Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/callanish/sermons/68457/what-we-were-what-we-are-what-we-will-be/.

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] Hello everyone, welcome to you all, to our self-seeing, it's good to be with you as we come to worship God together. I'd forgotten now that we stay in Stornway when a huge gale on the west side is like, so it's good to see the wind and rain, although we pray for safety in the coming and going this evening as well.

[0:26] We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 40. Psalm 40, we're going to sing from verse 1 to the end of the double, verse 5.

[0:38] I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did there at length to me. He didn't climb my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay, and on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way. He put a new song in my mouth, O God, to magnify. Many shall see it and shall fear, and on the Lord rely. We'll sing from verse 1 down to the end of the double, verse 5. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did there at length to me. He my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the mighty clay, and on a down a rock he set my feet. He put a new song in my mouth, O God, to magnify. He put a new song in my mouth, O God, to magnify.

[2:31] many shall see it and shall fear. Many shall see it and shall fear, and on the Lord rely.

[3:01] many shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall see it and shall it through the For many are The wonders of us come Like vicious thoughts To us were done Above all thoughts Have gone

[4:01] The order none Can wreck on them To the end Be clear And see of them I would behold Than can be number Let's come to God in prayer Lord our gracious God As we unite our hearts And praise this evening We are thankful for these words That we have been singing The words that remind us Of how great a thing it is To wait upon you Not to rush you in any way

[5:03] But yet to wait upon the one Who is able to lift us up The one who is able To put our feet on that solid ground The one who is able To give us a new song To praise your great name And as the psalmist goes on We are reminded of so many reasons That we have to give thanks to you For for many are the wonders That you have done When we count our blessings Lord we realise Just how many How many that they are And at this time of year When we have Thanksgiving services And we have our focus On looking back And thanking you For the riches of our harvest The riches of the food On our tables The water The clothes That we have The homes The warmth We enjoy Lord We recognise Even on such a night As this When it is wild And wet outside That we do indeed Have so many reasons To give you praise And to give you All the thanks You are our God

[6:03] Whose mercy Is great towards us You are our God Who is so rich Towards us In so many ways But above all We thank you This evening That we come to you In the riches of Christ That we come in his name The name that is above Every other name And the name that is Worthy of all praise For your word Reminds us that It is a name That means salvation It is a name That reminds us That he came To save sinners It is a name That we are reminded That we must all Bow before And confess With our lips That he is Lord And so we pray That even this evening That would be the confession On our lips That we would be able To say That you are our Lord That you are our God That we are putting Our trust And our hope In you For there is no other That we can turn to You alone are the one Who is able to save You alone are the one Who is building Your church

[7:03] And you alone are the one Through whom There is salvation And so we pray This evening Lord That you will direct Our thoughts In our minds Towards that Holy worship Of you That we would Recognise our Shortcomings And our sins That we have Confessed them Anew And that we would Know that with you There is an abundance Of forgiveness That you are one Who is able to Pardon and to Cleanse That you are a one Who is in our midst Even as we gather In your name Just now We thank you For all here This evening We thank you For every home And family Represented We thank you For the youth Fellowships Being with us This evening As well And pray your Blessing on each Of them As they have Been enjoying Our weekend Together Remembering them And remembering To the Presbytee camp That has been Taking place This weekend As well We do thank you For our young People on this School holiday Weekend We know that There may be Many away And coming And going

[8:03] And finding it Hard in this Weather Just making Arrangements Or maybe getting Back home again We do pray For safety And your blessing Over all Who are out And about At this time We do thank you For your church Oh Lord And we thank you For your people Here We thank you That we are part Of a mighty Number Throughout the world To this day From rising Of the sun In the east To its setting In the west You have your people Who have praised Your name And you have your people Who even now Are praising it So that we join in With a chorus Of praise Being offered up To you And we thank you That that comes In many different ways Through many different Tongues And languages Through many different People And yet all coming To you as the one Through God And so we pray Oh Lord That you will Build your church Up That you will Be pleased To bless In days Of little In days Of need

[9:03] As we see Around us In so many Different ways We do pray Lord To you As the Lord Of the harvest And thankful That you see Your people Thankful Thankful That you have Your people Thankful That you are Calling your people By name To come To yourself Calling them To come And find that Rest That is found Through faith In Jesus Christ We are thankful We are thankful For those Who already Know that Rest Here And for those Who have Professed And believe In the Lord Jesus Christ As their Lord And as their Saviour And praying for Others Lord Who maybe Are seeking After Praying for Those who Might Long for you To know you In that way Praying for Others Who are maybe Blind to it And have no Concern of it But yet Lord Thankful That you are Able To awaken Us in our Hearts And in our Souls That you are The one Who is able To stir Us up And to Bring us To see That great Need that We have Of Jesus And we do

