renewing there is strengthening all by reason of God working in you as a believer working in you when you become a believer the peace of God that knows no understanding it's beyond comprehension until you experience it you know when you when you hear of people and their longing for a place of tranquility and peace and they go to a place of tranquility and peace but they take all the troubles of the world with them they take all the burdens of life they take all the confusion that assails them with them not realising that true peace is found through Christ Jesus the Lord even the Christian forgets that which is amazing why would we forget something so radically essential to our well being that we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and yet we do we quoted in beginning the words

[60:36] God's mercy God's mercies not one but mercies I will ever sing and no wonder the Christian would want to do that one of the Puritans of old made the statement and the more you reflect on it the more true it becomes in your thinking God's mercy can drown great sin just as the ocean covers the reefs and the rocks when it floods over it however great the rock however mighty they are when the floods come they cover every one of them and there is no question but that is what Paul had in mind when he is reminding this people of the privilege that they have as gospel hearers and gospel believers and gospel presenters those who would proclaim the gospel to others that this is something they can't afford to forget this is something that they must go on doing we ourselves are sometimes foolish but who cannot say that but is it not good for you if there is a but in your life that you know this truth that in

[62:28] Christ there is salvation and that you understand that there is salvation in no other may God encourage you to cling to that truth and to forsake any other false truth that is presented to your mind where you believe that there is salvation somewhere else he alone saves let us pray we give thanks that for your people God has appeared in the passion of Jesus Christ the God who saves who saves to the uttermost we bless you for him and we pray that you would be aware of him all the days of our life aware of him conscious of him seeking his help and walking as he is our stay and our help help us to that end we seek all with forgiveness of sin amen we're closing the psalm the psalm 130 we'll sing the whole psalm psalm 130 lord from the depths to thee

[64:00] I cried my voice lord do thou hear and to my supplications voice give an attempt to hear lord who shall stand if thou lord should mark iniquity but yet with thee forgiveness is that feared thou mayst be the whole psalm to God's praise the lord lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice lord do thou hear lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice lord do thou hear unto my supplications voice till I'm not tell to you lord who shall stand if thou o lord should not iniquity but yet with thee forgiveness that feared thou mayest be

[65:31] I wait for God my soul doth wait my hope is in this word more than day that God morning you watched my soul waits for the Lord I I say no than they like to watch the morning light to see let his hope in the Lord heart of wisdom and mercy be on planet his redemption is ever ever found with him and from all his iniquities he is his

[67:03]  God redeemed now may grace measure and peace from God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit rest and abide with you all now and always Amen