[10:04] Pray Lord That you will Bless the Church here Especially as It's just Endured into A time of Vacancy Thankful for The years of Ministry of Reverend MacDonald And his family Too and we Pray you Continued Blessing on Them And you Continued Blessing on The congregation Here as they Would seek A new Minister And as they Would seek To hear People coming Week by week Proclaiming the Gospel We thank you That the work Goes on That you are The one who Is behind it And before it In all ways That you are The one who Is the alpha And the omega The beginning And the end You know all Things and we Just pray Lord That you will Show your will In all our Ways We thank you Lord that Throughout our Presbyty at This time When there Are such Times of Vacancies In our Midst That you Are one Who is Able to Supply Our every Need We do Pray for Encouragements Throughout our Communities As we See so much Times of

[11:05] Sorrow and Sadness As we Think of Things going On even In our Own Communities And further Afield With searches Going on For a Missing boy In Stornoway We continue To pray For every Endeavour Made To find Them safe And well We pray For the Family As they Are so Anxious For them As we Have heard Even this Afternoon Of the Sad news From you With that Passing of That young Woman We do Pray your Comfort Towards the Family and Friends In that Community There In such A time Of sorrow Lord And so Much that Maybe we Find hard To understand Hard to Find answers For Yet we Thank you That you Are a God of All Comfort And we Do pray Lord That you Will Minister In all Of these Situations And into Them all Lord That you Would Speak That need Of Jesus Today Not putting Off till Tomorrow Or any

[12:05] Other time What must Be done Now But you Say that You speak To us In this Day And that If we Hear your Voice We are To follow You So Lord We ask Your blessing Over us And thankful For your Word as It's opened Up before Us this Evening Thankful That we Have it And that We can Read it And we Can share From it That we Have it In our Own Homes Thankful For our Communities And the Part your Word has Played in The past And pray Your blessing On it In our Day and In all The days Ahead That your Word would Be central To all That we Seek For good For our People And for Our young People in Our schools We pray For your Word to be Blessed to Them Both in The day School And the Sunday School That they Would be A young People who Would be Built up By your Word and Spirit We pray For our Land Oh Lord That you Would Come in A day Of your Power And we See and Hear so Many promises Made to People and

[13:06] Yet broken So quickly When we See such a Great need Around us Lord we do Pray for your Wisdom and your Blessing towards Those who are Our leaders Our prime Minister Our first Minister Our king And his Family We pray We pray for Our We pray for Your wisdom And your Guidance And your Health For our Land We think Even of This coming Week and The discussion Around the Place of Assisted Suicide We pray Lord for Your power In the midst Of that Life would Be seen As precious As a gift From God Not something That we would Take a hand In at all But that we Would see Your power Over us For good In the midst Of these Days We pray For the Nations Of the World We thank You that You are God And Lord Of all Even the

[14:06] Mightiest Power in This world Of what They deem As power Themselves Is nothing Compared to The power That is in Your hand And we Thank you That all Authority Is from You And we Just pray For days Of peace For days Of blessing For days Of the Outpouring Of your Spirit Upon us We ask Now that You continue With us Lord In this Evening That you Bless us And go Before us And help Us to Praise you With all Our hearts And to Look to You For you Alone Are the Author of All things And we Pray That our Eyes will Be fixed On Jesus The author And perfecter Of faith So hear us Continue with us Bless us And pardon us As we ask All things In Jesus Precious name Amen We're going to Sing to God's God's Praise Again This time In Psalm 17 Singing From the Beginning Of the Psalm Down To Verse 6 Psalm 17

[15:09] Verse 1 Lord Hear The Rite Attend My Cry And to My Prayer Give Heed That Doth Not In Hypocrisy From Famed Lips Proceed From Before Thy Presence Forth My Sentence Do Thou Send Toward These Things That Equal Are Do Thou Thine Eyes Intend We'll Sing The Psalm 17 Verse 1 Down To Verse 6 God God Praise Lord Hear The Rite Attend My Cry Unto My Prayer Give Ye That Doth Not In Hypocrisy Wrong Hand To thou thy night's end

[16:39] Thou prudes mine heart Thou bestest me By night thou didst me cry Yet nothing plans For that my mouth Shall no sin purpose die As for men's works I buy the work That from thy lips doth blow Did me preserve Out of the path

[17:41] When in me warriors go Hold up my going Turn me guide In those thy paths divine So that my footsteps may not slide Out of those ways of life I call it upon thee O God Because thou wilt me hear That thou mishearkened

[18:43] To my speech To me inclined Thine ear We're going to read together now Paul's letter to Titus In the New Testament Paul's letter to Titus We're going to read Chapter 3 Titus chapter 3 We'll read the whole Of this chapter 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

[19:45] Unto all men For yourselves 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 the renewing Of the Holy Ghost Which he shed on us Abundantly Through Jesus Christ Our Saviour That being justified By his grace We shall 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

[20:45] Believed in God Might be careful To maintain good works 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 And vain A man That is Unheretic After the first And second Abomination Reject Knowing that he That is such Is subverted And sinning Being condemned Of himself When I shall send Artemis Unto thee Or Tychicus Be diligent To come unto me To Nicopolis For I have determined There I have determined There to winter Bring Senas The lawyer And Apollos On their journey Diligently That nothing be wanting Up to them And let ours Also learn To maintain Good works For necessary uses

[21:47] For they Be not unfruitful All that are with me Salute thee Greet them with love That greet them That love us In the faith Grace be with you all Amen Before we come back To this passage We're again going to sing To God's praise We're going to sing In Psalm 33 Singing from verse 6 Down to verse 11 Psalm 33 At verse 6 The heavens By the word of God Did their beginning take And by the breathing Of his mouth He all their hosts Did make The waters of the seas He brings together As a heap And in store houses As it were He layeth Up the deep We'll sing from verse 6 Down to the end Of verse 11 To God's praise The heavens By the word of God

[22:51] Did their beginning take And by the breathing Of his mouth He all their host He all never hosted The waters of the seas He brings together The waters of the seas And in store houses As it were He layeth The waters of the seas Let earth and all the

[23:53] Death Bearing with breathless Fear the Lord Let all the worlds In high And Threat him With one Accord For he Did speak The word And God And God It Was Without Healing It's A Blessed And A Firmly Spirit Whatever He Did

[24:54] Say God What Does The Cancer Bring To Not Which Chains And Walk Do Take And What The People Do He By And the paracoses from me to age and you we can turn back to our reading in

[26:12] Titus chapter 3 and our focus this evening is going to be on verse 1 to verse 7 we read again in verse 3 and 4 for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish disobedient, deceived serving divers 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 and so it goes on I'm sure there's many different times where we hear promises or we make promises maybe someone's made a promise to you or you maybe you've made a promise to someone and before you know it you've broken that promise before you know it something you said you would do or said that you would somewhere you said you would go you're not able to fulfill it and you let people down and we're so often used to maybe hearing that just not just in our own small circles but in a wider context as well we're often hearing promises made to us from all kinds of different people and places our letterboxes our television screens are all inundated with people making promises to us promises of better and a brighter future promises of change promises about products that this is what you need this is what's going to be so life transforming for you so often we get promises of a political nature we hear our parliaments making so many promises that they're going to do this that and the next thing we've had a general election already this year and people are being accused of having broken so many promises that they've made to us already promises can be made but these promises are so often unfulfilled promises they've been unfulfilled in the present they've been unfulfilled in the past and they will be unfulfilled in the future because there's so much uncertainty about the promises that are made and the people who make them now wouldn't it be wonderful if there was someone we could go to and see here's a promise that I will keep here's a promise that I've made for you and here's a promise that I will keep for you that nothing is going to change this promise it is guaranteed it is already in many senses fulfilled and whatever else

[28:53] I have promised to you it will come to be it is a secure promise well that's exactly what Paul is reminding us here as he writes to Titus one of his fellow servants he's reminding us of a great promise that was given then that had been given before that that has been heard since and it's the promise of the gospel a message that is present and current to us a message that as we see as we turn back to the scriptures whether it's Old Testament or New Testament full of promises and fulfilment and as we look to the future a promise that is secure a promise that is full of hope and fulfilment as a promise with a great foundation because the foundation of this promise is what we have there in verse 4 but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared we have it fulfilled in Jesus Christ he is the fulfilment of this promise he is the security of this promise he is the one who will come again to fulfil this promise ultimately it's the message we have here the question is is it a message that convinces us when you hear promises from other people maybe you know their reputation maybe you know a tradesman who is always letting people down and so he makes a promise you all be there on Tuesday at 10 o'clock there's uncertainty and you wonder will he come and so often maybe you're let down and you wait in and nobody comes there's no guarantee you're not convinced same as so many politicians not convinced by what they say we wonder hmm will they actually do this will they fulfil this there's always doubt but are we convinced by God's word are we convinced by what we're reading here tonight maybe some of us are thinking yes

[31:06] I know I'm fully convinced fully persuaded about this because I know who Jesus is I know the love that he has for me I know all the promises that he's given but some of us maybe are thinking well I'm just not sure so many times I've maybe felt let down or things haven't gone my way maybe this isn't convincing for me but we want to come and see that there are promises here that we can be confident in and that we can be confident in sharing with others as well how many of you had potatoes today for dinner or at some point this week I'm sure the majority of us all about potatoes at some time because they're just so common they're part of our almost day to day lives in some form or other we'll have potatoes as mashed or roast or chips or whatever potatoes are just part of our menu all the time potatoes are so popular but it's hard to believe that that wasn't always the case when potatoes first came to this country in the 1500s they were looked at on the suspicion there were people who wouldn't eat them they wouldn't touch them the rich people especially royalty and those who had a lot of money they mocked potatoes they were seen as only for the poorest of pure not even in order you just to give it to the animals that's all that they were good for it's even said that some ministers preach sermons against having potatoes some people were saying they're bad for the soil they cause all manner of illness and all kinds of threats to us just at the table they were viewed as suspicious and yet today they're all over so how do we become so popular well there were those who believed it was a good answer for people to have this food to be a staple part of our diets they were something we could produce ourselves and have not maybe a huge abundance but have enough of to share around but it meant that people had to convince others to believe that this was the answer and so it's similar with us with the gospel as well so many people look on it with suspicion so many people see it as something that's threatening or something that's dangerous in many ways and yet it's a message that is full of promise to us it's a message that's full of good to us the most precious of things it needs it has all our needs in it and our greatest need of all that there is salvation in Jesus

[34:00] Christ and so we need to be convinced of it and convince others of it and Titus this letter to Titus from Paul here in chapter 3 it's a time of writing in the midst of many people who didn't believe people who weren't convinced of the gospel and so as Paul is writing to Titus he's encouraging him to be strong that he has this message this gospel message and it's a gospel message of security and as we look at particularly verse 3 to verse 7 this evening I want us to see three things in this message to us that remind us of what we have the promises that we have and what we see of ourselves in the midst of this and it reminds us of three things and especially if you're a Christian this evening it reminds us of three things that are important to remember and the three things are this first is what we were the second thing is what we are and then thirdly it speaks about what we will be so the first thing is this what we were one of the biggest problems that people face as they make their way through life is forgetting where they've come from it's always a danger that's there before us all to forget where we've come from and it can be true in so many different aspects of life whether it's the rich and famous in the world of politics or sports or the celebrity culture you see people who so often forget where they've come from they feel that they've made it they feel that all these riches they suddenly deserve and they forget sometimes where they've come from a many from a humble background but it's not just rich and famous we see it in every aspect of life where it's so easy when we make something in life and we get on well in life to forget where we've come from when I was working at sea for example there was rankings of those who were serving on the ships so you had a chief engineer you had a first engineer second third engineer and then at the very bottom was cadet and I started out as a cadet at sea so starting at the bottom you've got all these engineers above you and many of those above me were so good towards me because they remembered what it was like first time going to sea first time being away from home all of these things they still remember and so they looked out for me and other cadets who were coming as well and they were good to us but there was always one or two who almost forgotten what it was like to be at that stage and they were the ones that you felt they just don't get it they were seen themselves as above everybody else they'd forgotten where they'd come from well as

[37:15] Christians it's important for us to remember where we've come from and that's what Paul is reminding Titus of here and as you look at verse 3 you see there how he says for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving diverse lusts and pleasures he's looking back he's looking back and looking at this situation and saying this is what we were in the past and this is important for us to remember that we were once like this too because if we forget where we've been what we were then how are we able to tell anybody else what we are now and what our hope is if we're seeing ourselves as above everybody else better than everybody else it's so easy to become angry and impatient with unbelievers those who maybe act foolishly in our eyes or selfishly and yet as Paul is saying here we ourselves were also once like that we were once foolish disobedient all of these things we were that as well we could say well unbelievers are living for themselves yes because that's all they knew and that's all that we once did as well when we were unbelievers when we were foolish and disobedient on all of these things we were just living for self before we meet

[38:50] Christ before we come to love Christ we're selfish people and Paul here is reminding us oh this is what you want where maybe this is where you are just now foolish disobedient deceived not convinced by this message of the gospel and if we forget that then that hinders us in how we speak and treat others we won't show grace we won't show compassion we won't show the love that has been shown to us and you notice here that Paul includes himself in this he's not saying well you were this but I was better he says we we ourselves also we were all in this situation we were all being foolish and he's saying I'm only too aware of what I once was I'm only too aware of just how foolish have been he's got all of these things in mind for himself he's remembering what he was he's showing us what we were all of these things so we have to be careful because we're all made of the same stuff we would all be acting in this way if it wasn't for what we are in Christ when you go back to the

[40:21] Old Testament to the book of Isaiah chapter 53 again you see there's how the promises throughout scripture are there to convince us in Isaiah 53 verse 4 it says surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed all we like sheep had gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all you see there because of what we once were what God the Lord had to do for us we all had gone astray we had all turned everyone to his own way and yet it says the Lord had laid on him that's on

[41:23] Jesus the iniquity of us all so what we wear is important when we think of the gospel but the second thing we see here is what we are what we are when we are believing in the Lord Jesus Christ in verse four but after that the kindness and love of God our saviour toward man appeared what changed us and what is able to change others as we see them around us well it's this gospel and when you look at verse four there you see that little word at the start but but and it's a word that so often appears and makes such a difference for us when you go back to Ephesians chapter three no chapter two I think it is sorry let me just find the place

[42:24] Ephesians chapter two verse four again it's talking there about how we have a past among whom we also had our conversation in times past so we speak about the same kind of thing and then in verse four it says but God who is rich in mercy for his great love with which he loved us so there's this word but that seems to change so much in our lives and it changes everything for us here this but in verse four we can say that we are different now because of what the Lord has done but after that the kindness and love of God our saviour toward man appeared it appeared to us in the person of Jesus Christ and when was this we could ask when did the goodness and kindness of

[43:26] God our saviour appear you could say that when Jesus was born into the world but it goes much further back because God didn't spare this love towards us for then he showed this love towards us even as you go back through the Old Testament you go back and you find again and again the love of God being shown whether it's to the children of Israel as they made their way from Egypt to the promised land how God showed mercy again and again to them the goodness and gracious way of God towards people who often were disobedient against them the goodness of God as you come into the New Testament as you see it in the person of Jesus appearing you see it again and again but ultimately it is by looking to Jesus Christ and resting in faith on him we have that promise fulfilled in Jesus

[44:28] Christ again you see it in the New Testament when Paul writes to the Romans where he says in Romans 5 verse 7 for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us the goodness and grace of God our Saviour has appeared in Jesus Christ how do you explain that love but after that kindness and love of God are saved how do you explain that kind of love from our perspective there's just no explaining there's no way we could explain the love of God why does God love lost sinners like he does why does he save us from our sins such a big question but we can see it's here the answer is there for us in verse five not by works of righteousness we have done so it's nothing of ourselves it's nothing of what we can do ourselves nothing of the righteousness even the good things that we could do but he goes on to say but according to his mercy he saved us according to his mercy that is what explains to us the love of God not us not what we can do but what he has done for us and how he has shown us mercy the word mercy there speaks of a real kindness a good will towards broken and afflicted people and that's exactly what we were broken and afflicted foolish disobedient deceived people all of these things but God showed mercy and his mercy is what saves us and so that is what we need that is what we are now we are saved by his grace and by his mercy we don't deserve it we don't earn it but God calls us to himself and God shows us his mercy how has this love been shown for us well it's been shown as we see there in verse 6 which he shed on us abundantly through

[47:06] Jesus Christ our saviour this love has been poured out this love has been poured out abundantly he didn't spay anything he didn't hold anything back for us he poured it out his mercy in abundance through Jesus Christ our saviour and if you need evidence for this love where do you look you look to the cross you look to Calvary where you see Jesus who died for our sins you have that verse in John that speaks of greater love have no man on this that he lay down his life for his friends and Jesus goes on to say you are my friends if you do as I command he laid down his life for his friends for his people and so we see there that great love towards us and it's all by the mercy of God that he has shed on us abundantly through Jesus

[48:10] Christ you think of that Psalm Psalm 23 it speaks about the Lord as our shepherd the Lord being the one who leads us on through the quiet waters and the green pastures and all of these places that are good but also through the difficult valley the valley of the shadow of death but it has that promise goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be the goodness and mercy of God to us through Jesus Christ and that part at the end of the psalm we're in God's house forevermore that leads us in here to the final thing that we see here and it's what we will be so we have what we were we were deceived foolish all of these things what we are we are saved by the mercy of God through his abundant love to us in Jesus

[49:12] Christ and then what we will be is what we see in verse 7 that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life being justified by his grace that is justified by faith we are made heirs to a promise and that promise is according to the hope of eternal life he says there in verse 8 as well this is our faithful saying this promise is true this promise is real this promise is kept for you because it is God himself who is giving this promise what we will be is dependent on what we do now with what we have before us do we trust this message of the gospel are we convinced by this message of the gospel that God can take us from being fools to being saved to being heirs with him in eternal life it's the message of the gospel do you believe it that's the question that was put to

[50:31] Martha in John chapter 11 in verse 25 in the account where Jesus is coming back to his friends to Mary and Martha with the news that Lazarus had passed away well Martha met with Jesus and Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life whoever believes in me though he die yet shall he live and anyone who lives and believes in me shall never die and then she asked do you believe this and she said to him yes Lord I believe that you are the Christ the son of God who is coming into the world do you believe this do you believe this that this is the God who is able to bring us from foolishness and darkness into his life do you believe that in his loving kindness toward us do you believe in the mercy that he has shown do you believe in the saviour who is jesus christ and do you believe that through faith you have an heir you're an heir according to this promise to eternal life we have so much to be thankful for but do we believe it do we believe it do we believe in this hope this promise that we have a new place a new home that hope of eternal life that God's people have this dwelling place forevermore going to a place that the bible describes for us in so many different ways somebody put it like this using quotes from scripture it said more beautiful than the mind can conceive as you look at revelation 21 and 22 a place that is far better as it says in philippians 1 23 a place that is free from pain sorrow suffering tears that cloud our life here revelation 21 verse 4 in a place that is a fulfilment of our lord's precious promise to his people in john 14 speaks about that place that he is preparing for his people it's a place to look forward to we have that hope of eternal life now but our lives do not end when we leave this world in death we live with the lord and that is what we have that's what we are heirs to according to the hope of eternal life how do we get it we get it through faith not by works of righteousness as it says in verse 5 but according to his mercy he has saved us it's all of his grace there's a story told of a sign that was up in a textile mill and it said on the sign when your thread becomes tangled call the foreman so it was a sign that was there for people to see and a young woman had started a new job in this textile mill and she was there working this day and her thread became tangled and she thought the best course of action was for herself to try and sort it out to straighten out the thread and to untangle it and get things going again and the more she tried the worse the situation got until the end she just thought

[54:19] I just have to go and call the foreman and so she went and called him and said I did the best I could to which he replied no you didn't to do your best you should have called me in the first place and that's the message of the gospel that's the message of verse 5 here not by works of righteousness there's no point in you trying to sort out your life no point in you trying to untangle all the different threads that have become tangled up in your life and then come to God that's not the way it's to come to him now with all the tangles all the threads that are all tangled up and say Lord my life is a mess but in your gospel there is hope and please help me be convinced by it the gospel is there for us all it is there before us the love is shown there as we see in verse 6 which he shed on us abundantly through

[55:29] Jesus Christ our Savior are you convinced of this the gospel is there for us all there are many people and promises made to us in this life that are broken but the promise of the gospel is fulfilled in Christ so let us put our trust in him let us pray our Father in heaven we thank you for your word and the truth that is to us we thank you that it is full of promises to us as your people and help us Lord to be convinced by it as your word says it is your word that convicts and converts the soul that lies in sin and so we pray Lord that you will indeed convict us of your truth this evening and help us to see the reality of the promises shared to us in it and that we would see the beauty of Christ a precious saviour who is offered to us all we ask these things with forgiveness of our sin in

[56:39] Jesus name Amen we are going to conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 27 Psalm 27 we are going to sing from verse 4 down to 5 these stances there one thing to find there to God's praise one thing I of the Lord desire and will seek to obtain!

[57:40] the glory of my life I may within God's house remain me that I the beauty of the Lord behold me and admire and that I in His holy place may revend and while for he and father shall be hide in evil days and see the darkness stands behind and on rock near raised we'll close with a bit of now may grace mercy and peace from

[59:09]  God Father Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forever more Amen